Tagged: Warhammer Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 9:18 pm on January 7, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Warhammer   

    GURPS Hammer S03E01 

    Feeling the need to switch to a less pulpy system, I’m taking the plunge and going with GURPS. I’m mostly using Dungeon Fantasy as a base, but without using the Professions from Dungeon Fantasy Adventurers, and doing a freeform conversion from my Savage Worlds characters.
    I gave each character 150pts to spend, plus 25pts for each finished adventure, with the exception of Elhali who had suffered a permanent injury according to SWADE rules and had to re-increase her Attribute to catch up. She got only 175pts.
    For the most part, the conversion went flawlessly, including traits, skills and gear. I’m quite happy as to how it turned out.
    I did go back and corrected some things that fit more closely to WHFRP instead of SWADE, as they were lost during the initial conversion.
    I am getting some ideas from existing GURPS Hammer conversions, but not using all of the material, and will be adjusting also on the go.

    As for gear costs and prices, the WHFRP prices struck me as odd. Gold Crowns were too easy to find and spent.
    https://awesomeliesblog.wordpress.com/2018/11/21/all-that-glisters-is-not-gold/ explains very well the problem with WHFRP prices.
    I’m not here to solve this.
    I’ll be using the Harnworld prices instead, as these fit directly with the WHFRP coin economy.
    Harnworld has 1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 (silver) pennies
    The Old World has 1 Gold Crown = 20 (silver) shillings = 240 (brass) pennies
    In case an item isn’t listed in Harnworld (for example due to the TL difference) or the aforementioned historic prices list, I’ll use the DF GURPS Gear prices, where the 4$ will correspond to 1d.
    Finally if the only source available is WHFRP, I’ll do a direct conversion of 1 GC = 1 d which will come handy for future adventure rewards, by bringing them down by a reasonable factor.

    The cost of living according to Dungeon Fantasy is approximately $150 per week. Unless the circumstances deem otherwise, I will be considering a week of downtime between adventures. Therefore in this case, they have spent between the two adventures, about 75d each.

    Revising my party’s wealth, they have:

    • Abenzio 59d 2f
    • Elhali 100d 1f
    • Greta 55d 1f
    • Wolmar 108d 2f

    With that out of the way, I’ll be proceeding with the downtimes and the next adventure.
    My core oracle will be the Plot Unfolding Machine

    I really want to run the Enemy Within Campaign, but being down south in Nuln where The Oldenhaller Contract put me, going to Bogenhafen where the first adventure takes place will need more than a simple nudge, as proposed in the Shadows over Bogenhafen.
    Instead, I will try to nudge them towards Ubersreik, wherein I can run the Ubersreik adventures from the WHFRP 4e Starter Set. Perhaps they could then head north to reach Bogenhafen, or avoid it altogether and run various adventures across the Reikland, perhaps visiting Marienburg or Middenheim before going to the Enemy Within.

    I roll 4 BOLD Waylays and apply them to my party as I see fit:

    Wolmar: (illusory the strange overcome by weak attribute)

    Wolmar is in the market, when he notices a group of people shouting and placing bets and yelling. Drawn closer, he notices a man, playing cups and ball. The man seems to be losing money, and Wolmar, relying on his keen senses is ready to step in and place a bet.
    “A shilling for the ball!” he shouts. “Find the ball under the cap, and you get it back double!”
    Then Wolmar, although a meek herdsman, remembers his father’s trade lessons. That when his eyes tell one story, he should always trust his gut. And Wolmar’s gut tells him that there’s no way this man operates a business on a loss. For sure the man loses his money to a partner just for appearance. Wolmar cautiously steps back away, and leaves.

    Abenzio: (provoking mooks overcome by favored ability)

    Abe is sitting in The Bull, drinking a pint of ale in peace, when a bunch of thugs enter and start causing a ruckus. Their attention soon is turned to the Tilean pit fighter, his scarred skin and foggy eye. They start giggling between them, and pointing at him, exchanging words.
    Unfortunately for them, they don’t know when to stop and Abenzio’s first move is to bash two of their heads together, smash a pewter tankard of ale at the third, and swing a fist at the fourth.
    Despite being at the right, his appearance and outsider background don’t sit well with the owner, who calls the watch at him, and he has to make himself scarce.

    Elhali: (irritating rival overcome by faction intervention)

    Elhali is at the docks, trying to establish some new connections, to get some coin smuggling things on the side. She’s trying to work new contacts, when a non-distinguishing woman, 5’8″ 140 lbs, in her thirties, sienna hair, light brown eyes, bumps into her.
    “These commodities that you want to move out of Nuln, they’re subject to taxes you know.” she says “You wouldn’t want the city watch to catch you trying to sidestep customs officials. They’re quite…zealous.”
    The woman stares Elhali right in the eye, and opens her jacket, just enough to show off the hilt of her pistol.
    Elhali realizes that she stumbled on another smuggler, but just in time, she sees a city watch patrol, and she takes the opportunity to shout.
    “Five kegs of blackpowder for half the price? What would I need that for? Do they have the Nuln seal of commerce?” She yells loud enough for all the dock workers and the city watch to listen. The rival smuggler stares like a deer in torchlight for a moment. Then her ear graps the clanking sound of plate armour by the city watch soldier. In the brief moment it takes her to look around and see the city watch running at her, Elhali has disappeared.

    Greta: (provoking lover overcome by favored skill)

    Greta is shopping at the market trying to find components for her potions, when someone grabs her arm tightly.
    She turns around to see her husband Wolf.
    “There you are! witch!” he yells. “You’ll come back with me now.” He grabs her scarf, revealing her bald head, and big ears.
    “No! let me go!” she shouts back, but her strength isn’t enough to escape the man’s grasp.
    “The town council will see that you’re tried for heresy. If you’re exonerated, you’ll be lucky to stay alive locked in the kitchen forever after what you did to us and yourself.” He says and starts pulling her through the crowd.
    She puts her hand in her pocket, gets out a small potion, takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and smashes the glass vial on the ground in front of them.
    A loud thundering boom accompanied by a flash of light stuns and disorients everyone around, including Wolf, who releases his grasp.
    Greta quickly runs off, trying to hide her features.

    I took GM liberty to apply the downtimes where they fit best in the backstories, and worked them in such a way to give reason for the party to leave Nuln.
    So for the future I’m considering working the downtimes in a different manner.
    I will be using the Scene Unfolding Machine parallel matters assigned randomly to each PC, and will roll one BOLD Waylay to be assigned to a party member or the entire party. I’m thinking that these could be mini-scenes as well to be solo-rped, but I’ve not yet decided on how much focus there should be.

    Before beginning the gameplay, I’ll roll for BOLD connections.

    actiongerundsubject
    ponderdivulginga decision
    endorseconcludinga love
    digressexcludingallies

    Q: Does the group regroup back at the Reaver’s Return at the same time?
    A: No, but without long periods of time between them.
    Q: Who returns first?
    A: Elhali
    Q: Does anything happen while she waits? (unlikely) – the time period is short
    A: It depends (on skill)
    Elhali will try to avoid attention, and use her Stealth skill.
    Elhali: Stealth: 7: Success
    Nothing happens, as Elhali avoids drawing attention.
    Q: Who returns 2nd?
    A: Greta
    Q: Does anything happen while she waits? (unlikely) – the time period is short
    A: Don’t know, can’t tell.
    So it’s a no.
    Q: Who arrives 3rd?
    A: Wolmar
    Q: Does anything happen while they wait? (unlikely) – the time period is short
    A: Yes, apparently.
    Random Prompt: Play a scene filler catalyst: Deal with PCs basic needs

    Elhali is back at their room, and starts packing her few belongings, she has everything ready, and goes downstairs to Rudolf, and orders a hot meal. Her hunger is insatiable at the moment. Something to do with the running she did.
    She is served and starts eating a plate of hot soup, when Greta bursts in. She is not wearing her scarf, and the lack of hair is evident on her head. Elhali is taken aback only for a moment.
    She sees her, and rushes to her. “We have to leave. Where are the others?” Greta says in a hurry.
    “Girl, what is wrong. Come take a seat. Tell me everything. I can’t go anywhere on an empty stomach.” Elhali says.
    Greta rolls her eyes. “Come on Elhali, give me a break.”
    “I’ve just made a sprint from the docks to here. Some lowlife thug though I was trespassing on his turf. Set the city watch on him, but I had to outrun them as well.” Elhali smiles. “I need the food. What’s your story?”
    “Wolf” Greta replies.
    “The Oldenhaller’s dude? what about him?” Elhali asks.
    “No, not this one, my abusive husband. He found me. I barely escaped.” Greta leans in and whispers to Elhali. “He’s accusing me of witchcraft and heresy.”
    Elhali nods as she gulps down a good spoonful of soup. “That some serious trouble. I’m thinking we had our share of Nuln, you want to leave? I’m with you. Don’t know about the guys though, but don’t worry, I’ll talk them into it.”
    “Thank you” Greta whispers, and heads upstairs to cover her features, and pack her things.

    I’m deeming that Greta worked the endorse, divulging, a love BOLD connection.
    Q: Does anything else happen until Abenzio’s arrival? (unlikely) – the time period is short
    A: No, but, they don’t have much time until trouble comes knocking.
    Q: Has Elhali finished her meal? (likely)
    A: No, not yet

    Wolmar is with Elhali and she’s trying to convince him that they should make haste, while at the same time, she’s dipping the rock-hard bread into the soup to make it softer – as if that is possible.
    “I’m telling you.” she speaks with her mouth chewing a piece of hard bread. “City watch and smugglers after me, crazy husband and witch hunters after Greta. We should leave.”
    Wolmar sits in silence for a moment.
    “We have good word with the city watch. We’ve helped them twice already. And we have Oldenhaller, a rich and powerful man on our side. We can still make it work here.” Wolmar counters.
    “I’m just saying, it seems to me that the more I think about, the more they’ll figure out that we are all together, and charges of heresy aren’t easily countered. It’s best to not be there when such things are uttered, than try to make a defense.” Elhali gulps some soup.
    Abenzio enters. His clothes a bit torn. His knuckles bloody.
    “Abe!” Wolmar exclaims. “What happened?”
    “Some weaklings at The Bull thought I’d sit and listen to their insults. I let them know what it means to be a pit fighter.” the massive Tilean answers.
    “Are they alive? did anyone see you?” Wolmar asks.
    “Don’t know, I left when I realized somebody had called for the watch.” Abenzio replies.
    Elhali looks at Wolmar. “Let me finish this lunch I paid for, then we’re out of here.”

    I’m deeming that Elhali worked the ponder, concluding, a decision BOLD connection.

    Q: Does the city watch arrive before they leave?
    A: Yes, but, they have heard them in time.

    Elhali’s keen senses, catch the metal rattle of armoured soldiers, and the pounding thud of many feet in the city streets. She abandons her almost finished meal and heads upstairs to the room where her companions are gathered.
    “The city watch is here, and I won’t sit around to find out for which one of us they are. The thief showed us the way out.” She bolts the door behind her, opens the window and exits through the rooftop.
    Without thinking twice, the rest of her friends grab their gear and follow her.

    Q: What time is it? (4d6)
    A: 13.00
    Q: What is the Weather? (Harnworld)
    A: Freezing, Overcast, Steady Rain

    That’s a -2 modifier to climbing/running/jumping
    Let’s see if they make it across the rooftops.
    Elhali: 5(13-2):Success
    Abenzio: 11(13-2):Success, just made it
    Greta: 11(13-2):Success, just made it
    Wolmar: 9(13-2):Success
    They jumped to the first building across, following the rooftop escape of Bertoldo previously (see Oldenhaller Contract).

    Now they will jump on the rooftops across the canal
    Elhali: 14(13-2):Failure: DX:4/13:Critical Success: She grabbed the far side ledge and pulled herself up
    Abenzio: 14(13-2):Failure: DX:15/13:Failure: He falls down in the canal. Not hurt, just filthy and wet.
    Greta: 11(13-2):Success, just made it
    Wolmar: 12(13-2):Failure: DX:15/13:Failure: He falls down in the canal. Not hurt, just filthy and wet.

    Elhali and Greta have jumped across the canal, and try to jump at the Merchant’s house
    Elhali: 7(13-2): Success
    Greta: 7(13-2): Success
    They jump down from the porch to the street.

    Q: Have the city watch seen them?
    A: No, not yet

    Greta and Elhali rush to help Abenzio and Wolmar get out of the canal, and they make it towards the nearest coach station.

    They remember the thief several nights ago doing the same route, so, they carefully jump across to the rooftop across a narrow alleyway.
    Then they have to jump across the canal. The very same jump that the thief failed, and they caught up to him. Elhali jumps first, but she doesn’t make the distance. Thankfully, with agility, her hand grasps the ledge across, and she pulls herself up. Abenzio jumps next, and his massive frame goes down in the filthy canal, with a loud splash, the water stopping his fall.
    Greta makes the jump and helps Elhali up, while Wolmar meets the same fate as Abenzio.
    In the few moments it takes for the men of the adventuring company to recollect themselves, the women have made yet another jump, and get down safely. Seeing that the city watch hasn’t considered to check out of the window yet, they help Abenzio and Wolmar out of the canal, and rush to their escape.

    once they catch up their breath, they need to decide, coach or boat, or foot.
    Elhali doesn’t want to go to the docks, as twice she made the wrong impression while there, and would like to avoid the risk of being recognized.
    Greta wants to leave the fastest route possible, and since the docks are in the opposite direction of the gate, she agrees with Elhali.
    Abenzio doesn’t really care much, but would like to get away the fastest route possible.
    It’s only Wolmar that isn’t convinced he’s to be blamed for anything, and that’s a challenging time for him whether he’ll stick with this party or abandon them?

    “Where to now?” Abenzio asks. “North to the gate or south to the docks?”
    “I’d rather not show my face in the docks soon.” Elhali says. “To the northern gate.”
    “We could stop by the coaching house on the way. If we’re lucky there could be a coach available.” Greta adds.
    The three of them are looking to Wolmar. He’s the most talkative guy in moments like these, but he seems awfully silent.
    “Do we really have to go?” he mumbles. “I mean, you all have these issues, but we don’t really know which one of you is the person they’re after…and it sure…”
    “…isn’t you?” Elhali quickly fills in.
    “We’re all in this together Wolmar, are we not? If I recall you made a sound speech not two weeks ago in the river barge. You wanted the adventuring life? well, you got it.” She responds.

    I deem that the last of my BOLD connections is striked out now.
    I’ll use A Heated Argument optional rules from Keeping Contact.
    I’m considering that the two adventures they had together, will give them at least a +1 Attitude Level (perhaps even a +2).
    Heated Argument: 6+1=7: Officially, there’re no grudges. In practice: 5: Sometimes, theory and practice go hand in hand, and this’s one of those times! There are no further consequences.

    Wolmar nods. “I am a man of my word. We’re in this together. Let’s go to the North Gate and stop by the Coaching House on the way.”

    Q: Do they want to go towards Ubersreik? (vs say Altdorf?)
    A: Strong Yes to Ubersreik
    Q: Have they seen a job poster already?
    A: No. It’s just that it’s a big city which will have plenty of opportunities.

    Let’s see if they can avoid the city watch and reach the coaching house.
    Elhali: Urban Survival (Per-5): 7/(12): Success

    Following Elhali, they quickly reach the coaching house without needing to ask passersby and draw attention to themselves.
    A big sign outside reads “Ratchett Lines”, and they enter.

    Q: Are there any coaches at the ready inside?
    A: Yes, apparently

    I’ll use both UNE and Scene Unfolding Machine to establish some information on the NPC.
    UNE: uncouth entertainer
    UNE: conversation mood: helpful
    UNE: bearing: scheming means
    UNE: focus: community
    SUM: Attitude: they seem to… Act doubtful, questioning, distrusting, disagreeing
    SUM: Outside Impression: they appear to… Be important, waiting for you, tell you something
    SUM: Filler talks: they talk about… Dreams, aspirations, distant or impossible goal

    A man sits behind a desk, he looks up to the party entering. His clothes are dirty, and his hands and nails covered in dirt. He smiles, and reveals a mouth with several bad teeth.
    He immediately stands up. “How may I help you my lords?”
    Wolmar looks around, he’s never been called a lord before.
    “Ah yes, every potential customer is a lord to me. That’s what I say!” he adds. “Though some people think I’m joking. Perhaps I was never a good jokester. The rest of the coachmen don’t appreciate it.” He sighs. “So what is your destination? do you all travel together? and oh my, I see you’re downright wet to the bone. You’ll surely catch a cold if you travel like this. In a hurry are we?”

    There are some controversies between UNE and SUM, as there is some overlap, but I think I made it work. Time to use Let’s Talk.

    Wolmar’s Hand: Charming, Worried, Sad
    He’ll try to discern the actual mood of the NPC: Per: 14/13: Failure
    So, without knowning, he’ll use the Charming card
    NPC’s Reaction is: Somewhat positive
    The actual mood is: Angry, which makes the reaction Somewhat negative, so he is Questioning, hah, doubling down on the initial approach

    Wolmar laughs. “I find your remarks to the point. Lords and Ladies. It’s nice to be addressed as such. You have a coach ready? We are on our way north to Ubersreik, or Stimmigen or Dunkelburg if you don’t make the trip there.”
    “You still haven’t answered my question. What’s the hurry. The morning coaches have all left. You don’t want the night to catch you outside of a coaching inn. Brigands and others abound. And we have to be careful as to whom we trust.” The coach man snaps.

    Wolmar will use Worried.
    NPC’s Reaction is: Somewhat positive
    The actual mood is: Angry, which makes the reaction Somewhat negative, so he is Worried

    “We were to get the morning coach, but we were delayed by urgent matters in the city, and on our way here, a stumble and fall into a canal. If you can also give us a towel to wipe, it would be best, but we would like to hire the coach and be on our way. We’ve lost much of the day as you said already.” Wolmar tries to lean to his good side.
    “It’s dangerous to travel so late. It will be night already in a few hours. I can’t tell if we can take you.” He responds.

    Wolmar will finally use Sad
    NPC’s Reaction is: Negative, he is Neutral

    “It’s not what we had hoped to hear. We may have to do the journey on foot in this weather if you can’t take us.” Wolmar replies.
    “Then that’s your call. This doesn’t concern me.” The man replies.

    So now I’ll roll for Diplomacy with a -2 penalty due to the bad way the dialogue went.
    Wolmar has Voice and Charisma 1 which give him a +3 bonus on reaction rolls and +2 on Diplomacy.
    Wolmar: Diplomacy: 12/15: Success
    Reaction Rolls: 13,14: Good.
    Q: Does the coach go to Ubersreik?
    A: Don’t know, can’t tell.

    “Look, we’ll pay the required amount for a coach for four passengers. We have good coin, and we’ll pay upfront. Will you let customers go spend their silver elsewhere?” Wolmar asks.
    The man thinks it over for a few seconds. “Alright. 10 pennies for each of you.”
    They all pay up. The man counts up the pennies. “Alright, Frederich and Hugo will be your drivers.” He turns to them. “Frederich, Hugo, get the coach ready to go.”
    They dry their clothing as good as possible and remove any water from their boots, and once the coach is ready, they get onboard, and soon they begin.
    They make themselves comfortable inside, but Wolmar feels like something wasn’t defined.
    “Will they take us all the way to Ubersreik?” Abenzio asks, and Wolmar realizes what he failed to establish.

    Q: Does the coach leave Nuln without any incident? (Likely)
    A: Yes, absolutely

    So, I’ve looked at various maps of the empire that are abundant in the internet, and distances are different, road routes are different, even the locations of settlements differ sometimes. At first I was confused and was wondering on how to deal with this, but then I realized that it’s just perfect. This variance works excellent for solo roleplaying as it gives me the freedom to apply Oracle results as they fit.

    Q: Do they reach Segeldorf?
    A: No, definitely not.
    This calls for a Random Prompt.
    Random Prompt: Put Characters in a Situation: Find something of value.
    Focus: Plan/Blackmail.

    The definitely not, leads the scene. Something stops them completely from reaching Segeldorf, and they’ll have to resolve it before progressing further.
    During this scene, they will find a plan or blackmail material.
    But what could make a coach stop. Perhaps someone in need of help?

    Q: Is there someone in need of help?
    A: Yes, but there’s danger that could also affect the party.

    I’ll take the adventure hook from the Ubersreik starter set. It’s a courier on the way to Ubersreik who broke their leg.

    It’s only been a few hours on the road, when suddely the coach stops. The horses neigh, and the adventurers almost fall on top of each other due to the sudden halt.
    “Get out of the way!” they hear Frederich yell.

    Let’s roll for the weather first: remains the same.

    Each of them grabs their hand weapons, and they pull the curtains of the coach to look outside.

    Time to put the Terrain Randomizer to use.

    I’ll generate a Small Area.
    It has: 3 Zones: a small, a medium an a large zone.

    There’s a field which narrows down in the middle, with woods on the left side and a pond on the right side. The road passes right in the narrow passage, and with the constant heavy rain the pond has overflown, so there’s only room for the one coach with the two horses to get through.
    Blocking this narrow strip of road is a man, lying in the middle of the road, covered in mud.
    “What happened? why did we stop?” Wolmar yells.
    “There’s this man in the way. He refuses to move. He keeps yelling to help him” Hugo answers.

    Abenzio and Wolmar will step down and get to the man.
    This could be an honest accident, but it could also be an ambush. Also something could have caused the accident, something could have startled the horses. They’re too close to Nuln though, for anything mightily dangerous, but… who knows.

    Wolmar: Perception: 10/13: Success.
    Q: Does Wolmar notice anything dangerous around?
    A: No, definitely not.
    How did this man break his leg?
    A: Unrelated, just coincidence

    The two men approach the man.
    “Thank Sigmar! Help me please. I lost control of my horse, and it kicked me down. My leg is broken.” The man says, gritting his teeth in pain.

    Wolmar and Abenzio support him to the coach.

    Q: Are there any things on the ground where he fell?
    A: Yes, but, they’re spread all over the mud.

    “My, my belongings. They’re important, can you get them?” He pleads on the way.
    Elhali gets off the coach and starts gathering the things.
    “He rides, he pays.” Frederich says as they bring the stranger towards the coach.

    Elhali: Perception: 9/(17-2): Success

    Elhali picks up the various items spread all over the mud, missing nothing.

    According to PUM, I need to roll once more for a Random Prompt because PCs get out of comfort to face the unknown.
    Before that I need to resolve a few more things.

    Q: Is the man soaked wet?
    A: It depends (on skill): I roll for his survival: 7/10: Success. He isn’t soaked wet, but not due to the rain, rather than because he managed to tuck himself in his cloak properly despite his condition.
    Q: Can he be moved?
    A: Yes, apparently. As long as he doesn’t step on the foot, he can withstand the pain and enter the coach.

    So to recap, Elhali is picking up the belongings, Wolmar and Abenzio are bringing the man back to the coach, while Greta counts 10d to pay the coachman.

    Random Prompt: Meet or learn about someone new.
    Either of those could fit.
    Meet or Learn?: Learn.
    So, it’s the adventure hook as described in the starter set. However, I’ll roll for a Modified Proposal: Add hope or some relief.

    They put the man inside the coach, while Greta pays the fare. They remove his cloak first so that he doesn’t soak the interior of the coach.
    “Sigmar bless you strangers.” The man says. “My name is Edgar Muller. I am a messenger, delivering the post to Ubersreik’s Bridge House Inn . However I also have an important letter from Isabella Dahmbach, a lawyer from Nuln. My company will pay you at least two shillings for the delivery of my mail. Double that if you get me safely to the nearest city as well.”


    Session Summary

    Hitting an abrupt pause here.
    I’m overwhelmed to the point of losing fun in this solo campaign, and I pinpointed this to the overabundance of Old World lore and information.
    Seriously, if you start going down the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay rabbit hole, you’ll end up the other side of the Atlantic.
    There’s so much information available both online and in official and unofficial supplements, websites, modules, that I spent more time reading it (which I enjoyed!) than actually solo roleplaying.
    The thing is that this is really dense, and with retcons and contradicting information, it just simply doesn’t work for me as solo.
    All the Solo tools I’ve used in these games are absolutely fantastic, but I find that I limit their usefulness trying to make them fit in a well defined world.
    This has been a fantastic learning experience for me, as I wanted to also solo in Harnworld, but now I fear that I might face the same problem.
    I had a similar issue when running the Trollshaws campaign and was reading online about the various details of Middle Earth.

    Instead of making the world mine, I resorted to reading about existing information, and that’s because I want to learn more about the Old World, as Warhammer is one of my favourite settings back from when I played the Fantasy Battles 4th edition.

    The way I approached it is like a GM doing research to create their adventure. But you can’t do that and play the game at the same time. It’s just exhausting, and takes away all the fun. At least for my game style it doesn’t work. I like to run my solo adventures as a player first, and GM second. But you can’t have it both ways. Can’t be a player learning the ropes of the world and at the same time GMing it freely.
    And particularly for Warhammer Old World the written approach for the supplements focuses a lot on the details, which helps really to flesh out the world, but leaves little creative freedom.

    As soon as I stepped a bit outside the limited framework of the adventure module I hit this wall of immense information. Therefore I will stop this here, as I need to realign on what kind of adventures I want to play.

    But before I do that, I’ll review the tools I used.

    The Plot Unfolding Machine and Scene Unfolding Machine have a lot of potential. I can see that they need to have free reigns and allow repeat rolls to give immediate portents to generate usable content. Looking forward to trying them out in a different premise.
    Dungeon Fantasy GURPS is just great. The Profession templates are a bit too strong at 250 points, but I think they’ll do just fine for a single PC accompanied by henchmen. Looking forward to trying it out further as well.
    BOLD, UNE, Let’s Talk and Keeping Contact, I’ve well established in my previous games, and will continue to use them in the future.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 6:08 pm on January 2, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Warhammer   

    Savage Warhammer S02E01 

    Having finished the first season, in The Oldenhaller Contract, I’m preparing, to include updates to my homebrew rules, solo tools and conversions, according to lessons learned and new things I want to try. I’ll be also detailing downtime for the characters, and set the scene for the upcoming adventures.


    For Setting Rules I will be using the following, and updating the homebrew rules.

    • Hard Choices: As is
    • Dynamic Backlash: Replaced by Savage Warhammer Magic rules
    • Dynamic Melee Combat: Not to be used at all.
    • Grittier Damage: Revised for extra deadliness.
    • Henchmen and Right Hands: According to Beasts and Barbarians
    • Fate Bennies: Not to be used, since Grittier damage is much more dangerous.

    Grittier Damage Revised

    I spent way too much time here, because I didn’t like how Gritty Damage worked. I want something that is relevant to the weapon used, the injury level, and the location. So after, converting the entire WFRP1e Advanced Critical Effects, I scratched it off, and took what I learned, inspired from other sources as well, and came up with the following:

    1 Wound: Minor Injury, Effects are Temporary, last until the character makes a successful Vigor Roll to recover. This is a free action at the start of their action round.
    2 Wounds: Major Injury, Effects are Treatable, last until the injury is healed.
    3 Wounds: Severe Injury, Effects are Permanent, last forever unless cured by unnatural means.
    4 Wounds+: Grevious Injury. Instant death.

    Altered Injury Table

    as per SWADE Raw, but in addition/modified

    • Arm: Any item held is dropped.
    • Leg: Must make a successful Agility roll or fall prone.
    • Torso: Wound Penalty applies until healed.
    • Head: Stunned.
      • 1-2 Hideous Scar: Your hero now has the Ugly (Minor) Hindrance, or Major if already Ugly.
      • 3 Deafened: An ear is damaged. Gain the Hard of Hearing (Minor) Hindrance or Major if already Deafened.

    Additional Injury Effects Injury by Weapon Type

    • Sharp Hand Weapons: Major Injuries cause Bleeding, Severe Injuries cause Impale
    • Blunt Hand Weapons: Major Injuries cause Breaking, Severe Injuries cause Bleeding
    • Teeth and Claws: Major Injuries cause Bleeding, Severe Injuries cause Breaking
    • Arrows and Bolts: Major Injuries cause Impale, Severe Injuries cause Bleeding
    • Firearms: Major Injuries cause Impale, Severe Injuries cause Bleeding
    • Falling and Crushing (TBD)
    • Fire and Energy (TBD)
    • Bleeding: make a Vigor roll each round or suffer an additional Wound. A raise stabilizes the injury and bleeding stops.
    • Breaking: Treatable effects healed Naturally, become Permanent if there was a Failure in the Vigor roll.
    • Impale: The weapon is lodged into the enemy, and requires a Strength roll to remove. If removed without a successful Healing treatment roll, then suffer an additional Wound and Bleeding.
      The three effects are not equally balanced gamewise, but I can’t think of something to offset the balance at the moment.

    I was also pondering the following options:

    • Not use the Savage Worlds Wound Track at all – instead, characters perish according to the Critical Effects
    • Use Savage Worlds Wound Track, in addition to Critical Effects, but no Wound Penalties
    • Use Savage Worlds Wound Track, in addition to Critical Effects and Wound Penalties

    I decided to go with the second option, as I feel like it’s the best of both worlds. It will cause Extras to stop fighting at the first Wound, but it won’t combine Critical Effects and Wound Penalties into an impossible Death Spiral. I gave an exception to this by adding the Wound Penalty to any Torso (Guts) hits.
    This might give some different results, as some Critical Effects which relate to Wounds don’t have any lingering impact, but the Wound Track still will offset them if it goes down.
    Shaken condition still applies normally.

    I will be using the WFRP1e critical tables to help me with narrative descriptions if needed.


    Solo Engines

    The Oldenhaller Contract doesn’t connect directly to the other Prewritten Adventure Modules, so I kind of have to see what my party will do next. I do want them to play in prewritten modules, but I don’t want to use narrative freedom and place them there directly. I want the game to have a story to tell me, and have my protagonists partake in it.
    Unfortunately I can’t think of any reason to have my party leave Nuln at the moment. They just arrived here in search of adventure; of course if the adventure takes them elsewhere that’s another discussion. The solo engines I’ve been meaning to try a long time now, are the ones by Jeansen Vaars, GUM, PUM and SUM.

    Before putting them to the test, I want to see what happened with my protagonists in the meantime. For Downtimes, I will try to use BOLD Waylays.

    Abenzio: (fledgling power play overcome by faction intervention)
    this sounds straightforward and connected to the previous adventure

    With one gang eliminated, and another headless, there’s a power vacuum in the criminal underworld of Nuln. A new gang is in play, and while in an alleyway alone, Abenzio’s Tilean heritage makes him a target, mistaken for a Valantina gangster. Before having the chance to put his steel to the test, the Nuln City Watch has appeared and the thugs become scarce.

    Elhali: (apparent straying/lost overcome by avoidance)

    Elhali comes upon a scene of a young teen asking for directions to get her home. She begs for passersby to help her. Her streetwise nature tells her that there could be an ambush in the works. Despite her instincts proving her wrong with Grolsh van Eyke, she hasn’t change her manners. One can take the villager out of the village, but not the village out of the villager. She avoids the stray altogether, and heads back to The Reaver’s Return.

    Greta: (forbidden hamlet overcome by counteraction)
    is this about her past? forbidden hamlet being her homeplace? what is the counteraction?

    Greta is in Reiksplatz when she stumbles upon one of her husband’s cousins, Fritz, a merchant who travels a lot. The man recognizes her, and makes some remarks about how interested her husband will be to know of her whereabouts. Greta is taken aback at first, but then she notices that Fritz is accompanied by a woman of ill repute. She threatens him with sharing his interesting news with his family should he make any revelations. Taken aback from Greta’s newly founded boldness, Fritz mumbles something about him never wanting to cause any ruckus, and disappears quickly into the crowd.

    Wolmar: (foreign tavern overcome by favored ability)
    he wants to enter a new tavern but he can’t, they won’t let him in, but he talks his way in?

    Wolmar wants to learn about any ongoing news and rumours, and heads for the nearest tavern, “The Bull”. As he does so, he is stopped by the doorman, telling him that this establishment is not for men of his status. Wolmar, empowered by his recent adventures, displays the hilt of his short sword, replying that there’s always more than meets the eye, he wants no trouble, but he can handle himself. The doorman is convinced that he misjudged Wolmar, and allows him in.

    There are more tools for Downtimes, some including SWADE‘s own interludes. I really like BOLD waylays, as they provide enough traction to even create threads and adventure hooks. From the above examples I have, a new gang, a man from Greta’s past, Elhali being conflicted about her own convictions of trust, and Wolmar being in a position to find new adventuring opportunities.

    With the characters having earned a good amount of money, I want to equip them better.

    Wolmar will purchase a leather jack and a cap for 15 gc.
    Abenzio will purchase a pair of plate bracers for 60 gc.
    Greta will purchase heavy robes and trade tools (lab supplies) for 60 gc.
    Elhali will purchase heavy leather leggings and a bow for 20 gc.

    Note: I went down the rabbit hole of Old World prices, and it's a chaos, changed a lot between editions. It seems like the 1st edition WFRP had the gold crown as standard similar to D&D gold piece, and each version thereafter subsequently mitigated that to more realistic prices. So, I will use the Wealth System from SWADE. They each have a d6 in Wealth normally. The recent reward raised it to Wealth d8 for the upcoming month or so. This should save me the bookkeeping trouble for a while.

    I’m considering also that Greta spent some time preparing two Stun and two Healing potions (10 PP total). On purpose I will be making the Alchemy roll when the potion is used, as the meta knowledge of the success of the potion shouldn’t come in place before then.


    The Ritual

    The adventure I will be tackling is The Ritual.
    I went ahead and wrote down all the Plot Nodes.

    …and started the adventure.


    Claw Mark

    Q: Is the scene Modified?
    A: Yes
    Modified Proposal: Add anger or indignation.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    The heroes are walking back from a late night drink at The Bull.
    As they are strolling through a particularly dark and quiet street, a door suddenly bursts open from one of the expensive houses lining the road. A young man, dressed only in his night-clothes, rushes out yelling, “Help! Help us you degenerate lowlifes!”
    As he catches sight of the characters, he turns and races towards them. A large bruise covers one side of his face. As he races over, gasping for air, a dark shape appears, silhouetted in the doorway of the house. The man gasps out one last sentence, “They’ve got my father… He’s worth way more than you… Get him back and you’ll be rewarded…” before an audible twang comes from the doorway, followed by a much closer thud.
    The unfortunate young man collapses into the arms of one of the adventurers, choking and coughing up blood. A crossbow bolt is buried in his back. He is dead.

    I modified the young man to have bourgeois indignant behavior, as that’s the best interpretation I could think of considering the prompt of PUM.

    Q: Are the characters well equipped?
    A: Yes. Anything short of adventuring gear. They have one handed weapons, armor and shields.

    I decide for the party that they will run towards the house.

    The House

    Hallway

    Q: Is the scene Modified?
    A: Yes
    Modified Proposal: Add stress or worry: The PCs hear Klauss’s screams as they enter, while Tavelli goes upstairs as described. If a PC makes a difficult Notice roll, they can discern the direction of the scream.

    Wolmar: Notice: Difficult: (4,2)-2: Failure
    Elhali: Notice: Alertness, Difficult (5,3)+2-2: Success
    Greta: Notice: Difficult: (13,1)-2: Raise
    Abenzio: Notice: Difficult: (1,5)-2: Failure

    The group splits, Abenzio and Wolmar head upstairs towards the thief, while Elhali and Greta head downstairs towards the scream.

    Running inside the wealthy townhouse from the open door, they enter a hallway, opulently furnished with hunting trophies and tapestries which hang from the walls. A plush blue carpet covers the floor. An elaborate staircase in the south-western corner spirals upwards to a balcony that overlooks the hall. A lantern illuminates the hallway and another the balcony.
    A tall man with a wide-brimmed hat and a midnight blue cloak runs up the stairs as the adventurers enter. The scream of a man is heard echoing in the house, which the alert elf, and the big eared alchemist discern coming from the ground floor. Greta grabs the lantern, and follows Elhali who runs towards the scream, while Wolmar yelling “Stop!” to the stranger follows Abenzio who roars in the indiscernible pit fighter speech.

    Round 1

    Wolmar: Agility: (1,1): Critical Failure: He falls down the stairs and receives: 2+1=3 damage. He’s unharmed, but prone.
    Abenzio: Agility: (4,1)+1: Success
    Abenzio runs up the stairs and attacks the man with his fists, hoping to render him unconscious (Nonlethal damage): Fighting: (1,7): Hit: Right Leg: Damage: 24!: His leg is smashed, and he falls unconscious.
    Huh next time I should attempt grappling instead.

    Q: Was the scream heard from the direction of the Dining Room? (Likely)
    A: Yes

    Elhali and Greta run to the Dining room.

    Wolmar heads up the spiral staircase to get to the cloaked figure, who in turn pushes down a decorative wine barrel, tumbling down the stairs. Wolmar’s momentum puts him directly in the course of the barrel, and he’s hit, falling to the base of the stairwell, prone, but unhurt.
    Abenzio deftly avoids the barrel and charges up, his fist, armed with knuckledusters, connecting to the stranger’s right hip. The mass of the arm combined with Abe’s brawling technique send shivers up his foe’s spine. A cracking sound is heard, and if Abe hadn’t held back, the leg would be dangling in two pieces. The pain is excruciating, and the man drops down, unconscious due to shock.
    Elhali and Greta run to the next room from where they heard the faint scream.


    The Dining Room

    Q: Is the scene Modified?
    A: Yes
    Modified Proposal: Add anger or indignation.
    There is already a level of destruction here that cannot be increased or added to. I’ll just keep the scene as is.
    Reading into PUM’s modified proposals, seems like they work best with Scenes rather than locations. Whereas MUNE’s TWENE seems like a better fit for going room by room in a dungeon and seeing if everything is as expected.
    TWENE: Remove Simple Element There are no bodies, but a blood trail is evident. Perhaps the attackers took the corpses for whatever ritual they have in mind.

    Elhali and Greta enter the dining room which is currently a total mess. Two big blood pools are smothered across the floor, with a blood trail leading to another room. The table is upturned and shattered glass lies everywhere. What must have once been an expensive wooden cabinet has been smashed in along the front; the drawers and their contents have been scattered across the room.

    Back to the entrance hall.
    Q: Is there anything to tie up Tavelli?
    A: It depends (on skill)
    I can’t find any skill on my party roster that would help, or any edge, so this means that the answer is No.

    “Come on! Let’s go!” Greta shouts to the men, and Abenzio and Wolmar exchange looks.
    “He’s out, we have to find the rich dude while he’s still alive.” Abenzio tells Wolmar, referring to their unconscious foe. Wolmar nods. “I was hoping to tie him up, but there’s no time.”
    They run after their companions.


    The Kitchen

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes

    The party enters the kitchen, following the blood trail. This large room has a flight of stone stairs leading down into the cellar. Two clubs rest in a puddle of blood, evident to anyone entering the room.

    Q: Do the heroes search the room? (Unlikely)
    A: No

    They quickly go down the stairs into the cellar.


    The Cellar

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes

    The adventurers go down the cellar. This stone flagged room is filled with barrels and casks containing a wide variety of fine wines and ales. A flight of stairs leads up into the kitchen in one corner, whilst in another corner, a flagstone has been removed, revealing the entrance to a tunnel. This tunnel leads into the sewer system, the blood trail goes this way, and the adventurers rush in quickly.


    Into the Sewers

    Q: Is the scene modified?
    A: Yes
    Modified proposal: Bring someone unhelpful/inconvenient
    Rats! Swarms of rats scurrying all around. Considering the party’s last encounter with rats, they won’t like this at all.

    Also I need to give a chance to my party to bring more light with them.
    Q: Do they consider bringing more light into the dark tunnel?
    A: Weak yes, they bring another lantern as spare.

    The rock corridor in which the adventurers are standing is pitch black. Illuminated only by the dim light of one of the lanternts. The corridor is quite low (about 6’ high), so Abenzio has to duck to avoid hitting his head against the ceiling. He’s not so happy of this.
    The floor is covered with a shallow layer of mud, and footprints clearly mark the path taken by the assailers.

    The rats will make it difficult to discern the tracks at -2 penalty.
    Wolmar: (3,4)-2: Failure.
    Wolmar can’t tell how many the abductors were, or the abductees.

    Rats scurry all the way around, and although the footprints are clear, Wolmar cannot tell to how many people they belong.
    The corridor and branching passages are rather frightening, as the adventurers hear strange, far off noises, and grunts echoing in them. The walls glisten with moisture – a greenish slime being evident in some places – and the air is distinctly cool. There’s an atmosphere of foreboding here.

    Q: Does anyone from the party propose to branch off the passages? (Unlikely)
    A: No, definitely not

    The tracks eventually lead to a dead end: a wall of moist, smooth stonework.

    Elhali: Notice: (9,5): Raise

    Elhali notices a marked stone on the smooth wall. She pushes it without second thought, and this causes the wall to swing outwards, providing an entrance to the sewers.


    Entrance to the sewers

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes

    The sewers, like the corridor leading in to them, are in pitch darkness. They are roughly 10 feet wide, including narrow stone walkways, 2 ½ feet wide to each side of the effluent channel, which is 5 feet deep, and half filled with slow flowing muck.
    The walkways are only wide enough to permit movement in single file, and, as they are also wet and slippery.
    The effluent, not surprisingly, emits a terrible stench.

    An unpleasant and unsettling atmosphere pervades the sewer systems, and all characters without a previous career which would inure them to such an environment (such as Rat Catcher or Sewer Jack), make Spirit Rolls (except those related to casting or resisting Magic) at a Difficult (-2) modifier.

    The walls are made of dull grey stone and glisten with moisture (although this time there is no slime).

    Wolmar: Survival (Tracking): (9,3): Raise
    Encounter roll: 62: No Encounter

    As the party enters the sewers, they see the clear footprint trail disappear.
    “Now what?” Elhali shrugs.
    “Allow me,” Wolmar steps forward, and can see the vague trail of blood drops, and mud footprints in the walkways. “Follow me” he points out and leads the way.


    Entrance to the Skaven Den

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes, and.

    As the trail ends to another wall, the adventurers now are alert. Searching the wall, they find the secret door, and open it. It leads to a corridor, which is inclined upwards at a steep angle.

    Let’s see if Wolmar notices the trip wire.
    Wolmar: Notice (1,2): Failure.
    Let’s see if he trips it.
    Wolmar: Agility (2,2): Failure
    Q: Can they hear the bell ringing?
    A: Yes, for now
    Elhali: Notice: (2,10)+2: Raisex2

    A bell rings in the distance, and a small glass globe drops to the floor, releasing a yellowish gas which floods the area.

    Wolmar: Vigor: (1,3)-2: Failure: He falls unconscious for 7 minutes.

    Wolmar drops unconscious under the influence of the gas.
    “Get him!” Elhali tells Abenzio. “We, tripped an alarm.”
    She walks backs to step away from the gas.

    The poison gas will expand for 5 rounds.
    Abenzio enters the gas to try to grab Wolmar.
    Abenzio: Vigor: (3,11)-2: Raise: He holds his breath and won’t have to roll in the next round.
    Wolmar plus gear is at ~196 lbs. Abenzio has 59 lbs of gear, and can carry a maximum of 320 lbs, so he picks Wolmar up, and starts walking at the minimum pace of 2 yards. The gas will keep expanding each round so he’ll be in the radius constantly until it dissipates, and will have to make all the Vigor rolls…

    2nd Round: Abenzio holds his breath

    3rd Round: Abenzio: Vigor: (2,4)-2: Failure: Benny: (1,4)-2: Failure: Benny: (1,6)-2: Success

    4th Round: Abenzio: Vigor: (5,2)-2: Failure: Benny: (6,2)-2: Success

    5th Round: Abenzio: Vigor: (2,8)-2: Success!
    The poison dissipates
    Random Encounter: 57: No Random Encounter

    Abenzio takes a deep breath and enters the yellowish gas cloud. He kneels down, grabs the knocked out herdsman, and puts him over his shoulders, steps up at once, and with slow steps he starts walking back to where Elhali and Greta have run.
    The poisonous gas cloud spreads as he walks away, and he barely makes it out in time, before he manages to take a deep breath, and the gas cloud dissipates.
    Mere moments pass, as Abenzio places Wolmar gently down, and Greta checks his health, when the torchlight and footsteps of men approaching, warns them of the imminent danger.
    Abenzio arms his flail and shield and with Elhali by his side, they turn to face the 7 newcomers, coming from round the corner.

    Round 1

    Abenzio drew a Joker! Thankfully, he earned back one benny, as spent all while staying awake in the gas cloud.
    Abenzio vs Cultist: Fighting: (3,1)+2/5: Hit: Torso: Damage: 6/6: Shaken
    Greta tries to wake up Wolmar: Healing: (3,2): Failure
    Cultist: Spirit: 1: Failure: Remains shaken
    Cultist: Attacks Abenzio: Fighting: 3/: Miss
    Elhali attacks Cultist: Fighting: (3,1)/5: Miss
    The rest of the cultists gang up behind.

    Round 2

    Abenzio vs Cultist: Fighting: (1,4)/5: Miss
    Cultist: Spirit: 5: No longer Shaken: vs Abenzio: Fighting: 4/8: Miss
    Elhali vs Cultist: Fighting: (1,5)/5: Hit: 12: Head: Damage: 6/5: Shaken: The cultist ducks as her sword whistles past at head-height, cutting a piece of the cloak’s hood.
    Greta tries to wake up Wolmar: Healing: (3,1): Failure
    Cultist vs Elhali: 2/4: Miss

    Round 3

    Q: Do the cultists change tactics?
    A: No, but, they press on

    Abenzio vs Cultist: Fighting: (1,2)/5: Miss
    Cultist vs Elhali: 1/4: Miss
    Greta tries to wake up Wolmar: Healing: (3,2): Failure
    Cultist vs Abenzio: 4/8: Miss
    Elhali vs Cultist: Fighting: (2,2)/5: Miss

    Round 4

    Cultist vs Abenzio: 5/8: Miss
    Abenzio vs Cultist: Fighting: (1,4)/5: Miss
    Greta tries to wake up Wolmar: Healing: (3,4): Success!
    Cultist vs Elhali: 3/4: Miss

    Greta tries to wake up Wolmar: Healing: (3,2): Failure
    Cultist vs Abenzio: 4/8: Miss
    Greta tries to wake up Wolmar: Healing: (3,4): Success!
    Elhali vs Cultist: Fighting: (6,5)/5: Hit: Right Leg: Damage: 6/5: A glancing blow to the calf.

    Round 5

    Q: Do the cultists change tactics?
    A: It depends (on skill): so, no

    Abenzio vs Cultist: Fighting: (1,4)/5: Miss
    Wolmar, wakes up and switches places with Elhali: vs Cultist: (3,2)/5: Miss
    Cultist vs Abenzio: 8/8: Hit: Torso: Damage: 8/11: Unharmed
    Cultist: Spirit: 2/4: Failure: Remains Shaken

    Round 6

    Cultist vs Abenzio: 7/8: Miss
    Cultist: Spirit: 2/4: Failure: Remains Shaken
    Abenzio vs Cultist: Fighting: (11,4)/5: Raise: Right Arm: Damage: 10/6: 1 Wound (Minor): The blow smashes into the back of the cultist’s hand. Cultist suffers the One Arm Hindrance until recovery, drops his club and is Incapacitated.
    Wolmar vs Cultist: (8,4)/5: Hit: Left Arm: Damage: 9/6: Shaken -> 1 Wound: The blow opens a small cut on the cultist’s forearm. Cultist is hit again and incapacitated.

    Round 7

    Q: Do the cultists change tactics?
    A: Apparently, Not

    Cultist steps forward and attacks Wolmar: 10/5: Hit: Left Leg: 6/5: Shaken
    Wolmar: Spirit: (4,1): Success: No longer shaken: Fighting vs Cultist: (4,1)/5: Miss
    Cultist steps forward and attacks Abenzio: 5/8: Miss
    Abenzio vs Cultist: (6,2)/5: Hit: Right Leg: 3/5: Unharmed

    Round 8

    Cultist attacks Wolmar: 5/5: Hit: Left Leg: 11/5: Soak: (3,3): Fail: Reroll: (11,1): Raise: Soaked all damage (spent 2 bennies)
    Abenzio vs Cultist: (3,2)/5: Miss
    Cultist vs Abenzio: 4/8: Miss
    Wolmar vs Cultist: (10,2)/5: Raise: Torso: Damage: 7/6: Shaken: The blow makes a shallow cut in the cultists’s groin.

    Round 9

    Cultist vs Abenzio: 1/8: Miss
    Abenzio vs Cultist: (9,1)/5: Raise: Left Leg: Damage: 15/5: 2 Wounds (Major): The blow breaks the cultist’s femur. Cultist suffers the Slow Hindrance, falls incapacitated and prone and is Bleeding.
    Cultist: Spirit: 2/4: Failure: Remains Shaken
    Cultist moves and attacks Abenzio: 3/8: Miss
    Wolmar vs Cultist: (5,3)/5: Hit: Right Leg: Damage: 8/5: Shaken -> Wound: Cultist is hit again and incapacitated. The blow causes a flesh wound to the cultist’s calf.
    Cultist moves and attacks Wolmar: 3/5: Miss

    Round 10

    Q: Do the cultists change tactics? (Likely)
    A: Yes, for now: they will attempt to flee

    Abenzio vs Cultist: (9,4)+2/5: Raise: Left Leg: Damage: 17/5: 3 Wounds (Severe): The blow smashes the cultist’s knee. Cultist suffers the Slow Hindrance, falls incapacitated and prone and has a Broken and Bleeding leg.
    Wolmar vs Cultist: (15,3)/5: Raise: Left Arm: Damage: 7/5: Shaken: The blow skins the cultist’s knuckles.
    Cultist turns and runs to raise the alarm
    Cultist: Spirit: 2/4: Failure: Remains Shaken

    Round 11

    Elhali runs past Abe and Wolmar to go after the cultist: there’s some distance
    Wolmar runs past and draws his hand axe and throws it to the cultist: (11,1)-2/4: Raise: Torso: Damage: 11/6: 1 Wound (Minor): Incapacitated: The blow cuts the cultist deeply across the ribs
    Greta moves to attack the shaken Cultist: (6,2)/5: Hit: Right Leg: Damage: 5/5: Shaken -> 1 Wound: Cultist is incapacitated

    The heroes are victorious.

    Abenzio and Elhali hold the corridor against the gang of cultists who try to charge at them.
    They hold valiantly, their lines unwavering, fighting one-on-one the cultists. Greta tries to wake Wolmar up, first with some slaps, then lifting his feet off the ground, but it doesn’t seem to work. Then she remembers, and brings some salts right under Wolmar’s nose, who opens his eyes as if he was kicked to the unmentionables. The rush is imminent, and drawing his sword, he takes the place of the elf, who starts to feel pressured by the wave of enemies.
    Abenzio, now smiles with Wolmar by his side, reminiscing the last time the two of them fought side by side, the two men start making short work of their foes.
    One by one, the fanatics are brought down, and just when their fanaticism seems to betray them, a cultist from the far end turns tail and runs. Wolmar runs after him, abandoning his shaken foe. He can’t catch up with the coward, but aims his hand axe and throws it. The axe finds his foe in the back, and with a thud he’s down.
    Within a minute of fierce combat, seven foes have been vanquished, and the adventurers managed to stop them from raising the alarm. Catching their breath, they now have to decide what to do next.

    It’s curious now to see what the status of the extra who were incapacitated during the fight is.
    5 of them have survived the combat.

    Q: Is there any rope available?
    A: It depends (on skill), so no

    My characters are adventurers in a gritty grim world, but they’re not murderers. They take their defeated oppponents weapons, and tell them to leave. Abenzio will also try to intimidate them about what will happen should they return. He also wants to find out where did they take the rich man.
    I’ll give a +4 bonus as the adventurers are victorious.

    Abenzio: Intimidate: (3,2)+4 vs Cultist Spirit: (3,1,7,8,5)
    The enemies flee, but there’s a chance that a couple of them might return later. Due to the layout they can’t get past the heroes to raise the alarm, but they might attack them should the heroes fail and try to flee the sewers.
    As to the interrogation, to be fair, I’ll randomly have the party choose one of the surviving cultists.
    It will be the: 1st of the surviving cultists, who failed their Spirit vs Intimidation roll (3).

    Rolling on PUM’s Interaction Oracle.
    Q: Do they know where they took the merchant?
    A: Yes, of course.
    Rolling on SUM’s Truth or Dare.
    it sounds like…
    there is no reason for them to be lying; fully honest
    So, I’ll go with the knowledge we have right now from the prewritten module, but there’s always the off chance that the later scene (if the PCs make it to there) will be modified
    The cultist tells them that they got the merchant further inside to prepare for the ritual, but he remains adamant that the adventurers will never make it there in time.
    Q: Does he reveal information about the holding cells?
    A: Yes, but be careful.
    Yes, he tells them that right now the cells are empty, apart from the jailer.

    Taking a closer look at their defeated enemies, it seems that two of them will not breathe again the stale air of the sewers, but a handful are still alive, beaten, bruised, but alive.
    Abenzio grabs one by the throat and gestures for the rest to flee, without weapons, from the exit of the sewers.
    “You’ll either join your living friends, or your dead friends.” He tells the man he holds. “It all depends on what you’ll tell me. Do you understand?”
    The man nods, scared.
    “The rich merchant. Where did you take him?” Abenzio asks.
    “To, to the main corridor, as you head forward, keep left. You can’t miss it. He’s headed for the sacrifice. Don’t waste any time going to the cells. Through the heavy doors. They’re all empty.” He gasps.
    Abenzio looks closely. Grunts, and throws him back, releasing his grip, and letting him flee.


    Cultist’s Common Room and Guard Chamber

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: No, and: TWENE: Decrease Major Element: Illumination is normally provided by four tourches. But there is only one torch as the cultists took the rest when attacking the party.

    There are a couple of tables and some chairs in the north-eastern area of the room, two sets of bone dice, and a pack of cards lying on the tables. Illumination is provided by a single torch mounted on the wall.

    The party takes the torch.

    It makes sense for the party to look around, so what they see is a deep corridor heading north, a small corridor to a room to the east, and a sturdy oak door to the south.
    Wolmar will go to the east, Elhali will attempt to listen to any noise from the door, while Abenzio will stand guard for anyone coming from the north.

    Elhali: Notice: (7,2)+2: Raise.
    Q: Is there any sound coming from the room (Unlikely)
    A: No, definitely not.

    Armoury and Store Room

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes, but.

    This small cave serves as a makeshift armoury. It contains five swords, six daggers, three hand axes, two flasks of oil, two tinderboxes, and eleven torches. The weapons are all arranged in wooden weapon racks set against the walls, and the torches, oil, and tinderboxes are stacked neatly in another corner.

    Wolmar tells Greta to come give a hand. They take the flasks of oil, tinderboxes and torches.

    Corridor and Cells

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes.

    Elhali opens the door and sees a dismal corridor with nine cells, each, with a small barred window in them.

    Considering the information gathered previously from interrogating the cultists, the party won’t investigate the cells further, and instead will move North.

    “I can’t hear or see anything else, here.” Elhali reports, as Wolmar and Greta bring supplies. “I guess the man was telling the truth. Perhaps we should hurry.”
    The rest of the adventuring party agrees, and carefully, they tread onwards.


    Junction

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes

    The north running passageway from the guard room splits into two at this point. Standing at the junction, in the positions indicated on the map, are two brown furred Skaven sentries.

    Since it’s the first time my adventurers meet Skaven, they must roll for insanity.

    Abenzio: Spirit: (1,4): Success
    Elhali: Spirit: (1,4): Success
    Greta: Spirit: (10,3): Raise
    Wolmar: Spirit: (4,4)+2: Success

    For a brief moment, the adventurers are startled as they see what seem to be creatures that are a mix of men and rats. Ratmen standing on two legs, wearing clothes and wielding weapons. Greta recalls having read an excerpt in the past about Skaven, but she thought it was a fairytale, until now.
    They all get a good grip of themselves, and remain in composure when one of the ratmen turns to them and in broken old world speech asks them what do they want.
    Elhali mouths “Follow my lead” to her companions, and steps forward.
    “We are to return the prisoner to his cell. Interrogation.” She tries to be as convincing as possible.

    Elhali: Persuasion: (9,9): Raise

    The ratmen look at each other. “Skretth didn’t tell us anything.”
    “Skretth?” Elhali responds quickly. “He’s the one that sent for us. Do you want me to explain to him that you’re the reason we’re delayed? See the big guy behind me? he’s the one that will knock the information out of the prisoner’s mouth”.

    Q: Do the Skaven allow all of them through? (Likely)
    A: Yes, and hurry up

    She plays her hand just right. She usually isn’t much of a talker, but for once, she isn’t met with the prejudice of humans against her heritage, and has some newfound confidence.
    The ratmen step aside. “Go. Just so you know. Skretth doesn’t want the ritual delayed. It will be your stinky hide then.” says the guard and laughs, his incisors revealed as the flaps of his mouth move.


    End of the Tunnel

    Q: Is the room as expected?
    A: Yes, but.

    The tunnel ends at this point, dropping away to the sewer some 7 yards below. A rope bridge spans the chasm, ending in another tunnel mouth which leads away into the darkness. A rough staircase has been carved into the rock on the southern side of the gap.

    Encounter roll: 98: No encounter


    The Sacrificial Chamber

    Q: Is the room as expected? (Unlikely)
    A: No, and. TWENE: Wild Negative.
    I’ll use the Random prompt from Prepless PUM.
    Lay out a skill challenge: Have to resist or withstand.

    So it seems that Skretth has been successful at creating warpstone from his victims (yes, I know the module states otherwise, and that it’s not possible, but the Oracle has decided), and is using the warpstone as catalyst to extract more.
    Exposing themselves to warpstone is dangerous, and perhaps Klauss (the prisoner) has mutated already.

    This huge natural cavern is dominated by a carving of the Horned Rat on the northern wall. At the north end of the cavern is a bloodstained granite block with an iron ring set into it The south end is bare, except for two pillars supporting the entrance to the tunnel. A torch in a wall bracket provide dim illumination.
    A prisoner is bound to the block by a piece of rope tied around his wrists at one end, and to the ring at the other. He is dressed only in a white, torn, bloodstained robe and seems too exhausted to cry for help. He is unguarded.
    Above him, set in the stone, is a blackish crystal emanating a greenish glow.

    Q: Has Klauss mutated already? (Likely)
    A: It depends (on skill)
    I’ll give him a Vigor roll to resist: 1: Failure
    Mutation: 96: Odd number of eyes: 2: three eyes.

    Seeing a mutation causes Fear. Let’s see how the party reacts.
    Abenzio: Spirit: (4,4): Success
    Elhali: Spirit: (1,5): Success
    Greta: Spirit: (9,3): Raise
    Wolmar: Spirit: (6,4)+2: Raise

    Let’s see if Greta knows anything about the warpstone.
    Greta: Science: (2,3): Failure

    Q: Does any character want to get the warpstone?
    A: Weak yes, only one of them, and the other’s won’t help
    It’s going to be: Greta
    Greta wants to remove the warpstone out of its slot: Strength: (6,10): Raise
    She successfully removes the warpstone.
    Q: Does anyone try to stop her?
    A: Yes, for now.
    Abenzio will attempt to stop her.

    As the adventurers close in, they notice…the vague outline of a third, shut eye on the prisoner’s forehead. They look at each other disgusted, but proceed.
    Wolmar and Elhali cut the ropes that hold the prisoner, while Greta grabs the crystal out of it’s slot.
    As she does so, Abenzio grabs her forearm. “If the ratmen see it missing, they’ll come for us. We’re deep in their den as it is…”

    Q: Does Greta abandon the warpstone? (Likely)
    A: Yes

    She puts the crystal back, and they rush back, Wolmar and Elhali supporting the prisoner.

    Greta however has to roll to resist the Chaos: Vigor: (1,2): Failure: Benny: (4,3): Success


    Escaping

    Q: Do the adventurers escape the tunnels without problem?
    A: Yes, but
    by the time they have returned to the house the cultist who attacked the house is already gone.

    Noone seems to bother them as they make their way back to the surface. The ratmen believed their bluff, and the cultists were dispersed by their fight.
    When they reach the house however, the man they had incapacitated is no longer there. They would like to have a nice conversation with him.


    Klauss’ House

    Q: Is the scene as expected?
    A: Yes
    I’ll use Let’s Talk for the final scene of the adventure.
    Wolmar will do the talking.

    The man they saved, washes himself in the basin, and asks for a moment to collect himself. He returns some time later, dressed in clean clothes.
    “Thank you, brave fellows. For saving my life.” He tells them. “My name is Klauss Dralst.”

    The topic is saving him from the skaven.
    Wolmar: Notice: (1,4): Success: He can see the Mood is: Self-absorbed
    Wolmar’s hand has Aggressive, Worried and Friendly
    He will use Friendly
    The NPC’s reaction is: Positive and he is Helpful

    “We’re here now. They won’t trouble you again.” Wolmar says, patting the man on the shoulder.
    “Thank you!” He answers. “80 Gold Crowns to each of you, should be a proper reward. Yes?” He brings out a pouch. “Ernest…my son…he starts looking around.”

    I will not attempt to haggle for a better price.

    “Your son?” Wolmar asks. “He’s the one that warned us to come after you. Unfortunately he didn’t make it.
    “You should block the entrance to your house from the sewers.” Elhali points out.
    “And..take a look at this.” Greta gestures at her forehead to make him understand, and he quickly turns the other way.
    “Yes… yes, thank you. Please, I would like to be alone now.” Klauss excuses himself, and the party heads out.


    Outside

    Q: Has the city watch arrived?
    A: Yes, for now.
    Q: Is it anyone the heroes know?
    A: Yes, absolutely
    It is the Sergeant who they met when they caught Bertoldo Vasari.
    Let’s give him a name: Reiner Schuster

    “Sergeant Reiner!” a city watch guard calls to their sergeant, as they are examining Klauss’ son’s body. The sergeant is the man they had encountered a few nights ago. “We have a few witnesses here.” continues the guard, and the sergeant’s attention is drawn to the adventurers.
    “Have I not seen you before…?” he wonders loudly. “You’re the ones who caught that thief…Vasari. Yes, I never forget the faces to whom I’ve given rewards from the city coffers.”
    He looks to the corpse, and then to the Dralst house from where the heroes emerged. “What do you know of this? And how are you involved in yet another crime?”

    Wolmar’s hand has Wildcard, Worried and Rude
    Wolmar: Notice: (3,10): Raise
    Sergeant Reiner: Mood: Charming
    Wolmar will use Worried
    Reiner’s reaction: Positive: Questioning

    “The young man got to use before spending his final breath. His father was kidnapped by cultists. We went quickly and saved him from their snatch. I’m worried there is great evil brewing, and they are involved.” Wolmar replies.
    “Why you?” the Sergeant asks. “And what kind of cultists? Where did you save his father from, and what is his name?”

    Wolmar will use Friendly – Wildcard
    Reiner’s reaction: Somewhat Positive: Satisfaction

    “We just happened to be returning from a drink at The Bull. Just pure luck that his son got to us.” Wolmar replies. “And of course, as you know about rewards, we’re always happy to assist. Ernest, the son mentioned something along those lines before collapsing. There was a tunnel complex below the house. We don’t know what kind of cult it was, and we didn’t sit around to find out. We got Klaus – the old man back to his house, got the reward and we’re out of there. You could ask him what else he knows. That’s his house over there.” Wolmar points to the Dralst house. He avoided pointing anything out about ratmen, as he didn’t want to be called a liar or taken in for further questioning.
    “Alright.” the sergeant gestures for a guard to follow him as he heads towards the house. “You’re free to go, but don’t venture too far. We might have further questions.” He tells Wolmar as he leaves.
    At long last, the party is free to go to a well deserved rest.


    Bookkeeping & Advancement

    Wealth die increased by another die temporarily as a Reward to a d10.
    I’ll give each Character an Advancement.
    Abenzio: New Edge: Improved Nerves of Steel
    Elhali: Raise two Skills: Stealth d6, Thievery d4
    Greta: Raise two Skills: Healing d6, Spellcasting (Alchemy) d6
    Wolmar: New Edge: Hard to Kill


    Adventure Summary

    The way the adventure evolved it was pretty straightforward. The twists of the oracle on the module did play their part so that things were kept interesting.
    For example, the screams and additional blood trail at the beginning which forced the characters to abandon their downed foe, and also not spend any time investigating the townhouse. This had three immediate effects: there was no chance for interrogating Tavelli or disguising as him, they didn’t take the bombs that could be used against Skaven, but on the other hand, they moved quickly, and reached Klaus in time to save him.
    The poison trap was interesting, but the fight against the cultists was boring (I’ll get to that later). A really lucky roll from Elhali let them get past the Skaven without trouble, and due to the way this happened, they got the man without facing Skretth or the Skaven. This was a bit undramatic, but, hey it worked.
    I loved the twist with the warpstone at the end, which allows for some interesting plot hooks for the future, as Klaus will become a mutant.

    The choices of solo tools worked well more or less. I enjoyed the use of PUM’s Oracle, and SUM was great for the interrogation and seeing if the NPC is lying part, something where Let’s Talk doesn’t apply. MUNE fit well also for using TWENE for Room twists in a dungeon.
    Though I’m currently thinking if I should add an extra layer of twists with regards to the map layout. Perhaps roll 1d6 and on 1 remove an exit, and on 6 add another one? Not sure yet. Will still keep this in mind.

    Finally, I’m back to the use of Savage Worlds. I still face the same issue I had in the previous adventure. The new Gritty Damage hack seems to work better this time however, Savage Worlds is too Pulpy for Warhammer, no matter how Grittier I make it.
    Abenzio is more or less impervious to most common mooks, as they need to get really high results in both attack and damage rolls to hurt him. Now that the rest of the party starts getting equipped properly, the risk of injury is too low, and with the use of Bennies it goes to near nil.
    The fight against the cultists in the tunnel was especially boring in the first few rounds, where nothing happened, and remained boring later on as well. Too many misses or attacks that didn’t harm anyone at all.
    The poison trap could have made sort work of my party, but the Bennies saved them. Bennies saved Greta from a mutation as well (I am not unhappy with this, as player might have not went for the green glowing blackish crystal after all, and let it be).
    Of course in a different environment the party might fare differently. Missile and magical attacks could potentially bring Abenzio down, and things could become dire.
    I’m left wondering if I should switch systems or give it another shot.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 8:54 pm on December 15, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Warhammer   

    Savage Warhammer S01E04 

    Session Four – The Asylum Pt3

    The Sewers

    Rat’s Lair

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes

    Since I didn’t establish this earlier,
    Q: Have the characters gotten more than one torch?
    A: No, and it will go out soon.

    Let’s see if the characters manage to follow the blood trail under the dim light of one torch.
    Elhali: Notice: (4,11)-4/4: Success

    According to the core book, the rat swarm is endless, and is meant to push the adventurers down the sewers. SWADE has it’s own Rat Swarm in the bestiary, which ranges in size from Large to Medium to Small. When wounded the Swarm splits in two smaller. Now, every round, the equivalent of a Small Rat swarm will always be there from rats pouring in.

    Round 1

    Greta flees forward to the sight of rats
    Wolmar swings his sword to the rats: Fighting: (1,4)-2/6: Miss
    The rats bite Wolmar, Abenzio, Elhali.
    Damage to Wolmar: 7/5: Shaken
    Damage to Abenzio: 4/8: Unharmed
    Damage to Elhali: 6/4: Shaken
    Elhali: Spirit: (3,4)-2/4: Shaken: She runs after Greta
    Abenzio: swings his flail to the rats: Fighting: (2,3)-2/6: Miss

    Elhali is in front with the torch, behind her Wolmar, Abenzio and Greta. Suddenly Greta feels tiny tingling feet, and an almost indiscernible bite to her leg. She looks down and she sees rats! Dozens of them. She screams “Rats!!!”, pushes Wolmar and Elhali out of the way and runs forward.
    Wolmar swings his sword, but in the dark narrow corridor, he can’t get a good hit.
    Rats start swarming all over them, shaking Wolmar’s and Elhali”s nerves.
    Elhali not wanting to stay among the furry rodents any longer sprints after Greta. Abenzio swings his flail at the pack, but the metal only finds the cave walls.

    Mine Cart

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes

    Round 2

    Elhali: Spirit: (3,3)-2/4: Shaken: She jumps in the cart to escape the rats.
    Greta sees the corpse of a man, and beside him a severed head.
    Greta: Smarts: (7,2)/4: Success. She realizes this man must have raided the Valantina’s study, and killed the boss, whose head lies there. If that’s true then he could also have the gem, so she starts searching. She asks Elhali to shed some light, and searches.
    Greta: Notice: (4,5)-2/4: Failure
    Wolmar: Spirit: (3,3)/4: Shaken. He runs after the girls and enters the cart.
    With everyone fleeing, Abenzio won’t stay alone to fight in the dark, and follows suit.
    The rats follow and start swarming outside the cart.
    The rats need d3 rounds to flood in the cart: 1. They will flood in the next round.

    Greta and Elhali reach a small chamber where several sewers meet, with a manhole in the ceiling, 20 feet above floor level. A narrow railway track runs downwards out of the chamber from a steeply-sloping tunnel, and a mine cart stands at the end of the track.
    Elhali jumps in the cart, torch in hand, still shaken from her confrontation with the rats, and Greta jumps in behind her. As they catch their breath, Greta notices the corpse of a man inside. Besides him, a severed head. Both covered in dozens of small bite-marks.
    Despite the chaos, Greta realizes that this man must have been the one who ransacked the Valantina leader’s study, and most likely that’s the head of the leader.
    “Shed me some light here!” She asks Elhali, as the light from the manhole cover is very dim, and starts searching in the man’s pockets and pouches.
    Within moments, Wolmar and Abenzio follow, and jump in the cart too.

    Round 3

    Greta: Notice: (1,5)-2/4: Failure
    Wolmar: Spirit: (3,14)/4: Recovers from being Shaken. He attacks the rats: Fighting: (3,5)-2/6: Failure
    Elhali: Spirit: (1,5)-2/4: Shaken.
    Rat Swarm attacks all the characters.
    Damage to Greta: 3/5: Unharmed
    Damage to Abenzio: 2/8: Unharmed
    Damage to Elhali: 12/4: 2 Wounds: Incapacitated: Vigor: (2,2)-3/4: Failure: Bleeding Out, Battered Guts (Permanent Injury).
    Damage to Wolmar: 8/5: Shaken
    Abenzio: swings his flail to the rats: Fighting: (8,3)-2/6: Hit: Damage: 18/7: 2 Wounds. The rat swarm is destroyed, and will take 2 rounds to flood in again.

    Rats flooding in from all directions start to jump in the cart. Greta keeps searching the corpse, unfazed by the fact that this used to be a live person, while Wolmar’s instinct from flight turns to fight, he swings his blade at the rats, barely hitting any rodent.
    Elhali is curled up in a corner trying to kick and swat the rats away from her, but to no avail. The rats run all over her, and start biting and scratching and tearing, especially under her clothes and at her wounds she suffered earlier, sniffing the blood. Soon, she is overcome by the swarm, and falls unconscious, bleeding profusely.
    Some bite at Wolmar who tries to stomp them down.
    Abenzio swings his flail with might, the spiked balls crushing the rodents, sending them flying out of the cart, scattering all over the place.

    Round 4

    Wolmar: Spirit: (13,8)+2/4: Recovers from being Shaken. He picks up the torch and searches for the gem: Notice: (9,5)+2/4: Success*. He finds the gem. 5 Gold Crowns and 6 Silver Shillings.
    Q: Who Carries the box?
    A: Wolmar. He puts the gem in the box.
    Abenzio swings his flail to the rats out of the cart: Fighting: (5,1)-2/6: Miss
    Greta will attempt to stabilize Elhali: (1,8)-2/4: Success. Elhali is no longer Bleeding Out.
    Wolmar notices a big satchel tucked behind the dead man’s leg. He tugs it out, and inside he finds an opal and several coins. He leaves nothing to chance, and immediately stuffs it into the box Oldenhaller gave them.
    Abenzio swings his flail at the rat swarm that starts again to gather at the cart, while Greta uses her healing skills to bandage again the reopened wounds of her elven companion.
    “Get us out of here already!” she yells at Abenzio.

    They release the cart brakes.

    Note: I just realized I had forgotten to apply Elhali's Notice bonuses due to her edges. Retrospectively, I didn't find any significant clues the party might have missed, but I should be more careful in the future. As an offset, I also mostly forgot to apply her Persuasion penalties due to her Outsider status, but still the results of the roll wouldn't have changed much.

    Q: Does anyone jump from the cart before it hits the hopper?
    A: No, and they all stay in the cart, suffering a -2 to the Athletics roll.
    Wolmar: Athletics: (3,3)-2/4: Failure: Damage: 3/5: Unharmed. 1 Level of Fatigue.
    Abenzio: Athletics @-2 as he holds Elhali: (10,5)-2-2/4: Success. Nor he or Elhali are harmed.
    Greta: Athletics: (1,2)-2: Failure: Damage: 4/5: Unharmed. 1 Level of Fatigue.

    Abenzio immediately releases the brakes, and the cart tips towards the slope and starts running in speed downwards. As it has accelerated and the track reaches its ends, he tries to pull the brakes, but with a crack, the lever snaps.
    Like a fish looking at a lantern trap, they stand motionless looking at their imminent crash. The cart reaches the end, and tips over throwing them all to the ground. Luckily they are not hurt, and only Wolmar and Greta suffer some bruising, as Abenzio hugged Elhali, and rolled carefully outside.


    The Huyderman’s Base

    Loading Bay

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    The chamber is hewn from solid rock, illuminated by four lanterns dangling from the ceiling. At the room’s core, there are a pair of tables accompanied by several chairs.

    Greta will attempt to heal the bumps and bruises.
    Greta heals herself: Healing: (7,1)-1/4: Success. She’s no longer fatigued.
    Greta heals Wolmar: Healing: (2,5)/4: Success. He’s no longer fatigued.

    Greta tends to the bruises she and Wolmar suffered, and makes sure that Elhali is okay. She has regained consciousness, but is no shape to fight or do anything very dramatic.
    As they try to see around them, and make sense of their surroundings, they hear a boom, followed by a long rumbling sound.
    “What was that?” Abenzio asks, but it seems no one has the answer.
    Carefully, they follow the tracks further.


    Main Chamber

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes, but, TWENE: Remove Simple Element.
    There are no crates of wine, casks of brandy, and packing cases filled with spices, as they’ve all been used in the barricades.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    This expansive cavern, naturally formed with a gentle slope from west to east, is illuminated by wall-mounted torches. The cave’s walls seem notably vacant. A slender railway runs diagonally through the space, leading to a small wagon at the western end of the track. The rails vanish into a darkened tunnel on the eastern side, where faint silhouettes lurk within the shadows. Eerie and unsettling chants emanate from beyond. On the western side, two passages are obstructed by a barricade comprising furniture, chests, crates, casks, cases, and sacks.

    The way the module has played out so far, some options are not feasible, unless I lean heavily on the meta knowledge, which I will not. The characters have no reason to try to get past the heavily fortified barricades since they don’t know what’s behind, nor will they use the second set of tracks and cart to go down the loading bay, since they have no clue what lies beyond. Unfortunately this will play out to a classic old fight, as there’s no escape, and they’re severely outnumbered.
    Also note that since the heroes took so long to reach this part, as they spent a lot of time, bandaging their wounds, and working under the overseer previously, the ritual incantation by the cultists to summon a beast of Nurgle is complete.

    Round 1

    Wolmar attacks a Cultist with his short sword.
    Wolmar: Fighting: (1,5)/5: Hit: Damage: 7/5: Shaken
    Abenzio attacks the same cultist with his flail: Fighting: (15,1)/5: Hit*: Damage: 12/5: 1 Wound: Incapacitated: Battered Guts.
    Cultist attacks Wolmar with his Knife: Fighting: 1/5: Failure
    Beast of Nurgle approaches.
    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his short sword: Fighting: 3/8: Miss
    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his knife: Fighting: 7/8: Miss
    Greta dithers.
    Cultist moves behind the front line.

    The adventurers move towards the eastern side. Abenzio holding his flail and shield, with Wolmar by his side brandishing his short sword. Behind them at a safe distance Greta helps Elhali walk slowly, under her support.
    As soon as they approach the tunnel opening, the two silhouettes step forward to block their path. They are wearing filthy brown robes and holding short swords.
    “Give us the gem!” One of them shouts. But as an answer, Wolmar and Abenzio attack in unison. The sword grazes the man, who is stunned just enough for Abenzio’s flail to send him knocked down to the floor. Two more cultists close their path. The party will have to fight their way out. Behind the cultists a chaotic beast approaches, with tentacles, and no legs, oozing noxious slimes behind it as if brought by Nurgle himself.

    Round 2

    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his short sword: Fighting: 1/8: Miss
    Beast of Nurgle approaches behind the front line.
    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his knife: Fighting: 4/8: Miss
    Cultist attacks Wolmar with his Knife: Fighting: 3/5: Failure
    Jones moves closer to guard the rear.
    Abenzio attacks cultist with his flail: Fighting: (7,3)/5: Hit: Damage: 8/5: Shaken.
    Wolmar attacks cultist with his short sword: Fighting: (3,5)/5: Hit: Damage: 26/5: 5 Wounds. Killed. Cultist moves to attack Wolmar. Passes over Nurgle Beast Slime: Athletics: 2/4: Failure. Splis and falls on the noxious slime trail. Incapacitated.

    Abenzio holds the line against the cultists, and Wolmar’s blade strikes a foe, severing his ribcage in two.
    The beast of nurgle approaches, and as a cultist follows trying to get in position against the gap that Wolmar created, he passes over the slime trail. A misstep and he stumbles on the slithering ooze and falls. It sticks on him and burns like acid. The cultist screams and perishes a few feet further. The heroes are shocked at this revelation.
    “Give us the gem!” A man who looks like the leader of the cultists shouts from the rear.

    Round 3

    Greta dithers.
    Jonas casts Aura of Protection
    Beast of Nurgle moves and attacks Wolmar: Fighting: 1/5: Miss
    Cultist: Spirit: 2/4: Remains Shaken
    Wolmar hacks at the Beast of Nurgle: Fighting: (2,2)/5: Failure
    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his knife: Fighting: 1/8: Miss
    Abenzio attacks cultist with his flail: Fighting: (2,5)/5: Hit: Damage: 12/5: 1 Wound: Incapacitated: Broken Guts.

    The cultist leader chants in an unknown speech, that Greta understands as arcane, and mages gestures waving his staff with a foot carved on one end and hand on the other.
    The monstrosity lashes some tentacles at Wolmar, who expertly parries them with his sword, but this takes away all his effort, and he fails to strike back successfuly.
    Abenzio is locked in combat with a cultist. His pit fighting days give him the edge he needs, and his flail hit the man dead in the chest, bringing him down.

    Round 4

    Abenzio attacks beast of Nurgle with his flail: Fighting: (9,5)/5: Hit: Damage: 5/7: Unharmed.
    Wolmar hacks at the Beast of Nurgle: Fighting: (10,8)/5: Hit*: Damage: 25/7: 4 Wounds: Killed.
    Greta Dithers.
    Jonas moves and attacks Abenzio with his Staff: Fighting: (1,4)/8: Miss
    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his knife: Fighting: 2/8: Miss

    He turns his attention to the aberration, and attacks it alongside Wolmar. His flail bounces off, without scathing the beast, but Wolmar digs his blade deep. Pulling it out, unnatural blood oozes out, and with an unearthly scream, the beast dies out.
    Furious, the cultist leader supported by one of his men charge at Abenzio, who blocks their attacks with his shield.

    Round 5

    Abenzio: Vigor: (13,7)/4: Success**
    Abenzio attacks Jonas with his flail: Fighting: (6,5)+2-2/6: Hit: Damage: 9/6: Shaken
    Greta Dithers.
    Jonas: Spirit: (1,1)/4: Remains Shaken. Next turn will recover from Shaken only with a Raise.
    Wolmar: Vigor: (1,3)/4 Failure: 6 Turns, reduction of Strength, Reroll with Benny: (10,1)/4: Success
    Wolmar attacks Cultist with his short sword: Fighting: (1,2)/5: Miss
    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his knife: Fighting: 8/8: Hit: Left Arm: Damage: 7/8: Unharmed

    The cultist leader carries a stench with him, so foul, that the adventurers feel their strength being sapped away. Yet, they manage to prevail.
    Abenzio attacks his foe, through the distracting cloud of flies. He bruises him a little breaking his focus.
    Wolmar and the cultist minion battle it out, with Wolmar on the receiving end of a knife to his left arm, but thankfully, only his clothing is cut, and the flesh is missed.

    Round 6

    Wolmar attacks Cultist with his short sword: Fighting: (2,2)/5: Miss
    Greta Dithers.
    Jonas: Spirit: (2,9)/4: No longer Shaken: Attacks Abenzio: Fighting: (9,8)/8: Hit: Torso: Damage: 7/11: Unharmed
    Abenzio attacks Jonas with his flail: Fighting: (6,10)-2/6: Hit: Torso: Damage: 15/6: 2 Wounds: Busted Guts. Soak: (7,10) : Success*: Soaked all Wounds.
    Cultist attacks Abenzio with his knife: Fighting: 4/8: Miss.

    The leader recovers from his bruise, and swings his staff at Abenzio’s torso, finding his mark, but the Tilean hulk doesn’t bat an eye. He returns the favour accordingly, hitting his opponent, but as luck has it, the flails twist together for a moment and lose their momentum, not harming the cultist.
    Wolmar and his opponent fight it out with no side gaining an advantage.

    Round 7

    Wolmar attacks Cultist with his short sword: Fighting: (9,9)/5: Hit*: Location: Left Leg: Damage: 18: 3 Wounds: Incapacitated: Severed Leg.
    Abenzio attacks Jonas with his flail: Fighting: (25,2)-2/5: Hit*: Right Leg: Damage: 13/6: 1 Wound: Slow.
    Jonas: Spirit: (2,1)-2/4: Remains Shaken.
    Greta Dithers.

    Wolmar ducks, and thrusts and slashes at his foes legs. His sword cuts clean at the knee, severing the limb. The cultist screams, and falls on the ground, bleeding all over the place.
    Abenzio, follows his companion’s tactic and aims low as well. His flail crushing at the enemy leader’s right leg, wounding him, and making him walk with a limp. Shaken by the wound, he doesn’t attack back.

    Round 8

    Abenzio attacks Jonas with his flail: Fighting: (8,1)-2/5: Hit: Right Arm: Damage: 11/4: 1 Wound: Can’t use arm. Incapacitated. Bleeding Out. Battered Guts.
    Wolmar moves and hacks at Jonas with his short sword: Fighting: (1,3)-2/6: Miss
    Jonas: Spirit: (1,3)-3/4: Remains Shaken.

    Now both the adventures are locked on the cultist leader. Abenzio hits again, the swinging strike finds the right arm, causing him to drop his staff. He curses, and seeing the bloodbath all around him realizes that it is too late to change any course action.

    Round 9

    Abenzio attacks Jonas with his flail: Fighting: (2,1)+2/6: Miss
    Jonas: Spirit: (2,2)-3/4: Remains Shaken.
    Wolmar hacks at Jonas with his short sword: Fighting: (5,3)-2/5: Reroll with Benny: (8,2): Hit: Damage: 12/4: 2 Wounds: Battered Guts. Soak: (2,5)-2/4: Failure: Incapacitated. Bleeding Out.
    The heroes are victorious.

    The final blow comes from Wolmar, who splits the sorcerer’s guts open with his blade. He drops, in a pile of stinking filthy bodies, and clouds of flies digging in them. Wolmar wants to puke, but holds it inside.
    “Let’s go…” he says in low volume, trying to avoid taking a deep breath. “Don’t step on the slime. He notes.”


    Cove

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes, and, it’s likely the next scene will be as described in the module.
    Intervention: Entity Positive: There’s only PCs here at the moment, let’s see who it is: Greta.
    She recognizes the fine craftsmanship of Jonas’ stave, and takes it, supporting her and Elhali to walk out of there.

    Two rowing boats are drawn onto the pebbly shore, while a third is tethered to the jetty at the terminus of the cart track. The adventures enter, and row their way away, out of the asylum.


    Ending the Adventure

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module? (Likely)
    A: Yes, and, it’s likely the next scene will be as described in the module.

    The heroes return to Oldenhaller mansion, where the servant guides them to their meeting with Albrecht Oldenhaller. The thought of not returning the gem did cross their minds, but after all the trouble that seems to run amok around it, they wouldn’t consider it as a viable option.
    They present the box with the gem to Albrecht Oldenhaller, and he slides over a pouch of Gold Crowns.

    Time to use Let’s Talk for some final fluff before closure, Wolmar will do the talking.
    First I’ll choose the Greeting Attitude for Albrecht Oldenhaller, which will be Neutral.
    Then I’ll choose the Topic. This is clear. The gem and reward.
    I’ll read the room to see if he can discern the mood of the NPC.
    Wolmar: Notice: (3,9)/4: Success*
    NPC’s Mood is Suspicious
    Wolmar’s Let’s talk hand has Aggressive, Sad, Surprised.
    Wolmar will use Surprised
    NPC’s Reaction is Somewhat Positive, but will turn to Somewhat Negative as he’s Suscipicious and it’s the first exchange. He is Neutral.

    “We got it. It was chaos in there! The Schatzenheimers were killed by the Valantinas, who’s leader was killed by another assassin! We found the gem with him. We barely escaped from some cultists who wanted the gem.” Wolmar puts all his energy to try to reiterate the events.
    Their employer seems uninterested. Bothered one might say. He’s looking over their shoulders to see if anyone else could be listening in. “As you will see, the agreed upon amount is all there. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to”. He says, and rings a bell. A servant quickly appears to escort them out.

    I decide not to force the discussions further.

    Battered, bruised, but victorious, the adventurers return to the inn.


    Bookkeeping & Advancement

    From previous episodes the party had spent 2 Gold Crowns and 2 Shillings.
    They found 5 Gold Crowns and 6 Shillings, so it sums up to 3 Gold Crowns and 4 Shillings.
    This is 16 Shillings to each of them, plus the 100 Gold Crowns for successfully recovering the gem.
    I’ll give each Character an Advancement.
    Abenzio: New Edge: Nerves of Steel
    Elhali: Raise Attribute: Vigor d6, to return to the value it was prior to her injury
    Greta: Raise two Skills: Healing d6, Spellcasting (Alchemy) d6
    Wolmar: New Edge: Bolster

    I’ll be updating their rosters with this.


    Adventure Summary

    First of all, I must say that I liked this session as well.
    With this in mind, let me share what I liked and what not.

    Likes:

    • Speed of combat
    • Theme
    • Grittiness
    • Let’s talk

    Dislikes:

    • Pulpiness
    • Railroading
    • Conversion
    • Dynamic combat

    So, Savage Worlds was great for Fast, Furious, Fun combat (I never get tired of this slogan). It’s really enjoyable. Foundry really assisted in pulling this off, as I didn’t need to monitor all these small effects.
    The Gritty Damage mechanics played out okayish. Foundry first resolves damage and then the Injury roll, so the location mechanics for armor and damage modifiers don’t seem to be applicable. It was confusing at times and I had to do some manual rolls and calculations. The end result was fine though.
    On the other hand, the Pulpiness of Savage Worlds made some things really difficult to balance. By default Wild Cards are 60% more capable than an average skilled Mook opponent, and this is not accounted for in the prewritten adventure modules of a different system like WHFRP. This was evident when Wolmar and Abenzio took down by themselves the entire cultist band and their pet beast, without a single scratch. Yes, there would be the possibility that a lucky blow would take them out, but my protagonists had Bennies stored for that eventuality.
    This wouldn’t be such a problem with a free-form conversion, but when talking modules, it’s something that can tip the scales easily. On the conversion subject, some things had their own rules, which made it easy to convert (i.e. jumping and falling on the rooftop chase), while others where harder to eyeball, especially when considering mook skills.
    The careful reader will have noticed that I quickly abandoned dynamic combat. It really contradicted Savage Worlds style, and I found that it got in the way more than it helped. I’d rather do dynamic combat a la Warhammer style, where the defender, at the cost of a Multi-action Penalty, can opt to have a reactive defense instead of a passive defense. I’ll write it down on a future post.
    On the adventure front, I loved the Warhammer theme. As a fan of the Old World, I enjoyed facing the cult of Nurgle for the first time, however the adventure was more or less railroaded. Since I had to read the entire module, unfortunately I know about things that my party will never get to learn, for example the location of the Huyderman gang and what role they played in all of this, and the destruction of the passages. I did have the smartest party member make some assumptions, but that’s the furthest I could go with this. In a social table, the GM would either find a different way to present this information, or the players would be left wondering, which is a great suspense builder for an adventure.
    Last but not least, there’s the Let’s Talk. I’m keeping this. As a tool, to me it’s on the top places of solo tools, coming just right after the use of Oracles. There’s polishing and hacks to be had to bring it to another level of course, but it’s absolutely great as it is. So glad Dr. Gerald Ravenpie wrote it and shared it with the solo community, and so glad that I found it.

    I recently got Dungeon Fantasy GURPS, and there’s an itch to continue there, but I’ll probably be sticking with Savage Worlds a little bit further, least I fall onto the trap of changing several systems within one adventure as I did in the past. Perhaps I enjoy converting systems and trying them out, too much.

    However I’ll take the lessons learned, and try to adapt accordingly.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 12:05 am on December 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Warhammer   

    Savage Warhammer S01E03 

    Session Three – The Asylum Pt2

    The Valantina Base

    Guard Room

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes, but, TWENE: Remove Simple Element
    The door leading to the Guard Room doesn’t have the Valantina fig leaf design.

    I’ll have Elhali try to listen from behind the door before they’ll open it.
    Elhali: Notice: (22,5)-1/4: Success*
    Elhali can listen through the door, clear as if in an amphitheater. She makes out the presence of three men, talking, drinking and playing games.
    Elhali: Common Knowledge: (3,11)-1/4: Success*
    She understands from their accents that they’re Tilean.

    “Three Tileans are on the other side.” She whispers. “Must be Valantinas. You have the password?” She asks Abenzio.
    The Tilean Pit Fighter nods. They have their hands at the ready to draw weapons, but try not to look hostile, and open the door.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Torchlight emanates from wall-mounted sconces, casting illumination across the room. Positioned near the northeastern corner is a petite table where three individuals engage in a game of dice and partake in wine. The moment the adventurers enter, they swiftly grab their crossbows, loaded and ready, insisting on the password. Their Tilean accents unmistakably reveal their origin.

    “Malindi” Abenzio says in his deep hoarse voice.

    Q: Do the guards let them pass without trouble? (Likely)
    A: No, but they make a few snide remarks at the elf.

    Time to use Let’s Talk
    First I’ll choose the Greeting Attitude for the guard, which will be Unfriendly.
    Then I’ll choose the Topic. This is clear. He makes a sexist remark at the elf smuggler.
    I’ll read the room to see if she can discern the mood of the NPC.
    Elhali: Notice: (3,3)-1/4: Failure

    My Let’s talk hand has some interesting options, I can choose Romantic, Flirting, Aggressive.
    Wow, my hands are tied. I don’t want her to act Romantic or Flirting with any Tilean sexist swine, so I guess that only leaves us with the Aggressive option. It might ruin the party’s chances of going in the Valantina’s Base peacefully.
    Guard’s Mood is Grumpy.
    Guard’s reaction is Positive, and he is in Disagreement.

    “Nice, nice” one of the Tilean guards seems to fix his gaze on Elhali. “You don’ working the streets honey? Come here for some fun?”
    Elhali feels like she wants to puke from the inside. She clutches her short sword firmly. “You come any closer and I’ll cut your balls and feed them to you.” She responds, escalating quickly.
    The guard stands up quickly, shoving his stool behind. It falls down with a loud clatter. He looks at her firmly. His hands on the hilt of his weapon. Looking at the odds with Abenzio next to her, he decides that it’s not worth a fight. He grimaces, and waits for the adventurers to get going.

    Stockroom

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes, and, it will be unlikely the next scene is modified.
    Intervention: Regress Plot

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Hanging lanterns cast light upon a bustling scenario of intense movement. Six Tileans feverishly fill chests and load small carts with crates and barrels. Upon the characters’ entrance, an overseer directs a shout in the Tilean dialect. Abenzio, understands, but the rest are still looking at him with blank stares, upon realizing the lack of understanding, he repeats himself in a Reikspiel dialect with a distinct accent, commanding them to assist in the packing.

    This scene is set up as a plot regression on its own. Normally, the characters would be able to bluff their way past the overseer, but to enhance the Intervention, I rule that this won’t be possible.
    As stated in the module, the overseer has mistaken the characters for hired labourers, and if they don’t follow his orders he will become suspicious. He won’t leave the stockroom for another thirty minutes.

    Having all this meta knowledge, I cannot decide for myself if the adventurers will sit tight and do the packing, or will attempt to slip away.
    I think Elhali will try slip away on the first opportunity.
    Wolmar and Abenzio will try to talk to the Tilean labourers about what is going on.

    Let’s Talk with Wolmar first.
    First I’ll choose the Greeting Attitude for the labourer, which will be Neutral.
    Then I’ll choose the Topic. This is clear. Latest gossip.
    I’ll read the room to see if he can discern the mood of the NPC.
    Wolmar: Notice: (2,1)/4: Failure
    Wolmar’s Let’s talk hand has some interesting options, I can choose Rude, Wildcard (Friendly), Sad.
    Wolmar will use Friendly
    NPC’s Mood is Harsh
    NPC’s Reaction is Somewhat Positive and he is Satisfied

    As Wolmar begins the packing, he begins small talk with the man next to him. “Lots of boxes. Lots of hands. We’re here to help you move quickly.” He smiles as he takes a box from the Tilean’s hands.
    “Yeah, certainly, it would take us forever to move all this stuff without help.” the Tilean replies in broken Reikspiel.

    Wolmar will use Persuasion now, at +1: Persuasion: (2,8)+1/4: Success*

    “So what is the deal, with all the crates?” Wolmar asks casually.
    “Our boys hit the Schatzenheimers. We got’em good.” The Tilean says giving another crate to Wolmar.
    “Huh, and this stuff is from the raid?” Wolmar continues the chat.

    I’ll continue with the Let’s Talk now.
    Wolmar will use Sad.
    NPC’s Reaction is Positive and he is Sad.

    The Tilean worker, sighs. Wolmar adds “We saw the massacre on the way here. Unfortunately some good Valantinas also where lost. Why didn’t they recover their remains?” his voice expressing real worry.
    The Tilean grits his teeth and his voice almost breaks. “They were my friends. But… see the Schatzenheimers, they had a large stone with them, one we took. It wasn’t any stone, one infected by chaos. Cultists are on the way here. We can’t risk death or infection. We pack, and we’re out of here.”

    Elhali will attempt to find an opportunity to slip away. Notice: (21,2)-1/4: Success*
    Q: Is there an opportunity?
    A: Yes, and, with everyone in a hurry, she can pass unnoticed. I’ll give her a +1 to Stealth.
    Elhali: Stealth: (1,4)-1+1/4: Success
    I’ll roll randomly to find which room she goes to. Eastern Guard Room.


    Eastern Guard Room

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module? (Likely)
    A: Yes, and, it will be unlikely the next scene is modified.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Illuminated by the glow of three torches affixed to the walls, three Valantinas work frantically to erect a barricade at the eastern door. The room, noticeably devoid of furniture, clearly shows that all available items have been utilized in the construction of the barricade.

    Elhali: Notice: (3,1)-1/4: Failure. She doesn’t notice the messenger’s corpse in the corner.
    Q: Does Elhali attempt to go past the barricade?
    A: Yes, but, she is warned by the Valantinas.

    Wanting to continue her scouting further, Elhali tries casually to get past the barricade.
    “Woah woah, lady.” A guard exclaims. “You go past this, you don’t come back. No cultist gets past us, but also no disease.”

    Elhali considers this for a moment. She’s wounded, and alone, and doesn’t want to be completely cut off from the rest of the group. She will return back to the storeroom.


    Once the overseer leaves, the adventurers have a chance to talk together and share information. They’re all up to speed, and I will randomly to which room they go next.
    They want to find the stone. They go to the Dormitory.

    Dormitory

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module? (Likely)
    A: No, roll on TWENE: Add major element. The door is locked.

    So the question is, will the heroes attempt to unlock the door believing something important lies inside, risking discovery, or will they move to the next passage?

    I just read about this case in FlexTale Solo Adventuring Toolkit. It has rules for Intentional Astrays. Considering the situation, I’ll use Context D.
    I roll and get a Missed Opportunity.
    They try too hard and waste too much time trying to find an opportune moment to get inside, but without any lockpicking skills, they fail. Eventually the overseer returns, and they have to work further, before he leaves again.

    Elhali returns to her companions, and between a short break, they all discuss together what they have found out. They agree to start looking in the Valantina’s base for the gem. When the overseer leaves for a while, they head east, but find a locked door. They set Wolmar on watch, while Elhali waits for someone to get in, and maybe she can follow, but no one does. A long while later of time wasted, the overseer returns, and yells at them to get back to their posts. It’s another long half hour before he leaves the room again, and they decide to try the other room before going all brute force on the locked door.


    Ante-room

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module? (Likely)
    A: No, roll on TWENE: Add simple element.
    A sword.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    The room is illuminated by a hanging lantern from the ceiling and another one positioned on the desk. Adorning the walls are hunting trophies, pilfered street signs, and framed wanted posters portraying different members of the Valantina gang.
    Seated behind the desk is a robust and finely attired Tilean, his impeccably-oiled hair and scarlet-faced countenance catching the light. He idly plays with a loaded pistol crossbow, while a sword rests atop the desk. Upon the characters’ entrance, he glances up, cautioning against disturbing the boss and inquiring about their purpose.

    I’ll use Let’s Talk, Wolmar will do the talking.
    First I’ll choose the Greeting Attitude for Sebastiano Sansovino, which will be Neutral.
    Then I’ll choose the Topic. This is clear. What do the PCs want.
    I’ll read the room to see if he can discern the mood of the NPC.
    Wolmar: Notice: (7,5)/4: Success
    NPC’s Mood is Overwhelmed
    Wolmar’s Let’s talk hand has Aggressive, Flirting, Surprised.
    Wolmar will use Aggressive
    NPC’s Reaction is Negative, but will turn to Somewhat Negative as he’s Overwhelmed and he is Hostile.

    “What do we want?” Wolmar replies back. “What do we want? – We want to see your boss is what we want.” He sais and kicks slams the desk. That’s… more like Abenzio’s approach to things, the group realizes… and it kind off doesn’t work.
    The guard points his loaded crossbow at the head of Wolmar. “What you’ll get is a third hole for another eye.” He stands up, looks at Wolmar angrily.
    “Didn’t know you had it in you kid.” Abenzio says from behind.

    Wolmar will use Surprised
    NPC’s Reaction is Somewhat Negative and he is Neutral.

    “Woah woah no need for that. Can’t take a joke, huh?” Wolmar puts his hands up and steps back in a scare. “We just need to talk to him about the latest events.”
    “Emiliano’s not to be disturbed.” the guard says and sits down again, yet his crossbow still aimed at Wolmar.

    I’ll roll for Persuasion, but won’t give them the bonus they’d have as the talk went kind of terrible.
    Wolmar: Persuasion: (2,4) vs Spirit: 5: Failure

    “You don’t look like you’re on official business, so scram.” He adds.

    Q: Will Elhali attempt to bribe him?
    A: Yes, but she’ll overcompensate at her bribe attempt, with 3 Gold Crowns.
    Elhali: Persuasion: (1,1)-1: Critical Failure
    This, doesn’t bode well.

    Elhali steps forward, she slams 3 Gold Crows on the table.
    “Will these do?” she asks. “We just want to have a talk with him.”
    The guard stands up. The crossbow still aimed at Wolmar, and brandishes his fist, the knuckle dusters shinning under the lantern light.
    “Who do you think you are?” He says, clearly offended, and aims a left hook at Elhali.

    Round 1

    Sebastiano drew a Joker…
    Sebastiano: Punches Elhali: Fighting: (8)/4: Hit*: Location: Guts: Damage: 13/4: Suffers 2 Wounds: Broken Guts.
    Wolmar: Draws his Short Sword and attacks Sebastiano: (5,1)-2/6: Miss
    Greta grabs Elhali to get her out of the way.
    Abenzio: Draws his Maul and attacks Sebastiano: Fighting: (11,3)-2/6: Hit: Damage: 4/8: Unharmed.

    Round 2

    Q: Are they heard? (Unlikely)
    A: No, and it’s Unlikely they’ll be heard next Round too.
    Sebastiano: Punches Wolmar: Fighting: 2/5: Miss
    Greta gives a healing potion to Elhali: Alchemy: (5,1)/4: Success: 1 Wound is removed.
    Abenzio: Attacks Sebastiano: Fighting: (9,3)/6: Hit: Damage: 12/8: Location: Guts: 1 Wound: Broken Guts.
    Wolmar: attacks Sebastiano: (4,1)/6: Miss
    Elhali gathers her senses, and goes to close the door just in case.

    Round 3

    Q: Are they heard? (Unlikely)
    A: No, and it’s Unlikely they’ll be heard next Round too.
    Abenzio: Attacks Sebastiano: Fighting: (8,9)/6: Hit: Damage: 5/8: Location: Right Leg: No Damage.
    Sebastiano: Spirit: 7-1/4: Success, no longer Shaken: Punches Abenzio: Fighting: 9-1/7: Hit: Damage: 5/11: Unharmed
    Wolmar: attacks Sebastiano: (11,1)/6: Hit*: Location: Torso: Damage: 11/8: Shaken
    Elhali bars the door.

    Round 4

    Q: Are they heard? (Unlikely)
    A: Yes, but, only one worker is on the other side now, and the door is barred.
    Greta goes to support the door.
    Wolmar: attacks Sebastiano: (10,5)/6: Hit*: Location: Head: Damage: 16/8: 2 Wounds.
    Sebastiano: Spirit: 1-3/4: Failure: Remains Shaken.
    The fight is over. Sebastiano yields.

    The thug’s fist finds the elf in the ribs, and she loses her breath in an instant, having broken a rib or two. Bruised she falls back as Greta catches her, and pulls her out of harms way. Wolmar and Abe draw their weapons and attack him, but he evades them, with the footwork of an experienced brawler. He aims a punch at Wolmar who deflects quickly.
    Greta pours the contents of an alchemical potion into Elhali’s mouth, who feels immediately invigorated. She is still bruised, but feels much better.
    Abenzio swings his maul hitting the thug right at the chest. Wolmar tries to support him, but he doesn’t time his attack right, and can’t get a hit.
    Elhali, feeling better, rushes off to close the door, just in case some more Valantinas come after them.
    Abe’s next swing, barely hits his foe at the leg, and suffers a quick counterattack, hitting him at the torso. Abenzio’s bulky physique under the chain shirt isn’t easily hurt, and he is unscathed by the brawler’s punch. Wolmar joins with a thrust of his short sword, and grazes the thug.
    Elhali realizing it’s a matter of time before someone hears the battle cries, puts a makeshift barrier to the door, to bar it. She calls at Greta to come help, and she follows suit.
    From the other side of the door someone shouts “Hey what’s going on in there?”, and Wolmar, just in time with a circular slashing motion cuts a deep gash into his foe’s face, to fit with the other scar. “I yield! I yield!” he cries.
    “Good” Abenzio replies. “Now go tell them it’s all fine.” He carries the wounded thug, who’s holding his face, over next to the door, grimacing in pain, as Elhali holds a knife to his throat.

    Q: Does Sebastiano comply? (Likely)
    A: No, but not because he doesn’t want, he just can’t.

    The thug passes out from bleeding.
    “Hey! open the door!” They hear the overseer shout.

    Abenzio bashes at the door to Emilio Valantina’s Study.
    Abenzio: Damage: 14/10: The door is broken.
    The heroes rush inside.
    Each turn onwards I’ll roll to see if the door to the ante room is broken into.


    Emilio Valantina’s Study

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Illumination in the room is provided by a suspended chandelier from the ceiling. A variety of pictures adorns the walls, each hanging slightly crooked. Oriental rugs cover the floor, creating a distinct atmosphere. Positioned against the western wall is a bookcase, from which some books have been taken and are now scattered across the floor. At the heart of the room stands a desk, thoroughly rummaged through and left in disarray.

    Without any tools like axes and mauls, the Valantinas will take a while to break down the door to the Ante Room, so the heroes might manage to escape.
    It’s now a question of if they’ll try to open the door to Emiliano’s bedroom, or if they notice the trail of blood.

    Round 1

    Door Damage: 10/10: The door is broken.
    Elhali: Notice: (2,4)-2/4: Failure
    Wolmar: Notice: (4,4)/4: Success
    Wolmar notices the trail of blood as the door is broken down.
    Abenzio pushes the bookcase over to the entrance to block it.
    Abenzio: Strength (4,1)/4: Success.

    Q: Is the secret door, the bookcase itself?
    A: No, they’ll still need to find it.

    Seeing the trail of blood disappear through the wall, they start looking.
    Greta: Notice: (4,4)/4: Success

    As the adventurers enter the study, they hear they had barred behind them get smashed down.
    Rushing into the room, Wolmar notices a trail of blood to the west. “Look!” he exclaims, but Abenzio has other things in mind. He wishes to block the path behind them, and seeing a massive bookcase, he pulls it over, and pushes it in front of the door they just ruined.
    Greta, being the most cool-headed of the party notices the trail of blood disappearing into the wall behind the bookcase that Abenzio moved. She examines the wall carefully, and finds a very delicate gap, “A secret door!”.

    Round 2

    The Valantinas enter the Ante Room and find Sebastiano wounded.
    Abenzio braces the desk behind the bookcase.
    Greta tries to find the catch that opens the secret door.
    Greta: Notice: (1,1): Critical Failure. She fails, and can’t search any longer.
    Wolmar: Notice: (9,4)/4: Success*. He finds the hidden catch and opens the door.
    Elhali rushes into the passage.

    Abenzio pushes Emiliano’s desk onto the bookcase, to create a makeshift barricade. In the meantime Greta and Wolmar try to find how the door opens. Greta looks carefully, but can’t make any sense of where it could be, but Wolmar, being more practical, traces the outline of the door with his fingers, and like this, he finds a small string, that he pulls out and the door lock is released.
    Elhali enters quickly. “Come on! let’s go” she calls for the other to follow her.

    Round 3

    Greta disappears into the passage.
    Wolmar disappears into the passage.
    Valantinas: Damage: 4/8: The barricade holds.
    Abenzio disappears into the passage, and closes the secret door behind them.

    And follow her they do, first Greta, then Wolmar, and after a short while of hearing the Valantinas bashing at his barricade, making sure everything is in place, so does Abenzio. He takes the additional measure of pulling the string behind him, so that it isn’t reachable from the other side, and the door will remain locked.
    “The Gem!” Wolmar says under the flickering torchlight.
    “They were after us! I’ll be happy to get out of here alive.” Elhali replies.
    “I had them.” Abenzio says.
    “Yeah big guy, that’s why you made sure they won’t follow.” She answers, and Abenzio smirks. “You saw the mess in the study.” She continues. “I don’t know about Emiliano, but if I know one thing about robberies, is that the gem isn’t there to be found.”


    Session Summary

    When the twists failed to provide surprise, the ruleset and oracle did!
    First things first. Once more, Let’s Talk shined. I don’t know why I love this little gem so much, but it has taken my dialogues to another level, and thus my entire sessions. Every time I use it, I’m looking forward to seeing how the dialogue will evolve. I’m still getting used to it, and want to really understand the underlying mechanics before having a final opinion on a couple of hacks I have in mind. I’m wondering on how could or should a NPCs Mood or Attitude shift within the same dialogue. For example would the extremes of Negative or Positive results shift their Mood or Attitude? Something to think about for the future.
    Another note is that I am trying to write down only the things that the party becomes aware or is immediately affected by a meta perspective. This will allow me to twist the adventure if needed without sticking to preset facts, and also perhaps give a minor sense of surprise to the reader.
    Back to the session. I absolutely loved how despite the failures, the story moved forward, and a great example of how playing an RPG is more than running combat mechanics. Yes, combat is interesting, but what shined to me in this session was the events surrounding it. The snide remarks by the thugs, blending in with the workers, stealthily scouting the base, failing to open the locked doors, getting into a brawl, and ultimately, having to improvise with a barricade and fleeing in the sewers. At the end of the previous session, and beginning of this I was worried about running a railroad, but after this session ended, I’m put at ease. The story is not written, it must be played.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 10:55 am on December 9, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Warhammer   

    Savage Warhammer S01E02 

    Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying First Edition Old World Adventures in Savage Worlds Adventure Edition

    Session Two – The Asylum

    This is the dungeon-crawling part of the adventure. I won’t be using BOLD connections here.

    The Schatzenheimer Base

    Entrance

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes

    Paraphrasing from the module:

    The entrance indicated by the guide reveals a steep set of stairs that descends to a slender corridor. Approximately ten feet along the corridor, it culminates in a door. Affixed to the door is a notice that states, ‘Observe the Laws of Asylum. Knock and Wait’

    So this door is trapped, of course the protagonists don’t know it.
    The module doesn’t describe if the trap is detectable, so I won’t give a passive Notice test.
    There are four possible options:

    • open the door without triggering the trap
    • open the door triggering the trap
    • break the door down
    • knock and wait

    I’ll roll randomly with equal chance:

    • open the door triggering the trap

    Elhali is in front, so it’s her who drops.
    On a successful Athletics test, she’ll react on time to avoid the trap.
    Elhali: Athletics (5,3)/4: Success

    Elhali turns the handle clockwise to open the door. In addition to the spring pushed out of the way, she hears a faint ‘click’. Her sense of danger kicks in and she grabs as hard as she can to the door. Just in time, as the ground beneath her feet gives way, and a trapdoor reveals a pit 4 yards deep. She’s hanging onto the door sheet above the pit, as the rest of the party is frozen by surprise. “That was close” she sighs as she jumps inside, and her companions follow along the sides of the entrance, avoiding the deep pit.


    Guard Room

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: No but, TWENE: Remove Simple element.
    There is no table in the centre of the room.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    The chamber is empty and devoid of light. Positioned along the northern wall are two sizable wooden cabinets that have been pried open, causing their contents to be strewn about the room. On the southern wall, situated to the left of the entrance, there is an iron lever measuring half a yard in length. This lever protrudes from the upper part of a vertical opening in the wall.

    Q: Do the adventurers interact with the lever?
    A: Yes, and they realize it operates the trapdoor. They will reset it to active, and close the door behind them.

    Q: Do the adventurers find the secret door? (Unlikely)
    A: Yes, and Elhali scouts it and they find that the secret entrance leads through a winding tunnel up some stairs to a back alley.
    Intervention: New Entity

    Q: Is it a Schatzenheimer coming through the secret entrance?
    A: Yes, and it’s two of them, and believe the adventurers to be the cause of the attack to their base.

    The elf smuggler’s attention catches a slight gap behind the left locker. She pushes it aside and finds a low opening, as she follows it, she runs back. Her companions startled at her quick return “Get ready!” she yells as she rushes back inside.
    Two footpads jump in behind her, clubs at the ready. “There they are! Git’em” one tells the other, and they charge.

    Round 1

    Abenzio steps forward and brings his flail down to the footpad.
    Abenzio: Fighting: (5,4)/5: Hit: Damage: 6/6: Shaken.

    Greta moves out of the way and readies a Stun bomb.

    Elhali attacks the footpad with her short sword.
    Elhali: Fighting: (1,4)/5: Blocked: Damage: 4/5: the club remains intact

    Wolmar steps in and attacks other footpad with his hand axe.
    Wolmar: Fighting: (7,2)/5: Hit: Damage: 12/6: Wound, Incapacitated: Broken Guts.

    Footpad Spirit: 1/4: Remains Shaken

    Round 2

    Abenzio: Fighting: (5,4)/5: Hit: Damage: 16/6: 2 Wounds, Incapacitated: Broken Guts.

    The adventurers make short work of the bandits. Elhali checks the secret passage to ensure there are no other surprises, and they continue onwards.


    Hall

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: No TWENE: Add Major element.

    Q: Is Kurt Holger’s body in this room?
    A: No
    I’ll roll for a Portent to help me identify the Major element in the scene.
    Portent: thronged servicing
    So…all the Schatzenheimers had contracted Nurgle’s Rot, and any handling of them, returns a 4% chance of the PCs suffering from the disease as well.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Torches are affixed to the walls at intervals of 5 feet along all four sides. The majority of these torches have extinguished, and the ones that persist emit a fluctuating light that illuminates a scene of complete ruin. The doors are cluttered with overturned and shattered furniture, while every surface is marred with dried bloodstains. Scattered haphazardly throughout the room lie six lifeless bodies, each exhibiting numerous stab wounds or pierced by crossbow bolts.

    Q: Does Elhali search the bodies?
    A: No, and the adventurers are shocked by the destruction. Noone touches the bodies.

    They recognize the fig leaf motif, and they make the connection to the Valantina password.

    Two wear cheap pendants bearing a fig leaf motif. Abenzio makes the connection to the paper scrap they found at Vasari, and with the calling cards left on the other bodies, they are certain that these were members of the Valantina gang. Dropped on top of each of the Schatzenheimer bodies is a small card reading ‘Congratulatlons, you have just met the Valantlna Anti Personnel Crew’. They decide to leave the corpses alone.

    I’ll roll randomly to see to which room the PCs will go next.
    They go to room 4.

    Taking two of the still burning torches from the brackets, the adventurers head south through the destroyed door.


    Kurt Holger’s Room

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes, and it’s unlikely that the next scene will be altered.

    Paraphrasing from the module:

    The room remains in darkness, its carpeted floor and upscale furnishings contributing to an air of opulence. Stretching along the western wall is an imposing bookcase, with the majority of its contents strewn across the floor. Wall hangings and pictures have been ruthlessly torn down, the drawers of the desk yanked out and emptied. Within the room lies a solitary corpse, that of a middle-aged man adorned in luxurious attire. His complexion is of a pallid brown hue, his countenance marked by three oozing sores, and one of his arms is conspicuously absent.

    Elhali: Notice: (4,4)/4: Success
    Elhali realizes this man is Kurt Holger.

    Q: Does Elhali search the corpse? (Likely)
    A: Yes
    Nurgle’s Rot: 96%/4%: No disease contracted.
    Elhali: Notice: (1,4)/4: Success

    Searching through the corpse of the man Elhali identifies as Kurt Holger, the elf smuggler doesn’t find anything of interest. Realizing they’ve arrived too late, the adventurers press on deeper into the asylum.


    Dormitory

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module? (Likely)
    A: No, but, TWENE: Decrease Simple Element

    There are only two corpses piled here.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Darkness envelops this room, revealing yet another tableau of demise and ruin. The southern wall is adorned with the remnants of numerous wooden bunks, accompanied by torn and bloodstained bedding. At one corner, two lifeless bodies are stacked in a heap.

    Elhali: Notice: (4,4)/4: Success

    Elhali notices the same ‘calling cards’ on the two corpses. The party moves onwards faster.


    Storeroom

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Torches brackets adorn both the northern and southern walls, but their flames have long extinguished, plunging the room into complete darkness. Within, you find a dozen sacks filled with grain, four sizable chests, three vacant barrels, a side of pork, and three lifeless bodies. The sacks bear slashes, spilling the majority of their contents across the floor. The chests, forcibly opened, have been emptied, and one of the barrels lies shattered into pieces.

    Ulrich Vogel, a member of the Schatzenheimer gang is here, wounded, with a loaded crossbow aimed at the party. In the Dim Light he looks like one of the corpses. I’ll draw initiative normally, but the characters can react to Vogel only if one passes a Notice test, or Ulrich shoots.

    Round 1

    Wolmar: Notice: (1,3)-2/4: Failure
    Abenzio: Notice: (5,3)-2/4: Failure
    Elhali: Notice: (5,4)-2/4: Failure
    Greta: Notice: (7,4)-2/4: Success
    Greta notices Ulrich aiming his crossbow at them. “Take cover!” she shouts, and jumps behind a barrel.
    Vogel shoots at Wolmar: Shooting (2,11)-3/4: Hit*: Location: Guts: Damage: 10: Soak Roll (3,1): Failure: Wolmar takes 1 Wound, Busted Guts, Strength reduced to d4.

    Round 2

    Elhali thrusts her sword at Vogel: Fighting: (3,2)/4: Miss
    Greta remains in cover.
    Wolmar roll spirit: (1,4)-1/4: Failure: Wolmar remains shaken
    Vogel shoots at Elhali: Shooting (7,3)-3/4: Hit: Location: Guts: Damage: 18: Soak Roll (1,4): Success: Elhali takes 2 Wounds, Battered Guts, Vigor reduced to d4. Elhali is Bleeding Out.
    Abenzio bashes at Vogel with his Flail: Fighting: (19,5)/4: Hit*: Location: Left Arm: Damage: 17: Soak Roll (4,5)-1/4: Success: Vogel Takes 2 Wounds, Cannot use his Arm. Vogel is Bleeding Out.

    Round 3

    Elhali: Spirit Roll: (2,1)-2/4: Failure
    Elhali: Vigor Roll: (1,2)-2/4: Failure: Reroll with Benny: (2,5)-2/4: Failure: Reroll with Benny: (3,5)-2/4: Failure: Elhali is Incapacitated.
    `Note: I realized that the Bleeding Out homebrew rule, for 2 Wounds injuries doesn’t make sense – you’re fine one moment – dead the next due to bleeding. Instead, I’m giving it another level. If active, and failing the Vigor Roll, the character Bleeding Out becomes Incapacitated. And if again they fail the new Vigor Roll, they’ll die as per RAW. Elhali is still not out of it, and she has burned two benny points already.
    Vogel: Spirit Roll: (3,4)-3/4: Failure: Vogel Spends a Benny and is no longer Shaken.
    Vogel: Vigor Roll: (1,4)-3/4: Failure: Reroll with Benny: (4,10)-3/4: Success
    Vogel draws his dagger.
    Wolmar: Spirit Roll: (10,2)-1/4: Success*: Wolmar is no longer Shaken
    Wolmar hacks at Vogel with his handaxe: Fighting: (5,1)-3/4: Miss
    Greta runs to Elhali and attempts to stabilize her: Healing: (1,2)/4: Failure: Reroll with Benny: (3,3)/4: Failure
    Abenzio bashes at Vogel with his Flail: Fighting: (11,1)/4: Hit*: Location: Guts: Damage: 17: Soak Roll (5,1)-3/4: Failure: Vogel Takes 2 Wounds, Incapacitated, Busted Guts.

    Round 4

    Greta attempts to stabilize Elhali: Healing: (3,11)/4: Success: Elhali is Stabilized.

    As the party walks among the ruined storeroom and avoids the corpses, Greta picks up some movement at the centre. “Look out!” she yells, as she notices a crossbow brandished under the dim light. Too late. The crossbow bolt hits Wolmar in the gut, who screams in agony.
    Elhali thrusts her sword at her foe, but she’s too hasty, and misses her target. Their enemy, wounded and prone, loads up another bolt and shoots the elf. The bolt hitting her in the abdomen. She screams in agony as the bolt goes clean through.
    Wolmar is still clutching his wound, frozen, but Abenzio, the towering beast is quick to react. His pit fighting days still at work in the dim lighted environment, and he brings down his flail with menace on his foe, crushing his arm.
    Elhali drops unconscious by the blood loss, as their enemy tries to regain his composure and make a final stand. In the meantime Wolmar snaps out of it, and charges with his handaxe, but he too, still in pain, misses his target.
    Greta runs to Elhali, attempting to staunch her bleeding, but it doesn’t seem to work.
    Abenzio ends the fight with another hit of his flail, crushing the man with brute strength, as Greta finally manages to stabilize Elhali, who slowly regains her consciousness.

    Greta will attempt to do First Aid on her friends.
    Greta: Healing Elhali: (6,2)/4: 1 Wound Healed.
    Greta: Healing Wolmar: (11,2)/4: Wolmar is healed completely.

    Greta gets her healing herbs and pastes and starts applying her knowledge at her wounded companions. 20 minutes later, Elhali is much better, with a few stiches at her wound, while Wolmar is back in fighting shape. The adventurers pick up their gear, and without sharing many words, they continue down the path in the Asylum.
    “We could have gleaned some information from him.” Elhali frowns.
    “So after a crossbow bolt to the gut, you feel bad, I turned him into a pulp?” Abenzio asks.
    Elhali shakes her head negatively, “Just, saying, we’re here, right in the middle of a gang war, and I feel like we’re going in blind.”


    Eastern Guard Room

    Q: Is the Scene as described in the module?
    A: Yes

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    The room mirrors the condition of those preceding it, filled with scattered wreckage, adorned with splatters of blood, and littered with lifeless bodies. Seven of them, all with the same Valantina calling cards.


    Session Summary

    One thing is for certain, combat is gritty!
    It’s amazing how just a few slight modifications to the rules can increase deadliness by so much.
    I like how the party had to waste their Bennies just to survive a simple combat. And how these Bennies when used, they translated directly to GM Bennies. Vogel used them. I guess next time they’ll be more careful.
    Applying the modifiers and bookkeeping the combat was much easiier in FoundryVTT than when doing it by hand. It really speeds up the play.
    I’m not entirely certain I like how the Adventure Twist Questions apply to a railroaded map that is this part of the adventure. It feels like each alteration is restricted to the room itself where it applies. I felt like I had much less control of my PCs during this session, and I was more like a GM, running a few bots into a dungeon. Of course it could just be a combination of the particular adventure and my particular Oracle rolls, but nevertheless I’m having some thoughts as to how this could be remediated for future attempts.
    Thought to myself: should I use Player Emulator with Tags?
    Apart from the Bleeding Out fix that I had to implement – sometimes you need to see in practice if something works or not – I’m not changing anything else.
    Some other issues I had while running the adventure, was converting the foes. Not so much with regards to the Traits, but when to use a Wild Card or not. I made Ulrich Vogel a Wild Card as he had a name and everything. Not sure if this should be a standard for all enemies.
    I’ll also be definitely using the Henchmen and Right Hands rule from Beasts and Barbarians. This allows for some NPCs to have the ability to take 3 Wounds, but not gain a Wild Die, and the opposite.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 5:25 pm on December 3, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Warhammer   

    Savage Warhammer S01E01 

    Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying First Edition Old World Adventures in Savage Worlds Adventure Edition

    So… This is Nuln

    Some points I needed to have also clarified during Session Zero.
    I’ll define the Let’s Talk Tone Wildcards of the protagonists for the How you are (or rather Who you are).
    Abenzio is Rude
    Elhali is Charming
    Greta is Worried
    Wolmar is Friendly

    Also I want to add some motivations to my PCs, and will use UNE for this. To give some control (as PCs should have), I’ll roll 3 groups of 4 motivations and assign them to each PC depending on what makes sense.

    For Abenzio I have complete the poor, hinder lies, abduct greed.
    For Elhali I have produce harmony, indulge discretion, develop nature.
    For Greta I have advise academia, achieve technology, pursue expertise.
    For Wolmar I have guard servitude, determine spirits, learn industry.

    On purpose I won’t define now what they mean. I want them to be vague reminders to guide me on the feeling I get for each PC.

    Prior to the session, I’ll prepare the BOLD connections.

    actiongerundsubject
    commenddetailingpersonal qualities
    assurepreparingfriends or family
    ponderweakeninga like

    Starting, I ask MUNE an Adventure Twist Question:
    Q: Is the scene as described?
    A: Yes, and the next scene will be Likely on the ATQ.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Grolsch Van Eyke

    The adventurers try the Inns along the waterfront, but they are all full. Tired and groggy, they begin to despair of ever finding a bed for the night. Things seem to be looking up when they meet a man in a tavern who introduces himself as Grolsch Van Eyke. He speaks with a distinctive Wastelander accent, and seems to take pity on them when he hears that they are newly arrived in Nuln. He warns them that it is extremely unwise to be wandering about the city at this hour, and says: ‘Giz’za couple of shillings and I’ll get you a nice warm room somewhere dry and clean’.

    A note here. I have asked the Adventure Twist Question beforehand, to set up the scene, but for major surprises, I will also be asking the Oracle if they are true. For example, in this particular case, Grolsch Van Eyke is an assumed name. The man the characters have met is a small-time Thief, a Pickpocket who is in league with a gang of Footpads, and he is trying to lead the players into an ambush. Therefore if my heroes decide to go along with his proposal, I will ask the Oracle prior to the ambush, a Adventure Twist Question. There’s always the chance that he is an honest man instead, and will take them to a nice inn (unlikely, but yeah).

    Now back to the adventure at hand, since I, as a player, have the meta knowledge of the ambush, I will ask the Oracle instead if my PCs are suspicious of Grolsch.
    The most streetwise member of the party, Elhali the smuggler will make a Notice roll, see if anything feels off to her.
    Elhali: Notice (6,4)/4: Success
    She feels something is off, but she can’t pinpoint it exactly, just a hunch.
    Let’s see if she convinces the party.
    Q: Does the party want to go with Grolsch? (Likely, they’re soaked, and spent too much time dealing with the customs agents)
    A: Yes, and, they look forward to it.
    Elhali: Persuasion: (3,3)-1/4: Failure

    “I don’t trust him!” Elhali whispers sharply, but her words fall on deaf ears. She has been heard, but the rest of the party is so cold, that they decide not to listen to her, even though deep inside they know they should have. She feels like she can’t make a greater deal out of it, as she’s not completely certain that Grolsch is a faux, and also she doesn’t want to make him aware of her alertness. She plays along, hoping that they’ll get a nice warm room soon.

    I’ll use assure, detailing, personal qualities from BOLD: Connections on Abenzio with Elhali, complementing it with Let’s Talk!
    So, the way I’m thinking these can be combined for intra-party banter, is that the PC who initiates the Connection (Abenzio in this case) and executes the exchange, sets the Greeting and Topic and Mood, and the PC who reacts to the Connection (Elhali in this case) sets the Mood.
    With this Connection, Elhali will have the Mood Suspicious.
    Abenzio’s hand has Friendly, Rude, Humorous cards, and he’ll use the Humorous card.
    I roll for Elhali’s reaction and get Positive, but since she is Suspicious that becomes Somewhat Positive which means she reacts Friendly.

    Abenzio seems to notice that Elhali is jumpy, he slows down his pace as the party follows Grolsch, in order to walk beside her, and when the moment is right, he opens his mouth, and in his hoarse voice he tells her “Worry not, for my skill with the flail has brought down more than one scoundrel in the pit fights of Grunburg. Just say the word and I’ll bash the skull of this Van Dyke dude.”
    Elhali laughs, and does a friendly jab at Abenzio. “Are you sure we can rely on your reflexes big man?”. She seems to have been put at easy for now.


    Q: Is the scene as described? (Likely)
    A: No. Roll on TWENE: Remove Major Element. So for some reason, the Footpads aren’t there. I’m thinking that this could be either because Grolsch is an honest man and gets them to an inn (unlikely – Elhali has already established that something doesn’t feel right), or because something happened that drew the footpads away, perhaps a Town Watch patrol at the right moment? (likely)
    Q: Is there a town watch patrol? (Likely)
    A: No.
    Q: Perhaps the ambush isn’t out in the streets, but inside the building, with Grolsch partaking int it?
    A: No, and, it’s “The Reaver’s Return”

    Okay, so this is a fine example of the Oracle (GM) wanting to take the story on it’s own way no matter what the Player (Solo) wants the story to be. I desperately wanted to have an ambush fight here, to see how the system fares, but instead the Oracle decided to not have the Episode 2: Ambush! altogether. I even had taken a screenshot from the PDF of the corebook small map, and Upscaled it via AI and had prepared Footpad Tokens. Now, to keep the story going as it should, I decided that this establishment where Grolsch took them is the “Reaver’s Return” from Episode 3: The Reaver’s Return, so that the story is not derailed at all. That’s another fine example of how in a social TTRPG, a GM would improvise and Railroad the players “the right way”, instead of forcing them through other ways to the proper inn to continue the story, the GM can just present this inn, as the first available establishment.
    Using Solipsism, I will keep in mind to use the Ambush as a Location in the Map list, but it hasn’t activated yet as per the Solipsism adventure Railroad rules.
    Back to my story, I don’t know why Grolsch actually led them to an inn, perhaps he saw that the adventurers are tougher than he initially thought, or he saw a patrol near the original ambush site, or he’s just plain honest and the secrets he hides are completely irrelevant from the adventurers and their story.
    Keeping Chekhov’s gun in mind, I can see that Grolsch played his part in the story, and I can continue without bothering myself more about him (at least until the Oracle dictates otherwise).

    Paraphrasing and combining parts from the two episodes of the adventure module:

    Grolsch leads the party down dark, winding alleys and through streets littered with rotting vegetables and stinking debris. At last, he reaches a door down a dark, dingy lane and the party sees a tattered sign swinging in the wind. It reads ‘The Reaver’s Return’. There is no sound from inside the inn, but a weak light shows through a grimy ground floor window. The place looks even grubbier than the others they have seen – if that’s possible – but they are desperate.
    ‘Here we are,’ he says.
    Wolmar gives him a couple of shillings and Grolsch disappears through the alleyways.
    Elhali tries to open the door, but it’s stuch fast and won’t budge.
    A voice calls from inside, ‘Shove it!’
    There is a pause of about a second, and then the voice calls again. ‘The door, dumdum, just give it a good hard shove!’

    Note: I’m trying to eye situations about what makes sense and assign difficulty modifiers. WHFRP average skill rolls have a lower chance of success than an average skill roll in Savage Worlds. In general if it’s an average WHFRP situation I’ll be assigning a -2 Difficulty modifier, subject to change depending on circumstances.

    Elhali: Strength: (2,4)-2/4: Failure
    Abenzio: Strength: (3,3)-2/4: Failure
    Wolmar: Strength (2,5)-2/4: Failure
    Greta: Strength (3,11)-2/4: Success*

    Huh, perhaps the -2 difficulty modifier was too much, or the dice gods wanted the weakest party member to open the stuck door.
    Come to think of it, I should have had one open the door and the other assist. I’ll keep this in mind for the next team effort opportunity that arises.

    Elhali tries to push the door open, and as she fails, Abenzio, the hulking Tilean brute shoves her aside and pushes. To his surprise, the door doesn’t budge. Wolmar pushes too but the door remains in place. ‘Shove it!’ the voice calls from inside. Greta steps forward, and pushes with all her weak little might. Was the door already unstuck from the previous efforts? For whatever reason, frail Greta the door suddenly gives way.
    Abenzio, scoffs. ‘We set it up for you’. His pride hurt.
    The party steps into the inn through the wreckage, and the white-haired, wrinkled, old publican looks up from the bar and frowns. ‘You’ll have to pay for that, you know,’ he says.

    Q: Is the scene as described?
    A: Yes, and the next ATQ will be Likely. Intervention: Entity Negative: Greta Kahl.
    I’ll give Greta a Fatigue Level from the effort.

    Greta grabs her bruised shoulder. She starts to feel a numbing pain, and realizes she shouldn’t have tried to so hard to get the door open.
    ‘Pay for what? it was a stuck door.’ the elf counters.
    ‘That will be 6 Gold Crows to repair it darling.’ the innkeeper replies.

    Wolmar will attempt to bargain a better price.
    I’ll use Let’s Talk! once more, using the Persuasion option.
    Quoting from Let’s Talk!:

    Make the Exchange to represent the petition, and then use the ‘persuasion’ system of the game you’re playing, giving it a bonus or a penalty depending on how well (or bad) the exchange went.

    Reading the ‘Social Conflict’ rules from SWADE, these also last three rounds of conversation, and you gather Influence Tokens. I think I can combine the two, and depending on the length of the conversation or the topic, use just 1 (as in this case) or 2 and 3 Exchanges and Conflict Rounds. I’m excited as to how these two seem to connect together.

    First I’ll choose the Greeting Attitude for the innkeeper, which will be Neutral.
    Then I’ll choose the Topic. This is clear. He wants 6 Gold Crowns from the characters.
    Rolling for the Mood, I get Chatty.

    My Let’s talk hand has some interesting options, I can choose Friendly, Humorous, Aggressive.
    I’ll start by using the Friendly card.
    I roll on the Reaction Roll, modify it with the mood and get a Negative result, which combined to the NPC’s tone, means they’re in Disagreement.
    So now, I’ll roll Persuasion at a -2. Against the Innkeeper’s Spirit.
    Wolmar: Persuasion (8,7)-2/1: Success*

    Rudolf Grasser

    Wolmar put on the best smiling face he can. They’ve been soaked wet, freezing cold, and walking through the dirtiest alleyways at night, scared for their lives in an unknown city. Yet he needs to muster whatever happy thoughts he can. Feeling the warm fire inside, he focuses on it, and turns to the innkeeper.
    “I’m certain you don’t treat all your customers this way. We will after all stay the night here, which should more than pay for the cost.” He pledges.
    “As I said before young one, it’s 6 Gold Crowns, if you want to stay the night, that’s 1 Gold Crown per head.” The innkeeper replies.
    “Then we will give you 6 Gold Crowns in total, and we’ll stay for the night.” Wolmar puts his trade skills to the test, having learned from this father.
    “Alright. Pay upfront, and sign your names in the book.”
    As the adventurers pay up and write down their names, the innkeeper turns to them. “My name’s Rudolf Grasser, in case you need to call me. I’ll lead you to your rooms now upstairs.”
    The adventurers finally sigh in relief. What a day!


    Q: Is the scene as described? (Likely)
    A: Yes.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    After the money is handed over, Rudolf shows them to their room. The ‘Return’ is a three-storey wooden building, and he takes them to a dingy attic room. The stairs creak under their weight and the bannister feels distinctly shaky. At last you get to the room. ‘You get a nice view of the canal,’ grins Grasser, showing the rotted stumps of his teeth. They can’t see anything through the filthy windows, but can certainly smell the canal.
    Elhali complains “what a dump, you price this for 1 Gold Crown? that’s one Shilling at most!”
    Pointless; Grasser touches an index finger to his forehead, muttering ‘Have a nice day,’ and leaves.

    Now the module here describes probable courses of action. I don’t think they will consider going out again in the dark of the night to find another inn, or spending the cold night in an alley, especially after having paid 6 Gold Crowns (and two shillings).

    Personally, to my own Player style, I wouldn’t look to fastening the bolts, or setting a guard when sleeping in our own room at night, so I will ask the Oracle if the players sleep taking precautions giving it an Unlikely probability. In the Event of any Yes result, I will make a Notice roll to see if they notice the unfastened bolts and they’ll take this course of action. Otherwise they’ll just take turns guarding.

    Note: I had absolutely forgotten to use Solipsism. I tried to retrace the necessary steps, and Railroad the adventure into Solipsism as described under the Instructions section of the Engine. I could not make it work properly. However I could see it working as an excellent tool to put the adventure back into it's Railroad if it goes astray, since you add Features and Elements that have already been established, and connect the Paths to them. I'll keep this in mind, but for now, I'll be regressing to the use of MUNE as my main Solo Engine.

    Back to the adventure:
    Q: Do the adventurers take any precautions sleeping? (Unlikely)
    A: No, and, they go to sleep directly, going to Episode 6: Sleeping Dogs.

    Back to using BOLD connections before going to sleep:

    actiongerundsubject
    commendpreparingfriends or family
    ponderweakeninga like

    I will use commend weakening a like from Greta to Wolmar.
    Wolmar’s mood is Fair.
    Greta’s hand has Friendly, Questioning, Worried.
    Greta uses Friendly.
    Wolmar’s reaction is Somewhat Positive so he is Happy.

    As they prepare their beds for the night, and set aside their gear, Greta turns to Wolmar, “It was nice how you bargained for a better price from the old scrooge. He sure would have liked to have fleeced us.”
    Wolmar blushes with pride. “Thank you! I’ve learned a thing or two from my father’s trade. Everyone will try to make a profit out of you if you let them.” A feeling of completeness and success overwhelms Wolmar as he turns back to preparing for the night.

    So this is a GM controlled section, as the players are all sleeping and a thief named Bertoldo Vasali tries to rob them.
    Q: Is the scene as described?
    A: Yes, but, TWENE: Decrease Simple Element. The freezing cold has reduced the terrible canal smell.

    Bertoldo enter room through window: Stealth: 4+2/4: Success
    First target: Greta Kahl: Thievery: 3/4: Failure
    Thievery: 4/4: Success.
    Second target: Wolmar of Schlafebild: Thievery: 1/4: Critical Failure. Wolmar wakes up.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    In the dead of night, Wolmar is disturbed by a hand in his clothing. He wakes with a start to see a hooded figure rushing towards the window.

    I draw initiative cards for all the party members, however Wolmar must act before Bertoldo to wake up the others.
    He draws… 3 of Clubs, while Bertoldo drew a 9 of Hearts.

    “Thief! Wake up!” Wolmar shouts, as the figure exits through the window. Wolmar bravely chases after him, as does Elhali. Greta and Abenzio, follow suit, albeit more carefully.


    We go to Episode 8: Rooftop Chase
    Q: Is the scene as described?
    A: No, and, TWENE: Increase Simple Element. The rain is steady and heavy. Athletics roll are required just to avoid slipping off the roofs.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Outside it is cold and rainswept. Ahead, Wolmar can just make out a hooded figure disappearing over the rooftops.

    Round 1

    As luck would have it, Wolmar and Greta are the first to act.

    Wolmar walks carefully behind and jumps over the rooftop, across the 2 yard gap to follow the thief.
    Wolmar: Athletics: (4,3)/4: He makes the jump, and attacks Bertoldo.
    Q: Did Wolmar grab his handaxe?
    A: No, he just has his dagger.
    Wolmar: Fighting: (4,1)/5: Bertoldo dodges the attack. Bertoldo: Athletics: 7/4: Success. Bertoldo doesn’t fall.

    Greta goes to the other side of the roof and jumps to the next building, following.
    Greta: Athletics: (2,2): She falls. Damage: 5/5: She’s Shaken.

    Bertoldo jumps across the rooftops and over the canal.
    Bertoldo: Athletics: 1/4: Critical Failure. He falls into the canal. Damage: 1/5: No Damage.

    Elhali will attempt to jump down carefully: Athletics: (1,4)/4: Success
    Abenzio will attempt to jump down carefully: Athletics: (2,9)/4: Success* he rolls down with grace, and moves towards Bertoldo.

    Walking carefully on the slippery roof tiles, under the rain, Wolmar jumps behind the thief across the alley between the two buildings. His footing steady, the 2-yard gap is closed and with the momentum he has he swings his dagger at the figure. “Surrender thief!” he yells. The rogue evades the blow, at the same time maintaining his balance.
    Greta tries to follows suit, but she slips at the last moment, and she can’t reach the roof across safely. She loses her grip, stopping the momentum of the fall at the last moment, grabbing the ledge with her hand, and falling clumsily to the alley 5 yards below.
    The thief turns his back at Wolmar and tries to jump across the canal to the roof of the building on the other side, however he misjudges the distance, and falls face first into the shallow water with a big splash.
    Elhali slowly climbs down from the rooftop next to the canal, while Abenzio jumps down, and performs a majestic roll, which is unbecoming of a man his size.

    Round 2

    Greta acts first, Spirit Roll: (11,5)/4: Success*. Greta removes the Shaken status, she jumps into the canal and after the thief who took her purse, and attacks him with her knife. Greta: Fighting: (1,5)/5: Hit: Location: Head: Damage: 3+4=7/5: Shaken

    Bertoldo Spirit Roll 3/4: Failure. Bertoldo remains Shaken.

    Abenzio walks in the canal, and charges at Bertoldo.
    Q: Did Abenzio grab his handaxe?
    A: No, he just has his brass knuckles
    Abenzio: Fighting: (4,3)/5: Bertoldo dodges the attack. Bertoldo: Athletics: 4/4: Success. Bertoldo doesn’t fall prone.

    Elhali walks around, avoiding to get wet in the canal, and blocks Bertoldo’s way out.

    Wolmar will attempt to jump down carefully: (3,4)/4: Success.

    Greta quickly recovers from her condition, and pulling her dagger from her belt, she lashes at the thief. “Give me back my money you filthy swine!” she screams, and her dagger grazes the man’s neck, who looks back at her with horror. He doesn’t move, still shook from the fall in the cold dirty water, the relentless pursuit of his victims, and the mental assault of Greta.
    Abenzio presents his knuckledusters and jumps at the thief, who instinctively dodges out of the way, and splashes into the water at the side.
    Elhali carefully moves to the side to block any attempt to escape, while Wolmar carefully gets down from the roof, to join his companions.

    Round 3

    Abenzio draws a Joker and acts first, attacking Bertoldo: (7,11)+2/5: Hit*: Hit Location: Left Arm: Damage: 18/5: 3 Wounds. Bertoldo is down. He can’t use his left arm.

    With a right hook, Abenzio’s massive arm, crashes into the thief’s left side, shattering his shoulder. The man cries out in pain. “I surrender! Please stop.”

    The adventurers pick the thief up, and stand him next to the wall of a building out of the canal. Abenzio’s hand grabbing the man by the throat.
    “Search him. Get your money, and make sure we find no other surprises.”

    Elhali: Notice: (7,5)/4: Success.

    Bertoldo Vasari

    Elhali pats the thief down, retrieving Greta’s purse, who she returns to her companion, a dagger hidden in the boot, several silk handkerchiefs, and a scrap of paper with a fig leaf motif.
    Before they have the chance to talk to him further, they can hear the footsteps of armored men. The City Watch arrives.

    I’ll go to UNE to get some description of the City Watch sergeant as the module doesn’t describe the interaction with the City Watch.
    I get indifferent outcast with motivation aid cowardice.
    I have a few thoughts as to what this means, I’m not going to try to define them, since this would give me meta knowledge that I don’t want to have. I’ll consider this as to what the protagonists initial perception of the sergeant is.
    He seems to care about helping the weak as they can’t do so themselves, doesn’t like vigilantes, but in no case will he go above and beyond, as he gives the impression of a man of greater stature placed in a low station.

    I’ll use Let’s Talk, and Advanced Moods.
    The Sergeant’s Greeting is inquisitive “What has happened here?” the Topic is the capture of the thief, and we’ll have to roll to see who will talk with the Sergeant.

    Note: I just realized that Elhali is an outsider so she should have penalties to interaction rolls with the locals. Abenzio is an outsider too. I should have applied these penalties to my interactions with the Customs officer in Session Zero. Nevermind.

    Wolmar seems to be the face of the party, so he takes the opportunity to talk to the sergeant.
    Wolmar: Notice (3,2)/4: Failure. He fails to understand the Mood of the Sergeant, so I will only roll at the Mood Column, and get the Mood only after I’ve played the first card.
    Mood Column: 3-4
    Wolmar’s deck is: Wildcard, Questioning, Aggressive.
    Wolmar will go with his Friendly Wildcard.
    Sergeant’s Mood is Overwhelmed.
    Sergeant’s Reaction roll is Positive and he’s Happy.
    Nice, I’ll stop at only one Exchange.

    Sergeant

    Five men of the City Watch surround the party, swords at the ready, they flash their torches into the faces of the adventurers and their prisoner.
    One of them, that the party can only figure out he’s the Sergeant, steps forward, his hands on his waist, fingers close to his sword hilt. “Cease Fighting! What has happened here? Are there any others? Explain yourselves.”
    “Sire,” Wolmar begins, “What a great help! We’re so thankful for your timely appearance! My name’s Wolmar, Wolmar of Schlafebild. We were sleeping soundly in our accommodations over there” he points to the window of the Reaver’s Return, “when I was woken in the middle of the night, by this man’s hand in my pockets! He tried to make a run for it, jumping across the rooftops, but he fell in the canal, and we caught up to him. My friend Abe here must have roughed him real good, he won’t be any more trouble to you. He had already stolen Greta’s purse, but we made sure to return it to her.” He points to Greta. “Hope we’re not overstepping our bounds, we’re newcomers to Nuln, but we couldn’t let the thief get away with our belongings!”
    The Sergeant seems indecisive at first. “Yes, you should not go after thieving scum, that’s the City Watch’s job. Don’t want to find yourself with a dagger stabbed at your back, only because you thought you could handle danger and adventure.” He can’t hide a smile though, sighs, and turns to one of his men. “Isn’t that Bertoldo Vasari?” he asks him.
    The guard puts the torch closer. “Yes he is, and I doubt he’ll be using this arm again to steal from anyone anymore.”
    The sergeant turns back to Wolmar, “We’ll take it from here. Oh and so you know, there’s a reward for catching this particular man.” he counts 4 Gold Crowns and gives them to Wolmar. “Don’t become a bounty hunter, they don’t last long.”


    With that, I’ll use the last of my BOLD connections, ponder preparing friends or family from Elhali to Wolmar.
    Wolmar’s mood is Empathic.
    Elhali’s hand has Humorous, Romantic, Surprised. She’ll use the Surprised
    Wolmar’s reaction is Positive so he is Helpful.

    As soon as the adventurers return to their room in the Reaver’s Return, Elhali turns to Wolmar. “We were caught unaware! How did he get inside? Should we have been better prepared? I recall my father telling me stories of acrobats jumping across roofs to steal from folks in deep sleep, but I’d never believe it would happen to me.” She hits her forehead. “Stupid me, I should have been more careful. Bolting the windows or something.”
    “Hey, it’s not your fault alone. None of us thought about it. Nuln is more dangerous than we initially thought. Next time we bolt the doors and windows, and if that’s not possible, we’ll take watches through the night. We can do it.” His words soothe her as she fastens the bolts on the window.

    We go to Episode 9: Rise and Shine
    Q: Is the scene as described?
    A: No, and, TWENE: Add Major Element.
    I get a Portent: Dazzled Incumbent. Huh, I’ve learned a new word.

    Normally, the party would be at a loss now, trying to figure out what to do next and earn money, as they’re going to go broke soon otherwise. Which according to the module would hint them to go to Reiks Platz and look at the notice boards (including one notice for the Oldenhaller contract). However, since we have TWENE altering the scene, I’m going to interpret it as follows. An employee (official?) of Councillor Oldenhaller has heard of their exploits and on his way to put the notice on Reiks Platz, he stopped by to see the heroes themselves.

    As the adventurers climb down the steep creaking wooden stairs to the groundfloor of the Reaver’s Return, their eyes fall upon Grasser behind the bar, talking to a man in fine clothing. “There they are!” Grasser gestures for the man to see the adventurers descending into the main hall.

    His name is Wolf Schreiber. Getting some information from UNE.
    Schreiber’s Bearing is Knowing/Account.
    Going with Let’s Talk.
    We’ll have the Greeting with the Topic being the NPC brings an opportunity.
    His Mood is Self Absorbed.
    Wolmar will do the talking on the party’s behalf.
    Wolmar’s hand is Aggressive, Surprised and Charming.
    He’ll play Surprised.

    Wolf Schreiber

    The well dressed man introduces himself. “My name is Wolf Schreiber, and I come with an opportunity for daring men and women like you. Your exploits last nights exploits have reached my ears.”
    Wolmar is taken aback. “They have?” Wolmar sounds surprised and changes his tone immediately. “I mean for certain they have, it’s about time our name starts being heard in Nuln.”

    Schreiber’s reaction is Somewhat Positive, and he is Questioning.
    Wolmar will use Charming.

    “And what are your names? What can you do?” Schreiber asks.
    “Oh what, can’t we do.” Wolmar answers. “My big Tilean friend Abe here,” he pats Abenzio’s shoulder “took down a wanted man last night with a single punch. Elhali,” he gestures towards the elf rogue “can walk the rooftops with the agility of a cat, and Greta, will make a balm that all your bruises are gone. We are good.”

    Schreiber’s reaction is Somewhat Positive, and he is Surprised.

    Schreiber seems taken aback by Wolmar’s presentation, “You sure seem so!”. He pauses for a second and continues. “Look, I was on my way to Reiks Platz to put up this notice for my employer, Councillor Oldenhaller. He’s looking for specialists for a repossession job. One’s night work, legal, some danger, good money. You’ll find him at Oldenhaller Mansion, Oldenhallerstrasse. I thought I’d give you a head start since I believe you fit the criteria… what does it say… ah ‘Military background helpful'” he looks at Abenzio. “No timewasters.” he looks at Wolmar. “I’ll be on my way. You, have a nice day.”
    “Good day to you too Mr Schreiber!” Wolmar replies, and before he has a chance to ask any more questions, Schreiber has already left the cesspool of an inn that the Reaver’s Return is, and is on his way to Reiks Platz.

    I won’t ask the Oracle as to how the protagonists react. This sounds like a good opportunity, so they’ll take it.

    After some gruel for breakfast, the adventurers prepare, and head off towards Oldenhaller mansion.


    We go to Episode 13: The Oldenhaller Contract
    Q: Is the scene as described?
    A: Yes, but, TWENE: Remove Simple Element. The oriental rugs have been removed from the hallways to not be ruined from the heavy boots of any visitor adventurers.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    The party finds the mansion easily, and the doorkeeper clearly expects to see people in heavy boots tramping into his master’s hallway, no rugs are in the hallway. A messenger is sent to the Councillor, and after a half-hour wait they are led through winding, opulently decorated corridors to a huge study. The floors are covered with oriental rugs and the walls are hung with family portraits, hunting trophies and framed contracts and bonds.
    Albrecht Oldenhaller sits behind a vast mahogany desk, toying with a jeweled paper knife. He looks them up and down, and then speaks.
    “As you may be aware,” he says, “The house of Oldenhaller is engaged in trading and other activities at a number of levels, and we would be most unhappy – if our dealings with certain of our agents and contacts were to be made public. Accordingly, I must insist that this business must be conducted in the utmost secrecy.” He pauses significantly while this sinks in.
    “A certain gem has appeared in the city,” he continues. “I won’t bore you with the details, except to say that it was acquired on behalf of the House of Oldenhaller by a group of people vulgarly known as the Schatzenheimer gang, who have so far failed to make delivery. You are to recover the stone from them and deliver it here by dawn tomorrow. Like many great stones, there are several legends and superstitions attached to the gem. It is said to have come from a ring worn by Nurgle, the Chaos God, and to carry a highly infectious rotting disease which afflicts all those who handle it. I set no store by these superstitions, but in case there is some substance behind them, you will take this” – he pushes an elaborately carved wooden box across the desk – ”and use it to carry the stone. It bas been enchanted to suppress the magic of anything inside for precisely six hours. That should give you adequate time to deliver the stone here. You will set out at nightfall, and I will have you guided to one of the entrances to the area known as the Asylum, which is where I believe the stone to be. Are there any questions?”

    Albrech Oldenhaller

    “The most important thing you’ve left our. How much is the pay?” Elhali asks.
    “100 Crowns for the each of you, but how do I know you are suited for the job?”
    “Your man Mr. Schreiber sought us out himself and sent us here.” She counters.

    Now it’s time to use Let’s talk. Each exchange will allow for one question, and of course there’s the matter of bartering for a better price.

    Elhali will do the talking this time. Her hand is Worried, Flirting, Wildcard.
    Let’s see if we can Read the Room.
    Elhali Notice: (5,2)/4: Success
    Oldenhaller’s Mood is Diplomatic.
    She will use Worried. Oldenhaller’s Reaction is Somewhat Positive and he is Worried as well.

    “You hire us for a really dangerous job. You want us to bring you this gem? You’d better tell us exactly what we’re dealing with, and not the superstitious mumbo jumbo. You don’t want your hired hands fail just because you didn’t brief us properly.” Elhali shares her concerns, building up the stage for her next sales pitch.
    Oldenhaller looks down for a moment. “Yes, but yes, you are right. I’ll tell you all you need to know. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Her pitch worked.

    Elhali will use Wildcard, Charming now.
    Oldernhaller’s Reaction is Negative and he is Neutral.

    She takes a chill posture, “And as I said, we will get the job done. Mr. Schreiber will vouch for us. You want to get the job done? We’d better have some extra coin, you know for motivation.” She tries to sell the pitch.
    But Oldenhaller is unimpressed. “I’ll see it when it happens.”

    The overall dialogue went somewhat poorly, so I’ll give a -1 to Elhali’s Persuasion attempt again’st Oldenhaller’s Spirit, and another -2 for her Outsider status. I should have had Wolmar do the talking…
    Elhali: Persuasion: (2,2)-3/3: Failure

    He looks at the elf. “100 Crows each. Mr. Schreiber sent you here, and you did take advantage of the opportunity to come first. I’m certain there are other adventurers willing to take the contract. Quite as capable as you.” He pauses. “So what will it be?”
    “We’ll take it” Elhali replies. A bit bummed she didn’t get a better deal.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    Albrecht begins to explain the terms of his offer.
    “As I’ve already explained, secrecy is essential. You cannot involve anyone else in this mission nor recruit any hired help. You will be taken to the edge of the _Asylum, and after that you are on your own. The entrance leads into the portion of the complex: controlled by the Schatzenheimer gang. They are mainiy Nulners; they forge currency and trade in contraband and stolen goods. We think that Kurt Bolger the gang’s leader, has the stone. From the Schatzenheimer area, the Asylum runs towards the river. The central area is run by the Valantinas, who are mainiy Tilean immigrants. They are the most powerful gang in Nuln, involved in every imaginable form of illicit activity. On the easternmost edge of the Asylum is the base of the Huydermans gang, with access to the river. The Huydermans are Wastelanders, and are mainly smugglers and cutthroats”
    “You shouldn’t have too much trouble moving about in the complex although you may need to know the gang’s passwords. The Schatzenheimer password for today is ‘Sweet Hanna’. I don’t know either of the other gangs’ passwords. That is all I can tell you.’

    Oldenhaller has nothing more to add. A servant appears, and the adventurers are lead out of the study, down more winding corridors and into a small private study. The servant offers to have any goods fetched from the ‘Heaver’s Return’, and will present the adventurers with a hearty meal. The characters will are not left unescorted at any time. A half hour later; the guide arrives, along with any equipment the adventurers requested from the ‘Return’.

    I’ll make a Smarts roll for Abenzio, to see if he realizes that the word ‘Malindi’ alongside with the dates, is the Tilean gang’s password.
    Abenzio: Smarts: (9,5)/4: Success*

    While still at the study, Abenzio asks for Wolmar to see the fig leaf marked paper they got from Vasari. He pauses for a moment. “That’s Tilean”, could it be the password for the Valantina gang?” he shares with the rest of the part. “Wouldn’t hurt to try.”
    And with this, night is beginning to fail as the characters set out for the Asylum.

    Bookkeeping

    I need to start having some minor bookkeeping. My party has spent 6 Gold Crowns and 2 Shillings, and earned 4 Gold Crowns so far.
    So each party member has spent 10 Shillings and 6 Brass Pennies, or 10/- 6d in short.


    Session Summary

    It’s been a long while since I had so much fun during a solo gaming session.
    Using the right tools played a major hand in this, so I’ll break it down for analysis.

    I’ll start with the star of the story: Let’s Talk.
    It’s the social mechanics tool I’ve been waiting for so long. I’ve tried other systems, engines, but none ever came close to how much fun and interesting Let’s Talk made the dialogues.
    Yes, there’s a slight minigame approach to it, but that’s where the fun comes. Afterall, aren’t social interactions reliant on how we act during a discussion? Haven’t people ever snapped at someone and then come to regret it? Or frozen at someone’s advances, and then wondered why they did nothing?
    The core concept of the tool and the Moods, Tones, Attitudes and Reactions interactions tie all together so nicely. Couple this with Advanced Moods and Persuasion and Lying mechanics, it’s an absolute little gem.
    It’s a bit rough around the edges, and you absolutely need to try it out, as it plays much better than it reads. I wonder how different social mechanics, such as Intimidation would work with it, and if it can work with RAW or it needs a different approach, but that’s a thought for another day.
    A slight note, is that per RAW, you draw a new hand (without restocking the main deck with the first three drawn cards), whereas I went Hardcore mode, and had to use just the three cards I had drawn at first for the entirety of the three exchanges, which is a tougher approach, because as the duration of the discussion increases, your options decrease as well, and with a bad hand, you might decide to cut it early altogether (as I did with Oldenhaller, avoiding to go Flirting).
    With Let’s Talk, my Dialogues had way more immersion than combat! It’s about time that Social Mechanics get the place they deserve in RPGs. Kudos to the author.

    My combination of BOLD’s Connections with Let’s Talk seems to have worked well, and I had the perfect opportunities to add some filler on otherwise empty adventuring periods. I need to keep this up and not forget to use it.

    UNE works well too, but there’s some overlap with Let’s Talk,

    With regards to the use of Solipsism, I had to cut my losses, and abandon my effort. I spent like an hour trying to make it work with Railroading the adventure, but it just didn’t fit. I’m keeping Solipsism in my solo toolbox for future use.
    MUNE took the burden on it’s shoulders like a champ. My adventures got modified to the right extent. Some major twists occurred too, with the footpad ambush never happening, and the adventurers heading directly to the Oldenhaller mansion without stopping by at Reiks Platz and wasting time with the side quests of the notice board. On the other hand, some more fun would have been had should these events have the opportunity to occur.

    I didn’t get a good chance to try out my combat hacks in Savage Worlds as much as I would have liked, but a first taste seems to have worked well. If things go as expected there should be plenty of fighting in the next Session.

    I’m going to add another hack, as proposed by midgetmanifesto, bennies used for rerolls refresh every gaming session. However bennies used to save one from death – a Soak Roll when otherwise the PC would be incapacitated, are permanently burned, and reduce the maximum number of the PC per session.

    I’ve started using FoundryVTT, and it sped up my solo gaming experience like twice. The SWADE modules 1 2 have all the necessary information, and there’s also a MUNE module that I’ve used extensively. I spent some time preparing the VTT cards of Let’s Talk, and using it with my characters. More or less it works smoothly. There’s a learning curve, and I still have ways to go.

    On the AI front, again I’ve decided to not use any generative text AI like ChatGPT, and I’m narrating the scenes, combat and dialogues. On the other hand, I’m using generative AI for evocative images, and especially portraits.

    Overall I enjoyed the adventures, and getting to know my party and how the characters evolve. Looking forward to the next session into the Asylum!

     
    • midgetmanifesto's avatar

      midgetmanifesto 3:18 am on December 15, 2023 Permalink | Reply

      Vogel is probably just a Mook. Wildcards are truly notable enemies. As you said, Vogel was a simple combat. Another though is Vogel is pretty messed up in the scenario so is probably working under wound penalties.
      Wild cards should be chapter bosses and reoccuring enemies.

      Liked by 1 person

      • giorgis's avatar

        giorgis 2:44 pm on December 15, 2023 Permalink | Reply

        Oh that would make sense. It never occurred to me to just apply Wound Penalties, while retaining the Mook status. Insofar the most difficult conversion issue, balance wise, is this. Especially considering prewritten modules.
        Thanks

        Like

        • midgetmanifesto's avatar

          midgetmanifesto 5:40 pm on December 15, 2023 Permalink

          Conversion can always be a bit tricky. If you realize most normal folks are d4s in savage worlds with an upgrade to a d6 if it’s ‘their job’ it gets pretty easy. Soldiers for instance are shooting d6. A notable would have d8. So that bare knuckle fighter at the carnivale is probably a d8 strength, vigor and fight BC he’s above what a regular trained person would be. A gutter dreg would be d4s all around

          Liked by 1 person

        • giorgis's avatar

          giorgis 5:45 pm on December 15, 2023 Permalink

          Yes! I’m using a conversion I found somewhere online that starts with 20-29% being a d4, and increasing a die step for each 10% upwards. With that, the module conversion pretty much aligns with what you say above.
          The Wild Card concept breaks this balance though on the conversion level.

          Like

        • midgetmanifesto's avatar

          midgetmanifesto 6:37 pm on December 15, 2023 Permalink

          The wild card thing gives some appropriate gravitas and heft to villains. It is a pulpy ruleset. We played it a lot and single baddies are prone to being one shotted by lucky damage rolls that explode. Mobs are way more scary for most characters. One friend caps exploding damage to max damage (of the weapon/are) plus a bonus d6 bennies allow the villains to soak some hits, not fall on their face, not be shaken ever single round.
          Wild cards are a story mechanic more so than a conversion challenge. If you want a returning villain/rival give them some bennies so they can twirl their mustache and escape while their henchmen get in the way of the PCs attempts to down them.

          Like

  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 11:36 pm on November 29, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , Warhammer   

    Savage Warhammer S01E00 

    Session Zero

    Working on a new project of mine. It’s something that has been done plenty of times before, playing in the Old World of Warhammer using a different system.

    I’m a big fan of the Old World setting and the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay theme. Grim and dark, with a tone of phlegmatic humour. However I’m partial to the ruleset. The first edition is a bit too chaotic, not only in terms of combat results, but also of rules. This isn’t solved entirely in the next editions with the 2nd being too crunchy for my tastes. I have no problem with crunchiness, but for solo, I’m looking into streamlined crunchiness, similar to how Harnmaster and BRP does it.

    Therefore I considered many times a conversion, and playing, using a different ruleset. I decided against Harnmaster, because separating the ruleset from its own lore and putting it into the Old World, sounds like too much of an effort (magic, races, locations, technology). I decided against Mythras due to the difficulty of running an adventuring party, and decided against BRP, because I want a wounds threshold system.

    In the end, I decided to go into Savage Worlds. There’s many fan-made conversions of WHFRP to Savage Worlds in the wild, and the one I will be mostly following, is the Savage Warhammer.
    I will be using the SWADE core, and drawing additional information from the previous edition of Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion. I’ll also take more information from the other fan-made conversions if I like them, as I see fit, for example I used the ‘Apprentice’ Hindrance from another conversion.

    Apprentice (Major)
    This Hindrance can be taken by a starting character with an Arcane Background with a linked Skill Trait no greater than d4. The character starts with one less Power than normal and can gain no more Powers until at least one Rank is gained.

    I recall preferring some of the SWDE rules better than SWADE, but if memory serves me right, these were related mostly to modern firearms, so hopefully, SWADE will be the right choice.

    For Setting Rules I will be using some existing ones as-is, a few modified, and a few of my own.

    • Hard Choices: As is
    • Dynamic Backlash: Replaced by Savage Warhammer Magic rules
    • Dynamic Melee Combat: Inspired from my favorite d100 systems, see notes below
    • Grittier Damage: Some extra deadliness.

    Dynamic Melee Combat

    Defender chooses to block, counterattack or dodge the incoming attack. An unarmed defender can only dodge as a defensive action. This must be declared prior to the attack roll.

    Attack RollBlockCounterattackDodge
    ≥Parry+RaiseA*2A*2A*2
    ≥Parry†A*1A*1A*1
    ≥4Blocked AB*1Dodged
    2-3Blocked BD*1Missed
    1FumbleD*2Stumble

    A*2: Attacker hits with raise.
    A*1: Attacker hits.
    B*1: Both hit.
    D*1: Defender hits.
    D*2: Defender hits, with raise.
    Blocked A: Attack blocked. Roll damage against defender’s weapon‡. On success, it’s broken.
    Blocked B: Attack blocked. Roll damage against own weapon‡. On success, it’s broken.
    Fumble: Attacker Agility check or drop weapon.
    Stumble: Attacker Agility check or fall prone.
    Dodged: Defender Agility check or fall prone.
    Missed: No effect.
    † Only if Parry>4
    ‡ Weapons & Shields Toughness equals to Damage + Weight.
    Note: on a block, residual damage can carry over to the defender

    On a raise the combatant can choose one of the following options.

    • +1d6 Damage as per RAW
    • Weapon Special Effect:
      Edged weapons cause Lacerations: The slashing attack hits another location at one weapon (only) damage.
      Piercing weapons cause Impaling: double weapon (only) damage, weapon remains stuck in opponent until removed. Penalty -2 until removed. Any significant activities or removal causes weapon (only) damage, not reduced by armor. Successful Strength check to remove by target or successful Fighting attack to retrieve by attacker. (If the attacker has no other weapon; they’re considered to be an Unarmed Defender until weapon retrieval.)
      Bludgeoning weapons cause Crushing: Increase Strength damage by one step. Target is Stunned.

    Grittier Damage

    As per Gritty Damage rules, but also:

    • A single attack which causes 2 Wounds or more, also causes Bleeding Out. For Bludgeoning weapons this is internal bleeding. For piercing weapons, if impaled, Bleeding Out happens only if the weapon is removed.
    • A single attack which causes 4 Wounds or more, also destroys the location. A limb is severed, a head decapitated, etc. In contrast to Gritty Damage RAW, this damage is permanent unless recovered through magical means (i.e. regeneration).
    • Healing a Gruesome injury requires healing the Wound level that caused it. For example if a Hideous Scar was received by a 2 Wound hit to the head, then, 2 Wounds need to be healed to remove the effect.

    Solo Engines

    The few times I’ve solo played a pre-written adventure module, I’ve come to enjoy the process immensely, so that’s what I’m going to do again. I intend to try out the use of the following solo tools and engines.

    Solipsism

    I think the gamebook style of Solipsism will fit well to structure the travelling between scenes and locations in a prewritten module. I have both versions of the solo engine, so I might try them both out.

    MUNE

    I will use the core MUNE as Oracle and engine, with TWENE table to alter the adventure as required.

    Expectations

    • A quick and dirty way to play in the Old World, maintaining the theme of the setting.
      Savage Worlds will provide the pulp survival mode, but the setting rules will make it more deadly and more interesting, staying true to the Warhammer vibe.
    • Solipsism will provide a framework to run the pre-written adventure modules, while MUNE will provide Oracle answers and alterations, without getting bogged down in charts.
    • Playing the pre-written adventure modules from the First Edition of WHFRP will provide a good experience without needing to rely on AI tools and generators to help describe an adventure.

    Concerns

    • The deadliness of the system might be too high and the party could be killed or TPK.
    • Solipsism might just not work. It is a very unique solo tool, and I haven’t tried running a prewritten adventure module in it.
    • The different adventure modules might not be easily tied together.

    Fallback

    • Tone down deadliness by using Gritty Damage as per SWADE RAW.
    • Use of another system, like Mythic (Variations 2), or Motif Story Engine to run the adventure framework.
    • Run sandbox solo until the opportunity appears to pick up the next adventure module.

    Format

    I’ve recently gotten Foundry VTT, and I intend to run the various scenes within this.

    The Oldenhaller Contract

    This is the adventure module included in the Warhammer First Edition Core Rulebook, and I will begin with this. Since it’s meant for four characters, I will create four characters. Apart from the SWADE chargen, I generated randomly all the background information. I decided to choose one different Class for each adventurer, but rolled on the professions normally.
    In short the characters are:

    • Abenzio Monteverde, 24M, 6’0″ 232 lbs, black curly hair, green eye, a massive Tilean pit fighter from Luccini, with only one working eye and scarred skin. He’s a foreigner a long way from home.
    • Greta Kahl, 27F, 5’8″ 130 lbs, bald, blue eyes,big ears, an alchemist’s apprentice from Barfsheim, Dunkelburg. Perhaps an experiment gone wrong? She has three children and a husband, what could have forced her to abandon them?
    • Elhali Silba, 77F, a wood elf smuggler from the Great Forest, with a stunning smile of very white teeth. Her family is all rogues and scoundrels, and the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.
    • Wolmar of Schlafebild, 19M, the typical herdsman from Schlafebild of rural Altdorf, but with a very clear voice. Was pastoral life not meant for him?
      The adventure begins in Nuln, but the rulebook gives the GM the option to begin with the river journey and get the party to know each other, and that’s what I’ll do, albeit in a solo player’s manner.

    I’ll get started with the Book of Legends and Deeds to create interesting backstories for each of my characters using the Waylays mechanic, and then use Connections for some dialogues. It’s really interesting how just rolling the family and place of birth can provide you with like half the material you need for an interesting character.
    I have a concern here that I’ll spend too much time creating my protagonists, and they’ll die quickly in a ditch or gutter, but since the process is fun on it’s own I decided to go along with it.

    Abenzio Monteverde

    Abenzio is the third of four siblings. All his siblings are sisters. His father is a servant, and his mother was a thief.
    (Waning/relative/overcome by close friend)

    Abenzio’s mother fell ill when he was just a kid. Abenzio couldn’t help her, and if it wasn’t for his close friend’s father, a local healer, she might have not made it.

    (Unforeseen/misunderstanding/overcome by/favored skill)

    As a teenager Abenzio got in trouble for something he didn’t do. His sister had stolen an expensive necklace, and he was blamed. He entered into a brawl with the town guard and escaped.

    (Impassioned/weather/overcome on accident)

    It wasn’t long after that Abenzio attempted to flee Tilea on a boat as a crewman. The ship met harsh weather to the North, and crashed on the rocks. By luck he was the sole survivor, but he injured his left eye, and he can’t see with it. His body, flailed against the rocks, still bears the marks of a scarred skin. Since then, he tries to make a living in Reiksland as a pit fighter, quite successfully. His hulking size, intimidates most foes.

    Greta Kahl

    Greta is the youngest of four siblings. One of her brothers is a noble, perhaps a bastard half-brother whose father is nobility?
    (Grim/invader/overcome by fate)
    Greta was only a child when goblin raiders attacked their home at Barfsheim. It was only by chance that she survived, as she and her older siblings were sent on an errand at Dunkelsburg.

    (perceiving/hermit/overcome by favored ability)

    As orphans, the siblings split in Dunkelburg. Greta was taken in by an alchemist called Dietrich and his wife Anna. She helped in the lab and kitchen chores, and was given an education. Teenage Greta had taken on the surname of her new family, when an old man from Barsheim, called Gustav who had survived, was in the city for business. He saw Greta and almost recognized her, and wanted to take her back as a farmhand on his remote homestead, but the young Greta outsmarted him. She spoke eloquently in the classical tongue, and the man was confused. When she called out to a city guard that the man is harassing her, she made a scamp exit, while he was trying to explain himself.

    (ordinary/holdings/overcome by favored skill)

    The old man persisted, and he eventually found her adoptive family. For a decent bride price, she was married off to the man’s son, Wolf, in Barfsheim. Being a servant to a loveless marriage was not for Greta, and she planned her escape from this life. Having stolen some recipes from the laboratory, she prepared a potion to change her appearance, and leave in disguise, taking her three children with her. However, the potion didn’t work as expected, and Greta’s face was disfigured and she went bald. Her children screamed in horror when they saw her, and she fled in the night. Noone recognized her. Eventually, her face went back to normal, but for some bigger than normal ears, and the hair that never returned. Wearing a scarf to cover her head, she can’t return back to her demanding family, and dares not face her children and their just accusations that she abandoned them.

    Note: Retrospectively, it makes sense as the backstory evolved that her brother was adopted by a noble family that couldn’t sire children instead of a bastard.

    Elhali Silba

    Elhali is the youngest of three wood elf sisters, their father Calandilas is the only one in the picture.
    (barbaric/rebels/overcome by fate)

    Another tragic tale of the old world. When Elhali was just a kid, she was in the woods of the Great Forest with her mother, when a warband of chaos beastmen charged at them full might. Her mother was killed in an instant, and Elhali was hit by a blow that sent her flying back several feet. She dropped down in a bear’s cave and fell unconscious. Having lost her tracks, the beastmen didn’t chase further. At first light, she returned back to her camp. Her father, now the sole provider for three girls.

    (brusque/social environ/overcome by strong attribute)

    Being the daughters of a gambler, the girls quickly had to put up with the riff-raff of his peers. Elhali proved her mettle by smuggling contraband to the nearest imperial settlement. Once she started paying off her father’s debts due to her stealth and smarts, noone dared even say another word about her again, or they’d risk facing her father’s wrath.

    (pleasant/festival/overcome by personal resources)

    It was Hexenstag, at Liadrel’s festival when Elhali was smuggling unregulated elf wine into Diesdorf. She was betrayed by a competitor, and had to flee using her trusted rowboat, along the river Reik.

    Wolmar of Schlafebild

    Wolmar is the third out of four siblings, his father Berthold is a trader and his mother a boatswoman. Perhaps they work together?
    (drowsy/occult/overcome by favored ability)

    Wolmar’s willpower was evident from his childhood. A stranger appeared in his hometown of Schlafenbild, and as he passed through the streets at dusk, he mesmerized the children to follow him in the woods, never to be seen again. Only Wolmar stood there and just looked at the uneasy parade. He felt a slight tingling inside forcing him to follow, but he grasped the coat of a sheep next to him, and didn’t flinch.

    (fixated/rival/overcome by faction intervention)

    This meeting didn’t leave Wolmar unscathed, and he was a bit of weird and secluded as a teenager, which caused another kid to bully him all the time. His bully was fixated to making his life a hell, until Wolmar’s family had enough. His brother gave a good beating to the bully, and his father told a handful to the kid’s parents. Wolmar wasn’t teased again.

    (revered/relative/overcome by close friend)

    Since then, the mundane never stuck with Wolmar. He can’t go about tending the goats when he feels like there’s chaos lurking around every corner. His father wanted him to follow on his mercantile footsteps, but Wolmar disagreed. He didn’t want to upset his father and felt trapped. This all changed, when Wolmar’s herd of sheep was attacked by wolves, and he stood bravely against them to protect the sheep. Right on time, an adventurer appeared, and killed two of the wolves, scaring the rest away. The man was Hals Narbe, an adventurer who had saved his father’s life and was coming to visit. He spoke highly of Wolmar’s bravery to Berthold, and how the boy would make a fortune with his boldness out there in the world. Berthold, pressured by Hals, finally gave in to Wolmar’s request, and gave his blessing to the young man to leave home and start adventuring.

    This more or less sums up our group of adventurers, and their reasons for adventuring. For the next part of session zero, I will generate some BOLD connections and have some dialogues, perhaps they’ve already exchanged more than a few words together as part of their river journey, perhaps, they’re just about to do so. Normally you’re supposed to spread these connections along a game session, but in this particular case, I’ll be using them back-to-back.

    actiongerundsubject
    addressconcludingallies
    scrutinizeavoidingparty member
    impartenjoyinga skill

    The river boat goes downward the river towards Nuln. The passengers are a misfit band.

    (address/avoiding/party member)

    Wolmar, a young man with red hair contrasted by green eyes, looks at them. ‘Are they adventurers like him?’ he wonders. ‘Well, adventurer wannabe to be exact.’ He grips the hilt of his short sword tightly and speaks loudly to get their attention, but as the hulking scarred man sitting on the schooner’s floor turns towards him, Wolmar, intimidated averts his gaze, his voice trembles, and softly continues without looking at him. “So, fellow travelers, are you new to Nuln? I… I heard there is good coin to be made in Nuln, if one know where to look. I’m Wolmar, and I’m looking for some company to share the spoils together.”

    (scrutinize/concluding/a skill)

    The woman, that Wolmar believes is an elf – he can’t be sure as only strands of silver hair escape from her hood, answers. “And what skills do you have so that we will place our faith in you… Wolmar? You look as if you’ve left your mom’s busom but yesterday. Can I trust you to protect me when it all goes shitwide?” She challenges him.
    Her light voice certainly carries the weight of an elf’s words. “You’re way older than me, and I’m more than certain that you don’t need me to protect you. But if you place your trust in me, be certain, that the foe – be it man, goblin or troll, will get past me first, before it reaches my companions, should they come my way!”
    Elhali chuckled. “Placing trust in others is something I haven’t done in a long, time, but there’s a first for everything. You can call me Elhali young man. Let’s visit Nuln together.”
    Wolmar sighed, and his gaze went to the third passenger, a woman with a scarf covering her head, his eyes still avoiding the brute.
    The woman looked down, trying to escape the unwanted attention, and Wolmar realized that not everyone might be so eager to adventure, but as he was about to turn the discussion to something else, because he felt very uncomfortable, the bulking man stood up, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

    (impart/enjoying/allies)

    “You have my flail!” he gives a shoulder hug to the two ladies next to him. “I think Nuln is a great place to get rich, I like you Wolmar. Straight to the point. I am Abenzio, you can call me Abe. This here is Greta, she’s shy but she’s good with potions, she settled my uneasy stomach.” he nodded to the scarfed woman who smiled. “I have a feeling that you’re all a fine bunch, and we’ll have exciting times together. Let’s carve our own path here in Nuln, a path paved in gold crowns.”

    Before going into the meat of the adventure, I’ll also use the opportunity as proposed by the adventure, to get into a good argument with the customs officials.

    I’m paraphrasing the text from the adventure:

    After what seems like months, the boat reaches Nuln. The adventurers are all frozen and soaked through. It is probably true to say that they all bitterly regret buying a cheap deck-class passage on an aging riverboat; it doesn’t seem a particularly heroic way to start their lives as adventurers. During the course of the journey, they have got to know each other, and become friends of a sort, united by the common desire to escape the grinding tedium of everyday life. The pilot brings the boat alongside a jetty. Crewmen throw ropes to waiting dockers, the ropes are lashed round massive wooden uprights and the boat is pulled onto the jetty with a slight bump. The gangplank is lowered, and timber cranes swing across the decks to unload the cargo.

    The customs formalities drag on and on, with the captain of the boat, and it’s almost night when the time comes, when the officer calls motions for the adventurers to present anything to declare.

    For this I will use Let’s Talk.
    First I’ll choose the Greeting Attitude for the customs officials, which will be Neutral. (I was leaning into Unfriendly as well)
    Then I’ll choose the Topic. This is clear. Where do the adventurer’s come from, what do they want in the city of Nuln, and if they bring in any contraband.
    Rolling for the Mood, I get Startled. Perhaps they were not expecting passengers at this river boat?

    The officer, a fat man in his mid forties, dressed in fine clothing is looking at the four adventurers in disbelief. “Name and occupation. State your belongings and business in Nuln. Weird bunch… how come you’re all together?” he says and shakes his head.

    My Let’s talk hand doesn’t have the best options available, I can choose Flirting, Surprised, Wildcard.
    I’ll start by using the Surprised card.
    I roll on the Reaction Roll, modify it with the mood and get a Somewhat Negative result, which combined to the NPC’s tone, means they’re Neutral.

    Wolmar steps forward. “Why… did we do anything wrong?”
    The officer seems unimpressed. “Name, occupation, belongings and business.”

    I will use Flirting.
    I roll on the Reaction Roll, and get a Negative result, which combined to the NPC’s tone, means they’re Rejecting.

    Elhali smiles and touches the officer’s shoulder softly. She uses the softer voice she can muster “Please mister officer, we’re so tired and cold” she bats her eyelashes, “all we want is a warm bath and a bed“.
    The man starts to show his discomfort. “What is your name miss?” he says in a cold, blunt manner.

    On the third and final exchange I will use the Wildcard. Something to do with the PC personality. I’ll pick Wolmar, and Rude.
    I roll on the Reaction Roll and get a Somewhat Negative result, which combined with the NPC’s tone, means they’re Rude as well.

    “Here’s my belongings!”, and with a clutter, Abenzio throws down his great hammer at the feet of the officer. “Can we get on now with this stupid farce? Night is falling and it’s freezing cold out here. Is that the Nuln welcome to all the visitors?”
    “Just the ones that don’t have smarts for brains.” The officer says unfazed by the brutish display of Abenzio. “Will you comply, or do I have to call the guards?”

    So I consider that the PCs will comply now. If they had a favorable outcome, perhaps they’d get an earlier entry into Nuln, but now this will go as described in the module.
    I don’t want to derail the adventure at this point (it’s a starter adventure after all), so I will not entertain myself with the possibilities of Elhali being wanted as a smuggler or Greta as a fugitive. Perhaps these are threads to be tied in the future.

    Paraphrasing from the adventure module:

    The customs formalities drag on and on, and it is nearly midnight by the time the adventurers are allowed ashore.

    Now, I’ll stop here, and summarize, as from the next session, the adventure starts normally.

    Session Summary

    It took me quite a great while to complete this session zerio. Converting WFHRP into SWADE, hacking SWADE to my liking, creating characters, backstories, getting started to learn Foundry, and I have this fear that they’ll die in the first encounter.
    Which is good if I stop to think about it. This way, I’m attached to the characters, and also the most important part, I had fun!
    Prepping for a game is as much fun as playing the game itself. Sure, there’s more details that can be filled out, generate names for the siblings, and detailed backstories, but we have to stop somewhere and get the story started, right?
    On the choice of systems, I haven’t had the chance to use them yet, so the entire structure might crumble, but I have only the best words for both BOLD and Let’s Talk. For BOLD I will not repeat myself, it’s really marvelous at what it does. In this session I decided against using AI-generated text, to better immerse myself in the story, and I must say I enjoyed it immensely. There’s some rewarding feeling in this self-challenge to get a proper narrative from keywords.
    As for Let’s Talk, it’s the first time I’m using it, and I was very happy. The concept is quite intuitive. I like how it forces you to use three approaches from a hand, which means there’s no repetition, and you might have to step out of the box to roleplay the situation. It’s also clever as to how the entire social encounter is limited to 3 exchanges. I can see it working alongside with UNE with the latter serving the initial Greeting perhaps. I’ll try it out again, but it has the potential to be the social dialogue engine for solo I’ve been looking for so long.

     
    • midgetmanifesto's avatar

      midgetmanifesto 1:46 am on November 30, 2023 Permalink | Reply

      For more resilience you could treat bennies like fate/fortune points in stock WFRP (2e). You can use them for rerolls (as bennies) and they refresh each adventure/gaming session. You can burn them permanently (refresh number goes down) in order to stave off death.
      It’s fun b/c it results in a swirling down the toilet experience. Less rerolls means more likely death with means more likely to burn your rerolls down. *Flush*

      Liked by 1 person

  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 9:03 pm on December 21, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: RenegadeScout, , Warhammer   

    Renegade Fantasy Hammer 

    This is an attempt to play a Warhammer Fantasy universe battle with the Renegade Scout ruleset using 15mm miniatures.
    I’ll be going for a classic Elves vs Goblins skirmish battle, since these were part of the original WHFB4ed boxed set, and I want to pay tribute to it.
    It’s quite easy to translate the WHFB statistics into RS statistics, so I’ll start with these.

    MoMeSShSPoDeWPObAtDLeSInCUFWyrd
    MWSBSSTWIALdI+4LdI+3+1 per Magic User Level
    Conversion

    In RS there is ample freedom in organizing Squads, So I’ll field the following troops, using WHFB points costs.

    Orc Arrer Boyz – 4 (4 Bows)
    Orc Boyz – 6 (2 Javelins, 3 Shields)
    Orc Boss (Light Armor)
    Goblins – 7 (5 Shields)
    Goblins – 3 (3 Short Bows)
    Goblin Boss (Light Armor, 2 Weapons)
    Goblin Shaman
    Orc Big’Uns – 10 (10 Light Armor, 3 Shields, 2 2-H weapons, 3 2-Weapons)

    Base Cost: 155 1/2
    Equipment: 43
    Heroes: 65 1/2
    Total: 264

    Elf Archers – 6 (3 Light Armor, 3 Javelins, 6 Long Bows)
    Elf Warriors – 13 (5 2-H Weapons, 5 Shields, 5 Light Armor)
    2 Elf Mages
    Elf Champion (Light Armor, Shield)

    Base Cost: 176
    Equipment: 46
    Heroes: 83
    Total: 364

    Since the two forces have 100 points difference, I’ll be giving the Goblin force an Ogre and a Gigantic Spider, and this should bring the difference down by 90, to 10 points.


    Elwidris heard the horn sound the alarm. She questioned often the elders when they placed him in charge of this outpost, next to a remote farm of men and the remains of an old barracks building.
    In the distance, where the dark woods had consumed the ruins of an ancient temple, her keen elvish vision saw movement.
    She wasted no time and called Ladrione’s Stars, her elite warriors, to fight by her side. Celodhil, the sorcerer, joined her flank, while Elegor, another master of the magic arts, took the hill, along with the archers. The brave Turgali, warriors armed with bastard swords moved towards the farm, to cover the eastern part of the battlefield.


    Snaga was still dizzy from last night’s party. The shaman’s brew had hit him in the head. Lurtzog brewed a potent shroom ale. He still can’t believe he agreed to join force with Muzga’s orcs, and his friend, Radbug the ogre. With them orcs and goblins it was always a fight of superiority. Prove who’s the boss.
    He side glanced at the goblin shaman. Some spell must have been at work. But now he was already in the field marching his goblins towards the stinky elf lands, and he couldn’t back down, or he’d be the laughing stock of every goblin in the cave. Lurtzog even brought his pet spider, Boldush, with him, a beast that had the strength of ten orcs, or two trolls. He never was good in math, but better than Muzga.


    Turn 1

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    The battlefield

    Movement

    The two forces march against each other, closing in. The archers heading for high ground, while the melee combatants trying to stay in cover.


    Turn 2

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    Movement

    They close in further.

    Fire Combat

    The elf archers shoot at the ogre. 2 arrows hit, but the ogre isn’t wounded at the slightest.
    The orc arrer boyz shoot at the elf mage Elegor. One of the black arrows is jammed in his throat. The mage spews out blood as he falls down dead.

    Turn 3

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    Movement

    The forces are about to engage in melee combat.

    Fire Combat

    The elf archers shoot again at the ogre, one arrow lodges itself in the ogre’s chest, and it cries in pain.
    The orc arrer boyz now aim at the elf archers, but only one arrow finds it’s target, barely scratching an elf.
    The goblin archers shoot at Elwidris’ group but they all miss with their short ranged bows.

    Wyrd

    Lurtzog curses and spits trying hard to cast the spell to help Snaga’s mob, but fails.


    Turn 4

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    Movement

    The ogre and the orc mob led by Muzga are near the foot of the hill, while the orc big ‘uns and the Turgali clash in melee.

    Fire Combat

    The elf archers shoot again at the ogre, 2 arrows finding their target, but the ogre removes and breaks them in half like toothpicks. The orc arrer boyz shoot from the hill, and two arrows kill one elf archer, reducing their number to 5.
    The goblin shoot at the armored elf warriors, but both arrows that reach them, are stopped by the strong elvish wooden shields.

    Close Combat

    As the Big’uns fight the Turgali, there’s no clear victor or loser. One brave elf and one big orc perish in the fierce fight.

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922222830433751080/IMG_0359.jpg
    Boldush cut an elf warrior in half with her pincers.

    Wyrd

    Lurtzog tries to cast a spell to assist Snaga’s goblins, but drops his runes.

    Morale

    All forces stand their ground.


    Turn 5

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    Movement

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922243448436846672/IMG_0361.jpg
    Radbug closes in to the elf positions, Muzga is only a short distance behind, leading his band of orcs.

    Fire Combat

    The archers shoot another volley at Radbug, with two arrows hitting their target, and one wounding the big guy. He screams in pain, and roars at the puny elves.
    The orcs shoot at the tower, but their arrows hit the battlements. The goblins shoot at the Turgali, but once more, their small weapons prove to be no match.

    Close Combat

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922244432521224192/IMG_0362.jpg
    Elwidris flanks Boldush and wounds the gigantic beast under its belly. The spider and the rest of the elves exchange blows, but noone manages to wound the other.
    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922245349555458078/IMG_0363.jpg
    Meanwhile, Celodhil has charged at the goblins and kills one of the small greenskins, while Snaga yells at them to press on.
    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922245859045965854/IMG_0364.jpg
    Another Turgali falls beneath the big’uns.

    Morale

    The goblins scared of Celodhil break and flee towards the ruins, even Snaga’s curses can’t keep them in line.
    The brave Turgali don’t live up to their name and bravely run away from the big’uns as well.
    Only Ladrione’s Stars hold their ground against the eight legged beast.


    Turn 6

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    The broken troops flee to cover

    Movement

    Celodhil pursues the goblins in the ruins, and the big’uns reach the fleeing elves. Meanwhile the ogre is a breath away from the elf archers at the tower.

    Fire Combat

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922247903047733329/45508E60-54F6-47E8-935E-CB5E0495C968.jpg
    They all shoot in unison, and an arrow thrusts in the ogre’s eye. It reaches the centre of functions and drops motionless.

    The orc arrer boyz try to take revenge, but once more the fortifications save the elves.
    The goblins shoot at the elvs fighting the spider, but the nimble elves duck just in time to avoid the hail of arrows.

    Close Combat

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922249117558767616/IMG_0368.jpg
    An orc slashes at a fleeing elf, killing him, his back turned.

    A handful of elves are in close combat with the spider, and dodge it’s blows, while one, manages to get a thrust in her soft underside, wounding her once more.

    Morale

    The Turgali recover and stop fleeing.


    Turn 7

    Priority

    The elves have priority.

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922388844148559902/IMG_0371.jpg
    The Turgali, outnumbered, charge at their enemies
    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922391948613025792/IMG_0378.jpg
    Celodhil charges at Lurtzog while the goblins keep fleeing

    Movement

    The goblins keep fleeing, while Muzga’s orcs close in on the tower. The other fronts remain locked in combat more or less.

    Fire Combat

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922256382470799410/IMG_0370.jpg
    Protected by enemy fire, the elf archers shoot at the approaching orc mob, but both arrows that reach their targets, hit the shield!

    Again, the orcs shoot at the tower, but their arrows hit the battlements. The goblins shoot at the Turgali, but yet again, their small weapons prove to be no match.

    Close Combat

    Seriously outnumbered, another Turgali falls against the big’uns.

    Meanwhile, Celodhil duels with Lurtzog, and kills the goblin shaman, decapitating him.

    Nearby Elwidris falls under the spider. Eager to make a quick meal, the beast receives another wound, from an elf warrior, aiming to seek revenge for their fallen champion.

    Morale

    Snaga bashes a couple of goblin heads, and they rally, turning back to face their enemy.

    At the other side of the battlefield, the one remaining Turgali runs for his life.


    Turn 8

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    Movement

    Celodhil charges at the goblin archers, but he’s flanked by the now rallied goblins of Snaga, and is in a tough fight.
    The last Turgali flees, but is caught by the big’uns who run faster. Meanwhile, Muzga’s orcs reach the elf archers on the tower.

    Fire Combat

    The elf archers shoot at the charging orcs, their arrows finding their targets, but the tough orcs are not hampered at all.
    The orc arrer boyz provide cover, shooting at the elfs, this time their arrows hit one, sending him to his death from the towertop to the ground.
    The goblins shoot at the Turgali, but yet again, their small weapons prove to be no match.

    Close Combat

    The elf archer tries to fend off the orc, he hits but can’t wound the thick skinned orc. The orcs outnumber him and finish him off. Further, the last Turgali, flanked, is killed by the orc gang.
    Celodhil kills the goblin archer he fights with, but nearby, another elf warrior perishes under the wounded spider’s legs, who still stands against the group of elves.

    Morale

    All troops hold their ground.


    Turn 9

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    Movement

    Celodhil switches direction to face the goblins coming up from behind.
    In the meantime, more and more orcs surround the tower.

    Fire Combat

    The few elf archers shoot at the orcs, but their arrows are too weak to cause any damage. They are shot at by the orc arrer boyz, and another elf falls down.
    Meanwhile the two remaining goblin archers shoot at the elf warriors against the spider, but they both miss.

    Close Combat

    At the woods, the gigantic spider tramples another one of the elves, and Celodhil falls to a curved goblin blade. The elves try to finish off the wounded spider, but she pushes off their weapons and parries with all her legs.
    At the tower, the elf archer at the base, fights with his back to the wall, and soon falls to the mob.

    Morale

    Ladrione’s Stars have had enough. Seeing the battle lost they flee away from the spider.
    The elf archers have nowhere to go, and they grit their teeth and keep fighthing.


    Turn 10

    Priority

    The elves have priority

    Movement

    An orc climbs to the top of the tower to face the last elf defender, while the fleeing elf warriors are caught up by the pursuing spider.

    Fire Combat

    The two remaining goblin archers shoot at the elf warriors against the spider, only one hits, but doesn’t manage to wound.

    The orc archers are out of range of any visible targets.

    Close Combat

    The orc clashes with the elf archer at the top of the tower but it’s a standoff.

    The spider doesn’t get any other elf under her web.

    Morale

    Ladrione’s Stars rally, and get back in the fight.


    Turn 11

    Priority

    The orcs have priority.

    Movement

    Another orc climbs up the tower, while below, the big’uns march towards the last remaining elf warriors, who join once more combat against the arthropod. Snaga’s goblins have closed the distance and charge the elves.

    Fire Combat

    The goblins shoot into the melee, one of Snaga’s goblins is hit as well as an elf, but only the elf warrior receives a deadly wound.
    The orc archers shoot at the elf warriors in the woods, but, the thick foliage prevents them from doing any damage.

    Close Combat

    One against two, the last elf archer falls to the orcs. The tower belongs to them now.
    The fighting in the woods comes to a standoff, as no side is winning, nor elves nor goblins.

    Morale

    Ladrione’s Stars, still hold their ground.


    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/627941499220525056/922411451648458762/IMG_0401.jpg
    The battle is over. The orcs are the masters of the battlefield.

    As the troll horn wicked sound is heard over the battlefield, Snaga smiles. He knows they have won. The elves retreat tactically, and he calls off his goblins. No need to lose any more of his troops to the elves. The battle is won and he’ll need them in case Muzga has second thoughts about their alliance, especially now that Lurtzog is dead. He looks at the wounded spider pet feasting on the corpses of elves and wonders if he’ll be able to keep it under control without the shaman.

    The last remaining elves hold their shields up and retreat, their face to the goblins. They lost many of their own today. They need to survive and report to their elders. From small skirmishes like this, greenskin hordes gather. They failed to stop them today, they must stop them tomorrow.


    Session Summary

    I was about to count the points cost remaining per side to declare the victor, but the orc victory is so obvious that there’s no point to do it.

    Back in the day I could field tons of orcs and goblins as their points cost was too low in comparison to other armies. It is very much possible that the points balance is off, and that’s the reason for the absolute victory today, without ruling out the effect of tactics and dice rolls.

    Due to the small table (60cm) and 15mm scale I decided to go with an inch to cm ratio, which made everything sooo slow, and that’s why I had to increase the duration of the battle. Next time I’m going to use a faster movement scaling.

    I also discovered the big difference between Rank and File and Skirmish. In rank and file you can move your units without much trouble as they move in unison. Here, moving one figure at a time, there were times were I had funnels and blocking of figures, which was quite fun and realistic. Frustrating but enjoyable.

    Now to the ruleset. First of all I’d like to state that this is an experiment. Renegade Scout as is, isn’t meant for fantasy or historical war gaming, it is meant for sci fi and I can see that it could also deliver modern themes.

    Since it’s the first time I used (and modified) the ruleset, there is a high probability that I may have missed or misused a rule, so take these with a grain of salt.

    The main combat resolution mechanic works fine and fast. In close combat I was missing a comparison of melee values between attacker and defender, but that’s only a minor point.

    The activation mechanic works well in most of the cases, even when solo. It was a tad bit difficult to follow up in close combat phase where the activation isn’t unit based as in the rest of the phases, but figure based. I think that even in social gaming, some sort of token for figure activations is necessary. But even so, it was a bit chaotic as you might switch focus on the battlefield from one side to the other between activations, as each player prioritises on where they feel they need to put their resources most. Nevertheless I managed to solo with around 50-60 figures in total without any tokens, which is quite a feat for the system, taking under consideration that it’s the first time I played with this ruleset, and not as is.

    Some rules are not relevant to the theme, like sheltering (never had to use it) and I could also feel the need to use some WHFB4e modifiers which felt missing, like casualties in morale tests.

    On the same regard, the Wyrd rules as-is have a quite different effect as a Magic system. I’ve had better results using my mages as heroes than as mages, but I have to note that the powers rolled weren’t of much use (Celodhil could teleport a unit in a random direction).

    Overall it was a fun experiment. I could compare against KPS but it wouldn’t be fair, as the latter is poised towards medieval combat. I enjoyed the narrative and I am eager to run more skirmish battles using either KPS or a Renegade Scout WHFB4e hybrid. It wouldn’t be too hard to fit the pieces of the puzzle in such a way that it works.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 5:44 pm on September 30, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Warhammer   

    A Call to Glory S03 – Warhammer Fantasy RP1e 

    Continuing at the same challenge in the Level 1 dungeon A Call to Glory from TSR’s Dragon Quest, introductory adventure game, this time using Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game 1st Edition.
    I got this through Humble Bundle, and was itching to try it out. I’m an old fan of the Warhammer Fantasy universe, as I was playing the Warhammer Fantasy Battles 4th Edition, back in the ’90s.

    I’ll be using a diverse party of 4 characters. I’ll try to include as many different demihuman races and careers as possible to have a party that can deal with most tasks.

    Scrolling through the core rulebook, I found 4 pregenerated characters for the sample adventure, that I’ll be using for this game.


    The Party

    Pregenerated

    • Jordi, a Dwarf Trollslayer
    • Mellory, a Human Hunter
    • Soko, a Halfling Burglar
    • Bianka, an Elf Wizard’s Apprentice

    The Adventure

    The heroes have been called before Gustovan, the Burgomaster of Torlynn. Torlynn is a small village set in a quiet, hilly area near the mountains. The heroes have lived here for many years and think of Torlynn as home. Gustovan is known as a wise and kind mayor.
    He asks of the heroes to go explore the old, abandoned, dwarven, iron mine, because strange lights and sounds come from within. They’re to find out if there is something wrong there or if the reports are false.

    The heroes enter the dungeon. It’s entrance is a rough cavern, cut from the stone long ago by dwarves. They check their weapons and start down into the mine, with the wind blowing in their backs.


    A. Tunnel

    Wandering monster check: None
    Wandering monster check: None
    Wandering monster check: None
    Wandering monster check: None

    The wind fades away as the heroes move into the mine. A long tunnel leads onward, to the next room.


    B. The First Lair

    I’ll be using the lesser goblin for the kobold

    Name Initiative
    Bianka 68
    Soko 50
    Lesser Goblin 40
    Mellory 37
    Goblin 20
    Jodri 13

    Round 1

    LGo Charge (+10) Jodri: 27/35: Hit: Body: 4+3-4= 3 Damage: Jodri: 4/7 Wounds
    Mellory vs LGo: 32/30: Miss
    Go Charge (+10) Soko: 10/35: Hit: Soko Parry: 08/28: Block: Head: 2-5+3-2= 0 Damage
    Jodri vs LGo: 09/42: Hit: Right Leg: 1+6-2= 5 Damage: 0/5 Wounds
    Jodri vs LGo: 02/42: Hit: Right Arm: 1+6-2= 5 Damage: +5 Critical Hit: 70: CV 16: LGo is down

    Round 2

    Bianka vs Go: 18/41: Right Leg: 2+1-3= 0 Damage
    Soko vs Go: 30/28: Miss
    Mellory vs Go: 01/30: Head: 3+3-3= 3 Damage: 4/7 Wounds
    Go vs Soko: 43/25: Miss
    Jodri Charge (+10) Go: 97/52: Miss
    Jodri vs Go: 39/42: Hit: Left Leg: 1+6-3= 4 Damage: 0/7 Wounds

    Round 3

    Bianka vs Go: 82/41: Miss
    Soko vs Go: 13/28: Right Arm: 2+3-3= 2 Damage: +2 Critical Hit: 56: CV 12: Go is down

    Find: Vial of Blessed Water, Leather Armor

    As the heroes enter the room, they notice a couple of beds. Probably used to be the miners’, but now they have new occupants. A couple of goblinoids get up, pick their weapons and attack.
    The smaller goblin charges at Jodri, its curved sword hitting him, and causing some minor cuts on his tough body. Mellory attacks the creature, but it avoids him.
    The bigger goblin charges at Soko, who parries the strike, and manages to avoid getting hurt.
    The trollslayer lets of a loud road, and brings down his heavy axe with both hands at the smaller goblin that hurt him. He hits its right side, at the leg, and follows with a strong blow that smashes through the arm and into the chest, caving in one side of the ribcage. The arm is completely destroyed and blood showers Jodri and the goblin, who collapses dying almost instantly from shock and blood loss.
    Bianka hacks at the other goblin, but her dagger strike is too weak to cause a wound. Soko jabs at it too, but misses. Mellory attacks the creature, his axe, dealing a blow to its head. The goblin picks out the weakest target, slashing at the halfling, but is too disoriented to land a hit. Jodri charges, his first attack missing by a lot, but his second, hits the goblin’s leg, the creature screaming in pain.
    The heroes gang up on the poor creature. First Bianka fails to hit, but the halfling’s short sword hits the right arm. The goblin staring in horror as blood pumps from the mangled stump of the wrist. The goblin’s curved blade drops, the severed hand still clutching it, and the goblin falls unconcsious to the ground.
    Searching through the room, the heroes find a vial of blessed water, and a leather armor, perfectly fitting Soko.


    C. Jagged Cavern

    Nothing of interest in this narrow cut cavern in the stone. Only the occasional splashing of water driping from the ceiling.


    D. Orc Lair

    Name Initiative
    Bianka 68
    Soko 50
    Mellory 37
    Orc 20
    Jodri 13

    Round 1

    Mellory vs Orc: 13/30: Right Arm: 2+3-4= 1 Damage: 6/7 Wounds
    Orc vs Mellory: 303/33: Right Arm: 5+3-3= 5 Damage: 1/6 Wounds
    Jodri: vs Orc: 25/42: Body: 3+6-4= 5 Damage: 1/7 Wounds
    Jodri vs Orc: 100/42: Miss

    Round 2

    Mellory vs Orc: 02/30: Right Arm: 6 (43) +3-4=5 Damage: +4 Critical Hit: 50: CV 15: Orc is down

    As soon as the heroes enter this small room, the stench of rotten meat fills their nostrils. With their infravision they make out an orc figure as they close in to engage.
    Mellory lunges at the orc, hitting it’s right arm, and scratching it barely, it hits back, with it’s axe at the ranger’s weapon arm, hurting the ranger. Jodri joins the fight, his battle axe hitting the orc at the chest. The orc is taken aback, for just enough time for Mellory to follow up with another strike at the orc’s right arm. His blow destroy’s the orc’s shoulder joint almost totally – the arm hangs limply, a mass of tattered and puply flesh with protruding fragments of bone. By chance, one of the bone splinters has severed a major artery, and after a fraction of a second the orc collapses, with blood pouting out from the ruins of his shoulder. Death from shock and blood loss is almost instantaneous.
    The dwarf notices a loose stone slab on the floor. Pushing it aside he finds a bag of gold, probably spoils belonging to the defeated orc.


    E. Trapped Room

    Soko: Search: 65/50: Failure to detect
    Soko: Avoid traps: 41/50 (+10): Success

    A small empty room, with a funny smell. Black ash and soot cover the floors and walls. A steel door with an iron handle sits in the middle of the floor.
    Soko looks around for traps, but finds none. As the halfling tries to open the door he hears a clicking noise. He’s fast enough to avoid a jet of greek fire, that lets of to his head. Thanking his quick reflexes he opens the trapdoor, but it was just a trap as behind it is only rock.


    F. Gnoll Lair

    Using HobGoblin stats

    Soko sneak HGo: 04/30 (+10): Success, Ambush

    Name Initiative
    Bianka 68
    Soko 50
    Mellory 37
    HGo 30
    Jodri 13

    Round 1

    Soko vs HGo: 11/28: Head: 1+3-4= 0 Damage
    Jodri vs HGo: 02/42: Right Arm: 3+6-4= 5 Damage: 2/7 Wounds
    Jodri vs HGo: 36/42: Body: 2+6-4= 4 Damage: +2 Critical Hit: 24: CV 5: 4 Rounds Stunned, 1 Round only Parry
    Mellory: Load short bow

    Round 2

    Soko vs HGo: 39/28: Miss
    Mellory vs HGo: 98/36: Miss
    Jodri vs HGo: 87/42: Miss
    Jodri vs HGo: 34/42: Body: 3+6-4= 5 Damage: +5 Critical Hit: 65: CV 16: HGo is down

    Kur’s Drink Jodri: 6 Wounds Healed, 7/7 Wounds
    Kur’s Drink Mellory: 5 Wounds Healed, 6/6 Wounds

    Behind a door, the keen sensed Soko, listens to a sharpening noise. He opens the door slowly, and goes first. He heroes enter a room and a dozen of small insects buzz past them. Biting flies are everywhere. A large furred goblin is sharpening his blade, but hasn’t noticed Soko, who sneaks in, and hacks at his head. Startled, the hobgoblin didn’t expect the attack, and Jodri follows through the corridor, hacking at the monster. First he wounds his right arm, but his second strike finds the body. The dwarf’s blow lifts his opponent into the air and then to the ground, stunning him.
    Mellory lets off an arrow, but it misses and clangs at the stone floor. In the chaos of the fray, and the tight quarters, the halfling and the dwarf fail to find an opening, but finally the trollslayer, hits the creature, his blow smashing his opponent’s spine and abdomen, tearing muscle and shattering bone so that it falls to the ground in two separate places.
    Searching the creature, they find an invigorating honey-like potion. Bianka recognizes it for a potion of healing. Kur’s Drink. Jodri and Mellory drink one sip each, and get back to fighting shape as their wounds close.


    G. Empty Room

    Wandering monster check: No monster

    The heroes go through a rough room like a cave, a small pile of dirt is at one corner of the room. The party moves onward.


    H. Broken Room

    Soko: Initiative: 64/50: Failure: Damage 1: 4/5 Wounds
    Mellory: Initiative: 60/37: Failure: Damage 3: 3/6 Wounds
    Jodri: Initiative: 03/23: Success
    Bianka: Initiative: 93/58: Failure: Damage 3: 3/6 Wounds

    As the party goes through this large chamber cut from the stone, they notice the walls and ceiling are cracked, and huge chunks of stone have fallen on the floor. Their vibrations cause some more to fall as they pass through, hitting Soko, Mellory and Bianka.


    I. Narrow Tunnel

    Name Initiative
    Bianka 68
    Soko 50
    Mellory 37
    Jodri 13
    Orc 10

    Round 1

    Soko vs Orc: 44/28: Miss
    Mellory: Load shortbow
    Orc vs Soko: 06/33 (+5): Body: 4+6-2= 8 Damage: +6 Critical Hit: 86: CV 14: Soko is down: Fate Point used
    Jodri: –
    Bianka: –

    Round 2

    Mellory shoots Orc: 54/36: Miss
    Orc vs Mellory: 77/33 (+5): Miss
    Jodri: –
    Bianka: –

    Round 3

    Mellory: draw axe
    Orc vs Mellory: 27/33 (+5): Body: 3+6-3= 6 Damage: +3 Critical Hit: 42: CV 14: Mellory is down: Fate Point used
    Jodri vs Orc: 42/42: Right Arm: 2+6-4= 4 Damage: 3/7 Wounds
    Jodri vs Orc: 01/42: Head: 1+6-4= 3 Damage: 0/7 Wounds
    Bianka: –

    Round 4

    Jodri vs Orc: 63/42: Miss
    Jodri vs Orc: 63/42: Miss
    Orc vs Jodri: 58/33: Miss

    Round 5

    Jodri vs Orc: 18/42: Right Leg: 3+6-4= 5 Damage: +5 Critical Hit: 33: CV 15: Orc is down

    Soko drink Kur’s drink: 5: 5/5 Wounds

    They rush in to avoid the falling rocks, and the heroes find another narrow tunnel. By rush, they go through in a single file, without tactics, the halfling in front, followed by the ranger, the dwarf, and the elf in the rear. Suddenly the door at the end of the hall swings open, and a foul orc, lifts its gleaming black axe and marches towards them.
    Soko is the first to duel with the orc, the orc avoiding the hit easily, and bringing his axe down at the poor halfling, who falls unconscious to the side, saved by fate. The ranger tries to hit the orc with an arrow, but under stress, he fumbles and misses the greenskined monster who marches on, missing his first strike, but follows with a second one, bringing the ranger down.
    Now Jordi, the trollslayer is on one to one combat with the orc. The size of the axes is the same, and the two opponents seem equalled. Jodri delivers two strikes, one at the head and one at the orc’s arm, who fails to hit back successfuly. After another series of carefuly hit where each warrior avoids the other’s hits, finally, Jodri’s axe connects with the orc’s right leg. The blow destroys the orc’s hip joint almost totally – the leg hangs limply, a mass of tattered and puply flesh with protruding fragments of bone. By change, one of the bone splinters has severed a major artery, and after a fraction of a second the orc collapses with blood pouting out from the ruined hip. Death from shock and blood loss is almost instantaneous.
    Bianka pours some of the healing potion into the halfling’s mouth who, recovers, while Mellory, stands in the rear, with his bow ready, too wounded to fight in close combat.
    Jodri recognizes fine dwarven craftsmanship in the two handed axe, and takes it, to honor his ancestors.


    J. The Story Room

    I’m not rolling a wandering monsters check since the next room has a major fight.

    The heroes enter a large chamber that has been polished smooth. Ancient dwarvish runes are carved into the walls. Jodri reads them out aloud. They tell of the story of the digging of the mine and the work that the dwarves did there. Near the end, it mentions that the dwarves found a vein of glowing iron unlike anything they had seen before. They mined this strange ore, which they called eisenmond and found they could make weapons of great magic with it.
    As they mined for more eisenmond they discovered some dark and evil secret about the mountain, without saying anything more than that they packed up and left overnight.
    The story ends by saying that they left behind a large nugget of eisenmond which glowed brighter than the rest, in the care of someone called the Stone King.
    The heroes realize that this is the key to the secret of the mountain, and what Gustovan sent them there to find.


    K. The Iron Mine

    Surprise: Monsters surprised, Heroes not surprised

    Name Initiative
    Bianka 68
    Soko 50
    LGo 40
    Mellory 37
    HGo 30
    Go 20
    Orc 20
    Jodri 13

    Round 0

    Soko charges LGo: 66/28 (+10): Miss
    Bianka charges LGo: 29/41 (+10): Left Leg: 2+3-2-3= 0 Damage
    Mellory: Loads short bow
    Jodri: Moves to engage

    Round 1

    Soko vs LGo: 27/28: Body: 2+3-3= 2 Damage: 3/5
    Bianka vs LGo: 79/41: Miss
    LGo vs Soko: 83/25: Miss
    Mellory shoot Orc: 80/36: Miss
    Go vs Bianka: 16/25: Body: 5+3-3= 5 Damage: +2 Critical Hit: 75: CV 15: Fate Point
    Orc vs Jodri: 93/33: Miss
    HGo vs Jodri: 38/35: Miss
    Jodri vs Orc: 64/47: Miss
    Jodri vs HGo: 47/47: Body: 6(98)+7-4= 9 Damage: +2 Critical Hit: 79: CV 15: Orc is down

    Round 2

    Soko vs LGo: 16/28 (+10): Body: 2+3-3= 2 Damage: 1/5
    LGo vs Soko: 98/25: Miss
    Mellory: Loads short bow
    Go charges Jodri: 22/25 (+10): Right Arm: 1+3-4= 0 Damage
    HGo vs Jodri: 27/35: Body: 2+3-4 = 1 Damage: 6/7 Wounds
    Jodri vs Go: 66/47: Miss
    Jodri vs Go: 57/47: Miss

    Round 3

    Soko vs LGo: 42/28 (+10): Miss
    LGo vs Soko: 77/25: Miss
    Mellory shoots Go: 67/36: Miss
    Go vs Jodri: 39/25: Miss
    HGo vs Jodri: 19/35 (+10): Left Leg: 1+3-4= 0 Damage
    Jodri vs Go: 33/47: Right Arm: 4+7-3= 8 Damage: +1 Critical Hit: 36: CV: 4: Drops weapon, Right arm useless
    Jodri vs HGo: 38/47: Right Leg: 4+7-4= 7 Damage: 0/7 Wounds

    Round 4

    Soko vs LGo: 59/28: Miss
    LGo vs Soko: 53/25: Miss
    Mellory loads short bow
    Go: Cool test: 17/18: Success: Picks up sword with Left Arm
    HGo vs Jodri: 59/35: Miss
    Jodri vs Go: 36/47: Body: 1+7-3= 5 Damage: +5 Critical Hit: 54: CV 15: Go is down
    Jodri vs HGo: 96/47: Miss

    Round 5

    Soko vs LGo: 01/28: Head: 3+3-3= 3 Damage: +2 Critical Hit: 46: CV 9: Can’t act next round, must flee if they can
    LGo: Can’t act
    Mellory shoots HGo: 73/36: Miss
    HGo vs Jodri: 99/35: Miss
    Jodri vs HGo: 56/47: Miss
    Jodri vs HGo: 09/47: Right Leg: 6(07)+3+7-4: +6 Critical Hit: 55: CV 15: HGo is down

    Round 6

    Soko vs LGo: 11/25: Head: 4+3-3: +4 Critical Hit: 02: CV 7
    Mellory loads short bow
    Jodri charges LGo: 68/47 (+10): Miss
    Jodri vs LGo: 06/47: Body: 3+7-3: +6 Critical Hit: 66: CV 16: LGo is down

    The heroes enter a vast chamber that is roughly carved and still being worked. Small veins of iron ore still line the walls. Four monsters work the mine, but the noise of mining covers the party’s footsteps, who gain the element of surprise.
    Soko takes the wall to the right and attacks the smaller goblin along with Bianka, who barely scratches him, as if a magical force prevents them from placing full strength against the creature.
    Mellory stands in the rear, to shoot his arrows, while Jodri the trollslayer enters the middle of the room and lets off a cry to taunt the rest of the monsters to attack him.
    One of the goblins charges at Bianka, and wounded as is she is, he brings her down.
    Soko and the other goblin continue to fight, with the halfling delivering a few cuts and pushing his opponent to the corner of the room.
    Mellory shoots an arrow at the orc but misses, and the orc and the hobgoblin gang up on the slayer. He fends them off, and with a swing of his newfound weapon, he strikes the orc at the belly. The orc’s abdominal cavity ruptures, spilling entrails over a wide area. Death is instantaneous.
    Soko has the advantage over the goblin, keeping him under his sword strikes, while the goblin charges at Jodri to join the hobgoblin against the bloodied slayer. They barely manage to cause a scratch at the furious dwarf.
    Mellory shoots again an arrow and misses, while the dwarf hits the goblin at the weapon arm. The blow strikes the hand, dislocating the wrist, causing the curved blade to drop to the floor, clattering. He then turns around and with a swift slash hits at the hobgoblin’s right leg, but his enemy manages to hold on.
    The goblin keeps their cool, and picks up their sword with the left arm, to keep on fighting, but the trollslayer delivers a hit to their belly, spilling their entrails all over as well.
    Soko has his opponent down, and finally finds an opening, he hits the goblin at the head, destroying the left eye. Half blind the goblin screams in pain, and can’t react to the halfling’s hits.
    Jodri and the hobgoblin exchange more strikes, and the dwarf slayer lands a hit at the hobgoblin’s right leg, destroying the hip joint almost totally, and killing his enemy.
    Soko follows with another strike at the goblin, opening a flesh wound at it’s scalp, and blood flows down into the goblin’s only remaining eye. Only for a moment, until Jodri charges at the goblin, with a blow that smashes the goblin in two pieces.
    Bianka recovers from her hits, and searching through the goblin, she finds a ring, which she immediately identifies as a magical protection ring. She wears it, in a futile effort to keep herself safe in this dungeon.
    Mellory finds a coil of rope, which he takes, in case it ends up being useful in the dungeon.


    L. Tunnel of Death

    Soko: Search: 48/50: success to detect
    Soko: Disarm: 67/34: failure
    Soko: Initiative: 73/50 (+10): Failure: 6+4-3= 7 Damage: +2 Critical Hit: 92: CV 15: Fate Point
    Jodri: Initiative: 16/23 (+10): Success
    Mellory: Initiative: 69/37 (+10): Failure: 5+4-3= 6 Damage: +6 Critical Hit: 61: CV 16: Fate Point
    Bianka: Initiative: 69/58 (+10): Failure: 4+4-4= 4 Damage: +4 Critical Hit: 32: CV 13: Fate Point

    The heroes enter a smooth and straight tunnel. The floor is marked with the dark stains of dried blood. As they reach the door to the other side, Soko to detects a mechanism, that upon opening the door, releases several rocks to their heads. He tries to disarm it but fails. Only Jodri jumps correctly out of the way, as the rocks fall down on them. The rest should have been dead, but escape unscathed, as fate would have it.


    M. Mysterious Fountain

    In the center of the room is a stone fountain, carved in the image of a large dragon that coils around itself and sprays water out of its mouth. The water lands in a polished stone pool that has been cut into the floor around the statue. The air is sweet with the smell of fresh water. The heroes drink from the water to quench their thirst, and in a magical way, all their wounds and fatigue disappear.
    They look around the room and see that there are no more doors, and it appears to be the end of the mine. But knowing that they haven’t found either the Stone Kind or the large lump of eisenmond, they start searching for a secret door.

    Wandering monster check: no wandering monster

    Soko: Search: 70/50: Failure
    Bianka: Search: 82/58: Failure
    Jodri: Search: 68/23: Failure
    Mellory: Search: 33/37: Success

    They find the secret door.


    N. Sloping Passage

    The tunnel has been cut downards at a sharp angle. Walking down is very dangerous, but with the rope, the heroes descend it with great care.


    O. The Eisenmond Mine

    The heroes finally enter a rough stone chamber, with flakes of a mysterious glowing ore flickering in the walls, floor and ceiling, making the dark walls shimmer like a starry night.
    In the center, sitting on a small stone pedestal, is a short statue carved from a single granite block. It depicts a dwarf with a pick and other mining gear, missing it’s head which is tossed in the corner. The head sports a rusty crown, fashioned from iron, The statue’s hands are open and held out as if it was holding something.

    Okay, so here’s a puzzle concerning players and not characters, but it can be resolved with Int checks, which I will test.

    Jodri: Intelligence: 02/54: Success: He finds a secret compartment with two nuggets of eisenmond, that fit perfectly on the eye sockets of the statue’s head.

    Jodri: Intelligence: 98/54: Failure
    Bianka: Intelligence: 55/46: Failure
    Soko: Intelligence: 94/26: Failure
    Mellory: Intelligence: 96/27: Failure

    2nd attempt:

    Jodri: Intelligence: 37/54: Success: He considers placing the head back on the statue.

    Searching around for secret doors, Jodri finds a small compartment in the pedestal that contains two nuggets of eisenmond. His keen senses tell him that they fit perfectly to the head, and he proceeds to place them there.
    The party looks at the head. Then after thinking the problem, for a while, Jodri decides to re-assemble the statue.
    As soon as the statue is assembled, a strange light fills the room. The stone body of the statue glows and the mouth moves slowly. In a voice deep and old as the mountain around, the statue speaks.
    It says about how the mine belongs to the dwarves, and how good it is that the heroes have arrived because a great evil has tainted the spirit of the place. The priceless magical stone called the Eisenkern was stolen, and along with it, the power to trap the beast that lives at the heart of the mountain. If the Eisenkern is not returned, that terrible beast will be freed, and a horrible evil will come upon all who dwell in these lands.


    Ending the Adventure

    The heroes return and report their story to Gustovan, who seems troubled by it. He rewards them and takes thought of the matter.


    The System

    Rough, deadly, ~~gritty~~ gory. On purpose I left the descriptions of the critical hits, as documented in the core rulebook, so that the reader can decide for themselves.
    The game system isn’t polished at all. Rules leave a lot to be desired in terms of descriptions and examples, but it works. In writing this I am also aware of the age of the system.
    Overall it feels like there’s not much balancing done and failing at tasks is more often than not, the norm.
    But what it shines about is that it’s enjoyable. To hit chance is low in combat, but it takes only a couple hits to bring someone down. Combat mechanics are simple, and even though they suffer from the Naked Dwarf syndrome, they make more sense than their respective D&D rules counterparts.
    Political correctness or taking care to not step on any other Intellectual property, is out of the window, but at the same this is a game that doesn’t take itself seriously, unlike how the franchise evolved later on.
    It is d100, but not nearly as crunchy as the other games of the same family. It is fast and deadly, but it can easily suffer from series of failed results and “nothing happens” combat rounds.

    What about the Dungeon Crawl?

    With a fair bit of luck and almost complete expenditure of the party’s Fate Points, we cleared the dungeon (a group of 4 versus 3 in my other runs). To be honest, a normal group would have better turned tail and run after the fight with the orc with the magical axe, but I wanted to see how it would go on no matter what.
    I did some wrong calls, and missed a few rules here and there, but nothing too serious.
    With proper planning, I believe a party can do some dungeon crawling in WHFRP1E and enjoy it. It’s risky, but manageable.

    Summary

    From a solo perspective, the system is perfectly soloable regarding bookkeeping and rules. It’s age shows though, and it can take a while to find where a rule is described even with the OCR PDF version.
    I’d certainly use WHFRP1e to play an adventure or two in the same setting, but I wouldn’t use it to run something else.
    It’s a game that certainly lives to its dark and gritty name.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 9:29 pm on June 6, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Warhammer   

    The Wardens of Gahyrst. Ep02. 

    So in the end of the previous session I forgot to run experience rolls for my warband. I assigned the XP awards and rolled to see if my surviving follower (Angry Villager) had any upgrade, but to no avail.

    Heroes

    NameEvieGustavRudigerArdus
    Agility1112
    Speed5455
    Combat Skill0000
    Toughness4433
    Will1
    Luck2
    SkillsLibrary,MedicineLeadership,Parry
    XP1132
    LVL0000
    WeaponsLong Bow, DaggerSwordBastard SwordBastard Sword
    ArmorLight ArmorLight ArmorFull Armor, Helmet, ShieldPartial Armor
    NotesAvatarRetainer

    Followers

    Name   
    NatureRoving WandererStout YeomanAngry Villager
    Skill   
    WeaponsSelf Bow, DaggerWar AxeStaff
    ArmorMilitia ArmorLight Armor
    Notes

    Gold Marks 13
    Medicinal Herbs 1
    Story Points 1
    Warhammer
    Pistol
    Sword

    Time to name the two other villages
    donjon.bin.sh : Heagrove, Cebrook

    Current village: Eerfeld (2,2,4)
    Heagrove: (1,1,1)
    Cebrook: (3,3,3)

    Will need to draw a map in the future
    Village Events: Wandering merchant
    Pay Upkeep: 7 members, no extra cost
    Healing Up: No wounded
    Carry Out Activities:
    Evie: Study: 2,3,5,6: Gained Skill: Organization
    Rudiger: Train: XP (4) Increase Level: Roll: Agility: +1
    Outfitting for adventuring:
    I’ll give the Warhammer to Gustav, and put his Sword in the backpack.
    So now, we’re going adventuring!

    Bruised and battered, the Wardens regroup, after having buried one of their own. The first death in their band weighs heavily. Evie heads to the library for further studying to escape the thought that a man died under her command, while Rudiger puts his skills to the test, training against wooden poles.

    No one pays attention to the wandering merchant showing off his wares. Their dead brother in arms was swindled a week ago, and all this is a cruel reminder.

    A couple days pass, and Evie sends word for them to gather once more.

    “Wardens. We suffered a loss, but must not stop now. The people of Eerfeld need us. Gather yourselves, and come back here in an hour, armed. We’re heading out.”

    Adventuring: Combat Encounter
    Facing: Dark Secrets
    Encounter: Cultists
    Encounter Type: Attacked by Enemy
    Enemy number (consulting roll, tables and rules): 4
    No Leadership present
    No Personality present
    Encounter Distance: 7″
    Seize the Initiative: Failure
    Theme: Edge of the woods

    It’s been a couple of days of wandering the countryside looking for trouble, when the Wardens camp at the edge of the woods of Eerfeld, known as Fangwood Forest.
    They assign watch duties and rest, only to wake at the sound of a twig snapping. Someone has gotten close!
    “Wardens! To arms!” Evie shouts and unsheathes her sword, arming her bow.
    They all draw their weapons and look around as a quartet of dark cloaked figures closes in from two sides.
    “Cultists!” Ardus tells Evie as they turn to face their assailants.

    Combat Turn 1:

    Ardus and Rudiger move in closer.

    Cultist charges at Rudiger
    Cultist hits, can’t penetrate armor
    Cultist hits, penetrates armor, wounding Rudiger
    Rudiger wins the last exchange
    They disengaged melee

    Cultist charges Ardus
    Ardus wins the exchange
    They roll equal, and the cultist retreats

    Cultists further advance near the lake
    Roving wanderer moves aside and shoots his bow
    RW Hits, doesn’t wound

    Stout Yeoman charges cultist
    After three exchanges, none scores a hit and they withdraw
    The rest of the band progresses

    A cultist charges at Rudiger, catching him still sleepy, he passes through his defenses, hitting his cuirass. He follows up, but this time his blade lodges between the rings of the mail part of the armor, wounding the veteran. The pain sears through Rudiger’s body, who quickly snaps out of it and blocks the last attempt, pushing the cultist back.
    At the same time, another cultist charges next to him at Ardus.
    Ardus is better prepared. He parries the blow successfully and kicks his assailant back.

    At the other side, next to the pond, a Warden shoots at a cultist and fails to hit him, the arrow flying away through the air, while another one charges in melee. He tries to hit him but is blocked, and again, and again, until tired they disengage and look at each other angrily.

    Combat Turn 2:

    Ardus charges at cultist
    Ardus hits, the cultist is wounded
    They roll equal and withdraw
    Rudiger charges at the cultist
    They roll equal and the cultist withdraws
    Rudiger survives his wound
    The cultist charges back at Ardus
    Ardus wins melee
    Ardus hits cultist and kills him

    Cultist charges back at Rudiger
    Cultist hits Rudiger, but Rudiger parries with his shield
    Cultist hits Rudiger but can’t penetrate the armor
    And again
    They withdraw from melee

    Cultist charges Angry Villager
    They’re equal and the AV withdraws
    Cultist charges at Stout Yeoman
    Cultist brings down Yeoman

    Evie takes position and shoots Cultist but misses
    Gustav charges at Cultist
    He hits and wounds Cultist
    He hits again and kills the Cultist

    Roving Wanderer takes position and shoots at Cultist and misses

    Angry Villager attacks Cultist
    He hits but doesn’t wound him
    And Again
    And they roll equal and withdraw

    Hanger On attacks Cultist
    They roll equal and withdraw

    Ardus charges with his bastard sword and thrusts at the Cultist who hurt Rudiger, wounding him, spilling blood. With skill, his enemy tactically withdraws.
    Rudiger tries to follow up on his companion’s pushing attack, and charges at the Cultist. His enemy with skill blocks and parries and moves back.
    “Die!” The Cultist hisses and jabs at Ardus, who deflects the blow and moves behind his enemy, at the same time slashing at his back, cutting him in half.
    Seeing his friend fallen, the other cultist screams a war cry and charges at Rudiger. The blow is heavy, and Rudiger has to block it with his shield. He smashes back at his enemy, shoving him away.
    On the other front, near the pond, the Cultists charge at the followers. One tries to attack the Angry Villager but can’t get back the defenses while the other attacks the Stout Yeoman. The dagger finds the Yeoman under his armor. The Yeoman drops down under his wound.
    Evie moves around the fighting men and finds an opening for her shot. The arrow misses its target and lodges on a tree behind.
    Gustav then charges at the same enemy. Distracted the Cultist doesn’t see the warhammer coming down on his head and falls down, dead.
    The Roving Wanderer shoots at the cultists but misses again.
    The Angry Villager charges at the Cultist who hit the Stout Yeoman and hits him with his staff, but doesn’t manage to startle him. The Cultist pushes back and disengages.
    A Hanger On who joined the warband tries to make a difference, but without skill, his efforts are aimless.

    Combat Turn 3:

    Rudiger and Ardus advance to the lake
    Rudiger survives his wound
    Cultist attacks Angry Villager
    No one hits
    And Again
    They roll equal and withdraw
    Cultist attacks Hanger On
    They roll equal and withdraw
    Evie shoots Cultist, hits and wounds him
    Roving Wanderer shoots at the same cultist and hits and kills him

    Angry Villager attacks Cultist
    He hits and kills him

    Combat is won

    Rudiger despite his wound, moves with Ardus towards the pond to assist the rest of the warband.
    One of the Cultists attacks the Angry Villager and another the Hanger On, but after a couple missed strikes, fatigue builds up, and the opponents stand there looking at each other.
    Evie and the Roving Wanderer shoot their arrows to the Cultists. Both hit, and the Cultist drops dead from the hail.
    The morale is high and the Angry Villager, with renewed strength, bring his staff down on the last opponent, knocking him out.
    The Wardens cry out in Victory!

    Aftermath:
    Resolve casualties: Stout Yeoman: Knocked out
    Loot: 9 Gold Marks
    Unusual Finds: Evidence (Reduce Highest Threat by 1, Dark Secrets)
    Adjust Threat: No adjustment
    Experience Points Awards
    Ardus gains a level and gets +1 Agility
    Roving Wanderer gains Skill: Foraging
    Angry Villager gains Promotion: +1 Agility: Name: Wigmar

    The Wardens look after the Stout Yeoman, noticing it was just a flesh wound. He recovers quickly.
    Searching through the fallen enemies, they find 9 Gold Marks and a bloody bag. Evie recognizes it as the bag she had seen the last week in their roadside encounter.
    Inside it they find nasty bloody parts. Hearts of animals and humans. Along with it is a seal, one that Evie recognizes as Eerfeld alchemist’s seal. Seems the man is in league with dark forces. That’s evidence for the Bailiff.
    The man with the staff, the Warden she had in mind as angry villager, showed immense bravery, armed with just a staff. She goes to him.
    “Wigmar, you stood out today. We’re proud to have fought alongside you.” Evie tells him.

    NameEvieGustavRudigerArdus
    Agility1122
    Speed5455
    Combat Skill0000
    Toughness4433
    Will1
    Luck2
    SkillsLibrary,Medicine,OrganizationLeadership,Parry
    XP3364
    LVL0101
    WeaponsLong Bow, DaggerWarhammerBastard SwordBastard Sword
    ArmorLight ArmorLight ArmorFull Armor, Helmet, ShieldPartial Armor
    NotesAvatarRetainer

    Followers

    Name  
    NatureRoving WandererStout Yeoman
    SkillForaging 
    WeaponsSelf Bow, DaggerWar Axe(Warhammer)
    ArmorMilitia ArmorLight Armor
    Notes

    Gold Marks 22
    Medicinal Herbs 1
    Story Points 1
    Pistol
    Sword

    End of second campaign turn


    Session Summary

    This time I paused to take photos and write everything down as it happened. I really enjoyed every part of it!
    I did not write down the rolls, only the results, because the game is very dense!
    So much happens in such a short amount of time.
    I really enjoy how easy it is to do everything. The mechanics are fast and the tables generate interesting results. I’m still learning how to play, so I’m not implementing any rpg elements yet.
    I don’t know if I will have everything so detailed in my future AP reports, because pausing so often to take photos and write things down, doubled or tripled the time to play. I will need to find the right balance between reporting and playing.

     
c
Compose new post
j
Next post/Next comment
k
Previous post/Previous comment
r
Reply
e
Edit
o
Show/Hide comments
t
Go to top
l
Go to login
h
Show/Hide help
shift + esc
Cancel
Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started