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  giorgis 9:03 pm on December 21, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: RenegadeScout, Solo ( 133 ), 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.

  Mo	MeS	ShS	Po	De	WP	Ob	AtD	LeS	In	CUF	Wyrd
  M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	I+4	Ld	I+3+1 per Magic User Level

  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

  

  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

  

  

  ---

  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.

  

  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

  

  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

  

  

  

  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

  

  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

  

  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

  

  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.

  

  

  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

  

  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.

  ---

  

  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.
   

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  giorgis 5:44 pm on September 30, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Solo ( 133 ), 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.
   
• 

  giorgis 9:29 pm on June 6, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 5leagues ( 45 ), Solo ( 133 ), 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

  |Name|Evie|Gustav|Rudiger|Ardus|
  |—|—|—|—|—|
  |Agility|1|1|1|2|
  |Speed|5|4|5|5|
  |Combat Skill|0|0|0|0|
  |Toughness|4|4|3|3|
  |Will|1|-|-|-|
  |Luck|2|-|-|-|
  |Skills|Library,Medicine|-|-|Leadership,Parry|
  |XP|1|1|3|2|
  |LVL|0|0|0|0|
  |Weapons|Long Bow, Dagger|Sword|Bastard Sword|Bastard Sword|
  |Armor|Light Armor|Light Armor|Full Armor, Helmet, Shield|Partial Armor|
  |Notes|Avatar|-|Retainer|-|

  Followers

  Name
  Nature	Roving Wanderer	Stout Yeoman	Angry Villager
  Skill
  Weapons	Self Bow, Dagger	War Axe	Staff
  Armor	Militia Armor	Light 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.

  |Name|Evie|Gustav|Rudiger|Ardus|Wigmar|
  |—|—|—|—|—|—|
  |Agility|1|1|2|2|2|
  |Speed|5|4|5|5|4|
  |Combat Skill|0|0|0|0|0|
  |Toughness|4|4|3|3|3|
  |Will|1|-|-|-|-|
  |Luck|2|-|-|-|-|
  |Skills|Library,Medicine,Organization |-|-|Leadership,Parry|
  |XP|3|3|6|4|0|
  LVL|0|1|0|1|0|
  |Weapons|Long Bow, Dagger|Warhammer|Bastard Sword|Bastard Sword|Staff|
  |Armor|Light Armor|Light Armor|Full Armor, Helmet, Shield|Partial Armor|-|
  |Notes|Avatar|-|Retainer|-|-|

  Followers

  Name
  Nature	Roving Wanderer	Stout Yeoman
  Skill	Foraging
  Weapons	Self Bow, Dagger	War Axe(Warhammer)
  Armor	Militia Armor	Light 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.

   
• 

  giorgis 5:19 pm on January 19, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Solo ( 133 ), Warhammer, Zweihander ( 2 )   

  Evie’s Company – Zwei-hammer Session 1 

  I’ll begin with rolling on BOLD connections. I will reward the characters with 50 reward points for each combination used.

  Verb	Gerund	Noun
  negotiate	preparing	party member
  digress	avoiding	wealth
  proclaim	working	a fear

  So there are three day and three night watches that last 4 hours each. On each watch I will be rolling for encounters and in the HFGE.

  CRGE at this point is in a state of “To Knowledge”.

  I will roll on Zweihander to see what season it is.
  98: It’s Winter.
  I will roll on Zweihander to see the general weather descriptor.
  It’s cold, clear, windy.

  ---

  Day 1. Watch 3.

  Encounter Engine: 3: Goto 5: Wandering Monster.
  Terrain Engine: 5: Goto 3: Plains
  Weather Engine: 9: Goto 6: Showers. Since the weather is Cold, I decide it’s sleet.
  Encounter Number: 15: Ogre

  Encounter Generator: 3/17: No encounter

  So we got some Ogres. I’ll start asking some questions.

  Q: Have the Ogres detected the party? (Likely, it’s a large party).
  A: No. One of the guards, scouted ahead and reported back to the group.
  Q: Are there many Ogres?
  A: Yes, and unexpectedly.
  There are 1d6+2=6 Ogres.
  Unexpectedly: Key Grip. Wrap up and move towards the next scene. Doesn’t make any sense. I will disregard this and keep the surge count at 4.
  Q: Did the Ogres appear to be orcish?
  A: Yes, and they carried war banners with them. They are definitely stragglers from the disbanded horde.

  Donjon: Ergarad: Female Human Soldier, Neutral. Ergarad is stout, with red hair and narrow green eyes. She wears studded leather and wields a military pick. Ergarad is inquisitive and soft-hearted.
  Evie will try to use “digress avoiding party member”

  Evie’s company escorts the group of refugees. Ergarad, a town guard has moved ahead of the group to scout.
  A few clouds have covered the skies and lightly shower the company with sleet.
  “Gustav, why do you think Bianka didn’t protest us leaving her behind?” Evie asks Gustav.
  “Who knows my lady, maybe the prestige you emanate made her aware of her roots and she couldn’t handle it.” Gustav replies.
  “Filthy lowborns. They should know their status and stay put. What does she expect? To become rich killing rats?” Rudiger intervenes.
  “If they’re the size we found in the sewers, that wouldn’t surprise me. Don’t be so harsh Rudiger. She’s proven her mettle against orcs, skeletons and beasts”. Evie puts Rudiger back in line, as they see the scout return in the distance.

  “Ogres. Half a dozen. Up ahead in the road.” Ergarad says trying to catch her breath.
  “Did they see you?” Rudiger asks.
  “No. I came back as fast as I could. They’re certainly part of the orc horde.” She adds.
  The commoners start muttering. Some are scared.

  Q: Do they ask to return to Westenhofen?
  A: No

  “We should find a way around them” Gustav proposes. The group agrees. Evie realizes she can’t force the commoners to fight ogres, so she doesn’t refuse.
  “We’ll lose a whole day to circumvent them, but I think it’s worth it.” She adds in the end.

  So they will abandon the Road hex. In the next two hexes they will make navigation rolls. If they succeed, they will manage to get back on the road, irrespective of the HFGE.

  ---

  Day 1. Watch 4.

  Encounter Engine: 7: Goto 1: Small settlement.
  Terrain Engine: 6: Goto 18: Hills
  Weather Engine: 7: Goto 16: Storm.

  Encounter Generator: 1/16: No encounter

  The heavy sleet rain caused 2d10+2 Peril: 15. All are at Ignore 1 Skill Rank.

  The few clouds give way to dark thick clouds. The rumble of thunder fills the sky as lightning strikes in the distance. Heavy sleet falls on the caravan and walking has turned into a chore as they walk off road.
  The path through the plains slowly leads a way to the hills and the ascent is harder and harder.
  Everyone is soaking cold wet as they reach a small settlement. It must be a handful of houses comprising of a community.
  “Cover at last!” Ergarad exclaims and starts to walk towards one of the houses, but Evie motions to Rudiger, who in turn grabs Ergarad’s shoulder.
  Evie recalls the events leading them to the Hooded Man. An eerie feeling overcomes her.
  “It’s too dangerous! We must move on.” She tells the group.
  “But the fish are more dry than we are!” A man protests.
  “Do you want to sleep with them then?” Rudiger asks intimidatingly.

  Evie will try to persuade them. I’m not quite sure which skill should be used for a simple persuasion check. I’ll use Charm in this case.
  The Silver Tongue talent applies but Evie’s Charm skill rank doesn’t apply for a total of +20.

  Evie: Charm (62): 68: Failure
  Rudiger intervenes (Tyranny applies): Intimidation Routine (55): 17: Success. 6 Degrees of Success.
  Commoners: Resolve (45): 23: Success: 5 Degrees of Success.
  Due to frightening bellow, they suffer from Stress as well.
  They suffer 1d10+1 mental Peril: 8/6: They move a further step down to Ignore 2 Skill Ranks. They also gain 3 Corruption Points.

  “Our travels have shown us that it’s not safe to enter unknown dwellings in the countryside. Orcs could have taken shelter here. You haven’t left the walls of Westenhofen in a long time. Maybe your whole lives. Let us guide you.” Evie appeals to them without success.
  “You think because you have some noble blood you get to tell us what to do? We’re cold, wet and we need shelter. We’re going inside.” Says one of the men and continues towards the houses.
  “WHERE do you think you’re going?” Rudiger’s bass voice echoes as he puts his hand on the hilt. “We’re a team and the risk is too high. Discussions are over. Unless you want to try your fate with me” he adds and looks at each of them menacingly. They look at each other and put their heads down.

  Rudiger will try to use “proclaim preparing a fear”

  They all move in silence after Rudiger’s scary display of power.
  As they head away from the settlement, some of them wonder if they made the right choice following this party of adventurers.
  Rudiger turns to Evie. “These vermin must learn their place.”
  Evie isn’t worried yet about Rudiger’s display. It’s not the first time she has seen him like that. And in both cases he has saved the day.
  She nods at Rudiger. “When they can’t listen to reason, we can’t have them risking our safety. I understand. Just stick to scaring them. I don’t want us to have to explain any deaths. We have enough on our plates.”

  Gustav: Eavesdropping (42): 9: Success

  “We will clear our name lady.” Gustav who has heard the conversation intervenes. “Surely your father’s name will be enough to shed light to any confusion regarding past events. Also, if you don’t mind me saying, we don’t know if our accusers have survived.”
  Evie smiles. She knows well her servant. She doesn’t need to keep up appearances like she did in court. “Maybe. Who knows if our luck has changed.” She responds.

  Since no member of the party has the Navigation skill I want to ask if there is a member in the caravan who does. I ask UNE Power Level, and get Comparable. So, no one has the Navigation skill. Gustav has the highest intelligence so he gets to try.

  Gustav: Navigation (45): 49: Failure

  So unless they get a critical success in the next hex, they will lose track of the road.

  ---

  Day 1. Watch 5.

  Encounter Engine: 9: Goto 6: distant/improbable lair/monster settlement.
  Terrain Engine: 10: Goto 19: Mountains
  Weather Engine: 8: Goto 13: Overcast.
  Encounter Number: 19: Lion

  Encounter Generator: 16/19: No encounter

  In order to facilitate the distant/improbable chance for the lion’s den, I will give an extra awareness roll for the party.

  Under the heavy sleet rain, their path leads them upwards and upwards. The sleet stops, but mud is everywhere and the hills have turned into mountains.
  “We will need to find shelter soon.” Ergarad finds the courage to tell the party. She’s talking to Evie, but looking at Rudiger.
  “We should have found shelter already. Night will fall quickly in the mountains.” Rudiger agrees.

  Gustav will try to use “negotiate working wealth”

  Gustav finds an opportunity to talk to Evie alone. “My lady. Our resources are dwindling. If we are to succeed we’re going to need crowns. Maybe we should see to returning to the estate. Your income may cover this, otherwise we might have to… find some work. But this isn’t for a lady of your status!”
  “There! There is a cave in the distance.” Someone from the caravan shouts to them, interrupting Gustav before Evie has a chance to answer.
  “Gustav. Go ahead. Check it out.” Evie orders her servant.

  Gustav: Awareness (42): 71: Failure.

  Gustav returns a couple of minutes later. “The cave mouth seems big enough lady, for all of us. But we’ll need to reach it to say for sure.”
  “Then that’s where we’ll go!” Evie decides, and the caravan sighs in relief.

  Q: Are there any remains outside the entrance of the cave?
  A: No
  Q: Are there lions outside?
  A: No

  Through the forested mountains, the group reaches the cave. In front of the cave is a plateau, and the mountainside goes straight up behind it. The cave is right in front, suggesting a big size.
  They take a good look, and decide to go inside. The cold of the night will surely take its toll and they can’t risk it.

  Gustav: Awareness (45): 45: Success
  Q: Are there lions inside? (Likely)
  A: No
  Q: Are there many visible remains in the cave?
  A: Yes, and unexpectedly

  So mountain lions are primarily nocturnal and are most active at dusk/dawn. Therefore they should have left for the hunt.

  Unexpectedly: entering the red

  Oh! And they heard the party and return just in time as the group enters the cave. There’s no escape!
  How many lions? 1d6+2: 7

  Ostler: Handle Animals (55): 98: Failure. The horse turns and flees.

  Q: Is the group surprised? (Likely)
  A: Yes, and all of them didn’t expect this.

  As the group goes inside, Gustav notices bones in a corner of the cave.
  They start investigating.
  Rudiger picks up a rib cage and sees teeth marks, right as they hear a loud growl and a scream. The horse neighs, kicks at its master and gallops off outside before they can react.
  They turn around and see a pack of seven mountain lions blocking the cave entrance.
  They draw their weapons as the lions attack the unarmed commoners.

  Note: Below follow the mechanics of the combat. I have only included them to show how tough it was for me to run this battle. I really recommend that you jump over this part and go to the narrative in the end.

  ---

  Setting up the combat scene. The party and the guards should have entered deeper into the cave. It’s the most logical thing to do since they need to scout ahead.

  Q: Are they deeper into the cave? (Likely)
  A: Yes and the commoners are alone in the rear it will take an extra 1d3 rounds to reach them.
  Q: Do the commoners bear any kind of arms?
  A: Yes

  I will randomly roll the profession of each commoner as they get locked into combat with the mountain lions. They will have the relevant trappings.
  I will use the Underlings rules for the commoners but not for the mountain lions.
  The mountain lions by default will keep 2APs for Punishing attacks.

  Round 1:
  Surprise Turn:
  Each mountain lion charges at a commoner. On first sighting they cause Stress, so I will roll a general Intimidate for the Mountain Lions. If successful, I will roll separate resolve for each party member and a general resolve for the NPCs.
  ML: Intimidate (50): 27: Success: 7 Degrees of Success.
  Evie: Dauntless! She can’t be intimidated.
  Gustav: Resolve (40): 74: Failure.
  Rudiger: Resolve (41): 6: Success: 4 Degrees of Success.
  Commoners: Resolve (45): 76: Failure.
  All but Evie suffer from Stress: 1d10+1: 3 Peril. No Further peril and 3 Corruption points.
  ML1 vs Artisan: Melee Attack (60): 42: Damage: 11/4: Moderately Wounded: Injury: No Injury
  Resist Takedown (45): 15: Success.
  ML2 vs Jailer: Melee Attack (60): 8: Damage: 16/4: Moderately Wounded: Injury: No Injury
  Resist Takedown (45): 81: Failure. Prone.
  ML3 vs Servant: Melee Attack (60): 44: Damage: 16/4: Moderately Wounded: Injury: No Injury
  Resist Takedown (45): 80: Failure: Prone
  ML4 vs Rat Catcher: Melee Attack (60): 31: Damage: 12/4: Moderately Wounded: Injury: No Injury
  Resist Takedown (45): 93: Failure: Prone
  ML5 vs Peasant: Melee Attack (60): 74: Failure
  ML6 vs Doomsayer: Melee Attack (60): 99: Critical Failure
  ML7 vs Peasant: Melee Attack (60): 20: Damage: 15/4: Moderately Wounded: Injury: Moderate Injury. Bleeds. Underling: Slain!

  Turn 1:
  Initiative:
  Evie: 18
  Gustav: 11
  Rudiger: 9
  Commoners: 9
  ML: 10

  ML1 vs Artisan: Melee Attack (60): 44: Critical, Damage: 12/4: Grievously Wounded: Injury: Grievous Injury. Bleeds. Underling: Slain!
  ML2 vs Jailer: Melee Attack (60): 20.
  -Jailer Defends with Shiv (45): 76: Failure. Damage: 14/4: Grievously Wounded: Injury: Grievous Injury. Bleeds. Underling: Slain!
  ML3 vs Servant: Melee Attack (60): 85: Failure.
  ML4 vs Rat Catcher: Melee Attack (60): 35.
  -Rat Catcher Defends with Shiv (45): 71: Failure. Damage: 16/4: Grievously Wounded: Injury: No Injury.
  ML5 vs Peasant: Melee Attack (60): 47: Success.
  -Peasant Defends with Threshing Flail (45): 39: Success.
  ML6 vs Doomsayer: Melee Attack (60): 90: Failure
  ML7 vs Laborer: Melee Attack (60): 59: Success.
  -Laborer defends with Splitting Maul (45): 54: Failure. Damage: 22/4: Grievously Wounded: Injury: Grievous Injury. Bleeds. Underling: Slain!

  So 4 Commoners Dead. The remaining 3 locked in combat will attempt to fight back. The rest are too scared to do anything.

  Servant attacks ML3 (45): 26: Success.
  -ML3 will parry (60): 44: Critical Success.
  Rat Catcher attacks ML4 (45): 72: Failure.
  Peasant attacks ML5 (45): 21: Success.
  -ML5 will parry (70): 74: Failure. Damage: 9/6: Lightly Wounded.
  Doomsayer attacks ML6 (45): 85: Failure.

  The party and the guards spend three turns in movement to join the combat.

  Round 2:
  Evie attacks ML1 (45): 2: Success.
  -ML1 Parries (50): 78: Failure. Damage: 8/6: Lightly Wounded.
  Gustav attacks ML1 (50): 18: Success.
  Damage: 10/6: Moderately Wounded. Injury: No injury.
  ML1 attacks Evie (60): 76: Failure.
  ML2 attacks Gustav (60): 97: Failure.
  ML3 attacks Servant (60): 55: Critical Success. Damage: 14/4: Grievously Wounded. Injury: Grievous Injury. Bleeds. Underling: Slain.
  ML4 attacks Rat Catcher (60): 35: Success.
  -Rat catcher parry (45): 14: Success
  ML5 attacks Peasant (60): 93: Failure
  ML6 attacks Doomsayer (60): 82: Failure
  ML7 attacks Rudiger (60): 84: Failure
  Rudiger attacks ML7 (42): 42: Success.
  -ML7 parries (60): 12: Success
  Sword & Board: (42): 88: Critical Failure
  Ergarad attacks ML7 (45): 10: Success.
  -ML7 parries (60): 04: Success
  Guard attacks ML6 (45): 23: Success.
  -ML6 parries (60): 36: Success
  Rat Catcher attacks ML4 (45): 47: Failure.
  Peasant attacks ML5 (45): 22: Critical Success.
  Damage: 7/6: Moderately Wounded. Injury: No Injury.
  Doomsayer attacks ML6 (45): 00: Critical Failure.

  Round 3:
  Evie attacks ML1 (45): 46: Failure.
  Gustav attacks ML1 (40): 35: Success.
  -ML1 Parries (70): 90: Failure. Damage: 10/6: Severely Wounded: Injury: No Injury.
  ML1 attacks Evie (60): 34: Success.
  -Evie parries (42): 24: Success.
  ML2 attacks Gustav (60): 61: Failure.
  ML3 attacks Rat Catcher (60): 24: Success.
  -Rat Catcher parries (45): 45: Success
  ML4 attacks Rat Catcher (60): 51: Success.
  -Rat Catcher parries (45): 9: Success
  ML5 attacks Peasant (60): 19: Success.
  -Peasant parries (45): 99: Critical Failure. Damage: 16/4: Moderately Wounded. Injury: Moderate Injury. Bleeds. Underling: Slain!
  ML6 attacks Doomsayer (60): 67: Failure
  ML7 attacks Rudiger (60): 10: Success.
  -Rudiger parries (52): 1: Success
  Rudiger attacks ML7 (42): 72: Failure.
  Ergarad attacks ML7 (45): 42: Success.
  -ML7 parries (60): 35: Success
  Guard attacks ML6 (45): 41: Success.
  -ML6 parries (60): 45: Success
  Rat Catcher attacks ML4 (45): 44: Critical Success. Damage: 6/6: No damage.
  Doomsayer attacks ML6 (45): 31: Success.
  -ML6 parries (60): 12: Success

  Round 4:

  Note: I’m kind of bored. There is almost no progress and everything is so tiresome. Zweihander isn’t meant to run 10+ opponents combat solo. So I scratched that and decided to go on another approach. More narrative.
  Lions are animal predators. They kill to eat, for sport or for territory.

  Evie: Easy Leadership (62): 91: Failure
  They will try to disengage and move tactically outside.

  Evie: Maneuver
  Gustav: Maneuver

  Q: Do the lions go after Evie and Gustav?
  A: Yes, and they’re unlikely to disengage easily.

  ML1 hustles & attacks Evie (60): 43: Success.
  -Evie parries (42): 39: Success.
  ML2 hustles & attacks Gustav (60): 24: Success.
  -Gustav parries (40): 3: Success
  ML3 attacks Rat Catcher (60): 83: Failure.
  ML4 attacks Rat Catcher (60): 94: Failure.
  ML5 attacks Doomsayer (60): 6: Success.
  Doomsayer parries (45): 54: Failure. Damage: 16/4: Moderately Wounded. Injury: No Injury.
  ML6 attacks Doomsayer (60): 5: Success.
  -Doomsayer parries (45): 27: Success.
  ML7 attacks Rudiger (60): 98: Failure.
  Rudiger: Attack ML7 & Maneuver
  Rudiger: Attack (42): 73: Failure
  Rudiger: Maneuvers
  Ergarad attacks ML7 (45): 39: Success.
  -ML7 parries (60): 5: Success
  Ergarad: Maneuvers
  Guard attacks ML6 (45): 36: Success.
  -ML6 parries (60): 54: Success
  Guard: Maneuvers
  Rat Catcher attacks ML4 (45): 81: Failure
  Doomsayer attacks ML6 (45): 43: Success.
  -ML6 parries (60): 72: Failure. Damage: 10/6: Lightly Wounded

  Q: Do the disengaged commoners maneuver out?
  A: Yes

  Round 5:
  So much for my plan for a different approach.
  This is no longer fun for me.

  I’m not yet willing to abandon Zweihander since I believe this to be partly my fault trying to run such a large fight. But everything is sooo slow.

  Evie attacks ML1 (45): 19: Success.
  -ML1 Parries (50): 93: Failure. Damage: 11/12: Grievously Wounded: Injury: No Injury.
  Gustav attacks ML1 (40): 64: Failure.
  ML1 attacks Evie (60): 85: Failure.
  ML2 attacks Gustav (60): 52: Success.
  -Gustav parries (30): 13: Success
  ML3 attacks Rat Catcher (60): 19: Success.
  -Rat Catcher parries (45): 72: Failure. Damage: 13/16: Moderately Wounded: Injury: Moderate Injury. Bleeds. Underling: Slain.
  ML4 hustles & attacks Ergarad (60): 70: Failure.
  ML5 attacks Doomsayer (60): 8: Success.
  -Doomsayer parries (45): 3: Success.
  ML6 attacks Doomsayer (60): 88: Critical Failure
  ML7 attacks Rudiger (60): 95: Failure.
  Rudiger attacks ML7 (42): 54: Failure.
  Ergarad attacks ML7 (45): 93: Failure.
  Guard attacks ML6 (45): 73: Failure.
  Doomsayer attacks ML6 (45): 82: Failure.

  Round 6:

  Evie attacks ML1 (45): 79: Failure.
  Gustav attacks ML1 (40): 94: Failure.
  ML1 maneuvers away.
  ML2 attacks Gustav (60): 51: Success.
  -Gustav parries (30): 72: Failure. Damage: 16/4: Moderately Wounded. Injury: Moderate Injury: Hyperextended Elbow.
  ML3 hustles & attacks Evie (60): 48: Success.
  -Evie parries (45): Failure. Damage: 9/9: Lightly Wounded.
  ML4 attacks Ergarad (60): 79: Failure.
  ML5 attacks Doomsayer (60): 49: Success.
  -Doomsayer parries (45): 82: Failure. Damage: 20/22: Slain!
  ML6 hustles & attacks Guard (60): 71: Failure
  ML7 attacks Rudiger (60): 85: Failure.
  Rudiger attacks ML7 (42): 75: Failure.
  Ergarad attacks ML7 (45): 93: Failure.
  Guard attacks ML6 (45): 36: Success.
  -ML6 parries (50): 12: Success.

  Round 7:
  So this drags on and on. I was about to switch to Oracle combat resolution but I’ll stick to Zweihander.

  Evie attacks ML2 (45): 66: Critical Failure.
  Gustav attacks ML2 (40): 3: Success.
  -ML2 parries (70): 7: Success
  ML2 attacks Gustav (60): 35: Success.
  -Gustav parries (40): 73: Failure. Damage: 14/4: Grievously Wounded. Injury: No injury.
  ML3 attacks Evie (60): 69: Failure.
  ML4 attacks Ergarad (60): 82: Failure.
  ML5 hustles & attacks Ergarad (60): 49: Success.
  -Ergarad parries (45): 61: Failure. Damage: 23/23: Grievously Wounded. Injury: Grievous Injury: Severed Artery: Slain!
  ML6 attacks Guard (60): 88: Critical Failure
  ML7 attacks Rudiger (60): 72: Failure.
  Rudiger attacks ML7 (42): 50: Failure.
  Guard attacks ML6 (45): 97: Failure.

  Round 8:
  Since this goes to slaughter, the party members will attempt to run for their lives.

  Evie: Runs
  ML3 attack of opportunity (60): 14: Success: Damage: 7/3: Moderately Wounded: Injury: No Injury. Evie Resist Takedown: 14: Success. Evie Runs Away!
  Gustav: Runs
  ML2 attack of opportunity (60): 25: Success: Damage: 15/6: Slain. Fate Point!: Escapes Death. Gustav runs away!

  Q: Does ML2, ML3 go after the party who fled or the commoners?
  A: False Presupposition
  They attack the combatants. The guard and Rudiger.

  ML2 hustles and attacks the guard (60): 48: Success.
  -Guard parry (45): 98: Failure. Damage: 12/6: Moderately Wounded: Injury: No Injury.
  ML3 hustles and attacks Rudiger (60): 39: Damage: 12/9: Lightly Wounded
  ML4 hustles and attacks the Guard (60): 68: Failure
  ML5 hustles and attacks Rudiger (60): 76: Failure
  ML6 attacks the guard (60): 32: Success
  -Guard parries (45): 77: Critical Failure. Damage: 13/7: Severely Wounded. Injury: No Injury.
  ML7 attacks Rudiger (60): 79: Failure
  Rudiger: Runs away
  ML3 attack of opportunity (60): 75: Failure
  ML5 attack of opportunity (60): 1: Success. Damage: 14/9: Moderately Wounded: Injury: No Injury
  ML7 attacks of opportunity (60): 38: Success. Damage: 17/9: Grievously Wounded: Injury: Grievous Iniury: Fate Point: No Damage.
  Guard attacks ML6 (45): 17: Success.
  -ML6 Parries (60): 29: Success

  ---

  Combat narrative

  The lion pack jumps on the surprised group. Claws are dug deep into shoulders. Teeth rip off chunks of meat. The lions prove their predator nature as the scared caravan looks in horror.
  The few men and women locked in combat try to fend off the beasts but they cannot.
  The guards and Evie’s party join up trying to make an opening out of the cave. But the lions are set up in a way that this is so difficult.
  “Everyone! Gather together in a formation! Light torches! Keep them at bay!” Evie shouts.
  No one seems to listen. The beast growls cover the sound of her voice.
  Slowly the party maneuvers in a way so as the cave exit is behind them, and the lions are in the inside.
  Blows are exchanged and the commoners perish one by one. Gustav and Evie are wounded.
  Ergarad the guard, is jumped upon by a lion that severs her artery. Blood speed everywhere and she falls down dead.
  “Let’s make a run for it! They have enough to eat for the whole winter! Run!” Rudiger shouts. Evie and Gustav run away, and the lions lash at them, but by some divine grace they survive.
  Rudiger and the other guard are left alone against the lions. As they fend off their last strikes, Rudiger runs away as the guard keeps fighting.

  Far away from the cave, they look at their wounds and each other as they pause for a second to catch their breath.
  Their looks speak volumes. Did anyone else survive?
  They took these men and women with them for a better future and they all ended up as food.
  And they’re in a sorry state. Wounded. Injured. Cold. Unsheltered. How are they going to make it through the night?

  ---

  Summary

  I’m pulling the plug here.
  Zweihander isn’t to my solo play tastes.

  I may have been biased based on what I expected after my reading of the system, but I believe that my bias was correct. My issue lies with the design. The writing is just one face of the design.
  So I’ll break down the problems.
  1. Chaotic structuring. In order to read about injuries I had to check 3 different chapters. Combat, Healing, Gamemastering. Seriously the page flipping is immense. Maybe when I know the rules a bit better I’ll remember it by heart, but that’s not user friendly.
  2. Combat resolution. I think it’s derived from WHFRP, but it does away with all the innovative. An attack sequence may include 5 separate rolls! (Attack, Opposed Parry, Fury-Damage, Chaos-Injury, Injuries table). It’s slow, cumbersome and in return doesn’t provide narrative feedback. Not to mention it’s frustrating when the chances for injury are so low.
  I’ll add to this the weapon tables, where the weapons are differentiated by their qualities (vicious, punishing, etc) and not by stats. Another characteristic I have to check for combat resolution!
  3. Ancestral Traits. In my opinion ancestral traits should be common for all members of the same ancestry. I get the going for character variety, but it doesn’t make any sense for only a few dwarves to have dark vision.
  4. Skills ranks don’t have an apparent effect. A man-at-arms in average is only 10% better in combat than a peasant. And if they’re imperiled by one rank, they’re at the same. Only talents may make some difference.

  I understand that concerning solo play, a combat of so many opponents is tough to run, but I did this successfully in both Savage Worlds and Star Wars D6.
  But if I had taken a fewer combatants approach like in MERP, Mythras or Hârnmaster, I’d expect the narrative feedback these games have.

  Don’t get me wrong. Zweihander is a great game with a very detailed implied setting and lots of information on professions, grimoire and bestiaries. It just didn’t fit to my solo roleplaying needs.
  I may return to it some time in the future, but not soon.

  As for Evie’s company, it seems I’ll have to do another conversion for them.

  I am a bit disappointed because I was very happy with how the story evolved. Combining CRGE with false presuppositions and likelihoods was interesting, and the in the heart of the unknown HFGE was excellent as always.
  What I really enjoyed though was the BOLD connections. I’ll definitely be keeping this mechanic for future party solo roleplaying. It gave narrative depth! One could even evolve it further with social mechanics and passions and alignments depending on the game system!

  giorgis and Todd are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    Todd 4:34 am on January 20, 2020 Permalink | Reply

    Have you tried HARP? I don’t know how close it hews to MERP. I just picked up the HARP pdf because it looked interesting, but I’ve only gotten as far as character creation with it.

    LikeLiked by 1 person

    • 

      giorgis 11:02 am on January 20, 2020 Permalink | Reply

      I’ve read good things about it. It’s part of the Rolemaster a family, hence it’s close to MERP. I think it’s an effort to modernize it, though still old.
      I would like to get a hold of these, but imho ICE has really high prices for 10 year old PDFs

      LikeLike

• 

  giorgis 10:26 pm on January 16, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Warhammer, Zweihander ( 2 )   

  Evie’s Company – Zwei-hammer Session 0 

  So after the unsuccessful attempt to run Bianka in Hârnmaster rules (and her apparent misfortune), I’m switching to the last d100 game in my list. Zweihander.

  At first I was hyped. I’ve read so many good things about it. It advertises as grim and perilous so that ticks my boxes. Also it’s supposed to be a rule system to run Warhammer Fantasy which sounds like a perfect fit. Also it sports a whooping core book size, which for me is a huge plus.
  And then I started reading through it. I’m a bit disappointed. Maybe if I wasn’t so hyped I wouldn’t be, but my expectations were set really high.
  I’ll give my final review of the system once I’ve solo playtested it, but I want to share that my main concerns were regarding the writing. There’s too much advertisement of how this is grim and perilous and how it’s different and more deadly than other RPGs, and also how they went so far out of their way to give the WHFRP style without being WHFRP. I wouldn’t have a gripe with all that if they hadn’t spent a serious amount of effort, time and space to do all that. All in all it was a tad bit too much. I won’t go into anymore details, lest I be caught in the same trap they did.

  Conversion

  So again here comes the conversion. I’ll convert the characters as per the character generation that is described in the book.
  I will keep their descriptions weight, height and distinguishing mark’s as they were generated for WHFRP and fit.
  I will roll the attributes and ancestral traits randomly, even if this deviates a bit from the character so far.
  I will choose their wealth status and professions. I will give them starting trappings, with the exception of Rudiger who will have a Mail hauberk.
  For alignment and upbringing I will roll 3 times and assign each of them to the party members to reflect their current personalities as close as possible.
  I will keep the UNE and BOLD descriptions and for the chaos corruption of Rudiger I will see how to best translate it. Maybe I’ll just give him 2 Chaos Ranks.
  I will award them 100 points for Night of Blood and 50 points for each of the sessions of Siege of Ostenhofen that they participated. This adds up to a total of 400 reward points.

  The party

  Evie

  Name	Evie Vogel
  Ancestry	Human
  Ancestral Trait	Dauntless
  Archetype	Socialite
  Profession	Courtier
  Upbringing	Cultured
  Social Class	Aristocrat
  Alignment	Cunning & Deceit
  Age	20 yo
  Gender	Female
  Height	180cm
  Weight	72kg
  Eyes	Pale Grey, Almond shaped
  Hair	Brown
  Sign	The gloaming star
  Birthplace	Wissenland, Poor village

  Demeanor: Traditional
  UNE: lazy activist, offend the wealth
  BOLD: pleasant deputies overcome by scarce-used ability

  Evie is the daughter of Baron Vogel. She is traditional and doesn’t want radical changes, and has taken it upon herself to see that the wealthy merchants are taxed heavily and the taxes are given to the nobility. She’d prefer if someone else would help her on this task though.
  To that end, she wants to charm the neighboring prince into marriage and she has left the estate with her bodyguard Rudiger and her servant Gustav to go to the castle where she was invited.
  On the way they were stopped by some friendly roadwardens who, seeing her wealth, required tolls to be payed. Using her knowledge of the law she reminded them that only the toll collector had the authority to collect tolls and they should be careful lest they be mistaken for brigands preying on hapless travelers.
  Evie, despite her status got arrested by the road wardens and brought to Ostenhofen. She had hoped to meet Prince Ingmar, but the orc siege foiled her plans.
  Update: Confronted with demons, mutants, orcs and undead may have shaken Evie. I doubt she cares anymore about offending the wealth. Maybe she will have to change motivations.

  Primary Attribute	Score	Bonus	Profession Bonus
  Combat	45	5
  Brawn	38	3
  Agility	35	2	3
  Perception	42	5	6
  Intelligence	42	5	6
  Willpower	45	3
  Fellowship	42	3	5

  Secondary Attribute	Score
  Peril Threshold	6 (12/18/24)
  Damage Threshold	3 (9/15/21)
  Encumbrance	6
  Initiative	9
  Movement	6

  Skill Ranks: Charm, Eavesdrop, Guile, Rumour, Simple Melee, Scrutinize
  Talents: Forked Tongue, Silver Tongue

  Coin purse, fancy shoes, fashionable clothing, foppish hat, holy symbol, knuckleduster, mandrake root (3), mantle, neck ruff, shoulder bag, writing kit, rapier, 8 gc

  Gustav

  Name	Gustav Dickopf
  Ancestry	Human
  Ancestral Trait	Danger Sense
  Archetype	Commoner
  Profession	Servant
  Upbringing	Industrious
  Social Class	Lowborn
  Alignment	Mystery & Exclusion
  Age	19 yo
  Gender	Male
  Height	165cm
  Weight	75 kg
  Eyes	Grey
  Hair	Blonde
  Sign	The greased goat
  Birthplace	Nordland, Small settlement

  Demeanor: Flamboyant
  UNE: obnoxious fortune-hunter, convey opulence
  BOLD: lethargic traitor overcome by strong attribute

  Gustav is Evie’s servant. Despite his low status he is flamboyant, and tries to siphon off wealth from Evie to show off. He wears expensive clothing and behaves as someone above his class. Evie likes him so she tolerates it, but others are not so disposed. He passes of to his peers as an obnoxious fortune-hunter, which actually he is.
  When the estate cook started gossiping about Gustav, he managed to find him sleeping on more than one occasion and convinced Evie to demote him to stable boy. Gustav was escorting Evie to the castle where she was invited by the prince when the events of the night of blood occurred.
  Update: Gustav is out of his comfort zone for far too long. They haven’t had a proper safe, cozy, rest without the hint of danger in weeks now. He wants this crusade of Evie to end, and get back to improving his status (and wealth).

  Primary Attribute	Score	Bonus	Profession Bonus
  Combat	40	5
  Brawn	34	3	4
  Agility	44	3	4
  Perception	42	5	7
  Intelligence	45	5	6
  Willpower	40	3
  Fellowship	50	4	6

  Secondary Attribute	Score
  Peril Threshold	6 (12/18/24)
  Damage Threshold	4 (10/16/22)
  Encumbrance	7
  Initiative	10
  Movement	7

  Skill Ranks: Awareness, Charm, Folklore, Rumour, Simple Melee
  Talents: Silver Tongue

  Bandages (3), bottle bomb, grave root, holy symbol, heavy boots, tuck sack, shiv, simple attire, warm vest, splitting maul, 27 bp

  Rudiger

  Name	Rudiger Dirnbach
  Ancestry	Human
  Ancestral Trait	Mixed Bloodline-Ogre-Frightening Bellow
  Archetype	Warrior
  Profession	Man-at-arms
  Upbringing	Militant
  Social Class	Burgher
  Alignment	Ambition & Tyranny
  Age	37 yo
  Gender	Male
  Height	175cm
  Weight	69 kg
  Eyes	Pale Grey
  Hair	Black
  Sign	Gnuthus the Ox
  Birthplace	Middenland, Hovel
  Distinguishing Marks	Seamed face

  Demeanor: Hardboiled
  UNE: addicted judge, spoil the oppressed
  BOLD: deceiving labor overcome by on accident
  Corruption: Miserly, Impatient

  Rudiger is an old soldier who was appointed as a guard to the baron’s estate. As Evie grew, the baron appointed Rudiger to be her personal bodyguard.
  Rudiger is a veteran of many battles, and little that he sees shakes him. He has seen orcs, goblins and the occasional bandit. He believes firmly in the order of things and that the poor are supposed to stay poor and support the nobility.
  When he was younger, he was once deceived by an agitator to fight for ‘the cause’ and free the peasants from their lords rule. When, by mistake he came upon the peasant leaders divulging in their loot, he killed them all and left. He decided never to assist the traitorous peasants again and took it upon himself to punish them whenever possible. His combat skills and passion for riot control soon were noticed by the baron, who took him under his employment.
  After the last peasant revolt he has taken it upon himself to root out any danger that comes from the low classes. On such events, he alone decides the fate of the prisoners.
  His harsh life is not without scars though, and he has turned to be a functional alcoholic.
  Rudiger is escorting Evie as a bodyguard.
  Update: Corrupted by chaos, Rudiger’s faults have increased. He no longer has patience for the beggars and the poor, and may outright attack any street urchin who will try to pickpocket him. Seeing the threats to the Empire and Evie has made him even more likely to stand at her side, as she has proven that she fights for what is right.
  This is represented by 2 Chaos Ranks.

  Primary Attribute	Score	Bonus	Profession Bonus
  Combat	42	5	7
  Brawn	45	4	5
  Agility	40	3	4
  Perception	41	5
  Intelligence	44	5
  Willpower	41	3	4
  Fellowship	39	2

  Secondary Attribute	Score
  Peril Threshold	7 (13/19/25)
  Damage Threshold	9 (15/21/27)
  Encumbrance	8
  Initiative	8
  Movement	7

  Skill Ranks: Martial Melee, Resolve, Simple Melee, Toughness, Warfare
  Talents: Lightning Reactions, Shield Slam, Sword & Board

  heavy boots, lantern, laudanum (3), military attire, oil pot, red cap mushrooms, rucksack, mail hauberk, tincture (3), wooden shield, mortuary sword, 13 ss

  Conversion Summary

  Some interesting results here. The primary attributes were okayish, but I really liked the alignments rolled.
  I absolutely loved the mixed bloodline ancestral trait of Rudiger. He has Ogre’s blood running in his veins!
  I found the whole process not too tiresome considering I generated three characters, so that’s a big plus for the game system.

  Encounters

  Even though it was short lived, I really enjoyed the wilderness hex flower gaming engine In the heart of the unknown combine with Hârnmaster’s encounter tables, so I’m going to use those again. Zweihander also has an apendix of encounters, but since they’re very specific, I’ll use them instead when I roll a Nat 20 on Hârnmaster’s encounters table.
  I’ll use Hârnmaster’s rules for wilderness travels since they’re meant to be used with Hexes in mind. Again, the group is traveling with a week’s worth of supplies, towards Mainberstein. Their caravan consists of twenty commoners, two guards and one horse.

  The story

  The story continues from the events of Night of the Blood and the Siege of Ostenhofen.
  The party will attempt to reach Mainberstein from Westenhofen.
  I suspect that once in safety they will attempt to find a way to defeat the lich. Maybe complement their party with a wizard or a priest. It would be nice for a change to add some magical flavor.

  Threads

  • Reach Mainberstein safely
  • Find a way to defeat the lich
  • Clear their name (do they need to?)

  Emulation

  For GM emulation, I’ll be using a custom CRGE Oracle with inspiration from MUNE and False Presuppositions from Recluse.
  So I will be rolling on the CRGE table, and will use unexpectedly/surge counts, but, doubles will be False Presuppositions. Likelihood will be introduced by Flipping the Dice. So a likely result of 38 would become 83. A likely result of 83 would remain as is.
  An unlikely result of 62 would become 26. An unlikely result of 26 would remain as is. Surge count is applied after flipping the results.

  Tools

  I’ll be also using BOLD regarding the Connections mechanic to spice conversations in the party.
  UNE, Donjon and the Game Master’s Apprentice cards will be used if and when required.

   
• 

  giorgis 6:20 pm on January 6, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Hârn ( 3 ), Warhammer   

  Bianka the Ratter Hârn-hammer Session 0 

  Introduction

  I recently got the Dead Weight prewritten module and it had the Hârnmaster QuickStart rules.
  While reading through it I was so intrigued I went ahead and got the PDF of the Hârnmaster 3ed Rules.
  What is Hârnmaster? It’s a d100 roll-under gritty rule system coupled with a low-fantasy setting, Hârnworld. Of course it can be run into any low-fantasy setting. There’s tons of setting material for Hârnworld (they’re quite expensive) but there’s a lot of fan content as well!
  In http://lythia.com I found high quality fan content, and there was a really cool article about rats and ratters (rat catchers).
  So instead of trying out Hârn from scratch, instead I decided to run Bianka’s adventure from my Warhammer campaign into this system.

  Character sheet

  Below are the converted stats of Bianka:

  Characteristic	Description
  Name	Bianka Geissler
  Race	Human
  Occupation	Ratter
  Age	17 yo
  Gender	Female
  Height	166cm/65″
  Weight	70kg/154 pounds(6)
  Frame	Medium(12)
  Complexion	Medium
  Eyes	Grey blue, bloodshot
  Hair	Dark Brown
  Birthdate	25th of Larane
  Sunsign	Wymund the anchorite (Angberelius,Flaming Swords)
  Birthplace	Nordland, Poor village
  Sibling Rank	5th/8 Children
  Parents	Offspring/Both parents alive & together
  Parent Occupation	Farmer (freehold)
  Estrangement	Average
  Clanhead	Distant relation(Grandfather related to Uncle)

  Key Attribute	Score
  Strength	14
  Stamina	16
  Dexterity	12
  Agility	14
  Intelligence	10
  Aura	12
  Will	10

  Secondary Attributes	Score
  Comeliness	16(Beautiful)
  Eyesight	12
  Hearing	14
  Smell	10
  Voice	10(Average)
  Medical	–
  Mental	–
  Morality	8(Corruptible)

  Contact	Relationship	Loyalty
  Herdsman	Friend	55
  Farmer(Freehold)	Enemy
  First Cousin,Aunt Uncle	Acquaintance	41

  Skills	ML
  CLIMBING	54
  CONDITION	65
  JUMPING	56
  STEALTH	40
  THROWING	52
  AWARENESS	52
  INTRIGUE	33
  ORATORY	24
  RHETORIC	31
  SINGING	33
  INITIATIVE	44
  UNARMED	42
  Agriculture	39
  Weatherlore	33
  Ratcraft	55
  Dogcraft	44
  Net	36
  Club	65
  Herblore	22
  Axe	42
  Cookery	33
  Foraging	33
  Sling	14
  Physician	12

  Wound	Location	Healing Rate
  M1-Minor Cut	Left Upper Arm	H5
  M1-Minor Tear	Right Elbow	H5
  S2-Serious Cut	Abdomen	H3

  ---

  Okay, this conversion was hard.
  Bear in mind this is a character that was generated using a Warhammer FRP 2ed online character generator, then converted to my homebrew MiniSix variant for Night of the Blood, then converted to Savage Worlds for the Siege of Ostenhofen and now to Hârnmaster.

  I used a point buy system as described in Hârnmaster.
  I spent the 30 attribute points for the key attributes and tried to be as close as possible to the MiniSix and Savage Worlds charsheet.
  I used the optional 20 attribute points for the non key attributes, but I didn’t use the 1/2 point cost described. It seemed really cheap. I mean I could assign 20 points and get an average of 16 in the 5 attributes where random roll was 3d6. It made no sense. Therefore I used full point cost to have an average of 12.
  I kept the randomly generated appearance characteristics, even though they play a role in Hârnmaster.
  Also Bianka was using hatchets and slings according to Warhammer FRP career. Hârnmaster ratters use clubs and nets (makes more sense). I hate to break narrative so I had to spend valuable Skill Points to buy the Axe and Sling skills.
  Another topic was that of sunsigns/birthsigns. Both Warhammer and Hârnworld have their own signs, and I wouldn’t have bothered, but in Hârnmaster, the sunsign affects Skill Base. Therefore for narrative I’ve kept the Warhammer sign, but for mechanics I’ve kept the sunsign of Hârn… a mess.
  Overall in the end I was wondering if it was the right choice to do all those conversions rather than generate a new character and test the system with them, but now the work is done.

  ---

  Character development:
  I went ahead and read Bianka’s skill uses through the two adventures and gave her the respective skill development rolls.

  Wounds:
  Bianka was left wounded when the party left her at Westenhofen. In Savage Worlds, she was shaken twice from the skeletons and then suffered a nasty double wound while retreating. I decided that these were two M1 and one S2 wounds. I rolled randomly for their location and liked what I got. A 1″ cut on her left upper arm, a 2″ gash on her right elbow and a 4″ cut on her abdomen.

  Equipment:
  Hatchet, sling, bag of rats, rat cage, mouse traps, common clothing, net, leather gloves, boots.

  Character description

  Demeanor: Aggressive
  UNE: reputable recluse, Record the public
  BOLD: common traitor overcome by personal resources
  Corruption: Egotistical, Obsessive, Deceitful

  Bianka is a young woman who has made a reputation as a rat catcher. She’s quite aggressive against the critters and doesn’t like the company of other people, keeping to herself.
  She wants to beat the numbers of rats she catches in comparison to the other rat catchers.
  In the last town she was in, a fellow rat catcher stole her bag of rats and sold it off as his own. She used her wits and skill and managed to catch an even larger number of rats, this fulfilling her contract.
  Bianka just came upon Evie’s company and by happenstance they go in the same direction.
  Bianka survived the night of the blood in the hooded man, but got corrupted by chaos from the demon they fought.
  Considering, the corruption of Tzeentch slowly seeping in, and all she has suffered, there’s a high chance that Bianka might go rogue. I think she is becoming obsessed with the rat catcher that betrayed her, and wants to exact vengeance now in a less peaceful manner. She wasn’t aware that giant rats existed. Maybe this can be part of her plan for vengeance.
  Her company left her behind in Westenhofen lest they be caught by the undead that have risen, but it was a mutual termination of companionship. No hard feelings.

  Notes

  I’ll be also switching to CRGE for Oracle this time around. It’s approach is more closely related to Mythic rather than MUNE/Recluse that I’m used to, but I want to experience how threads and scenes can work in solo play.

  So I have the following threads:

  • Flee Westenhofen
  • Exact Revenge

  ---

  A note on abbreviations:
  For space saving I will be using Hârnmaster abbreviation for test resolutions.
  CF: Critical Failure
  MF: Marginal Failure
  MS: Marginal Success
  CS: Critical Success

  Prologue

  First of all I need to see if the undead will attack Westenhofen before Bianka has a chance to heal her wounds.

  To Knowledge:
  Main Thread: Flee Westenhofen.
  Q: Do the undead attack Westenhofen?
  A: No, and unexpectedly.
  Unexpectedly: 7: Framing.
  A new NPC or object becomes critical to the thread.
  So the undead do not attack Westenhofen, maybe they’re attacking the city. In anyway I won’t be asking this question again for two weeks.
  Since Bianka has been bedridden two weeks now trying to recover, I presume that the new NPC will be the town’s herbalist, who may have a different approach to help heal Bianka.

  Bianka walls slowly around the room. Her bandages were cleaned once more by Mari, the physician’s assistant but she still was in a bad shape.
  “Is this guy any good?” She asks Mari. “It’s been two weeks that I’m bedridden. I can’t stay here anymore. I’m afraid the dead will come anytime soon.”
  “He’s the best outside of Ostenhofen.” Mari answers, but he pauses for a moment and then continues. “There’s another.”

  Donjon: Aldugard: Female Human Alchemist. Neutral. She is exceptionally beautiful with thick silver hair and brown eyes. She wears modest garments and an amulet if luminous crystal. Aldugard is decisive and absent-minded.

  “Do tell.” She says.
  Mari continues. “It’s an alchemist living at the south edge of Westemhofen. She hasn’t been accused of witchcraft, but folks are worried of her. I see you’re set on leaving, so at least see her before departing.”
  Bianka thanks Mari and gathers her stuff. She will go see if this Aldugard can help her where Geri the physician couldn’t.

  Bianka: Awareness (32): 99: MF
  Bianka can’t find the alchemist’s house on her own. She will have to ask the locals for directions.

  Bianka: Intrigue (13): 48: MF
  Bianka can’t learn about the alchemist’s house without it being known by the locals.

  Q: Do the locals help Bianka find Aldugard?
  A: Yes.
  Surge Count 2.

  After asking around Westenhofen, stumbling around, Bianka manages to reach Aldugard’s house.
  She knocks on the door, and an exceptionally beautiful woman with silver hair opens.
  She sees the bandages on Bianka’s limbs, and how she clutches her belly, and invites her inside. “Come in.”
  Bianka enters the small house without any delay.

  Bianka: Awareness (32): 93: MF
  She doesn’t pay attention to the surroundings.

  UNE: NPC conversation mood: Sociable
  NPC bearing & focus: aid retainers
  Again, we have a helpful healer who wants to assist the ‘retainers’ the people who provided a service to the city.

  “You’re not from around here.” She says. Bianka nods.
  “You’re from the group that survived Ostenhofen.” She continues.
  “I am.” Bianka replies.
  “I’ll help you. Geri may have cleaned your wounds but he hasn’t helped at all with your recovery. Come.” She points at the bed in the corner and Bianka goes to sit there.

  So, I’ll roll to decide what healing she will administer.
  Herbs or Potion: Herbs
  Nelbise, Finistrel or Altrubat: Nelbise

  She removes the bandages. “Oh those are nasty” she says looking at the gash in her abdomen. She takes some leaves from a jar and puts them directly on the wound and covers them again with fresh bandages.
  “Come here twice per day. These need refreshing.”

  UNE: NPC power level: Slightly Weaker. She’s a two star craftsman having a Physician skill of (62).

  After five days:
  Did the Nelbise have effects? (90): 89: Yes.

  Wound	Location	Healing Rate	Result
  M1-Minor Cut	Left Upper Arm	H5	Healed in 8 days
  M1-Minor Tear	Right Elbow	H5	Healed in 4 days
  S2-Serious Cut	Abdomen	H3	6 Days reduced to M1. 10 more days for Healed

  Two weeks later, Bianka has only a minor tear on her abdomen that’s is about to close.
  “How can I repay you?” She asks Aldugard.

  Q: Does Aldugard ask for payment?
  A: Yes
  Surge Count: 4

  “You’re almost healed but my healing herbs are dwindling. If you can find me some leaves or blooms in the woodland outside Westenhofen it would be much helpful.” Aldugard replies.

  Bianka will make short excursions to find herbs.

  The common time unit for Hârn is the Watch which is 4 hours.
  It will take Bianka half a watch to get to the woodlands and one watch to search for herbs.
  Bianka: Herblore (17): 99: MF: She finds 17 Bridalkme plants.
  I will roll for random encounters.
  Rural: 18/14: I get a random encounter. It’s a Foreigner, Military, Militiaman. Activity: Training, on maneuvers, etc. Friendliness: 100!

  I’ve just used Hârn’s random encounters tables and I must say it’s great. I was really happy to see they included an activity table, since the most common question is ‘What are they doing there?’ This provides ample food for solo generation!
  Also for attitude, it says just roll 1d100 and the higher, the friendlier.

  Therefore considering the above, it’s a pretty clear encounter.

  Bianka: Awareness (47) vs (50): 82/84: MF/MF. They both locate each other at the same time.

  Bianka has gathered up a few plants when she hears commotion. Carefully she approaches, when she sees some rough men. They have long hair and beards and look taller and tougher than the locals.
  It seems to be a unit of a score of men. One of them is giving orders to the group, trying to form them in shield walls. He notices Bianka.
  “Come here woman! We won’t hurt you!” He shouts.
  Reluctantly Bianka approaches.
  “Is Ostenhofen nearby?” He asks.
  “It is. Why go to that forsaken place?” She asks.

  UNE: NPC focus & bearing: weapons happiness

  “We have been summoned by the Emperor. We Norsemen are always glad to drop our farming tools and bring our weapons when called upon. We were supposed to reach Ostenhofen a couple of weeks ago, but the Orcs were waiting for us. In the battle that followed we got split from the main army and have been trying to reach Ostenhofen since.” The man answers.

  Donjon: Wolfo: Male Human Fighter, Good. Wolfo is tall and thin, with braided gray hair and hazel eyes. He wears banded mail and wields a ~~glaive-guisarme~~ spear. Wolfo compulsively plays with a silver coin.

  “My name is Wolfo, and I’m the captain of this band. Who might you be? Your accent and bearing seems northern.” He asks.
  “I’m Bianka, I’ve left the north years ago and have been working my ass off hunting rats from city to city in the mainland. Recent events got me stranded in Ostenhofen.” She answers.
  “So you come from Ostenhofen? Is the city still holding?” Wolfo asks.

  Q: Have there been any news from Ostenhofen since?
  A: Yes, and they all know about the orcs and the undead threat.
  Surge Count: –

  “I’ve managed to escape the siege about three weeks ago. The orcs were defeated eventually, but … the dead have risen.” She says.
  “Is that where you got these?” Wolfo asks about her wounds.
  Bianka nods in silent agreement.
  “Then you have earned my respect. Will you lead us to Ostenhofen?” he requests.
  “I’ll take you to Westenhofen, but only because you’re my kin. You’ll find your way from there. Ostenhofen has nothing for me. If the rats haven’t fled already there isn’t anyone who cares enough to pay coin.” Bianka reluctantly agrees to take the unit to Westenhofen.

  She spends half a watch to get them back and forth and searches for another watch for herbs.

  Bianka: Herblore (17): 16: MS: She finds 3 leaves of an Olrui plant.
  I will roll for random encounters.
  Rural: 19/14: I get a random encounter. It’s a Guildsman, Ostler, Journeyman. Activity: Other: Hunting criminals/runaways/game. Friendliness: 93.

  Bianka: Awareness (47) vs (50): 1/87: MS/MF. Bianka locates the Ostler first.

  Donjon: Gosbo. Male Human Craftsman, Neutral. Gosbo has messy auburn hair and amber eyes, and prominent ears. He wears plain clothing and riding boots.

  As Bianka has gathered a few leaves of a parasitic plant, she hears footsteps. She sees a young man breathing heavily, trying to walk silently and fast but failing at both.
  She watches for a short while and sees that the man has his eyes on a horse in the distance.
  She sees no weapons and decides to introduce herself.
  “Are you after the horse?” She asks.
  Startled the youth turns to her. “Y, yes. She fled from the stable while I was tending to her. I’ve been hunting her for hours but something has scared her really good. Can you help me? Together we can catch her.”
  “Do you have coach service? I’m looking for passage away from Westenhofen” Bianka asks without answering.

  Bianka’s corruption regarding the Egotistical trait has kicked in.
  Q: Does he say they have coach service?
  A: No
  Surge Count: 2

  “I’m afraid not. This is my master’s horse. Please will you help me? I will be grateful. And maybe my master as well.” The young man tries to convince Bianka.

  Gosbo: Rhetoric (21): 52: MF

  “Sorry. I’m already in a bad shape. Can’t be going after horses. Best of luck.” She tells the ostler and runs off back to Westenhofen.
  She gives the herbs to Aldugard and the next morning she packs her things. It’s going to be a walk to the next city.

  Session background

  The threads remain as is. I like how the story progresses. Bianka wants to leave Westemhofen. Who knows what she will find if she returns.
  I am really enjoying Harnmaster. It’s too early yet to have real thoughts about the system, but I found the Campaign tables very helpful for solo play. Especially the random encounters seem to be very detailed. I also found two blank journal pages where one can log events. Maybe this is something worthwhile for bullet pointing my adventures!
  Regarding the success levels, there’s an optional rule to include substantial successes which seems really good.
  I didn’t find a general rule for difficulties but maybe I didn’t search well enough.
  Also opposed rolls work by comparing success levels and in case of a tie, the lowest number wins. I prefer Mythras’ rule for opposed ties, where the highest number wins, as this gives an additional advantage to the contestant with the highest skill.
  Regarding CRGE. It’s too early to have a complete opinion. I have mixed feelings concerning the lack of likelihoods. The author states that in case of a likely result, don’t roll, just play it out. I’m not certain this fills my cup of tea. But will continue with CRGE to see how it works out.

   
• 

  giorgis 5:29 pm on December 21, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: SavageWorlds ( 19 ), Solo ( 133 ), Warhammer   

  The siege of Ostenhofen pt8 – Finale and Thoughts 

  A Savage Worlds Warhammer Fantasy Battles mashup.

  First of all it’s very important to see where the Undead will strike next. I will roll 2d6 on the To The Battlements! engine.
  Undead: 5,5: 10 -> Goto 12: Walls.
  But this triggers a special event: 2d6: 6: Goto 1: Sabotage! Tools and Weapons are ruined.
  Since the party isn’t in the city, I won’t follow up on the event. I will consider that it occurred (by whom? dark cultists maybe?) and the defenders had no way to stop it.

  Now I need to see what will the party do.
  I will consider their personalities, and backgrounds.

  Bianka

  Demeanor: Aggressive
  UNE: reputable recluse, Record the public
  BOLD: common traitor overcome by personal resources
  Corruption: Egotistical, Obsessive, Deceitful
  Savage Worlds: Vengeful, Stubborn

  Bianka is a young woman who has made a reputation as a rat catcher. She’s quite aggressive against the critters and doesn’t like the company of other people, keeping to herself.
  She wants to beat the numbers of rats she catches in comparison to the other rat catchers.
  In the last town she was in, a fellow rat catcher stole her bag of rats and sold it off as his own. She used her wits and skill and managed to catch an even larger number of rats, this fulfilling her contract.
  Bianka just came upon Evie’s company and by happenstance they go in the same direction.
  Bianka survived the night of the blood in the hooded man, but got corrupted by chaos from the demon they fought.
  Update: Considering, the corruption of Tzeentch slowly seeping in, and all she has suffered, there’s a high chance that Bianka might go rogue. I think she is becoming obsessed with the rat catcher that betrayed her, and wants to exact vengeance now in a less peaceful manner. She wasn’t aware that giant rats existed. Maybe this can be part of her plan for vengeance.

  Evie

  Demeanor: Traditional
  UNE: lazy activist, offend the wealth
  BOLD: pleasant deputies overcome by scarce-used ability
  Savage Worlds: Vow, Cautious

  Evie is the daughter of Baron Vogel. She is traditional and doesn’t want radical changes, and has taken it upon herself to see that the wealthy merchants are taxed heavily and the taxes are given to the nobility. She’d prefer if someone else would help her on this task though.
  To that end, she wants to charm the neighboring prince into marriage and she has left the estate with her bodyguard Rudiger and her servant Gustav to go to the castle where she was invited.
  On the way they were stopped by some friendly roadwardens who, seeing her wealth, required tolls to be payed. Using her knowledge of the law she reminded them that only the toll collector had the authority to collect tolls and they should be careful lest they be mistaken for brigands preying on hapless travelers.
  Evie, despite her status got arrested by the road wardens and brought to Ostenhofen. She had hoped to meet Prince Ingmar, but the orc siege foiled her plans.
  Update: Confronted with demons, mutants, orcs and undead may have shaken Evie. I doubt she cares anymore about offending the wealth. Maybe she will have to change motivations (and Vow).

  Gustav

  Demeanor: Flamboyant
  UNE: obnoxious fortune-hunter, convey opulence
  BOLD: lethargic traitor overcome by strong attribute
  Savage Worlds: Greedy

  Gustav is Evie’s servant. Despite his low status he is flamboyant, and tries to siphon off wealth from Evie to show off. He wears expensive clothing and behaves as someone above his class. Evie likes him so she tolerates it, but others are not so disposed. He passes of to his peers as an obnoxious fortune-hunter, which actually he is.
  When the estate cook started gossiping about Gustav, he managed to find him sleeping on more than one occasion and convinced Evie to demote him to stable boy. Gustav was escorting Evie to the castle where she was invited by the prince when the events of the night of blood occurred.
  Update: Gustav is out of his comfort zone for far too long. They haven’t had a proper safe, cozy, rest without the hint of danger in weeks now. He wants this crusade of Evie to end, and get back to improving his status (and wealth).

  Rudiger

  Demeanor: Hardboiled
  UNE: addicted judge, spoil the oppressed
  BOLD: deceiving labor overcome by on accident
  Corruption: Miserly, Impatient
  Savage Worlds: Loyal, Mean, Arrogant

  Rudiger is an old soldier who was appointed as a guard to the baron’s estate. As Evie grew, the baron appointed Rudiger to be her personal bodyguard.
  Rudiger is a veteran of many battles, and little that he sees shakes him. He has seen orcs, goblins and the occasional bandit. He believes firmly in the order of things and that the poor are supposed to stay poor and support the nobility.
  When he was younger, he was once deceived by an agitator to fight for ‘the cause’ and free the peasants from their lords rule. When, by mistake he came upon the peasant leaders divulging in their loot, he killed them all and left. He decided never to assist the traitorous peasants again and took it upon himself to punish them whenever possible. His combat skills and passion for riot control soon were noticed by the baron, who took him under his employment.
  After the last peasant revolt he has taken it upon himself to root out any danger that comes from the low classes. On such events, he alone decides the fate of the prisoners.
  His harsh life is not without scars though, and he has turned to be a functional alcoholic.
  Rudiger is escorting Evie as a bodyguard.
  Update: Corrupted by chaos, Rudiger’s faults have increased. He no longer has patience for the beggars and the poor, and may outright attack any street urchin who will try to pickpocket him. Seeing the threats to the Empire and Evie has made him even more likely to stand at her side, as she has proven that she fights for what is right.

  ---

  “She hasn’t improved at all. The orcs and the undead may be here anytime soon!” Gustav says.
  Evie and her companions are sitting by the fire in The Broken Wand, considering what they will do with Bianka.
  “My lady. You know that I am loyal. Bianka has stood by us in many fights, but she always went her own way. My loyalty first lies with you. I must agree with Gustav. To keep you safe we must leave now.” Rudiger says his opinion.
  “What about the Westenhofeners? We should be able to help them. I do not wish to abandon them.” Evie exclaims.

  Rudiger support Gustav with persuasion (d4-2): 1: Failure.
  Evie: Persuasion (d10) opposed against Gustav: Persuasion (d6): Fail vs Fail.

  “You make a point my lady as always. How about we ask if any Westenhofeners wish to join us?” Gustav asks, wishing to leave this forsaken place no matter the cost.
  “And risk being detected by orc scouts? We won’t be noticed if it’s just the three of us.” Rudiger persists.
  “But there’s strength in numbers Rudiger. We still need Bianka” Evie proposes.

  Rudiger support Gustav with persuasion (d4-2): 2: Failure.
  Evie: Persuasion (d10) opposed against Gustav: Persuasion (d6): Success vs Success with Raise.

  “Alright. We shall leave. If Bianka at her condition or any of the Westenhofeners wish to come with us. We will take them. And that’s my final say.” Evie says and stands up from the table.

  UNE: How does Bianka react to the news?
  A: 75: Sociable
  Q: Does Bianka wish to risk leaving now at ther state?
  A: No, and, she doesn’t want to leave with the party. She feels relieved that they leave.

  Evie breaks the news to Bianka, that they wish to leave. She can join them, but they won’t wait any longer for her to recover.
  “If you ever are in need for a rat catcher, come find me.” Bianka tells them. “The paths we crossed are perilous. Travel safe.”

  The trio now, goes to the guardhouse to find captain Omund.
  “Captain! We thank you for your hospitality in this dire hour of our need. I shall not forget what you did for us.” Evie tells him.
  “You’re leaving lady? You couldn’t have chosen a better time. The paths are clear. The orcs are dispersing. You will only encounter strugglers.” Omund tells her.
  “What about the dead, captain? It’s still dangerous to be here. If any of you wishes, we can leave together. Maybe even make a caravan.” Evie replies.

  UNE: Bearing/Focus: Aid Experience.
  Q: Do the Westenhofeners wish to leave?
  A: Yes

  “We could use your experience in battle.” the captain says looking at Rudiger. “Give us some time to prepare and anyone wishing will travel with you.”

  ---

  Some metagaming questions:
  Without any supplies, fortifications ruined, tools and weapons sabotaged, I realize that the Ostenhofeners cannot stay besieged any longer.
  Q: Do the Ostenhofeners know about the undead threat?
  A: No, and they’re too consumed with their victory over the orcs.
  Q: Do the Ostenhofeners leave the city? (If they knew about the undead this would be likely or very likely).
  A: No
  Q: Do the remaining Westenhofeners go to Ostenhofen?
  A: No
  Q: Did the Orcs that are in battle with the imperial relief, disperse, now that Baga is dead? (Likely)
  A: False Presupposition. The orcs did not disperse at the news of Baga’s death, but they did not continue the battle either. They left in formation back towards the badlands.
  I will roll 2d6 on the Weather Hex Flower: 7: Overcast.
  The Empire relief will reach Ostenhofen at this week.

  ---

  As the caravan gathers, Evie takes a good look back at the walls of Ostenhofen. Wishing she had a way to warn them about what is coming.
  Rudiger understands her worries. “If we reach any troops coming to Ostenhofen we can tell them, so that they’re ready. Maybe they can warn them.”
  Evie just nods, hoping. But deep inside she knows Ostenhofen is doomed if the dead attack.

  Q: Are there many people joining the caravan?
  A: Yes, and there are guards as well.
  5d6 people will join: 20 people, 2 guards.
  Q: Do they have mounts?
  A: Yes
  1d20: 1: Horse
  With stealth out of the question, I will ask the Oracle.
  Q: Does any group of orcs attack the caravan?
  A: No
  Q: Do they meet up with the imperial relief?
  A: False presupposition. The relief troops are not going to reach Ostenhofen this week after all. They are pursuing the orcs that fled.

  Twenty commoners and two guards have joined the caravan. They have only their barest possessions and carry road supplies. They will walk to Mainberstein. They have a draft horse with them that they have loaded with supplies, and they start their march.

  ---

  Back to Bianka now.
  Let’s see if she heals this week.
  Vigor (d6-3): She fails 3 times (used all her Bennies).
  She remains bedridden.

  Bianka can’t recover still. She just hopes that she will manage to get back to her feet before the threat that looms over the entire region sweeps through Westenhofen.
  She sleeps at her bed everynight with her hatchet right beside her.

  ---

  Campaign Summary: This was one of the weirdest solo campaigns I have run so far. I’ll have a breakdown of the tools used and how it all worked out.
  Recluse: The Oracle of my choice so far. Combined with MUNE Interventions and TWENE, Recluse False Presuppositions mechanic has won me. It’s fast, easy to use and has a nice amount of chaos.
  To The Battlements: my take on Goblin’s Henchman’s Hex Flower Gaming Engines mechanism. I used some weird mechanics (like not moving freely, but snapping to the highest score hex) which seem to be correct. Retrospectively, in addition to the defender’s clock (supplies running out) I should have given the attacker a clock, to give the defender a chance to sit it out and win it, like using the Orc animosity rules. Nevertheless, it all worked out well, and it really pushed the siege to the last straw.
  Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition: What I like about this roleplaying system is how easy it is to run. There’s lot of chaos (many fuzzy rolls, and the card initiative) but this has the bonus of making everything surprisingly fast. I really liked how easy it is to set up an NPC on the fly and how easy it was to convert to and from my Warhammer Fantasy Battles game.
  Warhammer Fantasy Battles 4th Edition: A long obsolete games that I still have the softcopies of. I played all the battles in theater of the mind, and this caused a lot of headaches. I didn’t use any maneuvers or similar. Turning, switching formation and such were out of the question. I’d still be running the first battle if I did.
  I got really tired trying to run so many units at the same time. I doubt I will be doing this again. On the other hand I really liked the combat resolution mechanics. They were so fast. Comparing Weapon Skills, Ballistic Skills and Strength to Toughness in three simple charts and then rolling a bunch of d6’s in a very intuitive way to count successes. This is the part I loved most. I will certainly be having this in mind for future homebreweing.
  What made my life difficult was trying to remember every single sub-rule and running the headcount. I certainly made more than a few mistakes, but I can live with it.
  Universal NPC Emulator: Getting caught up in writing scenes, I forgot how important tools like UNE are. It takes a lot out of the solo players hands. It gives you inspiration, and the random factor gives a feeling of fairness you don’t get when writing stuff up arbitrarily. This is a reminder to pause and take the time to make some rolls at random generators like UNE. It pays off.
  donjon: My favorite online generator. It has almost everything to suit my needs, and also has genre specific and region specific generators.
  In general, Savage Worlds as is, isn’t low fantasy gritty. I want to try a system closer to those needs next, so another character conversion will be done.
  Overall I enjoyed the experience but maybe I overdid it with the battles and got tired at the end. I confess that I was looking forward for it to end.
  I’m a person that prefers to see things to the finish rather than abandon them, even if it’s not always the best option, so now I feel free to plan my next adventure!

   
• 

  giorgis 12:42 pm on December 21, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: SavageWorlds ( 19 ), Solo ( 133 ), Warhammer   

  The siege of Ostenhofen pt7 

  A Savage Worlds Warhammer Fantasy Battles mashup.

  Brief Summary: In the previous part, the Ostenhofeners won the battle of White Tower. If they win this battle as well, they will be victorious against the Orcs.

  ---

  Army points:
  Empire Points: 1737. (695 remain from the Iron Tower battle, 191 remain from the White Tower battle and 851 remain for the 3rd battle).
  Empire Relief Points: 3000
  Orc Points: 2996. (685,5 remain from the Iron Tower battle, 171 remain from the White Tower battle and 1730 remain for the 3rd battle, 409,5 are fled units).
  Orc Relief Points: 2000
  Undead Points: 8000

  The battle for the North Wall.

  Empire Army Roster:
  General – Prince Ingmar, Sword, Shield and Heavy Armor. 104 points with 15 Reiksguard, Sword, Shield and Heavy Armor, 180 points.
  20 Handgunners with Light Armor, 200 points.
  20 Crossbowmen with Light Armor, 200 points.
  15 Swordsmen with Sword, Shield and Light Armor, 135 points With Champion with Light Armor +32 Points.
  Total 851 Points.

  Orc Army Roster:
  Orc War Boss Baga with The Sword of Bork, The Axe of Morgor and Light Armor. 237 Points.
  Orc Battle Standard Bearer with Light Armor and Gork’s War Banner. 110 Points.
  22 Orc Big’Uns with Light Armor and Double Handed Weapons. 231 Points.
  20 Night Goblin Netters (50-50) with Night Goblin Boss. 92,5 Points.
  30 Night Goblin Halberdiers, with Night Goblin Boss and Standard. 127,5 Points.
  30 Orcs with Light Armor and Two Weapons, Orc Boss and Standard. 292,5 Points.
  30 Orc Archers with Light Armor, Bows, Standard and Orc Boss. 318,5 Points.
  8 Ogres. 320 Points.
  Total: 1730 Points

  ---

  Now, considering how tired I got after two whole theater of the mind battles, I’m going to change things a bit.
  1. I will add some roleplaying tactics to spice things up.
  2. I will have a simple map set up. After all it’s an attack on the wall.
  3. I may ask the Oracle during the battle, and use Interventions and False Presuppositions.

  So, for fairness sake, first of all I will formulate a simple battle plan for each side, that each general will expect to be executed.
  I will also create additional plans that each side will be able to perform, depending on the general’s battle knowledge skill. In this case they will not know their opponents plans unless they make a successful battle knowledge skill roll.

  Orc Simple Battle Plan:
  From left to right. Orc Archers, Ogres, Goblin Netters, Orc Big’Uns, Goblin Halberdiers, Orcs.
  The Ogres and Netters will try to assault with ropes and ladders one side of the wall. The Big’Uns, Halberdiers and Orcs will assault with ladders, while the Orc Archers provide covering fire.

  Empire Simple Battle Plan:
  From left to right. Handgunners, Reiksguard, Swordsmen, Crossbowmen.
  Handgunners target is Ogres, followed by Orc Archers.
  Crossbowmen target is Big’Uns followed by Orcs.

  Orc Advanced Plans:

  • Ogres armed with Picks to break down the wall.
  • Orc Archers to shoot grappling hooks for Ogres to pull and to ruin battlements, removing defensive advantage from this part of the wall.
  • Night Goblin Halberdiers to send sappers under the wall and to collapse it from this part of the wall.

  Empire Advanced Plans:

  • Defending Reiksguard and Swordsmen to throw rocks at enemy while they climb using ladders.
  • Defenders to pour boiling oil on assaulting orcs.
  • Crossbowmen to shoot bolts on tar part of the battlefield and set it ablaze.

  I decide that Prince Ingmar has a Knowledge (Battle) skill of d10, and I will roll on UNE to compare War Boss Baga’s skill. I get 14: Slightly Weaker. He was a Knowledge (Battle) skill of d8.

  They each have 2 Bennies. They can use them here, or to reroll a saving throw or failed leadership test in battle.

  Prince Ingmar: Knowledge (Battle): d10: 11: Success with a Raise: He will execute the first two battle plans.
  Warboss Baga: Knowledge (Battle): d8: 1: Benny: 5: He will execute the first advanced battle plan.
  Prince Ingmar: Knowledge (Battle): 11: Success with a Raise: He will expect Baga’s plan and can plan ahead a different target choice accordingly.
  Warboss Baga: Knowledge (Battle): 3: Failure. He doesn’t expect Ingmar’s plans. He will continue with initial plans.

  ---

  Each General will attemp to motivate their troops.
  I decide that Prince Ingmar has a Persuasion d10 and I will roll on UNE to compare Warboss Baga’s skill in intimidation. These are Orcs after all. I get 86: Slightly Stronger. He has an Intimidation skill of d12.

  Prince Ingmar: Persuasion (d10): 7: Success. The men will have unmodified Leadership stats.
  Warboss Baga: Intimidation (d12): 4: Success. The orcs will have unmodified leadership stats.

  “What do we know?” the Prince leans and asks his advisor.
  “Warboss Baga and his orcs will be attacking the wall. His warriors are fierce, and I’ve been told by dwarves who fought against them, that he has Ogre mercenaries with him armed with huge picks that can break down walls into pieces.” The old man replies.
  “Then we shall be ready. Hatchets against the ropes. Have rocks and get the oil boiling to pour down on anyone attempting to climb up. Today they shall fear us!”. He says and turns his attention to the troops arrayed in front of him.
  “Ostenhofeners! Sons of the Empire! This is the fight we’ve been waiting for. As we speak, your brothers in arms at the Iron and White Towers are proving their mettle against the greenskin scum! Send them all to meet their evil gods! For the Empire and the Emperor!” He shouts. “Hiyah! For the Emperor!” The troops shout and man the battlements.

  Down on the level ground, among the abandoned buildings of the outer city of Ostenhofen, the Orcs are ready. Their Warboss has led them so far. Any few who questioned any delays, met with a swift death at his axe. They are ready to crush the puny humans and prove they are the best of all the orcs. As the first sun rays fall upon them they scream their war cry “Waaaaghhhh!!!” to strike fear in the heats of the defenders.

  ---

  Q: What is the distance of the orcs to the wall?
  A: 5d6″: 19″
  Q: What is the further distance to the end of the battlefield?
  A: 25″

  Initiative: Won by the Orcs.

  Turn 1:
  Orcs:
  Animosity: 3,1,3,3,3. No animosity.
  The melee units each march 8″ closer to the wall, reaching a distance of 11″. The Ogres march 12″ closer, reaching a distance of 7″.
  The Orc Archers (30) shoot at the Handgunners (20): 2 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save. 2 Handgunners (18) Dead.

  Empire:
  Handgunners(9/18) shoot at the Ogres (8): 2 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save. Ogres (8-).
  Crossbowmen (20) shoot at Big’Uns (22++): 10 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save. 3 Big’Uns (19++) Dead.

  First blood is drawn as the orc arrows come raining doen, killing a couple Handgunners. The entire orcish army closes in, and a barrage of fire from the Handgunners wound the Ogres and the Crossbowmen kill a few orcs of Baga’s personal guard.

  Turn 2:
  Orcs:
  Animosity: 3,1,1,1,5: No Animosity.
  The melee units each march 8″ closer to the wall, reaching a distance of 3″. The Ogres (8-) charge 12″ to the wall.
  The Orc Archers (30) shoot at the Handgunners (18): 2 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save. 2 Handgunners (16) Dead.
  Ogres (8-)(Damage at 6): 1 Damage Point to the Wall (9).

  Empire:
  The Reiksguard (8/15) throw rocks at the Ogres (8-): 2 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save: 1 Ogre (7) Dead.
  The Handgunners (8/16) shoot at the Ogres (7): 4 Hits: 1 Wounds: Ogres (7-).
  The Crossbowmen (20) shoot at Big’Uns (19++): 12 Hits: 5 Wounds: No Save. 5 Big’Uns (14++) Dead.
  Big’Uns Panic Test: 2: Success

  2 more Handgunners fall under arrow shots while the Ogres have reached the wall and have started hitting at it with their huge picks.
  To protect the wall the Reiksguard drop boulders on top of the Ogres, killing one. The Handgunners and Crossbowmen keep shooting, wounding the Ogres and big orcs.

  Turn 3:
  Orcs:
  Animosity: 5,5,5,2,2: No Animosity.
  The melee units each reach the wall and set up ladders and ropes.
  Orc Archers (30): shoot at the Handgunners (16): 6 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save. 3 Handgunners (13) Dead.
  Ogres (7-)(Damage at 6): 3 Damage Points to the Wall (6).

  Empire:
  The Reiksguard (6/15) throw rocks at the Ogres (6): 3 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save. 1 Ogre (6) Dead.
  The Handgunners (6/13) shoot at the Ogres (6): 4 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save: Ogres (6-).
  The Swordsmen (15+) pour boiling oil on the Orcs (30+): 9 Hits: 2 Wounded: No Save: 2 Orcs (28+) Dead. Boiling oil panic test: 8: Fail!

  If the Orcs are within 12″ of the Big’Uns with the Warboss, they gain from his leadership and don’t break. Since this is TOTM I can’t measure distance, therefore I will ask the Oracle. I find it unlikely though that they are within range.
  Q: Are the Orcs within range of Baga?
  A: Yes! The Orcs therefore succeed their test and don’t break.

  The Crossbowmen (20) shoot at Big’Uns (14++): 6 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save. 2 Big’Uns (12++) Dead.

  The first ladders are set to allow for the infantry to charge. The Reiksguard continue lobbing rocks onto the ogres, killing another of the large humanoids, as they keep chipping at the foundations.
  The oil is already boiling and as the orcs approach the walls, the swordsmen pour it down on them. Fear strikes the greenskins as they see the cruel death of their own kind. They waver for a moment, but then they see Baga’s banner and knowing the fate that awaits them if they flee, they hold fast.
  The missile troops exchange shots, with casualties on each side.

  Turn 4:
  Orcs:
  Animosity: 2,5,1,1,5: No Animosity.
  The Netters (20+) charge at the Handgunners (13).
  The Big’Uns (12++) charge at the Reiksguard (15+).
  The Halberdiers (30) chare at the Swordsmen (15+).
  The Orcs (28) charge at the Crossbowmen (20).
  The Handgunners (7/13) shoot back at the Goblin Netters (20+): 3 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Netter (19+) Dead.
  The Crossbowmen (20) back at the Orcs (28): 7 Hits: 4 Wounds: No Save. 4 Orcs (24) Dead.
  Netters (19+) melee combat: 3 Nets Hit: 3 Clubs on Nets: 3 Wound. 1 Clubs Hit: 1 Wounds. No Save. 4 Handgunners (9) Dead.
  Handgunners (11) melee combat: 5 Hits: 4 Wounds: No Save: 4 Netters (15+) dead.
  It’s a draw.
  Halberdiers (30+) melee combat: No Hits.
  Swordsmen (15+) melee combat: 8 Hits: 5 Wounds: No Save: 5 Halberdiers (25+) Dead.
  Halberdiers (25+) break test: 9: Fail: Battle Standard reroll: 6: Fail: They flee 2d6″: 9″.
  Orcs (28+) melee combat: 7 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save: 3 Crossbowman (17) Dead.
  Crossbowmen (17) melee combat: 8 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save. 1 Orc (27+) Dead.
  Crossbowmen (17) break test: 12: Fail: They flee: 2d6″: 7″.
  The Orcs (27+) pursuit: 2d6″: 5″: They don’t catch up.
  Swordsmen panic test: 6: Success.
  Reiksguard panic test: 6: Success.
  Baga Attacks: No Hits
  Battle Standard Attacks: No Hits
  Big’Uns (15) melee combat: No Hits
  Ingmar attacks: 3 Hits: 1 Wound: No save. 1 Big’Un (14) Dead.
  Reiksguard (15) melee combat: 10 Hits: 7 Wounded: No Save: 7 Big’Uns (7) Dead.
  Big’Uns break test: 6: Fail: Battle Standard reroll: 7: Fail. They flee: 2d6″: 5″. Reiksguard pursuit: 10″:
  They catch up and slaughter them. Baga is dead.
  Ogres (6-)(Damage at 6): 1 Point of Damage to the Wall (5).

  Empire:
  Crossbowmen (17): Rally: 2: Success.
  Reiksguard set to climb back up.
  Handgunners (11) melee combat: 6 Hits: 5 Wounds: No Save: 5 Netters (10+) Dead.
  Netters (10+) Melee combat: 1 Hit: No Wounds.
  Netters (10+) break test: 8: Fail: They flee: 2d6″: 6″.
  The Handgunners don’t pursuit.
  Swordsmen (15+) melee combat: 12 Hits: 7 Wounds: No Save. 7 Halberdiers (18+) Dead.
  Halberdiers (18+) melee combat: 4 Hits: 4 Wounds: 2 Saves: 2 Swordsman (13+) Dead
  Halberdiers broken: they flee: 2d6″: 8″. The swordsmen pursuit: 2d6″: 10″: The Halberdiers are slain.

  The orcs and goblins climb the ladders and charge at the defenders. The handgunners and the crossbowmen let off a shot before engaging in close combat.
  The goblin netters and clubbers are fighting the handgunners. The battlements are give the handgunners the advantage and despite their casualties and entangled men, they win the combat, and the goblins eventually break off and run away.
  The same happens to the goblin halberdiers who are fighting the skilled swordsmen. The defenders cause them so many casualties that even Baga’s banner can’t dissuade them from fleeing when faced with certain death. They run down their ladders and the swordsmen charge after them, killing them all while running away.
  On the far edge of the battlefield, the orc marauders are facing of the crossbowmen. Only here do the orcs manage to break through in the defenses. The crossbowmen abandon posts and the orcs pursuit them inside the keep.
  In the middle of the battle, the elite Reiksguard under Prince Ingmar are fighting against Baga and his Big’Uns.
  Baga’s unit has taken many losses from missile fire and they’re already shaken when they charge. They can’t kill a single foot knight, and when 7 of them fall, even Baga is afraid of his life. They break and run away.
  Prince Ingmar can’t abandon this opportunity to turn the tide of battle and the knights charge after them. They catch up to them, killing them, trampling down their banner and slaying the warboss and his standard bearer. Ingmar lifts off the orc’s head and the Ostenhofeners shout a cry of victory.

  Turn 5:
  Orcs:
  Animosity: 3,4: No Animosity.
  Netters Rally: 9: Fail: They flee: 2d6″: 11″.
  The Orcs (27+) charge at the Crossbowmen (17).
  Crossbowmen (17) shoot back at the Orcs (27+): 6 Hits: 4 Wounds: No Save: 4 Orcs (23+) Dead.
  Orc Archers (30) shoot at Reiksguard (15+): 17 Hits: 9 Wounds: 1 Save. 9 Reiksguard (6+) Dead.
  Reiksguard (6+) panic test: 9: Success
  Orcs (23+) melee combat: 24 Hits: 15 Wounds: 4 Saves. 11 Crossbowmen (6) Dead.
  Crossbowmen (6): 4 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save. 2 Orcs (21+) Dead.
  The Crossbowmen (6) break: they flee 2d6″: 6″. The Orcs pursuit 2d6″: 4″: They can’t catch up.
  Ogres (6-)(Damage at 6): 4 Damage Points at Wall (1).

  Empire:
  Crossbowmen (6): Rally: 6: Success.
  Reiksguard (6+) climb back up.
  Swordsmen (13+) march back to the wall.
  Handgunners (11) shoot at Ogres (6-): 4 Hits: 1 Wound. Ogres (6–).

  The goblin netters run away, and the handgunners free from conflict, shoot at the ogres, wounding them.
  As the Reiksguard are caught out in the open, the orc archers take the opportunity to release a volley of arrows at them, killing more than half. An arrow is headed to the prince, but one of his faithful soldiers gets in the way, giving his life for him.
  The crossbowmen are attacked again by the orcs, and flee yet again under their attack, suffering casualties. No matter how their sergeant tries to get them in line.
  The swordsmen seeing how vulnerable they are, start walking back to the wall.
  On the other side, the ogres have almost torn down the wall.

  Turn 6:
  Orcs:
  Animosity: 3,2,6. Animosity: Get’em. Squabble.
  Netters: Rally: 6: Fail: They flee 2d6″: 2″.
  Q: Can the orcs (23+) charge at the Reiksguard?
  A: No
  Orcs (23+) charge at the Crossbowmen (6).
  Crossbowmen (6) shoot back: 2 Hits: No wounds.
  Orc Archers (30) shoot at swordsmen (13+): 13 Hits: 6 Wounds: 2 Saves. 2 Swordsmen (9+) Dead.
  Orcs (23+) melee combat: 4 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save. 3 Crossbowmen (3) Dead.
  Crossbowmen (3) break test: 11: Fail:
  They flee 2d6″: 4″.
  The orcs pursuit 2d6″: 6″. The Crossbowmen are slain.
  Ogres (6–): Damage at the Wall (0): It’s destroyed.

  Empire:
  Swordsmen (9+) reach the wall to climb back up.
  Reiksguard (6+) hold.
  Handgunners (11) shoot at Ogres (6–): 4 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Ogre (5): Dead.

  Prince Ingmar with his Reiksguard have moved back onto the wall, as the ogres tear down the section next to them.
  With another charge the orc marauders break through crossbowmen who run for their lives, but this time they can’t run fast enough. They are caught by the raiders and are slain to the last.
  The orc archers switch targets and attack then swordsmen who are still out in the open, killing a couple of them before they climb back up to the wall. A final volley of fire from t he handgunners kills an ogre, and the remaining goblin netters run away from the battle.
  Seeing that all is lost, the orcs finally withdraw under the cover of the night. The Humans let out a cheer of victory!

  The battle is over.

  ---

  Empire Army Roster:
  General – Prince Ingmar, Sword, Shield and Heavy Armor. 104 points with 6 Reiksguard, Sword, Shield and Heavy Armor, 72 points.
  11 Handgunners with Light Armor, 110 points.
  9 Swordsmen with Sword, Shield and Light Armor, 81 points With Champion with Light Armor +32 Points.
  Total 399 Points.

  Orc Army Roster:
  23 Orcs with Light Armor and Two Weapons, Orc Boss and Standard. 241,5 Points.
  30 Orc Archers with Light Armor, Bows, Standard and Orc Boss. 318,5 Points.
  5 Ogres. 200 Points.
  Total: 760 Points
  42,5 Points of Netters have fled.

  ---

  Army points:
  Empire Points: 1285. (695 remain from the Iron Tower battle, 191 remain from the White Tower battle and 399 remain from the North Wall battle).
  Empire Relief Points: 3000
  Orc Points: 2068,5. (685,5 remain from the Iron Tower battle, 171 remain from the White Tower battle and 760 remain from the North Wall battle, 452 are fled units).
  Orc Relief Points: 2000
  Undead Points: 8000

  All three attacks were thwarted and Warboss Baga is dead. The orcs no longer have the advantage in numbers. Especially considering the relief forces.

  Q: Do the orcs disperse?
  A: Yes.

  The orc units don’t gather under a single banner, but instead disperse. Each to their own.

  With blood all over his plate armor, prince Ingmar asks his trusty advisor. “What about the towers? Did we hold?”
  “We held every single brick. The defenses are damaged though. Both gates are in shambles.” The advisor responds. “And I see a big gap on the wall here too.”
  “Fear not. Baga is dead. I took his head as he run away like a swine.” The prince says proudly.
  He lifts his sword. “Sons of the Empire! We have proven our strength! The orc warboss is slain. Their army in ruins. Victory!”
  “Victory!” The troops cheer.

  ---

  Session Background: I totally burned out on this series of Warhammer battles.
  I didn’t expect the defenders to win, but without the orcs setting up any war machines and siege engines, it was really hard to storm the fort. If the orcs had taken the siege warfare hexes in the Hex Flower Gaming Engine, things might have been different.
  For the next session I will be switching to roleplaying completely. I intend the next session to be the closure for the siege of Ostenhofen. The new threat cannot be held off. The defenders have no supplies, the fortifications are damaged and their numbers have been brought very low by the series of orc attacks.

   
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  giorgis 8:44 am on December 19, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: SavageWorlds ( 19 ), Solo ( 133 ), Warhammer   

  The siege of Ostenhofen pt6 

  A ~~Savage Worlds~~ Warhammer Fantasy Battles mashup.

  Brief Summary: In the previous part, the company managed to escape the undead, and get out of Ostenhofen and reach the village of Westenhofen and find help there. The undead set up their foothold at the main gate of Ostenhofen, while the Orcs launch their final attack on the Keep.

  ---

  Army points:
  Empire Points: 2283. (695 remain from the Iron Tower battle and 1587 remain for 2nd and 3rd battle).
  Empire Relief Points: 3000
  Orc Points: 4244. (685,5 remain from the Iron Tower battle and 3302 remain for 2nd and 3rd battle, 256,5 are fled units).
  Orc Relief Points: 2000
  Undead Points: 8000

  It’s going to be 3 battles of 800 Empire vs 1600 Orc points. 2 more are remaining.

  For the White Tower battle, the Empire Roster must include (at least part of) the surviving roster from the battle at the walls from pt2. It makes no sense to change rosters at whim. The Orc Roster can be changed since any survivors from previous battles, may have been engaged in the combat against the Empire Relief force.
  If any imperial forces from the roster are not used in the White Tower battle, then they must be included in the battle of the Northern Walls.

  The surviving roster from the battle of pt2, included 3 Crossbowmen, 18+Sergeant Halberdiers and 17 Handgunners.
  The 3 Crossbowmen may have been part of the battle of the Iron Tower, so I won’t care about them.
  But I will use the surviving Halberdiers and Handgunners in this battle.

  Again, I need to ask a few questions to the Oracle before starting the battle.
  Q: Are the walls deep enough for two ranks of troops?
  A: Yes.
  Q: Is there a gate to the White Tower?
  A: False Presupposition. The gate isn’t on the tower, but on the Southern Wall.

  Battle of White Tower
  Empire Roster:
  18 Halberdiers with Halberd and Light Armor, in the White Tower, 162 Points. Champion with Pistol and Heavy Armor 35 Points.
  20 Handgunners with Light Armor, 200 points. East Wall.
  Bolt Thrower on White Tower Roof, 40 points.
  20 Archers with Longbow, 160 points. South Wall.
  20 Spearmen with Shields, 140 points. South Wall Gate.
  Total: 737 points.

  Orc Army Roster:
  So this is the goblin army. For variety and keeping things interesting, l won’t give any orcs to this roster.
  Since we had forest goblins with spiders in the previous battle of pt2, I will go with that main theme here as well.
  20 Forest Goblin Spider Riders with Spear and Shield, 220 points, with Forest Goblin Champion with Spear and Shield, +21 points with Spider Banner Standard +35 points
  20 Forest Goblin Spider Riders with Spear and Shield, 220 points, with Forest Goblin Champion with Spear and Shield, +21 points with Standard +10 points
  30 Forest Goblin Archers with Short Bows, 90 points
  30 Forest Goblin Archers with Short Bows, 90 points
  30 Forest Goblin Spearmen with Shields, 105 points with Champion +17 points and Standard +10 points
  10 River Trolls, 650 points
  Forest Goblin Big Boss Riding Gigantic Spider: 83 points
  Total: 1572 points

  The battle will last: 6 turns
  Initiative won by Empire
  Starting combat distance: 5d6″: 16″
  Combat edge: +12″=28″

  ---

  Turn 1:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the Trolls (10): Hit: Wounds: D4 Wounds: 4 Wounds: 2 Wounds Regenerated.
  The Archers (20) shoot at the Spider Riders (20+1) with the Banner: 9 Hits: 5 Wounds: 1 Save: 5 Goblins Dead.
  The Handgunners (10/20) shoot at the Spider Riders (20+1): 6 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save: 3 Goblins Dead.

  Goblins:
  Animosity: 4,5,2,2,1: No Animosity
  The Forest Goblin Spider Riders (15+1) move 7″ closer to the White Tower.
  The Forest Goblin Spider Riders (17+1) move 7″ closer to the East Wall.
  The Forest Goblin Spearmen (30+1) march 8″ closer to the South Wall.
  The River Trolls (10) move 6″ closer to the South Wall.
  The Forest Goblin Warlord Golurtz moves 5″ closer to the White Tower.
  The Goblin Archers (30) shoot at the Archers (20): 8 Hits: 6 Wounds: No Save: 6 Archers Dead.
  Archers (14): Panic Test: 6: Success. They hold.
  The Goblin Archers (30) shoot at the Handgunners (20): 8 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save: 3 Handgunners Dead.

  The bolt thrower atop the White Tower aims at the slow lumbering Trolls. The crew pulls back the winch and lets off a javelin that strikes true. A troll writhes in pain, but it pulls out the projectile and they keep on their gait towards the gate.
  The missile troops are aware of the danger the spider riders pose to their defensive positions, so they take aim and shoot. The archers kill 5 goblin riders with their arrows while the handgunners kill another 3 on the other front.
  The goblins aren’t left without covering fire. With their short bows just in range, in single line formation, two groups of forest goblin archers shoot to the defenders. Many arrows strike the battlements, without damage, but 6 archers and 3 handgunners fall.
  In the meantime under all the shooting, the forest goblin spearmen and the spider riders draw closer. The forest goblin big boss, Golurtz is riding a huge arthropod. This spider is much larger than the giant ones his troops ride. A true monster.

  Turn 2:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at Golurtz: Miss
  The Archers (14) shoot at the Forest Goblin Spider Riders (15+1): 11 Hits: 6 Wounds: No Save: 6 Goblins Dead.
  Goblin Spider Riders (9+1): Panic Test: 7: They flee: 3d6″: 10″ away
  The Handgunners (10/17) shoot at the Forest Goblin Spider Riders (17+1): 4 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save: 3 Goblins Dead.

  Goblins:
  Animosity: 2,2,2,5,6: Animosity to Forest Goblin Spearmen (30): 1: Get’em’: There’s no other goblin unit nearby, so they squabble instead.
  Forest Goblin Spider Riders (9+1): Rally: 5: Success. They rally.
  Forest Goblin Spider Riders (14+1): Charge at the Handgunners (17): The Handgunners (7/17) shoot: 1 Hit: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Goblin Dead.
  River Trolls (10) charge at the gate of the South Wall.
  The gate has Toughness: 7, Damage Points: 3
  Golurtz charges at the Bolt Thrower (2): Fail, he only moves 5″ closer.
  The Goblin Archers (30) shoot at the Archers (14): 7 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save: 2 Archers Dead.
  Q: Do the other goblin archers risk to shoot at the handgunners?
  A: Yes
  The Goblin Archers (30) shoot at the Handgunners (17): 9 Hits: 5 Goblins, 4 Handgunners: 1 Goblin Wounded, 1 Handgunner Wounded: No Saves: 1 Goblin, 1 Handgunner Dead
  Forest Goblin Spider Riders (13+1) melee combat: 5+1 Hits: 4+1 Wounds: No Save: 5 Handgunners Dead. Spiders: 10 Hits: 6 Wounds: No Save: 6 Handgunners Dead.
  Handgunners (6) melee combat: 4 Hits: 2 Wounds: 1 Save: 1 Goblin Dead.
  The Handgunners (6) break immediately. They flee: 2d6″: 4″. The Spider Riders Pursuit 3d6″: 10″: The handgunners are slaughtered.
  2 River Trolls are facing the gate: 1 Damage Points

  The bolt thrower crew aims at the goblin big boss heading towards them at full speed. They shoot and miss. Seeing the projectile fly by, the goblin urges the gigantic spider to charge at the tower, but the distance is too great, and the arthropod soon loses momentum as soon as it has reached the rooftop.
  The archers and the handgunners shoot at the forest goblin spider riders closing in at each side of the keep. The archers have caused so many casualties that the goblins turn tail and flee.
  Down at the goblin front, the forest goblin spearmen get furious at how the spider riders turned and flee. “Let’s get ’em!” They shout. “They’re too far away!” The spearmen at the rear shout back. Soon they start squabbling about what they should do, and they stop and do nothing, while their leader bashes a couple heads to get them in line.
  The goblin spider rider boss rallies his group and they stop their gallop away.
  On the other side of the tower, the other spider riders reach the wall under a second hail of fire that kills one of their own. The charge is successful and they climb the wall. The goblin spears feel like lances to the handgunner who are overrun. The spiders make short work of anyone who tries to run for his life. Soon, the handgunners have been eliminated.
  The goblin archers shoot again at the walls, killing a couple archers. They don’t care for their own that are engaged in combat with the handgunners, and a goblin falls under their fire alongside with a handgunner.
  The trolls rush to the gate and start smashing at it. The Imperial spearmen at the other side can all but wonder what is happening that thuds so strongly at the gate.

  Turn 3:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at Golurtz: Miss
  The Archers (14) shoot at the Trolls: 8 Hits: 2 Wounds: 1 Wound Regenerated: 1 Troll Dead
  The Halberdiers (18+1) charge at Golurtz.
  Halberdiers Fear Test: 6: Success.
  Halberdiers (3+1/18+1) are at combat: All attacks against Golurtz: 3 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save, Pistol: Miss
  Golurtz is dead!
  Monster reaction: 2: The monster attacks the nearest troops, favoring enemies.
  Gigantic Spider melee attack: 2 Hits: 2 Wounds: 2 Halberdiers Dead
  The melee combat is a draw.

  Goblins:
  Animosity: 6,2,1,3,3: Animosity on the Spider Riders (9+1): 1: Get’em: They charge at the Goblin Archers (30): The Goblin Archers shoot (30) at the charging Spider Riders (9+1): 10 Hits: 6 Wounds: 1 Save: 5 Goblins Dead: Panic Test: 10: Fail: They’re broken: They Flee 2d6″: 6″
  The Goblin Archers (30) shoot at the Archers (14): 8 Hits: 4 Wounds: No Save: 4 Archers Dead.
  The Goblin Spider Riders (11+1) move 7″ back towards the White Tower
  Halberdiers (3+1/18+1) are at combat: 2+1 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Saves.
  Gigantic spider melee combat: No Hits
  The Gigantic spider loses combat: 10: Failure: It flees: 3″: The halberdiers pusuit: 9″: They kill it.
  River Trolls: 3 Damage Points: The gate is destroyed

  The bolt thrower lets off another projectile, but the crewmen are scared with the monster so close and miss yet again.
  The Halberdiers under their champion, Erbert charge at the huge monster. They haven’t thought about it, are they brave or just fools? Erbert and his men all aim at the forest goblin big boss. Strikes are exchanged, and the sharp pikes of two halberds pierce Golurtz’s chest. The goblin cries out in pain and tumbles on the side of his spider, to the ground. As if showing affection to its master, the spider stands on its hind legs and falls back down, crushing two halberdiers under its weight.
  The fight continues and the halberdiers with their long weapons manage to mangle the monster. Wounded it turns away, but while it’s at the edge of the tower, they catch up with it. They hack at its exposed belly, and don’t stop until its cut to pieces that fall on the ground in front of the tower, spreading goo everywhere.
  Back on the southern wall, the archers, seeing the imminent danger, shoot at the trolls, killing the troll that was wounded before by the bolt.
  The forest goblin spider riders that rallied are furious at the archers who shot at their brethren on the wall while in combat. They charge at them. The goblin archers are quick to answer with a hail of arrows, killing 5 riders. Scared, they ride away.
  The other group of goblin archers provide covering fire to the trolls, killing 4 more human archers. In the meantime, the trolls have battered down the gate, and the imperial spearmen look at them scared, through the gap in the defense.

  Turn 4:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the trolls: Hit: Wound: 4 Wounds: 3 Wounds Regenerated.
  The Archers (10) shoot at the trolls: 4 Hits: 3 Wounds: 2 Wounds Regenerated. 1 Troll is dead.
  The Spearmen (20) charge at the River Trolls (8): Fear: 5: Fear is overcome
  Spearmen (five ranks) (4/20) melee combat: 3 Hits: 1 Wound: 0 Wounds Regenerated
  Trolls (2/8) melee combat: 3 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save: 2 Spearmen Dead
  Spearmen win combat by +2
  Trolls break test: 10: Fail: They flee: 2d6″: 4″. Spearmen Pursuit: 10″: The Trolls are slaughtered.

  Goblins:
  Animosity: 2,3,6,2,3: Animosity on the Goblin Archers (30): 6: We’ll Show’em: They move 2d6″: Towards the wall: 11″
  The Goblin Spider Riders (4+1): Rally: 11: Fail: They flee 3d6″: 13″: They’re out of the battlefield.
  The Goblin Spider Riders (11+1) charge at the Halberdiers (16+1)
  The Goblin Spearmen (30) charge at the Spearmen (18)
  Goblin Spider Riders (10+1) melee combat: 5+1 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save: 3 Halberdiers Dead
  Spiders melee combat: 5 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save: 2 Halberdiers Dead
  Halberdiers (11+1) melee combat: 5 Hits: 5 Wounds: No Save: 5 Goblins Dead
  The combat is a draw
  Goblin Spearmen (5/30) melee combat: 1 Hit: 1 Wound: 1 Save.
  Spearmen (5/18) melee combat: 4 Hits: 2 Wounds: 1 Save: 1 Goblin Dead
  Spearmen win combat by +1
  Goblins break test: 5: Fail: They flee: 12″: Spearmen pursuit: 6″

  Another bolt hits a troll, that quickly regenerates the wounds. But it’s quickly peppered with arrows from the archers and falls dead.
  The spearmen grit their teeth and charge at the trolls. The long shafts of their weapons provide an edge against the trolls. The monsters kill two spearmen, but the sheer weight of their ranks pushing forward, creates a wall of sharp points that the trolls fear for their lives. They turn and flee. Furious at the death of their brothers, the spearmen pursuit. Some climb atop the troll and pierce their skulls, others cut off their tendons at their legs and finish them off as they fall down. Such is their rage, that no troll survives the onslaught.
  The forest goblin spearmen see what the imperials have done to the trolls and are reluctant to join the combat, but at the behest of their leader, they charge. The combat is close, but it is the goblins who suffer the most casualties. Not known for their strong morale, they flee, and the imperial spearmen follow in pursuit.
  The group of goblin archers on the front of the south wall start bickering amongst themselves. They cannot decide whether to attack the tower or the wall, and they attack none.
  In the meantime the spider riders that were shot at, continue fleeing, until they are out of the battlefield. While the other unit charges at the halberdiers.
  Five Halberdiers die under their spears and spider mandibles, but they kill also an equal number of spider riders, in an even combat.

  Turn 5:
  Empire:
  Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at Goblin Archers (30): Hit: 1 Wound: 1 Goblin Dead.
  Archers (10) shoot at Goblin Archers (29): 2 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Goblin Dead.
  Spearmen (18) charge at the fleeing Goblin Spearmen, slaughtering them.
  Halberdiers (6+1/11+1) melee combat: 5+1 Hits: 4 Wounds: No Save: 4 Goblins Dead
  Goblins (1+1/2+1) melee combat: 1 Hit: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Halberdier Dead
  Spiders (2/3) melee combat: 2 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Halberdier Dead
  The Halberdiers (9+1) win the combat.
  Goblin Spider Riders (2+1) break test: 6: Fail: They flee: 3d6″: 13″
  The Halberdiers (9+1) hold.

  Goblins:
  Animosity: 3,2: No effect.
  Goblin Spider Riders (2+1): Rally: 7: Fail: They flee: 13″
  Goblin Archers (28) shoot at the Spearmen (18): 12 Hits: 7 Wounds: No Save: 7 Spearmen Dead.
  Spearmen (11) panic test: 11: Failure: They flee 2d6″: 6″
  Goblin Archers (30) shoot at the Bolt Thrower (2): 9 Hits: 4 Wounds: No Save: The Bolt Thrower Crew is Dead.

  The bolt thrower crew and the archers shoot at the goblin archers situated below, and they kill only a couple. The spearmen charge at the fleeing goblin infantry. As the goblins run away, their backs turned towards Ostenhofen, they are easily picked out one by one by the spearmen. But their pursuit has taken them too close to the goblin archers, who shoot a hail of arrows, killing almost half of them. Disheartened they run back towards the battlements.
  Meanwhile the battle between the spider riders and the halberdiers continues, with the men gaining the upper hand. The goblin spider riders break rank and run away, so fast, the men can’t catch up.
  A hail of fire from the other unit of goblin archers eliminates the bolt thrower crew completely.

  Turn 6:
  Empire:
  Spearmen (11) Rally test: 7: Success: They Rally and Hold.
  Archers (10) shoot at Goblin Archers (28): 3 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Goblin Dead.
  The Halberdiers (9+1) enter the White Tower.

  Goblins:
  Animosity: 1,1: No effect.
  Goblin Archers (27) shoot at the Archers (10): 7 Hits: 5 Wounds: No Save: 5 Archers Dead.
  Archers (5): Panic test: 3: They hold.
  Goblin Archers (30) shoot at the Spearmen (11): 8 Hits: 6 Wounds: No Save: 6 Spearmen Dead.
  Spearmen (5): Panic test: 10: They flee: 2d6″: 7″

  The archers keep shooting at the goblins, killing another one. They shoot back and a handful of archers are slain, bringing their number down to a quarter of their initial strength. The other unit of goblin archers shoot now at the spearmen who are out in the open, killing six of them. They run away again, heading back to the safety of the fortifications.
  Realizing they can’t assault the tower without any melee support, the goblin archers withdraw, and the battle is over.

  The battle is over.
  Empire Army Roster:
  9 Halberdiers with Halberd and Light Armor, in the White Tower, 81 Points. Champion with Pistol and Heavy Armor 35 Points.
  5 Archers with Longbow, 40 points.
  5 Spearmen with Shields, 35 points.
  Total: 191 points, 546 points lost.

  Orc Army Roster:
  2 Forest Goblin Spider Riders with Spear and Shield, 22 points, with Forest Goblin Champion with Spear and Shield, +21 points with Spider Banner Standard +35 points – Fled
  4 Forest Goblin Spider Riders with Spear and Shield, 44 points, with Forest Goblin Champion with Spear and Shield, +21 points with Standard +10 points – Fled
  27 Forest Goblin Archers with Short Bows, 81 points
  30 Forest Goblin Archers with Short Bows, 90 points
  Total: 171 points, 153 points fled, 1248 points lost.

  Session Background: A wargaming only session. I realized mid game that I had stated that the goblins are led by a Big Boss and I used a War boss instead. I seriously doubt one war boss would be led by another. So, I restarted the relevant points of battle from that point. I won’t get into details on what happened in this alternate course. Also I entirely forgot about the Trolls stupidity rule. In this case I decided not to replay this part. Give one, take one. It’s important to maintain balance.
  Psychology is so important in Warhammer Fantasy Battles. The trolls were easily routed, due to an error in my judgement. I should have combined them with a strong leadership unit, as I was not aware of their weakness in morale. The orcs lost yet another battle. Their numbers are dwindling and they may lose the entire conflict.
  This may give the Ostenhofeners the chance to flee, before the Undead lay waste to the city.
  Running a wargame in theater of the mind is certainly possible, but very taxing to the brain. I feel drained after every session. In this one I also made a lot of mistakes. In the last battle I intend to add some roleplay elements to make it more interesting, and play it out more carefully, more slowly with more detail.

   
• 

  giorgis 9:16 am on December 15, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: SavageWorlds ( 19 ), Solo ( 133 ), Warhammer   

  The siege of Ostenhofen pt5 

  A Savage Worlds Warhammer Fantasy Battles mashup.

  Brief Summary: In the previous part, the party crawled through the sewers trying to find an exit, but instead reached a cavern with stale air. Disturbed from unknown decades of endless sleep, the undead are awakened. A lich is slowly revitalized in the center of the cave, while a score of his skeleton minions are animated to do his bidding.

  Now, I need to define the scene a bit before continuing with the combat rounds.
  Q: Do all the skeletons attack?
  A: Yes. Considering the party’s set up, I define that even if all the skeletons join the fray, only 8 can attack at the same time. about 1-3, depending on positioning and orientation at each member of the party.
  Q: Are the skeletons spread around the cavern? (Likely)
  A: Yes, and some are spread at the far edges of the cave.
  Q: Is the exit located at the other end of the cave?
  A: No, it is located near them
  Q: How many of the skeletons between them and the exit?
  A: 1d6+2: 7
  Q: How many of the skeletons between them and the lich?
  A: 1d6+2: 4

  This is going to be a long fight. I do present the mechanics below, but I understand that reading through these can be a chore. It is after all a combat between 4 party members and 20 skeletons (only 8 of which are locked in combat at the same time). I run the combat at a grid, so things that might have been evident to me visually are not so when reading through this. Therefore I suggest you go to the end of the combat and read the narrative excerpt instead.

  Round 1:
  Initiative: B: J♦️, E: 10♥️, G: J♥️, R: Joker
  Skeletons: 5♠️

  Considering that Rudiger got the creeps right before, I decide that he will try to to open a path towards the exit rather than try to fight with the skeletons in the middle.
  Rudiger: Moves towards the exit and makes a sweep attack on 3 of the skeletons.
  Rudiger: Fighting (d12-2): 12/5: Hit with a Raise: 20/7: Destroyed, 23/7: Destroyed, 6/7: No damage.
  Gustav: Moves and attacks the skeleton that survived Rudiger’s attack.
  Gustav: Fighting (d6): 5/5: Hit: 4/7: No damage.
  Evie: Moves and attacks a skeleton from the group towards the exit.
  Evie: Fighting (d8): 4/5: Miss, Benny: 11/5: Hit with a Raise: 30/7: Destroyed
  Bianka: Moves and attacks a skeleton from the group towards the exit.
  Bianka: Fighting (d8+1): 5/5: Hit: 6/7: No damage.
  S1 vs Bianka: Fighting (d6): 1: Miss
  S2 vs Gustav: Fighting (d6+1): 5/5: Hit: 7/5: Shaken
  S3 vs Gustav: Fighting (d6+1): 6/5: Hit: 5/5: Shaken: Wounded
  S4 vs Bianka: Fighting (d6+1): 6/6: Hit: 6/5: Shaken
  S5 moves and attacks Gustav: Fighting (d6+2): 4/5: Miss
  S6 moves and attacks Bianka: Fighting (d6+2): 3/6: Miss
  S7 moves and attacks Rudiger: Fighting (d6+2): 6/8: Miss
  S8 moves and attacks Evie: Fighting (d6): 4/5: Miss
  The rest of the skeletons move closer to the party.

  Round 2:
  Initiative: B: Joker, E: 8♥️, G: 4♣️, R: A♥️
  Skeletons: K♦️

  Bianka: Spirit (d4+2): 5: Success. Benny: No longer shaken.
  Bianka: Fighting (d8+3): 7/5: Hit: 9/7: Shaken
  Rudiger performs an attack on the skeleton in front of him.
  Rudiger: Fighting (d12-2): 7/5: Hit: 9/7: Shaken
  S1 Shaken: Spirit (d4+2): 3: Fail
  S2 Shaken: Spirit (d4+2): 3: Fail
  S3 vs Gustav: Fighting (d6+1): 4/5: Miss
  S4 vs Bianka: Fighting (d6+3): 8/6: Hit: 5/5: Shaken
  S5 vs Gustav: Fighting (d6+1): 5/5: Hit: 5/5: Shaken: Wounded again.
  S6 vs Bianka: Fighting (d6+3): 7/5: Hit: 6/5: Shaken: Wounded
  S7 vs Rudiger: Fighting (d6+1): 5/8: Miss
  S8 vs Evie: Fighting (d6): 5/5: Hit: 4/5: No Damage
  Gustav: Soak Roll: Vigor (d6-1): 3: Fail: Benny: 15!: Soaked 2 Wounds and recovered
  Evie: perform an attack on S8.
  Evie: Fighting (d8): 7/5: Hit: 2/7: No damage
  Gustav: Full Defend: Fighting (d6+1): 5: Parry until next round.

  Round 3:
  Initiative: B: 10♦️, E: J♥️, G: K♦️, R: 6♦️
  Skeletons: J♠️
  Gustav: Full Defend: Fighting (d6+1): 12: Parry until next round.
  S1 Shaken: Spirit (d4+2): 3: Fail
  S2 Shaken: Spirit (d4+2): 3: Fail
  S3 vs Gustav: Fighting (d6+1): 5/12: Miss
  S4 vs Bianka: Fighting (d6+3): 6/6: Hit: 17/5: +3 Wounds. Incapacitated
  S5 vs Gustav: Fighting (d6+1): 5/12: Miss
  S6 moves and attacks Gustav (d6+2): 5/12: Miss
  S7 vs Rudiger: Fighting (d6+1): 2: Miss
  S8 vs Evie: Fighting (d6): 8/5: Hit: 9/5: Wounded
  Evie: Soak Roll: Vigor (d6): 5: Success. Not wounded
  Evie: Fighting (d8): 4/5: Miss
  Bianka: Soak Roll: Vigor (d6): 16: Soaked all wounds!
  Rudiger: Fighting (d12-1): 5/5: Hit: 10/7: Wounded

  Round 4: (The Lich awakens)
  Initiative: B: 10♥️, E: 6♣️, G: 9♣️, R: Joker
  Skeletons: 8♥️, Lich: J♦️
  Rudiger will perform a rapid attack three times on the skeletons next to him.
  Rudiger: Fighting (d12-3): 6/5: Hit: 4/7: No damage
  Rudiger: Fighting (d12-3): 6/5: Hit: 14/7: Destroyed
  Rudiger: Fighting (d12-3): 2/5: Miss
  Lich: 3 Dark Bolts, one for each of the party members.
  Spellcasting (d12-2): 3: Fail, 8: Success: 7/5: Gustav is Wounded again, 5: Success: 11/8: Shaken.
  Bianka: Defend and Withdraw: Skeletons: 5/8: Miss, 7/8: Miss, 12/8: Hit with Raise: 14/5: +2 Wounds.
  Bianka has fled the cavern.
  Gustav: Defend and Withdraw. S5: 4/7: Miss, S6: 2/7: Miss
  Gustav has fled the cavern.
  S1 Shaken: Spirit (d4+2): 4: Success
  S2 Shaken: Spirit (d4+2): 5: Success
  S3 vs Rudiger: Fighting (d6): 4/6: Miss
  S4 vs Rudiger: Fighting (d6+1): 4/6: Miss
  S5 vs Rudiger: Fighting (d6+2): 7/6: Hit: 6/8: No damage.
  S6 vs Evie: Fighting (d6): 1/5: Miss
  Evie: Defend and Withdraw: S6: 11/5: Hit with Raise: 14/5: 2 Wounds
  Evie has fled the cavern.

  Round 5:
  Initiative: R: 9♦️
  Skeletons: 7♦️, Lich: 2♥️
  Rudiger: Benny, isn’t Shaken anymore and can act.
  Rudiger: Defend and Withdraw: 4/10: Miss, 5/10: Miss, 4/10: Miss, 14/10: Hit with Raise: 15/8: Wounded
  Rudiger has fled the cavern

  A dark sinister feeling overcomes the party as magical winds flow towards the corpse in the middle of the cavern.
  Before giving anyone a moment to decide if they should go ahead and try to destroy the undead being in the middle of the ritual drawing, Rudiger evaluates quickly his tactical options, and heads towards what seems to be an exit. 7 of the skeletons block his way. He deflects a blow quickly with his shield, and with a mighty swing of his longsword, he cuts through the spines of two of the undead.
  Evie has no choice but to follow her bodyguard, and with her short sword, she destroys another of the abominations. Gustav and Bianka come along, hoping to reach the exit. The skeletons gang up on them, and in the chaos of combat, Gustav is wounded by their sharp claws.
  Unfortunately, even though the way to the exit is clear, the skeletons have caught up with them, and there is no way to leave without being exposed to their attacks. The company has made a line, trying to push back the skeletons, but they are severely outnumbered, and Bianka and Gustav who aren’t as well armored as Rudiger are wounded further. Gustav grits his teeth, and pulls through, the wound being less severe than he initially thought.
  Rudiger destroys another skeleton with a quick slash of his blade, but Bianka receives a grievous wound. She doesn’t falter, she grabs her wound, and brings the fight back to the enemy.
  An evil hideous laughter echoes through the cavern, and the corpse rises. It’s a rotting carcass of a man in robes, holding a black wood staff.
  Rudiger tries to perform a flurry of blows to the skeletons, but in his hurry, only one skeleton is destroyed.
  The undead wizard shouts something in an unknown tongue, points his staff, and three black arrows materialize from thin air and shoot towards Evie, Gustav and Rudiger. Gustav is wounded by the arrow, while Rudiger evades it in the last moment, and gets barely scratched. The wizard misses Evie.
  Bianka realizes she has had enough. She prefers to be exposed to the skeleton strikes rather than the dead mage, and she withdraws from combat tactically. She has lost her nerve though, and one of the skeletons finds an opening and carves his fingers into her flesh.
  Gustav follows Bianka through the newly opened path, and Evie disengages from her own assailant. The skeleton manages in the last moment to tear Evie’s side open, wounding her badly.
  Rudiger has been left in the rearguard, and he knows that he too, must leave now or be killed, and join the skeletons in their undead mission. He uses his shield to cover his retreat, but he fights against 4 of the skeletons. He parries most of their blows, but one of them gets a strike to his leg. A small price to pay for escaping this hole. Up ahead he can hear his party mates footsteps, and he runs off after them.

  Now I decide that the skeletons will make a quick chase after the party. It’s going to be a short chase of 3 rounds, since the skeletons can’t be expected to operate freely far from their creator.
  Chase (Short: 3 Rounds).
  Q: Does the Lich give chase? (Unlikely)
  A: No
  For each chase round I will also be drawing a card of the dungeon crawl rules. In case of an encounter I will roll for ambush of the encountered enemy, since the running party won’t stop for conflict unless their path is blocked.

  Round 1:
  Dungeon crawl: A♦️! Finally the exit!
  I will roll 3d6 to find where in the Battlements map the exit lies.
  3d6: 12: Moat/Drawbridge.
  It makes so much sense. The river that surrounds the city and fills the moat has a side stream that is essentially the underground river that leads to sewers.
  Skeletons: Agility (d8+1): 6: Success
  Bianka: Agility (d8-3): 0: Fail
  Evie: Agility (d6-1): 3: Fail
  Gustav: Agility (d4-2): 3: Fail
  Rudiger: Agility (d8-3): 12: Success with 2 Raises.
  Skeletons: Q♥️
  Rudiger: Q♦️
  Both parties are at medium range.
  Q: Do the skeletons now sport bows?
  A: No

  Round 2:
  Skeletons: Agility (d8+1): 8: Success with 1 Raise.
  Bianka: Agility (d8-3): 1: Fail
  Evie: Agility (d6-1): 0 Fail
  Gustav: Agility (d4-2): 2: Fail
  Rudiger: Agility (d8-3): 6: Success.
  Skeletons: 9♠️
  Rudiger: 4♣️: Major Obstacle: Agility (d8-5): 0: Failure: Fatigued.

  Round 3:
  Skeletons: Agility (d8+1): 3: Fail
  Bianka: Agility (d8-3): 1: Fail
  Evie: Agility (d6-1): 10 Success with Raise
  Gustav: Agility (d4-2): 2: Fail
  Rudiger: Agility (d8-3): 2: Fail
  Evie: 5♥️

  They run off as fast as they can, the skeleton bones clacking behind them as the animated remains follow in pursuit. Quickly the cavern opens up to the surface. The river fills in from the outside, they’re at the most of Ostenhofen. A narrow path along the moat leads up and they keep running.
  Despite the skeletons having the upper hand at speed they don’t manage to catch up enough to attack.
  Abruptly the skeletons end their hunt. They come to a full stop as the party increases their distance, as if an invisible wall is holding them back.
  “They, they stopped.” Gustav says.
  “Let’s not wait to find out if they will continue.” Evie tells him.
  They continue until the skeletons are out of sight.
  Then each of them looks to their wounds. No one escaped unscathed.

  Bianka: 3 Wounds
  Evie: 2 Wounds
  Gustav: 1 Wound
  Rudiger: 1 Wound, 3 Bumps and Bruises

  Good thing for them is that the hex that they’re in, doesn’t have Orcs.
  Of course that’s where the skeleton army will set up.
  If this draws long I will need to paint a battle map of the ownership of each hex.
  The group moves to the village hex to recover.
  The skeletons will start with an army of 1d6+2 thousand points: 8 thousand points!
  It’s very likely Ostenhofen will fall to the dead instead, and maybe the Orc Warlord’s doom meant the Lich’s sorcery and not an imperial mage. Didn’t see this coming but it all falls into place.

  They move slowly without any noise towards the settlement of Westenhofen, on the western bank of the river, across the city.
  Back in the distance they see hundreds of figures crawling, and moving like puppets. An uneasy chill fills their hearts at the sight of the dead, walking in such great numbers.
  Without any fatigue, the dead, in numbers, move dirt into the moat. Soon it’s filled with mud, and they move across.

  Q: Are there any defenders?
  A: No, they have fled to the walls of the inner city, not risking being cut off by the orcs.

  The undefended outer gatehouse is soon conquered by the undead, whose Lich leader summons even more corpses to his cause.

  Let’s see what happens the next siege turn then.

  ---

  Undead Army: 2d6: 1,6=7: Goto 7: Wooden Palisade.

  Orc Army: 2d6: 3,2=5: Goto 19: Inner Keep!

  Since no one has attacked the party’s hex so far, I will start with them.

  Q: Is Westenhofen abandoned? (Likely)
  A: No, the Orcs have cut off the road and the Westenhofeners have barricaded themselves in.
  Q: Does Westenhofen have a wooden wall and gate? (Unlikely)
  A: Yes, and it’s manned.
  Q: Do the guards shoot at the party?
  A: No, and they see their sorry state, realize they’re friendlies and let them in.

  Almost stumbling along, the company reaches the wooden walls of Westenhofen. Behind the wooden shutters of the gatehouse, a guard figure watches them and soon the gates open slowly in silent.
  “Come inside! You’ve escaped from the siege? What news from the city?” Asks a young guard anxiously.
  “Let them be Bertio! They’re wounded and weary. Let’s take them to the Physician.” Says another guard, older, with feathers on his hat. Probably the captain.
  “I am captain Omund. Follow me. You will fill me in on our way to the Physician.” He tells the party. “Bertio! Shut this gate quickly!” He orders the guard who turns to his task.

  I will roll on UNE for the physician’s power level.
  I get 85: Slightly Stronger. So I decide they have a d10 on Healing skill.
  Now I need to get their Bearing. I decide that they are friendly.
  I get 22: gratitude.
  I go to donjon to get some descriptions: Geri has black hair and soft brown eyes, and a straight beard. He wears modest garments and an amulet of luminous crystal.

  Omund knocks on the closed door of the physician’s house. “Geri, it’s me Omund. Open up, I bring you wounded folk from Ostenhofen.
  They hear the door unlock, and unbar. Geri, a man with black hair, soft brown eyes and a straight bear opens to them. He wears modest garments and an amulet of luminous crystal.
  “You bring news! thank you. Come inside. I will tend to your wounds. I have a room to set you up.” He tells them and moves aside to help them. “Mari! Come we have patients!” He yells to his servant who appears in an instant to assist him.
  “What happened? What is the state of Ostenhofen? How did you escape?” the captain starts asking questions as the physician and his assistant start cleaning them up to see their wounds.
  “We are the entourage of Lady Evie Vogel. I am Rudiger, this is Gustav and this is Bianka. We got caught up in the siege as it started, and joined in every battle against the orcs. Things are dire. The supplies are dwindling, and only the inner city is still holding. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding regarding a past event, pressed us to escape the city.” Rudiger says in his bass voice. He pauses a moment and continues. “We used the sewers, who are infested with all sorts of creatures. It was by a thin hair that we managed to get out alive. We saw… we saw the dead walk.”

  Now I will first roll on UNE regarding the Conversation Mood for friendly.
  I get 16: Guarded.
  I will now roll on Omund’s Bearing and Conversation Focus I get comfort enemy.

  “You’re not our enemy Lady Vogel. We thank you for fighting the greenskins all along the way. It’s men and women like you that help the Empire stand it’s ground against all those foes. You can rest here as long as you need. The road to the west has been cut off.” Omund comforts them.

  Q: Does he believe Rudiger about the dead?
  A: False presupposition! He doesn’t need convincing at all. He has seen them with his own two eyes.
  Q: Does he know about the Lich’s past?
  A: False presupposition. He doesn’t know a thing about Lichs. He hasn’t even heard of such things.
  Q: Has he faced the undead in the past?
  A: Yes

  “Rudiger. I.. I’ve seen the dead walk in the past. I was a young boy when my father told me to hide under the bed. Our village was under attack. He opened the chest and yielded his blade. I peeked from under the bed and I saw it. A corpse walking. My father hacked it to pieces and it fell down silently. The memory still haunts me. It was some witch. A necromancer they said.” Omund confesses. “I believe you.”

  At last! a moment of calamity for our party.
  For this week I will roll on healing attempts.
  Healing Bianka: 3: Fail
  Healing Evie: 2: Fail
  Healing Gustav: 0: Fail
  Healing Rudiger: 4: Success. One wound is removed.
  Within the golden hour only Rudiger is back to his feet.
  Now let’s go for natural healing for the entire week.
  Bianka: Vigor (d6-3): 0: Failure. She remains at 3 Wounds.
  Evie: Vigor (d6-2): 9: Success with a Raise. She heals completely.
  Gustav: Vigor (d6-1): 8: Success with a Raise: He heals completely.
  Also Rudiger recovers from his Bumps and Bruises.

  By the week’s end, all but Bianka have recovered. Bianka’s health hasn’t improved, and Geri insists she has to stay for another week in bed.

  ---

  I almost forgot about the Empire Relief troops. I will use the weather Hex Flower Game Engine from Goblin’s henchman to see if the weather improves or not. If there’s still rain, I doubt relief can arrive.
  So I roll a 10. From heavy rain with clouds I go to thunderstorm. Relief is stuck, along with 1d6+2 x 500 = 2000 orc points.

  The defenders won’t try to defend the palisade from the undead attack. I doubt there would be anyone there to defend it anyway, so we go to what might be the final battle of Ostenhofen.

  So to recap:
  Empire Points: 2381
  Empire Relief Points: 3000
  Orc Points: 6986, 2000 of which are poised against the Empire Relief.
  Undead Points: 8000

  So we have a battle of 4986 Orc points against 2381 Empire points.
  I can’t run this in one go, so I will split it in 3 assaults happening at different parts of the keep.
  It’s going to be 3 battles of 800 Empire vs 1600 Orc points.
  If the Empire loses all 3 battles then they will perish no matter the fleeing units.
  If the Orcs lose all 3 battles then they will be pushed back.
  If there is a mixed result, then the survivors will fight again in a final battle. Imperial units that fled can join these battles but Orcish units will have fled the battlefield completely.

  The bells are ringing loudly, non-stop. The prince’s commander of the guard enters the chambers. Prince Ingmar looks at him.
  “My lord, the orcs have assaulted the northern part of the inner city, where the keep ends. We must push them back or all is lost.” He says worried.
  “Call for my squire to dress me up. We’re going to battle! Let’s show those orcs some imperial steel.” The Prince keeps his resolve. “Call my personal guard to the courtroom. I’ll address them before we go to battle.”

  The Orcs are attacking the northern keep from three points. The north-eastern tower, the Iron Tower is under attack by the Black Orc Big Boss Damuzu the Mean. The north-western tower, the White Tower is under attack by the Goblin Big Boss Golurtz, while the interconnecting walls in the middle are under attack by the Orc War Boss Baga himself. That’s where the Prince heads with his personal guard.

  ---

  The battle for the Iron Tower

  Q: Does the Iron Tower have a gate to the outside? (Unlikely)
  A: Yes
  Q: Do the walls have space for two lines of troops?
  A: No
  Q: Is there LOS for the crossbowmen to the Tower gate?
  A: Yes
  So the battle locations are the following.
  South wall connected to the Iron Tower.
  West wall connected to the Iron Tower.
  Iron Tower gate/floor level.
  Iron Tower roof/top level.

  Empire army Roster:
  Bolt Thrower with crew of 2 on top of the Iron Tower. 40 Points
  20 Crossbowmen at South Wall with Light Armor and Shield. 220 Points. With battle standard +10 points.
  20 Crossbowmen at West Wall with Light Armor and Shield. 220 Points. With battle standard +10 points.
  20 Swordsmen inside the Iron Tower with Light Armor. 180 Points. With a Champion, 33 points.
  10 Archers on top of the Iron Tower with Long Bow and Hand Weapon. 80 points.
  Total 793 Points.

  Orc army Roster:
  36 Black Orcs at 4 ranks deep. Armed with two hand weapons. 360 points. With battle standard +10 points. With Black Orc Big Boss +92 points.
  36 Orcs at 4 ranks deep. Armed with hand weapon, light armor and shield. 306 points. With battle standard +10 points.
  36 Orcs at 4 ranks deep. Armed with hand weapon, light armor and shield. 306 points. With battle standard +10 points.
  20 Orc Archers. Armed with light armor and bow. 190 points.
  20 Orc Archers. Armed with light armor and bow. 190 points.
  5 Ogres with double handed weapons. 210 points.
  Total 1684 Points.

  Battle Duration: 6 Turns.

  I won’t be doing random initiative per turn like I did in the past. Instead, I will roll initiative at the beginning and rotate players each turn.
  Initiative won by: Empire.
  Starting combat distance: 5d6″: 15″
  Combat edge: +12″=27″

  Turn 1:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the Ogres (5): No hit.
  The Archers (10) shoot at the Orc Archers1 (20): 6 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save. 3 Orc Archers Dead.
  The Crossbowmen1 (20) shoot at the Orc Archers1 (17): 13 Hits: 5 Wounds: No Save. 5 Orc Archers Dead.
  The Crossbowmen2 (20) shoot at the Orc Archers2 (20): 8 Hits: 5 Wounds: No Save. 5 Orc Archers Dead.
  Test Orc Archers1 (12) for Panic: 11: It’s Panicked. They flee: 2d6″: 4″
  Test Orc Archers2 (15) for Panic: 10: It’s Panicked. They flee: 2d6″: 8″

  Orcs:
  Animosity: 2. No effect.
  Orc Archers1 (12): Rally: 9: Fail. They flee: 2d6″: 8″: They’re out of the battlefield.
  Orc Archers2 (15): Rally: 9: Fail. They flee: 2d6″: 8″: They’re out of the battlefield.
  Since the orc archer units are smaller than the Orc units, they’re not affected and don’t need to take a panic test.
  The Ogres, Orcs and Black Orcs march in formation and move 8″ closer to the walls.

  At first light, the Ostenhofeners see the orcs arrayed in battle formation across the battlements. As soon as they enter their weapons range, they load their crossbow and start shooting. The defenders aim first at the enemy’s archers, so that they can’t shoot back.
  The crossbow bolts find true their targets, and 7 of the orcs fall down dead. Such is their weak will, that they turn tail and flee, away from the battle.
  The other orcs seem uninfluenced by this turn of events and continue onwards.

  Turn 2:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the Orcs1 (36): No Hit
  The Archers (10) shoot at the Orcs1 (36): 3 Hits: 1 Wounds: No Save. 1 Orc Dead.
  The Crossbowmen1 (20) shoot at Orcs1 (35): 9 Hits: 7 Wounds: No Save: 7 Orcs Dead.
  The Crossbowmen2 (20) shoot at Orcs2 (36): 15 Hits: 4 Wounds: No Save: 4 Orcs Dead.

  Orcs:
  Animosity: 3: No effect.
  Ogres reach the Tower gate: They charge the gate. Toughness 7, 2 Damage Points.
  Ogres: 1 Point of Damage.
  The Orcs 1 and Orcs2 reach the walls and set up ladders. They will attack in the next turn.
  The Black Orcs are waiting for the Ogres to charge inside.

  The archers atop the tower and the crossbowmen keep shooting at the mass of orcs arrayed below, as the black orcs follow a handful of ogres that reach the reinforced gate of the Iron Tower. The ogres hammer down their mighty clubs and axes on the gate. The Ostenhofeners could not predict it, but the strength of the ogres is such, that the first cracks on the gate appears. The archer squad leader orders his men to the Ogres, but it may be too late.
  The orc mass has reached the foot of the walls, and they have launched ladders on each wall to climb and assault it.

  Turn 3:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the Black Orcs (36+1): Hit: 1 Wound: 1 Wound: No Wound. 2 Black Orcs Dead.
  The Archers (10) shoot at the Ogres (5): 6 Hits: 1 Wound. 1 Ogre Wounded.
  The Crossbowmen1 (20) shoot at Ogres (5): 11 Hits: 3 Wounds: 1 Ogre Dead. 1 Ogre Wounded.
  The Crossbowmen2 (20) shoot at Ogres (4): 10 Hits: 4 Wounds: 1 Ogre Dead. 1 Ogre Wounded Twice.

  Orcs:
  Animosity: 5: No effect.
  Orcs1 (28): Charge at Crossbowmen1 (20): Crossbowmen1 Return Fire: 10 Hits: 6 Wounds: 1 Save: 5 Orcs Dead.
  Orcs2 (32): Charge at Crossbowmen2 (20): Crossbowmen2 Return Fire: 9 Hits: 4 Wounds: 1 Save: 3 Orcs Dead.
  Orcs1 (23): Melee Combat: 1 Hit: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Crossbowman Dead. Score: 2 (Casualties + Standard)
  Crossbowmen1 (19): Melee Combat: 2 Hits: No Wounds. Score: 2 (Higher Ground + Standard)
  Orcs1 (23) vs Crossbowmen1 (19): It’s a draw.
  Orcs2 (29): Melee Combat: No Hits. Score: 1 (Standard)
  Crossbowmen2 (20): Melee Combat: 5 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save. 2 Orcs Dead. Score: 4 (Casualties + Higher Ground + Standard).
  Orcs2 (27) Break Test: 8: They’re broken and flee: 2d6″: 6″.
  The Crossbowmen2 (20) do not pursuit.
  Ogres (3) attack the gate: 2 Damage Points. The gate is destroyed.

  The bolt thrower crew switches target and aims at the black orcs gathering below. The javelin shoots, and pierces through the thick hide of a black orc, and kills another one before stopping at its dead body.
  The archers and all the crossbowmen shoot together at the ogres, killing two of the large creatures, but 3 more are standing. They bash down the door and it breaks in half.
  As the orcs climb the ladder, a hail of crossbow bolts falls on them, sending many orcs down to the ground. Close combat ensues, with only a few casualties. One crossbowman at the south wall, and two orcs at the west wall. The orcs at the west wall can’t get a foothold, and fearful of their lives, flee.

  Turn 4:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the Black Orcs (34+1): Hit: 1 Wound: 1 Wound: 1 Wound: No Wound. 3 Black Orcs Dead.
  The Archers shoot at the Ogres (3): 3 Hits: 1 Wound: 1 Ogre Dead.
  Crossbowmen1 (19): Melee Combat: 6 Hits: 4 Wounds: 1 Save: 3 Orcs Dead. Score: 5 (Casualties + Higher Ground + Standard)
  Orcs1 (20): Melee Combat: 6 Hits: 4 Wounds: 1 Save: 3 Crossbowmen Dead. Score: 4 (Casualties + Higher Ground + Standard)
  Orcs1 (20) Break Test: 7: They’re broken and flee: 2d6″: 11″
  Retrospectively I saw that I forgot to play the Crossbowmen2 unit in this round…

  Orcs:
  Animosity: 4: No effect.
  Orcs1 (20): Rally: 4: Success.
  Orcs2 (27): Rally: 8: Failure: Flee: 2d6″: 5″. (11″)
  Ogres (2) charge at the Swordsmen (20+1): 2 Hits: 2 Wounds: No Save. 2 Swordsmen Dead. Score: 2
  Swordsmen (18+1): Melee Combat (Only 4 can fight at the same time, 2 are dead): 0 Hits. Score: 0
  Swordsmen break test: 5: Success.
  The Swordsmen (18+1) hold.

  Another ogre falls under arrows, but they manage to get inside. The imperial swordsmen clash their swords with the mighty beasts, and two of their brethren fall, but they do not falter.
  Atop the south wall, the crossbowmen get the best of the orcs, who turn and flee as well, but soon they are rallied by their leader and regroup.
  The bolt thrower crew aims better this time, and the projectile skewers through 3 of the black orcs in line.
  The orcs near the western wall keep running away.

  Turn 5:
  Empire:
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the Black Orcs (31+1): No Hit.
  The Archers (10) shoot at the Black Orcs (31+1): 5 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save. 3 Black Orcs Dead.
  The Crossbowmen1 (16) shoot at the Black Orcs (28+1): 7 Hits: 3 Wounds: No Save: 3 Black Orcs Dead.
  The Crossbowmen2 (20) shoot at the Black Orcs (25+1): 13 Hits: 6 Black Orcs Dead.
  Swordsmen (18+1): Melee Combat (Champion joins instead of 1 Swordsman): 2 Hits: No Wounds. Score: 0.
  Ogres (2): Melee Combat: 3 Hits: 3 Wounds. 3 Swordsmen Dead. Score: 3.
  Swordsmen (15+1) break test: 4: Success.
  The Swordsmen (15+1) hold.

  Orcs:
  Animosity: 6: No effect.
  Orcs2 (27): Rally: 8: Failure: Flee: 2d6″: 11″. (22″)
  Orcs1 (20): charge at the Crossbowmen1 (16)
  Crossbowmen1 (16) Return Fire: 5 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save. 1 Orc Dead.
  Orcs1 (19): Melee Combat: 7 Hits: 2 Wounds: 2 Saves: No Crossbowmen Dead. Score: 2 (High Ground + Standard)
  Crossbowmen1 (16): Melee Combat: 3 Hits: 1 Wound: 1 Save. No Orcs Dead. Score: 1 (Standard)
  Orcs1 (20): break test: 7: Fail. They flee: 2d6″: 9″
  Swordsmen Champion Melee Combat: No Hits.
  Ogres (2): Melee Combat: 2 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save. 1 Swordsman Dead. Score 1.
  Swordsmen (14+1): Melee Combat: 1 Hit: 1 Wound. Score 0.
  Swordsmen (14+1) break test: 9: they’re broken. They flee: 2d6″: 7″.
  The Ogres pursuit: 2d6″: 2″. They don’t catch up.

  The orcs near the western wall keep running away, while the mob near the south wall charges back again. They are met with a hail of crossbow bolts, and the firm defenders do not budge at all. Seeing the futility, the orcs flee yet again.
  The black orcs are peppered with a hail of bolts and arrows, and their numbers start decreasing, but they seem too stupid or too brave to care.
  Inside the Iron Tower close combat ensues. The ogres smash the skulls of two swordsmen who still try to hold their ground. As two more of their own fall, their morale is broken and they run away to flee. The ogres pursuit, but do not catch up.

  Turn 6:
  Empire:
  Swordsmen Rally: 10: Failure: Flee 2d6″: 5″.
  The Bolt Thrower (2) shoots at the Black Orcs (19+1): Hit: No Wound.
  The Archers (10) shoot at the Black Orcs (19+1): 3 Hits: 1 Wound: No Save: 1 Black Orc Dead.
  Crossbowmen2 (20) shoot at the Black Orcs (18+1): 11 Hits: 7 Wounds: No Save: 7 Black Orcs Dead.
  Black Orcs (11+1): Panic test: 5: Success. They don’t flee.
  Crossbowmen1 (16) shoot at the Black Orcs (11+1): 9 Hits: 3 Wounds: 3 Black Orcs Dead.
  Black Orcs (8+1): Panic test: 4: Success. They don’t flee.

  Orcs:
  Animosity: 2: No effect.
  Orcs2 (27): Rally: 7: They stop and rally.
  Orcs1 (20): Rally: 5: They stop and rally.
  Ogres (2) charge at the Swordsmen (14+1). Distance: 7+5-2-12=-2. The Swordsmen flee a further 2d6″: 5″. They are not caught.
  The Black Orcs (8+1) enter the tower.

  The missile defenders, without any harassment, keep shooting at the black orcs, who are reduced to less than a third of their initial numbers, and eventually enter the Iron Tower.
  The swordsmen are pursued further by the two ogres, but they are not caught, as the tight corridors of the keep are an obstacle to the big humanoids.
  Finally the night falls, and the Ostenhofeners have managed to defend this part of the city decisively. The breach at the gate is dangerous though, as the enemy could charge again here at any time with larger numbers.

  The battle is over.
  Points left:

  Empire army Roster:
  Bolt Thrower with crew of 2 on top of the Iron Tower. 40 Points
  16 Crossbowmen at South Wall with Light Armor and Shield. 176 Points. With battle standard +10 points.
  20 Crossbowmen at West Wall with Light Armor and Shield. 220 Points. With battle standard +10 points.
  14 Swordsmen inside the Iron Tower with Light Armor. 126 Points. With a Champion, 33 points.
  10 Archers on top of the Iron Tower with Long Bow and Hand Weapon. 80 points.
  Total 695 Points. 98 Points lost.

  Orc army Roster:
  8 Black Orcs at 4 ranks deep. Armed with two hand weapons. 80 points. With battle standard +10 points. With Black Orc Big Boss +92 points.
  20 Orcs at 4 ranks deep. Armed with hand weapon, light armor and shield. 170 points. With battle standard +10 points.
  27 Orcs at 4 ranks deep. Armed with hand weapon, light armor and shield. 229,5 points. With battle standard +10 points.
  2 Ogres with double handed weapons. 84 points.
  Total 685,5 Points. 742 Points lost.
  256,5 Points worth of archers are available for the orc army in general (they fled the battle but not the siege).

  Despite the breach in the Iron Tower, this was a decisive victory for the Ostenhofeners.

  Session Background: Had to stop here. With two or more battles pending this is going to be a long session.
  So, back to the beginning. At the battle with the lich. I really miscalculated how hard it would be defeat the skeletons. Thankfully, I made the choice of trying to flee instead of heading for the lich while it was vulnerable. I think it made more sense. And although the higher risk might have been a higher reward, there was a good chance that the party would perish there.
  In the end I had to make a tactical withdrawal. I know that it was not evident, but in the grid map I run, the party managed to kill all the skeletons to their rear. The problem was that they still were locked in combat and couldn’t leave without triggering attacks of opportunity. Faced with the sorcery of the awakened lich, I had to cut my losses and flee. Thankfully it was only wounds and no party members killed.
  I love how eventually the dungeon crawl fit in in with the siege and the oracle and everything. I can’t think of how this could have turned better.
  The Westenhofen village was a nice refreshing change for me, and using donjon and UNE together reminded me that I should be using these tools more, instead of relying on my inspiration only. Sometimes I go ahead with what is in my mind, but then things are quite limited. Especially when I’m tired an everything. Mental note taken.
  Now to the battle. I was afraid of running such a big battle solo, but in the end everything turned out okay. Some luck on the defender’s part (all the orc archers fled, and thus the walls were nigh impregnable), and failure to utilize the black orcs correctly (they should have attacked a wall rather than wait for their chance to enter the tower), saved the day for the Ostenhofeners.
  All in all, I am certain I made more than a few mistakes. Both regarding the RPG part of Savage Worlds, and the Wargaming part of the Warhammer Fantasy battles. I try to take notes as much as possible (hence why I listed the numbers of all troops remaining to help me), but I can’t remember all the rules all the times. Also the fact that it’s solo, means there’s no counter thought and counter argument to correct me when I’m wrong. When playing with others it’s in their best interest to remember the parts of the rules that will help them get the best results. When running solo, this is missed unfortunately.
  Overall I had lots of fun so far.
  In the upcoming session I expect to run the final battles for the keep.