Fighting Tribal Nomads And Taking Their Stuff

And so our band of merry adventurers went back to Garakt and licked their wounds. Quackmore was down for the count and would be recovering for a while. Even worse was the priest of Humakt, who was alive but still out cold. The durulz guide that had been hired, the one with the axe, looked like he would be up soon. Puddles went fishing but had no luck at all. Anasdiazi met a wandering merchant who had a bottle of Red Duck and a fine suit of partial armor for sale, but Our Hero declined both. Instead he bought some common armor for Duckworth and one of the former soldiers. Oasasya met a messenger, and while the interaction was polite, nothing came of it.





Anasdiazi gathered up everyone who was well enough to walk, and left with Puddles, Oasasya, the two ex-soldiers, and the local durulz guide with the bow. The recent push by the Lunar Empire into Heortland had disrupted the lives of everyone in the area, and now there were roaming bands of soldiers, bandits, and others making life less than safe for everyone in Garakt. The adventurers went out on patrol, and soon found an encampment of Orlanthi nomads, most likely pushed out of Dragon Pass by the war. The Orlanthi had a reputation for killing first and not asking questions later. Anasdiazi wanted to get everyone together for a closer look, but then the unthinkable happened: they got too close and were spotted! Knowing they couldn't outrun the Orlanthi, the Raft sprung into action against them...





The first turn went really well for the Raft; a well-placed shot by Puddles knocked out the enemy leader during the "Seize The initiative" phase. This is the second game in a row that the Raft has seized the initiative, and this time it paid off nicely.





In total, the archery skills of the Raft killed off a full third of the opposition by the end of the first turn. At the same time, they had lost none of their own and were looking forward to a quick fight to get rid of the pesky nomads.





However, it was not meant to be. Oasasya, the Aldryami, was wounded by an enemy archer and succumbed to the wound after he fired his final shot. After a brief melee, two more nomads were disposed of, one dispatched directly and the other of his wounds after his final swing.





Anasdiazi went after one of the nomad archers, wounded him, and the archer died of hos wounds after firong a parting shot. One of the Former Soldiers was badly wounded by the remaining spear-armed nomad. Puddles and the Hired Guide traded ineffectual shots with the other nomad archer.





Things began to look bad for the Raft; Anasdiazi was unable to kill the next archer he engaged, the injured Former Soldier went out of action from his wounds, the Hired Guide was still unable to hit the last nomad archer, and there was still a nomad with a spear facing off against the other Former Soldier. It would seem that their luck had run out!





And then the luck turned again. Anasdiazi finally managed to draw blood on the archer he was battling, the Former Soldier gutted the spear-wielding nomad in a counter-attack and then moved to support the Hired Guide, and more arrows were shot ineffectually.






The Hired Guide STILL could not shoot the remaining nomad! The Former Soldier engaged him, and both were wounded after their exchange. Anasdiazi was hurrying to help, and while fast for a durulz, he still was not close enough to attack.





The Hired Guide, annoyed at his own lack of marksmanship (marksduckship?) decided to engage the last nomad. he was rewarded with a bleeding wound of his own, but then that same nomad succumbed to his own wounds and collapsed in a heap of bloody robes. The Raft had secured the safety of Garakt again, but the cost remained to be seen.


After the game, injuries, loot, and advancement were determined. The Former Soldier died. Puddles was lightly injured and would spend two campaign turns recovering. Oasasya died, but with his point of Luck he was able to ignore this injury and remained in fighting shape. The Raft was able to loot two Basic weapons, a Bastard sword, and a piece of Silver Jewelry. Anasdiazi gained +1 to his Combat Ability, Puddles added +1 to his Agility, and Oasasya gained +1 Will. The surviving Former Soldier added +1 Combat Ability. And the Border Tensions threat to Garakt was lowered by 1.


This particular episode showcased the Wound mechanic in a particularly bloody way. It seemed as if more people went out of action from failing their wound rolls than from actual combat. And the initial few volleys of arrows were deadly to the nomads as well. Hopefully the next outing of Anasdiazi's Raft will yield some better loot...


Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.