Battling Belligerent Broo!

And so the weary warriors spent some time resting in Oraskat. Not resting as easily as they had hoped, there was some apparent hostility towards the Raft that none was willing to explain. Our Heroes were turned away more than once, and were only able to forage for herbs outside the town.  Even that went poorly, no herbs were found and much sadness ensued. Puddles tried to get away from it all and do some fishing, but he had no luck at all. It was a rough few days, and they decided to just get out of town and look for some trouble. They were all healthy, no one was in distress, and it was time to let the villagers have a break from their wild carousing. Because ducks get CRAZY, as everyone knows.

As they travelled, they ran across a sociable messenger on his way to Oraskat, and they shared a meal on the side of the road. After a bit of a journey over the next few days, the Raft found some ruins they had been unaware of. And shadowy shapes moving through the rubble, and on one, a glint of armor as the sunlight stole between the shadows.

Our Heroes approach the Broo and their Warrior leader

Anasdiazi sent the archers and the Nameless priest of Humakt to the left so as to engage the Broo on the hill. He and Quackmore went up the center, using a large tree as cover. Pariwan Keetslander and Mataw took the right flank. Those Broo on the hill rolled down towards the archers, intent on closing the sistance before too many shots could be loosed against them. The Warrior and remaining Broo weaved their way through the ruins towards the Raft.

The Raft is ready to engage the Broo!

The two Broo heading for the archers changed their minds about charging towards the archers in a hurry after the first volley of arrows hit them. Neither of them were injured, but with all three bowfolk hitting, and Puddles gaining a second shot courtesy of Sparrow's Flight from the Nameless Priest of Humakt, it looked like a losing proposition. They followed the Warrior and another Broo behind a partially intact building to try to engage the rest of the Raft.

That's a lot of Broo in a line...

And then a lot of things happened at once. Puddles Walked The Wind to the hilltop recently vacated by the Broo and tried to shoot one of them, to no effect. Anasdiazi engaged the Warrior but was rebuffed for his efforts. Oasasya and Trackquack both took a shot through the doorways at the Broo, but only Trackquack was able to kill one. Quackmore cut through the ruined building to engage the Broo, but was cut down quickly by the mountain of muscle. Mataw tried to kill a Broo, but was pushed back towards Anasdiazi for her efforts. Pariwan Keetslander, however, managed to kill one of the diseased monsters after it rushed at him. Two Broo down, three Broo and a Chaos Warrior to go.

Quackmore's last stand!

See Quackmore there with the two Broo? Pretend he isn't there. I forgot to remove him before I took the picture.

Puddles hoped out of the hilltop ruins to get a better shot at the warrior, but was unable to hurt the hardened veteran. Mataw again attacked the Broo in front of her, and was again pushed back. Oasasya and Trackquack both took shots at the two Broo that had so recently defeated Quackmore, but with no telling damage. With Quackmore down, Anasdiazi attacked the Warrior with renewed vigor, but was struck down for his efforts. The Warrior then moved through the ruins to engage Mataw, and knocked her out of action. Pariwan Keetslander then charged him, but the champion of Chaos defeated him as well. The Broo in the ruins charged towards the archers, but after a brief scuffle, Trackquack had killed one of them with his dagger!

Mataw tries to kill the Broo

Mataw meets her end!

Trackquack, of all people, is carrying the fight...

Puddles took a shot at the advancing Broo, but missed anything vital (which means he probably scored a head shot!) Oasasya shot and killed the Broo looming before him. Then the Warrior emerged from the ruins, murder in his eyes and he advanced towards Puddles. Trackquack and the Nameless Priest of Humakt raced around the building to try and come to his aid! And the Broo shambled closer...

Well, this looks horrible for Puddles...

Puddles, seeing the Chaos champion before him, took another shot. And this time, his aim was true and the Warrior dropped in his tracks. And Trackquack too had true aim, killing the remaining Broo. Once again Anasdiazi's Raft held the field against the nightmares of Chaos, but at what cost? Half of the Raft was down, whether dead or dying remained to be seen.

Our Heroes, triumphant again!

Both Anasdiazi and Pariwan Keetslander were just Knocked Out. They would require no healing time before they could join the Raft in future adventures. Quackmore, however, was seriously injured and would be out for 6 Campaign Turns recovering. However, he Pressed his Luck, succeeded, and was perfectly okay after all. Mataw was lightly injured, and will require three Campaign Turns of recovery. And, there was no loot to be had. None. Not a single broken weapon. Dammit. On the positive side, both Puddles and Trackquack leveled up, with Puddles gaining more Luck and Trackquack increasing his Agility (which helps him act earlier in each game turn.)

This was the game I have been waiting for. The Warrior was a tough-as-nails opponent that, coupled with some bad dice rolling on the part of The Raft, account for 75% of the casualties caused. And the Broo were tough opponents as well. Fully half of Our Heroes went out of action in this Encounter. And somehow, it was the least capable member of the adventuring party, Trackquack the FNG, that killed three of the Broo, including one of them in melee. He is a new rising star to be watched! Mataw, the other rising star, was not much of a star today at all. But she is my second favorite member of the warband, so I have a special plan for her while she is recovering from her injuries for the next three game turns...

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

The Lair Of The Scorpionmen!

You know, I've been a little disappointed in how easy my last few games have been. And as soon as Oraskat has been cleared of all Threat, I am advancing Anasdiazi's Raft to the Warband level of difficulty instead of Adventurer. I am literally at the point where I would rather see another Total Party Kill than another walk through the park slaying enemies with no fear of harm. So, I wrote a scenario that I hoped would be a bit more lethal. It wound up looking like this:

The scorpion men are in a cave with a 3” wide entrance that the characters move into during their first movement. It is roughly circular, about 16” in diameter. At the 7 o’clock position from the entrance is another entry point, also 3” wide. There are two large obstructions in the cave. There is one scorpion man between them, and one behind the left hand one, out of view of the entrance. Each time a scorpion man dies, roll 2d6: on a 8+ another scorpion man comes out of the second entrance during the Monster Phase. If the characters Hold The Field at the end of the scenario, they receive rewards as detailed on page 143 of Five Leagues From The Borderlands 2^nd edition, per scorpion man slain.

Deployment in the lair of the scorpionmen!

So, I have my cute papercraft scorpionmen all ready to go. I decided to use the profile for the Giant Spider as shown on page 146 of Five Leagues From The Borderlands 2^nd edition. And I set up the game, and got everyone deployed. I double checked a bunch of rules to make sure Our Heroes won't get away with anything. The Nameless Priest of Humakt casts his Battle Omens successfully, which helped to Seize The Initiative. And so they gaily traipsed into the cave. Puddles got a lucky shot right off, and now the scorpionmen had dice on their backs to show how many monster points they each had left.

Moving in after siezing the initiative

In the first turn, everyone moved towards the scorpionmen again. All three archers loosed shots at the scorpionman they could see, but to no avail. In return, the lead scorpionman charged at Mataw, and during their third exchange, dropped her with a mighty blow of his club. The other scorpionman scuttled around the other passage towards the Raft.

Mataw versus the scorpionman!

The end of Turn One

To start the next turn, all the archers loosed a volley at the second scorpionman coming down the side passage. Surprisingly, only Puddles scored a hit and caused the loss of one monster point. The Nameless priest of Humakt used his Sparrow's Flight to allow Puddles another shot that automatically hit; it pierced the armor but failed to injure the chitinous foe. So I spent a Story Point to re-roll that, and it still failed to get past that thick, chitinous hide! Then the Terrifying Trio of Anasdiazi, Quackmore, and Pariwan Keetslander fought the other scorpionman. They made no impact whatsoever against him, and he did no injury to them either. The second scorpionman attacked Oasasya, but at the end of the exchanges the only result as Oasasya was pushed an inch away from her antagonist (note that the picture doesn't show this, I looked it up after I snapped the shot.)

The end of Turn Two

Then it came down to the quick. The three archers loosed more shots, and finally Oasasya found her mark and killed the scorpionman that had so recently tried to sting her. By the scenario rules, it was time to roll and see if another scorpionman joined the battle. A roll of 6 on 2d6 didn't quite bring the reinforcement. Then, Anasdiazi and Quackmore both landed telling blows on the remaining  scorpionman. He was doewn to one monster point! It was all up to Pariwan Keetslander now, and his first blow fell true, slaying the monstrosity. And a 2d6 roll of 3 meant there would be no more scorpionmen attacking and the encounter was over. Once again, the Raft held the field. Or cave, in this case.

Pariwan, Quackmore, and Anasdizai against the scorpionman!

The end of Turn Three

So, I played through my special "killer" scenario. And I was honestly underwhelmed. No one in the Raft failed a single Terror test. The only time the Venom rule came into effect was when Mataw went down. And no more scorpionmen were added to the scenario. That part was very disappointing, but I am trying to let the dice fall where they may (except when I spend a Story Point!) That two monsters were killed in three turns shows that I need to switch out some dice; the pink dice I use for the Raft are clearly too good, and the yellow dice I use for the enemies just aren't good enough. If I were to re-play this (which I might, just to see) I would start with THREE scorpionmen, and have a another monster enter after one dies on a roll of 7+ on 2d6, not 8+ on 2d6.

In the Aftermath, everyone got a little bit of experience, but no one leveled up. Mataw rolled a "97" for survival, so was only knocked out. Loot was very kind! A total of 30 gold crowns and two medicinal herbs were recovered, and two Story Points were added to the total (for a net gain of only one, because I spent one during the game!) And finally, one point of Dark Secrets Threat has been removed.

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

They Rested A Day From All The Work They Had Undertaken

Here's my dirty little secret: when I roll the post-encounter Aftermath of each campaign turn, I also roll up the next campaign turn right up to the encounters. So, if by chance there is only a Roadside Encounter or no encounter at all, both campaign turns are concluded at once. And that is exactly what happened after Our Heroes dispatched the Lunar Deserters in our last episode. I rolled through the next campaign turn, and there was no combat encounter. But I did decide to take some glamour shots of the Raft to include this time around.

Anasdiazi and his faithful retainer Quackmore

Upon returning to Oraskat, the raft heard that there was a wandering scholar in town. Anasdiazi, always down for learning up on something new, found the scholar and spent some time studying with her, but managed to learn absolutely nothing. During this time, the rest of the raft dragged Pariwan to their borrowed gut and helped him into some peaceful rest to help heal him up.

Archers assemble: Puddles and Oasasya

About this time, the local landholder tracked down the Raft and gifted them a fine fencing sword as a thank you for driving off the Lunar Army deserters that had been looting the farmsteads. Puddles, excited at the prospect of fishing in new waters, promptly found a new secret spot and caught three fish worth one gold crown.

New faces: Mataw and Pariwan Keetslander

There was also a rumor that a suit of fine armor and a fine shield were available for sale, but they were not bought by the Raft. They did, however, follow up some other rumors and had a good idea where there was a cave lair of some scorpion men, and that would be their target.

Followers who became Heroes: the Nameless Priest of Humakt and Trackquack

As they were travelling the roads following up their lead, they encountered a Grouchy Farmer who did nothing but complain about the youth today. Trying not to be rude to a local person, they listened until it was finally to late to go after the scorpion men, and so they returned to town instead, intent on moving out again in a few days.

A Morokanth and an enemy Personality

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

Lunar Deserters Get Their Just Desserts!

And so it was that our weary heroes arrived at Oraskat, after a few days of travel from Garakt. While they were no experts in the subtleties of civilization, it was immediately apparent that there was more town than people to fill it. They were viewed a bit suspiciously at first, and after a little conversation it became apparent that times had fallen hard due to the war and many of the villagers had left to pursue predatory lifestyles (in game terms, Outlaw Threat was increased by 1 due to "corruption within" as a village event.) The Raft was able to go about their business however, so Oasasya went foraging and returned with medicinal herbs, while Anasdiazi did dome training with the local militia (gained +1 xp, leveled up, and gained +1 Will.) Puddles went out looking for new fishing spots; the one he found wasn't great and he caught nothing. Quackmore was offered a fine suit of partial armor for 10 gold crowns; instead he opted to buy a regular suit of the same at a much lower cost for the Nameless Priest Of Humakt. And after another day of rest, the Raft headed out into the wilds surrounding Oraskat looking for trouble.

The Raft chances upon some Lunar Deserters in the act of looting a small farnstead.

And after another day of rest, the Raft headed out into the wilds surrounding Oraskat looking for trouble. Before they had gotten very far, they came upon an old doctor in a cart travelling towards Oraskat. He payed them no attention, not even a greeting, and so they passed him without another thought. It wasn't long off the road, however, that they chanced upon a small group of Lunar soldiers, most likely deserters from the army of the Empire, looting a small farmstead at the edge of the woods. Exactly the kind of problem they were looking for!

Engage!

Before the deserters even knew what had hit them, Oasasya and Puddles let loose their arrows. Oasasya killed one of the soldiers outright, but Puddles quite uncharacteristically missed his mark. The Nameless Priest of Humakt gave his gift of Sparrow's Flight to Puddles, allowing another bowshot that hit it's target but failed to get past the Lunar armor. Mataw, against the advice of Anasdiazi, leaped forward to engage one of the enemy. The Lunars moved to engage as well, but their one archer missed her shot by a wide margin.

Where is Pariwan when he is needed? Injured and out, of course...

Puddles Walked The Wind to support Pariwan Keetslander and the Former Soldier, but his shot missed (probably due to the disorientation from magical movement, yeah, that;s the ticket.) Pariwan in turn jumped forward to attack one of the Deserters, and was promptly cut down for his impetuousness. Mataw was similarly unlucky in her attack, but survived the counterstrike. Anasdiazi moved to support her, while Quackmore moved around the back of the rock. Oasasya found her target, and killed another opponent. The Former Soldier ran towards one of the Lunars, but made no attack.. The Lunar archer, seeing a few of her friends dead and those remaining having little success, decided it was time to desert the deserters and promptly fled the farm.

The final countdown!

There were now only three of the Deserters and their leader facing the might of Anasdiazi's Raft. Puddles, Oasasya, and the Hired Guide ALL managed to miss their targets with their bows. It was a bad day indeed for the archers! Mataw was still unable to dispatch her foe, but Quackmore came around from behind the rock and made short work of him. Anasdiazi then moved up behind his fearless retainer while Mataw judged the distance between her and the enemy leader across the field. The Lunar engaged with the Former Soldier managed to get a solid stab into the man, dropping him where he had stood. What would be his fate?

We win!

Puddles, faced with the Lunar Lieutenant almost within stabbing distance, backpedaled a bit and loosed another shot. And he found his mark, slaying the enemy leader. Mataw entered the field and ran as far into it as she could, intent on engaging the remaining soldier soon. But Quackmore reached him first, and dispatched him with a single blow of his sword. The Raft was again victorious!

In the aftermath, they recovered a fine sword. Pariwan proved to be lightly injured, but would be down for a while recovering. The Former Soldier, however, was quite dead. Oasasya leveled up, and received a choice of skill; Bartering was added to her profile. And the Hired Guide was promoted to Hero status, and will henceforth be known as Trackquack The Guide.

This game played out a little differently. It wasn't the powerhouse duo of Puddles and Mataw that saved the day, it wasn't all the new, fun magic the Raft is packing around, it was Oasasya and Quackmore who did most of the heavy lifting.  And, given that neither of them are much better in combat than when they started, and how easily the Raft defeated this reasonably powerful group, I think that there will need to be some more difficult encounters in the future. Like special scenarios that will be more challenging than just some of the regular encounters rolled. But, of course, each will be tied to a Threat, so that the campaign will continue to progress.

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