Year 2949: The Marsh-Bell

[Vladim]

Asfrid cannot help herself: for a moment (or three), she is simply lost at the sight of the gold. After all, theirs wasn't a world of dungeon-delving and treasure hordes, unless one was mad enough to take on a dragon like old Smaug. No, Middle Earth for most was a poor earth, and Asfrid's experience had rarely been different even on the best of days.

But this? This was enough to live on for the rest of one's days! One could leave the worldly troubles behind, retire from honest work and live out your live in laziness and luxury, with your feet up on the table and a mug of mead in your hand like some damned hobbit! And, by the gods, but it was tempting...

"Is...is beautiful," she murmurs after her reverie passes. Something, off to the left, suddenly catches Asfrid's eye and she kneels to inspect it. Could it be...?

[Vladim]

Ewald followed at the back of the company into the treasure room. He looked around with some astonishment at the amount of gold and shiny objects gathered here. This was definately not what he had expected down here, but he got over the initial feeling of bewilderment and instead started thinking that this must be wrong somehow. There must be a threat here.

"Be careful!" he said out loud to the others as he started to look around for any threats. That was when he found something interesting further into the semi-circular room...

[Vladim]

Fareth paused at the entrance - she'd never seen anything like this, and the glint and shimmer briefly distracted her.

Then, as she blinked away the gleam following Ewald's warning, she focused in on one item in particular...

[Vladim]

Barin had never been one to be taken in by the trinkets of Men and Elves. Nor that of the Dwarven Gem- and Gold-smiths who's work he had borne witness to all his life. For him, stonework was his first and only love.

But this! This was beyond incredible. There must be a king's ransom - no, he corrected himself - several kings' ransoms here in Gold, Gems.

He stood, transfixed by the hoard, wondering from whence it could have come, and how it had managed to survive the depredations of time for so long in this dank and fetid cellar ...

[Vladim]

"This...never I imagined something like this," Asfrid says, sitting in the muck and flipping through the pages of the ancient golden book she'd unearthed.

"Look here! Is unlike any method I have...hmmm...and this! Look! The angle used...yes, and with pressure...why, the best healers I have ever met do not have access to some of these techniques! Is incredible!"


She grins, looking up at all gathered.

"Maybe these hands will be good for more than shield-bashing and oar-rowing in the future, yes? Ha!"

[Vladim]

Summary of all mechanics and dice rolls

Asfrid, Fareth and Barin fail their wisdom check and are captivated by the sight of the hoard. Feel free to work this into the narrative and your posts, if you want.

Ewald passed the wisdom check; Bearlord, feel free to describe Ewald as more alert and aware of the fellowship’s surroundings, if you want, even though he does inspect the hoard and finds some treasure.

The treasure rolls and descriptive texts have been provided in the dice thread (see here). Feel free to embellish them as you wish, or not.

In addition, although Barin did not find any ‘special’ treasure, he is free to stuff his pockets with coins and trinkets of gold and silver. In game terms, he can gather anywhere between 1-10 Treasure points. By RAW, the core rules state that 1 Treasure point = +1 Encumbrance, but I think that’s a bit dumb, because 1 Treasure point is equivalent to a gold coin or two (I forget). So let’s just say that 5 treasure points = 1 encumbrance for this case.

 

The dwarves were amazed at the sight of the great hoard. Bofri and Regin were extremely excited by this unexpected discovery, and both of them were quick to stuff their pockets with whatever gold or silver they could get their hands onto.

Bofri remarked with joy: ’This is truly wonderful! A great turn of events! I had thought that we would find nothing but ruins in these cursed and forsaken swamps. I had lost hope almost when I saw how the forest and the marshes reclaimed all that once stood here. But this, this is a blessing beyond all hope! With this gold we can fund this expedition, and many more! Happy day!’

In their joy, they did not notice that the marsh-dwellers were gathering in the darkness. Indeed, only lord Ewald kept the watch, and soon he saw them: at first, as a hundred tiny mirrors, flickering in the darkness, reflecting and multiplying the golden brilliance of the hoard. Soon they approached, and now everyone was aware of them: foul-smelling, man-shaped creatures with bulbous eyes and sharp teeth – a great hoard of them, approaching from all directions, too many for the fellowship to stand a chance in vanquishing all. They outnumbered the company three to one, and more of them would soon arrive, as evident by the shining eyes at the distance. The time for examining the treasure hoard was at an end – now all they could to was fight and fly.

 

OOC

Ok, finally we can try combat in this system. Combat operates without any maps, in a ‘theatre of mind’ sort of way. Below I will give you an outline:
1. Normally you would roll for bonus dice by using the Battle skill; however, because all except Ewald were completely captured by the great treasure hoard, we will need to roll to determine what happens, as follows.
2. @Bearlord: Ewald is the first to notice the marsh-dwellers, but does he notice them in time? To determine this, please roll Awareness at TN 14. If you succeed, Ewald is not ambushed. With a Great or Extraordinary success, you can warn another party member or two (respectively). The choice of who you warn is yours.
3. If Ewald is successful, then he and those he warned may roll Battle. The TN for this roll varies. If at least 2 PCs are aware of the enemy (i.e. Ewald and another one he warned) then the TN is 14; otherwise the TN is 18. Successes in the Battle roll grant bonus dice (d6s) to be used at any point in the fight, and they can also be donated to any other PC. The number of d6s gained is as follows: 1 for a normal success in Battle; 2 for Great; 3 for Extraordinary. Remember, though: you can only add one bonus die at a time.
4. Depending on Ewald’s awareness roll results, who holds the initiative (fellowship or enemies) will also be determined. If Ewald has succeeded in Awareness AND also warned at least one other companion, then the company is considered as defending, and therefore can make opening volleys and can act first. If, however, more than half of the company is ambushed, then the enemy holds the initiative: there will be no opening volleys, and the enemy will go first.
5. I will provide the rules for opening volleys and attacks in my next IC post, depending on the outcome of Ewald’s rolls.

I hope all of this makes sense, but ask me if you need clarifications. Good luck!

[Vladim]

Ewald had just picked up a belt made of gold with beautiful inlaid amthysts when he saw something moving in the corner of his eyes. He quickly put away the shiny item in his bag and readied his great bow with an arrow. Suddenly there were creepy marsh creatures emerging from all sides. Where did they come from? He let loose his arrow at one of the closest marsh-dwellers and saw it strike into the chest of the creature but it didn't seem to stop it.

"Look around! We are attacked!" he shouted to his companions who seemed to be enraptured by the treasure and hadn't noticed they had got company yet. "Gather together so we can defend better!" He moved closer to Asfrid and Barin and hoped that the others would join them in some kind of formation.
He also switched his bow for the spear as there was no more room for shooting.

[Vladim]

"Defend is good...strike is good too," Asfrid cries as she takes a Defensive Stance. "Beat them back! Cut path! We must leave this place!"

[Vladim]

Greedily stuffing his pockets with whatever gold he could lay his hands on, Barin jolted out of his avaricious lust at the sound of Ewald's shout. Barely having enough time to recover his composure, he swiftly unlimbered the heavy, curved dual blade of the Fell Axe he wore at his belt and adopted a stance, neither too offensive nor too defensive to face whatever threat was assailing his compatriots. After all, he knew that the first moments of battle were crucial to try and gain any advantage.

His heart quailed at the sight of so many of the foul beasts lumbering towards the party from out of the shadows, nut steeling his nerves he vowed to face his foes and allow his fellows time to regroup or retreat.

[Vladim]

Hearing Ewald's alarum, Fareth jammed the amethyst she'd found into a satchel, and leapt forward to face the horde, hoping to press them back to allow the others to gain the advantage.

'Back to the darkness, foul ones!' she shouted, slipping her sword from it's sheath and her shield from its straps on her back - her full height and grim visage leading the way.

[Vladim]

Round 1 summary

Ewald: Shoots Marsh Dweller 1, reducing him to 3/10 Endurance, but misses his spear attack.
Asfrid: Hit for 5 damage, but manages to kill a marsh-dweller (let's say No. 3). Passes her protection test by spending 1 Hope.
Barin: Hit for 10 damage, but passes both protection tests (one of them by spending Hope). Hits Marsh-dweller 1 for 5 damage (remaining endurance 5/10).
Fareth: Drains 3 points of Hate from the Marsh dwellers, bringing Marsh dweller 1 to 0/2 Hate (and thus making him Weary) and Marsh dweller 2 to 1/2 Hate. Hits Marsh dweller 3 for 5 damage (remaining endurance 5/10).

[Vladim]

Round 2 summary

Ewald: Uses 'Rally comrades' (Great Success), so everyone in the fellowship who have lost endurance in this round regain endurance. Note to all: even if this brings you over your fatigue, you are still Weary. You need a proper rest to recover from Weary (there are status recovery rules in the rules folder). Open for Round 3.
Asfrid: -5 Endurance, +3 from Ewald (net -2), fails protection test and becomes Wounded, also becomes Weary. @Raistlinmc I still need her attack. --> Hits Marsh-dweller for 5 damage. Defensive for Round 3.
Barin: -9 Endurance, +3 from Ewald (net -6), becomes Weary, but also manages to kill one of the marsh-dwellers he has been fighting (marsh-dweller 1). Defensive for Round 3.
Fareth: Great success on the sword attack (TN = 12 for the stance + 4 for marsh-dweller's parry, but still a hit). Damage is 12 (5 from longsword + 7 from Body), which is more than enough to finish off Marsh Dweller No. 3 (that is the one you were attacking, right? If it was another one, I can change it). Defensive for Round 3.

In any case, 2 more marsh-dwellers are killed, for a total of 3. If Asfrid kills another one, then it is possible to start taking Rearward and start escaping without an Athletics roll. As stated earlier, though, this will probably result in some of the PCs being left behind, and probably dying. Or you can stay together and fight it out till the bitter end.

I will roll for marsh-dwellers again (round 3) after I have your new stances & Asfrid's attack. I'll also edit this post with the updated info for round 2.

[Vladim]

Round 3 summary

Ewald: Attacks marsh-dweller with arrow from Open but fails.
Barin: Takes 10 endurance damage but passes his protection test; hits marsh-dweller 2 for 5 damage and a piercing blow, but marsh-dweller also passes his protection test.
Eliadia: Spends 1 Hope to hit Marsh-dweller 1 for 5 endurance damage.
Asfrid: I still need @Raistlinmc to post; then I can move us all forward. Edit: Asfrid's attack fails with a Sauron, provoking a Called Shot against her from one of the Marsh-dwellers, but it fails.

[Vladim]

Round 4 summary

Ewald: Kills the arrow-sticken marsh dweller with his spear; only 2 marsh-dwellers remain.
Barin: Misses. Remains in Defensive.
Fareth: Kills marsh dweller No. 2 with her long-sword (great success). Ony one marsh-dweller remaining, at 5/10 endurance and 1/2 Hate.
Asfrid: TBD. Edit: Kills Marsh dweller No. 1 with a Great success in her sword attack (1 fellowship point spent).

Stances for Round 5 are Defensive for all except Ewald (Rearward). This means that Ewald's 2 surviving Marsh-dwellers will move to attack Asfrid and Fareth.

[Vladim]

Round 5 summary

Asfrid: Takes 5 damage but gets extraordinary success on sword attack (with fellowship), instantly killing marsh-dweller 'gifted' from Ewald. Only 1 marsh dweller now stands against her, and he is at 5/10 endurance.
Ewald: Goes into rearward and shoots an arrow at Barin's marsh dweller No. 1, causing 7 points of endurance damage.
Barin: Gets hit for 5 damage. @Suzuki Stumpy as I said, the only meaningful choice here is to take knockback, halving the damage (to 2 points) to stay in the fight. Let me know if you prefer the alternative (which is to drop unconscious).
Fareth: Hits marsh-dweller No. 2 for 5 damage (with 1 Hope spent).

5 Marsh dwellers remain. And I think Fellowship pool is oficially drained now (0/5) but I can double-check if everyone wants to. I am basing this on @Bearlord's assesment in the dice thread here: link. Actually at 1/5.

For Round 6, I am guessing everyone (including Ewald) is going to Defensive... Rolls incoming.