Our Heroes – Sessions 6–13

It’s been a while since I posted the PCs’ updated character sheets, and a lot has happened since Session 5. They’ve gained and lost companions, acquired treasures and real estate, and improved some of their stats. At some point I dropped the “S” at the end of Merry Meadows without noticing it.

My Haunted Houserules are HERE

Their level 1 character sheets from session 1 are available HERE

Trigg Sunbold

Fighter 3        HP: 19        AC: 18        XP: 5,336        GP: 272 gp, 112 sp

Str 17, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 15

Gear: Scalebane (longsword +1/+4 vs reptiles), shield, leather armor, helm, mail +1

Strong and handsome, young Trigg is an aspiring hero. He belongs to the Sunflower Order, an informal brotherhood sworn to serve the Hare King and the common folk. Those in need can identify Sunflower Knights by the golden medals that they wear.

Trigg takes his responsibilities as party leader very seriously. He has been married to Emelda Inlow, a young woman from Eveningstar, for about a month now and is about to find out that he’s going to be a dad. Trigg is also the proud owner of a rundown old farm in sore need of repairs, and he now owes monthly taxes to his liege Lady Winter. As a result, he is perpetually worried about money.

Farm labor and maturity have strengthened Trigg (he’s in his early 20s, Emelda is 20 or possibly 19).

Gimwort of Greydelve

Dwarf 3        HP: 16        AC: 17/19        XP: 5,517        GP: 621 gp, 169 sp

Str 14, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 10

Gear: long-hafted axe, battle-axe, shield, helm, leather armor, dwarf-mail, potion of climbing, rope

Treasures: carved ivory pipe (30 gp)

Greydelve is a relatively new dwarfhold, known for its rock crystal and groves of phosphorescent mushrooms, and Gimwort is a young dwarf. He knows a fair amount about hunting underground vermin, having worked to keep Greydelve’s mushroom fields and the cave-fish ponds clear of such creatures. He knows how to treat a slime burn, for example, and the proper way to harvest a fire beetle’s light gland. As one of the Exiles (dwarves from clans that have lost their ancestral dwarfholds and had to found new ones), Common is his native language, although he knows a smattering of Old Dwarvish for ritual use and certain place names.

Gimwort is dependable and unambitious. He is fast friends with Trigg, his fellow warrior, and with Tansybell, whose small stature and hot-headedness remind him of his nieces. He has finally acquired a set of dwarf-mail and can join Trigg and Tansybell in the front rank of the battle-line, although he has grown fond of fighting with his long-hafted axe.

Gimwort has proved surprisingly dextrous and is a skilled practitioner of tumbling and traditional dwarvish dancing.

Tansybell of Merry Meadow

Halfling 3        HP: 13        AC: 18        XP: 5,645        GP: 731 gp, 123 sp

Str 11, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 9, Wis 8, Cha 10

Gear: hand-axe +2 (Clasher), helm, shield, leather armor, hobbit-mail, hand crossbow, darts (6)

Wounds: horrible scar (-1 Charisma)

A young hobbit who was raised on tales of her adventurous great-uncle and longs to live up to them. Her parents would be secretly proud if they knew what she was up to, although they are concerned for her as well – both for the physical dangers of adventuring, and for the social and financial risks that unmarried women face in their old age. It takes a lot of gold to live the leisurely life of an eccentric old bachelor like her great-uncle.

Happily, Tansy has taken well to the life of an adventurer, and is pleased with her nasty facial scar. The other hobbits back in Merry Meadow won’t be able to hush up tales of her adventures when they see this! While she would probably be more effective as an archer, Tansybell finds the idea less heroic, and the party got used to having her in the front rank during the long period of time when she was better-armored than Gimwort.

Tansy has gotten stronger since she ran away from home, although it’s probable that only another halfling would notice it.

Old Dolf

Thief 4        HP: 11        AC: 13        XP: 5,369        GP: 729 gp, 123 sp

Str 7, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 6, Wis 9, Cha 9

Thievery: 3-in-6

Gear: spear +2 (Shimmer), dagger, helm, leather armor, lockpicks, lantern, oil, rope, potion of invisibility

Scars: missing eye

A tramp and failed prospector, Old Dolf joined the party after he tried scamming Trigg with the offer of a map to the dungeon and his services as a guide about town but somehow bungled the pitch and found himself agreeing to guide them through the dungeon rather than to it. 

In the months since then, of course, the other PCs have grown to rely on Old Dolf’s stout courage and unnatural good luck. Dolf often fights as Trigg’s squire in battle, finishing off enemies that Trigg wounds. He harbors a romantic notion of earning a place among Lady Winter’s household guard.

A few months of friendship and ready money has put some meat on Dolf’s old bones, and he no longer has a penalty to his Constitution. Losing an eye to a giant bat should have made Dolf uglier, but instead the old thief has grown in confidence and generosity – a stat boost removed his penalty to Charisma as well.

Eldred the Enchanter

Magic-User 2        HP: 3          AC: 11          XP: 3,258 GP: 307 gp, 90 sp

Str 6, Dex 13, Con 5, Int 15, Wis 15, Cha 15

Gear: spellbook, Wand of Cold (4 charges), Ring of Shocking Grasp, scroll of Web, scroll of Read Languages, lantern, oil

Spells Known: Dancing Lights, Color Spray, Spook

Languages: Common, Elvish

Prior to joining the party, Eldred had spent his life as a wandering entertainer and conjuror of cheap tricks. Trigg believes that Eldred is a wise wizardly mentor, however, and Eldred has been doing his best to live up to the role ever since. After being killed by a giant centipede, Eldred has returned from death and once more assumed his role as the Party Dad. His use of wands has saved the party’s life on several occasions.

Eldred has grown stronger and more hale since his resurrection, although he’s still a frail wisp of a man.

Mell of the Moonwood

Fighter 1        HP: 7       AC: 17        XP: 870        GP: 376 gp, 113 sp

Str 13, Dex 16, Con 6, Int 9, Wis 8, Cha 8

Gear: crossbow, bolts (20), shortsword, leather armor, mail, helm

An archer and novice adventurer, Mell has traveled to the Periphery to seek her fortune. While not one to talk much about her past, she has already proved herself a brave companion, having faced down a charging basilisk on her very first adventure.

The Moonwood is a stretch of sacred forest in the Heartland of the Realm, managed by the King’s Foresters and an order of priestesses who tend a pool that was once visited by the Moonmaiden. The Moonwood’s white and piebald deer are believed to be beloved of Selune, and hunting rights are only given by special dispensation from the head priestess.

NPCs of Eveningstar

Emelda Inlow

Str 8, Dex 9, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 16

Trigg’s wife. She sewed a shirt for him and presented it to him during the party’s first-ever feast at the Golden Unicorn, following their third delve into the Haunted Halls. After a brief engagement, the two were married last month, and (unbeknownst to anyone) she was already pregnant at the time. Emelda is short and pretty (the Inlows are a notably handsome family) and is a hard worker with a practical nature. She has a black winged kitten named Shadow, a wedding gift from Lady Winter.

Emelda’s Older Brothers

• Errol Inlow – Str 11, Dex 7, Con 11, Int 9, Wis 6, Cha 12

• Garlan Inlow – Str 12, Dex 14, Con 8, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16

Garlan is the older of the two, and is tall, with a dreamy air. He will inherit the family farm when his father passes, and is resolved to the life of a gentleman-farmer, although he would like to buy more books.

Errol is the black sheep of the Inlow family, a hot-head and troublemaker who is rarely diligent with his chores. Errol struck up an unlikely friendship with Tansybell, and the two hang out together during downtime.

Elfarran the Lame

Elfarran’s shop is detailed HERE

The Golden Unicorn

A cozy backstreet establishment that normally sees only a fraction of the custom of Eveningstar’s premiere inn the Blue Lantern, the Golden Unicorn has seen a surge in popularity since the PCs set up shop there. With two parties of adventurers renting rooms, the locals have a good chance of hearing an exciting tale on any given night. On the rare occasions that there are no adventurers about, they can gaze at the stuffed basilisk head behind the bar or pore over the collection of adventurers’ maps and charts now stored there. The inn’s beer garden has done a lively trade all summer.

The Silver Daggers

Elm Ringlad

Ranger 1        HP: 8       AC: 16        XP: 1,252        GP: 478 gp, 161 sp

Str 13, Dex 14, Con 9, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10

Gear: dagger +1, dagger, helm, leather armor, mail, torches (6), Potion of Growth

Treasures: garnet (500 gp)

Wounds: missing ear (-1 surprise), missing finger (-1 dmg)

Wants: gold and experience; to protect Oak

Oak Ringlad

Ranger 1        HP: 8       AC: 15        XP: 1,252        GP: 478 gp, 161 sp

Str 14, Dex 14, Con 9, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 7

Gear: bow, arrows (16), dagger +1, helm, leather armor

Treasures: garnet (500 gp)

Wants: gold and experience; to protect Elm

The Ringlad brothers are twin rangers from the western Dalelands, a neighboring region of the Periphery. They were formerly members of Ivy’s adventuring party, but left after seeing too many deaths in the Shrine of Evil Chaos. The brothers are good-hearted but not particularly brave. They tried making money above ground for a while, hunting spiders and bandits in the Briarwood, but the paltry returns from that work have seen them leading their group back to the Haunted Halls.

Flarkin of Toadmarket

Dwarf 3        HP: 13       AC: 16        XP: 5,519        GP: 645 gp, 161 sp

Str 10, Dex 9, Con 9, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 3

Gear: axe, helm, leather armor, shield +1, dagger +1

Treasures: garnet (500 gp)

Wants: to make 2,000 gp so that he can cash out of adventuring and buy into his cousins’ business back in Toadmarket. He believes there is an untapped market for dwarf-made goods in Eveningstar, whose main source of metalwork comes from the halfling artisans of Molehill.

Flarkin is a disreputable and unpleasant old dwarf. He dreams of giving up the adventuring life, buying a pony cart, and becoming a traveling merchant instead. To that end, he hoards his gold and will not risk himself for others. Flarkin is not a natural warrior and has survived this long as an adventurer by playing it safe.

Dunsell the Daring

Paladin 1        HP: 8       AC: 13        XP: 111        GP: 75 gp, 41 sp

Str 9, Dex 7, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 10

Gear: sword, shield, helm, holy symbol

Skills: immune to disease, lay on hands (2 HP/day)

Wants: fame and glory

Dunsell is an idealistic (if unimpressive) young man with nothing but his sword, shield, and unswerving zeal. On his first adventure he refused to accept the surrender of some three-headed drakken, believing that their horns, claws, and black scaly hides were clear evidence of their evil natures.

Deyla

Beastmaster 1        HP: 7       AC: 10        XP: 111        GP: 77 gp, 41 sp

Str 12, Dex 6, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 10

Gear: shortsword, leather armor, lantern, oil, rope, bag of dried fireflies

Skills: identify tracks, +1 to Reaction Rolls with beasts

Wants: gems to feed Stonescale so he’ll grow larger and develop a more colorful shell.

Stonescale

Giant Gecko (Young)

HD 1+1 (HP 5), Attacks 1 x bite (1d6), Movement 120 (40), Morale 7

Usually rides on Deyla’s shoulders. Flashes his skull-gem at people who annoy him.

Growth Track: 0/2,000

Wants: chin scratches, food

Deyla is an old woman from the Border Hills near Guido’s Fort. She took up adventuring late in life after adopting Stonescale, her pet crystal lizard. Crystal lizards need to eat gems and valuable metals in order to grow, and Deyla wasn’t likely to find many rubies or emeralds as a charcoal burner’s widow.

Off On A Journey

Sasaran

Elf 2        HP: 12        AC: 14/15        XP: 4,313        GP: 206 gp, 33 sp

Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 5

Gear: bow, arrows (20), arrows +1 (6) sword, buckler, helmet, scroll of Light, Potion of Healing (x2)

Spells: Cure Light Wounds, Animal Friendship

Treasures: flute, ivory bracelet (100gp)

Languages: Elvish, a few words of Common

Riding: Starbrow, a riding horse

A young wood-elf, far from home. Sasaran was quiet and withdrawn while she was with the other PCs, but is talkative with Taravol. She agreed to leave Eveningstar with him if he would stay long enough to help the party complete the Quest for the Cursed Relics, where his help was instrumental in bringing Eldred the Enchanter back to life. While the other PCs were sad to see her go, Sasaran seems much happier to be traveling with another elf.

Taravol

Elf 3        HP: 18        AC: 17       XP: 8,234        GP: 765

Str 8, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 8

Gear: jeweled sword (100 gp), bow, arrows (20), helm, leather armor, mail, Rope of Climbing, scroll of Cure Light Wounds, scroll of Hold Person, Ring of Protection +1

Spells: Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, Hold Person

Languages: Elvish, a few words of Common

Riding: Arrow, a riding horse

Taravol is a little older than Sassaran (the elvish equivalent of mid-30s compared to Sassaran’s 20-something), and has a melancholy temperament. He and Sassaran hit it off the first time they met and have become fast friends. Taravol is braver and lighter of heart around Sasaran. Non-elves can’t tell if they’re in love or not, due to the slow pace of elvish courtship and the comparative lack of physical intimacy, but the two of them would probably say something annoying like “their hearts are aligned” or “they walk under the same star”.

The two elves are on a journey westward to Murth Gallen, Taravol’s home beyond the mountains. There Taravol intends to introduce Sassaran to his family. They will have to travel the Western Dalelands, win through the shadowy forests ruled by the infamous Knight of Ravenstone, and cross over or under the terrible mountain range known as the Dragon’s Tail before they come safely to Murth Gallen. The journey is sure to be filled with all sorts of adventures.

Deceased

• Pious Oddle (Cleric 1): knocked unconscious by a doppelganger, then abandoned by Flarkin when the Ringlad's party was attacked by a group of living statues.
• Berrybert of Molehill (Halfling 3): a greedy, no-good hobbit from a wealthy family. He stole Old Dolf's golden bowl, then became corrupted by the cursed relics in the Temple of Evil Chaos. Killed by Gimwort when he betrayed the party to protect his treasures.
• Alho Rengate (Fighter 1): a former merchant's guard. Rescued from the hobgoblins by Ivy Almyr and joined her party. Killed by skeletons in the Quest for the Cursed Relics. His reanimated corpse was put down by Ivy on the group's second attack on the temple.
• Welleran of the North (Fighter 1): Alho's fellow guardsman, met a similar fate. Slain by zombies, reanimated, and put down again by Ivy.
• Root the Wanderer (Druid 3): A member of Ivy's original party. Was banned from the Golden Unicorn for trying to inveigle the staff into "celebrating the druidic rites" at the party's first feast. Later killed fighting orcs in the Caves of Chaos.
• Dagger (Thief 1): A member of Ivy's original party. She was killed fighting orcs in the Caves of Chaos before we had a chance to learn much about her.

State of the Star

I say, I say, the Eveningstar, that is...

My Haunted Halls of Eveningstar solo game is sort of back after a long hiatus. Most of that delay is just down to personal and work stuff, plus doing different things with my hobby time. But I think some of it is because the solo game is (for me) in a bit of a lull. It’s the kind that periodically happens to regular RPG games too – I have a lot of interesting ideas for future places the campaign could go, but right now getting there feels like a bit of a slog. I think there are two main elements contributing to that.

1) The Cast Is Very Big

The game’s huge cast has mostly been one of the joys of playing a solo game, because it feels like something that would be hard to pull off in a regular game. On the other hand, managing three separate D&D parties takes a lot of time, and it feels to me like it’s pulling the focus away from the main PCs. It’s time that feels difficult to avoid as well, because everybody is on a separate time scale. With characters in the early middle level range and no magical healing, the main cast can go weeks between delves if they want to enter the dungeon at full HP. The Silver Daggers, on the other hand, are all low level, and 1d3 HP per day can see them back on their feet pretty quickly. Ivy, with two clerical casters and the need to move fast and break things, falls somewhere between the two. Using Errant’s abbreviated NPC dungeon crawling procedure was meant to speed all of this along, but as the situation for the NPC parties has gotten more complex I’ve felt the need to slow down and play out their sessions individually. I thought that Ivy’s plotline would resolve itself fairly quickly with an exciting attack on the town, but after her most recent session that feels like a doomed endeavor. She’d get wiped out pretty quickly by Eveningstar’s defenders, and her options for acquiring more troops are limited. At the same time she’s going to run into supply problems if she doesn’t move soon, and I’m not totally sure how to handle that.

2) The Haunted Halls Is A Boring Dungeon

Don’t get me wrong, I think it has some great touches. Ed Greenwood gives the module a nice French Vanilla fantasy flavor. But it’s big, it’s mostly dull, and the treasure placement gives level advancement a very weird pace (especially since I’m not using AD&D’s experience awards for magic items). My solution of filling in the Halls' many unkeyed rooms with random selections from B1 In Search of the Unknown and B3 Palace of the Silver Princess solved some immediate problems and has created interesting scenarios, but it still leaves the dungeon feeling incomplete, like it doesn't really hang together. There are too many secret doors gating off the cool stuff, too many layers of historical references that don't go anywhere, too many spooky little clues that seem designed to waste the players' time, and to top it off I’m not crazy about a lot of Greenwood’s puzzle and trap designs. I’d like to move the PCs on to more interesting adventures, but it feels wrong to leave the Haunted Halls unfinished and unresolved. It’s in the campaign’s name, after all. Still, as grateful as I am to the module for inspiring the tone and events of what has been a very rewarding experiment in solo gaming, at the moment the thought of clearing the rest of the Halls feels more like an obligation than anything else. 

What’s To Be Done?

With normal, in-person RPG groups, the answer is usually to just keep plowing through it because even bad D&D is still time spent hanging out with your friends. That might still be my solution here too, but I don’t want it to be the only one.

If it becomes clear that Ivy can’t attack the town soon, then I may move her offscreen for a while and use her warband as the basis to populate a dungeon. I could replace the forces in Hommlet’s moathouse or the castle in B12 Queen’s Harvest with her troops, maybe devising some method to simulate attrition and experience gains among the survivors. Having sworn not to return to Eveningstar until she can do so with fire and sword, her only real option besides an attack is heading north into the Stonelands and establishing herself as a bandit queen. That could be a fun campaign in itself, but it would massively balloon the game’s scope at a time when I’d like to narrow it some.

I think I’ll draw up a roster for total wandering monster populations in the Halls and start marking defeated enemies off of it – X living statues, Y curst, and so on. I’ve had a rough outline for populating the so-called Killing Keep, the kobold fortress that connects to the Halls, for a while now and I think I’ll go ahead and finish that as well, since I’ll need a total kobold population for the Halls and the module makes it seem like they mostly live in the Keep and send guards and patrols down into the Halls. If the PCs start tackling that area, then getting some faction play into the mix could liven up the Halls a bit as well. I may also implement some element of time pressure for clearing them. Emelda is roughly 8 weeks pregnant at this point, so she may know by now. That alone might be enough for Trigg, with a baby on the way and the Sunbold Farm nearly 2,000 gp away from “Functional”. I might do something with Lady Winter as well – maybe if words gets around to her about the magical moving frescoes in the throne room she might want to hire a team of skilled artisans from Molehill to retrieve them for her castle, and would want the Halls cleared out enough for them to work in peace.

If I ever tie up the loose ends around Eveningstar, I’d like to send the PCs into the Stonelands for some Dragon Magazine mini-modules, and maybe B5 Horror on the Hill. I also plotted out a journey for Sassaran and Taravol’s adventures that would take them into O2 Blade of Vengeance, an elf-themed solo module. Maybe get the whole gang back together again for one last job after they’ve each killed a dragon, or send them north for the linked series of Viking-themed Dragonsfoot adventures called Her Dark Majesty (Where the Fallen Jarls Sleep, Beneath Black Towen, Stormcrows Gather, and Mistress of the Ghost City). Of course, I may stop playing long before then, and in-game events could take things off in quite a different direction. We'll see!

Tale of the Black Sword 4 – Blood for the Blood God

August 15, a little after 2pm

Last time, Ivy made an alliance with the newly-exiled gnoll Widestripe and his handful of followers. Widestripe had lost the election to become the clan’s new leader to his brother Horsebiter after Ivy killed their father in a duel. He wanted her help to kill his brother and gain control of the clan. Widestripe has only a fuzzy idea of what swearing fealty means, but does understand that the deal is that if he fights for Ivy she’ll reward him with gold, and if he doesn’t she’ll kill him.

Ivy’s picked fighters assaulted the narrow entryway to the gnoll cave, taking several wounds but managing to kill Horsebiter. The gnoll clan’s elder, Greypelt, attempted to surrender. Ivy would have been happy to add the surviving gnolls to her warband but Heinryk the Hero, overcome with his berserk’s battle-lust, slew Greypelt. The last two gnolls lost a morale check and fled deeper into the cave, where two of their fellows guard a long tunnel with bows at the ready.

That’s where the action resumes. The rest of this session was one long, complicated combat, with the action eventually breaking out across three different fronts.

Cast of Characters

Ivy’s Warband

The warband is split into three groups:

Ivy & Her Champions

• Ivy Blackstar – Fighter 4. Wields Blackstar, her +2 sword, and has sworn to conquer the town of Eveningstar.

• Nogi of Firedeep – Dwarf 2

• Heinryk the Hero – Fighter 4. A berserk.

• Harg – A bugbear

• Widestripe – a gnoll

• Bent-Tail – a gnoll, one of Widestripe’s supporters

• Three-Laughs – another one of Widestripe’s supporters. Killed by arrows in the initial charge

Ivy and the champions lead the van of the assault.

Mothclaw’s Band

• Mothclaw – Orc 1. Ivy’s loyal lieutenant.

• Urskrag & Luggog – orcs

• Rangrop – a goblin

• Dorben – Dwarf 2

• Drunvir & Reedle – Elf 1

Mothclaw’s group formed the second wave of the attack.

Ambrosius’ Band

• Ambrosius – Cleric 3. Former leader of the cult of evil chaos that the main party destroyed. With the help of the cult’s relics (now lost) he reanimated King Rivior’s body as a wight, and knows whose spirit inhabits Ivy’s helm. Plotting to become the power behind the throne as Ivy’s councilor.

• Dedbane, Golgob, & Wolfeye – hobgoblins. Unhappy about taking orders from an orc.

• Robart & Delgert – Fighter 1. Robart is an old bandit and former merchant’s guard. Delgert is his adult daughter.

Ambrosius and his troop remain outside the cave, to secure the warband’s retreat or to act as reinforcements as needed.

THE LOG

Tale of the Black Sword 3 – How Ivy Would Have Practiced Her Art Upon the Gnolls

"And they have berserks with them. Such men are hard to kill"

Cast of Characters

Ivy Blackstar – Fighter 4. Ivy is being influenced by the ghost of King Rivior, the pagan ruler of Old Eveningstar, who inhabits her cursed raven-winged helmet. She wields Blackstar, Rivior’s +2 sword, and has sworn to conquer the town of Eveningstar. Unlike a party of adventurers who split loot evenly, Ivy runs her warband like a ruler. All of the treasure belongs to her and then is redistributed on a strict but uneven basis. Her champions and lieutenant receive double shares, while everyone else receives a single share. Additional treasures are distributed as gifts, at Ivy’s discretion.

Ivy’s Warband

• Ambrosius – Cleric 3. Former leader of the cult of evil chaos that the main party destroyed. With the help of the cult’s relics (now lost) he reanimated King Rivior’s body as a wight, and knows whose spirit inhabits Ivy’s helm. Plotting to become the power behind the throne as Ivy’s councilor.

• Nogi of Firedeep – Dwarf 2. An exile who has sworn to seek death in battle, as his missing eye, horrible facial scarring, and refusal to wear armor can attest. One of Ivy’s champions, though terrified of her.

• Heinryk the Hero – Fighter 4. A berserk. One of Ivy’s champions.

• Harg – A bugbear, formerly enslaved by his own kin. One of Ivy’s champions.

• Mothclaw – Orc 1. Ivy’s loyal lieutenant.

• Urskrag & Luggog – orcs of Mothclaw’s band.

• Dedbane, Golgob, & Wolfeye – hobgoblins. Unhappy about taking orders from an orc.

• Rangrop – a goblin. Takes a philosophical approach about changes in leadership.

• Robart & Delgert – Fighter 1. Robart is an old bandit and former merchant’s guard. Delgert is his adult daughter.

• Dorben – Dwarf 2. A Stonelands dwarf who has spent most of his life enslaved by various orc and goblin tribes.

• Drunvir & Reedle – Elf 1. Wild elves from the Stonelands.

August 15th

In the small hours of the morning, a small band of gnolls approaches the cave. They make no attempt at stealth and hail the sentries, seeking audience with the “Black Bitch-Chieftain”. Fortunately Harg the bugbear is on watch duty, and Harg understands the gnoll tongue and their idioms well enough to know that this description is not meant to be insulting – gnolls do not have a word for a female warleader. Ivy is roused, and the gnolls are eventually invited inside the cave. With Harg acting as translator, she holds a parlay with the gnolls' leader.

He turns out to be Widestripe, the younger of Corpse-Eater’s two surviving sons. After Ivy killed his father in the duel in the Starwater, Widestripe and his brother Horsebiter stood election for control of the clan. Most of the clan’s fighters sided with Horsebiter, and Widestripe fled with the two warriors loyal to him, Bent-Tail and Three-Laughs, along with his three wives Redmane, Long-Heat, and Dainty, his full-mother Damsontongue, and his half-mother Birdcatcher. They are also accompanied by three young gnolls: Widestripe’s two younger half-sisters and his son by Redmane. The children either do not have names, or Widestripe does not consider their names worth mentioning (Harg is unclear on which). Widestripe has fled with his household because as the winner of the election Horsebiter would have confiscated his property (including his wives) and killed his son. Widestripe would have had to fight to prevent this, and with only two warriors backing him he would have almost certainly been killed. Widestripe does not appear upset about this exactly – it is customary for clans to split up after an election, and the winners only try to stop the losers from leaving if they try to abscond with property that does not belong to them – but he would prefer to stay in Starwater Gorge. Instead of leaving for the Stonelands, why doesn’t the Black Bitch-Chieftain help him kill his brother? They can go to the gnoll cave, kill Horsebiter and any other males that resist, take the females, and split the goods. Then Ivy can have her side of the valley, and Widestripe will have his. They can work out details about hunting rights and so on later.

Ivy counteroffers: Widestripe swears fealty to her. When they take the gnoll cave, *everything* is hers. She’ll reward him with her treasure if he fights well, but he follows her orders and gives up all claims to the valley. Widestripe doesn’t understand the idea of swearing service. The closest term Harg can find in Gnoll is “tribute-gift”, which offends Widestripe. Ivy tries again in simpler terms, and Harg says she is demanding that Widestripe’s gnolls join her clan. Widestripe is confused, and offended again. The leader of a clan is the breeding male. Is she threatening to fuck him? Offering? Nobody fucks Widestripe! He’ll kill anyone who tries! Widestripe reaches for his battle-axe as Bent-Tail and Three-Laughs snarl. Redmane snorts (a vote of approval for the coming fight). Nogi hefts his axe and Mothclaw growls orders to his troops. Ivy does not stir, but her clear voice rings out above the din: “Tell this animal to sit down or he’ll get what his father got.” Harg provides the translation, but Widestripe seems to have gotten the message from her tone alone. The gnolls hunker, and Harg explains the difficulty to Ivy. Eventually she is able to explain the situation to Widestripe in simple terms.

“Fight for me and I will give you gold. Refuse, and I will kill you.” Widestripe accepts the terms.

As proof of her good word, Ivy gives Widestripe 50 gold pieces. The gnolls swear the vow of fealty given to the old Eveningstar kings (reciting the words of the foreign language phonetically as they are given them) and the war-council begins. Damsontongue is able to draw a map of the gnoll cave while Widestripe describes the usual defenses. The cave is always guarded by four sentries with bows. If intruders are spotted, one guard runs to alert the chief while the others shoot arrows at the attackers. In the face of determined assault, the sentries retreat into the cave, where the entire band can hold a chokepoint at a narrow place. If this fails, the survivors retreat down a long tunnel, where they can take cover and shoot arrows at their attackers. The module states that the secret door to the gnoll cave is “unknown to all”, so as far as Widestripe can tell Ivy this is the only way into the cave.

Ivy divides her force into three groups. She, Heinryk, Harg, Nogi, and the gnolls will form the vanguard. They will break the line, seek out Horsebiter, and kill him. The orcs and hobgoblins, led by Mothclaw, will form the second wave. Their job will be to secure the guard room at J47. The rest of the warband will remain outside of the cave under the leadership of Ambrosius to secure their retreat. The hobgoblins complain about the arrangements. Dedbane grumbles about taking orders from an orc, and Wolfeye complains that the orcs will push them to the front and then take all of the good plunder. Drunvir the wild elf, who speaks Goblin, suddenly laughs. If the hobgoblins are too frightened to fight, he says, let them cower outside under the wizard’s protection (meaning Ambrosius). He, Reedle, and Dorben the dwarf will change places. Ivy agrees to the change, cutting off further argument.

It is nearly 2 pm when they march to war.

THE LOG

The gnolls in the cave see the warband coming a long way off. With Widestripe loping along at Ivy’s side in the front rank, the warband’s intentions are clear. The sentries send a runner to alert Horsebiter. The runner has time to deliver the message and return before the warband enters arrow range. Ivy’s party will have to endure three rounds of arrow volleys before they reach the cave mouth (one at each range band).

TURN 1 – Combat

Round 1

Three-Laughs is struck with an arrow for 6 damage (2/8 HP). The warband breaks into a run.

Round 2

Nogi takes an arrow-wound (9/16 HP). The warband continues to run.

Round 3

Four arrows fly at murderously close range now. An arrow nicks Harg’s ear (11/14 HP). Widestripe is struck in the chest (5/10 HP), and Three-Laughs is killed outright. Widestripe and Bent-Tail test Morale, but charge on.

Round 4

The gnoll archers win initiative and scramble inside before the warband reaches them. They run past the chokepoint, where six of their waiting fellows close ranks behind them to block the hallway. Two archers will proceed down the long tunnel to J47, preparing the gnolls’ line of retreat, while the other two join the second rank of the defensive line. All told, eight gnolls in two ranks will hold the narrow pass. Burn, Shakes, Smiler, and Halfmouth are in the front line, armed with shield and axe. Horsebiter and his councilor Greypelt stand in the second rank, wielding long-hafted axes. Stinktooth and Gnawbone join them with their bows.

As the warband enters the cave Horsebiter calls out to the brother Widestripe, calling him “beggar-bitch,” “cringer,” and “hand-licker”. Greypelt snarls “Go now!” in Common. Only two fighters can attempt to force the chokepoint at a time, while all seven gnolls can strike back. “Heinryk, with me” says Ivy. The Hero twirls his axe and grins, a cruel light dancing in his mad eyes.

Round 5

Shields boom as the lines meet. Ivy’s blade Blackstar darts past Burn’s shield and into his one good eye, killing him. Heinryk kills Shakes, the most reckless gnoll in the clan, with a single mighty blow of his axe. The gnoll goes down without a sound, gnashing his foam-flecked teeth at Heinryk as he dies. The gnolls test Morale and fight on.

Round 6

Heinryk strikes Smiler for 5 damage, and the wounded gnoll yips with distressed laughter from behind his perpetual rictus snarl. Horsebiter catches Heinryk in the shoulder with his pole-axe (18/24 HP).

Round 7

Ivy kills Halfmouth, Blackstar shearing through his muzzle and scattering his few remaining fangs, and pushes forward into the weakened gnoll line. Nogi moves into the breach, brandishing his great axe.

Round 8

Ivy stabs Horsebiter in the footpaw, ducking under his guard just as she did to his father (5/10 HP). Nogi kills with wounded Smiler, then takes a second arrow to the chest (3/16 HP). Harg pushes into the melee, and the gnoll archers draw their axes as the formal battle lines degenerate into a chaotic melee.

Round 9

Ivy pushes the limping Horsebiter off balance and disembowels him with Blackstar. At the same time, Heinryk deals Greypelt a savage blow (1/9 HP). Greypelt drops his axe. “No more! You win” calls the old gnoll. The other gnolls prepare to surrender, following his lead. Ivy tells the warband to stand down, pleased to have left most of the gnoll clan intact. She could use fighters like this in her march on Eveningstar.

Round 10

Heinryk, laughing, buries his axe in Greypelt’s head. His eyes are red with battle-fever, his teeth shining white behind his bloodstained beard. The surviving gnolls break and run.

Continued in part 2...