Roses & Wyght - Chapter 6

(Read the previous chapter here.)

Game System: Adventurers! (affiliate link)

Tools: rpgsolo.com solo engine; playeveryrole.com solo engine; UNE; alea iactanda est: Rumours Table; other random generators

Setup

Using the Rumour Table I came up with the story that Tristan told the PC’s. The details will be presented in the narrative.

Per rules, a single night of sleep is sufficient for the PC’s to recover back to full END.

[Scene 1]

The following morning the Rosemights and Harper Wyghtwing sit around the breakfast table at the Faint Mule Hostel as Naglen, the halfling innkeeper, serves them a hearty meal of hotcakes and ham. Following their battle with the Huntsmen the previous day, the bard Tristan was able to catch the attention of one of King’s Guard, a friend of his, and vouch for the PC’s innocent involvement in the altercation. The Guard took note of the group, but, being aware of the Huntsmen’s reputation, did not detain them.

The four then went to a nearby tavern to discuss what Tristan knew about the assassin’s guild. Much of the information was not new. However, the bard did claim to have a particular lady friend named Cherry who was a “working girl” at the Snowflake House, a local brothel. According to Cherry, many of the girls, including herself, have entertained the Huntsmen at one of their safe houses. Furthermore, there seemed to be an increase in the number of Huntsmen visiting the city in recent days. Tristan passed on the location of the house based on what he was told, as he had never been there himself and is only relying on Cherry’s word. (Tristan’s reaction roll on the Rumour Table was enough to warrant the first Truth Die roll, which was a 3.)

As the three eat breakfast, they discuss what they know in hushed tones.

“How much do we trust Tristan?” Leira asks.

“Him I trust,” Harper replies. “It’s Cherry’s story I’m more wary of. Tristan can’t confirm it first hand and she’s in a profession that is based more on acting and fantasy than reality. She could just be trying to impress Tristan.”

“Why don’t we just go to the King’s Guard and tell them about the Huntsmen?” Bhartram suggests.

“And tell them what?” Harper asks. “The Huntsmen are no secret to them. If they had some solid grounds, maybe they would put them in jail already. Right now we have to assume they don’t.”

“We know they have something planned soon.” Leira perks up. “Rod said Shylock was in town for something important. The conversation Bhart overheard at the gem cutters, as well as the possibility that there are more Huntsmen in the city, both suggest that something is planned for this week.”

“But what? We have nothing except rumors.”

“Why don’t you ask someone who might actually know something instead of just whispering among yourselves?” Surprised at the new voice, the three turn to see Naglen standing with her hands on her hips, staring at the group. Bhart, Leira and Harper share a guilty look.

“Don’t be so surprised. You three are terrible at keeping a secret. Your ‘whispers’ can be heard all the way to the kitchen.”

“How much have you heard,” Bhart inquires.

“You’re in town looking for the Huntsmen. Not a very smart endeavor, if you ask me. Anyway, one of them killed your father and you want justice. Heh. Who are you kidding? You want revenge. Your best leads have come from a 12-year-old stable hand and a common whore who you’ve never met. You think something big is up, but you haven’t even asked any of the locals . . . like me . . . what might be going on in the city. You’d best pack up your things and head back home. You have no business hunting assassins.”

Naglen begins picking up empty dishes as Leira, Harper and Bhart look sheepishly at each other.

“So, Naglen,” Leira dares as the halfling heads back to the kitchen, long red hair trailing behind her. “What is happening in Duskcall?”

Naglen stops, turns around and addresses the blonde girl. “Tomorrow is the Sacrament of Fortitude.” [RG]

After a few moments, Harper speaks for the group. “Excuse our ignorance, but the Sacrament of Fortitude?”

Naglen rolls her eyes. “You’ve been searching for information and you don’t even know about the Sacrament celebration? Why do you think you can even do this? Never mind.” Naglen symbolically brushes away the thought with a flick of her hand. “The Sacrament of Fortitude is a yearly celebration where we remember Duskcall’s victory over the surrounding baron lords hundreds, possibly a thousand years ago. In that day Arigord was controlled by a number of barons and there was no unified rule. As you can image, fights and conflict broke out. Lord Logan Winchester [RG] wanted to unite the baronies into a single unit controlled by a king. While he held a lot of support, several of the more ambitious land owner’s disagreed and war waged on for several years until Winchester and his supporters found themselves under siege here in Duskcall. Lord Winchester called for all the citizens to abandon their tasks, businesses and other duties to take up arms to defend the city. Not only did they prevail, but they were able to advance the battle beyond the walls and defeat their opponents. The battle positioned Duskcall to become the Capital of Arigord and Logan Winchester its first King.

“The Church of the Creator acknowledged God’s divine assistance in the battle and its clerics ordained the yearly celebration, declaring it a sacrament, thanking the Creator for blessing the city with the fortitude needed to fend off the invasion.

“Every year all businesses close for the afternoon and the people gather at the plaza in front of the castle to hear speeches from King Angelo and the head clerics. The addresses culminate in the ringing of the church bells. This is followed by feasting and partying for the rest of the evening.”

Bhart, Leira, and Harper listen intently as the innkeeper fills them in. When she finishes Bhart is the first to speak up.

“So the King will be out in public, making him a prime target for assassins.”

“But I’m sure he is going to be well protected,” Leira states.

“Yes,” Harper agrees. “But if the Huntsmen are being well compensated they might take the chance.”

“Or they don’t have a choice,” suggests Bhart. “Maybe if you’re a member of the guild you do as you are told. No questions asked.”

“Another possibility,” Harper adds, “Is that they have infiltrated the King’s Guard and have men on the inside.” He turns back to their host who is still standing just inside the doorway to the kitchen. “What else do you know about the Huntsmen and anything they might be planning?”

Does Naglen know anything else about the Huntsmen's plans?

(50/50 | 4[d10]) No +Event: Kill / Portals  - Focus: PC positive

Naglen stares back at Harper as an embarrassed look crosses her face. “Uh, nothing.”

Bhart tosses his head back and sighs. “I thought you just said you were well informed!”

Leira nudges her brother under the table, letting him know he was out of line. Naglen quickly recovers and scowls at the young craftsman as she shoots back.

“What I meant was, if you need information about the city you should be talking to people who may hear stories about what’s going on. I run a hostel. My brother is the stable master at The Scarlett Bear. My cousin runs a tavern. What do we all have in common?” The fiery halfling only gives them a second to respond. “We have contact with a lot of people, especially travelers, and we hear all sorts of tales. Now, I can talk to Oldack and Hattia and see if they’ve heard anything, but you three need to start working smarter, or the Creator’s clerics might be performing last rites over you once the Sacrament is over.”

With that Nagel spins around and marches out of the room.

Does Bhart want Leira to come along to the Hunstman house?

(Unlikely [protect sister]| 1[d10]) No, and... +Event: Delay / Suffering (Since I already have an event I have to deal with, I am choosing to dismiss this new one. Besides, isn’t this entire adventure already serving that purpose by delaying Bhart’s and Leira’s grieving over their dead father?)

After Nagel leaves they discuss checking up on Tristan’s/Cherry’s story about the safe house. Bhart makes it clear that, if they encounter assassins, it would be safer if Leira remains behind.  He insists that he and Harper go alone. Harper agrees with Bhart, which surprises Leira as she expected the huntsman to stick up for her. If no one else was going to, she sure would. Leira strongly protests, primarily on the grounds that she was perfectly capable of handling herself in any situation. Besides that, she is still the only one of the three who saw any of the people they were specifically looking for and they needed her in that capacity. In a rare show of solidarity, Bhart and Harper both object and try to convince Leira to stay at the hostel, but in the end she flat out tells them she will follow as soon as they leave unless they tie her up, something neither was going to do. Eventually, the men accept defeat and they go back to their planning.

[Scene 2]

The three leave the hostel about an hour later and head toward the part of the city where Tristan indicated they would find the safe house. All three were fully armed with swords and daggers. Harper also brought his bow along.

“So, has anyone thought about what we are going to do to Shylock if we find him?” Leira asked.

“I’d like to see him dead!” Bhart said plainly.

“I’m sure the Guard won’t take kindly to citizens killing other citizens unprovoked, even if they deserve it,” Harper suggests. “We were lucky before in that Tristan could vouch for us. We may not be so convincing next time.”

“I guess we’ll just figure it out when we find him,” Bhart resolves.

“It’s like the ending to that epic song the bards perform,” Leira remembers. “You know the one, Three Postings on an Ebbingstown Notice Board.”

Begin event with a recognition roll for Leira: [2d6]=3 Unsure

NPC perception check: 3<7 Fail

As they continue down the street they pass by several shops. Passing by an ink maker [RG], a patron exits, nearly bumping into Harper. Without looking in their direction, the patron barely apologizes and moves on.

Leira takes a breath. “Hey, maybe I’m just hoping, but he might be one of the men I saw at the Filthy Princess.”

Perception checks: Leira: [2d6] 8+5 MND = 13>7 Success

                              Harper: [2d6] 8+3 MND = 7=7 Success

                              Bhart: [2d6] 8+3 MND = 11>7 Success

Is there an identifier on the man?

(50/50 | 7[d10]) Yes

C.D. = Rudely / Rare (Well, that’s obviously a Huntsman’s dagger.)

The group examines the stranger and it doesn’t take them long to spot the now very identifiable pommel of a Huntsman dagger fitted with a red gem. Leira picks up the pace to engage the man.

“Hey! Stop!”

NPC recognition roll (+2 due to seeing Leira before): [2d6] 6+2=8 Safe Assumption

NPC reaction roll (-1 assassin): [2d6] 11-1=10 No attack, leaves

The stranger turns around and looks at the curly haired blonde woman approaching. At first, he’s confused, but then his eyes widen with a spark of recognition. The stranger turn and runs. Leira, Bhart, and Harper take chase.

Group chase rolls are based on slowest fugitive (1 AGI) and fastest pursuer (2 AGI).

Both succeeded 3 out of 4 rolls, however, the PCs failing roll happened to be critical, therefore, I’ll say that breaks the tie and the group is unable to catch the fleeing man.

The Huntsman runs down the side of the street close to the storefronts. Leira leads the group of PCs but Harper soon passes her and begins to close the distance with the fleeing man.  Sensing his pursuers gaining, the Huntsman reaches out and tries to knock over some boxes, hoping they will slow down those behind him. Harper easily dodges the first and tries to jump over a second. Unfortunately, his foot catches on the corner and he tumbles, allowing his target to get some distance.

As they approach an intersection, the fleeing assassin sprints through it without looking. At the same time, a merchant driving a horse-drawn cart is traveling across the road and the two collide. The assassin goes down under the horse and is run over by one of the cart’s wheels before the merchant can stop.

He will be hit. Question is how badly. Will assume at least minimum damage for each hoof and wheel. Rolls will determine any extra damage.

How many hooves trample him? [1d3-1]: 2

Damage: Two hooves and 1 wheel cause 5 damage, but armor absorbs 2. Huntsman is down to 2 END.

While several hooves trample the unfortunate huntsman, none land squarely on his head or torso. Furthermore, he has enough sense to try to scoot out of the way of the cartwheel but is only partially successful as his leg [RG] still gets run over.

Is the Huntsman able to get to his feet before the PCs get to him?

(50/50 | 1[d10]) No, and...

The injured man attempts to stand, but as soon as he puts pressure on his leg he realizes it is broken and falls back to the earth. Harper arrives at the man’s side first, quickly followed by Leira and Bhart. Ignoring the crowd that is beginning to gather they shout questions at him.

“Where is Shylock?” “What do the Huntsmen have planned?”

Does the Huntsman speak?

(50/50 | 7[d10]) Yes

UNE: Knowing - account - previous scene

The man looks at Harper with mirth in his eyes. “You can’t do anything. It’s too well planned.”

“What is?” Harper demands.

“The death of the king.” As he says this, he strikes out at Harper with his dagger. Fortunately, Harper anticipated the assassin’s actions and had an eye on his hand. When he saw the man go for his weapon he turned to avoid the strike. Countering quickly, Harper drives his own knife into the man’s side, killing him instantly. [Assassin failed to surprise and missed. Harper had a “higher ground” advantage and hit for 2 END]

“Somebody get a healer!” Harper calls out, quickly scanning the crowd to see if there are any King’s Guard. [(Very Unlikely | 4[d10]) No]  As more on-lookers begin to gather he whispers to the others, “We should mix with the crowd and try to slip away.” He gets up and backs up from the body. Bhart follows suit, but Leira does a quick search of the body before joining the other two.

Does she take the dagger?

(Unlikely (evidence against the man) | 1[d10]) No, and…

She does not see any pouches but does notice a scrap of paper sticking out of a pocket. She retrieves it but decides not to look at it here. She briefly considers grabbing the assassins dagger but decides to leave it, thinking that, if the event is investigated, the unique knife might identify him as a rogue and the assumption can be made that he was up to no good. (and) As insurance, however, Leira decides to plant some seeds in the ears of those around.

“Were you attacked?” she calls out before following after Harper. Hopefully, she thinks, someone will remember that and tell the Guard we were defending ourselves.

Bhart, Harper, and Leira make their way to the edge of the crowd and continue down the street. No one seems to pay them much interest as they turn a corner and travel a few blocks to a tavern. They grab seats around a table, order some drinks, and discuss their next move.

Leira pulls out the paper and opens it for all to read. They are surprised and pleased at what they have found. It appears to be a set of instructions. The possessor of the note was supposed to gather intelligence from inside the castle that might be useful in the assassination plot scheduled for the Sacrament of Fortitude. The note mentions that the spy should access the castle through a tunnel system that leads from the castle to a nearby building. Finally, any information is to be relayed to Shylock at the safe house the morning of the attack.

“Wow!” Bhart exclaims. “This is a gem!”

“It certainly confirms our suspicions about the celebration.” Leira agrees.

“We should bring this to the King’s Guard,” Bhart suggests.

“Perhaps,” Harper hesitantly agrees before a mischievous smile forms on his lips. “Or we can investigate this and perhaps stop it ourselves.”

Leira’s eyes brighten at the thought of adventure. Bhartram, however, is not so sure.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. The Guard are trained for this. Furthermore, if we don’t learn anything, that doesn’t leave the Guard much time to prepare.”

“C’mon, Rosie,” Harper urges, using a nickname he knows annoys the trap maker. “I thought you wanted to avenge your father?”

“I do, but an assassination plot is more than we can handle.”

“Then how about we just see what more we can learn about this plot before going to the Guard?” Leira suggests, not wanting to pass up on any excitement. “All we have is a note that anyone could have written. Do we even know if we will be listened to or believed?”

Response check: The PC gives: an agreeable response

Bhart looks at the other two unconvinced, but realizing that he will probably be outvoted he gives in, if not for anything else to keep an eye on his sister. “So what do we do?” he asks.

The two options are investigate the safe house or investigate the tunnel to the castle. Each PC will vote on an option, with the outcome being weighted in favor of the tunnel as the note is potentially more valid than the rumors about the safe house. [1d6] 1-2: safe house, 3-6 tunnel.

Bhart: 1 Safe house

Leira: 5 Tunnel

Harper: 5 Tunnel

Bhart tries to convince the group to check out the Safe House, believing that watching a building is less likely to involve direct conflict than going into a tunnel that is known to be used by the enemy. Also, if Shylock is there, they might be able to end this faster. The other two, however, find the excitement of exploring the tunnels much more tantalizing. In the end, the group finishes their drinks and heads out to find the building mentioned in the note.

End of Chapter 6

Wrap up:

No EXP or HER are awarded for this session. Unless anything exceptional happens, 1 EXP every two chapters seems about right, since it feels like two chapters approximately equals one face-to-face session.

For anyone interested, the Recognition and Reaction rolls we made using homemade tables based on this article.

Thoughts of Chapter 6

The second scene was run pretty much like some of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” games where the ultimate ending is predetermined but the path you take to get there might vary greatly. Based on the Kill/Portals event, I knew that the death of a Huntsman was going to provide the PCs with information about the tunnel (or portal to the castle). I imagined various ways this could occur and let the Oracle decide. For a moment I feared the Huntsman would not be killed. (Who would have expected someone to survive a horse trampling and being run over by a cart.) What then, I’m not sure. Eventually, however, all went as hoped and a further opportunity to confirm the assassination plot was offered by the Huntsman’s dying words.

(Read the next chapter here.)