(Read the final chapter here.)
If you are reading this, I have to assume that you have finished my Roses & Wyght campaign and have enjoyed it enough to make it this far. Once again, thanks for reading. I wanted to make one last big post in this thread to tie up some loose ends. First of all, there was a lot going on behind the scenes in the last chapter that I wanted to share with you. Next, early in the story, I promised that I would relay some of the background I generated regarding Shylock and his motivations for assassinating the King. Finally, since this was my first solo roleplaying experience, I wanted to make a few observations about the experience.
The Final Chapter
At some point while I was going through this story, I thought about how interesting it would be if the Captain of the King’s Guard was involved with the plot to assassinate the King. Because I was playing solo it would have been perfectly fine to make this decision on my own, but since this would normally be information the player wouldn’t know I really felt I should keep myself in the dark as to that fact as long as possible. Coming into the final scene, I knew certain events would be shaped by the Captain’s allegiances. Therefore, it was time for an oracle question.
To be as fair and unbiased as possible, I asked a straightforward question with a 50/50 likelihood.
Is Captain Fiststeel in on the plan?
(50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes
I had some ideas of what to do in the case of “ands” and “buts”, however those weren’t necessary. So, now that I knew she was the enemy I could set the scene to reflect that. The first way this affected events was in the positioning of the King’s Guard on the dais. It would be expected that the senior ranking Guard (i.e. the Captain) would be positioned closest to the King. Instead, I had the Captain place herself the furthest from the King and Shylock right next to him, putting the assassin in the best position to perform the deed. (I also randomly determined that one other Guard would really be a Huntsman and positioned him about midway between Shylock and the Captain).
The next thing the Captain did that would have been out of character for someone trying to protect the King was to send the guards from the stage away to investigate the disturbances. Of course, the disturbances were orchestrated by the Huntsmen to draw attention away from the stage, as well as give the Captain a reason to send several of the Guards away. If protecting the King was truly a top priority, it would be unlikely that the Captain would send them away, knowing there were already other King’s Guard patrolling the plaza and the crowd.
The final thing the Captain did to facilitate the assassination attempt was to react slowly once Bhart leaped on stage. I let her hesitate one turn longer than all the other Guards, giving Shylock a little more time to accomplish his task and escape. Of course, it would be suspicious if she did nothing at all, so she eventually had to engage in the melee, but a bit more on that later.
I knew there would be a chance that Captain Fiststeel’s actions might raise questions. I had the PC’s make perception checks at each of the above events. I started with a -2 modifier on the roll since they would initially suspect nothing, and increased that modifier by 2 each time they noticed something to simulate growing suspicion. I did not expect that any of the PC’s would come to the certain conclusion that the Captain was a trader, but I wanted them to have some clues in case I continue the storyline in a later campaign. No one suspected anything about the Guard’s positions on the stage. Bhart, Leira, and Harper all thought it was odd that the Captain would send the Guards into the crowd. All four noticed she was slow to act. Narratively, I presented these observations as part of the PC’s conversation as they left the Plaza.
Finally, I had a few ideas for Shylock should he be captured alive. In the epilogue I could have had Captain Fiststeel either let him rot in jail, slip him a key so he could escape, or poison his food to ensure that he kept silent about her involvement. As it turns out, in Turn 10 I made an oracle check to see if Tristan, who was the first to reach the stage, was going to try to warn the Captain about Shylock. The result was “No” he wouldn’t, but there was an event attached to the response: Passion/Competition. My interpretation was that the Captain felt very strongly (passion) about keeping her involvement secret, thus maintaining her position in the King’s Guard. To do so, it was important that she eliminate anything that would reveal her secret (competition). At that point, I knew Shylock had to die, either in battle or in jail. The result of the battle took care of that, but I was still able to use the poisoning idea in the epilogue with the remaining Huntsman.
Shylock’s Motivation
The fact that Shylock and company were heading to Duskcall to assassinate the King was hatched in my own head. However, I was not sure of his motivation. Sometime around Chapter 4 I used various tools to generate a backstory in case I needed to include any of those details during the campaign. As it turns out, very little of that story was actually revealed, but I did promise to share it once the campaign was over. If I continue this story in the future there is a possibility that some of this will be pertinent. If you don’t want to be spoiled, just skip past the purple text.
First I rolled a d2 to determine why Shylock wanted to murder the King.
Is Shylock’s reason 1) personal, or 2) is he hired for the job?
1d2=2 hired for the job
Next, I used UNE’s NPC generator to determine a description of who hired Shylock. The result was “Needy Merchant.”
Next, using BOLD I came up with an arched waylay, using the previously determined “Needy Merchant wants the King assassinated” as the Theme. I rolled up three nested waylays as follows:
Accidental (knowledge) enigma overcome on accident
Malevolent (Physical) Trap overcome by personal resources
Forbidden (Haven) Conclave overcome by avoidance
The last bit of information I needed was what kind of business the merchant ran. Using the Complex Description button on RPGSolo I generated “Mysteriously/Valuable.”
Using all that I came up with the following story:
The person who hired Shylock is Orcan Nightstrider [RG], a sex trafficker/enslaver. He bought young girls and boys and raised them to be slaves, primarily for sexual entertainment. One such young woman, Hulda [RG], was befriended by a member of the King’s Guard who was unaware of her profession. The guardsman was smitten with her and often tried to court her. Time after time she refused, but for no good reason. (In reality, she was a slave and couldn’t get in a personal relationship.) (accidental enigma-why is she not interested in courting?) While acting for the King on an unrelated matter, this guardsman discovered Hulda in the company of a criminal they were arresting, thus discovering her secret (overcome by accident), that she was Orcan’s slave. Realizing that Hulda was a victim of an illegal slave trade, the guardsman reported his finding to the court. As a result, King Angelo increased the efforts to eliminate slavery and sex trafficking in the Kingdom of Arigord. Part of this effort was to organize a sting operation to trap Orcan (malevolent trap) and put an end to his organization. Orcan, however, had people who were associated with the King’s men (personal resources [i.e. Captain Flinsteel, though I obviously didn’t know this at the time]) and was tipped off in advance about the operation. As a result, he was able to escape capture. Orcan realized that his business was in danger as long as the King stayed on the throne. Therefore, he arranged a meeting with a mercenary he was well acquainted with, Shylock (Forbidden conclave). Orcus hired Shylock to see that the King was assassinated. At the very least, the disorganization within the monarchy would give Orcus time to secure his business. At best, the new ruler would be sympathetic to Orcus’ trade. The plan was carefully kept secret, for if word got out the King would be on alert. As of the time of this story, things have been kept quiet and King Angel is unsuspecting of any danger.(avoidance of any information being leaked)
Other Observations
As this was my first solo roleplay, I didn’t know what to expect. Running combat was pretty straightforward since that was handled by the rule system. But what about everything else? How would exploration, conversation, and investigation work when I am supposed to be the ignorant player, but also the GM who drives the story? Furthermore, in this particular campaign, I was tossed right into the fire since the first several chapters were primarily conversation and investigation. Through the process, I learned to love tools like UNE, BOLD, RPGsolo, PlayEveryRole, and a multitude of random word, dungeon and item generators. Coming up with stories like Shylock and Tristan’s backgrounds were some of my favorite things to do.
I do have to say that I am impressed with what unexpectedly grew out of seemingly random information. Going in, all I knew was that I had three characters in a small village who were going to have an encounter with the villain and end up tracking him to the big city. That’s all. From there, the rest grew organically, starting with a random description of a pilfered dagger. What I ended up with is:
- An Assassin’s guild who’s sign of inclusion is a particularly decorated dagger and whose rank is represented by the color of the gem in the pommel.
- The beginnings of a history of the capital city Duskcall.
- A marginalized race (elves) within a city that seems to welcome other non-human races (halflings, dwarves). (And yes, I do have an inkling of why they are marginalized and how that ties into the city’s history).
- Political intrigue within the city.
- An outside force (Orcan) who may have an impact on the PCs and Duskcall in the future.
The most daunting task of the game was clearly choreographing the Sacrament Celebration and final battle. I thought about it often during the chapters leading up to it, but wasn’t exactly sure how it was going to play out until I got there. I had to manage a large cast of characters, run a race, engage in combat and determine a lot of little actions and events along the way. It was thrilling to play and I found it as fun and exciting as many multi-player tabletop encounters in which I have participated.
Elsewhere, I have offered some impressions about the Adventurers! rule system that I used to play this campaign. I chose it because it was rules-light and I didn’t have to read through pages and pages of information to learn the game mechanics. While that did indeed help, one drawback was that, apart from character creation and combat, there were a lot of game mechanics and details that are left to the GM to develop themselves. To accommodate that, I ended up borrowing from other systems, creating several homebrew tables, and purchasing additional Adventurers! rules and scenarios. By the end of the game, I had a good feel for the system (not to mention having put in many hours massaging it for solo play) and I will be continuing to use it in the future, not only for my Roses & Wyght stories, but possibly other adventures as well.
For now, however, I will be setting Bhart, Leira, & Harper aside and move on to another campaign using another game system (Tunnels & Trolls). I’ve already started preparations for that, but my plans involve a significant amount of setup regarding character creation. Additionally, I have other projects and responsibilities that are taking up a lot of time. In other words, it might be a while before I begin posting that campaign. In the meantime, I do have another week of my Bachelor Roleplay that is ready to be typed up and posted and I encourage you to check out some of my other online projects, such as my blog and video game Youtube channel.
Thanks for reading!
(Read Previous Chapter Here.)
Game System: Adventurers!
Tools: rpgsolo.com solo engine; other random generators
Setup:
Prior to the next scene, I had each character roll for their daily healing checks until each was back up to full END. Bhart and Harper have 2 checks remaining; Leira has 1.
All distances mentioned in this chapter are approximations or best guesses. Apologies in advance if distances traveled seem too slow or too fast. As I suspect is the case with most tabletop RPGs, they are merely a means to chart progress and not intended to represent realistic movement or spatial physics.
Tristan has the potential to see action in this chapter, so I generated some stats for him:
Tristan Cleves (Curious Bard):
STR:0 AGI:3 MND:3 ATT:3 Dag/0 Lute DEF:3 END:6 HER:1 ENC:0
Skills: Charisma (Basic), Learning (Basic) Gear: Dagger, Lute
[Scene 1]
Bhart, Leira, Harper, and Tristan return back at the Castle Plaza for the Sacrament of Fortitude Celebration approximately an hour before the King is to give his speech. By this time the plaza has begun to fill in with individuals and families. Most are gathering near the front of the dais, while others, particularly families, set up blankets on the ground to sit upon. A general festive atmosphere is developing, with children running around and merchants selling food and other wares from sacks and baskets strapped around their waists.
The dais itself is a plain, wooden construction that provides a five-foot-high raised platform. On the platform is a pedestal and several chairs. The castle wall and gate stands about one hundred feet beyond the makeshift stage. In front of the stage, the plaza extends for about another 200 feet.
Since they still have a little time, the group decides to split -- Bhart and Tristan, Leira and Harper -- and wander about to look for anything suspicious. After about forty minutes, having spotted nothing unusual, they meet back at a location directly in front of the dais. By now, the crowd in front of the stage has thickened. Uncertain of where exactly any attempt on the King’s life might come, the group picks a central location about [2d10] 90 feet from the stage.
As the two o’clock hour nears, a great trumpet fanfare is heard from the direction of the castle and the royal assembly makes their way from the Duskcall Castle. While much of this is obscured from the party’s view, several King’s Guard line the road leading from the gate to the stage. Once they are in place, [1d2] two clerics of the Church of the Creator walk from the gate to the stage flanked on either side by two rows of five Guards each. Behind them, an ornate enclosed carriage drawn by two white steeds follows. Inside are King Angelo and Queen Tryphena. The carriage and entourage continue until they reach the rear of the stage.
The first person to step on stage is a tall, broad female human Guard with a stern face and short blonde hair. In addition to the King’s Crest--the sparrowhawk against a black and red division -- her shining plate armor displays additional decorations denoting her rank. Tristan tells the others that she is Sacreelia Fiststeel, the Captain of the Guard.
Following behind Captain Fiststeel are four more Guardsmen, both male and female, wearing more simple ringmail. Next comes the two clerics. Right behind the clerics come Queen Tryphena and her husband, the King. Finally, bringing up the rear are the five remaining King’s Guard.
[Is the queen on the Dais?
(Likely | 8[d10]) Yes +Event: Intolerance / Expectations (I will include this in her speech introducing the King).
The speakers take their seats while the Guards form a perimeter around the sides and rear of the stage. From the crowds' vantage point, the King sits just left of center stage with the Queen seated to his right. Next to the right are the two clerics. Flanking the speakers on the far right is Captain Fiststeel while a bearded Guardsman posts himself on the opposite end, left of the King.
Leira makes a Recognition Roll with a “Likely” modifier. (1, 4, 5) = 9, High Recognition]
“No!” Leira exclaims, examining the Guard standing next to the King.
“What is it?” Harper asks.
“That Guard. The one with the dark hair and the beard. That’s Shylock!”
Without any hesitation, the group begins to move closer to the stage.
Once everyone is in place, the younger of the two clerics stands and approaches the podium to offer the invocation. [which lasts 1d2+1 = 2 turns]
[Turns 1-2]
A large group of spectators, including a family spread out on a blanket, stands right in front of Bhart, Leira and Harper. They move back and forth, trying to work their way through the group with little success. Finally, Leira tries to force her way through but is met with an elbow to the chest as a particularly muscular man turns abruptly to see who keeps pushing him from behind. [A combination of AGI loses, including a critical fail for Bhart and a failed STR check for Leira, resulting in -1 END] Tristan is the only member of the group with an opening and he takes it, nearly halving his distance to the stage by the time the cleric finishes his prayer.
[Turns 3-7]
When the cleric finishes, he sits down and the Queen approaches the podium to introduce her husband, King Angelo. Before the introduction, Tryphena uses the opportunity to address the crowd and subtly call for social change. She starts off by commending the residents of Duskcall for their strength, a strength that began with the city’s battle for freedom many, many years ago. The source of that strength she attributes to their unity, but also acknowledges the need to strengthen that unity between certain factions within the city, particularly by extending hospitality to newcomers. While the Queen doesn’t specifically mention their race by name, most of the citizens know she is speaking of the elves, whose residence in the city is a recent occurrence in Duskcall’s history. [Speech lasts 1+1d4=5 turns]
While she speaks, the party continues to fight their way to the stage. Tristan continues to move quickly until he is nearly 20’ from the dais. There the crowd is tightly packed and his small size makes it difficult to push through. The Bard progress comes to a near standstill as he pokes and prods for openings, moving only a few inches at a time.
Bhart finally worms his way through the group of people in front of them and spots a clear path. He charges forth and soon finds himself just over 40 feet from the stage. Harper checks on Leira, who is catching her breath from being elbowed in the chest. Once he sure she is okay, he takes off again, Leira following behind. The hunter runs past the family on the picnic blanket and weaves in and out of spectators until he plows into a tight group of four men. They try to move out of the way, but Harper gets tangled in their arms and legs and tumbles to the ground. Quickly getting back to his feet, he continues. [Harper advances to 36’ from the stage] Leira trails behind and is not as successful as the others in moving through the mob. [She only advances a total of 18’, spending a HER point to even do that.]
Queen Tryphena finishes her speech and, with great adoration, introduces King Angleo to the people. The King approaches the podium to the cheers of the crowd. Raising his hands for silence, he begins his speech commemorating the start of the Sacrament of Fortitude Celebration.
[Turn 8]
Tritan finally is able to reach the stage as the King begins to speak. Further back in the crowd, brother and sister Bhart and Leira close the distance between them and the stage while Harper finds himself in a particularly dense crowd of people and unable to move. [Crowd rolled Critical Success against Harper’s AGI check]
[Turn 9]
Not being trained in combat, Tristan is unsure what to do. He turns back to the crowd to see if he can spot any of his friends. While he does catch a quick glimpse of Bhart, now less than 20 feet away, he cannot see either of the other two and can only hope will catch up as time is passing quickly.
[Turn 10]
Just as Bhart reaches the stage, he hears a cry come from behind him to the left.
“Help! Somebody help me!” A woman screams. “I’m being robbed!”
About the same time, a great commotion occurs on the opposite side of the plaza as several citizens yell and scream. A large plume of smoke is seen approaching the plaza from a side road. The source of the smoke turns out to be flaming carriage that is being pulled driverless by a pair of horses.
[How many guards does Fiststeel send to the disturbances? 2+d4=4]
The king stops his speech as Captain Fiststeel sends several of the Guards to assist with the disturbances. She directs the two from the end of the stage closest to the King to check out the screaming woman and a third Guard from that side of the stage to accompany the Guard standing next to her to check out the fire. [2+1d4=4 Guards dispatched.]
[All characters made successful distraction checks (MND) and continued with their current progress toward the stage. Leira advances to 18’ from the stage. Harper spends a HER point, but is unable to move.
Does Tristan try to warn the Guards about the assassination? (50/50 | 2[d10]) No +Event: (to be revealed later)]
[Turn 11]
Hearing the screams and the commotion, many people in the crowd turn their attention from the stage to the events happening behind them. Leira is caught up in the shifting of the crowd and is knocked down and partially trampled. [Lost STR and ATT challenge, which drops her another 1 END. Additionally, she spent a HER in the process.] Meanwhile, Harper finally pushes his way through and is just under 20 feet from his target. [Spending a HER point to get there.]
Without hesitation, Bhart climbs on stage. [AGI check: 9 Success] The one female guard (G4) that remains near the King fails to notice, as she is distracted by the flurry of events.
[Does the Guard see Bhart? (50/50 | 2[d10]) No
Does Tristan follow Bhart on stage? (50/50 | 2[d10]) No +Event: Assist / The public]
Seeing that Bhart has made it up on stage and is close to Shylock, Tristan hesitates, trying to decide if he needs to stay and help or see if he can assist with anyone injured by the cart. Complicating the decision is the struggle between his sense of social responsibility and a desire to be at the location that would offer the most material for the epic song he will certainly write about this event.
[Statistics of the remaining NPCs:
FISTSTEEL STR:3 AGI:2 MND:1 ATT:Swd 3 DEF:3 END:8 HER:1
Skills: Weaponcraft-blades (Basic) Gear: Sword, Heavy Armor (AR:3/4/6)
ALL GUARDS STR:2 AGI:2 MND:0 ATT:Swd 3 DEF:4 END:7 HER:1
Gear: Sword, Med. Armor (AR:4/5)
[Turn 12]
[Does Shylock see Bhart? MND check: 4 No, too focused on his task]
Bhart yells, “Murderer! Stop him!”
[Does G4 respond? Opposing MND check; B:11 G4:10]
The female Guard first looks at Bhart who is drawing his sword, then shifts her eyes toward the direction Bhart is looking. Too confused to react, she hesitates while Shylock approaches the King, dagger drawn.
Bhart charges but is unable to reach Shylock before the assassin reaches the King. [Bhart lost AGI challenge] Alerted by Bhart’s warning, the King catches a quick glimpse of Shylock and attempts to ward off the attack. While not the death blow he was hoping for, Shylock is still able to make a significant gash in the King’s side. [King makes his surprise roll, but still is hit for 2 damage, down to 1 END.]
[Turn 13]
On the opposite end of the dais, Captain Fiststeel hears Bhart’s warning and sees the attack on the King, however, she is slow in responding and does not immediately move to intervene. The other guards around her are quicker as they draw their weapons and run to the scuffle. Unfortunately, two of the three guards collide and both tumble to the ground.
[Shylock focuses on: 1-3 King 4-6 Bhart 1d6=5 Bhart.]
Shylock drops the dagger and draws his sword as Bhart swings his own weapon, striking the assassin in the arm. [2 Damage, Failed AR, Shylock down to 6 END] The nearby Guard (G4) also jumps into the mix, attempting to wrestle Shylock to ground. Shylock punches her in the face, sending her back stunned. [Guard critically failed the grapple challenge]
While this is going on the two clerics cover the Queen to protect her from any attacks. King Angelo sits as he feels a burning sensation where he was cut by the dagger. He powers through the pain and retains consciousness. [Is the dagger poisoned? (Likely | 6[d10]) Yes, King is able to make his saving roll against poison.] In the midst of all this, Leira finally reaches the edge of the stage by Harper is nowhere to be seen.
[Turn 14]
“Attack on the King! Stop him!” Captain Fiststeel cries as she finally takes some action and begins to move past the two fallen Guards. One is able to get to his feet (G5), but before he can take two steps the guard who originally got in the other’s way grabs his ankle and trips him up. Realizing his leader is in jeopardy and he must do something to help, the Huntsman posing as a King’s Guard drives his sword through the true Guard’s upper thigh. [Random rolls determined that the Huntsman would drop the charade and help by attacking G5. G5 is down to 4 END.]
[HUNTSMAN STR:0 AGI:0 MND:0 ATT:Swd 1 DEF:1 END:5 HER:1
Gear: Sword, Med. Armor (AR:4/5)(Stat reflect penalties for being Encumbered as NPC doesn’t have sufficient STR for Med. Armor)
Leira climbs up on stage while her brother and assassin trade blows [Shylock hits for 3 damage, Bhart misses]. The final Guard (G7), a slender reddish-blond man, looks for an opening in the battle but is unable to move in for a tackle.
[Turn 15]
[A morale check for Shylock determines that he will attempt to flee. I make a roll on my Recognition Table (at disadvantage due to the distraction of the battle) to see if Shylock recognizes Leira from the tavern. 2d6=5 Unsure]
Shylock backs away toward the steps at the rear of the stage, holding his sword up in defense. The nearby Guards (G4, G7) prepare to charge as Captain Fiststell nears, oblivious to the ambush that just occurred behind her.
A slightly puzzled expression crosses Shylock’s face as he looks at Leira, almost as though there the faintest hint of recognition. “Do I know you?”
Without giving his sister a chance to respond, Bhart confronts the Hunstman. “Our names are Leira and Bhartram Rosemight! You killed our father! Prepare . . .”
“Bhart!” Leira screams. “Stop talking before he gets away!”
She and the guards charge as Shylock, now near the steps, turns to descend and flee. As he spins, he sees Tristan standing on the steps holding his lute in both hands like a club. [Back in Turn 12 - “Does Tristan head around the stage to the back?” (50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes] The bard swings with all his might, hitting Shylock square in the torso and shattering the instrument. Shylock is unhurt, yet surprised and falls a step back as the two guards throw their arms around him. Reacting fast, the assassin is able to push both Guards off of himself, sending the female tumbling down the steps [G5 Critically Failed attempt].
Once free, Shylock bolts away from the steps only to be met by Captain Fiststeel who drives her sword into him. The ringmail offers minimal protection at the sharp point is still able to pierce the armor and bury itself into the flesh beneath. [4 total damage, 2 END] Their eyes meet as Shylock stares daggers at the Captain. Slowly, painfully, he pulls himself off of the blade. Clutching the bleeding wound, he turns only to be challenged by Leira, her own weapon aimed high. Shylock is unable to react as the point penetrates his throat and blood runs down his chest. Lifting his hands to grasp the weapon, he gurgles as he slumps to the wooden floor dead. [-1 END. Since I had a few options with Shylock I rolled on my Death Table to determine his injuries. Only a 10 would have resulted in death. I rolled . . . a 10. That took care of him.]
The sounds of a struggle come from the other end of the dais and the group turns to see a blond hair Guard on his back fending off blows from the bearded Guard standing over him.
“Guardsman! Stand down!” Captain Fiststeel orders.
The attacking huntsman fails to respond as the male Guard next to the Captain runs to assist his fallen comrade. Reaching the battle, he grabs the attack and tries to pull him to the floor. The huntsman fights back and struggles to break free until the female Guard, who has by now recovered from the tumble down the steps, joins the fray as well. The huntsman collapses under the extra weight and is subdued.
Fiststeel orders the imposter taken away to the holding cells and then heads over to check on the King.
“What did I miss?” Bhart, Leira, and Tristan turn to see Harper, who has finally made it up on the stage, standing a few feet away, assessing the battle’s aftermath.
“Everything,” Bhart responds dryly. “Everything.”
[Scene 2]
With order finally restored, Captain Fiststeel begins to clear the stage. Two of the Guards have already left with their prisoner and couple more Guards load Shylock’s body on a cart and haul him off. The clerics inspect the King’s wound and confirm the presence of poison. After they offer some minor healing prayers for the monarch, Fiststeel insists that both the King and Queen return immediately to the castle and be tended to more thoroughly by the healers. Before they leave, however, King Angelo acknowledges Bhart, Leria, and Tristan’s role in stopping the would-be assassins by thanking them, promising some form of reward, and inviting them to tour the castle in the near future.
Once the King is gone, the older of the two clerics approaches the podium to address the crowd that remains and salvage as much of the Celebration as possible. Despite the near assassination of their monarch, the people of Duskcall are not dissuaded from continuing the party and listen eagerly, longing to begin feasting, drinking, and dancing. The cleric finishes as the bells of the nearby Church of the Creator ring out to officially announce the beginning of the celebration and cheers rise up throughout the plaza and nearby city streets.
As the plaza clears, Tristan compares notes with the others as they head back to the Faint Mule Hostel, an epic song already taking shape in his head. “So, the fiery cart, the woman screaming, and anything else was planned distractions to draw people’s attention away from the stage?”
“That would be my guess,” Bhart confirms. “Then Shylock could approach the King, perhaps under the guise of offering protection, stab him and get away in the confusion before anyone knew something was wrong.”
“Even with the distraction, it seems like he was taking a big chance,” Tristan says. “He was surrounded by guards.”
“Was,” Bhart corrects, “Until they were sent to help with the various situations in the crowd. Besides, he also had a co-conspirator on stage to help him escape.”
“That was a bit odd,” Leira cuts in. “Sending the guards to help with the crowd when we know there were plenty of King’s Guard already in the plaza. Weren’t they on stage solely to protect the King and Queen.”
“I can’t remember anything this sinister happening in Duskcall before,” Tristan explains. “Perhaps Captain Fiststeel just wasn’t prepared. She did seem a bit overwhelmed by everything. I mean, she was the last Guard to make any attempt to reach the King.”
“Then I guess it was a good thing that we were there to stop it.” Harper chimes in.
Bhart flashes accusing eyes at him. “Some of us, at least.”
“Sorry about that,” Harper apologizes. “The crowd was just too thick.”
Leria gives: an introspective response
“Yet the rest of us made it,” Leira observes as she offers a playful grin. “I guess I don’t need your protection, after all. As long as I can avoid the danger I don’t need to wait for you to plow through it.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Harper retorts. “I saw you take a couple of hits, as well.”
“We did fine enough without you,” Bhart cuts him off, unimpressed as ever with the braggart. “Let’s just get home.”
“What’s the hurry?” Leira asks. “The festivities are just beginning.”
“Yeah,” seconds Tristan. “The Cozy Fish is offering the first round of drinks free tonight to anyone coming in to celebrate. I’m sure I can perform a song or two and possibly earn us some more in lieu of payment.”
“C’mon, Rosie,” Harper urges, giving Bhart a slight punch in the shoulder. “Let’s celebrate our . . . your victory!” he suggests, adjusting his words to avoid offending the trap maker.
Bhart looks from Leira to Tristan to Harper. Sighing, he gives in. “I guess we did do a lot and it’s time to rest. To the Cozy Fish then?”
“To the Cozy Fish!” They all agree.
The Rosemights and Harper Wyghtwing, along with their new friend Tristan Cleves, head off together to enjoy a hearty night of celebration, followed by a long morning of sleep.
[End of Roses & Wyght]
Wrap Up:
Per Adventurers! rules, PCs should be award 1-2 XP for completing an adventure, as well as additional XP for accomplishing major goals and finishing a session. Based on that, I am awarding the characters the following XP.
Bhart and Leira will each get 4 XP. (1 for the session, 2 for the adventure, 1 for defeating Shylock)
Harper will get 3 XP (1 for session, 2 for the adventure. Since he never made it to the stage I will not award him credit for the kill.)
Tristan (now upgraded to PC) will get 2 XP. (1 for session, 1 for defeating Shylock. Since he wasn’t along for the entire time I don’t feel he should get adventure credit)
Any gold awarded to the party from the King will be handled later to be carried forward when I continue the story with these characters.
I plan on writing one last major post to this thread, an After Post if you will, to wrap up some loose ends, relay some promised background information, and offer some thoughts on the entire solo roleplay experience, now that I’ve finished my first campaign. Apart from that final post, I hope you have enjoyed reading “Roses & Wyght”. That about wraps it up for this one . . .
Oh. Except for this . . .
[Epilogue]
Captain Fiststeel sits at a small writing desk in her personal quarters housed within the castle. The room is lit by a single wax candle that rests on the desk’s corner. Her hand moves quickly over a piece of parchment as the quill she holds writes instructions to her various Lieutenants for the next day. Finishing, she scans the document and contemplates the day’s events.
It was a long day and the Sacrament Celebration certainly did not go off as the Captain had expected. Following the botched assassination attempt, she spent most of the afternoon and early evening questioning the Guard to see if anyone had important information and attending to the prisoner taken from the scene. The King would have questions and she had to be ready with answers.
After folding and sealing the document, Fiststeel pulls another sheet of parchment from the small stack next to her and begins to write:
“Orcan,
I regret to inform you that the King still lives. Furthermore, your agent was killed during the assassination attempt and I have seen to it that any loose ends have been eliminated” (Cut to scene of the Huntsman masquerading as a King’s Guard in his cell. He clutches at his throat as foam drips from his mouth and he slumps forward over his dinner tray.) “With that, I am certain my position within the castle is safe. While I know of your haste to have the King removed from the throne, I would advise against taking any action at this moment. I have strong reason to believe there are some citizens in the city who were familiar with your agent and, to some degree, our plan. Allow time for the situation to calm and people to relax. When I feel it is safe I will contact you to proceed.
Fiststeel”
[Event of the Epilogue based on the following oracle question asked at the start of Chapter 10:
Is Captain Fiststeel in on the plan? (50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes]
(Read the AfterPost here.)
Read the previous chapter here.
Game System: Adventurers!
Tools: rpgsolo.com solo engine; UNE; My favorite Rumour Table; other random generators
Setup:
After the last chapter Bhart, Leria, and Harper each have 6 experience points and it’s time to spend some of them. In Adventurers! you use your points to go shopping for stat and skill upgrades, additional skills, and other character adjustments. Below is what each character bought, with the cost in parenthesis after it.
Bhart: +1 AGI for a total of 1 (3 Points), Added Basic Rage Skill - [Adds +1 STR, +1 AGI, -1 MND, +2 END for STR rounds, lose 1 END when done] (3 points)
Leira: +1 STR for a total of 1 (3 points) now she can wear leather or hold a shield without being encumbered, +1 HER for a total of 2 (2 points), saves 1 EXP for later
Harper: Upgrade Ambidextrous to Advanced (4 points), +1 HER for a total of 2 (2 points)
Now to get some mechanics of this chapter out of the way ahead of time so as to minimize story disruptions. This chapter starts off with each of the PCs interviewing someone to gather information regarding the Huntsmen and their plans. Each interview was handled in the following manner.
First, I made a dice roll to determine if the interviewee had any information to offer. If they did, then I used the alea iactanda est Rumour Table’s reaction roll to determine the reliability of the source. The roll is intended to determine how friendly and truthful the NPC is, which in turn may modify the final “Truth” roll. However, since all the NPCs were basically forthcoming, I applied the roll to the source of the rumor. Next, I used UNE to determine the nature of the rumor, using the “demeanor” roll to offer general insight into the story instead of directly describing the mood of the source. Finally, if any of the stories are checked out, I will use the Truth portion of the Rumour Table to determine how truthful the rumor is.
One encounter roll will be made for each PC to determine if anything happens on the way to or from the meeting. Johnn Four’s City Encounters was used to generate encounter.
[Scene 1]
Back at the Faint Mule Hostel the group goes through their haul from the tunnels before making any additional plans. The first order of business is to settle up with Naglen for their room and board and the found bag of coins offered an opportunity to pay up front for the next several days with a generous tip. After taking the ten gold coins offered to her by Harper, Naglen examined them closely.
“Thanks,” she says, “But I can’t accept this.”
“Sure you can,” Harper insists. “I know it’s a little more than what our rooms cost, but you’ve been a gracious hostess and your help with our task is appreciated.”
“No, I don’t mean that. I can’t take this because these coins are counterfeit.” [When determining the contents of the drawers in Chapter 8 I rolled an event. Oppress/Joy. The interpretation was “found coins turn out to be fake”.] Knowing the source of the coins, Naglen obviously realizes the group isn’t intentionally trying to cheat her, so she lets it slide.
The rest of the loot - -the daggers, the black cap, the gems, the patterned handkerchief-- was laid out on the table for further examination. After a brief discussion concerning what to do with all the Huntsmen dagger, Bhart turns his attention to the gems, only to find that a couple are missing.
“I see the garnet,” he says, “But where are the other two?”
“They were all together,” Leira insists. “I put them right here.” She puts her hand down on the table where she thinks she put the amber and quartz pieces. While she sees nothing, Leira quickly pulls her hand back when she feels two stones on the empty portion of the table. Slowly, she places her hand back and feels the bumps again. As the slides her hand slowly across the table, the tan and gold handkerchief comes appears out of nowhere, the missing gems underneath it. Testing a theory, she lays the cloth over the gems again and both disappear. Excited, the group suspects this is some type of cloth of hiding. Naglen theorizes that it is an assassin’s tool, which could be useful to either hide small weapons in plain sight or steal small objects by hiding them until they can be safely retrieved. Without giving anyone a chance to object, Leira pockets the cloth for herself.
The rest of the gold they divide up evenly, pay Naglen from the legitimate coins, and agree to trade in the gems for gold when they get a chance. As for what to do next, the group decides the best course of action is to talk to the people they know to see if they have overheard anything about the Huntsmen or their plans.
[Scene 2]
Leira is the first to leave the hostel, deciding to check in with her 12-year-old friend Rod at the Platinum Steed Stables. While it might be too soon for any news to spread, Leira felt it was necessary to seek out the stablehand early as his shift would end soon. When the sandy-haired youth sees his friend he flashes a wide grin and blushes slightly, as is often the case when he is approached by the pretty blonde lady. Unfortunately, Rod has heard nothing in the past day about the Huntsmen. In fact, he doesn’t even think they have been around the stables. [Failed a 30% chance to have any information.]
On her way back to the hostel, Leira passed through a bustling marketplace, filled with colorful wares and pleasing aromas. About midway through the market, Leira catches a whiff of apple in the air. Following her nose, she spots a pie stand,a portly elven man behind the tables talking with a human customer. Unbeknownst to the pie seller, another young man nears the rear of the stand, keeping an eye on the two in conversation. Leira, being a bit of rogue herself, knows a con when she sees one: distract the shopkeep while your partner makes off with the goods.
Any other day she might just walk on by, however, her encounter with the elven woman in the tunnels is fresh on her mind. What might be nothing more than a common theft, Leria views as harassment against an honest elf merchant, and she’s not about to let happen unchallenged.
“I’ve never tried any of this shop’s pies,” Leria loudly announces as she boldly approaches the small man about to pilfer a pie. “Are they any good?”
The elf turns at the voice to see the man stammer an unintelligible answer.
“You know,” Leira continues. “I hear that pies taste even better when you actually pay for them. And you,” she turns to the taller human. “You should be ashamed trying to cheat an honest merchant.”
“Hey, are you suggesting we’re thieves?” the taller man challenges.
“I’m not suggesting.”
The flashes Leira a wicked grin. “I’d be careful walking home, little lady. These streets can be dangerous.”
Leria casually draws her dagger from her belt and tests the edge with her thumb. “Try me.”
The two con men look at each other. “Let’s go,” the taller man tells the shorter and they walk off.
[Confrontation results from Intimidation check (MND). Leira has advantage due to Charisma skill. 11 v 8. Leira won.]
“Thank you,” the merchant says to Leira. “It’s hard running a business with these ruffians around.”
“I hear it’s hard running a business in Duskcall when you’re an elf.”
“That’s the truth, my friend,” the merchant agrees. “Please, take a pie. A symbol of my gratitude.”
“No, I couldn’t take one. That would defeat the purpose of running those two off. But I will buy one.” Liera picks up an apple pie while handing the merchant one gold piece, much more than the pie is worth, and tells the elf to keep the change.
[Scene 3]
Later that night, after a filling meal and a slice of apple pie, Bhart heads out to the Cozy Fish Inn where the wannabe bard Tristan told them he could be found. When he arrives, Tristan is finishing up a song on a small stage that is set up in the corner of the main bar room. Bhart takes a seat and waits for the red-haired musician to finish. Tristan spots his new friend and comes over to his table.
[Tristan succeeds on a 50/50 chance to have useful information. UNE: Insane-Madness-Antagonist]
Bhart quickly fills Tristan in on the events in the tunnel earlier that day and asks if he has heard anything new about the Huntsmen. Tristan mentions that earlier that evening, between gigs, he was having a drink near the bar and overheard a couple of men talking. While he wasn’t certain they were Huntsmen, they did mention recent killings in Duskcall. One of the men wanted to get out of town to stay safe. The other threatened to avenge the deaths should he ever find the person responsible.
Are the men still in the Inn?
(50/50 | 10[d10]) Yes, and…
“Are the men still here?” Bhart asks.
Without a word, Tristan casts a glance in the direction of the bar and nods toward two men sitting on stools at the far end. One of the two men has dark skin and blond hair shaved on the left side. The other is short and grey, despite a youthful complexion. (and..) Bhart stands up, walks over and takes a seat next to the men at the bar. He orders an ale from the elf tending bar while trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Is Bhart close enough to hear the conversation?
(50/50 | 9[d10]) Yes
UNE: Knowing-speech-parents (parents=superiors)
After a little bit, Bhart can make out that the tall shaved blonde is set on revenge and the shorter man is concerned for his own safety.
“If I were you, I’d stick it out,” the taller man tells the shorter. “You know what Shylock says about the future of a deserter. In fact, you probably have more to fear from him than whoever it is who thinks they can beat us.”
“I don’t know. They got Gaither. If they got him maybe they’ll get Shylock, too.” [Is Shylock's name mentioned? (50/50 | 10[d10]) Yes, and…(Gaither is also mentioned) +Event: (see below)]
“Careful what you say. You don’t want Shylock hearing you talk like that. He may not wait for you to desert.”
“This Shylock sounds like a rough character,” Bhart interrupts. “Maybe you should listen to your friend there,” he says to the grey-haired man nearest him.
UNE: Conversation Mood (Distrustful): Neutral
“Yes, he is,” Grey responds. “And maybe you’re right. Maybe I should listen to him.”
“Then again, I’ve had some experience with people who thought a bit highly of themselves.” Bhart thinks about Harper as he tries to draw the men into conversation. “Often, they speak a big story but have little to back it up with.”
“Not Shylock,” Grey explains. When he speaks, you better listen. If not, well . . . “ Turning to his shaved friend, he asks, “You remember that merchant we met on the road?” [The event from earlier was “Bestow / Nature PC negative” Interpretation is that it is inadvertently revealed that these men were with Shylock in Swifthaven. The PC negative is Bhart’s reaction and the potential fallout.]
The dark-skinned man smacks his friend in the head. “Hush, you idiot.” Then to Bhart, “We were havin’ a private conversation. Take your mug elsewhere. You know, for your own safety.”
The reference isn’t lost on Bhart as he believes the two are speaking about his father. Could these men have been there during this attack? “No. Tell me more about this merchant. I’m interested to find out what happened to him.”
Does Tristan rescue Bhart?
(50/50 | 7[d10]) Yes
“Hello, gentlemen,” Tristan says, pushing his way between the two parties. “While I have some time between performances I like to go about the room taking personal requests. Is there anything you fine men might like to hear. A lusty ditty, perhaps.”
“Begone, Bard!” the blond man commands. “We could care less about your ‘ditties’.”
As he turns to leave, Tristan looks Bhart directly in the eye and motions him to follow.
“I apologize,” Bhart says to the two men. “Perhaps I was a bit too nosy. I’m sure you know best and will figure out what your best course of action should be. I must be going.” He finishes his ale, puts the empty mug down and follows after Tristan.
When he is sure they are not being watched, Tristan chastises Bhart. “Are you a fool? They are trained killers. You don’t confront them!”
“They killed my father. Or at least they were there when Shylock beat him. I need to follow them. Maybe they can lead me to Shylock.”
Tristan considers the limp Bhart walked in with. “You are in no shape to follow them alone. Tell you what, I’ll do my best to follow and find out where they go. Tomorrow morning, I’ll let you know what I find. Where can I meet you?”
Bhart thinks about it for a moment and reluctantly gives in. “Okay, but make it early.”
[No encounters for Bhart’s scene. Off-Camera I made a follow check for Tristan. I rolled a series of opposing AGI checks. If Tristan won 3 or more he was successful. Less and either he would lose the trail or be confronted by the men. Tristan won 3 and was successful.
There is no scene with Harper. He had Naglen vouch for him with her cousin Hattia, the bartender at the Wooden Frost Giant Flagon Tavern. However, on a 50/50 check she had no information and there was no encounter rolled.
After a night’s sleep, the characters regain END. Current END are Bhart: 5, Leira: 4, Harper 6. ]
[Scene 4]
Bhart gets up early hoping Tristan will arrive with information, however, by the time Liera and Harper awake the would-be bard has yet to show.
“Do you think something might have happened to him?” Leira asks.
“I have no idea,” Bhart answers. “He sounded like he could handle it, but he’s a singer, not an assassin.”
By the time they finish eating Tristan still has not arrived, causing Bhart to grow concerned that they will not have enough time to do anything to stop the assassination attempt, and, based on what he heard at the Cozy Fish, it sounded as though the plan was still on. “If we wait much longer it might be too late.”
Harper agrees. “But what do we do? Go to the King’s Guard? I’m not sure they will have time for us.”
“We do know where Shylock is this morning, however,” Bhart says, referring to the instructions they took off the Huntsman who was hit by the merchant’s cart. “We could go to the safe house and wait for him to emerge.”
“If Tristan was correct about the location of the safe house,” Leira interjects.
“We could wait a bit longer for Tristan,” Harper suggests. “We have about six hours till the celebration. If he doesn’t show by then we go to the plaza and see if we can spot Shylock or stop the attempt ourselves.”
Naglen, in and out of earshot, as always, offers some advice. “If you want my opinion . . . and trust me, you do . . . you three have done about as much as you can. In fact, you’ve probably done more than you should have been able to do. I think it’s time you went to the professionals. Talk to the Knight’s Guard. Maybe they don’t have the time or the interest in talking to you, but it’s worth a shot. Then, if that falls through, go to the Castle Plaza and do what you can.”
They all agree and head to the King’s Guard barracks and training grounds, which are conveniently located next to the castle (on the opposite side from the Duskcall Historical Society, the museum that led to the tunnels) and around the corner from the plaza.
Standing in front of the entrance to the training grounds are several Guardsmen. The group approaches a male [RG] guard with the highest rank markings to ask if they can see the Captain of the Guard. Before they can even get two words out the knight cuts them off. “Unless you have a decree from the King or Captain Fiststeel you have no business here. Turn and leave immediately.”
“But need to speak to the Captain right away,” Leira pleads.
“Decree!” the Knight demands, holding out his hand.
[To determine compliance for the PCs requests required a roll on my Reaction Table with disadvantage. I attempted to make a persuasion roll based on Leira’s MND and charisma bonus to improve the score, however, she critically failed. The end result was multiple disadvantages that required me to roll 5 dice and pick the worst two. Final score: 2 Terrible, Disaster.
“We don’t have time for this,” Bhart insists.
“Nor do I,” replies the Guard. “Derric, detain these three in the dungeon!”
“Okay, we’re going,” Harper complies before the Guard’s companion even draws his sword. “We’re sorry to bother you.” With that, he nudges the other two to move in the direction they came from.
Did Harper bring his bow?
(Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
While the start of the ceremony is still several hours away, the group decides to check out the plaza as it is only a few short steps away. While the area is mostly empty, there are a few early arrivers who are claiming their spaces near the dais that has been erected about 100 feet outside the castle wall gates in order to get a good view of King Angelo during his speech. Also present are several members of the King’s Guard watching the area and making routine security checks of the citizens near the stage.
Do they witness anyone approach with a bow?
(50/50 | 6[d10]) Yes, but… (They can’t hear what the guard says.)
While they watch from the edge of the plaza, a gentleman dressed in clothes common to a hunter or trapper strolls through the plaza, a bow strapped across his back. He is quickly approached by one of the Guards. None of the trio can hear the conversation, but from some of the gestures and the fact that the hunter turns and leaves, they assume the guard does not want the man to bring his bow into the plaza.
“It appears that I might have some trouble with this,” Harper says, indicating his own bow.
“Makes sense,” Leira says. “It’s harder to stop a flying arrow than someone charging the stage.”
“We still have time, let’s take this back to the hostel.”
While walking back to the hostel they meet up with Tristan coming in the opposite direction. He arrived at their home after they left, but Naglen told them where they were going so he left to search for them. He fills the three in on what he had learned. He successfully trailed the two huntsmen back to their safe house, which, incidentally, was not the location his friend Cherry told him about. (He was going to have a talk with that girl! Why would she lie to him?) Along the way, he was lucky enough to get close and overhear some of their conversation. [Abandon / Lies] Apparently, some of the King’s Guard are actually Huntsmen and will be ready to intervene if necessary. However, they hoped it wouldn’t come to that because it would expose the fact that they have inside men in the Guard.
While walking back to they meet up with Tristan?
(Somewhat Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
Did the huntsmen split?
(50/50 | 1[d10]) No, and… (Tristan got close enough to hear them speak.)
Did they go to 1) safe house 2) private house or 3) inn?
1 = 1[d3] Safe House
Check truthfulness of Cherry’s story from Chapter 6? 1st roll was a 3. Second roll: 3 Total 6=Mostly False (There is a safe house, but it’s not the one Cherry told Tristan about)
“Unfortunately the King’s Guard won’t talk to us,” Harper interjected. “I guess it’s up to us to keep an eye out and help stop whatever might happen.”
The group, along with Tristan, pick up their pace in order to drop off Harper’s bow and get back to the plaza in time for the King’s speech.
(Read the next chapter here.)
