Vafrandir’s Journey

Continued from The Lodge

Vafrandir, during your journey to Bergen, this being the 6th of August, you face a drizzling rain. The weeather is cool and there is a stiff, moderate wind in your face. As you and Arvid descend towards the fjord (about noon), you pass through a narrow defile; and it is here that you're ambushed by four unarmed assailants — three men and a woman. They are using short clubs for weapons, suggesting they want to take you alive rather than kill you. I'll set up the map. For the moment, please roll a d6 for surprise.

Vafrandir: 4.

The DM: Sorry about the delay and that the enemy all look alike. Please roll a d6 for initiative.

Vafrandir: 2.

The DM: I roll a 1. You have initiative.

Vafrandir: I draw my sword (2 AP), only 1 left.

The DM: Please run Arvid as well; you're in charge of his actions. He has 4 AP and is carrying a short sword on his belt.

Arvid: I draw my sword and move to 1810.

The DM: Additionally, I thought we'd agreed that the "draw speed" sage ability also included decreasing the time needed to draw a weapon from your belt by 1 AP. I see I hadn't written that on the wiki, so I've added it.

Vafrandir: Thanks for the reminder. I'll move to 1508. Arvid will remain where he is.

The DM: None of the ambushers make a move.

Ambusher A: “Surrender. You’re outnumbered. We don’t wish to bring you harm.”

Vafrandir: "Who sent you? Why should we believe you?"

Ambusher A: “If we’d wanted to harm or kill you, we wouldn’t have shown ourselves first. You walked right past Caleb and Denar, didn’t you?”

The DM: he gestures to C & D, standing before Arvid.

Vafrandir: "Harm now, or harm later, its much the same to the body. What do you want with us?"

Ambusher A: “I follow the orders of another. He doesn’t trust you and has told us not to trust you either. You’re to come with us.”

He draws out two sets of manacles and hurls them towards Vafrandir.

Vafrandir: "No, I don't think we will. I'm not well accustomed to shackles and I've no plans to become so."

Vafrandir: [Just so you know, I'm pretty high on adrenaline right now]

Ambusher A: “We can do this the hard way.”

The DM: He moves to 1510. Re-roll initiative.

The Battle for True Now

Prior to the Ambusher's Attack

Vafrandir: 2.

The DM: I have it this time with a 3.

The DM: “A” moves to 1509 and attacks, missing with a 4.

“B” moves to 1409 and rolls a natural 20, followed with a 16. Damage, 2 doubled, Vafrandir takes 4 DAMAGE.

Denar (“D”) goes to 1909, hitting with a 15. Arvid takes 2 DAMAGE. I’ve provided Arvid’s hit points; tell me if he’s stunned.

Caleb moves to 1808, watching the battles between Vafrandir and Arvid, seeing where he needs to engage.

The DM: It’s Vafrandir’s attack. Readying another map if you want to wait for it.

After the Ambusher's Attack

Vafrandir: That puts Arvid at 10-4=6, and then 6-2=4. I believe that's a stun.

Vafrandir: I attack A, rolling 18 raw, 21 to hit; 7 raw, 9 dmg.

The DM: Vafrandir took the 4 damage from "B". Arvid only took two, so he is not stunned. Why are you attacking twice?

Vafrandir: Mistyped; corrected

Vafrandir: Understood. Arvid is not stunned, and attacks Denar. I am not sure if he's proficient with his shortsword. 19 raw to hit; 5 raw dmg.

The DM: “A” falls back, stunned and shocked-looking. Denar is not stunned.

2nd Round

“B” attacks Vafrandir, missing with an 8. Caleb will rush Vafrandir and attack from 1609, dropping his club, which falls into 1509.

Denar attacks Arvid, hitting with an 18 and causing 4 damage. That will stun Arvid; the hireling uses the tree for support and doesn’t fall back.

Vafrandir is bracketed; whichever one he attacks, the other will be able to attack his flank

Your attack, Vafrandir.

Vafrandir: I'll attack B. 12 raw, 15 to hit; 4 raw, 6 dmg.

3rd Round

That hits and stuns "B"; she lets herself fall back to 1410. "A" will hold his ground and not re-engage. Caleb draws a short sword from his waist and attacks. He rolls a 13 and misses.

Denar attacks Arvid again; he rolls an 11, missing.

The map above is unchanged, except that "B" is in 1410. This would be Vafrandir's 3rd round. In his 4th, he gets two attacks.

Vafrandir: I attack Caleb. 11 raw, 14 to hit; 3 raw, 5 dmg.

The DM: Caleb isn't stunned.

Following the enemy's round 4

4th Round

"B" and "A" shout at Caleb to stop using the short sword. While Caleb attacks, he will shout back at "A" to shut up and relieve Denar. "A" obeys but "B" shouts that "We're not supposed to hurt them!"

Caleb grunts and misses with a 10. Denar overhears and deserts Arvid (2 hp left and stunned) to move around "A" to 1509.

Vafrandir can act. Arvid can also attack.

Vafrandir: I attack Caleb. 16 raw, 19 to hit; 8 raw, 10 dmg.

Vafrandir: With my second attack, I'll target Denar. 14 raw, 17 to hit; 8 raw, 10 dmg.

Arvid: groans I attack A. 19 raw to hit; 2 raw dmg.

Both Denar and "A" are stunned. "A" stumbles back into 1609, into the hex with Caleb. Denar falls into 1510.

5th Round

The DM: Caleb is apparently off the chain. He swings and hits with a 19, causing 4 damage to Vafrandir. "B" seems to come forward with heavy doubts, attacking with a 4 and missing.

Denar recovers, as does "A". Before Arvid can attack, he'll need to roll 2d6 for a morale check; he's hurt pretty bad and he could run for it, so we need to check how loyal he is to Vafrandir (his willingness to stay). Vafrandir, on the other hand, gets two attacks.

Arvid: Morale check: 9. This passes, correct?

Vafrandir: [24 hp] Caleb is my main concern, so I attack him first. 19 raw, 22 to hit; 7 raw, 9 dmg.

Vafrandir: Let us see if B's heavy doubts are justified. 7 raw, 10 to hit; 3 raw, 5 dmg. Perhaps not.

The DM: Yes, that passes. Lower his morale to "8"! Caleb is stunned but you missed "B". Arvid's move, having succeeded at his Morale?

Arvid: [2 hp] I move against Denar A, in 1609. 15 raw to hit; 2 raw dmg.

"A" will be stunned again, falling back into 1608.

6th Round

Denar: "Okay, STOP!"

The DM: "B" will give ground, moving to 1410 and saying, "This guy hits like an elephant."

Denar: "I don't think we can take him without killing him."

The DM: He looks at Vafrandir.

Denar: "Do you want to fight or will you listen?"

Vafrandir: "I'm willing to listen."

"A" will recover and move to 1808. He's clearly in negative hit points by the look of him. "C" will hold his ground, panting.

Denar: "I'm breaking instructions here. We're to take you back to the Longhouse you came from."

Vafrandir: Does he mean the lodge? "How many more of you are there? I may consider coming peacefully if I know what's waiting for me."

The DM: I'll wait until tomorrow to answer that question ... Out.

The DM: Sorry Vafrandir, I've got a contract today. I've got to bail out. The answer to your question, however, would be,

Denar: "You'll have to trust us; we're not trying to kill you."

Vafrandir: In.

Vafrandir: I consider for a moment. How does Arvid look?

Vafrandir: "We'll return, unshackled. And I warn you, there better not be any surprises."