Warhammer fantasy Roleplay

[ashmie]

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay will be running at Yokkaichi the house of Spevna on June 19th. Start from 2, allow for 4 hours play maximum 5. Please join if you can.

[ashmie]

Yokkaichi Fort Spevna: June 19th 2011

We finally got the mini Warhammer fantasy campaign off to a flying start last weekend in Yokkaichi.
Our party consists of three player characters. An elf, a bodyguard and barbarian from the north. These were played by Spev, Jus and MIJ. Thanks for joining.

Our heroes have journeyed into the grey mountains in the hope of finding employment and wealth as burial ground mappers.

They hear strange noises in the night and can make out some kind of large animals rattling around their camp. They aim to shoot but miss.

The next day they have to wind single file up the mountain pass and Jus' character the bodyguard narrowly misses falling down a precipice after the path gives way.

(this guy sucks, look at his stats )

(don't worry you will be able to increase those with XP gained and basic character development, if you really don't like your character I will let you roll your own one before the next game.)
On their way through the Grey Mountains to visit the monastery of La Maisontaal they find shelter from the storm in a derelict mud hut. The hut is full of skaven warpstonehunters who for some reason don't want to fight but merely try to escape. They succeed by blasting a hole in the back wall and running off whilst having an arrow land in the back of their leaders head. Blood flies but he miraculously stays on his feet.
The elf character Floerliel finds it strange that the skaven didn't attack as this is very unlike their kindred.

The night watch is disturbed later by a ghost of the crags. All heroes see a silhouetted humanoid figure wandering on the horizon. The elf Floerliel beckons it to come closer. The ghost is a woman who speaks with him and says the name Kemler, Heinrich Kemler. Apparently she was murdered by him long ago. The ghost vanishes.

The next morning brings another half days travel and our friends descend a vast zig zag track that leads down past a huge waterfall that crashes down into the Frugelhorn river and the monastery of La Maisontaal. They are given a warm welcome by the monks and Jean Louis the head of the order. The barbarian decides to eat the goats cheese offered but fails his toughness test leading to stomach cramps and a -20 percent on all tests for the rest of the game day. After much wine and cheese Jean Louis offers them a very generous deal of 20gc each paid in advance plus a further 20gc on completion of their quest. They will be paid 5gc per map they make. If they can find a burial map in the Fruglehorn area belonging to the leader of an old gang called the blue blooded bandits they can gain a further 20gc. He fancies himself as local historian and is writing a book on the blue blooded bandits who are something of a local legend in the area. Jean Louis has hired several parties so far to survey this area of the Grey Mountains for burial mounds of interest. When he is asked if he knows who Heinrich Kemler might be he says he is not sure but he thinks it might be a name linked with the blue blooded bandits and he looks worried but mentions no more. Jean Louis buys a skaven dagger from the elf for his military collection of old world weapons and pays a handsome 6gc for this.

Jus suspects that the father may be up to something and trails him to the infirmary to watch him saying prayers for the gardener who has cut his leg. Nothing untoward happens and suspicions are left for the time being.

Dinner is served that evening and the heroes have more of a chance to question Jean Louis. They also meet the grumpy old monk who runs the library. He complains that the young Jean Louis is wasting monastery money on searching for things related to the past and should use the money more wisely. After the bread and butter pudding the grumpy Priest retires to his quarters.

The adventurers decide to move on the Frugelhoffen first. This is a small rural village in the Frugelhorn valley that sits next to the river. Here they may be able to gather more supplies and learn of local rumour and knowledge concerning the blue blooded bandits and burial mounds of interest.
On the journey to Frugelhofen they meet two friendly Dwarves. Grumbli Stonehand and Thalgrim. Grumbli is the eldest and Thalgrim is his nephew. They come from the mine further down the valley and are heading to Frugelhofen to gather supplies. The elf immediately distrusts them and quite right too as later on he notices that Grumbli is cheating at dice. When this is brought up Grumbli walks off in a mood while his nephew Thalgrim apologizes profusely claiming Grumbli has something of a gambling habit and hates to lose. He immediately pays the money back and is grateful the heroes make no more trouble. A great deal of trust is built here with the dwarves because of this and they offer dwarven tobacco as a sign of peace. Black shag no 4. It is super strong and soon puts our barbarian from the north (Artide?) to sleep. While he is out for the count Jus and Dave shoot rock rats during the nights watch and managed to bag 2.
They learn from the dwarves that the best person to ask about burial mounds of famous people would be Gimbrin the Loremaster up at the mine. They advice taking him some Brandy from the Miller in Frugelhofen as this is his favourite and would cheer the old soul up before asking any questions.

The next morning a heavy snow has started to fall and it's bitter cold. They finally make it to Frugelhofen a modest farming village. Some areas of the river are frozen. They find the Miller who is a cheery soul. He sells them a whole keg of brandy! He is delighted with this sale and invites them to the feast this evening to celebrate stoning day, a festival that will follow tomorrow. It's nothing violent just local people throwing stones at pottery that are suspended from ropes above the river. When the pottery is smashed sweets and presents fall into the river and the local children can swim in to get them. The Millers name is Hector Brioche and he seems to be a village authority. He informs our guests that there have been a lot of outsiders and visitors today, including a rather attractive elf lady. They don't normally see anyone new. He says most places are full in Frugelhofen at the moment but Widow Le Reux might have a place available. He warns them not to get too friendly with her mind as she is in her 50s and has habit of falling in love with new faces at the drop of a hat.

When they find Katherine Le Reux she welcomes them in. She is quite stunning and a lot younger than her years, she is wearing a red dress that is hardly suitable for the middle of the afternoon and has long ringlets of golden hair. She serves them a hearty meal with cakes and more wine. She says they can stay in the barn this evening no problem.

Our story pauses here and will continue next month or August Obon.

So far nothing but niceties have befallen our players so they are getting uneasy and perhaps a bit hungry for some action. The calm before the storm is always the most fun for me. They have made some good connections already, perhaps without noticing. This will help them a lot with possible future events and difficulties on their quest. In the meantime have some more goats cheese and don't get Widow Le Reux too drunk.

If you would like to roll your own character please PM me and I can add you to the dropbox folder that has the rules for character creation and the character sheet. We have space for 3 more players if more people want to join next time. I will only run it with the minimum core 3 players we have already though, so nobody misses the story and action.

[ashmie]

In advance who can make next Sunday for WHFRP? Are we all in for the next installment?

[me_in_japan]

In, as much as I can guarantee anything these days. I have a verbal OK from the ayatollah, but that could change at any time

[jus]

I would like to try and make it too. Will this be at Fort S. and will it be RPG from the get go?

[ashmie]

Jus it all hinges on whether you can make it or not. If you can make it we can play rpg all day. Unless folks want to play kill zone in the morning? What say you?

Yes it's at Fort Spevna this Sunday. Check the games group finder forum for Fort Spevna for more details.

[ashmie]

Thanks for joining chapter two of Lichemaster mini campaign on Sunday. I enjoyed it a lot.
I'll post a write up here soon. In the meantime could you let me know your fellowship scores for your characters please. I have to calculate something for next time.
Next time? The Saturday after Obon weekend?

Also Mus please PM me your e mail so I can add you to the dropbox folder.

[jus]

Hey thanks for running phase 2 ash, can't hardly wait for part 3. My fellowship (Stefan von carstein) is 25, as such I intend to roast the first NPC I meet with a fireball, next time.

[ashmie]

At first you have got to learn how to use fireballs! It may take some time, I'll make sure I put some chances to learn magic in our scenario.

Oh by the way Mus I can't find my pdf version of first edition rules. Can you add it to the dropbox once I have added you.

[ashmie]

I need to check the spelling for your characters names. That's why you are referred to as the elf, wizard or barbarian sometimes.

From what I remember the players are Elf: Fiarel Kaethe'TyrShe : MIJ
Apprentice wizard: Stefan Von Carstein: Jus
Barbarian from the North: Arkwright: Spevna.

Chapter 2: Frugelhofen Festival, Gimbrins Mine and the Wernickes Farm.

Frugelhofen Festival

Once again we join our adventurers in Frugelhofen the rural riverside town in the Grey Mountains that sits on the Vaswasser.
Having enjoyed a slap up meal at Widow Le Reuxs they make the trip to the village hall (barn) for an evening feast that marks the beginning of Stoning festival tomorrow. Everyone from the village is there getting nicely sloshed on apple brandy and cider. Floriell our Elf makes a bee line for the female elven ranger called Shalyir he spots drinking next to a pillar. They hit it off amazingly well as fellows of Athel Loren much to the dismay of Shalyir’s traveling companion Albi who sulks in the corner watching her. She seems to be on some sort of quest or trail of someone but she won’t say any detail. It seems if this is the case the trail has run cold and both her and Albi are wondering what to do next. They are wondering about visiting Nuln. She has taken up with Albi because he has expert disguise skills she wants to learn.
Albi is an ex bunko artist who she has taken under her wing. Apparently our northern barbarian learns from Albi that she rescued him from some angry punters in Parravon when he was selling medicinal herbs that turned out to be laxative in quality.

Artide listens with patience to Albis terrible poetry he has written for Shalyir and enjoys a pipe outside. Meanwhile he persuades Albi that now might not be a good time for him to read his poetry to Shalyir in front of everyone in the barn.
While these conversations are happening our apprentice wizard speaks with Alain Gascoigne a village smith and carpenter. He reveals that he once served in the imperial army but had to leave as his wife was ill and is now housebound. He takes care of her every day now and works hard in the village. It is clear he longs for the military again even though he is too old. He buys the wizard a drink, the wizard accidentally drinks cider without realizing it is alcoholic apple cider. The real deal.

Another man named Cecil seems to be an aristocrat who is impressing villages of tales of his adventures and assures them that his traveling servants should arrive soon with his belongings and one or two cases of gold. Everyone is buying him drinks.

A few bar fights happen but luckily our adventurers don’t get involved. The feast dies out around midnight and Arkwright helps a flirty drunken widow Le Reux back to her house. She passes out before she can make any attempts at seduction and Arkwright nobly places her to bed and takes the sofa. The other two sleep in the barn which is next to the dairy.

The morning arrives with blistering hangovers for the barbarian and wizard. The mooing from the cows in the dairy is too much for them and they are suffering from migraines. Arkwright manages not to throw up and gladly eats Katherine Le Reuxs breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon.

While two of them take a rest and nurse their hangovers the elf sees the perfect chance to escort Shalyir to the festival. He finds her around 10 o clock at the stone carrying, the first event of the day. The whole village has assembled to carry stones around the village to ford the cairn. This allows the river to run slowly so that the locals can fish. It also is a tradition that works as a sign of respect to Taal. While carrying the stones around the village he sees the wife of Alain Gascoigne who is veiled and supported by Alain. It must be an important festival if she is attending as she usually never leaves her house.
After many pleasantries the Elves join the next event which is pot stoning. They take it in turns to throw stones at clay pots which are hanging from a line suspended above the river. After many misses the elf manages to smash one, it holds nothing, but the next pot he smashes holds many candies that fall into the river. The children scramble in and collect these from the freezing waters that thawed this morning.

Jus’ character decides to stretch his legs and finds Albi composing poetry underneath an apple tree. Albi greets him and asks him what the matter is. The wizard seems to be fumbling in his pockets and leafing through a notebook trying to decide what to do next. Is it some mischief he's trying to work perhaps? Just as he is wondering what to do next a frightened child runs from the forest towards the village screaming help.
The wizard and Albi follow him and later learn that a body has been found. That of a male villager.

The wizard lets a blue flame materialize in his palm in hopes to intimidate Albi. The spell has the opposite effect and the villagers are delighted and in awe of him. They insist that the wizard join them on a search party to recover the body. Albi joins too against his will. On their way to the forest they meet the happy Elven couple who are shooting foxes. The Elves decide to head to the village so no one is alarmed of this news. Albi is heartbroken and plods on with the others in the search party.

They find the body of the villager. He has been cut in two by what seems to be an edged weapon of some kind. At First Hector Brioche thinks it might be a wild animal attack but the wizard is certain this has been a murder. Searching the area finds very little, finally the child finds a small bone. Later investigations prove it to be an human index finger bone. Returning to the village the news of the finger bone is kept quiet from the rest of the villagers. Hector Brioche and Alain Gascoigne decide the outlying farms and the dwarves should be warned of this attack. Alain decides to head for the farms to warn them and asks the adventurers if they will warn the dwarves. They were heading that way anyway to speak with the Loremaster about burial mounds connected with the blue blooded bandits.

Gimbrins Mine

Our adventurers make good friends with the dwarves at the mine despite having an elf in their party. Gimbrin the lore master and Bardak the chief are very happy with the keg of brandy they have brought with them. The brandy flows and Gimbrin advices that Zwemmers barrow close to the mine is connected with the blue blooded bandits. Just as this is explained though an alarm is raised and the mine is under attack from bandits. Nor blue ones but animated skeletons (undead). They wear the armor and livery of long past and approach quickly on the dwarf hall. The Elf fires a few shots and wounds one but there are 13 in number. A bloody, desperate battle occurs; they manage to defeat all 13 skeletons with help from the dwarves but at a price. 3 dwarves fall in battle and are mourned. Bardak and Gimbrin decide that it is no longer safe to stay at the mine so they leave for Frugelhofen immediately not before the bones of the skeletons are thrown on a pyre. The dwarves are buried near the mine entrance.

About a mile from the mine our adventurers and the remaining 13 dwarves see smoke rising from the area where Kassenbruiks farm lies. Fearing the worst the dwarves say they will investigate, they ask the adventurers to warn the other farm, Wernicke, and to get the Wernicke family back to Frugelhofen as quickly and as safely as possible.

The Wernicke Farm

Persuading the Wernicke family to pack their things and move to Frugelhofen immediately proves more difficult than expected. For a start they are a big family and the grandparents have no interest in going anywhere. The grandmother is quite obstinate and doesn’t believe in leaving the farm she has spent her whole life living on. Even when our apprentice wizard shows them the skulls he has collected from the mine she runs into the corner of the kitchen shouting “Necromancers”. The grandfather has an almost identical reaction to the skulls. Finally it is too late to do anything as the farmhouse is under attack and already surrounded by skeletons.
What followed was the best bit of rpg in character fighting I have ever experienced. That’s what you get when you game rpg with wargamers I guess. At first everyone is in the living room with skeletons trying to fight their way in through every door and window in the place. The Elf very quickly has the idea to get all the elderly, women and children upstairs and to take shots at the Skeleton hero who commands the force. Only Granny decides to stay downstairs with her frying pan guarding her bedroom which is next to the living room. The barbarian manages to smash one of the windows and kill a skeleton that is trying to climb its way through.
The apprentice wizard is looking for oil to burn so he goes to the kitchen after Granny tells him that’s where it’s kept. Meanwhile she takes out an attacking skeleton who has just jumped through her bedroom window, with her frying pan!
The Elf makes progress with shooting the skeletons from the second floor children’s bedroom but only manages to enrage their captain who screams his name “Costaauuux ” with a skeletal grimace.
Another skeleton flings the side kitchen door open and rushes the wizard cutting him down in his tracks. He clings to the drum of oil he has found on the floor with 0 wounds and avoids passing out just as Artide comes charging through from the living room and spectacularly misses his prey. The skeleton fights back but is finally smashed into a hundred pieces. Arkwright continues outside to take the fight to them.
The wizard crawls to the living room with his oil, lights it and throws it out the window, in hope that it will burn the enemy outside who are nearly bashing down the front double doors of the farmhouse. The oil bomb rebounds off the window sill and ignites the living room and doors in a 5 ft radius. The wizard is lucky as it’s getting very hot. Granny runs through and picks up some more oil from the kitchen and our wizard. She carries him and the oil halfway up the stairs before he shouts “Put me down”. Which she does.

A few of the men of the farm encounter more skeletons in another lower floor bedroom but luckily they are strong fighters and can handle themselves before breaking out of the burning farmhouse through a window. Our friends are in trouble, Costeux is climbing the trellis to the second floor as the elf takes the oil from granny and pours it on his head. Arkwright is fighting more skeletons and chopping them down where they stand outside. The wizard crawls and manages to set fire to his staff in preparation to skewer any skeletons that might make it past the elf. The elf is cut down by Costeux as he reaches the second floor window and falls back into the room. In the nick of time the wizard sets light to the elf arrow, he aims and strikes true. The flaming arrow ignites the oil drenched skeleton hero of old and he falls back out of the window and lands in a burning fireball on top of his soldiers.
Arkwright cleaves the head clean off of another skeleton and it goes flying so high, when it comes back down it hits another skeleton on the head causing another to be smashed to smithereens.
Now the remaining people in the children’s bedroom must escape from a burning farmhouse that is about to become an inferno. The wizard casts his remaining spell with his last magic points and a successful zone of cold is cast over the surviviors. They make their way downstairs and through the burning house escaping by a window. Thanks to the magic force field they are protected and only a little scorched.

The skeletons have retreated now their leader has fallen. They crumble to dust and once again their bones are added to the fire. The farm dog appears carrying a bone in his mouth and gruffing loudly if anyone tries to take the bone from him.

A heroic victory all round. They are safe and can relish their survival, for now.

The Wernicke family gathers what they can from their burning house and set off with our heroes for Frugelhofen.

More adventure awaits.