Post by jasper on Dec 23, 2011 3:01:50 GMT -5
So here is my adventure report for the free sample adventure “Orcs of the High Mountain”.
Warning: SPOILERS!!!!!! Warning: Lots of detail!!! This is to confirm that I am doing things correctly and possibly to aid others who slough through this mess of a posting. It’s five pages on Word so be warned. Yes, it was typed as I played along.
So here’s how my first attempt at Orcs of the High Mountains went:
I had to refer to The Sorcerer’s Manor for starting equipment. Also I ignored the reference OHM makes to starting characters having 3 starting skills as it contradicts the character creation rules of having four. Oh yeah, I printed out the map on my B&W laser printer: the dark red lettering for the “B”s, “C”s and “D”s can’t be seen, though the “A” can on the lighter hexes they’re on. The other letters which are in pink printed out ok.
Here’s the party: Four travelers named Boris (a typical brutish figher), Thammy (a slightly more clever wench), Naydataril (who has aspirations of glory) and Zathra (a sullen wizard with only nerd skills so always has to do the dishes).
Stats are as follows:
Boris ST: 12 DX:12 (9) IQ: 8 MA:4 Skills: Sword 2 Climbing 1 Swimming 1 Equipment: Chainmail Small Shield Broadsword 10 Silver
Thammy ST:11 DX:12 (10) IQ:9 MA:5 Skills: Spear 2 Stealth 1 Thief 1 Equipment: Leather Spear Shortsword 10 Silver
Naydataril ST:11 DX:11 IQ:10 MA:5 Skills: Longbow 2 Leadership 1 Diplomacy 1 Equipment: Longbow Short Sword 10 Silver
Zathra ST:12 DX:8 IQ:12 MA:4 Spells: Summon Wolf Heal Wounds Skills: Sorcerer’s Tongue Literacy (Sorcerer’s Tongue) Wizard’s Staff (12 FAT) 10 Silver
So here we go. The party gets the mission to rescue the lost girl. Get 20 silver. Yaaay! Don’t know how to track so hire a tracker. Spend 15 silver. Booo! After the tracker abandons us Zathra spots the orcs lounging about unaware so we rush them! The combat goes like this:
Turn 1: Boris rushes 4 hexes, Thammy rushes 5 and throws her spear at Orc F for a colossal 8 points (she chose extra damage on her toss). Naydataril shoots Orc E for 6 points (he also chose extra damage). Zathra summons a wolf using his own strength (so he can get one back after the fight without risking his staff yet…it’s all about resource management).
Oof! The orcs are mad. They have no weapon skills so aren’t nearly as effective. Orc E shoots and misses, Orc F throws a javelin at Thammy and misses, Orc E manages to shoot her for 4 points after her armour (he rolled a 6 for damage)!
Turn 2: Boris finishes plodding in. He chooses the bonus to hit with his sword and smites Orc E for 6 points, finishing him. Thammy realizes that she is not holding a weapon so spends her turn standing there and draws her short sword. Naydataril shoots and misses. The wolf speeds across the battlefield (rubble notwithstanding) and engages Orc F and bites him for 3 points. Zathra moves up 4. Why? I don’t know, he was bored.
On the orc’s turn the two remaining draw melee weapons. Though the rules don’t state otherwise I am assuming you can’t fire a bow while engaged (though technically there is no engaging in LAW).
Turn 3: Boris plods forward and attacks Orc F but misses. The wolf hits him for a measly point. Naydataril shoots him for 4, finishing him. Thammy engages Orc E and stabs him for 5 points! The wizard conserves his strength and wisely stays out of the fray. Orc E counterattacks Thammy but misses.
Turn 4: Things should wrap up quick here. They do with Thammy hitting the orc for 4 and the wolf finishing it off.
So, things I learned. Thrown weapons would rock…if you didn’t have to stand and reequip right after for a whole turn. Weapon skills rock for extra damage or increasing your chances to hit. You won’t go home without them. Post fight wrap up includes looting the cash, getting an XP (can’t forget that), taking some spare weapons and Zathra using his staff to heal Thammy and then resting to recover 1 of the fatigue that he spent summoning the wolf. While resting Zathra spots a painting of some fists and a manacle on the cave wall. Yaay, a codeword means another XP! Zathra says he’s not doing the dishes anymore. The party agrees and they enter the cave.
Enter the cave and attack some more orcs with some goblins thrown in.
Turn 1: Boris plods in 4 hexes to attack the nearest goblin but misses (he went for extra damage). The goblin has his bow out so can’t counterattack. Thammy also moves in and wounds the other goblin for 5 (she also chose extra damage). Zathra summons his wolf and Naydataril shoots and kills the wounded goblin (extra damage ftw!). The engaged goblin walks away from his fight and shoots at Thammy but rolled a 17! In Melee that would be a dropped weapon! No such misfortune here though. Orc V attacks and misses Boris while Orc S attacks and misses Thammy. Both Boris and Thammy choose not to counterattack yet.
Turn 2: The wolf sprints forward, flying at the backed up goblin. MA 8 is a lot! He enters the goblins hex when the goblin reacts to defend against the takedown. He’s almost as dexterous as the wolf. Wolf passes with a low 8 while the goblin wins with a 9! At least the goblin loses his next round. They are the same strength so I am not sure if the goblin can force the wolf back or if he has to retreat but it doesn’t really matter. He backs up a hex. Meanwhile Boris swings hard and hits for 8. In Melee that Orc would be sprawling but here he’s just mad. Thammy jabs hard and hits her orc for 4 (after armour of course). Oh yeah, the orcs may as well counterattack before the Naydataril tries to finish them off. Orc V attacks Boris and misses horribly (15), Orc S rolls even worse (16) and misses Thammy. Wow. Naydataril shoots at the more heavily wounded orc V but misses. The orcs and goblins have no actions as they were used reacting.
Turn 3: Boris wacks Orc V and drops him. Thammy misses even though she chose precision on this jab. Orc S counterattacks her and rolls 18! Wow, what bad luck for the enemy. That’s insane. Old TFT rules would have meant that weapon was broken, but I digress. The wolf tries another takedown which the goblin reacts against. The wolf rolls a measly 8 but the goblin rolls a worse 6 and is taken down. I believe no damage is rolled the first turn of takedown. Naydataril shoots at Orc S and does 4 wounds. Zathra disbelieves the goblin because he has nothing better to do.
Turn 4: Boris steps over and drills the orc down. Both the wolf and the goblin fail their grappling ST checks so no damage. Naydataril moves closer to the goblin. He could try using his Leadership skill to aid the wolf but I am not sure if the wolf is a “party member” and well, it’s a wolf and wouldn’t understand him. Thammy moves up also and can reach the scrum. Can she stab into a grapple? Rules don’t say so she doesn’t try. Goblin tries to escape the grapple but fails his ST roll. I don’t need to bother checking the wolf’s ST.
Turn 5: The party surround the goblin/wolf scrum. Even if the gobin escapes he’s going to get nailed by ZOC counterattacks from 3 people so I just write him off, he’s doomed. The party wins!
So wrap up includes 1 XP each, Zathra resting for 1 FAT, looting corpses. Zathra is sleepy and fails his IQ test and forgets to tell the others to search.
So my thoughts on that battle: I don’t like the lack of engaging and how people can just run away and shoot you. Also the takedown rules are confusing. The wolf uses his action to takedown. The goblin uses his to defend against it. If the wolf succeeds the goblin is down, if he fails the goblin has used his action and the wolf just gets another try next turn. I am going to assume the wolf actually has to make a 3/DX roll to hit to initiate the takedown, THEN if he hits the goblin can react and use his action to make a contest DX roll to defend against it. Of course if the goblin wasn’t holding a bow he could just be counterattacking and taking the extra d6 of damage.
Question: If the goblin was holding his javelin and counterattacked and stabbed the wolf but it lived what then? Does the wolf then takedown the goblin? Does the successful counterattack drive the wolf off? Or is there still a contested DX roll? A note on tactics for wolves is that because they are so speedy and have such a high DX they are great for tying up enemy archers and spellcasters with takedown attempts (or anybody not holding a melee weapon).
Anyway, boo to missing the IQ roll for searching so the party decides to go …west. Let’s go west.
And it’s into the shaman’s room where my party starts off in the “D” hexes. The opponents look kinda tough, one has a big axe. Oh well, that’s why we brought Boris. Can you say “meat shield”. Well, Boris can’t but that’s ok. We know what he is.
Turn 1: I’ll start with Zathra this time. He summons his wolf. Not sure if you can split the FAT cost between your ST and the staff but I’ll assume so. He uses one of his own and two from his staff which is now down to 3. Naydataril shoots at the shaman who has some cover from the cauldron and hits with bonus damage. Rolls a 1 though for 3 points (bow is +2, +2 for skill, -1 for cloth and -1 for cover). Boris moves up and attacks for extra damage but misses. Moak counterattacks but misses. Thammy attacks Moak along with Boris but hits! Moak is wearing chain but she chose bonus damage. She rolls a 5 for 6 damage (5 + 2 (spear) +2 (skill) -3 (armour). On the bad guys turn Moak has already used his action but Snargfist shoots at the bowman, spending 2 FAT for his magic fist. He rolls a 10 and hits! Rolls a measly 4 though for 2 damage on the unarmoured Naydataril.
Turn 2: Naydataril shoots at Snargfist, aiming for the eyes (extra damage). Oww, rolls a 12 and misses by one. The wolf then moves in and attacks him (screw takedown) and hits. Rolls a 4 for (4 +1 (wolf) -1 (armour)) 4 points damage. Snargfist is down to 2 ST and can’t throw anymore magic fists around so counterattacks with his staff. He has a adjusted DX of…13! Wow, that’s high for a wizard considering they roll IQ for spells now. The wolf is smacked on the nose for 4 damage. On the other side of the cauldron Boris wiffs again but gets drilled on the counterattack for, lol, 2 wounds (rolled a 6 for damage less Boris’ chain and shield is 2). Weak hit for a battleaxe. Thammy tries one last hard hit. Moak is wearing chain so the party trying to nail him hard (taking extra damage) but they may have to change that plan and just try to wittle him down. She hits though! Rolls a 6 for 7 damage (6 +2 (spear) +2 (skill) -3 (chain)). Moak stills stands also at 2 ST remaining.
Turn 3: The wolf attacks Snargfist for 5 points, dropping him. Naydataril shoots at Moak next aiming carefully (using bonus to hit, only need 1 pt) and…hits! Rolls a 4 for damage which gets 3 points through (4 +2 (longbow) -3 (chain)). Moak drops and is incapacitated.
Wrap up: loot, get xp, rest, heal Boris (but not the bow wielding Naydataril). Check out spellbook. Should be handy. It’s funny that I gave Zathra Sorcerer’s Tongue literacy and it actually came in use. Ugh, Zathra fails his IQ rolls again and the party forgets to search. The party exits north.
Hmm, a crude door with a lock. Thammy’s thief skill is not the same as the locks one so she can’t help. Don’t have a codeword so let’s smack the door. I’m assuming the door is hit automatically as Thammy and Boris use their weapons on it. Can they chose bonus damage against the door if they have the skill? Well, it makes some sense for Boris’ sword but Thammy using her spear to bash down a door? She could be prying boards I guess, it is clinky. Sure, why not. Start off with a couple bad rolls for damage and the door is still at 13ST. No orcs hear the noise. Try again: Roll great this time and the door crumbles and again no hunters hear. Got lucky. Step through the ruins of the door to find a room with moldy food. “Nothing here, “ Zathra announces as he fails yet another IQ roll…the party turns around and returns to the main room and goes north.
They get to a platform by an underground lake. The gong is searched and some money is taken while the party discusses what a nice gong it is and yes, they do agree that gongs are a nice addition to any family home. Thammy looks over the edge of the platform and sees the mess below. Wiser heads prevail and the party, while they admire the gong, they do not wish to ring it. They turn back south to the main room and go east. Oh, finally Zathra makes an IQ check and advises the party to search the tunnel. They find an old key. They now search the walls to find some old graffiti. Oh well, they continue east to enter a room where they find the girl! Refusing the bribe (the party is in good shape and can kill the orcs, take the money anyway and still rescue the girl for the reward!) the party attacks.
Turn 1: Naydataril sacrifices his turn to make a leadership IQ check but fails. Boris attacks the axe-wielding Throng, trying to hit but rolls a 13. Throng counterattacks and rolls a 6! Oh oh, Boris is in trouble…except yet another 6 is rolled for damage getting two points through. Thammy attacks Grim the Manly man, going for the eyes (boo!). She hits with bonus damage! Rolls a one though, a 3 point scratch. Grim counterattacks and also hits, rolling..OUCH..boxcars for damage. So that’s (12 -1 (shortsword -2 (leather)) 9 points damage on Thammy. She is up with 2 points remaining. Zathra uses up the last of his staff along with a couple of his own ST to summon his wolf. On the enemy turn only Gospitt has to go. He has an IQ of 11 so I’ll rule he’ll attack the wounded Thammy. He hits with an 8 and rolls a 5 for damage which gets 3 through her armour. She drops and things are not looking good.
Turn 2: The wolf jumps on Grim rolling max damage (take that!) getting 5 points through. He counterattacks but misses with a 14. Naydataril shoots at Grim also, using his bonus to hit. Ouch, triple 6s. That’s a miss. Zathra uses the Magic Fist from the spell book and shoots at Grim. A 16. That’s a miss. Boris slugs it out with Throng. Boris hits and gets 4 wounds through (it’s a start…) while Throng counters and hits again. Ouch. A roll of 9 gets 5 points through. Boris is still standing. Pretty impressive taking two battleaxe hits. Now for Gospitt. As I read the rules he has to take a turn to reequip but that doesn’t make sense if he throwing multiple javelins and not moving so he take a shot at the unarmoured (1,2,3 Zathra 4,5,6 Naydataril..rolled a 1) Zathril! Rolled a 4 to hit and a max 6 damage!
Turn 3: The wolf attacks Grim again and rolls max damage dropping Grim to negative 2. Zaphril casts Shadow out of the spell book on his own hex so he hopefully won’t get javellined again. He was thinking about using drop weapon on Throng but hopefully he can do that next turn. Boris attacks Throng, hitting with a 7 (should have gone for the extra damage, oh well). Rolls a ten for 8 wounds on Throng. He’s still up though and counterattacks hitting for the third time in a row (at DX 9 no less). He rolls 17 for damage getting 13 on poor Boris who drops to negative eight. That’s it for him. Naydataril shoots at Throng, going the aiming bonus and hoping to roll a 3 or more if he hits to finish him off. He hits with a 12 and rolls a 3, dropping Throng to zero. It’s close now. Now Gospitt is a sneaky little goblin. If he can drop the wizard his wolf will disappear but the wizard is in shadows. But Naydataril is barely hurt. So the wizard it is. Gospitt rolls 4 dice against his DX getting a 7! He rolls 3 for damage and Zathra drops exactly. His wolf poofs.
Turn 4: It’s just Naydataril and Gospitt now. Nay shoots at Gospitt, going for extra damage. He hits and rolls a 4 for 7 wounds on Gospitt. Gospitt moves up but I’ll rule that he can’t re-equip a thrown weapon, move and still attack.
Turn 5: Naydataril switches weapons to his short sword. Gospitt attacks Naydataril in melee combat with his last javelin. He hits and does 5 points. Naydataril counterattacks but rolls a 14 and misses.
Turn 6: Naydataril has used this turns action reacting last turn so he can’t go. Gospitt attacks again and rolls a 5, hitting. A roll of 6 for damage drops Naydataril and ends the party. Dumb goblin.
So that’s the way the dice roll. The party should have been able to handle that but Throng hit 3 times in a row at DX 9 with his battleaxe and Gospitt hit all 5 times he attacked. Even Grim hit one for two. Can’t really fault the difficulty level of the adventure, just bad luck. Making some of those search rolls may have helped too if equipment was to be found. I thought I had it but Gospitt was a little threshing machine.
So I had some queries intermixed throughout, regarding takedown and re-equipping thrown weapons. I don’t like the lack of engaging and how people can just skip away without consequence. Also not a fan of being able to fire into combat with no extra difficulty and consequence. I do love the no ST cost per turn change to the rules for spells. I also like the rolling versus your IQ to cast as opposed to your DX though that's a big change. I actually have 3 pages of notes on the 7 page rulebook but I’ll have to organize that later and post my thoughts after some sleep.
I had a lot of fun though and that’s what counts.
Warning: SPOILERS!!!!!! Warning: Lots of detail!!! This is to confirm that I am doing things correctly and possibly to aid others who slough through this mess of a posting. It’s five pages on Word so be warned. Yes, it was typed as I played along.
So here’s how my first attempt at Orcs of the High Mountains went:
I had to refer to The Sorcerer’s Manor for starting equipment. Also I ignored the reference OHM makes to starting characters having 3 starting skills as it contradicts the character creation rules of having four. Oh yeah, I printed out the map on my B&W laser printer: the dark red lettering for the “B”s, “C”s and “D”s can’t be seen, though the “A” can on the lighter hexes they’re on. The other letters which are in pink printed out ok.
Here’s the party: Four travelers named Boris (a typical brutish figher), Thammy (a slightly more clever wench), Naydataril (who has aspirations of glory) and Zathra (a sullen wizard with only nerd skills so always has to do the dishes).
Stats are as follows:
Boris ST: 12 DX:12 (9) IQ: 8 MA:4 Skills: Sword 2 Climbing 1 Swimming 1 Equipment: Chainmail Small Shield Broadsword 10 Silver
Thammy ST:11 DX:12 (10) IQ:9 MA:5 Skills: Spear 2 Stealth 1 Thief 1 Equipment: Leather Spear Shortsword 10 Silver
Naydataril ST:11 DX:11 IQ:10 MA:5 Skills: Longbow 2 Leadership 1 Diplomacy 1 Equipment: Longbow Short Sword 10 Silver
Zathra ST:12 DX:8 IQ:12 MA:4 Spells: Summon Wolf Heal Wounds Skills: Sorcerer’s Tongue Literacy (Sorcerer’s Tongue) Wizard’s Staff (12 FAT) 10 Silver
So here we go. The party gets the mission to rescue the lost girl. Get 20 silver. Yaaay! Don’t know how to track so hire a tracker. Spend 15 silver. Booo! After the tracker abandons us Zathra spots the orcs lounging about unaware so we rush them! The combat goes like this:
Turn 1: Boris rushes 4 hexes, Thammy rushes 5 and throws her spear at Orc F for a colossal 8 points (she chose extra damage on her toss). Naydataril shoots Orc E for 6 points (he also chose extra damage). Zathra summons a wolf using his own strength (so he can get one back after the fight without risking his staff yet…it’s all about resource management).
Oof! The orcs are mad. They have no weapon skills so aren’t nearly as effective. Orc E shoots and misses, Orc F throws a javelin at Thammy and misses, Orc E manages to shoot her for 4 points after her armour (he rolled a 6 for damage)!
Turn 2: Boris finishes plodding in. He chooses the bonus to hit with his sword and smites Orc E for 6 points, finishing him. Thammy realizes that she is not holding a weapon so spends her turn standing there and draws her short sword. Naydataril shoots and misses. The wolf speeds across the battlefield (rubble notwithstanding) and engages Orc F and bites him for 3 points. Zathra moves up 4. Why? I don’t know, he was bored.
On the orc’s turn the two remaining draw melee weapons. Though the rules don’t state otherwise I am assuming you can’t fire a bow while engaged (though technically there is no engaging in LAW).
Turn 3: Boris plods forward and attacks Orc F but misses. The wolf hits him for a measly point. Naydataril shoots him for 4, finishing him. Thammy engages Orc E and stabs him for 5 points! The wizard conserves his strength and wisely stays out of the fray. Orc E counterattacks Thammy but misses.
Turn 4: Things should wrap up quick here. They do with Thammy hitting the orc for 4 and the wolf finishing it off.
So, things I learned. Thrown weapons would rock…if you didn’t have to stand and reequip right after for a whole turn. Weapon skills rock for extra damage or increasing your chances to hit. You won’t go home without them. Post fight wrap up includes looting the cash, getting an XP (can’t forget that), taking some spare weapons and Zathra using his staff to heal Thammy and then resting to recover 1 of the fatigue that he spent summoning the wolf. While resting Zathra spots a painting of some fists and a manacle on the cave wall. Yaay, a codeword means another XP! Zathra says he’s not doing the dishes anymore. The party agrees and they enter the cave.
Enter the cave and attack some more orcs with some goblins thrown in.
Turn 1: Boris plods in 4 hexes to attack the nearest goblin but misses (he went for extra damage). The goblin has his bow out so can’t counterattack. Thammy also moves in and wounds the other goblin for 5 (she also chose extra damage). Zathra summons his wolf and Naydataril shoots and kills the wounded goblin (extra damage ftw!). The engaged goblin walks away from his fight and shoots at Thammy but rolled a 17! In Melee that would be a dropped weapon! No such misfortune here though. Orc V attacks and misses Boris while Orc S attacks and misses Thammy. Both Boris and Thammy choose not to counterattack yet.
Turn 2: The wolf sprints forward, flying at the backed up goblin. MA 8 is a lot! He enters the goblins hex when the goblin reacts to defend against the takedown. He’s almost as dexterous as the wolf. Wolf passes with a low 8 while the goblin wins with a 9! At least the goblin loses his next round. They are the same strength so I am not sure if the goblin can force the wolf back or if he has to retreat but it doesn’t really matter. He backs up a hex. Meanwhile Boris swings hard and hits for 8. In Melee that Orc would be sprawling but here he’s just mad. Thammy jabs hard and hits her orc for 4 (after armour of course). Oh yeah, the orcs may as well counterattack before the Naydataril tries to finish them off. Orc V attacks Boris and misses horribly (15), Orc S rolls even worse (16) and misses Thammy. Wow. Naydataril shoots at the more heavily wounded orc V but misses. The orcs and goblins have no actions as they were used reacting.
Turn 3: Boris wacks Orc V and drops him. Thammy misses even though she chose precision on this jab. Orc S counterattacks her and rolls 18! Wow, what bad luck for the enemy. That’s insane. Old TFT rules would have meant that weapon was broken, but I digress. The wolf tries another takedown which the goblin reacts against. The wolf rolls a measly 8 but the goblin rolls a worse 6 and is taken down. I believe no damage is rolled the first turn of takedown. Naydataril shoots at Orc S and does 4 wounds. Zathra disbelieves the goblin because he has nothing better to do.
Turn 4: Boris steps over and drills the orc down. Both the wolf and the goblin fail their grappling ST checks so no damage. Naydataril moves closer to the goblin. He could try using his Leadership skill to aid the wolf but I am not sure if the wolf is a “party member” and well, it’s a wolf and wouldn’t understand him. Thammy moves up also and can reach the scrum. Can she stab into a grapple? Rules don’t say so she doesn’t try. Goblin tries to escape the grapple but fails his ST roll. I don’t need to bother checking the wolf’s ST.
Turn 5: The party surround the goblin/wolf scrum. Even if the gobin escapes he’s going to get nailed by ZOC counterattacks from 3 people so I just write him off, he’s doomed. The party wins!
So wrap up includes 1 XP each, Zathra resting for 1 FAT, looting corpses. Zathra is sleepy and fails his IQ test and forgets to tell the others to search.
So my thoughts on that battle: I don’t like the lack of engaging and how people can just run away and shoot you. Also the takedown rules are confusing. The wolf uses his action to takedown. The goblin uses his to defend against it. If the wolf succeeds the goblin is down, if he fails the goblin has used his action and the wolf just gets another try next turn. I am going to assume the wolf actually has to make a 3/DX roll to hit to initiate the takedown, THEN if he hits the goblin can react and use his action to make a contest DX roll to defend against it. Of course if the goblin wasn’t holding a bow he could just be counterattacking and taking the extra d6 of damage.
Question: If the goblin was holding his javelin and counterattacked and stabbed the wolf but it lived what then? Does the wolf then takedown the goblin? Does the successful counterattack drive the wolf off? Or is there still a contested DX roll? A note on tactics for wolves is that because they are so speedy and have such a high DX they are great for tying up enemy archers and spellcasters with takedown attempts (or anybody not holding a melee weapon).
Anyway, boo to missing the IQ roll for searching so the party decides to go …west. Let’s go west.
And it’s into the shaman’s room where my party starts off in the “D” hexes. The opponents look kinda tough, one has a big axe. Oh well, that’s why we brought Boris. Can you say “meat shield”. Well, Boris can’t but that’s ok. We know what he is.
Turn 1: I’ll start with Zathra this time. He summons his wolf. Not sure if you can split the FAT cost between your ST and the staff but I’ll assume so. He uses one of his own and two from his staff which is now down to 3. Naydataril shoots at the shaman who has some cover from the cauldron and hits with bonus damage. Rolls a 1 though for 3 points (bow is +2, +2 for skill, -1 for cloth and -1 for cover). Boris moves up and attacks for extra damage but misses. Moak counterattacks but misses. Thammy attacks Moak along with Boris but hits! Moak is wearing chain but she chose bonus damage. She rolls a 5 for 6 damage (5 + 2 (spear) +2 (skill) -3 (armour). On the bad guys turn Moak has already used his action but Snargfist shoots at the bowman, spending 2 FAT for his magic fist. He rolls a 10 and hits! Rolls a measly 4 though for 2 damage on the unarmoured Naydataril.
Turn 2: Naydataril shoots at Snargfist, aiming for the eyes (extra damage). Oww, rolls a 12 and misses by one. The wolf then moves in and attacks him (screw takedown) and hits. Rolls a 4 for (4 +1 (wolf) -1 (armour)) 4 points damage. Snargfist is down to 2 ST and can’t throw anymore magic fists around so counterattacks with his staff. He has a adjusted DX of…13! Wow, that’s high for a wizard considering they roll IQ for spells now. The wolf is smacked on the nose for 4 damage. On the other side of the cauldron Boris wiffs again but gets drilled on the counterattack for, lol, 2 wounds (rolled a 6 for damage less Boris’ chain and shield is 2). Weak hit for a battleaxe. Thammy tries one last hard hit. Moak is wearing chain so the party trying to nail him hard (taking extra damage) but they may have to change that plan and just try to wittle him down. She hits though! Rolls a 6 for 7 damage (6 +2 (spear) +2 (skill) -3 (chain)). Moak stills stands also at 2 ST remaining.
Turn 3: The wolf attacks Snargfist for 5 points, dropping him. Naydataril shoots at Moak next aiming carefully (using bonus to hit, only need 1 pt) and…hits! Rolls a 4 for damage which gets 3 points through (4 +2 (longbow) -3 (chain)). Moak drops and is incapacitated.
Wrap up: loot, get xp, rest, heal Boris (but not the bow wielding Naydataril). Check out spellbook. Should be handy. It’s funny that I gave Zathra Sorcerer’s Tongue literacy and it actually came in use. Ugh, Zathra fails his IQ rolls again and the party forgets to search. The party exits north.
Hmm, a crude door with a lock. Thammy’s thief skill is not the same as the locks one so she can’t help. Don’t have a codeword so let’s smack the door. I’m assuming the door is hit automatically as Thammy and Boris use their weapons on it. Can they chose bonus damage against the door if they have the skill? Well, it makes some sense for Boris’ sword but Thammy using her spear to bash down a door? She could be prying boards I guess, it is clinky. Sure, why not. Start off with a couple bad rolls for damage and the door is still at 13ST. No orcs hear the noise. Try again: Roll great this time and the door crumbles and again no hunters hear. Got lucky. Step through the ruins of the door to find a room with moldy food. “Nothing here, “ Zathra announces as he fails yet another IQ roll…the party turns around and returns to the main room and goes north.
They get to a platform by an underground lake. The gong is searched and some money is taken while the party discusses what a nice gong it is and yes, they do agree that gongs are a nice addition to any family home. Thammy looks over the edge of the platform and sees the mess below. Wiser heads prevail and the party, while they admire the gong, they do not wish to ring it. They turn back south to the main room and go east. Oh, finally Zathra makes an IQ check and advises the party to search the tunnel. They find an old key. They now search the walls to find some old graffiti. Oh well, they continue east to enter a room where they find the girl! Refusing the bribe (the party is in good shape and can kill the orcs, take the money anyway and still rescue the girl for the reward!) the party attacks.
Turn 1: Naydataril sacrifices his turn to make a leadership IQ check but fails. Boris attacks the axe-wielding Throng, trying to hit but rolls a 13. Throng counterattacks and rolls a 6! Oh oh, Boris is in trouble…except yet another 6 is rolled for damage getting two points through. Thammy attacks Grim the Manly man, going for the eyes (boo!). She hits with bonus damage! Rolls a one though, a 3 point scratch. Grim counterattacks and also hits, rolling..OUCH..boxcars for damage. So that’s (12 -1 (shortsword -2 (leather)) 9 points damage on Thammy. She is up with 2 points remaining. Zathra uses up the last of his staff along with a couple of his own ST to summon his wolf. On the enemy turn only Gospitt has to go. He has an IQ of 11 so I’ll rule he’ll attack the wounded Thammy. He hits with an 8 and rolls a 5 for damage which gets 3 through her armour. She drops and things are not looking good.
Turn 2: The wolf jumps on Grim rolling max damage (take that!) getting 5 points through. He counterattacks but misses with a 14. Naydataril shoots at Grim also, using his bonus to hit. Ouch, triple 6s. That’s a miss. Zathra uses the Magic Fist from the spell book and shoots at Grim. A 16. That’s a miss. Boris slugs it out with Throng. Boris hits and gets 4 wounds through (it’s a start…) while Throng counters and hits again. Ouch. A roll of 9 gets 5 points through. Boris is still standing. Pretty impressive taking two battleaxe hits. Now for Gospitt. As I read the rules he has to take a turn to reequip but that doesn’t make sense if he throwing multiple javelins and not moving so he take a shot at the unarmoured (1,2,3 Zathra 4,5,6 Naydataril..rolled a 1) Zathril! Rolled a 4 to hit and a max 6 damage!
Turn 3: The wolf attacks Grim again and rolls max damage dropping Grim to negative 2. Zaphril casts Shadow out of the spell book on his own hex so he hopefully won’t get javellined again. He was thinking about using drop weapon on Throng but hopefully he can do that next turn. Boris attacks Throng, hitting with a 7 (should have gone for the extra damage, oh well). Rolls a ten for 8 wounds on Throng. He’s still up though and counterattacks hitting for the third time in a row (at DX 9 no less). He rolls 17 for damage getting 13 on poor Boris who drops to negative eight. That’s it for him. Naydataril shoots at Throng, going the aiming bonus and hoping to roll a 3 or more if he hits to finish him off. He hits with a 12 and rolls a 3, dropping Throng to zero. It’s close now. Now Gospitt is a sneaky little goblin. If he can drop the wizard his wolf will disappear but the wizard is in shadows. But Naydataril is barely hurt. So the wizard it is. Gospitt rolls 4 dice against his DX getting a 7! He rolls 3 for damage and Zathra drops exactly. His wolf poofs.
Turn 4: It’s just Naydataril and Gospitt now. Nay shoots at Gospitt, going for extra damage. He hits and rolls a 4 for 7 wounds on Gospitt. Gospitt moves up but I’ll rule that he can’t re-equip a thrown weapon, move and still attack.
Turn 5: Naydataril switches weapons to his short sword. Gospitt attacks Naydataril in melee combat with his last javelin. He hits and does 5 points. Naydataril counterattacks but rolls a 14 and misses.
Turn 6: Naydataril has used this turns action reacting last turn so he can’t go. Gospitt attacks again and rolls a 5, hitting. A roll of 6 for damage drops Naydataril and ends the party. Dumb goblin.
So that’s the way the dice roll. The party should have been able to handle that but Throng hit 3 times in a row at DX 9 with his battleaxe and Gospitt hit all 5 times he attacked. Even Grim hit one for two. Can’t really fault the difficulty level of the adventure, just bad luck. Making some of those search rolls may have helped too if equipment was to be found. I thought I had it but Gospitt was a little threshing machine.
So I had some queries intermixed throughout, regarding takedown and re-equipping thrown weapons. I don’t like the lack of engaging and how people can just skip away without consequence. Also not a fan of being able to fire into combat with no extra difficulty and consequence. I do love the no ST cost per turn change to the rules for spells. I also like the rolling versus your IQ to cast as opposed to your DX though that's a big change. I actually have 3 pages of notes on the 7 page rulebook but I’ll have to organize that later and post my thoughts after some sleep.
I had a lot of fun though and that’s what counts.
