[After the TPK from our prior session, I need a break from the main campaign to regroup and rethink the potential plotlines floating around in my head. Although only one of the “main” player characters was killed, the session’s end result has had a pretty significant impact on the direction the campaign had headed.
Plus, two new players are joining the campaign, Cliff and Kathryn, and both have never played Savage Worlds before. We all played a bunch of one-shots and trial games when we started up and it only seems fair that they have the opportunity to get a taste of the system too. So it all came together that it was time for a Hellfrost Side Trek! I made up some pre-gen characters (which can be found here) and quickly started throwing together an adventure (becoming a mini-campaign) around Hrafn Point…a settlement of the Járn Vale that lies rather close to the borders of the Withered Lands.
A Divine Slayer, Ivarr the Ghostmane (played by Rachel), and his cousin, Gansi (played by Robert), were tasked with hiring mercenaries and traveling to Hrafn Point to assist the Temple of Scaetha there deal with any undead incursions from the Withered Lands that may occur during the winter. Stori (played by Cliff), Ulfr (played by Kathryn), and Hefinnr (played by Todd) are three mercenaries hired by Ivarr. RJ missed this session but will be joining us in the upcoming sessions so I’ll be making up another charcter for him…probably a Eulogist.
Oh, one note about the PCs for this Side Trek…I randomly determined how many XP they had. It was something like 15 plus 2d6. I did this because SW seems so much more conducive to having characters of “different” levels than certain other games and it’ll be interesting to see this in play.
These events occur a couple of weeks before the start of the regular campaign. They may (or may not) have an element of foreshadowing for some larger events that may (or may not) develop in the regular campaign.
This entry is from Todd. As always, my GM comments in italics and brackets.]
Stori finally found us some work. It was about time too, I was tired of scrounging. Stori, Ulfr and I (Hefinnr) met our potential employers, Ivarr and Gansi, at the Four Sheaves in Aslov. Peacock (Stori) and Ghostmane (Ivarr) haggled briefly over how much we would be paid, eighteen gold scields a month plus food and lodging. It didn’t seem like a very good deal to me, until our first meal. Then I remembered how much Mule (Ulfr) can eat.
After breaking our fast, we headed out towards Hrafn Point. As long as I get to kill some orcs, I could care less where we were going. We traveled a long ways, and not any sign of orcs. It seems Ghostmane is an uptight fellow, maybe his drawers were riding up from all the walking. “Stay close, don’t get us ambushed, quit calling out for orcs!”, what a party pooper. Mule was getting bored as well. We were lucky he didn’t just stop and cop a squat. He definitely comes by his nickname honestly.
[I did take the opportunity to throw in some shout outs to what was about to happen in the regular campaign when the group spent the evening in Dalsetter…something about certain vermin seeming more numerous, a very attractive woman with a sharp tongue, the woman’s pet goat Erfiði, and a rather liberated, older woman.]
I believe we were two days into our journey, when we were attacked by orcs while crossing a bridge. It was about damn time, too! Orc Harvest needed to be fed. And feed it did. I recognized the orcs being of the Bonegnawer tribe, a particularly vicious tribe. They filed their teeth to points and ate their victims alive. They were way outside of their normal stomping grounds. Fine by me, the only good orc is a dead orc.
I think it was bit longer than two days into the journey. Most of these orcs seemed to be rather crazed…they were frothing at the mouth, shouting incoherently, and one tried to take a bite out of Gansi even though swinging his axe would have been better tactic. They were also totally fearless…as Hefinnr knew they would be (Todd had multiple Aces on Hef’s Knowledge (Orcs) check and so is quite knowledgable about his particular tribe). Ulfr’s great axe was quite apt at separating various pieces from the body of each orc…most often their heads. Despite Hefinnr’s great desire to kill the orcs I don’t think he got in one killing blow. :D]
Within the next couple of hours, we arrived at Hrafn Point. We met with Lord Obbi, the leader of the Scaetha temple. He told us about their troubles. Orcs attacking and taking villagers. When they gave chase, the keep was attacked by undead. We’re not sure but we think the orcs and undead may be in cahoots. Lord Obbi asks us to go after the orcs, and rescue the villagers. It’s not likely they are still alive, but we agree to give a try anyway. Besides we get to kill orcs!
[Obbi is not just the head of the temple but is also the leader of Hrafn Point. Hef and Ulfr were too busy chowing down to catch all the info that Obbi shared…in between scowling at Stori’s mouthiness…with Ivarr. Obbi stated that undead had been much more active recently than they ever had been in the past. A number of small raids by zombies/skeletons had occured in the last couple of weeks. Scouts were sent out to some nearby ancient barrow mounds to see if “something” had moved in and was disturbing those that lay there…the mounds, however, had never been a problem before. It was found that someone had been disturbing the wards around the mounds and when some other scouts were sent later, they did not return.
When Obbi gathered his forces and set out to strike back at the undead and search for the missing scouts, orcs attacked Hrafn Point as soon as the warriors were out of sight and took two children and a woman with them. Quickly returning, his forces then set out to catch the orcs…and then some undead attacked. Obbi simply doesn’t have enough warriors to both defend Hrafn Point and strike back at the attackers. Ivarr’s arrival changes that.
Obbi did hint that the PCs could stay and defend the village and let him lead the strikeforce but, of course, the players decided to hog all the glory and be the attackers. Obbi also made it clear that he feels that the undead are a greater threat than the orcs. Hefinnr made it clear that it was very, very unlikely that the villagers taken would still be alive…most likely already eaten. To Obbi, however, that sounded like there was still at least a slim chance that they might still be alive. Since there was a chance…no matter how slim…it was decided that Ivarr’s group would go after the orcs and try to rescue the villagers.
So the party started to head out…even though they had no one who could track the orcs. 😯 They came back and Haerin, a tracker and hunter, joined them.]
Lord Obbi provides us with a guide, Haerin. We pick up the trail and follow it to a cliff face with a cave. After carefully observing the cave entrance, we decide to come in from above the cave opening. We rappel down and enter the cave. We fight a small group of orcs, killing all of them.
[According to Haerin, it was pretty clear that the orcs had made no attempt to hide their trail and it wasn’t long before Haerin was sure of where they were heading…a cave complex in the side of a steep ravine. No, no, I’ve never watched The 13th Warrior, why do you ask?
The orcs, presumably, had ropes leading from the top of the ravine down to the cave entrance. They had no guards at the ropes…at least none that the PCs noticed. The guards just inside the cave were pretty quickly dispatched by the heroes.]
A side passage reveals a room with what looks to be human remains, most likely children, judging by the size of the bones. We continue down the main passage and come upon a sinkhole. It contains refuse and the remains of an assortment of creatures. Up ahead, in the darkness, we hear footsteps and creaking wood. We approach cautiously, and find that the passage ends at a ledge. I peek over the ledge, thinking that there maybe a ladder. As I look, javelins fly out of the darkness at me.
After taking a moment to regroup, Mule takes a torch and throws it out into the darkness. The torch hits the opposite cavern wall and lands on a wooden platform behind the javelin throwers. A drawbridge would provide access to the platform, but it is up. Flood (Gansi) and Peacock (Stori) clear the platform. Flood with his bolts of water, and Peacock with his arrows. The last orc escapes through a trap door in the platform floor.
I pulled out a grappling hook and rope. Mule throws it at the bridge, hooking it on the first attempt. Mule, with a bit of help, is able to pull the bridge down so that we can cross the cavern. Crossing to the other side, Mule opens the trap door and peers down. A ladder extends down into darkness. Mule drops the torch to get a better look. Orcs are waiting below, standing around the ladder, about fifty feet below.
[It was Kathryn’s idea to use the grappling hook and wrench down the drawbridge…ding…bonus Benny! The bridge was latched but Mule’s first yank was enough to break that latch and an additional tug from Ivarr brought it down. I believe that the torch Mule dropped was also the party’s only real light source…outside of some softly glowing characters blessed by Scaetha (i.e., Ivarr’s Boost Trait power)…another torch was quicly lit.]
Ghostmane calls on Scaetha and provides me and Mule with some magic, to help us with the plan we are about to give a go, along with some much needed light. Mule starts climbing down the ladder. I jump off the platform, swinging on a rope hoping to catch the orcs by surprise. It was a surpise! The rope hits a brace to the platform, shortening up my swing, therefore slinging me into the group of orcs. Exactly where I wanted to be, although I would have preferred to be standing. My trusty sword, Orc Harvest, will feed well on the blood of orcs this day!
[Lots of orcs some forty to fifty feet below…one orc hater above…a ladder that will take time to get down and give the orcs a clear shot at anyone coming down…screw that…jump!!! Loved the plan but, unfortunately, Hefinnr apparently isn’t the best at ropes. Todd rolled pretty low and spent a Benny but still ended up failing. It left him lying flat surrounded by hungry looking Bonegnawers…it wasn’t quite where Hefinnr was aiming to land but it was in the middle of the orcs so good enough! Todd did get a bonus Benny as a reward though so he broke even on that front.]
We earned our keep that day. With the lower platform cleared, Flood heals Mule. A suspension bridge extends out into the darkness. There are orcs waiting, I can tell.
[The other PCs had come down the ladder fairly quickly…except for Gansi who came down slowly and Stori who stayed up on the platform to shoot at the orcs below. At the end of the fight, a horn sounded from deeper in the caves and we ended the session. The session was primarily intended to give Cliff and Kathryn a taste of how Savage Worlds works…and to maybe start to lay out the foundation for some incredible, world-shattering, unbelievable storyline for the main campaign that will make all other campaigns seem small, stale, and uninspired (or maybe not).]
I’ll kill some orcs in the next session, even if i have to squint real hard.