Hellfrost Session #17

[This entry is from Jamie. Thomas missed this session. Drew came over again and played Karaphos (and did the old coot justice too)…pretty soon he’s going to have played everyone’s character at least once!

Spoiler Alert: Some portions of this session borrow from the adventure, Stolen Land, by Paizo. I’ve borrowed some locations, etc. and changed to protect the innocent. One encounter is also borrowed from the Hellfrost Encounters Book 1…encounter #10 to be specific…I say borrowed because I hadn’t read the encounter for a couple of weeks and wasn’t planning on using it. However, as you’ll see, it was “needed” so I just went with the general feel/flow of the encounter rather than the specifics.]

Lia burns brightly in a fire kindled by Andwick before the Heroes of Dalsetter bed down for some well-earned rest in the now wholesome Stead of Askvold. Cuðbert awakens for an early-morning hunt, stumbling into Jutta at the gates as he rubs sleep from his elongated eyes. Jutta’s offer of help in the search for Gaupa politely declined, Cuðbert sets off on a soul-cleansing romp, culminating in the hot blood of a ring-tailed marmot trickling down his throat and a chance to repay a little girl for her faithful gift of milk for the Fay.

Nissa needs Blood Poseys to strengthen her spirit, and Kraftwerk [Karaphos] agrees to help her in his fashion. Nissa and Kandahar [Karaphos] head into the snow-blown woods for a long day of herb-scratching. Along the way, Crawdaddy [Karaphos] asks Nissa to teach him the secret of speaking to trees, and she patiently explains to Cauliflower [Karaphos] that the trees are complaining of cold this morning, like old men crankily holding arthritic fingers up to the hearth.

[Thomas immediately portrayed Karaphos as someone who simply couldn’t get the names of others correct. The names he came up with for everyone used were generally about the same sound as their actual name. We’ve all taken some enjoyment, as players, to return the favor and Jamie clearly enjoyed doing so in this entry. The correct name is added to help keep things straight…apologies if I missed any. If there is a name that seems out of place, it is most likely Karaphos.]

Wulfwynn celebrates Eostre’s Holy Day by blessing the livestock of Askvold’s Stead, carefully watched over by Taranis. Eostre’s love is manifest in her Reaper’s every gesture, and the Kine will be fruitful this season even as they shiver in the ever-colder winds, and the resilient residents of Askvold’s Stead will eat well over the coming weeks. Jutta’s milk supply is also much less likely to dry up after Wulfwynn’s blessings from Eostre.

[Remember, missing a Holy Day is a minor sin and sins are to be strictly enforced in Hellfrost. I reminded the players of the clerical types that they do have to fulfill their religious duties. I have also provided them a calendar that has the holy days (from both the Player’s Guide and any additional ones from the Region Guides). So, in my opinion, from this point forth it is their responsibility to keep track of this sort of thing.]

Drefan of Aslov approaches Cuðbert as the latter still revels in the coppery taste in his mustaches and stabs to death a rare peace-filled moment with a single verbal quill: “What’s up with the Fay?” Follows a tense exchange of words, with Cuðbert investigating the past of this unknown fellow, stumbled upon as a prisoner of the foul Dargar-sworn of the Myrkr Holt. Upon discovery that Drefan joined the column of merchants just in time to see them ambushed by orc-kind, Cuðbert’s interrogation grows more aggressive, until Drefan finally reveals his homeplace, Aslov of a Thousand Miseries, and a reported connection to Minulfr. If Drefan actually trained and worked with that exceptional woodsman, he might indeed prove of some value to the Vale of Jàrn.

[Way too often, it seems, when a new player character comes into a game, they are simply accepted–without question–into the party just because all of the players know that this new character is a new player character. I have to commend Jamie for not doing this. Given the circumstances of Drefan’s appearance in the game and his rather suspicious answers from the last session, Cuðbert was not going to blithely accept Drefan’s good intentions. And when Drefan started asking questions about Jutta, Cuðbert was completely justified in responding with caution and beginning his own interrogation of the self-proclaimed “woodsman.”

It still isn’t clear to me, as GM, exactly who Drefan is or what his association with Munólfr might be…other than he has one. It might pose an interesting roleplaying challenge for Robert if (when?) the party meets Munólfr again and he claims to have never met Drefan. ;)]

Eostre honored appropriately, it is time to start off towards Ölfun’s for a rendezvous with honorless thieves. Gathering the packs of the woods-walkers, Taranis heads out of the stockade to search for the herbalists, joined by Wulfwynn, Andwick, and Skuli. Gathering a prowling Cuðbert from the woods near the Stead and followed by Drefan of Aslov, the Heroes of Dalsetter easily track the nimble Nissa and her wizened helper, Curfewviolater [Karaphos] .

Kangaroo [Karaphos] and Nissa, herb-pouches empty of recent additions, are still in the cold woods after hours of fruitless searching. Nissa looks up and suddenly sees an Orc who seems to have only noticed her at that precise moment. They both instinctively drop prone to avoid being the hay-bale for the other’s shafts. Nissa and Curmudgeon [Karaphos] carefully back away from this encounter, and, seeing no signs of pursuit, head back towards Askvold’s Stead as quickly as Cantankerous’ [Karaphos’] old bones can amble. Some time later, the herbalists see their colleagues approaching and California [Karaphos] shouts “Orcs! They robbed me!” provoking a furious response from Cuðbert, who is about to sprint in the direction Catchascatchcan [Karaphos] is pointing with his stick until it becomes clear that the encounter is not seconds, but scores of minutes old. Follows a divisive discussion of what to do next, with Wulfwynn arguing for warning Askvold’s Stead of the proximity of Dargar-sworn, Nissa persistently reminding the group of our promise to help Ölfun on the morrow, and Cuðbert burning with desire to return the Orc to his foul master’s care for eternity.

[As I’ve indicated before, the Vale is not a safe place. A small group of people, such as a young woman and old man, are quite likely to encounter some of the Vale’s dangers as the wander about looking for plants and talking to trees. Was it just one orc? Was it the survivor of the orc camp? Was it a scout for a larger group…as Cuðbert argued might have been the case? I guess we might find out at some point…especially when that horde of orcs descends upon the poor folk of Askvold’s Stead while the Heroes of Dalsetter are off doing something else. :shock:]

Taranis, swift of foot, agrees to carry a warning to Askvold’s Stead. Drefan of Aslov, claiming equal speediness, is sent along as a test of his truthfulness. Quickly arriving in Askvold’s Stead, the trotting twosome tells of trouble an hour away. Aslov-son is then surprised when Taranis, instead of setting off towards Olfun’s trading post, chooses the direction of Dalsetter, explaining that he must warn Mayor Agdi of the danger as well. Taranis and his taciturn companion eat up the miles until they come across a brightly burning fire and two wagons by the roadside. Taranis hails the two men at the fire, warning them of Orcs in the vicinity, and hearing that bandits have also been reported and that Agdi passed this way quite recently. The travelers offer hospitality to the two runners, and one of the men goes to his wagon to fetch some Ale. Rather than providing a satisfying beverage, however, the man instead serves up treachery, causing the side of his wagon to fall away revealing three crossbowman with bolts pointed directly at the fireside fellows. “Don’t move and you might live!” cries the miscreant, creating a standoff. Taranis throws down his spear, then decides not to surrender after all, throwing up a mystical shield over his body and leaping towards the second wagon in which Agdi is trussed. Drefan shows his mastery of the longbow by shooting a bandit twice until he is very dead. Taranis blasts the head bandit with lightning, greatly demoralizing the remaining highwaymen, who drop their bows. Drefan the Pitiless shoots one of the two as his crossbow hits the ground. Agdi, free from his bonds, shows a similar lack of preciosity, declaring the fate of the remaining bandits: “Get a rope.” Agdi and Ulrich, a merchant freed from the bandits as well, set out for Dalsetter with the two wagons, hopefully to ameliorate that town with a new store in the near future. Taranis and Drefan the Driller then set out at their fastest jog for the distant Trading Post of Ölfun.

[Well, what do you know? Another small group traveling the dangerous roads of the Vale. Actually, this was another instance of a random encounter. Depending on the location, situation, and such, I simply ask for a player to pick a suit or card value or similar and then deal a card. If the card meets whatever criteria I’ve set in my head (e.g., the same suit the player picked), then a random encounter occurs. In this case, it was more or less Encounter #10 from the Hellfrost Encounter Book I…it seemed appropriate. That’s also one of the great uses of that book…pick a few encounters that are appropriate for whatever is currently going on in the game and use them as random encounter…assuming one happens.

The bandit that survived surrendering (i.e., the one that Drefan didn’t shoot and kill after dropping his crossbow and putting his hands up) didn’t live long. Agdi’s “Get a rope” comment lead to a hanging of said bandit. I believe that the bandit was left hanging from a tree and the other bodies were just left were they fell. I sure hope a Death Lord or Death Knight happens to come along and find them.]

Wulfwynn, Nissa, Andwick, Cuðbert, Skuli, and Cankersore [Karaphos], favored by the Norns, arrive at Ölfun’s Post without incident and, upon surreptitious reconnoitering, see nothing out of the ordinary and elect to bang on the gate for admittance. The superlatively grumpy voice of Ölfun rings out “Dammit all to Var, you’re early!” Andwick corrects Ölfun’s misapprehension by shouting “It’s us, the Heroes, here to keep our promise!” This provokes a moment of silence, followed by an even grumpier bellow of “Sian!!!!” Ölfun, not having been aware of any promises made, is furious and of bruisèd pride and stalks off to soak his head in the snow while his lovely wife, Sian, welcomes the party into the Post and offers refreshment. The Heroes, deciding to employ a new modus operandi, quiz the charming lady on the past visits by the bandits, learning the typical pattern of their depredations and also that successively fewer bandits have been sent to tax this Post each time, perhaps due to the ease of the task. Expecting roughly a dozen bandits to arrive after mid-day, to enter without special precautions and to search the entire post for valuables, leaving laden with goods and having threatened and harassed the bilious Ölfun and his sweet companion Sian, the Heroes set up a plan to trap the bandits inside the stockade and kill them to a man.

[“deciding to employ a new modus operandi”…I love it! Such an innocuous and polite way of saying that the players decided to be more proactive and carefully prepare for a fight with the knowledge they can gather instead of charging in, screaming like a lunatic (an inside joke from a prior campaign). The players learned that when the bandits first came to the post, there were some two dozen or so and they were led by a woman, called Vény by the other bandits. This woman, according to Sian, was a bit on the psychotic side. The next time the bandits came, Vény was not with them and there were only a dozen or so. They were led by a man called Hákon this time. The third time they came, the situation was the same as the first and that the bandits seemed even less cautious about their activities about the post.]

After a good night’s sleep, particularly precious for the shivering Taranis and Drefan, who arrived well after midnight after a thoroughly exhausting slog, the party gets into position, with very precise instructions for Ölfun to avoid him tipping off the bandits to an ambush. Krankenhaus [Karaphos] prepares a bolt of sap to be delivered through the window of the house where he could keep an eye on Sian as well, with Drefan perched on a stand on the roof. Nissa’s eagle-eyes are positioned on a watchtower, and Taranis mans a perch above the storehouse. Wulfwynn grants the Post’s lone mare Eostre’s blessing by sharing her stable and its clear line of sight towards the gate. Skuli and Andwick are hidden in alcoves behind the gates, ready to slam them shut, and Cuðbert lies in wait just above. After hours of patient waiting, thirteen bandits arrive in very much the fashion described by Sian. Ölfun plays his part admirably, allowing the leader of the bandits to be struck from three different directions and badly injured before he even knows he is in danger. The plan works almost flawlessly, barring Cuðbert’s surprising lack of agility in his downward pounce and the unfortunate mishandling of a firebomb by the head bandit which results in the injury of Ölfun in addition to the death of several of the bandits themselves. Wulfwynn entraps several bandits before springing into action to attempt to save Ölfun from his burns, Taranis’ lightning blasts cow the honorless, Carryon’s [Karaphos’s] sap prevents a bandit from badly injuring the vivacious Sian, and the leader and two of his followers surrender to the mercy of the Heroes of Dalsetter.

[This fight was over in, I think, three rounds. Hákon, the leader and only Wild Card of the bunch, was at three wounds almost immediately. As he attempted to toss his “firebomb” (an alchemical device with Burst), RJ used Rigr’s Rune Benny to have Skuli immediately interrupt and hit him. This made the toss go wildly awry and it landed amongst the already Entangled bandits as well as catching Ölfun at the edge. At three wounds and, I believe, Shaken, Hákon surrendered and the still living bandits followed suit. That, of course, is where we ended the session.

In the end, Hákon and two of the bandits drop their weapons and surrender!]