Chapter I: Damring Fortress, Part 2

[Keehnelf]

OK--

sulldawga, how are the disposition points being removed?

[sulldawga]

I'm going to deduct the points from Harlan.

Agrom has more flexibility right now. He can Attack better than Harlan, and his +2d from his shield gives him the same number of Defend dice as Harlan has.

Plus he is Orc-Wise and will be putting that +1d to good use next turn.

Do you guys have any advice on the next round's moves?

[Keehnelf]

Ok, I've got mine set so no need to worry about influencing my decision making.

[sulldawga]

Agrom could attack, and have 4d plus the 2d from last round's successful Maneuver. Add in the fact that the orc on the other side has lost one of his helpers and has -1d to boot, and we could win a narrow victory right there.

Or Agrom could defend (Will 3, -1d for Sick, +2d for shield, +2d from Maneuver = 6d) and try to bring back one or more of you guys and we can attempt a more comprehensive victory. This is risky only because we can't roll at all if the orcs Feint vs. our Defend and then we probably flat out lose.

Not sure that Maneuver is a good move here, in any situation.

We could Feint here and hope to catch the orcs defending. But if the orcs are attacking, we've screwed ourselves and probably lost.

Either way, assume Agrom will use his Orc-Wise and Deeper Understanding to re-roll any one failed die roll.

So which is it, boys? Attack and practically assure ourselves of a Major Compromise Victory or Defend and attempt to win a Compromise or Minor Compromise Victory?

[Starbeard]

I suggest starting with an Attack—both Defend and Feint are gambles, capable of losing the match for us depending on what the orcs use, whereas Attack will at worst cause us to take a versus test against their move.

edit: For the whole round, I'm thinking either Attack-Attack-Defend or Attack-Defend-X sound good. Both would bring us a fair chance of a victory early in the round, and provide the chance to bring some hits back later.

[sulldawga]

If we're risk-averse, we Attack.

If we want to be crafty, we can assume that Keenelf has assumed we're Attacking and thus he's Defending, in which case we should Feint and screw him over, unless he's smart enough to see it coming and Attack himse...

Ah, hell. Let's just Attack.

Now, if we Attack and somehow it makes it to the next move, then we're in the same position as before, so we should Attack again. In fact, I think we can't risk doing anything else.

We will Attack-Attack-Attack.

[sulldawga]

Agrom sees his companions dropping to the ground, dangerously close to unconsciousness or worse, and he realizes that it's all up to him. With a shout, he redoubles his efforts to run off these mangy orcs.

Midway through his assault, he comes to a Deeper Understanding that he should be using the Orcs' fear of the Pilgrim to his advantage. He boldly proclaims himself the Red Hand of the Pilgrim, returned from the dead to slap them back into oblivion.

Had to split my rolls in two because I couldn't get the roller to roll more than four dice at a time. Last roll is for my Orc-Wise Deeper Understanding reroll. Total of 4 successes.

Fighter 4 +1d sword + 2d Gain Position -1d Sick = 6d

Agrom Attacks orcs round 2 pt 1 [1d6] = 1, [1d6] = 4, [1d6] = 1, [1d6] = 6

Agrom Attacks orcs round 2 pt 2 [1d6] = 4, [1d6] = 3

Agrom Orc-Wise reroll [1d6] = 4

[Keehnelf]

Unfortunately, Deeper Understanding requires a Fate Point to activate--you could use your Wise to add the equivalent of a helping die to someone else in this conflict, but with no Fate (to be distributed once you're back in town--soon!) it's impossible to activate the D.U. mechanism. Sorry!

[Keehnelf]

The orcs scripted an Attack first, from Zagruul the Incinerator, who has a base of 4D +1D for Bork's help, -1D for being impeded--so 4D.

Seeing victory close at hand, with Agrom outnumbered, the orcs attempt an all-out assault to attempt to incapacitate him.

Zagruul Attack [4d6s4] = 2

Agrom's three successes are enough to finish off the orcs, while Zagruul's two successes are reduced by one by Agrom's armor, avoiding damage in the process.

Agrom Armor Check [1d6] = 3

The party wins the conflict, driving the orcs off into the forest, clearing the way for them to leave the fortress!

But not without trouble--with only 1 remaining disposition point, the party is due for a major compromise. My proposal is that everyone receives the Injured condition from the scuffle with the orcs. Any counter-proposals or discussion?

[sulldawga]

Unfortunately, Deeper Understanding requires a Fate Point to activate--you could use your Wise to add the equivalent of a helping die to someone else in this conflict, but with no Fate (to be distributed once you're back in town--soon!) it's impossible to activate the D.U. mechanism. Sorry!

Dammit! Should have used it last round to help one of the other guys. My bad. Didn't read the rules closely enough.

[sulldawga]

The party wins the conflict, driving the orcs off into the forest, clearing the way for them to leave the fortress!

But not without trouble--with only 1 remaining disposition point, the party is due for a major compromise. My proposal is that everyone receives the Injured condition from the scuffle with the orcs. Any counter-proposals or discussion?

This works for me.

[Keehnelf]

Unfortunately, Deeper Understanding requires a Fate Point to activate--you could use your Wise to add the equivalent of a helping die to someone else in this conflict, but with no Fate (to be distributed once you're back in town--soon!) it's impossible to activate the D.U. mechanism. Sorry!

Dammit! Should have used it last round to help one of the other guys. My bad. Didn't read the rules closely enough.

Well, to be fair I think you did help everyone else during the last round--the Wise is kind of an extra skill/get out of jail free card, in that it can give Help ability in areas you might not otherwise have the skill for, or allow you to provide the extra die without putting yourself on the line for gaining Conditions.

[Simon]

Injury for everyone seems fair enough.

[Keehnelf]

13 Brightmorn, 814 - Turn 4 - Damring Courtyard

The party successfully drives off the orcs, and are left to their devices...for now.

Party status:
Agrom, sick, Injured (Torch, 1 turn)
Harlan, exhausted, Injured
Raizenbrayne, exhausted, sick, and Injured

[sulldawga]

Agrom sheathes his sword, picks up the torch, and says Let's get moving before they come back... or bring friends with them.

As they head for the forest, Agrom says We need to decide if we're going to opt for speed and stay on the path or go a little slower but hide from the orcs in the woods. What do you guys think?

[Starbeard]

'That's a good question, Agrom.' Raizenbrayne takes stock of the situation as he sits on the bottom step, head between his legs trying to rub the concussion out of his head. 'I don't know if we can risk another scuffle right now, but staying out all day and night wandering in the woods can be just as risky.'

Did the orcs appear to run toward the forest path, or away from it?

[Keehnelf]

They ran out through the main gate, through which the old road leads, and then headed generally south while the old road goes west toward town and east toward the quarry.

[Starbeard]

'I suggest we take the road. It will be quicker, and if we are careful we can still try jumping off the path to avoid ambush, should it come to that.'

[sulldawga]

'I suggest we take the road. It will be quicker, and if we are careful we can still try jumping off the path to avoid ambush, should it come to that.'

Agrom

Yeah, I agree with you. If we're lucky, we can get back to town before those orcs bring reinforcements back.

[Keehnelf]

After a half hour of trucking it through the woods, the party arrives at the swift-flowing creek with a narrow stone bridge spanning it, the sitting figure of the pilgrim by the roadway on the far side.