[TRoS] Into the Dark Night [IC]

[Lacco]

Into the Dark Night

The fire sputtered, lighting the small refuge for a moment, its light reflected in the eyes of three people hiding inside.

Narset finished binding the cut on Archer's arm using a bandage with her own poultice. She nodded, and walked towards the bucket to quickly wash her hands of the oils and herbs.

The wound was not deep - and the sword that made it was not especially sharp - but she made sure it was clean and well-bound. The young squire rolled down the sleeves to cover the bandage, nodding back. His companion sat in the corner, eating a piece of bread. She was not sure if he was also wounded - he had blood on his clothes, but did not mention anything so far. The only sound he made so far was the chewing and the occasional rattling of the manacles.

When they turned up at the refuge - a simple hut with a log palisade surrounding it, which she used as her base for her visits to this land, she was cautious and did not go out, only watched them from behind the window. The squire introduced himself and asked for help - that happened a lot around here. He looked civil, his companion strangely wild. She did not know where he came from, but the squire was Stahlnish. The dialect was obvious.

And he was wounded.

They explained the situation while she took care of Archer's wound. They were hunted, and needed to escape to civilization. Already evaded a group of bounty hunters and fought off two other assassins. The last one managed to land a blow to his sword-arm, but only managed to land a flesh wound.

As she thought about their situation, the squire stood up, a key in his hand, and approached the manacled man. "As long as you are under with me, you are forbidden to die. I've gone to far too much trouble keeping you alive to bury you now. Its time that I took the chains off of you."

"Is he not your prisoner?" Narset asked.

"Yes. But it's not so simple. And I thought about it - if he decides to go on his own, he will be dead before reaching any minor town. We are in this together. I have promised to lead him to Stahl - but unless I wish to drag his body in front of my lord, I need to trust him - we both will be safer this way."

Few moments later, the man was free of manacles, and Archer stepped out of the cottage. Johann, now without manacles, massaged his forearms a bit, and then returned to his food. After few chews, he remarks towards Narset.

"As would you. They are tracking us. You will be brought back for interrogation. Or killed, if you are lucky." He takes a long sip of water. "War is coming."

Before she could answer, Archer stepped back in and threw a backpack with a sword at Johann's feet. "Be prepared. We leave as soon as horses get some rest. Won't help if we tire them out." He sat down, and looked at Narset. "Thank you for your hospitality. We will rest shortly and leave."

- - - * * * - - -

The sun was just beginning its descent when they heard the voices.

They were here. Men, from the Scar. At least two, maybe more, yelled from beyond the palisade.

"Open up! We are sent by the king-priest and we seek a traitor and his companion!"

Their voices raspy, filled with urgency and threat.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Welcome to the game.

Feel free to introduce your character, but we'll be jumping right into it.

The hut is small, just a single room with a bed, a table, an old chest that can't be properly closed. It has window slits looking towards the gate. Its back is propped against a rocky cliff, some 11 feet tall.

The palisade is tall enough to protect you from direct attack, but a horseman can either climb over it easily, or they can pull the gate open. It will give you some time, but not too much.

The yard is some 15 yards across, from the hut to the palisade.

Feel free to state what you have with you, your horses (and the rest of the things) are in the 'stable' - a canopy/shed with a large water trough.

Spoiler: LINKS

Show

IC

OOC

Recruitment thread link

[JNAProductions]

Narset knows enough to know that this is NOT a talking situation. The men who she found are being hunted-but they are not prey, and should not be treated like so. She looks to the two of them. "We fight?" she asks. "I am skilled with a bow-though I'd hate to kill them. But... I don't know if we're going to have another choice."

[bramblefoot]

johann nods, drawing the longsword, and donning the leather armor "the priest-kings men are notoriously impatient" he murmurs, clasping a hand on narsets shoulder. "this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky" he stops, and looks at narset. "the rules are simple. it's kill or be killed out here. i dont know about you. but i prefer to kill rather than be killed"

[ProgressPaladin]

”I would also prefer to survive.” Archer says, as he draws his blades. He stands ready, favoring his uninjured arm.

[ProgressPaladin]

Archer motions for Narset to stand back, and stands by the door, wanting Johann to follow his lead.

[bramblefoot]

johann will form up on the other side of the door

[JNAProductions]

Narset nods, readying her bow.

[Lacco]

A commanding voice sounded from beyond the gate.

"Break it down and see if they are inside!"

In few moments, the enemy managed to push the gate open. There were five of them: one in the back sat on a horse - a red-haired man wearing a reddish leather gambeson, was holding four other horses.

The rest were on foot. The two in front wore thick fur coats, one was black-haired and wielded a quarterstaff, the other one was a bulky, muscled bald man with a cudgel in his hands.

Behind them stood a man of smaller stature, thin and sickly looking, with narrow, rat-like face. He wore a leather jack, and wielded a spear and a round shield.

The last one stood a bit to the side. A rugged man with a large scar on his cheek and bushy beard, wearing a leather gambeson, a sword in his hand and a round shield slung over his shoulder.

The big guy, the bearded man and the thin man immediately entered through the gate, looking around.

The battle was joined.

Spoiler: OOC

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First off, we are now in combat time.

Second...let's see if the enemy gets surprised and hesitates.

It's a Reflex/7 roll for enemies. You were expecting them, but you also may hesitate, but it's Reflex/4 for you.

You roll amount of d10 dice equal to your Reflex. Your TN is 4, so every die that is 4+ is a success. One success is enough for you to succeed on the roll. So use the rollv command.

If you succeed, you can act normally. If you fail, you can only react (defend yourself) in first round.

Let's see how the enemy manages:
Gistaf the Fox: (4d10)[10][6][1][10](27)
Arnaud the Tracker: (3d10)[4][4][7](15)
Detlef: (4d10)[7][8][6][2](23)
Baze the Raven (3d10)[4][1][10](15)
Kodlak: (3d10)[10][10][2](22)

Next step: check your CP. New round, new dice.
Melee combatants: wait for me to update the post according to the rolls. Choose an opponent.

JNAP: you have nocked the arrow and now should be drawing the bow. Which means your dice pool has your Proficiency in. You can aim (and add your AIM to the pool) or just shoot.

[bramblefoot]

johann will point out the rider. "plug him, followed by mr beard" he whispers. jesus detlef, you didnt have to get involved you know he thinks.guess i gotta kill you now. better hope you're good cuz, cause im not going back

ooc: johann will prep sword and shield,letting narset fire until they close to melee

ill take detlef, but let them come to us. four on three isnt spoting odds

neutral stance

[ProgressPaladin]

(1d10)[5]
(1d10)[3]
(1d10)[6]
(1d10)[9]
(1d10)[2]
(1d10)[4]
Archer readies his sword in a neutral stance.

[JNAProductions]

Narset looses her arrow, sending it flying against the horse-mounted foe. It punctures his leg, a devastating blow.

[Lacco]

As soon as the thugs began to move forward, Johann and Archer heard the 'twang' of a bow and heard a scream. Had they time to enjoy it, they would see the chaos in the back rank: the large man on the horse fell down to the ground, losing the control of his horse and even the other horses.

One of the three that advanced stopped, hearing the sound - the black-haired staff-wielding man - and looked back. The spear-wielding man ran towards the horses with a panicked scream "Horses! Catch the horses!", attempting to stop them from running, but the burly man with a club and the bearded man continued their advance.

The swordsman slung the shield onto his arm and increased his pace, his eyes burning with hatred as he looked into Johann's face. He barked at the men in the back.

"Screw the horses! This is our prey! Quick. Circle around and kill the archer. We'll keep them busy." He smirked, and turned to Johann. "I hoped I'd be the one to catch you. Surrender and the Reaver may only take your body, not soul!"

The burly man with the club nodded and turned towards Archer, holding his club with both hands. He started to run, charging him.

Spoiler: OOC

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It will take 1 round for them to reach you. @JNAP: let me know what are you doing during the round.

@bramblefoot and ProgressPaladin: throw initiative. I already picked for your enemies. For stances, Detlef (sword & board) has neutral stance, Kodlak (club) is charging (aggressive stance).

State your initiative (feel free to OOC that, but you can also prepare to receive your enemies in IC).

[ProgressPaladin]

Archer is dropping into a defensive stance, facing the burly man.

Spoiler: Die

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Throwing a White Die, looking to parry.

[bramblefoot]

johann will let detlef approach, cracking a rictus grin. "you couldnt a fly, just like your useless wench of a sister!" he taunts. "you do realize her last two kids were mine right? How does it feel to know that you couldnt even protect your little sister from my depradations?"

Spoiler: ooc

Show

throwing white, body language and ridicule

[Lacco]

Archer

Archer heard the exchange between Johann and the enemy - but he did not have much time to consider it. The burly man seemed eager to kill. He charged him and swung his club in a wide, powerful strike from above, aiming at Archer's head.

Spoiler: OOC

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Round 1 Exchange 1
Burly throws red.
He attacks with a bash, downward vertical (zone V) for 7 dice.
State your defence, allocate dice.

---

Johann

Detlef snarled. There was no response from him, just a deep breath, his nostrils wide, his eyes wild. He closed in, with the intention to kill. His sword on his shoulder, but his shield held well, protecting his side - he was angry, but not furious enough.

Spoiler: OOC

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Waiting for the initiative statement & maneuver.
Missed the OOC spoiler. Sorry for that.

Detlef goes RED.

He goes for a diagonal cut for 6 dice.

[ProgressPaladin]

Going to Defend with 9 dice(DTN 6) (9d10)[2][2][9][9][1][8][8][8][2](49), Then if I successfully parry, go for a lunge at the chest (Zone XII) With 4 Dice (ATN 6) [rollv]4d10[/rollv]

[ProgressPaladin]

(ATN 6)(4d10)[9][8][5][6](28) STR+2

[bramblefoot]

johann will parry with five dice (4 sux), and reciprocate with an upwards slash at zone VI

(4d10)[4][6][8][10](28)

[Lacco]

In the hut, Narset deftly picks up one of her arrows, and starts nocking it, while watching the battle.

On one side of the door she sees Johann parry a wide swing by the bearded assailant.

On the other side, there is Archer - the young squire first displaces the club that is threatening to crush his head, and then lunges forward, seemingly just poking the big man in his guts, directly under his ribs - the burly man squeals of pain and falls to the ground, curled in fetal position, holding his guts and watching blood gushing out of the small wound. The club falls from his hands.

The large redheaded man stands up amongst the horses, shouting curses and ordering the rest of his man to advance.

The spear-wielding rat-like guy does not seem to like the idea of moving forward, but the black-haired man with quarterstaff obeys immediately, rushing forward.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

The quarterstaff-wielding man is advancing towards the hut. It will take him a round at least, but you can intercept him.
The redheaded man will need at least two rounds.
The last guy seems to fail his morale rolls.

@bramblefoot: will need the amount of dice spent on the second roll
@JNAProductions: if you elect to roll to speed up and succeed, you have the arrow nocked and the bow drawn - you'll have your proficiency minus 2 dice - for the speeding up - you can increase that by aiming for another round, or you can shoot. Pick your choice.
@ProgressPaladin: new round, new dice! Your opponent is alive still, even though he seems to be out of this combat. What do you do?

[ProgressPaladin]

Archer elects not to kill a downed opponent, and charges to meet the fellow with the staff. He assumes a defensive stance.

Spoiler: Die

Show

I will throw a white die.

[JNAProductions]

Narset keeps her distance, readying her next shot.

[Lacco]

Archer
The man slowed down, seeing how Archer quickly dispatched his opponent, but kept advancing. Archer watched him, waiting for his attack, but it seemed the raven-haired man was reluctant, defensive. They stepped to the side, moved in a part of a circle, then steppe back - neither of them attacked.

Spoiler: OOC

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White.

Round 3, Exchange 1: new round, new dice. If you want, you can state a stance - he assumes a defensive stance.

This will be a bit tricky: he has a longer weapon (range L) than you. Every attack you launch comes with +1 activation cost until you hit (afterwards, he is in trouble).

Stance? And throw initiative!

Johann

Johann more felt than saw his blade connect, and he saw his opponent's face: pain. Not enough to down him, but enough to startle him, to make him doubt. His blade cut his upper thigh from the inside, just below the gambeson: it cut through meat and maybe even some veins.

But there was no time to celebrate.

His opponent was still standing.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Round 2, exchange 1: new round, new dice!

Johann has the initiative, you are the attacker.

State your maneuver, allocate dice.

Narset

She saw Johann hit his opponent, her arrow in her hand. And the young squire managed to stop the man with staff advancing on her: that made her safe to take her time. She carefully nocked the arrow, calmly, and started to raise her bow.

She watched the red-haired man in leather gambeson in the back draw his longsword and place a round shield on his arm, while nudging the reluctant rat-faced spearman to move forward. Soon, her companions would get more combat their way.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Round 2
On round 3, your dice pool will contain your Proficiency dice. You can aim (adding Aim dice to the pool) or shoot.

[ProgressPaladin]

Archer elects not to kill a downed opponent, and charges to meet the fellow with the staff. He assumes a defensive stance.

Spoiler: Die

Show

I will throw a white die.

This is my die and stance. (Yes, Repeat.)

[bramblefoot]

johann will step forward, testing detlefs mobility "how do you feel now, ya d!ickless worm?" he taunts "i think this is where you meet your end! quick and painless is too good for you! i think ill make an incision in your tummy, and start pulling out your large intestine"

johann will cut zone IX (opposite leg to cripple him) with six dice

(6d10)[9][8][1][5][4][5](32)

Spoiler: ooc

Show

johann will throw red, and test detlefs mobility by taking a step forward. He'll also keep up the patter of insults

[JNAProductions]

Despite focusing on the melee in front of her, Narset hears what Johann says. It is not something she wants to have happen, but hopefully he's just trying to intimidate the opposition.

[Lacco]

Archer

The black haired man sidestepped. Archer followed him. Then Archer stepped to the other side, with the black haired man following him - it was an intricate dance, which lead them to the same spot as before. Neither seemed to be willing to strike first.

Archer noticed movement in the back. The leader of the group and the reluctant spearman advanced. They would join the combat in few moments. He did not hear anything from Narset...

But the man in front of him occupied his thoughts the most. He seemed nervous - maybe it was the stream of insults from Johann, maybe seeing how the other pair fared... Arched knew not. But there was fear in his eyes, tremble in his steps.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

White-white. Neither attacks.

R4E1: New round, new dice. Initiative throw!

Johann

Detlef just grunted, his breath heavy, and attempted to deflect the incoming swing with his shield, dropping it lower - but his wound made him slow.

Too slow.

The sword passed just below the shield and hit his knee in full speed. The knee gave way with a sickening crack and a splash of blood. Instead of stepping back, Detlef just fell down like a sack of potatoes, roaring in pain, just holding his now defunct leg.

A pool of blood was beginning to form under his leg.

Glancing up, Johann saw the squire face off with the staff-wielding boy, and the pair of men that advanced upon them all - they were still moments away.

Spoiler: OOC

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R2E1:

Detlef blocks using 6 dice.

Johann's cut has 2 successes, hit location II (upper legs; zone IX is the thrust zone); rerolled in OOC: 5 successes

Let's see how Detlef fares:
Detlef's block: (6d10)[10][2][4][6][4][3](29) DTN 6
Hit location: (1d6)[6](6)

Detlef's block: 2 successes

A tie!

If you want, you can spend Drama to reroll all failed dice; otherwise it's a tie: you keep initiative.

3 net successes:

Damage: ST 4 + 2 (weapon) - 1 (dull) + 3 net successes = 8 cutting damage

Resist: TO 4, no armor on legs = level 4 wound to knee

Blood loss: 8
Shock: 10
Pain: 13-WP (current: 11)

Btw, that's like 4 to 6 rounds of insults Each exchange is just few seconds - you'd have to deliver that over several rounds.

Also, during combat, initiative is switched around based on the result; you don't state it. In this case, Detlef had the initiative - you parried (you have initiative), you attacked and hit - you keep initiative. Initiative is restated only during break in combat (if the one who has initiative launches no attack/has no die and the other guy also launches no attack, or if one performs full evasion).

In this case, it's a scratch/tie => initiative stays with the attacker.

R2E2: you still have initiative and few dice to spare: what do you do?

Narset

Narset raised her bow and drew the string. She was ready to let loose the arrow, but she needed to find a target.

The black-haired man and Archer did not fight - they just stood, waiting, or walked around each other. They were close, but she was not completely sure she'd hit the man if Archer decided to suddenly move.

Johann pushed the bearded one back - and blocked him from her arrows. He seemed intent on cutting him to pieces.

The two men in back advanced. They could join the combat in few moments. She still had time to spare, but not too much.

Spoiler: OOC

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Round 3: you have nocked & drawn, your dice pool is your Proficiency (6). Do you shoot or do you aim?

Black-haired man: point blank range (+1 die) but Archer is in combat with him (if they decide to duke it out when you shoot, you get -3 dice due to erratic movement; if you miss, there is a chance of hitting Archer, if you fumble, you hit Archer)

Leader: short range (+0), but he has a shield (if he's aware of your attack, he may attempt to block it using reflex roll; also if you hit the shield, it won't probably hurt him)

Reluctant spearman: short range (+0), also has a shield.

BTW, hit location is determined randomly (by roll of 2d6). You can choose to concentrate and place your shot more precisely to the point where you want it - by setting dice aside (not using them for the shot). Each die provides a modifier of +1 or -1, depending on where you hit (i.e. GM will tell you where you can move it). Maximum amount of dice you can use for this depends on your AIM attribute.

[bramblefoot]

johann will call to archer "hey pretty boy, three on one isn't fair odds. no reason to let honor get your guts ripped open" he will flick detlefs blood off the blade, and assume a come hither stance, weapon low but ready and shield protecting against any thrown projectiles

rolling body language on rat man and the reluctant leader

ratman body language
(3d10)[3][2][3](8)

reluctant leader body language

(3d10)[1][2][3](6)

[ProgressPaladin]

Fletcher decides to end the circling, and drifts into an aggressive stance. He stabs into the opponents chest, aiming to surprise them.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Fletcher is using an aggressive stance, and attacks with 6 dice+2-1= 7 dice. Roll:(7d10)[2][9][6][8][4][8][6](43) ATN 6

[JNAProductions]

Narset takes aim and looses an arrow against those in the back-she doesn't want to chance hitting anyone friendly, and hopefully the shot will make them think twice about coming further forward.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

(6d10)[3][2][7][6][9][10](37)

If one of them is unshielded, I'll hit that one. If they both have or both don't have shields, then it doesn't matter a ton to me.

[Lacco]

Johann

He watched the two men moving, but his heart thumped in his chest with excitement of combat and downing the foe. He tried to focus, but also tried to keep an eye on Detlef: it would be a bad day to be surprised by soon-to-be-corpse like him.

He now recognized the broad-shouldered red-haired man. It was Gistaf, called the Fox - mostly because of his red hair and stupid red leather gambeson that he wore everywhere. He noticed that he was moving slightly slower - his knee was hurt. Not too bad, but it would slow him down. He was right-handed and would most probably open defensively, using his shield as opening.

The other man was a mystery. He seemed to be spooked, afraid, definitely not the kind to rush into combat. But he wielded the spear comfortably, and kept the shield high. He seemed uninjured so far.

...and at that moment, an arrow hit him into belly, piercing his leather jack and causing him to let out a whimper of pain. He started backing out of combat, trying to escape towards the horses, slowed down by the arrow.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Daaaamn, forgot that you were using shield and went with weapon TNs for double-handed use.

Okay, let's pretend you just slung it forward.

From now on, you are using longsword single-handed.

Also, the 'relaxed' stance is called Alber (or 'low forward'): Defensive modifiers consist of +3 CP against any attack to the legs or groin, +2 against any midsection attack, and -1 CP against the vulnerable head and shoulders (does not affect evasion, so feel free to evade those). There’s only one offensive bonus: +2 CP when attacking the opponent’s hands; all other attacks are at -1 CP (thrusts) or -2 CP (swings).

Archer

The enemy seemed almost surprised, his eyes widened - he was lulled into a slight feeling of safety by Archer's previous defensive approach.

The lunge was good: powerful, fast and precise. And it aimed right at the enemy's heart.

The man raised the staff in an effort to parry the lunge. A big effort that almost knocked him back: the staff spun, hit Archer's blade, but did not manage to completely displace it - it grazed the man's fur armor and scratched his skin.

Recovering from the lunge, Archer had no time to curse, only to fight...

Spoiler: OOC

Show

5 successes
Baze responds with a parry for 7 dice.

Baze's parry: (7d10)[10][7][4][5][9][10][10](55) DTN 6
Hit location: (2d6)[6][2](8)
Damage: 8p + ?
Resist: TO 3 + AV 1 = 4


It's a tie: Archer keeps initiative.

R4E2: second exchange, you have initiative. Maneuver & dice?

Also, was it Fletcher or Archer?

Narset

The arrow sped through the air and hit the spearman in the back. It pierced his leather jack and made him take a step back and grab his belly instead of advancing: he seemed horrified and let out a whimper, with which he started to back out of the combat.

It seemed that was enough to persuade him not to stay.

Spoiler: OOC

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4 successes (if you decide to spend Drama to reroll the failed dice & explode the 10s, let me know)

And I'm going to leave the result to random chance:
(1d2)[1] 1 = tracker, 2 = leader

Luckily, they both have the same shield and the same Reflex.

REF/8 (3d10)[3][6][9](18) for block

Just 1 success!

It's a hit!
Hit location: (2d6)[5][2](7) = belly
Hit zone: (1d6)[4](4) = lower abdomen

Damage: 5p + 3 = 8p
Resist: TO 3 + AV 3 = 6

Level 2 wound to lower abdomen

Blood loss: 6
Shock: 4
Pain: 6 - WP (3)

Enough to persuade this one it's not worth it.