Showing posts with label RotSM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RotSM. Show all posts

Saturday, August 27, 2016

RotSM, part 8



When last we left her, Mitra had lost her most trusted companion to a pack of warg riding scouts from the hordes of Dragonspear that were advancing along points north and south. Misfortune also stole from her grasp the one evil possession that promised salvation for her friends, the death mask of the naive king. The Axegrinder dwarf clan is forced to work for her nemesis, Xavier Zalibar unless she can deliver the now stolen item. What is she to do? Does she pursue the thief in vain and abandon her new friend, Redbeard, and the rest of depraved Soubar?

For a recap of posts in this exciting epic, refer to the list with links to the original posts. Skip all this if you are interested only in the system specific details of the AP.
  • Post 1. Mitra ventures to remote regions of the Thunder Peaks and recovers the Death Mask of the Naive King.
  • Post 2. In Luskan, two conspirators discuss the progress of Mitra. A wizard has the means to observe her movements remotely.
  • Post 3. After a long journey, Mitra travels west and north with her prize. Near the High Moor she encounters wounded Red Beard who warns of hobgoblins and devils. They traveled south together to Soubar to warn the folk of the region, but Mitra is robbed, her mask taken.
  • Post 4. In Luskan, Hacarthor the wizard meets his contact’s employer, Zalibar, the nemesis of Mitra. They learn that the cursed mask was stolen. We also learn that Zalibar has imprisoned Sanbar Axegrinder, Mitra’s friend and his clan who are building a mechanical horror — the mask is key to its completion. We also learn in Soubar about the thieves — the Calashite orphan flees Soubar with the mask.
  • Post 5. Mitra send Redbeard to the town’s officials to break news of the impending invasion and goes in search of the thieves. She finds their lair, but the trail of the thief grows cold.
  • Post 6. The petty-thief, Stordfast, met an untimely end and has released the demon bound within the mask. Our heroine has no clue as to these events, but the fate of her friends lays in recovering and delivering the mask.
  • Post 7. Mitra sets out alone to track the mask’s thief blindly, but stumbles into a scouting party from the hordes of Dragonspear. She looses her trusted steed and is faced with the need to warn the town or potentially loose her quarry.
In my last post, I discussed how I planned to convert the game to Cornerstone Universal RPG, and listed stats for our heroine. I am also using Rory’s Story Cubes to fill in prompts and blanks, with a simple roll of a D6 indicating the general positivity or negativity if such context is not immediately obvious. I will impose a few more guidelines about how I intend to use the cubes…

In past sessions, I might roll one or two cubes at a time as needed. My cut scenes devoted to NPC and plot development were some of the most intriguing ones. These were freeform, relying only on a set of nine cubes picked to taste.

I’m going with a roll of nine again for all scenes including PC-centric ones. I may or may not use them in the order rolled, depending on whether or not this impedes progress and ease. In any case, a set of nine will be my pacing mechanism for the scene. Once all nine are expended, my goal is to wrap up any loose ends as quickly as possible. Hanging threads are always fine too — even desirable, since they keep me coming back for more.

Since this is a first post with the new system, I’m going to be kicking the tires of Cornerstone pretty hard.

Without further ado…



Mitra ran in full force, tears of grief ran freely intermingled with gasps for breath as she willed her legs forward. Her baldric clanked loudly against her shirt of mesh. The town’s edge slowly drew nearer.

Elephant. Bull, male, tusks, thick skin, memory? I find brainstorming helpful to achieve results that do not always produce the most obvious ones. Memory seems good. A roll of 4 on a Die of Fate indicates a positive meaning.

As she ran, a vision suddenly filled her thoughts. She saw an old and kindly man with deep leathery creases in his weathered face who loomed over a baby lying in a crib — she was that baby. He spoke soothing words to her and stroked her cheek with the back of a rough calloused hand. “Nala…” the man said, the old Damaran word for angel. The man was her father — a man she should have had, by all conventional reasoning, no right to remember. He had died during Damara’s first Witch-King invasion when Mitra was only three weeks old.

The vision cleared, and Mitra found herself in a standstill, shocked by the omen. Why had it come at such a time? What did it mean? There was no time for pondering.

No Entry. I think this has an obvious meaning…was Redbeard able to assemble and warn the town?

Mitra burst upon the square of the town gripped by chaos. Redbeard stood at the center of a mob scene along with the militia men the two had encountered after Mitra’s theft. Angry townsfolk thronged in a mass, screaming angrily at one another, demanding answers to hard questions, and causing disorder. To one side, an abandoned child screamed for her mother who was nowhere to be seen, and to another corner two men broke into a fistfight while others were going about looting a general store.

The Damaran was shocked by the pettiness and lawlessness of the folk. For the moment, her sorrows were replaced by anger. She leapt upon the landing atop the stairs to the tavern. “Stop this insolence!”

Okay, time for my first Task roll. She’s going to attempt to cow them into understanding. She sees running from the approaching horde as the only option, with those stalwart enough to face the first wave of attackers to remain behind to buy time for the rest to escape. That’s a tall order, so I give it a -1 penalty due to difficulty, plus another source of difficulty because there’s a mob scene. Next we’ll figure out traits. She’s going with a direct approach, which is her method core trait. That cancels out one difficulty modifier, leaving her with a single -1 penalty. She happens to be spattered with gore and disheveled which might grant gravitas to the situation. She is using her Influence skill, which is rated as capable. She succeeds with a roll of 3 or higher.

She rolls with a -1, getting a result of 5 and 3. That succeeds! She’s not out of the woods, however. An even result adds an “and…” to the result, while odd provides a “but…”. I like the fact that straight-up “Yes” or “No” are pretty much eliminated in Cornerstone, so there’s always a push on the narrative. It’s also fascinating how many result details one can determine with a throw of a single die.

Some gaming parts (traits, difficulty, and advantage) are at first a bit confusing, but I think I’ll get the routine shortly:
  • Only one positive trait can be used per action; it provides a +1 or an additional “and…” or “but…” qualifier
  • Multiple sources of difficulty provide up to +1/-1 per source, but don’t stack
  • A trait can cancel out a difficulty modifier/qualifier, and CAN stack with difficulty (meaning the most penalty/bonus you’ll ever see is +2/-2)
  • Multiple sources of advantage/disadvantage cancel out but don’t stack, providing a roll twice, keep best/worst option
Slowly the bickering and looting slowed and eyes turned to the gore-spattered warrioress who found that her bloodied sword was still grasped in her tight hand. She had been a veteran of hundreds of skirmishes, and as a woman had surmounted even greater obstacles to command the respect of hardened men. She was also a gifted leader and knew how to exert the coercion needed to force men to listen, often in the face of terror and death.

When she felt she had every eye, she continued. “Soubar is lost! If you are to survive, you must abandon her. The enemy is already upon us…I slew two scouts on the edges of town. A horde of goblins and devils is behind them. The host will not be more than half a day’s ride from here.

“Your window of escape is nearly closed, unless you leave NOW! Take your loved ones, what you need to sustain you on the road and leave the rest behind. Make for Baldur’s Gate. You can escape only if the strongest and bravest stand behind to waylay the first wave of the enemy.”

She saw that she impressed upon them the need to escape, but the last part of her plan turned most of the cowards’ bowels to water.

“I am Mitra! I am a field commander of some experience, and I shall remain behind with those brave souls that will teach these raiders why they should not test the mettle of the good folk here. Die if I must, we will hold back a great number if you should follow my sword.”

Her words had a profound effect. She sent the townsfolk hastening. They were terrified, but at least found the conviction to act. By the time the goodwives, children and elderly had cast off down the western road and she had collected her volunteers, she had only a fraction of the number she estimated from a town of such size. Those that returned were the sort of desperate, infirm, geriatric, paltry lot she hoped to avoid — and severely under-equipped besides. Nonetheless, they commanded more of her respect than could any of her former mercenary comrades with many times the skill in arms.

I’m going to be tracking some of these difficulties as we go: so far, we have a difficult task of waylaying the greater enemy (-1), and disadvantaged due to under-preparedness/training, and ill-equipped. I’m a little unsure the difference between a difficulty and an advantage/disadvantage, since the rules seem to imply there can be multiple sources of difficulty. They seem equivalent according to the examples in the rules. I guess difficulty is related to the task itself, while advantage relates to outside sources of aid or impediment. Still somewhat unclear. [Edit: after a quick Q&A with the author, this is true.]

She addressed them, Redbeard at her side. “Soubar will be lost. We cannot hope to protect her, so abandon your attachment now to your homes and property. Those things will only earn you death. We can hope to raze her to thwart the enemy and buy time for your kin. If you feel saddened to loose your home and memories — your heirlooms and mementos — I sympathize. Your only solace is in seeing that the enemy does not take these trophies!”

She laid out a plan. Dividing the folk into groups, one team worked to scavenge for anything useful as weapons or to construct traps. Flammables were stockpiled, pits dug, and homes doused in oil to light aflame. Timber was salvaged affixed with sharpened stakes to form choke point barricades at even intervals, allowing odds to be reduced in favor of the less numerous defenders. Lastly, Redbeard instructed the remaining townsfolk how to effectively handle a weapon. For the most part, they would use projectiles and incendiaries.

Mitra has her human ability, a technique that allows her to never fail when performing non-combat related tasks in connection with her Expertise. For her, this is battle tactics, so she needs not roll to perform these tasks. We’ll just tally the advantages: traps and strategic choke points. That will cancel out the disadvantages. When all is said and done, it looks like she’ll be making Influence command tasks without a modifier, since her Mercenary class trait can cancel out that modifier. A roll of 3 or better will grant a success.

When all was made ready, dusk began to fall. The few townsfolk were entrenched in their positions, ready to take the enemy as they swept south through the town. She and Redbeard shared the anticipatory watchfulness in silence.

Minotaur. I’m wanting to know if Redbeard presses Mitra about the incident with the scouts in the previous post. Minotaur — bully, tough, labyrinth. I’ll say he tries to trap her through his cunning labyrinth of questions.

“Did you find any badges or marks upon those goblins?” the veteran asked after a spell of silence.

“Hmm? I didn’t think to check,” Mitra answered distractedly. “My only thought was to alert the town.”

“Where did you say you encountered them?”

“I didn’t,” she answered. “It was east and south of town.”

Silence. After a time, “It seems to me strange that you would find yourself along that eastern way.”

“What are you implying?” Mitra asked with irritation, taking a defensive posture.

“If I am to die with you, I would know with whom I fight and what motivations drive her,” he said with even tone.

It was a fair point. Mitra had purposefully deceived him in order to avoid questions about what was actually stolen from her. How could he trust her? Even more, why?

Mitra could remain tight lipped upon need, and she still wouldn’t reveal the nature of her quest even now when they together faced a likely death protecting a lawless folk. Still, he owed her his life — but she understood well the fundamental bonds from which loyalty issued.

Mitra will again use her Influence to convince him to trust her, but without lying. No modifier, and she’ll trigger her loyalty trait to cancel an “and” or “but”. She’s disadvantaged because he has proven skullduggery is afoot. She needs a 3 or better and gets 6 and 3. It’s a yes “but”, although her trait successfully cancels the qualifier. That’s kind of a cool thing about how traits work…the player must choose what benefit (+1, add an and/but, or cancel an and/but) is desired before the roll.

“Dauravyn,” she began, “you have guessed correctly that I am keeping something from you. I cannot reveal its nature, because it will betray dear friends — friends who are in mortal peril should my quest fail. These, too, are good and honest folk with wives and kin that will also suffer the same fate as these townspeople here do. There is evil in my mission, but I cannot abandon it.”
Redbeard put a hand on her arm. “We needn’t pursue the issue further. I sensed a conflict from some trouble, but also felt the quality of your convictions. Keep your secrets…”

The two said no more.

Wormhole. Now, we’d like to know how the enemy first appears. Psychic attack, disoriented, weird, magical gate, radiating waves, target, blast of fear. I’ll go with the latter.

The waiting seemed interminable as the deepening gloom fell upon the mostly vacant town. The palpitant silence was suddenly rent asunder by a frightful blast from a mighty horn call. Joining the unison were several other answering blares.

“Their advance has started,” Redbeard said needlessly.

Mitra saw the fearful shift of her hastily trained defense line. “Steady yourselves,” she said in a calm tone. “Remember your kin — hold your positions so that they may live.”

She tries to remove their fear. She’s disadvantaged because of it, but again triggers her loyalty trait to cancel an and/but. She gets a 2 and a 2, which fails. However, she is able to cancel the “and…”, meaning they are afraid but hold their line.

She could see their quaking. There was nothing that she could do to nullify their fear. But she knew what the effects of fear could do to benefit the common man during the throes of battle.

Arrow. What is the next thing that happens? Well, that’s very appropriate!

The shrill whistle of arrows followed as the fall of deadly bolts began to precipitate, some of which were lit with burning pitch. “Let them waste their arrows!” she called to her untested soldiery. To herself, she added under her breath, “Let them burn this accursed town!”

Mitra executes the next part of her plan — to lure the enemy in and set fire to the flammable traps. Her traps advantage cancels the under-prepared disadvantage, but her unorthodox methods add one in. We still have to contend with a -1 modifier and have no traits from which to draw. Mitra rolls 5 and 5, so that’s a success BUT…

More arrows heralded the front lines — warg riders bearing torches. Mitra exercised all her will to hold back her men from bolting or setting fire to their elaborate traps too early. The first few enemy riders shot through the perimeter of the square. Mitra gave the signal and the incendiary pots and strategic oil-doused buildings burst into flames.

Screams of the enemy were heard. The plan was taking its toll on the front wave of marauders. But screams from nearby townsfolk mingled with the horrific cries of the enemy as one burning structure tumbled into the square trapping a group between walls of fire.

“Come on!” Mitra cried to Redbeard and many of the nearby fighters. They hastened to the edge of the blaze. Every moment they waited, the flames crept ever closer toward the circular prison’s center.

Mitra had an idea. “Stay clear!” she called to the trapped townsfolk. “You five, help me push this over…” She came to a still standing section of the structure’s wall that had not yet caught fire. If they could tip it over atop the flames, they might create a bridge of escape, provided the section didn’t crush the people.

The description says it all. This is a Might task with a difficulty modifier of -1. She’s got help and is being creative, which are two advantages. She rolls, getting a 1 and a 2. That’s “no, but…”.

When putting their might together, they finally caused the section to topple, it was simply too short to reach the safer center where the people were trapped. However, the dust and broken timber was enough to smother some of the flames. That was enough boost to encourage many of the men there to attempt to pierce the barrier of flames. They punched through, many of them catching fire. Their comrades smothered the flames that eagerly licked at their garments. Many were severely burned.

Hanging Around.

As Mitra helped one of the last across, some of the flooring broke underfoot. She dropped into the smoking ruin under the burning structure, hanging onto a broken ledge with one arm. Burning embers showered her, singing the bare skin of her arms, and smoke choked her lungs.

Getting out, she must contend with the smoke and embers, making it -1. There’s no advantage or trait here, just a straight up Might roll. She rolled a 0!

She tried to twist to grip the jagged edge with her other hand, but the crumbling handhold failed. With a cry, she fell into the smoking ruin.

Yikes! Now a Resistance roll for damage. I love how Cornerstone makes the GM’s job easy! Give any opponent or source of danger a damage rating and call it done. The author suggests a range of damage suitable for weapon lethality, going up to about 10. I’m going to give this a range of 10 / 20, because that’s more than Mitra has. And I think this has the potential to take her out of the action. She rolls a 6 to get a “Yes, and…”. She’s a tough cookie! (Vitality remaining: 6)

Next, she must climb out. Normally, this would be standard difficulty, but she has to contend with the disadvantage that the place is going up in flames. This sort of implies she should also roll to resist the flames — 3 / 6 damage I’ll say. Coordination to get out gives her a roll of 2 and 2 — “No, and…”. Persevere through the smoke and flames — 1 and 1 — “No, but…”. She is taken out, but finds a place to lie away from the worst of the flames. She’s out of Vitality and incapacitated.

Planks of wood and other rubble fell atop the mercenary as she hit bottom with a painful crash. Soot and smoke filled her lungs. She gasped for air as she fought her way out. Much of the structure above came crashing down quickly thereafter and she knew no more.

Dungeon; Creepy Boatman, Marshal’s Badge. Going to use up the rest of these to close the chapter.

Redbeard turned to find Mitra was not there. He asked one of the men where she went, but none had seen her tumble into the cellar of the ruined building.

In moments, more riders poured through the barricades and past burning buildings. The complication had cost the freedom fighters valuable time. In moments, any who put up resistance were cut down. The remainder, including the captain of the Stewards of the Old Road threw down their weapons. Mercy was not a trait of the hobgoblins, but a higher power dictated their actions. After the first resistors were slain, the defeated were rounded up and manacled. Many large pen wagons drew up, pulled by massive beasts. The prisoners were mercilessly whipped and loaded on board, their few personal effects taken from them.

The force’s captain strode forward — a massive bloated abomination of pocked rubbery skin bubbling with rupturing nodules. The horrific demon strode up to the lead wagon, identifying Redbeard from the horde’s previous incursion against his forces. The captain of the hobgoblin and demon army smiled hideously.

“The mask…” he said in a sickly baritone. “Where is it?”

Mitra has another string of bad luck — or perhaps not. She’s at least free if she can scramble free. What will happen next time? Another complication turns with the demon captain also wishing to covet the mask. Tune in to find out what happens...

Last Notes


After a little time with Cornerstone, I think it runs fast and lean. Many of the gizmos, widgets, bobs and buzzers are not overwhelming. If there are a number of factors in play that might require modifiers and advantages, it’s quite easy to eyeball them and determine a mostly negative or mostly positive slant. Since +1/-1 is the most from any one thing, snap decisions are easy to make. There’s also an intriguing aspect of play when determining how best to use traits — choosing from a flat modifier or an additional and/but before the roll. It makes for some interesting strategic choices.

In any case, I’m looking forward to continuing Mitra’s epic story…

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Coming Back Around to RotSM




Been quiet around here. Almost two and a half years since my last post on the topic, and I’m missing my ex-mercenary solo character Mitra, who was in the midst of some very harrowing adventures with a lot at stake. I’m planning to come back to her using a similar format.

These posts were mostly prose, making heavy use of Rory’s Story Cubes. I used cubes to prompt action and detail when I came up blank. I also used a whole set of them for creating cut scenes — building whole scenes of NPC action to build characters and lay out plot. I also used a Die of Fate mechanic to determine the overall negativity or positivity of a situation or prompt.

I paired these techniques with FU, one of my favorite all-time RPGs with its six outcomes that work great for generating more forward momentum, the interpretation of which serves nicely as its own form of game oracle. FU is also fast and gets out of the way, allowing the player to zoom in and out of the action as needed and resolve any sort of dramatic situation.

I will be changing this system in this actual play continuation. For this, I’m going to test drive the Cornerstone universal RPG — particularly the Cornerstone Fantasy plugin both created by Ben Dutter of Sigil Stone Publishing.

But why ruin a good thing? Dutter cites in his rules that they are heavily influenced and inspired by Freeform Universal, Fate, PbtA games, all of which are games I love and that do good things. Cornerstone keeps a similar FU-style “and/but” outcome, along with Fate-style traits/aspects, and a simple single die (sometimes two dice/pick the best). Characters feel unique, and there are a few other aspects about the game that appeal to a soloist — the PC only rolls, just like in FU, but NPCs are expressed only through their Vitality (hit points), the flat damage they can do, perhaps an overall difficulty modifier they might confer, and that’s about it. Even minimalist FU has more bookkeeping than this.

To show what’s in the tin, I’ll stat out Mitra, converting her into Cornerstone.

The first thing the author advises is creating a game concept. Here, the genre, tone, setting, and purpose for adventuring is codified. This is important for a group to get on the same page. Here, I know what I’m after, but I’m listing it anyway to be complete, making this a more complete walk-through of the system. Fate Core has a similar game creation step, but here it’s minimalist, comprised of nothing more than a short list:

Game Concept
Genre. High Fantasy

Purpose. Lone Hero

Place. Sword Coast, Faerun

Color. Epic/Gonzo

The next step is to codify the character concept. I have a very strong one in mind for Mitra, because she’s a favorite character of mine that I’be used frequently. We get the following:

Who? Loner, Compassionate, Riddled with Regret
What? Seasoned Warrioress, Tactician, and Rider

Background. Former captain of the Black Dragons Mercenary Co., she committed regrettable wrongs, working for the evil network that employed them until she left to join the fight to liberate her native Damara.

Foreground. Working to release her friends, having been blackmailed by her old employer to do an evil deed.

Traits are next; those aspect like descriptors that can be “triggered” to provide some mechanical boost or hindrance. Characters start with three core traits — ideals, method, and history, that already say a lot about a character. For this we get:

Ideals. Loyalty
Method. Direct
History. Cavalier

All cool and simple so far. Cornerstone Fantasy adds races and classes to the basic rules. Mitra is a human, which grants her some special abilities related to her expertise, being tough, and most of all, creative problem-solving (something I can see myself using frequently). She’s a warrior, and has a few special things attached to it, like more than average Vitality, other toughness related to damage reduction, bonus to damage, and faster initiative. Suggested expertise is applied to that skill, which in Mitra’s case will be “battle tactics”, making that part of her important.

Next, the base skills are filled out with additional ones to facilitate the genre. This is already handled in Cornerstone Fantasy. We have the eight standard: Awareness, Coordination, Influence, Knowledge, Logic, Might, Resistance, and Stealth. Add to this Magic and Expertise (which is a catchall skill tailored to what your thing is). Next we rank these, each rank providing a range for success on a D6. Mitra has:

Awareness. Average (success on 4-6)
Coordination. Average (success on 4-6)
Expertise. Great (success on 2-6)

Influence. Capable (success on 3-6)
Knowledge. Bad (success on 5-6)

Logic. Average (success on 4-6)

Magic. she has no permission to use magic

Might. Capable (success on 3-6)

Resistance. Great (success on 2-6)

Stealth. Bad (success on 5-6)

Basic Cornerstone has Abilities, which include one unique thing a character can do. Cornerstone Fantasy takes care of that with races and classes. Already, our heroine is quite nuanced with information about her behavior, capabilities, and faults. We’re not quite done, however.

Mitra has some equipment. In her last adventure, she sadly lost her trusty horse. But she still has a sword (does 2 damage on a “Yes, But…”, or 4 damage on a “Yes, and…”, plus has a trait: good against flesh, implying it does better against unarmored targets), and mail (which reduces a point of damage on a “Yes, But…”, or 3 damage on a “Yes, and…”, plus is loud but concealable). Other than a dagger (which does 1 / 4 and has nimble), she doesn’t really have anything else of note.

Advancement can take place after completing quests. Characters can benefit in several areas, including ranking up a skill, gaining another point of Vitality, a potential change to one of the core traits, a descriptive trait (a new trait describing reputation or some interesting character thing they’ve picked up along the way), or a technique, which is a new addition to Cornerstone Fantasy. A technique is like one of the basic rulebook’s abilities, which allows a special thing that characters can do without fail, do when it would otherwise be impossible, or do with advantage (roll two dice and take the best). Techniques, however, only allow players to choose one of the three benefits.

Considering that Mitra completed a quest already (to recover the death mask of the naive king), I’m going to select some advancement options to reflect what happened. She gets the benefit of:

* +1 Vitality
* Becomes average in Knowledge
* Gains the fear of the dead descriptive trait (yes, I’m actually choosing a negative trait!)
* Keeps her core traits as-is
* and gains a new technique: Dirty Fighter — roll with advantage during the first exchange if you use a cheap of unorthodox fighting method

Okay, that about wraps it up. In the end, Mitra looks like this:

Mitra of Damara

TRAITS

* Ideals. Loyalty
* Method. Direct
* History. Cavalier
* Class Traits. Mercenary
* Descriptive. Fear of the Dead

SKILLS

Awareness 4+; Coordination 4+; Expertise (battle tactics) 2+; Influence 3+; Knowledge 4+; Logic 4+; Might 3+; Resistance 2+; Stealth 5+

HUMAN

* Never fail At noncombat Tasks related to your Expertise Skill.
* Advantage when Tasks are attempted in a creative or unorthodox method.
* Permission To roll for Impossible Tasks related to endurance, willpower, or pressing on through pain.
* +2 Vitality

WARRIOR

* Base Vitality = 9 + Resistance Rank (15 with advancement and all bonuses)
* Survivor. +1 DR
* Slayer. +1 Damage
* Swift. Advantage when rolling for order
* Expertise. battle tactics

TECHNIQUES

* Advantage when using cheap of unorthodox fighting methods during the first exchange of combat

EQUIPMENT

* Sword. 2 / 4; good against flesh
* Dagger. 1 / 4; nimble
* Mail. 1 DR; loud, concealable

Again, there’s lots of detail on her sheet. Everything being player-facing and low impact on the GM, this game is a natural choice for the solitary player. In my next post, we’ll examine how it actually works in play. The other appealing thing is that most modifiers cancel out and do not stack for the most part, so the most one can expect is a +1/-1, best/worst of two dice and add an and/but to the result. Sounds simple, but I’ll find out if it lends speed to play or not.

Looking forward to post #8 of Return of the Shattered Mail, a game I haven’t revisited in more than two years.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

RotSM, part 7

Continuing on with the “Return of the Shattered Mail” campaign. In part 6, we discovered that the petty-thief, Stordfast, met an untimely end and has released the demon bound within the mask. Our heroine has no clue as to these events, but the fate of her friends lays in recovering and delivering the mask. Things look dire indeed!

When leaving town, does Mitra meet up with Redbeard? DoF: 6
A good result means that she gets what she wants — she collects her horse and heads out

Mitra collected Umbril and fortunately had the coin now to pay the ostler. She cast wary eyes over her shoulder to make sure she could escape from town alone and unseen. Tymora shined upon her. She saw no sign of either the militia men, the stableboy from the watering hole in which the two had been struck by ill luck, or Redbeard.

With everything that had derailed her quest, she was truly desperate and at an impasse. The outlaw she sought could have escaped to any of the four winds. She had no leads, only the vaguest inkling of what the lad looked like, and few guesses as to what his motivation or direction might be. The only guess she could make was that Stordfast might head towards the biggest city from which he could fence the exotic item. That meant Baldur’s Gate. It was desperate, but it was her only course, unless the road itself might reveal more clues.

Are there any signs yet of an approaching army? DoF: 1
1 means the worst possible scenario!

Mitra saddled up and clicked her steed forward. She headed for the northeast of town — the side to which she was closest. That took her further from the road for which she intended to make, but she wished the quickest and most direct route out of town. One could cut across country easily and circumvent the town, she reasoned.

Now for some Cubes! What do these mean? Cause a disturbance? Step on a twig? Both of these events are usually inadvertent. What would be the same event on a grander scale? Perhaps an advance warg rider scouting party from the horde have come to get recon on the town. One of them has a particularly unruly beast, gets spotted and gets thrown. The others descend upon the warrioress.

Mitra rode beyond the last outbuildings...

...in the lesser populated north side along an old dusty miner’s road. She knew she should be feeling somewhat freer, but something weighed heavy upon her heart…something not immediately explained by her impending plight alone — something she could only feel in her gut, but not put her finger on. That was a feeling she had come to trust, one that kept her alive amid a long career of frequent peril.

She had the urge to look up at some of the line of low rugged hills that frowned upon the town as she continued forward. Lost in her thoughts, something grabbed her attention. She heard a noise like a shriek and the snarl of a beast. Then she spied movement.

Along the ridge of hills at her ten o’clock, a couple quick forms darted beyond sight. She hadn’t had much chance to see them, but she swore they were mounted. Suddenly, from another rocky blind, she saw a goblin or orc on the ground facing a massive lupine monster — undoubtedly a warg. He seemed to be disciplining the creature. The hideous hound simply bit the shrieking rider in two. It let up a howl and darted away.

Advance riders of the enemy was upon the town!

She swore under her breath. From around another bend came two more of the things. Red tongues lolled out of the beasts’ fanged mouths as the red-eyed monsters flew down toward her like a storm. Their riders bore long javelins ready to throw. It seemed the spies were bent on killing the lone witness who was only now aware of their presence. Umbril snorted and whinnied, not so much out of fear as most horses would, but a desire to meet the challenge. He was a war-trained mount, and a fine one at that.

Mitra drew her sword. Behind her, the town was perhaps a mile or more distant, while the enemy riders were the same distance but closing fast. Her warrior instincts kicked and and she spurred her steed forward to meet them. Had she turned and fled, they would surely have brought her down. She would not so quickly be silenced. With an oath to Tempus, she charged.

MITRA
Descriptors: Tactician, Tough as Iron, Fencing, Uncompromising
Gear: Trusty Broadsword, Headstrong Charger
FU Points: 1
Conditions: ☐Angry, ☐Trapped, ☐Unconscious, ☐Scared, ☐Dazed, ☐Injured, ☐Tired, ☐Dying

WARG RIDER SCOUTS (squad)
Descriptors: expert riders, orcish scouts, tough
Gear: merciless wolf-beasts, black javelins
Conditions: ☐Angry, ☐Confused, ☐Slowed, ☐Out of Action

Does she avoid their throws? Yes, but…

She held her sword out and bore down, the gap closing rapidly. Then, the expected throws came. She veered directly into their midst. One of the missiles was overthrown and disappeared overhead, but the other rider held his throw after feigning to follow his partners example and broke free of the formation, quickly veering around to flank her. The second rider came up fast on her offhanded flank.

Does she maneuver to an offensive position against the flanking one? No, and…

She tried to wheel Umbril around, but the wolf-rider was relentless and closed before she had control. The great wolf latched onto Umbril’s foreleg, trying to pull him down.

Does Mitra keep her seat? Yes, but…

Mitra managed to stay in her seat, but it was nearly all she could manage. The horse’s terrified scream, snarling of the wolf-monster, and clash of steel filled the air. The two were locked, and now the first rider had drawn his sidearm, a wicked curved blade, and wheeled around to close in for the kill.

Does Mitra successfully leap into the seat of her opponent? No, but...
+1 FU Point

The warrior woman girdled herself. She was to be skewered on the charging riders javelin, now wielded like a lance if she was to do nothing to break the impasse. She threw herself at the rider away from her sword arm, leaping out of her own saddle and onto the back of her opponent. She missed her mark, tumbling to the ground, but she pulled the squealing rider with her and put an obstacle between herself and the second approaching rider.

Does she finish off the grounded rider? Yes, but...
Does Umbril fight off his attacker? No, and...

Getting to her feet, she faced off with the grounded rider. Her footwork was the quicker, and his eyes widened as ten inches of steel plunged through his boiled leather jerkin. From behind, she heard Umbril squeal in terror. The wolf managed to bring the great horse down and now ripped flesh from his great muscled neck. Leaping over the two forms of wolf and horse struggling in the dirt came the second rider. His javelin cut through the intervening space with astonishing power.

Does she avoid the weapon? Yes...

Mitra twisted at the last moment. The spearlike shaft missed her midsection by mere inches, embedding itself into the earth next to the riders fallen friend. Now without weapon, Mitra sneered at the rider as he and his snarling steed came forward.

Does she finish them off? Yes...
☑ Out of Action
+1 FU Point

She darted to the left and crouched. The wargs own momentum impaled it on the warrioress’s sword, dropping the rider with a sickening crunch. In moments she recovered her weapon from the dead monster and finished off the broken rider. Next she turned her attention to the beast still gorging itself on Umbril’s flesh, uncaring of the danger around it. With tears in her eyes, she plunged her blade into the sinewy backside of the evil thing.

Although she lived and had vanquished her foes, clearly Tymora did not favor her...


Okay, some harrowing moments there. Rolling so many 1s and 5s. What next for Mitra? Will she go back and warn the town? Will she continue on regardless of the danger that looms over Soubar even earlier than anyone had expected? What about the demon? Where does it set its sights, and for what purpose? What about Xavier Zalibar? Does he know of these events? If so, what does he propose to do about them. Many questions! Only time will tell...

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

RotSM, part 6

Last time, Mitra recovered her beloved black steed, and a few of her coins, but was still without her mask. On the trail of Stordfast, the alleged thief, she must guess which direction he went. In the meantime, the hordes of Dragonspear threaten to break like a tital wave over the settlements of the Sword Coast. Things look ill for our heroine!

To help, here's a summary:
  1. Part One — Mitra ventures to remote regions of the Thunder Peaks and recovers the Death Mask of the Naive King.
  2. Part Two — In Luskan, two conspirators discuss the progress of Mitra. A wizard has the means to observe her movements remotely.
  3. Part Three — After a long journey, Mitra travels west and north with her prize. Near the High Moor she encounters wounded Red Beard who warns of hobgoblins and devils. They traveled south together to Soubar to warn the folk of the region, but Mitra is robbed, her mask taken.
  4. Part Four — In Luskan, Hacarthor the wizard meets his contact's employer, Zalibar, the nemesis of Mitra. They learn that the cursed mask was stolen. We also learn that Zalibar has imprisoned Sanbar Axegrinder, Mitra's friend and his clan who are building a mechanical horror — the mask is key to its completion. We also learn in Soubar about the thieves — the Calashite orphan flees Soubar with the mask.
  5. Part Five — Mitra send Redbeard to the town's officials to break news of the impending invasion and goes in search of the thieves. She finds their lair, but the trail of the thief grows cold.
And once again, our heroine:

Descriptors: Tactician, Tough as Iron, Fencing, Uncompromising
Gear: Trusty Broadsword, Headstrong Charger
FU Points: 1

Conditions: ☐Angry, ☐Trapped, ☐Unconscious, ☐Scared, ☐Dazed, ☐Injured, ☐Tired, ☐Dying

☑ = checked

However, before we continue her story, we follow the mask with a set of freely interpreted Cubes:

lightning bolt, tower, eating watermelon

A lone cloaked figure clutched something...


...against his belly as he lurched forward. He was weak and confused. Lightning struck again, the skies boomed, and the dark heavens finally released torrents of heavy cold rain. Hungry and aimless, Stordfast sought for refuge against the elements. Off the road, the barrens were devoid of much of any cover. Trees were stunted and provided little foliage. Cursing the gods, the young man scanned the horizons. Suddenly, the broken line of a ruin in the distance caught his eye. You will find safety there, he said to himself. He cocked his head to one side. ‘I’ will find safety, he corrected.

Forward he went. The distance was greater than first appeared. For the better part of an hour he waded through soggy muck and stinking bogs to get to the place. When he climbed out of a pool and onto dry land, he lay at the foot of a once great tower. Little else remained of the attached keep. The young Calashite cared little. He only wanted shelter.

Panting, he tossed himself through a vacant crumbling doorframe overgrown with bramble and into the black stony recesses. He was exhausted, sodden, cold, and famished. You will find food here, he said to himself, or had he?

Turning to examine his surroundings, Stordfast saw a round room choked with fallen stone and debris. An empty windowframe was partially filled in by a pear tree. He wandered to the window. The tree was bent, laden with ripened fruit. The young thief eagerly picked four and devoured them, juice running down his fingers. They were sweet!

matches, descending stair, baseball

His most immediate urge taken care of, he next turned his attention to warmth. He scanned the darker recesses of the round chamber. As if waiting for him, a lantern, tinder, flint, steel, and fuel sat on the floor as if left by someone. He examined the items. They were dusty and smeared from ages of disuse. He hastily lit the lantern and tried to warm his hands against the little flame. He removed his sodden cloak to dry and rubbed his arms.

As he stood trying to warm himself, he spied a dark hole partially exposed under a collapsed stone. Curiosity got the best of him.

You will find power and riches within, he said to himself...or had he?

He picked up his newfound lantern and investigated the corner. Now he could see a winding staircase descending into blackness. The stone was easily removed. He stared down within the mysterious, frightening, and yet promising depths in awe. He descended.

He arrived at a landing. His dim flickering light illuminated little about him. It was dark with very close air. A sense of dreadful, watchful malice filled the air. Stordfast began trembling.

You are well, he said to himself. Fear not, he added with an urge to move forward. Rather than from his own mind, the thought seemed to emanate from his hip where the heavy object hung that he had stolen from the warrior woman rather from his head. Yet, too filled with wonder, he seemed not to notice. The passage moved only forward.

Shuffling along, he came to a seemingly dead end. The short passage seemed to lead nowhere. A strange crest medallion was mounted on the wall. Leaning against the wall was an old iron bar. Judging by the scratch marks near it, someone had tried to pry the medallion loose. Immediately, the old feelings of excitement filled his breast at the thought of filching an item of great beauty and value.

He picked of the bar and tried to pry. However, the stone medallion was stuck fast. After many attempts, the young Calashite grew frustrated and began banging on the wall. By some chance, he struck something that moved. Suddenly the wall gave in and swung away on hidden hinges. It was a secret door!

He fetched his lantern again and peered within the space beyond. It looked to be some treasure room! Glittering coins were strewn about...and jewels! He was rich beyond reckoning! His luck had turned astonishingly for the better.

He danced about and scooped up the shiny valuables, letting them fall between his fingers. He enjoyed feeling their weight, and the feel of their cold, smooth surfaces. He took joy in the clatter and jingle as they fell to the floor, overflowing with abundance.

crown, puzzle piece, cut with scissors

His eye was drawn deeper within the treasure room. In the back, set upon a dais of three steps was a high-backed chair. A throne! Unlike the other items, the chair was not lavish or bejeweled...it was old, and somehow twisted. The leather looked like old desiccated skin — stretched and brittle. It was black and drab and somehow terrible beyond what eyes alone could see. It was also large...a grown man would appear small upon it.

The voice came again. Sit on the throne, it said. This time, Stordfast did not confuse it with his own thoughts. He was flooded by fear. He turned to leave, but the voice repeated. The voice was deep and commanding. So powerful was it that Stordfast might have torn off his own face with his hands if the voice so commanded. Sit!

Drawn, the lad approached irresistibly. He climbed the stairs and stood before the seat. It looked like a dead thing still possessed of a malevolent animating force. But, it was just a chair.

Slowly, he turned and lowered himself. The feel of the old leather was sickening. The smell of decay was in his nostrils. There was old evil within it...terrible, ancient, and unearthly. As though bound into place, Stordfast could not move.

Put on the mask, came the voice. The lad's hand moved to the bag at his hip. Fingers undid bindings and the hideous visage stared at him, eye holes alight with greenish flame. Put on the mask!

Stordfast did as he was compelled to do. As if a fine-fighting piece of a jigsaw puzzle, it seemed perfectly contoured to his face. Suddenly, it fused to his skin with painful burning. He cried a shriek of agony, muffled behind gold. Green flame wreathed his body and the throne upon which he was set. He convulsed and wrenched painfully, screaming, but he could not rip the mask free, nor get up from the hideous seat. His skin rippled and bubbled as though the green flame boiled within him. His shrieks continued, until his own skin ripped open along hundreds of fissures and cuts as though it were mere paper to be torn. Revealed underneath was a demonic form with fearsome face of gold that shed the shell of flesh that was only moments before, Stordfast.


Tune in next time... Mitra wants to quietly pay the hostler, collect her horse and begin her search. Does she lose Redbeard to continue her doomed quest? Does she find sign of Stordfast’s trail? Do the hordes of Dragonspear overtake her? Does she meet the horror unwittingly released by the young Calashite?

These answers and more await...

Thursday, January 23, 2014

RotSM, part 5

Okay! It's been a while. Lots has happened, and both my time and attention are divided (among non-gaming projects, and far too many solo games!). In any case, it's enjoyable to return to Mitra's campaign.

With some questions answered last time here, and a new set of complications (the need to find the mask, the mask now in possession of one mind-controlled Stordfast, the petty-thief), Mitra's next stage motivation is clear: do some investigative work to find out what happened. Sounds like some Rory's Story Cubes, "Clues" MIX set is in order to help us along!

On top of all of this, a horde of devils and hobgoblins from Dragonspear are threatening the region. Daurauvyn Redbeard, the swordsman Mitra rescued near the Moor, also has his mission: warn the people of the Sword Coast. Mitra as of yet doesn't want Redbeard to know about the mask due to its evil background and potentially evil purpose (which gives her much inner turmoil). How much does she really know about the relic? We may find out...

Here is Mitra again:

Descriptors: Tactician, Tough as Iron, Fencing, Uncompromising
Gear: Trusty Broadsword, Headstrong Charger
FU Points: 1

Conditions: ☐Angry, ☐Trapped, ☐Unconscious, ☐Scared, ☐Dazed, ☐Injured, ☐Tired, ☐Dying

☑ = checked

Game on!

Mitra paced the streets wildly...

A gavel? Okay, that could mean justice, wrongful indictment, or possibly even the authorities.

DoF: 3

...unable to think clearly or plan her next move. Unconscious of the fact, she still had her blade in hand. Redbeard approached her and tried to calm her once again, and barely saw a gang of peacekeepers around the corner just beyond the square.

Soubar was not a place of worthy justice, a sprawling city with great thinkers and art. Instead, it was a backwoods sort of mining town, a last stopover between perilous leagues. As such, the local authorities were little better than the lowly villainous scum that picked one's pocket.

Three men wearing a sort of sash around their waists marking them as the local militia spied the two, and especially honed in on Mitra and her naked steel. It seemed that the group was bored and in need of some kind of sport, or perhaps the scared woman she had approached directed them to her location with warnings of possible trouble.

In any case, the three stalked over to the pair. By this time Mitra had had the sense to lower her steel, though she did not replace it in her scabbard just yet.

"What's this?" the lead one said.

It was then that the stableboy wandered out into the street, still holding his head with a the rag that was now spotted with blood.

The ruffians' eyes widened, and stout cudgels were wielded.

Mitra rolled her eyes. "Put away your weapons," she said in a low tone. "This is not what it appears, just ask the boy."

The three had fanned around the two at this point. Daurauvyn was still unarmed and still wounded. However, his hands were planted at his hips and it looked as though he could handle himself despite the disadvantage.

"Listen!" she repeated. "I've been robbed! My money was taken, along with my horse. This boy can confirm about the assailant..."

"True," the boy said.  "It was a goblin!"

Militia Gang
Descriptors: Physical Brutes, Unscrupulous
Gear: Cudgels

Does she convince them to stand down? Yes, and...

"Goblin?" repeated the leader. "That could be none other than Kwizzel and Stordfast."

"Kwizzel?" asked Mitra.

"Aye! Only one vagabond goblin in these parts. He's the only friend of a cutpurse that haunts these areas."

"Do you know where I might find these two?"

"We could lead you..."

"No!" said Mitra quickly. Her mind spun with implications of her next move. If there was a way she could split from Redbeard, all the better. She desired no extra baggage during her journey if she was no longer needed for the sake of life or death. She spoke virtually as she thought.

"Daurauvyn," she continued, turning to Redbeard. "Go with these men and help them spread the news about the looming danger from the north. I'll go after these two thieves. I don't want to scare them off."

Does she convince them of this plan? Yes, but...

"I don't like this idea," the old captain responded, again putting a hand on her arm. "It could be dangerous."

"I can take care of myself!" she snapped, collecting her arm with a quick maneuver. "It will go bad for these folk if they are taken unaware by hordes of bloodthirsty enemies. There's little time...go!"

Reluctantly, Daurauvyn agreed.

Next, she turned to head to...

Does Mitra encounter Umbril? DoF: 4

...where the militia indicated Stordfast's haunt was thought to be. She stormed down the street toward the ramshackle holdings that made up the old warehouses of Soubar. Her sword was back in its scabbard for now, but she nervously fidgeted with the pommel as she sped forward.

Suddenly, she heard voices along a less populated street from around the corner. She slowed and listened.

"What have we discovered here?" said a man in a lowbrow tone. This was followed by a nervous nicker.

Mitra turned the corner to see her black charger standing nervously in the middle of a muddy street, reins dragging on the ground. Approaching him were two men of apparently seedy quality by their garb. Hands were outstretched to entice the beast closer.

"That's my horse!" called Mitra, her voice yet full of rage from the misfortunes that had befallen her.

"Says who?" the other man challenged.

"Says I!" she replied, throwing her cloak over one shoulder to reveal her sword hilt. "Care to discuss this further?"

Does she convince them? No, but...
+FU (current: 1)

The two looked at one another uneasily, but were apparently unconvinced. Mitra evaluated them with a look from head to toe. They were armed only with daggers, which they had not yet drawn. She sighed. This is what I have to deal with! They are no different than the thick-skulled bravos in my old mercenary company, she thought. She stalked forward like a lioness.

She pushed through them roughly, watching through the corner of her eye whether the two had the balls to escalate the game.

Do they draw weapons on her? DoF: 6

The two decided on the wiser course, much to Mitra's surprise. They nudged one another and moved off, losing their fight. The warrioress allowed Umbril to nuzzle her affectionately.

"What happened, old boy?" she asked, stroking his snout. "Where have you been? What have you seen?"

Does she get Umbril to lead her back? No, and...

When ready, she leapt upon the horse's back and clicked to urge him forward toward the warehouses. Much to her chagrin, Umbril turned away from the old warehouses and headed back to the Water Hole. Mitra checked him, but Umbril whinnied and shook his head against her control. Despite what she tried and all her horsemanship, she could not turn him around.

Sighing, she had to find some place board the horse until her business was finished, then collect him.

Does she have enough to pay a few pennies? No, but...

Her purse strings were cut. She had not a penny to her name. However, her belt buckle was adorned with crystals. Perhaps someone would accept it as collateral until she could recover some money. She turned and headed back to the busier areas to stable Umbril and continue on her way.

Does she find a suitable place closer than ‘The Water Hole?’ DoF: 5

Before the Water Hole, she found another establishment with stabling for its patrons. A gangly old man was the hostler. "My good man," Mitra called as she unbuckled her belt. "Be a kind one and watch my horse for some time...a few hours at most. If I don't return, the buckle and horse are yours."

Does she convince him? Yes...

In moments, Mitra returned to the street along which she found her horse.

Are Umbril's tracks easy to follow? DoF: 4

Soubar was a muddy, filthy excuse for civilization. However, it had one advantage at the moment. She could still make out Umbril's path. The warehouse district was less traversed in the morning, but it was still difficult to discern them among countless others. Still, they were the freshest.

She hadn't far to go before they turned into a most decrepit building huddled between two better ones. The cladding of the building was loose and warped, and it appeared the old building might come caving in on itself at any moment.

There were none about. Mitra drew her blade again and ran in a low crouch to the entrance. Back to the wall and peering cautiously into a black gap where the door was supposed to meet the jamb. There was no movement within.

With a sudden movement, she leapt out and kicked in the door. She easily broke within and entered, both hands on her sword and glancing quickly at the darkened corners of the room. A group of noisy crows took to flight, but there seemed to be no other movement.

It was evident that this was someone's home, at least recently. Someone had made bedding with old rushes, and a table was surrounded by two old stools. There was refuse everywhere. That's when she noticed the glint of coins and a crumpled body.

Darting quickly over the body, she saw the goblin. He was unmoving. Checking, there was no sign of breath. The ugly thing's tongue lolled out. Someone had strangled the thing. About him were a number of coins...just about the exact sum Mitra had carried with her. She picked them up and inspected further. There was no sign of her mask or the cloth in which it was wrapped. There were no other items that might belong to another, but there were clearly two beds, and two stools. An idea began to fill her mind that this Stordfast fellow had killed Kwizzle and absconded with the mask.

Are there clear fresh tracks of someone leaving the building? DoF: 1

Quickly, she exited and examined the muddy ground again for more tracks. Someone had taken care to either tread with stealth, or left by another way. Cursing, she returned within. Finding a lantern and some oil, she lit it and had a better look. If there was any clue to be found, it was perhaps the only opportunity to find her prey.

Stordfast & Kwizzle's Abode
Descriptors: A Virtual Pigsty, Large, Dimly Lit

Does she find any relevant clues? No, and...

She began tearing the place apart. Rats scurried from dark corners and birds cawed noisily and circled. She found nothing that might provide any identification, purpose, or direction. In her fury, she knocked down a precariously placed beam meant to keep one part of the roof from collapsing. Dust and debris filtered down and covered the only thing that might have aided her — an amulet set with a rendering of a woman, who bore an astonishing resemblance to the young man. Underneath the picture was an inscription in Alzhedo, the Calashite tongue, professing a mother's love for her son. It was the only thing Stordfast had of his real mother whom he remembered little. Ironically, it was one of his most cherished possessions that somehow he had left behind...or perhaps it was the madness of the mask that drove out the need for it. In any case, it was now buried.


More unfortunate turns for Mitra! Next chapter will detail her search for the young man with perhaps a cut scene to find out where he went and build some purpose behind his actions. Stay tuned!