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“Alright, then. Which one is it?” You give your sister an expectant look as she stares at the three cups laid out on the table with an intense gaze. The small hall of your house is empty for now, except for you too. Bright light shines in through the windows, and the air is unusually warm. Your father told you that the summer might last for a few more years.

After a few moments of thinking, her grey eyes acquire a bright gleam, and she jabs a finger at the cup in the middle. “This one”.

“Are you absolutely sure?” You drag out the last word with a smile, trying to rile her up some more. But she’s too impatient after losing half a dozen times, and lifts the cup herself. There is nothing beneath it, of course, and you give her the widest smirk you can.

“No! It’s supposed to be this one!” she shrieks. Just as she’s about to lift the other cups in her frustration to find the pea, you stop her.

“Uh..uh.. not before you pay the fee. One copper star per guess.” Kyra growls not unlike a wolf and goes to retrieve her last coin from this month’s allowance. The jig is about to be up, best put a stop to it, you think, and put away the cups. You roll the pea between your fingers, and eat it before your sister returns.

“There”, she says, depositing the coin in your palm. “Now tell me how you do it”.

“That’s going to cost more than a copper star,” you laugh, “much more.”

Another bestial growl. Gods! Have you finally pushed her over the edge with your tricks? You hope not.

“Sod your game. Sod you. Sod it all! I’m going to the woods to collect some flowers for making dye. I won’t be back before evening” She says, and goes to the kitchen to get her basket. She works as an apprentice for Briony, the seamstress in your tiny village. Apparently, she’s branching out into dyeing too. Good for her.

“Get some eucalyptus leaves if you find them on the forest floor, would you? Your father’s knees are aching again.” you hear your mother say as they both come out of the small kitchen into the hall.

“I heard that” your father rasps as he noisily shambles out of his room, a little unsteady on his legs. He uses the walls for support and sits down with you on the table. “Kyra, I know your excuses, don’t think I was born yesterday. You’re running off with Gareth again, the miller’s boy. Beron found you both behind the mill, you know? The nasty bugger. Said if he hadn’t arrived to stop you, you would have given Gareth your virtue in that alley, if you still had it. You know how much embarrassment I had to suffer because of you? Of course you don’t. And now you’re off with him again!” Your father is wheezing by the end of his rant, and you move to support him.

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Your sister, on the other hand, has gone completely still. Her face looks red as a tomato, and if the topic wasn’t so serious, you would have burst out laughing at her expression. After a few moments of indecision, she settles on yelling “It’s none of your bloody business!” and running out the door.

Your mother sighs dramatically and approaches the table, giving your father a few pats on the back to settle his breath. “It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Gareth and Kyra wed, Warrick. He’s the miller’s only son, and sure to inherit after him. Gods willing, he’ll be the village alderman like his father too. He could provide a better life for her than we ever could. You know that.” She says.

It’s true, you think in your mind. Your father used to be a miner in the iron mine a little ways away from the village, but the last ore vein dried up a few years ago, and the mine was shut down. Since then, your father has tried to get by as a lumberjack, but his heart’s clearly not it. His back has started aching terribly too, and gets worse each year.

As for you, you have become a good hunter at the age of eight and ten, if you say so yourself, but game around the village is of the smaller variety, and there’s not much coin to be made hunting wild hogs and rabbits around here. Tommard, the miller, on the other hand, is the richest among your village of a hundred souls, and is the village alderman besides. If Gareth succeeds him in both positions, it could be the best thing to happen to Kyra.

Your father replies to your mother after his breathing becomes stable again, “That’s only if he weds her. Once I was a boy his age too, Myriam, and trust me when I say there’s only one thing on mind of boys that old, and it ain’t some vows.” You look down at your feet as a blush blossoms on your face. Oh, how right he is… “And then there’s the miller. He’s a gods’ damned miser, and wouldn’t spend a penny more than he absolutely had to. I know he mixes sawdust with our grain; I’ve heard the others talk. And he’s already talking about selling his daughters to nobles with too many titles and too little coin. With a man like that, how can I trust his son to be honorable and do right by Kyra?” He asks.

“And what of you Hal? Do you support your sister fooling around with this boy?”

What do you reply?
>I support them courting each other, although I would tell them to hold off on fooling around before marriage. Gareth is a proper lad, and like mother said, he’s the best Kyra could hope for.
>No, father, you’re right. Boys like him get off on their father’s power, and he could take advantage of Kyra and then leave her behind. It’s best we tell them both to break it up.
>Write-in

File: Hallis - Stats.png (66 KB, 1855x697)

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Leaving the vote open overnight. I'll be back tomorrow.

Here's Hal's character sheet. You have one (1) destiny point to avoid bad ends. Use it wisely.

>>4560019
>I support them courting each other, although I would tell them to hold off on fooling around before marriage. Gareth is a proper lad, and like mother said, he’s the best Kyra could hope for.
I can't wait to get raped by wildlings or turned into a wight.

>>4560019
>I support them courting each other, although I would tell them to hold off on fooling around before marriage. Gareth is a proper lad, and like mother said, he’s the best Kyra could hope for.

>>4560019
>>I support them courting each other, although I would tell them to hold off on fooling around before marriage. Gareth is a proper lad, and like mother said, he’s the best Kyra could hope for.

Just another QM note: I tried writing it in the voice of the smallfolk in the ASOIAF universe, but it got annoying even before the first update was finished. A whole quest of garbled speech sounds downright terrifying, so I'll apologize if my peasants sound like nobles. I'll try to use simple words where I can.

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>I support them courting each other, although I would tell them to hold off on fooling around before marriage. Gareth is a proper lad, and like mother said, he’s the best Kyra could hope for.

"I worry about her too, father, but I’ve seen Gareth grow up alongside me. He’s a good lad as far I’ve seen him. A bit lonely mayhaps, his father never allowed him to play with us boys, and surrounded him with those guards. But I’ve never seen him hurt another, man or beast, never seen him yell even, and there haven’t been any girls in his life before Kyra as far as I know. And like ma says, he’ll give her the best life anyone can in this village. Besides, we’ll still be here to set him straight if he doesn’t!”

Your father deflates a bit, still not wholly convinced, but seems thoughtful. Your mother sees a bit of hope and latches on to it, saying, “And you know how our Kyra is, headstrong girl like her, like as not she’s the one leading him around by his leash. Do you really think our girl will allow a boy to take advantage of her? She’s like to take your axe and chop his stones before she lets that happen to her.”

You wince while imagining the picture your mother painted, and then all three of you burst out laughing. The mood lifts, and you strike the iron while it’s hot.

“It’s a done deal, then. I’ll go find Gareth and tell him to find his courage to ask you for Kyra’s hand in marriage. And stop fooling around until they’ve said their vows. Though like as not, it’s Kyra’s doing.”

Your mother takes over from there and you take your leave from your parents and head out, your trusted blade in your belt. It’s sunny out in the open. Uncomfortably so. You don’t remember your first winter much, on account of being three namedays old, but you reckon it doesn’t itch as much in winter…
You gaze at the surroundings, your house being at the outskirts of the village. The mill and the meeting square form the centre of the village at the top of a gentle slope, with shops and artisan’s workshops being arranged in concentric circles around it. The houses are situated on the outer circle, and farms stretching beyond. Dense woods surround the village on the Southern and Western sides.

You weigh your options and decide to head over to Quentyn’s Alehouse, the only tavern in the village located on the Eastern road from Karhold. That’s where Gareth’s most likely to be these days, along with either of his guards. The miller is the only man rich enough in the village to afford his own guards, and he keeps two of them.

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>>4560228
The smell hits you even before you open the doors, strong alcohol. Hmm.. someone’s starting early today.. You enter the tavern and observe the scene before you.

There’s a strange man at the counter talking in low tones with Quentyn, the barkeep and owner of this place. He wears a dark and heavy cloak despite the blazing sun outside, and you can see a sword at his hip, castle-forged, it looks like. There’s Barth, the woodworker, talking to another man you recognize as the merchant who passes through the village occasionally. Lastly you spot your friends Owen and Torrhen in the corner. Owen looks like he’s already had a few mugs of ale in, and Torrhen is making eyes at the barmaid. Neither of them has noticed you yet. Typical.

You see no signs of Gareth, though. Who could you approach about finding Gareth? There’s Barth, the woodworker and his merchant friend. Barth’s shop is near the mill, he may have seen Gareth. It’s also possible that he passed through the tavern, and the barkeep might know where he went next. Lastly, you think amusingly, your friends, Owen and Torrhen. It’s unlikely they know about Gareth’s whereabouts, but you could catch up with them, and find Gareth afterwards.

Who do you approach?
>Quentyn the barkeep, and the stranger
>Barth the woodworker, and his merchant friend
>Your friends Owen and Torrhen

>>4560232
>Quentyn the barkeep, and the stranger

>>4560232
>Quentyn the barkeep, and the stranger

>>4560232
>>Quentyn the barkeep, and the stranger

>>4560232
>>Quentyn the barkeep, and the stranger

>7 votes all by different IDs
I hope this isn't one anon fucking with me. It's still early in the thread so I'm optimistic that these are all players, and thank you guys for participating. I'll disallow 1 post by this IDs and linkbacks by new IDs in important votes, so lurkers should keep that in mind, get some votes in early. I'll pick this back up tomorrow morning, vote will remain open until then.

>>4560232
>>Your friends Owen and Torrhen

Alright, this looks unlikely to change. Locked in.

Give me 3 rolls of 5d6 (4D+1B in awareness (notice)). I'll continue in about 6-7 hours.

Rolled 2, 5, 2, 3, 4 = 16 (5d6)

>>4560539
I'm a sad phone poster op so my id usually changes every three hours.

Rolled 1, 3, 6, 4, 4 = 18 (5d6)

>>4560539

Rolled 6, 4, 6, 6, 1 = 23 (5d6)

>>4560539
Ere we go

>>4560641
Nice. High numbers are good, right? Never played the GoT RPG

>>4560644
Oh yeah that's very good. The result is 22, the lowest dice is dropped because it's a bonus dice.

>>4560314
Fingers crossed my IP doesn't shift on me.

>>4560641
Nice

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>Quentyn the barkeep, and the stranger

Awareness Check: Rolled 22, DC: 15, 18, 21, 24 High DC due to Naive trait.

You decide to approach the barkeep first. Gareth spends his time at the alehouse in the mornings these days, it’s possible he went through here first. The stranger seems interesting too, maybe you could learn something new. As you draw nearer to Quentyn, it is immediately obvious that he’s nervous, wiping sweat off his brow with a cloth. He’s talking fast and in hushed tones, and his eyes are downcast. Time to rescue the man, you suppose. Your arrival is a surprise to both men, both turning around in surprise when you yell out a “Good morning”.

The stranger’s hood shifts back by the sudden motion and you can see his face clearly. Beneath the cloak he’s wearing hard boiled leather dyed black. He has curly brown hair and dim brown eyes. His eyes scan your face, then widen in surprise, fixated at your own eyes.

“You.. you..” he stammers out, and by his action you can see that his mouth is full of rotten teeth, and a foul stench assaults you. You have to work hard not to scrunch your face in disgust, and address the barkeep instead.

“Hullo Quentyn, everything alright? I was looking for Gareth, you know, had some business to talk to him about. Have you seen him here today?”

Quentyn wipes his brow again and haltingly speaks, trying (and failing) to pretend that this is normal behaviour, “G-good morning to you too, Hal! Gareth, you say? No, I don’t think I’ve seen him h-here today. Must be wandering off today, usually he’s here by this hour.”

Well, that’s disappointing. Still, something about the stranger’s demeanour has set your alarm bells ringing. “And who’s this over here? Won’t you introduce yourself, man? I’m Hallis, and I hunt in the surrounding woods.”

The stranger has had time to compose himself and close his mouth, and thank the Gods for that mercy. He waits for a moment, his eyes never leaving yours all the while, then grunts, “Hother”. Then he nods and repeats himself, “Hother, yes. Well met Hallis. I am a sellsword on my way to Winterfell, hoping someone in the royal party hires me on. Just passing through here.”

“Royal party in Winterfell? Why would the King come up here?” you are puzzled by his words.

“Who cares, some business with Lord Stark, I presume. All I know is that the King is coming with all his court, and there’s opportunity for those seeking it.” He pauses for a moment, then says, “You said you were a hunter? If you’re any good with a bow, mayhaps you could join me?” He looks clearly hopeful. Too hopeful, in fact. “Leave this little village behind and explore the world. Being a sworn sword to a lord pays good coin, and they’re always surrounded by comely maidens. What do you say?” He grins, but it only exposes his rotten teeth once more.

>>4560839
He’s trying too hard to sell you on this idea for a man who you’ve just met, and you came to the alehouse for a different purpose. But he does have a castle-forged sword on his hip, and you don’t know how badly he would take a rejection.

How do you reply to Hother?
>Yes, an adventure sounds good, I’ll accompany you to Winterfell and we’ll find some work together.
>No. I’m sorry, we have just met, and I’m not ready to leave my family behind.
>I still have some work in my village to see to. Go on ahead and I'll meet you in Winterfell.
>Write-in

If you say yes, you'll have time for 1 more interaction at the alehouse.

Did I blow it with those options? You're welcome to ask questions if anything's not clear.

>>4560843
>No. I’m sorry, we have just met, and I’m not ready to leave my family behind.

>>4560956
No, I've just seen the update. Although being recruited on the third post is pretty sudden.

>>4560843
>No. I’m sorry, we have just met, and I’m not ready to leave my family behind.
This man give me the heebies

>>4560843
>No. I’m sorry, we have just met, and I’m not ready to leave my family behind.

Personally, I probably would choose the deflection of meeting him at Winterfell, but a flat rejection is alright as well.

Anyway, is anyone else getting Night's-Watch-Runaway vibes from this guy? Between the hard boiled black leather and the castle-forged sword, it is raising some alarm bells from me.

Give me 3 rolls of 3d6 for Persuasion (Charm). DC 12 for not angering him with your rejection.

Rolled 2, 1, 5 = 8 (3d6)

>>4561036

Rolled 2, 3, 6 = 11 (3d6)

>>4561036

Rolled 5, 6, 6 = 17 (3d6)

>>4561036

>>4561036
Can we also ask where this fellow thought he recognised us from? Clearly our face reminded him of someone.

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>No. I’m sorry, we have just met, and I’m not ready to leave my family behind.
>Persuasion (Charm): Rolled 17, DC 12, Two degrees of success

It’s not a difficult choice for you to make, but the threat of him taking offence gives you pause. You eye your friends in the corner, if this Hother drew his sword, they’ll come to your aid without question, and Owen likely has his dirk on his belt. Could this man alone beat the three of you? You could not tell his skill with the sword from just a glance, but it’s a risk you’d have to take. You didn’t want to go anywhere with this man, and definitely not on a whim.

“Slow down, man! You’ve only just met me, and you’re asking me to leave my family behind on the word of a stranger. You see how that looks when you see it my way? I’ve got my ma’ and pa’ to care for, and a sister who’s yet to marry. I can’t just up and leave them without some guarantee. Besides, I have enough work here to live comfortably. Why do you want me to join you so badly?”

The man’s expression becomes increasingly sour as you say your piece. Well at least it matches his breath now, you think. He did perk up a bit when you mentioned your sister. Fuck! You shouldn’t have mentioned her at all. Your father did always tell you that you run your mouth off without thinking. You’ll have to appease Hother somehow. He doesn’t appear to be keen to answer your question.

“Look, I’m just a game hunter, alright? I’m sure there’s plenty of difference between hunting beasts and hunting men. Beyond that, we both know archers are paid much less than swordsmen, so I have much less to gain than you if I pledge myself to a lord.”

He pauses to consider this and doesn’t seem to have an answer, and after a few moments grunts a non-committal “Alright.” He turns back to his yet-untouched mug of ale and starts drinking slowly.

You don’t know if it is a good idea to push your luck right now, but his reaction to seeing you earlier makes you uncomfortable. So you ask him about it. “Say, Hother, have we met before? You looked startled when you saw me, as if you recognized me. I’m sorry if we’ve met and I don’t recall you.” You plaster a smile to your face to appear as friendly and non-threatening as possible.

He turns back to you, a bit more slowly this time, his gaze drawn to your eyes again. “It’s nothing to worry about, Hallis. You look a lot like someone I know, a… friend.” He nods his head again, “Someone I was not expecting to see here. That’s all. Go on ahead, I’ll buy you a drink on me, for taking up your time.” He motions to the barkeep, and Quentyn hands a mug of ale to you, still nervous, but less scared than before.

You accept the mug and look around the alehouse, a few more villagers have walked in and occupied a table in the center. Barth’s merchant friend seems to have left, and he’s moved to the table with your friends.

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>>4561541
That decides it for you, and you stride purposefully to the table in the corner and flop down next to Barth, opposite your friends.

“Hal! You’re finally here! I was wondering how long you were going to ignore us.” Torrhen calls out after the round of usual greetings. So they did notice you. “Who were you talking to at the counter?”.

You reply in as low a tone as you can manage, “Some creep, called himself a mercenary heading to Winterfell, looking to work for the King or some such. Didn’t look like an honest man to me. Asked me to come with him to Winterfell when he saw me, as if I’d leave my family behind to go with a man I’d just met.”

Barth answers you, “Well the part about the King is true at least. My friend was just giving me the news from down South. The Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, is dead. So the King is heading up to Winterfell with all his court, and the rumor is that he intends to make Lord Stark his hand. It’s a great opportunity, I don’t think this many Southern lords will grace the North again in my lifetime.” He’s unable to contain his excitement at this point. “I’ve asked both my sons to stop working on everything else and focus on making trinkets and baubles for the nobles. I’ve heard that’s what these visiting nobles do, buy a trinket to remember the place by, and I intend to make a profit! I was just asking Torrhen here about any trophies he collected from his hunts. You won’t have any, would you Hal? I’ll pay you good coin for anything I can work with.”

Your greatest hunt so far has been a small bear, and you made a necklace out of its claws, but that was a gift to your sister on her last nameday, and not something to be sold. So you answer with a shake of your head.

Barth doesn’t seem too bothered by the news. “No? Well that’s too bad. Alright boys, I’ve got to be going. More work to do, more coin to be made. And Torrhen, I’ll give you the rest of the stags when you bring that boar’s head to my workshop. The Gods watch over you.” He looks happier than a man on his wedding day at this point, and quickly takes his leave.

You turn to Torrhen, “So, silver stags, huh? Last week’s haul was that good? Someone’s going up places.” You tease. He’s a hunter like you, and five years your elder. When you were a child, you pestered him into teaching his craft to you, and now you bring in as much as him, sometimes even more.

Torrhen tries pretending that he’s not extremely pleased by the sale, but a grin breaks out and the two of you break into chuckles. Owen’s still deep into his cups. “Yeah, Barth wants to make something out of the tusks of the boar. This week has been spectacular, I didn’t have to go far into the forest, either. It was like something was driving the animals into my arms. Got some rabbits and a couple wild pigs too. I’m going to take them to the butcher after this, you want to come with? I know you’re sweet on Beth.”

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>>4561542
You blush up to your ears at her mentions, and try to change the topic before you make a mess of yourself. “And what’s up with you Owen? What’s got you so glum and drinking this early?”

Owen looks up from his mug, clearly not sober. “Just the harvest coming in, it’s mindless work, cutting those crops, over and over again. I feel like my brain’s going to rot from the repetition, and my back hurts like hell. The Gods didn’t send me here to become a farmer, Hal.” He says, then glances at the counter again, where Hother is just getting up and ready to leave. Owen sits up a little straighter, and asks you,

“Hal, you said that man was a mercenary heading to Winterfell? To sell his sword to the King? You think he’ll take me?”

You have to resist an urge to smack Owen behind his ears. “Didn’t you hear what I said? He’s … odd. Something tells me he’s not one for honest work. And why would he take you, anyway? You know how to handle a weapon besides your sickle?”

He mutters a weak denial and looks back down into his cup, chastised. You decide to take some pity on him.

“Forget about him, did any of you see Gareth this morning? I’ve been looking for him. Damn, I forgot to ask Barth about him, too.”

Torrhen gives you an amused smile, “Yeah I saw him, just before I came here, he was heading towards the forest, without either of his guards too, now that I think about it. Why? You want to talk to him about your sister?” He grins. You groan, it looks like everyone in the village knows. All the more reason to talk to him earlier.

But if he was heading to the forest without his guards, he was definitely with your sister. Did you want to interrupt him and your sister together? You didn’t want to catch your sister in a … compromising position. The sound of the tavern door closing reminds you of Hother. He seemed a shifty type, maybe you could follow him, see what he was up to. Lastly, Torrhen asked you to help him take his haul to the butcher. Beth was there, maybe you could get a chance to talk to her. Your ears turn pink even thinking about her.

Where do you go next?
>Follow Hother to see where he goes and what he does
>Go to the forest and find Gareth and your sister
>Go with Torrhen to the butcher’s shop

Leaving vote up overnight, I'll continue tomorrow.

>>4561543
>>Go to the forest and find Gareth and your sister

>>4561543
>>Go to the forest and find Gareth and your sister

>>4561543
>Go to the forest and find Gareth and your sister

>>4561543
>Go to the forest and find Gareth and your sister

Alright, this seems pretty one-sided. You guys are really paranoid, huh.. Well then, here's another decision playing into that:

Do you take your padded armor and bow with you into the forest? At present you have your common stiletto with you.
>Yes
>No

>>4561726
>Yes
We might see some game too

>>4560314
ASOIAF quests are popular!

>>4561726
>Yes

>>4560956
And speaking from experience, first updates of the day take a while to get votes. Once people see that you're active, they'll be more likely to check often.

It's tough to "blow it" with vote options, too-- people just have to pick one, if they don't like it they'll write in. The tricky ones are when it's write-in only, because that provides an actual barrier to entry that might prove to be too high.

(If it wasn't clear I come from the QTG.)

>>4561726
>Yes

>>4561726
>Yes
Honestly, when presented the option with no opportunity cost or complications, why wouldn't we take our padded armor and bow into the forest?

>>4561819
You don't have the bow and the armour right now with you, you'd have to go to your house to retrieve them and put them on, giving your quarry a slightly larger lead on you.

>>4561819
>>4561824
I didn't make that as clear in my post asking for votes. Sorry about that, I'll leave the vote open for a while in case anyone wants to change their mind.

In the meantime, give me 3 rolls of 5D6 (4D + 1B in Notice) and 3 rolls of 5D6-2 (4D + 1B in Track -2 due to terrain). The next update will be in 7-8 hours.

Rolled 2, 2, 4, 1, 2 = 11 (5d6)

>>4561843

Bump. I still need these rolls: >>4561843

Rolled 5, 3, 6, 2, 4 = 20 (5d6)

>>4561843

Rolled 5, 5, 5, 1, 1 = 17 (5d6)

>>4561843

>>4561968
Hmm, that was supposed to be 5d6-2, can the qst dice roller not do that?

>>4561970
You have to use '+-' when you want a negative modifier. So 5d6-2 becomes 'dice+5d6+-2'. You can roll again, I'll count your first roll for the Awareness roll.

>>4561976
Oh, I didn't see this >>4561966. No worries then, I'll do the calculation myself. I'll get the first part of the update out in the meantime, while we're waiting for the rolls.

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Beth.. You’re going to have to meet her some other day, you think sadly. If Gareth was heading into the forest with just your sister, they didn’t plan on remaining chaste. You promised your pa you would put a stop to all of that before they got married, and you had to see your word through. You just hope you don’t catch them with their pants down. That would be… awkward, to say the least. You’ll make sure to call out their names loudly to alert them beforehand.

Coming back to the conversation with Torrhen, you reply, “Aye, something like that. I’m already dreading it, though. He must have waited for my sister, and she left not an hour ago, so they must be close. I’ll catch them before they get frisky. Gods, this is going to be painful.”

Your friends look more amused than anything at your misery. Even Owen cracks a smile. Torrhen counters, “Relax, Gareth’s an alright lad. The miller’s only son, too. Quite a catch for your sister, not that she isn’t a catch herself.” He amends quickly, at your reaction. He turns a bit serious then. “If you’re going to the forest, take your bow with you at least, mayhaps your padded armor too. Like I said, something has been pushing all sorts of beasts in our direction from the South and West. They’d be foolish to head deeper into the forest, but if they do, it’s better to be prepared.”

That’s good advice, and you trust Torrhen about the dangers of the forest. You nod your assent to his suggestion and finish your ale quickly.
“Gods willing, I’ll find some game to sell back to Barth on my way, too.” You grin at your friends as you head out, trying to convince yourself that this won’t be as unpleasant for all sides involved as you’re imagining it to be. Quentyn is nowhere to be seen, and the barmaid is serving the villagers at the centre table.

As you head out back towards your home, in the opposite direction of the forest, you see no sign of Hother, the stranger. Must have moved quickly, that one. You reach your home quickly and enter, meeting your mother in the hall.

“Back so quickly, Hal? Did you talk to Gareth yet?”

Your father appears to be in his room, so you speak quietly, “No. He went to the forest without his guards. Likely with Kyra. After what I promised to pa’ today, I better stop them before they do something foolish. I’m here to collect my bow and armour, Torrhen says there’s more beasts in the woods this week.”

Your mother gives a heavy sigh. “Don’t tell your pa’ why you’re going. He won’t like that. And Hal? Don’t be too harsh on them, please? They’re only kids, they don’t know what’s good for them.” You murmur your agreement to your mother and go to your room.

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>>4562050
Your “armour” is nothing more than layers upon layers of rough cloth, batting stuffed in between, and quilted together. It covers only your chest and your shoulder, but you need every advantage you can get when you’re out hunting. It saved you from a bear’s claws, and that’s good enough for you. Your bow is a common longbow, almost as tall as you, with a heavy draw. It was gifted to you by Torrhen when you felled your first stag. You take your time to put on the armour, strap your quiver holding a dozen arrows to your back, and leave your room with your bow in your left hand.

Your father’s out in the hall waiting for you, “Going back hunting already, Hal? We still have some meat leftover from your last catch.”

You don’t look your father in the eye when you lie to him. “Aye, Torrhen said there’s more game in the woods this week. And Barth is offering silver stags for things he can make trinkets from.” Your father nods and hums, not saying much.

Just as you’re about to head out, you decide to ask your father about something, “Pa, you ever know a man named Hother? Tall, brown hair, brown eyes, and mouth full of rotten teeth?”

Your father thinks on it for a moment, then says, “No, I can’t say I’ve ever met such a man. Why?”

“He was in Quentyn’s Alehouse today, talking with the barkeep in hushed tones, all shifty-like. When he saw me, he became startled, and kept looking at my eyes. Told me I reminded him of a friend. He even asked me to leave you behind and go with him to Winterfell, to sell our services to a lord. Can you believe that?”

Your father looks at you sharply, and bites out “You told him no, I hope?” At your affirming nod he heaves a sigh of relief, and continues, “Good. I can’t say for this Hother, but over the years some guards on patrol have looked at me funny when they noticed my eyes. I don’t know why, but I’ve learned to keep up my hood and lower my head whenever I see a man in armour, you’d do well to do the same.”

So he’s had to go through this too? What a strange occurrence, you think, as you bid your parents goodbye once again and leave for the forest, their calls of “Stay safe!” ringing behind you. You shared your eyes with your father, and they were.. captivating, if you could believe your mother. Greyer than Kyra’s, closer to white, with specks of blue like ice in winter. Your mother told you that girls found that alluring, so you felt a sort of unearned pride in that.

They were unique in one other regard; you could see more clearly at night and in darkness than most others. That’s what made you such a good hunter, allowing you to hunt at night with ease, when animals went to sleep and let their guard down. It’s what kept your father’s vision intact even as he grew older, while the eyes of others who worked in the mines grew dim as they aged.

>>4562052
Such musings keep your mind busy as you make your way to the forest. It’s almost high noon now and they have somewhat of a lead on you. You begin calling out “Kyra!” and “Gareth!” loudly. There is no response, so you move a little deeper into the forest, South and West away from the village. After a quarter hour with no sign of them, you give up. You’ll have to do this like one of your hunts, then. Find some tracks or leads and follow them to the absconding couple. You grit your teeth. This is really not what you wanted to do today.

________

Give me 1 more roll of 5d6 for Awareness (Notice) and 2 more rolls of 5d6-2 for Survival (Track)

Rolled 2, 5, 5, 4, 2 = 18 (5d6)

>>4562055

You should roll for the rest yourself QM to keep up the momentum.

>>4562105
Only two people have rolled so far, I was hoping for at least one more.. I have some work to do today anyway, the next update should be in 7-8 hours.

Rolled 1, 1, 2, 6, 5 - 2 = 13 (5d6 - 2)

>>4562055
>>4562108
Really enjoying the quest so far QM, good writing. Keep up the good work. Word of advice from one QM to another: it might be better to do all the rolls yourself and only give the players written choices, especially if you're not doing live sessions. Dice slows things down unnecessarily. You might also want to break up your posts with more votes and make each choice in the vote clearly demonstrate some kind of loss/gain or risk/reward. That way we can make more informed decisions and debate the choices a little. Otherwise, so far, every vote has felt like a non-choice: either it's really obvious what we should choose (stay w/ family vs. leave them behind) or it's hard to tell what's different about the the choices (who to approach at the bar). Adding why the PC would consider a choice is a good way to differentiate between them and indicate the loss/gain involved.

Also I haven't read the books or seen the show--can anyone tell me what the eyes mean?

>>4562172
Thanks for the advice, and thank you for playing! I'm trying to ensure that I ask for votes in my downtime so I don't wait while writing, and at the same time players have more interaction with the quest. Rolling is one of the most fun parts in quests for me, so I didn't want to deprive my players of that.

As for the choices, I'll try to make the risk/reward clearer. So far I've tried to list the differences between the choices in the paragraph before the vote, keeping the options concise. I'll switch that to mention the risk/reward more clearly in the choice itself if that's better for the players.

>>4562172
>>4562187
For the record: I agree with giving options clear reasonings, but partially disagree with keeping all dice rolls QM-side. People's reading comprehension is unfortunately limited, and having the pros and cons in the option itself (even if they're reiterated) is the only way to guarantee they get considered. As for rolls-- 6 is too many to leave up to players, it should be 3 max. For something like this >>4562055, I'd either have players roll 3x 10d6 and calculate the totals yourself, or have players roll 3x 5d6 and roll the other 3 yourself. Rolling all the dice yourself, though, kills a lot of fun and tension.

>>4562187
I would definitely switch them, since it's not always clear what a particular choice entails even if its hinted at in the text.

As for rolling, to each his own, but personally I've only found rolls enjoyable when there's something big at stake (i.e when we know what the consequences of failure are and that it's going to hurt). Doing routine perception checks and such are OK for a tabletop but for a quest I'd much prefer choices.

Just one anon's opinion though.

>>4562200
And by >>4562055 I mean >>4561843, sorry.

I can understand >>4562202 this perspective-- in my opinion, a roll should move the action forward even on a failure. So a roll to dodge a sword swing: success you get an opening, failure you get hit, fine. A roll to spot something: success you spot something, failure... nothing happens. It's not engaging.

I disagree with the notion that there has to be something big at stake, though. It doesn't have to be big-- it just has to affect the story (and/or mechanics) moving forward.

>>4562200
>>4562202
>>4562208
Thanks, and I'll consider all of these. I'll mention the consequences or risk/rewards in the choices where possible, and do simple pass/fail rolls where the degrees of success don't matter in the background.

I'll need one last roll of 5d6-2 for now though. The degrees of success on this test determine the amount of time it takes you to find the couple.

Rolled 1, 5, 4, 1, 2 - 2 = 11 (5d6 - 2)

>>4562231

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I forgot that the modifier applied to the Survival test was also to be applied to the Awareness test. So subtracting 2 from the awareness tests.

Identifying the tracks - Awareness (Notice). DC: 12, Rolled:
>>4561871 8
>>4561966 16
>>4561968 14
>Success!

Following the tracks - Survival (Hunt). DC:12, Rolled:
>>4562057 14
>>4562172 12
>>4562234 10
>Success! One degree. You follow the tracks for two hours.

Alright, that will do it for me. I'll use the top awareness vote for another test I was going to ask rolls for, because this was just a pass/fail test without degrees of success. I'll have to do some planning for the next scene. I'll try to get in an update later tonight. Latest by tomorrow morning.
You were right to be paranoid.

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You backtrack to the woods nearest to the village and try to find a fresh trail from the most likely point they would have entered. At the end of the day, it was not much different from finding a trail left by an animal, although people didn’t drop shit once in a while from which you could confirm how old the trail was. It does not take you long to find the tracks coming from the village. Two sets of footprints, one heavy and made with studded boots, the other lighter, almost invisible, following behind. It’s them alright.

You keep your ears peeled and follow the trail carefully. If they’re at it, you want to be alerted from far enough that you can call out their names loudly so that they have time to be presentable. The trail is not difficult to follow, leading you deeper and deeper into the forest. It’s clear that they were trying to put as much distance between them and the village as possible. The path is familiar to you, after all you had been hunting in these woods for more than 10 years now. About a quarter of an hour into your tracking, you notice another set of prints, four-legged and light, coming from behind the pair of footprints you were following.

From then on, the footprints become deeper and more far apart, as if they were running. Or more likely, being chased, you think with a frown. Gods, what a mess these two had gotten into! You send a quick prayer above for their safety and follow along the trail as fast as you can. It takes you almost an hour, with the tracks twisting and looping around multiple times. It looks like Kyra and Gareth tried to throw off their pursuer, but it caught up with them every time. Definitely a hunting dog, you think. Torrhen used to have one, and it was incredibly useful at picking up smells and trails. Finally, you can hear something, and you increase your pace. You know there’s a clearing up ahead, a pond where animals come for water at night.

Just as you’re about to break the treeline, you hear voices. Of multiple men, and there’s a dog barking wildly. There’s a familiar girl’s voice too. Kyra! You decide to survey the scene before jumping in wildly. What you see makes your blood boil. Your sister is held at knifepoint by a short, dark-haired man in dark robes who has scars around his mouth. He’s holding a dagger to your sister’s neck, and trying to lower her dress with his other hand. You see red, and your hands start shaking. You want to kill that man for laying a hand on your sister. It is only your long-honed hunter’s instincts that stop you from rushing out and giving away your advantage.

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>>4562544
The voices are clearer now, and you can see Gareth holding out his sword and waving it at the men, panic on his face and his voice hoarse from shouting. He’s also in normal robes. You don’t remember how trained he is with that sword, but you pray to the God it is enough for what’s coming next. The apparent leader is fair haired man with a boyish face, wearing hard boiled leather dyed black like Hother back in the village. There’s a whip at his side, a long, tapered, flexible length of leather attached to a handle. He leans down to pet the snarling dog, saying

“Good work Helicent, we were worried for you, wondering where you’d run off to. Poor Ben has probably ground his teeth to dust by now, worrying for you. And you brought us something to play with! Good girl. I’ll tell boss to give you the first bite.” He says, looking appreciatively at your sister. The fucker!

Lastly there’s a man of average build and average height, wearing soft leather armour, and holding his sword out to match Gareth’s movements. He shouts out to the others, “What do you think boys? Should we kill him now and be done with it, or take him alive and make him watch?” He laughs. Suppressing your urge to kill these men is getting harder by the moment.

You survey the scene one last time before making your move. You can trust Gareth to aid you if fighting began, but you do not know his skill with the sword. You have three options before you: You could start firing arrows from your current position, gaining an advantage of being hidden. The men are about 20 yards away from your position, so you could fire two arrows before they caught up to you. But there’s a man holding a dagger to your sister’s neck, you have no idea what he would do if they came under fire. Would he slit her throat first to be free to attack you? Gods, what a wretched thing to think about.

You could also approach the men openly, try to talk them down and let your sister go. It would be difficult, to say the least, and you don’t have much diplomatic skills to speak of. But it could distract the men enough for your sister to have a better chance at breaking free and Gareth to get a hit in, or not. You would also lose your advantage of being hidden, and would likely have to fight with your stiletto instead of your bow.

Lastly, you knew the clearing was egg-shaped, more long than wide. The men and their beast were closer to one side than the other. If you could skirt around the edges of the clearing to the other side, you would have around 50 yards of breathing room before they could get to you, allowing you to fire up to 3 arrows before they engaged you. You would also retain your advantage of being hidden on the first shot. At the same time, if the men escalated in their back and forth, fighting could break out before you were in position, and your sister would be even farther away should you need to help her.

You only have a moment to decide. What do you do?

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>>4562549
Opposing side:
>man in soft leathers with a sword
>man in hard leathers with a whip. He looks the most dangerous
>man in robes holding a dagger to your sister’s neck
>a hunting hound

Your side:
>You, in padded armour holding a longbow and a stiletto
>Gareth, in robes holding a sword
>Kyra, in normal clothing, with no weapons. She will make an Agility (quickness) test to disarm her captor if the opportunity arises

Options:
>Start firing from your position. +1B on your first shot, +1D if you succeed a Stealth (Sneak) test, you can fire 2 shots before engaging in melee.
>Try talking them down. You will have to roll Persuasion (Convince) with DC 15. If you succeed or fail by less than 3 on your roll, Kyra will have a bonus to her roll to break free. If you succeed, Gareth will have a bonus on his first attack. You will have to fight with your stiletto.
>Skirt around the edges to the other side of the opening. +1B on your first shot, +1D if you succeed a slightly harder Stealth (Sneak) test, you can fire 3 shots before engaging in melee. Will be away from Kyra if she needs help. Fighting may start before you get in position; in which case you will lose your +1B on your first shot.
>Something else (Write-in)

Needless to say, this is an important vote. You can find your stats here for easy use. >>4560020
You have one destiny point to avoid your own death, but all other characters can die. Feel free to ask questions. I'll leave the vote up overnight, picking this back up in 10-12 hours.

>>4562556
>Start firing from your position. +1B on your first shot, +1D if you succeed a Stealth (Sneak) test, you can fire 2 shots before engaging in melee.

Shoot this guy first
>man in robes holding a dagger to your sister’s neck
Then the dog, so our sister can run and get help.
>a hunting hound

My ID seems to have changed. No more formatting in this thread, I guess. Sad, I'm not even a phoneposter.

>>4562556
Can we hit the hand that's holding the knife so he drops it and our sister has a chance to get away? If so:
>Start firing from your position. +1B on your first shot, +1D if you succeed a Stealth (Sneak) test, you can fire 2 shots before engaging in melee.

We're better at marksmanship than persuasion so I think that's out. Running around puts us out of danger but too far from our sister and since we have plot armor (via DP) better us than her.

>>4562574
With Marksmanship 4, you're not good enough to target the hand specifically, not when you have the danger of hitting your sister. You'll aim at his body, and if you succeed, your sister will gain a bonus to her roll for breaking free, scaling up with your successes.

Also, Piercing damage lands on at least one degree of success, regardless of armour. So If your main attack has at least one success, but does not manage to get past the enemy's AR, you'll still do piercing damage. The same is true for your opponents too, though.

>>4562574
Also, the "plot armour" by using a Destiny Point means that you surrender instead of dying, and are taken captive. Which might be worse than just dying, in this quest, if you've caught on.

>>4562556
>Skirt around the edges to the other side of the opening. +1B on your first shot, +1D if you succeed a slightly harder Stealth (Sneak) test, you can fire 3 shots before engaging in melee. Will be away from Kyra if she needs help. Fighting may start before you get in position; in which case you will lose your +1B on your first shot.

>>4562556
>Start firing from your position
>Aim for the man in hard leathers

>>4562574
>>4562568
I really think aiming for the man who is holding our sister is too risky. We're only marksmanship 4, there's a risk of both that we'll hit her and that he'll slash her throat with the shock of being shot. If he even just jerks his arm as he stumbles back then we're to blame for our sister's death.
Plus, the man in hard leathers looks like the leader and if we can take him out then I reckon there's a fair chance we can intimidate the other two into fucking off.

>>4562636
Ok changing target to whatever this guy said.

So the next session is going to be rolls-heavy, and I want to be well-rested for that. I also need to go over the combat section of the rulebook again. So I'm thinking of picking this up in 8-10 hours and going "live" until we finish the fight or at least a few rounds of combat. I'll allow players to roll more than once per test if we're waiting too long for a roll.

In the meanwhile, vote on the first target:
>man in soft leathers with a sword
>man in hard leathers with a whip. He looks the most dangerous
>man in robes holding a dagger to your sister’s neck
>The hunting hound

This vote is still open: >>4562556

>>4562874

Kill boss first, demoralize enemy. He is not wearing any helmet right?
>man in hard leathers with a whip. He looks the most dangerous

>>4562874
>man in hard leathers with a whip. He looks the most dangerous
First the leader so they lose coordination.
Second the guy holding our sister.
Guy holding a sword may be a good second because don't think the millers boy can sword fight. The guy with the knife has our sister but while he's busy he can't fight.
Hunting hound will try to chase us so maybe a third.

I'll clarify some mechanics:
The presence of your sister gives a +5 to the Combat Defense of the man holding her. If you miss completely, i.e. don't get a single degree of success, the arrow/attack hits your sister instead.

>>4562884
Whether or not he wears a helmet has no effect on the damage calculation. Where the arrow/attack hits the person on the body is mostly a matter of flavor. If you fail the roll, I'll say you missed, if you succeed and cause an injury, I'll say it hit in the arm, if you cause a wound, I'll say it hit the thigh and pierced the bone, etc. You get the idea. Having a helmet on doesn't make you stronger or weaker as per the mechanics.

>>4562636
>>4562884
>>4562885
>man in hard leathers with a whip. He looks the most dangerous

Alright then, let's get started. Since the sneak rolls are standard pass/fail with no degrees of success, I'll do them myself, same for initiative.

Give me 3 rolls of 6d6 for marksmanship (4D + 1B Bows + 1B Aim + 1D Sneak Attack -1b Training). And good luck.

Rolled 5, 5, 1, 3, 3, 1 = 18 (6d6)

>>4563067
If they kill our sister, we will hunt them to the ends of the Wall and beyond.

Rolled 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5 = 26 (6d6)

>>4563067

Damn, must be a slow day. I'll wait 10 more minutes for another roll (you can roll again if you have already), otherwise I'll roll myself. I do want to get at least some of this fight done today, because I'm busy tomorrow and might not be able to update.

Rolled 6, 1, 6, 5, 5, 6 = 29 (6d6)

>>4563067

>>4563212
3 sixes. 2 Fives. Nice

>>4563212
Fucking nice. I was just about to hit 'Post' on my roll too, anon. Great. Writing! Update in 30-60 minutes.

The crunch is taking more time than I expected, I'm still rolling, haven't started writing yet.

Order of Initiative: Hallis -> Grunt -> Kyra -> Gareth ->Man with the sword -> Helicent -> Damon
------
Round 1
------
Hallis Stealth test – DC: 14, Rolled 15. Success! +1D on first attack.

--- Hallis Sneak Attack (Longbow) ---
Rolled 28 vs Combat Defense: 8
Four Degrees of Success
5 Damage x 4 = 20 Damage
20 Damage – 3 Armour = 17 Damage
9 Health – 17 Damage = -8 Health
*3 Injuries Taken*
17 Damage – 9 (3x3) = 8 Damage
9 Health – 8 Damage = 1 Health
*Piercing 1 activated*
1 Health – 1 Damage = 0 Health
*1 Wound taken*
1 Damage – 1 = 0 Damage.
1 Health – 0 Damage = 1 Health
Result: Damon Damaged
Injuries: 3/3
Wounds: 1/1

--- Grunt Attack 1 ---
Rolled 19 vs Combat Defense 5
Three Degrees of Success:
3 Damage x 3 = 9 Damage
6 Health – 9 Damage = -3 Health
*2 Injuries taken*
9 Damage – 4 (2x2) = 5 Damage
6 Health – 5 Damage = 1 Health
Result: Kyra Damaged
Injuries: 2/2
Wounds: 0/2

--- Kyra Action: Getting Free (Lesser Action) ---
Rolled : 14 vs Grunt’s Roll: 11
Success! Kyra frees herself
--- Kyra Action: Move (Lesser Action) ---
4 yards moved; distance from Grunt: 4 yards

--- Gareth Attack 1 ---
Rolled 19 vs Combat Defense: 10
Two Degrees of Success.
5 Damage x 2 = 10 Damage
10 Damage – 2 Armour = 8 Damage
9 Health – 8 Damage = 1 Health
Result: Man with the sword damaged
No injuries or wound available

--- Man with the sword Attack 1 ---
Rolled 22 vs Combat Defense: 11
Three Degrees of Success
5 Damage x 3 = 15 Damage
15 Damage – 1 Armour = 14 Damage
9 Health – 14 Damage = -5 Health
*2 Injuries taken*
14 Damage – 6 (3x2) = 8 Damage
9 Health – 8 Damage = 1 Health
Result: Gareth Damaged
Injuries: 2/3
Wounds: 0/1

--- Helicent : Sprint (Greater Action) ---
20 yards moved, distance closed to Hallis: 0 yards

--- Damon: Sprint (Greater Action) ---
16 yards moved; distance closed to Hallis: 4 yards

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>>4563335
Your hunter’s instincts would tell you to take a deep breath and relax, and consider your options carefully. Weigh the benefits and downsides of every choice, and pick the best option. But then the man holding your sister pushes his hand into her dress, fondling her breasts, and the decision is made even before you can think. You anger boils over, and there’s nothing that can stop you now. There’s no time for slinking over slowly to the other side of the clearing, and there is no time for bandying words, certainly not with these animals. It is time for butcher’s work.

You nock an arrow and draw the string, using all your strength and anger to pull the string back farther than you ever have, tighter than you ever could. You only have a moment to aim. The man holding your sister is out of the question, you can’t risk accidentally hitting her. The fair-haired man looks like the leader, perhaps if you felled him first the others would scatter. You take aim at him and loose, your arms aching from the effort you put in. The arrow flies straight and true, and punches right through the man’s leather armour. It strikes him in the centre of his chest, below the heart, and comes out his back. He lets out a pained gasp, then all hell breaks loose.

You yell out a bestial roar in triumph, giving away your position, and move to nock another arrow, determined to finish them all for daring to hurt your sister.

Meanwhile the man with the sword shouts, “Damon, no! Helicent, girl, after him, now! Grunt, gut the bitch and help me kill this ponce!” He moves to engage with Gareth, trading blows. Gareth is better with the sword than you expected, dealing cuts and slashes all over his opponent, even managing to nick his face. The other man has been properly trained though, and his skill shows. His sword bites deep into Gareth’s ankle, and he slashes Gareth’s elbow next, taking advantage of his distraction.

The man with the whip, Damon, miraculously does not go down. He follows the sound of your yell and locks eyes with you. He’s bleeding from his mouth and an arrow is sticking out of his back, yet he runs towards you. Perhaps it is shock dulling his pain, perhaps the Gods themselves are giving him strength, but you can only watch with disbelief as he runs towards you, the hound running ahead of him.

Your sister’s cry draws your attention to her. She has managed to free herself somehow, running away from the man holding her, Grunt, all the while sobbing uncontrollably. But he seems to have got a couple swings in, there’s cuts on both of her arms, though you cannot tell how deep from here. You send a quick prayer above to preserve her and give her strength.

You channel your anger into your arms again, nocking another arrow. You no longer have the benefit of surprise on your side, and you only have a moment to make your next move.

>>4563340
Who do you target?

>Damon, the man with the whip. He’s still moving, but he must be on his last legs. You could finish him quickly before he attacks you
>Helicent, the hound. She’s almost upon you now, and you know full well how dangerous hounds can be. You also have an advantage attacking animals
>The man with the sword. He’s also badly damaged, but he could kill or maim Gareth on his next swing
>Grunt, the man with the dagger. He’s hurt your sister, that’s more than enough reason to kill him first. You do not know if he will attack your sister or Gareth next.

You will be rolling with 4d6 for Marksmanship now, having lost both your stealth advantage and your extra time to aim. Since the votes are so far apart, I'll be leaving this up for a fair while. The fight doesn't look like it'll last long, anyway. I'm happy where we're at. The next round will be decisive, whether in your favour or against.

Slight correction in the crunch: >>4563335 Here Kyra only has 1 wound available to expend.
Kyra's roll for getting free had like a 1% chance of succeeding. I'm floored. Her captor rolled a Bo3 too, no less.

Also to be noted, after making your attack next round, you'll be forced to switch to the stiletto while your opponents engage you in melee. You can switch back to the bow if you've dealt with them.

>>4563346
>Grunt, the man with the dagger. He’s hurt your sister, that’s more than enough reason to kill him first. You do not know if he will attack your sister or Gareth next.
The whip man is as good as dead. With the maluses he gets on his rolls he can't do any damage.

>>4563346
>Grunt, the man with the dagger. He’s hurt your sister, that’s more than enough reason to kill him first. You do not know if he will attack your sister or Gareth next.
BLOOD AND THUNDER

>>4563346
>>Grunt, the man with the dagger. He’s hurt your sister, that’s more than enough reason to kill him first. You do not know if he will attack your sister or Gareth next.

I have also read your posts on /qtg/, I think occasional pov changes can help convey the dangers more clearly. But if you really wanted a high lethality asoiaf game, you should've made us a young peasant woman or a tavern wench. They tend to get in danger and die a lot

>>4563346
>Grunt, the man with the dagger. He’s hurt your sister, that’s more than enough reason to kill him first. You do not know if he will attack your sister or Gareth next.

Unanimous vote so far, doubt it's going to change now. Let's see if I can squeeze the next round in today.

Give me 3 rolls of 4d6 for Marksmanship (4D +1B Bows -1B Training)

Rolled 1, 1, 5, 4 = 11 (4d6)

>>4563392

Rolled 2, 2, 3, 2 = 9 (4d6)

>>4563392

Rolled 5, 2, 1, 1 = 9 (4d6)

>>4563392

Rolled 1 (1d2)

This roll determines who Grunt goes after.

>>4563412
Uh oh..

>>4563395
>>4563408
>>4563410
Rolled 11 vs CD 11. Very poor set of rolls. I'll do the rolling for the others and start working on the update. Looks like this might last longer.

>>4563410
>>4563408
>>4563395
Ouch

Order of initiative: Grunt -> Helicent -> Gareth ->Man with the sword -> Damon -> Hallis -> Kyra

Round 2
--- Grunt Action: Move (Lesser Action) ---
4 yards moved; distance from Kyra: 0 yards
--- Grunt Attack 2 ---
Rolled 17 vs Combat Defense 10
Two Degrees of Success
3 Damage x 2 = 6 Damage
1 Health – 6 Damage = -5 Health
*Wound taken*
6 Damage – 6 = 0 Damage
1 Health – 0 Damage = 1 Health
Result: Kyra Damaged
Injuries: 2/2
Wounds: 1/1

--- Helicent Attack 1 ---
Rolled 11 vs Combat Defense 10
One Degree of Success
3 Damage x 1 = 3 Damage
3 Damage – 1 Armour = 2 Damage
9 Health – 2 Damage = 7 Health
Result: Hallis Damaged
Injuries: 0/3
Wounds: 0/3

--- Gareth Attack 2 ---
Rolled 15 vs Combat Defense 10
Two Degrees of Success
5 Damage x 2 = 10 Damage
10 Damage – 2 Armour = 8 Damage
1 Health – 8 Damage = -7 Health
*No injuries or wound available*
Result: Man with the sword slain!
--- Gareth Action: Move (Lesser Action) ---
4 yards moved; distance from Grunt: 4 yards

--- Damon Attack 1 ---
Rolled 15 vs Combat Defense 10
Two Degrees of Success
3 Damage x 2 = 6 Damage
7 Health – 6 Damage = 1 Health
Result: Hallis Damaged
*Hallis has become Entangled, taking -5 to all tests, until he breaks free (Athletics or Agility test with DC 7)*

--- Hallis Marksmanship Attack 2 ---
Rolled 6 vs Combat Defense 11
Attack failed!

--- Kyra: Sprint (Greater Action) ---
16 yards moved; distance from Grunt: 16 yards

File: Hounds from Hell.jpg (49 KB, 563x387)

49 KB JPG

>>4563467
Grunt looks back and forth between your sister who’s moved away from him, and his friend asking for his help. Before you can line up your next shot to end his life, he gives a malicious grin and shrieks in an unnatural way, showing that his tongue has been cut out from his mouth. He moves quickly towards your sister and swings his dagger wildly. You despair as you see that he lands a hit, slashing Kyra across her chest. Her dress rips from the middle, and crimson blooms across the front. Kyra gives a blood-curdling wail and runs away from Grunt, clutching her bleeding chest with both hands.

You howl with rage and loose your next arrow at her attacker, but whether it is your anger or the pain from the hound biting your left shin, your aim goes off and the arrow lands harmlessly away from Grunt. You drop your bow and kick the bitch, trying to throw her off, succeeding marginally. Helicent snarls viciously, your blood colouring her teeth. It is a surprise to you when a whip cracks loudly and wraps itself around your chest and upper arms, effectively immobilizing them. You do not know if the whip had thorns at its end, but it certainly feels that way, as your entire upper body screams in pain. Damon smirks triumphantly at you, and speaks to the hound,

“Get him Helicent, I’ll hold him for you. Tear his insides apart!”

From the corner of your eye you can see Gareth finishing off his opponent by burying his sword in his neck, then hacking at it again and again until his foe stops moving. The boy is a lot tougher than he looks, it appears you have all been underestimating him. He runs towards Grunt, next, sword in hand and yelling at the top of his voice to taunt Grunt to face him, man to man. Good, it would give your sister time to run away.

His success gives you courage, and you push against the whip with all your might. Damon must be losing strength by the second, this should not be as difficult as it looks. You let out a loud yell and HEAVE!
___

Give me 3 rolls of 3d6. DC is 12 ( original DC 9 +5 due to Entangled -2 due to Damon's wounds and injuries weakening him)
Also indicate in your vote whether you want to use Lucky if you fail in this test. It can be used once per day and gives you an additional roll.

Use Lucky if test to free yourself fails?
>Yes
>No

>>4563475
>Yes

>>4563486
You can roll and vote at the same time.

I think this was the last update for the night. I have some obligations for Wednesday, so there will be a delay before the next update.

>>4563496
My rolls were shit the last time. I'll give other anons a chance.

Rolled 4, 3, 2 = 9 (3d6)

>>4563475
>No
RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

>>4563502
It's alright, anon. Everyone's rolls were shit last time. Best of 3 for 4d6 and we roll an 11. This is the stuff of legends.

Rolled 4, 2, 6 = 12 (3d6)

>>4563475
Rolling to disentangle ourselves, right?
If so, yeah, use lucky if needed

That's the required DC. Thank you. You don't need to use Lucky now. I'll forgo calling for a third roll as well.

You are free and have one attack with the Stiletto. You roll 4d6 dice for Fighting. Who do you attack?
>Damon, the man with the whip. He's almost at death's door, and you're certain you can finish him in one strike
>Helicent, the hound. You have a +4 bonus to Fighting tests made against animals

>>4563703
>Damon, the man with the whip. He's almost at death's door, and you're certain you can finish him in one strike
He caused this

>>4563703
>Damon, the man with the whip. He's almost at death's door, and you're certain you can finish him in one strike

Great writing, QM! Just caught up. Odd, I checked the board for new quests a few days back but have missed this one.

>>4563703
>Damon, the man with the whip. He's almost at death's door, and you're certain you can finish him in one strike
Stab the neck.

I'll keep the vote on who to stab open. Meanwhile give me 3 rolls of 4d6.

I'm busy today, but I'll try to get in an update by tomorrow morning.

Rolled 3, 3, 3, 4 = 13 (4d6)

>>4563894

>>4563894

Rolled 6, 2, 3, 6 = 17 (4d6)

>>4563894

Rolled 3, 2, 2, 2 = 9 (4d6)

>>4563894
witness

>>4563898
>>4563945
>>4564024
That 17 should do it. Unfortunately, I was wrong here >>4563703, and you do not have an attack available this round, because the rulebook says that freeing yourself from an entangling weapon is a greater action. What this means is that you will not be able to help the others for another round. I'll use the attacking choice and the roll for the next round. Meanwhile, pray for Gareth, I suppose.

>>4564069
Gareth's a gud boy. If he kills the other guy give him all the permission he needs to marry our sister.

Someone on /qtg/ told me to tone down the mechanics autism, also we have two rounds to get through here, so I'll try to condense it.

Round 3:
Order of initiative: Damon -> Gareth -> Grunt -> Hallis -> Helicent

--- Damon: Action - Hold Entanglement ---

--- Gareth Attack 3 ---
Rolled 21 vs Combat Defense 11, Three Degrees of Success.
5 x 3 = 15 Damage – 1 AR = 14 Damage
1 Injury taken, 12-10= 2 Health Remaining (Grunt)
Injuries 1/4 (Grunt)

--- Grunt Attack 3 ---
Rolled 23 vs Combat Defense 11, Three Degrees of Success,
3 x 3 = 9 Damage -1 AR = 8 Damage
1 Wound taken, No Damage, 1 Health remaining (Gareth)
Injuries 2/3, Wounds 1/1 (Gareth)

--- Hallis: Action - Free from Entanglement (Greater) ---
Rolled 12 vs DC 12, Freed

--- Helicent Attack 2 ---
Rolled 14 vs Combat Defense 10, One Degree of Success,
3 x 1 = 3 Damage -1 AR = 2 Damage
One injury taken, No damage, 1 Health Remaining (Hallis)
Injuries 1/3, Wounds 0/3 (Hallis)


Round 4:
Order of initiative: Hallis -> Gareth -> Grunt -> Damon -> Helicent

--- Hallis Attack 1 ---
Rolled 16 vs Combat Defense 8, Two Degrees of Success
3 x 2 = 6 Damage – 3 AR = 3 Damage
Injuries: 3/3, Wounds: 1/1, 1 - 3 = -2 Health (Damon)
Damon slain!

--- Gareth Attack 4 ---
Rolled 16 vs Combat Defense 11, Two Degrees of Success
5 x 2 = 10 Damage – 1 AR = 9 Damage
Two Injuries taken, 2-1 = 1 Health Remaining (Grunt)
Injuries 3/4 (Grunt)

--- Grunt Attack 4 ---
Rolled 16 vs Combat Defense 11, Two Degrees of Success
3 x 2 = 6 Damage – 1 AR = 5 Damage
One injury taken, 1-2= -1 Health Remaining (Gareth)
Injuries 3/3, Wounds 1/1 (Gareth)
Gareth Slain!

--- Helicent Attack 3 ---
Rolled 14 vs Combat Defense 10, One Degree of Success
3 x 1 = 3 Damage – 1 AR = 2 Damage
One injury taken, No Damage, 1 Health Remaining (Hallis)
Injuries 2/3, Wounds 0/3 (Hallis)

File: It was never going to be easy.jpg (165 KB, 700x393)

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>>4564504
Even weakened, bleeding and on death’s door, Damon does not let go of his grip easily. Helicent sees the opportunity and charges at you, snapping her jaws around your left shin again and again. Although your leather boots prevent her from tearing a chunk of flesh, pain erupts in your leg again. In the safety of your mind you think that even the bear you slayed did not give you so much trouble. These would be worthy opponents to kill had they not been a part of a gang of rapist bandits, from what it looks like.

In the distance, you see Kyra running away from Gareth and Grunt, then crumple to the ground, whether from exhaustion or loss of blood, you cannot say. No! You cannot let her die today, not like this.

Your desperation fuels you as you give up trying to loosen the whip. Instead, you angle your hands outwards and shrug, pushing the rope upwards and freeing your lower arms. You grab a hold of your stiletto, and in one smooth motion draw it and cut the whip just where it wrapped around you. But instead of letting go, you grab the remaining length, and PULL with all your strength. The action surprises Damon, and his eyes widen as he stumbles forward, along with the whip, right into your grasp. You take a hold of his neck with your left hand and yank it downwards, using your right to jab the stiletto straight through his eye. You hear a squelching noise as the thin point of the long, slender blade penetrates deeper into his skull and into his brain. Damon jerks wildly but you do not let go, pulling the blade away and sticking it in his other eye. He twitches for a few moments then slumps down, body unmoving and his brains leaking out of the holes where his eyes used to be.

You do not have a moment to celebrate your victory, because Gareth goes down with a pained cry. He and Grunt appear to have traded blows equally, both displaying new injuries, cuts and slashes on various parts of their bodies. Grunt looks like he’s finally taken a beating, and he seems to have lost half his nose. But Gareth had already been wounded in his last fight, and though more skilled than expected, he cannot match up to these thugs who seem to have fought all their lives.

Grunt looms over the fallen form of Gareth, and ends his life with a slash to his neck, turning his head to look at you with a smirk. You wince in sympathy and frustration. You were supposed to scold this boy into asking for your sister's hand today, and now he lies dead in the forest, gone before his time. Grunt looks over the bodies of his fallen comrades, sees Helicent still fighting you, and his gaze finally rests on your sister, who’s still unmoving. Your eyes widen slowly as you realize his intention, and bring all your focus back to the hound growling at you, desperate to finish her off.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Grunt running towards Kyra, Gareth’s sword in his hand, a loathsome leer on his face.

>>4564515
Give me 3 rolls of 4d6+2 (-2 due to injuries, +4 due to the Great Hunter benefit). The faster you finish the dog, the faster you can use your bow to take down Grunt.

Also, I try to reflect the rolls and results in the write-up, and you're free to ignore the crunch in the post above. That's just for the exact number, if any readers have crunch-autism like me.

RIP Gareth. You rolled far higher than I expected.

Rolled 3, 6, 5, 4 = 18 (4d6)

>>4564522

Rolled 3, 5, 6, 2 + 2 = 18 (4d6 + 2)

>>4564522
RIP Gareth

Rolled 2, 2, 1, 3 = 8 (4d6)

>>4564522

>>4564522
I like the crunch, makes me feel more involved.

>>4564630
>>4564643
>>4564645
>20
Alright, I'll finish my food and start writing.

File: Helicent.png (188 KB, 508x400)

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Round 5:
Order of initiative: Grunt ->Hallis ->Helicent

--- Grunt: Action – Sprint (Greater) ---
Athletics test to sprint faster:
Rolled 18 vs DC 12. Two Degrees of Success
Moved 18 yards. Distance from Kyra: 0 yards

--- Hallis Attack 2 ---
Rolled 20 vs Combat Defense 9, Three Degrees of Success
3 x 3 = 9 Damage
*No injuries or wounds available*
Helicent slain!

---


You have no time to waste. With every passing moment, Grunt gets closer to your sister. You do not know if he’s rushing to her to kill her or carry her with him. You only know that you cannot let either of those things happen. And Helicent is in your way. If you want to deal with her quickly, you cannot wait for her to come to you. Her smaller form and the short reach of your stiletto mean that you will have to take the initiative.

So you leap upon her, blade bared and your free hand closed into a fist. The two of you roll in the ground multiple times, you punching her and stabbing her in the body again and again, and then some more, while she tries and fails to find purchase with her fangs and her paws. You sustain a few cuts and scratches, but ignore them in your rage. When it is done, Helicent lays panting on the ground, her lifeblood leaking out of countless holes in her side. You do not even spare her a second glance, sheathing your weapon and running straight to your bow.

Within a moment, you have your bow in your hand and an arrow nocked. By now Grunt has reached Kyra, and he leans down to pick her up. At least he didn’t kill her outright, you think. But that presents a different problem, could you shoot at him if he had your sister in his arms? What if you missed and accidentally hit her? And if you did not use your bow, you would have to chase him on foot, where your mauled left shin could restrict you. You could track him down, but Damon mentioned a ‘boss’ earlier. How close were the other bandits?

Your forcefully exhale and inhale, trying to calm your fluttering heart. There’s no use worrying right now, there’s only your arrow, and Grunt’s head. You take a few more moments to line up your shot, praying to all the Gods above that your aim is true. Then you loose.

________
Give me 3 rolls of 5d6-2 (4D +1B Aim -2 Injuries) for Marksmanship attack. You need a minimum roll of 11. If Grunt rolls first for initiative, you'll need a minimum roll of 16.

>>4564712

Oh shit, new asoiaf quest? Good luck! Let's hope anon don't kill this one

Rolled 6, 6, 2, 4, 5 = 23 (5d6)

Rolled 1, 2, 3, 6, 4, 6, 5, 4, 3, 4, 1, 2, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 1, 1, 6, 4 = 79 (21d6)

Rolling this one in the thread for transparency, because it may result in Kyra's death if you fail your shot. The first 9 dice are your initiative, rolling 3d6 thrice. The next 12 dice are Grunt's initiative, rolling 4d6 thrice. I'll apply the modifiers in the next post to determine who goes first.

Rolled 1, 2, 6, 2, 5 = 16 (5d6)

>>4564712
Take aim......

Rolled 2, 6, 4, 2, 1 - 2 = 13 (5d6 - 2)

>>4564712
NOOOOOOOOO!

>>4564715
Your rolls: 4, 14, 10
Grunt's rolls: 10, 17, 9
So Grunt goes first and picks up your sister, increasing his Combat Defense by 5. You need at least 16 on your roll now.

>>4564714 19
>>4564716 13
>>4564737 12

Which you appear to have got successfully.

So you manage to kill Grunt. Congratulations, your sister is alive, by a hair's breadth. She's literally at 1 Health with 0 injuries and wounds left. Even a single point of damage could kill her right now. In fact, if Grunt was a taller guy, you killing him would have caused her 2 points of fall damage, which would have killed her. Now wouldn't that be ironic?

I don't think I have it in me right now to write more, and I have to think about some future things to set up, so I'll get back to this and wrap it up tomorrow morning. For now, be happy that you saved your sister. This was not supposed to happen. Bless Gareth for his extraordinary fighting and initiative rolls. RIP again.

>>4563864
I missed this somehow, thanks.

>>4564713
Thanks! This is a fairly short quest (probably wrapped up within this thread) and I have almost a month with little work, so I hope I'll be able to see this quest to completion.

Thanks for playing!

>>4564748
Thanks fo running qm.

>>4564748
Maybe something with less crunch next time? e.g. a peasant girl from a large town going about her day.

>>4564925
>>4564932
When I said wrap it up, I meant the fight. There's still much more to go in this particular one-shot. We're about 25-33% in. I've been dropping subtle (and some completely obvious) hints about what's coming next. The pain is not over yet.

On running a crunch-light quest, sure. I have some ideas in my mind, though nothing concrete yet.

>>4564748
Thanks for running!
I don't understand the anal fixation on rpg mechanics used in the quest. They helped direct the flow of narrative and weren't at all cumbersome. Gareth died due to taking more damage than his wounds allowed and our sister survived because we finished every opponent off before her health pool depleted.
We didn't have to count yards to move or vote for each lesser action each round so it was all very reasonable in my opinion.

>>4564964
I'm thinking 'the boss' will make us join him

>>4564968
>I don't understand the anal fixation on rpg mechanics used in the quest.
Sorry, my ESL brain is kicking in, and I can't figure out what this sentence means. I got the rest of the post, that's accurate.

Also my ID appears to have changed again.

>>4564977
I meant to say that I don't understand what's the big deal about mechanics. Some people just blindly hate them it seems.

>>4564984
Actually the opposite: "why autistically hate dice?"

>>4564983
>>4564985
Oh, I get it now. I don't know if you were in the House Malroy and Reynold quests, but the rules-lawyering around the mechanics can get ugly. Especially if the life of the MC is at stake. These people (and the QMs too, let's be fair) have been attached to the character for dozens of threads, and don't want to see him die. Then there's the counter-argument by players who feel that the QM was going too easy on them for this reason, and fudging the rules to let the MC survive. (Which is what happened in Malroy quest, a couple players protested that the QM was going too easy on the protag).

So I can perfectly understand some people's aversion to the mechanics, and I don't blame them for it. It took me a couple months of lurking ASOIAF quests to be familiar enough with the mechanics to make informed votes. I've tried to present the crunch in a clear manner for new players to know what is happening. But I also have a couple things working in my favour.
1)You're not as attached to the characters because this is still 150 posts into thread 1
2)You know up front that this is a one-shot and fairly short. So even if the MC or other characters die, you know there isn't a grand story arc you're missing out on (like completing the revenge arc in House Malroy or getting back your son in House Reynold)

Anyway, I'm starting writing. I have an errand to run in an hour. So if I don't finish the update by then, expect it in about 4-5 hours.

>>4564991
I'm sorry, but the words just aren't flowing today. Maybe because I'm too tired right now. I'll try again tonight, or get the update latest by tomorrow. The quest isn't over yet! There's still some way to go.

File: RIP - Gareth.jpg (122 KB, 599x814)

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Grunt is the first one to move, leaning down to scoop up your sister. Just as he stands upright and straightens his back, ready to run off into the forest, your arrow finally lands, burying itself in Grunt’s neck. It was a dangerous gamble you took. If he had been any slower, the arrow would have passed harmlessly above his head. You could also have hit your sister. As it is though, he drops your sister back on the ground, clutching his neck with both hands, trying to get the arrow out. He lets out wordless, inhuman shrieks, probably on account of not having a tongue.

You run at a blistering pace towards Kyra. By the time you reach them, Grunt has stopped moving, but so has Kyra. You drop to the ground and pull your sister into your lap, trying to feel her pulse. It’s weak, terribly weak, but it’s there. By the grace of the Gods, she’s still alive! With tears of joy and grief in your eyes, you work on tearing your padded armour into long strips of clothes, separating the layers, and using them to bind Kyra’s wounds, all the while whispering words of encouragement to your sister.. You use the batting from your armour to stop the bleeding from her chest, using lengths of cloth to bind it tight. Then you move on to her bleeding arms.

By the time you’re done, Kyra’s makeshift bandages have already turned a deep crimson, but there’s no further bleeding, and you’re panting from exertion. Taking a moment to catch your breath, you survey the scene once more. It is well past noon now, and the sun is racing towards the West. All of the fallen have stopped twitching or moving at all. Unless they're the greatest mummers in the world, they are well and truly dead.

You think back on Damon’s words about asking his ‘boss’ to let Helicent have the first bite out of your sister. Spitting on the ground in anger, you control your emotions. He’s dead, and you’re still alive. There’s still a ‘boss’ out there, though, and a Ben. And who know how many more. You have to move out of here, you cannot let them get to you, especially not when Kyra is still with you.

You move over to Grunt and turn his body over, taking one last look at the man who dared to touch your sister, and who would have run off with her. His mouth is open in a rictus of a grin in his last moment, as if giving you a parting taunt. You take Gareth’s sword from him, tying it around your waist instead. A pang of guilt hits you, for not saving him in time. You owe his father to return his sword, at least. For good measure, you take Grunt’s dagger as well. It is of a fine make, castle-forged, you think, just like the weapons in the hands of the others. These were no mere bandits, you realize. Either they’ve been extremely lucky in their choice of targets, or, more likely, they have a noble patron.

A question for another day. Right now your priority is getting your sister to safety. You gather Kyra in your arms, and begin your trek back to the village.

File: Punished Kyra.jpg (100 KB, 1300x1969)

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>>4565731
When you pass by Gareth's body, Kyra’s head lolls to the side, and she mumbles some words. When you pay her no attention, she clears her throat, and speak again, weakly, “Hal. We can’t leave Gareth here. Not lying dead in the forest with these brutes. Please, Hal! We have to take him.”

She clenches her arms around you. You’re heartened to see that she’s awake and speaking, but there’s nothing you can do for Gareth. You can barely carry your sister with your busted left shin, carrying Gareth’s body as well will be impossible for you. “I’m sorry, Kyra. But I can’t carry you both. We can’t help him anymore, and we need to get away from here as fast as possible. But we’ll come back for his body, I’ll gather everyone in the village. I promise you that, we’ll come back.”

Your return to the village is much different from your going. Your arms are aching badly from the strain, and your left leg stopped feeling an hour ago, but you’re here, and you’re safe. The orange glow of the sunset frames your return from the forest, and villagers quickly gather round you as you carry your sister to your home. Owen and Torrhen show up, and take over your load, finally allowing your biceps to rest. Their eyes are concerned, but for now they ask nothing and move quietly to your house.

Your mother is standing outside the house when you arrive. It takes a moment for her to realize what she is seeing, followed by a loud shriek. But she does not dwell on it too much, and through her tears she asks your friends to lay her down on her bed. She questions you about where Kyra has been hurt, and you tonelessly give her your assessment from earlier. She orders Owen to call Briony down to the house with her sewing kit, and tasks Torrhen with helping her with the herbs and pastes she has stored in the cupboards.

You realize that the shock which you had avoided so far has finally hit you. The world seems to be floating by, and you cannot hear what’s being said, even though you see the mouths moving. You cannot remember what you just said to your mother a moment ago. Stumbling, you sit down on a chair in the hall, and within moments you are asleep as the day's exhaustion finally takes over.

When you wake up, it’s still dark outside, the hour of the owl, perhaps. You are in your bed, though you don’t remember being brought here. You feel around your body and understand that someone patched you up as well, and put you in fresh clothes. That’s when you notice your father sitting at the foot of your bed, a steaming cup in his hands.

“Chamomile tea”, he says, handing you the cup, which you take gingerly, and start sipping slowly.

“It’s good.” You say awkwardly. There’s so much to be said, and it’s difficult to form words. So you settle on the most important thing. “Kyra, is she-“

“Alive. And recovering. Your mother says she’s lost much blood, but the bandages stopped her from losing all of it."

>>4565738
Glad to see you back

File: Warrick2.jpg (37 KB, 511x498)

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>>4565738
"She’s giving Kyra something that will help with the blood. Briony patched up the cuts and slashes. She’ll have those scars for the rest of her life, but she’ll live.” Your father relays to you, but he sounds as dead as you did the day before. He's not taking this well either. “Tell me what happened out there, Hal. I need to make sense of this.”

So you do, slowly and haltingly, and lay out the day’s events as they happened. The knowledge of Gareth running off to the forest with Kyra, you tracking their trail, coming upon the bandits, the fight, Gareth's brave resistance and his eventual death, and your return home. He appears sad and angry at times, but does not interrupt you. When you finish, he asks,

“So there’s more of them out there?”

“Yes”, you reply, “at least two. Though there could be more.”

He lets out a deep sigh, “And Gareth?”

You grimace. “Still out there on the forest floor. We have to get him, pa. I promised Kyra we’ll get his body back.” Your father looks mutinous at you going out there again, so you interrupt him before he can say anything. “He was an honourable man, pa. He had a bigger hand in saving Kyra’s life than I did. He could have gotten away when he killed the first man, but he turned around and fought Grunt, so Kyra could run away. He gave his life for her, pa. I would have been proud to call him my goodbrother.”

Your father sees your determination, and gives his resigned acceptance. “Tommard came here after dusk, asking after Gareth. I fended him off then, but he’ll be back today. Someone told him you had Gareth’s sword on your hip.” He looks at you with a question in his eyes.

“Aye, I intend to return it to him. It’s the least I could do after what his son did for us. I’ll gather some volunteers and go back to the forest, and return with Gareth’s body. If there’s enough men with us, the bandits won’t bother us. Mayhaps we could find something of their leader or their hiding place from the bodies of the others.”

Your father knows that it’s futile, but tries one last time to dissuade you from going anyway. “Must you go yourself, Hal? Your leg still needs to recover. Your friend Torrhen knows the forest as well as you. Tell him where to find the bodies, and he’ll lead the others there himself.”

What do you reply?

>He’s right, for now your leg needs to recover. Torrhen can lead the villagers to the bodies. (Lower DC for recovery roll)
>No, you made a promise to Kyra, you need to see it through yourself. You owe that much to Gareth. (Higher DC for recovery roll)

Leaving this open overnight. Resting will be easier for your recovery, while by going yourself you may find something the other don't. Emphasis on 'may'.

>>4565753
If I didn't make it clear enough, choosing No means going yourself (along with some volunteers) to bring back Gareth's body and search the other bandits' bodies. Choosing the first option means allowing Torrhen to do all of that stuff while you recover in your home.

>>4565753
>No, you made a promise to Kyra, you need to see it through yourself. You owe that much to Gareth. (Higher DC for recovery roll)

>>4565753
>>No, you made a promise to Kyra, you need to see it through yourself. You owe that much to Gareth. (Higher DC for recovery roll)
But telling Torrhen the story should be the absolute first thing we do. Man deserves to know how his son died.

>>4565753
>No, you made a promise to Kyra, you need to see it through yourself. You owe that much to Gareth. (Higher DC for recovery roll)
Can't leave his body for the wolves.

>>4565753
>>No, you made a promise to Kyra, you need to see it through yourself. You owe that much to Gareth. (Higher DC for recovery roll)
Glad to see you took some of the advice to heart.

Quick votes today. Thanks for the encouragement.

Give me 3 rolls of 4d6 (3D + 1B Treat Injury) for your mother's Healing test. DC 12 for removing 1 injury, 17 for removing both injuries.

Rolled 2, 6, 3, 2 = 13 (4d6)

>>4565839

Rolled 4, 1, 6, 4 = 15 (4d6)

>>4565839

Rolled 2, 5, 2, 5 = 14 (4d6)

>>4565839

>>4565839
Say, can we also test Endurance to recover?

>>4565859
>>4565880
>>4565954
>14, One Degree of Success, One injury removed

>>4565962
No, the Healing test substitutes your Endurance test for recovery.

I have an unscheduled test today, have to go in-person too. So the next update might be delayed until tomorrow, but I'll try to get it done today if I find the time.

File: Myriam2.jpg (19 KB, 256x447)

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>No, you made a promise to Kyra, you need to see it through yourself. You owe that much to Gareth. (Higher DC for recovery roll)

“Please pa, none of that now. I owe it to the man to see this through myself, and I intend to keep my promise to Kyra.” You reply.

Your father dips his head, shaking in disapproval, but does not oppose you. Perhaps he’s realizing just now that he’s no longer the man of the house. You feel a pang of guilt hit you again. “You take care of Kyra now, alright? You keep her safe here, and I’ll go see to those bastards that did this. I’ll bring back their heads and mount them in our yard.”

A sort of determination fills you as you speak, and it seems to permeate into your father, who sits up straighter, and looks you in the eye.

“Gods be with you, then. Take your friends with you, and Tommard and his guards will want to go too. Everyone you can gather. I don’t want to lose my son after almost losing my daughter, you hear me? I’ll hold down the fort here.” He says grimly, then leaves you to yourself.

You finish your tea quickly, and get up and about. There’s still some pain in your left leg, but at least it’s not numb anymore. That’s progress, right? If you’re going to the forest again today, you need to get it cleaned and bandaged again.

But first, you go to your sister’s room, quietly as you can. She’s sleeping peacefully in her bed, a serene look on her face. As if yesterday was just a bad dream, and when she wakes up it’s all going to be alright. But then your gaze shifts lower, and you see the bandages and pastes all over her, and you’re reminded of what she went through yesterday. No girl of six and ten should have to fight off a man intent on raping her. Your hands close into fists in anger, but a faint noise from the side makes you notice your mother sitting on a chair opposite the bed, awake, and looking at you. She motions to you to meet her in the hall, and you both move off.

As soon as you’re both outside the room, you wrap your mother in a tight hug, the previous day’s emotions all returning at once. Your mother has that effect on you, where you can tell her all your problems without fear of judgment or chastisement. So you lay out all your worries to her, being afraid for your sister’s life, the thought of this happening again, and the incredible guilt you feel for allowing that to happen to your sister, and letting Gareth die.

By the end of it you’re both in tears, and she’s whispering quiet reassurances as you lay your head in her lap. “She’s going to be alright, Hal. It’ll take weeks, mayhaps months, but she’s going to be alright.” She tells you.

“Come now, if you’re going back to get Gareth’s body, you need to get your bandages changed.” She slowly pushes you off of her lap, and gets her healer’s kit while you settle on a chair.

>>4566491
“You don’t disapprove?” You ask in astonishment.

“I do, but I also know better than to try to stop a young man on a mission. You be careful out there, though, Hal.” You nod gratefully, and let her do her work.

You hiss when she removes all the bandages and washes your foot with hot water. The wounds and cuts have all been stitched, it appears, and there’s no sign of infection. There’s still some pain left, but you should be able to walk long enough for the trip. While your fresh bandages are being applied, Owen and Torrhen drop in. You know they were concerned yesterday, so you give them your account of what happened yesterday. It looks like you’ll be doing this all day now, you think. They absorb it all seriously, outraged on your and Kyra's behalf, and look as ready as you to go out and take revenge.

“Now that I’ve explained to you the dangers, will you accompany me back to the woods today? Be sure that I won’t mind if you-“ You are cut off by angry interruptions from your friends

“How dare you-“
“Of course we’ll go you idiot.”
“-to question our friendship?!”
“-and everyone else too!”

These are the friends you knew since you were a babe, you chuckle. There was no doubt in your mind that they would agree.

“Alright, alright, stop! Okay, I was stupid to ask. We’ll need some more than just the three of us, though. We don’t know how many more bandits are out there, and the more people go with us, the safer we’ll be. So you two try to get some volunteers. Try Quentyn’s and the village square. Anyone who’s willing to come, tell them my story, and if they have a weapon, we’ll take them.” Your friends agree and leave with a promise to return within an hour.

You go back to your preparations and equip your bow and the stiletto, refill your quiver from your spare arrows, and strap Grunt’s dagger to your other side. You look sadly at the remains of your padded armour, much of it being torn apart to help your sister. A worthy sacrifice, you think. You’ll just have to make do without it.

As you step into the hall again, ready to move out, your father enters the hall from the outside, along with Gareth’s father, Tommard. His two guards are along with him, but they wait respectfully outside the gate. Your father hands the miller a glass of water, and goes to his room to give you some privacy. Tommard looks haggard and his eyes are bloodshot, as if he hasn’t slept the whole night. He also looks angry, and you know you have some explaining to do.

____

Give me 3 rolls of 4d6 (3D +1B) for Peruasion (Convince). The higher you roll, the better the conversation goes. And there's a bonus if you roll high enough.

Rolled 1, 4, 4, 4 = 13 (4d6)

>>4566503
Gods help him

Rolled 6, 2, 5, 6 = 19 (4d6)

>>4566503

Rolled 1, 6, 2, 5 = 14 (4d6)

>>4566507
>>4566523
>>4566531
>18 (-1 due to injury, +2 because of the sword)
That's enough to get the bonus. Writing! Shouldn't take more than 90 minutes.

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You confirm his worst fears when you fetch Gareth’s sword from your room. You kneel down and present it to him, an expression of sorrow on your face. He takes it in his hands gingerly, hands running over the pommel and the blade lovingly, as if he could feel the essence of his son in the sword. All his anger dissipates in that moment, and you look away respectfully when you hear his wet sniffles. When his tears stop flowing, he says

“I.. Thank you, Hallis. For bringing this to me. It means more to me than you could ever know. I gifted this to him on his ninth nameday, you know. He was always more interested in swordplay than running the mill, that one. I worried that I would have to sell the mill when I grew too old.” He chuckles fondly.

“He didn’t have many friends to speak of, so he pestered the guards into training him when they were supposed to just watch over him. The first time I found out, I tanned his hide good. But he didn’t give up, no matter how many times I took away his sticks or warned the guards, he just didn’t give up.”

You acknowledge those words; you saw the truth in them yesterday. “He was a brave, honourable lad, Tommard. He loved Kyra, and died defending her. I would have gladly seen Kyra wed to him.”

Then you tell him of yesterday’s tragic events. You have had this conversation thrice now, so the words come to you easily. You focus more on Gareth’s valiant defense, how he downed a man who had superior weapons and armour. How he could have run away and lived, but came back to fight, so Kyra could get away. How he went down still fighting. Tommard appears relieved when you tell him that you avenged Gareth by killing Grunt, then sad when you explain why you couldn’t bring his body back with you.

The conversation lapses into a comfortable silence when you’re done, each of you reflecting on your thoughts. After a while, Tommard moves to get up.

“We have to get his body back, Hal. We can’t let the crows or the wolves have it, or worse.”

You concur, “Aye. I’ll be going with you. I know the quickest way there. My friends will be with us, along with any volunteers they can find. The more men we have with us, the less likely we are to be attacked, whether by man or beast.”

He acquiesces quickly, “Then I must thank you and your friends again. I’ll go home to inform my wife and daughters, then I and the guards will join you.” Three more men added to your cause, then. And two of them skilled with the sword. You hope the bandits try to attack you now, you won’t have any better odds than this.

When he’s at the front door, Tommard looks back at you. “Say Hallis, you won’t be going out there without any protection, will you? I’m sorry about your armour. Let me repay you some of the kindness you showed me by giving you of my guards’ spare armour. It’s of a fine make, and you’re close enough in size that it won’t need adjustments.”

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>>4566652
You are dumbstruck by his offer. Tommard’s a known miser, and him gifting you a full set of armour is simply.. inconceivable. Tommard mistakes your silence as acceptance, and tells you he’ll meet you in the village square with the set.

A quarter of an hour later you’re all assembled in the village square. You, Torrhen, Owen, Tommard, his guards Beron and Lew, two of Owen’s farmer friends wielding pitchforks, and the butcher Rickard with a cleaver. Unfortunately, Beth’s not here to see her father off. Another time, perhaps. You are distracted from those thoughts by Tommard handing you your new armour.

“Here you go, made at a premium up in Karhold”

It’s set of soft leather armour, but reinforced with some hard leather pieces protecting your vital organs and weak points. You thank him for the gift profusely and don the new armour. It fits you comfortably enough, and doesn’t restrict your movement as much as you had expected it to. Your group takes your leave then, cheered on solemnly by the villagers.

The trek to the clearing in the forest could have been much faster this time, but a fog rolled in from the west in the night, and had yet to lift. It’s dense and low-hanging, reducing your visibility considerably. You have to stop and consult with Torrhen multiple times whether you are on the correct path. It takes the better part of two hours for you to reach your destination, although the sky remains hidden behind the thick fog. There’s a cry from among your party when you arrive at the clearing, and as you look up a spectacle unfolds before you, standing out clear in the fog.

In the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a circle of burning stakes, a wooden cross is blazing, much like the cross on the Bolton banner. Tied upside down to the cross is a body, mangled beyond recognition. But you don’t need to recognize the body to know instinctively that this is Gareth. There are no other bodies of bandits burning, and they wouldn’t do this to one of their own. All of you rush forward at once towards his body, cries and shouts of anger flying quick. As you come closer, you discover with horror that his entire body has been flayed, completely from top to bottom, not a shred a shred of skin remaining. Gareth’s eyes have been plucked out, and you can see each individual muscle in his body.

Disgusted and struck silent, you are overtaken by a sudden urge to vomit, and the next moment you find yourself retching on the forest floor. Many others in the party do the same, Owen collapsing in a fit of dry heaves. What monster could do this? This is careful work done with cold precision, they must have been at it for hours!

>>4566654
Those still standing try to free the body, but the fire is too large for them to douse without water. The circle of flaming stakes would have to be taken apart to even reach the body. Beron and Lew start cutting down the stakes, and the farmers dig up dirt with their pitchforks and throw it at the fire, but it is an effort in vain. Tommard kneels as close as he can to the fire, and breaks down in tears. The butcher, Rickard moves to comfort him, his shirt covered in bile. It speaks to the barbarity of the sight before you that even a butcher familiar with chopping up carcasses spilled his guts out.

When you can compose yourself enough to stand upright, you move over to Torrhen, who’s the least affected in the group. “Do you think the bandits did this?” He asks you. “Their friends we killed were savage enough, but what would possess them to do something like this? Gods! This will haunt us in our nightmares for the rest of our lives. And why would they use the Bolton cross and flay him?” You worry aloud.

“Could be as simple as the fact that we’re in Bolton lands. I doubt Lord Bolton himself would associate with bandits or participate in this.. abomination.” Torrhen replies.

“Mayhaps you’re right. I think they left this here to send a message. To me, that they’re coming for me, for killing their mates.”

“Let’s not go there yet, Hal. Focus on what we can see and hear with our own eyes. Look for clues, they must have been here recently if the pyre is still burning.”

You take his advice and the two of you begin scouring the clearing for anything that could point you to the culprits.
____

Give me 3 rolls of 5d6-1 (4D + 1B -1 injury) for Awareness (Notice). The higher the roll, the more clues you find pointing to the identity and location of the culprit.

I'm running out of pretty pictures.

Rolled 2, 1, 4, 5 = 12 (4d6)

>>4566664

Rolled 1, 3, 5, 4, 2 - 1 = 14 (5d6 - 1)

>>4566664
shit wrong roll

Rolled 6, 5, 2, 6, 5 - 1 = 23 (5d6 - 1)

>>4566664

Slow night today, but it's Friday, so that's understandable. Since you're unable to get a 24 because of that -1, that 21 gets the rest of the DCs. I'll come back to this tomorrow with an important vote.

In the meantime, give me some feedback on the quest. Do you like it? What parts (if any) do you not like? Anything I can improve?

>>4566664
>Ramsey Snow
>Fugg

>>4566786
Yeah man, I'm enjoying it. Don't need to change a thing imo.
Although, are you doing anything to balance for the quest's best of 3 rolling? I'd hate to think we'll be acing everything just because we're rolling three times the dice that the rules were designed for.

>>4567050
Thanks for the reply, and I'm glad you're having fun! There's certainly a balance to be made between the difficulty and enjoyability of the quest. Failing too many tests might not be fun for some players, especially if I can't find interesting ways of failing. I raise the difficulty by 3 or 5 where it makes sense. Since anons are risk-averse, they rarely try tests for abilities less than rank 3, so it works out, I think. You've been lucky with high rolls so far. I also try to use Degrees of Success where I can, so even if you do succeed, it would still be better to roll higher. Something you'll see in the next update, for rolling that 21.

Also in every conflict test, i.e. tests where both you and your opponent are rolling dice, I give the opponents Best of 3 too, to balance things out.

>Ramsay Snow
Well, finally someone gets it, I was dropping some hints throughout. In the previous fight, every opponent you fought was a canon character with their own wiki page, even Helicent the Hound. If players had not chosen to find Kyra and Gareth, or rolled poorly to find them, Ramsay's next bitch would be called Kyra. Since this is a one-shot, it allows me to kill canon characters at will without worrying about long-term butterfly effects. So no shirtless Ramsay fighting off 20 men alone.

Rolled 2, 2, 4, 6, 4 - 1 = 17 (5d6 - 1)

>>4566664

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>Rolled 21 vs DC 15, 18, 21, 24

Clues and evidence, you find aplenty. The most notable is a foul stench hanging in the air, all around the make-shift pyre Gareth’s body is tied to. It is an overpowering odour, mixed with the smell of a pigsty. A farmer’s, perhaps? There are two sets of boot-prints in the ground, slow and deliberate, carrying heavy loads back and forth all over the site, indicating that this is the work of two men.

There are large blood stains on the ground from where the bodies of the bandits and the hound have been moved, dragged to the south-west, deeper into the forest and away from the village. To your knowledge, there was nothing out there in the woods until it met the Weeping River down from the Dreadfort. A few small villages rested on the banks of the river, but they were few and far between. Could the bandits be hiding in one of those villages?

As you skirt around the edge and reach the southern end of the egg-shaped clearing, you notice that attempts have been made to erase some tracks. The dirt has been disturbed and leaves and debris scattered all over. The freshly disturbed dirt curves around the edge until it meets the tracks leading south-west. It’s a skillful attempt, and to anyone other than a trained tracker like you or Torrhen, only the tracks leading south-west would be visible.

You inform Torrhen of this finding, and together you search for any place where the perpetrators have slipped up. It takes you a while and some bruises and scrapes from kneeling in the dirt, but eventually you find sets of prints not matching up with the rest, leading south. What’s interesting is the number of prints you find. Five men, judging by the size of their boots, and several hounds came up from the south, but you cannot tell how many went back that way. The bodies have been dragged in a deliberate way to mask the footprints underneath them, but here and there you find the traces of the other men and hounds who left for south-west.

Several times you feel eyes watching you from afar, but whenever you turn, there’s no one there. You hope it’s only an ill feeling.

With these results you go back to the others in the group. By now the fire has burned out, and Gareth’s body, or whatever that remains of it, has been cut down and placed on a cloak. Tommard’s tears have dried out, it seems, and he’s just staring blankly at the pitiful remains. You force yourself to look at the skull to acknowledge the atrocity committed here today. The hollows of Gareth’s eyes stare at you accusingly.

Torrhen apprises the others of what you found, and you debate on the next course of action.

“They’ve clearly gone to one of the villages.” says Rickard, the butcher. “There’s fresh water from the river and fish to keep them fed. That’s the destination which makes the most sense.”

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>>4567823
“Then let us go and meet them. There are nine of us armed men here, we’ll flush out these bandits from whatever hovel they’ve made their base in.” Beron, one of Tommard’s guards cries out.

Owen cuts in, “And what if it’s an ambush? They made those tracks knowing full well that we’ll follow them. What if they’ve picked the perfect spot from where they can attack us and we can’t even see them? I say we go back to the village and set up defenses and carry out patrols. The bandits can’t number so much that they’ll attack the whole village at once.”

“If we know there’s an ambush, then we can turn it around on them, and catch them unawares.” Beron replies confidently.

Tommard finally finds his voice, “I won’t let those bastards roam free on my watch, but we don’t know how many of them are out there. Mayhaps we’re enough to overwhelm them, mayhaps we’re not. Are you willing to gamble your life on that? I’ve two daughters and a wife yet living, and I can’t leave them alone and go die off. Nay, let me petition Lord Bolton for assistance. Someone’s maligning his name, and he would want peace in his lands. He’ll send some soldiers to root out the bandits, and keep our village safe.”

Yoren, one of farmers, shakes his head vehemently at that, “Nay, Lord Bolton is like as not to take your head to keep the matter quiet. That cross is an ill-omen. Who’s to say these bastards don’t have Lord Bolton’s protection, to be so brazen like this? My da’ says he throws those who displease him into his dungeon, and flays their skin bit by bit. I’m not messing with no lords.”

Torrhen, who had not voiced his opinion yet, speaks up, ignoring that exchange, “The tracks came from the south, and at least one man went back. The only thing south from here is the abandoned mine. Mayhaps they have set up their camp in the mine, and act from there? We could check out the mine, and lay a trap for them when they return at night empty-handed.”

“We’re farmers and peasants, not rogues to lay traps and hide in ambushes! And what if you’re wrong? We have most of the armed men in the village with us here. What if the bandits attack the village when we’re off on your wild goose chase? Are you willing to bet the womenfolk’s safety on that?” someone shouts.

The arguments go back and forth, alternating between angry shouts and calm beseeching, but these were the main courses of action. As the only one here who had dealt with these bandits and came out victorious, your voice carried weight, and you could sway some of the others into agreeing with you. But your own mind was not made up yet. Could you afford to make another mistake?

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>>4567825
What do you choose:

>Agree with Owen. Go back to the village and set up defenses and patrols. There’s safety in numbers, and these bandits wouldn’t dare attacking a hundred people at once. You would also be on familiar ground. But others who have vengeance and justice in mind may be disappointed.

>Agree with Beron. Follow the tracks south-west. That’s clearly where the bandits went. Knowing there might be an ambush gives you an advantage, and you have the opportunity to turn it around on the bandits. Otherwise you would flush them out from whatever riverside village they were sheltering in.

>Agree with Tommard. Allow him to petition Lord Bolton for help. Millers are the backbone of villages, and he’s the alderman besides. Lord Bolton would hear him, and help him avenge his son. Lords don’t like groups of bandits murdering and raping in their lands, especially not ones using their sigils in acts of evil.

>Agree with Torrhen. Follow the hidden tracks south to the abandoned mine. It is possible that the bandits have set up their camp here, which would allow you to lay a trap for them in turn. But others may balk at leaving your village defenseless to chase a dubious lead. Your group is also ill-equipped for stealth.

>Something else (Write-in)

This is an important choice, leaving this up for a while. Next vote will be a Persuasion vote to see how many in your party go along with your choice.
Don't judge me for the pic, I've run out of art.

>>4567838
It seems dubious to get involved in any immediate fight given our still wounded status. Since Tommard himself suggested petitioning the lord, that takes care of the only reservation I had--which was that we might have wanted vengeance for his sake. Stealth route would work, but only if we could run away if things went south. Our leg is injured though, so I think that's out.

>Petition the Lord and in the meantime set up defenses in town

That gives us a chance to heal up as well so when/if the time comes we can fight back at full strength.

>>4567838
btw, have you tried using pinterest or artstation for images?

Also just wanted to reiterate how much I'm enjoying the quest. It's been so long since I found a quest I actually want to participate in.

>>4567838
me think we need to heal up otherwise we get shanked
>>4567904
+1

Just clarifying some things in case some mechanics are lost due to the heavy flavour I wrapped them in. I may have overemphasized the impact of injuries in the previous updates, if it's affecting player choices this much. Injuries give you -1 on all rolls, wounds give you -1D on all rolls. You have 1 injury right now. Tomorrow your mother makes another 4d6 (3D + 1B) roll to treat your injury. Depending on your level of activity tomorrow, the DC will range from 6 to 12. It's very likely that you will be back at full strength tomorrow.

Wounds on the other hand take weeks to heal, and the tests can only be done one week apart. Your sister is at two wounds and two injuries, so her condition is very serious. Wounds can also fester and worsen, but injuries can't.

I'm telling you this so you can make an informed choice, and hopefully not steer you into any choice I favour.

>>4567908
Yeah, my current art folder is made up 90% from Pinterest. I'll check out artsstation. And thank you! I'm genuinely happy someone's enjoying my quest.

>>4567838
>>Agree with Beron. Follow the tracks south-west. That’s clearly where the bandits went. Knowing there might be an ambush gives you an advantage, and you have the opportunity to turn it around on the bandits. Otherwise you would flush them out from whatever riverside village they were sheltering in.
FIGHT FOR VENGEANCE
Real reason is that Roose won't give a shit about this and it will give Ramsay lots of time to gather a larger force.

>>4567838
I should clarify that agreeing with Tommard to petition Roose Bolton will also mean that you'll be going with him, because you're the one who saw it happen, and also the only person to see the bandits, now that their bodies are gone. If you're still injured tomorrow, he'll take you in a cart.

Sorry for not mentioning that in the options, I should write down my ideas when they're floating in my head..

>>4568036
+1 try to flush them out of the mine with smoke or something like that

>>4567838
>>Agree with Owen. Go back to the village and set up defenses and patrols. There’s safety in numbers, and these bandits wouldn’t dare attacking a hundred people at once. You would also be on familiar ground. But others who have vengeance and justice in mind may be disappointed.

>>4567838
>>Agree with Beron. Follow the tracks south-west. That’s clearly where the bandits went. Knowing there might be an ambush gives you an advantage, and you have the opportunity to turn it around on the bandits. Otherwise you would flush them out from whatever riverside village they were sheltering in.

>>4567912
>>4568112
You voted for two different things, so which is it?

>>4568377
Second one , sorry man I'm seeing double

Alright, then. You've chosen to put your hand in the lion's mouth. Let's hope you can get it out in time when he bites. There is a possibility of the quest ending here if you suffer a full party wipe.

There's going to be a lot of rolling involved for the next part and a hell lot of crunch. I'll try to do as much of it in the background as possible. For the fight, I won't be giving you round by round crunch on everyone as that will take too long with potentially a dozen characters involved. I'll stick to the dice rolled and the final results only.

I've also decided to give you 2 glory points for saving Kyra and bringing back Gareth's sword. You can use a glory point at any point of time to give yourself +1B on any roll. You'll probably need it in the fight.

Right now I need 3 rolls of 4d6-1 (3D + 1B -1 injury) for Persuasion (Convince) to see how many people you can convince to come with you. I'll update in the morning.

Rolled 4, 2, 2, 6 - 1 = 13 (4d6 - 1)

>>4568642

Rolled 1, 6, 6, 4 + 1 = 18 (4d6 + 1)

>>4568642

Rolled 1, 3, 3, 2 - 1 = 8 (4d6 - 1)

>>4568642

>>4568662
>>4568804
>>4568836
With 15 you get everyone but the two farmers. It's not a big loss, they weren't good fighters anyway, but they could have provided cannon fodder. Owen, Tommard and Torrhen all had DC 15 due to having their own strong opinions about what to do, and you JUST got them all. With Tommard you get his two guards without a test, and Rickard the butcher had DC 12.

Now like I said, this entire part will be rolls-heavy. I apologize if gets too much for players, but many things are dependent on you succeeding in these tests.

Give me 3 rolls of 5d6-1 (4D + 1B -1) for Awareness (Notice). This is a conflict test with the other side actively trying to hide. If you get more than two degrees of success, you can spot them before they see you. They get a bonus due to dense forest and time taken to prepare.

Rolled 6, 3, 1, 1, 6 - 1 = 16 (5d6 - 1)

>>4568923
Lets see if I did the +- correctly this time

Rolled 2, 5, 6, 5, 3 - 1 = 20 (5d6 - 1)

>>4568923

Rolled 1, 3, 3, 3, 6 - 1 = 15 (5d6 - 1)

>>4568940
>>4568944
>>4568960
>18
We'll see if it's enough. Trying to stat out like a dozen characters is hard. I also want to read up on some Dance chapters to get the tone right. Might take until tonight.

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>Agree with Beron. Follow the tracks south-west. That’s clearly where the bandits went. Knowing there might be an ambush gives you an advantage, and you have the opportunity to turn it around on the bandits. Otherwise you would flush them out from whatever riverside village they were sheltering in.

When you finally begin to speak, the others quiet down and listen.

“I think we should weigh all the choices before deciding. We could go back to our homes and put up defenses, but how long would that last?” You ask, looking your friend Owen in the eyes. “How would you work at your farm without going outside the village? Tommard, how would you get your grain if the farmers couldn’t work? Every time we would leave the village, these bandits will pick us off piece by piece.” Owen lowers his head slightly, thinking upon your words.

“Tommard, you could petition Lord Bolton for help, but who knows how long that will take. And we all know his reputation, could bandits be so brazen so close to the Dreadfort without his blessing? You could be risking all our heads by approaching him directly.”

Lastly you acknowledge the path presented by Torrhen. “We could also inspect the mine, and if the bandits have their camp set up there, we could lay a trap for them. But that is a risky gamble at best. I can feel their eyes on me even now, as I’m sure you do as well, Torrhen. When they see us moving south, they’ll know the village is ripe for the taking.” Torrhen seems to agree resignedly.

Finally, you give your decision, facing everyone present one by one as you speak. “Then the only choice we have left is to face the monsters head on, as Beron says. We cannot leave this savagery unpunished. If we leave them alive, they either move freely, laughing at us, or come back at us to take a bigger bite. We cannot allow that. We WILL NOT allow that. They think us fools, lambs being led merrily to their own slaughter. But we will show them we are WOLVES! And tear them apart when they come for us!”

Your words rouse the others into action, and they cheer and heckle, brandishing their weapons. You have your army.

Well, most of them, anyway. The two farmers in your group, Yoren and Alton, give you their sheepish apologies while begging their leave. They’re simple farmers, they say, with nothing but pitchforks and roughspun cloth to fight with. They’re right, you guess, they would be the first ones to go down in a fight. Regretfully, you let them leave, although Tommard charges them with delivering Gareth’s remains safely to his family; and telling the rest of the villagers where you are heading.

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>>4569978
>Rolled 18 vs Foe Roll 18 (15+3): One degree of success

Thus, your party, seven in number, follows the bloody tracks left by the bandits’ bodies being dragged southwest. They move in single file, while you and Torrhen follow the group a few yards away on either side, keeping your eyes and ears open for danger. The path you follow is long and twisted, natural obstacles sprinkled throughout the way. You wonder if this path was chosen specifically to tire you out. Multiple times you find items from the bandits’ garb; a vambrace here, a boot there; fallen by the wayside, as if to reassure you that you’re on the tail of the bandits.

You do not know for how long you follow the trail, but when the fog lifts, the sun is directly above your head, and the forest has receded into thick copses of oak trees dotting the grasslands. You’re moving along a low rolling hill with a thicket of trees near the top, when it happens. Your eyes are so focused on the treeline looking for spying eyes that you do not pay enough attention to your more immediate surroundings.

Suddenly there’s a thick crunch under your legs and the ground gives way. It is only your natural reflexes that save you as you jump away from the spot, landing on your stomach with a groan. You peer down into the freshly created hole to see sharpened stakes driven into the ground, pointing upwards dangerously. Your gut tells you that something is wrong, and you instantly yell out, “Ambush! Step back and take cover!”

Your party kicks into action and unsheathes their weapons, prodding the ground around them, revealing that the way ahead and the entire side facing away from the hill has been trapped. Unfortunately, the area has been cleared of any obstacles you could use as cover. The enemy has prepared well, you think. You can only go back or up towards the hill.

Sure enough, when the bandits realize that you’ve not fallen for the trap, they emerge from the treeline, shouting and running at you with weapons gleaming in the bright sun. They are about 30 yards uphill from you. There are three bowmen on the top of the hill, taking cover behind a makeshift barricade. One of them, presumably their leader, has a hideous armour, the red rounded helm and pink gorget resembling a flayed man whose mouth is open in a silent scream. Besides him are two men in leathers wielding longbows.

Two more men charge downhill, one in heavy brigandine bearing a longsword and a shield, the other in mail armour with a dirk and a stiletto like yours. But that is not what scares you. It is the four hounds running ahead of them, rushing down the hill, straight at you, which makes a shiver crawl up your spine. Once again, you find yourself outnumbered and fighting skilled killers.

>>4569981
You had avoided their traps and foiled their ambush, but you could not ambush them in turn as you intended, either. This was going to be a bloody fight to the death. You looked at your group one last time, trying to remember their faces, for you knew already that not all would survive this fight.

Your side:
>You in reinforced soft leather armour wielding a longbow, a stiletto and a dagger
>Owen in heavy clothes wielding a mattock
>Torrhen in hard leather armour wielding a longbow and a long spear
>Tommard in heavy clothes wielding a longsword
>Lew in reinforced mail armour wielding a halberd
>Beron in reinforced mail armour wielding a longbow and a bastard sword
>Rickard in robes wielding a hand axe and a dirk

Other side: (I'm using their actual names in the meta to avoid writing 'man with sword and the brigandine' 10 times)
>Ramsay in reinforced scale armour and wielding a longbow and a falchion (longsword)
>Reek in hard leather armour wielding a longbow and a longsword
>Ben Bones in soft leather armour wielding a hunting bow, a dagger and a dirk
>Skinner in mail armour wielding a dirk and a stiletto.
>Yellow Dick in brigandine wielding a longsword and a large shield
>Hounds: Grey Jeyne, Sara, Willow, Maude

Keep in mind that Ramsay, Ben Bones and Reek have a +5 to Combat Defense due to cover. The bowmen among you will fire this round, the others will brace (‘pass’ in the rulebook) to get a +2b bonus next round. The hounds will be on you this round and attack next round, the men will be on you next round and attack in the subsequent round. The enemy bowmen will fire every round. Unless there is a specific plan put forward, the fight will resolve as 1-on-1 brawls with the bowmen taking their shots throughout. If there’s any specific plan as to who should fight who, I’ll consider that as well.

Who do you target?
>Ramsay
>Ben Bones
>Reek
>Skinner
>Yellow Dick
>One of the Hounds

>>4569987
I say our bowmen (including ourselves) should target Skinner and Yellow Dick, try to drop them before they get into melee range.
I want to take Ramsay out ASAP but between his armour and the barricade I think trading arrows is a lost cause.

>>4569987
Some further details:
Other than Rickard, everyone on your side can take injuries to reduce damage. Torrhen can take 1 wound.

On the other side, Ben Bones and the hounds cannot take injuries, everyone else can. Ramsay is a full primary character (meaning more ability and specialty ranks) and Reek can take 1 wound.

Hmm not seeing much activity, but I understand the mechanics or crunch related stuff can put people off. Also it's Sunday. I'll leave this open for a few hours then go ahead with this - >>4570152 and start calling for rolls.

The next part is going to be very rolls-heavy and I can see the fight lasting 7-8 rounds easily. I hope I can keep it interesting enough despite all the crunch.

This was the toughest option. Good luck. If you die, I'll finish with an epilogue.

>>4569987
>Reek

Lets engage in a shootout with the enemy archers. Specifically

>Aim and shoot Reek this round

Given that hounds are already upon our party, that should increase the difficulty of enemy marksmanship tests, right? If they don't want to hit the dogs.

Hold the line, fend off dogs, shoot. Simple.

>>4570304
>Given that hounds are already upon our party, that should increase the difficulty of enemy marksmanship tests, right? If they don't want to hit the dogs.
I suppose.. There's no rule for this in the rulebook, but it does make some sense. I used the 'bystander' rules for Kyra and increased the CD by 5, but that was when she was literally being used as a shield. Here you have people (and dogs) moving in for an attack and disengaging. Close, but not so close. I'll make a house rule and give you +3 CD against ranged attacks, but be careful, it will apply to you too if you try to attack them with both melee and ranged. So if one of your friends is falling behind in his fight, it will be harder for you to hit his opponent.

And no Aim this round. I'm only allowing it when you are not being attacked and have more time to focus. Here you have arrows firing on you and dogs running at you.

>>4570301
>>4570304
Lol I don't know what you guys have against Reek, but alright. With the fight being stacked against you as it is, I feel I must remind you that he has +5 to his CD due to cover. No problem if you want to continue anyway.

>>4570327
cause he smells like shit

>>4570301
>>4570304
Dammit guys. The enemy archers behind cover.
Can we try for at least one round of shooting on the two bastards charging us? Getting at least a couple of injuries on them might be just enough to stop them tearing through our frontline.

>>4570347
You can't tell that from your current location. I don't like metagaming, it is only one step above samefagging in terms of acceptable behaviour for me.

>>4570434
>I don't like metagaming

Tbf, you did tell us all the names ooc.

>>4570441
Only because it would be difficult for the players (and me) to keep track of everyone with descriptions like 'man with the longbow and soft leathers', 'man with the longbow and hard leathers', 'man with the longbow and scale armour', etc. See what I'm saying? Last time I could use dialogue to provide names for 2 of the characters, but this time I would have to do this for every human opponent. I had hoped players could appreciate the convenience and not use it for meta..

Alright I'm going to wait 10 more minutes then start calling for rolls.

>>4570447
>I had hoped players could appreciate the convenience and not use it for meta..

I admire the optimism, but I've never seen that happen in these quests.

>>4570450
Yeah. I guess I have Hal's Naive drawback too. Are you going to vote?

>>4570451
Pretty sure it's going to be an inconvenient tie, so I didn't. But here it is.
>>4569987
>Skinner

He doesn't have a shield and is running towards us. Just makes sense.

>>4570152
>>4570452
>Skinner

>>4570304
Reek

>>4570301
Reek. But I'm not going to count this vote, sorry, because of this >>4570347. Call it QM fiat, but I'm not sure that this is not an attempt to derail the quest. I apologize if isn't. Thank you for playing so far, and I'll look at further votes on their individual merit.

I hope I'm not driving people away with that decision. Now give me 3 rolls of 4d6-1 for Marksmanship.

Rolled 6, 5, 5, 1 - 1 = 16 (4d6 - 1)

>>4570454

Rolled 6, 1, 5, 4 - 1 = 15 (4d6 - 1)

>>4570454

Rolled 2, 5, 1, 4 - 1 = 11 (4d6 - 1)

Alright, I'm writing. Rolling the final roll myself to speed things along. Doing the first round now, then I'll get to the next round in a few hours.

Rolled 1, 4, 4, 6 - 1 = 14 (4d6 - 1)

>>4570454
Not trolling, I thought that we would be able to smell him from afar.

Order of initiative: Skinner -> Grey Jeyne -> Reek -> Willow -> Torrhen ->Owen ->Lew ->Rickard ->Hal ->Ramsay ->Yellow Dick -> Tommard ->Maude ->Beron ->Ben Bones -> Sara

--- Skinner: Sprint (Greater Action) ---

--- Grey Jeyne: Sprint (Greater Action) ---
Moved 30 yards; Distance to Tommard: 0 yards

--- Reek Marksmanship Attack 1 (Owen) ---
Rolled 14 vs CD 11, Result: Owen damaged, 10/15 Health

--- Willow: Sprint (Greater Action) ---
Moved 30 yards; Distance to Rickard: 0 yards

--- Torrhen Marksmanship Attack 1 (Skinner) ---
Rolled 21 vs CD 7, Result: Skinner Damaged, 1/12 Health

--- Owen: Catch Your Breath (Greater) ---
Rolled 15 vs CD 0, Result: 4 Health recovered, 14/15 Health

--- Lew: Brace (Pass) ---
Gain +2b in the next test

--- Rickard Attack 1 (Willow) ---
Rolled 15 vs CD 9, Result: Willow Slain!

--- Hal Marksmanship Attack 1 (Skinner) ---
Rolled 16 vs CD 7, Result: Skinner injured, 4/4 injuries taken, 1/12 Health

--- Ramsay Marksmanship Attack 1 (Torrhen) ---
Rolled 18 (a perfect 6,6,6 on a 3d6, curse him) vs CD 7, Result: Torrhen Damaged. 3/3 injuries taken, 3/9 Health

--- Yellow Dick: Sprint (Greater Action) ---

--- Tommard Attack 1 (Grey Jeyne) ---
Rolled 12 vs CD 9; Result: Grey Jeyne Damaged, 5/9 Health

--- Maude: Sprint (Greater Action) ---
Moved 30 yards; Distance to Torrhen: 0 yards

--- Beron Marksmanship Attack 1 (Yellow Dick) ---
Rolled 15 vs CD 11; Result: Yellow Dick Damaged, 8/9 Health

--- Ben Bones Marksmanship Attack 1 (Owen) ---
Rolled 16 vs CD 11; Result: Owen Damaged, 10/15 Health

--- Sara: Sprint (Greater Action) ---
Moved 30 yards; Distance to Owen: 0 yards

File: Archers.jpg (50 KB, 475x629)

50 KB JPG

>>4570711
The men stand 2 yards apart from each other, falling into a neat line; and it seems that your enemies have picked an opponent each, running determinedly towards a specific target. You nock your arrow and choose your victim. The three bowmen on the hill have the barricade ahead of them to protect them, they would not be easy targets. You wonder idly why you didn’t spot that patchwork of wooden boards hidden poorly behind leaves and vines before. You shake your head and focus, a thought for another time.

Of the men and beasts charging at you, the two men in armour were the most dangerous, they moved with a quiet determination, as if they had done this a hundred times before. These were trained killers, you had to take them down first. With that in mind, you aim at the one in mail armour, he’s easier to hit than the one with the shield. He’s also wielding a stiletto and a dirk like you, close ranged weapons designed to get past armour. With a quick prayer above you loose.
The arrow flies off with a *twang* and hits the man in his stomach, piercing through his mail deeply. At the same time, another arrow buries itself in his thigh, and comes out of the other side. It seems that Torrhen had the same idea as you, because a second later you hear Beron curse when his shaft is stopped by the brigandine protecting his target. You take a risk and look at Torrhen to coordinate your shots again, only to be horrified as an arrow takes him in his side, going through his leather armour easily.

Before you can recover from your shock, two more arrows fly at Owen, one grazing his arm, and the other sticking in his shoulder. Gods! Did these bandits know who your friends were and target them on purpose? Owen, meanwhile, pulls out the arrow with his other hand, and roars defiantly, readying his mattock to strike the hound that’s reached him.

Elsewhere you see Rickard taking a step forward against the dog rushing him, and dealing a precise cut to its stomach like you would expect a butcher to do. He pushes his dirk into the dog’s eye, ending its life. You let the first kill of the battle empower you as you ready your next shot. If you want to save your friends, you have to end this fight as quickly as possible. Somehow the man you shot hasn’t slowed down at all, charging at Beron with a cry.

>>4570712
Who do you target next?
>Skinner, the man with the stiletto and dirk, who’s down to his last legs but still attacking Beron
>Yellow Dick, the man in heavy armour charging towards Lew with sword and shield
>Ramsay, the apparent leader attacking from up the hill (+5 CD)
>Ben Bones, one of the men attacking from the hill (+5 CD)
>Reek, one of the men attacking from the hill (+5 CD)
>Grey Jeyne, the hound attacking Tommard (+3 CD)
>Sara, the hound attacking Owen (+3 CD)
>Maude, the hound attacking Torrhen (+3 CD)

I also need 3 rolls of 4d6-1 for Marksmanship. You can roll in the same post as the vote.

>>4570595
I'm sorry for not counting your vote, then. I won't do it again.

>>4570714
>>Yellow Dick, the man in heavy armour charging towards Lew with sword and shield

Rolled 5, 4, 3, 5 = 17 (4d6)

>>4570714
>>Yellow Dick, the man in heavy armour charging towards Lew with sword and shield

Rolled 3, 1, 2, 1 - 1 = 6 (4d6 - 1)

>>4571039
forgot to roll

>>4571203
might as well not bother lol

Alright give me that last roll and I'll do round 2 in an hour or two. Reaaally slow today.

Rolled 5, 4, 5, 3 - 1 = 16 (4d6 - 1)

>>4571255

Order of Initiative: Sara ->Grey Jeyne ->Reek ->Beron ->Lew ->Owen ->Ramsay ->Torrhen -> Yellow Dick ->Hal ->Tommard ->Rickard ->Maude ->Skinner ->Ben Bones

--- Sara Attack 1 (Owen) ---
Rolled 14 vs CD 11, Result: Owen Damaged, 8/15 Health, 0/5 Injuries

--- Grey Jeyne Attack 1 (Tommard) ---
Rolled 15 vs CD 10, Result: Tommard Damaged, 4/9 Health, 0/3 Injuries

---Reek Marksmanship Attack 2 (Torrhen) ---
Rolled 14 vs CD 10, Result: Torrhen Wounded, 1/9 Health, 1/1 Wounds, 3/3 Injuries

--- Beron Marksmanship Attack 2 (Skinner) ---
Rolled 13 vs CD 7, Result: Skinner Slain!

--- Lew: Brace (Pass) ---
Gain +2b in the next test

--- Owen Attack 1 (Sara) ---
Rolled 14 vs CD 9, Result: Sara Slain!

--- Ramsay Marksmanship Attack 2 (Rickard) ---
Rolled 17 vs CD 9, Result: Rickard Slain!

--- Torrhen Attack 1 (Maude) ---
Rolled 6 vs CD 9, Attack Failed. Maude Undamaged.

--- Yellow Dick Charge (Lew) ---
Rolled 15 vs CD 8, Result: Lew Damaged, 6/12 Health, 0/4 Injuries

--- Hal Marksmanship Attack 2 (Yellow Dick) ---
Rolled 17 vs CD 14, Result: Yellow Dick Damaged, 7/9 Health, 0/3 Injuries

--- Tommard Attack 2 (Grey Jeyne) ---
Rolled 13 vs CD 9, Result: Grey Jeyne Damaged, 1/9 Health

--- Maude Attack 1 (Torrhen) ---
Rolled 16 vs CD 7, Result: Torrhen Slain!

--- Ben Bones Marksmanship Attack 2 (Tommard) ---
Rolled 14 vs CD 13, Result: Tommard Damaged, 2/9 Health, 1/3 Injuries

File: Torrhen Fallen.jpg (90 KB, 512x768)

90 KB JPG

>>4571421
Beron hesitates for a moment, seeing the madman charging at him even with two arrows poking out of his body. You wonder if it is the same shock allowing him to continue, which let Damon attack you despite a shaft going straight through his chest. Whatever it is, Beron stumbles as he hastily nocks his arrow. There is no time to aim, and just as the man attacking him finally opens his mouth to let out a cry, Beron’s arrow takes him there, going through his face and out the other side. His scream is cut short, and his body collapses on Beron, who pants with relief, and shrugs the body off. A close shave indeed.

One armoured foe charging at you downed, you take your aim at the other. It becomes difficult to aim as the man barrels into Lew, using his shield to bash Lew’s halberd aside, and delivering a low slash to his knee. Although Lew’s armour holds, his knee is certainly damaged. You take two steps outside the formation to line your shot, and release. But the man’s armour protects him once more, as the arrow strikes his helmet, but does not find purchase, at most ringing his head a little before falling off.

Owen kills the hound attacking him with a single savage strike to its head with his mattock, burying the pointed end in the dog’s skull. A hail of arrows interrupts your brief relief, and you think you hear an old man’s pained cry from the hilltop. Rickard, who was going to help Tommard fight the hound attacking him, catches an arrow in his left eye, going down with a quiet grunt. You yell in frustration as the man falls, pulling another arrow from your quiver. Rickard was a good man, and responsible for most of the coin you made from selling your catches to him. That was how you met Beth...

There’s no time to think about that right now, because another arrow flies into Torrhen, this time piercing his right leg. Torrhen drops to his knee, letting go of the bow and drawing the hunting spear from his back, but he can only wave it around helplessly, as the dog finally attacks him, weaving through his clumsy strikes. With a jump, it closes its jaws around Torrhen’s neck, and bites off a large chunk. Torrhen is done for, you realize with tears in your eyes, as he falls down twitching, never to get up again.

He was your mentor, who taught you how to track, how to hunt, how to find your way around the woods. His training allowed your family to sustain itself when your father found himself out of work. He was your friend even before you knew what a friend was. You and Owen let out simultaneous roars of rage as you mourn his loss, Owen charging at the killer hound with his weapon. You weren’t going to leave even one of these bastards alive today, you vow, and aim once again.

>>4571422
Who do you attack?

>Yellow Dick, the man in heavy armour attacking Lew with sword and shield (+3 CD)
>Ramsay, the apparent leader attacking from up the hill (+5 CD)
>Ben Bones, one of the men attacking from the hill (+5 CD)
>Reek, one of the men attacking from the hill (+5 CD)
>Grey Jeyne, the hound attacking Tommard, although it’s almost dead (+3 CD)
>Maude, the hound who just killed Torrhen, who was also being charged by Owen

Interest seems to have fallen. I don't know if it's the crunch or rolling putting people off, or my writing has declined, or it's just the time/day. Hell, maybe people are busy Cyberpunk like me. Anyway, I'll see this through.

I also need 3 rolls of 4d6-1 for Marksmanship. You can roll in the same post as the vote.

Rolled 4, 6, 4, 1 - 1 = 14 (4d6 - 1)

>>4571424
>Maude, the hound who just killed Torrhen, who was also being charged by Owen
Lets avenge our friend and then perhaps go into the melee with Dick

Rolled 2, 5, 5, 5 - 1 = 16 (4d6 - 1)

>>4571424
>>Maude, the hound who just killed Torrhen, who was also being charged by Owen

Rolled 3, 4, 2, 4 - 1 = 12 (4d6 - 1)

>>4571424
>Yellow Dick
Owen should be able to handle Maude easily, I'd rather chip a few more points off Yellow Dick and free up Lew

>>4571439
>>4571440
>>4571453
>16

Alright I'll start writing with Maude as the target, with the caveat that if you or Owen kills her in one blow, the other goes for Yellow Dick.

>>4571424
>Interest seems to have fallen. I don't know if it's the crunch or rolling putting people off, or my writing has declined, or it's just the time/day.
I think the fight itself just isn't terribly exciting. MC and company were put in an unfavorable position and just get pelted from cover. The choice is in picking whom to attack then roll some dice, and these people are all the same to me.

>>4571453
>>4571493
And then, hopefully, we can pick up his shield to advance towards the barricade.

>>4571597
That was on us though. We voted to follow the path into a known ambush, now we just need to suck it up and (hopefully) mount Ramsay Fucking Snow's head on a pike.

>>4571597
I can understand that. You don't know most of these characters, especially if you haven't read the books. Even if you did read them, other than Ramsay and Reek, the others are mentioned in like throwaway lines. I think I could have done something to establish their characters more, maybe like an interlude or something where they find the bodies of their fallen comrades, and lay the trap. Maybe a snapshot of them doing something terrible. Something to think about for the next time.

On the unfavorable position, I didn't want to skimp on the difficulty level after players picked the hardest option, then didn't roll high enough to spot them from afar. Still, you guys are doing okay so far.

>>4571605
That's a good idea, actually. Although shields require a bonus die in the Shields specialty, sprinting does not require a test to be made, so you will not incur the penalty dice for not having a specialty. The distance from your position to the bowmen is one full sprint and a charge, so you'll have protection for the sprint then drop the shield when charging. (Unless you want to test your luck with just 2 dice).

The rolling is done, I'm just doing the write-up now. Tracking 16 different entities in a fight is not a fun task, but I do enjoy rolling in the background for the other 15 characters.

>>4571698
it was very brave of you to do this kind of roll crunching autism on your very first quest. not something I would recommend personally.

Round 3
Order of Initiative: Grey Jeyne ->Reek ->Ramsay ->Maude ->Yellow Dick ->Lew ->Beron ->Hal ->Owen ->Tommard ->Ben Bones

--- Grey Jeyne Attack 2 (Tommard) ---
Rolled 15 vs CD 10, Result: Tommard Damaged, 2/9 Health, 3/3 Injuries

--- Reek Marksmanship Attack 3 (Owen) ---
Rolled 12 vs CD 11, Result: Owen Damaged, 3/15 Health, 0/5 Injuries

--- Ramsay Marksmanship Attack 3 (Lew) ---
Rolled 16 vs CD 11, Result: Lew Damaged, 1/12 Health, 0/4 Injuries

--- Maude Attack 2 (Owen) ---
Rolled 11 vs CD 11, Result: Owen Damaged, 1/15 Health, 0/5 Injuries

--- Yellow Dick Attack 1 (Lew) ---
Rolled 18 vs CD 8, Result: Lew Damaged, 1/12 Health, 2/4 Injuries

--- Lew Attack 1 (Yellow Dick) ---
Rolled 19 vs CD 11, Result: Yellow Dick Damaged, 1/9 Health, 0/3 Injuries

--- Beron Charge (Yellow Dick) ---
Rolled 17 vs CD 11, Result: Yellow Dick Damaged, 1/9 Health, 3/3 Injuries

--- Hal Marksmanship Attack 3 (Maude) ---
Rolled 16 vs CD 12, Result: Maude Damaged, 3/9 Health

--- Owen Attack 2 (Maude) ---
Rolled 15 vs CD 9, Result: Maude Slain!

--- Tommard Attack 3 (Grey Jeyne) ---
Rolled 13 vs CD 9, Result: Grey Jeyne Slain!

--- Ben Bones Marksmanship Attack 3 (Tommard) ---
Rolled 13 vs CD 10, Result: Tommard Slain!