After creating their house in the first session and the slaughter at the bar in the second session, this was the first full session of the players actually playing their characters for a whole night. The players all showed up this time around and as a reminder, they are:
Erik Wyrmwood (Bill)
Damian Wyrmwood (Randy)
Jasque Wyrmwood (Adam)
Wulfgar "the Nighthawk" Oakmeade (Jim)
Ser Olivar Bryce (James)
Ana Greyjoy (Kate)
The characters and their lord have learned of an attack, supposedly by Ironmen, on one of the villages on their land, so they decide to head for the village immediately. Their party comprises the characters listed above as well as two guerillas, Nyck and Ulvin. Ana was sent along because she's one of the Ironborn and might recognize something the other characters would miss.
Before setting off, Lord Wyrmwood and the characters discuss what they should do and they decide this is mostly an information-gathering mission; find out if it was actually Ironmen, see how the village and villagers fare, and find out anything they can about the size of the force and how serious a threat it poses to them and the surrounding coastline.
A few hours of travel on horseback in gray, drizzling weather (I view this part of the world having weather similar to Seattle due to the ocean and the mountains) they arrive in the village of Goldwater. It is beset by crows and from a distance they see shapes moving through the ruins. They move up cautiously until they can see the shapes are survivors who've already set to work piling up the victims and finding anything that might still be of use.
The survivors are happy to see help arrive and they all gathered in the mostly-intact tavern to take a break and talk for a bit. Of all the people in town, only one was actually in the village at the time of the raid and apparently the only one to make it out alive. He was the smith's young apprentice Torrhen (15 years old). The others are an elderly woman named Correna and her granddaughter Anya (12-ish) who'd just returned to town the day before, another slightly older boy named Harlan (17), and a Night's Watch recruiter named Staven Manley and his "recruit" Bors, a thief and rapist from Lannisport who was in manacles to keep him from running away or causing too much trouble. I'd actually created Staven and Bors as possible characters for the bar fight that took place in the previous session, but when they weren't used I decided to slot them in here.
During the course of their conversation with the villagers found out that the smith had been taken by the raiders and that, yes, as far as Torrhen could tell they were Ironmen, but he'd never really seen any before, so he couldn't be sure. At that, Harlan spoke up and said they were definitely Ironmen. When quizzed as to how he knew this he hemmed and hawed and generally made the PCs suspicious until Erik persuaded him (with a simple intrigue) to come out with it. Harlan revealed that he was actually a member of a group of bandits who were camped not far from the village. They'd heard the noise the raid caused and came to investigate, but that's all they did because there were so many attackers and not very many of them.
While this discussion was going on, the Nighthawk and Ana were digging through the ruins and looking for anything that might give them some more information. They found a hand axe stamped with the symbol of House Greyjoy and a handful of arrows with fletching that matched that the Ironmen typically used. Upon returning to the tavern they showed what they'd found and the group decided the bandits might be able to tell them more specifics regarding the size of the force.
The players and the characters were all fairly nervous about walking into the camp of a group of "not quite a score" of bandits, especially since there were only eight members in their own party. Of the people they might have brought with them to help in case of a fight, they only took Torrhen. They couldn't trust Harlan to not call out even though he promised not to cause any problems as long as he could go free. They wanted to bring Staven despite is age, but he wouldn't go without Bors and since Bors couldn't be trusted to behave if he came with or to stay put if they left him behind they decided Staven was out, too.
So, off into the woods they went. The plan was to have everyone sneak up as close as they could (Harlan said they didn't really keep close watch, so it wouldn't be a big problem) and let Erik, Ser Olivar, and Nyck ride up to parley. Their reasoning was they didn't want to ride in looking like a big threat and make the bandits nervous, so instead they'd send a small force in and have everyone at hand in case things went south. Good plan.
When the four men rode in the bandits took notice, walked up with weapons in hand, while a handful sneaked out the back and side of camp to circle around. The Nighthawk, who has the Night Eyes quality noticed that since it was late night and rainy for everyone else. Oh, Ana and Jasque also noticed too since they both have INSANE passive perceptions (24 and 18 respectively, I believe) that even the darkness and rain couldn't overcome. Anyway, the roamers in the forest were being watched as they moved around.
Erik engaged the bandit leader, an older man named Ser John. He considered the Wyrmwoods turncoats because they'd followed the Lannister's lead against the Targaryens during the War of the Usurper/Robert's Rebellion and he insulted the Wyrmwoods incessantly. Erik, for his part didn't rise to the bait and, in fact, didn't even let it be known he was a Wyrmwood. Instead he merely said he was working for the Wyrmwoods and wanted information on the raid. Over the course of a full-fledged intrigue with the old knight Erik convinced the man to give them the information he wanted. Eventually he confirmed the men were definitely Ironmen, but with a shield he'd never seen before -- a red claw on a blue field -- and there were about 100 men in five ships.
With their business concluded, Ser John decided only one of them needed to leave the camp to communicate the information and the rest of them would be staying to be ransomed back to the turncoat Wyrmwoods. As soon as he completed the threat he sprouted an arrow from his eye courtesy of the Nighthawk, who wouldn't stand for a man raising a hand to his lord.
As soon as Ser John fell dead most of the rest of the bandits moved to attack, specifically Erik, Olivar, Nyck, and Ulvin who were in their midst. A couple of the bandits fled into the woods, not knowing what sort of force waited for them in the dark, but most attacked. Erik turned to flee, leaving Ser Olivar, Nyck, and Ulvin to fight eight or nine men on their own -- which didn't sit well with Ser Olivar. The bandits in the woods were taken by surprise by the PCs who'd managed to remain hidden despite some close calls. Even so, a couple of the men were able to charge Erik as he moved back down the path and stabbed him handily in the gut forcing him to take a wound in order to survive. That made all the PCs a bit nervous. The men he left behind faired well against their assailants, especially Ser Olivar, but Nyck eventually took a fatal blow and dropped. When the front line of bandits dropped a handful of others saw the writing on the wall and fled -- their dirks were no match for an armored knight and an unknown number of archers in the dark forest.
At the end of the fight, Nyck was dead, Erik was wounded, and nine bandits were dead on the ground, while seven managed to escape into the woods (a couple earlier and a few more late in the fight).
The end of the fight was also the end of the night, so we wrapped things up there.
Next time: The All-Roleplaying Session!
Erik Wyrmwood (Bill)
Damian Wyrmwood (Randy)
Jasque Wyrmwood (Adam)
Wulfgar "the Nighthawk" Oakmeade (Jim)
Ser Olivar Bryce (James)
Ana Greyjoy (Kate)
The characters and their lord have learned of an attack, supposedly by Ironmen, on one of the villages on their land, so they decide to head for the village immediately. Their party comprises the characters listed above as well as two guerillas, Nyck and Ulvin. Ana was sent along because she's one of the Ironborn and might recognize something the other characters would miss.
Before setting off, Lord Wyrmwood and the characters discuss what they should do and they decide this is mostly an information-gathering mission; find out if it was actually Ironmen, see how the village and villagers fare, and find out anything they can about the size of the force and how serious a threat it poses to them and the surrounding coastline.
A few hours of travel on horseback in gray, drizzling weather (I view this part of the world having weather similar to Seattle due to the ocean and the mountains) they arrive in the village of Goldwater. It is beset by crows and from a distance they see shapes moving through the ruins. They move up cautiously until they can see the shapes are survivors who've already set to work piling up the victims and finding anything that might still be of use.
The survivors are happy to see help arrive and they all gathered in the mostly-intact tavern to take a break and talk for a bit. Of all the people in town, only one was actually in the village at the time of the raid and apparently the only one to make it out alive. He was the smith's young apprentice Torrhen (15 years old). The others are an elderly woman named Correna and her granddaughter Anya (12-ish) who'd just returned to town the day before, another slightly older boy named Harlan (17), and a Night's Watch recruiter named Staven Manley and his "recruit" Bors, a thief and rapist from Lannisport who was in manacles to keep him from running away or causing too much trouble. I'd actually created Staven and Bors as possible characters for the bar fight that took place in the previous session, but when they weren't used I decided to slot them in here.
During the course of their conversation with the villagers found out that the smith had been taken by the raiders and that, yes, as far as Torrhen could tell they were Ironmen, but he'd never really seen any before, so he couldn't be sure. At that, Harlan spoke up and said they were definitely Ironmen. When quizzed as to how he knew this he hemmed and hawed and generally made the PCs suspicious until Erik persuaded him (with a simple intrigue) to come out with it. Harlan revealed that he was actually a member of a group of bandits who were camped not far from the village. They'd heard the noise the raid caused and came to investigate, but that's all they did because there were so many attackers and not very many of them.
While this discussion was going on, the Nighthawk and Ana were digging through the ruins and looking for anything that might give them some more information. They found a hand axe stamped with the symbol of House Greyjoy and a handful of arrows with fletching that matched that the Ironmen typically used. Upon returning to the tavern they showed what they'd found and the group decided the bandits might be able to tell them more specifics regarding the size of the force.
The players and the characters were all fairly nervous about walking into the camp of a group of "not quite a score" of bandits, especially since there were only eight members in their own party. Of the people they might have brought with them to help in case of a fight, they only took Torrhen. They couldn't trust Harlan to not call out even though he promised not to cause any problems as long as he could go free. They wanted to bring Staven despite is age, but he wouldn't go without Bors and since Bors couldn't be trusted to behave if he came with or to stay put if they left him behind they decided Staven was out, too.
So, off into the woods they went. The plan was to have everyone sneak up as close as they could (Harlan said they didn't really keep close watch, so it wouldn't be a big problem) and let Erik, Ser Olivar, and Nyck ride up to parley. Their reasoning was they didn't want to ride in looking like a big threat and make the bandits nervous, so instead they'd send a small force in and have everyone at hand in case things went south. Good plan.
When the four men rode in the bandits took notice, walked up with weapons in hand, while a handful sneaked out the back and side of camp to circle around. The Nighthawk, who has the Night Eyes quality noticed that since it was late night and rainy for everyone else. Oh, Ana and Jasque also noticed too since they both have INSANE passive perceptions (24 and 18 respectively, I believe) that even the darkness and rain couldn't overcome. Anyway, the roamers in the forest were being watched as they moved around.
Erik engaged the bandit leader, an older man named Ser John. He considered the Wyrmwoods turncoats because they'd followed the Lannister's lead against the Targaryens during the War of the Usurper/Robert's Rebellion and he insulted the Wyrmwoods incessantly. Erik, for his part didn't rise to the bait and, in fact, didn't even let it be known he was a Wyrmwood. Instead he merely said he was working for the Wyrmwoods and wanted information on the raid. Over the course of a full-fledged intrigue with the old knight Erik convinced the man to give them the information he wanted. Eventually he confirmed the men were definitely Ironmen, but with a shield he'd never seen before -- a red claw on a blue field -- and there were about 100 men in five ships.
With their business concluded, Ser John decided only one of them needed to leave the camp to communicate the information and the rest of them would be staying to be ransomed back to the turncoat Wyrmwoods. As soon as he completed the threat he sprouted an arrow from his eye courtesy of the Nighthawk, who wouldn't stand for a man raising a hand to his lord.
As soon as Ser John fell dead most of the rest of the bandits moved to attack, specifically Erik, Olivar, Nyck, and Ulvin who were in their midst. A couple of the bandits fled into the woods, not knowing what sort of force waited for them in the dark, but most attacked. Erik turned to flee, leaving Ser Olivar, Nyck, and Ulvin to fight eight or nine men on their own -- which didn't sit well with Ser Olivar. The bandits in the woods were taken by surprise by the PCs who'd managed to remain hidden despite some close calls. Even so, a couple of the men were able to charge Erik as he moved back down the path and stabbed him handily in the gut forcing him to take a wound in order to survive. That made all the PCs a bit nervous. The men he left behind faired well against their assailants, especially Ser Olivar, but Nyck eventually took a fatal blow and dropped. When the front line of bandits dropped a handful of others saw the writing on the wall and fled -- their dirks were no match for an armored knight and an unknown number of archers in the dark forest.
At the end of the fight, Nyck was dead, Erik was wounded, and nine bandits were dead on the ground, while seven managed to escape into the woods (a couple earlier and a few more late in the fight).
The end of the fight was also the end of the night, so we wrapped things up there.
Next time: The All-Roleplaying Session!
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