Rotvalan Reveries Ep19: Walls

 Run Date: October 6, 2024

PCs
Vakara: Lv3 Thief
Lysalia: Lv3 Witch
Francisco: Lv3 Fighter

Hench
Hurriya: Lv1 Explorer
Rannulfr: Lv0 Master Blacksmith
Bellara (Belly): Lv2 Fighter

Walls

I’ve received feedback in the past regarding a united visual for players to communicate, map, etc so we spent some time playing with Owlbear Rodeo this session. One of the ACKS II stretch goals was a module for Foundry VTT, but I don’t own it. Maybe if it goes on sale I’ll give it a try and write some notes on our experience there.

The session began with Vakara joining the party; called by the distant ashes of a Heroic Funeral or something. Francisco then recommended grabbing a few henchmen and heading back out to the Whispering Cave to see what else they could squeeze out of it. On their way out, they passed some pilgrims and discovered the corpse of a dead boar. The latter was in a poor state from scavengers and it was difficult to judge if it was killed by another chupatoro (or whatever the boar version is).

The party arrived at the bridge that separates the path from the standing stones and entrance to the Whispering Cave, and found it to be guarded by a group of reddish Hobgoblins. The battle began in earnest with Lysalia and her blacksmith immediately taking cover from the enemy bowmen. Francisco and Belly took up defensive positions on their side of the bridge while Hurriya tried to take potshots at the enemy. The hob front line charged right into the party’s shield line, nearly killing Belly. With the enemy front engaged, Vakara slipped around the rear and began her assassinations. This quickly freed the fighters and lead to a counter-offensive. By the end, the Hob Captain had retreated into the cave to alert his fellows and the party fell back to town.

After spending some time at the local temple and getting patched up (the party has no support/heals), they returned to the wilds. While on the trails, some of the PCs had a bad feeling and they made a run for it. Whatever it was, they never spotted, but it sounded fairly large.

As evening settled in, the party arrived near the end of the path to the sending stones and heard loud chanting and singing. Vakara set off to do some scouting and popped out near the gully’s edge where she spotted a Hob Shaman in twisted headdress marking new hob warriors with ashes of the fallen. After getting a head count, she tried to skirt back to her allies and stepped right into a snare, taking a hard smack and getting flung upside down! A couple of the hob warriors spotted this and began to alert the others.

Vakara quickly cut herself down before rushing to regroup with her party. They then prepared for the coming attack as signal horns rose in chorus.

The hobs were in proper formation when they came around the corner, but Francisco had riled his horse up in preparation for a charge. With lance in hand, he and his stallion collided viciously with the hob warrior line and killed nearly all of them. The hobs were only in temporary disarray and began their counterattack, but Francisco held the line. While he was buying time, Vakara scrambled up a tree with a mind to snipe at the Shaman. Hurriya soon began following, but stopped short after seeing Vakara fall near-lifeless to the ground. The hob captains had been ready with their bows!

The enemy Shaman soon began shouting in wild tongues, preparing to cast a terrible spell! Hurriya had now found a proper spot to set up her crossbow and shut him up. It wasn’t a killshot, but it drew the Shaman’s ire and he shouted a curse in Diabolos. Meanwhile, Belly and Francisco continued to eliminate the enemy warriors and push ever closer to the captains and shaman.

Lysalia skirted the battle and checked on Vakara’s body. To her surprise, Fate had intervened and the pirate only had a harsh cut across her jawline; a near headshot. As the two remained in safety, Belly and Francisco continued their pressure. The hobs had gone into a full retreat, but Francisco’s horse was out for blood. Time and again, the hobs fell to his fury.

The ranged group continued to maneuver to better positions while Francisco ran down the shaman. The final captain tried to avoid the raging warrior and beast, but slipped in the moss and was soon crushed underfoot. The crackling of the bonfire soon filled the air.

After taking stock of the damage, the group decided to fall back again. They picked the corpse of the shaman and found a potion, a pricey mask, a pair of scrolls, and a few coins. Soon after, they headed into the wooded hills to set up camp.

While setting up, a small company of Arken (notdwarves) broke through the bushes. They appeared surprised and Lysalia hushedly bestowed Allure onto herself. She then engaged the leader in conversation. It was clear they were on edge and prepared for a fight, but their demeanor soon shifted. Lysalia explained what the party was doing in the woods, and their recent experience with the hobgoblins. The Arken were hunting the same hobs, remnants from a village they destroyed, to fulfill a blood oath. Upon seeing the headdress of the shaman, their mood improved significantly. The priest of their company tended to Vakara’s wounds while the leader offered cash for the headdress. The two groups then spent the night together and left for Rotval (the city).

Rewards (Totals)

280 XP
45 GP

Scroll (Divine, Diablos): Discern Poison, Spellward
Potion: Water Walking

Afterword

A poor showing from myself this session. Lots of “apologies for X” while we stumbled around Owlbear. It was also the first session in which Lysalia had command of henchmen so battles ran a bit longer. I am, admittedly, extremely impatient. I’ve had poor experiences with VTTs eating up time (and imagination) and ended up projecting a lot of that into this session. That said, if we do get into a delve proper, I expect the players will appreciate being able to map and see each other’s general positions.

Now for the big conversation: Taxes and Liquidation. To streamline end-of-session logistics (for a club context), I had set up some simple rules that applied Taxation (50%, with options to reduce) and converted things to GP. The process eats a day and abstracts money changing, striking deals, et al; the party gets their cash and XP, and I don’t have to track a list of who was where when what was received. For a small group, this is a simple task. My mind is in the “if we applied this to 30 people, how fast would it break down?” I won’t go on about my experiences with 5e organized play et al.

The conflict in question was how to pay the henchmen their cut and what actually applies as such. In normal play, sales go to the group as the appropriate shares. If the party doesn’t make a sale, say in the case of a +1 axe, then there is nothing to split. Henchmen presumably won’t demand their boss sell their shiny axe (if they even can with Market limitations), but they’d also suffer a calamity if their bosses came into a windfall and didn’t share. Anyway, it’s still up in the air whether I’ll keep the T&L rules, adapt them, or try something else. Admittedly, the two newer players are absolutely fine with extra bookkeeping. I should be thankful for it, and am currently weighing if the situation is my own lack of confidence and poor past experiences being projected. I’ve said before, my players are better than me. More Elite.

That’s all for now. Take care.