WHFRP: Through the Drakwald

[Joose]

I'll give a shrug and follow along.

[Dog Pants]

Well FJ's on autopilot, so Alice vigorously agrees, and I know Larandar is keen so I'll assume he comes along too. Amsteville, the novice, tags along in his loping gait (he's a surprisingly big chap for a trainee priest of Shallya).

As you approach the crossroads you see the two wrecked wagons and over a dozen corpses. The guards wander through the carnage giving it a quick once over then move to the edges while the men start to clear the road. Captain Schiller and Granny Moescher examine the scene. Assuming you do likewise, you count fifteen dead, nine men and six women, all adults. A couple look to have been richly dressed, before the clothing was torn and bloodied. Most have clearly died from arrow wounds, the crude black-fletched arrows studding the corpses. As you wander through the scene you notice that one wagon has an emblem on it, a set of scales with scrollwork underneath bearing the name "Delberz."

[buzzmong]

What a grim scene this is. The work of beastmen perhaps?

What sort of roll would be needed to recognise that emblem Pants? Common Knowledge (Empire)?

Is there also a way to tell how they've been killed in the sense of were they ambushed, or were they running and were cut down?


And also, how many arrows are intact and can I nab a few?

[Dog Pants]

Hans stands beside you viewing the scene. He sniffs and replies with disgust in his voice as he gazes over the mess.

Could be. Could be anything in Drakwald. Orcs, bandits, goblins.

You can make a Common Knowledge (Empire) roll for the emblem, and another at -10 to see if you know what manufacture the arrows are. The arrows are shit, you wouldn't grace your bow with them, but you can search the scene for other useful gear with a Search roll if you like. Surely you should pass one of those.

[buzzmong]

Here goes nothing:

Common Know. (Emp) roll for the emblem:

Int 32.
Roll(1d100)+0:
56,+0
Total:56

Deaf...

Common Know (Emp) - 10% for the arrows
Int 32 - 10 = 22
Roll(1d100)+0:
55,+0
Total:55

Blind...

Search (Int) /2
Target of 16:
Roll(1d100)+0:
98,+0
Total:98

...and dumb.

Considering these rolls are averaging out at 1/3 chance to pass since we started, you'd think I'd actually have passed more by now

[Dog Pants]

The dice owe you some pretty special rolls. I'll have a go on FJ's behalf;

Common Know (Empire):
Int 29/2= 14
Roll(1d100)+0:
78,+0
Total:78

Int 29/2=14-10= 4
Roll(1d100)+0:
44,+0
Total:44

Search:
Int 29
Roll(1d100)+0:
52,+0
Total:52

Fails all round. Man, this game is tough (at this level at least). Fancy a go Joose?

[Joose]

Why not? Ive got a better chance with these than most things.

Emblem:

Int 32 + 10 for skillz = 42
Roll(1d100)+0:
31,+0
Total:31 Yay!

Arrows:

Int 32 + 10 - 10 = 32
Roll(1d100)+0:
90,+0
Total:90 Boo!

Search:

Int 32/2 = 16
Roll(1d100)+0:
55,+0
Total:55 Whelp.

One out of three! Not a total failure!

[Dog Pants]

Fair enough. You've heard of Delberz, it's a trading hub to the west on the river Delb.

As you're all pottering about and searching you notice Granny Moescher at the junction, near where the overgrown track crosses the main road. She nods at a raven which is perched on a faded sign, then stops in her tracks. She reads the sign several times, and begins to speak, as much to herself as anyone else.

Fahndorf... My family came from there.

She looks to the ground and shakes her head.

My father died there.

[buzzmong]

While I'm sorry to hear that, a number of people have died here today and we could be next if we don't start clearing the road. I suggest we start now. I don't think it would be wise to delay further.

However, how far is Fahndorf from here? Would it be a sensible option to take the townsfolk there rather than camping on the roadside?

[Dog Pants]

The labourers are already working on clearing the road.

There's no point going to Fahndorf, it's been deserted for a hundred years. Who knows what dwells there now. Maybe whoever did this.

As the labourers pull the corpses to the side of the road, Father Dietrich blesses each one. Without warning, you hear the priest shout out in alarm and then he disappears from view. You hear a loud thump and a cry of pain.

[Joose]

I'll run in that direction to find out whats going on.

[Dog Pants]

As you near the scene you can see a hole in the ground by the corpses, in front of a large fallen log, into which it appears Father Dietrich has fallen. Peering over the edge, several wooden stakes pierce through him and blood slowly fills the bottom of the pit. Miraculously, he still lives. He looks up and salutes with a bloody fist.

I die with a relic of Blessed Sigmar clenched in my hand. For that at least, I can be thankful. But do not leave this holy icon in this wretched place. Take it from here and deliver it to the Temple of Sigmar in Middenheim. Swear to me that you will do this!

[Dog Pants]

No? You heartless bastard Joose. He expires, still begging you to take the icon.

[buzzmong]

After wandering over to the spike pit and having a look:

Well, that was unfortunate. Shall we move on?

[Dog Pants]

Amsteville gets some of the labourers to lower him into the pit and recovers it. The icon is a small square of gold and iron which could be a locket. He says a prayer to Shallya over the hole and the labourers fill it in as an impromptu grave before finishing their prior jobs. When the road is clear and the bodies taken care of, the caravan is at last ready to move on. By the evening you make it to Immelscheld, another town that was sacked during the Storm of Chaos. Captain Schiller has the caravan make camp outside the ruins and sets guards as usual. Everyone seems relieved the caravan did not meet the fate of the travellers from Delberz.

Captain Schiller sends some men into Immelscheld to look for supplies, where you can see the odd survivor trying to scratch out an existence among the ruins.

Anyone have anything they want to do before the night?

[buzzmong]

I might have a poke around Immelscheld to see if there's anything interesting in the rubble or ruins.

Search roll?

[Dog Pants]

Yes please.

[buzzmong]

I forgot I don't have search so it's a /2 roll.

Int 32 /2 = 16
Roll(1d100)+0:
52,+0
Total:52

[Dog Pants]

Ah well, you and pretty much everyone else here fail to find anything of use.

Nothing else of note happens that evening and you settle in. Some time later the crying of a child breaks the night's silence. Soon other cries join in, making a chorus of wailing. Exhausted refugees curse the interruption and shout for Granny Moescher to calm the children. The only response is more crying.

[Joose]

Im going to be holidaying for the next week, so I'll have to go on autopilot. Just consider me as going along with whatever everyone else thinks