Two weeks ago, the Friday Night Roleplayers began a quest to locate Griffinwatch Tower (aka Orc Tower). You can read about the first session in our earlier post.
This post shares the player’s own brief report of the session from the pen of Dave, who plays the adventurer Aoth. While I’ve edited and developed some of the details for clarity, this reports the events as the chaps perceived them. Enjoy!
In the Courtyard…
The party gathered themselves following their fight with the Orcs in the courtyard of the ruined castle. As we moved to the closed door of the nearby still-solid tower (near the causeway entrance) to secure the prisoner and hide the defeated corpses, Aoth’s keen eyes spotted a figure on the roof of the overlooking corner tower, to the northwest of the ruined keep. Glar tried the nearby tower door; when it didn’t budge, he planted a boot in the centre of it just as a crossbow bolt sped towards him. Hearing Aoth’s shouted warning, Glar was able to duck inside the tower and seek cover just in time.
Lothmyr and Aoth ran towards the corner tower, upon which lay the owner of the crossbow. Lothmyr nimbly leapt up the 20-feet high tower wall, jumping from one crumbling block to another until he reached the Orc sniper. A single blow to the face from his sword was enough to knock the Orc unconscious, as Aoth followed him on to the roof. Lothmyr then silenced his foe for good.
Map of Griffinwatch Tower, courtesy of Dyson Logos.
Aoth surveyed the ruined castle from his new vantage point, noting ancient scorch marks that all parts of the buildings above the ground level appeared to have suffered during their ruination. As we swung back down to the ground, Aoth and Lothmyr investigated the heavy metal door behind us, clearly locked.
Lothmyr broke out his tools and in no time the party were within an armour store, walls covered with spare shields hanging in rows. A large locked chest drew the eyes of the party and, once it had been cleared of traps, they set about opening it. The lock was too complex for Lothmyr’s nimble fingers but Glar was able to smash it open revealing a fortune in coins. Aoth hastily scooped up a pouchful of silver as the group left to deal with the Orcs who had earlier taken a shot at Aoth (as he had first attempted to sneak into the castle grounds).
As we moved across the open courtyard a volley of arrows flew from nearby ruins. Aoth was struck in the abdomen before he had chance to raise his shield in protection. Two Orcs lay ahead of us, drawing shortswords as they cast aside their longbows. All three adventurers sprinted towards them shouting their warcries and, as Aoth and Lothmyr ducked and weaved in combat, Glar carved off one of the Orc’s limbs in one savage attack. As that wounded Orc fell, spraying blood across the field of battle, Glar turned on the second and cleaved off its weapon arm too. The heroes crouched in cover and regained their breath.
“They’ve Got an Cave Troll Ogre!”
Other foes joined the combat as shouts of alarm rang out across the plateau. An Orc shaman, hair piled high with a large bone pinning it in place, emerged from his hovel. The large, and incredibly squeaky, courtyard door was thrown open by the massive form of an Ogre.
Lothmyr had become separated, seeking shelter in the remaining solid tower, but at this point realised that he was trapped. He sprinted up to the first floor and threw himself into the air, praying to all the gods for a safe landing. The 30-feet fall seemed to last forever but, as he crashed heavily onto his left leg, he felt something shatter. Agony burst from Lothmyr’s lips.
Aoth withdrew and slid down the scree slope to safety as Glar hesitated to pick up one of the Orc’s bows. The Ogre charged headlong, swinging its enormous club at him. Glar, drawing on all his gladiatorial skills, deftly stepped inside the arc of the weapon and hacked off the Ogre’s arm with two swings of his mighty blade. As the Ogre howled in pain, Glar stepped up and, with a swing of his greatsword, executed his foe.
Victorious for now but with the sound of more Orcs readying themselves, the party withdrew towards Woodfell. Having bound Lothmyr’s broken leg and looking back as they crept away, the party could see a score of Orcs taunting them from the walls. Glar’s attention was focused on a particularly large Orc holding a glowing two-handed sword.
“I’m coming back for that”, Glar thought.
Games Master Reflections
It was another positive session using Mythras Classic Fantasy. Despite some rules look-ups, we’re becoming much more confident with the game rules and focused on the action of the story. One notable plus was the ease with which our newly returning player of Lothmyr picked up how things play.
I learned that a big creature like an Ogre is not so fearsome when fought alone. Failing the attack roll on the charge allowed Glar’s player to choose to close the weapon range and get inside the Ogre’s massive reach; with only two action points against Glar’s three, the beast was left defenseless against strikes from that greatsword. I need to organise my Orcs into groups and utilise shields.
All that aside, the game flows well and requires much less book-keeping than I had expected. It’s surprisingly easy to keep track of which creature has taken wounds, especially when your very attentive players are keen to remind you.
Watching the adventurers flee back to the village of Woodfell was satisfying. It leaves me wondering what direction they’ll choose next.
I also find that the players help you remember which NPC’s have taken hits.
Also that a well organised party is quite tough even when outnumbered. They do have the advantage of Luck points which protects them against the first attacks.