Of Battle, Wolves and Winter.

Game Master GM Drachenfels

WARHAMMER LITE RULES AMENDMENT:

In order to determine your HEALTH divide your wound total by 3 and round down. For example, Caspar has 10 total wounds. Simple math dictates that 3 divides into 10 three times, rounding down. Therefore Caspar has 3 health to deplete before he's in serious trouble.

Is this system perfect? Probably not. But it works! And it solves the problem of characters like Caspar being one shotted into an early grave.

I see this first engagement as a way to play test rules that seem good on paper but may or may not actually work when used in actual gameplay.

As his eyes closed, the last thing he saw was Gretta scream in terror...

(Caspar): ...or was it a scream of rage? Your eyes flicker open as you see Gretta leap upon the back of the shocked Kurgen. Grasping a whispy lute string she pulls hard, using it like a garrote.

The Kurgen howls in rage, his voice muffled by the huge helmet of black iron. Spinning in circles, he crashes down hard across the embers of the fire. Smoke and flame roar to life, searing flesh.

Rising to your feet, grasping for your sword, you have a chance to end this brute once and for all.

"Caspar, kill him!" Gretta yells, her eyes filled with fear. "Quick!"

For the record (as per the amended rules), you have 2 health remaining, but continue to play the scene as if you've been seriously wounded. Perhaps the wound isn't as serious as Caspar thinks, but he's certainly in shock at seeing so much blood.

Should you choose to attack the Kurgen, you may do so with a +20 to hit. Of course there are other options open to you. I await your response.

Caspar still light headed from his wound, his mind getting the best of him, rose to his feet picking up his sword as he stood. Gretta on one side of the fire and his Kurgen opponent on the other. She knew there was no getting out of this. No where to run that the Kurgens couldn't find him. Morr walked the garden waiting for Caspar's arrival, he could feel it. If not this Kurgen then the next but he wouldn't die a coward.

"Let the people know this day that the Gray Wolves turned a coward into a man ready to die fighting! Let Morr know I stand ready to walk his gardens!" He yelled to the clouds above him as he began his charge on the Kurgen yet again.

3d100 ⇒ (65, 15, 6) = 86

In these moment he tried to remember everything Captain Tillman had taught him. Anything he had learned before, anything he'd even HEARD of working he tried to emulate. He lunged his sword into toward the Kurgen's chest. He arced his sword outward slicing the Kurgen up the arm. The blow caught the Kurgen by surprise giving Caspar a chance to thrust his sword into the Kurgen's body. The Kurgen, knowing no fear of death and no word for surrender had ever been spoken, laughed an ominous laugh as Caspar's sword remained inside of him.

Well, I would hate to see toughness and armor go away. How about you add 1/2 of your toughness and armor total to your defensive roll.
I would also add any extra attacks they may have....
Ex: Kurgen swings at krak. (skill 4) 4d100 and gets 2 successes.Krak rolls defense 4 d100. No successess. Rolls another 3d100 (T=5+1 leather) and gets 1 success. Krak takes 1 dmg.)

I say we try it out. Otherwise, "tough" characters like the Kurgen or a Knight or something get no benefit for being tough. The WS is then king...

Just my take on it

"Krak, stop playing around unz get off ze arse and do zumtink!!!"
Reaching to the side of the wagon Boom grabs a Pick Ax from among the tools strapped to the side and tosses it to Krak

Boom then rolls back (still under the wagon) and surveys the scene trying to assess the imapct of the Kurgen assault

What is our situation? Does it look like we might have to run? Are we being overwhelemed? If so, Boom is looking for a soft spot in the action to perhaps make a break for it (dont worrry, I am not planning on leaving anyone behind)

"Karagok Minz CRagneer..." Krak mumbles in Dwarvish "son of a mule's excrement"
...as he rolls over to grab the Pick Axe. Hooking it to the edge of the wagon, he uses it to pick himself up and steady himself.
Ready and in battlesstance, he grasps the old fmailiar pick in both hands and waits for an inevitable attacker.

Not a bad idea, Dagon. Seems an easy enough way to handle things I suppose. Let's give it a shot! We'll have more combat shortly so we'll see how it works.

Previously I was deducting -1 health from the loser of a combat engagement regardless of successes. If we're going to factor in things like toughness and armor, then the number of successes one has over an opponent should be the possible amount of damage before armor/toughness is factored in. This could potentially make things more dangerous, but it's more to the spirit of Warhammer and keeps things fast.

For my two cents, I think shields/parry/dodge blow should subtract '1' from the attackers successes where 1/2 armor+toughness should add to overall "Health".

The only problem I see with the LITE rules is the adjudication of 'non-combat' damage such as putting your hand in fire, hunger, and damage from spells. Losing 1 "Health" from something like knocking your head on the wagon with the LITE system would be the equivalent of taking 3-4 wounds and would bypass toughness and armor entirely. The Kurgen enchantress that is about to roast Lutke alive is basically going to auto-kill him since 'magic missile' or any other spell effect that does damage is unavoidable and Lutke has no reciprocal skill check like he would in a straight fight (WS v. WS).

For what it's worth, we all know the standard WFRP 2E rules like the back of our hands...I think trying to re-adjust all the basic things we already know is going to take waaaaay longer to figure out than just playing normal. If this whole PbP exercise is about narrative, I don't see the problem with playing by the normal rules. It would allow us to be descriptive in the blow-by blow exchange during each round. If you want to speed it up...just give NPCS less wounds than usual. By and large there will always be more of them than us, so it's not like you won't be able to kill us.

dunno. I like the adding of toughness and armor as well, but let's try my method 1st. I believe it will help in the effect that it seperates what is going on. Like in the original game...WS then damge then subtract toughness + armor. Keeps the spirit of it.
Gabe, I dont think it will be more deadly, in fact, I believe it will be alot LESS deadly and fights may be a bit longer afterall.
I tend to agree to try the LIGHT system as I dont think the timing is going to be on our side for a lengthy original combat rules.
Some things are still going to get left behind like the second number of WS or BS and the loss of 1/2 a point of Toughness (unless we round up in that regard), but I would like to keep a LITTLE more complexity in the game to amply justify ceertain things. Like I think 2handed weapons should do +1 dmg and perhaps we need to add strength. Like take 1/2 of strength and add that to successess.
I know that Gabe is graoning and rolling his eyes now, but lets keep some meat in this. We put these rules in a list and there you are. We're fleshing it out, no?

The Kurgen enchantress that is about to roast Lutke alive is basically going to auto-kill him since 'magic missile' or any other spell effect that does damage is unavoidable and Lutke has no reciprocal skill check like he would in a straight fight (WS v. WS).

Well, I had just planned on using common sense and fairness. Like I said, I have no intentions of murdering your characters for the sake of doing so. I intend to challenge, but was more interested in writing a cool narrative. As we dabble with the rules and get more and more complex, we're entering the realm of playing Warhammer exactly as we would at the table, and that runs the risk of meaning combat will take FOREVER to resolve.

I had intended the NPC's to die faster and easier than the PC's. Take for example how easily Albrecht roasted the Kurgen with a single fireball. As for Lutke, I was waiting for your response as to what you might do, but the likely scenario would be that the green flames would leap towards you. You would check against agility to avoid them. If they hit, you'd have lost -1 to your health total, leaving you burned but not dead.

Yes, we know WFRP 2E rules in our sleep. The question is, do they translate to play by post well enough to keep our story going? Or do we spend 2 weeks on a single fight? My goal all along has been to use narrative description to dictate most of the fight, with fast paced rolls to direct the action.

If what I'm hearing is correct, it sounds like we want to play this 2nd edition style. I'm fine with that, just expect very slow moving games as we resolve every element of combat through text: stance, multiple attacks, dodges and parries, armor and toughness, rolling for dmg etc.

When playing in play by post I think you need to keep things simple and fast. I was adopting an almost rock/paper/scissiors type rule set to keep things moving quick.

Think about it and let me know your final thoughts. I'd like to hear from Albrecht and Caspar on this as well. We can take a vote and proceed from there.

Last say on it...

My votes:
1) I like the ("LIGHT")successess rules
2) I want to have ("LIGHT") success rules for Toughness and armor
3) We can then add little things like +1 success for dodge, +1 dmg 2 hnd weapons, + successes for 1/2 strength.

I can easily let go of #3 and even let go of #2 if it is is too complicated, but I do not think going to 2ndED is going to work on a messageboard

those are my votes

Thanks Dagon for weighing in. Waiting on votes from Pinvendor, Caspar and Albrecht. Until then I'll proceed as normal to keep the story moving.

Lutke raises his hand in greeting to his friend Caspar, when the world explodes into math. The cook's head is split open by an oncoming projectile and the secret of the cooked "rabbit" oil that was one of the best crossbow/ballista lubricates Lutke had come across is lost, potentially forever. Before he realizes this fact, his mind automatically begins to calculate the distance v. force with which the projectile must have hit the cook to cause such significant damage, and Lutke concludes it must have been thrown by a man, the speed was not great enough to have been a ballista or other mechanical throwing device. The man would have to have been between 25-30 ft away and powerfully built.

Basing it on the most likely angle of attack for a man with the height of an average Kurgen (something which Lutke has had the misfortune to have obtained enough data to calculate due to The Gray Wolves continued encounters with the savages), Lutke turns his gaze in what feels a slowing of time to see two soldiers running at a foot speed of approximately 15 ft per second and closing on a a howling Kurgen giant impaling him on their spears which probably impacted the Kurgen at an average of 1,200 pounds of force between them. The impact lifted the Kurgen up off of his feet, and then come crashing down as the sudden ceasing of the soldiers' momentum and expert coordination of dipping their spears lowering the angle caused the Kurgen's body weight to drop off the ends. The Kurgen gurgled, war cry dying into a rattle in his throat. A flash of irritation flashed across the void of calculation in which Lutke was now consumed. He hadn't yet learned enough about the human body to make a precise calculation to determine how long it would take the Kurgen warrior to die, and that could be important in the creation of an effective trap. Lutke barely hears the sound of a woman screaming and the sad sound of discordant twanging followed by a crunch.

The void was shattered when the two heroic soldiers were suddenly consumed by a sickly verdant flame so deep a color that it hurt Lutke's mind to try and perceive it. The world returned to real time as the realization Lutke had just witnessed Chaotic magic, something again for which there was no measurement, hits home hard. His gaze turns to the source, and he sees what can only be a hag with scars on her face and disgustingly matted hair. She is wearing leathers which Lutke realizes with a nauseous feeling isn't made of animal skin. Her white eyes seem to leave a trail of ephemeral cold mist and her lips begin to move as she speaks blasphemous words which Lutke assumes can only be a spell.

Fear grips him in its icy grasp, and uncertainty takes hold as several different rational and irrational choices collide rendering Lutke frozen. Two competing notions come to dominate the thought processes in his mind. A wild desperate urge, basic in nature and universal to all living beings warred in that hollow space of his head with the possibility of making a calculated attack designed to incapacitate the wild woman before she could unleash the power of her words almost as evil as her breath.

1d100 ⇒ 61 v. WP=33

Lutke turns and flees once again forgetting he is still clutching the spool of thin wire, his knuckles white from his tight grip. All that matters now is to become the farthest target possible for the witch's burning hate.

1d100 ⇒ 31 v. M=4x10=40

Lutke's fear gives speed to his feet as his long legs begin to prove their worth. A woman's screams off to his left not even registering on his panic stricken mind.

So in order to help extend Lutke's life a little, I would like to point out that this woman shouldn't be here since, uh, Khorne hates magic...? Maybe Lutke gets lucky and one of the berserkers runs the witch through? :-P

Though I guess to be fair, I have to point out, you could adjust it so that the witch is using a staff or other Chaotic or demonic artifact. I think Khorne is okay with magic items, just not doing magic directly...

What is our situation? Does it look like we might have to run? Are we being overwhelemed?

The situation doesn't look good. The Gray Wolves were already in bad shape and it appears the Kurgen are at top strength, preparing to finish the job they started.

(BOOM): Death. Chaos. Carnage. Everywhere you look, the Kurgen marauders have brought 'the pain' to the Gray Wolves of the Empire. And yet, here and there you spy pockets of organized resistance...

It's possible to slip away from the camp unnoticed, but many would be left to die (or worse) at the hands of the chaos warriors. What do you do?

(KRAK): You shift the balance of your hefty pick ax in your sturdy hands, your stance wide and ready.

THERE! You pivot to your left and see the beast. A massive war hound bounds across the snow, it's hungry gaze fixed upon the meat on your bones. The Kurgen use these hounds to track their pray. The starving creature seems to think YOU are its next meal!

Let's begin combat and try out the amended LITE rules. We may or may not stick to them depending, but let's see how things go.

The black furred beast pounces, jaws open wide, howling with rage and hunger! The War Dog has a Weapon Skill of 31 so I'll be rolling 3 dice:

3d100 ⇒ (62, 85, 59) = 206

All misses! And I'm seeing already how we can adjust this. Had the wolf hit you, instead of rolling your response with WS, you'd just immediately check against your toughness roll factoring in armor/dodge etc: 1st # of toughness +1 rolls for standard armor/+2 for plate (keep it simple) and a +1 roll for dodge blow (if) you have it. Simple math then dictates how many health you've lost.

Make sense? Very easy. Not complex. I don't explain it well perhaps, but there it is.

BOOM, attack when ready! We'll do +1 for 2 handed weapons on attack rolls. Do you have the skill 2 handed and is your pick ax considered that? Once I have your results, I'll do a resistance check for the war dog.

I don't know...the other PbPs that are here seem to go by full rules, and they don't seem to get bogged down too much other than waiting for people to post their action, but I think that is just the nature of the beast. And consider most are 3.5/PRPG, which are much more rules intensive when it comes to combat and placement and what not.

Honestly, I really don't care what we do, I just suspect that Lutke will expend his FPs a lot faster under the LITE system than he would under standard, so my motives were more about PC survival than having a problem with what system we use. Either way, I will point out once again I really think we should have an OOC thread for this stuff since it is definitely breaking up the continuity of the narrative and making a it tad more difficult to go back through the posts in order to look at the "story" posts to help determine my PC's actions. But if that doesn't bother you than feel free to ignore me. ;-)

So in order to help extend Lutke's life a little, I would like to point out that this woman shouldn't be here since, uh, Khorne hates magic...? Maybe Lutke gets lucky and one of the berserkers runs the witch through?

Not all Kurgen are followers of Khorne, though Dagon's introduction of them suggested otherwise. That is perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions of this race of chaotic people. Like the people of the Empire, the Kurgen tribes follow the various chaos Gods. You're not sure to which God of Chaos this warband serves, but stay alive long enough I'm certain you'll find out...

Need to read your response and reply, Pinvendor. One moment.

Oh...how are we determining armor location? Or are we just assuming that a character is completely covered for each type to keep it simple? I ask since Lutke is wearing a simple Leather Jerkin which only covers his body and would normally not get armor points for head, arms, or legs.

I really think we should have an OOC thread for this stuff since it is definitely breaking up the continuity of the narrative.

At the moment it is, yes. But we're just trying to find our feet so to speak. I think once we've established what we want to do we'll see a lot less OOC banter.

Oh...how are we determining armor location? Or are we just assuming that a character is completely covered for each type to keep it simple? I ask since Lutke is wearing a simple Leather Jerkin which only covers his body and would normally not get armor points for head, arms, or legs.

Use common sense and keep it simple. Factor in your armor if you think it would protect you. I'll trust you guys. I'm not really that worried about rules mongering. I just want a good story. Let's not over think this. Fast/simple/fun! Don't power game. That's about the only rules I'm worried about, heh.

Another excellent response from Lutke, +10xp for the amazing description and effort! Also great use of Will Power and Movement checks. That's the spirit!

LUTKE: You've never felt such fear in your life. A primal, almost animal like terror overcomes you as you try to put as much space between you and the wretched hag on the hillock. You can feel her gaze burning holes into your back and she snarls, watching her pray flee like a pitiful rabbit.

As she channels her spell, I'll make a check against her Will Power to see if her spell finds it's mark (yes, I don't handle spellcasting the same with NPCs as I do with players. Live with it, heh). Her Will Power is 43, and so...

1d100 ⇒ 95

A corona of unholy flame explodes to your left and in front of you stopping your forward momentum and blowing you backwards through the flap of a tent! You're smoldering like a comet!

You're alive and well, horrified and on fire (no dmg, just for sake of description). I imagine you regain your feet and continue to run? You could also check again against Will Power if you wish.

Krak is the one with the Pick Ax (Boom threw it to him).
4d100 ⇒ (89, 94, 26, 55) = 264
dont know where the +1 comes in on attack?
1 successs to hit.
Krak swings the pick up over his head and down on the onrushing beast

Seeing that the scene is not hopeless, Boom scrambles from under the wagon and grabs an already loaded crossbow from the back and fires at the nearest Kurgen.
3d100 ⇒ (66, 82, 78) = 226
TWANG
in the rush of grabbing the crossbow, it gets momentarily caught on the tarp and accidentally fires the bolt harmlessly into the air
"BlAST IT!!!"
Boom scrambles to load another bolt.

Krak is the one with the Pick Ax (Boom threw it to him).

Ooops! My mistake. I fixed my response to correct this error. And yes, if you have a 2 handed weapon you get +1 to the dice you roll during your attack.

As his previous profession was a Miner, he does get the skill. My character's skills are in their "profiles" along with their stats.
1d100 ⇒ 4
This gives him one more success on the warhound for a total of 2 successes

(KRAK): The fetid breath of the war hound washes over you as it tries to rip your throat out. You leap aside as the matted beast leaps, and riposte with a brutal strike of your Dwarvish pick ax.

Going to now check against the creatures toughness. No armor and a toughness of 34, so I'll roll 3 dice (1st number) and try to score a 34 or better. And for the record I won't walk us through every portion of combat like I'm doing now EVERY TIME. I'm just doing so now so we can break things down and understand them:

3d100 ⇒ (76, 55, 49) = 180 As we can see, the creature isn't tough enough or fast enough to avoid your blow. And for the sake of keeping things quick and fun...

Your counter attack lands home! The wretched mutt lets out a howl of pain as your pick ax dives deep into the top of the creatures skull, driving it's head to the ground with tooth shattering force.

Well struck! The war dog is dead but you're not out of the woods yet!

"Nok^Thul?! NOK^THUL!" a pained voice rings out!

You pivot, and you see him. The hounds owner, still holding a length of iron chain is staring at the corpse of his beloved pet, a creature he had reared since birth. Howling with rage, the Kurgen handler charges with blind fury, swinging the length of chain in wide arching circles.

(BOOM): Re-loading the crossbow and muttering the entire time, you hear the yelp of a dying beast and see Krak finishing up his bloody work. But charging him is a Kurgen hound master, spinning a massive length of chain around his body like a flail!

You can take a shot at the Hound Master if you wish. Same rules apply for BS tests. I imagine we'll treat special BS weapons with bonuses the same way we do 2 handed for WS.

I like the integration of the amended rules. I vote "Yes"
Finally getting a bolt loaded, Boom looks through the specialy design "crosshairs" and quickly brings the crossbow to bare on the charging Kurgen
figure since they are engineers, they would devise a couple of things. Any chance, the crosshairs can give me some bonus to hit (+1) maybe?

I like your creative thinking, but let's see if their engineering is flawed or not. Do a quick INT check. If passed, the crosshairs were engineered properly (+1). If failed, not so much. Once you have the results of that, fire at will!

1d100 ⇒ 89
Even though Boom does much of the modification of the equipment (having been a weaponsmith and gunsmith), his inventions and modifications have a rare chance of being designed correctly due to his lack of seriousness.
Perhaps the frustration of his clans Dwarven cannoneers hitting thier own pillars or ramparts instead of the enemy was one of the causes for Boom being kicked out of his guild.
If you ask him though he would just tell you they were jealous.

The sights are on good and tight, but useless.

3d100 ⇒ (79, 19, 63) = 161

Even with faulty sights, Boom manages to hit with 1 success

3d100 ⇒ (84, 63, 42) = 189 vs Toughness = 34 Ooph! no successes.

The charging hound master is struck in the upper thigh and tumbles HARD! He's alive, angry and rolling to his feet, blood flowing in bright red ribbons into the pristine white snow.

You've slowed the Kurgen and stopped his charge. This will give KRAK all the time he needs to attack if you wish, or to take another action.

Goodness me! I forgot to post about the traps!!!

Fate rolls for traps to have been triggered:

• 1d100 ⇒ 40 v. Fate which is FP=3x10=30
• 1d100 ⇒ 41 v. Fate which is FP=3x10=30

Both failed...I assume this means the traps just haven't actually been tripped and not that they miss. The whole point of the design is to uber accurate, so it seems a Fate roll would unjustly penalize them if that is "hit" determiner.

Both failed...I assume this means the traps just haven't actually been tripped and not that they miss. The whole point of the design is to uber accurate, so it seems a Fate roll would unjustly penalize them if that is "hit" determined.

Fate roll was a check to see if any Kurgen had actually sprung the trap (ie: Fate being luck). At present it looks like they haven't. How that plays out remains to be seen.

I have to say that I'm really enjoying the diversity of everyones characters. This will be an interesting adventure!

And on that note I'll be stepping away for awhile. Need to head back to sleep for my pre-work nap. I'll try to update a bit more before I head out for the night.

Krak takes the opportunity and flashes a "thumbs up" to Boom which he then swivels to the Kurgen's head. Confident he has his "shot" lined up, he runs foward and raises his Pick ones more over his head and then down ontop the Kurgen.
5d100 ⇒ (80, 59, 100, 4, 44) = 287 (+1 for 2hnded weapon) Giving him 2 successes

Lutke looks around stunned and realizes he is inside a tent which is partially on fire. No. He's partially on fire. If there is any good news here, it's that the fire is very normal colored and very un-green. It's amazing what matters in moments of life and death. He quickly smothers his arm with the edge of a gray cloak still attached to the dead soldier it belongs to lying halfway in and out of the tent

Lutke takes the time to stow his spool which he only recalled due to the increasing pain of the palm of his hand which had begun to ache from being pressed against all the wire. then he looks around the interior littered with various things:

Perception (Int) 37 v. 1d100 ⇒ 70

Sadly, Lutke is still so stunned from being hurled off his feet he doesn't realize this was one of the armory tents and several loaded but uncocked crossbows lie fallen from their stand immediately at Lutke's feet. Unaware that his environmental awareness is compromised, he takes a quick discreet peek from behind the edge of the tent flap to gauge if the witch was pursuing him or had moved on to other targets:

Perception (Int) 37 v. 1d100 ⇒ 67

Unable to see the witch, Lutke is not convinced he is yet safe from her terrible powers. He retreats into the tent interior, and lifts the back tent wall:

Perception (Int) 37 v. 1d100 ⇒ 20

Oh, All Powerful GM...what does Lutke see?

KRAK: The Kurgen hound master is bald, his head a patchwork of tattoos and runes. As you close the distance, bounding towards him with stumpy Dwarvish strides, he meets your charge with a howl of defiance:

3d100 ⇒ (44, 9, 6) = 59 vs Toughness: 34 (Two successes, negating your attack!)

Your fearsome miners pick whistles through the brittle air, still streaming the blood and brains of the beast you had killed moments before.

KLAAAAANG!

The huge flail like iron chain smashes hard against your swing, wrapping around your ax and nearly pulling you off balance. As the Kurgen yanks the chain away, the frozen iron rattles against your knuckles tearing off hair and flesh!

"Daaar^mull Na' Nok^Thul!" he howls, striking hard and fast!

4d100 ⇒ (15, 95, 26, 60) = 196 vs Weapon Skill: 41 (Two successes!)

----------

LUTKE: "She's coming! She's coming! She's coming!" your mind screams over and over as you frantically size up your situation. Lifting the tent flap and peering out the backside, you wish you hadn't looked.

You see men running here and there, some fighting, others in full route. Two Kurgen warriors are chasing a young officer, his Gray Cloak fluttering in the wind. They catch him, stoving his head in with massive maces. Brains fly everywhere!

And there?! Holy Sigmar! A mottled albino looking beast with red eyes tearing the guts out of a still screaming archer, begging the beast to stop...

To your left a valiant Gray Wolf fights hard, his blade cutting the throat of a Kurgen marauder. He lifts the blade high in defiance, shouting his victory to the cold blue sky when...

PHHHHHAWWWWWWOOOOOOSH-TWHOOOOOOOOOM!

You'll never forget the sound of that unholy fire. The man screams, spinning like a top as his feet begin to leave the ground. For a moment he is suspended mid-air in horrific disbelief, and then he simply begins to melt like a tallow candle, pools of flesh and bile pouring like an acid rain to the sizzling snow below. With one final horrible gurgle he collapses, his skeletal frame snapping as he lands...

You hear the witch cackle, but you suspect she thinks you dead. What man would survive such reckless hate?

On a side note, as you gain xp and spend it for advances, please post what you raise. This will help keep me in touch with your characters and their progression.

The eye of the raven spirals over the Gray Wolf camp and back to Caspar the Red and his desperate situation...

The Kurgen, knowing no fear of death and no word for surrender had ever been spoken, laughed an ominous laugh as Caspar's sword remained inside of him.

CASPAR: The warlord reaches behind his head, grabbing for Gretta. Grasping the locks of her blond hair he yanks with all his strength!

1d100 ⇒ 40 vs Gretta's STR: 25

Gretta is thrown from the Kurgen like a rag doll, crashing into a weapons rack, she cries in pain as wood splinters and spears tumble.

Withdrawing your blade from his flank, the Kurgen flips it in his grasp and spits, his eyes pits of burning malice.

"Fires of U'zhuuul!" Those words echo and split the air like thunder. And then, quite suddenly, the Kurgen bursts into flame! Howling in rage, he spins and tumbles, flailing like a madman until at last his anguished momentum stops...

"Caspar..." Gretta moans, weakly reaching towards you.

I took a little liberty in getting Albrecht back in the game. It seemed a fitting time and a good way to seal a player friendship. Hoping Albrecht will be able to rejoin us soon!

I think we should spend Xp like in the old way...with you telling us when we can

Either way, I will point out once again I really think we should have an OOC thread for this stuff since it is definitely breaking up the continuity of the narrative and making a it tad more difficult to go back through the posts in order to look at the "story" posts to help determine my PC's actions. But if that doesn't bother you than feel free to ignore me. ;-)

I'd have to agree a Ooc thread would at least keep some of the rules questions out of the main game. In 8 hours this thread blew up with all sorts of rules discussions and to be honest I ignored most of it. Just my 2 cents on the matter. As for the lite rules I think light armor should be +1 to Hp, heavy +2, dodge blow and parry (if you have them) should be +1 as well. I've always thought of the lite rules to be like that Zombies board game.

I think we should spend Xp like in the old way...with you telling us when we can

That's fine too. I guess it would make things more easy to manage as we took an OOC break to 'level up' so to speak.

Lutke drops the canvas tent wall as fear of the witch's power increases and involuntarily backs up.

Ag 40 v. 1d100 ⇒ 23

Nimble footed as always, Lutke's ankles automatically roll with the obstacles on the floor again prohibiting him from noticing the fine instruments of destruction lying on the tent floor. Obviously, the witch had moved past his location (not proven, just a wild hope and assumption on Lutke's part). He glanced out the front of the tent again, this time noticing something he missed before back the way he came towards what used to be the mess area. There was Caspar and a pretty but disheveled young camp follower wrestling with a wild berserker.

Knowing his chances of survival were slim as long as he was alone, Lutke pulls a large heavy steel wrench from his toolbelt (it's for adjusting the bolt of angle on the ballistas) Lutke looks around for cover to which he can relocate and draw closer to assist his friends without drawing the attention of the witch:

Perception (Int) 40 v. 1d100 ⇒ 72

His face probably turns a little white when he can't see anything that seems to be large enough to really do any good. It's all open ground to Lutke's untrained battle eye.

He closes his eyes for a second and takes a deep breath. The void of calculation closes over his mind, and Lutke begins to calm a little. He focuses on the distance he needs to cover and the speed he needs to travel it in order to be of any help to his friends. He forces himself not to focus on anything else. Like green fire melting him starting with his fleeing backside. The void wavered a bit, but Lutke pushes this thought from his mind, adjusts his satchel and pack higher on his back, grips his wrench, and leaps out of the tent as quickly as possible.

Hold on, Caspar Lutke thinks, Just hold on.

Ack! Post ninja'd. Editing to include Albrecht's reemergence

As Lutke leaps forward to assist, the crazed warrior confronting the wench and Caspar erupts into fire. A good healthy, orange fire. Oh Ulric! Lutke thinks. The witch was bound to notice that!!

pinvendor wrote:

Either way, I will point out once again I really think we should have an OOC thread for this stuff since it is definitely breaking up the continuity of the narrative and making a it tad more difficult to go back through the posts in order to look at the "story" posts to help determine my PC's actions. But if that doesn't bother you than feel free to ignore me. ;-)

I'd have to agree a Ooc thread would at least keep some of the rules questions out of the main game. In 8 hours this thread blew up with all sorts of rules discussions and to be honest I ignored most of it. Just my 2 cents on the matter. As for the lite rules I think light armor should be +1 to Hp, heavy +2, dodge blow and parry (if you have them) should be +1 as well. I've always thought of the lite rules to be like that Zombies board game.

I suppose it could work either way. I'll think about it as we play test. And here in the future I'll make an OOC thread just for the rules, though I suspect if you're ignoring them here where the heart of the action is it's very likely you'll ignore whatever we type there as well!

Gah, figures Lutke would leap to Caspar's aid just as I write in Albrecht! Well, that's the fog of war for you. We'll just roll with the punches...

LUTKE: You run as if all the hounds of the seven hells of Khaine were behind you. Truth be told, you're rather certain they are! You leap, dash, weave and dodge, sometimes hiding, sometimes running full tilt until at last you reach Caspar and see his desperate situation...

"Fires of U'zhuuul!"

And the Kurgen explodes in flame!

Spinning about you see Albrecht Baer, Captain Tillman's pet sorcerer toss you a salute, his hands still steaming with eldritch fire.

CASPAR: Lutke, who you'd seen a moment before your world went from bad to worse is standing before you, his eyes filled with dread and wonder.

My god it exploded

"You there!" Waving a flaming index finger in Caspar's direction "You alive!? Can you fight!?"

"I am alive and well I never really could fight..."

Caspar runs to Gretta's aid.

5d100 ⇒ (50, 69, 36, 73, 11) = 239 (Very resiliant and T:4) Not counting my leather apron. 2 successes.
Krak rolls under the Kurgen's blow and with a 2 handed upeercut brings the pick up between the barbarian's legs
5d100 ⇒ (88, 99, 59, 60, 43) = 349 1 success

At that same instant, Booom sends another crossbow bolt hurtling towards the Dog handler's head
3d100 ⇒ (67, 33, 86) = 186 1 success

5d100 ⇒ (88, 99, 59, 60, 43) = 349 1 success

This brings up another point. How do we handle things like fumbles and 77's and 01's in a situation where we are rolling many d100's at once? Perhaps a fumble takes away one success and vice versa? Or just ignore that element of the game?

Regardless, for the sake of keeping things moving and not getting bogged down we'll press on and debate this at a later time.

ALBRECHT: They say a Kurgen's ferocity in battle is matched only by his love for drinking. Considering how 'explosively' the last Kurgen reacted to your summonations, there may be some truth to that...

CASPAR: Gretta reaches towards you as you pull her from the rubble. Broken spears and shattered shields fall into the snow as you lift her free.

"I, uh..." she speaks, "Thank you."

She plants a kiss on your lips, lingering for long moments as the sounds of battle rage around you.

KRAK/BOOM: Cornered like a fell beast, the Kurgen hound master fights hard, but his strength is ebbing with the blood flowing freely from his upper thigh.

THWACK!

BOOOM's bolt finds its mark, driving deep into the Kurgen. At that same moment, KRAK is there to finish the job. There is a sickening splash of entrails on cold snow...

The party is now beginning to form up, born of battle. Let's focus on pulling Krak and Booom into the group, then we'll proceed from there.