GM Netherpongo's Warhammer Fantasy

Game Master Nathan Goodrich

Forgot to make a defense roll for Round 2

Defense (43): 1d100 ⇒ 51 SL -1 unless Ludger has Advantages

The boss of the stevedore gang looks none too pleased that his punishment has turned into a brawl. He motions for the rest of his men to get involved.

Axel, who are you targeting with the Intimidate? Remember that Intimidates like this are normally an Opposed Test, so Axel's -2 SL might not fail.

Seeing what his Da is doing, Ludger gives all the other men an angry glare and says with clenched teeth, ”Stay out of this…it’s between the old man and myself”

Try to use Intimidation to warn off everyone

Intimidate (43): 1d100 ⇒ 54 SL -1

The boss of the stevedore gang looks none too pleased that his punishment has turned into a brawl. He motions for the rest of his men to get involved.

Axel, who are you targeting with the Intimidate? Remember that Intimidates like this are normally an Opposed Test, so Axel's -2 SL might not fail.

The flunkies

Leadership (40): 1d100 ⇒ 1 SL 4, Maybe Critical?

ENOUGH!

The sheer volume of the sound surprise everyone, and the surprise is even bigger when the soon-to-be adversaries realise it comes from the little halfling woman.

Enough. There will be NO fisticuff. I'm tired of patching people who can't or won't use their one brain just because they have two fists, and think it's a twice better solution, whatever the problem might be! You might have a relationship to patch with your father, Ludger. Who hasn't? Maybe you could try to talk around a beer, instead of beating each other?? And that motley crew, do they really have to join in a brawl,just to please either an old man or their baser instincts, I don't know which is worse?? Aren't your long hours of labor harsh enough, that you want to spend them with broken bones and bloody faces? Stand back, enjoy a few moments of calm and rest, maybe get a beer yourself, but don't get yourselves in a useless fight. Life on the docks can be tough, I guess. Accident happens. Illness can rob you of the coins you need to put some meat on your table, back at home. Maybe young Sara or the boy Josef start a bad cough, worrying their mother deeply. Maybe you would be happy to know someone, a young halfling lady with medical skills, who would be willing to help for a very reasonable fee, even if she gives an added price: to not fight each other, not now, not ever. That seems a small price to pay, in my opinion.

The halfling, with her fists on her hips, glare at the dockers, AND Ludger, AND Axel.

Noice

A bunch of social tests then. I'm applying a Difficult (-10) modifier to the Tests here because you are each opposing orders from the Stevedore boss. So your SL results noted will be one worse than what you rolled flat.

Flunkies Cool vs Axel Intimidate 30 (Axel Intimidate -3 SL): 1d100 ⇒ 91
Flunkies Cool vs Ludger Intimidate 30 (Ludger Intimidate -2 SL): 1d100 ⇒ 92

OK, the flunkies are thoroughly Intimidated, but for Magda's Leadership Test I'm thinking it will be opposed vs the Leadership of the Foreman himself.

Foreman Leadership vs Magda Leadership 40 -10 drunk (Magda Leadership +3 SL): 1d100 ⇒ 74

I didn't expect all three of you to win with high degrees of success, but the bad guys don't have Fortune & the dice have spoken. It wasn't even close so we won't spend time counting targets or anything like that.

The stevedore gangs of Ubersreik are accustomed to getting their way as they work their turf. They are ill-prepared for actual confrontation, however, and their will breaks when they are confronted with a unified front. The stevedore flunkies jump back with alarm and swiftly melt away, looking relieved that they won't be pursued.

Ludger's father glares at you for a moment more and looks like he wanted to say something, but staggers off wordlessly after a moment.

Isaak looks impressed when you return to the Sunfish. "Thought all of you would end up in the Teufel for a moment there." He declines to order you about for a few moments, plus a few more if you do something other than loiter about on the barge's deck.

Unless anyone has further business in Ubersreik, we can depart the city and sail north to deliver the documents you've gathered to Lutz.

After the stevedores depart Axel starts shaking like a leaf with repressed fear and left over adrenaline...

I'm... glad we didn't need to fight.

He boards the boat.

Shaking his head, embarrassed by his father’s behavior, Ludger thinks I really hate coming home.

Ludger then thanks Axel and Magda for standing by him and apologizes to Magda about his earlier remark…”It were meant to be a joke Magda but it don’t appear that it was funny. Sorry bout that.”

Ludger hops to once Isaak gives orders to cast off, anxious to leave before his Da comes back with more men.

No one seems interested in staying in Ubersreik longer, so we'll shove off! If anyone is missing Wounds, you can make some recovery tests over two days of travel.

After loading up and shaping up the crew, the Sunfish leaves Ubersreik to begin her downriver trip north. After passing through Auerswald, your barge enters the most heavily forested region of your journey.

Rounding a bend in the river as the ship approaches Rottfurt, you hear a battle cry coming from close by. Moments later, you spot a tall, lean man brandishing a boat hook standing in a small dinghy.

Trying to heal up

Average (+20) Endurance Test Day 1 (50): 1d100 ⇒ 70Success with SL 0 which means regain 4 Wounds (Ludger Toughness Bonus)

Average (+20) Endurance Test Day 2 (50): 1d100 ⇒ 48SL +3 so regain another 7 Wounds. That's enough to get Ludger back to his 15 Wounds of health

Perception Test

Difficult (-10) Perception Test (30): 1d100 ⇒ 19

"Wake in the water Captain! Looks like something big!" Ludger shouts as he points and waves his boat hook towards what he spots.

Percep 30: 1d100 ⇒ 25 -10

SL fail 0

Perception -10( 32): 1d100 ⇒ 64

Anyone wounded can come to see Magda. She might pout and glare if she is angry at you- and despite her little frame, the girl has some serious character, as you can attest now- but she is still a caring and compassionate soul

Heal: 1d100 ⇒ 40

This was a Simple Test, so the SL doesn't matter.

"What's going on over there?" Isaak shouts as he makes his way over from the other side of the barge.

As he does, an huge crocodile bursts out of the water near the boatman, crashing its bulk into his vessel and threatening to overturn it.

This sounds like a Sail test for him, but Sail seems to apply to larger vessels. I think Row is the best 'use a smaller boat' skill.
Boatman Row: 1d100 ⇒ 41

Though he manages to avoid being thrown off his boat entirely, the small vessel flips in the water, leaving him clinging to the craft.

Come on people, let's get this man out of the water quick!

Knowing she doesn't have the strenght to drag a full grown man out of water all by herself, Magda tries to find some rope on the deck to throw him

Supposing she finds some rope, which must be common on a boat
Ballistic (35): 1d100 ⇒ 33

Axel hopes in the chaos, that his power might be unseen... and casts Dart at the scaly creature...

Language (Magick) 50: 1d100 ⇒ 44

+1 SL per level of the talent when using Language (Magick) pg 139. See also Erratta PDF, so that's +3 SL, not sure if crit applies

Ludger, who’s heart is much bigger than his brain, quickly ties the rope around his waist and holding his hand axe in one hand runs forward and dives off the boat in the direction of the man in the water. His plan is to get to the man, grab him and then have the crew pull them both back onboard as quickly as possible. If the gator has already gotten it’s teeth into the man, Ludger will whack it with the ax.

Swim Test? (48): 1d100 ⇒ 47

I hadn't meant for the boat to be quite that close (rope throwing distance) to the scene of the battle yet, but you guys are being all heroic so it stands!

Before your actions quite go off...

On seeing the beast rising up out of the water, Isaak orders the crew to sail away. "That's a dead man! Turn to port! Let's get some distance!" he shouts at the crew.

Admirably, the other crew members pause for a moment before shoving their poles into the Teufel to move away from the ongoing conflict.

Just then, Captain Fein strides out of his quarters onto the deck. "Belay that order!" he shouts. "That's a man of the river. Push forward! We're saving him!"

Axel Initiative (1d10+Agi+Init): 1d10 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 3 = 14
Ludger Initiative (1d10+Agi+Init): 1d10 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 3 = 10
Magda Initiative (1d10+Agi+Init): 1d10 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 4 = 10
Sandra Initiative (1d10+Agi+Init): 1d10 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 3 = 13
Attacked Riverfolk Initiative (1d10+Agi+Init): 1d10 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 4 = 16
Crocodile Initiative (1d10+Agi+Init): 1d10 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 3 = 16
Initiative Rolloff (1=Riverfolk, 2=Crocodile): 1d2 ⇒ 2

While the ship draws nearer under the captain's order, the crocodile snaps at the riverfolk again.

Crocodile Weapon Skill 40: 1d100 ⇒ 52
Riverfolk Dodge 47 (-10 clinging to boat): 1d100 ⇒ 46

The riverfolk lunges out of the way, but is forced to let go of his craft in the process.

Riverfolk Swim 49: 1d100 ⇒ 3
Riverfolk Willpower (Cool) vs Fear 30: 1d100 ⇒ 66
Ugh. I messed up my rolls. The Riverfolk initially got a 66 and the Crocodile got something in the 90s. So I'll simulate that.
Melee 45 +10 Advantage -1 SL Fear Result 66 = -2 SL (Oops!)
Melee 40 Result 92 = -5 SL
Oops! Roll: 1d100 ⇒ 94 - Oh. Wow that's bad.
hit location: 1d100 ⇒ 30 - right arm

Oops! Result: You completely mess up, hitting 1 random ally in range using your rolled units die to determine the SL of the hit. If that's not possible, you somehow hit yourself in the face and gain a Stunned Condition.

Desperate to save himself, the riverfolk lashes out at the crocodile. It looks as though his strike will be true, but the animal's heavy bulk washes into him at the last moment. The blade turns in his hand and pierces his own shoulder!

Damage = +6 SL from Oops! +4 Strength +4 Weapon -3 Toughness -1 Armour = 10 Wounds. The riverfolk loses their Advantage.

That post got messy, but now we can get to everyone else.

Axel acts first, drawing raw power from the Winds of Magic to launch a bolt of eldritch energy at his foe. Axel's SL calculation is correct, but it's worth going over why for a moment. His roll result is success with +1 SL and a crit due to the doubles. Without any talents, this would also cause a casting Mishap. He has two iterations of the Instinctive Diction talent, however and that changes a lot. The Tests: entry gives him +1 SL per copy of the talent on successful tests, raising his SL to +3. The text of the talent also prevents the casting Mishap because the roll was successful. A 55 would have been very different from this 44.

Damage: +3 SL +0 Spell +4 WP -5 Toughness -1 Armour = 1 Wound
Critical Location: 1d100 ⇒ 15 - Left Arm
Critical Roll: 1d100 ⇒ 59 Torn Muscle (Major):
The critical hit deals 3 additional Wounds and gives -20 to checks with the arm. Unfortunately, the crocodile isn't really using that arm right now.

Axel: is there anything you want to attempt to hide your magic besides hoping for the best? I think you can't mumble a spell which doesn't help.

*

Sandra calls upon Randald for luck again as the crew begins to take action.

Pray 50: 1d100 ⇒ 48 - Ludger, if you want it Sandra can grant the Blessing of Luck to you.

*

Ludger leaps into the water while Magda ably throws a rope out in the direction of the sailor.

Everyone: we need Cool tests vs Fear since this creature is large.

I don’t see Blessing of Luck in the rules. What does it do?

The no doubt foolish Ludger swims at the Croc then realizes just how big the thing is. Ludger tries to ignore the size of the creature and continue his quixotic swimming charge to help the stranger.

Cool Test (35): 1d100 ⇒ 94

That needs a Fortune spend

Cool Test (35): 1d100 ⇒ 34

Melee Attack (58): 1d100 ⇒ 53 A SL +0 (depending on what Luck does)

Hopefully that’s a hit to give Advantage going forward

Rolling defense also

Melee Defense: 1d100 ⇒ 81 Darn, SL -3

Was hoping for more damage but, hey, also happy I didn't explode. I am at a loss about how to best conceal it. I suppose a generic stealth roll? Standing off to the side, Taking advantage of the confusion and hunching my body?

Stealth 30: 1d100 ⇒ 11 +1 nearly +2 might be a crit?
Cool 50: 1d100 ⇒ 9 +4 SL

Cool test (55): 1d100 ⇒ 88

Fortune reroll, 1/2

Cool test (55): 1d100 ⇒ 36

The sheer size and power of the crocodile makes Magda hesitate, but a life is at stake, so she shakes out of her fear.

She tries to tie the rope on the boat to get her hands free, and manages to make a solid knot, solid enough to make real sailor proud, perhaps

Sleight of hand?(50): 1d100 ⇒ 33 SL 2, Crit? Didn't knew which skill to use, SoH made sense..

Ludger: my mistake - Blessing of Fortune on page 221. Since your very first roll wound up using a Fortune, you can recover the Fortune and say that was the Blessing if you wish.

Ludger dives into the water and swims (need a Swim test) forward before striking the massive creature with his hook, striking it solidly.

Gator got -2 SL so damage should be 10 Wounds -5 Toughness -1 Armor = 4 Wounds (total 5)

Axel rounded the crew cabin before throwing off his spell, removing himself from being the obvious culprit. No one will be fooled that something very strange happened...they saw the Bolt. But they won't necessarily know where it came from. At your option, Axel could engage in some tomfoolery to throw them off the scent further like falling off the boat on purpose. Axel can act again for this next round. For now, you are out of sight.

Magda: I don't think Sleight of Hand makes sense. Sail is probably most direct in this context but it's an advanced skill & you shouldn't need advances to tie a rope. But it might not even really need a roll. Consider the rope secured.

Axel & Magda: I haven't been counting crits on skills.

Axel can act for this next turn. I'll try to keep up a better posting pace but I'm out of time for now.

Ludger Swim Test (48): 1d100 ⇒ 32

Unlike most that grow up along the Reik’s rivers, Ludger has always enjoyed swimming. He may not be fast but he’s plenty competent and easily swims over to attack the water lizard.

Definitely will use the Blessing to recover the Fortune Point

Axel, inspired by an inner voice, lowers himself into the water off the side of the boat then pulls himself back out, as if he is climbing back onto the boat...

As a note, I do have Sail skills (40), so that would be a success too, with SL 1

Riverfolk Swim 49: 1d100 ⇒ 28

Disengaging from a fight is more tricky than just being pulled away. We'll treat this as his Dodge attempt to Disengage.

Riverfolk Dodge 47 to Disengage +20 rope: 1d100 ⇒ 90 - the rope is making the task Average difficulty instead of Challenging.
Crocodile Melee 40: 1d100 ⇒ 14 - crocodile wins and gains +10 Advantage

Severely weakened by his unfortunate attack, the riverman reaches out for the rope, but is unable to secure himself.

Crocodile Target 1-2=Ludger, 3=Riverfolk: 1d3 ⇒ 2
Crocodile Attack vs Ludger 40 +10 Advantage: 1d100 ⇒ 61 - crocodile gets -1 SL vs Ludger. Ludger has 58 melee +10 advantage for a total of -2 SL. The crocodile is Large and imposes -2 SL on Melee tests to defend making the current difference -3 SL. Ludger can still try to Fortune or something if he wishes. Otherwise, bite damage will be +8 Weapon (includes Strength) +3 SL -1 Armor (Left Arm) = 7 Ludger nom noms

Everyone can act! Remember swim checks if you were/are in the water.

Riverman Stunned Condition Endurance Test 42: 1d100 ⇒ 62

----------

Oops. I forgot that the riverman is stunned and he wouldn't have been able to make that Dodge attempt. I'll have to think more about what he can do to take advantage of Magda's rope toss but for now this is what it means: the Dodge attempt never happened and the crocodile didn't have Advantage when it tried to bite Ludger. The SL difference is only 2 SL now, not 3 SL.

Otherwise, everything is the same. The riverman still failed to take advantage of the rope on his turn.

Since Ludger got his Fortune point back from the Blessing earlier in the encounter he will go ahead and use a Fortune now to avoid being fish food.

Ludger's Reroll for Defense (58): 1d100 ⇒ 7 I think that’s a SL +6 including Ludger’s Advantage and thus much better than his scaly friend.

Ludger is surprisingly nimble (or incredibly lucky) in the water and managed to jam his fingers into the one of the eye sockets of the river monster which startled the massive critter enough that he missed biting into Ludger’s delicious flesh.

Ludger should be at +2 Advantage now

After already whacking the gigantic once with his boat hook and then blocking its attack, Ludger is feeling quite confident as he attacks the croc another time. Maybe it is true that the gods look out for the stupid.

Ludger’s Attack (58): 1d100 ⇒ 5Well, that’s a good roll. Even with the croc’s decent roll, Ludger should be at SL +5 overall including his Advantage and subtracting the SL 2 for the croc. That’d be 13 wounds minus 5 for toughness and 1 for armor for 7 more wounds and Ludger goes to +3 Advantage.

”Take that you filthy beast!” Ludger shouts as he strikes the big lizard yet again. He has to force himself to not look back to the boat to see if everyone is impressed by his heroism. Concentrate on the croc and then flex.

Swim Check (48): 1d100 ⇒ 17
Ludger continues splashing happily along in the river, the thought of possible drowning never occurring to him.

Defense Check (58): 1d100 ⇒ 52With Advantage that is SL +3 I believe

Check out crocodile Dundee here!!!

Is Axel taking an action this turn? We probably need at least a Swim test for your intentional bob. With the barge at hand, it can be an Easy (+40) test.

swim 31: 1d100 ⇒ 35 + 40

Axel drags his throughly soaked form back on the barge... then rushes over to the side of the boat to see what's happening and be on hand to throw ropes etc. If there is a barge pole he picks it up.

Magda knows how to swim.

But somehow, swimming near a ravenous crocodile doesn't suit her.

Seeing that the riverman is stunned and can't catch the rope, she brings it back on the deck, and works on a large noose to catch the man before he drowns

Sailing 40: 1d100 ⇒ 96

But the rope, now wet, isn't helping.

Riverfolk Swim 49: 1d100 ⇒ 96
Riverfolk Endurance vs Stunned 42: 1d100 ⇒ 87

Stunned and helpless, the riverfolk slips below the water. See Discussion for more on this. It isn't that bad right now.

*

Crocodile Weapon Skill vs Ludger 40: 1d100 ⇒ 71

The crocodile fights back against Ludger furiously but he easily fends off the attack. Ludger, the attack wasn't even close this time but remember to specify whether you are using Melee or Dodge for your attack on these differently-sized creatures. Ludger goes up to +4 Advantage. This is the sort of area where Advantage starts becoming silly. We'll see how things go. As a note, I missed 3 crit-based Wounds from Axel earlier. The crocodile's total Wounds taken should be 15.

Everyone can act!

Sail (40): 1d100 ⇒ 85

Magda tries to make the knot, once again, but fails once again

Axel looks for a barge pole, and tries to move the boat closer to make it easier

dice=Riverfolk Swim 49]1d100

dice=Riverfolk Endurance vs Stunned 42]1d100

Stunned and helpless, the riverfolk slips below the water. See Discussion for more on this. It isn't that bad right now.

*

dice=Crocodile Weapon Skill vs Ludger 40]1d100

The crocodile fights back against Ludger furiously but he easily fends off the attack. Ludger, the attack wasn't even close this time but remember to specify whether you are using Melee or Dodge for your attack on these differently-sized creatures. Ludger goes up to +4 Advantage. This is the sort of area where Advantage starts becoming silly. We'll see how things go. As a note, I missed 3 crit-based Wounds from Axel earlier. The crocodile's total Wounds taken should be 15.

** spoiler omitted **

Everyone can act!

I did completely forget about the negative modifier to Melee defense because of the size difference so Ludger will be using Dodge (skill of 40).

Ludger continues to whack the crocodile, trying to press he’s advantage. Hopefully this critter will give up soon, or die…either is good, Ludger thinks as he whacks.
Ludger Attack (58): 1d100 ⇒ 43 With Advantage that is a SL+5 and combined with the bad croc roll is a SL difference of 9. So Ludger hits for 17 wounds minus 5 toughness and 1 armor for a total of 11 more wounds inflicted. And Ludger now has +5 Advantage

Ludger continues to get solid whacks against the big lizard and is feeling more and more happy with his foolish decision to fight a croc in the water.

Ludger Defense (Dodge) (40): 1d100 ⇒ 11 With Advantage that’s SL +8

Swim Check (48): 1d100 ⇒ 33

Ludger happily paddles around the croc, whacking it occasionally and dodging its sluggish attacks.

Godsdamn. I'd have put good gold on you being croc food by now

Riverfolk Swim 49 -10 stunned: 1d100 ⇒ 99
Riverfolk Endurance 42 -10 stunned: 1d100 ⇒ 53
Round 2 of holding breath

Badly wounded and unable to get its prey, the crocodile attempts to flee from Ludger.

Ludger gains +1 advantage up to +6. He can make an unopposed attack roll and gains an additional +20 bonus to it. I think we've also been forgetting the +10 bonus to attack Ludger should be getting because the crocodile is larger than him. This could really hurt...

Everyone can act!

The wet farmer has access to something to pole or move the barge closer?

Sorry. Yes, there are lots of available poles on the barge.

Axel starts polling the barge closer

Free Attack (58+20+10: 1d100 ⇒ 89Well, that’s just embarrassing. If I read the rules right, the attack is essentially a skill test with various bonuses. So Ludger only needed to roll an 88 or less to succeed.

Ludger sees off the croc and then grabs a hold of the fisherman to try to get him back to the barge.

Swim Test(48): 1d100 ⇒ 14

As Ludger swims he calls out to Magda, ”Hey Dok, got a patient for you!”

I believe Ludger would retain his Advantage for that attack, which should easily put him over the 'hit' zone. Without running the math closely, it would do 8-10 Wounds which wouldn't be enough to take out the crocodile, but Ludger gets a small victory there.

With the crocodile in retreat and the help of those on the barge, Ludger is easily able to retrieve the riverman and get him up on deck. He managed to avoid being bitten by the monstrous beast, but the wound from his own sabre is bleeding profusely. No actual Bleeding conditions. He's really just missing a bunch of wounds and will shake off the Stunned Condition on his own before long.

As recovery efforts continue, Captain Fein bellows out over the ship. "Well done men! You're all heroes today. We'll have an extra coin for everyone when we make port."

The cheers from that announcement are cut off as he motions for silence on the deck. "But! There was foul sorcery involved. You all saw it. We have a witch on my ship..."

did it look like witchfire etc? Or a bolt of light? Unsure of the Darts appearance

The book is intentionally ambiguous about that. A fire wizard might throw a firebolt while a shadow wizard might lash out with a snare of shadow, or whatever. Absent any other choice you'd make, I'd imagine that your Dart looks witch-y.

It's highly unlikely that anyone on the boat would know the difference between a witch-y Dart and a different kind though. You can assume that they know some sort of sorcery was used but almost nothing else. Given that no known spellcasters are about, they'll call that a 'witch'.

Heal (50): 1d100 ⇒ 56

Madga does her best to at least stop the wounded sailor bleeding.

He must have some rest. I'll watch over his wounds. Bring him in a cabin, with a warm bed.

We just watched a sailor single handledly beat a big ass crocodile! I think it might have been a miracle from the gods!

Bull s+@~ roll? 30: 1d100 ⇒ 18

Whew! At least a pass... +1 SL, if charm I have 33

I believe Ludger would retain his Advantage for that attack, which should easily put him over the 'hit' zone. Without running the math closely, it would do 8-10 Wounds which wouldn't be enough to take out the crocodile, but Ludger gets a small victory there.

With the crocodile in retreat and the help of those on the barge, Ludger is easily able to retrieve the riverman and get him up on deck. He managed to avoid being bitten by the monstrous beast, but the wound from his own sabre is bleeding profusely. No actual Bleeding conditions. He's really just missing a bunch of wounds and will shake off the Stunned Condition on his own before long.

As recovery efforts continue, Captain Fein bellows out over the ship. "Well done men! You're all heroes today. We'll have an extra coin for everyone when we make port."

The cheers from that announcement are cut off as he motions for silence on the deck. "But! There was foul sorcery involved. You all saw it. We have a witch on my ship..."

”A WITCH BOSS?!?’ Ludger says amazed. ”I didn’t see no sign of witchery boss but of course I was awful busy smashing that croc single-handily. Let me tell you that lizard had some big teeth…” Ludger prattles on like that trying to get the attention focused on him instead of his companion because he was pretty sure that Axel had used witchcraft but Ludger sticks by his friends even if they are soul-cursed, filthy warp spawned witches.

Ludger pulls out his boat hook and begins demonstrating to everyone, especially the captain, how he beat the croc…

It seems like this could be a good spot for Entertain which is a skill I don’t think I’ve ever seen used

Entertain (35): 1d100 ⇒ 35 Leaving it up to our fearless GM to figure out what effect that roll would have.

As for Ludger noticing Axel's display, on a normal basis that would require him to participate in the Opposed Test Axel made earlier. He got +2 SL on Stealth and +5 SL on Charm to cover up. Below, I'm giving Captain Fein a +10 bonus for being suspicious (really just making the test be Hard for Axel).

However, PC tests vs PC tests can be weird. At Axel's option, he can let the party members notice what he did however the Test results come out.

Captain Fein Cool 36 +10: 1d100 ⇒ 24 - Fortunately for Axel, he was rolling like a superstar earlier and Captain Fein still loses here.

Ignoring Ludger's awkward display -- the former stevedore clearly wasn't the source of the witchcraft on display -- Captain Fein glares at the crew discerningly. Aside from Magda's efforts to help the rescued riverman, the boat grows still and uncomfortable as he assesses the men in front of him.

The captain eventually grows frustrated and spits on the deck. "Maybe you're right. Praise be the gods," he growls. He looks unconvinced by his words. "Back to your posts! Go pull his craft on board, and then we make for Grunberg. When he's settled, bring him to my quarters."

That said, the captain leaves the deck. Tension bleeds from the crew, but as Isaak starts giving orders it becomes clear that suspicions still linger all about.

*

Magda & the riverman: your initial Heal test was a +0 SL failure but from my reading, a failure still does nothing. Magda has Field Dressing, but reversing the dice would only make matters worse this time. By my reading, the failure prevents any benefit from the Test but isn't nearly bad enough to harm the riverman. I think she can try again since the riverman hasn't 'benefitted'.

As Magda works on the man, she quickly notices that he isn't a Reiklander, having different facial features and dress. Far away in the Moot, she used to run into a Kislevite on rare occasion, and this man looks like one of them.

Heal (50): 1d100 ⇒ 25 SL+3

For Magda, all humans are more or less the same. She doesn't care about their country of origin. Of course, there are some morphogical differences, but as long as the organs are the same, she doesn't give a damn about the color of the skin shielding them. She works all the same to save their lives.