Session One (9/29/22)
Players:
Charlie – Lorne the Halfling Guide
Aaron – Ivy the Halfling Bounder
Max D – Gerald the Halfling Burglar
I began the group with pre-gens, and after two of the players texted me with interest in halfling characters we decided it would be fun to play an all halfling session. I assumed that this was a session zero, and we would roll new characters at the end of it, but everyone loved the pre-gens enough to keep playing their character. We are using the Middarmark setting so there are lots of norse words to maneuver around and misspell viciously.
Plot Summary:
We began the campaign at a huldufolk (halfling) moot, celebrating the disablot (spring solstice). Three huldufolk villages had gathered for the occasion, since each of the three characters had a different hometown. Each town selected a representative to carry an offering to the neighboring city of Sunnås, in tribute to Freydis, so that the lady of sowing and reaping would bless the fields for a bountiful planting season.
Lorne loaded the party onto a small halfling skiff, and began the onerous task of poling his way up a tributary of the Dreik River. Before long, they saw an abandoned skiff – filled with barrels and tied up to the side of the river. As they neared the vessel, they heard screaming in the woods and saw a merchant and his two guards running from assailants. Five goatmen chased the humans out of the wood, with vicious spears and snarling teeth.
The party considered setting off with the skiff, but quickly changed course and helped the merchant flee the goatmen. A flee conflict ensued, with Lorne making the skiff ready to set off, and the others haranguing the goatmen with loosed arrows and sling bullets. The party rolled well, and won the conglict with a minor compromise – some of the skiff cargo was lost in the haste. The merchant rewarded the party for their efforts – 1d silver each.
Next, the party looked for a safe place to camp. Lorne failed in this, the soggy character found a narrow sodden beach where it was impossible to start a fire.
End of Session:
MVP – Gerald the Burglar
Workhorse – Lorne the Guide
Session Two (10/6/22)
Players:
Charlie – Lorne the Halfling Guide
Aaron – Ivy the Halfling Bounder
Max D – Gerald the Halfling Burglar
Joe – Varg the Magician
We had one more player join, I asked him if he was willing to play a magic user and gave him a list of options: Theurg, Magician, Sorcerer, or Shaman. Despite the joy of having an all-halfling party, I decided against giving him a Halfling option (although I recently re-watched Willow so I seriously considered allowing Halflings to be sorcerers). He chose the Magician.
Camp Phase:
During camp, Gerald scavenged around the camp for bait and Lorne used his check to go fishing.
Town Phase:
The group made their way up river with no further complications, arriving in the busy crossroads of Noke. Lorne asked a dock worker to keep his skiff safe for him, and Ivy asked around after her missing friend who was last seen with a group of dwarves. On trying to leave town, both character failed their resources rolls – Lorne was told that the docks couldn’t guarantee the safety of the skiff since he couldn’t afford the price of the warehouse and Ivy’s circles was reduced by one, since she couldn’t pay her bar tab after listening for rumors.
Rumors:
- The town of Skogenby is full of stuck-up puritans, but the barrows are full of gold and will make a man rich enough to live comfortable.
- On the road south of Sunnas, there was a rockslide that could’ve been the work of dwarves trying to excavate something.
Adventure Phase:
The party met Varg at the north exit of town, he offered his humble assistance as a magician for the road to Sunnås. The huldufolk accepted his company, warily. After a half-day journey, the party saw a signal fire shoot up from a steading beside the road. They discussed whether or not to help, and approach cautiously. From cover, they saw two helgeit depart from the steading – one with a kidnapped woman. They also saw two more helgeit in the livestock pen, leading a herd of animals roped together chaotically.
The party was too late to stop the assault, but approached the steading after hearing a woman’s cries of lament. They found a teenager slain (Bjorr), a father badly bludgeoned (Valbjorn), and a mother in morning (Halla). Ivy demanded Halla tell them what happened, and in the exchange Halla speculated that she believed the raiders came from the tower up the road, and further that the tax collected had been haranguing them for months. Halla swore she had coin buried and available to them, if the adventurers would only rescue her daughter (Olrun).
The party took off for the tower, seeking to rescue the girl. As they approached the tower stealthily, they saw Krakki and his retinue ride off from the tower. The party investigated the situation, seeing two guards in the ramparts and two guards in the animal pen. The magician used Aetheric Appendage to open the gate to the pen, and the animals seized upon the opportunity to flee. The guards followed, trying to herd them up – shouting for help from the ramparts.
The ramparts and guards chased the fleeing animals into the woods, terrified of Krakki’s wrath should they fail to recapture the stock. In the chaos, the party entered the tower and took stock of their surroundings. They heard the voices of three guards down below, and attempted to manipulate them into coming up the ladder to help recapture the animals. Unfortuntely, halflings can’t do a good job emulating the voice of a goblin – and the attempt raised the goblin’s suspicion. The goblins below grabbed Olrun and barricaded themselves in the treasure room.
Gerald and Ivy followed them with weapons drawn, barging in after the goblins and heartily slaying the three guards.
End of Session:
MVP – Gerald the Burglar
Workhorse – Ivy the Bounder
Area Map:
Shoalmont Games 