It’s been a while since l have played Tales of Argosa, (or any RPGs for  that matter), nor have I posted on my blog. Ill health struck again. In fact my ongoing health issues have become another reason why l solo and feel unable to commit to a group game, not many players will be happy to wait six weeks for the GM to get sufficiently well to resume the adventure.

After an unplanned six week break from my Tales of Argosa campaign l found it hard to pick it up from where I left off. I think it is best if l just dive back in head first and if the continuity goes astray, well, apologies, it’s the way it sometimes goes and it’s my campaign, l will be able to live with it. Lets crack on with the game then.

Character Review. 

I printed off some TofA character sheets and to reacquaint myself with my four characters l transferred their stats from the old handwritten A4 lined sheets to new printed ones.

I attached the original handwritten sheets to the new ones using paper clips, the old sheets will be useful for scribbling down notes.

The companions had eaten well and had a good nights rest at the old wooden cabin allowing them to recover 2 lost hp. Any XP gained will be awarded when they next have some downtime.

Derowen has a trinket box containing a leaf of golden wart inside. She is at her maximum 16 hp and has 13xp.

Morwen is carrying the mirror of dragons, and has a strange crystal flower. she has 15xp. After recovering 2 hp she now has 11hp (max 16hp).

Peran recovered 2 hp and is now at 14hp (max 19hp } and  has 15xp.

Hedrag has 15xp. He has 12hp (max 16hp) after recovering 2hp following a nights rest.

Each character has a riding horse, Darwen has an owl companion called Heckle and Hedrag has been adopted by a large shaggy white dog who has been given the name Scraps because he eats mostly scraps and can’t help getting himself involved in fights.

NPC’s.

The party are  travelling with a Merchant and his companion.

Theobald the Merchant.
Crusina the Elf Maiden.

Theobald has two covered wagons, one of which serves very much as their home. The pair buy goods in Northgate and travel to the many outposts around Northgate to sell them.
Crusina has visions of the Dragon Queen and of the lost dragon city of Dyathama.

Monsters.

Bears. No. appearing 1-2, AC 11, HD 4+4 (21hp), Attack Claws(2) 1d8+1 and Bite 2d6
Nat 19 Bear Hug : Luck (Con) save or broken ribs. S 19, D 8, C 15, I 3,  P 12, W 15, Ch 7, L 7. Move Fast.

Threat Packs.

I have taken the idea of using threat packs from Beyond the Wall and other adventures RPG. I am using two threats:

1. Darowen and Morwen’s father is leading an army north. Current threat level 0, (inactive).
   They are  camped for the winter some 60 miles(3 hexes) south of Fort Brax and some 200 miles (10 hexes) south of Northgate.
2. The Dragon Queen. Current threat level 2, (low activity).
   Dragons sometimes appear in Darowen and Morwen’s dreams. They are in possession of the Mirror of Dragons which only Morwen can use and even then only in a very limited way.

The next imminence check is on Sunday 15th of February (Game time).
To help me keep track of game time I have printed off a Lunar “convenient” Year calendar. This is from Beyond the Wall, Further Afield supplement.

Tuesday 10th February, The journey to Harwoods Reach.

Weather – Fair, overcast with a strong breeze. Cold but still warm for February, A slight thaw has set in.

The party mount their horses while Theobald and Crusina sort out their wagons. The snow underfoot is becoming softer and Scraps the dog is very reluctant to walk through it so Theobald allows him to ride alongside him in the lead wagon, (Crusina is in charge of the second wagon). Hedrag and Darowen (with her owl sat on her horses head) ride alongside Theobald while Morwen rides alongside Crusina. Peran stays at the rear of the party, keeping constantly alert to any danger from behind

The party entered a narrow valley that runs between the mountains north-west of the old wooden cabin. The strong breeze blows snow across the wagon path making visibility poor and obscuring the path,, only Theobalds experience and Darowen & Hedrags assistance keep the party on the wagon path.

Question. Do the party have an encounter while travelling through the valley? 50/50. d100 =98, Yes and…

What does the party encounter? 1-2 A trapper, 3-4 3d6 Skorn, 5-6 Black Bear, 7-8 2d6 Redcap Goblins. Die roll =5

Out of the snow comes a Black Bear and it is hungry and on the opposite side of the wagon path a second one appears.

Question. Do the bears surprise the party? Likely, +20%, d100 = 74+20 = 94, Yes, and…

Who do they attack? 1= Hedrag, 2 = Pedran, 3 = Darowen, 4 = Morwen. Die roll = 4.and 1

The first bear surprises Morwen and gets a free hit at her. Trying to grapple her with it’s claws, the bear only manages to rip Morwen’s clothing, moving closer to bite her, it only gets it’s teeth into her hat.
Alerted by the attack on Morwen, Hedrag is wise to the second bear (successful Luck(Perc) roll). I let him roll for initiative and needing 9 or less on d20 he rolls 6, in this combat round the PC’s attack first.

As the bear rushes towards him, Hedrag draws his longsword. The bear closes to within melee range, Hedrag strikes with his sword.
D20 roll = 7+5 bonus = 12. Bears AC is 11 so Hedrag hits causing 1d8+3 (9) damage. The bear is down to 12 hp.
Hurt but still capable of fighting, the bear strikes back at Hedrag and manages to inflict a cut with one of its claws causing 4hp, Hedrag is now down to 8hp

Morwen manages to draw her dagger and tries to stab the bear.
D20 roll =13-1 (12), A hit for 1d4+1 (2) damage.
The bear is down to 19 hp.

Derowen and Peran seeing Morwen is in great danger draw their short swords and move to help Morwen. Derowen is able to land a blow on the bear causing 1d6+2 (6) damage. The bear is down to 13hp. Peran is unable to strike at the bear on this occasion.
The bear, although surrounded, still manages to hurt Morwen with its claws, causing 9 hp, Morwen is down to 2hp.

I get Morwen to make an initiative check at the start of the next combat round. She needs 14 or less on d 20 and rolls 12.

Morwen, realising she is badly injured, attempts to move away from the attacking bear. She manages to manoeuvrer her horse backwards but in withdrawing from the melee she gives the bear a free attack on her. Luckily for Morwen the bear rolls only a 3. Distracted by the attacking Derowen and Peran, the bear fails to hurt Morwen.
Derowen and Peran both attack the bear with their short swords, Derowen rolls 12 on d20, a hit for 4hp, Peran rolls a 7, a miss. Distracted by helping Morwen escape the clutches of the bear he strikes only thin air. The bear is now down to 9hp.

Hedrag again attacks the bear attacking him, he rolls a Nat 19 inflicting 11 damage and slices the poor bears nose. Scraps the dog, seeing Hedrag in danger, attempts to leap from the wagon over Herdag and land on the bear, failing a Dex throw, Scraps misses completely and lands in the snow which softens his fall but the dog still incurs 1hp taking him down to 6. The bear now down to just 1 hp decides to withdraw from the melee, it is weak and hungry but knows it is better to retreat and live than die.
Hedrag has a free hit on the bear but decided to let it go.

The second bear, outnumbered, weak and hungry, also withdraws from the fight.

The party take a short rest after the encounter with the two bears. Hedrag and Morwen have their wounds tended to and both have recovered to 12hp though both have used 1 reroll to do so.

With the party now rested, wounds attended to and having partaken in some food, they continue their journey, this time with weapons at the ready just in case.  

The body in the snow.

After following the wagon track without any further incident the party come to a part of the path which Theobald tells the party is called Harwoods Rise. Here a steep hill and escarpment cut across the valley.The wagon path becomes steep at this point. Theobald halts his wagons, dismounts and walks along the path, the covering of snow makes him doubt that he will be able to go any further with his wagons.

Question. Is the rise impassable to the wagons? Likely. +20%. D100 = 92 + 20 = 112. Yes, and...

The frigid wind has caused a snow drift here. Theobald refuses to risk his horses and wagons trying to reach the top of Harwoods rise and tells the party it is very risky for them to continue to . With difficulty he turns his wagons around.

“The weather is warming and in a few days the rise will be passable. We should all go back to the wood cabin and wait until the snow melts. We could all do with the rest”, Theobald tells the party.

As reluctant as they are to let Theobald and Crusina return alone, the companions decide that it is to risky for them to turn back. If the Stargazer sends out his Anointed Disciples and Warriors after them to get the Mirror of Dragons then better to keep moving away from Northgate than go back towards it and a possible threat. Theobald tries to dissuade them, “the snow will have completely obscured the path, you will never make it to Harwood without my help, best to come back to the cabin”. The companions decide not to take his advice.

The friends watch the merchant and his companion move back down the wagon path then they dismount from their mounts and lead them very slowly up the rise. Once they reach the top of Harwoods Rise they are greeted by a landscape of windswept mountains and thick forests. The wind whistles down treeless mountains and stirs up eddies of loose snow and ice. The companions continue on foot leading their horses, following the path as best they can. After a short while they spot what looks like a branch poking out of the snow, closer inspection reveals it to be a sword jutting out of the snow, beside which is an outstretched hand and forearm.

The companions decide they should get whoever is attached to the arm out of the snow and take the body to Harwoods Reach. The body is that of a heavily built man in his mid twenties, Clad in hides and cold weather garments over chainmail the man has the appearance of a woodland traveller.

Peran searches the body more thoroughly and finds a wineskin containing whiskey, a fine dagger (+2), a small leather purse around the neck of the man, containing 12cp, 18sp, 6gp and 2 gems (worth 20sp each). The nearby sword is a finely crafted longsword (+2).
Hedrag picks up the body and throws it over his horse. The four companions, horses, dog, owl and now corpse continue on their way, finally Harwoods Reach comes into view.

To be continued.