Into The Woods...

A Hobbity Adventure..

I don't do a lot of Fantasy these days, but used to have lot of fun with Solo RPG campaigns. Anyhoo... After the impulsive 1/72 Halfling "conversions" mentioned the other week I thought they ought to have an outing, so.....

Fetching Marigold (or a Little, Mini Fantasy Game for the Wee Folk).

Tobo Winterbourne of Bree is desperately seeking Marigold (Mari) Tumbledown, a renowned Halfing Lore-mistress and Midwife, to advise on his brother's wife's troubled pregnancy.

The difficulty is that, some six years back, Mari fell foul of the bureaucrats of the Breeland "Department of Little'un Affairs" over a "herbal licensing issue" (themselves seemingly having come under pressure from the town's Midwives' Guild, due to Mari's growing popularity with  child-bearing women of all sizes). As a result, Mari and her sisters left town in a huff, and have not been seen since.

Rumour has it that Mari and siblings have been living in a "converted" ancient burial mound surrounded by an arm of  The Old Forest. 

Here, protected from casual or bureaucratic interference from the outside world,  it is said they carry out their eldritch experiments undisturbed. Nobody really knows - or cares to investigate; due to tales of the horrors of the dark woodlands, the beasts therein and stories of the sisters' unnatural trafficking with all manner of strange creatures, from wraiths to talking trees.....

More prosaically, it is said that the sisters now make a living from commissions and unofficial, material support from Buckland; even from the family of the Master of Buckland himself. However, not only is THAT thought to be too far fetched, but a long festering feud between Tobo's family and Buckland folk prevents his party following up any leads in that direction....

The group must make their way through the countryside, brave the potential perils of the woods and find the sisters. They must then persuade Mari to come back with them to Bree in secret.

Having recruited the human woodsman and scout Greyhood as guide, the plan is to go west along the Great Road until the Old Forest comes into view (hopefully on the third day).

[Technical Notes: To get to/from the woods I ran a basic RPG style expedition test but these journeys were uneventful.

On arrival at the edge of the Forest the party must search for a path. There is a possible path every 6 inches of Forest (or path edge if they reach a dead end). Tests are made on a 1x6D. On a result of 5 or 6 a hidden path/track is found by Greyhood. Anyone else finds a path on a 6. Each 6 inches of edge can only be tested once.

The length of path visible is 3x6Dx inches long. Movement (unencumbered) is 6 inches plus 1x6D along the visible path.

Each move an Encounter test must be made on a Dx12. On a result of 12 consult the Encounter Table. Note that the further into the Forest the party goes the more the encounter result is affected.

On reaching the end of that visible path the Path Dice is thrown. Possible results are "Path Continues Straight", "Path Curves" (test for right or left), "Path Bends (90% bend ditto), "Dead End" and "Special".

A result of "Special" means make an Encounter Test, then test  on the Path Dice again. A further "Special" result means the path diverts towards the target.

On reaching the target Tobo must persuade Mari to come to Bree  - and her sisters to allow her to. This will be settled by Dice Tests. Each such test takes one whole move.

Each move represents 15 minutes. It will be dark in 10 hours from the first move. Resting in the Forest in the dark will increase the chance of encounters by adding 4 to the test throw (in addition to any other modifiers). It is assumed that trap/stationary encounters, if it is decided to rest in the Forest overnight, are due to someone discretely going into the Bush for personal reasons during the hours of darkness. In the event of an effective Encounter result test by dice throw for whoever is affected.]

The Story:

The group arrived at the Forest edge and started searching for paths. At first they were unsuccessful, but a couple of moves in Greyhood found a track leading into the woods.

The party followed this, but it came to a dead end on their second move along it. Not only this, but a Spike Trap was seen [Encounter and Observation Test]. Greyhood had spotted it, but  then triggered it while trying to disarm it. However, he managed to avoid taking any damage.

The group then searched both sides of the path for any side tracks, at last discovering one. They started to move along this (Greyhood leading) only to have another Spike Trap trigger, wounding Greyhood (the perils of leading from the front, I guess). 

The party followed the trail as it curved until....!!

They emerged once more into the open country...  So THAT was all a waste of time.

Going back along the track and searching for other paths led nowhere, so they had to leave the trees and beat along the Forest edge again hoping to locate a way in.

At last another track was found. 

They followed this as it meandered along, and they made good progress for about four moves. Things seemed to be progressing well. 





 Pressing forwards along the track on they reach.. another dead end.



But all is not lost... A little bashing along the foliage at the track sides they find another rough trail (roughly) headed in the right direction... Excellent. They make good progress.. 

Until.... Ooops... Greyhood failed to spot - and fell into - a Pit Trap.

This time he was seriously hurt. The Hobbits pulled him out, but he was too badly injured to move without aid. This was not looking good.



By-passing the pit Tobo followed the path, then, luckily, on the next path test they broke into a clearing just yards from the Pit. Carrying Greyhood to the (relative) safety of the open space they rested.

After some discussion it was decided to split the group. Tobo, Sam, Tam and Bob would press on along the clearing (a low, open ridge) to try to find Mari. Perri and Timmo will wait in the clearing to tend to and guard Greyhood.

Tobos' party moved onwards, keeping to the clearing as long as possible, then, luckily, finding a track in the right direction. Soon they reached a large clearing and... The old barrow. They had reached their target...

Then came the approach to the door of the Hobbit Home, and Tobo's negotiations  with Marigold and her sisters.. 

The Hobbit ladies are not too keen on the idea of marigold venturing back into Bree - and there is a long, and lively, discussion... 

Luckily the persasive powers of the Bree-landers, plus the handing over of ALL of Tobos's gifts, Mari eventually agreed to accompany the party back to Bree.

Another hour was lost as Mari packed, then the party set off. But by the time they reached Greyhood it was getting late. Mari patched the man up, but night was approaching, and Mari refused to sleep outside unnecessarily.

The group therefore returned to Marigold's home for the night, bringing Greyhood. Luckily all this coming and going - and the night itself -  proved uneventful...

The next morning the whole party set off. Following the path on which they had come they had no issues or encounters... 

and, on reaching the edge of the forest set off Bree-wards without incident... 

Summary:

Well, that was a fun little game. Nothing revolutionary, but I wanted to test out my "Lost In A Forest" ideas and the "Path Dice" and that worked well - if the path issue was a tad frustrating at times - as it should be; as anyone else who has got lost in a forest (inc. m'self; several times here in UK - including on one occasion alone in full Tudor kit - and once in Nigeria) will no doubt testify...

It also gave the the opportunity to get out and tidy up ALL my Temperate trees....

Do I hear the tread of legions calling while they're on the table....? Hmmm.....

As always, any comments or queries. 

Quick Hunt..

Blooding the Youth.

A hunting expedition.

Young Boma, youngest son of the chief of the Lesser Isisi, has reached that stage of life where, in order to progress into full manhood, join a Warrior Society and maintain his status as part of the ruling elite, he must kill a lion, hand to claw, using only his "boy's shield" and the traditional "Lion Sword" of his clan.

His uncle, M'bomi and four experienced warriors will accompany him; for the dangers of the Plain are many. However, Boma must carry out the "kill" himself, skin the beast, and return to the city bearing it in his arms.

[Methods: Simple spotting, tracking and combat rules, plus a basic, dice-activated "Event/Encounter" table, tested for each move, similar to the "Naked Prey" game of last year.

Characters/revealed beasts "Activated" by token draw.

Any animals will have distance-factored morale tests for "fight or flight", so just because the guys spot a likely lion doesn't mean it will stand and fight. 

Other animals are available on the Events table; the plains are full of dangers - including rival tribes.

I will "play" uncle M'boni - giving commands to the others by sound and gesture.

All animal behaviours and individual decisions/rections, other than M'bonis, will be ad hoc dice decisions based on IMP/known characteristics.

All the hunters are proven braves and competent hunters; the pride of the Isisi specially chosen for this mission. Their only fault is likely to be over-enthusiasm - though everyone's nerve can give way under the wrong circumstances..

Combat, if it occurs, is simple and dice driven.]

The Hunt:

The group arrives in a likely area and begin spotting. Initially they are unsuccessful, but lucky in that no other, untoward incidents occur. 

However, after a while they spot two young male lions, dozing; perhaps these have a nearby kill and are resting between snacks? Who knows, but our group can't pass up an opportunity.  



Now, because the sudden appearance of six men will certainly freak the lions out, and lead to them running off, some sneaking is called for. However, the more time taken, the more likely there will be some Random Event to potentially put a spanner in the works.

The guys fan out, leaving Boma and M'bomi  together.

The plan is that once the older hunters are spread out, Boma will approach the lions alone with his sword. The spear-bearing, fanned-out hunters will then try to distract one lion, while "shutting in" the other so it can be attacked by Boma. This means moving slowly/sneaking till the right moment. Also, both they and M'bomi will be on "overwatch" in case both lions attack Boma. THIS slows things considerably - again, risking an unforeseen Event.

Boma is to await M'boni's signal before moving in. In theory...

The game's afoot, and the guys spread out; softly softly....

The hunters sneak to positions successfully, but suddenly the lions awake. They are confused and worried.

Boma, all keyed up and keen, does the one thing I don't want; rushing in while both lions are together. The lions react: fight or flight ?



Unfortunately, Boma rushing in like this prompts both animals to go into "fight" mode.


 
They rush him. Things have, as they say, escalated quickly....



I have no choice: the last thing M'boni wants to do is return to Boma's father  with the news that he has allowed the chief's son to be fatally mauled. I and the hunters will now have to salvage something from the mess.

The guys on "overwatch" move in close, trying to spook, distract or kill one of the lions...



Meanwhile Boma will be allowed to try to deal with the other cat so that he can "win his spurs". 

In my moving M'bomi in to help keep Boma safe, one of the lions is distracted; good...

Equally good - and luckily, by deft use of his small shield - Boma keeps himself from harm in that first rush. While doing so he tries to slash at one of the lions, but causes no harm.

Both young lions are now seriously upset by all these guys round them. The one Boma was fighting, now seeing itself outnumbered, panics, running away from Boma... 




...who now rushes the other beast.



This second lion, already distracted by M'bomi and all the other activity, sees Boma too late and is not quick enough. While it manages one swipe at him Boma bashes this aside with his shield, while bringing the large slashing sword down hard onto the beast's back...   

This proves to be a crippling wound.

With it's spine sliced at the back of the neck the lion is disabled. Boma quickly stabs - and the lion is twitching in its final throes... Boma has killed his lion....



But things aren't over.

One of the other hunters, cousin Matabi, has stabbed at the second lion, wounding it. The lion makes off. In all the excitement Matabi goes haring after it, as it runs  towards the nearby ridge.

Back at the slaying site, under M'bomi's watchful eye, Boma quickly starts skinning the fallen lion.

But next move prompts an Event test, and....

Oh.. A Pride of lionesses.. Location: at the top of the ridge.. Right in Matabi's path........ Not good.

Matabi halts, realising that he is in a lot of danger from the lionesses right now; they all having now woken and risen.....

Although one lioness, presumably the matriarch, rushes at Matabi, she contents herself with a couple of paw swipes, and a LOT of noise...

Instead of fighting back Matabi slowly backs away - keeping his nerve, and his eye on the other lionesses; knowing full well that while his facing the pride might panic another one of them into an attack, to run will almost certainly prompt a pursuit by all of them...



Meanwhile his fellow hunters, seeing this, form a line of shields and start banging them and making a noise; hopefully confusing or discouraging the lionesses from making any sudden moves in Matabi's, and their, direction.

This succeeds - and Matabi is able to slowly move back to the line of his fellows. The lionesses do not pursue.

Boma meanwhile has skinned his prize.

The group reassembles and keeping a weather eye on the pride, who seem to have decided to go back to sleep, make their way homeward.

Boma has passed the test and is now a fit to be initiated into one of the Warrior Societies of the Lesser Isisi. There will be celebrations tonight...

Conclusion:

Another quick, easy to set up (using the previous table) game which was exciting and fun. As always, any queries are welcome. 

Scouting for Bedoo...

 A quick scouting game.

Have been bod painting and basing and am in the process of setting up another 6mm excursion. But while the table was up I thought I have a couple of quickie games. 

The Quickie the First; The Backstory..

We want to raid the Watering Station at Wadi Musa (that'll be quickie the Second) but we have no updates as to the strength of the current garrison.

We don't want to run into something we can't handle, so need to have some recent gen.

To this end I have dismounted a bunch of lads, and in the pre-dawn gloom, we have sneaked up to within sight of the station.

I will send guys out to take a peek, just as the night is dying, to see what hostiles might be present. 

How It This Gonna Work....?

No enemy are placed on the table. They could be anywhere. They could be nowhere...

I need to get a guy in full sight and within 18" (in full daylight, 6" in darkness, 12" in "twilight") of two areas of the table without being spotted, plus make my way off table with the data gathered, before it gets too light.

The two areas are 1) the dead ground between the railway tracks and the little ridge (left in the pic above) where the rocky ground begins. 2) The area between the buildings. 

If we are seen this may alert the garrison and could mean it is even stronger when we attack.

I use my usual shtick for "sneaking" games:

Standard movement distances plus a random 1x6D element.

The chance for random "Events" (see Tables below): I throw a 1x12D per move per group of my guys. On the throw of an "11 or 12" I draw a card from the (standard playing card) deck and apply the result.

A moving group adds 2 to the dice check.

A "sneaking" group takes 2 from the dice check.

I add 1 to the dice check per four men in the group 

A hiding/stationary group which is not within potential sight of a hostile body takes 4 from the dice check.

Modifers (plus to the dice) as the day gets lighter. 

The Game: 

I decide to keep most of my guys hidden (in fact I wonder why I brought so many in the first place) and dispatch Abdul and Mahmood to go sneak. 

Using the rocks as cover wherever possible they creep toward the watering station. Things go reasonably well till the Event Dice start playing up....  

First my lads disturb a flock of birds. No problem as there is nobody near enough to hear or see... Yet.

They do some more sneaking - then another Event; Abdul trips on a stone -but no injuries, and he doesn't cry out.. Phew...

But all this creeping about has taken time. It is starting to get light....

Then, bad luck, another Event - and a three man Turkish patrol appears. Some way away, and though they aren't on the Q.V., my guys go to ground... 

After a while it seems fairly clear the patrol aren't paying much attention to anything.

My scouts take a risk and creep to the edge of a nearby rise, and note that there are four tents this side of the railway (diced for and placed on the table).



At perhaps up to 6 men a tent that's not good for the upcoming raid - especially as there could be more tents by the buildings and guys in the buildings themselves.  

Discretion being the better part of valour, it is decided that the scouts should bring this information back to the main party, before pressing on (if they were lost the info. gets lost). They creep back to the main group. 

Suddenly another event.  A shot..!! 

But (dice test) it looks like a lone trooper out potting coneys (?) or something. Perhaps for the officers' pot. My boys go to ground.



The patrol (dice controlled) ambles about, chats to the hunter briefly, then heads for the railway.



It is starting to get light now, and I am worried about the hunter. He is creeping around too close to my hiding place. He has to go.



Two of my lads sneak up on him and knife him. As they drag away the body to hide it they disturb first some birds - and then a couple of lazy goats..! But the patrol is too far away to register. 



I dispatch Abdul and Mahmood, my best creepers, again. Keeping an eye on the patrol they move off again. As they reach the ridge of rocks the patrol moves off along the railway line.. Maybe they have a circuit of patrol..?



All seems to be going well. The plan is to let the patrol get further up the track, then sneak along the rocky ridge to get sight of the area between the buildings the other side of the tracks. 

But horrors !! Another event: they come across a couple of local kids (herd boys, not goatlets) taking the early morning air (or using the facilities) among the rocks. 



The sight of two weird, creeping strangers freaks the kids out out - and they run off to speak to the patrol. 



We can't afford a fire fight. My lads pull back quickly to return to the main group.  Luckily they are unseen by the patrol.

However with the patrol now paying attention to their surroundings and moving in our direction - and the sun well up, I decide to cut my losses and pull off the table. Not ideal, but probably the best we can do at the moment.  
 

Summary:

A fun, tense little exercise. Again, these basic, really systems of hidden/unknown enemy and Event Tables, plus dice-driven decisions (by the enemy and my own guys out of my immediate Command and Control work well for me.

Next up; the attack on the Watering Station.