Stories with Dice
Stories with Dice is an actual-play podcast where a fellowship of everyday gamers explores fantastical worlds, distant futures, and parallel realities through tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) from Free League Publishing, Chaosium, Modiphius Entertainment, and more.
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Stories with Dice
The Sword Campaign S1 E9: A Pendragon Actual Play Podcast
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Sir Ian and Sir Hystalwyn emerged from the magical ley line near Arthur’s camp, but Sir Caradoc never arrived, his fate unknown. Reunited with Count Robert, they marched with The Boy King to County Lambor. When King Leodegrance failed to arrive, Arthur could wait no longer. Outnumbered, his army faced the Battle of Bedegraine alone.
Pendragon Theme by AleXZavesa via Pixabay
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Welcome to Stories with Dice. This is the Sword Campaign, a Pen Dragon actual play podcast using the sixth edition starter set from
Welcome to the Sword Campaign
SPEAKER_00Chaosium. If you're enjoying our actual plays, please subscribe to Stories with Dice so you never miss an episode. Don't forget to rate and review us, it really helps others discover the podcast. Follow us on social media to stay updated, share your thoughts, and join the conversation. You'll find the relevant links in the description of each episode. Last time, on the Sword Campaign, having secured King Leo de Granz's crucial support and been entrusted with Bledwind's whistle, the Knights of Salisbury uncovered grim news. Count Sanum of Betegrade had sworn fealty to King Lot. Worse still, Lot's men had committed atrocities, crucifying a Christian priest and forcing his flock to renounce their faith under threat of death. With Lot marching a larger force than the year before, the knights rode hard for Carleon, desperate to warn the boy king. But their journey was long, and time was short. Suddenly a mysterious woman appeared on the side of the road, promising them a way to reach the king before it was too late. Using old magic, she opened an ancient ley line, and the knights stepped through, leaving the known world behind. And we're back with episode nine of the sword campaign, and I'm joined as ever by my good friend Ed playing Sir Ian. Pay him to say good friend, but hello. He pays me well. And Pete playing Sir Histelwin. Hi. He doesn't pay me to call him a friend, so he doesn't get that moniker. And and we are shy, our other player, Tony, who plays Sir Karadok. Work has unexpectedly called him away. How dare he choose work over us? I I know. I mean, where is the priority? That's what I want to know. Yeah, I'm I'm disinviting him from the Mediterranean yacht party we're having at the conclusion of our We can kind of put him on the little sort of like little dinghy at the end of the boat.
SPEAKER_01That's the children's table. Tony's gonna listen to this back and go, I hate those guys. Fuck you.
SPEAKER_00Right, onto the serious, serious matter of pen dragon. We open on Sir Karadoc, reaching down from his horse to take the strange woman's hand as he rides beneath an archway of ancient, gnarled trees. The air glitters around him like sunlight reflected on water, bending and shimmering with each step of his mount, and then he is gone. Sir Ian follows closely. The trees dissolve into a kaleidoscope of light and shadow. His surroundings blur into abstraction. Glowing tendrils of color and faint spectral shapes flicker at the edges of his vision. He feels weightless, yet tethered to a hum in the air that rattles the cage of his chest. It is neither warm nor cold, neither day nor night. Back at the eaves of the forest beside the old Roman road, Sir Histalwind leads his horse through the same archway. The shift is immediate. The pain of his injuries fades, his bandages gone as if removed by unseen hands. Warmth envelops him, the sweet scent of honey fills his senses. A pale light pulses in time with a hum in his ears, and he knows it is the hum of the world itself, the pulse of all life, his own heartbeat included. He pauses, glances at his hands, the blood is gone, cuts healed, his armor polished. There is no fear or confusion on his face, only the serenity of a profound peace, the clarity of being whole with the world after a long time apart. Though he is without his companions, he does not feel alone as he moves through the roots of the world. Then the screen fades to white, the hum lingers. Out of the whiteness faint shapes emerge, a flicker of firelight, the blurred outlines of tents. The sound of the hum recedes, replaced by the distant murmur of voices. The screen dissolves into a cold, foggy campsite. Sir Ian and Sir Histalwin blink against the sudden glare of a roaring campfire. The air shifts abruptly, cold and sharp, with the scent of wood smoke and damp earth. They're on a mound, surrounded by four standing stones, their tips marked with deep crimson. Dozens upon dozens of tents dot the field around the mound, the banners of Arthur's army fluttering in an evening breeze. There is no sign of the woman
Entering the Mysterious Ley Line
SPEAKER_00who brought them here, nor of Sir Caradoc. So there are knights sitting around this campfire within within the circle of the standing stones, and one of them gasps as soon as he sees you and he says, By the saints, he said you would come. And then another knight steps forward. I am Sir Kay, brother to the king. We were commanded to stand vigil here and keep the fire burning until your arrival. But I thought there were three of you. And and and and where are your squires? Where are squires? I I look at Sir Hesterwind.
SPEAKER_02This is this is your religion. I can't quite explain what's going on, but yeah, I'm glad we're here.
SPEAKER_00Do we have our horses? You do have your horses, yes. Okay, cool. And as you're as you're looking around, trying to understand what's just happened and worried about your squires and and Sir Karadoc, there's a flash behind you. And then Sir Kay says, Ah, ah, here they are now. By some strange magic. And then you turn and you see Felix and Neb step step out of the fog. Relief floods their faces at the sight of you, and then uh Sir Kay says, The king is expecting you, and then he lifts a torch on high. Come, follow me this way. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Well, I guess we'll follow, making sure the squires are fine. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see Felix.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's understandable. Yeah, so your squires take the reins of all your horses and lead them away to where all the other horses are being tended to as you follow Sir Kay toward the king's tent. And you make your way through this maze of tents, and you see a lot of foot soldiers and knights and you know archers. Uh, some of them are eating, some of them are drinking, some of them are talking nervously amongst themselves. A lot of them look like they've never been in war before. Like they look really just being drafted. Yes, they look very, very young. And just by the look of the campsite, as you were on that mound, sort of overlooking everything, you guess there must be 10,000 men. Uh and so you get to the king's tent, and there are two soldiers guarding the entrance, they step aside, one of them lifts the flap for you, and inside you see Arthur. He stands over a map of the region on a table. He's clad in simple tunic, his sword belt is on the table beside him, and Merlin is there, his robes are dirty, and there's this faint scent of herbs clinging to him, and he's leaning closer over the map, and he's speaking softly to this other knight, this old knight that's standing with them. And that man, his hair is as white as snow, and his face is lined and scarred with age and battle, and he wears a battered surcoat that's emblazoned with a black wolf. And then Arthur looks up at you as you enter and dismisses the old knight. Give us a minute, Sur Brastius. And Sur Brastius nods and he exits without a word, and then Arthur says to you Merlin insisted we make camp here. Isn't that right, Merlin? I remember saying something of the sort, my lord, Merlin says. So you must tell me everything, Arthur says. I I I hope you got through to at least two of them. What did they say?
SPEAKER_02Sire some good news, some bad news. Our first visit seemed unfruitful, unhelpful, not committing for or against. Leona Grant's is for us. If he is not here already, we should count on his arrival soon. As for our last visit, I'm afraid to report they have turned to the other side, and we must expect to face them in the battlefield. Count Sanum is against us.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Count Sanom, he uh he he put the priest
News from King Arthur
SPEAKER_01to death. Surely not.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he was like he was crucified. This is horrible news. And where is your companion, Sir Caradoc?
SPEAKER_01Do you not know? Look at Merlin. Yeah, I I look at Merlin as well. Your your lady friend took him somewhere? Lady friend? Who who is this person that you speak of?
SPEAKER_00Dark hair some kind of witch. Oh you must mean my student. Yes, that's it. Your student. She brought you here. Mm-hmm. Oh yes, yes, I remember now saying something of the sort. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. But what does that have to do with Sakeradok?
SPEAKER_01She she opened door door in the woods? Sakeradoc went ahead of us. Then we came here. It was very strange, but I don't know where he is.
SPEAKER_00So he he leans on his staff for a moment and he closes his eyes, and then he opens his eyes really wide. And he says Siradoc walks in the shadow of the dragon. His fate lies beyond our reach. He will return or he will not. Trust in the wisdom of the great dragon, for in its coiled embrace, all paths remain possible.
SPEAKER_01Durand looks very confused. And I look at Sir Historin, hoping that, you know, he knows exactly what murder's on about.
SPEAKER_00Either one of you can make a folklore role if you want. Yeah, you you don't know what he's on about.
SPEAKER_01Excellent. Well, you know. Um Sir Historin looks like he knows what's going on. He nods sagely, I'm guessing, or something like that. So I'm like trying to be reassuring. Yeah, that's fine then. I'm I'm reassured by his lack of knowledge, but happier reassurances.
SPEAKER_00There's comfort in ignorance, is that it? Absolutely, that's exactly what it is. And then the boy king turns to Merlin and he says What is this great dragon that you speak of? Is their friend in danger? The dragon is everywhere. Merlin gestures toward the swirling fog that clings to the encampment. Behold, the dragon's breath. It moves all around us. There he points to the sky, where a cloud unfurls in the shape of wings. Its claws strike as forks of lightning. Its voice roars in the hurricane. The standing stones are the very dragon's scales. It is so much more than you can conceive, my lord. Yes. Oh that's quite good. The dragon, it is everything. Why if you were to see it all in all its power, it would burn you to cinders. Seren is looking very worried that he's about to get burned by some big dragon. And then King Arthur says Always you speak in riddles, Merlin. I am sorry, my friends, I do not have a better explanation for it. And then he turns back to the table and his map. Get some rest, but we march again at first light for Lembor, and we pray that King Lear de Grantz's men will aw are are waiting for us there. So as you step outside, Sir Kay is there waiting for you. With a curt nod he gestures for you to follow. Together you walk through the foggy, bustling encampment. The air buzzes with the sounds of men sharpening blades, squires tending to horses and banners snapping in the breeze. Sir Kay takes you to the section where the Salisbury knights have pitched their tents. And as you approach a figure catches your eye, Sir Blaine's He's standing near a cluster of Silchester tents and with a cold smile he sneers. I hear Sir Caradoc never returned. It seems fate has done what your count lacked the courage to finish. Just looks at him and goes Fuck off. Your friend would be wise not to show his face in these parts again. I think you need to keep your an eye out while you sleep, perhaps. Is that a threat, Sir Ian? A a promise? Sir Histelwin? Do you do you agree with this loudmouthed companion of yours?
SPEAKER_02I'm afraid, Sir Blaine's. Our blood is up before a battle. I'm glad such a fine knight as you will be fighting alongside us.
SPEAKER_00See, your friend here knows his place. He knows his betters. You should learn from him. I have yet to meet my betters with yourself. If you are still alive when this battle is over, you and I will cross swords. I'm more than happy to kick your ass all over the battlefield, that's fine. You were Sir Caradox second, were you not? I was. I guess that makes me his first now. And then you see the Duke of Silchester. He walks out of his tent. Save it for the enemy, knock it off the two of you. And Sir Blaine says, Yes, my lord, yes, my
A Tense Reunion
SPEAKER_00lord. And he walks off. I'll do the same thing. Sorry, my lord, uh just you know, a little angry. So Sir Histolwyn, all of your injuries from the previous session are miraculously healed after you went through the ley line.
SPEAKER_01So is there anything you guys want to do this night before we move on to the I guess probably go and see Count Robert, let him know that we're a safe. But uh Saradoc has lost in the dragon, whatever that means. I try and recreate what Merlin says while I get it completely mixed up. I'm it it's above my kind of like understanding of all the kind of like weird religious stuff. It's not straightforward like I know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and you've also heard as a Christian, you've heard, you know, priests and other people of the f of the Christian faith, you know, they are they're distrustful of Merlin and they generally speak of him as being the spawn of the devil.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he's probably not quite that for me. I I kind of have a healthy respect for Sir Histowin and therefore for his religion, because that it hasn't done anything wrong. And so I'm kind of until Merlin gives me another kind of reason to sort of like suspect that he's Satan's spawn, I'll kind of like treat him with a healthy bit of respect and and but but you know, uh if if he was to do something uh demonic, I'd happily run him through it or at least attempt it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so Count Robert is glad to see you. You catch him up on your mission for King Arthur. His expression darkens as you share your news. This is terrible, he says. We expected that King Leo de Grants would join us, but we had hoped for at least one other. He lowers his voice, glancing around cautiously. There is talk among the men that this battle is all but lost. King Lot outnumbers us. Well we have right on our side. I believe that Sir Caradoc had right on his side and he lost in his in his trial by combat with Sir Blaine. That is true. I don't trust that man.
SPEAKER_01No, no, I do not trust him either. But perhaps you'll get what's coming to him on the battlefield. He slaps your shoulder and he says, Yes. But watch yourselves. Always.
SPEAKER_02Sir Histowin? Drink before bed? Yes, but I'll find some wine. Sir Robert, we have many new men in our entourage who've not seen battle. Uh may I suggest Sir Ian and I spend some time before we retire, regaling with tales of honour in battle and try and raise their spirits.
SPEAKER_00Fine idea, fine idea, Sir
Tales of Valor
SPEAKER_00Histelwin. But I I will retire as the road has been weary. I guess we'll kind of mingle amongst the men.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I will tell them tales of how valorous and what a great warrior Sarian is. How I've watched him in battle down many a foe. Stop it.
SPEAKER_01Give me a Orat scroll, please. I'll probably try my luck at Oray as well.
SPEAKER_00No. I mean, yeah, so so you're you're regaling them with these stories and and you get the sense that what you're actually doing is terrifying the shot. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, a few too many glasses of wine and it's yeah, getting a bit a bit too much gory detail.
SPEAKER_01Well kind of come away going Maybe that wasn't quite the best idea, Sir Hiselin.
SPEAKER_02I'm not sure. I did I thought you came out quite well with that. Maybe it's just the cold was making them shiver.
SPEAKER_01Perhaps I will be happy to get to bed with a few drinks in me, and putting the crazy witchcraftery day behind me and looking forward to a good old-fashioned fight.
Marching into Battle
SPEAKER_00Yes, so you sleep tonight and Arthur's army breaks camp at the first light of dawn. Now there's still that fog around the camp, it's thick and swirling and it clings to the ground. But as the army as the army begins to move north, the fog moves with them, and it winds around the soldiers and your horses, and and for days as you're marching northward, the mist remains, enveloping you in this sort of damp, ghostly shroud that only seems to grow heavier with each mile. And the journey is long, and the fog never wavers, and after a week of steady marching, the mist begins to thin as you camp at Lambor and await the arrival of King Leo de Grant's and his forces. Did you guys want to have a chance to do the orate again with the soldiers?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that'd be quite cool.
SPEAKER_00I mean, just trying to while we're kind of waiting to kind of go into battle, that we can sort of retcon a little bit and say that along the way. I meant to do that and it slipped my mind.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, while I'm sober, I'll I'll omit more of the gory details and and more of the um success, or at least attempt to anyway success.
SPEAKER_01I will not mess that up. I will let you carry on doing that. As soon as I see you're on a roll, I don't try and help you. I just kind of like the best thing I do is stand there looking kind of composed and stuff in front of everyone, and that's about as much as I help.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So, you know, as I said, it took a week for you guys to get here. So each evening you camped, and Sir Histowyn, you know, sitting around a fire is regaling all the young and experienced foot soldiers about your adventures and what a great warrior you are, Sir Ian, and uh the Battle of Carleon. And Pete, you can go ahead and you know, if you want to give us a little a little flavor of what you say, by all means.
SPEAKER_02And not only is he well practiced with a sword and can down two enemies with one swamp, he has a great battlefield tactical mind. And personally saved my hide on more than one occasion. He has great concern for those under his command and never recklessly charges into battle. Even if you can't see what he can see on the battlefield, trust his decisions, for that way lies victory.
SPEAKER_00And they're just wide-eyed and rapt. You're getting them all ginned up, and the fear and their nervous twitching and they're is sort of slipping away, and they're all looking to Sir Ian with awe, like they're in the presence of someone as great as king or or or a legend. How does Sir Ian feel about that?
SPEAKER_01Definitely placed by Valaris. But it's gonna be pride, proud. Pride, yeah. That's my pride. I'm equal or proud. Yeah, I think it it serves a purpose. So I'm happy with that because it serves a purpose. It's not necessarily I'm a little bit kind of like, yeah, okay, great, but in this instance, absolutely. It gives them a reason to kind of march forward. Okay.
SPEAKER_00So you believe you've helped some of these seventeen, eighteen-year-old foot soldiers to find their courage. And you hope that that sees them through the coming
The Shadow of War
SPEAKER_00battle. You've been at the encampment at Lamborn now for about a day, when scouts soon bring word that King Lot's army is moving faster than anticipated. Arthur is unwilling to delay further and resolves to meet him, with or without King Leo de Graz. Close to Bedigrane Castle, the scouts clash, the fog lifts. And then Merlin falls into a deep sleep, one that no one can wake him from. The two armies camp where soldiers sleep fitfully, but dawn comes, and with it battle. So the two armies line up, their tents poised, each waiting for the other to make the first move. And the sun climbs higher in the sky, and then King Lot signals his Pictish infantry to move forward, and they advance slowly, closing the distance to charging range, but then they halt. And then you hear King Arthur give the order, and with a battle cry, his men charge. And so you again, Sir Ian, are the Conroy commander?
SPEAKER_01I think the passion I probably want to look at music is probably station. I mean I've got homage Count Robert, which is higher, but I don't think that applies in this particular battle. Because we're really fighting for the king rather than for Count Robert. Station is all about the obligation to your king, sort of almost chivalry a little bit. Even them such lesser persons are not treated as equals. So it's all about being in the place that I need to be. So it's the station that we have. So my station is to lead the troops, and they are to follow. I guess I kind of make sense with Sir Histowin's like rousing speech. Yeah, I like your reasoning.
SPEAKER_02Okay, cool. Go with it. And what about you, Pete? I'll definitely go with honor because I'm trying to uh gain a bit of that back after being unseated in the last battle. Okay. So mine's fifteen, Pete's. What's yours? Fourteen.
SPEAKER_00So you will not get the bonus five since you're using two different passions, but that's okay. Okay. And I add them together, don't I? Yeah, you want to find the average value?
SPEAKER_01So it's going to be fourteen point five. So fifteen? Yeah. Fifteen. Cool. Okay.
SPEAKER_00So fifteen years for our morale. So this is going to be a two-day battle, by the way. So you'll get a chance to redo your morale in the tomorrow, in the next day of the battle. And also using passions for inspiration and so forth. Okay, so you hear the command charge, all these men are shouting, and your horses are galloping forward. Okay. One batch roll coming up.
SPEAKER_01Any bonuses? No, nothing? Nothing. Nope. Okay. So I rolled a 18, which is pants, because my battle is 10. So I failed.
SPEAKER_00So you are charging through these this wall of pics, Pictish Knifemen. Select your posture. It is going to be Valoris, I think, is. Okay. You're fighting this battle turn for two combat rounds.
SPEAKER_01So good old charge roll for me. Bonus to the roll, because I'm charging with a lance. I've got a long weapon. Yep. Plus five.
SPEAKER_00You have the you have the height bonus, yeah. And the height.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so five to that. Roll. Fuck me. I've got a twenty. That is a fumble because I needed I needed uh I needed seventeen hits.
SPEAKER_00You're just smashing through these picks, and as you ride through them, they slash their daggers at your horse. And so your horse from one of them takes twelve damage. Out. And then the second picked who succeeded in his attack inflicts ten more damage on your horse, so twenty-two altogether. How's your horse doing?
SPEAKER_01So I he's on thirty-three hit points of fifty-five. I don't know whether either of those would have gone over its wounds, whether it was a major wound or not. Probably not, I would imagine.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I don't I don't think so, but if you want to look up the horse chapter while we go through Histalwin, that's that's fine, just to make sure. So Histolin. You are charging through these lines of picks. So you have a plus five because you're on a horse and they're not. And you're doing a mounted charge. Yep. I fail. Okay. So and roll two more times for the other two. Ooh, that's a success. Okay. Let me roll for the second one. And I had a success. He swipes at your horse for 15 damage as you pass through. So give me your damage. 16 on the first one. That's a major wound. Do I do the other successful? Yes. 14. So that is also major wound. And let's s roll his dexterity here to see if he is knocked down. He is knocked down. So you've as you ride past your horse, he knocks him over as you hit him with your lance. So I've just had a look at what happens when horses take damage.
SPEAKER_01What happens? Tell us. Okay. So first of all, horses have a natural armor of five. Then the next thing is if your horse takes more than five damage, you have to make a horsemanship roll to basically keep controlling your mount. And the modifier is the damage that was taken. Right, right. So so I have to make a skill roll for horsemanship. And it is going to be at modifier of the damage I've taken this round, which is twelve. So I have a minus twelve to this. I need to get two or less. I got a three, so I failed. So I've lost control of the horse. I can't therefore attempt any actions for the next combat round. If I was to make a fumble, I then get thrown from my horse and have to make an emergency disbound. Thank you, Ed.
SPEAKER_00So you're you're so you're gonna spend the next combat round trying to get your animal under control. And I have to keep making horsemanship rolls until I can do it. Right, I remember that. So okay, so uh Sir Histowin, give us your horsemanship role. Right. And it's minus the damage that your horse took.
SPEAKER_01Right. And your horse automatically has five armor, so take away five from wherever it was taken.
SPEAKER_00So you you deduct the damage from the skill value before you make the roll. Oh nearly. Oh.
SPEAKER_01So I guess we've got to learn how to throw ourselves from a horse. Um page 150 in the main book. So Histelin, okay. Emergency dismount uh requires an unopposed horsemanship roll when a rider is about to fall will be thrown through a horse. So you need to make uh a roll, kind sir. Does this get the same negative? No, it is just a thing that's a flat roll.
SPEAKER_00Was that failed? Just failed, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00So the rider does not dismount properly and takes 1d6 damage from the fall, dropping all held weapons.
SPEAKER_02Alright, 1d6. Oh, just take one damage. As soon as I jar onto the floor, and I'll drop my lance.
SPEAKER_01Marker, would I be able to notice that that's the case? Because I'd I'd just dismount then in that case, or try and emergency dismount myself. I will allow it, yes. That's where you fumble and break your neck. Let me uh give that a go. Because then I'll just I needed a 14, I've got a six. So I succeeded.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so yeah, so you're trying to get your animal under control, it's been badly wounded, you notice that Sir Histoline has taken a fall, and you'd immediately give up trying to control your amount, and you jump off the horse and land on your feet. I'll probably drop my my lance as I land, and I'll draw my sword as soon as I get down. Alright, so let's pick our combat actions for this turn.
SPEAKER_01I'm just gonna uh fight as I normally would it So a normal attack? Normal attack is fine. I'm gonna do. Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna invoke my passion of of my station. You know, this is this is what I'm supposed to do. You know, I need a fifteen, I get a four.
SPEAKER_00Excellent. Okay, so add plus five to your to the modifier. So I'm only at minus five, then in that. So you're only at negative five, yep.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So I guess for the first guy that's coming to attack me. He's gonna roll his attack. Let me roll mine. He succeeds. Wow. So where's my sword? Uh minus five. Oh, I've got a one. Okay. That is a success. And I need I needed a nine, so.
SPEAKER_00So the picked he slashes you with his with his dagger into your side, giving you twelve, twelve damage. Yeah, it's just planks right against your armor. Yep. Give damage.
SPEAKER_01Uh then I I attach him with my sword for twenty damage.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so your your sword, you just cut right through him, right across his chest, and and he just falls to the ground. These next two guys here, he succeeds.
SPEAKER_01Still at minus five. I need a uh no, I need a nine, I've got thirteen, I failed. I shield up and my my sword out. Thirteen damage again. Do I get to use my shield in this?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you have a no, you failed totally, so it's just your armor.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so I just take three damage in that case. Ooh, I've been hurt. First time for everything. Three damage. Last person. Failed. Eat a nine, I got a two, so I succeeded. And he gets hit for only one damage. He also is unconscious. I think batter and stash the first guy, the s the the next five hits me, and I kind of like take it on the shield, and then the other guy's coming at me from the side, but I just lunge out, drive my sword through his side. Yeah, and he just cries out and drops to the ground.
SPEAKER_02Right, I'll do a passion roll fighting for my honor again. Success. Excellent.
SPEAKER_00So you have a plus five to your attack. So it's only a minus five on my sword. And the first gentleman lunges at you with his dagger and misses completely. And I wave my sword at him as well. The next knifeman succeeds in plunging his dagger into your armor.
SPEAKER_02And this one I take the full minus ten, don't I? Because there's all three of them still out.
SPEAKER_00One of them is prone, so you're actually only fighting two.
SPEAKER_02Right. Yeah. So yeah, this one I pass then.
SPEAKER_00Okay. And I passed as well, because I already rolled. Okay. So we both suc we both succeeded. So roll your damage. Fifteen. Okay. And he gets you for twelve. I'm not sure if that passes your armor. Yeah, is it w without me shield?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, without my shield. Without your shield, yes, that's correct. Yeah. So yeah, I I take two from that. Okay.
SPEAKER_00He's still on his feet. So that is the end of the combat round. So we are now on to battle turn number two. So on one side of you there are these picks with two-handed spears, and then on the other side of you are picks with javelins. My our morale currently is four. Your morale your morale is four.
SPEAKER_01Really? Yep. Because you rolled eleven, so we had fifteen, and then we went down to four.
SPEAKER_00Okay, yeah. So here you are. You've lost your horses, and now you're on foot in the middle of this intense battlefield. All around you, pictish foot soldiers are closing in, armed with daggers, javelins, two handed spears, and you can see those young seventeen, eighteen year old soldiers freshly drafted into King Arthur's army feeling the pressure. You had hyped them up with stories of your own feats bragging about your battle prowess. Then one of them sees you. It's Sir Ian, he shouts, and suddenly they're all filled with a surge of courage. They charge forward full of useful energy and fire, inspired by the stories Sir Histelwin told them on the long march here. But that bravery does not save them. They rush headlong into the fray, and before you can even blink, the Pictish soldiers make quick work of them. The young men are cut down in droves. Meanwhile, javelins are whizzing past you, and spearmen on the flanks are pressing in, driving
The Clash of Arms
SPEAKER_00you back. So because you don't have enough morale to face this battle encounter, you are retiring to the rear for this turn. That means you can restore one d6 points to your Conroy's morale. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Let's uh roll d6 and see what happens. So six. So I'm on ten. Okay, so you're on turn two, return to the we retire to the rear.
SPEAKER_00So you retire to the rear, your squires are there. They're, you know, they give if you need first aid, they can give you first aid. You can roll your squire rolls for that. Well, you don't want to get an infection on that nasty cut, right? Oh, that's the point. So you've retired to the rear of the battle. So all you can do at this point is is sort of rest, recuperate, have your wounds tended, and we're gonna see if your squires can get you fresh mounts.
SPEAKER_01So does that mean the battle is over for us for this day, or does it mean that's true? No, just the one battle turn.
SPEAKER_00The next on battle turn three, you're you're thrown back into the fray. Sir Histalwyn, you have succeeded on your first aid roll. So that whatever the number of your healing rate is, you get that back on your hit points.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, so that totally sorts out my wound.
SPEAKER_01Just like your luck, you'll do nothing, make you infected.
SPEAKER_00Uh, he passes his squire roll. Actually, so you both have treated minor injuries. Okay, and so I actually am back up to full.
SPEAKER_01Guess we get the horse back, or do we have to like roll for them to get the horse?
SPEAKER_00There are a lot of horses that have been taken down by these knifemen. There are not enough mounts to go around. You guys, your your horse, I mean, you could your horses are not dead, but they're they're badly wounded, they've been lost, your squires uh have treated your injuries so they're not able to go chase down your horses at the moment. So no so you're on foot essentially for the rest of the battle, at least for the next turn anyway. We can try to have your squires chase them down at another point, but they might be mince meat by the end of this day.
SPEAKER_01So that's just I guess we'll kind of I guess my plan is kind of go as a Conroy on foot with spears and swords. March back towards the battle lines. Yep.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, so you're you're moving back toward the battle lines. You can still are a lot of dead horses on the battlefield, a lot of dead men on the battlefield, a lot of good knights are your way through them. Yeah. So you're you're pushing your way through this battle, and in front of you are Irish Kerns. They're poorly armed and unarmoured men from Ireland. They were brought to Britain to serve as mercenaries. They have swords and s and those small shields that are on their arms, no other armor. So there's two of them for each of you as you're marching forward to get back to the front lines. These these Irish mercenaries are right in right in your path. Choose your posture and then your combat actions.
SPEAKER_01I'm thinking maybe trying to get some morale back. So maybe fighting recklessly?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we want to uh get back a bit of confidence. I need to check rest check reckless and immediately add one d3 to morale. Okay, we're gonna we're gonna fight recklessly. Let's see what morale I get back. One. Plus one morale. I'm on to eleven now.
SPEAKER_00As we fight these Irish turns. And the morale loss for dealing with these Irish mercenaries is one d6 minus one. Okay. Let's roll it. You're gonna let it roll. Do we roll it? I'll roll it, that's fine. You've been rolling it up to this point, but three. So you lose three morale. Okay, Serena. So you're are you just doing an actual attack? What's your Yeah, I'm gonna do an actual attack with the spear.
SPEAKER_01Tovel it. Spear. Get plus five because I've got the range. I'd succeed.
SPEAKER_00Uh I'll need a seventeen. They're trying to dodge out of the out of the way as you jab at them. And they both succeeded. So uh yeah, so they basically they take no damage from your attack. Very sorry. Very sorry about that. So what? Sir Histelwin. They're just gonna go stabby stabby with their swords on you. When that is a success. Yeah, success. Oh, okay. So we each inflict damage upon each other. So he slashes at you with his sword for eighteen damage. And that's minus just your armor, so it's eight damage. So it's eight damage, yep.
SPEAKER_01And I do thirteen. Uh thirteen damage. We were you recklessly attacking as well.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So if you if you hit him, you get extra two to six damage. Okay, cool. That's handy. But you can't use your shield or parry protection. That's the that's the that's the negative.
SPEAKER_00He doesn't have that in this particular instance. So add the give me the extra damage and add it up for me. Another seven on top of that, so that's twenty in total. That is a major wound. He's knocked you've knocked him flat on his butt.
SPEAKER_02He beat me to the hit, so I took a good whack, but yeah, retaliated somewhat.
SPEAKER_00Nice. Yeah, you were like, ow, that's smart. Boom! See how you like it. Alright, the second Irish Kern on your coming up on your side here has succeeded in slashing you with his sword. Oh and that's a good one.
SPEAKER_02As I'm swinging round, he he hits me as I'm trying to swing at him.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, so your your sword goes wide as he jabs into you uh for 15 damage, like right into your side.
SPEAKER_01Sir Ian. Well, I take it they kind of like trying to dodge to get inside the um spear's sort of combat range. Yes. I'm gonna just let go of the spear, draw my sword to attack the first one. Let's uh let's do this then.
SPEAKER_00Alright, so this Irish current here has failed.
SPEAKER_01So I need a nine, I roll the nine. Give us your damage. Plus 46, is it? Uh yes. He's probably he's probably going to die.
SPEAKER_00Tell us how you end this mercenary's life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I drop my spear and I draw my sword, and as he's kind of getting close, as I draw it out, I just slice upwards while I kind of cleft his jaw and kind of nick an artery in his neck, and continue on to the next one as he kind of dies gurgling in a fountain of blood beside me. Like a fish out of water.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Just sort of flopping on the ground, fountain of blood just gushing out of his neck.
SPEAKER_01I I guess as I face the next one. Yes. Markert, remind me, if we get rid of one opponent and we go to fight the next opponent, do I automatically lose that minus five modifier, or is that minus five modifier for the entire combat because they're not going to be able to do it?
SPEAKER_00No, because the combat is simultaneous, yeah. So you don't lose it. Okay. So he has failed.
SPEAKER_01Okay, and I already deny and rolled a 17, so I failed as well.
SPEAKER_00Alright, so you're both just your swords lashing against one another.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I like that. That's cool. Fistal wind. That gentleman
Mercenaries on the Field
SPEAKER_02here. Get in first because I overswung the last.
SPEAKER_00Oh, he hits you. Give us your roll. Assuming it's just a straight-up attack that you're planning. Oh no. Historwind has missed. So you take another three damage if you're deducting your ten from your armor. Yeah, so you you swing wide and he he he gets you in the shoulder with his with his sword disguise. He's gonna try to he's gonna try to flee. That's what he's gonna do. Yep. See you later, suckers. Run away. Run away, run away. I'm not getting paid enough for this.
SPEAKER_01The choice of mercenaries. Yeah. Okay. So I kind of facing off against one guy in my next turn. I'm just gonna damp him one. I'm not really kind of the there isn't most tactics to it. He doesn't have a shield. He succeeds.
SPEAKER_00So I need a 14 succeed. You both succeed damage as well? Yes, you are. So you're deducting your armor, so that should be just six damage for you from the mercenary. And I did eighteen to him. Eighteen to him. That is I'll take it.
SPEAKER_01I can't use my shield in this.
SPEAKER_00No, because it's a success, not a partial success. Four. So it's six damage.
SPEAKER_01You've knocked him down and you've given him a major wound. Well, I'll just kind of like go in low this time and slice his trying to slice his artery on the inside of his thigh.
SPEAKER_02This chap's obviously stayed alive for quite a while, so he's obviously a good swordsman. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00He actually isn't. I'm just rolling really well. I succeeded. I need an eight, and I'm rolling really low, so. Oh, a critical.
SPEAKER_01Very nice. Oh, critical. Just what I needed it.
SPEAKER_02Ready with those extra dice. Right, so what extra dice do I get for? It's an extra forty-six, I believe. And another two as well for Ratcliffe.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_02That's twenty-one plus sixteen is thirty-seven.
SPEAKER_00You you tell me how tell me how tell me how you end this poor mercenary's life.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, d I d double handed, just yeah, I just get within range, see the strike, and just cut from one shoulder down through to the hip.
SPEAKER_00As he swings wide, leaving himself exposed, you seize the moment your blade cleaves into him, biting deep from shoulder to hip. His guts spill out in a hot, steaming mass, and he staggers back, clutching at them with trembling hands as though he could hold himself together. Wide eyed and gasping, his knees give out, and he collapses
The End of a Life
SPEAKER_00into the dirt. The life drains from him as his glassy eyes stare blankly at the sky, as if demanding answers from his gods, you can see the same thing.