GURPS DF Session 39 - Hunt for Sir Sacnoth, part 1
I'm starting not at the beginning, nor with the latest session. Rather shall I begin with the session before the most recent, as this point marks the start of a new adventure, as well as the resumption of Dungeon Fantasy after a few months absence. There were three players for this session: two regulars, plus the return of a player who last played Dungeon Fantasy back in Aug 2018.
Those who used to have a subscription to the most recent iteration of Pyramid magazine (now sadly ceased), may recognise what follows from an adventure written by David Pulver. I omit the name for the moment, so as to avoid any potential spoilers.
Date: Thursday 20 June 2019
Party roster:
Miao Miao, cat-folk swashbuckler, 342 points (PC)
- "Jenkins", human servant, 146 points (Ally)
- Brother Warian, human initiate, 171 points (Ally)
Davin Emberwood, human wizard, 304 points (PC)
Llandor the Gray, wood-elf scout, 247 points (PC)
Location: Marsh Hall, Barony of Marrowmarsh
Some three weeks after the conclusion of their last adventure, Miao and Davin were relaxing in the Cook and Keg tavern, along with Llandor, who they have not seen in some time. Miao's allies Jenkins and Brother Warian were also in attendance.
The group was approached by Sheriff Bardolph, with two bodyguards in the Baron's livery. Accompanying Bardolph was an injured woman in barbaric costume, whom the sheriff introduced as Seledreth Wolfsinger, a highland warrior and emissary from her clan. Having met some of the party personally, and knowing the PCs' reputation, Bardolph sought the group's aid to apprehend a fugitive from justice.
The tale was told, and the party hired to bring back Sir Sacnoth; alive if possible, dead if not. Payment will be 100 silver shillings* if Sir Sacnoth is brought back alive, doubled to 200 shillings if he can be brought back alive within 5 days. If brought back dead, the reward for Sir Sacnoth's body will be 3/4 of the previous offer, depending on the number of days elapsed, and provided that the body is recognisable. There will an additional bonus of 10 silver shillings for each of Sir Sacnoth's henchmen brought back alive.
The blackguard Sir Sacnoth is wanted to stand trial for murder. He killed Seledreth's brother in an unfair fight, and Seledreth was wounded in the process. What's more, her father is a clan chief, and if his son's murderer isn't brought to justice, then the anger of the clans may be hard to placate. Sir Sacnoth was believed to be heading for an island in the nearby swamp which is inhabited by a band of cannibalistic lizard-folk, and that is where the party should seek him out.
So keen was Miao Miao to get started, that she once again accepted an assignment without any negotiation whatsoever. In fact, the party was quite eager generally, such that they kept interrupting the NPCs with questions before they had been given all the information. However they got most of the pertinent info before Bardolph and Seledreth departed the tavern.
At that point the PCs discussed what to do next. They decided that as it was already halfway through the day, they would gather any additional info and supplies that afternoon, and leave town in the morning. Davin went to the wizard's guildhall to do some Research in the library, and got distracted reading about druidic cult practices. Llandor went shopping to buy some equipment, and settled on rope and a grappling hook. Miao stayed in the tavern Carousing, and sent Brother Warian shopping with 1 gold crown* to buy potions or scrolls. Warian returned with 3 Minor Healing Potions, one of which he gave to Llandor.
The next morning Davin bought enough rations of food to last the whole party a couple of days (which Jenkins ended up carrying) and a good quality map. Llandor used his Cartography to verify that the map looked accurate. The party set out to the nearby village of Marshgate, at the edge of the swamp and a couple of hours walk from town. The village wasn't hard to find, and Llandor navigating with the map meant that they were unlikely to get lost. The walk was uneventful.
At the Wyvern's Nest inn, the party partook of local marsh delicacies, and Miao paid over the odds for substandard mead, but this got the proprietor talking, and Miao got additional rumours with another Carousing roll.
The group hired a couple of flat-bottomed boats from the innkeeper, and set off into the marsh. None of the party has any Boating skill, and all risked rolling at defaults. Right at the start, the party almost suffered Disadvantage-triggering disaster, when Miao all but fumbled herself overboard trying to steer one of the boats. Davin however, always looking for an excuse to show off, reacted in time to Levitate the cat-girl away from the water, and she only got a couple of toes wet. The rest of the trip to One Tree Island itself was uneventful; the party saw alligators from afar but they kept their distance. The party arrived safely at the island, which showed no sign of Sir Sacnoth, or lizard-folk either.
---
At that point we paused the game there for the night. It also provided a reasonable entry point at which to introduce any new players the following session.
*The in-game currency is as follows. 1 copper piece is the lowest value coin (being $1 in GURPS terms). 1 silver shilling is worth 20 coppers ($20 in GURPS terms). 1 gold crown = 20 silver shillings = 400 copper pieces ($400).
So that was quite untypical, being my first DF session in some time (perhaps ever) that was all roleplay and no combat. The few Wandering Monster rolls I did make all came up blank. Still I didn't feel the need to force a combat just because; I knew it would happen soon enough. As GM, I enjoyed the novelty. And I don't expect that to happen too often, considering the subject of Dungeon Fantasy.
Those who used to have a subscription to the most recent iteration of Pyramid magazine (now sadly ceased), may recognise what follows from an adventure written by David Pulver. I omit the name for the moment, so as to avoid any potential spoilers.
Date: Thursday 20 June 2019
Party roster:
Miao Miao, cat-folk swashbuckler, 342 points (PC)
- "Jenkins", human servant, 146 points (Ally)
- Brother Warian, human initiate, 171 points (Ally)
Davin Emberwood, human wizard, 304 points (PC)
Llandor the Gray, wood-elf scout, 247 points (PC)
Location: Marsh Hall, Barony of Marrowmarsh
Some three weeks after the conclusion of their last adventure, Miao and Davin were relaxing in the Cook and Keg tavern, along with Llandor, who they have not seen in some time. Miao's allies Jenkins and Brother Warian were also in attendance.
The group was approached by Sheriff Bardolph, with two bodyguards in the Baron's livery. Accompanying Bardolph was an injured woman in barbaric costume, whom the sheriff introduced as Seledreth Wolfsinger, a highland warrior and emissary from her clan. Having met some of the party personally, and knowing the PCs' reputation, Bardolph sought the group's aid to apprehend a fugitive from justice.
The tale was told, and the party hired to bring back Sir Sacnoth; alive if possible, dead if not. Payment will be 100 silver shillings* if Sir Sacnoth is brought back alive, doubled to 200 shillings if he can be brought back alive within 5 days. If brought back dead, the reward for Sir Sacnoth's body will be 3/4 of the previous offer, depending on the number of days elapsed, and provided that the body is recognisable. There will an additional bonus of 10 silver shillings for each of Sir Sacnoth's henchmen brought back alive.
The blackguard Sir Sacnoth is wanted to stand trial for murder. He killed Seledreth's brother in an unfair fight, and Seledreth was wounded in the process. What's more, her father is a clan chief, and if his son's murderer isn't brought to justice, then the anger of the clans may be hard to placate. Sir Sacnoth was believed to be heading for an island in the nearby swamp which is inhabited by a band of cannibalistic lizard-folk, and that is where the party should seek him out.
So keen was Miao Miao to get started, that she once again accepted an assignment without any negotiation whatsoever. In fact, the party was quite eager generally, such that they kept interrupting the NPCs with questions before they had been given all the information. However they got most of the pertinent info before Bardolph and Seledreth departed the tavern.
At that point the PCs discussed what to do next. They decided that as it was already halfway through the day, they would gather any additional info and supplies that afternoon, and leave town in the morning. Davin went to the wizard's guildhall to do some Research in the library, and got distracted reading about druidic cult practices. Llandor went shopping to buy some equipment, and settled on rope and a grappling hook. Miao stayed in the tavern Carousing, and sent Brother Warian shopping with 1 gold crown* to buy potions or scrolls. Warian returned with 3 Minor Healing Potions, one of which he gave to Llandor.
The next morning Davin bought enough rations of food to last the whole party a couple of days (which Jenkins ended up carrying) and a good quality map. Llandor used his Cartography to verify that the map looked accurate. The party set out to the nearby village of Marshgate, at the edge of the swamp and a couple of hours walk from town. The village wasn't hard to find, and Llandor navigating with the map meant that they were unlikely to get lost. The walk was uneventful.
At the Wyvern's Nest inn, the party partook of local marsh delicacies, and Miao paid over the odds for substandard mead, but this got the proprietor talking, and Miao got additional rumours with another Carousing roll.
The group hired a couple of flat-bottomed boats from the innkeeper, and set off into the marsh. None of the party has any Boating skill, and all risked rolling at defaults. Right at the start, the party almost suffered Disadvantage-triggering disaster, when Miao all but fumbled herself overboard trying to steer one of the boats. Davin however, always looking for an excuse to show off, reacted in time to Levitate the cat-girl away from the water, and she only got a couple of toes wet. The rest of the trip to One Tree Island itself was uneventful; the party saw alligators from afar but they kept their distance. The party arrived safely at the island, which showed no sign of Sir Sacnoth, or lizard-folk either.
---
At that point we paused the game there for the night. It also provided a reasonable entry point at which to introduce any new players the following session.
*The in-game currency is as follows. 1 copper piece is the lowest value coin (being $1 in GURPS terms). 1 silver shilling is worth 20 coppers ($20 in GURPS terms). 1 gold crown = 20 silver shillings = 400 copper pieces ($400).
So that was quite untypical, being my first DF session in some time (perhaps ever) that was all roleplay and no combat. The few Wandering Monster rolls I did make all came up blank. Still I didn't feel the need to force a combat just because; I knew it would happen soon enough. As GM, I enjoyed the novelty. And I don't expect that to happen too often, considering the subject of Dungeon Fantasy.
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