DF Khoramandu Sea, Session 98 - Ambush on the Road

     We played a game last Thursday. This is a short summary. 

Session Date:    Thursday 19 August 2021

Party roster:

Miao Miao, cat-folk swashbuckler, 525 points (PC)

- Jenkins, human servant, 249 points (NPC Ally)

- Father Warian, human priest, 261 points (NPC Ally)

- Alacus, human slinger, ~62 points (NPC volunteer)
Sir Yvor Gryffyn, human knight, 450 points (PC)

- Manuta, human sergeant, 177 points (NPC Ally)

Childerbert "Bert" Ingoberger, halfling thief-bard, 415 points (PC)

Hemmu Gahrol, half-orc knight, 385 points (PC)

- Guurtsnik, goblin messenger, unknown points (NPC volunteer)

Adam Aesalor, half-orc wizard, 349 points (PC)

    We skipped over the festival (celebrating the party's defeat of the lich) and the ceremony of the baron presenting the PCs with their new magical gifts*.

    Bert, seemingly oblivious of the underworld scrutiny of his every move following his meeting with Tobo, got caught by his peers while trying to steal his supplies. When bluster failed to convince them, they made a move to grab him. Bert was able to break free and was forced to escape and abandon his thievery attempt.

    The group departed town two days after the festival. In addition to Miao's and Yvor's allies, the party included Miao's former hireling Alacus, and Hemmu's new goblin shadow, Guurtsnik. Jenkins had also recruited a couple of his own NPC hirelings as porters. They joined their charges for the journey to the capital, Maggio and Sir Glorm, and a servant to drive the wagon. 

    As well as their wagon, there were some other travellers heading in the same direction, eager to do so in the company of the town's local heroes. These included some pilgrims heading to Phessio, a local farmer, and some travelling merchants.

    A few hours into their journey, the convoy was attacked. A fallen log had been placed across the road for an ambush. Bert scouting ahead, spotted the log and signalled the convoy to stop. Hemmu and Yvor walked ahead to clear the log, and then there was a small volley of arrows from the hillside above the road (one of which hit Sir Yvor squarely, but didn't penetrate his brigandine armour). An orc berserker charged down the hill, and battle commenced. Several other orcs emerged from cover, including at least one other berserker and a couple of ogres.

    The first berserker took a couple of stabs to the vitals from Sir Yvor's longsword but stayed standing. He swung his greataxe at Hemmu and she blocked, but her metal shield made the difference, losing over half its HP in a single hit. The axe nearly cleaved the shield, but it passed its saving throw and held. Yvor then stabbed the berserker twice in the neck, and he finally dropped. Hemmu put down one of the other orc warriors with her own axe.

    Bert encountered the second berserker coming down the hill on the opposite side of the road. The orc charged but missed the halfling. Bert then grappled the berserker. The orc kicked at Bert, but he was able to defend himself while maintaing his hold. Other orcs are getting closer, so Bert will have to act quickly.

    Guurtsnik loosed an arrow and then at the sight on an ogre his cowardice got the better of him and he retreated.

    Miao rushing forward from the rear of the convoy, arrived in time to intercept some orcs and an ogre coming down the hill close to the lead wagon. She scored a lucky crit on her charge, and did max damage to the ogre's left hand, crippling the extremity and forcing the ogre to swing his crude club single-handed, which Miao acrobatically dodged. Adam also arrived on the battlefield, having run up behind Miao.

    We paused there mid-fight because it was getting late.

    Here is a partial map of the VTT battlefield, zoomed out to show Hemmu and Yvor at the front, Bert in the middle, and Miao and Adam at the back. Father Warian, Guurtsnik, and a pilgrim are also visible. 

 

Close-up of the front of the battle.

Close-up of the lead wagon.

    The rest of the convoy, including other allies, hirelings, and travellers, are behind the lead wagon and off the map. (The whole convoy would have been on the map, and surrounded, had Bert not been scouting ahead.)

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* Mostly made to order for the PCs, these are all minor magical items with limited charges. The enchantment services and general availability of magical items is somewhat limited in this provincial town. This may change in the big city.