Book 1: Act 1 - We Left The Path

It is the year 2946 of the Third Age, and the lands east of the Misty Mountains are astir. From the cloud-shrouded peaks above the High Pass to the spider-infested gloom of the forest of Mirkwood, paths long-deserted are trodden once again. Busy merchants carry their wares to new markets, messengers bring tidings from foreign realms, and kings send forth armed men to extend their influence and the rule of law. Some say that a new age of freedom has begun, a time for adventure and great deeds to reclaim glories lost in long centuries of oppression and decline.

But adventures are not really things that people go out and look for. They are dangerous and rarely end well. While it is true that a handful of valiant individuals set out to make their mark on the world, for others it seems that adventure chooses them, as though it is the path they are fated to tread. They are restless warriors, curious scholars and wanderers, always eager to seek what was lost or explore what was forgotten. Ordinary people call them adventurers, and when they return successful, they call them heroes. But if they fail, no one will even remember their names...

Run by the Loremaster Vardaen
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Eilandor
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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Opening Volley

Post by Eilandor » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:53 pm

Wren retreats back to Aerth's position while drawing his Woodland bow and knocking an arrow. Searching around for the first set of red eyes he can find Wren draws back and releases.
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Number Two: "Muh ha ha ha ha!"

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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Opening Volley

Post by Muskrat » Wed Dec 04, 2013 10:43 pm

As Varuthil hits the ground, she pauses to catch her breath, then straightens up and draws her bow. She pauses to aim at the spiders, then looses an arrow at the closest one. She tries not to consider how close she came to being trapped at the top of the wall, surrounded by them.
Bow 2: Loose arrow at the closest spider.

So, we get a free volley first, right? And then we make Battle rolls? (Varuthil has a 2 in Battle.) If possible, Varuthil will be taking a rearward stance in the upcoming combat. She is most skilled with a bow.

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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Opening Volley

Post by Vardaen » Wed Dec 04, 2013 11:45 pm

Baldor is running and when Aerth tells him to stay with them, he has no problem with that, in fact he leads the retreat racing back toward the camp but not dangerously so far ahead.

Over the top of the wall a lone lead spider appears. The three fire off a volley of arrows and graze it with two shots knocking it back and nearly sending it off the wall altogether. The other half dozen or so that Varuthil saw from atop the wall can't be far behind.
Two things.

1. Only a single spider appears this round, they will grow more and more each round. I'm back editing my post from before when combat started.

2. I realized I have been doing the "tengwar" rune and Successes wrong in the other fight. Fixing that in this fight since we just started.

Free Round of Opening Volleys
TN 12 + Parry 4 = 16

Aerth Shepard's Bow 2: 6 + 5+5 = 16 (Normal Success): Damage 5 Endurance Loss.


Wren Bow 3: 4 + 3 + 4 +5 = 16 (Normal Success) : Damage 5 Endurance Loss.

Varuthil Bow 2: 1 + 6t+2 = 9 Miss


Battle Skill TN12

Aerth Battle 1: 8+4 = 12 1 Bonus Die Gained
Wren Battle 2: 3+4+3 = 10 Fail
Varuthil Battle 2: 5+5+6t = 16 (Great Success) 2 Bonus Dice Gained

These are 1 time dice you can spend as you like on attack rolls, when you RP using the terrain to your advantage. Using the trees, kicking sand in the eyes, etc.
You guys in Initiative by virtue of the system and situation. You need to tell me your stance.

You need to give me your stance.

A character's stance describes the attitude of a hero during a round of combat, from boldest to most cautious, and determines both his basic combat Target Numbers and the order in which each character acts. During the first round of combat, all players select a stance for their heroes, choosing one of the four available options from the table below. Characters may change their stance at the beginning of each round.

PAGE 158

Forward TN 6, Order of Action 1
Open TN 9, Order of Action 2
Defensive TN 12, Order of Action 3
Reward* TN 12, Order of Action 4

As long as his hero maintains a close combat stance, a player uses the stance's combat TN when making an attack roll using a close combat weapon; the same TN is used by the Loremaster for all close combat attack rolls directed against the character during a round.


Ranged Combat Stance: Rearward
Once a confrontation is underway, player-heroes are allowed to make ranged attacks only if they choose a Rearward stance.

A character is allowed to assume this stance only if at least two other characters protect him by fighting in a close combat stance, AND if the total number of enemies facing the Company isn't more than twice the number of characters in the Company.

We have an odd situation here as half the party is off. I'm going to rule that with Borir holding the line, Pipkin CAN assume this stance for this fight, since the number of foes is now down to three.

So you should post your Stance, and your attempted attack.
Spider 1: -10 Endurance

Bonus Battle Dice:
Aerth 1
Varuthil 2
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Opening Volley

Post by Muskrat » Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:27 am

Varuthil backs away slowly with the others, eyeing the situation coldly and clinically, drawing on all the books about strategy in battle she has read as she prepares her next shot. She waits until the next spider is just over the top of the wall, before it has had time to assess the situation, and looses her arrow at it while it is still vulnerable.
Rearward stance. Bow 2. Use 1 bonus die, on the basis of catching the spider unaware as it comes over the top of the wall.

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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Opening Volley

Post by Vardaen » Fri Dec 06, 2013 7:16 pm

Initiative order is based on your stance, with Varuthil taking Rearward, or wanting to, that means Aerth and Wren need to take a close combat stance. Then again, the thing is still on the wall....

I'll allow you to all take Rearward stance this one round before things change.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Opening Volley

Post by Eilandor » Fri Dec 06, 2013 7:24 pm

Wren draws another arrow from his quiver with graceful ease. Knocking and drawing his Woodland bow he takes aim at the wall and waits for the next spider to show itself.
Rearward Stance: Bow 3
Number Two: "You are number six."
Number Six: "I am not a number, I am a free man!"
Number Two: "Muh ha ha ha ha!"

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Attercop! Attercop! Lone Spider

Post by Vardaen » Fri Dec 06, 2013 7:37 pm

Varuthil slowly backs up and she loads an arrow into her bow taking aim. The moment the thing is on the wall, hoping to get surprise on it, she fires, but.... she's walking backwards at the time, and she walks right into a tree branch knocking herself on the head, fairly hard, and very disruptively. Her shot fires into the wall shattering the arrow and making her look rather bad at this sort of thing.

Wren recovers for her, his long elven bow pulls back and fires. The shot hits the spider atop the wall sending it falling backwards out of side beyond on the far side.

For the moment there are no spiders as Aerth....
Varuthil: 1 Bonus Die, Rearward TN12+4Parry = 16
Bow 2: Sauron Rune +4+2+6t = FAILURE

Wren: Rearward Stance TN16
Bow 3: 8 + 6t+2+2=18 (Great Success)
Bow Damage 5 + Hero Damge (from Great Success) 4 = 9 Endurance Loss
Spider -19 Endurance (Down/Dead)
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Lone Spider

Post by TetNak » Fri Dec 06, 2013 11:52 pm

"Let's go!" Aerth moves backward, "Start our retreat!" The man begins moving with Baldor, helping him to move back the way they came, so he does not get lost, or attacked by spiders again.
RETREAT!?!
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- King Stannis Baratheon, First of His Name

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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Lone Spider

Post by Vardaen » Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:44 pm

Aerth pushes Baldor before him, helping the man flee. He calls to the other two and races back down the trail the way you came making sure to lead on without getting lose in the pre-dawn light of Mirkwood. Having some one locate and lead on the trail certainly helps.

The quarter doesn't get far before a pair of spiders crest the wall and leap from it to the tree line. The spiders are racing along the boughs of the tree, pressing forward. They pull within a few trees bounding down out of them.
Round 2: 2 Spiders appear. You still have the init.

I'm going to rule that only 1 of you needs to be in a close combat stance, and two can be rearward because that makes sense to me.
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Re: Attercop! Attercop! Lone Spider

Post by Muskrat » Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:26 am

Varuthil retreats along with Aerth and Baldor, keeping her bow drawn and pointed at the trees above them as the spiders swarm through them. The group passes by a boulder, which Varuthils runs up the side of, bringing her closer to the spiders above. At the apex, she looses her arrow, before leaping off the other end to the ground below and continuing to retreat.
Rearward. Bow 2 vs. spider. Use bonus die, based on climbing up the boulder to get closer and therefore better aim.

I'm thinking the boulder looks kind of like this (except in the woods, instead of the middle of nowhere):
Image

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