Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

“...in the Riddermark of Rohan the Rohirrim, the Horse-lords, dwell, and there are no horses like those that are bred in that great vale between the Misty Mountains and the White.” - From The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

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Re: Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

Post by Wbweather » Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:32 pm

Istril's Inspire roll:
Rolled:
Feat Die: 7*
Success Die: 5,1,2
Totaling: 15

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Re: Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

Post by Wbweather » Tue Aug 27, 2019 12:46 pm

Yes, that's a success. Consider your horse trained, Istril.

Go ahead and wrap up your fellowship phase here and I am going to start up the next adventure in it's own thread.

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Re: Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

Post by Blubbo_Baggins » Tue Aug 27, 2019 7:40 pm

As summer passes into fall Torwin runs across Guthred, captain of Éogar, and more men of the Second Marshal who are stationed in Edoras. At times some of the men are leaving on some errand, likely to report back to the Deeping-coomb and the Hornburg; at other times he sees them training with horses or sparring. Because of the helm given to him by the Second Marshal, Éogar's men nod at Torwin when their paths cross; as if the helm is a sign that he is one of their own, or at the very least, that they respect him for it.

After harvest time is over, Torwin is far less needed on Leofstan and Estlay's farm, and so it was one afternoon that he chanced upon Guthred and two of his men. Torwin acknowledged the men with a nod, but instead of passing on Guthred stopped him.

"How was the harvest, Torwin? It seems to have been a quiet summer at least."
"Good, and yes," Torwin replied. "Too quiet for me, I have grown restless."
"Well then, so have my men here. They are just off duty; are you up for a challenge?"
Though Guthred had ever been honorable, Torwin looked at him suspiciously. "I suppose it depends on the nature of it."
"Oh, when we are not on guard our favorite pastime is to spar. Of course there is a lot of other training we have to do that is less fun, but best of all is for my men to get to test themselves on an outsider."
There it was again; the word that reminded him that in spite of his good fortune with the King and in the court, in the Mark, and the helm he now had, he was still just a Man of Harrowdale who had no lineage to speak of.
"If they do not mind the thought of being beaten by a nobody from Harrowdale, then I accept the challenge."
Guthred and the men with him laughed, "Good then! Let us go."

From there Guthred led them to the barracks' yard, where the men could spar with one another.
"We will train unarmored and unarmed. Then with wooden swords," said one of the men to Torwin. "You will find that the contest of strength is just a warm up for swords. For we do not need training on how to fight well when fresh and rested. We must learn to fight when the battle has gone long, and our sword arm is weak, and we are thirsty and hungry and tired."

After a short while the bouts began. In spite of his own experience in battle and on long roads, Torwin was surprised at how difficult the challenge was, for after the "brawl" his the wooden sword was especially heavy, and he found it difficult to move quickly, especially against an opponent who was used to such training.
Undertaking #2: Sparring with the King's Guard, pg 19. I guess Sword is my lowest skill (out of Athletics or Sword), so I need a roll done vs TN 18. Then I'll write out the results...

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Re: Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

Post by Wbweather » Wed Aug 28, 2019 3:35 am

Torwin: Sword TN 18
Rolled:
Feat Die: 4*
Success Die: 3,6t
Totaling: 13 with 1 success
Hope for success?

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Re: Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

Post by Blubbo_Baggins » Thu Aug 29, 2019 5:12 pm

The rules of the sparring match were simple. First a brawl, or wrestling bout. The first to put the other on his back was the winner, and was given choice of weapon - a regular sword or a longsword - for the next round. The second round was the real contest; the winner was the man who put two hits on his opponent, or one "fatal" hit (anywhere on the neck or abdomen).

The brawl was tough for Torwin; his opponent Guthláf had a smirk on his face as he quickly took him down to the dust. Torwin had little experience wrestling, so he had expected to lose . . . but by the time the bout was over Guthláf had given him a bloody nose, which made things more difficult. He couldn't tell if this had been intentional, but the man's elbow had been swung forward as they were both falling to the ground. While it did not hurt terribly, he was winded and blood was everywhere.

Without a moment given to catch their breath, Guthláf chose the wooden longsword and both men were thrown weapons to begin the real fight. Immediately Guthláf charged, taking advantage of Torwin being still out of breath. It seemed that the winner of this style of sparring would be the man who could continue fighting well and effectively even when fatigued.

Torwin was able to keep Guthláf's sword at bay, blocking his swings, but was not able to maintain his ground and had to give way before the fierce charge. This put him at a tactical disadvantage, for Guthláf controlled the sparring ground, while Torwin had to spend all of his focus (and what little energy he had) on defending himself. Within the first few minutes Guthláf had scored the first hit against him, with a touch on his shoulder.

With no buffer left, in a moment of desperation Torwin briefly jogged backward; he was unable to look back so he could continue to block the Guthláf's attacks. To no one's surprise he felt himself being tripped up, and expected that this fall would be the end of the match. Yet his disadvantage (a shorter reach and blood still spouting from his nose) suddenly became his saving grace. For in trying to bring his sword down on the falling man, Guthláf overextended himself and the blood on the ground caused him to slip. This brought him closer to Torwin than he'd planned, who was now inside the longsword's reach. Though he had fallen to the ground, he had kept his head, and with quick reflexes he stabbed his sword upward at Guthláf's belly and scored a winning blow.

Guthláf stood up angrily and dusted himself off, "Luck shined on you this day, but don't expect it next time," he growled.

Guthred began clapping, as did a few others who had begun watching when the match started. One of those observers was a tall lady standing more at a distance. As Torwin stood and Guthred addressed him, he could not help but be momentarily distracted by the woman who was beautiful and foreign - her fair long black hair was striking against her fair skin; she nodded then turned to leave. "The Queen?" he thought.

"Well done, Torwin," said Guthred, then looking around "Someone bring him a cloth." Turning back he continued, "Your awareness and focus in the midst of difficult factors served you well. Many would have been too blinded by the minor injury and fatigue to see the opening after all seemed lost. We will do this again, Torwin. Next time, I'll set you against one of my captains who is less fierce than Guthláf but better with the sword."
Spend Hope to win the match; since it was a Great success, I'll use this for +2 Tolerance to an Encounter (Council) with Rohirrim this next adventure.
@Vardaen since your PC is taking the same two Undertakings, feel free to write him into either or both scenes if desired.
For the rest of this phase: spending 6 AP to raise Explore to 2 and 9 AP to raise Awe to 3. Saving 5 XP.

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Re: Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

Post by Vardaen » Thu Sep 05, 2019 7:07 pm

Herweald is a strange sort of man at times. He enjoys his privacy, and his sleep, and prefers the wilds of Rohan to the cramped cities. Yet he enjoys the company of people, tales and songs are no good unless told and sung among companions. He is a paradox at times, reckless in his actions, but true-hearted to his friends.

After the adventure in the West Fold has come to an end, and the company is recognized as heroes of a sort he decides to spend some time in Edoras taking all that coin he's gained and to spend it. He is generous with his money, buying drinks at local taverns where he tells tales and sings songs; some old, some new. Little by little he gains a bit of renowned among those folk, simple warriors, hunters, the common man. At a certain point, one night, he has a audience that happens to have members of the Eastfold Eored among it. Hereweald is extra powerful in his songs that night, and those men go back to Cenric Marshall of the Eastfold, speaking highly of Hereweald.

Perhaps its fate, or doom, or luck, or destiny, but Cenric seems interested in the tales Hereweald has to tell. And he is summoned, and he goes. For a few weeks the young man spends time among the captains and marshal and he sings the praises of Rohan, and tells the tales, and finds himself aiding on hunts, and little by little growing more and more familiar among those men of the East Fold forces. He joins Cenric one visit back to the Golden Hall, and there he weaves his stories and songs to the delight of everyone.
Raise Song (Favored) 2 to 3 (9AP Spent)
Undertaking: Gain Favour in the Golden Hall (Horselords pg 22) Need Roll

Okay, So for your song roll for Gain Favor:
Rolled:
Feat Die: 7*
Success Die: 4,6t,2
Totaling: 19 with 1 success

That gives you the favor of a lord of Standing 5.

Cenric Marshall of the East Fold
His generous nature, with money and tales, with his reckless friendship, and his paradoxical love of the wild and of company finds him a favorite of many. It opens doors to him in places, like training and chances to spar and hunt and work along side the veterans of Rohan. He has managed to make a name for himself in all ways, and those around Rohan know him, and like him despite his solo manners at times.
Raise Sword to 3 (6XP)
Undertaking: Sparring with the King’s Guard

For the Sparring roll:
Feat Die: 8*
Success Die: 3,6t,2
Totaling: 19 with 1 success
+2 to tolerance on encounters this upcoming adventure
I would also like to spend some treasure to raise my own standing up to 1 (12 Treasure Points)

Sheet updated
"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: Chapter 2 - Dark of the Moon

Post by Wbweather » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:39 pm

OK, let's move on over to the Next chapter.
Chapter 3: Red Days Rising

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