Rollohi-ep01-script

1.0, inciting incident

The party, caught by surprise, is close to being overwhelmed by strange fungal growths that sprout tendrils, grasping at ankles and tripping. The female fighter and male magic-user are grasped, while the male cleric and halfling fall over! The male dwarf stands amongst the tendrils, while the male thief, the female halfling, and the female elf are clear of the tendrils... for now!

In order to adjudicate this type of attack I've decided that it will be the characters making the rolls, meaning that an absence of success equals being tripped and restrained.

It is now Round One. Initiative: Characters 2, Monster 5. The tendrils grasp at those in the zone and not entirely restrained! This time Eryn the female fighter avoids further restraint and with a nat1 she is ruled to be completely clear, joining the other two women and the thief. Umbert the magic-user, who like Eryn was on his feet, barely avoids being tripped. Xantu the dwarf is seized, but not tripped.

It's now the turn of those able to move freely to assist those seized. Characters tripped and prone will need both a Paralisis and a Breath SV to count as pulled clear. With the help of Kylie the female elf, Cied the female halfling, and Jack the male thief, who all join Eryn in helping the other four, Ingle the male cleric and Umbert the male magic-user are now pulled clear. Pod the male halfling and Xantu the male dwarf however are still held by their ankles, struggling to avoid being pulled down.

Round two. Initiative: Characters 6, monster 1. Those clear keep up the momentum and pull Xantu and Pod completely clear before the monster has a chance to worsen matters.

The party falls back to more open ground and takes stock! 

1.1, our course

An encounter check is made immediately. It's a 2, no encounter. The eight adventurers draw breath, brush themselves down and check gear.

No gear has been lost. That's great news. They did begin with a pack beast and servant, but those have been left at their starting-point, a market town, because the trail here is a mere thread.

And as they take stock, we have our first chance to get a brief overview of this unusual party.

Welcome to Rollohi, a world of OSE style fantasy. But with a couple of mechanical differences. Low is good when it comes to ability checks and saves. When we get to weapon combat, you will also see another major difference.

What we know about the world so far is that there are fantasy races referred to as demihuman; that magic is wielded; that the climate and terrain is akin to medieval Europe; and that perils await those that adventure.

There are a number of other principles that will become apparent over time.

Speaking of rolling - At present my main oracle is a single d6. This gives me a range of results from no and at 1, to yes and at 6.

It is this oracle that led me to such a large party. I knew I wanted four characters, and by good fortune those were the basic four: Fighter, Cleric, Thief and MagicUser. Then I decided to ask "are there more" and the results skewed out to the next four, all demihumans.

Using the oracle again I run through some questions about the party origin, where it is headed, from whence, how near the destination, and to what purpose. 

Unexpectedly the party of eight actually began that way, and (as I mentioned before) also began with transport and servant. It began from a market town nearby, and assembled at the Adventurers Guild in that town. The reason for following this trail out into the howling wilds (yes, another oracle result) is monster culling.

I ask a final question: are all the obvious choices equipped with obvious gear and as a result, I determine that the cleric has oddly lightweight gear. Everyone else is equipped very much as you would expect.

None of the eight are outstanding, in terms of attributes. Eryn the fighter and Xantu the dwarf are visibly strong, and Ingle the cleric and Cied the female halfling seem relatively intuitive. Jack the thief seems abrupt and suspicious, which can make a poor first impression.

Now that they and we have both taken a moment to gather ourselves, it's time to decide how to get back to the trail.

This proves to be easy. Only two oracle checks are needed:

Are those strange flora blocking the only way through 2 no 

Is it trivial to detour 3 no but... it will be preferable  

The delay making the detour means that the party will almost certainly have to make camp out under the stars. And in that delay, something else happens.

1.2 party order

As the eight adventurers settle their packs and waterskins comfortably and shake out into party order, we go back a few minutes in time to check two matters we guessed at, but want confirmation of.

First, does more than one character have the route? 6, yes and... most are familiar with a map.

Second, will the delay mean camping in the wild? 5, yes.

With those double-checked it's time to establish party order. 

At the head of the party, slipping carefully from cover to cover, come the halflings. Pod the male halfling and Cied the female halfling are a couple. They balance each other out, though of the two, Cied is the more effective. By the way: Cied's name is spelled c-i-e-d. The rest of the party have not yet begun to call them seedpod.

Next is the battle tank Xantu the dwarf. He expects to set and defend unless the halflings scream otherwise as they retreat past him.  

Kylie the female elf strides next. She looks from side to side. As she sees it, it will be her job to disappear to a flank if trouble strikes, then work forward or backward as need be. Mind you, she hasn't discussed any of this with the others. If she were human, Kylie would be the natural choice for party spokesperson but her confidence and looks have not won her a leadership role.

Next come the party cleric and magic user. They should, in theory, be marching right behind Xantu. Time and survival may prompt them to change. As far as they know, they are the educated core and the others depend on their guidance. Ingle thinks he is the wisest in the room and Umbert thinks he is the smartest. Ingle is correct, Umbert is mistaken.

Then Jack and finally Eryn.

Rolling for wilderness type: wooded and broken.

Rolling for Forage: no, not today.

Rolling for weather: darkly overcast. 

The party aims to navigate back to the trail. Pushing through the forested wilds without losing ones way can be a challenge but offsetting that is that several are familiar with the map. They successfully navigate around the ensnaring growth, and angle back onto the trail. 

Using the OSE rules for encounters in this terrain averages out to three checks. An encounter occurs in the mid-watch, and that means the light is still perfectly adequate.

Using OSE wilderness range the question arises, do the scouts catch sight of this lone man? I decide on an attribute check and Pod manages a good roll under WIS. This permits him to roll the same 4d6 x 10 feet as the original distance and he gets at least the same, meaning that the stranger is seen and reported as soon as possible and in plenty of distance.

 

A lone man, apparently catching the party up, means that he must have survived the fungal trap. Does that mean he is a threat, or should the party try to befriend him? And as they have a quick conference, this chapter ends.

1.3 party spokesperson

With the lone stranger yet to be hailed, let's take a breath and find out who in a tense moment may step up as spokesperson.

Eryn sees herself as having that role. And in terms of proximity, she's as close to the stranger as any.

Does anyone disagree yes and the thief and magic-user both think of themselves as being "better" for different reasons and move around Eryn to push closer.

 If you're wondering why this matter isn't settled up to now, it's just the lack of any drama on the trail so far. This is a raw, untested party.

As Pod and Cied fall back on Xantu, Kylie slips into cover while Jack and Umbert step to where they can be seen. 

At this point I begin using a personality tool that was gifted the solo play community by Symbolic City.

Using blocks and pulls, 2d8 each.

Jack is superstitious, Umbert is indecisive, both are heroic.

Eryn has one chance to change the mix and calls quietly to Jack to let Umbert speak first while he listens. She gets a 4 on Charisma, great success.

(I have avoided telling you dear reader anything more than what the party can see, so my apologies, but there is another detail i roll behind the scenes to let me know more about party gear.)

Umbert, who has a crude way of speaking, holds a hand up, and shouts out, oi mister, how's it hanging?

1.4 yormsley

As the stranger and the party get closer, the shouted conversation becomes spoken and though not reassuring the stranger at least seems curious. He's modestly dressed, neither heavily equipped nor ragged.

 

How did you get past those tendrils? Is Umbert's first question in normal speaking range

Im naturally strong.

Its close to dusk, would you like to share our camp?

Well... if youll have me. I have no meat for the pot.

[Does he know he has the curse 2 no]

What's your name? Yormsley Lew Yormsley.

Introductions all round. Except that when Umbert names Kylie, she merely calls from cover. Pod and Cied by contrast crowd close and ply Yormsley with questions as they finish a short march to an adequate campsite. They learn that Yormsley did start out with others, but they opted for a different path.

Campsite watches. With 9 the obvious option is for the night to be split into 3 watches of 3 people.

Weather steady and dry - moon is it waxing yes but just beginning.

Are those with infra happy to do separate watches yes and insist on it

Which watch does Y want to be on the graveyard watch

Eryn: 1st watch

Ingle 3rd watch

Jack 1st watch (*)

Umbert graveyard

Pod & Cied 3rd

Kylie 1st watch

Xantu graveyard

Static, in wooded hills, the odds reduce to 1 in 6 over the 3 watches. 6 no encounter

• Does Jack try to stay awake no

 

Everyone is rested by breakfast.

Is this the moment to forage/hunt 2 no

So does Y offer to travel with the party no and bats off hal-offers from others.

 

"He travels fastest that travels alone"

1.5 over best pass

As the eight adventurers wave or nod farewell to Yormsley, it's time for them to break camp, examine the sky, sniff the wind, and make some guesses about the range of hills ahead.

"The map I took a butchers at marks these as the Arvyx hills" umbert muses, "and we should be hitting Best Pass."

"We don't know of any caves or ruins?" This from Ingle. I've decided that Ingle has my natural voice.

"The real hunt starts on the other side" Jack brags. He has fostered a cultured tone, reassuring to others.

"The map I read," he continues, "set a hospice or fort kind of mark here "

"Maybe at the summit... we'll see" Eryn says vaguely. Eryn has a pleasant contralto voice.

Xantu says little by habit. Now he shakes his waterskin expressively. It is near empty. A spring or stream will be very welcome. But no such water source offers.

Packs are lighter by a day's worth of rations, and the hills don't look promising in terms of forage.

Other than birds or creatures that choose to look like birds, the grey sky offers no threat. The party shakes out into the same order as yesterday, but this time Jack walks beside Eryn and Kylie closes up on Xantu, so that it's a two by two order where the trail allows.

The Arvyx hills are far wider than the map suggested: or more likely, the Pass weaves through a series of shoulders. Two watches go by before they gain the summit.

The summit of Best Pass is a disappointment.  No sign of any shelter, and it is too deep a pass to offer a view. After catching their wind back, the party sets to the tiring job of a full watch's descent. 

At the base of the far side though, hearts rise. A sturdy stockade pushes out from a steep slope, and smoke and the faint smells of cooking, and the smell of livestock, demonstrate occupation. 

Ingle feels inside his priestly scrip. He carries a guild referral letter giving the party the right to hunt monsters. Maybe this will be their base?

Excursus: Fort Stoutheart

Outline of the stockade 

Permanent staff 2. They are Erda and her wife Oshii.  

Seasonal hires 5 yes, three: are Chandler Potter and Woodcutter 

Are these folk what they should be 6 yes and so are their hires. 

 

Passing through/hunting from 3, specialist or merchant. Are they together yes but not equals. 

They comprise the merchant Ajiwe, his  teamster Ygyourn, and his muleteer Affanwe. Their beasts are stabled close by four horses among which stands out a war horse. Its barding is further back in shelter. 

 

Are there any unusuals 5 yes (human, hill Wilderness table, but drop Neanderthals. 5, brigands. Number in the stockade pretending to be traveling, 1 brigand leader and 3 brigands.  

Are they gathering intel yes and... are ready to strike! 

 

Gathering in, NPC check at 1st meeting. 

1. Staff and hires (+2) 10 

2. Sojourners (+1) 10 

3. Brigands (-2) 7 

 

Is the merchant heading on? 4 yes but has a suspicion that guild adventurers might be safer to travel with than a lordless knight (as the brig leader is posing as). 

 

Time to quick review merchant guilds and fiefdom structures  

 

Guilds are all-encompassing - world principles  

A small merchant carries a guild letter or "tag" to show he has permission. Regardless of his goods this makes him a valuable target. 

 

Fiefdom. this will be local, rules here on the border may not apply closer to lawful lands 

 

1. Adventurers scour the lands. But they do not establish fiefdoms.  

2. The local area is in the fiefdom of a 3rd tier noble, a vicomte or viscount. This means that both barons and knights-banneret may hold domains around the trail. 

3. Their duties include exterminating any chaotic force be it human or monstrous. 

Is the vicomte in residence on this side of the hills yes but distant 

Are the brigands currently hunted 6 yes and these are all that remain 

 

This explains why the brigands are waiting for the merchant to go rather than slaughtering everyone in fort stoutheart. With a guild permit the leader, Ftr2, rides barded mount, can dress one of his men as the merchant. 

 

1.6 fort stoutheart

normal transmission resumes 

 

On arrival at fort stoutheart  

Time: evening. Weather calm but rain gathers in the hills. 

Is the fort set up for hunting 6 yes and has a specific approach to preserving, curing, and butchering 

 

Are stables well back inside 3 no but away from immediate danger 

 

Eryn Ingle and Umbert scan the horse trappings and visible industry before they meet the inhabitants and look over the mules horses and barding. No heraldry. A landless knight? 

 

Only Ingle makes a INT check to pick up some degree of off-kilter. Does he mention this to the other brain, Umbert ? No, but Umbert may be permitted a WIS or INT bonus if this comes into the mix. 

 

Once inside Jack can assess the various sojourners. WIS rather than INT? With a 15 he picks up nothing to begin with.