[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIV

[rax]

Bardhyl carefully unlimbered his bow and knocked an arrow. "Pick your targets and get ready to feather the little buggers as soon as Herr Ludo is back with us," he whispered to Ortwin and Afrim. For his part, he eyed up the goblin pulling teeth from Sangrit's skull.

[LCP]

Working his way around to the western side of the hollow where the shadows were thickest, Ludo clambered down, treading as softly as a spider. There was enough room to keep eight or nine yards between him and the nearest goblin as he crept towards the curtain, his back to the rocky wall of the pit. With how preoccupied they seemed to be with their pastimes, that was enough.

Sidling up to the curtain, Ludo could hear a coarse voice grumbling on the other side. It sounded like Glimrut.

“Snikskabz… snotskum… zog 'em.” Peeking through a ragged hole in the cloth, Ludo tried to make out the scene inside. A flickering campfire was banked up against the wall of a shallow cave - Ludo couldn’t see any indication of tunnels leading further back. Close to the flames, the chieftain sat, gnawing on a bit of Snagrit’s leg. It still had the foot attached.

“Knew dat git wash gunna try shumfink,” he muttered, through a macerated mouthful. “Betta now than when the ladsh are proppa riled.” Sticking the leg back in his mouth, he worried another chunk of meat away from the bone. “Shtill. Not like he wash da only trubble-maker round ‘ere. Got to keep wotch. Boaf eyesh open.” Chomp. Chew. “Slugrunt, ‘e’sh got ‘ish eye on da boss’ hat. Nazrukk, too. An’ Grodwort.”

“Um… I’m Grodwort, boss,” said one of the two spear-guards that Ludo had seen earlier. They were sitting a respectful distance back from the fire, along with the floppy-hooded musicians, enjoying a much more meagre dinner of meat scraps and some kind of mushroom stew.

“Yeh, an’ don’t fink i ain’t got my eye on you,” said Glimrut, turning round to point Snagrit’s half-eaten foot at the browbeaten goblin. “You get any funny ideas, you’re gunna end up like Snagrit ‘ere. All of yez.” Something about that seemed to amuse him, and he turned back to the fire with a self-indulgent cackle.

In the shadows at the back of the cave, Ludo could make out a dark heap of the chief’s loot, or refuse, or both. With the firelight to spoil his night vision, the shapes were hard to distinguish - but he thought he could make out the dark outline of a tall cage, with a large figure - or larger than a goblin, anyway - slumped shapelessly at the bottom, as if asleep.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo stepped back from the hanging cloth, and tried to get a complete count of the number of goblins in the hollow before returning to the group.

"He's got a prisoner in a cage in there," Ludo said. "We might be able to lure the rest of them away and get in to speak to him. But I think the chances they're working together are looking a bit thin."

[-Sentinel-]

"I'm no good at sneaking," said Elsa. "I say we attack."

Spoiler: OOC

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I've already made my thoughts clear: I think the "toss a pebble in the bushes" trick is nonsense, as it only makes the enemy more alert, not less. Also, even with the goblins fewer in numbers, our chances of freeing prisoners unseen are very slight. Better to use the advantage of surprise to hit the goblins hard. If we just try to sneak behind them, and they see us, we lose the surprise round.

I'll hold off on the Aethyric Armour casting until we're all ready to spring the ambush.

[RossN]

Jarla

"I agree we attack," Jarla said, as she carefully checked her pistols. "Do you want me providing covering fire or in there with blade and pistol? I admit I don't have the range of a n archer with these things but I'm a reasonable shot."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard glared hard at Jarla. "No guns," he repeated.

[rax]

Bardhyl flashed everyone a white-toothed smile in the dark. "Please, can we get on with the fighting?" he whispered. "Anyone that's better with a bow than a blade, pick a target and shoot. Keep doing that as long as there's goblins you can easily see and hit. The rest head down and start cutting the little buggers to bits. Elsa can burn whomever she wishes as long as it's not us or a prisoner, eh?"

[RossN]

Jarla

Jarla glared back at Sieghard. "Should I attack them with a critique on their fashion sense perhaps?"

Nevertheless she reluctantly slipped her pistols back into her belt and instead dropped a hand to the hilt of her sword.

[LeSwordfish]

"Ten in the hollow, five in the cave, including the chief," Ludo reported. "I'll come with you down into the hollow: if we can't find the keys to the cage, you'll need me to get it open, and we need to act fast in case they sound a horn or something."

"I think we might be able to get him out more quietly if we lure them away but maybe we can take them."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Give it a try," Sieghard replied, deadpan. "It'd be as helpful as drawing the rest of the tribe back with the sound of gunfire."

"It's a dozen or so goblins. We can handle that." He moved up to the ridge and took aim.

Spoiler

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Was just waiting on the answer to Ludo's headcount. Unless someone's got a reason to not launch the attack, aimed shot.

(1d100)[63] vs 51 Perception. Can Sieghard pick out any of them with a horn or anything of the sort? If so, that's his target and he'll point it out to the others.

(1d100)[77] vs 59 BS +20 Aim. Maybe elevation/surprise.
(1d10+5)[12]

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo had laid out four smooth stones on the rock next to him and sent each one flying into a goblin's head with a practiced crack of the sling, raising several nasty bruises and throwing one unfortunate greenskin head-first into a dung heap.

[rax]

Bardhyl took aim with his bow and loosed a single arrow at the goblin pulling teeth from Skarsnit's skull. As soon as he was done, he quickly switched to his axe and shield and prepared to rush into the hollow.

Meanwhile, Afrim and Ortwin also fired their arrows but continued shooting from the safety of the high ground.

Spoiler: Bardhyl's actions

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Surprise round
Half action: Aim +10
Half action: Standard attack (1d100)[42] vs. 67 (BS 47, Standard attack +10, Aim +10)
Damage (1d10+3)[7] or DoS+3

Ulric's Fury if applicable
(1d100)[15]
(1d10)[4]

Round 1
Half action: Ready hand axe and stow bow
Half action: Ready buckler

Spoiler: Afrim and Ortwin's actions

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Surprise round
Half action: Aim +20 from Sharpshooter
Half action: Standard attack (1d100)[58], (1d100)[79] vs. 71 (BS 41, Standard attack +10, Aim +20)
Damage (1d10+3)[10], (1d10+3)[13] or DoS+3

Ulric's Fury if applicable
(1d100)[84], (1d100)[59]
(1d10)[8], (1d10)[9]

Round 1
Half action: Reload
Half action: Standard attack (1d100)[53], (1d100)[81] vs. 51 (BS 41, Standard attack +10)
Damage (1d10+3)[5], (1d10+3)[10] or DoS+3

Ulric's Fury if applicable
(1d100)[36], (1d100)[58]
(1d10)[2], (1d10)[4]

[-Sentinel-]

"Stay low," Elsa ordered Tatiana.

The air around her slightly distorted by her spell of protection, she stood up from her hiding spot and hurled a quartet of fireballs down the hollow at various goblins; her goal not so much to slay her foes as to make them feel overwhelmed by the attack.

OOC

Spoiler

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Channeling 93: (d100)[6]
Fireball 8+/12+: (3d10)[4][7][2](13) Passed.

All at different targets, left to the GM's discretion. The targets should be as far apart from one another as the spell's range allows, to give the enemy the impression that danger is everywhere. (Sorry for increasing your bookkeeping by making you keep track of more NPCs' wounds, LCP.)

Location: (d100)[92]
Damage: (d10+4)[14] - +6 wounds.

Location: (d100)[83]
Damage: (d10+4)[11]

Location: (d100)[18]
Damage: (d10+4)[6]

Location: (d100)[91]
Damage: (d10+4)[10]

[LCP]

Ludo's first sling-stone struck his goblin squarely in the back of the head. With a yelp, the greenskin jumped up, looking around for where it had come from. The second stone struck it squarely between the legs, and it collapsed to the ground in a whimpering ball.

Arrows and crossbow-bolts hissed through the darkness, each shot finding its mark. As the one goblin's whimpering turned into a chorus of screams and gurgles, one of the panicked creatures seemed to spot them up on the ridge. It had only just stretched out its crooked finger to point when Elsa's spell lit up the night, raining blazing fireballs down onto her hapless targets.

When the smoke had cleared, only one of the goblins still stood unscathed. Cupping its hands around its mouth, it turned to shriek a warning back towards the cave - but two more rapid slingstones from Ludo shattered its hand and sent it sprawling on the ground. Considering the screams and the smell of burning flesh, it hardly needed to have bothered.

The curtain was thrown back, and the chief stomped out into view. He had his tin-pot crown rammed onto his head, and his knife in his hand. "RIGHT!" he screamed. "OO'S PLAYIN' SILLY BUGGERS... out... 'ere..."

He trailed off, eyes widening, as he saw the scene of destruction in front of him. Wailing goblins were clutching arrows stuck in their bellies; another was running around with its filthy robes on fire, while another was now little more than a smouldering skeleton. Turning back to the cave, Glimrut yelled at the top of his voice: "WAZZA! CALL DA LADZ! SOUND DA ALARM!"

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Oh no you don't," Sieghard muttered, sending a bolt towards the goblin boss.

Spoiler

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Reload. Shot at Glimrut.

(1d100)[32] vs 69 (59 BS +10 standard attack)
(1d10+5)[8]

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa grinned somewhat maniacally. "I'm afraid this time I'll be the one slaying the greenskin leader, Sieghard."

Feels a bit unfair, though...

Spoiler

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Channeling: (d100)[63]
Fireball 8+/12+: (3d10)[2][9][1](12)

Three fireballs on Glimrut just to make extra sure. Another on a fourth gobbo, preferably an already-injured one.

GlimrutLocation - (d100)[62]
GlimrutDamage - (d10+4)[9]

GlimrutLocation - (d100)[65]
GlimrutDamage - (d10+4)[9]

GlimrutLocation - (d100)[80]
GlimrutDamage - (d10+4)[13] - Probably overkill, but hey, no complaints.

NamelessGoblinLocation - (d100)[95]
NamelessGoblinDamage - (d10+4)[6]

Three fireballs sailed from her gloved hands and arced down towards the goblin chief, while a fourth curved towards the flaming goblin to hopefully put it out of its misery.

[LCP]

Sieghard's shot sent the goblin chief staggering back, before Elsa's spell bathed him in flames from head to toe. Screaming horribly, he fell writhing to the ground, his cooking-pot crown rolling away across the stony ground of the hollow.

None of the other goblins seemed of a mind to pick it up - with arrows and fireballs still raining down on them, they were in a state of blind panic. Those that could still move ran for the ravine, or for the slopes that led up out of the hollow. One of them chose the wrong slope, and met Bardhyl coming the other way - with a frightened squeal, it turned on its heel and ran back.

From behind the curtain, the ear-splitting wail of the goblins' pipes started up again. The curtain twitched back, and Glimrut's two spear-wielding guards stuck their heads out to see what was going on. Seeing the carnage in front of them, they quickly thought better of rushing out. One immediately turned and dashed back into the cave. The other had the presence of mind to grab the still-smoking body of its chief and drag him back behind the cover of the black cloth.

OOC:

Spoiler

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The surviving gobbos in the hollow are in total disarray and don't pose an active threat. You can keep attacking them if you want but I won't track individual wounds - if picking them off matters to you, from here on you can consider any hit that beats their soak of 3 a kill.

The incapacitated Glimrut, his 2 guards and 3 minstrels are presumably now all behind the curtain, and not minded to come out unless you make them. Reaching the curtain from the position you started would take about 3 combat rounds' worth of movement, or 2 for Bardhyl who's got a head start. Since the remaining gobbos outside aren't a threat, you can resolve those all in one go if you choose.

[LeSwordfish]

"Quickly," Ludo said, standing and slinging his rifle back on his back. "The others won't be far behind."

"We should get the prisoners from the idol as well."

OOC

Spoiler

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Ludo is the one with the lockpicks so will go to the curtain, but someone should get the other prisoners, who may well need to be carried. I nominate the party's NPCs, but they're all other people's followers so I won't give any specific instructions.

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa cursed under her breath when a goblin dragged its leader's body behind the curtain. From up here, it was hard to tell if the still-thrashing chief could conceivably survive its burns, and she hated the uncertainty.

No matter. They can't go that far dragging a body with them.

"Come on, let's all stick together," she said, following Ludo at a brisk pace down the slope. "And stay vigilant, those little sh*ts still have tricks. Remember that maniac swinging a huge ball and chain?"

[rax]

Already ahead of the others, Bardhyl continued his descent and dashed for the curtain.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"We'll deal with that as it comes," Sieghard said. He wasn't convinced the goblins would have time to ready any of their tricks and they didn't have much time to spare even if they did.

Spoiler

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Sieghard will quickdraw his sword and shield in the 3 rounds spent running

[LCP]

Reaching the curtain well before the others, Bardhyl threw it back. The light of the campfire behind it made him squint for a moment, adjusted as his eyes had become to the deepening night.

Five goblins were huddled behind an upturned bench, their leader's charred feet poking out from behind them. The two spear-goblins shuffled together to form a meagre fraction of a shield wall, while the three others just stared at the menacing figure that had appeared, axe in hand, at the entrance to their cave. The awful drone of the pipes died away.

In the shadows behind them, Bardhyl could see the back of the cavern was heaped with junk. Bones, bottles, bits of scrap metal that even the poorest might think not worth their time to salvage. The leaping shadows made it hard to make out, at least without taking his eye off the live greenskins in front of him - but there at the very back, as Ludo had said, was a tall cage. The pile of rags at the bottom of it might very well be a human figure.

"Stay back!" shrieked one of the spear-goblins, jabbing its spear bravely in Bardhyl's direction (despite - or perhaps because of - the fact he was still a good eight yards away). "We'z got stabbaz!"

OOC:

Spoiler

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[rax]

"An' I've got this axe," Bardhyl snarled at the spear-goblins as he launched himself straight at them.

Spoiler: Actions

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Full action: Charge attack vs. nearest spear-goblin (1d100)[58], (1d100)[24], (1d100)[96] vs. 58 (if house rules replace +10 for charge attack) or 68 (if house rules still allow +10 on charge attack)
(1d10+5)[11], (1d10+5)[10], (1d10+5)[15]

Ulric's Fury if applicable
(1d100)[18], (1d100)[23], (1d100)[99]
(1d10)[7], (1d10)[5], (1d10)[4]

Pre-emptive parry (1d100)[80] vs. 63 (WS 53, Defensive +10)
Pre-emptive dodge (1d100)[61] vs. 55 (Ag 55, Dodge Blow +10, mail armour -10)

Note: If allowed, Bardhyl will switch any remaining attacks to the second spear-goblin if he manages to kill or incapacitate the first one.

[LCP]

Crashing into the huddled knot of goblins, Bardhyl scattered them like ninepins. His swinging axe cut the one who had threatened him nearly in two; as the other spear-goblin tried wildly and ineffectually to land a return hit, Glimrut's minstrels scrambled away from the fight, screaming in panic. From the way they ran for the front of the cave, Bardhyl guessed there was no way out at the back.

[RossN]

Jarla

Hearing Ludo's words Jarla peeled off from the attack and made for the dead tree and the two prisoners there. Her blade was firmly gripped in her hand and she was prepared to skewer any goblin foolish enough to come at her but she lacked either the bloodlust or the time to hunt down any of the diminutive greenskins who scattered away from her.

OOC:

Spoiler

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Move & Standard Attack (if needed)

Standard Attack: (1d100)[82] vs 51
Damage: (1d10+4)[11]

[LeSwordfish]

Sword in hand in case anyone took a swing at him, Ludo hurried to the cage to see if it was locked and how.

OOC

Spoiler

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If it's locked in a way that looks difficult to break, Ludo will try and Pick it - (1d100)[87] vs 74

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa entered the cave shortly after Bardhyl, to find the Vrani already cutting a swath of destruction through the last pocket of goblin resistance. Seeing two goblins run for the cave's only exit, she simply stepped out of their way—no point testing the Red Wind's unpredictable temper just to add to her tally of kills. She headed instead towards the cage to see if its occupant was indeed the old Wadim.

Spoiler

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No specific actions this round, except some movement. Bardhyl's initiative comes before Elsa and it looks like he can handle himself.

[rax]

As the first goblin flopped to the floor, Bardhyl crowded the other spear-goblin with his shield, raining down blows with his axe.

Spoiler: Actions

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Full action: Swift attack vs. spear-goblin (1d100)[93], (1d100)[57], (1d100)[51] vs. 58
(1d10+5)[14], (1d10+5)[11], (1d10+5)[10]

Ulric's Fury if applicable
(1d100)[3], (1d100)[14], (1d100)[6]
(1d10)[2], (1d10)[4], (1d10)[8]

Pre-emptive parry (1d100)[48] vs. 63 (WS 53, Defensive +10)

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

Sieghard entered the cave not far behind Elsa. He hadn't noticed the fleeing goblins and one had nearly run into him before scrambling away.

"That him?" he asked, joining the others by the cage.

Spoiler

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Bardhyl rolled the same damage this round as last and that killed the other goblin so it looks like he's got this under control. I don't think there's any need for combat actions from Sieghard..

[LCP]

Jarla had no difficulty forging a path through the panicked goblins left in the hollow, who ran this way and that in their efforts to get out of her way. Reaching the tree, she took her sword to the coarse ropes that bound the two captives. They were surprisingly thick.

As the ropes came loose, the first captive practically fell into her arms. A boy of about fifteen, he had curly black hair and long, thin limbs. His lips were cracked from lack of water, and he seemed semi-conscious at best. Jarla laid him down gently on the stones.

The second captive was more aware of her surroundings, though she looked as though she had suffered similar deprivation. A woman closer to Jarla’s age, she bore a close resemblance to the boy. She slid down into a sitting position as she was cut free, her legs too weak to support her.

“Shallya’s mercy,” she croaked, “you’ve come to rescue us.” She looked up at Jarla as if she was looking up at the goddess herself. “Did the Prince send you?”

The cow mooed loudly, as if jealous of all the rope-cutting going on behind it. With a few screaming goblins still trying to get clear of the hollow, Jarla wasn’t sure how clever it would be to set the big animal free.

~

Bardhyl dispatched the remaining spear-goblin with brutal efficiency, throwing its broken body against the wall of the cave. Behind him, the last of the minstrels fled through the curtain, one of them running headlong into Elsa’s knees as she entered. Bouncing back from the collision, it dropped its battered cymbals and scrambled back to its feet, darting around her and out into the night.

Abandoned by his hench-goblins, Glimrut still laid on the floor in the middle of the gave, his breath wheezing and rattling like a broken bellows. His gnarled green hide was horribly burned, but his red eyes still gleamed brightly in the deep shadows of their sockets. They fixed on Elsa and Tatiana as the two wizards approached.

“Yoo… hhhh… yoo…”

Tattie met the dying greenskin’s glare without flinching, holding his gaze. Twisting his mouth into a sharp-toothed grin, Glimrut laughed like a gurgling drainpipe, though even that seemed to cause him pain.

“Gruntrunt,” he said, managing with tremendous effort to point a trembling claw at Tattie. “I know ya. Big… Wun’s… gonna… get ya…”

He grimaced in pain, falling back against the hard ground. “Gognazog…” he croaked, before with one last rattling breath, his red eyes glazed over, and he fell still.

At the back of the cave, Ludo had reached the cage first of all. As he came near, the bundle of rags at the bottom moved. Wizened hands gripped the rusted bars, and a man’s face showed itself in the flickering firelight. He was absolutely caked in dirt - not just unwashed, but the kind of dirty that usually only neglected animals could get. His long beard and hair had each become one matted mass, while what rotted rags remained of his clothes looked as if they would have to peeled off him with a knife. Every wrinkle and line in his skin was black with grime, the white of his one good eye standing out starkly in his filthy face.

“At last! Please, friends, let me out of here,” he said, reaching out through the bars towards Ludo. “I - “

He stopped dead when he saw Bardhyl approaching from behind them.

“Blessed Morr, have you taken me at last?” he asked, in a hushed whisper. “I think I see a dead man standing before me.”