Five Leagues from the Borderlands - The Gentlemen of Much-Piddling

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

When do you recommend a 3x3 board vs. a 2x2 one? I've only seen 3x3 for a dungeon in the rulebook.

Not sure I did see a size for it in the rules. I just wanted to use my existing terrain and put that ruin in the centre. We ended up playing on only about 4 tiles anyway.

How are you playing the game with the other player? Coop... GM vs. player...?

We are playing co-op and letting the rules AI run the enemy.

Thanks, Doug and blacksoilbill.

[Plynkes]

Rules say 2x2 or 3x3, it's up to the players. The former pits you into the action that much sooner, so it's all a matter of how much manoeuvring you want before people start walloping each other. To be honest, you don't get all that much breathing room with 3x3 in my experience so I imagine 2x2 is very intimate.

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Rules say 2x2 or 3x3, it's up to the players. The former pits you into the action that much sooner, so it's all a matter of how much manoeuvring you want before people start walloping each other. To be honest, you don't get all that much breathing room with 3x3 in my experience so I imagine 2x2 is very intimate.

Yes, we felt good with 3' x 3'. it seemed to work out fine for us.

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Fierce and highly aggressive canines, packs of Dust Hounds prowl the land, looking for prey. While normally they would not attack a group of Humans, it seems the dark whispers in the foggy forests affect them too.

It is early morning. Just as the roseate fingers of dawn creep over the Great North Road, the Compagnye assembles to the west of the Dust hound’s lair. The early morning mist is reduced to pockets of moisture in the hollows. Although the Compagnye can hear snuffling and whining, the hounds seem unaware of their presence.



Master-at-Armes, Bara Brith ap Cyffylliog runs over his plan of attack again. Ilsa von Spanckwürst advances cautiously. She crosses the River Piddle, which is luckily only knee-deep at this time of year and crouches by a gap in the stone wall.





Meanwhile, Bara advances up a small hillock which commands a view of the immediate vicinity. Ilsa’s attempt to sneak up on the lair has alerted the hounds. Bara takes aim at a hound in the lair but misses. He blames the moisture in the air affecting his bow string.



Thorvald the Skald makes a bold figure as he crosses the Piddle and attempts an alternative route to the lair. The intention is to make the hounds divide their forces.



The hounds respond to the sounds of movement. One particularly large one jumps right over the ruined wall and Ilsa advances to engage. Another from the lair and two from the road skirt round the wall, heading for the river.



Ilsa and the Dust Hound fight furiously, neither giving ground or able to score a telling blow. The black streak in her otherwise pure white hair warns the alpha-hound that she may be more than a match for his viciousness.



Tiffany Aching crosses the Piddle and casts a spell on Ilsa, giving her the ability to cross rivers and walls as if they were not there.



Bara looses another arrow, misses again and utters a string of curses in an ancient tongue.



The Pugh twins are across the river, Lew supporting the Skald and Hugh running to assist Ilsa. Thorvald uses his sling against the nearest hound, only to see his shot bounce harmlessly off the stone wall to his front.



Ilsa is pushed back into the river by the alpha-hound. It’s snarling jaws dripping with putrescent saliva.



Lew joins Thorvald just in time to confront the first of the hounds, with a second, close behind. Sphincters are tightening in the Compagnye as it looks as if they will be overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of the attack.

To be continued...

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Lew Pugh attempts to hit the hound with his staff, but it becomes entangled in his legs. In the struggle, the hound floors Lew and is he is out of the fight. Thorvald has no time to see if he still lives, as he is fighting for his life.



Hearing his brother cry out, Hugh changes course and heads for the fight by the wall.



Ilsa pulls back from the alpha-hound to guard Tiffany, with whom she has formed a close bond. Bara takes the opportunity, lets fly another arrow and get a clean kill. The first success for the Compagnye.



Over by the wall, it’s two against two.



Thorvald manages to kill his hound as it closes on him. Hugh is pushed back by the other hound.



A third hound arrives to even the odds again. Things are hotting up here.



Meanwhile, with the effects of Tiffany’s spell coursing through her veins, Ilsa leaps the dead hound and lays into the next hound with a mighty ululating battle-cry.



Tiffany casts the same mobility spell on herself as she determines to make a bid for the loot in the lair. She can now cross the walls fronting her with impunity.



Bounding over the walls as if they were not there, Tiff closes with the loot.



Meanwhile, back at the wall, Thorvald uses his sling again and this time wounds and stuns the hound. Whilst the hound is stunned Bara looses an arrow with lethal effect. Another hound bites the dust (pun intended).



Ilsa now has the killing rage and with her bastard sword, removes the hound’s head with one mighty swing. The hounds are down to one and things are looking up for the Compagnye.



The final hound attacks Hugh Pugh. As it pounces on Hugh, Thorvald hits it with a well-aimed shot from his sling and the hound is stunned.



Tiffany reaches the loot and is disappointed to find a load of old sacks of grain. Probably only worth one gold mark, back at the market. She had so hoped for a magical item to enhance her powers.



Ilsa lets out a triumphant whoop and looks around to see how the rest of the Compagnye is faring.



Taking advantage of the hound’s hesitation, due to being stunned, Hugh makes a shrewd stroke with his short sword and the last hound is down, blood pouring from its throat.



As the Compagnye pauses to draw breath and take stock, the denouement of the encounter is revealed. Lew is down but it transpires that he has only been knocked out. To the relief of Hugh, he starts to come round, a lump the size of an ostrich egg, appearing on his head. Steam from the still warm corpses of the hounds rises slowly into the dawn air as their blood congeals on the dewy grass.



After a careful search of the lair and its environs, a bag of tools worth about one gold mark was found. Suddenly, poking about in a hole in the stones, Bara gave a cry of triumph, a suit of fine partial armour. Something worth having at last. Dropping his light armour to the floor, he donned the fine armour in seconds. He suggested to the unarmoured Mystic, Tiffany that it might be a cunning plan if she took possession of his discarded armour. Tiffany concurred but decided to give the light armour a good wash in the Piddle before wearing it. In the heat of battle, who knows what fluids may have been discharged by the druidic archer?

Having taken a short rest and shared a bottle of Red Duck, the Compagnye made their preparations to return to Fiddling-cum-Nicely. A proper celebration was in the offing, upon their return to the Pilchard Inne. This would be financed by a quick visit to Sir Frippary Rumination to collect the promised gold.

A good first outing for the Compagnye in Defnascir.

As Doug has shown, this game was played online with two cameras so that he could keep in close touch with the action. I have to say that we had a great time. The Master-at-Armes plan worked well. In the first turn or two, I think we were somewhat concerned as we seemed unable to kill any hounds. However, the ranged weapons then found their mark and things took an upturn. I think I forgot to use my +1 bonus against toughness for the bastard sword, so that might have helped earlier on. As I say, bags of fun and Doug’s character Bara got to level up. Our third member, Vagabond was on a secret mission crossing the Scorchio Sea, heading for Jhamjarhi. No more can be said of this at present.

Pip, pip for now…

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

...and another extract from 'Ye Annals of Ye Compagnye'. Various oilskin-wrapped packets of papers have been found in the attic at Snapcase Hall, in an old chest. The diary seems to portray the activities of a legendary mercenary company, way back in the mists of time.

[MysteryMachine]

I've finally worked out who Hugh Pugh reminds me of.

I'm not sure I'd put him in charge of the boat!

[marianas_gamer]

Huzzah fellas on a fine outing and a few gold in reward!

[Silent Invader]

Marvellous 

[Little Odo]

Great adventure, nicely told. I like the double write-up, with the AAR describing the game in a nuts and bolts style, and then the scrolls that describe the adventure from the point of view of one of the compagnye. Keep it up!

[Vagabond]

An amazing tale of daring do, the opening shot of the Dust Hounds is quite amazing. Was this your brother Rembrandt Snapcases work, seems like he's been having the bad dreams again. You'd better up his dosage of poppy juice.

I'm very sorry to see all this happening while I'm on a secret mission and not able to take part in the frivolity but it's gratifying to note 3 dead hounds at Thorvalds feet. The man is a monster killing machine and modest enough to let others partake in his victories, the mark of a true gentleman.

Well done Bara although is sounds as if a little more time at the butts and less in Madame Genuflection's school for Wayward Girl's wouldn't go amiss. Ilsa  and Tiffany's story arc might end up with an X certificate which should make things even more interesting than they currently are.

Looking forward to the next installment of this gripping tale with bated breath.

[Doug ex-em4]

.
……….. it's gratifying to note 3 dead hounds at Thorvalds feet..

One of which he managed to kill himself…!

Doug

[LouieN]

That is a great set up.  Thank you for the report

[Plynkes]

Chapeau bas!



Wonderful visuals. I really do like this game. It has inspired something of a painting renaissance in me, something I hadn't thought would happen at this point.

[Michi]

  Now on the silver screen:

FOR A HANDFUL OF GOLDMARKS
( D i r t y  d e e d s   d o n e  d i r t  c h e a p )