[Argad AAR] The road in the steppes – 2

[Patrice]

This game was played on Saturday 28 October at Festival LudOuest in Theix-Noyalo (near Vannes, Brittany).
It followed a previous game played in February at the same place (and supposed to have happened three weeks before).
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=140398.msg1789207

We are still on the same “Road in the steppes“, the landscape has been somewhat lifted to the East.
This semi-desert does not belong to anyone but is not very far from the valley of Saint-Nainain which is a remote south-eastern part of the human Western Kingdom.

Player characters:

– Mitheglas, an Elf commanding a small group of mixed mercenaries in service of the Western Kingdom. In the previous game he examined the area as he had been ordered to, then he decided himself to stay and to restore a ruined tower.

– Thorgrim the Crooked, a chief Dwarf who inherited a few mountains in the area and is trying to enlarge this small domain.

– Karadog the Hairy, another Dwarf chief who could have fought for this same heritage, but decided in the previous game to take control of a nearby sulfur mine. He would like to fortify himself in some mountain not far from this mine.

– The Tribe of the Wolf, a group of human tribal merchants dressed in wolf furs, they collect and sell foreign goods along this road, accepting any customers.

– Hans Stahlarm, an adventurer who obtained the charge of royal military provost of the nearby valley of Saint-Nainain. He wants to police the whole area, which extends, in a broad sense, along this road (although outside the kingdom).

– And a lonely Halfling (name unknown) mounted on a pony.

So, Mitheglas and Stahlarm are both in service of the human Western Kingdom but obeying to different administrations (and with slightly different secret informations). It is said that King Incon III is ill and that his son, Prince Chanmard, is beginning to take more responsability.

Other characters and factions are NPCs run by the GM/referee.

The gaming table seen from the East. The merchant tribe arrives from this side; the other troops come from the other side in the West. The dark lake can be seen near the mountains.





Thorgrim and his Dwarves walk North of the mountain.



On the north-western side of the lake, an abandoned tower has been rebuilt by the mercenaries of Mitheglas.
They see that the area, which was almost desert three weeks ago, is now full of unexpected people (because of their arrival and the safety they bring?)
Strange-looking traders and fishermen are settling everywhere in great disorder.
Three Kobolds are fishing on a raft, not interested in what happens around them.
Left of picture Stahlarm's troop is coming; and also a lone Halfling rider, his first action was to taste turtle eggs sold by local fishermen.



Some men of Mitheglas patrol from the tower on the Northern bank, not giving much attention to the new inhabitants and traders.



Stahlarm, followed by his infantry, and also by a cavalryman and a chariot of Mitheglas, inspects in detail the activities on the Southern bank.



A man rents beach towels for a copper coin.



Former bandits sell shells and animal eggs that they dig from the shore of the lake.





Stahlarm questions them. They are not even sure what the eggs are, probably turtle eggs.
He tells them to let some in the lake, to avoid exhausting the resource.

One of them answers that it's unfair, they pay taxes! His friends hush him, of course it's not true...
...but Stahlarm has well heard (he has a good understanding for money) and he immediately decides to raise a royal tax on all traders.

Nobody dares to refuse, but some say that the legality is unclear: the shores of the lake, and the mountain, are no subject to any present realm, and who would represent the Western King here, Stahlarm or Mitheglas?
Stahlarm firmly answers that's him, as military provost of the nearest royal valley!
Mitheglas does not object... (and Stahlarm pretends to ignore that the mercenaries occupate a tower near the lake).

The tribal merchants have arrived at the sulfur mine and talk with Dwarf chief Karadog.
The last time they met they left in very bad mood, they almost had a fight with drawn swords, because the Dwarves had seen these merchants trading with Goblins.
But since, Karadog has understood that if he wants to gain profit from this commercial road he must make some concessions; and also he is happy that the merchants sell him exotic spice, and they buy bags of sulfur from him.



Meanwhile, a group of Karadog's Dwarves explores the nearest mountain. They find two other Dwarves digging for metal, they are members of another small clan who gave allegiance to his rival Thorgrim but they don't mind who's in charge there.



Thorgrim arrives near a small inn recently opened by a Dwarf cook who serves a renowned speciality of rat farci. No having received foreign spices he cooks it the old way, in macerated urine of black cats, traditionalist Dwarves love it.
Near the inn they see the tent of the Bishop of Saint-Nainain who is camping there. They have met this human priest before, he is the lone leader of the local religion of saint Nainain.
(Saint Nainain was a Dwarf who wanted to unite the Dwarves and the Humans, this caused dissension in some Dwarven clans).



Thorgrim is then surprised to see that a few Dwarves of his clan have become adepts of this religion, he had not noticed they had painted its colours (light blue and white) on their shield.
Not willing to start a religious conflict in his own clan, he decides to accept this. He is even more surprised when an old warrior, hearing happily that he has no objection, deploys a banner of the saint on a spear!



The Bishop says he has come to look for the place in the mountains where the saint met the spirit who gave him religious inspiration.
Thorgrim, who was on his way to explore the other mountains, accepts to travel with the Bishop.
(Some traditionalist Dwarves in his troop, those called Duergar or Naintegralists, are unhappy of this).

They begin their journey, and a short time later they hear loud noises, and Goblins shouting...
They are a bit worried, as in the previous games there were lots of hostile Goblin warriors near there and they had a big howdah dragon with them (in fact an ankylosaurus).

Then they see a Goblin wolf rider coming at full speed ...and behind him a large dragon mounted by another Goblin! A few seconds later this second Goblin slips from the back of the beast and finds himself clinging to a chain he was using as reins.

They hear this Goblin shrieking : “Be a good boy, Kiki! Sit, Kiki! Sit!“ ...and the wolf rider shouting: “I had told you it's much more difficult with carnivores!“



Understanding the situation, Thorgrim, his Dwarves, and the Bishop, pretend to not notice and they avoid to move. Mitheglas's cavalyman and chariot, far behind, do the same.



The beast seems confused, and hesitates...



...and runs to attack the Dwarves, and eats one of them! The others surround it and eventually kill it.

[Patrice]

Meanwhile, there is also a panic around the lake. Creatures appeared in the water, they come ashore, and they begin to destroy angrily the shops and tents! The traders and fishermen (including the three Kobolds) run away as fast as they can.



The mercenaries at the tower shoot a few arrows; then they understand that these creatures are Lizardmen trying to collect the eggs that were on sale to bring them back in the water.
So the mysterious “turtle eggs“ that some traders were cooking and selling to travellers were, in fact, eggs of Lizardmen.

A Dwarf on guard duty above Karadog's mine blows his horn.



This time it's a group of Half-Orcqs approaching with threatening gestures.



At the same moment (perhaps on purpose) a group of Orcqs, accompanied by an armoured Ogre, advances towards the Dwarves of Thorgrim.
Some Goblins who were not far watch all this but do not interfere.



The Half-Orcqs arrive near the mine. The Dwarves (not in number, as some of them are still exploring the nearest mountain) shut themselves in.







The unexpected arrival of Hans Stahlarm and his soldiers changes the situation.



The Half-Orcqs recoil to avoid contact with the human infantry, while Stahlarm and another mounted warrior charge them from behind, and the Dwarves come out of the mine to take part in the fight.



In the other skirmish the Dwarves of Throgrim, with the help of some of Mitheglas' mercenaries, have killed or routed the Orcqs. Only an Ogre in heavy armour, who seems drugged, is still fighting.
Having surrounded him, but lacking staff weapons to kill him easily, Thorgrim and Mitheglas (who have finally understood that in this campaign it's no use to send their own warriors to death if it can be avoided) decide to recoil and let him go.



The Half-Orcqs are surrounded too, and surrender. Stahlarm tells them to lay down their weapons, they will work in the mine for the Dwarves. Karadog then accepts to swear allegiance to the human King (although it's almost symbolic).

Far from there, the Halfling traveller has eaten his third breakfast of rat farci, and mounts his pony to continue his journey; and the merchants visit all possible customers near the first mountain.

The Half-Orcq prisoners are led towards the mine; then a Goblin wolf rider comes peacefully towards Stahlarm and asks to talk with him.



Another Goblin arrives to talk to Thorgrim and to Mitheglas. The Goblins say that they apologise for the incident with the uncontrolled dragon (Kiki). They swear that their attack against the Royal mercenaries three weeks ago (in the previous game) was caused by the unexpected arrival of Mitheglas and Thorgrim north of the mountain, but that they want peace with the kingdom and with the Dwarves. They invite everyone to a feast.

Stahlarm, Mitheglas, and the two Dwarf chiefs, are cautious about a possible trap, but they accept, thinking that it could help them to settle there eventually.

Goblin musicians (including a violonist) and a Troll with a large drum play music on a rocky outcrop. The howdah dragon that appeared in a previous battle is there too, peacefully carrying beer barrels in its tower.



Everything goes well; although some strange people are seen near the event (an unknown warrior, a Death cleric, a witch, two Shadow Elves...)

The Goblins say again that they want to live in peace; then, they ask who represents the King. Stahlarm immediately answers that's him. The Goblins offer him a gift for the King: a very young, but already quite big, three-horned dragon. It seems very friendly. They say it will grow big if well-fed with plants and bushes. Stahlarm gives this job to a man he had recruited near the lake.



Then Thorgrim and his Dwarves continue their journey with the Bishop; the Dwarves want to visit the farthest mountain, the Bishop is still looking for the holy place where saint Nainain met the spirit who inspired his faith. Some Goblins up the pass seem unhappy but let them go through.

On the other side of the mountain they find a deep volcanic crater which seems full of unnatural darkness. They cautiously come near. Stahlarm, who took another path, joins them. The Bishop, with help of the other magic-users, tries to dispel the mysterious darkness. They fail a few times, but, still trying, they succeed: the darkness disappears and they see all the stars of the sky reflecting inside the crater.



A small temple appears, nearly the same as the other temple in the village of St-Nainain. The Bishop and two faithful Dwarves walk up the path. A kind of ethereal ghost is in their way but the Bishop dispels it with ease, it was perhaps a last illusion.



In the small temple they find an ape-shaped creature who shouts they must go away; and who adds in a desperate tone that he is the spirit Humandwarf who inspired saint Nainain to found his religion, but that nobody believes in him any more, that even the adepts and the Bishop do not really believe and that they pray without conviction, this lack of belief has rejected him in this unholy shape for eternity.

Hearing this, the characters – including chief Thorgrim – say that, yes, they believe in him! and they begin to sing the holy name of saint Nainain on top of their voices (we sadly regret not to have filmed the players, who actually did this near the gaming table!)
After a short moment, the spirit regains power, and changes himself in an animated statue of the saint.

There is a small treasure in the temple, money that the saint had left there at the end of his life, made of donations of people and of King's subsidies.
Unusually for a RPG no one tries to take it, it would obviously be bad politics.
Even Stahlarm who is always looking for treasure does not touch it; he even adds a small donation from his own purse...
...and then he tells the Bishop that, obviously, the god who lives in the temple will have to pay housing tax and property tax as everyone else.

Some days later, people will hear that a man who had disappeared some weeks before (before the previous game where some characters were already looking for him), probably a royal spy, had been found alive in a mountain cave and is now free. He was prisoner of the Goblins who had captured him when he entered their territory and had been uneasy to release him by fear of creating a new incident. Some people say that Mitheglas found him, others say it's an unknown Halfling who found him. Mitheglas and Stalharm say they will not blame the Goblins for this.

[fred]

Very cool, there is always so much going on in your games!

[Luigi]

These are really cool shots.
The game looks like it was a lot of fun and I just love the variety of terrain and miniatures.
But my favourites have to be those pack camels. Where are they from?

[Patrice]

Thanks. 

As often happens, some of the stuff had to be prepared in the last days before the game...    For example, two of the “dragon“ bases still need improvement; and also some of the terrain tiles begin to wear out.

my favourites have to be those pack camels. Where are they from?

Copplestone's Back of Beyond:
https://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/list.php?cat=2&sub=8&page=1
(and the tribe of merchant is made of miniatures from very different fantasy and historical ranges, I took all those I had who were wearing suitable fur).

[Elk101]

It sounds like you had great fun with this. What a great narrative you introduce in your games. Excellent!