Hexplore24 — Day 21
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HEX K10
Satis has 6/10 HP
WEATHER: Snowstorm, violet mist
DAWN WATCH HAZARD: 4 Local effect - 12, A mythic random event.
Current Context "Guide Weapon Patient Hindrance" "Definitely Flee slowly poor"
Sounds like Mammoth is still strong.1
At dawn's first light, snow is starting to fall, filling the sky with a violet mist of swirling flakes. Malla, determined not to let the storm claim the mammoth before she does, leads a hunting party of Aima, Blain, Belus, Rahn, and Yuhtar, a barbarian from the Prannites.
To Malla's surprise and disappointment, the mammoth is not exhausted, but seemingly perky, having freed itself partly. Though it is still trapped and immobile, it warns the group that any approach of it risks its trunk or tusks extracting revenge for its predicament.
"Shoot. This looks harder than I hoped," Malla says, surveying the scene.
Well, this is unexpected, thanks Mythic!
What options do we have? No Satis, so magic from her can't help. The PCs all have melee weapons save for Malla, who still has a level of exhaustion.
Mammoths are, according to Dolmenwood, a 12 HD beast, which means they can take and dish a lot of damage.
Unless Malla can try her deft arrow to the brain trick, I don't know what can help them kill it.2
"Keep your distance," Malla warns as she takes out her bow. "This is nigh-impossible, but I just may be able to down the beast with a well-placed shot..."
Yesterday, this took a standard attack roll; however, today the Mammoth is less mobile and Malla is just a dozen feet away.
If her goal was to pierce the eye, I would rule this as an automatic success. But because her goal is to kill it, it's an attack roll with double advantage [+].
Accounting for Malla's exhaustion, she must roll d20 ≤ 8 to hit. A miss still blinds the Mammoth, unless she rolls a 20 and fumbles.3
Malla steadies her breathing and readies her bow, Wavebreak. The smooth wood feels like an extension of her own body, her fingers holding the arrow as she focuses on her target, waiting for the Mammoth to turn just so, allowing her shot to potentially penetrate its brain, killing it. She releases the shot...
Malla's rolls: 16 & 17
The arrow hits the beast's eye, blinding it, but the angle is not right, and it remains alert and alive as it trumpets in anger and pain.
"Argh!" Malla grumbles in disappointment.
She jogs around the thrashing beast and lines up a shot for its other eye.
Malla's used her Deft ability for the day with the last shot. I'm ruling this is not a combat encounter yet, just her hitting a target. To keep it "fair," she won't deal damage to Mammoth's HP.
As she is performing a shot she is attuned to and in line with her vocation, it's still a d20 ≤ 8 roll, with [+], but this time a miss will be a full miss.
Malla aims and lets off another arrow.
Malla's roll: 3 & 19, 3 makes this a hit.
The arrow finds its mark, and with more bellowing, the beast cries out, blinded.
"It's blinded but still a deadly foe," Malla explains. "Any ideas on how we can kill it in a safe and quick manner?" she asks, facing the group.
"We could wait for it to freeze in this storm," Belus adds, shivering.
Yuhtar offers, "If we fell the tree so it hits the Mammoth, it can kill or knock it out."
"No reason we can't hunt smaller game," Aima says, watching the beast thrash.
Malla sighs, frustrated. "Okay, Yuhtar, do you think you can have the tree hit its mark?"
"Worth a try!" he says, sizing up the already damaged tree Malla and Satis had hidden beneath the other day.
We will do this as a Whitehack auction4, challenge of 18.
Yuhtar, being a 2HD Ref Char, will use his WIL of 12.
Yuhtar takes his axe and prepares to cut the tree with surgical precision.
Yuhtar's secret number is 6, so he will need to roll between his bid and ≤ 18
Tree bids 2
The tree sways in the wind as Yuhtar concentrates, raising his axe.
Yuhtar bids 4
Tree bids 5
He takes a swing, cutting into the near-frozen wood, sap cracking. The Mammoth bellows at this sudden sound.
Yuhtar bids 6
Tree bids 8
Yuhtar swings again, and cracks radiate through the bark, the tree shifting from this impact. Yuhtar, slightly surprised, steadies himself. Malla, watching, prays this plan works.
Yuhtar bids 9
Tree bids 12
Yuhtar swings again, and the tree pops as its weakened trunk is further strained, teetering and swaying away from the Mammoth in the wind.
Yuhtar steps back, announcing, 'It is done.' All eyes then turn to the swaying tree, increasingly agitated by the wind.
Yuhtar holds, tree has the winning bid, so if it rolls first, its secret d6 is 5, so it must roll 12 < d20 ≤ 20 to win.5
If tree loses, Yuhtar auto-wins, and the Mammoth is hit; otherwise, tree falls and misses.
Suddenly loud snaps, cracks, and a sound like ripping fabric emanate as splinters burst from the falling tree.
Tree Roll: 16, meaning the trunk misses the Mammoth.
The trunk falls, towards the Mammoth, but then twists, more trunk bursting, it slips, then teeters, falling in a new direction, it misses the Mammoth, impacting the frozen ground with a deep disappointing thud.
The Mammoth gives an almost mocking trumpet as all the observers sigh in disappointment.
Aima walks up to Malla, extending a hand. "Come, it is time to return to camp. We cannot risk injury, and the storm is too cold. We can return later to finish the job."
Malla, glum, agrees and leads the group back to camp, empty-handed.
Morning watch hazard: 1.
A 1! That's a random encounter. After so many days, it has finally happened: The Afah have arrived.
Let's do a reaction roll: 4, they are aggressive.
So, three options:
- Afah are already at the camp.
- Afah ambush Malla's group or
- Afah arrive at camp after Malla's group returns.
I'll roll a 2d6, and say the possible results are:6
2-5, At camp
6-8 Ambush
9+ after return.
Roll is: 6, Ambush. Oh no.
I mean, makes complete sense from a tactics POV, but oh no, not good for Malla's group.
To better understand their motive Mythic char motive: "Rare group"
What makes sense to me is the Afah saw the Prannites and Beaconites merge a few days ago, are worried they are there as a coordinated threat to the Afah, and so the Afah are striking the group while it is divided, intending to get answers and neuter any growing threat.
13 Afah in this group. 4HD each.
At dawn's first light, snow is starting to fall, filling the sky with a violet mist of swirling flakes. Malla, exhausted and disappointed, leads the hunting party back towards camp, upset she has nothing to show for it.
"Malla!" Aima's voice calls out in a clear warning.
Malla looks up and sees, walking down from a nearby hill, two muscular Afah, just as she had seen nearly a year ago, men from the waist up, Yesgril from the waist down.
Malla moves towards the group, Aima stands next to her, Blain behind them. Belus, Rahn, and Yuhtar are nearby.
"Hello!" Blain shouts, causing Aima to wince - she dislikes when his nobility and diplomatic training leads him to draw attention to himself.
"Are we finally meeting the mysterious watchers we've enjoyed the distant company of this past week?"
The two Afah stop a dozen feet in front of the group.
Reaction to Blain: 11, positive, though with a 4 last round it's not friendly.
"What are you doing in our lands?" the larger Afah asks in a deep voice.
"Just passing through," Blain replies, "we have friends who need our help, we are traveling to them."
Reaction: 4 - negative
"Passing through?" The Afah asks in a skeptical tone, "Your numbers doubled from reinforcements."
"Oh, no, we just helped, are helping some lost travelers — they were nearly dead from the storm," Blain explains.
Aima hisses, alerting the group to the sight along the ridge: nearly a dozen more Afah emerge, encircling them on the low hills on either side of them, nearly a dozen more Afah have emerged, surrounding them.
Reaction: 7
"Rescued from a Blizzard?" the Afah asks, dryly.
"Yes, please, we truly mean you no harm. Most of us didn't know you existed here until a day ago, we are foreigners to these lands," Blain explains, in as charming a voice as he can muster.
Reaction: 8
"Hmm," the Afah says, thinking, "Very well, lay down your arms, we will see if your companions in camp tell the same story. We Afah do not take deceit well."7
Hesitation, uncertainty. "Do as he says" Blain whispers. Aima, with great confliction, lays down her sword. Slowly, the others put down their own arms.
From the hills, a dozen Afah watch, close enough that Belus can see the whites of their eyes.
Okay, that was tense. Now the Afah will take them captive, and interrogate the PCs in the camp to see if the stories match, which they will, because Blain didn't lie.
Wind and snow fill the air as the Afah march Malla's group close enough to see their campsite, but too far to say anything. There, in the storm, they stand, shivering, surrounded by armed guards, watching as the two leader Afah approach the camp. A scramble, then, though small and obscured, it appears Malla and Satis are speaking to the Afah.
Aima, standing close to Blain, hangs her head. "I'm sorry I let this happen. We knew they've been watching us. I should've anticipated that they'd-"
"Shush," Blain interrupts, "You did nothing wrong. Best we all deal with this now, peacefully."
Malla and Belus, both squinting and trying to read every detail back at camp, compare notes.
Belus asks, "Do you think they can see us back here?"
Malla nods, "I think that's the point — hurt the two Afah talking to the camp and we hostages die."
"I guess we do outnumber them if we aren't split up" Belus adds
"Yes... had we not gone back for the Mammoth..." Malla says, glumly.
"I am still looking forward to Mammoth meat," Belus says, and Malla smiles slightly at his kind words.
Reaction roll: 68
Eventually, the Afah return, say they are satisfied for now, and that they will leave the confiscated weapons at camp. Then, they leave, vanishing into the storm.
Malla's group heads back to camp to warm up and debrief. They learn the Afah gave some rules — no traveling parties larger than 5 within 6 miles of their woods. In the spring, they will send a delegation to Beacon.9
"Six miles?" Blain asks, "That is not possible for us—we have to be within six miles when we return with the witches."
"Only if we go the same way we came — there is another route back, I believe, though it is partly uncharted," Malla explains.
"I'm glad we told them the same story," Mahbe says, "It could've been much worse had anyone lied."
"They're going to be a big problem if Beacon can't form a truce," Aima says, "They claim most of the land near Beacon."
I'm ruling that took up the full AM watch,
PM watch: 4, local effect. POI discovery: a Lair.
Malla, despite her exhaustion, leads a group foraging for firewood. While out, they find a lair with tracks showing it is inhabited. She marks the location and has them leave. She is done pressing her luck for the day.
Dusk, 2 exhaustion, 10 hours of wood
Story check passes
Night watch, 5 - Signs
After dinner, and a tale told by Belus, all head to bed or take their shifts on watch.
Near midnight, through the winds, sounds of screams and squeals can be heard in the night. A hunter and prey meeting in a storm.10
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As advised by Mythic GME, I went with the initial idea from interpreting prompts. The mammoth, which Malla had hoped to defeat easily, seemed unexpectedly strong.↩
Remember Malla's failed arrow shot from yesterday. Usually, killing a mammoth would require many arrows, but given Malla's deft skill, a single well-aimed shot could prove fatal.↩
This section explains the Whitehack mechanics in use. Malla's exhaustion reduces her attack value to 8 from 10, affecting the difficulty of the challenge.↩
I used a Whitehack auction yesterday. Auctions are meant to be played between people, and the rules I used yesterday relied on an oracle I’ve been unhappy with. Today I switch to using a new updated oracle which resulted in a better scene.↩
This showcases the improved gameplay with my new Whitehack auction oracle. The detailed mechanics aside, Yuhtar has a 60% chance of winning this outcome, a strategic aspect of the game.↩
When I’m not sure how to resolve something, but I know it realistically can only be one of a few options, I’ll create a little table on the fly like this one.↩
This conversation was driven by simple 2d6 reaction rolls and context. It amazes me how well the 2d6 reaction roll can work in exchanges like this. It makes me work a lot harder as a player because I don’t know how things will be perceived, and I want to be able to recover if something I say is taken the wrong way.↩
I’m not roleplaying the conversation happening off screen at the camp, but I do roll once to see what kind of mood the Afah are in as they leave. 8, neutral, tells me that they are going to keep watching us, but feel their job is done.↩
This just came to me while I was playing and immediately felt right. I have this backstory of the Afah not liking the size of our traveling party, always suspicious the king’s men are going to come trying to take the Lording back or extract revenge, so it makes sense they would want to limit what kinds of forces can form in their territory. It also means my PCs, who have been traveling the same set of hexes, will be forced to take other routes, and possibly split up.↩
This is the creatures that live in the lair being hunted and killed by the random encounter creatures I rolled up. You’ll meet them soon…↩