Abel's Vengeance Session 1

Having finished his duties to his mother, including three days of mourning and paying her funeral expenses, Abel is ready to set off. He has 1 coin left in pocket. He wishes the elves well, thanking those who have been kind to him. I think it is likely that one or more elfin scouts escorted him from the fortress to at least the edges of the Gap of Providence, since this would be their lands. I roll a 5; no. Some of the scouts apologize, saying they would like to provide some assistance, but there is growing conflict, and all patrols have been suspended. Abel understands, and sets off east on foot.

I’m going to say that it is 2D6 leagues (about 3 miles per league) between the Keep and the entrance to the Gap of Providence. I also don’t know what time of year it is… I guess I’ll just roll! Well… these are frost elves, so this is likely to be a northern area… nope. I roll 5. Is it moderate climate? Nope. 6. Is this actually southern? Yeah. Okay… we’re in the southern part, but there are still frost elves. Is this a mountain fortress? Yes. Okay, so the elves have built a fortress here atop an icy peak, despite the fact that the climate is quite temperate, and summers are quite warm - though this warmth never reaches the mountain top. I will roll for the season, basically starting at the beginning of the year and going every 60 days… I roll 1, so this is January/February… I roll to see where we are in this, and get late February. Okay, so it’s basically March 1 (or this world’s equivalent). There were twelve elder gods, and Abel has sworn fealty to the Seventh God, and that god’s domain is light… but I don’t know much else. This would not be that god’s month (since the seventh god would have the seventh month). Is there some connection here that is fortuitous? Yes. The Third God is related to the Seventh God. Brother? Yes. Okay, so this is the Month of the Third God, who watches over his younger sister the Seventh God (who is actually a goddess); it would be appropriate to start by praying to the Third God to watch over Abel’s quest as he watches over his sister.

That done, he sets off. I roll 10 leagues, so it’s about thirty miles. At three miles per hour of walking, he can get there in one day and then camp at the entrance to the gap. I am going to say there is a possible encounter every six miles; this would be five times. The first will be coming down the mountain. I roll a 3, so yes. I will roll 1D6 to see how friendly this might be (1 is the friendliest). I get 1. That has to be an elfin patrol. Abel will hail the patrol, and ask if they have any news of the lands to the east. He attempts a Focus check (CR 8) to see if they have anything to report. I roll 7; they apologize, but they cannot stop to chat - they must get back to the keep.

Concerned by their bruskness, Abel continues ahead. At the feet of the mountains, there is a chance of another encounter. Nothing. He reaches a flat stretch of broken land that wanders eastward towards the line of mountains in the east. He continues on for a few hours, and attempts another check. Yes. There is an encounter near noon. I roll for how friendly it is, and get 5. Not friendly at all. Is it a wild animal? No. Is it bandits? No. Hm. Is it a monster of some kind? Definitely not. Is it humanoids? Yep. Is it goblins? Yes. How many? 6. Ugh. Have they seen Abel yet? Definitely not. What are they doing? Camping? No. Finishing a hunt? No. Patrolling? Definitely not. Well, it’s daylight… and none of the obvious things is working here. Are they fleeing from something? Yes. Is it elves? Yep. Are the elves nearby? No. They think they lost the elves a little while ago, but are not sure. 

Do these goblins bear the markings of Parth Goldu? I said this was likely, so yes. Oh, it’s on. The vengeance tour has reached its first stop.

Abel wants to slip down into their path, and he thinks he can do it. He needs to make a Focus check to get into position. He rolls Focus and gets 8 against their Focus of 6. The good news is that, since they are in daylight, he has advantage against the goblins. That’s awesome. He gets surprise, and as they pass a large stone, he emerges from behind it, swinging his blade at a goblin’s head. He rolls 7 (even with advantage the die result was 3/2). Initiative. He rolls 5, so the goblins get to go first.

Round 1. He has to defend against six goblin attacks; 3 are in melee, while 3 draw bows and start firing. It is very likely that one of them is told to keep watch for the elves that are pursuing; a 1. Oh yeah. Is there a second sent as well? Another 1. Yep. Two fall back to watch for elves, moving to far range.. Hm. Let’s see how many rounds it might be before elves arrive; I roll 1D6 and get 6. Okay. After 6 rounds, there is a cumulative 1 in 6 chance that the elves who have been chasing these goblins catch up. This leaves 4 goblins here; three in melee and one firing arrows. Abel defends against four attacks at 7, getting 13, 10, 10, and 12. He easily avoids all four, as his sturdy shield holds up. He could either receive advantage on his attack or +1 to Resolve, but he already has advantage from being in daylight (a light which he thanks his goddess for providing), and he’s still at full Resolve, so he can just let it ride. He attacks and gets 12, slaying a goblin. Three remain.

Round 2. The goblins attack, and Abel Defends with 12, 10, and 13. Same as last round; no need for that bonus yet. He attacks with advantage, getting 9 and killing a second goblin. 

Round 3. The two goblins attack, and Abel defends with 11 and 9. No worries. He attacks, getting a 9 and killing the last goblin in melee range.

Round 4. The last archer attacks (calling for help from the two who went to watch), as Abel charges at it. Abel rolls 11 to dodge, so the arrows miss him, but he has to spend the whole round closing the distance to get close enough to attack with his sword. He could pull out his sling, but he really wants to see these die up close. Vengeance, remember? It's kind of in the title.

Round 5. As Abel gets close, the goblin drops his bow and draws his blade; Abel defends against this with a 13, and then attacks with 9, which is enough to kill this goblin. Abel’s face is streaked with goblin blood.

Round 6. Hm. Lots of possibilities here. Did the two goblins respond to the call for help? That is likely. Oh yeah. They have returned, and are now in medium range. Have the elves arrived? 5. Not yet… I feel like this would be a new initiative check, so I do that… Natural 12! I’m going to say that he can close this round and attack at the end… so he’s basically giving up his initiative in order to attack this round too.

Side Note: I don’t think he wants to win initiative; he wants to start the round by defending; I might make that a class feature; you don’t roll initiative; you always lose initiative, but do so to defend and have tactical options. That makes sense with the class ability.  

Back to round 6. The two goblins fire arrows, and Abel rolls 13 and 12. He swats away both arrows and gets to melee range. He swings and gets 13, which decapitates one. 

Round 7. Do the elves arrive? Nope. Not yet. Abel dodges with a 12 and then hits with a 13; he pushes the goblin against a tree and demands some answers. He attempts a Focus check (with advantage), and gets 11. Oh yeah, this goblin is ready to talk.

Round 8. Do the elves arrive? Yes they do. Okay… I’m starting to think the elves cannot be trusted, and I’m starting to think they have something to hide. Do these elves let Abel interrogate the goblin? It’s possible… NO. Ohhh. these elves cannot be trusted! Dang. They arrive and demand that he turns over the prisoner so that he can face justice at Winter’s Rest. Abel is not really happy with this idea. How many elves are there? 1D6+1… there are 5. They are all well-geared and higher level than (or at least comparable to) Abel. Let’s stat them up real quick.

Frost Elf Scout from Winter’s Rest (Renown 0)

Attack 9 | Defend 8 | Focus 9 | Resolve 3

These dour elves attack with either a blade or bow. They force disadvantage whenever frost magic is used against them.

Yeah. I do not want to tangle with these guys. Okay… maybe they are just following orders. Do I get a bad vibe from them? Focus check CR 8. Very bad vibes. This is what Abel suddenly suspects; the forces of Parth Goldu never campaigned further west than his father’s temple… they appear to have never emerged from the Gap of Providence or threatened the elves. Did the elves agree to allow them to capture the lands up to the temple in exchange for a promise to leave the elfin lands alone? Why did the elves never actively defend the temple, or go to push back? His senses are tingling. I don’t know if this is true or not yet (I suspect it it), but I don’t need to use the solitaire framework yet to prove or disprove it… it’s just a hunch until I take action to try and prove it. If these elves sold his dad out and allowed him to die, then they are going to be part of Vengeance Tour 2.

Okay. Abel is going to get a little snarky with a ‘you’re welcome for cleaning up your mess’ sort of thing… let’s see how that goes over. It’s a Focus check… I’ll interpret the results. An 8… not terrible. These elves know Abel, and they understand his frustration. One explains that they are under strict orders to kill or capture these goblins, and that all information regarding their movements is to be reported to the high elf commander only. They appreciate Abel’s assistance, but they can offer no more. I’m going to say that there is a chance (it’s unlikely) that one of these elves has a special bond to Abel, and lingers behind to offer something else… A 2. He does. This elf, who we’ll call Medwyck, offers to check the bodies with Abel while the other elves interrogate this goblin. Abel agrees to this, and they cross the few hundred feet to where the other goblins were killed. They are all dead, and from their bodies, Abel collects 2D6 coins; he finds 7 coins, so has 8 total now. I’m going with maybe (1-3 on D6) for each option here. Does Medwyck offer a potion? Yep. That’s it. Okay, he reaches under his cloak and draws forth a potion. Is it haste (Please be haste!) Yes. Awesome. He tells Abel to be wary, and it is best that he leaves these lands behind. Dark days are ahead. He offers no more than the cryptic warning and a potion, and the elves leave.

After cleaning the blood from his blade, shield, and face (but the stains in his tunic are not going away), Abel sets off continuing east, as the elves move west. I’ve checked for three encounters so far, and have two to go. About mid afternoon, I check and get 6. Definitely no encounter; in fact, I’m going to say that six makes another encounter today unlikely (so only 1-2 instead of 1-3). As daylight starts to fade and Abel spies the markings of the entrance to the Gap of Providence, I roll a check and get 6. Definitely nothing. Abel makes his camp, eats dinner, and prepares for a restless night ahead. Tomorrow, he enters the Gap of Providence.

Summary

This was awesome fun! I am shocked at the turn with the elves - I thought they were the good guys! My conspiracy theory is building steam here. I wonder who they might be in cahoots with, and why… I hope there’s a good reason, and not all of the elves are complicit. I guess we’ll find out…

I like my character. He had no trouble with the goblins, but there was still a lot of variety to the encounter. It wasn’t just fight six goblins, collect treasure.

The solitaire framework is awesome good. I feel like I’m playing with a game master who already knows everything, and is revealing a little bit to me at a time. I suppose that I’m possibly more creative than the average bear (see the thousands of pages of comics and games I have produced as exhibit A), but I would think most people would be able to get some mileage out of it, even if they don’t feel like they have all that much imagination. Anybody can ask questions, right? 

Abel now has 7 coins, a potion of haste, and I think he has definitely earned 3 hero points. Put those in the bank, son!

And seriously, if you read to the end of this incredibly long post, then give yourself a hero point, too. You deserve it.

Ready for Session 2?