More Middle Earth Sellswords

I decided to take a break from painting and writing, to get another game in. As they hadn't been on the table for a while, I dug out my Middle Earth party for Sellswords and Spellslingers as Hallas, the knight of Arnor, continues his watch on the Northern borders.

In the last game I played, Hallas and his men had rescued a wounded Arnor captain and now they had to get him to safety whilst pursued by orcs. As a lack of tabletop magic in Middle Earth (especially the offensive kind) can present challanges in Sellswords, I give the party two free soldiers (1HP no combat bonuses) who can be attached to a character and activate when he does, with the same number of actions. In this scenario Hallas attached one soldier to Doltalagan and the other to the wounded captain.

 Not a brilliant start! Doltalagan activates first, 2 fails and his first card is an ambush. A hidden snaga (goblin) rushes from a nearby bush and attacked the priest, but he quickly kills the creature. His second fail id Monster Frenzy, so all the foes start moving towards the party.

 Iavasonnen also fails two activations, but his cards are better, he narrowly avoids stepping on a poisonous snake and his second card brings the nearest foe, a snaga lurking hehind some rocks, into the open. With his one action he takes a shot...20! Hit between the eyes the snaga drops like a stone.

 Hallas and Hannar move forward, screening the wounded captain from any lurking dangers.

 But now a hill troll joints the foes!

 A horde of three snaga charge Doltalagan and the soldier, but are swiftly dealt with.

 Whilst Hannar charges anorher hore of 3 snaga single handed, cutting down the first with his axe.

 More snaga turn up behind the party.

As well as 3 snaga archers on one flank......

 And another Uruk (orc brute) on the other. This had not been a very good turn for rolling activations or drawing cards.

To top it off a Monster Frenzy card brings all the foes closer to the party on the eastern side of the table.

 On the western side the snaga in contact with Hannar activate, and die, and an uruk charges Hallas, who parries the beast's attack and deals him a wound in return.

 The next card is an Ambush and a lurking snaga rushes the wounded captain, but the trusty soldier kills the attacker.

 Hallas fights on against the uruk, who knocks Hallas' sword aside and cuts him across the chest, but the man's armour stops the blow. In return he wounds the uruk a second time, so the creature is down to 1 HP. But now the wounded captain fails an activation and draws That's A Big One, putting the uruk's HP back to 2!

 More snaga appear behind the party.

 There is now a gap in the middle of the table, so the soldier drags the wounded capotain forward for 4 actions!

 Which put then clear of the enemy and within sight of the table edge.

 But then an angry bear turns up. And where does he arrive.....

 ...right at the point of escape of course!

 This must of really upset Hannar, because he charges the uruk blocking his way.

 And split's the monster's helmet and head with a single blow! (2 HP for 2-handed axe plus a bonus HP for rolling a 20, all 3 HPs in a single attack).

 The foes are closing in on Doltalagan and Iavasonnen and snaga archers move into range.

 Iavasonnen draws a Horde Actives card and is struck by 2 arrows. His buckler offers no protection so he is down to 1HP.

 Hannar is charged from behind by 3 snaga, he kills one but the other 2 both strike home. His armour turns one blade but the other bites deep into his side.

 He turns around and cuts the two presumptuous snaga down.

 Finally the wounded captain reaches safety. Now the rest of the party can make their escape.

 Doltalagan's loyal soldier is struck down by an arrow, but the priest thorws his still body over his shoulder and continues on.

 Almost at the table edge, Iavasonnen is now charged by a snaga mounted on a wolf! He scores a hit with his bow and the pair charge him, then finishes them off in close combat.

Now everyone has escaped except Hannar, who has now attracked the attention of the bear. He passes all his activation rolls for his next round as escape to join the others. Exit Dwarf, pursued by a bear!

The final tally, Hallas has 1 wound, Hannah and Iavasonnen have two each and the loyal soldier did not survive. It was a fun game, with some tense moments. I was lucky the hill troll never made it into combat or things might have been different.

Keeping Myself Busy 3

I didn't feel as if I'd got quite as much painting done this week, but when I lined the photos up it was more than I'd thought!

 A couple of old Grenadier elves for my Middle Earth forces.

 Another Victorian gravedigger.

 Some more icy undead types, old Heartbreaker figures designed by Phil Lewis.

 And more Dark Dwarves, also Heartbreaker by Phil.

 Some Dark Age types from Black Tree Design. I've given them white bases until I decide whether they are going in my Icy Scandinavian project, or being re-purposed as Arnor commanders for Middle Earth.

 Papal vampire hunters for the streets of Venice. Part of the Vatican Hit Squad pack from Westwind's Vampire Wars range.

 Some quickly knocked up scatter for Frostgrave and Venice, a bunch of statues (part of a plastic chess set I picked up in a charity shop for a couple of quid) and some skull plinths carved with mysterious glyphs.....

...cos you can't have enough skulls!

New Scenario Book for Sellswords and Spellslingers

I'm delighted to announce that Andrea Sfiligoi at Ganesha Games has approved my synopsis for a mini-campaign scenario book for Sellswords and Spellslingers. This will take a party of adventurers through 5 or 6 linked scenarios introducing some new monsters and fun challenges.

The plan is for the book to be available later this year. There is no firm timetable as yet, the scenarios need to be written and play tested, then go to Ganesha Games for artwork, layout and final editing.

 I will post regular updates on the production of the book as things progress. I have been a great fan of the Sellswords and Spellslingers rules for some time and I am really excited about this project and looking forward to getting started.

I suppose I'm going to have plenty of time for writing at the moment!

Keeping Myself Busy 2

What I've been up to on the gaming front over the past week, apart from building more pavement sections for Venice.

 More Heartbreaker Goblins by Phil Lewis as Svartalfar for my Jotunheim project.

 And Phil's Heatbreaker Dark Dwarves as Dokkalfar.

 A horde/swarm? of nasty spirit things.

 A couple of Victorian grave robbers. These are part of a set I picked up on Ebay, being sold as "Victorian men burying a body". I think the seller had missed the point.

Of course, what fantasy campaign doesn't need a witch at some point or another? This is a 3d print, again picked up on Ebay a while back. It was a set of 3 witches (naturally), depicting Maid, Mother and Crone. I need to get the others painted up now. The cauldron has a choice of tops, the bubbling contents come with and without the emerging hand.

Finally a bunch of assorted undead gribblies for Sellswords/Frostgrave.

It looks like I am going to have a new writing project to keep me busy over the next few weeks as well

Keeping Myself Busy

In between building more of Venice, I've got on with various projects I've had sitting around for a while.

Some more figures for my new (still in planning) fantasy project, very loosely based on Scandinavian myth and folklore. Most of the miniatures are from Heatbreaker, dating back to the late 1980s/early 1990s, designed by Phil Lewis.

 Dark Dwarves, these guys have oodles of character, but with their oversized heads they did not fit in with my existing dwarf forces, which are mostly Vendal and Mithril. So they will be my Dokkalfar for this new project.

 A bunch of frozen undead, in various stages of decomposition.

 A Frost Giant, this time a 54mm plastic barbarian from a Russian toy company.

More Dokkalfar, some sort of evil spirit (not sure of the manufacturer) and a couple of Svartalfar, Heatbreaker Goblins, also by Phil Lewis. This pack was entitles "Nasty Goblins", are there any other kind?

Some more low scatter terrain for Frostgrave.

The Librarian. The miniature is from Westwind's Vampire Wars range. No idea where the candle stands came from originally, I got them in a job lot on ebay. Not sure at the moment what I will use him for, but I'm sure I will find a purpose.

I Have No Self Control!

Just to ensure everything is ready for the possible lockdown, I put an order in to TTCombat for some expansions to my Streets of Venice set up.

My plan was to stash this away until we got hit with the sort of enforced isolation that Italy and Spain currently have, but of course I'm a wargamer!'. No sooner had I taken delivery I had to open a couple of packs just "to have a look".

And now I have some time on my hands (so far all our work has been cancelled up until June), I gave in to temptation and started to assemble a couple of items.

This is the set of small steps assembled and painted up, I can see these coming in very useful.

And, of course, a gondola is essential! 

I've also finally got around to painting some of the old Heartbreaker miniatures, designed by Phil Lewis, that I've had hanging around for a while.

The two purple wizards are for the new Frostgrave campaign we were supposed to start in April and the other two characters are for a new project I'm working, a fantasy campaign incorporating elements of Scandinavian/Finnish mythology. I guess I'll get at lot of work done on that now!

Bloody cameras, now I've looked at this picture in close up, I've noticed a couple of spots I missed on the blue-faced wizard. That will teach me to paint without a magnifying visor, my eyesight is not what it once was!

Venazia - Sellswords and Spellslingers Campaign Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Something wicked this way comes.

Welcome to the City of Venazia – a shining jewel on the shore of the Great Western Sea.

All visitors note civic by-law 1/a: Arms, weapons and harness of war are expressly forbidden in public spaces. This includes body armour, shields, polearms, bows and crossbows. Gentlemanly sidearms may be worn for self protection.

The party paused just outside the door of their lodging house.

“What’s up with you, Gunnar? You’re scowling.”

“He’s still upset that his axe wasn’t allowed to count as a ‘gentlemanly sidearm’!” laughed Christos.

“Yes, but they let you keep your mace! And your even your shield, how did that happen?”

“They are symbols of my rank in my order. They are classed as religious regalia and under by-law 21/b are exempt from the by-law concerning 'weapons of war'!”

Sintamo sighed.

“So that’s fixed then – meet back at the tavern at eight bells. That will give us all time to do what we need to.”

“Seven Bells,” said Gunnar.

Eddie sucked his teeth. “I need more time than that. Transcribing the new spell has to be done at a certain pace, with special rituals.”

Sir Robin looked at Gunnar. “Why so soon?”

Gunnar narrowed his eyes. “Because… ale is a cultural enemy?”

Robin laughed. “I am sure you can fight the good fight alone until we are able to arrive to give support!”

“Aye laddie, it will be a hard battle, but I’m sure I will cope.”

As the party started to disperse to their various tasks Eldarondo called “Don’t fall in any canals.  And don’t cause any trouble.”

Sintamo looked at the Elf. “Christos, Robin, Eddie?  Maybe the second sentence first would have been better.”

Set Up

The canal streets of Venazia

Objective.

Reach the tavern in the centre of the board. Game ends when all PCs are in there, or arrested.

PCs Entry.

Each member enters randomly, on their own.  This is done as per ‘Wandering monster’ arrival. Gunnar is already in the Tavern. He won’t leave unless another PC spends an action explaining what’s happening.

Special Rule.

This is a respectable town. The PC’s are not wearing armour, or carrying shields, and do not have bows etc. They carry just one weapon (plus knife) so Eddie has his staff, not the sword.

Foes

5 randomly placed hitmen (Barbarian assassins) out to get the party.

Ambush

A Brigand leaps out of nearest cover.

Reinforcements

1-2 1d6 Desert Barbarians

3-4 1d6 Brigands

Wandering Monsters:

1-2 1d6 Desert Barbarians

3-4 1d6 Brigands

5 Lunatic – Religious zealot high of substances

6 Assassin (unless 5 are already in play, in which case = Zealot)

Scenario Special Event:

1d6 City Guard (Armoured Militia) appear 12” away (in a random direction) from the PC who draws the card. If any fighting occurs within 8” they will rush and subdue all taking part. Damage is non lethal – so track lethal and total separately. Any PC or NPC reduced to 0HP is arrested. (We will assume that PCs are going for non-lethal blows etc, unless you really want to kill the good-guys). PC may give up at any time – they are arrested, and removed from the board (no criminal is stupid enough to try and kill a PC under escort). Arrested PCs get no XP, and are fined 22 sp, + 11 sp* per HP inflicted on a Guard.

Things could get worse.

The PC has become disorientated among all the bridges and islands, and are not where they think they are. They move 3d6 in a random direction, but not closer to the tavern – move them towards closest base edge until same distance is maintained.

No more actions or cards this PC turn- their go ends immediately.

Traps/Scorpions/etc

Sintamo The PC has tripped on a loose flagstone. DEX DL8 check or stumble d6” in random direction. On a 1 they are prone at the end. If a PC falls into a canal STR DL12 to get out (DL6 if assisted by a friend).

*11sp = 1 local ‘weight’. The City State of Venazia uses a base 11 system for money and time, on the reasoning you don’t need the next digit along until you have run out of fingers. Thus mid-day is 11 local hours from midnight. These are subdivided into 11 ‘moments’. Merchants have learnt the hard way there is more than one reason why Venazian traders have a reputation for being successful. Also an 11^th hour rescue in the City really is cutting it fine.

The Game

The table layout, the tavern is in the plazza at the centre of the lower edge.

 The tavern, as it is summer the landlord has set up an outside bar and move his tables out into the plazza.

 Gunnar enjoys a flagon of ale while contemplating sitting in for a hand or two of cards.

 Christos starts alone, far from the tavern. He is unaware of the assassin lurking ahead.

 Sir Robin and Sintamo can both see the tavern but there is no bridge near to them.

 Eldarondo is frankly lost, he can find his way blindfolded in a forest, but the maze of buildings and waterways has got him stumped. He can't see the tavern, but he can see Sintamo and Robin, so decides to head towards them.

As he does so, a local footpad, lurking in the shadows of the nearby bridge, leaps out. Caught by surprise, the elf takes a heavy blow to his shoulder before dispatching the robber with his sword.

 Oblivious to Eldarondo's danger, Robin and Sintamo move to join up.

 But as Robin crosses the bridge he trips on a loose flagstone and stumbles forward, straight into the canal! Robin tries to climb out but cannot get a grip on the slippery stonework.  Sintamo rushes over to help him, but is laughing so much, he drops Robin back into the canal! (I rolled a 2 when trying to get Robin out).
The second attempt gets the soaked knight back onto dry land.

 The pair caught up with Eldarondo.
"Robin, why are your shoes squeaking?"
Robin, stomped on ahead, leaving a trail of wet footprints behind him.
"He's fallen in the water." Sintamo whispered, with a grin.
"But how?" the elf asked, smiling widely and pointing at a nearby canal. "They're big enough."
The ranger just shrugged his shoulders.

 On the other side of the table Christos set a fast pace (not failing activations) and breezed past two assassins, leaving the bewildered desert killers staring after him.

Eddie was not so lucky, as he crossed a bridge he was charged by another assassin, who wounded the wizard. Panicked, Eddie flailed out with his staff and caught the assassin across the head. As he was wielding a long staff and having the advantage of higher ground, we decided to allow Eddie a chance of knocking his attacker over. The die rolled a natural 20! The stunned assassin dropped to the ground.
Unfortunately a horde of desert barbarians were also in reach of Eddie and charged in. With his eyes closed and failing around wildly, the wizard managed to tack down 4 of the 5 attackers, but took a second wound in return. seeing the fight ahead of him Christos rushed forward to Eddie's aid.

The last desert tribesman cut the wizard down. But before he could do anything else the irate cleric charged into him, caving in his helmet and skull with a furious mace blow.
Christos grabbed Eddie's inert form and slung him over his shoulder, then set off towards the tavern.

Robin stumbles around and realises he's taken the wrong turn, so rushes to catch up with Sintamo and Eldarondo, but is attacked by a local thug. With barely a pause Robin dispatches the impudent rouge.

Attracted by reports of scuffles in the street some of the city watch turn up. Eldarondo causally saunters past. "Good evening officers."

But they promptly move towards the last fight, which puts them breathing down Eldarondo's neck.
"Is it coz I'm an elf?"
"Don't get many of your sort around here, sir!"
" A long way from the great greenwoods, aren't we!"

The watch are distracted by seeing Christos take out another assassin.
"Oi stop! We want a word with you!"

In the meantime, a horde of tribesmen have turned up at the tavern and are stalking Gunnar.

They jump him, he takes out two with his ale flagon, but is overcome by numbers. However knocking over the card player's table provokes and all-out tavern brawl, which takes the remaining tribesmen out of play.

As Christos nears the tavern, Robin gets in front of the watch and "accidentally" blocks the pathway to allow Christos time to back to the rooms and heal Eddie.

Christos makes it back to the rooms and just has time to confirm Eddie's wounds are not serious, when the watch burst in and arrest them both.
Gunnar is also arrested, swept up with a whole bunch of tavern patrons arrested for the brawl in the plazza.
Sensibly, Robin, Sintamo and Eldarondo keep well out of the way. They will attend court in the morning to bail their comrades out and pay any fines.