Kyneros Episode 4

image from ArtBreeder

filed under actual play on 09 Nov 2016
tagged kyneros, kairael valeyn, mutable, scarlet heroes, solo, and pre-1.0.0

Rambling in Hindsight: Not much to say about this one, except that I was using Scarlet Heroes’ wilderness journey framework and I kept rolling up encounters. I highly recommend it, especially combined with a terrain generator for point crawls.


Being the fourth part of the adventure of Kai Valeyn, a man without a country, adrift seventeen centuries after the fall of his magically advanced civilization.


Ok, so, I've already plotted on the map the four blocks between Seraxis and Helase. Seraxis is terrain seed 5, so we'll use that as our starting seed.

[Terrain] heavy forest (2)

Is there anything resembling a road?

[very likely, 47 ≤ 85] YES

How many people are along? Kai, Dac, Melysse, and ...

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

Eight other people.

So eight people, plus two mules, plus horses for each. Did Melysse show up with a horse of her own?

[very likely, 5 ≤ 16] Exceptional YES

She showed up with a horse of her own, a magnificent stallion that made the rest of their animals look like old nags, and a happy, well-fed mule to carry her things.

What season is it? That's important to know.

[Options] summer, spring, fall, winter

[Choice] summer

[Options] temperate, mediterranean, english, hot/humid

[Choice] temperate

Well, that seems pretty straightforward. It's summer, it's temperate climate. What's the weather like?

[Options] wet, dry

[Choice] dry

[Dry Season ] Hot and damp

It's a bit hot and a bit humid. Nothing Kai can't handle, given his Con score and growing up around here.

Still, it's hot enough that once a day everyone will need to make Hardiness saves vs 9 + "hot" modifier of 2 or take penalties.

Let's roll for Kai, Melysse, and Dac now.

Kai first.

Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 2 2 ] 4

Actually, looking at my weather notes, I'm not sure he has to make a save; he's wearing a tunica, scale armor, and riding a horse, very appropriate for warm to hot weather, if a little on the hot side. So I'm going to consider all of them Protected, for now.

If conditions get hotter or it rains I'll check again.

So, let's see if there's an encounter, Scarlet Heroes style, but using Osric monsters that fit the flavor of the world.

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 1 ] 1

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 15 ] 15

Ok, so, further rolls show it's a sorcerer who is at full strength and morale, and escorting an exile to the end of their land. Is it a Seraxis law officer?

[very likely, 1 ≤ 16] Exceptional YES

So the Kynerians have an elite law enforcement group that serve the king directly and are generally extremely tough. In this case, he's escorting an exile to the edge of Kyneros.

[Gender] male

[Age - Mature] Mid-twenties.

So he's young, male, a sorcerer, and a member of the King's Guard, known as the King's ravens. They tend towards multiclasses.

I'm going to add him as an actor; is he going the same way the party is?

[very likely, 23 ≤ 85] YES

Dac is respectful and will offer to help escort the lawman, though Kai is reluctant to get involved.

[Stranger NPC Reaction] Tentative agreement

[Description] "Defiantly Important"

He's a noble, being exiled. He's tied to a horse, with his hands and feet bound, a mask, and his mouth sealed. Is he a he?

[Gender] male

Yep.

The defiantly part means he's unrepentant; did he attempt treason?

[somewhat likely, 22 ≤ 65] YES
[RANDOM] NPC positive "Activity Prison"

Ha, and his friends are trying to break him out!

Do they wait until the group is camped?

[somewhat likely, 17 ≤ 65] YES

Well, first let's roll up a feature, then.

Rolling 1d8 1 times.
[ 5 ] 5

Nope, but set the feature threshold to 1.

I'm not going to roll events for under a week's travel, ie, any time the part is within three or four days of a city.

The first day passed relatively uneventfully, despite Dac boldly inviting a passing lawman -- a black cloaked young man with a masked prisoner in tow -- to share the protection of their guards and camp.

Let's see; there's 8 guards, so they each take an hour's watch. Kai, Dac, and Melysse are exempt.

Rolling 1d8 1 times.
[ 6 ] 6

The attack is at the 6th watch, so right before dawn.

[Encounter] 1d4_T hit dice worth of foes numbering several Minions or Civilians and possibly an Elite

Kai's level 1, so 1d4+1, mostly minions, and an elite.

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 4 ] 4

So, five minions, one elite. Easy enough.

[Type] Bandits
[Sub-Type] Mage
[Specific] Renegade mage

[Type] Bandits
[Sub-Type] Minion
[Specific] Brigand ruffian

Convenient -- four ruffians and a mage.

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

Do they disable the watchman?

[somewhat likely, 41 ≤ 65] YES

Is the rest of the camp alerted...

[Options] when they attack the lawman, when they free the prisoner, when they disable the watchman

[Choice] when they free the prisoner

Is the lawman incapacitated?

[fifty-fifty, 99 ≥ 91] Exceptional NO

Kai woke up to the sounds of magefire and screams and the smell of smoke.

Catching up his swords, he burst from the tent to see the black cloaked lawman hurling fire at his foe...

A witch, who blocked the first bolt and laughed grimly. "You'll have to do better than that, King's fool," she said, and a wave of black flame swept from her fingers towards the lawman.

Is anyone else in the area of effect?

[fifty-fifty, 76 ≥ 50] NO

Does Liath dodge?

[high vs above average, 89 ≥ 55] NO

How much damage does it do, with 1d6 being base?

[How Much?] More than expected.

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

More than expected; it has some secondary effect. Is he incapacitated?

[fifty-fifty, 2 ≤ 10] Exceptional YES

She knocks him out cold; she's using something that's explicitly geared towards hitting people like him.

[fifty-fifty, 69 ≥ 50] NO

Towards hitting him in particular?

[fifty-fifty, 83 ≥ 50] NO

Towards Ravens?

[fifty-fifty, 51 ≥ 50] NO

So there's something special about him that's targeted but he's not the only one who'd be affected.

The minions are freeing the noble; it will take them...

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 1 ] 1

Only a round more to accomplish this. Kai is pretty pissed.

Kai growled and ran forward, his quick feet carrying him into the midst of the men. The rest of his company...

Were still asleep?

[fifty-fifty, 97 ≥ 91] Exceptional NO

Are they under a sleep spell?

[somewhat likely, 14 ≤ 65] YES

Kai's attack; two sword attacks, no Spellfire or other powers.

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 9 ] 9

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 10 ] 10

No, he misses, since he's using two weapons (net +2/+0).

Still, he has his fray die, which is not shabby at all.

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 4 ] 4

Two points of damage; even on a miss he still down two of them.

Contemptuously he swung, and the one closest to him ducked back quicker than he expected. Two of the others were not so nimble and easily dispatched.

Their turn; first, morale.

Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 1 1 ] 2

Was one of the ones killed working on freeing the prisoner?

[somewhat likely, 10 ≤ 13] Exceptional YES

Exceptional, going to say that nobody else is in range to free the prisoner for at least one more round. I'll check each round to see. It's the mage's turn.

The mage has 1 HD and casts 1d4 spells; let's see what level she is.

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 4 ] 4

Quick break to figure out how damge works.

Ok, so she does two points of damage. The plusses are added to the roll, not the damage itself.

Too bad, Kai's Fray die would be obscene!

The other two minions go. They're using short swords.

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 1 ] 1

One of the two bandits swung at him and Kai didn't even bother to dodge as the blow went wide. He grinned wolfishly at the other, who quailed a bit. Something bit into his shoulder, and he cursed -- the witch was throwing black fire at him.

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 1 ] 1

That's awesome. Both critical fumbles.

How far away is the witch?

[Same Place] The other side of the room

So a full move. Kai is going to kill these two and then hunt her down.

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 20 ] 20

His next strike easily separated the man's head from his shoulders, and he followed through with a backhanded swipe...

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 5 ] 5

But fray to the rescue...?

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 4 ] 4

Yep, in spades. If he were using a ranged weapon or Spellfire, he'd be able to overflow onto the witch and probably kill her too. So sad.

...that went through the other's ribs, downing him.

He whirled to face the mage, his expression grim.

Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 5 3 ] 8

Ok, she's going to do one more ranged bolt at him.

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 3 ] 3

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

Two more points of damage.

Kai's under 3 HP. He's going to sprint over and attack, except, you know, Feedback. So let's make a feedback roll first.

Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 6 8 ] 14

Blackness tinged his vision, threatening to overwhelm him, but he shook it off and focused on the mage, sprinting towards her.

Rolling 1d20 1 times.
[ 13 ] 13

First hit is a 22 (13 + 7 + 2) and the second ...

Rolling 2d8 1 times.
[ 8 1 ] 9

... is a miss.

Rolling 1d6 1 times.
[ 2 ] 2

1 point of damage; she has 2 HD, so 1 left

Fray die. 1d4 + 4

Rolling 1d4 1 times.
[ 1 ] 1

Even as she prepared another spell, he cut her down. A quick glance around showed no other foes.

Has the lawman come around yet?

[somewhat likely, 43 ≤ 65] YES

The lawman was half kneeling, trying to rise to his feet as the fell magic sucked the air out of his lungs. Kai strode over and offered him a hand.

[Friendly NPC Reaction] Hesitant Agreement

The lawman hesitated for only a moment before accepting the proffered hand.

"Not expected," he grated out, still coughing a bit.

Kai glanced at the downed men.

Are any alive?

[very unlikely, 76 ≥ 25] NO

Is the mage alive?

[very unlikely, 13 ≤ 25] YES

All dead, all wearing...

[Description] "Cheerfully Flawless"

Plain, common clothes in good repair.

"The mage lives," he pointed out to the lawman.

Are any of the company waking yet?

[fifty-fifty, 40 ≤ 50] YES

[Options] Melysse, Dac, guards

[Choice] Dac

Dac, looking rumpled and bleary, burst from his tent, only to skid to a stop at the carnage before him. "I hope we won," he said blankly. Kai grinned at him.

His shoulder where the mage had bolted him was burning and aching at the same time, and it was in an awkward spot. Kai winced as he shrugged out of tunic.

Is anyone in the company skilled at medicine?

[fifty-fifty, 23 ≤ 50] YES

[Options] Melysse, Dac, Dune

[Choice] Dune

The lawman put a hand on his shoulder, right on the wound, and he reflexively started to jerk away, but an upheld hand stopped him. The lawman chanted something under his breath, and Kai immediately felt the pain ease.

Rolling 1d8 1 times.
[ 8 ] 8

Nice, plus his class bonus of 2 gives us a solid 4 points back.

Probably time to roll up Dune's wheels.

[Motive] Loving & compassionate [1], [Focus] a prized possession [2].

Overtly, he's only mildly passionate about his job, treating his status more as a prized possession than a duty.

[Motive] Creative & driven [6], [Focus] pain [4].

He's also creative and driven, driven by his internal pain over some past hurt. This has never conflicted with his job... yet.

[Wronged!] The family pets, livestock or servants were all brutally murdered

[Wronged!] You have been blocked at every cause from your mission by the villain

So his family home was razed, and he's been unable to find out who did it or why, beyond bandits.

As Liath secured the prisoner, Kai looked towards the mage, who was...

[Options] bleeding to death, quietly glaring at him, unconscious, unconscious and bleeding to death

[Choice] bleeding to death

He alerted Liath, who shrugged.

Does Liath heal her in the interests of questioning her?

[somewhat likely, 75 ≥ 65] NO

Obviously the lawman knows who is attacking them. Does anyone else on the team take pity on the mage?

[somewhat likely, 28 ≤ 65] YES

[Options] Dac, Melysse

[Choice] Dac

"Er, we're not just going to let her die?" Dac said, sounding bewildered. He had a handful of bandages and an herb kit. Kai looked at him and shrugged.

"Do you think she would have bandaged me up had she won?"

Dac frowned, then pushed past him to kneel next to the barely conscious, dying woman. Kai went back to bed.


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Scene over. That's two sessions, so two xp, I think, I'll double check.

Woohoo, level 2!

Ok, all leveled up.