Sviatobal's Ruffians and A Murder in Laketown - Darkening of Mirkwood - TOR 2e - Solo Game

Sviatobal's Ruffians (Original adventure based on information from the fan made A Guide to Dale)

The Player Characters

Hallas: Elf of Mirkwood, Captain

Sigibert: Woodman, Champion

Photo Source

2946: 14th of May

• Adventure Phase
• Gloin was pleased with our help and has another mission for us.
• There are some refugees hiding in some ruins on the East shore of the lake and we've been asked to bring them to Laketown. I used James R. Brown and Aiden Harrison's Wild Adventures tables to generate the idea for this adventure. Scroll all the way to the bottom to the Files section: Wild Adventures
• The fellowship boards a single sail Crayer boat together with some town guards.
• The fellowship arrives at the ruins but see no signs of people.
• Do they see any signs of people? Motif Story Engine: 2, 1, 4. No - Weak Inconsequential - Neutral or Mildly Favourable. Note: The MSE was used multiple times to learn more about the surroundings and the situation at hand.
• Hallas climbs into a tree to get a good view of the surroundings.
• He sees the ruin of some kind of manor and two people bearing bows.
• Hallas creeps closer hiding amongst trees and undergrowth and sees that villagers are being held captive by a group of armed people (Ruffians).
• Hallas informs the others of the situation and Sigiber devises a Battle Plan.
• They ambush the Ruffians and Hallas downs one with a single arrow.
• Note I played out the battle between the town guards and the Ruffians using the telling table. For example:
• Does the 1st Town Guard injure the Leader: Doubtful: 3 No. He is hurt himself.
• Does the 2nd Town Guard injure the opposing Ruffian: Doubtful: G Yes, extreme result or twist. Stabs the Ruffian for an instant kill.
• Does the 3rd Town Guard injure the Lead Ruffian: Doubtful: 9 Yes: Stabs the Ruffian for 4 damage. Left with 4 out of 8 Endurance.
• Since the attack was so violent with three Ruffians killed within a minute I decide to roll for morale. Do the remaining Ruffians give up 0-20% no 21 - 80% Yes. Result: 71: Yes
• Out of 5 Ruffians, 3 are killed and 2 are captured.
• One of the surviving Ruffians is Sviatobal the leader.
• 1d20 = 14 refugees are taken on to the boat.
• As the boat sails across the lake Sviatobal jumps into the water and disappears. He was bound by his hands so surely he would not be able to swim to safety? Note according to A Guide to Dale, Sviatobal has the following specialties: Boating and Swimming. Distinctive Features: Bold, Clever and Reckless.

• Fellowship Phase
• Gloin becomes the Patron of Hallas and Sigibert.
• Each character receives 3 Adventure Points and 3 Skill Points.
• Free Undertaking: Strengthen Fellowship +1 Fellowship Score
• Gloin grants us character a Dwarven Helm of Cunning Make (2 Load) to show that he is their Patron. This will aid them in Councils to show we are acting in the name of a renowned Dwarf.

Notes and comments:

My intention for the first part of the campaign is to gain experience (as a player of the system and for the characters) with low stakes adventures. The Wild Adventures and Telling Tables are great for quickly generating scenarios. I will also use the old MERP supplements for inspiration. I will start playing the Darkening of Wilderland campaign once my characters are a bit more competent.

One of the challenges of playing solo is that the world can feel like it's not alive when the player isn't being active. By creating NPCs and factions for these low-stakes adventures I'll be planting seeds that might become significant later in the campaign. Connections and narratives can emerge over the course of the campaign from these content 'seeds'.

A Murder in Laketown (Original adventure again generated with the Wild Adventures fan supplement)

2946: 1st of June

• Adventure Phase
• The nephew (Wess) of a town councillor (Theodore Darrion) has been found murdered.
• Gloin recommends us to speak to the town council and offer our help.
• The body was found outside the River Trade Tollhouse, the nephew has a job collecting tolls.
• Hallas inspects (Scan) the body. He seems to have been cut with blades and died from blood loss.
• Looking at his dishevelled clothing and bruises on his body it looks like he was involved in some kind of fight. It looks like the wounds were caused by different daggers and knives.
• Theodore explains that Wess was discovered by the Toll House early in the morning where he works.
• The fellowship decide to go there and see if they can find out anything else by speaking to the people that discovered him.
• Do any of them have any suspicions about what happened?
• Motif Story Engine: Maybe. - Weak, Inconsequential, Minimal - Maybe, And...
• The workers at the toll house seem to think Wess was involved in some kind of smuggling operation and that he didn't uphold his part of the plan, or that he owed people money, or that he double crossed someone.
• The men don't look like they want to reveal any more, lest the same thing happens to them.
• Hallas acts slightly ignorant in his questioning luring the workers in a false sense of security. (Distinctive Feature: Cunning. Spend 1 Hope for +2d6 on Insight roll. Result: Auto Success)
• Strider Mode: Fortune Table: 3: An enemy inadvertently reveals their position
• Strider Mode: Lore Table: Defend, Ghastly, Hide.
• Hallas picks up on the fact that there is some defensiveness on the part of some the workers.
• Out of the 6 how many does he think were involved? 1d6 = 3
• 3 of the workers in particular seem suspicious to Hallas.
• Hallas and Sigibert take a look around the Toll House.
• Hallas walks around inspecting the Toll House, he notices that 3 of the men are carrying knives and daggers under the folds of their clothes (Awareness).
• Hallas doesn't see any clear evidence and he doesn't want to cause a commotion or give away what he has noticed.
• They decide to leave, thanking the workers for their help.
• They go back to the Town Hall and inform Theodore Darrion that they have a lead.
• But they want clear evidence before they make a move.
• They might have uncovered some type of smuggling ring.
• They seem to be blaming Wess, but it could be that he uncovered what was going on.
• Hallas and Sigibert decide they will spy on the three at the end of the day to see what they do.
• Hallas sneaks back towards the end of the day, while Sigibert stays at a distance on the other side of the bridge, close enough to hear a signal (Stealth).
• He watches the three suspicious workers and notices them straggling behind, they are leaving together and are talking amongst themselves.
• Hallas hears the men talk about whether they should get rid of their knives and daggers in case it implicates them in the murder.
• Meanwhile they have a bag that they are putting stones in, it looks like they are going to get rid of some kind of evidence.
• Hallas decides to whistle for Sigibert to come across the bridge.
• He noisily starts walking over the bridge pretending to be be drunk, singing loudly.
• The three workers curse and decide not to throw the bag in the water in case causes suspicion.
• Sigibert asks them what they are doing. They say they are about to go home.
• The situation seems tense. Sigibert asks them what's in the bag. They answer that it is just laundry.
• They roughly barge past Sigibert and head in to town.
• Hallas slips down and follows them back across the bridge (Stealth).
• Hallas and Sigibert follow the three at a distance.
• There are still enough people in the street as it is still light.
• They workers are heading to Butcher's Quay. Perhaps they believe they can hide their bloody evidence there.
• Hallas and Sigibert are going to attempt to cower the three, apprehend them and search the bag.
• They don't want to ambush them because they want to arrest them.
• Hallas and Sigibert reveal themselves as dramatically as they can in order to intimidate the workers (Awe: Both fail).
• But the three suspects are not intimidated. In stead they laugh out loud at the two.
• Do the three men attack Hallas and Sigibert? Motif Story Engine: Mixed - Powerful - And...
• Two of the men grab their daggers and come at the fellowship while the third starts running away.
• Hallas fires an arrow at the suspect that is running away (Piercing Blow) and then they fight the other two. Sigibert does a lot of damage with his axe.
• Are the Footpads dead? 50/50 chance.
• Footpad 1: Arrow: 25 = No, not dead.
• Footpad 2: Axe: 81 = Yes, dead.
• Footpad 3: Axe: 97 = Yes, dead.
• The fellowship kill two of the workers (Footpads) and the last one is wounded with an arrow but captured alive.
• They check the bag of the footpad and it contains: A rabbits foot, some coins, an ornate brooch of Dwarven design, some blood covered clothes and a set of knives and daggers (Generated with a random loot table).
• Hallas and Sigibert wonder if this is evidence that they've caught the right people.
• They bandage up the surviving suspect as best they can and call for some town guards.
• They then arrange a meeting with the Town Counciller, Theodore Darrion
• The items in the bag belonged to Wess.
• The surviving suspect will be brought to the Gaol and held for questioning and then punishment.

• Fellowship Phase
• Hallas and Sigibert each receive 3 Adventure Points and 3 Skill Points.
• Free Undertaking: Strengthen Fellowship +1 Fellowship Score.
• The Town Counciller is extremely grateful and grants us 1 point of Wealth each.
• The Town Council grants the characters the right to simple lodging at a guest house run by Hilda and Farulf so that they will always have somewhere to stay in Laketown.

Notes and comments:

This was a fun investigation and I found the results of the Motif Story Engine particularly useful for learning more about what was going on. So far in the campaign I tend to use it more often than the Strider Mode Telling Table for answering Yes/No type questions.

It was not my intention to kill the Toll House workers (Footpads) but they attacked my characters first. I wonder if there is a connection between Sviatobal (Leader of the River Ruffians) and these toll house workers? They might be part of his criminal network?