Crusaders of the Amber Coast - Part 2: The Stolen Maces - Dominion Rules RPG Play Report
This is the second adventure report of a solo campaign set in the 13th Century during the Baltic Crusades using the free Dominion Rules RPG. I'm playing a mixture of a campaign (Crusaders of the Amber Coast) and my own generated adventures. My intention for this campaign is that it feels like a mixture of The Name of the Rose, the Witcher and the X-Files. Expect mysteries, intrigue, magic and action during a time of clashing cultures. The Christian Crusaders against the Pagan natives of the Baltic region. See the Campaign Overview and Resources for more details.
While I'm inspired by the real history of the region and will do my best to respect it, ultimately I'm playing a game and readers should not look to my game reports for accurate history or my personal feelings about the people, cultures and events of this era.
Today's scenario will be randomly generated and I'll show you how I go about doing that. I will use the Ironsmith: Expanded Oracles (which includes the original Ironsworn oracles), the Motif Story Engine and any other random tables or generators that I think will be useful. I want a scenario that takes place around the fort and is not too high stakes, although I'm open to something of greater importance emerging.
I rolled on the Ironsmith: Settlement Troubles tables a number of times and the following three results were amongst them (The first digit is to find which of the three tables to roll on, the second for the description). To be clear, I discarded a bunch of results that didn't inspire me.
6, 89: Supplies stolen
2, 68: Incompetent leadership
1, 43: An innocent is accused
When it comes to using random tables I don't always go with the first results and at this stage I'm not looking for the most ground breaking idea. I just want something to get me started even if it's a cliche.
An investigation into some stolen supplies is ideal, especially since I helped deliver supplies to the fort in the last adventure.
Additionally I rolled on the Action and Theme tables, three times each only. At this point I'm not looking for a pattern, these were the only six results, prompts that I'll keep in mind and refer back to. They may or may not become relevant.
Action 3, 35 Revile
Action 3, 13 Subdue
Action 1, 85 Construct
Theme 2, 44 Faction
Theme 4, 95 Extravagance
Theme 4, 85 Chaos
Crusaders of the Amber coast contains a cast of NPCs that live in and around Ascheraden. While there are some possible suspects for a crime I don't want to get ahead of myself just yet. Especially since I will also be generating new NPCs. And the reason I'm calling this a scenario and not an adventure is because I'm not necessarily looking for a story arc or for all loose ends to tie up nicely at the end. It's ok if the mystery isn't solved. It might be that those narrative threads will come into play in the future.
I'm going to borrow a tool from the Ironsworn RPG, progress tracks. But I'm adapting it for Dominion Rules and instead of 10 progress boxes the maximum is 12. In my reworked version the level of difficulty named Dangerous means that for every milestone reached I will progress two boxes. So it will take six milestones to reach the end.
Stolen Supplies Mystery (Dangerous) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
My last game finished (in game) on the 20th of March so I will roll 1d20 to see how many days have passed since then. 1d20 = 14. So I'm starting on the 3rd of April.
3rd of April 1234, Ascheraden, Livonia
- It's sunny morning, with a slightly chilly wind blowing, there are a couple of clouds in the sky.
- The fort and the surrounding grounds are bustling with activity.
- See the below image on the left to see what the fort might have looked like.
- The fort consists of a tower and the main building which contains a refectory, dormitory, chapel and infirmary. There is an inner and outer ward with stables and pens for animals such as pigs and chickens. See the left image below.
- There are 12 knights stationed at the fort as well as various supporting staff (sergeant brothers, half-brothers) who are mainly a mixture of German colonists and some converted locals.
- You can read more about the castle here: https://medievalheritage.eu
- It is a normal Monday morning until...
- My first question is, is the crime publicly announced or does someone inform me privately?
- I think it's a 50/50 question. Roll 1d100 01 to 50 Public, 51 to 100 Private
- 1d100 = 59 Private
- Who informs me? A Knight or one of the Support Staff?
- Roll 1d100 01 to 50 Knight, 51 to 100 Support Staff: 1d100 = 13: A Knight
- I (Winrich of Lübeck) am doing some work in the store room. While helping move around various barrels, bags and baskets I'm approached by Brother Ulrich (I picked a random Medieval German name) who has a concerned look on his face. According to his records there are some items missing.
- Are the missing items 01 to 50 Weapons or 51 to 100 Other types of goods?
- Roll 1d100 = 11: Weapons
- Are some Crossbows missing? 01 to 75 Yes, 76 to 100 No
- Roll 1d100: 78 = No
- What kind of weapon? I found this random generator: DD 5e Weapon Generator which gave me the answer: Mace.
- How many? 1d6 = 3.
- I wonder what Brother Ulrich's disposition is in regards to this issue? Ironsmith Character Disposition: 1d6 and 1d100: 5 and 89: Disapproving. A natural reaction.
- He starts questioning about the missing items but doesn't seem to be accusing me.
- Were the items accounted for when they first arrived? I think it's quite likely an 80% chance. Roll 1d100: 32.
- Ulrich concedes that according to his records all the weapons were accounted for so they must have gone missing since they were brought to the store room.
- Does anyone else have access to the storage room? I think it's likely 80% chance. 1d100: 38
- Yes other people have access. How many other people? 1d6: 2 other people have keys to access the storage room. The Komtur of the fort and someone else.
- Ulrich tells you that besides himself there are only two other people who have keys for the storage room the Komtur and...
- Who else?
- Ironsmith Character Role: 1d6 and 1d100: 2 and 16 = Mercenary
- ...the other is the leader of some mercenaries who has temporarily been given a set of keys in order to be able to use equipment for training, but they are limited to which weapons they can use, mostly spears and small shields.
- Are the mercenaries from the native population or foreigners? Roll 1d100 <50 Native >50 Foreign. 1d100: 66 = Foreign
- The mercenaries are mostly Germans and a couple of Danish. Their leader is named Otto of Bergen.
- Brother Ulrich lowers his voice: "Brother Winrich, I have temporarily loaned keys to the storage room to the mercenary leader Otto of Bergen. He has been allowed access to spears and shields but nothing else. But we must be careful not to accuse him too quickly. We do not want to cause friction between the Knights and the mercenaries, especially since they outnumber us.
- Was Brother Ulrich allowed to loan the key to Otto of Bergen? Roll 1d100 <50 Yes >50 No. 1d100: 95 = No.
- Brother Ulrich continues: "I was not supposed to lend the keys for more than a moment but I foolishly entrusted Otto with keeping ahold of them. It would be in everyone's interest if this knowledge does not reach the Komtur. We need to find out if the mercenaries have indeed taken the maces before we make any accusations. And to be honest we need to keep the mercenaries on our side so I'm not quite sure yet how to proceed if they are guilty. In any case do some investigation and report back to me, and do not mention this to anyone else. The mercenaries are staying in some log cabins that were built in the outer ward. I can send you on an errand to inspect their quarters and the outer palisade for any deficiencies that need repairing. Go now, let's resolve this as quickly as possible."
- Since I have a possible lead I will determine that I have reached one milestone which a the Dangerous level means I should tick two boxes of the track: Stolen Supplies Mystery (Dangerous) [x] [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
- I head over to the outer ward and pretend to inspect the palisade.
- There are some mercenaries engaged in some tasks so I approach them. What is their disposition?
- IronSmith Character Disposition: 1d6 and 1d100 = 5 and 54: Obfuscating
- IronSmith Character Goal: 1d6 and 1d100 = 1 and 61: Enrich themselves
- I engage one of the mercenaries, explaining that I am new to the fort and I'm interested to know about their experiences battling the people of these lands. He seems uninterested in speaking with me and evasive.
- I will use the Persuade skill to see if I can find out a bit more about his feelings and motivations.
- Persuade 2: 1d12 = 2 = Success
- That had a very low possibility of succeeding.
- Am I speaking to a Danish or German mercenary?
- I think it's a 50/50 question. Roll 1d100 01 to 50 German, 51 to 100 Danish
- 15 = German
- Is it the leader Otto of Bergen. I think there's 5% chance I'm speaking with Otto.
- Roll 1d100 = 20 = No it's not Otto.
- IronSmith Plot Knowledge, Type of Information: 1d100: 26 = A connection between an antagonist and...
- IronSmith Plot Knowledge, Topic of Information: 1d100: 42 = A distant location
- I wonder which location it could be?I will roll 1d6 and choose from the following 6 locations from the Crusaders of the Amber Coast book. 1: Truso, 2: Kaunas, 3: Kernave, 4: Tverai, 5: Voruta, 6: Pskov
- 1d6 = 5 = Voruta
- I ask the mercenary about his experience fighting alongside the Brothers of the Sword against the various tribes. He speaks of various battles and skirmishes and mentions a place called Voruta. There's a slight stutter in his voice after saying that name but he does his best to continue as normal. It's not that I'm particularly good at noticing subtle reactions and emotions within people, rather that this man is very bad at hiding things. I pretend not to notice and let the conversation reach a natural end before I move on. I wonder what made him nervous when mentioning that place and if it's connected to the missing maces?
- I decide to wander around the area to see if there is anything else I notice.
- Intellect 2: 1d12 = 1 = Success
- I'm very lucky again because my Intellect is very low.
- I will roll on the Action and Theme tables of Ironsmith Expanded Oracles book.
- Action: 1d6 =2, 1d100 = 31 = Uncover
- Theme 1d6 = 5, 1d100 = 65 = Worship
- Just before I break off the conversation I notice what looks like an amulet hidden under the mercenaries cloak, a flash of amber and what looks like a symbolic tree. I wonder if it's a pagan symbol. I decide to report back to Brother Ulrich.
- I find Brother Ulrich back at the storage room.
- What is Brother Ulrich's disposition is in regards to this issue? Ironsmith Character Disposition: 1d6 and 1d100: 6 and 15: Interested
- Brother Ulrich listens carefully as I explain that I have not found any direct evidence of theft by a mercenary but I'm suspicious of one who seemed somewhat uncomfortable talking to me, especially after mentioning a place called Voruta. Brother Ulrich's eyebrows raise when I mention that. I ask him what that place is and he explains it is a fortress of the Lithuanians to the south. I also tell him about the amulet which I suspect is a pagan symbol which he confirms. He tells me to not mention what has happened to anyone and to leave the matter with him. It is important that we do not cause any tensions with the mercenaries. He say he will raise the matter with Komtur Wilfred von Bremen himself. For now I am to cease any further investigation.
- I believe I've made some progress in this investigation so will mark progress (tick two more boxes) of this adventure track.
- Stolen Supplies Mystery (Dangerous) [x] [x] [x] [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
- I think I will set this mystery aside for now and continue with the Crusader of the Amber Coast campaign in my next play session. When starting a solo campaign I like to set up lots of open threads which may or may not become relevant later. It helps make the world feel alive to me and those open threads often prove to be relevant in unexpected ways later on.
- I forgot to reward Adventure Points at the end of the last game so will do so now for both these sessions. The Dominion Rules suggest 8-15 APs for 3 to 5 hours of adventuring. The amount of play time in each case was probably 1 hour so I will reward myself 2 x 5 APs. Bringing my total to 11 APs (there was 1 AP left over from character creation.
- APs can be spent on Luck/Piety to provide a bonus to a roll or for character advancement.
- According to the rules I can create any new skills I deem necessary. I decide to create an Investigation skill under the Intellect attribute. This skill determines how good I am at deliberately noticing relevant details, uncovering information and making connections. It will start at level 1 since my Intellect is 1.
- While initially I thought I was very lucky with my investigation rolls, perhaps I have an until now hidden talent for it. I decide to spend 6 APs to reach level 4 in Investigation (1 AP to get to level 2, 2 AP to get to level 3 and 3 AP to get to level 4).
- This leaves me with 5 APs. I decide to reward my combat experience in the last adventure so I spend 4 AP raising my Parry from 4 to 5.
- I'm left with 1 AP.
- As noted in my previous adventure my Arming Sword (Long Sword according to the official rules) has a Timing Penalty of -6 which doesn't feel right in play. So I've lowered it to -5 to see what effect that has.
Character Generation Table: 1 = Favourable Rounding (always round up)
Attributes
Vigour: 3
Grip: 3
Muscle: 3
Climbing: 3
Swimming: 3
Agility: 2
Timing: 5
Stealth: 3
Horsemanship: 2
Stamina: 2
Withstand Injury: 4
Withstand Magic: 2
Holding Breath: 2
Intuition: 2
Alertness: 2
Intellect: 1
Medical Lore: 1
Literacy: 1
Heraldry: 1
Luck (Piety): 2
Favourable Rounding: Yes
Starting AP: 45
Gained AP: 10
Spent AP Character Creation: 44
Combat (Vigour + Agility/2, always round up)
Strike: 6
Missile Strike: 3
Brawling: 3
Feint: 3
Disarm: 3
Dodge: 3
Parry: 5
Block: 3
Movement: 3
Social (Intuition+Intellect/2, always round up)
Persuade: 2
Inspire: 2
Deceive: 2
Command: 2
Intimidate: 2
Priestcraft (Stamina+Intuition/2, always round up)
Channel: 2
Bless: 2
Consecrate: 2
Curse: 2
Defile: 2
Prophecy: 2
Heal: 2
Smite: 2
Wrath: 2
Work Miracle: 2
Resurrect: 2
Weapons and Armour (13 AP)*
- Long Sword (Arming Sword) (2 AP)
- Hands: 1
- Strike Bonus: +2
- Parry Modifier: 0
- Disarm Modifier: 0
- Timing Penalty: -5
- WIP: 0
- Armour Penalty: 0
- Dagger (1 AP): No bonuses or penalties.
- Sling (1 AP):
- Missile Strike Bonus: +1
- Timing Penalty: -4
- Scale Armour (3 AP): +3 to Withstand Injury, -1 Movement Penalty, -1 Dodge Penalty
- Gorget (2 AP): +1 to Neck
- Target Shield (2 AP): +1 to Withstand Injury when successfully Block
- Boots Leather (1 AP): +1 to Feet
- Helm Open Faced (1 AP): +1 to Head
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