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The Cast:
Arathor: An Elven Slayer, Wild at Heart
Regnald, the Fox: A Woodsman Warden, Seeker
Veig: A Dwarven Scholar, Far Trader
Rignuth: A Barding Wanderer, Wordweaver
Larahelle: An Elven Wanderer, Wild at Heart
Jaro Hornblower: A Hobbit Scholar, A Good Listener

Time & Place:
Spring of the year 2948, starting in the City of Dale, and the lands to the South and East.

Context & History:
Arathor, Regnald, and Veig are the "original" fellowship members, and had completed The Marsh Bell, Stay on the Path, Of Leaves and Stewed Hobbit and most of Kinstrife and Dark Tidings before being joined by Rignuth. The fellowship then undertook Darkness in the Marshes where they met Larahelle along the way, and having finished that, turned East back to Dale....

Part 1: To Dale
The battle at the Dwimmerhorn had been a success, but the enemy's damage weighed heavily upon the hearts of the fellowship. Of the score of prisoners that had been liberated, many died of their wounds in the hard winter following their freedom. Furthermore, the heroes had discovered the presence of at least 3 major foes: a monstrous new Great Orc named Ghor, who had barely escaped with his life, a skinchanger named Viglund....and some dark ghost that infested the hill. Regnald's sister, Dagmar (NPC) had been rescued and lived, but at a great price, for she bore many wounds and hideous scars of torture. Who knows what evils she was made to endure in the Dwimmerhorn? It was clear that Viglund wanted the shards of the axe called Wolfbiter, one of which she and her now deceased betrothed, Odovacar, had carried with her at one point. But why?

And of course Regnald was not pleased when his brother-in-arms Rignuth had shown a romantic interest in his sister. All the more reason, when Spring came, to undertake a mission to Dale. That carried it's own complications, as Rignuth, a citizen of Dale, had been banished from the King's Men nearly 4 years, for a crime he says he did not commit. Nevertheless, when Radagast asked for a missive to be carried by Regnald to King Bard, he gathered up those he trusted most and headed East.

In Dale, Rignuth was forced to lay low, to use skill at stealth and his cunning nature to avoid guards. The letter was delivered but not without almost being recognized by some of the other King's Men with whom Rignuth once trained and lived. King Bard would grant no audience, however, so the missive was given to Captain Elstan. What the letter said, no one yet knew.

The mission having been completed, the heroes turned to a local inn called the Jellied Eel. There they found a caricature of a man named Eystan who was looking for strong men to row his 30' long, 16 oared ship, the Waterhorse, down the River Running, through the Long Marshes and then East to Dorwinion territory. He spoke of wealth and riches for those who would join him. The basic problem, he explained, was that water traffic halted in either direction at the Long Marshes, for fear to go through it on either end. Thus, a system of horseman guards had been set up to ensure trade by land along a road called "The Wine Road". These "Pony Boys" as Eystan called them, were not exactly noble and virtuous, and if only he could break through the long marshes.

Needless to say, the party, after some gentle bragging, subterfuge and negotiations, signed up for the task, save for 2 members. Regnald decided to remain in Dale. His heart was heavy and he had been given a burgher to tend to (Meta: the LM plays the character Regnald). Also, Larahelle decided that being the only woman on a ship full of burly sweaty men was not the place for a lovely elf, so she decided not to go. (Meta: The player who owned Larahelle resigned for time and commitment reasons). Thus did Arathor, Veig and Rignuth only take on the job to head south. (Jaro had not yet joined the group.)

Part 2: To Esgaroth and the Long Marsh.

With preparations made, it was up to the fellowship to meet in Esgaroth in 2 days, from where the Waterhorse would be setting sale. Rignuth at least had a personal task to see to. Still being a fugitive in a city of King's Men and Guards, he snuck out later that night from the Inn to see his father at the Girion Square in the middle of Dale, a man with whom he had not spoken in over 5 years.

Carefully having arranged the meeting, he waited for his father. In his stead came his old servant, Othbald. Some jousting of words indicated that neither party was false, and soon Rignuth had word of his father; that he had not fared well in the years after his banishment, that many of his former customers had abandoned him. Rignuth gave a purse of all his money, 6 treasure in total, to Othbald, to be delivered to his father.

Now it had come to the attention of the rest of the party that Rignuth's presence was known in Dale, a message delivered by no less than the Captain of the "Pony Boys" a haughty rider known as Captain Fritheric. Thus, Rignuth left Dale by old passages and secret ways that he had remembered from the folk-lore of his youth. In the underbelly of the city, while making his way out the River Running by an old culvert, he came across a group of smugglers. Thankfully, they gave him no hassle as he went about his way, though he made a point to remember them and visit wrath should he ever come this way again.

Two days later, he had regrouped with Veig and Arathor in Esgaroth, and they boarded the Waterhorse. Amongst the crew and passengers there were also Eystan (the captain), Jerwis (his first mate), and a man named Lord Valni, The Raven, along with his enormous bodyguard Barstan (think the Hound from AGoT). There were also Oyvind and Torkel and a host of other rowers and sailors. They began rowing that day, an athletic affair that brought them to the end of Long Lake. Rignuth did his best to avoid Lord Valni and Barstan, for he feared that he might be recognized and arrested there on the ship, though he kept his ears open for news....Valni brought forth with him 2 great chests; presumably money and payment for either the crew, or a bribe to paid to the men of the East for negotiations and patronage. Barstan, the big warrior watched them like a hawk.

At the stair of Girion, while the Waterhorse was being ported down the waterfall, Rignuth approached the big warrior Barstan to find out more about him. He found him to be sad, tired, weary of war and battle, and Rignuth developed a bond with him through his attempts to inspire his mood. Barstan also recognized him by name, and knew he was a fugitive, but promised to keep his secret. Soon after, riders were spotted by Arathor approaching the village from the Eastern shores of Long Lake. Thinking it might be Fritheric or some trouble from the "Pony Boys", the ships portage was hastened, and the crew was on the River Running again before the riders showed up.

As the Waterhorse continued south into the Long Marshes, the mood of things grew worse. While travel tests were generally easy, the mood cast a shadow over everyone's heart. On the second night, the encampment of the Waterhorse was broken up by a marauding Ogre who had taken an interest in their affairs. Of course, the Fellowship members were on watch that night, and had a great opportunity to demonstrate their skill in battle.

The Ogre gave as good as he got, a battle which lasted 3 rounds. The companions passed their initial fear tests, and all attacked, dealing 33 damage and forcing 3 protection tests in the first round! (2 of which were passed). Rignuth defened his fellowship focus (Veig) and saved him from being hit by the Ogre. In the 2nd round, the Ogre got the upper hand, smashing Veig for 6 damage, forcing another round of fear tests (only Arathor failed), but also it was only Arathor that hit with his bow, bringing the Ogre's total to 40 damage and 1 wound. Rignuth switched to forward stance for round 3, and used one of his bonus combat battle dice + invoking "clever" trait to "force" the Ogre to attack him this round. Rignuth got hit for 24 damage (great success on main attack hit + mangle attack), and I took the knockback for 1/2 damage. Veig and some of the awaking crew followed up, hitting it for another 38 damage, bringing it's total to 78. On Round 3, Rignuth went back to Defensive stance, but got hit again, and then Arathor's last bow shot took the beast down with 7 damage and a 2nd wound.

Part 3: The Orc Attack & The Hunt

The fellowship members were celebrated for their courage and determination against the Ogre. Lord Valni came to recognize Rignuth, but offered not condemnation, saying only "No less that what I would expect from a King's man!" It was clear that Rignuth had not been entirely forsaken or thought guilty.

As bad as the Ogre fight was, 2 nights later, things got worse. The crew of the Waterhorse was awoken in their sleep by a horn and the site of a dozen rafts filled with orcs pouring down on them. An enormous battle commenced, not all of which I will detail here, but the ship's captain, Eystan, was slain, along with many others.

But even worse, it appeared there was a traitor upon the crew, for the 2 chests of gold had been stolen, and several crew members were missing, among them Jerwis, the first mate, along with Oyvind and Torskel. The crew of the Waterhorse had succeeded in driving off the Orcs...but only with a little help from archers across the river. Careful investigation revealed that a group of Wood Elves...and a Hobbit? Had been tracking the Orcs, and it was they who had blown the horn to warn the crew of the imminent Orc attack! Words were exchanged, thanks was offered and news shared. But most importantly, plans were made, for the expedition had now been a failure, and Lord Valni resigned to turn home in defeat and shame, with the dead crew of the Waterhorse. Before leaving, though, he asked the Fellowship to find the traitors and recover the King's gold! Rignuth, Arathor and Veig swore that they would. As they were getting ready to continue on foot, however, the Hobbit Jaro announced that he wanted to come. He wished to see the world and be amongst those who make stories, not just the ones that told them.

The Fellowship took a brief counsel, Rignuth was against having him along, but Veig and Arathor were open to him joining. They needed fresh blood, that much was clear, for the fellowship was tired and beatdown. Thus, Jaro was introduced into the Fellowship. The first task was pushing east out of the long marshes, and tracking the traitors. Hunting and search rolls were made, and indeed the fellowship picked up their trail moving east. The abandoned chests were found, but the gold was no longer in them.

Going through the marsh was hard work and required several travel tests. After two days of slogging through mud and bugs, the fellowship happened upon a ruined tower sitting on one of the first truly dry bluffs that rose out of the marsh. They decided to scout it out as a resting place, and Jaro was given his first "assignment". But soon they were enveloped in a thick cloud of mist, and all felt that something was dreadfully wrong. As the companions regrouped, they were attacked by a Fennworm. (Homebrew monster, credits: Rich H! (who else?))

(this brings us up to the current point of the adventure. You can read the entire thing if you like here: http://torrpg1.proboards.com/thread/40/ ... ure-thread

Very good. I has always been meaning to check it out but having summaries is very helpful.

Thanks for writing this up, Rocmistro. I enjoy reading play reports from other groups.

P.S. I checked out your link but I received this message: You do not have permission to access this thread.

No problem guys. Should I include more "meta", to give people a better idea of how the system works, or keep it more narrative based?

Also, Beckett, sorry about not being able to get in. I thought Southron Loremaster had opened up the forum for public viewing.

Rocmistro wrote:No problem guys. Should I include more "meta", to give people a better idea of how the system works, or keep it more narrative based?

Also, Beckett, sorry about not being able to get in. I thought Southron Loremaster had opened up the forum for public viewing.

If the aim is to "advertise" the system to non-TOR players (a worthy endeavor) than perhaps a bit more is needed?Personally, I liked the way you handled the "meta" aspect and plan to steal your approach for my play reports. From the few comments I received at RPG.NET it would appear people like to see that as well.

Very nice write up Rocco. You've been paying attention then.....lol

Just a couple of things though.

Jaro wasn't with the Elves. He'd been kidnapped at Forest Gate by the goblins, who intended to deliver him to someone or something.
The Elf patrol had been shadowing the goblins for some time but did not realise that they had a Hobbit captive. When the Goblins made their opportunistic attack on the crew of the Waterhorse, Jaro slipped his bonds and despatched his guard. Thee Elves were about to feather Jaro, thinking him a goblin. Fortunately they didn't.

There was only one of the chests/strongboxes stolen, the smaller of the two. The larger one remained with Valni Raven and is currently en route back to Girion's Stair with the survivors.

Oh my bad, Halbarad. Thanks for the clarificaiton. By the time I got to "part 3", it was 2 AM last night and my eyes were getting fuzzy.

But you should be pleased, that I got most of that detail strictly from memory!

I am exceptionally pleased Rocco

I was a bit fuzzy myself yesterday. I went out to see a band on Tuesday night and a few too many 'lemonades' followed and thus my AWOL from our PBP yesterday.