[Adventure] Building The Heart of Winter

[Blubbo Baggins]

In our playtest Chapter 4 was a lot of fun! We figured out there were Orcs on the island, then set up an ambush for them. Two PCs (a Dwarf and someone else I believe) lit a fire, sang songs, and acted unaware. The rest of us hid. Once the Orcs were on our shore, we quickly put an end to them, especially since one of our PCs (an Elf) had crossed the bridge quickly and then held the far side to prevent escape. It came down to just the leader, who answered some questions. Rather than let him go free, we came up with the brilliant idea to challenge him 1 on 1. Our Barding took the challenge, and the Orc accepted, though he fought just one round then immediately fled/escaped.

We decided to continue to Mab's from there. We hoped to learn more about the strange weather.

[zedturtle]

During the Gen Con game, one hero had a Grievous Great Bow; they tricked the orcs into attacking them on the South shore and he was picking off the orcs as they leaped from rock to rock. The encounter ended up being a long-distance duel between him and the goblin archers.

[zedturtle]

Okay, Chapter 5, current version:

• Mab the Spinner lives in a cottage on the northern edge of the Rushdown Forest. Her cottage is a small and simple affair, with walls made of wood and earth and a thatched roof with a stone chimney. The door is closed and the windows shuttered, but a thin trail of smoke issues from the chimney. A stack of firewood rests against the eastern wall of the house, untouched by snow or frost.
  
  Heroes with traits like Folk-lore or Storytelling (or successful Lore rolls) might learn some of the information below:
  • She is ancient; no mortal remembers a time before Mab was here, and seldom do Elves or Dwarves visit here.
  • It is said that she keeps a girl-child as an assistant; the stories conflict about where the girls come from or where they go when they are grown (some are gruesome, others more happy).
  • She is a great healer, but there is always some price to pay for her workings... maybe not today, but some day.
  • She lives almost by herself in the wild, on the edge of a forest said to be home to monsters from the Elder Days. She must be a dangerous witch, not to be trusted or tampered with.
  • While The Spinner is capable of many good deeds, she is wilful and not held to morals of men.
  • Accept no gifts from The Spinner, for they might come with unforeseen obligations.
  • Never promise a deed to The Spinner, without knowing what exactly is to be done.
  • The Spinner has seen many bold men become old and withered. Boastful pride will not avail you.
  
  Heroes that Search the area might note marks of people's passage in the snow-wet ground; one is small and light-weight, the other is bigger, a bit heavier and seems to stagger or shuffle as they walk. Most trips seem to be to fetch firewood.
  
  Further away from the hut, there are some old signs that a great beast (reptilian in nature, probably) came to the edge of the woods. It seemed to stop at a certain point, and worry at the bark of one of the trees. The tree is now dead.
  
  Heroes that present themselves at the door will find themselves greeted by a mute girl-child. It takes a successful Riddle (TN 14), Awe (TN 16), or Persuade (TN 16) test in order for them to gain admittance. Inside the cottage is cluttered, full of strange packages and mismatched furniture. On the opposite side, Mab sits by the chimney. Next to here is a curious contraption. It looks most like a huge iron kettle-pot, but there is both a flat lid on post of it and a large metal fluting going up into the chimney. At the front of the kettle, there is a door set into it. The girl uses a hook hanging nearby and opens the door. She pushes in several pieces of wood and closes the door again. Heroes that ask after it will find that the stove is the price a dwarf paid for Mab’s assistance in the past.
  
  Meeting with Mab is an Encounter. She values Wisdom over Valour, but has no prejudices. However, any hero that attempts to use any skill other than Insight, Courtesy or Riddle will find that Tolerance has been reduced, even on a successful test. Mab has no time for braggarts of any kind, nor wishes to engage in any arguments or other contests of will.
  
  Heroes may ask questions of Mab about the weather, the orcs, the Old Bull, Black Tom or Viglund.
  
  After Mab answers the first question put to her by the heroes, she will ask if they will assist her. If they agree without asking for more information, their agreement counts as two successes. If they ask questions to clarify her need, their agreement counts as one success.
  
  For each successful question, use one piece of the information presented below (whichever is most relevant for the question). If the heroes conclude the Encounter with four or more successes, she will tell them the tale of Caher and Ermand (see the section below). If the heroes agree to assist her with the Old Bull, the story only comes after they have dealt with the sarnlug.
  
  Mab’s Knowledge:
  
  Use the following data points for Mab the Spinner to answer questions put to her by the heroes. All answers are more or less truthful, though coloured by her experiences and outlook.
  
  • The weather is indeed unnatural. She is not certain of who is responsible, but she does know of at least two times before when such things have happened.
  
  • The two times are the Long Winter of 2758-59, and the Fell Winter of 2911-12. If the heroes ask about the Long Winter, that will lead into the tale of Caher and Ermand. If they ask about the Fell Winter, Mab does not know (though the heroes might have learned more from close questioning of Vilgar and Trahearn, if they’ve met them already).
  
  • Mab will report that the orcs are much more active than in most years, especially considering the bad weather. It must be a powerful war leader to make them so bold. (These hints are left for the Loremaster to explore, but Trahearn’s duplicity is part of their boldness.)
  
  • Mab has seen a few goblin archers at a distance, but none have been so unwise as to interfere with her and her business.
  
  • Mab will warn that the Old Bull is a formidable foe, but that his poison is not as strong as his younger kin.
  
  • Mab hints that the Old Bull might be able to be lured into a prepared trap.
  
  • Mab will say that Black Tom is a truthful and generous man, but that he keeps dangerous friends (this is in reference to the trolls, to which she might speak more openly if the heroes let her know that they’ve already been to his stead).
  
  • Recently, Tom has sent messages to the families of the Sceadudene. He seems to be wanting suitors for his daughter, who has been of eligible age for some time now.
  
  • As for Viglund, he is not in the area, though he has called on Tom before. Instead this time, he has sent his son Viglar and a retinue. (Heroes who have already dealt with Viglar might instead be advised on the feasibility of diverting him from his father’s mission. See Chapter 12: The Epilogue for more information on this.
  
  • Viglund has recently gained the services of Trahearn, a man that claims to have powerful magic at his command. If the heroes ask if such things are possible, Mab will be noncommittal. If they’ve already seen Trahearn at work, she will have little to add to his explanations (see Chapter 10: The Battle of the Stead for Trahearn’s actions and explanations).
  
  • If the heroes present the Heart of the Mountain to Mab, she will become agitated. She will tell them the story of Caher and Ermand if they have not already heard it, and then urge them to return the Heart to Hírilhim. See Chapter 11: Hírilhim for more information.
  
  The Tale of Caher and Ermand
  
  "Once, long ago there was a young man who lived here in the Sceadudene. Ermand was his name. He was an adventurous young man, and loved nothing so much as the mountains.
  
  One day, he was climbing upon a peak of the Misty Mountains that the Elves name Hírilhim. And in a mountain value, he espied a beautiful young maiden. Smitten with her beauty, he approached her and asked her name. 'Caher is my name,' said she.
  
  Long he stayed there, for he was glad of her company and she of his. But it came to pass that Ermand must return to the farmlands below. He begged Caher to come with him, but she said that her mother forbade her to leave the mountain. So he returned to his duties, alone.
  
  Time passed, and one day Ermand was surprised to see Caher at the gates of his steading. Much joy they took in their reunion and they were soon wed. However, that winter was longer than any ever known, and storms raged throughout the land, blowing ever from the peak of Hírilhim. The farmlands seemed to be centre of the storm, and in time Ermand came to visit an old wise woman.
  
  When she understood what had transpired, the wise woman told Ermand that he must do two things to assuage the grief of Hírilhim: he must present her a gift worthy of her daughter, and that he and Caher were to return to the mountain before the end of his days, to lie in rest there.
  
  The adventures of Ermand in acquiring his bride-gift for Caher is another tale, for another time. But it is said that, when the long years of toil had worn him down, he returned to Hírilhim, and that he and Caher sleep in the heart of the mountain, waiting for another age of the world."
  
  The Old Bull
  
  A sarnlug of immense size and age, whose venom has grown weaker as he has grown larger.
  
  Attribute Level: 7
  Endurance: 60
  Hate: 3
  Parry: 3
  Armour: 4d
  Personality: 1
  Survival: 2
  Movement: 2
  Custom: 1
  Perception: 2
  Vocation: 1
  Weapon Skills:
  Bite 3
  Special Abilities:
  Great Size
  Hideous Toughness
  Thick Hide
  Hatred (Elves)
  Venomous Breath*
  
  * The Old Bull’s breath is not as potent as his kindred. After being poisoned, a TN 14 Healing test is sufficient to have the paralysis wear off the next day. Failures mean that the hero remains paralysed for another day.

[Blubbo Baggins]

I love this tale, which is behind the whole adventure. And Mab's place definitely felt mysterious, inspired by Baba Yaga but still very Tolkien and not so dangerous. We rolled lucky and got on Mab's good side. We ended up fighting the Old Bull, even though we hadn't agreed to deal with him for Mab.

[zedturtle]

Yeah, the 'deal' aspect was more or less inspired by how things worked out there (and me realising that we needed something like that).

Note in the above that the Caher and Ermand story has changed a bit too... I'm trying to get away with something (and also trying to tie into canonical events a bit more).

[Blubbo Baggins]

I like the idea of the 'deal', that gives the LM something to work with if the heroes fail in the Encounter, since some of the information for the adventure is pretty vital.

I like the story as you have it now. I think I see how it changed, but since there were a couple of versions of the original story, I'm not certain.

[Mando]

Thanks for the story, I found it very nicely embedded in North Anduin Vales & Tales. I must say chapters 1 to 4 had a classical ring to them, but now with chapter 5 and all that is hinted at in future chapters, the call of mistery and adventure is indeed strong !

[zedturtle]

Thanks for the story, I found it very nicely embedded in North Anduin Vales & Tales. I must say chapters 1 to 4 had a classical ring to them, but now with chapter 5 and all that is hinted at in future chapters, the call of mistery and adventure is indeed strong !

Awesome!

I'm going to try to put together Chapter 6, aka the part where the game gets tense.

Out of curiosity, when you said 'classical ring' what did you mean? A more standard adventure-game format? Or something else? I appreciate all help in improving the adventure, and (of course) I want it to strongly feel Tolkienesque, which was a criticism of Theft of the Moon (that some players had thought it didn't invoke Tolkien).

[Falenthal]

Very interesting!

I'm lost at some points, because the chapter refers to some people and acts I've still not read about. But it will all become clear in due time...

It's interesting that Mab can share different informations depending on the moment of the adventure when the players go talk with her. In fact, they will probably go to her multiple times, I guess.

[Mando]

Out of curiosity, when you said 'classical ring' what did you mean? A more standard adventure-game format? Or something else? I appreciate all help in improving the adventure, and (of course) I want it to strongly feel Tolkienesque, which was a criticism of Theft of the Moon (that some players had thought it didn't invoke Tolkien).

Just that it starts in a classical way, with a quest from a patronesque figure and inquiries in a tavern, specifically. But this is great to put players on tracks, before multiplying said tracks, as appears to be the case.
The possible link between Winter, Orcs and Viglund/Trahearn still eludes me, looking forward to the end of the story !