WHFRP: Jamie's Game

[Jamie's WHFRP]

Signed up (1/50):

[Dat]

Plague in the south west of town. Two carts carrying something out of town in the night. One burned not far northeast with dead Nurgle fans inside. Second moved on with whatever was being carried. We followed the cart tracks and someone followed us on a ridge nearby. Barmaid Bianca shot up the rockface and battled the balding badguy while halfling nicky arrowed him to bits. Watchmen and priests were brought to deal with the corpses. Tracks ended at the edge of the woods. Handsome halfling arrives on noble pony steed with information.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Well, something like that. I'll add and clarify a little;
Several carts left town, with the people operating them being heavily cloaked. The Mill owner described the lady he saw, at the very least, as being slightly unnaturally perfect.

The carts were ambushed before they entered the ford to cross the river, with both attackers and defenders losing people in the ensuing violence. Several of the Carts-people were taken captive. The cargo was loaded onto a cart that the ambushers had waiting, and the original carts were destroyed, set on fire. The bodies were apparently mutliated and also burned.
The fires that we found there had a strange colour (Purple, if I recall correctly), and sent people mad if they hung around nearby and weren't careful.

The attackers took their heavy cargo and the surviving captives of the first group and headed up the road a way before branching off into the direction of the Great Forest. The tracks didn't end there as far as we know, but the game did.

Specifically, the information we got from the priest of Tal via the Halfling is as follows;
It seems to be a conflict between a cult of Slaanesh (Likely the people who killed Albrecht and smuggled the cargo out of the town, threatened the miller and so on) and a cult of Nurgle.

The spy we dealt with wore blackened armour, (leather and chain) clearly designed to make him harder to spot at night. He was possibly left behind to keep an eye on what they left behind, see who came and report back. He certainly wasn't equiped properly for following someone in the day, but he did have some very expensive equipment which the barmaid Bianca took he lost in the fight. On death, he shriveled up like a worm on a hot pavement, rapidly changing to look like he'd been dead for some time and generally spewing horrible green stuff. The smell was all-too familiar, and clearly seems to link the dead man (And perhaps the cult of Nurgle) to Sir Griffith.

Oh, and though I sent for watchmen, Nikki asked for Militiamen. Priests at least were delivered correctly.

[Dat]

Suspiciously talented barmaids and others find traps shortly after entering the woods. They are disarmed and we move on to find our Amber Wizard friend from town lying face down on the leafy floor in a wood full of small green nurglings. Nurgling demons are arrowed, blunderbussed, axed and barmaided exploding in clouds of pestilence upon death. The Hagrid-a-like man regains consciousness after the fight to tell Harry he is a wizard talk a bit about what he's doing here. Goatmen are spotted, - a fight ensues. Same scene with the nurglings only Nicky nearly dies and falls into a woodsmans' pit-trap. Much relief is felt after the fight to see he is still alive.

[EvilGinger]

LOL, wonderful, truly eccentric, and entertaining, however I am curious to have more detail on how one Barmaids some one to death especially a Minor chaos daemon which isn't technically alive as I understand it.


keep it up this is wonderful stuff I am so glad I wasent drinking any thing or my screen would have got another clean with wet brown stuff with caffeine in it.

 Ginger

[Dat]

Halfing Nicky is pulled out of the pit trap by barmaid Bianca. We wonder if we should carry on after such a vicious battle. A suspicious glowing green rock is found in the area and we dump it in the pit, covering it over. After deciding it would be a waste of time to come this far and not find out much, we continue to track the cart tracks.

We arrive upon a scene of 3 Slaanesh priests in robes kneeling infront of priests of Nurgle. One large Nurgle-ite priest is telling them to renounce Slaanesh and accept Nurgle. One repents and is orally penetrated by the Nurglepriests' hidden tentacle (literally a tentacle, - read nothing into this). It acts as an ovipositor, laying something in his throat. Scattered amongst them are crates and barrels. Squire Roolf Van Coovenhoven formulates a plan involving halfling archers attacking from distance and everyone else attacking from behind the crates.

We launch the assualt with mixed results. A cascade effect occurs which starts with Sylvie the priest seeing and fleeing from tentacle mans' horrifying visage. Nicky fails to shout her to stop and runs in to battle only to do what she did. Rudy stops Nicky from running away further but does what they did 3 times, suffering great mental damage. The priests of Slaanesh join the foray, battling the priests of Nurgle. The team get a few hits in, the Amber Wizard starts casting a spell and Sylvie chops something in half with an axe again. The Amber Wizard finally casts his spell, summoning a flock of crows who peck at the priests a bit. Soon after, things get weirder as one by one, all the priests' heads explode, spawning multiple nurglings.

The party continues to battle the dwindling numbers of priests as the nurgling count ratchets up to a quarter-century. With all priests gone, the swarm bite and gnash at the partys' feet, causing some to suffer grievous wounds. A slow retreat occurs, as various characters edge away from the cavorting throng. Flies appear above the nurglings, causing them to freeze for a moment. We take this opportunity to successfully withdraw from the swarm a short distance away. Roolf ordered the halflings to start making a fire, which they have just started to get going. Unfortunately, there are still about 19 left that are dancing around a tree and possibly chanting something...

Can the fire help? What are the nurglings up to? Can we kill them all and do it quickly?

[EvilGinger]

brilliant DAT I really wish I had been there in person as the report was funny & even more eccentric than the last keep up the good work


 ginger

[Dat]

A plan forms whereby we run into the swarming throng of nurglings and attack them until they die. We don't like what they're doing around the tree, it looks bad. While we were talking a big tentacle thing appears in the centre of the chanting; writhing about, eating nurglings and growing.

Halfling Rudy picks up a flaming brand from the fire the halflings started and leads the attack, wielding his shield. 'Barmaid' Bianca and Halfling Nicky get the idea & follow suit with their own fiery sticks. Priestess Sylvie follows behind with big axe and Squire Roolf with sword-club. Our mastery of fire draws attention from the nurglings and Sylvie and Roolf get separated in the fight. Rudy pushes through the two circles of nurglings and manages to set part of the tentacle on fire. Bianca and Nicky eventually do the same, but better. With many nurglings nipping at our dice-determined-bodypart, it is almost relieving that some jump onto the tentacle and start trying to bite off the flaming bits of flesh. Sylvie and Roolf come to our aid, killing several nurglings on their way. As we continue to fight despite our wounds, the nurglings pop & the monster briefly transforms into a giant slug thing before being consumed by the flames.

Roolf and Bianca both got knocked out towards the end of the fight. Sylvie tends to Bianca while Rudy slaps Roolf until he wakes up, - which is quickly. Needing the bathroom, Roolf excuses himself behind a tree a way back. Nicky starts inspecting the cart, barrels and tents, then starts setting them on fire. Roolf barks out a cry only heard by Rudy, who immediatley investigates. Squire Roolf is writhing around in agony in his own excrement and puke, unresponsive to any amount of slapping administered. Sylvie helps Rudy drag the fowled noble over to the two oxen by the stolen cart. Bianca has grown buboes and fallen into a feverish unconciousness. Sylvie straps each to an ox and suggests we find help.

Nicky was looking over the cart when one wheel started trying to slowly devour it. He pulled out a runically inscribed chest just in time and burned the cart. Unable to resist, he opened it up and pulled out an idol of some kind. Rudy sees this and trys to call him on it, but Nicky denies it and flies into a rage and attacks him. Sylvie separates us and listens to Rudys' advice to pull the idol out of Nickys' pocket. She too falls to its spell for a second before Rudy knocks it out of her hand to the ground. After arguing about what to do with both items, Sylvie burns them to Nickys' dismay.

We set off on oxen and pony as fast as possible back towards the priests we left at the site of the first cart. They take our sick members and guide us to their sanctuary where we are quarantined for several weeks...

[EvilGinger]

Well don to Dat for the write up  & to Jamie for being mad enough to gm. I think  it sounds very cool even if events for out heroes look quite grim cant wait for the next episode

 Ginger

[Dat]

The party is incarcerated at the garden of Mor, left to get disease free pretty much of their own accord. We are fed and watered. Squire Roolf and double agent Bianca are together in one room, while Tau priestess Sylvie, watchman Nicky and cadet Rudy reside in a room elsewhere. Everyone is sick and Rudy screams in the night as he experiences maddening nightmares. Ten days later, they are all told they are free to go or worship Mor. Rudy asks what they are supposed to worship more of...

Free to wander the grounds, we find out some bodies being 'prepared' are from the neighbouring town of Radishe, - victims of one of a speight of attacks from goblin wolf-riders from the hills. Rudy finds where the oxen and his pony, 'Chopper' are kept. He fails to woo or mount his pony, instead scaring it off to run back in the direction of town. Roolf decides we need to talk with the Priestess of Tau and investigate the town hall back in town, so we set off with Rudy shuffling behind them.

At the gates of Helmsdorf, we are greeted by official sounding guards who are promptly put in their place by Nicky. The party enters and heads to the temple of Tau. It seems to be a normal day at the temple as the party navigates herds of ducks, geese, chickens, cows & bulls to see people slaughtering sheep and cooking the meat. The priestess is spotted pouring urine on herself from some sort of skull. Squire Roolf greets her and explains to her how he thinks her brother was killed by priests of nurgle who likely also were involved in the other murder at the tavern. He also believes that the Slaanesh priests came from within town and some may still reside here.

Next, everyone walks to a supply shop and negotiates for bolts and arrows for half the party. Nicky successfully barters down to almost half the price while Sylive eyes some leather trousers and Bianca acts suspiciously around some expensive trinkets. Everyone leaves the shop bar Nicky who stays inside for a bit. When he comes out, Roolf puts Rudy in charge of Nicky 'to make him his responsibility'. At this point, Nicky walks off for some reason.

At the town hall, we find everyone working inside and not much happening. We go outside to look at the side of the building the dead man looked at before snapping. Nicky returns in full studded leather armour. Shrewd observation reveals one of the many carvings to be a three-headed sheep, with a line of smoke leading to a wood burners' stove with the symbol of Slaanesh hidden in the stoves' fire. Looking at this, Rudy falls on the ground writhing about as he has a traumatic vision. Everyone helps restrain him as he comes to. Sylvie passes the fit off as a lack of pie, with Rudy playing along and refusing to talk until his pie levels have been restored.

What is the sybol of Slaanesh doing on the town hall? What did Rudy see? What flavour pie should he get? How did Nicky get that armour?

[Dat]

The session starts with a pie-scoffing halfling recounting his traumatic vision. He babbles of mutant sheep and nurglings being created by the woodburners' purple smoke and killing him. The party decides to inform the town hall about their carvings and ask what they know about them.

The journey continues to show folk arming themselves and erecting barricades against the possibility of a goblin attack spreading from the neighbouring town. Inside the town hall, the team find a full legal battle occurring infront of their eyes. The town officials are trying to prove the Lofgren-Leibniz alliance and freelance army to be illegal, with great vigor. Buxom Beauty Bianca manages to 'charm' the attention of a scribe/archivist, getting him to look at the symbols on the building outside. His knowledge of the hall is limited and yields few results beyond the fact that the wood has stayed fresh for the thousands of years this building and its carvings have been here, - seemingly before the town existed.

Going back in, Huntress Sylvie finds the Priestess of Verena in a room, checking documents. She too observes the carvings, but also finds them unremarkable and has nothing to add other than a second comment on the freshness of the wood. She vaguely remarks about getting the heretical carvings removed...

(Anything missed out or misspelled? - Bard Squiggle.)

[Dat]

After the unsuccessful investigation into the carvings, we head to the fort in the centre of Hermsdorf to report to several people. We are greeted by the sight of the knight captain shouting orders to his men. He tells us he is organising a sortee to go and deal with the greenskins that have been threatening us and the nearby town of radishe.

Rudy uses the opportunity to visit his family, to allay fears and keep them up to date. He is warmly welcomed by a worried mother and sat down and fed like only a halfling mum can. Rudy relays events in the woods and tells his mum and sister about Nicky's last actions and his unknown whereabouts.

Bianca and Sylvie sneak into the guard barracks and attempt to use their charms to get the guards to talk and reveal any useful gossip they might have. The plan backfires though, as the few men in there are all happily married and ask them to leave. They wander around outside and stumble across a halfling flower arranging-displays around the fort. They receive a flower each from an old display and exchange pleasantries.

Roolf visits the Temple of Ulrich. The priest is busy preparing to join the sortee and tells him to see the steward about what he has been doing. He rides away with an assortment of armed men. Upon finding Steward Michael, he is told to recite the events in the woods and his conclusions to a woman in the room, waiting to transcribe his account. The Squire does his best to provide reasons why Lofgren's men know about or are involved with the recent cult problems and the necklaces, but all of it is conjecture and circumstancial. The Steward becomes flustered by this and asks his secretary to leave while he carefully asks Roolf to try and remember things that will strongly suggest that the Lofgren/Leibniz alliance is involved. He explains that they have become a problem as they are undermining the towns' authority and gaining public support. When the secretary comes in and they begin again, Squire Roolf doesn't change his tune and sticks to all the facts he has gathered and assumptions he has made. The Steward tells him he is dissappointed, informs him he has other more loyal subjects who will get results, and asks him to leave.

Bianca and Sylvie end up in the forts' gardens and find a male halfling tending to some plants. He is revealed to be Rudy and Nicky's dad and invites them both into his restored potting shed for a very long chat and lots of tea.

After visiting his mum and sister, Rudy decides to check up on his dad to try to make up for the nurgling-in-shed incident. He finds the female party members being talked at mercilessly and decides to leave them to it after a short greeting and chat with dad. After a walk, Rudy finally gets around to reporting to the Captain of the Guard to untertake his role as a Cadet. The Guard Captain informs him his tutor will be Squire Roolf's brother Heimerick Van Coovenhoven and kits him out with the trappings of working Cadet.

Finally, the Squire visits the Huntmaster to check on the dogs that were so badly affected by the madness of the plague. They turn out to have recovered well and they chat for a while. Roolf makes a last stop to visit his Auntie and she talks a while about Roolf's prospects of becoming a knight and the unusual respect and status halflings are getting these days.

Now that the Squire's superior has finished with him, what next? Will the disparate party stay together? What harm can one halfling do? - Tune in next time!

[Dat]

Rudy returns for the evening to his family's kitchen. He informs his mum and sister about recent events and sits down to a
modest halfling tea. In the meantime, Squire Roolf is told to attend a meeting in the fort and is surprised to find he is to be
knighted on behalf of all the good work he has done so far. Sylvie and Bianca go looking for Rudy and Nicky at the kitchens and
find Rudy and his family eating tea. The family welcome both characters, offer them tea and chuck the serving maid out to give
them a place to stay for the night. Sylvie and Bianca eat heartily, are given surplus quince jam and sent to bed with a family
song called 'So long, farewell'. - Rudy's high notes on the final 'goodbye' are particularly impressive.

In the morning, Nicky is given a number of mercenaries to prepare for the town's sortee to the nearby orc & goblin
disturbances. He doesn't inspire them much with his first speech and some actually laugh at the diminutive man's presence. He
attempts to intimidate his detractors, but fails to do so. He finishes the meeting well however, with a second speech that puts
them in place and promises them a good fight.
Roolf attempts to bargain with his superiors for more men for the sortee, but fails to appeal to their better natures. His only
extra acquisition after talks turns out to be the hunting dogs he saw affected during the recent town plague.

Bianca gets up to some secret stuff and Sylvie learns she is to accompany some of Tau's fighting force on the sortee.

With the sortee prepared, the party is ready to set out to defend Hermsdorf and Radishe...

[Dat]

Hermsdorf's fighting force set out in the morning, headed northeast in the direction of nearby Radishe. All in all, we have;
3 hounds
5 soldiers (halberd, rifle)
10 militamen (halberd)
15 mercenaries (crossbow, sword, shield)
20 archer Hunters (- Tau, longbow, light armour)
5 longshanks (- templars of Tau, bows)
8 Horned Hunters (- Tau, axe)

As we find woods on both side of us, Sylvie asks the Tau force to keep an eye on the woods. They heed the advice and some
decide to run off into the woods as the rest march informally with the sortee. Nicky asks his mercenaries about preferred
tactics, but they have none, so he organises them to march in groups of four. The main road to Radishe is comfortable enough,
but worn from lack of repair.

Not long after some roars are heard, a Horned Hunter comes out of the woods with 2 dead orcs. He dissapears back into the
shrubbery after telling us more are on the way. Wolf riding goblins appear from the woods and a few are immediately dispatched
by the Horned Hunters. Nicky orders his mercenaries to fire and they kill a couple more in the volley. The Tau foce howl in
victory, Rudy joins in, then the rest of the sortee follow in reverence to Tau.

The wolfriders seem to have dissapeared for a short while, but rally round. Some Horned Hunters and Sylvie catch up to them,
Sylvie cleaving one into two. The reason for the survivors rallying may have been revealed as 8 more wolfriders appear from the
treeline. Nicky's mercenaries fire on the new pack, downing one.
The sortee in two sections, half the goblins attack Rudy and Bianca with the soldiers & militiamen and half attack Nicky with
the mercenaries and hounds caged in the wagon. In the battle, a wolfrider breaks Bianca's hand, dropping her weapon and one
wolf tears a mercenary to pieces. Bianca withdraws into the halberd wielding militia for safety and they finish off their
aggressors with Rudy and Roolf's help. Nicky and his mercenaries fight hard to kill their attackers with many of the halflings'
blows deflected, but finish them they do.

With the last slain, we all howl.