Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9552714" data-attributes="member: 16069">LETTERS FROM THE OLD WORLD.The continuing adventures of the usual bunch of miscreants this time playing Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play 4th edition, and The Enemy Within Campaign, of course.SESSION #09 The Magical Pickleman.The PCsFergus McClean, Dwarf Scout (Guide) played by Bear.Looks Like: Rough and ready-for-anything Dawi- a bit unkempt; constantly muttering and grumbling at Seamus his imaginary dog.Sounds Like: Northern 'I wur down t'mine', although taciturn, and always grumpy.[spoiler= Backstory]Fergus is a short embittered (divorced) Dawi from the mining village of Schwartzstein in the foothills of the Grey Mountains. That is until he discovered his best friend Seamus with his wife Cherrie. Fergus left his village and his old life behind and set off in search of adventure, eventually taking up Scouting as a living. He has business in Altdorf and is at present journeying with three Manlings he has come to trust who are also on their way to the capital.[/spoiler]Frederich Hass, Human Witch Hunter (Interrogator) played by Jim.Looks Like: Thick-set, tall with a resting angry face, never too far away from a snarl, otherwise well turned out.Sounds Like: Whispering menace, accusatory- probing, but charming when he wants to be. Accent is brooding (intelligent) cod-Russian (like a clever but menacing Daktari). Note he sees the hand of the Ruinous Powers behind every untoward event.[spoiler= Backstory]Frederich and his brother Olek watched their parents burned alive, prior to this a normal childhood was in progress. The Cult of Sigmar (with the help of the state) who burned Ma & Pa Hass then took the newly orphaned pair in and raised them to be model citizens. The orphans are Sigmarite through-and-through, Frederich the crusader, he likes the power that it brings; Olek the instrument (or else Prophet) of Sigmar. They're not zealots, not warped and broken inside, no... not at all.[/spoiler]Lothar Jurgen Muller, Human Witch Hunter (Interrogator) played by Kev.Looks Like: Neat, tidy, clean-cut, perhaps even a little dashing- the boy next door, but doable- and always with a smile on his face, and often in his eyes. Lothar carries his own embroidered place mat with matching knife and fork. Manners and civility are so important.Sounds Like: Civil, polite, formal, caring- and entirely without menace. He's a Paladin doing Witch Hunter, which may yet prove amusing.[spoiler= Backstory]Lothar is a baker's son from Ubersreik that just happened to become a Witch Hunter, he didn't just drift into it, he has a plan (perhaps). Lothar however came to Witch Hunting with the thought that he could perhaps be of help- to the Empire, to his family, to the poor wretches that have fallen into corruption, and possibly to help himself (a little) along the way. He is resolutely nice in a world full of foetid stink and terror.[/spoiler]Olek Hass, Human Artisan- Blacksmith (Apprentice) played by George.Looks Like: Seven (plus) feet tall, and not too skinny with it- lithe and muscled, he's a giant- with wild eyes.Sounds Like: A camp Nazi constantly unfolding, expounding, and explaining the mystery of ongoing events, and seeing the presence of Sigmar everywhere. [spoiler= Backstory]Olek and his brother Frederich watched their parents burned alive, prior to this a normal childhood was in progress. The Cult of Sigmar (with the help of the state) who burned Ma & Pa Hass then took the newly orphaned pair in and raised them to be model citizens. The orphans are Sigmarite through and-through- Frederich the crusader, he likes the power that it brings; Olek the instrument (or else Prophet) of Sigmar. They're not zealots, not warped and broken inside, no... not at all.[/spoiler]We're back, at least for a few sessions- depending on how long I can keep the players entertained for. It was a short session this one, because we spent the first half of our time together re-reading the write up here (not all of it) and refreshing our memories, and also lots of chat about how things work in the Warhammer FRP-world, because we all done forgot.So. The adventurers arrive in Bogenhafen, aboard the Berebeli, Uncle Josef's boat (uncle to Fred & Olek). The big jolly boat captain pays them for their time on the river (16s each) and then urges them to solve their various problems and/or ongoing situations.Which are, a 'to do list', to be discussed next session. Note, the list is presented in the order in which they (the problems) came about- oldest first.<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Wanted Bold Adventurers, the guys are still trying to catch up with Crown Prince Hergard von Tasseninck to get hired. The two (now one) Witch Hunters were sent to Altdorf specifically to take up this task by their master Fabergus Heinzdork. The Crown Prince (and his flotilla) were last seen sailing towards Bogenhafen.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The bones of Johann Baumann, found on the road to Ubersreik, now carried by Oleg, need to be interred within the precincts of Morr.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">An inheritance and an estate for Kastor Lieberung- who looks a lot like Lothar Jurgen Muller, who also possess an affidavit to say that he is Kastor Lieberung. For twenty thousand gold crowns and a castle, see the lawyers- Lock, Stock & Barl, in Bogenhafen. Simple as.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The bounty hunter Adolphus Kuftsos, he thinks Kastor/Lothar is a cultist, he's a very tough man is Adolphus, and he's coming for you (Kastor/Lothar).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Purple Hand cultists, why did they want to speak to Kastor/Lothar, well... see above.   </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">SCHAFFENFEST! Tax free SHEEP!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Get a job or make some money.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Find somewhere to stay.</li> </ol>Oh, and Josef and the Berebeli will be in Bogenhafen for at least a couple more days yet, the plan for them is- unload, visit the Schaffenfest- for good times, and then get a new load and head off again. The adventurers can impose on Josef (maybe) for another night or two on the Berebeli, if they are really desperate for somewhere to stay, but- Josef is a little more wary these days. On account of any/all of the following-suspicious River wardens, Wanted for Murder posters (with Olek's face on them), cultists, bounty hunters, having his boat set on fire and... being awoken in the middle of the night by Lothar because Olek had the sniffles.Uncle Josef hopes that Bogenhafen will therefore provide.[ATTACH=full]392269[/ATTACH]That's Haagens' Wharf, at which the Berebeli is docked, and now unloading wine bought and paid for by the Ruggbroder merchant house.However, before we even get to the next bit, there's a lot of chatter on the boat, and then a bit of time spent searching around the docks.The latter because the docks are open here, and Bogenhafen isn't Altdorf, all of the docks-more or less, can be seen- both sides of the river. The adventurers have a good idea what the Crown Prince Tasseninck's flotilla of ships looks like- they've been looking for it previously. It's not here, so- that narrows things down a little.To the inheritance, and all of the PCs are very suspicious about this- Lothar is trying to put off the visit, or else he wants to reconnoiter the place, ask around the town- maybe even try and find the estate he has supposedly inherited.Other folk, those that are not Kastor/Lothar, don't mind a little bit of snooping and asking around but they'd rather just 'bloody' get on with it.The action versus caution debate goes on for maybe another twenty minutes, with some very narrow avenues (of thought) explored.Eventually Josef kicks the PCs off the barge, and a docker who has no idea where Garten Weg (the location of the lawyer's office) is, and so just points them up Hafenstrasse and into the center of Bogenhafen.And so, at last-caveats in place.Here we go again.MITTERFRUHL (Spring Equinox), 2512.Bogenhafen.SCENE 1. Sigmar Strikes. [ATTACH=full]392271[/ATTACH]Scenes from Bogenhafen (available as a postcard, 1p). Oh, and that's the inheritance letter from Lock, Stock & Barl on the right.The town of Bogenhafen is neater than Altdorf, smaller- of course, and... oddly quiet, and empty. The reason, also- of course, as the adventurers quickly fathom- certainly as they approach the center of the town, the reason is- the Schaffenfest. They can hear a susurrus of noise coming from the east, and they've had the sense to ask around, the grand sheep festival is situated just outside of the east-side town gate.The people of the town are mostly there, or else heading there as soon as they can get done with work/life.Tax free sheep!Oh, and it's around mid-morning atm.[ATTACH=full]392274[/ATTACH]Into the central square, or platz, and that's the Town Hall, which also contains the courts and other public offices. This is also the merchant's quarter, and there are a few nicer shops here, although again- not too many customers.Lothar however is on fine form, the dapper fellow- he's dressed in Kastor's clothes remember, locates a paper and ink seller (Pappy Russ), and after a brief (but charming) chat asks about the location of the lawyer's- Lock, Stock & Barl, which most surely this establishment supplies with its fine products.“In Garten Weg somewhere, although I am a stranger to Bogenhafen, could you direct me?”And there's a shiny shilling on offer for the bored shop keep, and Lothar's check is great.The upshot is, in precis-“Lock, Stock an' wot? Never 'eard of 'em. Tha's not to say- lawyers, poppin' up all over. Now Garten Weg, that's somewhere off Eisenbahn. Head through the Gottenplatz, then over to Nulner Weg to the East Gate. Ask someone there, it's back in to the town a way- off Eisenbahn- like I said, near the metal-benders guildhall.”He's very helpful, it's as if the DM wants to demonstrate to the players the value of coin and chatter, asking questions it seems is a good thing.We move on.Now, however, the entire company is of one mind (not that they weren't before), they're walking into a trap, or else trouble.But, the journey continues.[ATTACH=full]392275[/ATTACH]Into the Gottenplatz, in which is situated- in all of its glory, the Temple of Sigmar. There are half-a-dozen other temples here. A ten minute discussion is had about the various religions/cults followed in the Reikland, and their roles/beliefs etc.But... Frederich, and particularly Olek, cannot pass a Temple of Sigmar without popping in to say a few words of thanks.Which is why I put this scene/encounter in there, because I knew they would.[ATTACH=full]392276[/ATTACH]The Hass brothers are about their cultish business- prayers and offerings, Lothar is less keen to get involved, he waits at the door to the great temple building, all spires, lightning bolts, hammers and gargoyles- in and out. The place gives him the creeps, a bit.Fergus scurries about a bit inside, impressed with the stonework, and perhaps the sepulchral darkness (it reminds him of the mine) but otherwise content to see what happens.What happens is this.There are four or five people at the opposite end of the temple, the altar end, one of them seems to spend sometime pointing directly at Olek. This fact is spotted by Olek, and then a little later by Fred.The four or five (it turns out to be five) men fast approach, Olek goes to meet the party, Fred not far behind.“I am Ludo Edel, High Priest of Sigmar here in Bogenhafen, welcome brothers to my temple!”That's Ludo bottom-middle in the image above, he's a tough looking man.Note, Ludo doesn't know that Olek and Fred are 'brothers', he can however see that both of them are devotees of Sigmar.The Hass brothers instantly prostrate themselves before the high priest, and offer all manner of shining epithets, while facing the floor.They toady with the best of them.Fergus also closes in on the scene, but wary- still a watching brief only.Ludo has lots to say, after the Hass brothers have been encouraged to their feet, and lots of questions. The Hass brothers naturally introduce themselves; however Ludo- it seems- is entirely enamored with Olek. When Frederich works this out, that the high priest is only interested in his brother, he is very very unhappy (for which read very very angry) but he manages to hold it together.Ludo eventually asks, after circling Olek once or twice- “How tall are you brother?”“Seven feet and some Lord. I think.”“Sigmar is strong in you. Stronger than in many men- he stands tall within you.”Olek's world is very suddenly entirely made of sunshine, he feels glorious. He cries a bit.Then Ludo presents Olek with a set of fine robes, befitting an acolyte of Sigmar (Olek has just about enough XP to change to Priest class), he also gives him a holy symbol of Sigmar, a hammer.And again, Olek is emotional, moved to tears.“I... I... I have no words!” He eventually stutters, in his camp-Nazi voice, remember.Ludo takes Olek aside for just a moment-“I have a mission for you Olek Hass, be at the Schaffenfest this afternoon, my priest will find you there, be ready- he will explain the nature of your task.”Olek obviously agrees immediately.Ludo, and his coterie, therefore departs but not before offering some final words- and a thumping salute, to the towering Olek-“Well met, Olek Hass. For the Glory of Sigmar, and Bogenhafen, I know you will play your part- stand tall, the goal is within your reach.”And then they're gone.Olek is... well, let's just say everything is rosy in Olek (and Sigmar's) garden, or at least for the rest of this session. Olek is still talking about this encounter in the midst of what follows (the next scene, keep reading). Frederich is much less impressed, although... [SIGH] very happy for his brother.Very happy.SCENE 2. Lock, Stock & Barl. The adventurers quickly find their way to the east gate, and then from there up the Eisenbahn, where Frederich finds an urchin, and then with a whispered threat, a good-ish dice roll, and then the donation of two pennies, he quickly locates Garten Weg.That's how its done.[ATTACH=full]392280[/ATTACH]Garten Weg. Its not much to look at, and this image obviously shows the narrow thoroughfare at night, so... it does, as the players stated at the time- more than once, look a little menacing.Bugger!The players are prevaricating.Eventually they pluck up enough courage to take a stroll down the alley, and there they discover- at, more-or-less, the far end, a small-ish out-of-the-way office, above the door a sign-“Lock, Stock & Barl. Lawyers etc.”And in the room beyond, seen through a grimy small-ish window, an ante-room- or else a waiting room, a clerk within sat at his desk.Like in a lawyer's office.The adventurer's think- none of them have actually been/seen inside a lawyer's office.So, after another brief (who am I kidding- brief) discussion, they go in.And meet Charlton Dickson, image above, who is clerk to the partners- Lock, Stock & Barl.Eventually, and I do very much mean eventually, there was a lot of scrambling going on here from Lothar, and with no help from his friends, we get to the nub of it.“I am Kastor Lieberung, I've come to claim my inheritance, here's my affidavit.”Charlton is delighted, he jumps with joy, and then scurries off through an internal door to tell “Herr Barl!”, the good news- he will be delighted too, apparently.The adventurers wait.For a short while- Frederich tries the door (through which Charlton departed) it's stuck, or else... locked.So is the door they came in Olek concludes.This is what the inside of the trap looks like is what is occurring to all of them in this moment.Lothar goes to pick up the escritoire, in order to smash it through the window, but... THUMP! THUMP!The window is suddenly shuttered.Thick wooden shutters- probably barred too.A voice calls out, scratch 'call', make that 'growl'-‘Kastor Lieberung!""Otherwise known as the Magister Impedimentae of the cult of the Purple Hand!""In the name of the Emperor, I arrest you and your companions for conspiring with Chaos, for murder, for theft, and for other crimes hereinafter to be enumerated!""Lay down your weapons and surrender!’"The adventurers recognize the voice, of course, its Adolphus, the bounty hunter is back.And so... what follows.What indeed.And just to say ahead of time I let it be known that a turn of action in a WFRP combat is twenty seconds, I reckon, three turns = one minute. I think.So, what happens next.Well, Lothar and Frederich spend the next minute shouting a variety of things at the shut door through which Charlton exited.Things like-“Ha! Come in Adolphus, then you will see the eyes of Sigmar staring back at you, you fool. We are on the same side!” Fred offers.“I can't even say Lever-Lung, or whatever it is!” Lothar opines.“Come to your senses-Adolphus, we can go to the authorities together, resolve this situation- pool our resources. In Sigmar's name, you fool, we want the same thing- an end to this Cult!”Frederich keeps up a barrage while Lothar just continues to protest his innocence.There's a lot of this.Note, at this point Lothar is also worried that there are hidden-holes in the walls/ceiling/doors here, and that they're going to be shot at any second. He's telling his colleagues this- which only increases the threat.I have no idea where this thought came from but I was very happy that he had it.This goes on for a minute.Nothing else happens.Oh, but Olek also offers a running commentary throughout all of the shouting above, or else he tries to make sense of what's going on here- by telling all of his colleagues out loud (and gabbling- often) what (he thinks) is going on here. All of the time.“But if they get the authorities then... well, they'll just see that we are... us, friends of Sigmar etc. We don't need to fight these people- we should just wait them out!”Where's Fergus in all of this?Fergus is hiding under the desk. That's his contribution, although...Nothing continues to happen.Although now that they have stopped shouting then... well, there's something going on- some odd noises coming from the door through which Charlton exited.Fergus comes barreling out from beneath the desk and buries his axe in the flimsy internal door, nearly sundering it with just one blow.“Ger it open!” The dwarf offers.Action!Fred kicks the door with all his might and SMASH, the lock stays attached to the door frame but the rest of the door swings/shudders open.There's a small storeroom beyond the door, with a few crates on one side- no windows, and... another (open) door that leads back out into the alley- Garten Weg.The noises are coming from out there.Lothar takes all of the above in as he scurries forward, weapon in hand, and seeing no-one in the newly revealed storeroom, he sticks his head out of the external door to have a look around in the alley, a sneak-peek only.There's a body on the floor to the right, in a very swiftly growing pool of blood, the body is slightly propped-up against a wall, it is shuddering and convulsing.Lothar, looks back at his companions.“There's a body out there- someone dying.”At which point, in initiative order- natch, all of the adventurers exit at speed into the alley, Garten Weg.There they discover the following, mostly it's Frederich with the info- the body is that of Adolphus Kuftsos, the bounty hunter, he is quite definitely dead when the Witch Hunter gets to him. There is blood everywhere, and worse-something has ripped Adolphus' chest wide open.Save the carnage there's nothing else to discover.Frederich, with help from Lothar, drags the body back into the lawyer's place.Lothar is mostly looking for the bad guy prior to this, Fergus takes this process one step further, the dwarf runs the entire length of Garten Weg looking for an enemy to confront. The much bigger thoroughfares at either end of the alley are exactly as they were before, nothing untoward. The dwarf even spies a pair of city watchmen about their patrol- all is well with the world of Bogenhafen.No enemies here.The lack of an enemy somewhat stymies the adventurers.Meantime Lothar, Fred and Olek have started work on examining the body of Adolphus thoroughly, this in the small storeroom.Adolphus has no cultish marks or other tattoos, he carries a license to say that he is an authorised bounty hunter, and he has a letter (see below) and a little coin. His armour is pretty much ruined- whatever killed him, the trio ascertain, ripped his chest open- claws or talons in and then TEAR, and then... scooped the bounty hunters internal organs out. All of which are obviously now missing.Later Fergus will go and find Adolphus' various inner-bits in the alley, he will also discover that the heart has been ripped in two. That's quite a difficult thing to do- don't you think.Later still Frederich and Lothar will also discover a bloody claw print about eight or so feet up one of the walls here on Garten Weg. The creature/attacker went up.Note, remember I mentioned Fergus seeing a watch patrol earlier, well- while the search for the trail of the attacker is going on (and the bloody talon print found) the two town watchmen appear at the far end of the alley, about ten yards away, but Lothar and Frederich put on enough of a show as to ally any suspicion, besides there's nothing else to see in the alley, the body's gone.Here's the last picture for this evening.[ATTACH=full]392281[/ATTACH]That's Adolphus in the middle, the letter (to Adolphus) basically says that Kastor Liberung is the magister impedimentae (some sort of official) for the Cult of the Purple Hand, and that furthermore he will be on the road to Altdorf (as was Lothar) sometime about now-just-gone (as was Lothar). Also with the letter is a picture of the aforementioned Kastor. Who looks a lot like Lothar.Mystery solved.Note, Lothar also rolled a '01' on his Intuition check at this point, in fact three of the four PCs rolled below '10' on their checks- they wanted to make sure they'd got it right.Adolphus is part of an organization, or else he has contacts (including QF, in Nuln, who wrote the letter to him) who help him to hunt cultists. The rest is just a case of mistaken identity, and (perhaps) Lothar (and his colleagues) desire to get paid.But here's the thing.Who killed Adolphus and why?And why right now? Why did whatever it was chose this exact moment to kill Adolphus?Just as the adventurers have arrived on the scene.And that's the point of pretty much the remainder of the discussion here. This discussion goes on even after the PCs have hidden the body of Adolphus, reclaimed the inheritance letter, and the affidavit (they were on the crates in the storeroom), and are even now (having also cleaned up a bit) en route to the Schaffenfest.Who (or else what) killed Adolphus and why? And why now?There's a lot of chatter.Which leads us rather nicely to here-“I think I know why.” Lothar offers, face still straining to make sense of things.“Go on...” Freddy encourages, although say it with menace.“I think they're protecting me, the Cult of the Purple Hand.” The last bit is delivered in a whisper.“Why would dey protect thee?” Fergus snarls, and turns on Lothar.“Because they think that I am the Magister Impediment-or-whatever-he's-called.” Lothar replies.Which brings the Schaffenfest-bound procession to a sudden stop, just before the east gate, through which a gathering crowd is making its way towards the flapping brightly coloured (in part) canvas ahead, toward the sounds of all—the-fun-of-the-fair, towards the Schaffenfest.Fergus tries again-snapping at Lothar, impeding his progress.“Bend down, get to my height. Look me in the eye!” Fergus snarls.Lothar complies.“Ar ya?” Fergus whispers, gimlet eyed.“Am I what?” Lothar is confused.“Tha' Magical Pickleman-or-whatever-he's-called?” Fergus stares daggers at Lothar.Who gulps.“No. That is. NO!”Next time... all the fun of the fair.The final XP table for this session is below.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  <table style='width: 100%'><tr><td>           PC        </td><td>           Temple of Sigmar        </td><td>           Lock, Stock & Barl        </td><td>           Session XP        </td><td>           Total        </td></tr><tr><td>           Fred (Jim)        </td><td>           2        </td><td>           4        </td><td>           40        </td><td>           46        </td></tr><tr><td>           Fergus (Ben)        </td><td>           1        </td><td>           3        </td><td>           40        </td><td>           44        </td></tr><tr><td>           Olek (George)        </td><td>           3        </td><td>           4        </td><td>           40        </td><td>           47        </td></tr><tr><td>           Lothar (Kev)        </td><td>           1        </td><td>           2        </td><td>           40        </td><td>           43        </td></tr></table>Stay safe and well.Cheers goonalan et al.</blockquote>

Verification