The south of the North. (Campaign Log)

[Eisen]

Adventure 2: Symon's Nameday

All players were on hand and eager to get started.

We begin once more early morning on the training feild outside the keep. Master-at-Arms Krugan is again berating the troops for ineptitude. Even though they are all well trained they still don't seem able to keep up with Krugan's harsh training regime. Symon and Gavin are out watching the excercises and decide to test their skills against the aging weapons master. Krugan proves he is the best mele fighter by laying out Symon with one hit! (Something Symon and his player were non too pleased about) Gavin managed to hold his own and nearly prevailed but still fell to Krugan's battleaxe. Symon was somewhat cross and complained that he was more suited to intrigue and the manly art of archery then this primitive form of combat. To placate the heir Krugan had archery targets set up and each of them hit the targets. During the training the characters were introduced to "Mother" Mila. A massive cook who always insists on stuffing the boys. She complained that they were all skin and bones, and left them with several loaves of bread before hurrying back to help with the Nameday feast. Lord Benjin Milo had witnessed the exercises and was none to pleased that his eldest son seemed to have a glass jaw. He informs the group that he is hoping to use the feast to arrange a marrage between Symon and Leanne Bryce, and that everyone should be extra careful not to skrew things up! Though there was some northern mistrust of a house beholden to the Lanisters, House Milo was in great need of the wealth such an allience could bring.

The guests soon arive and the feast begins. The Milos are seated at the main table on a raised platform along with The Flints, Bryces, Freys of Northwatch, and the Robins. (all the characters from each family were detailed in a previous post) The food was amazing, fresh seafood, stuffed crabs, pyke and samon. Along with many other tasty dishes. Much ale was quaffed and toasts were given. Most notably Ser Kerrian Bryce made several toasts to the honor and courrage of House Milo. Symon was a little nervious at the prospect of marrying a girl he was meeting for the first time, but his apprehension faded when the Nameday gifts arived! Gavin gave him a silver sabertooth amulet and some fine perfume (hahaha) From the Bryces he recevied a pair of golden sabertooth cloak clasps! His good freind Markus Flint gifted him leather barding for his horse, not as expensive as the gold but much more practical. The Freys of Northwatch were met with some initial suspision but gained favor when they presented their gift of a shiny new suit of ringmail armor. Hopefully this will allow Symon to survive more then one hit! The Robins gave a leather bound copy of The Seven Sided Star, not something that you'd expect to see as a gift in the North. Symon handled the situation diplomaticly but it was clear Lord Milo was not happy about this. The most impressive gift was the ancestral sword of house Milo, Longtooth. Lord Benjin Milo stood up and exclaimed that Symon was a worthy heir to the house and deserving of this sacred honor.

Meinwhile Kurgan was seated at one of the other tables along side Kellen Snow, Steward Harl, Raven/Kennel Master Cerwin (An easy going middle aged man. He droped out of the Citidal after only earning his Black Iron link) Krugan would have enjoyed the company had it not been for Ser Clinton. He was loudly boasting of his victories (Slaying at least 400 men singlehandedly at the Battle of the Trident!) and making everyone wonder how much he had to drink. While the main table was busy with the gift giving, Leanne Bryce sliped away and brushes Krugan on the shoulder, walking to the exit and giving him a 'come hither' look. Krugan decides to follow, down a long dark hallway and asks the lovely young lady what she wants. Leanne shyly explains that she's troubled by the possible wedding and dosen't know anything about Symon. She also expresses concern about the recent Ironborn attack on Milo lands. If only someone could feed her information on current events in Milo lands, perhaps she might be more at ease. Krugan gives it some thought and agrees to her request. (I'm pretty proud of myself on this one, we didn't even need to use intrigue rules!)

After a few hours of feasting Lord Milo informs Symon and Gavin that Lord Bryce is amenable to the idea of a wedding but he won't force his daughter to marry against her will. The brothers need to find some way to convince Leanne or win her favor. Symon tries to charm Leanne but she is being quite coy and not really giving him many openings. Gavin asks her brother Kerrian for any insights. Ser Kerrian tells him they have recently been having some trouble with Ironborn wrecking up their taverns, a very relatable problem! The Bryce guards took a very dim view of this and 'escorted' the offenders back to their ship, but not before their leader, one Jens Netly, absconded with a large chest on the docks. This chest contained expensive new clothing and jewerly Leanne had imported from Dorn and the Free Cities. If Symon could return either this chest, or Jens Netly's head (preferably both) then Leanne would surely grant her favor. Gavin dispatches Ser Clinton to Redport to gather whatever roumers and information he can on the Netlys

The feast ends and the guests make their way home. The next morning Ser Clinton returns and tells the Milos that Jens Netly is the third son of House Netly, a minor house sworn to house Greyjoy, located on Blacktyde island. Lord Milo gives his son leave to persue the matter and plans are drawn up for a little agressive diplomacy...

[Paedrig]

Hmm..i must say for the "good son" Symons outbreak at the practice place seems a little bit...unmanly.
Remember Jaime Lannisters meaning about bowmen...they are certainly not the top of the pop. If you want to be a REAL fighter (and lord) you should have some close combat abilities. Especially in the North when the winter is comming. And you risk it to be a bad joke at every tourney (and battle field).

Winning the archery contest instead is in my eyes a meagre subsitute.

Certainly not everyone could be a Robb Roy (Robb Starks martial abilities at the age of 15 were a little bit to good i. m. o.). But to complain about close combat in the open (and with his father nearby) do not sound very adult. What might his father think about this?
But i know we all are just human (my char for example could not even hit a gate with a bow, and - much worse - could not read). And been beaten the seccond time with ease (first by his brother and no this) must be hard...
Actually it might be good that he is not so perfect at all...

[pouncingpanda]

Another interesting post.

I like the two brothers being so different, it makes lots of opportunity for stories.

Is Gavin jealous of Symond? After all, Symond gets floored with one blow but he's still getting lovely gifts and a beautiful wife. What has life ever given Gavin, but for his cat?

Could there be a Stannis/Robert situation brewing ? "They love Robert, not me teeth grind" et al.

I've never seen siblings as characters in a long-term RP campaign before, so this should be interesting.

[Eisen]

You guys make some good points. So far the relations between to two brothers have been pretty good, but your right that Gavin seems to be getting the short end of the stick here. So far Lord Milo still favors his eldest son but things can change if failures continue. Hopefully Symon's shiney new Frey ringmail will help keep him upright for a few rounds. (He was wearing only hard leather armor before)

Gavin isn't what I'd call a people person, but he's Mr Personality compared to Stannis

The next adventure should provide Symon with a great chance to prove his manhood. A 'visit' to the Iron Islands could be just what he needs to boost his reputation...of course it could also get everyone killed and make this a very short campagin

[seventhbeacon]

Some clarification, sirs!

The brothers faced off first, and it was in fact Gavin that struck the single blow, not Krugan! We should point out that during this exchange, injuries and wounds were not used, and how the combat system works is still a bit rusty for us (I don't own the player's guide; still need to read it in detail). Rest assured, in real combat, being felled in one blow simply wouldn't happen! With only 9 HP, I'd imagine being felled it would be a common occurance if one does not wish to sustain real injuries in mock combat with their allies (especially when social and other skills are sacrificed in character creation in order to create combat beast PCs!)

Also, Eisen, it seems your perspective recalls events differently! Simon never referred to swordplay as a primitive form of combat, only that he preferred the bow. The claim that intrigue was important was also out-of-character. Allow Simon his scruples while a grumpy player learns a new system against min-maxed opponents!

The archery master concept came first, becoming the firstborn son followed suit. The other two players are built largely for combat (one being min-maxed to that end!) and being firstborn son required Simon's points were divided to be a bit more well-rounded, as it was just as important for his social and intrigue skills to take shape!

Simon is definitely eager to please his father and grant his wish of a strong marriage with the Bryce family, willing enough to go into Greyjoy territory... but his player finds the Flints much more to his personal liking. Strong, hardy families over strumpets in silver dresses! Though I imagine Leanne is quite the catch, in the end.

I promise my next posts will be less fact-checking and more embellishment!

~B

[seventhbeacon]

I'm looking forward to reading the books, especially after the generous XP offer included with it. Sad to say I've owned the first two novels since about 2002 when a friend recommended them after I was getting sick of reading 800 page filler fantasy where nothing of interest occured in entire novels *cough*Wheel of Time*cough*. Unfortunately, I buy lots of books and take forever to get around to reading them, lol.

My GMing style when it comes to metagaming players. If a player is using their knowledge to assist their character's performance, and there's a clear sign of abuse, hit the player where it counts: deny them XP or have alternative details prepared. This only ever seemed to be a problem with D&D though, where some players seem obsessed with memorizing the Monster Manual. (My solution there was swapping out elements and building custom monsters!)

[Carriker]

Just remember: even if they're metagaming, the best thing for your game is a player who is invested enough in the storyline to want to have an affect on things. And let's face it - every action has a response, and the good, logical response to someone getting involved in the series plot is to change what happens...with the meddler as the spotlight/target.

[pouncingpanda]

My apologies, Ser Seventhbeacon.

I'm still loving the opportunities for sibling rivalry.

Simon is definitely eager to please his father and grant his wish of a strong marriage with the Bryce family, willing enough to go into Greyjoy territory... but his player finds the Flints much more to his personal liking. Strong, hardy families over strumpets in silver dresses! Though I imagine Leanne is quite the catch, in the end.

Lol, that reminds me of Big Buckets Wull's rant in DwD! Were the two practical Flint sisters at the feast? I wonder if either of them holds a secret crush on one of the brothers... (can't believe I've been reduced to shipping on somebody else's campaign! )

I like the idea of using a training scene in the castle as a means of learning the combat system. I'm finding it quite a lot to get my head around, but am just starting to appreciate the way that all the different abilities interact (e.g. the way that Water Dancers can add their Fighting to Agility checks).

[Eisen]

The two Flint twins were both at the feast. Gavin tried striking up a conversation with the sisters but they didn't really seem too intrested.

[Pappystein]

The two Flint twins were both at the feast. Gavin tried striking up a conversation with the sisters but they didn't really seem too intrested.

Aye, Must be that nasty wikked scar that runs from my Hairline down around my right eye and then on to the back of my jaw.... It is SUCH a hard life being the second born!

Mayhap Gavin will tumble into true love after beheading the fiend Jens Netly! Mayhap Father will love me after that too!

So, to put the whole sibling rivalry bit to bed. Gavin does NOT feel slighted by Symon. Rather he takes a VERY Pragmatic view on the whole situation. Father has done his best to set up Symon to be a Diplomat and a leader. However no leader in the north has survived long without knowing the Blade or how to wage war. Gavin focuses on those aspects of leadership. Outside of that Gavin is both the most hardened and the most compassionate of the group. Other players fall somewhere in the middle of those extremes. I am compassionate toward my Father's issues. I am hardened toward the angst/apathy heaped upon me by Father BECAUSE of his issues. etc etc etc. Tell me a truthful reason why you failed and I will seek to help you avoid future failure. Lie to me about your dereliction of duty and it is OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! In our first episode the Town Guard that was be-headed, I would have asked him WHY he was asleep at the post. If he had said something to the effect of having to do 3x normal duty because others were slagging off I would have investigated (quickly) and brought punitave actions to those doing the slagging (assuming he was telling the truth.) If He said the same and it was a lie... OFF WITH HIS HEAD! Sorry watching Alice in Wonderland while typing this

[Paedrig]

I am still thinking that such a harsh punishment might be a little bit uncommen. At least in peace times and outside the lieges of...say we the Boltons and the Clegans?

If i remember right Gregor Clegances suggestion to to take the eyes of every scout who failed to find the enemy (and give the eyes to the next scout so that he have four instead of two) was seen as a little bit extrem. Even by Tywin Lannister...

Even in the roman army (as far as i know) - one of the most disciplined armys of the world, sleeping guards were not ALLWAYS executed (although is was not uncommen - at least if it happened in enemy territorty)...

[DaimosofRedstone]

Sleeping guards were beaten to death by their unit. That is pretty harsh.

But for a sleeping guard it does indeed entirely depend on the liege.
If he decides to behead the guard for this, he is well within his rights (if he has the rights of Pit and gallows he could behead virtually everybody without due process) since everybody in his domain either belongs to him (serfs) or is subject to him (free men).

[Pappystein]

At the Start of Episode 2 we find Symon, Gavin and the still somewhat dubious Ser Clinton in Krugan's War room (aka his Suite of room(s) in the keep. It is important to note that while Krugan is not a person of high Status, his long service to the Milo family has left him as basically the "General" of the army. We all surrounded a war table (a over large table with maps on it.) Ser Clinton outlined where the location of Jens Netley is, what forces he has and what was known about the relationship between Thirdson Jens Netley and the rest of the Netleys. In short Jens is not very popular with his family. Worse he is a hideous man. Snaggletooth Teeth, no neck, and out of character he is described to look like a Muppet! We set sail with our entire squadron of warships, Our Entire force of Infantry, our entire force of Calvary, we three player characters, Fang, and our entire force of Marines. Marines are how we are simplifying the difference between ship’s crew and Combat troops on Ships.

The plan:

Arrive at dawn on the Eastern side of the Netley's Island. Krugan is pretty certain from his service during the Greyjoy rebellion that the eastern side of the island is relatively safe for an amphibious landing.
Once on land the Calvary unit will trail the Infantry and Archers. At the first sign of enemy movement the Calvary would break off and form a flanking force on the enemy. it is intended for us to arrive at Jen's Palisades enclosed camp at mid morning with the sun at our backs (reducing our forces chances of being distracted and aiding our ability to fight effectively.

During mustering: Speaches about the end result of this action are given (Gavin to the Calvary, Krugan to the Infantry and Symon to the Infantry to remove some of the bluntness of Krugan's speech.) Gavin finds out that Ser Clinton has instilled his Squire, Patsy, in place of the Calvary force commander. Gavin corrects this error. Patsy is allowed to ride as a Cavalryman but is the lowest man in the hierarchy now, not the highest.



Real Life:
All through the journey Saber has been upchucking and otherwise scaring the Calvary horses on the Seawolf. Gavin has barely been able to keep Fang from doing more than injuring one sailor
Pre dawn morning, our lead ship of the Squadron with our entire force of infantry, Krugan and Symon is spotted by a force of 3 Greyjoy longboats. After a poor parlay (yelling back and forth between Symon and the patrol's commander) combat ensures. The Three long boats quickly close on the single warship. The unit of infantry is ordered to arms on the warship. A Key distinction at this point is the constant reminder that going overboard in armor is almost assured death. Symon and the Infantry do not don any armor. Krugan only dons the under armor to his suit of armor.

9 Rounds of combat ensure before the trailing ships can join the battle. At this time the remaining ships, including a ship with a full contingent of Archers on board enters the Fray. During the next 6 rounds, Krugan takes three injuries; Symon takes a Wound an Injury and is knocked out. The Entire Infantry force is whipped out to a man and about half of the boarders lie dead on the Deck of the flagship of our squadron (sorry, I forgot to write it's name down.) However, as they attempt to flee all three longships are destroyed. Hail to the Victor and all but at what cost. We just lost our trained Infantry unit. The CORE of our attack-force! It should be noted, that Symon and Gavin both beheaded enemy forces with arrows, Krugan splint at least 3 enemies in-twain (or from stem to stern if you will.) Gavin's Best shot was an arrow that took enemy ship 3 commander's head and mounted it to the fo'c'sal of self same ship!

A new plan is quickly drawn up using the Marines in place of the Infantry. We are less sure about the revised plan as the Marines have no armor and we are concerned.

Arrival of the Palisades of Jens Netley.
just as we arrive at the Palisades we see a rider take off heading east. Brother Symon's last fighting act of the adventure, trusting his Destiny is to launch an arrow into the sky. Said Arrow explodes the Heart of the rider killing him instantly.

Jens is seen on the rampart of the Palisade, he yells out "what ye want!"
Symon answers " What you wrongfully stole from The Bryces!"
Jens, "We paid for those goods! We paid the Ironprice!"
Symon follows "And we will pay that same ironprice for them back!"

The next couple actions involve Symon and Jens deciding to settle this in a battle of single combat. Gavin will be the champion for Symon (he is the only un-injured PC at this juncture.) Saber is none too happy to leave Gavin's side now that she has settled down on land. But it is a SINGLE combat. Symon hands Gavin the family Heirloom longsword made out of Valerian steel. It is the switch in weapons that will decide this combat.

Out of character I feel sorry for Jens, if he kills Gavin at this point Saber will charge and attack.

Jens is even uglier in person than he was described. No one said he was unwashed and stunk of rotting food!

Jens gets the jump on Gavin and swings his greataxe in Gavin's Direction. Gavin takes the brunt of the blow on his Shield. one damage point gets through his Armor. Gavin in turn strikes a mighty blow on Jens Causing a Critical strike (1 6 up on my roll.) Jens is staggered and angry. Jens makes yet another full attack on Gavin striking a Mighty blow. Gavin Takes is injured and staggers back briefly only to swing and catch a lucky shot on Jens. Jens in turn strikes at Gavin a third time. Yet again Jens only manages to scratch the Coin-Mail. Gavin however makes a leaping attack at Jens. After Staggering Jens back on his heels Gavin offers Jens the ability to Yield. Jens choose to Yield rather than die against the obviously superior fighting that Gavin brings to the table. The large chest is sent out of the Palisades and we return home. Lots of Ravens are sent out for the glory of our adventure.


Now, We did not fully use the Warfare rules, only skimmed on them. I am un-certain of Eisen will allow the Warships to make a training roll to see if they can gain Elite status. I HOPE so

our House Power, already mediocre is now reduced by 7 due to the loss of our Infantry unit to the man. In Hindsight we should not have Sent our entire warship squadron and we should not have kept the Infantry out of their Armor during the Ship combat. We could have kept the Infantry alive if we let them Armor up. after our Episode Eisen informed us if we had taken 3 ships (the minimum to carry our forces) we would have gone un-detected by the Longship patrol and could have wiped Jen Netley's Enclave out to the man.

[Paedrig]

Very dramatic events, a bitter lesson in the dangers of naval warfare and in the end a much more preferable solution than an attack against the village.

Although i must say this expedition did have nearly the scale of a whole dammed invasion. If I counted exactly you sent a force of more than 200 soldiers (infantery, marines, cavalry - what is with the archers you mentioned?) plus the warships and their crew.
Not perhaps a little bit too much all out force for getting back some goods?

I am not certain if such great operations (especially if you indeed would be able to burn down the whole camp like you seemed to have planed) are very common (i doubt it) and how this might be seen by local major and the ruling greater houses. Remember the danger of counteractions, counter-counteractions etc.
The members of Jens family might call ihm a muppet - but he is their Muppet!
This mean such an attack on their land might 'force' them to do something as reprisal.
And BOOM the peace of the last few years is gone with the wind...

I am also a little bit confused conderning the rules for warships. I had thought that a warship unit (5 ships if i remember right) could only transport one unit beside the crew (S. 108 core rule books). But you send 3 units (including cavalry- certainly they need a lot of space)...
Although i for myself would agree that one unit per warship unit is a little bit unsatisfying, i am not sure if three units...

O. K. i am not certain what a normal warship actually IS. In my view a normal warship (not upgradet) is not much more than a long ship/liburna or so. Upgraded Warships might be bigger types like they are mentioned for the battle at Kings Landing...

[DaimosofRedstone]

One could argue that this already was the reaction.
Raiders steal your stuff, you got to options: Let them run and encourage future raids on your Domain or chase them down, kill them all and discourage anybody with ears to hear from such a course of action.

[Paedrig]

Call me half hearted but to send out a fleet and some hundred men with the intention to destroy a whole village (and all this in peace times) because some goods were stolen sounds a little bit disproportional.
Especially if the namely goods are not even your own...
O.k., they wanted to impress the chick. Mission complete i would say.

But such a operation (and as a result such costs for gaining the goods back)...
Daddy might not be so happy.
And what their liege lord thinks about the whole invasion...
At least this question is a good possibility for future events and interactions.

But I am quiet certain that there are others options that could be used BEFORE you start an invasion. Also much more common used. I know that you think that such things are normal but i still could not found it (neither in Martin's books nor in the rpg books).
Certainly everyone can (and should) play his own version of Westeros. But still...
At least i want to mentioned some speculations.

[Eisen]

Gack. What is this? Gavin posts the log before I could. Now what am I supose to do at work today?!?! I'll post up a few notes a bit later.

For now anyways the rules on warships were a bit unclear, the warship discription would indicate your interpretation Paedrig but it didn't spell things out as clearly as I would have liked. I rulled that you could fit 100 people per boat. Was this incorrect? They were using Cogs, how many people can you actually fit on a cog?

[Paedrig]

In Reality i would go with you that you can put 100 men in a (great) cog - at least for a short distance. With a longboat/drakkar typ ship it might be another thing (or not - as i know even these types differ greatly concerning their length and crew/ transport abilities). If you see an warship as an liburna/ small galley typ ship 100 men (again for short distance) also might be o. K.
But short distance normaly mean REALY short distance. Remember, most times the ratio of ships/ landing troops was certainly NOT 100 men/ship - at least not in ancient and medieval times (with the exception of the Ilias: 1.000 ships with 100.000 men - but even in this mor legendary case the crew was certainly included in the numbers, and the had very few horses with them).

Cavalry...Only 20 Men (no problem anyway) but 20 horses...

Cogs are used as warships in Westeros - but they seemed not to be preferred for this role (during the naval battle at Kings Landing they were used only in the third or fourth line).
Longboats/galleys seemed to be more common. Probably because they are not dependant from the wind.

But what i had said about the transport capacity of ships is one thing - what the rules say might be another.
If you give your ships the capacity to transport one unit EACH SHIP this would certainly be an house rule - and i do not know if she might not be a little to extreme.
Two or perhaps even three units per warship unit might be o. K. perhaps - but five...

[Pappystein]

Given all the talk about crushing the Jens Netley village. We were actually taking TRs famous euphamisim and expanding on it. You know, the One about speaking softly and carrying a Big stick? That isn't to say we went in in an overkill mode but we were not there to destroy Jens' Village. Rather, we were there to communicate that skulldrudgery and pillaging like the days of yorn would not happen on our watch.

Atleast that was how Gavin was approaching this.


Besides it was the over-large force that came to the camp of Jens Netley that allowed the battle of single combat.

OH I should add that Gavin felt that Ser Clinton was un-proven and thus immediately assumed 3x or more the size of/ forces of Jens Netley. Gavin is now SLIGHTLY more likely to trust Ser Clinton.

Ok that last bit is a bit of Meta Gaming. Eisen is GREAT at handing us our heads.... Thus any NPC we interact with that provides information is always not trusted all that much by our group of PCs.

[Eisen]

Adventure 3: The Iron Price

pappy/Gavin did a pretty good job of sumarizing what happend so I'll do my best to fill in the blanks.

The players decided to go in with great force, taking the full squadron of warships, infantry, calvary, archers, and sailors (or sometimes called marines by the players to diferentiate them from the normal crew on the warships) 320 troops in total. There was some talk of going in without banners for a stealth attack. (an intresting idea that would have had both negative and positive results) but it was soon dismissed. Krugan took on the role of general, with Symon commanding the archers and Gavin taking charge of the calvary. The ships sailed for nearly a full day to reach their target on Blacktyde island. The captains were unable to maintain a tight formation through the trip, so when the action starts the lead ship with Krugan, Symon, and the infantry were a little ways ahead of the rest of the squadron.

Just as they were aproaching land the lead ship was spotted by a patrol of three longships! Symon certinally needs to work on talking his way out of trouble, as the verbal exchange between him and the ironborn went something like this..

Ironborn: "Ahoy! Who Goes there!"
Symon: "I am Symon heir of house Milo!"
Ironborn: "What are you doing here?"
Symon: "We're here to kick some ass!"
Ironborn: "....prepare to be boarded!!"

So it would seem both diplomacy and fast talking died a quick death this day

The ironborn swarmed aboard and attacked. The Milo infantry was quickly overwhelmed as their foes were all wearing armor! The ironborn seemed to have no fear of a watery grave. Though some did indeed go overboard and sink like rocks, the rest made quick work of the unarmored infantry unit. Symon and Krugan were in a desperate fight for their lives. Symon fought bravely and held his own, dispatching several foes before taking wounds, and an injury, then being knocked unconcious. Krugan was a true terror in combat. His battle-axe buckler combination is a bit unusual but it left a trail of blood in his wake! He cut down foes left and right, and though he took a few wounds all that did was make him mad! For every wound he took he went beserk and got a free attack, often killing the offender outright! Without Krugan's amazing skill Symon would likely have been killed or at the very least relieved of his new Valarian Steel sword. Even so things were going very porely. Thankfully Gavin arived with the other ships in time to save the day! He cut loose with his archers and started sinking the longships. The ironborn realized the danger and tried to retreat, but it was too late and soon the archers ended the threat. (I'm assuming flaming arrows here, otherwise how do you sink a ship with arrows?)

After licking their wounds the players landed and after a short march located Jens Netly's palisade. It was a very small wooden fort just as described by Ser Clinton eariler. (Jens only had about 20 men with him) Seeing the massive forces outside Jens quickly agreed to single combat to settle the dispute. Symon was in no condition to fight after his injury (and Krugan was really wounded as well) so he asked Gavin to take up the family sword and serve as his champion. Gavin aquited himself well (rolling several well timed crits) and defeated Jens before he took too much dammage from the vicious two handed longaxe. Jens was allowed to go after he handed over the chest he stole from Leanne Bryce. The players, bloody but victorious sailed for home.


...I had planned on a far easier adventure but things don't always turn out that way Paedrig you make a good point about the size of things here. I was thinking the players would bring a much smaller force and have a much better chance of slipping past the Ironborn patrol ships. It seems they wanted to be safe and bring too many troops rather then too little, but evey choice has it's conquences. Also bringing the sabertooth cat along for the boat ride was fun for everyone but Gavin None of the players got seasick but Saber sure did Hairballs, wailing, and random scratching kept him busy for most of the 20+ hour trip. Not to mention the fear it put into the calvary horses below decks

Lord Benjin Milo did sign off on the attack. He knows there will be repercussions but he wanted Symon to prove himself worthy of the family sword and his new bride to be. Much glory was gained, and also a fair amount of loot from all the dead bodies on the lead warship

The next adventure should be pretty exciting as well. Symon wants to rest up and heal his injury. (Not easy without a Maester) But will the Netlys respond with an attack of their own? What will the Greyjoys do about this incursion on their islands? And how will Lord Eddard Stark react when he finds out about all this? Tune in next week folks!

[seventhbeacon]

It was good fun, but sadly losing the entire infantry unit was a costly price, so it's difficult to call it a victory. Certainly, we have learned from experience and Symon will be more willing to contribute to decisions he was too unwilling to do this time around (he deferred to the military judgment of those who'd seen battle, due to his total lack of military experience and not wanting to look foolish! Doh, lol).

But seriously, a whole unit of infantry lost. That is a serious blow, and loss of life over so small a prize as one pile of stolen goods, and will be weighing heavily on Symon (on all of us, I'm sure, but I hate to speak for the others).

For those concerned, we weren't going after a town full of people, but a fort with unclear number of fortifications and troops. Military action against civilians is most certainly not in the books for House Milo (Honorbound traits).

[seventhbeacon]

It should also be added that Ser Clinton's relative competence in information-gathering is still overshadowed by his obsession with hyperbole regarding his own exploits. He claims too much, and takes a yard when given an inch (or whatever the metric equivalent would be). For example, us discovering that squire Patsy was made commander of our Veteran cavalry forces when Ser Clinton was ONLY given command of the Redport town guard.

I look forward to next session, where I can thank him for his effective intel report and dress him down for overstepping his authority, as he is not yet an official on-retainer knight of House Milo, but merely in our employ during a trial period. Your work performance must be evaluated before being given benefits and permanent employment, especially when we are unable to verify wild claims of skill and legendary prowess! =)

I am curious to see him perform in a tournament, but not planning to place any wagers.

[DaimosofRedstone]

If Ser Clinton really overstept so dramatically he might even be headed for the gallows (usurping authority is no small thing), but you might also want to ask yourself how it can be that your trial-commander of the city watch was able to appoint a unit commander?!
Either your minions are incompetent, too afraif to oppose authority when called for or simply uninterested in the greater politics and the right&wrong of the whole situation which points to a severe leadership problem steming from either the Head of the House or his direct deputies (arms master, etc.).

[pouncingpanda]

A pair of great posts. I loved the dialogue snippets and the description of Jens Netley!

Haven't got to the naval warfare section of the rulebook, so can't really comment on it. Does everybody agree that a warship comes with all the neccessary crew to sail her but that, if you want men trained to fight on the ship, you have to buy sailors too?

What is the skill for handling a ship?

[DaimosofRedstone]

What is the skill for handling a ship?

That is a good question.

I would probably use Knowledge and Survival to plot courses, athletics and agility to actually sail the ship and warfare to command in a naval battle.