Blood Sword Campaign 1: The Battlepits of Kraarth

[sylas]

I don't have enough Endurance to keep fighting, I must continue to Defend. At least i'll be keeping B busy.

[champskees]

Round V: Barbarians!

The Trickster aims another arrow to end Barbarian B's life, but misses.

Barbarian A, seeing the only real challenge defeated, charges straight for the Enchanter. He rolls a 10, somehow missing completely!

Barbarian B knowing he is about to join his brothers in the afterlife, makes one final lunge at the Sage. He rolls an 11, the Sage's defences proving too effective.

The Sage continues to use his monastic training to ward off the Barbarian's attacks, using his quarterstaff to keep distance.

The Enchanter successfully casts White Fire on Barbarian A, inflicting 8 Damage.

End of Round V.

It looks like you guys will come out on top, though not unscathed. Fortunately the Warrior is probably the least important character in the group. Make sure you strip down his equipment after the combat.

Current status:

Barbarian A = 4 attacking Enchanter
Barbarian B = 1 attacking Sage

[a moderator]

Fire my last arrow at A.
[9] - bother!

[kieran]

I'm going to be a bit un-enchanterlike and take a swipe at A with my sword.

Roll 8: Miss. Bugger.

[champskees]

Round VI: Barbarians!

The Trickster aims his last arrow at Barbarian A, but alas misses.

Barbarian A, furious at having missed the pathetic mage, makes a deadly overhand chop at the Enchanter. He rolls a 8 and 3, inflicting 3 Damage.

Barbarian B continues to attack the pesky Sage. He rolls a 10, the Sage's defences again proving too effective.

The Sage continues to use his monastic training to ward off the Barbarian's attacks, using his quarterstaff to keep distance.

The Enchanter lunges toward the Barbarian, but trips over his robes, almost falling over.

End of Round VI.

Current status:

Barbarian A = 4 attacking Enchanter
Barbarian B = 1 attacking Sage

[kieran]

Sorry folks, think I'll have to defend this round.

[a moderator]

Move to B and attack.
[4] - a hit, a palpable hit! For [4] 3 damage. He's done for. You're out of danger for the moment, Sylas, so grab your bow and try to finish off the last Barbarian.

[sylas]

vs final Barbarian

Roll 3 - hey i don't suck
Roll 6 - 5Damage! (that is if i'm not killed before my turn)

[champskees]

Round VII: Barbarians!

Whilst Barbarian B continues to swing at the twirling Sage, the Trickster plunges his sword deep into his mighty heart. Barbarian B is dead!

Barbarian A realises that he is about to go down...but he's taking the Enchanter with him! He rolls a 8 & 3, inflicting 3 Damage.

With Barbarian B down, the Sage wastes no time in nocking an arrow to his bow & letting it fly, inflicting 5 Damage. Barbarian A is dead!

End of Battle

I believe the Sage has 4 Endurance left, the Enchanter has 3 Endurance. The Trickster can recover his Dagger of Vislet, but I am making a ruling on arrows that once they have been fired, they are considered to be useless - unless you can point me to some credible section in the rules that says otherwise. You guys are also free to divvy up the Warriors possessions, including his amazing sword (you cannot wear his armour, too bulky).

A suggestion to the fearless heroes in the party: discretion is the better part of valour.

[champskees]

191

You stoop over the bodies, searching them for items of interest. The scrap of parchment they were looking at is now soaked in blood and unreadable. You find twenty gold pieces, four axes and four bronze breastplates. As the latter have an Armour Rating of one, they are of no practical use to you. You head down the corridor and reach a point where it divides in two: on the left is a black tiled corridor, and on the right is one floored in white marble. Which way do you want to go? Left, down the black corridor (turn to 354) or right, down the white corridor (turn to 424)?

Got to decide how many pieces of gold everybody gets. If you want an axe, take one.

I'll give the Sage two chances to heal before you go to the next room. Basically you 'bet' X number of Endurance, then you roll a D6. 1 or 2 = you lose Endurance equal to your 'bet', 3 is nothing happens, 4 = you (or another character of your choosing) heals Endurance equal to your 'bet', 5 = heal 2x your bet, 6 = heal 3x your bet.

You can also eat a portion of the food you took earlier (or eat the ones the Warrior is carrying) to restore 1 Endurance point each. The Enchanter also might want to call to mind a spell so you've got something ready for the next combat.

[kieran]

Damn, after all that they don't really have anything good. I'm going to quickly eat one of the warrior's portions of food to restore 1 EP. I'll also take his remaining 4 portions unless Sylas wants to eat one, then I'll just take 3. I reckon Greenspine should take the super duper sword as he will make the most use of it. Someone also needs to take the octagonal prism, I would suggest Greenspine since he's the most likely to survive but I'm happy to forsake a portion of food to carry it if need be. Happy to put his money and the barbarians' together and take 10 gold pieces each if everyone else is ok with that.

I'll also commit White Fire to mind.

[sylas]

Not being able to read the map is disappointing. Greenspine can have the other 10GP. I'd rather the Enchanter not open the snuffbox as it seems too risky but it's your call. I will eat 1 portion of my own Food to get to 5 END. Low health means I will only gamble 1 END for each of two rolls.

Healing rolls: 5,5 (1x2,1x2)
Wish I gambled a bit more now. I'll heal the Enchanter for 4 END.

Kneeling beside our fallen comrade, I say a short prayer easing his spirit on his journey now that the fight is finally over for him. His courage shall be remembered. Only victory in the contest will lift our heavy hearts. Seeing our actions as perhaps not ill-planned but poorly executed, I turn to the Trickster to lead the way.

*When can i eat and heal again?

[a moderator]

I'll retrieve the Dagger and take the Warrior's magic sword, but I think the Sage should take the prism*. 10 gold each sounds fine.

Is everyone just going to move up one slot in the battle order?

I'd go for the black corridor (354).

SPOILER: Click to show

But every time I've played this book as Balhazar's champion before, I've not attacked the Barbarians until after they killed the nearby Assassins, so I have no idea what's up ahead in these circumstances.

*Because I remember the bug in the book that makes the Trickster significantly less likely to survive one later encounter.

[kieran]

I'd completely forgotten what the snuff box did. I'll leave it for now I guess. Black corridor seems no worse than the white so I'll agree with Greenspine.

[champskees]

354

After a short distance you pass a door engraved with red sigils.

Is there a Sage in your party? If so, turn to 266. If not, you can either open the door (turn to 406) or continue onwards (turn to 249).

266

(SAGE) You can make some sense out of the sigils.

SPOILER: Click to show

[They include glyphs representing Knowledge and Power in the High Cabbandari script of Krarth.]

Now if you wish to go through the door, turn to 406. If you pass by and continue down the tunnel, turn to 249.

Just on eating, it states that you can only eat immediately after a combat. For the Sage's healing ability, I will let you use it once per paragraph of non combat. So you can attempt to heal for each of the above paragraphs, and from now on when you choose a paragraph to go to, you can tell me your heal roll (if any) for the next paragraph.

Currently I have the Trickster at full endurance, the Sage at 5/10 EN & the Enchanter at 8/10 EN.
Battle order is currently Sage in 1, Enchanter in 2, Trickster in 3 - is that right? Might want to switch this up, but up to you.  

[kieran]

Happy to go with whatever Sylas decides for this one.

As for the battle order, I think the trickster should lead. I'll go for position 2.

[a moderator]

Yes, I'd better take the lead.

Unless the sigils indicate that opening the door would be hazardous to our health, I think we should see what's behind it.

[sylas]

I'll go with battle order 3 and attempt 2 more heals at 2END this time.

Healing rolls: 3,4 (nothing,2)
Still not great but i'll take it. I'll heal the myself and the Enchanter for 1 END each.

Okay i'll take the Prism (do we know what it does?). I'll explain that there is much knowledge and power inside the room but in my weakened state i'd rather not be the first to enter. This one sounds like something the Enchanter might be good with.

[kieran]

In that case I will enter the room first.

[champskees]

406

You push open the door and peer inside. In a glimmer of soft candlelight you see a fire-blackened skull resting on a plinth. The dust of the floor has been recently disturbed by footprints. You see no other exits.

If you wish to enter the room and pick up the skull, turn to 38. If you prefer to close the door and continue along the tunnel, turn to 249.

I have made a note of the battle order as Trickster, Enchanter, Sage. Also you have no idea what the prism does Sylas!

And although the text doesn't mention it, for some reason that skull seems to emit a very cheesy smell...

[kieran]

I will try to pick up the cheesy skull I guess.

[a moderator]

I recommend you drop your valuables first. Just in case...

[kieran]

Ok, I place the snuff box and my money pouch on the floor before touching.

[champskees]

38

In a multi-player party, if no one specified he or she was touching the skull, then it is the first player in the battle order who has done so. The following applies to him or her.

The moment you lift the skull, its empty eye-sockets seem to glare at you, and the outlines of the room wash away like a watercolour in the rain. Suddenly you find yourself standing alone in a room filled with scrolls. The skull is no longer in your hands, but rests on an oak table beside you. You may take as many scrolls as you wish, up to your normal encumbrance limit. In order to rejoin your comrades, however, you will need to pick up the skull again, so remember to leave one space on your encumbrance limit for this item.

The available scrolls are:

INVISIBILITY - When read during a combat, this allows all players to take the flee option (if there is one) on the next Round, without first having to move.

HEALING - This can be read at any time. It restores two Dice Endurance points to the player who reads it (up to his or her initial Endurance maximum).

ADJUST - The player who reads this can take one point from one of his or her attributes (Endurance, Fighting Prowess, Awareness or Psychic Ability) and transfer it to another attribute. The effect is permanent.

TIME BLINK - This can be read in combat, when it has the effect of returning time to the point when the combat started. The Endurance of both player(s) and opponent(s) are restored to what they were at the start of the combat.

PRECOGNITION - This scroll, which can be read at any time, gives you a glimpse into the past or future - or one possible past or future. When you read it, you can turn to an entry at random and see what it says, then return to the entry you were at before. To find out which entry you may look at, roll a Die three times: a roll of 3, then 6, then 4 would mean you could look at entry 364. If you roll a number for which there is no entry (666, for instance) then the scroll is used up but you see nothing in the past or future.

There are several copies of each scroll, so if you were able to carry three items, for example, then you could take three INVISIBILITY scrolls, or two INVISIBILITY and one TIME BLINK, or whatever. You may like to note down this entry number in case you need to refer back later to remind yourself what the scrolls do.

Each scroll can be used only once, because once read it will crumble to dust. Also, none of the scrolls can be read in this room, so you cannot get endless PRECOGNITIONs before leaving.

When you are ready to leave with the scrolls you have chosen, you take up the scorched skull once more.

Turn to 97.

So yeah, as the Enchanter you need to make some decisions here. Best if you tell me what your inventory looks like before you leave the room (remember the skull counts as one item).

97

You reappear in the first room. You no longer have the skull, so you cannot make a second visit to the scriptorium. You step out of the room and continue along the tunnel.

Turn to 249.

I'll just hold it here so the above event gets resolved first. Once you have returned with the skull I guess the other players can communicate with you. Also the Sage has about 3 opportunities to heal here. I would like each player to post their current inventory before I move on as well.

[kieran]

Ooh I feel like a kid in a magic scroll store.

Ok so Precognition sounds fun but not all that useful so I won't bother with that. Not sure about Time Blink either but the others sound good. I'll ditch all my food and therefore leave the room with this in my inventory:

1. Sword
2. Silver Armour
3. Adjust
4. Adjust
5. Healing
6. Healing
7. Healing
8. Healing
9. Invisibility
10. Skull

Once back in the room, I'll use an Adjust scroll to increase my Psychic Ability by 1 at the cost of 1 Fighting Prowess point. I'll then pick up my snuff box and money bag so that leaves me with

1. Sword
2. Silver Armour
3. Money Bag
4. Snuff Box
5. Adjust scroll
6. Invisibility scroll
7-10. Healing scrolls

Happy to give the Adjust scroll to either of the others if they want it, otherwise I'll hold on to it for now. Also they can each have 1 Healing scroll in exchange for a portion of food.

[sylas]

ok, before I go in, I'll attempt two more Healing rolls gambling 2END each.

Healing rolls: 1,6 (-2,6)
First roll takes me down to 4END but the second roll gives 6END.

I'll take 5END to bring me to 9END and the Enchanter can have the 1END remaining.

kieran - Are you at full health now? and did you throw away the Medallion the Magus gave us?

[kieran]

Oops, forgot all about the opal medallion. Well, if it's allowed, I'll assume I had it the whole time and took only 1 adjust spell. That would leave me with:
1. Sword
2. Silver Armour
3. Opal medallion
4. Money bag
5. Snuff box
6. Invisibility scroll
7-10. Healing scroll
And yeah that's me back up to full health, cheers!

[a moderator]

I'll trade food for a Healing scroll. Thanks for offering.

1 Magic Sword
2 Studded leather armour (Armour Rating 2)
3 Money pouch (55 gold pieces)
4 Bow
5 Quiver (empty)
6 Dagger of Vislet
7 Healing scroll
8 Opal medallion
9-10 Food

[sylas]

I currently have:

1 Quarterstaff
2 Ringmail armour (Armour Rating 2)
3 Money pouch (10 gold pieces)
4 Bow
5 Quiver (4 arrows)
6 Opal Medallion
7 Octagonal Prism
8-Healing Scroll
9-10 Food

If you guys agree to not leave me hanging high and dry when situations call for it, I am willing to share out my gold pieces to make space for more useful items. That is 5 gold pieces each now, and you can split any future gold we find two ways between you.

And yeah, trade Food for Healing.

[champskees]

249

The walls of the passage bear a decorative frieze showing gladiators locked in bloody battle. At the end you find a set of steps leading down to a monumental subterranean amphitheatre. Tiers of seats sweep up on all sides. A shaft in the ceiling admits a wan flicker of bleak grey daylight. On a low dais, a thin figure sits hunched over an onyx table. His robes seem like a pool of molten gold, and his skin is a rich ebony black. He looks up as you enter and pauses for a moment like one who has just awakened from a very long sleep. Then he speaks: 'You have done well to come so far, though you are not the first. Now you must face a great challenge - not a test of wits of wisdom, nor of swords or spells. You must beat me at a game ...'



Turn to 26.

26

The being spreads his hands over the surface of the table. As he draws them back, fourteen gleaming golden coins are revealed - seven in a line in front of him, seven on your side of the table. Beside each line of coins rests a six-sided Die. All the coins are showing heads.

'I am called Kief,' says the mysterious being. 'I am Grandmaster of this game, which the True Magi called the Spiral of Gold. Pay close attention as I explain it to you.

'We play in Rounds, called Spirals. In the first Spiral I shall secretly select a number on my Die, placing it under my hand with the number I have chosen uppermost. You do the same. Then we reveal and compare our chosen numbers. Suppose that I have the higher number. In this case you would lose some of your coins - equal to the difference between our two chosen numbers. I do not get the coins you lose; they just vanish. All right, so in our example you've lost some of your coins. I wouldn't lose any, but the number I displayed on my Die is the number of coins I have to flip over from heads to tails. So if I displayed a 4 and you displayed a 3, you'd lose one coin and I'd have to flip over four of my coins from heads to tails.

'We then start the next Spiral by recovering - that is, if either player has any coins showing tails, he can flip one of them over to heads again. Then we select numbers as before, and play proceeds until one player has no heads showing at the end of a Spiral. Then he's lost.

'There are three other rules you must remember. You cannot choose a number on your Die that is equal to or greater than the number of heads you have showing. That means that we can each put any number from 1 to 6 on the first Spiral, since we start with seven coins, all heads up. But if at some later point in the game I had only five heads showing, I'd have to choose a number from 1 to 4. Secondly, if we both choose the same number then that Spiral is a draw and neither player loses anything. Lastly, when you have to lose a number of coins you must take them from the heads, not the tails, among the coins you have left.

'Okay, do you understand how to play?' If you reply that you're ready for a game, turn to 15. If you tell him that you've no idea what this game is about, turn to 10.