Play Report: To Death, Frost, and Doom, Session 3
Session 3! This time with our full group of players, ready to look doom square in the face.
Characters Present
Grigori - Level 1 Magic-User
Hilt - Level 4 Fighter
Lucia - Level 1 Fighter
Waylon J Smithers Jr - Level 1 Specialist
The Events
Day 5
We picked up right from where we left off, with the sun rising over our camp as we prepared to face almost-certain death at the hands of skeletons. Everyone was awake and alert, though sleep-deprived (except for Lucia who had slept through the night.) We talked about how we wanted to approach the situation, unsure whether to pack up camp and run or stay and fight. The main question was whether or not the skeletons would return during daylight. If they did come back while we were packing everything up then we'd be in a bad position, but if they didn't return until nightfall then we'd be exhausted from keeping watch all day and still likely to lose. Eventually we decided to have 2 of us get the camp packed up so that if the skeletons returned we could make a quick getaway. We waited until about half an hour after Hilt's Turn Undead would have worn off and there was still no sign of them returning, so we decided to take the opportunity and just get out of there.
The first stretch of the day's journey was fraught with paranoia, constantly checking over our shoulders to see if we were being followed and making sure we hadn't dropped anything in our hasty getaway. It seemed like we'd managed to get away without being followed by the skeletons. Hilt sang a song to lift the group's spirits, and Lucia had us all sharing our gnarliest scars and the stories behind them. A couple of hours into the journey however, things took a turn.
As we passed through the small graveyard with the well that Grigori had found a couple of nights previous, we noticed movement behind us. Not skeletons, but people dressed in furs and pelts, following us at a distance. Every time we checked there were more; first 2, then 5, then 8, then 12, plus their dogs. They weren't carrying weapons and their mannerisms were off, they moved more like a pack of wolves than people. Occasionally a couple would split off, then reappear. We talked for a while about what to do, fighting them was out of the question as 2 of us were on 1HP and we were hopelessly outnumbered. Our options, realistically, were to parley or run.
We decided first to parley and left 4 rations worth of the meat we'd gathered from the butchered herd of elk. When Hilt called out to them and tried to communicate, they gave no reply. There was only an angry bark from somewhere beside us in the forest, and murmuring amongst themselves. More barks sounded from around us, their sources unseen. Talking had failed entirely. Plan B then.
We took off at a sprint, heading off the main trail to try and confuse our pursuers. There were immediate shouts and barks from all around us. These people were moving much faster than us, unburdened by gear and supplies, the question wasn't if they would catch us but when. Grigori attempted to fire off a shot from his bow at long range but missed and Waylon cast a rock from his sling, also missing. Hilt began dousing a sack in oil as she ran and Lucia scattered caltrops in the snow behind us. Behind us were 7 people and 2 dogs, with more shouting and barking from all sides. We were not in any kind of control in this situation, they were herding us.
Grigori and Lucia fired off two more shots from their bows, both missing, while the other 2 ran ahead, lit the oil-doused sack on fire and threw it behind them. Our pursuers caught up with Grigori and Lucia; 2 dogs threw themselves at Lucia and was brought down to unconsciousness by one of them but managed to break a vial of acid over the other. Grigori dropped his bow and dived for Lucia's greatsword in an attempt to fend off the attackers, but he was brought down by 2 strikes. The last thing he saw and felt were 3 men and 8 dogs tearing into his flesh and biting into his innards. There were too many attackers for anything to be done, even if the others weren't far ahead by this point. RIP to Grigori and Lucia.
Back with Waylon and Hilt, Waylon doused himself in poison to spite the attacking forest-folk and their dogs. "You can eat me, but I'll at least give you all food poisoning." The two of them heard a series of howls and found many of our possessions scattered in the snow. Following the trail and the howls they found that the sled had tumbled from a cliff and landed in the snow below. It didn't sound like they were being actively pursued anymore and there was smoke rising above the trees, indicating the oil-drenched sack had its intended effect.
After making their way down the cliff slowly, the 2 of them found the remains of the broken sled and 2 of our 3 dogs injured, 1 of them having disappeared entirely. The wreckage was being attacked by some of the forest-folk's dogs, which Hilt and Waylon managed to drive off. They gathered what they could, put it all on the tarp that had once covered the sled - including 1 of our dogs with an injured foot - and began to drag it all through the forested hills. Pushing through the day and into the night in an attempt to put distance between themselves and the attackers. Eventually, they stopped and made camp for the night, in desperate need of rest. We took a break there while the 2 of us who had lost characters rolled up new ones, and we got right back into play.
Day 6
We picked things up in the early hours of the morning, with Aenwas (my new character, an Elf) and Mordecai (a Dwarf) finding the group's camp. Aenwas had recently escaped imprisonment by humans and fled into the wilds, while Mordecai was trying his luck in human lands after parting ways with his family. The 2 had met in the wilderness and decided to stick together for safety. Having now found these 2 others in a tent clearly far too big for just them, we thought we could find more strength in numbers.
We made introductions, agreed to journey together, and that was that! It was raining heavily on this morning, and with everyone tired and soaked through, we decided to try and wait-out the rain. When it was clear it wasn't going to let up any time soon, we packed up camp and started towards the mountain.
During the day's travel we came upon a hill too steep to climb over, topped with wooden totems that stuck up out of the snow. We spent some time trying to get a closer look and found the totems marked with the symbol of Varchic, which Hilt took as a hopeful sign and asked to search for whoever made the totems. We began our search and quickly found more totems dotted throughout the area, and large footprints about the size of a person's head. We followed them back to a large cave, the mouth was wide enough that we could all walk in side-by-side. Dotting the walls were alcoves chipped out of the rock with wooden caskets standing inside them. Mordecai insisted we get away, telling us a ghost-story told by hunters in the region. The stories talk about a Snatcher, a tall being that frequents gravesites; it carries a shovel and takes the bodies of those who die in the woods and buries them here, taking their trinkets back to its lair. We go back and forth about going into the cave to try and steal the trinkets, but decide it's a risk better taken once Hilt's task at Pale-Tooth Mountain is done.
Closing Thoughts
After that, it was time to finish up the session. It's a real shame that Grigori and Lucia both died, but I'm glad we were able to roll up new characters and get straight back into the game. If this had been a TPK and the game had been over that would have been a real shame, I really enjoy this game and Hilt's Quest is very interesting. The sequence with the druids - as I later learned they were - was really awesome, there was a real sense of adrenaline and danger to it. Fuck those druids, all my homies hate the druids.