Game of Chance

Characters

• Initial GM: User:Nslife
• Chance Davis, Ranger, played by User:Jslife

Background

Global Context

The world as you know it is vast. It includes sprawling deserts, high mountain regions, swamps, and long running plains. You grew up mainly in the northern region of the world called Lorn. This region is mainly high mountains and forest. Thistle (your elderly ranger teacher) was able to teach you how to survive in almost any region on the planet and you have had to rely on this knowledge when travelling through the deserts or at times in the high seas to the west and eastern most boundaries of Lorn.

As far as your sources in the larger cities know, the world doesn’t seem to be in turmoil right now. There are many stories, however, of massive battles involving all manner of demons and strange unknown magic that have been passed down through the centuries, but these are largely thought of as creation myths for Lorn and you definitely have never witnessed anything magical in your journeys so tend to agree. Having an innate interest in the occult and hidden lore (high technology), you have come across signs (in ancient books mainly) that beg explanation and seem to indicate to you that these stories may not be all myth.

Current Situation

You have recently finished accompanying a merchant (Tad) from a small northern village to a another village named Hostroph a couple days ride west of a large eastern city known as Dyrnlost (the trip took about a week and a half). Tad had traded with farmers and forest gatherers in the northern lands and you successfully guided him back to his home village where he lives and makes monthly trips to the larger eastern city of Dyrnlost to trade. Your business with him is over and, as is your custom, you have made your way to the local inn to trade stories and get information about local happenings and gossip from the inn keeper named Tor. After learning that there is nothing new besides the regular bandits on the road, Tor does divulge to you that he has been hassled by some local bandits that have asked for taxes from him for “protection.” Tor is an older retired, proud warrior himself and lets you know that he thinks he can handle them on his own and doesn’t seem too worried about the situation.

You are now sitting (where?) in the tavern, resting and pondering your next move…

Character Creation

The main advice on character creation is to make a character that can fight, but that also has a good intellect. In particular, the character’s intellect will most likely come into play more as the campaign progresses.

250 points total
max 75 disadvantages
max 60 advantages*
max 5 quirks

• Other skills/advantages may be given out throughout the adventure depending on role-playing and the progression of the campaign.

TL4 gear, nothing magical.

What Happened

Rumble at Tor’s Tavern

Chance sat in the back of Tor’s tavern, closest to the huge fireplace. The few townsfolk that were in the tavern weren’t able to make out Chance’s face due to the firelight directly behind him. Tor, the tavern owner, stood polishing mugs at the bar when another townsperson came running in. From Chance’s perspective the townsperson was obviously upset and likely relating a shocking incident to Tor. Tor only nodded and seemed to look a little wearier than he had previously. The shocked townsperson then left.

Chance had a moment to ask the serving wench for information as to what just occurred and was able to glean information about bandits that had been disturbing the townsfolk over the past 10 months or so. Tor had thus far stood up to them, but the bandits were growing ever more determined with their “protection peddling” scheme every week.

Not 15 minutes later who walks into the tavern but four unwholesome looking men (most likely the bandits), obviously not from around these parts. An argument ensued between one of the men and Tor. Chance was able to overhear the man yell at Tor “give me my gold pieces!” and also saw the man open hand slap Tor, causing Tor to look very frightened and upset. The two townsfolk in the tavern then didn’t hesitate when the man speaking with Tor turned around briefly and ordered everyone out of the tavern; leaving only Chance sitting in the back, four mysterious men, and Tor reeling from the unexpected slap to the face (the serving wench presumably sat out the action in the back pantry).

Chance then stood and slowly approached the men while attempting to talk with the leader. This didn’t get far when the leader of the group got upset when Chance wouldn’t introduce himself and then the leader blurted out that he wanted to know Chance’s name before he killed him! Chance was now within tomahawk range of the leader and let fly a tomahawk that was able to hit through the leader’s metal armor into the side of his chest.

At this time Tor jumped (or more accurately rolled) over the bar with longsword in hand! Chance then ran at what looked to be the biggest of the bandits and unsheathed his two broadswords! Chance was able to then effectively slice off the biggest bandit’s right leg and injure the bandit’s left leg at first strike with his dual wielding broadsword attack. The bandit was obviously a hardened fighter though as he struck back (from the ground) at Chance, but missed with his greatsword.

Having fallen one of the bandits, Chance then circled on the remaining three bandits to see Tor also cutting off the leg of the leader bandit (later know as Leonardo) and one of the other bandits fleeing out the tavern entrance. The last remaining standing bandit unceremoniously soiled himself and urine could be seen at the floor under his legs.

Chance and Tor then toasted the successful event and Chance was able to see Tor get a bit of pride back from the successful skirmish. Chance then learned that the last remaining bandit was actually a city kid that had recently joined the bandit group for a better life. Having attempted to talk some sense into the youth, Chance let him go warning the youth to not join up again with bandits. Chance then questioned Leonardo briefly and learned that the main bandit leader was named Drag and that Leonardo’s small bandit group was in charge of this area and only heard from Drag by messengers. Before leaving Leonardo be, Chance impressed upon him that this town and surrounding area were under Chance’s protection from here on out.

The serving wench then saw to the (now crippled) two bandit warriors’ wounds.

I Dream a Dream

Having had a busier day than expected after his long trip escorting Tad, Chance then retired late that night to get some much needed sleep. Yet sleep didn’t come easy.

Chance found himself awake (if awake he was!) in what seemed like an altered universe. He was able to stand, yet there was no floor. The surroundings seemed much like he was in the night’s sky when it was filled with stars. After he had got his bearing, Chance was able to make out what looked like many people that lie sleeping next to floating tables that turned slowly upside-down in a random fashion. Sitting at one of the tables perhaps 80 yards away was a creature Chance had never seen before. The non-human creature seemed to notice Chance, yet paid Chance no heed.

Blocking out some of the starscape loomed what looked like a massive 12-15 foot ghost wolf. The wolf was silvery white and seemed to radiate an aura of awe when Chance looked into its eyes. The wolf met Chances gaze with an indiscernible expression. Chance then attempted to walk toward the tables and found himself saying aloud, “where am I?”, only to hear the sound of his voice echo back to him 3-4 times before it died away. Movement then caught Chance’s attention as the great wolf raised its head and gave a pure and piercing howl! Chance noticed at that moment that the wolf’s eyes seemed to glitter like they were white fire and a pair of stars in the sky itself.

It was at that moment that chance found himself wake up from his bedroll, hearing a wolf howling in the distance. Chance understood he must have been dreaming, yet also understood that what happened was something with meaning and felt strangely at peace and familiar with that “place” he had just been. With nothing better to do, Chance went back to sleep and woke at sunrise.

Tracking Bandits

Chance set out on the trail of the city kid (turned unsuccessful bandit) first thing that morning and soon found that the kids lighter tracks fell in step with another pair of heavier tracks; most likely the bandit that had ran from the skirmish in Tor’s tavern. Having successfully followed the tracks for most of the day, Chance finally reached a grove of trees in which the tracks seemed to meet other older tracks and seemed randomly dispersed in the area from much comings and goings of the bandits. Could this be their hide out?

Chance bided his time till nightfall to get a better look and keep himself out of view from any possible weary bandits. Soon Chance was able to make out what looked like firelight from within the grove. Upon slowly sneaking into place, Chance was able to make out the city kid and the other bandit that had run away sitting around the fire. Chance overheard the larger bandit say that he had luckily met with a messenger the previous evening after running from the battle at the tavern. The man said that he was given directions to Drag’s hideout and would take the younger bandit with him to Drag’s hideout tomorrow morning. Chance then crept back into the shadows and waited to follow the bandits to Drag’s hideout.

Another day of tracking bandits ensued as Chance was able to follow the two bandits as they made their way north by north east to Drag’s hideout. When finally the bandits got close to the location of the hideout, Chance was able to recall this area of Lorn as it was a famous place for gangs of bandits to use. It was legendary as there were typically only three entrances to the place as it was cornered by three high ranging mountains, providing good cover from any unwanted trespassers.

Chance watched the two bandits he had been following throughout the day yell something when they reached a certain point at one of the entrances of the hideout to not be shot and proceeded to identify themselves as bandits from the south eastern counties. A responding yell could barely be made out by Chance and he watched the bandits walk into the hideout.

Chance then circled around the place examining the other locations and after further study, sequestered himself inside a particularly thick stretch of bushes and trees and waited until nightfall to take further action.

Assault on Drag's Hideout

After spending a couple hours sneaking around the entire perimeter of the hideout, Chance found what he was looking for; a possible way up and over one of the mountains. This tactic was necessary as the three main entrances to the small valley appeared guarded at all times by bandit sentries. It was around 1am that Chance left his backpack safely stowed inside a thicket of trees and put his rope to use to get up and over the mountain.

Chance arrived at the opposite side of the small mountain a couple hours later and proceeded to sneak along the side of the cliff facing into the small valley below. Chance at first made out what looked to be a burned down campfire and two sentries before finding the main bandit camp further to the north. A large tent stood approximately 15 feet away from the cliff of the mountain Chance crouched beside. There appeared to be two sentries posted in front of the tent along with approximately 6-8 bandits asleep in front of a large fire to the east of the tent. Chance sat and watched.

About 1 hour past before something appeared to cause some commotion in the camp. To the south there came a nasty looking bandit leading what looked to be two beaten up townsfolk; a teenage girl and an older man. This bandit seemed to request a word with whoever was in the tent. A couple minutes later an enormous man emerged from the tent standing approximately 6’8’’, 300 pounds wearing what looked to be a dark red cloak. The man appeared not happy that he was awaked at this time in the night and struck the smaller bandit so hard that the bandit took a while to get back up off the grass. The huge man said some harsh words Chance was not able to make out and pointed to the east; dismissing the smaller bandit and what seemed to be his prisoners. Chance then watched as the prisoners were led away to the east, out of the firelight and Chance’s vision.

Chance then acrobatically made his way down from the cliff’s edge at a dark spot many yards north of the tent. He then sneaked through the shadows and found another smaller bandit camp to the east of the larger camp. As Chance approached, he made out what appeared to be 4 bandits asleep beside a burned out fire and the nasty looking bandit (from before) a couple yards farther from the burned out fire lying awake in front of a worn out tent. Chance was able to ascertain that the beat up townsfolk were in the worn out tent by sneaking up and looking into it from behind. Chance then quietly crept up to the nasty looking bandit and was able to attack the bandit without the bandit knowing Chance was there. At the first slice of Chance’s broadsword the bandits head left his body and Chance luckily looked on as the other bandits asleep by the fire didn’t stir from their sleep at the small sound of gushing blood. Chance then dragged the corpse as best he could into the small worn out tent; leaving an obvious blood trail behind.

Chance then roused the older man and young girl as quickly as he could. The older man needed medical attention as he appeared wounded so Chance saw to him briefly. Chance also gave the older man a knife from the bandit’s corpse and Chance took two throwing knives from the corpse as well for use later. Chance learned that the older man was named Dargoth and the young girl was named Brin. They were ambushed and taken hostage earlier that day by the now headless bandit in the tent. After examining the younger girl for a moment, Chance was able to ascertain that she appeared badly bruised all over her face and head and possibly had a concussion. As the girl was not in her right mind and could not be made to keep quiet, Chance was forced to tied a gag around her mouth to make sure of her silence while they attempted to escape. Chance then helped Dargoth and Brin walk outside the tent and into the trees toward the southern exit, guarded by two sentries, that Chance had already scouted out earlier that night.

When Chance and the two townsfolk had been walking for 3-5 minutes, they could start to here yelling from the campsite they had just come from. By this time they were almost to the southern most sentry point and Chance was able to make out the two sentries he had previously seen sitting beside a burned out fire. As the yelling got louder, one of the sentries began to walk north toward the main camp and then proceeded to run lightly toward the yelling. Chance took that opportunity to sneak up to a tree across from the other sentry and sent an arrow into that Sentry’s chest, causing the sentry to collapse immediately and not move.

Chance then helped Dargoth (who helped Brin) southward as fast as possible toward the southern exit of the small valley of the bandit hideout. As Chance almost reached the exit, he heard the sound of horses galloping toward him from the north. Chance then asked Dargoth to lead Brin as fast as possible away and to the east to get them out of harm’s way while Chance stood to face the oncoming horses!

There appeared to be two riders coming out of the north and Chance trained his bow on the leading rider as they approached Chance’s position. As it was still night, the riders carried a torch and were not able to easily make out Chance’s position, but they knew he was going southward from the sentry body found beside the southern bandit guard post. When the riders got within range, Chance let fly an arrow that pierced the lead rider’s leather armor and felled him to the ground. His mount appeared slow to a trot and then unsteadily walk around in confusion after its rider fell off. The following rider immediately turned about and attempted to gallop away while yelling for reinforcements from the bandits to the north. Chance was able to make out yells of “We found him!” and “Come quick!” as the rider rode away attempting to stay out of range of another arrow. Chance then sheathed his bow as he made his way to the horse that had until recently carried a bandit set on killing Chance. The horse seemed to take to Chance immediately though as Chance was able to acrobatically leap atop the horse and steady the animal before setting off in a gallop toward Dargoth and Brin.

Chance had just had time to put Dargoth and Brin on his new mount when he was able to hear the sound of four to five horses come out of the southern point, where he felled the most recent bandit, and gallop about in search of the intruder and assassin. Aided by the cover of night, Chance was able to evade the bandits searching for him and the (now liberated) townsfolk. Once Chance was able to get to a safer place, he stopped and saw again to the townsfolk’s injuries and helped them as best as he could.

A couple days ride later found Chance and the townsfolk within view of Hostroph and Tor’s Tavern. After describing the recent events to Tor, Chance asked a favor of Tor to see to the townsfolk getting work and finding a place to stay while their wounds healed (Chance learned during their ride to Hostroph that the townsfolk’s previous home was burned to the ground by the bandit Chance dispatched in front of the small tent back at the bandit hideout). Tor appeared more than happy to help out as he saw this as one way to repay Chance’s assistance with the bandits earlier in the month and vowed to help the townsfolk as best he could. Upon leaving Tor’s tavern, Chance explained to the townsfolk what would happen and received little gratitude (if any) from the now liberated, but still badly in shock townsfolk. Both appeared better from their wounds which was a good sign for their eventual recovery from the past few days events.

Chance then galloped off on his new mount back where he came as he felt concerned that the bandits might be able to track him to Hostroph. (After all, the two bandits Chance tracked to Drag's hideout in the first place were still there and might recount the story of Chance and presume he had something to do with the night's events). Even though Chance did everything in his power to conceal his path away from the hideout, he calculated that if the bandits were able to follow his tracks he would probably meet up with the chasing bandit force the following day. Chance set out to make this next (and hopefully last) meeting a memorable one.

Smoke and Mortar

As Chance left Tor’s Tavern and the village of Hostroph, the smell of rain was in the air. A “northerner” was fast approaching carrying with it gargantuan, rolling storm clouds that would surely halt Chance’s progress for the night.

Chance made camp in an improvised lean-to and fell asleep around 1am. As the storm passed over, the sound of thunder violently shook the ground enough to wake Chance from his slumber. Upon waking, Chance felt as if he was in a dream, yet still awake. He felt compelled to stand and “walk into” the next sound of thunder; which he did.

As Chance took his next step he immediately fell down and found himself face down in a red soiled ditch of sorts. The air smelled of smoke and when Chance looked up, he saw misty and smokey clouds above him blocking out what appeared to be the midday sun. Chance surmised that his surroundings had chanced when he walked (jumper advantage) into this new realm.

Chance struggled to find his footing and explored the surrounding area. He saw before him what looked like a camp from another civilization complete with what looked to be man made pineapples (WW2 pineapple grenades) and strange equipment strewn around. Not long after Chance was examining his surroundings did he hear and feel huge thunder strikes without lighting (mortar rounds hitting the area around him). Chance was able to keep his feet, but not able to ascertain the cause of these strange sounds. At the sound of a particularly close BOOM! Chance saw a man run out of the smoke filled mist and dive just as the ground started shaking.

The man was wearing strange clothing (WW2 gear) and seemed to think Chance was also wearing strange clothing. Strange questions of “what side are ya on partner?” and “are you out of yer mind?” came from the man and Chance barely had time to attempt an answer before the man grabbed a couple of the man made pinapples (grenades) and led Chance down a ditch toward the south.

The man explained that “we have to kill them tankers!” at which Chance didn’t have any idea what the man was talking about. The man then proceeded to give Chance a contraption with glasses on each side (binoculars) at which Chance was able to look through and see what looked to be huge moving mountains (German Panzer Tanks). Before Chance had a chance to take another look, the strange man dropped a couple of the pinapples in Chances lap and ran at the moving mountains (tanks) and threw something at each (while a sound came from the tanks like “Ratatatatat!”) and the moving mountains immediately erupted in flames and stopped moving.

Chance ran to the man’s side after this occurred (after Chance was sure the moving mountains had stopped) and saw that the man appeared to be dying from multiple small wounds in his body. Before the man died, he asked Chance if “we got ‘em”? Chance replied that they weren’t moving and the man seemed to grin and said “if only we would of got’em when we had a chance 30 years ago”. This didn’t make sense to Chance as the man appeared to be 26 years old; in fact, a lot of what had just happened didn’t make sense to Chance.

As Chance watched the light of life leave the man’s eyes, the smokey mist seemed to encroach about Chance uncomfortably. Chance then suddenly felt as if he should get out of there (Jumper Advantage). Chance was able to concentrate and “walk” into the mist at which point he immediately found himself getting drenched by rain a couple yards outside his lean-to area at camp. Chance realized that he had somehow teleported 5 yards away from where he had first took a step into the lighting not long ago. As Chance further thought about this, he realized that the redish, burned soil from the place he just visited was all over his clothing from scrambling around in the ditches. As Chance further recounted what he had experienced, his memory seemed a little hazy on what those grenade things were that the man had given to Chance and Chance felt in his pouch to find that whatever they were, they weren’t in his pouch any longer.

For a couple minutes Chance attempted to recreate the event that just happened by “walking” into the lightning again. Chance soon found that he wasn’t able to make this happen (at least right now) and soon retired back to his lean-to for some rest. Chance was able to be sure that his experience was real and his memory, redish soil, and apparent teleporting away from where he first stood at his lean-to gave him something to ponder and explore further at his first opportunity. If only his run-ins with bandits would give him an opportunity to examine this further. Chance went back to sleep for the second time that night.