Bloodstone Session #3 Recap - It's Always More Interesting When a Cuddling Instinct Comes Into Play

Having reached a Duel of Wits compromise, the party found itself in the village of Fendown for the next three days. What follows are my raw session notes:

Campaign Day 4

1st day of the Duel of Wits Compromise

Krooder inspects the palisade, finds a concealed tunnel near the watch tower by the church

Menas fails to convince the other dwarfs to dig a moat; Crispin is their leader not Menas, they defer to him.

Crispin is at make shift hospital, ill from a horrible night of drinking; He forces the dwarves to stay

Menas sponsors a debacherous night of drinking (Ob 3 Resources test) to bring the dwarfs back around.

Krooder noticed that the cornerstone of the church had one of the elven words etched on it.

Krooder, during the party, keeps watch from the church tower and notices a woman with braids leaving the town via the tunnel

Krooder follows, but fails to keep up, and fails to track her, stumbling and twisting his ankle (Light wound); He opts to not push his luck, a returns empty handed.

Lady Gwen tended to a man who worked for her father, and knew his secret. She could perform surgery Ob 3 to save him, but he’d lose his leg or Ob 5 to save him without losing a leg. She chose Ob 5 and succeeded. His wife was very thankful. I may need to have this bite her.

Lady Gwen tended to Graybeard Crispin; He had lots of food in his beard and bite marks on his neck. He was complaining of illness.

Holden shares some wine with a one-handed villager at the Inn of Forgotten Dreams. The villager insinuates that Lady Gilliam and the villagers believed that Lord Thomson and the late Lord Gilliam were perhaps lovers.

Remy and Holden, work to get Lady Gilliam drunk, and have a conversation with her regarding her husband but she will have nothing to do with Holden, though she does give him permission to talk with Lord Thomson. She continues drinking the day away with Remy, and even offers him some of her husbands old clothes.

A messenger arrives with a proclamation saying that Holden, Remy, Brandon, Krooder and Menas are all wanted for murder. The charges are somewhat trumped up, but come from the hated constable Jared of Valls, the proclaimed protector of the ducal thrown of Arcata.

Holden talks with Lord Thomson and finds out more, convincing him to allow someone to pay for Lord Thomson’s ransom; Lord Thomson trusts Holden and says he would simply need to pick up the ransom and return it to Lady Gilliam.

Lady Gilliam says they are here, but then passes out; Remy, dressed in finery, assumes the role of Lord and persuades the messenger back to the inn for rest.

As the messenger returns, Holden his way back to Lady Gilliam is identified by the mounted messenger. The messenger draws steel, but old man Holden is fast enough to cast Horror and the messenger flees.

Outside, digging ditches, Krooder had heard the proclamation (Ob 5 Perception) and took aim and shot the rider, who fell off and died as Menas attempted field dressing.

Remy took Lady Gilliam to her room and convinced the butler to allow him to stay in the room to talk to her after she woke up. He fell asleep in a chair, but Remy’s always cuddle when I sleep instinct kicked in and in the morning she woke up with Remy spooning her. Remy attempted to smooth things over, but Lady Gilliam would have none of that and kicked him out.

Campaign Day 5

A Night Time Raid

Menas and Katie position near the church to capture the spy.

Krooder, again in the church tower, sees several torches approaching the village and sounds the alarm; There are raiders, and one of the sets of gates are open.

Remy and Brandon are cowering in the Inn of Forgotten Dreams.

Menas, hearing the alarm, breaks for the front gates, and succeeds in both beating the horsemen to the gate (5D speed vs. 7D speed) and in securing the gate (5D power vs. 6D power).

Holden, Dragan, and Lady Gwen head to the jail having seen some movement. They get to the jail and see a man with a crossbow having just shot the captive Lord Thomsom.

The raiders split and begin riding around the village, throwing torches.

Menas declared that he was rallying the dwarfs to repel the invaders. I offered him two options: Command Ob 3 would repel the raiders but he’d lose 2 dwarfs or Command Ob 5 and there would be no losses. Menas went for Ob 5 and succeeded.

The assailant at the jail drew steel and engaged Dragan; Those involved made Speed tests to see who acted first. Lady Gwen muttered a prayer and Lord Thomson’s wounds closed (Ob 5 Faith test was successful). Dragan and the assailant went first, clashing swords; Dragan committed all 7 dice to defense and the assailant committed all 7 to offense. Dragan had 6 successes, but the assailant had 11 successes. The assailant spent a fate point, and it was very successful. Dragan took a B10 wound and dropped…

Oops. In the Bloody Vs. 2 of those 7 dice were only available for defense. So we backed things up in the moment, and instead of a deadly B10 wound, Dragan sustained a more managable B7 wound. Then old man Holden fired off the Horror and the assailant fled; From the church tower, Krooder then felled the assailaint.

The spy was going to poison the village well, but with Krooder’s help, Katie disabled threat.