Iron & Gold
Credits
This is a solo play-through of the adventure “Ironwood Gorge” by Eric Jones, published by Ludibrium Games.
Because I am not really an old-school guy, things have been converted to (originally) Iron Gauntlets by Precis Intermedia Games and after about chapter 6, Iron & Gold, also by Precis Intermedia Games. Where necessary, I use Mythic Game Master Emulator by Tana Pigeon, published by Word Mill Games.
This is the second Ludibrium Games module I’ve used for these characters, and I enjoy them. (The first was “The Sanctuary Ruin.”)
As usual, rules misunderstandings are mine and I try to present it as (bad) fiction, with game mechanics in footnotes. The italicized subtitles after the chapter title are prompts from Mythic Game Master Emulator; I try to work the intent into the scene. I am not always successful, but it keeps me a bit more honest.
“Ironwood Gorge” is meant to be the basis for a campaign, where the Bleak Tower is a home base for adventures. I have not yet decided whether I will do that; there could be additional Bleak Tower adventures, or they'll wander away until the third adventure in the trilogy is published.
16 - Answers Breed New Questions
Inquire Magic - PC Negative
The actual talk didn’t take long, and Uthrilir called them from the garden to the front door.
“I need to go farther,” he told them, “and I need provisions for the journey. We will return to the tower and then I’ll set out.”
“Well, that sounds mysterious,” said Bodkin. “Let me guess…it isn’t their burden?”
“Quiet, you,” said Felewin.
“Sure,” said Bodkin. “But this looks like someone trying to be noble. And you can’t go it alone, as I well know. Drop me off and then let them help.”
“That sounds almost noble on your part,” said Ninefingers.
Bodkin shook his head. “Nope. I’m no good at noble. Did you hear? I just asked to be let off at the Tower. You guys are probably going to die, but I’m just saying that if Uthrilir tries to go it alone, he’ll almost certainly die. But drop me off first, no matter what.”
“Even if it’s overrun by orcs?” asked Hrelgi.
“Sure. You’ll all feel the need to charge in and save people and I’ll escape.”
Odend said, “And I did not miss this part of adventuring parties at all. These woods can be dangerous at night.”
“He’s right,” said Ninefingers. “We should stay here.”
“I never invite people into my hut,” said Odend.
“But we can just go in,” pointed out Bodkin.
Prophet started barking, because Kagandis was already inside. She called out in goblin.
Ninefingers said, “We have to go inside without being invited.”
“That seems rude,” said Felewin.
“He obviously has a history with vampires,” explained Ninefingers. “He won’t invite us in.”
“Ah,” said Felewin. “Never met a vampire myself.” He stood and picked up his bag of things.
Prophet barked again until Odend shushed him.
Bodkin cursed once and went in.
“It still seems rude, but if it will prove things to you…” said Felewin. Everyone went inside, Odend and Prophet last.
It was crowded inside. There was a small shrine in one corner, a cot ending in opposite corner, a small pigeon-rack for scrolls, a table but no stool (Odend had taken it outside), and the rest of the hut was shelves and shelves of supplies: dried roots, fruits, and leaves; two barrels of something, presumably beer; leather and wood scraps for various small projects, and a small fireplace with a fire burning, smoking some meat. The chimney was invisible from the side of the building that they had approached.
Odend shut the door and loosened the window shutter so it was ready to shut just before sunset. “I think the goblins can sleep on the table. The floor will be fine for Uthrilir, Hrelgi, and Bodkin. Felewin, I think you’ll have to sleep sitting up.”
Felewin shrugged.
“I have heard that vampires can only enter a dwelling if an inhabitant invites them in. I must take the precaution of gagging each of you,” he said. “If one of you were already under the control of a vampire, I need to prevent you from inviting him in. If you don’t want a gag, then you have to sleep outside.”
Interesting, that use of “him,” thought Ninefingers.
“I have trouble breathing through a gag,” said Bodkin.
“You know this from experience?” asked Hrelgi. “Feel free to sleep outside.”
Bodkin stuck his tongue out at her.
“Fine,” said Felewin. “Please make sure that the gags on Hrelgi and Uthrilir are easy for others to remove, because we might need their magic and prayers.”
“I assume the house is consecrated,” said Uthrilir, “but we can ask for protection again.”
“It is not,” said Odend, blushing. “I am impure.”
“Then we shall consecrate it now,” said Uthrilir.[124]
They were slow and careful, Uthrilir leading and Odend assisting, and finally Uthrilir finished carving the last symbol of the Lady in place. “That will help,” Uthrilir said.
The gags were strips of leather that Hrelgi magicked into loops for everyone but her and Uthrilir.
After all of that, the night passed uneventfully.
In the morning, Kagandis slipped out to gether some plants and Odend fetched stores from his root cellar (a shallow hole under the floor). They had honey that Kandis found and cheese that Odend had been storing.
Then they removed from Bodkin the six items that he had stolen and was hiding on his body. “The thing is,,” Kagandis said to Ninefingers, “that stuff has no value. It’s just stuff.”
“Maybe the fact that it is Odend’s gives it value?” asked Ninefingers.
Kagandis sniffed.
Once they were sure that they were leaving with only what they had, they confirmed directions with Odend and set back.
There were no possibly-lethal interruptions, so they were able make it back in a day, and arrived back at the Bleak Tower a little before sunset. The sun had already dipped below the trees, and there was the pre-twilight that presaged night.
As they approached the treeline, they heard barking.
Felewin swore. “Orcs and war dogs.” He dropped his backpack to the ground and pulled out his chainmail hauberk. The others started doing the same.
Bodkin said, “Wait, couldn’t it be the dogs from the tower?”
Ninefingers said, “The tower has only hounds. Different sound entirely.” He turned to let Kagandis buckle his scale hauberk. Hrelgi had already helped Uthrilir.
The war dogs were barking at the tower door, too close to be shot at with arrows. Kagandis loosed a shot at one of the six dogs[125] and hit it.
Felewin reached the same dog and swung[126] nearly killing the dog. Uthrilir[127] hit the next dog, and Ninefingers[128] hit the third dog.
Bodkin stayed back with Kagaindis and Hrelgi. “Can I please have my armour back?”
Without losing focus on the battle, Hrelgi said, “You ate it.”
“What?”
“Turned it into food. It was yesterday’s breakfast. Now shush.”
Bodkin’s scream was audible even to the fighters.
The dogs[129] missed, and on the next turn, all three of them died.
From behind the door, Ninefingers heard, “The woods!”
The arrows flew out of the woods.[130] One hit Ninefingers just barely and broke on his armour.
Four orcs charged from the woods beyond the Villain’s Lair, but couldn’t get to them[131] before Felewin finished two dogs[132] and Ninefingers killed the last. Uthrilir murmured a prayer and readied himself again.
“Are there more?” shouted Ninefingers.
“Yes!” came from inside the castle.
The farthest orc suddenly screamed as his armour turned to lava.[133]
Felewin took a step so the triangle of him, Ninefingers, and Uthrilir had him closest to the orcs. As soon as the orc came in his longer reach, he swung[134], bloodying the orc.
Ninefingers and Uthrilir both attacked the same orc as their second of two attacks.[135] Ninefingers hit his primary target, but missed Felewin’s, and Uthrilir was parried.
Now they were in full melee. Ninefingers[136] missed totally, but Felewin[137] hit his orc again. Uthrilir hit his opponent as well. All of the orcs were bleeding, and Felewin had been injured again.
Hrelgi killed Uthrilir’s foe by turning his armour to lava.
Kagandis hit Felewin’s foe with an arrow, killing him.[138] Felewin said, “Thank you,” quietly, and prepared for the next one.
Uthrilir hit at Ninefingers’ foe, and was parried, but that parry created an opening for Ninefingers[139], who hurt him badly. Felewin finished them both off.
Four arrows flew out of the woods, but all four missed.[140] Felewin said to the other two, “We let them fire once more to let Kagandis and Hrelgi locate them, and then we charge.”
“Agreed,” said Uthrilir.
“Here they’re unlikely to hurt us,” Ninefingers pointed out. “We don’t have to kill them; we can get into the Tower even with them out there. So let’s wave the others inside.”
“I hate it when you’re right,” Felewin said, as a second volley of arrows missed them. He whistled to the other three, who ran quickly and reached the doorway before the next volley.
“I wish we had a shield,” said Bodkin as they huddled in the doorway.
“Be easier if we had a cloth or something for me to change,” said Hrelgi.[141] She pulled out a book she had chained to her belt. “Dirt, no, that’ll fall apart—steel. Steel is that word, that’s the radius but I’ll let the wrinkle handle the shape—”
“Arrows!” squeaked Bodkin.
Hrelgi read the words.
Everything went dark as a large irregular sheet of steel appeared two paces above Hrelgi’s head. There was a bang as it settled against the tower and the earth, and then two smaller bangs as arrows hit the steel.
“I have this,” Hrelgi said. “But don’t take your time.”
“If they would just open the door!” Felewin snarled at the door.
There was the thump and rattle of the bar being drawn, and the group spilled into the front entrance and the guards closed the door.
As they lay there, Hrelgi started to laugh. “I’ve never done that before!”[142]
Kagandis and Ninefingers shared a look, as if to say, Elves are weird.[143]
Game Mechanics
[124] Uthrilir takes his time, because he’s only got 6≥ on this, but rolls a 4 from the 8≥ he needs (from extra time and aid). His influence is 4, so it’s a difficulty 4 for undead to get in.
[125] Rolls a 6, which makes it.
[126] He rolls a 2, automatic success. They have no armour, so he does an additional 3 damage, and that dog is now at +3 difficulty to do anything
[127] He rolls a 5, so margin is 3; dog fails its athletics roll, so dog takes 3 levels of damage.
[128] Rolls a 5, margin of 3; dog rolls an 8, margin of 0. So three levels of damage.
The orcs spend the turn aiming because for them it’s long distance (difficulty 6).
[129] First dog is at +2 difficulty, rolls 9, means 11, total miss.
Second dog is at +2, rolls 12, miss anyway.
Third dog rolls 15 (12+2), needed 8. Miss.
[130] Let’s make it a large contingent: 8, which had 3 dogs. Of those 8, four are archers. They’ve aimed for a turn.
Archer 1: 10, misses his 9≥ Aiming for Felewin
Archer 2, 3+5 for distance: makes his 9≥ Aiming for Ninefingers
Archer 3: 7+5, misses Aiming for Uthrilir
Archer 4: 5+5 misses Aiming for Felewin
Archer 2 rolls 1, 2 for his compound bow, Nothing gets through.
[131] Kagandis reloads.
[132] It’s an extra 2 difficulty to hit two targets, but Felewin rolls 4, 5 to hit, and manages, because they’re badly hurt. One dog still standing.
[133] I know you’ll be surprised to learn that Hrelgi made her roll.
[134] Ninefingers rolls a 6, which is a margin of 3. Orc has 10, which is a margin of 0. Orc’s armour gets 6,6,3, so one success: two levels of damage.
[135] Ninefingers hits his primary target (rolls 6) for two (rolls 4,5,1 on armour), but misses Felewin’s on second attack. (Orc aborts to parry.)
Uthrilir hits (5, margin of 3) but orc rolls 4 to defend, margin of 6.
[136] Ninefingers rolled 12.
[137] Felewin rolled 4, margin of 5 with injury added.
[138] Kagandis rolled 6 to hit (margin 3), armour failed (5,6,4), two levels of injury.
[139] Orc can’t block, so 9 hits; damage is 2 levels (1,5,6).
[140] Long range adds 6 to each roll: 12, 10, 5, 7
[141] She needs Fabrica materia, skill at -3 for distance and size. So 9-3 is 6 and she rolls a 5
[142] John had re-read the magic rules and discovered that most magic takes a turn to prepare, although a mage can have Reasoning spells memorized, and spells last for <crafting skill> length of time. Lastly, every turn where a mage casts a spell, mage needs to succeed and I haven’t been doing that. she rolled a 7 which makes it because difficulty is -2
[143] Everyone gets 10 points of experience. Hrelgi raises her composure by 1 to 4.
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