The continuing adventures of Anselm the Mystic once Ratcatcher, Findulas the Waywatcher (once Hunter), Hans the Wizard Acolyte sometime Apothicary and Krieger the Scout sometime Soldier.

17 advances earned to date. This bit was played after the interlude and some social encounters in Ubersreik (about half the fortune points players had for session were gone by time of fight, spent shopping etc.)

This is Eye for an Eye slightly revised. A little beefing up of foes given PC's well along, using the Nemesis Group card for "Lurking Threat" for the cult's activities (adjusting the tracks to match adventure's), and changing daemon at end to be a daemonically twisted Andreas coming back after a year and a day.

The adventure title changed for my players since Eye for an Eye gives things away a bit.

On the 4th of Vorgeheim, the heroes were invited to meet a manservant of Lord Aschaffenberg's, Vern Hendrik.

They accept the task of passing among the staff of his Lord's new hunting lodge/manor in guise of new guards/porters to determine who is reliable, what vices or other mischief is going on, just how far their insubordination extends and report to Lord Aschaffenberg – in particular any evidence warranting the severing of their service. It was explained that the retainers were all Bruner retainers transferred with manor and Lord Aschaffenberg didn't want to dismiss them without some cause to show his inlaws.

The heroes will each be paid a gold crown if the manor can be given a clean bill of the health in Lord Rickard’s eyes within the next week (10 days) – before his wife the Lady Ludmilla arrives.They are paid 16 shillings each in advance. There is a 4 shilling each bonus for every day faster than eight that they can conclude matters (e.g., get it done in one day, then 28 shillings extra each).

[i put the "clock" on it to encourage them not to take their time and get on the investigation promptly]

The Grunewald Lodge lies in the Reikwald Forest, near the village of Geissbach. It is a little over a day’s travel from Ubersreik.

The heroes meet Vern the next day at the Aschaffenberg mansion, where he is with the drover and wagon loaded with oilskin wrapped items.

They travel a day to Geissbach and stay overnight in the village (rather than going through forest at night). The day is spent mostly hearing Herr Hendrik complain about the remoteness of Grunewald Lodge, the deficiencies of rural folk (slow witted, impossibly thick backwater accents, seem to think they have all day to do anything, full of superstitions), and the pain of his injury (his bandaged right hand, wounded in beastman attack a week back).

[his criticisms of course partly describe the effects of schlaff on people, the thick accents are like yorkshire ones]

- the heroes muse quietly to selves perhaps they have already found reason the servants are unccoperative...
- Hendrik muses to self, 'well at least they didn't bother me with lots of awkward questions about manor, area, its history etc. etc' [Players asked no questions about history, why the manor had been masterless 10 years etc.]

On Vorgeheim 6 they leave the village and quickly enter the forest.

- villagers musing, 'hmmm, new lot going to the manor, guess they didn't know some of us have relatives who work there and might have told them a couple of things if they asked' [i had some rumours for them if they asked around]

After almost an hour they almost reach the hunting lodge/manor - they are in sight of it - when they are attacked by beastmen.

A fierce melee breaks out in which Anselm and Findulas are both wounded, Anselm spitting teeth and Findulas suffering a sickening blow. The beastmen are all slain, the last of them dying as the heroes withdraw from engagement and a volley of crossbow bolts is fired from the manor gatehouse.

The gates open and the wagon and heroes can enter (Hendrik and drover emerging from underneath it).

[Anselm in particular took quite a few wounds, he got some first aid but still has half a dozen including the critical, Beastman are nasty for dishing out criticals with 2 successes on their standard attack - the gor + 3 ungor henchmen close and similar long did better than I thought they would, players were rolling badly in their first round of attacks]

Never mind my reply to the Gathering Storm... I'll follow along here! Sounding interesting so far. Makes me feel the need to dig out the scenario books and see which characters are being referred to etc. Looking forward to more.

18th Advance taken.

Anselm, Findulas and Hans (Krieger’s player absent).

As they sorted themselves out inside the manor walls, Hans quickly patched up his comrades' wounds (leaving each with a few still) as Lord Aschaffenberg made his appearance, glad to see his furnishings. Telling the wounded they would need to see the Doctor, he first bade them bring his possessions up to his chambers.

There for a private talk, Lord Rickard confirmed Vern Hendrik’s brief to the heroes and did not add much, save to emphasize he wanted things sorted before his wife Ludmilla arrives in a week (10 days). He adds that an expedition to then sort out some of these beastmen would be jolly if time permits. The heroes all agree that the venison Lord Rickard brought back from his hunt sounds good for dinner.

Heroes then go to the make-shift hospice to set some further medical care. Hans’ efforts to chat up the Doctor as some sort of colleague fail badly (Hans not being a graduate of the University of Nuln ), though observing the Dr. work on his comrades he decides that he’s not seeing anything more than first aid being applied (not true medicine) – though perhaps that’s the sort of “doctor” you find in a backwoods manor.

Anselm tries to smooth talk the blind Shallyan and hears about the lascivious goings on, poor church attendance and other failings of the manor staff with particular focus on two or three. Findulas hears the addled dwarf chanting some rhyme “stone fer bones, stone fer bones, you’ll be bones beneath the stones”.

The heroes poke around otherwise seeing the Gallery (where Lord Rickard is having the newly delivered picture of his uncle-in-law Lord Heismann von Bruner hung), the Kitchen (where by complimenting the cook they cage some lunch, my but the cook uses a lot of wine, and not all of it in the recipes ) and then out in the grounds.

Anselm nearly gets his hand bitten off trying to familiarize the Tilean man-hounds with himself and party, not impressing the taciturn houndmaster Olver Gand. Hans’ magical sight notes something in the wooden shrine of Sigmar and they investigate it finding a real, magical, dwarven warhammer has been switched for the icon. Examining it closely (Education to read dwarven), runes against chaos and of the Kurganson clan are noted. They later find the case in the forge where it would normally be kept. They leave it in the shrine for time being.

While on grounds, Findulas spots for second time a man watching them from different windows in manor, scowling, someone with bandaged face.

The heroes had noted an odour about the Dr. and examining the dwarf a second time began to put together the gortsiete plant (of which they then found “an industrial quantity” in the garden) and its product schlaff.

Eventually (before dinner) they determined that the staff reputation for slowness, slurred speech, lethargy etc. could be the result of smaller amounts of the drug being administered to them. The dwarf could be sedated by it, but then wouldn’t need to be tied to his cot as he is.

Entering, they determine the figure watching them as the Steward Piersson, with whom they have a few words, after initially remarking the heroes handled beastmen well, he left them unimpressed (Anselm successfully comes across rather thick).

They go back to hospice and manage to elicit a variety of strange ramblings from Korden the dwarf concerning eyes and hammers and books and wine and evil. Sister Sonja sushes them as they start talking about his warhammer, whispering that he was so distraught with paranoid fears someone was going to steal it that she promised to hide it (and so of course, having promised, she did).

However, they talked about warharmmer in front of others and the Doctor who initially was obstructionist about them disturbing the dwarf reacted oddly to mention of warhammer. As they talked with Dr., they observed him leave the hospice (having a brief word with the gardener as he did).

Eventually going into dinner, they saw two servants of whom one dropped a note “Goose is Good”. At dinner, they were suspicious of their venison though the two humans had the first course of spicy soup (the elf had little, no stomach for such spices) which made it harder to note anything odd in the meat dish.

None of the heroes detected anything in their venison, which was what most at table were served. As arranged, at end of dinner Lord Rickard pretended to have an bone to pick with them about some damage to his goods and wanted them to come and see him to discuss how much of their pay to dock (broad wink).

The Dr. and Librarian extended an invitation for drinks in the library after the new staff saw the Lord. Before going up to see Lord R., the heroes went for a brief walk outside and “finger down the throat” tried to get rid of dinner (schlaf is slow acting and this reduced the Resilience difficulty from 2 challenge dice to 1). As it began to effect them, none of them were “fatigued” (Fatigue > Toughness) though all suffered a bit.

By the time they want up to Lord Rickard, he was sprawled on his bed snoring – had not managed to unbutton his doublet completely before conking out.

The heroes decided to go across hall to the room they were sharing with Hendrik and pretend to be down for the night as well. Hendrik was still awake when they arrived but not by much, barely time to be grumpy about sharing room before he dozed off.

Findulas kept a watch out window while Anselm listened at door. He heard something being dragged along the hall and decided to “answer a call of nature”, running into two servants dragging another one unconscious (Todd) towards the stairs down. They explained he had fallen asleep and would get in trouble, as they continued to drag. Anselm thought it odd, Hans thought their story of ‘covering for him’ could be true. [No Insight roll against their story was attempted]

Findulas crept out the window and down to the ground (well fell down for a wound actually, buildings harder to climb than trees apparently). He determined all the guards but a missing one were dozing, none were patrolling though nothing was stirring from the woods (yet). Looking overhead he noted the baleful fickle chaos moon Morrslieb was shining bright tonight.

Findulas moved around the house to peak in the library window, seeing the Doctor and Librarian in the Library. He also saw a carpet rolled back on floor and trap-door open, a couple of servants doing down it. Then the door to next room opened and Steward Piersson came through with a painting rolled up under his arm and went down.

The Steward no long had bandage on his face, revealing his “bandaged eye” was actually a horribly mutated multifaceted black eye like an insect’s.

Findulas (glad this is not Call of Cthulhu and he didn’t just have to make a San check) creeps back to his comrades, who lower a rope this time for him to return to their room and share his findings….

We break.

What happened to this campaign, Valvorik? I really enjoyed your writeups from TGS (it helped in GM:ing it myself). I hope you'll continue this thread when you find the time.

X-mas break and a Trail of Cthulhu game absorbed some time, we expect to resume playing this adventure in the upcoming week (Thursday).

19th Advance taken.

Anselm, Findulas and Krieger (Hans’s player absent).

- I created a 10 space tracker with events at 6 and 10 to represent the ritual's progress, by the time Findulas reports it moves from 1 to 2, it advances each narrative round/switching to combat round once joined.

- A second 5 space tracker represents when Beastmen arrive, it advances on PC chaos stars or delays.

Hearing Findulas' report the heroes stole though the eerily silent manor and went around outside to look through the same window.

Listening to this report of mutant steward, we find out that Krieger has at some time in past been trained as an Initiate of Sigmar's Cult.

- Krieger's player makes a Career Transition to Initiate, he's played a martial character devout to Sigmar and resolutely opposed to Chaos all along so narratively he can "back narrate" how he was always studying to be one/on quest to prove worthy or something and it fits fine. I'm not making him buy the minor blessings, mechanically I don't think he has any advantage and he has a low Willpower and Fellowship so he's very much a "priest in the making" anyway.

The library was back to normal, a rug once again where trapdoor had been, and Otto the librarian reading a book.

The heroes return inside and approach the library carefully, weighing a plan to "set a trap" for the presumed cultists when they come back they decide instead to go after them. Entering the library, Otto asks if they are here for the offered brandy. Anselm feigns interest to get close enough to cold-cock the librarian, who they gag, tie up and restrain in window casement (drawing curtains).

- I made this an opposed check of Guile with success meaning "you clock him, he's out", rather than running a fight vs one weak NPC, let the Player showcase his new Devious talent.

Anselm glances at the book Otto was reading and sees it looks like a play with some colour plates that are very disturbing involving unnatual plants and paintings with eyes in them. Anselm is just as happy he can't read.

Descending into a narrow twisty secret passage dimly lit by torches, they come upon a horrific ritual in progress. Poor Tod, the servant they earlier saw being carried downstairs, is tied and suspended in air over a profane painting (which reminds Anselm of the one he just saw picture of). His body drips blood from several cuts, down onto the painting. Four other servants in robes surround him, Steward Piersson, mutated eye revealed and surrounded by a shadowing nimbus of dark motes, is chanting (they are all together in one engagement, the Steward on far side and partly shielded, in addition to the protection of his shadowy nimbus). Krug is there with a blunderbus and Doktor Sieger looks on.

- Piersson has the effects of a Black Nimbus fo Arnizipal running to make it harder to take him down quickly.

The cultists are engrossed in their ritual. The only one watching the heroes is ... THE EYE IN THE PAINTING, IT'S ALIVE!

It's Terror 3 check (oh oh, Findulas is now strained, Anselm shrugs it off, Krieger is affected).

This is first time they've seen the painting

The heroes attack, focusing on the targets of blunderbus owner and the Doktor with ranged attacks as Krieger charges forward to attack one of the cultists.

In the ensuing melee, Krug and a cultist fall, another cultist and Doktor Sieger are badly wounded, but Findulas bears the horror of the mutant Krug's assault and it's too much he takes on a temporary insanity panicked at being alone, don't leave me his plea.

The heroes do not stop the ritual reaching the crescendo of Todd's death as his throat is cut splattering blood around and onto painting. Another Terror 2 check is required at the scene and the Eye's increasing tangibility as the lights go out and only its unholy light illuminates room. hmmm, if that is what happens at a mid-wayish point on tracker what happens at the end of it...

The PC's "worked away" at the cultists from the outside in so to speak, focusing on the two not directly involved in ritual first. That pretty much assured the first event of the sacrifice was reached. Anselm picked up the blunderbus mutant had and tried to shoot the "engagement" of cultists scrambling out of room but the poor illumination gave him 3 black dice and he missed.

The Steward grabs blood soaked painting and flees out another exit, three cultists following him (as rear guard) and the Doktor staying behind in frenzied bloodlust.

So as they go up its Steward + 3 cultists (one badly wounded) on roof, heroes coming up to it, and then the Doktor (also badly wounded) behind them.

(rally step and break as the heroes pursue the cultists up another secret stair to the roof where they will confront them under the pale light of Morrslieb).

For the Roof generally I'm using the effects of the Steep Cliff card (to represent risk of falling off) and I'm using Morrslieb effects drawn from Edge of Night but weakened in this instance to just the (a) one extra chaos star considered rolled for miscasts; and (b) any effect recovering stress recovers one less stress.

This was a shorter session time wise, really about 2 hours instead of 3.

Great description!

I just ran An Eye for an Eye as well, though my group's characters are all beginners, having achieved their third or fourth experience when the adventure began. As my players are very experienced, I changed a couple of things in the adventure, a lot of it based on an older thread here in this Forum.

I specially enjoyed a lot the way you conducted the previous affairs, stopping at the closer village, the urge for them to rush - even if you stated a week's time. My group are a bunch of low lifers, and they owe a criminal mind of Altdorf a lot of money, so they were planning to take all the time they could to earn a little more from the day's payment. I made they arrive at Grunewald Lodge the night before the Ritual's night so they had a little more time, but their initial calmness costed them. They also didn't ask any questions abou the Lodge's story, and they failed their Folklore test to know sometning about it - I added a Misfortune, since they are not actually intereseted in noble affairs, and they are not from the region.

I added some Agitator's pamphlets at the stables, their owner was Albrecht Krugg, but they hadn't anything to do with the adventure per se. Also, another noble arrived after lunch, he was Lord Rickard's anthagonist, I called him Lord Fordekson. He was a Ubersreik minor noble, really mischievous, who was jealous of Lord Rickard's small ascension. The thing was that Steward Piersson contacted him saying that he was affraid Lord Rickard was stealing boxes from the Von Bruner, knowing that the greedy Lord Fordekson would come unninvented to the Lodge to try and learn something that he could use to bring Lord Rickard's downfall. Pierson intended the greedy Lord to be both a diversion for the last day before the ritual and the sacrifice himself. He imagined noble blood to be more sacred, and he also wanted to blame Lord Rickard for the killing and Chaos worshipping depending how things went before the demon arriving.

The adventure went very well, took three or four sessions to go from Ubersreik and back. The characters managed to discover the Schlaf poisoning and to warn Lord Aschanffenberg, but their way to deal with it wasn't sufficient to prevent further poisoning. They were suspecting Cult activity, but imagined it was directly related to the beastmen activity. They thought some people inside the Manor were trying to open way for the Beastmen to attack. They suspected the Doctor, the Librarian and the Cook, basing themselves in a mixture of small clues and player's intuition. They ate the goose, and tried to prevent the soldiers from being poisoned by preventing them of dining, but they didn't imagine one of the soldiers was also a cultist. They found and took the warhammer themselves without the cultists finding out.

When the time was ripe, they hadn't much clues about what was going to happened, but they were affraid of a Beastmen attack. Two of them went to secure the walls and found the soldiers drugged, the other (a Grey Apprendice Wizard) followed his feelings and low chanting and managed to discover the secret passage down the wine cellar. So they managed to do something before both theatening events occured, but it was so close that the difference wasn't so great.

The two on the walls helped at the beggining of the beastmen attack and then wen to find their brother (they are all brothers, I call them The Three Scoundrels). They tought about escaping and leaving everyone, but they were also worried, having noticed a lot of the manor servants missing. Meanwhile, the Apprendice Wizard was doing great, as he was able to conjure a cloud of shadows which prevented the cultist from seeing anything, but he did it so well he himself could see!

So they could deal with one cultist a time more or less. They killed all of them, but couldn't prevent Lord Fordekson from being killed, or Pierson from giving his blood (I used the picture of the adventure to portrait Pierson, in which he got a mouth full of teeth in the place of his eye). The Wizard was wounded a lot with a nasty Critical, and the Thug had half his Wound Threshold and a Critical. The Smuggler had just 1 Wound, but passed out from stress and fatigue and had an Insanity. The combat was really something!

So the demon was coming anyway. The Wizard perceived that they had about 10 minutes, from sensing the energies growing, how much he expected would mean something appearing, and seeing the book of incantations (which gave him 2 Corruption - yes, I started to use Corruption rules!). The reawakened Smuggler went to get First Aid provisions and got Sister Sonja as well, and he noticed the sound of Beastmen through the house (he went through the servant steps at the kitchen - I used Gitzmann MapTools Map to run the adventure). They got a little better to fight the demon, and also putted the painting in one of the rooms of the temple, oputting boxes and turned tables to delay it's approach.

The fight against the demon was a fierce one, but not as dangerous as we all expected. I used the stats for the weakened demon, but the Wounds of the strong one. I wish I had thought about using a changed Andread! That's a great idea!

So they ended the combat just to see the Wargor running to them! But the beast fell before reaching, a huge hunting spear on his back, and the last of the Tilean dogs at his heels. Olver Gand went after the beastmen who passed the wall into the manor. The dwarf had awakened and runned to a group of Ungor who were going to the second floor, and as he fell hugging the first of them, they rolled down the stairs. Poor mad dwarf was slain there and then, but prevented the beastmen from going upstairs - the energy of the Ritual luring them down anyways. As for the rest of the manor protectors, Vern Hendrick lost a ear, Lord Rickard got a superficial but nasty cut through his belly. The Captain had a couple of wounds, and just one of the Soldiers survived, running from chasing beastmen at the top of he walls but managing to lock the door of the watch house as they fell on top of the wounded-knee Coachman, who died. Then he fired at them with his crossbow. The young groom from the stables also survived, having being told by the Captain to guard the Manor's roof and firing with a crossbow from there. Both wagoneers (the one that came with the group and the one that brought Lord Fordekson) were slained, and the two guards that brought the greedy Lord had been killed at their sleep by Krugg before the Ritual.

Really, though dealing with the Ritual and the Beastmen attacking at the same time (I ruled the Beatsmen attack myself, basing my decisions on the story and the preparations the PCs were able to make so close to the attack. I didn't want to leave that to chance) was great risk, I think the thing that made the adventure so difficult was the amount of Fear and Terror effects. As the PCs hadn't encountered the painting before the Ritual began, dealing with a Terror 3 effect (that should had been Terror 4 with the increment of the Mausoleum location card) while already having Stress and Fatigue almost put two of the three characters down and out. That would have been a killer! As they had some time to prepare between fighting the cultists and the demon (more than just a Rally Step), they were able to deal with the Demon Fear effect better.

They fell in love and dread at the same time with the fear/terror rules. My guess is the writers wanted to use those rules too badly. It is a great aspect of this system, that's for sure.

Now they are all wanting to increase their Willpower and Toughness. :]

Good gaming, wanting to read about the adventure finale - it seems it will be much more tougher for your group, but then again, they are much more developed.

Thanks, I welcome comments, suggestions, discussion here, though I would prefer you place your own summaries in their own thread, if there is discussion it can link to them.

Rob

sure, that's a good idea. I wasn't planning on describing the adventure, it just got over me. that's why I just described it here. I think I'll just copy and paste it to a new thread.

good gaming.

20th advance taken as all heroes are on deck.

As Anselm the Mystic, Findulas the Waywatcher and Krieger the Initiate of Sigmar pursued cultists up from secret chambers beneath the mansion, Hans the Apprentice Wizard had been keeping watch in the mansion. He saw the cook and gardener going up to the roof and followed them (both having been shown to be suspicious, particularly the cook given how dinner turned out).

Thus all the heroes converge on the roof as the Steward lays the profane, blood spattered portrait out under the light of Morsslieb and begins crying out for the return of the Master, it having been a year and a day. The painting seems to be gathering in the sickly light of Morrslieb.

A melee ensues in which more critical wounds are dealt (Anselm finds a wound transforming into a fatigue-causing critical when the Steward targets him with a spell), Anselm faces the cook’s vicious cleaver, Krieger charges forward after Findulas’ trick shot clears a path. Sir Bitey (Anselm’s dog) is ordered to fetch the painting and manages to drag it away from the fray.

An armoured warrior is beginning to appear as green light is coalescing (one more round to go before final completion of ritual) when Sir Bitey (Perform a Stunt) manages to disfigure the painting and spoil the ritual as only a dog with a full bladder can (fortune point in party pool for the idea). Krieger slays the Steward, whose corruption overwhelms his mortal body now that it is dead leaving only rot behind.

This was easier destruction of "profane artifact" than adventure suggests but was a sufficiently creative approach that I decided to let it have a chance of working (it was essentially the Animal Handling check to control dog opposed vs relevant Stat of the emerging Chaos Warrior using Perform Stunt action). What to do about artifact later is not so important. I didn't have a 'weaker version' appear on the spoiling of ritual as heroes are pretty roughed up all round at this point and we have beastmen still - essentially I went with all of this on the fly as whatever worked best at time.

The warrior’s image in the green motes of energy disperses and the two cultists who remain alive both wail in frustration, claw at their own eyes and plummet off the roof to their deaths.

No point in boring mopping up a two cultists.

The heroes are all suffering a variety of fatigue/stress/wounds/critical wounds at this point. Rally step as, with the end of battle, from atop the roof, the heroes can now hear the sound of beastmen braying in the woods and approaching the unguarded manor walls.

Act 1 was ritual below, Act 2 roof fight, Act 3 is beastmen.

The heroes are too few to defend all the walls. Findulas remains on the roof to do what he can with his bow as Krieger and Hans go to the guardhouse to see if they can get the drugged guards to safety in the manor (where the heroes propose to make a stand).

Anselm goes to the kennel to try to release the hounds, meeting Olver Gand (who has been keeping out of Morrslieb’s light in the kennel and thus didn’t hear fights etc). Gand avoided dinner looking to the hounds earlier, and looks forward to setting his hounds on beastmen.

In the guardhouse, Hans uses First Aid to try to rouse the guards (there are 4, too many for 2 heroes to carry to safety) and is successful enough that slightly drugged (consider it 2 black die on all actions) guards can move under own power.

As beastmen start coming over the walls in all four directions, Anselm and Hans get back to the manor, as do the guards, Krieger keeps a rear guard and Captain Anders Blucher joins him (despite being under weather with schlaff) [one hero initiative being after the monsters thus Krieger electing to be that one and Captain Anders joining him].

The hounds keep two groups of beastmen busy (one ungor and one gor group), a Wargor charges Krieger and another pack of ungors follows faced by Captain Blucher (other beastmen on other sides of manor are approaching it and the next round start trying to break in through doors/windows).

Findulas shoots down in to the melee, Hans spends fatigue to get up to the roof quickly and join him. Krieger and Blucher make it back into the manor.

The chaos moon’s light magnifies the miscast of one of Hans spells causing a Chaos Imp to appear (the 2nd time a Chaos Imp has appeared as a result of Hans’ casting - hmmmmm….) and it warps reality around Hans and Findulas to grant misfortune to all their actions.

We break as a wounded wargor (blinded temporarily by Hans’ magic) still attacks defenders in the manor’s entryway (it’s strength making a contest to close door on it very challenging), and other beastmen are likely 1-2 rounds away from breaking into the manor on other sides.

- If they can take down the Wargor that will break morale of those with him and demonstrating this (severed head for example) to others would send the remaining beastmen running. No one has been using any lore skills to figure out information/tactics dealing with beastmen however. These are Creature Vault "improved" beastmen with manbane and the wargor having another action over the original Tome of Adventure versions.

21st experience point earned as all heroes are on deck.

Anselm the Mystic, Findulas the Waywatcher (played in absentia) , Hans the Apprentice Wizard and Krieger the Initiate of Sigmar defend the manor’s drugged inhabitants from the beastman herd that attacks under the light of Morrslieb.

The wargor at the front door falls to another of Findulas’ arrows and the door is closed and barred, Findulas sees the pack of gors that was with it panic and flee at it’s fall.

Two other packs (unaware of the wargor’s fall) break into manor on other sides and heroes rush to halt their progress (saving drugged manor occupants from being slaughtered). Though Krieger ends up with 3 critical wounds and Anselm with many wounds, the gors are defeated and manor saved with minimal damage. Hans destroys the Imp that appeared while he was spell casting (though not before being perplexed for a bit at its strange whispers…). A roll determines Olver Gand survived (badly wounded but living), thus the only non-cultist staff member of the Lodge to die was poor Todd the servant who was sacrificed.

Morrslieb seems disappointed as it fades from the sky and dawn finds the manor inhabitants groggy but thankful. Only librarian Otto Geizhals survived among the cultists (having been trussed up earlier) and in coming days he shows little resistance to tort… ahem interrogation by Olver Gand and Captain Blucher. The heroes are resting and trying to recover wounds and critical wounds during this time (only Krieger still bears critical wounds when they leave the manor 8 days later) .

Lord Rickard von Aschaffenberg is shocked at the nature of the trouble in his manor and grateful for the heroes’ timely intervention. The questioning of Otto reveals that the Steward was a cultist who escaped Lord Magistrate Heismann von Bruner’s purge of the Cult of the Unblinking Eye some years earlier in Altdorf. He wormed his way into the retinue of the Lord Magistrate’s youngest son Andreas to corrupt the young man, scandal resulting in exile to the woodland lodge which suited the cultists just fine. The manor was “vacant” because just over a year ago (1 year and 1 day before the eventful night) Andreas “vanished”. He was transported into/through the profane painting of the Eye and was to return this night as a Chaos Warrior to wreck vengeance on the cult’s foes. The heroes prevented this revenge from coming to pass.

Lord Rickard plans to have a Sigmarite priest examine the manor and if need be exorcise it or whatever is best for this sort of thing. The “bloom is off the rose” of his wedding gift.

Heroes earn a bonus, Vern Hendrik paying out a total of 1 gold crown and 32 silver shillings each (this includes 16 silver they were paid in advance). Lord Rickard gives them short notes of commendation for their “Bravery in the Defence of Grunewald Lodge on the night of Vorgheim 6, 2521.”

Looking forward to Ubersreik and the “3 families favour” questions, this puts the heroes favour with Aschaffenberg at +1 (saving the day) +1 (idealistic trait on their party card, he approves of their overall attitude) and +1 (academic traits on the wizard and initiate’s careers, he approves of education and learning or 3 so far).

Lord Rickard’s wife, Ludmilla von Bruner, arrives with additional guards escorting her. She is not pleased to find out her uncle’s wedding gift was filled with cultists. Whether they remain at the Lodge is in doubt pending the arrival of the Sigmarite sent for.

The heroes leave the same day, Vorgheim 14 and head back to Ubersreik.

The second day of their trip they encounter a broken down coach with crest Hans’s Education recognizes as belonging to the von Saponatheim family of Bogenhafen, in fact Graf Siegried von Saponatheim – a noble of a lesser branch of the family to that which rules Bogenhafen but considered an “up and coming sort”. Anselm alone spots that armed men are moving through the woods towards the coach, and a melee breaks out as bandits attack the stranded travellers (Graf Siegried, 2 soldiers, coachman, servant, his mother).

The Graf tells the soldiers to get his mother to safety in the coach and draws pistol and rapier to face his attackers (encounter is really a means of seeing if the heroes contribute more to the bandits breaking and running than the Graf, who kills one every round after the first round – the Graf was not really “in danger”) . The Graf kills 2 (including one that was trying to flee) and the heroes 1 so they do not to so well as to impress him particularly. They lack any particular traits individually or collectively to gain his favour either (looking forward to the Ubersreik events).

The heroes do decide to try to lend a hand to repairing the coach, Hans applying his intellect with help from Anselm. Anselm’s aid consists of drawing parallels to repairs on carts he’s used to transport dead rats, and a Chaos Star means that the Graf takes this comparison of the coach his mother travels in to a cart for dead rats very badly.

The Graf orders the heroes to be off, antagonizing Hans so much that Hans doesn’t tell the Graf his examination (3 hammer successful albeit with the Chaos Star check) revealed the coach was sabotaged to break down.

(the "bandit" attack on the Graf's broken down coach was not random - something to stir the pot in Ubersreik)

The heroes leave the Graf’s group and return to Ubersreik, muttering he's a jerk. In terms of family sheets, if they could be at “a negative” with the von Saponatheims that’s where they would be.

See “Masquerade” for continuation of their adventures.

I'm glad your 'masquerade' thread started with a link back to this. I've been busyhad stopped following the adventure, so I've just caught up. What great fun!