Citadel at Norðvorn Kickstarter

We played Rifts last Sunday and it seems Jerry Bostock, my Jethro Tull-inspired crazy, may be about to make his last stroke, but that's not the reason for this post.

To make a long-story short, Douglas Cole, the one guy with a Dungeon Fantasy Role-Playing Game license, fellow Minneapolitean, and generally hoopy frood who knows where his towel is, has another Kickstarter for his Norse-themed Dungeon Fantasy: Citadel at Norðvorn. Back it.

Game logs 20 January and 3 February 2019: Binder of Glory

Dramatis personae

Mayhem, short barbarian
Caleb, wizard
Ash, squire
Kim, procurement expert
Xoran, fox man
Grymalkus, not quite as whiny as usual cleric
Attikos, holy warrior
Uruk, orc soldier

Kôštē, cleric of farming

Quid occurrit

The gang healed up until noon. Then, aside from Kim and Attikos (who was still passed out), they went down into the cave. They chose to go away from the undead, into another room. After blowing past that door (Caleb critically succeeded twice in a row with the Rive spell), they turned back. (I have no idea why.)

They went back to Fort Rénnutēs, dumping healing spells for two days into Attikos so he'd wake up without dying of dehydration. (I missed having him roll HT to wake up in the evening, though this would have been near result if he had failed.)

On the way, they saw a weird-looking chicken by a cave. As there were few settlements in the hills, they guessed it was a lone cockatrix. Mayhem made a mating call (Mimicry), making it randy and having it come near them. However, as it came nearer, it made Grymalkus and Ash ill. Caleb missed with Fireball, but Uruk shot it twice.

Back at Fort Rénnutēs, Kim, Attikos, and Grymalkus left, while Kôštē the cleric rejoined. The next day, they went a little southwest and tracked down the six orcs who ran from the attack on the fort. 

From there it was mostly a slaughter fest. Mayhem asked, “Where the orc women at?” The orcs, not having seen the gang, turned. Xoran plunked one with an arrow, Caleb started casting Blast Ball, and Mayhem said, “I want some!” The orcs pulled out their bows and falchions, and moved to fight.

Xoran shot the orc again, which rushed Mayhem and missed. Caleb got off his Blast Ball, which scorched all three orc archers, and spoiled the aim of two of them. Xoran dropped his bow, whipped out his swords, and moved to strike but missed, as did Mayhem.

Two orcs hit Mayhem, which just made him mad. Ash blocked the blow of the third, and the archers drew their falchions. Caleb fired up Sunbolt, and Xoran got one in the neck. Mayhem, now mad, took out two with neck shots. The orc archers chose to keep fighting, however, and moved to fight. Xoran took out another, and Ash poked the last one in the neck. He kept fighting, however, and Xoran missed him as he moved to fight. Mayhem, however, wasn’t so unlucky, and lopped off his head before killing the last orc.

They set went north from there. After passing a hole one day, they came to a big cave the next, where Uruk stomped a rattlesnake to death.

The day after that, they made it to the ogre cave early, but after first finding a rock covered in odd oil (which Caleb held back from burning) then a falling rock smashing into Uruk. Uruk led everyone to the room with the undead, and opened the door. He announced, "Remember me, bitches?" Nothing happened, so he smashed open the first casket.

The dead body in the casket was a draug with an axe, which it swung at Uruk, making him go berserk. The other caskets opened, and the heroes went into the room. Mayhem smacked his axe into the neck of one of the draugr near the door, while Uruk hit draug that had made him mad. The draug smacked Uruk right back, while the one near Mayhem reached up and hit Ash, who was standing nearby. Unlike most other blows, this one got through Ash’s armor. The other draugr sat up.

Xoran, Mayhem, and Ash all tried to take out draugr, and all three failed. Uruk, however, hit the one on him, while Caleb shot Acid Jet at the nearby coffin, which had the draug that Mayhem and Ash were fighting. The one by Mayhem and Ash missed Mayhem, while the one by Xoran dropped its axe as it tried to hit him (critical success Parry). The others stood up.

Mayhem at last took out the draug by him, and Xoran got in two neck shots on the draug near him. Uruk got a good whack on the draug fighting him, while Caleb started casting his old friend, Blast Ball. The draug by Uruk hit him, while the others got out of their caskets.

The draug fighting Xoran at last stood up, just in time for Xoran to take off its head. Mayhem tried hitting the hand of a draug near him, but it blocked his axe with its shield. Uruk flailed at the draug fighting him but did nothing, and Caleb lobbed his Blast Ball, but the draugr near ground zero got out of the way.

The draug on Uruk kept hurting him, while the one fighting Mayhem lost its balance from Mayhem’s parry. The others rushed in to fight, and missed; Ash at this time smashed one in the head, which didn’t seem to do anything. Xoran turned and tried to take off the leg of a draug that had rushed to fight him but didn’t get through, while Mayhem again had his try to take off the draug’s hand blocked. Ash missed the skull of the one on him. Uruk dropped his shield and axe, then grabbed the hand of the draug fighting him. Caleb again fired up Blast Ball.

The draug on Mayhem hit him and wrecked Mayhem’s grip on his axe, though he somehow held on. Mayhem went berserk, either from was the pain or the bad grip. Xoran parried both of the draugr fighting him, but a blow from one got through Ash’s armor. One by Uruk harmed him, but whose hand Uruk was holding couldn’t break free.

Mayhem got his axe ready, and both Xoran and Ash missed the draugr by them. Uruk twisted the hand of the hand of the draug up to its head, then crushed in its skull with his hands. Caleb lobbed Blast Ball and scorched two draugr from behind.

The draugr by the upset Mayhem and Uruk both hurt them, but the one on Ash met his shield and the one on Xoran met his swords. Xoran then use one sword to fake out the draug while planting his sword in its neck. Mayhem at last got his axe to the draug’s hand, crippling it and making it drop it axe. Ash feinted with his sword, while Uruk grappled the other draug by him. Caleb low on fatigue, lit up a small Fireball, while Kôštē, holding the door nearby, cast Lend Energy on Caleb.

Mayhem’s armor and Ash’s shield took the blow from two draugr, much as did Xoran’s swords from two more. Uruk’s draug was unable to break free of his grip. Xoran again tricked a draug with a feint, and then took it down with a neck blow. Mayhem, in his rage, saw this, and did the same feint and neck blow takedown trick. Ash’s feint also worked, and he gave the draug by him some nasty neck damage, though it still stood. Uruk again crushed the skull of the draug he grappled. Caleb threw a Fireball at a draug, but both it and Ash got out of the way.

The draug on Ash tried for his open face, but missed, while the one still fighting Xoran had its blow land on one of his swords. Xoran tried to hit the neck of that draug but missed, while Mayhem’s axe met the shield of another draug. Likewise, Ash also missed. Uruk then grabbed yet another draug, and Caleb cast a bigger Fireball.

The draug on Ash swung a bit low and hit him on the Armor of the Ape, not hurting him, but knocking him back a few feet. The one Uruk was grabbing slowly wiggled free. Xoran got one draug in the chest with a stab, but it still stood. Mayhem’s axe again met shield while Ash’s sword again met steel. Uruk imposed more grip on the draug he was grabbing, while Caleb’s Fireball again missed both the draug and Ash.

The draug grappling with Uruk again started to work free while the one fighting Ash lost his grip. Xoran lost his balance as he tried to stab a draug, while Mayhem and Ash both missed. Uruk grabbed the draug tighter, while Caleb fired up yet another Fireball.

The draug with Uruk tried to wiggle free, while the one fighting Ash smacked him in the face, taking him to the ground. Xoran stabbed a draug’s head from behind, taking it down, and Mayhem planted his axe into the torso of another, taking it down.

Uruk crushed the skull of the last one. He looked up, and fell down, now dead from his wounds.

Res aliae

The fight was against 8 draugr. They were helped by the first few draugr having to fight from lying down, but the ability to do 4d6+2 cutting damage has a way of equalizing that.

Mayhem and Uruk both went Berserk. Uruk took so much damage that he dropped dead of the fatigue loss at the end of combat. (He was spending fatigue on mighty blows.)

Xóran learned the worth of feinting. With two swords, this is a great idea, especially since someone with Broadsword-20 has more skill than most foes. He also didn't get a scratch on him owing to parrying with two swords.

Grappling is a good idea against draugr with 27 HP, but not foolproof. They can impose 2d6+3 control points right back. But it turned their shields into liabilities, turning their main defense from a Parry or Block of 12 +2 DB for the shield to a Dodge of 11 -2 DB for the shield.

Ash also took damage, namely smacks to the face but also 4d6+2 cutting to the body. Having a DR 14 breastplate may be great against bandits, but not against someone with ST 22.

Having these guys go down at 0 HP made this fight much easier. With their obscene HT 15, they could have functioned below 0 HP had I chosen not to call them meaningless mooks. Having said that, I see that I missed that they shouldn't have been able to parry as much as they did, having axes.

The death of Uruk

Psycho Dave: “Weasly your character is dead, since there are no clerics nearby you may add your character sheet to the binder of shame.” 

… 

Me: “What exactly is a Binder of Shame? And why is it so large?” 

Psycho Dave: “Every D&D game has many binders but each D&D game must have a Binder of Shame and a Binder of Glory. The player characters that die heroic deaths are saved forever in the page protectors of the Binder of Glory. The characters that suffer, humiliating, soul-crushing deaths go into the Binder of Shame. It’s a sign of quality GMing to have a Binder of Shame three times the size of your Binder of Glory.”

Uruk goes into the Binder of Glory.