2 Flaurmont 1000 AC - Adventures in the Boudoir!

Broneslav was standing in a small room, obviously teleported there by magic. The hat he had been wearing was probably part of that spell. The space beyond opened up into a large bedroom. A pile of cushions lay near the opening to the small room he was standing in. As he sneaked forward, he saw the corner of a bed. A dainty foot poked out from under the blankets. He peered carefully round the corner. A lever was located on the outside by the bed. Presumably it had something to do with the iron grille located in a slot in the roof by the entrance to the small room.

Broneslav could see an untidy mass of golden hair on the pillow. The sound of delicate snoring arose from near that golden mass. He was not sure what to do. This might be Sylva, one of the elven maidens he was here to rescue. But the other one, Merisa, had attacked Baik and him, and had sicced a panther on them. It went against the grain to attack first though. He put his shield on the floor, and padded over to the bed silently with his sword in his other hand. He leaned over the sleeping person. Once he saw her face, he knew it was Sylva, the other missing elf. He shook her shoulder and quickly clamped his hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in shock.

"I'm here to rescue you," he hissed.

She was more self-controlled than he expected. Upon hearing his words, she calmed quickly and nodded. He took his hand away from her mouth.

"Do you know the way out of here?"

"No. They dragged me in here unconscious, and have kept me here ever since. The door is open but I have no idea which way is out."

"Ok, well, follow me. We're going to have to do this the hard way."

While Sylva got out of bed and dressed quickly, Broneslav searched the rest of the room. He found a secret door in the south wall, but decided to try the obvious door to the north first.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Ok, stay with me, but don't get too close. I may need room to swing a sword."

He moved to the door and opened it. A panther leapt through the newly opened door directly at him. Broneslav dropped flat as the panther sailed over his head. Spinning, he swung his sword at the beast, shaving a whisker off it, but not connecting with his sword. Sylva chanted words and gestured at Broneslav. A wave of sleepiness overcame him and he collapsed to the floor. [Why the heck does every single mage in this dungeon have the Sleep spell? It's really irritating when there is no save versus it!] As he did so, the panther attacked ripping huge gashes in his legs and mauling is arm [4 DAM]. The pain of this assault woke him immediately. He sprang to his feet and drove his sword into the panther [2 DAM]. Sylva ran to the south wall, fumbling at her belt. Triumphantly she drew a key out of her pouch. Still groggy from the spell, Broneslav failed to ward off all the panther's attacks and was clawed and bitten once more [2 DAM]. Diving past the panther, he bodychecked the elf just as she was about to open the secret door he had found. She collapsed to the floor unconscious as her head hit the wall. The panther leapt at Broneslav again and ripped more holes in him [2 DAM]. Weakening from the blood loss already, Broneslav grabbed his sword with both hands and sliced at the panther with a might blow that cut it in two [4 DAM].

He slumped against the wall to catch his breath, before checking Sylva to see if she was alright. He was worried that she had cracked her head too hard against the wall. Fortunately, she was just unconscious, although there was a trickle of blood from her forehead. He bound that wound and then her hands and feet.

"No more spells for you, tricksy witch," he muttered, as he gagged her and propped her up near the bed.

Tearing sheets from the bed he bandaged his own wounds and pondered what to do next. He could try to find his way out of here and rest up back at the village. That would give him a chance to recover and return for the other elf. Alternatively, he could rest up in this room, although that carried the risk of being discovered. Not sure of how to get out, he decided to rest up here. He dragged the bed to the main door and used it to block that entrance. Then he got the elf's key and jammed it into the lock of the secret door. That should stop anyone opening that door.

By this point, Sylva had awakened was staring balefully at him as he hobbled around the room sorting things out. Experimentation showed that the lever did, indeed, lower a grille across the opening to the room he had arrived in. He lowered the grille and tied Sylva to it, so that she could not move. Piling cushions in front of the secret door, he hoped that anyone trying to enter that way would trip over them and give him a chance to get up before they got to him. Before settling down to rest, Broneslav searched the room, finding a scroll that appeared to his untutored eyes to have a spell inscribed on it. He stashed it in his bag and lay down on some cushions in the corner furthest from both doors, hoping that things would go right for him.

Character
Broneslav Torenescu (S16, D14, C15, I12, W10, Ch14, F1, HP 3/

9, AC4, Sword 1d8+3, Bow 1d8)
Human (Traladaran)

Traits:
Torenescu Family Member 1
Hunter 1
Keen Vision 1
Good Education 1
Empathy with Animals 1

Goal: Prove that he is an adult following the Shearing Ceremony
Goal: Slay a red dragon
Quest: Deliver a parcel to Merisa in Gray Mountain Village
Quest: Rescue Sylva and Merisa
Quest: Undo the greater evil under Kota-Hutan Temple

Allies

Roll of Honour
Alki (Level 2 elven warrior brutally slain while helpless by the Rahib)
Baik Telor (Level 4 human warrior from Ylari. Murdered by Merdiz the wizard)

2 Flaurmont 1000 AC - Return to the Halls of Grandeur

Wearing a new shirt and trews, healed by the village healer, and having washed properly, Broneslav made his way back to the temple feeling much better. There was still much to do and he needed to solve the riddle of the elven woman who appeared to be aiding the Rahib.

Returning to the corridor near the cells, Broneslav pushed through the door to the south. He was in a small hall with doors to to each side and one ahead of him. Listening at both doors revealed nothing. Both rooms appeared to be silent. Mentally he flipped a coin. Heads, so he headed east. As he stepped through the door, a huge red dragon belched flame at him. Broneslav screamed as fire engulfed him, and collapsed senseless to the floor.

His eyes opened again some time later. The dragon was still there, but it seemed more insubstantial now. Carefully, he stood up. The dragon belched flame again, but this time it washed around him. He realised that the dragon was an illusion and that none of his clothing was indeed burnt. Harrumph!

There was another exit from this room. He listened again and heard nothing. Opening the door, he peered in. It was another empty room, except that one wall of this room was a curtain of coruscating red light. It lent the room and eerie, hellish glow. There was a door in the wall opposite the one he entered by. Broneslav moved up to the glowing wall and pushed at it with his torch. The torch passed through easily. He waved the torch around and felt no resistance. Ok, no time to be a wimp. Closing his eyes despite himself, he stepped into the light and found himself in an identical room from that which he had just left. His back was to the curtain of light. There were two exits here. He opted for the left one.

Entering the new room, he beheld a huge pile of gold against the far wall. He felt an unreasoning desire to dive head-first into the treasure and start loading his backpack up. Giving in to temptation he did just that and cracked his head hard against a hitherto unseen wall [Failed saving roll]. Fortunately his helm protected him from damage but he felt distinctly dizzy after this. Closing his eyes against the onset of a headache, he felt around. It felt like there was a solid wall here. It had the texture of stone. Broneslav surmised that the treasure must be an illusion.

There were two doors in this room, both in the same wall. He entered by the one on the left, the one he had not entered by, and found himself in a short corridor. There was a door to his left and a door ahead of him. Broneslav hrrmed to himself suspiciously. Cautiously he opened the door and was engulfed once more in dragon flame. It did not burn and it did not hurt.

So, he was right. He had walked into the wall of light and come back out into the same room. He returned to the wall of light and tried sticking his head far enough in to see through. Unfortunately, all he could see was light. He would have to enter it to test its effects. He tried running into it, but wound up back in the same room. He tried hopping, skipping and jumping into it, but all to no avail. Then suddenly he thought to try walking backwards.

He stepped through the wall of light into a laboratory. Two tables covered in alchemical equipment occupied the centre of the room. The shelves were filled with dusty jars, and there were two alcoves in the east wall. On a peg between the two alcoves was a large hat with a big pink feather. It looked curiously out of place here which piqued Broneslav's curiosity. He went over and picked the hat up. It looked ordinary enough, so what was it doing here? Maybe the old wizard just liked to be flamboyant. Who knows? On a whim, he put the hat on top of his helm [Oracle says Yes to Broneslav putting the hat on]. He laughed. It was a shame there was no mirror there, but he knew he must look ridiculous. Maybe he could return to Specularum one day and make hats with big pink feathers fashionable. He could corner the market on big pink feathers beforehand, just to ensure that he profited properly from it.

Reining in his thoughts, Broneslav began to search the laboratory. There might be something of use there, he hoped. He found nothing among the alchemical equipment. The alcoves were odd, because they contained nothing, so he thought he had better check for secret doors. There was nothing in the northern alcove, but as he checked the southern alcove he felt the world move around him.

He found himself standing in small room that opened into a bedroom beyond. The hat was no longer on his head ...

The Halls of Grandeur

Character
Broneslav Torenescu (S16, D14, C15, I12, W10, Ch14, F1, HP 9, AC4, Sword 1d8+3, Bow 1d8)
Human (Traladaran)

Traits:
Torenescu Family Member 1
Hunter 1
Keen Vision 1
Good Education 1
Empathy with Animals 1

Goal: Prove that he is an adult following the Shearing Ceremony
Goal: Slay a red dragon
Quest: Deliver a parcel to Merisa in Gray Mountain Village
Quest: Rescue Sylva and Merisa
Quest: Undo the greater evil under Kota-Hutan Temple

Allies

Roll of Honour
Alki (Level 2 elven warrior brutally slain while helpless by the Rahib)
Baik Telor (Level 4 human warrior from Ylari. Murdered by Merdiz the wizard)

Gruntz AAR - The Battle for Discoville

I actually managed to play a game last night! Yes, it's true!! And I'm writing about it now!!! I've not had much time for gaming since I moved to Ireland to take up a new job (check out the project I am working on at www.worldtreeproject.org. It's awesome). While I'm not playing at all while over there, I am finding a fair bit of time to paint, and have completed my Laserburn Imperial task force after only 30 years. I bought some of the figures I have recently painted back in the eighties which shows that there is hope for all of my so-called failed or stalled projects. Photos of the whole lot will appear when I bring the rest of the force back from Ireland.

So, anyway, this week I am back home near Hull to do work stuff, so I organised a game with Steve. This year we are focusing on 15mm sci-fi and we agreed  to play Gruntz with 300 points each.

Steve brought his disco aliens with some air support and all nicely canned in APCs.

Disco Alien Fighter

Alien infantry boogieing down the street

I fielded a weak Imperial assault group supported by a troop of heavy grav tanks and two scout bikes.

Imperial grav tanks making a nuisance of themselves

We did not have much time so we made the goal of the game be to destroy as much of the enemy as we could.

Game at set-up

One half of the table was dominated by a small town while the other was rural. Steve deployed a dropship in the rural area and his fighter to cover the town. His infantry were in their APCs ready to rush down the middle. I deployed my infantry to take the town, while my tanks were to flank through the countryside and try to break round behind the enemy with a view to encircling and then annihilating them.

We used the initiative cards from Gruntz instead of the standard rules and assigned the cards randomly to the units. We like the chaos and friction that this brings. Neither of us is a fan of IGO-UGO, but I am tempted to suggest that we deal a hand of cards to each side and then assign them ourselves in future games. This should give us the chaos while also meaning that we get to make command decisions about which area of the battle is most important to us. The main reason we have not done this so far is speed.

My tanks begin the process of annihilating the enemy APCs. A scout bike is just visible behind the lorry, ready to fire missiles into the flank of the APC.

 As the aliens advanced into the town, and my infantry seized key buildings, my tanks used their superior armour to weather the fusillade of fire that the APCs laid down. Damage was minor with only a few scratches to the paintwork of my tanks. As we got their range, the APCs lit up one by one, while the tanks' coaxial lasers made short work of the infantry in that part of the battlefield.

An alien APC tries to sneak round to attack a tank in the flank

Over in the town, things were not so easy. My troops' found the enemy hard to hit, and their bolt rifles were underpowered against the enemy armour. Alien casualties were few while the aliens' plasma rifles seared through my troops' armour. The only thing keeping my troops alive was the buildings they were in, and the enemy fighter's multiple plasma cannon were fairly quickly demolishing the buildings around my troops' ears. A biker scout did manage to get in there and score some hits with his bike's missile launcher, but it was not enough. Without help, or better dice rolling, my troops were doomed.

As the last of the APCs went up in smoke, my tanks moved carefully into the town ... and the enemy surrendered.

At this point we had to call the game because of time. We had played 4 turns of 6 in 2.5 hours. Not too shabby given that we are not familiar with the rules. It was a great fun game with each of us getting frustrated by elements of the other's force design. Lessons have been learnt and future forces are likely to see slightly different force composition, although I suspect that Steve's love of big plasma weapons and heavy armour will mean that I need to purchase extra armour piercing ammo for my troops. Anyway, I look forward to the next game. Hopefully I shall have done more with the buildings for the town by then. I need to sort out some posters, for the billboards, signs for the shops, and print out more streets and concrete lots for the town layout.

Figures: GZG, 15mm.co.uk

Vehicles: GZG, Old Crow, 15mm.co.uk

Buildings: MadMechaGuy

Street Furniture: Brigade Models

1 Flaurmont 1000 AC - Of Elves and Spiders

Broneslav contemplated the two identical doors and decided to turn northwards first. This area was likely to be contained by the route he had just taken, and thus he could clear it of potential enemies before they headed into the unknown. Beyond the door was a corridor that ended at a wall. There were three doors on each side of the corridor. He took the nearest door on the left side first. The grille in the door suggested it was some kind of cell. The other doors also had grilles in them so he assumed these were all cells. This first room was empty, although fresh straw was piled on the floor as if to make a bed. The door opposite it on the right was the same. The second cell on the left was also empty.

The second cell on the right was occupied. He could hear noises within. Uncertain whether it was a prisoner or something worse, he opened the door carefully.

"Hello?" he asked questioningly.
"LET ME OUT OF HERE OR I'LL BLAST YOUR TINY HEADS TO BITS!" The voice was weak but determined. The cell had a dividing wall and the voice came from round the corner.
Broneslav walked to the corner and looked round it. He saw a middle-aged man chained to the wall by his leg. He was filthy with matted hair.
"COME HERE YOU DAMN WITCH'S SPAWN. LET ME GO BEFORE I IMPLODE YOUR PUNY MIND!"
"Hold up there," said Broneslav, "I'm no witch's spawn. I'm here to rescue two elven maids. If you give me a chance ..."
He got no further. The chained man, seeing Broneslav close enough now, gestured and spoke a mystical syllable. Broneslav collapsed to the floor just as Baik followed round the corner. The wizard had cleary not believed Broneslav. Seeing Broneslav fall, Baik rushed in and belted him with his mace [1 DAM]. He followed it up with another blow [1 DAM] before the wizard could finish the spell he was casting. The wizard cursed and tried again. This time he succeeded. Sticky strands spun out from his hands and half the cell was soon enmeshed in a thick web that held Baik fast no matter how he struggled.

Broneslav awoke to the sense of someone lifting his head. He felt a knife against his throat, and the pain galvanised him to rouse from the magical slumber inflicted on him [Defy death 1 DAM]. He leapt to his feet, tearing his throat away from the encroaching blade, and drew the dagger from his belt. The wizard looked stunned.
"No, wait, you cannot awaken yet."
Broneslav plunged his dagger into the wizard's eye [2 DAM]. The wizard crumpled to the ground. Broneslav was then able to look around. Baik lay in a pile on the floor. His throat had been cut and he was dead. The wizard must have immobilised Baik and cut his throat. Presumably he thought Broneslav would remain asleep long enough for the wizard to cut his throat too. Broneslav had been lucky. He laid his ally out gently, and swore to return for him later to ensure a proper burial.

As he approached the final door on the left, he heard piteous weeping. Investigating further, Broneslav found a young elven woman chained to the wall. She was slumped on the floor sniffling and whimpering half-heartedly. Panic crossed her face as she saw the bloody, tattered person before her.
"Don't worry," said Broneslav, "I am here to rescue you. What's your name?"
"Miryala. Are you really here to rescue me? How can I be sure?"
"You can't," he said brutally, "but you'll have to trust me."
He freed her from the chains and told her to wait there while he checked the final cell. He needed to see if Sylva were in it.

He could see that the cell was full of cobwebs when he opened the door. Held in the webs were the remains of a person. Suddenly a large spider leapt at him from the web. Broneslav spun to face it and tried to skewer it as it did so. He missed but the spider managed to land its fangs in his shoulder. Luckily it was just a scratch [1 DAM]. He swung again. The spider nimbly dodged and sank its fangs into his arm [1 DAM]. Broneslav could feel his body reacting as it fought off the spider's venom. Desperately he thrust at the spider's head. His sword cut through the spider's mouth and into it's brain, the top emerging gore encrusted from the top of the spider's head [4 DAM]. He slumped to the floor, breathing hard. Miryala ran up to him.
"Are you ok? Here, let me bandage your wounds."
With his wounds tended, Broneslav applied his torch to the spider's webs and burnt them out. The remains in the web clattered to the floor and Broneslav helped himself to the gold in the dead adventurer's pouch. Well, they would not need it now, and he really was going to need some new clothes after this was over.
"Come on," he said to Miryala, "I need to get you to safety so that I can carry on the search for Merisa and Sylva."

It would be dark soon anyway and he needed rest. Carrying Baik's body, he led Miryala outside to the waiting Rahasia and returned once more to the village. There he arranged for Baik to be buried according to the customs of Ylaruam. On the way he was able to tell Rahasia that Merisa seemed to be working with the Rahib now. Rahasia was shocked but still adamant that Broneslav must bring both elven women back alive. There was probably more to this than either of them were aware of.

Character
Broneslav Torenescu (S16, D14, C15, I12, W10, Ch14, F1, HP 6/9, AC4, Sword 1d8+3, Bow 1d8)
Human (Traladaran)

Traits:
Torenescu Family Member 1
Hunter 1
Keen Vision 1
Good Education 1
Empathy with Animals 1

Goal: Prove that he is an adult following the Shearing Ceremony
Goal: Slay a red dragon
Quest: Deliver a parcel to Merisa in Gray Mountain Village
Quest: Rescue Sylva and Merisa
Quest: Undo the greater evil under Kota-Hutan Temple

Allies

Roll of Honour
Alki (Level 2 elven warrior brutally slain while helpless by the Rahib)
Baik Telor (Level 4 human warrior from Ylari. Murdered by Merdiz the wizard)

1 Flaurmont 1000 AC - A Wine Conundrum

"So, Baik, we going to try that, or are we going to check out the rest of this area?"
"I don't like to leave possible enemies behind us. Let's check the rest first. We can use the statues to bar the doors to this room, just in case anyone comes up the shaft there."
They did that and headed west. The western corridor had doors to north and south, and double doors at the end. Broneslav also noticed an irregularity in the north wall and soon found yet another secret door. Through the door he found stairs leading down. He tested them gingerly, remembering his slide down to the gelatinous cube. The stairs held. At their bottom was a small room mirroring the one he had slid into, again with a ladder against one wall. He was now used to the way the tower had been built, and the search for secret doors in this room was quick and easy. The central vault was empty and there was a door to the west. He now realised that the ladder in the other room must have led up to a secret door, as this one did. Climbing up the ladder to the door, he found himself back at the platform with the sarcophagi on it.

After this, Baik and Broneslav headed west through the secret door there. Their route led to stairs upwards which ended in a wall. Wiping cobwebs from his face, Broneslav stared at the blank wall ahead of him. There must be a secret door here. He knew that but it took him a while to find this one and get it open. Pushing through it, he entered an elegant room with a large table in the middle of the floor. The walls were lined with shelves on which were leather cases. He and Baik began to investigate the cases. The first case each of them opened contained a map of somewhere unfamiliar to either of them. They checked several more cases to confirm that they all contained maps, and found a bottle of wine stashed in one: Wizard of Wines Winery Purple Grapemash No.3. Again it had the peculiar serial number on the label: 14321341-S. Broneslav wondered if it were a code rather than a serial number. But a code to what? He was perplexed. The numbers on each bottle were the same for each type of wine. Could it be a batch number? Why did they not have a uniform format though?

The only other exit from this room was a door on the opposite side of the room from which they had entered. They opened it and found themselves in a room full of the charred remains of books and bookcases. This was obviously once a library, but had suffered terribly in the destruction of the tower. Double doors led from this room into the corridor beyond. Broneslav and Baik were back in the corridor to the octagonal room. They had two choices now: the door to the north, or the door to the south ...

Character
Broneslav Torenescu (S16, D14, C15, I12, W10, Ch14, F1, HP 9, AC4, Sword 1d8+3, Bow 1d8)
Human (Traladaran)

Traits:
Torenescu Family Member 1
Hunter 1
Keen Vision 1
Good Education 1
Empathy with Animals 1

Goal: Prove that he is an adult following the Shearing Ceremony
Goal: Slay a red dragon
Quest: Deliver a parcel to Merisa in Gray Mountain Village
Quest: Rescue Sylva and Merisa
Quest: Undo the greater evil under Kota-Hutan Temple

Allies
Baik Telor (HD 4, AC 4, ATK +5, DAM 1d8+1)
Stats include Mace+1

Roll of Honour
Alki (Level 2 Elven warrior brutally slain while helpless by the Rahib)