The Story for Far - Part 14 - "Accidental Allies"

"The Story So Far" is an ongoing series recapping the details of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that I've been running since 2002. Links to the previous entries can be found here:  

Prologue                    Part 1                    Part 2                    Part 3              Part 4  

Part 5                        Part 6                    Part 7                    Part 8              Part 9 

Part 10                     Part 11                  Part 12                   Part 13       

I've "fictionalized" the session reports in a likely-vain attempt to make them more "entertaining."   

And now, our story continues...

Earthday, Earthlife 1st, 1492-supplemental

As the Fellowship made their way through town, they got to know their guide a little bit.

Kirbin Thornn

played by Mark

Race: Human

Class: Ranger

Height: 5'10'

Weight: 185 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

"So, Kerbin," Lorelei began, her voice leaden with equal parts hangover and suspicion. "What exactly do you do at this camp?"

"Whatever needs doing," the ranger replied, his furtive eyes appraising every passer-by for a hint of threat. "Mostly I'm a chopper, cutting roads to new clearing sites, but lately I've had my hands full defending the camp from orcs...and trying to deal with all of these accidents."

"Has it always been that way?" Pol inquired.

Kerbin stifled a chuckle before responding to the warrior.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said that the boys weren't naturally rough and accident-prone. But lately it's been terrible, with three or four mishaps a day. If it keeps up, we won't have anyone healthy enough to work."

"When did this start?" Roman pursued, nimbly dancing out of the way of a matronly old woman carrying a brace of rabbits.

"A week or two, I suppose." the ranger replied, distracted by their sudden diversion away from the market. "Where are we headed, by the way?"

"The abbey," Roman replied. "I need to check on someone before we leave."

As the group entered the infirmary, they were taken aback to see Elster speaking to another dwarf. At first glance, they thought that Giran Oakenshield had experienced a miraculous overnight recovery and was now up and about. But, upon closer inspection, the adventures saw that the lord of Kiras Toth was still lying in state and this new dwarf had a conspicuously-absent facial feature.  

Korrick the Beardless

played by Matt

Race: Hill Dwarf

Class: Paladin

Age: 42 

Height: 4'4"

Weight: 210 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

  

Elster looked surprised and relieved when his allies appeared in the doorway. This was replaced by mild panic as the Fellowship instinctively started to back away, assuming that they'd interrupted something. Seeing this, Elster frantically gestured for them to come in and, when they hesitated for a second, he rushed over and physically ushered them into the room, as if desperate for reinforcements. 

"Good day, my dear friends!" he entreated. "Come in, come in...you simply must meet this fascinating young man. I'd like to introduce Ser Korrick of Deepdelve!"

The adventurers slowly coalesced around the wide-eyed stranger, shaking his hand and exchanging names when prompted.

"So, what brings you here, Korrick?" Roman asked.

The dwarf suddenly looked like he'd been caught in a bullseye lantern while trying to a filch an apple. He looked sheepish and stammered for a bit before answering. 

"Well, my master, Father Aeolyn, gave me a quest to go away from him and check up on things down south. But, when I got there, I saw that everything was all wrecked. So, after about a day or so, the guards gave me a new quest...to leave where they were and come here to check up on Mister Oakeyshield. So here I am!"

In the resulting gulf of awkward silence that followed, the Fellowship exchanged quizzical looks. Elster chuckled awkwardly. 

"Well, that's quite the noble quest," the dwarven cleric said. "Aaaand, now that you've completed it, perhaps you should go back to Kiras Toth and update everyone there on his condition."

"Or," Roman said. "You could come with us. We've got a new quest and you're welcome to come along..."

All too late, Roman noticed that Elster had melted into the background and was desperately miming what appeared to be a stark warning. 

"...that is, if you're, um,  interested." 

Upon hearing this, Korrick's eyes got as big as saucers and he exchanged excited looks with all of his new friends. When the new arrival happened to glance backin Elster's direction, the dwarven cleric's facial expression instantly flipped from vague horror to a nailed-on smile, followed by a spontaneous thumbs-up.

When Korrick looked back to the group, Roman actually felt the flurry of daggers that  Elster launched from his eyes.  

           

***

Roman watched intently as Elster puttered about his temporary quarters, preparing himself for departure.

"I'm sorry," the priest lamented. "I just though he could be of help."

The dwarf gave a world-weary sigh as he shoved a tinderbox into his backpack.

"I should be the one apologizing, lad," Elster said. "I only spent a few hours with the boy this morning, so I shouldn't be so quick to judge him." 

Roman scuffed the toe of his boot on the flagstone floor.

"Do you trust him?"

Elster spluttered in reaction to this question.

"Moradin's Beard, Roman!" he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "You were there! You met him!  What do you think?"

The dwarf pointed vaguely towards at a multi-pouch belt hanging from a clothing rack in the corner of the room. Getting the signal, Roman retrieved and delivered it to his friend as Elster kicked off his sandals and dug his adventuring boots out from underneath his cot.

"I'd say that he's as transparent as an Unseen Servant."

"Precisely!" Elster replied. "He's just young and green...and he's got a tongue on him like a clapper on a cow-bell. He never shuts up! Told me his entire life story this morning. Apparently he comes from a long line of talented masons in Deepdelve but he failed his apprenticeship and was effectively exiled from the city. Eventually he fell in with some transient human hermit and became a devotee of Heironeous, of all things."

Roman chuckled as he helped Elster into his chainmail tunic.

"He must be confused," the priest said. "No human being has ever traveled that far north. He probably mistook this Aeolyn character for a really tall dwarf."    

"I can only tell you what he told me," Elster returned, donning his tabard of silver and earthen hues. "Sounds like his mentor was a bit of an ass to him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he sent the boy out here all alone on a quest just to get rid of him."  

Roman's whistle was cut short by a grunt as he tried to heft his friend's backpack up and nearly bowled over from the weight.

"Wow, that's pretty cold. What do you have in here, gold bullion?"

"Poor lad didn't fare much better at Kiras Toth. He actually told me that the guards 'liked him so much there that they gave him a nickname'."

"Oh, no," Roman winced. "What was it?"

"Ore-for-brains," Elster said with a sour expression. "Sure, the lad might be a bit dim, but that's just plain cruel."

Roman clucked his disapproval and handed Elster his shield, emblazoned with the sigil of a hammer and anvil.

"So, do you really think you can find this unicorn?" the dwarf quizzed. "And, more importantly, do you think it can actually help Giran?" 

Roman scrubbed his jaw with the palm of his hand, alarmed by the amount of stubble on his face. When was the last time he had a moment to himself, let alone to shave?

"Well, if you believe this ranger, the creature might as well be the camp's mascot. And I've seen the healing power of the unicorn first hand."

"Well, that's good enough for me," Elster pronounced, patting his ally's arm as he clinked and clanked towards the door. 

As they passed by a familiar cell, Roman was suddenly reminded of something. 

"Hold up, I'd better check in with Moira. Something seemed to be bothering her the last time we spoke..."

"Good luck finding her," Elster replied. "I haven't seen hide nor hair of her. For all intents and purposes, Regis seems to be running the show here right now."

Troubled to hear this, Roman made a silent vow to sit down with Moira upon his return and extract the truth from her. Like an abscessed tooth, if need be.

With a shared look of resolve, the pair left the abbey and headed off to the shopping quarter to find their allies.

***

"Wait, how much did you say it was?" Lorelei asked.

"Two thousand crowns!" Bria raged, kicking a rock out of her path. It clipped a fern and disappeared into the lush undergrowth.

"That's pretty steep." Pol observed, looking over Kerbin's shoulder to keep a sharp eye on the trail ahead.

"Right?!?" the thief replied. "What really galls me is that it would be at least half that price in Footholde, but Salim says it's because it costs so much to ship it to Castebridge. Blah...blah...blah...I mean, twelve-hundred, maybe, but double the price? That's highway robbery!" 

"Hmmm," Lorelei sneered, taking in a deep lungful of air in an effort to offset her lingering headache. "I would have thought that you, of all people, would appreciate a bit of 'highway robbery'."  

    

Bria glared at before before resuming her rant.

"So, I tells him, how about five-hundred? And then he just freaks out...ranting and raving about how I don't understand, how I'm trying to ruin him financially and make his kids go hungry and blind. I asked him to be reasonable but he just started waving his hands in front of my face and saying 'No! No! I'm done with you...you talk to my wife!' and then he just walked away!"

"And that's when she got the broom out, huh?" Roman asked.

"Yup," Bria said, picking up and throwing another pebble, this time at a nearby tree. "Barely got out of there with my life."

"So what are you going to do now?" Pol quizzed. 

Upon hearing this, Bria merrily skipped over to the fighter, as if everything she'd been saying up to that point was an elaborate set up for what she did next. Pol half-watched as the thief started counting off her digits as she unfurled them one at a time from a tight fist.

"Five finger discount," she announced proudly, holding up and waving her open hand.

All of a sudden, Korrick stopped walking, plugged his ears with two chubby fingers and started singing at the top of his cracking voice. Everyone turned and stared at him, wondering if their new foundling was having some sort of mental breakdown. As soon as all eyes were upon him, the beardless dwarf stopped his caterwauling and tentatively spoke up.  

"I'm sorry, Miss Bria," Korrick said, his face looking dire. "But it's not very nice to steal from people. If you do that, Mister Salim's kids really would go hungry."

The thief blinked at the dwarf as if he were speaking in some foreign language.

"Um, yeah," she said, dismissing Korrick's intense gaze with the wave of her hand, which she now looked at awkwardly. "I mean, I was, um...I was just kidding."

After sharing a hushed conversation with a clearly-irritated ranger, Roman cleared his throat and gestured for the Fellowship to resume walking.

"Sorry, but can we just pick up the pace a little bit here?" he asked. "Between all of the dawdling and yodeling, it's a minor miracle that we haven't been set upon by orcs...or something worse. Come on, Kerbin tells me that the camp is just around the next bend."

"Thank Khalreshaar," Lorelei proclaimed, casting her eyes skyward to the canopy of trees overhead. 

As they resumed their march, Korrick sidled over to Roman and Pol.    

"Notwithstanding the obvious impact on the wronged merchant, the concept of theft being a victimless crime is actually a myth since shop-keeps are often forced to increase their mean prices in order to compensate for such attrition." 

With this critical footnote now delivered, the young dwarf double-timed his pace in order to catch up to Elster.   

"He's a special one," Pol observed. 

Roman nodded aggressively as Kerbin led them around the bend. All at once, the group found themselves strolling towards a cluster of six building. As they drew closer, they could see that every structure was constructed from large, stacked timber logs sealed together by some sort of crude mortar. Thick boards made up the roofs and and gable ends. 

"Let me give you a quick tour," Kerbin said, pointing to each structure in turn. "That small one in the middle there belongs to Beren, the foreman. He lives there with his wife, Wilhemina. That other small hut is the van, or general store. It's run by Vestine, the camp's medic. She's the one who's partnered up with the unicorn."

The ranger paused before showcasing the larger buildings.

"That long house is the men's camp, where everyone sleeps. And, if you're wondering where all of those tantalizing smells are coming from, that would be the cook camp, over there. Likely that's where everyone is at this late hour."

Pol's stomach growled audibly and Lorelei hoped that her mild nausea might actually be a sign of hunger.   

"Finally, over there you'll see the smithy, run by Denn. And, that's the barn, obviously."

The collective eyes of the Fellowship fell upon a large message painted on the latter structure's proverbial broadside. It read:

4 Days Hours Since Our Last Accident

Just seconds after digesting this, a ramshackle cart driven by a lone teamster suddenly whipped into view, blazing towards the cook house. 

"Oi!" yelled the driver. "You falking bastiges bedder not 'ave eat all the beans on me!"

Without warning, the hub rivets suddenly popped out of the flange on the right wheel of the cart, sending it skipping off towards the cook house. With the horses still in full gallop, the cart immediately twisted, launching the lumberjack face-first into the dirt as the rogue wheel careened through the front door of the cookhouse like it was made out of paper.

Roman, Elster and Korrick immediately ran over to the teamster laying face down in the dirt and managed to stabilize him, although they could do precious little for his missing orthodontics. As the dust settled, the camp's inhabitants slowly began to filter out of the shattered cookhouse door, brandishing cutlery and faces heavy with resignation. 

Instead of looking shocked by either the carnage around them or the presence of strangers in their camp, the lumberjacks just stood around and sighed. Eventually one of them, whom the adventurers recognized as Beren, shuffled warily over to the barn, went inside, emerged with a paint can and brush and then proceeded to make an addendum to the message on the clapboard. 

4 Days Hours Minutes Since Our Last Accident  

Next up: the adventurers try to solve the mystery of the camp's misfortunes and attempt to find the unicorn before time runs out!

***

IMAGE CREDITS

   

Kerbin:  https://oldschoolroleplaying.com/rangers-in-dungeons-and-dragons/

Korrick: https://fextralife.com/forums/p3266928/attempt-at-a-pretty-dwarf--an-exercise-of-minmaxing-sliders/

Logging Camp: https://www.mainewoodlandowners.org/articles/writing-on-an-old-logging-camp

The Eurogame Theatre of War - Undaunted: Normandy

In the past, I've talked about how I was born a bit too late for the wargame fad of the 60's and 70's but my interest in World War II drove a life-long obsession to find the best game in that category. Axis & Allies (and its various permutations) whet my appetite but, in the intervening years, I've also test-driven titles as varied as Blitzkrieg!, Combat Commander: Europe, Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear, Memoir '44 and Tide of Iron.    

The latest contender for this prestigious title is the Undaunted series of games. Full disclosure: I actually picked up North Africa first because the sequel boasted more varied game play than Normandy...aaaand I'm also sick and tired of game designers and film-makers trying to convince everyone on the planet that 'Murica single-handedly won World War II all by themselves.

So, what does this one bring to the table? Well, here's the mission briefing straight from the General's bullhorn:

June, 1944. Through the D-Day landings, the Allies have seized a foothold on the beaches of Normandy. Now you must lead your troops forward as you push deeper into France and drive the German forces back. You will face intense resistance, machine gun fire, and mortar bombardment, but a great commander can turn the situation to their advantage!

Undaunted: Normandy is the best-selling World War II deck-building game, placing you and your opponent in command of American or German forces fighting through a series of missions critical to the outcome of the war. Use your cards to seize the initiative, bolster your forces, or control your troops on the battlefield. Strong leadership can turn the tide of battle in your favour, but reckless decisions could prove catastrophic, as every casualty you take removes a card from your deck. Take charge amidst the chaos of battle, hold fast in the face of opposition, and remain undaunted.  

Looking for the full campaign battle plan? Then click on the following link to hit the landing beach full-force! 

***

Undaunted: Normandy Play-Thorough

Scenario 1: La Raye

Round 1

Initiative: The American's start with Initiative. In the first face-off, the U.S. reveals a 5-point Rifleman and the Germans reveal a 1-point Fog of War. Since the Americans played the higher value, they retain the Initiative token. Both cards are then discarded.

The American Platoon Sergeant does a Bolster Action and, since it doesn’t specify a certain unit, he adds a Company-A Rifleman as well as both A and B Scouts from Supply to his discard pile. He then plays the A Scout to...um, Scout, moving the matching token to tile 16B. He adds a Control Marker, binoculars side up, to that tile and also takes a Fog of War card from Supply and adds it to his discard pile. Finally, in an effort to cover the Scout, Rifleman B uses Suppressive fire on his German rival on tile 5B. He needs to roll a Base Defense 4 + Cover Bonus 1 + Range Bonus 2 = 7 and gets a “0” - I.E. a “10” - and the German token is flipped to its “Suppressed” side.

The German player counters with his own Platoon Sergeant, this time using his Command Action to draw 2 more cards! After playing a Rifleman B to shake off that unit's Suppression, he tables a Squad Leader B for his Inspire Action, which let's him pick up and re-play the newly-rallied unit for an Attack on the American A-Scout lurking on 16B. He needs a "10" to hit (Base Defense 5 + Cover Bonus 2 + Range Bonus 3) and, by some miracle, he actually rolls a “10”. As a result, the U.S. player is forced to remove one of his A-Scout cards from his deck and discard it from the game. The German player then drops a Scout B to do a Conceal Action, which lets him take a Fog of War Card from the U.S. supply and add it to their discard pile!         

Round 2

Initiative: It’s a 1-value American Fog of War versus a 5-point German Rifleman, so the Germans seize the Initiative.

German Squad Leader A does a Bolster Action, letting him add a Company-A Rifleman and Scout to his discard pile. Next up, he plays a Scout A and B card to Move both of their matching Combat Tokens to tile 8A.

The Americans play their own Scout Leader A, taking a Bolster Action to add a replacement A-Scout and a Rifleman A card to their discard pile. Scout B then does a Recon Action to throw the Fog of War in his hand out of the game. (NOTE: After doing this, you're supposed to draw a replacement card from your deck, which can be played as normal on that same turn!) 

Round 3 

Initiative: The revealed cards are a 7-point US Squad Leader B versus a 1-point German Fog. The Americans take the Initiative back!

The first U.S. Rifleman A card tabled gets him to tile 2B and a second matching card helps him Control that site! The Americans now hold their first Objective Point! Meanwhile, Scout A considers firing at his rival approaching from the east, but since the odds of rolling a "9" are a bit too remote, he just does a Conceal action, adding a Fog of War card to the German discard pile!

The German Platoon Sergeant Commands for a Rifleman-B card and another Fog of War! Via a Bolster Action, Squad Leader B adds a B-company Scout and Rifleman to the discard pile. Rifleman B then uses a Move Action to join the two Scouts on 8A.

Round 4

Initiative: Both factions reveal a Fog of War. With this tie, the Americans retain the token! 

The American Platoon Sergeant Commands for 2 more cards, picking up a Squad Leader-A  and a B-Company Scout. Scout B then reaches 13B with a Scout Action, adding a (stage one) Control Token to that space and a Fog of War Card to their discard pile. Rifleman A then uses a Move Action and re-positions to 16B. Squad Leader A then uses an Inspire Action to replay the same Rifleman for a Control Action, securing that tile and their second Objective Point! Finally, Rifleman B uses a Move Action to join the Scout on 13B.

German Rifleman A Moves from 8A and then plays another matching card to fire at Rifleman B, hoping for a kill. He needs to roll Base Defense 4 + Cover Bonus 1 + Range Bonus 1 = 6. He dials up a "4", which is a miss! Scout B also fires at the same target, attempting Suppression this time. He gets a "7", which successfully flips the matching Combat Counter to the "Suppressed" side. 

Round 5

Initiative: The Americans reveal a Fog of War while the Germans flip over a B-Scout to take the first turn of the round!

The Germans lead with a Bolster Action from their A-Company Squad Leader. This lets them take two A-Riflemen from their Supply and add them to their discard pile. Scout A fires at Scout B, who's hunkered down on 13B. They need a 7 to hit (Base Defense 5 + Cover Bonus 1 + Range Bonus 1 = 7) and get a 2. They fire again and get another 2! Both misses!

American Scout A sneaks onto 6A, placing a binocular-side Scout marker down on the tile while adding a pesky Fog of War Card to their discard pile. They then use a Recon action to turf the Fog of War card that's currently in their hand. 

Round 6

Initiative: Both factions play a Fog of War so the Germans retain the lead! 

Squad Leader B takes the Bolster Action and adds a B-Company Scout and a Rifleman to his discard pile. Rifleman A then fires at Scout B positioned on tile 13B rolls a “10”...a hit! The U.S. player doesn’t have a Scout B card in hand or the discard pile, so he’s forced to remove it from his deck!

The American Platoon Sergeant uses a Command Action to draw 2 more cards, picking up Rifleman A and B cards. He then uses a Rifleman A card to Move onto 6A then plays a Squad Leader A to Inspire, replaying the Rifleman to Control that tile! The Americans now have 4 Objective Points! He then plays a Rifleman B card to rally from Suppression and follows this up with a Rifleman A card, which lets him Move from 6A to 16B.

Round 7

Initiative: Again, 2 Fog of War cards are revealed, leaving the Germans with the first moves of the round! 

The Germans play their own Platoon Sergeant for his Command Ability, drawing a B-Company Rifleman and Scout. They play the Scout to enter 13B, also placing a Control Marker (on the stage one / binoculars side up!) and then adding a Fog of War card to their discard pile. Rifleman A then takes a pot-shot at enemy Rifleman B and, with a Base Defense of 4 plus a combined Cover and Range Bonus of 2, the number to hit is "6." He gets a “4”...a miss! The first Rifleman B tabled then Moves his Combat Counter onto 13B and a second matching card lets him fire at his rival. He needs a 5 to hit (+1 Cover , 0 Range and +4 Base Defense) and gets a “3”...another miss!

U.S. Scout A does a Recon Action, eliminating one of the Fog of War cards in his hand from the game.    

Round 8

Initiative: Again, 2 Fog of War cards are played, leaving the Germans with the jump on their rivals!

German Scout B attacks American Scout B. He needs a “6” or more and get a “5”...a miss! German Rifleman B shoots at American Scout B and gets a “1”...another miss! Dafuq? Squad Leader B then does an Inspire Action, letting Rifleman B fire again. This time he finally hits with a “10”! Since there isn’t a Scout B card in the American player’s hand or discard pile, he's forced to remove it from his deck!

For the U.S. forces, Squad Leader B adds both a B-Company Rifleman Scout to his discard pile with a Bolster Action. He then uses Rifleman A to fire at German Rifleman B on 13B. He needs a 6 or more  to hit (Base Defense 4 + Cover Bonus 1 + Range Bonus 1) but scores a “4”... a miss!

Round 9

Initiative: With a face-off between a U.S. Fog of War versus a 7-point German Squad Leader, the Axis retain the Initiative!

German Rifleman B fires at US Scout B. He needs a 6+ to hit (Base Defense 5 + Cover Bonus +1 Range Bonus 0) and rolls an "8"...success! A Scout B card is removed from the American’s draw deck! Sensing a coup de grace, Scout B fires at the same target and gets a “10.” With no other Scout B card to excise from his deck, the American player is forced to remove the Scout B Combat Counter from the board! Finally, the Scout A Rifleman spends his card to Move onto 13B. 

After performing a Scout Action to re-enforce 13B, American Scout A then uses a matching card to Attack German Rifleman A. He needs a "5+" to hit (Base Defense 4 + Cover Bonus +1 Range 0) and gets a "3"...a miss! Rifleman A fires from 16B at the same target, adding +1 for Range. He needs a "6+" but gets a "5"...another miss! 

Round 10

Initiative: The Germans reveal a Fog of War and the Americans flip a 7-point Squad Leader, so the Yanks take the lead!

The U.S. player leads off with his Platoon Sergeant, drawing another B-Company Rifleman and a Fog of War. Rifleman B targets the German Rifleman A and fires, looking to meet or exceed a Base Defense of 4 + Cover Bonus 1 + Range 0 = 5. They score a "5"...a hit!!! The German player is forced to throw the matching card in hand out of the game! The American player then drops another B-Company Rifleman and targets the same foe, rolling a “6”...another hit! This time the matching card is located in the German discard pile and thrown out of the game! Rifleman A on 16B piles on, shooting at the same target, but he needs a “6” to hit due to his Range of 1. Nevertheless, he gets an “8” for another hit! Yet another matching card is thrown out of the game, this time from the German draw deck! 

With that, the Germans are suddenly thrown back on their heels! Only a B-Company Rifleman can return fire, aiming for his American twin. He gets a “7”...a hit, and a matching card is retrieved from the U.S. discard pile and thrown out of the game!

Round 11

Initiative: Both the Americans and the Germans reveal Fog of War cards...so the Americans will kick things off again.

First up, Squad Leader B uses a Bolster Action to add two B-Company Rifleman to his discard pile! Rifleman A then fires at German Rifleman A on 13B and rolls an “8”...a hit! The German player is forced to discard that matching card from his and out of the game! 

The German Platoon Sergeant uses a Command action to pull 2 new cards, getting two Scout from A-Company. He then plays an A-Scout card to move onto 13B then plays another card to Attack the American B-Rifleman. He rolls a “2”...a miss! Scout “B” fires at the same target, needing a “5” and rolling a “5.” The U.S. player turfs a matching card out of the game from his discard pile.      

Round 12

Initiative: Yet again, the Americans and the Germans both reveal Fog of War cards...so the Americans continue their momentum!

The U.S. plays their Platoon Sergeant to draw two new cards, getting both Squad Leader A and B. The Rifleman-A card Moves his Combat Counter onto 13B and Squad Leader A’s Inspire Action lets him pick-up and replay that same card to Attack German Rifleman A. He gets a “7”...a hit! The German player has no Rifleman A cards left...so the matching Combat Counter is removed from the board! Squad Leader B then Inspires the matching Rifleman to fire on the German B Rifleman...hitting again with a “9.” The German player is forced to select the Rifleman B card in his hand and throw it out of the game! That's another neutered turn!

German Scouts A and B both target U.S. Rifleman B, rolling a “9” and an “8”...both solid hits! Taken aback, the American player is forced to remove 2 of these matching cards from the game!

Round 13

Initiative: With both factions revealing Fog of War cards the Americans go first again.

Given their mediocre draw, the American player uses his Scout to do a Recon Action and discard one of the two (!) Fog of War cards in his hand out of the game!  

Meanwhile, German Rifleman B targets the U.S. Rifleman B and hits with an “8.” Since there are no more Rifleman B cards in his deck, that Combat Counter is removed from the board! Scout A then Attacks U.S. Rifleman A, scoring a hit with a “10”, requiring a matching card to be eliminated. Squad Leader A Inspires him to fire again, but this time he misses with a “2.” 

Round 14

Initiative: With a 1-point American Fog of War facing off against a 6-point Scout, the Germans take the lead! 

German Rifleman B fires at American Rifleman A, scoring a hit with an “8.” This forces the U.S. player to select a matching card from their hand and eliminate it from the game! Squad Leader B lets him replay that same card for another Attack, rolling a “5”,which is just enough to hit. Boom...another matching card is turfed! Scout B piles on, rolling a “6” for a third coordinated strike! Unfortunately, the American player has no more matching cards in their deck, prompting the removal of the Rifleman A Command Counter from the board. 

With the loss of his last Rifleman, the American player can no longer Control tiles and is considered to be "Pinned." 

The Germans win!

***

REVIEW

PROS

• It's pretty! The game's components are all top-notch, particularly the terrain tiles and the cards. The artwork by Roland MacDonald is both striking, evocative and very effective.
• It's fast! Skirmishes can be played out as quickly as 45 minutes. I love how Attacks boil down to the target's Defense, the Cover provided by the tile itself and the Range. Easy-peasy.  
• It's tense! As attrition thins your deck out and time begins to run out, things can get pretty desperate. The maps are quite small so every move and die roll feels super- impactful.
• It's varied! The introductory play-through introduces the basics: I.E. Move, Attack, Scout, Bolster, Inspire, Command, Conceal and Recon Actions. Additional cards like the Platoon Guide, Machine Gunners, Snipers and Mortar crews really open the game up by layering on Guide, Stalk and Target Actions. There's also a lot of variety in the twelve different scenarios included in the game. NOTE: North Africa has even more options and the recent Reinforcements release really shakes things up.  
• It's strategic! Do you want to race for the Objectives by Suppressing the enemy and Concealing your movements? Or do you want to muscle your way to victory by Bolstering your forces and Controlling every tile as you go?  
• It's clever! Even though I can't even remember what I had for lunch, I do like the light card-counting aspects of the game. If you deal damage to your opponent and they neglect to address those losses, you start to sense opportunities to disrupt or even destroy units. 
• It's thematic! The deck-building aspects of the game really make you feel like you're rallying your troops. Conversely, it's super-tense to go for a win with a unit that's stretched to the breaking point. I also like how the Fog of War cards make turns less efficient as you spread your forces out or your opponent starts being super-sneaky. You might be tempted to ignore this, but eventually it will bite you in the ass. It's a great example of how a modern game mechanic does a pretty decent job simulating what older games would spend a big chunk of rules trying to do.

CONS

• Undaunted is definitely more abstract than a lot of other wargames I've played. Yes, the central conceit of the deck-building mechanic does a pretty decent job replicating  battlefield chaos, but it feels very impressionistic compared to Combat Commander's Fate Deck and moving your individual counters around on a hex map.
• As slick as the deck-building mechanic is in simulating the growing effectiveness of a unit, it's also a tad clunky when you experience losses since you have to take a pause the game and root around for the matching card. New players also need to be super careful not to put casualties in your discard pile versus eliminating them from the game.
• Since literally only Riflemen can secure an area, you can still lose the game with a ton of material left on the board. 
• Sometimes the win feels like a bit of a random dice-fest. 

FINAL SCORE

For its thematic nods, artfully-designed components, entry-point ease and tense, quick game-play, Undaunted: Normandy rates five pips out of six with a mild tilt up.

          

The Story So Far - Part 13 - "Crisis & Callbacks"

"The Story So Far" is an ongoing series recapping the details of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that I've been running since 2002. Links to the previous entries can be found here:  

Prologue                    Part I                    Part II                    Part III              Part IV  

Part V                        Part VI                  Part VII                 Part VIII            Part IX 

Part X                        Part XI                  Part X11

I've "fictionalized" the session reports in a likely-vain attempt to make them more "entertaining."   

And now, our story continues...

Earthday, Earthlife 1st, 1492-supplemental

Later, over drinks at the Rambling Rogue tavern, the Fellowship decried the arrest of local farmer, Stefan.

“Itsh iddy-ottic!” Lorelei slurred.

Noticing that she’d drawn looks of annoyance and curiosity from other patrons seated nearby, the druid made a conscious effort to adopt her indoor voice before proceeding.

“Look, I can unnerstan' Stefan bein' ang'ry 'bout the town spendin' money on us instead of a wall arroun' his farm..but that’s ain't no motive to kill someone!”

“I know what I saw, dammit,” Roman muttered, his gaze lost at the bottom of a nearly-empty flagon of ale. “And what I saw was Duran with those orcs. And, as soon as he saw me, he turned tail and bolted out of there.”

“Sadly, it doesn’t matter what you saw,” Pol replied, throwing her meaty hands down on the table in a sign of frustration. “Denneth is convinced that the note is in Stefan’s handwriting.”

“Well, I don’ truss, Denenth!” Lorelei enunciated, her voice a slushy and scarcely-audible hiss.

Once again, the druid was distracted by the sight Veronique, the barmaid, flitting around Barant. When the wench "fell" into his lap and giggled, the druid immediately became incensed.

“Ugh, are you guys seein' thish? She’s suppos' to be workin'! That is not profeshnal behavior...what does he see in that twit?!?”

“Focus, Lor, ” Roman scolded, finally noticing the number of empty glasses clustered around her with vague alarm.

The druid tore her gaze from the spectacle and took a healthy quaff of cider before proceeding.

“Tha Mayor’s prolly in cahoots with Duran! If he said the note was written by the phreakin' King o' Allamain, we still coulddent say nuttin'!”

“Actually, that’s not quite true,” Bria said, from out of no-where, instantly earning herself a monopoly of eyes.

A few beats passed as the thief took an extended sip of wine, relishing the universal attention.

“Well, shpillit!” Lorelei shouted, clearly bereft of patience.

Bria swirled the dregs around in her cup before answering.

“Sure, Castebridge is corrupt, but they still have to prove that Stefan wrote that note in court.”

Lorelei immediately seized upon this.

“Yer right...if we can get our mitts on some papers dat Stefan, Duran and Denneth wrote, then we can compare 'em it to tha note we found on those friggin' orcs.”

“Nice,” Pol chimed in. “That way, at the very least, we’ll know if Denneth is lying to us.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Roman returned, swaying slightly as he got to his feet. “We’ll hash out the details tomorrow...but now we all need to get some rest. Some more than others.”

He looked down at Lorelei, who was preoccupied with shooting invisible daggers out of her bleary eyes and into Veronique's perfectly-coiffed skull.

“Yeah, I’d better get ‘miracle boy’ over there back to Legacy Tower before he burns this place down,” Pol responded.

She vaguely gestured towards Rincewind, who was standing on a chair and intensely studying a hanging lamp in the corner of the pub. Just as he started batting it around like a cat, Pol jumped up to prevent a possible fire.

“Goodnight all!” she said to her companions as she hastily ushered the “WIZZARD” out the door. 

“Hold up!” Roman said, tossing some coins down on the table. “I’m going to go back to the abbey and check on Giran.”

After they’d left, Lorelei and Bria sipped their drinks in awkward silence together until the thief suddenly performed a poorly-mimed stretch.

“Wow, I’m totally bushed, too!” she announced. “I’m going to go straight to the guild and get some much-needed shut-eye.”

Lorelei took another big gulp of cider and snorted her derision.

“Wow, you gotta be tha' realm’s worst liar,” she said.

Now sporting an ear-to-ear smile, Bria winked, added a pair of coppers to Roman’s contribution and scooted out of sight.

With no other distractions available, Lorelei settled her gaze on the far corner of the bar. She watched in disgust as Veronique finally extricated herself from Barant’s lap, lifted the warrior’s chin and kissed him deeply. She retrieved her empty serving tray, turned on her heel with a swish and immediately caught Lorelei’s furtive glance. The druid quickly looked away and cursed as the barmaid sashayed over to her.

“’Ello, my dear,” she purred as she drew near. “Can I get choo anudder cider?”

“Yeah,” Lorelei heard herself say.

“Tres bien,” Veronique replied. Before turning to leave, a thought seemed to occur to her and a sly smile suddenly lit up her features.

“I don’ believe I ever properly t’anked you, Lorelei,” she said.

“Oh, yeah?” the druid replied, suspicion dripping from her voice. “Wha' for?”

“For coming 'ere, to Castebridge. If not for dat, I would never have met Barant, ze love of my life!”

With a wink and a flourish, the barmaid spun about and headed towards the bar. Half-way there she paused, turned back towards Barant, and blew a kiss. Lorelei stared in disbelief as her former bodyguard and travelling companion mimed getting hit in the cheek by the invisible gesture.

As Lorelei ran-staggered out the front door of the Rambling Rogue in a failed bid to find a reasonably-close latrine, she told herself that it was this sickening display, and not the six ciders she’d put away, that caused her to get sick. 

***

“You seriously don’t remember anything? The dragon, the floating, the rocks...nothing?” Pol quizzed as she effortlessly opened the heavy iron front door of Legacy Tower.

“I remember the dragon,” Rincewind said, sounding slightly dazed and very tired. 

“I remember seeing the dragon getting to its feet and flying away. I wanted to do something about it, but I couldn’t remember what I wanted to do...or how to do it.”

“Weird,” Pol replied, making a beeline for the spiral staircase.

Before the pair reached the steps, they were interdicted by a somber-looking woman in her late thirties, her hair arrayed in a long, elaborately-braided ponytail. She was clad in blue and grey flowing robes which were covered in white mystical shield symbols.

“Greetings, Rincewind,” the magic user said. “The sight of your safe return is a balm for my heavy heart.”

At this, the WIZZARD leaned over to Pol and whispered loud enough for everyone within earshot to hear.

“HEY, POL...WHO IS THIS PERSON?”

Pol was quick to assuage the woman’s vaguely hurt look. 

“My apologies,” she began. “Rincewind experienced an...incident at Kiras Toth that seems to have affected his memory. In fact, I as kind of hoping that you might be able to help him...”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” the female mage replied. “I suppose some introductions are in order, then? My name is Layah Tremaine, I’m the head of the school of Abjuration here.”

“I’ve seen you around when I was here before with Rincewind,” Pol replied. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance.”

Pol and Layah exchanged hand-shakes, followed by an awkward moment where Rincewind also offered his hand. Clearly thrown by the implication, Layah hesitated a moment before taking his hand in hers. She then turned and began to lead them up the steps.

“I’m afraid I have some dire news,” she said, glancing back towards the duo.

“Well, that’s a pleasant change,” Pol muttered under her breath.

“The morning after you left town, we found Marlak dead in his chambers.”

Pol halted in place and Rincewind looked expectantly back and forth between the two of them. Seeing this, Layah put a hand on her friend’s arm.

“You really don’t remember anything, do you?”

Rincewind shook his head, his expression now distinctly fearful.

“He’s our leader here. You two were...quite close.”

“What happened?” Pol demanded.

“There was no sign of a struggle,” Leyah said, continuing their ascent. “Berowne seems to think that he was poisoned.”

“Let me guess,” the amazonian fighter replied, “Andred is missing and so is the cloak we recovered from the Hanan family crypt?”

The sorceress didn’t reply, she just turned and nodded with grim confirmation. Upon seeing this, Rincewind suddenly put a hand up to his brow.

“Um, I don’t feel so good...”  

In an effort to steady himself, the magic-user reached for the stairwell railing but missed it completely. Mercifully, Pol and Layah were there to catch his fall as everything went black.

***

“Thanks for staying with Giran, Elster...how’s he doing?”

The dwarven cleric looked up from his ministrations as Roman entered the infirmary. His morose countenance did not look promising.

“That good, huh?”

“Moira says she’s done everything in her power to help him,” the dwarf replied, exhaling his frustration. “But, to be honest, he seems to be in worse shape now than ever. I really don’t know what else to do.”

Roman put a reassuring hand on the dwarf’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” he replied. “I’ll talk to Moira. I’m sure she has some ideas.”

Roman was barely out the door when his fellow priest ran to catch up to him.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Roman,” Elster gravely intoned. “I’ve seen this sort of thing before and I think he’s close to giving up. For us dwarves, it’s in our nature to pass on rather than languish.”  

Roman nodded soberly and immediately went in search of the head abbess. Her found her in her cell, immersed in prayer.

“You might as well come in,” she said. “I can feel you skulkin’ around out there.”

Roman sheepishly crossed the threshold into Moira’s chambers. In spite of her direct invite, a cleric’s cell was a private place and entering someone else’s room always made him feel ill-at-ease.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was just talking to Elser and he says that Giran is hanging by a thread.” 

Moira blessed herself, stood up, removed the devotional stole she customarily wore in prayer and hung it up in her small wooden closet.

“He wasn’t felled with simple poison,” she said, puttering around the room, seemingly avoiding eye contact with Roman at all costs. “It was something truly evil, truly fiendish that did this to him. So, it’ll likely take something equally extraordinary to counteract it.”

Upon hearing these words, a realization struck Roman like a thunderbolt.

“Bless you, Moira!” Roman said. “I think you’ve given me an idea!”

“I’m glad I could help,” she intoned, still not bothering to look at him.

Noting her dour countenance, Roman felt the demon of worry bite into his stomach.

“Moira, are you okay? I know I haven’t been around much lately, but I didn’t know what else to do. The town asked for my help and I really couldn’t refuse...”

When the abbess finally met his gaze, Roman was taken aback. Moira could be caustic and ill-tempered at times, but he’d never seen her look so tired and world-weary.  

“It’s fine, lad. Nothing for you to be concerned with,” she said, patting him on the arm as she resumed her preparations for bed. “I’m going to try and sleep...and you should too. By all accounts, you’ve earned it.”

Roman wandered out of the room in a daze. It was wildly uncharacteristic for Moira to give him a compliment and to touch his arm. It was even stranger that she'd encouraged him to rest. Normally she’d be getting him to dust the scriptorium or scrub the parlor floor by now.

He soon settled into bed, but the mystery of Moira’s mood, and his recent epiphany, kept him tossing and turning late into the night.

***

With cat-like skill, Bria scaled the side of the town hall, opened the shutters to Denneth’s office and crept inside. Even though her eyes were particularly adept in low light, she kept the shutters open to ensure that she didn’t bump into or break anything. Besides, she needed as much reading light as possible for this particular caper.

She made her way over to the Mayor’s desk and, within a few moments, had the lock on the main drawer jimmied open. Feeling fairly confident that the building was unguarded, the young footpad took her time rifling though the reams and reams of parchment contained inside the desk. 

Eventually she found the documents she was looking for. Feeling a rush of surprise, she rolled up a select few papers, put them into a scroll case, re-secured the desk drawer, tip-toed across the floor and then slipped back out the window.

***

The Rambling Rogue was bustling with the breakfast crowd the following morning. This gave the Fellowship a sense of anonymity as they openly discussed the events of the prior evening and pored over the documents that Bria had “liberated.”

“Sorry, guys, but it really looks as if Stefan wrote these letters to council and the note we found on the orcs.”  

Lorelei groaned, blew on her spoonful of scalding-hot porridge and took a tentative bite with her teeth. The facial expression that resulted suggested that she was trying to choke down a mouthful of wallpaper paste. Gingerly she set the spoon back down on the table.   

“I agree,” Roman said as he scanned through the leafs of parchment. “The note definitely doesn’t match either Denneth or Duran’s hand-writing,” 

“It still doesn’t make any sense,” Lorelei managed to say between gulps of water. “As much as Stefan hates us, it’s the orcs who are raiding his farm! They’re the main reason why he wants the town to build a defensive wall in the first place!

“Could it be a forgery?” Pol asked, scooping a fork laden with sausage, egg and spicy potatoes into her mouth.

“I’ve seen a lot of forgeries...even made a few,” Bria beamed proudly, before the committee of collective frowns spoiled her mood. 

“And, in my opinion, it really looks legit.”

Roman silently took all of this in while relishing every sip of his steaming hot ghava. The dark drink’s stimulating effects and rich aroma were finally beginning to wake him up.

“Maybe we can take a closer look at the note later,” he said. “But right now we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Marlak is dead, Rincewind is in a coma and Giran is at death’s door.”

“So, what do we tackle first?” Pol inquired, sopping up her egg yolk with a piece of hearthstone bread.

“Giran,” Roman declared conclusively. “If we don’t help him soon we’re going to lose him.”

“But how?” Bria asked plaintively. “Didn’t Moira say that he’s under some sort of curse?”  

“Basically,” the cleric conceded. “When she described the effect as ‘fiendish’ and said that we need to find an 'otherworldly' source for the cure, only one thing sprang to mind.”

“The unicorn!” Lorelei gasped, incrementally raising her head up from her makeshift pillow of folded arms. “The one we rescued during our very first adventure together!”

“Precisely,” Roman said, draining his mug. “If Moira thinks that Giran’s under the thrall of some truly evil magic, then the celestial powers of the unicorn might be just what he needs.”

“Might save my life too...” Lorelei muttered, putting her head back down.

“Where can we find this unicorn?” Pol inquired.

 “I can help with that!” a voice declared, cutting through the din of the busy room. 

This nearly caused the Fellowship to leap out of their collective skins. As they turned to face the source, Bria scrambled to gather up the stolen documents that were scattered all over the table. As if under a "Haste" spell, she rolled them all up and tucked them back into the scroll case just as the figure spoke again.

“My apologies,” he said. “I promise that I wasn't eavesdropping. I guess my ears are just a little bit more sensitive than others.”

“No apologies necessary,” Roman said, standing up to properly introduce himself and his peers.   

The bearded, brown-haired stranger made his way around the table, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. During this, the group took note of his leather armor, short sword and double daggers, as well as the impressive-looking composite long bow that was slung over his shoulders.

“My name is Kirbin Thorn,” he said. “I work as a ranger in a lumber camp to the east of town. We actually see the unicorn quite frequently.”

“Unlikely,” Lorelei scoffed, drawing a dirty look from Roman. “They’re highly shy creatures who wisely avoid humans like the plague.”

“That may be true,” Kerbin replied, his brown eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. “But things have been very strange in the camp lately. There’s been an unusual number of accidents, and the woman who runs the van, er, the store, has seemingly befriended the creature. She gets the unicorn to come out of the woods and heal the workers who’ve been injured in these accidents. Needless to say, she charges a tidy little sum in the process.”

"Wow, that's a pretty slick little operation," Bria whistled. 

“You know what?” Lorelei intoned. “That story is so weird I actually believe it.”

“Could you bring us to the camp?” Pol asked, towering above Kirbin.

“Absolutely!” he enthused. “When do you want to leave?”

“Immediately!” Roman shot back.

He hastily snatched up his things, signaled a server over and practically threw some coins at him.

“We don’t have a moment to lose!”

Next time: the adventurers visit a unique logging camp where it’s been 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...day since their last accident!  

***

Image Credits

The Rambling Rogue: https://www.quora.com/How-were-medieval-taverns-and-inns-owned-and-operated

Legacy Tower: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NS-00091_-_Dingle_Tower_(26678732241).jpg

The Abbey of Pelor: https://pixabay.com/photos/church-stone-architecture-medieval-4764781/