Goblin Attack! The Sons of Mithra feel the Wyvern's Sting
An after Action Report on Braunstein Play, featuring Player vs Player
Introduction
Today we have a battle report, in several stages. This report covers an attack by a Downtime Player (“Patron”) on the Tuesday Session’s newly-acquired hideout in Ghost Town on 11 July 1023. The initial session report was published previously, but this one will go further into the planning and execution between myself and the Downtime Player, the Goblin King. It also features an appearance by one of the Thursday Session Players, who made an amazing decision to get involved with the Goblins in a wholly unexpected way!
The seeds of this escapade were planted back in May (!), when goblin scouts spotted some horsemen riding through the strip of land between the Stabala Forest and the Cold Marsh. This was the second group of armed men to traverse this path in a couple of weeks, both moving in the same direction, and the first had not returned. In addition, there was a strange portent in the skies above the mountains to the east. (the timestamps are going to look odd at first, as the Goblin King joined the game in early June and I shared some info that his Faction would have had).
DM NOTE on Timestamps: I generally remove the timestamps from the discord threads for ease of reading and reducing clutter. I have left them in for this report (and may continue to do so in the future) to give an indication of the “in real life” time frame of these Downtime Player activities.
The Goblin King presented his activities for his monthly turn:
The Snarling Prowlers will go west with two of my personal Hobgoblin guards with a few purposes:
Scout of the lands of Troll Killer. I’d love to get a feel for the number of people in his barony and the disposition of his troops.
Make contact with The Goblins of the Wyvern's Sting. I’d like to create some form of alliance between us to keep Troll Killer in check, especially with the amount of movement we’re seeing to the east.
When returning and nothing prevents them: take captives from the farms for Our Lord. If at all possible make it look like it was done by the Wyvern’s Sting.
The Dungeon Master — 06/18/2023 7:44 AM
5 May 1023 the cloudy, misty weather breaks in the early evening. A wind from the west seems to drive the dark clouds to the eastern horizon. Starting around sunset there are tiny flashes of purple light on the horizon, off above the mountains to the ESE. (edited)
15 May 1023 You are able to see flashing purple lightning in the mountains to the ESE. It reminds you of the purple lights from 5 May. But this time the lightning continues all night and every night thereafter.
14 June 1023 Your scouts report another group of men, about 30 this time, traveling up the same path as the horsemen a few weeks ago. They made camp (in hex 0701) and kept a powerful presence and alert all night.
Just before dawn on the 15th, your shaman witnessed three meteors streak across the sky in the east. (edited).
26 June 1023 Your scouts report that the same group of 30 or so horsemen that were seen going north 12 days ago were observed traveling back south again. A closer inspection revealed a very disciplined military group, all mounted archers, with multiple outriders and strong pickets.
b. the Goblins of the Wyvern's Sting are amenable to an alliance. They request any help or information you have about the human ruin near the Serpentine, south of Trollkiller. They have sent some bands to explore and they have not returned!
c. There is one village with a basic tower and palisade to the northeast that you know of. Your most recent foray netted some bedraggled folk on the edge of the swamp. It turns out their village had been taken over by other men. These men were all on horses and took everyone into slavery!
The Goblin King
Eeexcellent...
2b: I could send over some people, figure out what the deal with that place is. However, you know how those humans are. They think they're all tricksy. Perhaps we should send a combined force. We could overrun the place by force, see what happened and divide whatever we find between us.
The Dungeon Master — 06/27/2023 4:25 PM
Re 2b: Ally with Wyverns and investigate Ghost Town. What is your idea for this? It takes 2 nights to travel to the Wyvern's village.
The Goblin King— 06/27/2023 4:42 PM
My initial thought was a combined force, about 40-50ish goblins from both sides waltz in, deal with obvious threats and scope out the place, trying to retrace the steps of the lost goblins. If they however want to keep it low-key (I don't know their numbers) I'd suggest a relatively elite force of about 10-15 to go in, get the intel, get whatever loot we can and go out. But those numbers would give us an advantage if we need to dig out some place or bring back heavy valuables
The Dungeon Master — 06/27/2023 4:55 PM
The Wyvern chief told your emissary he's already lost 2 gangs of 15, who went separately
The Goblin King— 06/29/2023 2:08 PM
Did my emissary have any sense of their numbers by the by?
Especially with those stories I'd say let's go there with 90 greenlings and maybe even the troll. Whatever manling traps they left there would be easier to deal with with a horde. Instead of walking in their corridors and getting stuck at doors we could tear the place down room by room.
The Dungeon Master — 06/29/2023 2:13 PM
The Wyverns seem to have been a bigger tribe, however they have lost some recently. About 30 to the Ghost Town and a 50-strong raiding party.
The Dungeon Master — 06/29/2023 2:18 PM
Let's plot out a timeline for the Emissary to the Wyverns. The earliest they could have left is the 19th. Two nights' travel. One night to parley. Two nights back. You are fully briefed by the 25th.
How do you proceed?
The Goblin King— 06/29/2023 2:34 PM
Together with the priest the goblin king has read the portents in a hare's liver. These say that unless we go out with a proper raiding party any expedition to the ghost town would be ruinous.
I'll let the emissary rest for a bit, but as soon as he's up for it we'll send him back to attempt to coerce them to join that raiding party to the ghost town. I'm considering sending the Blackbloods and about half the gangs in the Snarling Prowlers and Gashmo, as well as some of my personal guard, when they get back. (edited)
The Dungeon Master — 06/29/2023 2:51 PM
OK, so you send the emissary back, he will parley with the offer of sending about 50 Shadowed Suns. Would you then meet at the Wyverns village, then descend on Ghost Town?
about 7 days from now (edited)
The Goblin King— 06/29/2023 2:52 PM
Yeah that sounds like a reasonable timeline.
[2:52 PM]
If at all possible the priest will bless them with the blood of one of our prisoners before we sacrifice him to our God.
[2:53 PM]
One of the young men
The Dungeon Master — 06/29/2023 2:57 PM
OK, if all goes well your Emissary should return on 1 July. How convenient.
The Dungeon Master — 07/06/2023 12:16 PM
6 July 1023
Emissary to the Wyvern's Sting Timeline
19-21 Emissary travels
22-23 Parley
24-26 Travel back
26 Brief the Chief
27-28 Emissary rest and resupply
29-30 Travel back to Wyverns
30 - 1 July Parley
Return hampered due to rain
6 July Report to Goblin Chieftain
Your emissary to the Wyverns has returned, later than expected, with an unexpected escort. He is a passenger on the back of a giant dragonfly, a flock of which has just landed nearby. The 6 giant insects are carrying 8 goblins of the “Wyvern's Sting" in addition to your emissary.
They apologize for the delay, due to the rain (it's been raining 30 June - 5 July) and wish to inform you that your offer of making an allied foray against the Ghost Town has been accepted. 50 brave goblins, along with the Chief's son and two Hobgoblins will meet your forces at the edge of the Serpentine, about two miles north of the Ghost Town, four nights hence (the night of 10 July). (edited)
The Goblin King— 07/06/2023 2:16 PM
So I'll be sending that way the Blackbloods and gangs 5 through to 9 of the Snarling prowlers, as well as three hobs from my personal retinue. As well as Gashmo. The latter I'll promise if he comes back and has been proven reliable, he'll be able to pick two of our prisoners for food.
Their primary goals are:
1: determine whether or not the place is immediately dangerous or if those 2x15 died due to terminal stupidity in the ruins. If it is immediately dangerous we should have the manpower to deal with it.
2: Excursions into the ruins to see if any riches can be found. Gashmo can be of great use here because he can be sent ahead to deal with traps and regenerate most of it. (if you want to do these pbp: awesome, but if scheduling or time constraints I'm happy to let you handle that in whatever way you see fit)
3: If we do find riches: set the goblins to work. We have enough that we can do crude digging crews and work around the bulk of the man-traps left about.
4: keep as low of a profile as possible given that we're there with 100 heads, but no raiding nearby villages for food or sport, except on the way back.
7 July 1023 It has been raining for several days. On the night of the seventh it looks fairly clear, so you send off the dragonfly scouts to recon the Ghost Town.
When they return, they tell you that it appears some humans have been there, building a new stone structure from the ruins of an old one, and building a wall of logs around the middle part of the town.
On the morning of the 8th it is raining again.
The Goblin King— 07/11/2023 1:14 PM
We will burn their human structures. We will take them prisoner. We'll feed them to the Bloated God so he can grow tall enough to swallow the Sun.
July 12, 2023
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 12:13 AM
Your forces are scheduled to meet with the Wyverns on the 10th. They will obviously need to coordinate and so on. Do you move on Ghost Town right away, after sunset on the 11th? or do you have a different schedule?
The Goblin King— 07/12/2023 2:07 AM
Nah that schedule sounds good
@The Dungeon Master
I will send you a map of the village a little bit later this morning. Can you give me a basic plan of how you will approach?
The Goblin King— 07/12/2023 6:29 AM
I can
[6:31 AM]
Basic idea is to set up camp an hour or so out from the village, out of vision and hearing range. Wait until nightfall and have some skirmishers scout the place. See if there's anyone there, what kind of defenses they have and if there are obvious weaknesses. We'll want to do our business at night anyway, away from the burning sun and its biting gaze.
The Goblin King— 07/12/2023 4:00 PM
FYI if I think we can take them numbers-wise I was going to suggest putting about 2/3s at the gate with the troll and have the troll break down the gate, make a ruckus and draw them there, and have the last third climb over the walls and provide enfilade fire and a back attack
The Goblin King
How high is the palisade as of now
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 4:04 PM
It's 10 feet
The Goblin King
And also: do they have a notion of how many people are suspected to be in there
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 4:04 PM
They counted about 20 horses
The Goblin King— 07/12/2023 4:06 PM
Are they living in the ruins, have they set up tents or something?
Have they seen walkways along the palisades on the inside for them to watch out over.
Also basic question: is the palisade complete? Probably should've started with that. XD
The Goblin King— 07/12/2023 4:13 PM
Also also: is that a culvert I see leading into the compound?
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 5:03 PM
Yes, palisade has a walkway/parapet
Gates are shown
Horses picketed inside
Iron grate over culvert
no tents (edited)
The Goblin King— 07/13/2023 3:12 AM
Right, me as the patron thinks it's probably a bad idea, but we're going to do this anyway. XD
[3:17 AM]
1: we're going to go into the forest and construct a few ladders to climb the palisades, as well as a few large wicker shields and a ram.
2: as I mentioned: two forces. The first is composed mostly of the heavier armor and the troll and should be about 2/3rds of our forces. The second third of lights and the majority of our ranged weaponry.
3: In the night we'll sneak up. Taskforce Troll will go to the main gate, and use said troll's might and the ram to break down the gate. Wicker shields will provide some cover here from missiles from the walls.
4: While this is happening the other task force will sneak around to the green point and when the camp has been roused and is defending the gate will use the ladders to ascend. First order of business will be to spook the horses so they can't perform a charge. A few missiles should do the trick there. Afterwards they'll go along the wall to the north, take out defenders on it and then provide enfilade fire as the others fight off the defenders of the broken door.
Picture of ghost Town above ground ruins
The Goblin King— 07/13/2023 3:19 AM
We don't know how many there are, but we're under cover of night. Their paltry human eyes cannot see in the dark as we can. We have the advantage there. We will make them pay for the slaying of goblins. We will show them they're in the twilight of their age and the Dark Age of the Goblin is about to begin.
[3:21 AM]
Furthermore, in the very unlikely event that they outmatch us and we're routed it's still night. They'll have difficulty following . If so we'll retreat into the woods north of here, regroup and attempt to defeat whatever group follows in detail.
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 5:01 PM
@The Goblin KingAs your forces get underway toward the Ghost Town, they run across a small campsite. There are two dozen Goblins (apparently Wyverns) traveling with a dozen humans, one of them is a Dark Man (the newcomers from the north, dark hair, olive skin) and the rest are First Men (the Men who settled here long ago, your stories tell of a bridge of fire that brought these men to this land long ago, they have fair skin and light-colored hair).
The Goblins jump up and greet you excitedly, telling you these Men have freed them from slavery in the stinking city and promised to bring them home safely.
FYI the Wyvern tribe all have a VERY crude Wyvern tattoo on their chests. So do these in the camp, if it comes down to looking for it. (edited)
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 6:45 PM
I set up a private channel for you to chat with the player directly.
I didn't make a Reaction Roll, so play as you see fit.
If you'd prefer not to chat directly, that's fine too.
DM NOTE: As an interesting wrinkle, one of the Thursday players had decided to purchase any available Goblin slaves in the markets of Sojenka, then set them free. He knew his characters (using PCs Charlos and Braun) had to accompany the Goblins out of the Realm, in order to make sure they weren’t simply captured again.
This is the discord log of that “side quest” which began on 7 July 1023. None of the Session Players had any foreknowledge of the forthcoming events!
Charlos/Braun (Player)
All right, I believe we returned to Sojenka on the 8th
So on that day, I have a few things I'd like to do
-------------------------
As mentioned previously, I want to procure the (Magic User’s) license for Charlos. I know it's 100 GP, but please let me know if I need to do anything else for that as well.
I want Braun to inquire in the Yellow Bottle about urchin activity in our absence, Charlos' town henchmen should still have been present. After this, I will send one of my level 0s, we'll say Hagar, off to Kastau to station himself at some place nearby to where the "office" of these Mithrans is, to keep an eye on who comes and goes. If he can find work nearby so he actually looks like he belongs, all the better
I want Charlos to ask around town if there are rumors of any goblin camps in the vicinity of Sojenka, but ideally around Samichi. Also, I'd like to know the prices on goblin slaves in Sojenka, because I'll buy either as many as I can afford, or as many as are available
Bulwark will travel to Xathok with Torrent to find out if Emmerich has found out anything regarding that Amphora we pulled out of the underwater temple, and let him know that we're planning another delve (edited)
The Dungeon Master
Excellent post this is exactly how 1:1 pace-setting is supposed to work.
(And yes I have coined a new term to describe this methodology)
The Dungeon Master
The license can be purchased at the Hall of the Imperial Service. A magician will sit with you for a brief interview (Academy, amount of training, just basics), and when he is satisfied with your responses will give you a golden sunburst made of some kind of cloth-of-gold, supple as silk but holds its shape like stiffened oil-cloth or thin metal. You are instructed to add this to your new hat.
The Dungeon Master —
“I want Braun to inquire in the yellow bottle about urchin activity in our absence, “
The urchins have moved on to other sections of the city. Your men who stayed behind believe that someone has been in the "apartment" once or twice over the past few days while they were out working for the innkeeper. Nothing has been taken, as far as they can tell, but they think some things were moved around.
Also, that guy Carran came around with flowers for all of the girls and they seem to be sweet on him again now.
The Dungeon Master — 07/07/2023 11:00 PM
“send one of my level 0s, we'll say Hagar, off to Kastau to station himself at some place nearby to where the "office" of these Mithrans is, to keep an eye on who comes and goes. If he can find work nearby so he actually looks like he belongs, all the better”
Asking around in Kastav, he learns the Sons of Mithra have a camp about a mile or so outside town
The Dungeon Master
“I want Charlos to ask around town if there are rumors of any goblin camps in the vicinity of Sojenka, but ideally around Samichi. Also, I'd like to know the prices on goblin slaves in Sojenka, because I'll buy either as many as I can afford, or as many as are available”
Use the Swaggering rules. Roll once for every day. You may add a +1 bonus to CHA for every 10 GP you spend, up to a max of 19 CHA
There is a bit of a glut on Goblins slaves right now, as quite a few were brought in by the Golden Lions two months ago. You can buy one for 45 GP, or in lots of 5 for 40 GP each. (there are 28 [11,17] available, from two different trainers)
Charlos/Braun (Player)
Do I get my quality of life bonus on that as well?
The Dungeon Master
yes (edited)
Charlos/Braun (Player)
All right, I'll spend 20 gp the first day for 17, and then the additional +2 is 19
And that'll be a 3
The Dungeon Master
You learn that the Serpentine is riddled with caves and they were home to many tribes of goblins. The Golden Lions have been keeping them clear of the pestilent creatures ever since the Goblin War five years ago.
There were cities full of Goblins in the Cold Swamp, up north at the source of the Gablun River, beyond the Gateway Fortress. The Red Prince's army survived an ambush and turned the tables on the Goblins, driving them from Stabala and back into the swamp.
"They say" ever since then, the Red Prince is very friendly with both the Halfling savages and the Elves! (edited)
The Dungeon Master
Oh, my. Are you two (Charlos & Braun) doing this on your own?
The Goblin King does speak Common
I will have to look at some notes and such about this. I will get back to you on it ASAP.
“On the dawn of the next day”
This will be the 10th (edited)
Thursday Player
Them along with Borislav and his eight remaining men
The Dungeon Master
And just to confirm, you are leaving Sojenka on the 10th, to bring them home. Wherever that might be (it's on the map)
Thursday Player
Correct. I'm not making the purchase until immediately before we set out. I don't really have any way to house these creatures
The Dungeon Master
For right now the Goblins tell you they are of the tribe of the Wyvern's Sting, they have a city in the Serpentine, but they were captured while exploring an abandoned human town near the Serpentine, south of their city. They brag how their city is bigger than this stinking human garbage pit.
July 8, 1023
Thursday Player
Would I even begin to believe in the existence of a greenskin city bigger than Sojenka?
The Dungeon Master
Goblins are well known exaggerators
[12:09 AM]
I'm going to sign off now I need to get to bed
Thursday Player — 07/08/2023 12:10 AM
No worries, I'm still ahead of time by a couple days anyhow
[12:10 AM]
Good night
DM NOTE: I do make an attempt to let the Players know what their characters learn/know on the actual day that it happens. In this case things were pretty hectic and a lot of pieces were moving on the campaign map at the same time. In this case, Charlos and Braun had to wait until the last minute to get their info for the 10th, because the Goblin King was still moving his own forces up until that day.
The Dungeon Master — 07/10/2023 4:30 PM
On the morning of the 10th Charlos and Braun set out to take the Goblins home. You march north through Opatiza and up the secondary road to Samichi. The Goblins tell you when they were captured the Humans brought them across the river here. Their home lies across the water and north along the Serpentine.
You take them across on the ferry and follow the creek west toward the great ridge.
As the sun drops below the ridge, casting its long shadow across the plain, you are about two miles from the base of it. You decide to push on a bit before making camp. The ground rises steadily, though not steeply, as you get closer to the Serpentine itself. You decide to make camp about a half-mile from the base, now deep in shadow. You make camp and set guards. Around midnight one of the guards awakens Charlos, wanting to show him something. It had rained on the 8th & 9th, but started to clear on the 10th. The night was clear and bright, with Luna at last quarter and Cthuvar waxing gibbous. The guard points off to the northwest, showing Charlos a pale blue light. like a star, on the horizon. It can't be a star, as it is below the peaks of the Kotar (Mountains). Just above the blue light, and a bit south, Charlos can see flashing purple lights high on a mountain peak.
Thursday Player — 07/10/2023 8:14 PM
Is this blue light brand new, as in we've never seen it before?
Also, is the purple light ever present, or has it been coming and going at intervals since first notice
The Dungeon Master — 07/10/2023 8:21 PM
The blue light is a peculiar strange shade of blue that you recognize as the blue light that was in the fog when you first visited the Crystal Necropolis.
[8:21 PM]
The purple lightning has been going on for some time now you can't always see it because of clouds or rain or what have you
July 11, 2023
The Dungeon Master — 07/11/2023 8:26 PM
On the afternoon of the 11th you pass to the west of Ghost Town, about a mile or so from the ruin. Keeping near to the Serpentine, as the Goblins are terrified of going near there. They tell you that is where they were captured.
You believe you see a mounted patrol, a mile or more away, down in the vale. They do not seem to see you.
Thursday Player — 07/11/2023 8:33 PM
I say not to worry, and that I don't want much to do with that myself.
We maintain as wide of a berth as is realistically possible, and wait out any patrols that may be getting too close to where we intend to move.
You may not get further responses tonight, as I'm running a session in less than a half hour here
DM NOTE: Since I now knew where Charlos and Braun would be at the time of the attack, I could let them sit tight for a bit while I managed some other things, specifically the movements of the Goblin King’s forces.
On the night of 11 July, when Charlos and Braun and their new Goblin friends were camped at the base of the Serpentine, they were discovered by the Goblin King’s forces as they moved south to attack. I set up a private discord channel for Charlos and the Goblin King to negotiate.
I have left the timestamps on to indicate that the “pace” of the game was being massaged a little to accommodate player time zones and weaving together the multiple threads. While it looks like chaos, these threads let me keep a close eye on what was happening, and when. Technically speaking, I also had about six IRL days to sort this all out before the next Tuesday session!
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 6:43 PM
Hello gentlemen, for this encounter I thought it best that you had your own comms channel to sort this out.
@The Goblin King is playing the Goblins
@Thursday Player is playing Charlos and Braun, two PCs escorting some Goblins along the base of the Serpentine.
I will be listening in, but y'all can play this out as you like.
Thursday Player — 07/13/2023 6:50 PM
Hey, what's up, buddy?
How many of the ambushers are there? For reference, my entourage is 11 men, all but one of them kitted out in weapons and armor, who is evidently some sort of wizard, escorting 17 goblins with slave brands and wyvern tattoos
[6:57 PM]
Stephen warned me it's late for you, so I'm more than happy to deal with this tomorrow
July 14, 2023
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 12:21 AM
It's now too early, but I woke up with a bad feeling and can't return to sleep, so yeah. XD
[12:23 AM]
I don't know where we roughly met, but unless @The Dungeon Master says otherwise I'd wager you'd run into the whole band
The Dungeon Master — 07/14/2023 12:24 AM
It's the whole group, the humans are right near the Serpentine
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 12:30 AM
In that case you run into roughly a 100 goblins. About half of them have those same wyvern tattoos, while the others wear two distinct markings, the first half of a snarling wolf's head, the other half have tattooed black blood that comes from tattooed wounds.
[12:33 AM]
A large goblin whose face could only be loved by its mother, who introduces himself as Frimkrill does most of the talking in broken Common.
"Humans, these goblins say you unslaved them from the Stinking City and promised to bring them to their tribes. Is this true?"
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 10:52 AM
Woke with what kind of bad feeling, haha?
(That's no small number!)
The Wizard, at the very least putting on a good show of being well composed, gestures to the group of goblins and says, "They speak true. I am Charlos of house Soranus. This name should mean nothing to you now, but one day I will be known among your people as a great liberator. These folk represent well over a half of those that were held within the Stinking City, but it is only the beginning"
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 11:03 AM
"Yes, good good, Charlos of House Soranus. Great liberator... The Bloated One will be pleased to see more of his children to do his bidding. More you say? Many more? Can you bring them?"
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 11:10 AM
@The Dungeon Master , or maybe you can answer yourself, is there anything that would be common knowledge regarding the "bloated one"
DM NOTE: The answer is “no”, humanity has no knowledge of this “Bloated One”
The Dungeon Master — 07/14/2023 3:01 PM
No, that epithet is not known to you.
But now you have a chance to learn...
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 11:18 AM
Oh, salient detail: you'd also notice the troll walking among the goblins
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 11:35 AM
Troll, singular? Good to know.
"Many more" Charlos affirms. "I would see your numbers swell proudly, that none might keep you from your aims"
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 12:07 PM
Frimkrill eyes him suspiciously. "And what do you want in return? Own kingdom? Hm?"
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 12:11 PM
"Oh, gods forfend", Charlos waves his hands in front of him before taking a knee, to which all but the man closest to him react with thinly veiled shock and contempt - if there's an angle being played, they're not privy to it - "these lost souls I return freely, hopefully proving myself a servant. If we're to discuss an exchange, let it be in many days when I've proven myself friend and ally."
He seems to think for a moment before adding. "Perhaps it might be useful if I had some manner of token to bear upon me, that those who I would liberate would recognize me as such."
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 12:20 PM
The goblins form a quick scrum
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 12:41 PM
Eventually Frimkrill comes back and hands over a rough medallion that seems made from, maybe a shoulder blade or hipbone. Roughly hand-sized and displaying what looks like a sun that seemed to have shattered in two.
"Would this do, friend Charlos?"
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 12:58 PM
"I accept it humbly..." he responds. He regards Frimkill silently for a moment, then the small army arrayed behind him before venturing a guess, "...Warleader?"
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 1:21 PM
Frimkrill’s breast swells up in pride. And he shouts in goblin Yes, I am the warleader!
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 1:37 PM
Charlos gives a satisfied nod, intuiting the sentiment behind the cry easily enough, and rises back to his full height before gesturing the crew of goblins behind him towards the group (edited)
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 1:51 PM
"Where will you go now, friend Charlos"
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 2:10 PM
"I would return to the academy in Sojenka to continue my study of the, uh.. Shamanic arts. Besides, this was a journey of many days I took in secret from my companions, and if I tarry much longer, it may raise worries"
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 3:07 PM
(Unless Thursday Player has additional questions to be inserted into a retconversation):
"Yes yes, we must away too. The sun burns and we have business to attend to before the coming of mother night"
(Regarding the “Bloated One”)
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 3:09 PM
Oh, sure, if you will allow me to add it after the fact, then I would have asked in that post just after something along the lines of, "He is your God, I assume?"
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 3:11 PM
"Yes yes, he is our god. Train your eyes to the dark, so you may see him rule, manling."
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 3:17 PM
"I would hear more of Him in the future.", is about all I'd say to that at the moment.
In parting, Charlos would raise a hand and say, "should neither of us fall before then, we shall meet again before long"
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 3:19 PM
The goblins raise weapons in salute. "Stay in the shadows, friend Charlos the Manling" They then form a loose band as the scouts hurry ahead, with the troops following not long after.
Thursday Player — 07/14/2023 3:19 PM
Perfect, thanks for humoring me
The Goblin King— 07/14/2023 3:20 PM
First interaction with another party (that I know of). No clue what we just set in motion but I eagerly await whatever results come out of it.
The Beginning of the Battle
DM NOTE: 1. You do not need miniatures to fight a wargame battle!
2. I am going to share the discord logs as well as the report of the actual Chainmail battle that took place on the surface of the ruined town, above the dungeon hideout. As background, the group had just completed a 10 foot tall palisade around parts of the town, around the entrances to the dungeon.
*******************************
The Goblin King was given two sets of rules to use for this attack, one from Tony Bath’s “How to Set Up a Wargames Campaign” and the other using Chainmail.
Prior to the Battle, the Tuesday group had a regular session!
The Dungeon Master
At about 2215 on the 11th, the sergeant in charge of the guards that are to patrol the "Base" comes to inform you that the Second Watch has not returned from their underground rounds.
Tell me about the path you take when going down into the dungeon to look for the missing patrol.
Player
Same approach that we take to delving... forward team and fall back team, sweeping that first floor, counter clockwise from the entry into the big room, not proceeding past the steel doors since they shouldn't have been past the steel doors
Looking for tracks, signs of battle, etc.
Timewise this would have been immediately after learning of it.
The Dungeon Master
So:
Room 2 2241
5 (have you gone into 5b and sorted out that ghost yet?) 2243
5E 2244
5a 2247
6 2253
7 2258
4 2301
4E 2302
3 2303
You make a complete circuit, finding nothing out of the ordinary. You retrace your steps and find that the door to 12 has been tampered with, the bar was replaced, but not fully.
Player
No one should be 10 or 11, that steel door off of 2 should be the extent of that patrol. There are steel fall back doors but the patrols don't go that far.
We have not addressed the ghosts specifically with anything (edited)
This should be the approximate patrol route. They won't look in 5b until we do something about the ghost.
[map redacted for security purposes, sorry]
There are additional doors installed deeper in, but the patrols don't go that far since it's not a complete isolation.
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 3:32 PM
Off duty troops would be around 4 6 and 7
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 3:34 PM
You make a complete circuit, finding nothing out of the ordinary. You retrace your steps and find that the door to 12 has been tampered with, the bar was replaced, but not fully.
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 3:37 PM
Ask Sundenkrieg about sekrits before proceeding with extreme prejudice. Trusting his answer before breaching door. Attempting to track.
Suggest a group chat with Zippen to keep him in the loop. He's likely working and not able to respond as quickly but he is involved.
[3:38 PM]
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 3:41 PM
Sundenkrieg tells you there is magic and a trap beyond the steel door, but you knew that. He says it's the same as it has been.
When you open the metal door over the copper-clad entrance door, the face on the door begins shouting again!
NONE MAY PASS UNLESS THEY KNOW THE WORD
DID NEUREM SEND YOU? I SHALL TELL HIM YOU TRIED TO ENTER (edited)
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 3:42 PM
Same phrasing as before?
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 3:42 PM
yes
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 3:43 PM
Spread out quickly, if there's lightning it should only hit me, give the password, (Gamosh right?) and hide behind my shield in case it blasts me.
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 3:45 PM
It does not blast you, but neither does it open. It begins shouting in a weird language (Old Jacinth)
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 3:46 PM
Are there signs of combat around?
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 3:47 PM
No. The only things that are noticeable are the bar that was slightly askew, and now the face appears to have changed the password
NONE MAY PASS UNLESS THEY KNOW THE WORD
DID NEUREM SEND YOU? I SHALL TELL HIM YOU TRIED TO ENTER
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 3:50 PM
I'm assuming none of the patrols have discovered any further secret passages or you'd have told us.
Try to give the answer Light's End, Neurem, Villermus
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 4:02 PM
Correct if there were any secret doors left to find you would have them.
None of those words seem to calm the animated face on the copper door.
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 4:03 PM
Try the names of the two old gods that we know.
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 4:31 PM
nana-sin
nin-hursag
Sorry, no
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/12/2023 4:41 PM
Well, *****
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 4:47 PM
Sorry to change topics, but re: palisade:
is there a parapet/walkway to stand on inside?
where is the gate?
how are you handling the sluiceway
did you destroy the Sleepflower vines when you smoked them out? or re-locate them?
where are you keeping the horses?
and do you have tents, or is everybody bivouaced underground?
Palisade has a walkway
I believe two gates, one either side of the corduroy road.
Install a grate like that underground to block passage without obstructing flow.
I don't believe we've done anything other than avoid the vines. I may not have been clued in if someone else did something with them. I know instructions were given to avoid them and we specifically smoked them and guarded them while the palisade was built near those sections.
Horses picketed near the building we enter the dungeon from
No tents listed on inventory that I can find, so presumably everyone sleeps underground, but I imagine they're topside a lot when off duty. They aren't dwarves.
The Dungeon Master — 07/12/2023 8:39 PM
There is a great deal of paranoia sweeping through the city of Sojenka tonight
July 13, 2023
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 11:22 AM
Speaking of paranoia, what is Castile up to after finding out the password to 12 isn't working?
Also, just to make sure I'm reading this correctly, there are 3 men guarding the stone hut on the surface at night, everyone else is below. Where to the 22 Sappers-Crew bunk?
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/13/2023 11:42 AM
We're gonna quadruple that watch up top... 12 men. Sappers bunk below. Cav are gonna rest topside near their horses. I'll get them tents for now.
DM NOTE: While running this portion we did discover that the wages paid to the mercenaries includes their housing, which we interpreted to mean tents while in the field.
We're going to bolt the bars shut on those doors and then keep a minimum 10' distance from them at any given time. Line of sight but no one is to approach them.
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 11:51 AM
So, you make this decision about 2315, to send up more sentries and the cav.
Give them 2 turns/20 mins to get their gear together.
Using the hoists to pull men up, let's say it takes one turn/10 mins to get a man to the top, and then, once the "conveyer" is going, then one man to the top per minute thereafter.
[11:53 AM]
So, by 2344 there are 9 more sentries (same distribution? total 4 Hvy Inf, 4 Lt Inf, 4 Xbow) topside. They take 1 turn to get in place (2354). (edited)
[11:54 AM]
Are you sending all 30 Cavalrymen? They will all be up 0014. Are they going to saddle the horses? I imagine the tack and saddles are kept in the stone bunker? (edited)
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/13/2023 12:04 PM
Add one of each cav to the sentry rotation. Part of their duty is to keep two of each mount saddled and ready. Can’t leave them that way all day/night so it’ll be a rotation
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 12:04 PM
There is no cav listed for overnight patrol
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/13/2023 12:04 PM
I don’t think they’d ever have been in the hole but it wasn’t said one way or the other
@The Dungeon Master
There is no cav listed for overnight patrol
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/13/2023 12:05 PM
Correct we are adding 1 horse archer and 1 heavy cavalry
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 12:05 PM
there were no tents, though
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/13/2023 12:06 PM
Belloc has a better handle on the layout. In my mind there’s room to sleep in that building above the hole but maybe not. Filling in gaps best I can lol
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 12:06 PM
If you cram 30 men in that bunker there is going to be a morale problem
It's only 200 ft sq and about 90 ft sq is hole
Each man will need about 12 ft sq plus 4 ft sq for tack/saddle/etc
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 12:10 PM
OK, for now I'm going to say they have all moved to the surface on "Alert" status and then I need to make some rolls for "encounters"
Sop is to lead threats away from camp if the patrols spot first. Otherwise mobilize whatever we can in response
[3:16 PM]
Castile will personally alternate with Sikandar if there are multiple incursions
The Dungeon Master — 07/13/2023 3:44 PM
So you mean that you intend to begin night-time patrolling tonight? Now?
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/13/2023 3:47 PM
Ok no we do not have nightime cav patrols
Castile, Mithra's Bastard — 07/13/2023 4:00 PM
All hands on deck... camping out for the night here shouldn't be any different than camping when marching on the road. That'll be the move. We will resolve the housing issues ASAP.
DM NOTE: At this point the action shifted to the Downtime Player who is in control of the Goblin tribe. I have intentionally not created a “narrative” style play report, as I wanted to show the actual information exchange between the players. I should also mention that any future mass battles will be conducted by the actual parties involved, one way or another. It could get tricky, but, there it is. Online play is a challenge in and of itself, sometimes. There was some discussion about my decision to let the Goblin King Player run the Chainmail battle on his own. As has been mentioned in many discussions, trust between Players, including the DM, is an absolute requirement.
@Tuesday Session
Here are some more notes for you regarding the events of 11 July. It was a busy night for y'all!
Part Four
After the excitement of the missing patrol vanishing, Castile sends more troops on patrol, increasing the level of staffing topside. He sends a dozen more infantry and all 30 cavalry to see to the horses.
Shortly after they reach the surface and take positions around the walls…
Unbeknownst to the party members, the Goblins of the northern reaches have been in communication. The group of Goblins the Sons of Mithra captured some weeks ago were members of The Wyvern’s Sting tribe, who have reached out to an ally in the east for aid in discovering what happened to their brothers.
Last night, on the 10th, these two tribes met some miles north of the Ghost Town, and made a plan to attack and raze the new town the humans were building.
DM NOTE: I provided one of the Braunstein players with two sets of rules for playing out this scenario [link to Goblin Attack Rules]. One is that of Tony Bath and his How to Set Up a Wargames Campaign for sieges, and the other was a set of scenario rules for Chainmail. The Patron/Braunstein player is familiar with Chainmail, and decided to run the battle with that method. Due to a bit of time-zone differential, this part of the game took a while to coordinate and accomplish.
Because there were only NPC hireling men at arms present within the palisade of the new Ghost Town fort, I let the Braunstein player run the battle for himself, at his convenience. I kept the battle secret from the players until it had been resolved.
The following exchange was then shared in the discord as a private channel between the sons of Mithra (Tuesday Group) and the Goblin King.
The attack took place around midnight, 11 July 1023. The attacking force consists of approximately 100 Goblins and a Troll ally.
Goblin Attack
DM NOTE: the following exchange has been edited slightly for clarity and readability. Spelling has been fixed, some grammar shortcuts remain. The Goblin King player used the “Horse Archer” cavalry as melee troops, as the number of archers was too few to impact the game, according to Chainmail rules.
Goblins lost the element of surprise before they got there, giving the defenders two turns to prepare.
In Chainmail the turn length is about one minute. We had already established that the descent and/or ascent of the vertical shaft leading to the dungeon of Neurem takes 10 minutes. Therefore I have ruled that the men operating the derrick took note of the attack, and began to descend into the shaft two minutes after the attack began.
Three possible plans as per Solo Wargaming Guide
Defend the walls with all forces, including unmounted cav.
Half of the cav mount and prepare a countercharge inside the walls while the other half helped defend the walls
Mount all, sally out the back door and back attack
Dice decided 2
Turn 3
As the goblins closed on the wall: minor losses from crossbow fire . The heavy cav climbing it [the palisade] noticed the ladders. Cavalry saddled horses.
DM NOTE: the derrick operators begin to descend to the bottom of the shaft to warn the sons of Mithra
Turn 4
Troll kept beating down the door. Goblins in the south mounted, got counterattacked by the cavalry and lost a stand
@The Goblin King
The crossbowmen were pulled off the wall and ripped apart, and the other defenders deserted the gates and drew back, in good order. Cavalry mounted and prepared for the countercharge
Turn 5
Gate was bashed down by the troll. Guards pulled back. 20 goblins dismounted the wall while the others fought against the dismounted cavalry. The mounted cavalry hearing the ruckus turned and prepared a charge
Turn 6
Troll and goblins entered the gates. Cavalry countercharged, killing 10 goblins and the rest withdrew.
Turn 7
Cavalry heard the troll and the sounds of routing. turned about face and started opening the gate because this situation was lost. Dismounted cav went down the ladders, followed by goblins
Turn 8
Troll (as ogre) caught up to the heavy infantry. They pleaded for their lives. He ate 2 of them. The goblins had the turn and were able to catch up to the dismounted cavalry outside the walls. Light infantry ran.
Turn 9-10
Cavalry had ridden away. Light infantry was caught by the regrouped goblins south and killed. 5 dismounted cavalry defended against the goblins as the others fled into the night
DM NOTE: The battle proper was over in only 10 turns. This means the warning from the surface was only just reaching the base below as the Goblins were rounding up their prisoners and beginning to search for loot.
@The Goblin King Notes on the battle
Casualties:
Combined goblin troops:
30 goblins.
Defenders of the palisade:
5 cavalry.
9 Foot troops
Captured by goblins
3 heavy foot troops
10 scared horses
Fleeing survivors
15 mounted knights
10 dismounted knights
[6:35 PM]
Are we now effectively trapped below?
The Dungeon Master — 07/16/2023 6:41 PM
The derrick operator who came down to warn you has barred the door of the stone structure so it should remain secure
July 17, 2023
The Goblin King — 07/17/2023 1:18 AM
Well now I understand why you wanted this done before Tuesday...
[1:23 AM]
@The Dungeon Master As the goblins scurry and scamper on the surface above, searching ruins for valuables, do they indeed find this barred door? And if so: would... say... A troll, be able to smash it down?
The Goblin King — 07/17/2023 1:43 AM
I want them to hear drums, in the deep.
The Dungeon Master — 07/17/2023 5:59 AM
This happens to be a stone structure with an iron door and an iron bar so it will take a little more punishment than the log gate of the palisade.
Luke Cleric of Ares — 07/17/2023 8:20 AM
Question DM: for opsec purposes how much do we know and what can we act on?
The Dungeon Master — 07/17/2023 8:23 AM
You know that the fort was attacked by a whole army of goblins and they had some kind of monster with them.
10 to 15 minutes after the derrick operators get down the shaft you hear a horrible banging on the iron door above.
Luke Cleric of Ares — 07/17/2023 8:33 AM
Alright. Since the attackers also aren't operating under the fog of war, it's a question, in considering a sallying response.
The Dungeon Master — 07/17/2023 8:47 AM
Well the goblins have a fog of war in as much as they do not know what is inside that stone bunker
Luke Cleric of Ares — 07/17/2023 8:56 AM
yep, just seeing to our end though
The Goblin King — 07/17/2023 9:03 AM
I'm very good at compartmentalization. I'm in at least two minds about everything :^)
Luke Cleric of Ares — 07/17/2023 10:13 AM
No besmirchment. Just a question
The Dungeon Master — 07/17/2023 4:50 PM
So the pounding on the iron door of the stone bunker lasted a few minutes and then stopped.
After that things were quiet for quite some time.
Luke Cleric of Ares — 07/17/2023 5:00 PM
We still gotta rope?
The Dungeon Master — 07/17/2023 5:10 PM
As far as you can tell the bunker was not breached
Conclusion
The party members still below decided to wait until dawn, in order to have the daylight advantage over any Goblins that remained in the ruins of Ghost Town.
When they emerged, there were a half-dozen burned buildings, but no Goblins. The troops who fled headed toward Samichi, the closest real town. Most of them made it.
The Goblin King had some thoughts on the battle as well:
Lessons learned: probably my idea of charging was overly optimistic. More could've been achieved if they'd all mounted up and done the same countercharge. Not sure if they'd have been able to turn the tide completely, but they'd done a hell of a lot more
On the other hand: if they'd all mounted up the goblins could've waited them out on the walls, or moved over the walls for a better surround, causing all of them to fall. Half of me feels I did the defenders a disservice with the plan and they could've done better.
Dice were awfully against them though. The night fighting caused them a huge pain and many lost kills
The Goblin King— 07/16/2023 4:45 PM
Also lesson learned: in this smaller scenario the opportunity cost of resting would've been so big that basically no one ever had time to and most of the battle was fought with troops tired
(RE the gate: I saw that wooden walls/gates were 5-15 siege points. Rolled for it, got 10. Counted the troll as a ram that did 2 damage per turn, so the gate fell on turn 5)
The Goblin King— 07/16/2023 4:53 PM
RE number of knights looking off after the first two pictures: yeah. Stacked the tokens for a reason I can't recall.. Still did combats with the right numbers, but it looks off.
The Dungeon Master — 07/16/2023 4:55 PM
This is awesome. Thank you so much. I'll edit it and make it a little prettier and share it with the team
The Goblin King— 07/16/2023 4:58 PM
Eagerly awaiting what will result from this
But for now it's time to hit the sack
PPS: thinking on this more: the countercharge plan would probably have worked if not for the infiltration team. This caused the knights to have to turn about and deal with those. But by the time they'd have been back in position the others would've been in too much disarray to support. If they hadn't failed their roll to see the south team things might've become hairy for the goblins tbh
The Dungeon Master — 07/16/2023 5:00 PM
Okay so is your plan to fade away into the darkness after or are you going to stick around? I will drop this into their channel and see what happens they're probably going to want to come out and try to track you down or whatever
The Goblin King— 07/16/2023 5:00 PM
How far is this place from nearby towns that the goblins know about (edited)
The Dungeon Master — 07/16/2023 5:03 PM
5 hour walk, 12 miles to Samichi
The Goblin King— 07/16/2023 5:03 PM
Let's see... We still have 70-80 gobbos, let's spend an hour going through the place and looting it.
And the march back, But we lost 30 good green skins avenging the deaths caused in this place. Let's have something to show for it. That should still give us a good head start over them
But unlike my goblins I'm not nocturnal. I'll check back in in 8-10 hours depending on work
The Goblin King— 07/24/2023 1:34 AM
On the night of their return we make another sacrifice to our Great God. He this time seems to accept it, gobbling it whole.
Finale
Here you are, folks, the most complicated and involved D&D session and downtime play I have ever run! On normal paper this report runs to 27+ pages and nearly 10,000 words! I had the participants read through this and offer comments and additions, which were greatly appreciated. The Goblin King did have this to say:
You seem to have mentioned everything.
My only regret is not staying there and bashing down that door with the benefit of hindsight
What an amazing week this was!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this, please leave a comment below!