"Trice" adventure module: an expansion of the Foeman module for play with the introductory Onfall scenario rules of the MindWand complex for sword & sorcery roleplay. The text file version trcX1Md.txt also uses the map graphic file trcX0Px.wmf (or .bmp), has an optional adventurer party figures compostion file trcX1Fi.txt, and provides a design notes file trcX0G3.txt of interest as background reference. The free Foeman ruleset file fmnX0Md.rtf (or .pdf) along with all these others is available online at the playhob.com/Fomn/ site directory. "'Twere nobbut a trice." Your party is travelling overland in the vicinity of a fairy resort or haven, when goblinoid raiders force an incursion there. The party gets conjured to the affray under the fairy band's communal dislocation impulse; so being commandeered to act as its defenders, while retaining freedom of choice & initially not very much more approved of by the fairy folk than are those goblin hordes. This programmed adventure is designed for 1.. 4 figures of any experience level. All the adventurers may be managed by a single player and the module run as a solitaire game if desired, or they can be assigned among multiple players; but in any case all will compose a single party travelling in concert between map encounters. The module map's conceptual layout is as a 9- square (Tic- Tac- Toe) grid, representing an expanse of terrain in imitation of a broad fairy ring surrounding a central stronghold plot (the grid squares however are numbered here not in circular but in die- pattern coordinate style: as left column top- down squares 1, 2, 3; center 4, 5, 6; right 7, 8, 9). An 'X' or 'O' mark made in a square during the course of play persists until another mark (including reclearance of a square) is applied through given encounter instructions. The graphic encounter map (file trcX0Px.wmf) acts as a game play board and local situation layout adaptable to each square's text entry descriptions. At each numbered text entry encounter, there will be an opponent group engaged in a prescribed activity. In addition, on the inital visit of each entry, two other particular figure types will be shown along with a probability (%) of their being present at some point: the first listed being for the fairies' side and the second for the raiders' side. Either, neither or both of these extra figures might thus happen to show up for participation in an encounter then or later; but once such a randomly occurring figure has appeared, note an A and/ or B next to the entry's record number in your adventure log or make a tic mark in the entry's margin next to that figure's stats and there'll be no chance for its reappearance in future visits to that entry. Fairies' side figures will cooperate in attacking the raiders' figures, and won't molest the party unless & until attacked by a player figure, or even just engaged by one without a prior favorable reaction check instruction: so take care! No nonplayer figure will accompany the party or proceed to another entry outside of its designated placement, unless noted as exceptional. A Reaction extenuator (Rx) variable assigned to the party is initialized at 0 and accrues incremental adjustments according to given encounter instructions. Its value may go negative to indicate grudging regard from the raiders, or positive to show relative favor from the fairies. When a party figure acquires an item of an unusual nature, note the entry number at which it was obtained next to the item's name on that figure's record, allowing a user to review the item's specified features & instructions for operation. Nonstandard items of weaponry, or armor types showing DX- & MA- values, along with other special items that turn up in encounters may be acquired for use if won by the party unless particularly disallowed by the entry of occurence. Adventurer figures who would ordinarily become effectively unconscious or dead through mST losses receive a benefit from a side effect of being drawn in "out of joint" under the fairies' dislocation impulse. While they are in the ring (until the adventure ends), as long as any party member remains conscious to provide direction, rather than falling senseless they remain with the party in a semiconscious state: able to shamble along with the group using a maximum mMA 3 during a round's Movement phase, and to act as item repositories with merely Ready (including handoff) capability in Action phase. Here an adventurer figure's mST can't fall to a negative value (or below the point of this helplessness for Dwarves), and such a figure's marker is considered to neither occupy nor obstruct the hex in which it's placed. The party may flee before an encounter is resolved by having its members exit one of the 4 edges of the encounter map: an adventurer figure may not exit the map except by the same edge as the first such figure to have exited, and any left behind must continue the encounter until incapacitated and lost, or else able to join the others to proceed. Example Figure Data & Breakdown: 1 Orc "Raje": ST 11, DX 12 (-1), IQ 7, MA 10, AT ~ +1 Longbow (\ Broadsword; ~ +2 Dagger), AR Sackcloth (=PR 1 RT 2 BL D /3 DX- 1 MA- 0), EG 4. Note Orc racial bonus of effective ST +1 for weapon use RQs. "Sack"(-ings) cloth armor is of rustic fabric infused with ashes of past pillagings= wounds of eST- taken don't qualify one as a Force Retreat target; is uncomfortable for non- Orcs (who've MA- 2). (d6 <3)% d3 Wolf: ST 4 +d3, DX 10 +D /2, IQ 3 +d2, MA 12, AT Snap (=DG -3T-1<5 HH), AR none, EG 3. A creature's number of DG dice in HtH are halved as a Jab unless otherwise indicated (by a HH annotation accompanying the DG stat, eg Wolf example). An attacker's weapons (creature or nonstandard) use default values for any nonnoted Weapon Table capabilities. In dice notation & formulae all divisions round up. Specified ranges for rolling up an individual's attributes result in set values; but dice codes in Armor stats require the indicated value to be diced for (rechecked) at every applicable instance. Any adjustment constants influencing basic attributes are shown in parentheses after ST, DX, IQ or MA scores. Damage (DG) codes' interpretation note: -n results as =0. No opponents will have Weapon Proficiency talent capability unless particularly noted, but all racial Inherent Bonuses pertain; so for example, any Goblin nonplayer figure does have the same SV bonus given to an adventurer Goblin figure. The incidence percentage (%) symbol indicates there's a probability a creature might appear: in the example, if the d6 result is 3 or more, no Wolves appear, otherwise a d3 is rolled as usual to determine the number appearing. A '\' precedes a listing of slung and unready items, '~' precedes a listing of ready or slung magical items. For players using the advanced rules, apply items' Condition by giving any unrated item a current value of half its max CN rounded up. Begin the adventure by rolling 2D and adding +1 on a roll less than 5, or -1 on a roll more than 5; then turn to that entry._ [1] You work your way through a parkgrounds area where circuitous woodland crosstrails describe shaded pathways leading off into forested depths. Party members start at or by hex #1. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[21]}. (# in party +D) /4 Rogue Orc: ST 11 +D /3, DX 9 +d3 (-1), IQ 7, MA 10, AT Spear (\ Dagger; ~ Touchstone of Levitation), AR Lg Shield, EG 4. A Rogue's Disengage step won't add the extra Mp 1 cost if it passes SV 4D: mST; so it might then fully pivot to end its move (& could Jab during Action if it discards the shield). The Touchstone will be in possession of only the first Orc appearing upon the party's first visit to this entry, and won't be used by it in this encounter. Starting at & by hex #2, they'll be attempting to move for a hex adjacent to #4, and thence continuing on, at a 50/ 50 chance for each individual Orc to head either toward hex #3 or toward the bottom right corner hex; as its object is to exit the map at the closest reachable vacant hex thereabouts. (d6 <4)% 1 Brownie Trouper: ST 6 +D /4, DX 13 +D /3, IQ 8 +D /2, MA 12 (-2), AT Baton (=Hafts DG -2T-2=5 JB hds HL RQ 5), AR Leathern Jack (=PR 1 RT 2 BL 1 DX- 0 MA- 2), EG 5. A midget madcap gowned & bewigged as a courtroom barrister who humorlessly cries: "Out of order!" & wields a dented ornamental mace of office, which would be busted after a least DG die >2, when the Brownie would try to flee. When first capable and positioned in any figure's side or rear hex, with a free hand it may try a Use option pick pocket SV 5D: mDX so as to pilfer and secrete an item (eg a slung purse, dagger, potion, etc) beneath its robes. If it successfully picks the pocket of the Orc with the Touchstone, it's lofted along with the 'stone out of this encounter, seeming to savor the experience. It appears in a random hex d6 hexes away from hex #6 on line- of- sight (LOS) to hex #4. (d6 <3)% 1 Wolfcoat: ST 13 +D /2, DX 11 +d3 (-1), IQ 7 +D /4, MA 10 (-2), AT Langsword, AR Hidebound Jupon (=PR 1 RT 2 BL d2 DX- 1 MA- 2), EG 6. One of these fur- draped battlers might prove to be no more than a worg wrangler for the goblins; however its wild guise could also be a sign of an actual Wolf's Head (Wolfman) and no mere worn animal headdress. When the Top die of damage dealt to it is unchanged from the number actually rolled on that die, then before armor is accounted for the TD damage alone gets reduced by a separate D roll; otherwise the weapon emits a silvery gleam and the altered TD is applied normally, as with all other DG dice. It would enter the fray in hex #1 after the party's movement on any round, only if the party has left that hex unoccupied; and to do so it expends 2 Mp then continues to make its move for the round. If the party flees from the encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[11]}._ [2] You traverse a table- like outcropping where the freshening air is stirred by vagrant zephyrs. Party members start at or by hex #5. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[22]}. 1 Hobgoblin Bloodscout: ST 9 +d3, DX 14 +D /3 (-2), IQ 7 +D /4, MA 10 (-2), AT Rock (Shortsword), AR Leather, EG 4. Its Hurled Rock (rolling an initial 4D to hit), preferably at a target party figure it sees armed with a staff, is a lodestone (though in other hands but an ordinary rock) magicked by the tribal shaman, which lowers the RT of worn armor it attacks by -d2, and on any hit will cause just the next spell or magical effect cast or invoked by that figure (up until the end of this encounter) to inexorably find and target or effect the castoff stone rather than its intended object unless the TD of the Hurled hit DG comes to 0, when the stone breaks apart. The Hobgoblin need not Ready the Shortsword held in its other hand before Striking with it, and would attempt to flee off the map once it gains any Ep by DG to a party member. Invested with tracking capability, it is concealed & will appear in a random hex# d3 +1 upon the first round's Movement phase, with surprise on D 1 with starting power of 3D; having that limit increased as well as remaining power correspondingly decreased by rerolls. d3 Goblin Skirmisher: ST 7 +d2, DX 10 +d2 (-1), IQ 7 +D /3, MA 10, AT Cutlass (\ Sling), AR Cloth (Sm Shield), EG 3. For purposes of Force Retreat during Movement phase, one of these that didn't cause DG on the previous round to a figure it engages is treated as though it had, if that target figure is also engaged by other Skirmishers (of any racial type) and the Goblin passes a SV 5 -(#others engaged)D: mST. Appear at or by hex #4. During Movement phase, any of them may move to the runestone (preferably its side or rear hexes) & once those having available Mp are in place as desired make a concerted SV D: (raiders' side's #of adjacent mobile figures) at each step in an effort to rotate/ reorient it 180 degrees (3 steps) from its setup facing: pass= all mobile figures move & pay Mp for one step in concert & accordance with the stone's rotation (automatically entering/ disengaging HtH in occupied hexes); fail= if the party is still on the scene, the stone turns d3 -1 hexsides in the direction opposite to that attempted while figures remain in place and the raiders' moves end for that phase. (d6 <3)% 1 Halfling Untouchable: ST 8 +D /3, DX 15 +D /2 (-2), IQ 9 +D /4, MA 10 (-2), AT Staff, AR Trashy Assemblage (=PR 1 RT d3 BL 2 DX- 2 MA- 2), EG 4. An anchorite or societal outcast who's become adept at anticipating and avoiding or diverting Hurl, Fire & Strike attacks, so that the value of the Low die in such final hit rolls is increased half again up to a maximum of 5; and when one such attack misses, that incremented die quantity is deducted as well from the acting figure's precedence mDX in the following round's Action phase bid cycles (that is, just for the purpose of priority assignment), to represent a discombobulated en guard recovery ("Whut th' hey?"). And it employs the Weapon Proficiency talent with its racial bonus. Appears in hex #6; when if the Witchdoctor doesn't also appear, and the party's Rx +2D >3, the Skirmishers will abandon their intention and try to flee the map as all party members gain Ep +10. (d6 <4)% 1 Human Witchdoctor: ST 11 +d3, DX 12 +D /2 (-2), IQ 10 +D /2, MA 10 (-2), AT Broadsword, AR Leather, EG 5. Holds aloft a zigzag totem blade (attracts a charge here by chanting, gaining Langsword TD on any round its side wins IT by more than 1) & carries a gaseous smudgepot that creates a Smog Wreath effect engrossing its hex, and extended to its 6 adjacent hexes unless it's moved more than 1 step in a round, lasting just to the end of the encounter, and for which the bone through the figure's nose must act as a sort of filter so that the Smog's poisonous effects at least don't affect it. Appears in hex #5, and will give the Skirmishers aid in their attempt to manipulate the runestone. Smog Wreath: A figure in a chokingly poisonous Smog hex can't recover any lost mST or temporarily imposed mDX penalty as it ought at the end of a round, and if a D result is then greater than its steps moved for that round, takes eST -1 not stopped by armor or shield. In Action phase, a figure either in, or targeting another in an also mistily obscured Smog hex has lower precedence than those in the clear and can't outbid anyone else's declared dib dice; then ultimately has imposed an automatic miss limit of 3 *(# of initial dice rolled) in any hit roll or SV. If the party flees from the encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[13]}._ [4] Passing into a secluded section, you gain the cover of a sinister copse replete with an atmosphere of decrepit old growth and shadowed malignancy. Party members start at or by hex #5. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[24]}. 2 Gnomish Auxiliary: ST 6 +d2, DX 12 +D /3 (-1), IQ 8 +D /2, MA 10 (-1 as burdened), AT Javelin (\ Javelin), AR Cloth, EG 3. This is a mismatched pair of captives taken from a settlement outlying a traderoute nome, who've been pressed into service with the goblin forces. Each is resignedly lugging a bundle of javelins retrieved after being hurled by the troops. Every time one of them makes a Strike or Hurl attack, roll 2D and tally any zeroes rolled until the tally, accumulated over any number of encounters here, is 00 (ie once only), when the attacking weapon will be seen to be of a special Caltrop type. Appear in hex #3 and directly below: facing toward hex #4. They try to stay together and flee the map at the right edge while fighting off the party, who could try to ambush them & Attempt HtH to apprehend/ subdue one of them (indicated by its failing a Disengage HtH attempt) - which would release both of them from their parole of indenture to the raiders exacted by coercion. If all in the party choose to hide on round 1 and pass SV 3D: mIQ in any order chosen in sequence, and with any pass erasing an immediately previous failure, these raiders just take 2 steps and a Move option every round until engaged; otherwise they'd make panicked Hurl attacks at stationary (unmoved yet active) party figures before Readying spares next round. Caltrop Javelin: Has a curiously worked, socketed pivot joint behind the specially tempered head, and a tripod prong at the base of its stock. When Hurled, if it hits a figure through the hexside of the target's last stepped direction, it adds a DG die before listing, of a set value half the target's number of steps moved in that round. In any Hurl hit, if its DG causes mST- to its target, there's no additional effect; but if its DG is totally stopped by the target's armor or shield, the shaft pivots down to where its prongs dig into the ground, preventing the target figure from moving across a hexside of that facing for the next d2 rounds, after which it's broken up. (d6 <4)% 1 Jurand: ST 11 +D, DX 10 +D /2 (-2), IQ 5 +d2, MA 10 (-2), AT Warclub (=Unskilled DG -2T9->3 HN 2hd RQ 9), AR Leather, EG 4. A surviving member of a lost race of primordial humanoids who laid down the outlines of early civilization in time out of mind. Its relic lifestyle is preserved in purposely remote & isolated communities where the exercise of archaic, though impressive, disciplines & techniques is still carried on. It has heightened awareness/ control over either its 2- handed club (can Jab without the half DG dice mod) if male (on its ST D >2), or else its Pivot moves (mIQ +4 to SV) if female. Appears in hex #6. Will not be observed by the Gnomes as it moves toward the right edge of the map to head them off, unless the Retiq appears as well. (d6 <3)% 1 Retiq: ST 12 +D, DX 10 +D /3, IQ 2 +d2, MA 8, AT Flak (=DG -2T-1>3), AR Carapace (=PR 2 RT 2 BL 2), EG 5. A Retiq, or Retic (-ule) Ant, appears as a crab- or mantis- like, hard- shelled giant formic specimen of just over mansize, having two forelimbs with spiny pincer claws which it has learnt in combat to use in reverse fashion to extend and spring apart when striking at targets. As it chooses to Strike, it picks one of its front hexes and up to two target figures in or adjacent to that hex, using the same Strike hit roll against either target, but with separate hexside mDX modifiers as though it were positioned in the offset hex with all front facing (so mDX +2 and Jab mDG vs someone in that hex, as in HtH). Appears in hex #4, and is stationary until the Jurand appears or the Gnomes spot the party, when it acts to attack and clear a path for the raiders. If the party flees from the encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[14]}._ [5] Through a rim of scattered trees you approach a colorful glade where mellow sunlight reflecting off a confusion of low plants casts wavering patterns, though you can detect no breeze. If Rx +D is an even number greater than -3 and less than +3, the party immediately gets whisked away to another random square around the ring determined by rolling d4 +5 *(d2 -1), to which you must now turn. Otherwise, party members start at or by hex #1. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[25]}. Hex#s 3.. 6 and all hexes adjacent to them represent flowerstands composed of the mingled stalks of multiple varieties of rising blooms, costing Mp 2 to enter aground and reducing mDX of Hurl or Fire attacks directed through them by @-1 per hex over range adjustments; but once entered on the ground, mark such a hex as "Trampled" and so cleared. d2 Goblin Berserker: ST 10 +D /3, DX 11 +d3 (-2), IQ 9 (-2), MA 10 (-2), AT Mattock (=Unskilled DG -2T2-<3 HN 2hd RQ 10), AR Leather, EG 4. This type has been gratuitously subjected to mind- altering influences and aggressive conditioning. Each one's applicable mIQ begins at 7 and randomly holds or fluctuates a point up or down at the end of each round (+d3 -2: min 2 max 9). While of mIQ <9 one gains the advantages of the ability to Strike after a move of up to 4 hexes regardless of possible expenditure of more than half its available mMA in Mp, priority for ties on dib dice bid, and the hit roll privilege to reroll 1s as well as 0s; but with the corresponding disadvantages of being unable to Defend or Disengage, make a voluntary Back Step or Pivot, or Force Retreat. And while of mIQ <6, one dazedly deducts mDX @-1 per point under mIQ 6. Start at or by hex #2, and will move to try to tear down an arched bower located in hex #6, by Striking it when unengaged. (d6 <3)% 1 Fay Princeling: ST 4 +D /3, DX 13 +D /3 (-1), IQ 9 +D, MA 4, AT Wand Wave (=DG -3T-2=4), AR Cloth (Tiny =mDX -2 to be hit; Wave Ring =PR 2 RT d6 BL 2), EG 3. Around 4" tall, draped in a belted tabard as Cloth armor, its size makes for a penalty to hit it (that also affects an attacker's mDX bid priority). Besides on any round it uses its wand, it's subsequently surrounded (just within its hex) by an additional Wave Ring armor effect until the round's end. The twig it brandishes as a wand requires the Use option, and its flourishing causes an outward- surging coil of bursting force as a Strike against one target that on a hit tends to spreadeagle a figure rocked backward, who takes an additional second DG roll (applicabe to Force Retreat) as a Jab unless a SV 4D: mST is passed or upon rolling >12 in any case, plus on >14 loses any option for the round if unacted, plus on >16 flings down a weapon or shield at random. Appears in hex #6 and can bridge the distance between one numbered hex of a flowerstand and another hex# in a single step, while the terrain opens before it so that it doesn't trample on plants and any step it makes costs just Mp 1. If the Bat Swarm appears & the Fay is attacked by it, there's a d6 <4 chance per attack for the Fay to mount a flying Bat: cancelling that attack, removing the Fay's figure and converting the Swarm to a fairies' side figure that won't attack the party. (d6 <3)% 1 Bat Swarm: ST 10 +D /2, DX 12 +D /3, IQ 4, MA flying 7, AT Spurs (=DG -4T4->0 TD 032100 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 2. These collaborative mites execute swirling passes and have been armed with small, affixed leg- iron talons (as in cockfighting). The Swarm's marker indicates the focal hex of its overall area, and any colocated figures are considered priority targets as in HtH. Otherwise just one opponent figure at random within the Swarm's 5- hex radius area is targeted for a Strike as usual when the Swarm's unacted of a phase Bid cycle, but using Hurl range modifiers off the Swarm marker; and any party figures within the radius may choose to Strike it with like modifiers, except that if someone who isn't being targeted this round uses a weapon having HH capability, the Strike DG is treated as Jab instead. The Bats roll 6D to hit, halving any added Guard modifiers total & any shield's RT (operable when facing its marker), and will reroll all zeroes from an initial roll's results only. Its focal marker appears in hex #3, and when not in HtH typically moves up to half its MA trying to encompass an opponent group. It won't attack the Goblins. If the party flees from the encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[15]}._ [6] The party finds itself entering a lowland field of tall, close- set cultivated ranks making up a canebrake. Every hex column that contains any numbered hexes is a canestand, all of whose hexes are terrain obstacles that upon entrance from another cane hex would add a cost of Mp +1, and upon exit to a clear hex if a 2D roll result is less than or equal to Mp used at that point cause a random pivot of one hexside to left or right without halting one's move (assign MA 16 to any Fired or Hurled projectiles and protract as though moved, including added costs). And, all hexes within a distance of 3 from hex #3 compose a shallow pool whose hexes' ground- level entrance on a D roll result of either 0, or lower than the last such result in the figure's move this round, cause displacement to a random adjacent hex with associated facing, normal halt conditions and Mp cost. Party members start at or by hex #6. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[26]}. d6 /5 Congery Surpentux: ST 10 +D /2, DX 8 +2d2, IQ 2 +d2, MA 8, AT Outgrab (=DG -2T-2=4 JB), AR Convulsive Writhing (=PR d2 -1 RT mST /3 BL d3), EG 4. A class of giant snake, some species of which may Strike with either head or tail (possibly with a stinger). However, these are the quicker but more herdable, eel- like yet amphibious, basic specimens (nonpoisonous & unarmored in scales or shedding skins; just dodgy). One's writhing plus lunging grab attack taken together cause an unacted target figure that's hit on a result including any zeroes to SV 3 +(#0s)D: mST or forfeit its action for that round. In moving, its Pivot SVs are made on the sum of mDX +mIQ, and in this locale upon entering any terrrain obstacle's hex it's halted, but then on the next round will ignore any terrain effects other than the usual 1 Mp cost, for up to mMA /2 steps or round's end before again being halted in any but clear terrain. Appear at or by hex #5. Would seem to be part of a larger group likely infiltrated by the raiders sometime prior to the commencement of their offensive; so displaying an antagonism toward all others. (d6 <4)% 1 Glades' Dryad: ST 6 +D, DX 12 +d3 (-1), IQ 8 +d3, MA 10, AT Dagger, AR Cloth, EG 4. Appears as a feminine form apparelled in a bell- sleeved cassock of stuff which serves it as Cloth armor. Upon once choosing the Use option, it creates an attendant figure of miasmal projection tracking in its center front hex, that obstructs others' movements into it, intercepts missiles, and remains until dealt 2D of accumulated Strike pDG; employing a Whip tendril with a nonengaging independent Strike or Jab attack to any hex within such reach at the Dryad's current mDX -1, whilst the Dryad wields a curved sacrificial Dagger. If both hit the same target in the same round, DG for the 2nd hit adds a die in succession until a >1 results. Its move in this locale ignores obstacles' effects and uses an adaptive terrain cost per unengaged step of +(D /2 -1) to its Mp used (eg for a rolled 0 subtract Mp -1 of total used Mp, if >0 at that point). Appears in hex #1. If the Golem appears, it would appeal to the party to engage that figure; only then and if no Surpentux remains attacking the Golem. (d6 <3)% 1 Bogs' Golem: ST 12 +2d6 /2, DX 10 +D /3, IQ d3, MA 5, AT Squelch (=DG -1T-2>3 HH), AR Encasing Matter (=PR 2 RT 3 BL d2), EG 5. A reanimated bog's body caked in solidifying slime, but also swathed in a wispy, wavering glimmer of corpse light, exerting over any adjacent figure what is conceptually a drop of -2 in basic ST, howbeit mST remains unchanged. A figure's reduced ST so falling below the RQ value of a weapon being wielded causes -2 to (differential/ 2 rounding up) damage dice other than TD in descending order (next highest after TD to lowest), with min die result= 0. When it steps into a cane hex, roll 2 damage dice that it deals to the stalks as it batters its way along, and for each die result of 3 or better after modifying its TD, reduce that step's Mp cost -1 (min 0). Appears in hex #4. If the Dryad appears, a Golem would prefer to pursue that figure, although it'd readily take an opportunity of attacking others that presents itself. If the party flees from the encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[16]}._ [7] Before you, a grove of acacia- bedecked trees spreads out, mingled with dispersed wigwams situated at hex#s >1, each of which occupies 3 hexes: the numbered hex, plus an entrance at the hex directly below, plus the hex adjoining both of those to the right. Party members start at or by hex #1. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[27]}. d3 Goblin Slaver: ST 6 +d3, DX 12 +D /2 (-2), IQ 6 +d3, MA 10 (-2), AT Whip (=& HH), AR Leather, EG 3. Of a crafty lot, ordinarily prone to retreat from confrontations, but for some reason intent on remaing in this area even after noting the party's presence, and inclined to negotiate. Only in its two hands, the Whip may be used as a noose similarly to a catchpole (effective in HtH for reg DG). Appear at or by the hex midway between hex #3 & #4. On Rx -2D <-2 would offer to let you go on your way without molestation; or to refuse such an offer roll IT, and if your side wins, not having priorly managed to do so here, before Movement the offer would be sweetened to include the bestowal of a Man Chit - a goblin- backed promissory note to any established arena promoter for furnishing the release & manumission of a slave gladiator as chosen by the party; though if your side loses IT, an extra Slaver figure appears in hex #(2d3). Upon first being encountered here, you overhear one nattering something about searching these wigwams for a cache of finely- knapped flint arrowheads. (d6 <5)% 1 Human Questor: ST 11 +d3, DX 16 +D /3 (-5), IQ 9 +D /2, MA 10 (-4), AT Lance (\ Broadsword ~ +4 Healing Potion), AR Full Plate (\ Sm Shield), EG 5. Likely some knight errant or an esquire of such, having gotten itself lost on an adventurous jaunt. Its generic shield without any user's identifying device, while slung affords the usual defensiveness solely against attacks through its rear hexside, and allows for back- bracing of its lance upon Defense against one Strike per round from either its right or left front hex, so that if the Defend Opt RT functions, after dealing DG the attacker will be subject to the DG of a return Lance Jab out of 4 -(the difference between the score to hit and the adjusted hit roll result)D. Appears in the accessway below hex #4, intent on pursuing its own course in following an oddly- drawn map. Would try to dissuade the party from negotiations with the slavers, and if you're in agreement & help to chase them off or defeat them, then provides you its +4 Healing Potion unless it takes any pST- loss, when it would use d2 doses itself first. (d6 <4)% 1 Mannish Churl: ST 9 +d6 /4, DX 11 +D /2 (-2), IQ 7 +D /4, MA 10 (-2), AT Hammer, AR Leather, EG 3. This stunted mannikin of corrupted racial makeup is an inveterate & perfidious trickster & renegade. It uses a hammer of silvery metal with which it will only Strike from a target's side or rear hex, otherwise it Defends until it can somehow disengage. In any Movement phase that its side ends up moving last, before determining its engagement status or MA for the phase roll d6 and if the hex in that direction from its location is unoccupied by any animate figure, remove it to that hex as though by a step without cost. And it's cursed: the first attacker to wound it for a loss of pST- suffers an imposed penalty, until gaining one's next level, of automatically losing any tied attribute comparisons or tiebreaker dice rolls; including ties on dib dice bid, and applied as well to one's side for movement IT ties. Appears in hex #(d6) at the end of a Movement phase, unless that hex is occupied at the time: when its appearance is postponed until a continued roll on a further round yields an available hex. If the party acquires a Healing Potion, note this entry and consult {[30]} before then proceeding from here. If the party flees from this encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[17]}._ [8] You stop by the location of a creekside shadouf water hoist or screw which has been in use with its runoff feeding a fan of irrigation channels that lead away toward the neighboring plot. The creek is made up of the 2 radial hex paths running from hex #2 to the hex directly above hex #3, and the adjoining path running from hex #3 through the hex directly below hex #2; and requires a standing figure to halt its move upon entering any such hex. The irrigation ditches are in all hexes on radial paths from hexes #4 & #6, up to the creek bank or the map edge: in which a figure may just pay +1 Mp, or else try to "jump" one for an entrance Mp cost of 0 on SV 4D: mDX, but if failed fall prone with revised mMA 3. Party members start in any hexes by the lower creek bank. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[28]}. d3 varied Ghulstrake: ST 7 +d2, DX 9 +D /2, IQ 7, MA 5, AT Cutlass (\ Dagger; Joint Crossbow= one time if 2 or more), AR Prosthetics (=PR 0 RT 2 BL D), EG 3. Those of a detachment of "death marked" goblinoid outrangers, put together from some who'd been crippled or maimed in action. Their rumored anthropophagous bent (such as eating the heart of a foe) can make one of them remain by a downed opponent (on d6 =1) to prepare its dagger for a deathstroke. The Joint Crossbow will be in possession of only the first Ghulstrake appearing when two or more are rolled up, in but that one visit of the party to this entry. Appear at or by hex #1, and will be moving up to hex #4 to try to disrupt or pollute the outflowing branches by dealing it Aimed +1 Strike hits in this encounter of totalled DG >6. Joint Crossbow: A goblin- assembled configuration of a Light Crossbow. It's carried by a single figure, but only two figures working in tandem (adjacent & stationary), each needing just one free hand and whose combined mST is presently at 14 or more can perform its required alternating Ready then Fire options on successive rounds - using their average of mDX (no +4 bonus to Ready), and with its line of fire drawn from the midpoint of their common hexside. (d6 <5)% 1 Stormcrow: ST 10 +d2, DX 13 +D /3 (-2), IQ 10 +D /3, MA 10 (+1), AT Pivot Gripe (=DG -2T+1<2 HH \ Smallbow; Shortsword), AR Feathered Cloak (=PR 1 RT 3 BL d3 -1 DX- 2 MA- +1 wo wpn), EG 5. One of the Corbeins, or talon- footed (flightless) birdmen, who by sounding a caw per the Use option can once evoke within 5 hexes of its location a miniature Hailstorm. Its sidling leg Gripe attack Strike can only be made if its move for the round ended in a pivot (or when in HtH); otherwise, it can wield weapons normally. Its cunningly- worked Feathered Cloak, entirely black in this case, contributes MA +1 only on a round the user has no item in hand at the start of a move, when it can pass through d3 -1 creek hexes without halting. Appears in hex #5, with its Smallbow & quiver of black- feathered arrows propped at its side requiring a Ready option to be able to use them on a following round. Hailstorm: Covers the focal target hex and every adjacent hex, and lasts throughout the encounter here. Moving through it costs +d2 Mp per icy- marbled hex entered, missiles (including the Visuvi's gaze) would be deflected on d6 <3 through every affected hex, and each figure in any 'storm hexes at the end of a round is dealt 3d2 -3 eDG not stopped by worn armor or shield. At the end of each Movement phase its focal hex marker gets blown 2D hex steps in one d6 random direction (or up to a map edge), and each upright figure occupying any of its hexes upon such a step must SV 6 -mIQ /6: mST or fall prone (though retaining assigned mMA). (d6 <3)% 1 Visuvi: ST 9 +D /2, DX 12 +D /2, IQ 11 +D /2, MA 10 (-2), AT Staff (Glare =Weird DG -2T-D>2 HL), AR Crusted Woolen (=PR 0 RT TD -1 BL 2 DX- 0 MA- 2), EG 5. This arcane ele- mentalist is possessed of a fiery gaze weapon having unlimited charges, employed as a Hurled attack (incl range mods), but rolled on mIQ instead of mDX and made with the Watch option, including an Aim/ Gauge- like, attack- specific accumulation (max +2 in 2 rounds) applied to both mIQ & TD. However, a hit with its gaze causes no damage if an opponent's Large or Small Shield RT functions (so is interposed). It can use the Weapon Proficiency talent for its Staff. Its armor's RT of "TD -1" means that an opponent's attack damage TD results= 01234567 would yield its RTs= 00123456. Appears in the hex directly below hex #3, angling to try to line up more than one target figure for its gaze attack, when its concentration allows it to make a separate hit roll against someone farther should it miss those nearer. If the party flees from the encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[18]}._ [9] You pass onto a tended, terraced garden plot whose levels ascend in regular stages. The map encompasses just one elevation break: across a linear divider intersecting hexes #3 & #4 (they and the other transected hexes are in the upper level). When a figure and its target are in different levels there's a mDX +1 or -1 offset to the attack of the higher or lower. Any figure which moves between levels can make and have made only Front steps during its move, and can choose only the Move action option for that round. The effect of the jumbled garden growth covering the map makes any figure on the ground that steps to its own central front hex have to pay an extra +(d2 -1) Mp. Party members start at or by hex #6. If this square is now marked 'X' or 'O' {[29]}. d2 varied Roclaw: ST 12 +d3, DX 12 +D /3 (-2), IQ 7 +D /3, MA 10 (-2), AT Halberd (\ Axe), AR Leather, EG 5. Adherent of an oRc- led outlaw anarchist mercenary faction. Against a target in its center front hex, its Halberd's Strike becomes a slash attack by which the attacker may choose to discard and reroll once any DG dice whose individual initial results were less than the number of DG dice rolled. If its basic IQ is >8, its Halberd's Jab DG in either nonadjacent or HtH attacks receives the same benefit prior to halving the number of dice. Appear at or by hex #5 in the process of sowing handfuls of some kind of seed out of an open bag at one's belt; so that if the raiders' side with unengaged Roclaw remaining wins IT on a round and a d6 roll result is less than IT, they'll have broadcast the lot. (d6 <3)% 1 Faun: ST 9 +D /2, DX 11 +D /3, IQ 8 +D /3, MA 8, AT Shorthorn (=DG -2T-1=5; Kick =DG -3T-1>3), AR none, EG 3. A dashing figure that aggressively capers to hit using either a goat- style horn butt to its front hexes or a backkick to its rear hex as its ordinary means of Striking; though if it makes a Prancing attack by voluntarily taking a -2 to its Unarmed (barehanded) Strike attack score to hit mDX (bid precedence unaffected), it forces the target figure to choose the Watch option if one is unacted, Mp qualified, and fails a SV (final hit roll #dice)D: mIQ. Appears in hex #3 and would Dodge toward an opponent having a weapon that may be Hurled, when a missed Guard- modified hit roll allows it to possess itself of the thrown item. (d6 <5)% 1 Voldjin: ST 6 +D /2, DX 12 +D /2, IQ 4 +d2, MA flying 12 (crawling 3), AT Flechette (=Unskilled DG -3T5->1 HL RQ 3), AR Flaps (=mDX -2 to be hit while flying), EG 3. Volatile, fez- capped, hairy anthropoid having a prehensile tail & feathery wings protruding from its back that don't interfere with the use of its arms. When not in ungainly flight, it's considered prone & crawling at MA 3 and must be unengaged for takeoff. It pelts opponents with fire- hardened wood darts holstered within a broidered vest, by taking Ready -> Hurl -> Hurl (passed from offhand) options on progressive rounds. Flechettes may be used in the same manner by any figure. Or it can Attempt HtH by latching onto a target: receiving +2D to its mST anent such SV, and then in HtH its target would gain neither bonus to hit nor shield defense as it's on one's back with an additional +2 bonus to hit Unarmed; but if the target's SV passes, upon repulse it's grounded as noted. Appears in hex #2, veering to circle in behind some figure for its Hurl or HtH attempts. If the party flees from the encounter or when the encounter's resolved {[19]}._ [10] If all party members have been rendered unconscious or dead, the party offers no further resistance to the overrunning host, and loses its prospect of success: ending the adventure (perhps to be carried off or rehabilitated for future endeavors). If the grid has been marked with 3 aligned 'O's (horiz, vert or diag), the raiders are driven off, as it appears that the fairies' defenses are organizing and stiffening {[20]}. Or, if either the grid has been marked with 3 aligned 'X's, or all squares have been marked without any 3 aligned, the destruction wreaked by the raiders' onslaught has forced the fairies' ringleader to order the abandonment of their convention spot. In that case, if a Rx +2D result is less than 4 you'll still end {[20]}; but if not, then every remaining member of your party must take a final loss of -50 Ep as you're left to fend for yourselves in departing the area, ending this adventure now. If the party fled or tries to move away by a square's side that would take it beyond the ring (off the grid), a chosen party member must make an inverse SV of 3D: >mST, and if it fails through rolling less than or equal to its mST the party is pulled back in and instead redirected to a random square determined by rolling d6 and displacing that many squares in either a clockwise (on an odd result) or a counterclockwise (on an even result) rotation around the ring. But if the SV is passed (automatic on >11), you make off out of all the commotion and may go upon your way to end the adventure. Otherwise, a party that didn't flee its last encounter, and wants a chance to rest up a bit, rolls D for each of its members with any mST loss, even those nominally unconscious or dead: who'd now recover lost eST +1 on 1.. 4, and/ or lost pST +1 on 4.. 5. Then proceed by fleeing or moving on to the square designated or selected (the party may not remain in place) in accordance with the adjacent (not diagonal) side of the last square being exited per the grid's numbering scheme, and turn to the number of that destination square's entry._ [11] If any Rogue Orc escaped off the map edge of its object hex, mark this square with an 'X' and for each such orc that had been wounded the party takes Rx -1; or if none escaped in the encounter and more than one Orc was defeated, mark this square with an 'O'. If you'd attacked the Brownie, there's a 2 /6 chance the party gains Rx +1, but failing that you'll get no chance for a fairies' side randomly occurring figure nor any adjustment for an 'O'- marked square on just your next encounter. Should a party member take advantage of an opportunity to acquire the Touchstone of Levitation, the figure is lifted off its feet and loses eST -1, then must pass SV 4D: mIQ to retain & unready (pocket) the stone instead of reflexively releasing it, when it would be wafted away. If kept, the figure gains added Ep +20, but if lost, takes reduced Ep -10. Touchstone of Levitation: This stone ordinarily functions by levitating a figure who holds it in one hand and pays eST -1 per 10 ft raised with a reduction in cost of 1 eST for each die over 3 the user chooses to roll in a SV nD: DX (basic, not mDX) in ending the ascent and resettliing the stone on or in a convenient surface or container: with success causing the user to drift downward briefly before levitation is terminated, but a failed SV making for a jarring drop and possible (1 /6) loss of the stone. After revising square and/ or party status {[10]}._ [12] If the Hobgoblin escaped the map, mark this square with an 'X'; otherwise, if it was engaged on the first round mark this square with an 'O'. If it passed its roll to get surprise, but on the first round the party's side managed to move in spite of it, they gain Rx +1. If the Crone was defeated, check whether its original race matches any figure's in the party on 2D: 0.. 1) Dwarf, 2.. 3) Human, 4.. 5) Orc, 6.. 7) Goblin, 8) Elf, 9.. 10) Halfling. Such a figure is enabled to use the Crone's Poisoned Rapier (ref [[2]]) to affect just one encounter upon being Readied from the scabbard. However if one takes it, the party gets Rx -1; whereas if the thing could be yet isn't appropriated, then every figure of the noted race who rejects it gains Ep +20. If the Foo Dog appeared and remains after the encounter, on Rx +2D >4 it will instill a fortune advantage into all party members until the end of the adventure so that when one is the target of a projectile attack on a line radial to the attacker (bisecting intervening hexsides), the figure is granted a Guard hit roll modification as though it were Dodging without having to qualify for or take the Defend option. After revising square and/ or party status {[10]}._ [13] If the raiders were allowed to rotate the runestone to point in their desired opposite facing at the end of any round, mark this square with an 'X'; otherwise, if a Goblin took any wounds from a shock pulse emitted by the runestone, mark this square with an 'O'. If the party fled from the encounter these other interactions won't apply, rather on d6 <3 you'd gain Rx +1 as a brilliant flash lightens the area behind your retreat. If the Witchdoctor appeared with an IQ >11 and was defeated but not killed, and the party's Rx +2D <6, the vanquished fakir revives on its own and offers to conciliate your group by converting some "bad" pST- to eST-. You'd take Rx -1 if you agree with it, but would be able to muster the individual translation of D /2 points of loss per figure before its body seems to melt away into the ground. The runestone presents a puzzle hazard, as you'll see shards of weaponry embedded in one end. Striking the stone with a skilled category weapon gives a d6 <5 chance the weapon rebounds, otherwise there's a d6 <5 +(# of rebounds) chance it deforms (cumulative lowering of its automatic miss score by @-d3, & on <-3 it breaks and its user is docked Ep -10), or else it sinks into the stone. One who revisits this entry having left a weapon sunk in the stone has a d6 <4 chance to find the weapon now snapped & gone; or if still in place a d6 <4 chance that it won't budge at this visit, or else it then gets extracted only by the wielder who stuck it in gaining Ep +25, increasing the weapon's RQ by +1, and giving it a TD +1 bonus whenever a separate D result matches any unmodified die result in its DG dice rolled. If the Untouchable appeared and remains unwounded, the two chances given at this juncture are changed to d6 <3 instead. After revising square and/ or party status {[10]}._ [14] Unless the party fled, as you're recovering you're drawn to the site of a gnarled old tree leaning solitary over a still pool of black water exposing the tree's roots on one side. Any party member with Healing Potion may choose to pour a number of doses as desired into this pool, and in so doing mark this square with an 'O', at the same time possibly gaining Rx +1 on D <(#doses). Or else, if a Gnome fled, on Rx -D (or -2D if the Retiq appeared) <-2 this square gets marked with an 'X' and you consequently take Rx -1. If the Jurand appeared and wasn't knocked out during the encounter, and updated Rx +2D is >4, it offers to act in judgment on your behalf: allowing you to choose whether to mark or remark this square with either an 'X' or 'O' by which each party member would gain Ep +10, or else to unmark/ clear one other square of your choice. After revising square and/ or party status {[10]}._ [15] If the Bats were defeated, the party gains Rx +1. If the goblin got through and smashed the bower, each party member takes Ep -10. If the Fay appeared and was conscious at the end of the encounter, mark this square with an 'O'. If its figure remained on the map afterward and was unwounded throughout the encounter, the party receives from it the equivalent of a bottle of +5 Healing Potion. If this square is yet unmarked, roll d6 and if the result is that of a flowerstand having any Trampled hexes, mark this square with an 'X' and the party loses Rx -1. After revising square and/ or party status, if you received Healing Potion note this entry and consult {[30]} before proceeding from here {[10]}._ [16] If the party hadn't fled from the encounter, there's a d6 <4 +(# snakes just defeated) likelihood that the party gains Rx +1 as they've helped to decimate the snakes' numbers, so that in future encounters smaller Congery specimens will be represented by a reduction to the basic ST stats of all rolled, of a cumulative @-D per revisit (mark a tally at each return to the inital square entry), with results of ST <2 as not appearing. Once passed, this check is not repeated. When the snakes have appeared with lowered aggregate condition for the first time, but not thereafter, the party finds here a remnant cache of Healing Potion containing d3 +1 bottles with a d3 -1 dosage/ bonus value remaining for each, and every party member gains Ep +10. If confiscated by the party, on d6 <3 mark this square with an 'O", but if left in place mark this square with an 'X'. If the square remains unmarked and the party had fled, then if the Dryad appeared mark this square with an 'O' although the party takes Rx -1; or else if the Golem appeared and was active when the party left the map mark this square with an 'X'. After revising square and/ or party status, if the party acquired a Healing Potion here note this entry and consult {[30]} before proceeding from here {[10]}._ [17] If you haven't yet acquired the sought- after pouch of stone arrowheads, roll 2d3. If the party has negotiated with any Slavers in some manner, deduct -1 from that 2d3 result, and on Rx +2D <3 it takes Rx -1, or if >4 it gains Rx +1. If the Churl appeared in this or a prior encounter and wasn't defeated, deduct -1 from that 2d3 running total, and if both Questor and Churl have appeared, mark this square with an 'X'. If a total of 4 or more Slavers have appeared in all and the party didn't flee from this last encounter, add +1 to that 2d3 running total, and mark this square with an 'O'. On that modified 2d3 outcome >3 you discover the pouch of Primal Points arrowheads and each party member gains Ep +10. Primal Points: A figure with this item can opt to employ it upon bidding for any Fire option using a bow that takes arrows as ammo, when the bidder's mDX for precedence only is reduced by -2. Then when the Fire attack executes, roll a d6 and on a result of 5 the bow misfires & is temporarily disabled along with the item for the remainder of the encounter, while on a result of 6 the bow remains usable but the item is lost and can be used no longer; otherwise whatever mDX penalty is imposed on the attack for range is treated as +d2 smaller than usual. The set can't be subdivided or split up among figures without losing its benefit. After revising square and/ or party status {[10]}._ [18] If no raiders' side figure came within 2 hexes of hex #4, the party gains Rx +1. If the party appropriates any item from the equipment of figures it defeated, on Rx +2D >3 it takes Rx -1. If the party fled with Ghulstrake remaining, or some Ghulstrake succeeded in attacking and sundering the channel nexus, mark this square with an 'X'. Otherwise, if the Visuvi appeared and was defeated but not killed, and the party chooses to condone its release afterward, or, as well, if the Stormcrow appeared after a sometime prior appearance by the Visuvi, mark this square with an 'O'. If the Stormcrow appeared and survived, on Rx +2D >3 it predicts some future event for the party: roll for a random square on D +d4, and note the capability in that square to choose any starting location hexes for party members and to arbitrarily determine any Rx check results on just its next visit, either at that square's initial entry (but not then its followup outcome entry, as this is), or should it be marked 'X'/ 'O', at that directed entry. After revising square and/ or party status {[10]}._ [19] If any one party member heroically (or fortuitously) gained 80 Ep or more in the encounter conflict, and this same figure hasn't done so before, the party gains Rx +1. Otherwise, if the fairies' side outnumbered the raiders by more than 2 figures, and Rx +D >2, the party takes Rx -1. If the Roclaw crew wasn't prevented from disseminating its load of wild seed, mark this square with an 'X'. Otherwise, if you've visited this entry more than d3 times (roll to check at each incidence), mark this square with an 'O'. When both the Faun and the Voldjinn have appeared in the course of any of your encounters at this square, and Rx -D is either <-1 or >1 at this visit, an attendant faun returns once to bring you a discovered pack of D +4 Wickettes. Wickette (=Unskilled DG -3T-1>1 HL RQ 3): This sturdier, pronged Flechette can be used by any figure in either a Strike or Hurl, and retains the Ready -> Hurl -> Hurl on progressive rounds capability for multiples when deftly shuffled from an otherwise free offhand. Any eST wound points taken through its attack transfer a kinetic charge that adds @D /4 further eST loss per point, while it breaks upon such discharge. If broken in a Strike, there's a chance of retroshock to its user= SV 2D: target's final attack eST-, or take d3 eST- not stopped by anything. After revising square and/ or party status {[10]}._ [20] You are approached by a tall figure that strides out from the surrounding brush to stand at the edge of the clearing. The party starts at or by hex #4. 1 Longshanks "Silenus": ST 16 (p -D), DX 18 (-5), IQ 13, MA 12 (-2), AT Lance, AR Barding Plate (=PR 3 RT d3 BL 1 DX- 5 MA- 2; Sm Shield), EG 9. A manlike creature, but with lower limbs as a horse's forelegs, and horsey ears standing out that independently swivel in the direction of slight sounds. Though his pST is now reduced by a D roll, his added height still lets him use the Lance one- handed. If attacked, he'll produce a Hallucinatory Hedge effect woven through his hex and the 6 adjacent hexes, that unaccountably seems to move with him and lasts for the duration of the encounter. He begins in hex #3, and speaks to inform you that the battling has progressed sufficiently for the security of these sylvan precincts to be restored. Introducing himself, he says he wants to express his congratulations for the part you've played in resolving the conflict. Hallucinatory Hedge: In movement, a step into a Hedge hex by anyone other than the user gives a d6 <4 chance of an additional Mp +1 cost. In any attack targeted at the user's figure, roll 2d6 and for each die result <5 add +1 to one's number of effectual dib dice, but -1 for results >4; and if both are odd or both even, the hit/ task roll is to be made on mIQ rather than mDX. If Silenus is attacked, each round before IT roll 2D and if the result is less than the lesser of 5 or the round number, a second Longshanks figure with stats and capabilities comparable to the first will appear in hex #2 and join the party to aid in trying to defeat the opponent, who upon such appearance would then have a d6 <3 chance per round until passed of determining to flee: and if eventually flown, the second would have a single d6 <5 chance of likewise exiting in pursuit. Otherwise, you all may take time to reflect and bask in his commendation. To assess the party's accomplishments & potential awards in any case; for each grid square marked 'O' if Rx >0, or each square marked 'X' if Rx <0, or each marked square if Rx =0, roll D and if the result is less than or equal to the lesser of 4 or the Rx's absolute value (taking negative as positive), each party member gains Ep @+10. Then, if any one Longshanks figure remains with you in an attitude of friendlship and either the first was defeated or driven off, or else a further D <=min(4, abs(Rx)), it offers to the party a set of Boding Draughts to which it will lead you: found set on a low tree stump screened by some bushes that the figure draws aside. Boding Draughts: Shallow box with an inlaid gameboard and a set of pieces, for use when a party is recovering at the end of an opponent encounter in a location they've visited more than once. Setting up the pieces to reflect the situation of the encounter that just transpired allows the players a d6 <(3, or 5 if the party will spend no extra time resting and healing) chance to be enabled to look ahead and effectively remotely investigate what occurrences immediately impinging upon the party are awaiting or would locally arise out of its taking one of the area's exit options. Its operation in case of solitaire play permits reading ahead one stage in one direction, where random or wandering probabilities would be revealed but not diced for in advance before deciding how to proceed; or in refereed play gaining a similarly representative verbal and/ or positional forecast - perhaps with the possibility of misinformation on a missed roll. The box then irreparably falls to pieces if the user fails to SV (the rolled d6 result)D: (basic) IQ. This module ends here (but the adventure, as we say, goes on)._ [21] A trail along here has been littered with some debris and scattered severed foliage much pressed into the turf by passing raiders trooping over it. 1 Guidon Goblin: ST 11 +d2, DX 13 +D /3 (-2), IQ 6 +d2, MA 10 (-2), AT Guidon Lance, AR Leather, EG 4. An able- bodied specimen who'd been singled out to act as a standard bearer, carrying along a sickly- colored pennant attached to an upraised lance shaft; but who looks to have been separated from any followers. While it's unengaged and holding the guidon out before it, Fired weapons directed through its central front hex add an extra die to any final hit roll, not counted toward the actual number of dice for damage. It begins in hex #4. If the square's marked 'O', roll 2D and subtract the result from the Goblin's mST. In any case, on a Rx +D result >4 it turns to try to flee off the map away from your group, but on <2 it offers you the Guidon Lance to take over its duties, and if you agree, letting it go, the party takes Rx -1 and this square becomes remarked 'X'; otherwise, the goblin moves in to attack. An adventurer (of at least Lance RQ ST) acquiring its lance may use it to give a false signal to a raiders' side randomly occurring figure upon the user's SV 4D: IQ with a least die result of 0: when such a random figure that had been rolled up is diverted and doesn't appear after all in that encounter (so remains viable for a future roll). However, only one such success with any Guidon Lances overall is allowable, after which the field would be alerted to the deception. Afterward, if the party didn't flee, on a Rx +D /2 result >6 if the square's marked 'O', or <0 if the square's marked 'X' {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [22] The breezes seem to have turned back upon themselves, leaving an ambient stillness in which local disturbances feel amplified. d3 Zumbe Heliophage: ST 12 +D /2, DX 8 +d3, IQ 3, MA 4, AT Unarmed, AR Necrosis (=PR 0 RT 2 BL 1; Foreshadow =-var to be hit), EG 2. Most likely a corrupted supplicant of Apep's cult, a figure of this type is ensconced within a Shadow hex that moves with it, causing mDX -4 to hit the zumbe (except in HtH), but with a loss of 1 point of this advantage for each step it made in the same round's Movement phase, while it can Strike out with no penalty. Additionally, Hurl & Fire attacks against one who's unengaged automatically use a Guard hit roll modification as though it were Dodging. When 2 (or 3) are mutually adjacent, any hit upon one has a 2 /6 (or 3 /6) chance of halving DG dice as in a Jab, or a Jab's DG being zeroed. A missed Strike attack upon it gives it a mDX bonus of +(roll result -required score: min 1) both to precedence and to hit for its clutching Unarmed Strike against that attacker if made later in the same phase; and on a rolled TD of 5 in such a case, the target drops its weapon into the zumbe's hex. They start in the first column at or by hex #3, and would stalk in to an attack on the party. If the square's marked 'O', a Zumbe can't Attempt HtH, but if the square's marked 'X', a figure can't Disengage HtH against one. On the party's first visit to this entry, it will be found that the Zumbe gloom had been gathered about a fallen corpse, but was held at bay in revulsion to the salutary presence on the body of a bottle of Healing Potion. This potion's dosage/ bonus is +2, with an added +(the number of Zumbes encountered) if the square is now marked 'O'. If the party acquires a Healing Potion, note this entry and consult {[30]} before then proceeding from here. If D +(the total number of Zumbes you've defeated in all visits at this entry) >7 {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [23] Where suppressed flashes of light run through the grass, as with the appearance of lightning diffusing in a cloud; you can pick out flareup lines between map hexes #1 & #4, #2 & #3 and #5 & #6. These activate upon entrance of a connecting hex by any crossing figure (not necessarily grounded), triggering a light- blinding exposure causing a d6 <4 chance of a d3 rounds' effect in Action phase of the figure passing its first dibs precedence to the next figure in bid cycle order, or if there are no others at that point then it loses its option but is unaffected on the next round. Fired or Hurled projectiles upon first encountering such a hex have the same chance of becoming redirected by convection to a random hex- linear path out. d2 Goblin Devisor: ST 7 +D /3, DX 12 +d3 (-1), IQ 9 +D /2, MA 10, AT Sling (\ Rapier; Dagger), AR Cloth, EG 3. Wearing slitted goggles of the type used to prevent snow blindness (permits sight of tiny figures), to scry/ peer into the low, grassy turf. Its improved depth perception gives it a Fire attack bonus for ranging when its side wins IT of only mDX @-1 per 6 hexes distance. Each is holding a sling, and attempting to dowse over some passing gleam using a slight stick of wood with a crystal wedged into a cleft at the nether end being held in its offhand. The condensed energy in these emanations will be suitable to their purpose only for the first 4 rounds of the encounter. Each such round that one standing by a flare line takes a Use option there's a d6 >5 (or >4 if the square's marked 'O') chance for detonation of its rude implement: causing D eST- not stopped by anything to it and every adjacent figure. But a result of 1 denotes the stick's successful excitement as an Avaunt Wand (they'll be trying just until any one succeeds overall - they only need proof of the experiment). Or else, one may choose to Fire with its Sling or Ready its Rapier. Start in the rightmost map column at the d6th hex from the top, and also from the bottom if a second appears. Avaunt Wand: A Strike hit made with this wand causes a target figure to add +D more Mp to its amount used for the round, with any excess over mMA causing eST-; though a rolled 0 permanently disables the wand from future use. Then upon its move in each subsequent Movement phase, the affected figure must SV 4D: mIQ until it passes or else move at least one step, with whatever steps it chooses taking it to hexes at distances progressively farther from the wand's user, until at the end of a phase it has attained a distance of its base MA, or 3 rounds have passed. If a Devisor succeeded in fabricating the Wand during this encounter, on D <3 (or <4 if the square's marked 'X') {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [24] If anyone had poured Healing Potion into the dead pool, there's a one time only D +(1 if the square's marked 'X') <(#doses used: max 6) chance for this now- revitalized Healing Pool to allow each party member to drink from it as a Healing Potion of 1.. 5 doses as individually desired. Alternatively, you may choose to allow the Goon who's watching you attentively from the trees to avail itself of the pool's full contents, so becoming transformed back into a gothic clan hero(-ine), whose totem creature will also manifest itself after each party figure has declared for which of four types one feels the greatest affinity: 1) Deer, 2) Horse, 3) Bear, or 4) Bison. Then, party members would gain Ep +25 each and be invested with the ability to call forth 0.. 3 personal Image duplicates when desired, one or more at a time until a figure's total is reached. The number available to each member is determined by rolling d4 once for the totem's actual type and subtracting from 3 the rightward wraparound offset of the result relative to a figure's numeric choice, shifting one place to the right if the two didn't match and the figure is of the same gender as the clans(wo-)man (50% male/ female). Image duplicate(s): One such is treated as a new figure on the caster's side controlled by the caster, and is created in the caster's hex without affecting the caster as being in HtH, although to others it would appear so. An Image is unable to act or engage on the round of its creation, causes no damage when it appears to attack, and lasts for the duration of an encounter unless destroyed by either a most successful Disbelieve, any individually- targeted attack DG dealt it, or if its hex is entered by an unengaged moving figure. Disbelieve: Disbelieve attempts are made by one taking the Watch option, and will let the figure choose a number of dice to roll as a mIQ SV, with a minimum of the range in hexes to the target, and a maximum of 9. If the SV succeeds, the target is recognized as real or unreal (may be identified as a Creation spell, or as a mirage, hallucination, gaslight, etc.), and if the lowest 3 (at least) dice total less than 8 a Creation spell target type is distinguishable as either an Image or Illusion, while if the lowest 2 dice total less than 4 an imaginary apparition (ie observer- influenced) is dispelled. 1 Goon: ST 15 +D, DX 9 +d3 (-1), IQ 9 +d2, MA 8, AT Battleaxe, AR Wood Bark (=PR 1 RT 2 +D /2 BL 1 DX- 1 MA- 0), EG 5. Of overdeveloped stature, with mutant- like, rudimentary features & appendages at its limbs, and some exposed skin showing tattooed designs. Takes no duress mDX modifiers on 5 wounds in a round, nor on mST <3; only mDX -2 for remainder of current and throughout succeeding round on wounds of 2 /3 its basic ST within a round. If its armor RT would function at the value of 2 versus an attack, there's no other effect; but if not, yet the roll to hit could be blocked by a RT of 3.. 5, then the noted D /2 is added to its RT, while on such a roll result of 0 the armor is knocked apart and falls away after stopping just its PR, leaving the Goon unarmored (and so without a further mDX- adjustment). Starts in hex #2 behind partial cover (d6 <5 chance it won't be affected by a particular attack or a directed rather than a local effect), and on Rx +D >2 would allow the party a free round's movement & actions before it moves to attack. If party members use some Healing Potion, note this entry and consult {[30]} before then proceeding from here. If you fought and defeated the Goon, on Rx -D <-2 {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [25] The whole area comprises a trap hazard made up of a random dispersal of some threatening plant types; so that once a figure has completed its move, roll (2d6 -1, or 2D if the square's marked 'X') and if the result is less or equal to the number of steps that figure took, reposition the figure's marker back to the indicated step of its hex path as necessary, and place a Plantare marker in a random (preferably unoccupied & path- facing) adjacent hex. A figure must halt when moved onto or next to an already- placed Plantare hex, but is not considered engaged by it. At the end of Action phase, a Plantare attacks all adjacent figures automatically dealing D eDG, with @-1 point per D of Strike DG it took during the round, against which only the PR value of armor and shield applies. Hex#s 4.. 6 are the locations of life- size statues made of salt that will prevent movement into those hexes, and while standing intercept Fired & Hurled attacks. 1 Sylvan Kine ST 16 +D /2, DX 10 +d2 IQ 5, MA 6, AT Longhorn (=DG -2T-1>1 or as Tremor Charge DG -1T+0>0), AR Bluff Front (=through just its Front hexes PR 1 RT 3 BL 1 and all weapons' eDG as if Unskilled), EG 4. This short & stocky, low- built beast of earthen cast typically takes plodding steps that it places acutely, though when it paws the earth with its hooves and shakes its lowered head (requiring a Ready option) it generates a shattering discharge against the next thing that contacts its horns' lunging Strike attack (replaces next hit's Longhorn DG). At the end of a round, it recovers all Incidental eST loss it may have taken. It can't be Forced to Retreat while its mST is >5, but upon being Retreated it must SV 3D: mST +mIQ, or lie down in defeat. Starts in hex #2 and moves to attack the party. It isn't halted or affected by Plantares, and the statues seem now to have become targets of the Kine's ire, excited by the party's intrusive appearance about its byre/ bower. A statue would be bulldozed, fragmented and trampled effective on all further visits by a hit from the Kine's Strike attack. If the Kine is defeated and you've not obtained any ring here, roll 2d3 +1 and if that numbered statue still stands the party gains one half of a Gymmal Ring crafted from soapstone, along with Ep +10 to each party member. Gymmal Ring: A carven finger band whose device is intended to intertwine with a second fitted element. While it's being worn, a user's Level is accounted as +1 above one's actual Level in all particulars, and Ep gained (or lost) is tracked separately from normal. When this Ep on its own is sufficient to increase the user's actual Level and an IQ addition is chosen, roll & deduct just D fifths of the required loss for advancement. On a result of 0.. 2, the half ring possessed is taken away, but on 3.. 5 the missing half is added to the user's element for continued operation in the same manner supplemented by any remnant of that Ep; and then on one's next such Level & IQ addition, Ep reduction is only D /3 thirds, and the ring is lost. This separate Ep gets reincorporated with the normal at any point the user decides to abandon the ring. If the Kine is killed (not just knocked down or out), on Rx +(D -D) <0 {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [26] You pass along cleared walkways through the standing crops, conscious of ominous rustlings among the stalks. If the square's marked 'O', the pool around hex #3 has dwindled down to just those hexes adjacent. d2 Reptul: ST 8 +d4, DX 12 +D /3, IQ 7 +D /4, MA 9, AT Spear (Main- gauche =Hilts as offhand Dagger wo HL), AR Main- gauche (=Shields PR 0 RT 2 BL 2 DX- 0 MA- 0), EG 3. Upright, bipedal reptilian of a decidedly anthropomorphic size & presence, displayed in its predilection for use of somewhat modified standard weaponry. Here it has a Zulu- like, long- bladed Spear, but also uses an offhand Dagger with a built- up handguard that's carried and interposed just as a shield would be. One's lizard- like quickness in evasion when using no worn armor or ordinary (ie Sm/ Lg) shield is represented by its allowance for a passed SV 3D: mIQ upon any About step giving it a reduction to Mp cost of -1. When it scores any Strike or Jab hit while in HtH, it gains an additional DG die (prior to halving for a Jab) due to its prognathous bite. Typically start at or by hex #5. However, if the party had succeeded in decimating the Surpentux infestation, on Rx -D >-2 one figure starts at hex #4, and if then D <(its side's first round IT), prior to Movement it launches a prepared ambush by an extraneous Hurled Spear targeted at a random party member, with no Aim/ Gauge bonus yet not prevented by terrain obstacles, and with its regular Spear instantly to hand. Main- gauche (=Shields PR 0 RT 2 BL 2 DX- 0 MA- 0): A "left- hand" -ed dagger with a buckler- worthy crossguard or basket hilt which can be used as a shield, but only against Strike or Hurl attacks, and can't be hurled itself but may be wielded at need as an alternate =Hilts Dagger attack without penalty for its offhand use. If you fled and the square's marked with an 'X', on d6 <3 you'll be turned back and so must unmark the square, then {[6]}. If you didn't flee, on Rx +2D >5 +(2 if you were ambushed) {[20]}. In any other event {[10]}._ [27] A small figure is seen leaving a trail marker on the sward, most likely as a signal to whatever posse might be following it. If the square's marked 'X' and d6 >2, that rolled hex number and all hexes adjacent to it are presently Blazes. Blazes: Fills a hex or hexes with a fiery figure of conflagration that affects everything in and above it to a height of 20 ft. Any figure that makes a move step into a Blaze hex, and any in one at the end of a round, take an immediate pST -1 wound not stopped by worn armor or any type of shield; while combustible items of wood, fiber, etc must make a condition check. To check condition, roll a die (a 1D fixed function SV) and the item fails if the die result is 4 or more, or 3 or more if the item failed any prior condition check. Roll again immediately upon a first failure. An item is destroyed on a second failure overall. Arrows fired through a Blaze hex, and failing a single condition check roll, are deflected sufficiently to miss the target. A figure without immunity to fires in a Blaze hex loses mDX -2 in all circumstances. 1 Halfling Shirrif: ST 9 +d2, DX 15 +D /3 (-3), IQ 9 +D /3, MA 10 (-1), AT Smallbow- Caster (=Bows DG -2T6->1 HN 2hd RQ 8 \ Hammer; Dagger), AR Jazeran Vest (=PR 2 RT 2d2 BL d2 DX- 3 MA- 1 \ Sm Shield), EG 5. It's armed with an unusual self variety of bow- caster differing from the crossbow or prod variety, still employing smoothed rocks as ammo that deal the noted DG and aren't deflected by Blazes. And, any eST- to the target of a head hit (a hit by Aimed Fire when using its Weapon Proficiency talent bonus) gives a parallel reduction in mIQ while affecting the overall recovery of both as with a defective Healing Potion (if necessary, refer to entry {[30]} before proceeding from here); but its up- angled shots (against targets taller than halfling or goblin) would be totally deflected by a shield's RT that functions (then no DG penetrates). This weapon requires specialist talent and can't be used by untrained party members. Starts in the rightmost map column, at the (d6)th hex from the top. It will Watch and Aim its bow on the first round while it evaluates the party's appearance. Its reaction thereafter is determined by Rx +d6: adding +1 if the square's marked 'O', but subtracting -1 if the square's marked 'X', -1 if any wigwam is in Blazes, -1 if a party member moves more than 2 steps on the first round, and -1 if you've visited this entry before and defeated a Shirrif. On a result of 2 or less it's enforcing a warrant against what it perceives as goblin- aligned parties and proceeds to attack you. Otherwise, unless you attack it, once only it offers to guide you to your next entry: so that you may choose whether to avoid one or more opponents ordinarily encountered there and every party member gains Ep +10; or else it just turns and flees off the map. If the Shirrif remained and survived the encounter and you'd like to end the adventure at this point, or else if the Shirrif was defeated and the square's marked 'X' and Rx -2D <-4 {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [28] A heavily armored figure, which seemingly had been standing post in the tree- shaded area back of the creek bank, steps out to take in the surroundings before it catches sight of your party. 1 Tortoiseshell Goblin: ST 12 +D /3, DX 15 +D /4 (-5), IQ 7, MA 10 (-4), AT Broadsword (\ Mace ~ +2 Healing Potion), AR Half- Plate (Shell Shield =Shields PR 1 RT 4 BL (armor's PR -BL's fx) DX- 1 MA- 0), EG 5. Can make a specialist Shield Rush displacement move by halting without pivoting after only 1 front step in a phase, to engage a target through its own center or left front hex: when a target failing to SV as per Attempt HtH would grant it further immediate moves as a Force Retreat with step accounting. When first encountered only, it has the +2 Healing Potion. It has a typical Lg Shield instead of the Shell Shield if one with a Shell Shield has been encountered before or if d6 <3. Should it become wounded, it would try to Ready then Use its Healing Potion with a prescribed special effect in that instance alone of recovering up to 2d2 each of pST & eST losses. Starts in hex #5, and if the square's marked 'O' it begins with its facing directly toward the top of the board. If outnumbered, it will make a fighting retreat to a woodline hex (top map edge) so as to place its back to some trees and blow its horn alert signal (requires a successful Ready action): when after an interval of d3 rounds, in every round a barrage of D /3 Fire attacks by Smallbow arrows with an initial 5D to hit at mDX 9 needing no range adjustments from the direction of hex #2 against random party figure targets is generated. Subsequent to making its signal, it would come on the attack (wading into the creek if necessary). Shell Shield (=Shields PR 1 RT 4 BL (armor's PR -BL's fx) DX- 1 MA- 0): Designed to be snugged up, conformable or integral with worn armor, rather than held away from the body. Still accounted for prior to armor, but its Block value is determined by the amount of DG for the user's worn armor PR minus (its BL that would actually be stopped from the particular attack were the shield not in use). So, when no armor is worn, the shield's BL value= 0. If the square's marked 'O' and it imbibed its own Healing Potion, on a total of its mST recovery >5 the party gains Rx +1. If the square's marked 'X' and it managed to sound the alert, on 2D < 4 +(2 if it received succor before being defeated) the party takes Rx -1. If the party acquires its Healing Potion, note this entry and consult {[30]} before then proceeding from here. If Rx +(D -D) <-4 or >6 {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [29] Occasional gusts in the tepid air above this field of crazy- quilt garden plots give rise to a noticeable resurgence in its drooping bulbs. If the square's marked 'X' there's a d6 <4 chance that vegetation won't interfere with figures' movement during the encounter, although the elevated terrace breakline still applies. 2 Elf Laggard: ST 9 +d2, DX 12 +D /3, IQ 8 +d2, MA 11, AT per d3= 1) Cutlass; 2) Hammer; 3) Spear (\ roll again), AR Sm Shield, EG 4. One of these quick- fingered scroungers, in choosing the Ready option and having passed the SV without needing the option's typical +4 bonus, who didn't draw or sheathe a weapon may subsequently be made the target of another's 4D Hurl option (5D for a weapon without HL capability) which, if it hits, would allow the target figure to drop a weapon in hand and to catch, wield and regain the ability to bid for a Strike attack in this phase with the caught weapon, at one's current mDX, on the same number of initial dice used for the Ready SV, whose target would then reduce the RT of each item affected in that attack by -d3. One of them starts in hex #3, the other in hex #4. They're peculiar "masker raider" camp follower scavengers who have obscured their faces with goblin- featured masks, though their allegiance to any one side is always in question. They attack the party, but if the fight drags on for more than 4 rounds, they'd try to flee off the map at any convenient edge to look for greener pastures. To try and win one over, at the end of a Movement phase in which every active party figure made a last Back step, each unengaged Laggard has a d6 <2 (or 3 if Rx <-1) chance to transfer its support to the party and to the fairies' side: its figure then coming under player control. And once the encounter ends, a converted Laggard would switch masks to that of a spangled fairy visage and depart to find its own way, in light of which all party members would gain Ep +15 for each such. If any of them fled, every party member loses Ep -10. If the party fled, abandoning this area to the cleanup crew, all lose Ep -15 and for each party figure that was adjacent to a Laggard of any allegiance at any time there's a d6 <2 chance that the figure drops one random slung item in the party's haste. If either Laggard switched its allegiance and survived the encounter in any case, on D <#turncoats +(1 if the square's marked 'O') {[20]}; otherwise {[10]}._ [30] +n (n= 1.. 5 doses) Healing Potion: The user rolls a fixed function SV on a number of D equal to the number of doses he chooses to take, and should this SV result in automatic failure only, chooses to recover mST +1.. +(doses) while taking mIQ -(like #) conjointly, with these particular lost mIQ points noted as recoverable only one at a time by passing SV (IQ /4)D: mIQ once at the end of any encounter in which the figure had an overall gain of Ep in part from causing mST- to an opponent: at which time the figure also recovers another mST +1 of any lacking. But until the full amount of noted lost mIQ is recovered (that is, the defective potion has worn off), no other mST points can be recovered by the figure through any means whatsoever. On any lesser SV result, roll again die- by- die D equal to the number of doses, and recover mST points equal to those dice values (pST first, discarding any excess from a die, then eST discarding all overage), but treating an already- applied rolled die value as a 3; with the exception that for each 0 which had occurred in the SV results, one rolled 0 is treated as a 6 regardless of repetitions. This type of potion will aid an unconscious, but not a dying figure. Unused doses remain for use under the same conditions. Make a note of this item definition entry number for future use of Healing Potions you might acquire, then return to your last noted entry._