The Battle is Joined - Wave 2

[Eclecticon]

Situation:
• The Beornings are making their push to re-take Stánford from its Blood-moon conquerors. 

Relative Strength of Numbers:
• The Beornings outnumber the Blood-moons by more than 2:1, but the stockade means that both sides are effectively evenly-sized. 

Engagement Mood:
• The battle is a bold assault – 4 endurance loss per failed test

Shadow Threat:
• The Blood-moons are tormenting, requiring two Endurance tests per wave. 
• Grimbeorn's actions have reduced the defenders near to him to weak – there will be only one Endurance test At the Gates this wave. 

PC/NPC		ARMOUR		HOPE		END		AREA OF ENGAGEMENT		ENDURANCE TEST TN
Grimbeorn Tate Hathcyn Anar Esgalwen Bandobras Arbogast		2d (helm n/a) 3d (helm n/a) 2d (helm n/a) 3d (helm n/a) 1d (helm n/a) 1d (helm n/a) 2d (helm +1)	• • • • • • •	4/12 10/15 12/13 8/8 3/12 15/18 10/16	• • • • • • •	25/31 27/29 27/29 24/30 17/27 22/22 22/26	• • • • • • •	At the Gates At the Gates At the Gates At the Gates Skirmisher Skirmisher On the Flank	• • • • • • •	16 16 16 16 14 14 14

With a cry of mixed rage and terror, the Blood-moon warriors surge forward, seeking to cast down the bear standard and drive those beneath it back to the Carrock.  Tate sees Idunn strike a man through the gaps between stakes with her long spear before other of equal length appear to force her back once more. Anar hacks wildly at the stockade, splitting two stakes, then a third, but not managing to create a sizeable breach.  The air is thick with deafening sound as every man cries out, beseeching any god that will listen for victory, deliverance or simply to convince themselves that they yet live. 

Within the village, Bandy and Esgalwen find their route of quick retreat cut off by cruel-seeming men.  No proof warriors of great stature and valour are these, but wicked brigands and plunderers.  And yet, they are enough still to threaten the freed captives. 


Battle rolls for this wave:

The main assault
Hathcyn
This dice roll has been tampered with!
1d12 : 4, total 4
Rolled 1d6 : 1, total 1

Tate
This dice roll has been tampered with!
1d12 : 5, total 5
Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5

Anar
This dice roll has been tampered with!
1d12 : 5, total 5
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 6, total 11


Another benefit of Grimbeorn's Awe success is that this is the only Battle roll for this location in this wave.

Inside Stánford
Bandy
This dice roll has been tampered with!
1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 2d6 : 4, 6, total 10

Esgalwen
This dice roll has been tampered with!
1d12 : 11, total 11
Rolled 2d6 : 5, 5, total 10

On the flanks
Arbogast
This dice roll has been tampered with!
1d12 : 2, total 2
Rolled 4d6 : 5, 2, 3, 5, total 15

[tomcat]

I am confused, and so I will both ask the questions here and then go back and read through the Mythic Battles PDF, once more.

Are there two battle rolls per wave?

In wave 1, there was a Battle roll at the beginning of the thread and then one at the end. Then with the onset of wave 2, there is a battle rolls.

I guess I also need to ask - what are we doing to the bad guys? The battle rolls just determine our PC's END loss?

Why is Esgalwen at 17 of 27 END? My math shows she has only lost 4 END from wave 1. Did you also include her failure in wave 2?

I guess that is all of my questions.

I will say, with her roll on wave 2's Battle test, she has gone into a bout of madness. So let me know if it happens now, Paul, or if it will come later.

[tomcat]

I have reset my Shadow and Esgalwen now has 2 permanent Shadow.

She now has the Idle flaw.

[Eclecticon]

I am confused...

You're not alone - these mechanics aren't as smooth as I thought based on my first read through!

Are there two battle rolls per wave?

Yes, based on the battle mood/intensity/thingo (I'm on the train and can't read the pdf).  I'm going to make a GM call and just do one per round from here on, though, 'cause it doesn't seem to add much to the experience. 

I guess I also need to ask - what are we doing to the bad guys? The battle rolls just determine our PC's END loss?

That's right.  It's assumed that everyone's fighting back to the best of their ability, but what matters most in a large battle is the ability to maintain formation, support your comrades etc.

Why is Esgalwen at 17 of 27 END? My math shows she has only lost 4 END from wave 1. Did you also include her failure in wave 2?

I think I've included every failure, but I'm willing to be corrected - it's possible that I've double-counted something. 

I will say, with her roll on wave 2's Battle test, she has gone into a bout of madness. So let me know if it happens now, Paul, or if it will come later.

Bring it in now!  What better time? Feel free to choose what she does - I trust that it won't be in her best interests!

[Eclecticon]

And a warm welcome to the Bout of Madness club.

[tomcat]

At least your flaw is cool and though it makes your character a little dangerous, mine makes me indecisive and reluctant. Well...given the last few months of narrative/dialogue that I have done, she kind of already has become unsure and lonely.

I guess the flaw fits.

Give me until tomorrow to present her Bout of Madness. I am debating on whether she goes into an angry berserker (due to her pent up angst), or the complete opposite (to highlight her new flaw) and she freezes. I am leaning towards the latter, but I want to make it a good scene.

Thanks for the answers above! I will go with your END score. You are the one that has all the mechanics going on.

[Eclecticon]

The Toft-men press forward until shields painted with the blood-moon clash against Grimbeorn's.  Confusion and cacophony reign, and the brief glances that can be snatched of both friend and foe leave only impressions of rictuses and wide eyes both wrathful and terror-filled.  Upon moments such as this hinge entire battles.  Now is the moment in which the struggle for a breach will be decided! 


Esgalwen's  has also triggered a hazard, and in this case I'm dispensing with the random roll and declaring that it's happening where the heaviest action is.  We're going to transition into normal combat to resolve it - those At the Gates will have to fight twice their number of Toft-men or be driven back.  On the plus side, if they do win out, they'll have breached the stockade and achieved the first objective of the battle. 

Tom, Hathcyn can only fight one-handed as long as he's holding up the banner, but he'll still have to defend himself. 

Doug, do you want to take over Tate for the duration, or until Aryn is able to post again? 

[Telcontar]

  Gentlemen, there are a couple of different versions of the Mythic Battles floating around to my knowedge. Chiefly there is a version with an appendix and one without. I thought I had the complete one, but when I compared them I must have deleted the wrong version when I cleaned up my file folder. Anyway, on page 33 there is an easy to use chart that explains this step in the process. I have attempted to post the picture of it below.

There are a number of battle rolls based on the threat level of our oppenent. The threat level is based on the average attribute bonus they have and so roughly equates to how good they are at skill tests and so drives the number of battle rolls we need to make. A more proficient foe means you are taking more damage in shorter period of time.

The Engagement Mood determines how much damage we take per failed roll.

Where we are physically in the battle determiens the level of danger. This establishes the TN for each PCs battle roll.

The Tides of War roll that Paul makes mechanically adjusts the level of damage we take based on how the fight is going. And pushes us closer to victory or deffeat.


For each  the player decides to take a piercing blow and roll a protection test or to initiate a battle hazard. The hazard location is determined at random. So if Doug picks battle hazard he is leaving it to fate on where it occurs. This makes it a known risk for the player, or an unknown general risk to the other players. Do you take one for the team or do you see where your ill luck manifests on the battle field and it may fall on players who can deal with it easily. (Rules dont specifiy whether or not the  invokes flaws) Other players may spend hope to move to that location on the battlefield to assist.

The Common skill roll we get is a chance to particapte in the battle and to earn AP points.

Paul, for each new scene I think it woud be helpful to set it up like our combat posts.
State the mechanical information, how well the battle is going and the PC's general location on the battlefield.

I think we are taking a mental hex and grid approach to this battle mentaly, which is causing some of the confusion. If we look at it instead as how deep in the shit are characters are, and a general attempt to accompllish an objective like break the stockade, and less about where specifically the characters are it will make more mechanical sense. This battle system mirrors the combat system in that it is general as opposed to tactical.

Hope this helps.

[Eclecticon]

Paul, for each new scene I think it woud be helpful to set it up like our combat posts.
State the mechanical information, how well the battle is going and the PC's general location on the battlefield.

I can do that.  I think I probably assumed too much familiarity with the Mythic Battles rules to begin with, and didn't provide enough initial mechanical exposition. 

[Telcontar]

The barn was on a slight rise and Bandy say the battle engaged before him. He and his companions had had many fights in their day, but never a full blown battle. People fought and died within the full scope of his vision.

Bandy saw Esgalwen go down, and her body bore a limp form as it rose. Engaged and unknowing she seemed to gaze upon the field of battle. Then he saw her stumble and fall again.

The folk of Stanford trickled out of the barn. They were the old, the very young, and the sick. Some head broken farming implements and staves in their hands, others moved slowly but steadily away from the fray.

The Hobbit slung his bow. Drawing across his body he drew the ancient blade the men of the Mountain had gifted him.

"FORTH BEORNINGS!"

The small feet of the Hobbit outpaced any that would have followed him as he rushed towards the fray.

By the collapsed body of Esgalwen he stopped and saw the listless look on her face. Her eyes were open and she seemed hale enough, but would not stir. Paralyzed by the scene of slaughter or the tide of battle the Hobbit knew not what to do to raise her. He thought too of the dark places they had been, the dark scenes they had seen, the foes they have faced, but always there was light too.

From his belt he drew out the stone of Ardillon. The gem twinkled in the light, but as he out stretched his arm it blazed with the white light of Elbereth. A flash upon the hill washed over the battle below.

"Arise Daughter of Gondor, arise! The light has not departed!"

[tomcat]

Awesome, Tom!!

That is something I can work with to get this character out of her doldrums. Once we get to the point where we can spend some AP, I can buy her new trait and restore her Hope.

If she lives.  

We shall see. I still need Paul to let me know how long the bout of madness lasts.

[Eclecticon]

I'm leaning towards Esgalwen being out of the rest of the battle if there's a way she can avoid it.  She's been sliding towards this for a long time and it feels like cheapening it to have it over too quickly. 

On the other hand, Bandy helping her back to herself, despite his own misgivings about the life they chose, is both awesome and entirely in character.  So I'll say that, using the stone of Ardillon, he can help her with Inspire or Song rolls as his heroic opportunity every assault wave.  It's an ongoing effort requiring five successes (equal to her temporary Shadow before her madness - Doug, correct me if I'm wrong).  Great successes count as two, Extraordinary ones as three, as per usual. 

[tomcat]

she had 4 Temp Shadow before her bout of madness.

[Eclecticon]

Four successes, Tom, like I said above. 

[Telcontar]

  first song attempt for this round to see if we can rally Esgalwen.

Rolled 1d12 : 6, total 6

Rolled 3d6 : 2, 5, 4, total 11