Barad Eldanar

[tomcat]

The Company spent five days encamped, allowing Edrahil time to become hale once again, but all the time Dirnhael fretting that they may lose their opportunity to either take Barad Eldanar, or ambush those that would take Camentir north. Still, his Sindarin freind's health was equally important so the time was spent.

On the morning of the fifth day, they broke camp and mounted once again. They would make haste towards the castle to see if it were a prize capable of being taken. It was but two more days until they would see the old Dunedain keep.

With the sun sitting at noon-time, on the 17th day out of Fornost, the Host looked upon the old battered castle known as Barad Eldanar. Around the solid structure, a frozen moat lay as a barrier for any that might try to assail the walls. On the south side of the keep, two formidable towers stood overlooking the gates. The doors were open...

OOC:

I need everyone to make a Travel roll (just for Day 17 of our journey) - the following apply:

Travel (Stamina Test) TN 20 (affinity bonus of +5 for your horses). This represents the twenty miles of travel done for that day.

Carl, this is a Stamina test to resist Weariness that could slow you down in any actions (cause penalites) or cause you to have to stop and slow down the entire company. What you will want to do is Take you Stamina score (sorry, there are no Specialty bonuses to Reaction rolls) and add that to a 2d6 roll. You want to check out your characters Abilities, Edges and Flaws though - they can give you benefits in these kind of tests.

So for Fengel it would be: Stamina +3, Tireless +4, Horse Bonus +5 = +12... so 2d6+12.

DOS will determine results:

[list=1]Any Success, you make it no problem
On a Failure, you lose 1 Weariness level
On a Complete Failure, you lose 2 Weariness levels
On a Disastrous Failure, you lose 3 Weariness levels and must stop for the day. Roll 2d6 and minus that from 20 - that is how many miles are not achieved for the days travel.[/list:o]

I figure after this one, you will see how the game mechanics come together, so unless you need me on any future test, I will leave the rest up to you. Besides, you will soon have the Core book in PDF to consult.

[Wiseman]

The ride was long and the thoughts that coursed through his mind seemed to make the day only drag on evermore.  

"What had gotten into the crazed dwarf..."  He had thought to himself countless times already.  "...good thing that the fight was broken up...  The dwarf was surely superior at fighting without the aid of his weapons, a skill that Daelhun knew he lacked.  

"Put the dwarf and I in a room with our armaments and we'll see who comes out though, that cannot be doubted!"  Was he asking himself or telling himself?  Or was he just trying to convince himself that he could take the dwarf in an even battle?  Whatever the case their actions hadn't helped the ride move along any quicker and it seemed to drag on and on, would the road ever end...

Roll(2d6)+7: 4,4,+7 Total:15

[cbl62]

As the castle became clearer in the distance, Fengel began to study it, trying to think in terms other than an all out seige against the old walls. Though it looked worn, he was sure it was adequate enough to fend off their small company, especially without the aid of engines of war. He scoured the outside walls and the frozen moat, but at the moment could see no breaks in the defenses.

As he looked, he could feel the ache of the long ride behind him settling in, and fought his own body against the onset of fatigue. He would need his strength now, and the disciplines he had learned as a young man in preparation for fight despite the odds or tiredness.

Stamina Test:
Roll(2d6)+12 (Stamina+3, Tireless +4, Horse +5): 5,4,+12 Total:21 Success!

His horse whinnied and let out a burst of cold breath that filtered out like a cloud. Fengel patted the animal on the neck and whispered in Eothraim to settle. The animal seemed to stiffen and respond, and in turn Fengel felt a little of the ache leave his body. Fengel felt a sudden longing for home, a longing to have their mission over and he sitting by the fire in the Great House telling stories of courage over a cup of ale. In seconds though, a chill wind whipped around him and brought him back to here and now, in front of the once great fortress. Fengel tensed himself and let out a sigh. He was ready......

OOC: Doug, I want to make an Observation "Spot" roll here to see any flaws in the castle from this distance that might give us an advantage.

Roll(2d6)+5 (Spot): 2,6,+5 Total:13

updated by DJ

[GandalfOfBorg]

TN 20 Stamina - (6+3)+8+3 Courage=20

Durgil, with the help of the other scouts, ride the perimeter of the group remaining vigilant against any surprises such as traps and sentries.

Observe (Hear) - (3+2)+3+2=10
Observe (Spot) - (6+6+5)+3+2=22

"Keep alert... we're going to need all the help get," Durgil whispers to his faithful steed.

Observe (Scent) - (6+1)+5(+2)=12(14)
OOC: Not sure if horses have the Scent specialty in FB&WM.

[Stefan]

Weariness teat TN 20
Roll (2d6) 6,3 +4 Stamina +2 Hardiness of Body +5 Horse=20 Success

Nain hated horses.  They were barely fit for pulling carts, definately not made of sitting on for endless hours.  Be the time they arrived at the castle he was ready to jump to the ground and kill all the easterlings himself just for a comfortable chair to sit in.

"Look, they've left the front door open for us.  We might as well go and make ourselves at home."

[tomcat]

OOC:

Hey Carl, excellent.. I will give you the results of your post in my next  story posting, but I wanted to let you know that you forgot to add your specialty bonus of +2 for 'Spot'. Observe (Spot) +3 is your current skill for observation, but you get a +2 bonus because you are good at seeing (spot). In the future, you can buy new specialties for your skill (i.e. taste, smell, hear, etc.).

So let's say with your next advancement - you get 5 picks to buy with - you decide to increase Observe by +1 to +4 and purchase the Specialty - Hear. So your new skill rank would be Observe (Spot, Hear) +4 and you 'd gain the additional +2 to either specialty you have for +6... make sense? You still could perform an Observe test for Taste or Scent, but you would not get the specialty bonus.

Also, there are times when you perform a skill that you gain an affinity bonus from other skills you may possess. Usually this affinity bonus is +1 per skill that applies. In this case, you are looking over the stone walls to find a deficiency so Seigecraft and Stonecraft would be an affinity bonus for an additional +2 (if you possess a skill rank in either skill, which you do not.. I just wanted to give you more mechanic examples. Cool?)

[cbl62]

OOC: Hey Doug, thanks for the additional mechanics. I feel like a fledgeling!!!! But I'm starting to get the hang of it. The hard part is sneaking the character sheet on to the desk so no one sees I'm studying it while I'm supposed to be working on the P&L statement for Ops.

[Lunduf]

Stamina test +3 +4 (tireless)  +5  (horse) tn 20
Roll(2d6)+12: 2,2,+12 Total:16


OOC:  The trick is to use mozilla firefox and keep one window open with work and hte other open with the pdf character sheet or this page.  I've done that back a class or two last semseter.

P.S. sorry forgot to add my stamina roll

[sdrotar]

Stamina +3, Tireless +4, Horse +5 = +12
Roll(2d6)+12:3,6,+12 Total:21 - OOC: That was close!

Once the Company had reached Barad Eldanar, Dirnhael barely breathed. He watched as the scouts deployed, and Fengel investigated the keep.
Sitting on his horse next to Edrahil, he nods at his friend.

"I am glad to see you are hale once more."

Just being near the Elf made Dirnhael more comfortable and confident, and he waited patiently to hear from his men.

[tomcat]

Barad Eldanar sat in what seemed a bowl in the land - high ridges rose around it north, east and west, like great teeth sticking out of the frozen land. The keep and its moat sat upon the flat of the bowl surrounded by a field that had large exposed rocks and thorny shrubs growing. The area made it impossible to easily charge the frontier castle or to move large weapons of war into position... quite a formidable defense indeed. The moat was frozen over and the Company could see that it was not a part of the castle's original construction. It did not seem to go with the aesthetics of the architecture - built by the hands of the Men of Westernesse.

From their concealed vantage point, Dirnhael watched his scouts diperse into the broken land to see if they could find any more information that would make their situation more favourable. The land was conducive for hiding, but that worked for both sides. Durgil made sure that the command was given and understood for absolute stealth. They could not afford to have their position compromised.

Fengel stared out at the castle and could easily tell that the structure was still solid. Like everything else they put their time into, the Dunedain, and the Numenoreans from which they came, built things to last. The castle was weathered but it would not be obtainable by this small force. Unless, they could find a secret way in... or perhaps do as Durgil suggested, dress up in the garb of their prisoners and make their way in through deception.

A few feet awya from the Eothraim, the man that held his thoughts patted his horse's neck while he listened and looked with great intent. Durgil could see that the sentry guard atop the castle ramparts looked thin, but that was all he could percieve from this place.

OOC:

I know that some of you have stated tests that you are doing and that is fine, but I will need the following from any that might be moving up towards the castle.

Stealth (Hide) TN 10
Stealth (Sneak) TN 10 - if any are wearing armor, the TN goes to 12

I also want to know what you guys are planning on doing - do you want to try and take the castle? Or wait until Camentir is taken north? Remember though, he might already be in transit!  :twisted:

[cbl62]

OOC:  The trick is to use mozilla firefox and keep one window open with work and hte other open with the pdf character sheet or this page.  I've done that back a class or two last semseter.

Thanks for the tip Lunduf! I knew Fengel liked this dwarf for a reason!

[cbl62]

Fengel finished his first glance at the castle, dissappointed that he found nothing immediate in its structure that could help them gain entrance or undermine the keep itself. The terrain was too rough for open attack as well, adding to their difficulty. It seemed to Fengel that maybe Durgil was right.

He rode a short distance back to Dirnhael and Edrahil, and found the elf to be nearly hale again. Fengel understood little of magic, and even less about the ways of the Fair Ones.

"Dirnhael, perhaps I can help us more by using Dirgil's suggestion," he said, looking at his friend's face, trying to read what was on his mind. "If we wait until dark, I can use the Easterling's clothing and approach the keep. If I am careful, I can scout the wall and look for its weaknesses, if there are any. The Dunadain have built the keep well, but even stone ages and grows weak with time."

"What say you?"

[sdrotar]

"Dirnhael, perhaps I can help us more by using Dirgil's suggestion," he said, looking at his friend's face, trying to read what was on his mind. "If we wait until dark, I can use the Easterling's clothing and approach the keep. If I am careful, I can scout the wall and look for its weaknesses, if there are any. The Dunadain have built the keep well, but even stone ages and grows weak with time."

"What say you?"

"Very well," said Dirnhael, "but be very careful. We cannot afford to lose you, my friend.

"Perhaps Durgil and his scouts could also use the cover of darkness to determine if a party has recently left the keep and headed north," he said as he turned to Edrahil - concern evident in his voice.

"We may be too late."

[Stefan]

Pondering the castle and the suggestion about wearing the easterlings cloths to get close to the walls Nain adds to te suggestion.

"You men all look the same.  Why don't you just go inside, wait till dark and then open the gates while the guards sleep and let the rest of us in?  They'll probably only have one guard on the gate and you should be able to take him in the dark.  Then we can walk in and take the castle while they sleep."

[cbl62]

Pondering the castle and the suggestion about wearing the easterlings cloths to get close to the walls Nain adds to te suggestion.

"You men all look the same.  Why don't you just go inside, wait till dark and then open the gates while the guards sleep and let the rest of us in?  They'll probably only have one guard on the gate and you should be able to take him in the dark.  Then we can walk in and take the castle while they sleep."

Fengel let Nain's comment pass from him, sure that the dwarf meant no ill. It had humor in it, though, considering the source....

"We may look the same to you, friend dwarf, but I can asure you our enemy would know the difference. And I'm sure all in the garrison are numbered. A stranger coming to the keep this night would seem ill timed."