The ford - opening scene (not volleys)

[Eclecticon]

Arbogast cuffs Rorin on the back of the head.  "Quiet, you." 

The orc's mention of 'breeding' makes him shudder despite himself.  He hopes that it is mistaken for a shiver brought on by the cold waters. 

[tomcat]

Grimbeorn's reticent face made for an awkward silence between the two parties.

"Yea, I will pay silver for them," said the orc at last, assuming this was the hold up in conversation. "I will give you 10 silver pieces for the female and 25 for the Dwarf! That is the offer...you don't like it? You can cross back over to your side of the river."


I want to point out - there will NOT be an Opening Volley round - unless - Bandy takes it on himself to start this engagement. Thus it will be a SURPRISE round. If he waits for the others to act, he will fall in Initiative/Stance order.

[Telcontar]

  sorry guys i have both a digital exercisse and a snow strom going on. Doug, what is the roof of the cabin made of? If it is canvas I may slice a hole in that. If it is straw, probably not. Either way Bandy will climb on top of the roof and string his bow. Once Grimbeorn is out of the water so that they are not hindered Bandy will fire an arrow at the lead orc iniating the ambush. Since I am in place and setting the pace may I make a free SEEK MARK ADVCOMP pg 109 roll taking into account the time Bandy has to study the Orc before he fires?  If that's a yes I wil roll the ttest now and then make my combat roll one you give me the yea or nay. The book does not have a TN, might be in erratta, I'll look after I roll. 
SEEK MARK Awareness Roll TN: ?

Rolled 1d12 : 8, total 8

Rolled 2d6 : 3, 6, total 9

[Telcontar]

OOC: page 107 TN are 14 unless otherwise specified. So if allowed that's a great success (check on Awareness?) which would give me three rounds of -4 to the Orc Chieftans TN. So that would be TN8 plus his parry.

[tomcat]

Tom, I am fine with your Seek Mark combat option. I updated your sheet for the Awareness success.  

As to your question regarding the structure, there is no furs, canopy, or any kind of fabrics or leaves. It is literally a stacked stone, crude structure supported and covered by logs. I attached a simple pic of what is in my brain below. The entrance is probably a bit wider and there would also be big rocks, too, like slabs of rock.

Also, there is only one orc here - and his troll companion.

[Telcontar]

Bandy quickly climbed the rough stone of the structures walls and made his way to the roof. The logs would make it harder for anyone to hear him as he moved about and readied his bow.

He was not there long when he saw his friends begin to cross the river and he strung his bow and took aim at the orc. The passage of time seemed to stretch out as he waited for them to cross and he heard the words that were spoken between the two parties. As they came closer and once Grimbeorn was close enough to rush the orc the Hobbit let fly with an arrow.

TN 8+parry
Best of two

Rolled 1d12 : 1, total 1

Rolled 1d12 : 11, total 11

Rolled 4d6 : 1, 4, 6, 2, total 13

[tomcat]

The companions watched as the orc's expression turned to one of incredulity when Bandy's arrow took him in the upper shoulder. The pain came next, but it tapped into the creature's berserker rage. The horrid mouth split into a feral snarl and his hands went to his weapons. A cruel, broad-bladed short sword came from its sheath along with a bearded-axe.

His name was Gaushnol and he was a champion among his folk. He had led many an orc-raid and always had had success, thus his rank among the orcs was quite high. Many feared him and all respected his prowess. His presence at the ford had been purposeful, for the Viglundings knew him, too, for many had died at his hands. The intimidation was enough to make the leader of the East Upper Vale conduct their business respectfully.

But now these newcomers had upset that relationship. They all need to die.

"TRAITORS! ASSASSINS!" screamed the orc. "TODAR, WE KILL THEM ALL!"

From inside the structure, the Troll growled menacingly. Bandy heard the sound of scraping stone, as if something was being hoisted into the monster's great hands.

[tomcat]

I am calling an initiative roll for this combat, as the situation seems confused. The companions would not have known that Bandy would fire when he did and might be as surprised by the attack as the orc.

So, here goes... we roll an opposed roll between the highest Battle rating in the group and the orc's vocation stat:

Arbogast
TN 14 battle 3d

1d12 : 6, total 6
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 1, 2, total 6

Gaushnol
TN 14 vocation 3d

1d12 : 9, total 9
Rolled 3d6 : 5, 5, 3, total 13

[tomcat]

Ok - I am assigning initiative to the orc and troll.