Rise of the Runelords Recap # 47 [RPG]

[19 Kuthona 4707]

Hearing the sounds of explosions echoing through the valley, Kozen correctly deduces that her allies’ “reconnaissance” mission has gone awry.  Although still sick and shivering, he hurries towards the sound of battle and arrives at the edge of the battlefield just as the other adventurers prepare to make a stand against the bulk of the ogre army.  As Goragar and Shalelu prepare to hold the line, Kang flies to the top of the wall so he can drop bombs on the ogres when they storm out.  Sir Roderick and Artemis prepare to open fire as well, but the thick fog continues to hamper their ability to acquire targets.  Shalelu calls up to Kang that if she or Goragar fall in battle, it’s his responsibility to make sure they’re not captured alive because what the ogres would do to them would be far worse than death.

Ogres aren't smart, but they pack a punch!

The storm hits.  In twos and threes ogres stagger and stumble out of the front gate and into the fog, trying to find the foes that are right in front of them.  Fortunately, the ogres’ size and the adventurers’ clever positioning create a natural bottleneck that keep Goragar and Shalelu from being drastically outnumbered at the point of attack.  Goragar swings his blade methodically, cutting down ogres that have been sorely wounded from Kang’s inerrant explosives!  Sir Roderick has difficulty hitting anything in the fog, but Artemis’ arrows strike home time and time again.  Kozen arrives and lends a hand by enchanting a rope to trip some of the ogres.  In a matter of minutes, a full dozen ogres are slain!

Goragar is badly hurt, and it’s clear from the shouts coming from Fort Rannick’s courtyard that a second wave of ogres are on the way.  A hasty decision must be made: flee, or fight?  Fight!  Some of Goragar’s wounds are magically healed, but in mere seconds the fighting starts again.  This time the ogres are led by two warriors with better weapons and armor, and strange appearances: one has knees that bend in reverse like a goat, while the other has a grotesquely-oversized head that constantly wheezes.  Ogres aren’t smart, but the decision to focus all of their attacks on Goragar is an easy one.  In a vicious exchange of blow after blow, both sides are slashed, battered, and impaled.  Victory or defeat hangs by a thread.  Suddenly Sir Roderick gets a bead on the goat-legged ogre and fires a shot from his musket that’s so powerful it blows the top of the creature’s head off!

The wheezing ogre keeps fighting, feeling confident that once it kills the weakening half-orc in front of him, the others will be easy prey.  Kozen gets too close and suffers a vicious wound, but bravely maneuvers himself so that he can heal some of Goragar’s wounds even while the fighting continues.  Kang curses that he’s running out of bombs, but an instant before the last ogre can level a killing blow on Goragar, another powerful shot from Sir Roderick fells the attacker.

Goragar is somehow still standing despite the punishment he’s taken, and advocates a tactical withdrawal.  Kozen says retreating could be as dangerous as pressing forward, as they could be set upon in the night.  Artemis speculates they may have already killed all of the ogres and retaken the fort.  Kang agrees, and persuades the others that it’s worth investigating further.  Inside the main gate and to the east, the adventurers find one of the many horrific scenes they’re destined to encounter at Fort Rannick: an open-air cook house has been used by the ogres to roast almost a dozen of the Black Arrow rangers.  Kozen vomits from the sight, but Artemis and Shalelu each take the time to go through the bodies as if looking for something.  Meanwhile, just outside the gate, Goragar makes sure all of the ogres are dead and then looks to see if any are holding valuables: in addition to some mildly-enchanted suits of hide armor and ogre hooks, one carries a copper ring etched with a badger that Goragar identifies as a ring of feather falling.  He rejoins the others as they cross the courtyard and examine the other structures: a tall guard post that is clearly falling apart, wooden barracks that are a fire hazard, and stables that are well-maintained but empty. 

With only the central keep left to explore, Goragar cuts through the already-battered doors to reveal a main hall swathed in a horror of dried blood and bits of flesh swarmed over by clouds of flies.  Ahead is a T-junction, and the adventurers can hear ogres talking and laughing from rooms nearby.  Kang and Artemis cautiously scout ahead and find one ogre in a room to the right admiring his own artwork (made with a decapitated human corpse as a “paintbrush”).  To the left, two ogres have dressed up in human-sized armor and are guffawing about each other’s “tiny man clothes” in front of a collection of heads mounted on pikes. 

Rapidly realizing that Fort Rannick is far from being cleared of danger, the group reassemble and whisper about what to do.  Shalelu speculates that something unusual must have been at play for the ogres to capture Fort Rannick, and that they must have a strong leader to keep the normally chaotic creatures in line.  Sir Roderick suggests returning to Turtleback Ferry so he can make more ammunition and Goragar can rest and heal.  Artemis suggests camping in a nearby copse of trees, but the smoke of a campfire (necessary given the cold) could be seen.  After further discussion, consensus is reached to return back to Turtleback Ferry.

An epic battle worthy of song has been won at the gates of Fort Rannick.  But the mission is unfinished, and the victors have been forced to retreat.  Should they have pressed their advantage, or were they wise not to press their luck?  And what will they find when they return?

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Director's Commentary (June 10, 2018)

I'm writing this post as the campaign is just about to end Chapter Four, but I still think one of the craziest and most awesome things to happen so far was this battle at the gates of Fort Rannick.  The AP calls a frontal attack "suicidal," and gives at least a half dozen options it thinks players may pursue for trying to retake the fort through stealth or guile.  But my group chose to do things the hard way, and somehow it worked!  This was definitely a team effort aided by strategy (creating the bottleneck) and luck (the fog).  Goragar earned a place in Gorum's battlefield heaven by his feats in this session, but everyone contributed.  I don't think I've ever been as proud of the players as I was in this session, as they didn't win this battle through having munchkin characters but through sheer determination and the dice gods.

If there's one thing that tops this session . . . it's what happens next session!