ACKS Session 20: The Unicorn Pool

Session played on 06/02/21 with the session taking the PCs through 06/13/21. One day of rest on 06/14/21 means downtime requests can be made and sessions can be played after 06/15/21.

Foreword

Do I have a storygame on my hands? 

critical fail amirite lololol

Session Report

After the TPK last session Team A was back! They spent the lead up to session 20 hiring a bunch of mercenaries, specialists, and henchmen. Daria (PC Bladedancer Level 4) purchased a couple Light Repeating Ballistae. Laru (PC Thief Level 2) took advantage of his class's super fast leveling to level 2 to be able to hire two level 1 "bodyguards" quite quickly into his adventuring career.  Power play.

Marn (PC Mage Level 2) spent his downtime making amends for his degenerate necromancer ways. After his demonic patron, The Man from Another Place, double crossed him and trapped him in a filth ridden crypt beneath the city of Cyfaraun, Marn began to re-evaluate his choice of arcane specialty. 

Mando (PC Fighter Level 3) and Gaius (PC Fighter Level 3) hired some mercs and henchmen. Most notably Gaius, a former Legionnaire of Turos Tem, learned combat Riding at level 3 and hired four Light Cavalrymen to lead into glorious battle. 

I really had no idea what the players were up to. They had just settled into Cyfaraun, the largest city on my regional map. I assumed they'd spend some time in the city getting into hijinks and enjoying the well stocked equipment market. Or that they'd at least check out the Blood Moon Pit Fight that Temur (PC Barbarian Level 1) was planning on risking his life to engage in. Or hang out for the Blood Moon Main Event Death Match between Jeffro Johnson and RPGPundit. 

WRONG!

Marn's patron when he's about to
h*ck him over

They hit the road out of town towards Turos Orn en route to Turos Spen. It only took them about a day to travel the Auran Road towards Turos Orn but they were hit by a surprise attack by Brigands. The brigands saw them the night before and moved down the road so they could launch a massive bow attack on the PCs' traveling train of mercs, mules, and cav with the rising sun at the brigands' backs. 

The initial volley went pretty good and killed 1 (one) mule, 1 (one) Henchman (Mando's Explorer), and a handful (handful) of Light Infantry (Daria's poor lads). Daria heroically ran to the aid of the Explorer Henchmen that hit the dirt, other PCs surrounded the fallen comrade and indicated their Henchmen to do the same. So at the end of the battle Daria was able to revive the Explorer.

This is the sort of thing I didn't see much when I ran 3e and other WOTC editions of the game. I think because players were convinced that they'd not be able to live up to the Challenge Rating if they "wasted" their PCs' actions on doing realistic things like trying to form a circle around a fallen comrade. YMMV and maybe you've seen otherwise.

As far as the battle itself I took a bit longer to adjudicate than I normally would. I think I was a bit rusty from the week off and I spent a few minutes contemplating the fairest way to judge the Brigands getting surprise and to randomly disburse 27 surprise bowmen attacks. After the initial volley Daria sent her Light Infantry up the hill at behind Gaius and high Light Cavalry charge. Gaius and his Cav killed a ton of the poor arches on their initial pass. Twas brutal.

Upon cresting the hill Gaius saw that the brigands had their own Light Cavalry and a brigand captain and his entourage all with Heavy Warhorse and Plate Mail. Uh oh.

For his party Marn cast Summon Beserkers and sent them up the hill behind the party's Light Infantry. 

A new player was brought in as some sort of ringer (read on): Gundro Aleslosh (PC Gnomish Trickster Level 1). He used one of his (unbalanced) illusion class abilities to create the illusion of a hill giant stalking the land across the hillside and towards the brigand bowmen.

turos orn

Whether it was this illusion or because Gaius and his Cav were turning the brigand bowmen into a thin red paste, the brigand captain decided to flee the field of battle to live and fight another day. The PCs didn't take chase but instead grabbed up what meager loot the bowmen had, burned their own dead, and moved on to Turos Orn.

The game and world time in Turos Orn was very fast. The only interest the PCs had was in acquiring a map outlining the borders of the Viaspen Forest. Oh your game doesn't have this? Guess what, no one's does! So I'll tell you how it works. I'm a giving sort.

The player for Mandonio has been pestering asking me for months now if he could use his Mapping proficiency to purchase maps and decipher them to reveal portions of the wilderness from the comfort and safety of Downtime Requests. Well I ran this by the ACKS d1scord chat and the designer Macris himself. The answer? "IDK LMAO GL!" Here at the BROSR we invent house rules when the game designers haven't answered the questions; not because we're special flowers who understand game theory better than the actual writers.

So here are my house rules:

Land Map Purchase: Maps one might purchase will be designated in categories based on DM rules about what a player is looking for. Said map's category will shift to a rarer category for every 6 or more hexes away it is from the Market it's attempting to be purchased. A PC with Mapping and/or Navigation can buy a mpa of one lower cateogyr and attempt to make a throw of 11+ to deduce the info wanted with the cheaper map. 7+ if the PC has both Mapping AND Navigation. If the PC fails this throw he may attempt it again upon achieving a higher level. Such deduction of the map takes 5 Major Actions (5 days of downtime) per category of the info (not the lower level map). After which the throw is made. A second PC can help the Mapper deduce the map with Mapping and/or Navigation. They spend half the time and make the same Throw targets; adding +1 to the Mapper's eventual target. (Minimum 5+)

Common: 50 gp. "how big is the Viaspen? What is the road like from Siadanos to Cyfaraun?"

Uncommon: 300 "Where are the exact borders of the Viaspen Forest?"

Rare: 1,500 "where is the elven Fastness Aurans used to trade with decades ago in the Viaspen?"

Very Rare: 5,000 

Legendary: 10,500

I designated "the borders of the Viaspen Forest" as an uncommon map. Unfortunately for the PCs Cyfaraun was so far from the Viaspen Forest that it was upgraded to a Rare map. The players didn't want to pay 1,500 GP so they looked for the map in Turos Orn upon passing through, instead. With the Keep being much closer to the Viaspen they were able to find and purchase a copy of the map for 300 GP. So I went about removing some of the Fog of War from the hex map we've been playing on. 

A day later the PCs left Turos Orn and went down the road to Turos Spen. It was from there they intended to use as a launching point into the Viaspen Forest to look for the Unicorn Pool they heard about from The Dude back in Session 16 "The Dice Abide".  Story on top of story! I have a storygame on my hands...

The trek into the Viaspen Forest took a few days and passed without any Random Encounter rolls (damnit) and they took a guess around the spot the Unicorn Pool should be. They then went about searching for the pool. I used to rules in the ACKS Lairs & Encounters book which are designed for finding all the monster Lairs on a particular hex. I gave a bonus to the roll since Gundro had the ability to talk to animals. Who is this new guy?!

It took them about four hours of searching around the viney wood and no Random Encounters (damnit) but they found the Unicorn Pool. It was an old elven ruin that was kept in beautiful repair. Vines climbed the columns surrounding the crystal pool of divine water. The Unicorn carefully watched them from the other side of the pool as some of the Lawful aligned PCs approached. The Unicorn's reaction was Friendly so he was merely skittish not hostile at all. Gundro used his ability to talk with the Unicorn and informed the creature of the PCs goal; which was to drink from the pool and be healed of a Mortal Wound. The Unicorn was happy to allow Daria to drink from it, upon which her messed up babymaker was healed but she was given a Geas to eradicate all Chaotic monsters from the Borderlands!

Marn was next to approach. If you recall he had been in the process of shifting his alignment from Chaotic to Lawful. He and some of the players believed he could perhaps jumpstart the process if he drank from the pool. AD&D First Edition has rules for PCs changing alignments but ACKS does not (1e wins again) so I decided to let the Unicorn's reaction check to Marn himself decide if this player concept would work. It's feasible to me that a Unicorn can read the true nature of a man and know if he is truly contrite. Rolled a 5. "Nah fam", neighed the Unicorn. "Cmon bruh for real", declared Marn the Mage. Rerolled for a 7. "sheeeeiiii sorry chief", signed the Unicorn. "maybe if you do something for me?" "what's that my nbba," Marn said expectedly. 

"KILL FERIGNO THE DRAGON", the Unicorn declared. Some of the players said it with me like a rote prayer. They saw it coming. Such is the case with a story game! Read that dialogue. Brilliant stuff. I was on my Improv game. I actually don't remember how it was said but that's the gist of it.

The Unicorn gave them an estimated direction and distance to Ferigno's Lair which Mandonio noted on his map ecstatically. Then they rolled back to Turos Spen and finished the session. There was a Random Encounter Lair rolled on their way back but they chose to ignore the cave in question (damnit).

Afterword

I'm joking around about my campaign becoming a storygame. It's an exaggeration on the fact the players were focused on a goal that wasn't so much about XP as it was about PC goals and "stories". One player, at the conclusion of the session, mentioned that our Campaign is a "better storygame than an actual storygame". This collection of random encounters, random reaction rolls, randomized PCs and NPCs have created a better fantasy tale than anything produced after 1980. Sad!

It takes time to have this sort of investment in your campaign and its underlying story/fiction. Two or three sessions won't cut it. It also helps to use Jeffrogaxian Timekeeping since it gives the DM and Players a way to harness Downtime actions to gather info and invent (or find) hooks.

Knowing my campaign and the way it swings from one extreme to another the next session won't have any story to speak of. I can't wait to find out!

Surviving PCs Present

Daria (0% XP bonus) Level 4 BladeDancer: 36 XP gained. Total: 9,618

Gaius (10% XP bonus) Level 3 Fighter. 40 XP gained. Total: 6,715

Gundro Aleslosh (0% XP bonus) Level 1 Gnomish Trickster. 36 XP Gained. Total: 36

Laru Scribewll (5% bonus) Level 2 Thief: 38 XP gained. Total: 1,664

Mandonio (10% bonus) Level 3 Fighter: 40 XP gained. Total: 4,779

Marn (10% bonus) Level 2 Mage: 40 XP Gained. Total: 3,262

Deceased:

Dama (L1 Venturer) played by RR.  Current total xp: 75. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Darius LeVay (L1 Assassin) played by JB. Current Total XP:451. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Donald the Guardsman (L1 Fighter) played by MP. Current Total XP:570. DECEASED. Intra-party justice in Session 3.

Felix (L1 Thief) played by Nicholas. Current Total XP:431. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Hektor (L1 Paladin) played by Moai. DECEASED. Cause of Death: goblin warg rider throat removal surgery in Session 2

Leonidas the Inquisitor (L1 Cleric) played by RR.Current Total XP:498  DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Mard the Mage (L1 Mage) played by Nicholas. DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Yolo Baggins "My friends call me Swaggins" (L1 Gnomish Trickster) played by J. DECEASED. Paralyzed and eaten by ghouls in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Jack Filcher (L1 Thief) played by C. DECEASED. Shot full of arrows by Inthorn's brigands in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Swoleous Maximus (L1 Paladin). DECEASED. Captured then drawn and quartered by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Damianus (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Captured and beheaded by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Bucky (L1 Barbarian). DECEASED. Became a illegal pit fighter during his downtime. Had two bouts to the death, winning the first and losing the second. Was killed by Young Jack Sparrow who sashayed into the ring, drank rum, and mogged on Bucky before putting a dagger into his ribs, killing him. This happened during downtime between Session 17 and 18.

Broll Wolf-Eater (L1 Barbarian). Current total XP: 1079. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Brother Franklin (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Decapitated by a mad cultist of a Lovecraftian slime thing in Session 19.

Felix the Elder (L1 Bard). Total XP 825. DECEASED. Captured by mad cultists and fed to a Lovecraftian slime monster in Session 19.

Templar Flavius Africanus (L1 Cleric). Total XP 7. Killed by the claws and beak of mad harpies in Session 19.

Xendi (L1 Explorer). Total XP 6. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Alexa this is so sad play "everlong" by foo fighters