[Lee, don't read this :D]

So last week's session of 494 ended mid-year because the two PKs present -- who went off on a personal adventure to find a missing father-in-law -- in their rather foolish arrogance chose to camp for the night in the same spot they had just slain a half-dozen bandits, only for the one on watch to fall asleep and so they both awoke to swords at their throats from the bandits' reinforcements.

Now they are in a wooden cage with said father-in-law, who's badly wounded and deteriorating fast, being held for ransom by the father-in-law's bastard son, who styles himself "Lord of the Forest." Their squires have been sent out with the ransom demands and the third PK, a banneret, will get involved next session. Neither of our captured knights has quite enough in his treasury to pay the ransom, so quite a sticky situation indeed.

My PK is the other captive who went along to help his friend resolve this family mystery, and the one who was sleeping at the time but *not* on watch. This is a miserable situation for my notably Proud and Valorous pagan, and I'm trying to find some way out of it. And trying to flirt with some of the few women in the bandit camp did not work (as they're the wives or daughters of said bandits).

So since I can't fight or...something else beginning with F my way out of this scenario, it's time to put on the thinking cap. I've got a decent skill at Orate and so I'm looking to talk my way out. Previously we interviewed the wife of one of the missing servants (who turned out to be among the bandits), who had told her young daughter that her daddy had gone off to war and been killed. So that gives me the idea to confront the man with this tale, and then start in on the other bandits - how dare they turn their bows and swords on their fellow Britons instead of the hated Saxons, etc. As their bastard leader desperately wants to be acknowledged by his father, I'm thinking to challenge him to single combat to "prove himself worthy of being a knight".

Also as my family trait is "never forgets a face" I will point out to the bandits that once they get their gold, where will they spend it? I will have descriptions sent to every knight and market in Salisbury - and my squire has already left with this information (might be a bluff). However if they join Salisbury's army against the Saxons, they may earn a full pardon for their prior crimes. Granted only the Earl can do this, but I'll play up my close relationship with him (though I'm one of his 'problem knights'...unfortunate incident with Ygraine, etc.). There's also the promise of plunder, etc.

Your thoughts?

MUCH SNIPPAGE

Also as my family trait is "never forgets a face" I will point out to the bandits that once they get their gold, where will they spend it? I will have descriptions sent to every knight and market in Salisbury - and my squire has already left with this information (might be a bluff).

MORE SNIPPAGE

Your thoughts?
My first thought was "and why wouldn't the bandits simply kill you right after you say that? You've as much told them that becasue of you a description of them has already gone out. And that you will be able to describe each and every one of them. So they ahve nothing to loose by killing you.

Now your GM might first let you make an Oratory roll to convince them not to kill you, but then he might not.



As their bastard leader desperately wants to be acknowledged by his father, I'm thinking to challenge him to single combat to "prove himself worthy of being a knight".
Now this might be an interesting twist, especially after playing the "British vs Saxon patriotism" card. Of course, you do have to actually win!

Also, you might offer to help him get knighted, perhaps by a certain banneret you mentioned. (grin).

Good luck!

Well, my ill-advised plan did not come into play, for at our session Sunday we instead played our squires as our banneret brother-in-arms rode to our rescue with a host of our family knights and a unit of archers. He had his small army hide in the woods surrounding the bandit camp while he rode in alone (flanked by two archers disguised as bandits) claiming to bear a portion of our ransom as a gesture of goodwill. At his single citing "English hospitality" we all duly unleashed hell.

Then our captive PKs managed to break out of our wooden cage and start brawling unarmored with the two bandit spearmen who'd been guarding us. My knight got his Medieval Rambo on by wrestling a spear out of his own guts and then killing the knave with it. Meanwhile our rescuer Sir Perin was doing his best Boromir impression by drawing most of the fire from the bandit archers and collapsing unconscious, Sir Hewgon doing the same from his lack of armor and my Sir Aedgar leaning on said spear barely conscious.

So we return to live another day...to the GM's ominous warning "death comes to us all" and St. Alban's next session.... I should remind the GM that a nice old miracle would be just the thing to get Sir Aedgar to convert to Christianity.

So we return to live another day...to the GM's ominous warning "death comes to us all" and St. Alban's next session.... I should remind the GM that a nice old miracle would be just the thing to get Sir Aedgar to convert to Christianity.


Haha, nicely optimistic.

What happened?

Well one PK, Sir Hewgon (the one whose father-in-law we rescued) went mad from a botched passion during the battle and is currently MIA.

The rest of us survived the battle, but we're in suspense until next session as we ran late, and had to skip until next week due to everyone's schedules. I have a feeling that both Sir Perrin and Sir Aedgar are not long for this world, unless perhaps they wind up womanizing instead of feasting.