oaktree
06-24-2012, 07:29 AM
Subject is nickname dubbed by a few players on this year's quest in the monthly campaign I play in. The Year 523 started quietly with knights attending Arthur's court in Camelot, partaking in a royal feast, and a few taking an oath to avenge a slain king upon finding ladies mourning at his tomb.
A little later in the spring a commoner arrives at the court of one of Robert's bannerets (a semi-retired PK knight.) The commoner is a messenger from the steward of a manor in Lambor near the Forest Savauge that was acquired by the banneret back in his vassal knight days during the Anarchy Period1. It appears that a large boar of almost supernatural ferocity is laying waste to the manor's fields and nearby lands. The steward needs help in dealing with this menace and thus appeals to his lord.
The banneret soon afterwards rides to Sarum to consult with Count Robert and gain permission to recruit some local knights to aid in the quest to deal with the savage boar. Permission is given and five additional knights volunteer to come along. (The six knights are split up two each among the three players in the group - the banneret, a nephew of his, and four other "2nd generation" knights in their early 20s.)
The knights arrive at the manor of Granthem in Lambor to discover that the outlying fields and buildings have been trampled, rooted up, or otherwise damaged or destroyed. Whether this is one boar with supernatural speed, or more than one boar, is unclear. In any case the local hound pack is gathered, the knights equip themselves with hunting armor (4pt leather)2, select horses (mix of chargers, a few coursers, and some spare rouncys), and make sure to have extra boar spears carried by the escorting squires.
The group opts to travel together rather than splitting up, so they are dependent on the leader's Hunting skill. (Which is fair since both the banneret and his nephew have a family trait Hunting skill bonus.) A trail is found, lost, and then eventually found again. A pursuit starts, and a number of rounds later a very large boar is brought to bay in a clearing on the edge of the forest. So far, so good. 8)
At this point half the knights fail or fumble Valorous checks to charge the boar. As horses flee the remaining knights charge in and combat the boar. One knight's horse is mauled by the boar and crippled; throwing the knight off to land nearby. Another knight breaks a spear off in the boar and wounds it severely (critical hit, but not a major wound). The third knight hits the boar, but causes only a minor cut with a glancing blow.
While knights who fled earlier return, and the knight who just charged rein in (and one rearms with a timely squire roll) the boar turns and attempts to trample the dismounted knight. The knight weakly dodges, but the boar suddenly trips in a hole and falls over on its side. (Fumbled attack, and a failed DEX roll.) This knight scrambles to the side to get a horse from his squire while the other knights start another series of attacks.
The melee continues with more bloodshed. Two knights receive serious injuries (major wounds), and two more horses are mauled as well. The boar is struck repeatedly and eventually brought low - including the one knight who first hit it breaking two more spears in it. The boar collapses and it appears victory is at hand.
At which point a second boar of the same size charges in cripples another horse. It is struck a critical blow by a knight, but is only wounded and not slain. And knights are still failing Valorous checks preventing concerted action against the boar.
The banneret in charge of the expedition at this point opts to withdraw. (Prudent check) Noise indicates that *more* boars might be nearby, one third of the knights are severely wounded, four horses (including both of the banneret's) have been crippled, and these creatures are definitely not your normal beast! And a quick view while the knights retreat indicate that one of the boars is even more massive than the ones fought so far.
The knights get to heal their wounds, gain a little glory for killing a monstrous boar, and hopefully collect some evidence to support their tale. The banneret plans on taking this information to Arthur's court the next spring to organize a better manned and equipped force to deal with this threat. (POUS indeed.)
1 - This adventure leading to getting this manor occurred right before the knights adopted coats-of-arms. In honor of the forest adventure the knight took a holly leaf as a charge upon his shield. Which is the one I am using as a avatar on this forum.
2 - Aside: This is a point where my character knowledge and my knowledge as a player differed. As a player (and GM of KAP) I was fairly certain what was out there - but the player had failed a Faerie Lore check and believed that this was simply a boar of perhaps unusual size and fierceness, and did not require any sort of extraordinary measures.
A little later in the spring a commoner arrives at the court of one of Robert's bannerets (a semi-retired PK knight.) The commoner is a messenger from the steward of a manor in Lambor near the Forest Savauge that was acquired by the banneret back in his vassal knight days during the Anarchy Period1. It appears that a large boar of almost supernatural ferocity is laying waste to the manor's fields and nearby lands. The steward needs help in dealing with this menace and thus appeals to his lord.
The banneret soon afterwards rides to Sarum to consult with Count Robert and gain permission to recruit some local knights to aid in the quest to deal with the savage boar. Permission is given and five additional knights volunteer to come along. (The six knights are split up two each among the three players in the group - the banneret, a nephew of his, and four other "2nd generation" knights in their early 20s.)
The knights arrive at the manor of Granthem in Lambor to discover that the outlying fields and buildings have been trampled, rooted up, or otherwise damaged or destroyed. Whether this is one boar with supernatural speed, or more than one boar, is unclear. In any case the local hound pack is gathered, the knights equip themselves with hunting armor (4pt leather)2, select horses (mix of chargers, a few coursers, and some spare rouncys), and make sure to have extra boar spears carried by the escorting squires.
The group opts to travel together rather than splitting up, so they are dependent on the leader's Hunting skill. (Which is fair since both the banneret and his nephew have a family trait Hunting skill bonus.) A trail is found, lost, and then eventually found again. A pursuit starts, and a number of rounds later a very large boar is brought to bay in a clearing on the edge of the forest. So far, so good. 8)
At this point half the knights fail or fumble Valorous checks to charge the boar. As horses flee the remaining knights charge in and combat the boar. One knight's horse is mauled by the boar and crippled; throwing the knight off to land nearby. Another knight breaks a spear off in the boar and wounds it severely (critical hit, but not a major wound). The third knight hits the boar, but causes only a minor cut with a glancing blow.
While knights who fled earlier return, and the knight who just charged rein in (and one rearms with a timely squire roll) the boar turns and attempts to trample the dismounted knight. The knight weakly dodges, but the boar suddenly trips in a hole and falls over on its side. (Fumbled attack, and a failed DEX roll.) This knight scrambles to the side to get a horse from his squire while the other knights start another series of attacks.
The melee continues with more bloodshed. Two knights receive serious injuries (major wounds), and two more horses are mauled as well. The boar is struck repeatedly and eventually brought low - including the one knight who first hit it breaking two more spears in it. The boar collapses and it appears victory is at hand.
At which point a second boar of the same size charges in cripples another horse. It is struck a critical blow by a knight, but is only wounded and not slain. And knights are still failing Valorous checks preventing concerted action against the boar.
The banneret in charge of the expedition at this point opts to withdraw. (Prudent check) Noise indicates that *more* boars might be nearby, one third of the knights are severely wounded, four horses (including both of the banneret's) have been crippled, and these creatures are definitely not your normal beast! And a quick view while the knights retreat indicate that one of the boars is even more massive than the ones fought so far.
The knights get to heal their wounds, gain a little glory for killing a monstrous boar, and hopefully collect some evidence to support their tale. The banneret plans on taking this information to Arthur's court the next spring to organize a better manned and equipped force to deal with this threat. (POUS indeed.)
1 - This adventure leading to getting this manor occurred right before the knights adopted coats-of-arms. In honor of the forest adventure the knight took a holly leaf as a charge upon his shield. Which is the one I am using as a avatar on this forum.
2 - Aside: This is a point where my character knowledge and my knowledge as a player differed. As a player (and GM of KAP) I was fairly certain what was out there - but the player had failed a Faerie Lore check and believed that this was simply a boar of perhaps unusual size and fierceness, and did not require any sort of extraordinary measures.