-- Outline for Game Session Two --
The Outline for Game Session One can be found earlier in the thread:
Here.
TWENTY QUESTIONS
Game Two starts with a round of Twenty Questions. I will have prepared a list of questions about the in-depth background I've created for this campaign. Random rolling between players, each player will have a chance to answer several questions. A Fate Point will be awarded to a player's character for every five questions the player answers correctly. The player who answers the most questions correctly will gain a bonus Fate Point.
This should be a fun, game-show, kind of way to review campaign background and learn specifics about our story--especially since its been a while since we've been able to get together to play.
THE BLOND MAN WITH NO TONGUE
Game One ended with the boys dragging the dead man--whom they thought was Vanir--out into the wood as they were told. But, they discovered that the man's red hair was only dyed that way. His true hair color is blond.
The old man is an Aesir. And, somehow, he had gotten his tongue cut out and his hair dyed red and used as an axe target at the celebration of the Beltain in Seven Stones Ridge.
Branoc, Thrallan, and Caelis are present. It will be interesting to see what the players do with this discovery.
Most likely, they will tell their father, and Finn will gather Hrathnar and Ean to see for themselves. If this happens, play the situation to remind the players that they are still just kids. They have no "say". They won't be privy to the discussion between the men. Finn will motion for them to leave. If the players have their characters linger or protest, Finn will bark, "I'm your father and your Clan Elder. Yer not yet men, and even if ye were, there will be things to which ye won't be privy. Now, back to town with ye afore ye feel the backside of me hand across ye cheek. Go, now! Go."
If the players still persist, Finn will make good on his threat and ground any kid still in his sight. He's a big, barrel chested, bearded Cimmerian, and his word is The Law.
If the players look back, they will see Finn hacking off the head of the Aesir with is big, pine-handled battleaxe.
Remind the players that during the first game session, when they were moving the body on the cart from the town to the woods, they saw blind old Rutcrana, by herself, next to the stream, seemingly staring at them through her white-clouded eyes. Her lips were moving.
On the short trip back to the town, Rutcrana is no where to be seen.
LUGHNASA
Three months later (at the end of we call July), the festival of Lughnasa--thanksgiving--is upon them. If Branoc and Thrallan thought that life would change drastically after finishing the Ras Croi, they were mistaken. Still they make their way out into the muck during their mornings to pull what finger-tip sized kernels of bog ore they can find meshed in the grass roots. They're out there with the other boys who have not yet tested themselves against the Ras Croi--and with those, like their brother Caelis, who tried and failed.
But, there is no more time for play, for Branoc and Thrallan. The Graiis is used as extra non-skilled labor for anyone in the clan that needs help. One week, they are helping to repair a roof. The next, they are sent to help the butcher when the hunters bring in an unexpectedly large kill. Branoc and Thrallan help clean the animals, then deliver the skins to the tanner, the claws to the trader, the bones to the carpenter and jeweler, before they are charged with cleaning the butcher's table, floor, and workspace.
The days are not spent training to be great warriors. Instead, the Graiis is used as a slave labor pool free for the asking.
If the characters ask when actual training will begun, the answers will receive a knowing look and a line like, "It is important that a warrior be trained at life as well as with weapons."
The players may notice, though, that unconventional directions come with some of their tasks. For example, they are only allowed hatches when chopping fire wood. And, they are told, "Chop one hundred strokes with your left hand. Then, swap hands with the hatchet, and chop one hundred strokes with your right. Do not use the bigger axes--only the hatchets."
The players may figure out that, at this young age of 12, their bodies are growing, maturing. And the Blue Fox method is to develop the muscles that they will need later. The first year of the Graiis consists mainly of physical labor, developing grip, and strengthening endurance and muscle, even if the members of the Graiis think they are just working for the betterment of the Clan.
There is little time for Branoc and Thrallan to do anything other than work during the day. At night, they eat and collapse from a full day's toil. But, somehow, Branoc finds the energy and extra time to spend with his brother Caelis--the one who did not make it through the Ras Croi during the last Beltain. In the muck, during the mornings, Branoc repeatedly tells Caelis that his failure is nothing to be ashamed of. Caelis will make it through the race the following year. Plenty of great warriors had to attempt the Ras Croi more than once. When he can manage it, Branoc takes Caelis on practice runs through the course, so that his brother is well trained by the next Beltain.
Branoc and Thrallan do detect that
something has changed about their status among their clan members, though. The adults look at them differently, treat them differently. They're not yet regarded as adults, but there is a new found respect they've earned among their clansmen.
The gorge that Bec's Bridge crosses is now referred to as Stone Gorge. Thrallan is sometimes called "Stone", due to the circumstances under which he was found as a babe. The townsmen have started referring to the gorge as such in honor of Thrallan's last push to win the Ras Croi. He attempted it on the last lap, not the first, when he was the most fatigued, having hurt his ankle right at the outset of the race. Thrallan's attempt is the embodiment of the Cimmerian ideal--to continue to push oneself in the face of certain defeat--to continue to try when all else is lost. Branoc was the better athlete and won the race, but Thrallan proved that he had the heart to go the distance. It didn't matter that he did not win. The respect he has gained from his clansmen is due to the fact that he never stopped trying.
Bec is an older warrior now among the Foxmen. He was the first to win the Ras Croi not quite two decades ago. The old log that lies across the gorge is called "Bec's Bridge" to honor the first Ar Grais. Now, the rocky gorge that Bec's Bridge crosses is known as "Stone Gorge" to honor Thrallan and the ideals he displayed.
The boys are twelve years old, and they are starting to view girls as something other than poor and weak team members when games are played. Now that Branoc and Thrallan have become the newest Graiis, the two notice that many of the young girls in the clan are smiling at them more than what they used to.
NEW NPC's TO INTRODUCE
Brial, 11 years old. He's a sturdy kid, amazingly strong, and one of the biggest kids around the age of the PC's. His father was taken by the fever some years ago. His mother is a weaver. And, he has one adopted sister, Chani.
Brial is best friends with Dahkus, and the two of them will not let Caelis forget that the Clan Elder's son failed to complete the Ras Croi on the first try.
Caelis will be running against the two of them during the race on the next Beltain.
Olav, the Aesir trader that makes it through Seven Stones every year or so, pursused Brial's mother a couple of years ago. Still mourning for the loss of his father, nine-year-old Brial would have non of it. He would not see his mother defiled by one of Aesir blood.
That year, Olav had brough a bear to the Seven Stones Beltain. The night before the bear was to serve for the pleasure of the clansmen, Brial let the beast out of is pen. Olav went to recover it, but the bear turned on him, slapping him so hard the Aesir man's arm was crushed.
That is how Olav lost his arm. And, the last time Olav came to Seven Stones was the last Beltain, when he delivered the old Vanir man with no tongue.
Chani, 11 years old, is Brial's step sister. Her family were Grath goat herders living at a homestead in the Eiglophian Mountains. The Vanir came and destroyed the entire family. Young Chani was hidden in a pot and placed in the cooking pit. She was found by Brial's father after surviving close to a week by herself as an infant. She has been raised as Brial's sister, and she, too, suffered when her adopted da fell to the fever.
Dahkus, 11 years old, is a dark kid. Some say he's a bad influence for his friend, Brial, but the two are inseperable. Dahkus suffers some shame because is father, one of the rare Cimmerian farmers, never succeeded in completing the Ras Croi (after two attempts). His father isn't a warrior, but Dahkus is determined to be.
Dahkus resents the Dunchors and all they have. Naturally, he views Branoc, Thrallan, and Caelis as rivals, and this embitterment sometimes wears off on Brial, coloring his view of the Dunchor brothers.
Dahkus is determined to win the upcoming Ras Croi at the next Beltain (although Brial is a better athlete).
Girdra, 11 years old, is becoming a grade "A" flirt. Most think her the most attractive girl in her age group in the entire Clan, and Girdra knows this. She learning that she can get what she wants by smiling and laughing and
(This Post - Work In Progress)
I. Twenty Questions.
II. Dead, tongueless man.
III. Back To Normal.
- In the Muck.
- Brial and Dahkus tease Caelis.
- Branoc shepherds Caelis.
IV. Graiis Slave Labor
- Fix Roof.
- Help Butcher.
- Chop Firewood with strange request.
- Respect from fellow Clansmen.
- Stone Gorge.
- Looks from girls.
- Branoc works with Caelis on the Ras Croi.
V. Drachena's Spears
- Twirl it for reach.
- Slam it into a tree for a step.
- Use it as a walking stick.
- Carry two. Throw one. Fight with the other.
- Use it for hunting, or for war. A sword is only for war.
- If a good, quality head, use it to jump or vault.
- A marker for scouts.
- Ean, watching the Graiis on their first day of weapons training, steps in and beats the hell out of the target dummy with his sword. "A spear is no match for a good yard of steel."
- Drachena: "But a spear will kill just as quickly. Dead is what you need. Obliteration is not required."
- Ean: "Always carry more than one weapon."
Versatility.
- Drachena: "Find that which highlights your strengths. Find that with which you are comfortable."
- Ean: "Part of being a man is taking care of yourself, your family, and your clan. Obtaining a good quality weapon is one of the first challenges of manhood."
VI. In the mean time.
- Craft weapons?
- What is Caelis doing with his time?
VII. Lughnasa
- Girdra
- Chani
VIII. One Year Later. The Beltain. Age 13.
- Caelis' Ras Croi.
- He runs against Brial and Dahkus.
IX. Combat.
- Combat round parts.
- Initiative.
- Delay.
- Attack Roll.
- Flat Footed.
- Dodge and Parry Defense Roll.
- DR 5 vs. Finess, AP, and Damage.
X. On the Board.
- Attacks of Opportunity = Free Attacks.
- Usually only 1 AoO per round.
- Circle step.
- Flanking.
- Two Weapon Fighting.
- Aid Another.
- Dance Aside.
- Feint.
- Use The Battlefield.
- Mock battles.
I hope :lol:
