Picaresque

It was the morning of the 8th of Summerrise. With the aim of arriving at the site of a fallen star they’d seen the day before, they pondered their course of action. The morning brought relatively mild weather, and they set out south through the tundra, but got lost. Cédric, the Elf hunter, used his survival skills to find the path again. While he was doing that, a couple other PCs hunted, and one of them successfully hunted a fox. Cédric was able to find the path again, and he took the role of the pathfinder for the next quarter day, leading them south. Blanken, the PCs’ scout, spotted a lone sled dog barking and whining. Blanken tossed the dog a piece of meat, which it happily gobbled up. The dog led them to its dead owner, a lone hunter and his crashed sled. The PCs looted a few coins from the corpse and took the lone dog as one of their own, adding it to their crew of 9 other sled dogs!

Behind the screen: The dog was a random encounter I rolled in the moment. I also rolled on the “simple carried finds” table for the dead man’s loot.

Our heroes crossed the Keld river, arriving in an outpost called Keldstead.

Behind the screen: There is a settlement on the map in a bend of the river Keld. It was right in the path of where the PCs were headed, so I randomly generated it before the session and rolled up a settlement with 14 inhabitants, an inn, and a tannery.

It was evening, so the PCs debated whether to stay the night in Keldstead or keep on towards the fallen star. They decided to stay the night at the inn.

Our heroes went straight to the tannery, and met the tanner Lars. The PCs traded a few pelts and goods with him, acquiring some vials of hide glue and leather. He then advised them to visit the fortune teller, which they did.

The fortune teller lived in a tent right outside the outpost. They entered and found that she already had a client in session, a cloaked halfling.

Behind the screen: This is where the rest of the party were finally introduced to Buck the halfling, a PC whose player had to miss the first two sessions. This player was also a player in my Raven’s Purge campaign a few years ago, and Buck was his PC back then, too. So, originally all the PCs were going to know each other already, but given the circumstances I thought it would make more sense for them to be introduced to Buck at this fortune teller. I also talked this through with Buck’s player, and we settled on this. It also ties into why he is in the Bitter Reach. I had the PCs roll for reputation to see if they’d heard of Buck, and one of them actually had!

The fortune teller, who was known as “Mother”, told them of the Winter King Ferenblaud, his downfall, and his executioner Namtarel. She urged them to break the seals and release the Bitter Reach from its wintry curse. Our heroes were really interested in this quest, questioned the fortune teller whether she’s told anyone else the same legend. She said yes, she’s given others similar legends and quests in the service of the greater good. The PCs decided to follow this plot hook and took on Buck as a formal member of their team.

They spent the evening resting, and some PCs spent XP to gain ranks in talents. Cédric successfully hunted a boar.

Night fell. Eery silence, broken by a sudden alarm. A watcher had spotted two Nanuiks—huge aggressive polar bears—barreling towards Keldstead! Our heroes immediately mustered and readied for a fight. Cédric loosed an arrow, Celedor and Jorn got up close and personal with their swords. Blanken rained a volley of crossbow bolts onto the beasts. Buck impaled one with a thrown dagger. Even Lars, the tanner, dealt a dramatic blow with a spear (the spear was shattered due to a pushed roll). The bears almost shredded Jorn, but his armor saved him. Buck was almost crushed, but dodged just in time.

Our heroes triumphed over the Nanuiks, but not without a couple of close calls. And the bears destroyed one of the three huts in Keldstead.

Behind the Screen: unlike the sled dog, the fight with the Nanuiks was not a random encounter, it was GM fiat. About halfway through the session, I noticed a bit of a lull in the action. There had been a lot of hiking, hunting, role playing, mishaps, etc. You know, the procedural stuff. So the sudden bear attack was a way to end on a high note.

Our heroes helped tend to the wounded, and the village went back to sleep. In the morning they set out south, intent on finding the fallen star.

To be continued…