Well yesterday marked the day of my first Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game, second edition. A game which the GM had planned to run almost eight month ago, but which has now started. We’ve managed to get a party of four, which means we’re well rounded and likely to survive a little longer than normal, with any luck. I’m currently writing in the aftermath of our second game session.
However our group essentially didn’t get on too well, at least to begin with, but I will detail that later.
The party consists of:
- A Female Halfling Thief who is training to be a Rogue, played by my Kajira.
- A Female Elven Bounty Hunter who is training to be a Vampire Hunter, played by my friend.
- A Dwarf Tradesman who is training to become an Engineer played by Me – Magnus Morwind
- A Male Human Guardsman who is training to become a Witch Finder, played by my father.
The game was rather enjoyable, very much so in fact. Due in part to my friend knowing little about the concept of roleplay, and was managing to make some odd choices for an Elf, however he doesn’t know the world which makes it more understandable.
Our GM is rather set in stone about the way he plays, so for example when I declared (as a smith tradesman) that I wanted an anvil to carry with me, a reasonably small thing, he was grumbling as it was not in the rules and that I shouldn’t be able to carry one which is twice my size. I think he misunderstood and refused to bend. Though eventually I did get my anvil, plus a small handcart to carry it and other items in.
The Events of the Night.
The story started with our halfling entering a bar in search of information as to what had happened to her family, who were burned alive in their home following an arson attack. She is going to be killed and robbed by the two men who are “Directing” her to more information, which causes her to run. In doing so she passes the Guardsman in the street, who was a member of the watch in the starting town, alas he quit his job to find fortune elsewhere, while rather inebriated from the previous nights activities. Turning to see the two rough men who are clearly chasing a small child, abet one older than him by several years, he threatened them with his gun and tells them to leave it. Which they do, but the halfling has gone towards the main square, causing him to continue there.
In the square is located a great marketplace and bazaar where most of the towns commerce and trade occur. Placed by a town office, or church, I forget which as other events were more pressing, is a notice board for wanted men and women as well as jobs which require occupants of varying sorts.
The elf had entered the square in search of said board, as we all do before long, and en route a small child seems to annoy her, I forget exactly how, but who can tell when it comes to these mystical folk? I do remember her back handing the small girl who was pestering around her ankles, and causing her to run away into the crowds.
I saw these events from a nearby stall having arrived there a little while earlier in search of work myself, directed there by the local trading guilds with direction towards Altdorf. I remember catching a glance of our Guardsman friend but noting little of him and his horse at the edge of the square, however I do remember the cries as the crowds parted moments later.
The figures who detached themselves from the group were large, big and well built men, roughly five or so. One of which had a little girl holding onto his hand, and with the other pointing at the elf. Clearly the father does not take kindly to his daughter being injured.
Alas or perhaps luckily for her, as she draws her sword, a rather foolish error I must say, our halfling companion ran out of a side street and collided with one of the men, toppling him. A fight was clearly about to breakout, I myself was now situated nearby the notice board, leaning on my cart with pipe, watching the entertainment, and turned to say as much to the tall man with the horse who had also joined me near there.
It was about now that the crowd and market began to melt as if mist was being touched my first sunlight, and it was the sign of five an ten armed guards, weilding halbeards entering the square which said as much for the cause. With there were the two men who had chased the little halfling here.
The two men accused her of stealing from them and causing them harm, which caused her to be arrested, abet only for one night, even more so because she was seemingly innocent in their eyes and rather entertaining to them. Though the elf was also arrested, as her assailants had fled long before, she had yet to sheath her blade and turned to the guards enraged. Thankfully she saw sense, as I do not think it would have been a good day for her.
All four of us were hearded against the church wall, but only those two arrested. The next day we all met at the board again and agreed to work together for a job we had discovered in the grey mountains, on the far side of the capital city of Altdorf, or should I say I discovered. As due to some failing in all three of their cultures, I was the only one of us able to read or write in any language, which was a hindrance to them I must say.
But all the same we headed to the coaching house and spent the night there, while our guardsman started chatting to our rather drunk, steadily and heavily drinking coach drivers for the morning run to Altdorf. While in the inn a pompus man or elf, I wasn’t paying much attention at the time, came over to our table and began to play dice with us, with our money and his on the table. We added in some card games as well for the betting. During the game the luck flowed his way a bit too much and our halfling noticed him cheating us. She called out against the brigand and he fled. In outrage we chased him as he ran, alas he lept through a window, disappearing into the forest. We were told to halt by the barman, who grumbled and said the swine was barred for cheating customers for the last time. We retired to our room for the night, to get up first thing and travel out of the small town.
After some arrangements, involving our drivers throwing up and grumbling (both them and our GM) I got my cart on the roof and along with my companions road the coach for awhile, sadly we had to take the roof as some posh human nobilite and her bodyguard retinue had already secured the inside, rather firmly, with a gun aimed at the elf who tried to take issue with this fact.
The ride was more or less uneventuful, till following a lurch, due to a hole in the track, our elf was thrown from the coach and landed rather hard. We discovered a ruined coach round the following bend, as well as several creatures of clearly unknown origions, they seemed rather chaotic and malformed.
I remember taking the rear vanguard as the elf, human and halfling ran to slaughter these creatures. I came up after to examine the new, rather bloody and wrecked coach. There was a couple of bodies but very little else, clearly the weapons and money had already been picked clean, either by the monsters or our erstwhile drivers, who appeared not long after the area was secure. The first sight of such creatures driving them to hide in the forest around us.
The body we first found was the twin of our human, clearly defined as his exact double. Rather an odd thing to stumble upon, though humans look rather similar at times. About his person were several letters detailing that he was en-route to acquire an inheritance and bore signed declarations that he was who he said he was and had the complete right to claim, from what I could discern, a sizeable fortune.
Once we were all gathered together again we set off towards Altdorf again and arrived there late afternoon, early evening, and began our search for employment.
(And had we not beated said elf around the head and explained in careful tones that elves DO NOT DO THAT, she was planning to devour the brains of said monstrosities later on.)
