Iron Kingdoms Roleplay - Session Nine (Part One)

For those of you who haven't been keeping up you can find earlier sessions and background material in here. The stats of the player characters can be found here should you be interested and the rest of the 'Brotherhood of the Rail' mercenary companies NPC's backgrounds can be found here.

This weeks attendees would be Lieutenant Rafaldo Scorgiani (Steve's character), Martin's Warrior Priestess Danika Jansen, the Mechanik Bragg Halvard (Harry's character), Bradick Davalos (Andrew's character), My Ogrun 'Bosh' Skullsplitter with Captain Sebastian LaCroix (Toms character) temporarily moved to NPC status as he'll be GMing for the next few sessions...

Note - Tom was GMing and obviously had notes and intro bits written down so I've just pasted them into this article directly so they'll be in a 'reading to the group' style. This'll save me a lot of time writing out again things he'd already got written and hopefully wont effect your reading enjoyment too much bouncing between the two styles of writing.

Some of the background has been published by Privateer Press before but our GM only kept the approximate location, some place names and a few characters.

Mission Eight - 'Foothold...' (Part One)
The officers of the Brotherhood have left Corvis behind with the resources required to enable their employers in the Transcontinental Rail Company to build their fortress in the Bloodstone Marches...

Introduction.
You spend a few days of well earned leave in Corvis as the final arrangements are made for loading and transporting the supplies to the proposed fort site. The higher ups in the “Brotherhood” take this time to attend to personal business and exploring a little of the city of ghosts.

On the last day in the city Sebastian rejoins the company. He is seen stepping from a beaten looking carriage along with two of his favoured pistoleers (Lilianna and Nivin), Amelie and Geoff the gobber. Quickly a meeting is called of the officers. 

A well dressed but dark eyed figure sits in the corner of the meeting room. Monsieurs et madame allow me to introduce Mr William Darling. Mr Darling stands giving a gentle bow “No relation”
Sebastian continues, “Mr Darling informs me that our little fort is not so little any-more, and that we have a great deal of interested parties vying for our favour. Bien you have all done very well. I for my part had hoped to secure the land the for fort but circumstances being what they are, I was delayed a little longer than expected so we are now at the mercy of the “Old Thorn”.

Sebastian outlines the state of Ternon Crag and why the frontier town has been chosen. The group are provided with a somewhat out of date map of the area and talked through the changes...

The fortress is being built on a site formally occupied by an old tower now long abandoned. The Transcontinental Rail Company has built a station for it's new 'Frontier Line' over the old docks and ferry. The other smaller docks to the north has been acquired and demolished in order to remove any immediate competition. The 'Old Thorn' is apparently a man of significant local influence who owns much of the land in the area and by some unfortunate oversight some of the new fortress has been built upon land still owned by him.

The mission is deceptively simple, aid the Cygnaran's to police the Crag and work with the local population to ensure the border and the rail line are kept safe. There are several issues locally that may need addressing sooner rather than later and the Brotherhood are seemingly ideal candidates for the job.

Act One - 'Trouble with Trolls'

Before they have a chance to settle in at all news arrives that the local troll population had been running amok in town protesting a perceived lack of respect for them and their culture as well as anger at apparent intrusions into territory they insist is theirs. These incidents have moved from simple protests into vandalism, destruction and some acts of violence ranging from brawls amongst themselves to threatening of the local populace. With a population of over three hundred to deal with it's decided that a diplomatic option will be attempted first...

South Crag
With the exception of a few notable large landholders, such as "Old Thorn" and the town's few successful farmers, most of the South Crag is considered less desirable real estate, though newcomers to the Crag have a slightly different perspective than old timers---given the well crafted Town Hall that was recently built in this part of town.  This stretch of land is far more exposed to the elements of the Marches and has less stable ground for permanent construction.  Newcomers, river panners, and other poor wretches reside in the South Crag, often abiding the ramshackle housing that must be repeatedly kept up against the wind and shifting soil.  A few profitable plots of farmland have been carved from the elements here and to the south, protected by retaining walls, providing important local produce for the town, which relies heavily on imports.  Even the best farms in Ternon Crag are considered frugal in Cygnar, and require considerably more labour to yield decent crops.  Most houses are wooden single-story affairs, with the occasional second story denoting some level of affluence.

The camp is fairly well guarded though is in need of some repair and consists of a circle of well constructed but basic huts with a meeting place in the middle.

The aforementioned guards were very basically armed and Krieltown has definitely seen better days. After a brief conversation with the guards the group were escorted to the Kriel's leader whose name was Denrik Ironmouth and who resided in what apparently passed for the towns main meeting hall. Though better decorated than the rest of the camp, Denriks hall was still fairly primitive. The Brotherhoods Trollkin engineer Bragg was getting some distinctly unpleasant looks and the odd derisory comment from the other trolls as they passed. It seemed that the Trollkin population had a less than positive impression of those who left the Kriels and joined 'civilised' society.

As Bosh's negotiation skills mainly involved inventive threats of violence, Danika's required that the other person was chained to something or tied to a chair, Bragg was seemingly not looked upon well by other Trolls and Sebastian was absent the discussion was left to Rafaldo who had shown considerable skill in this area in previous encounters.

Editors Note - 'Social' Skills are an interesting aspect of the Iron Kingdoms rule system. You still have skills such as Negotiation, Intimidation, Seduction and the like but the 'parent' stat varies based on the context. So Bosh the Ogrun could use his STR (Strength) score plus Intimidation when attempting to 'persuade' some-one to 'lend' him their carriage, whereas Sebastian might use INT (Intelligence) plus Oratory when trying to inspire a group of ordinary citizens to march on the town hall. In the above situation Rafaldo has the best mix of base stats and appropriate Skills to get the job done...

Rafaldo listened to Denrik's grievances and offered the chance of gainful employment at a fair rate of pay in the construction of the fortress as well as implying that there would also be work available for Guards, Scouts and the like later on should they agree to cease their current less than sociable actions. Though Denrik agreed in principle to the plan he pointed out that there were a group of militant former Kriel members who were planning more significant violent actions in the near future and they were unlikely to listen to reason and were outside his influence. They had made a camp for themselves by the graveyard which was situated in the outskirts of the town past North Crag. Danika enquired about transport and was informed that the Kriel had a large herd of Bison that they were willing to loan to any of the Brotherhood brave enough to attempt to ride one...

North Crag
This district is the heart of Ternon Crag, serving the commercial needs of the town, mines and expeditions into the Bloodstone Marches.  It also serves as home to most of the town's permanent residents, including all the shopkeepers and craftsmen.  With few exceptions, anyone with any clout in the town lives in the North Crag, often looking down on those to the south or outskirts as hopeful transients.  Most of the buildings are set close together, with the occasional narrow alleyway running between them.  A few businesses, like The Gold Standard, boast a second story, while others have fenced in the area behind their buildings.

Though normally riding a Bison was nearly impossible for any-one not a Trollkin, Denrik offered to provide some older, more docile ones that would basically just need pointing in the right direction. This seemed reasonable except that only Danika had any experience whatsoever riding anything let alone a bloody bison. After some basic instruction, application of thick rope and some assistance (and quite a lot of sniggering) from the other Trolls their unusual transport was ready to go. The passage through the North Crag was uneventful as was the initial journey through the outskirts...

The Outskirts
The Outskirts of Ternon Crag serves as the gateway to the various mines and claims beyond its reach. It includes fewer permanent residences, but a number of temporary mining camps.  These are used by those who cannot afford to build in town or prefer to stay closer to their claims. "Old Thorn" owns most of the best land, though his actual residence is in South Crag. Some Trollkin refugee groups have settled in this area, including those who are reluctant to join the Krieltown.  This area also includes the town's graveyard and Flophouse.  The area has also been settled by a number of families with tribal roots who have integrated into the town and mostly given up the traditional ways of their ancestors.  This includes northern Idrians, Sinari, and Radiz, who have found good work in the Crag, albeit for meagre pay.

The 'camp' consisted of about ten tents apparently salvaged from a variety of military sources and those Trollkin that can be seen wandering around the immediate area are far better equipped than the ones in Krieltown. Armour is far more common here and weapons and equipment (presumably acquired in their recent raids) are stacked in piles by each tent. Two large Trollkin guards notice the strange group of Bison 'riders' in front of them and start shouting rather expressively in their own language towards the camp. Bragg is sent ahead accompanied by Rafaldo (who hangs back at a sensible distance) to attempt some form of negotiation but his overtly direct approach and civilised appearance seems to infuriate them more and one of them strikes him in the chest. The blow seems more a gesture of dominance than a killing blow and Bragg responds in kind though his own blow is less effective and a second attack from the Trollkin soon follows. Seeing exactly how the situation is inevitably going to play out Bosh moves forwards and demonstrates far more effectively how intimidation is done and the aggressor backs down though several more of the renegades step into position...the largest of them lets out a deafening cry and all his followers grabbed their weapons and prepared to attack...

Bosh charged the leader whose war-cry had seemingly invigorated his fellow raiders and though the Trolls great resilience saved him from being sliced in two by the first blow it was insufficient to save him from a second .One of the two first encountered guards met a similar fate though his comrade was luckier only receiving a glancing blow from Bosh's combat shield. Rafaldo used his magical powers to attack several more, killing some and knocking others to the ground. Bragg sought to make up for his earlier shortcomings by charging into the fray while Bradick lobbed grenades over his comrades into a second wave of Trollkin attempting to turn the tide of battle with a counter-charge and succeeded in blasting several too pieces though the Trolls innate resilience saved several more from death. Danika then decided to see if she could make a Bison charge...apparently she could...

Editors Note - The new 'Unleashed' rulebook is very specific on who can and can't ride a Bison and the answer is Trollkin and even then only Trollkin that are specifically trained to ride them (there's a 'Trained Rider (Bison)' Skill). However our GM let Danika's player get away with the charge on the basis that an old and slightly belligerent Bison probably wouldn't need much encouragement to move forward quickly and get stuck in and any tied to it would probably follow...if the enemies had needed steering towards then I doubt it would have been allowed, lol.

...Danika barely managed to control the stampeding Bison but kept her balance well enough to strike down several surprised opponents as she barged through them and several slow enemies were crushed beneath them as an added bonus. Bosh carved his way through any remaining foes of note though between the charging Bison, Rafaldo's magic and Bradick's bombs the leaderless rebels made significantly easier targets than they had initially.

The Trolls had accumulated little of real value and had seemingly been most focussed on acquiring weaponry and materials with which they could make armour. Bragg made himself a suit of well fitted armour by selecting the choice parts from that previously owned by the dead and dying and Bosh suggested that they strap the rest of the trolls armoury and equipment to the Bison to use as a good will gesture when they returned to Krieltown. Despite this taking a bit of extra time they all agreed that it might help to reinforce the idea that they were genuinely going to make good on their initial offer of help to Denrik and his followers though Danika pointed out that providing arms and armour to a group that was recently causing problems might create issues later...

Denrik was suitably satisfied that the renegades (and potential threats to his leadership) were eliminated, the many gifts also helped his mood considerably and the few of his tribe who were unsure of the arrangement initially were at the very least now able to see that the Brotherhood apparently kept it's word. They were then all invited to a celebratory feast in honour of the new truce and as a night-time journey back to base was somewhat unappealing they gratefully accepted.

Bragg also discovered that the previous negative attitudes to him had lessoned due to his association with the victory and several of the female kin were far more friendly than they'd been previously...the vast quantities of alcohol may have also been a factor. Bosh was just happy to have ale in appropriate sized containers and food in more suitable proportions and both he and Bragg had an excellent time and judging from the headaches the next day so did the others...

Taking advantage of the overall good humour in camp, Danika asked if they could take some Bison with them as they'd proven useful and having a considerable herd available Denrik Ironmouth let them keep the ones they had used most recently. Bosh and Bragg also were generously given some barrels of troll ale to take with them...

Interlude - 'Reporting In...'
The fortress was just over a third of the way through it's construction and was already impressive. The walls were quite high now and the main gate area was almost completed though scaffolding was still up in many locations and workers were everywhere. After a few enquiries they were directed to a set of barracks and rooms very advanced in their construction process and rather inexplicably a totally completed tavern area. Sebastian's priorities were clear if somewhat self serving.

Sebastian had apparently decided that the tavern was also a perfect base of operations and judging from his somewhat inebriated condition had 'based' himself there almost permanently since his arrival. He was also accompanied by the pair of Pistoleers that currently passed for his personal bodyguard due to Bosh being almost permanently used for other duties.

After giving their report to Captain LaCroix they were informed that they had been provided with personal quarters due to the length of time they were to be based in the area and that the barracks and training areas were also in a usable state. The officers quarters were the ones closest to the tavern of course.

Bosh suggested moving some of the Brotherhood to defend the incomplete fortress including the artillery crews, some of the rifleman and the rest of the Ogrun Men at Arms as well as conducting some basic military drills in the event that the worse was to occur and Sebastian agreed...possibly because it didn't involve him actually leaving the tavern to accomplish...

Act Two - 'The Graveyard'
Building work on the fortress was advancing steadily and the addition of the Trollkin labour had sped up the process considerably. Trouble from the Krieltown was now none existent as the Transcontinental Rail Company and the Brotherhood had kept their word in the areas of providing work for them in the construction of the fortress. Having impressed everyone with their strength, resilience and willingness to work it was decided to train a quantity of them as Men at Arms and as Artillerists (primarily as loaders) in order to fulfil their second promise of long term employment for some of the Krieltown inhabitants.

Though there was much to be optimistic about there were also disturbing rumours reaching the fortress and other places in the Crag of menacing figures appearing around the graveyard, groups of strange figures chanting in the early hours of the morning in the same area and other signs that led to an obvious conclusion...a conclusion that was especially obvious to any-one who had encountered such groups before. There was a distinct possibility that this was a Thamarite cult and that access to the graveyard had been made simpler by the Brotherhoods removal of the troublemaking Trollkin that had formerly had their camp nearby.

Having learned from their previous encounters with such enemies it was decided that it would be nice to be the ambusher rather than the ambushed for a change and so the Brotherhood planned to make camp nearby during the hours of daylight so they would be ready once the suspected cultists arrived for their nocturnal ceremonies. As the least conspicuous (and lowest in rank) the job of lookout was given to Bradick who as added 'cover' was given the job of pretending to be a grave-digger...a task marginally complicated by virtue of him having one wooden leg...

Editors Note - If you decide to give your character a wooden leg expect GM's to fill campaigns with rooftop chases, treks through the mud and tightrope walks...

Some-time after darkness had fallen Bradick spotted cloaked figures moving in the graveyards central area through his trusty spy-glass and returned to inform the rest of the group who approached the area as stealthily as they could manage. The cult seemed to consist of about ten individuals of which one was obviously the leader and another was armed with a rifle though the body language of most of the others seemed to indicate extreme nervousness. Only the leader, rifleman and two or three of the cloaked figures appeared to be confident in their current activities.

Rafaldo then decided to attempt to use a recently learned spell to control the mind of the Rifle wielding enemy and use him to attack the leader of the cultists. This would hopefully neutralise one of the threats temporarily and another permanently. After a brief clash of wills Rafaldo gained control of the enemy and forced him to raise his weapon, aim and fire a shot at his leader. It turned out that he was an expert shot and being caught completely unprepared his target was killed instantly throwing the rest of her followers into panic. The Brotherhood then charged and having considerable experience in such circumstances they quickly wiped out the few closest cultists while Bosh incapacitated rather then killed several for later questioning. The few survivors of the initial assault turned and ran.

Having bad experiences with escaping cult members Bosh decided to track the escaping survivors and left the two prisoners in Danika's capable hands. The trail was easy to follow and being confident enough in his own abilities he set off alone. The remainder of the cult had set up camp in a nearby oasis and had barely even gathered there meagre belongings together as Bosh caught up with them...

A search of the bodies revealed little of value and even less that could be used for identification of their origins. The decapitated corpse of their leader had a small notebook containing various information on Thamarite ceremonies in general and ones on necromancy in particular with a few names and addresses presumably of her followers scribbled in the rear. Of the two survivors only one seemed unemotional about his capture, the other (a young girl) was alternating between crying loudly and sobbing quietly. Danika decided to 'interrogate' the unemotional one first and utilising a combination of her medical knowledge, interrogation skills and a recently acquired familiarity with torture techniques extracted from him the names of all the members of the recently formed Thamarite cult. Fortunately the entire of them had been at this meeting and several were apparently just curious adolescents with more curiosity than sense.

The sobbing young lady was apparently one of the latter and in a surprisingly uncharacteristic act of mercy Danika let her go...after explaining in explicit detail the consequences of seeking out such forbidden knowledge in the future and urging her to pass this message on to any others she may encounter. To emphasise the point the first interrogated survivor was brutally executed in front of her before her release.

...Bosh returned to the graveyard some time later with two more prisoners in tow and some additional bloodstains on his armour. Having used up her quota of mercy on the girl, Danika executed the two escapees on the spot and Bosh made a mental note not to bother taking prisoners in future unless specifically asked. He also realised that he recognised the rifleman as one of the bounties from Corvis that was also wanted dead by Draegyn. Realising that revealing this now would result in another splitting of profits he decided to keep the knowledge to himself and deal with the situation later.

With the Trollkin bought into the fold and the local cultists dealt with the local situation seemed to be under control...I'm mean...what else could go wrong?!?!?

Aftermath...
Bosh slipped from the compound later and returned for the body of the rifleman with the bounty on his head...well...what was left of him at least. With a few well placed bribes and the odd threat here and there he arranged for the body to be shipped back to the militia office in Corvis and for a message about his demise to be sent separately to Draegyn.

The subterfuge would eat into his profits a little but nowhere as near as much as a six way split would have done. He knew for a fact that the others had their own sidelines so he didn't feel guilty about keeping the profits to himself as he knew that Raafaldo and Sebastian had twice split mission expenses between them, He'd spotted Bragg pocketing a pouch of gold from one of the offices during their search for the Thamarite cult in Tarna and had once been forced to sell a bag of bloody clothing that Danika had acquired from a pile of dead bodies...hardly the actions of a priestess...

Besides which he'd need the money to maintain his equipment now they were coming up against more worthy opponents and he was apparently going to be at the front of every combat situation they were in...which he was actually fine with...it was just a job with a lot of wear and tear on his equipment...

To Be Continued in Part Two...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.