….and we continue….
House Rule #2: Morale. For a solo campaign it's more important to have rules for both monster and player character retainer morale. For the monsters I've essentially used the same morale statistics as in Basic D&D. Monsters will test upon their first casualty and upon reaching 50% casualties. The hobgoblin morale is 8. Retainers test against a base morale of 15, being the same number required under a Diplomacy check for providing aid that could result in punishment. This is modified by their leaders Diplomacy skills (in this case a positive modifier of 9), if they have fought together before (positive modifier of 2), if they tasted success or failure in their previous engagement (positive or negative modified of 2) and a retainer can have other individual modifiers for matters such as bravery or cowardice, religious fever, military training. All modifiers could be a positive or negative modifier of 2 and are cumulative. Retainers take an individual test the first time they are wounded. Each individual in a unit takes a test upon the first death of a team mate or upon 50% of the party being dead. As such retainers in a party may start to fail morale and fall away but it's unlikely that the entire unit will route at once.
Round 2a – Cowardice!!!!
• Being so badly wounded, Mallory is gripped with fear and he turns and runs. As he passes, Azazel yells "Coward, Asmodeus will have a special place for you in hell."
• Renard grits his teeth and strikes back at the hobgoblin but his swing is wild and he misses.
• Ada raises his arm overhead and strikes down at the massive fiend and his spear pierces into the monsters' shoulder. It roars in pain as it takes 4 points of damage.
• Frideric and Odoin move up and stab fruitlessly with their spears, missing the hobgoblin in the centre of the room.
• Azazel moves around between Renard and the corner, raising his heavy mace above his head he brings it down……missing the hobgoblin.
Round 2b – The Hobgoblins fight back
• Drawing her bow, the first female hobgoblin fires an arrow at Ada but the arrow is deflected by his armour.
• The second female steps forward and also shoots an arrow but misses her target completely.
• A male hobgoblin slings his shied and advances on Frideric but swingly wildly he too misses.
• His companion, already in combat, buoyed at his removal of Mallory from the group, swings in a fierce arc at Ada but Ada desperately raises his shield at the last minute and deflects the blow.
• The male opposite Azazel lashes out but Azazel easily blocks the puny blow with his mace.
• The southern most female makes her way along the wall until she has a good shot, she raises the bow and aims directly at the head of Frideric whilst he is distracted, but her shot is wide and she misses.
• The last male moves up at stabs at Frideric the bade striking true but the force of the blow is mostly blocked by Frideric's armour and he takes only 3 points of damage.
• The last female moves back and starts to corral the young hobgoblins into the far corner away from the danger.
Round 3a – A new hope! The reinforcements arrive
• Ada and Renard stab at the hobgoblins but both miss.
• Similarly, Odoin misses but Frideric gets past the defence of the hobgoblin without a shield. Striking home, he does 4 points of damage.
• Azazel again raises his mace and attacks the hobgoblin opposite him but the hobgoblin parries his blow.
• From behind the group, reinforcements arrive as Walt, Harti, Ibba, Hunulf and Goar come up the passage.
Round 3b – First blood….to the Hobgoblins
• Seeing the reinforcements for the humans the hobgoblins become more desperate in their attacks.
• Whilst the female at the back of the cave ushers the young away from the danger, the two females in the northwestern area fire again at Ada but fail to hit.
• The heavily wounded hobgoblin again lifts his long sword two handed and misses.
• The two hobgoblins opposite Frideric launch a vicious series of attacks against the Order of Asmodeus' Chief Curate dealing 6 points of damage each respectively. Frideric slumps to the ground poleaxed.
• The male opposite Azazel raises his sword two handed and misses, the blade being turned by Azazel's armour.
• The southernmost female, seeing Frideric drop, instantly changes her aim and targets the Master of Arms Odoin but she misses and the arrow bounces off the floor as it skittles past him.
Round 4a – The faithful flood into the fight
• Walt runs into the room, turns to the north west, bypasses Ada and stabs at the female archer. As he strikes her he spitefully twists the spear dealing 7 points of damage and putting down his opponent.
• Knowing that reinforcements have arrived, Ada takes a 5ft step forward, beginning to flank his wounded opponent but he misses by the barest of margins.
• Harti moves up and pulls Frideric's body 5ft back from the fight.
• Renard continues to strike at the eastern most hobgoblin but again misses.
• Goar steps up, past Renard and over Frideric's body and attacks the hobgoblin in front of him, wounding it slightly for 1 point of damage.
• Odoin misses the wounded hobgoblin who is proving to be very tough.
• Ibba is armed with a long two handed spear and he moves north west a few paces and using his reach strikes at the wounded hobgoblin.
• Hunulf move up to Frideric's body and hauls it out of harm's way towards him but he doesn't have enough time to try to heal him and Frideric bleeds out 1 point.
• Azazel strikes at the eastern most male missing yet again.
Round 4b – The tide turns against the faithful
• The northern most female loads her bow and launches an arrow at Walt. The arrow strikes true hitting him in his left shoulder for 2 points of damage.
• The heavily wounded male hobgoblin brings down his sword upon Ada's head and he barely survives the deadly wound as he suffers 10 points of damage.
• The two males opposing Goar grin as they launch the same deadly attack as they did against Frideric but Goar manages to avoid both of their blows.
• The southernmost female, seeing this, lines up a shot on Goar, loses the arrow and …….. misses.
• Having no success against Azazel, the eastern male attacks Renard. It's a deadly attack, slashing Renards' midriff, dealing 10 points of damage. Renard slumps to the ground, trying to hold his stomach in as he passes out.
Round 5a – More cowardice!!!!
• Walt tears the arrow from his shoulder, advances and strikes at the female archer but he misses.
• Upon almost being instantly killed Ada turns and runs. The hobgoblin strikes at him as he leaves but misses the deserter.
• Harti advances on the southern male and hefting his spear he strikes true for 7 points of damage.
• Renard bleeds out a point.
• Odoin attacks the wounded northern and now flanked hobgoblin. Distracted by Walt behind him, Odoin spears his opponent in the stomach dealing 5 points of damage, bringing the big male down.
• Goar strikes out against the male in front of him but misses.
• Ibba move forward 10ft and two handed strikes with his long spear against the male facing Goar. The spear narrowly misses the male, who looks around menacingly at him.
• Azazel moves back 5ft and administers "Stablising" on Frideric who has bleed out another one point and is dangerously close to death on -9 (con is 10 so Frideric would be dead if he bled out for one more round).
• Hunulf hefts his two handed spear, moves up 20 foot and attacks the northern most female archer but misses.
Round 5b – The Hobgoblins press home more damaging attacks
• The northern female draws down another arrow on Walt and again hits him, this time in the right shoulder for another 2 points.
• The southern female, seeing her partner in trouble, steps back 15ft and looses another arrow at Walt, hitting him again in the right shoulder for 4 points of damage.
• The two males against Goar strike out at him. One hits him in the middle of the chest, penetrating his sternum for 4 points and the other hits him in the left leg for another 3 points of damage. Goar is severely wounded and staggering only just is able to remain on his feet.
• The last male strikes out at his new opponent Harti who had only just wounded him but he is caught off guard and misses.
To be continued…..
DEW
sets a benchmark (of sorts) in painting animals.
