Bones on the Amber Steppes Out of Game Thread (Regemential/Warband RPG exploration)

[Thundercake]

Hey all,

First off, does anyone know of any good rulesets that focus on running a RPG from a regimental/RPGish scale? Preferably for multiple warbands or regiments?

Back when I was over on the Warhammer Empire forum before the End Times, I took part in one through the forum that I thought was really cool. The 3 links below take you to the different threads that explain it.

http://warhammer-empire.com/theforum/index.php?topic=43438.0

http://warhammer-empire.com/theforum/index.php?topic=43460.0

http://warhammer-empire.com/theforum/index.php?topic=43461.0

 

Is there any interest in this short of thing on this forum?

 

[Evz22]

Hmm. It sounds interesting. I'd definitely take part in something like that.

[LordKalebKhaine]

This sounds awesome, I'd definitely be interested.

[Thundercake]

I'll try and get something worked up this week that includes a scenario and some basic rules around force comp and the like and then post it back here. Getting 3-5 people might be a good number to try this with.

[Davariel]

You can count me as interested in this as well

[Evz22]

On 11/13/2017 at 4:14 PM, Thundercake said:

I'll try and get something worked up this week that includes a scenario and some basic rules around force comp and the like and then post it back here. Getting 3-5 people might be a good number to try this with.

Hell yeah, can't wait to see what you come up with.

[Thundercake]

Sorry for the delay, wife had a last minute work trip this week and its thrown me all off-kilter.  Hopefully will get more up soon, as in the actual scenario. Here is what I have so far, and I am open to suggestions.

-Game master will make an update at the beginning of the week in the "in-game" thread about what has happened since players gave their actions/input. Players then have 4 days to give their "reactions". This then gives the game master 3 days to read through the reactions and progress the story.

-Out of game thread will be used to answer any questions or give options to players about what they can do. Still thinking this through.

-Each player can have a warband of up to 50 individuals. No named characters that have warscrolls allowed. Behemoths may not be allowed, not sure yet. Each player will need to come up with a background story of their warband, who their leader is, and any sort of history or characteristics for any units in the warband.

-Trying to figure out if I can make a plausible scenario if I allow players to be from any faction. I think it is easier if I limit the factions to 2 or 1 but that may kill player interest.

[Davariel]

No worries about the delay mate, life can catch us all off guard sometimes!

What you've got so far sounds good to me. I'd suggest using wounds to get a rough sense of force strength, 50 grots are not the same as 50 stormcasts Maybe have some sort of cap on heroes as well (half the force's total wounds?). Or maybe not, a Fellowship of the Ring type warband could be pretty awesome

As far as allowed factions go, I think you'd probably want to restrict players to a single Grand Alliance at least. Order's the obvious choice due to its variety and opportunity to play the good guys, but you could do some fun stuff with Chaos or Death too (not sure if Destruction's suited to this sort of thing). Probably best to get a sense of what armies people have/would want to RP and build a scenario from there.

I mostly collect Order armies myself (Sylvaneth, high aelves, and ordinary humans), with a smattering of death on the side so those would be my first picks for a warband. However I'd happily play a chaos warband if that suits other people more, probably with considerable risk of starting a new army

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

[LordKalebKhaine]

Oh yeah, take your time. 
We appreciate the work you're doing here.

I personally play Chaos, but I'll be more than happy to rpg another grand alliance!
I could see playing a hardcore tough as nails freeguild guard, or a sullen necromancer and his boney retinue. 

[Thundercake]

Ok, here are the general "rules" with some changes made.

-Game master will make an update at the beginning of the week in the "in-game" thread about what has happened since players gave their actions/input. Players then have 4 days to give their "reactions". This then gives the game master 3 days to read through the reactions and progress the story.

-Out of game thread will be used to answer any questions or give options to players about what they can do. Still thinking this through.

-Each player can have a warband of up to 50 wounds. No named characters  allowed. Behemoths are not allowed. No heros over 10 wounds (this is really here to make sure you don't bring a stardrake or something like that) If you really want a hero that has over 10 wounds, let me know and it might be allowed. Max of 4 heros in your warband. Unit size can be whatever you want it to be, 1 or 3 or 12 or 20 individuals". You could have 13 flagellants, a captain of the empire, and 11 outriders if you want.

 -Each player will need to come up with a background story of their warband, who their leader is, and any sort of history or characteristics for any units in the warband. Remember this is not power gaming or competitive, it is meant to be fun, narrative and role playing. Regardless of what you pick, I will try to make it fun and challenging will not so difficult that you don't want to take part.  Below is the first part of background lore/setting.

-Your warband must be made up of order forces, it can be mix factions. You can use compendium units/heros if there is not the equivalent in current warscrolls (bretonnia battle piglrims or empire/bretonnia knights come to mind).

-The story starts in the Crawling City but will not stay there.

- I will work to incorporate dice roles or random number generators into the story/reactions, I will try and make these not random but based off of logic.

-I will have the rest of the background lore up by the end of Tuesday. Anyone that is interested in participating, have a warband summary up in this thread by next Monday (the 27th) end of day. Background lore should include the make up of the warband and their history. I will start a in-game thread next week.

 

Setting

Realm of Ghur- Amber Steppes- Near the Crawling City

The Vurm-tai had never been known to align themselves with a particular faction. Thus, when their feathered back-banners were spotted human, aelf, orruk, and worshippers of chaos had all drawn weapons and prepared for battle.

Now, with the Realmgate Wars over, reports were coming in from caverns that arrived at the Crawling City of bands of Vurm-tai displaying the mark of Sigmar and turning aside from the caverns they once preyed on.  These reports more than anything else, had prevented Gullus from having his guards fire on the horseman as he had approached. As one of the few Vurmite Errants that had survived the Skaven invasion of the Crawling City, he had been given the task of guarding the lower lift cages once order had been restored.

“Thunder and Light”, he cursed under his breath as the rider drew closer. Indeed, there was a crudely painted lightning bolt painted on his chest plate. A chest plate that looked like it had once belonged to an unfortunate Khorne warrior based on the etchings that were under the new paint.

‘Damn scavengers’ Gullus thought to himself as he motioned for the lift cages to be raised. He stepped in front of his company of Hyshite crossbow men to meet the Vurm-tai. ‘If the Vurm-tai were casting their lot in with the followers of Sigmar it would make even harder to keep the peace in the city. The Nagashites already made the cavarneers nervous enough, and now it seemed as though caravan raiders would be walking the streets as well.’

What I used in creating this.  http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Realm_of_Ghur

[Davariel]

Hmm, would you be willing to allow the Bretonnian King on Hippogryph? Technically legal since it's not a behemoth and has 10 wounds exactly... but might be pushing the limits of what's intended a bit.

I have an idea in mind for non-freeguild humans, but I can easily go in a different direction so feel free to say no

[Thundercake]

13 hours ago, Davariel said:

Hmm, would you be willing to allow the Bretonnian King on Hippogryph? Technically legal since it's not a behemoth and has 10 wounds exactly... but might be pushing the limits of what's intended a bit.

I have an idea in mind for non-freeguild humans, but I can easily go in a different direction so feel free to say no

That works! Always had a soft-spot for him anyways ;).

[Thundercake]

Here is the rest of the background. If you are interested, have your warband up on this thread by end of day on the 27th. They don't need to be on their way to the Worm Warrens, I just need the "roster", and a short background of their warband, maybe how their arrived at the Crawling City. On the 27th, I will start a new thread for In-game "characters", where I tell you what is happening in game, in "narrator" voice and where you will narrate your warbands actions/dialogue back to me/everyone else. Without giving too much away, my first post will give your warband a chance to discover the notice and decide to go to the Worm Warrens or perhaps be "forced" into going based off of their beliefs. This will become the Out Of Game thread where players can plan/communicate and I may ask for reactions, etc.

Background Part II

In the end, the Vurm-tai rider had been taken before the City Council, where he had repeated the story he had told Gullus at the lifts.

 The council had been reluctant to trust someone who, a few short years ago, could have been the reason some caravans did not make it to the Crawling City. However, the voices of Seker Gravewalker, the Lord Relictor of the Bane-Beast warrior chamber and the Lord Castellant had convinced the rest of the council to heed what the Vurm-tai told them.

The rider spoke of wild creatures in the night, things that moved on four limbs, that feasted on human flesh. Other abominations came with these creatures, twisted nightmares of dogs, boars, and other beasts from the Amber Steppes. These monsters seemed to live a twisted-half life, moving as on the strings of a street performer. And hard to kill, often times not going down to blows that should have felled a regular beast, and in turn ripping apart the Vurm-tai that had struck an apparent killing blow.  

The rider told of how many Vurm-tai camps to the west of the Crawling City, near the Worm Warrens had been attacked unexpectedly at night, and how the surviving Vurm-tai had all started to move east towards the Crawling City.

The council agreed to double the guard on the lifts and in the city. The merchants and the freeguild captains on the council had almost come to blows over whether to close the lifts at dusk before Seker Gravewalker stepped in and sided with the captains for the earlier closer. The Stormcasts carried more weight than any would admit, including maybe themselves, but it did have a way of resolving disagreements.  As a final measure, the council agreed to put up notices throughout the city of that read:

“Beware dark creatures, beasts, and magic to the West

All caravans should travel under heavy guard and avoid the Worm Warrens

Double bounties for any beasts slain there”

These notices had also been the work of the Stormcasts on the council. Seker had let the Lord Castellant lead the conversation, but they both knew they needed more reliable information about this threat and soon.

Currently, there were not enough Bane-Beast brothers in the city to scout the threat and still guard the realmgate. Before other storm brothers could be summoned, Zephacleas would want more information. Seker and the Lord Castellant knew that the Crawling City was full of bounty hunters, mercenary caravan guards, and those eager to show their allegiance to Sigmar. They would see the notices posted in the squares, on inns, and through whispers. Some would strike out for the Worm Warrens. They hoped some would make it back.

 

[Davariel]

Here's my warband, a force from an independent petty kingdom, kind of like a spiritual successor to old Bretonnia. Will update later with more details on the individual regiments and characters if this goes ahead (it's gotten a bit quiet in this thread )

The King’s Retinue

King Arend of Serenor – King on Hippogryph
Kavess Fireheart – Warrior Priest with Sigmarite Greathammer
Merinne – Damsel
Knights of Serenor – 5 Knights of the Realm with Standard Bearer and Trumpeter
King’s Arbalesters – 10 Freeguild Crossbowmen with Standard Bearer and Piper
Templars of Iliena – 5 Freeguild Greatswords
Sigmar’s Rabble – 5 Flagellants

Following the discovery of a ruined realmgate in the wilds north of his kingdom, Arend of Serenor acted quickly to secure the gateway and see where it led. Upon finding the gate led to the realm of beasts, not far from the city of Excelsis, Arend resolved to pass through in the hopes of forging a trade deal with the free city, perhaps even a full alliance. He could take only a small retinue, for the realmgate was badly damaged and could not bear the strain of more than a handful of men each day.

Undaunted, King Arend made his way to Excelsis, where he found nothing but humiliation. The Azyrite nobles had no desire to deal with a heathen reclaimed, and the city’s rulers had far more important concerns than a petty king from Ghyran. Incensed, Arend nearly turned back, but rumours of the nearby Crawling City changed his mind. Perhaps, he reasoned, a city that had suffered so badly might be more amenable to his offer. Or perhaps he might find some other way of impressing the powers that ruled the Crawling City.

The small band set off at once. After days of hard marching, the king’s mood growing fouler with each sun-baked hour, they sighted their destination. The Serenni set about learning what they could of the city, while Arend himself found lodging in a fine tavern and pondered his next move…

King Arend of Serenor: Arend has spent most of his reign leading campaigns to clear Serenor of foes and secure its borders. With this task complete, he has turned his gaze further abroad with an eye to expanding his influence and further strengthening the kingdom. As King of Serenor Arend is the anointed champion of Iliena, warrior goddess of the land. However, he is not a pious man, putting more faith in swords than prayers. Fiercely independent, he is increasingly concerned by Sigmar’s growing hegemony over the realms. Nonetheless, he recognises that – for the time being at least - there is no alternative, and so he has set his sights on an alliance with the free cities. The king is stubborn, proud, and has all the tact of a drunken bull, but he is nonetheless a man of considerable insight and cunning. Arend is as skilled with lance, sword and shield as one would expect of a knightly ruler. However, much like his steed, he tends to rely on raw strength and sheer tenacity in battle.

Kavess Fireheart: Kavess Fireheart is an unusual sort for a Sigmarite priest - when most people picture a Warrior Priest of Sigmar, they do not picture a tall beauty with icy blue eyes and flaxen hair. As a child she witnessed the awesome power of Sigmar’s Stormcast Eternals firsthand, and as soon as she was old enough she rode to the nearest temple and swore herself to the God-King. Kavess considers it her holy duty to bring the light of Sigmar to all Serenor; privately, she doubts if the so-called goddess Iliena even exists at all. When Arend decided to venture to the free cities of Ghur, he quickly realised the value of having one of Sigmar’s faithful with him. While Kavess is hardly the most senior Sigmarite in the kingdom’s capital, she is the only woman – and as the king reasoned, if you must deal with an irritating priest, you might as well deal with one easy on the eyes.

Merinne: One of the rare few who has heard the voice of Iliena and thus been marked as one of her emissaries, the damsel Merinne serves as the king’s spiritual advisor and the goddess’ representative at court. She is also a powerful sorceress, but her skill lies mainly in healing and protective magic. Like most of Iliena’s priestesses, Merinne is a deeply compassionate soul, but this has not prevented a bitter rivalry from developing between her and Kavess Fireheart, driven in part by their wildly differing faiths.   

Knights of Serenor: The chivalric tradition of knighthood is strong in Serenor, and there are few amongst the noble classes who do not learn to ride and fight from an early age. Like most of Serenor’s nobility these knights scorn Sigmar and worship Iliena above all others. They are led by Lord Belerad, a petty noble who earned renown when he drove his lance through a gargant’s heart.

King’s Arbalesters: When King Arend set out on his journey, he took with him several hand-picked arbalesters from his household guard. Though these men are more used to patrolling castle walls than the steppes of Ghur, they are veterans of the king’s campaigns, and endure hardship without complaint. Their marksman Jardryn is the oldest member of the king’s standing army still serving.  

Templars of Iliena: A holy order of warrior women, the templars are an honour guard both for King Arend and Merinne. Dedicated to following Iliena’s example, they are sworn to act selflessly and protect those who cannot protect themselves. They prefer to avoid bloodshed, but will not hesitate to fight to the death if they must. Having spent most of their lives in training at their temple, they are among some of the most skilled swords in the mortal realms. (Picture these as 40k Sisters of Silence with Sister of Avelorn heads; that's how I plan to convert them, anyway )

Sigmar’s Rabble: As the Serenni travelled the realms, they came across the occasional beggar or refugee, broken men left with nothing but a spark of faith… which Kavess Fireheart was only too happy to fan into a raging inferno. To the warrior priestess, these men are holy warriors, paragons of devotion ready to give their very lives for Sigmar. To everyone else, they are frothing madmen. Though King Arend often grumbles about sending them to meet Sigmar, the flagellants have so far been tolerated on condition they remain at arm’s length.

[LordKalebKhaine]

Here is my warband then, the Lost Sons. Led by the Cavalier Lord Belak the Vain and the stoic Captain Merek. 

The Lost Sons:
Belak the Vain, Freeguild General with Pistol and Sigmarite weapon.
 Lightly armored and foppishly dressed, a ludicrously ornate pistol and a flawless gleaming blade. He's vain arrogant and generally unpleasant to his peers, but just his superiors how wonderful he is.
Captain Merek, Freeguild General with Great Weapon. 
 Massive man in massive plate with a massive sword, honest, gruff, holds grudges.
Belak's Swords, 10 men of the Freeguild Guard armed with sword and shield. Full command.
 Swordsmen of the Regiment hand chosen by Lord Belak and given the very best in mass produced weaponry.
Tribesmen of the Mount Flamecrown, 10 "freeguild" guard with militia weapons. Champion.
 Regiment Aspirants, out to prove their worth. Armed with whatever they can afford or scavenge and covered in war paint
The Honor Guard, 5 Greatswords. Champion & Standard.
The last of Merek's greatswords. These men have known Merek since he was a mere greatsworder himself.
Hector's Gunners, 5 Freeguild Handgunners. Marksman with long rifle (Hector).
Hector the Chamonite came to Mount Flamecrown 6 yrs ago and signed on with Belak, and Belak allows him first pick of the recruits to train in the ways of gunpowder.
Knights of the Fiery Suns, 5 Knights of Order. Full Command.
Most nobles of Mount Flamecrown wouldn't be caught dead in a dishonored regiment like the Lost Sons, but most nobles in Mount Flamecrown are Azyrite. 

 

Lord Belak the Vain and Captain Merek were once rivals, each leading their own Freeguild regiments in the city of Durang in the realm of Fire.
Both were 3rd generation Reclaimed.
Both were distrusted and looked down upon by the Azyrite Governors of the City.
Both were used as cannon fodder in the wars that constantly plague the area around the Mount Flamecrown, a massive rock formation with a flame wreathed peak.
Lord Belak is a charming, foppish, socialite whose family rose rapidly to new heights after Sigmar's Storm reestablished some order in the realm.
Captain Merek is a glowering giant of a man, wielding his massive rune marked great sword with ease. Merek despises Azyrites, and hates Sigmar (to the extent of sometimes spitting as gleaming stormcast march past) for abandoning man. But Merek hates Chaos even more. It is his feeling that the realms should be reclaimed by men and men alone, through good honest steel and gunpowder. 

After a disastrous campaign against an Orruk Megaboss Merek and Belak's regiments had both fallen so far under strength as to be worthless on the battle field, and their regiments were combined to create The Lost Sons. Merek's distrust of the smooth talking Belek, and Belek's disdain for Merek's brutishness have made the transition uneasy. 

While the tribesmen and women of the Mount Flamecrown eagerly flock to the banners of Aqushy's Freeguild, the Lost Sons have garnered a poor reputation after their defeat at the hands of the Orruks, Lord Belak hopes a distant relative's husband's nephew's cousin (who also happens to be a recruiter for the Crawling City's garrison) might be able to help drum up some new recruits.

[Thundercake]

Awesome! Great to see some people willing to give this a go. If anyone else wants in, hurry up and get your warband up!

There is now an in-game thread here,

I will be posting in that thread as the narrator.

As a player, you now have till 8am Friday, December 1st to do 2 things.

1. Post in the in-game thread with how your warband reacts to this attack in narrative form. I.E. from a character or group's point of view? Are they all together? Separated? Aware of the attack as it starts or later? Do they get lost in the commotion, etc?

2. Post in this thread with how your warband reacts to the attack in non-narrative form. Where are they? What do they do, do they try and defend the city? Protect themselves? Run away?

-Out of Character (OC), here is some information.  It is night time. The notices are posted everywhere and easy to see. There are tons of rumors circulating about them, the rider on the plains, and the City Council. The city is under attack, it seems to be throughout the city, alarm bells are ringing everywhere. You can be in the same area as Gullus, or not, his area is not the only one seeing this attack. The attack did not come from outside of the city but from within it. The attackers are what seem to be Skaven and skeletons of various beings (rats, humans, other things are possible). It is unknown if these rats are reanimated or living Skaven at this time.

 

Again, this is my first stab at this so if there are questions or something seems wrong, let me know.

[Davariel]

As the attack begins most of my warband is in a large, upper-class tavern in one of the better districts of the city (with the king's gold presumably smoothing over any anti-reclaimed sentiment). The exceptions are the Sigmarites (Kavess and the flagellants) who have gone to spend the night in prayer at the Temple of Sigmar -  the temple is likely very secure and they will remain there while the attack is going on.

The others are all together in the tavern at night, either resting, drinking or standing guard. As the attack starts they quickly realise how dangerous things are getting and attempt to fortify the tavern as best they can, and keep everyone inside alive until help can arrive.

[Morovir]

Is it too late to sign up for this? I only just found it.

[Thundercake]

@Morovir, sorry for not responding sooner. If you are able to get a warband into this thread by Monday and go over to the in-game thread and get a post up about how the respond to the events I have posted there, then for sure!

 

@LordKalebKhaine, you still in?

 

@Davariel nice posts so far! Sounds like your warband will be well prepared to defend against the enemy. I'll put more up tomorrow but you may have a leadership test to make to see if the patrons of the tavern will listen to your King!

[Thundercake]

@Davariel, apologies for not posting sooner. Was hoping one of those other two guys would join in.

 

I need you to make a leadership test with your King. Scroll has his leadership at a 9, however you have a -1 modifier for the locals resentment towards your King and his men based off of what he was saying before the attack. Here is a random dice roll thingie, if you need it. https://www.random.org/dice/?num=2

Let me know what roll you get and I will write up the next part.