Session 17: The Wild Boar Hunt

Fort Fenrir's first large scale battle!

Session report for May 2, 2024. Seven players adventured for three days.

Characters

Bastion, human fighter level 4
Bard the Stout, human fighter level 3
Deadleaf, elf assassin level 3
Mustacha, human ranger level 3
Argond, human ranger level 1
Arrek, human fighter level 1
Jude, half-orc cleric/assassin level 1/1
Mercenaries: 20 light infantry, Bastion; 10 hobilar, Arrek.

It was supposed to be my day off.

It had been two weeks since the last session. I wanted to cook up a few rumors and events to shake up the status quo and give the players something to chase during downtime. So I opened up my trusty Dungeon Masters Guide and generated a month's worth of wandering monsters for Lord Fenrir's fledgling domain - and got nothing but orcs!

Upon hearing the rumors of orcs encroaching on Fenrir's territory, the players sprang into action. They hired some mercenaries and put together a scouting party to search the countryside for signs of an orc army. Lord Fenrir agreed to reward them for good scout information.

Our regular DM, Macho Mandalf, couldn't DM because of work. Let's do it live!

I already had everything I needed to run this session:

• A hex map of the area (6 mile hexes)
• A roster of orc armies, including
• The location of each army each day
• AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide & Monster Manual

One of the rumors put orcs beyond the forests southwest of Fenrir and the party went that way first. They got lost in the forest and exited to the east, where they discovered badlands and the ruins of an ancient city. A pack of wolves prowled among the ruins. They marked the location of the city ruins on their map and left the wolves alone.

The next day, they swept east and north across the river and back again. At last, they discovered the tracks of an army less than a day old. Rangers Mustacha and Argond picked up the trail and led the party southwest to a rocky desert.

The scouts came face-to-face with an orc army numbering at least two hundred! They were camped for the daytime. The party outran the orc's scouts by virtue of being on horseback. They noted the orcs clan insignia: a bloody head on a pike. They returned to the fort and reported their discovery.

pigs 'n' pikes

Lord Fenrir's army rode out the next day. He hired on Bastion as a mercenary captain, and Mustacha as a scout leader, based on their discovery and the trust they have built up over the past six months. They hired on the rest of the party as subcontractors.

Mustacha's scouts rode ahead and found the orcs camped in the nearby forest - they had come within a day's march of the fort! They avoided notice and retreated.

It was time for the dumb PC plan of the week. The scouts returned to the orc encampment and harassed the orcs with missile weapons, and hope the orcs would break camp early - it was only a few hours until sundown.

Would the orcs take the bait? To help me decide, I made a morale check for the orcs and got a small failure. They took the bait - but weren't stupid about it.

Fenrir's army waited in the grass, defenses mustered and prepared. Bard, Bastion and Arrek prepared their mercenary units. I gave those characters control over the whole army's strategy so the upcoming battle would not be DM solitaire. Jude put on an orc disguise and hid in the tall grass. Deadleaf waited in the tallest tree he could find and acted as lookout.

The orcs appeared at the forest's edge at dusk, eyes gleaming in the trees. When the sun set behind the mountain they charged. When they did, Deadleaf identified the subchief and struck from the treetops. With a miraculous roll (something like a 10 on 1d100), he decapitated the army.

Bard charged ahead of the human army and challenged the center's captain to solo combat. He slew the orc with a single blow and the center of the orc line collapsed.

The orcs morale broke even as they reached the human line. Bastion's mercenaries slaughtered those who did not flee on the first round. Jude posed as a fleeing orc and assassinated another captain in the chaos. It was a total rout.

The day after the battle, the party went on patrol to hunt stragglers and make sure the orc army did not regroup. They found one of the orc units camping by the river east of the Fort and chased them off, killing nine in the process.

Treasure and experience were light from this adventure. However, thanks to their heroic deeds, these characters do not have to pay living expenses for a time.

This was a great experience for me. It underscores how effective the AD&D core rules are at generating big events out of a few tables.

all the prep I needed right here

THE VANQUISHED
1 orc leader, defeated in single combat by Bard the Stout (+18)
1 orc leader, assassinated by Jude (+78)
1 orc leader assassinated by Deadleaf (+18)
1 orc subchief, assassinated by Deadleaf (+86)
80 orcs slain in battle with allied forces, both days (+120)

THE SPOILS
174 electrum pieces
9 ranseurs
9 orc scale mail with Bloody Head Clan insignia

THE SCORE
Bastion (fighter 4, E): 30xp
Bard the Stout (fighter 3, E): 48xp
Deadleaf (assassin 3, E): 134xp
Mustacha (ranger 3, S): 30xp - playing against role, engaging in melee and almost getting scout team killed
Argond (ranger 1, E): 30xp
Arrek (fighter 1, E): 30xp
Jude (cleric/assassin 1/1, E): 108xp