Book 1, Final Chapter, And My Axe - Shadows in Eriador, The One Ring 2E Solo Actual Play
Shadows in Eriador
The One Ring 2E Solo Actual Play with Strider Mode
Book 1: A Conspiracy Unmasked - The Final Chapter, And My Axe...
Brodda’s body lays still, the mightly Southern Warrior will never rise again. Alfred goes to check on Rinda, cutting her gag and binds. Rinda rubs her arms and says “Thank you, Alfred. I thought I was truly dead. These brutish humans did not even feed me! Where is Nob? I saw him get struck and I feared the worst.”
Alfred hesitates for a second and Rinda notices the delay. “He’s dead, isn’t he? Durin wept. He was a good human if a bit odd. He loved his trees and his forest animals. I’m sure he is tending his forest paths above Durin’s great mine. Now the sun is setting, so I suggest we search these human’s filth for clues or anything else of value. Did you bring my things from the forest?”
Alfred nods “Yes, it's with the horse that I tied up. I’ll go get it.” Alfred goes to retrieve his horse and when he comes back he finds Rinda eating the Southerner’s bread and drinking their liquor.”
“It isn’t bad,” she says between bites and drinks, “it isn’t good mind you. Now let's look at what this brute named Brodda had on him.”
Hoard Roll
We will now roll for how much treasure Brodda had on him. While he was a bandit chief of a sort, he wasn’t overly rich. This will be a Lesser Hoard, worth 1 D6 of Treasure and 2 Magical Treasure rolls (A d12, with a magical item being found on the Gandalf (12) or Eye (11) rune.
Treasure Roll = 4 Treasure
Magic Treasure Roll = 10,8 Close but no magical items this time!
Alfred rifles through Brodda’s tunic and armor and finds a heavy pouch of strange coins secreted in a hidden pocket. Some were marked with a strange eye symbol he had never seen before. He shows Rinda who shrugs and says “That isn’t a Dwarven symbol I can tell you that. But these coins are good quality and mostly gold! A good haul for us and a minor compensation for this pointless diversion. Now we will eat their food and I will tell you some stories of Nob so you can remember him and keep his name in your heart.”
The two build up the fire, rest, eat and tell stories. Eventually, they sleep.
The night's sleep has Alfred recovered his Endurance to full (24) and he is no longer Weary.
The sunrise in the Marshes is an anti-climatic affair, with the sun being nothing more than a blurry smudge in the distance. After they eat some more of the leftover Southern food Alfred asks Rinda “Why were these men after you? I know you said you were looking for some ancient weapon. Did these men think you found it?”
Rinda smirks, “Found it? Ha! I wish. No, they think I know where it is or I can find it. But I told them all I knew was it was in the Chetwood. I didn’t tell them all the truth Alfred. I do know more than I told you last night with Nob. This weapon is in The Chetwood.”
Alfred is transfixed, “Where in The Chetwood is it?”
For this location, I’ll borrow some tables from Ironsworn by Shawn Tomkin. I’ll roll on the Location and Location Descriptor tables, Road and Low. Hmmm… The low road. Something by the Greenway, the road that goes north by the Chetwood.
“Well, it is not in Chetwood proper, I think, but close to the Greenway. There is a burial mound where there is an unknown King of Arnor. I’ve been excavating it slowly but I couldn’t let people know I was doing it. So I slept in the Chetwood where you ran into me.”
“And why do these Southerners and this disgusted Brodda want you?” Alfred asks.
“I imagine it was because I know, or think I know, where the weapon is buried. It is said to be very powerful but what its powers are? I do not know. I think it is time for me to share with you the note from Gandalf. Luckily the humans didn’t find the note, as I secreted on myself. Here read it yourself.” And Rinda passes a wrinkled piece of paper to Alfred.
Dear Rinda
Your secret is no longer safe. Trust the Bree-lander who carries this message and no one else. Fly far from Chetwood before it is too late.
Your friend Gandalf.
Rinda snatches the note back, “You see Alfred! Anything valuable enough to send people to snatch me is worth all the research I’m doing. We can’t leave it now, these evil people know I’m here looking. If we don’t find this weapon, they will eventually find it. So let’s go, Alfred, to the burial mound and find it ourselves!”
Alfred reluctantly agrees, “There is a certain logic there Rinda but what dangers will be there under the burial mound?”
Rinda gives Alfred a smirk “Don’t worry about that. You have a Dwarf with you, so I’ll take care of any underground threats.”
We won’t have them roll a Chetwood travel check as we’ve already had two of them this campaign.
The two of them and Alfred’s nameless horse hike back through the Chetwood in search of the site of the weapon. As they pass by Nob’s grave Rinda stops to pay her respect, chanting in some Dwarvish tongue Alfred has not heard before.
They approach a grassy hill in another clearing and Rinda abruptly stops. “This is the place.”
Alfred looks around and sees nothing out of the ordinary “This place? But there is nothing here but a little hill. It doesn’t seem to be the site of a grand burial for a king of old.”
“But it is. Hundreds of years ago this was a magnificent place. Planted with the most beautiful flowers of Anor and Gonor, tended like a garden, it has fallen into disrepair and forgotten. Until I found it of course!” Rinda beams with pride. “Come here, I’ve dug an entrance.”
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| What looks like a hill to Alfred is a major discovery to Rinda. Photo by Tobias Mrzyk on Unsplash |
Rinda approaches the hill and removes a few branches and undergrowth and quickly a tunnel appears. “I was about to crack into the inner sanctum but got distracted with those Southerners. It will be good to have backup. These places are known to have traps or some sort of protection. Stay sharp!” And with that Rinda disappears into the hole. Alfred reluctantly follows.
OK, now let's see what they will be facing in the mound. A simple yes or no question. Is it a trap or a creature of some sort? I say 50-50, so a 1-6 is a trap and a 7-12 is a creature. 11 - is a Creature. Well, it's a burial mound, so it's going to be undead for sure. Let’s roll for how strong they are. 1-4 a Barrow Wright, a very strong undead, 5-10 Fell Wraiths and 11-12 a Barrow Wright and a Fell Wraith. An 11, A Barrow Wight and a Fell Wraith.
Rinda heads deep into the mound. She stoops as the tunnel gets lower, but Alfred has to start crawling on his hands and knees. Rinda approaches what looks like a door, with intricate symbols that seem to glow in the low light. Rinda takes out a hammer and chisel, winks at Alfred, and begins hammering into the door. After repeated hard blows that echo through the tunnel, Alfred hears a loud crack and the door falls open.
Rinda strikes up a torch and strides into the new room. Alfred follows and quickly finds he can stand up fully. He looks around the room, it looks like a cave or some sort with a stone sarcophagus in the centre.
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| The grand Sarcophagus was a design Alfred had not seen before. Photo by Ryan Ancill on Unsplash |
They step deeper into the room and Alfred feels a rush of cold air hit him, chilling him to the bone.
Let's see if Alfred sees the threat before it readies an attack.
Roll
Awareness +1 success Dice, Spend 1 Hope (now 8) for +2 more Success Dice
TN 14
10, 1, 4, 6 = 21, Success, Spend a success (a 6) on Build Advantage, +1D on next rolls I’ll try to remember this time!
A dark shadow in the corner of the room starts to shift and solidify. Before Alfred and Rinda can react, two shapes emerge from the shadows and move to cut off the hero’s route of retreat.
Ok, we have another combat! We will allow Rinda and Alfred to fight this two one on one, but if Alfred misses four times, Rinda will have lost her fight and Alfred will have to fight both. We will also see which Alfred is fighting. Simple D6, 1-3 the Wight and 4-6 the Wraith. 3, the Wight, the tougher of the two!
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| A Barrow-Wight is a powerful enemy. Source: The One Ring 2E, Free League Publishing |
Alfred steadies his fear and charges in to swing his axe at the foul thing. His swing is met with no resistance and the evil being melts away before him like it was never there. But the thing's sword certainly feels real as it lashes out at Alfred, cutting hard across his shoulders and filling him with a deep cold feeling.
Alfred breaks away from the Wight and looks over at Rinda who is similarly fighting her undead assailant. She seems to be doing well, so Alfred focuses on his adversary. Both Alfred and the Wight swing their deadly weapons at each other but none land a killing blow.
Alfred sees that when the Wight readies an attack, it looks to be more solid and more of this world. He waits for it to swing its cruel sword and launches an attack himself. He swings with all his might and strikes something solid. The Wight screams in agony as it fades back into the darkness, gone again from this world, for a while at least.
Combat Rolls!
Alfred is fighting in the Forward Stance against the Wight.
Alfred Roll +2 Axe, TN14, 4,3,6 = 13 Miss 1 of 4
Barrow-Wight +3 Sword, Parry 17, 8,2,5,4=19 Hit, 5 Endurance Damage (19 Endurance for Alfred)
Alfred Roll +2 Axe, TN 14, 7,1,5 = 13Miss 2 of 4
Barrow-Wight +3 Sword, Parry 17, 3,1,1,4 = 9 Miss
Alfred Roll +2 Axe, Spend 1 Hope (8 Hope) for +2 dice, TN14, 9,6,4,2,3 = 24, Hit! Spend 1 Success on Mighty Blow +4 damage = 10 Damange, Barrow-Wight now 14 (-10)
Barrow-Wight +3 Sword, Parry 17, 5,1,12 = 9 Miss
Alfred Roll +2 Axe, Spend 1 Hope (7 Hope) for +2 Dice, TN14, 5,1,1,3,4 = 14, Hit! 6 Damage, Barrow-Wight now 8 (-6)
Barrow-Wight +3 Sword, Parry 17, 6,5,2,1 = 14, Miss
Alfred ROll +2 Axe, Spend 1 Hope (6 Hope) for +2 Dice, 12,6,5,3,3 = 29. Piercing blow (a 12) and spend a Sucess (6) on a Mighty blow. 10 Damage, Barrow-Wight now at 0
Experience Update
Survive a dangerous Combat = 1 Adventure Point
Alfred turns to see how Rinda has fared in her fight.
Alright, let’s go to the Oracle to see how she is doing. Did she survive the fight without damage? I think it's unlikely, so anything over a 3 on a D12 and she is injured. A 10. Ok, how injured is she? 1-4 Moderate, 5-8 severe, 9-12 Deadly. A 1, she is lucky.
Turning to meet Alfred’s eyes, Rinda laughs a deep guttural Dwarf laugh. “I only read about these in the books, but the old Dwarfs knew how to beat them and passed their knowledge down. The trick is to attack right before they do. Oh? Did I forget to tell you that? I’m sorry. I was hoping we wouldn’t meet any evil spirits here. But take heart, my dear Alfred. We have accomplished what little living creatures have done. Defeated a Wraith and a Wight! Now for the treasure portion of this little expidition.”
Rinda approaches the sarcophagus and proceeds to bang at it with her picks and hammers until a large crack emerges. “Alfred, come over and help me pry it apart. We are almost there!” The two pry the stone open and a sharp glimmer appears. Rinda reaches in and grabs a magnificent sword of craftsmanship Alfred has never seen. “This is it!” Rinda exclaims. “I must take this to Gandalf now. Thank you, Alfred. There may be more treasure in there. Take what you will. I care not for anything but this.”
Treasure Roll
This is a Marvelous Hoard. 3 Sucess dice in treasure and 6 Magic item rolls
Treasure Roll - 2,4,3 = 9 Treasure
Magic Item roll - 7,8,5,5,5,1 = No magical item
Alfred reaches in and brings forth a fistful of old gems and precious coins. This is enough to buy a whole tavern Alfred thinks.
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| The gems Alfred found are enough to make him a rich man. Image by Brett Hondow from Pixabay |
Alfred and Rinda pack up their treasure and head back to Bree to meet with Gandalf.
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That’s it for this The One Ring 2E mini-campaign. I hope you all liked the story and Alfred’s journey. Shortly I’ll do a piece reflecting on the campaign and I’ll review The One Ring 2E and Strider Mode. Following that, I’ll start planning my next actual play campaign, so definitely stay tuned!
- Croaker
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