So I finally got a chance to run Lion & Dragon tonight with a group of friends (about 2/3 of my usual D&D 5e group). They'd never played L&D (or any OSR game) before, but great fun was had by all!
(https://i.postimg.cc/5N6MtS1X/IMG-8305.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/G3MCr500/IMG-8306.jpg)
The campaign starts with a young Cleric, Joan, being sent from Durham to the lonely Thorne Keep in the Northern Marches to deliver a chest to a priest named Edmund Gavill. The local lord, Tobias Thorne, is one of the "small knightly holdings" mentioned in the section on the Northern Marches... where a single knight or family of low nobility can rule as absolute despots over an isolated and ignorant village of commoners.
I plan to use at least parts of the classic "Keep on the Borderlands" for Thorne Keep, but the heroes are not there... yet!
Traveling with Joan are a young magister, Stephan Cooper; a mercenary warrior, Alexander; and a Scots barbarian named Andrew Cocksburne. The latter two were hired/charged by Cleric Avery Quentin to protect the young Joan on her mission, while Stephan travels to deliver a sealed letter to a Magister named Nathan Rolstone at the Keep... and in the process hopes to find clues to the whereabouts of a missing family heirloom, his grandfather's grimoire.
It's the year 1453 and the coldest winter on record. Traveling through the Pennine Mountains is hazardous and difficult; fortunately the Scotsman Andrew knows his way about the mountains and keeps the party on track. As they make their way, the party becomes aware they're being shadowed by an unknown number of wolves. They crest a rise and see a small village below in the distance, and that's when the wolves attack!
There are four of the beasts, and they're clearly starving beyond the ability of the torch wielded by Alexander to frighten away. Stephan wisely hides behind Joan, who makes a stand with sword and shield before her riding horse; while Andrew and Alexander take the other side of the road and prepare for battle.
Stephan is surprisingly deft with his quarterstaff and cracks the skull of the first wolf. Andrew, a banished Scotsman of small stature, swings his claymore mightily and catches nothing but air, while a wolf lunges up and mauls Alexander even through his chain hauberk. Joan fights back as best she can, but one wolf clamps down on her shield and thrashes powerfully. After a brief battle, the last wolf flees into the snowy woods, leaving the party to gather the 3 slain wolves for their furs. Helping Alexander down the path, fortunate not to have caught any diseases from the wolf bite, they are greeted by a villager from below named Christopher, who beckons them to safety. He's relieved they're not bandits, as the village has had trouble with them of late.
Thus the party reaches the small village of Wharram, where they will next discover the mysterious menace of "The Child Eaters" (Old School Companion vol. 2). As a reward for their adventure, the heroes all make 1st level, and we spent the last half hour "leveling them up".
Really awesome!
Haven't been able to get a game in due to the holidays and other silliness, but I knew what to get my players for Christmas this year...
(https://i.postimg.cc/fRVbkSbZ/IMG-8375.jpg)
Holy crap, that's wonderful! And an affordable gift too. I hope your players appreciate you!
Thank you! They're a great bunch. Really looking forward to running again soon.
All 4 of the ones who played it loved L&D. One player said it was "like D&D 'hard mode'..." and he meant it in a good way!
Quote from: Brigman on January 07, 2024, 11:16:28 AM
Thank you! They're a great bunch. Really looking forward to running again soon.
All 4 of the ones who played it loved L&D. One player said it was "like D&D 'hard mode'..." and he meant it in a good way!
Not the first time I heard that!
Well it had been 7 weeks since our last game, due to the holidays and life events. But we finally got a game in, and hope to play again soon!
(https://i.postimg.cc/fTcGC4D3/IMG-8483.jpg)
Tonight we added two players to the L&D fold from my 5e campaign, and a good chunk of time was spent generating characters for them and going over the rules. The new characters were Emma, a former serf and Thief with a secret; and Maledicta, a city-born Cymri running from a broken heart.
(Unfortunately Joan's player moved away, and Alexander's player couldn't make this session. But next time!)
The farmer, Christopher, took in the party (above), putting them up in his home, where they discovered two young women were already being sheltered there, survivors of a snowbound and doomed caravan. Emma and Maledicta were also heading to Thorne Keep, for reasons of their own.
Joan and Alexander left to forage on, while Stephen and Andrew remained to investigate some elvish sigils found on standing stones near the border of town. The Cymri, Maledicta, claimed to read elvish... but actually just made up meanings for the sigils, since they were so worn she couldn't read them.
They set off to speak to the village headman, Jim, when a young lad came running through the snow, crying that his father's farm was being raided by bandits. When asked how many, he held up two fingers and announced, "Six!"
The four houseguests moved through the treeline to see several men loading stored food onto the back of a cart, and two farmers facedown in the snow. The bandits were armed with clubs and short bows, but were focused on their work, trying to get loaded and moving as fast as possible.
Maledicta made some flaming arrows and readied them. Emma tried to sneak up on them but fell in the snow, catching their attention. Meanwhile Andrew snuck past them and sliced through the tether holding the draft horse to the cart. Wearing a wolfskin cloak (from the wolves killed in the first adventure), he made a terrifying figure when he slapped the horse and sent it running, the cart falling yoke-first into the snow. But the bandits were drawn to focus on Stephen, the Magister, who approached openly to distract them and perhaps find out what was going on.
The men were gaunt, starving... not at all like the well-fed and prosperous villagers of Warrham. They weren't in a talking mood. One ran after their horse, ducking Andrew's greatsword as he ran by. Another turned and put an arrow in Andrew's shoulder, while another engaged Stephen, fighting club-to-staff. The last one ran up and engaged the injured Scotsman with his cudgel.
Emma came up behind the remaining archer who'd shot Andrew and slit his throat ear-to-ear. From the treeline, Maledicta fired a few flaming arrows, but missed anything important. Andrew cut one club-man clean in half!
Losing morale, the surviving bandit fled after the one who'd chased the horse, and managed to get away. That left two dead bandits, two unconscious farmers, and a bunch of stored and preserved food laden in a fallen cart. Just in time for the village headman, Jim, to arrive with some help to sort things out. In the end, he thanked the party for saving the farmers and their stores, and offered to pay them each a horse if they'd stick around and deal with the bandit problem... to which they agreed.
A short but fun session following CharGen for Emma and Maledicta. Both had never played L&D or any other OSR game, and both really enjoyed the differences from 5e. And everyone appreciated their belated Christmas gift of a print copy of Lion & Dragon that I finally got to give them! :)
That's truly awesome!
Thanks Pundit! Your game is a hit with my young friends. 6/6 of them that have tried it have loved it!
As the "old man" (and GM) in the group it's more like a ride back in time for me, I learned with Moldvay's Basic Set. But even then, the "Medieval Authentic" was lacking, and I've spent more than a little time doing historical research to bring the "authentic" to the game!
Quote from: Brigman on February 03, 2024, 11:40:30 PM
Thanks Pundit! Your game is a hit with my young friends. 6/6 of them that have tried it have loved it!
As the "old man" (and GM) in the group it's more like a ride back in time for me, I learned with Moldvay's Basic Set. But even then, the "Medieval Authentic" was lacking, and I've spent more than a little time doing historical research to bring the "authentic" to the game!
Well, that makes me very happy
We got our third session in last night, taking a break from an ongoing 5e Saltmarsh game. Unfortunately no pics this time, but I had all 5 of my current players (minus the absent player who won't play anything but 5e, and Joan's player who's moved away).
The cast:
Stephen Cooper, Magister
Andrew Cockburne, Scotsman
Emma, ex-Serf Thief
Maledicta, Cymri
and Alexander, mercenary soldier (Fighter).
The game picks up where the last game left off, with the party having agreed to Jim to help take care of their bandit problem in Wharram. But Andrew took an arrow to the shoulder from one of the bandits, and his wound needs tending. The group returns to farmer Christopher's home, where they've been staying, as Jim sends for The Mother to tend Andrew's injuries.
Around this time, Alexander returns from escorting Joan towards Thorne Keep. One night she simply vanished. The Unconquered Sun moves in mysterious ways. (This was rather ham-handed, but I had to remove the PC from the scene as the player had moved.) Learning that his comrades have bartered for horses for them in exchange for dealing with some grubby bandits, Alexander is all in. Horses would make travel through the Pennine mountains in the coldest winter a lot easier.
The party meets The Mother, who is gentle and charming as she tends Andrew's shoulder injury. Andrew had failed his save, and were it not for The Mother's ministrations, that wound would have grown infected! Maledicta is a bit suspicious of the medicine woman, but keeps it to herself, for now.
The next day, Emma takes a skulk about town and steals some of the ample foodstuffs from this prosperous village on the sly. As she does, she takes note of a few small shrines to the Threefold Goddess placed inconspicuously about the village.
Maledicta meanwhile takes the magister, Stephen, to examine more of the standing stones on the periphery of the village. While she just made up the translation to the first stone (as it was too weathered to actually read), she CAN read elvish script and is able to translate some of the second stone's writing. It mentions a gate, a barrier between worlds, and "the ___ eater" being trapped within (the descriptive word is too worn to read). She and Stephen concur that the weathered condition of the stones could mean the 'barrier'... whatever that is... is weakening. Stephen reckons that Alexander could smash one of the stones with his warhammer in one or two good swings.
After conferring with the others, Andrew and Emma go to the woods to scout for the bandits, hoping to find their lair, while Stephen, Maledicta and Alexander journey to the Lord's manor, Sir Roger Trevet's, some 8 miles away. Headman Jim loans them a draft horse and cart to ease their journey.
The Scotsman and the Thief find tracks in the snow, and Andrew follows them through the woods. Emma tries to guide them stealthily, but between the fresh crunchy snow and fallen snapping branches, they make too much noise for her taste. But around a set of hills, they spy a hidden natural cave. Andrew can see that there are a half-dozen tracks coming to the cave from the direction of Wharram, and also heading towards the neighboring village of Swinlon. Jim had postulated that perhaps the bandits were coming from Swinlon, but no one in the village recognized the two slain bandits. Noting the location, they turn to head back to Wharram and report when Emma notices a lone set of tracks heading up the to the hilltop through the snow. A scout or lookout? They head back through the snow, but both have a feeling of being followed. Andrew urges Emma to run ahead, giving her a head start before sprinting himself. There is a hiss-whizz and a thunk, but neither are hit nor see the arrow, escaping back to town. They report to Jim what they've found. As they approached his house, they caught a faint melody of a young girl singing, but it quickly fades as they near the house. Jim invites them in and serves them hot mead and stew to warm them, and has his elder daughter (also named Emma, 19) bring them blankets. Emma (the thief) has a keen enough ear that, after listening to Emma (the daughter) speak, she is certain the singing voice was from a different, younger girl...
Meanwhile, the other three travel by cart towards Trevet manor. About 2/3 the way there, they come across a wagon in the snow, looted and empty, with three dead men riddled with arrows nearby. There is no horse, but the men have been robbed as well, although curiously left with their sheathed swords still at their side. Stephen is able to identify some markings that suggest the men were from Swinlon. Hoping to provide evidence, they load the frozen bodies in the cart and continue on.
Arriving at Trevet Manor, they parlay entry, then present Sir Roger with the three frozen bodies and a tale of banditry. Sir Roger is disturbed, and notes that the three dead men were part of a group of five men that came from Swinlon to complain about famine, as their crop this year was extremely poor, even as Wharram had a bumper crop. This is the first time the bandits have attacked this near the manor, and the only time men from Swinlon have been attacked - and also the first time the bandits have killed. It makes the party suspicious that something doesn't add up, and the Swinlon men were perhaps not killed by the same bandits. While the two men talk up Sir Roger outside by the cart and bodies, Maledicta is able to slip into the manor and take a quick peek at his ledger. She discovers that the three villages have usually had roughly equal prosperity, but this year Wharram produced three TIMES the tax from their crops as did the other two villages.
She manages to evade detection and get back out as Sir Roger is encouraging the others to track down the bandits, noting that he has armed men he can provide if need be. Stephen is interested in investigating the bandits carefully rather than a simple assault; Sir Roger is fine with that, as long as the bandit leader can be brought to trial and justice in Swinlon, where the three dead men are from. Since the horses Jim had promised them would eventually come from Sir Roger, he offers them three horses now, to aid in their efforts, and the other two after success. The party makes the journey back to Wharram and they all meet back at Christopher's, less concerned and more trusting of him and his family than of the headman Jim's.
Talking to Christopher, they learn that Wharram indeed had a record crop this past year, and has more than enough food for the winter. They also learn that the health and good prosperity of Wharram coincide with the arrival of The Mother and 'harmless' worship of the Three-Fold Goddess.
They rest the night, planning to tackle the bandits on the morrow!
Really loving reading this.
Thanks Pundit! I'm glad you're enjoying!
I knew my players were getting invested when some of them ordered miniatures to represent their characters. Had to laugh and share with Stephen's player... the figure he got off Etsy (I think) shows a young mage smoking a pipe... that you'd be amused by the pipe-smoking. :D
Quote from: Brigman on March 18, 2024, 01:45:36 PM
Thanks Pundit! I'm glad you're enjoying!
I knew my players were getting invested when some of them ordered miniatures to represent their characters. Had to laugh and share with Stephen's player... the figure he got off Etsy (I think) shows a young mage smoking a pipe... that you'd be amused by the pipe-smoking. :D
That is amusing! Though also historically inaccurate.
I did not know that. They didn't smoke pipes in the middle ages? Gandalf lied to me? LOL
Quote from: Brigman on March 19, 2024, 01:10:01 PM
I did not know that. They didn't smoke pipes in the middle ages? Gandalf lied to me? LOL
Tobacco was a product of the Columbian Exchange; it was introduced to Europe from the Americas in the 1500s.
No joke, I learn new things all the time, running (and researching for) this game!
Going through "The Child Eaters", it made me realize how used to being spoon-fed boxed text I'd become from 5e, too.
We got our 4th session in tonight! Despite being tired and worn out, everyone seemed to have a good time, and the plot thickens...
The next morning the party sets out to the bandit's hidden cave, trying to scope it out. They find an arrow embedded in a tree that had missed Andrew as they'd fled yesterday. They scout the lookout post on top of the hill, finding some arrows, wine in a skin, and a bag of rations, but no bandits. The cave entrance is partially covered by branches, but they have no trouble entering. Stephen uses his 'science' to rig a quick alarm at the entrance using some string, a cup and a spoon (to make a bell), so they aren't surprised while inside.
Inside, they find a barrel full of snow melt, a trough for watering horses, some burlap sacks full of stolen barley, and a thatch mat for sitting/resting. As they poke around, before they get much deeper in the cave, Maladicta's Cymri instincts warn her there's trouble coming. Everyone dashes for cover, with Mala hiding behind the water barrel, Alexander rolling in the dirt and mud to hide low on the floor, Andrew hiding up against the wall by the entrance, and Emma squishing inbetween the burlap sacks. Only Stephen sits out on the thatch mat in the open, hoping to parley. The party readies weapons...
The alarm bell jingles as a man trips the wire, and Andrew isn't interested in parley. He swings his greatsword into the interloper, catching him square in the ribs and dropping him to the ground in a bloody heap, alive but broken. Cries of alarm and surprise echo from outside as the remaining five bandits - including Steven, their leader - hastily ready weapons.
Maladicta creeps forward and slits the throat of the wounded bandit (Elijah), dragging his corpse deeper into the cave. Alexander tips over the barrel (spilling forth the water), and uses it as cover as he moves towards the entrance. Emma switches from dagger to bow, and Stephen curses the hotheaded Scot even as Andrew rushes out with his greatsword.
There are five bandits remaining, including the leader, Steven, and they're armed with shortbows or spears. Before they can attack, Andrew swings his claymore again and straight up decapitates a bowman, Percy. That's enough for the remaining men. They weren't expecting an ambush. They break and run! (Rolled 12 on their morale check!)
Emma fires off an arrow and catches the farthest, Steven, in the shoulder, staggering him. Two keep running, but Steven is slowed, and a third man (Thomas) slows to help him... allowing the party to catch up. Thomas holds up his hands in surrender as Steven settles to the ground, not expecting mercy.
But the party surprises him. They grill him as to who he is, what they're doing, and so forth. Little point in lying, Steven admits that they're the bandits from Swinlon. He insists they were only stealing food to survive, and denies ever killing anyone. He expresses dismay that a party of men from Swinlon never made it back (they were found killed on the road coming back from Lord Trevet's manor by the party last game). He confirms that no, this was not done by his men. He also said that there is something strange and unnatural about the village of Wharram. Between their bumper crop and Swinlon's famine, that's bad enough. But in the last seven months, five infants - all delivered by the widow Elizabeth Midwife - have disappeared from Swinlon. Steven thinks foul black magic is afoot, but obviously, wounded and captured, he can no longer do much about it. He seems resigned to his fate, but the party seems more sympathetic than expected. Emma even shares some of her (stolen) meat pies with the two bandits. The party believe now that the Mother is behind something strange, and perhaps the famine and child disappearances are related. They're determined to find out.
Andrew rigs a sled from the wood of the barrel, using his carpentry skills, while Stephen Cooper uses his barrel-making skills to assist. This allows them to drag the dead men through the snow as they accompany Steven and Thomas back to Swinlon, hoping to investigate further and learn the secret of the goings-on in the three villages...
And that was as far as we got tonight. A bit short, but we were all fried from a long week in real-life!
Awesome!