[Burning Wheel: Classic] The Racial Campaign IV of IV

[Bill Cook]

Session I. Session II. Session III.

Play transcript

An Empty Town and a Little Boy
Jacob journeyed to his brother's farm in Gartiche. Oren was a virtuous man and had never approved of Jacob's Gift; even less, his choice of banditry. But having given shelter in the past, Jacob knew he would not turn him away.

Jacob rode through vacant streets of empty shops. At the farm, an ox had crossed a break in the pasture fence and grazed in the yard. The front door stood open. Chickens pecked at an unfinished supper on the kitchen table. Jacob took his mare to the barn and fetched the oat bucket. He scooped into the bin, and a small figure climbed out and ran into the stables. Jacob followed it up the stairs into the loft.
- "Who's there? Come out where I can see you!"
- "Uncle Jacob?" A small head poked out from a pile of canvas sacks.
- "Where's your father?"
- "The captain of the guard took all the men to the capitol."
- "What?! What for?"
- "He says an army came from across the bay." Curse Oren! Jacob thought. He'd follow the militia to the White Tower Island if they told him. And what of this army? Were they occupiers .. or something worse?
- "Come on. Let's go collect your father."

A Slaughter of Seconds
Janis and Vorzell espied in threne a council of Orcs outside the Looter Hall. There was Gnosh, the Sower commander, Dreck, chieftain of the Trophy Killer Clan, and Shargăl, shaman to the Firebrands. Larshaek, chieftain of the Fang Riders, had come, and with him was Whip Fang, a sleek and purring beast.
- "We have heard of war in Reya and the Troll Lord Shaman's return."
- "Behold! A son of the Reyan Etharch's house!" Gnosh motioned, and Telenar was brought forth, naked, chained and beaten half to death. He reached inside his Sower's cloak and unfurled a smoke and dirt stained banner flag of Pollee. Larshaek hissed and groveled in appreciation.
- "I offer the measure of my clan to Surt's glory! Let us seal our bond in the blood of this Wood Thing!" Drek stood astride the boy and raised his stone hammer with both arms.

Singing rage, the Elf lords struck like whirling spirits. Drek's severed head lobbed into the air. Blinding sword arcs cut hide and bone; the great wolf fell in complete sections. Shargăl's voice of shadow names trailed away to a gurgle as a blade entered his chest. Larshaek held the floating swords back by spear point. Gnosh gained ground and drew his bow, scanning for a target. A flash of steel as Larshaek batted the blade aside and thrust into unyielding mail. These were Elves! Gnosh thought. He'd seen these magicks on scouting runs into the Reyan woods. But where .. ?

Vorzell appeared before him and sliced off his arrow hand. The bow released. An arrow sank like an evil nail. The arc continued, opening the Sower's torso; his entrails sprang out like worms. Larshaek held the Elf lord back, but could not land a killing blow. Then, of a sudden, he stood tense with only the rustling leaves before him. He saw a lithe figure drape bodies on the back of a horse and ride into the woods. He surveyed the fallen bodies and ran 'til his lungs burned, heading for Muspel.

Tribute of Thrumbey
The stands shook. Thousands of Orcs chanted, "Bale! Bale! Bale!" The champion feasted on the belly meats of his fallen opponents. The arena master came to the center and addressed the box of thrones.
- "We offer tribute from the pillage of Ennedor." Darmet's caravan of half-breeds, Axe Hands and Sowers marched in among the pony-drawn carts of plunder. Surt kept his distance from the front, wrapped in a Sower cloak.
- "Throw back your hood, lout!" the master rasped. "You'll be mistaken for an assassin!" Darmet revealed his face. A rotund Troll Lord growled and spat.
- "Who is this half-breed? Where is Lord Defiler, Braying Maw?" Surt marked this one as Krug, a field commander in the time of his lord, Eraenus. Another Troll Lord motioned for calm. Though slighter in build, his eyes showed great ambition, and his even manner suggested terrible cunning. This was Dirk Biter.
- "I am Darmet, Highwayman of the Kingdoms of Men. I live by the loot of the men and women I murder. I killed Krieg of the Axe Hands and took his band to complete Maw's raid of Thrumbey. It was he who entrusted this missive to me. And I now present this splendor as envoy to your council." Dirk Biter stood and spoke.
- "Such titles must be appointed, half-breed. Your kind may be fit for frenzied raids, but to serve the highest lords of Orcs, you must face the greatest among us!" A roar from the crowd. The center of the floor cleared away. The monster stood up from its meal of corpses and collected a fork-headed staff. Darmet stood ready, sword drawn and shield unslung. Surt dwarfed his shoulder with a clawed hand.
- "You cannot best his strength. Move in and out quickly. Don't let him lay hold of you, or he will kill you. Even so, you may be spared. Dirk Biter is not so foolish that he mistakes your talents." The Orcish Shaman receded to the sideline.

Camping with a Deserter
Jacob saw the light of a campfire through the trees. He smelled fish cooking. Ahead, a stubble-bearded man sat, poking a stick at a fresh catch strung over crackling, burning wood. Laid out on the ground were a mail suit, a helmet and grieves. A sword in scabbard was propped against a tree. Nate stepped on a dry branch, snapping it in two.

The man jumped up, reaching for his sword.
- "Hello? Sorry to give you a fright." He pulled the sword so hard, his hand held the scabbard so unsteadily, that the sheath sailed through the air, landing at the sorcerer's feet.
- "I'll never go back, you bastards! You'll have to kill me!"
- "Easy, man! I am not armed." Nate backed up against Jacob. "Mercy! I have this child with me. We are not your enemies." The man approached. Leaning in close, he eyed Jacob suspiciously. "You're not a soldier."

They ate while Korus told the tale of his flight from Moraber. A vast host of Brehans had come across the bay and camped outside the city's keep. King Leigh announced that the Brehans were allies in his quest to drive out Moran zealotry. He gave orders for every man in every village along the countryside to report to the capitol and add their number to the alliance and march on Wessell. Serving foreign masters led to dissension. A brutal quelling drove that bile down into the tissues of the men. Many fled. Some were captured and brought back. Others stood their ground and were cut down. Knowing these lands like he did, Korus had thus far evaded his pursuers. After dinner, they slept.

In the morning, Jacob awoke amid riders in military garb. Two were dragging Korus behind their horses with a spear in his back.
- "It's time to do your part for your country, you bloody coward!" They bound Jacob's hands and set him on a horse.
- "What about the boy?"
- "He's too young. Leave him." To die, thought Jacob. Nate couldn't survive in the wild. Jacob worked his fingers into a back pocket and pulled free the map he'd scribed of the half-breed's dream directions. It fell to the forest floor. With the provisions in Darmet's safehouse, Nate could stay alive for weeks.

Tempering the Envoy
Darmet stood not ten paces from Eye of Bale.
- "Monster, you corrupted the only person who ever showed me love when you cursed me to this life of pain. Your feast of misery is over." They came at each other. It raised its arms high, positioning the forked head to strike. Darmet shifted on the balls of his feet, seeking the perfect angle to the side of those steel blades. As the staff rushed by his face, he sliced and sliced again, spraying flesh and blood in glimmering lines. Glancing off his shield, the fork caromed away from center and tore through his grieves, spearing the shin. Darmet howled and spun, tearing the blades free of his leg.

The creature fell to its knees, lungs fluttering, bathed in its own blood from below the wounds in its side. Stars raced before Darmet's eyes. He dragged his leg like a screaming child and rounded the beast. He cocked back his sword arm, shoulder drawn up across his throat, and looked out at the waving mob, its motion slowed to the pulse of blood in his ears. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Surt, dark and terrible, who nodded. Darmet swept its head clean. It toppled forward with a thud. Its open neck flowed like a fountain, and Darmet's boots were quickly steeped in a black, steaming pool.

Dirk Biter entered the arena, surrounded by pole axe bearing guardsmen. He stood before Darmet, equal in height. He drew a curvy blade and stabbed the half-breed in the shoulder, down to the bone. Darmet flushed and grimaced, but did not cry out. Sweat rolled down the sides of his face. He held perfectly still, as though the Troll Lord's dagger had pinned him to a wall.
- "Whom do you serve?"
- "The Troll Lords." Dirk Biter drew the blade free. His procession exited to the under hall. The noise of the crowd returned to him. He noted the disgust of certain Troll Lord Council members. He turned to the bloody heap and cut its waist belt. He pulled loose a cattle brand stolen long  ago from a farmer in Thrumbey.
- "It is done."

The Siege at Wessell
- "Form ranks, you lot!" Captains barked orders, inspecting the lines. Jacob adjusted the chin strap of his pot helm and tried in vain to bend a sword straight with his foot. He felt ridiculous. Behind them were strange, short creatures with long beards and foul temperaments. They looked like old men that had been squashed flat by a hit on the head with a blacksmith's hammer. And the way they kept looking over their shoulder suggested that the open sky was a bewildering irritation. They ran the gangs who operated the Brehan's war machines, great square frames with long, swinging wooden arms that threw rocks from slings. To the front, he saw a rider in kingly raiment, trotting up and down the line. Beyond the field lay Wessell. Her arbalesters milled behind the crenellations, firing the occasional range testing bolt.
- "The time has come to prove our worth to our Brehan allies. Men of Mora, break the walls of Wessell! Drive out its hated light forever!" Jacob blinked. This was no noble lord. His face, his figure, his voice: all were White Tower tricks. The impostor was Seera Beth, one-time fellow student, who had graduated to service as an agent of the Enclave. But what was their interest in this war of three kingdoms? And where was the true King Leigh?

The militia charged. Crossing a hale of bolts, they crashed into a line of spears at the base of the castle walls. Jacob spotted Oren, working his way into the fray. The false king and his commanders repaired to the center, passing behind the war machines. Just then, Jacob hummed a little melody. The wooden joints exploded, spraying splinters into the king's company. With Seera Beth distracted, Jacob intoned a phantom Moran captain.
- "You there!" it shouted, pointing at body cart runners.
- "Sir?"
- "Dump those men onto the field."
- "But the medical tent –"
- "Soldier!" The men obeyed.
- "Sir knight. Your destrier." The knight angrily surrendered his mount. "You, come with me." It motioned to the horse's rump and Jacob climbed on. They rode down into the field. A bolt whizzed through the phantom captain's head and bounced off Jacob's pot helm. Damn thing's good for something, thought Jacob. The cart runners looked up, questioningly.
- "Carry on."

Wading into the mad melee, Jacob's phantom ordered them up to Oren.
- "Soldier! Relieve this man!" Several men looked up, dumbfounded.
- "Yes, you!"
- "My Lord?"
- "Load the wounded! Hurry, man!" Oren dragged the stabbed and splayed fallen onto the cart.
- "Now hop aboard." Oren stood stupidly, in great confusion.
- "Get in the cart, you idiot!" Jacob prodded his brother with the horse's head until he climbed in. He led the runners back across the field, to the backlines.

After the last man was unloaded, Jacob's phantom spoke again.
- "You two, come with me." Leading the horse by its tether, the captain walked to the woods and turned to smoke.
- "Jacob! You scoundrel! I should have known –" Jacob punched Oren right in the face. He fell to the ground.
- "Sorry, brother. It's for your own good."

[Bill Cook]

This was a fun session, all around. I was a little worried that the ideas I had to wrap up certain storylines might be too simplistic, but those were some of the most satisfying deliveries. Even though his character only appeared in a single scene, Cory called this one "the best session of the campaign."

Broken Pricing of Hesitation, Casting Time
There were a couple of instances of broken pricing. When Vorzell and Janis ambushed Surt's command personnel, they ended up causing 1½ + exchanges of Hesitation per opponent. We played through a couple volleys and then I overrode the rest. It would have been ludicrous.

Casting time for most incantations and every spell song are absurd. I grant that if it will never go on the script, it may as well be infinite syllables, but otherwise, they are priced inaccessibly. So I had to gift their issue if they were going to show up in the game at all.

Generous Metagame and Scene Manicure
This was a heavily metagamed session. By that I mean we talked a lot out-of-game about how we wanted to commit events in-game. Since these were climaxes and last dances, we really focused on details and clarified rulings prior to execution. (e.g. Within Reach, is a Release legal to script?)

Missing Player Found at the Graveyard
Unfortunately, Luke N. was not able to schedule off from work. That was especially bummer because his character was scheduled to peak. I was unsure how to cast him, also. God forbid he take some risk that Luke wouldn't have agreed to.

We ran his character (Surt, the exiled Orcish Shaman) as an NPC. Cory was his principal controller; I also made sporadic use for little flourishes. (e.g. Giving battle advice, assenting to Bale's death blow, etc.)

Controller Fever
I may have posted about this in a previous session, but it struck me again that night: using your players for NPC controllers is a gateway to gamer bliss. For all the years I've been GM'ing, I can't believe I overlooked such a simple and effective technique.

Low Key Sorcery
Nick's thread really showed colors in this session. In-between scenes, we asked him about his approach to Jacob, and he said he was trying to play him as a subtle operative. And you really get that feel from his choices. Jacob has faced overwhelming numbers of superior arms a handful of times; he knows Rain of Fire, but he's never used it. And he gets off some really inventive solutions. Jacob is a pretty amazing departure from a D&D "mass kill" magic-user.

The Severed Bird on an Arrow in your Chest
We got at least two votes for the best scene of the night: when Gnosh shot Vorzell in the chest, killing him. It was one of those "rolled 20 three times in a row" kind of moments.

Vorzell had just handily slain Dreck, Surt's second in command, and Whip Fang, arguably the most lethal opponent in the lineup, also the least affected by their ambush. They never had a chance. Nick, who controlled Gnosh, scripted a Withdraw. We even made him wait to Nock after his Withdraw. (My position is that it's a dedicated movement.) Cory bitched about losing the Speed contest. It didn't make sense that someone could "out scramble away" from him. But the requirements for range combat are difficult enough, I feel, without house-ruling towards something more "realistic."

So Gnosh achieved Range combat distance. He won the next Speed contest, scripting two Nocks. On the third volley, Vorzell closed to Reach. I specifically allowed Release and interpreted that only Nocks would be invalidated. Vorzell's Strike slew Gnosh. Nick rolled one success on his shot. Cory needed three successes for his armor to protect him. He failed. Nick rolled five on the DOF and Vorzell sustained a mortal wound.

We couldn't believe it. We instinctively tried to figure some way out of it. I started reading under Effects of Wounds until I came to the Will to Live. Cory had exactly two Artha left. (He had just finished spending over ten.) He paid and brought Vorzell back from the brink.

Cory took Vorzell's Strike on the arm. This inspired us to narrate the severed hand that still pinched the arrow. "So the arrow sinks in and you fall over. And its swinging back and forth with the hand still hanging on. And its finger extends to give you the bird."

Artha Workout and Specialty Actions
Cory, Jason and Nick had over ten Artha at the start of the session. They each spent at least that much. Cory doubled his pool twice. So did Jason. Nick drove us all crazy by refusing to double his pool of eleven dice to make an obstacle of seven. That lucky bastard rolled exactly seven successes!

Stuck with controlling hopelessly screwed Orcs, Jason started looking for any advantage he could get; he found Counterstrikes and reach advantage. He was running Larshaek when Vorzell and Janis ambushed. (Note that Larshaek was the only Orc to survive.) Jason figured out that if Cory kept brazenly scripting Strikes, he could Countstrike toward progress. Also, the spear's length kept the Lord Protector out on the pointy end.

Here's a brain teaser question for you rules buffs: if a character wins a Speed contest such that his opponent may not target (e.g. kept out of reach by a pike), do his Counterstrikes and Feints still qualify by matches of scripts?

Dialects of Wound Penalties
I got into a bad tailspin when I realized that the wound penalties I devised for mass abstracted out some detail generated by regular ones. It's not that great a loss (die penalties are all at most one), but getting caught off guard kind of threw me. The confusion arose primarily because I was using mass templates for individual NPC's. We quickly unified to the individual series.

Epilogue Session
I hate doing this. It's like a long goodbye. But my players requested a fifth session to tie up some loose ends, so we'll likely do that. And it'll be good for Luke, especially, if he's able to make it.

[Jaycenn]

I think that all three of us - Cory, Nick & Myself - enjoyed this session the most of the four.  We each not only accomplished some of our primary goals, but did so by some extraordinary feats.  

Cory stated that the single scene actually quenched his gaming thirst for the night.  After which he was satisfied and content to watch the other threads unfold.  The same goes for me.  

When Darmet walked into the ring with Bale - {his Orc father which Darmet has a passion to take revenge upon for the pitifully disgraceful life he forced upon his human mother (the only one that ever cared for him) }- I fully realized that this was likely Darmet's last scene.  I would have been content even with Darmet's death in that scene for the fact that I was able to play out his goals to a tee.  I was astounded when not only did Darmet win that battle in the ring, but did so in less than an exchange (1 full volley followed by the death blow in the 2nd volley to be exact).  We agreed afterwards that the overwhelming factor in the exchange was Artha.  It is (I think) the most powerful tool in the game.  When used viciously it makes the outcome what it is.  

Re:  Players controlling the NPC's in other threads.
 Playing an NPC in Cory's thread was a learning experience for me.  Likewise in the previous sessions.  I still think that BW is cumbersome in the mechanics of combat, and it wasn't until the 4th session that I began to really feel more comfortable with it.  I've never had so much difficulty grasping a new game (maybe I'm getting old, but I'm certainly not daft.)  I credit Billy & the others for coming up with ways to make the scripting easier (the scrabble blocks w/ scripted actions).  But, once I reached this comfort level, I was able to learn more of the tactical advantages of certain weapons and the true turning point in exchanges dealing with Speed contests, The flexibility of the CounterStrike action, Keeping foes at bay with a long reach weapon, and in turn - how to get past a foe with a long reach weapon by getting "inside".

Anyway - back to the battle w/ Darmet & Bale.
I realized that the ONLY way I could have a chance to even land a blow was to get inside the reach of his fork-headed staff.  I failed my contest of Speed... It killed me to spend Artha on rerolling my failed "SPEED" dice, but otherwise the fight might as well have been over.  If I didn't get EVERY advantage available - then all would be lost.  After a successful re-roll of failed dice, my anticipation of his scripted moves was exact.... The ONLY formidable skill that Darmet has is his sword skill.  The others are somewhat mediocre.  I used Artha to double his attack dice.  He landed a vicious blow to Bale.  The second action of the first volley both Bale and Darmet hit eachother.  I doubled Darmet's dice again on the second strike which brought my Artha down to ONE.  Tough call knowing that if I received a mortal wound I wouldn't have the two Artha to pull out of death - but the 2nd hit along with the hard first hit was just enough to take his dice away.  I had still expected to die in the next volley w/o any artha left to bail me out.
WOW - success when UNexpected is a sweet victory.

 Cory & I discussed the request of a 5th session before bringing it up to Billy.  I know Cory would like to attempt to tie up a couple loose ends.  I, Myself mainly want to see Luke get the chance to bring his character to it's peak.  He's so close after coming a long way - but could not attend this last session.  I want to see how that unfolds - and whether or not Darmet has anything to do with it, I will be satisfied with this game.
So - yes I am looking forward to "BW session V of IV"

Thanks -

Jason

[Thor Olavsrud]

Hey guys,

I'm a little confused by some of the stuff that's going on here. It sounds like you're using the Revised version of combat to a degree, but it also sounds like for the Ranged stuff you're using Classic-style combat with Speed tests thrown in?

Also, it sounds like you're using a very old system of Artha. No differentiation between Fate, Persona and Deed points?

Can you give me an idea of which version of the book you're using and what you've  added or taken away?

As for the Counterstrike question, when you are out of range (say a knife fighter facing a spear guy), we allow you to use the counter part of the action but not the strike. Though you must put at least one die into the Strike because it was scripted.

Also (apologies if you went over this in an earlier thread), could you give us the characters' Beliefs an idea of how they were hit in play?

Thanks!

[Bill Cook]

Can you give me an idea of which version of the book you're using and what you've added or taken away?

It's classic with some pre-revised releases from the BW website. Specifically:

[*]We use a fixed PTGS of two to twelve, stepping by two.
[*]There's a whole wrapper we use for mass. It's its own thing. (PM for the two-sheet.)
[*]We use the alternate armor rules taken from a BW thread and clarified at the bottom of Session I's post.
[*]I read through the alternate Wound Tolerances/Penalties and decided to keep the ones in classic.
[*]You probably remember how I struggled with pace counts. About that time, you guys were developing revised, and we had talked about settling combat distance with a contest of Speed. Since I coudn't use pace counts but revised hadn't been released yet, I came up with something. (Developed here.)
[*]I looked at the alternate Artha rules but didn't really like them. The ones in classic are more intuitive once you boil them down. I had a lot of success in my BW one-shot using those, so I stuck with 'em. Don't have the one-page in front of me .. Jason knows them best. If he doesn't post the list, I'll do it when I get home tonight.[/list:u]

Yikes! Gotta run. More later.

[rafial]

I'm particularly curious about your "scrabbling scripting" system that was alluded to. Can you describe that?

[Jaycenn]

The Classic Artha rules (as I recall)

spend
1 Artha - To roll an additional die for each SIX rolled

2 Artha - Can't remember

3 Artha - The only one that must be bought BEFORE you roll -   To double your dice to roll.

4 Artha -  to Re-roll all your failed dice

[Bill Cook]

Aaah. Home at last.

Ok. Two Artha lets your ignore wound penalties that reduce your pool until the end of combat. These are roughly equivalent to Luck, Shrug it Off, Divine Inspiration and Saving Grace.

As you've probably surmised, I have yet to pick up a copy of revised. I gather there's a whole new way of determining distance for ranged combat. It's something I look forward to reviewing. For this campaign, though, we're going to finish up with classic + certain alternate rules + limited mod's.

As for BIT's .. we did that as a second step. I asked everyone to write a one-line concept and three play targets. Then we wrote BIT's, per the book. There's a lot of overlap. Here's what we began with and the in-play events:

Vorzell
Concept: military commander; Elvish Lord Protector, out to settle a score with the Orcs.
Play Targets
1. Avenge family by eliminating the Muspel Clan.
2. See to nephew's [Telenar's] training.
3. Protect your homeland from the Orcs.
4. Ambush the Orcish scouting party.
5. Save the humans and take pity on them.
Beliefs
1. Orcs need to be exterminated.
2. Revenge is golden.
3. Nature is good.
Instincts
1.Be on the lookout for tracks.
2. Never back down.
3. Keep the sword clean.
Play Events
1. Led Elvish forces to retake Pollee.
2. Negotiated with Brehan commanders and merchant princes to ally a Human army against the Orcs; failed in this endeavor.
3. Tracked the enemy back to their lands, infiltrated their camp and rescued the king's nephew, Telenar.

Jacob of the White Tower
Concept: Rogue Sorcerer Mercenary.
Play Targets
1. Win his fortune in spoils.
2. Prove his muster to the Tower Enclave.
3. Protect his brother's family in Gartiche.
Beliefs – none.
Instincts – none.
Play Events
1. Attempted to waylay a pair from Darmet's company, Artus and Boren.
2. Used sorcery to have a sleeping Darmet reveal the location of one of his safehouses.
3. Spared by Surt when a Sower band of Orcs interrupted their plunder.
4. Extracted his brother from the frontlines of a castle siege at Wessell.

(Nick actually missed the chargen session, and I wrote his play targets. His only explicit input for in-play was the one-line concept.)

Surt
Concept: exiled Orcish high shaman; was overthrown and betrayed by a younger Orc.
Play Targets
1. Gather a horde to form own force to attack with.
2. Raid villages for supplies, pillage, etc.
3. Wipe out old clan. Leave none alive. Muspel Orcs must be exterminated!
Beliefs
1. Betrayal is wholly punished.
2. Darkness and Blood rule through destruction.
Instincts
1. Unknown things are best not trusted.
2. Defile nature.
Play Events
1. Killed Jahkuhl, the Looter chieftain, bringing the Looter and Trophy Killer alliance under his command.
2. Commanded Shargăl to lead the Firebrand warrens on an exodus to the Looter and Trophy Killer halls.
3. Chained among Elves after failing a challenge by Gnosh, the commander of a Sowers of the Crow Field regiment.
4. Escaped from captivity and assumed command of an army of Sowers and Firebrands, sending the main group East, to the caves below Muspel.
5. Led a small group along the coast of the bay. Stealing watercraft from a Brehan village, they mixed with the galley fleet and beached in Mora. They crossed its lands, skirting cities and villages, until they entered the woods to the West of Muspel. Surt joined with a half-breed envoy from the Defiler Clan as a ticket into the Mountain Fortress and sent Drek to keep his alliance until he returned.

(Jallaie was another PC that showed in one session.)

Darmet
Concept: outcast half-orc bastard; carries hatred for Humans and Orcs.
Play Targets
1. Find and kill my father (Orc); revenge my mother's pain.
2. Destroy Human village that outcast him (after his mother's death).
3. Demand acknowledgment and respect for the half-Orc breed.
Beliefs
1. Smuggle first -- kill later.
2. Humans are weak scum. Orcs deserve to die. Elves are pompous scum but taste good with a little guacamole.
3. Mercy is for the weak.
Instincts
1. Draw sword at the first sign of trouble.
2. Sleep with sword out of the scabbard  
Play Events
1. Robbed a merchant carriage.
2. Exchanged stolen goods for coin from a fence in Moraber (Faentar).
3. Failed to ally with a band of Orcish raiders, led by Krieg the Axe Hand.
4. Allied with a half-breed, Gutter Dog, to distract the Axe Hands while Darmet slew Krieg, unawares.
5. Led that band to Thrumbey; passed off as Troll Lord Envoy in joining Braying Maw and his Defiler band; learned from Maw that his brother, Eye of Bale, was Darmet's father and that he fought at the arena in Muspel.
6. Accepted Surt as a councilor in Orcish affairs; they met at an Axe Hand camp outside Muspel.
7. Presented the spoils of Thrumbey to the Troll Lords; slew Eye of Bale, unaided, in arena combat for the position of envoy.
[/list:u]

As for the Counterstrike question, when you are out of range (say a knife fighter facing a spear guy), we allow you to use the counter part of the action but not the strike. Though you must put at least one die into the Strike because it was scripted.

Actually, I'm asking from the POV of the spear fighter. He's got his opponent on the stick, and he's scripted straight Counterstrikes. Does he still get to Strike?

[Bill Cook]

Rafial:

Almost forgot. Check out Paka's My Wonderful Narrative Wargamers on the BW home site for details on Scrabble scripting.