War of Ashes Playtest

While I'm getting the newest WoWFate post set, I think it'd be good to mention that my group got into Evil Hat/Zombiesmith's War of Ashes playtest and we'll be running that the next couple weeks.

The setting is what the makers have been describing as "grimsical," which is a portmanteau of grim and whimsical.  I've been describing it as muppet vikings.  I'll run the playtest this week, and pur usual GM will follow up next week.

My plan, when I play, is to be Urp, priest of the god of moss.  Urp will use moss in all his divinations (and let it grow in his fur), while trying really, really hard to not actually be noticed by the gods.  I'm really looking forward to both weeks.  Expect follow up posts for that in the near future.

WoWFate: Beard War

The Quillboar, convinced by Phred, attempted to react reenact dwarven birth.  They snipped a bit of Brim's beard, and tried to concoct a plan to pass through Urist's legs as the beardless dwarf was probably the female.

Meanwhile, Thorren's air elemental caught up to Etiainen, trailing her back to the caravan.  It agreed with her that most mortals were confusing, but sided with Thorren over the elder shaman's concern for his apprentice.

At the Razor Fen, most everyone had fallen asleep, save for a few Quillboar who began snipping at the hair of Brim and Urist.  In his sleep, Urist registered these sounds and brought Urist back to his traumatic experiences against the Scourge.  He woke screaming about an imminent attack, much to the dismay of the Quillboar.

The adventuring party quickly sprang into action. Yshara gathered a group of piglets to her side.  Phred drew his daggers and encouraged the defense.  Thorren readied his command of the elements. Zulfi'shi summoned spirits. And Brim went right on snoring. After it became clear nothing was actually happening, the stealthy rogue slipped in and knoxked Urist out, ending the kerfuffle.  The leaders of the Razor Fen demanded the adventurers leave because of the disruption, and the group had no choice but to comply.

As they headed back to the caravan with their recovered supplies, Brim woke, having remained unaware of what had transpired.  The party hastily explained to him, and Etiainen, what had happened and Brim, bow quite angry, demanded that he and Urist go back to apologize to their potential customers.

They set out, with Phred in tow, as the rest of the party settled in to get the caravan ready to move come morning.  Once at the Fen, Brim and Urist did apologize.  The Quillboar agreed to accept it should the Lightbrew brothers agree to take on apprentices. Phred backed this plan and Brim quickly accepted for both brothers.  

After quite a bit of debate over how apprentices should be picked, Brim simply approached two Quillboar, asked a few questions and announced he was taking one of them. Urist quickly followed suit.  Their names were Keb-keb amd Hogwa and they were extremely eager to learn the ways of brewing Lightbrew Ale.

Once everyone had regathered, the caravan set out again sending dude to warn Honor Hold about the Undead in Razor Fen Downs.  Hopefully, that garrison would be able to defend the area until Orgrimmar or Theramore could send reinforcements.  Once that was done, the party would continue on their mission to Ashenvale via the Crossroads.

As they travelled, they came upon an oasis.  Thorren felt something off about the elements there and was only just able to warn the others before a sudden storm gathered and something attacked!

That something turned out to be a centaur raiding party, led by a hige centaur in ornate armor carrying a spear of Tauren craftsmanship.  The leader singled out Thorren and told his followers to handle the others while he faced the Tauren.  He charged in , reading a powerful strike, but Thorren was ready and able to mostly deflect it.

Two of the archer centaurs fired artows at Urist, who was lightly injured but undaunted by the attack.  Etianen, wanting to help her mentir, fired a lightning bolt at the lead centaur, but his armor glowed and absorbed the attack.

Meanwhile, Zulfi'shi launched skeletal skulls at some of the centaurs towards the back of the group, burning at their skin.  The centaur stormcallers retaliated with lightning strikes, which most of the adventurers dodged after Etiainen blocked a good amount of it.  Brim and Parker, angry now, angled to get into good offensive position.

The centaur leader backed away, readying for another charge, but Thorren closed with him and disarmed his foe with a mighty swing of his axe. At almost the same moment, Etiainen blasted the centaur with redirected lightning, rocking him.

One of the archers took a shot at Brim, but the Dwarven hunter was ready and fired a blast back into his foe, killing the centaur.  Urist added shielding to his companions as Zulfi'shi attacked another of the lackey centaurs with spirit attackers.  Phred stealthily cut around the groups, cutting off their route of escape.  Meanwhile, Parker mauled yet another centaur marauder to death.

The centaur leader managed to trip Thorren up and moved into position to trample him.  Seeing her mentor hurt, Etiainen asked if he needed healing, but Thorren refused it, despite being heavily wounded.  Instead Etiainen blasted the centaur leader again, and this time it struck home.

Another arrow found purchase in Brim's shoulder, but Urist was already blessing Parker a charge to avenge the Dwarven hunter.  Parker chomped down on another Centaur, taking it out of the fight as the Centaur's companions failed to slow the raging bear.

Zul'fishi began preparing herself for a far greater spell than her norm, chanting quietly in Zandali.  Yshara, needing to close the gap with a distant foe, tookoff running in her bear form, leapt while changing into her Night Elf form, cast a spell, and hit the ground running once more as a bear.  Phred, for his part, used the distraction to down a foe with a well-placed knife to the back.

The Centaur leader managed to trample Thorren, who was badly wounded but refused to yield.  Etiainen went against her mentor's wishes and healed him.  Urist dollowed that up with a heal of his own.  Meanwhile Brim used his rifle to fell another Centaur archer.

In the momentary lull, Zul'fishi completed her spell, using it to have entangling hands grasp at all of the Centaurs, slowimg their leader greatly.  He made to charge, but Thorren was ready this time.  The Tauren had retrieved the spear and found it of Tauren-make.  Etiainen used a spell to blind the Centaur leader, who was left open to a huge thrust from Thorren's spear.  

Phred, Urist, and Yshara finished the remaining Centaur.  Yshara recovered the leather armor of the Centaur and Thorren determined that he would return the spear to Tauren representatives ge hoped to find at The Crossroads.

WoWFate: Rogues Do It From Behind

The next morning, the assembled team was summoned to join the caravan headed to the Crossroads, which only Thorren had much knowledge of, through  his interactions with Taurajo, Razor Hill, and Orgrimmar.  At the caravan, they met a rogue Orc named Fhreyd, who would later become known as Sleepy Rogue.

The first leg of the journey past rather uneventfully.  The creatures, and peoples, of the Barrens kept their distance and the party could relax.  When they stopped for the night, the adventurers started chatting amongst themselves.  Brim, still offended that Thorren had chosen Stormstout Brew over Lightbrew, challenged the Tauren to an armwrestling contest.  If Thorren won, Brim wouldn't bother him about the Lightbrew again.  If Brim won, Thorren would trade his Stormstout in for Lightbrew.  The dwarf struggled nobly, but was no mach for the power of the Tauren.

A bit more conversation, including planning the watch rotation, and the group bedded down for the night.  Brim and Zulfi'shi took first watch.

Ash, the faerie dragon companion of Yshara, flew off investigating.  Not long later Ash returned, clearly alarmed.  He woke Yshara, and in turn everyone else, and set out to kead his mistress back to what he'd found.  The others quickly followed.

Parker and Thorren quickly covered the distance of Yshara's lead and the trio discovered an Orcish farm surrounded by raptors.  Atop the farm was an one-armed Orc farmer, clearly being hunted by the raptors.

Further back, Etiainen tripped Zulfi'shi, drastically slowing the Witch Doctor.  At the farm, Thorren's sharp eyes revealed young raptors eating the farmer's pigs.  Having just arrived and trying to see, Zulfi'shi summoned ghost lights, appearing as skeletal figures.  These glowing apparitions reminded Urist of the Scourge and he turned to head back to the caravan and rally reinforcements.

Thorren's air elemental, Nilc'hi, moved to open the gate to the pigs' pen.  The startled young raptors moved to flee.  Etiainen and Zulfi'shi fired elemental and magical force into the raptors, but it was Parker, at Brim's call, and Yshara, in bear form, who waded in and dealt heavy damage to the raptors.  The farmer called down that his children were inside and threatened by more raptors.  Thorren plunged into the building.

As Brim, Parker, Yshara, Zulfi'shi, and Etiainen tore into the raptors outside, the sounds of Urist and the caravan guards nearing grew increasingly apparent.  The raptors fled before Thorren could find the children, but they ended up being safe.

The farmer thanked the group for saving his family.  Urist's force arrived and began to search for the Scourge.  Zulfi'shi explained that what Urist had seen was her magic, not actual Undead and everyone calmed.  A plan to find the raptors was formulated, at nearly the same time everyone realized the caravan was completely unguarded, save for Fhreyd.

Brim and Yshara set out to hunt the raptors while everyone else rushed to the caravan.  Most of the goods were missing.  One of the guards found tge rogue and accused him of having stolen then, but Fhreyd replied that he'd seen Quillboar taking them and scattering.

Etiainen and Thorren spotted tracks which lent strength to Fhreyd's story, but with Brim and Yshara still after the raptors they'd have to wait.  It wasn't long, though.  The raptors had vanished and tge pair returned to camp.  Brim immediately agreed to track the Quillboar.

As Etiainen and Brim led the way following the tracks, the party set to some arguing.  Zulfi'shi insulted Etiainen and then questioned Urist.  Brim defended his brother as Thorren chastized Etiainen for not giving the others a chance, angering his apprentice.

After some walking, the group arrived at Razor Fen Downs, home of the nearest Quillboar clan.  Once there, the Quillboar threatened the team and claimed rights over the stolen, and unguarded, goods.  Yshara used her memories of Agamaggon to get the Quillboar to hear the party out and Thorren, Yshara, and Brim spoke at length to convince the Quillboar that handing over the goods might be in their best interests.

All of this discussion convinces the Quillboar to allow the adventurerers to speak with their chieftess, named Negara.  In that conversation, Thorren advocated for the Quillboar to petition to join the newly forming League of Kalimdor.  His suggestion is that the Quillboar cede control of the Gold Road, and defend against attacks upon it, in return for status as a member of the League and protection of the territorial boarders around their Razor Fens.

Negara questions Thorren's ability to convince his superiors of this agreement, but also recognized that as a Tauren and a member of the Earthen Ring, Thorren would stand by his word.  Negara had her shamans summon up an earth elemental to make the agreement binding, with the added caveat that Thorren return to defend the Quillboar's territory should the League rebuff the Quillboar's offer.

Etiainen, still irritated with her team and Thorren, set out back to camp to let the caravan guards know that the Quillboar would be returning the stolen supplies.  Thorren noticed her departure and sent his air elemental ally, Nilch'i, to follow her. The rest of the party dispersed to converse with the Quillboar, rest, and load the carts for return to the caravan.

Yshara gathered a large pack of young Quillboar, whom she regaled with stories of Agamaggon and his role in the War of the Ancients.  The Lightbrew brothers introduced their ale to the Quillboar, who loved it.  This led the Quillboar to ask Thorren to leave them behind, but yhe Tauren said he still needed Brim and Urist.

Thorren was also told of a Scourge take over of Razor Fen Downs, leading to Urist being called in.  The Dwarf Paladin suggested that he needed to inform Orgrimmar and call back a large army to stage an attack on the infected Razor Fen.  Meanwhile, Fhreyd, had heard of the Quillboar interest in Brim and Urist and had begun plotting a way to both irritate the Dwarves and placate the Quillboar...