Totte - combat example

The party

• Morgan plays Sir Beltrain du Montagne, an impoverished noble who tries to rebuild his family fortune through combat. His talents are str 6, hea 4, dex 3, cha 4, per 2, int 1; his relevant skills are melee 4, formation 1 and shooting 1; he wears a byrnie over a hauberk together with winged helmet for an effective armor protection score of 4; his armor penalties are perception -1, acrobatics -2; stealth -4. his total encumbrance is light; he wields a battle sword together with a medium shield and keeps a dagger in reserve. Sir Beltrain is strong, dauntless and makes sure that his armor is a mix of shining steel and bright fancy colors.
• Francois plays Guthrum, a Norse berserker who eats enemies for breakfast, lunch and dinner. His talents are str 5, hea 5, dex 5, cha 1, per 2, int 2; his relevant skills are melee 4 and berserking 3; he wears no armor but the skin of a grizzly bear for an effective armor protection score of 0; he has no armor penalties; his total encumbrance is none; he wields a battle axe, with smaller hand axe in reserve. More than Sir Beltrain Guthrum he seeks battle and strife everywhere, even in peacetime, just like a real berserker.
• Faisal plays Lafarq, a ranger who is skilled with missile weapons. His talents are str 3, hea 3, dex 6, cha 2, per 4, int 2; his relevant skills are running 2, tracking 2, alertness 2, melee 2, shooting 4 and stealth 4; he wears a small gambeson over a large one with an armored hood for an effective armor protection score of 2; his armor penalties are perception -1, acrobatics -1; his total encumbrance is light; he wields an eighth crossbow and a short sword. Lafarq is cautious, preferring to sneak around stealthily, shoot-and-scoot and then strike again somewhere else.
• Pjotr plays Samane, a forest nomad and skilled hunter. Her talents are str 4, hea 3, dex 4, cha 2, per 4, int 3; her relevant skills are medical 3, tracking 3, alertness 1, melee 3, shooting 3 and stealth 2; she wears a brigandine over a small gambeson and an open helmet for an effective armor protection score of 3; her armor penalties are perception -1, acrobatics -3; stealth -2; her total encumbrance is light; she wields a bastard (long) sword, a composite bow or a dagger. As befits a nomad hunter, she likes to lure enemies intro traps.
• Betty plays Pseudonia, an illusionist and oddball in the fighter-heavy party. Her talents are str 2, hea 3, dex 3, cha 5, per 3, int 4; her relevant skills are melee 1, shooting 2, health magic 1 and illusionism 4; she wears a large gambeson for an effective armor protection score of 1; her armor penalties are all zero; her total encumbrance is light; she wields a hunting bow and a fencing sword. On one hand Pseudonia disfavors the manifold fighting by the party, but on the other hand she likes to use her skills to throw enemies into confusion.
• Half-eared Hugh is a non-player character, the bravest farmer from the village, who has volunteered to join the party for this mission. His talents are str 5, hea 4, dex 4, cha 3, per 2, int 2; his relevant skills melee 2 and formation 3; he wears a small gambeson for an effective armor protection score of 0; he has no armor penalties; his total encumbrance is none; he wields a short spear. Hugh is equally motivated by a desire to defend his home village and to maintain or even increase his reputation of strength and bravery with the local girls.

The bandits

The information that the GM has passed to the players through the villagers is not entirely correct. There are not 12, but 20 bandits. They are led by Thokkol, a fierce old mercenary who has seen many campaigns. Thokkol's reputation has attracted this fairly large band that allows him to harass villages with much intimidation and little actual fighting, but also forces him to feed many mouths. The camp is not a place to winter, but a temporary shelter; he plans to hit other villages soon after the bandits have plundered the current one. The fortifications are also temporary, to keep his men busy while they wait for the harvest and because Thokkol's military experience has taught him the value of good defenses. The bandits have erected a palisade around their huts and have also set up a few watchtowers further out.
The GM has not fleshed out all bandits, in fact only their leader and pet:

• Thokkol is a skilled fighter. His talents are str 4, hea 3, dex 3, cha 4, per 3, int 3; his relevant skills are alertness 1, melee 4, formation 4, shooting 1 and troop command 1; he wears a lamellar coat and a simple helm for an effective armor protection score of 4; his armor penalties are acrobatics -4, stealth -4; his total encumbrance is light; he wields a battle sword and a medium shield, with a dagger on his side. Thokkol is quite ruthless, which inspires fear with both his men and his enemies.
• Borth is a demon from a primitive and violent world, captured from a wizard who kept a whole zoo of demonical creatures. It resembles a small but sturdy dinosaur, body size 3. In combat it is like an animal tank. Its talents are str 9, hea 4, dex 3, cha -6, per 2, int -4; its relevant skills are melee 2; it has a tough scaly skin for an effective armor protection score of 1; its armor penalties and encumbrance are zero; it wields horns that have a melee factor of 1 and a damage factor of 2.

For the other bandits, he sets one standard from which he will occasionally deviate a little:

• Bandit talents are completely average at str 3, hea 3, dex 3, cha 3, per 3, int 3; relevant skills are melee 2; formation 2; missile 0 (though some are archers with missile 2); most have no armor of note, some an armor protection score of 1, a few 2; armor penalties range from -2 tot none; total encumbrance is light or none; weapons are swords, axes, clubs, spears, polearms, bows and javelins.

Combat stats summary

Below is listed a summary of the standard combat feat abilities of the characters. Only abilities for the main weapons are included in the table, though the characters may also use their secondary weapons, with different scores. Abbreviations: str = strength; fxd = fixed strength penalty; dex = dexterity; skl = skill; wpn = weapon; shl = shield; enc = encumbrance; bod = body size; arm = armor.

The approach

GM: "So, you enter the forest to try to find the bandits. It is quite sparse and varied with many pines, firs, junipers and yew trees. Because it is so late in the season it is very dry; a forest fire seems to be a real risk. Please give me your marching order."
Morgan: "Hey, we might be able to use that smoke them out. Ok, marching order: I lead, followed by Samane, Pseudonia, Hugh and Guthrum in the rear as usual. Lafarq scouts ahead."
Faisal: "I keep a large distance to the party so I can move in silence. I look for tracks."
GM: "Make a blind tracking check please, normal randomness."
Lafarq's tracking ability is perception 4 + 2 * tracking skill 2 = 8. Faisal rolls a random die but it comes up with a 5, fixing the feat at 8.
GM: "Indeed you stumble upon some tracks. They are easy to follow in the forest. The prints are those of boots; some of these people were heavily encumbered, others not; they are very many, but your skill is too low to determine the age of the tracks."
Faisal: "I let the party catch up. Samane is better at this than me."

GM: "Samane, make a feat check of your own."
Pjotr: "Ha! My feat score is 10. Let's roll the dice! Argh, what's this, a 2?" (Rolling once more for a 4) "Hm, my feat is 9."
GM: "You are unable to gain additional information."
Faisal: "Too bad. Let's follow them to see where they lead to. I will walk ahead again."

GM: "After a while you come upon a tree where there are even more tracks, circling it."
Faisal: "I circle the tree carefully, looking everywhere for anything out of the ordinary."
The GM knows how stealthy Lafarq is and does not bother to let Pjotr make a stealth check. Instead he makes a secret perception check for the character, knowing that if it fails Lafarq will notice nothing. He sets the difficulty to 8, compares it with an ability of three times Lafarq's perception score of 4, rolls a 5 on the random die roll: a clear success. "When you look up you see a wooden platform, hidden among branches and leaves."
Faisal: "Bingo! I quickly backtrack and stop the party before they can alert anyone."
GM: "Ok."
Faisal: "I explain the situation to the others. This may be a place where they hide food out of reach of animals, but it may also be a lookout post. Guys, this is an excellent opportunity! I'll climb into a nearby tree and take a peek. If there is a guard, I'll shoot him before he can make a ruckus."
Some of the others would like a piece of the action too, but realize that an assault on such a high position would be quite difficult. Lafarq is given a go-ahead.

Faisal: "I pick a nearby tree and climb into it, silently of course."
GM: "There are several trees that are not too hard to climb. Stealth is more difficult though with all those branches and leaves. I set the difficulty to 12."
Faisal is confident. Lafarq's ability is dexterity 6 + 2 * stealth skill 4 - encumbrance 1 = 13. He rolls a 6 for randomness, fixing the feat to 13 and succeeding by a margin of 1.
GM: "Once level with the platform, you spot a single man lying on it. The foliage makes him hard to see; he does not move.

Faisal: "With luck he has not yet detected me. I load my crossbow and shoot him." His ability for a shot is dexterity 6 + shooting skill 4 + crossbow 4 = 14. As the trees are only some 15 meters apart, there is no range penalty. The GM knows that the lazy bandit is asleep and denies him his dexterity, so his feat is 0! He does assign Lafarq a -5 penalty from the bandit's cover, but the difference between attack and defense is still so great that he simply skips the die rolls and declares an automatic hit.
Lafarq's wound ability is 2 * body size 0 + crossbow damage factor 2 = 2. The bandit's wound difficulty is 2 * body size 0 + armor protection score 0 = 0. The random die rolls yields a 2, again a 2 and then a 3, fixing the damage at 2 - 0 - 2 = 0 points, a minor wound.

GM: "The man yelps in surprise and scrambles to his feet."
Faisal: "I quickly reload my crossbow for a second shot."
Pjotr: "Fool, you should have climbed his tree and stabbed him."
Faisal: "There could have been more than one!"
Pjotr: "I fire an arrow at the bandit too!"
GM: "Firing upwards would be a difficult shot. More importantly, the platform hides him from your view."
Pjotr: "Then I run to the side until I can see him."
GM: "That will take a round. Any other actions?"
Betty: "I follow Samane."
Francois: "I yell that he should surrender before we clean his guts out!"
GM: "All active characters roll initiative please." Faisal rolls a 12 for Lafarq; the GM a 15 for the bandit.
Lafarq shoots again. This time the bandit has a missile defense of dexterity 3 - body size 0 + 3 * shield 0 = 3. Again Lafarq hits him easily, but bad random die rolls once more bring the damage down to only 1, a light wound.
Faisal: "By the gods, he should have been half dead already!"
Next it is the bandit's turn. GM: "He blows a horn three times."

Morgan: "Great, an alarm. Lafarq, get out of that tree!"
GM: "That will take 3 rounds, non-stealthily. Samane and Pseudonia are now at about a 45° angle to the platform and can see part of the bandit. What do all of you want to do?"
Morgan announces that Sir Beltrain will stay alert for new dangers; Guthrum keeps taunting and threatening the bandit; Samane decides to fire an arrow; Betty starts an illusion spell to distort the balance of the bandit, in order to let him stumble off the platform; Lafarq ignores Sir Beltrain and remains in his tree to take another shot; Hugh joins Sir Beltrain in his watch.
Betty knows that speed may be required, so opts for a brief casting ritual. For initiative Pjotr rolls a 9 for Samane; Faisal 10 for Lafarq; Betty 13 for Pseudonia; the GM 20 for the bandit.
Samane goes first. She has an attack ability of dexterity 4 + shooting skill 3 + composite bow 1 = 8. She gets a -1 penalty from shooting upward, -2 because the bandit is partially covered by the platform and another -5 from cover. The feat score becomes attack 8 - penalties 8 - bandit defense 3 = -3. Pjotr rolls a 7 on the random die roll, followed an 8, another lucky 6 and finally a 3, fixing the feat at 0 and succeeding despite the low 27/512 ≈ 5% odds. Samane's wound ability is strength 4 - fixed penalty 3 + composite bow damage factor 2 = 3. Pjotr rolls a 6 on the random die roll fixing the damage feat result at 3 and inflicting a serious wound on the bandit.
Betty is next. She and the GM work out the details of the illusion spell. Taking the psychological effect of the surprise and the crossbow bolts into account, the GM classifies a tilting platform as a 'strange' illusion. Its difficulty becomes single sensory field 8 + credibility 2 + brief duration 0 + fast casting 2 + full concentration 0 + no change 0 + no trigger 0 = 12. Pseudonia's ability is charisma 5 + 2 * illusionism skill 4 = 13, so the total feat becomes 1. She rolls a 1 on the random die roll that decreases it to 0, but then a 7 to stabilize and fix the final feat result at 0, just enough.
GM: "The bandit falters like a drunkard and then falls off the platform. Let me see ... It is 6 meters high, so falling damage is 2¼ * √ 6 - dexterity 3 = 2.5 points, but I will round down for the soft ground. That's 2 points of damage, a moderate wound. He moans in pain."
Morgan and Francois: "We close in right away!"
Lafarq aborts his shot as Faisal sees that it is no longer necessary. The bandit would have thrown himself flat on the platform to evade further shots, but the fall had become rather higher than he intended. He is forced to get his breath back first and also takes no action this round.

GM (assuming the role of the bandit): "Mercy, good sirs! Mercy, I beg you!"
Francois: "All right, you piece of scum, spill the beans or I will spill your guts! Where are the rest of you and how many?"
GM: "Please sirs, will you guarantee my life? I have nothing left and ..."
Morgan: "Yes, yes, we will let you live if you talk. Give us good information and we will even bind your wounds."
Faisal: "I climb down the tree again."
The GM, still in the role of the bandit, tells the party about the true strength of the bandits, their fortified camp and the two other lookout platforms that are positioned around it. He paints a terrifying picture of Thokkol, describing him as an invincible brute who binds the group together with nothing but sheer terror. The party is a bit skeptical of this. Some threaten to leave the bandit to suffer from his wounds, while others want to show more mercy.

The skirmish

Everybody participates in the interrogation and nobody is paying attention to the surroundings. The GM has decided that Thokkol, on hearing the alarm signal, has sent out two scouts to see what the trouble is. They move quickly but also cautiously. As both parties are making mild noise, he decides that each side has a 50% chance of surprising the other. A die roll declares the party as the winner.
GM: "Suddenly you hear some footsteps. Two men armed with bows appear in the west. They see you and skid to a halt. Lafarq, you get a free round to react because of your alertness skill."
Faisal: "I aim my crossbow at them and call out: Stop or we shoot you down!"
GM: "They turn around and try to flee."
Faisal: "Fire!" Lafarq's shooting feat score is still 14, again there is no range penalty. The crossbowman gets a +2 bonus because he is shooting the bandits in the back. Again the difference between attack and defense is so great that the GM does not bother to check for failure. Lafarq's wound ability is still 2, but these bandits are more better armored and defend with a difficulty of 1 instead of 0. Faisal rolls a 3, fixing the damage feat result at 2 - 1 = 1 point, a light wound.

GM: "In the next round you can all take an action. What do you do?"
Morgan, Francois: "Give chase!"
Faisal, Pjotr: "Shoot them down!"
Betty hesitates, Hugh also.
Pjotr rolls a 3 for Samane; the GM 5 for the wounded bandit; Francois 7 for Guthrum; Morgan 10 for Sir Beltrain; the GM also 10 for the unharmed bandit; Faisal 17 for Lafarq.
Pjotr: "I aim for the bandit who is already wounded." Samane's attack ability is still 8, but this time she gets a +2 bonus instead of a -8 penalty. Again the GM skips the attack roll. The wound feat is 3 - 1 = 2; Pjotr rolls a 6 on the random die roll so this makes for 2 points, a moderate wound.
GM: "The bandit croaks a curse but keeps on running for his life."
Francois: "I cut down the other one!"
GM: "You have to catch him first." He makes a contested running feat check for the two. As neither have any skill in running, their feat scores come down to two times strength talent. Guthrum wins by 2 points and a random die roll of 8 adds another 1 for a total of 3. "Despite his fear you run faster, but you need this round to close the gap."
Sir Beltrain is even stronger, but also more heavily armored, making her encumbrance light instead of none. Morgan knows this and says: "I run after the other one."
GM: "Normally he would outrun you, but with a -3 penalty he is not so fast anymore. You will catch him also in the next round. Faisal, there are so many trees here that the bandits are impossible to hit before you can take another shot."
Faisal: "But I just need to load and aim!"
GM: "If you had won initiative you would have been able to take one more shot, but you lost that. Next round, actions please."

The two heavy fighters attack the bandits, while the others start to run after them. Initiative rolls are 1 for the unharmed bandit, 5 for the wounded one; 6 for Sir Beltrain; 14 for Guthrum.
GM: "Your enemies turn around and counterattack." The first bandit's attack ability is dexterity 3 + melee skill 2 + short sword 3 - wound penalty 3 = 5. Guthrum's defense is dexterity 5 + melee skill 4 + battle axe 2 + shield 0 = 11. This time the GM makes random die rolls for the poor bandit. An 8 comes up, but is followed by a 6, so the result is 5 - 11 + 1 = -5, a hopeless failure.
The unwounded bandit has an attack ability of 8. Sir Beltrain's defense is dexterity 3 + melee skill 4 + battle sword 4 + shield 2 - encumbrance 1 = 12. The first random die roll is a 6, so this bandit fails too.
Sir Beltrain counters with a melee feat result of +4, which is unchanged by the random die roll: a hit. His wound ability is strength 6 - fixed penalty 3 + battle sword 4 = 7. The bandit's difficulty for the blow is 2 * body size 0 + armor protection 1 = 1. Random die rolls are 1 and 6, so the end result is 7 - 1 - 1 = 5 points of damage, a lethal wound. The bandit slumps to the ground, as good as dead.
Now it is Guthrum's turn. His attack feat result is 6, unmodified by random die rolls, also a hit. His wound ability is strength 5 - fixed penalty 3 + battle axe 5 = 7 just like Sir Beltrain. He rolls a 5 on the first random die roll, so the damage is 6 points, a devastating wound.

Francois: "Gore! Carnage! I see red. I drink from his blood, it gives me strength. I charge onward!"
Pjotr: "Oh no, he is going berserk to soon!"
Morgan: "After him. We need to stand as one!"
Guthrum runs in the same direction as the bandits were fleeing, which is straight to the bandit camp, not far away.

The assault

The GM decides that enough time has passed for most bandits to don their armor and take up their positions, but they are not completely ready yet. Some are still returning back form duties like foraging and chopping wood. Therefore the the gate to their camp is still open.
GM (to Francois): "You break out of the trees and see a camp that is surrounded by an earth moat with a palisade on top. From a tower two men look down. To the left is a gate that is open. It is guarded by two men in brigandines, armed with winged spears."
Francois: "Charge!"
GM: "The guards are surprised by your sudden and bloody appearance, but quickly lower their spears forward. The gate is narrow, so they force you into a formation fight. Let's roll initiative.
The GM rolls a 3 for the first guard; Francois 8 for Guthrum; the GM 9 for the other guard.
The first guard attacks. His attack ability is dexterity 3 + formation skill 2 + winged spear 4 - encumbrance 1 = 8. Guthrum's defense is dexterity 5 + formation skill 0 + battle axe 0 + 2 * shield 0 = 5. The random die roll is a 4, so he hits. His wound ability is strength 3 - fixed penalty 3 + winged spear 2 = 2. Guthrum's difficulty is 2 * body size 0 + armor protection 0 = 0. The total damage is 2 - 0 = 2. A random die rolls does not modify, so Guthrum suffers 2 points of damage, a moderate wound.
Now Guthrum counterattacks. A normal fighter would have received a -2 penalty, but Guthrum's berserking skill negates that. Still, his attack feat result is only -4, unmodified by random die roll, so he fails to break through.
The other guard gets a +1 group bonus. He rolls a 2 and than 7 on his random dice to hit, also an easy success. He too inflicts a moderate wound, which is also ignored by Guthrum, who is now heavily covered in blood.

GM: "Now the others arrive on the scene. Please state you actions."
Pjotr: "Damnit, the fool is going to have himself killed! I start shooting at the left guard."
Morgan: "I rush to Guthrum's side."
Faisal: "I keep to the trees and fire an occasional bolt at any bandit who attempts to join the fight."
Betty: "I call up an image of Gerthrud at the forest edge, who is harassed by bandits and calls out to Guthrum to help her." (Gerthrud is Guthrum's former love) "Again I make it a hasty spell."
GM: "Hugh joins Sir Beltrain and Guthrum."
Francois rolls 4 initiative for Guthrum; the GM 9 for Hugh; Morgan 11 for Sir Beltrain; Betty 12 for Pseudonia; Faisal 15 for Lafarq; the GM 15 for the first bandit and 19 for the other one; Pjotr 19 for Samane.
Guthrum makes another attack, rolls a 4 for randomness and again fails hopelessly.
Hugh attacks the same guard. His attack ability is dexterity 4 + formation skill 3 + short spear 2 + group bonus 1 = 10. His total feat score is 10 - 8 = +2. He rolls an 8 and than a 4 for an end result of +3, a hit. His wound ability is strength 5 - fixed penalty 3 + short spear 2 = 4. The guard's difficulty is 2 * body size 0 + armor protection 2 = 2. Hugh rolls a 7 and then a 3 for a total of 4 - 2 + 1 = 3 damage points, a serious wound.
Sir Beltrain attacks the other guard. Because for the moment this is effectively a duel between the two, he receives no group bonus. His attack ability is dexterity 3 + formation skill 1 + bastard sword 1 - encumbrance 1 = 4, slightly worse than Guthrum. Morgan rolls an 8, another 6 and then a 5 for a total of 4 - 8 + 2 = -2, still a miss.
Next Pseudonia works her magic. The GM judges that Gerthrud's appearance out of nowhere ranks as astounding, but as Guthrum's mind is clouded by the berserker range he reduces it to unbelievable. The difficulty becomes two sensory fields 10 + unbelievable 4 + brief duration 0 + fast casting 2 + full concentration 0 + no change 0 + no trigger 0 = 16. So this time the random die rolls must bridge a gap of 3 points for success. Betty rolls a 4 and fails.
GM: "A roughly Gerthrud like shape appears, but the voice is unrecognizable and Guthrum does not pay heed. One of the men in the tower does think its real though and fires an arrow straight through it."
Betty: "Huh?"
GM: "Pseudonia fails to react in time, so the illusion appears unharmed. From the tower comes a sound: Huh?"
Faisal: "I'm next, right? What armor are those tower guards wearing?"
GM: "You are simultaneous with one of the gate guards. The tower men are wearing brigandine plus a simple helm."
Faisal: "Forget it, I'm not wasting more bolts on those. I wait for a better opportunity."
The first gate guard is now wounded, but tries to keep his position. As Guthrum seems invulnerable, he attacks Hugh. His wound has reduced his attack feat score is from 9 to 5. Hugh's defense is 8; the guard rolls a 5 on the random die roll and misses.
Because of the length of his spear, the other guard can either attack Guthrum or Hugh with a +1 group bonus, or Sir Beltrain without bonus. Foolishly, he chooses the second option. His attack ability is 8; Sir Beltrain's defense is now dexterity 3 + formation skill 1 + battle sword 1 + 2 * shield 2 - encumbrance 1 = 8. Random die rolls do not modify the result, so he hits. His wound ability is 2; Sir Beltrain's defense is 2 * body size 0 + armor protection 4 = 4. He rolls a 6 on the random die roll, so the total damage is 2 - 4 = -2, only denting the knight's armor a bit.
Samane can take action in the same segment, but Pjotr is afraid to hit one of his own people and holds fire just like Lafarq.

The GM judges that the sudden assault has convinced Thokkol, who cannot see everything that is going on from the inside, that he faces a large band of warriors rather a small group of adventurers. He decides to release Borth and charge after the demon with the best of warriors. If that does not stop the assault, he will try to break out, flee into the forest and try his fortunes elsewhere. So much for loyalty to his men ...
GM: "The men behind the gate guards have not been idle. You hear loud roars, cracking, shrieks and shouts. Past the guards you see some kind of giant bull charging at the gate. State your actions for this round please."
Morgan: "I parry the guards attacks and reserve my attack for whatever comes next."
Francois: "Roaar!"
Faisal and Pjotr: "We'll shoot if any bandits break out."
Pjotr rolls 1 initiative for Samane; Morgan 2 for Sir Beltrain; the GM 11 for the wounded gate guard and for Borth; Francois rolls 16 initiative for Guthrum; Faisal 17 for Lafarq; the GM 19 for Hugh and the unwounded gate guard.
Samane could go first, but Pjotr holds his fire for a a later segment. As he does not change his action, the GM allows this.
Sir Beltrain waits too.
The wounded gate guard knows what is coming. He steps back and flings himself to the side, behind the palisade, breaking the formation and turning the fight into a melee.
Pjotr: "Aha! Do I have a clear shot now?"
GM: "Good enough."
Samane shoots an arrow at the remaining gate guard. Her attack ability is again 8, as again this is point blank range. The missile defense of the guard is dexterity 3 + 3 * shield 0 = 3. She rolls a 7, another 7 and a ...
GM: "You can stop now, it was already a confirmed hit on the first 7."
Samane's damage ability is again 3; the guard's difficulty 2. Pjotr rolls a 5 on the random die roll and inflicts 1 point of damage, a light wound.
GM: "In the same segment a stocky creature that looks like a cross between a dinosaur and a bull charges through the gate. It must weigh more than half a ton." He decides that Borth will attack an opponent at random, including the bandits. Candidates are the second gate guard, Guthrum, Sir Beltrain and Hugh. He rolls a d4, which selects the knight. Borth's attack ability is dexterity 3 + melee skill 2 + horns 1 = 6. Sir Beltrain must use his melee defense again, which is 12. He evades Borth with ease.
Morgan: "Time to show that brute who is boss. I strike back immediately." Sir Beltrain's attack ability of 10 is compared with Borth's defense of 6, a random die roll brings no change so it is a hit. The knight strikes with a wound ability of 7 against a difficulty of 2 * body size 3 + skin 1 = 7. The random die roll is 7 and then 6, so the damage is 1 point, a light wound.
GM: "The horned creature wavers, but continues on past you."
Francois: "I attack that beast too."
GM: "He is already past you, thundering towards the people among the trees."
Betty: "Uh-oh."
GM: "Behind the monster a group of bandits is also charging, headed by a mean looking man with a large sword."
Francois: "I whack the remaining guard." Back in his favorite melee style, Guthrum's attack ability is once again 11 against the guard's defense of dexterity 3 + melee skill 2 + winged spear 1 + shield 0 - encumbrance 1 - wound penalty 1 = 4. Guthrum scores an easy hit. His damage ability of 7 is countered by the guard's difficulty of 2. The random die roll yields a 2 and then a 7, so the final damage is 4 points, a critical wound.
Lafarq is next, but Faisal realizes that his crossbow is no good against such a large creature. He bites his tongue and waits.
GM: "Hugh, seeing the danger, tries to pull Guthrum away from the gate. Hmm, Guthrum is completely red-eyed, so to succeed he must score at least 1 grip point. He tosses his spear aside and tries to grapple with both hands." Hugh's attack ability is dexterity 4 + melee skill 2 + bare hands 0 = 6. Guthrum does not let anybody stop him from fighting. He is still swinging his axe around and defends with 11. The random die roll is 5, so the attempt fails.
GM: "The second guard, heavily wounded, follows the example of the first and jumps, or rather stumbles, to the side."

GM: "Six enemy fighters are trying to break out. The presence of Sir Beltrain and Guthrum prevents them from barging through straight away, so this round only the front two men, who by the way seem to be the toughest, can attack. Meanwhile the monster runs towards ... (rolling a die) Pseudonia! Actions?"
Morgan: "Guthrum and me will try to halt the bandits."
Faisal: "I try to distract that monster from Pseudonia with a lot of shouting, lead it into the forest and try to outrun it or climb a tree."
Pjotr: "I shoot any bandit who breaks through."
Betty: "I create an illusion, shifting the trees somewhat so that the beast crashes into one where it thinks there is an opening. That should be simple enough. Oh, why do I never get the time cast a proper phantasm?!"
GM: "Hugh gives up his futile attempt to constrain Guthrum and picks up his spear again. In the chaos of the fight, this takes up his action for this round."
Initiative is rolled again. Morgan rolls a 2 for Sir Beltrain; the GM 5 for Thokkol's second-in-command; Pjotr 8 for Samane and the GM 8 for Thokkol; Betty 13 for Pseudonia; Francois 15 for Guthrum; Faisal also 15 for Lafarq; the GM 18 for Borth, who apparently is slowed down a bit from its wound.
Morgan: "There is honor in victory, but most of all against a worthy opponent. I attack the most dangerous looking of the two."
GM: "The smartass has chosen the other side of the gate, so you will have to contend with the other one."
Because the oncoming bandits are armed with melee weapons, the fight remains a melee. Sir Beltrain's attack ability is 10, compared with Thokkol's lieutenant's defense of dexterity 3 + melee 2 + heavy club 2 + shield 0 - encumbrance 1 = 6. Morgan rolls a 4 and hits. The knight's wound ability of 7 is countered by a difficulty of 2 * body size 0 + armor protection 2 = 2. A random die roll of 6 means no change, so 5 points for a lethal wound.
Morgan: "Take that, you scum!"
Samane is next, but Pjotr again waits for an opportunity, which presents itself immediately.
Thokkol attacks Guthrum. His attack ability is dexterity 3 + melee 4 + battle sword 4 - encumbrance 1 = 10. Guthrum's melee defense is 11. The random die roll is a 6 followed by a 4, so the attack hits. Thokkol's wound ability is strength 4 - fixed penalty 3 + battle sword 4 = 5. Guthrum's difficulty is still only 0. The random die roll yields a 5, so Guthrum gets the full 5 points of damage, a lethal wound. His berserking skill is not high enough to keep fighting under such dire conditions; he goes down.
Faisal: "Oh hell."
GM: "The bandit uses the space to jump through the gate."
Pjotr: "I shoot that bastard." Samane's missile attack ability of 8 is compared with Thokkol's missile defense of dexterity 3 + 3 * shield 2 = 9. The random die roll is a 6, so the result is -1, a miss.
GM (adding to the drama): "The arrow drills into the shield, evoking a short barking laugh from the bandit."
Pseudonia weaves her magic. The GM judges the effect to be subtle and quite believable. Taking the psychological effect of the surprise and the crossbow bolts into account, the GM classifies it as an 'ordinary' illusion. Its difficulty becomes single sensory field 8 + credibility 0 + brief duration 0 + fast casting 2 + full concentration 0 + no change 0 + no trigger 0 = 10. Betty rolls a 1 and then a 3, but hear feat score of 13 is enough to make the illusion succeed.
Guthrum would be next, but cannot do anything but grumble vague threats.
Lafarq runs into the forest, followed by Borth, who is indeed fooled by Pseudonia's magic and crashes into a tree. The GM judges that it is like a successful attack with a heavy club, wielded by a creature of the animal's own size, but a pummeling attack instead of wound. So the pummeling ability is strength 9 - fixed penalty 3 + heavy club 4 = 10, compared with Borth's own difficulty of 7. The random die roll is 8 and then 3, so the damage is 4, a critical wound, even if it does not bleed. Borth now has a total damage penalty of -12 and though not yet dead, its knees buckle and it sinks down to the ground.

The victory

In the next round, Hugh takes Guthrum's place, only to be cut down in two rounds because of his lack of armor. Sir Beltrain kills two more bandits and Samane and Lafarq get a few arrows into other bandits, who are not as well shielded and armored as Thokkol. Only two bandits manage to break out and flee after their leader. The remaining 7 bandits inside the fort, who are demoralized by the flight of their leaders and still think that a large force is attack, surrender.

Fortunately the fight has taken only a few minutes, so that the wounded have not yet bled to death. Samane and Pseudonia rush in to attend to them. Guthrum is suffering from two moderate wounds and one lethal one. Hugh has been hit with a moderate wound, a light one and also a lethal one.
Samane's healing ability for surgery is dexterity 4 + 2 * medical skill 3 = 10, good enough for serious wounds without random die modifiers. She desperately binds their wounds to stop the external bleeding, then starts to work on the internal ones, a process that will take many hours but has little chance of success, as the difficulty for a lethal wound is 16. Should she succeed, she must have success with the other wounds too, though they are easier and can be treated at the same time.
However, her work buys time for Pseudonia, the other healer. Pseudonia's health magic ability is health 3 + 2 * health magic skill 1 = 5, compared with a difficulty of also 16 for lethal wounds. The time allows her to execute a ritual that lasts almost a day, lowering the difficulty by 1 point. Unlike Samane she will try to heal only Guthrum, as healing multiple people would increase the difficulty by 3 points, which Betty is unwilling to risk.
After a few minutes, Samane rolls a 3 for Hugh's light wound, so the feat result is 10 - 4 = 6, an easy success. The wound will heal in at the rate of 1 point per 10 - (health 3) / 10 = 0.7 weeks = 5 days.
After half an hour, the moderate wounds are checked, which have a difficulty of 7 instead of 4. Random die modifiers turn out to be -2, 0 and 0 respectively, all good enough for success. The wounds will heal at the rate of 1 point per 5 days for Hugh, 1 per 10 - (health 5) / 10 = 0.5 weeks = 3½ days for Guthrum.
In the meanwhile Sir Beltrain and Lafarq round up the remaining bandits, disarm, bind and interrogate them. Thus they learn about two other lookout platforms nearby. Lafarq goes out to examine them and finds that the scouts on them have already fled. They bury the dead bandits in shallow graves.
The critical point for the wounded and healers is deep in the night, when the fate of the lethal wounds, with difficulty 16, is decided. Random die modifiers turn out to be 0 for Guthrum and +1 for Hugh, both insufficient.
Pseudonia too makes her attempt, through magic. She rolls a 3 for no modifiers, also a clear failure.
It looks like the end of the line for both, but ...
Betty (looking back at the stares of the others): "A grandmaster healer made this, you know? These things do not come cheap!" (to the GM) "I pour my healing potion down Guthrum's throat."
GM: "His face goes pale white, then green, then a vibrant red. His wounds, though still clearly not done, shrink substantially. He opens his eyes again."
Francois: "Ah, the pretty Pseudonia. We won, didn't we?"

Faisal: "Sort of. With proper caution we could have taken them out one by one. It would have taken longer, but have been much easier."
Francois: "Yeah, but with little stings like a nest of vipers, without the glory!"
Pjotr: "That is easy for you to say; you survived because of our help. Hugh over there will not be seeing any pretty ladies anymore."
Francois: "Oh he will, in Valhalla!"
Faisal: "You must not go charging in all the time. Cutting down a few scared scouts is easy enough, but against polearms you are hopeless. Those two gate guards would have gutted you in the second round if we hadn't arrived."
Francois: "Ok, you are right, but it is my nature, you know. But I did manage to throw them into quite a panic, didn't I?"
Morgan: "That he did, though I must mention I killed the most enemies!"
Betty: "Ha! This time I finished off the biggest monster."
Francois: "All right, you all played an important part, even Lafarq. Good Samane, what profit did we make today?"
Pjotr: "Well, I estimate that there is about 4 marks worth of food, drink, clothing, candles and pewterwares lying around here. The bulk probably belongs to the villagers and will have to be returned. The armor and weapons can be sold, though most is not worth it: dirty ragged gambesons, rusty daggers and ramshackle helmets. There are 7 bandits left who could be sold as slaves, but Sir Beltrain will not allow that and says we must release them after give them some stern lectures. If the market is good, I think we will gain about 2 marks from the loot. I propose that half goes into the party stash; that should sustain us for a few weeks. The rest will be split equally as usual, so around 5 örtug per person. You had better start saving your share; you owe Pseudonia 14 marks for that potion."