From: Chris Clements Subject: [WFRP:1426] "Until Dawn" "Until Dawn" GM Notes: This is a short solo adventure (the gm and a pc) designed for a warrior or ranger who has completed at least two careers. It was originally set deep in the middle of the Reikwald Forest, but can be placed at any forest location that is more than three days travel to the next settlement. With a few modifications, it could be dropped into any larger campaign. Optimal career(s) for pc: gamekeeper/poacher, outlaw, woodsman, (advanced): assassin, outlaw chief and scout. Garett's career 'Trophy Hunter' would also fit perfectly for this outing, and would prove to be quite ironic as well. Alternately, this adventure could be changed for a group just starting out or for a pair (or more) of rogues sold by the warden of a jail to Faustmann. Adventure History: Faustmann Beckner, son of a unimportant minor noble, grew up with a vague disinterest of life in general. As a child, Faustmann proved to be quite a daredevil, doing dangerous stunts for seemingly no apparent reason. A lot of his time as a youth was spent healing from his wounds. Pain never seemed to deter him in the slightest, and he was always willing to try something exciting. Yet with each success he grew disappointed, and normal daily life was hellishly boring for the young man. Only when he was in danger did he ever truly feel pleasure. Simply put, he was addicted to any type of hazardous activity. Then, one day, his father introduced him to hunting. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, matching his wits with the instinct of the beast. With his first kill, Faustmann had found his true passion and began to pursue it earnestly. Years passed and his skill increased greatly. Often he would travel alone and hunt for weeks and weeks at a time. Few indeed were those that could match his formidable talents in the chase. The hunt never grew tiring, but Faustmann craved more variety to his sport. Returning back late one night from a successful chase a pair of bandits attempted to rob him. Faustmann killed one and made chase after the other who fled. The outlaw proved an exhilarating quarry, more so than any common animal. After hours of pursuit he found and fought the man, killing him. His wish for more variety came true. Faustmann had found intelligent prey to his liking. A few days later, he stalked and slew a poacher on his family's land. His next victim was a wandering pedlar. A trapper soon followed. He was always discrete and cunning, none suspected him of any of the vile acts that he had preformed. It went like this for over two months before the scrutiny became too intense over the 'disappearances'. With regret, Faustmann stopped pursuing his favorite hobby in order to relax the constant vigilance of the law. During this time he came to acquire a book that detailed the doctrine of Khaine, which he read with great fervor. The dark grimoire inspired Faustmann to convert to the ways of the lord of assassins. It did not take him long to become familiar with the evil religion and pursue the rituals outlined in the book. Faustmann became a full member (in his twisted mind, anyway) of the cult when he butchered his father. With his act of patricide Faustmann gained his father's fortune and helped to strengthen his growing devotion to Khaine. Realizing that he could hardly continue with his hobby at his present location without drawing unwanted attention, Faustmann decided to build a lodge in an area far from civilization in which he would hire others to 'stock' the game. In a year, his dream and monument to Khaine was complete. Thus, many an aspiring wanderer has been kidnapped and whisked away to "Khaine's Lodge". None who have made the journey under such conditions have returned... Set-up: Here is a few ways that the pc can become involved with the adventure. 1) The warrior/ranger pc manages somehow to become 'lost' within a forest, with few or no supplies. Travelling for a ways, the pc stumbles upon a large walled estate. With little choice, the adventurer will likely seek shelter... {I developed this adventure when a warrior became separated from the group in the course of a battle in which he was knocked unconscious and mistaken for dead by his fleeing companions {the pc expended a fate point}. Hours passed, and when he finally awoke he found all his possessions had been plundered by bandits and his companions long gone.} 2) The pc is kidnapped from a city, drugged, and awakes in Faustmann's estate. The kidnappers are footpads hired by the hunter regularly to bring him fresh prey. 3) Through various means, Faustmann contacts the pc with an invitation to visit his estate, along with an escort provided by him. This invitation does not include any of the pcs other friends. Hunter and Prey: Whatever the circumstances of how the pc arrives at the lodge, Faustmann will prove to be an amicable and polite host. He'll wine and dine his new victim (even if the person must be handcuffed to a chair while they eat). Faustmann will have had his prey's food drugged if they are unaware of his dangerous intentions. When the character is secured (possibly with the help of Vorster's club), the host of the lodge will happily inform his guest(s) of their current situation. "You have been chosen, by whatever fate, to have the honor of being the prey of Khaine's greatest mortal hunter... myself, of course. The rules of the game are quite simple; you will be released at morning tomorrow with a dagger and a hour later I shall begin my hunt. You have only to evade me, until the next dawn, to be free. I do hope that you prove an interesting quarry, and not as boring as the last little chap with the orange mowhawk I bagged last week..." The pc will then be escorted to a cell by Vorster and Wylix (see NPCs) for the night. Everything that Faustmann has said is true, and the pc is released with a dagger in the morning. The hunt begins... The Chase: The are a lot of options to a pc after he is released, too many to go into detail here. The hunt itself will require the GM to improvise constantly. There are a few basic specifics that do occur: 1) Faustmann will hunt alone. Vorster, Wylix, and the warhounds will be used to try and flush the prey out of hiding. Vorster and Wylix try to not kill the character (as this would make Faustmann angry), but they will not hesitate to severely wound or knock out the prey. 2) Faustmann is insanely clever, and should be played in such a manner as to scare the hell out of the pc. Sniping from trees with his bow, laying an assortment of traps in the characters way (which he will inform his servants of such traps, but a tricky pc can still manage to use them to his/her advantage if aware of them), and Faustmann may even herd a wild animal or two in the pc's direction (a bear or boar would fit the bill nicely). A great option presents itself to the gm; have another player/gm play Faustmann... (muhahaha) 3) A quick chase is a disappointment to the depraved hunter, so he may attempt to lengthen the lead occasionally if he feels he has the upper hand. Possible PC Actions: 1) Get better weapons - there are a few ways for a pc to improve armaments; one is to pick up any number of items in the forest. Here is a list of some of nature's weapons: dead tree branch (WS -10, I -5, D -1), small rock (8 short, 16 long, 32 extreme ES C/3 - round up +), large rock (WS -20, I -20, D +1; requires use of both hands *), improvised spear {from dagger, tree branch, and a strip of cloth} (D -1; 15% each strike of the spear breaking). A better course is to take one of the weapons a hunter is armed with. + - requires the skill street fighting. * - requires the skill specialist weapon - two handed. 2) Sneaking back into the lodge: this is possible but quite dangerous. The lodge is unlocked, but not unguarded. Slaughterhouse, a ferocious canine, lurks within the building and all weapons are locked behind a secure metal door (lock rating of 55%). Still, it could prove a worthwhile venture if the pc utilizes some of the objects around the house as weapons and/or traps. 3) Frontal assault - it's possible that a suicidal pc may elect to take on Faustmann, Vorster, Wylix, the group of hounds, and possibly Slaughterhouse as soon as they are released (with a dagger, no less). If you're feeling kind, give the pc an Int test to show that this isn't one of their brighter plans... Winning: I'll let the individual gm decide on the amount of experience awarded for this adventure, as well as any possible rewards if the pc manages to search the house in peace. NPCs: Faustmann Beckner (Evil) M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl Wp Fel 5 65 66 5 5 13 63 3 57 53 61 74 61 47 Skills: Acute hearing, animal care, animal training - dogs, concealment rural, concealment urban, cult doctrine - Khaine, disarm, dodge blow, etiquette, follow trail (*), game hunting (*), identify plant, lightning reflexes (already added into profile), mimic (animal sounds), musicianship - harpsichord, night vision - 12 yards, orientation, prepare poisons, read/write, ride, scale sheer surface, secret signs - ranger, set trap, shadowing, specialist weapon - fencing sword, parrying, lasso, longbow, throwing knife, blowpipe, firearms; silent move rural, silent move urban, spot trap, street fighter, strike mighty blow, strike to injure, strike to stun, wit. * - these skills have been taken three times each by Faustmann, giving him a net bonus of +30 when he uses either one of them. Normal use of these skills are tested under the following formula: (Initiative + Intelligence)/2 Trappings: Bandoleer of 8 throwing knives sword hand-axe longbow and quiver w/ 24 arrows suit of fine clothing suit of outdoors/hunting clothes leather shoes 4 pairs of manacles face-paint kit - gives a bonus of +5% to all hide/concealment tests in a rural environment. Vorster (Evil) M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl Wp Fel 4 49 24 6 4 14 36 2 39 33 27 52 37 24 Skills: Concealment rural, dodge blow, ride, silent move rural, specialist weapon - fist; street fighter, strike mighty blow, strike to injure, strike to stun, very strong (already added into profile), wrestling. Trappings: Club Spear metal wire (garrote) outdoor clothing / leather boots Wylix (Half-orc) {Evil} M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl Wp Fel 4 44 24 3 3 8 34 2 45 47* 36 31 27 17 * Wylix's Leadership should be treated as 67 when controlling his hounds. Skills: Animal care, animal training - dogs, concealment rural, cook, dodge blow, ride, scale sheer surface, silent move rural, spot trap, strike to stun. Trappings: Hand axe club dagger leather leashes dog whistle leather trousers dyed green dark green vest (no shoes or boots; Wylix prefers to be barefoot) Warhounds [gm should customize the # of dogs; 2 standard] M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl Wp Fel 6 41 0 3 3 7 30 1 - 43 14 43 43 - Special Rules: (see WFRP bestiary; Dog, War) Skills: Follow Trail (base chance of 65%) Slaughterhouse (warhound/wolf mix) M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl Wp Fel 6 61 0 4 4 10 41 2 - 61 18 29 43 - Special Rules: Slaughterhouse is subject to Frenzy. Skills: Open doors (yep, this dog has been trained by Wylix to open any of the doors in the lodge by gripping the handle in its mouth). Optional NPC: If you feel the pc might need a little help, include Ollareon in the adventure as another victim to be hunted along with the character. Faustmann is aware of Ollareon's cloven hoofs and wings mutations, but does not know of his elastic limbs or his status as a chaos champion of Tzeentch. The pc should not be privy to any of this information at the beginning of the hunt. At the end of the adventure the pc could be 'rescued' by Ollareon's warband. Ollareon will choose to spare the pc's life if they have survived the hunt (chaos is anything but predictable!), but Ollareon will mention off-handedly "We will meet again, my friend. Tzeentch will see to that... we will meet again". Ollareon / Adelbert Kilburger; Chaos Champion of Tzeentch (Chaos) M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl Wp Fel 4 61 46 4 5 11 57 2 44 53 39 67 62 43/14 Skills: Demon lore, disarm, dodge blow, read/write, specialist weapon - two handed weapons, flail, fist; street fighter, strike mighty blow. Mutations: Cloven Hoofs (no affect on profile), elastic limbs (can make attack up to 11 yards away; opponents may only strike back after making a successful Initiative check), small wings (cosmetic, hidden by cloak). Trappings: Dirty purple cloak (hides wings) brown trousers & modified leather boots (hides cloven hoofs mutation) torn white shirt dagger (when released) -- Chris Clements chris@atmnet.com "Vale, mi amice."