Back when I first created the back stories for all our companion characters, I wanted to create some inner tension and turmoil between the cast, by making some of them have reason to hate one another. In particular, the rogue Lucas and our disgraced former Foot Sergeant Ollaine Thatchwright, who after her deeds at Tor Varden has become one of our firm favourite companions!
As a quick mini-game in between major missions, I came up with a simple scenario that could be played through in ten minutes or so to add to the internal drama and reinforcing the idea that the world doesn’t just revolve around our main characters. The companions have lives all of their own and things of consequence happen whilst we’re away on mission!
I started with describing the story to Sarah before we continued…
So why does Lucas hate Ollaine so much? Here’s a recap on their back stories from my first post:
Ollaine was once a foot sergeant in the Alladore military. During the campaign against the gnoll warbands of the North, her unit suffered an inglorious defeat. Defying her superiors orders, she marched her soldiers deep behind enemy lines on a bloody revenge mission. Returning with the head of a Gnoll warchief and only a few bloodied comrades, Olliane was court martialled, flogged and thrown in the dungeons of Tallis. Despite the petitions from the widows of her former comrades, young king Arethic has sensed unspent valor in Ollaine and has chosen to free her from her bonds and assign her to the Ravens in their time of need. Ollaine is an unstable and berserk fighter,who is met with mistrust by the rest of the soldierly which forms the core of the Ravens. She hates Gnolls with a passion. During the assault on Tor Varden, she personally slew several gnolls, including two chieftains!
Lukas, nicknamed the redfox, was a former bandit who earned his redemption as an advance scout for the military. Unbeknownst to the ravens, Lukas cousin was one of the soldiers lost to Ollaine’s reckless command several years ago. Embittered by her admission to the Ravens he secretly plots revenge…
Revenge & Retribution:
In the days following the recapture of Tor Varden and the temporary victory over the forces of the Shadowdeep along the border, several of the Ravens sat in the main hall of Raven’s keep, celebrating their victory with ale and sharing their war stories. News had reached them of the recapture of Tor Varden and that Freja and Tristan had set off on a mission into the Shadow Deep itself. Fresh from several hours of interview with Arrin and the King’s council, Terrin, a guard from Tor Varden who had bravely fought the Shadow Demon alongside Freja recounted the tale.
Sir Bors, Johrn and Roderick all praised Terrin’s bravery but he was quick to deflect the praise, “You want to see bravery, why you should be praising that Ollaine! She fights like a demon! You should have seen her in action against those gnolls!’. As the evening continued the conversation turned more and more to Ollaine and her heroics at Tor Varden. Lucas sat in sullen silence, the cold and distant Ollaine had been an unpopular addition to the Ravens, but things seemed to be changing. Johrn, his old friend, properly drunk now, nudged him and tried to draw him out of his silence… ‘You have to admit Lucas, she’s more than made up for past misgivings! She’s a Raven through and through that one!’. As the drinks continued into the night, no one noticed Lucas slip away his blood boiling with fury and indignation.
Since her admission to the Ravens, Lucas had been furious, not forgetting how his cousin Toby had died under her command and the insult that not only had she been pardoned but the king himself had added her to the ranks of the Ravens! Over the last few weeks, his anger had tempered and grown into a poisonous and murderous hatred. Hearing his comrades openly praise her was the final straw for his embittered mind. He silently swore and oath of vengeance. The following evening, he called some of his old contacts together and in the basement of the Sheep’s Head tavern, they made their plot.
The four of them met and made their plans to kill Ollaine. Joining Lucas was his old highway man partner Bill, Giney a reckless and destitue young woman who’s father had been crippled and ruined by injuries sustained under Ollaine’s command and finally, Weisel, a local cut throat paid through the last of Lucas’ savings. Lucas had heard from Terrin’s tale, that since Freja and the others had departed for the Shadow Deep, Ollaine had remained behind at Tor Varden, nursing her wounds and spending her hours alone, save for the dog Boye, who she had rescued during the battle. They had taken to long walks in the mountain forests surrounding Tor Varden, finding solace in each others company. Their plans made out, Lucas lead his gang to Tor Varden, where they would ambush Ollaine or die trying…
Table setup: Here’s some shots of the table set-up. Ollaine’s task is to escape the table on the right hand side. Several clue markers are scattered across the board. Every time Ollaine walked past a clue, I got Sarah to draw a card from a mini-event deck, which resulted in either nothing happening or one of the gang showing up! Finally, Lucas would block the path right at the end of the board, which was marked with a token.
The late afternoon sun was on the horizon and Ollaine and Boye prepared to turn and make their way back towards the garrison at Tor Varden. In the days following the attack, Ollaine had spent a lot of time in thought about the past and her future as a member of the Ravens. As she trudged through the forest lost in thought, a growl from Boye brought her back into the moment. ‘Strange. He must’ve caught scent of something’ she thought.
As they rounded the edge of the hill, a silent figure drew herself up from her position crouching behind a bush. Giney had hoped to be the first one to find Ollaine. All those years looking after her drunken and crippled father, all those years of resentment, now she would have her revenge! Drawing her dagger she crept as quietly as she could towards the unsuspecting Raven…
As Ollaine rounded the corner, Boye began to growl once again and she caught the faint sign of movement in the nearby trees. Drawing her sword she prepared herself, suspecting some agent of the Shadow Deep may be at large…
Seeing her quarry get closer. Giney’s rage and fear overtake her and she breaks cover from the shelter of the trees and rushes Ollaine, her dagger ready in her outstretched arm!
Bursting through the treeline, Ollaine is astonished to see the form of a young woman, pine needles caught in her hair and rushing straight for her, dagger poised to strike. Bellowing as she ran Giney cries out in rage, “DIE YOU EVIL BITCH!”. Ollaine snaps into automatic as her years of training kick in. She deftly deflects the blow before plunging her sword straight through the assailant. As she pulled her sword free, the woman moved her mouth as if to speak before stumbling to the floor. Ollaine dropped her guard and lowered herself to the woman but it was too late for questions now…
Her blood up and her mind racing with confusion, Ollaine’s eyes darted around for any further attack or explanation. Boye finished sniffing at the lifeless form of the young woman, before Ollaine called him to her. Best to rush back to Tor Varden as quickly as possible. As they rushed forward through the clearing, another figure slipped through the undergrowth behind Ollaine. ‘So the kid had fallen’, Bill thought, he didn’t much care for her impetuousness. ‘Time for a professional to go to work. With any luck we can make it back to the tavern by the morning’ he thought as he sneaked up on his quarry.
Almost within striking distance of the Raven, Bill slips his knife out of his scabbard with practiced skill. As he draws his arm up to stab her in the back and end this affair once and for all, he sees a sudden flash of movement to his left. Before he can react, Boye, the warhound springs up and he feels a sudden tearing pain at his throat. Shaking the dog loose, he clutches at his throat and stares in disbelief as blood pours from the wound. Disturbed by the noise, Ollaine turns and for a brief second her eyes meet with her assailant’s before his legs buckle and he collapses dead beside her.
Nearing the entrance to the path away from the forest, Ollaine rushes through the undergrowth, still none the wiser as to why she is being ambushed. Watching from the nearby bushes, Weisel, the final member of Lucas’s gang steps out of the bushes, his cruel dagger drawn. ‘How hard can it be to kill one woman and a fucking dog?’ he thought to himself, with a shrug. Shouting out across the clearing to her, he saw Ollaine spring round quickly in response, ‘Ok, enough’s enough, Lucas is going to pay me some good coin for your head, so don’t make this harder than it has to be, be a good sow and come to the slaughter..’
Ollaine stepped forward cautiously, her shield up and her sword in a stance ready to fight. Through bated breath she shouted back, ‘Lucas?! I don’t know who that is, or what you’re talking about. Your friends are dead, who knows if you’re getting paid now? Why don’t you throw down your knife and leave while you can?’. Weisel stepped forward confidently, ‘I was never one for talking. Nothing personal, lady, but its’s time to die now…’. With that he sprang forward. As Ollaine raised her shield to block his blow, he quickly jumped to the side and slashed his dagger past her defences. Caught off guard, Ollaine, stepped back quickly, blinking as the dagger missed her face by an inch. Still recoiling she slashed upwards blindly as she staggered backwards. Leaping forward to try and seize his advantage, the blow caught Weisel full in the face, killing him instantly and spraying blood across Ollaine as he crashed into the bushes.
Stepping back and catching her breath, Ollaine lowered her blade as she realized the next ambusher was dead. ‘Lucas?’ No one sprang immediately to her mind, but one thing was for certain, someone who wanted her dead. Fearing her luck might run out and that the woodland could be teeming with more enemies, she turned and called Boye, who loped up behind her. Breaking into a run, she made for the exit from the woodland.
As she drew close to the end of the path, a figure robed in black stepped out to greet her, knife drawn and face a picture of hatred. Suddenly, realization flooded her mind, as she recognized who it was. Lucas! One of the Ravens, a sullen and cold man whom she had seldom spoke to, well liked among the Ravens. He blocked her path and looked at her with barely suppressed rage and malice. ‘Good, I was hoping it would be me that would get to kill you’ he shouted through gritted teeth, advancing towards her. ‘Whats this about?!’ Demanded Ollaine. ‘I barely know you. What treachery is this you blackguard? Are we not both sworn to protect Alladore for the King himself?’. Lucas spat on the floor ‘You speak of treachery?! You! You who lead more men to their deaths than any?! My cousin, Toby was with you when you lead the third company to their deaths against those gnolls! My cousin died for your personal glory, just like all those others! Well remember his name and mark this knife well, because it brings about your end! Our fool king may have forgotten but I will not!!’
‘ I remember Toby, just as I remember the names of all those who died under my command. Your cousin died with honour! Will you be able to say the same?’ Ollaine shouted in retort. ‘Long have I suffered for past mistakes. Well let your blade be the judge. If I am to die here, then so be it, but I will not die easily!’ Casting her shield to the ground and pushing Boye to one side, Ollaine shifted into a defensive stance as Lucas charged.
Shouting a blood curdling scream, Lucas thrust his dagger before him, Ollaine quickly parried the blow to one side as Lucas barreled into her. Her sword arm trapped at her side, Lucas pushed his hand into her face, gouging at her eyes. He brought his other arm up above her head dagger poised to stab downwards at her. Quickly grabbing his wrist with her left arm, she struggled against him, managing to break his hold and kicked him away. Stepping backwards the pair circled each other. Twice Lucas lunged towards her, narrowly missing her limbs with darting slices from his blade. As he readied for a third strike, Ollaine grasped the handle of her sword with both hands, and stepping in with a mighty swing cleaved straight through Lucas hasty defence, slashing straight into his chest. Knocked off his feet and mortally wounded. Lucas’ last sight as his vision blackened was Ollaine stood over him, pity in her eyes.
Epilogue: The follwing day, Freja and Tristan, weary from their mission into the Shadow Deep, walked into the jail room of Tor Varden, Mikael the archer accompanying them, having told them the tale as he knew it ‘…and then she just turned up, threw down Lucas’ corpse and insisted she be locked up for killing another Raven. I wouldn’t do it, not my place Sir, but she insisted all the same. She’s sat there in that cell, with the door open all night, Boye at her side. Lucas was always a wrong ‘un but this is something else. Far as I can tell she only defended herself’. Tristan rounded the corner to the cell. There sat on the stall sat Ollaine grim resignation in her face. Boye stood up looking defiant. ‘Tristan. I await the judgement of our king, for killing one of his Ravens’ she said. Freja stepped in behind Tristan ‘ Come Ollaine, in the morning we make for Tallis, there is much we must do. Whatever has happened, I am sure of your innocence and the king may need you yet before the end…’
Outcome/Thoughts:
Ok, so it turned out two civilians and two rogues were no match for our Barbarian and her warhound companion. I wasn’t sure how to balance this game properly with D20’s being as swingy as they are and Sarah managed to steamroller her way through all the enemies, taking them out 1 by 1 so they couldn’t outnumber her. In the end it was all over in ten minutes! Game balance aside, we had awesome fun and it was our personal connection to the characters and their back story that made it gripping and enjoyable!
Hope you enjoyed the write up, I encourage you all to make up your own scenarios and just have fun with them!
Coming next:
- Freja and Tristan are sent on a mysterious mission to the front lines but are interrupted at the eerie Wostenholme manor in BLOOD MOON.
- Whilst Tristan and Freja are away, the companions face the climax of the first chapter of our campaign, a two part custom companion mission TREASON IN TALLIS!
Ravens of Alladore 
Wonderful write up. I’m becoming vested in the outcome of this campaign and I am looking forward to the next episode.
LikeLike
Thanks for reading and following our adventures John! Every instalment is nerve wracking to play because we don’t want any of them to die, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time…
LikeLike