A Giant & a Witch

Lothian Raid

A much larger raid by Knights of Lothian and their Pictish allies had passed through Escavalon soon after the Picts of the previous skirmish were defeated. Lord Secundus was one of many Lords to lead his local people in an attempt to harry the Lothians as they headed back north to their allies in Norgales and to exterminate in stragglers. Secundus' men (including Rhufon leading a party of spearmen and Dinogad) went into the hills on the Northern marches and found a mixed band of Lothian Knights accompanied by a band of heavily tattooed Pictish Men of Death.

The war horn was blown and the Knights of Escavalon charged the Knights of Lothian. Rhufon came up against an enemy knight who was well matched to him, but the  enemy knight's lance missed Rhufon, whereas his lance took the enemy knight full-sore below the shield and lifted the Lothian from his saddle, knocking him to the ground. [Rhufon's attack roll succeeded, the Lothian Knight's failed; then Rhufon rolled enough damage to exceed the Knight's Major Wound statistic as given in the Book of Armies, taking him out of the battle]

Rhufon's charge led him past his prostrate foe and as he wheeled to return to his foe, a very large Pict dashed forward and threw a javelin at him. The weapon was well aimed and thrown with great force. It took Rhufon below the arm and pierced him deeply. He fell from his horse and almost passed out. The Pict attempted to attack him once more but Rhufon managed to fend him off until the Lothian band was dispersed. [Rhufon had taken a major wound and then more damage when he fell from his horse; he was now Unhealthy and in need of Chirurgery]

Dinogad attempted to dress Rhufon's wounds but could do little [he Failed his First Aid roll]. A litter was prepared and he was taken back to Secundus' castle where Lady Secundus spent many weeks attempting to heal Rhufon's terrible wound. At first she did more harm than good when removing a shard of the lance-head [she Fumbled her Chirurgery roll] but soon Rhufon could return to his own Demesne, though it was another month before he was back to his old self again. He was permanently injured by the wound and thereafter walked somewhat hunched over [he lost a point of Size].

During his time at Lord Secundus' castle Rhufon made some half-hearted attempts at wooing one of Lady Secundus' younger sisters but neither he nor she was much interested and his terrible love poems were enough to end the whole affair. The first cool winds of autumn saw Rhufon mount his horse and take the road home to his Demesne and, hopefully, a peaceful Winter.

Lily Maid of Astolat

 

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25654/25654-h/25654-h.htm

"But Sir Lancelot could not be unkind to the maid who had nursed him so tenderly. Only, next morning when he rode away, carrying his shield with him, though he knew Elaine watched him from her turret window, he neither looked up nor waved farewell. And Elaine knew she would never see Sir Lancelot again. "

Rumors of Giants

Word has spread about a band of giants that has formed in the wilderlands, back in the hills. Currently only trouble for the unruly tribesmen, it is said that soon their hunger must inevitably drive them down the river valleys into the richer Demesnes below. Blaewen wonders about the giant he encountered on the Moor last year and what grudges he must be nursing.

I'm contemplating a finite set of adventures using Monsters! Monsters! centered around a marauding band of Giants. Why giants? Because I'm currently painting up a bevy of them....

Raided by Picts

Summer, 512
In mid-summer Arthur takes his army northwards to attack the King of Malahaut. Most of the fighting men of Escavalon are on campaign and, as a result, the kingdom is poorly defended. Rhufon is tardy in leaving to join his Lord's army and as he and Dinogad are about to leave a messenger from the hill tribesmen arrives with word that King Lot's army is raiding Cambria and Pictish Tribesmen have already been seen in the area.

Rhufon marshals the local defenses but soon Sir Secundus, a wise old knight, unfit for campaigning but still a wily commander, takes over the command of the Marches of northwest Escavalon and all men are armed and readied for red war.

(I used the Raiding rules from Lordly Domains to run this Raid)

Word comes that a Pict warband, nearly equal in size to Secundus' small army, has come through the hills and is approaching Rhufon's Demesne. Secundus orders a large skirmish, hoping to repel the raiders while preserving his defensive capabilities. Rhufon's forces are  well prepared  which helps him win the Battle roll. I randomly determine that 3 rounds of melee will be fought. Rhufon is Inspired by Loyalty to his Lord and gains a +10 in the fight, he is faced by a group of experienced Pict Warriors. In the initial charge he uses his lance and neatly skewers a muscular older Pict. Then, in the midst of the scrum, he draws his sword and charges the largest Pict he can see. The Northerner turns to meet the charge and uses his shield to ward off most of the damage from Rhufon's attack but so much damage is inflicted (twice his SZ) that he is knocked onto his back. The heavily tattooed Pict begins to pick himself up when Rhufon lands another, even heavier, blow. The Pict goes to his knees and begs for mercy. Rhufon makes a merciful roll and succeeds. He takes the warrior prisoner and sends him to the rear with his squire.

Meanwhile Sir Secundus has defeated and captured a Pict chieftain and the rest of the raiding party has fled back into the Northern hills.

The Hedge Knight

Crossroads in Fen- Mystery-Mundane (Hedge Knight)
Mystery= Mundane (Hedge Knight): Prophecy: Noble (Knight)

Late 512, Escavalon

Sir Rhufon rides alone through his domain and comes to a crossroads in a marshy area in the valley. Here he is met by a poor Hedge Knight, riding an old Rouncy and wearing Leather Armor. Rhufon prepares for the customary Joust when suddenly the air around the young knight begins to shimmer and, emerging from the rushes beside the road, a maiden appears. She walks to the young Knight placing a crown of flowers on his head. he maiden looks to Sir Rhufon and prophesies that, though seemingly humble now, he will someday be great and noble Knight who will rid the land of enemies and make the wastelands green again. She then disappears into the marsh and the shimmering light disappears.
Rhufon is overwhelmed and seeing the radded state of this young Knight takes a Merciful check and rolls a critical. Rhufon lowers his lance and invites the young knight to return with him to Rhufon's manor where he may find service as a household knight. The young man is overwhelmed by this display of kindness and accepts. His name is Sir Dinogad (and he is equipped as a Poor knight and has the stats of a young Knight.)

A Border Skirmish

Over the weekend I "rolled up" a Pendragon character (5e) who I'm calling Sir Rhufon. He is a Cymric knight from the Western Marches of the Kingdom of Escavalon in southern Cambria. The whole purpose originally was to test the Pendragon skirmish rules but somehow I went through the whole character generation process (as laid out in the Book of Knights & Ladies). So anyhow Escavalon and it's neighbor Estregales really don't like each other so I used this rivalry to generate a skirmish.
The leader of Escavalon's force of Knights was a generic "Old Knight" with a Battle skill of 18. For his Tactics roll he makes a fumble and thus "grants" a -10 to the first round of combat to Sir Rhufon. I rolled a random opponent and got a  Poor Knight. I rolled a random number of battle rounds which turned out to be 2.  Since Rhufon's Lance skill is 10  he is unable to win in the first round. Luckily his armor stops the damage inflicted by his opponent.
Rhufon wheels his horse about and charges the Estregales Knight in the second round and lands a solid blow (Rhufon passes his Skill Roll, the enemy knight fails), but does not unhorse him. The recall is then sounded by the leader of the Escavalon Knights and the game ended. The Old Knight failed his Followers Fate roll and took a bad drubbing. Though Rhufon receives glory from defeating his opponent, he is still shamed by the poor showing of his comrades.