Gottfried and Johann find themselves held captive in the mountain village they were trying to raid in episode 2. It has no dungeons, merely an old house. By midnight, Gottfried has managed to open the door to the room where they are held, and the two sneak out, relieving a couple of sleeping guards of their hand weapons. Their own weapons and armour are nowhere in sight, nor is their companion Alexa; since she was last seen skewered on a lance, this is not surprising.
(No picture this time, as the terrain is laid out as for episode 2; our heroes start in the big building in the middle of the board.)
“No horses,” whispers Gottfried as they emerge.
“That way,” Johann replies, pointing back down the trail they used to reach the village initially. It has the advantage that they know the way.
“Any sign of Alexa?” Gottfried only shakes his head.
Each time the protagonists move, as per p.56 of the rulebook I roll 1d6; if the score is equal to the current turn, their captors are alerted.
Turn 1: Johann and Gottfried activate and move 8″ towards the table edge, 18″ distant. The alert die roll is 3, so no-one has seen them yet.
Turn 2: Same again, except the alert die roll is 6. The table edge is now only 2″ away, and the tension mounts.
Turn 3: They activate a third time, the alert die roll is 2, and they’re away. Yay for the heroes!
The lesson learned here is that unless you’re unlucky, or gallop away on stolen horses, you’re quite likely to escape capture; more likely if you have a high Rep, as lower Rep figures will take more turns to move off the board.
A successful escape, however, may generate a pursuit encounter. I roll 1d6 against the ER of the region, and since I’ve now found that table, I can use the proper number: 4. I’ve decided that the knights would only hold Johann captive for a few days at best before realising he has neither a ransom nor any useful information, and killing him out of hand; so it’s still August, meaning there are no seasonal ER modifiers. I roll a 3, so there will be a pursuit.
Meanwhile, Johann and Gottfried have survived another encounter, and roll for advancement as per p. 16. Johann increases his Hardiness to 2, and his Social Standing to 3; Gottfried increases his SS to 3 also. They must’ve picked up the silverware on the way out.
Halfway Station 