004 Enemy in Shadows: Altdorf, part 2

  OOC: XP awards. 100xp for the session and another 50xp each for completing their short term ambitions, so 150xp each, holf of that for the henchmen. They all need new short-term ambitions:
  Cintoria - Check with The Temple of Morr in Bogenhafen for communications
  Hatto - Investigate the inheritance in Bogenhafen
  Kanna - Learn Lore (Politics)
  Thargrad - Read Hortensia Puddlefoot’s book "Common Herbal and General Concordance of Regional Herb Names" and learn Lore (Herbs)

The party gathered over dinner in a private room at 'The Raven and Portal'. As usual the food was excellent, Ongrud - Rebeka's Dwarf cook - always presented good food. Enjoying it and the accompanying ale immensely, they left talking until after they had finished.

  "We discharged my debt," said Thargrad and was congratulated by the two humans.
  "I reported to Abbess Hildrun," said Cintoria, and gave ten shillings to each of the others - their share of the reward paid by the Revered Sister. "Next check-in with the Order will be in Bogenhafen."
  "No news from the Light College," said Hatto, "my master is not there."
  "So then," began Cintoria, "what shall we be about tomorrow?"
  "We talked about this on the way back," said Thargrad. "I want to go to the bookshops in the Schlafstadt district of Schulergegend to get a copy of Puddlefoot's book on herbs."
  "I would like to get all the latest news-sheets that I can," said Kanna, "I want to learn what I can about the political situation of Altdorf."
  "I have nothing to do," added Hatto, "So I'll join you?" and both Dwarfs nodded to Hatto's question.
  "As will I," said Cintoria. Their plan made, they returned to the bar and spent a quiet evening playing cards, drinking ale and enjoying each other's company.

*   *   *   *

The next morning they assembled for breakfast once more. After the meal was done, they climbed aboard the coach that Rebeka's man had summoned for them, this time Haali jumped in joining Bax who was already in Thargrad's lap. The huge brute of a dog lay in the space between the benches cramping everyone's legs, which he blissfully ignored.

The coached reached Schulergegend and they all got out when it trundled into the Schlafstadt district. As Altdorf University lay within Schulergegend, there were plenty of news-sheet vendors around, so Kanna began to buy two copies of each - both to have spares and to make cuttings if necessary. They went in and out of the many bookshops in the district making selected purchases as they went, including a couple of blank volumes with glue for Kanna's cuttings. Thargrad was able to find a copy of Puddlefoot's Herb book and Kanna the latest edition of Hare's Peerage along with an Altdorf professor's Treatise on the Political Landscape of the Empire from only last year - books she was very pleased with.

  OOC: Since 1826, Burke's Peerage has been published detailing ancestry and heraldry of the peerage. As Burke and Hare (the infamous bodysnatchers) were partners in crime it seemed a good change of names

As they went through the bookshops, Hatto's eyes fell upon a copy of Vutru Flintbrand's Essays on the Fundamentals of Alchemical Practices. He had always been interested in alchemy and had heard Flintbrand's book was a great introduction to the craft, so he bought it eagerly.

  OOC: The group does not know that they are being followed by the pair of men that approached them in the Konigplatz - they all failed a Perception test to detect them

Their books bought, the party left the Schulergegend and headed to the Street of a Hundred Taverns for lunch. As they were walking down the Street good-naturedly bickering about where to eat theer was a cry from behind them.

  "Cintoria! Is that you?!" the voice bellowed.
  Turning around, Cintoria scanned the people nearby and spotted a friendly face; "Josef! Josef Quartjin!" she called out. Josef was a man she'd known as long as she could remember. As a child she had played on Josef's barge with his dogs when her father visited him.
  "My friend," the rotund man said as he waddled toward them rapidly, "What is it? Two Years? It is good to see you!" he said embracing Cintoria.
  "Closer to three," she said hugging him back.
  "Come with me! We must have a drink to celebrate," he insisted.
  "Good idea," Cintoria replied. "where shall we go?"
  "The only place I ever go when I'm in this anthill! 'The Boatman Inn' down at the bottom of the Street," and he pointed down the Street towards the docks at its southern end.
  "Sounds like a plan to me!" Cintoria said. "Let me introduce you to my friends ..." and she did so. As she finished they had almost reached a skinny street preacher in rags clutching tight to a scroll, screaming prophecy at bypassers who uniformly ignored him.

As the group reached the preacher, he flung out his left hand pointing at Hatto, his eyes rolled up into his head and he shouted out:

  "I see Darkness Gathering as the Last House of Joy Falls - beware, for Shadows Over Bogenhafen stir! Then Beloved Morr, resplendent in Vestments of Green, stands astride Sigmar’s Great River. Yea, I see Death on the Reik and I despair! For then the Stained Hand guides the Once Mighty Lord, and this Power Behind the Throne curses us all. Lo, the Horned Rat then claims the Broken King atop his Throne of Lies, and the White Walls Fall, leaving our Empire in Ruins! Tremble in fear, ye mighty, for the End Times have come."

The preacher collapsed, shook uncontrollably and passes out. The party had been shocked by the diatribe, but with the deliverer's collapse, they returned to their senses and Thargrad rushed to the fallen man's side. Hatto trailed the others, more disturbed that he cared to admit - even to himself.

Thargrad knelt beside the fallen man and rolled him onto his back. Not expecting to be touched, the man's eyes flew open.

  "'Ere, wot you playin' at?" he asked indignantly.
  "I thought you needed help," replied Thargrad gruffly, standing up, obviously aggrieved by the man's response.
  "Oh, sorry guv! I thort you was gonna rob me," he said standing himself.
  "So what was all that then?" asked Cintoria, trying to head off a squabble.
  "Well, that's me schtick, innit?" he replied, "It's wot I spout for the tourists - 'Once Mighty Lords? White Walls Falling?' No idea, mate. I just say whatever pops into me head. If you liked it, fancy buying me a pint?"
  "Why here?" asked Hatto intently. "Surely you'd do better near the Grand Cathedral?"
  "Well ... I dunno really. I woke up an' 'ad a feelin' I shuld come 'ere, so I swapped with blind Sim for the day," he said. "Look, I gotta go now," and he started to edge away.
  "Yes, you can go," replied Hatto, looking very thoughtful and the man disappeared into the crowd on the Street.

No-one had anything else to say, so they re-joined Josef, who hadn't moved since the trirade began, and they continued on toward 'The Boatman Inn', Hatto deeply puzzled by recent events ... Was it coincedence? Was it related to his dead doppelganger? Did it mean anything at all? He did not, and could not, know, but still his mind worried at it ...

*   *   *   *

The food and ale were both excellent - it was easy to see why Josef came to this inn every time he could - and now it was finished they sat companionably around their table enjoying their ales. Haali, having finished his bowl, was lapping greedily at Bax's until Cintoria kicked him in admonishment. Haali turned to look disapprovingly at Cintoria and Bax darted to her bowl and lapped the ale up.

  "Another bowl of ale please," called Cintoria to the serving man, and she could swear that Halli smiled at her.
  "So what are your plans Cintoria?" asked Josef. "Sorry!" he said before Cintoria could reply, "That was rude! Let metell you why I ask - I'm heading for the Schaffenfest at Bogenhafen and I need an extra hand. I thought you might help me out - it seemed a Bogenauer-sent opportunity when I saw you. If you can, I'll carry your friends for free and if we leave in the morning, we'll get there in plenty of time. What do you say?"
  Cintoria paused in thought, but could see no downside to the offer. "Sounds good to me, we were intendnng to go to the Schaffenfest anyway. How much are you willing to pay?"
  "As it's you, a pair of shillings a day," replied Josef, which was double the normal pay.
  "Well, if you're sure?" asked Cintoria and when Josef nodded she said "Then we have an arrangement," and reached out to shake Josef's hand.
  "Right then, shall we go down to the dock so you can see where The Berebeli is berthed?" Josef asked.
  "Let's go," said Cintoria starting to rise, but then Haali's ale arrived and they waited until he'd lapped the bowl empty - it really didn't take him long at all.

*   *   *   *

  "I'm going to the Temple to pray," said Cintoria after they had all got out of the coach outside 'The Raven and Portal', "I'll be back for dinner."
  "I'm going down to the riverside," began Kanna, "I want to fire that Blunderbuss I picked up to see what it's like."
  "I need to think," Hatto aneounced, "So I'll be in our room for a bit ..." he trailed off.
  "Well, in that case, I guess I'll start my book in the bar," Thargrad concluded the exchange.

*   *   *   *

The next morning, after an early breakfast, the party bade farewell to Rebeka, boarded the coach she had arranged for them, and headed for the wharf where The Berebeli was berthed.

It was early enough that the streets were relatively quiet, so it did not take them long to reach the wharf. Once more they had all been cramped by Haali being in the coach, so were glad to get out.

  OOC: the party is once more being observed, so more perception tests; this time Hatto succeeds.

As they milled about retrieving their packs from the coach's roof, Hatto saw two men standing in the porched doorway of a warehouse across the wharf. As he surreptiously looked again, he recognised them as the men who'd approached him in the Konigplatz. Despite his attempt at discretion, they obviously saw him looking, as one began scratching his left ear with the little finger of his right hand as he had in the Konigplatz.

Ignoring the men, the party began filing up the gangplank onto The Berebeli. Obviously taking this badly, they left the shelter of the porch and began hurrying toward the barge.

As the first man reached the end of the gangplank, he suddenly span around, a crossbow bolt sprouting from his back. The other gaped in shock, then turned to see where the bolt had come from, before a second bolt flew into his neck and he too fell to the ground. The party and Josef, who'd been waiting for them, were watching the men from the deck and saw them both fall. Quickly scanning the area, Hatto saw a flash of mail, a big hat and a crossbow disappear round the corner of a warehouse on the far side of the dock. Thinking fast, Hatto called out, "Grab the bodies, we need information!"

As one, the party raced back down the gangplank and two to each body grabbed them and brought them aboard The Berebeli. Josef grabbed the gangplank and pulled it aboard. Looking around, it seemed that somehow, nobody had seen what had happened.

As the others stuffed the bodies close to the gunwhales so they could not be seen, Cintoria snd Josef cast off. The barge began to drift away from the wharf as Josef's crew raised the sail.

  End of this post.

 

003 Enemy in Shadows: Altdorf, part 1

  OOC: XP for the characters. Our first combat last session, so it's 100xp for the 'main' characters - Cintoria, Hatto, Kanna and Thargrad - and 50xp for the Henchmen, Bax, Haali and Raark. Most of them have spent some or all of it.

The combined efforts of the Roadwardens and the party soon had the coach righted and the human bodies loaded inside it. The Mutant bodies were piled beside the road and burnt by the Roadwardens, despite Cintoria's protests. She wanted them buried as Morr's creed required, saying that 'all are equal under Morr's gaze', but the Roadwardens wouldn't hear of it - 'Mutant scum don't deserve it'. It was an argument that she had lost many times before and now made through weary belief rather than any expectation of success.

The road clear once more, both coaches set off toward Altdorf. If any of the Roadwardens had noticed the similarity between Hatto and one of the bodies they had not remarked upon it, but it was certainly the topic of conversation upon the roof of the coach.

  "I am yet to be convinced about this impersonation," began Cintoria, "It's wrong to the core."
  "It's an opportunity," responded Hatto, "It'll enable all of us to achieve our goals. You can found your temple, Kanna her library, Thargrad his practice and I can build my tower."
  "So you'll share it?" asked Thargrad.
  "Of course!" replied Hatto indignance in his voice at the implication that he might not. "We all promised each other to share what we got on our journeys together, didn't we?"
  "We did," answered Thargrad, "It's just that Humans are as bad as most of us Unboki when it comes to keeping their word."
  "What we're saying is that we have - from experience - very low expectations," said Kanna, scowling at Thargrad, "Thank you for being a man of your word."
  "I feel my greed stirring," admitted Cintoria honestly. "I would very much like to found a temple, although I don't believe I'm ready to do so yet." She paused for a long moment, then continued. "What do you know of the Lieberung estate Hatto? Is it known to you?"
  "It is. The Baronet died last year and no will could be found, so the estate is tied up in the courts between rival claimants." explained Hatto. "This letter claims a will exists and that man was the named heir, so it fits the facts." He paused, "As I know them at least," he caveated.
  "Well, I suppose ther is no harm in investigating it further," began Cintoria hesitantly. "We are intending to go to the Schaffenfest at Bogenhaufen anyway," obviously conceding to her temptation.

Hatto knew better than to say anything, so the conversation ceased and the coach continued along the road.

*   *   *   *

The coach left the edge of the forest and entered the Altdorf Flats, the vast marshlands that surround the imperial capital. Eventually the land rose to become a patchwork of farmlands and small villages, and not long after that the white walls of Altdorf could be seen glimmering in the distance, stretching far to the east and west.

The queue to enter Altdorf's south gate - known as The Witch's Gate - took an hour for the coach to negotiate, but eventually they were waved through and began the tedious trek to the Konigplatz, where they could alight. They had all been to Altdorf before, in fact all but Cintoria had lived there, and all of them felt the turmoil and change that seemed to be infecting the place. Some buildings were being torn down, others built in the spaces created, yet more were being remodelled and still more redecorated. People ran hiother and thither on seemingly urgent missions and tasks. Agitators preached to the throngs on street corners and fistfights seemed to break out at the drop of a hat. All in all it was like an ant's nest kicked by a child, and a petulant one at that.

Eventually they reached the Konigplatz and the coach pulled up outside the headquarters of the Ratchett Lines coaching company. As soon as a porter opened the coach's door, the bodyguard, Marie, leapt out and began to scan the crowd around the coach. Once satisfied there was no immediate thrreat she handed Lady Isolde von Strudeldorf down and they both swept into the Ratchett Lines' offices - no doubt to complain about the drunken coachmen. Her maid stepped out and began to supervise the transfer of the Lady's voluminous baggage into a handcart. Ernst Heidlemann - the "physician's apprentice" - clambered out laboriously, retrieved his small bag and disappeared into the crowd, ignoring the many bawds hawking various establishments and services, all the while suspiciously watched by Thargrad. Last out was Phillipe Descarte, the Bretonnian gambler. He was bumped by someone from the crowd as he stepped down so missed the coachman handing his bag down and a hand reached out and grabbed it before running off. Phillipe saw this as he turned from the bump, and with a forlorn cry of "Stop, thief!" set off in pursuit.

The group from the coach's roof shouldered their packs before climbing down now that the internal passengers had cleared the area maintained by the porters just as a loud baying accompanied by cries of alarm erupted from the rear of the coach.

  "Some fool is trying to steal Haali again," said Cintoria resignedly. "I really think I should let him deal with them ... but then there'd be a mess and the watch ..." and she pushed into the crowd. It was obviously Haali - he never barked or 'woofed', he bayed or if there was real trouble, then he growled.

Whomever had been trying to make off with Haali had disappeared - he stood there with a length of rope around his neck looking happily at Cintoria. She removed the rope, dropped it to the ground and then rejoined the others with Haali following. Reunited, the group began the trek to the south-east heading towards the Toteninsel and the Temple of Morr, with Haali watching that nobody tried to 'liberate' any of the group's belongings, Bax dancing around Thargrad, clearly happy to be on the ground, and Raark circling lazily above them.

As they began to cross the Konigplatz, a loud blare of trumpets and the tramp of marching feet came from away to their left and the crowd surged towards them, pushing them back the way they had come. The source of the disturbance soon became apparent as a phalanx of soldiers marched into view, and cries of "The Emperor! The Emperor!" swept through the crowd. At the centre of the Imperial Guard's phalanx, an heroic-looking figure, square of jaw and proud in full armour rode on a magnificent ebony steed caprisoned in cloth-of-gold. Beside and behind him marched ranks of knights in their full ceremonial regalia.

As the procession marched away, they all heard someone nearby say, "That's the fourth time he's been through here this week ... like he's got something to prove." The party shared a glance, but said nothing.

Then two non-descript men came up to the group and stood directly in front of Hatto. One scanned the crowd, whilst the other began to scratch his left ear with the little finger of his right hand, looking expectantly at Hatto. He was completely non-plussed, so the stranger repeated the motion with exaggerated motions. And then did it again. And again, but this time he was interrupted by his companion, elbowing him in the ribs and nodding in a direction to the rear of the group. The men took off that way and the group, almost as one, turned to look that way. They saw a stocky man in mail and leather, with a crossbow on his back and a big hat pulled low, standing in the open doorway of a house. The two men hustled into the house and the stocky man entered behind them closing the door.

  "Well that was odd," said Hatto in a puzzled tone.
  "It was you they fixated on," replied Cintoria. "So probably something to do with your double Hatto. We'd best be alert - but then we always are in Altdorf ..." and on that, they resumed their journey.

The bridge that crossed the branch of the Talabec to the Toteninsel was known as Reaper’s Crossing and before long they had crossed it and headed to 'The Raven and Portal' an inn where the Order of the Knights of the Raven perpetually rented rooms for its members and their companions.

  As the group entered the quiet bar, the landlady, Rebeka Fretz, looked up and recognising Cintoria, greeted her with a smile. "How many rooms Cintoria? They're all empty at the moment."
  Disappointed that none of her brethren were present, nevertheless Cintoria answered in a light tone, "Two please Rebeka, plus meals and ale for six."
  "Ah, Haali," Rebeka said, coming out from behind the bar to ruffle the big brute of a dog's ears. "And Bax!" she crouched and scratched Bax under the chin, getting happy barks in response.

*   *   *   *

After a pleasant, restful night, the group gathered for breakfast.

  "We're going to the Khazad Urbaz town hall to settle the grudge against me," said Thargrad, with Kanna nodding in agreement.
  "I'm going to the Light College," said Hatto, "I want to check in and if possible, speak with my old master, if she's there."
  "Well that's us all busy today then," concluded Cintoria, "I'm off to the Temple to report on our mission. We'll meet here this evening then?" All nodded in agreement and went their seperate ways.

*   *   *   *

Thargrad, Bax and Kanna had walked through Altdorf to the Metallschlake district, known to the Dwarfs as Khazid Urbaz, and were now in the Town Hall waiting to see the Grudgemaster.

  "Welcome, I am Grudgemaster Aidrod Goldbasher," the Dwarf behind the desk that the Dwarfs sat before when their turn came. "As you probably know, but I am still rewuired to say, I and my staff provide a service for settling grudges and, most importantly, informing all concerned parties. Tell me to whom the grudge relates."
  "Vuroar Caskbelt, Ratchatcher, clan Gromheld," answered Thargrad.
  "Yes, I have it," said Aidrod after leafing through several volumes on the desk. "Absconding from an apprenticeship. The value is set at forty shillings. It is noted that under Imperial law, there is no claim if you have lived a year-and-a-day in an incorporated town. Have you done so?"
  "I have, in Ubersreik," answered Thargrad and produced a document signed and sealed by the Secretary of the Physican's Guild of Uberseik and handed it to the Grollmeister.
  "That is most satisfactory," he said, after examinig it closely. "There is a four shilling fee - ten-per-cent of the Grudge's assessment - for our services. Do you wish the Grudge resolved on these terms?"
  "No," replied Thargrad, "I'll pay the assessment in full - I'll not hide behind Human law. Despite being Unboki, I am a Dwarf and will not be known for maintaining the Unboki's weasel reputation." He pulled out a pouch and put it on the table. "Here is the value of the assessed Grudge," and he dropped another 4 shillings on the table, "and your fee."
  "Very commendable, you do yourself credit," replied Aidrod and he began to write in the book. When he had finished he added notes to two seperate sheets on the desk. "There. The Grudgemaker will recieve the assessment," he picked up the pouch and the four shillings. "We have the fee and the heads of clans Unboki and Gromheld will be informed."
  "Thank-you," said Thargrad as the Dwarfs stood and left. "Thank-you for coming Kanna," said Thargrad quietly. "Although you had nothing to do, it was good to have you here." Kanna said nothing for there was no need and just punched her brother on her shoulder. She loved her brother and although she was unable to say it - she could show him.

*   *   *   *

The Amethyst College's dark stone walls, decorated with baroque flourishes, rose before Hatto as he approached it. His eyes automatically sought out his 'favourite' gargoyle, a particularly grotesque, very large, raven and he smiled slightly to himself as he found it. For some reason, the way it had been carved - as if it were trying to fly away - appealed to him immensely. The pointed arch of the entrance loomed above him as he passed through the shadows of the narrow towers that rose above the main building. Reaching the frankly overlarge doors that were the entrance, Hatto pushed open the small wicket gate and stepped through it into the College.

The air within smelt just as musty as it always had, and carried the familiar hint of embalming fluid, although Hatto had always found that puzzling - he had yet to find its source and had never seen even a hint of the substance in the College, but that was something that he could not care less about, so he dismissed it, just as he always did.

Black and purple curtains hung in the dark corridors, with dust lying thick on the floor stirred into clouds by his passing feet. Hatto found all this so melodramatic and sterotypical - if he was in charge, the first things he'd do would be get to cleaners in and remove the curtains. Muttering about trivialites clouding his mind, he made his way to his Master's quarters and stopped before the door with her plate, bearing her title and name - Lady Spiriter Gerlinde Harrer - upon its brass surface.

Pushing on the door, Hatto was disappointed to find that it was unmoving, which meant that Gerlinde was not here - it was always unlocked when she was in residence at the College.

*   *   *   *

Cintoria reached the massive stone edifice that constituted The Temple of Morr. She followed the walls of the Temple to her left rounding its corner and heading along its side between it and the wing of the Garden of Morr that flanked it. She ignored the burial taking place in the Garden and eventually, towards the rear of the Temple, she reached the modest wooden door that was her goal. It bore a black metal raven in the centre at head height and a keyhole as its only adornments. From under her clothes she pulled out a key that hung on a chain around her neck and unlocked the door. Opening it, she went inside, then closed and locked the door behind her.

A couple of minutes later, Cintori entered the office of the Abbess of the Order of the Knights of the Raven (OOC: WFRP 2e Night's Dark Masters pg99) in Altdorf, Revered Sister Hildrun Weininger.

  "Revered Sister," said Cintoria as she bowed to Hildrun.
  Hildrun struggled to her feet and returned the bow. "Sister," she replied, returning the bow and then collapsed back into her chair. Prior interviews had taught Cintoria that despite her protests, Hildrun would insist upon the formality of returning the bow despite her physical injuries. Those injuries were severe - the left side of her body was badly burnt and, although somehow her eye had survived, her hand was gone, replaced by a hook, and she had a peg leg from her knee down.   "We dealt with the Dire Wolves that plagued Grosslin in The Hagercrybs," Cintoria began - with Hildrun it was always business first. "There were only two of them."
  "Good," replied Hildrun in her raspy voice. "Expenses to my secretary as normal." She pulled open the drawer to her right and there was a tinkle of coins. "Two Dire Wolves, two crowns." She placed the coins on the desk in front of Cintoria, who picked them up. "What are your plans?"
  "Stay in Altdorf for a copule of days, then head to Bogenhafen for the Schaffenfest," replied Cintoria.
  "Very well," Hildrun rasped. "Check with the Temple at Bogenhafen for any communication. Anything else?"
  "No, Revered Sister," said Cintoria.   "Then you are dismissed," said Hildrun. ~She did not rise, so Cintoria knew that her injuries were troubling her badly today.
  Cintoria stood - "Leave the door open," said Hildrun, so Cintoria did and stepped out of Hildrun's office and then into her secretary's office.

The halfling, Maesys Amberwater - known to all as 'Maze', sat on a high chair behind a human-height desk. Maze shook her head at Cintoria - telling her that today was not a day for chat; on a 'pain day' for Hildrun chat would only draw her ire. Cintoria nodded back and handed over a list of expenses incurred by her party during the trip to Grissenwald. Maze ran eye down the list, nodded as she reached the end of it and pulled open a drawer. Coins tinkled once more as she withdrew the amount claimed by Cintoria beofre placing it on the desk.

Cintoria swept the coins into a pouch, nodded to Maze and left.

  OOC: All the characters have completed their short term ambitions, so will get +50xp in their next award. However, it does mean that I'll need to decide their new ambitions ...

End of this post.

 

002 Enemy in Shadows: Mistaken Identity

  Let's start with xp for the characters. As I said in my original New Endeavour post - I have no interest in low-level grind, so most of my xp awards will be on the high side. In this case, not much happened so it's 50xp for the 'main' characters - Cintoria, Hatto, Kanna and Thargrad - and 25xp for the Henchmen, Bax, Haali and Raark - none of which has yet been spent. I don't allow XP to be spent 'in-session'.

The coach sped along the Altdorf road and as there was no room for Haali on the roof of the coach, he trotted along behind it, easily keeping pace with the coach. 'Sped' was a relative term though, as the coachmen were too hung over to tolerate the noise that speed would produce - trotted would probably be a better word. Before long a light snow began to fall and Bax began to bounce around catching snowflakes with a happy yapping as Thargrad looked on indulgently, occasionally ruffling her ears and knocking her away from the flakes, tolerating the nips that she gave him in return. Raark watched her antics, absent-mindedly taking the dried berries that Hatto offered to him.

Coming to the junction where The Five Brothers Lodge inn stood, the coach continued past without stopping - the inn being owned by the Four Seasons Company coaching line and the coach a Ratchett Lines company coach.

The snow stopped a couple of hours later as the coach rounded a bend in the road to find a figure crouched over something in the middle of the road. Unable to pass without running down the figure, Gunnar hauled back on the reins, stopping the coach. Hearing the noise of the coach, the figure stood as it turned to face it, revealing a human hand held in its mouth. Although recognisably Human, flesh hung in tatters from its face and hands and green ichor seeped from its eyes. Spitting out the hand, it rushed towards the coach brandishing a bloody dagger - Raark took to the air, cawing loudly.

  Initiative (I); each of my characters has their initiative listed in the combat summary part of the WFRP Party page. The book Enemy in Shadows has the mutant's I listed as 29 so it is last in the I order.
  I=45 - Bax - delays waiting to see what Thargrad (I=30) does
  I=35 - Haali - advances to be in front of the coach and begins to bay at the mutant
  I=30 - Cintoria - jumps down from the coach and readies her sowrd and shield
  I=30 - Hatto - begins to Channel (Hysh): rolls 23 against 55, 3 SLs
  I=30 - Kanna - readies her Handun and fires at the mutant; rolls 59 against 50 and misses
  I=30 - Thargrad - jumps down, readies his warhammer and shield and stands beside Cintoria
  I=45 - Bax (delaying) - jumps down and stands behind Thargrad
  I=29 - Mutant - charges Haali; Haali has Reaction Strike allowing him to attack when charged if a +0 Initiative test is passed. He rolls 32 against 35 which is a 0 SL pass, so he can attack. Haali rolls 43 against 65, 2 SLs, the Mutant rolls 45 against 32, 1 Fail, so the result is 3 SLs to Haali. His damage is 3 SLs + 5 (SB (Strength Bonus)) + 4 (bite) + 1 (SMB (Strike Mighty Blow)) = 13, minus 2 for the Mutant's toughness (T), final result is 11. The Mutant has 8 wounds (W) so Haali inflicts a +30 critical hit (+10 for each wound over its total) on the Mutant's right arm (his roll of 43, reversed to 34 for location). Rolling a 65+30=95, Dislocated Shoulder
  As a minor NPC, I rule that it is dead

Haali

Haali loped forward from behind the coach, baying loudly at the Mutant and stopped about 10 yards in front of the coach. Cintoria and Thargrad (followed by Bax) jumped down from the coach and advanced to stand before the horses, weapons ready. Kanna unslung her Handgun and fired it at the Mutant, but missed, whilst Hatto stood and began to channel Hysh, the magick wind of light.

The Mutant rushed up - Haali leapt forward and his jaws closed like a steel trap on its arm and he shook the Mutant taking it off its feet. There was a loud pop as the shoulder dislocated and Haali threw the body to the ground, where it bled messily.

A puzzled look on his face, Thargrad walked forward to where the body lay and flipped it over with his boot so it was face up.

  "I thought so," he said. "I know this Mutant - his name was Rolf Hurtsis, I met him last year when he sought my aid as a phyisican."

A bestial howl rent the air from out of sight further along the road and Haali began to growl a challenge in response.

  "More of them," announced Cintoria. "Follow me - Haali, heel!" and the dog moved to obey his mistress. Hatto and Kanna, got off the coach and the group advanced along the road toward the howl. Turning back to the coach, she called to the coachmen, "You two stay with the coach!"

Kanna finished reloading her Handgun and held it ready; Cintoria held her shield with its raven and portal symbols of Morr at the ready, her pistol up and Haali to her right; Hatto, behind Cintoria, pressed the button on his 'staff' to release the scythe blade and held it ready, while Thargrad, to Cintoria's left, brandished his warhammer and shield with Bax at his heels.

Rounding the corner the party beholds a ghastly scene about twenty yards in front of them: an overturned coach lies across the road, with bodies littering the ground around it. Two of its horses are desperately trying to struggle free of their harnesses as a creature with a large body and an incredibly small head hacks maniacally at them with an axe. Another dog-headed mutant is lying screaming next to the coach, blood pumping from its wounded leg as another Mutant with a pointed head tries to bandage it. A fourth Mutant, with cloven feet, is feasting on one of the bodies and searching through the various corpses is a Human with scaly skin holding a loaded crossbow.

Using Battle language, Cintoria signed to Kanna that they should both shoot the Mutant with the crossbow ...

  I - four of the Mutants have I 30, Agility (Agi) 40 which puts them after Haali and before Cintoria; their leader (Knud, the one with the crossbow) has I 35 Agi 33, so between Bax and Haali
Round One
  I=45 - Bax - delays waiting to see what Thargrad (I=30) does
  I=35 - Knud - Surprised (therefore has no action this turn)
  I=35 - Haali - delays waiting for Cintoria's instructions
  I=30 - Mutants - Surprised
  I=30 - Cintoria - orders Haali to attack and then shoots the Mutant with the crossbow (Knud, the leader); she rolls 34 against 45, 1SL (gaining one advantage), in the 43 - right arm. Using the weapon's dangerous quality, she uses the units value of 4 rather than the 1 SL, so damage is 4+8=12. Knud's Toughness Bonus (TB) is 3 and his Horny Scales mutation gives him 1 AP in all locations, so he takes 12-3-1=8 wounds damage from his total of 12. Being attacked by a weapon with the blackpowder quality requires he passes an Average (+20) Cool test or gain the Broken condition, so he rolls 53 versus a target of 55 and passes
  I=35 - Haali - charges the closest Mutant the one attacking the horses. Attacking a Surprised opponent gives him +20 to his skill; he also gains 1 advantage for charging, so that gives him another +10 and rolls 47 against 95 (65+20+10), 5SLs - Pin Head doesn't roll as it's Surprised. The damage is 5 SLs +10 (Haali's total bite damage) for 15 in the body (47 reversed to 74). It wears a Leather Jerkin (1AP for the body) and has 3TB, so it takes 15-1-3=11 wounds, leaving it 4. He gains another advantage for attacking a Surprised foe, total 2 Adv
  I=30 - Hatto - casts Dart (one of his Petty Magic spells) at the Pointed-head Mutant. For his Language )Magic) test, he rolls 16 against skill of 60 for 5SLs, hitting his target in the 61 - body - for 5 + 4 (WP bonus) = 9 damage. It too is wearing a leather jerkin and has 3TB, so it takes 5 damage, giving Hatto +1Adv
  I=30 - Kanna - shoots Knud. She rolls 29 against 50, hitting (+1 Adv) with 3 SLs in the 92 - right leg - for 9 (weapon has the dangerous quality, so it can use the units value of 9 rather than the 3SLs) + 9 (base damage) = 18. Knud has 1 AP on his leg, but that is ignored as her Dwarf Handgun has the Penetrating quality. His 3TB comes off the damage, so he takes 15 damage against his 4 remaining wounds; the 11 extra is +110 on the leg critical roll of 43 so 153 - Shattered Pelvis (death), Kanna gains +1Adv
  I=30 - Thargrad - runs toward the enemy, but can't reach them
  I=45 - Bax (delaying) - follows Thargrad
      End of Round One

  "Get 'em Haali!," barked Cintoria as she raised her pistol and shot the Mutant with the crossbow. Haali leapt forward, charging the Mutant attacking the horses, biting deep into its side as Hatto threw a magical dart at the Mutant with the pointed head knocking it backwards. Kanna shot the same scaly-skinned Mutant that Cintoria had, blowing it off its feet, throwing it to the ground where it lay still. Thargrad moved up towards the Mutants with Bax at his heels.

Round Two
  I=45 - Bax - delays to see what Thargrad does
  I=35 - Knud - dead
  I=35 - Haali, 2Adv - attacks the Mutant again; rolls 37 against 85 (60+20) = 5SLs, the Mutant rolls 29 against skill of 45, 2SLs. 5SLs - 2SLs, Haali hits by 3SLs; damage is 3 SLs +10 = 13 in the body. 13 - 1AP - 3TB = 9, it currently has 4 wounds, so 5 over its remaining is a critical +50. That roll totals 113 - Internal Bleeding, which I'm calling as dead
  I=30 - Mutants - the dog-headed Mutant was already bleeding out and continues to do so; Cloven-foot charges Thargrad and Pointed-head - whom Hatto had hit with a Dart - also charges Thargrad as he is the closest
  Cloven-foot attacks Thargrad, his charge gives him +1Adv; he rolls 58 against 55 (45+10), 1 Fail, while Thargrad rolls 38 against 48, 1SL, 2SLs to Thargrad in all. The attack fails, Thargrad wins gaining 1Adv, Cloven-foot loses his Adv
  Pointed-head attacks Thargrad, rolling 79 vs 55 = 2F, Thargrad rolls 56 vs 48 = 1F, Thargrad wins again, so gains +1Adv
  I=30 - Cintoria, 1Adv - charges Cloven-foot, rolling 17 vs 55 = 3SLs, Cloven-foot rolls 05 vs 45 = 4SLs; Cloven-foot wins getting +1Adv, Cintoria loses her Adv
  I=30 - Hatto, 1Adv - flings another Dart at Pointed-head, rolling 47 vs 75 (55+20 for Raark) giving 3SLs + 1SL for Raark, doing 4 (SLs) + 4 WPB -1AP - 3TB = 4 damage, gaining +1Adv
  I=30 - Kanna, 1Adv - drops her Handgun, draws her pistol and shoots Pointed-head, rolling 37 vs 60 (50+10 for Adv) = 3SLs in 73, the body; the Damaging quality gives damage of 7+8= 15 damage. It was on 7 wounds so takes a +80 critical - the roll totals 144 = Torn Apart (death). Kanna advances toward Cloven-foot
  I=30 - Thargrad, 2Adv - attacks Cloven-foot, 64 vs 68 (48+20 Adv) 0SL (but a success), Cloven-foot rolls 54 vs 45 = 1F, so Thargrad hits with 1SL, doing 1+7 damage to 46 body. It has 1AP and 3TB, so takes 4 wounds and Thargrad is now on 3Adv
  I=45 - Bax - attacks Cloven-foot rolling 22 (a critical!) against 55, 3SLs, Cloven-foot rolls 83 vs 45, 4F, so Bax gets 7SLs in all, doing 7+5=12 damage. Bax rolls 80 for location, left leg; -3TB to damage total 9 wounds, a +10 critical; result 'Hacked Leg' gains Prone and 2 Bleeding Conditions; I'll rule this another dead Mutant
      End of Round Two and the combat - all the Mutants are dead

Haali bit his foe again, picking it up and throwing it down where it expired noisily. The cloven-footed Mutant attacked Thargrad who took the attack on his shield, as he did again with the pointed-head Mutant's attack. Cintoria charged the cloven-foot Mutant, but it parried her sword with its axe as Hatto flung another Dart at Pointed-head, wounding it again. Kanna's pistol barked and Hatto's target fell dead to the ground as the last remaining Mutant - Cloven-foot - fell beneath the attacks of Thargrad and Bax.

Their foes defeated the party slipped into a well-practiced routine; Kanna retrieved her Handgun, slinging it upon her back and then, with Thargrad, began to lay out the bodies in a line beside the overturned coach. Cintoria gave the coup-de-grace to the dcreaming, mutilated horses and Hatto began a thorough, methodical search of the bodies also enuring that they had all begun their joruney to Morr's portal as Raark flew in a small circle above them keeping watch.

  "Body in the coach," called out Raark as he flew over it. The others laid out in a line, Thargrad and Kanna brgan to climb the coach to get the last body. There were two coachmen, a labourer, a pair of artisans, an initiate of Sigmar and the five mutants already laid out.

  "I believe that scaly there had looted the others already," Hatto told Cintoria hefting a pouch that clinked with the sound of coin.
  "Good, it will help our work for Morr," she replied, "I'll see them onto their way to Morr." She went to the end of the corpse-line and began to deliver the Last Rites of Morr to each of them in turn.

  "You'd better both have a look at this one," called Kanna as she and Thargrad laid the last body beside the coach.

The Letter

Cintoria and Hatto came to join the Dwarfs and looking down were both shocked to the core. Lying there on the ground in the clothing of a minor noble, was Hatto. The man didn't just 'look like' Hatto - as far as they could tell, it was Hatto.

There was a letter protruding from a pocket of the man's coat, which Cintoria retrieved and passed to Hatto. She had to call his name before he would take it though, shocked as he was. Cintoria continued searching the body - a signet ring, she tossed to Kanna, the small purse she pocketed and found another piece of paper in an internal pocket.

Kanna had a close look at the ring and used her knowledge of Heraldry to try and identify its engraving.

  Kanna makes an Average (+20) Lore (Heraldry) roll; 37 vs 68 (48 skill +20) = 3SLs. She identifies the device engraved on it

  "It's the emblem of a minor Ubersriek house - the Lieberungs," she announced.
  "This letter," began Hatto, "says that the Lieberung estate is to be inherited by the addressee - one Kastor Lieberung - if he presents himself to a lawyer in Bogenhafen with an affadavit of his identity."
  "And this is the affadavit," said Cintoria looking at the paper from the internal pocket.

They could all see the light that illuminated Hatto's eyes as he realised the opportunity fate had given him.

  Hatto makes a Challenging (+0) Lore (Reikland) roll; 55 vs 50 = Fumble. Oh dear ... he fails to recall that the Lieberung estate had indeed been intestate, but the courts had just resolved that and passed it to an inheritor. He believes it to be still intestate AND likely to remain so

The Affadavit

  "I can get land and a tower with this," Hatto announced jubilantly (OOC: the character's long-term ambition).

  "Yes ... well ..." said Cintoria, her reluctance for the proposed fraud evident. "Let's finish here and then talk about it." She handed the affadavit to Hatto and Kanna handed the ring to him too.

Cintoria gave the Last Rites of Morr to the body, the Dwarfs laid it next to the others and she resumed giving Morr's Last Rites to the corpse-line. Kanna took up the dead coachman's Blunderbuss, along with its shot & powder and put it in her backpack - all blackpowder weapons fascinated her.

Cintoria had reached the Mutants when Raark flew low over the party, crying "Roadwardens coming from the north." Cintoria simply continued as the others turned northwards, Hatto deep in thought, planning his tower, while the Dwarfs both had a nip from Thargrad's silver flask.

Before long, they could all hear the jingling tack and harness of the approaching riders and then five riders rounded the bend that limited their sight to the north. Taking in what was before him, the dark-skinned man at the front sped up his horse and called out to the group.

  "What's going on here?"
  "The coach was attacked by Mutants," responded Cintoria, "We came upon them and killed the Mutants in turn. Our coach is round the bend to the south."
  "Baldwin, see if that's true and if it is, bring the coach here. I'm Sergeant Pflaster of the Altdorf Roadwardens," the Sergeant looked around considering both the scene and Cintoria. "I believe I should thank you Sister for your intervention - you've certainly made our job easier. We need to get that coach moved - we can count on you and your friends to help?" He may have phrased it as a question, but it really wasn't ...

End of this post.

 

001 Enemy in Shadows: A Warm Welcome

The rain poured as it had continuously for the last three days. Through it trudged a bedraggled group of five, heads bent low under the rain's constant oppression.

Cintoria lifted her head to look along the road ahead of them as her dog, Haali, whined softly beside her. Distracted, Cintoria ruffled the top of Haali's head before returning her attention to the road.

Through the gap in the trees cut by the road, she could make out a stone wall, behind which stood a large building. "We've reached the inn," she murmured to her companions. The two Dwarfs and the wizard looked up as one to see for themselves and the wave of relief that swept them all was palpable. Feet lifted higher, shoulders were unconsciously straightened and even Bax, perched on top of Thargrad's pack, began to wag her tail gently.

As was to be expected during the hours of daylight, the inn's gate was open and almost before they realised it, the group was in the warm atmosphere of the inn's barroom being greeted by its effusive landlord.

  "Welcome, welcome! I am Gustav and welcome to the Coach and Horses, very pleased for you to be here! Ale and warm food all round?" he asked looking at each of the people in turn.

  "That would be wonderful Gustav," replied Cintoria. "Can we also have two ales in bowls for the dogs and plates of scraps if you have them please?"

  "Certainly, certainly," he replied, "I'll go and get it all now. Hang your coats by the fire - over there," he pointed out the pegs, "and take the table nearest the fire to warm your bones," and he indicated a table close to the fire.

They did as instructed putting their coats on the pegs and sat themselves at the table. Haali then flopped across the fire's front, almost blocking it, while Bax jumped over him and laid herself down even closer to the fire.

Cintoria reached down to ruffle Haali's ears affectionately as she looked around the bar. Two coachmen were clearly deep in their cups, laughing drunkenly at some joke. Over there sat a young, thin man topped by an incredibly pronounced bowl haircut with his long nose buried in a book; an obvious nobewoman was demonstrably ignoring the new arrivals as her bodyguard calculated them as possible threats and the maid sat in subdued silence. At the bar stood a man dressed as a fop, who looked away as soon as he realised Cintoria was looking at him - a professional gambler she thought ... trouble waiting to happen, she was sure. A thin, bored-looking, barman was the last of the occupants until Gustav bustled in carrying a large tray with the promised vittles and was greeted by a loud "caw!" from a crow on a perch up by the ceiling near the bar.

  "Fire by the Seat!" called the crow as Gustav handed out the contents of the tray. "Fresh chicken to drink!"
  "Never you mind Blackie," Gustav said. "Sounds mad as a hatter sometimes! Anyway, have you travelled far? You're all soaked to the bone so must've been walking a while? Let me give these plates to your dogs," he put the tray on the table and picked up the plates of scraps.
  "No Gustav, let me" Cintoria interrupted Gustav's flow. "Haali doesn't like to be fed by strangers." Gustav looked at the Geisthund and realised it was staring intently at him with the beginnings of a growl coming from his half-open, long-fanged mouth.
 "Err ... certainly Priestess," he said as he put the plates onto the table. "I'll leave you to your food. Just call if you need anything else." He backed away nervously eyeing Haali. As far as Haali was concerned though, Gustav had vanished and his attention was fixed on the plate and bowl that Cintoria was placing in front of him.

There was silence at the table for several minutes as the thick, tasty, but most importantly hot, stew was devoured.

  "Gustav is sharper than he seems," she said in a voice pitched just for the table. "He realised I'm a Priestess just from my badges." Nods from the others acknowledged they had realised it too. "Thargrad," Cintoria continued, "Speak to the coachmen - if they're going to Altdorf get us on their coach and see what you can learn about their passengers." Thargrad nodded, stood, drained his stein and headed for the bar for a refill. "I'll arrange our rooms for the night and talk to the gambler at the bar - we aren't interested and don't want any trouble ..."

  Time for some rolls; first Thargrad will make an Average (+20) Gossip test and rolls a 24. His target was 60 (skill 40+20) so that's 4 Success Levels (SL) and he learns what he wants plus a couple of rumours.
  Cintoria will try to Charm the Fop to leave them alone, sweetening the suggestion by buying him a bottle of wine. This is an opposed Charm/Cool test of Cintoria's skill of 40 against the Fop's Cool of 60. Cintoria rolls a 15 - 3 SLs - against the Fop's 85 - a Fail - 3 SLs to Cintoria - she achieves her goal, convincing the Fop - who she learns is named Phillipe Descartes - that her group was no target for him. She also picks up a couple of rumours from him and during their conversation she pays Gustav 10/- for two rooms.

The Fop dissuaded, Cintoria returned to Kanna and Hatto at the table as Thargrad and the coachmen launched into a song as they crashed their steins together.

  "Well," Cintoria began; "That is Phillipe Descarte, a Bretonnian, and he got the message. He also claimed that 'This year's Schaffenfest will the biggest, most profitable, most entertaining ever'. He also claimed that he'd been told 'Strange lights have been seen in the sky to the east that 'looked like fire Daemons dancing among the stars', but that sounds like rubbish to me."

  "I reckon you're probably right," agreed Kanna. "About the daemons I mean; the Schaffenfest news is good though - we should be able to get some decent horses."
  "True. Did you get the rooms?" said Hatto asking Cintoria in his cultured Reiklander tones and when she nodded, he stood, saying "Then I'll retire as I'm exhausted. Please ask Thargrad to try and be quiet when he comes up." He looked over to where Thargrad was laughing and singing with the coachmen.
  "Good night," said Cintoria and Kanna together. Hatto went over to Gustav, learnt where his room was and went off to it.

Before long, Thargrad left the coachmen with genial goodbyes and came back to Cintoria and Kanna.
  "Their coach is full, but they'll let us travel on the roof. I got them down to a dozen shillings in all to do that." Thargrad reported. "They also told me that the roads are getting worse as - they claim - the Emperor isn't bothering to maintain them any more. He's too busy spending money on the State Army to fix other problems - like the mess in Ubersreik. Also, Altdorf Zoo's been shut for weeks. They reckon Deathclaw, the Emperor’s Griffon, went on a rampage; probably because the Emperor hasn’t been to see him for months. Sounds like we won't be visiting there! The student over there is Ernst Heidlemann, allegedly a Physician's Apprentice, but to me, that doesn't really fit ... I don't know what it is, but I was a Physician's Apprentice and there's just something wrong with him being that ..." Thargrad paused, obviously considering what he had just said. "Anyway, the noblewoman is Lady Isolde von Strudeldorf with her bodyguard Marie, and maid Janna."
  "Well done, Thargrad. Keep an eye on the student - something may reveal more to you," instructed Cintoria. "Let's list what we need to do in Altdorf," she continued, "Thargrad, we need to present your papers at the Physician's Guild and pay off the Rat Catcher." Thargrad nodded. "Hatto needs to check in with the Amethyst Order and I need to report to the Temple on our success with the Dire Wolves at Grosslin. Anything I've missed? Kanna do you have anything that you want - or need - to do?"
  "Well, I want to go with Thargad to settle his grudge," said Kanna thoughtfully, "Other than that - not really."
  "Very well. We'll sort out the exact details when we arrive. We should be able to stay at The Raven and Portal as we have before, so we'll go there first to confirm that," Cintoria declared, "And now I'm off to bed."
  "Morr guide your dreams," said Kanna as Thargrad echoed her remark and Haali followed his mistress from the room.

The Dwarfs sat in companionable silence enjoying their ale and the warmth of the fire before they too retired to their beds.

*   *   *   *

The next morning, the party was enjoying porridge with bacon for breakfast, expecting an early start. The other passengers were breakfasting as well, but there was no sign of the coachmen. As the clock behind the bar chimed nine bells, there was still no sign of them.

  "Kanna, would you please go and find our coachmen?" Cintoria asked.
  "My pleasure,"responded Kanna with a grin spreading across her face as she rose and left the room.

  This will be an Intimidate test by Kanna, opposed by the coachmen's Cool. Kanna rolls 34 against her skill of 40 and the coachmen get 55 against 30, so Kanna's 1 SL wins.

The sounds of struggling drew closer and the barroom's door opened as Kanna came in half-dragging the protesting coachmen.

  "Had to kick them awake," she said. "Bastards are still drunk!"
  "Can we have some buckets of water Gustav?" Cintoria called out.
  "Of course," called Gustav, "Good idea!", disgust evident in his voice.

Kanna dumped the coachmen in the middle of the room as Gustav and his barman came in with buckets.

  "You're a disgrace to Ratchett Lines!" called Gustav as the coachmen were thoroughly doused. "Now get out there and get your damned coach ready for these good people!"

Blustering protests, the coachmen dragged themselves from the room and out to the courtyard.

  "Thargrad, would you go and help them please?" asked Cintoria. "And Kanna, please keep them moving." The Dwarfs followed the coachmen, pushing them along as they stumbled out with Bax yapping at the coachmen as she bounced at Thargrad's feet.

  "Thank-you Gustav," Cintoria said. "Hatto, can you give me a hand with their packs? Haali, follow," she finished.

Cintoria and Hatto shouldered the Dwarfs' packs and headed out to the courtyard, Haali devotedly following his mistress.

Out in the yard, Thargrad was harnessing the horses as Kanna stood over the coachmen bullying them to carry on with their tasks. Cintoria and Hatto helped get the other passengers' luggage onto the coach before adding the party's own packs, making sure there was room for them too - luckily it was a big coach so they managed - just.

It took a half-bell, but eventually everything was ready and the coach left the inn, taking the road toward Altdorf as Raark flew down and landed on Hatto's shoulder ...

End of this post.

 

New Endeavour

This blog has been set up to document a new endeavour - I'm going to do a solo run-through of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition ('WFRP 4e' from now) of 'The Enemy Within' campaign, now published by Cubicle 7 Games.

This page gives a good overview of WFRP 4e and how the rules work, saying "Simply put, it is one of the most finely-crafted roleplaying games I have ever read" - something with which I agree

This reddit thread and this RPGnet thread both give info on why The Enemy Within campaign is widely praised as one of the best RPG campaigns ever

I purchased all the pdfs that are in the campaign from Humble Bundle along with the WFRP 4e core rulebook recently and have been reading them while listening to actual play podcasts - the youtube playlist - and am itching to start.

I've put together the characters (which can be reached from the WFRP Party page) and given each of my characters 2,000xp (henchmen 1,000xp) mainly because I have no interest in low-level grind (and repeated failures are not entertaining for me) but also because the pre-generated characters provided in the WFRP starter set have 2,200xp each,

Within the actual play posts, I'll be showing out-of-character (OOC) game rules posts in the format of the next paragraph:

  rules speak will be shown like this

Any OOC comments I make will be in bracketed italics prefaced by OOC, like this: (OOC: Cintoria's short-term ambition)

As I've been beginning this new endeavour, I've been listening/watching LAWhammer's Actual Play YouTube videos of The Enemy Within, which have inspired several things for my play:

1. Instead of "o'clock", I'll use "bells" - so it's not "9 o'clock", it's "9 bells". As a footnote to this, clocks are 'relatively' common in my Warhammer world - most 'establishments' like shops, inns, etc. will have one, as do middle-class homes and upwards, but not the lower-classes and the like. Also, instead of "quarter of an hour" and the like, it's "quarter of a bell".
2. "The dice of doom" - if something random might happen, each character rolls a d10. If an '8' is rolled, the bad thing happens. 8 is bad as it matches the 8-pointed star of chaos and for the same reason, 88 is the worst roll possible.
3. Instead of "minus Success Levels", they'll be referred to as "Fails". So if a character misses by 20-something, it's "2 Fails" and not "minus 2 Success Levels"

So now to begin ...