A Sad End

Being the 3rd Part of Sir Rudy's Adventures
(A Knight of Destiny Adventure)


Sir Rudy's elation at defeating a dragon and finding the Sword of the Fisher King were short-lived. Weakened by his wounds, he collapsed with the Sword in his hand. His companion, Mordret, tended to his wounds. Sir Rudy clearly needed rest so Edric bundled the unconscious knight onto a horse and took him to a nearby inn.

Sir Rudy rapidly healed but he was impatient to continue his quest. Despite Mordret's pleadings, our hero rose from bed determined to press forward. As he rode into the wilderness, he found a wounded paladin.

"Who did this?" Rudy asked.

The dying knight croaked out "Sir Turquine" just before he expired.

Rage filled Sir Rudy's breast. He would make Turquine pay for this outrage!

Rudy started to follow the signs of Turquine's passage, determined to catch the recreant knight. After several days, Rudy stopped near a placid lake. Suddenly, a bright light shone and ethereal music filed his ears. Seemingly out of the lake itself, a grand castle appeared. The Grail Castle!

The drawbridge opened and a shining knight strode forward. The figure spoke to Rudy. "Art thou worthy?"

"Yes!" Rudy boldly proclaimed.

"Look into thine heart. Does thou find hatred there?"

Rudy's face suddenly lost all color. He sank to his knees and began to weep, for he knew that his bold declaration was false.

The shining knight spoke again. "Cleanse thyself and return when thou art worthy." And with that, the knight and the castle disappeared like a mist dissipating in the morn.

Sir Rudy rode on pondering his failure and determined to confess his sin with the next priest. Suddenly, a figure on horseback appeared on the road.

"Another of Arthur's paltry minions. Prepare to die!"

Rudy could recognize the coat of arms. It was Turquine! With a roar of defiance, Rudy spurred his horse and leveled his lance. Turquine did likewise. The two collided with a loud crash. Both flew from their mounts.but they rose, drew their swords, and rushed at each other.

Turquine dealt a number of severe blows to Rudy. Blood gushed from numerous cuts. Rudy could feel his lifeblood and his energy waning away. Yet Rudy refused to yield to the evil foe. He fought back, striking a series of telling blows in succession. He battered Turquine to his knees.

"Yield, you miscreant, and I shall spare thy life." Rudy offered.

Turquine just sneered and leapt from his feet. Rudy dodged and landed a counter on Turquine. Turquine stumbled; Rudy followed and struck another blow. But before Rudy could strike again, Turquine disengaged.

Now both warriors circled each other warily. Their many wounds spouted blood; they only had enough strength for one final pass. Rudy spotted an opening. He lunged, and slipped on a patch of bloody soil. He fell to the ground, losing his grip on his sword. Turquine shuffled over to him and thrust his blade through Rudy's neck.

"Another paladin down." Sir Turquine growled as he stumbled to his horse, mounted, and rode off.

Notes

• I modified the events slightly for narrative coherence. For example, the game did not tell me that Sir Turquine killed the paladin that Rudy found. Instead, it made sense based on later evens.
• I made a big mistake in this session. I could have chosen to go on a pilgrimage but opted to confront a challenger instead. By ill luck, I ended up fighting Turquine.
• Nevertheless, I nearly had him. Both were down to 1 life and Rudy had the initiative. Naturally, I rolled a 1 for his attack. Turquine's attack was far more effective.

A Hot Time

Being the 2nd Part of Sir Rudy's Adventures

After defeating the evil wizard, Sir Rudy departed on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Oswald. Despite the delays arising from his garrulous companions, our hero led a group of pilgrims past scenes of battle and bandit-infested woods. At the shrine, Rudy's wounds were healed.

Refreshed, Sir Rudy continued his travels. He arrived at an inn where he hired a warrior named Mordret. From there, he was challenged by a recreant knight in black armor. Rudy defeated him relatively easily. The shaken knight fell to his knees and begged for quarter. Rudy relented, although he required the knight to deliver himself to King Arthur and pledge his fealty.

As he proceeded on his travels, Sir Rudy encountered a villages stricken by poverty or plague. Touched by their plight, Rudy tried to help. Alas, they were not sufficient to alleviate all the villages' needs. He also came down with the plague and took some time to recover. At least, Sir Rudy reflected, he was able to do a little to help. In another village, angry peasants challenged Sir Rudy. He gave them the Unicorn Horn and won their respect.

Rudy and his companions also faced deadly challenges. One night, three hell hounds attacked. Rudy was wounded but the heroes killed the beasts. Another time they were ambushed by bugbears. These too were defeated, although the enemy killed Rudy's retainer, Edric. Rudy and Mordret also ran afoul of 3 ogres, who wounded Mordret before they were slain.

But Sir Rudy's biggest challenge came one day when the heroes discovered a smoking cave. Rudy peered in then ducked away as a massive beast charged forth.

A dragon!

Rudy charged, skewering the beast with his lance. The lance broke and the dragon soared by, gashing Rudy with its talons. Again it swooped. Rudy ducked and slashed with his sword, wounding the beast again. This time the dragon opened its mouth and belched flames, which licked about Rudy. He could feel his armor heat up and his skin burn. Yet Rudy fought on, scoring another couple of hits. Blood gushed from the wounded beast. With its last reserves of strength it flew away in a panic.

Sir Rudy was disappointed that he could not finish off the spawn of Satan. Yet he rejoiced when he searched the lair. Amidst a pile of coins and jewels, he discovered a an exquisite, magical sword. Its marking revealed it to be the Sword of the Fisher King! Rudy also discovered a human tooth.When he picked it up, Rudy could feel a surge of holy power. Clearly it was a relic, perhaps the tooth of St. Oswald himself!

Sir Rudy was pleased with his successes. He could feel his prowess increasing. Yet he felt no nearer to the Holy Grail. Would he ever find it?

Find out in future episodes of Sir Rudy's Tale

A Deadly Encounter

The Conclusion of Rowan's Quest

After defeating Agravaine, Owen assisted a wounded Sir Rowan to an inn, the Hungry Hare. Here, Rowan healed, hired another retainer (Harar the warrior), and learned more about the rebellion percolating in the land.

From the Hungry Hare, the party set out into the wilderness. They ran into a band of Pict raiders. The raiders surrounded the party and attacked. Rowan hacked and cleaved, cutting through the enemy. Alas, he was too late to help Owen, who fell to a Pictish blade. As Rowan buried his retainer, he wept for Owen's cruel fate. However, Rowan liberated an ornate box from the enemy. Within was a finger bone - clearly a relic! The raiders had probably stolen it from a nearby monastery.

Rowan and Harar rode until they came to another inn, the Friar's Rest. It was near the friary of St. Finieous, a local holy man from days of yore. After resting and healing, Rowan journeyed to the friary to return the relic. When he arrived he saw that the friars were burying some of their members and repairing buildings. Clearly the work of raiders. The friars were delighted that Rowan had the relic, which he learned was the finger of St. Finieous himself! The friars urged him to stay for the night. During dinner, Rowan mentioned that he was questing for the Holy Grail. When they heard, the friars decided to assist him in his quest by lending him St. Finieous's Finger.

Game note - I embellished the account greatly. Once I rolled up a relic as treasure, the story of the plundered friary leapt into my mind. When I rolled an inn for the next encounter, I knew it was the perfect way to introduce the friary. Ironically, the inn's name (Friar's Rest) was rolled randomly from the tables in KOD.

After their respite at St. Finieous's, Rowan and Harar continued their travels, undergoing a pilgrimage and finding more signs of rebellion along the way. Eventually, Rowan could no longer pay Harar, who went his own way. Thus, Rowan was alone when he faced his next challenge.

He was riding along when suddenly he was struck by a spear and knocked from his horse. He staggered back up, drew his sword, and assumed a defensive stance. He turned around and around, but could not spot his assailant.

"Who goes there who so uncouthly strikes an unaware knight?" Rowan challenged.

From behind him, very near by, he heard the sound of laughter.

""Tis I, Sir Garlon," a disembodied voice stated.

"Where? I see you not."

"Here, behind you!"

Rowan turned, only to be struck from the side by an unseen attacker.

"Or is it from here?"

Again, Rowan was struck. He realized that his opponent was invisible so he began watching the ground. He could see the grass and dirt disturbed by the passage of his foe. Using this knowledge, Rowan swung where he expected the enemy to be. He connected, and Garlon fell to the ground. Rowan followed up and began smacking the recreant knight. Garlon regained his feet. Now the two knights began battering each other. Soon, Rowan could hear the panting breath of his enemy. But blood was streaming from numerous wounds in his body, and his strength was leaving him.

Rowan figured that if he could get in 1 or 2 more good blows, he could possibly force his opponent to yield. With great exertion, he charged. Garlon sidestepped and tripped Rowan, who fell to the ground. Now, Garlon rushed to his fallen foe and began pummeling him. With Rowan nearly senseless, Garlon flipped him over and thrust a sword into a chink in Rowan's armor.

Thus fell one of the Grail Knights. R.I.P. Sir Rowan.

Finis

Game note - Ow, that was painful. For a while, that battle between Rowan and Garlon was even. With Garlon's poor morale, I hoped to force him to yield. However, Rowan started rolling poorly on defense went a number of rounds in a row where he missed Garlon but was wounded in return. Finally, it was too much and Rowan died. :(

Dangerous Foes

Part 2 of Rowan's Quest
The second part of an adventure using Ganesha Games' The Knight of Destiny

After his night at the Black Griffin, Sir Rowan and his retainer Owen headed out into the wild wood. They spent the night camping out. At one point, they were beset by a pair of wild boars. Rowan made quick work of them and the duo enjoyed a nice meal of roast pork.

The next day, as they rode through the wood, they came upon a young damsel. Little did they know that it was actually the enchantress Morgana herself. She invited them to share a meal with her.in her pavilion. They accepted, and after a hearty repaste, they fell into a deep sleep. When they awoke, Morgana and her pavilion were gone. The duo had also lost all memory of the acts of rebellion about which they had previously learned. Clearly they had been the victims of sorcery.

Game note - per the encounter, Morgana used trickery to make Rowan lose 2 rumors that he had gathered. Rumors can be used to alter encounters.

After recovering from their sleep, Rowan and Owen continued into the wood. They reached a small clearing when suddenly a knight charged them. Rowan managed to block the attack but he hesitated to counterattack.

"Sir Agraivaine? "Tis I, Rowan, a knight of the Grail quest."

"Fool!" Agravaine replied, "I know thee, and I know that thou art a dead man. All the Grail knights shall die, and we shall have a new sire."

"Treason!" Rowan gasped. Before he could say more, Agravaine charged again. This time Rowan blocked the blow and struck back, wounding his foe.This happened two more times, the last knocking Agravaine from his steed. Gallantly, Rowan dismounted before resuming the fray. The rebel knight closed and struck. Rowan was momentarily stunned, allowing Agravaine to close and strike again with his main gauche, inflicting another wound on our hero. Again, the evil knight attacked and hit, but Rowan counterattacked and hit his foe. Rowan followed up and struck such a blow that Agravaine was knocked to his feet.

Rowan stood over Agravaine, sword at the ready, and called upon the recreant to yield.

"Never! Death to the supporters of Arthur!" hissed Agravaine as he rose and attacked. The pair traded blows but then Rowan took control of the fight. His flashing sword struck again and again, until it finally pierced through a chink in Agravaine's armor and penetrated through his black heart. Agravaine lay dead upon the turf.

Rowan had Owen bury the foe, but not before he recovered the Gem of Giramphiel, which provides magical protection from flame.

Game note - In KOD, it is possible to be challenged by named knights, in this case Agravaine. This was a long and bloody battle. I embellished the account for dramatic purposes. Agravaine had to check morale but he refused quarter and fought to the death.

Sir Rowan's Quest

Part 1 of Sir Rowan's Tale

The following tale is a report of an adventure played using Ganesha Games' The Knight of Destiny rules.

KOD is an adventure for a single character using the Four Against Darkness rules. A couple of things enticed me when I saw it: first is that it is set in Arthurian times, a favorite setting; second is that KOD introduces the paladin character class! Now on to the report.

Like many a knight at King Arthur's court, Sir Rowan had been inspired to quest for the Holy Grail. Astride his destrier, Rowan wandered the byways of olde England, searching for clues that will lead him to his objective. But this night he was resting comfortably at the Black Griffin Inn. As he lay back on the hay stuffed mattress he thought back over the events of the past few weeks.

His first inclination of trouble was when he came across a wounded knight lying in a field. Rowan rode over to him and tried to administer first aid, but alas his efforts were for naught. But before the knight passed, he croaked out a warning" "Beware, the baron is a traitor." Rowan would find other signs of impending rebellion: stories of black-clad recreant knights attacking the forces of the King, and signs of skirmishes along the path.

Game note: I rolled a Traitor's Attack encounter 5 times out of the first 8 turns! Something is definitely afoot!

At one point, as he was riding through the forest, Rowan was challenged by a band of outlaws. They demanded that he pay them a ransom but he refused. Instead, he demanded their surrender! They snickered at him and then unleashed a volley of arrows. But Rowan charged, smashing into a number of them and riding them down. The rest scattered deeper into the tangles of the forest.

A little further, Rowan came across a struggling village. The people there were clearly starving. They told tales of recreant knights and bandits stealing their crops. They sent a message to the King but their messenger never returned. They fretted that he was killed and the King had not learned of their plight. Taking pity on them, Rowan gave them some coin and promised to deliver a message on their behalf.

Game note - If Rowan offered 50 gp to the struggling village he would have earned a piety point. Alas, he only had 48 gp so no bonus. Still, I felt it would be in character if he offered something, even if there was no in-game benefit. Thus, Rowan split his fortune with the village.

After weeks of roaming, Rowan came to a crossroads with an inn, called the Black Griffin. Aiding the village set him back but he decided to splurge on a room and a meal. As he sat at the table, he noticed a group of ruffians bullying a young man. Rowan strode over to the group. At first, the ruffians challenged him. "What do you want?" snarled the ringleader, smacking a club into one palm. Rowan identified himself as one of Arthur's knights. The ruffians began to back away. The leader realized that he could not retreat without a loss of face. He raised his club in a threatening manner, but Rowan could see indecision in his eyes.

"Leave now." Rowan commanded. For a second, the man turned like he would flee. Then he turned back and attacked. With barely an effort, Rowan slashed his sword and sliced the club in twain. With this, the ringleader panicked and fled, followed by the rest of the ruffians.

Game note - I have greatly embellished this encounter.

Rowan turned back to the young man, barely out of boyhood. The youth identified himself as Owen and offered his services to the knight. He claimed to be able to take care of horses, weapons, and armor. Furthermore, he was good at finding things. For example, he told Rowan how a local baron was secretly plotting against Arthur. Impressed by the youth's knowledge, Rowan hired the young man.

As Rowan nodded off, he realized that his quest had not been full of high adventure and rousing tales of battles against recreant knights and monsters. Yet he was on the trail of something more perilous - a plot against the King. He wondered what tomorrow would bring.

If you are also wondering, stay tuned for the next part of the adventure!