Behin Batean: Fantasy Tabletop RPG Fort Black Poplar Single Encounter Storybook

Introduction

     The Siege of the Fort Black Poplar in late winter 3836 covers the thirteen days of the Battle of Fort Black Poplar. Astigaraknana troops under General Lorea Otsoa Grazia entered Lorea, Aliatua and surrounded Fort Black Poplar- a structure originally meant to be a temple to the demigod Clais, but the monks tasked with building the temple grounds never completed it. During the Astigaraknana Revolution, deep gnome rebels turned the half-constructed temple into a fort from which to keep watch over the violent, nomadic drow to the north. Fort Black Poplar is defended by a small force of Aliatuan dwarves and deep gnomes, led by Kaskoa Zubia and Ordezkatzailea Ilehoria, and includes Maitea Kako. Before beginning his assault on the fort, General Grazia offers them one last chance to surrender.

     This campaign is designed for a minimum of 3 players plus one GM and players role play as soldiers in the Astigraknana army tasked with capturing the fort. Players' characters cannot leave the area around the fort (which includes both Fort Black Poplar and the nearby town of Lorea). The goal of the players is to eventually capture the fort- an encounter that should only take one meeting of players to complete.

Preparing the Encounter

     Before you show up to GM this adventure for a group of players, you should do the following to prepare. Make sure to have a copy of the most current version of the Player’s Handbook. Read through the adventure, taking notes of anything you’d like to highlight or remind yourself while running the adventure, such as a way you’d like to portray an NPC or a tactic you’d like to use in a combat. Get familiar with the monster statistics in the Appendix.

     Gather together any resources you’d like to use to aid you in Game Mastering, such as notecards, a GM screen, miniatures, battle maps, etc. If you know the composition of the group beforehand, you can make adjustments as noted throughout the adventure.

Before You Play at the Table

     Ask the players to provide you with relevant character information. This includes:

• Character name and level

• Character race and class (options are limited to deep gnomes and Black Dwarves only, and fighter as the only available class. However, players may chose from which soldier type they will play as. The Astigaraknana army present for the siege includes the following. If the party members chose to play as militia- and only if- they may chose an alternative class of their choosing.

  • 5oo Medium Cavalry: Equipped with fell ponies, short swords, and daggers; steel helms, cotton tunics, cotton trousers, and riding boots.

  • 1ooo Line Infantry

    • 120 Grenadiers (Elite Heavy Infantry): Equipped with spears, short swords, and explosive grenades; steel helms, leather armor, cotton tunics, cotton trousers, gaiters, and boots.

    • 750 Heavy Infantry (Including 2 onagers, 2 ballista, and 2 belly releasers): Equipped with spears, short swords, and daggers; steel helms, cotton tunics, cotton trousers, gaiters, and boots.

    • 120 Light Infantry: Equipped with hand crossbows, short swords, and daggers; cotton tunics, cotton trousers, gaiters, and boots.

  • 1ooo Militia Infantry: Equipped with spears and daggers; cotton tunics, cotton trousers, and boots.

• Anything notable as specified by the adventure (such as backgrounds, traits, flaws, and so on)

Encounter Background

     The party arrives as reinforcements for the general's army to the town of Lorea where Astigraknana forces have set up a headquarters for planning their assault on Fort Black Poplar where roughly two hundred fifty revolutionaries are intent to fight to the death to defend the fort. Astigaraknana forces have been camped outside of the fort for over two weeks and have shattered any rebel attempts at relieving the defenders, though scores of fellow revolutionaries have managed to enter the fort in trickles. General Grazia wants to end the siege quickly to prevent any more revolutionaries from entering the fort and has sent word his forces will protect any unarmed defenders who wish to depart.

     The encounter begins as the party watches a procession of dwarf and deep gnome women and children leave the fort under the promised protection of the Astigaraknana forces. Party members have an opportunity to speak with fellow soldiers on site about their observations during the two weeks of the town's occupation. These require no checks, however different types of soldiers have different information for the players' characters. Cavalry report there have been numerous relief attempts- all of which failed. There were never any more than one hundred rebels at any one time attempting to help the fort- making easy work for the hundreds of cavalry to route, though the cavalry troopers report roughly one hundred rebels over the course of the siege were able to sneak past them and enter the fort.

     The artillery troopers in the heavy infantry units report the presence of frontiersmen from Larrunana among the defenders led by the legendary Maitea Kako- a dwarf renown across the continent for his exploits in mountaineering, taming wild animals, and fighting drow. The grenadiers report there had been internal fighting between the commanders of the fort's defenders which include both regulars and militia. Local townspeople have whispered about a fight between the commander of the regulars- Kaskoa Zubia- and the leader of the militia- Ordezkatzailea Ilehoria shortly before their forces retreated into the fort. Once the defenders who chose to leave the fort have been safely escorted away from the area, the players may explore the town of Lorea which includes:

• Cattle Pasture

• Vegetable Land Clearance

• Mayor's Hall

• Blacksmith's Kiln

• Ceramic Kiln

• Warrior's Hall (Fort Black Poplar)

• Shrine to Clais (Fort Black Poplar)

• Outhouses

• Plaza

• Trails (Base speed 8 in encounter)

     Early in the morning on the following day- while still dark- the players awaken to their officer quietly waking them up in full battle gear. The mustached deep gnome informs them the general has sent word to assault the fort before sunrise in a surprise, all-out assault on the defenders. The players' characters form up with their respective units in the dark and prepare for orders to attack. The grenadiers are stationed outside of the gate with ten ladders, the light infantry in the rear of the fort with ten ladders, the heavy infantry on the flanks- with six ladders for the west flank and two ladders for the right flank, and the militia spread in half with half stationed with the grenadiers and half with the light infantry. Meanwhile, the cavalry is tasked with encircling the fort with orders to capture anyone attempting to flee the fort.

     The party's unit marches forward and must use Stealth checks each turn to avoid making noise as they move closer to the fort over the course of three rounds until an unknown deep gnome from another unit shouts "Long Live Grazia!" giving away their position. At this point, the battle begins. Inside the large fort are only 26o defenders spread loosely across the walls. The GM will need to keep track of Astigaraknana and rebel troop counts. Once the defenders fall to 13o defenders, the remaining defenders will begin falling back into the buildings along the north wall- including the shrine in the northeast corner with a gate the defenders barricade from the inside.

     While Astigaraknana troops storm the central plaza of the fort, a human man approaches the players' characters in despair. With no weapons in hand, he claims to be a slave and begs for safe passage out of the fort. As Astigaraknana forces storm the buildings along the northern wall, they find a few women and children who remained in the fort who are attempting to hide from the violence of the battle. The fighting ends, when all defenders are slain. All defenders with the exception of three are level 1, tier 1 dwarf or deep gnome characters (divided in half between dwarf and deep gnome and all are fighters). The other three are the three officers with Kaskoa Zubia being a Level 4, Tier 1 fighter; Ordezkatzailea Ilehoria being a Level 2, Tier 1 rogue; and Maitea Kako being a Level 1, Tier 2 ranger- all three being dwarves. Additionally, the defenders have six belly releasers, one onager, and seven ballista.

Map of Fort Black Poplar