Bataille de Terrabil

Military: Battle

Source: Malory I The army assembles around Terrabil and sets up a siege. It is long and boring. One day, Merlin departs from the siege of Terrabil, destination unknown top all but himself. That night, before the king’s army can be strengthened by more troops reported to be on their way, the duke sallies forth and falls on the king’s army in camp. Before the Battle: It is night. The knights are in camp relaxing and carousing when a sentinel shouts. A moment later, a trumpet blares and is cut off halfway through the call to arms. At the far edges of the camp — several places! — men shout, horses scream, and metal clashes upon shield. This is a surprise attack, so none of the usual modi- fiers for commanders’ Battle rolls are used. Nonetheless, treat it initially as if it were a battle, but with just with 1 combat round per battle round. Ask the players, “Will your knights don their ar- mor before fighting?” They need not do so, and can rush off immediately to fight without armor (or perhaps just shields). If some knights wish to do this, have their squires or fellows shout warnings at them to armor up. “Fighting Cornish knights without armor will be fatal!” If they wish, however, they can run away and fight with- out armor. There’s a good chance they will be killed or badly wounded, but sometimes people need a lesson on just how useful armor really is. If they do not run off, they can do one of two things with their squires’ help: either arm, or prepare a horse. Both require a full round for the squire. As they perform one of these two things, they hear the battle coming closer and they see camp followers panicked, some wounded, rushing past them. After one round, ask whether each knight wishes to rush to battle or to perform the other possible action (i.e., either horse or armor). If they wish to prepare for a second round, they can be both armed and mounted. Get their answers, but then inform them that before they have a chance to complete the second action, they are attacked. Those knights who chose to rush to battle this round are prepared and can fight back, while the others are unprepared and suffer a –5 modifier to com- bat skills for being unprepared (this round only). Length of Battle: 2 rounds + see below. Modifiers: As above (otherwise none). In each of the first two rounds, roll 1d6 for the player knights’ opponents: d6 Roll Opponents 1 Irish kerns armed with bows 2 Footmen 3 Armored guardsmen with great spears 4 Young knights 5 Veteran knights 6 Notable knights Each round, describe the melee and the sounds of battle; they can hear Prince Madoc shouting, “Rally to the banner! Rally to the banner!” and they can see the banner fluttering in the light of burning tents and sup- plies. They know it is their duty (and to their advan- tage) to rally there, and they ought to fight their way towards their commander. 3rd round: Tell the knights they can see that Prince Madoc, now afoot, is hand to hand with Duke Gorlois, who remains mounted. The duke is shouting, “Stand aside! Send me your father.” Ask if the player knights wish to abandon safety and rush towards the prince, let- ting their next foes take a free hit upon them, or if they prefer to fight their way slowly toward the prince. 4th round: Whether they ran to help or fought steadi- ly, the player knights witness the duke send the prince’s weapon flying from his hand, and then chop hard upon the prince, cutting him from the neck deep into the chest! (This is a critical success for the duke against a fumble for the prince!) The prince stands, dumbfounded, deeply wounded and glaring at the duke, blood trickling out of his mouth and spurting freely from his wound Now player knights can choose. The blood-soaked duke tugs at his sword as he turns upon them and shouts, “Where is the king? Send me the king!” He is clearly im- passioned with hatred, deadly and intent upon the busi- ness of destruction. Warn the players of the danger here, even to the point of telling them openly, “His Sword skill right now is 33, you know. Are you sure you want to fight him?” Be sure to describe pointedly that his sword is lodged in the body of the prince. If a player asks whether his sword is stuck (i.e., so that he is effectively disarmed), tell them that it appears to be stuck, “but you can’t tell how badly. He can prob- ably fight against you.” Let the players decide whether to attack or not. If they do, they each get a free attack upon the duke, whose sword is stuck firmly in the body of the prince. The prince collapses at the end of this round, and Gorlois’s sword goes with him; the duke reaches for the mace hanging from his saddle. As soon as the knights have struck the duke, his own bodyguard intervenes, all of them veteran knights on horseback, shouting, “Gorlois! Gorlois!” Treat them all as being inspired by their Loyalty (lord) passion. 5th round: Fight on. More knights may intervene to help the player knights. Maybe they interpose them- selves between the bodyguards and the duke, letting the player knights hack their foe to pieces. All the play- er knights may fall, but the purpose here is to kill the duke. If the players do not succeed, then other knights in the camp do. 6th round onward: The fight rages on, but when his bodyguard set up the cry “The duke is dead!” his army loses heart and withdraws. Trumpets sound the retreat and they back out of camp, leaving behind fire and chaos along with the dead and wounded. Post-Retreat: “On them! On them!” shouts Duke Ulfius, leading a band of surviving knights in pursuit of the retreating Cornish enemy. If any player knights are still hale, the Gamemaster may allow them to pursue the enemy to the castle, perhaps even entering the castle first and leading Uther’s forces in its capture. After the Battle The carnage viewed in the daytime is horrible. The castle is afire in places, with knights and men at arms milling around and the sounds of men shouting and women screaming from within. Victor: Royal forces, but with serious losses. Plunder: None. Glory: 30 per round, plus any gained from defeated foes. Killing the Duke: 250 Glory among any who helped. Leading Attack into Castle: 250 Glory among any player knights who led the way.