Cosutanu Fugitives

 

Desperate Fugitives

The three fugitives from Cosutanu have taken the Izionescu family hostage, and are are laying in wait in the inner yard of the Izionescu farm to ambush the party. These fugitives are not murderers, and they do not want to kill anyone, but the situation has gotten out of control and they are afraid for their lives. They will attack if they think they can get the drop on the players, but will also consider surrender if the situation gets out of control.

In most cases, if the players enter the inner yard of the Izionescu homestead, the fugitives will be concealed as follows:

What Happened?

Fearful of contracting Black Rot, Leontin, Adamo and Gisella left the bunkhouse in Cosutanu where they were living in the middle of the night between 19 and 20 Trowel. Knowing that Cosutanu would send warnings to neighbouring villages via the dovecotes, their plan was to intercept such messages in hopes of protecting their anonymity until they were far enough away.

When they arrived here, the Izionescu family had just sat down for dinner, they knocked at the door and tried to trick Silviu into giving them any messages from Cosutanu, but things did not go as planned. An argument broke out, and just then, Giselle saw the player characters approaching from up the road.

The desperate fugitives panicked. They subdued, bound and gagged the family and took them out to the dovecote. They left Stipina in the house and told her that if the approaching travellers (the player characters) stopped, she was to tell them they had no messages, and to convince them to leave. They then took up positions in the inner yard to lay in ambush in case the characters come looking for them or for the family.

If the players uncover what is really going on, either by investigating on their own or by speaking with Stipina, it is likely they will end up confronting the fugitives directly.

The Situation

While there are many ways this encounter could play out, the intention for this encounter is to give players and the Director an opportunity to learn how to play Mythmaster. Consequently, the Director should be prepare for the obvious possibilities.

Surprising the Fugitives

Perhaps the players were very cautious. Perhaps Vivienne-Eve used the Far Sense spell and discovered that the fugitives are laying in wait in the inner yard and the players can turn the tables on them. Or perhaps with Irina Vulpu and Ignacio Zgeseanu, they can declare their presence and convince or coerce the fugitives into a negotiated surrender. The promise of a Cure spell from Valer Dumalc Creek and a punishment of a couple years of hard labour might be appealing to some fugitives afraid they will be dead before dawn.

Walking into Ambush

Perhaps the players are reckless, and force their way into the inner yard, or pay little attention to Stipina before heading into the inner yard. In this case, they are quite likely to be ambushed. This would mean potential surprise attacks against the player characters, which can be very deadly.

The Standard Encounter

Very likely, after speaking with Stipina, the player characters will become aware of the fugitives, and enter the inner yard in a context in which neither side gets the drop on the other. In this case, the Director and the players will have a fairly standard encounter (though one that will be decidedly in favour of the player characters).

Even if swords are not immediately drawn, and blows are not immediately exchanged, the Director will probably want to move the encounter to combat time. In this case, the Director and the players should refer to the combat rules, first reading the entire page together, and then moving step by step, one turn at a time, until the conflict is resolved.

Tactics to Introduce

Regardless of how the situation unfolds, the purpose of this basic introductory encoutner is for the players and the Director to learn most of the core rules of Mythmaster. Even within this very simple context, there are a wide range of things players can do.

Perhaps your players will want to use some of the skills, spells or perks listed on their character sheets instead of simply whacking the fugitives with swords and axes until they stop moving - or perhaps the Director would like to encourage some more nuanced strategies.

If so, consider the following:

Learn by Doing

As a reminder, the purpose of this encounter is to offer both the Director and the players an opportunity to look closely at the characters, and to understand and discuss the different options that are available for resolving encounters in Mythmaster.

Whatever approach the players choose to take is fine; what is recommended is that, as players new to the game, the entire group takes the time to proceed step by step through the encounter, making sure they understand the mechanics and dynamics of play as it unfolds so that everyone will be able to engage with the remainder of the Quickstart Adventure more fluidly.