Battle Brothers LP - Slayin' With the Boys

[Gregz]

I would like to be a Wildman of any stripe. (I assume that there will be deaths and that replacements will be needed)

[Hauberk]

↑ Hitpoints, Fatigue & Initiative.

卐 We're going with Recover.

[Eyestabber]

@Eyestabber:


Don't forget to tell me your perk.

Colossus, Recover, Brawny, Rotation, Weapon Mastery (Sword), Underdog, Battle Forged, Beserk, Killing Frenzy, Reach Advantage, Adrenaline, Student (?).

[Kalarion]

GROWING PAINS, in which the Company is brought to full strength, and Kalarion tries to make money.

First things first: it's long past time for a visit to the barber.


@gerey is now the third member of Dumb and Dumber


Kalarion gets a trim

(Not pictured) @maidenhaver is now as fat as I can make him (not very )

: ahhhhh. Finally I'm becoming my true self!
: Gerey what the fuck. Did you get your lips pulled up?! And that hair...
: Ja, mein herr. Truly do I now look as AUS-getzeichnet as I deserve!
: <muttering to himself> he saved my life, he saved my life, he saved my life...

: <burps>
: For fuck's sake Maiden! Stop waddling or I swear on Anselm's name you'll be running scout duty for a month!
: FOOD.
: Sweet Anselm, why me?

After resting up in Salzfels the mob heads out to Riedland. I want to see if any new work is available.


Salzfels is still Well Supplied from our last contract there, and we have a 3-star and 2-star contract available. Kalarion checks the 2-star. It turns out to be a new caravan escort to a new town, with a bigger payout and more per head if we run into problems on the road:


We've never heard of this place before. Time to check the map and get a feel for how dangerous this could get. As Kalarion heads out of town to think things over, our next Ambition pops up!


This is the last of the two Ambitions I'll be picking with absolutely no input (unless deciding together on Ambitions is too inhibitory to gameplay in the future). Luckily Boontaker is already close to qualifying for the needed perk, and that's the role he wanted to take anyway.

: I've put this outfit together. But we can't be a mob anymore. If we're going to really take the world by the balls we need to be drilled and disciplined on the battlefield. I need a trusted subordinate to keep the men in shape and help control their actions on the field. It's time to pick and train a sergeant.

...

: Listen up you bunch of mongrels! Do you see this banner?! <points at the battle standard> We've fought together under it, we rescued the Captain under it, we bathed it in the blood of our enemies! So help me if any of you cunts ever lets its edges dip into the muck I'll flay you alive and wear your skin for a cocksleeve! Do I make myself clear?!
: ...
: <lowering the standard as if to charge> I ASKED A QUESTION!
: We got it, faggot!
: We don't fucking answer to you Boonie... but you're right. Our standard deserves respect. I'll watch more closely.
: I suppose Anselm would want it that way.
: Ja... Boonie is still a fag though.
: I guess if I'd die under it, I should want it clean and bright when the day comes.
: Fine. No belching or puking on it.
: SHEEEEEEIT, nigguh! What if we need us a tablecloth fo' a good dinner, what then?! Muhfuggas jez don' unnerstand good dinin' etiquette. This place goin to the DAWGS men.

:

We locate Hafnarsholm faaaaar to the West and slightly N of us. On the good side it's through settled lands, so a good chance of no fighting, or fighting with assistance from road patrols. And besides - maybe it's time we visited the North. The company could use a little experience fighting the barbarians, and who knows? Maybe we can pick one up to fight with us.

But first, Kalarion decides to check the other available contract. It's another camp clearance, but this time I have an idea. The general location is given as part of the contract screen:


Why not leave the contract hanging and go there ourselves? Yes, we lose the contract payout and the reputation. But camps used as part of contracts get a great deal of their wealth stripped away as part of game balance. That includes a chance at famed items (the equivalent of magic stuff). It's a 3-star so there's a decent chance good stuff is there.

Kalarion decides the Turtles will go do a little side-hustle hunting. We head S per the general directions given, and start wandering around looking for the place. We use the mountains near Salzfels to our advantage, but initial attempts to locate it are unsuccessful. After camping out in the local forest, we begin our search anew... still no luck the next day. At this point we're running low on food (mountains require massive amounts of supplies per day, and even small dips into/over them runs through supplies at an alarming rate). Kalarion decides to head back Salzfels to resupply.

: Back to town, boys. We'll get some grub and come back to find this place.
: <groan>
: We could just do the mission for the townsfolks' protection. The mayor would probably even show us exactly where it is.
: We can be goody-goodies when we're filthy rich. Right now we need to take every hustle we can get our hands on. Boontaker! Form the men up for march, have them ready in 20 minutes.
: Yes sir. You heard the man! Get off your asses, pack up your kit and let's get to town!
: <groan>

While in town we check on a new contract. It's a simple package delivery for a town called Jerstal. Another new one. In the meantime, the town's warehouse district had a fire roar through it, which means trade goods are being sold at a premium:


1000 crowns!
:
: <snarls>
: It's not bad if we do it, retard! Besides, look at all this money! Anselm has rewarded our fortitude!
: ...

Jerstal turns out to be far north of us, with no towns and lots of tough terrain in between:


Not an attractive contract at this point. Back to looking for the camp! As we move through the mountains:


: See?


: Remind me never to let you shop for us in town.

This event actually has a very interesting - and disturbing - outcome if you have a Cultist in the party.

We finally locate the camp:


Scouting report says a bunch of Raiders. We should be able to handle it. We move into formation.


a hill fort. With Raiders throwing javelins. Right.

: Easy money, I said to myself. Let's make it big, I said. Fuck me.

The fight begins normally enough, with us charging uphill into the teeth of a billman and a javelineer, protected by two shielded raiders:


The second round opens with the Turtles taking damage, first a javelin to the chest for Acrux, followed by a hammer shot to Gerey that completely destroys his armor. Boontaker takes a shot from the sword-and-board raider above him, followed by a solid bill shot to Kalarion. Luckily Kalarion's armor is so strong that he can probably take 5 or 6 of them before he'll start taking serious hits. Meanwhile, the unoccupied polearmers, Fodder and Whiteshark, move north to work around the enemy flank. Gerey casually rakes his falchion across the neck of the hammer raider, dropping him to almost no hp. Then Boontaker takes an action that will be all too common for him:


Then, not to be outdone by Gerey, Boontaker headshots the shielded raider above him! The tip of the battle standard rips a chunk out of the raider's ear, with Boontaker ready to follow-up immediately at the next round's start. Hauberk starts slowly gaining height and pops off a Quick Shot that tags the nearby axe-thrower for negligible damage. Acrux moves to assist Gerey and lands a hit on the nearly dead raider that does...

:

Maidenhaver makes a bold charge uphill past the axe-thrower, who has no ZOC while using throwing weapons. He ends at a height advantage over the axe-thrower. Kalarion tests the waters on moving through ZOC and takes another light shot for his troubles. Angered, he turns to the offending raider and slams his long sword on the raider's leg, crushing the bone. The raider is now in a breaking state. All in all, we open round 4 in a pretty good position:


Boontaker eagerly anticipates first dibs on the woozy, stumbling raider just above him on the hill. With a malicious gleam in his eye, he aims for the forehead and...


: <groans>

The raider farthest north moves to gum up Fodder's pikework, causing misses from both Fodder and Whiteshark. Hauberk lands a Quick Shot hit but again does negligible damage. This will be distressingly common until we can get either a much better bow, or a crossbow (which ignores a significant portion of armor on hit). Maidenhaver lands a solid smash on the axe-thrower (now with his sword out), destroying his body armor and causing him to drop to wavering state. Gerey once again lands two solid slashes on the south raider, finally finishing him off and opening the way to the javeliner. Kalarion stolidly endures yet another whack from the Billman, this time smashing his helmet. This is actually advantageous to us, as it preserves body armor and our helmet can still take another couple hits.

: I'm coming for you.

Acrux charges uphill, moving confidently past Kalarion to end right next to the billman. The battle is swinging our direction. Only one raider left to go this round, and he wastes his turn doing a Rotation with another raider!
Guess how Kalarion ends the round:


: Time to foign

A well-aimed Split guts both raiders, leaving the shield raider dead and the shieldless with a nicked artery.

Round 5 opens well, with the billman ineffectually swinging at Acrux for a comfortable miss, while Maidenhaver weaves around two slashes from the swordsman below him. Suddenly:


: Shit! Whiteshark, Fodder, finish your lollygagging and get over here!

A headshot followed by a vicious slash to his chest leaves Boontaker in a terrible situation. He's low on health and, what's worse, this wound will continuously damage him for 3 HP per round. Even if he never gets hit again he's on a timer. To top if off, Fodder suffers the same fate as Boontaker! Thankfully he's got more HP and didn't suffer an injury, so he's still in the fight. Cool as a cucumber, Fodder fully extends into his thrust and...


: Well done!
Fodder: Thanks! I -
: FODDER DOES NOT TALK! MOVE!
: ...

Gerey faces a tough decision. He still has good HP, and so far he's been a monster in this fight. But his body armor is totally destroyed, and the javeliner uses a sword. On the other hand:
: There is no running in krieg! BLITZ!


He charges headlong up the hill to flank the billman! This has the added benefit of helping everyone on the lower levels hit him.

:


Now Boontaker's up. He immediately psyches up with Adrenaline, then smashes the tip of the standard through the ribs of the swordsman that hurt him so badly.
:

Oystersauce strolls in to confirm the kill.
: YO DAS MUH BANNER NIGGUH! NO ONE FUCKS WIT MUH BANNER!

Kalarion calmly steps below the billman. Maintaining eye contact, he smashes his blade across the legs, once again crushing bone and causing a howl of pain from the billman. Gerey casually dispatches the billman with a contemptuous swipe. He doesn't even bother to put out a line.

The fight is over. The javeliner flees, alone and with no supplies, into the mountains.

: Don't bother chasing him. If the direwolves don't get him, the mountains will swallow him up. He's dead already, he just doesn't know it yet.

A hard fight, against tough opponents! The payout will be glorious! The Turtles eagerly rampage through the camp, finding...


: ...one measly stack of furs. Someone is going to die for this.
: Food. BEER!

So this was definitely a loss money-wise over just taking the contract. But, it wasn't totally worthless. Note the fat stack of gold, an almost full stack of tools, over 50 food supplies, and the hammer and rusted mail shirt. That's the best armor we've gotten so far. We'll be putting it to good use.

Whiteshark gets a level out of the fight:


Note the absolutely fantastic melee and ranged defense rolls, as well as the maximum +3 to melee attack. Eventually we're going to have to sacrifice those three for good rolls on HP, Fatigue and Resolve, but for now I'm very happy with how he's shaping up. He picks up Shield Expertise for his perk. Now we just need to get him a Kite or Heater shield, and we'll see his defenses truly skyrocket.

Acrux also dings:


He takes Shield Expertise as well. Not quite as fantastic, but still solid, and very satisfactory for a cripple. That fatigue is going to need some serious work though. I may end up giving him a handaxe and putting on permanent shield splitting duty.

We head back to Salzfels, doing some armor shuffling and upgrades along the way. In town we sell the furs for a cool 422 crowns. Respectable. We check the available hires but don't find anything exciting - a bunch of miners, an artisan and deserter. Time to head back to Riedland!

Interestingly, the caravan contract is still available but there's also a new 2-star. We check it out.


Hmmm. It's a 2-star so probably a bunch of nachs. Pay is 920. Not bad! The Turtles take it on. After checking to make sure no one needs the attention of the Sisters...
: Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!
: N-!
: Quit whining you lily-livered faggots! We've got gold to earn! MOVE!
: Anselm shows me favor.

We take a quick jaunt to the town's graveyard:


The scouting report has nothing, so we charge in.


This should be good.


A sure indication we're not dealing with the usual brigands robbing graves.
Mood:


: This place makes my gorge rise. Something horrible is happening.
: Yes indeed. Hold steady men! Take a good look.


: What is this filth?! Go back to the Shadow!
: Steady... steady... keep it together... hold for the men...
: They're coming. Get ready.
: Alright men, they may be dead now, but we can make them deader just as easy as anything else! Boontaker, get behind those graves. Oystersauce, Acrux, take the far flanks! Maidenhaver support the north flank with me. Gerey, you've got the south with Acrux. And Boontaker, make those polearms sing!
: AYE!


Take a long look at what we're up against. You might notice something... different.

Wiedergangers are your standard zombie. They're one of the weakest enemies in the game, and the slowest. They can only ever attack once per round, and only the standard attack for the weapon wielded, except under special circumstances (we'll get to that later). But, they're resilient and they usually have at least some armor, meaning they take 2-3 hits to kill, even for people like Kalarion. Much, much later, Kalarion and others like him will be able to one-shot them sometimes. But not often.

They also have a chance to rise again the round after being struck down. The only surefire way to prevent this from happening is by destroying the head, either with a decapitation or a braining (from maces/hammers). All of which means, if you're not prepared, you could get ground down by an endless wave of cold, greasy meat.

Thankfully, we're prepared and we have a good position, with decent shieldbros on the flank and minimum exposure for those bros that don't have shields. We should be able to handle this.

Should.

Most of the round is unremarkable. Oystersauce immediately has his spearwall broken, but doesn't get hit and manages to stab a wiederganger twice. Kalarion comes close to one-shotting a lightly-clothed ganger. Acrux puts on an impressive display, repelling two zombies before finally getting the south flank fouled up. Then...
: Wait a minute. No! Is that...

: Sir Merrimon?! ACRUX! GET YOUR SHIELD UP AND KEEP IT THERE!

This is a Fallen Hero, a super-wiederganger that usually comes with a Heater Shield (high melee defense bonus) and plate armor in degraded condition. They usually have decent weapons too. That axe in Merrimon's hands doesn't look like much, but it's actually deadly at this point in the game. Fallen Heroes are still as slow and unskilled as other wiedergangers, but they have increased stats, and can raise from the dead even with their heads chopped off. They're very difficult to deal with in numbers. Luckily there's only the one here, but even that could be a problem.

My strategy here is for Acrux to permanently Shieldwall and hope Merrimon doesn't smash him to flinders.

Whiteshark claims first... stringy dead flesh, dropping the ganger facing Gerey. Fodder and Maidenhaver follow suit, each dropping their targets. Here's what the end of the round looks like:


...and here's the beginning of round 3:


The round is pretty pedestrian, with a couple old kills reclaimed and a couple more gangers dropped. Now here:


We have a potential problem. Oystersauce won't be able to deal with 3 foes at once for a long time, and we're at risk of it happening.
: Oystersauce! Rotate with me!
: Here we go massa! DOSEY-DOE!
: Excellent. Now I can Sweep these gangers when they try to... gang, up, on me?
: <groan>
The Wiedergangers: <groan>
: <grumbling> no one appreciates my humor. ACRUX! KEEP THAT SHIELD UP!

Merrimon swings and misses, and Gerey and Maidenhaver close out the round with solid shots. Round 4 begins with their closing out the kills, but other places things are getting hairy. The two northern gangers manage to get around Kalarion and threaten Fodder. Oystersauce rushes to support, while Kalarion Sweeps two gangers. He only hits one. Meanwhile the gangers are chopping away with their axes, doing massive armor damage, including to Kalarion, whose body armor is now at half:

Note the massive headshot that Oystersauce suffered.

In other bad news, Acrux doesn't have the fatigue for a Shieldwall this turn. Pleas to Anselm can be heard coming from the south. Merrimon swings...


: Anselm be praised!

The rest of the round is pretty unremarkable, aside from a Swing by Kalarion that results in a ganger beheading! The next round goes decently, until...

: OWWWWWWW damn nigguh, why you do dat?! I's just playin wit you!

The Turtles manage to hold it together, with Acrux continuing to occupy Merrimon and Fodder taking out the gangers threatening to kill Oystersauce. Most of the zombies are now permanently dead (they only have a chance to raise once), and Oyster is able to withdraw from the melee in good order.

: Hut! Two! Three! Four!

It's just Merrimon now. He hasn't done much but no one has been able to hit him since the first headshot scored by Whiteshark. As everyone moves towards the last fight, Kalarion gets an idea:

: Everyone! Surround him!

Knives' special ability is called Puncture. We've talked about it briefly. It has a significant to-hit penalty but does damage straight to HP, ignoring all armor. It's great for causing huge morale drops if you can land the hits, but it's also great for armor hunting.

Equipment on enemies has a chance to drop based on its remaining durability. Destroyed armor and equipment will rarely be in a salvageable state after a battle. There are a couple ways to increase the odds of pulling armor off the field. One is consistent headshots, which save the body armor. The other, is to Puncture. Since it ignores armor, body armor will stay intact after you kill the target, greatly increasing the chance it can be salvaged. One of my favorite things to do in this game is surround a high-value target with bros that have knives out, and stab the shit out of him. That's what we'll do here.

Acrux pays a price for Kalarion's greed, taking a shot that almost destroys his armor. Luckily Maidenhaver steps in and headshots Merrimon to finish the fight. Loot:

YES!! Got it! Fallen Hero armor is less efficient than standard heavy armor, but it still has high durability, and best of all it's FREE! Good heavy armor can easily cost 8,000 crowns. We won't have anyone able to take that much of a fatigue penalty for awhile, but this is still a huge coup! We also got Merrimon's old Heater Shield:

It's not great, but again, better than anything else we've got right now. This, along with one of the axes we just picked up, will round out Whiteshark's kit for the forseeable future. All in all an excellent fight!

We do a round of armor shuffling, level Fodder, and head back for a nice payout in Riedland. 4,000 crowns in the coffers, not bad! We'll be spending a lot of it on recovery but we're still ahead overall. We restock on tools, sell all our junk, and Oystersauce finally gets his turn with the Sisters.


: MUH DIK!

Kalarion stands the men a round in the tavern.

: LO'CHAIM!
: Cheers!
: <whispering> Whiteshark. Get ze flammenwerfer.
: We don't have one

Kalarion goes on a sekrit errand:


Monsters have a chance to drop trophies. Some can be sold for a decent chunk of change, but most can be used at the Taxidermist or Alchemist and crafted into special items or potions. In this case, a Nach Trophy Necklace gives a small resolve bonus. We had just enough trophies to craft one, which goes to:

: Gerey! Get over here!
: <flint-eyed> was mochtest dir?
: No more "mein herr", eh? Too bad. I got you something.

: You've been fearless since day 1. Where other men walk with shields up, you've walked with sword out. Now everyone will know your mettle. Wear it with pride.
: Mein... fuhrer. JAWOHL!

: Oystersauce! Whiteshark!
: Sir?
: Sup boss?
: It's time you two took your proper places in the line. Oystersauce, give Whiteshark your armor and helmet. You'll take his in exchange, along with his warfork. Learn to use a 2-handed weapon until we can find you a suitable sledgehammer.
: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
: Whiteshark, you've always been stalwart and dependable, even... before...
: No need to say more, sir.
: Now it's time for everyone else to see it. This is the best I can offer you now, but be assured, better is coming. Hold the line with pride.
: ...my Captain.

Look at that defense! And he's only level 4. I can't wait until level 11

And that's the end of this portion of GROWING PAINS. More to come soon (TM).

[Kalarion]

I'm going to try to post one more update today or early tomorrow. After that I'll be out on a family trip until next week, so nothing new until then.

@gerey, @Boontaker, @WhiteShark, @maidenhaver remember that you're all eligible for a title as soon as you pick your weapon specs.

[maidenhaver]

Maidenhaver Mace-Talker

[WhiteShark]

WhiteShark Ironwall
(sticking with axes per @Kalarion's recommendation)

[Shillitron]

@gerey snarling at merchants - I lost.

[gerey]

Gerey the Schnozz Cutter

[Hauberk]

Maidenhaver Mace-Talker

Hauberk the Pea Shooter. I have to get my hands on something with a bit more kick to it!

[Eyestabber]

Am I dead yet?

[Boontaker]

The Motivator

[Boontaker]

Maidenhaver Mace-Talker

Hauberk the Pea Shooter. I have to get my hands on something with a bit more kick to it!

Make sure to get quick hands as a perk. I think you can keep multiple loaded crossbows on your person so you can just swap weapons instead of wasting time reloading

[Cogemeister]

I’d like to join if possible, perhaps the first person you come across who is decent with spears (never played this game) and a shield. Also I’d like to say this is one of the coolest threads on the forums, we need more stuff like this.

[Acrux]

After that last showing, Lamecrux needs this:




So proud of my boy!

[Shillitron]

I’d like to join if possible, perhaps the first person you come across who is decent with spears (never played this game) and a shield. Also I’d like to say this is one of the coolest threads on the forums, we need more stuff like this.

I'm more surprised that an amazing thread like this came from @Kalarion .

[Kalarion]

Update: I have the next portion of this session almost completed, I just need to get the images pasted into my draft and so forth. It's short, I'll try to post it tonight before I go to sleep. After that the next update will be next Monday at the earliest (more likely Tuesday).

[Kalarion]

Time to head for Hafnarsholm.


Here's the approximate route. It's hard to see, but Hafnarsholm is directly behind the timekeeper. We're currently just beneath the contract tracker, leaving Riedland. We encounter a small band of brigands about midway to Waidhof - an ideal fight for a contract like this, easy win with low risk and pads out our payout - but they sensibly run the other direction when they see us.

We stop in Waidhof to check the available hires (I was hoping for a poacher, hunter or lumberjack), and see a barbarian instead!


This isn't actually a barbarian, which is an available background. This guy is a Wildman, an excellent melee bro background. I saw his title and had a brain short-circuit. Kalarion hires him on the spot:
@asf: where's my axe-wielding barbarian

Asf was actually one of the first to throw his hat in the ring, but I missed it, so I'm doing a skip to pick him up now.

: Fag
: Yes, but can you fight?
: <smashes a wall with his TREE TRUNK, yes I am serious>
: Hired!


Pretty damn good. I could wish for a star or two in fatigue and HP instead of ranged attack, but 2 in melee skill will do just fine. At first the 91 max fatigue threw me off and deeply disappointed me, but then...

: <slight huffing as he walks, "club" over his shoulder>
: I thought you forest folk were supposed to be hardy and stuff? We're not even walking fast. What gives?
: Forest folk...? Fag


For context, most decent-quality 2-handed weapons have a fatigue penalty of -12 to -16.

: <casually tosses the TREE TRUNK to the side of the road> Hmph. HEADMAN! AN AXE!
: We have this fine selection...


: Too small. I'll wait. Anything else?
: Captain, what about that massive cutter we got off the Nomads awhile back?
: Ooooooh! The Saif? I like that...


A saif is a type of 2-handed cleaver. It causes bleed stacks on its standard attack, and its special does scaling damage depending on how much hp the enemy is already missing. If an enemy is below 50% hp the damage gets massive, and guarantees a decapitate on kill. It also allows 2 attacks per round, rather than the standard one attack of most 2-handed weapons. Its only downside is its low armor penetration. Very useful against wiedergangers.

: <licks the edge> Acceptable. For now. But remember. An axe!
: We'll be on the lookout.

Asf works the kinks out and puts on some actual equipment. Now he's ready to rock and roll:


Halfway to Reinbruch we encounter a nice little event:


Just outside of Reinbruch we run into our first fight:


I have a hard time seeing what it is (the blur is not an artifact of the gameplay video, it's actually blurred like that on high speed unless you pause), and the scout report is useless. Time to see what we're up against the hard way.

Here's what each of the Turtles looks like right now:




Mood:


We're fighting Barbarians, in our first-ever night battle. Like most human factions they have a fully-developed tier system. At the bottom are Thralls. They're big, wield high-damage weapons, and don't have a lot of armor. Then there are Reavers, well-armed and -armored, usually wielding hard-hitting 2-handers or heavy javelins. Above them are... well, we'll get to that later. Barbarians make heavy use of the Adrenaline Rush skill. Their usual tactic is to charge as far as possible in the opening round of combat, and then pop Rush to get the first turn on the following round. Very nasty if you're not prepared for it.

We're seeing a Reaver here.

Night battles work as you would expect. Visibility is reduced, and ranged skill suffers heavily. Sometimes that's a big problem. Most times, since we have a ton of melee bros and enemy archers usually outnumber ours, it's helpful that they have a harder time shooting us .

The round opens with one of the caravan guards charging foolishly forward, immediately triggering 4 more Reavers to run up on him. Glad he did it for us!

: Acrux, Whiteshark, get north and "invite" that lad down to us. If he had throwing weapons they'd be out by now, and he's too stupid to force us to him. Fodder, Boontaker, on me. Boontaker, you're in charge of our heavy hitters.
: Aye, Captain. Gerey, Maidenhaver, asf, Oystersauce, stay right where you are. Those brutes aren't going to have any gas by the time they get to you. Take them down quick. I don't like to think of what those clubs will do.
: <breathing erratically>

Kalarion closes out the opening moves by stepping up and using Split to destroy the javeliner's armor and do some damage, as well as significant hp damage to Mr. Club.

We're in a decent position as the next round opens:


The idea is that to the maximum extent possible, the Reavers come to us or focus on the expendable caravan guards. We really don't want to risk hits from those massive clubs. They HURT, and they also cause the Daze condition on-hit. Daze reduces damage by 25% for 2 rounds. No fun.

So far, everything seems to be working. The northern barb walks off the high ground to do a Shield Split on Whiteshark. I admit I hadn't thought of that when I set the fight up. Losing the Heater Shield so soon will be upsetting if it happens, but it also means 3 attacks that can't damage a bro. We'll see.

The javeliner lets fly... but instead of aiming at the caravan guard as hoped, he plants a needle right through Fodder's ear! Fodder's hurt but not out or ineffective yet. The two southern clubbers charge forward and wait for our loving attention. Gerey opens with a headshot and a small chunk of body armor destroyed. Then, the caravan guard next to Kalarion actually headshots Mr. Club! It's not looking good for him. Maidenhaver pokes Gerey's target to destroy his armor and leave him totally open to subsequent attacks.

Then Mr. Club decides to demonstrate the power of these mauls on the cheeky guard:


A crushing blow to the guard's shoulder, dislocating it, dazing him, and dropping him to near-death. An object demonstration of why we've been so cautious so far. Asf swings twice and whiffs.

: Hrrrrrrrrrr-!

Reaver: Hmmm. You seem familiar.

Oystersauce has more luck, landing a headshot.
: Get yo' head in the game mr. Tree Trunk! Ain't seen you do shit but spit and huff so far, sheeeeeit.

Whiteshark calmly destroys the shield of the northern Reaver with a pair of Split Shields. Then Boontaker once again claims first blood, killing Mr. Club!
: Head's just as easy to hit on these bastards as anyone else.

Fodder lands another headshot on the northern Reaver. Then Kalarion steps forward and slams his long sword into the javeliner's chest. By the end of round 2, nearly half our opponents are dead. Then we see the something that drives fear into any bro's heart:


Shit.

: I seen eyes like dat befo'. Sheeeeeeit. Asf watch yourself!

Reaver: <sneering> I remember now. The tribe made the right decision casting you out. Enjoyed your soft southern living?

Asf, deathly white now, casually side-steps the vicious swing.

Boontaker steps up to help out with the northern Reaver, landing another headshot. The Reaver isn't injured yet, but he's lost a lot of HP and he's dropped to Wavering.

Unfortunately the other clubber has better aim:


One swing is all it takes to destroy Maidenhaver's armor, absolutely demolish his HP and crush his leg.
: ARGH!
: Fuck dat nigga!


: STURM!


: Should have finished the job, peck.

Maidenhaver puts his money where his mouth is, delivering the killing blow. Unfortunately his brand-new injury means he can't back out of the fight, but he should be safe here for a bit.

Meanwhile asf continues swinging wildly and ineffectually, whiffing again.

: Calm! Focus! BREATHE!

The only other highlight of the round is Acrux poking calmly at the northern Reaver, dropping it to Fleeing state. The battle is secured. Only one thing left-


: Awww, come ON!

This time, the Reaver doesn't miss:


Reaver: <leaning in close to asf> Look at you. Couldn't hit a tree. Using a woman's weapon. Maybe I'll use you as a woman when we're finished with the rest of these doughy pukes.
: No. You won't.


Asf can't close the kill because of his injury (his max AP is 6 instead of 9 until it heals).
: Fag- <clutching his shoulder> Hnnng!
: <speaking softly> forgetting something, Reaver scum?


: <spits> That's why you'll never amount to more than dogshit on the heel of the northern lords... can't even bother to see when you've been crushed.

Whiteshark finishes off the panicked northern Reaver.

: Oystersauce.
: Too easy boss.


: Boontaker. Get the caravan back on the road and ready to move. Bring the men to marching order. Gerey, Hauberk, Fodder, search these shitstains. They're savages but maybe they'll have something we can use. Asf... come with me.



Mostly useless junk, but the weapons (despite their ragged appearance) are pretty valuable and I can sell them in a Citadel for decent crowns. And now Maidenhaver is getting his weapon

Kalarion levels up, once again taking melee skill and both defenses, as well as the Reach Advantage perk:


I'm going to have to pause one of the defenses in order to work on fatigue immediately (operating in heavy armor with anything less than 120 base fatigue is asking for trouble, and you really want more like 130 - 140), but these juicy ranged defense rolls are too good to pass up. Eventually I'm going to need to drop a couple good rolls into Resolve too.

: You want to tell me what that was all about back there?
: No.
: Fine. But you'd better get it fixed and fast. That fight wouldn't have ended with you and Maidenhaver riding in the wagons if you'd been as focused in the beginning as you were at the end, with your shoulder hanging loose and blood everywhere.
: ...Aye. I'll remember. Having an axe would have helped.
: We'll see.

To be continued...

Like I said, short. More to come next week.

[asf]

need a bigger axe

[Oyster Sauce]

Does this game have a stats page that tracks who has the most kills/damage taken/etc?

[Kalarion]

No. I believe the closest to a stat tracker is the graveyard page, for your dead bros. It shows number of days with the company, level, total number of kills, number of battles fought, and the manner of death.

It is tracked individually though. You can mouse over each bro's token to see: how long he's been with the company, how many battles he's fought in, his salary, his total number of kills, and the most powerful enemy he's killed so far.

[maidenhaver]

Are we sitting pretty for our first crisis @Kalarion? As far as equipment, lvl, reputation, gold, etc.

We'll need a lot more bros won't we?

[Kalarion]

Are we sitting pretty for our first crisis @Kalarion? As far as equipment, lvl, reputation, gold, etc.

We'll need a lot more bros won't we?

We're currently at full strength (though my posts have not yet caught up to my play). Keep in mind that in a Lone Wolf playthrough, 12 is a hard cap on party strength. We're never going to have a reserve. Instead we can expect to be playing a significant portion of the game at less than full battle strength, while seriously wounded bros recover.

If you have a minor injury expect to see continued service. Torn ear? Too bad, pick up your kit and get ready for the next fight.

And yes, I do expect we'll have our first crisis soonish.

[maidenhaver]