A Wolf Rider Holiday

By Nathan C. Cadwell An Introduction A hard ride on the twelfth night before Geheimnisnacht to fields of gold wheat, vineyard vines, shepard shacks and villages with low walls. The goblin gourds have all been carved, their fires flickering inside, it is time to rise out of hiding, grab a spear and ride the wolves through falling leaves and floating ash. Months of preparation and a night to burn it all. Even goblins have their holidays. Just what is a goblin holiday about? Well, a goblins memory is a pitiful thing. Why goblins do things is more out of impulse than tradition, but a really good impulse can sometimes become tradition. All goblin holidays have a beginning that came out of a really good impulse, from a really impressive goblin, who probably pleased Gork or Mork. From impressive impulsive behavior the weak minds of goblins can reason some kind of greater meaning. Thus a goblin holiday is born and each year goblins will mimic the impulsive behavior of the impressive goblin in ways that hopefully will continue to please Gork or Mork until some other really impressive impulsive behavior catches their attention and a new holiday is formed. Since goblin memory is a pitiful thing, with the creation of new holidays, old holidays are quickly forgotten. Eight years ago, on an impulse, a cleaver wolf rider boss named Nazee Swoopa stole a bucket of rot gut from a bunch of savage orcs and brought it back to share with is wolf rider lads. Nazee felt really impressed with himself and so boasted to his fellow lads that he was far trickier than any savage orc. Such boasting started a little riot among Nazees wolf riders that could only be quelled by Nazee accepting their dares and pledging that he would burn the topknot of hair off of Bola the Savage Orcs head while drinking Bolas tankard of rot gut without getting blamed or killed for the deed. Against all the odds, Nazee Swoopa came up with a plan and by the blessing of Gork or Mork, it worked. Carrying torches late in the night Nazee and two of his best lads dressed up as members of Spinheads night goblin mob and approached Bola to ask a bunch of pointless question. Bola hated questions and it made him shake his head No, in frenzied frustration. His topknot flapped this way and that until one of Nazees lads managed to catch it on fire. With the burning of Bolas topknot there was lots of screaming, head slapping, drinking and fleeing. Nazee drank the rot gut, his his lads got a way, Spinheads mob got the blame, and a wolf rider holiday was born. In the minds of goblins, Nazees Wolf Rider Holiday is about facing off in a confrontation against something that could easily squish them but wont because they, as wolf rides, are far to tricky. Just like in the beginning against Bola, fighting has little to do with the holiday. A Wolf Rider Holiday is not a war. It is an annual event that is celebrated with boasting and dares, costumes and tricks, chasing and fleeing, and lots of burning and stealing. To put is simply you are to get in there, have some fun, stick it to the big guy and get out alive! Nazee Swoopa leads this holiday every year and the holiday will most likely go on until he dies. This is the fourth year in a row Nazee Swoopa and his wolf riders have celebrated their goblin holiday by riding hard through the countryside while evading the Empires forces and

slaughtering or setting fire to anything left defenseless. From their humble beginnings harassing the halfling militias of The Moot they have infiltrated deeper and deeper into the Empire until this goblin holiday they dare to do the ultimate goblin party trick. A great faint and switch that will leave Nazee Swoopas wolf riders free to party hard unmolested by pursuing Empire forces. Nazee Swoopas plan is simple. Give every tag-along goblin without a wolf who joined his Waaagh all the horns, drums, trumpets and noisy tambourines their snatching little hands can get a hold of. Then tell them the holiday party is starting six days early and the best party ladz are the ones that burn the most stuff, make a Waaagh load of noise and still reach the river Reik on time. Once the idiots start their partying, Nazee Swoopa and his wolf-riders will ditch the tagalongs and try to sneak undetected through some of the heaviest populated land in the Empire. As the Emperors forces chase down the noisy idiot tag-alongs, Nazee Swoopa and his wolf riders will cross the River Reik in the dead of night, split up into Waaagh parties and burn all they can until the nights sky glows red from their ravaging. At least thats Nazees plan. It is unlikely the party will be able to stop Nazee Swoopa, after all they can not be everywhere at once, but if their courage holds they just might make a difference.

For The Game Judge

This adventure was not designed to be run start to finish. This is a collection of encounters that occur the day before and through the night of Nazee Swoopas Goblin Holiday. All encounters have a connection to each other and are designed so that the players, through their decisions and actions, will dictate the direction the adventure will take. As the game judge you will have to choose which encounters will work best for whatever your players are doing. Not all of the encounters are intended to be used, but with some creativity on the part of the game judge, they could be. This is a wrong place, right time, and a one day and night in the lives of the players, kind of adventure. I have placed the adventure in Rotterfach near Altdor only for the ease of writing, but the adventure is meant to take place anywhere and can be tossed into the middle of any on going campaign to remind the players that no matter how important their campaign may be there are forces within The Empire that are doing their own terrible things. It is great for making players stop what they are doing and redirect their attention just for a moment. Once Nazee Swoopa runs away then the players can get back to whatever they were doing before. And if the players have a lot of fun... And you want to do a little planning of your own... Nazee Swoopas Wolf Rider Holiday happens each player character year again and again until someone finally kills Nazee and goblin memory starts to fade.

Part I By Command Of The Emperor

Getting started If the players character is not an elf or the Emperor himself, then they are someones property. At least that is how the nobility see things. As people of the empire, even visiting Estalian, the player characters are a commodity to be used in times of need. With Nazee Swoopa running loose in the lands, that time is now. All that matters to get started is whether the player characters are locals to the area or if they are just passing through. Player characters in an advanced career will find themselves in the same predicament as new characters; they are about to be pressed into military duty. The only difference is that advanced characters will be treated with a lot more respect. As the game judge you must improvise. For player characters of the local area go to, For Player Characters Local To Altdorf. For players just passing through go to, For Players Just Passing Through. For Player Characters Local To Altdorf For locals, all knights and wizards, scouts and surgeons, even hard case warrior lunatics have their names recorded in a book tucked under the bailiffs arm. The bailiff has been looking for the party, and a few other people, and has found a PC or two in some relaxed and non heroic place, like a bath house armed only with a towel. The Bailiffs name is John. He is known as John the Bailiff of Rotterfach. He is as pleasant as any bailiff could be, but he is known as a man by the law of the Margrave he serves, and by that law he has made outlaws and beggars out of the kindest of people. When John the Bailiff addresses the PCs it could go something like this: Ah good, Mr./Miss Player Character and your accompanying Dwarf Slayer. I mean you both no disrespect but as there are goblin signs coming from across the river Reik... it is my duty to report that by command of the Emperor you have been officially notified by me, John The Bailiff of Rotterfach, that you are now under the command of the Margraves forces! You are ordered to find and gather your companions (name the rest of the party by name and profession) and report to the watch tower of Rotterfach Vineyard Hill within the shortest time possible. There is a great deal of smoke and noise coming from across the river Reik. The Margrave and his army will be moving soon, and you are needed. That is most likely not what you would like to hear but there it is nonetheless. You are now duty bound, same as I. You have been notified and marked in my book. Fail to report to the watch tower and you and your companions will be deemed outlaws. Fair thee well and good hunting.

John the Bailiff will then be off. The party will need to do the same. However quickly the PCs try to gather together and make it to the Towers of Vineyard Hill they should arrive late. My recommendation is to have a PC or two be off someplace unusual were it is hard to find

them. However you chose to do it, As soon as possible should become a few hours longer than it should be. Now is the time to go to Part II - Short Men and a Tall Tower. For Players Just Passing Through For players that are just wandering through, John the Bailiff and two bodyguards will come across the players as they step off a barge along the river or as the players travel along the highway. For fighting types not of the area, John the Bailiff first wants to try and figure out where the party is traveling to and then to notify them that they are now in the service of the Margrave. The reason why is because John the Bailiff wants to bluff the players into fearing arrest for not reporting to the Margraves forces. In Johns mind it is only a bluff. If things go badly for the empire then his bluff will become the truth. The reason is because the wolf riders will be ravaging the land around Rotterfach where the Margrave and his main forces are not. The Margrave will be looking for someone other than himself to blame. If the players do not provide military service then they will be blamed and they will become outlaws. There are signal towers between Altdorf and Nuln and plenty of fast messengers to spread the description of deserters in all directions. To PCs just traveling through John the Bailiff will say something like this: You there, stop! There is danger ahead. Where abouts are you traveling to? Have you not heard? There is a goblin mob across the river Reik and I am duty bound by the orders of my lord the Margrave to record the destinations of all travelers of consequence for the protection of The Empire. That is why I must ask. Ah to Nuln is it. Very well. I am sorry... and I mean no disrespect... but it is my duty to report that by command of the Emperor you have been notified by me, John the Bailiff of Rotterfach that you are now under the command of the Margraves forces! You are ordered to travel under escort to the watch tower on Rotterfach Vineyard Hill within the shortest time possible. That means you have been pressed into military service. But dont worry, it wont last forever. Youll even be paid a little something for your troubles. But be assured that if you choose to desert from your obligation to The Emperor, then you will be judged outlaws of The Empire. Steven here will escort you to the tower. Dont run off or the guards at the gates of Nuln will be waiting for you. Good luck, may Sigmar fight beside you.

John the Bailiff will then be off with one less bodyguard. The bodyguard charged to escort the players is named Steven. He hasnt much to say but wouldnt mind if the party wants to pick up some supplies from the nearest town so long as a shilling and a few ales pass his way. Otherwise it is time to get a move on and go to Part II - Short Men and a Tall Tower.

Part II Short Men And A Tall Tower

Rotterfach Vineyard Hill is in the center of the wine country. The tallest hill for miles around it is the sight of a round tower with a steep-roofed, rickety square house stuck precariously on top. The tower house has shuttered windows in every direction and a wrap around balcony that does not look safe to walk on. A signal cage, old and rusted but filled with dry wood and pitch ready for use, dangles from above a large barn like door with a first step that drops over two stories to the ground. This is the watch tower of Rotterfach Vineyard Hill. A body of light cavalry dressed in baggy green uniforms are gathered at the towers base. Most of their mounts look like ponies, the men look like boys and someone is cooking with garlic. With little doubt in your mind, they must be halflings.

Rotterfach wine country is a land of rolling vineyards hills and sheep pastures walled in by the River Reik and forest on the horizons edge. Manor houses, farmsteads and water mills dot the wide open views from atop every hill and seen below weaving its way from building to building is a web work of poor rutted roads. These are the lands around Altdorf, and considering the danger that lies just across the river, its almost quaint. After the party gathers together and makes their way to the watch tower of Rotterfach Vineyard Hill, read to them the following: As the players approach the tower a halfling from the balcony will spot them and give a whistle. The Door to the long drop at the towers top will swing open and a thin man will stand out in full view. He wears riding boots, leather chaps and a long coat of miss matched cloth of greens browns and black. He looks like a clown. His name is Mr. Joss Kinckelbach, the captain of the Blue Feet Halfling Rural Security Company and he will be very happy to tell the players that they are late and therefore under his command. Well you are late, several days late, and the Margrave does not look kindly to menat-arms who are not timely. Timing can mean everything in battle and you do not have it. So you are under my command, by his command, the Margrave. You will have to stay with me. He does not need you or any late comers playing catch up with his already organized and marching army. So settle into the idea of being the free company of the Blue Feet Halfling Reserve Company. Here is what I want you to do... by the way, can any of you ride a horse?

Mr. Joss Kinckelbach is not a man meant for command. He might have the mind for tactics but he lacks the confidence to lead full sized soldiers. Halflings are all he can handle and the Blue Feet have taken over a year to trust him. A party of trained and able adventurers will be

very intimidating to Mr. Kinckelbach and he will not want the party around for long. He and his Bluefeet have a lot of ground to patrol that can not be seen from the watch tower and he will need the party to help him out. He will give them their instructions, an extra horse or two if they need one, half dozen green signal flares, and a leather badge to wear around their neck to show they are in the service of the Emperor. Then he will expect the party to go out and do their duty independently. The Players Primary Duties are: To patrol the area for any signs of goblins whether they be tracks, sounds, loosed arrows, dropped equipment or unusually large numbers of wolves and report all such findings to Mr. Kinckelbach at the Watch Tower. Patrol for outlaws taking advantage of a time of trouble. To take action if goblins are spotted by launching green signal flares and then either engage the goblins or maintain contact until reinforcements arrive. To observe the sky at all times for the deployment of green signal flares and to make haste towards any spotted signal flare to lend aid.

After explaining the duties to the players, Mr. Kinckelbach will want the players to go away. They are making him nervous. To get rid of the players, he will send them out on a couple of errands. He needs someone to head down to the river to tell Werner the Ferryman to secure his ferryboat on the Rotterfach side of the river. That is a priority. Then head over to Steffens fields to remind him Yet again! to take his sheep closer to the tower where they will be safe from rustlers until the militia return. Role play this out however you like before going to Part III - Just Before The Party.

Part III - Just Before The Party

Part III - Just before the party contains a few scenes in key locations that give the players opportunities to investigate what is about to happen to them but they are not vital to the adventure. Use them if you want, drop them if you dont. Mostly use them in the order that works best for the situation. Regardless of what scenes you use the countryside has changed a little with the addition of goblins to the area. Here is how. I recommend reading the text boxes below to the players periodically as they move from one scene to the next. Off in the distance you see a dozen of the Emperors deer with their fawns making their way quickly across the crest of a hill. It is obvious they have spotted you but they stay in open sight and never stop running for long. Eventually they slip out of sight behind a hill.

And again... You see more of the Emperors deer resting in an open field in the middle of the day. You have never seen that before.

Something strange and out of place in the middle of nowhere... Chicken feathers everywhere are blowing down the road. There are feathers stuck in weeds and feathers floating as high as trees and some tumbling along in dirty clumps. A whole chicken coop has lost its feathers but nowhere is there a chicken to be found.

And one last time is all it has ever taken to raise the players concern for their future safety... From not more than three horse lengths away, a stag crashes out from the underbrush in a stunned and wobbling way. His crown of antlers are proud and mighty but the creature flees on weak legs slick with his own blood. There is a wound on his hind quarters, a gash or tear in the hide. It is hard to tell. Injured and dying as it might be, it runs nonetheless and is soon out of sight.

Werner in the Weeds - And His Ferryboat

An encounter by the Ferryboat To put it simply, the goblins got here first. Last night they captured Werner in his home and used him and his family to ferry the goblins and their wolves across the River Reik. The goblins are now gone and hiding on the Rotterfach side of the river until nightfall. There are four clues that the players can find to come to the conclusion that goblins have crossed the river. 1. Piles of wolf poop. 2. A sunken ferryboat. 3. A confused and soon to be dead man on the far side of the river and 4. A hard to find trail of giant paw prints through a stream. The players can see parts of the River Reik from the watch tower but they can not see the Werners Ferry House. It is several miles away and hidden behind a hill. It takes the party about an hour to make their way along the road through empty farmland and vineyards to the hill. Once the players drop down the hill to the rivers edge they turn north and follow the river for a quarter of a mile until they reach the dock of Werners Ferry. The whole trip should take about an hour.

The dock is made of wood and is unspectacular. It was made with Werners ferryboat in mind and is just the right height and length for it. There are plenty of trees beside the dock where people waiting for the ferry rest until Werner makes his way across the river. It is a dusty area with plenty of shade and falling leaves and several logs and rocks to sit on.

Clue # 1 If any of the players dismount their horses, then one of them will land in a large pile of fresh dog poop. Its really came from a wolf, a giant wolf but let the players figure that out for themselves. The goblins have tossed the rest of the poop piles into the river and only this one was overlooked. If any trackers in the party wish to search for more poop, they can find several spots were the poop was none too completely scraped up off the ground. Finding signs of poop is an average skills test, figuring out what it means is role playing. Across the river the players can see the ferry house of Werner. It is a stone and wooden building built out onto the water with a dock that runs along side the building and a second dock enclosed in the first floor of the building used to secure the ferryboat at night. From across the river it is obvious that the ferryboat is neither tied to the dock, secured in the house, or making its way across the river.

Clue # 2If the players linger in the area for a while, they will encounter the NPC - The Man Across the River. Roleplay that encounter out according to the Cast of Characters. Getting across the River Reik to talk to The Man Across The River is up to you as the game judge. The River Reik is large, wide and fast flowing. Anyone trying to swim with equipment is very likely to die and at the best they will make it across several miles down river deprived of their equipment and very exhausted. However a skilled wizard might be able to fly across... Clue # 3Currently the ferryboat is a another quarter of a mile or so further north down the River Reik where a wide stream pours into the river and is just out of sight from were the dock sits. If the players start traveling down river they will find the boat easily. It is just off shore and about five feet underwater with the mast sticking just above the water. The goblins tried to give the ferryboat a proper burial beneath the water but failed. The sail is flapping about and making noise but at least they removed the bell as a souvenir. Werner the Ferryman will be found several miles down river, several days later, stuck in tall water weeds by some lucky chap who will go through his pockets before pushing him back into the river, but that is something the players will never know.

Clue # 4 The stream by the place were the goblins sunk the ferryboat is important. Most of the Goblins and their wolves jumped from the boat right into the shallow delta of the stream and then made their way off the road and into the countryside using the stream to hide their tracks. There is now a deep trench in the delta where the goblins and their wolves walked from the River Reik into the stream. The Mud is churned up and lumpy, unusual for a little stream delta. Any player with river lore could spot this with an Easy test. Anyone with swimming or any boat/water/tracking related skills could detect this with a Routine test. For everyone else I prefer not to let them test at all, but that is up to you as the game judge. What they find will influence were they go, and you as the game judge might have something in mind. Only if a player says they will search the stream for signs of goblin prints or any trail should you let them find anything. Here the goblins smoothed out their tracks in the streams sand and mud and all that remains of their tracks are a few spots were the water weeds have been damaged. There is no telling how many goblins passed through here but once the players follow the stream into a little valley and out of sight of the river, it will become obvious. There are a lot of wolf riders and they are starting to split off into different directions! Roll with the role playing punches and dont just give the clues away to the players. If they cannot figure anything out, do not worry. Eventually it will be nightfall and then you can toss Out For A Jug Before A Goblin Bar Fight at the players. Otherwise, there are several other directions the players could go in. Outlaws Spooked From The Woods, if they find and follow the goblin trail up the stream. Farmers With Mean Sheep, if they head off to warn Steffen of the Goblins or Gathering Loose Marbles if they return to Mr. Kinckelbach to make a report of their findings.

Outlaws Spooked From The Woods

An encounter while following the goblin trail It took Nazee Swoopas wolf riders most the night to cross the River Reik on Werners ferryboat, but once they did they followed a stream up into the countryside where they hoped their tracks from the road would go unnoticed. Once they were well away from the road and in the open fields, Nazees wolf riders traveled through the low valleys searching for places to hide until the next night. Bit by bit, a few mobs at a time, the wolf riders began to split up and spread out until Nazees mob was less than half its size. Goblin mobs are hiding everywhere but Nazees mob is hiding in the Margravess private woods. Nazees trail starts at a stream beside Werners sunken ferryboat. It is hard to spot but easy to follow. After the goblins were out of sight of the road they left the stream and began traveling on open ground. At this point it is easy to tell that Nazees mob of wolf riders is made up of over one hundred goblins and maybe as many as two or three hundred. As mobs broke off in their own directions, they formed smaller trails of their own that are also easy to find and follow. These lesser trails lead to Farmers With Mean Sheep or A Very Scary Scarecrow. Wherever the players pick up the trail, if they follow Nazees main trail, they will eventually come across some spooked outlaws.

Further up the goblin trail you see a band of eight armed men making their way towards you. Without calling out or making noise they start waving their arms in the air to signal you. When you wave back, they pick up their pace and run to within ten yards of you. They are dirty and look worn with ragged cloths and mismatched weapons and equipment. They have the look of fighting men without homes. More than likely they are outlaws.

This is the infamous Hackles and his band of Outlaws. They were hiding in the Emperors woods when Nazees mob moved in. By skill and luck, Hackles and his band made it out alive and without a fight. They are now trying to find a safe place to hide and someone to warn. They will tell the party all they know. You should know full well who we are and if you have any sense in you, you will let that be for now. You need be worrying about them woods being full of goblins. Nobody gonna listen to the like of me or my men so you got to warn people. There be a whole army of goblins in the Emperors woods. When they charge out of there its gonna turn ugly. We dont know how many there are, but we know theres a lot. At least fifty and probably more than enough to gut all of you if you go looking for a fight in them woods. There are more goblins hiding here and there. My lad Nose over there , he saw a scarecrow swat a crow off his shoulder. It was a goblin tied up on a stake it was and all acting as watch. Can you believe it? And when we started looking we could see goblins and their wolves hiding in the wheat fields. Not good for anyone I tell you. As few as you are I wouldnt be going anywhere near those woods. Best you ride on and start warning folks. We cant offer much, but if we see you out there and you need help, well do what we can. Hackles wont talk for long and he wont stick around but with a successful Charm test Hackles and his men will be impressed by the party. They will not join the party in an attack against the goblins but later Hackles and his men will be available to come to the rescue if ever the party needs to be rescued. This is not a fighting encounter and it will only happen if the party tries to attack Hackles and his men. If this happens they will be of no further use to the players as potential allies. If the party offers Hackles a pardon, he wont fall for it. So, if its needed: Are you the Emperor? Are you the Margrave? No? Then dont talk to us about pardons!

Into The Wood... Are you Crazy? Nazees mob has no intentions of leaving the Emperors woods until nightfall. The party can stand on the edge of the woods and shout all they want and nothing will happen. If they enter the woods just keep in mind, the woods are large with lots of room to hide in. The players will need to go deep into the woods to find any goblins and that will take time. Nightfall will threaten before the players find any goblins and if they continue to behave like suicidal fools and search for the hiding goblin army, then have the first encounter take place just before twilight. They can stumble across a typical goblin mob on scout patrol who flee before they are killed by the party. If the party pursues the fleeing mob then just as twilight hits, you can either ambush the party with three mobs to teach them a lesson or have the forest erupt into wolf howls, trumpet horns and torch fire as Nazee gives the signal to ride out of the woods and start parting. Once Nazee gives the signal the goblins will only be interested in getting out of the woods to burn stuff. Fighting the players will seem too boring and too risky just before the best holiday of the year.

A Very Scary Scarecrow

An encounter on the way to Steffens Field or anywhere along the road. On the way to Steffens Field you spot a murder of crows circling to land in the middle of a wheat field. An odd sight since there is a man standing tall in the wheat with his back to the party. It doesnt take long before you realize it is only a very life like scarecrow and it doesnt seem to be very scary to the crows. As the crows begin to land, one of them tries to perch upon the scarecrows head. Bending at the elbow, the scarecrows arm swats the crow away and the head bounces around in an angry way. The Scarecrow is alive and seems to be tied to a stake.

This scarecrow is a small goblin that was brought along to be tied up and used as a watch guard. When the wolf rider mob realized their hiding place was less than perfect early in the morning, they moved on but they forgot their watch guard scarecrow. The Goblin is in bad shape having been left and forgotten, and he has nothing of use to tell the players. All around in the wheat are signs that a dozen or so goblins and their wolves were camping here earlier. The wheat is trampled, there are plenty of prints, some vegetables they took from someone and what is left of a rotting fish but that is all. If the players try to follow the tracks, then night will come before they encounter any goblins. Go to Part IV - The Holiday Begins, read the beginning and then go to By Steffens Farm. Otherwise, the players have a responsibility to report all goblin findings to Mr. Kinckelbach at the watch tower. If they go to do this, then go to Gathering Loose Marbles.

Farmers With Mean Sheep An encounter on the way to Steffens Field On the way towards Steffens Field there is a small and leaning farm shack far out in the middle of a rolling field. This is not Steffens Field but there are some large sheep sleeping in a pen and three farmers leaning against a fence. This is just another farm shack like so many others in the Rotterfach countryside. The only difference is that these farmers seem to have already made ready for any trouble with goblins or bandits and are standing watch or they have not been warned at all and are standing around oblivious to any possible danger.

Not all is as it seems. The farmers are goblins in farmer costumes, the sheep are great wolves in sheep skins and the shack is full of sleeping goblins. Like so many of Nazee Swoopas Wolf riders, these goblins are hiding out until nightfall. Every wolf and goblin is asleep with dreams of burning peasants dancing in their heads, all except for the three goblins on watch. It has taken a lot of work to get their wolves to fall asleep and shut up. They will do all they can to keep them from waking. The goblins behavior works like this: If the party yells out anything to them the goblins will wave back and say nothing while keeping their hats pulled low over their heads. If the party starts to approach the shack then one of the goblins will go into the shack to wake his lads while the other two will move to make ready to open the animal pen. If the players try to attack the goblins on watch then it is right to the fight. Right to the Fight - From the side of the road where the party can first see the shack the range is 100 yards. The wolves will stay asleep unless the party keeps yelling for too long or the goblins open the pen or an attack from the party is made. Once the fighting starts it will take three rounds for the goblins to leave the shack and mount their wolves. In another two rounds every goblin and their wolf will be out of the pen and ready to fight in open country. Keep in mind that these goblins will fight with a determination unlike most goblins. If they flee and are discovered it could ruin their own party. However, if the party clearly out matches them, then they will do their best to lose the party and disappear until nightfall.

Goblin Brute WS BS S T Ag Int WP Fel A W SB TB 45 40 45 45 40 25 45 30 2 14 4 4 4 Skills: Consume Alcohol, Command, Concealment, Disguise, Dodge Blow, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (Wolf), Swim, Silent Move. Talents: Street Fighting, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Injure, Night Vision, Stout Hearted (if they flee now the party might be ruined) Trappings: Great Wolf, Medium Armor, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Bow w/12 arrows, carved gourds, lamp oil and stuff for costumes. 8 Goblins in Farmers Clothing WS BS S T Ag Int WP Fel A W SB TB 25 30 30 30 25 25 30 20 1 8 3 3 4 Talents: Night Vision, Stout Hearted (if they flee now the party might be ruined) Skills: Concealment, Disguise, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (Wolf), Swim, Silent Move. Trappings: Great Wolf, Light Armor, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Bow w/12 arrows, carved gourds, lamp oil and stuff for costumes. 9 Great Wolves in Sheep Skins WS BS S T Ag Int WP 30 0 30 30 40 14 25 0 Skills: Follow Trail, Perception +10%, Swim. Talents: Keen Senses, Natural Weapons. Fel 1 A 10 W 3 SB 3 TB 9

Gathering Loose Marbles

Reporting in to Mr. Kinckelbach Activity at the Watch Tower of Rotterfach Vineyard Hill has stepped up since you were last here. There are more halflings patrolling the balcony searching the landscape for signs of goblins, outlaws or whatever. There are more pony riders at the towers base and most are mounted and the cooking has all stopped. Messengers come and go and all the while Mr. Kinckelbach stands at the wide open door on the top of the tower greeting his visitors from several stories above their heads. It is a comical sight to watch Mr. Kinckelbach call down to his halfling messengers and then for them to yell back up all they have found. By the sounds of all the shouting, the sheep are still running loose around Steffens Field.

Once the players have found some signs of goblins in the Rotterfach area, they may want to fulfill their duty and report in to Mr. Kinckelbach. By the time the party makes it back to the Watch Tower of Rotterfach Vineyard Hill the sun should be just above the horizon and the sky should soon turn to twilight. A successful easy gossip test will let the players in on a few things: The Margrave has found and engaged many small bands of goblins across the river but so far he has failed to locate an army. Not a single goblin has been found on this side of the river, but a messenger rode in just half an hour ago saying Mr. Bluefoot located the trail of a small mob of goblin wolf riders in a vineyard near The Jug. He is in pursuit. Mr. Bluefoot is the champion of the Bluefeet and it is from him the company gets their name. He fought a goblin mob four years before while serving as a field warden in The Moot. He swears its the same pack of green skins. There wont be a battle but there will be a bunch of trouble. Maybe Bluefoot is onto something because there sure are an unusually large number of forest creatures running loose in the fields. When the players get their turn to shout out their findings to Mr. Kinckelbach, they must stand at the base of the tower and shout up all that they have found to him while he leans over the edge of the tower door. Under no circumstances will Mr. Kinckelbach let the players into the tower. There is just not enough time for such wasteful pleasantries. The players will have to make their report from the tower grounds. Mr. Kinckelbach will be pleased for any information on where the goblins might be hiding but he will find it very hard to believe a large body of goblins and their wolves were able to cross the river on a single ferryboat. Nonetheless, if the party encountered Hackels and his Outlaws and therefore know the goblins are hiding in the Emperors woods, then he will call to his halfling calvary to make ready. However, he and his calvary will be staying at the tower until he sees a signal flare from the halflings who are already in that general area. He will be more than happy to explain his reasoning if questioned. Goblins in the woods, goblins by The Jug, goblins defeated across the river, and everywhere strange sightings that only a halfling and their commander could understand. Goblins are here somewhere and I will be ready to engage them when they let themselves be seen. Until then I could use someone to go to The Jug and bring Mr. Bluefoot back here! There, you have your orders. Off with you to The Jug!

With that Mr. Kinckelbach will be done with the party. He has other worries and the party is making him nervous again. If the Party heads off to find Mr. Bluefoot at The Jug, then go to Part IV - The Holiday Begins, read the beginning and then go to Out For A Jug Before A Goblin Bar Fight.

Part IV - The Holiday Begins

As the sun sets and twilight turns to night, things start to turn ugly all across the land. However, the players might not realize it at first. Goblin wolf riders are spread out all across the countryside but they are sneaking into position to play their party games. I recommend ambushing your players with the scene Less Than Safe Behind A Wall of Sheep or Out For A Jug Before A Goblin Bar Fight then start reading Green Flares In The Night Sky. Really it is all up to you. The only rule is once you start Part IV you cant go backwards to Part III. The goblins are no longer hiding and Mr. Kinckelbach isnt sitting around anymore.

Out For A Jug Before A Goblin Bar Fight

It is cold; it is windy, and oh so very humiliating having to patrol the roads with a bunch of halfling pony riders on the wrong side of the river from all the goblin hunting action. With an afternoon of following clues and never finding a single goblin, enough may be enough for some players. At least let them find a tavern, and let the goblins find them. Just south of Rotterfach in the center of a farmstead is a community tavern on the first floor of a large three-story home. The tavern has no name, just a sign swinging from under the eave with a picture of a jug and grapes. The tavern serves weak ale and regional wines not fit for trade in clay jugs with narrow necks and no handles mostly to local farmers from the area. The food comes from the home owners personal stores and is sold for an outrageous price. That is because the tavern is a place for singing, drinking and gossip with friends. If anyone wants to eat they bring their own bread. If the players ride up on horses, an old lean lady will stomp out and tell the party to take their horses around the side where they can tie them to a log by the shed. This is a sheltered area were the horses can stay out of the wind and out of sight of the soon to be attacking goblins. For the sake of the players horses, have the old lady stand around complaining until the PCs do as they are told and tie their horses to the log. She will even fetch more water from the well to fill the trough. The tavern is an open area room with a hot fire and a roar of gossip around heavy tables and a creaking assortment of benches, chairs and stools. Everyone in the place holds a jug in one hand and a weapon in the other as they stare from over gray beards or wrinkled cheeks stained by red wine. Even the children have wine stains on their shirts for every farmer too slow or too young to run has walked to the tavern for the safety of numbers until the good news of a goblin defeat. With worry on their minds and nothing else to do they are drinking the barrels at the back of the tavern dry. Gossip and drinking wine is all the players can do here. The old men and women know nothing the players dont already know but will ask a hundred questions often all at once. If the players dont focus hard on one NPCs voice, then they wont be able to hear a thing anyone is asking. The tavern is a gossip free for all, but the drinks are at no charge and will appear from the passing hands of a dozen people. Jugs, most full and some already having been tasted, will pile all around the players occasionally disappearing and reappearing by wine slugging hands of patrons too drunk and entranced by gossip to know which drink was theirs. If the players ever mention that they have found signs that some goblins may be on this side of the River Reik, then someone will start praying loudly to Sigmar and someone else will start throwing up just before

the mood in the room changes to anger at the players for sitting in the tavern instead of trying to hunt down the goblin mobs. Before the players are kicked out into the night go to Goblins at the Door. Goblins At The Door Whenever the time seems right, say just before the players get kicked out or after an intense moment of role playing when the players and all the NPCs are good and distracted by wine and gossip, the goblins will attack. However, this is not a standard goblin raid. This is a holiday celebration raid that involves the gusto of strange dares, great costume tricks, and a goblin treat in the form of a coachmens grenade stolen a month ago and kept safe and dry with loving care. The Goblins went through all their holiday rituals of boasting, betting and ear biting to decide their Boss Brute needs to show his stuff by walking into a human tavern unnoticed with a few of his lads, introduce himself at the door, start a fight, and then chug three tankards of some human brew before running back out the door to burn the place down. Typical goblin holiday stuff. To get it all done they plan to dress in human coats and hats and walk right in with a burning bomb behind the back. The Goblin Holiday attack should go like this: Use a little imagination when the players go and do something out of the guideline below. First (round 0)- Eight goblin wolf riders and their Brute dressed in raincoats and wide brimmed hats typical of the rural peoples of the empire, will make their way to the front door of the tavern. They wear their collars high and their hats pulled low over their faces. They carry weapons low at their sides and a single lantern for the lot of them. They are doing their best to walk as upright and straight legged as their hunched backs and crooked knees will let them. To a drunk NPC they will look like Mr. Kinckelbachs Halfling Bluefeet. Next (round 1)- Two of the Goblins and the Brute will steep through the door. Only a few NPCs will notice. None will recognize them as goblins only because the goblins will act too quickly for any PC or NPC to have the chance. Have the players role their Initiatives (Making modifications for the amount of wine they have consumed) to see if they notice the new guests. Describe them as short men in long raincoats, maybe children, with wide brimmed hats hiding their faces. Any player who sees the Goblins come into the tavern will see the Brute drive his sword through the belly of the same old lady who helped the PCs with their horses. Third(round 2)- The old lady will fall from the Brutes blade as he lifts his hat from his head with a bow and says something incomprehensible in goblin speech that sounds like a bad one-liner. His goblin friend beside him will move forward swinging and killing. Patrons will start screaming as the goblin behind the brute will pull a round sparking bomb from behind his back before giving it an underhanded toss to the back of the room. Fourth (round 3)- Let every PCs eyes track the bomb as it soars through the room. Any PC who passed their Initiative role may take the time the bomb is in the air to do whatever they want such as charging the goblins at the door, diving for cover, or jumping on the bomb to pull the fuse out. To pull the fuse out of the bomb, the bomb must be thrown towards a player (pick any player or group of players) at the back of the room who then must make an Initiative role to dive at the bomb and catch it (putting their body at great risk). Then the reckless hero must make a dexterity check to pull the fuse. If they try to throw the bomb it is the same as pulling the fuse only replace the dexterity role with BS-20 role. Success means the players throw the bomb at the goblins but a critical success will be needed for the bomb to go out the door. If you dont want

the PCs pulling the fuse or throwing the bomb, then just dont have the goblin toss the bomb at any of the PCs. If the bomb is too far away then the players cant jump on it. The rest of the PCs must role their Initiative to react as above. The Effect of the Bomb There are lots of heavy chairs and warm bodies to cushion the blast. The effects of the bomb to PCs depends on their reaction. Successfully diving for cover - No damage just ruined cloths, ringing ears and a round lost to shake the whole thing off. Failing to dive for cover No damage but the PC is thrown to a new part of the tavern and it will take 2-4 rounds for the player to gather their wits and climb out from under chairs, tables, and other NPCs. Diving for the bomb but failing to catch it - take half damage from the bomb as it skitters out of reach and blows up under a table showering the player in wood splinters, leg muscles, and a chunk of kneecap. Catching the bomb but failing to pull the fuse - full damage. Player losses at least one hand and will terminally bleed. It may be time for a fate point!!! Catching the bomb and succeeding in pulling the fuse - Great job you Crazy Nut Bag! Take 25 xps for risking life and limbs to save the team and a whole bunch of drunk farmers. Tossing the bomb at the goblins - it still kills a lot of the taverns patrons but it also kills the Brutes goblin escorts. The Brute however will still be standing, deaf, smoking and splattered in blood and guts but somehow he is still unharmed and more or less ready to start chugging. He has spent the Goblin equivalent of a fate point and will finish his party dare obligation solely for the role playing delight of the PCs. Fifth (round 4) - The bomb will go off unless some crazy PC pulled the fuse. The goblin who tossed the bomb will remain standing with a long fat wood splinter in his neck before falling down dead. The hacking and slashing goblin will be blown to the side to land stunned and on top of a player character who successfully dove for cover. The Brute will be on his feet blinking his eyes with human blood on his face. After shaking off the blast he will grab at an unbroken jug of wine and start chugging. He has three jugs to drink before he can leave the tavern. The six remaining goblins outside will charge into the tavern to join the fight to let the brute chug his jugs. This is the first round that the PCs are stunned. If a player charged the goblins at the door then he or she may only parry if you choose, as a game judge, to have a goblin attack them. There are plenty of armed patrons for the goblins to attack instead and only a couple of them will have the time to do so before some of the PCs and NPCs can recover. If some PC pulled the fuse then... the goblin plan just went wrong. They will lose their cool and flee outside to run around trying their best to stay alive as a bunch of angry drunk farmers storm out the door to kill them. Just keep in mind that in round 9 the goblin wolf riders will come to the rescue and the drunk farmers will start to die. Sixth (round 5-9) - Start the chugging clock and let the fight go as it will. Each jug will take two rounds to chug. The fight will end when every goblin is dead or when the Brute is done chugging jugs. While chugging, the Brute will only parry attacks unless he is clearly out matched. The other wolf riders will charge out from their hiding places and will arrive to start setting fire to every house, barn, and shed on round 9.

Seventh (round 10 and beyond)- Around now the Brute should be done chugging jugs and he and any of his remaining lads will try to flee to their waiting wolves outside. The wolf riders will then ether stay to burn everything or will flee. It all depends on the fighting strength of the PCs and what you as a game judge would like to have happen. If Enough Is Enough, Then Its Time To Flee! It is possible the PCs will want to run at some point. Make it easy for them. There is a door in the tavern that opens to where their horses are safely tied up and out of sight, for the moment, of the attacking goblins. Goblins are burning sheds, the barn, and the tavern house from the other side of the buildings. Eventually the goblins will make their way around to the horses but when they do is up to you. Let the players mount up and flee if they wish. Boo hoo on them, the cowards, but who can blame them. It is never a good idea to fight from a burning building. Let the players get away with a good head start before the goblin wolf riders start to pursue them. This situation can easily lead into the scene, Saved By Outlaws. In Hot Pursuit Do not let the players stay behind for more than a few rounds trying to help people. Their duty is to leave behind a blasted tavern house full of the moaning wounded, pursue the wolf riders who are responsible for this horror and destroy them if they can. If needed, an old man will pull a child from the fire then stand tall to yell to the PCs to make chase. Leave us! Well take care of our own. Do your duty and kill them green bastards before they do this again! Just after that a lady will scream with rage, Kill them, kill them all for what they are! Her eyes, a flashing fire of reflected flame, stand out inhuman and otherworldly from a face smeared and blackened in blood and powder burns framed in a graying crown of smoking medusa curls. The sight of the woman in her tragic madness causes Terror to anyone she might grab hold of. If any PC does not start to chase the goblins immediately, the maddened lady will clutch at them, shaking and clawing and screaming for the PC to go and kill for the vengeance of Sigmar. Any character she clutches will suffer the effects of Terror until they free themselves. Once the PC frees himself do not force them to run away just tell them they want to get some distance between them and the tragic madness of the tavern. Once the players leave to make chase or to run and hide you have a choice of scenes. A Fight In A Field Of Fire, is a good one if you wish the players to have their vengeance but at some point I recommend using Green Flares In The Night Sky.

Less Than Safe Behind A Wall of Sheep

An Encounter where the goblins find the players. This is a first encounter of Nazee Swoopas wolf riders out and in the open but it could be used at anytime when the players get a chance away from the chaos of partying wolf riders.

The path follows a low point in the fields were a shallow and narrow stream flows. At a bend in the path where the stream once cut a low dirt cliff just above your heads the wind changes direction and there is the slight smell of smoke and burning hair. From a distance wooden bells can be heard clunking at a furious pace. Suddenly there is the sound of tiny feet pounding the earth. As the players start to react, dozens of sheep appear at the edge of the cliff. Some spill over the edge taking clots of dirt with them, many others run to where the cliff turns into a steep incline or jump where the dirt cliff is lowest. If the players jump across the stream, hide behind the two large willows that line the waters edge, or stand where they are in the road the sheep will circle the players, crowding in close for protection. The sheep have been herded to this point. There is nowhere else for them to run and a few of them are still smoldering. Give the players a moment to wonder what is happening. It is very hard for the players to move with the sheep crowding at their feet but weapons can be readied easily enough and it is possible to hide by dropping to the ground among the sheep. Up ahead and out of sight there is the sound of crashing through water and the gibber of odd voices. A bark from a wolf down the road from behind the party and the sheep begin to surge and press closer to the players. Then slowly and calmly a gray goblin on a black wolf appears above the cliff with little more noise than the panting of air over wolf tongue and the jingle of the buckles and small bells of goblin armor. The black wolf hunches low with a growl, and the gray goblins back stiffens as his eyes open wide at the sight of the party. Two more wolves appear over the cliff just as the glow of goblin lanterns comes into view from up and down the road and across the stream. It is quickly obvious to the party they are surrounded by up to a dozen wolf riders with nothing for protection but a swirling maelstrom of panicking sheep. If there is a time to attack it is now while the wolves on the road and across the stream are in a sheep killing frenzy and the goblins on the cliff have lost their first round of attack due to surprise.

The Gray Goblin WS BS S 45 40 45 45

T 40

Ag 25

Int 45

WP 30

Fel 2

A 14

W 4

SB 4

TB M 4 4

Skills: Intimidate, Command, Concealment, Disguise, Dodge Blow, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (Wolf), Swim, Silent Move. Talents: Street Fighting, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Injure, Night Vision, Stout Hearted (if they flee now the party might be ruined) Trappings: Great Wolf, Medium Armor, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Bow w/12 arrows, carved gourds, lamp oil and stuff for costumes. 11 Wolf Riders WS BS S 25 30 30 30 T 25 Ag 25 Int 30 WP 20 Fel 1 A 8 W 3 SB 3 TB M 3 4

Talents: Night Vision, Stout Hearted (if they flee now the party might be ruined) Skills: Concealment, Disguise, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (Wolf), Swim, Silent Move. Trappings: Great Wolf, Light Armor, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Bow w/12 arrows, carved gourds, lamp oil and stuff for costumes. 12 Great Wolves in Sheep Skins WS BS S T Ag 30 0 30 30 40 14 Int 25 WP 0 Fel 1 A 10 W 3 SB 3 TB M 3 9

Skills: Follow Trail, Perception +10%, Swim. Talents: Keen Senses, Natural Weapons.

Green Flares In The Night Sky

Making the point, Help is not on the way! Remember those green signal flares? Maybe your party will and maybe they wont. Regardless, as soon as the players finish their first encounter from Part IV, they will look into the night sky and see a green signal flare not too far into the distance. I like to tell them they see a green flare just as they are lighting one themselves, but if they have forgotten... this will remind them they can call for help. Someone else is calling for help and they are just over a mile away. Regardless of whether the players move out towards the signal flare or just lie low in hope of surviving the night they will see, from time to time, fields and farmsteads erupting into flame and

everywhere green signal flares firing into night sky. It is a grim reminder that in all directions Halflings are fighting and dying to save the day. If the players are off to the rescue, then Screaming Wagon Rides will work well.

Screaming Wagon Rides

Chasing green signal flares and a chance to save John the Bailiff You have seen it in the distance for quite some time. It has grown larger as you have come closer. It glows with reflected firelight and twists and spines in the air with its own life. It is smoke, goblin made smoke and comes with the strange sounds of wolves in battle and incomprehensible conversations in shouting voices of joy, cowbells and construction work mixed with the screaming of fire from dry old buildings. All this noise and all this smoke is now moving. You can hear it in your ears, you can see the smoke being pulled through the sky, and it is all coming right for you from just over a tiny hump in the road.

Farther down the road a farmstead is in flames. It had a fence but no walls and not nearly enough people to protect it. The goblins set fire to all that would burn and killed all that would bleed except for a couple of wagons, a fourteen year old girl and John the Bailiff. Many of the wolf riders have moved on but two competing mobs have stuck around to engage in a goblin holiday game. It is a mix between a parade with decorated floats and a chariot race. I know it sounds strange but this is how goblins would do things. As for the girl and John the Bailiff, they are part of the parade. Two wagons side by side roar over the hump in the wide road. Many wolf riders flank the wagons keeping the terror maddened horses running in the right direction. Cowbells and buckets thump, bump, and make loads of noise dragging in the dirt at the end of ropes while severed heads of livestock stabbed onto poles ring the base of two firmly tied towering bundles of hay and cloth that blaze in an oil soaked effigy of some green skin monstrosity. And trying desperately to keep control of these soon to be ruined goblin holiday wagons is a teenaged girl dressed for bed and a wide-eyed man wearing the Margraves colors. Each holds the reins of their wagon with one hand, and each is about to lose control.

It wont be long before the wagons and wolf rides pass by. As the Game Judge you can have the players standing wherever you want them. If they are advanced career characters, then right out and in front of the wagons path is fine. The wagons will scream past, John the Bailiff will beg for the sake of Shallyas mercy for the players to save him, and a few goblins will attack the

players as they charge by. If they are in a beginning career, then a fork in the road is a safe place for the wagons and the wolf riders to pass without the players getting killed outright. I would give you detailed instructions on how to run this situation round by round but by the nature of this scene it cannot run the same way for everyone. So with that in mind, read the stats below, keep in mind the wagons never go faster than Move 6 and each wagon will crash whenever you want it to. Once a player decides to come to the rescue and jumps onto a wagon, I like to quickly crash the other wagon into a tumbling wreckage of flaming doom. Wow, does that get a reaction, and it raises the Hollywood heroic level! It is up to you as to whether or not the girl dies, but remember she is fourteen and has just lost most of her family. She will not be jumping into any players arms unless they are a motherly figure. John the Bailiff will survive and be in fighting condition even if his wagon crashes so long as the players chase off the wolf riders. The wolf riders are having far too much fun to think clearly. They will follow the burning wagons shouting and whistling and blowing horns. A few will notice the players and attack, others will just ride off and watch the wagons and the killings from a safe distance, and some will just be oblivious little firebugs. Their stats below reflect their holiday induced idiocy:

A Fight In A Field Of Fire

Coming To The End Of A Long Night Wolves can run and run and run. They can run farther and faster than a horse, and it is not every horse that will want to catch a wolf. How then do you kill what you cant catch? As the PCs chase after the wolf riders this will be their reoccurring problem. A Fight In A Field Of Fire is a scene designed around the frustrations of pursuing an enemy that is skilled in the tactics of evasion. It is easy to follow the goblins, their trail is a road of smoke and ruin. It is easy to spot the goblins on the horizon for they run though open fields with torch in hand and fire in their wake. It is easy enough to come upon them as they plunder, murder and destroy all that is weak and vulnerable, but the PCs are not weak and the goblins will be quick to realize this. They will flee and disappear before PCs with little more than a goblin or two dead for all the PCs efforts. This is the way of pursuit until one side makes a mistake. If the PCs give up then that will be their mistake. If they stick it out then the goblins will make their mistake and the PCs will have their kill in a field of fire. There are a few things your players might try to do. They might 1. chase after the goblins in hopes of catching up and attacking them, 2. Try to ambush any goblins that pass by, 3. Hide until it is all over. Or 4. Try to find some help. For each of there is a mini encounter. After the mini encounters I give to you the main encounter

A Futile Chase
It has taken great effort. Your spine aches from the hard ride, your horses froth at their mouth and seem to be growing weaker, but up ahead there is hope for a goblin kill. They have come to a vineyard farm house and have slowed down or stopped to loose arrows, start fires and cause mayhem. It is as if they have forgotten you were right behind them in hot pursuit.

Indeed the wolf riders have forgotten the characters and with good reason. This is a vineyard farmhouse with wine to steal and people to shot at. Mix that with some fire and you have some holiday fun a goblin cant refuse. Now these goblins are very distracted. As the old farmers and their young sons fire arrows from inside the house many of the goblins will circle the house firing back with their short bows or they will throw rocks, torches and occasionally their own lanterns back at them. Some goblins will be looking for something to steal like tools or little pigs, others for something to set on fire. But a few goblins will jump off their wolves and attack the front door with hand axes. Every goblin is so distracted that for the first two rounds of fighting they must make a perception test to even realize the players are attacking. Any goblin that spots the players will just run away. After two rounds, though, every goblin will have figured out what is going on The goblins are all about attacking old men and their young sons but battle hardened adventurers... no. They will all flee! However, the three goblins that jumped off their wolves will be in real trouble. Their wolves will be so into attacking the players horses that the goblins will not be able to remount. Worse yet for the goblins, once one of the wolves is seriously injured the other two wolves will run away leaving the three goblins to die. After this fight the players will never be able to catch the wolf riders again. It will be time to go to the mini encounter Attacked Form Behind.

These are the same goblins from The Jug plus a second goblin mob making room of one or two Goblin Brutes. 1 or 2 Goblin Brutes WS BS S T 45 40 45 45 Ag 40 Int 25 WP 45 Fel 30 A 2 W 14 SB 4 TB 4

Skills: Consume Alcohol, Command, Concealment, Disguise, Dodge Blow, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (Wolf), Swim, Silent Move. Talents: Street Fighting, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Injure, Night Vision, Stout Hearted (if they flee now the party might be ruined) Trappings: Great Wolf, Medium Armor, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Bow w/12 arrows, carved gourds, lamp oil and stuff for costumes. 11 Distracted Goblins WS BS S T 25 30 30 30 Ag 25 Int 25 WP 30 Fel 20 A 1 W 8 SB 3 TB 3

Talents: Night Vision, Stout Hearted (if they flee now the party might be ruined) Skills: Concealment, Disguise, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (Wolf), Swim, Silent Move. Trappings: Great Wolf, Light Armor, Hand Weapon, Dagger, Bow w/12 arrows, carved gourds, lamp oil and stuff for costumes. 13 Great Wolves WS BS S 30 0 30 T 30 Ag 40 Int 14 WP 25 Fel 0 A 1 W 10 SB 3 TB 3

Skills: Follow Trail, Perception +10%, Swim. Talents: Keen Senses, Natural Weapons.

Trying To Ambush Goblins Trying to ambush the goblins will not work very well. As they sit in a ditch or up in a tree waiting for something to wonder pass for them to kill I recommend pointing out the green signal flairs in the sky. Have them make secret average difficult intelligence rolls then give them a clue about the signal flairs. The Truth is all the flairs are getting farther away because the goblins are moving farther south. The players chances of ambushing a goblin are not good. If they do not get it have a unit of halfling pony riders race up the road. The halflings are responding to the signal flairs and will be very disappointed to find the players lounging around in ditches and trees. They will do what they can to convince the players to join them in the chase. 6 Halfling Fieldwardens WS BS S T Ag Int WP Fel A W SB TB 25 55 25 30 55 30 35 35 1 8 3 3 Talents: Night Vision, Sling, Fleet Footed, Stout Hearted, Rapid Reload, Rover. Skills: Concealment, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (pony), Swim, Silent Move, Search. Trappings: Sling, Bow and 20 arrows, sword, spear, light armor, green uniform, pony with saddle, and lots to eat. 6 Ponys WS BS S T Ag Int WP 25 0 35 35 35 10 10 Skills: Perception, Swim. Talents: Acute Hearing, Natural Weapons. Fel 0 A 1 W 12 SB 3 TB 3

Hiding Until It Is All Over Well that is up to you as the game judge. I never let them. Hiding is the same as Trying To Ambush Goblins, so just read from above and let the halflings make them feel like the real cowards they are. Oh right... and by the way, the party should get into some real hot water for disobeying orders and doing this sort of thing. Trying To Find Some Help Now that is not a bad idea! This is a great time for the players to ether meet the halflings of Trying To Ambush Goblins from above, or to meet three times as many halflings including Mr. Bluefoot himself! Mr. Bluefoots is a halfling hard case who fought Nazee Swoopa four years before at The Moot and has done so every year since. His only motivation will be to trap the goblins and make

them fight it out. This is the only way to stop Nazee, Mr. Bluefoot knows it and his halfling comrades are in with him. This is when you go on to Finding The Field of Fire.

Mr. Blue Foot - Halfling Champion! A rare thing indeed.

Im here to kill green skins and eat pastries, and Im not opening my lunch bag until I have a goblin head to sit on. WS BS S T Ag Int WP Fel A W SB TB 65 80 40 45 75 40 55 45 3 14 4 4 Talents: Hatred (goblins) Night Vision, Fleet Footed, Lightning Reflexes, Lightning Perry, Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Special weapon groups (Entangling, Throwing, Sling, Gunpowder, Engineer) Stout Hearted, Rapid Reload, Rover, Master Gunner. Skills: Dodge Blow, Intimidate (anything small and some cowardly humans like Mr. Kinckelbach) Concealment, Follow Trail, Perception, Out Door Survival, Ride (pony), Swim, Silent Move, Search. Trappings: Repeater Pistol and 18 shots, Sling and 20 stones, sword, spear, light armor, green uniform, pony with saddle, lunch bag and one dwarf sized grudge. His Pony WS BS S T Ag Int WP 25 0 35 35 35 10 10 Skills: Perception, Swim. Talents: Acute Hearing, Natural Weapons. Fel 0 A 1 W 12 SB 3 TB 3

Attacked From Behind

Any time the players attempt to chase and catch or move through the countryside they will be susceptible to goblin harassment. That is because they are skilled in evasion and pursuit. They know how to run, they know how to cover each others retreat and to them it is all apart of the Goblin Holiday celebration. Mixed with the superior movement and endurance of great wolves and the party will have great difficulty getting anywhere when wolf riders are nipping at the players heels. The wolf riders intentions are to injure or kill horses with bows, spears, or wolf fangs until the players are forced to ether split up (leaving their comrade behind to most likely die) or slow down to humans pace. This is done by having one or more mobs running along the flanks of the players just out of attack range. When the time seems right (like when the players get close to catching up with a mob they are chasing) they flanking mob will move in and attack with bows. Usually just by making a feint charge the players will stop the pursuit and turn around to face the goblins. Do this ten or twelve times and not only will the players horses be exhausted but the players will probably realize they are getting no where.

To do this use regular goblin wolf rider mobs in any numbers you like. It wont matter how many because unless the players are unable to defend themselves, the goblins will not consider it to be in the spirit of the holiday to try to kill the players. If ever the goblins evasion tactics work well enough for the players to give up the chase then go right to Finding The Field Of Fire.

The Field Of Fire

And So It Comes To An End At this point if the players still have some fight left in them, then the goblins will make their mistake. Whatever condition the players are in,. maybe they are forced to walk on foot or maybe they have some halfling fieldwardons and even Mr. Bluefoot with them, they schould come to a point where they realize they no longer can pursue the wolf riders and instead they must intercept them and force a fight. It is getting late into the night. What horses you have left are in terrible shape. The goblins seem to be impossible to catch. Through all of your effort what difference you have made to the people of the Rotterfach, it is not enough. By the hand of Sigmar and Ulric both you need a miracle. And from on top of a great hill, second tallest only to the watch tower, you can see the land all around. There are wolf riders everywhere burning the wheat fields and attacking the vineyards. They are not moving as a single body of goblins but as many scattered mobs. Still, most of them are moving in a like path through the lowlands of the wheat fields that curve back around towards your hill in a great angry arch. If you travel across country in the path that Morrs Crow would fly, you just might be able to intercept the wolf riders in the largest of the fields or wheat. There are a lot of goblins down in the valley field. Well over a hundred. A fight could turn very ugly for you, but then maybe Sigmar and Ulric will fight by your side.

The charge through the open country is the time for all those NPC to come together. Some of the NPCs like John The Bailiff, Mr. Bluefoot and who some halflings may already be with the players but more will come. Green signal flairs will launch from nearby and then soon Mr. Kinckelbach and more of his pony riders will join the party with grim hellos and granite stares of determination in their eyes. Old men and women with pitchforks and hand weapons will start to show up here and there out of hiding and even Hackles and his Outlaws will drop out of trees and run up to beside one of the players. Simple people, outlaws, halflings and a few player characters are all in it together. There will be a fight. Do your best. This is about heroics. Hiding in the wheat at the far end of the largest field Mr. Kinckelbach, Mr. Bluefoot, John The Bailiff all the peasants and halflings will set up and dig

in to ambush the wolf riders. The players can do whatever they want but if they wander to far away the outlaws will stick with Mr. Kinckelbach. You can hear the goblin mobs and their wolves coming closer. They are not a line of marching green skin solders, they are a mobile party without any organized mind. Everything is on fire and it is quickly getting out of control. Smoke and the glow of fire light is strongest up ahead but the halflings have set fire to the wheat on your flanks as well. A wall of fire presses in on you from all side but save for from behind you. Fire is herding the wolf riders your way, and in their great numbers they are making a terrible noise.

Smoke and heat will make melee and ballistic combat have a -10% penalty. However the goblins and their wolves are really choking up in all the smoke so they will be at a -15%. Keep in mind like everything else this is not a battle. Although you are close to having a tiny army with the peasants, halflings, outlaws and heroes... it is not. The lines will be thin and the goblins can ride right through. However this will hurt the goblins. Combat lasts for 12 rounds. Rounds 1-6 are light with only a few goblins trying to run through. 0-1 goblins is all the players should have to worry about. Rounds 7-8 are heavy with 02 goblins per round to every player at the front of the line. Rounds 9-10 are intense with 1-2 goblins per round to every player at the front of the line and many goblins getting tossed off their wolves by NPCs with halfling spears. Rounds 11-12 are very light. Just a few goblins will move through that you can give to any player that seems to want more to kill. Mostly these rounds are used by the players and the NPCs to kill any goblins or wolves that can not run away. Just remember all those movies and you should know what to do. Here are some rules of battle to follow that will make everything easy. Every goblin that riders through must make a challenging perception test to avoid being surprised. Surprised goblins may only take a full action to keep running through the line. Any goblin that is not surprised counts as having charged into battle. The only goblins that will stay and fight are goblins that are knocked from their wolves. In any one round 0-2 goblin wolf riders will ride close enough to a player to be attack and to attack in melee combat. How many is up to you. I chose to have very few goblins at first, lots all of a sudden in the middle of the fight and very few at the end. No goblins will be able to use a ballistic weapon. As far as the NPC in battle goes you make it up. There is no need to role dice for them. One in three will be injured at the end of the fight. One in five of those will be dead. The peasants will take the most casualties. John The Bailiff will take the most injuries but will not die and will still be able to move around. As for the goblins, one in four will die at the hands of the NPCs. That will make for 30 goblins plus however many the players kill. None of the players will see or have a chance to kill Nazee Swoopa, but when he passes though the line Mr. Bluefoot will fire off all six shots from his repeater pistol. Nazee Swoopa will still get away!

The battle ends when the last goblin dies and a barrel of poor local wine roles to a stop at a players feet. With all the trampled wheat the fire will burn itself out 2and the players will be able to fall where they stand and dress wounds and drink wine.

So just as a reminder this is who is in the fight. Not all of the NPCs have stats because it is not necessary for the adventure. John The bailiff. Mr. Bluefoot. Mr. Kinckelbach 22 halflings 9 peasants Hackles 7 Outlaws 120 wolf riders their brutes and Nazee Swoopa.

Part V
Wounds, Wine, And Something To Eat
I trust the party as lived. If they fought in a field of fire then they are heroes indeed. I recommend some roleplaying with the NPCs at the end but you just might be exhausted. Regardless the players have made some friends and future allies. John The Bailiff will gain the satisfaction of his Margrave and will only have good things to say about any players who fought in The Field Of Fire. The margraves reward to the players will be a full two months wage for their currier and his recognition and possible aid in the future. Whether the Outlaws are pardoned is up to you. Experience can be rewarded however you like but this is what I recommend. 100 xp for surviving. 50 xp for fighting in the field of fire. 10 xp to any zealots or clergy who prays to Sigmar or Ulric, and 30 xp to any other players who pray out loud for good role playing and getting into the spirit of things. 0-50 xp for great role playing. 15 xp for trying to save John The Bailiff and the girl. 15 xp that went the whole adventure following orders. 0-25 points for figuring out any of the clues without the game judges help.