The Wilds - Tight Quarters

As the group discusses the plan for getting down in the hole, Saurabh speaks up, "I think Ingvild has a good idea. Let's save the levitation for escape, not for getting down. We have a rope ladder, and these rocks are big enough to serve as a secure tie-off. Use a length of rope to suspend the ladder from the rocks, cover the exposed parts with some of the debris here, and get moving." [Recall that at least some of the previous room occupants have used the crevice as a disposal chute.]

The Wilds - Nothing Like a bit of Rain

It takes the party over two hours to cover the remaining distance to the Maze. The continued rain has done the imposssible: made the area even more of a mucky mess. As the party gets close to fog-shrouded walls, Ava takes a pass around the ruin. She returns and reports no sign of activity within the walls. The party advances cautiously, well-aware of the steel-jawed traps that might lurk in the mud.

The Wilds - The Kobold Conversations

When the other members of the party see that Ohwatoo is getting answers from Skarg, the questions pour in. "One at a time!" growls the mage, bringing some order to the process. Turning back to the kobold, he asks, "Now then, how many of these swamp walkers have you seen?"
Skarg scowls and looks down at his fingers, muttering. "Skarg remembers seeing more than one pack. Maybe seven or nine. Or eight. Not sure."

The Wilds - Tense

When we left our party, they were cleaning up the mess after their fight with the brutes, gnolls and kobolds. The last few lines of the last turn...

As Raúguey gets close, there are squeals and shouts from inside the hut. He pauses a few feet away. "Can anyone make out what they're saying?"

Grendor frowns. "It sounds like 'Don't kill us, we surrender! We will leave this place forever and never come back! Don't kill us!'"

"It's a trick," says Durego. "Light them up!"

And that lead to...

The Wilds - Cleanup, Hut Three

Most enemies are down, but we stuck with combat rounds this turn, because there are still fleeing gnolls and cowering kobolds around. Since there are no visible enemies, initiative isn't really a factor.

The Wilds - Down and Out in Blackpool

Let's just get into the fight, shall we?

Wilds - Mud Show/Blood Show!

The fight continues at the entrance to Blackpool Maze.

Wilds - Wet War

OOC: A general note on conditions: this place is a mess. The water is ankle to shin deep most places, and the pools are waist-deep or more. The ground is thick mud. There are a few boulders that stick up from the water, but it's clear the rains have done a good job flooding this place. The structures you see are made from rough-cut timber and elevated a few feet (on boulders and logs). It looks like the roofs are covered in hides, as are the doorways you can see.

The Wilds - Oh Snap!

"But we don't know what's in there," says Durego, for the third or fourth time.

"And there's only one way to find out," answers Raúguey, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "They're holed up, and not moving. Maybe there's no one there, or maybe there are guards. With this mud and rain, we're not going to be able to sit out here and watch, and when night comes, they'll find us for sure if they send out patrols. Best hit them fast and hard, before they can react." He looks around the group and sees nods from Grendor, Strom, Ingvild and Maro. Ohwatoo is peering between the reeds, looking at the lake and the ruined tower on the isle, just visible in the mist.

The Wilds - Camped

Start Date: March 28, dawn
Start Status: No damn good in the mud
Start Location: The Wilds, south of the Maze

The Turn

The clouds on the horizon were a sign. Overnight the weather turns miserable. Gusty wind brings rain, thunder and lightning, turning dawn into a gray and dismal affair. Ava managed to do a quick survey of the surrounding woods before the weather got too bad and tells Mordikarr she did not see anything threatening nearby. The party spends the morning moving camp to their chosen site, the small hill with a spring in a shallow cave near the base. Once there, the thoroughly soaked scouts survey the immediate area while the others attempt to create a reasonably dry and safe campsite. The worst of the wet drains away from the site, so the mud is only a few inches deep atop the hill.

Wilds - Circling the Maze

The wooded hills and a nearby stream lead the party to believe that they'll find a good campsite soon. After some debate about direction and distance, the group agrees to explore the current area and to extend their search south a ways to eliminate any possibility of an extant threat to the site they choose.

Wilds - Cloudy, with a Chance of Frog Legs

Camping in a swamp, in the pouring rain. What could be finer?

The Wilds - Walkin' in the Rain

The party continues their circumnavigation of Blackpool Maze, both to get the lay of the land and to find a good site for the mules and new guards. Wouldn't do to lose another set so soon.

The Wilds - Back to Blackpool. Again.

The party has an easy go of it for the first few days, but as they reach Needle Spire, that changes a bit. Trouble at the Spire? Trouble with the hirelings?

The Wilds - Out and Aboot

Finally! We're back on the road and badder than ever! It took a while to get the group organized and get past the winter doldrums (which were actually work and summer vacation related). Now we're moving! We're also on the 240th turn of this game. That's... a LOT of turns.

The Wilds - Spring Fever

Well, the around-town activities have mostly wrapped up, real-life time sinks are shrinking, and the party is getting ready for their next expedition. There are still details to work out, but... yay, another turn!

The Wilds - What's Up?

Despite the lack of posts, The Wilds is still moving, but things are barely moving at the moment. We're dealing with some party logistics and some screwy schedules. In the game, it's late December, and the party has decided they're going to spend the winter in town. Here's a quick recap of the last few so-called turns, plus a short history lesson.

The Wilds - Some Meta

Since the party is dealing with logistics, levels and such...

When this game started, it was going to be a dungeon-crawl game, and because I run it via email, the pace is slooow. I didn't do a lot of prep for the game before I started it up because I wasn't sure how long it was going to last. I needed a map, because I always need a map. I threw together the current overland map of Hembard Wilds as the area west with minimal thought.

That was 2 1/2 years ago.

Recently, in part because the party has become more interested in town/civilization things, I've been doing some research/work on figuring out exactly how big the place is and how many people live there. Guided by some material gleaned from ACKS discussions and an excellent article on medieval demographics as they relate to gaming...

Behold! The Wilds, realm of Thambar the Prudent, Lord of Hembard Wilds, Defender of Highcliff Keep, Recognized Lord of the Peerage of the Kingdom of Jal, Meisterburger of Auslaug, Hustwood, and Brekkevale.

• Total area: 6000 square miles, about 3.8 million acres (Connecticut-sized).
• Farmed acreage: 238,000
• Rural population: 81,000
• Urban population: 7500
• Total population: 88,500 (Connecticut: about 3.5 million)
• Average population per square mile: 19
• Overall size of economy: 2.36 million GP annually

Households:

• Tenant Farmers: 11,000
• Freeholds: 1400
• Manors: 59 (essentially super-sized freeholds)
• Wilders: 1000 (trappers, hunters, woodcutters, etc.)

Map-wise, the area claimed by Thambar is the exposed portion from just west of New Town to Highcliff Keep and Auslaug in the east. Now I have a hex by hex breakdown of population to work with and some grasp of the local economy. Doing actual land-area calculations is a bit of an eye-opener. I can see that:

• Thambar has a huge amount of land available, probably too much to be held effectively. I need more second tier nobles around.
• The area is very thinly populated. Overall, about 6% of the land is in use. That makes some sense based on the map and local history. Quite a bit of it is forested/semi-wild land and the inhabitants are doing frontier clear-cut farming. Auslaug, the oldest town, and Highcliff, the main castle, were both founded about 100 years ago. Hustwood and Brekkevale are 80-90 years old. All in all, it's a recently settled area.

One upshot of all this is that the main towns probably have more businesses than I'd thought, and I'll be adding some stuff to the main towns during the course of play going forward. Next time I set up a sandbox I'll definitely be paying more attention to the local economy and demographics before I start.

• Go to game index

Wilds - R&R

Back in town, the party takes care of business. It was a profitable, if costly, trip, and quite a few characters gained a level. Most of the group is 4th level now. The loss of Jonquil, Tesso and Gorvil has inspired Saurabh. He has asked to join the group as a full-fledged adventurer, leaving behind his hireling role.

The party is giving serious thought to holing up in town for the remainder of the winter. None of them see the appeal of spending January and February out in the ice and snow.

Wilds - Townies

Ingvar the reeve does his job quickly and efficiently, haggling a bit over some of the jeweled items, but willing to set a fair value. As you progress through the various piles of furs, gold, and jewelry he makes careful notations on his tablet. Ohwatoo does the same on a piece of parchment. The whole process takes over an hour, and the light is all but gone by the time you're done. Ingvar glances at the sky, then at the long list of items on his tablet. "It will take some time to transcribe this and create the import manifest." As he speaks, several guards approach, and trade off with the pair who are hanging around you. Those two head toward the bridge, and as Ingvar continues to speak, they close and lock the gate. "The clerk is gone for the night. This will be on his desk first thing tomorrow. I'm sure you'll want to take care of your beasts and find a place to camp for the night." He gives a nod and goes back into the building.