The dwarves and elves of Lost Anvilis were restless and excited. In a week, the legendary elven performer Pricey would come and perform to a sold-out crowd, and fans were filtering in from all over.

One district warden approached some tough adventuring types to see if they could help; the Stefani shrine was on one road to Lost Anvilis, and it would look bad for the clan if crime continued along that road. Something was lairing there and attacking. Undead? Bandits? Reports from survivors conflicted. Anyway, they agreed to go and stamp out the threat so the road would be unmolested before the big concert.

• Thrustin Magroin Timberlake. Mauler, Gunsmith (changed to Engineer), Merchant (selling guns and gems.) Name weapon is a spring-loaded stiletto he calls “Spike Lee.”
• Rebecca Blacksmith. Skirmisher, Healer, Alchemist. Name weapon is an axe she calls “The Ballad of Friday.” She uses a crossbow with tranquilizing poison on the bolts.
• Anvaland. (Just one name, it’s artistic.) Vanguard, Enchanter, Performer. Name weapon is a big axe called “Seventh String.” It has the string from a famous performer woven into its haft.

They traveled to the shrine (I used this map drawn by Dyson Logos) and in the entryway mounds of refuse disgorged a dozen attackers. The dwarves mowed them down with extreme prejudice, and discovered they were goblins who burrow and wear bone, hide, and meat trophies from their kills. No wonder people mistook them for undead.

Moving in they found a weedy underage troll, who was surprised to see them (even after the ruckus outside; the goblins fight all the time.) They did mighty battle, passing around the torch that Anvaland had the forethought to bring. They brought the troll down after it grievously injured Thrustin. They seared it enough times it could no longer regenerate.

By that point, there were LOTS of goblin spectators. Anvaland intimidated them, so they were in a bit of a stalemate. A champion came forward, named Rhysel, and said if one of them would fight him in single combat then the goblins would leave. Otherwise, the dwarves would go in the stewpot.

Anvaland took on the rabid goblin champion and cut him down, not taking so much as a scratch himself. The cowed goblins, led by their shaman, left the shrine. But the shaman warned them there were other things here besides goblins, and they would not go.

After the goblins left, the dwarves rested. Rebecca tended Thrustin’s wounds. They kept searing parts of the troll corpse to try and keep it from rising ever again. Anvaland looked around and found the main shrine, and in another direction, a room filled with dead brush and boobytraps. They barred the door that went deeper into the shrine, and the next day returned home and reported on what they found. The shrine was cleared enough not to bother the upcoming concert and travel for it. They each got 2 Ledger.

The clan and character generation took 63 minutes. The rest of the game took about 90. I got a lot of great streamlining and clarification ideas, too.

I used “The Road Home” adventure because it is cool and also because I wanted to try it out and see what adjustments it may need. So, they were returning to the clanhome Whiskey Forge with signed documents initiating a trade agreement. I had five players.

• Vecna Sorrenvaas [Kristy]: vanguard, diplomat, chef.
• Sorel [Gary]: leader, brewer, athlete.
• Devron Leveler [Mark]: berserker, chosen, mason.
• Korvask Wryt [Michael]: vanguard, enchanter, scholar.
• Castlebar [Simon]: support, adept, alchemist. (Used an empty pistol to channel his adept bolts.)

Battle of the Bridge

They started by crossing the Bone Bulwark bridge and facing 25 goblins on the other side. Half the goblins engaged in melee while the rest peppered the Fellowship with arrows from a safe distance, jeered on by their leader. While the adept hung back and fired on the goblin leader, killing him, the rest of the Fellowship got stuck in and made short work of the goblins (though most fire concentrated on the berserker, and he was getting worn down.)

The two vanguards flanking him kept the attacks bearable, then the leader and support cleared off the stragglers in melee so the rest could charge the shooters without getting hit leaving melee.

Shortly afterwards four surviving goblins escaped into fissures in the stone, beyond reach; the Fellowship traveled a bit before tending their wounds, because goblins tend to return with reinforcements. (Nobody got a proper Wound, just Vitality damage.) The berserker kept the goblin leader’s head (and its fancy helmet of bat skulls stitched together) as a trophy.

Minotaur Ambush

The leader picked up on the bovine stink of minotaur, then the Fellowship was rushed by one in an underground area of the road. The leader and support hung back firing, and just as the rest of the Fellowship put the minotaur down a second one charged from behind and smacked the ranged dwarves for a couple actual Wounds each. They scurried clear as the rest of the Fellowship descended on the second minotaur and wiped it out in short order.

The chef and alchemist harvested the horns to make magnificent drinking horns as a gift to the archon. Then the chef butchered the minotaur and they had great steak for supper. The chosen led a worship to give thanks for victory. They got some Resolve back from the victory and the steaks, but not from the service; the chosen was out of practice. The chosen stacked the mutilated minotaur heads, put the goblin leader’s head on top, and left it as a warning to others that would despoil dwarven roads.

Troll Attack

They were threading through the Garden of Lights when they noticed a patch of fungus ghosting them; it was growing on the back of a troll, and the berserker charged it. They put it down easily enough, but it kept getting back up; fortunately the alchemist “remembered” he had some torches in his pack, and they got those fired up and managed to burn the troll so it was no longer regenerating. The alchemist and chef harvested some of its best bits for later use, and they left the rest.

Ogre Attack

The Fellowship approached the outside, and rested while still underground. (This time the chosen’s service did restore some Resolve.) During the last watch the lookout saw three ogres returning with a big sack of plunder; they tried to wake and pull back without attracting notice, but the ogres spotted them and charged.

They used the relative choke point of the area where they camped so only two ogres could come at them at once, and pitched battle was joined. Before the ogres went down, one pounded the berserker for a Wound proper. When all the ogres were dead and the sack examined (it had some dead sheep in it that an ogre was digging out to use as a missile weapon) they found the stairs up to the gutted tower where the ogres laired, and the mason found a hidden trap door.

They found a safe place, and spent a day there resting and healing for the last leg of the journey. (One reason they waited was because there was a blizzard on the outside road, they wanted to wait it out.) Traveling the snowy road, only one dwarf slipped, and his Resolve saved him. They made it home safe, with minotaur horns as a gift to the archon as well as the signed trade agreement in hand. Job well done!