The Legends of Llednevir
"The Hunchback in the Dark"
or
"Fear and Loathing in Tarrwen Harbour"
A Flintloque Scenario by CJ Hooper
With additonal material by Craig Andrews.
With apologies to Dylan Thomas (again)
Photograph by Craig Andrews
In a tale of Tarrwen Harbour previously untold the Hunchback Quidimodo, driven from city of Abertowie, has come to Tarrwen Harbour and mistaken a Nun's kindness for affection and carried her away to the church chased, as is often the way, by a baying mob...
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The Hunchback in the dark
The nomad at Cryptmas
Comes to the Taffsea town
Seeking refuge no less,
A solitary Sister,
A nun from Llednevir
Is out seeking souls to save
And so she comes near…
The milk of hoblin kindness
Melts his frozen heart
And thence does this tale
Of one sided love does start.
Smote by the evils
Of those who’d pass him by
The hunchbacked beggar sees this Sister of Mercy
And a tear sets forth from his eye.
Though this from her is nought but kindness
Beauty is all he sees
He makes a pass unwisely
And so the Sister, she flees.
He gives chase and catches her
In the way of medieval love,
He takes her to the church and locks her in the tower above...
~
Familiar as you are with the town of Tarrwen Harbour in the vale of Llednevir such a tale as this has not yet been seen. Quidimodo the hunchback has arrived in town having been driven from city of Abertowie by rampaging hoards of close harmonising religious zealots. He has come to Tarrwen Harbour across the moors and is lured by the promise of somewhere dry and warm to rest.
He has mistaken Sister Lou’s kindness for affection and carried her away to the church...
Quidimodo is no stranger to the baying mobs however and when a baying mob gives chase...
No strangers either to baying mobs the Sisters of Esmeralda, of whom Sister Lou is a member, pour out of their charabanc (parked outside the Sailors Arms) and seek to intercept the mob in the name of mercy.
It’s the classic game of nuns versus mob as the two sides give chase across the town. The mob are in greater numbers but start spread out across the town in groups of twos and threes. The nuns start as a solid block and are therefore a more cohesive unit...
Both sides give chase and seek to get to the church before the other…
The mob want a damn good hanging; the sisters wish to recover their sister and maybe a future for the hunchback after penance is sought...
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The Map
The table should be laid out following the image below as a guide. As mentioned in years prior, it’s exceptionally lucky for us that Tarrwenn Harbour has always been built and rebuilt (more than once) following the original layout. Note that the ship, La Storia, may or may not be a ruined shell of the ship it once was as this tale is a Legend of Llednevir and its chronological placement is somewhat fluid.
The Sides
Either side (or both if you want a rather unique hour or so) can be controlled using the excellent Solo Play rules (Flintloque: War in Catalucia, p.89).
Villagers – 15 villagers, starting in groups of no more than three and no less than two (because individuals don’t get peer pressure.) They are armed with fishing implements and broken bottles which are treated as large and small improvised weapons respectively. The villagers should be a fairly even mix of Todoroni and Hobgoblins given Tarrwen Harbour’s history. All of the Villagers are Civilian Troops. You can either create them as a unit using the normal rules (War in Catalucia, p. 46) or you can generate your characters randomly, this can be done using the part of the solo rules where you draw coloured tokens to determine the experience of the character. You should roll normally to determine Magicke Talent (Flintloque: War in Catalucia, p.62).
Nuns – 10 nuns, starting as a block. One of whom is Mother Superior who may activate all nuns within 10cms. They will not kill, only incapacitate. The Sisters of Esmeralda accept all races into their midst and as such you should roll randomly for each. All of the Nuns are Irregular Troops and the Mother Superior has Faith (Grapeshotte, p. 90). As above, you can either create them as a unit using the normal rules (War in Catalucia, p. 46) or you can generate your characters randomly using the solo rules.
Quidimodo and Lou – These characters are not controlled by any player (although they could be for a unique twist on things). They move in a direct line toward the church from the opposite end of the board. They move at double pace and only fight if they are attacked. Quidimodo uses Large Todoroni stats and Lou is a Hobgoblin. Whilst they are both Civilians their situation has hardened them and they are treated as Irregular.
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Special Rules
If Quidimodo or Sister Lou are attacked by a villager they will both fight the villager, as Sister Lou does not wish to see anyone killed. If they are attacked by a nun Sister Lou will however attack Quidimodo, seeking only to escape.
If Quidimodo and Lou reach the church, in true B Movie fashion, he will head to the Tower.
The winning side is the side that wins! Either the villagers kill Quidimodo and rescue Lou, or the nuns overpower Quidimodo but do not allow him to be killed.
If Quidimodo dies the nuns have lost and must take a penance...
(whatever this may be we’d best ask Sir Galahad...)
Webmaster's Notes
An Orcs in the Webbe Original! "The Hunchback in the Dark" was written exclusively for OITW's 2019 Advent Calendar and should have been published on the 8th of December 2019 but due to illness slipped slightly and was first published on the 14th December 2019.
The photograph used in the title image is actually Sandy Haven, a beach a few miles from Milford Haven near the village of Herbrandston where I grew up. It's the beach I always pictured when thinking about CJ's stories in Tarrwen Harbour. The dodo was added with Gimp as she was unavailble on the day the photo was taken.
CJ's Llednevir Chronicles have been a huge success here on Orcs in the Webbe, if you've not read them (or fancy re-reading them, they are rather good) click on the maroon tag below and to the left.
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