The Legends of Llednevir

"The Green Shoots... in Llednevir"

A Flintloque Scenario by CJ Hooper

Photograph by Craig Andrews

After many years of rain and death the ground in Llednevir had become very fertile. Too fertile. The combinations of water and 'raw materials' have become the bedding for the latest evil to plague the land...

~

After many years of rain and death the ground in Llednevir was becoming increasingly fertile, the right combinations of water and raw materials became the bedding for the latest evil of the land.

It started with a light moss where the grasses used to cover the land, and then there was the trouble with lichen.  With each dawn the moss had grown further.

The folk of Tarrwen Harbour initially welcomed the verdant growth as the land recovering and lending a picturesque quality to the otherwise windswept and rain washed town.

But one day they found Ted the Gardner, who tended the graves of the churchyard.  He was in his usual spot, asleep on the grave of Llanduff Gwynn.   Asleep, is what they thought.  The green moss and roots had grown over and covered him with only his head remaining visible. 

Over the next week the encroachment was noticed reaching into the town.   Anwyn MabStefan was the next to go.  The green growth had scaled her wall and entered through her window.   The Moss had smothered her in her sleep.

It wasn’t until the light of the next full moon that the danger became acute, and the Moss began suddenly moving at a much faster rate.  The Moss split and individual clumps of it began to roam independently.

They were making for the centre of the town and the folk who slept there.

The townsfolk are awoken by the sound of the Bell of Owen the Plod ringing from the door of the police house in the centre of town.

The ways out of the town are over grown with moss and lichen, and devours slowly any who try to penetrate the Green. 

One place that remains untouched it Selwyn’s Salt Distillery on the Southern end of the harbour bay.

The townsfolk may fight their way there.  With a bucket of salt and a careful shot they may dessicate a moss creatures; if they really wish to make sure that it remains defeated they should burn it also. 

Buckets of salt are not aerodynamic and so the villagers must risk getting up close and personal with the Moss creatures.  If the Village can hold out until morning then they may begin to clear the living Moss in a more structured way.

~

The Map

Use the well known and well loved map of Tarrwen Harbour. At each end of the harbour mark up Selwyn’s Salt Distillery and the Flaming Beacon.

The Setup

The game will last for d12+6 turns when dawn will break and any existing Moss will become stationary. 

There are 12 fighting Villagers and they may include Owen The Plod, Selwyn the Salt Seller, and any other characters that have survived your adventures in Llednevir.

An Assortment of Hobgoblins (Who May, or May Not, Be Dead in Your Llednevir)

Owen the Plod / Hobgoblin Veteran / Irregular
Valley Voice / Death of a Boyo
Gammy Leg: Owen’s Movement is reduced to 0 unless being aided. If aided by the little boy he may move 1D10 cms per turn. If aided by Lleu or Hatt he can move 2D10 cms.

Captain Hatt / Veteran Large Todoroni / Marine
Boarding Technique / Improved Command (1), Iron Hard, Foul Temper, Milky Eyes
Standard Pistol, Sword

Big Lleu / Hobgoblin Veteran / Irregular
Brawler / Valley Voice / Large Fellow / Death of a Boyo
Axe

Madoc, Widow of Big Lleu The Big (assuming he is dead)
Hobgoblin Veteran Irregular
Brawler / Pub Brawler (Orc Flaw)
Madoc, as befits a woman of her status, is huge and does not use weapons.

Evans the Deaf
Experienced Irregular Hobgoblin
He is armed with a Staff (+2 in melee combat).

Owain Dunglowerin
Veteran Regular Hobgoblin
Improved Command (1) / Valley Voice / Slate Skin

The Moss

The suggested number of Moss creatures is nine to start with.  This may be varied to adjust the difficulty.

The Moss Creatures share stats with Zombies, but do not have the instability of those cursed creatures and have no need of Liches.

At the end of each round the village player picks a number between one and six. If the moss player rolls equal to or over that number then the chosen number of new Moss creatures appears. If the moss player rolls under then none appear.

Eg. If the village player chooses 1 then there's a high chance that 1 will appear. If the village player chooses 6 there's a much smaller chance that any appear but if the 6 is rolled then 6 appear. It's a risk / reward system.

The Villagers must incapacitate each Moss Creature with salt, then each must be put to fire to be stopped finally.  A Moss Creature incapacitated with salt will remain incapacited for two turns until it starts to move again, unless a villager has visited the beacon to light a torch, and then successfully attacked the Moss Creature with it.

Victory Conditions

The villagers must survive until dawn to win.

The Moss must wipe out all the villagers before the dawn, they will then swallow the village in is green...

~

Webmaster's Notes

An Orcs in the Webbe Original! "The Green Shoots... in Llednevir" was written exclusively for OITW and was published on the 24th of December 2021 as the twenty-second article in the 2021 Advent Calendar.

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.

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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