[WFPR] Doomstones Session 4
There's another Crystal nearby!
In town they sold their hostage for some coin, replenished their travelling stores, and recruited a new Wizard after the previous one left the group. The new Wizard attuned himself to the Crystal of Fire and found one of it's powers: the Fire Ball spell.
Having just come down through the mountains, and having a rather familiar knowledge of the area, the party decided to take the easy road back to the location marked on the plate/map. (They skipped the Twisted Lands and the Forest detailed in the book on the journey to the next location.)
Heading into the mountains toward an old "stunty 'ole," they came upon an area littered with bones. The dwarf's keen mountain senses allowed Revoltac to spot a flock of large bird-like creatures heading their way. The Wizard thought this was the perfect time to try out the Fire Ball power of the Crystal.
Each use of the Crystal requires a Willpower test to see if the power is controlled. The Wizard rolled a 100, failing the test in the most miserable fashion. The book suggests that a failure that large might heat every nearby liquid to steam, exploding the container it is in. I was merciful and only exploded one container. However, it was the new barrel of ale the dwarf had purchased in town, and it was sitting in the cart with everyone in the party who didn't have their own mount (most of the party).
The explosion knocked everyone out of the cart, blew the rear rail off the cart, drove one of the bear cubs into a frenzy, and spooked the horses carrying the halfling physician and the dwarf mercenary sergeant. These horses headed up the trail into the mountains. The bird-like creatures followed the two who had broken off from the group.
At the main group, the frenzied bear cub attacked a gypsy, who had been blasted out of the cart. He got a couple scrapes on his head before the Wizard put the bear to sleep with a spell.
Further up the trail, the bird-like creatures (harpies) attacked the demihumans on the horses' backs. The halfling was hit twice, with the second hit tearing off her arm. However, this is where Warhammer is different. She was able to use a Fate Point. The hit never happened. Instead, her horse stopped suddenly at the edge of a ravine. The halfling was thrown over the horse's head and left dangling by the reigns. The horse turned around and charged back to main group. That got the attention of the dwarf's horse, who also changed direction and headed back to the main group.
Back at the main group, with everyone there, the harpies attacked again. This time the group was ready. Missile weapons hurt the swooping harpies, and melee weapons knocked them out of the air when they were within arm's reach. The bounty hunter of the group also caught one up in a net. The remaining harpies flew away for easier prey.
The night ended with the group finding a trail that led to the entrance of the dwarf complex they sought. They were not expecting, however, the two ogres who were guarding the entryway.