Bound by Blood, Bound by Love: A Torch and Shield Campaign Introduction

H
alreth sipped the pint in his hands, and unable to hide his grimace, caused several of his companions to chuckle heartily. “Manling’s got his first taste of proper drink, and look at him! He’s already redder than blood!” Beldar howled, his own pint of Greyfrost nearly spilling as he looked on at Halreth’s first tentative delve into the world of dwarven brewing. “It’s. . .bitter, and half as hot as liquor. You drink this on a normal eve?”

     “By the barrelful,” Beldar replied, “and don’t you go comparing this fine ale to that manling swill! I’ve smelled more pleasant things in an alchemist’s shop, I have.” Halreth shrugged, peering into his mug like a child might gaze into a well. “So,” Halreth said, “let me get this straight. You and Baldrick here are brothers. Brothers, and part of clan Ironthane.”

Beldar (left) and Baldrick (right).

     “Aye,” the two siblings agreed in unison. “And you, uncle, are part of clan Copperbrow, alongside Gloni and Sir Kair.” “That’s right, lad,” Lobrek said, “young Gloni’s my ‘prentice, as you know, and Kair’s a Knight of the Crown. Their lot’s taken to trainin’ and musterin’ like the knights of men.”

Sir Kair (leftmost dwarf), Lobrek (center) and Gloni (right).

     “Uncle!” Beldar said with a chuckle, “tis strange to hear a manling say something like that!” “Uncle Lobrek looked after me when my folks passed,” Halreth said, “isn’t that right, uncle?” Lobrek nodded, sipping his own mug of ale as he sighed. “Halreth’s folks were a goodly sort, never lookin’ down on us dwarves. Loaned me coin more times than I care to admit, and even put a roof over my head when times were tough. Seemed only right that I look after their son after they passed. Besides, it’s been handy having someone who can reach the top shelf without needin’ to stretch.”

     The other dwarves laughed at Lobrek’s jest, and thought not to question the Copperbrow’s informal adoption of a human. While they might harbor reservations about delving alongside a manling, Lobrek’s companions knew there was honor in paying back years of kindness properly.

     “What I don’t understand, uncle,” Halreth began, “is how you have all come together. I thought that the clans quarreled over. . .well, sharing in the wealth of their old homes.” Lobrek sighed once more before pointing his mug towards the Ironthanes sitting across the campfire. “Baldrick and Beldar are my half-brothers, believe it or not. Our ma had no reservations about, ah, ‘sampling’ the goods of any clan she fancied had something to offer.”

     Baldrick, the oldest dwarf of the bunch by some margin, nodded as he took a slow drag from his pipe. “Used to lock the lot of us in a room if we quarreled too much. ‘Family first, clan second’ she’d say. When clan-strife became part of delving, well, it seemed preferable to work together, lest we find ourselves part of opposite groups that had a mind to settle their disagreements with steel.” Beldar nodded, his lips curling into a mischievous smile as he did. “Aye, and think of how poorly we’d sleep if her ghost turned up to scold us for fighting! By my beard, I’d sooner die than listen to spectral whinging for the rest of my days!”

     “I see,” Halreth replied, “but what of you, Snorri? You are neither Copperbrow nor Ironthane: what brings you here?” Snorri shrugged, his wild mane of greased hair bobbing as he did. “Loved their ma, I suppose.” Halreth raised his eyebrows in confusion before realizing that Snorri was alluding to the fact that he and his uncle’s mother had, in fact, been lovers. “I. . .see,” Halreth repeated, “I did not know Uncle Lobrek’s mother was so. . .loving.”

Snorri (left) and Halreth (right).

     “That she was,” Snorri replied, either not understanding or not caring about Haldreth’s bemusement at learning about the rich love life of a dwarven woman. “And a beauty too!” Gloni chimed in, the younger dwarf trying to be a part of a conversation that Haldreth was doing his best to extricate himself from. “Oh shut it, shortbeard,” Lobrek growled, “shouldn’t you be cleaning that pistol of yours? Last time I looked, there was a bit of rust under the hammer. You ever want to become a journeyman, you’d best learn to keep your weapons in some state besides shameful!” Chastised, the apprentice nodded, chugged down his ale as quickly as he could, and waddled over to his pack to clean the rust he’d already cleaned off his pistol earlier in the day.

     “Best we’d all turn in soon,” Baldrick said, his knees creaking as he rose from the log he was perched upon, “we’ll reach where we’re headed before midday tomorrow, and I don’t intend to spend the latter half of the day sitting on my arse. Sort watches out among yourselves, eh? Last I checked, being old means you get to tell the young’uns to take care of the little details.”

     “I’ll take your watch, uncle,” Halreth offered, “I don’t think I’ll be sleeping much anyway.” Lobrek grunted, his gaze fixed on the flickering fire. “None of us will sleep more than a wink or two, lad. But you’ll take your watch and nothing more than that, you hear? Besides, if you drink half that ale now, and half when it’s time to sleep, you’ll probably get a better night’s rest than any of us.”

     Halreth looked at his nearly untouched mug of ale for a moment before raising it to his lips and bracing himself for the formidable draught to come. If this strange dwarven ale could bring him rest despite his fears, then by Sol he’d drink it every damn night.

The whole merry lot. Seven. . .a proper dwarven number. Adventure awaits!

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     With the Vaults of Zarn in my hands (well, the digital version, anyhow), I figured it was time to begin a proper Torch and Shield campaign. Wanting to play a more rag-tag warband (and to use a couple of neglected models alongside my shiny new dwarves), I’ve opted to roll up with an “Outcasts” crew, which allows one to combine models from any faction that isn’t elven (as is just). Though, as the little introductory tale above is meant to show, our merry little band are not so much outcasts as they are unlikely companions united by the lovemaking efforts of a very passionate dwarven woman. Well, not Halreth: he’s just a dude here to hang out with his dwarven uncle while finding treasure (or doom) in the deep.

     Let’s meet our crew in a little more detail, shall we? As I tend to do when writing RPG NPCs, I’ve also included a little quirk/fun fact about each character, because that’s just how I roll.

Baldrick: calm and wizened. 

Baldrick is an Ironthane Greyshield and is the leader of the crew. Since outcast models lose most of their faction special rules, he’s essentially just a stock greyshield. I’ve elected to equip him with a great axe, breastplate and mail armor. Personality wise, he’s pretty much your typical older dwarf: wise, judgmental and unflappable. Baldrick is Beldar’s brother and Lobrek’s half-brother, and is an experienced delver. Fun fact: Baldrick smokes a pipe because he thinks it makes him look sagacious, as a dwarf his age ought to be. He is actually, at best, ambivalent towards pipeweed.

Beldar: comedic and dependable.

Beldar is an Ironthane Clansman who is equipped with a torch, breastplate and axe. While his profile is among the least exciting of the crew, he’s probably going to end up being one of the more reliable all-rounders for it. Brother to Baldrick and half-brother to Lobrek, he’s by far the most jovial and easygoing of the three. Fun Fact: Beldar is sweet on a human woman named Lessa, and finds both her height and lack of facial hair quite exotic.

Lobrek: caring and crafty.

Lobrek is a Copperbrow Engineer equipped with an arquebus and a breastplate. I’m quite excited to see if I can learn to position this lad correctly on the battlefield, as on paper black power weapons are pretty nasty in Torch and Shield! Half-brother to Beldar and Baldrick and “uncle” to Halreth, Lobrek is sort of the informal leader of the Copperbrow contingent within the crew. Fun fact: Lobrek loves fishing, and dreams of quitting the delving life to become a fisherdwarf. He wants to amass enough treasure to buy himself a suitable fishing boat and a waterside cottage to go with it.

Sir Kair: quiet and chivalrous.

Sir Kair is a Copperbrow Knight of the Crown, a specialized dwarf who trades dungeoneering skills for a nearly heroic combat stat block. Armed with a hammer and torch and wearing a breastplate and mail, I anticipate he’s going to be both a tough customer in a scuffle and an absolute liability if a scenario calls for anything besides cracking skulls. Sir Kair is a friend and fellow clansman of Lobrek and Gloni’s, and has mostly tagged along out of loyalty to the former. Fun fact: Sir Kair collects and reads chivalric (and sometimes spicy) romances penned by manling authors, and goes to great lengths to keep this his little secret.

Gloni: eager and energetic.

Gloni is a Copperbrow Shortbeard with a lantern, pistol and breastplate to his name. In my test games the model I’m using for him tends to die ingloriously, and I have a funny feeling this will happen once more before long. Gloni is apprenticing under Lobrek, but doesn’t feel like he’s being dragged along by his teacher. On the contrary, Gloni is convinced his spot in the crew is a sure sign of Lobrek’s favor, and as a result he is all the more enthusiastic about the quests to come! Fun Fact: Gloni has a wonderful singing voice, and knows more songs than most dwarves three times his age.

Halreth: confused (by dwarves, naturally) and concerned.

Halreth is an Ostari Sellsword with a shield, hardcoat, mail and sword. Combat-wise he’s pretty much the weakest member of the crew, but having a human tag along might make things interesting (and gives me a chance to use a Heroforge model I painted ages ago and have never once used in a game). Now a man in his twenties, he spent most of his teenaged years as Lobrek’s ward, and practically begged to tag along in lieu of living a more mundane life in Ostar (where his status as a human smith trained by a dwarf could very well have earned him a decent living among his own kind). Fun fact: Halreth is a skilled cook, and his stews are to die for.

Snorri: fearless and strange.

Snorri is a Buldahr Berserker armed with twin hammers. He met the other dwarves at the funeral for his lover, Haelda, and believes he is honoring her memory by watching after her sons (all three of which are his seniors). Snorri is quiet outside of battle, and is surprisingly humble for a dwarf who hails from a clan where great deeds are usually boasted about loudly and as often as possible. Fun fact: Snorri has a pet mouse, Crumb, whom he secrets away in his pack (or his beard, when it’s time for bed) and likes to pet as a way of centering himself after succumbing to battle-fury. Crumb seems oddly attached to the burly Buldahr.

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     Alas, it might be a few weeks before I find the time to actually get these guys on the table (work being what it is this time of year), and I would much prefer to dive into the campaign full-swing once the physical products from the Vaults of Zarn Kickstarter actually arrive. But, there shall be games to come eventually, so stay tuned!