NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

The first thing you lay eyes on when you step into sight of Halfdanby is the barn engulfed in flames. Bodies of men, three in total, lie scattered before it. Two look to be farmhands caught by surprise while the third belongs to the attackers.

The second thing you lay eyes on is the bloody battle currently raging on the longhouse steps.

Standing in the doorway of his home is a sturdy man — who you assume to be Halfdan himself. A gambeson hangs off his frame, now little more than ragged strips of cloth after heated combat. Blood cakes an eye shut as he bears an odd weapon in both hands. A sword hangs from his wrist by a loop of leather.

Four bandits stand in a semi-circle, surrounding the doorway. They seem wary, but one steps forward, which makes sense given that two of their fellows already met their ends at Halfdan's hand.

Though wounded, Halfdan's not out of the fight just yet — as the foolhardy bandit soon discovers.

The bandit steps up, axe held high, only to meet the cutting edge of the long-headed spear as it removes his arm at the elbow. His screams are cut short by a follow-up neck-high swipe.

Blackhand clears his throat. 'That is an atgeir, the king of all weapons. In terms of versatility, only the humble rock stands before it.'

"Good to know," you say as you cast your gaze about the battlefield. Even with three of their number dead, the bandits show no signs of stopping. After all, seven still stand.

Two bandits stand a ways away from the battle. They seem to be content with trading arrows with a boy no older than thirteen. The boy — one of Halfdan's sons, you assume — stands atop the longhouse roof with his own bow. A spear lays next to him, just in case he needs it.

His presumed elder brother is locked in battle with an absolute monster of a man. He towers over the battlefield, dwarfing even Abjorn's prodigious height. The bare-chested man holds a massive abomination of an axe both hands.

Though naked and stripped to the waist, the bandit shows no injuries on his glistening flesh. The brother, on the other hand, breathes heavily as he slumps to one side. Blood flows freely down his body, sword and battered shield held in loose hands. He won't last much longer, not if you stand idly by.

But even as the battle rages around him, a lone bandit observes the goings-on with an artist's careful eye. Mail adorns his body though no helmet dares conceal his golden hair. A sword is planted before him and he holds an iron-rimmed shield in his off-hand.

There isn't a doubt in your mind that he's the leader of this merry band of killers.

"Well, you said we'd lend aid no matter the form, by blade or by bucket if necessary," Aki says with a deadpan expression as his raven lands next to him. The glossy-feathered bird is truly massive, easily larger than Drifa. "So, what now, oh glorious leader? How shall we test our fates on this fine day?"

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(Hugr (Tactics): 5, 5, 5, 6, 5, 6) 12 Successes, Max Fucking Success....

Bow-Bandit 1 (Fresh Endurance. Most Orthstirr)
-Bow, Sax on belt
Bow-Bandit 2 (Fresh Endurance. Most Orthstirr)
-Bow, Axe on belt
Melee-Bandit 1 (Fresh Endurance. Most Orthstirr)
-Spear + Shield
Melee-Bandit 2 (Most Endurance. Half Orthstirr)
-Axe + Shield, Sax on belt
Melee-Bandit 3 (Half Endurance. Half Orthstirr)
-Sax + Shield
Bandit Enforcer (Fresh Endurance. Half Orthstirr)
-Armed with a two-handed Axe
-Absolute monster
Bandit Leader (Fresh Endurance. Full Orthstirr.)
-Sword and Shield, hiding something behind his Shield, and a Sax on his belt
-Wears chainmail

M-Bandits 1 through 3 surround Halfdan, which prevents him from saving his son from the Enforcer. Something tells you that saving his son will net you a very nice reward.

Jordan, the son fighting the Enforcer, won't last much longer. Joarr, the son on the roof, is trying to help, but he's being pinned down by B-Bandits 1 and 2.

Bandit Leader is off to the side, closer to the archers. He's powerful, but likely won't go down with his ship, as it were.

The longhouse is built atop a small, man-made hill. Four fearful faces peer out from inside, Halfdan's wife and daughters. The bow bandits are at the bottom of the hill, on the side facing the barn, alongside the leader (West). The enforcer and Jordan are on the forest-facing side of the hill (South). You are in the forest (South)

The bandits are planning to kill Jordan in an attempt to drive Halfdan into a maddened frenzy. M-Bandits 1-3 will keep Halfdan occupied while Enforcer finishes Jordan off. After that, the Leader will engage the wounded Halfdan in combat, which he has low chances of winning. If given opportunities, the Bow Bandits will try to cripple Halfdan and/or kill Joarr.

Abjorn is armed with a decent shield and a good sax. He wears a decent gambeson. He's fresh and ready for combat. He looks to you for his orders.

Aki is too young to be expected to fight, being only 10. He only has his work knife. If he can help, he will, but don't expect him to hold his own at all.

You have 4/4 Endurance.
Your shield can take 4 more hits. You have no back-up shields.
You have 6 orthstirr held in reserve and you have not tapped frami, virthing, or saemd.
You can put 13 more points of orthstirr into your combat pool.
You have a combat pool of 8d6 (5 from stats, 3 from equipment)

What do you do?
[ ] (Plan Name)
-[ ] (Dice) Attack
-[ ] (Dice) Defense
-[ ] (Dice) Intercept
-[ ] (Dice) (Trick) (Orthstirr)
-[ ] Tactics Write in

(Tactics Rank Up! 4 Successes till next!)
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AN: Not much to say other than good luck. Tactics gained a success from the Max Success, which ranked it up.

Also, I'm just going to be listing how much more orthstirr you can put into the combat dice pool in total rather than breaking it all down.

25-minute moratorium.