Battle of Grenville Gash
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The Battle of Grenville Gash was a micro-campaign by Joshua Pawlicki as a sandbox for playtesting ideas and technology that he later planned to use in the Open Skies and Nidavellir campaigns. The campaign itself was set in the Open Skies universe during the year 1695. The central focus of the 4-session-long campaign is on the defense of the fortress of Grenville Gash from the final remnants of the Bloodrage. This campaign is notable for exploring a more rules-based command setting, directly simulating the effect of a small batch of high level characters against hundreds of low level characters, and exploring the idea of controlling multiple characters per player. The entire campaign covered the in-game timespan of three hours and fifteen minutes (the first three hours and eleven minutes of which elapsed during the first ninety minutes of the first sesson).
Summary
Tina, head commander of the goblin horde, leads her followers north into the pass on the west side of the river, attempting to remain concealed. She is detected by Silo (an invisible pixie) on the defenders' side, and both sides begin to prepare for combat. Some initial skirmishing is done while the attackers send a flanking force to tunnel underneath the fort from the northwest. Ponchus is killed by a disintegration ray fired by Achmed. After breaking off the attack momentarily, the battle resumes as the attackers take the gate only to be cut off by a wall of force. As the attackers attempt to bring down the stone around the wall of force to reinforce their shock troops, the defenders inside battle for their lives against the better-equipped gnomes and goblins. As the weight of numbers crushes the trapped attackers, Achmed and Adamentus begin to wound the attacks still outside the wall with ice storms and flaming spheres. The attackers break away. In the meantime, Kohl has found the tunnelers and initiated his attack, and kills LeBron. He and Dracorex fight, but neither is able to hurt the other, and so Kohl flees, fearing reinforcements. His fears as justified as Tina arrives at the mouth of the tunnel, and attempts to enchant him. Kohl voluntarily detonates his entire necklace of fireballs, killing Tina. He then flees, but is killed by the reformed attacking goblin's arrows before he can make it to the fort. By the time Kohl's fate is resolved, the wall of force on the gate has worn off, and the attackers make another charge. Trollus, Achmed, and Adamentus make their final stand in the keep, using fire shield and Evard's black tentacles to slow the attackers down. Dracorex enters the keep, using his breath to set everything on fire, obscuring the entire room in smoke. He is killed by a phantasmal killer, and the attackers are decimated.
Aftermath
Of the player characters, only Adamentus, Achmed, and Trollus survive. Adamentus and Achmed are awarded medals by the Grand Wizard, and the study of the battle leads the Empire of the Sun to form the Spellthieves in favor of large armies.
