WoV #7: Öldenhaller Manor

Seventh battle of the Wolf of Vengeance campaign.

The hints found in Dörthagen lead to Pfungzig, a rich city in the Province of Averland. But before following the tracks of the Adventurers is now time for a direct strike to the enemy: the Oligarchs.

Path of Men Game 3

Öldenhaller Manor

December 19, 2020

Briefing

Given the information gained from Maximilian Tarn, the support of the Brotherhood of the Stone Portal and your recent deeds, it's now the right time for a direct strike to the enemy. Your target, Rhobar, is Albrecht Öldenhaller, one of the Oligarchs and the main character of one of the most important families of the Empire. During the civil war he officially was excluded from the government of the city of Nuln, in the Province of Wissenland where he resides. In reality, you know from Max Tarn that he controlled most of the situation in the south-east front of the Empire: he's the man you need to discover where to find Ghal Maraz, before giving him to the justice.

Öldenhaller's home is a fortified manor just south of the city of Nuln: your scout report some military activity but nothing impenetrable. However, is impossible to take an entire army across the border between Reikland and Wissenland, which actually are different states after the war and so have a patrolled frontier. A small contingent may be able to pass through, though...

***

Empire vs Empire. Battle, 1000 pts

After a couple of skirmish games we return to the usual rank & file with a small but fierce battle. This game was remarkable because Rhobar died during a cavalry charge! Had his troops won the battle, he would have to throw a die on the Character Injury Chart, but they soon flee, so Grimbeorn had to replay the game from the beginning. On the second shot, he succeeded, but all hail to Albrecht Öldenhaller and his perfect role as a villain for our story...

The armies

The good ones

Empire Army

The bad ones

Öldenhaller defenders

The game

The first deployment! Who would have known that we would have to redo this again? Rhobar's army stands on the hilly side of the battlefield, while the enemy deploys near the walls of the fortified manor. In the distance, the famous fields of Wissenland

Just a nice pic from the moments before the cavalry charge. I honestly don't remember the details, but I think Rhobar charged, failed, had been charged by the enemy cavalry and was eventually defeated

And here we go again!

Just a little modification in the enemy deployment. I don't exactly remember why I mad a change and Grimbeorn didn't, and now I'm here thinking that maybe we could define this thing better. Alas, here you can have a nice look at Öldenhaller's army. He is the knight with the red lance in the middle of the line

The battle starts! The attackers advance without fear

The Outriders on Rhobar's right flank attack the enemy infantry, while in the centre the future charges are being prepared...

Öldenhaller targets the flank of Rhobar's unit! They destroyed the infantry unit and are pursuing

What a shot! Grimbeorn adds two ones to these dies. Who would know if it was a good or bad shot?

No quarter for Albrecht Öldenhaller: his men are lost and he is surrounded. His riflemen hide behind the walls!

The battle is won! The Oligarch is captured!

The story

When you finally manage to talk to your prisoner, an hour after the battle, you understand why Albrecht Öldenhaller was chosen as the hidden personality between the plots of the Civil War. This man is proud, a proudness even this defeat and the evident fact that his fate is already written can affect. This is also a tired man: you get that these last years must be somehow harsh for him. This is not of your interest, though, because you want to make his following years even worse.

"Your prowess in battle was great today, - you say - and if you weren't a dirty traitor, murderer of your Emperor and instigator of revolts and civil wars I would have immense respect for you... but it's time for you to pay for you actions, traitor".

Albrecht Öldenhaller smiles with a touch of sadness, but answers something you wouldn't expect: "I don't know you, young Captain, but I can see an extraordinary person when I see one. I noticed there's something in you, and I feel you want to know the truth more than you want my head cut off. So, here's the deal: I've got nothing to lose anymore, and I'm ready to bring all my secrets in my grave if you don't let me go. If you can manage to grant me my freedom, I'm ready to cooperate with you with everything".

It's a moral dilemma for you. But he's right: you want him dead, but the information he has are crucial for you mission, and for the quest for the truth. After some discussion, you clarify the terms of his liberation: he'll be prisoner of the Brotherhood of the Stone Portal since after the battle for Nuln, in which his information will be critical. Then, he'll be transferred to the Border Princes and embarked on a ship to Araby: since then, he'll be immediately executed if seen again in the Empire.

The day after, you and Öldenhaller sit in a more comfortable wing of his manor, in a warm office with a mahogany desk, and while sipping to some (delicious) wine he tells you everything he knows.

In the hours you spend together, a lot is unveiled. Here I recall just the two main things you discover: first, a safe passage under the sewers of the city of Nuln, from which you can stole some Great Cannons and other artillery to siege the city itself. A sneaky attack from the sewer would be too dangerous, and you need a spectacular battle to regain the trust of the true sons of the Empire, so they would follow you.

Second, he confirms that the Civil War was a gigantic plot built to break and rebuild The Empire, planned for decades and then collapsed in a day when the Adventurers killed the most powerful of the Oligarchs, the Lady of Lubrecht. In the years following her death, so the last ten years, no one of the surviving Oligarchs was strong enough to continue the plot to the end, so the result is just a weak and broke reign, divided inside by trenches and dark alliances. He also confirms that the city of Pfunzing has a key role in the story. It's linked to the Adventurers, and so it's the right place to go right know, since the Adventurers are the only reason all the plot behind the Civil War collapsed.

Upset by all these revelations, you send Öldenhaller to the Brotherhood with some of the army and carry on towards Pfungzig: what horrors will be waiting fo you there?