Shifty Louts Session 43 - The Massacre at Mimea Hills and Onwards to Fort Taztos
Players
- Orlandus the Acrobat of the President’s Men Theatre Trope (Divus Luna)
- Vast the Tulwyn Barbarian (Jay)
- Kennard Kennarde the Tulwyn Barbarian (Onyx)
- Hindlick the Tulwyn Zealot (Connor)
- The Light footmen Suluc, Res, Gwyn, Tugdual, and Meirchoin (hireling)
- The Moleryn scout Mostyn (hireling)
- The Dwarf mercantylers Eliver, Moried, Theal, and Wid of Clan Garibath (NPCs)
Summary
1st of Nolus
The first of Nolus sees cloudy skies, but the weather holds out. The wagon traveled up and down the Mimea Hills, almost losing its wagon as it strained down a particular steep hill. The wood frame groans under the weight and strain.
As the day progresses, the caravan comes across a flooded valley, some 80 yards wide. Mostyn believes this to be an ambush. The group debates about what to do. Mostyn says that circumnavigating around the hills is possible, but it will add another day.
The Shifty Louts ask their Dwarven compatriots if they’ve encountered something similar in their travels. The Garibath Dwarves are consulted, Eliver says that the caravan they traveled with last summer numbered in the hundreds.
Often, the caravan master would send out scouts or the caravan would push forward, and a “they can’t get all of us " mentality prevailed.
Suluc, Res, Vast, Kennard, and Orlandus volunteer as scouts, heading toward the right hill, as it's larger to get a better vantage point. The shaman Hindlick blows upon their brows, a “blessing of Kekamar” to the brave souls. The Dwarves, Gwyn, Tugdual, Mostyn, and Hindlick stay behind with the caravan.
The group ascends the large, wooden hill and quickly realizes that traversing this terrain with the wagon would be slow going. Amidst the brush and foliage, three Mimeyi barbarians are seen in the brush ahead and call out.

The group finds they’ve been surrounded by a war party of fifteen, led by three leaders who wear old Ramala legionnaire armor likely taken off dead bodies.
The Mimeyi Goyzda seek to extort the small caravan for goods or money as they lead the group back toward the hill’s valley.
Some tense moments continue to escalate. Orlandus is offering his bottle of Helea Brandy. They say they have better potions that would “tire out your whore god.”
The Goyzda further taunts the Tulwyn Barbarians about helping the “weak outsiders.” It's then that Kennard and a Goyzda tussle, as the Tulwyn barbarians finally show their martial prowess, as Orlandus runs away and slips in the mud trying to climb up a tree, getting an arrow through his fancy hat for the trouble.
Chaos ensues as Vast caves one’s head in and cuts down another. The Tulywn chase down their enemies mercilessly. Hindlick’s warhammer breaks the spines of Kekamar’s foes.
Kennard cleaves his fair share down as two of the light footmen, Gwyn and Tugdual, are cut down by the Goyzda’s swords. The Dwarves' crossbow bolts assist as well, finding purchase in the chests of their adversaries.
After the battle, Gwyn and Tugdual are buried by Suluc and Res, who utter prayers to Peoni to protect their hearth, wives, and children, Agrik for the bravery they showed, and to Helea for guiding them to a decadent afterlife! The Dwarves utter prayers to Siem, a strange god the group has never heard of before, while Vast passes out from his bloodlust
The bodies of the Goyzda are pillaged and pilfered for goods: 15 swords, spears, and bows. 106 arrows, and 103 loose farthings. Sadly, Orlandus finds his bottle of Helea’s Brandy broken.
The group continues past the flooded river valley, camping and dining on raw false onion and their small beer, filthy from the massacre of the Mimea Hills.
2nd of Nolus
Upon the morrow, the group, still filthy from the massacre, breaks down and camps and pushes forward through the Mimea Hills. From amongst the canopy line, they can see the Fort’s smoke plumes in the distance, a league or so away.
Eventually, in the late afternoon, a patrol of twenty cavalry bearing the Legion Standard of the Ramala Legion arrives and hails them.
Furtive glances are given by the legionnaires, the barbarians, and the Dwarves; however, the Patrol Commander recognizes the Thespian Orlandus.

The patrol commander, Rolandus Harburn, a frog-like, rotund, slimy, and obsequious man. A distant cousin of some Thardic senator, a failed second son who got this post due to connections and graft, Rolandus knows of Orlandus from the President’s Men trope
Orlandus regails him of in an attempt to the “most beautiful woman in all of Coranan”, the fair lady Maeghel Khonary, he needed to leave the Red Domes of the City and become seasoned!
The group is escorted back to Fort Taztos by the twenty cavalry, and Orlandus asks to perform a “play” for the legionnaires as a token of thanks.
Rolandus says he will speak to the Garrison Commander Stopez, as the group is welcome to rest upon the caravan commons outside the fort’s walls for a fee. Travelers are allowed to camp on the Fort caravan common at 1f per person per night, while wagons and horses cost 1d a night.

Aftermath
Treasure Found:
- 15 older legionnaire swords
- 15 spears
- 15 bows
- 106 arrows
- 103 loose farthings
Foes Encountered:
- 16 Mimeyi Goyzda tribesmen
Rumors:
- The Dwarves of Clan Garibath traveled to Coranan last summer with a Salt Route caravan from Tashal
- Two 30-foot-tall barrows can be seen outside of Fort Taztos
- The Message Tree is a large oak tree outside of Fort Taztos for those traveling along the Salt Route. Travelers post missives and letters for those who pass through the Salt Route, and it acts as a crude newspaper of sorts
- Fort Commander Stopez will see if Orlandus is allowed to perform a play for the legionnaires stationed at Fort Taztos
Deaths:
- The two light-footed men of Gwyn and Tugdual from the swords of the Mimeyi Goyzda tribesmen
XP Awarded:
- 200xp for two hexes travelled
- 25 xp for 25 shillings (106 farthings)
- 1,300 xp for the 13 Mimeyi Goyzda tribesmen
- 300xp for the 3 Mimeyi Goyzda Warband leaders
Notes
- I’ve been pre-rolling encounters and plan to continue to do so
- I was surprised by just how powerful the Barbarians can be as a class; they tore through 16 enemies. I likely should have made 1d8 damage for the Mimeyi enemies, but I figured the 16 of them would have scarred away on possible conflicts, but such are the whims of players
- Barbarians have been a typically under-represented played class within Shifty Louts
- The primal die stuff adds a bit more overhead, but players have been receptive to learning their class features, which makes it nice
- Combine their damage feature + the Zealot’s blessing, and they just tore through enemies.
- The exhaustion mechanic seems to work fairly well to counterbalance their combat-oriented focus
- The weapon reskin has made players choose bastard sword that already does a 1d12, and since damage goes up a step, I’ve ruled it's 1d12+1d4.
- I’ve therefore decided to just have each HD of the enemy be a flat 6HP
- The weapon reskin has made players choose bastard sword that already does a 1d12, and since damage goes up a step, I’ve ruled it's 1d12+1d4.
- 2 False Onions (8 oz/each) count as one ration
- Future reading prep will include the following
- Trobridge
- Tashal