Friday 10 June 2016

En Garde! Episode 3, the Flabby Blade and the Papal Nuncio.



Episode 3 – "Flasque" de Bladé and his faithful manservant Lurkio are sent out of the Fortress, with only half a dozen matchlock men, on a desperate mission.  General Déspair wants assistance for the besieged fortress.  There is more than a suspicion that the General just wants to get rid of the annoying and badly dubbed Chevalier.  This will allow the General to focus on giving depressed looks to camera that will serve as exposition for the rest of the series.
Evading the Spanish the Chevalier and his men reach the road near Occicimano, and meet the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Poncé, and his Swiss guards, on their own secret peace mission.  The Nuncio Poncé, a man with an outrageously camp Italian accent, takes a shine to Lurkio .  
The pursuing Spanish under Captain Diego Vigo Alatriste arrive and immediately attack.
Vigo has his own movie, and is probably annoyed to be cast as the archenemy in a second rate French T.V show, but he is the real deal, a proper killer, with his own series of novels, and outclasses everyone as a swordsman, except perhaps the cocksure Chevalier de Bladé. 
Sound advice to anyone who is not the Chevalier is that if you see Vigo... run!

Encounter on the road 
Rousing intro...

You've got to fight for what you want, for all that you believe
But if you see Vigo Mortensen,  you're going to have to leave,
For he will stab you in the head, then stab you in the eye,
And if you stay there long enough, you're probably going to die.







On the wooded road the Blade and his men meet the Papal Nuncio, whose wheel has come off.
 The Nuncio is the Papal Ambassador and is attempting a peace mission.  He rolls a 2, pretty much detesting the Chevalier, probably rightly.  Howvever he also rolls a 6, and takes a real shine to Lurkio the manservant.
He probably produces his trademark chocolate balls from under his cassock, only to be told he is "spoiling everyone."
 Enter Captain Vigo Alatriste and his Spanish boys,  The matchlocks are pretty much a one shot per game weapon, and the fight opens with some shooting.
Men fall on both sides and a lot of smoke is generated.
The papal Nuncio takes refuge in his carriage.
 Smoke, but look at the dice for those Spaniards.  The Chevalier's men come off much worse.
 Vigo kills his first man of the day, who doesnt put up much of a struggle.
Vigo then storms into the Chevalier and Lurkio.  His attacks strike home.  They are barely able to respond.
But this is the Chevalier, and with a mighty cry he plays the first of his "Miraculous escape" cards and shouts "Run away! Run away!"

 At the end of the game the Chevalier and his remaining Monferrat Soldiers flee into the woods.  Vigo runs in hot pursuit.
Is this the end of the Blade?
Find out in episode 4 etc...
 
There are apparently limits to the Chevalier's heroism!
As a campaign mechanism I gave the Chevalier three "Miraculous escape" cards to play.  If he is in a situation like this (where the dice said he had been run through three times by Vigo Alatriste) he can end the episode and make an unlikely and miraculous escape.
He has two of these cards left!

2 comments:

  1. So don't fight Vigo Mortensen, he's very bad indeed
    He's actually American though he sounds like a Swede.
    In Captain Alatriste he looked handsome, suave and ripped
    But thirteen thousand extras couldn't save a dodgy script.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stay close to me, Count.
      Hold on to my shirt.
      Die, Catholic dog!
      (he dies)
      Damn.

      Delete