The Enemy Within - Session 140

 26/4/26

Taal be with you

Having got a view of the eastern approach to Karak Skygg the party make a plan for tomorrow. Following the river would expose them to the Skaven guard post to the north of the the Needle, but Farforrda knows there is a valley which winds up behind that ridge due north of Ingrid's cave - if they make for that perhaps he can cast Lie of the Land again and find a route which avoids the obvious, easily monitored approach.

 They ask if they can leave Carnac with Ingrid, the dog is not best suited for clandestine journeys, and she happily consents. Farfordda asks if he might join her in prayer to Taal at the simple shrine she has constructed in the back cave, to which she also consents. 

It is now raining fiercely outside so they spend the evening in the cave, Magdalena also in prayer and even Norgrim, much to Thindra's surprise intoning half remembered invocations to Valaya.
Farfordda gifts Ingrid a glass of Dreamwine and sitting before the Taal shrine sets about consulting the Tarot. 

Are the Skaven trying to summon something? 

The hand he gets could not be clearer, no - they have built some terrible weapon, utilizing the huge lump of wierdstane acquired from Wittgenstein.

They wake after a night of unsettling dreams to the sounds of Ingrid boiling up some breakfast gruel. Farfordda has trouble shaking his nightmare - feeling like he spent all night running through forest to warn the people of Stust of the oncoming Beatsmen horde, passing those odd ale merchants they saw at Magnus Rest trading with Valeria Roth, to arrive and find the village empty, a table covered in butcher's implements, dripping with blood by the well in the square and a great gelatinous mound of eyeballs stacked nearby.

Ingrid tells them she has decided to make for Dunfurter today, as soon as the weather looks more settled, she'll take Carnac with her. It is not raining at this moment, but the sky is heavy and everything wet, a chilly morning with more rain on the way. 

They say their goodbyes - Farfordda grimly instructing her that should their dead bodies be here when she returns, to bury them and take nothing. Taal be with you.

They tramp back down into the valley, and follow it to the west, around the peak they climbed yesterday. It is close to midday when they cross the ridge and begin their descent to the river, getting a brief glimpse of Karak Skygg before they enter the deep river valley. 

They get soaked to the skin before the afternoon is out, fording the river, then its sibling just before sunset. It is after dark by the time they reach the mouth of the valley they were bound for. Too dark to find much of a camp, and little in the way of a firewood. The rain has stopped, yielding to a cold clear night with a waxing Mannsleib bright in the sky, it is a mere 4 nights till the full moon, till Morrsleib joins it on Geheimenistag. 

In the morning Farfordda breaks from the party to travel swiftly and reach a point to cast his spell. Magdalena and the dwarves make their way slowly up the valley, foraging and collecting firewood as they go. They find a sheltered spot, close to where the valley narrows steeply, dig a fire pit and rest. 

Farfordda follows the valley, it widens out with one arm running north east, the other north west, narrowing towards Karak Skygg. 

He wastes no time with channeling, using Herzen's wand he casts Lie of the Land once more. With his mind's eye he can see that if they scale the ridge at the north west end of this valley they can enter the river valley that cleaves the eastern flank of the old volcano, avoiding the guard post they spied yesterday completely. Furthermore he can see the narrow, low channel that likely marks the outflow, but it is west of the main entrance, meaning they will need to pass in front of the mountain's maw to gain access. 

There are at least two miles to cover between Karak Skygg and the Needle. The undulations of the mountainous landscape may provide cover, if approached carefully. Although the details are obscure, he can tell that there are five strata of dwarven halls from the base of the mountain to the caldera at its top. 

As soon as he finishes soaking up the folds of the land he heads back to the others. On route, as the sun sets he hears the sound of distant bell tolling 13 times, echoing down between the mountains from Karak Skygg. 

He reaches their camp after dark. It is the 22nd of Nachgeheim, a chilly overcast night, promising more rain soon... 

The Enemy Within - Session 139

18/4/26

Ingrid

Farfordda, reflecting on his magical scrying of the land realises that there is a potentially more concealed, if longer route to the cave near the ford, so after burying their unwanted gear they head north up the valley, away from the river Taub and trudge up into a long high valley running North East. 

A few hours into the trek, not long after the ground has turned damp and boggy Carnac starts barking - some 200 yards ahead of them, a slow lumbering mass that could easily be mistaken for a rocky landscape feature, turns towards them. It is a confused looking troll, which gets all the more confused as the party rush behind some handily nearby boulders and Farfordda casts Murmured Whisper to have a voice off to their right shout Troll!

He follows it up with Marsh Lights, creating glowing points against the leaden sky which succeed in distracting the dumb brute, and leads it off in a wide arc around them. They watch anxiously as it disappears down the way they came.

By late afternoon the sky clears, and it gets notably cooler. They are deep in the mountains now and their view restricted by close peaks and the flanks of great, rock strewn valleys. 

It is close to sunset when they find the valley of the cave. But their destination is nowhere to be seen, so the party rest under some wiry mountain trees as Farfordda attempts channeling the winds of magic to cast Lie of the Land again. His sing song enchantment comes to nothing and he's driven to use Etelka Herzen's wand once more (to the mocking accompaniment of the dwarves). The cave it turns out is not far above. 

They scramble up the slope, barely seeing the entrance in the low dusk light. Magdalena's twitching nose smells smoke. Farfordda approaches while the others hold back. Five yards out he hears a burst of dramatic coughing, and a wheezy voice trying hard to sound menacing, cries out to stay back.

'Ingrid is that you?'

The dirty haggard face of the hermit pokes out from the cave  mouth - ah elf, it is you!

The wide low entrance gives way to a steep slope down to this rocky chamber that Ingrid uses as her living room. Skins stretch on racks, pots, knives and working implements litter the floor. A small fire throws light across the space, and up another slope opposite the entrance they see furs hanging, obscuring the narrow openning to what Farfordda knows is another chamber.
 

They gather around the fire and catch up. 

How did they get on with the Holzbek's she asks? Did they get the little girl to Dunfurter? They tell her of Baron Holzbek's death from corrupted wound inflicted by the beastman Gazrin One-horn, that they never got to meet him and that Ada is actually his daughter. 

She tells them that she never got to drink that bottle of Eilhart they traded with her; a few days after they met she had a run in with some Orcs and had to abandon her cave. She has not long returned, after spending weeks hiding on the other side of the mountain - she was caught in that great storm at the start of the month and has been poorly ever since. 

Having been round the other side of the mountain though she has some intelligence on Zerlumptberg. On overcast nights, you can see the cloud above the ragged mountain peak bathed in a sickly green light, and twice at sunset she has heard a bell tolling, echoing down the valley. People too, she's seen a few small groups of humans, coming and going up along the river to the delta.
 

She asks them what they plan, and Farfordda in relating their struggle with the ratmen mentions Unterfraus, how the whole village was abducted, vanished. She becomes ashen faced, that's where she was born, where she grew up. Distraught she retires to her sleeping chamber.

In the morning she tells them that she left the village for the mountains when she was 12, to escape an arranged marriage. She had been planning to try hold out here for winter and search for another suitable cave next spring but now feels she must visit Unterfraus. 

They explain that it is abandoned, there will be no one there. Farfordda tells her she won't last winter if she stays here though, she should leave, go to Dunfurter. Magdalena offsets the menace of Farfordda's dark warnings by saying they have friends at Dunfurter. Speak to Von Reiter or the Steward and tell them 'she is here to do Verena's business', tell them that she knows Magdalena, saviour of Ada. The Holzbek's owe them much. Please speak with the girl Ada, tell her the tale of a Knight fighting Orcs and Trolls, always doing the right thing no matter how dangerous or difficult. Be like the knight.
Perhaps she'll go, for now Ingrid makes breakfast and tells them they're welcome to stay here as long as they need. 

It is a cold morning, but clear, so the party decide to take advantage of the weather and climb to the peak high above Ingrid's cave to get a better view. Taking minimal equipment they begin the ascent and reach the summit near midday. 

It is an almost perfect spot to see north west up the river valley, being higher than any ridge this side of the river. They can see the broken top of Karak Skygg, but its base is hidden behind the peak Ingrid calls the Needle. Amos inspecting carefully with their telescope spies what looks like a crane or metal structure protruding from the north east flank of the extinct volcano, near the top, and tendrils of smoke rising from within the caldera. The base might be obscured, but it is clear that there is a navigable route either side of the Needle. They can see signs of the logging camps mentioned previously by Ingrid. 

They spend a good hour up on the cold peak, and finally spot Skaven. There are a troop of 10 or so loitering at the tip of the forested delta, and a couple in a sort of fox hole or guard post, high up on a slope north east of the Needle - those Skaven will have a good view over the delta.

They make their way carefully back down to the cave. It is late afternoon on the 20th of Nachgeheim, 5 days before Geheimnistag...  

The Enemy Within - Session 138

 4/4/26

Taking No Chances

Carnac, Norgrim's dog starts to bark as Thindra and Amos release their crossbow bolts at the unsuspecting Orcs resting under a tree ahead. Farfordda takes cover behind a boulder, relinquishing first shot to the dwarves only as he pauses for thought - could they parlay rather than fight? Magdalena sends their horses back the way they came and Norgrim marches forwards with Carnac at his side. 

Two of the Orcs return fire with bows as the others charge. 

 

Soon Norgrim and Carnac are engaged in melee with the great axe wielding leader and another with a cleaver. Carnac wrests the shield from one and Magdalena charges in before Norgrim lands his first blow, disarming the hulking leader with a critical to the arm. 

The party soon have the upper hand. The first orc to fall (taken down by Amos and Thindra) shockingly coughs his way back to life and makes a run for it but is chased down to the riverbank and dispatched by Magdalena. The other Orc archer was the first to make a break for it, getting on a fierce sprint he would likely have escaped had not Farfordda cast Entangle all too well, and brought the Orc down in an eruption of  roots, though he paid the price in the form of further tainting from Corruption. The confused Orc pleads for mercy as Farfordda races up and delivers the killing blow. 

It was all over in minutes. 

Norgrim and Amos sustained injuries which Magdalena attended to before chasing after their horses. They dumped the Orc bodies in the river and considered next steps. 

Farfordda employed Etelka Herzen's wand to cast Lie of the Land, searching for some spot where they could make a secure camp. The only cave he sees is nearly 5 miles north, just over a mile west of the ford in a high valley behind the ridge on the west bank of the Taub. They cannot make it before dark, and not with the horses, so they elect to retrace their steps and make camp in another valley half way back towards where they started out this morning. 

It is well into night by the time they pitch up, digging a pit for their fire in the hopes of minimizing their visibility - they need its heat to dry their clothes and gear.

The following morning they decide to release the horses, ditch what they cannot carry and make for the cave. They split the rope between Thindra and Norgrim and dig a pit to bury their tents and the barrel of gunpowder. They send the horse and mules off packing in the direction of Dunfurter and return to the river, getting back on the trail a little after 10am on the heavily overcast morning of Nachgeheim 19th ... 

The Enemy Within - Session 137

21/3/26

A Knight's Tale

On their day of rest on the 15th the dwarven miners share with the party news that they learned on their way here - that the Graf issued an arrest warrant for his son Baron Toddbringer on the 8th, for crimes of treason and conspiring with the enemies of Middenheim. They also hear that Weissbruck, where they met Blitzen and stayed in his tower has fallen to the Guardians of the Empire and declared itself a free town.

After breakfast on the 16th they say their goodbyes and make for Dunfurter Castle. Farfordda apologizes to Gaffer Mulderbrook for alarming him, then impresses upon him that he must lead his people through the terrible challenges to come.

They arrive at Dunfurter in the afternoon. Meyer is still absent, and its not known when he'll return. Ada joins them in the feasting hall - she's glad to see Magdalena but she's doesn't like her governess, Frau Martinez has a low opinion of her aunt and smells apparently. She's become friends with the cook Beth who has taken her under her wing and excitedly shows Magdalena a mirror that belonged to her Aunt Elena when she was a child, inscribed with her initials.

They ask around the castle for news of Holzbek and hear from Captain Nietz that Steward Meyer has got things under control in the town but at the cost of hanging Ulrican zealots and firebrands from Middenheim. The captain has been sending egular patrols to Unterfraus ensure that nothing malignant takes root in the desolate village. Magdalena asks him to provide martial instruction to Ada, saying she had begun such and it's good for a growing girl to have the exercise. The Captain looks skeptical but does not outright contradict her.

Ullman the huntsman returns, Carny, Norgrim's dog is with his pack - Ada having abandoned her dog training duties. Ullman says she had been pestering him but he has no time for looking after a high born child - the party are dismayed, it would be good for Ada to spend time hunting for him. Its dangerous out there, the Holzbek heir cannot have her life risked in mountain hikes - he saw a giant yesterday, a 20' tall monstrosity, 10 miles NE of here in the Taubertaal! 

Since they were last here Ullman has been back to Unterfraus. He found barrel fragments in the demolished mine bearing the Karzburdger coat of arms, odd given that these are Holzbek lands...

Farfordda asks if he'd take him out hunting and the pair of them along with Amos head out to see what they can bag before dark. They manage to take down a stag which Ullman and Amos return with leaving Farfordda to spend the night trying to learn another spell and consulting the Tarot. 

Back at the castle, just after sunset Magdalena and Norgrim are sat in the kitchen chatting with Ada and the staff when the captain interrupts and bids Magdalena follow him. In the stables stands a pale and weary looking Von Reiter, uncharacteristically dressed in muted traveling clothes rather than his Holzbek livery. 

He is glad to see Magdalena but says Steward Meyer sent him incognito with difficult tidings - yesterday Meyer received a letter from the Graf of Middenheim saying that it was known Holzbek harboured a fugitive and enemy of the crown, that if Meyer did not arrive with Magdalena within the week to answer for this iniquity then this combined with the recent dynastic contestation would lead to conflict. Von Reiter stresses how much the whole Barony of Holzbelk owes Magdalena but they cannot confront the might of Middenheim, at least not yet. 

Meyer must remain in Holzbek while he waits to treat with various envoys bound there, ideally Magdalena should wait here till he returns, but he understands she may not wish to do that. This being the case they must make out as though she escaped from here, so Meyer can play for time with Middenheim. 

Magdalena confers with the dwarves and they decide they will resupply and leave in the morning, then she will seemingly flee the castle an hour later and join them on the trail. Von Reiter says they will sound the castle bell and make a show of her flight, Magdalena tells him to thank Meyer for his discretion and leaves a letter with him to be sent on to her family. She is doubtful that their mountain adventure would grant her the luxury to face Middenheim anyway.

She puts Ada down to bed, knowing this is likely the last time she'll see her and that tomorrow Ada will hear that Magdalena is a fugitive, a criminal feeling the Graf's retribution. She tells the girl a story about a Knight who spent her life fighting for good and justice, and kept on doing so even when others accused her of ill and spread lies about her. 

Shortly after dawn on the 17th the Dwarves leave the castle with 2 mules laden with tents, rope and their barrel of gunpowder. They meet Farfordda a mile or so out from the castle, and together they wait in the forest for Magdalena to join them, galloping from the castle to the sounds of alarm.

They begin their journey up the great valley of the Taubertaal. Farfordda tells them he consulted the Tarot last night; whatever the Skaven are up to does not involve the chaos gate, but if they are not stopped a terrible doom will befall the land, many will die. Hi ho, hi ho, they march on through a stormy day, it is not cold, but they are soaked several times before they make a fireless camp close by where they killed the goblins and rescued Ada. They mark the trees around with the sign of Taal in the hopes of meeting with Ingrid the hermit. 

On the morning of the 18th they reach the river Tauber, and begin to follow it up into the mountains. Farfordda remembers Ingrid telling him it is only navigable on the west bank as far as the ford which is close to both Karak Kazarak, home of the Red Tusk orcs and near her cave. The smart thing would be to break their travels early and find a concealed spot to camp and set as a base while they try find Ingrid and navigate Orc country. 

Mid afternoon, not far past the lake, just as they set about finding a camp-spot in earnest they happen upon a half dozen orcs. Farfordda spots them first, but as they are a mere 50 yards away and hiding with the mules, dog and horse would be a stretch at best, they bring their missile weapons to bear... 

The Enemy Within - Session 136

  

 8/3/26

Return to Oberholzbek

The decision is taken to head for Oberholzbek. They set off shortly after searching the brigands bodies, and critically after Norgrim imbibes their precious Panacea Universalis, which mends his fractured ribs and torn muscles, ensuring they no longer have to move at a snails pace. Belts are tightened though as other than a single apple found on the fallen they have no food. 

They trek south east, reaching the edge of the Sturmtaal shortly after sun rise. Another hour sees them on the banks of the Kleiflusch where they find a spot to camp and take some rest. After noon, following a fruitless attempt at fishing they push on. 

Propelled by hunger they cross the ford and manage to reach Oberholzbek by sunset - greeted at the newly constructed, almost finished wall by Holzbek liveried guards. There are ten of them, stationed since four days ago, they along with a posse of dwarves answering Norgrim's call to The Coppershiners made short work of what the locals had started.

Magdalena and Farfordda stay with the Mulderbrooks at their farmhouse - they are pleased to see the return of these heroes - especially as their two, ominously riderless ponies turned up here yesterday. 

The dwarves go straight to the Pit Prop - the village pub is heaving with dwarves, soldiers and locals and they receive an appropriately raucous welcome. The dwarves got here three days ago, and are happy with the prospects at the mine. Bardin Ironplough their burly leader explains he was sick of Middenheim anyway, they might have the right idea about mutants there but humans selling each other out turns his stomach. The gang tell tales of their exploits, everyone is eager to hear about the Two Fingers and the tale about the giant rat in the mine.

In the tamer setting of the Mulderbrook's homely hearth Farfordda answers the Gaffer's questions about the Two Fingers in a more guarded fashion - warning him of traps and ghosts and how the towers were built before the War of Vengeance. They learned that there is a great chaos gate beneath Karak Skygg, and it is this which lead to the dwarves abandoning Karaz Ghumzul, their kingdom of the Middle Mountains. 

They show him the scrawled map they found on Jakan's body - he suspects the location marked on it may be the dwarf temple he found in his youth. They conjecture that this is where the bandits who kidnapped Ada are camped, and why Jakan reacted so strongly to Amos mentioning that they were seeking an old dwarf temple in the mountains. Just as well we've built our wall says Johan, your wall's not likely to stop the horrors of the skaven says Farfordda, and lays on with menace connecting all the recent horrors, the skaven, the abomination in the mine, the abduction of Unterfraus and this recently learned of gate to hell beneath the mountains. Maybe mad auld Wullie wasn't so mad after all. Johan Mulderbrook will no doubt have a troubled sleep that night.

They spend the following day recovering in the village, planning to head on to Castle Dunfurter on the morning of the 15th, with a view to striking into the mountains towards Karak Skygg the day after 

The Enemy Within - Session 135

21/2/26

The Better Part of Valour

As the spectral form coalesces, howling in the shaft high above the room, the party makes the snap decision to bolt. Norgrim passes the ring he took from the filthy skeleton to Farfordda and stumbles, impeded by his injuries towards the stairs. Magdalena rushes down followed closely by Amos, Thindra waits crossbow in hand for Norgrim. 

Farfordda holds the ring aloft and shouts at the swirling currents of dhar above "Praise to the Sun, Asuryan! Praise to the Moon, Liliath! I am Farfordda of the Laurelorn, son of Faranna - veteran of the War of the Beard who fought alongside the lord and lady that built these towers. I have come to honour that alliance..". 

There is no immediate response. He slips on the ring and focuses, falling headlong into a corrupted world of Necromancy. This is a ring of Nagash, forged from forbidden knowledge in the 9 books of Nagash. The wearer can, by simply looking, raise and control the dead within their sight. At the cost of corruption to their soul. 

He opens his eyes as the ghostly horror swoops at him, a translucent female human in tattered robes, her features worn away, eye sockets empty, glowing, her mouth contorted in a pained howl. Her touch is icy cold, he recoils and makes use of the ring, raising the broken-backed, rotten corpse of an orc by the stairs. It shambles uselessly forwards as the thing swoops at Farforrda again. 

He manages to dodge, and lacking any other magical means of attack lunges at it, casting Sleep. He is injured again by the simple contact with the deathly cold, but after the briefest clash of wills the ghost fades away. The Orc cadaver drops to the floor as Farfordda turns and rushes down the stairs to join the others, now all the way down at the ground floor hall, eager to escape. They have no idea how long the effects of the spell will last, or even what it did. What does it mean for a ghost to sleep?

They gird themselves with their shields to protect against aerial attack and head out into the cold clear afternoon. As soon as dwarven feet touch the ground the tower emits it's pulse. Birds squawk and take flight from the forest all around. 

They go as fast as Norgrim can, which is barely walking speed. A swarm of tiny razor-beaked birds comes buzzing at them from the trees, catching them before they can leave the clearing. They peck at Norgrim, causing little actual damage but infecting him with poison. The swarm dissipates as soon as the party reach the cover of the trees. 

Both Farfordda and Magdalena try treat Norgrim's wounds, but in the end it is his natural toughness that saves him. They have neither food, nor transport and all are exhausted. The decision is quickly taken to camp beneath the overhang where they sheltered from the rain on the first night of their hunt to rescue Ada, that should be a mere few miles to the north-east. 

Traveling at Norgim's leaden pace they find the spot just before sunset, and build a fire with the wood collected on route. Farfordda pushes against his exhaustion and hunts, coming back a few hours later with a brace of hares. Not enough to feed them all but better than nothing.

The overhang is on the north east side of the Two Fingers hill, more or less facing Zerlumptberg, or Karak Skygg. To the north west runs the high valley which eventually deposits into the road north of Lindenheim.  

Thindra, on third watch in the wee small hours, hears something among the trees nearby. She wakes the others as two arrows clack into the rock face behind them. Then another three. They grab their weapons as four armed men come rushing out of the trees towards them. 

It is a brief and bloody fight. Magdalena fells one and Thindra two, the archers in the trees come charging in to support their comrades, but change their minds when they see their leader fall screaming to the ground, his arm is severed. 

The party catch their breath as the 3 remaining capable assailants flee into the trees. For the most part they have sustained only minor injuries, though Magdalena has lost her Myrmidian shield and Norgrim, having fumbled again has torn a muscle in his leg, how slow can you walk and still actually get anywhere? 

Amos checks the one fallen sword - it bears a Sigmarite symbol on the pommel in the same way as that carried by the trapper Jakan Trum and those of Ada's kidnappers. 

It is 4am on the 13th of Nachgeheim, cold and overcast, the party are tired and hungry... 

Cardboard Anxiety

 

I can't remember how I used to run games in the past, like what I found difficult or easy to GM, was I worried about being unfair or overly generous? I don't think I was ever a killer GM or terribly indulgent with the magic items and such. I was probably always earnest and a wee bit stingy, maybe a tad mudcore. 
Mind you, I do remember one time killing off the whole party so I could get back to playing Berzerk on my pal's Atari 2600, but hey I was a teenager and it was the 1980s.

GNS 

Coming back to it all as an adult I am more self conscious about GMing, whether that's age or because I  returned after reading so much about it online during the pandemic, I'm not sure. Discovering Ron Edwards (long after the end of the Forge) introduced me to the first RPG theory I think I'd probably read, his notion of  there being 3 approaches to play seemed compelling; Gamist, Narrativist and Simulationist. 

These map quite nicely on to our group, I sit squarely in the Simulationist camp. At least that's where I aspire to pitch my tent. I like to set the world going then see where the players push or get pushed by it, see where the momentum will take it. I like to be surprised by what they do even if it does mean binning a lot of prep. The thing I find difficult now, which I suspect bothered me less in the past, is making things happen which are supposed to happen because of the (purchased) adventure or because I want to contrive some particular situation.

The Enemy Within 

For the past 4 years we have been playing The Enemy Within, and to some degree it is a big chain of contrivances. I think at first I found it easier to go along with as I was just getting back into the hobby so maybe lacked the confidence to go off piste. I did feel really awkward about how forced some of it's situations were - i remember feeling an intense flush of cringe pushing the Max Ernst confrontation on the players in Altdorf. The PCs are in a bar and this guy picks a fight with them, but its a whole scene involving these 2 idiot nobles etc. 

It worked fine at the table, the players didn't bat an eyelid, besides due to a fluky dice roll Max Ernst got cleaved in twain and it was the first combat in a few sessions which spiced things up. But it only happens in order get the PCs into trouble with the authorities and push them out of town and on to the next encounter, and they will end up in that trouble regardless of what they do so they are forced to move on. It feels cheap to me and like a deception has taken place.

Pure Cardboard

Skip forwards a year or so and we're on part 2 of The Enemy Within, Death on the Reik. The PC's are on their barge sailing through some treacherous marsh, lead by a local huffer on a skiff ahead of them. For reasons I can't remember, possibly just pacing and world building, I wanted to have the players attacked by a River Troll. More specific than that I wanted the huffer to get killed and the PCs be on their own in the marsh. I wanted to describe this whole thing, the huffer being suddenly pulled from his boat to disappear beneath the misty surface, and not roll dice until the troll came for the PCs. 

By this point I had come come across  a potential solution to my narrativist anxieties. I suspect I had seen a few narrative control meta currencies before, but it was reading Flames of Freedom (a sort of descendant of WFRP set in revolutionary colonial America) which lead me to adopt this house rule: if I as the GM arbitrarily have something happen which would normally require a dice roll, the player's receive a Destiny Token, which can be used before the end of the following session to have the players' exercise some form of narrative control (such as - 'my character knows a reliable Fence in this town we've just arrived in'). So I gave them a destiny token (eh actually a Glen Marnoch cork whisky stopper) and the poor huffer bought it. 

I think we might have used this mechanic a couple of times, but the players would often forget about it and ultimately it just didn't feel quite right. Having the game move along through contrived events in the official adventure was bad enough, adding my own extra contrivances was just too much. Actually back in the day we had a name for this - when a player character did something which everyone regarded as out of character, they were accused of 'being cardboard' - I guess as in a cardboard cut-out rather than a three dimensional person, they were not believable. The GM would be accused of this too if the world behaved in an unbelievable way - 'that's pure cardboard!' would go the cry. 

Somatic Components

As the campaign has gone on I found have myself instinctively trying to minimise all the many deus ex machina, playing it as much like a sandbox as possible. Death on the Reik in particular is full of things which happen conveniently just as the players show up. Where possible I added some kind of conditional logic to these, like the ghost at the comet crater in the Barren Hills only appears when Morrsleib is out, and the Skaven will only break into the cave when the ghost is present. Consequently the players never met the ghost or ran into those Skaven. And when they arrived at Wittgenstein I rolled a d6 to see how many days it would be before the Skaven blew the whole place up. 

I should say I do all my rolls in front of the players, I might not tell them what the roll is for, and more often than not I will get them to roll the actual dice. This way I need to adhere to what the dice say, it keeps me honest. They can't really complain if a failed roll results in character death - it was the dice that did it, see - not me. Is this just abrogation of responsibility? The dice wot did it. 

No its about impartiality and the believable, and playing to see what happens, resisting the urge to shape things towards the story you want to tell, or the story you find easiest to tell. This attitude is clearly a bit Quixotic when it comes to running an off the shelf campaign as story driven as The Enemy Within. Still you live and learn. Now if I'm unsure about something, or even if have a thing I want to happen, I'll set the chances and roll the dice. Sometimes it will give me the drama or convenience I'm after, other times not so much. For me that's the price I need to pay to create the magic circle. The campaign has taken some seriously unscripted forks, but nearly five years later we're still playing it.