The Empire at War - le verrah rubicon - Free

A small wooden tower is located on the bank,
next to a dilapidated jetty. The post flies a very
tattered flag of a rampant bear wearing a crown
(one insignia used by the authorities of
Imperial Kislev). A chaika boat is pulled up
upon the shore, though it is barely seaworthy
due to lack of use or maintenance. Chaika
boats are Imperial Kislevite river patrol boats.
The knyazates, under the command of Uruk
Széckler, are also (knowingly or otherwise)
under the command of the skaven. So too is a
local hedge wizard, Sven Sokolova, who is
under the tutelage of the local skaven seer. The
background and nature of the Black Scratch are
not relevant here; hopefully the PCs will pass
through and bluff or pay their way past this
minor irritation.
Indeed, none of this would be of any interest to
our heroes, except for the fact that the river
wardens eke out their living by a mixture of
duty and piracy, and it is in this vein they will
accost the PCs. In theory, the post has a boom
that can be tied across the river, but this is
unlikely to be serviceable. Instead, the
knyazates can use their boat, and rely on two or
three small fishing boats with which to
intercept any lone vessel. How any encounter
develops is up to the PCs. The Kislevites are
pirates, true. They are, however, also the
official law. If the PCs can put on a good
show, it should be quite easy to scare off the
wardens more nefarious aims, and barter for
passage via a small bribe. Should the PCs
show any signs of being worried or outclassed,
the knyazates pounce.
The PCs will first become aware of when an
official boat puts out to intercept them,
accompanied by a number of fishing boats that
will attempt to surround them. Should the PCs
attempt to flee immediately, they will be able
to out-distance the chaika quite easily. Ulf
might need some convincing though;
remember he makes his living by sailing the
rivers and needs to keep officials happy. If this
costs his passengers a few GCs, that is not
Ulf’s concern. In addition, the chaika has two
small cannons in its bow. These are almost
certainly rusted, but the PCs will not know this
(though one with the Engineer skill will realize
Empire at War
16
on close inspection that the cannon are past
serviceable).
Ulf knows the way that things work on the
river, as do the river wardens. Both will
effectively expect the PCs to pay the latter off.
Neither the Ulf nor his sons will help should a
fight develop, and they will expect a hefty
bribe not to turf the PCs off their boat if they
are so crass as to do so. The knyazates will
bluff and bluster, push around PCs and
generally pick on any one different - elves,
dwarfs and attractive human females might all
receive some 'treatment'. A mixture of
intimidation and/or a small payment will pay
off these very petty criminals.
Sidebar: Chaika Boat
The boat has a central mast, but relies
usually on oars. Cannons are located in
the front, and sometimes elsewhere. Its
crew will row as necessary, but these
knyazates are usually too hung over or
useless to indulge in much physical
activity.
The following picture is of the
excellent Eureka Miniatures model of a
Cossack chaika boat, and serves to
illustrate what our river wardens are
using.