Goats in the OSR (GoatSR)

I like goats. This is a well documented fact. I like table-top role playing games, as documented by the existence of this blog. Naturally, I'm going to combine the two.

Back in the summer of 2021, I ran some Knave for my friends. As I was preparing for the first session, what did my eye spy? Goats! For only 10 copper pieces, an aspiring adventurer could purchase a goat. I was intrigued.  Of course the players would have to obtain goats to ferry supplies to and from the dungeon. This led me into an hours long research delve into the viability of pack goats. 

The short of it: yes, people use goats to haul supplies! A well-conditioned goat can haul between 40 to 60 pounds of equipment. Naturally, I've wanted to include goats as pack animals in every game I've ran since. And I will.

This got me thinking about goats in RPGs and I started to notice when games included them and so I've compiled a list of various old-school and OSR games (and whatever else I have on my shelves) and what they have to say about goats, for your reference and mine. This isn't meant to be comprehensive, but I might come back and update it as I look through other systems.

Nightwick Abbey - Session 53 - Don't Thrown Your Only Torch

Previously, on the battlefield...

Session 53 - 20th of Elders, 1392

This week's adventurers:

Blossom (Rogue 4)

Mayfly (Magician 4)

Sotar (Cleric 4)

Liminal Space (Changeling 3)

Mechtild (Fighter 3)

Verinka (Changeling 2)

Hirelings: Gerung Floating Disk (MU 1), Elger, Guttural, Bero

Downtime in the Village

This week we took Halfdan's threats to heart and prepared to return to level 2 of Nightwick in search of its famed underground gardens. Mayfly spends the week interrogated his golden skull which contains the soul of the Master, creator of the gardens. The Master suggests we check the area where we previously fought plant-like monsters.

Liminal Space spent the week practicing with the Butcher's cleaver (which we retrieved two weeks ago) until Mayfly studied it and pointed out that the axe spreads the wasting disease Bishop's Evil whenever it is swung. Luckily, Liminal had been practicing outdoors thus far and wasn't harmed, but bringing the weapon into the dungeon seems like a non-starter for now. We briefly consider having a Sotar consecrate it or trying to sell it to Halfdan.

Mechtilde spent the week feasting (per the carousing rules) and came away with a tapeworm! She'll be at -1 CON for at least a month.

As we prepare to go into the dungeon, we give some of our spare armor to the hirelings and Blossom buys a spear for Bero.

Nightwick Abbey - Session 52 - CHAINMAIL

Previously, in Nightwick Abbey...

Session 52 - 13th of Elders, 1392

This week's adventurers:

Blossom (Rogue 4) 

Mayfly (Magician 4)

Cherwe (Cleric 4) 

Sotar (Cleric 4)

Liminal Space (Changeling 3)

Mechtild (Fighter 3)

Yevegniy the Coward (Cleric 2)

vs

The Hunting Knight (Played by Huth - Nightwick Abbey's own illustrator)

Preparing for Battle

There are no downtime activities this week as we prepare for battle. Lord Eckhard of Nightwick has given each of us a palfrey (riding horse) to use and has offered Mechtild a destrier (a warhorse) if she would like to be mounted for battle. The battle, we've decided, will be fought out using original Chainmail rules. Most of us have never played with it before, so we thought it would be a neat experience, to take things back to the start of our hobby.

A company of 60 knights led by Sir Albrecht of Lychgate and Sir Baltzer the Bold arrived in Nightwick to ask Lord Eckhard for troops to aid the Bishop. Delighted to find the mercenaries already preparing for battle, they offer to join us agains the White Lady.

As we parade out of Nightwick Village, our forces stand at:

• The Corbies - led by Sir. Guant of Fatstaff, a band of 100 medium cavalry clad in gold skull helmets

• The Brown Company - led by Frock, a group of 200 light infantry.
  

• The Company of the Goose - led by St. Gunther the Goose. 200 crossbowmen serve the Goose.
  

• The Middle Sons - a company of 200 heavy infantry led by Adolphus the Lesser.

• The Crossbowmen of Nightwick (Badder's Boys) - 20 crossbowmen total

• The Knights of Lychgate - 60 heavy cavalry led by Sir Albrecht and Sir Baltzer

Marching Orders

The weather is even nice today, clearly fate is on our side. We set off with the Knights of Lychgate and the Corbies in the vanguard, the Brown Company and Middle Sons in the main, and the Gooses and Badder's Boys in the rear as we head to the village of Vollage, where the White Lady's troops have lay siege to the towns remaining inhabitants.

We notice nothing untoward until noon along the road to Vollage, however, around midday, we notice that the autumnal forest of the Witchwood appears to have advanced south right up to the road. 

Nightwick Abbey - Session 51 - Picking Up After Ourselves

Previously in Nightwick Abbey...

Session 51 - 6th of Elders, 1392

This week's adventurers:

Blossom (Rogue 4) 

Mayfly (Magician 4)

Sotar (Cleric 4)

Liminal Space (Changeling 3)

Mechtild (Fighter 3)

Hirelings: Gerung Floating Disk (MU 1), Andre (Fighter 1), Heyno, Elger, Gutteral

Downtime in the Village

Blossom uses the week to search for rumors of ways to see in the dark. Through her various contacts, she finds out that the Blindfold of St. Candace of the Night, purported to bestow its wearer the ability to see in the dark, is in the hands of the Brotherhood of Thieves and Assassins. Where, exactly, they are holding it is still unknown to Blossom, but the expert rogue will be able to find that out in due time. Taking it from an assassin's guild may be foolhardy, but maybe they will want to strike a deal for her to obtain it.

The party clerics spend the week declaring their saintly devotion - a traditional practice for warring holy men that has been neglected in Nightwick until now. They each pick one saint to express their devotion to and, in turn, they are each blessed with holy knowledge. (Player's Note: this is a bit of extra role-playing potential, but this also gives each cleric a bonus 1st level spell that they always have memorized. Through saintly devotion, they even have the potential to learn spells not on the cleric spell list!)

Sotar devotes himself to The Lady, the first to hear from the God of Law and who founded the Church by sharing the God of Law's teachings.

Yevgeniy devotes himself to St. Gax the Lawgiver, who wrote down The Lady's teachings before her death and then added some bits to make it more "comprehensible, complete, and followable," according to him.

Cherwe devotes herself to St. Richard the Prior, the patron saint of truth tellers who died by immolation.

Sotar is interested in St. Gunther, the Goose (who leads the Company of the Goose), but must first decide if he aligns with the Eastern Church and then establish an enclave to him.

Liminal Space went carousing, but it went quite poorly. He got into a one-sided knife fight where he got badly stabbed (starting the week's session down 8hp - over half of his total). On the morning of our delve into Nightwick, he shows up, badly bandaged and still bleeding a little bit, but insisting that he is fine.

Mayfly studied the recently captured spellbook and learned Web from it.

Nightwick Abbey - Session 50!!!! - Everything is Fine. Nothing is Ruined.

 Previously, in the world of Nightwick...

Art by Don Greer

Session 50 - 30th of Primes 1392

This week's adventurers:

Blossom (Rogue 4)

Sotar (Cleric 4)

Liminal Space (Changeling 3)

Yevgeniy the Coward (Cleric 2)

Mechtild (Fighter 3)

Hirelings: Gerung Floating Disk (MU 1), Ticze (Changeling 1), Ditl (Cleric 1), Andre (Fighter 1), Heyno

Downtime in the Village

Over the week, the party, with our 700 mercenaries in tow, uneventfully make it back to Nightwick Village. We plan to march out to meet the White Lady in two weeks (when all of the players will be available to play) and so this week, we decide to return to Nightwick Abbey. A number of potential hirelings come up to us, offering to be hired, as we prepare for our delve. Our applicants are:

• A single member of the Corbies (one of the merc companies we hired last week), Andre, offers to delve into the dungeon with us in exchange for a half share of treasure (and xp). He brings with him chainmail, a helmet and hounskull, a shield, a sword and a lance.
• Nyze, a peasant girl from the village, offers to serve as a linkperson (basically a torchbearer) for 5sp/month. She's missing her right arm.
• Bero, a member of the woodsman's lodge, offers to fight with us armed with a bow and axe. (1gp/month with 5sp danger pay). He is hobbled and can only move as fast as a man in plate.
• A tongue-less bandit whose name we can't quite make out. He's otherwise well armed. We assume he takes the standard fare, 10sp/month.

Mechtild hires the bandit (swiftly nicknamed "Gutteral,") swearing she can fix him. Sotar hires Andre and Blossom hires Bero to increase the party's fighting power. We decide to enter Nightwick Abbey by the side entrance through the graveyard, where the party hasn't been since session 4, which will take us straight to level 3.

Nightwick Abbey - Session 49 - Blossom the Rogue's Excellent All-Natural 100% Authentic Real Fake Children (and Some Silly Gooses)

Previously, on the road from Nightwick....

Session 49 - 17th of Primes 1392

This week's adventurers:

Blossom (Rogue 4)

Sotar (Cleric 4)

Cherwe (Cleric 4)

Mayfly (Magic-User 3)

Liminal Space (Changeling 3)

Yevgeniy the Coward (Cleric 2)

Verinka (Changeling 2)

Mechtild (Fighter 2)

Hirelings: Gerung Floating Disk (MU 1), Ticze (Changeling 1), Ditl (Cleric 1) + All the others

Arriving in Frogguts

The party has just arrived at Frogguts, a town that seems to have based its entire identity on hating Froglings. Unlike Knightpath and Nightwick, the buildings of Frogguts are packed in tightly together in three large blocks. As we walk down the street towards the Frog Legs Inn, we notice that we don't see any children in town. Liminal Space, our most charismatic party member, talks to one of the villagers we pass. 

"Hello peasant, I see that you have no children."

Said peasant goes into her house silently and continues to warily watch the party through a window. Once we make it to the inn, we note that the population seems to be all Realmish people with none of the local Bogdonis present. 

Nightwick Abbey - Session 48 - Everyone Has Two Grandmothers

The halls of Nightwick call for blood! There is an opening for new adventurers to join us on our weekly delves!

Session 48 - 16th of Primes 1392

This week's adventurers:

Blossom (Rogue 4)

Sotar (Cleric 4)

Mayfly (Magic-User 3)  

Liminal Space (Changeling 3)

Yevgeniy the Coward (Cleric 2)

Verinka (Changeling 2)

Mechtild (Fighter 2)

Hirelings: Gerung Floating Disk (MU 1), Ticze (Changeling 1), Ditl (Cleric 1) + All the others

Downtime in the Village

Last week, the gang (sans Sotar) acquired a new house! There were people in the basements or dog breeders? Now we have a hangout spot for the crew and hopefully a safer place to store party treasure. The White Lady, one of the old gods of the land, is still harassing the roads to the north and so we decide brave the 3 day journey to Blackleg in the south to hire some mercenaries to go deal with her. Blossom scouts to try to get a handle on what forces the White Lady brings with her and discovers that she seems to have a horde of pigmen as her army with elves serving as officers, though Blossom is unable to determine the size of her forces.