Deadzone 2, Review and AAR.

Just in time for the end of month, I thought I'd  get my first stab at Deadzone 2 documented.  This wouldbe  the results of Mantic's latest Deadzone Kickstarter that was funded on April 6th, 2015. I was for the quarantine pledge and 14 months later it delivered safe and sound.

 I've only ever played a couple demo games of the Original Deadzone, acquiring a handful of models along the way as I liked the look of them for generic sci fi gaming. 18 months after my initial Deadzone trials, I find myself with a bunch of models, my Kickstarter pledge delivered and exactly 1 Deadzone 2 Demo under my belt played at Adepticon this year.

While Mantic has retooled and geared Deadzone 2 to be the boardgame-esque companion game to its new "Warpath" game system. ( a 40K competitor large format Sci Fi wargame, ) I do think Mantic somewhat missed the boat here. Originally Deadzone was  presented as Mantic's only Sci Fi wargame entry. Uniquely different from 40K  It had found itself a good niche. However it seems the resulting success of Kings of War, (almost entirely due to Games Workshop blowing up Warhammer Fantasy) somehow clouded  Mantic's judgement into thinking a 40K style entry could do similarly well and the "new" Deadzone sort of just got piled in with that.

While I am glad it did it as I could care less about Warpath, and I am kind of thinking alot of gamers who like the genre will not care either ,because if you want a game "like" 40K you just play 40K, Which leaves a a small percentage of outcasts that like the genre but don't like 40K , for whatever reason and want to invest in Warpath.

Regardless,  I like Deadzone 2, it reads quick , I like the mechanics with low model counts and a small board.  There no shortage of excellent terrain and models to be had, I've quickly found myself with 5 factions between trades, cheap buys on ebay and the Kickstarter. I now have Enforcers, Rebs, Plague, Veer Myn and Forge Fathers. not tons of models but enough I can field Deadzone teams for all 5 factions. It nice was  to actually play something with nice selection of Sci Fi models I've had for years. the fit is right.

Here is a walkthru of  my first actual game:. Factions are Enforcers Vs Rebs, on the new Industrial Terrain.
 I have some actual mantic models done here, mainly Rebs 5 of 8 models, but the Enforcers ,except for one , Pathfinder Sniper, are proxied by my Reaper Nova Corp  who seem to  fit right in. Terrain is all new from Kickstarter , with the exception of the grey command building which is from the Urban terrain set. Things are not totally done yet, I'm still getting into it but I modeled up the buildings and got the spray cans out a couple sundays ago..Here is how the game went:

The board- this is basic KS terrain set plus a couple Urban Sprues for the grey building.

  

Strike Teams at 150 points

Mission : Scour.

Enforcers

Sergeant- added Laser Rifle

Pathfinder Specialist- Sniper

Strider w/ Equalizer

3 Enforcers

Medi Pack

Enforcers (proxied Reaper Nova Corp, the Strider is a Robotech promo model from 2 year back)

  

Rebs

Commander with Sniper Rifle

Teraton

Sorak Specialist

Yndij Trooper added combat blades

4 Troopers

Medipack

Smoke Grenade

Frag Grenade

Ammo

AP Ammo

  

Rebs, a mix of Mantic and Reaper figures

Initiative:  5 Dice Recon Test, both Leaders have a 4+ recon value

Enforcers rolls 5 Successes

Rebs 3, Enforcers have initiative choose to deploy and go first.

Enforcer Strider and Sniper take Scout Moves

Reb Yndij makes Scout Move.

ROUND 1

TURN ENFORCERS

Command Dice, Enforcers roll 4 dice (+1 due to Tactician skill)

+1 Model and 3 Fight Dice,

Reroll the 3 fight dice.3 3 +1 Model,

Command Dice 2- +1 Model  2 Move Dice.

I activate the Strider who in a good postion thanks to its Scout move. It fires it massively powerful equalizer cannon at the Teraton who is partially visible, The Teraton ties the first shot with 1 success each, the Strider fires again this time the Teraton win 2 Success to 1.

So the shots miss.

Shoots and Misses...Teraton has more survive success than Strider had hits.

TURN REBS

Command Dice 5, (+2 for Tactician)

They get 2 Shoot. 1 move, 1 Splat, 1 Fight

Reroll Splat and Fight

2 Shoot, 1 Move, 1 Dice, +1 Model

Yndij Trooper fires rifle at Enforcer in open under bridge

3 Dice, +2 dice for open shot plus +1 dice for Elevated.  6 dice vs 3.

Yndij rolls a 8 and gets an extra dice ending with 5 success vs 0!! For the Enforcer.

The armor absorbs 1, but he takes 4 damage and is out.

Enforcer in foreground shot down by Yndij Trooper

Since Shooting is a short action and the model has not moved it fires again using the “fire for effect” ability of his rifle, if successful this can pin the troopers  this time at the two enforcers in the adjacent cube who have cover for the bridge strut  The Yndij gets 4 dice..while both enforcers get 3 Survive dice. ,  but enforcers get more successes so the burst of fire misses.

TURN ENFORCERS

Activate the Trooper that was just fired upon by Yndij,  Sprint Moves thru cube with Item recovering Item (ammo) on way.   I use the a +1 Model Dice to activate the already setup Pathfinder Sniper who gets 5 Dice in her shot at the  Yndij, thanks to the Sniper Scope, however the Snipe Shot is “heavy” so the shot is a “long or full action” the Sniper rolls 4 Successes one of which is an 8 so we roll an extra die…but stll end with 4 Successes…The Yndij Roll 2 Successes but both are 8’s so we roll two more and get a 3^rd success..the Yndij has no Armor and takes 1 hit and is Damaged.  Lucky!

TURN  REBS

Use 1 Move Command Die  Then Teraton sprints to behind command building moving 4 Squares.

Use +1 Model  Command Die , to Activate Reb commander . She moves 1 square Fires AP ammo Sniper Shot at Strider its  6  success vs 3 Success ,  exactly what she  needed for 1 wound!  The Rebs luck continues

Seemed like a good idea, she did wound the Strider, but leaving her in postion to be blasted next turn, bad idea.

TURN ENFORCERS

Activate Enforcer Sgt, he climbs one cube then moving another on to the elevated walk way recovering

An item in the process we flip it over and its booby trap!..OOF….how he gets a bit of luck getting 2 survive success vs only one success for the exploding trap..he chalks it up to a misfire.

I use the last Enforcer command die +1 Model, to activate the last Enforcer who makes sprint action to join the other Enforcer  .

All Enforcers Models have moved.

TURN REBS

REBS have 2 Shoot Dice and one “ Xtra Die” Dice in the command pool.

REB Trooper (with Medi Pack) move 1 Cube up and heals Yndij Trooper of Wound

REB Trooper moves 1 and Fires for Effect you using a Shoot command die winning 3 Successes vs 2 and an Enforcer Trooper is Pinned.

Reb Trooper  moves 1 throw smoke Grenade block view of  forward Enforcer Trooper.

Reb Trooper Sprints, joins Commander,

Sorak, Sprint toward Item.

END OF ROUND 1

Check Smoke (3) smoke remains.

ROUND 2

The Strider vaporizes both the Reb Commander and Troop on the corner of the Red Building here.

 ENFORCERS TURN.

Command roll 4 Dice-  (2) +1` model,  1 Splat (special ability), 1 xtra Die

No reroll.

The Strider activates and immediately returns fire to Reb Commander in cover at the side of building.

It will use a command shoot die for a 4 Die roll, we get a whooping 4 success one of which is an 8 and we roll another for 5…no sense in even rolling the the 3 survive die, since the equalizer is AP4 the Reb Commander is obliterated!.

The  Strider then takes it second short action to fire at the Rebel Trooper in the same cube as the Reb Commander with the Commander down he is wholly exposed making this a 5 dice shot (+2 for in the open)

This time the Strider rolls 3 Successes but the Reb Trooper rolls NONE, he too is vaporized…

Enforcers just even it up big time, and Pass to the Rebs.

REBS TURN

Command Roll,  3 Dice since Reb Commander is Out of Action,

We Roll 3 “xtra Die” symbols and decide to keep it.

Teraton Activates uses it special action to Teleport to within one cube of the Strider, then a short action to move into the Cube with a Strider for a Fight.

The Teraton get 3 base dice in a fight plus 1 for moving into the cube this turn and 1 since the Strider is injured. And we also use an command “xtra die” dice  as well  for a total of 6. The Strider has a better chance trying to evade the attacks (survive) than try to fight back…

Since its larger model it get an extra dice. For a total of 4.

The Teraton scores 5 success vs 3 for the Strider,  for net of +2 the attacks are AP 1 essentially making it +3 the Strider’s armor is 3, so we fail to damage it… we need one more.

Striders are Tough!

ENFORCER TURN

Enforcer Sgt uses the Splat Command die to activate his special ability mobile infanty, this give him a free sprint action. He pick up an item (ammo) during this move he then uses his Rapid Fire ability to try to Pin the Ynidj Trooper down and keep him from attacking other teammates.

He successfully pins down the Ynidj 4 success vs 2.

Pass to Rebs.

REBS TURN

Sorak drops Frag Grenade make a Sprint Action to unclaimed item. He picks it up and it AP Ammo

Pass

ENFORCER TURN

SNIPER has to reposition in same cube to aim at other targets, since this counts as a short action and his weapon is “Heavy” he cant shoot.

Activate +1 Model Die to have pinned Enforcer stand up then make a short action move to cube with cover against Rebs approaching from left flank.

Pass to Rebs

REBS TURN

REB TROOPER Picks up Frag Gren left by Sorak, takes 2^nd short action to base of  conveyor ramp

Pass

ENFORCER TURN

Activate Trooper who uses Fire for effect with Command Xtra Die to Pin down Reb Troop at Mine shaft entrance…he does so with a whopping 7 successes  (with exploding dice) vs 2 for the Reb

He then does this again at the Trooper on roof with his second short action but does not succeed.

REBS TURN

Pinned Trooper activates stands and shoots..a misses 3 vs 1 in favor of Enforcers

Reb Trooper on roof fires using last command xtra die at same Enforcer. And he does hit but

The Enforcer armor absorbs it.

END OF ROUND 2

Check Smoke (2) smoke remains.

Current Score ENFORCERS  6 VP,  REBS 3 VP

Yndij Trooper Pinned by Enforcer Rapid Fire.

 ROUND 3

ENFORCER TURN

(note on Initiative.  Enforcers continue to go first as initiative at the top of the round goes to the strike whose models finished all there turns 1^st.  Since the Enforcers were initially outnumbered  8 to 6

Its difficult for the Rebs to finish the round 1^st without several +1 model command moves. Considering the losses both sides have faced future turn may see the change in Initiative)

Command Roll 4 Dice = Shoot , Splat,, +1 Model.

The Strider Activates.  I quickly realize the Teraton shouldn’t have engage the Strider as this point it too hard to get thru that armor without some better  Strategy, The Strider simply takes a short action to move out of the cube. This give the Teraton a chance to attack against the Strider’s better Survive skill. Its  4 Dice vs 4 Dice and the Teraton win 4 to 3 but even with AP1 can’t get thru the Armor.

Now in the Adjacent cube the Strider can fire its powerful cannon point blank at the Teraton and it does.

And well the command xtra die plus our 2 bonus dice for 6 total dice… with exploding 8’s rolls a whopping 6 success !, while the Teraton  rolls all three of it success, its looking at 3 against this AP4 weapon, however the Teraton is “tough” so we remove 1 right away looking at 2 success then an Armor 1 for the Teraton meaning only 1 wound gets through…wounded.

Here we now play the enforcers xtra command shoot die for another chance 6 dice again, +2 for clear shot and now the Teraton is wounded. This time the Strider gets 4 success but the Teraton only gets 1, for +3 , we remove 1 for “tough” with net of 2, since the Equalizer is AP4 it bypass the armor for 2 Damage the Teraton is Down and out!

With the relative ease the Strider withdrew, I knew the Teraton was in big trouble

REBS TURN

Command Dice, 2 Moves , 1 Xtra Die

From here out is all down hill for the Rebs, losing the Teraton gave the Enforcers another 3 VP and they had 2 Items secure so they begin withdrawing

The Rebs end up losing another Trooper  from the Pathfinder Sniper during their own exit but The Rebel Yndij does grab a nearby item which turns out to be the mission Intel  worth 2 VP in this Specific mission

At the turn of Turn 4 all models have exited the board via their own D-Zone save the Pathfinder Sniper who was covering retreat sitting on an Item (ammo)

Final Score is 11 VP for the Enforcers, 4 VP for the Rebs

Enforcers had 1 Casualty,  a Regular Trooper.

Rebs had 4 including their main two units.

Enforcers left with 2 Ammo, 1 Frag Gren and 1 Med Pack they had brought but never used.

Rebs left with Intel, 1 AP Ammo, and 1 unused Ammo and Frag Grenade brought into the mission

I’ll go into detailed Campaign options when I write about setting up the next game but briefly.

The Enforcers Soldier died after rolling on the injury table and was removed from the Roster.

All remaining Enforcers got  at least 2 XP allowing them to level  up while the Sniper and Strider both had 3 XP, the Strider was clearly the MVP, getting commendation medal.

The Rebs all Survived but the Commander and Trooper miss the next game and the other Trooper lives  get his survive stat pushed to a 7+, The Teraton miraculously survives and is ready for the next game.

I had all models getting 1 XP, but the Sorak and Teraton (the MVP) got 2 XP with the Yndij Trooper getting 3XP, unfortunately the Yndij Trooper has no campaign options for Command Skills (as there is Yndij commander you can purchase) but the Teraton does, so he’ll be promoted to commander for the next match.

Overview.

A really fun game with some good dynamics, The Enforcers seem very difficult to beat, especially with the Strider without some sort of heavy Firepower..like the missile launcher as a counter. The Rebs really seem to need to concentrate fire a lot more than I did and use more teamwork, I left the commander hanging and that got her easily taken out, I can see the Teraton being a beast in melee against normal models, the Strider was a terrible choice to engage and it paid for it. 

Overall Kudos to Mantic for this fun little game, I’m enjoying the stuff and will surely model some more figures and terrain up soon, and that’s it for Deadzone 2, I hope was interesting and informative, if you have interest in the game.

Diehard Miniatures Kickstarter Review.

Last Saturday I received my Kickstarter Pledge from Diehard Miniatures a new company by sculptor Tim Prow, with Sculptors Chaz Elliot and Drew Williams..all guys with long lists of sculpting credits with A list companies like Reaper, Ral Partha, Wargames Foundry and Wizards of the Coast*, (*when they actually made good miniatures during D&D 3rd Ed)  These generic fantasy figures, were marketed as "Oldhammer" which has taken on several meanings over the years but basically if your into Fantasy RPG gaming, its the OSR (old School Rules) of wargaming, Miniatures wise it focuses on the classic age of Citadel Miniatures 1983-1987, but often includes later figures depending on what you are into.

Anyway. I really liked alot of these figures, So I went for the 10 figure pledge, they were pricey at about $8 USD a figure but that's on par with what I pay for premium new metal figures these days. With all the plastic figures out there in the $2-3 range, people like to get all worked up over figures at this price, but coincidentally I am currently painting some really high end plastics right now and they just don't compare to these Pewter figures so I wanted to review them publicly as they came out very, very good.

As for the Kickstarter campaign , it delivered in just over 6 months, which is the new record for any miniatures  related Kickstarter I have been involved in. Overall the campaign was flawless, as far as I can tell (there arent any outraged backers in comments section demanding blood, and that's kind of a new one compared to some of the stuff I have been involved in. ) The resulting figures are just lovely, Now, despite my 10 figure pledge , I did only end up with 6 Figures and 2 KS backer freebies. Because I choose 4, large figures, each of which counted as two choices.

I broke my purchases down into 3 categories, Heroes (2), Undead (2) and Monsters (2)

The figures are:

Human Knight
Hillsman ( half-giant)

 Undead Minotaur
 Undead Knight

Troll
Son of Slomm (chaos beast)














There all for basic fantasy gaming, they scale perfectly with lines like Otherworld, Reaper, and Citadel miniatures..so they fit right in with my core collection, I'll be painting some of  them up soon, some later as I need them. As I mentioned I received them Saturday and had them all modeled up and primed by Sunday evening.

Overall the miniatures where exactly as pictured or described, fantastic casts, very minimal mold lines , there was some additional flash on the larger models but nothing remotely problematic.
The only critique and its really a sculptors prerogative is the pose of the Minotaur was so elongated I had to put him on 60mm base and he's still hanging off, which is ok as he works as a large monster for games on a 60mm, but I kind wish I could have got him on a 40mm

That aside, I am quite happy with these and look forward to painting them, since I photographed a bunch of black primed models here, I've included some of the pictures from the KS so you can the models are exactly as advertised.

Diehard is doing another Kickstarter in October, not sure If I'll jump in or not as I'm on a KS moratorium for a good while, but what I see is on the Facebook page is looking really good.
If you missed the original figures first time around, I believe they will be available this time around
as well, check it out.

As for the final review, as far as Kickstarters go this one is 5 out of 5 Stars.

Otherworld Skirmish, Green Magic Part 2

Picking up where we left off....

TURN 4,

INITIATIVE:    DEFENDERS 3, ATTACKERS 1.

Man, the attackers cannot get a break.

DEFENDERS, GREEN MAGIC,  1 FATE

3 Activation's

SKELETON 1- Attacks Sorcerer -  2,2, misses twice, no luck here.

GHOUL 1- continues climbing up tower after Neb,  1^st Agility test.. 5!,  2^nd Agility Test he at the top and abut to reach Neb and rolls a  ..2!  He need s a 4! So the Fate point wont help, climbing wasn’t the best idea for this ghoul…He falls! (or was he pushed?!)

I was surprised to find in the manual that there no damage mechanic from falling from height, just  a stunned status if you succeed a -1 agility test, so I have added that if you keep missing your agility test and you hit the ground you take a STR 4 hit for every agility test you have failed on the way.

In this case the Ghoul had climbed 8 inches when he fell but  there is an additional 4 inches of cliff face he was able to enter horizontally on,  above that cliff face. before he started climbing. Falling he could potentially drop all the way to the bottom . So it would be 6 agility tests, the first he failed, the second he makes with a 6!, needing a five…should he have missed he could have potentially made the next with 6, then a 7 using fate..then he’d be out of options hitting bottom taking 6 Str 4 hits.more than enough to make him go Splat unless he was very very lucky.  As it stands he fell 2 levels caught himself and is “Stunned” so he is right back where he started at the beginning of his 1^st activation this turn.

Again I am also surprised that Undead doesn’t have it own rules outside of “Damned” as  subtype they should be immune to  stun and scared status, I’ll probably implement that in future games but for know he “Stunned” until its removed.

THE LICH,

 The Lich is thru messing around he fires his Rob of lightning as his first activation and fires it at the Monk so he can use his Block ability and the Skeletons can swarm the Sorcerer. He is withing 6 inches and needs a  “4” and rolls a 5., he then rolls a 5 to damage the Monk who is only DEF 3…(needing a 3)

The Monk must then take a Defensive Statistic test or be Stunned he rolls a the required “4” So he wounded but not Stunned.

For his Second activation , The Lich is of course going to keep summoning…rolling all 3 Dice.., 3,3,5,+6  Or 16! Success.. the final 2 Skeletons on on the board.

The Lich has given activation tokens to two  Skeletons  already in play. via the Helm of Command  (leader 2)

SKELETON 3 – Since the Monk ‘s Blocker ability is still in effect, this Skeleton obliges and charges with his first Activation. And misses with a 3, on his 2^nd activation he makes a follow up attack…rolling a 2, the Monk and Sorcerer are hanging in there but are totally surrounded..

SKELETON 5- can’t charge because there is not straight open path, but can move into base contact to join the combat vs the Sorcerer and then attacks with its 2^nd activation but he also rolls a 2, (I am rolling 2’s like crazy)

Sucessful Mystic Web Cast!

ATTACKERS,  THIEVES GUILD,  1 FATE

3 Activation's.

ELAZAR THE SORCERER :  In combat with two Skeletons, the Sorceror is again going to try to cast his Mystic Web, he can potentially immobilize both Skeletons attacking him and the one attacking the Monk..should he succeed!...rolling two dice.. we roll a 6 and 4!  + hit INT 5 =15 of the needed 12 so he succeeds!. For his second activation he’s going to Arcane Bolt the newly summoned Skeleton 6…hitting with a 6! the Skeleton is DEF 4, and  the wound roll is a 5! The Skeleton has a shield…and can avoid it the magic blast with a lucky 6 but rolls a 3! Destroyed…big round for the Sorcerer.

THE MONK.  (via Follower ability) normally would be getting to attack an immobilized Skeleton for most likely an easy kill, HOWEVER the Defenders have 8 models on the board..4 of which are now suffering status effects (3 immobilized and 1 stunned) that count toward a shaken or wiped out test. While the lich has a very high morale at 5,  we could potential force a Shaken or even Wiped out test in the end phase  and maybe get him to concede the battle IF we can take out some more of these active models. So we go with that. The Monk withdraws from  the Immobilized Skeleton 3 and moves into the newly Summoned Skeleton 7 behind him…I cant charge as the Skeleton is behind him and he has no Line of Sight, so I must turn and move as my 1^st activation, attacking with my Second. He get to roll two due to “unarmed adept”  rolls a 5 and a 6 ! , then rolls the needed 4 on the damage roll, the Skeleton rolls a 4 on his Shield roll looking for a 6 to save but fails and is Destroyed!

Note the climbing, but fallen and stunned Ghoul on the right.

SCORPA THE ASSASSIN  has been sitting on an  Adventure Token for a full turn now, we need him in the fight so for his first activation I we turn the card..and it’s “THE CROWN” worth 2VP, I want him to fire his crossbow for his second activation but there are target in Line of Sight, so he moves 3 inches succeeds at an Agilty check and climbs 2” up to a cliff ledge for next turn.

Lastly I am left with Neb and Grym…

I go with NEB at the top of the Wall who look down and try to shoot his hand crossbow , the stunned hanging by his fingernails ghoul 1 who slipped and fell,  he’s within 6” inches and is stunned so Ned is +1 to hit he needs a 3,  and I roll a 3!  To damage he rolls a 5 and the Ghoul is done. For his second activation Neb secures the treasure at the top of the tower which was the Attackers main objective.

The Thieves had their biggest turn so far, the didn’t even need the their Luck or Fate .as the plan succeeded , we will see how it works out.

END PHASE

DEFENDERS,  had 7 models on the start of the turn, it went up to 9 thru Summons, , I assume we have to base it on 9, they are now down to 3 active models on the board, so 1/3 exactly, we need to resolve the status effect first as any skeleton shaking off the effect with move the Wiped out morale test to a Shaken., I roll 5, 5, 4 so with the Defenders unused fate point we free a skeleton and the Defenders catch a break,  The Lich must take Morale test at -1 or fail his morale is a 5, with the -1 he need a 3+ and he rolls a 2!..and fail so I roll the D3 and only roll 1 model  removed. so I remove  Immobilized skeleton 5 and battle continues!!

 TURN 5

INITIATIVE:  ATTACKERS 6, DEFENDERS 2,

ATTACKERS, THIEVES GUILD,  2 FATE

Seems as  if the tide is turning and  Attackers are in control right now, since we finally have 2 fate we certainly will buy that additional activation, meaning everyone from the Guild will get to go…

4 Activation's

ELAZAR THE SORCERER:   Engaged with Skeleton is clear he’s got good Area of Effect for a Fireball if he can move to better spot. Activation 1, he disengages…opposed agility test   Sorcerer  3+3 =6, Skeleton 5+2=7 The Skeleton gets a free Strike..rolls a 4! Hit, Elazar has dodge, rolls a 4! (for Agility 3)  he succeeds and has avoided the blow!  Moves 3 inches away.

Activation 2, Cast Fireball…rolling 2 Dice..4+3 +5 Int = 12!  Success.  To hit he rolls a 3, one short so it scatters D6 inches, I roll a 1” in the direction of the Lich..and the template just clips his base..in stroke of good fortune it hits all 3 Skeletons and the Lich!

Now, the reason I didn’t bother trying to get the Lich in to begin with is Magic Resistance, every target is DEF 4 so I need 4’s., I roll a 5 for the Lich he’s hit, but then a 4 for the MR roll and he laughs it off.

My other rolls are 3,4 and 5 thou….two Skeletons get their shield roll and fail and burn away…, the 3 was on the immobilized skeleton , I can find it in the book when I got to look but I was thinking Immobilized models are DEF 1 and cant do anything,  regardless its webbed and I rule it destroyed.

Major points for the Sorcerer, really earning his points this game, all the Skeletons are down.

Fireball!!

SCORPA THE ASSASSIN:,\  Activates nexts moving up the rock face into position to fire a Crossbow bolt at the Lich.  Activation 2 is his shot..he hits with a 4 which is what he needs given his move and fire rule ( his Crossbow shot is an upgraded 3+..and wounds the Lich with 5!, the Lich turns around and isn’t playing games anymore, he also has regeneration…LOL

RAIDEN THE MONK- we need to tie up the Lich if Neb is going to escape with recovered loot…The Monk activates with his “follower”  ability, and is determined to engage the Lich. His 1^st activation is movement and he cant charge due to where the lich is positioned, so he moves to engage and his 2^nd activation is a melee attack. However the Lich is fearsome, so as soon as end his move action he must make an immediate morale test.. needing a 4 and fails..so the Monk realizes he’s made a terrible mistake and now suffers the scared status.. attacking while Scared is a -2 Penalty, I am looking for 5’s and with the 2 attack dice we get I roll a 2 and 3..oof.

NEB THE THIEF is next….Neb climbs to level 2 of the Tower where there is an Adventure Token inside he ends his move on it, allowing it to be turned with his 2^nd activation. It’s the Dice Lore card which is boon for the Defender!,  I talk about that if actually comes up..Nebs Turn ends..

Finally we have minor thief GRYM  who hasn’t been able to do much all game Zombies on the right , the Lich on his Left, he doesn’t  have many options, I decide to move him into some trees on his 1^st activation then on his 2nd use his one-shot move silenty ability to move x2 past the zombie , on to a far adventure token.  7” from the zombie Just far away to work.

Many dead Skeleton left them feeling cocky.

DEFENDERS, GREEN MAGIC,  2 FATE

THE LICH.   is somewhat in tough spot here he is engaged in melee, but he needs to summon Zombies or else he’s going to have to take a wiped out test at the end of turn….

At the start of this activation phase the Lich is only receiving 1 Activation which is uses himself.

He’s got 3 Magic Dice and he also has  2 Fate , so I think I can pull it off,

Activation 1, try my new Disintegration spell with a DC of 13!,  we. Try 2 magic dice.. we roll a 5 and 2 for a 7 +6 Int =13!! Success.. bad new for Raiden the Monk who is Scared , wounded, and faces D3 S6 Hits..I roll a D3 and its 2…his DEF is -1 because of Scared so I need anything but ones and he is toast.. I roll a 2 and 6, and the Monk is Disintegrated!!! Oof.

Most likely to be Disintegrated!

Activation 2 is to Summon Zombies, I have on magic dice left and roll a 3! , +6 Int =9 not enough! But he has 2 Fate..we use one and get the required 10 to succeed. D6 Zombies appears I roll 5 but there are just 4 in the que so they all go on the board rising up out of the ground around Scorpa!!

The Lich is making his comeback., I had to reread the activation section because with the Zombies now on the board, I thought I might be able to get some activation however The Lich’s leader (2) ability was moot because when his activation began the Zombie where not on the board yet..(And the other lone zombie is too far away) and the Zombies- Mob Leader (3) rule doesn’t kick in unless a Zombie can be activated by an already available activation token which I don’t have…so the Lich’s turn ends.

TURN 6

INITIATIVE:  , DEFENDERS 6, ATTACKERS  3

DEFENDERS , GREEN MAGIC, 2 FATE

Plenty of activation's to go around here, as the is six Defending models on the board  3 base activation and multiple activation thru Leader ( Helm of Command) and Mob Leader (Zombies)

THE LICH, Uses his Force of Will Power against Scorpa the Assassin and easily bests him with a 6, Scorpa is now Weakened, For his is 2^nd Activation he use his 2^nd Charge from his Rod of Lightning Firing it at Elazar the Sorceror, I roll a 4 to hit and a 6 to wound…The Sorceror is wounded, but he makes his DEF statistic test and is not stunned.

MOB LEADER ZOMBIE  is activated, using mob leader (3) he gives all the Zombies activation tokens…3  zombies move into base contact with the Weakened Scorpa!

ZOMBIE 1  finally activates and moves to minion thief Grym who is just out of range.

Surrounded by Zombies , Weakened by the Lich, somehow he survives.

ATTACKERS, THIEVES GUILD , 1 FATE

At this point I think its time for the Thieves to call it a day, there is no way they are taking down this lich, without some sort of super warrior type character which they don’t have. The Thieves only have 2  Activation's.

SCORPA chooses to voluntarily withdraw from the Zombies, he is weakened, and they get free strikes, He’s not going to waste the action trying to regain his strength, he just runs..I roll 3,3,2, the Zombies need 5+ to hit so he’s free, his 2^nd Action he makes a agility check succeeds with a 5 and climbs down the Cliff face.

For the 2^nd Activation I have GRYM the minion thief  flip the adventure token and we draw a card, I draw wandering monster..there are no more in WM pool, so we draw again and get a Dragons Egg! (worth 2 VP)  I want Grym to voluntarily leave the board however he can not as there is a zombie within 6 inches of him so for his 2^nd activation he turns and engages it..( can’t charge he’s facing the wrong way) He passes his fearsome test as the Zombie is damned and he is a minion and make base contact.

END PHASE, Scorpa  tries to regain his strength. Rolls a 5 and with out 1 fate to help out he does!

TURN 7

INITIATIVE:  , ATTACKERS  6, DEFENDERS 3

ATTACKERS, THIEVES GUILD ,  2 FATE

In a huge break the Attackers get the opposite luck and keep the initiative, they will also buy an activation. So they have  3.

SCORPA and ELAZAR both leave the board scoring for the Thieves Guild, I wanted to Sorcerer throw another Fireball but don’t want to risk rolling a 1, so they just leave.

NEB, makes an agility test. Rolls a 6 so he climbs the wall near the top of the tow

er steps where he is..

Long way down, Zombies coming up the stairs...JUMP!

For his 2^nd activation I have him Jump!!!  I paid for 50 Feet of Rope for him because I thought  I would do a lot of climbing on this board. It however requires he make agility tests for each level  fallen he will be falling 3 levels here… he passes all three but we must use a point of luck here to make sure he does bumping a 2 to a 3 ( Neb has  an Agility of 5)  so he get to the base of the outside without damage.l

Unfortunately there are no activation's left for Grym who just stands there.

Looks like 50 Feet of Rope was worth it , too bad about that failed morale check!

DEFENDERS, GREEN MAGIC,  1 Fate

Again plenty of activation's to go around but not a lot to do

THE LICH  moves twice to get within striking distance of the remaining two Thieves!

THE ZOMBIES all move.

ZOMBIE 1 attacks Grym and rolls a 4 which the Lich uses fate to bump to a 5 to hit!

The Zombie then rolls a 5 to wound, Killing minion thief Grym! Oof

END PHASE

Neb is now alone on the board and must take a Shaken test first…he rolls a 1! Failing  and must be removed feeling the board…I guess the Lich scared the pants off him, worst case was he had the Objective Treasure which stays on the board!

GAME OVER.

Defenders, The Lich and company scored 8 VP, 3 for Kills and one for a fleeing character (Neb)

Who’s now failed morale tests end game twice in a row now definitely earning the  “Coward” disadvantage in future profiles.

Attackers , scored  2 VP  for models voluntarily leaving the board and 4 VP for treasure cards.  For a total of 6 VP

The Lich and his Green Magic win the day!, it was close thou should Neb have gotten off the board voluntarily the Attackers easily won.

Victory!

FINAL THOUGHTS

The end was somewhat anti climatic with the morale failure but overall a solid match, the Lich is beast and We barely used him to full effect,  he’s a hard one to bring down…without some real muscle with spell support for sure.

This is last of these type reports for awhile, I hope they were useful Illustrating how the game is played,  I’ll drop back to more narrative reports in the future as obviously these take awhile to get done.

We’ll be starting a narrative campaign in my fictional town of Blackbarrow in the coming months.

Otherworld Skirmish- Green Magic.

Here is another walk through for Otherworld Fantasy Skirmish.  This scenario called “Green Magic” is named after a photo I took for LPL6 which features some of the defenders of this scenario and are its inspiration. While progress continues on my fantasy village of Blackbarrow and it all that it contains.  The game takes place on a small section of the table  I’ve broke out on to separate board  just for this play-thru.  I’ve started tweaking some home rules for the game, specifically spells where I feel its lacking but overall the rule-set  has really grown on me, I love the narrative nature of these games, I am going to continue these reports in the that style.

THE ENCOUNTER.  Theoretically a 250 gp per side game,  I am more concerned with balanced sides than actual point totals.  This battle features a host of Undead , led by a Lich facing off against members of the local thieves guild and their associates.  There are few tweaks to the standard rules for scenario purposes but the profiles are standard  and the game setup is based on the “skirmish” book scenario. The goal of the attacking team (the Thieves Guild)  is recover a specific  treasure item and any other treasure tokens they can beforehand and leave the board treasure in hand with the least of a casualties as possible, The Attackers get  1VP for each surviving Model as well as 5 VP for the special treasure item and any standard VP from Adventure Cards.  The Defenders get 2 VP for each Attacker for doesn’t leave the board of their own freewill, meaning if any Attacking models  Flee due to failed morale, the Defenders get the points,  Defeated Legend/Unique models are also worth an additional Victory Point to the respective side. This make the VP spread a  potential  max of “14”for the Defenders vs  “12” for the Attackers before any Adventure cards come into play.

THE BATTLEGROUND.  This once again takes place on my  2x2 battleboard, My Hirst Fieldstone Ruin which serves as the entrance to Blackbarrow dungeon is the setting of choice. Surrounded by heavy forest, the old ruin still guards the entrance to the infamous dungeon and fills that exact role on the larger table as well.

THE STORY.   The sole survivor of the last scenario I ran “Bait!” was Neb the Thief.  Neb used his new gotten gains to found the Thieves Guild of Blackbarrow and now has two Hirelings working with him.  Recently while scheming   at the Wayside Inn, they met  a traveler who claimed to be a survivor of another unfortunate Adventuring Party and to have escaped Blackbarrow Dungeon . He claims not to have escaped alone but with a partner who was carrying some extremely valuable treasure. Chased from the Dungeon they were separated and he last saw his partner  climbing to top of the ruined tower at the Dungeons entrance  while Undead swarmed from below.  Dropping everything  he ran, and claims his companion , badly wounded  surely met his end trapped at the top of that tower.  Treasure in hand. Neb obviously know he’ll need some additional help here, and who has been staying at the Inn these last months claiming to have cleared out Blackbarrow Dungeon? Why the 3 survivors of  “Burn Baby Burn” of course.

THE DEFENDERS,  GREEN MAGIC

Varga the Lich. The highest point creature in the current book other than Dragons, The Lich comes with host of awesome powers I’ll go into as we play,  he also has a slew of magic items in this case, the Helm of Command (leader -2), a Rod of Lightning (3 charges) , a Ring of Invisibilty,  a Scroll of Haste and a potion of Great Strength.  Spells are Raise the Dead, Strike Fear and Disintegration (*new spell)

*Disintegration- Whats a Lich without a Disintegration type spell?  

 I came up with DC 13, Touch, creates D3 Strength 6 hits, Once use per turn.  While the DC13 is higher than standard spells potentially wiping out most characters in one shot is a big deal but with Magic (3) and INT 6, I don’t think it will be too much of an issue.

3 Ghouls.  Standard servants of the lich, despite needing  5+ to hit, their Drain ability could get nasty, a good rank and file troop that doesn’t need to be summoned.

7 Skeletons. Starting off the board, they must be raised by the Lich via the raise the dead spell.  D3 per turn can arise..7 will make sure new Skeletons are coming on the board at least thru the 3^rd turn.

5 Zombies.  Normally they must also be Summoned via the Raise the Dead Spell  at D6 per turn I am however going to allow Zombies to be played anytime a Wandering monster card is drawn,  (1 per card) or until all 5 are on the board or summoned by the Lich, which ever happens first.

THE ATTACKERS, THIEVES GUILD

(Evil Profiles)

Neb (Legend profile -Corsair)  Neb is back with an evil profile this time to fit the team. Extra point for Def and Agility, his skills are  Dodge , Set Traps, Treasure Hunter (1),  Thieves Tools(1),  Luck (1), Leader (1). He has an extra attack with a hand crossbow at 4+ and since there will be climbing involved I gave him the extra 50 feet of Rope ability for 5gp.

( I also think Legends and companions, should be able to purchase additional equipment above the basic profiles so I do that here)

Grym, Neb, Mott

Elazar (Legend profile –Sorcerer. )  The wizard has bumped up DEF and INT and the following abilities Magic (2) Magic Items (1), Arcane Bolt, Scrolls and Potions (1), Shield of Force Grimoire (Haste), Potion of Cure Wounds.  His Spells are Web and Fireball * (new spell)

  

*Fireball- what’s the deal with no traditional Fireball?

I came up with DC 12,  Range 18” Str 4 Attack Roll 4+ Blast 5” Scatter D6” On Fire. A more difficult to cast Pillar of wrath, with increased range and a bigger template.

Raiden the Monk (companion profile Myrmidon)   The Wizard faithful servant , has upgrade his Brawl attack to 3+ and has the following abilities:  Blocker, Follower, Dodge, Unarmed Adept, Critical Blow, and the “will..not..stop” special ability

Scorpa the Assassin ( Companion profile  Slayer)  The Assassin an extra base attack  with a Crossbow which has again been upgraded to 3+. The Assassin has the following abilities: Concealing Cloak, Dodge, Thieves Tools (1), Move Silently, Light Armor. He also has the special power Unseen Strike, allowing a one time double dice roll, for a single wound.

Scorpa, Raiden, Elazar

Finally I needed some Thieves for my Thieves Guild. The standard hireling profiles didn’t quite fit, these aren’t simple bandits, they are decent  thieves, so using the 15gp Veteran profile we have:

Mott and Grym,    Thieves.

Agility upgraded to 4, Pickpocket (1) and Move Silenty,  Brawl and Shortsword 4+.

PRELIMINARIES

As the band of Treasure Hunting Adventurers reaches the Ruins that guard the entrance of Blackbarrow Dungeon just after dusk,  they are welcomed by a sinister green glow.

At the start of the first turn, each side rolled a morale test to see if the other was surprised, both sides passed so each are aware of the other

.

The Lich and his Ghouls are deployed in the center of the ruin near the dungeon Entrance. The Thieves are in two group deployed in opposite corners on at the front of the ruin, Neb and his Thieves plan  to climb the tower to access the main treasure, while the Wizard and his muscle use range and AoE spells to destroy the undead from a distance. The Lich of course has other plans.

There are 9 Adventure Tokens placed randomly on the board, an extra token was thanks to Neb’s Treasure Hunter (1) ability.

TURN 1

INITIATIVE   Defenders 4, Attacker 3

DEFENDERS “GREEN MAGIC”  1 Fate

The Defenders currently have 4 Models on the board. So they start with 2 Activations, however the Lich wears the Helm of Command, giving him Leader (2) so all 4 models with Activate for the Defenders

Ghoul 1- Activates and use both actions to move where he can now has cover and Line of Sight on the interlopers.

The Lich.  His first activation is a special action, casting Raise the Dead, needing a 10 he uses only 2 of his 3 dice as he’s going to try to cast it twice. And get those Skeletons on the board, His first action to cast the spell is two dice and rolls an 8 with a 6 in the easily cast the spell… we roll a D3 and get a 1 so 1 skeleton enters play, He summons the dead once again with his second action. Rolling a “3” + 6 Int gives him a “9” one short of casting the spell, so he uses his Fate token to make it a success…this two skeleton join the fray.

Ghoul 2 – Activates from the Lich using his Helm of Command here moves twice toward a position of ambush or flank the Wizard group.

Ghoul 3- Activates from the Lich using his Helm of Command and does the same, expect he needs to climb down the rock face to woods rolling a 6 on an agility test , easily does.

ATTACKERS – THIEVES GUILD  0 Fate

The Thieves get 3 Activation's, however Neb has Leader (1) and The Monk is a Follower of the Wizard meaning  5 members of the team will activate this turn.

Elazar The Sorcerer  Activates and having nice target of 3 Skeletons and a Ghoul cues up his Fireball Spell.  He only has Magic 2, and this spell needs a  “12” he rolls a pair of “4”s +5 Int = 13” the spell is successful! However he only rolls a “2” to hit so the spell is off target I roll the D6 Scatter and get 2 “ to Left,  Not too bad as it still hits one skeleton and Ghoul #2 whose on outside the wall. The Skeleton survives but is “on Fire” the Ghoul  is destroyed.

His second activations he fires an Arcane Bolt at same skeleton he targeted the fireball at but misses again.

Raiden the Monk . Activates using his Follower ability using both actions to move toward a nearby adventure token and intercept Ghoul # 3. After his first action he is 6inches away in a straight line so he charges the ghoul, and uses his enhanced brawl attack of 3+ which becomes a 4+ because of Charging., Ghouls are Damned but that doesn’t effect him as a Companion model. He rolls a “4” and hits..and thanks to unarmed adept gets 2 dice to wound..only needing a 3! But rolls a 1 and 2, the Ghoul survives.

Neb  activates and moves to the nearby cliff face to start climbing, he easily passes the agility test and climbs one level, he will have to climb many more levels to reach the top. as each "level" of climbing is 2"

Mott the Minion Thief Activates and follows Neb but fails his agility test and is stuck at the cliff face.

Grym the Minion Thief Activates and moves twice just reaching an Adventure Token.

Scorpa doesn’t get to activate this turn.

Here you can see wear the fireball set one Skeleton "on fire" and destroyed 1 Ghoul.

End of Turn 1

TURN 2

INITIATIVE   Attacker 3 , Defenders 1,

ATTACKERS , THIEVES GUILD   1 Fate

In a bit of poor strategy I have botched the use of  the “follower” skill by moving the monk too far away from the Sorcerer.  Since I want to move the Scorpa the Assassin as well this turn its either the Sorceror doesn’t go..and  I get 4 activations due to Nebs,” Leader (1)” OR none of thieves do and I get my base 3 tough call. I wont make this mistake again. The Monk is in base contact with a Ghoul, so  I choose to activate him first.

Raiden the Monk-  Attacks Ghoul  due to Unarmed Adept, he rolls 2 dice, needing only 3’s rolls a 5 and 1, so the 5 hits. Thanks to “Critical Blow” his unarmed attacks are STR 4 vs the Ghouls DEF of 3 he rolls a 4 to Wound and the Ghoul is down.  His second action he returns 6 to his Sorcerer mentor.

Scorpa the Assassin-  uses both activation to Move /  ending on the Adventure token the Monk originally went after. At least from this position he can try to flank someone, maybe

Neb- I then decide to move Neb as my 3^rd activation so he can use his leader skill move the thief Mott. Neb activates giving an additional activation to mott, then continues climbing the tower each climb move , allows him 2” per activation Neb now has a choice to enter a window of the tower and proceed from inside or keep climbing,  Neb only needs a “3” for his climb check, and I roll a “2” on my second roll, however Neb had Luck (1) but we also have the 1 fate, we use the Fate  and he’s safe.

Mott- Activates and after failing his first attempt makes both agility tests ,he is now just starting to climb the tower.

DEFENDERS , GREEN MAGIC ,   1 Fate.

3 Activations.

The Lich activates giving the two Skeletons (#2 and #3) who are not on fire , activation tokens

The Lich. has line of sight on Scorpa the Assassin decides to attack him at Range. He’s more than 12 inches away so activation 1 is a 4 “ move , then the Lich uses he Force of Will ability rolling a “6” to hit. Scorpa must face the lich in an opposed INT test. Where the Lich is a “6” and his is a “3” I roll a pair of ‘3’s and the Assassin gains the “weakened” status.

Ghoul 1.  the lone Ghoul at this points activates, and moves 6” toward the outwall tower base and the climbing thieves.., He is able to make base contact but not  Charge the minion thief, Mott so he attacks as his second activation using his drain attack, hitting with the required  5 Drain is  STR +1 so in case STR 4 vs  DEF 3 and I roll a “3” good enough…Mott is also Weakened. 

excuse the legos needed something to hold up figures climbing the tower..note the Ghoul on , the Thief Mott.

Skeleton 1. Activates Suffering the “On Fire” status due to the Sorcerors 1^st turn Fireball, needs to make a Morale test, Skeleton have a very high Morale of 5 being Undead they don’t care about being on Fire and he easily succeed, he make two moves the second of which is a charge at the Sorceror.  The Skeleton hits the Sorcerer with a 6!.. but rolls a 1 to damage him.

Skeleton 2 and 3  Activate via the Helm of Command,  both make double moves  and cannot quite  reach the Sorceror  but Skeleton puts himself between the Sorceror and his Monk while Skeleton 3 plans on joining the combat with making the Sorcerer’s life short and very difficult.

END PHASE,  Scorpa gets lucky and rolls a “6” shaking off his weakened status, Mott does not. The Lich is not happy.

TURN 3

INITIATIVE  Defenders 5, Attackers 3, 

DEFENDERS, GREEN MAGIC,  1 Fate

A bad break for the Attackers here as the Defenders seize initiative!

3 Activations..

Ghoul 1, - in combat with the weakened Thief Mott the Ghoul now attacks, The Ghoul being  “Damned” is “Fearsome” to minions but since they are in base contact the effect doesn’t apply.

Ghouls rolls a “4” to hit, I’ll the teams 1 Fate to bump it.. to the needed 5, the ghoul is STR 3, Mott Defense is normal 3 but now effective ‘2” as he is “weakened “ the damage roll of 4 is enough to put Mott down and out. For his second activation the ghoul starts climbing the Tower after Neb!, rolling a “5” for his agility test he proceeds two inches up the tower in hot Pursuit.

Climbing after Neb , Ghoul 1, Neb victoriously has reached the top!

The Lich activates. Unfortunately for the Lich, he has let his Skeleton move too far away from him to use the Helm of Command, his first activation is to move within 6 of them for the following turns

His second activation is to Summon more skeletons!  He rolls all his dice..and rolls a 6, 1 and 1, lucky for him its second activation or he’d be done for the turn, due to  the “taxing nature of magic” however 8 + his 6 INT is easily enough to get the spell off and he summons two more skeletons to the join the battle!

Skeleton 1 who is now in base contact with the Sorceror Elazar activates and attacks.  Rolling a 2, Miss and another 2, Miss again.

ATTACKERS , THIEVES GUILD, 1 Fate,

3 Activations

Elazar, The Sorceror with 5 Skeleton bearing down on him, sees a good opportunity to use his one shot mystic web spell, so makes a special action and goes for it. He rolls both his dice. And rolls a 1 and 2!! Even with 5 INT and if we used Fate and Luck we still be short! So the spell doesn’t go off and since I rolled a one Elazar is done..Ugh.

Raiden the Monk, his Loyal Follower activates thank to his ability and Charges  Skeleton 2, (the nearest) On the Charge Attack, he gets 2 dice (unarmed Adept) but misses. On his second activation he hits, 6,3, and gets the needed “4” to wound, the Skeleton has a Shield but rolls a 5, and is destroyed.

Next we need to something going with the Minion Thief  Grym and start scoring some points, hes been standing on an adventure token for 2 turns, so I have activate and flip it…

“Wandering Monster”  if you’ll remember I mention for this scenario the Zombies were pre summoned  and in the Wandering Monster pool, so Grym get a Zombie!, no treasure for him!.

A bunch more where he came from (the wandering monster board)

For his second action I have Grym drop back toward the others but the Zombie is also Damned so Grym , being a minion must make a morale test and he gets the required “4” passing so he moves away!

Since Neb cant use he leader ability as no one was close enough, the last activation is for him or Scorpa, who potent attacks are direly need, Neb however is being  pursued by a climbing ghoul so it I think it best to activate him and get to the top of the tower.. with a 4, and 6, Neb makes both climb checks reaching the tower and the abandoned treasure!

End Phase, downed models removed , no status effects to test.

I am going to end part one here ., Cliffhanger!! 

End of Turn 3, One Skeleton Dead, 2 Ghouls 2, One Thief Dead, The Lich cackles.