Rangers of Shadow Deep, Mission 3: Descent into Darkness
While the battle against the Shadow Deep rages along
the line of the old beacon towers, you and your companions have made a huge
discovery. Scouting the area behind Tor Varden, you found a long, deep fissure
that runs down into the gloom of the Shadow Deep. Within this fissure is a
rough and broken stairway. It seems too purposeful to be a natural occurrence,
yet its rough surface and uneven, sloping steps argue against it being made by
the hands of men. Reporting your find to your superiors, you quickly receive
new orders. You are to lead your team down the stairs and penetrate as far as
you can into the Shadow Deep. You will be the first warriors of Alladore to
enter the cursed realm and any intelligence you can bring back will be of huge
importance. Take any opportunity to strike against the enemy, but your primary
goal is reconnaissance.
This report is a complete
playthrough.
After recapturing the
Beacon Tower- Tor Varden, Ranger
Blackwulf and company waste little time and rest , heal and resupply. Their job
isn’t done. Leofric , Man at of Arms of
the Towers original garrison has left the group to help form up the new tower
garrison leaving the Rangers a man short. Fortunately Blackwulf ‘s new orders
where delivered by a young Arcanist, named Xavos. Who on orders from the palace is to accompany
the rangers into the Shadow Deep to help better translate and/or recover any
ancients texts, scrolls or runestones they might find.
Blackwulfs updated
Character sheet
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAhQfPzS7tZfOjm0t_9eXznJJlTDpYHvlanHmNWlHtKApkcjDcnuSTeVrhZl0sOvZYgm4SuqmeWP77Jb8rz-H1-PX_-sYCXIWkHIe8vSYSnRByEaVA2RXXCEF0PRriuxC2gS2GWkgX3Y/s320/Companion+M3+E1.jpg)
Companions updated
character sheet
In addition to listed
items Gord and Xavos are each carrying a rope.
Gord, Thorvald, Guthrum
and Sigurd each have a Torch.
SCENARIO 1: The Broken Stairs
Laden down with provisions (for who knows if there is
food or even drinkable water below?), you start the treacherous descent of the
stairs. In some places you move quickly, in others, you must step lightly, checking
your footing with each movement, as cracked and broken rocks crumble away. As
you get lower, the air thickens and breathing becomes more difficult. Black ash
floats in the breeze, filling your nostrils and stinging your eyes. You are
just about to call for a break, when you hear a loud buzzing noise, first from
one direction and then from the other. You ready your weapons, just as the
first bloated body comes flitting into view.
Pre game notes
I spent a bit of time
trying to figure out how I wanted to set up this scenario. I was originally
tempted to scratch build the cliffside as its not that large. I’ve had an interest in
building some vertical playable terrain for awhile now (this cliff is spec’d at
a 60 degree angle) since its not practical to leave the single 30” x 30” piece laying around for the rare instance I needed it , I spent an afternoon
drawing / laying out and cutting some test foam for some modular cliffs. I
quickly realized I was biting off a lot more work that this quick scenario
realistically needed. I dropped the idea and put the current layout together based on what I had
ready to go . The game mat is a different enough looking blast rocky
surface, the cork rocks and Hirst bits are from an old Cave set up I
did for Otherworld Skirmish a couple years back. The stairs are my wooden walkway
from last game. (I have feeling I'll be getting plenty of use out of them) the Flies are those cheapo flies from Amazon
people have been talking about. I just repainted and based them.
All die rolls are shown as
(X) all combat rolls are (x,x) The first number always being the heroes.
The target point in this
scenario is the point where the stairs meet the bottom of the table.
There some special rules
for moving especially off the stairs, which will result in Climb and Acrobatic
checks. The is to simulate we are heading down a steep, dangerous rocky slope.
I’ll go over them when
they come into play on the turn.
This scenario lasts 10
turns , there will be an event every turn.
TURN 1
The new kid Xavos, leads the group for about 5 mins and he is almost killed, |
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf, uses group
activation to activate , Gord, Skuti and Xavos
If we move make more than
one move action on stairs we will have to make a Climb check TN8 or fall. No
one on the team is a great climber so we start out making one move action.
Blackwulf moves 6 inches.
Seeing a Giant Fly menacingly hovering above its hole and fires and Arrow at it. (5,15) he misses.
Archers both fire a miss and a graze. |
Skuti moves 6 inches and
shoots at the same fly (5,5) he hits the fly winning 7 to 5 but only grazes the
wing doing 1 damage.
Xavos move 6 inches and
stops
Gord moves 7 inches ( I keep
overlooking he has an extra inch of movement as a rogue this should be useful,
if I can remember to use it) he stops
CREATURE PHASE
The Giant Fly (#1) attacks Blackwulf (10,7) Blackwulf winning 14 to 7 at armor 6 with 4
remaining health the fly is swatted dead taking 8 damage
Blackwulf kills the first Fly, |
Giant Fly (#2 and #3) both
can see the group descending the stairs and fly 9 inches toward them.
First 3 Giant Flies on the board move to attack the heroes |
COMPANION PHASE
Guthrum, Thorvald and
Sigurd all move 6 inches down the stairs eyes peeled for incoming flies.
EVENT PHASE
RED QUEEN –ughhh
Poison Fog. A waft of thick black cloud roils up from
below and momentarily
envelops the heroes. Every hero should make an
immediate Will Roll (TN10)
or it will not activate in the coming turn
Blackwulf +4 (16) = 20 Pass
Sigurd +2 (17)
=19 Pass
Thorvald +2 (6) =
8 Fail
Guthrum +2 (5) =7
Fail
Xavos +2 (9)= 11 Pass
Gord +1 (7)
=8 Fail
Skuti +1 (6) = 7 Fail
Better now than later I
guess.
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf group activates Sigurd and Xavos since the others are lost ,
coughing in the red fog.
Blackwulf fires his bow at
oncoming Fly # 2 (10,18) a miss..I guess the red fog blocks line of sight.
Xavos sets his rope toward fly hole number one so
Sigurd and follow it this way he can move the full 9 inches and reach the hole
this turn, however he must make the dangerous TN 8 climb check or fall.., Xavos
then stays where he is
Sigurd attempts to move
toward the fly hole he moves to rope continuing off the path along the rope to
Fly Hole, his climb check (12) Pass
Fly Hole #1, Sigurd lights a torch for his next activation to seal it. |
.
CREATURE PHASE
Fly # 2 no sees Sigurd as
his closest target and attacks ( 11,4)
Sigurd bests it 14 to 4, again 8 damage cleaves the bug in two
Fly # 3 attacks Xavos..I
was hoping I could get Blackwulf to snap in but a straight line at Xavos makes
him more than an inch away, Xavos must fight alone (16,18)
a tie!! At 18 to 18 the fly mauls Xavos before he kills with his
spear..its bad wound thou..he takes 8 damage dropping to 2 health! He also must
makes a disease TN 8 Check..(13)+ his 2 health is 15, pass.
Welcome to the Rangers, Kid...Xavos gets almost wiped out on turn 2. |
Note: Special Rule for Scenario
Any time a hero loses a combat in this scenario, that
figure must immediately make either
a Climb Roll (TN10) or an Acrobatics Roll (TN10), or
fall according to the same rules as above
Since combat here was a
draw , I don’t count it as losing so I don’t make him check.
COMPANION PHASE
No other companions may
activate this turn due to Red Fog event
EVENT PHASE
RED ACE
Place one giant fly on each of three fly holes.
Sigurd had this second fly pop out of the hole right before he torched it, luckily Blackwulf blew it up with an arrow before it could act. |
Kill three, get three back
great!
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf activates Skuti,
Guthrum and Gord using group activation
Blackwulf fires his bow at
Fly #4 hovering near Sigurd by its Flyhole he shoots (15,15)
He hits the fly winning 17
to 15, the fly explodes taking 11 damage!
Skuti moves 6 and takes takes at the Fly # 6 he can see
it clearly over some rocks but its going to get Hurried Shot, Light Cover and
Intervening terrain bonuses so its +2, to +4
he shoots (18,14) damn lucky he
wins 20 to 18 and the fly is killed..5 flys down!
Skuti makes this long range hail mary thru the gap into the fly for his first kill of the match. |
Gord and Guthrum both
carefully advance 6…taking no other action.
CREATURE PHASE
Fly #5 coming from Flyhole
2 Flies 9 inches up the path toward the group using a double move
COMPANION PHASE
Sigurd light a torch and
throws into Fly hole # 1 temporarily sealing it. His second action it too
follow the rope back 6 inches to the path , as its treated as a single move
over rough ground thanks to the rope he doest need to make the climb check.
Thorvald moves 6 along the
path and holds
Xavos wounded and having
set his rope takes no actions, we want him in the rear and not risk him getting
killed as we may need him in the next few scenarios
EVENT PHASE
RED 3
Giant Fly appears at Hole 1
Since we Sigurd has just
sealed that , we ignore this result. Good Job Sigurd
TURN 4
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf activates Skuti,
Gord and Guthrum using group activation
Skuti moves 6 inches fires
his bow at on coming Fly #5 Fly is +1
for intervening terrain
(20,19) yowza! Skuti
wins 22 to 20..Im not sure how band you can kill a giant fly but Skuti’s
arrow just did doing 21 damage with the critical setting a new record for
highest damage dealt in a single attack yet.
Gord makes a single 6 inch
move down the stairs and with his second action sets his rope toward the
treasure token and flyhole # 2
Guthrum moves 6 to the set
rope and holds
Blackwulf risks a double
move on the stairs and must check TN8 he is +2 climb and rolls (12)
CREATURE PHASE
No creatures on the board
EVENT PHASE
RED JACK
Landslide. Randomly select two heroes. Both of those
figures suffer an immediate
+2 shooting attack as large rocks come crashing down
from above.
I roll Skuti and Gord
Skuti +2 vs +2 (19,9) miss
Gord +1 vs +2 (11,7) miss
Got lucky there
TURN 5
RANGER PHASE
Unwitting I moved
Blackwulf too far ahead he is out of range to group activate anyone its fine
because there are currently no creatures on the board.
Blackwulf got a little too far ahead of the group here, keep an eye on distance for group activation purposes. |
Blackwulf moves 4 inches
toward flyhole # 3 staying on the path and stops
CREATURE PHASE
No Creatures on the board
COMPANION PHASE
Guthrum makes a single 6
inch move along the rope and stops he cant reach the flyhole with risking a
climb check so I hope we don’t draw any flies from this hole coming up
Hmm..No Flies here? |
Gord also makes a single 6
inch move along the rope and stops to pickup the treasure token
All remaining companions
make a single 6 inch move
EVENT PHASE
RED 6
“Place one giant fly on Fly Hole 1 and Fly Hole 2”
Well the “best laid plans”
and all that Flyhole 1 is sealed so one
more giant fly join the party I guess it heard him coming
Spoke too soon, oh look a giant fly! |
TURN 6
RANGER PHASE
Again Blackwulf has no one
in range and activates alone
Blackwulf hears his
companions yelling but cant see them, he moves down the stairs 6 inches and has
a clear view of the fly menacing Guthrum. He shoots an arrow (7,6) winning 9 to 7
(+2 shoot vs +1 for
hurried shot) he hits the fly but only does 3 damage it still alive.
Blackwulf hits the fly but the low roll does not kill it. |
CREATURE PHASE
Fly proceeds to attack
Guthrum. (4,13) Guthrum can do little
while hanging on the rope to defend himself he loses 7 to 13 while its only 2 points of damage unike Xavos earlier Guthrum lost combat so
must make a climb or acrobatics check at TN 10
Guthrum is climb +0 I roll (9)
So Guthrum falls 1 inch
toward the bottom and takes another damage for 3 damage total
Guthrum has 9 health Now he also must make a disease check (14)
and passes easy
COMPANION PHASE
Gord , treasure in hand
sees Guthrum slip and fall , the fly is looking at him next
Gord throws his lucky throwing knife (20,9)wow unreal- its
truly is lucky… wins 21 to 9 at -1
damage is still 14 damage another dead fly, 7 flies down, he second action he moves
back to the stairs.
Guthrum gets up and climbs 3 inches to torch the fly hole as Gord kills the fly with a throwing knife. |
Guthrum even falling off
the rope is still close to Fly hole 2 he can reach it with safe 3 inch move
action, his second action he throws a torch into the hole sealing it.
EVENT PHASE
RED 9
Place two giant flies on hole 3
Are you kidding me!! This game
has a mind of its own.
2 more flies join the
party,
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf , again sadly
out of range for group activation.
Fires off bow shot at the
closest Fly (#8) (13,18) and misses
Flys attack! |
CREATURE PHASE
Fly #8 attacks Skuti (11,15) biting him wining 13 to
15..its 5 damage and Skuti must make the fall down the stairs roll (19) he doesn’t fall holding his ground with 5 6
health remaining
Disease Check (4) +6 =10
pass no disease
Fly #9 attacks Sigurd
(5,12) Sigurd also loses to the fly 12
to 8..12 vs his 12 armor does no damage but he must make the Climb check rolls
(1) !! ughh Sigurd loses his balance falling 9 inches down the stairs taking 9
damage he has 3 health
Sigurd takes the max fall possible..but lives |
COMPANION PHASE
Thorvald moves to engage
Fly# 9 (3,2) he wins 6 to 2 two handed weapon makes the 6 an 8 for damage
purposes so he does 2 damage to the Fly
Xavos moves around Skuti
to help him out versus Fly #8 . (14,4) With Skuti’s support he wins 18 to 4
more than enough to kill the Fly
Xavos the Arcanist gets his 1st kill |
Gord moves 6 down the
Stairs
Guthrum moves over rough
ground down the Cliffside toward Blackwulf on the path
He only goes 3 inches to
stay safe from the Climb check.
Guthrum slowly working his way back to the stairs |
EVENT PHASE
RED 10
Corpse. Choose one figure and have that figure make a
Perception Roll (TN8).
If successful, place a corpse marker 3” from the
figure that made the roll, but
not on the stairway. A figure that moves into contact
with the corpse marker
may spend an action to search it. It may make an
immediate roll on the Herbs
and Potions Table. In addition to the item generated
by that roll, it discovers a
love letter from this young soldier of Lorenthia to
his lady love in Alladore
I choose Guthrum since
narratively he’s in an ideal spot for this, even thou I have 2 characters with
+5 perception- he rolls (8) on the nose. He will search on his next turn
TURN 8
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf activates Sigurd
via group activation
Blackwulf moves to Sigurd
and Cast Heal on him bringing him to 8 health.
Sigurd, moves down the
Stairs 6 inches and reaches the bottom of the Cliff
CREATURE PHASE
Fly #9 continues trying to
gnaw on Thorvald (18,7) he smashes it to paste with his hammer.
COMPANION PHASE
No more ropes.
Thorvald, emboldened by his Kill moves off the path making a double
move across the rocky slope to reach the final Flyhole . He makes the TN8 Climb
check (13)
Thorvald moves to torch the last fly hole. |
Wounded Skuti and Xavos
continue down the stairs 6 inches.
Gord continues down the
stairs carrying the treasure
Guthrum moves to the
corpse and searches it recovering some Anthalas
herb and a love letter.
Blackwulf leads the others to the bottom of the stairs, Guthrum finds a corpse on the rocky slope. |
EVENT PHASE
RED 4
Place one giant fly on flyhole 2
Well Flyhole 2 is sealed!,
sucka
TURN 9
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf group activates
Xavos and Skuti
All three make single move
toward the bottom of the stairs
CREATURE PHASE
No creatures on the board
COMPANION PHASE
Gord moves 7 inches down
the stairs..
Thorvald Seals Flyhole # 3
with a Torch and moves 3 inches back toward the path
Guthrum moves 3 inches
closer to the path
Sigurd is already at the
bottom of the stairs/ exited table
EVENT PHASE
RED 2
Place one giant fly on each of the three fly holes
All fly holes are sealed.
TURN 10
RANGER PHASE
Blackwulf group activates
Skuti, Xavos and Gord all 4 move to the bottom of the stairs joining Sigurd
exiting the table
5 reach the bottom of the stairs during the scenario. |
CREATURE PHASE
No Creatures on the board
COMPANION PHASE
Thorvald and Guthrum
safely make single moves back to the Stairs
EVENT PHASE
RED 5
Place one giant fly on Fly Hole 3
All fly holes are sealed.
SCENARIO ENDS
Here we must make a Navigation
Check (TN8) to map stairs, this must be done by a figure who hasn’t fallen to 0
health.
Ranger Blackwulf breaks
out his Book of Astronomy for a total of +6 Navigation he only rolls a (6) but
his skill makes up the difference and the broken stairs are mapped.
EXPERIENCE
+2 XP for each Fly Killed –
9 flies killed 18XP
+5 XP for each hole sealed
–we sealed all three 15XP
+2 XP for each hero that
exits the bottom during the scenario we
had 5 -10xp
+8 XP if the Stairs are
mapped – They are 8 XP
+8 XP if the love letter
was recovered. It was 8XP
59 XP total
All companions receive 1
progression point
Sigurd joins the 5pp club
gaining an extra health point.
Items
Treasure Token roll (10)
herb or potion roll (11) Potion of Healing.
Potion of Healing – Gord
Anthalas herb- Guthrum
Love Letter- Xavos
FINAL THOUGHTS
Relatively easy based on
how much XP we got, there were much harder scenarios where we earned much less.
I think having ropes are key here, I would recommend 3 , that way you can reach
the fly holes quicker and it makes sense these characters would have some ropes
I also made my ropes one
use items to go along with how equipment is generally set up in the game
Again I got lucky on quite
a few ranged attacks, the flies don’t hit hard per say unless you get a fluky
roll,its the climb checks that are going to kill you…
No one was knocked out of
action , which hasn’t happened since the 1st mission’s 2nd
scenario. Now we rest for a day and move into the Swamps .Scenario 2 :
Swampland is next.
0 comments:
Post a Comment