Happy New Year, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion , Scenario 1 Roadside Ambush.

Well I've clearly let the blog fall by the wayside since September but I did do a good amount of miniature painting this fall ( and I'll get to posting

those as time permits) and I finished several more D&D sessions with the kids but I have not made the time to write them up or post about them.

Real life has just kept me far too busy to enjoy much of any of my hobbies, and blogging about them is an just extra time sink., One the good thing about these type games is I can write these up as I play them which lets me share the time and keep the record.

It is the 15th year of the Blog, so I am compelled to keep on messing around with my games and see it where it takes me.

Again this year at Christmas, I got a new game as a gift, a suprise again as my kids are getting old enough to know what I like and pay attention to things I am checking out on you tube while we are hanging out. This year I received the very popular and highly rated;

 Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion.

Now I know about the big bad Gloomhaven the main game and mega hit from 2017 , but of course never took the plunge, despite the attraction and that its something definitely in my wheelhouse, huge, fiddly games like that without a dedicated group to play are just wasted space and if you know anything about Gloomhaven you know it takes up alot of space.

Jaws of the Lion is nice streamlined intro package into the Gloomhaven world, a stand alone game with 4 characters and 25 missions that looks like it will keep me busy for sometime. Like I have been doing with Rangers of Shadowdeep and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare. I will play it as a solo game and write up the 1st 5 scenarios and see if I like it enough to start building Hirst Arts terrain for it or play its predcessors OR get interest in the upcoming Frosthaven.

Unless you are familiar with the game the following will little sense to you, so here's a brief explanation from a total layman. 

Gloomhaven uses no dice but your play 2 abilities card each round, you total will depreciate until you rest (either long or short) and its refreshed.

Some skills are one use only, and when you rest you must burn (discard) a card for the rest of the scenario in order to retrive the played cards

Card are all rated by speed for initative purpose, lowest being fastest, your fastest card is your initiative each turn

but you may use the either the top section once or bottom section once from each skill cards in any order, once per round

the next round you must draw new cards until your out and you must rest, but you can rest , when your out of health or cards that Character is done for the Scenario.

 

I am using two of the 4 Characters for this sample playthrough

The Red Guard. a Tiefling-like Tanky fighter with a mean melee attack sometime short ranged attack with Sickle on a chain.

Voidwarden- Human Mage, corrupted by the power of the void (black hole) She is squishy but packs potent buffs in both effects, can grant extra ally attacks , has good healing capabilities, can control enemy, and has some ranged attacks.

Redguard is just couple red tones , wash and a  highlight, the Voidwarden I wanted to make a half and half normal /corrupt, ashy molten....overkill probably.

The Enemy in this scenario are Vermlings who are a goblin-ratman like race so I used Goblins to proxy them here rather then games standees. (the game has great character miniatures, but standees for the monsters) The Vermlings have standard initative of 50 for this scenario.

Scenario 1: Roadside Ambush

The fist mission, stickers are added to board as you advance thru the scenarios to track your progress

Objective is kill all enemies.

Initiative on first hand

Red Guard

Voidwarden

Vermlings

Round 1

Redguard   Plays - Shocking Advance, Blinding Sickle

Move 3 spaces (of 4) and put 4 (3 +1) damage on the nearest Vermling

Voidwarden  Plays- Suggestion, Wicked Search

Moves 2 spaces and immoblizes the wounded Vermling, Wicked Search allows

the Red Guard to attack it for 2 damage (4-2!) but it kills it

Vermlings all move 1 space toward the heroes. Vermling 3 moves adjacent the redguard and puts 2 damage on him

Round 2

Redguard  Plays - Desert Night, Twirling Stabs

Uses Desert Night to put 3 damage on Vermling #3, the modifier card is X2, so it 6 damage its dead

He can do nothing with the Twirling Stabs card.

Voidwarden   Plays-  Black Boon, Lure of the Void

Voidwarden heals Redguard back up to full health. I misread the card thinking lure of void gave an ally a range attack but its a normal attack so she does nothing.

Vermlings all move 1 space toward the heroes.

Round 3

Heroes take a Short Rest

Redguard -burns Twirling Stabs

Voidwarden - burns Lure of the Void.

Initiatve remains

14 Redguard

49 Voidwarden

50 Vermlings

Redguard   Plays Shocking Advance, Desert Night

Uses desert night to move 1, and shocking advance to hit for 2 (3-1 mod!) and immoblize

the Vermling boss

Voidwarden  Plays Wicked Scratch, Turn out the lights

Wicked Search- moves 2, and strengthens the Redguard

Turn out the lights puts 3 ranged damage (3+0) on the  Vermling boss.

Vermlings 

Boss attacks Redguard, puts 2 damage on him (2+0),Other Vermlings move 1 space

Round 4

Initiative

Voidwarden 23

Vermlings 50

Redguard 63

I purposely use high initiative cards here to put the Redguard after the Vermlings cards -let see if it works

Voidwarden, Plays  Suggestion, Black Boon

She doesnt move but Muddles the Vermling boss so he fights at disadvantage., she then heals the Redguard back to full.

Vermling Boss, attacks redguard. draws a miss and a +2...he disadvantaged so its a miss, nice!, it worked.

Other Vermlings close in on redguard one is adjacent attacks and does 1 damage (2-1)

Redguard  Plays  Flaming Sickle, Blinding Sickle

Blinding Sickle does 2 damage (2+0) and immobilizes the Vermling boss

Flaming Sickle does 3 (2+1) damage...Killing him.

Round 5

Heroes take Short Rest

Redguard burns Shocking Advance

Voidburns draws black boon, decides to keep it , takes 1 damage and burns Suggestion instead

Initiative

Redguard

Voidwarden

Vermlings

Redguard  Plays- Shield Spikes, Desert Night

Uses Desert Night to move 2, then even thou I am at advantage, I use an ability that doesnt  allow drawing of  a modifier card. I put 2 damage on EACH remaining  Vermling

Voidwarden Plays -Turn out the lights, Wicked Scratch

uses turn out the lights, to put 2 (3-1) on the Vermling 4..its enough to kill him then Wicked Scratch to move 2 and Strengthen the Redguard (its too back if she was one space close, she could of have the Redguard finish him)

Vermling attacks Redguard for 3 (2+1) damage!

Round 6

Initiative

Voidwarden

Vermling

Red Guard

Voidwarden  plays Black Boon, Gift of the Void

Voidwarden uses Gift of the Void to let the Redguard attack for 1 damage (2-1 argh) it still lives!

Black Boon has her move 1 behind the Redguard.

Vermling 

Attacks Redguard for 1( 2-1) damage

Redguard  Plays Flaming Sickle for 2 damage (3-1)  and finish his last point of health.

Scenario 1 ends.

Sloppy but I got thru the scenario, abet with the Redguard with half health, there is good synergy between these two figures, 

Now while that was very simple the Game will continue to get more complex over the next 4 scenarios the point being after 5 scenarios you have command of the full rules of the game.

I may add additional characters as we go along, well see how it goes,  

Next up.  "A Hole in the Wall"