Killing Chaos Cultists Like Ducks In A Barrel

Haha... well now, it's been over a month since I had visited Anasdiazi's Raft in Glorantha, and a further three weeks since I played this game until I wrote up my blog entry here. When last we left our anatine protagonists, they had just cleared a group of Broo out of a small section of a ruined city. And they know that if there were Broo in the outskirts, there would be more deeper within the city. So after returning to Oraskat, they immediately began planning their return.

But first, a day on the town. As Mataw was going to be down for a while recovering, the decision was reached to give her the Winter Flask potion. In three campaign turns, she would either awaken a true combat dynamo, or die. Pariwan Keetslander, feeling a bit put out for not being the one chosen for the potion, demanded a gold crown to stay with the Raft. Anasdiazi happily paid him. Distracted by this little drama, Anasdiazi was unable to learn anything while studying. Quackmore, suffering no such problem, learned the important skill of Organization. Puddles went fishing; he found a pretty decent spot; it was a nice day, and the fish seem to be eager. Not a bad day at all. He had a chance to catch three fish; he caught two fish for a total strength of 4, worth 1 gold crown. Oasasya found some good deals, a fine warspear for 9 gold crowns, and a fine shield for 8 gold crowns. He bought the shield for the Raft.

Of interest, they met a Beggar in town. Sharing their leftovers with him, they learned a bit about his life and how he had fallen on hard times. As they departed the town, they knew they had a new Friend, such as he was.

Our Heroes: the Nameless Priest of Humakt, Quackmore, Trackquack the Guide, Anasdiazi, Oasasya, Puddles, and Pariwan Keetslander

As they explored deeper into the ruins, they saw a tall obelisk over the shattered walls. Using that as a destination, they spied a group of Chaos Cultists preparing for a ritual at the base of the stone edifice. Anasdiazi sent the archers and the Nameless Priest Of Humakt on the left flank, while he led Quackmore and Pariwan Keetslander on the right flank.

The approach

As the Raft advanced between the buildings, the Cultists stopped their ritual to deal with the intruders. While both sides jockeyed for position and a few arrows were loosed, there was no injury or casualty in the opening phase of the encounter.

The end of Turn One, which looks a lot like the Deployment, only closer together.

Pariwan leapt ahead of Anadiazi and Quackmore, anxious to show how his new gold had increased his motivationa and loyalty. On the other side, Oasasya found his mark and killed one of the Cultists running towards the archers. The High Priest and his bodyguard attacked Pariwan Keetslander; Pariwan killed the bodyguard, but the High Priest dropped the pink mercenary.

Pariwan charges ahead!

The end of Turn Two, with casualties on both sides already

Puddles and Oasasya made short work of the two remaining Cultists coming at them. The Cultist archer tried to shoot at them, but missed by a wide margin. The High Priest managed to hold off the attacks of both Anasdiazi and Quackmore, holding his ground and rebuffing their assault.

Archers assemble!

The end of Turn Three. Where did all the Cultists go?

The archers all exchanged shots. Only Puddles had any effect, killing the Cultist bowman. The High Priest attacked, defended against, and was rebuffed by Anasdiazi and Quackmore. He determinedly held his ground.

The end of Turn Four; the cheese stands alone.

The High Priest did his best, but he fell to the combined might of Anasdiazi and Quackmore. Once again the Raft was victorious!

Victory!

In the aftermath of this skirmish, Pariwan Keetslander seemed to have a very serious injury, one that would keep him recovering for a considerable amount of time. But he had Pressed His Luck, and turned out to be perfectly okay after all. Searching the Cultists resulted in no loot. But it seemed that the High Priest was one of the ringleaders for the Dark Secrets threatening Oraskat, and that threat was reduced by two points.

This game was another quick and easy one. Even my last special scenario was too easy. So the next game is going to be something really nice... for the bad guys.

Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.