For this scenario, I wanted something significantly tougher for Anasdiazi's Raft to face. So, I decided that since they were down to the last point of Threat from Dark Secrets, it would be fun to make a really tough Last Stand encounter for them to fight. What if they never made it out of the ruined city before being ambushed by the mastermind of the threats to Oraskat? How can that be tied to a previous game? What if the Raft stumbled upon the empty camp of more scorpion men, only to be ambushed by them and their leader the Scorpion Queen? There
would be no in-town activities as this scenario takes place immediately after the
previous one: the Raft is still in the ruins, Pariwan Keetslander should have
been seriously wounded but pressed his luck and is as fit as a feather. The only thing that even shows the passage of time is that this is still another campaign turn, so Mataw gains another turn of recovery and of her Winter's Flask potion.
So: this is a Last Stand for the enemy, the Raft is being attacked, and they did not Seize The Initiative. They are facing four scorpion men and the Scorpion Queen, coming at them from five different directions. In game terms, I used the profile for the Giant Spider (page 146 of Five Leagues From The Borderlands, 2nd editon) for the scorpion men, and added +1 each to the Combat Skill, Power, Armor, and Toughness of the Scorpion Queen above that of the basic Giant Spider profile. I also decided that the various walls of the ruins would not inhibit their movement in any way.
The Raft began in the center of the table, all within 3" of the center point where they have discovered the remains of the camp of the scorpion men. The Scorpion Queen was in one corner of the game area, three scorpion men were in the other corners, and the last scorpion man was at the center of a randomly determined board edge.
The opening moves of the game involved the archers shooting at the closest scorpion man to no good effect, while Anasdiazi, Quackmore, and Pariwan Keetslander moved towards their foe moving through the spinxes near the pyramid. The Nameless Priest of Humakt hung back with the archers to protect them in case any of the scorpion folk got too close.
The archers then loosed another volley at the approaching monster, this time they each found their mark and it showed signs of great injury. Trying to kill the beast for good, the Nameless Priest of Humakt cast Sparrow's Flight on Puddles, but the next arrow bounced harmlessly off the scorpion man's leathery carapace. Pariwan Keetslander charged the scorpion man approaching between the sphinxes, and while he fought hard, he was struck down by the beast of Chaos. To his credit, he did slow the advance of the scorpion man, allowing time for Anasdiazi and Quackmore to regroup.
The third turn saw the dispatch of the nearly-dead scorpion man at the bow of Puddles, another advancing monster taking a wound from Oasaya, and Anasdiazi and Quackmore both inflicting injury upon the beast that had so recently dispatched Pariwan Keetslander. And the other scorpion folk continued their relentless advance.
Turn four saw Anasdiazi and Quackmore dispatching the beast they were fighting, after it had pushed them back towards their friends. The archers panicked in the face of the advancing enemy and all missed their shots. The Nameless Priest of Humakt tried his best to hurt one of the encroaching monsters, but caused no harm and was pushed back closer to his wards. And, as the creatures scuttled closer, they were slowly encircling the archer group.
In Turn Five. concentrated fire from the archers at the scorpion man that Oasasya had previously injured brought the beast down. Puddles cast Walk The Wind to put some distance between himself and the beast before shooting at it. The Nameless Priest of Humakt sought to slay the other monster drawing near, but succeeded in only losing ground to it's advance. Anasdiazi and Quackmore rushed to intercept the Scorpion Queen before she reached the rest of the Raft.
Turn Six was a bit of a turning point, where things went from just looking bad to actually being bad. Although Puddles and Oasasya succeeded in causing some harm to the advancing scorpion man, it in turn succeeded in removing the Nameless Priest of Humakt as a speedbump. Anasdiazi and Quackmore attacked the Scorpion Queen, but she was mighty and forced them back.
Then, in Turn Seven, the archers brought down the remaining scorpion man, leaving only the Scorpion Queen herself to face Anasdiazi and Quackmore. And while they fought hard, they again lost ground to her might.
Turn Eight brought disaster! Although Puddles succeeded in landing a telling shot against the Scorpion Queen, neither Oasasya nor Trackquack the Guide found their mark. She, in turn, felled Quackmore, Anasdiazi's faithful retainer. Anasdiazi was alone and face to face with the Scorpion Queen.
Now, in Turn Nine, it continued poorly for the Raft. The archers were unable to hurt the Scorpion Queen, and she continued to push back Anasdiazi towards their position in the sphinxes.
Turn Ten was disastrous for the Raft. Although both Puddles and Oasasya caused harm to the Scorpion Queen, she was able to dispatch Anasdiazi with little effort. And now the archers had her undivided attention.
Turn Eleven started out looking really grim. Puddles missed his shot. Oasasya missed his shot. The Scorpion Queen was in position to strike at Trackquack the Guide. And then he took his shot... he hit! And he found a soft spot in her hide, bringing her down! Trackquack the Guide saves the day!
In the aftermath of the battle, survival looked grim. Anasdiazi was gravely wounded, but some medicinal herbs helped him; he wound up lightly wounded and would require three campaign turns of recovery. Quackmore seemed dead for all intents and purposes, however, an attempt to revive him with more medicinal herbs brought him around, and he was lightly wounded as well, requiring three campaign turns of recovery. The Nameless Priest of Humakt was also lightly injured, requiring three campaign turns of recovery time. Pariwan Keetslander was only knocked out, and back on his feet. Loot was handled a little differently than normal; monsters give a LOT of loot for killing one, and there were five of them in this game. So, I used the "attacking a camp" loot rules, as well as the loot for killing one monster. They wound up with another Small Personal Item, a Roadmap, a Fine standard weapon, a Balanced bastard sword, 32 gold crowns, and +4 Story Points. And Anasdiazi, Quackmore, and Trackquack the Guide all leveled up. Further, the last Threat point of Dark Secrets was removed from Oraskat.
Wow! 11 turns of carnage and mayhem! I wanted a scenario that would be challenging and possibly deadly, and it looks like I got it. All four melee fighters were taken out out of action, and while they all survived, it was a close call for Quackmore. Of special mention is the Nameless Priest of Humakt, while he caused no damage to any of the enemy, he stood solid the face of danger again, and again, and again, and proved to be the obstacle that allowed the continued survival of the archers. Speaking of whom, this game forced me to keep them moving, and to really think ahead about where they needed to go to stay some from the enemy onslaught. Once again they proved their worth, in spades. And speaking of worth, is Pariwan Keetslander EVER going to do anything except engage the enemy and then die? Seriously, he has already cost the warband 2 gold crowns in fees, and while it's not much, the only return Anasdiazi has gotten for his coin is a rather enthusiastic speedbump. Well, he'll get a chance to earn his keep next time, since he is the only melee member of the Raft still on his feet.
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| Our Heroes: Anasdiazi, Trackquack the Guide, Quackmore, Puddles, Nameless Priest of HUmakt, Oasasya, and Pariwan Keetslander. |
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| The villains of this drama: four scorpion men led by the Scorpion Queen. |
The Raft began in the center of the table, all within 3" of the center point where they have discovered the remains of the camp of the scorpion men. The Scorpion Queen was in one corner of the game area, three scorpion men were in the other corners, and the last scorpion man was at the center of a randomly determined board edge.
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| Deployment |
The opening moves of the game involved the archers shooting at the closest scorpion man to no good effect, while Anasdiazi, Quackmore, and Pariwan Keetslander moved towards their foe moving through the spinxes near the pyramid. The Nameless Priest of Humakt hung back with the archers to protect them in case any of the scorpion folk got too close.
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| The end of Turn1 |
The archers then loosed another volley at the approaching monster, this time they each found their mark and it showed signs of great injury. Trying to kill the beast for good, the Nameless Priest of Humakt cast Sparrow's Flight on Puddles, but the next arrow bounced harmlessly off the scorpion man's leathery carapace. Pariwan Keetslander charged the scorpion man approaching between the sphinxes, and while he fought hard, he was struck down by the beast of Chaos. To his credit, he did slow the advance of the scorpion man, allowing time for Anasdiazi and Quackmore to regroup.
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| The end of Turn 2. One Hero has gone down already! |
The third turn saw the dispatch of the nearly-dead scorpion man at the bow of Puddles, another advancing monster taking a wound from Oasaya, and Anasdiazi and Quackmore both inflicting injury upon the beast that had so recently dispatched Pariwan Keetslander. And the other scorpion folk continued their relentless advance.
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| The end of Turn 3: one down, four to go |
Turn four saw Anasdiazi and Quackmore dispatching the beast they were fighting, after it had pushed them back towards their friends. The archers panicked in the face of the advancing enemy and all missed their shots. The Nameless Priest of Humakt tried his best to hurt one of the encroaching monsters, but caused no harm and was pushed back closer to his wards. And, as the creatures scuttled closer, they were slowly encircling the archer group.
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| The end of Turn 4: the beasts draw near, very near |
In Turn Five. concentrated fire from the archers at the scorpion man that Oasasya had previously injured brought the beast down. Puddles cast Walk The Wind to put some distance between himself and the beast before shooting at it. The Nameless Priest of Humakt sought to slay the other monster drawing near, but succeeded in only losing ground to it's advance. Anasdiazi and Quackmore rushed to intercept the Scorpion Queen before she reached the rest of the Raft.
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| Turn 5 ends with the Raft losing ground |
Turn Six was a bit of a turning point, where things went from just looking bad to actually being bad. Although Puddles and Oasasya succeeded in causing some harm to the advancing scorpion man, it in turn succeeded in removing the Nameless Priest of Humakt as a speedbump. Anasdiazi and Quackmore attacked the Scorpion Queen, but she was mighty and forced them back.
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| Turn Six: five against the Scorpion Queen |
Then, in Turn Seven, the archers brought down the remaining scorpion man, leaving only the Scorpion Queen herself to face Anasdiazi and Quackmore. And while they fought hard, they again lost ground to her might.
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| Anasdizai and Quackmore versus the Scorpion Queen! |
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| The end of Turn Seven, with retreating archers |
Turn Eight brought disaster! Although Puddles succeeded in landing a telling shot against the Scorpion Queen, neither Oasasya nor Trackquack the Guide found their mark. She, in turn, felled Quackmore, Anasdiazi's faithful retainer. Anasdiazi was alone and face to face with the Scorpion Queen.
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| Turn 8 ends badly for the Raft |
Now, in Turn Nine, it continued poorly for the Raft. The archers were unable to hurt the Scorpion Queen, and she continued to push back Anasdiazi towards their position in the sphinxes.
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| Turn 9 continues badly |
Turn Ten was disastrous for the Raft. Although both Puddles and Oasasya caused harm to the Scorpion Queen, she was able to dispatch Anasdiazi with little effort. And now the archers had her undivided attention.
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| Turn 10 ends with the Scorpion Queen hunting the archers |
Turn Eleven started out looking really grim. Puddles missed his shot. Oasasya missed his shot. The Scorpion Queen was in position to strike at Trackquack the Guide. And then he took his shot... he hit! And he found a soft spot in her hide, bringing her down! Trackquack the Guide saves the day!
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| Turn 11 brings victory for the Raft, but at what cost? |
In the aftermath of the battle, survival looked grim. Anasdiazi was gravely wounded, but some medicinal herbs helped him; he wound up lightly wounded and would require three campaign turns of recovery. Quackmore seemed dead for all intents and purposes, however, an attempt to revive him with more medicinal herbs brought him around, and he was lightly wounded as well, requiring three campaign turns of recovery. The Nameless Priest of Humakt was also lightly injured, requiring three campaign turns of recovery time. Pariwan Keetslander was only knocked out, and back on his feet. Loot was handled a little differently than normal; monsters give a LOT of loot for killing one, and there were five of them in this game. So, I used the "attacking a camp" loot rules, as well as the loot for killing one monster. They wound up with another Small Personal Item, a Roadmap, a Fine standard weapon, a Balanced bastard sword, 32 gold crowns, and +4 Story Points. And Anasdiazi, Quackmore, and Trackquack the Guide all leveled up. Further, the last Threat point of Dark Secrets was removed from Oraskat.
Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.
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