Chapter 1 : For Old Time's Sake

Number of heroes : 1

Difficulty : 2

For Old Time's Sake

Unable and, to be honest, unwilling, to attack Chimène frontally, Gawayn chose to turn the folk of Ardon against Zoraya.  There is little love lost between Brythunians and Turanians, after decades of border skirmishes and atrocities.  

Hence it was relatively easy for Gawayn to suggest that Rudraige's wife was being manipulated by the Turanian spy, into causing strife and weakening the Pillar of the North.  Before Zoraya could be spirited to safety, she was captured.

Word has reached Chimène that her friend has been savagely beaten and left to die.  Ardon's rightful Lady will certainly not let that happen, even if she has to interrupt Gawayn's intronisation feast in his keep, weapons in hand....

Objectives
-  The Heros win a minor victory if they get Zoraya out of the keep on turn 10, or if Zoraya is killed by one of the Overlord's henchmen.  A major victory is won if Zoraya is evacuated before turn 10, or if Chimène is killed.

-  The Overlord triumphs otherwise.

Game length
The scenario lasts 10 turns, but ends as soon as Zoraya leaves the battle zone.  The Heroes play first

Scenario Map
The playing surface is 7 x 7 hexes, gridded A to G (columns) and 1 to 7 (rows).  It portrays the long hall and outbuildings which make up the Lord's inner sanctum.
 

Heroes
In the campaign setting, the following heroes take part in the adventure, with any equipment they had or have acquired, and spells selected using the campaign game method.

Chimène (set up in A4)

All Heroes begin with 0 Energy Gems in the Fatigue Zone.  If any heroes are bearing wounds from previous adventures, the effects of this is now taken into account.

The Hero begins with a Life Potion and with a Zingarian Breastplate.

The Overlord
The Overlord's forces are as follows :

3 Grey Brythunian Infantry [use the Bossonian Guard tile] (set up in D3, C4, C7)

3 Grey Brythunian Crossbowman [use Kothian Archer tile] (set up in E2, G4, G6)

1 Brythunian Captain [use Captain tile] (set up in E4)

The Overlord begins with 2 Energy Gems in the Available Energy Zone, and 4 in the Fatigue Zone.  He or she recovers 3 each turn.

 

Ravens
When an Event is played, the Overlord can choose one of the following : 

Reinforcements : 2 Reinforcement Points

Panic ! : the Overlord can move up to three guests, two hexes each, ignoring any hindrance.

Grab her ! : the Overlord chooses two of his troops, and immediately moves them up to two hexes each, ignoring any hindrance.  The pursuit galvanises Chimène, however, who immediately moves 2 Energy Gems from her Fatigue Zone to her Available Energy Zone.

Surprise Guests ! : the Overlord can add two additional guests, in a zone which already contains a guest.

The River

1 : Grey Brythunian Infantry
2 : Grey Brythunian Crossbowmen
3 : Brythunian Captain (4 wounds)
4 : Raven
5 : Empty
6 : Empty
7 : Empty
8 : Empty


Reinforcement Zones
There is one reinforcement zone (B4)


Equipment Cards
There are six Treasure Chests (A7, B3, F4, F5, G4, G5), each needing a Complex Manipulation with 1 success to open.  The Equipment Deck is made up of 2 Explosive Orbs, 2 Life Potions and 2 Javelins.

 

 

Terrain

If the game is played on 3D terrain, the House Rules for this apply.

All doors are locked, and require a Complex Manipulation with 2 successes to open.  Overlord figures can unlock a door for the cost of two movement points.   Once unlocked, a door is no longer a hindrance to movement.

Doors are vulnerable to the Wall Breaker skill, exterior and interior walls are not.

Heros and Allies may not leave the board by any board edge zone, but if Chimène reaches her entry point with Zoraya in tow, they are assumed to leave the battle zone, even if Overlord troops are present.

Other House Rules

If players are in agreement, any or all of the other House Rules may apply



SSRs

-  For Old Time's Sake

Chimène is aware how important it is to the future of the North, to rescue Zoraya. She therefore has an extra energy gem for the scenario, as well as the Feline Grace skill, which is inactive if encumbrance reaches 7.

 

-  She cannot perish !

Gawayn does not want Chimène dead, for a whole lot of reasons.  His men can attack her, but should they move all her energy gems into her Wound Zone, the scenario ends immediately with a defeat for the Overlord.

 

-  The Turanian Spy

At the beginning of the scenario, the Overlord can choose to place Zoraya in either F4 or F5 - both of these are rooms or outhouses with locked doors.

As soon as Chimène enters the room in which the badly beaten Zoraya is laying, she can help her up.

Grievely hurt by the beatings she has taken, Zoraya has a number of wounds equal to 10 minus the current turn, and then falls unconscious.  Zoraya counts as 4 Encumbrance if still conscious, 6 if she loses consciousness (ie. on turn 10).  Zoraya cannot move by herself, cannot be attacked, and cannot use Life Potions.  Her PV serve only to indicate her slow agony and add extra narrative depth to the scenario.

The Turanian's torturer is still around : as soon as Zoraya is revealed, add him to the hex and place his tile [use the Zaporavo tile] at the beginning of the River.  He has 6 PV.

 

-  The milling guests

 

Place 9 markers symbolising Gawayn's guests, in B4, C3, C7, D3, D7, E3, E7, G3 and G7.  They are townsfolk, and the sudden and wild appearance of  Chimène startles them into panic.

Guests cause Hindrance to all figures, whether they are Heroes or the Overlord's troops.

They cannot be activated, but they can be attacked by both sides; they have a Passive Defense of 1, 1 PV, and Counterattack; both sides can spend Energy Gems to defend them or give them rerolls.  They can be moved only with the Panic ! event.

 

-  Friends in the crowd

Chimène has come to the festivities almost without preparation, and without warning her friends.  There are however many among the crowd who are ready to be swayed to her cause.

The following heroes are present : 

Kerim (D3) [5 PV; use Kerim Shah tile]

Rashar (D7) [4 PV; use Skuthus tile, and pick three spells from his list using the Campaign Rules]

Ygritte (E5) [5 PV; use Balthus tile]

 

Chimène can try to convince one (only) of these three to help her, is she is in their hex.  It needs a Complex Manipulation requiring 3 successes.

An ally can be activated freely once per turn, even if Chimène is Resting.

Heroes who are not allies of Chimène are considered as Guests (see above), but use their own tiles and PV if attacked.

Pillar of the North : Background

The alliance between Chimène and Zoraya has saved Turan from a grave threat.  When Chimène offers to the Turanian diplomat to travel back west with her, the latter willingly agrees, seeing an opportunity to strengthen ties with the North.  The two women, with their companions Brude and Kerim, set out for the Brythunian city of Ardon, on whom Rudraige is lord.

Ardon is a place of vital importance, as it is a pillar of support to all those who resist Hyperborean evil in the North.  It was Rudraige who, along with Kerim, founded the Watch.  His house brings constant support to the Aifreweia, contributing as much to its stock of knowledge as to its finances.  Last of all, the Brythunian lord never hesitated to step up himself, using his "hunting trips" to strike directly at Hyperborea and the threats roving south from its icy wastes.

When the travellers arrive after their long journey, they find Ardon is in great turmoil...for Rudraige is dead.  This is a terrible shock for Chimène, who had no inkling of what had happened, after the adventurers had separated.

Rudraige having died heirless is a situation that his numerous enemies gleefully exploited, until his oldest companion, Gawayn, the Night Chaser, stepped up in a bid for leadership.  Backed by his new friend, Eadric, the Captain of the Guard managed to beat down all resistance, and was formally acknowledged as Eorl of Ardon by his people in their assembly.

 

Chimène's arrival is initially a cause of great celebration, as she is a respected warrior.  This joy turns sour, when she announces that not only were Rudraige and her secretly married at the Aifreweia, she is also with his child.  Word is sent to Rashar, Abbot of the Aifreweia, and despite the weakness caused by his recent wounds, he travels personally to Ardon, accompanied and protected by Ygritte, to confirm that he presided over the wedding vows.

As Lady of Ardon, Chimène would, through her friendship with Zoraya, bring Turan into the Northern Alliance.  Eadric himself urged Gawayn to step down...yet there are dark powers at work here.  They play upon Gawayn's resentment that Rudraige never made him eorl, even of a handful of villages.  He has been acclaimed Eorl of Ardon, by the ancient rite, and none must take it from him.

Chapter IX : The Winged Horror - The Adventure

The scenario is here.

The heroes arrive on the scene just as the invocation begins.  The stakes are extremely high; if the east begins to crumble, the North will fall...

 

 The powerful winged demon rises !

 

The heroes quickly targetted the two remaining emirs, and slew them both in rapid succession.  This caused five wounds to the demon, rendering it vulnerable.  Accompanied by Turanian loyalists, Brude went looking for anything that would help them.

He had to face up to none other than the Hyperborean Witchman....and slew her with a mighty blow ! From her fallen body, he picked up a sword thrumming with magical energy [actually, a Halberd came out of the chest he explored, but this seems a better narrative !]

 

The Winged Demon bent his will on Zoraya and drew her towards him, dealing a powerful but not deadly blow.  As the winds rent the air about him, hellbats bit at the heroes.

Kerim played an important role, his arrows causing enough damage to avoid the demon from regenerating.

Zoraya beat a fighting retreat, and then Brude, having lain low the Witchman, dashed towards the demon.

 

The thief become hero dealt a fatal blow to the monster, dispatching it back into the darkness from which it had been drawn.  The North was saved !

 

A great finale to the campaign.  The scenario initially lulled the heroes into a sense of easy victory, until the demon became more active and showed what deadly stuff it was made of.

The campaign progression influenced the scenario in a balanced way, reflecting well the successes and failures of the heroes.

Everyone gains +6 XP, thanks to surviving and to this mighty victory.  Brude was the hero of the day, bringing down both the Witchman and the Demon itself, for an additional +2 XP.

I presume that everybody has sufficient time to rest and heal before continuing their journey, and that at the end of that, the heroes acquire their usual equipment.

Chapter VIII : The Offering - The Adventure

The scenario is here.

The initial plan was for Zoraya and the three Turanian guardsmen to make for the larger building, hopefully picking up some loot on the way. Brude was to pick the lock on the gate, and head towards the small temple.  Chimène was meant to fight it out in the middle.

That plan went rapidly pear-shaped, as Chimène was overwhelmed by incoming fire, the mercenary archers bounding forwards to seek her out behind the cover of the central wall.  Zoraya was forced to come back to help her, also sending in the loyal Turanians to help.  Whilst Brude continued his explorations, the two women gradually overcame all resistance.

One of the Emirs fled with his father, but Zoraya was closing in on the two remaining Turanian lords.  The Turanian spearmen fighting for the Emirs were brutally sacrificed to bring forth a Dynwocor and slow her down.  The beast charged into the fray, but the agile Turanian diploat was no easy target, and sustained only a flesh wound.

One of the Turanian soldiers hurried to assist her, whilst the diplomat headed for the Emirs.  She was joined by Brude a few seconds later, who cut one of them down.

The Hyperborean Emissary decided to use her ability to raise the dead - which actually had little impact - and reveal herself, mainly because the loyalist Turanians were almost upon her, and also because the Dynwocor was close to hand.  Chimène saw red, and leapt over the ruined mud-brick wall to engage her mortal foe.  The presence of the Dynwocor [restricting saturation to 2, ndlr] prevented her, however, from putting her all into the fight and she caused no hurt.

The Emissary managed to get over the wall, and join the Dynwocor.  The combination of Horror and Jinx seemed to be unbeatable, but ferocious attacks from both Brude and Zoraya severely wounded the Hyperborean [down to only 2 wounds, ndlr].

Time was however running out, leading the heroes to take desperate risks.  The Emissary's Pestilential Swarm caused a lot of damage, and the remaining Emir proved to be a deadly foe.  Brude was saved - twice ! - only by the chainmail armour he had found near the main gate of the fortress but even so had only one wound remaining.

The last attack by the Emir proved too much for him, and Brude went down.  Covered by the Dynwocor's rage and the heros' exhaustion, the Emissary was able to escape the fortress.

An exciting game, with a lot of hard choices to make, especially I found for the Overlord.  Choosing when to Let the Dead Rise, when to reveal the Emissary, and when to bring on the Dynwocor is not easy, especially as they all lengthen the River.  Having the Emirs flee costs a lot of time and also deprives the Overlord of a dangerous fighter, so no easy choice there either.  On the heros' side, the mistake was to leave Chimène too exposed, when a loyalist Turanian would have given the necessary protection, as he did thereafter.

A victory for the forces of evil, perhaps a critical one !

Zoraya and Chimene gain +1 XP, since one of the Emirs was slain. Zoraya ended the battle with an additional wound, bringing her up to 2.

Brude exchanged his shield for a chainmail shirt.  He was badly hurt, with 3 wounds.

One of their Turanian companions was killed during the fighting, leaving two for the final encounter...

Chapter IX : The Winged Horror

Number of heroes : 3

Difficulty : 2

The Winged Horror

The trail leads to a cursed place, close to the borderlands shared by Turan and Hyperborea.  None, except perhaps the Witchman, know what happened in this forsaken place so long ago, but it breathes evil. The surviving brothers are arrayed in an arc before an unholy altar; their father, their victim, lays upon it, already lifeless, sealing their pact with Hyperborea.  Many of the Turanian soldiers present are in a trance, as if they had sought to rebel against the horrors they were witnessing.  The Witchman is dancing before the altar, an alien dance of jerking movements and strange sounds, and before the adventurers' eyes, shadows coalesce into a horrific winged form, a winged demon of the abyss whose shifting form hurts eyes and mind.  Should he fully coalesce, the Witchman will unleash him on an unsuspecting world, beginning a reign of terror.  It will end only when one of the Emirs sits on a new throne carved out of northern Turan, as a puppet of Hyperborea, and a dangerous step closer to the Sultan's title.

Although they are too late to save the victim, the heroes might just be able to save Turan, and the wider world, from what the Hyperboreans are plotting...

Objectives
-  The Heros win if they slay the Demon before the end of the tenth turn.
-  The Overlord wins otherwise.

Game length
The scenario lasts 10 turns.  The Heroes play first.

Scenario Map
The playing surface is 7 x 7 hexes, gridded A to G (columns) and 1 to 7 (rows).  It portrays a place of forboding evil in the barren, cold, stony desert wastes of northern Turan.

 
Heroes
In the campaign setting, the following heroes take part in the adventure, with any equipment they had or have acquired, and spells selected using the campaign game method.  They also have the assistance of any Turanian soldiers converted to the cause during the previous scenario (2 in the current campaign).  Furthermore they have received unexpected, but most welcome, assistance from a member of the Watch named Kerim.

Brude (set up in G1)

Chimène (set up in G1)

Zoraya (set up in G1)

Turanian Infantry (set up in G1).  These allies can be commanded by any hero.  Galvanised by the dangers to their homeland, they have a permanent red gem (see House Rules).

Kerim (set up in G1).  [use the Kerim Shah tile, with 6 PV].  This ally can be commanded by any hero, and given his skill and experience, also has a permanent red gem (see House Rules).

All Heroes begin with 2 Energy Gems in the Fatigue Zone.  If any heroes are bearing wounds from previous adventures, the effects of this is now taken into account.  However, powerful healing herbs provided by the Watchman, allow two characters to heal up to 2 wounds each, but only before the scenario begins.

The Overlord
The Overlord's forces are as follows :

Hyperborean Witchman (set up in C6), with Hand of Death, Return of the Brave and Ymir's Rage

Winged Demon [use Thaug tile] (set up in C5), with Tears of Dagon, Dagon's Attack and Mind Control

 

2 Grey Hellbat Swarms [use Tentacles tile] (set up in C5, C5)

3 Blue Hypnotised Turanian Soldiers [use Pict Hunter tile] (set up in B5, D3, D6)

4 Green Hypnotised Turanian Soldiers [use Pict Hunter tile] (set up in B3, B7, D3, E4)

4 Grey Turanian Scouts (set up in B1, A6, E5, G5)

4 Purple Mercenaries (set up in A7, B3, C7, F3)

The Overlord begins with 13 Energy Gems in the Available Energy Zone, and 4 in the Fatigue Zone.  He or she recovers 5 each turn.

 

Ravens
When an Event is played, the Overlord can choose one of the following : 

Reinforcements : 5 Reinforcement Points

Sacrifice : The Overlord chooses all the figures from a same tile, and removes them entirely from the game.  For each removed figure that was within 2 hexes of the Winged Demon, he places a Hellbat Swarm in the Demon's hex.  The Hellbat Swarm have the same colour and position as the sacrificed tile.  This Event can only be played once.

The River

1 : Blue Hypnotised Turanians
2 : Green Hypnotised Turanians
3 : Grey Turanian Scouts
4 : Purple Mercenaries
5 : Hyperborean Witchman (6 wounds)
6 : Grey Hellbat Swarms
7 : Winged Demon (8 wounds)
8 : Raven


Reinforcement Zones
There are four reinforcement zones (A3, A7, B3, C7)


Equipment Cards
There are six Treasure Chests (A3, A7, B3, C7, F3, G7), but they are simple baskets needing a Simple Manipulation to open.  The Equipment Deck is made up of Scale Armour, Halbard, Bossonian Bow, Javelin, Explosive Orb and Life Potion.

 

Terrain

If the game is played on 3D terrain, the House Rules for this apply.

All doors are unlocked.

Doors are vulnerable to the Wall Breaker skill, exterior and interior walls are not.

Except where a door or a pile of rubble is present, the fort's walls are considered to be higher than anything likely to be represented on the board.  They are 12cm high and vertical.

Heros and Allies may not leave the board.

Other House Rules

If players are in agreement, any or all of the other House Rules may apply



SSRs

-  The Coming of the Darkness

The Winged Demon begins the scenario with 8 wounds.  At the beginning of each turn, including the first, he gains 1 wound.

 

-  The Swirling Vortex

Given the size of the Demon, but also of the vortex which swirls around him, the Demon and any Hellbat Swarm in the same hex may be attacked from any adjacent hex, as long as there is line of sight.

 

-  I do have some clue what is going on

Each clue to the ritual recovered during the Abandoned Village adventure [5 in the current campaign] reduces the Winged Demons passive defense by 1

-  Feed the beast

If the Hyperborean Emissary was killed during The Offering scenario, the Winged Demon loses 1 attack die.  If the Emisary was captured, the Demon loses 2 dice.

 

-  The parricides must die !

Five objects are required for the ritual, and only the acolytes of the ritual - the Emirs - can manipulate them.  If some of the Emirs have been slain, the others will have to bear a greater burden, which also makes the ritual riskier.

Place the remaining Emirs in the following hexes, beginning with the first in the list : A3, D4, B3, C5, B4.  The player who controls the Heros now decides how the ritual objects are distributed among the Emirs, which must be done as evenly as possible [in the current campaign, only 2 Emirs have survived].

A Hero in a hex with an Emir, can break all the ritual objects he holds by a Complex Manipulation (3 successes), or an Attack that obtains five symbols (no defense possible).

Each ritual object that is shattered immediately causes a wound to the Winged Demon.

-  Did we save the North ?

If the Heroes win, thus having slain the Winged Demon, each of them, even those who have all of their Energy Gems in the Wound Zone at the end of the scenario, gain +5 XP.

Chapter VI : The Abomination (Part II) - The Adventure

The scenario is here.

The company descend into the catacombs, torches held aloft.  The webs are thick here, and the tunnels and halls that have been carved out of the bedrock are infested with spiders.

The first wave of giant spiders took everyone by surprise, and both Shevata's and Cadmendin's veins were burning with venom when it was over.  The Giant Spider took advantage of the confusion to drop right onto Cadmendin, but the warrior monk fended it off.  A spray of sticky web tangled up Zarese, however, and the undead advanced on her to tear her apart.

Marotte was carving an ichor-strewn path through the tunnels, however, and managed to find the ring.  The others followed in her wake.

A trembling in the earth - what others horrors were now stirring beneath this cursed temple ? - led to the roof to cave in, catching Marotte, but the warrior nun did not suffer too great a harm.  Whatever it was, it galvanised Cadmendin into action, and a mighty blow with his mace smashed the Giant Spider to pulp !

The adventurers had been using their torches to good effect, dropped or thrown, and had by now burned off all the spiders' eggs.  When Cadmendin leapt over the intervening boulders and brought his mace crashing down on the remaining two arachnids, the fight was over.  Shevata picked the lock on the last chest, and brought out the grimoire.  The company escaped througha narrow tunnel, which although cloying with spiders' webs, finally led out into the open air and freedom.

All that now remained to be done, was to use ring and grimoire against Thugra Khotan.  As the company travelled back home, news reached them that a certain Conan, a Cimmerian, had been appointed General of the armies of Khoraja by their Princess, Yasmela.  He was said to be mustering an army that he intends to lead to the Shamla Pass, hoping that the forces of Thugra Khotan and Kutamun will break upon it.  The company turn north to join him...

Victory through and through for the heroes.

Each hero gains +1 XP, except for Cadmendin who gains +2 XP for slaying the Giant Spider.

Zarese has acquired, for one use only, the Halo of Mitra spell, whilst Shevata has a one-use Guerison of Mitra, and also picked up a Staff of Mitra.  Marotte has the Ring of Binding, whilst Shevata carries the Grimoire that contains the spell that will activate it.

The heroes made haste on their journey north, but passing through a couple of small towns on the way, were able to heal their wounds.  They also had enough antidote on them to flush the remaining spider venom out of their systems. 

Demon (Winged)

Monolith Conan Equivalent : Winged Demon Tile

Movement :8

Passive Defense :3

Combat (Die / Reroll) :

Red / Yes

Red / Yes

Ranged Combat (Die / Reroll) :

-

Skills :

Flying

Evasive

Wounds : 12

Reinforcement Cost : -

......