Chapter I : The Temple of Ibis

Number of heroes : 3
Difficulty : 2

The Temple of Ibis

A prophecy promised the world to Thugra Khotan if he unites with a bride in whose veins runs the royal bloodline of Acheron, but who is pure of heart.  Courting demons, the necromancer has learned of two such women.  The first is Yasmela, actual regent of Khoraja whilst her brother is captive in Ophir; the second is Icilia the Divine Adoratrice of Ibis,who presides over her god's temple on the edge of the Kothian Desert.

Thugra Khotan has been visiting Yasmela in her dreams for several weeks, but Icilia's soul and spirit are protected by Ibis.  The Veiled One sends Aetulla, his trusted servitor, to abduct the priestess.  Aetulla's movements do not go unhindered, however, especially as takes little provocation for him to heedlessly bloody his trail.  As he crosses the Khorajan border, he is closely followed by one who has devoted her life to fighting the boundless evil that the Veiled One represents.

In the meantime, blissfully unaware of the events that have been set into motion, a pair of thieves, intending to steal the fabulous sacred treasure of the temple, have infiltrated it and have been posing as acolytes of Ibis for the last few weeks.  They have gathered most of the information they need and are almost ready to spring into action.

When Aetulla's men come over the temple wall, primed to kill all inside and disappear into the Kothian Desert with Icilia in tow, the two conspirators decide to exploit the chaos and the confusion and throw off their disguises.  They will however need to defend themselves from Aetulla who will show no mercy.  Fortunately, the sorceress Nuala is at hand to assist them, if only because they are temporarily the enemy of her enemy...



Objectives
-  The Overlord is victorious if the Priestess is in the same zone as either Aetulla or the Stygian Captain at the end of the game
-  The Heroes triumph if the Overlord does not, but only if they have removed the treasure from the inner sanctum by the end of the game, and still have it in their possession
-  Any other result is a draw

Game Length
The game lasts 8 turns.  The Heroes play first.

Scenario map
The game is played on a 9 x 6 hex surface.  The playing surface portrays the walls and the inside of a temple of Ibis, which are built on the Stygian model.

One hex, towards the back of the temple, contains the Inner Sanctum.  The Priestess is placed in the centre of the playing surface.


Heroes
In the campaign setting, the following heros take part in this adventure, with their standard equipment, and spells selected using the campaign game method.
No spells are forbidden for this scenario.

Nuala
Brude
Ethelglyth
One Dire Wolf Ally (unnamed, see Campaign Rules) who can be commanded only by Nuala

Brude and Ethelglyth set up, after the Overlord's forces, in the same hex as the Priestess or an adjacent hex.  Nuala and her Dire Wolf set up in the temple entrance hex.

Brude and Ethelglyth have 3 gems in the Fatigue Zone, Nuala has 2.


The Overlord
The Overlord seeks to complete his mission with :

Aetulla with the following spells : Deceleration, Bad Luck, Changing Destiny
A Stygian Captain
4 Red Stygian Archers
4 Blue Stygian Archers
5 Orange Stygian Infantry
4 Green Stygian Infantry

The Stygian forces form four groups : 2 Red Stygian Archers and 3 Orange Stygian Infantry; 2 Red Stygian Archers and 2 Orange Stygian Infantry; 2 Blue Stygian Archers and 2 Green Stygian Infantry; 2 Blue Stygian Archers and 2 Green Stygian Infantry.

Each group is set up on a different hex of the temple wall, atop the wall.

The Overlord can place Aetulla and the Stygian Captain with the groups of his choice, but the two cannot start the scenario together.

The Overlord has 7 Gems in the Available Energy Zone and 4 in the Fatigue Zone.  He or she recovers 5 Gems per turn.


Ravens
When an Event is played :
-  The Priestess moves towards the inner sanctum, with 5 movement points, by the quickest possible route.  Her movement is subject to hindrance.  This special rule is ignored if the Priestess is in the same zone as Nuala (not Brude or Ethelglyth), Aetulla or the Stygian Captain, or is already in the Inner Sanctum.

-  The Overlord then plays the following event :
Scale the Walls ! : 4 pts of Reinforcements



The River
1 : Red Archers
2 : Green Infantry
3 : Stygian Captain (4 wounds)
4 : Orange Infantry
5 : Raven
6 : Blue Archers
7 : Stygian Captain
8 : Aetulla (7 wounds)



Reinforcement Zones
Each starting hex which contains Stygian Infantry or Archers at the beginning of the scenario is thereafter defined as a Reinforcement Zone


Equipment Cards
Five treasure chests are scattered throughout the temple.  They contain : 1 Lance d'Ornement, 1 Sacrificial Dagger, 1 Life Potion, 1 Censer, 1 Empty Chest

The Sacred Treasure card is placed in the Inner Sanctum.


Terrain

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

In addition :

-  Heroes can leave the board by a normal movement, but if they do so they may not return.  A Hero may not leave the board with the Priestess.

-  The temple pool is shallow and is not considered a water area.

-  The zones defined as reinforcement zones have ladders in them, allowing any characters to move down from the walls or back up onto them as normal movement.

-  Both the inner and outer walls of the temple are solid and are invulnerable to the Wall Breaker skill.  No terrain may otherwise be destroyed.





Other House Rules

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




SSRs

-  A character controlled by the Overlord may forcibly move the Priestess with him if she is in the same zone, and no Hero is present in that Zone.  The Priestess may be moved only one zone by the Overlord for each tile activated.

-  Before moving, a Hero may try to convince the Priestess to follow him; this is a Complex Manipulation.  For each two full success, the Priestess will accompany the Hero one Zone.

-  A Hero may also forcibly move the Priestess, but she counts as 6 Encumbrance.



-  The Inner Sanctum is under the direct protection of Ibis and cannot easily be violated.
If a Hero wishes to enter it, he or she must succeed a Complex Manipulation requiring 5 successes.  If the Hero is equipped with the Censer, only 3 successes are needed.

If a character controlled by the Overlord wishes to enter it, the Overlord may, for each Energy gem spent, obtain a red die for Aetulla, an orange die for the Captain and a yellow die for any other character.  5 successes are needed.
As soon as any character (excluding the Priestess) has entered the Inner Sanctum, it has been violated and the special rules concerning it cease to apply.