Chapter IV : A Bloody Clue

Number of heroes : 4

Difficulty : 1

A Bloody Clue

This scenario is based on A Bloody Burglary, Conan App Scenario n° 22 (unknown author)

After Aetulla fell in Ula Aethel, Nuala and her company were able to escape the Kothian desert.  Acting upon Icilia's suggestion, they made for the temple of Ibis of Zarese of the Silver Moon.

Before doing so, Nuala had the creatures of the desert hunt down as many of Aetulla's Stygian henchmen as could be found.  Mercilessly interrogated by Brude, they revealed themselves as retainers of the Stygian prince Kutamun.

That meant little to Nuala, but much to Zarese.  If Aetulla was connected to Kutamun, then he was also working for Natohk, the "Veiled One", the new prophet causing some stir in the Eastern Desert.  If the Veiled One has a sorceror as powerful as Aetulla at his service, then it is obvious he is not just another of those half-baked zealots that periodically stir up trouble among the nomads.  Which begs the question : who then is he ?

Zarese herself decides to lead an expedition of the Fellowship of Light into the Eastern Desert to try to find out.  A few weeks later they have infiltrated Natohk's camp, where to their great surprise Shemites, Stygians and Turanians rub shoulders, albeit with mutual mistrust.  They are unable to get close to the Veiled One, but they identify one of his close advisers, a hooded Stygian, who is likely to have vital information, and obtain a copy of the keys to his quarters.

To pull this off, and get away with it, the Fellowship of Light must steal the documents, murder the councillor, and plant clues that put the blame on factional infighting between the Stygians and the others.  It turns out, however, that their target has quite unexpected protectors...but they also discover that they have unforeseen allies.

Objectives
-  The Heros win a minor victory if they have the documents in their possession and have killed the Stygian adviser at the end of the scenario.  They win a major victory if they have also planted the false evidence.

-  The Overlord wins if the Heros do not.


Game length
The scenario lasts 9 turns.  The Heros play first


Scenario Map
The playing surface is 7 x 10 hexes in size, gridded A to G and 1 to 10.

It portrays a makeshift but thriving village, with one more elaborate building containing at least hex E3.


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.

Zarese of the Silver Moon

Ethelglyth

Marotte

The Heroes set up together in hex D10.  All begin with 5 gems in the Fatigue Zone.

The Heroes now distribute the following 0 Encumbrance asset card amongst themselves : Key

If any heroes have been wounded during the campaign, the effects of this are now taken into account.  However, the easier journey after Ula Aethel and the few days rest and healing at Ibis' temple allow all wounded heroes to rest twice, as per the campaign rules.

 

At the beginning of turn 5, the Heroes are joined by Shevata, who sets up anywhere in hex grid 10.

The Overlord
The Overlord's forces are as follows :

The Stygian Advisor (use the Gitara tile), equipped with a Stygian Sceptre (in E3)

An Avatar of Set (F3)

2 Grey Scions of Set (B6)

2 Grey Mercenaries (B8)

1 Grey Mercenaries (E8)

2 Purple Mercenaries (F10)

1 Grey Turanian Scout (A5)

1 Grey Turanian Scout (B6)

1 Grey Turanian Scout (C5)

2 Grey Turanian Infantry (C4)

2 Grey Stygian Infantry (E3)

3 Grey Stygian Infantry (G4)

The Overlord begins with 5 Energy Gems in the Available Energy Zone and 9 in the Fatigue Zone.

The X Recovery Tile is placed in the Book of Skelos and a token bearing the number 3 on top of the X.  X is the value of the token placed on it.


Ravens
An Event may come into play (see SSR : "To me !").

When an Event is played :

-  4 Reinforcement Points.  However, all reinforcements must be of the same people (either Mercenaries or Turanians or Stygians).

The River

1 : Purple Mercenaries
2 : Grey Scions of Set
3 : Grey Mercenaries
4 : Grey Turanian Scouts
5 : Grey Turanian Infantry
6 : Avatar of Set (5 wounds)
7 : Stygian Advisor (5 wounds)
8 : Grey Stygian Infantry


Reinforcement Zones
There are no reinforcement zones initially.


Equipment Cards
There are four Treasure Chests (in C3, B6, F5 and G4), which require a Complex Manipulation with 2 successes to open.  The Equipment Deck is made up of one Empty Chest, one Javelin, one Sacrificial Dagger and one Grimoire.

If a Hero pulls the Grimoire on the first chest opened, it is replaced with the Empty Chest instead and put back into the Equipment Deck.

If a Hero pulls the Empty Chest, he must either obtain 2 successes on a Manipulation roll (the necessary energy gems to make the roll must be spent), or trigger a trap.  A cloud of poisonous gas causes the next two dice that the Hero rolls to be downgraded one level (red to orange, orange to yellow, yellow to automatic 0 hits).


Terrain

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

The Heroes may not leave the board

Any tents or interior walls are vulnerable to the Wall Breaker skill

The door to the Stygian Advisor's house is locked, unless any Overlord character has moved through it during the game.  It can be broken down if it is attacked and sustains 5 damage.

Other House Rules

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

However if young or inexperienced players are taking part, it is advised that the "no communication" rule not be used.  Communication should, however, be kept to a reasonable amount of time so as not to slow play, and to avoid "quarterbacking".



SSRs

-  Hidden in the Shadows

When a minion or the Stygian Advisor dies, lay the model down rather than removing it.  It does not count for hindering, but can only be removed by a Hero who performs a simple Manipulation.

-  Alert Level

The Alert Level is increased by 1 if :

i)  At the beginning of the Overlord's turn, after the Recovery Phase, an Overlord character is in the same hex as any Hero (once per hex)

ii) During the Overlord's turn, at least one Overlord character moves into a hex with one or more laid down models.  Remove all the models after increasing the Alert Level

iii) The trapped chest is set off

Each time the Alert Level increases, increase by 1 the value of the token placed on top of the Recovery Tile in the Book of Skelos

-  Which one is it ?

When the Stygian Advisor is activated, the Overlord may move 2 gems from the Available Energy Zone to the Fatigue Zone to bring another hooded figure into play, hard to tell apart from the actual target.  This figure is a token; it moves with the Stygian Advisor.  When the Stygian Advisor is attacked, after attack power is determined, the Overlord places an energy gem in one hand and the opposing player chooses one hand.  If the selected hand does not contain the gem, the attack slays and removes the other hooded figure instead.  No more than one additional hooded figure may be in play at any time.

-  The Master Key

A hero carrying the Key can open any locked door or chest with a Simple Manipulation

-  The Documents

The documents that assist in the identification of Natohk are represented by the Grimoire, which is part of the Equipment Deck.

-  False Evidence

Any laid down model can be carried (Encumbrance : 6; it may not be thrown but may be dropped, including into a gap).  If the body of the Stygian Advisor is located, at the end of the scenario, in the same hex as another laid down model of a Mercenary, a Turanian Scout or a Turanian Infantry (hence, not a Stygian Infantry), the false evidence has been successfully planted.

-  Scions and Avatar of Set

The first time (only) one of these two tiles is activated, their dice type is shifted up one level during their activation (from yellow to orange, orange to red, and red to red with reroll).  This simulates the shock of facing up to this alien race.

 

-  To me !

 

The first time that the Overlord dredges the River, the first tile he removes is replaced with a Raven.  The Overlord also places two reinforcement zones, which must be on two opposite board edges.