This scenario is based on "L'Embuscade" par Mathieu Katt
The scholars of the Aifreweia translate the scroll in Turanian and Hyperborean that Rudraige has brought them. This is powerful sorcery : when five children driven by the same desire swear to sacrifice one of their parents to attain it, the blood shed can bring forth a demon of elder days to do their bidding. Five Turanian emirs, all brothers, have sworn such an oath, and made a pact with a Hyperborean Witchman to perform the ritual.
Rudraige and his companions decide to ride to northern Turan to warn the victim, hoping there is still time to nip the ritual in the bud. The Aifreweia provides them with horses.
On their way, the heroes stop off at a village that offered them hospitality when they were making for the monastery. Unsuspecting, they walk through the gate of the village's palissade, and straight into an ambush.
A Hyperborean Emissary, accompanied by Flesh Eaters and various unsavoury individuals recruited on the way, is tracking down the lost scroll. They have already burned a village to the ground. They arrived here a day ago, imprisoned the village's two warriors, and took hostage the headman and his daughter to keep the rest of the population in line. Since then they have been brutally interrogating the villagers to find out more about the Brythunian and his comrades. Imagine everyone's surprise when the object of their attention strolled through the gate.
Rudraige, Gawayn and Cadmendin walked right into the trap, but Chimène, who was asked into an outlying homestead to bless its inhabitants in the name of Mitra, was following up behind them. She now has a choice to make between drawing her sword and rushing into the fray, or using less direct methods to snatch her companions from the jaws of danger.
Objectives
- To win, the heroes must keep at least one hostage alive and slay the Emissary
- The Overlord wins otherwise
Game length
The scenario lasts 8 turns. The Overlord plays first
Scenario Map
The playing surface is 7 hexes wide by 7 hexes long, gridded A to G (columns) and 1 to 7 (rows). It represents a prosperous village.
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.
Rudraige (set up in C4)
Gawayn (set up in B4)
Cadmendin (set up in C4)
Chimène (set up in A4)
All begin with 2 Energy Gems in the Fatigue Zone. If any heroes are bearing wounds from previous adventures, the effect of this is now taken into account.
The Overlord
The Overlord's Forces are as follows :
A Hyperborean Emissary (set up in E3) with the following spells : Energy Drain, Withering
3 Grey Hyperborean Flesh Eaters (E3)
4 Grey Mercenaries (B3, B3, B3; B3)
4 Red Turanian Infantry (B6, B6, B7; B7)
4 Orange Turanian Scouts (E4, E4, E5, D7)
4 Grey Turanian Scouts (E6, E6, D7, D7)
4 Blue Turanian Infantry (D2, F3, G4; G5)
The Overlord begins with 7 Energy Gems in the Available Energy Zone and 7 in the Fatigue Zone. He recovers 5 each turn.
Ravens
When an Event is played :
Bloodthirsty Emissary : this event can only be played once, as of Turn 2. As long as Rudraige does not have more than 5 wounds, the Overlord can freely activate two tiles, except the Raven, with a cost of 5 or less.
Execute the Hostages ! : this event can only be played once, as of Turn 2, and only if neither of the hostages have been freed. The heroes must rescue a given hostage by the end of their next turn; failing which the hostage is immediately killed.
Returning Patrols : this event can only be played once, as of Turn 4. The Overlord gains 6 Reinforcement Points; the Event tile hereafter allows 4 points of reinforcements to arrive.
The River
1 : Red Turanian Infantry
2 : Grey Turanian Scouts
3 : Grey Mercenaries
4 : Orange Turanian Scouts
5 : Hyperborean Emissary (6 wounds)
6 : Hyperborean Flesh Eaters
7 : Blue Turanian Infantry
8 : Raven
Reinforcement Zones
There are two reinforcement zones in E1 and E7.
Equipment Cards
Four Treasure Chests are placed in (B1, D1, G1; B5). The Equipment Deck is made up of a Dague, Scale Armour, a Bossonian Bow and a Battle Axe.
Terrain
If the game is played on 3D terrain, the House Rules for this apply.
A Hero may leave the board if he is accompanied by at least one hostage. If he does, he may not return.
Doors are vulnerable to the Wall Breaker skill. The Overlord's characters ignore them if the Hyperborean Emissary is in their hex, otherwise anybody wishing to move through a door must either pick the lock (Complex Manipulation requiring 2 successes for ordinary doors, 3 successes for the doors behind which the two hostages are kept) or break them down (no armour and 4 wounds for ordinary doors, 6 for the doors where the hostages are kept).
Once a door has been moved through by any of these three means, it is no longer an obstacle to movement.
Other House Rules
If players are in agreement, any or all of the other House Rules may apply
SSRs
- Sneaky
Chimène begins hidden. Whilst hidden, she cannot be attacked, hindered or blocked, and has the Evasive and the Lockpick skill. She always becomes hidden when entering a board edge zone, unless she has already been fully detected.
Each time Chimène enters or leaves a zone that contains enemies, she must succeed a Complex Manipulation requiring as many successes as there are enemies + 1 to remain hidden. In case of failure, she is no longer hidden.
Whilst hidden, Chimène can attempt to assassinate an enemy character but only if no other enemy, Hero or Ally is in the hex. The target gains no benefit from his passive defense; if the Overlord chooses to defend, he uses yellow dice instead of orange. If Chimène fails to kill the target outright, she is no longer hidden.
Once Chimène has lost her "hidden" status for the second time, she is fully detected and may never become hidden again.
- Hostages
The two hostages begin in zones D2 and F3, inside a building with a door. The Blue Turanian Infantryman that begins in their zone cannot leave it as long as their hostage is alive. The Overlord cannot enter the zones containing the hostages with other characters, unless the hostage has been saved.
The first time a Hero enters a zone containing a hostage and a guard, they must kill the guard before the end of their turn. If they fail, the hostage is executed.
Once liberated, the hostages can be attacked by the Overlord. They have the Protected Skill, no passive defense and 1 wound. They automatically and freely move with any Hero who is in their zone, but if a Hero chooses to move a hostage with him or her, he cannot benefit from any Evasive skill. If the Hero is hidden, the hostage is hidden, but the Hero cancels 1 success when testing to remain hidden.
- Village Militia
These begin in F4 and F6. As long as they are not freed, the Overlord cannot harm them. To free them, a Hero must obtain 3 successes with a Complex Manipulation.
Once freed, the militiamen are Allies that count as Ceorls, and may be activated by any Hero with a line of sight to them.
- Friends of the People
If both hostages are alive at the end of the scenario, and are either in a zone with one of the Heroes, or escorted off-table, all Heroes, except those with all energy gems in the wound zone, gain +2 XP.
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