This scenario is inspired by Un Chameau en Déroute, a King Pledge scenario by Laurent Leloup, to which I have added the assassins.
Rumours have reached Agraphur and its vizir, that northern Turanian nobles are plotting secession. They would not dare do so, if they did not have a powerful ally, but who that may be remains, for the moment, unknown.
It is time for "hooded diplomacy", and to that end the Vizir missions one of his best spies to travel north over the Vilayets Sea, and set her ear to the ground.
Zoraya is to be carried across the sea by the pirate captain known as the "Queen of Four", who will also use her connections to introduce Zoraya into noble circles in those far off and hostile lands. Using a substantial part of the treasure the Vizir provides her with, the Turanian diplomat hires, as her agent for all things devious, a recommended Nemedian thief named Brude.
The journey over the Vilayets Sea is eventless, the Queen of Four's reputation preceding her. The three voyagers disembark at Yaralet, a small city spread over several islands of a river detroit. It thrives from the various trade routes that run through it, and the pirates it shelters in return for a small cut of their bounty.
Zoraya presents herself as the Vizir's envoy, on a mission of inspection to make sure that laws are being correctly applied, that government is free from corruption, and that the tax rolls are in order. In Northern Turan, more conservative than the heartland, it is unusual for women to occupy important court positions, but the charming diplomat delights the local nobility with tales of her travels, and her hunting exploits.
As a barely disguised test, it is agreed that she will participate in a local custom known simply as the "Bear Hunt" : a giant bear from the Northlands is muzzled, and released into the crowded streets of Yaralet, where young nobles compete to chase it down and wrestle it to the ground. To the delight of all present, Zoraya tells them of a similar custom in southern Aquilonia. Inspired by Zamoran traditions, it is a herd of bulls that is released, with streamers attached to manes and tails that the young men of the village must grab and present to their beloveds as tokens of their courage. She paints such a vibrant picture of this custom that even the hardest bitten noblemen in the audience are transported thousands of miles to the heat and bustle of a foreign land and rejoice, a few moments, in a shared humanity.
Nonetheless, the presence of an emissary from Agraphur is a threat to some, and specifically to the five brothers who are at the heart of the plot against the Grand Sultan. The following evening three of the brothers and some of their allies meet. Zoraya already having earmarked them among the crowd, they are, little known to them, followed to this meeting by Brude, hiding in the shadows of the rooftops. The conspirators decide to have Zoraya killed under cover of the chaos of the hunt.
Objectives
- The Overlord wins if at any point Zoraya has 8 or more energy gems in her wound zone, or if an Overlord-controlled character with multiple wounds exits the board with the Giant Bear in tow by the end of turn 8
- If the Overlord does not meet this condition, the Heroes win if any Hero exited the board with the Giant Bear in tow before the end of turn 8
- Any other result is a draw, unless the Emir has been killed in which case the Heroes win.
Game length
The scenario lasts 8 turns. The Heroes play first.
Scenario Map
The playing area is 6 x 6 hexes, gridded A to F (columns) and 1 to 6 (rows). It portrays the narrow streets of a Turanian town, overlooked by flat-roofed buildings and thronging with market crowds.
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 :
Zoraya (set up in B6)
Sathach (set up in B6)
Brude (set up in B6)
If the hero's start hex includes a building, they may set up on its roof.
All begin with 7 energy gems in the Fatigue Zone, the Hunt being traditionally preceded by a night of festivities. If any heroes are bearing wounds from previous adventures, the effect of this is now taken into account.
Each hero now places all her or his armour and weapons, as a block of cards which must remain together, into the Equipment Deck without shuffling them.
The Overlord
The Overlord's forces are as follows :
3 Grey Captains (set up in A3, C3 and F1).
2 Red Turanian Infantry (set up in C3 and D6; Passive Defense = 0).
2 Blue Turanian Infantry (set up in B3 and C4; Passive Defense = 0)
3 Orange Turanian Infantry (set up in B5, C6 and E3; Passive Defense = 0)
2 Green Turanian Infantry (set up in B4 and C6; Passive Defense = 0)
The Overlord begins with 3 Energy Gems in the Available Energy Zone and 5 in the Fatigue Zone. He recovers 4 each turn.
Ravens
When an Event is played, the Overlord can choose between :
General Enthusiasm : 3 Reinforcement Points
Crowd Control : the Overlord can place 2 additional Crowds (see SSR) in any hex with a street, although there cannot be more than 3 Crowds in play and no more than one per hex. After placement, any excess crowds are removed at the Overlord's choice.
The River
1 : Red Turanian Infantry
2 : Blue Turanian Infantry
3 : Grey Captain (each with 3 wounds : they have been drinking aswell...)
4 : Raven
5 : Orange Turanian Infantry
6 : Green Turanian Infantry
7 : Raven
8 : Empty
Hint : unless they are protected by their own men or crowds, the Overlord would do wisely to deploy his captains out of sight, for example inside a building, to avoid them being identified on the first turn (see SSR "I can see you !")
Reinforcement Zones
There are three reinforcement zones, in A4, A6 and F6.
Equipment Cards
Four Treasure Chests are placed in B1, F1, B3 and D4, inside a building if possible. The Equipment Deck is made up of one Exploding Orb, and the armour and weapons of each of the three heroes.
A Complex Manipulation requiring 2 successes is necessary to open a treasure chest. The attempt may only be made, however, if the Overlord currently has at least one of the Emir's Turanian Infantry on the playing surface, or if he has revealed the Emir.
Terrain
If the game is played on 3D terrain, the House Rules for this apply.
No character may leave the board unless he has the Giant Bear with him.
All doors are considered unlocked, but moving through them requires an additional movement point.
The Giant Bear may not leave street level.
Other House Rules
If players are in agreement, any or all of the other House Rules may apply
SSRs
- Crowded Streets
Three crowds are placed at the start of the scenario, in B3, E3 and D4. At the start of the Overlord's turn, he can move each crowd into an adjacent hex, but only at street level. Crowds may not enter buildings and there can never be more than one Crowd in a hex.
A Crowd counts as two enemy figures for hindrance. Crowds do not, however, hinder the movement of Overlord figures. Skills and spells that reduce hindrance apply to that generated by Crowds.
Any weapon or spell with a zone effect will instantly disperse a Crowd in that hex (remove the Crowd).
- Ain't no bear hunt without the Mother of all Bears
The Giant Bear is placed in C3 at the beginning of the scenario.
At the end of each of his turns, the Overlord must move the Giant Bear its full 5 movement points; during this movement, the Giant Bear may not enter the same hex twice. This movement is hindered by characters and by Crowds. The Giant Bear may enter a building through a door, and pays no additional cost to do so, but it may not leave street level. It may leave a hex occupied by a Hero or an Overlord Captain, but may not move into such a hex.
- No Giant Bears were hurt during the making of this scenario
The beasts are not killed during these hunts, but must be wrestled. They slowly tire out as the hunt continues. Only a Hero, a Captain or the Emir may attack the bear, and must do so bare-handed. They need as many successes, in one attack, as the current turn marker (8 on the first turn, and so on).
If an attack succeeds, the Overlord may no longer move the Giant Bear at the end of his turn. Guiding the subdued bear out of the streets is akin, for a Hero, to carrying an item with 9 encumbrance. Captains and the Emir guide the bear without additional difficulty, it being assumed that bystanders help. Treated the subdued Giant Bear like an "item" : it is dropped if the carrier receives a wound or is in any way forced to leave the hex (most notably, by the effects of a spell).
- Push but don't shove
Unless concerned by the "Playing Dirty" SSR, Overlord characters can only use bare-handed attacks against Heros, and vice versa. No Wounds inflicted on Heros from a bare-handed attack may have lasting consequences as per Campaign Rules for Wounds; it is suggested that the Energy Gems placed in the Wound Zone due to such attacks be replaced by red gems.
- Playing Dirty
Among the Captains is one of the five brothers, and some of the soldiers are his creatures.
When the Overlord activates the Grey Captain tile, he may choose to reveal one of the three (his choice) as the Emir. Take the Pallantides tile, which now represents the Emir, and place it at the end of the River (before moving the Grey Captain tile), and activate this time both Captains and Emir. If no Grey Captains are now in play, because the last of them has proven to be the Emir, flip the Grey Captain tile onto its blooded side. The Emir has 6 wounds, less any he took while disguised as a Captain.
The Overlord may make the same choice for Turanian Infantry. Some or all of a given activated colour may be chosen to be the Emir's soldiers, and are marked as such by any appropriate means, but there may never be more than four at any time. The soldier's passive defense is no longer 0. If an Emir's soldier is killed, it becomes an ordinary soldier for reinforcement purposes.
- I can see you !
Since Brude was spying on the gathering, he can attempt to identify if a Captain is the Emir. This is a complex manipulation. It requires line of sight.
It also requires as many successes as Brude would have to spend movement points, if he were to theoretically move from his current position, by the quickest route, to the Captain's, and one hex beyond, doing so entirely on the same level as the Captain (which essentially means that a Captain on a roof will, logically, be far easier to identify). Obviously any hindrances must be taken into account. Two less successes are required if Brude has a height advantage.
If the detection attempt is successful, the Overlord must immediately decide if the Captain is the Emir or not. If he is not, he cannot be chosen to be the Emir later in the scenario. If he is the last Captain to be successfully identified, he must be the Emir (but the Emir is not revealed simply because only one Captain remains unidentified). If the Emir is revealed in this way, place the Pallantides tile, which now represents him, at the end of the River. The Emir has 6 wounds, less any he took while disguised as a Captain.
The "Push but don't shove" SSR ceases to apply to the Emir and to the Emir's soldiers; and an Overlord figure which is neither may not use "Sacrifice" to shield them; note however that the Emir must still use only unarmed attacks against the Giant Bear.
- Applause !
A Hero who wrestles down the Giant Bear gains +1 XP. An additional +1 XP is acquired if the same Hero leads it off-table.
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