The scenario can be found here. [In the photo above, the sacred relics are shown revealed, before I realised that, reshuffled and hid them].
The heroes decided to grab at least two sacred relics as quickly as possible, and Zoraya and Gawayn were given that task; Brude was to open some chests in the hope of finding some of the nicest equipment available.
The Emissary raised her undead host, with the aim of moving from one group of "Sacrifice" skeletons to another as circumstances warranted, so as to stay permanently protected. She initially thought to group all five around her, but the heroes unearthed an explosive orb, so that did not seem like such a good idea.
The Hyperborean also relied heavily on the Wight, which was both fast, deadly and readily available to activate. Given its resistance, its Blocker skill would provide a serious challenge to the heroes progression. Hence, they dedicated considerable time and effort to putting it permanently to rest !
Even swamped with enemies, Gawayn, as an elite shooter, was able to dart about and use his bow unhindered. A well placed arrow set the Wight hurling, Zoraya caused additional hurt with her swordsmanship, and Gawayn's second arrow did for the undead horror.
Time was, however, running short, with more and more undead rising from graves, be they fresh or long forgotten. The threat of the Explosive Orb made the Emissary vulnerable, although in turn the trudging but powerful mummies were rendering it difficult for the heroes to make headway, and the Emissary proved agile when needed.
Brude lobbed the holy hand grenade and took out the Emissary's bodyguards, before falling to the onslaught. Gawayn took a last couple of shots, which cleared the way for Zoraya. She hesitated between throwing her spear [with yellow dice, but rerolls] or closing for hand to hand combat [with orange dice, but no rerolls due to the Emissary's Jinx ability], and chose the latter. Although the Hyperborean took a shocking blow to the shoulder, it was not enough to kill her !
With the undead heaving themselves from the dirt in ever increasing numbers, Zoraya and Gawayn could only flee, unable even to find Brude in the darkening cemetery.
Over the following days, Ardon would fall to the Emissary, who there proclaimed herself Witchman. Many defenders of Ardon died, to later serve their oppressor; others, including Chimène and Zoraya, made their way out of the enemy's grasp to seek refuge in the Aifreweia. Gawayn, full of despair, decided to head into the wilderness, in a forlorn and lonely battle against the foe. Yet others, such as Ygritte, made their way north, to warn and to join the Watch. A new chapter in the battle for the north was about to begin.
This was a fun scenario to play, especially given the characters I had chosen. The relics did not turn out to be as useful as expected, as the hero carrying them has to, herself, get free of the entanglement. There are many interesting things to be found in the treasure chests, but it is very difficult to get to them as the undead are numerous. Perhaps the heroes spent too much energy to destroy the Wight, but on the other hand he was a fearsome foe to leave alive (well, dead), especially with two tiles in the River.
The Emissary has much to fear from ranged weapons, forcing her to rely on her "Sacrifice" skeletons, who are not very resistant. She also has to keep a decent quantity of energy gems set aside for defense, which leads to some difficult decisions. Epic stuff, in any case, and it could have gone either way.
For having slain the Wight, Gawayn alone comes away with +1 XP. Brude was taken out; I decided he would recover but that it would take many months, as he had already taken part in another campaign that is later in time ! The other characters wounds are not, I think, of any relevance as I will have them start the next campaign fully healed. I assumed any equipment they gained would have to be discarded during their flight.
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