Having freshly liberated Spookyton the heroes decided to go on a shopping spree. Naturally, Spookyton itself was a poor choice given that most of its inhabitants were either dead, dying or undead so the band made its way to the nearest settlement filled with living people. Lorenot the elf wandered off in his dingy bath towel cape doing whatever mysterious thing it is elves do in the forest by themselves while Axel, Anika and Grim did the actual shopping.
The band decided that getting a wagon might be a good idea ever since the soldier, the cook and the toll keeper absconded with the pony cart. Recognizing that none of the band was particularly adept at driving wagons of any size, they wisely decided to hire a pair of mercenaries who could manage the vehicle. After securing the necessary gear and supplies it was decided to venture back toward Evil Sausageburgh and its dreaded Black Keep.
En route, however, the band was assaulted by Greenskins as the company made camp for the night. The Greenskins were accompanied by a Chaos caster whose fell magic appears to have soured the mercenary Ullrich's stomach (or so he would claim). The pitched battle, fought mostly in darkness, left Axel once more teetering between life and death. As the bold halfling would later recall events 'The tanks went into the forest as a group leaving the paper mache guys all by themselves."
Fortunately Lorenot chose this very moment to reappear. Shouting the elven word of power "D'oh!" he caused the Greenskin menacing Axel to drop his great cleaver. The elf followed up with a rain of arrows that combined with Axel's flurry of daggers finally felled the creature. The Greenskins in the woods also came to a bad end but, as neither elf nor halfling witnessed the battle, the goblins may have just died of natural causes of their own accord. Natural causes for goblins consisting of various stabbing and slashing wounds.
The band faced a dilemma at this point. The Black Keep still lay a couple of days travel further along but the presence of Greenskins so deep in the territory bespoke of a different and perhaps more pressing need. Grim convinced the mercenaries to return to Spookyton and to return in a week's time. The Ill-Fated Brigade had decided to track down the goblins and exterminate them to the last monster. Which proved easier said than done.
One major obstacle facing the group was their decidedly urban inclinations. The group turned to Lorenot and trusted in his elven sense to lead them. little did they realize he was more a Bath elf than a wood elf. Still, heritage helped and he managed to guide the band toward some ancient dwarven ruins. The Brigade had heard tell of dwarven riches materializing in the nearby towns though none professed to know from whence these riches came.
It took very little time for the company to unravel the mystery - the goblins had been plundering a long-neglected dwarven tomb. This aroused much anger in both Anika and Grim and the thought of evil-slaying and gold gathering held distinct appeal to the mercenary hearted halfling and elf. Besides, what else was there to do in a spooky, ancient forest filled with blood-thirsty Greenskins, dwarven ghosts and not a decent massage available for two days travel in any direction?
The choice made, Lorenot discovered ancient magics at play and sensed that a greater evil than any they had yet encountered still lay ahead. This knowledge did not cause the band to quiver or quail but instead hardened their hearts to the task ahead. Would the Ill-Fated Brigade again triumph over evil or would their moss covered bones serve as a grim reminder to future adventurers?
Tune in next month to find out....
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Put a little "AaaahhhHHH" in your life
October 20 marked the return of Border Board games' annual monster game fest. We were pleased to have Carlo and Kristin drive up from barre for the event. Also in attendance, beside Beth and myself, were regulars Mike O., Andrew, Dennis, St. Jay Mike and Karl.
We quickly split up into two groups as Beth, Carlo, Kristin, Mike O. and Andrew started up with Betrayal at House on the Hill. They played two scenarios with the first being the Ghost Bride and the second where Beth became a vampire. The Ghost bride failed to bring her beloved groom to the altar while the vampire succumbed to the strength of daylight as the heroes emerged victorious in both cases.
Meanwhile Karl, Dennis, St. Jay Mike and I tried our hand at A Touch of Evil, all for the first time. To anyone familiar with Arkham Horror and Last Night on Earth, the play of aToE appears to combine some of the best portions of both games. It is not scenario driven but, rather, dictated by the nature of the villain which gives the game a less structured feel. That is good if you want a game that has the potential for replayability. The heroes travel around the board visiting spooky colonial-era locations while seeking to gain information about the town elders, gather loot and weapons and try to figure out where the baddy lives.
Through a few missteps, mistakes which reminded me of my own lapses in running the Elder God in AH, we still managed to gleefully bumble our way through the game. It was definitely a game where learning through play might prove more effective than trying to digest the entire manual in one go. Dennis the hobo (he called himself a drifter but we saw through it easily enough), managed to track down the Headless Horseman and defeat him with good old fashioned musketry. My school marm was closing in on the Horseman's lair in the bog but the drifter snatched away the chance.
In the next round of gaming table one played a game of Zombicide while table two cracked open Betrayal. In Zombicide the heroes barely eked out the win despite a huge, ravenous horde of monsters rapidly closing in on them. In Betrayal St. Jay Mike turned into a giant, hideous spider only to fall before the mighty little girl with the really big spear. In Mike's defence it was sheer luck that the character who would have been easiest to fight, having sustained major damage prior to becoming the host for the spider eggs, was unassailable owing to those eggs. Using the mystic elevator to gain access to the basement was also a bit of a cheat for the good guys but, hey, no one likes spiders anyway, right?
The next Border Board Games event will take place on November 17th at 6 p.m. in the Derby Line Village Hall.
We quickly split up into two groups as Beth, Carlo, Kristin, Mike O. and Andrew started up with Betrayal at House on the Hill. They played two scenarios with the first being the Ghost Bride and the second where Beth became a vampire. The Ghost bride failed to bring her beloved groom to the altar while the vampire succumbed to the strength of daylight as the heroes emerged victorious in both cases.
Meanwhile Karl, Dennis, St. Jay Mike and I tried our hand at A Touch of Evil, all for the first time. To anyone familiar with Arkham Horror and Last Night on Earth, the play of aToE appears to combine some of the best portions of both games. It is not scenario driven but, rather, dictated by the nature of the villain which gives the game a less structured feel. That is good if you want a game that has the potential for replayability. The heroes travel around the board visiting spooky colonial-era locations while seeking to gain information about the town elders, gather loot and weapons and try to figure out where the baddy lives.
Through a few missteps, mistakes which reminded me of my own lapses in running the Elder God in AH, we still managed to gleefully bumble our way through the game. It was definitely a game where learning through play might prove more effective than trying to digest the entire manual in one go. Dennis the hobo (he called himself a drifter but we saw through it easily enough), managed to track down the Headless Horseman and defeat him with good old fashioned musketry. My school marm was closing in on the Horseman's lair in the bog but the drifter snatched away the chance.
In the next round of gaming table one played a game of Zombicide while table two cracked open Betrayal. In Zombicide the heroes barely eked out the win despite a huge, ravenous horde of monsters rapidly closing in on them. In Betrayal St. Jay Mike turned into a giant, hideous spider only to fall before the mighty little girl with the really big spear. In Mike's defence it was sheer luck that the character who would have been easiest to fight, having sustained major damage prior to becoming the host for the spider eggs, was unassailable owing to those eggs. Using the mystic elevator to gain access to the basement was also a bit of a cheat for the good guys but, hey, no one likes spiders anyway, right?
The next Border Board Games event will take place on November 17th at 6 p.m. in the Derby Line Village Hall.
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