Ghost Archipelago '19, Game 2: Spider Island

     This past Saturday we played the second game of our 2019 Ghost Archipelago Campaign.  We had 7 of our 9 regular players in attendance, which meant we had 3 Central Treasures in play, spaced down the center of the 10'x3' table so as to be equidistant from all nearby start zones.
      We played a scenario called "Spider Island" that was designed by one of the guys in the group.  Besides the regular treasure on the table, each player placed 2 clutches of spider eggs (For a total of 14 in play (2 x 7 players =14).  These eggs, from various degrees of extra-large Tree Spiders, are considered a valuable commodity in magical circles, and for each one recovered the crew got 10 Experience Points and 15 Gold Coins.   We used a specialized Random Encounter table with the following results:  1-5: Roll on the regular Random Encounter table, 6-11: Tree Spider, 12-15: Large Tree Spider, 16-18: Huge Tree Spider, 19-20: Giant Tree Spider.  Besides there being a chance of treasure recovery generating an encounter as normal, recovering spider eggs also had the chance to generate an encounter.
       I wasn't very lucky with my set-up zone this time, drawing chip #6, and getting the second to last choice of location.  This got me a spot in the center of the table on the side of the table with 4 players. Treasure wise, though, I was happy with the opportunities in front of my zone.
     As I mentioned in my last write-up, I had gone against conventional wisdom in the stating of my Heritor, adding her free extra stat point to her Movement score, instead of the more usual Fight or Health choice  I hoped this, combined with her Wraithwalk Ability, would allow her to grab stuff quickly, and get back to safety quickly.   (As a note, we rolled for our Heritor abilities randomly at the end of final game of last year.  We rolled for 6 Abilities, and could discard our least favorite and choose which would be our primary.  I ended up with Backswing (primary), Wratihwalk, Spellshield, Leap, and Waterlung.)  In the last game my speed and Wraithwalk helped me snag the Central Treasure.  Now was my chance to see if it would work again, especially with an odd number of players where each Central Treasure had the potential to be challenged by three opposed Crews (Since there were 7 players, but only 3 Central Treasures)

A view of the table.

       Once all the entry zones were chosen, I found myself situated with the Heritor, Safar the Seafarer, and his Storm Warden, Willow of the Water to my diagonal front right. To my diagonal front left was  the Heritor Cassilda Blackmane, and her Earth Warden, Quartz.   On my direct right was the Gnome Heritor, Gnomeo, and his Beast Warden, Juliet; and on my direct left was the Heritor, Arkhan the Cruel, and his Beast Warden Tyril Tallguy. 

The Report

     Barley Gimblehill, the Halfling and recently realized Heritor, sat on the deck of the Jolly Scallop and soaked in the sun while reveling in the simple fact that she, a simple tavern server just a few months ago, now found herself aboard a ship of the sea living a life of adventure.  Her eyes, and thoughts, turned to her new friend, and Warden, Tork; who stood at the front of the ship, a seagull sitting on his arm.  The Halfling girl wouldn't have believed it a few months ago, but now, seeing the large Human Warden apparently having an intense discussion with seabird simply amused her; and the Heritor pondered what in the world the two could be talking about. Fish?
     After a few more minutes of back-and-forth cawing and chuttering between seabird and man, the gull flew off.   Tork adjusting his sleeve where the bird had been perched, turned, and walked in his slow lumbering gait across the deck towards Barley.
     "Well? What was that all about?" she asked smiling, as the big man approached.  Without answering, the Warden folded his body slowly down into a cross-legged position seated next to the Heritor.  Tork was silent for a couple minutes, not answering; which didn't bother Barley, as she was familiar now with the gentle Human's quiet ways.  Finally, he spoke, as his eyes fixed on the wood deck beneath his feet.   "Bird say ships, Heritor ships,  are heading, " Tork looked up scanned the horizon, and pointed his whole hand about 30 degrees off the front prow of the ship, "...East.  For big island."
     Barley wrinkled her brow in thought.  What did they know that she didn't?  Should they go too, to check it out?  Could it be a source of clues to the Crystal Pool?  The Pool itself?  In a flash Barley jumped up.  "Come on Tork!  We won't be left out of this adventure.  Let's follow and see what's to be found."  And the little Heritor trotted away on her large Halfling feet to prepare and alert the ship's Captain and the Crew.
   Tork stood slowly. Bewildered by the small Halfling's speed.  We watched her make her way down the deck, and disappear inside the door in the quarterdeck. As if an after thought, he said to no one in particular as he stared at where the Heritor had passed through the door, "Danger.  Bird say Danger.  Big spiders.  I don't like spiders."  And he shrugged, and followed after the little Heritor.

Initial Crew arrangement in their starting zone.

          I few hours later, Barley, Tork, and a small landing party stood on the sandy beach of the island.  As the Warden's seagull had reported, they had found a number of Heritors' ships en route to this island, and they tagged along just out of view of the rest.    The landing party made their way inland, and it didn't take long for them to notice the exceptional quantity, and size, of webs in the trees and woven across the paths.  Barley cast a questioning eye at Tork, who said simply "Spiders.  Big Spiders. Don't like Spiders."   The Halfling Heritor frowned, but they were here now; and unlike her Warden, she wasn't naturally afraid of spiders.  After all, how big could they be?  She had killed any number of them in the tavern storeroom.
     As they progressed, the party could begin to see ancient ruins, crumbling and vine covered, alongside the path in the jungle.  Then the towering top of what looked like an old temple came into view above the trees.  Barley halted the crew and assigned commands before they went any further.  She knew there were other Heritors about, so warned everyone to be cautious.    The little Halfling instructed Perkin, her Scout, as well as Lily, the Crossbow-woman, and Crewman Link Smitter to stick with her.  And she told the Half-Halfling Archer Billy Wizzit, as well as the Crewmen Corel Bink, and Fernando (who was new to this party; replacing the badly wounded Archer, Jikam Wizzit, Billy's brother.) to go with Tork.   Fernando was the only Halfling she had ever seen with a mustache!  Billy tormented him that he must have Human blood in his family tree somewhere.  But the mustachioed crewman insisted he was just an exceptional Halfling.   The Crew-folk, Ginsink Damum, and Habby Wilkersnit were left to their own initiative to help out where needed.
     As they continued through the web-draped jungle, the large temple came fully into view on their front left.  The party could see large webs crisscrossed between its decaying columns. Beside it sat a low structure that looked like some kind of ceremonial pool.   Directly to their front, Barley could see the remains of a high wall made from huge stone blocks.  If she leaned a little to the left, she could see that on the other side of the wall there appeared to be a large stone face...some deity perhaps... silky webbing covered it like a veil.   On their right was a large obelisk, its top long crumbled and gone.  The Halfling Heritor did a double take, as there at the base of the obelisk there appeared to be a large sword stuck  partway, directly into the stonework.  It's bright blade gleaming in the afternoon sun.

Barley, Perkin, and Lily run to the high wall with the effigy on the other side, and spot the sword (Central Treasure) in the nearby obelisk.  On their left, Link has started climbing the wall. 

     Barley turned to her crew.  She instructed Tork to take his party over to investigate the temple, and to check the ceremonial pool as they went. The Heritor then beckoned to her trio of followers and they headed at a run towards the near side of the high wall with the effigy.  Barley motioned to Link, "Climb up there," as she pointed up the wall, "and check out our surroundings.  Let me know if you see any other crews or any of the big spiders Tork mentioned."      Turning her attention back to the obelisk, just a couple dozen yards away, she noticed a large pond just past it, and beyond the pond: movement.  Looking closer the Halfling Heritor could make out members of a Human Crew approaching (Safar the Seafarer and his men.)  Just then Lily touched her arm, and directed her attention back and to their right; there, a group of Gnomes appeared from the jungle.  They immediately recognized the members of the Heritor Gnomeo's crew, having tangled with them only a month ago.
     Meanwhile, Tork had lead his group over to check the pool first.  Nearing the low wall around the edge, the big Warden and Fernando peered into the murky water that remained in the bottom of the structure.  It did not take them long before both noticed a small chest half sticking out of the green slime that covered the surface of the water.  The Archer, Billy Wizzit, jogged past the two, and took up a position in some thick brush between the pool and the temple; he thought he saw moment on the far side. Crewman Corel, trailing behind, was totally distracted by the immense temple, and wandered awe-struck in its direction.
      Fernando knew it was up to him to get the treasure, and looked around for Corel to help him.  Seeing the short, (even for a  Halfling), Crewman had already wandered off towards the temple, the mustachioed Halfling called to Habby instead, who was was just passing by along with Ginsink.  Crew-woman Ginsink continued on towards a clutch of spider eggs she had spotted in a nest by some strange purple plants not far past the pool; and Habby went to help Fernando with the chest.  While the two Halflings cautiously climbed the low wall around the murky water, Tork turned to the jungle behind them in the direction from which they had approached the area, and let out a strange, long, undulating, half-humming, yell. (Casts Summon Animal.)  In the distance, high in the sky, a Giant Wasp appeared and buzzed towards the Warden.

Over by the pool, a treasure is spotted in its murky waters, but Cassilda Blackmane's Crew is dangerously close...

      Back by the high wall, Barley eyed the sword, then glanced again at the two approaching enemy Crews.  She knew it was would be extremely risky, but it was now or never.  Then, before the Halfling Heritor could act, unexpected events unfolded before her eyes.  Across the way, the Human Heritor, Safar the Seafaraer, stepped forward towards the pond, seemingly oblivious to the Halflings by the wall He stood glaring at the crew of Gnomes defiantly.   Then, several Gnome Crew, armed with Bows and a Crossbow, rushed forward towards the pond; likewise, seemingly oblivious to the small group of Halflings by the wall. With a battle cry, the small Gnomish warriors unleashed a hail of missiles at the Humans across the way, striking Safar squarely in the chest.   To the shock of the Human crew, their leader collapsed to the ground. Cries of revenge bellowed from them.   Barley turned to Perkin, her Scout, "Now!" she shouted; and the two Halflings raced forward and climbed the obelisk.
       Behind Barley and Perkin, back on the high wall, Link had finally reached the top and was surprised to find a rather expensive looking 2-handed axe laying up there; partially covered in rotting vegetation, webs, and the bones of some small mammals and birds.   He could immediately tell it was finely crafted.  The Halfling sailor looked around a moment puzzled as to how it might have gotten up there, totally forgetting his assignment of scouting the area.  Link did take notice of Lily the Crossbow-woman, who had separated from Barley and Perkin, and was moving off to the edge of a long narrow strip of jungle to the Crewman's right to keep an eye on the Gnomes.
      Lily may have been trying to keep an eye on the Gnomes, but they quickly laid eyes on her, and a crossbow bolt, and then an arrow whizzed by her.  She tried to duck back a little further into the shadows of the jungle.

Barley and Perkin rush to the obelisk to get the sword, as Lily moves off to the corner of a patch of jungle to cover the Gnome Crew with her Crossbow.

          Back by the Pool, Tork saw the Giant Wasp approach in answer to his summons, and he reached out to it with his mind, forming a link with the animal.  "Go help my friends." he impressed into its thoughts.  The large insect bobbed up and down in the air for a moment in reply, and then buzzed off to help the Crew.  From it's high perch, it saw the Gnomes firing at Lily, and immediately sped towards the Gnome Crossbowman.
     Tork then called to Billy and attempted an Envenom spell on the arrow the Archer had notched in his bow, but he had not cleared the Wasp's thoughts fully from his mind, and he failed the casting attempt.   Nearby, in the pool, Fernando laid his hands on the slimy chest, and heaved it from the water.  Habby stood nearby to offer assistance if needed, and to generally keep an eye out for danger.
     Just past the pool, Ginsink had reached the clutch of eggs, and cut them loose from their webbed encasement and carefully stuffed them into her pack.  Glancing back, she caught sight of her fellow Crewman, Corel, who had now reached the temple and had begun to climb its tall foundation.
     Then, suddenly from around some impenetrable brush just past the far corner of the temple, the Heritor Cassilda Blackmane appeared, tall and imposing, her jet black hair falling around her shoulders. She noticed Billy the Archer in the brush by the pool, and reacted quickly; picking up a melon sized piece of crumbled masonry from the ruined temple and hurling it with force and agility at the Archer.  Before Billy Wizzit could react, the projectile hit him square in the temple sending him reeling backward, a large gash on his  head (Reduced to 1 HP)  The ground beneath him seemed to rock and the scenery spun.  He fought for consciousness and as he did he had the vague impression of a green feminine figure rushing towards him, and then a hot pain in his shoulder, and then the world went black and the Archer fell backwards into the grass.  Cassilda Blackmane's Pearl Diver stood there for a moment making sure the Archer did not get back up, wiping her sword blade on the leaves of a nearby bush.

In the pool, Fernando and Habby recover the treasure, as over on the left Cassilda's green Pearl Diver takes out Billy the Archer.  Near the upper right of the photo, Ginsink recovers a clutch of eggs.

          Back by jungle near the Gnome Crew, Lily watched in amazement as the Giant Wasp flew by and headed directly at the Gnome Crossbowman.  The Halfling shooter was unaware, that off to her left, the Gnome Heritor was drawing his own bow with the shaft pointed at her chest. Gnomeo aimed carefully, using his blood abilities to senes the wind and the track of the arrow, and compensating for any obstacles in between. Assured of the flight path of his shot (Uses Trick Shot ability.), the Gnome released his missile.   All Lily knew was a sudden sharp piercing pain in her chest, and a darkness that quickly overcame her. 
     While the Gnome Heritor had been aiming at Lily, the Gnome Archer had been ranging his arrow at Perkin the Scout, who was standing with Barley on the Obelisk.  While the Halfling Heritor was mostly obscured from view, the Gnome had a clear shot at the back of the Scout.  With a sharp twang of the string he released his arrow, and it struck Perkin in his right thigh. (-4 HP) He let out a gasp of pain.  Seeing the shaft in his leg, Barley knew she had to act quickly.  The little Heritor tugged with all her might at the blade in the stone base of the obelisk, and with burning in her blood, she managed to pull the steel blade free.  Jumping down awkwardly with the long weapon, she turned and offered a hand to Perkin to help the wounded Scout climb down as well.   They were mostly blocked from view now from the Gnomes and the Humans by the tall base of the obelisk, but Barley knew they were far from safe yet.
     The Gnomes weren't safe yet either with Tork's Giant Wasp in their ranks.  The huge insect tormented the Gnome Crossbowman (In contact, but refuses to fight), but a nearby Gnome Crewman had had enough, and charged the beast.  Quickly the Wasp struck, before the attacker knew what hit him; jabbing its large stinger into the unfortunate Gnome's chest. (I roll a 20 for it's attack!)  The Gnome Crewman dropped to the ground instantly dead.
    Over by the pool, Tork watched in shock as Billy was brought down.  He then noticed the injured Scout, Perkin, climbing down from the obelisk, and attempted to cast Water of Life on him, but was too distracted by the fallen Archer, and what's more, the strange green woman he could now see standing just on the other side of the brush were Billy had been standing.   The Warden puzzled over the strange sight of the green person standing there, and the had the realization that the girl must have been the one to hurt Billy.
     Meanwhile, Fernando and Habby were dragging the chest safely from the pool.  As the two Crewmen worked with the chest, Ginsink trotted by with her load of eggs and said, "See you back at the ship, boys!" as she made her way past them and headed on to the rendezvous point.   Not far away, on the high wall, Link dropped his find of the 2-handed axe off the top, and it landed with a thud in the grass.  He then climbed down and retrieved it, and joined Ginny, Fernando, and Habby on the path back to the landing boats.

Treasures in hand, the Crew makes for the rendezvous spot. Barley is against the high wall in the upper right of the photo...

     Back between the obelisk and the high wall with the effigy on it, Barley and Perkin made their way as best they could to safety; Barley trying to once again (see last months report) maneuver a heavy, sharp, weapon almost twice as tall as she was, and Perkin with his wounded leg.  The pair made slow progress, but at last reached the relative safety of the wall.  They were well aware that they were still with in easy reach of the Humans and Gnomes.   But for the time being, those two factions seemed content with slaughtering each other.
     Over by the Pool, Tork's curiosity and anger got the best of him, and he approached the green-skinned Pearl Diver. "Why you hurt him!?" he demanded, pointing at the fallen Billy. "You bad person!"  (I engage to keep her occupied, but being well aware of my starting Warden's +1 Fight, I declined combat.) For her part, Cassilda's Pearl Diver was rather threatened by this huge bear of a man coming at her yelling and gesturing; so, quickly she brandished her blade and took a swing at Tork. She missed, and Tork in reflexive response swung the blunt side of his axe at the side of her head.  It contacted the girl's skull like a hammer, and she staggered backwards, her jaw dislocated and her eyebrow gashed and bleeding (I roll a 20, and push her out of combat).  Tork said simply, "You go away now." And with that the Pearl Diver turned tail and ran.
    The Warden only watched the strange green girl flee for a moment, because there was a sudden stab of pain in his temple. The Wasp was mortally wounded, and the Beast Warden could sense it.  While Tork had been dealing with the Pearl Diver, four of the Gnomes (+8 combat bonus) had encircled the flying beast.  With so many targets to keep track of, the huge insect had faltered and fallen to a quick sword attack from behind.
      Then, suddenly, way back where the crew had first entered the temple area, there came a cry for help from Ginsink the Crew-woman, as she saw a pair of animated Skeleton warriors come into view.   The rest of the party looked in Ginny's direction and those who could, moved to act.  Perkin looked at Barley, "Will you be okay?" he asked the Heritor.
     "Yes.", she replied, "Go. Help her."  And, as the Scout moved off to help the Crew-woman, the Halfling Heritor pressed her back against the wall, and concentrating, felt as her body began to melt into the stone work. (I use Wraithwalk ability.)  In a minute she had passed through, and was safely on the other side; out of the reach of enemy missile weapons.   The stern face of the idol on the wall looked down at her as if disapproving.

...and passes through the wall using Wraithwalk, to avoid any enemy missiles.

     Like Perkin, Tork ran to help the Crew-woman as well.   Ginsink, however, was not one to wait to be saved, or back down from a fight.  She dropped her pack of eggs and ran headlong at the nearest Skeleton with her sword held high.  With one mighty blow she reduced her foe to a pile of bones.  The other skeleton charged at the oncoming Tork, and the Warden also dispatched his opponent with one mighty stroke of his axe.   Perkin reached the spot where Ginny had dropped her pack, and picking it up, he signaled to her he had it and then continued on to the landing boats; following behind Fernando and Link who were already well on their way to the boats themselves with their prizes.  (Link and Fernando exit table.)  Habby, assured that Fernando was well on his way to safety, had turned back to see if he could be any help elsewhere.
      While everything had been going on, Crewman Corel had slowly been scaling one of the temple columns to see what he could see from on top.  He had finally reached the flat stones of the architrave running across the top of the columns; and standing, noticed a small chest resting atop the point of the pediment.  He also noticed a pair of large hairy chitinous legs slowly rising from the opposite corner of the temple.  He stood in shock as more of the Huge Tree Spider came into view as it slowly crawled up the far side.  It was almost as big as one of their landing boats!    He could see its sparkling glassy eyes considering him.  Every instinct in the Crewman's little body told him to flee; but he knew that in all likelihood the beast could move faster than he could climb down the columns, and jumping down would be certain death.  Bravely he brandished his sword, and took slow hesitant steps towards the monster.  For its part, the Spider seemed hesitant as well.  Then, all of a sudden, it turned away and started heading back down the column it had crawled up!   Corel stood there a moment in disbelief.  Had he scared it off?  Whatever the reason the little Halfling knew this was his chance, and he rushed forward and grabbed the chest, then turned and moved as quick as he could, while dragging the heavy box back towards his corner of the temple; praying the Spider didn't change its mind.  (Unbeknownst to Corel, the Spider was actually controlled by the Warden, Tyrel Tallguy, to my left; and he had sent it to challenge the treasure.  But then another Huge Tree Spider had appeared in that player's area of operations, and he needed to call his controlled Spider back down to occupy/fight the newly arrived "wild" Spider.) 

Crewman Corel faces an 8-legged dilemma. 

     Seeing Crew-woman Ginsink nearby below, Corel called to her, and pointed to the treasure.  It would be a lot easier for him to drop the chest off the temple, and for her to  come pick it up.  Then Corel could safely climb down.  Nearby, Tork, watched Corel and Ginny coordinate their efforts, wondering if he could be of any help.   But then he noticed a couple dozen yards behind them a regular sized Tree Spider appear from the underbrush.  Even though he hated Spiders, the Warden tried to control the beast.  He worked at casting his Control Animal spell upon it, but his hesitation was obvious, and though he made contact with the Spider's mind, the Spider's Will was too great from him to control its thoughts. (Successfully cast spell, but Spider passed Will roll.)  Luckily the Tree Spider wandered off in a different direction of its own accord.
     By this time, Ginsink had reached the corner of the Temple, and Corel dropped the chest down.  Both she and Tork, watched the sturdy box as it fell and landed with a dull thud and the muffled clinking of what sounded like coins. Neither of them noticed the Soldier Crab that had darted from the shadows of the jungle only a dozen yards behind them.  Quickly, it scuttered towards Ginny, who was  bending over and picking up the heavy box. The beast's claws clacking together in anticipation of a fresh meal.  That sound, however, was enough to alert the Crew-woman.   She stood and turned, and let out a short cry of surprise as the crab was upon her with no time to draw her sword.  Tork, heard the cry, and looking up quickly assessed the situation.  With speed and determination he worked his Control Animal spell again, calling out to the consciousness of the Crab.    In an instant he was inside the beast's mind, but it resisted his call with a meal so close and tempting. Tork strained his mind, forcing his will upon the Crab (Pushed spell for -2 HP), and finally he was there in the creature's thoughts.  Ultimately, the big crustacean didn't have the Will to resist.   With the monster's claws snapping just inches from Ginny's throat, Tork took control, and called the animal off.  It hesitated a moment, but then lowered its claws and scuttled a step back.  Ginny let out a deep breath and wiped her brow with the back of her sleeve.  Looking at the big Beast Warden, she said, "That was close. Thank you, Tork."  The large Human smiled shyly and simply nodded; then sent the Soldier Crab scurrying off towards the other side of the temple where Arkhan the Cruel's Crew were.   Back over where they had first entered the temple area, Tork could see Barley in the distance move with her prize further into the jungle and safety. (Barley exits table.)

In the nick of time, Tork takes Control of the Soldier Crab, as its pincers move within inches of Crew-woman Ginsink.

         While Tork and Ginny were dealing with the treasure chest and the Soldier Crab, Crewman Habby had been doing a quick scout along the foundation of the temple looking for any ungathered Spider's Eggs. He saw some hidden up high on the temple's foundation, behind some brush close to where Billy the Archer still lay near the pool.  Climbing up he glanced around to make sure the coast was clear.  The Halfling's eyes almost popped out as over on the far side of the temple floor, he saw a Giant Tree Spider, perhaps a quarter of the size of the Jolly Scallop, battling with a Human.   He estimated he had more than enough time to pry the eggs loose from their webbing and make his escape, before the Spider or the Human won the fight, and possibly noticed him.  He was wrong.  Habby had just managed to free the eggs, and was putting them into his pack, when a shadow passed over him, and the Crewman looked up to see giant fangs dripping on him, and a hairy leg, thicker than he was, lowering to pin him.   He dodged, but the big leg still caught him on his side, knocking him back off the temple.  He fell backwards into the brush hitting his head on some fallen masonry, and blacked out.  Luckily for him, the spider lost sight of him in the bush's foliage, and moved off towards other prey.
       Ginny now had secured the chest, and she and Tork made their way towards the rendezvous.  But their ordeal was not over yet.  A Gnome Archer had crept through the jungle and brush, until he was just in range of the Halfling Crew-woman.  Notching an arrow, he let if fly, and his hit Ginny squarely in the back.  She cried out in pain and fell forward, and desperately tried to not pass out, as she crawled with her load towards safety. (1 HP left, and she exited the table).   Tork ran up to her, and seeing her wounded state, picked her and her chest of coins up, and rushed with her to the waiting boats.

The finally tally and toll. 

     Latter that evening, aboard the Jolly Scallop, Barley and Tork sat in her cabin and looked at the day's haul.  She pondered the oddity of why there seemed to only be two-handed weapons lost in the Archipelago; having found one her last adventure (Superior 2-Handed Weapon +1F), and finding two of them this time: a Magic 2-Handed Sword (+1 F), and a Superior 2-Handed Axe (+1 Dam).    As well as the weaponry, Fernando's chest from the pool had contained about a dozen intricately carved wooden sticks.  This had puzzled the Halfling Heritor at first, until Tork had correctly identified them as Divining Rods.  They should certainly help them find treasure in the future.  The box Corel and Ginny had recovered from atop the temple held 75 Gold Coins!  A nice sum, indeed.  All in all a good days work.
    But there had been a cost.  Three of the party had fallen in battle that day.  And while Habby had only been knocked out and would be Fine;  Lily was Badly Wounded from the Goblin Heritor's Trick Shot,  and would be out of action for weeks while she recovered.  Likewise, the blow the Archer Billy Wizzit had received to the head from Cassilda Blackmane's rock, had left him badly concussed (Badly Wounded), and he too would be unable to go ashore for a long time.
     On the good side though, Billy's Brother, Jikham, was almost fully recovered from his Bad Wound on their first outing, and would certainly be needed on their next adventure.  Barley pondered where that might be,  but for right now she was exhausted from the day's events, and knew bed was where she wanted to travel to at the moment.  Tork, too, was yawning in his big chair opposite her desk.  The pair said their goodnights, and the big Warden made his way from the Heritor's cabin and headed up to sleep, as he always did, upon the deck; close to the open sky and the rolling waves where the cry of the seabirds, and song of the whales were his lullaby.


Epilogue

     Wow, what a game! Four treasures, including one of the Central Treasures recovered!   Not sure how long this luck will last, but I am enjoying it while I have it.      So far my rush-the- Central-Treasure tactic is working, aided by my 7" move and my Wraithwalk ability.   Finding the Divining rods this time, won't help with the Central Treasure, but will hopefully help with nabbing more regular treasure. 
     I have to say, I think I was also greatly helped this game by the lucky happenstance of the Gnomes taking down the Heritor, Safar the Seafarer, on the first turn.  This caused the Human player to want instant revenge on them, and the Gnomes were forced to deal with them.  Both got heavily embroiled with each other, leaving my Crew, for the most part, to their own devices.
     I can't believe I found two more Magic/Superior 2-Handed Weapons, after finding the one last month!  Totally unusable with my Halfling Crew, and the Specialists I picked.    Why can't I find just a plain old magic sword! :)   The only bright side is that when I eventually make it back to port, they will be like money in the bank.  I've been waiting for a Specialist's death for sailing back to the mainland, but if I find many more unusable magic weapons, I may have to go back simply to cash in my loot.
     Luckily, we didn't seem to generate as many Spiders as we expected (Everyone's post-picking-up-treasure Random Encounter rolls were just too low to generate anything.)  But, I will say, the Spiders we did generate were all down the big end of the spectrum, including 2 of the Giant ones.  Luckily, none entered directly in my entry zone, and I only encountered few late in the game.  I did however seem to get the regular Random monsters, including the 2 Skeletons, and the Soldier Crab.    Having a Beast Warden really pays off in these cases.
     Another interesting thing about this game was that no Warden ever cast Cloud Cover.  It's the first time in forever that I can remember exploring in full sun.  And, as expected we all took archery hits because of it.
     It was a long hard fought game, going to 9 turns, and once again I kept track of my Initiative Chip draws:  T1- 3, T2- 6, T3- 5, T4- 1, T5- 1, T6- 3, T7- 3, T8- 5, T9- 2; for an average Initiative of 3.2 out of 7 possible Chips.  Not bad at all compared to last month's average of 5 out of 8 possible Chips, and nicely below the average draw in general.    Hopefully I can keep up this trend in the months ahead.
     I won't have to wait long, to test my luck again; as our next game is coming up on March 9th.

War of the Roses Playtest for Cold Wars

     At last Friday's club meeting I ran a 6 player War of the Roses game as a playtest for the upcoming Cold Wars Convention in Lancaster, PA.  I used the under-development Feudal Patrol rules, and 28mm figures.

      The scenario featured a trio of Yorkist supply wagons heading toward the main body of the army.  Upon hearing a Lancastrian force pursuing the Yorkist army is speeding up the road, the contracted civilian wagon drivers run off, abandoning the wagons.  The Yorkists have now dispatched a force to head back and retrieve the wagons, as the lead elements of the Lancastrians rush forward to snatch the wagons for themselves.

Lead Lancastrian elements advance towards the closest wagon, as others move off to flank on their left.

The Yorkists move forward, securing the closest wagon, and begin to take long range fire from the enemy archers.

Likewise, the Lancastrians secure their closest wagon, as their most forward elements come under fire from the Yorkist longbows.

After a desperate cavalry skirmish near the middle wagon, the Lancastrians briefly take control of it.  Then a heroic Yorkist knight rushes forward and clears the wagon if it's Lancastrian captors, and begins to drive off with it.  While he eventually falls to enemy longbow fire, he gets the wagon far enough behind the enemy lines to ensure its safety.

     In the end, the game was declared a Yorkist victory, as they had secured two of the three wagons.  Also, in the last turn of the game the Lancastrian commander fell, causing panic to sweep through their force (All units go pinned when an army commander dies), guaranteeing that any attempt at regaining the wagon was doomed.

     The game was a lot of fun, and there were a number of heroic actions and see-sawing fortunes.  As a GM, I was able to learn a lot about the scenario to help tweak it for the convention to make it even more enjoyable.

Swiss Pikemen Unit Joins War of the Roses Project.

     This past week I completed a 10 man unit of Swiss Pikemen for my growing War of the Roses Project.  These are plastic multi-part figures that I assembled and painted from the Perry "Mercenaries, European Infantry 1450-1500" boxed set.

  As I mentioned before, I am going to be running a 6 player game using the Feudal Patrol rules at Cold Wars in Lancaster PA this March; so I am frantically trying to get all he figures I need assembled and painted.   More pressingly though, this coming Friday I am going to be running a first playtest at our club meeting, so I'm trying to get as much finished as I can.

   I am currently working on a unit of French Crossbowmen from the same boxed set to also join the ranks of my armies.  I hope to have them done in time for my game on Friday!

Burgundian Handgunners Unit Join War of the Roses Project

     This past week I completed a 10 man unit of Burgundian Handgunners for my growing War of the Roses Project.  These are plastic multi-part figures that I assembled and painted from the Perry "Mercenaries, European Infantry 1450-1500" boxed set.

      I am going to be running a 6 player game using the Feudal Patrol rules at Cold Wars in Lancaster PA this March; so I am frantically trying to get all he figures I need assembled and painted.

      I'm a fan of multipart plastics for the amount of variety and conversion one can accomplish with the many pieces, though I have to say it is rather time consuming to have to build each figure you need.
     I am currently working on a unit of Swiss Pikemen from the same boxed set to also join the ranks of my armies.  I hope to have them done later this week.

Ghost Archipelago '19, Game 1: An Unexpected Excursion

      This past Saturday we played the inaugural game of our 2019 Ghost Archipelago Campaign.  We had 8 of our 9 regular players in attendance.   Instead of doing a scenario we went with just a straight-up fight in order to give everyone a chance to test drive their new Heritors, Wardens, and Crews.   With 8 players, that put 4 Central Treasures into play, evenly spaced down the center of the 9.5'x3' table.
      I decided to go with a Halfling Crew this time, as I've never run a Halfling group in Frostgrave or Ghost Archipelago before, so I thought it would be a nice change, and a chance to use some of my little-used figures.  Also, I was hoping their short height would help me with cover. :) Along with my Halfling Heritor, Barley Gimblehill, there is a huge Human Beast Warden named Tork, two Half-Halfling (half Human) Archer brothers, a Halfling Scout and Crossbow-woman, as well as an assortment of scurvy Halfling Crew.
    I was terribly lucky with my set-up zone for this game, drawing chip #2, and getting second choice of location.  I went against conventional wisdom, and didn't choose a corner spot, but instead went for the spot I thought had the best potential for snatch and grab treasures. 
     I also had gone against conventional wisdom in the stating of my Heritor, adding her free extra stat point to her Movement score, instead of the more usual Fight or Health choice  I hoped this, combined with her Wraithwalk Ability, would allow her to grab stuff quickly, and get back to safety quickly.   (As a note, we rolled for our Heritor abilities randomly at the end of final game of last year.  We rolled for 6 Abilities, and could discard our least favorite and choose which would be our primary.  I ended up with Backswing (primary), Wratihwalk, Spellshield, Leap, and Waterlung.)

A view of the table at the start of the game.

     When all the entry zones were chosen, I found myself situated with the Gnome Heritor, Gnomeo, and his Beast Warden, Juliet, across from me.  On my direct right was the Heritor Cassilda Blackmane, and her Earth Warden, Quartz.  On my left was Heritor, Barl of the Library, and his Storm Warden, Lorria. To my diagonal front right was the Heritor, Safar the Seafarer, and his Storm Warden, Willow of the Water.  To my diagonal front left was the Heritor, Ragnam Eichenherz; and his Beast Warden, Bengel.

Prologue

The young Halfling, Barley Gimblehill, nimbly padded through the thick jungle underbrush intent on the way before her.   As the Heritor's large feet carried her forward, her mind wandered back to only a couple months before, when she had still been working as a serving girl at the Mindful Farmer tavern in Upper Willingunder, somewhat unawares of her true destiny.
     She had first heard the tales from her old Grandda as he sat in the shadow of his burrow, smoking his long pipe.  Tales of a distant Great-Great-Great Granda, who had been a cabin Halfling onboard a vessel that had discovered a magic fountain.  While Barley's Grandda loved to tell of the feats of adventure and daring of his long distant relative, when the mood was right she could get the old man himself to show her a trick or two that he was capable of this many generations later.  She once saw him bend a metal bar clean in half, and another time he threw a large rock clear across his sunflower fields.    But these stunts were few and far between, especially in his later years, when they seemed to tire him out excessively.    For the most part he had been a simple farmer his entire life, any spirit of the distant adventurer long since gone from the simple old Halfling. 
      When Barley had grown up, she was surprised to discover that she also had developed a few special tricks of her own.  She could jump clear up to the roof of the Tavern where she worked from a standing still position,  and she could swim like a fish, unlike most of her friends.  On slow days at the tavern she would earn a few extra silvers by betting the patrons how long she could keep her head in a bucket of water without coming up for air. She always won.  But the tricks always made her arms and aches ache with a deep burn, so she didn't do them often.
      Once, when an overbearing Human tavern patron had made unwanted advances towards her; backing her into a corner up agains the wall, she could have sworn that she actually passed straight through the wall of the great room, clear through into the kitchen.  But no one had seen her, the patron was too drunk to ever remember, and Barley never talked of it because it spooked her, and made her incredibly sore afterwards.  The Halfling barmaid merely thought of her gifts as novelties, like her Gandda's; quirky traits passed on through her family, and never sought any particular power or wealth (other than her small wagers!) from them. 
    Unknown to the simple Halfling tavern girl though, thousands of miles away in the Southern Seas, a mysterious chain of islands had appeared in the misty ocean waters; the Ghost Archipelago.   And something awoke in Barley's blood, and the sea began to call to her...

Barley Gimblehill and Tork

     The girl began to find any excuse to run errands to the town's docks.  There she would linger, staring wistfully at the sails of the big ships, not quite knowing why.     It wasn't long before Barley had almost absent-mindedly stuffed a pack with her belongings, gathered all her saved silver from under the loose stone in her bedroom wall in the tavern, and found herself on board one of the big ocean-going ships (she never quite remembered going on board), and signing on as a galley helper for their voyage to the South Seas.  The little Halfling's heart thrilled at the thought of going to sea, and she wasn't quite sure why.
     On board the  Siren's Lament, Barley kept to herself; though she kept her eyes and ears open and picked up what she could about life on the open water.  She often spent long hours just sitting at the prow of the ship staring at the horizon.  It was there that she met Tork; a Beast Warden who also traveled south.  A massive outcropping of a man, Tork valued his privacy, but found the little Halfing tolerable company.  For her part Barley delighted at seeing the varied sea-life the Warden would call to the swim alongside the boat.
     Tork also told her all about the Ghost Archipelago and the Crystal Pool.  The big man wanted simply to explore the lonely islands, and see the strange creatures who lived there for himself; but being a Human he was well aware of Heritors and the powers they possessed.  And, as Barley told the quiet Human about her life in Upper Willingunder, it was the Warden to put the pieces together and told the Halfling the truth of her real nature as a Heritor.  Finally, the full extent of the strange things in her life, like her Grandda's tricks and this uncharacteristic journey, all made full sense to the girl.
    Once on land at one of the many South Seas ports that neared the Archipelago, the pair stuck together out of familiarity, and pooling their coins saw about chartering a Captain and ship (They were lucky to find one, The Jolly Scallop, with a good number of Halflings in it's crew.)   They also saw about hiring some worthy Specialists to join them on their search for the Crystal Pool.   Barley was partial to taking on the few Halfings she could find on these distant shores; and most were more than eager to sign up; having been passed over by the taller Heritors who had travelled through this port.  Tork was fine with all this, having no love for his fellow Humans; and having discovered he was much more comfortable in the company of the simple little folk.

The Crew is organized.

The Report
     And so the little Halfling Heritor, Barley Gimblehill, and her Warden, Tork, found themselves on  a strange island on the fringe of the Archipelago, hacking their way though the bush.  Barley keen on  finding some clue to the location of the magic pool that called to her.
     She had divided their little band into three groups. With her she had the Scout, Perkin Littlebump; the Crossbow-woman,  Lily Tomtinkim; and the Crewman, Corel Bink.  In the shadow of the towering Tork were the two archer brothers, Jikam and Billy Wizzit, as well as the crewman, Dink Smitter.  Bringing up the end of the column were the Crewman, Habby Wilkersnit, and Crew-woman Ginsink Damum.
     They reached a relative clearing about a mile from the beach and halted and spread out.  Barley surveyed the area.  Directly in front of them was a giant fallen tree, and beyond that some sort of ruined structure.  To her right was some sort of ancient stone idol, while directly in front was more jungle and the sound of gurgling water; seemingly a large stream of some sort.  Following the sound, the Heritor could tell the stream curved around to her left, where she could see more ruins just beyond it's banks.  From his taller vantage, Tork reported seeing an apparent tar pit directly to their front as well; white bones of strange creatures sticking from it.
     Barley decided that she and her Scout, Perkin, would move forward quickly to scout the river along Lily the Crossbow -woman and Crewman Bink.  She suggested to Tork that he along with the two Archers, and  crewman Smitter,  go check the ruins on their right.
     On their way, Tork tossed a small packet to the Archer Billy Wizzit that contained a small amount of green goo wrapped in some waxed parchment.  The Warden said simply, "Put it on one of your arrows, it's a poison.  (Casts Envenom.)  The pair paused behind the large fallen tree, and Billy drew an arrow, dipped the point carefully, and tossed the parchment that had contained it onto the ground.  He didn't need to wait long to use it, as in the distance they herd a distinct chattering, and were surprised to see several Crewman Gnomes come into view  (Belonging to the Heritor Gnomeo's Crew).   Quickly Billy drew his arrow and let it fly at the nearest Crewman.  It hit true, and the target dropped to he ground.  But the Gnome apparently wasn't dead, as he stood up groggily and proceeded vomit the content of his stomach upon the jungle floor...the poison had done its work.    For his trouble, Billy tried to duck back as two arrows sliced towards him; one hit his shoulder and a second hit his head.  Luckily it struck at an angle, knocking him out, but just cutting a deep crease in his temple and not actually penetrating.  The Archer dropped to the ground, unmoving.   Meanwhile Jikam the Archer continued on along with Crewman Smitter to the ruin; which proved to be an old well house.
     Across the clearing, Barley and her group had advanced, and as they neared the patch of jungle near the stream, the Heritor had become aware of the approaching Gnome crew as well, and she hissed at the Scout behind her, "Quickly"!  As she spoke, dark clouds roiled up in the previously clear sky above and a grey shadow limited her vision.  (The Warden, Willow of the Water, cast Cloud Cover, sighting reduced to 16".) Crewman Bink huffed and puffed along behind them trying to keep up, and Lily Tomtinkim trailed even further behind, having paused at the stump of the giant fallen tree to ready her weapon.

Opening moves, as Barley and her command move towards the jungle in the upper left of the photo, and OTrk and his group move toward the ruined building on the mid-right of the photo.

     As Barley reached the edge of the jungle, she willed herself to pass through the dense growth more quickly; and with a familiar ache in her blood, the Heritor suddenly found herself passing through the very plants themselves as if she was a ghost.  (Uses Wraithwalk ability.)  The ever increasing magical gloom (14" Line of Sight now.) combined with the shade of the tall palms, made seeing her path an ever increasing challenge; and a few yards into the heavy brush and trees, she almost stumbled over an old half-rotted shield in the grass.  The Halfling then saw the shield was leaning partially against a long sword which had been thrust vertically into the ground.  Around its hilt was tied a small pouch. (The Central Treasure.)  Barley could see the weapon was of good quality since even though the shield was mostly lost to time, the sword still gleamed as if freshly polished.  Quickly she grabbed the weapon and the pouch.  It was hard to get a grip as the blade was almost as long as the Heritor was tall.  Perkin the Scout came up next to her, and she waved him forward to guard against the approaching Gnomes.  He didn't get far before he called back desperately,"They're here!"; and two arrows and a crossbow bolt sailed by within inches of Barley, somehow miraculously missing her.
   Then with a crashing and hacking of plants, 4 Gnomes burst upon them; two against Perkin, and two at Barley.  The brave little Halfling Heritor drew her sword, and readied herself.  As she did so, Crewman Bink finally caught up, coming up on her left.  Then out of nowhere, Lily the Crossbow Halfling came up on her right.
     Over by the well, Jikam now found himself the target of the Gnome Heritor, and the shaft went deeply into his thigh (-6 HP).  Tork, over by the log, cast Water of Life on the Archer, helping heal  the wound.   As the Warden worked his spell, Crewman Smitter scrabbled up over the side of the old well, and peered inside.  Seeing a glint of metal at the bottom, he scurried down the old rope, and found the remains of a small ancient chest, its contents of Gold Coins spilled out onto the well floor.  Quickly he scooped them up.
   Likewise, over on their left, Crew-woman Damum searched through the brush by the shell of a long-dead Soldier Crab, and happened upon a rather fine looking pair of boots, and a pouch of coins.  Remnants of the crabs last meal, she pondered? 

Clash in the jungle as the Gnomes attack.

     Back in the patch of jungle by the stream, as the cover of black clouds above completely filled the sky (Line of Sight now 12"),  Crewman Bink came up just as the first Gnome reached Barley.  With a quick thrust, he skewered the enemy Sailor with his sword, and sent him tumbling back out of the jungle. (Rolled 19 + 2 F +2 assist from Barley.)  Likewise, on the Halfling Heritor's right, Lily, brandishing her dagger, gave the enemy a nasty gash, sending him staggering away clutching his wound. (15 + 2 F +2 assist from Barley.)   Quickly, the Halfling Heritor took up her treasure over he shoulder and dashed towards the far edge of the jungle,  While a short way away Perkin the Scout, dodged and feinted against his two opponents (denied to Fight) and tried to buy Barley some time.
       Over by the ruined well house, the Gnome Heritor fired at Jikam again, using his Trick Shot ability, this time dropping the Archer.    A little further out towards the river, Crewman Wickersnit ran into the sights of one of the Gnome Archers as the Halfling attempted to race out to retrieve a chest near the river.  A shaft in his leg brought him tumbling hard to the ground, where his head hit a fallen branch knocking him out cold.
       Tork the Warden, back by the giant fallen tree missed seeing these two crew members being brought down, as his attention was drawn back towards the direction from which they had come.  He had heard movement in the brush to their rear and, turning,  was amazed to see a pair of Erithereans appear.  The two large elephant-like creatures snuffed around a small area under a tall tree gathering up fallen fruits that lay under it, oblivious to the carnage all around them.  In all his days, Tork never thought he would see such a rare sight!
    But the Warden's amazement was not to end, as on the trail of the Erithereans there appeared a large Soldier Crab.   Tork worried for the big gentle creatures searching for fruit, and quickly cast Control Animal on the Crab.  The spell worked, and the big Warden had the beast's mind under his command.

One of the wandering Erithereans in the foreground as Tork, by the ruined well-house, waits for Crewman Smitter to gather the coins in the well.  And near the center left of the photo towards the top Crewman Wickersnit can be seen making a mad dash for the treasure chest by the river.

     Tork controlled the crustacean just in time, as nearby Crew-woman Damum called for help as a pair of Ghouls emerged from the brush near where she trotted with her treasure back towards the rendezvous point.  Deftly she drew her sword, and leaping up sliced the head clear off the first Ghoul. She then landed and quickly braced for the second one.  She only managed an awkward thrust at the second assailant, but it was enough to set it off balance and send it stumbling a few paces away.    That bought her the time she needed, and  as she dashed off into the tall grasses again, Tork's Soldier Crab came up behind the second Ghoul, its large pincers snapping fiercely.   The Ghoul turned towards this new distraction and launched itself at the crab.  A quick snick-snack and the Controlled beast had almost severed the Ghouls in two (1 HP remaining).  It fell to the ground and continued as best it could to scrabble at the Crab.  In an instant the Soldier Crab had finished it off.
     Back in the jungle by the stream, the two Gnomes facing Perkin the Scout had had enough of his delaying tactics, and launched at him like tiny whirlwinds of fists and steel.  The lone Halfling didn't stand a chance and was left pummeled on the jungle floor.  A short distance away, Lily the Crossbow-woman, free of her assailants now found herself the target of the Gnome Archers, and two shafts struck her bringing her down.  (1 HP left)  Weak and bleeding she tried to stand; and leaning from tree to tree made her way painfully from the jungle.  Only Crewman Bink was left unscathed and he bravely stood as a Gnome Crewman came at him.  He tried to use the delaying tactics the Scout had used (Denying to fight in his turn), but his opponent didn't have time for games; and with a quick roundhouse across the chin with his free hand, put Corel Bink's lights out like a candle in a gale.
    The two Specialists and Crewman had not sacrificed in vain however, as they had bought Barley the time she needed to break free of the jungle brush, and high-tail it back towards the meeting point with her treasure.
      Lily Tomtinkim staggered out of the jungle a few long lengths behind the Heritor.  From his vantage by the well, Tork saw her and cast Water of Life upon her.  Instantly she felt a bit stronger, but nowhere near fully healed.  Barley now paused, and turning back, called to the Crossbow-woman behind her, "Lily!  I'm sorry; but I need you to hold here, and buy me some more time!"  The heavy-set Crossbow-woman came to a stop, and hearing the order, signed resignedly, and bravely turned to face the jungle she had just left.  The Halfling Heritor turned away, and continued on with her awkward load.
   

Crew-woman Ginsink Damum is assaulted by two Ghouls; oh, so close to getting off the table!

     No sooner had Lily turned back to the jungle, then the bushes at the edge split with a shower of leaves, and a pursuing Gnome burst forth.  Heaving her weapon to her shoulder, the Crossbow-woman fired, but her aim was off.  So, she shouldered her weapon, and drawing her dagger, charged at her pursuer.  Tork could see the valiant little Halfling's desperate move, and once again attempted to cast Water of Life, be in his hast he got the spell wrong, and he felt the magic begin to slip.  Pushing with his mind  to make the spell work, he willed the magic to work, and it did. (Pushed for -7 HP!)  The Crossbow-woman felt a slight surge of energy as she met her opponent.  Slashing at him, she cut a short gash in his arm, and he staggered back.  The Gnome paused, as behind Lily he could see Barley appear to simply disappear into a large area of brush in the distance (She Wraithwalks through the  patch of bushes and plants with the Crab Shell.)   The Gnomes could tell the pursuit of the Halfling Heritor was futile now.   
      Over by the Well, as Crewman Smitter made his way towards the rendezvous point with his Gold Coins recovered from the well, Tork rested  against a ledge of the ruined building for a moment to catch his breath.  He felt weak and exhausted after his magical exertion.    Nearby, one of the Gnome Archers noticed the hulking human standing still for a moment and saw his chance.  Letting an arrow fly, he hit the Warden square between his muscular shoulders sending him toppling forward into the ruin and then onto the ground.  A small cascade of stone and rotted wood fell down upon the Warden's head and back.

Lily the Crossbow-woman (in red) bravely turns to hold off the Gnomes, as Barley runs with the Central Treasure.

     It was all but over now, the Gnomes could see in the cloud-induced gloom that pursuit would be useless, so they went in search of other possibilities.  The four Halflings who remained standing; Barley, the Crossbow-woman Lily, and from the Crew, Ginsink Damum and  Link Smitter, made their way to the boats, where they waited for the survivors to follow.  One by one the fallen hobbled back.
     Later that night, aboard the Jolly Scallop,  Barley and Tork sat at one of the tables in the galley and studied the day's haul.  The Heritor had only a few scrapes and cuts from some of the sharper jungle plants, but the Warden's torso, was wrapped in bandages which held a compress with a poultice  against the arrow wound in his back.  He had had a Close Call for sure, but luckily he was not carrying anything of importance.    The rest of the crew was mostly unscathed except for the Archer, Jikam, who had been Badly Injured by the Gnome's second arrow and would need to spend a while resting aboard ship before he would be able to venture to an island again.
     Barley's 2-handed sword proved to be of Superior Quality, and the purse with it held 30 Gold Coins (Rolled 14 +2 for Central Treasure =16) .  The Boots that Crew-woman Ginsink Damum had brought back proved to be Boots of Swimming, and the purse also contained 30 Gold Coins (Rolled 19); and lastly the coins Crewman Link Smitter had gathered from the well totaled 20. (Rolled a 1!)  Not a bad inventory for a first outing, the Halfling Heritor thought; but they were not one step closer to finding the Crystal Pool.  Yet, it still called to her  and she knew her search would continue.

A view of the other end of the table.

     Epilogue

     Well, it was nice to have a really successful game after the dismal luck I had with my Heritor, Lord Fortrywn, last year!   Though it's too early to tell how things will go the rest of the campaign, it was a refreshing start; getting the Central Treasure and two other treasures in my sectors, and to top it off no one died.
    The gamble with adding my Heritor's bonus stat point to her Movement really seemed to pay off when combined with my Wratihwalk ability.  It's what allowed me to get my hands on the Central Treasure first, and then escape successfully.  It's often overlooked, but speed certainly plays a roll in this game.
    It was an interesting game from a casualty aspect, as we all forgot just how fragile beginning Heritors can be. Surprisingly, 4 of the other players' Heritors fell during the game.  Luckily, none of them died; though some of the other players did lose Specialists.
     Just out of curiosity I thought I'd record my initiative chip draws each turn of the game, as it always seems like I did poorly when it comes to initiative.  In the end, at least for this game, they seemed pretty balanced; T1- 7, T2- 6, T3- 2, T4- 6, T5- 1, T6- 8.  That is an average of 5 initiative out of 8 initiative chips, or just on the bad side of midway.  However I have to  say I got the two early initiatives when I really needed them most, which really helped; and the two really bad draws, the 7 and the 8, happened on the first turn (I- 7) when it actually benefited me as I could react to others' movements, and on the last turn (I- 8)when the game was mostly concluded.
    I'm looking forward to the next game already!

Final rollcall. 

     To read about the game from the perspective of one of the other Heritors, Cassilda Blackmane; who was located directly on my Heritor, Barley Gimblehill's, right, see:  January Ghost Archipelago

     And to read an account from the Heritor, Ragnam Eichenhertz, who was to my front left, see: Ragnam's First Adventure

New Year's Eve Gaming With the HAWKs

   As has become the tradition, Buck Surdu and his wife hosted a gaming New Year's Party for the HAWKs on December 31st.  Things kicked off at 3:00PM, and we played 2 games before the Times Square ball fell at midnight.

A view of the table.  

  I ran the first game, entitled "A Zombie Christmas Story", using GASLIGHT rules.  This game set the classic Holiday movie "A Christmas Story", against the background of a Zombie Apocalypse (Brought on by Soap Poisoning in the water supply, of course!)

The staff of the Chinese Restaurant face off against a lone Zombie early in the game.  

 Each play controlled a 4-man group consisting of characters from the movie.  These groups were then divided up into two teams.  The fist team consisted of:    Ralphie and Family, Flick & Schwartz, and the Warren G Harding Elementary School Kids, the Police Department, the Fie Department, and Miss Shields & WGHES Faculty.  The other team was made op of:  the Bumpuses, Black Bart & his Gang, Scut Farkus, Grover Dill & the Bullies, Higbee's Santa & Elves, and the Staff of the Chinese Restaurant.

The Miss Shields and the Teachers scuffle with Scut Farkus' Bullies over ownership of the Pink Bunny Slippers. 

   The goal for each side was to gather the most "Supply" tokens, which were randomly scattered on the table, and get them back to their headquarters; all the while battling Zombies.  The "Supply" tokens consisted of: The Leg Lamp, The Fra-Gee-Lay Crate, Pink Bunny Slippers, Red Ryder BB Gun, the Old Man's Turkey, and lastly a Can of Simonize with a Blue Bowling Ball.  Each team's Headquarters was located at an opposite end of the table.  For the first team it was the Parker House, and for the second team it was a Garage.

The Bumpuses, trying to flee in their old car, send their Hounds after some approaching Zombies in an attempt to buy some time. 

     The two teams were allowed to Scuffle with each other, with a failed Save resulting in the figure becoming Stunned and knocked down for a turn, but not killed.  When fighting Zombies, of course, deadly force could be used.

The Fire Department battles the Department Store Elves for ownership of the Fra-Gee-Lay Crate; while in the background Ralphie and his Family battle Zombies for the Pink Bunny Slippers..

The game turned out to be rather bloody, with the Teachers, Bullies, Chinese Restaurant Staff, Fire Department, and School Kids, all being eliminated one by one during the course of the game.  Most of the other teams were reduced to only one figure by the end.   Many multi-sided skirmishes developed over the tokens with Zombies thrown in for good measure.

Ma Bumpus, the lone Bumpus survivor, spent all game trying to get their jalopy started to escape, all the while fighting off Zombies.  She succeeded finally in the last few turns of the game to get the car going; driving off into the sunset with a string of hungry Zeds trailing behind.

        In the end, the Bumpus-led team was able to get the Leg Lamp and the Turkey to their headquarters.  The Can of Simonize & Blue Ball were close to the garage, but the person carrying it died before getting in to safety.   One of the Department Store Elves had the Fra-Gee-Lay Crate, but was not  close to the Garage. The Ralphie-led side was unable to recover any of the Supply tokens back to their Headquarters; though at game's end Ralphie's Mom did have possession of the Slippers, and the Police Captain had the BB Gun.

   The game was a ton of fun to run, and the players all seemed to enjoy it as well.

A Policeman, a Fireman, and Ralphie's Mom battle Zombies and Elves for possession of the BB Gun. Meanwhile, in the background, Ralphie holds his own against a horde of Zombies, uttering a steady torrent of obscenities and swearing as he goes.

    After my game, Buck ran a Pulp Sci-Fi game using his "Combat Parol" rules.  This scenario featured an assortment of Aliens invading a small Midwest town in 1948.  The town is being defended by the US Army, and the Aliens  needed to cross the length of the table in order to secure a special part of a wrecked spaceship at the far end of the table. 

Alien forces deploy on the outskirts of Granville, USA

     I was part of the Army defenders, and we started  in a more rural area of the town by a Drive-In theatre.  As a team we decided our best move was to deploy as far forward as we could to keep the Aliens as far from their objective as possible.    So we immediately marched further into the town, with my squads being located on our right flank.

GIs move forward into town and attempt to find cover, as the Alien tanks advance.

     We didn't get far before we came into range of the Alien tank guns, and had to scramble into the buildings. There we waited for the Alien foot troops to arrive, as our tanks dueled with the enemy's

An overview of the Alien game.  US Tanks are just entering from the bottom of the photo.

     Unfortunately, the long range fire of the Aliens tanks proved better than ours.  Combined with some lucky hits, and unlucky misses on our part, we began to lose tanks one by one. 

I used one of my squads to drive some of the cars from the Drive-In into a couple of the streets in an attempt to block them.

     As the Alien infantry arrived, we quickly realized the orientation of the buildings along the main streets left us with very poor choices for firing position.    This combined with the fact I was facing squads of 8 ft tall super strong Aliens (Over twice the Endurance of us GIs) on my front, meant I was quickly worn down.

My troops (in the grey building on the left) try to hold out against overwhelming odds.

   We were able to do better against the weaker worm-like Alien creatures on our left, but the Aliens concentrated their Armor there, and were able to do severe damage. 
     In the end, the aliens were able to push one of their tanks through our line, and reached the objective, securing it for the victory.    It was a great fight, and we all had fun.

A lone Alien tank makes it to the objective (The glowing reactor in the center foreground), sealing a victory for the Aliens.

   The game ended around 11:30, giving us time to get a good start on packing everything up, before toasting the New Year at midnight.   It was certainly a great way for a group of gamers to usher in 2019.

After the game we watched the Times Square ball drop,  and toasted the New Year with champagne

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