Burning Down the House

After defeating the demon and saving the Emperor, the Chimera Legion received a well-earned rest. But as autumn approaches, fell tidings arrive from the northern border. Raiders are sacking the frontier settlements. The Emperor sends the Legion to deal with the threat.

Note: As usual, I took a few artistic liberties when telling the story.

A Settlement Struck

The Legion sends detachments to some of the remaining settlements to defend against attack.

Not long after arriving, alarm bells ring out at the town of Drakovar. A swarm of hideous, monstrous creatures rush the settlement, clambering over the walls, and destroying everything in site.

One of the bestial creatures - a pig-faced orc!

Basilius is onsite with a detachment of legionaries. Accompanying the detachment is a scout named Jayden Rannal, recently hired to help locate the raiders.

Basilius forms a shield wall, which holds back the raiders. The legionaries then step forward, their sword stabbing and slashing, dropping orcs left and right. Meanwhile, Jayden shows off his archery skill, picking off the enemy in droves.

But there are just too many orcs. They hammer against the shield wall. Legionaries fall until there are gaps in the formation. The orcs surge through the gaps and into town.

Soon, it is an orgy of slaughter and arson. Panicked, the townsfolk flee through the southern gate. The remaining legionaries act as rearguard, protecting the survivors. The orcs are too busy stealing the town's crop of turnips to interfere.

Scout and Retrieve

The next day, a company led by Ulveblod arrives. He tracks the raiders into the wilds beyond the frontier. He catches up with a band of orcs, burdened by plunder from the town.

Ulveblod orders a charge. His men rush into the orc camp, hacking away at the enemy. In the heat of battle, Ulveblod is seriously wounded. His men falter. But then Ulveblod calls upon the power of the amulet awarded by the Emperor. This artifact instantly heals him.

Rejuvenated, Ulveblod leads a fresh attack. Victory looks imminent.

But then they hear the sound of a horn. An orc horn! Reinforcements are coming.

Ulveblod orders his men to grab sacks of the plunder, especially the prized turnips, and retreat back to Imperial territory. The orcs rally and pursue, but the Legion stands firm and drives them off.

After a harrowing journey, Ulveblod's company arrives at the nearest settlement, where refugees from the destroyed town huddle miserably. At least they will have some food to get them through the winter.

NOTES

As mentioned, I took some artistic liberties. We only had 4 players, so I exaggerated for dramatic sake.

We actually ran Ulveblod's scouting mission first. I scattered a bunch of spell balls around. Brett had to gather them while Robb and I, as orcs, tried to stop him. He managed to return all of them to safety. He did use an amulet he received for saving the Emperor. This allowed him to finish the job.

We played the attack on the settlement afterwards. RJ arrived, we sparred one-on-one with him a bit, then decided to do a 2v2 scenario. I came up with the settlement attack on the spot. It is essentially a ring the bell scenario for the orcs. Robb and RJ defended while Brett and I were orcs. We actually ran the scenario twice and the orcs won both time.

Once again I forgot to take pictures. Pity, Robb looked really good.

The Demon Strikes

Once we retrieved the Rod of Demon Slaying, we sailed back to the capital and then rushed to the palace.

The Field Falls

We arrive at the Emperor's chambers just in time. As we enter, we see the Emperor's priest, Brother Belisarius of Aubastia, holding the demon in a stasis field. Behind the priest, the Emperor lies unconscious on his bed. Suddenly, the field fell.

The Demon Attacks

Now that he is freed, the demon lunges at the priest. 

Our men charge, distracting the demon and allowing Belisarius to escape. The demon lashes out again and again, striking legionaries to the ground.

This last bit is a little poetic license. We did not have a full crew of legionaries.

Finally, Ulveblod enters the fray. He wields the Rod of Demon Slaying. 

The demon sneers at him and attacks. Its blows shatters his armor and gouges deep wounds into Ulveblod's flesh. Ulveblod staggers and nearly falls. But then Belisarius casts a heal upon the Rhuunese warrior. 

Rejuvenated, Ulveblod re-enters the fray. This time, he strikes the demon with the Rod. The monster bellowed in pain. Again, it unleashes a series of blows that staggers Ulveblod. But again Belisarius heals the warrior.

Enraged, the demon turns and attacks the priest. Belisarius edges away. This allows Ulveblod to come up behind the demon and strike again. More bellows of pain and rage!

The warrior and the demon charge each other. Trading powerful blows, each becomes weaker. But neither gives up the fight, until Ulveblod manages to sneak a powerful thrust into the demon's gut. The Rod glows and a blast of power smites the monster. It howls in pain as a holy fire consumes it. In a manner of seconds, it is gone!

With that, the Emperor is safe. He rewards the Legion, and especially Ulveblod for our efforts. Now we get a well deserved rest, at least until our next adventure.

Game Notes

We ended up with only 3 people for a finale. I played the demon while Robb played Belisarius the priest. Brett played his character, Ulveblod.

The game was essentially a mutual annihilation. A few times I thought I had Brett but Robb kept healing him. Well done, Brett and Robb!

We are now on hiatus until September. See you then!

Wresting the Rod from the Orcs

Now that we knew where the orcs were, we prepared for action and the Legion marched on their stronghold.

Parlay and Assault

Despite their attacks on us, I decided to give the orcs one more chance for negotiation. I sent a messenger forward under flag of truce to open discussions. But the orcs let loose their arrows. My messenger fell dead.

I took this as a declaration of war and called for an attack.

Gutavh used holy fire to blast open the gate, then he cast confusion on the orcs on the wall. We were able to rush in and cut the defenders down.

Note: I made up this part for narrative purposes. Due to lack of numbers, we did not get to play the assault.

The Shaman Makes a Stand

With Ulveblod, I led the first wave into the stronghold. We systematically searched for the Rod but did not find it until we reached the center of the orc's fort. There, we came across an orc shaman and his bodyguard. In his hands was the Rod.

We charged. I rushed the shaman.

The shaman threw blasts at me but I dodged. He webbed me then used the Rod to destroy my shield. Meanwhile Ulveblod met a bodyguard. The fight did not go well for him and he was forced to retreat. I found myself overwhelmed and I also withdrew.

Our Second Attempt

I received some healing from our priest and then I was back into the fray. This time, Xeno accompanied me. Again, I confronted the shaman. This time I pressed the attack so he could not use his magic. Meanwhile Xeno took the battle to the orcs. He flanked, took out a bodyguard, then attacked the shaman. Pressed from two sides, the shaman had no chance. Soon, Xeno cut down the orc and recovered the Rod. Success!

GAME NOTES

I had plans for a more epic battle, but lack of numbers made that unviable. We had to forego the castle assault. I just made up a story about how we broke into the fort.

We played the shaman's stand. Essentially, it was a one-sided kill the general scenario. The Legion needed to kill the orc shaman. The orcs just needed to defend their shaman.

Robb was the shaman; he had one bodyguard. Two legionaries attacked. I planned to allow multiple waves so that Ulveblod and Xeno had a chance to be attackers. Between waves, players could regain half of their lost hit points. Ulveblod and I lost the first wave but Xeno and I won the second. Xeno was the hero of the day with his speed that bedeviled the orcs.

Where Are the Orcs?

Previously, we learned from the oni that the Stone Claw orcs had acquired the Rod of Demon Slaying. We set sail for the shores of Scymatia, home of this tribe.

A Rude Welcome

We arrived at Scymatia and marched inland toward the stronghold of the Stone Claws. We were ambushed and repelled.

Note - this part is fiction for the purposes of setting up the story.

I decided to send out scouts to determine the location of the orc stronghold. I choose two able warriors and sent them to approach from different directions. Hopefully, at least one would make it through and find the enemy's lair.

Ulveblod's Tale

Ulveblod swung to the west and then headed into a forest. He was confronted by an orc archer. The orc let fly an arrow. Ulveblod dodged, then charged into the battle. The orc dropped his bow and pulled out a sword. The two warriors swung at each other. The clash of swords rang through the woods. Ulveblod proved too skilled, however, and soon he cut down his enemy.

No sooner was Ulveblod victorious than he heard the crash of someone running through the brush. He turned and spotted another orc heading towards him.  Ulveblod charged, slashing at the orc and then running past it. His blow wounded the orc, preventing it from pursuing.

Freed from pursuit, Ulveblod sped through the forest until he found a path. Cautiously following it, he reached a point where he could observe a fort, Orcs patrolled the ramparts. 

This had to be what the Legion was looking for. With that, Ulveblod turned for home.

Diamond's Tale

Diamond headed to the east and slipped by the forward defenses. Then, he was confronted by an orc warrior. This started a running battle that moved steadily north. Diamond's skill proved too much, however, and he ultimately cut down his foe. 

Then Diamond swung west, fighting and dodging other orcs who joined the fray. He overshot the stronghold. When he noticed that the orcs were not pursuing, he turned back. That's when he spotted the path that led to the stronghold. Diamond then rushed back to camp.

However, an orc pursued him. Diamond stopped and engaged. Soon, this orc also fell to Diamond's blade. The scout could then return safely.

What's Next

Now that we know where we are going, I shall plan an advance in force. We are ready to fight for the Rod.

GAME NOTES

Essentially, I ran this like Ring the Bell but with some twists.

• With limited numbers, I ran this as a 2 vs. 1 scenario. The Legion had a single scout against multiple orcs.
• Only the Legion scout can win by "ringing the bell." The orcs are merely defending.
• The scout has 1 life with hit points based on his character while the orcs have unlimited lives with 2 hit points each.
• After "ringing the bell" (which represents finding the enemy stronghold), the scout has to return to base to win,

O(ni) No!

After our previous defeat, the Chimera Legion prepared for a second assault against the oni.

This time, we had Brother Gustavh bless us with powerful divine magic. These blessings should protect us against the oni's magic.

The First Wave

I, Comes Elias, led the first wave into the oni's cave. The blessing was somewhat effective - the oni's freeze spell only slowed us down. Yet that was enough for it to wreak havoc on the company.

The oni used its speed to dash in and out amongst my men. It struck with spells and with a massive club. Legionaries fell or were forced to flee from the cave. We managed to get in a few telling hits, but ultimately the oni's power defeated us. The remnants of our company retreated.

Reserves to the Rescue

Ulveblod commanded the reserve. As we retreated, he led his men in a berserk charge. They chased the oni around the cave, preventing it from getting off a spell. The oni managed to dodge most attacks, but here and there, Legion blades slashed into the demon. Ultimately, it collapsed to its knees.

Ulveblod Commands the Oni

With the oni powerless, Ulveblod laid his blade on its neck and demanded the Rod of Demon Slaying. Cowed by this powerful warrior, the oni pleaded for its life. At first Ulveblod would only promise a quick end. When the oni refused to talk, Ulveblod changed tactics. He would allow the oni to flee from the region, if it told us where the Rod was.

And thus, Ulveblod extracted the tale. The oni traded the Rod to a band of orcs from Scymatia in exchange for some prisoners. We will not relate the horrid fate of those unfortunates.

So now we seek the Stone Claw orcs (for such was their name) on the shores of Scymatia.

GAME NOTES

We ended up with only two people so the battle was simply a straight up fight between us. I played the oni and Brett was Ulveblod. As the oni, I had magic as well as a great weapon.

The part about the first wave is pure fiction. I came up with it to set the stage. Figuring that an oni vs. a lone warrior was not an even match, I downgraded the oni a bit. I explained this by imagining that a prior wave of attackers had worn the oni down a bit.

Brett won by keeping the pressure on me. He chased me relentlessly, preventing me from getting off any spells. He then would get in a strike here and there. I hit him a couple of times, but was too busy trying to recite the spell incantation to mount any effective attacks. Ultimately, Brett wore me down and took me out.

Kudos to Brett for some nice roleplaying at the end, as he interrogated the oni!

For kicks, we reran the scenario with roles reversed. I took a different approach. I advanced on the oni cautiously, dodging spell balls and then dashing in to strike. This tactic also worked, and I won my bout as well.

The Oni

Tracking Sodai

Previously, we learned that an adventurer named Sodai had made off with the Rod of Demon Slaying. With a name like that, he had to be from Teikoku. We returned to our ship and headed off.

It was a difficult journey to Teikoku, but our troubles had just begun. We then had to deal with a suspicious populace, recalcitrant officials, and a language barrier. Nevertheless, we tracked Sodai to an isolated cave. On our way, the locals kept mentioning an oni, whatever that is.

Entering the Oni's Cave

We arrived at the cave and I sent in my first company. After they entered, I heard screams of horror and pain. Then most of the company came rushing out of the cave. Others were forcibly tossed out.

They told a tale of a horrific demon.

This demon used powerful magic to melt their weapons, instill fear, and even knock them about.

Apparently, physical attacks would not work.

Note: All the above is made up backstory to explain why we did not fight. In reality, I had an injury that prevented me from engaging in physical combat.

Confronting the Oni

Next, I sent in one of our priests, Gustavh, to scout out the situation and test the oni's magical abilities.

Gustavh entered the cave. The oni confronted him. Gustavh demanded to know what happened to Sodai. 

The oni pointed to bones strewn around the cave. "He is here somewhere."

Gustavh then demanded the Rod of Demon Slaying. The oni laughed at him, then spoke.

"I admire your courage, puny mortal. I could crush you like a bug, but I have a more entertaining idea. Let us have a contest, in 3 rounds. If you win 2 out of the 3, I shall reward you."

"And if I lose?" Gustavh asked.

"Then you die."

Bravely, Gustavh accepted the challenge.

The Contest

The first round of the contest was a knife-throwing challenge, using each other as targets.

• Gustavh scored 3 hits on the oni.
• The oni also scored three hits.
• Going into a sudden death tie-breaker, Gustavh missed!
• And the oni hit. The oni won the first round.

The second round was an archery contest - 5 shots at a shield about 20 paces away.

• The oni scored 2 hits.
• Gustavh then missed his first 3 shots.
• Needing a hit to stay in the game, Gustavh's shot whizzed just past the oni's ear! The oni wins again!

Gustavh stoically admitted defeat and accepted his fate. But the oni was not done with him yet.

"That was enjoyable, mortal," the oni said. "I would very much like to try the last challenge, so I'll tell you what. If you win this next challenge, I will spare your life."

Mystical Mayhem

The oni challenged Gustavh to a magic duel.

"In my cave," the oni explained, "my mystical power is unlimited. But for our contest, I will limit myself to a mortal's level."

With that, the battle began in earnest. The last one standing would win!

The oni led off with a fiery blast, but Gustavh dodged. The priest replied with a bolt that wounded the oni.

Next, the oni used a web spell to hold Gustavh in place. It followed with another blast, but missed again! Meanwhile, Gustavh replied with more bolts and blasts that struck and seared his enemy.

Finally, the oni got his aim. His blast struck Gustavh. Flames licked over the priest, but he shook off the burns. His next bolt flew straight and true, striking the oni in the chest.

With that, the oni fell to its knees.

"Enough, mortal. You win. You have saved your life. Now go!"

Aftermath

Gustavh left the cave, returning to our company. He reported his findings to me.

The Rod must be in the cave, but how do we get past the oni? That is the dilemma we must solve.

GAME NOTES

As I mentioned above, I was nursing an injury so I could not engage in physical combat. I decided to turn the confrontation into a 3-part contest.

Throughout the game, I played the oni and Robb was Gustavh.

I believe I recorded the results of the first two contests accurately. Also, I wanted to do the magic duel so I made the proposal that Gustavh could save his life by winning it.

I don't remember all the specifics about the magic duel, so I used some artistic license. Nevertheless, I feel I got the general scene down. I definitely remember webbing Robb and then missing with a blast! My aim was horrible throughout! Ultimately, Robb wore me down and won, saving Gustavh.

The Mummy's Tomb

We managed to cross the croc-infested river with minimal casualties. After a short hike, we entered the Valley of the Kings. The valley was filled with pyramids - the tombs of long-forgotten pharaohs.

We were able to find the tomb of the pharaoh Ank-ma-haren.

The Guardians

I, Comes Elias, led the first company into the tomb. We found ourselves in a large receiving chamber. Suddenly, the tomb guardians awoke and attacked. They were undead minions. I suspect that once they were soldiers for they fought with skill and ferocity,

The first attack whittled down our numbers but we countered with equal ferocity. Hacking and stabbing madly, we cut the guardians down. Then another wave beset us. Ulveblod went down, then some more of our comrades.

I called for reinforcements. The second company entered the fray, but the guardians took a toll on them as well. Next, Basilius went down. Then I waded into the battle. Fortunately, my heavy armor protected me. I was able to lead a counterattack that finally wiped out the guardians.

While our healers tended to the wounded, I led the remnants of my Legion into the depths of the pyramid.

The Pharaoh

In the lowest level of the pyramid we came to the pharaoh's burial chamber with a majestic sarcophagus. When we entered the chamber, the sarcophagus opened and a figure wrapped in linen strips.

The mummy challenged us. I told it that I had come for the Rod of Demon Slaying. I scoffed when it claimed that the Rod was not there. Then it cast a fireball at me! Ank-ma-haren was more than a dead pharaoh, he was a wizard as well!

I managed to block the fireball with my shield. The Legion rushed into battle, but the mummy used spells to repel us and separate us. It started chasing after Xeno so I rushed to his aid. Ank-ma-haren threw a spell at me but I dodged. Then I charged.

The mummy backed up as it tried to prepare another spell. As I pressed the attack, it retreated right into a stone column. There was a rumble, and suddenly a rain of stone fell onto Ank-ma-haren, burying it, well not quite alive.

A Surprise

We were now free to investigate the sarcophagus. In a hidden niche, we found a golden box. It had to be the resting place of the Rod of Demon Slaying! With great anticipation, we opened the box, and found a piece of papyrus.

On the papyrus was a note that read:

"If you seek the Rod, you are too late! I have claimed it."

It was signed Sodai-san.

We pondered who Sodai-san was. I thought he was a great hero, but Basilius opined that he could be a skilled thief. In either case, his name sounds like he is from Teikoku. Looks like we are now headed to that mysterious island.

GAME NOTES
The day's quest consisted of 2 parts.

First, we had to get past the guardians. The heroes got their usual allotment of hit points but only had 1 life. The guardians were weak, with 2 hit points, but they had 3 lives to represent a horde of them.

I was a hero first, with (I believe) Brett/Ulveblod on my team. Brett fell to the guardians' blades but I managed to defeat them. Then Robb/Basilius and Raf/Xeno took their turn as heroes. Alas, they both died.

I designed the second part of the quest to pit the survivors vs. the mummy. Unfortunately, I was the only survivor so technically I should have faced the mummy alone. Because I designed the mummy to be a match for multiple people, I brought Raf back to assist me. Let's just say that he got healed.

Anyway, the battle went more or less as described, up to the end. Robb played the mummy and was doing quite well against us. Then I charged and he backed into a tree, hitting his head against the trunk. Sorry about that, Robb! Anyway, he needed to recuperate so we declared the Legion victors and came up with the falling stones story.

I made the golden box out of a Chewy box and gold wrapping paper. I wrote the note on parchment paper. I plan to have the heroes go on a bit of a tour through the lands of our world before they get to the Rod.