A Problem with Pirates

The Next Quest

After examining the clues from the cemetery, we realized that we need to travel to the pyramids of Palmyra. The Imperial government assigns us a ship, a speedy war galley, for our journey. We begin our voyage south.

Trouble Brewing

Along the way we run into a storm. Through the valiant efforts of the crew, the ship is saved. However, we lose much of our supplies overboard. I, Comes Elias, order us to land at a nearby island for replenishing our stock.

While the crew works to repair the ship, I lead a landing party ashore to scavenge for supplies. We find a bounty of fruits and vegetables, in addition to fresh water. After a long day, we have bags of supplies to keep us fit for our journey.

An Unpleasant Surprise

We make camp and prepare to settle in for a restful night. But it was not to be. From the brush surrounding the clearing, a figure emerged.

"I'll be takin' them sacks," the figure stated, pointing to our bags of supplies.

I told him to be off, but he whistled and a horde of pirates emerged from the wood. With a roar, they charged us. We quickly grabbed our shields and weapons then prepared to repel the charge. The pirates crashed into our shield wall, but we held firm and began hacking away at our enemy.

Suddenly, a hail of arrows rained down on us. Ulveblod led a detachment that chased off the archers. But a few pirates snuck around our line, grabbed some sacks, and hightailed back into the woods.

We retired a short distance to protect the supplies. Our defenses held and the wave of pirates slackened.

Then the captain strode forward, two dragonnes in his hands. If you are unfamiliar, dragonnes are weapons that spew out fire and lead shot when you pull the trigger. I knew that these could break our shield wall. Our only chance was to attack.

"Charge!" I cried and rushed toward the captain. He pulled the triggers and . . . nothing. The dragonnes misfired!

"Well, that's inconvenient," the captain said as he dropped his weapons and reached for his sword. I did not give him the chance to draw. I ran at him and ran him through.

With their captain's death, the rest of the pirates fled. We lost some supplies, but we managed to save the bulk. The next day we set sail for Palmyra.

GAME NOTES

This was a spur of the moment lore battle so I wanted to do something simple. I remember running scenarios back in the day where goblins raid a village, looting supplies. I decided to use the same scenario, but with a different enemy.

I purchased some burlap sacks and stuffed them with plastic bags. These were our supplies. I placed them in the middle of a clearing and stationed the legionaries to defend them. Then the pirates started outside the clearing and could attack from any direction. They had to grab the supplies and escape with the bags. Pirates had 2-3 armor points and 2 lives. Legionaries had 1 life but had armor points based on their level and armor.

The account above is an amalgamation of the 2 times I ran the scenario. First, Raph and I were pirates. Raph managed to swipe a bag before Brett hunted him down. Then Brett and Robb were pirates. Brett grabbed another sack. Robb played the pirate captain and really did say "Well, that's inconvenient" when his Nerf pistols misfired. Overall, the pirates only stole 2 of the 6 sacks so I chalk this up as a Legion victory!

The Haunted Cemetery

Following the demon attack upon the emperor, the Chimera Legion begins a new quest - find the Rod of Demon Slaying.

The first step is to find a clue to the Rod's location in an abandoned cemetery outside the capital city.

The Journey

I, Comes Elias, lead two small companies to the cemetery. It lies in a region overrun by bandits. We have to fight our way through.

Bandits!

First company, led by Jailene and Dio, spearheads the way. The bandits attack. The clash of battle resounds from the sunken road leading to the cemetery. Alas, the bandits are too powerful and first company retreats.

We then switch tactics. I take part of a company and attack the bandits in a holding action. While we pin the enemy, Ulveblod leads a flanking force around the bandits. Reaching the cemetery, Ulveblod opens the gate. A loud, mournful moaning emanates from the cemetery. The superstitious bandits, fearful of ghosts and ghouls, flee.

The rest of my command reaches the cemetery without incident.

The Cemetery

I stay at the entrance with a force the protect our rear while a company enters the cemetery to look for clues.

Ulveblod and Dio lead First Company. They find an overgrown cemetery filled with headstones, tombs, and marble statues. As they enter, one of the statues begins to move! It blocks their path and proclaims, "Halt! None may pass!"

A statue defending the cemetery

First Company ignores this warning. As they pass, the statues attack. They have to defend themselves while scouring the cemetery for clues. They spot broken stones with runes upon them. These must be the clues! Ulveblod and Dio manage to grab one. However, the attacks of the statues prove too much, and the company retreats from the cemetery.

Still, it is an encouraging start. We have found a clue and know what to look for.

Jailene and Kleanos lead the next company into the fray. Kleanos focuses on delaying the statues while Jailene scoops up broken stones. Soon, they have them all and can retire from the cemetery.

The Clue

Here is the stone that the Legion recovered.

We were able to determine that we need to go to a tomb of a long dead king. Can you tell where his tomb is and what his name is?

This map of the world may help.

Game Notes

I forgot to take pictures so I used AI to generate a couple illustrations.

Anyway, on to the games.

The first scenario featured 2 legionaries vs. 3 bandits. The legionaries had to fight their way down a road, through the bandits, and to the cemetery entrance. Ulveblod and I succeeded as described in the first try. For my account above, I re-ordered events to make the narrative sound more dramatic.

The second scenario also featured 2 legionaries, but this time vs. 3 animated statues. The statues could walk but not run, and were positioned to defend the stones. Jailene and Kleanos gathered all 6 stones. I was one of the statues and positioned myself near the entrance. The legionaries would need to get past me to win. Kleanos spent much of the game killing me, opening a path for Jailene to escape with the stones.

We ran the scenario again to give others a chance, but they had less success. Again, I reordered events for drama.

By the way, one of my cats photobombed my first picture of the stone.