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.
