20 Ambyrmont - Return to the Temple

 Fully healed, Broneslav set out early for the temple, and quickly made his way through to the lower level. The headhunters had not returned. Aware of the difficulties, he was able to avoid getting swept away, and his opening the door had led to most of the water draining out of the sub-level, leaving a slimy and slippery, but much drier path. As he stood at the top of the stairs down, he girded his loins, drew his sword and stepped carefully down the steps. As he did so, the air grew noticeably warmer. At the bottom of the stairs, the heat was stifling. he stood on a terrace overlooking a massive dark cavern that smelt of sulphur and mud. The terrace itself was covered in white calcium deposits. He could feel the heat of the cavern through the soles of his boots. Apart from the light from the spell on his shield, the only illumination in this cavern was the occasional flash of ruddy light that accompanied the muddy slurping of a geyser blowing.

Temple level 3 (from X1 The Isle of Dread. (c) TSR, Inc.)

Broneslav advanced carefully down into the cavern proper, feeling like he might slip at any moment. Mud bubbled near him as he edged around the cavern and began to look for points of interest. It seemed weird to him that the temple was built on this cavern. There must have been a reason for it, but he had no clue what that reason was. Well, time to explore and see if he could find out. The young hero stalked carefully over the slippery, uneven cavern floor and around the muddy pools, seeking to see its extents. Progress was slow and involved climbing up and down rises in the natural floor level. By the time he had reached the middle of the cavern, he was hot, sweaty and covered in mud from the cavern floor and from bubbling mud that burst and splattered near him.

Suddenly, a weird creature emerged from the mud near him, Choking on noxious gases that had bubbled up from the hot mud, he was caught flat-footed. Its smooth head, large eyes and tentacled, sphinctered mouth gave him the creeps, as did the fact it seemed to walk on three fluke-like tails. The creature spoke into his mind.

"We are the Kopru, rulers of this island and the last of a great civilisation that must be restored. You are now our servant and will help us. We see from your mind what the world is like out there. It will be ours and you will use your power and influence to achieve our goal."

A strange lethargy and drowsiness clouded Broneslav's mind as he felt himself slipping under the creature's influence until a mud pot near him burst, scalding him. The pain focused his mind once more and he leapt into action.

"No, foul fiend! I shall have none of your tricks! Your civilisation is gone and shall not arise again if it must rely on controlling others!"

His sword cut a terrible gash through its rubbery flesh and the kopru howled in pain, striking out with one of its tails as it did so. Broneslav grunted in turn as he felt a rib break where the tail had smashed his side. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he smashed his sword down on the creature's head, cleaving through so that the tentacles of its mouth fell to the floor.

Another of the creatures had approached from behind in the meantime. It grabbed at him, crushing his already broken rib and threatening to break more as it sought to envelop his head with its tentacular orifice. The hard teeth on its tentacles gouged his neck, just below the helmet as he flailed and tried to skewer it but failed.

Broneslav struggled in the creature's grip, feeling another rib break under its crushing grip. He could barely breath as he cut at it and scored a minor wound. As he did that, it bit and crushed him further until he was seeing stars and the edge of his vision was growing dark.  In return, he steeled himself and struck harder, this time scoring a solid hit that spattered him with the monster's ichorous blood. It became a battle of which of them could hold out longest, each dealing damage to the other, but in the end it was Broneslav who stood over the kopru's corpse. He was battered and bruised, but still alive and not under the creature's control.

The young hero prowled the caverns to see if there were more of these creatures, but found no more. At the far north end of the cavern, he did find a limestome-encrusted skeleton on a calcified throne. The stalactites above it had dripped for an age upon the throne until it and its occupant were covered in stone. Broneslav presumed this to have been a servant of the kopru. As he examined it, he spotted a ring and a sword that seemed to have withstood the ravages of time. He helped himself to them before returning to the surface and back to the village of Mantru, where he told his tale to the amazed villagers.

"I cannot guarantee that there are no more of these creatures, but it seems they cannot leave the temple, so it is best that no one visits there. You should remember why, if you have visitors, so that you can warn them of the dangers and consequences of visiting Taboo Island," he advised them.

The villagers welcomed and feted him for what he had done. Tired and bruised but content with his work, Broneslav was able to rest peacefully that night.

That could have been interesting. Broneslav failed the saving throw versus the kopru's charm ability, so I used the Defy Death mechanic to have him pass it. He took a little damage from that but was able to then defeat the kopru, although they did significant damage to him in the process.

I was tempted to let him stay under their control instead, because it could have been interesting to try to work out how he could use his nascent merchant empire to advance their cause. However, I am not sure that is the direction I wanted this campaign to go at this point.

Now I need to decide what to do next. X1 Isle of Dread is designed as a hex crawl for a party to explore and map the island. Is that something that Broneslav would do, or is he more focused on his own plans and endeavours? Should he return to meet his ship and head off somewhere else next, or can I find a suitable hook to lead him elsewhere on the island?

A Walk in the Park (Forgotten Ruin)

 It was time for the final push. Tiger Troop had fought through the muddy and frozen wastes of The Dire Frost and their goal was in sight. If they could pacify Far Sound, then there was every chance that they could kick back a bit and enjoy some R&R.

The approach to Far Sound

As usual, Tiger Troop was on point. They were relieved that there was neither snow nor excessive amounts of mud, and that this was another ops zone where local fishermen could deliver them almost all the way to it. Honestly, any relief from the local conditions was a huge bonus.

Orcs in the undergrowth

Deploying once more, they took up firing positions and prepared for the onslaught. In the scrub growth and brush ahead, they could make out orcs moving towards them. There was a massive mob of them on Tiger Troop's left flank and a smaller mob on the right flank. The stream dividing the ops area would slow the orcs down, so Pan set A-Team up on a low rise while the L.T., who had decided to accompany Tiger Troop, took charge of B-Team and prepared to attack the smaller mob.

"Don't forget to keep an eye out for the priority targets," the L.T. reminded them unnecessarily, "I shall call them out once we identify them. Take them out as fast as you can and we shall be done here."

As Tiger Troop took aim, the larger of the two mobs of orcs rushed forward howling and waving their weapons. Gripped by blood rage, they had gone berserk and were only interested in getting to grips with the feeble human annoyances ahead of them. Several fell in the first rush. On the other flank, the orcs were using cover to best advantage.

"Orcs, sah, fahsands of 'em!"

The large mob closed rapidly but as it reached point blank range it was slowed by the stream.

"Rapid fire, A-Team!"

Pan and A-Team fired everything they had at the orcs, and the few that survived ran.

"There are your targets!"

On the other flank, the L.T. had identified the targets. She called them out to B-Team just as several more warriors joined the mob. A-Team began redeploying to support B-Team, who fired for all they were worth and mowed the mob down. With the targets slain, the L.T. ordered Tiger Troop to withdraw.

"Good job, those chaps," she declared at the debrief.

This was a scenario with very little tactical finesse. I rolled up orcs as the enemy. Each orc mob got a champion and the mobs themselves were basic warriors so they would have to close to melee range to hurt my troops. Two of the mobs started in the same place, so they became a big mob, and they were also the ones whom the dice chose to suffer war rage and charge each turn until they were no more. The other mob was harder to deal with because it was in cover until it got to point blank range. As it was, the game lasted four turns in total, but one of those was just my lot withdrawing to complete the scenario.

With Far Sound pacified, I now have a decision to make. Should Tiger Troop run up to three missions to recover powerful artefacts that will help them in the final battle, or should they just head straight into the final battle?

14-19 Ambyrmont - Interlude

 The young hero lay unconscious for several days. He groaned in his sleep and twitched a bit, but those were the only signs of life. When he did come round, he was weak and drained.

Where are the dinosaurs?

Broneslav sat up on the sleeping mat and immediately wished he had not. He felt dizzy and like a grey fog lay between him and reality. The chattering of excited children reached him, but as if from a distance.

"See! He is alive. I told you he was not dead."

"Well, he sure smells dead."

"Let us fetch Umlat."

The patter of small feet racing off. Peace for a while, and then a heavier tread alongside the two lighter sets of feet.

"So, you are awake once more, Broneslav. It was clear that you had been fighting from the wounds on your body."

Broneslav struggled to focus on the words.

"I have healed your wounds, and cured the infection that ravaged your system. You were lucky that our fishermen spotted your canoe and ferried you here or you would almost certainly be dead now."

"Uh, thank you."

"Now rest and we can talk later."

Broneslav lay back down and slept for an age watched over by the children of the tribe, who were not used to this much excitement, and by the ancient priest Umlat, whose skill had ensured Broneslav's survival. Food and rest helped his strength return over the next few days and soon he was up and moving around again. He told the tale of his adventures in the temple to Fano and Umlat once he felt strong enough. Their eyes grew round at the various trials and tribulations he had encountered, but they were grateful for his help.

"Although I drove off those headhunters, I must return to the temple to see if any have themselves returned," he announced, "I shall do so tomorrow."

Fano declared, "We are grateful for your help and sorry that you were so hurt in helping us. If there is anything you need, just ask. It is yours."

Broneslav thanked them and prepared himself for his journey back to the temple before ensuring he got a good night's sleep. He wondered what lay down those stairs he had last seen.

Some thoughts

Broneslav encountered a diseased rat and failed his save versus poison when bitten by it. Fortunately, he did not suffer instadeath, managing to roll high enough not to do so, but the disease did massively debilitate him. Being also wounded and down to just 8 hit points, it was only reasonable that he would return to the village to recover. One thing not in the rules was how quickly the rat's disease would affect him. I made it quite quick for narrative purposes. Scarlet Heroes has better guidelines than the D&D Cyclopedia on how disease progresses: I like the repeated saving throws that see the character either improve or deteriorate gradually. The D&D thing of "you just die" if you roll too low seems a bit harsh. Having diseases be progressive feels like it gives the character more agency in their own death.

Another thing that occurred in the temple was that I actually remembered the magic items and rings that he carries, and used them. I keep forgetting that he has these things. I shall try to do better!

One more level to go and that is the temple fully explored. What will Broneslav find there? And what should he do after that? It is in the nature of D&D parties to explore every hex of the adventure area and every room of the dungeon, and there is much that he could find, but is that what he would actually do as a real person? How should he arrive at the other encounter areas, or do I write those off and send him off on other adventures after this (assuming he survives)?

What a Complete Cult! (Forgotten Ruin)

 "I think we are getting there now."

Thruppence Cholmondley-Warner, the L.T. as she was most commonly known, was feeling upbeat and communicating that to the troops.

"Our next goal is to establish a bridgehead on the other side of the fjord in Helmland. Tiger Troop will take point. The rest of the platoon will follow up after. There will be a more detailed briefing later, but be ready to move at short notice."

Not technically Helmland, but close enough! View towards Jørpeland from Ullandhaug. Hjelmeland is on the other side of those hills.

Tiger Troop shipped out. As they rode in the fishing boat towards the far shore, they had ample time to view the forested lower slopes and snow-covered hill tops of Helmland. The also had ample time to wonder about what they would find there.

Selcuk: "Ok, who reckons it will be more Orcs? Anyone? What about Elves? Tell you what, we'll run a sweep. Whoever gets it right gets the pot. Anyone in?"

Pan scowled but kept quiet. She knew that this was just a way to ease the tension as they headed for yet another fight. She had an idea.

"Count me in!"

The rest of Tiger Troop looked at her, all of them with jaws dropping at this unexpected turn of events.

"I'm betting psycho cultists and wizards."

With this approval from their leader, the rest of them pitched in with their ideas and the pot was soon full. Not much longer afterwards, they landed and began their approach to the ops area. They would have to hold out long enough for the others to get across the fjord, while grabbing anything that looked interesting. Unfortunately for Tiger Troop, there were not enough boats will to make this trip, so the whole platoon would be ferried over one troop at a time. For Tiger Troop, it was some comfort that they had been allocated a shit tonne of extra ammunition by the L.T. for this purpose.

All too quickly, they reached the ops zone and deployed. There was a clear objective on a hill that they needed to reach and investigate, but otherwise it was just a case of pacifying the area until the rest of the platoon could reach them.

"Sarge, did your god tell you what was going to be here?"

"I would never cheat, Private Immaculada! Now get on with pacifying those cultists and that wizard!"

Tiger Troop was a great fan of the peace-through-superior-firepower doctrine, and they applied it with a will. The cultist numbers were cut in half during the first 30 seconds of the firefight. Of course, that involved using up all the extra ammo they had with them, but it was a price they were willing to pay. There was a dicey moment when Justice almost fell to the enemy wizard's spells, but Pan reached out with a mystic shield and deflected the eldritch energy. A single cultist made it close enough to Mary to assault her but was downed with a sword cut to the face, although the cultist's blow left Mary reeling for a second, even though her armour took the brunt of it.

In very little time at all the cultists were dead. However, where there is one cultist, there are always ten others lurking around. A group of them raced onto the battlefield carrying the stuff that Tiger Troop had been told to retrieve. The application of more firepower saw them cut down and Chidubem was able to gather up the intel, before racing back towards the rest of the troop.

While this was going on, more cultists had emerged from a rocky area near Pan and A-team. The mystical energies of this area were stronger than usual and Pan made use of them to blast the new cultists. Between her spells and the firepower of A-team, the cultists did not last long, although one healthier looking chap with a massive sword got within a couple of metres of them all before being cut down. By now, B-team had made it back and Pan ordered everyone to withdraw. They had achieved all their objectives and the rest of the platoon would pick up the load.

As Tiger Troop withdrew, an evil conjuror appeared.

"Leave her be! The rest of the platoon will sort her out."

Tiger Troop were happy to obey their leader. They withdrew to the new camp, where Pan claimed her winnings.

Conclusion

Cultists fall easily, but there are always more of them. The support I rolled for at the start came in handy or it could have been worse. It was logistical support that allows extra dice rolls for three shots. Cultists have a special ability that can result in reinforcements happening more often than against other foes. However, it is dependent upon how many survive on the table. I guess killing them dissuades the others and the support helped me do that by cutting their numbers in half on the first turn.

In other news, I remembered that Pan can cast spells and used the high magical aura of this area to good effect with several ice blasts. I also remembered that Pan has a Divine ability to prevent damage, which is the only reason that Justice was not cut down by a cultist sorcerer's Bleeding Curse spell. I'll get there with remembering all the troop's abilities before the end of this campaign, you know!

13 Ambyrmont - Swept off his feet

 Broneslav pulled the door open. It resisted strongly, but he was stronger. Suddenly the door gave. Broneslav was swept off his feet by the weight of the water flooding into the room beyond. He crashed into the opposite wall and groaned as he felt a dozen new bruises emerge. Picking himself up, he looked around. This was not a huge room by the standards of the temple, but it was very much a dead end. There were no exits other than the one he had been swept in by. A small stone altar and several stone benches occupied the room. Broneslav knew they were stone because he had made their acquaintance in passing as he entered the room. Hanging from a stone hook near the altar was a mace that Broneslav recognised to be of good quality. He grabbed it and put it in his backpack.

"No option then," he said to himself resignedly, "Crab it is."

After surveying this room once more, he turned around and trudged through the water back towards the door where he had encountered the crab. As he did so, he saw the giant crab coming towards him. The door beyond it was in splinters and the crab was scuttling sideways as fast as it could in his direction. It had a friend with it.

Broneslav's first blow skittered off the crab's shell and left him open to the crab's attacks. Fortunately, he was able to block its wildly flailing pincers with his shield. Recovering his balance, he plunged his sword into the crab's face and it collapsed to the floor. It's friend clambered over it to get at Broneslav. Angered and bleeding, Broneslav split the crab's shell with his sword and it joined its deceased partner.

"Shit, that hurts," he grumbled as he bandaged his wounds. Then he headed into the next room. There were stairs leading down into the water and he could just make out stairs leading up on the other side to a blocked passageway. There was also a set of stairs leading up to another passageway out of the room.

The water looked deep. Good job he had a potion of levitation. Chugging the vile concoction down, the brave lad floated up to the ceiling and used his purchase on that to move to the only other way out. As he did so, he noticed a massive oyster some six feet in diameter just below the surface of the water.

"Good luck to you, fella."

The oyster was no danger as far as he could tell, so he floated over it and into the passage beyond.

As the potion wore off and Broneslav splashed to the ground, he heard chittering noises. Giant rats burst from small tunnels in the side of the passage and assailed him with all their furry fury. Taken aback by their ferociousness, Broneslav fumbled his attacks and took a series of nasty nips through the gap sbetween his armour plates as he slowly got his rhythm going again. Once he had got their measure, the rats soon died.

The passageway he was in ended in yet another door. Bracing himself, Broneslav opened it. There was no sudden rush of water this time and he was able to wade into yet another room with a goodly quantity of water on the floor. A door on the opposite side of the room beckoned. As he crossed the room, he felt a tug at his ankle. Suddenly the room filled with burning oil and he was covered. Broneslav leapt backwards, but the fire did not burn. He had forgotten the magical ring he was wearing would protect him from flames.

Backing away from the smoke, so that he could breathe, he waited for the oil to burn out, before going to the other door and opening it, again bracing himself. This time, water rushed out of the room and into the passage beyond. Despite being braced, Broneslav was swept along and fetched up against a portcullis that stopped him from being carried even further away. Just as well, because even as he spluttered and coughed and fought to keep his head above the rushing water, he noticed stairs at the end of the passage going downwards. Who knew how far they would take him?

Broneslav took a fierce pounding as he tried to climb the portcullis, be he survived and once the water had leveled out, he was able to stand easily. He felt terrible but was back on his feet. Looking around, he found a lever that opened the portcullis and a door to his left that led into a passage back to the original room he had landed in. The lever also opened the original portcullis that had forced him to go the other way initially.

By now, the young warrior was feeling distinctly woozy. He decided that he should head back to the village and explore further later, after he had properly cleaned his wounds and had a bit of rest to recover. He made his way back up through the hole in the floor and out onto the temple landing place, where he got into his canoe and started to make his way back across the lake.

About halfway, suddenly everything went black.

Gone to the Dogs (Forgotten Ruin)

 "Congratulations on your successful scouting and clearing of the Rye County Dungeon."

The L.T. was clearly in a good mood. She did not normally hand out compliments that amounted to more than a simple "Attaboy!" or "Well done, that chap!" Tiger Troop that this could not be a Good Thing. They were right.

"As you did so well, I have a milk run for you. Head out through the tunnels to Dog Bay and scout the area for us. We are planning on moving through to Helmland and it will be an important staging point. I know you had casualties on the last patrol and we are short on people right now, but Corporal Simms will accompany you this time around, while Adeyemi and Bonolo recover."

The beasts of battle await the outcome of the patrol, certain in the knowledge that they will eat well regardless of how it ends (It's a white-tailed sea eagle, if you really want to know)

There was nothing for it but to gather their gear and head out. The trudge through the dungeon was dank but otherwise uneventful and they emerged blinking in the sunlight into the ruins of Dog Bay. They identified the objectives quickly and prepared to move out, only to spot weird constructs ahead of them. The magico-mechanical creatures advanced slowly towards Tiger Troop, whose response was to unload everything they had at them.

Tiger troop held their position and focused on clearing the way as Pan took charge of the scouting job. The constructs marched and slithered inexorably towards them, oblivious of the their casualties.

It was slow going, but the incessant gunfire, and the use of the squad anti-tank weapon whittled the creatures down in the end until only a few got close enough to attack in hand to hand. Leaf responded by shapeshifting and tearing several apart.

As the troop applied its usual firepower-based approach to negotiations, Pan reached the first objective and recorded the information that the L.T. needed before racing off to the other one. Tiger Troop could handle itself and even Simms seemed to be doing a decent job. With the constructs deal with, the troop prepared to withdraw as soon as Pan gave the order. However, the manticore from the tunnels had followed them up into the light. Spray spines from its tail at the troop, it charged.

Tiger Troop responded by forming up in a crescent and firing back. The manticore charged Wigbert, who stopped it in its tracks, and Leaf raced in and gutted it, before starting to eat the delicate parts of its innards. Meanwhile, Pan had scouted the rest of the area. She ordered Tiger Troop to withdraw just as more constructs approached from the Helmland side of Dog Bay. Tiger Troop willingly obeyed.

Conclusion

The constructs were tough and hard to put down. It did not help that Tiger Troop needs more time on the range. Their shooting was below average. Then having the manticore turn up was an interesting twist. The dice clearly meant for me to have to deal with it, having ducked out on it last time around. Between the hand to hand with the constructs and the appearance of the manticore, this mission cost me a chunk of story points to keep the troops intact, but it was worth it.

I also got enough points for another character to transform. It turns out that Tarquin is the troop's Scoundrel.

Cartaventura Vinland: The misadventures of Leif Erikson in Iceland

Cartaventura Vinland is a choose-your-own-path adventure with cards instead of a paragraph book. It comes in a little box about 10cm x 10cm x 3cm and is highly portable. All you need to play it is a space to lay out the cards. There are 70 cards which are stacked in order. You start with Card 1 and follow the instructions, picking cards and laying them out, or discarding them, as instructed.

At the start of the game, you are Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red. You are heading to Iceland, to the Althing to argue that your father was unjustly banished to Greenland. You worship the old gods and have the favour of one of them at the start. You will need this to survive, and even then you could die with your mission unaccomplished.

As you begin the game, you lay out the cards and pick the options you wish to pursue. You are then instructed to turn over other cards, discard some options, add new options, and so on. As you do so, you build a little tableau on the table. The artwork appeals to me, and the only thing I found that jarred was the transliteration of Icelandic terms. I am too used to the Old Norse, so that is on me.

The Saga of Leif, son of Eirik, known as Mummy's Boy

Leif went to Iceland to prove that his father was innocent of the brutal crimes he had committed. He approached the law-speaker and learned how the parliament worked. Seeing two crows, he took that as an omen and followed them north, where he encountered a wine merchant in a broken wagon. He helped the merchant and was rewarded with a bottle of wine, but the gods guided him and revealed that it was poisoned. Assassins were on his trail!

Worried that they might seek him out in the heart of the assembly, Leif camped away from the mass of people in hiding. Next day, he tried to find merchants willing to trade with him. Alas, most shunned him because of his father. A Christian merchant helped him, and introduced him to the ambassador from Olav Tryggvason, whose goal was to convert Iceland to Christianity. Leif agreed to help the ambassador. In return, the ambassador gave him a medallion depicting St Christopher.

The next day there was a vote on adopting Christianity. Leif voted in favour and soon found himself racing to his ship to escape the angry mob. He returned to Greenland, where he learnt that his mother had converted to Christianity and was building a church in Brattahlid. His father had gone to the northern settlement in a sulk. Leif's sister wanted him to support her in attempting to return her mother to the path of the old gods. Knowing that she was a psycho, Leif refused and sided with his mother. He was baptised and went on to rule the settlement in peace for the rest of his days. The End.

Conclusions

There are several endings to achieve here, and the game gives instructions for resetting it after each game. These include options where some cards get turned over to provide different options and outcomes next time you run through, a sort-of legacy mechanic, although it can be fully reset if you wish. So, next time around, I can try a different path and see how it all goes.

Being easily portable, it can be taken along when travelling, which is better than most of the games I have. I am not sure how much variety you can get out of it ones you have achieved all the endings, but I'll find out with time. My first run through only used about a quarter of the deck, meaning that there are still a lot of cards I have not seen, so I still have a fair bit of new stuff to encounter. It's a fun way to spend 45 minutes or so while waiting for the washing machine to finish. I had better hang the washing up now though.