Scenario 2 - Tor Varden The Lower Level

Only hours after you arrived back from destroying the nest of spiders, you received a message from your commanding officer. There is fighting all along the old Lorenthian frontier.  Contact has been lost with the beacon tower of Tor Varden, and it is presumed to have been overrun. 

You are commanded to round up what men you can and proceed with all swiftness to Tor Varden to ascertain the truth. If the tower has fallen, learn what enemy forces now occupy it and harass or eliminate them as opportunity presents.

 

 

Scenario 2 - Tor Varden : The Lower Level

After the encounter at the bridge, you and your companions were able to slip past a couple of other Hu-Man patrols and reach Tor Varden. There were no guards posted outside, and very little indication of anyone inside. Then a muffled scream came from somewhere in the tower. It was a sign both good and ill. There is at least one man alive in Tor Varden, but you might already be too late to save him. You will need to move fast.

 

We decided to roll for the rooms at set-up instead of upon opening each door; we reasoned that as we had an escapee from Tor Varden with us from the previous scenario, she would have known what the enemy had done there.  We have also decided to play all scenarios on "Challenge" level, hope we won't regret it !

The Lower Level of Tor Varden.  Top right is the first "room", actually a courtyard, full of storage.

It leads on to the Barracks Room [armoury], where the Border Guards of Alladore used to gather round the fabled fountain of Tor Varden to eat together, and listen to stories of Alladore's glorious past.

Beyond the Barracks Room, the prison cells, which the Rangers already knew the enemy had transformed into a torture chamber.  The Alladore Border Guard who had joined them, Katniss, mentioned that a Nekhbeti Shaman had visited Tor Varden while she was imprisoned there, but luckily for the company, had moved on.

With the key to Tor Varden from the previous scenario, Bohwihsh was able to unlock a postern gate and stealthily slip into the courtyard, to take the enemy unawares.  It wasn't long before they were sprawling dead on the floor, and both Bohwihsh and Jabir had picked up some treasure.

The company sprung through the door into the Barracks Room, which proved to be a tougher affair.  Akriss' cobra went down (again !), leaving the magician exposed, and taking a wound.  In fierce fighting with the Hu-Man Champion, Pattashin was severely wounded [down to 1 wound].  Fortunately a healing spell from Akriss was able to stabilise the bleeding.  Akriss could however do nothing for Katniss, who was taken down by a lucky shot from the Hu-Man Archer at the back of the room.

Keila laid death and destruction about her, but also took a heavy hit from a Hu-Man Champion, which fortunately was deflected by the "Blocking" power on her light armour, although that fizzled out the magic protection.

Bohwihsh was zipping around as usual, and found Tor Varden's beaten Battle Ram [Dog], standing  valiant, in a corner.  He also found a note which the garrison captain had managed to hide before his untimely demise.  This warned the company that a Banshee was topside, giving them valuable time to prepare.

It was now through the last door, into the horrors of the torture chamber.  Katniss would have recognised Sekmet, her colleague, being held by the hair in the centre of the room.  The Hu-Man holding her was on the point of executing her when the Rangers burst through the door.

A brutal fight broke out to save the young lady, as well as the prisoners chained to the far wall.  Jabir piled in first, followed by the Twins, then Akriss and finally Keila.  Pattashin preferred to hang back to nurse his wounds.

They stood against two Hu-Man Champions and two Hu-Man warriors, and the swirling combat was a brutal affair.  Jabir was knocked to the floor, and Akriss lightly wounded, but the company slowly gained the upper hand.  The two remaining Hu-Mans were pushed back, where Akriss used Split Cast and Fireball to blow them to pieces.  Victory !

Everyone stopped to catch their breath, and quickly share their knowledge on Banshees.  This would be a difficult foe indeed, as no-one in the company has a magic weapon.  Nonetheless both Akriss and the Twins have useful spells.

Sekmet was too badly wounded to continue up the stairwell, so she took a sword off a fallen enemy, grabbed some provisions, and led the two freed prisoners out of Tor Varden.  No doubt this is not the last the Rangers will see of her.  She also took the Battle Ram with her, Bohwihsh promising to come see it when they all got back.  After a quick debate, the company decided not to send one of their members back with the group, although both Katniss and Jabir were possible candidates.

 

The Cobra, Jabir and Katniss had their Health reduced to 0 in this encounter.  The first two turned out to be unscathed, but Katniss had a Near Miss, the Light alone knows what saved her (perhaps a lucky rabbit's foot ha ha).  It had no actual effect, since she only had her standard equipment.

The Rangers add up their XP.  We have decided to implement a house rule : instead of Rangers getting equal XP, each Ranger gains XP for what s/he and his or her companions achieved, which is then doubled (as we have 2 Rangers).  This doubling is not applied to XP gains that, by nature, benefit both rangers.

The Twins and their companions (played by Agathe) killed off 7 Hu-mans.  The prisoners had been freed, with points for that shared, but had not been sent back guarded.  There was no sign of the Captain's Log, and Tor Varden held no shaman and his unholy creations.  So The Twins received 21 x 2 = 42 XP, plus 10 for a total of 52 XP, bringing them to exactly 300.

The Twins reach Level 3, gaining +10 BRP, which Bohwihsh will surely want to use to recruit Tor Varden's Battle Ram.  When he does, the creature will have +1 Will from surviving his trials.  They did not choose to change a spell.

Akriss and his companions (me) took out 7 Hu-Mans, and shared in the prisoners' release for a total of 21 x 2 = 42 XP, plus 10 for a total of 52 XP.  Akriss now has 238 XP.

All Companions gain 2 Progression Points, except the Cobra, Katniss and Jabir who get only 1.  We are also trying another House Rule : a Companion gets an additional PP for each 10 XP [FRD] he personally acquired for the Ranger.

In this scenario, that meant an additional PP for Bohwihsh.  Keila reached Level 1 (+1 Health).

All Heroic Abilities and Spells used are regained.

Both treasures turned out to be stashes of gold, enough for a large garrison, which goes to show that the enemy has plans for the tower. Thanks to this new found wealth, Katniss gained 1 PP, as did Pattashin, taking him up to Level 1 (+1 Health).

The company did not redistribute any other gains from the scenario or previously.

Akriss has a Spellbook, into which he inscribes his Shield of Light spell, having cast the previous Slow spell from the book.

This is the end of a scenario, so there is no reorganisation.