Scenario 4 - Destroy the Stone

Armies are marching. In the east, the forces of the Jungle Deep have swept all before them, destroying villages, burning farms, and crushing what little resistances the forces of Alladore have been able to mount. Now, the king has dispatched a new army, under the command of his cousin Lord Arklin, to form a new line of defence anchored on the Scree. His first task is to stop the advance of evil, and then counterattack, hoping to drive them back into the dark. Numerous ranger companies travel with the army, operating as scouts and messengers, finding safe routes of march, and fighting small skirmishes with advance parties of Hu-Mans.
Meanwhile, within the dark realm of the Jungle Deep, more experienced rangers have been tasked with attacking the enemy supply lines in an effort to prevent reinforcements from moving to the eastern front. The more damage that can be done, the more men the enemy will have to commit to protecting its lines of advance. It is a dangerous game of cat and mouse, and, every so often, the rangers come across something that they have never seen before.…

Scenario 4 - Destroy the Stone

You have moved as close to the stone as you dare, and can see several gnoll pickets wandering about.
It is a grim task you’ve been given. Even if your allies manage to create a distraction, it is still a long
way to the stone with numerous enemies in-between. To make matters worse, Nesra says that not only
do you need to get her to the stone and hold off the enemy while she prepares her magic, but that you
will also likely need to slay the Hu-Man shaman nearby, or his magic may prevent hers from working.
Even with the extra men you’ve got available, this is going to be a desperate fight…

 

Before the heros' eyes, a desolate waste, no doubt the effects of the Demon Stone's sickly pink glow.  The Jungle Deep, however, is inexorably drawn to it.  The enemies are indeed numerous, and the catapult, made of a magically-animated skeletal hand that throws huge rocks seemingly containing a portion of the Demon Stone, is a source of great concern to the attackers.  Nonetheless, thanks to their earlier heroism, the heroes can count on plentiful support from the Alladoran army, with two guardsmen and a man-at-arms.

The Rangers' plan is to send one team down the left flank, with The Twins, Keila and two guardsmen, rapidly joined by Tazabeth.  In the centre, Szarzeesi and Jabir were to draw the mass of the enemy upon themselves, leaving Bohwihsh, his Battle Ram, Smesh, and an Alladoran Man-at-Arms to slip through the enemy lines, kill the Shaman and get Nesra to the Demon Stone.  Fingers crossed that the diversion organised by the other Rangers would buy precious time. 

For The Twins' group, things did not go as planned.  The two hedgehoglings had great difficulty in their duel with the catapult, with one of the brothers badly hurt when a giant stone shattered the rocks he was hiding behind.  Tazabeth went down to a Hu-Man club, and the Alladorans were badly hurt in intense fighting.  Only Keila held her own.  When The Twins finally got a crossbow bolt between the eyes of the Hu-Man manning the catapult, and shot another who attempted to take it over, Keila sprinted over to the siege engine to secure it.

In the centre, Szarzeesi and Jabir were doing sterling work, but they were heavily outnumbered, despite help from Bohwihsh's swift-moving Battle Ram.  Fortunately, the distraction over the other side of the hill was working wonders, and no enemy reinforcements were forthcoming.  Whilst Smesh and the Alladoran ally engaged the two Hu-Man champions protecting the enemy shaman, Bohwihsh and Nesra made it to the Demon Stone.  The feline magician overcame the resistance from the shaman and destroyed the pink-glowing sphere with a mighty Detonation spell.

It was obvious that the other group of Rangers had made their getaway, and the thick smoke rising from behind the hill showed how successful their mission had been.  Nonetheless, enemies began to arrive, amongst them a powerful Mantis Demon.  It struck out of course for Szarzeesi, and its arrival proved too much for the heroic defenders, who fell one after another.  The snake-warrior had however taken both the Ogre and the Cultist Leader in battle.

Although the countdown for the explosion of the Demon Stone had begun, Smesh and his companion, who had cast down the champion bodyguard, decided the shaman could not be left to fight another day. The ferret's claymore took off his head with one well-aimed blow.

On the other side of the battlefield, The Twins now stood alone against Pink Horrors, a Hu-Man champion and a cultist.  Keila was pursued by the Mantis Demon.  Bohwihsh attemped to intervene, but the arrival of three Hu-Man archers, and their flurry of arrows, brought him rolling into a motionless heap.

Keila fell in turn to the Mantis Demon, and when the Demon Stone exploded, only Smesh and the last Alladoran were on their feet.  It was however, despite the possible cost, a most resounding victory for the forces of Light !

This was an epic conclusion to the Demon Stone quest, so nailbiting that we played it in one go, and finished in the wee hours of the morning.

The post-action rolls were a worrying time, as many of the fallen rangers and companions have ben with us through many adventures.  It was however obvious that the destruction of the Demon Stone had stopped the scions of the Jungle Deep from hunting down the injured, as everyone escaped !  Szarzeesi did have a 'Close Call', her magical weapon The Triple Teeth stolen, no doubt by one of her cultist aggressors.

In this adventure, characters return to full Health at the end of each scenario.

We use our house rules for XP acquisition for Rangers and PPs for Companions.

In this scenario, however, no points were awarded for slain enemies, only for taking part, for victory and for still standing at the end.  The Twins therefore won 150 XP, edging closer to Level 12, and Szarzeesi 160 XP thanks to Smesh, reaching Level 9.  The companions gained, for the most, 1 PP, and 2 PP for Smesh.

All Heroic Abilities and Spells used are regained.

No treasure was discovered.

No new equipment was picked up, and none changed hands.

The Rangers do not search for herbs.

No reorganisation occurs.