Zalminen's Beta Diary

Ok, had time to finish the write-up, here's one more for you to read.
More to come on Sunday when I'm back home again.

--

I quickly play through the gladiator arena qualifying round to get everyone to level 10
(Ha, Wozarg has been immortalized in Gary's texts )

I switch equipment again to better prepare for fighting trees (fire and lava...) and also because there have been changes to skills.
And boy, does the increased amount of items in shops in version 1.20 make it a lot easier to find something useful!

Then it's time for

The Sinister Wood



Trees and spiders.

Urambar uses his Elvish Insight (revealing enemy cards and giving Urambar a new card) while Shalar flings a Sizzling Bolt at the stout maple, setting the Combustible foe on fire.

Urambar dashes to attack one of the spiders, hitting it with a Trained Bludgeon and parrying its counterattack. Two more blows and the arachnid is nothing but a squashed heap.
The other spider runs to join the fight, its Infected Bite surprising the elf from behind.

Leafstorm retaliates with a Flame Jet followed by a Force Blast.

Shalar gets hit by the bigger maple's Entangling Roots but counters with a Hot Spot.



The scorching lava devours the gnarly tree.

Urambar continues his fight against the second spider, nearly killing the critter with two blows, the arachnid failing to Jump Back.

Shalar decides to take a risk and moves closer to the remaining maples, barely managing to keep control of her Unstable Bolt long enough to get into range. Her spell does only minimal damage to the tree, its Solid Wood stopping most of the force but Leafstorm moves to help, spraying the maple with fire.

The elf dances back before the enemies have a chance to strike back. Good thing the trees didn't draw any ranged attacks - and the spider didn't draw any attacks at all!

The spider succumbs to the flames eating at its body, leaving only the trees to be taken care of.

The wizards begin unleashing their magic on the smoldering maple, zapping it with an Unstable Bolt and a Deadly Spark.



One more Deadly Spark and the tree is already staggering enough that the heroes turn their attention on the other one (the weaker tree will fall to burning)

As Shalar moves to set the stronger maple on fire with Burning Fingers, Urambar runs to the other side of the hedge, ready to assault the tree.

With the weaker tree burning down, Shalar and Leafstorm keep hounding the last maple.
Surging Bolt, hitting only bark. Penetrating Zap.

"I'm not letting you have all the fun," Urambar yells, dashing to assault the maple.



Despite getting hit by the tree's Bludgeon, the elf fighter counters with Wimpy Bludgeons of his own, weakening the foe a little.

The tree roars as the stony spikes rip through its roots and the flames eat at its bark, but even it cannot stand Shalar's Deadly Spark, followed by a Sorcerous Blast.

The maple falls, turning the clearing again calm and quiet.

Loot: Felt Boots, Cauldron Orb.

 

Fight two



Leafstorm gives a little yelp, dashing away from the tall beech that suddenly awakes next to them.

Urambar's Parry stops the tree's Long Thin Branch and the fighter draws his clubs, grinning at the tree next to him.

"I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok,
I Bludgeon all night and I Chop all day..."

The smaller beeches move to help as they hear the thuds caused by Urambar's blows and Leafstorm's blasts.
Both elves get hit by Long Thin Branches and the stout beech manages to halt Shalar, saving the tall beech for a moment.

The dwarf turns and instead uses her Deadly Sparks on the tree harassing her.



Urambar continues his assault, singing in a loud voice:
"I cut down trees, I dash and run,
I like to crush wildflowers,
I put on elvish clothing,
and ..."
"..and if you don't cut that out, your elvish clothing will end up stuffed with wasps," Shalar groans.
"..hang around with dwarves..."
And make a wild guess which song caused that one...

The elf fighter's Trained Bludgeon fells the mighty beech, and he finally returns to humming instead.

The beech duo coming in from the west reaches Leafstorm but the sorceress steps behind cover, hitting the other tree with a Surging Bolt. The tree retaliates with a Long Thin Branch. I really don't want to give the trees a chance to use the heavier attacks on either spellcaster - although Shalar has the same health as Urambar.

Shalar hears the trees approach and sprays both trees with her Burning Fingers as they march even closer. Damn, they still had moves left.



Leafstorm quickly retreats as Shalar gets hit by a Clubbing Branch. Good thing I retreated with Leafstorm, that blow would have been the end of her.

Shalar runs past Urambar, wanting to get farther away from the hard hitting trees as Leafstorm zaps the weaker one with a Sorcerous Bolt.

Damn, the stout maple still isn't using that one Walk card. Until the tree moves, there's no safe place for Leafstorm to retreat to.

As the stout maple tree finally moves towards the east, Leafstorm dashes after her allies. The tree turns around, moving after the elf but is unable to catch her.



Shalar and Leafstorm both retreat from the approaching beech, Urambar dancing back as well. Better let the burning take out the weaker beech out before attacking.

One of the beeches finally burns down as the other reaches Urambar. Using his Elvish Insight twice on the foes, he gets hit by a Clubbing Branch. The elf just grins and starts pounding at the tree.
Trained Bludgeon. Able Bludgeon. Bludgeon. Reaching Swing.
As each blow gets slowed down by the tree's Solid Wood, the fighter is forced to retreat.

Elvish Insight revealed that the stout maple has no ranged attacks in hand so I'm free to attack from range.

Both sorceresses target the other beech. Leafstorm's Sorcerous Bolt from afar. Arcane Curse from a little closer.



As Shalar joins the fight with a Deadly Spark, the leafy foe finally halts, the light leaving its glowing eyes.
The dwarf smiles, using a Surging Bolt on the remaining tree, then retreating out of range again.

On the next turn no-one draws any good attacks, so it's better to retreat for a moment.

Urambar orders a Team Shift, everyone slipping behind cover, leaving the raging tree alone for the moment.

And the next turn I draw what I need to win.

The beech tree attempts to follow Urambar, but gets surprised by the elf already preparing to swing.



With an All Out Attack, the fighter's Trained Bludgeon smashes through the wood protecting the beech's eyes, ending its fight with one violent blow.



Loot: treasure and Glimmering Sword (Urambar takes, switching bucklers and boots to free the necessary talents).

 

Fight three



Again everyone's starting at melee range. And with enemies in all directions, retreating is hard as well.

Leafstorm quickly steps away from the awakened beech who whacks Urambar with a Long Thin Branch. Shalar steps back as well, using a Surging Bolt against the tree.

The spiders charge in, Urambar whacking the one coming after him with a Strong Bludgeon, followed by a Trained Bludgeon and an Able Bludgeon that turn the arachnid into mush.

On the northeast side, Leafstorm gets zapped by one of the sparklers and bitten by a spider coming from the east. She retaliates with a Long Spark against the Vulnerable eight-legged critter while Shalar gets hit by a Long Thin Branch.

I'm still waiting for the tree to move so I can use Hot Spots against it.

Shalar retreats, the third spider moving in to use its Vicious Bite on the dwarf.

Urambar dashes out of the clearing, preparing to run after one of the sparklers.

The mighty beech finally starts moving but as it marches towards Leafstorm, the ground underneath it suddenly fills with lava.



With the easily Combustible beech turning into a huge torch, the other enemies continue harassing the heroes.

Leafstorm gets hit with a Deadly Spark, her Mail taking some of the blow and she quickly dashes towards the sparkler, in order to get away from the spider behind her. The sparklers panic, blinking to the middle clearing.

Shalar also backs away from the nearest arachnid, turning to zap it with a Deadly Spark as the sparklers use another one against Urambar.

The spiders move to pursue their prey, the northern one getting to taste Leafstorm's Sorcerous Bolt but its Lunging Bite allows it to catch the elf. She quickly retaliates with a Flame Jet against the Vulnerable foe as Urambar runs to help her out, hitting the arachnid with a Lunging Strike that pierces the spider's body, leaving it a lifeless husk.

On the other side Shalar suffers an Infected Bite, leaving the dwarf too weak to shrug off the spider's poison. The arachnid immediately heads off towards new prey.



Not looking too good. I did manage to survive the hard starting position but there's still three foes left and my luck with draws goes south again.

Using his Elvish Insight on the enemies, Urambar quickly retreats from the approaching spider, then pauses to use his insight again.

The spider hits the elf with a Lunging Bite but the fighter quickly hits the spider with a Wimpy Trained Bludgeon, dashing to safety as the sparklers move to view.
As the arachnid tries to pursue, it runs straight into Leafstorm's Fire Spray, the elf also dancing away from the spider's fangs.



The spider's chase finally ends to Leafstorm's Surging Bolt.
The sparklers again teleport into view, zapping Leafstorm with a Devastating Spark that luckily hits the elf's protective armor layers and does only minimal damage to the woman inside.

As Urambar catches the first sparkler, his Mighty Hack obliterates the first glowing foe. The other sparkler targets Urambar instead, again doing only partial damage thanks to the fighter's Mail.

Both elves slip to safety again. Urambar's remaining Wild Run will discard his Trained Bludgeon anyway and Leafstorm only has a Penetrating Zap.

Next turn Gary just passes. I have enough attacks to kill the last sparkler but if I move to attack, it will just teleport away and attack so I pass as well.

Next turn - and the same situation.

"The damn sparkler doesn't seem to want to attack either," Leafstorm comments as the elves with for a good opportunity.

Next turn...



Gary keeps saving those Teleport Self cards on the discard phase. I wonder if the enemy might actually have no attack cards in hand? Time to make a gamble...

Leafstorm dashes out of her hiding place towards the sparkler who immediately teleports, appearing behind the elf. She spins around, hitting the elusive foe with a Flame Jet. The enemy again teleports, this time further back.
Leafstorm hits the foe again, this time with a Boiling Armor spell, hoping to drive the foe off once again but the enemy doesn't fall for it.

Urambar dashes out after the sparkler as well, forcing it to teleport once more. And most importantly teleport to a position where it can't directly attack either elf next turn.

The sparkler gives an eerie wail as the flames eat at its vaporous body, strengthened by Leafstorm's Firestarter skills.



Resistant Hide. Not that it matters much, I just need to wait for burning to finish the fight.

The sparkler's blinks away twice more but finally evaporates, its wispy body burning away.

Adventure Complete!



Loot: 2x treasure, Swamp Orb and The Soulstone (treasure hunt reward)

 

I play through Goblins in the Woods to get everyone to level 11 and switch my equipment to better prepare for terrain effects.

Then its time for

Descent to the Core



Traits galore. Shalar draws Hover, Spark Inductor and Dimensional Traveller.

The geomancers turn to look at the intruders.
"Spread out," Shalar commands, heading towards the pair of enemies to the north. She hits the geomancer with a Deadly Spark, Leafstorm joining in with a Surging Bolt.

As the northern wisp zaps Shalar with a Powerful Spark, Urambar dashes towards the western geomancer.
"Here comes death!"

The geomancer with the strangest mask causes a Cave In on top of the sorceresses as the elf fighter starts flailing at his opponent. He has time to hit only once before the practiced geomancer teleports the elf away from his underling.

Leafstorm can get close enought to fling Urambar right back with Telekinesis but I don't want to do that until the apprentice geomancers have used their attacks. Otherwise Leafstorm might get trapped in lava.

The other wisp zaps Urambar with a Devastating Spark as the other glowing creature gets pulled closer by the other geomancer. The geomancers seem to often use Telekinesis for rather useless purposes.

The wisps blink to the other side of the little pools and the geomancers move to follow them.
Seeing this as an opportunity to move, Leafstorm dashes behind the rocky terrain, moving next to Urambar. Her telekinetic powers shove the fighter forward, the muscular elf turning midslide and whacking his robed foe with another Trained Bludgeon, followed by a Bludgeon that knocks the geomancer out of the fight.

The strangely dressed geomancer creates a big lava pool under and behind Urambar. I wonder why the AI prefers creating the pools mostly behind the targetted foe, instead of around or mostly in front...



Shalar marches on, hitting the retreating geomancer in the back with a Deadly Spark, followed by a Bungled Bolt that proves too much for the robed foe.

One of the ethereal wisps zaps Urambar with a Deadly Spark. Just as the elf is ready to dash forward, the last geomancer hits the fighter with a Paralyzing Bolt that the elf fails to block, the hit sliding the fighter back in the middle of the lava. Ah, that answers the strange lava pool positioning. Tricky.

Leafstorm runs forward, failing to uphold her Unstable Bolt and as the spell backfires, she stops, zapping the masked foe with a Sorcerous Bolt.

The wisps retreat next to their ally.



Shalar blasts the last geomancer again with a Deadly Spark, Leafstorm joining in the fight with a Surging Bolt of her own.
The masked human retaliates with a Devastating Spark that the elf fails to Block. Undeterred, the woman dashes ahead, getting close enough to hit the geomancer with a Little Zap.

As the robed enemy decides to try slipping past Leafstorm, it also makes the mistake of coming too close to Urambar who is more than happy to take revenge on his badly burned legs. His mask cracked by a Wimpy Able Bludgeon the geomancer collapses, falling face first in the pool next to him.

Just as the fighter is turning to dash towards the next opponent another Deadly Spark hits him in the chest, the fighter collapsing in a heap.



Two versus two.

Shalar hits the nearest wisp with an Arcane Curse, the enemy managing to reverse the spell with Reflect Missile. The second wisp zaps Leafstorm with a Powerful Spark - and the elf again fails to Block, the force of the spell knocking her against the stone wall, leaving her unconscious as well.

"Looks like its time for the dwarf to save the day again..."

Shalar zaps one of the glowing foes with an Unstable Bolt but the foe manages to block the missile.

And next turn I draw just a Little Zap plus move cards.

Shalar zaps the nearest foe with a Boiling Armor spell, the wisp using its Missile Block against the harmless attack. Chasing the glowing creature down, she hits it with a Little Zap but the foe retaliates with a Devastating Spark.

Hopefully I'll draw Resistant Hide soon or else I'm going to run out of health before the wisps...

Another Spark hits the dwarf, but this just makes the sorceress angry.



Weakening the other foe with her Sorcerous Blast, the dwarf gets hit by a Deadly Spark but traps one her opponents in a Wall Of Fire, quickly retreating behind the pillar.

The heat of the molten rock quickly evaporates the ethereal creature, leaving Shalar to play hide and seek with the other one.


Do I feel lucky? I could try hitting the enemy with the Surging Bolt and hope that any counterattack would get successfully Ducked, but as most of the electrical spells are hard to block I don't really trust my odds there...
So I just pass, waiting for a better opportunity.

And the opportunity comes the very next turn as Shalar finally draws Resistant Hide.

Stepping from behind the pillar, the dwarf hits the wisp with a Surging Bolt. To her surprise, the foe somehow manages to reflect the spell, the bolt hitting the dwarf instead. Her Resistant Hide stops most of the damage but leaves the dwarf swearing like a - well, dwarf.

The wisp teleports behind Shalar who promptly turns to face the elusive foe again. Too bad its one square too far from the lava, otherwise I could have moved it there with Telekinesis.

The wisp blinks behind Shalar again, trying in vain to hurt the dwarf with a Devastating Spark. The sorceress grins - and the ethereal foe finds itself sinking in a Hot Spot.

As the last foe burns to death, Shalar returns to wake allies, chuckling already as she notes there's a big pool of water right next to the unconscious elves...

Loot: just treasure.

 

Fight two


Nasty level design. If I run along the edge to attack the geomancers, the trogs can hit over the moat with their superior range. If I go after the trogs, the geomancers can use their spells freely.

As the geomancers start barking commands, Leafstorm is the first to act, using her Improved Telekinesis to push the nearest trog backwards and flinging Urambar towards the corner, the fighter eager to use his clubs against the robed foes.
The geomancer on the other side slides the trog right back, Leafstorm zapping the annoying human with a Surging Bolt.

The other geomancer hits both women with a Cave In and the one with the strangest mask targets Urambar, surrounding him with a zone of acid.
Shalar moves to aid the fighter, pushing him forwards to the edge of the acid pool with her mind.

Gary passes and the practiced geomancer still has two unrevealed cards left and the trogs have yet to use their own moves. Hmm, maybe I can lure Gary to do something...

Leafstorm heads towards the southwest corner, the practiced geomancer heading the opposite way. The heroes wait - and the trogs head to the edges of the middle area, apparently planning to hinder any attempt to move along the edges.


Shalar creates a Hot Spot under the first trog on the northeast side as the closest one on the other side stabs Leafstorm.

As Urambar can't quite reach the nearest geomancer and the trogs would just hit him twice, I decide to just pass and take the 3 damage from acid. Next turn there'll be one less trog to worry about and possibly better cards.

One trog falls, the molten stone engulfing the hairy beast.

On the other side Leafstorm zaps the nearest trog, failing to do much damage past its multiple layers of Tough Hide.
The nearest geomancer surrounds the elf with a pool of lava, the sorceress just rolling her eyes at the useless attempt as she just Hovers out of reach. She's still close enough for the trog in the corner to Stab her again though.

Shalar retaliates against the western geomancer, hitting the human with a Surging Bolt.

I take a risk and pass again as I can't really move until after the enemies...

As the heroes pause to consider their options, the remaining trogs push closer, one of them getting zapped ineffectually by Shalar's Arcane Curse (mostly to get rid of the card). The hairy beast counters with a Predictable Stab but this finally gives Leafstorm the opening she was waiting for and she dashes towards the nearest geomancer.

The one on the other edge hits Urambar with a Devastating Spark and the elf roars, charging along the edge, prompting the masked one to retreat.

Leafstorm stops, turning around long enough to create a pool of lava under the nearest trog. The novice geomancers hadn't moved yet and the practiced geomancer had too many cards left for me to dare using lava against him. The trog hops away from the melting stone, forcing Shalar to back away as well as the hairy beasts move closer to her. Damn.

As the novice geomancers back away from the approaching elves, Urambar easily catches up with the one on his side, taking it out with three sharp blows.

The trogs again split up, two of them heading to harass Leafstorm and one moving towards Urambar.



The elf sorceress quickly dashes out of the range of the trog spears, managing to hold on to her Unstable Bolt just long enough to launch it at the closest geomancer.

On the other flank Urambar's progress gets severely hampered by another Cave In.

The robed foe zapped by Leafstorm tries to get away from the dangerous elf, but a Sorcerous Bolt ends its retreat short.
The last geomancer curses at his ineffective allies and causes another Cave In, this time aimed at Leafstorm.


Rocks, rocks and more rocks.

And interestingly the trogs discard both Tough Hides. Did they draw more?

Shalar's Sorcerous Blast hits the weakest trog in the back, its eyes going blank as it crashes down to the floor. Nope, they didn't.
The other trogs notice the danger and immediately head towards the dwarf, leaving the elves free to tighten the noose around the last geomancers. Leafstorm easily hovers past the difficult terrain, hitting the masked foe with a Little Zap.

On the other side the trogs reach Shalar, the dwarf bringing down one of them with two zaps, taking a Predictable Stab in her shoulder in response.

Shalar gets Stabbed once again but the geomancer is starting to look quite worried already.



Using their Elvish Insights against the remaining foes and getting the geomancer to waste its only Walk, Leafstorm traps the robed human in a Hot Spot.

Chasing the trog backwars, Shalar uses another Hot Spot against the hairy foe. Although it manages to escape this first attack, the dwarf's Wall Of Fire does the job, burning the scuttler down. As this brings Shalar a bit too close, the last geomancer gets to cast another Acid Pool under the dwarf.

Alone against the three heroes, the masked human tries the desperate move of triggering a Cave In on top of itself.
Although Urambar manages to wound himself with his weapons as he climbs over the boulders (Ouch! drawback card), he also finally reaches the last enemy, his lunge slaying the geomancer.


Loot: Infused Cloth Armor, Apprentice Footwork

 

Fight three

"Halt! Cease your ritual at once," Urambar yells as the heroes barge in the chamber. "We've come to stop your - "
"- crimes against fashion," Shalar notes, rolling her eyes at yet another room full of robed foes lead by a man in a mask.
Urambar stops, glaring at the dwarf for the interruption.
"What? Come on, let's just whack them and take their stuff."


Not much in the way of attacks, though.

The geomancers spring into action, the first lava pool appearing under Leafstorm's feet, the elf quickly running to safety. Another one zaps the sorceress with a Devastating Spark, her Weak Armor absorbing some of the electrical force.

As the geomancers move to better positions, the heroes do the same, Leafstorm slipping away from Stone Spikes targetted at her feet and Shalar flinging Urambar away from a Hot Spot targetting him.

Shalar's Bungled Bolt hits the leader of the geomancer group. The foe retaliates by teleporting Urambar back in the lava but the nimble elf quickly dashes out, running after Leafstorm.


Leafstorm draws a series of traits, getting Spark Inductor after Hover and Dimensional Traveller after that.

Leafstorm zaps the closest geomancer with a Little Zap, followed by a Surging Bolt as the others try to target the elves with a big lava pool, then doing the same to Shalar.

Urambar orders a Team Shift, each hero moving to better positions as the robed enemies scramble to get away from the intruders.

Another pit of Stone Spikes appears under Shalar, the dwarf quickly marching out of the danger zone. Another spell, this time at Urambar but with similar results, the elf dashing to pin the enemy leader against the wall.

Shalar could hit one of the foes with Fire Spray but I really want to have three cards in hand so I can discard Unfortunate Surge. I'll just save Fire Spray for later.

The southern geomancer tries to shove Leafstorm into the lava but the Hovering elf just laughs at the futile attempt.


I can't fit the whole fight in a single screenshot so I'm showing the more interesting portion here.

Urambar's Trained Bludgeon hits the masked enemy and although the foe counters with a Cave In, this does nothing to prevent the elves attack. A Sorcerous Bolt hits the human in the back, a Lunging Strike pierces the foe's side and leave the masked enemy heavily wounded.

Leafstorm has a Hot Spot but right now all the enemies have Hover active so I can't use it yet.

Shalar backs away from the acid pool the geomancers create under her and sprays fire at the nearest of the foes.


Urambar draws no attacks unlike the women. Too bad Leafstorm got Squeamish so she can't finish the practiced geomancer either.

Leafstorm spins around, flinging a Sorcerous Bolt at the robed foe behind her, continuing the barrage with a Little Zap.

One of the others tries to aid their leader by hitting Urambar with a Devastating Spark but the spell fails to any damage thanks to the fighter's layers of mail.

Shalar continues her fight with the eastern geomancer, hitting the retreating foe with a Deadly Spark.

The geomancers move around, unsure what to do and Leafstorm notices one of them standing on the ground. She raises her hand and the foe finds itself trapped in lava.

"Stop playing around with that creep and knock him out already," Shalar yells.
"...Oh phooey."
Whacking the practiced geomancer down with a single Bludgeon, the elf turns to look for the next opponent - and gets hit with a Paralyzing Bolt.

Leafstorm uses her Elvish Insight to consider the situation just as yet another lava pool appears around Shalar. The dwarf runs towards the robed foes, making the enemies again scramble towards safety.
Noting the enemies' unwillingness to get close, Leafstorm starts running towards the bigger group of geomancers as well, allowing Shalar to trap another one of them in lava just as another Paralyzing Bolt flies through the air, this time hitting Leafstorm.



After the lava damage there's five foes left, four of them having 4hp or less.

Shalar moves to pin one of the novice geomancers against the moat, blasting it down with a Big Zap just as another Cave In hits both of the elves.

As Urambar is already at the very edge of the rocky terrain, he surprises the attacker with a quick dash. Another one of the robed humans tries to hit him with yet another Cave In but the spell fails to either wound him, stop him or prevent him from Bludgeoning the closer geomancer down

On the other flank Leafstorm also dashes out of the rocky terrain. The human spellcaster targets her with a Devastating Spark but although she fails to Block the spell, her counter with a Big Zap is enough to kill yet another robed foe. Unfortunately this also allows the last novice geomancer to trap her in a pit of Stone Spikes.

Shalar runs away from the pool of lava forming under her and uses her Wall Of Fire against the last of the apprentice geomancers, burning the human along with his brown robes.

Leafstorm falls, the wounds from the spikes proving too much for her while Urambar again fumbles with his weapons, giving him the first wounds in the whole fight.
None of the attacks so far had caused any damage thanks to his armors until the Ouch! card

The last geomancer tries to use another Hot Spot against Shalar.



Pounding the robed enemy with her spells, she pursues the human as the geomancer retreats away from the dangerous dwarf while Urambar runs to cut the enemy off.

The enemy has barely enough time to zap Urambar with one last Devastating Spark before falling to Shalar's Sorcerous Blast.

Adventure Complete!

Kinda interesting to fight against enemies using so many terrain effects. It gave me a taste of my own medicine, given how much I've been relying on Hot Spot & Wall Of Fire.
The AI isn't currently that great when it comes to using terrain effects properly though so the adventure wasn't that hard. And the AI doesn't even try to use some of the cards at all, althought that bug will probably get fixed soon.



Loot: Seething Armor, treasure, Inspirational Mail and a Robe Of The Geomancers (which has been changed quite a bit from what it was in the previous versions. Or actually it's been renamed, as the old one still exists but with a different name)

Next: Temple of Scales

 

I played through Tomb of Tvericus to get everyone to level 12 and again chose new equipment to take advantage of the additional talent.
And I found a nice new weapon in the shops: Infused Greatclub

Here's what my party looks like now:

Urambar
Level 12 Elf Warrior

Infused Greatclub​

Glimmering Sword​

Hefty Stout Club​

Solid Mail​

Weak Wooden Shield​

Viking Helm​

Brown Mail Boots​

Insight​

Novice Chopping​

​

Shalar the Blue
Level 12 Dwarf Wizard

Staff Of Peril​

Arcanist's Staff​

Smoking Bangle​

Blister Stone​

Blister Stone​

Roiling Pendant​

Crackling Cloak​

Polished Leather Boots​

Novice Ferocity​

Electroporter Novice​

​

Leafstorm
Level 12 Elf Wizard

Unstable Staff​

Short Blasting Staff​

Stone Of Shards​

Smoking Bangle​

Hot Rod​

Hot Rod​

Crackling Cloak​

Polished Leather Boots​

Insight​

Electroporter Novice​

​

Then it's time for

Temple of Scales

"So... Here we are again in the middle of a damn jungle. And searching for a bloody pair of boots," Shalar asks, her voice slighthly incredulous.
"Yup. And to stop some evil lizard priest. But the boots are more important," Urambar replies, looking dead serious.
"Looks like the lizards don't want to give up on their precious footwear so easily though..."



As the lizardman warriors move closer, Shalar zaps the nearest one with an Arcane Curse, backing away before the foes manage to hit her.

The darters move to engage Urambar and the fighter slips closer, slaying one of the reptilians with an Obliterating Bludgeon (17 damage, woo) and hitting another before dashing back, taking two nasty spear wounds in the process.

The lizards move closer, pushing past the elf fighter in order to reach the more fragile spellcasters. Well, Shalar actually has just as much health as Urambar and a Mail in hand and she doesn't even need to get into melee range to do damage so if anyone's fragile, it's the elves....

Leafstorm backs away from the approaching foes, zapping the weakest darter with a Surging Bolt while one of the lizard warriors hits Shalar with a Predictable Stab. The dwarf Charges towards east, Leafstorm following her example. She quickly turns to cast a Hot Spot under one of the reptiles.



Urambar's Bludgeon takes out the reptile blocking the group's escape but a Poisoned Spear Stab hits his side. The fighter counters with a Lunging Strike that kills another lizard, then quickly dashing to safety as the remaining foes move closer.

The darters pursue, hitting Shalar with a Lunging Strike and Urambar with a Strong Stab but several of the reptiles find their chase hindered by lava appearing under their feet, Shalar flinging a Sizzling Bolt at the one closest to the elves for added effect.

The targetted lizard stumbles, the lava burning it alive and severely harming the pair caught in Shalar's earlier Wall Of Fire.

The last darter moves to spear range - and Urambar again gets careless with his weapons:


Ouch!

As Urambar falls, Shalar Charges along the edge away from the darter. The other lizards move to chase her, the dwarf's Deadly Spark easily killing one of them, causing the foes to look at each other. Gary does another one of his random passes which suits me just fine as I get to pass as well and draw more attacks.

Shalar gets hit by a Strong Stab but runs away, easily outdistancing the warriors after her. On the other flank Leafstorm does the same and the lizards suddenly find themselves in a barrage of magic.
Spark. Devastating Spark. Wall Of Fire, followed by another one.
The darter manages to evade the lava, hitting Leafstorm with a Tricky Stab and one of the warriors manages to hit Shalar with a Predictable Stab but the molten rock still claims the weakest warrior and severely harms the other one.

The darter lunges at Leafstorm, the elf deftly parrying the blow with her staff.



Leafstorm's Surging Bolt causes the burning reptilian to fall in the lava.

The last reptilian suddenly realizes all of its allies are gone. Before it has a chance to decide whether to retreat and fetch reinforcements, it suddenly feels a scorching heat burning its legs. It looks down, horror slowly creeping into its reptilian brain as its feet begin to sink in the molten rock, unable to move no more.

Loot: Possessed Chainmail, Tan Boots.

 

Fight two

Hmm, managed to apparently get the whole game stuck by pressing F11 just after Gary's texts, when the game was loading the actual battle map.
So there went my first attempt.

Attempt two



Urambar uses his Elvish Insight against the foes, considering his options. Hmm, the darters have three Runs...
The elf fighter dashes north.
The netter that had tried to hide there barely has time to flinch as the fighter's Obliterating Bludgeon cracks its skull. The other one has better luck, hitting Shalar with its net.

The darters advance, moving to threaten the heroes.
I know the enemies still have two Runs but this also means they have only two attacks as well (Strong Stab, Lunging Strike). So although evading their attacks completely is not possible, just taking the hits is not that bad either and I can then use Shalar's spells once the enemies have wasted their moves.

Leafstorm zaps the closest darter with an Unstable Bolt as the reptile priest casts an Unholy Curse on Shalar. Ouch. The elf sorceress continues, hitting the same foe, this time with a Big Zap.

One of the darters decides to attack Urambar with a Lunging Strike but this just brings it into range of the elf's weapons, the foe nearly falling after two successive blows connect.

The other pair turns to attack Shalar, hitting the cursed dwarf with a Strong Stab.

I use up my own moves, trying to get the darters to waste their last move. No luck.

Shalar turns, trapping the netter still cowering in the corner with a puddle of lava. As this causes the darters behind her to slither to better positions, she spins around again, this time using a Wall Of Fire against the reptilian foes.

Horrible screeches fill the temple entrance as three lizards howl in pain from the scorching lava.

The netter is the first to make it out of the molten stone.



Shalar slays the weakest of the darters with a Bungled Bolt, getting hit by an Entangling Net from the foe behind her.

Leafstorm uses a Big Stab against another darter, then hitting the third one with a Sorcerous Bolt as the previous one hits Shalar with a Tricky Stab. The other one moves, hitting Shalar with a Strong Stab, her armors barely keeping her still in the fight. I couldn't retreat with her thanks to the encumbrance caused by the net. Not that it matters much; there are now four foes left, three of them with minimal health.

Shalar's Powerful Spark takes out another darter and she manages to block another net flying her way. After that, she retreats.

As the priest casts another Unholy Curse on Leafstorm, Urambar uses his Elvish Insight, trying to decide which of the remaining foes to attack.
Everyone still has moves left so I click pass.
The darter again moves closer to Shalar, the dwarf promptly slipping behind the nearest tree trunk. The darter pursues and Urambar finally sees his opportunity to move.

The elf fighter dashes after the lizard and is relieved to see the reptilian foe give up on Shalar and lunge towards the elf instead. His Chop opens a deep gash in the lizard's chest, the foe falling in throes of death.

Leafstorm turns her attention on the lizardman cleric, running towards the foe and as it retreats, casting a Hot Spot under the enemy as Urambar also runs closer, making sure to stay out of spear range for now.

The foes burn and as Urambar manages to Block the cleric's attempt to put an Unholy Curse at him, he prepares for their final assault.



Unstable Bolt - and the cleric falls. The netter looks at its fallen pack, then at the heroes - and promptly flees the area.
Looks like I didn't even have to kill the last foe as killing the cleric gave the 2 VPs I still needed.

Loot: Hot Amulet, Beech Roots.

To be continued...

 

Fight three

Shalar looks around as they walk through yet another similar looking passage.
"Are you sure this is the right way? If you've again lost the map, I swear I'll glue the next one on your - "
"What's green, has four heads and a nasty breath?"
Shalar turns towards Leafstorm with an annoyed frown on her face.
"Is this really a good time to play guessing games? Well, what is it?"
"Well, whatever it is, I think it's hungry..."


Woo, a hydra!
...and based on the cards I got, if it's not fire resistant in some way, it's not going to last very long...

Shalar backs away from the huge foe, waiting to see what it plans to do before using her magic. The hydra takes a step forward, Slowed by its massive bulk.

The darters run forward, Leafstorm hitting one of them with a Sorcerous Bolt, Urambar running to engage the other one as the reptiles approach. Taking a Strong Stab from the lizardman, the elf fighter's Obliterating Bludgeon crushes the foe's head.

Another Sorcerous Bolt hits the second darter as Shalar raises her hands.

"Anyone ready for some grilled hydra?"

Two Hot Spots and a Wall Of Fire later, the foes find themselves in a fiery situation.



The huge beast's heads dart about, each screaming in pain in a different voice as the molten rock slowly engulfs the hydra's massive bulk.
The darter next to it fares no better, also dying to the scorching lava.

Well, that was rather quick

Loot: Ring Of Burning Smoke, Battered Spiked Mail

 

Fight four

"Oy! We're here for your boots," Shalar yells as they burst into the ritual chamber.
"And to stop whatever evil stuff you were planning," Urambar adds, grumbling at the dwarf under his breath for spoiling their nice dramatic entrance.


Five darters and the priest in front plus a green jelly behind.

Urambar notices the green jelly behind them and dashes towards it. Using his Elvish Insight, he quickly lunges after the Vulnerable ooze as it tries to slither past the elf.

The darters move closer as Urambar's Stunning Blow hits the green foe, leaving the foe defenseless against Urambar's blows and Leafstorm's magic.

Before they have time to finish the jelly, the darters reach the fight, forcing Leafstorm to retreat.

Urambar gets hit by a Strong Stab but Shalar's Surging Bolt finally blasts the green jelly to mush, leaving the heroes free to deal with the darters.
The dwarf quickly turns to hit one of the foes with a Deadly Spark, then follows up with a Wall Of Fire, trapping the lizard and its closest ally in lava.

Leafstorm also uses her Elvish Insight (twice), coming to the same conclusion and using a Hot Spot against the third nearby darter.

The foes quickly converge upon the spellcasters, most of them taking heavy damage from the scorching lava.



Unstable Bolt - and the first darter falls.
Another one lunges at Leafstorm but the elf steps back, zapping another enemy with a Surging Bolt.

Shalar retreats towards the east, getting hit by a Tricky Stab. Leafstorm follows suit.
The reptilians try to go for Urambar instead but the elf easily leaves the slower foes behind.

With enough distance between them and the lizardmen, Shalar turns around and uses another Deadly Spark, aimed at the strongest of the darters.
The lizardman cleric moves to cut off the heroes escape route but as the darters quickly find out, their prey is not planning to run away for very long. Another Wall Of Fire engulfs three of the four darters.
I save Shalar's Wall Of Fire, currently I could only hit one foe with it anyway.



Two of the pursuing darters stumble in the scorching lava, never to rise again. The others move to spear range, both sorceresses backing away before the foes have a chance to hit. Gary passed instead of hitting Leafstorm.

As the cleric begins to curse Leafstorm with various spells, Urambar again uses his Elvish Insight to decide what to do. Satisfied, he turns around - and dashes back towards the darters. Hitting the stronger one, he gets cursed with Bad Luck by the cleric that moves to aid its underlings.

Shalar marches back to aid her elvish ally, the elf getting hit by lunge, then by a Strong Stab, neither hit doing much damage thanks to his armors.
Urambar backs away again, the darters in pursuit.

Shalar grins, having already realized what the elf was planning all along.



Both remaining darters find themselves in a stream of lava, burning to death just like the others before them.

The lizardman cleric finds itself alone against three heroes, its natural Defensiveness taking over.

The heroes run closer, Leafstorm hitting the reptilian foe with a Spark, followed by another Wall Of Fire.
The cleric manages to stumble out of the molten stone, but its escape ends short as Urambar barrels up the stairs.
The cornered enemy turns and hits the elf with a Potent Stab.

"Missed my heart...."
One Strong Bludgeon, and the cleric is no more.

"Now where are those boots..."

Adventure Complete!

And everyone reaches level 13.


(no idea how I managed to get the top of the screenshot looking like that...)

Loot: Medallion Of The Unnamed Saint, 2x treasure, Lizard Hide Boots (the treasure hunt reward), Hot Rod and Lovat Boots.

Next up: High Mountain Pass

 

Everyone again updates their equipment for the next adventure:
Urambar picks Powered Slicing (for All Out Attack), Shalar chooses Hot Rod and Leafstorm switches to Poosyn Boots.

Then the group heads out to

High Mountain Pass

"Ok, head to the mountain passage, kill some ogres, get paid," Urambar says, rubbing his hands together with the prospect.
"Yea, even you can follow that plan," Leafstorm notes, her voice perfectly neutral.
Shalar looks at the elven woman, raising an eyebrow. "I still can never tell whether you're making fun of someone or not..."
Urambar's laugh cuts them off before the elf woman has time to reply.
"Hahaa, finally some foes to smash!"



The goblins charge forward, trying to get at the intruders.

Shalar sprays the first three with fire but two of the foes manage to block the spell and one even reflects the flames back at Shalar! Another one targets her with a Weak Chop, the dwarf retreating from the green horde.

Leafstorm uses a Big Zap against one of the weak foes, then traps another three in a Wall Of Fire.

Urambar laughs at the goblins trying to swarm him, whacking the weakest one down with a Trained Bludgeon, then surprising the one harassing Shalar with a Lunging Strike as the slow ogres march closer, having to circle around the wall of pillars.

Shalar has Wall Of Fire left but I'd rather use all three squares against one of the ogres so I wait.



Shalar's fiery spell burns down three goblins, the last one of the first group trying to look tough as it moves, waiting for the reinforcements to arrive.

Shalar hits the second goblin group with a Boiling Armor spell, the goblin's Weak Block stopping the relatively harmless spell. "Ha, fooled you!"
The dwarf hits again, this time with a Bungled Bolt. The goblin just stands there grinning as the spell hits it squarely in the face. (Had another Weak Block but failed the roll).
Then the dwarf finally pulls back, waiting for the slow ogres to come closer.

The ogre's earlier Obvious Maneuver revealed that the foes have one more move left and only range 1 attacks. And currently the lava and the lone goblin from the first group are blocking their approach so I'll just have to get them to waste that one move and then it's grilling time again...



Urambar dashes to engage the bigger goblin group on the other side of the stone wall as the ogres try to move closer, but not daring to step into the lava. As he Blocks the green foe's Clumsy Chop, Leafstorm moves to a better position behind her.

A second goblin reaches Urambar, only to get smashed to pulp by the fighter's Obliterating Bludgeon. The next one steps up, the elf backing away as the horde pushes on. Looks like the group had 4 moves in hand. Oh well, that just means there's more targets to choose from for Shalar's lava...

Leafstorm and Shalar look at each other, then turn to face the foes again.
The foes can only look in horror as the ground itself turns against them. Three of the goblins find themselves in lava and as the first of the ogres decides to finally try crossing the previous puddle of molten rock, a bigger pool springs up below its feet.
The second one stops to consider its options but feels sharp pain as Stone Spikes pierce its mighty feet.

One of the goblins tries to hit Leafstorm with an Able Bludgeon but the elf's Reflexive Teleport moves her out of reach.



The molten rock claims its prey, engulfing the three goblins and the first, Clumsy ogre.

Leafstorm stops to consider the situation with her Elvish Insight. One of the remaining goblins runs past the lava to attack them. It gets a taste of Urambar's club, the elf's blows slaying the small foe. The other one stares at the sight of the rampaging elf - and decides to step right into the lava in order to get at its enemy. And the goblin doesn't even have any attacks left in hand so it just effectively committed suicide there...

The second ogre marches closer, the stream of lava blocking its way. This brings it close enough for the women, both Shalar and Leafstorm targetting the mottled foe.
Unstable Bolt. Spark. Deadly Spark. Sizzling Bolt.

With the enemy heavily damaged, both sorceresses retreat towards the northwest, not wanting to give the huge foe a chance to catch them. Urambar follows their lead.



The lava burns down the foolhardy goblin, leaving the still burning ogre alone against the three heroes. It turns its beady eyes at Shalar, looking confused by the dwarf's grin.
Sorcerous Blast - and the mighty foe falls.

Loot: treasure and Flawed Healing Ring.

 

Fight two

Urambar grins as the enemy horde starts closing in on them.
"Choices, choices... do I whack the big one or all those little goblins..."



Leafstorm quickly uses her Elvish Insight, then turns towards the fighter.
"Everyone, concentrate on the goblins! Trust me!"



As the southwest goblin group charges closer, Shalar zaps the first one with an Unstable Bolt. Leafstorm runs to the side, hitting another green foe with a Big Zap.

As the other groups move closer, Urambar dashes to the southwest flank, taking a Bludgeon from the weakest goblin but countering with his own. The enemy manages to stop the blow with a Weak Block but his followup drops the smaller enemy - and causes the ogre to roar in anger, smacking its weaker allies around it with its huge axe, three of them falling dead. Mindless Battlerage triggered, killed one goblin, triggering the card again and killed two more.

Shalar sprays the ogre bruiser with fire, then retreats towards the side and uses a Bungled Bolt on one of the goblin grunts.
Leafstorm also raises her hands, casting a Hot Spot under the nearest goblin shredder.

Next turn the ogre's Obvious Maneuver reveals that the foe has two Walk cards and will be able to reach the heroes.



Leafstorm dashes closer to the huge ogre, stepping away while hitting the approaching bruiser with a Surging Bolt.

Urambar gets hit with an Impaling Stab and uses his Elvish Insight to decide what to do.
The ogre marches closer, Leafstorm again slipping away with her Reflexive Teleport. Too bad the ogre is now nowhere close to the goblins and there's no way to take advantage of its battlerage.

Two more goblins reach Urambar, the first falling to Shalar's Sorcerous Blast. The other one whacks the elf with an Able Bludgeon.

Using his Elvish Insight again, he whacks the nearest shredder with a Trained Bludgeon.
The shredder has Reflect Missile but I'll need to take my chances against it anyway. Good thing Devastating Spark has Hard to Block 2.

Leafstorm targets the goblin with a Devastating Spark - and the foe just manages to reflect the spell at the elf! Argh. After Hard to Block 2, the foe needed to roll 5+ and rolled 5.
Well, that looks pretty bad for heroes as Urambar will probably fall either to the shredder's Impaling Stab or the ogre's Shattering Sweep and the others won't be able last much longer surrounded...

Shalar zaps the ogre with an Arcane Curse.



The grunt next to Urambar hits him with a Simple Strike, the fighter Blocking the blow.
Leafstorm attempts to hit the weakest shredder with a Surging Bolt - but the foe again manages to barely reflect the spell. Leafstorm had Spark Generator active so the goblin had to roll a 6 to reflect - and succeeded. Gah.
A Big Zap - and the shredder dies. Another one retaliates against the sorceress, the elf falling to an Impaling Stab.

The mayhem causes the raging ogre to kill another goblin, leaving only four more against the heroes.

Shalar steps behind the pillar as Urambar tries to push past the goblins.
One of the grunts reaches Shalar, hitting her with a Weak Chop. The dwarf ignores the blow, flinging a Sizzling Bolt at the ogre behind the foe.

The huge bruiser roars and as the goblin is blocking its direct route, the beastly foe turns to move around the pillar instead. The dwarf climbs through the rocks - and the ogre proves surprisingly past, marching right over the rocks to melee range!
Damn, it again had another move in store...



Urambar's Stunning Blow manages to stop the ogre from attacking, giving the elf time to slip away.
Blah. The goblin next to Urambar still has one Run card left. Otherwise I could have used Hot Spot on it, killing it and causing battlerage to hit two of the remaining goblins.

Shalar turns, creating a pool of lava under the goblin chasing her.

The goblin burns to death, causing the ogre to flail about in its rage, hitting both Shalar and one of the goblins. The ogre's Sweeping Smash then hits the dwarf, forcing her to use a Wall Of Fire against the beast.
Unfortunately instead of retreating, the ogre attacks with a Shattering Sweep, sending the dwarf to fly head first against the stone wall, ending her fight.

Urambar spins around, hitting the last grunt with a Mighty Hack, causing the raging ogre to whack the nearest goblin once again.


Damn. There's not much room to retreat which means I'll get hit either with a Penetrating Stab or another Shattering Sweep...
If Urambar moves too close to the ogre, it will kill him. If he stays still, the ogre can push forward and kill him. If he moves past the shredder, it will get to hit him twice before he has a chance to run away.

Urambar tries to push past the shredder and curses as the ogre finally notices the molten rock under its feet and retreats.
The elf's Bludgeon hits the closer goblin, the foe countering with a Perforating Strike.

There's still a small chance, if I draw Obliterating Bludgeon next turn...

I click Pass...


WOOHOOOOO!

The shredder falls to Urambar's Obliterating Bludgeon. And Gary passes. Well, that suits me just fine. Too bad the ogre didn't have Mindless Battlerage attached, it would have killed the second shredder as well.

The last shredder runs towards Urambar, but gets to meet only the elf's Strong Bludgeon which crushes the green foe's skull.

Only the ogre left. But since Urambar doesn't have any ranged attacks, I'm going to lose this one anyway soon.

...and the game proves me right as the very next turn Urambar draws Ouch!

 

Attempt two

For this attempt Urambar switches to a Hefty Chopper and a Parrying Buckler (returning to Weakling's Helm to free a talent).
Leafstorm switches to Novice Blazing.


And the cards look a lot more promising.

Shalar's Bungled Bolt hits one of the goblins, the foe failing to block the spell, the dwarf following up with a Deadly Spark.

Urambar dashes to intercept the other group and as the smaller foes close in on him, lets his axe do the talking. Chop, followed by a Strong Chop - and two foes down, the fighter taking two hits in return.

Shalar backs away as the western group advances, Leafstorm targeting one of them with Stone Spikes.

The ogre advances as the elf moves, mostly to make sure the foe has no more moves left.

The shredders advance - and Shalar can't resist the opportunity:



The dwarf Charges, knocking the already bruised goblin leading the enemy horde down, sending the ogre into a rage that hurts three of the goblins around it.
Shalar's maneuver does not go unpunished, the nearest shredder landing a hit on her with an Impaling Stab.

I've got only the Wall Of Fire cards left so let's hope the ogre isn't hiding more Walk cards...

Leafstorm unleashes her magic, trapping the huge bruiser with lava.
Gary passed so apparently he has no moves left. Hmm. I could take out the ogre by using the second Wall Of Fire against it but I don't want to use this perfect opportunity to use its battlerage.
The elf casts the spell again, this time targetting the weaker goblins on the western flank.



The lava claims two of the goblins, sending the ogre into Mindless Battlerage that kills the three shredders around it as well. The lava also does horrible damage against the ogre itself.

With only the heavily wounded goblin that managed to survive the stony spikes left on the southwest flank, Shalar unleashes a Fire Spray, the small foe managing to block the magical flames. She repeats the spell, leaving Leafstorm the easy task of blasting the burning little bugger down with a simple Spark.

Two goblins and a 10hp ogre left.

One of the goblins attempts to hit Urambar with a Clumsy Chop but the fighter easily parries, whacking the weak enemy down with an Obliterating Bludgeon.

The ogre advances, forcing Shalar to back away. The ogre pursues her, Leafstorm's Quick Step allowing the elf to slip to the side but the slower dwarf is not fast enough and the bruiser's Shattering Sweep whacks the dwarf straight out of the fight.



Urambar steps next to Leafstorm, waiting for the ogre to move closer and hits the horribly burned bruiser straight between the legs. The huge foe collapses, leaving the elves against one measly goblin.

The goblin is mad enough to continue the fight and moves toward Urambar, the fighter easily evading the slow foe while Leafstorm backs away to a safer distance as well.

Alone against the two heroes, the lone goblin doesn't really stand a chance. It's only attack gets parried by Urambar and the two elves surround the green foe, bringing it down with their spells and weapons.
Block cards don't do much good when you can take turns, always hitting from behind.

Loot: treasure and Pacifist's Boots

To be continued...

 

Fight three

Leafstorm bursts into a laugh as she sees the next group of foes approaching.
"Spellcasting OGRES? Really? Those dumb brutes using magic? Hee! Heeheeheheheee!"

Ignoring her giggling ally, Shalar points at the chokepoint between them and the foes.
"Ok, let's stop the enemy there."



Leafstorm dashes to the southeast, moving a better vantage point in order to target the approaching foes.
Shalar does the same - and Urambar darts north, moving to intercept the quartet of goblins closing in from there.

The shredder group runs closer, Shalar using a Boiling Armor spell to lure them to use their blocks in vain, her plan successful.

The goblins on the other flank reach Urambar, one of them getting clobbered by the elf's All Out Attack with an Able Bludgeon. Another one hits the fighter with a Clumsy Chop, doing minimal damage through his Mail. Another one proves more successful with its Bludgeon.

Shalar hits the shredder again, this time with a Powerful Spark that the foe fails to block.

Leafstorm waits for the goblins to move closer, but the foes move to engage Urambar instead! She quickly zaps the first one with an Unstable Bolt but this doesn't stop the foe from hitting Urambar with a Perforating Strike.
As the ogre magicker moves closer, the sorceress casts again, this time using a Wall Of Fire to hurt the group hounding the elf fighter.

I'm taking out the goblins first, after that it should be easy to take evade the slow ogres.


And Urambar draws no attacks. Yay. Not that the other heroes' cards look much better either.

Leafstorm's Spark takes out the weakest shredder, causing the ogre's flailing to hit the goblins in front of it as well as the spellcaster behind it.

The shredders split up, one of them heading to engage Urambar and the two others moving towards the women.
Shalar hits the first one with an Arcane Curse, the foe Missile Blocking the weak spell. And Gary's random pass comes at a perfect time once again.
The dwarf raises her hands again, hitting the goblin with a Big Zap - but the foe blocks again. Damn.

The shredder that went after Urambar hits the elf with an Impaling Stab, leaving the fighter barely standing.

Shalar backs away from the shredder next to her - but one of the grunts around Urambar darts to block off her retreat. This move leaves Urambar an escape route and the fighter is quick to take it.

The ogre bruiser marches on, stepping right into the lava.



With the shredders blocking its path, the ogre changes its mind and turns around, returning the way it came. Heh.

The shredders move on, each of them moving to engage one of the heroes. Leafstorm teleports away from the intruding goblin but Shalar gets hit with a Shredding Strike, the blow destroying the Resistant Hide of her robe.

The ogre magicker finally gets to use its spells, casting an Unholy Curse on Urambar, followed by Bad Luck.



Urambar hits the shredder threatening him with a Strong Bludgeon, the foe just barely strong enough to withstand the attack.
Leafstorm's Devastating Spark slays the shredder near Shalar, another one wounding the other nearby shredder.

The spellcasting ogre continues harassing Urambar, its Devastating Spark failing to get past the elf's armors. The next one is more accurate and the elf falls.

Shalar backs away from the grunt near her, doing the same again as the shredders try assaulting her but the dwarf ends up surrounded by the grunts anyway. Her robe's Resistant Hide absorbs some of the damage but the stronger one of the shredders arrives to join the fight, hitting the dwarf with another Shredding Strike, the blow finding a weak spot.

Leafstorm has better luck evading the goblins, pulling out of weapon range again.

The dwarf has just enough time to hit one of the grunts with a Sorcerous Blast before getting struck down by a Perforating Strike.

Leafstorm's Unstable Bolt kills another shredder, her Sorcerous Bolt the weakest grunt but it still leaves her alone against three goblins and two ogres, the goblins quickly moving to block off any escape routes.



A Penetrating Stab hits the elf as she tries to get away from the goblins, then an Able Bludgeon. The elf manages to trap the three goblins in a Wall Of Fire - but a Devastating Spark from the ogre magicker brings her down.

Well, I pretty much lost the fight thanks to bad draws in the most crucial rounds. Four shredders, four grunts, two ogres - that's a lot of hp to wear down even with good cards.

 

Attempt two

Leafstorm attempts to hit the first of the approaching shredders with a Surging Bolt but the goblin's skillful Reflect Missile causes the spell to return to the elf, her Resistant Hide failing to protect her.

Urambar dashes ahead, moving to hinder the goblins' advance.

As Leafstorm moves to a better position the shredders push past Urambar, Shalar quickly laying a Wall Of Fire under the goblins' feet. The grunts pour through the narrow opening as well, the first foe ending up in Leafstorm's Hot Spot.

Urambar gets hit with a Penetrating Stab but counters with a Trained Bludgeon and a normal Bludgeon as Shalar gets hit as well by the goblin in the front.



The first two goblins fall as the lava engulfs them, causing the ogre bruiser in the back get consumed by its Mindless Battlerage.
Its wild blows kill first one goblin, then another. Their death just increases the huge beast's rage, causing it to flatten the shredder in front of it and even its fellow ogre finally falls to its crazed blows.
Bwahahaaa.
End result: three goblin grunts dead, two goblin shredders dead, one ogre magicker dead, two more shredders badly burned.
Only two died to lava, the others fell to Mindless Battlerage

The remaining shredders quickly hop out of the molten stone.



Leafstorm steps back, using a Surging Bolt against the shredder facing away from her. As the foe turns to face her, Urambar's Bludgeon hits it in the back, causing it to spin around again, finally falling to Shalar's Unstable Bolt hitting it's back once more.
The dwarf then spins around, casting a Fire Spray at the remaining goblins but both foes manage to block the flames.

Shalar continues with a Boiling Armor spell against the goblin grunt, the foe quickly reflecting the spell back at the dwarf. Leafstorm tries to use the opening by hitting the same foe with a Devastating Spark but the goblin manages to Missile Block the spell, if only barely.

Both sorceresses retreat, just like Urambar.

The grunt tries to follow the elf but gets its head crushed by the fighter's Obliterating Bludgeon.
The other goblin goes after Shalar and as the dwarf tries to back away, the shredder attacks her with an Impaling Stab. The dwarf retreats, failing to hit the goblin with her Surging Bolt.

The ogre steps into the lava, intending to cross it to get to the heroes.
"Oh no you don't," Urambar yells, dashing to stop the bruiser's advance.

I figured the ogre would retreat as it could no longer had space to get out of the lava while moving forward but looks like one of Gary's random passes happened instead. Well, I have no problem with that.



The lava cools down, but not before burning the ogre's feet.

The shredder charges closer, getting hit by Urambar's Able Bludgeon. The ogre's advance forces Urambar to retreat and as the bruiser pushes on, Shalar has to back away as well.
The huge foe proves surprisingly fast and catches up with the dwarf, leaving her just enough time to fling one last Deadly Spark past the ogre, the spell surprising the last shredder who fails to block and falls.

With only the ogre left, Leafstorm is free to move a better posion, then cast a Wall Of Fire under the ogre's bulky body.

The huge foe roars in horror and pain as the molten stone turns it into a huge torch, the flames eating the beast alive.

Loot: Energetic Helmet, Felt Boots.

 

Fight four


Nice map. The ogres to the north have only one route to get to the heroes so I have some time to get rid of the goblins. Too bad there's again four shredders to the southeast and this time there's no way to use the ogres against them.

Shalar heads closer to the shredders, intending to delay their advance. They move closer, the dwarf charging backwards out of their way.

The grunts move to attack as well but the first one meets Urambar's Trained Bludgeon.

Shalar turns around and hits the first shredder with a Boiling Armor spell as a test but the enemy just fails to Missile Block the spell.
Leafstorm attempts to use a Sorcerous Bolt against the same foe but this time the enemy is faster with its shield.

Urambar advances, getting hit with a second Clumsy Chop but responding with a better one. His swing takes out the first goblin, wounding another.

The shredders run closer, forcing Leafstorm to back away. Shalar isn't fast enough and gets hit with an Impaling Stab.
Leafstorm turns around, creating Stone Spikes under one of the shredders as the goblin grunts try to push past Urambar.

The shredders prove fast enough to evade Leafstorm's trap, three moving to surround Shalar and one heading after Leafstorm.
Aargh, they had three Runs!


Yeah, I can pretty much see how this one is going to end already...

Shalar gets hit again by a Penetrating Stab while Urambar gets Bludgeoned.

The dwarf hits the three goblins in front of her with a Fire Spray but one of them manages to block her spell and she falls, defenseless against their counter with a Shredding Strike.

Urambar uses his Elvish Insight -


- and draws Wimpy, followed by Walk. Lady Luck just loves me this time, doesn't she...

Leafstorm zaps the nearest grunt with a Surging Bolt as the goblins assault Urambar, the fighter getting hit by all three foes around him.

The rest of the shredders move, giving Leafstorm finally a chance to use her Wall Of Fire against the pair coming after her.



Urambar's Wimpy Able Bludgeon kills his second goblin as the shredders hop out of the scorching lava, already badly burned by its heat.

Leafstorm moves and hits the weakest shredder with a Devastating Spark, Urambar trading blows with the goblins next to him. The elf fighter tries to push through the ring of green foes while his elven ally gets hit by a Perforating Strike. Urambar himself falls to a Shredding Strike, leaving Leafstorm alone against the enemy horde.

She casts a Wall Of Fire against the shredders, hoping that the goblins will prove too slow to evade the lava.



The shredders shred the elf's hopes, hopping out of the molten stone before it has a chance to hurt them.

...aaaaand Leafstorm draws only moves and armor cards. Oh well, this was already a lost cause.

The elf falls to enemy blows, her Reflexive Teleport failing to save her from either incoming blow.

--

I'm out of attempts now and will be playing another adventure next before returning to this one.

It's not that this adventure was especially hard, but the high amount of goblins (and especially shredders), the lack of space to maneuver in and the fact that my current party is quite fragile makes it even more important to get good draws in the first three rounds.

 

I play through both astral adventures to get everyone to level 14, switch equipment and head off to raid

Lord Batford's Manor

Shalar groans as the guards enter to take care of the intruders.
"Ok, next time try to remember. When we're trying to sneak into a manor, the best way to enter is not hitting the first locked door with an axe and yelling 'Heeere's Urambar!'"


Cool, marksmen.

Urambar orders a Team Shift, running inside the nearest servant room while Leafstorm does the same on the other side.

He knocks the first servant down as the mercenaries head closer.
Leafstorm steps out of the first guard's range, zapping the nearby servant with a Devastating Spark as the humans Raise The Alarm. She continues by using her Elvish Insight (drawing just a Resistant Hide).

Shalar zaps the first incoming mercenary with a Bungled Bolt, the foe failing to Block the blast. She tries again with a Dissolve Armor spell and this time the foe does Block, allowing Urambar to surprise the guard from the side with a Bludgeon.

The marksmen open fire on Shalar, the first Piercing Missile hitting the dwarf. She steps back, then turns around hits the first mercenary with a Charge just as the foe's Able Stab hits Urambar.

The marksmen Jump Back as the other guards move to better positions.


And the next cards don't look that great again. No attacks for Urambar, only weak ones for Shalar and a single Hot Spot for Leafstorm. Damn.

Shalar slays the weakest servant to prevent him from calling for help, then backs away from the bowmen. The remaining servants Raise The Alarm again, while Shalar turns to zap the weaker guard with a Bungled Bolt, the spell managing to hit past the mercenary's Solid Mail but causing the foe to counter with a Strong Stab.

The marksmen will not stay idle either and Shalar finds another Piercing Missile hitting her. Urambar tries to lure the second mercenary away from the passage but the guard just ignores him, striking Shalar down with another Strong Stab.

Leafstorm backs away from the nearest guard, then turns to use a Hot Spot against it as the marksmen move and manage to gain a line of sight on Urambar, hitting him with another arrow.

The weaker mercenary gets burned alive by the lava.



Leafstorm Sparks the second mercenary as the marksmen keep firing at the other elf, this time hitting Urambar with a Puncturing Shot.

The elf steps forward, surprising the mercenary blocking his path with an Obliterating Bludgeon, the guard's Solid Mail keeping the human standing, if only barely.
Another arrow hits the elf fighter as he swings his axe, slaying the opponent with a Strong Chop.

Urambar runs closer to the remaining guards, sending the servants scurrying to safety again.

Leafstorm runs to help, managing to make the marksmen to use one more Run, giving me the first Pass.


Urambar, Urambar... He did draw that one Obliterating Bludgeon but otherwise he hasn't had much luck with cards in this fight.

Urambar Bludgeons the first marksman, but the guard's Tricky Stab counter proves too much for the fighter, the elf crumbling to a heap.

The other marksman hits Leafstorm with yet another Piercing Missile. I just click Pass as they haven't used their Run yet.
The first guard tries to push past Leafstorm. The servants may still either use a Team Shift or Raise The Alarm so I don't dare to attack yet either so I click Pass again - and Gary passes as well. Damn.

...and Leafstorm just draws moves and a Mail. Grh.

Leafstorm slips inside the room as the servants keep shouting for help, then running away from the elf. Leafstorm gets hit two more arrows but she finally retaliates, hitting the closer foe with Stone Spikes and the farther one with a Wall Of Fire.

The servants Raise The Alarm once again - and the marksmen Run to safety. Argh.

One hp left for Leafstorm, that's pretty much that then.

The elf falls as one more arrow hits her chest.

 

Attempt two

Urambar immediately uses his Elvish Insight on the foes as the mercenaries prove a bit useless, their attention fixed on who knows what (Two Dropped Guards, discarded Solid Mail and Block).

As the servants Raise The Alarm, the heroes just wait for the foes to move closer.

The mercenaries finally move into range, Leafstorm welcoming the first foe with a Surging Bolt as the marksmen fire at Shalar.



The dwarf hits the servant trying to push out of his quarters with a Lunging Strike as the marksmen fire again, this time at Urambar.
The enraged fighter dashes forward, taking an Impaling Stab in the shoulder but dropping the foe with an Obliterating Bludgeon.

The servants Raise The Alarm again as Urambar's Trained Bludgeon hits the next guard. The foe counters with an Able Stab as Shalar and Leafstorm move along the passage.

Gary passes, meaning it's finally time to use lava.

Both sorceresses raise their hands and the remaining guards find themselves sinking in scorching lava and one of the servants ends up in Stone Spikes - until the servant orders a Team Shift. AAGGGH!

For some reason the mercenary proves too dumb to follow the command, staying in the molten stone.



Urambar uses his Elvish Insight but draws just a Block.

Shalar's Deadly Spark slays the mercenary as it tries to move out of the lava.

The marksmen open fire at Urambar, the fighter failing to Block the the first Piercing Missile. Shalar retaliates against the other foe with a Sorcerous Blast, causing the human to retreat to a safe distance. And also too far to use his Tricky Stabs. Too bad the servants have three Raise The Alarm cards left...

Leafstorm ducks out of the passage as the servants keep calling for help. Shalar does the same just as the closer marksman moves, stepping right into the lava between the heroes. Huh?

The second marksman fires at Urambar again - and the fighter's reflexes prove too slow. Argh. Another failed Block roll.

The servants keep yelling for help - and the marksman performs a Jump Back, hopping out of the lava. Yup, somewhat new that would happen.



Both sorceresses open fire at the closer guard. Big Zap. Deadly Spark. The foe hits Leafstorm with a Tricky Stab, then retreats to a safer distance but this proves to be a little less so as Leafstorm's Devastating Spark hits it despite the increased distance.

Shalar backs into the room, leaving the other bowman to fire at Leafstorm who gets hit with a Piercing Missile (failed Reflexive Teleport roll).

The servants keep using Raise The Alarm but I just keep clicking Pass as both marksmen have already attacked.

One of the servants proves brave enough to walk up to Leafstorm and try to Bash her. She's too slow to Parry the blow (argh, rolled a 1) but does manage to use a Reflexive Teleport to slip out of range.

The servants quickly slip away.



Leafstorm's Spark hits the weaker marksman, ending its fight despite its attempt to Jump Back.

Shalar moves back to the passage, the guard doing the same. Damn, forgot the Piercing Missiles have range 7 which is one more than Deadly Spark's range.

Leafstorm dashes to the other side of the passage and as the marksman fires at Shalar, she teleports past the servants, hitting the bowman with a Fire Spray despite its attempt to Jump Back.

As the marksman moves closer again, Shalar attempts to trap the foe with a Wall Of Fire - but the enemy performs an Escaping Run, slipping to safety.

Next turn and luckily some better attacks. Too bad Leafstorm's at 6 hp so I'd better use her attacks fast if I want to use them at all.

Leafstorm has just enough time to cast one more Wall Of Fire before getting struck down by a Puncturing Shot.

Shalar roars, her Charge taking her close enough to use her Deadly Spark against the last marksman - and the spell connects, killing the guard.

Whew. That was an annoying fight, mostly thanks to my bad luck. And the fact that the servants make using lava attacks a lot more tricky.



Loot: Cotton Wizard's Robes (Shalar takes), Electrum Staff

 

Fight two

"Eww... if this is the kitchen, I'd rather starve than eat here," Leafstorm notes, pinching her nose.
"Now now... I'm sure they prepare only the highest quality rats and roaches here..." Urambar replies.
"YOU DARE TO INSULT MY COOKING?"

The group turns, looking straight at an angry chef.



Shalar moves, hitting the eastern servant with a Surging Bolt.
The chef charges in, getting hit by Leafstorm's Unstable Bolt, followed by a Devastating Spark.

Urambar dashes after the retreating servant, clubbing him down with a Bludgeon as the servants' Team Shift allows the chef to reach Shalar and hit her with a Strong Chop.

Leafstorm uses an Ember Spray against the angry human just as he hits the dwarf again, this time with an Obliterating Chop.
Shalar retaliates, hitting the foe with a Fire Spray and as the war dog tries to move closer, she steps back, hitting the chef again with a Lunging Strike in the process.

As the remaining servant yells for help, Shalar retreats just in case as the dog jumps closer.

The chef turns around, running towards Urambar who greets the incoming human with a Bludgeon.

The war dog is now close enough to attack Leafstorm, doing an All Out Attack with its Penetrating Lunge.



Urambar's Bludgeon finally knocks the chef out of the fight but unfortunately the war dog does the same to Shalar with its Nimble Strike.

Leafstorm attacks the mutt with a Spark, then quickly retreats away from the foe, trying to trap it with Stone Spikes. The last servant orders a Team Shift, the dog obeying the command and leaving the trap.

Leafstorm quickly dashes away from the war dog, Urambar doing the same.

The servant again tries to Raise The Alarm, the dog hopping a little closer to its prey as a result.

Unless I draw some good attacks, I'm taking the servant out first. I'm getting pretty tired of those extra cards and moves he's giving.

Urambar orders a Team Shift, both elves moving towards the last servant. The human tries to make a run for it and Leafstorm has to back away once again as the war dog approaches.

Leafstorm hits the angry canine with a Surging Bolt as the servant runs away.



The elf sorceress runs around the table to cut off the servant's escape as the war dog decides to go after Urambar. The fighter hits the four-legged foe with a Trained Bludgeon, then again with a Strong Chop.
Although the enemy's attacks don't do much damage (Cowardly Attack from front and a Penetrating Lunge), Urambar decides to retreat anyway before the dog has time to bite again.

Leafstorm traps the last servant with a Hot Spot, ending its flight with molten rock.

The war dog runs closer once more - but Leafstorm's Devastating Spark stops it midleap.

Loot: Hefty Chopper, Phantom Cape.

To be continued...

 

Fight three

"For the last time, Babar... we're trying to sneak in. So stop 'knocking' on every door with your club first!"
"Can I knock on them instead," the fighter asks, pointing at the guards closing in on the arguing group.
"Fine. At this rate there'll be no-one left standing in the whole mansion before we find the treasure..."



Leafstorm tries zapping the hardened mercenary with an Unstable Bolt but the foe Ducks. The guard then runs forward, the stolen Unstable Bolt triggering and damaging the foe. Hah!

The mercenary runs straight into Urambar's All Out Attack, his Strong Chop doing heavy damage against the human as he fails to Block the blow. The foe counters with a Powerful Hack as the elf uses his Elvish Insight to decide his next action. And the spell triggers the guard's Block. Double ha!

The servants Raise The Alarm just as Urambar's Obliterating Bludgeon smacks the guard's nose in, the human collapsing in a bloody heap.
It was a bit of a waste to use the 17 damage attack against the 5hp foe but he had just drawn a new card and I didn't want to risk getting hit with another 10+ damage blow.

Leafstorm retreats as the other mercenary charges in. Shalar sprays it with fire, the foe countering with a Reaching Swing.



Shalar retreats, the foe pursuing.

Leafstorm quickly uses a Wall Of Fire on the mercenary.

The foe suddenly drops his guard, leaving it open for Shalar's spell:



The Sizzling Bolt hits, killing the guard.

Loot: Crackling Cloak, Advanced Bashing.