Zalminen's Beta Diary

Fight two



Surrounded again, this time by three Fire Sprites and three Lightning Imps.

Mizana moves to a safer location as the fire sprites tries to hit Agreyn with a Fire Bolt, but hitting only the fighter's shield.
Silvershield and Agreyn also move to better hiding spots, wanting to lure the enemies closer and wait for better attack chances.

One of the lightning imps manages to gain line of sight on Mizana and zaps her with a Powerful Spark.
Mizana moves closer, not wanting to use Hot Spot until she's sure the imps won't get to move away from the spell.

A fire sprite spits flames at Agreyn who quickly sprints next to it, hoping to attack it the next turn.

The lightning imp that zapped Mizana moves to safety and since nobody can attack anymore I pass first. The lightning imps move once more and zap Agreyn, doing very little damage thanks to his Mail.



Now this is more like it!

Agreyn hits the fiery creature with a Trained Bludgeon and another one suffers from Brain Burn (taking 8 damage, hee hee).
The lightning imps move and Agreyn quickly retreats, not wanting to get hit by the full arsenal of the sprites' revealed spells.

Another fire sprite targets Silvershield with a Fire Bolt but the dwarf manages to block the spell. Again a roll of 6 for Unreliable Block!

Since the foes don't seem to be immune to their own type, Mizana targets the eastern imp with a Surging Bolt.

The fire sprites move to attack Agreyn and Silvershield and although Silvershield moves to cover, Agreyn is unable to do the same and gets hit by a Fire Bolt and a Sizzling Bolt. Silvershield did have attacks but the foes are too far away to reach...

Mizana zaps her opponent with a Deadly Spark and the foe fails to Dodge. Mizana moves closer and although the imp tries to dodge the sorceress' Little Zap, it just moves closer and fails to actually get out of the spell's range. The AI seems a bit dumb when handling Dodge moves...
Another imp zaps Mizana from behind but she retaliates by casting a Hot Spot under that imp's feet but the foe just moves away.
And I forget that Dodge could also be played as a normal move in addition to the triggered effect. Bah.

Mizana gets zapped once more by the approaching imps but at least I get to pass first.

The next turn begins and Agreyn takes burning damage from the previous flames.



Agreyn charges the western fire sprite and although it hits him with a Sizzling Bolt his two attacks take the foe down.

Mizana gets hit by the the imps and decides to move to cover.

As the fire sprites have finally moved close enough, Silvershield moves to intercept the western flame creature. She blocks the fire sprite's attempt to Fire Spray her and whacks the creature twice, leaving the foe with just 1hp.
The enemies move and I pass first.

Next turn Agreyn drops the weakest sprite with a a Bludgeon.
The other one blasts Silvershield with a Fireball and nearly everyone moves except for Mizana who has an Unstable Bolt.

The last flame creature moves to Mizana's sight and she promptly kills it with Unstable Bolt and Deadly Spark
The imps finally move closer and the sorceress gets to use Hot Spot on the closer one.
Before she has time to use the other one, the foe's Short Spark takes her down.

Silvershield inspires herself twice, and runs closer to the foes.

The next turn begins with Silvershield drawing no actual attacks.



Silvershield moves to the passage to pick up speed and although she gets hit by an Arcing Spark, her Charge takes out the weaker foe.

The last imp retreats but since it's still too far from Agreyn so he just moves to the next corner while Silvershield does the same.
"Hah, now the little bugger is trapped!"

As the imp moves towards Agreyn, the human fighter intercepts it with a Penetrating Lunge. The foe's Deadly Spark nearly kills him but his Hardy Mail does its job and he hits the imp again, then pulling back.

The turn ends and Agreyn's wimpyness ends just in time for his Penetrating Lunge to be able to drop the last foe.



Loot: Healing Relic, Monkey Skin Mask.
Hmm, tough choice. Agreyn's current Weakling's Helm provides good armors and Wimpy while the new mask provides Simian Reflexes (which grants a card every time an enemy targets the wearer) but mediocre armors. Oh well, the mask also requires a Talent so Agreyn keeps the old helmet for now.

 

Fight three



More imps, this time a mix of arcane and frost.

Agreyn sprints to the northmost frost imp. The foe tries to Frost Jolt him but he just Blocks the blast and cuts the foe. It tries to retreat but Agreyn follows.

Mizana runs to the western passage as Silvershield gets blasted by a Chilling Rime, slowing her down. The frost imp in the passage does the same to her, her armor protecting from the actual damage if not the slowing effect.

Silvershield heals herself and the arcane imps move.

I'm still trying to get Gary to pass first so I can be sure that the frost imp won't run away from Mizana's Hot Spot...
Silvershield tries to march to safety but is too frozen to get anywhere. One arcane imp casts Memory Loss on Silvershield but only manages to get rid of the dwarf's unreliable shield.

The frost imps still have one card but I don't want to just pass so...

Mizana casts a Hot Spot under the frost imp - and the frost imp doesn't manage to get away in time!

The next turn starts with a melting imp and another blasting Silvershield with Sorcerous Blast.



Agreyn hits the northmost frost imp in the back and as it turns around it feels Agreyn's slow penetrate its chest.

The arcane imps move closer to Silvershield and she gets blasted again, this time with a Surging Blast. The dwarf charges to the cover of the eastern passage.

Mizana runs around the corner and towards the closest arcane imps. With the cold she can't quite get close enough for Fire Spray but the arcane imp does get to taste Bungled Bolt and Sorcerous Bolt.

Next turn Mizana gets Mind Drained by the imps but Surging Bolts the closer imp stepping closer midcast.
The imps quickly retreat out of Fire Spray range and Mizana wisely retreats. This still allows the eastern imp to zap her.

Agreyn runs around the wall and towards the imps, making the frost imp retreat. He reaches the arcane imp just as the weakest arcane imp zaps him with a Surging Bolt but manages to hit his opponent before it runs back.
Silvershield cuts off the imp's retreat by moving behind it. She deftly blocks the frost imp's Cold Snap and her Violent Overswing cleaves the imp's head right off its shoulders.

Next turn Agreyn gets hit by another Chilling Rime.



Agreyn tries to get away from the arcane imps' line of sight but only succeeds partially and the stronger imp targets him with a Memory Loss spell.
The frost imp backs away from the heroes, with Silvershield in close pursuit.

Mizana commands Agreyn to move once more and as the imps move to retarget the human fighter, the weaker imp comes close enough for Mizana to reach it and reduce it to a pile of ash with her spell.
As the imps do nothing Silvershield quickly runs to the other side of the small wall, intending to surround the frost imp with Agreyn's help.

Silvershield manages to do just that and as the imp decides to hit her with a Cold Snap instead of retreating, the dwarf flattens the icy bugger with a violent blow.
Again the foes do nothing. Is Gary being undecisive or did the imps really draw that bad cards?

Agreyn slowly moves towards the last imp despite the cold slowing his feet.
The imp decides to run towards the western passage but Mizana is quicker and moves to intercept the foe.
Again Gary just passes. Well, that certainly helps me!

With Silvershield's inspirational wink Mizana gets to zap the imp three times, bringing the last foe down to 5hp.

Next turn Mizana only draws an Acid Blast and it's now up to the others to try to reach the foe.

Agreyn gets zapped by a Surging Blast but runs towards the edge of the arena hoping to prevent the imp from fleeing that way.
The imp however makes the mistake of moving towards the center!



Silvershield intercepts the nasty looking fiend and ends its screeches with a well-aimed Violent Swing!

Loot: Cautious Shield, Hammer Of Shrouds.

To be continued...

 

Fight four

A maze with two Acid Sprites and two Arcane Sprites.

As nobody can see anyone in this little maze, Silvershield begins by inspiring herself, hoping to get additional moves or attacks.

One of the sprites steps into view and hits Agreyn with a Surging Bolt.



Mizana runs towards the center and sees an acid imp moving towards her from the south. She hits the foe with a Deadly Spark, followed by an Arcane Curse and quickly retreats from the quickly forming acid pools from the acid imp's spell.

With the imps now busy Silvershield also moves towards the fight and charges past the first imp towards the one closer to Mizana.
As it hasn't had time to recover from blasting Agreyn, it cannot do anything but stand there as Silvershield's club hits it.
Agreyn also runs to join the fray and with Silvershield's helping slap, the frenzied Strong Bludgeon turns the horrified foe into purple paste.

Next turn begins, and the acid imp slams Mizana backwards with a Paralyzing Bolt. This does little good as Mizana's both spells have more than enough range:



The imp quickly falls to the eletricial power flung by the sorceress.

The other imps are too far for Silvershield and Agreyn to reach yet so both slip into the side passage, hoping to get into melee range with the acid imp without getting blasted.
The sprite is still fast enough to hit Agreyn though.

The acid imp makes the mistake of walking into view and Silvershield pins it against the wall and hits it with a Violent Overswing.
The imp retaliates with an Acid Blast, turning the floor into acid below the heroes.

Agreyn, inspired by the dwarf suddenly feels safe but still retreats, unable to get past the dwarf.

The next turn Agreyn again tries to reach the foes but is too slow. The acid imp turns more floor into acid and since Silvershield still has no attacks she's forced to retreat while Mizana moves closer.

And again Agreyn's forced to discard several good attacks...

The acid imp makes the dumbest move so far and uses Telekinesis to slide Agreyn - CLOSER!



Agreyn grins and whacks the foe against the wall, ending its acid-spraying days for good.

The other foe proves to be not much smarter and moves to attack Silvershield, allowing her to catch the sprite and hit it with a Violent Overswing!

The next turn Silvershield gets a Bludgeon and finishes the fight.

Loot: Crafted Boots, Wyvern Skin Robe (which Mizana takes).

Fight five

Three Lightning Sprites, two Acid Sprites and two Fire Sprites. The bigger problem is that the map isn't exactly great for melee... and I draw mostly moves.



Mizana hits one of the lightning sprites with her Sizzling Bolt and it fails it's attempt to get away. (The dodge roll fails and it's jump back succeeds but still leaves it in the spell's range)

The sprites advance and Agreyn and Silvershield move to better cover. Not wanting to get hit by the enemy barrage the heroes wait.
The sprites advance again and Mizana also moves to a better location.

Next turn - and the heroes draw some attacks, unfortunately Mizana getting an Unstable Bolt.

Everyone waits until the first sprite shows its ugly face and Mizana immediately hits it with a Sorcerous Blast.
Since the acid sprites are usually better in close combat everyone still holds their position, letting the enemy come closer.

As the acid imp's Acid Jet fills the western bridge with acid and prevents Silvershield from holding her current position she decides to go on a Wild Run and attack the Fire Sprite on the other side.

A Devastating Spark hits Mizana but gets partly stopped by her armor.

Agreyn and Silvershield take damage from enemy spells and don't quite manage to kill the fiery sprite so I'm finally forced to pass after Gary. Mizana discards her Unstable Bolt since it's keeping her from moving.

The next turn begins with Agreyn managing to block the Flame Spit from the nearly dead foe.



Agreyn extinguishes the sprite blocking their way with a Penetrating Lunge and Silvershield quickly moves to the now free bridge.
The acid sprites are fast enough to retreat but the lightning sprite isn't and gets whacked with a Violent Overswing, leaving the foe barely standing.
As she still has Altruism active, she inspires Agreyn with a little booty shake and is then able to push past the weakened foe, allowing Agreyn to move to the bridge to finish the foe.

One of the acid imps sprays both nearby heroes with acid but the blast also hits the other acid imp.
Agreyn runs out of the quickly forming acid pool as the western lightning sprite blasts Mizana with a Deadly Spark.
The sorceress retaliates and runs to the eastern side to help her allies.

One of the acid imps shoves Agreyn back into the acid with Telekinesis, but it does mean I get to pass first.
The acid imp then backs away from the acid pool it was still standing in itself.

Next turn - and what a bunch of cards!



Silvershield slaps Agreyn into a frenzy and the human charges the flaming creature and hits it despite getting spat with flame.

The fire spirit retreats but with Silvershield's sultry pose he feels inspired enough to keep moving. Too bad both sprite groups still have a Run card in hand...

Agreyn charges the acid imps and one of them casts another acid pool under Agreyn. This still leaves it range of Agreyn's club and his wimpy hit leaves the foe just barely standing.

Silvershield and Mizana both flee from the acid and chase after the two foes in the west. As the foes move one more time I get to pass first and discard both of Mizana's drawback cards.



It's not looking that great as both Agreyn and Silvershield are getting close to death. Maybe I can still do some damage before that though...

Agreyn runs towards the acid imps and luckily they're too slow and his club slays the weaker one. (Gary moved the fire sprite first)

Unfortunately the sprite's Fireball then takes out both him and Silvershield, leaving Mizana to face the four remaining sprites by herself.

She zaps the closest foe with Deadly Spark, the foe's Jump Back just slamming her against the wall behind her and her armor protects her from the enemy's Short Spark.

Mizana then moves closer and although the lighting sprites still have one more move to retreat, she casts her Wall Of Fire on the closest sprites. (I don't dare to click pass as I need to get kills before the acid sprites join the fight and Gary passing as well would ruin that plan...)

The electrical sprite jumps away from the lava but the fiery creature isn't fast enough and burns alive as the next turn begins.



Mizana's Deadly Spark fries the farther lightning sprite. She gets zapped by the other one but quickly moves between the center pillars, forcing the foe to pull back or get blasted.
Unfortunately the acid imp still finds a line of sight on the sorceress and hits her with an Acid Jet.
Her armor does protect her from the initial damage but she can't retreat from the acid pool before it eats away her protective armors.

Next turn - and Mizana draws Spark Inductor, Walk and an Acid Blast.
She moves away from the acid pool and as the acid sprite moves closer she blasts it with the Little Zap. The foe responds with another Acid Jet, leaving Mizana with 3hp and in another acid pool.
The sorceress retaliates with an acid pool of her own and then flees behind the pillar near the edge of the arena.

Unfortunately the lighting sprite manages to find a spot where it can target Mizana and a Powerful Spark ends her fight.

 

Attempt two

Agreyn and Silvershield again move behind the pillars, Silvershield inspiring Mizana. Armed with a bunch of spells she moves between the pillars and the lightning sprites all move to view.

Mizana targets the closest with an Acid Blast while another zaps her with a Deadly Spark. Mizana weakens the same foe with a Sorcerous Blast and creates a Hot Spot under one of the fire sprites that move into view. It retaliates with a Fiery Bolt.

I pass - and the lightning sprites turn out to have one more move ready and the weakened one retreats from the acid pool.

Mizana pulls back and the sprites once again advance, this time by teleporting. The weakest one meets Mizana's Sizzling Bolt but another one gets to zap Silvershield.

While the dwarf priestess inspires Agreyn by leaning suggestively towards him, Mizana takes extra damage from the western sprite's Powerful Spark (because of Unfortunate Surge).



Silvershield slaps an Unholy Frenzy on Agreyn and as Mizana gets struck down by an Arcing Spark, the human fighter charges the eastern group of foes. The lightning sprites teleport to safety but the fiery version is not as fast and it takes heavy damage before it can get away from the frenzied fighter.

Feeling lucky with her future cards Silvershield intercepts the western fire sprite as it retreats from the lava pool.

The acid imps flood the eastern bridges with acid but at least I get to pass first. The fire sprite spits fire one more time at Agreyn, his armors failing to stop the blast.

Next turn - blah. Although the weakest sprite burns to death from Mizana's earlier spell, neither remaining hero draws any attacks.
Both heroes retreat back behind the starting pillars and the sprites move towards Silvershield who retreats again.
The lightning sprites move to target her and the dwarf retreats again, only to be intercepted by the acid imps.

Unable to do anything else I pass but so does Gary.



Now this is looking better.

Silvershield hits the acid sprite violently and turns to use her Misguided Heal on Agreyn, his armor protecting him from the initial jolt.
The foes retaliate by creating an acid pool at Agreyn's feet but then the weakened little bugger makes the mistake of moving closer - and promptly falls to Agreyn's Penetrating Cut.
The other one again floods the area with acid but Agreyn decides to take the risk and runs to the imp. Although he ends up standing in the first puddle of acid, he also gets to strike the annoying foe twice.

Silvershield has to choose between staying in acid or moving to the free square where the lightning sprites could zap her.
Since she wouldn't be able to reach any foes from the free square she chooses the acid.

As the next turn begins, both heroes take heavy damage from the acid and the burning caused by earlier spells.

Agreyn strikes down the closest foe and Silvershield slaps him with a Righteous Frenzy. Before he has a chance to charge one of the foes gets to zap him, leaving him with 2 hp.
His sudden run manages to catch the fire sprite by surprise and it falls to the human's blow before another sprite zaps him down.

Silvershield doesn't stand much chance against the three foes, especially when she fails to draw any attacks on the next turn.
Amusingly she does manage to kill the fire sprite with two casts of Unholy Frenzy before getting blasted by the foes.

Gah. Where's the Resistant Hide when I'd really need it...

Attempt three

For the third attempt Mizana switches her Vicious Locket to a Perilous Bangle. Acid isn't very useful against the enemies here...
And once I've already begun the fight I remember I was supposed to switch Agreyn's weapons as well as penetrating isn't that useful here either.

Agreyn's feeling Wimpy right from the start but at least Mizana draws a couple of Hot Spots...

Everyone moves to safe locations and wait for the enemy to come, Silvershield's Inspiration giving Mizana another Hot Spot.

One acid imp finally moves to Mizana's line of sight:



Mizana turns the floor under its feet into lava and Gary passes.

The next turn starts pretty nicely. One fire sprite suffers from brain burn and Mizana draws one more Hot Spot and a Wall Of Fire!

The acid imp leaves the lava square after taking heavy damage but its new location is even worse as Agreyn's lunge pierces its black heart.
He then proceeds to charge along the western side, wanting to chase the enemies back so they won't be able to evade Mizana's spells, supported by Silvershield from the other side.
The enemies blast Agreyn with everything they've got but Mizana is ready to do her part.



First spell, floor turns to lava under the two imps in the back.
The fire sprites run, but Mizana keeps casting and both of them get trapped in lava as well.

The last imp is too far for Mizana to reach but even this result is more than hot...



The next turn begins and the molten rock takes a heavy toll on the foes, killing one and leaving four more with very little health.
Crispy!



Silvershield's Unholy Frenzy kills one lightning sprite, Mizana's Deadly Spark kills a fire sprite and her Bungled Bolt extinguishes the other one.
Agreyn gets blasted several times but charges towards the foes, wanting for them to waste their moves.

As they do just that, Mizana has en easy task of finding a good location and casting yet another lava pool under the stronger of the remaining two foes.

The next turn begins and it's now three heroes versus two 1hp sprites.

Silvershield's Unholy Frenzy kills one of them and as the other one fails to evade Agreyn he gets to Bludgeon the other one.

Victory! And without even getting Resistant Hide...

Loot: Opal Battlestaff, Soft Boots.

Gah, what a long adventure... Let's hope the last fight is easier, I really wouldn't want to replay all five previous fights...

 

Fight six

Ok, this looks like the final fight at last. Yes, it normally tells how many fights there are in an adventure in the starting screen but with my resolution that information gets cut off and that screen isn't draggable or scrollable.



Two Fire Sprites, two Acid Sprites, two Arcane Sprites, some victory squares.
No attacks for Agreyn, a drawback for Mizana and just moves and inspirations for Silvershield. Whee.

Agreyn inspires both her allies, giving Mizana a second Hot Spot and giving Silvershield a Trained Bludgeon. Then she moves out, trying to make the enemies use up their moves and spells in order to help Mizana and Agreyn.

The acid sprites and one fire sprite move towards the center and the heroes decide to take a risk and keep passing until the fire sprites move again.
Then Mizana moves out and casts a Hot Spot under the western fire sprite. I'd use the second Hot Spot as well but can't as I need to have enough cards to discard Unfortunate Surge.

As the other flame fiend is now close enough, Agreyn runs around the wall and towards the sprite, hitting it with a Trained Bludgeon, his armor protecting him from the foe's Fire Spray. The arcane sprite on the other side targets him with a Sorcerous Bolt but the fighter gets really lucky and manages to block the spell!

I pass first, Gary gets a VP from holding the middle, Mizana gets to discard the drawback card, the western fire spirit takes damage from the lava and Silvershield gets Altruism.



Unbelievably all the heroes are still at full health!

Mizana hits the weaker fire sprite with a Surging Bolt while the farthest arcane imp blasts Agreyn with a Sorcerous Blast that manages to hit past the fighter's armor.
Mizana advances and sprays the nearest foes with fire while Agreyn gets a similar treatment from the fire spirit blocking his way. His armor again stops all damage.

As the foes still have moves left, neither Mizana or Silvershield dare use their best attacks and the dwarf settles on healing Agreyn.

The fire sprites finally move and Silvershield goes on a Wild Run to the middle. She doesn't any extra cards to use Violent Overswing this turn though.
The dwarf gets zapped with a Penetrating Bolt as Mizana moves behind her allies and turns the middle of the magical portal floor into lava.

The acid sprites move and Agreyn moves to intercept the one coming from the side but the annoying fiend blasts all three heroes with acid, covering the floor with pools of acid.
Agreyn strikes the sprite but the other one slams Silvershield backwards with a Paralyzing Bolt.
The wounded sprite then retreats and Agreyn runs after it, wanting to get out of the acid.

New turn, one VP for Gary for holding the center and both fire sprites burn out, one from lava and the other from Mizana's earlier Burning Fingers.

Mizana gets a Spark Generator and some nice spells, Agreyn also getting some good attacks.



Mizana uses the Sorcerous Blast on the arcane sprite and since she's weak enough to fall at any moment, her Hot Spot on the same foe. Maybe it doesn't have any more moves... And at the very least it's one less victory square the enemies can occupy.

Agreyn gets hit by a Surging Blast but uses the opportunity to run towards the portal area.

Mizana finally falls to a Surging Bolt and the spell allows the arcane sprite to back away from the lava. Damn, it didn't have any actual moves but it did have that.

Agreyns blows nearly bring down the other arcane sprite but the acid imps continue to be annoying by yanking Silvershield backwards with Telekinesis and by creating an acid pool under Agreyn.
Unable to reach the foes in the middle, Silvershield switches targets and moves to slay the eastern acid imp with her Violent Overswing, despite ending up in the acid.

Turn ends and Gary scores another VP and Silvershield gets hit by a Surging Bolt.



Silvershield got Invigorating Touch but will she get to use it?

Silvershield marches back towards the center, manages to block the farthest arcane sprite's Sorcerous Bolt and hits the closer one with Invigorating Touch, the foe screaming as the spell sucks all its lifeforce and heals the dwarf.

Hmm, before using the spell I wasn't at all sure whether the spell would heal 6hp (as the spell has 6 damage listed) or 2hp (as the enemy only had 2hp left and the combat log says that the foe took 2 Unholy damage). The card says "For each point of damage this attack does, Heal 1 to yourself" which could be interpreted either way.
Oh well, better for me this way!

The remaining arcane sprite flees and Agreyn runs to the middle doing an All Out Attack with an Able Bludgeon and killing the acid imp instantly.

With the portal now in the heroes control the last sprite is forced to admit defeat.

Adventure Complete! Finally...

All heroes reach level 10 and gain a new Talent.



Loot: Demon Charm Of The Third Circle (Silvershield takes), Reinforced Mail, Destructive Wand, Weighted Shield, Stone Or Shards (Mizana takes) and treasure.

On the main map new places open up: Tomb of Tvericus (level 12 adventure), Temple of Scales (level 12 premium adventure) and the Goblin Bazaar (a new item shop).

The bazaar has some nice stuff but I don't want to buy anything just yet, better to wait and see if anything really good shows up later on.

I'll probably attempt Viscous Tombs next.

 

The Viscous Tombs

"Gah, I hate fighting these damn blobs," Agreyn complains as the heroes walk through the caverns. "How can I run my sword through one's heart if they don't even have chests?"
Silvershield stops, staring at the passage in front with her heat sensitive eyes.
"Well, looks like we're about to fight something else as well...."



Four black oozes and an armored skeleton. Hmm, should have probably switched weapons.

Mizana looks at the skeleton clattering closer.
'I'm not sure that guy has a heart for you to hit either...'

The foes move closer and Silvershield charges the skeleton, Agreyn choosing to fight one of the oozes.
Agreyn takes one blow, then All Out Attacks the black goop with a Penetrating Cut but the ooze decides to move towards Mizana.

The sorceress quickly retreats and Silvershield does the same as the southern foes assault her.

Mizana puts her fiery spells to good use and three of the oozes suddenly find themselves in lava.



"Ah, good ol' lava. If you can't solve your problem with it, you're not using enough", Silvershield chuckles.

Silvershield Bludgeons the angry pile of bones but gets hit by a Strong Chop back. She retreats along with Agreyn and the oozes ooze closer.

Agreyn and Silvershield exchange blows with the oozes, their armor taking most of the damage. As the black blobs continue their assault, Mizana uses two more Hot Spots, creating lava under the skeleton and one of the oozes.

As the turn ends the ooze melts in the molten rock while another hits Agreyn.



Mizana and Agreyn slay the weaker of the remaining oozes and Agreyn runs to attack the skeleton. The oozes probably had Amorphous Body which would have protected it from the bludgeon.
The foe manages to Parry the blow and Mizana joins the fight, zapping the skeleton with a Little Zap and as the enemy is still alive, if only barely, Mizana grins.
FWOOM.

Mizana's Fire Spray hits both foes and Silvershield and does more than enough damage to burn down the rattling bones.

Silvershield retreats and I pass after Gary.

The next turn begins and Agreyn's mails protect him from the ooze's hit. Agreyn retreats and as the ooze moves towards Mizana flees as well.

The ooze stops, unable to catch anyone and the sorceress immediately turns to flame the foe with Burning Fingers.

With Silvershield's Inspiration Mizana follows up with a Bungled Bolt.

The next turn begins and the ooze takes more burning damage but heads stubbornly towards Silvershield. It's journey ends to a well aimed Sizzling Bolt.



Loot: Rod Of Falling Cinders (which Mizana takes) and treasure.

 

Fight two

I have no idea what I'm going to face in the second fight but in case there will be more oozes, it's safer to switch weapons a bit.

Agreyn switches his second Hefty Stout Club to a Crummy Short Sword and Silvershield switches her second Club Of Wrath to a Neophyte's Axe.



Looks like I'm up against two Black Oozes and two Yellow Puddings.

"More of the damn things. I'm gonna need to burn my clothes afterwards just to get rid of the smell," Agreyn grumbles.
Silvershield slaps the fighter with the haft of her axe.
"Oh, stop yapping. Compared to the creatures we get back at ol' mountainhome these are nothing but puddles."

As the cards aren't looking that great Silvershield uses Demonic Feedback to grant Mizana more spells but gets hit by one of the yellow puddings.
Mizana tries to get to safety and retreats, and again as the black oozes move closer.
The yellow pudding manages to slither away from Mizana's first Hot Spot but cannot do the same to her Wall Of Fire.

She hits the same foe with a Sizzling Bolt as the black oozes move to surround the others. At the sorceress' command Agreyn and Silvershield shift but the human fighter gets hit twice as he continues to push through the foes' blockade.

Hmm, the black oozes have one card left and it might not be Amorphous Body...

Agreyn swats the dark blob once before retreating and it seems to take damage from the blow.

The next turn begins with the smell of burning pudding as the yellow blob takes heavy damage from the lava as well as Mizana's flames.

The black oozes move closer.



Mizana fries the foe in front of him with a Fire Spray as Silvershield blocks the blow from the other one.
The dwarf retaliates by sucking the pudding's life force with an Invigorating Touch.

Agreyn gets hit by the eastern ooze but feels strengthened by Silvershield's Unholy Frenzy and hits the blob back with an Able Bludgeon that does no damage thanks to the ooze's Amorphous Body. The fighter follows up with a Penetrating Cut that works a lot better.

Mizana blasts her own foe with a Sorcerous Blast and retreats, Agreyn following her example.

As the oozes have already used their attacks, Silvershield is free to heal up before I pass as well.

The next turn begins and Silvershield gets a sudden dose of Altruism and the remaining yellow pudding feels Vulnerable.



Mizana blasts the pudding to tiny flecks with her spells as the black oozes move to assault Agreyn. The fighter hits the weaker one, nearly killing it and Silvershield moves to help, hitting both blobs with a Clumsy Chop, the weaker one spreading out permanently from the blow.

As the ooze is again out of attacks for now, Silvershield quickly heals Agreyn and uses Wavering Faith on the ooze, managing to weaken its Amorphous Body. Unfortunately it still takes no damage from Agreyn's Trained Bludgeon. (it had another Amorphous Body in hand)

As the next turn begins, the last ooze gets to taste the combined cuts, chops and bolts of the heroes weapons and spells and is soon at 1hp. Although it manages to knock Agreyn out of the fight, Mizana's Bungled Bolt finally ends its struggles.



Loot: Reliable Scale Mail and treasure.

 

Fight three

"I think we're going to meet more enemies in a moment," Silvershield tells the others.
"Let them come, I'll burn them down like the others," Mizana shrugs.
"...and what if they're already on fire?"



This time I'll be facing three Yellow Puddings and two Burning Skeletons.

Two of the puddings feel quite vulnerable right from the start.

The skeletons move closer, forcing Mizana to retreat towards the puddings. The foes keep up their pursuit but the one coming towards Silvershield gets Bludgeoned by the dwarf.

The puddings ooze closer and Mizana quickly sprays all three with flames from her Burning Fingers but gets hit by a Perforating Strike of the burning skeleton. She has no time to worry about the bony foe as the puddings slither closer. They get another dose of flames from the sorceress and after retaliating with a Strong Bludgeon, one of them gets zapped with a Powerful Spark as well.

The puddings move on, intending to surround the dangerous spellcaster.

Agreyn, slapped earlier with an Unholy Frenzy, charges the foes and although he gets hit by a Burning Blade he also nearly kills the closest Vulnerable pudding with a frenzied Perforating Strike and turns around to hit the more skeletal foe with an Able Bludgeon and a Stab.



The left skeleton has 3hp, the other is still at full health. Mizana probably won't live to cast anything on the next turn...

The next turn begins with the smell of burning pudding, with one of them turning into ash.

The skeleton next to Mizana uses a Perforating Strike - but luckily on Agreyn. Mizana quickly retreats, thanking her lucky stars - and then the other skeleton gets suicidal and Fireballs itself and all three heroes, Mizana falling to the flames. Yeesh.

Agreyn hits the other skeleton which feels Vulnerable this turn and then quickly retreats from the approaching puddings.
The oozes try to reach Silvershield instead but the dwarf retreats as well, using the skeleton as a barrier. (It already attacked so it's safe to run around).

The burning puddings take plenty of damage from the earlier flames that finally sputter out. Unfortunately the heroes draw only a single attack between them so they're forced to flee, Agreyn taking a hit from the flaming bonewarrior's Burning Blade.

One of the puddings tries to dissolve Silvershield's armor.

As Agreyn is still without armor, the flames are quickly starting to threaten his life.



Silvershield exchanges blows with the skeleton.
Agreyn looks at the foes and then at the dwarf.
"Boost me once more! If I'm going to go down, I want to take out at least one of those things!"

Silvershield shrugs and casts the Unholy Frenzy on the fighter.

The stronger pudding slithers closer and Agreyn's frenzied dagger sinks into the yellow substance. He Blocks its Strong Bludgeon and his dagger strikes again, this time cleaving the pudding in two.

Silvershield moves once again, pulling the skeleton behind her and I get to pass first.

As the new turn begins, Agreyn succumbs to the flames.



It's two enemies against Silvershield, the burning skeleton with 7hp and the pudding with 3hp. Too bad I can't quite do enough damage with the Invigorating Touch to kill the skellie and it probably won't stay still so I could Charge it...

Silvershield sucks the skeleton's life with Invigorating Touch but is forced to retreat as it retaliates with a Perforating Strike.
The skeleton pursues her. (Damn, if only the pudding had moved here I could have charged and killed the skeleton)
As the pudding can't reach her yet I get to pass first.

Silvershield starts the next turn with no attack and even her Inspiration only brings a Healing Presence. She quickly runs away from the foes who are unable to catch her.

New turn - and no attacks. But the foes again fail to reach Silvershield.

Next turn - and still no attacks. She does get Inspiration which grants her - Unholy Power!



As the skeleton refused to co-operate I never got a chance to Charge it but the Unholy Power will work even better.

The foes refuse to move closer and Silvershield decides to wait as well, hoping to also come up with an idea against the pudding.

The next turn the foes finally moves closer and Silvershield's Unholy Power proves too powerful for the undead foe.
The dwarf also drew Violent Overswing but as it's crushing damage, it would probably do no damage against the pudding.

The next turn - and finally a Chop!

And one swipe later it's also Adventure Complete!



Loot: Light Mace, Battered Buckler and some treasure.

My victory opens a new adventure: The Pools of Slime (level 11 adventure). Gee, what kinda foes might that adventure involve...

 

The Pools of Slime

Hmm, looks like I lost the screenshot from this point.... Oh well.

"I should've come armed with a mop instead of these weapons", Agreyn mumbles. "And is that one grown moldy or why is it green?"

As the oozes decide to blubber in place Silvershield grants Mizana Unholy Power and slaps Agreyn with Unholy Frenzy, preparing both for the fight ahead.

The green slime suddenly extends upwards and flings a blob at Agreyn:



"Ewww.... I've been slimed!"

Mizana zaps the first ooze with a Bungled Bolt which causes the black blobs to mvoe to attack.
Mizana retreats as Agreyn gets hit. The fighter hits the ooze back with a Strong Bludgeon (just in case they had not drawn Amorphous Body yet) and the hit does a surprising amount of damage.

The oozes slither closer again and Agreyn hits the same ooze again, splattering it in all directions.

Another ooze hits Mizana and Agreyn moves to support her with a Penetrating Lunge.

Silvershield fights against the blobs targetting her, getting hit twice but returning the favor with a Chop.

Mizana quickly pulls back from the oozes and zaps one, then another.

"Burn those damn damn puddles! Burn them all!" Agreyn shouts at Mizana.

Mizana grins and raises the rod she was carrying.
"You asked for it.."



The cavern is suddenly full of fire and screaming allies.

Hmm, looks like the Burning part of the spell isn't working yet as the spell only dealt direct damage...
I'll probably switch Rod Of Cinders to something else soon but I just had to get to try out that spell

"Run away! She's gone mad!" Agreyn yells.



Well, the cards certainly want to see me run.

Mizana blasts the weakest ooze with her spells while Silvershield flees, running past the pool of acid the green jelly tries to create under her but gets blasted with another blob of slime, slowing her down.

The oozes catch up with the dwarf and the priestess quickly falls to their slimy blows.



Feeling armored enough, Agreyn?

Realizing the slime spitting green jelly forms the greatest threat, Mizana quickly hits it with a Powerful Spark.

Agreyn quickly runs away from the approaching oozes - and gets caught by an acid pool created by the jelly. Ouch.

Mizana flees to the other side of the little pond as the oozes slither towards Agreyn, not quite catching him.

I pass - and the oozes turn out to have another move card up their slimy sleeves but for some reason don't attack the fighter.

The next turn begins and although he takes damage from the acid, he's still very much in the fight and chops down the closest ooze - until another blob of slime ends his fight.



Mizana uses her Deadly Spark against the dangerous green foe but it responds with another blob, bringing the sorceress down as well.

 

Attempt two

For the next attempt Agreyn switches to an Old Adze, Novice Chopping and Monkey Skin Mask, Mizana switches back to Smoking Bangle and Silvershield switches her club to a Long Axe Of Repentance.

Silvershield inspires Mizana with an inspiring cheer just as the sorceress gets hit by a blob of slime.

As the oozes ooze closer, Mizana lets fly with her arsenal of spells:
Unstable Bolt at one of the oozes.
Bungled Bolt and Powerful Spark against the green jelly, both strengthened by her Spark Inductor.

Each hero gets hit by one of the oozes but fight back, Agreyn hitting his opponent with a Chop and a Penetrating Cut, Silvershield with her Invigorating Touch.

The foes manage to beat Mizana near to death and the green jelly adds to her plight by creating an acid pool under the sorceress.

I was planning to use Mizana's Hot Spot against the green jelly but the fiendish foe still hasn't used its move...



Mizana uses her last spell against eastern ooze, melting it in the pool of lava just as the acid ends her own magical rampage.

...aand Lady Luck makes fun of me once again. No attacks, but atleast there's a couple of Parry cards.

Silvershield dances away from the oozes trying to surround her, both her and Agreyn making sure to stay far from the green jelly.

Agreyn manages to parry the blow of the back ooze and counters with a Chop.

The green jelly moves closer and Agreyn retreats, hoping to stay away from the nasty creature's slimy attacks.
The jelly proves too quick and slimes Agreyn.

The next turn begins and Agreyn uses his only attack on the ooze next to him, getting hit back by the foe.
Silvershield tries to pull back from the approaching oozes and hits two of them with a Clumsy Chop as they again move closer.



Not looking terribly good, but at least I got chops.

Agreyn lets his axe sing against the black blobs, doing damage but not quite managing to kill either. The foes hit back and only some kind of miracle keeps him alive after the second hit.
Agreyn gets Simian Reflexes from Guardian Angel triggering.

Silvershield uses her misguided healing powers to slay the weakest ooze but gets hit by the one nearly behind her. She turns to head towards the green jelly but suddenly the the ground around them turns into a Mud Pit!

Agreyn grins. "Whoo, mud wrestling!"
Then he takes a look at the black oozes that clearly wouldn't mind doing just that.
"They're all yours," he remarks to his dwarven ally and runs towards the green jelly which retreats.

Agreyn and Silvershield chase after the jelly. As Agreyn has to go around the puddle, the faster foe manages to get partly behind the fighter, leaving him unable to block the foe's slime attack. He falls.

Silvershield manages to finally pin down the jelly but gets slimed by the foe.



Her Chop hits the Vulnerable foe and she heals herself as the other oozes move closer. Luckily the jelly had no more attacks.

Next turn - and no attacks. The foes fail to attack her either.

Next turn - and two Altruisms in a row. At least she gets to kill one ooze with the combination of Unholy Frenzy and Misguided Heal.
The other black ooze hits her as she moves to chase after the fleeing jelly.

Next turn - no attacks. More chasing but as Silvershield fails to block another Blob Of Slime and the other ooze gets to hit her from behind, her valiant fight ends as well.

Attempt three

Ok, this time the tactic will be to make sure Mizana stays alive as she's still the one with the best chances against the slow oozes.

Mizana commands her allies to shift forward and Silvershield inspires her with a little dance.

Agreyn and Silvershield both gets blasted with a blob of slime, the dwarf using her Wavering Faith on the black oozes to slow them down.

Mizana uses her Surging Bolt on the eastern ooze and the black blobs finally move forward. Mizana pulls back and the oozes keep on coming, pushing past Agreyn.
Mizana runs towards the green jelly, Agreyn taking one hit from the black oozes before Sprinting south as well, managing to reach the green jelly.

Silvershield also pushes past the line of oozes, taking two hits while doing that.



Argh, Mizana's cards certainly aren't looking very promising...

Silvershield backs away from the foes but they quickly move closer, forcing Mizana to flee. The dwarf has just enough time to boost Agreyn with an Unholy Frenzy before falling to the oozes' blows.

The human fighter uses the frenzy to hit the Vulnerable foe with a Weak Chop, but it quickly slithers away. Agreyn runs after the jelly, hitting it with a Penetrating Lunge as it fails to outrun the fighter.

I pass and Mizana gets to discard Unfortunate Surge, the jelly starting the next turn by quickly fleeing.



Agreyn chases after the elusive green puddle and his Stab brings it down to 2hp as the other oozes move closer.

Mizana quickly zaps the weaker ooze and then retreats, after taking blow that does only minimal damage thanks to her armors.

Agreyn takes hits from both black blobs but his Simian Reflexes allow him to retaliate with a Chop, finally slaying the green jelly.

The oozes move closer to Mizana but don't quite reach her and I get to pass first.



Agreyn hits both foes facing him with a Chop, taking a hit back.
Hmm, looks like the Small Pseudopod Strike's "Immediately discard the oldest revealed card in target's hand" even prevents Simian Reflexes from triggering..

The human fighter flees and as the foes happen to do nothing, the heroes do the same, Mizana not wanting to waste her Stone Spikes just to see the oozes dart forward again.

The next turn begins and the oozes again move closer, drawing the noose around the heroes tighter.

Mizana pulls back and the foes stop. Did they run out of moves?



Mizana fills the ground below the weaker eastern ooze with stone spikes but the ooze quickly slithers closer. Nope, still had moves.

Agreyn hits the weakest ooze on the other side with a Penetrating Cut but takes a blow from the strongest one behind him, luckily halved by his armor. His Lunging Strike kills the weakest ooze.

Mizana gets targetted by the ooze that managed to flee from her spike trap, but as the ooze tries to hit her, the sorceress Reflexive Teleports to the other side of the pond. Yes! Now that was an important successful roll!

Agreyn starts moving past the oozes (mainly to check that the oozes really don't have any more move cards left) and as the oozes fail to respond, Mizana turns the ground below the western ooze into lava.

The next turn begins and the ooze manages to escape from the lava, but only barely.

Agreyn retreats from the oozes, taking a hit but the weak blow is easily stopped by his Cloth Armor.

Mizana's Sorcerous Blast takes out one of the oozes but the remaining ones move closer and as the foes take no damage from his Able Bludgeon (had to try, there was a small chance that the foes didn't have Amorphous Body) they quickly bring down the weakened fighter, leaving the pretty redhead alone against the remaining oozes.

The oozes move closer and the fiery sorceress burns down the weaker one with a Fire Spray, then retreating from the last ooze.

The turn ends and the ooze again slithers towards the sorceress.



And it burns, burns, burns - the Wall Of Fire, the Wall Of Fire

Mizana zaps the ooze with a Bungled Bolt and as the blob fails to move, pulls back once more, just to make sure the foe is not planning a quick spurt.
Then she raises her hands and the ground around the black ooze melts.

The ooze manages to barely escape the hot lava but the sorceress just shrugs and blasts the big bad black blob away with a Deadly Spark.

Loot: Altruism and some treasure.

To be continued...

 

Mizana was definately a good choice to swap into the party early on, great for the story and seems quite useful on the dmg front

 

Yeah, Mizana is very useful. It's pretty telling that these days I more often use Inspiration on her instead of Agreyn, although both generally do about the same amount of damage.

If I was going for maximal efficiency, I'd probably switch Silvershield to a fighter but she's certainly not bad either and I still want to see how useful she's going to be in the higher levels.

--

Fight two



Well, this should be easier than the previous fight, thanks to all these walls.

"More of those damn things," Agreyn grumbles. "I want to hit something with a head again!"

The heroes wait as the oozes slowly ooze closer. The green jelly moves to a position to attack Mizana but as the sorceress cannot retreat thanks to her Unstable Bolt, Agreyn charges towards the foe, intending to drive it back and getting blasted with a Blob Of Slime as a reward. (Failed Simian Reflexes roll, succeeded in armor roll.) The jelly also flings another blob, hitting Mizana.



Agreyn runs to pin the annoying little slime against the wall.

The black oozes move towards Mizana, her response a Fire Spray hitting the first blob.

The green jelly tries to get away from Agreyn, his Penetrating Cut making a deep gash on the Vulnerable foe. The angered slime flings yet another blob at the fighter.

Mizana runs down the narrow passage, intending to take out the green foe first - and takes another blob in the face as she reaches the enemy. Angered, her spell turns the ground beneath the jelly into lava.

The first black ooze reaches Silvershield who deftly parries the blow. The other one attacks Agreyn, hitting the fighter past his Mail.

The next turn begins with the lava boiling the green jelly alive and the northern black ooze attacking Silvershield.



Agreyn hits the black ooze and then retreats along with Silvershield. The oozes try to surround Agreyn who takes a hit. Again the Simian Reflexes were useless as it failed to trigger earlier and now got discarded thanks to the Small Pseudopod Strike.

Mizana retreats back towards the north, zapping the ooze there just as the other one moves out of the other passage, moving behind Agreyn.

Silvershield pulls back from the northern ooze and I pass after Gary.

Agreyn takes another blow, losing his chance to Run.



The fighter hits the Vulnerable yellow pudding with a Penetrating Cut and a Penetrating Lunge.

The northern black ooze slithers after Silvershield, getting a taste of her axe. The dwarf Blocks the blob's Bludgeon and the ooze turns back, moving towards Mizana who easily evades the blob and throws a Sizzling Bolt at the other black ooze. I didn't want to waste the spell against the 2hp foe, as I'd have lost out on the burning damage as well.

Silvershield grants Mizana a Healing Presence and thanks to her Altruism is able to continue with taking out the weakest ooze with a Misguided Heal.

The next turn begins with Agreyn taking a hit from the slowly sizzling black ooze and losing his chance to run.



Agreyn's Chop nearly kills both oozes but his failure to block the pudding's Strong Bludgeon sends him flying against the wall and ends his fight.

Mizana and Silvershield take their places in the north and as the yellow pudding reaches them, the Vulnerable foe gets to taste the dwarf's axe, Mizana's Arcane Curse and then finds itself sinking in molten rock. The priestess' Unreliable Block manages to stop another Strong Bludgeon.



Ok, looks like I'll be winning this one soon...

For one turn neither the heroes or the oozes do anything but on the next the black blob seems to sense the heroes' presence and slithers towards them. It falls to Silvershield's Unholy Power.

The dwarf quickly steps aside after inspiring Mizana with a sultry wink and as the last foe oozes around the corner, the sorceress' Little Zap stops it for good.

Loot: another Cloudy Charm and a Red Iron Ring

 

Fight three



"Hooray, finally I can kill something that actually walks," Agreyn laughs, drawing his sword.
"Umm, looks like those guys are already dead..." Mizana notes.

Silvershield inspires Agreyn by adjusting her armor a little as the heroes wait for the foes to move closer.

The green jelly hits Mizana with a Blob Of Slime and tries to create an acid pool under Agreyn but the fighter just runs towards the little side cave that smells horribly like yellow puddings.
The blobs pour out of the cave and meet Agreyn's wildly swinging axe - Chop! Chop!
As the puddings start to surround him, he hits one with a Perforating Strike and Silvershield joins the fray, killing the weakened blob with a Clumsy Chop while the zombies continue their slow march towards the heroes.

The zombies have already used three moves this turn. Surely they're out of moves now?



"Stay back, you filthy undead!"
Mizana's command is accompanied by a roaring heat that melts the stone under the zombies' feet into lava.

Gary passes. Why haven't the yellow puddings attacked at all? Could they really have drawn no attacks?

Mizana runs next to Silvershield and with a wide grin sprays all three oozes with fire from her Burning Fingers, then quickly pulls back before the yellow ooze has a chance to retaliate.
Looks like they really don't have any attacks. Lucky me!

The air is soon full with the smell of burning dead flesh and boiling ooze as the lava and Mizana's flames take their toll.

Agreyn takes a hit from the weaker pudding but his axe returns the favor and instantly slays the pudding. Unfortunately the yellow ooze seems to just merge into the other pudding and it looks clearly healthier again. (Death Meld)

Mizana zaps the green jelly with a Deadly Spark. The ooze quivers for a moment and flings a chunk of acid towards Mizana's feet, forming an acid pool under her.

Agreyn lunges at the yellow pudding as the zombies continue their slow march, past the lava.

Mizana steps away from the dangerous spot while Silvershield pursues the retreating yellow pudding, the green jelly fleeing as well.

Three possible targets for Mizana's Hot Spot. The big question is: Does any of them still have move cards left?



Mizana turns the ground under the fleeing jelly to lava - and Gary passes.

Agreyn manages to Block the incoming slime blob and Silvershield quickly ends the mostly melted green jelly's struggles with a Misguided Heal, The blob splatters hit the nearby zombies and actually seem to heal one of the previously burned ones!

As the zombies shuffle closer, Mizan runs to intercept them and her Fire Spray lights all four on fire.

The pudding seems to have trouble deciding what to do and just turns in place.
Why is it STILL not attacking? Can it really have that bad luck with cards or is Gary just being dumb?
Agreyn lunges at the pudding while Silvershield uses her healing powers on Mizana.

The flames eat the two weakest zombies but the others finally reach the heroes, getting to meet Agreyn's axe.
The fighter quickly parries the first zombie's attempt to bite him and hits the other zombie with a Penetrating Cut.

The pudding finally jerks awake from its strange slumber and slams Agreyn with a Staggering Blow!



This proves to be too little too late as the foes fall one by one:
First zombie - Agreyn's Weak Strike
Second zombie - Silvershield's Misguided Heal.
Yellow pudding - Mizana's Unstable Bolt, followed by a Bungled Bolt.

Adventure complete!


The heroes reach level 11, gaining new Talents.



Loot: Tough Hide Shirt, Vitriolic Ring, Glowing Hide Armor, Altruism

My victory opens up a new adventure: Shrine of the Astral Guardians (level 13)

Thanks to the latest update, all of the remaining premium adventures how now also appeared on the map.

Checking the shops, Mizana buys a Robe Of The Geomancers and Chainmail Socks.

And since with the latest update Gary gives free pizza to be used on the first visit to the chest shop, I buy one Magnificient Chest:



Contents: Apprentice Mobility (Mizana takes), Pine Staff, Brown Mail Boots, Zinnober Boots (Silvershield takes), Orb Of Burning Acid.

 

Agreyn buys a Deathcurse Mail to replace his Old Padded Mail and Silvershield switches her Long Axe Of Repentance to a Neophyte's Cleaver.

Then it's again time for

Gladiatorial Arena, Round 1 - revisited

Mizana and the lizard cleric immediately dart away from the middle as the fight begins.

Agreyn hits the middle gouger in the back as the reptilian keeps pulling back and quickly hits the other one as well before it has a chance to turn.

The middle gouger tries a Predictable Stab on Agreyn but the fighter deftly parries the blow, the hairy beast's Crude Plates protecting it from the jolt of the failed attack.

Mizana quickly zaps the same foe again, hitting its armor and pushing it further.

The black ooze hits Agreyn twice. The human fighter hits the closer gouger again with a Penetrating Lunge but gets inflicted with an Unholy Curse by the reptilian cleric and the gouger's Potent Stab does nasty damage, barely leaving the fighter standing.

I get to pass first.



Agreyn quickly hits the ooze and the stronger gouger with a Chop and although he gets slapped with a Path Of Knives by the lizard, he does get to hit the other gouger with a Penetrating Cut before falling.

Having only a single block Silvershield retreats towards Mizana, the stronger gouger in pursuit. She inspires the sorceress (who gains a Cautious Sneak), uses her Wavering Faith to get rid of the gouger's armor and then provides the sorceress with even more options, taking damage from the Demonic Feedback.

The sorceress zaps the closer gouger with a Sorcerous Blast, then sneaks and runs around the middle, making sure to stay far enough to keep the foes from getting to stab her.

As the black ooze moves to assault Silvershield, Mizana creates stony spikes below the first gouger and then turns the ground beneath the enemy cleric into lava.

As the turn ends, the spiked gouger falls and the reptilian cleric takes heavy damage from the molten stone.



Silvershield flees from the ooze but it is faster and easily catches up with the dwarf who quickly heals herself, hoping to give Mizana enough time to to use her spells.

The foes - do nothing.

Hmm, the ooze may be out of attacks but all the enemies still have move cards so I can't just use the Wall Of Fire yet.
And since there's no sure way to make the foes use up their moves I come up with an alternate plan.

Mizana quickly fills three of the remaining four victory squares with lava and the remaining gouger quickly retreats to the vacant square.
The lizard also flees the middle but this allows Mizana to get near the gouger and take it out with a Little Zap and a Bungled Bolt, although she does get hit by a Potent Stab which nearly proves fatal.

Having no other options left, Silvershield whacks the ooze next to her, but unsurprisingly the blow does no damage.

As the next turn begins, Silvershield gets hit by the ooze.



Damn, the ooze has 11hp which is a little too much for Silvershield's Chops to be able to kill it...

Silvershield hits the black blob twice while the lizard cleric keeps cursing her with Misfortune, the first attempt failing because of the reptile's Defensiveness. She takes a hit from the from the ooze as Mizana moves to the center.

A difficult choice.
Mizana could kill the ooze, saving Silvershield but if the lizard has a Potent Stab still in hand, the foe could easily reach and kill her. Or she could kill the lizardman but if the ooze still has any 4+ damage attacks, then Silvershield would die.
The ooze has only two unrevealed cards versus the lizard's three, but the cleric tends to have more curses that aren't as dangerous here.

Oh well, Mizana still has a Run in her hand as well and Gary still needs two VPs to win, so the choice is clear.

Mizana looks at the two remaining enemies for a moment and then decides to aid her friend and blasts the ooze apart with her Deadly Spark.

The remaining reptilian foe moves to occupy the middle and Mizana quickly pulls back just in case.

The enemy stays in the middle and although this grants its side with another VP at the turn end, another Deadly Spark sends it flying and the crowds cheer as the heroes prove victorious!



Loot: Amber Amulet and Apprentice Pyromancy

--

Thanks for mightymushroom and Pengw1n for their advice regarding this arena fight. I just decided to ignore the advice and still do it my way

Yea, staying in the middle might work with enough drawn attacks during the first two turns, especially with a more durable party, but Mizana's too fragile to survive against those Potent Stabs and Silvershield doesn't have enough attacks to be useful in the melee against multiple foes.

 

Fight two

Agreyn stares at the enemies lined up on the other side with a confused expression.
"Huh? We need to fight a TREE now? What are we, lumberjacks?"
Silvershield nods.
"Can't trust those leafy buggers. Good thing I brought my axe..."



Three Kobold Avengers, one Human Priest and a Beach Tree. And a bunch of VP squares scattered around the arena.

As Silvershield inspires Mizana twice with a little dance, the Combustible tree walks to the nearest VP square. The dwarf then continues to the nearest VP square on the way to the enemies but gets hit by a Long Thin Branch.

Agreyn is a little faster and his run and a Penetrating Lunge at the end of it allow him to reach and hit the tree. The enemy priest, Miriam Sanctar, quickly heals some of the damage.

Mizana creates Stone Spikes under the leafy foe just as the avengers shout something in kobold and run forward, one of them occupying a VP square and the others moving to Agreyn and Silvershield.

Agreyn turns to hit the smaller foe with a Penetrating Cut but gets Bludgeoned in return. He gets hit by a Clubbing Branch as well by the larger opponent but his Simian Reflexes allow him to counter with a Chop that hits both foes.

Silvershield hits his kobold opponent with a Clumsy Chop but the enemy's Shambling Bash knocks her back from the victory square.



Agreyn takes another heavy hit from a Bludgeoning Branch while Mizana sneaks around the edge of the arena, zapping the kobold there with an Arcane Curse. She then turns the ground underneath the dangerous beach tree into lava, just before the Wimpy kobold in front of her Lunging Bashes her back. She slides directly in the VP square while the attackers lunge has moved it out of its own square.

With one from each team standing in a VP square, neither side gets VPs and the next turn begins with the spiked beach tree turning into a massive torch .



Mizana slays the weakest kobold with her Unstable Bolt as Agreyn and and the enemy priest move to occupy VP squares.

The kobolds charge Agreyn and Silvershield and although the human fighter is unable to attack, Silvershield uses her weapons to deadly effect and would have killed her opponent if it wasn't for her counterpart's timely healing.

Agreyn falls to the other kobold's Lunging Bash but Mizana quickly evens the score by running to killing the weaker kobold with a Deadly Spark. As the dwarf now gets to occupy the vacant VP square, the heroes hold more squares than the enemy and score another point.



Silvershield slaps the angry kobold with an Invigorating Touch, followed by a Clumsy Chop. The foe attempts to Mob Attack her but does minimal damage being alone.

Miriam Sanctar moves to another VP square but as the enemies still hold only one, Silvershield and Mizana just wait and see what the enemy will do.

As they do nothing apart from Miriam healing the kobold, it's another VP for the good guys, leaving them just one shy from victory.



Well, an attack card for Silvershield would have meant direct victory but this is good as well. Feel free to try occupying VP squares now, suckers...

As Silvershield heals herself, the kobold avenger runs towards the VP square by the edge. It curses as the square suddenly fills with lava but is apparently unable to leave fast enough. For her amusement, Mizana also fills Miriam's square with molten rock, forcing her to run to another square.

The kobold screams pitifully as the lava under its feet burns it down, giving the heroes enough VPs to win.

Loot: Crown Of Thorns, Blessed Hide.

Ouch. That tree was pretty dangerous, and would have been even more so if my heroes were at level 9 instead of the current level 11.

 

Fight three



My heroes start at the opposite end, couldn't fit both groups in the same screenshot.

"Well, this should be an easy fight," Silvershield laughs. "Agreyn gets to kick that pansy elf around, Miz's opponent will trip on his own beard and I'll take care of the dwarf.

Silvershield inspires Mizana by whispering something in her hear but the sorceress feels a bit too inspired and can't even move without taking damage from her Unstable Bolt.

The enemies move closer and the enemy wizard, Lumbrezz the Mad tries to zap Mizana with a Deadly Spark but her Resistant Hide dissipates the blast.

I pass, waiting for the foes to come closer but as they run out of moves, Gary passes as well.

As the next turn begins, Lumbrezz changes tactics and zaps Agreyn with an Arcing Spark, the electrical blast hopping to hit Silvershield and Mizana as well. Mizana takes no damage but the other's aren't as well protected.

Silvershield heals Agreyn, and feels like chopping thanks to her altruistic trait.

Mizana gets zapped again, but she just grins insolently at the older wizard.
"Can't you do better than that, old man?"

I'm still waiting for the enemy fighter to move first.

The old wizard runs after the elf Holloborn and as Agreyn starts heading towards northeast, the enemy fighter dashes towards him.
As Mizana runs to get to zapping range of the elf, Lumbrezz retreats towards the northwest corner, as if sensing Agreyn was preparing to Sprint after him.



Mizana zaps Holloborn the Nimble, who proves somewhat worthy of his name, his Quick Reactions allowing him to hit Agreyn after the blast.

As the enemy dwarf, Vingus Stoneblessed moves towards the heroes, Silvershield moves to a better location and Charges the insolent elf fighter.

The nimble enemy ignores the wound in his side and lunges past the dwarf at Agreyn who fails to block the quick strike.
Despite his initial success, Holloborn himself in deep trouble as both Agreyn and Silvershield start flailing at him. The elf manages to lunge at Agreyn once more but three consecutive Chops is more than he can handle and he falls, driving the crowd wild as they howl for more blood.

The first enemy down, the heroes run towards the mad wizard, Silvershield getting hit by a Short Spark.

The next spell hits Agreyn, who again fails to block the blast.



Vingus soon finds himself with the impossible mission of keeping his ally alive, as his heals are no match for Agreyn's blows and Mizana's spells.
The mad wizard even makes the mistake of trying to escape from the corner as this just allows Silvershield to reach him and join in on the beating.

Despite the heavy damage Lumbrezz is still on his feet.
"You... can't... kill me... I'm more powerful than all of you!"

Silvershield stops and starts chanting in a demonic language. Agreyn looks towards her and suddenly an Unholy Power fills him - but the fighter is unable to use the power to attack the enemy wizard. Holding his head the fighter just moves towards the enemy priest. Drew a Parry and a Solid Mail.

Mizana has a Wall Of Fire left, too bad the enemy priest still hasn't used his Walk so I can't hit both foes with the same spell...

Mizana looks at Lumbrezz, shaking her head.
"You're nothing but a problem. But there's a solution for that."

The old man looks at her counterpart with a puzzled look that turns into terror as he begins sinking in the lava suddenly spreading beneath his feet.



One foe left, and something strange going on with the top bar.

Agreyn stabs Vingus, forcing the dwarf to move closer to counter. The human fighter hits again, managing to Parry Vingus' Strong Bash, but just feels Superstitious afterwards.
Agreyn retreats and Silvershield gets hit by another Strong Bash and cannot Parry as she's still facing the wrong way.
The blow just knocks her against Mizana and she counters with a Clumsy Chop, forcing the enemy to retreat.

Mizana quickly runs to a better vantage point and sets the foe on fire with her Burning Fingers.

The next turn begins - and Vingus just stands there, glaring at the heroes.
"Come here, you fools! I'll break the knees of the first one who tries!"

Silvershield uses Wavering Faith on the lone enemy, making him drop his Mail. Vingus tries to heal himself but Mizana counters her attempt with a Deadly Spark that manages to get past his Heavy Armor.

No attacks left for Vingus, so...

Agreyn and Silvershield both move in to hit the angry dwarf, pulling back before the foe has a chance to do anything.

Next turn and Vingus tries healing himself again and then retreats against the back wall.

Agreyn has one penetrating attack but the others have no attacks at all so I just pass.



Well now we're talking!

Silvershield uses her Invigorating Touch to suck health from Vingus, leaving him weak enough that Agreyn's Penetrating Lunge is just enough to end the enemy priest's fight.

Hooray, Adventure Complete!

Loot: Crummy Short Sword, Simple Wooden Shield, Untrained Flexibility - and a legendary arcane item!



So I could hit 5 foes in a line with those? Cool, even if a bit too circumstancial.

 

Since it'll be goblins in the next adventure, it's probably better to switch to chops again...

Agreyn switches Woodhome's Wound to another Crummy Short Sword.

Mizana switches her robe to Robe Of Cinders, her boots to Brown Mail Boots, and puts Miligar's Dragon Tongue and Rod Of Falling Cinders to use. Against the weak goblins Firestorm could be actually useful...

Then the heroes are off to fight

Goblins in the Woods



"Woohoo, time to kick some goblin butt," Agreyn yells.
"Yeah, even you can deal with these weaklings," Mizana mocks.
"Hah, I'm going to kill more of them than you!"
"Wanna bet?"
"You're on!"

Mizana pulls out a familiar looking rod from her robes and raises it.
Agreyn's grin melts away. "...oh no!"
"AAAAhhh!"

The air is again full of screams as the Firestorm deals fiery damage to every creature in the area, except for one measly goblin that manages to Missile Block the blast.

There is a loud roar from the nearest building and a goblin hulk emerges from the doorway, getting a Deadly Spark in the face from the beautiful sorceress.

Hmm, I wonder if the hulks still have move cards left...

Agreyn darts past her allies, running towards the goblin shaman near the western building's wall but the spellcaster retreats when it notices Agreyn's approach.

The two goblins that followed the hulk from the building move to assault Agreyn, managing to slip away from Silvershield's axe while doing that.

The hulk however does reach the dwarf, and the two enter a ferocious duel, the hulk's Powerful Hack doing the same amount of damage as Silvershield's three chops.

The shamans decide to act very goblinlike and drive the second hulk into Righteous Frenzy while it has no chance of reaching the heroes before the spell expires.



Mizana blasts the first hulk down with her Unstable Bolt.
"First hulk down," she yells.
"I'm still just warming up," Agreyn replies, hitting the goblin in from of him with a weak blow. His next strike takes the goblin down. "One!"

Silvershield gets surrounded by the goblins and fails to Parry their first hit. The second hulk reaches the dwarf and he quickly retreats.

The shaman manages to surprise Agreyn by attacking him from behind. I could have used a Run to turn Agreyn around but I wanted to pass first.



Agreyn and Silvershield aren't exactly drawing many attacks here...

Silvershield slaps Agreyn with Unholy Frenzy and her goblin counterpart does the same to the goblin between them!
The goblin doesn't get a chance to use its newfound strength as Agreyn's quick Stab takes it down.
"Two for me!"

The hulk tries to reach Silvershield but she and Mizana quickly retreat from the huge foe. The hulk goes after the dwarf but she proves faster and Charges towards the side.
Agreyn tries to reach the smaller goblin but it takes one look at the frenzied human and runs after the weaker looking sorceress instead.
Bah, I can't seem to get two foes in a line to use Flame Jet properly...

Mizana dances away from the kobold and targets the bigger foe instead. The goblin hulk roars in pain as Mizana's Flame Jet sets its clothes on fire and turns the grass under its feet into lava.

Agreyn chases after the smaller goblin (hoping get an attack card with a successful Parry) and stops the goblins Bludgeon with a Weak Block.



As the molten rock eats away at the huge goblin, Mizana's Sorcerous Blast hits it right between the eyes and the hulk collapses, falling into the pool of lava with a splash.
"Second hulk down!"

Silvershield parries the shaman's attempt to Bludgeon her while Agreyn's Reaching Swing takes out the weaker goblin.
"Three!"

The shaman quickly retreats from Silvershield before he has a chance to strike but the dwarf feels weak enough to just move behind the corner, preferring to wait for the shamans to come to her.

The shamans use their heals to undo the damage caused by Mizana's flames while Mizana and Agreyn start running around the building, intending to surround the remaining foes.

The next turn the shamans seem to have trouble deciding which way to go. They finally decide to try their luck in Silvershield's direction but the first one to reach the corner meets the dwarf's Invigorating Touch and although the shaman manages to Bludgeon the dwarf, Silvershield's blows and Misguided Heal prove stronger.
With only one shaman left, Agreyn races towards the goblin but Mizana is faster and her Fire Spray and Hot Spot burn the lst goblin down.
"Three for me!"

With the foes dead, the heroes continue onwards.
"Well, looks like it was a draw then," Agreyn notes.
"What do you mean a draw? I killed both of those huge hulks and all your kills were those weak ones!"
"Hey, the bet was about who killed more goblins, wasn't it? Not about who killed the bigger ones! Right, Silvershield?"
The dwarf looks at her friends with a peculiar look on her face.
"So... you're asking a dwarf woman whether size matters?"

Loot: Charged Opal (which Mizana takes, switching Miligar's Dragon Tongue Out) and Blessed Hide.

 

Fight two

"Yuck! Spiders," Mizana notes as the first eight-legged freak lowers to the ground.
"They don't taste too bad roasted," Silvershield shrugs.
"That part I can take care of," the sorceress mutters.

Looks like I managed to screw up the screenshot from this point. Instead of the game the screenshot showed wordpad

The dwarf priestess inspires Mizana who just feels cursed. As the spiders skitter closer, she turns steps backwards, hitting the arachnid with a Surging Bolt.
"Don't even think about biting me!"
Silvershield isn't quite as fast in retreating and the spider uses its Infected Bite on her.

Mizana is forced to dance backwards again as the western goblin charges towards the heroes, while Silvershield takes another hit from the second goblin running from the east.
The dwarf immediately counters with a Chop that hits both enemies but takes a Penetrating Stab from the western goblin as well.

Finally having the time to use her spells, Mizana lets loose her flames, turning the squares beneath the nearest goblin and and the weakest spider into scorching lava.
The spider manages to evade the molten rock but makes the mistake of moving closer to Agreyn who slays the unfortunate critter and wounds the other arachnid pushing closer from the east.

Silvershield takes another bite and retreats away from the third spider who targets Agreyn instead.

The next turn begins with the slow goblin screeching because of the lava under its feet, along with the second spider that was foolish enough to step in the lava.
Unfortunately Silvershield also succumbs to the spider poison.

The goblins swarm towards Agreyn.



Bah, the cards aren't that great...

Mizana uses her Fire Spray (which she got as replacement for Spark Generator) against the nearest foes as the spiders move closer. Then the sorceress quickly flees, with Agreyn following her example as he gets hit as well by a spider's Infected Bite.

He doesn't quite pull back far enough and one of the goblins manages to hit him with an Impaling Stab. Damn, forgot that the goblins had range 2 attacks. Especially since the figures are armed with swords you just don't expect long range stabs...
The human fighter retreats again and although the spiders move, none of them dares to cross the lava.



Situation isn't looking terribly good...

As the next turn begins, Agreyn runs to the other side of the enemies, hoping to lure some of them away from Mizana.
The foes surprisingly do nothing and Mizana uses the chance to move towards south.

The spiders suddenly spring into action and skitter towards Agreyn. Mizana commands the fighter to retreat but two of the goblins run after him, the third one choosing the sorceress as its target and hitting her with a Shredding Strike.

Agreyn swings at the approaching goblins once, twice, three times but the small foes just surround him, apparently wanting to toy with his plight. Or maybe they're just out of attacks?

As the enemies stop for a moment, Mizana quickly uses Hot Spot against the closest goblin.



The unlucky goblin burns as the poison finally fells Agreyn.

...aand Mizana draws Unfortunate Surge. Gah.

Mizana quickly flees from the foes after the shrieking goblin hits her with another Shredding Strike. The spiders follow and the sorceress slams the first one with a Sizzling Bolt.
Unfortunately the spider gets close enough to reach Mizana with a lunge and the sorceress falls as well.

Attempt two

Agreyn starts with no attacks.

Mizana hits the western spider with a Deadly Spark as the goblins run to attack. Silvershield hits the first one and the spiders also skitter closer, eager to join the fight.

Mizana pulls away from the main melee but one of the spiders targets her, hitting the sorceress with a Lunging Bite.

Silvershield Chops the nearest enemies. The goblin ignores the wound and swiftly hits Agreyn with an Impaling Stab. The blow surprises Agreyn who is still facing the wrong way to Parry the blow. He grunts in pain - and gets bitten by the spider, again from a direction he cannot fully guard against.
When the third blow comes, Agreyn finally manages to Parry and whacks the first goblin.

On the other side of the clearing Mizana uses her Fire Spray to hit the two closest enemies and then turns to aid her allies with a strategically placed lava pool under the western kobold.

The rest of the spiders leap towards Agreyn and Silvershield and the human fighter wisely decides to retreat..
Silvershield isn't fast enough to do the same and the spider's Infected Bite surprises her.

The turn ends and the first goblin sinks into the lava, never to walk again.



Mizana blasts the weaker spider near Silvershield but the one closer to her uses the opportunity to sink its poisonous fangs into her. The sorceress counters with an Unstable Bolt while the dwarf manages to Block the other arachnid's Vicious Bite.

The dwarf then retreats, the nearest goblin in pursuit while the other one uses the opportunity to close up with Mizana. The sorceress promptly retreats.

The other goblin catches up with Silvershield and hits her with a Perforating Strike. The dwarf curses, turns and with her Inspiration Mizana gets to zap the spider skittering towards her with a Powerful Spark. She also got Firestorm but as the foes have a lot more health, it wouldn't be a good idea to use it now....

The next turn begins and the spiders move to surround Agreyn.



Not looking good. None of the heroes has much health left and there's not much room to maneuver either.

Agreyn retreats from the spiders and one of them switches targets, lunging after the weak Silvershield. The dwarf quickly considers her options and decides that their best chances of winning require Mizana's spells - and she targets the sorceress with Demonic Feedback, falling to the aftershock. And Mizana didn't even get any good cards from Silvershield's sacrifice. Bah.

Mizana runs between the foes to a better location as the western goblin targets Agreyn with a Shredding Strike.



The spiders move again, this time running after Mizana.
Agreyn moves to help and his Chop cleaves the weaker spider in two, wounding the goblin in the process.

Mizana uses her spells against the other spider, not quite doing enough damage to kill it.

As the southern goblin moves to surround Mizana, the sorceress quickly runs east.
Agreyn falls to his opponent's Perforating Srike and as Mizana can't shake the equally fast spider, she also falls to its sharp fangs.

A hard fight. You start surrounded with little room to keep away from enemy blows and all six foes have plenty of health. Then again at this point it's to expected already.

 

Attempt three

Mizana switches her Rod Of Falling Cinders to Red Iron Ring. The foes have too much health for Firestorm to be useful.

As the enemies move closer, the heroes decide to retreat towards north.

Mizana zaps one of the spiders, but the foes prove really fast and quickly close up the distance to the group. Damn, they had three moves.
Silvershield's axe wounds two of the arachnids but one of them manages to sink its poisonous fangs in the dwarf's arm.

Agreyn manages to hit the goblin coming towards him with a Reaching Swing but fails to Block the foe's Penetrating Stab.
Mizana uses her spells to turn the ground the beneath the weakest spider into lava, but the agile foe quickly hops back out of harm's way. FOUR moves? You've gotta be kidding me...

The western kobold moves closer to Agreyn but gets whacked and Silvershield heals herself.

The next turn begins and Agreyn fails to again block the goblin's Perforating Strike.



..and the cards don't exactly look promising...

"Pull back," Mizana yells Silvershield and the dwarf does as instructed,
one of the spiders lunging after her. This gives Mizana the space she needed and her Fire Spray hits all three spiders, setting them on fire. One of the spiders feels vengeful enough to dive into the lava in order to bite the sorceress.

Agreyn hits the goblin facing him and retreats before the third spider has a chance to bite the fighter.

Unfortunately both remaining goblins are skillful enough to hit Silvershield and Mizana over the spiders in front of them.

The turn ends and the first spider burns to ashes in the molten rock.



Finally I get some good attacks but it's already too late.

The heroes fight valiantly but unable to retreat they are relentlessly struck down one by one, managing to barely kill two of the remaining five foes.

Defeat.


Checking the shops again, Mizana buys a Crisping Rod to replace Red Iron Ring, switching back to using Novice Mobility and Robe Of The Geomancers.

Silvershield switches back to her trusty Clubs Of Wrath and Agreyn picks up his Hefty Stout Club again.

Ok, I'm going to try something else next.