Zalminen's Beta Diary

Before heading out again, I check the shops and Agreyn buys Ogre Hide Armor. Superstition was a bit too annoying.

Then it's time to visit

The Tomb of Tvericus



"Hmm. Did somebody woke up the dead? I wonder what are they after... "

As Mizana's question is answered by a chorus of 'bbrraaaiinnns', Agreyn runs to intercept the first group of zombies moving towards the heroes.
He proves his Slicer abilities by hitting the first two with a Chop and Silvershield runs to join the fight. With the aid of the priestess' Demonic Feedback, the fighter swings his axe again, hitting two zombies and then smashes half of the stronger zombies chest out with a Strong Bludgeon, turning the undead into plain dead.

The other one manages to grab Agreyn and its gnaws manage to stun the human as it goes for his Brains! His Simian Reflexes roll succeeds but because of the stun, he can't use the Penetrating Cut he drew.

As the zombies slowly shuffle closer, Silvershield's Bludgeon hits the closest one and ends another's one slow journey with a Misguided Heal.

Behind her Mizana turns the ground under one of the approaching undead into lava but decides to wait for a better opportunity for her other spells, moving forward a little to give herself room to retreat if needed.

The next turn begins and the zombies continue their slow approach, including the badly burned one that is still in the fight despite walking through the molten rock.



Agreyn's Weak Chop slices through the closest zombies as the ones on the other flank finally reach Mizana. The sorceress quickly retreats.towards the other, now almost empty flank.
Mizana inspires the sorceress running past her with a little cheer, but turns around as the zombie chasing Mizana Mob Attacks the dwarf instead.

With her pursuit now stopped, Mizana turns around and starts unleashing her powerful magic against the slow, unrprotected foes.

Bungled Bolt and Deadly Spark at the closest foe, boosted as if by a Spark Generator.
Agreyn's Stab takes the zombie down and the sorceress continues by targetting the next group and her Wall Of Fire melts the ground underneath the first three.

Agreyn moves to stab the first of the unlucky zombies and Silvershield retreats.



The stabbed zombie falls into the scorching lava as the others shuffle forward, the left one too dumb to take a detour around the lava pool in front of it.

Silvershield backs away from the undead horde and boosts Agreyn with an Unholy Frenzy.

Mizana moves forward and uses her Burning Fingers to spray the undead group as Agreyn runs to attack the strongest one of them.
The undead shuffler manages to slip past the fighter's Block and bites him with its poisonous teeth.

Agreyn roars in anger and counters with a frenzied Penetrating Cut.

The next turn begins and the lava claims its next victim.

Agreyn's opponent tries to go after his Brains! but the fighter is ready this time and Blocks the assault.



Agreyn's Able Bludgeon smashes the zombie's head in.

Silvershield readies herself against the zombie approaching her, hits the undead foe with a Bludgeon and quickly blocks its feeble attempts to leap at her brains.
Mizana comes to aid her ally and their combined assault strips large chunks of rotten flesh off the zombie, not quite managing to put it down for good. 2hp left.

The zombie tries in vain to reach Silvershield but her Violent Overswing finally separates its ugly head from its shoulders.
"Rest in pieces," Silvershield says, putting her club away.
"Or chunks," Agreyn adds, looking at the carnage around them.

Loot: another Cloudy Charm. After thinking for a moment, Silvershield switches her Orla's Tear with it.

 

Fight two

"More restless dead to put to rest," Silvershield notes. "... by pounding them to paste."
Agreyn grins at his dwarf ally. "I like the way you think!"



Agreyn runs to intercept the first skeleton that runs towards the heroes, hitting his bony foe with an Able Bludgeon but getting perforated in return.
Mizana aids the fighter with a Deadly Spark as he gets hit again, the skeleton cleaving at him with two Strong Chops.

As the second skeleton reaches Agreyn, he finally puts his axe to use, hitting both enemies with a Chop but falls to a second Perforating Strike before getting to use his second Chop.

Silvershield Charges the stronger skeleton but its armor protects it from the jolt. The dwarf then switches targets and his Bludgeon finally breaks through the unholy forces holding the weaker skeleton together, turning it back into a pile of bones.

With the second skeleton pinned in place, Mizana quickly turns the ground underneath it into lava.



Silvershield and the skeleton continue their battle in the middle, the skeleton hitting the dwarf with a Strong Chop.
The dwarf turns around and grants Mizana Unholy Power, knowing that the fiery redhead's spells are the most effective counter to the skeleton's powers.

As the skeleton moves away from the scorching lava, Mizana quickly creates a new pool in its new location.

Unable to escape from the newly formed lava quick enough, the skeleton melts.



Loot: Cloudy Charm (again!) and Kickin' Boots (Silvershield takes).

Fight three

"Woohoo! Treasure!"
"And it's just waiting for us to grab!"
Mizana listens to the clattering and painful moans coming from ahead.
"I think the current owners may disagree with that idea..."



Silvershield quickly boosts Agreyn with Unholy Power (drew Strong Bludgeon and Parry) and the fighter runs towards the treasure pile.

Mizana zaps the only foe she can see but her Mail fails to protect her from the backlash.

As the foes seem to be too slow to reach the treasure pile, Silvershield quickly dashes past Agreyn to guard the coins.
One of the skeletons hits Agreyn with a Reaching Swing but the fighter has no trouble Parrying the blow.
As another skeleton swings at Silvershield from a distance, Agreyn sprits towards the first one, his Strong Bludgeon aided by the priestess' Misguided Heal and doing enough damage to return the skeleton to rest.

Agreyn switches targets and moves to whack the middle zombie, his armor taking most of the force from the walking corpse's Infected Bite.

Turn ends, one VP for me for holding the treasure squares.

The zombies keep moving closer, couple of them looking like their guts are about to soon explode. (Festering Guts).



Silvershield lunges at one of the zombies as the skeletons move to surround the heroes and decides to retreat to a safer location.

The zombies Mob Attack Agreyn, his Thickened Mail reducing some of the damage. The fighter still falls to the Swarm Attack from the skeletons. Ouch. 9 damage, followed by 8 damage.

Silvershield retreats towards Mizana, the sorceress targetting the zombie slowly moving towards them. Hmm, if I'd manage to kill it before its Festering Guts ends, it might take out most of the enemies with it...

Mizana tries hitting the zombie with a Deadly Spark but its protected from the blast by its Resistant Hide. Silvershield inspires her by whispering something in her ear but the stressed sorceress is still unable to cast anything really helpful. Counterspell and Mail...



Silvershield charges towards the enemies, parrying their first blow, but her Invigorating Touch fails to do more than minimal damage as the zombie's Resistant Hides protect it from the unholy spell.
The dwarf quickly retreats again and Mizana tries her luck by turning the ground under the zombie into lava. Just in case Gary would be foolish enough to discard Resistant Hides.

...and a moment later I realize I've made a mistake. As the AI isn't smart enough to realize the lava could not hurt it, the zombie leaves the victory square! And since it's now far enough from its allies to not kill anyone anymore, even the Violent Swing Silvershield just got won't help.

Unable to drive the foes away from the treasure in time, the heroes are forced to admit defeat.

 

Attempt two

Change of tactics. Mizana changes her items that will help get rid of cards (Akon's Scepter, Vitriolic Ring) and I'll make sure not to get mobbed like last time.

Agreyn and Silvershield spread out towards the side passages and the zombies slowly move closer.

As the skeletons charge to meet the heroes, Silvershield boosts Agreyn with Unholy Frenzy, who retaliates against the foe's lone Swarming Attack with an Able Bludgeon and Mizana easily zaps the bony enemy down with a Powerful Spark.

On the other side Silvershield gets hit by a Reaching Strike but counters by lunging closer and Bludgeoning the skeleton.

Agreyn runs to assault the next zombie. It gets to hit first but Agreyn's Weak Armor protects him completely against its one zombie Zombie Mob. His frenzied Clumsy Chop and Penetrating Cut do better, cutting away chunks of its rotting flesh.

Since a single zombie is the only one in the treasure squares, Gary gets a VP but at least I get to discard Unfortunate Surge.



Agreyn continues fighting against the zombie. Although it manages to slip past his armor with its poisonous bite, Agreyn's accurate Chop does the same and slices the walking corpse in two. The foe failed three consecutive Resistant Hide armor rolls! Not that it mattered much, Mizana would have finished it easily with her spells.

Agreyn retreats from the two skeletongs charging his way while Silvershield gets hit by the single-skeleton Swarm Attack.
The angry dwarf retaliates with a Violent Overswing that crushes the skeletal warrior's ribcage, ending its fight.

Mizana moves to join Agreyn near the wall and flings a Sizzing Bolt at the closest skeleton, then setting its dry bones on fire with Burning Fingers.

Another VP for Gary for holding the center...

The next turn begins with the burning skeleton running towards Agreyn.



Mizana easily blasts the weak skeleton down.

On the other side one of the zombies moves towards Silvershield, the dwarf easily evading the slow foe. The last skeleton joins the chase but the priestess just slips to safety behind the pillar.

As only a single zombie is now guarding the treasure, Mizana and Agreyn attack.

Mizana boils away the walking corpse's Resistant Hides and Agreyn runs to attack. I was supposed to use Short Perplexing Ray to remove the zombies last two cards but as I had to step away for a moment, I clicked Agreyn's Run card upon coming back and since moves cannot be cancelled, I had to do this the hard way.

The zombie leaps at Agreyn's brains, leaving him too stunned to use his attacks yet. Mizana curses and quickly uses Maze to send the foe away from the treasure and Agreyn.

The next turn begins and the zombies march back to guard the treasures.



Mizana quickly uses Short Perplexing Ray against the nearest zombie as the last skeleton also moves to guard the middle.

The zombies are left with one card, Agreyn has 5hp left. If the card is not an attack, I'd be free to boost Agreyn and then slice the zombie to bits but if the zombies have Infected Bite, then using Unholy Frenzy yet would be too dangerous. And if I use Unholy Frenzy first, even Agreyn's Cloth Armor wouldn't save him.

Mizana blasts the last skeleton with Sorcerous Blast just as the zombie hits Agreyn with an Infected Bite. His armor manages to keep him still standing and the angry fighter starts hacking at the corpse with his axe. Chop!
The last skeleton charges in to join the fight. Chop! The slash damages the zombie but does nothing against the bonier foe. No attacks left for the skeleton though. Penetrating Cut!

Silvershield surprises the other skeleton from behind and whacks it hard with a Violent Overswing, followed by a Bludgeon from the side.

Mizana pulls back out of the skeleton's reach.

Gary holds the treasure squares again, giving him a VP and leaving him just one short of victory.

Silvershield gets hit by the Zombie Mob.



Mizana blasts the skeleton down with a Deadly Spark but as the second zombie moves towards Silvershield, the dwarf cannot reach the remaining treasure squares in time to contest the zombies' control of it. Two zombies versus Mizana is enough to grant Gary the last required VP.

Defeated again.

But that was close. Without that one silly mistake I might have actually won.

Attempt three

The heroes again split, Agreyn moving to the western passage and Silvershield taking the eastern one.

Silvershield Bludgeons the first skeleton coming his way while Agreyn fails to block the one hitting him. And fails Simian Reflexes as well. The dwarf also takes a blow from her opponent while Mizana moves through the middle.



Silvershield whacks her skeletal opponent into pieces with her Violent Overswing while another one targets Agreyn with a Penetrating Cut. The dwarf lunges towards the next opponent (just in case they didn't have Only Bones in hand) but the thrust slips harmlessly past its bones.

The zombies march toward Mizana who sneaks back.

Silvershield gets hit by her lone opponent's Swarm Attack while Mizana aids Agreyn in his fight by boiling away the protective layer of its bones and both humans gang up on the skeleton, nearly killing the foe with a Little Zap and a Chop.

With the skeletal warrior momentarily confused, both heroes look at each other and split, Mizana retreating back out of sword range and Agreyn pushing past the foe and running towards the other side.

Gary gains a VP from holding the victory squares.

As the next turn begins, Silvershield gets Swarm Attacked again, again doing only normal damage as the zombies are too far to be dangerous.



Silvershield backs away intending to inspire Mizana as part of the zombies march towards Agreyn. The zombie's Infected Bite manages to bypass Agreyn's armor (and his Simian Reflexes).

Agreyn looks at the enemies and his eyes notice something that might prove important.

"One of them is about to blow! Everyone hit that one!"

Agreyn steps past the first zombie and Stabs the one with Festering Guts as the skeletons clatter towards Mizana. The sorceress runs closer as well and although she gets hit by a Reaching Swing from the weaker skeleton behind her, her Short Perplexing Ray manages to get rid of the zombies' Resistant Hide and she blasts the target zombie with a Sorcerous Blast.
Mizana quickly turns the ground underneath the zombie into lava - but the foe manages to shuffle out of the way. Damn...

Silvershield finally reaches Mizana, but her Inspiration only makes Mizana want to Dash away. Deciding it's now or never, the dwarf tries again, this time with Demonic Feedback. Scoring another Hot Spot, Mizana casts that under the walking corpse and then retreats. Too bad Agreyn can no longer reach the zombie with his Stab...



Frustrated, Agreyn turns to Stab the closer zombie while Mizana darts closer to Agreyn.

Silvershield falls to the skeletal enemy's Swarm Attack. And just when she managed to draw Violent Overswing...

As Gary is now only 2 VPs short of victory, I can no longer try the 'stab the ticking zombie bomb and blow the closest enemies up' tactic.

Agreyn quickly retreats from the closest zombie, only to get one of the skeletons after him. Mizana commands him to retreat again and the partly melted zombie climbs away from the lava pool.

The human fighter turns to Stab the closest zombie and as it shuffles after him he retreats again, the skeletal foe again catching him. Unfortunately his armor fails to stop the enemy's Swarm Attack, leaving him barely standing. Just 3hp...



Mizana still has her Wall Of Fire but it does no good as the zombies take no damage from the lava thanks to their new Resistant Hide and Agreyn falls to the lingering poison from the zombie's earlier bite.

Defeated again.


Having failed at both open adventures and not quite feeling foolhardy enough to attempt Shrine of the Astral Guardians yet, I'll probably take a small break from serious adventuring at this point and switch to grinding for more experience and better equipment.

 

Since I'm playing quickly to gather EXP and loot, there's only a couple of screenshots from this session.

I slaughter my way through Viscous Tombs again.

First fight: Mizana and Agreyn both kill two foes, Silvershield scoring one kill. Loot: Amber Amulet, Orange Amulet.

Second fight: Frenzied Agreyn does most of the damage, Mizana and Silvershield helping finish off the last two foes. Loot: Robes Of Forgetfulness, Giving Cleansing.

Fight three: The battle is a bit more even, with Mizana taking care of the puddings ang Silvershield bringing down the first burning skeleton before falling - and then I hit a bug with the whole game freezing, as the game waits for Gary to play a trait.

I resign the battle and try again.
This time the fight is even tighter than last time. Agreyn falls as the heroes get pinned in the corner but Agreyn kills one and Mizana kills two more and the heroes manage to slip away.
Silvershield falls to a Fireball but Mizana's spells take care of the last two foes.
Loot: Seething Armor, Reinforced Mail, St. Borgun's Plate, Impaling.

Next I play the 'no party deaths' quest for Gladiator Arena, Qualifying Round.

First fight: Almost lose Mizana and Agreyn for playing too quick and carelessly but win nevertheless. Loot: Recoiling Mace, Weighted Shield.
Second fight: Silvershield gets too few moves and fails to get away from the goblin hulk that kills him.

Second attempt.

First fight: No problems at all slaughtering the foes as Agreyn gets a Sprint in the beginning and gets to whack down the first foe on the very first round. Loot: Demon Charm Of The 5th Circle, Iron Banded Shield.
Second fight: The foes again prove annoyingly lucky with drawing moves and Silvershield again ends up getting hacked down by the hulk.

Third attempt.

First fight: Agreyn gets too careless and ends up getting killed by the last elf.

Fourth attempt.

First fight: No trouble killing the elves. Loot: Restrictive Mail, Weighted Shield.
Second fight: This time the hulk starts closest to Mizana, making it easy to for me to stay away from it and blast it down. Agreyn and Mizana wear down Plog Kneechopper and taking care of the zombies ends up being really easy as they fail do draw Resistant Hide and melt in lava.
Loot: Leopard Skin Boots and Battered Spiked Mail.
Third fight: Agreyn and Mizana beat down the burning skeleton, Silvershield fights the dog on the way to the middle, proving victorious and holding the middle brings me the last VP.
Loot: Charged Opal, St. Borgun's Plate - and Cleansing Diamond which is an epic Divine Item:



Don't know how useful it's going to be since apart from Garnet Demon Portal there's been little need to clear terrain attachments.

Went shopping again, bought Conflicted Boots for Agreyn and Blister Stone for Mizana.

Played through Garnet Demon Portal as normal adventure.

First fight: Killed all foes without any losses. Resistant Hide helped but would have won without it as well. Loot: Balsa Staff Of The Magus and Burnished Blade (Agreyn takes).
Second fight: Heavy fighting around the map, no losses again. Loot: Adaptable Novice, Topaz Gem.
Third fight: Again no losses, Agreyn and Mizana doing about equal damage. Loot: Bashing Mail, Holy Healing.
Fourth fight: Took very little damage. Loot: Grey Leather Boots, Holiness.
Fifth fight: This time I won without losses, mostly because the lightning sprites mostly ran around instead of attacking. Loot: Possessed Chainmail, Clumsy Ochre Wand.
Sixth fight: Did a direct assault on the middle, Mizana and Silvershield took heavy damage but still won without losses. Loot: treasure, St. Foley's Armor, Amber Amulet, Dodgy Boots, Boots Of Aggression, Altruism.

And reached level 12, earning new Talents for everyone.

Tried no party deaths quest for Lord Stafford's Treasure

Fight one: Golem got several Clumsy cards, was easy to run around and kill. Loot: Solid Mail, Apprentice Chopping.
Fight two: Slaughtered the enemies. Loot: Carved Staff.
Fight three: Agreyn got hit pretty hard against the mercenary and the first dog. Lord Stafford was too easy as he didn't even try to move from lava. Loot: treasure, treasure and Electroporter.

Next tried no party deaths Pools of Slime

Fight one: took plenty of damage but the green jelly didn't get many blobs and won without losses. Loot: Earthbane Amulet, Orange Amulet.
Fight two: Mizana got killed, mostly because I'd forgotten to switch the crushing damage weapons to something more useful.

Attempt two, with better weapons.
Fight one: Won pretty handily. Loot: Mindspike Necklace.
Fight two: This time I got enough attacks for Agreyn (and Wall Of Fire for Mizana) so I won, taking only 4/3/4 damage. Loot: Charged Opal, Amber Amulet.
Fight three: Dancing Cuts and lava gave me an easy victory.

Loot: Felt Boots, Cloudy Charm and a Big Stick (my first weapon with an attack doing over 10 damage, Silvershield takes it with a wide grin)



Total result of my grinding: some nice stuff, an additional level plus lots of extra junk to sell.

Next time I'll be attempting either the goblins or the undead again, don't know which yet.

 

As I feel like kicking some undead butt again, Agreyn buys a Parrying Buckler and switches his Burnished Blade to a Thick Club.
Silvershield switches her Kickin' Boots to Chainmail Socks.
Mizana switches her Crisping Rod to Vitriolic Ring and her Charged Opal to a Destructive Wand.

Then it's time for

Tombs of Tvericus, revisited

Agreyn again runs to intercept the eastern zombie group and as they get closer, hits the first one twice, getting an Infected Bite in response. He retreats along with Silvershield as the zombies continue their slow march forward.

Mizana blasts the weakened foe into small chunks with her Sorcerous Blast, turning the ground under the next one into lava.

The next turn begins and the sorceress blows up this second zombie with a Deadly Spark just as it clambers away from the lava and is about to reach her.

Silvershield inspires Mizana again, without much in the way of results. Cautious Sneak. Yay. And seems my bad luck with Altruism is continuing as the roll fails again. My success rate with the card continues at roughly 25-30%. Maybe I should switch the priestess to use something else already.

The dwarf then slaps an Unholy Frenzy on Agreyn just as the first zombie of the second group reaches her, stunning her with its attempt to go for her Brains!



Mizana uses her speed to run along the edge in an attempt to slip behind the slow undead horde, the tombstones slowing her progress while the frenzied Agreyn takes down the one threatening Silvershield, sending its leg flying with the first blow and its head with the second one.

The next turn Silvershield boosts Agreyn again, this time with Righteous Frenzy. Again she fails Altruism roll.
The doublefrenzied fighter whacks one of the walking corpses with a Wimpy Trained Bludgeon as Mizana's attempt to run around the zombies is halted by one of the zombies leaping at her brains.

Silvershield retreats along the wall as Agreyn fails his attempt to Parry the enemy and ends up stunned. Even in that state his reflexes still allow him to Parry the second zombie's Infected Bite.

Agreyn makes a run for it but his new Dynamic Armor fails to stop another Infected Bite, leaving the hero barely standing with 3hp but this does not stop his run.
On the other flank Silvershield gets another zombie leaping at her brains but on Mizana's command she gets away.

Agreyn falls to the poison running through his veins as Mizana get stunned by the same zombie gnawing at her, its teeth doing otherwise no damage through her thick hat.

Mizana retreats and zaps the walking corpse with Arcane Curse, retreating again as the foe shuffles closer.

On the other flank the zombies reach Silvershield who whacks the first one with a Violent Overswing, then quickly retreating before they get to counter.
Mizana uses her Short Perplexing Ray on the nearest zombie, then follows up with a Sizzling Bolt.



Slow progress, just 3 out of 10 down.

Mizana zaps the nearest foe as Silvershield uses up her Righteous Frenzy on the sorceress, again failing the Altruism roll.
The priestess heals herself and as the zombies seem to have stopped for a moment, Mizana lays down a Wall Of Fire under the biggest group of undead before again using her speed to slip to the other side of the slow zombies.

One of the undead never makes it out of the lava,

Mizana zaps one of the the zombies with Dissolve Armor as Silvershield continues retreating from the slow horde. Hmm, did these zombies even have Resistant Hide cards? I've been playing as if they might have but so far they haven't drawn one....

Mizana's Surging Bolt takes out another zombie while Silvershield boosts her arcane skills with Demonic Feedback.
The sorceress immediately puts her new powers to use, moving closer to take out another half-burned zombie with a Little Zap and weakening another with another pool of lava.

Silvershield quickly heals herself and I finally pass.

Mizana targets another one of the slow undead with her dissolving spell, again doing just minimal damage.
The zombies move again, one of them reaching Silvershield who was waiting for this opportunity:



Whack! Another zombie down.

The next turn the undead again shuffle closer, Silvershield backing away. Mizana's spells take out two more foes.

The last remaining zombie doesn't stand a chance after that. It barely manages to get away from Mizana's lava - but Silvershield's Powerful Bludgeon goes through its rotten flesh like it was made of paper.

Loot: another Orla's Tear.

 

Fight two

Silvershield quickly slaps Agreyn with a Righteous Frenzy and the fighter moves to intercept the second armored skeleton running towards the heroes. He attempts to Bludgeon the enemy but the foe parries his blow and its Perforating Strike forces the human to retreat.

Silvershield tries to help Mizana twice, first with an Inspirational wink, then with Demonic Feedback, the latter proving a lot more useful.



Mizana runs closer, uses both Short Perplexing Ray and Dissolve Armor against the first skeletal foe, then unleashes the rest of her magic, the boosted electrical spells nearly taking the first foe out.



Mizana blasts the weak undead apart with her Bungled Bolt as the other one Chops Silvershield. The priestess tries to counter with an Invigorating Touch but the spell does nothing as the skeletal foe's Solid Mails protect it. After taking another hit, Silvershield retreats to boost Agreyn while Mizana turns the ground under the skeleton into lava.

The heroes move to better positions.

The half-burned skeleton moves to attack Agreyn but as Mizana's spell dissolves one of its protective armors, Agreyn roars and goes for an All Out Attack, whacking the skeletal foe's head clean off with a frenzied Trained Bludgeon.

Loot: Trained Agility.

Fight three

Silvershield moves to the eastern passage as the skeletal foes charge towards the heroes.
Mizana zaps the one reaching her with an Unstable Bolt, followed by a Bungled Bolt while Agreyn runs through the middle passage, assaulting the third skeleton that has moved to guard the treasure.

Agreyn whacks the foe with a Strong Bludgeon but as the skeletal foes are starting to surround him, their Swarm Attack causes Mizana to order him to shift back.

Another skeleton tries to Swarm Attack Silvershield but the dwarf easily parries the blow. But still didn't draw any attacks.



Agreyn takes out the skeleton trying to block him off with a well aimed blow

Gary gains a VP from holding the treasure - and neither Agreyn or Silvershield draws any attacks. Grr...

Silvershield fails to block her opponent's Perforating Strike as Mizana runs along the other side. The dwarf pulls back and the skeletons follow, forcing Agreyn to retreat as well.

Mizana runs towards the other end of the room, stopping to zap one of the zombies with an Arcane Curse and as it's protected by its Resistant Hide, targets the two skeletons instead with her Wall Of Fire.

Another VP for Gary for holding the victory squares.

Both targeted skeletons melt in the scorching lava - and surprisingly one of the zombies takes damage from the molten rock as well! Haha, Gary discarded Resistant Hide!



The last skeleton chases after Agreyn who ignores the bony foe and instead runs around the huge stone pillar to assault the half-burned zombie. He parries the walking corpse's attempt to bite him and kills it with two consecutive Able Bludgeons

Silvershield moves along the southwest passage and inspires Mizana with a little song, the sorceress getting to Deadly Spark the closest zombie as a result. The sorceress then moves to a better position to prepare for the next turn.

Gary still has two zombies in the victory area, meaning there's no point for me to move Agreyn there yet and so Gary gains his third VP.

The last skeleton runs to join in the fight.



Silvershield marches around the corner as the skeleton hits Agreyn with a Perforating Strike. She slaps the fighter with Unholy Frenzy as the zombies leave the treasure, heading towards Mizana who quickly retreats. The Slowed zombies fail to reach the sorceress.
Silvershield inspires Agreyn by whispering something in his ear but the fighter apparently hears her completely wrong and and just feels a little more armored as a result.

Mizana casts a Hot Spot under the last skeleton, then uses Short Perplexing Ray on the zombies.

Leaving the brainless skeleton standing in the lava, Agreyn runs to target the nearest zombie instead. He manages to get lucky as his Weak Block prevents the zombie from leaping at his Brains! and after giving the rotting undead a good whack with his club, he uses his remaining moves to reach the treasure and contest its control.



The last skeleton melts in the lava and the zombies lurch back towards Agreyn and the treasure.

Hmm, two foes left, all three heroes still up. I've got two Dissolve Armor cards left and enough attacks to kill one of the ticking time bombs...

Mizana uses Dissolve Armor against the zombies but their protective hides are already long gone. Agreyn whacks the stronger zombie.

Silvershield looks at the zombies, her eyes drawn at their bubbling stomachs and she starts retreating to a safer distance.
"Umm, Agreyn... I think they're about to..."
Silvershield's words are interrupted by a WHACK, followed by a huge SPLURCHHHH as the weaker zombie explodes...

Or not, as the game freezes just as Festering Guts would have triggered and would've won me the fight. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!



...and yes, after calming down again I remembered having already read about this particular bug: http://www.cardhunter.com/forum/threads/game-freeze.1058/

Hmm. Since I'd probably run into the same problem on my next attempt and I have no idea how quickly the devs will get to squish this particular bug, it's probably best to just leave his adventure be for now. So I click Resign battle twice and will try my luck against the goblins next.

 

Before heading out Agreyn buys a Hefty Chopper and switches back to Crummy Short Swords, Apprentice Chopping and Off-balance Boots.
Mizana switches back to Crisping Rod.

Then it's back to
Goblins in the Woods, revisited

Silvershield inspires Mizana with a sultry wink as Agreyn runs to intercept the goblins pouring out of the nearest house, getting hit with a Simple Strike.

Mizana targets the western goblin shaman with a Surging Bolt, driving the ugly thing to flee behind the building. She shrugs, and tries to find a better vantage point as the goblin hulk surprises the heroes by moving again, this time towards Silvershield.

Mizana orders her allies to shift, the dwarf retreating away from the huge goblin's striking range and Agreyn moving to better reach both smaller foes with his axe. The goblins move again, apparently trying to go after Mizana.



Finally Agreyn lets his axe do the talking. His first chop hits both of the green foes and they quickly retreat towards Mizana!

Mizana is unfazed by the goblins' advance and instead targets the more dangerous foe, flinging a Sizzling Bolt followed by a Deadly Spark at the Clumsy Hulk.

The goblins seem to be frightened by the sorcerer's display of arcane might and one of them switches targets, running towards Silvershield who promptly kills the wounded foe with a Simple Bash.

The next turn begins and the hulks move closer to Agreyn. He quickly targets the closer one with a Strong Chop, hitting it's weaker cousin with the same swipe. The hulk counters with a Meaty Goblin Fist.

Mizana blasts down a second wounded goblin with a Bungled Bolt, then retreats as the last regular goblin moves towards her.

The western shaman shows its ugly face around the building's corner but gets a face full of club as Silvershield is there waiting.

The other shaman casts an Unholy Frenzy on the hulk that's yet to reach the fight.

Agreyn retreats from the closer hulk and again as it moves to close the distance.

Silvershield's counterpart whacks the dwarf with an Able Bludgeon.



Do the hulks still have move cards left?

Silvershield and the shamans move. Tried to make Gary either pass or move the hulks but the shamans still had moves left. Oh well, let's try anyway...

Mizana turns the ground under the wounded hulk into lava and luckily the oversized goblin just turns to look at his feet, as if surprised at the sudden warmth.
The flames quickly envelop it completely and it falls down groaning.

The other hulk charges after Agreyn, who turns to face the foe, trusting his parrying skills. Silvershield inspires the fighter with a naughty little cheer which just makes Agreyn feel better armored.

Mizana's Deadly Spark hits the hulk in the back while the western shaman heals some of the wounds left by Silvershield's club.

Agreyn easily parries the hulk's punch but there's still no opening to attack. Drew a move. As I don't have any more attacks left, I pass.

The hulk apparently starts hearing voices in its head and it turns around, running and then Bull Rushing right past Mizana. Huh?

The turn ends and Mizana blinks away from the hulk thanks to her Dimensional Traveller skills.



Agreyn tries stabbing at the wounded goblin next to her but the foe manages to block. His second Chop does the job, killing the green foe while Silvershield's Parry stops the shaman's attempt to whack her. The dwarf's Violent Overswing cracks the shaman's skull.

The hulk tries to move around the bush to reach Mizana but the sorceress has no problems keeping away from the Clumsy foe, zapping the huge opponent with a Sorcerous Blast.

The heroes move towards the remaining shaman, Silvershield taking the other way around the building in order to surround the goblin.

The next turn begins with the shaman casting a Righteous Frenzy on the remaining hulk. The huge foe moves towards who decides to take on the shaman first, running towards it as Silvershield does the same on the other side of the building.
The spellcaster quickly flees after getting a taste of the human's Strong Chop.

The shaman manages to whack Silvershield (who still gets no attacks) but the dwarf ignores the angry foe and instead pushes past the goblin to boost Agreyn with Righteous Frenzy.

The hulk decides to chase after Mizana but the sorceress has no trouble evading the slower foe.and once she gets far enough from her bigger opponent, the hulk gets a Powerful Spark in the gut and finds itself standing in lava.



The last enemies quickly fall, the shaman to Agreyn's frenzied assault, the hulk sinking in the molten rock.

Loot: Pine Staff.

 

Fight two



Feel like running, Agreyn?

Agreyn moves towards the west, drawing the spider towards him and then retreating. The goblins move and Mizana also pulls back. The goblins continue towards Silvershield but the dwarf retreats as well.

The spider push their way past Silvershield as Agreyn pulls back from the goblin about to hit him.

Mizana gets an Infected Bite from one of the arachnids, countering against the Vulnerable foe with an Arcane Curse, followed by a Powerful Spark. '
Another spider lunges at Mizana and the angry sorceress unleashes her Wall Of Fire, targeting two of the spiders as well as one of the goblins with her lava.



"Agreyn! Stop running and start fighting!"
Silvershield emphasizes her words by slapping the fighter into Unholy Frenzy

As the next turn begins, Mizana falls to the spider's bite before getting a chance to anything more. And this time Silvershield draws no attacks...

Silvershield pulls back from the spiders but the goblins quickly move to pursue her.

Agreyn finally turns to attack and his first frenzied Chop slays one spider, wounding the goblin next to it. The fighter gets hit by a Shredding Strike as Silvershield retreats next to him. Another goblin hits him with a Penetrating Stab and a second spider with a Lunging Bite but his second Chop takes the arachnid down.

Two heroes against four foes, with Agreyn down to 8hp.

Silvershield continues to pull back from the incoming horde but takes an Impaling Stab in her shoulder. She quickly inspires Agreyn who promptly charges the enemies, parrying another Impaling Stab.



His first Chop drops the last spider and after stepping closer, his second Chop takes out first of the goblin shredders.

Two versus two.

Agreyn gets hit by a Perforating Strike while Silvershield moves to join the fray. The dwarf Bludgeons the weaker goblin, blocks its return blow, bashes the enemy again and finally inspires Agreyn with a little booty shake.



The fighter runs towards the goblins, kills the weaker one with a Chop and cuts the other one with another strike.

One more Wimpy Strong Chop later the last goblin falls, clutching its throat.

Woohoo!

Loot: Apprentice Mobility.

To be continued...

 

Fight three

Two Goblin Grunts and two Goblin Berserkers.



"Hah. Did somebody dip those two in a pot of paint," Agreyn laughs pointing at two of the approaching goblins.
"They certainly look angry enough..." Mizana mumbles.

Silvershield casts a Healing Presence on Mizana and again fails the Altruism roll. Gah. As soon as I get a decent priest skill, I'm switching away from my current one.

The goblins move to surround the heroes, the western one managing to Missile Block Mizana's Fire Spray. Her Bungled Bolt goes through and although the goblin gets to Bludgeon Silvershield, the dwarf's Strong Bludgeon flattens the foe permanently.

The first berserker reaches the heroes and Agreyn hits it with a Penetrating Cut, followed by a Chop. The red foe dances around him but does not attack, allowing Agreyn to retreat.

The enemies stop, apparently to yell insults at the heroes. Gary passes...

"Does anyone even understand what they're saying? No?"



Silvershield sends Agreyn into Righteous Frenzy as the berzerker runs towards her. She turns and promptly meets the goblins advance with a Violent Overswing, giving Mizana time to retreat.
Silvershield blocks the red goblin's Strong Chop and uses Demonic Feedback to increase Agreyn's skills, then quickly retreating as the regular goblin tries to surround her.

As the foes again pause, Mizana uses the opportunity to turn the ground underneath them into lava and Agreyn adds to the confusion by moving forward, parrying the berzerker's Unstoppable Chop, hitting both red foes with his own Strong Chop. Again the foe tries to hit the human with (the same) Unstoppable Chop but Agreyn parries the blow again and counters with a regular frenzied Chop.
The enemy's third attempt finally hits Agreyn, slipping past his Thickened Mail. The foe follows up with a Powerful Hack, with similar results but the fighter again manages to block the berzerker's Clumsy Chop.

As the berzerker is still standing in the pool of lava, it melts as the turn ends.

The last goblin doesn't stand a chance against the three heroes and soon falls.

And again I failed to benefit at all from Altruism on either roll. The dice simply hate me when it comes to that particular card.

Loot: another Pine Staff.

 

Fight four



Ooh, once again a really cool looking map!
I'm against nine Goblin Grunts and a Goblin Hulk.

Agrey takes a loot at the goblin horde approarching from the other side of the stream.
"More of those little buggers. Wanna take another competition, Mizzie?"
"Sure... Ag."
"The loser prepares the rations for the next week!"
"You're on!"

Agreyn heads towards the western bridge as Silvershield uses Demonic Feedback to allow Mizana an even greater array of spells.

The goblins run closer and Mizana unleashes her spells. Her Powerful Spark proves too fast for one goblin's attempt to Missile Block. Her two Deadly Sparks hit the hulk squarely in the gut as it moves in sight from beneath the bushes.
The sorceress pauses for a moment, unsure which of the foes would be too slow to evade her Hot Spot but decides to target the huge goblin once again.
The goblins move again and one of them gets close enough for Mizana to zap it with Arcane Curse, this time getting Missile Blocked by the quick goblin.



I didn't want to move Agreyn or Silvershield any closer as I was hoping to get use all their attacks, but the foes weren't quite that fast this turn.

The goblin hulk takes heavy damage from the molten rock but just before it would get to clamber out, Mizana's Sorcerous Blast takes it down.for good. Then the sorceress quickly retreats as the first goblin reaches her.
"One!"


The goblins push forward again and Silvershield tries to Bash the first one back, the goblin managing to block. Her Strong Bludgeon nearly takes the enemy out with a single blow but it manages to stay on its feet as the other green critter targets both women with a Clumsy Chop.
Silvershield quickly retaliates with a Violent Overswing, cleaving the unlucky goblin's sword arm off.

Agreyn pulls back from the bridge, allowing more of the goblins to pass the chokepoint and giving his axe more targets for each swing.
The goblins eagerly charge forward.



Chop! Agreyn's axe slices deep wounds in two of the goblins. Chop! His next Weak Chop isn't as effective as both foes manage to block the swing. Chop! His third, Strong Chop, cleaves an even deeper gash in the third goblin and slices across the second one's throat, ending the green critter's life.
"Hahaa, one for me as well!"

Mizana tries to Maze the nearest goblin away from her but the wary foe manages to block the spell.
The heroes move to better positions. Heh, looks like the enemies drew mostly blocks and moves this turn.

After his previous rampage, Agreyn feels quite Wimpy and just prepares to face the enemy onslaught.



Only Mizana drew any attacks!

Mizana's Fire Spray hits the nearest goblin squarely in the back and it falls down screaming, the next one managing to Missile Block the fiery spell.
"Two!"

The other goblin behind Mizana hits the sorceress with a Clumsy Chop and the woman decides to retreat just in case.
As the remaining goblins pour over the western bridge, Agreyn decides to bravely run away, away, retreating towards the lone eastern goblin.
Silvershield covers Mizana's retreat, as the sorceress zaps one of the heavily wounded foes in the back with her dissolving ray.

The next turn the goblins again try to surround Agreyn but the fighter's Wimpy Strong Chop takes the weakest one out and severely wounds the strongest one of his opponents. He quickly parries the third goblin's Simple Strike and counters with a Stab that is quite enought to slay the weak foe.
"Three for me!"

Mizana sneaks closer to help and her Sizzling Bolt kills the last goblin around Agreyn, allowing him to continue his strategic retreat.
"Three as well!"
The goblins pursue the heroes but they have no problem keeping ahead of the smaller opponents.



"Why by the name of stone and pick am I running away from such weak foes," Silvershield mumbles, stopping to face the goblin running towards her. The dwarf's Powerful Bludgeon crushes the surprised goblin's skull and the other wisely decide to target the other heroes instead.

The weaker one manages to block Mizana's both spells and as Agreyn still isn't ready to attack, they both retreat. One of them manages to Bludgeon Agreyn but its blow is useless against the fighter's armor layers.

...and still no attacks for Agreyn.

As the foes run after the retreating pair, Silvershield Bludgeons the weaker foe, easily blocking the other's return blow and then sucks the rest of the goblin's life force with her Invigorating Touch.

Mizana turns the ground underneath the last goblin into lava as the heroes pull back on the other side of the bridge.
The goblin never manages to escape the lava.

"..and that's four for me!" Mizana yells gleefully. "Now even you have to admit you lost, Agreyn!"
"Bah. Fine."
Silvershield shakes her head and lets out a long sigh.
"...and now we have live with Agreyn's cooking for the rest of the week. I'd almost rather eat goblin food."

Adventure Complete!



Loot: Light Mace, Recoiling Mace, Sulphuric Staff, Lovat Boots (Silvershield takes)

Clearing the adventure reveals the next one: Tree Forts of the Goblin King (level 12 adventure)

I'll probably head there next.

 

I was away yesterday and so didn't have a chance to post anything either. But here we go again:

--

The heroes decide to continue the assault against the goblins, heading to conquer

Tree Forts of the Goblin King

A lone squirrel turns to look as it hear's a dwarven voice coming closer, grumbling constantly.
"Why did those little green buggers have to build their fort up here? I don't trust anything not built on solid rock. Building in trees? That's for elfs!"
"Trees, ground, caves... Who cares, as long as there's enemies to whack!"

Mizana suddenly stops. "What are those things?"
Agreyn looks ahead. "Umm... vampires?"
"I don't think so ... but they're way too sparkly to be up to any good!"



Silvershield quickly boosts Agreyn with a Righteous Frenzy and one of the sparklers hits him with a Powerful Spark.
The human ignores the spell and runs towards the goblins while the other heroes run forward as well, each one getting zapped as well.

The first goblin tries to hit Agreyn with an Impaling Stab but the fighter deftly parries the blow and marches on. Despite taking another Powerful Spark in his side and another Impaling Stab in the hip, his frenzied blows do heavy damage to the first goblin.

The sparklers try to move away from Mizana but as this just places another one into the sorceress sights, she quickly uses her Wall Of Fire against the eastern pair, burning both of them alive.



Agreyn retreats away from the goblins and as the sparklers move to aid the goblins, Silvershield grants Unholy Power to Mizana.
Agreyn gets zapped again by the glittery foes, pulling back again.

The goblins charge along the rickety bridge but the first one soon discovers its mistake as the dwarf's Violent Overswing sends it plunging towards the far away ground.

The other goblins quickly switch targets and run towards Agreyn and Mizana.
Agreyn turns around to face the pursuers and wounds one goblin with his Strong Chop. As the goblins stop, apparently intending to play with their heavily wounded opponent (or more likely they're out of attacks), Mizana takes the opportunity to retreat behind Agreyn and unleash her spells. Zap! Zap! Arcane Curse and Little Zap target the weaker opponent, the foe managing to block the second one. Whoom! Whoom! Both goblins find themselves in a pool of lava.

The next turn begins - and Agreyn somehow survives the goblin's Perforating Strike, as if a Guardian Angel would have diverted the stab!



Agreyn stabs the stronger goblin as the sparklers blink to a better vantage point. Silvershield roars a challenge and marches towards the glittery foes. The goblins turn to pursue the dwarf who also gets hit by a Deadly Spark, her Mail taking some of the damage.

Mizana zaps the stronger retreating goblin in the back with her Unstable Bolt as the other is behind the tree trunk.
As she starts running towards the sparkly foes as well, the goblins split and one of them veers off towards Agreyn again.

Hearing the goblin's footsteps behind her, Silvershield turns and slams the screeching goblin down from the wooden platform with a Powerful Bludgeon. The other goblin fares no better and Agreyn's Chop ends its fight and the fighter turns to run towards the remaining glittery foes.

The sparklers zap Silvershield once again and then blink away from the approaching heroes. Mizana still manages to catch the closer one with a Surging Bolt while Silvershield continues chasing the foes.
One of them teleports close enough to Agreyn for him to reach the foe.



Agreyn charges the enemy and his two Chops disperse the sparkler.

Silvershield uses Demonic Feedback, hoping to allow Mizana to finish the last foe, but the sorceress isn't quite ready for that yet. Dissolve Armor and Short Perplexing Ray...
The sorceress attempts to hit the creature with a dissolving ray but the glittery being blocks the spell.

The last sparkler cannot evade the heroes much longer and soon enough ends at the wrong end of Mizana's Deadly Spark and Silvershield's Misguided Heal. As the foe winks out, the heroes are victorious and can resume their search for the king.

Loot: Light Mace.

 

Fight two

Hmm. Two Goblin Hulks, one Goblin Berzerker, two Goblin Shredders.

"Hey Miz. How about a - "
Silvershield cuts Agreyn off midsentence.
"Oh no! Don't even think about it Agreyn. I'm not going to eat your cooking again!"
"Bah. But I'm still going to take out more foes than both of you!"

As the heroes argue, the hulks start marching towards them.



Silvershield inspires Mizana by whispering something to her and the sorceress immediately puts her new spell into use by zapping the berzerker with the Deadly Spark.
The red foe takes extra damage as it's too enraged to even attempt to evade (Raging Strike)

Agreyn retreats towards the northwest as the hulks continue their steady march towards the heroes. The hulks had three moves, gah.

Silvershield and Mizana manage to evade the huge foes but Agreyn gets hit by an Able Bludgeon and the shredders move to cut off Silvershield's retreat path.

Mizana manages to get away from the goblins but Silvershield gets hit by a Perforating Strike, the dwarf countering with a Lunging Strike.

The goblin berzerker reaches Silvershield as well, hitting the dwarf in the back with Raging Strike while Mizana uses her Hot Spot against one of the hulks who roars in anger as the lava burns its feet.



Silvershield turns to whack the berzerker with a Strong Bludgeon but gets hit by a Strong Chop in return.

Mizana zaps one of the hulks with an Unstable Bolt as they both move forward. Agreyn turns to Chop the one reaching him, the huge foe countering with an Able Bludgeon.

Silvershield slips through the goblin lines around her and Charges away from the foes before they get a chance to strike.

Mizana's Powerful Spark hits the closer hulk as the shredders spread out, one of them chasing after Silvershield and the other moving to fight Agreyn and Mizana. The sorceress pulls back just as Silvershield falls to the goblin's blow.

The hulks both march after Agreyn who promptly retreats towards northeast.



Not looking that great... especially with the cards the heroes draw next turn.

Agreyn hits the shredder with a Penetrating Cut as both hulks march towards him.
Mizana attempts to spray her opponent with fire but although the shredder fails to reflect the flames back, it does manage to block the spell.

Agreyn turns around as he gets hit in the back with a Powerful Hack. He then fails (rolls one, GAH) to Parry the other hulk's Powerful Bludgeon but is again saved as if by a Guardian Angel, the blow harmlessly splintering the floor boards next to him. He hits the weaker hulk while Mizana gets hit with an Impaling Stab.



Gee, the cards just look better and better...

Mizana retreats away from the shredder as Agreyn manages to Parry the hulk's punch. Unable to drop any of his foes with one blow, Agreyn retreats.

As Mizana uses her Sizzling Bolt against the berzerker blocking her way, the hulks chase after Agreyn. The shredders quickly move to surround Mizana and hit her with a Penetrating Stab, leaving her barely standing.

Although the sorceress is able to force the berzerker to move away from the bridge, she's unable to actually get past the foe and falls to its Massive Chop.

Alone against five enemies, Agreyn doesn't stand a chance and is soon chased down and killed.

Damn, this seems hard enough. Five foes, three of them doing massive damage and the shredders have too much health to be pushovers either. Plus there's not much room to retreat either.
Let's see if I could take out the shredders quickly enough to break through that way...

Attempt two

Agreyn runs towards the shredders and they move to intercept the fighter. Agreyn stops, waiting until the other goblin moves into range and lets his axe sing, cleaving two deep gashes in both goblin but gets hit in return.

Mizana fills the platform under one of the shredders with lava, burning it alive before it has a chance to move.

The berzerker goes into Blind Rage:



Agreyn moves out of the bridge, drawing the shredder with him. He stops to stab the foe and Mizana tries to help with a Deadly Spark but the goblin just manages to Missile Block the blast.

The first hulk reaches the sorceress who retreats towards the shredder, zapping it with an Arcane Curse and a Fire Spray before moving out of Silvershield's path who comes to finish the green foe with a Bludgeon.

The heroes move to better locations, preparing to intercept and slow down the incoming enemies.

The berzerker screams in pain from the pent up Blind Rage as the hulks move closer and Silvershield retreats, boosting Agreyn with an Unholy Frenzy.

The red goblin finally catches up with the slower dwarf who is forced to turn around and face her opponent. The dwarf's Bludgeon hits the foe, the goblin countering with a frenzied Massive Chop (which is even increased by the Strong Chop in the goblin's hand). Silvershield retaliates with Invigorating Touch but the goblin's frenzied Strong Chop tips the scales in the other direction again.

Agreyn runs to aid his ally, hitting the berzerker with a frenzied Penetrating Cut.
The foe makes the mistake of moving and entering Mizana's line of sight.



The sorceress' Unstable Bolt blasts the raging goblin against the tree and it falls down, never to rise again.

Agreyn steps a little closer to the hulks in order to give him and Silvershield a better chance of retreating.

The hulks move closer and Agreyn pulls back behind Silvershield. As long as the hulks just follow using the shortest path, I can leapfrog backwards with Silvershield and Agreyn, using up the hulks' moves.

Mizana moves to better vantage point and uses her Wall Of Fire to scorch the huge foes with lava.



As the foes have stopped, Agreyn and Silvershield move to the other side, intending to retreat towards Mizana instead of the western passage where they might get surrounded.

Silvershield heals Agreyn with her Misguided Heal, the fighter's armor protecting him from the initial jolt.

As the hulks leave the lava pool badly burned, they finally split ways and one of them heads towards Mizana, the other one heading towards Agreyn. The fighter pulls back but the huge foe moves again, managing to pin both heroes and preventing Silvershield from getting close enough to Mizana to inspire her.
The dwarf changes direction, moving behind tree trunk as the hulk targets Agreyn with a Powerful Hack, the human's armors taking part of the heavy blow.

Silvershield puts her spells to good use, inspiring Agreyn twice with a dance that threatens to make Agreyn's eyes pop out as it goes on.
She heals the fighter in the end as the fighter lifts his axe.



Agreyn hits the hulk once and the huge foe howls - and turns to charge Silvershield instead!

The dwarf quickly inspires Agreyn once more and Agreyn moves after the huge foe while Mizana gets hit by the other hulk.

The fighter's second Chop followed by a Penetrating Cut make the hulking goblin lose its step - and a heartbeat later there's a loud howl as the oversized foe falls from the wooden platform.

Mizana pulls away from the remaining hulk and sets up another Wall of Fire.

The hulk's feeble brain finally realizes Mizana is too dangerous and it turns to flee. Agreyn quickly moves to intercept the big foe and as it moves closer, his Strong Chop breaks its knee, sending it plummeting towards the ground as well.

Ha. Got good enough cards in the beginning to quickly kill the shredders and the berzerker and the rest was easy as the hulks are quite slow in their movements.



Loot: Battered Spiked Mail (Agreyn takes)

 

Fight three



Silvershield grins as they enter the largest platform so far.
"Looks like we finally found King Gutzuk!"
Mizana makes a face.
"Yeesh. He's certainly the king of ugly, that much I'll admit..."
Agreyn waves his axe around.
"He's mine! I'm going to kill that ugly son of a goblin!"

Silvershield boosts Mizana with Unholy Power and Agreyn with Demonic Feedback.

Agreyn intercepts the northwest shredder, hitting it with a Penetrating Cut. The shaman quickly heals the wound but Agreyn's axe sings twice more. Chop! Strong Chop!
The goblin counters with an Impaling Stab and Agreyn pulls back.

On the other flank Silvershield moves to the chokepoint while Mizana does the same, zapping the other shredder with her Arcane Curse but as the enemy clearly has too Quick Reflexes, she runs past it, instead targeting the shaman trying to hide behind the other goblins with her remaining spells.

Gutzuk runs towards Agreyn, roaring something sounding like gibberish.



Agreyn dances backwards while Mizana gets hit by the shredder's Penetrating Stab! The fighter Stabs the green king while the shaman attempts to back away from Mizana's range.

Silvershield Charges the shredder in order to draw its attention away from Mizana.
The other one tries to reach Agreyn but the fighter easily evades the goblin. The king runs after him but can't quite catch the fighter.

Mizana spins around, returning towards Agreyn and greets the goblins chasing Agreyn with a Wall Of Fire.
The shredder running past its king surprises Silvershield, hitting the dwarf in the back.

Mizana slams another pool of lava under the other shredder while Silvershield backs away from the goblin who hit her.



The lava claims the western goblin and burns the others severely.

The remaining shredder quickly leaps away from the lava, giving Silvershield time to back away from the goblin. (No attacks for Silvershield)

Mizana flings a Sizzling Bolt at Gutzuk, then quickly retreats after Silvershield and as the goblin king continues towards Agreyn, the fighter also moves. He needs to circle the smaller branch as the shredder blocks the direct route, but he's fast enough to get past the shredder anyway.

Mizana slams another lava pool under the shredder.



The flames and molten rock finally bring Gutzuk down, the ugly king's screams outdoing the shredder that meets a similar fate.

The only remaining foe looks exceedingly panicky as the heroes move towards it, despite having healed itself while the fight has taken place around the large trunk.

Silvershield is the first to catch up with her goblin counterpart, her Lunging Hack hitting the foe and pinning it against the edge of the platform.



One Violent Overswing knocks the shaman on its knees and Silvershield sucks its remaining life force away.

"So... how many goblins DID you kill, Agreyn?"
Agreyn stalks away, grumbling about killstealers.

Adventure Complete!

Loot: two Beggar's Mauls, Churning Staff and Wand Of Spritzing.

My victory opens a new adventure on the map: Citrine Demon Portal (level 14)

Checking the shops again Agreyn buys a Viking Helm and replaces his second sword with the Hefty Stout Club to afford the new helmet talentwise.

Mizana buys an Amulet Of The Burning Barrier, switching her Vitriolic Ring out.

Since I'm still waiting for a bug fix before facing the undead again, looks like I'll be attempting Shrine Of The Astral Guardians next.

 

The AI can recognize victory squares under the cover of smoke, so you might need to leave at least one character out to be chased if you take that route: Gary loves chases.

I beat those zombies yesterday with a combination of Short Perplexing Ray (I find the double discard is good for getting rid of armor), Wall Of Fire (I forced out two unseen cards and they didn't have Resistant Hide afterward, so fwoosh!) and Obliterating Bludgeon (my Infused Greatclub is my best weapon so far). Admittedly I had good luck that Festering Guts was apparently shuffled to the bottom of their deck and both Obliterating Bludgeons were near the top of mine, but the theory was sound for a longer fight.

I stayed still first turn to let the baddies come forward, splitting their force. Since only wizards can equip Resistant Hide against Festering Guts, I sent my wizard up the middle with anti-zombie cards: the Short Perplexing Ray, Wall of Fire, and Acid Spray to discard their armor and block off the victory squares, Blocks for protection against bites and mob attacks, a few Bashes to knock them away, and, since he's a dwarf, Shrug It Off in case he did get his Brains stunned. Mizana is somewhat less defensive than Ülm, but I do like Acid Spray for this job. It can knock off their armor and force them to move away from VPs, and if they're ready to blow it can be the last straw while the rest of the party runs for cover.

P.S. The last map was almost a letdown after that. For some unknowable reason Gary passed first thing on the second round while the big bad guy was still standing on my wall of fire so I just passed too. Heroes 1, skeleton boss 0.

Edit: Sorry for using your thread to recount my exploits. This is as far as I've gotten, soon you'll be ahead of me.

 

Thanks for the advice. I already have a couple adventures played but not yet posted so you'll see my return to fight the undead after those.

--

Shrine of the Astral Guardians

"So what you're saying is that we need to keep to those glowing squares and bust those weird statues apart?"
Mizana throws the scroll with the ancient script aside.
"I think so. It's either that or we have to feed them two dozen cats and I didn't happen to bring any with me."
Agreyn shrugs. "Fine by me!"



The heroes run towards the middle. The guardians suddenly springs to life, two of them zapping Mizana with Penetrating Bolts, the third one hitting Silvershield with a Devastating Spark.

Mizana turns the ground underneath the eastern foe into lava - but it shuffles away from the molten stone.

As Mizana didn't have enough moves to reach the center, I didn't even try moving Agreyn to the middle, instead charging towards the eastern area which means Gary got his first VP.



Silvershield boost Agreyn with Righteous Frenzy.
The statues blast them both with their spells but Mizana and Agreyn reach the eastern foe and unleash their fury on it.
One spell and three frenzied blows later the statue crumbles, allowing the heroes to capture the eastern area.

As there are only two enemies left and I have all three heroes in the victory area, I gain a VP and realize I won't have to do anything else to gain the third required VP.

Silvershield gets hit by another Deadly Spark and runs to the safety of the eastern area.

Victory!

Well, that was a bit too simple.

Loot: Beggar's Maul, Healing Hide Armor

Fight two



Agreyn chuckles as they find another group of guardians.
"See interesting statues. Bust them all up! This is my kind of journey!"

The heroes charge forward as the Clumsy statues move and Silvershield gets blasted with a Deadly Spark. Silvershield casts a Healing Presence on Agreyn, moving close enough to him to benefit from it herself while Mizana zaps the closest statue with her Deadly Spark. She then melts the floor underneath it with her Wall Of Fire.

The closest guardian turns again, zapping Agreyn with Penetrating Bolt. Silvershield boosts the fighter with Unholy Frenzy and the human runs to attack the nearest statue, cutting it to pieces with a Chop followed by Silvershield's Misguided Heal.
One of the guardians of shadow finally sees Agreyn, zapping him with several sparks.



Agreyn runs towards the foe, stopping just behind the corner in order to force the enemy to come to him.
The guardian does just that and Agreyn attacks. Boosted with Silvershield's Righteous Frenzy his blows take out the towering foe.

As the shadowy guardian moves out of the western passage, Silvershield slips out of the Clumsy foe's line of sight and lunges at the statue from behind. The dwarf's Bludgeon and Violent Overswing break off huge chunks of the stony foe and Mizana helps with the effort by casting a Hot Spot underneath the guardian's feet.

The sorceress then runs to assault the last guardian of the mist, zapping it with a Surging Bolt and giving it the same lava bath despite getting hit by the foe's Penetrating Bolt.
Agreyn runs to aid her and Stabs the guardian.



The second guardian of shadow burns down and the last foe makes the mistake of moving too close to Agreyn in its attempt to escape the lava. Two hits later the statue is nothing more than a pile of rocks on the stony floor.

Loot: Cloak Of Insinct (sic) and Firestarter

 

Fight three

"Somebody's coming! Quick, hide!"
Following Mizana's command, Agreyn quickly follows her out of the main passage.

"Umm... where's Silvershield?"



The heroes head southwest until one of the mote guardians causes a Cave In:



Agreyn takes a blow from the falling stone and the pair has to turn around as moving through the rubble would take too long.

Another cave in hits Silvershield, blocking her path. The dwarf tries to make her path through the difficult terrain but fails to block either of the Bishop Blasts from the statue

Mizana finally reaches the northern passage but the annoying mote guardian fills that passage with acid, hitting her with the spell as well.
The sorceress is forced to move on and head towards the next passage, getting zapped by the mist guardian waiting there.

Agreyn follows her and although he fails to catch the foe, it's still more than close enough for Mizana's spells. Deadly Spark blasts chunks out of the stony foe and a pool of lava begins melting it from below.



The mist guardian targets Agreyn with a Mighty Spark as Mizana responds with an Unstable Bolt and Arcane Curse.

On the other side Silvershield gets sparked twice as she tries to get to the foes in the middle.

Agreyn reaches the eastern mist guardian and breaks it down with his Able Bludgeon, quickly continuing towards the middle.
He gets zapped with a Bishop Blast and although he gets to Chop both foes (doing extra damage thanks to Slicer and Strong Chop) he falls after one more Bishop Blast.

Silvershield and Mizana join the fray, Silvershield Charging one of the mote guardians and following up with a Strong Bludgeon as the foe moves.
As the statues again stop, Mizana quickly uses her Wall Of Fire against the enemies.



Not looking that great healthwise though.

Silvershield gets to slay one of the guardians jolting it with an Unholy Frenzy and everyone moves, the heroes making sure to stay away from the mote guardian's lines of fire.

Silvershield again fails to block the mist guardian's spell and the Penetrating Bolt ends the dwarf's fight.

Mizana quickly creates more lava under the remaining foes - but the mote guardian shuffles away. Tricky Gary, he already passed before.

The mist guardian half melts in the scorching lava and the sorceress' Sorcerous Blast blasts it apart.



One versus one.

The last guardian causes another cave in, fortunately targeting a spot behind Mizana so although the sorceress gets hit by the falling rocks, the spell does little to hamper her movements.

Mizana zaps the statue with a Bungled Bolt, moving to pursue the enemy as it moves away, making sure to stay out of its firing zones. The foe tries to Spark Mizana but her Resistant Hide absorbs the electrical blast.

The next turn Mizana gets hit by an Acid Jet, again taking no damage but her Deadly Spark is a lot more effective. The foe moves closer and Mizana quickly retreats. As the enemy's move took it directly to the pool of acid it had just created, Mizana can only stare and laugh as the statue crumbles.
Bwahahaaa!

And this also means Adventure Complete!

Damn, that was a fiendishly well designed fight! Kudos to whoever thought this one up!

The heroes reach level 13, gaining another Talent.



Loot: Shield Of The Frog, Shield Of The Dervish, two Brutal Choppings.

My victory opens another adventure: Return to the Astral Shrine (level 14) and Riddle of the Gnome Lords (level 15)

 

Return to the Astral Shrine



Again a split party. It's a bit bad for Silvershield who can't make full use of her supporting spells.

...and Mizana draws an Unstable Bolt and Arcane Curse. Whee.

Agreyn runs to attack the nearest foe and although it blasts him with an Acid Jet, his frenzied Strong Bludgeon whacks a big chunk out of the mote guardian. The shadow guardian's spark makes Agreyn lose his frenzy (as Horned Plates triggers as an armor) but he still Chops the foe.
The guardian keeps sparking Agreyn while Silvershield prepares for her move on the other side, trying to inspire herself.

She marches towards the foes, getting Sparked by the mote guardian. The priestess stops and heals herself, waiting for a better opening and better cards.

Mizana stays put as I don't want to trigger Unstable Bolt.

The mote guardian moves and blasts Silvershield with a Bishop Blast while the other does the same to Agreyn.

Silvershield moves closer to get into range and boosts Agreyn with Righteous Frenzy. Before the fighter gets to do anything else, he's hit with a Rook Blast that knocks him down and injures Silvershield.



As Silvershield fights against the mote guardian, Mizana finally makes her move. She runs towards the enemies, Counterspells the Rook Blast targetting her and blasts the western mote guardian down with her spells, then running to the victory area.

The other mote guardian blasts Silvershield with an Acid Jet and retreats to a better position, allowing it to blast Mizana with two Bishop Blasts.

Next turn - and still no attacks for Silvershield. And Mizana at 2hps.

Unable to stay away from three different foes' firing lanes, Mizana soon falls to another Rook Blast, giving Gary enough VPs to win.

Attempt two

For this attempt Agreyn switches to a Simple Wooden Shield while Silvershield picks up Cover Shield.

And again Silvershield starts away from Agreyn and Mizana. And the cards don't look that great either.

Agreyn charges the eastern mote guardian, fails to Block the Acid Jet and Spark hitting him but hits back with a Weak Chop and a Penetrating Cut.
The walking statue turns and it's gaze brings down the cave roof near Silvershield, forcing the dwarf to take the other way around.

Agreyn finally manages to block the first Bishop Blast of the western guardian while Silvershield charges to fight it. The second and the third one hit, bringing Agreyn down to 4 hp, the last spell also hitting Mizana as he moves to use her Hot Spot. The sorceress retaliates by creating lava under the attacker.



Yeah, not looking good.

Agreyn finally gets to attack properly, hitting the mote guardian with an Able Bludgeon and a Chop, Mizana supporting him with Arcane Curse and Sorcerous Blast.

Both Silvershield and Mizana get sparked, the dwarf moving to fight the shadow guardian in the north corner while Agreyn steps out of the other's firing lane.

The dwarf assaults the towering statue.



He slams his club on the guardian's head, the fast blow proving too fast for the enemy to Block.

I save Invigorating Touch for next turn and Gary gains his second VP - and no attacks for Agreyn.

As the shadow guardian Sparks Silvershield, the dwarf counters by Bashing the foe. She slips behind the enemy and uses her Invigorating Touch to suck away part of the guardian's life force.

The western mote guardian causes a Cave In on top of the heroes, damaging the other mote guardian with the falling rocks as well. Mizana blasts the same foe with a Surging Bolt and as it makes the mistake of retreating towards Silvershield and the dwarf promptly jolts the enemy apart with an Unholy Frenzy.

If all the rocks weren't in the way, Agreyn and Mizana could now charge to the middle. Of course this would also put them in greater jeopardy...

Another VP for Gary.



Silvershield moves quickly north to take out the northern shadow guardian with her Violent Overswing while the mote guardian continues sparking Mizana, its attempts made futile by the sorcerer's Resistant Hide.

Mizana starts climbing over the rocks towards the middle, the second shadow guardian moving to intercept her. With Silvershield's inspiring cheer, Mizana gets to target the towering statue with a Wall Of Fire.

The mote guardian moves to a better position and blasts Silvershield with two Bishop Blasts.

With the mote guardian out of the firing lane, Agreyn finally gets to move, reaching the middle zone as well.

The partly molten statue climbs out of the lava, heading towards Agreyn.



Silvershield moves out of the mote guardian's diagonal lane but gets hit by an Acid Jet. While the statue sparks Silvershield again, Mizana Counterspells the shadow guardian.
Agreyn whacks the towering statue with a Trained Bludgeon.

As the mote guardian is now out of spells for now, Silvershield moves to boost Agreyn with Unholy Power. With the additional attack skill, Agreyn whacks the guardian thrice more and although the foe manages to Block one of the blows, the damage is still more than enough to break it down.

As there's only one foe left against the three heroes, I gain the last required VP without having to kill the last foe.



Loot: treasure and a Hippocampal Staff.

 

Fight two



Oo, evil... I'm forced to approach either the mote guardian along the diagonal line or the shadow guardians along the cardinal lines.

Agreyn moves south, away from the harder hitting foes' firing lines. He gets hit by a Devastating Spark as Mizana cautiously sneaks through the southern passage, slipping away from the souther foe's shooting area and zaps the towering foe as the mist guardians and the mote guardians keep zapping Agreyn, doing little damage thanks to his armors.

The southern shadow guardian Sparks Mizana and the heroes wait for the enemies to move first.
Unfortunately only the mist guardians move and Silvershield and Agreyn find themselves under a Cave In!

As this prevents Silvershield from heading to help Mizana as she would have otherwise done, she heads west instead.

Ah yeah. There are victory squares. That's why the foes aren't moving. It also means it's a lot safer approaching the mote guardians than I thought.

Mizana turns the southern victory square into lava - but the stubborn foe decides to guard the glowing square nevertheless!

As the lava begins to melt the walking statue's feet, it finally moves away from the pool of lava.



Silvershield boosts Agreyn with Unholy Frenzy and the fighter starts moving east over the rocky terrain but gets zapped twice by the foes.

Mizana assaults her towering opponent with a Fire Spray, followed by an inducted Sorcerous Blast, the foe failing to Block either spell.

Silvershield moves closer to the western guardian.

The southern guardian tries to move to attack Mizana but the sorceress simply slips aside.

Another VP for Gary but now I'm finally getting into melee range.

Agreyn gets zapped once again.



Mizana blasts apart the southern guardian with a Bungled Bolt while Agreyn finally reaches the eastern one. His frenzied Chops, followed by a Penetrating Cut break off big chunks out of the statue as Silvershield closes in with the western foe.

The priestess Bludgeons the guardian, then turns to inspire Mizana who helps the dwarf with a Sizzling Bolt.
I don't want to use Invigorating Touch yet as Silvershield is only 4hp short of her maximum.

Third VP for Gary but the mote guardians should fall soon...

Mizana gets zapped with a Mighty Spark but she grits her teeth and instead targets the western guardian with her Deadly Spark.

The eastern guardian shoots an Acid Jet at Agreyn, his armor protecting him from the damage. Nooo... He failed to Block but succeeded with the armor roll for Horned Plates. It really should have went the other way so I could have taken advantage of the frenzy from Horned Plates!

Oh well, if I intend to take the western foe out, I can't afford to wait for a better moment as using her Violent Overswing would discard the dwarf's oldest card which is now Invigorating Touch....

Silvershield touches the mote guardian, sucking some of it's lifeforce with an Invigorating Touch. She then breaks the enemy part with a Violent Overswing as the northern guardian makes the surprising move of moving away from its victory square!

Agreyn whacks his opponent, moving away from the acid and Mizana finally retaliates against the approaching mist guardian with her Unstable Bolt.
With the wester guardian out of the way and the northern guardian out of the firing line, Silvershield is free to capture the western glowing square.



As I now hold more squares than Gary, I get the next VP.

As the next turn begins, the mist guardian tries to hit Mizana with a Deadly Spark but her new Resistant Hide protects her.

Agreyn fnishes his opponent with a Trained Bludgeon while the northern guardian returns to its place. Silvershield adjusts her shield and Charges at the towering foe. It retaliates with a Rook Blast but the dwarf steps aside, then bashes the enemy back from the glowing square.
She gets hit by a Deadly Spark from the mist guardian moving to join the fight.

Mizana zaps the closest mist guardian with an Arcane Curse and Agreyn moves to capture the eastern victory square.

I get a VP from holding the victory squares, leaving me just one short of victory.



As I hold two squares and the enemy can't capture more than one this turn, the only thing I have to care for is keeping Silvershield alive until the end of turn.

Mizana blasts the mist guardian trying to reach her with a Powerful Spark, driving it back as the blast hits its Crude Plates. It tries to retaliate with the same spell but with even less results.

The northern guardians try to Spark Silvershield, hitting only her shield and although the shadow guardian reaches the glowing square, it's still not enough.

I hold two squares against Gary's one which means I get the last VP and win!

And Adventure Complete!

Btw, I really loved the chess theme of the foes in the astral adventures.

The heroes reach level 14, gaining new Talents.



Loot: Swirled Globe, Puce Diadem, Crimson Clogs (Agreyn takes) and Perfect Lifesteal! Finally something better for Silvershield, I was getting really annoyed with my horrible luck with Altruism... Too bad Talented Healer is still unimplemented.

My victory opens up Into the Black Forest (level 16) and Attack of the War Monkeys (level 16).

Checking the shops, Agreyn can't resist buying a Sword Of Thunder. The drawbacks are bad (Vulnerable and Fright) but the other cards look powerful enough that I want to give it a go.

Silvershield buys Toughness, switching back to Dueler's Buckler.

Mizana buys another Blister Stone and switches again to Apprentice Mobility.

My current party:

Agreyn
Level 14 Human Warrior

Sword Of Thunder
Hefty Chopper
Hefty Stout Club
Battered Spiked Mail
Simple Wooden Shield
Viking Helm
Crimson Clogs
Defensive Luck
Apprentice Chopping
​

Mizana
Level 14 Human Wizard

Arcanist's Staff
Staff Of Peril
Amulet Of The Burning Barrier
Crisping Rod
Blister Stone
Blister Stone
Robe Of The Geomancers
Brown Mail Boots
Apprentice Mobility
Electroporter
​

Silvershield
Level 14 Dwarf Priest

Big Stick
Club Of Wrath
Glowing Hide Armor
Dueler's Buckler
Lovat Boots
Demon Charm Of The 3rd Circle
Righteous Tome
Cloudy Charm
Toughness
Perfect Lifesteal
​

My current options are:
Tomb of Tvericus (level 12)
Riddle of the Gnome Lords (level 15)
Into the Black Forest (level 16)
Attack of the War Monkeys (level 16)