Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Cop and a Half: Episode 5 - Bitten By The Fang


Lem awoke with a start.  At the foot of his bed was a tall figure, silhouetted by pre-dawn moonlight.  He felt his stomach churn; not out of fear, but because he had drank his weight in wine the night before.  Noting the dozen weapons protruding from the figure, he mumbled, "Ugh...What is it Val?"

Lem starting deck
BoGx3
BoIomedae
BoCalistria
Amulet of Life
Bracers of Protection
Burglar
Sage
Night Watch
Aid
Cure
Inflict
Lightning Touch
Sling

A gruff voice replied from the darkness, "Never call me that.  Get up, the chief needs us."  With that, he turned and left the room.  Lem knew he wouldn't be waiting for him, so he cobbled together as much of his gear as he could in the dark without vomiting, and set off into the streets of Sandpoint.

Valeros Starting Deck
BoGx3
Chainmail x2
Magic Leather Armor
Crowbar
Spyglass
Longsword
Warhammer
Longbow
Glaive
Shock Longbow +1
Sheriff Hemlock
Archer

Upon entering the Sheriff's office, they found it was a swirling scene of activity.  Something big had gone down, that much was certain.  Sheriff Hemlock didn't even turn to look at them as they approached.  "You two, get down to the temple right away.  We have reports of attacks all over Sandpoint, and we're dividing our forces to try and cover as much ground as possible.  Get moving!"

As the pair ran to the nearby temple, Lem couldn't help but feel like the Sheriff was being purposefully vague.  Most of his conscious thought was still focused on keeping the contents of his stomach in check, but he still had a bad feeling about this one.  He looked to Valeros, who looked unshaken as usual.  How that man could pack away as much booze as he did and still be so composed made Lem jealous.

The streets were quiet, which also seemed strange, given the Sheriff's briefing.  Upon entering the temple, everything also appeared to be at peace.  Lem offered a quick prayer to the gods before moving forward.

Turn 1
Lem – BoShelyn
Temple
BoTorag – Divine – D10+1 = 2 = fail

Valeros wasted no such time, though.  He was already poking through every book on the shelf of the altar.  It was clear that he had no respect for the sanctity of this holy place.

Turn 2
Valeros – BoG
Temple
Holy Light – Wisdom + Lem Recharge + Lem BoG + Valeros BoG = D4+D4+D4+D4 = 12 = success

Well, no sense in me holding back, Lem thought.  He approached a nearby spear affixed to the wall.  It was clearly ornate, possibly magical, gleaming in the candlelight.  As he reached out to touch it, a scream sounded from a nearby room.

Turn 3
Lem – BoShelyn
Icy Longspear +1 – Strength – D4 = 3 = fail

Valeros was already in motion.  He kicked in the door to the abbot's chambers and was confronted by a pair of shambling skeletal creatures.  Their bones had long since aged to the point of decay, but new growths had appeared in their place, leaving them hulking and even more unnatural.

Lem and Valeros wasted no time.  Valeros cleaved one in half with his longsword, while Lem blasted his with a holy light fueled by the gods of this place.

Turn 4
Valeros – BoG
Gives holy light to Lem
Guidance – Wisdom = D4 =4 = success
Discard Sheriff Hemlock explore – Ancient Skeleton (one per hero, from scenario)
Ancient Skeleton – Melee + Reveal and recharge longsword + Lem Recharge Bracers of Prot = D10+3+D8+D6+D4 = 25 = success
Lem Ancient Skeleton from Scenario – Holy Light + Valeros = D10+1+2D12+D4 = 25 = Success
Holy Light Recharge successful
Automatically close location

Upon examining the room, Lem saw that the priest inhabiting the room was beyond helping.  He muttered a prayer for the man as he continued to scan the room.  It was then that he saw a small alcove behind a toppled bookcase.  He began moving towards it, and nearly fell over as a sword flashed out of the darkness.  From the shadows, a member of the Night Watch staggered out.  He was moving erratically, like a zombie.  Not good.  Lem held his hands out to stop the man, but the glazed over expression he held told Lem that no one was home.  Lem channeled negative energy into the man, but not enough to kill.  There had been enough killing in this holy place.

Turn 5
Lem – BoTorag
Desecrated Vault
Traitor – Discard Night Watch – Inflict – D10+1 +D6 = 13 = Success
Recharge failed

Moving past the unconscious man, Valeros saw the alcove led to a crudely carved tunnel.  Once inside, he came across the tools that had been used to excavate it.  He noted that they were very fine tools with superior craftsmanship.  Interesting.  He placed them in his pack for the time being.

Turn 6
Valeros – BoTorag
Desecrated Vault
Masterwork Tools – Dex + BoG + Lem Aid + Recharge Sage + Guidance = D8+D8+D6+D4+1=15=Success
Aid Recharge fail

Following behind Valeros, Lem heard soft music flowing from the deep tunnels.  He was filled with dread as his will to move was sapped by the haunting notes.  Suddenly, his vision went black as a sharp pain echoed through his skull.  Shaking off his temporary blindness, he turned to see Valeros, holding his longsword pommel-first towards Lem.
"Good, you're back." He said, and pushed past the halfling.

Turn 7
Lem – BoErastil
Satyr – Dex + BoCalistria = 3D8 = 6 = Fail = 3 damage

The tunnels were dark, but a soft light was emanating from a short distance down the tunnel.  Valeros suspected that it opened up into a larger chamber.  Steeling himself against whatever might be behind this, he cautiously moved into the chamber.

Unfortunately, he was not prepared for the tail of a dragon.  The great beast's thick tail hit him like a swinging tree, knocking him off his feet and against the wall.  If not for his armor, he would surely be in dire straits.

Turn 8 
Valeros – BoIomedae
Black Fang – Lem fails Con, Valeros passes Con – D4-1 Acid damage = 0 damage
Valeros – Strength + Lem Recharge Iomedae + Lem recharge Burglar = D10+D10+D4 = 9 = fail = 3 damage
Bury Chainmail to reduce damage to 0 
Location remains open, Villain is shuffled with 2 blessings from the timer and locations are reshuffled

The creature moved too fast for Lem to follow, despite it's size.  Instead, he took aim with his sling at what he could see in the dim light.  Skeletons were emerging from their resting places lining the walls of this chamber.  One went down to a well-placed stone.  Others were coming.

Turn 9 
Lem – BoG
Skeleton – Dex + Reveal Sling + Valeros = D8+D6+D4 = 11 = Success
Roll for Undead to be defeated for Vault – 6 

Valeros had only one target in his sights, however.  This dragon was surely behind this madness, and he would see it dead.

Turn 10
Valeros – BoIrori
Black Fang – Lem fails Con, Valeros fails Con – D4-1 Acid Damage to Lem – 2 damage – Amulet of Life D4-1 Acid Damage to Valeros – 1 damage 
Amulet Recharge fails
Valeros  - Reveal and recharge shock longbow+1 +recharge archer + Lem Recharge = D8+1+D10+D4+D4 = 16 = Success
Location Closed

As Valeros chased the black dragon through the catacombs, Lem was trying to hold off the amassing undead that were approaching them from behind. Try as he might, though, the hordes of undead were closing in from all sides.  They had to get out of this place before they were overwhelmed.
"Valeros!  We can't stay here!" Lem cried, as he backed himself to a safer vantage point.
"We need to get some help down here.  We're no good to this town dead!"  Valeros stopped himself long enough to see the truth of what the halfling was saying.  Snatching Lem up, he bull-rushed the decaying corpses in their path, and ran back to the safety of the temple.

Turn 11
Lem – BoG
Throne Room
Plague Zombie – Holy Light – D10+1+2D12 = 30 = Success
Recharge fails
Out of cards
Opt to head back to town

Constructing a barricade over the passage with his newfound tools, Valeros swore an oath that this was not over.  The dragon would die.

Post-game Analysis

So, this is the session where "shit got real" for me. I was fortunate enough to get a couple of nice upgrades, but unlucky enough for Lem to be in the danger zone on health pretty early on. Losing out on the icy longspear hurt, though.

Still, any adventure you can walk away from is a success of sorts :)

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