They were getting close, Lem could feel it. They had spent several days in the Magnimar Academy and Temple, searching for references to a "Skinsaw Man" as well as associates of the late Foxglove family. Any citizens they had questioned thus far denied any knowledge of these things, but their faces told another story.
Lem
Card Feat: Spell
Skill Feat: Carisma +3
Power Feat: 1D4 +2 to another character’s check
Starting Deck
Sling
Wand of Force Missile
Sihedron Medallion
Toad
Burglar x2
Lightning Touch
Cure
Enfeeble
Aid
Holy Light
BoDesna
BoG
BoShelyn
BoPharasma x2
Valeros was restless. While his partner had been poring over musty tomes and speaking with scholars, Valeros had hit the streets. He knew his fair share of scumbags in this city, and he knew how to make them talk. Thing was, whenever he brought up the word "Skinsaw", they wouldn't say a word. Whatever this thing was, it was scarier than he was, and that was a disturbing thought.
Valeros
Card Feat: Item
Skill Feat: Strength +3
Power Feat: Hand Size – 5, 1D4 +1 to another characters combat check
Starting Deck
Icy Longspear +1
Warhammer +1
Bastard Sword
Glaive
Shock Longbow +1
Magic Shield
Magic Half-Plate
Magic Leather Armor
Masterwork Tools
Holy Candle
Staff of Minor Healing
Sheriff Hemlock
Grizzled Mercenary
BoSarenrae
BoG
BoIomedae
Lem and Valeros had agreed to meet at the Temple to share their findings. It was late, and Lem had surrounded the books he had been working through with a complement of candles. As Valeros entered, Lem rubbed the sleep from his eyes and nodded to his partner.
They began to discuss the results of their research. The reluctance of the citizens to speak, coupled with Lem's findings, pointed to this Skinsaw Cult being led by someone of influence. They began to lay out the names of nobility in the city, to narrow down their list of suspects, when the candles blew out.
It was pitch black in the temple, and the pale sliver of a moon did little to light the room. Valeros jumped up from his chair, throwing it backwards and drawing his sword in one motion. Lem closed his eyes and listened. A shuffle behind Lem warned him of the assassin only moments before the blade would have pierced his neck. Lem blasted the cloaked figure with holy light.
Turn 1
Lem – BoShelyn
Temple
Potion of healing – Intelligence = D6 = 6 = Success
Recharge BoShelyn explore – BoErastil – Divine = Auto-Success
Discard BoPharasma explore – Skinsaw Cultist – Holy Light + Valeros = D10+4 + 2D6 + D4+2 = 27 = Success
Not closing Location
Recharge Holy Light = Success
Discard BoG explore – Cure – Divine = D10+4 = 14 = Success = Bury a card
Discard BoErastil explore – Heavy Pick +1 – Strength = Auto-Fail
Discard BoPharasma explore – BoG
Discard BoG explore – Detect Evil – Divine = Choose to fail
Potion of Healing – 1
Cure – 5
Recharge Cure – Success
Valeros leaned over the corpse, and took the blade that had nearly ended his partner. It was a scythe that gleamed in the pale moonlight. Valeros decided it best to hang on to it for the time being. He reflected on the nature of the weapon as he admired it. These guys sure had a thing for farms. After the scarecrow golems, farmhouses, and now scythes, maybe these guys were just a bunch of pissed off farmers.
Turn 2
Valeros – BoShelyn
BoG – auto-acquire
Discard BoG explore – Scythe+1 – Melee + Lem recharge = D10+6 + D4+2 = 18 = Success
Discard Sheriff Hemlock explore – BoTorag – Strength = Auto-Acquire
Location closed automatically
Convinced that there were no more assassins in the Temple, they moved to the Academy. If the Skinsaw cult had been waiting for them at the Temple, it stood to reason that they may attack the Academy as well. Lem's theory was proven correct when they encountered a skeleton immediately upon entering the building. As he blasted it with lightning, he saw another figure in the shadows of the room. He turned and drained energy from it, preventing it from casting any more foul magic.
Turn 3
Lem – BoG
Academy
Skeleton – Lightning Touch = D10+4 + 2D4 = 14 = Success
Recharge Lightning Touch = Fail
Free explore from Location – Potion of Healing – Intelligence = D6 = 5 = Success
Discard BoG explore – Skinsaw Cultist – Enfeeble
Recharge Enfeeble = Success
Valeros charged the robed figure and cleaved it in two with his newfound scythe. Never let it be said that he didn't have a sense of irony. He began to search the rest of the building, securing it room by room.
Turn 4
Valeros – BoDesna
Academy
Skinsaw Cultist – Reveal and recharge Scythe+1 + Lem recharge = D10+6 + 2D4+1 + D4 + D4+2 = Auto-Success
Choose not to close location
Free explore from location – Aid – Wisdom – Auto-Fail
Lem followed suit, moving carefully from room to room. It appeared that most of the place had been undamaged, which was a relief. Most of the historical records of the city were contained here, and they would need those to narrow down their suspects.
Turn 5
Lem – BoG
Frost Ray – Arcane = D10+4 = 8 = Success = Bury a card
Discard BoPharasma explore – Force Missile = Choose to fail
While his partner continued moving through the rooms of the Academy, Valeros moved outside to secure the perimeter. The streets were emptier than usual, and an unnerving silence hung in the air.
Turn 6
Valeros – BoIrori
City Gate
Holy Candle – 1
Throwing Axe - Dexterity = D8 = 5 = Fail
Staff of minor healing on self
BoTorag explore – Cloak of Elvenkind – Dexterity = D8 = 6 = Success
It was then that he heard it. It started as a distant howl, but quickly grew in volume. Several more cries answered it, and soon Valeros was under siege by a band of goblins that poured from nearby alleyways. How did they enter the city? Were they allied with the Skinsaw Cult? Valeros had no time to ponder these questions.
He began to reap the small creatures like ripe wheat with his scythe. These insignificant creatures posed no real threat, but their appearance here was troubling. Lem had heard the disturbance and rushed outside to lend his aid. Blasts of force knocked goblins off their feet and splattered them against nearby buildings. Soon, the few goblins that remained ran back to the shadows of the city. Lem looked to Valeros.
"We must be closer than we thought, if they're attacking us out in the open like this. Give me a few more minutes in here, I'm just wrapping something up."
Turn 7
Lem – BoG
Mayor Kendra Deverin – Diplomacy = D10+6 = 14 = Success
Discard BoShelyn explore – Goblin Raid – Each character summons and encounters Goblin Raider
Lem – Wand of Force Missile = 4D4 = 12 = Success
Recharge Wand = Success
Valeros – Bastard Sword = D10+6 +D10 = 25 = Success
Discard BoErastil explore – Haste – Arcane = D10+4 = Fail
As the door closed behind Lem, Valeros turned back to the street and saw a lone figure there in the street. It was robed like the assassins from earlier, and wielded a familiar scythe. Valeros dropped his own scythe in favor of his bastard sword. Gripping it in both hands, he assumed an offensive posture. He leveled the blade at his opponent and charged. He couldn't help but smile as he felt the massive blade strike the robed figure directly in the chest, shattering bone and lifting the assassin from his feet.
Turn 8
Valeros – BoG
Skinsaw Cultist – Bastard Sword = D10+6 + D10 = 15 = Success
Summon and defeat Bandit henchman to close location – recharge a card – Bastard Sword = D10+6 + D10 = 16 = Success
Location closed
Lem had been through the Foxglove family history enough to know that they had ties to several wealthy and influential families in Magnimar. Now that they knew the Skinsaw Cult was tied to one of those families, Lem had the last piece of the puzzle. In the many ledgers detailing land purchases in the city, Lem had seen that the Foxglove family had formed a partnership with the Ironbriar family to purchase several plots of land directly outside of the city. One of those was the mill, where they had encountered a horde of undead.
Lem went outside to his partner and informed him of his discovery. It was time to go back to the mill.
Turn 9
Lem – BoGorum
Lightning Bolt – Arcane + Valeros BoG = D10+4 + D10 = 12 = Success = Bury a card
Arcane 6 to close location – D10+4 = 13 = Success
Location closed = Shuffle Lightning Touch into deck
The mill loomed ominously as the pair neared it. It seemed to look down on them as though it were a living thing. It was silent, with not even the slightest breeze to move the rusted gears of the inner structure. As Valeros peered into the gaping maw of the building, a horde of rats poured from it. He cursed and began crushing as many as he could with his warhammer. It would be a shame if he came this far only to succumb to some foul disease from these creatures.
Turn 10
Valeros – BoSarenrae
Mill
Potion of Vision – Intelligence = D6 = 1 = Fail
Discard BoSarenrae explore – Rat Swarm – Warhammer+1 = D10+6 + D8+1 = 22 = Success
Discard BoIomedae explore – Heavy Crossbow – Dexterity = D8 = 8 = Success
Lem followed behind his partner, carefully stepping over the carcasses of the vermin that littered the entryway. Once inside, lights sprang to life all around them. Torches lined the walls, as did hooded figures like the ones they had encountered earlier. Directly before them stood an elf, unhooded and in elaborate robes. Lem recognized him as one of the chief justices of the city, Justice Ironbriar!
"You have come farther than any other, but you will not remove us. Our angel has looked upon you, and found you wanting." The elf spoke, his voice booming in the small wooden mill. He drew a longsword, and approached the pair. The figures along the walls also lifted wicked scythes and closed in on them.
Lem and Valeros readied themselves, standing back to back. Lem unleashed lightning that crackled through the room, sending Ironbriar flying into a wall. The dry, decaying wood went up like tinder. Soon, the entire building was ablaze and filled with smoke. Coughing, Valeros hacked away at the cultists foolish enough to get between him and the exit.
Turn 11
Lem – BoG
Mill
Justice Ironbriar – Valeros summons and encounters a random monster
Siren – Wisdom + Lem recharge – D4 + D4+2 = 8 = Success
Ironbriar – Lightning Bolt + Valeros = D10+4 + 3D6 + D4+1 = 22 = Success
Soon, he and Lem were panting on the dew-covered grass outside the mill, staring at the mill as it collapsed in on itself in flames. No cultists had made it out, but Valeros was certain they hadn't seen the end of them yet. It was time to kill an angel.
Scenario reward – Random Spell
Lem – Consecration
Valeros – Toxic Cloud
Post-Game Analysis
This was a quick one! I loved the idea of presenting Valeros as Magnimar's Batman, roughing up the criminal element. It was also fun to try and tie all the Skinsaw stuff together.
This was one of the first times I felt strong enough to separate the pair and let them tackle different Locations, and I think it worked out quite well. Valeros was able to get another magic weapon, and Lem got quite a few nice spells! One more scenario left in this Adventure Deck. Thanks for reading!
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