Game(s) Played:
No, really, the following post has MAJOR spoilers for the Gloomhaven campaign. This has been your spoiler warning.
So after completing the first two introductory scenarios, the world of Gloomhaven has now opened up to us with three different locations we can explore.
And so we put it to a vote... ...
This clearly demonstrates the motivations of the Players in our group: Logic, Money, Treasure and Glory (with a sprinkling of near certain death). All the deadly sins of an adventuring party, with particular emphasis on deadly. And so with those goals in mind, our party has chosen to go on a smelly side quest, to the Sulfur Mine! (Honestly, how is there supposed to be any treasure in a Sulfur Mine? Plus the artifact is a drill, probably to drill more Sulfur Mines)
Gloomhaven Side Quest #65 – Sulfur mine
Game: Gloomhaven
Designer: Isaac Childres
Players: 1 – 4 Players
Playing Time: 30 – 120 minutes
Main Mechanisms: Role Playing, Legacy, Hand Management
Player(s):
Thalia "Heir of Saint Traft" hears the call of four sessions of Dominaria and bids us adieu as she planeshifts for a chance to open some Legendary cards. Even as the tendrils of her portal dissipate into thin air, we hear someone say "Hey, hey, hey, if it isn't my old chum All Might?" to which All Might responds by thumping what appears to be a pile of rocks on the back. Scattering pebbles everywhere, we find out that Lyramof "The Polite" is a Cragheart and after a resounding rendition of their school's pigball (like American football only played with a live pig as the football) team song "Go Titans", we also realize that they were pigball teammates in high school.
Since we were one short of a full party, All Might suggests we take Lyramof along with us for our foray into the Sulfur Mine. At this, Xanna "Pro-tem Master Artificer to the Etherium Crafters" & Rincewind "the magical equivalent of the number zero" both cry out "YES, YES" then prostrate themselves on the ground in prayerful worship to whichever God/Goddess/Anthropomorphic Deity responsible for bringing them a potential, REAL tank to the party.
On the way out of Gloomhaven, we are accosted by the typical random encounter that plagues adventurers in every multiverse… …
We went with Option B… … Our Malaysian nature is seeping into our role-playing
We had to vote for this City Event and it was 3 against All Might "Ever Present Help" who wanted to attempt to stop a mob. Thank goodness that we still have the democratic vote, all in all I think Option B was the better outcome. Guess we have to wait until City Event 60 to find out.
On our way to the Sulfur Mine however, this happens… ….
We also went with Option B… … This is also typical Malaysia behaviour
Our only regret is that there wasn't any… campaign progression, money, treasure, glory to be obtained apart from the metal sphere. And so we finally arrive at the stinky and stanky Sulfur Mine.
Vermlings seem terribly prejudiced against in this universe, good thing we don't have a Mind Thief with us
Finally, a formation that makes sense
Entering the mine, Rincewind nudges Xanna and uses complicated facial expressions to indicate that the support characters should hang back. All Might, wanting to show off in front of his old pal Lyramof, shoves his way to the front, kicks in the door, plants himself in the doorway and bellows, "COME AT ME!!!!".
The AI still makes some weird moves that lead to hilarious moments
The Vermling Scout panics and hurdles over All Might right into the waiting arms of the back-up team who gleefully pummel the poor Vermling into mincemeat. The Hounds remain focused on the fresh meat standing right in front of them and proceed to tear All Might a new one. One Vermling Scout shish kebab later, the support team proceed to wipe out the remaining Hounds in the hallway.
All Might, bleeding common sense out from the wounds made by Hound bites all over, proceeds to rush down the hallway to kick in the next door. Xanna, Rincewind & Lyramof having learnt from their previous experiences with All Might take a second to confer before deciding to split up and explore the side rooms first.
This was such a Matrix moment
Xanna pushes open the door to the sound of a rampaging Hound and crazed Vermling Scout rushing towards her. Channelling her inner Neo, Xanna proceeds to dodge every single hit thrown at her by the two rabid creatures of the night. (The monsters kept pulling negative attack modifier cards that caused them to do zero damage, it was hilarious and cool)
Chiaotzu, the most forgotten character in Dragonball Z
Running low on options and mana, Rincewind chooses to emulate his personal hero, Chiaotzu, in his final moments, takes a swig of his Minor Power Potion and jumps right into the fray to launch a "Freezing Nova", taking out the two Hounds and the Vermling Scout. Opening his eyes hoping to see the shiny pearly gates, Rincewind realizes that Heaven shouldn't smell like rotten eggs. He's still ALIVE!!!!
Okay so this actually happens before the self-destruct sequence but oh well…
The party is split up, running low on stamina and there were still two more rooms to go… The remainder of the party decides to converge on All Might's position with Rincewind deciding to cheat by jumping on The Luggage and going "WEEEEEEE!!!!" and "Ride the Wind". Then he does the self-destruct sequence above.
Who knew moving through a Sulfur Mine could be so difficult
So after cleaning up the room, Rincewind is out for the count whilst All Might is on his last legs but Lyramof & Xanna are still trying to make their way to the intersection… Converging at the centre of the T, Lyramof still has some breath in him so he makes his way down the left corridor on his own whilst All Might and Xanna go right. Almost breathing a sigh of relief at the lone Vermling Scout and Hound in each room, everybody lets loose and wipes out their opponents before opening the final chests to grab the final pieces of what appears to be a design schematic.
I wasn't giving us any chances to win this one right up to the final two turns
Now let's cut to the action in real time!
For our blood, sweat and tears, we now have… … A DRILL!!!!
I hope this fabled Drill comes with a gold ore detector but somehow I think I'm in for some colossal disappointment. Maybe we can hit up the Blacksmith in Gloomhaven for some add-ons to the design schematic.
Results Of Game(s)
Loot!:
Moses aka All Might "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" – 13 Exp & 18 Gold
Edward aka Lyramof "Deals 1 Damage To Allies" – 16 Exp & 2 Gold
Justin aka Rincewind "WEEEEEE!!!!" – 17 Exp & 6 Gold
Sean aka Xanna "I've Never Seen Anyone Move That Fast" – 14 Exp & 4 Gold
We are doing quite well for a fairly new party to Gloomhaven. I've heard all the horror stories on the internet about how other parties end up failing to complete the first few scenarios a couple of times even, and now we've even completed our first side quest with only a few exhausted teammates. I'd say that is quite a feat for us in a cooperative game especially since most of us are by nature cutthroat sharks at the boardgaming table.
We will interrupt our schedule next Sunday as there is a church event happening but will see if anyone is interested to do a full day's worth on Monday as Tuesday is a public holiday in Malaysia.
Until next time, keep calm and play better.
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