Game(s) Played:
No, really, the following post has MAJOR spoilers for the Gloomhaven campaign. This has been your spoiler warning.
Gloomhaven #16 – (28) Outer Ritual Chamber
Game: Gloomhaven
Designer: Isaac Childres
Players: 1 – 4 Players (This Play: 5 Players)
Playing Time: 30 – 120 minutes (This Play: 70 minutes)
Main Mechanisms: Role Playing, Legacy, Hand Management
Player(s):
"And who the heck are you?" enquires Thalia "Heir of Saint Traft" of the voice beneath the table.
From the gloom beneath the table, out steps a Vermling clad in midnight black with a short sword tied to his waist. "The name is Splinter "Karaoke Kingu", and I hear you have an opening in your party?" asks Splinter the Vermling Mindthief by way of introduction.
Xanna "Master Artificer to the Etherium Crafters" can barely contain her excitement as she asks, "No way, you're a ninja aren't you?"
Splinter turns to Xanna and responds "To my eternal shame, I am shinobi no longer."
"What is a shinobi and why are you no longer one?" rumbles All Might "The Symbol Of Peace" inquisitively.
"A shinobi is a creature of the dark, our calling is espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination and guerrilla warfare and silence is our mistress. But I have been expelled from the brotherhood of death for my worldly desires, which is to be a Karaoke King!" proclaims Splinter with crescendo.
"Hmmm... So what do you think Thalia?" mumbles Lyramof "The Polite", "He's certainly insane enough to qualify, Thalia? Thalia?"
The group turns around to find Thalia knocked out flat on the floor of the Sleeping Lion.
"Riiiggghhht... ..." goes everyone in the group.
"What's wrong with her?" enquires Splinter.
"Technically it's your fault. Thalia can't stand Vermlings in close proximity" explains Xanna.
"Hah! That settles it! Welcome to our party, scrawny Vermling!" booms All Might.
"Well, let's settle this the traditional way..." mumbles Xanna.
"WATER – FIRE – WOOD!!!" goes the traditional shout.
"Drat!" exclaims Lyramof as he bends down to lift Thalia up "Well I've got to visit my ma anyways. I'll see you around Splinter."
As Lyramof carries Thalia back to her room, the group steps out onto the street and is about to start discussing where to head off to when Mr. Big Shot Guard stops the party. "Oh no, not again..." moans Xanna.
We have done this quest before but forgot the outcomes so we went with our previous option, and were worse off for it
"Well that was strange, Vermling fighting Vermling..." says All Might thinking aloud.
"Those were merely savages. I have attained higher purpose." Splinter responds in his sing song voice.
"Like being the Karaoke King?" prompts Xanna cheekily.
"Yes." comes the solemn reply.
"Well, good on you little fella. Now I seem to recall that we have another bounty to collect, let's go!" yells All Might cherrily.
Damned if you do and damned if you don't. This was one of those choices where we didn't feel there was a right choice. We were right.
"Hold still, you big ninny!" snaps Xanna as she applies the smelly unguent to the claw marks on All Might's torso.
"But it attracts the babes!!!" complains the big Inox Brute.
"The only thing you'll be attracting is flies if these wounds fester" admonishes Xanna.
"We have arrived" gestures Splinter towards open doorway leading into the Gloom cult's underground crypt.
One day a bad guy will learn to ask us to leave politely and just for fun we might even oblige
"1, 2, 3… That's 6 CULTISTS in a single room! We need to focus on them before they summon any undead!" exclaims Xanna.
All Might pulls out his BATTLE AXE then looks curiously at Splinter, "Whatcha doing there, Splinter?" who appears to be staring at his own reflection in his sword.
"I am channelling my chakra into my weapon, making it an extension of myself" whispers Splinter out of the side of his mouth whilst maintaining his focus.
"Well, I'm heading out first then" states matter-of-factly before charging into the fray.
Three CULTISTS are down! And it looks like All Might has gotten a triple KO in one hit!
Seeing their numbers cut in half, the CULTISTS quickly pull out their ceremonial daggers to summon LIVING BONES as reinforcements since the LIVING CORPSES appear to be disoriented after their interplanar journey.
"We've got to stop them!" yells All Might as he hurries across the room to swat the heads of the two CULTISTS gathered there. Too late, the CULTISTS' precious life blood falls to the unholy ground and four LIVING BONES rise up to defend the CULTIST from the charging Inox. (Writer's note: Yes we were that unlucky, the CULTISTS drew the summon Monster Ability Card twice!) Not slowing down in the slightest, All Might jumps over the defenders and with one lusty swipe, takes down both the drained & weakened CULTISTS hiding in the back.
The remaining CULTIST who already has one LIVING BONES defender quickly rolls up his sleeve to summon another undead defender when he feels fingers sharply digging into the crook of his neck and shoulder blade and realizes he's now frozen and can't move. He helplessly watches as two crossbow bolts are fired in rapid succession, each one taking both him and the just formed LIVING BONES in the head for a kill shot.
I didn't take a picture but right after this things get really dicey for All Might
All Might hastily cleans the blood of the two CULTISTS on their robes and notices that the shadows have lengthened somewhat. He looks up and swallows apprehensively as he realizes that he is hemmed in on all sides by the undead walkers.
"I could use some help over here!" yells All Might, struggling to contain the panic in his voice.
Xanna looks towards Splinter as he steps out of the shadows of invisibility, "I'll do what I can. Keep healing him" is his brief response before standing still with his eyes closed.
The melee that ensues is horrific as All Might gives as good as he's getting from the undead. Xanna alternates between the occasional crossbow shot and healing All Might to prevent his untimely demise. Occasionally, All Might catches glimpses of Splinter as he appears behind an enemy and disappears again after landing a strike at the enemy's back only to reappear 4 hexes away before the enemy can strike back at him.
One by one the enemy are taken down until numerical superiority is once again in the hands of our party of mercenaries and the enemy doesn't stand a chance against those odds.
With only 1 LIVING BONES left, All Might waves Splinter on towards the nearest door. Splinter acknowledges with a nod and pushes open the door noiselessly. A master of shadows, Splinter ignores the temptation of the Treasure Chest and focuses on the three darker pools of shadow in the room. Feeling that something is not right, Splinter backtracks into the main room and the three shadows draw closer towards the door, coalescing into NIGHT DEMONS.
Now amply motivated, All Might jumps right into it, his desire for treasure causing him to make that extra swing for every hit that passes through smoke. His attacks appear to connect more often than not, his experience guiding his attacks at where the NIGHT DEMONS true form lies within the shadows. Before Splinter, who now appears to be panting from overexertion, can even reach the door on the other side of the chamber, All Might is squatting before the Treasure Chest, full of anticipation. His anticipation turns to dismay however when he finds only design schematics within the Treasure Chest. He casually tosses the plans to Xanna whose eyes widen with delight, "Here you go, I don't understand all that chicken scratch anyways."
Splinter opens the other door and immediately screams in agony as his retinas are assaulted by the blinding light of 3 SUN DEMONS. In the totally unfamiliar environment of blinding sunlight, Splinter stumbles into the room and is quickly cut down by the surrounding SUN DEMONS.
And in another room, Xanna pulls out a tally sheet from her backpack and makes another mark, "That's 13" before hurriedly packing it away.
Exhaustion appears to be the common condition that afflicts characters I play
Yelling in rage, All Might charges towards the enemies standing over his fallen comrade when he slips on a banana, for the third time. (Writer's note: Yes, All Might was THAT unlucky in this scenario. Null symbol > Shuffle > Null symbol)
Some RNG is required to make any game fun
Having more experience in dealing with these foes, Xanna pulls down her sun-goggles and All Might uses his shield to block out the glare. With these safety equipment in place, the frail SUN DEMONS can't hold a candle to our two remaining mercenaries.
Why would anyone say "Yes" to invitations of this kind?
With Splinter slung over his shoulder, All Might looks at Xanna who nods wearily. He turns back towards the darkness and shrugs, "Sorry, guess we have to take a rain check. We'll be back later, so don't wait up." The party turns its back in lock-step, "Smell you later!" calls out All Might as the party leaves the crypt.
Now let's cut to the action in real time!
Results Of Game(s)
Winners:
Justin aka Splinter "I need more chakra" – 19 Exp & 3 Gold
Sean aka Xanna "Only 2 more to go"
Moses aka All Might "This was too easy, NEXT!"
We will be back with more Gloomhaven right away! One scenario was clearly not enough.
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