Vaults of Zarn Campaign Turn 3: Rumors and Ruin

Right, so full disclosure: I’m still trying to find the optimal post length/style for battle reports, so we’re trying something different this time. Rather than a turn-by-turn post (which I enjoyed, and will likely return to), I’ve decided to essentially handle the third turn of my Vaults of Zarn Outcast Crew campaign as a summary of high (and low. . .oh, they got low) points. You’ll understand perhaps why I’m eager to get this post over with shortly! 

     So, in the Preparation Phase my greed got the better of me. You see, I had assigned Snorri to tend to Sir Kair’s wounds, and the initial roll was an injury. Feeling lucky, I used Snorri’s reroll and. . .well, that was the end of Sir Kair. The poor Knight of the Crown died of his injuries! 

     What else did I do? Well, I sent Beldar and Lobrek to “Scout the Hold,” an activity which can turn up leads for upcoming adventures. As it happens, they actually found a wounded dwarf, and with a couple of successful strength rolls managed to haul him back to base in one piece. Assuming the party returned from its expedition, this as-of-yet unnamed dwarf would be joining the crew. Welcome to the crew, as-of-yet unnamed dwarf! 

     Baldrick, eager to see if Drang had any other leads, visited the venerable old dwarf with mug in hand and ear at the ready. Turns out Drang did have another lead. . .one which would prove to be ruinous. Drang’s tales led the crew to a part of the hold infested with the undead. . .and thus, the stage was set for the No Way Out! Scenario.

So, How Did “No Way Out” Pan Out?

     Very, very poorly, though I should note that part of this might be my fault. Permit me to explain: this scenario is basically a brave fight against waves of monsters, with the goal being to successfully defeat every gribbly that comes for a taste of dwarf booty. The kicker was, Drang’s version of this scenario specifies that it happens in a part of Zarn infested with undead, rather than the generic monsters from the rulebook (as this scenario is from the core rules, not the Vaults of Zarn expansion). No problem, right?

     Well, this is where my RPG DMing brain sort of took over. You see, the undead are actually two separate factions in Torch and Shield: the dwarven undead (which I had already fought in the first scenario of the campaign), and a far more spirit-y, light gobble-y faction. I like both, and saw an opportunity to mix and match here. Because the Cursed Clans (the dwarven undead) do not have any Swarm or Brood (lesser forms of monster) creatures in their list (unless I’m misreading something), I figured “what the hell: I’ll have the undead dwarves/skeletons provide the Brute and Beast monsters, and the Lumivores and undead spiders from the other undead faction will provide the Swarm and Brood baddies.” 

     On one hand, this decision arose from my own desire to have some cool baddies on the table. On the other hand, I was genuinely confused as to what to do with the monsters in this scenario. I needed plenty of each kind of monster category, but the chosen monster faction (the fleshy undead) don’t have the lesser monsters at their disposal. What to do? Use the generic statblocks in the main rulebook? Mix and match with the other undead faction? I opted for the latter, and boy was that going to land me in a world of hurt. . .

     While the first couple of turns went fairly well, by the middle of the game I was absolutely overrun with undead, stuck in the dark (the Lumivores had, in fact, vore’d my looms), and facing one of the worst streaks of rolling I have ever had. I consistently failed to win even the few favorable combats I managed to find myself in, never mind the absurd contests the crew had to contend with in the late game. The rotten cherry on top? Good monster “to wound” rolls resulted in both Baldrick AND Beldar falling to critical hits. 

Yes, I had multiple dwarves suffer Instant Death. Ouch.

The table at the start of the game. You can see a mix of ghosts (Lumivores), undead ticks (standing in for undead spiders), and some returning dwarven revenants. 

Right before things got bad. You can see I lit the brazier (it didn't help much), and managed to thin down the enemy numbers. However, the return of the "ghost-possessed statue" (standing in for a hulking dwarf-like undead called a "Cursed Dwerlok) was very much a TSN Turning Point for the crew!

By the late game, dwarves were falling left, right and center. Lobrek was taken out of action by some ragged skeleton (to be fair, he did actually manage to punch one of them to death at one point), and going into turn 5 it was just Baldrick and Beldar on the field. 

Beldar was the first to fall, just straight up killed by the ghosts and horrible spider/tick/pain in the ass attacking him. This was well and truly just bad luck: he'd been weakened just enough for the creatures to roll 3 damage dice against him, and all three came up 6's. Dead, dead, dead! Note that I put Lobrek back on the scene for the photo, but he's already been taken out of action by this point.

The leader falls, surrounded by the hateful dead. The statue actually managed to once again roll enough 6's to just instantly kill Baldrick, leaving the crew without a leader. 

     As you might have guessed, these losses put the crew in a pretty dire state, and I elected to formally call this campaign over. Didn't last long, did it? For a laugh, I elected to roll for Snorri, Lobrek and Halreth's injuries. How did they fare? Well, I'll let the little story snippet below tell all.

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     Halreth shrugged the basket off his shoulder, wincing as the old injury pained him. Every time he moved the wrong way or picked up something a little too heavy the pain returned, and with it came memories he’d much rather leave in the past. Memories of bones and darkness, memories of blood and fear.

     Memories of a defiant shout, and a heroic end he’d been too busy fleeing to see with his own eyes. Many a dwarf half-jokes, half-claims that manlings do not belong in the world below, and Halreth now knew this to be true. He still questioned whether any creature truly belonged in Mag-Zarn. As far as he was concerned, the darkness could keep that cursed place’s baubles and lost artifacts.

     But, Halreth knew more would make for Mag-Zarn. Some even came to visit him before doing so, and he always greeted them with the same advice.

“Don’t.”

     Halreth sighed, and looked at the basket beside him. By midday the whole lot of smoked fish inside would be sold off, and he’d amble back to Uncle Lobrek’s little shack beside the river. While they weren’t rich, Halreth had long since realized that this simple life suited him and Lobrek well enough. Perhaps Lobrek didn’t have the grandest fishing vessel a fisherdwarf could hope for, but the two of them had plenty to eat and a roof over their heads. For Halreth, this was enough.

     Yet, sometimes he saw it in Uncle Lobrek’s eyes: the spark of curiosity, or perhaps of avarice, that refused to be fully extinguished. The dwarf would quietly rub the stump where his left hand used to be and mutter to himself, occasionally asking Halreth whether he believed Snorri was having any luck in Mag-Zarn.

     “Maybe, maybe not,” was the man’s typical reply. In truth, he didn’t care whether the Buldahr was having any luck plundering the fallen hold’s halls. Sure, he’d offer a prayer to Sol on the berserker’s behalf from time to time (knowing not whether the Sun-Lord cared for the plight of the dwarves, in truth), but Halreth didn’t hope overmuch that Snorri would ever return again from Mag-Zarn. Fate had dealt the mad dwarf a second chance, and if he was eager to use it recklessly. . .well, the dwarves were called stubborn by manlings for a reason.

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     I fully intend to play get another Vaults of Zarn campaign started soon enough, though I'm planning on doing a little painting and other hobbying as well. I've been eyeing up a few other systems to have a go at in the next little while, but before long (and with characteristic dwarven stubbornness) I'll find myself returning. . .to the Vaults of Zarn.