Rangers of Shadow Deep batrep: Tor Varden Lower Level

 After the encounter at the bridge, you and your companions were able to slip past a couple of other gnoll patrols and reach Tor Varden.  There where no guards posted outside, and very little indication of anyone inside.  Then a muffled scream came from somewhere in the tower.  It was a sign both good and ill.  There is at least one man alive in Tor Varden, but you might already be too late to save him.  You will need to move fast!

The second scenario of the second mission from the Rangers deluxe edition rulebook, the brave party of Loraliel enters the lower level of the beacontower of Tor Varden.

Once again, I changed the gnolls with models of Mordor Orcs, to remain better in my Middle-earth atmosphere and gaming (and disfigured Gothmog makes a lovely flesh golem should he be encountered).  For the rooms, I instead opted to make the floors all grassy and green, the idea being that the floors lone have been reclaimed by nature in this ancient tower.  Here and there some stonework remains.   To "border" all the rooms, I printed about 50 wall sections, and added some dungeon tiles in corners to show some of the old floors remaining...

So the table has been set-up and now it is time to enter the perils of the tower, and discover what it still holds, or what has transpired there!

And so we set out for a new adventure of Rangers of Middle-earth!

As in the first scenario the vulture didn`t fly off the table, I was eligeble for a Stealth and a Pick Lock roll, which my ranger Loraliel himself would undertake.  He of course blundered already on the Stealth roll, so the first room would be on alarm modus... he entered together with the archer Theomir and his kinsman Iramer, a Man-at-arms, as well as the noble knight Cuchelain.

Turn 1

The first room has been revealed to be the Shaman Workshop, and a menacing Flesh Golem is lying on the table next to the orc shaman.  This shaman had performed a dark spell, meaning Theomir has to clear this room with a -2 Fight as he failed his Will test.

 

 

Making use of Loraliel's group activation, the ranger, the man-at-arms and the knight all charge orc warriors opposing them.  Loraliel draws for no damage, but the other two lose their combats, Cuchelain getting wounded for 4 in the process.  The orc shaman then charges my brave ranger and overpowers the elf, but no damage is inflicted.  Theomir fails to put an arrow in one of the beastly fighters though...

 

Turn 2

Again group activating, Loraliel, Cuchelain and Iramer once again charge the orcs as Karaniok and Rachmel enter the beacon tower.  Cuchelain gravely wounds an orc, but Iramer can`t find a weak spot and suffers 5 wounds in return.  Loraliel puts his sword through the hides of the orc shaman, wounding him gravely but not fatally.  The shaman retaliates, but Loraliel dodges his clumsy staff and decapitates the shaman, preventing the flesh golem from animating.

 

 

The other orcs continue duelling, but Cuchelain strikes his opponent down, as Iramer suddenly sees an opening and slays his foe outright with a critical blow.

 

Turn 3 and 4

As Theomer opens the door to the next room, it is revealed to be The Storage Room.  Going inside, Loraliel immediatly shoots an arrow in the chest of an orc, severly wounding the beast.  Theomir follows his lead, but his shot unfortunatly goes wide.

 

 

Rachmel charges in and spears the wounded orc, but is set upon by the second orc warrior.  However, the bulky beast impales himself on the spear, suffering 4 wounds. 

 

 

The others enter and start making way to the remaining orcs and the treasure lying behind.

Turn 5

Loraliel charges the wounded orc, but wins without doing any damage.  Rachmel joins in, and scores a pure hatrick as he puts his spear through the orc's throat.  However, his luck runs out as another orc descends upon him and smashing him down to within a single tread of his life.

 

 

Iramer wounds his opponent though, as Theomir, after causing a light wound on another orc, and Karaniok move towards the treasures, while Cuchelain positions himself to come to the aid of his beleagured friends.

Turn 6

Loraliel charges the healthy orc and does 7 wounds on him, as Rachmel steps forward.  He fails to do the kill however, only knocking off a further 2 wounds, while Cuchelain locks in combat with the other orc.

 

 

Orcs charge Rachmel and Iramer, and Rachmel is cut down by his opponent, though Iramer lightly wounds the other.  Theomir shoots one down on his way to the door though as karaniok grabs a treasure token.

Turn 7

Firing at the orc, Loraliel plants an arrow through it's eye, killing it.  While Iramer grabs the second treasure token, Theomir opens the door and reveals the Armoury behind it, under the watchfull eye of my advisor and Ranger-to-be Thorin.

Turn 8

Missing his shot, Loraliel enters the armoury, closely followed by Theomir.  The archer has better aim, knocking an orc down for 8.  

 

 

The orcs engage the brave Cuchelain who has stepped forward to present himself as the closest target, but as they have no actions left the combat remains locked.

Turn 9

In an unfortunate charge, Loraliel slips and suffers 10 damage as a result of his ill-attempted charge.  Karaniok decides to be brave and runs past his companions, to present himself as the closest target for the orc archer in the back of the room.  However, he quickly regrets this as a black shafted arrow smashes into his chest, knocking him out.

 

Turn 10 and 11

Loraliel and Cuchelain are engaged in combat with their orc opponent, the brave knight critically wounding his opponent, while Loraliel first got some wounds from the beasts wild swings.  The orc archer wounds Theomir as Iramer uncovers some Golden Beer.

Final Turn

While Loraliel casts Heal on himself, Cuchelain charges and cuts down the orc beast, ending the scenario... the Lower Level has been cleared!

The aftermath

This didn`t go to bad. Surely, the Guardsman and the Arcanist have been cut down, but made Full recoveries, meaning they'll start the final scenario on 8 wounds.  All the other companions healed back to full strength, while my ranger will only be 1 down for the top of the tower.  That all could have been worse!

On an experience level, Loraliel totalled 37 XP.  The orc shaman yielded 5, with an additional 5 for preventing the Golem from animating.  For the rest, 9 orcs where cut down for 27 points.

The two treasure tokens yielded a Potion of Restoration which Iramer keeps for himself, while Loraliel gained an Amulet of Leadership.  Okay, that last one is not of much use for the moment, but it is something...

And so the second scenario of Tor Varden has been completed, onwards to the grand finale in a few weeks!