Friday, March 27, 2020

Enter Janus Draik

Earlier this week Amanda and I started our second expedition into he Blackstone Fortress - on the Quest for the Hidden Vaults... We ended up playing the game over a series of days and mostly left it out on the dining room table over the week...

We kept with the SURVIVING characters from our Previous Expedition, as the party worked well enough together, but then needed to look for a replacement for the Ratling Twins...

They heard there was a well-connected and powerful Rogue Trader with a lot of resources also looking for the Hidden Vaults and looking for some explorers to go on an expedition with. They met with him and planned an expedition. Leaving precipice, the group was starting to wonder if they'd made a mistake as he turned out to be an insufferable blowhard. The pretentious twat figured himself to be the leader of the expeditions and the rest of the group were simply his underlings.

I think, at this point, Vorne has developed a grudging respect for the Xenos Ranger - her ability to massacre the cultists at range was a valuable asset... and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right...?



Setting up for our second expedition with some snacks...

Revealing Exploration Card #1...



A Challenge!

Wait... PASS TWO AGILITY ROLLS OR TAKE A GRIEVOUS WOUND!? GAH!!!



Yeah, so those human dudes each ended up with a Grievous Wound....

One of Amanda's got one two, but actually passes a vitality test and got rid of it right away, which, neither of these wankers did...



While they were lagging behind, moping about their wounds, Vorne and Shadowguide were separated from them and ambushed in a small chamber...



Well... not really Ambushed... they were ready and immediately launched an attack at their would-be ambushers!



Shadowguide started off - BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!



Down went the Spindle Drones and Negavolt Cultists!



Vorne then rushed out and hoped to roast all of the three Traitor Guards - taking out three with a single action is Vorne's Secret Agenda and Amanda REALLY wanted Vorne get Inspired early in the Expedition... Unfortunately she only took out two and wounded the third.. he was finished off with a second blast from her Vindicator Flamer...

Rejoining Locarno and Draik - neither were still not able to recover any wounds in the recovery step...



They made their way to a Mag-Lev Chamber which brought them too another cavernous area with snaking labyrinthine passages and MORE Traitor Guard and Negavolt Cultists!



Negavolt Cultists charged in first! Yikes!



All three!



Draik showed that he wasn't ALL bluster and took down all three!



Vorne then charged straight out into the hordes of Traitor Guard = hoping to bring the light of the Emperor to them all (and hopefully burn three at a time and get that sought after Inspiration!)



She did burninate a bunch of them... but not three in one action...



She was quickly overrun, however, and taken out of action!



Draik and Locarno came rushing to the rescue, but were too late.



As reinforcements arrived behind them, they, too, found themselves surrounded and overwhelmed!



Whoopsie!

Draik dragged himself around with the help of some destiny dice.



But then Locarno was taken out of action!! Draik was seriously wounded and Shadowguide was cut off from their escape chamber!

Things were looking pretty bad at this point...

Then we rolled "Unfulfilled Destiny" for an event - No Destiny Dice! (which effectively meant Draik could not move or do anything at all that round!



Shadowguide, however, was able to use her special ranger abilities to just dance past all those cultists and stab a few along the way!

Draik was taken out of action that turn... but Shadowguide managed to get out.



I wondered why she was stopping to search that spot instead of just getting the fuck out of there... ah, that's why.... It's like the Aeldari ranger was drawn to the Remnants of the Fall! The card is Amallyn Shadowguide's Secret Agenda - she is now Inspired from here on out.

Well... IN the recovery step, no one died and Vorne rolled a critical success on her vitality roll and healed two of her wounds... But Draik had FOUR Grievous Wounds and Locarno had two. A sensible team probably would have called it a day and headed back to Precipice! But Amanda's two characters  where now both inspired and ready to ROCK! There was no way Draik was willing to admit he needed to give up BEFORE some Xenos scum, and insisted they carry on!!



So, at that point we packed everything up for the evening... or... shuffled it all off to one side of the table..



The next day, started with another combat! Draik starting off with FOUR Grievous Wounds - so he could ONLY use Destiny dice.



Lots of Traitor Guards and a few Negavolt Cultists.



This time we decided to play it safe, and let them come to us! It was mostly Vorne that burnt all the Cultists as they come running down the passage.



And they just kept coming...



And coming...



As they started to thin out, the group started to push out of the Mag-Lev Chamber and down the corridor.



Eventually they were thinned out enough that Vorne and Shadowguide ran off to quickly collect the archaeotech and clues before any reinforcements showed up. This last Traitor Guard was shot down by the Ranger as she sprinted past on the way to pick up some loot.

Draik and Locarno eventually made it to the Mag-Lev Chamber - which had showed up via an event - at the furthest possible location! one small group of reinforcements showed up but too late too far away to do anything. A cultist, thought to be dead, rose up to block Vorne's escape route (via Not Dead Yet! Event) and got an Aeldari long rifle shot through his noggin for his troubles...

So, everyone made it to the escape chamber conscious this time! Did we call it a day and head back to Precipice? HELL NO! Despite Draik's wounds, there is NO WAY he would admit defeat before that Xenos scum they have prancing about with them!

We didn't get a chance to play today - Amanda had a busy day at work (from home) and then wanted to participate in an free online burlesque workshop - being put on by a local Burlesque troupe. Afterwards we watched the season finale for Stumptown (which I really enjoyed - like the whole season - I really liked it all - though I think there were two episodes we missed) and then a couple more episodes of Supernatural with Keira.


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

MORE adventures in the Blackstone Fortress! Will Draik survive? Who will our heroes replace him with if he does not? Will Thaddeus the Purifier return to the fortress with his protege? Stay tuned to find out!

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