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Quest 14: Dead or Drowning

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Act II 1 Encounter Requires: Army of Dal'Zunm

Quest 14: Dead or Drowning

Encounter 1

Introduction

You race back to the Kethiri ruins and muster every remaining soldier. The ghoulish army of Dal'Zunm pours from the ancient graveyard as you hurry your troops north. Though burdened with the fatigue from weeks of fighting, you arrive at the camp just before the undying horde. There, behind the husks of an age-old wall, hide the survivors of the valley. However, as the vanguard of the enemy army crests the hills above the camp, they halt, breaking off the final assault. Had you arrived only a minute later, every man, woman, and child would have fallen to the undying or been pushed into the sea.

The wait lasts for days, but your defenses lend little aid when the attack finally comes. Screams shatter the calm of the breezeless evening—sounds of battle from the center of camp. The dark figures upon the hills around you descend with a shambling gait. You grab your gear and charge deeper into the camp.

Your enemy must have found a way through the catacombs; zombies amble out of a shrine at the center of the camp. The survivors are dragged to the ground and mauled, but to your amazement, many rise again. However, you watch in horror as they turn upon the others in a moment. Whatever curse has summoned these dead to life, it now affects the dying as well.

Monsters

Setup

Place the zombies on the Chamber (26B). Place the cave spiders on the Rocky Bend (27A). Place the open group on the Campsite (8A).

Place 4 blue objective tokens as indicated on the map. These are the Secret Paths — shortcuts the heroes may use to move rapidly across the battlefield.

Place a number of red objective tokens equal to the number of heroes in the spaces indicated. These tokens are Coffins (Death's Door). Coffins block movement and line of sight.

Place 8 villager tokens in the spaces indicated. These are Refugees — the innocent survivors of the valley.

Place the white objective token in the space indicated. This is Tyrus. Treat Tyrus as a hero figure with the following statistics:

  • Health: 8
  • Speed: 4
  • Defense: Brown die
  • Attack: None — Tyrus cannot attack
  • Tyrus may only perform move actions and the Cleansing special action (see below)

Special Rules

Mass Hysteria

At the start of each Overlord turn, before activating monsters:

  1. Each refugee (villager token) moves 1 space toward the nearest hero. If multiple heroes are equidistant, the Overlord chooses which hero the refugee moves toward.
  2. For each zombie adjacent to a refugee, the Overlord may contaminate that refugee. Place an Infected token on the refugee's villager token. If a refugee begins the Overlord turn with an infected token, replace that villager token with a zombie figure (respecting group limits; if no zombie figures are available, remove the refugee token instead).

Cleansing

As an action, a hero or Tyrus adjacent to a refugee may remove an infected token from that refugee. This does not require an attribute test.

Death's Door

Coffins (red objective tokens) block movement and line of sight. As an action, a hero adjacent to a coffin may test [Willpower] to attempt to remove it. If the hero passes the test, remove the coffin token from the map. If the hero fails, there is no effect (the coffin remains).

Secret Paths

The blue objective tokens represent Secret Paths — ancient tunnels and hidden routes beneath the camp. As an action, a hero standing on a Secret Path may spend 6 movement points to move directly to any other Secret Path on the map. This movement ignores all figures, terrain, and blocking effects between the two Secret Paths.

Tyrus

Tyrus is a hero figure controlled by the hero players. On his turn, Tyrus may perform 2 actions (each may be a move action) plus 1 additional move action (for Speed 4, he receives 4 movement points per move action). Tyrus cannot attack. Tyrus may also perform the Cleansing action as described above.

If Tyrus is defeated (reduced to 0 Health), he is knocked out. At the start of his next turn, he may stand up as an action (as per normal hero rules), recovering Health equal to his Speed.

Reinforcements

At the start of each Overlord turn, the Overlord may place 1 zombie on any empty space within 2 spaces of a coffin, respecting group limits.

Victory

Hero Victory

If there are no coffins remaining on the map, read the following aloud:

With the last of the ancient coffins shattered, the curse binding the dead to this place breaks. The zombies crumble to dust, their shambling forms collapsing into piles of bone and rotting cloth. The refugees—those who survived—emerge from their hiding places, trembling but alive. Tyrus stands among them, his young face resolute despite the horror. "We must keep moving," he says quietly. "She will not stop."

The heroes win this encounter!

Overlord Victory

If all 8 refugees have been infected (and thus become zombies or been removed), read the following aloud:

One by one, the refugees are overwhelmed. Their screams are swallowed by the moans of the newly risen dead. The camp becomes a graveyard. You are forced to retreat, leaving the fallen behind. Tyrus, pale and shaking, grabs your arm. His voice cracks as he speaks: "There's no one left. They're all gone."

The Overlord wins this encounter!

Rewards

Win or lose, each player receives 1 XP.

Next Quests: Edge of Dawn or Piercing Darkness. The winner of this quest chooses which quest is played next.

Map Tiles

Encounter 1:

  • 27A Rocky Bend
  • 26B Chamber
  • 8A Campsite

(End of file)