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Quest 15: Rite of the Red Dawn

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Act II 1 Encounter Requires: Prison of Khinn

Quest 15: Rite of the Red Dawn

Encounter 1

Introduction

It is unclear what rite Eliza spoke of, but there is little doubt as to what plateau she meant. At the southern reaches of the valley stands a great mesa, clearly tainted by darkness. The trees that crown it are warped and dead, and strange, black vines cover its cliffs. Finding no other passage of ascent, it is these vines that you climb. They squirm and twist as if aware of you, sometimes retracting from your grasp, other times entangling your limbs. They scrape across your skin with unseen thorns and you can feel their dulling poison seeping through your veins. Confused and exhausted, you pull yourself over the top of the precipice. With your remaining strength, you sip upon an antidote and then fall asleep.

You wake to the sound of thunder and the patter of drops upon your face. You spring to your feet, fearful of how long you've slept, and rush into the dark forest. A red glow hangs in the air, growing stronger as you hurry deeper in. At last, breaking upon a path, you see your quarry. A cairn built of black rock glows with dark energy and spews out a red mist. Fierce, warped men stand around it, chanting dark words. Tyrus cries from within.

Atop the stones, Eliza waits for you. Her garments are soaked, and her hair hangs across her face. "I knew you were coming," she calls. "The valley told me. That's because it's my valley—our valley. Tyrus and I are the rightful heirs of this kingdom and we shall soon rule it again." Lightning flashes behind her and she sweeps the hair from her eyes. "And should you escape this night, yours will be the first execution I will order." She turns and leaps into the darkness on the far side of the cairn.

Monsters

Setup

Flesh Moulders: Place the flesh moulders on the Ritual Site (13B). Flesh moulders must be placed on unique spaces (one per unique space indicated). Ignore normal group limits for this placement — every unique space on the Ritual Site must contain exactly 1 flesh moulder. These flesh moulders are the "Lords of Oru'Khan" and follow the special rules below.

Goblin Archers and Zombies: Place the goblin archers and zombies split between the Gully (20A) and Rocky Path (24A). The Overlord may split these groups between the tiles as he prefers, respecting group limits within each tile.

Lady Eliza Farrow: Place Lady Eliza Farrow as indicated on the map.

Lords (Villager Tokens): Place 4 villager tokens on the Ritual Site (13B). These tokens represent the Lords — ancient noble spirits bound to the cairn. The Lords are used by Lady Eliza to empower and resurrect herself (see "Lady Eliza's Ascension").

Tyrus: Place the white objective token on the Ritual Site. This is Tyrus, captured and bound within the cairn. Tyrus cannot move, be attacked, or be affected by any game effect. He is central to the ritual.

Open Groups: Set aside 4 open groups as reserved. These are not placed during setup but are available as reinforcements (see "Reinforcements").

Place search tokens based on the number of heroes.

Special Rules

Lords of Oru'Khan

The flesh moulders placed on unique spaces of the Ritual Site are the Lords of Oru'Khan. While any flesh moulder occupies a unique space on the Ritual Site, all flesh moulders on the Ritual Site are invulnerable — they cannot suffer damage or be affected by any effect or condition.

As an action, a hero adjacent to a flesh moulder on a unique space of the Ritual Site may attempt to disrupt it. The hero tests [Willpower]. If he passes, remove that flesh moulder from the map. This is a Disruption. Each disrupted flesh moulder weakens the ritual.

Once all flesh moulders have been removed from unique spaces on the Ritual Site, all remaining flesh moulders on the Ritual Site lose their invulnerability and may be damaged and defeated normally.

Shrine of Darkness

The cairn (the central feature of the Ritual Site) is the Shrine of Darkness. The ritual progresses as follows:

At the end of each Overlord turn, place 1 fatigue token on the Shrine of Darkness. These tokens represent the ritual's progression — the longer it endures, the closer Eliza comes to completing her ascension.

If the Shrine of Darkness ever has 12 fatigue tokens on it, the ritual is complete and the quest ends (see "Overlord Victory").

Lady Eliza's Ascension

Lady Eliza Farrow is bound to the Lords. She begins the encounter on the map as normal. When Lady Eliza is defeated:

  • If at least 1 Lord (villager token) remains on the Ritual Site, Lady Eliza is not truly defeated. Instead, read the following aloud:

Eliza's form dissolves into a crimson mist, but the mist does not disperse. It snakes through the air, coiling around one of the standing lords. The villager's form shudders and convulses, and from within the twisting mist, Eliza re-forms. She smiles, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "You cannot kill what is already dead," she whispers.

  • Remove 1 Lord (villager token) from the Ritual Site. Lady Eliza immediately respawns in any empty space on the Ritual Site, fully healed. She may activate normally on the Overlord's next turn.

  • If no Lords remain on the Ritual Site when Lady Eliza is defeated, she is defeated normally and is removed from the map. She does not respawn.

Tyrus the Captive

Tyrus (the white token) is spellbound within the cairn. He cannot be moved, attacked, or affected by any game effect. The heroes' goal is to end the ritual before Eliza completes it.

Reinforcements

At the start of each Overlord turn, the Overlord may place monsters from his 4 reserved open groups. He may place 1 monster on each of the following tiles (each monster must be from a different open group, respecting group limits):

  • Graveyard (14A)
  • Overgrowth (26A)
  • Rocky Path (24A)
  • Gully (20A)

Victory

Hero Victory

If the ritual ends (all flesh moulders on unique spaces of the Ritual Site are disrupted, and Lady Eliza is defeated with no Lords remaining to resurrect her), read the following aloud:

The last lord crumbles to ash as Eliza's scream echoes across the plateau. The cairn's red glow gutters and dies. The black vines covering the cliffs wither and fall away, revealing pale stone beneath. Tyrus stumbles free from the collapsing stones, coughing and gasping. He looks at you with wide eyes. "She was going to take everything from me," he says. "My birthright. My soul. You stopped her."

The heroes win this encounter!

Overlord Victory

If 12 fatigue tokens are placed on the Shrine of Darkness, read the following aloud:

The red glow explodes outward, washing across the plateau in a wave of searing crimson light. When your vision clears, Eliza stands atop the cairn, her eyes blazing with unholy power. The dark energy of the valley flows into her, and the ground beneath your feet trembles. "It is done," she declares, her voice reverberating with unnatural resonance. "The valley is mine." Tyrus collapses within the cairn, his birthright stripped away.

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:

  • 13B Ritual Site
  • 14A Graveyard
  • 26A Overgrowth
  • 24A Rocky Path
  • 20A Gully

(End of file)