Quest 16: Shadowfall Mountain
Quest 16: Shadowfall Mountain
Introduction
Every evening, when the last light of day slips from the peak of Shadowfall Mountain, the inhabitants of the valley would ring a great bell, signaling the onset of night. Many believe that the mists of the valley descend from this mountain, spilling forth from the gaping mouth that faces west.
It is toward this mouth that you now climb. The valley lays quiet behind you, subdued by Eliza and her army. Unable to find Tyrus or defeat Eliza, you are desperate to deal any damage you can to the Lady's rising power. She has sent Alric here to make an alliance with someone named Kadlasar, and you are here to stop him.
You meet Alric as you near the cave. He stands across a great ravine from you, high upon a cliff. His presence is nearly as chilling as the frigid wind that numbs your fingers and face. The dark knight stands motionless, not even a hint of breath escaping his helmet. He raises a hand and motions toward the sky. A roar breaks the cold silence and a dragon appears above you.
Monsters
Setup
Place the zombies on the Approach (28A). No other monsters are placed during initial setup — other monster groups arrive through reinforcements as the heroes advance (see "Guarding the Path").
Place 1 fatigue token on the Entrance (the tile where the heroes start). This tile is burning.
Place search tokens based on the number of heroes.
The Exit is marked on the far side of the map.
Special Rules
Guarding the Path
The climb to Shadowfall Mountain is treacherous, and each step brings new dangers. As the heroes advance across tiles, the Overlord places additional monsters as follows:
- When the first hero enters the Approach (28A), the Overlord immediately places the goblin archers on the Approach, respecting group limits.
- When the first hero enters the Cabin (7A), the Overlord immediately places the barghests on the Cabin, respecting group limits.
- The cave spiders and flesh moulders are held in reserve and may be deployed through reinforcements on any tile that has already been "triggered" (a tile a hero has entered).
Heroes may enter tiles in any order, but the Approach must be the first tile entered after the Entrance (by any hero).
Wildfire
At the start of each Overlord turn, each tile that has a fatigue token on it is burning. Any hero who starts his turn on a burning tile suffers 1 [Heart] (ignoring armor). Then, the fire spreads: for each burning tile, the Overlord may place 1 additional fatigue token on an adjacent, connected tile.
Heroes may extinguish fires. As an action, a hero on a burning tile may test [Willpower] to extinguish the fire on that tile. If the hero passes, remove all fatigue tokens from that tile — the tile is no longer burning. If the hero fails, there is no effect.
A tile with 1 or more fatigue tokens continues to burn. Fatigue tokens on tiles do not affect the Overlord's card costs or other fatigue mechanics.
The Frigid Climb
The cold wind numbs exposed skin. At the end of each hero turn, if that hero is on a tile other than the Entrance, he suffers 1 [Fatigue] unless he is adjacent to another hero or a monster.
Sir Alric
Sir Alric observes the battle from across the ravine. He may not be targeted, attacked, or affected by any effect during Encounter 1. His presence is narrative only.
Reinforcements
At the start of each Overlord turn, the Overlord may place 1 monster from an unused monster group (cave spiders or flesh moulders) on any tile that has been triggered by a hero entering it. Each placement must respect group limits.
Victory
Hero Victory
If a fatigue token has been placed on the Exit, or all heroes have moved off the map through the Exit, the encounter ends. Read the following aloud:
You push past the last of the defenders and reach the mouth of the cave. The dragon circles above once more and then vanishes into the mist. Sir Alric watches you from across the ravine, then slowly turns and walks into the darkness of the mountain. Whatever alliance he seeks, you have delayed it — but the battle is far from over.
The heroes complete this encounter! Any heroes who have not yet exited the map through the Exit are set aside — they regroup with the others between encounters but do not contribute to the carryover.
Overlord Victory
There is no separate Overlord victory condition in Encounter 1 — the encounter resolves when heroes exit or the Exit gains a fatigue token. However, heroes who are knocked out when the encounter ends (either by fatigue on the Exit or all surviving heroes exiting) suffer 1 [Fatigue] that carries into Encounter 2.