Quest 18: Piercing Darkness

Act II 2 Encounters Requires: Lord of Flame, Dead or Drowning, Rite of the Red Dawn, or Shadowfall Mountain

Quest 18: Piercing Darkness

Introduction

A darkness settles into the valley. The sun offers little light, instead overseeing days of eerie twilight and stillness. The voices of your companions are muffled and distorted behind the black veil, making your dreams little different than your waking hours.

It can only be a matter of days before Eliza makes her final ascension, reclaiming the valley. There is little that can stop her now. There are stories of an ancient guardian that sleeps beneath some ruins. It is said that only the sword of Arcite can slay the creature — the very sword that was recently stolen from the cathedral.

You struggle to navigate the darkness, and only realize that you have arrived when you are a stone's throw from the outer wall. Hunched figures watch from the wall and patrol the woods around you. You seem to have wandered past their outer defense without realizing — fortunately for you, they too have not yet realized.

Monsters

Setup

Place the barghests on the Graveyard (14A). Place the ettins on the Yard (a suitable outdoor tile as indicated). Place the open group on the Lair (dungeon lair tile).

Place the goblin archers in the unique green spaces indicated on the map. These unique green spaces represent Goblin Watchtowers. Goblin archers in these spaces gain:

+2 Range to all attacks
While occupying a green space, the goblin archer cannot be targeted by melee attacks
As a move action, a goblin archer may leave a green space normally; to enter a green space, it must spend its full movement (cannot attack that turn if it enters a green space)

Place search tokens based on the number of heroes.

The Exit is marked on the far side of the map.

Special Rules

Through the Door

Entry into the ruins is blocked by a magically sealed door. To pass through, a hero must either:

Test Knowledge as an action. If the hero passes, the door unlocks and all heroes may pass through. If the hero fails, the door remains sealed and that hero may not attempt again this turn (another hero may try on their turn).
Alternatively, a hero adjacent to the door may spend 3 movement points and suffer 1 [Fatigue] to force the door open through sheer strength (no test required).

Over the Wall

Instead of entering through the door, a hero adjacent to the outer wall may attempt to climb over. As an action, the hero tests Might. If the hero passes, he is placed on the interior side of the wall (in the nearest empty space). If the hero fails, he falls and suffers 1 [Heart] (ignoring armor) but remains in his current space. The wall is a barrier — figures cannot move through it normally.

Tainted

The first time each hero is defeated during Encounter 1, that hero is tainted by the darkness. Place a hero token corresponding to that hero near the map as a reminder. A tainted hero suffers no immediate penalty, but being tainted will matter during Encounter 2 (see Encounter 2's "Carryover" rules).

A hero may be tainted even if he is subsequently revived and continues playing. The taint persists.

Goblin Watchtower

If a hero occupies a green space containing a goblin archer, the hero may engage that goblin archer in melee and the goblin archer loses the protection of the watchtower. The +2 Range bonus remains.

Heroes may enter green spaces through normal movement (the watchtowers are not blocked terrain, just elevated positions that the goblins have claimed).

Reinforcements

At the start of each Overlord turn, the Overlord may place 1 goblin archer in any empty green watchtower space, respecting group limits.

Victory

Hero Victory

If all heroes have moved off the map through the Exit (whether tainted or not), read the following aloud:

You burst through the outer gate and into the courtyard beyond. The darkness seems to thicken here, pressing against you like a physical weight. Behind you, the goblins on the wall loose a few half-hearted arrows, but they do not follow. The real battle awaits inside.

The heroes complete this encounter! All heroes advance to Encounter 2. Note which heroes are tainted.

Overlord Victory

If all heroes are tainted at any point during the encounter, the Overlord immediately wins the encounter. Read the following aloud:

Darkness claims you one by one. The shadows seep into your wounds, into your blood, into your very soul. When you rise again, the world seems dimmer, colder. The taint has marked you — and somewhere ahead, Lord Merick Farrow is smiling.

The Overlord wins this encounter! All heroes are tainted. The heroes advance to Encounter 2. Note that all heroes are tainted.

Carryover

Any hero who was tainted during Encounter 1 begins Encounter 2 under the Tainted condition. Record this on the Campaign sheet.

Introduction

The spirits scatter away from you, disappearing through the walls. Surely these creatures have been released to deal with the guardian. Alric notices you standing at the end of the hall and alerts his brother. Merick laughs and flicks his hand in your direction. The door before you slams shut.

You find yourself in a vast underground chamber — part natural cavern, part worked stone. Ahead, at the center of the chamber, lies the sleeping form of an ancient guardian. Dark figures — the Farrow brothers' dark champions — converge on the creature from all sides.

Sir Alric stands before the door, the Duskblade humming in his grip. Lord Merick raises his hands, channeling shadow into the chamber. "The guardian sleeps," Merick intones. "If we banish it before it wakes, the valley has no protector. No hope. Only night."

You must raise the guardian. You must wake it before the champions reach it. The locked doors before you are heavy, enchanted — but not impenetrable. Get through. Get to the guardian. Wake it.

Monsters

Sir Alric Farrow (wielding the Duskblade)
Lord Merick Farrow
Flesh moulders
2 open groups

Setup

Place Sir Alric Farrow and Lord Merick Farrow as indicated on the map.

Place the flesh moulders on the Crossing (16B), respecting group limits.

Place 1 open group on the Armory (3B) and the other open group on the Cave (Lair or Small Cave tile 9B).

Place 4 red objective tokens as indicated. These are Dark Champion tokens. Dark champions move each turn toward the guardian (see "The Dark Champions").

Place the white objective token in the space indicated. This is the Guardian — a sleeping ancient protector of the valley. The guardian is represented by a villager token placed on the map.

Place 2 blue objective tokens as indicated. These are the Locked Doors. Doors block movement and line of sight until removed (see "Locked Doors").

Place search tokens based on the number of heroes.

Special Rules

The Duskblade

Sir Alric Farrow wields the Duskblade. While carrying the Duskblade, Sir Alric gains +2 [Heart] to all attack results (cumulative with other bonuses). The Duskblade cannot be disarmed or taken from Sir Alric by any means during this encounter.

Lord Merick Farrow

Lord Merick Farrow is present alongside his brother. Merick may not be defeated during this encounter — he is invulnerable to all damage and effects. He may still be targeted by conditions that restrict his actions (such as Immobilize or Stun), but he cannot be reduced to 0 Health.

Merick's primary role is to direct the dark champions (see below).

Locked Doors

The blue objective tokens are locked doors blocking access to the guardian. Doors block movement and line of sight. To remove a locked door, a hero must be adjacent to it.

As an action, a hero adjacent to a locked door may test Might to force it open. If the hero is tainted (carryover from Encounter 1), the test difficulty increases by 1 (the hero must roll an additional success). If the hero passes, the door is removed (turn the token facedown). If the hero fails, the door remains.

Only 1 hero per turn may attempt each door. A different hero may try on a subsequent turn.

The Dark Champions

At the start of each Overlord turn, before activating monsters, each Dark Champion (red objective token) moves:

1 space toward the guardian (villager token), moving the shortest path possible
If multiple shortest paths exist, the Overlord chooses
Dark champions ignore figures (they are incorporeal), but are blocked by locked doors (they can only move through spaces connected by open paths)

Raising the Guardian

To raise the guardian, a hero must be adjacent to it (the villager token) when no locked doors remain between the heroes' starting area and the guardian. As an action, a hero adjacent to the guardian tests Willpower:

If the hero passes and is NOT tainted, the guardian awakens. Read the following aloud:

A low rumble shakes the chamber. The guardian's eyes open — ancient, knowing, blazing with the light of a hundred dawns. Lord Merick staggers backward. "No... it cannot be... the guardian has awakened!"

If the hero is tainted, the test difficulty increases by 1 (must roll an additional success). A tainted hero passing still awakens the guardian.

If a hero passes the test, the quest ends immediately (see "Hero Victory").

The Banishment

If a Dark Champion token enters the guardian's space, the Overlord immediately removes that Dark Champion token and places a fatigue token near the guardian. If 4 Dark Champions reach the guardian (4 fatigue tokens), the guardian is banished. Read the following aloud:

The shadows converge on the sleeping form. Red-black energy pulses through the chamber, and the guardian's form flickers — then shatters, like glass struck by a hammer. Lord Merick lowers his hands. "The guardian is banished," he says quietly. "Now... there is no dawn left to rise."

The quest ends immediately (see "Overlord Victory").

Reinforcements

At the start of each Overlord turn, the Overlord may place 1 flesh moulder on the Crossing (16B), respecting group limits.

Victory

Hero Victory

If the guardian is raised (a hero passes the test while adjacent to the guardian with all doors unlocked), read the following aloud:

The guardian rises — not a creature, but a presence. Light floods the chamber, blinding in its purity. The dark champions shriek and dissolve into nothing. Sir Alric lowers the Duskblade, which seems to tremble in his grip. Lord Merick stumbles back, shielding his eyes. "You fool!" he snarls. "You've doomed us all!"

But the light says otherwise. The guardian speaks — not in words, but in warmth, in hope. The Dawnblade, scattered and lost, re-forms from the light, pressing into the hands of the hero who awakened the guardian.

"Take it," the guardian whispers. "Take it to the Finale. Bring the dawn."

The heroes win! The heroes receive the "Dawnblade" relic. This relic will be important in the Finale (see Quest 19: Blood and Betrayal).

Overlord Victory

If 4 Dark Champion tokens reach the guardian (the guardian is banished), or all heroes are knocked out, read the following aloud:

The last champion reaches the guardian. For a moment, the chamber holds its breath. Then — nothing. The guardian's form flickers and dissolves like morning mist under a noon sun. Lord Merick exhales slowly. "It is done," he says. "The valley has no protector. No dawn. Only darkness — and my wife's ascension."

Sir Alric turns the Duskblade over in his hands. The weapon seems to pulse with dark satisfaction. "Brother," Alric says, his voice hollow. "The Finale awaits."

The Overlord wins! The Overlord receives the "Duskblade" relic. This relic will be important in the Finale (see Quest 19: Blood and Betrayal).

Rewards

Win or lose, each player receives 1 XP.

If the heroes win, they receive the "Dawnblade" relic.

If the Overlord wins, he receives the "Duskblade" relic.

Next Quest: Blood and Betrayal (Quest 19, Finale).

Map Tiles

Encounter 1:

14A Graveyard
Yard (outdoor yard/courtyard tile)
Lair (dungeon lair tile)
Entrance
Exit

Encounter 2:

16B Crossing
3B Armory
9B Small Cave (or Lair)
4B Chasm/Depths
Entrance

(End of file)