Rangers of Shadow Deep Campaign

[Chaoswolf]

Very sorry to hear it, take your time.

[Rat13]

After a long week out of the house the family and I are home again. In all honesty I wish I had remembered my notes when we left. Taking the time to write up my last game would have been a nice distraction after a long day. In any event here is the report of my latest game. 

 

Excerpt from Ranger Aarn Cral's campaign journal 

 

With the battle of the beacon towers still raging around us our group made a discovery. Behind Tor Varden there is now a large deep fissure that runs into the darkness that is the Shadow Deep itself. Inside is a rough and broken stairway that cannot be natural but is so uneven and sloping its doubtful it was made by men. Using one of the recruits as a runner we reported our findings and received new orders. Our party is to use this stairway to penetrate as deeply as possible inside the Shadow Deep. As the first warriors of Alladore inside any intelligence will be important for future forays. Using my discretion we can attempt to hinder the enemy or outright attack them but our main goal is reconnaissance.

 

Not knowing if there is viable food or drinking water within we have packed with the assumption that we will find neither. Weighed down with the excess supplies we have begun our descent. Due to the nature of the staircase itself our pace is wildly inconsistent, sometimes we move quickly while other times we almost crawl along. The lower we get the harder it is to breath, thick black ash floats everywhere. As I call for another break we begin to hear a loud buzzing noise. Before we know it the sound is coming from multiple directions...

 

This game will actually only have one proxy instead of multiple. How's that for a change of pace?     

Some old GW Dwarves will be filling in for Giant Flies. 

 

This scenario will also require some additional explanations. First the table needs to be imagined to be at about a 60-degree angle with the heroes starting at the top with the opposite side being the bottom. A 3-4" wide path runs down the table representing the stairway, this is the only "normal" terrain on the table as the rest should be considered rough ground. Also if any figure uses more than one move during an activation they must make a Climb Roll (TN8). If they fail they "fall" straight down the table, moving a number of inches and suffering damage both equal to the amount they failed by. If a hero loses a combat they must immediately make a Climb Roll (TN10) or an Acrobatics Roll (TN10) or "fall" using the same rules. Any hero in contact with a fly hole (marked by objective markers) may spend an action to drop a torch inside temporarily sealing the hole. Last but not least an event card is drawn every turn with the scenario ending after ten turns. 

 

Turn one I group activated my Ranger, Templar, and Knight (the dream team). After they all moved my Ranger even shot and killed a fly. The remaining flies started closing the distance. The rest of the party started moving down the staircase. In a true surprise my Archer also shot and killed a fly after moving. The event deck then forced a Perception Roll (TN8) on a figure of my choice. Choosing my Ranger he easily passed and noticed a corpse 3" away.

 

Turn two I group activated again with you guessed it, my Ranger, Templar, and Knight. My Ranger even attempts another shot but misses. A Giant Fly then attacks my Ranger and is killed. Everyone else continued moving down the staircase with Recruit 1 moving off toward the first fly hole. The event deck then spawned flies at hole 1 and 3.

 

Turn three I group activated alongside my Templar and Knight. My Ranger shot at a Giant Fly and missed again. A Giant Fly attacked Recruit 1 and was killed. My Archer then managed to shoot and kill a Giant Fly. Recruit 2 reached the corpse and found a love letter and a Cordial of Spellfire. Recruit 1 edged closer to the first fly hole and everyone else continued the slow descent down the staircase. The event deck then spawned a Giant Fly on hole 2.

 

Turn four I group activated again with my usual group. My Ranger attempted to shoot another Giant Fly but missed again. A Giant Fly attacked my Templar and was killed. Recruit 1 sealed the first hole while the Archer approached the second and everyone else moved down the stairway. The event deck then spawned Giant Flies on all the holes (Except the first one which I had just sealed).   

 

Turn five my favorite three group activated again and once again my Ranger missed his shot. A Giant Fly attacked my Archer and was killed while the other made it into combat but couldn't attack. My Archer managed to seal hole 2 while again everyone else slowly made their way down the staircase. The event deck then spawned a poisonous fog. All heroes must make an immediate Will Roll (TN10) or not activate next turn. I got off pretty lucky with only Recruit 2 and my Hound missing the roll.  

 

Turn six my Ranger activated alone as no one was in range. My Ranger moved into combat with the Giant Fly, that was already surrounded by the Templar, Knight, and Hound, easily killing it. My Templar started moving toward the last hole while everyone else (minus my Hound and Recruit 2) slowly made for the bottom of the staircase. The event deck then spawned Giant Flies on all holes (Good thing I had already sealed two).

 

Turn seven I changed things up and group activated with my Templar and Hound. The Templar and Hound made for the last hole while my Ranger shot and killed a Giant Fly. As you may have guessed by now everyone else made for the bottom of the staircase. I know that "joke" has truly run it's course but its almost over. The event deck then hit two random heroes with a rockslide. This ended with my Archer hit but undamaged and my Ranger being hit for 3, taking him down to 15 health.   

 

Turn eight I grouped activated alongside Recruit 1 and Recruit 2. Recruit 2 even managed to be the first off the table. My Templar sealed the last hole while everyone else prepared to leave the table next turn. The event deck then spawned Giant Flies on hole 2 and 3 but they were already sealed. 

 

Turn nine I group activated with my Arcanist and Recruit 1 with all three leaving the table. Then my Archer, Knight, and Hound all did the same. My Templar almost leaves the table but doesn't quite make it. 

 

Turn ten my Templar left the table. I figure that didn't require a picture but I took one anyway. 

 

At the end of game a hero makes a Navigation Roll (TN8) to map the stairs. This didn't prove much of a challenge for my Arcanist and his Book of Astronomy.

 

After this game my Ranger even reached level three and gained 10 Recruitment Points. With this bringing me up to 142 I believe a few changes will be coming to the party. Three party members (the Knight, Archer, and Arcanist) also leveled up gaining +1 health. 

 

My MVP this time will have to be my Ranger. Killing four Giant Flies and spotting the corpse beside the stairway might not be all that exciting but its enough to make him my Most valuable Player.

[Rat13]

Just a quick update to say this week's battle report will be posted tomorrow (late Sunday night or early Monday morning).

 

With this Campaign I aim to play Friday night and write the report Saturday night. With the start of Spring however my weekends are now filled with home repair/winterizing projects and today happened to be a particularly exhausting one. It's my hope to keep to my established schedule but this probably won't be the last time this happens.

[Rat13]

Excerpt from Ranger Aarn Cral's campaign journal 

 

With the Arcanist mapping the way it took us almost a full day to climb down the stairs. Once we can turn in his map it'll be easier, if not any faster, for future parties to make the descent at least. As the day ended we discovered that travel at night is nearly impossible. Between the night itself and the dark clouds of the Shadow Deep the dark is so complete it's almost overpowering. Sleep was not very restful either as we found it necessary to cover our faces and mouths to block out the ash and stink. The next day brought us to the proper bottom of the staircase where it disappears completely in a boggy pool dotted with broken ruins. Further on it appears to get shallower but if we are to continue we must cross the deep water first. Not knowing what may be hiding beneath the surface we have secured a copy of my journal so far beneath one of the steps. If something should happen to us hopefully the next party will find it...

 

As per usual its time to meet our proxies.

The Skeletons will be filling in for Swamp Zombies.

Some old GW Dwarves will be filling in for Giant Flies.

The Kobolds will be filling in for Gnoll Archers.

The Knights will be filling in for Gnoll Fighters. 

 

This scenario also requires a few explanations as it has a lot of extra features and mechanics. All of the table within 8" of the heroes starting location is considered deep water. So anyone attempting to move in the water must make a Swimming Roll (TN5) taking into account a few penalties (-2 Light Armor, -5 Heavy Armor, -1 Shield, -2 Carrying Treasure). Upon failure the figure is downing and loses all actions and takes damage equal to the amount failed (ignoring armor). It took me a moment to understand this as it is worded oddly but eventually I got it. Deep water also has the added fun of being Rough Ground (halves your movement) and anyone fighting in it has - 2 Fight. As you can see water is a lot of fun in this game.

 

The rest of the table is shallow swampy water and simply counts as Rough Ground (again halving movement). This area also contains three clue markers. All heroes also must make either a Will Roll (TN10) or a Survival Roll (TN10) at the start of the game or suffer 2 damage from breathing in the foul fumes of the Shadow Deep. Last but not least one Event card is drawn every turn with the game ending after turn ten.

 

Turn one before the game even properly started my Knight, Ranger, and Templar all took 2 damage from the fumes and it didn't get any better from there. Group activating alongside my Templar and Knight all three failed their Swim Rolls. My Ranger took 4 damage bringing him down to 12 health, my Templar took 3 damage bringing him down to 7 health, and my Knight took 4 damage bringing her down to 7 health. The Swamp Zombies all took double moves and thanks to their Amphibious trait the terrain/water doesn't hinder them at all. My Hound double moved and just barely made it out of the water. Recruit 2 double moved as well but couldn't make it out. Recruit 1 also failed its Swim Roll and began drowning suffering 1 damage, bringing him down to 9 health. My Arcanist made it to the relative safety of a rock. My Archer took a shot before leaving the stairs and missed. Then as he stepped into the water he too began downing but suffered no damage. Finally the event deck spawned a Giant Fly directly behind us on the stairs. 

 

Turn two I group activate again with my Templar and Knight. My Ranger continues drowning but receives no damage. My Templar double moves almost making it out of the water. My Knight moves and attacks a Swamp Zombie. She loses the combat but receives no damage, that armor that nearly drowned her showing its worth. The Swamp Zombie then attacks my Knight doing 5 damage, bringing her down to 2 health. The second Swamp Zombie attacked my Templar and knocked him right out. The last Swamp Zombie attacked my Hound but lost and received 4 damage, bringing it down to 2 health.

 

With everything going on I somehow forgot all about the Giant Fly and it did nothing during the creature phase. Forgetting a creature like that is quite irritating but immediately after I forgot to activate it my Archer shot it killing it outright. Who can say how much havoc it could have wreaked had I not forgotten it? Recruit 2 then began drowning taking 2 damage, bringing him down to 8 health while everyone else tried their best to exit the water. The event deck then brought about a heavy rain bringing Line of Sight down to 8" and -2 Shooting.

 

Turn three I group activated with my Knight and Recruit 1. My Ranger continued drowning taking 2 damage, which brought him down to 10 health. My Knight fared even worse and drown outright and Recruit 1 double moved almost making it out of the water. The first Swamp Zombie attacked my Archer but lost receiving 4 damage, bringing it down to 2 health. The second Swamp Zombie attacked my Hound and they tied for no damage. The third Swamp Zombie also attacked my Hound and lost but received no damage. Recruit 2 makes it into combat with a double move. My Arcanist used a double move to reach the first clue and found some strange flowers. My Archer attacked the Swamp Zombie losing it received 8 damage, bringing him down to 3 health. Then yet again the event deck spawned another Giant Fly behind us on the stairs.

 

Turn four my Ranger finally stopped drowning and makes it out of the water. The Giant Fly attacked my Archer and received 4 damage, bringing it down to 1 health. The Swamp Zombie then attacked and knocked my Archer out. The second Swamp Zombie attacked my Hound and lost but there was no damage. The third Swamp Zombie also attacked my Hound and again there was a tie with no damage. My Arcanist double moved to the second marker and found the corpse of a Lorenthian solider wearing a silver signet ring. Recruit 2 then attacked a Swamp Zombie and also ties for no damage. Recruit 1 attacks a Swamp Zombie and losing receives 1 damage, bringing him down to 8 health. My Hound then attacks and loses so bad he is knocked out in a single blow after surviving unscathed for so long. The event deck then spawns in a passing Gnoll patrol of two Gnoll Archers and a Gnoll Fighter.  

 

Turn five I group activate with Recruit 2. My Ranger moves and attacks a Swamp Zombie taking 2 damage bringing, him down to 8 health. Recruit 2 also attacks and also loses receiving 6 damage, bringing him down to 2 health. The Gnoll Archer then moves and shoots my Arcanist who takes 8 damage, bringing him down to 2 health. The second Gnoll Archer also moves and shoots my Arcanist and knocks him out. The Gnoll Fighter takes a double move. A Swamp Zombie attacks Recruit 2 and is killed. Another Swamp Zombie attacks Recruit 2 and is brought down to 1 health for his trouble. The Giant Fly double moves into combat. Recruit 1 attacks and kills a Swamp Zombie. Then the event deck spawns a sink hole on my Ranger. Before his next activation he must make a Strength Roll (TN12) or be unable to move during his activation.   

 

In all the excitement I missed another turn shot. 

Turn six my Ranger passes the Sink Hole's Strength Roll and group activates with Recruit 1 and Recruit 2. My Ranger casts Heal recovering 5 health, bringing him up to 13. Recruit 1 attacks the Giant Fly and kills it. Recruit 2 attacks the last Swamp Zombie and kills it. The Gnoll Fighter then attacks Recruit 1 hitting him for 3 damage, bringing him down to 5 health. The two Gnoll Archer both shot at my Ranger and miss. The event deck then spawns a Swamp Zombie. 

 

Turn seven I group activate with Recruit 1 and Recruit 2. My Ranger attacks the Gnoll Fighter and using Powerful Blow hits him for 4 damage, bringing him down to 6 health. Recruit 1 attacks the Gnoll Fighter and is knocked out. Recruit 2 then attacks the Gnoll Fighter and is also knocked out. The Gnoll Fighter attacks my Ranger but misses and the two Gnoll Archers just make it into combat. The event deck then Spawns another Swamp Zombie. 

 

Turn eight my Ranger attacks the Gnoll Fighter and loses taking 9 damage, bringing him down to 4 health. The first Gnoll Archer attacks and does 1 damage, bringing my Ranger down to 3 health. Then the second Gnoll Archer attacks and knocks out my Ranger ending the game.  

 

So the real question, is the campaign over? Not yet exactly, though everyone was "knocked out" it is up to the after game injury rolls to determine death. Though the rolls are fairly easy the results were still surprising. 

Everyone survived except my Templar who is quite dead. The others all made a full recovery aside from Recruit 1 and my Ranger who were badly wounded (-5 health next game or miss the next game completely).

 

So it took seven games to finally lose a scenario and experience a TPK, not bad I guess. Going forward I think the only real option is to replay the scenario with the idea being that the party was able to get away and recover somewhere on the stairs. Losing one of my heavy hitters is certainly going to hurt though.

 

Going into this mission I knew I wasn't going to replace any party members or change equipment loadouts until after all the scenarios. The whole plot of this mission is that you are the first party to enter the Shadow Deep so running back to resupply or recruit doesn't exactly work with the narrative. Between replaying this scenario and the upcoming one it will be interesting to see if my team can rise to the challenge now that they're down a man.    

[Rat13]

Excerpt from Ranger Aarn Cral's campaign journal 

 

Our party has suffered our first loss, our Templar is dead.  The rest of us only faired slightly better but at least we're alive. Heavily wounded we beat a hasty retreat back up the stairway. Finding a secluded spot we made camp and tended to our wounds. With the intel we've already collected we could go back, but tomorrow we're pressing on...

 

The proxies (and picture) will be exactly the same as last time but just incase a refresher is needed.  

The Skeletons will be filling in for Swamp Zombies.

Some old GW Dwarves will be filling in for Giant Flies.

The Kobolds will be filling in for Gnoll Archers.

The Knights will be filling in for Gnoll Fighters. 

 

This scenario also requires a few explanations as it has a lot of extra features and mechanics. All of the table within 8" of the heroes starting location is considered deep water. So anyone attempting to move in the water must make a Swimming Roll (TN5) taking into account a few penalties (-2 Light Armor, -5 Heavy Armor, -1 Shield, -2 Carrying Treasure). Upon failure the figure is downing and loses all actions and takes damage equal to the amount failed (ignoring armor). It took me a moment to understand this as it is worded oddly but eventually I got it. Deep water also has the added fun of being Rough Ground (halves your movement) and anyone fighting in it has - 2 Fight. As you can see water is a lot of fun in this game.

 

The rest of the table is shallow swampy water and simply counts as Rough Ground (again halving movement). This area also contains three clue markers. All heroes also must make either a Will Roll (TN10) or a Survival Roll (TN10) at the start of the game or suffer 2 damage from breathing in the foul fumes of the Shadow Deep. Last but not least one Event card is drawn every turn with the game ending after turn ten.

 

Turn one before the game even properly started both Recruit 2 and my Hound took 2 damage from breathing in the fumes of the Shadow Deep. Recruit 1 and my Ranger also started out minus 5 health from their wounds suffered last game. Starting the actual turn I group activated with Recruit 1 and Recruit 2. Recruit 1 and Recruit 2 both passed their swim test and double moved towards Clue Marker 1. My Ranger then took a shot at the Swamp Zombie in front of Clue Marker 1 and hitting did 5 damage (almost killing it outright). Swamp Zombie "2" and "3" both double moved with Zombie "3" entering into combat with my Arcanist. The injured Swamp Zombie moved into combat with Recruit 1 and knocked him out in a single blow. My Arcanist attacked the Swamp Zombie but did no damage, he did push the Swamp Zombie back though before moving. My Archer then took a shot at that particular Swamp Zombie and critted killing it. My Knight and Hound then double moved. Before the turn could end the Event Deck spawned a Giant Fly right beside my Ranger. 

 

Turn two I group activated with my Archer. My Ranger attacked the Giant Fly beside him, losing he took 5 damage bringing him down to 8 health. My Archer took a shot at the Swamp Zombie in front of Clue Marker 1 and missed. Swamp Zombie 2 moved into combat with my Hound and attacked. The Zombie hit my Hound but luckily he did no damage. The Giant Fly attacked my Ranger doing another 5 damage bringing him down to just 3 health. Is this the start of another TPK? The nearly rekilled Swamp Zombie attacked Recruit 2 and was killed/rekilled. Recruit 2 then reached Clue Marker 1 and found a blade made from bone. Noticing it had a slightly magical tingle he decided to grab it. My Arcanist entered the fight with the last Swamp Zombie and landed the killing blow. Finally the Event Deck spawned another Giant Fly at the base of the stairway, this time right beside my Archer. 

 

Turn three I group activated alongside my Archer. My Ranger cast Heal on himself recovering 5 health bringing him back up to 8. He then attacked the Giant Fly beside him killing it in one hit. My Archer then attacked the Giant Fly beside him with the exact same result. With no monsters on the board the rest of the team was safe to start moving toward the exit. My Arcanist reached Clue Marker 3 and found a broken ruin with arcane writing carved into the stone. A Read Runes Roll (TN8) is needed to decipher the ancient scrip, sounds easy enough for my Arcanist with a +5 to Read Runes but it wasn't. Failing the roll my Arcanist was unable to decipher the writing. The Event Deck then sent all of the evil models into a frenzy with +2 Fight for the next turn. Unfortunately for them there were no evil models.  

 

Turn four which I forgot to photograph was fairly uneventful; perhaps that's why I forgot to take a picture. I group activated with my Archer again. Both my Ranger and Archer finally entered the water and double moved. My Knight reached Clue Marker 2 and found some treasure while everyone else double moved. The Event Deck then tried to infect my Archer with a disease. Passing his Health Roll though he avoided the illness.  

 

Turn five I group activated with my Archer again. My Ranger failed his Swim Roll and began drowning (with no damage) while my Archer passed and double moved out of the water. Everyone else double moved toward the far side of the board readying to exit. The Event Deck had other plans however and a Gnoll Patrol entered the area.

 

Turn six my Ranger passed his Swim Roll and moved out of the water. He then took a shot at a Gnoll Archer and hit for 6 damage bringing it down to 4 health. The Gnoll Fighter double moved into combat while the healthy Gnoll Archer shot my Hound knocking him out. In trying to read the enemies die I had bumped it, not knowing if it was on 16 or 19 as I didn't get a good look I decided to treat it as a 19. It seemed like the fairest way to handle things. The injured Gnoll Archer then tried to shoot my Ranger but missed. My Knight attacked the Gnoll Fighter and killed it outright. Recruit 2 then double moved into combat with the healthy Gnoll Archer. The Event Deck then spawned a sinkhole under my Arcanist.

 

Turn seven I group activated with my Archer. Both moved and then attempted to shoot the injured Gnoll Archer but they missed. The healthy Gnoll Archer attacked Recruit 2 and suffered 2 damage for his trouble bringing him down to 8 health. The injured Gnoll Archer took a shot at my Knight but missed. My Knight double moved into combat with my Arcanist (who escaped the sinkhole) close on her heels. Finally the Event Deck brought about a heavy rain reducing LOS to 8" and all shooting attacks suffering -2.

 

Turn eight I group activated with my Archer and they both double moved (with the rain they were now out of shooting range anyway). The slightly injured Gnoll Archer attacked Recruit 2 hitting for 5 damage bringing him down to 3 health. The very injured Gnoll Archer, just barely out of combat, took a shot at my Archer and hit for 9 damage bringing him down to 2 health. My Knight attacked the Gnoll Archer and hit but did no damage. Recruit 2 then attacked the Gnoll Archer for 4 damage bringing it down to 4 health. Then the Event Deck started playing games with me just like at the start of the game. It spawned a Swamp Zombie right in between the two Gnoll Archers.

 

Turn nine I yet again group activated with my Archer and they both double moved hoping to get into the fray or off the table before the game ended. The Swamp Zombie then attacked Recruit 2, they tied both taking a little damage, but it was enough to knock out Recruit 2. The Gnoll Archer then attacked my Knight and was killed. The remaining Gnoll Archer attacked my Arcanist with the same result. My Arcanist feeling emboldened then attacked the Swamp Zombie hitting for 3 damage, bringing it down to 8 health. My Knight then attacked but lost taking 3 damage, bringing her down to 10 health. The Event Deck spawned yet another Swamp Zombie right in the middle of everyone.  

 

Turn ten I group activated with my Archer and Arcanist. My Ranger attacked the newest Swamp Zombie and critted killing it. My Arcanist then attacked the last Swamp Zombie and killed it. Finally my Knight moved off the table securing the treasure. 

 

Quite a bit happened after the game as well. First up, afterwards any surviving member of the party can attempt to map the area. This duty of course fell to my Arcanist and he rolled a natural 20, I'd call that mapped. The treasure my Knight found turned out to be Fireheart Green. As for causalities I did really well, Recruit 1 and my Hound will make a full recovery while Recruit 2 had a close call (losing all nonstandard equipment). 

 

After this game my Ranger reached level four and gained a new Heroic Ability. I chose to take Call to Action, whenever a Ranger group activates they can activate one additional figure than they normally could. Looks like I'll be sporting a new combination sometime soon. Recruit 1 also leveled up gaining +1 health.

 

My MVP for this game has to be my Ranger. Hitting two different shots (one of which was after moving), killing a Giant Fly, and critting against a Zombie at the end he really was my Most Valuable Player. 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Rat13
Dang autocorrect...

[Chaoswolf]

Good stuff!

Sad to hear about the templar, though. That scenario almost seems like it's designed to kill people with all the disadvantages you start off with.

[Rat13]

23 minutes ago, Chaoswolf said:

That scenario almost seems like it's designed to kill people with all the disadvantages you start off with.

I agree, between the extra mechanics in this and the broken stairway you're bound to lose someone before the last scenario. That one looks like quite a to do as well with a ton of enemies, but at least that's the end of the gauntlet this mission can be.

[Rat13]

Between throwing out my back and obligations that come with the holiday I'm not going to find the time to play this weekend. I may play sometime early next week, in which case I'd play twice, but as of now I'm making no promises. 

[Chaoswolf]

But....but...we, your adoring fans want MOAR!!

 

More seriously, take your time, let your back heal, get some rest. 

[Rat13]

Back was feeling much better yesterday so I went ahead and prepped for the next game even going so far as to setup the table. It's a good thing too because simply playing the scenario took over four hours. Usually I write and post the battle reports the next day but with such a lengthy game I'm once again promising nothing. 

 

Another game is complete however so a report is coming, but I'm warning everyone it's going to be a long one. 

[Chaoswolf]

I'm glad to hear that the back is feeling better. 

[Rat13]

Excerpt from Ranger Aarn Cral's campaign journal 

 

Finally making it through the swamp we practically rejoiced when the ground became firm and the risk of sinking into the muck disappeared. The perpetual night continues along with the ash and smoke drifting in the air. These are really only minor annoyances at this point though, our real worry comes from the complete silence. We've seen the occasional animal and even regular insects but we haven't heard them, this alone is enough to show us that noise is very deadly here. Twice we've spotted patrols of Gnolls and masked men and each time we've gone unnoticed, there is no way our luck will hold out though. 

 

Without any normal indicators of time our bodies themselves have become our clocks. We eat when we're hungry and rest when we're tired. If we make it out of this cursed land it'll be interesting to find out just how long we've been gone because we cannot even guess at this point. In this way we have ventured quite deep and discovered much. We have even passed a few streams containing fish, whether the fish or the water itself is poisoned remains unknown.

 

Just as I ready to call for a halt we see a broken structure ahead. Crawling closer we see that it is a partially collapsed farmhouse. Moreover we can see shifting shadows within and can hear faint whispers. Listening carefully we catch a few words in Lorenthian. Signaling to everyone we quietly form a perimeter surrounding the farmhouse. Once everyone is in place I softly call out, "Lorenthia".   

 

The voices stop and the farmhouse goes silent aside from the rustling of movement. I call out once more, "Lorenthia".

 

A gruff voice whispers back from the farmhouse, "Friends"?

 

Slowly I stand up with my arms raised and carefully approach the doorway. A man in a tattered Lorenthian uniform appears just before I enter the structure. His face is gaunt and his sword is heavily notched but there is no mistaking him for anything other than the Lorenthian soldier he was. "We didn't expect to find survivors this deep", I reply.

 

"Just a few of us left now" he says indicating the others huddled together inside. "Mostly civilians aside from myself and two archers..." His words are cut off as a horn sounds in the distance.   

 

Time to meet the proxies.

First up we have the survivors themselves.

The Spearman will be filling in for a Lorenthian Man-at-arms.

The Crossbowmen will be filling in for Lorenthian Archers.

The Mage, Gnome, Roman, and Pirate will be filling in for Civilians.

 

This time there will be a ton of enemy proxies too.

The Orcs will be filling in for Gnoll Sergeants.

The Kobolds will be filling in for Gnoll Archers.

The Knights will be filling in for Gnoll Fighters. 

The Dwarves will be filling in for Giant Flies.

The Large Skeleton will be filling in for a Burrow Worm.

The Owlbears will be filling in for Trolls.

The Skeletons will be filling in for Zombies.

The Zombies will be filling in for Giant Spiders. 

 

As is becoming usual this scenario also requires a few additional explanations. First up the scenario lasts twelve turns with an Event Card drawn at the end of each turn. Before the game begins however you must draw three Event Cards. The farmhouse has windows, indicated here by the hit markers on the walls, and though you can fight through the windows evil figures cannot enter through them. They can however climb onto the roof and climb down inside for 4" of movement each. Lastly at the beginning of the scenario you can make a Leadership Roll (TN12) to upgrade the Lorenthian Man-at-arms into a Knight and you can make a Traps Roll (TN6) to make one free +3 Shooting attack against any figure at any point during the game.  

 

This was the starting board after drawing the three Event Cards. Three Zombies, two Gnoll Fighters, two Gnoll Archers, and two Giant Flies spawned in. 

 

Turn one my Ranger fails both the Leadership and Traps Roll. He then group activates with the Arcanist and Knight. The Arcanist and Knight both double move. My Ranger moves and then shoots at a Zombie hitting but causing no damage. 

 

The creatures all double move except for the two Gnoll Archers. They both opt to move then shoot. The First Gnoll Archer shoots at a Civilian through a window but misses. The other shoots at my Ranger and hits but does no damage. 

 

The survivors move towards the smaller room preparing to defend it. One of the Archers attempts to shoot a Giant Fly through a window but misses. 

 

My Archer moves and picks up a treasure while everyone else double moves.

 

The Event Deck then spawns in four more Gnoll Fighters.

 

Turn two my Ranger group activated again alongside the Arcanist and Knight. The Arcanist and Knight both double moved into combat. My Ranger moved into combat with a Gnoll Fighter and attacked killing it with a single blow. 

 

Most of the enemies used double moves trying to get into combat. A Gnoll Fighter attacked Recruit 2 and hit but caused no damage. The first Giant Fly attacked my Knight and hit but did no damage. The second Giant Fly also attacked my Knight and was killed for his trouble. 

 

The survivors mostly held their ground. The first Archer shot at a Gnoll Fighter through the window and missed. The second Archer also shot at a Gnoll Fighter and hit for 9 damage bringing the Gnoll Fighter down to 1 health. 

 

My Hound attacked a Gnoll Fighter and killed it. Recruit 1 attacked a Giant Fly and lost but took no damage. Recruit 2 attacked a Gnoll Fighter and hit for 6 damage bringing it down to 4 health.

 

The Event Deck then brought a break in the clouds revealing a single shining star. This would have healed any one figure of my choice returning it to full health but unfortunately no one was hurt yet. 

 

Turn three my Ranger group activated this time with the Arcanist and Hound. My Ranger attacked a Gnoll Archer and lost but suffered no damage. The Arcanist attacked a Gnoll Fighter doing a whole 1 damage and brining it down to 9 health. Then my Hound attacked another Gnoll Fighter hitting for 5 damage brining it down to 5 health.

 

The creatures then attacked and did a real number on the party. A Gnoll Fighter attacked my Ranger hitting him for 9 damage bringing him down to 9 health (half his health in just one hit). Another Gnoll Fighter attacked my Hound and knocked him out. The last Gnoll Fighter attacked my Arcanist and hit for 6 damage bringing him down to just 5 health. A Gnoll Archer then attacked my Ranger but lost taking 8 damage bringing it down to 2 health. The other Gnoll Archer attacked my Ranger as well and hit but did no damage. The first Zombie made it into combat and attacked my Arcanist but it lost taking 5 damage in the attempt bringing it down to 1 health. Finally the last Giant Fly attacked Recruit 1 and lost but suffered no damage. 

 

The survivors held their ground again with the exception of one Archer who ventured outside of the farmhouse. The Archer still inside managed to shoot a Zombie through the window inflicting 5 damage bringing it down to 1 health. The outside Archer also fired at a Zombie getting a natural 20 and killing it outright. 

 

The rest of my party sprung into action. My Archer shot a Zombie and even hit but did no damage. Recruit 2 attacked a Gnoll Fighter and hit but also did no damage. My Knight then attacked the Gnoll Fighter and lost taking 8 damage and going down to 5 health. Recruit 1 attacked the Giant Fly and killed it.   

The turn ended with the Event Deck spawning three more Zombies. 

 

Turn four my Ranger group activated this time with the Arcanist and Recruit 2. My Ranger cast Heal recovering 5 health bringing him back up to 14 health. He then attacked a Gnoll Fighter and lost taking 4 damage bringing him back down to 10 health. My Arcanist then attacked a Zombie and upon losing was knocked out. Recruit 2 didn't fair much better attacking a Gnoll Fighter and losing taking a whopping 10 damage bringing him down to just 1 health. 

 

A quick rules aside: I know I've used this Heal spell during combat before but it wasn't until after this game that I found this isn't actually possible. That's right nine games in and I'm still learning the game. In my defense however I actually searched the book for the way spells work in combat (multiple times) and only found this written once tucked away in an odd location. As I finally found the answer afterwards however I decided to let the game stay as is even though I missed a rule, plus as I stated I've done this before so I really shouldn't tug on that thread or I'd be restarting the campaign. 

 

The creatures were only just getting started this turn however. Starting off a Gnoll Fighter attacked my Ranger and tied the Gnoll Fighter taking 4 damage bringing it down to 7 health, while my Ranger took 2 damage going down to 8 health. The second Gnoll Fighter also attacked my Ranger and hit for 6 damage bringing him down to just 2 health. The third Gnoll Fighter attacked my Ranger too and knocked him out. The last Gnoll Fighter then attacked Recruit 2 knocking him out as well. The first Gnoll Archer then attacked my Knight and knocked her out. Three knockouts in as many rolls. A Zombie attacked Recruit 1 hitting for 7 damage bringing him down to 4 health. The last Gnoll Archer also attacked Recruit 1 and was killed. The last Zombie in combat then attacked Recruit 1 and was also killed. 

 

What few survivors remained outside of the farmhouse's small room retreated inside it. One Archer shot through the window at a Gnoll Fighter but missed. 

 

The last party member caught up in the melee outside made one final attack. Trying to attack a Zombie, Recruit 1 was knocked out. My final party member my Archer retreated to the farmhouse's small room with the rest of the survivors.

 

The Event Deck then spawned two Giant Flies. 

 

Turn five went straight to the creature phase. All of them moved toward the small room's door. I came close to forgetting about the climb mechanic altogether but not to worry it's coming. 

 

The survivors huddled around the door hoping the choke point would be enough to stave off disaster. 

 

My Archer attempted a shot on the nearest Zombie through the door but missed. 

 

The Event Deck then brought about an ash storm. LOS is reduced to 10" for the rest of the scenario and all heroes must make a Will Roll (TN8) or suffer 2 points of damage. Luckily only one Civilian(Roman) missed the check and went down to 8 health. 

 

Turn six a Zombie reached the door and attacked the Man-at-arms hitting for 3 damage and bringing him down to 9 health. All the Gnolls and Giant Flies double moved and climbed onto the farmhouse's roof (this is indicated by either standing on top of a die or the wall itself). 

 

The Man-at-arms attacked the Zombie at the door but lost taking 6 damage and going down to 3 health. The rest of the survivors held the tight formation at the door. 

 

My Archer also attacked the Zombie but also lost taking 2 damage and going down to 9 health.

 

The Event Deck then spawned a Burrow Worm directly in the center of the adjoining room.  

 

Turn seven found the majority of the enemies entering the room through the roof. A Gnoll Fighter dropped down and attacked a Civilian(Roman) and was killed for it's efforts. A Giant Fly then attacked the same Civilian(Roman) and also lost taking 4 damage going down to just 1 health. The second Giant Fly also attacked the Civilian(Roman) hitting for 4 damage bringing him down to 4 health. The Burrow Worm then dug underneath the room and emerged at the survivors rear rank. Attacking the wounded Civilian(Roman) it lost and took  6 damage reducing it to 8 health. A Zombie attacked the Man-at-arms and lost but took no damage. 

 

The Man-at-arms attacks the Zombie at the door and hits but does no damage (both rolls were natural 1's). An Archer attacks a Giant Fly and kills it with a natural 20. The Civilian(Mage) attacks the other Giant Fly but loses taking 2 damage and going down to 8 health. The Civilian(Roman) attacks the last Giant Fly and kills it. Finally the Civilian(Pirate) attacks the Burrow Worm and loses but suffers no damage. 

 

My Archer then attacks the Zombie at the door and kills it. 

 

The Event Deck then spawns a Giant Spider in the small room right beside my Archer.   

 

Turn eight the creatures were out for blood. The last Gnoll Archer attacked a Civilian(Gnome) hitting for 9 damage bringing her down to 1 health. A Gnoll Fighter attacked a Civilian(Roman) and finally killed him. The Burrow Worm attacked a Civilian(Pirate) and tied. The Burrow Worm took 4 damage going down to 4 health while the Civilian(Pirate) also took 4 damage going down to 6 health. The second Gnoll Fighter also attacked the Civilian(Pirate) and getting a natural 20 killed him outright. The last Gnoll Fighter then attacked a Civilian(Gnome) and killed her. The Zombie at the door attacked the Man-at-arms and is killed. The next Zombie moved right in also attacking the Man-at-arms, losing it took 3 damage dropping down to 3 health. The Giant Spider then attacked my Archer and lost taking 3 damage dropping down to 1 health.

 

The Man-at-arms attacked the Zombie in the doorway but lost and was killed. The Civilian(Mage) moved into the Man-at-arms former spot and attacked the Zombie hitting for 1 damage bringing it down to 2 health. The Archer attacked the Giant Spider and killed it. Th other Archer shot at the Burrow Worm but missed. 

 

My Archer attacked the Zombie and lost taking 7 damage bringing him down to 2 health.

 

The Event Deck then spawned another Giant Spider in the exact same corner as the last one.   

 

Turn nine started with a Gnoll Fighter attacking an Archer hitting for 9 damage brining him down to just 1 health. The second Gnoll Archer also attacked the Archer and killed him. The Burrow Worm then attacked the remaining Archer and was killed. The Gnoll Archer attacked the Archer as well and hit for 7 damage bringing him down to 3 health. The last Gnoll Archer attacked the Archer too and was killed for it's trouble. The Zombie at the door then attacked my Archer and lost taking 1 damage going down to 1 health. The Giant Spider then attacked my Archer and was killed. 

 

The last Civilian(Mage) at the door then attacked a Zombie and lost taking 4 damage going down to 4 health. The Archer attacked the Gnoll Archer hitting for 7 damage brining it down to 3 health.

 

My Archer then attacked the Gnoll Archer and managed to kill it. 

The Event Deck then spawned a Gnoll patrol of two Gnoll Archers, two Gnoll Fighters, and a Gnoll Sergeant.   

 

Turn ten started with a Gnoll Fighter attacking the last Civilian(Mage) and losing taking 6 damage going down to 3 health. The second Gnoll Fighter also attacked the Civilian(Mage) and was killed.

 

The Archer then attacked the Gnoll Fighter and killed it clearing the room of enemies. The Civilian(Mage) attacked the Zombie at the door and killed it. 

 

The Event Deck then spawned another Gnoll patrol of two Gnoll Fighters, and a Gnoll Sergeant.

 

Turn eleven the two Gnoll patrols used double moves trying to reach the survivors before the scenario ended. The last Zombie at the doorway attacked my Archer and lost taking 1 damage dropping to 5 health.

 

The Civilian(Mage) attacked the Zombie and lost taking 2 damage dropping to 2 health. The last Lorenthian Archer retreated to the corner of the room, just in case.

 

My Archer attacked the Zombie and killed it. 

 

The Event Deck then spawned a Troll. I'm so lucky it didn't spawn any earlier. 

 

Turn twelve not much happened. All the enemies tried to get into combat but just didn't have the movement. My figures all held their positions and the game ended. 

 

The treasure my Archer secured turned out to be gold and jewels. With the option of either +10XP or 1 Progression Point for a companion I opted for the XP. My Hound, Recruit 2, and Knight all made full recoveries. My Ranger was badly wounded (-5 health next game). Recruit 1 and the Arcanist had close calls and lost all their nonstandard equipment. Recruit 1 lost a Golden Beer (essentially a +2 HP health potion) while my Arcanist lost an empty Herb Pouch and a Book of Astronomy (+1 Navigation). Not gonna lie losing the book of Astronomy kinda hurt, but at least my Arcanist survived.

 

Time to name an MVP, I think this week it has to go to my Archer. With a secured treasure, two kills, and being the only party member to survive to the end he is certainly my MVP, if for no other reason than surviving.  

 

Yet again I made the same mistakes, I split my party and tired to retreat way too late. If it hadn't been for the survivors (especially a couple of the Civilians) this would have marked the end of my campaign. Hopefully this time I actually take the lesson to heart and stop playing so recklessly.

 

The game itself was a lot of fun and aside from mistakes making it harder I really enjoyed it. As I said before it was a really long scenario though. This was a mission ending scenario however and it felt appropriately "epic". It did show me that I certainly wouldn't want to play this game if large figure counts were the norm though.   

 

Last but not least I tried a different format with this battle report separating all the different phases. I think it reads a little better and definitely helps differentiate the phases. I'm open to feedback on this new format however. As for my repetition of phrasing I think we're all just stuck with that though, there really are only so many ways you can say the same things. Jokes aside I know these aren't exactly great reads but I do try my best to convey all the pertinent information even if I don't elaborate with colorful descriptions. 

 

[Rat13]

Before jumping into the Burning Light campaign I figured now would be a good time to post the story so far. 

 

Aarn Cral's Official Report 

 

Myself and my party were lucky enough to be in Alladore when Lorenthia fell. At first we had our hands full just trying to manage the influx of refugees and villagers fleeing from the border. Our first mission came about a week after the fall of Lorenthia. Aventine a veteran ranger had been sent to investigate reports of an attack on a nearby village. That being three days ago and he still hadn't returned so we were ordered to investigate the village and locate him.

 

After an eight hour journey over rough terrain we arrived at the village. From the start we could feel that something was wrong. The village was too quiet and it smelled of recent death. We passed multiple bodies as we walked into the village square. Just as we began forming groups to search the village a horrible moaning started all around us. 

 

Many of the corpses we just passed were rising up and moving towards us. Not knowing how many undead might be in the area we continued our search as we fought. Our investigation wasn't entirely fruitless however. We found a survivor, tracks from a large spider, and even a bite mark from the beasts. We were unable to protect the villager however and we found no trace of the Ranger Aventine. After destroying all the undead in the area we spent some time going over the bodies. 

 

Thanks to the Templar and my own findings we determined that the village had been attacked by giant spiders. It also appears that the spider's venom was the cause of the reanimated dead as well. It is my recommendation that a thorough examination should be administered on anyone who comes in contact with these monsters. We took the time to patch ourselves up, made a pyre for the dead, and set off following the unique tracks.

 

It turns out the spiders weren't too far from the village having created a nesting ground in a small forest. We could see four nest trees in the distance, multiple large cocoons scattered about, and a few giant spiders moving throughout the area. Knowing that the nests must be destroyed they became our top priority, but we also investigated some of the cocoons hoping to find survivors. Of all the cocoons we opened we only found one villager still alive. Fighting our way to the nests we were able to burn all four. Unfortunately we spotted another nest but were not able to destroy it as giant spiders were emerging from the surrounding forest in force and we had to retreat.  

 

We retreated to the nearest town with the lone survivor in tow. Without a body we must continue to list ranger Aventine as missing presumed dead. As we entered the town re received new orders. Contact with the beacon tower of Tor Varden had been lost and it is assumed to have been overrun. Our orders were to investigate immediately and if the tower had fallen we were to ascertain what troops currently occupy it and harass or eliminate them if an opportunity arose. With no rest we set out immediately.

 

Moving through the rocky plains known as "the Scree" it wasn't until we were nearly upon the Enthel River that the fate of Tor Varden became all too clear. Almost drowned out by the river itself we could hear guttural voices filling the air with barks and whines. Gnolls... Near the bridge on the far side of the river there was a small encampment of the creatures.

 

Deciding not to waste time heading to another crossing only to likely find a similar defense we prepared to attack. We were joined in the fighting by a survivor from Tor Varden and quickly dispatched the beasts. The survivor provided much needed intel on Tor Varden before leaving us. As of yet I have not been able to locate him within the city and I fear he may have been attacked on his journey, perhaps even captured.

 

Crossing the river we managed to avoid a couple Gnoll patrols before eventually reaching Tor Varden. From the outside it seemed completely deserted. There were no patrols in the area, the entrance itself wasn't guarded, and there was very little indication anyone was inside. Our plan was to slowly approach the tower using what limited cover there was, but a loud scream of pain from inside made us believe speed was more important.

 

Our speed alerted the enemy in the first room however and they were ready for us. We cleared the room as quickly as we could with the screams continuing in the next room. The second room had been made into a makeshift torture chamber. Two men were chained to the far wall and an unarmed man was fighting for his life against three Gnolls while screaming madly. As we rushed in to help the man was struck down and died before we killed his captors. 

 

The final room contained a Gnoll shaman working on a golem. We tried to kill the shaman before it could complete it's spell but we weren't fast enough, so we had to destroy the golem as well. Clearing the bottom floors left most of us injured and badly needing rest but we had no choice but to continue. Leaving my journal with one of the recruits who stayed to watch over the survivors the rest of us moved to the top of the tower.

 

Reaching the top of the tower we found the beacon's woodpile unlit. The monsters had even chained a survivor to the top of it. We leapt through the trapdoor and attacked hoping the battle would stop them from setting the beacon alight. 

 

Our gamble paid off and we not only stopped them from lighting the beacon we also saved their intended sacrifice. During the fighting however we saw Tor Dargos and Tor Hammel's beacons light with a sickly green flame. The two towers must have fallen, not knowing what else to do we lit Tor Varden's beacon. The pure orange flames made our defiance public knowledge and let the people know that hope was not lost. It may not have been the most tactically sound idea letting our enemies know that the tower hadn't fallen, but we reasoned that when the beacon didn't light with the sickly green flames like the others they'd know anyway. 

 

We had survived our assault on the watchtower, we were not without casualties however. Everyone came away from the fight battered and beaten and my hound even fell from the tower itself. Miraculously it survived, by sheer luck landing in a large pile of hay outside of the tower's small stable. We took some time to tend our wounds in preparation for the return journey.   

 

With the battle of the beacon towers still raging around us our group made a discovery. Behind Tor Varden there is now a large deep fissure that runs into the darkness that is the Shadow Deep itself. Inside is a rough and broken stairway that cannot be natural but is so uneven and sloping its doubtful it was made by men. Using one of the recruits as a runner we reported our findings and received new orders. Our party was to use this stairway to penetrate as deeply as possible inside the Shadow Deep. As the first warriors of Alladore inside any intelligence would be important for future forays. At my discretion we could attempt to hinder the enemy or outright attack them but our main goal was reconnaissance.

 

Not knowing if there is viable food or drinking water within we packed with the assumption that we would find neither. Weighed down with the excess supplies we began our descent. Due to the nature of the staircase itself our pace was wildly inconsistent, sometimes we moved quickly while other times we almost crawled along. The lower we got the harder it was to breath, thick black ash floats everywhere. As I called for another break we begin to hear a loud buzzing noise. Before we knew it the sound was coming from multiple directions and we were surrounded by giant flies.

 

Passing by what I can only assume were nesting tunnels we fought the large insects. We even found that a torch was a great way to temporarily seal their tunnels. It may be wise not to seal these openings completely as the insects would only create another opening somewhere else, possibly somewhere harder to reach. Instead we may just have to sacrifice a few torches every time we wish to pass through. As we only encountered the large insects in one spot on the stairway I believe that may be our best course of action lest they spread. 

 

With the Arcanist mapping the way it took us almost a full day to climb down the stairs. I have enclosed copies of this map along with the original with this report. It won't make taking the route any faster but it should make it easier for future forays. As the day ended we discovered that travel at night is nearly impossible. Between the night itself and the dark clouds of the Shadow Deep the dark is so complete it's almost overpowering. Sleep was not very restful either as we found it necessary to cover our faces and mouths to block out the ash and stink. The next day brought us to the proper bottom of the staircase where it disappears completely in a boggy pool dotted with broken ruins. Further on it got shallower but to continue we had to cross the deep water first and even then there was still the swamp to contend with. 

 

Our first attempt to cross the swamp was a disaster. We discovered the area was crawling with bloated zombies and we had to fight for our lives as we tried to cross the water. During the fighting our templar was killed; taking a massive blow to his head he fell into the water and his armor drug him down. Heavily wounded the rest of us beat a hasty retreat back up the stairway. Finding a secluded spot we made camp and tended to our wounds. With the intel we'd already collected we could have gone back, but we decided to press on instead and its a good thing too.

 

Making it through the swamp on our second attempt we happily found the swamp itself was not large. The perpetual night continued along with the ash and smoke drifting in the air. These became minor annoyances at this point though, our real worry came from the complete silence. Seeing the occasional animal and even regular insects

we knew things lived here but we hadn't heard them. This alone was enough to show us that noise is very deadly within the Shadow Deep. Twice we spotted patrols of Gnolls and masked men and each time we went unnoticed.

Without any normal indicators of time, as even the darkness of night was now unnoticeable, our bodies themselves became our clocks. We ate when we were hungry and rested when we were tired. Losing all track of time it wasn't until after we returned that we found we had passed two days in that manner. Going that deep we noticed a lot about the flora and fauna and have already passed our notes on to the master herbalist and tracker, hopefully our findings can be of use. It will be up to another party to find the appropriate samples they will need to determine if anything within the Shadow Deep is edible or even useful though. 

 

Just as I readied to call for a halt we saw a broken structure ahead. Crawling closer we saw a partially collapsed farmhouse. Seeing shifting shadows and hearing faint whispers in Lorenthian we silently surrounded the farmhouse. It was at that point that I softly called out. At first there was no answer so I called out again. 

 

Upon hearing a gruff Lorenthian voice answer I stood with my arms raised and approached. As unbelieve as it sounds a Lorenthian man-at-arms, two Lorenthian archers, and four civilians had survived all that time within the Shadow Deep. Just as we were introducing ourselves we were attacked. 

 

The beasts of the Shadow Deep came in force and we just barely survived. Of the seven survivors we found only two survived the fight. With more enemies incoming we managed to escape and it was only sheer luck that we didn't encounter any patrols on our way back to the city. 

 

Both of the survivors have made requests and I want them on the record. The Lorenthian archer known as Crestiss has asked to join the ranks of the city watch. He has no desire whatsoever to return to the life of a soldier but knowing no other profession believes his skills could be put to use with the watch. Pending training I believe this may be a good fit for him but it is not for me to decide.

 

The Lorenthian civilian (originally a farmer) named Walter has expressed interest in joining the rangers. Having survived so long in the Shadow Deep I believe his experiences could be put to use within our ranks (again pending training). I would stress however that he would be best suited in a position at our academy. Field work especially in the Shadow Deep may be too much for him after what he's been through. 

 

End of report 

[KruleBear]

I thought the last battle report was easy to read and follow. The journal summary was a nice and enjoyable read. 

[Chaoswolf]

I agree with KruleBear.

 

Wow, that last scenario/battle was quite a bloodbath! The Lorenthian survivors certainly gave a good accounting of themselves, though.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Chaoswolf