Samedi plays RoSD

[Samedi]

Continued from part 1, where I paint the minis and give some backstories to the characters.

 

THE INTRODUCTION

 

Ogana and his little team stand in the center of a unnamed, unknown village. There are a few houses here. A few more trees. And there's a little creek up in the northeast. Somewhere around here the famous ranger Aventine went missing.

 

There is some faint moaning in the distance. Ogana can't really make out a direction until he realises that he is encircled. True - there's no living soul in this village. But that doesn't mean there's nobody home...

 

 

Welcome to my little battle report. I've just finished playing the first scenario, and boy, what fun it was. Also - a meat grinder. Let me explain:

 

I'm really bad at playing strategy games. Chess, checkers, whatever. You name it, I lose it. In addition to that, I tend to have a lot of bad luck rolling dice. In fact, back in the days when I played TTRPGs regularly, I was famous for my bad rolls. 

So when I first heard about RoSD, I was thrilled. Finally I could try my hand on a miniature game and not letting an opponent suffer from boredom, because there's no challenge playing against me. And who knows - maybe I learn a thing or two about strategy. It's never too late!

 

I started painting. It took more than a year to paint the minis I needed for the first scenario. I'm a slow painter. But I got faster. And finally, today was the day. I had a lot of fun. And I learned a thing or two. Maybe three.

 

So I invite you to join me, while I tell you the tale how Ogana, the ranger, battled the forces of evil. And how he left Brother Johann to die, amongst a horde of zombies and rats. (Spoiler: Brother Johann made a full recovery. Others were not so lucky, though.)

 

Each post will report the most important events in each round. Most posts will have a picture where you can see the table at the end of the round. Sometimes I forgot the picture. I apologise for that. Near the end it got a bit hectic. Too many zombies and too much dying, I fear...

[Samedi]

SETTING UP

 

Trapped! The zombies are closing in on all sides. No time to look for Aventine now. Ogana hastily tries to organise the defence. This is no hunt. And no war either. This is just wrong!

 

Before things start to fall apart in the first round here's the setup, everything according to scenario instructions.

Well - mostly. My table is not wide enough, so the playing field is a bit narrow. On the other hand, it's longer. So that should be ok. When setting up the heroes I also found out that they have to have a minimum distance from the houses. Which is not possible, because I painted the houses too close together. And I'm not going to repaint the gaming plan.

 

You see, since I'm not blessed with terrain, I painted the terrain with watercolours on a big sheet of paper. That was really fun - and I haven't used watercolours since elementary school. I should definitely start again. (Not that I'm talented - It just feels great messing around with the paint.)

 

So here's the gaming table all set up. We all know that no plan survives enemy contact. But I'm in luck. I don't have a plan anyway.

 

And here's the cast, once more:

[Samedi]

ROUND I

 

Alright! Johann and Gnome check the houses. I'll take care of the rat over there. Then we'll be prepared when the zombies arrive. And stay together!

 

The game begins with a shot by Ogana at a giant rat that's about to attack. Miss. The Gnome tries to pick the lock of the first house. Fail. Johann tries to break down the door of the second house with a marker in it. Fail. Then the first rat attacks Ogana. Hit. The second rat attacks Kunigunde. Hit. Kunigunde is down to 3 health. And I get flashbacks from my table top days. 😬

At least the zombies are too far away to engage. And a faint light of hope: Kioni hurts two zombies with her spell. This will be the only damage done by the heroes in this round.

 

At the end of the round: Random event. The house where Johann had just struggled to open the door collapses. Just like that. Could have been any of the five houses, but the dice decided it would be this one, for added comedy. With the cue marker still inside. I can hear the laughter of my dice. Just like in the olden times. 🤬

So what do I do now? The rules don't really cover this. I decide I've suffered enough in this round, so Johann can search through the rubble in the next round. I mean - the cue marker is still there. And technically the door is open, since there is no door anymore.

 

I go and make myself another cup of tea. 

 

So here's the end of round 1 with the approaching zombies:

Edited August 9, 2022 by Samedi

[Samedi]

ROUND 2

 

There, among the rubble of the collapsed house, are the remains of a person! Aventine! Kunigunde rushes in to recover his sword. The King will be happy to have it returned. In the meantime Ogana can use it. Kunigunde has no use for such a flimsy toothpick.

 

This round is better, even though the zombies have arrived. Kioni heals Kunigunde (i love that heal is a distance spell in this game), And the Gnome finally manages to open the door with the house he's struggling with. No actions left to investigate the clue marker, though. Ogana is hit by the Rat again. I sense a rat phobia in his future.

 

Then the zombies attack. Johann gets hit, but Fetch, the brave dog, hits the evil zombie and pushes her back. Both block the door to the house, so nobody can reach Kunigunde who is investigating the body of Aventine and secures his sword. "What door?", I hear you ask. Well... I sort of forgot that the whole house collapsed. Got a bit carried away there, I fear.

 

This round I found out that

1) maybe actively looking for fights is not the best idea in this game

2) it's good not to stay in a fight. As soon as you win a fight, disengage. It's better to fight on your terms than on the monsters'.

 

Finally: The event card. Four more zombies. This is not going how I would like it to go.

 

Here's the end of round 2 with too many zombies on the table:

[Inarah]

I hope our brave heroes can hold off the incoming horde. 

 

 

[Samedi]

ROUND 3

 

"Who are you?"

     "I can't tell you, I'm sorry."

"So what are you doing here?"

     "All will be revealed in time."

"You don't make any sense at all!"

     "You will understand once the broken sword is reforged in the fires of the north."

"Whatever, just follow me, I'll get you out of here!"

 

Now the zombies are in range. I need to act quickly and decisively. So a "Call to Action" is at hand: One more figure to activate before the monsters.

 

Ogana finally kills that pesky rat and retreats to cover Kioni. The Gnome finds a survivor. I roll randomly for the survivors I painted up for this scenario - it's the mysterious guy. (Also I find out that I would have only needed one survivor for this scenario to begin with. And that I should have painted more zombies instead.) The mysterious guy starts his escape. The gnome stays with him. Too many zombies in the area and strength in this game lies in numbers. At least I think it does.

On the other side, rats and zombies pummel on Kunigunde, Johann and Fetch. Kunigunde gets hit (again! She just got healed). Johann gets hit. Fetch takes down a rat. But it's a tie, so he dies in the process! Noooooooo! Fetch!

So as revenge, Johann kills the zombie mama. And Kunigunde kills the other zombie that was attacking.

 

So, what do we need in this situation? More zombies of course. Luckily I've just freed up two zombie miniatures I can use. 🙄

 

Here's the end of round 3. Without Fetch.

 

[Samedi]

I apologize for the delay. Lots of work in September and what little hobby time I have mostly goes into my new found love of watercolour painting - which started with painting the battle map for this RoSD scenario. 😇

 

Anyway, here's

ROUND 4 

 

"Ogana! Those zombies have a weak spot! For Alladore! For the king!"

 

This round, the game just got a lot easier. Until now, my zombies fought with 12 HP - I made a mistake copying the numbers. Turns out, they have only six. So much needless carnage. So many unnecessary deaths! I think about resetting the game, but then I figure I'll just carry on and file that under "bad stuff happens" / "lessons learned".

 

In the northwest, Ogana and Kioni cover the escape of the mysterious guy, holding out against the new, toned-down zombies. The Gnome breaks free and starts towards the next clue marker. He can outrun everything on the table with ease. 

 

On the other side of the table Kunigunde dispatches of a zombie and joins Johann in his march southwards.

 

So what more do I need? Another zombie, of course! This one appears at the clue marker in the southwest. But I don't worry too much: It's got only 6 HP after all...

 

After Round 4, the table looks like this:

[Samedi]

ROUND 5

 

Out of the corner of his eye, the gnome spots a little pouch lying on the floor. He'll just take it with him, nobody else needs to know. Just a little compensation for all his help...

 

Kioni and Ogana break free from the zombies. They cover the escape of the mysterious guy and try to lure the zombies away from the rest of the group - I finally figured out, that it's better NOT to fight in this game, if I don't absolutely have to...

 

Kunigunde and Johann continue southwards, trying to keep out of sight from the zombies by hiding behind the building. The Gnome examines a cue marker and finds some treasure. Let's see if he can keep it until the end of the scenario.

 

All remaining zombies are drawn northwards towards Kioni and Ogana. I congratulate myself for playing such a smart round.

 

To put me in my place, some more rats appear. So that's where we are at right now:

Edited September 12, 2022 by Samedi
Curse you, autocorrect!

[Samedi]

ROUNDS 5&6

 

"Johann, there's another corpse over there!"

"Careful, Kunigunde! Don't touch!"

"Argh, it moves! Taste my Hammer! For Alladore!"

"Kunigunde! Noooooo!"

 

I'll combine those two rounds. I have to confess, I got a little too engaged with the game. Seems I'm still too much role player and not enough war gamer. I'll learn, eventually. I forgot to take pictures and I didn't take many notes. But it's enough for an overview of what happened in rounds 6 and 7.

 

First, the mysterious man makes his escape off the table. Where will he show up next? And who was he anyway? We'll never know, I fear.

Kioni and Ogana continue to draw the zombies away from where I want the rest of the party to investigate. 

A rat attacks Ogana, but he is victorious and dispatches the fearsome foe.

 

And Kunigunde investigates a cue marker. Turns out she stirred up a zombie. And get's killed by it. Noooooooo!

 

Two random events. One is "Disease" - meaning everyone who died during this scenario has to check for disease (in case he makes the survival roll, that is). The other one? I don't remember anymore. More rats? More zombies? Who really cares at this point...

[Samedi]

ROUND 8 - Final Round

 

"Ogana, I found some strange tracks over here! ... Ogana? ... Kioni? ... Gnome? Where is everyone!"

There are no answers. Only the moaning of zombies and the squeaking of rats. Johann realises he is alone in this cursed, nameless village.

 

Well, it's the last round. Nothing much left to do, so Ogana and Kioni move off the table. They're too far away to offer any assistance. Same for the Gnome. So he moves off the table as well to secure his treasure. Fetch and Kunigunde are dead. Only Johann is left.

 

He reaches the last cue marker and discovered the strange tracks. So at least there's one of the two cues that leads to the next scenario. I missed the other one (the mutilated body) because the dice decided it would be funnier to send a zombie after Kunigunde in round 6 (or 7).

 

Finally Johann makes his last stand. He gets attacked by a zombie. And stays victorious! Then comes the rat. And Johann dies, alone and deserted by all his companions, near the edge of the village.

Long live the rats!

 

[Samedi]

AFTERMATH

 

Ogana escapes the village, full of guilt. He let his companions down. Yes, they found Aventine, they found some clues and they even rescued a villager. But three companions had to die for this. He will carry on, despite the bitter lessons he learned today. He takes the sword of aventine in his hand. Before this sword returns to it's rightful owner, it has some more work to do!

 

Kioni also escaped. Almost unharmed. Well, that was fun, playing catch with all the dead people! She walks over to her dead companions. Who knows, maybe there's still some life in them? 

 

The Gnome opens the pouch. Just some herbs. Well, this won't do! Kioni can have those. He'll wait for some real treasure, deeper in the forest.

 

Johann slowly rises from the ground. Just a short blackout and a flesh wound, nothing serious. But he'll have a talk with Ogana about leadership qualities. That young southerner has a lot to learn.

 

Kunigunde also rises. But much slower. Her arm is crushed. She'll probably never use it again. She'll try to accompany the group to the end of this mission and do all she can. But then? Maybe there are good healers in Alladore, who can mend her arm. If not, she'll have to open an inn instead. She tries not to thing about that too much.

 

Even Fetch rises. That was a really close call. For one second, Father of Spirits was free. But then the dog mind took over again and Fetch returned to the living. He's developed a fever, though, a gift from the curse of the village.

 

The companions start to follow the strange tracks, to wherever they lead. Everyone is quiet and lost in thought.

Except for Kioni, that is. She is humming a merry tune. And somehow, the skull of her grandmother, attached to her staff, seems to answer.

 

_______

 

Well, this was a huge feat of noobery, but also a lot more fun than I expected.

Hopefully I'll get to painting up the spiders for the next scenario. But, knowing myself and the pace of my work, that will be a long time from now...

 

[Inarah]

Thank you, I enjoyed reading the adventure.