Warhammer Quest: The Sylvan Epic

[Mooseman]

"Let's go?"

 

[Oversoul]

You proceed, arriving at the point Ty was going to scout out, but didn't. There are now trolls here. That's what was climbing up, apparently. Trolls. But take heart: you were going to have to pass through here anyway and fight them even if you'd known about them beforehand. Also, they're big and scary and can rip you apart with their bare hands. They can vomit corrosive fluid as a means of attack and they are constantly regenerating. So maybe don't take heart?

 

[Mooseman]

Fire Arrows at the ready

 

[turgy22]

Throg will fight the trolls.

 

[TomB]

"If they're going to puke on us we should prolly try to keep our distance...Anyone have any fire spells handy?"

Ty will also fight, again trying to use his positioning to protect the casters and Carrow when practical.

 

[Spiderman]

"Jakaena, protect yourself!" Dorgath throws a Fire Bomb in their midst and prepares for hand to hand combat if they close.

 

[Oversoul]

A bit annoyed with myself because I really wanted to get to this yesterday and didn't. But we're doing this now anyway. Let's see. First, by popular demand, a map of the "room" using Turgy's improved method...

L L L _
L T D Y
L O J _
L R K C

T=Throg
D= Dorgath
Y= Tyresius
O=Tomas
J=Jekaena
R=Revaethan
K=Kelgar
C=Carrow
L=Troll

Next...

-The Power Phase is 4 for this turn.

Dorgath's Firebomb covers a 2x2 square (there are not actually walls here, so the square could be placed such that it hits any two adjacent trolls without hitting anyone in the party (although Dorgath could hit three of the trolls for the very minor cost of also having the firebomb hit Throg).

I forgot to mention, because I keep failing to do these updates when I'm actually at home, that the trolls' vomit ability can destroy armor and that if the affected character isn't wearing armor, it'll do damage instead. So, now that I've finally gotten around to this...

-Which troll does Carrow want to shoot fire arrows at?
-Which 2x2 square does Dorgath want to firebomb?
-Which spells do people want Tomas and Jekaena to cast? If I get no suggestions on this, I'll just go with the ones I think look best for the situation.
-Any other abilities people want to use?
-Probably something else I'm forgetting...

 

[Spiderman]

Dorgath will throw his Firebomb so it hits the lower two Trolls (the ones facing Tomas and Revaethan). After throwing the Firebomb, Dorgath will attack the Troll in front of him and if he and Tyresisus succeed in bringing it down, start flanking the others and work our way west and south (or left and down).

Jakaena is initally casting her protect spell.

Jakaena should probably move to the right, Tomas should move to her spot, and Kelgar should move up in Tomas's spot.

Hopefully the vomit won't hit us...

 

[Oversoul]

-Probably something else I'm forgetting...

-Ty's Pit Training kicks in. He may move and attack before the combat phase starts.

 

[Oversoul]

Jakaena is initally casting her protect spell.

Jakaena should probably move to the right, Tomas should move to her spot, and Kelgar should move up in Tomas's spot.

Since Rokapoke remains indefinitely elusive, and since this isn't happening on a tabletop and not everything is necessarily clear on this medium, I should just note...

Tomas is, relative to the rest of the party, mediocre in melee combat, although if he had to, he could close some of the performance gap by casting spells on himself. But he's not entirely ineffective. In general, I suspect that the intuition has been to leave him off the front lines, and that this is a good call, especially because Throg, Dorgath, and Tyresius hit so hard in melee and are less effective if they're not doing that. But it's worth noting that he's perfectly capable of fighting most monsters and, in a melee situation, wouldn't be in trouble right away unless surrounded or facing an extraordinarily formidable opponent. From what I can tell, the main advantage of having Kelgar on the front lines is that he's already going to be using combat-focused blessings anyway a lot of the time, so he can enhance the other front-line fighters he's adjacent to. Of course, Kelgar can also use blessings to help ranged attacks (mostly Carrow) or to help fighters that he is standing behind. When it comes to a situation where either Tomas or Kelgar could be in melee combat with a monster and the dedicated front-line melee dudes are already occupied, I've been leaning more toward Kelgar mostly because Melkor is still active on the boards, so there's a chance for him to make a potentially meaningful decision. Also, ignoring magical powers, he's a bit more powerful in melee combat than Tomas.

While ordinarily I'd think moving Jekaena over and having Tomas back up to let Kelgar fight in melee is good, in the specific case of trolls, it might be a higher priority to minimize the chance that they'll vomit on Kelgar and destroy his armor. But I leave it up to you guys. My instinct could even be wrong: if the troll attacking Tomas lands multiple attacks with high-damage rolls and also vomits on him, it could take him out before anyone could protect him or kill the troll, whereas Kelgar might weather such an assault. I don't know for sure. The other advantage, somewhat obscure, of having Tomas disengage and letting Kelgar do melee, is that if Tomas isn't planning to cast offensive spells just yet, he won't be targeting trolls and won't have to roll for a Fear test against them yet, so the decision to potentially use a re-roll ability on his Fear test could be postponed, but that's an extremely minor consideration, I'd think. Another option would be to have Jekaena move to the right, have Kelgar wait, have Tomas wait for the troll to attack, then have Tomas try to break from pinning and let Kelgar charge in on the troll. A bit of a compromise that would give Kelgar one turn of protection and insurance against the vomit attack, but probably do some damage to Tomas. Just wanted to communicate what I notice from looking at the numbers, as it might be more clear to you if this were being done in a real tabletop environment.

Also, trolls are limited exclusively to melee attacks, so if Spiderman's call of moving Jekaena all the way to the right with Kelgar and Tomas to her left goes through, her Glittering Robe spell would seem superfluous: the only way trolls are going to get to her is if they go through Kelgar and Tomas, or if they go through the front-line fighters. Trolls are dumb brutes and will not attempt to break from pinning (something I didn't make clear earlier), so they're not slipping around Dorgath/Ty in order to get Jekaena. I'd think it's over 99% safe to have Jekaena cast some other spell. Still leaving that decision up to you guys, though...

 

[Spiderman]

Ooooh. I thought Tomas was primarily a spellcaster and thus not really suited for melee combat (probably old D&D bias).

Also, I know it's buried somewhere in this thread, but can you post Jakaena's spells in the Sticky thread? I just know her "protect" (Glittering Robes) spell off the top of my head.

So maybe the spellcasters should cast buff/debuff spells and see how it goes before making any movements? Guys?

 

[Spiderman]

Thanks.

So I would say have Jakaena cast Lightning Bolt on the Troll facing Rev.

 

[Oversoul]

Ooooh. I thought Tomas was primarily a spellcaster and thus not really suited for melee combat (probably old D&D bias).

It's all relative. Compared to Kelgar, Tomas has equal Weapon Skill, equal Strength, and equal Toughness, but Kelgar does wear armor. They both get 1D6 for damage on their attacks and they both have 2 Attacks, so most of the difference will be in their weapons. However, Kelgar's Ring of Command does boost his Strength if his to-hit roll is high, and on top of that all of his weapons are hammers, which also do more damage on high to-hit rolls, so their damage output is usually similar except Kelgar will randomly dish out more on some of his attacks. On the other hand, Tomas does get to use swords and some of those are magic weapons with potent advantages. I'd think overall the melee advantage against most monsters would be in Kelgar's favor, but it's not extreme.

My intuition is that compared to most other fantasy games I can think of, the Wizard in Warhammer Quest is a bit more capable of regular melee combat. We had a campaign many years ago where I took this to an extreme. My Wizard got gear from a retiring character, which let him complete his pair of the Gauntlets of Damzhar (which is why I did this when I saw that the treasure table happened to give you guys the one result that included both gauntlets) and gave him some other powerful melee boosts. He successfully took on powerful monsters by attacking them and then using his spells to protect himself from almost all retaliation. But even at level 1 with starting gear, a Wizard can fight a few of the starting orcs with his sword and probably win. Not gonna outperform the Dwarf or Barbarian of course, but not instantly doomed either.

Anyway, speaking as pseudo-Rokapoke here and strategizing on behalf of his character, I'd say that there are two important reasons (regardless of the relative difference in melee power) to keep Kelgar near the other fighters (be they front-line or rear-guard) and to insulate Tomas somewhat. Firstly, Kelgar's Ring of Jade is an inconsistent but powerful healing tool, and he can only use it on Warriors that are adjacent to him. Secondly, if Kelgar falls in combat, you do lose the damage output from his hammer and some incremental combat boosting and healing, but you can potentially save him with healing potion, item, or with a spell from Tomas. However, if Tomas falls in combat, you lose access to your Wizard. The Wizard's Power Store can act as (and I've been using it as) a bit of a "panic button" to cast an extra spell that could save a life or finish off a troublesome monster. His Hand of Death scroll is another, more drastic panic button.

Also, I know it's buried somewhere in this thread, but can you post Jakaena's spells in the Sticky thread? I just know her "protect" (Glittering Robes) spell off the top of my head.

Oops. Taken care of.

 

[Spiderman]

Another option would be to have Jekaena move to the right, have Kelgar wait, have Tomas wait for the troll to attack, then have Tomas try to break from pinning and let Kelgar charge in on the troll. A bit of a compromise that would give Kelgar one turn of protection and insurance against the vomit attack, but probably do some damage to Tomas. Just wanted to communicate what I notice from looking at the numbers, as it might be more clear to you if this were being done in a real tabletop environment.

I think I like this option, but I'll let the others chime in.

 

[turgy22]

Throg will fight the trolls.

Is it possible for Throg to acquire a vomit attack? The biting attack is okay, but sometimes it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[Melkor]

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play . . . by which I mean, Sigmar's light will smite these cursed beings and I will be it's vessel!

 

[TomB]

Ty will follow Dorgath's strategy and starting with the troll in front of Dorgath will attempt to spike-dance through the lot of them...

 

[Mooseman]

Carrow will target the trolls at the front of the party (in front of T and D)

 

[Oversoul]

-Ty becomes afraid of trolls. His attacks against them are at -1 to hit for the rest of combat.
-Ty swings his sword, but trembles in fear and just misses his target.
-Ty focuses and stabs a troll with his fist spike (24/30).
-Ty slashes, but falters again.
-Ty unleashes a battle cry and lands a flurry of blows with his knuckle-dusters (14/30).
-Ty trips over his own feet.
-Ty accidentally hugs a troll. It's not very effective.
-Ty feebly throws a knee. It doesn't connect.
-Ty falls on his butt.
-Tomas casts Glory! All Warriors get +1 Attacks this turn.
-Jekaena casts Lightning Bolt on the troll next to Revaethan (22/30).
-Kelgar fails to bless anything.
-Dorgath firebombs two of the trolls (26/30 & 18/30).
-Carrow becomes afraid of trolls. His attacks against them are at -1 to hit for the rest of combat.
-Carrow launches a fire arrow, but his aim is off.
-Carrow shoots the troll diagonally in front of Throg (27/30).
-Carrow shoots the same target (22/30).
-Carrow's shot sets the troll on fire (16/30).
-Revaethan uses his Woven Mist skill. This turn he trades his normal Move and Attacks for a combined 4 Move + Attacks.
-Revaethan chops a troll (12/30).
-Reveathan slices a troll (8/30).
-Revaethan loses his balance.
-Revaethan slashes, but his opponent lunges away.
-Revaethan swings, but the troll sidesteps his attack.
-Dorgath slams into a troll with a Great Axe Attack (1/30).
-Dorgath finishes off the troll in front of him.
-Dorgath's Deathblow misses its mark.
-Dorgath lands a Great Axe Attack on the troll in front of Throg (25/30).
-Dorgath kicks at his foe, but misses completely.
-Dorgath punches the troll in front of Throg (5/30).
-Dorgath throws a sloppy punch that somehow lands, finishing off the troll in front of Throg.
-Throg fails to hypnotize anything.
-Throg becomes afraid of trolls. His attacks against them are at -1 to hit for the rest of combat.
-Throg flings his Ice Missile, but loses his concentration because trolls are scary.
-Throg cuts the troll diagonally in front of him (14/30).
-Throg's nips at the troll with his Fangs (12/30)
-Throg hacks into the troll (7/30).
-Throg chops the troll, just finishing it off.
-Throg's Deathblow strikes the troll alongside him (23/30).
-Throg kicks, but fails to connect.
-Throg claws at a troll, but the monster holds him at bay.
-Throg tries to bite, but stumbles back.
-Ty charges in, slashing with his sword, to help with the troll that Throg is fighting (20/30).
-Ty shanks the monster with his fist spike (13/30).
-Ty balks at the scary troll.
-Then he stabs it again anyway (6/30).
-Ty gets turned around. Oops!
-Ty spontaneously leaps onto the troll's back and beats it to death. Wow.
-Ty's Fist Spike carries him into the space that his victim occupied.
-Ty swings his sword at the troll alongside Tomas, but hesitates just long enough for the troll to avoid his attack.
-Ty tries to throw a knee, but in his fear doesn't commit to the attack.
-Ty attempts a knee strike again, but it turns into more of a gut-check, which isn't helpful.
-Jekaena moves to make room for Kelgar.
-Revaethan's Belt of Ariel gives him +2 Toughness this turn.
-A troll swipes at Revaethan.
-Revaethan Dodges.
-A troll bashes Revaethan (13/18).
-A troll claws at Revaethan, but the wardancer evades it.
-A troll vomits all over Revaethan (9/18).
-A troll moves to attack Tomas, but gets something in its eye. Don't you hate it when that happens?
-A troll tries to clobber Tomas, but the wizard frantically backpedals out of range.
-A troll smashes Tomas (14/21).
-A toll fails to vomit.
-Jekaena casts Finger of Life on Revaethan (13/18).
-Tomas moves back, letting Kelgar take his spot.
-Kelgar charges in, but loses his grip on his hammer.
-Kelgar recovers and swings, but the troll lunges away.
-Kelgar's Ring of Command augments his Strength.
-Kelgar whacks a troll with his hammer (18/30).
-The troll alongside Revaethan regenerates (11/30).
-The troll alongside Kelgar regenerates (28/30).

Next turn...

-The Power Phase is 5.

 

[Spiderman]

"Jekaena, heal Rev!"

Well, that's a stroke of luck. Killed four trolls and didn't get vomited on! Woo!

Dorgath presses the attack with the one next to Kelgar and then the last one if that one falls by the time it gets to be his turn and/or he has more attacks left.