Treasure Hunters of Charlemagne

The latest adventure from Ganesha Games in the Four Against Darkness (4AD) series is Treasure Hunters of Charlemagne. I wrote this supplement, and thought it might be a good idea to say a little about it...

From cover to cover, it is 44 pages, and requires two of the core books to play, the original Four Against Darkness and Four Against the Abyss, written by Andrea Sfiligoi. The reason is that the party starts at 5th level, so all the rules in Four Against the Abyss come into play, such as expert skills, madness, lycanthropy, hirelings etc. I really love the additional things Four Against the Abyss brings to 4AD, and this adventure has been developed with those rules in mind.

Treasure Hunters of Charlemagne is set in Europe in the late 8th Century. You use a party of 4 characters which can be of any class, except for elves, dwarves and halflings. Despite being in a real world setting, it is outright fantasy, so you still have wizards with all their spells, clerics, barbarians, rogues, warriors and swashbucklers.

Inspiration is drawn from mythology of the time and works such as chanson de geste. The world is full of mythical beasts, enchanters, and magic items. It is also full of deceit and intrigue, some of which makes its way into this adventure.

The game takes place on a map of Europe. You decide which areas to travel to. Each area has its own fixed encounter and background, so you have a lot of control in the path taken and developing the unfolding story. The campaign is not meant to be scripted, there is no one correct answer. Many different paths that can be taken to achieve the end goal.

Random encounters happen as the party travels around Europe from place to place, from things jumping out of forests and mountains, to bustling towns. The game is meant to play like an "edited highlights reel", where sometimes you travel without incident, at others all manner of things start to go wrong.

Towns are very important, it is here where a party gets to recover and engage in other activities; there might be a jousting tourney for warriors, thieving opportunities for rogues, wizards might try to track down ancient books for spells and clerics pray in a monastery. You might also bump into interesting people and hire some help. Things can also go terrible wrong here, such as characters getting into drunken brawls and even be arrested.

Another aspect I wanted to model was party unity, or fellowship. Unlike a one-off dungeon bash, here the game could represent many months of travel, so keeping the party motivated becomes an issue. The party will face tests of its fellowship, that could see a character storm off!

The ultimate aim is for the party to find clues, survive all the various challenges, including political and other intrigues that may be thrown its way to recover the spear of destiny and deliver it to Charlemagne. No doubt that once this happens, new chapters will be added to the chanson de geste!

Knight of Destiny

The latest offering from Ganesha Games in the Four Against Darkness (4AD) series is The Knight of Destiny. I actually wrote this supplement, so will try not to wax lyrical about it too much...

Some background first. 4AD is a solo RPG game created by Andrea Sfiligoi, where the player controls a party of four characters that move through a randomly generated dungeon. Since its initial release, a number of supplements have come out. First was Caves of the Kobold Slave Masters, and then Dark Waters, both of which will kick off first level parties through to the third level. The next release was The Three Rings, which is for third to fifth level characters, so a logical progression for parties that moved through one of the previous supplements. Though the 4AD base game itself can be applied to any world or background, the supplements have theming, being set in the world of Norindaal, which is the official world of Song of Blades and Heroes.

The Knight of Destiny applies the game system to a medieval Arthurian world, where a single character (a starting 3rd level paladin) heads out from Camelot on a quest for the grail. It is set in the outdoors, so there is no dungeon generation or map making. The main inspirations are Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, the John Boorman's 1981 Excalibur film, and even a good dose of Chaucer's Pardoners Tale!

During the adventure, the paladin will come across a whole menagerie of creatures and characters, some benign, others not so. An important concept in the game are inns, it is here where the paladin can rest and listen out for rumors to help in the quest. Retainers can also be hired at inns; they will bring with them various skills (that the paladin does not have) to help on the quest. Another key concept is piety; at various points in the game, the paladin will have to make life threatening or moral decisions to succeed, as only the most righteous can find the grail.

While the paladin is busy questing, a larger story develops in the background where the evil and traitorous forces led by Morgana and Mordred will grow in power and try to defeat King Arthur. There is a role reversal for the player here, as the paladin can shift from being the hunter to the hunted, as increasingly powerful knights (bosses) will try to stop the grail from being found.

My aim was for The Knight of Destiny to provide a solid challenge, and be random enough for it to give a different game/experience every time it is played. My success rate in playing is somewhere below 50% - so finding and returning the grail to Camelot is not that easy! The randomness is brought about by a number of tables, similar to the 4AD base game approach where there is no scripting.

Anyway, I hope this a good addition to the 4AD family, taking the system into a semi-historical / mythological background.

Review of Dark Waters (No Spoilers)

Having just downloaded Dark Waters, the next supplement to Ganesha's Four Against Darkness (4AD), I was keen to give it a play.

4AD is a solo pen and paper RPG, which tries to capture the classic feel of the dungeon bash. The game has a lot of replay-ability as dungeons and monsters are randomly generated. One "scripted" supplement has already come out, Caves of the Kobold Slave Masters (CotKSM), which follows a set theme with a background plot.

Dark Waters is second supplement to come out, and like CotKSM, has a scripted background plot and a strong sea-faring/swashbuckler theme. It also introduces an entirely new character class - the Swashbuckler, a sort of fighter with some thematic abilities suiting the class.

The first part of Dark Waters is similar to the first part of CotKSM, in that there is an already generated map with it's own set of bosses and minions. One major difference is that the party can choose from two separate narratives to start with, each with it's own benefits and outcomes (what these are is not known before the choice is made).

So I created the following 1st level party to venture through the first section;

• A Swashbuckler (Jacabo)
• A Wizard (Balthazar)
• A Cleric (Ethelred)
• A Dwarf (Thorgrim)

It is hard to write about what happened without giving away spoilers, but it felt more difficult for a 1st level party than the core 4AD. A lot can go wrong, some of the situations and bosses were challenging. Though no-one was lost, Balthazar (the Wizard) and Ethelred (the Cleric) came close. They all got to level up, but had to spend most of their treasure to remove certain conditions that happened to them. There are things that can happen to characters that seems quite bad at the time, but can end up being a cool (and really pirate thematic) character effect.

The second section is in the dungeon crawl format of 4AD. It is thematically tied into the world of Norindaal, and is the exploration of a sunken temple somewhere near Atlis, with its corresponding sea creatures. There are new tables for the various monsters, events, treasures, features and other things. During the game I rolled up 21 rooms before completing. After running into a lot of the different minions and vermin, I found that the attack abilities of the monsters in this adventure probably favours a different party/character mix than what works in 4AD. This is good, as what works in one game should not necessarily work as well in another.

In the end, more through good luck then good management, the party survived intact. One thing I did (hopefully correctly) was that I found 3 clues, and used them on the "weakness of a monster" ability, which can make all attacks on the final boss at +2. Clues are one of the great things in 4AD, and give some extra narrative. I just need to think up something creative as to what the clues could represent :) Ultimately, Jacabo and Thorgrim ended up on level 4 each, while Ethelred and Balthazar ended up on level 3 each. There was a fair bit of cash and magic items at the end, as the intrepid party awaits it's next adventure.

One feature of Dark Waters was that some campaign benefits are bestowed upon the party. How these can come into play are probably up to the players imagination and forthcoming supplements.

Overall, there is a lot of bang for your buck here. For the price of a few dollars, there is at least 2 hours plus of entertainment. The new swashbuckler character class also looks quite usable outside of Dark Waters.

Battlesworn Star Wars Solitaire: Playthrough

Using the scenario from the previous post, below is the description of the solo playthrough. All bids (initiative, shooting, combat etc) for the smuggler side were generated by the solo bidding charts. Please note that this is not a review as I was involved with proof-reading and some editing of Knights and Knaves.

As the main objective is to enter the building and destroy the plans, the main Imperial tactic will be to bid high initially in an attempt to get as many figures as possible through the crystal fields, bypass the thugs, and try to enter the building. As the AI will generally bid lower from turn 7 onwards (and an action is needed to enter the building), at least one Imperial model should really try to be in there by turn 6. This should also give extra time for the search. The Imperials also need to deal with the bounty hunter, who is a major threat.

Here is the ground level view of the deployment. Stormtroopers are to the front so that both Sith are not closest enemy;

Turn 1
Imperial Initiative Bid: 6
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 3

As the smugglers have initiative, and Vader is in LOS of the bounty hunter, he uses the sniper ability (does not have to shoot at closest enemy) against Vader. Vader bids 4, the bounty hunter bids 2, so there is no dodge attempt. Rolling 3 dice (2 bid +1 for ranger vs preferred target) the wound roll is 6,6,4 - two hits. Vader expends the talisman and blocks the shot (AKA calls upon the force). Two thugs then shoot at the stormtroopers in the open, both missing, with the return shots missing as well. A lot of shooting so far. With the reaction moves, the apprentice, a stormtrooper and the speeder move forward. If not for the thug in the way, the speeder could have moved through the crystal field. This is the situation at the end of the turn;

Turn 2
Imperial Initiative Bid: 6
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 2

This is a good bid result for the Imperials, as they can do a lot more moving. With the initiative, a Gamorrean charges the stormtrooper (who was moved up as a blocker), and the bounty hunter shoots at the sith apprentice. The apprentice bids 4, the bounty hunter 6. The apprentice failed the dodge roll. The bounty hunter then rolls (7 dice) 6,6,5,4,4,4,1. for two hits. The apprentice also plays the talisman, using the force to block the shot. Both talismans are now gone, but have certainly paid for themselves. Now the speeder moves to be just outside the building, the apprentice moves into a position to charge the bounty hunter, Vader moves to the road and a stormtrooper moves forward out of cover at the rear. In the fight, both the stormtrooper and Gamorrean bid 5, so a non-event, but good for the stormtrooper. Things are looking really positive for the Imperials. The situation at the end of the turn is;

Turn 3
Imperial Initiative Bid: 3
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 6

I thought at this point the Imperials should go on the offensive and try to win the initiative, bidding 3. The smugglers bid 6 (maybe the AI disconcertingly thought I was going to bid 6 again....?). The apprentice charged the bounty hunter who reaction shot back. The apprentice bid 3 and the bounty hunter bid 5, Again, the apprentice failed to dodge, but the bounty hunter clean missed with a 6,5,4,4,1,1 roll on 6 dice (including the ranger bonus). Vader then charged Lando (thinking this will be an easy fight). Even though Lando could have reaction shot back, the pistol was more valuable in melee with a +2 dice bonus (rather than +1 for distance shooting). Instead a thug did a reaction shot on Vader. Vader bid 3, the thug 6. Vader failed to dodge, and the thug rolled 6,5,3,3,2,1 - against a monk a miss as 2's count as 1's (otherwise would have been 1 wound), so Vader gets through unscathed. The speeder made a move for the building but was reaction charged by the second Gamorrean. In the fight, the speeder bid 6, and the Gamorrean bid 5, with both missing with their subsequent rolls. The apprentice bid 6 and the bounty hunter bid 2. With his 3 dice (+1 ranger bonus) the bounty hunter rolled 5,5,2 for 2 hits. The apprentice (now on condition yellow) rolled 5,4,3,3,1,1 for no hits. Not good. Vader bid 6 and Lando bid 4. Lando rolled (6 dice with +2 pistol bonus) 6,5,5,4,3,2 for 3 hits. Vader rolled 6,5,5,3,3,2 for 3 hits. Both Vader and Lando on condition red. Not good. The stormtrooper bid 5 and the Gamorrean 3. The Gamorrean striking first rolled 6,6,4 - as the stormtrooper had only one life point he was killed. Not good. The situation at the end of turn 3;

Turn 4

Imperial Initiative Bid: 6
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 5

I bid high again so as to call up the rest of the stormtroopers and get reserves into the battle. I was anticipating the AI to bid low. The smuggler bid of 5 was completely unexpected and perfect at foiling this plan... The freed up Gamorrean charged Vader. With the other 4 actions, the smugglers tried to shoot up the stormtroopers. There was a lot of shooting, as the stormtroopers could return fire. After 4 shots on the 3 stormtroopers, there were 2 dodges but one stormtrooper who was in the open was killed. The remaining two stormtroopers returned fire but missed. With only one reaction for the Imperials, it had to be used to save Vader. Using the Monk break-off ability, he slipped out of the combat and into the crystal field. The fight between the apprentice and the bounty hunter was a draw with a bid of 5 each, and the speeder vs the Gamorrean was drawn with bids of 6 each. The early progress made by the Imperials has come to a standstill. The situation at the end of the turn is below;

Turn 5
Imperial Initiative Bid: 3
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 5

A good initiative result to get things moving again. Vader moved through to the other side of the crystal field. A thug did a reaction shot. Vader bid 3, the thug bid 6. Vader failed the dodge (not sure why he can't dodge!), and the thug's wounding roll was 6,5,3,3,2,1. Normally this would have done one wound (and take out Vader with one life left), but the Monk ability turned it into a zero result. The remaining two moves were to make the stormtroopers move forward as reinforcements. They are desperately needed to peel away Lando and the Gamorrean! One of them took a reaction shot, the stormtrooper bid 3, the thug 2. The thug rolled a double 6 killing the stormtrooper. There goes the reinforcements.... In the melees, the apprentice and bounty hunter drew yet again, with both bidding 5. The speeder bid 5 and the Gamorrean bid 6. The speeder cut through for 3 hits (6,5,5,2) bringing the Gamorrean to red condition, whose 6 dice strike back was 6,6,5,4,2,1, bringing the speeder to yellow condition. The position at the end of the turn was;

Turn 6

Imperial Initiative Bid: 2
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 3

I wanted to win initiative and luckily did so, with the AI getting only one reaction.  The apprentice used the Monk ability to break off from the bounty hunter, and move out of the crystal fields towards the building. This used up the one smuggler reaction move - the Gamorrean next to Lando made reaction charge back. The speeder was now free to get into the building, and use the cavalry ability to break off melee (he could have done it anyway with his opponent on red condition). The fight between the apprentice and Gamorrean was another draw with both bidding 5. I forgot to take a picture at the end of this turn, but the main thing was the Imperials finally got into the building.

Turn 7
Imperial Initiative Bid: 2
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 4

Just needed the two actions here - one for the search roll, the other to break off the apprentice from his second combat. The apprentice moved towards the building and was reaction charged by the Gamorrean in red condition. Now for the search roll (drum roll...), a 2, so nothing found yet, but a +1 modifier for next turn. The most logical reaction move for the smugglers now seemed to be moving the bounty hunter towards Vader and box him in. I hadn't really seen this possibility when I broke the apprentice off from the bounty hunter originally, as I was focused at getting into the building instead. Not seeing moves that far in advance is why I don't play chess. In the one fight, the apprentice bid 3 and the Gamorrean 5. With the 3 dice the apprentice finally did something nasty and killed the Gamorrean (6,4,2) - two hits, but only one was needed. The situation at the end of turn 7 was;

Turn 8
Imperial Initiative Bid: 3
Smuggler Initiative Bid: 5

This first thing was to move the apprentice into the building (now a +2 search modifier). With the 2nd action, I decided to get Vader away, and moved him into the crystal field - this turned out to be a bad decision (a really bad decision). The thug did a reaction shot. Vader bid 3, the thug 6. Vader failed to dodge yet again. The wound roll was 6,5,5,3,3,2. Two wounds on Vader, and he was down. Now the search for the 3rd action (drum roll....), a 3 (with the +2) modified to 5, another failed search. With the remaining reaction, Lando simply reloaded his pistol as the final scene (I couldn't think of anything else to do with the game over, and this seemed the most cinematic...). The Imperials lost with Vader taken. The situation at the end was;

Thoughts

In hindsight, I made the wrong moves with Vader. He should have gone for the bounty hunter at the start instead of the apprentice - and then try to get him into the building ASAP and out of harms way. And when I broke Vader off, he should have tried to leave the field rather than hang around. At the end, I should have used paralysis (force choke) on the bounty hunter rather than try to run away at that stage, or just do nothing so that there could be no reaction shooting on him. The other alternative was to do a different opening and use stormtroopers at the start, using them as blockers to draw off the building defenders. Not sure. The game seemed to slip away from the Imperials, but was still winnable at the end.

The Talismans proved to be good value, but unfortunately, used up to soon due to some lucky shooting from the bounty hunter - Vader could have used it at the end. The tricksy break-off from melee that monks have was good as well, allowing the apprentice to bounce through a few enemy to get a run into the building. The one Monk ability I should have used but didn't was the dice flip when defending against shooting.

The initiative bids from the AI were higher than I expected, but it worked out for the smugglers as it gave them a lot of reaction shots and charges. I was using the second row on the initiative bid table (where there are 2 or more unengaged shooters) which does give an increased chance for higher bids. This is also the first game I had where there were no tied bids, so didn't get to see my attempt at a modified version of the escalation rule come into play...

Battlesworn Star Wars Solitaire: The Scenario

After having played a few "Star Wars" genre games using Battlesworn, I thought the rules worked quite well. Some of the new classes in Knights and Knaves have added enough dimension to use characters like Sith/Jedi (Monks) and Bounty Hunters (Rangers), and skilled users of heavy blaster pistols (Pistoleers). There is also scope to thematically use Talismans (force powers) and Magic Weapons (high tech).

Background and Victory Conditions
Smugglers lead by Lando Calrissian have stolen some top secret plans and are preparing to upload them to their employer. The Empire has found out where the smugglers are, and a small raiding party lead by Darth Vader has landed to find and destroy the plans, which are hidden in an old mining building. The smugglers had advance warning of the landing party and quickly set up in defensive positions. The empire wins if the plans are found and destroyed by turn 10 (or 11 depending on whether the game extends). It is assumed that they will be uploaded by this time. However, the empire automatically loses if Darth Vader dies. As usual, if one side has more dead than living before the end of the game, the other side wins. The player controls the empire forces, and the solitaire charts/priorities control the smugglers. Victory is determined at the end of a turn (not during).

The Old Mining Building
The building can be entered from any side, but it takes an action point (not a reaction point) to do so. One model can then use an action or reaction dice to conduct a search. On a 6, the plans are found and destroyed. There is a +1 bonus for each friend in the building. In addition, for each attempt after the first search, +1 is cumulatively added to the roll. Smuggler models cannot enter the building, and models in the building cannot fight or shoot.

Shooter/Rabble
Given the more shooty nature of sci-fi, for this scenario the compulsory 4 fighters are replaced by Shooter/Rabble (1 slot cost). There is no limit on shooter slots. Shooter/Rabble are shooters, but they;
(1) are killed with a single point of damage (as rabble),
(2) are only worth 1/3rd of a figure when killed (as rabble), and
(3) can only charge or intercept models that are rabble or in yellow/red condition.
(4) cannot bid 6 or 1 in close combat (treat as if in condition red for close combat only).

The Escalation Rule (Firefight)
For this scenario, I thought it is better if the escalation does not have a melee focus. On a tied initiative bid, instead of charging, a model will shoot at the closest enemy (select eligible shooters closest to enemy first). Snipers must also shoot at the closest enemy. Any shooters targeted will return fire per the normal rules. In subsequent tied bids, instead of bonus dice in combat, an additional shooter will shoot, increasing in number with each tied bid. Shooters selected must have a loaded weapon and must not have fired (or returned fire) in the current escalation turn.

NPC Priority
The main (scenario specific) priority for the the smugglers is to charge, counter-charge, shoot or reaction shoot at Imperial models that have moved into, are are in a position to enter the building. The bounty hunter will also target Darth Vader where possible. Lando will try to save his shot for something other than a shooter/rabble.

The Smugglers
From left to right: 1 x Lando Calrissian with blaster (Rogue/Pistoleer**), 1 x Mandalorian Bounty Hunter (Sniper/Ranger* plus Magic Ranged Weapon), 2 x Gamorrean Mercenaries (Fighter), 5 x Thugs (Shooter/Rabble). This gives 9 figures for the 12 slots. *For this scenario, the bounty hunter's Ranger skill treats the crystal fields as terrain that can be ignored, and the preferred target is Monks (he is a Jedi/Sith hunter). The Magic Ranged Weapon, for the cost of one slot, simulates the bounty hunter's modified EE-3 carbine. ** Lando's Pistoleer class nullifies a Monk's "Deflect Missiles" ability, and the Talisman cannot be used against it.

The Imperial Raiders
From left to right: 1 x Darth Vader (Monk/Warmage*/Brute), 1 x Sith Apprentice (Monk/Brute), 1 x Veteran Trooper on Speeder (Cavalry), 4 x Stormtroopers (Shooter/Rabble). This gives 7 figures for the 12 slots, a small force. *Darth Vader has the paralysis spell which represents the "force choke". Having the Sith as a Monk/Brute multiclass simulates light sabers that can deflect most missiles (Monk ability), and do more damage in close combat (Brute ability). Both Darth Vader and the Sith Apprentice have Talismans Against Arrows for the cost of one slot, which gives them a one off save against a ranged attack from a Sniper or Shooter. Thematically, this would simulate using the force to stop a laser beam (such as happened in the Force Awakens film).

The Board and Deployment
Below is a 90cm x 90cm table (3' x 3'). The water feature is impassable. The felt patches on the purple crystal field and the weird plant field denote a change of terrain for movement purposes, but only the actual crystals or plants block LOS or offer cover. The hill blocks LOS and also is a change of terrain. The road is a change of terrain, but only once - a figure stops of entering the road, but not when entering new terrain on leaving it. The building is shown on the bottom left hand corner.

With the two sides now deployed, ready for action, and pimped out with Knights and Knaves accoutrements, my next post will be a report on how the fight went.