Dungeon delving!

Saturday 5th April saw international tabletop day and (by a lucky coincidence) we had already organised a day of tabletop fun! So we went delving into the deadly dungeons of Descent 2nd edition and boy did we have some fun!

So we had planned to complete the intro and one act 1 quest but as it turns out once you know the rules you can crank through quite a lots of encounters! Here are the images of the  games:

Our story begins with two adventurers stumbling across an Ettin attack on the city of Arhrynn.

The Goblins rush towards the objective as Trenloe the Strong and Laurel of Bloodwood move to defeat Mauler the Ettin.

Only one Goblin reinforcement arrives per turn and Mauler is taking a beating...

...and sadly bites it due to not having any body guards. Quite the tactical error on his part, lets hope the Overlord learns from his mistake.

Having heard rumours of a diabolical Fat Goblin causing havoc in near by villages or intrepid heroes set out to investigate, only to find a hulking Giant blocking their way.

Some nimble side steps and a bullish determination allow Laurel to slip past the hulking beast and spot a  band of Goblins attempting to steal the villagers crops...

...two of the cowardly creatures flee with bundles of crops before finally dispatch the Goblins and save the remaining two bundles of crops. And just in time as the shadow of the slain Giants brother bears down upon them, swearing a blood oath to avenge the killing of kin!

The heroes follow the goblins back to their lair where they find out that  foul creature named Splig is interrogating prisoners from the village and who has grown even fatter thanks to the crops stolen by the Goblins. can the Heroes get to the prisoners in time before the Goblin gets what he wants?

Making short work of he cave spiders Trenloe prepares to delve deeper in to the lair when he hears triumphant squeals of delight as Splig uncovers the identity of Fredrick the Shadow Binder through the use of inhumane methods. Now they must stop him escaping with his prisoner. 

As the remaining horde defends upon the heroes Trenloe is knocked down and Splig makes a Dash for the exit, Laurel wounds the foul beast but his is near footsteps from his goal and only a final surge of willpower from Trenloe can save the day as he invokes his Oath of Honour to hurl himself at Splig and dispatch the corpulent cretin! Quest one to the Heroes!

Frederick joins the band of adventurers but due to the hideous torture he suffered has his grip on reality has slipped and know goes by the name Mad Carthos! As a powerful Runemaster his abilities will be needed as the party attempt to prevent a night raid on Castle Daerion. 

The first encounter in the heroes quest requires them to warn the occupants of the castle of the impending danger by lighting the four beacons as the monsters attempt to slay the four guards!

Unfortunately the combination of the demonically powered Sorcerers and their pet Shadow Dragon prove too much for the party and they only light two beacons before all the guards are slain (though Trenloe does manage to slay the Dragon a few times. With no warning of the impending attack Heroes fail in to protect Sir Palamon in their second encounter as the now much Zombified guards, an enraged Ettin and Sir Alric Farrow bludgeon him to death just as the heroes enter the fray.

Having survived the first close encounter with the Dragon hybrid Belthir at the boulder canyon by dodging marauding Meriods and venomous cave spiders, the heroes prepare to prove their vapour as Belthir attempts to kill the defenders of the high tower. Unfortunately for the half dragon he leaves himself exposed by standing next, instead of behind, his Elemental body guard, thus allowing the Heroes to dispatch him in their first attack! It took all theirs skill and feats of amazing heroics but the battle was won before the monsters could move a muscle!

So there we have it. the heroes took the first act 2-1. I had a great time being the Overlord as I could chop and change my monsters allowing me to feel responsible for the outcomes of the game rather than feeling stuck with monsters that I may have preferred to swap out. I'm also pretty confident that if I hadn't made such a simple blunder in the last encounter I would have had a great chance of giving the heroes a run for their money as my Giant (the brother of the slain one from encounter one of A Fat Goblin!) was more than capable of squashing the puny manlings! 

I also really enjoyed the way the introduction of Rich's character grew organically from the events of the game. It really added a sense of consequence to the game. I can't wait for May bank holiday weekend so we can continue the story!