The Fellowship of Destiny was shattered by the Dread Wizard Wardoz. The sole survivor, Aerlin; managed to flee. Hope was not lost, as he and Mentor were able to gather a new band of heroes to fight the forces of Zargon. Hope was Reborn!
Hope Reborn was able to track down and gain vengeance for Aerlin's former friends. They assaulted the dread wizards lair; an abandoned Border Keep. Hope Reborn managed to face down and destroy Zargon's latest ally. It was a difficult battle. However, Lin-Min Maye was able to recover the Talisman of Lore from Wardoz's fiendish corpse.
Aerlin the Wizard was joined by his new companions. Rosemary the Fae-Druid. Barco Hamilcar, the cousin of the fallen Magos; and part of the famous Dwarven Hamilcaroid line of heroes and royalty. The final member was Barco's mentor and friend from the Temple of the Way; Lin-Min Maye.
Prince Magnus, via Sir Ragnar approached Mentor for aid. Balur the Fire Mage had been assisting the Darkfire Crag Orcs in their raids. With Hope Reborn's success against Wardoz, Prince Magnus was eager for them to put an end to the scourge of Balur as well. Mentor advised Aerlin that the Fire Mage was powerful, and immune to Fire Magics of all type. Despite this, Aerlin assured his master that his band of heroes was up to the task.
With the promise of 100 Gold Coins from the prince, Hope Reborn set-out on their journey to the Darkfire Crag in order to rid the land of yet another meddlesome wizard.
The Quest Continues....
Welcome back faithful readers. We are back on the Quest, and back on track with the Core quests after a short detour. Last time, we used a home brew solo-module I came up with in order to create a new adventure for a brand-new group of heroes. The method worked for the most part, and I was kept on my toes and unsure what I would face next. However, the game did lack a bit of the "killer Gotcha" of a regular Heroquest game. That was not to say it was easy though!
With Wardoz finished and a new group of Heroes formed, we are ready to get back to the Quest. This time, we are on Quest 8; The Fire Mage.
My band consists of Aerlin the Wizard, with the Earth, Air, and Fire spells he traditionally uses. His fire spells will be of no use against the Fire Mage himself. However, perhaps his minions will be just as vulnerable to them? He managed to maintain is Wizard Cloak and Staff. Next is Rosemary the Fae-Druid using her normal group of spells. She also managed to snag a Heroic Brew last quest. Then, there is the Dwarf Barco Hamilcar. He is equipped with a Hand Axe, a looted shield, and also a newly acquired Helmet; making him the party tank and trap export. Barco seems to have a patented method of disarming spear traps with his face! Finally, the group is rounded out by Lin-Min Maye of the Temple of the Way and keeper of the Talisman of Lore. She was a formidable fighter and slew many Undead abominations in the Border Keep.
With a little re-jiggering of the roster, I am back to using the App for play. Hopefully, I do not fall foul of more of Heroquest's tricks this time!
Into Darkfire Crag
Hope Reborn found their way into Darkfire Crag on the hunt for Balur the Fire Mage. They ran into Zombie guards patrolling the corridors and immediately ran into some trouble. Barco struggled to down a fiendish beast with his Hand Axe. It became a recurring issue in Darkfire Crag that the team did not have a strong heavy hitter against some of the more resilient foes of the dungeon.
It wasn’t long until our heroes got their first glimpse of their prey. After a long, trapped hallway they entered a room and laid eyes on Balur behind a screen of skeleton guards. The guards bogged down our heroes long enough for the Fire Mage to escape using his magic. His guards put up a tough fight but eventually were slain. Rosemary’s shapeshifter spell was soon spent for little reward. Lin Min-May needed to rest to recharge her abilities as well.
From there they delved deeper into Darkfire Crag. There were skeleton guards that Barco and Lin Min-May managed to handle. However, they were sorely pressed by more challenging foes. Abominations leapt out at them from hiding places unknown and they proved to be tough nuts to crack! Aerlin made good use of his fire spells against such foes.
Hope Reborn thought their efforts were in vain, as they had come to the end of the line. However, Rosemary was able to find a secret door when they went back and retraced their route. This led to the discovery of another. The tricky foes had hidden their true lair deep within the bowels of another. Devious, but Hope Reborn had discovered their secrets.
Barco proved much more skillful at finding and disarming traps. However, Rosemary acting as a scout did find a pit trap the hard way. Rosemary had been battered by traps and the undead but used her magic to restore herself.
Further exploration and Hope Reborn discovered Balur the Fire Mage in the central chamber. Lin Min-May wasted no time and charged straight in. She was a whirlwind of combat but was unable to down any of her foes. Balur returned her attack with a maniac Firestorm spell that torched many of his undead companions and looked like it would kill the Monk. However, she centered her Chi and used her Earth Elemental power to avoid injury. She was not out of the woods yet.
Rosmary transformed into her wolf form and tried to support her friend. However, her abilities were not enough to overcome a zombie blocking the room. From outside the room, Aerlin managed to use tempest to delay Balur from torching Lin Min-May. However, she also was unable to finish him.
Balur slung a fireball, but the Monk managed to successfully spell break it, barely staying alive. Barco slew the Zombie, and Aerlin rushed in and used a Genie spell to hit the Fire Mage. However, it was Lin Min-May herself who finally put paid to the evil wizard with a flurry of blows.
All seemed well, but an Abomination leapt from the shadows and attacked a weakened Lin Min-May. Thankfully, she dodged the attack and slipped away. Barco instead faced the beast with Rosemary’s aid. Exhaustion caused the battle to last longer than it should but a Healing Spell from Aerlin got Lin Min-May back into the fray. Eventually, teamwork slew the beast.
Unsatisfied with the loot they had discovered, and feeling semi-confident the group pressed onward. They would eventually find the Fire Mage’s orc allies and slay them as well. In the process, they discovered Balur’s Magic Wand which had made him so fearful on the battlefield and some of his loot.
After destroying all of the evil gang, Hope Reborn returned to the surface with Balur’s head as proof of their victory in Darkfire Crag. As promised, Prince Magnus rewarded them for their efforts. The trade routes around Darkfire Crag were now open once again.
Final Thoughts
This group of Heroes has some decent resilience thanks to the Monk's abilities and Rosemary and Aerlin’s healing spells. However, they really lack hitting power to take on the tougher foes, like abominations, mummies, and above. Someone needs a battle axe! However, the Dwarf made a good tank and trap repair man. The Monk killed a lot of skeletons and low-level foes. Aerlin’s spells were useful. Rosemary was a good scout and healer, even if her shapeshifting was less than spectacular.
Barco ended with a Potion of Strength, and Rosemary kept her Heroic Brew. Aerlin also got the Wand of Magic, and decided to not take other treasure in return. He is fairly well equipped with the Wizard Cloak, Wizard Staff, and now the Wand of Magic. Aerlin ended with another 50 gold, Rosemary 83, Barco 98 + 20 from before gave him 118, and Lin Min-Maye- 83 as well.
This dungeon proved a challenge for different reasons than the Keep on the Border of the Wild Lands had. Like I said, the method I developed to randomly build dungeons lacked some of the "killer instinct" of a regular HQ Quest. I was skeptical if Hope Reborn had the hitting power for higher level Quests and more difficult challenges. I guess we will find out!
Until next time!
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