Let's Play Warlord Ascendant 2e! The 12th Infernal Legion Part 3
The expansion of the 12th continues! Let’s start a new Management Phase.
Management Phase
- Management Phase Event A character that was supposed to fully recover this Campaign Turn has a turn for the worse and must spend an extra Campaign Turn in bed.
Nothing to see here. None of my characters were wounded.
From this point onward, we pay upkeep. I don’t have any income or Constructions in my stronghold yet, so I just have my units’ costs: 11. My Supplies are down to 27.
Now we manage characters. All those that have skills marked for improvement get their rolls.
Absalom: Close Combat increased by 3
Durvael: Presence increased by 3
Mahalat: Close Combat increased by 4!
Oboro: Resolve increased by 2
Awesome! Absalom accrued 4 experience, enough to get to Level 2. I’ll use my Fruit of Concentration (gives +1 XP) on Mahalat, getting her to Level 2 as well.
On a level up, characters acquire a new Combat Maneuver and 2 Development Points (DPs). They also get +1 Loyalty.
DPs can be spent in a variety of ways:
Some Feats cost more than 2 DPs, so the Points can be saved.
Absalom
Combat Maneuver: Cleave. As a Standard Action, the character strikes against two different enemy characters within melee range with a single swing of their weapon. Perform a single Close Combat check, if successful, both targets are struck automatically without being able to make a Defense check.
DPs: saving for next time.
Mahalat
Combat Maneuver: Target Weak Spot. As a Standard Action, the character makes an attack against an enemy. If successful, the attack automatically becomes a Critical Strike.
DPs: spent 2 on the Feat Accurate. When attacking, reduce the target’s Defense by -10.
Mahalat’s Feat will accumulate with the war pick’s property, making targets defend with -20!
Time to send my characters exploring again. I can also send one to the Monastery to get +1 XP, but I think I’ll just explore with everyone.
Exploration
Absalom
The character comes across the shell of an old military watchtower. It provides an excellent vantage point of the surrounding hexes. You can choose to spend 20 Supplies and 10 Construction Materials to rebuild it, creating a permanent Forward Post (see the Locations table).
I won’t do it now as that will leave me with only 7 Supplies, and I might struggle.
Durvael
Location: Mine. *After spending 20 Supplies in order to make it operational, a Mine grants 5 Supplies at the start of each Management Phase.*Location name: Silver CrossOccupied by: Bandits
Now this one is worth spending 20 Supplies on as soon as possible.
Mahalat
A massive, crystalline geode pulses with a faint inner light. The character can carefully harvest it for valuable crystal shards worth 50 Supplies, or attempt a Reason check to harness its energy, granting your Warband +1 Momentum Point for the next battle.
Ohhhh, damn! Yeah, I’ll extract the Supplies. 50 gets me a great cushion, leaving me with 77. I guess I can’t rebuild the watchtower now, though, right? Let’s do it next turn.
Kano
*The character is ambushed by bandits. They must pass a Defense check or be knocked out before they can do anything about it. If they pass the check the bandits quickly run away, not wanting to deal with the consequences. A failure means the character is robbed of all their gear.
*Defense check (40): 65, fail
This sucks! Kano loses his mace, the incredible War Ensign, and his hood. Feels sad.
Oboro
A grim tree from which several unfortunate souls are hanging. The character can search the area with a Reason check, revealing a small buried lockbox with 2D20 Supplies.
Reason check (10): 05, success!
2d20: 10
Total Supplies: 87
Insane roll. I was ready to bitch about how characters in the game have extremely low Reason and quite a few exploration events depend on it.
(Guess I’m bitching anyway)
All characters are done. Let’s do an Invasion check rolling a d10. On 7+, a Location under our control gets invaded (only the Monastery for now).
d10 Invasion check: 1, safe
Alright, we finally choose a Location to capture. There’s only the Mine at Silver Cross available, so let’s do it.
Combat Phase
Bandits sheet:
Fighting 6 of the bastards.
For my gear, Kano losing all his shit poses a problem. Luckily, I found a shortsword in the last battle. Unluckily, Grunts don’t have proficiency for it, so he would always attack with disadvantage.
My Twisted Soldiers do have proficiency for it though. And Grunts have for the war pick, so I’m giving the shortsword to Mahalat and the warpick to Kano. That should do until I find a town and can buy stuff.
The name Silver Cross made me get a map with a river. It’s really cool looking, but there’s water and a narrow bridge. Since the bandits have ranged attacks, they have an advantage here.
My Command Actions
Demonic Terror: The host howls and cackles, terrifying their opponents and forcing all enemy characters to make a Morale check.
Demonic Speed: During this round, Demonic Cohort characters increase their Speed by 3.
Relentless: You get a new turn this round, immediately after your first one.
I have the CA Low Light, which reduces ranged weapons’ reach by 3 squares. Bandits’ range is 12, and maps are 15x10, so I might be dumb, but I don’t see how that’s worth spending a Command Action.
I start south and enemies north. Luckily, the SP is near me.
Battle Event
Skull Knight. A mysterious figure has come to judge your actions. A warrior fully clad in heavy armor and donning a skull helmet has appeared atop a nearby hill and silently observes the battle. Characters on the winning side earn an extra 1 XP just for surviving, as they have been deemed worthy of the Skull Knight’s attention.
Awesome!
The battlefield:
Map by the great Silver Compass.
Bushes are half cover, and trees are full cover. Both are Difficult Terrain (except the ones on the road), and so is the water.
Note: I like using ‘open’ maps like fields, forests, and such, over ‘closed’ environments. This simply comes down to preference. For this Location, you could very well use the interior of a mine, for instance. I’m choosing to interpret the battle on the way to the mine, maybe in front of it.
I might use a closed one in the future for a change, though.
Round 1
Initiative: Bandits
3 of them move and attack. Kano and Absalom defend. The leader misses Mahalat (1 damage).
Kano moves to the SP. Absalom and Mahalat dash for cover.
Round 2
Initiative: Bandits
Bandits move. Leader gets on the bridge and hits Oboro (1 damage).
I use the CA Demonic Speed.
During this round, Demonic Cohort characters increase their Speed by 3.
Absalom, Mahalat, and Durvael can reach the Bandit Leader on the bridge. Oboro is right behind.
Mahalat
Ensure (+20, MP 4/5)Use Maneuver Target Weak Spot (if successful, the attack automatically becomes a Critical Strike).
Combat Skill (84) + d12: 77 + 11, crit and trait activated!
Leader Defense (50) + d12: 84 + 5Shortsword trait: If the attack hits, it deals an additional +1 Piercing damage.
With the crit, Mahalat deals 7 (base roll damage) + d6 + d4 (Twisted Soldier Ability) + 1 Piercing, and -2 from their Protection.
Total damage: 10
Monstrous hit from our MVP. And a waste of a Maneuver hahah, but it happens. This Leader is a tanky bastard though. Still 10 Vigour left.
I Ensure Durvael (MP 3/5) and use Target Weak Spot with him. He fumbles with a 100 and drops his weapon, granting the Leader an attack of opportunity (their Feature). He took 1 damage.
Absalom uses Battlecry (allies in a 3 square radius receive +10 to attack checks for the next 2 rounds). I should have activated him first to use it earlier, I’m now realizing. Ensure (MP 2/5). He hits for 3 damage.
I really wanna take this Leader down. I’m using the CA Relentless.
You get a new turn this round, immediately after your first one.
Let’s go again! Durvael picks up his weapon.
Oboro gets into the fray. The Grunt hits for 4 damage! His Trait reduces the Leader Defense by -5 until the next round. He uses the Maneuver Inspire (Free Action, ally in Line of Sight gains an activation) on Durvael.
Durvael is Fatigued.
That’s not a problem for him, though. This brilliant demon crit! Doubles only for Durvael this combat.
Leader’s Defensive Trait activated, but it doesn’t matter cause he’s dead (Durvael would be Frightened, attacking the Leader with Disadvantage). +2 XP for the battleaxe-wielding demon.
With the Leader dead, every enemy unit has to make a Morale check or become Broken.
A Morale check is done with a d20. A roll of 15+ is a success. Modifiers:
A successful resolve check adds +5 to the roll.
Each adjacent ally grants +1 to the roll.
The Leader and characters 2 squares from them are immune to Morale checks.
Enemies are in a cluster right above the bridge, so they all get +3 to the roll. Only Bandit E is alone.
Bandits B and E passed their Morale check. Bandits A, C, and D are Broken and run to the nearest border. A runs west. C and D go north and reach the border, fleeing combat.
This is all but won and absolutely nothing can go wrong.
I still have 6 Speed from the CA. Absalom charges Bandit A (Ensure, MP 1/5). He hits for 1 damage and knocks the Bandit Prone. Absalom resists Frightened.
Mahalat charges B and deals 2 damage.
Round 3
Initiative: Bandits
Bandit A passes the Morale check and is back in action. He gets up.
Bandit B hits Mahalat for 2 damage.
Bandit E moves down and hits Mahalat with a ranged attack for 1 damage. She takes 1 Piercing damage next turn.
My turn. Everyone misses (Bandits A and B crit defend!). Oboro deals 1 damage to B.
Round 4
Mahalat takes 1 Piercing damage.
Initiative: Mine
Absalom attacks Bandit A.
What a defense, huh? Jfc.
Durvael hits B for 2 damage, Mahalat for 1, and Oboro misses. Durvael and Oboro are Flanking Bandit B. He’s also Overwhelmed (engaged by 3 characters, -20 Defense).
Bandit A hits Absalom for 1 damage. Bandit E charges and Flanks Absalom, dealing 4 damage after he fumbles defense. Mahalt crit defends an attack from Bandit B.
Round 5
Initiative: Bandits
A deals 4 damage to Absalom. E and B miss.
Ok, this is getting dangerous. Absalom needs more armor.
I Ensure (MP 0/5) and use his Maneuver Cleave.
As a Standard Action, the character strikes against two different enemy characters within melee range with a single swing of their weapon. Perform a single Close Combat check, if successful, both targets are struck automatically without being able to make a Defense check.
And he misses with a 94. Fuck.
Durvael deals 1 dmg but is Frightened for 1 round. Mahalat misses, Oboro deals 1.
This wave of bad rolls is insane.
Round 6
Initiative: Mine
Absalom hits with a roll of 06. Now, should that damage be 0 (minimum of 1) or 10? I think it would be cool to turn that into a 10. Could also be potentially dangerous when enemies do it.
My reasoning is: it’s hard to hit rolling under 10 because it’s easier for the other roll to be higher. However, this goes a little against the logic that higher skill value = higher damage potential. I’ll consider it 0 (1 damage) for now and think about it.
Bandit A takes 1 damage. Mahalat deals 4 damage (1 Piercing), the others miss.
Bandit E deals 4 damage to Absalom. The others miss.
Round 7
Bandit B takes 1 Piercing damage.
Initiative: Mine
Absalom: 1 damage to Bandit A. Frightened for 1 round.
Durvael: 1 damage to B.
Mahalat: kills Bandit B. +1 XP.
This triggers a Morale check for Bandit E (ally downed within 2 squares). He fails and Breaks. He successfully disengages (Absalom fumbled Agility) and runs west. Only 1 square as it’s Difficult Terrain.
Oboro: charges Bandit E, 1 damage. Frightened for 3 rounds.
Now 1 enemy will act twice in a turn (becoming Fatigued).
Bandit A: 1 damage to Absalom. Misses second attack.
Bandit E: Morale successful, recovers. Misses Oboro. Oboro’s Defensive Trait activates (Advantage on Reason and Resolve until next round).
Round 8
Initiative: Mine
Durvael: Flanks E, misses.
Oboro: Misses E.
Mahalat: Misses E.
Absalom: Misses A.
Bandit A: Misses Absalom twice.
Bandit E: 1 damage to Durvael.
Round 9
Initiative: Mine
Durvael: fumbles against Bandit A (weapon dropped).
Absalom: 1 damage to A.
Oboro: 1 damage to E.
Mahalat: 3 damage to E. Frightened for 1 round.
Bandit A: 2 damage to Absalom.
Bandit E: misses twice, Fatigued.
Round 10
Initiative: Mine
Durvael: picks up weapon.
Absalom: 1 damage to E, knocks him Prone.
Oboro: 2 damage to E. Trait reduces his Defense by -5.
Mahalat: Resolve check successful, no longer Frightened. 4 damage to E.
I’m using the CA Demonic Terror.
The host howls and cackles, terrifying their opponents and forcing all enemy characters to make a Morale check.
Bandits A and E are Broken! A provides attacks of opportunity, but manages to flee the battlefield. E successfully disengages and runs west.
Round 11
Initiative: Bandits
Bandit E fails the Morale check and flees the battlefield.
Combat is over and the day is ours! The 12th Infernal Legion captures the Mine in Silver Cross. Every unit gains +1 Loyalty and +2 XP!
Loot
D10 Supplies: 9 D6 Construction Materials: 6
Awesome!
Spoils of War x3
- Small shield (Trait: if Defense check fails, the shield can be sacrificed to ignore all damage received.)
- Essence of the Bear (Consumable. For the duration of a single battle, the imbiber’s Athletics Skill is increased by +10.)
- Snake Blood (Consumable. The imbiber becomes permanently immune to the Poisoned Condition. If already suffering from the effects of Poisoned, the Condition is removed.)
Ok, Snake Blood is pretty damn cool. Permanently immune? Hell yeah!
Current map:
This battle was WAY harder than I expected. Bandits are a tough bunch, with a lot of armor. I mostly dealt 1 damage at a time, and got really lucky dispatching the Leader early on and having a few of them escape. I don’t know how it would go against the full warband.
I had some terrible rolls, too, so that didn’t help.
Luckily I saved Demonic Terror and made good use of it. Absalom got too close to kicking it. I need to get him some armor ASAP.
I think I have to lean more into getting enemies Broken. Something to consider.
That’s it for today. Enjoy Absalom’s journal.
Absalom’s journal
The exploration and expansion of the 12th progresses steadily. I have found an abandoned watchtower that shall give me a bird’s eye view of the region. I have no doubt that it will reveal new prospects for the Legion.
Kano the Imbecile was ambushed by bandits and robbed of all his gear. I could hardly believe this pitiful display of incompetence. No one expects much from him, but even resignation has its limits. This soured my mood for the day, and the fierce lashing I administered did nothing to improve it.
Even a good prank from Durvael did not help. It consisted of concealing small blades in Kano’s rations to see how he would digest and eventually excrete them. I laughed at his despair, profuse sweating, and screams, of course, like anyone would, but I remained brooding.
We tracked the bandits to a silver mine somewhere called Silver Cross. We expected another monastery or some sort of sacred place, but it was merely a river crossing.
They tried to get us from afar using long-distance weapons that we cannot grasp how to use. I’ve tried, but I’m terrible with them. Even Oboro, who is usually handy with crafting, just drools and injures himself in the attempt. It gets harder to adapt to new technologies with age, and I guess my centuries are beginning to show.
The bandits believed the distance equaled safety. They clearly never faced demons before. In a confrontation, distance is but a thought away for us.
Kano, leaking blood down his legs and limping, stayed behind at my command, analyzing their movements and giving the Legion a tactical advantage.
They broke quickly after their leader fell. Mortals seem to cling to structure in all things, from their bodies to their society, from their planning to their work.
However, a few proved stubbornly resilient. Victory came incrementally, one drop of blood at a time. A tedious affair.
We never found Kano’s stolen gear.
I came closer to death than I would have liked as I keep forgetting the limits of this mortal form. I will correct this weakness at the earliest.
Regardless, we broke them. Even when steel isn’t enough, the 12th Infernal Legion’s menace, ruthlessness, and dread will inevitably carry us to victory.
We shall prevail.
If you want to use those character sheets, grab them here (File > Make a copy).
Warlord Ascendant 2e is available on Itch, DTRPG, Amazon as POD, and the Blackoath website.