Let's Play Warlord Ascendant 2e! The 12th Infernal Legion Part 6
Welcome back, infernal denizen. Let’s continue our exile into No Man’s Land.
Management Phase
Management Phase Event
A random Warband member comes down with some kind of pestilence. They must skip the next Battle Phase.
d4: 3 = Kano
I hate when this happens to characters. I’m down 2 members now. Kano can still explore, so at least that’s something.
Upkeep Payment
13 (units) - 5 (Mine) = 8 Supplies paid, down to 108.
Warband improvement
Absalom is now level 3.
Combat Maneuver: Disable Armor. As a Standard Action, the character makes a Close Combat check against a target in range. If successful, the target’s Defense is reduced by -20 permanently.
DPs: Strategist (Leader only, 3 DP). You can bring one more Command Action to battle.
We’re cooking. I gave him the Veilpiercer trinket, which basically increases his Vigor by 5. Really awesome.
Kano is level 3 as well.
Combat Maneuver: Vicious. If your attack hits, the target suffers the Bleeding (1) Condition.
Saving his DPs.
Stronghold Management
We finally have enough Supplies and Materials to build something. Each building has an upkeep of 2.
The first construction is going to be Barracks, which allows us to recruit new units in Towns!
Cost: 80x Supplies, 20x Construction Materials
Constructing the Barracks is a prerequisite for recruiting new characters. It provides the necessary space and facilities for your Warband to grow. This building has enough room for 8 characters.
Supplies down to 28, Materials to 8.
Town Management: Winterbury
Town Event
Strange Rumors. Tales of monsters in the nearby wilds or a haunting in the town itself are spreading fear. If Order is 3 or lower, Discontent increases by +1.
Order in Winterbury is 4! Nothing to see here.
Upkeep: Paid 10 Supplies, received 10 plus 5 Materials.
I’m going to try to buy a mace for Kano (so he can use it next turn, unfortunately).
We have to make an availability check for the item we want to purchase.
As you can see, the mace’s availability is 5. We roll a d6. If the result is equal to or lower than the item’s availability, we find it in stock. Only one unit of each item can be purchased per Phase.
d6 (5): 2
Great, I’ll take it. I also want a light armor for him.
d6 (5): 5
Whew. Supplies down to 18.
It’s been a while since I posted my warband sheet, so here it is.
Let’s try recruiting now. We have to assign a character to do it, and that’s their action for the Phase. I’m sending Oboro.
d20: 13 = Recruit.
Yeah, I’ll take it. She’s Vordana, a grunt that fled Lilith’s ruthless reign.
Grunts for the Demonic Cohort warband cost 5 Supplies. Down to 13.
In RAW, all new units join at level 1. I houserule that new recruits join at the current Warband Level, so Vordana starts at level 2. Another houserule I have is that characters get +1 XP for every level an enemy they kill has above their own. Enemies don’t have levels, but they scale to the Warband Level. So if my Warband Level is 5, I treat enemies as level 5 for that. That makes it faster to train characters that I haven’t been using.
New characters also come with a random weapon and armor. I roll these according to the unit’s proficiency. Vordana came with a maul and a small shield.
Civic Project
Reinforce Order with Absalom.
Presence check (70): 80, fail!
Oof.
Exploration
Forward Post
Location: Chirurgeon Camp. A single character per Chirurgeon Camp under your control receives +2 to all rolls on the Recovery table (page 94).
Location name: Rabenfeld Dale
Occupied by: Bandits
Durvael
Tucked away in a hollow log is a waterproof leather satchel containing rare inks and quality parchment, worth 30 Supplies to the right buyer.
Good, I need it.
Kano
A Location of interest.
Monastery: During the Management Phase, you can send a character here to study, granting them +1 XP. Only one character can be sent to study per Monastery.
Location name: Orblanc’s Castle
Occupied by: Bandits
Vordana
Tucked away in a hollow log is a waterproof leather satchel containing rare inks and quality parchment, worth 30 Supplies to the right buyer.
Lol, what the hell? This is great.
Invasion Check
D10: 4, safe!
And with that, I’m attacking the Chirurgeon Camp.
Combat Phase
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.
Corrupted: Pick a friendly character. Their body is ravaged by corruption, causing all opponents to be Frightened of this character for the remainder of the battle.
Battle Event
Gear Cache. There’s a chest full of potentially useful gear in the battlefield. To find where it’s located, put a marker in the center of the battlefield and then move it D6+1 squares in a random direction. A character must spend an action and pass an Athletics check to open it. Once open, roll on the Spoils of War table (page 180).
We both start in the north. Not that bad, since they have ranged attacks and I can close the distance quicker. Gear cache is far, so let’s see if I can reach it. At least the SP is ours. Scaling was sweet, with 3 of them increasing Reason.
Let’s do this.
Round 1
I go first and move Durvael to the SP. Absalom and Vordana move parallel to him.
Bandit D and the Leader miss their shots at Vordana. C hits Oboro for 2 piercing damage. He suffers 1 damage next turn.
Round 2
Oboro takes 1 piercing damage. Bandits get the initiative. They go for the SP.
Bandit A charges Durvael, who fumbles the defense and takes 1 damage. D and C charge him as well. He defends one, but takes 2 damage from the other.
Oboro charges Bandit A, but they defend and activate its defensive trait. Oboro fails the Resolve check and is Frightened for d4 (=3) rounds.
Durvael uses Battlecry (+10 attack to 3-square range), Target Weak Spot (if atk hits = critical), and attacks Bandit D for 9 damage! His offensive trait activates. Bandit D fails the Resolve check and is Stunned for 1 round (can’t attack, defends with disadvantage).
Absalom uses Battlecry, I ensure his attack with +20 (WP 4/5), and his Cleave hits Bandits A and D for 5 damage each.
Vordana flanks the Stunned Bandit D and finishes him. This triggers a Morale check for Bandits C and A. A breaks and runs north, fleeing the battlefield. C breaks and goes east, but can’t reach the edge yet.
Round 3
Bandit C passes the Morale check and recovers.
I’m using the CA Demonic Speed to make Absalom dash toward the gear cache. He gets there and can attempt to open it next turn.
Durvael deals 6 damage to Bandit C. Vordana charges C and uses Unfettered Rage for d4 (=2) rounds, but the enemy defends. Oboro flanks C, leaving them Overwhelmed (-20 Defense) and deals 1 damage.
Bandit C slashes at Durvael for 1 damage. Leader and B move and shoot him, one missing and one dealing 1 damage.
Round 4
Bandits go first. Bandits C, B, and the Leader attack Durvael, still going for the SP. He takes only 1 damage. The Leader attacks a second time as one bandit misses (Opportunist feature), dealing another 2 damage.
My turn. I’m ensuring Absalom’s Athletic check (MP 3/5), and he succeeds! The gear check contains d10+10 Supplies (13).
Durvael deals 4 damage to Bandit C.
I’m using the CA Corrupted on Durvael, making him Frightening (enemy must pass Resolve or attack with disadvantage). I should have done this way sooner, but I completely forgot about it.
Oboro attacks Bandit C for 2 damage and gets Frightened again for 1 round. Vordana, still in rage, deals 6 damage and kills C. No Morale check as the only other bandit is adjacent to the leader (auto-success, can’t break).
I’m using the CA Relentless to get another turn.
Durvael misses the leader. I reroll his attack (MP 2/5), but he misses again!
d4 Complication: 3 = Mental toll. -10 to Reason and Resolve for the battle.
Ok, I’m using All or Nothing. He attacks the Leader again and gets -30 Defense for the round. He finally hits for 6 damage.
Vordana deals 1 damage to the Leader, fumbles Resolve, and gets Frightened for 1 round.
Oboro flanks the Leader, but they defend. Absalom charges, I ensure (MP 1/5) and hit with Disable Armor, reducing his Defense by -20 for the battle.
Rounds 5 and 6
I ganked the Leader and wanted to kill them with Absalom for the XP, but our favorite demon left the enemy with 1 HP.
The SP didn’t matter anymore for the bandits, so I randomized the targets. They all went for Durvael anyway. He took 2 damage and managed to defend an attack even with -30. Leader got Fatigued for acting twice (-20 atk/def).
Durvael landed the killing blow on the Leader. Bandit B passed the Resolve check but failed Morale anyway, fleeing north.
And with that, the 12th Infernal Legion won the day!
+1 XP to combatants.
Chirurgeon Camp captured, +1 Loyalty to the entire warband.
Loot
D10 Supplies: 6
D6 Construction Materials: 4Spoils of War
- d10+10 Supplies > 12
- Random weapon > Pitchfork
- Random potion > Essence of the Puma (+10 Agility for the battle)
That’s it for today. Fun fact about this combat: I started playing using the stats for Soldiers instead of Bandits. Vordana took two arrows in the face and died in the first round. They hit her dealing max damage, rolling right at the top of their skills (50 for the regular and 60 for the leader). Luckily I was writing all rolls, so I soon caught it (that’s a miss for both leader and regular bandits). Still, kinda scary how it can all go sideways. And now I’m scared of facing soldiers.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy Absalom’s journal.
Until next time!
Absalom’s journal
Bandits are a plague upon this land. Not a literal plague, more an inconvenient problem. This is what is called a metaphor, and I’m quite fond of the concept.
Language is a powerful tool for humans (or for some of them, at least). They have a saying related to it: the pen is mightier than the sword.
This intrigued me and my fellow demons. After making good use of our steel to capture a medical camp, we decided to put that proverb to the test.
We ordered the chirurgeons to tend to the surviving bandits. Then we gave them swords as we composed poems insulting their honor and competence, and wrote letters to humiliate their physical and mental prowess.
Even wounded, they came at us with ferocity, and their blades bit deep and drew blood. Our insults and slander did little to hinder them.
Durvael had the sagacity to shove the pens into their eyes. I found it brilliant. He is an unparalleled twisted soldier, and I am proud to have him in my ranks. I followed suit, jamming pen and parchment down the throat of another. In the end, the pen proved mighty indeed.
Still, there is wisdom in knowing when to use metaphors and when to be literal.
We have a new member. She’s called Vordana, a revolting, abhorrent grunt who fled Lilith’s iron and fiery fists. She reeks of vomit and grease, which made us all homesick. I wondered if I shall ever set foot in the nine circles again.
I quickly batted the thought away. Our mission is another, and our lives are different now. The 12th looks up to me for leadership, sometimes in awe, others in fear, many times in hate.
And for that, I’m grateful. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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.