Epic success at Crypt of the Damned

After the failure in the last mission to the Crypt of the Damned, the party went back to Gloomhaven to rethink how to approach this scenario. The previous method of clearing out the rooms one by one clearing didn’t work. 

With that in mind, the Solo Bunch decides to attempt the scenario again. Also, Brutus leveled up to Level 3 so hopefully his new Brute Force ability will give the party some additional help. 

Before that, the party spent some gold to help a frail white-haired woman to clear some rat infestation. No rewards for this task though... a let down.

On the way to the Crypt, the party also met a bunch of thieves. In order not to start the scenario wounded, they decided to hand over some gold.

Not a good start, having lost a number of gold before even the scenario started.

This time in the first room, instead of attacking the enemies from their starting positions, the party hugged the left wall, with Brutus flanking and attacking them from behind. The +3 Attack Modifier gained from leveling up made an appearance and helped to despatch the Archers quickly.

The second room proved to be a tougher challenge. The damn Cultists summoned so many Living Bones that the room became crowded. It didn’t help that the three Archers laid down a row of traps which hindered the party’s attack.

With the traps, Brutus had to jump over them, and right into the midst of the enemies on his own. Meanwhile, not being able to move forward, Weaver and Tinder used range attacks to target the enemies. The range attacks helped to kill the Archers but the Living Bones remained, and Brutus on his own suffered heavy damage and had to use his Healing Potion, which he thought he could save for later on when the Demons appear.


This is when the strategy changed. Instead of waiting for the second room to be cleared, Tinder opened the room with the Earth Demons. After that, both Weaver and him jumped over the traps, leading the Earth Demons into the row of traps.

This gambit worked! Both Weaver and Tinder are now able to help Brutus to attack the Living Bones, while the Earth Demons followed them and one of them tripped the traps, losing some HP in the process.


With the Living Bones in the second room cleared, Brutus made a long distance move into the last room to engage the Cultists and Wind Demons. Weaver moved in to help with her Impaling Eruption attack.

Back in the previous room, the summoned Mystic Ally and Tinder stayed back to deal with the Earth Demons. Their slow movements allowed our heroes to attack them from range, and to close in when necessary.  

Sure enough, having the party divided into two groups worked. With the Mystic Ally a huge help. In fact, the Mystic Ally was the one who struck the killing blow which ended the last Earth Demon.

Lessons from this scenario:

- Engaging enemies head on is not always a good idea.

- Clearing room by room is also not a good idea.

- Turn perils into something you can use. In this case, the row of traps laid down by the enemy Archers.

- With the summoned Mystic Ally, split the party into two to engage the enemies on two fronts.

Overall, this was an epic battle that almost seemed hopeless when the party reached the second room. But some tactical thinking, and of course some good luck help.

Weaver has to be grateful that completing this scenario helped in her personal quest. The party also needs to decide on whether to continue to the other crypts, or resume their quest of seeking Hail’s help.