Tuesday, May 07, 2019
Monday, April 01, 2019
Sanctuary of Gloom
Before heading into the Sanctuary of Gloom, the party headed back to Gloomhaven for a rest before facing what lies ahead. In the city while heading to the Sleeping Lion for a quick meal, a Quatryl was seen standing by the Silent Bridge selling some delicacies - food enhanced with science... The party decided to try out the food, first by inhaling a tube of apours, then taking a bite from a bowl full of tiny golden spheres. It was wonderful. The party paid for the meal costing 3 gold each, and start the next scenario with Bless.
On the road back to the Sanctuary of Gloom, the party chanced upon a family of deer, and decided to not do anything and just watch them. It was a good move as after a while, a large deer was shot by an arrow let lose by a hidden Inox. He had been stalking the deer for some time. Grateful for not disturbing his hunt, he decided to share his spoils with the party. Another Bless gained for the scenario.
After stepping back into the rift, the party found themselves in an empty room with three locked doors ahead. A voice told them that they will waste away and die in this place.
Not planning to end their lives this way, the party broke the first door and out poured a bunch of Living Bones and Black Imps!
By staying outside the room and letting the enemies come to them instead, they manage to take out all the enemies.
While Cray went into the first room to open the locked treasure (which turned out to contain a Black Knife), Sonnet started breaking down the next door.
This next room contained more Black Imps and a handful of Living Corpses. Not wanting to rush in was a good tactical move. Weaver casted an Engulfed in Flame spell to take out one of the Elite Black Imps without stepping into the room.
As the enemies rushed at the party, Weaver and Sonnet retreated. With some distance, Weaver’s Chromatic Explosion did its job taking out more enemies.
As time is of the essence, Sonnet started working on the third door, revealing another bunch of enemies. The party decided to take a cautious approach not rushing into the rooms, but instead took a stand in the center room, waiting for the enemies to come to them.
The strategy is a good one. To draw out the enemy quicker, Sonnet went into the third room with his Skullbane Axe to take out one Living Corpse. After that, she went back to the second room to take out the stranglers. Weaver and Cray concentrated on the enemies coming out of the third room.
Eventually, all the enemies were killed, but still no exit can be found. Tiredness set in and their vision darkened. When they came to, the found themselves outside the cult’s hideout. A voice told them that they were spared... not believing their fate, they rushed back into the crypt and saw the dead bodies of cultists.
It was a successful adventure but it was extremely disturbing that the voice told them these shells of the cultists have served their purpose and it will return with with power one day soon. The investigation into the Gloom while done, did not mark the end of the Darkness...
That said, it was still a good adventure.
- Weaver is now at Level 9 and gained the Inferno ability.
- Sonnet leveled up to Level 5
Next:
Remembering the Captain Guard’s reports of large flying dragons in the north, they party decided to head to the northern Mountain Pass to investigate.
Monday, March 25, 2019
Outer Ritual Chamber
With Sonnet in the party, the investigation on the ‘Gloom’ continues.
In the City, the party saw a Harrower who deals with disreputable goods. The chance to get some interesting items was too good to pass up, and the party decided to deal, gaining a random item design but losing 1 reputation.
On the journey to the Outer Ritual Chamber, they came across what looks like circus whose wagons were stuck in mud after a heavy rain. It is a chance to help and the Quatryl who looks like the ringmaster is grateful. Don’t think it’s the last the party will see of him though.
The Outer Chamber is tough to beat. The first attempt ended in a failure because once the Cultists started summoning Living Bones, it was really game over. It was tough dealing with so many enemies.
The party decided to go for a second attempt and they were luckier, but it was still a tough game.
As the Cultists closed on the party, the hope is really that they don’t summon any Living Bones. At the same time, the party focused on getting rid of the Cultists first.
Luck was on their side this time. The Cultists did not summon the skeletons, and the party manage to whittle the enemies down.
After that, it was a matter of clearing the two locked rooms.
Opening the first locked room saw the appearance of Night Demons. But it was not too difficult. While Sonnet was eventually exhausted in the room, Weaver summoned the Burning Avatar for help. Sonnet also managed to grab the treasure before retiring.
Meanwhile, Cray rushed to the other locked room to face some Sun Demons. He had to handle the enemies on his own until Weaver and the Burning Avatar was able to reach him to help.
With the arrival of the two allies, Cray was saved. Weaver casted Cold Fire to take out two of the Sun Demons.
Cray’s final move of this scenario was throwing a Massive Boulder at the remaining Elite Sun Demon. Mission accomplished.
- Cray leveled up to 5, he also did an enhancement which added to his personal quest.
- Sonnet leveled up to 4
Time to head into the Sanctuary of Gloom to find out what this Gloom is all about.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Monday, March 04, 2019
Monday, February 11, 2019
Friday, February 08, 2019
Entering the Necromancer’s Sanctum
The entry of Sonnet into the party has allowed the group to be able to play with some interesting tactical combination. Instead of using straight up attacking techniques, the Soothsinger allows for buffs to the party and some strong melee attacks.
In any case, the party decided to go back to look for someone whom they have neglected for some time - Jekserah the merchant who turned out to be a necromancer. Now that the party know where to find the necromancer, they head straight to Corpsewood, looking for her lair.
Before heading out, the party met up with a ship captain who wanted some help to move some crates. The party decided to ignore the request, knowing that they have more important matters to deal with than dealing with such trivial matters like a common laborer.
On the road to the Necromancer’s Sanctum, the party encountered a band of Inox who wanted to extort some gold from the party. With Brute no longer in the party, there was no way that these Inox could be reasoned with. Weapons were drawn and while the party managed to fight off the threat, they had to deal with wounds of 3 damage going into the scenario.
In the Sanctum, it was a tough battle fighting the living dead army that Jekserah summoned. The first room was still with Sonnet’s Song of Wistful Wounding providing a way to keep the damage consistent on the Cultists and Living Bones that appeared.
Going into the second room, the danger started to pile up. Without having cleared the room, Weaver decided to take a chance to open the room where Jekserah was. Meanwhile, Sonnet took the opportunity to detour into a room with the treasure chest.
In the room where Jekserah was, Living Corpses kept spawning. This was where Cray used Rock Slide and Clear the Way to strategically place obstacles, creating choke points and preventing the mass of the living dead from overrunning the heroes.
Although Jekserah was immune to Stun, the use of the obstacles and Immobilize help to keep her at bay.
Although Jekserah was immune to Stun, the use of the obstacles and Immobilize help to keep her at bay.
While Cray and Weaver were busy dealing with the main enemies, Sonnet sneaked into the room with the treasure chest. She expected to encounter enemies but with the Living Corpses all spawned in the main room, it was a surprise to find that she could pick up the treasure of Skullbane Axe without much trouble.
Although the Skullbane Axe doesn’t seem like something a Soothsinger would use, it seemed like a really handy two-handed weapon that would come in handy for melee fighting that she would need to do at times.
With the obstacles keeping Jekserah and her undead army at bay, it took a while for Cray and Weaver to use range attack to drain her of HP. The final move came from a Flashing Burst which was also the killing blow.
With the obstacles keeping Jekserah and her undead army at bay, it took a while for Cray and Weaver to use range attack to drain her of HP. The final move came from a Flashing Burst which was also the killing blow.
With the Necromancer dead, new locations were made available and the party has to decide where to head to next. But one really wonders the dying words of the Necromancer... that they have no idea what’s coming.
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Sonnet’s first outing
With Sonnet the Soothsinger joining the party, the Solo Bunch decided to try out a random scenario to test how she works with the party.
The Wild Crossroads.
The Crushing Alcove.
The Tribal Hallway.
Overall, it seems that the Soothsinger is quite a strong character in providing support to the party, allowing the party to make strong attacks. The downside is the limited number of special attacks. While the Attack Modifier Deck is quite strong, the Soothsinger has to use the standard attack instead to make use of it.
Also, the Soothsinger gets exhausted before the end of the scenario due to the limited number of cards. While there are a number of songs that can buff the party, changing a song will waste turns. Maybe I’ll have to be even more selective in deciding which songs to put in the starting hand.
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Retiring Tinder, welcome Sonnet
The Solo Bunch took some time out by going on a random scenario.
The first room is the Cutthroat Sewer.
That is followed by the Horrific Cabin.
The last room is the Scaled Armory.
With this Tinder, managed to gather enough gold to purchase the last one-handed item to complete his personal goal to become part of the Merchant Class.
Three spears is unlocked but we will save that for later.
With one Quatryl leaving the adventuring life, another one steps into the picture. Sonnet the Quatryl Soothsinger (Music Note) joins in the fun at Level 3.
Other than being the singer, she has a personal quest looking for clues on events that leads to the Fall of Man.
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Crypt Basement-Seeker of Xorn
With the Rift closed, the Solo Bunch turned their sights back to the Crypt of the Damned, obviously with some persuasion from Weaver. As the Seeker of Xorn, she had to fulfill her destiny.
Before heading back to the Crypt, the party spend a night drinking and gambling away, when a robed woman approached the party. She is asking for help to look for her missing daughter, who may be captured by a group called The Ravens. The party decided to help after their mission, and filed the ‘Shadows Within’ scenario till later.
On the way back to the Crypt, the party got hungry and ate some green berries. Luckily the berries were sweet and edible, and gave the party a Bless advantage for the trip into the Crypt Basement.
In the Crypt Basement, a ghostly apparition who turned out to be a warden of the place. It asked the party to hold off the advancing enemies while it restore the fragments of the staff they found in the Noxious Cellar. So the mission was simple, to survive for 10 rounds while the warden does its thing.
Essentially, all the heroes had to do was to survive. Cray started off the turn by generating obstacles to block off pathways that may expose them to danger.
Weaver continued to be the power hitter here using her Fire Orbs to decimate 2 Elite Giant Vipers and a Living Bones.
As the adjoining rooms started to open, more and more enemies were revealed. The party decided to stay put and focus on their task, using the pillars and obstacles as cover.
Oozes!!! I hate them... three consecutive rounds of Oozes multiplying lead to an abundance of Oozes in one of the rooms, and eventually all available Oozes were used up.
While the enemies continued to multiply and advanced, the party held their own, together with Weaver’s Burning Avatar summon and Tinder’s latest addition, the Kill Bot. On the sixth round, things are still managable.
At the 8th round, the final room opened to reveal a Treasure Chest! Hoping that it’ll contain something that aid him in his personal quest, he moved into the room. Weaver and Cray will just have to hold the fort back in the main room.
In the final round, Tinder couldn’t stay in the game with his HP down to zero. But at least he managed to use the last round to unleash his Crank Bow and Toxic Bolt, both gaining him extra HP, and thinning the enemies in the room. Getting to the Treasure Chest also gave the party access to the Storm Blade, an impressive melee weapon. Although the group is now a more ranged-focused party, perhaps it will be useful for another melee character later down the line.
In the final round, Tinder couldn’t stay in the game with his HP down to zero. But at least he managed to use the last round to unleash his Crank Bow and Toxic Bolt, both gaining him extra HP, and thinning the enemies in the room. Getting to the Treasure Chest also gave the party access to the Storm Blade, an impressive melee weapon. Although the group is now a more ranged-focused party, perhaps it will be useful for another melee character later down the line.
As the Oozes and the rest of the enemies advanced slowly into the main chamber, all Weaver and Cray needed to do was to simply hold on... and they succeeded.
The ethereal warden finished fixing the Staff of Xorn, gave it to Weaver, and then disappeared, leaving with the instruction for them to head to the Palace of Ice in the northern mountains and unseal the tomb of Xorn.
Sunday, January 06, 2019
Closing the Ruinous Rift
With Cray joining the party, the heroes decided to go ahead to close the Rift with Hail’s help.
Before heading out, the party met a shifty-looking man who challenged them to a game of bone dice. Tempting but the party has better things to do.
On the road to the Ruinous Rift, they found a flock of carrion birds feasting on a body. It’s the body of the brother of the man from Sleeping Lion. The party decided to bury the body and bring the chain around the dead man’s neck back to the brother.
All in all, the party gained 3 Reputation points. With 12 points, a the new Sun class will be unlocked. But first, the Rift...
The party took 2 attempts before successfully closing the Rift. In the first attempt, the party was overwhelmed by the spawning demons. It was quite fiddly to keep track of all the spawning demons but at the last round, the party either were exhausted from running out of cards or losing HP.
The second attempt was much better, with a more measured plan by trying to contain the damage by discarding cards, and blocking the path to Hail.
In the first few rounds, the party was able to kill the two enemies spawning in the rounds. But from the third round onwards when two enemies spawn each round, they could not kill faster than they spawn.
In the first few rounds, the party was able to kill the two enemies spawning in the rounds. But from the third round onwards when two enemies spawn each round, they could not kill faster than they spawn.
Cray’s Avalanche ability came in useful to create obstacles that blocked the demons’ path, and at times being able to cause some damage with Clear the Way and Heaving Swing.
By round 7, things are looking manageable. Although they still can’t dispatch the enemies, they could protect Hail and keep the demons at bay. From now on, it is all about just holding on.
Finally, Hail managed to complete closing the Rift. Cray ended up exhausted when it ran out of cards, but at least Weaver and Tinder managed to hold on, giving Hail enough time to do her magic.
Finally, Hail managed to complete closing the Rift. Cray ended up exhausted when it ran out of cards, but at least Weaver and Tinder managed to hold on, giving Hail enough time to do her magic.
With the Rift neutralized, the party went back to Gloomhaven to do the usual... leveling up for Tinder, gaining Enhancements for all, and looking at the new Sun class which is now available.
Thoughts: This scenario is the simplest to set up in terms of map tiles. But it’s such a challenging one, to keep track of the demon spawns. And it’s all about positioning and preventing damaging, as well as protecting Hail by keeping the enemies away from her.
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