Rangers of Shadow Deep: The Bridge Guards

I've been gearing up for this RoSD game for a good amount of time. Been waiting for some terrain from Tiny Wargames and needed to have Tor Varden build. So after finishing the first part of the dungeon board, it was time. 

First mission is to get to the old watch tower, crossing a river guarded by gnolls. I've put together a group of rangers including the survivors from the Blood Moon scenario. I will be playing the mission 'hard', so no changing out companions during the missions three scenarios. 

A written account with pictures is detailed below along with words on the end game and terrain.

Filmed a game

This is also the first time actually streaming and filming a game that I've done. It's uploaded to youtube, so if your modern in that regard have a look at it. And please consider dropping a follow on the Twitch and YouTube channels - trying to expand this video part of the bloggerverse. 

Setup

I've tried to get as close to the scenario description as possible. The bridge and the ford are their. Lots of rock and bushes to block line of sight. I've even painted up a small cauldron / cooking pot for the fire in the camp - as it's described in the book. 

Lots of homemade stuff with step-by-step blogs in the terrain page.

The game

My ranger Haelga and her trusted companions were sneaking through the rocky landscape on their way to Tor Varden. The gnoll guards near the river and on the bridge had no idea there were enemies on the way. 

As part of the scenario, my rangers would have a better chance at killing the gnolls until the alarm was sounded. And this was the plan, with three archers, it should be possible to take down some enemy gnoll archers - and gang up on the close combat enemies. 

Recruit Wurt is checking out the area, with archer Pine near his side.

Ranger Haelga with veteran soldier Covin and the woodcutter Seb. Taking up the center of the board. 

Enemy gnolls guarding the bridge, two fighters lead by a sergeant. A gnoll archer can been seen near the river.

Hopefully my rangers would be able to cross the bridge and get into the camp. There are both treasure to be reclaimed for Alladore and some clues as to what might be happening af Tor Varden. 

Another archer near the river. There were four deadly archers patrolling the river bank.

From the start it seemed like the plan would be good. The first couple of rounds were spend sneaking closer to the enemies, keeping hidden in the shadows of the cliffs. Waiting for the perfect shot to take down the archers. 

Unfortunately the random movement of the gnolls, soon brought the models into guarding teams, making it impossible to take out the enemies without raising the alarm. 

In the end my ranger tried taking the shot, she hit but failed to take down the enemy and the alarm was raised.

During the different events, more and more gnolls kept sweeping into the area. My band of rangers were forced to split up, to take out the archers that were delivering a nasty amount of damage to the good guys. 

But after some hard fights, my very wounded heroes did manage to take control of the battle field. 

Fairly early in the game, a blood vulture came swooping down from the cliffs. A magically bound agent of the Shadow Deep, this bird would bring message to Tor Varden - leaving the prepared for my incoming assault. It was important for my troops to bring down the beast! And that tied up two of my archers for helping in the fight against the gnolls.

Time was running out and the main force was still tied up fighting enemy gnolls among the cliffs. Haelga commanded two of her companions to enter the gnoll camp to search for clues and treasure - figuring the help would be needed later in the mission. 

The recruit secures some treasure, stolen from Lorenthia or Alladore - there was no way the gnolls had earned this in a lawful manner. 

In the end the ranger band succeeded, the last of the gnoll fighters were brought down. Unfortunately both Bertha the woman-at-arms and Seb the Woodcutter had been wounded during the fight. And it was real close tipping in favor of the enemy. 

The blood vulture was brought down by arrows, before it managed to escape the battle field. The gang of rangers of Alladore would be able to travel towards Tor Varden - without the enemies being alerted to the incoming attack. 

Wurt the recruit guarding the bridge, keeping look out for further enemies. Meanwhile Haelga was attending the wounds of here companions. 

End game

That game was way closer than what was comfortable. The ranger and here companions were all wounded by the end of the game. Some were really close to being taken out of action. 

Seb the Woodcutter turned out to only have small wound, a knock to the head had brought him down. Nothing he wasn't able to shake off with a bit of time. 

Bertha the Woman-at-Arms got here arm crushed, she would no longer be as good a companion in the fight. Bandaged up, she would still have to fight, no time for rest. But should she survive the mission, she might have to return to guard duty in a sleepy village.

After breaking the lock on the chest, the group found a pair of magical gauntlets. The gauntlets would be able to give the wearer great strength for a few important situations. The strong bear of a man Seb, was handed the gloves. He mighty axe would now be even more deadly. 

This was the fourth mission for my ranger Haelga and it brought her to level 2. The stat increase went to shooting, bringing her to a +3 in Shoot.