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Just across the Placidic Sea in the Lands of the Sultan fearsome creatures are believed to roam the land. Creatures which terrify both the Crystal Elves of Lyonesse and the roaming Orc horse tribes of the Great Plain alike. This is a tale of one such creature, the Dragon.
The town of Sisal has a problem, one that has caused much destruction for inhabitants as far back as memory serves. The lands around Sisal are home to a fearsome Plague Dragon that has envenomed all the surrounding countryside. The people of Sisal appease the Dragon every day with an offering of sheep and for the last few years this has been fine. Sadly the sheep are no longer to the Dragon's tastes, he has demanded something more, he has demanded one of their children. The townsfolk of Sisal were distruaght and soon fighting broke out. Whose child was to be taken ? People started to flee the city, fearful for their loved ones. The ruler of the city came up with a solution which he put forward to his people in a bid to quell the unrest spreading through them. He declared that there would be a lottery, the names of all of the city's children were to be written down and one selected at random. That child would then be given to the Dragon. Thinking everything would now be settled the city's ruler felt quite pleased with himself, of course one family would be unconsolable over their loss, but the ruler knew it was worth sacrificing one family's happiness to secure the safety of his lands once more. Proud of his declaration he overlooked one thing. His own daughter, Georgina, would be included in the lottery. Sure enough, as often happens with the fates of Valon, their gaze turned to the ruler's daughter and her name was indeed the one selected from the lottery. He was distraught with grief and offered all his gold and all his silver and even half of his lands if anyone would put their own child forward in order to save his daughter. The people refused. The next day Georgina was taken out by a group of the city's militia and tied to a post near one of the places the Dragon frequented. The ruler hoped and prayed that a goodly knight would ride past and offer to save his daughter from this terrible fate. Sadly for the king, this was the Third Age of Valon, the Darke Age, there were no goodly knights left any more... *** This scenario works best with two (or more) players playing their own Units and one player acting as Umpire. However, it can just as well be played with two players or even solo. This can be played as part of a larger campaign or as a one off battle with newly created scenarios. Motivations The Units motivations are twofold in this scenario, to rescue Georgina from the clutches of the Dragon and, if possible, slay it so it can no longer threaten the city of Sisal. They are doing this for the fame and glory (and course, the coin). In an additional twist, so often found in tales such as these, the Dragon has fallen in love with Georgina and will not let anyone take her from him... Terrain The Lands of the Sultan are a desolate desert to the eyes of most peoples from across the Placidic Sea but the lands can be just as varied as the plains and valleys back home. The terrain generation tables should be used to generate the playing area for this scenario. Roll as normal on Table 1 'Ground and Region'. However, the first roll on Table 2 'Water, Hills and Buildings' is replaced with the Dragon's lake, which should be placed centrally in the playing area. The Dragon's lake is 6 inches square of polluted plague ridden water, for game purposes it is treated as a Sand Pool from the Special Terrain Table (if playing in 15mm, not 28mm, the lake is 3 inches square). Once the Dragon's lake has been placed, terrain generation continues as normal with each player taking it in turns to place scenery on the table. Weather and special terrain should also be rolled for as normal. Deployment The Dragon starts the game in the centre of his lake, he is not affected by it in any way, it does not hamper his movement or act as a Sand Pool for him. Georgina is tied to a pole on a 2 inch square platform 1 inch into the lake, randomly determine which lake edge. The players Units should be placed as per Table 3 - 'Player's Placement' after all the scenary is on the table. Special Rules Controlling the Dragon - The Dragon is best played by an Umpire, however it can be played auotmatically using the 'Basic Principles of Monster Behaviour' laid out in the rule book. Even if controlled by an Umpire it must follow these rules. The Dragon considers itself to be protecting Georgina, anyone who attempts to free her or (once she's freed) move with her (as per rules below) triggers the applicable monster behaviour principle. If Georgina changes hands from one unit to another this also attracts the Dragon's attention in the same way. Note that the Dragon cannot be controlled by any of the Units own beast handlers. The Dragon's Attacks - As per the rules in the Bestiary, the Dragon gets to use the Level 9 spell, 'Mighty Fireball', every three turns. All the other rules in the Bestiary apply. This Dragon, as a Plague Dragon, also has one other defense mechanism. Every turn roll 1D6, on a 1 it's plague ridden pores seep causing a terrible smell of disease that floods the battlefield. This has an effect the same as the Level 8 spell 'Stomach Churn', this does not take up any of the Dragon's actions for the turn. Georgina - Georgina is a native of the Lands of the Sultan and as such is an Othari. Her stats are as those found the Races Table. Freeing Georgina - She is fairly securely tied to the pole on the floating platform. Once on the platform (an effort in itself given the nature of the water) a character simply has to cause one wound to the pole to break the bonds. The pole does not make a Resist Wound roll, it's a pole and as such is unable to defend itself against such attacks. Controlling Georgina - Once free of the pole, Georgina is controlled by the player that freed her. She must remain in base to base contact with a character for this to work. She activates at the same time as that character and moves with them. Another character from an opposed Unit can attempt to take Georgina, if her 'rescuer' is knocked prone, control moves to the other character. Anytime she is not in base to base contact with another character she will move at maximum speed off the table. If she moves off the table, not in base to base contact, she is considered to have made her own way home, no reward will be paid to any Unit. Womanly Ways - Before the player's Units came barging in to her 'rescue', Georgina was actually well on her way to negotiating a release under the pretence of marriage vows to the Dragon. Georgina has always had a way with animals, she is in fact a Novice Beast Handler. Once freed from the pole the player controlling Georgina can attempt to gain control of the Dragon as per the normal rules with one exception, for Georgina this counts as an action (normally it's a free action for Beast Handlers). Once controlled the Dragon follows all the normal rules for a Unit fielding a monster. Roll as normal each turn to see if the Dragon remains controlled... Victory Conditions The Unit that manages to get Georgina safely off the table wins the scenario. Points and Coin are awarded as normal. Note that freeing Georgina counts as 'Capturing an Objective' taking control of her after combat does not. The ruler of Sisal awards the Unit that brings his daughter back 100 Coin. Webmaster's Notes An Orcs in the Webbe Original ! Timed to co-incide with Alternative Armies re-issue of Darkestorme in it's new format at Salute 2010, OITW is proud to luanch it's support for this excellent game with this scenario celebrating St George's Day. The third of four Saints Day scenarios OITW will be bringing you throughout 2010. The first Saint's Day scenario was written by Tony Harwood and is set in the mistsy hills of Taffsea, "Foul Mouth Freddy Saves the ****ing Sheep". The second Saint's Day scenario was written by Danny O'Hara and is set on the Emerald border of Guinelia, "The Rocky Road to Albion". |
