The last time our intrepid Frosthaven defenders met, we’d just finished a terrifying trip down an elevator to a vast cavern deep, deep within the ground. A cavern full of ancient machines that want to kill us all.
We shouldn’t really take that personally, though — they don’t have anything in particular against us, they just want to destroy all life. We just happened to be closest. Practice for what’s coming.
The sounds of active machines ahead convinced us to turn in the other direction and follow a quieter passage. It paid off for us as we came to a room filled with shelves of forgotten lore, bound in wood and leather. But the quiet was broken by — machines. Ancient cannon rotated creakingly in their turrets. Automaton stirred to life. Ruined machines shuddered to life. All intent on one thing — reaching a raised dais in the middle of the library.
If they wanted to get there, that had to be something bad for us.
Scenario 26 is basically a tower defense level. The players are guarding a spot, and the machines have three lanes (formed by bookshelves) down which they will trudge to reach that spot. If any do, the scenario immediately fails. Characters can’t voluntarily move into the space, but if they are moved into it, or one of their summons moves through it, the scenario immediately fails.
If the players don’t kill all the machines by turn seven, more machines spawn. This respawn happens just once.
Our team:
Trapper: Makes traps and generally gets in the way (me)
Infuser: Plays with elements and has this one weird trick
Drifter: Our DPS and tank
Crashing Tide: Someday I’ll figure out their deal. They retired after this scenario.
I asked the Infuser to immediately close off two of the three lanes with barriers, forcing the machines to choose just one, easily defended, lane to follow. And it worked — nothing came close to the death hex. Crashing Tide immediately hated this plan — he was planning to just bull his way forward, bypassing the cannon and the automatons to get at the ruined machines, as killing ruined machines was his personal quest. This scenario had all he needed to retire and nothing was going to stop him, except me.
My scenario goal was to not attack anything for the first three turns; I spent those turns setting up and combining traps. I’d just reached level 4, and took for my level 4 card the one where I can detonate all my traps on the board. On turn 4, when I could attack again, I put this to good use by outright killing one of the automatons and damaging the other with the traps I’d been setting up. I usually get about one really good hit during a scenario, and this was mine for the library.
Grumbling about having to go out of his way, Crashing Tide finally reached the ruined machines and started the killing, all while being shot at by the two cannon on that side of the board. Losing cards left and right, he vowed to go down fighting if he had to go down at all. Luckily for him, Infuser and Drifter caught up and took out the cannon. I don’t remember if I had any more kills. I might have had one. Trapper is not really a big killer, which makes my personal quest to kill so many specific mobs a little scary.
At the end of the scenario, a Quatryl librarian shows up and dumps some info about the library and the ancient knowledge it contains. Short summary: the machines were built as workers, but killed their masters and now call themselves the Unfettered, and they plan to kill all living creatures. Only we can stop them, but… but…
The Quatryl librarian collapses, then, and so we bring him back to Frosthaven. We’ll have to wait four weeks for him to recover; meanwhile, we’ll continue on with our adventures. The gnome that was trying to clear a pass through the mountains has just finished his work, and would love to have us to the site to celebrate. And in case something goes wrong.
Something always goes wrong.
