Fantasy Quest Solo Session - The Vampire Warrior and the Dragon's Hoard

Fantasy Quest Solo Session - The Vampire Warrior and the Dragon's Hoard

Well, whilst we wait for a session report from someone who isn’t me I thought I’d tide you over with another adventure from someone who is me.  Just ran through another quick solo session tonight and randomly drew a Male Vampire Warrior with the Berserker Class Skill.  My strategy would be to throw myself into any fights and try to ignore damage, using the Vampire’s special ability to heal up again after winning fights.

 My Hero’s Saga was to steal back the Dragon’s Hoard and save the people of the land from the rampaging Wyrm.

For my starting Reward I unwisely chose the easy trap of picking an Ally.  Allies grant Keywords but also give you a boost to your stat(s), and so make great starting Reward cards.  However, I didn’t need an Ally to defeat my Saga and should have chosen a Reward that would grant me a required Keyword instead.  Nevertheless I set off to go and enlist the weird Necromancer I had heard so much about.  And she proved quite agreeable to be fair.

Early on whilst travelling I was challenged to a Duel – luckily I excelled at Fighting and bested my competitor, earning myself the Martial Class Skill ‘Hunter’, which allows you to heal when ending your turn in a Mountain Location.  This can be very useful for counteracting the detrimental effects of Gloom, particularly in the later game.

Reading my Saga it was clear that the trickier Keywords to obtain were going to be the ‘Abode’ (a type of Place) where a certain ‘Order’ (a type of Title) of individuals were holed up.  The people of the land needed the help of this special Order to overcome the tyranny of the Wyrm, and I would need to become one of this Order to enlist their aid.  Titles come from Places, and Places are most commonly found in Forests.  So I set about exploring as many Forest Locations as I could as the land around me started falling into Gloom.

Soon I was joined by a Barbarian who lent her sword to the battles I was fighting as I travelled: a lizardman ambush, a zombie crawling from its grave, and a deadly Gargoyle which I was only able to overcome by going Berserk.  The Barbarian accompanied me to the lair of a Summoner who also joined the quest.  Summoners allow you to choose Spells instead of the normal Reward for defeating encounters, and I needed a Spell for my Saga.  This nice little synergy let me grab another vital Keyword (Spell) after dealing with a Brigand who was terrorising the area.

Before long I had gathered most of my Saga’s Keywords and was carrying with me a great Dwarven Axe, the spirit of a Battle Elemental, the scalps of some evil Bandits, and the blessings of a wandering Watchman and a Tradesman who I’d met and successfully Influenced whilst on the road.  I’d even found the Abode I was after – the Forgotten Ruins – but the land around it had Fallen into Gloom, meaning any time I spent there would damage my Vampiric Warrior.  I hesitated, preoccupied with a foolish Wager, and Excessive Taxes that drained my coffers, and was further beset by a Jousting match and a Gentleman with a grudge – who I ended up having to dispatch in bloody combat.

Meanwhile the agents of the Ancient had been busy that Night.  A Demonic Rite was performed which destroyed the Forgotten Ruins entirely, and the prospect of exploring my precious Abode was gone for good.

This was the late game now, and I was paying for not having acted fast enough, and for not having picked up a Title Reward to start with.  Safe Locations were becoming scarce as Gloom eclipsed the lands everywhere.  With a meagre haul of cash I raced back to Sprawl City – one of the few remaining safe Locations - and enlisted the help of a dashing Corsair, whose Sneaky, Shadowy skills would be essential to finishing my Saga.  As the Days turned into Nights, and a Freezing Snow enveloped the countryside I continued exploring, desperately hunting for that elusive Abode.

A Pilgrim gave me information about the iniquitous Thieves’ Guild operating near Sprawl City and I set out to shut them down.  In doing so I ended up giving chase to a famous Criminal, who evaded my efforts.  Then, after being robbed of my Horse I tracked down the Thief responsible and taught him a lesson he wouldn’t forget.  But all this was a distraction and there were only a few days left before the Ancient one would awaken and enslave or destroy the Kingdom.

With time fast running out as I wandered the Forestland I was delighted to finally discover an Abode – the Lost Village – where I would be able to take stock and come back from a position of strength.  After successfully exploring the Lost Village I had acquired 7 of my 8 required Keywords but it was too late.

I staggered into the Old Wood for shelter as the heavens opened up and pouring rain pelted down around me.  With just hours to go I still hadn’t discovered the mysterious Order who would help us find and retrieve the Dragon’s Hoard.

As I slogged through the muddy, wet undergrowth, my companions around me in dread filled-silence, hope fading fast, I looked up into the pouring clouds once more.  And the ground opened up beneath me.

The Vampire Warrior fell into a Bottomless Pit and was lost forever.  From far away in the distant Mountains the Dragon King’s terrible laughter could be heard, and the people of the land gathered around their hearths, cowering in fear…

My only remaining Keyword was ‘Order’ and I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t take a Title to start the session off with.  I might not even have picked up an ‘Order’ card, but I would have at least had a healthy 1 in 3 chance.  The game took about 50 minutes to play through to finish, excluding setup.