Songs of Blades and Heroes - the song goes on

Thanks to Paul for organising this game which was the next verse to our previous SOBH game.

This was my band.

These were the guys I had to get past.

I got lucky and was able to gang up on the Minotaur.  It was still touch and go, but I got him eventually.  After that it got exciting, too exciting to take photos.

One of the mushrooms came in and had a repeat experience of the Minotaur.

Then my shooters took out the enemy wizard.

Then my wizard made a run for it.  The two remaining fungi moved in.  It looked good for my escape, but then disaster...  I survived the first attack, but lost some minions.  Again I had a chance to make good my escape, but by this time the remaining fungi were to close and they got me.

Excellent game system.  Moves fast, simple but sophisticated mechanics producing twists and rallies with a good amount of decisions to make as to what to do.

Paul has provided this background for the game and a further picture along with a sneak preview of the next game.

A clump of fibres broke off from the towering thing's trunk, jerking upwards to form a rudimentary arm. Its spotted cap lolled from side to side, and just below it a jagged rent tore open, its jagged edges presenting a mockery of teeth. Soon this harmless mushroom would complete its transition to fungoid, joining the other two. Jeff pursed his lips – no, not harmless. These were Death Caps. They had never been harmless. His brother had always told him that the world was not as harmless as he believed, a point finally driven home by his untimely death at the hands of that arrogant popinjay from the peninsula. He may not have time to learn new, lethal spells before he cut off the Italio's retreat, but he now had all he needed to gain revenge.

In this second instalment, Jeff (with stats as before), one minotaur (also as before) and three fungoids (3+, 3, poison, squishy) confronted Lorenzo's party (all as before) in a small hamlet as they attempted to make for the coast and home. The sole victory condition for Lorenzo was for him to escape from the opposite table edge, and Jeff's task was to take him out of action before he could.

The mushrooms used their proximity to their leader to group move over to one side of the buildings, followed by several reactions to advance further and block that route of escape. The minotaur, followed by Jeff, moved to the centre of the building, where the archers and The Hoplite were digging in with a view to thinning their enemies' numbers before making a bolt for it. Massing around the minotaur, The Hoplite and the bandits soon added more blood to their vials. Eventually, their bows took down Jeff, and while the fungoids recovered their morale Lorenzo made a break for it and a thrilling chase ensued. The bandits tried their best to pin their adversaries in combat, but with The Hoplite's slowness having left him out of the pursuit, their efforts were for naught. One fungoid broke away, intercepted Lorenzo near to the table edge, and beat him down, poisoning him in the process.

Willy shot a haunted look over his shoulder, fearing pursuit. He had managed to snatch his employer from under that leering horror, and was making for the coast. There was no chase; the green wizard had fallen and the beasts had turned their focus upon his brothers. Their shouting in the distance gave Willy no pause – they couldn't pay him, but his boss could. The dull clanging the automaton made as it toppled over, having ground to a halt without Lorenzo's instruction, further convinced him he was right to flee. To the coast, and there the ship's apothecary.

Next time:

There might be no honour amongst thieves, but there should at least be the appearance of it. When word reached the Black Crest that Soulful Willy had abandoned his brothers to their fate (which couldn't be faulted), and that he had negotiated for their full hire fee to be paid to him alone, bandit chief Ronaldo Padovini, known as The Executioner, had to live up to his title. And so here they were, breaking into the laboratories of the now famously sickly Lorenzo di Torino, to both punish Willy for his arrogance and take their gold scudos. Ronaldo paused. He did not like increasingly-less distant thunderous sound the air carried to his ears.

The first installment can be found here:  http://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/songs-of-blades-and-heroes.html