Friday, May 15, 2020

Rangers of Shadow Deep - Burning Bright Part 1


I had previously done the first set of campaign games in the Rangers of Shadow Deep rule book, a solo/cooperative game by Joseph McCullough.  You can see the report beginning here

 http://bogdanwaz.blogspot.com/2019/10/start-of-rangers-of-shadow-deep-campaign.html

I have begun a second solo campaign, Burning Bright, which is contained at the end of the main ROSD rule book.


Our heroes have been tasked with entering a ruined convent in the realm of Lorenthia which has fallen to the mysterious force of negation, the Shadow Deep.  The Convent of St. Emelia is believed to have a sacred relic, the Decanter of Light, that will be of assistance in the fight against the forces of the Shadows.


The heroes must search through an number of buildings in the ruined convent. Each building is a separate scenario, usually with a unique foe.  Some of the larger buildings host more than one of the scenarios. As the search progresses, the party faces a growing threat from the forces of the Shadow Deep, represented by an increase in the card used to select random events both within the scenario and in the campaign at large.

The buildings, in the picture above are (1) in the lower left hand corner, a ruined chapel, (2) in the lower right hand corner, the convent Herb store, (3) the large building in the center left is the gate house, (4) the very large building in the middle to upper right hand corner is the hospital/dormitory and (5) the building with arched colonnades at the top of the picture is the library.  These all surround a courtyard which is the site of one (actually two) of the scenarios.




Our heroes, the same as last time, only now more advanced thanks to experience earned in the prior campaign are the Lygoshi barbarians Bogdan the Black and Kyra the Red along with their Wood Elf companion, Hanali.  Joining them for this game is Bayarma of the Grey Eye, a priestess of hill people living in the western hills beyond Allodore, the kingdom in which ROSD takes place.  I added Bayarma to see how having a dedicated magic user on the campaign would work.  I created all four characters as PCs rather than companions which makes the group far more powerful.  I upped some of the scenarios to give a bit more challenge.


The party decided to strike into the Courtyard through a ruined wall. They were immediately swarmed by a horde of skeletons and were hard pressed for the moment.


Bayarma's Burning Light spell proved very useful against the undead, burning a path through them.


Suddenly, a vulture, servant messengers from the Shadow Deep, and general annoyances, swooped to the attack.  Bayarma was not amused and dealt with the wretched bird quickly.


As the party crossed the courtyard, they dealt with a stream of ghouls who were killed at a distance by the party's bows and slings.



Examining the courtyard fountain in which a statue of St Emelia stood, they discover a valuable clue to the Decanter.  It suggested that although originally stored int the Library, the relic was moved to a building opposite, perhaps the Chapel or Herb store?


In a ruined cart, they discovered a Tortured Soul.  Bogdan was able to use his leadership skill to assuage the spirit into its eternal rest.


They examined the outbuildings, finding a hound that joined them.  However, more skeletons and ghouls began to wander into the courtyard.


The party moved hastily into the ruined chapel.


Ghouls of various sizes were loitering within.


Several quickly moved to attack Kyra and Bogdan


From a darkened corner, two more surprised Hanali.


However, these were dispatched with a Fireball from Bayarma.


In the center of the ruined chapel, Kyra and Bogdan struck down two large ghoul fiends and cut down several others lesser ghouls.


Bogdan went to investigate the one intact room in the chapel while the rest of the party dealt with a ghoul who flung bones at them.


The room contained a box of something interesting.


Another vulture appeared spreading and was promptly shot down.


Bogdan then clambered up to a perch on which another treasure was found.


As they were leaving however, a zombie emerged from the pile of trash in the center of the chapel.  Like the vulture, it was quickly dispatched.


Having cleared the chapel, they moved on to the gate house.

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