We returned for a second session of Rangers of Shadowdeep since it seems to fit a demand for a co-op miniatures wargame which can be completed in an evening. The game is an interesting hybrid of GM-less RPG and skirmish wargame.
The next mission in the book is the Beacon Tower, which sees the rangers investigating why contact has been lost with the watch tower at Tor Varden, on the frontier of the kingdom of Alladore. We kept the same three companions we used in the first mission as they had all earned experience, even our dog Grim!
The Beacon Tower breaks down into three scenarios. In the first the rangers advance through wooded terrain to get across a bridge held by gnolls. As we didn't own gnolls in our collection we happily swapped in orcs as a substitute.
The Bridge Guards scenario opens: the rangers begin their approach through the woods. The orc sergeant with his big chopper can be seen on the bridge with his minions. A screen of archers has deployed along the river bank.
The rangers were largely successful in our objectives, wiping out the orcs and escaping in the direction of the tower without being spotted by a giant bat the orcs occupying the tower were using as a surveillance drone! We unfortunately lost our crossbowman Rook Halvane, who was slain by one of the orcs, but did encounter a man at arms who was a survivor of the garrison in the tower.
The battle is joined near the bridge, with Brakka Ironmaul and Silent Wolf distracting the orcs while Pip and Grim the warhound lurk in the undergrowth, hding from the orc archers.
The next scenario saw the team successfully pick the lock to the tower, which then allowed us to surprise the orc shaman, who was trying to animate a flesh golem. The shaman was killed before he could do so, and sadly the monster therefore did not enter the fray. I say sadly because Ben had painted this one up especially. I am going to try to incorporate it into a future Warhammer game instead.
Faelen Mossborn teleported across the river to loot the orc camp while they were distracted. He found treasure and a clue. Various comments were made by the other rangers about how he seemed to avoid most of the fighting - again. All completely unfair.
The rest of the ground floor of the tower was cleared successfully, and we detached one of our companions (trainee ranger Pip Merrick) to guard the survivors we had freed from the orcs. The rangers then proceeded up the stairs to the summit of the tower where they encountered a death knight (wraith) about to start a bonfire with one of the captured guards on top of it!
Aelarion Swiftwind lines up on the giant blood bat the orcs were using for surveillance - I think it was shot down by the elven ranger in the end...
This was the toughest encounter of the evening, but it was not the death knight that was the problem. One of his orc guards managed to keep the team busy by scampering around on the wooden walkway on the tower sniping at us. One of our problems was that we had lost our crossbowman Halvane at the bridge - he would have been invaluable here. We also lack ranged weapons and spells and the walkway was unstable, meaning none of the rangers relished going out onto it to tackle the last orc.
Inside the tower where the rangers have burst into the first chamber - the orc shaman is in the centre next to the table with the flesh golem, but Brakka is bearing down on him. The orc in the foreground has already been shot once by Aelarion. Our companions are still outside the gate to the tower on the left.
We finally managed to kill the last orc - I think with a throwing knife but may be corrected here - and successfully completed the mission.
The tower summit - the stairs leading up are on the right. Brakka is battling the death knight while the other rangers run to help him. The captive guard sits tied up on the pyre awaiting his fate if the rangers fail!
It was another entertaining evening with Rangers of Shadowdeep and I look forwards to continuing with the saga at some point in the future. Thanks to Kelvin for the excellent photos as ever.
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