A four-player scenario for Song of Blades and Heroes: Sell Your Lives Dearly

[Hobgoblin]

This is a scenario that I've played a few times with the kids and friends. We played it again at the weekend with some slight tweaks, and it produced a cracking game. I'm posting it here in case anyone else might enjoy it.

The scenario: five elven warriors mount a last stand against three monstrous warbands. The monsters want the riches and raiment that the elves have about their persons; the elves want to sell their lives dearly; they have recently rescued a princess of their people from captivity and want to ensure her escape.

The warbands
The elves (400 points)
One elven bowmaster: Q2, C4, Unerring Aim, Good Shot, Legendary Shot, Shooter Long
Four elven elite archers: Q2, C3, Unerring Aim, Good Shot, Shooter Long
Special Rule: Elite. Two or more elves can opt to perform a group activation, including concentrated fire. So all four elite archers could choose to concentrate their fire on a single monster in a given turn - or to activate as a group on a single set of die rolls.

Orcs (330 points)
One orc Leader: Q3, C4, Leader
Four orc warriors: Q4, C3
One orc standard bearer: Q4, C3, Standard Bearer
Five orc archers: Q4, C3, Shooter Medium

Ogres (364 points)
One ogre leader: Q3, C5, Big, Tough, Leader
Four ogres: Q4, C4, Big
Two wolfriders: Q4, C3, Mounted, Shooter Medium, Savage, Long Move, Greedy

Beastmen (430 points)
One Beastman Leader, Q3, C4, Big, Shooter Long, Unerring Aim, Leader, Savage, Forester
Ten Beastmen: Q4, C3, Savage, Forester

Terrain and deployment
The elves deploy on a hill or hillock in the centre of the table. This doesn't slow movement, but does give a combat advantage for higher ground.

The three monster warbands each deploy within one short stick of a chosen table edge. The table should have a couple of areas of woodland (no closer to the hill than one long stick), some boulders and/or ruined walls or hedges.

Victory conditions
The elves gain one victory point for each turn in which an elf remains on the table (delaying the monsters helps to ensure the princess's escape). They also gain one victory point for each 100 points of monsters that they kill or rout.

Each monster warband gains three victory points for each elf slain or routed by that warband. Killing or routing another player's monster leader is also worth three victory points. Sole occupation of the battlefield confers another seven victory points.

We've often played this scenario with more monsters but as a two-player game. This makes life easier for the elves, as the monsters will roll a double failure before they can all move. But with four players, surviving is very hard indeed for the elves. Nevertheless, careful use of aimed shots and concentrated fire can lead to plenty of gruesome kills, which tend to sow panic among the Q4 monsters.

There's also a delicate risk/reward balance for the monster leaders. They're powerful, but deeply vulnerable to the arrows of the elves. Bring them too far forward and they risk being shot; keep them back and your troops' morale suffers.

Finally, the set-up should present difficult decisions for the monster players: risk everything to kill the elves - or hang back and let your rivals wear them down?

Anyway, we had a blast with it, and I hope it's of some use to others. Any monsters would work, so long as the troops are Q4. The contrast between the elves' Q2 and the monsters' Q4 is a big part of the scenario's dynamic.

[Dr. Kevin Moon III esq.]

Thanks for sharing, always nice to have a few multiplayer scenarios in the back pocket.

[The Bibliophile]

Sounds like fun! I'll have to try this. Thanks for sharing it!