Varstone : The Teeth of the Storm.
Quite how the soldier made it into your camp is beyond you, he was literally holding himself together. Choking, gasping and begging for water he croaks his last breath into your ear.
'The Varstones, not stones...walls...look down...Lady Varstone waits...look down...the wolves...
He does not survive the night but talking amongst yourselves you surmise that the man spoke of the cursed standing Varstones that crouch in the mists on a frozen cliff overlooking the northern reaches of the city;and Lady Varstone was rumoured to be one of the riches nobles of the city. Perhaps this soldier and his band found a vantage point up there to spy the site of her ruined house.
After a hard day's climb you come upon the plateau and the ghostly shapes of the Varstones sketched in the mists before you. As you move closer you realise the truth of the soldier's words, the stones are the decrepit ruins of the upper floors of a single great tower, the rest is buried in ice and snow beneath your feet...perhaps if you look down you may find an entrance...
Set Up
Using a 2x2 board, larger if you like, form a circle of ruins at least twenty inches in diameter, inside the circle the ground should be littered with low ruins and rubble not more than single storey. These represent the roofs and fallen attic spaces of the tower now gone to ruin. Place five treasure tokens equally around the inside of the circle and one in the centre of the board. These represent possible entrances to the lower levels of the tower, to investigate a figure must be in base contact and spend one action to roll on the entrance table below.
Place your warband within 3 inches of a randomly determined corner.
You may take a wizard or apprentice and up to five other members of your warband.
Special Rules
Initiative: 1d20. 1-7 Place one zombie in centre of the board (activates in creature phase), 8-20 no affect.
Investigating the entrances.
1st roll 1d20 -4,
2nd roll -2,
3rd roll Straight result,
4th roll +4,
5th roll + 5.
Results
-3 to 4 = 1 zombie
5 to 8 = zombie + treasure
9 to 12 =zombie + treasure
13to16= treasure
17to25=entrance+ treasure
Warband members may exit the board through the entrance (?) at any time using one action.
Zombies are placed using 1d10 as direction dice, read 0 as 0 not ten
As soon as the entrance is found immediately reveal and roll for all remaining treasure tokens (-4 to all results there is only one entrance to be found) placing zombies as above.
Zombies activate in the creature phase of the turn they appear in and will move to attack the nearest warband member. They are the minions of the vampiric Lady Varstone and are immune to Control Undead.
If five treasure tokens are revealed and the entrance not found, the last treasure token is immediately revealed as the entrance.
Lady Varstone is in no mood to be disturbed by thieving adventures and will use all her powers to thwart them.
The Guard Dogs: In the creature phase of turn 2, and every turn following, place a wolf in a randomly determined corner, it will activate immediately and move to attack the nearest warband member.
Calling the Storm: From the end of the creature phase in turn 2 any warband member not in base contact with a terrain piece will suffer 1 point of damage from the ferocious ice storm that suddenly hits the plateau.
Treasure and Experience
Use standard rules as rulebook.
Too Easy?
1) Treat entire area within the walls as rough terrain.
2) Double all numbers of zombies that appear.
3) Change all wolves that appear into werewolves.
4) Change zombies to Vampirised Warband Members, randomly choose a Warband member from starting table in rule book and use those stats.
Still too easy?
Face wall and close eyes while playing!
Think that's about it.
Please post thoughts, ideas, c&c's, glad to hear them all!
Next time: The Upper Levels.
Cheers all
