HeroQuest Blood Sport!!!

[wallydubbs]

Quick question for you moundbz, what's the arena size you're working with? Are you using the arena tile from Against the Ogre Hoard? I think the Ogres Champion would've needed 3 turns of movement to get across the arena.

[moundbz]

Yes, the new arena tile is what I'm using.

[wallydubbs]

Just ran through a teams battle of:
Knight, Bard, Warlock & Monk
Vs.
Wizard, Raptor, Dwarf & Elf

I suppose the Raptor put the Wizard's team at a disadvantage, but they had plenty of spells to go around. The Wizard chose Air, Earth and Water spells while the Elf took Time spells (Time Stop, Flashback and Slow). Their team started off with a strategy to single out the Warlock as it was noticed all of her partners had 3 Defense Dice. This didn't quite work out, though. Once the Knight's team emerged the Wizard sent the Dwarf out with Swift Wind to go after the Warlock, but for the first several turns the Dwarf only rolled 1 , which the Warlock kept blocking. In retaliation the Bard and Warlock focused all their attacks on the Dwarf. The Monk would alternate between the Wizard and Dwarf while the Raptor danced around, snipping at the opposition where he could.

The Dwarf's attacks weren't strong enough to the knock Demonform off of the Warlock, but the Bard's 2AD diagonal and Warlock's 3AD brough the Dwarf down significantly. The Wizard used Heal Body on him. Rock Skin, of course, failed at the first defence. Eventually the Dwarf did land a hit against the Warlock but she just used Dark Wings to avoid damage.

The Monk had use Eye of the Storm to attack the Elf and Raptor, only managing a hit on the Elf; Strength of Mountain against the Wizard; Tidal Surge to hit the Dwarf and run; Touch of Endless Inferno was also used on the Dwarf, only for the Wizard to cast Water of Healing on him too

The Elf cast Slow on the Knight and kept him in his sights the entire match. The Elf maintained all attacks on the Knight while casting Time Stop on the Wizard and Flashback on a Raptor's failed attack. The Elf chipped away at the Knight, who couldn't do much with 1AD and 1 movement.

The first to fall was the Monk as the Wizard cast Sleep on him, which took hold. The Raptor and Dwarf took him down to 3BP. He woke up on his next turn but the Wizard then cast Genie, who attacked with :skull::skull::skull::whiteshield:. Despite the Monk's 3 defence die, he only rolled 1 and dropped to 0BP.

The Monk and Warlock focused on taking out the Dwarf next, as the Wizard ran out of healing spells.

The Wizard kept his distance as he was down to 1BP and used Veil of Mist and Pass Through Rock to give the Raptor maneuverability to stay on the Warlock, taking her down to 2BP. The Bard would cast Healing Song to restore his team's BP, which was more helpful to the Knight and Monk.

As the Wizard ran out of spells he resorted to dagger attacks against the Bard. Bard used Lullaby against the Raptor, which did not take effect, but the Warlock inevitably shot the 3BP Raptor down, regaining Demonform. The Bard killed the Wizard as the Elf was finishing off the Knight, hut he still had Stalwart to save himself. The Knight, Warlock and Bard eventually brought down the Elf's BP to 0.

The Knight, Bard and Warlock survive.

Next march will be
Wizard, Wolf, Bard & Barbarian
Vs
Explorer, Druid, Knight & Elf

[wallydubbs]

Wizard, Wolf, Bard & Barbarian
Vs.
Explorer, Druid, Knight & Elf

The spell draws were surprisingly the same as last fight, Wizard drew Air, Earth and Water spells while the Elf had Time spells.

Emerging from the gate the Wizard, Wolf, Bard and Barbarian take up careful positioning. But as soon as the other team came out it all fell apart. The Druid stayed back to cast Shapeshift on herself while the Explorer worked around the heroes hoping to attack from behind. The Knight took to the center immediately attacking the Barbarian with but the Barbarian amazingly blocked ! The Elf followed suit and cut off the Wolf by casting Slow.

The Wizard would than cast Rock Skin on the Barbarian as she squared up to the Knight. The Bard gave the Barbarian some assistance with Inspirational Tale, allowing the Barbarian to get 2 hits in.
Meanwhile the Druid and Elf tried to take out the Wolf while the Explorer sneaks around to attack the Wizard, getting a hit in.

Wizard cast Tempest on the Explorer allowing the other heroes to maneuver through the battle, Barbarian attacked the Explorer while the Bard tried his luck with the Knight and the Wolf nipped the Druid, causing her to lose Shapeshift.

The Knight now went after the Wizard and the Wolf, with only 1 defense die, managed a against the Elf. The Druid hesitated to use Pixie for 1BP, hoping to maximize, maybe after taking damage for a later turn.

The Knight would then succumb to the Wizard's sleep spell, allowing the Barbarian, Wolf and Bard all to get licks in. The Knight fell to 2BP.
The Explorer, recovered from Tempest and went after the Wizard again, taking him down to 1BP. With the Wizard and Wolf both down in BP, the Bard knew he'd have to play Healing Song, but before his turn came around the Druid and Elf took out the Wolf. The Knight, also broke the Sleep spell, Druid would need to heal him.

Before all this could happen Wizard cast Swift Wind on himself and retreated from battle, running to the other side of the arena. With the Wolf gone the Bard rethought casting Healing Song as the Wizard was now safely away and he and the Barbarian were still high on BP. He thought of evening the odds and singing Lullaby on the Knight. This allowed the Barbarian to carry out his next attack landing 2 s to finish off the Knight. The Knight, being asleep, was unable to use Stalwart to save himself.

The Explorer, Druid and Elf launched their attack, breaking the Barbarian's Rock Skin and take the Bard down to 3BP.
Wizard cast Genie from afar, taking the Explorer down to 3BP. Bard cast Healing Song bringing himself and Barbarian back to full health and the Wizard up to 3BP.
But the Explorer, Druid and Elf all converged on the Wizard, surrounding him. After all their attacks he was back down to 1BP. He thought it best to get out of battle first by casting Veil of Mist instead of healing himself and staying surrounded.

The Bard and Barbarian both attacked the Druid, taking her down for 4BP to 0 with just two attacks, removing her from the fight before she could cast her healing spells.
The fate befell the Wizard too, as the Explorer caught up to him before he could use a Healing Spell to save himself. The Elf rolled short so used TimeStop on the Explorer to double up his attack.
It didn't matter, though, the Bard and Barbarian ended up taking out the Explorer. Too bad none of his skills work in the arena.

It was just a matter of time as the Elf fought valiantly, the Bard and Barbarian were too much for her. The Bard and Barbarian were the official winners.

[wallydubbs]

I'm thinking of running Boss battles in arena mode as I finished Return of the Witch Lord and started the World's End Tournament in Against the Ogre Hoard. But I'm doing so I was thinking of all the battles fought at the end of an Expansion pack and thought of testing these groups:

Court of the Witch Lord:
Witch Lord (18.5pts), 6 Skeletons (30pts), 2 Mummies (15pts), 2 DoomGuard (24pts) to a total 87.5pts.
The Witch Lord's court has the #'s advantage but the Skeletons are weak on attack, defence and Body Points. They'd be an annoyance to the bigger guys just marking chip damage while the Mummies, though a bit slow, are ok on attacks and pretty fair on defence. Both Skeletons and Mummies are immune to spells that rely on mind points. The DoomGuard are heavy hitters with a formidable defense, they're the only ones on this team that could be targeted by all spells. The Witch Lord, however is immune to most spells and could be pretty effective against monsters with lower mind points. He also has pretty good attack and defence.

Fortress of the Ogre Lord:
Ogre Lord (22pts), Ogre Commander (16pts), Ogre Champion (14.5pts), Ogre Warrior (13pts) to a total of 65.5pts, which doesn't seem as high as I would've thought. These guys are lumberingly slow, have no Magic and only the Ogre Lord has spell resistant mind points. There's only 4 on this team but they overcompensate with Massive Attacks, formidable defense and high body points. I was considering adding a 5th Ogre just to bring up their points tally, but then I'd have the make adjustments to other teams to even the teams. But this is how the big boss battles are set in the game system.

Heart of Ice:
Frozen Horror (21pts), 2 Yetis (22pts), 2 Dread Warriors (22pts), 2Polar Warbears (30pts) which brings them to 95pts. Having the most points this team is the odds on favorite. The mind points of the Yeti and Polar Warbear aren't that great, the Frozen Horror has the largest spell collection then anyone. The Yeti has a fair attack strength but due to the size of some of their opponents he may not manage the hug. The Polar Warbears have a really good attack and can make quick work of some opponents. However the defence for these two could be better. The Dread Warriors also have good attack and ok defence, with the Frozen Horror's spells this team will probably be the winners.

Sinestra's Stronghold:
Sinestra (18.5pts), 2 Elven Archers (20pts), 2 Giant Wolves (29pts), Ogre (14pts) comes up to 81.5pts. Asides from Sinestra the fighters on this team somehow have even poorer mind points then the Ogres. They have an Ogre on the team who adds to the attack strength along with the Giant Wolves, plus ranged attacks. Only their Defense Dice are much lower then the Ogre Team. Sinestra has a good entourage of spells.

I'm going to go with Court of the Witch Lord vs Heart of Ice and Ogre's Fortress vs Sinestra's Stronghold.

The Court of the Witch Lord have numbers but the Polar Warbears can easily drain those numbers. Maybe the Witch Lord could get Command over a Polar Warbear and keep the battle in his favor. If the battle is too terrible for the Witch Lord I might allow "Summon Undead" to work in the arena.
Due to Sinestra's spells and the viciousness of the Giant Wolves as well as the ranged attacks of the Elven Archers, this team should give the Ogres a run for their money. The Ogres' advantage here is their defence and strong attack. The low defence of the Giant Wolves and slow movement of Elven Archers might allow the Ogres to close the distance, but the numbers show Sinestra's team has an edge. I'll be following up the battle in a few days.

[wallydubbs]

Court of the Witch Lord vs Heart of Ice

The gate opens and the Witch Lord knows he's at a disadvantage, so having the first attack is paramount. He has studied the movement of his adversaries but keeps his army a minimum distance back, utilizing the size of the arena, far enough away that his rivals on the other side of the gate won't reach them in their first movement.
As the opposing gate opens an Arctic breeze fills the arena but the undead show no aversion to the cold. The Yetis, Polar Warbears and Dread Warrior emerge followed by the hulking ancient evil. A magnificent beast it might be but in its ancient age it has acquired knowledge of tactics. Summoning an Ice Wall the Frozen Horror covers their right flank. The undead may have the first attack but are not able to surround the Horror's minions. The undead would need to waste time breaking the ice wall if they wish to surround the Heart of Ice.

The Witch Lord's plan was thwarted, half of his forces would drive straight into battle. A Mummy failed to inflict any damage on a Dread Warrior. One of the DoomGuard wounded a Yeti, slashing it across the chest. A Polar Warbear took a slash from a Skeleton's scythe. One skeleton dared attack the Frozen Horror but was unsuccessful, just the same, quite a bold move. The other DoomGuard and a Mummy tried to break the ice but only managed some 4 out of the required 5 hits. The Witch Lord was unable to progress his forces but could still see through the magic ice and casted a Command spell over a Polar Warbear, which took hold. The Warbear then set its sights on a Dread Warrior from his own team and with 2 swipes of his club. The first resulted in 2 hits, the second finished him off.

The Frozen Horror directed his attention to one of the DoomGuard casting Mind Freeze, this was not enough to put the DoomGuard into shock, he retained 1 MP. A Yeti attacked the bold Skeleton, but a was blocked! Another Skeleton was shattered by a Yeti. The Polar Warbear and Dread Warrior defeated a Mummy and DoomGuard. The other Polar Warbear broke free from the Command spell, unfortunate for the Witch Lord that it didn't last longer, it took out a Skeleton.

Had the Ice Wall not been in place the Witch Lord could've had a a better shot. The Witch Lord, with 10 movement circled around the Arena and fired a Lightning Bolt through 2 Yetis and the Frozen Horror. Next came the DoomGuard, assaulting the Polar Warbear, getting a hit in. The bold Skeleton got a hit in on the Yeti, chip damage. The Mummy finally shattered the ice as another Skeleton ran through and failed to get a hit on the Dread Warrior.

The Polar Warbear now had his turn against the DoomGuard, rolling in 3 , only to be met with 3 s from his 6 defense die. The Dread Warrior took out a Skeleton, the Yeti again failed to take out Skeleton the Bold. Frozen Horror found a good area to cast Ice Storm, forgetting that the Witch Lord was immune to spells, but the Ice Storm also crashed Down on a Skeleton and DoomGuard, whose massive defence would amount to nothing with this spell. The Skeleton was taken out by the Ice Storm and a roll of took out the DoomGuard. The other Yeti then attacked the Witch Lord, succeeding in landing 2 s!
The Witch Lord was now caught in a bear hug. All the Witch Lord had left on his team was a skeleton and Mummy. If he didn't break out of the Yeti Hug this turn it would drop him to 0BP from the squeeze. The Skeleton got in a free shot, rolling 1 , but the Yeti still had 2BPs. The Mummy could never make it around the Frozen Horror's forces to save its master, so it only attacked the Dread Warrior, getting in only 1 hit. But the Witch Lord wasn't done yet, though he could not attack for being in the hug he could still cast spells and his only offensive spell left was FireStorm. This would effect all monsters in the arena, including his own. But he was desperate and needed to get out of this hug. FireStorm ended up killing Skeleton the Bold, the Mummy, the Dread Warrior and both Yetis! This a actually brought the Frozen Horror down to 1BP and the Polar Warbears were still standing with 2 and 3BP each. As soon as the Witch Lord was free from the grasp of the now dead Yeti, he ran past the two Warbears, putting distance between himself and them. The Polar Warbears have chase but couldn't catch him as the Frozen Horror cast Soothe on itself.

Due the dire need of the Witch Lord I allowed him to cast Summon Undead. Rolling a he conjured 3 Skeletons and 2 Zombies. They swarmed the Polar Warbears, dropping one to 1BP, and unable to hurt the other.
The Warbears utilized their double attacks and killed 4 out of the 5 undead surrounding them. The Frozen Horror, now aware that his spells can't effect the Witch Lord cast Tempest on the last Zombie.
The Witch Lord attacked the Polar Warbear with 1BP and managed to kill it. His last Zombie was engulfed in a whirlwind. The Polar Warbear killed the Last Zombie and the Frozen Horror reached the Witch Lord, dropping a fatal blow that crushed the Witch Lord to pieces.

[wallydubbs]

I'm setting up an Arena Tournament I'll be running once I finish up Mage of the Mirror. I've to leveled the teams as much as possible via my points system:

United Heroes
Barbarian, Bard, Berserker, Druid, Dwarf, Monk & Wizard
Vs.
Court of the Witch Lord
Witch Lord, 2 Doomguards, 2 Mummies, 2 Skeleton Archers & 6 Skeletons
The heroes have 97.5 total points as opposed to the Witch Lord's team of 99.5. The heroes will be starting with base stats and the Witch Lord will be vulnerable to all weapons but still immune to all spells.

Cadre of the Veil
Elf, Rogue, Elven Warrior, Elven Archer, Striker, Glaive, Scout & Arbalist
Vs
Zargon's Flame
Fellmarak, Gargoyle, 2 Dread Warriors, 2 Abominations, 2 Mummies, 3 Skeletons
The Cadre of the Veil are at 99.5pts and Elven Mercenaries defend with white shields. Zargon's Flame has 100pts. To balance the fight Zargon's Flame's undying ability only kicks in once the monsters have dropped to 0 Body Points.

Heart of Ice
Frozen Horror, 2 Yetis, 2 Polar Warbears & 3 Ice Gremlins
Vs
Blightspinners
Blightcrawler, 4 Blightweavers, Giant Ape, 2 Raptors, Serpent & 3 Spawnlings
Heart of Ice is at 100 pts, the Ice Gremlin's stealing ability is essentially useless as most opponents won't have alternate weapons, but the Polar Warbear double-strike is still active, as is the Yeti's bearhug, however the hug only works on monsters and heroes that take up 1 space, double spaced monsters are too big to get trapped in the hug. The Frozen Horror cannot cast Summon Orcs or Summun Undead.
The Blightspinners are at 100.5 pts, their Venomous ability still works but I've disarmed the Spawn ability. All other monster abilities still work.

Crypt of Darkness
Venom, Kendrick Gilbane, King Archaloneus, 2 Dread Warriors, 2 Skeletons, Gargoyle & 1 Mummy
Vs
Dread/Ogre Alliance
Festral, Nexreal, Xenloth, Mummy & 4 Ogres
Both teams are at 100.5pts. The Dread Sorcerers use a different set of spells not common from casual Dread Sorcerers. We'll see how effective the Dread Spells from Against the Ogre Hoard are in these situations.

The Realm
Wizard, 2 Knights, 1 Swordsman, 2 Scouts, 1 Halberdier & 2 Crossbowmen
Vs
Sinestra's Stronghold
Sinestra, 2 Giant Wolves, 2 Elven Archers, 1 Magus Guard, 1 Elven Warrior & 1 Assassin
Both teams are at 101pts, Sinestra cannot cast Summon Wolves. Mercenaries defend with white shield. The Wizard and Knights start with base stats. Knight's Challenge is also pointless in this type of fight.

Goblin Kingdom
Gruulob, Buubhealxea, Giant Wolf, Dread Warrior, 2 Abominations, 5 Goblins & 2 Goblin Archers
Vs
BlackFire
Balur, 4 Skeletons, 5 Orc's, 2 Mummies, 2 Orc Archers & Skeleton Archer
Goblin Kingdom is at 102 pts while Blackfire has 102.5pts. Balur cannot cast Summon Orcs. Gruulob cannot cast Summon Goblins. There's gonna be a lot of Goblins running around, I could easily get lost.

Orc Warparty
Ulag, Grak, Ograk, Dread Warrior, Abomination, 2 Orc Archers, 1 Goblin Archer, 3 Orcs & 2 Goblins
Vs
Forgotten Legion
Skullmar, 2 Dread Warriors, 3 Mummies, 4 Zombies & 5 Skeletons
Both teams are at 103pts. To boost the Forgotten Legion I'm giving them the blocks all hits skill.

Ogre Hoard
Ogre Lord, Ogre Commander, Ogre Champion & 4 Ogres Warriors
Vs
Magrian's Revenge
Dread Wraith, Sir Ragnar, 3 Specters, 4 Dread Cultists, Abomination & Elven Archer
Both teams are at 104.5 pts, the Ogres are vulnerable without magic but they're very heavy hitters. Magrian and the Specters take damage only on the roll of a . Sir Ragnar has the Stalwart Skill to fall back on.

Trophies will be removed from the arena, 1 Team moves and attacks, it's too inconsistent to do alternating monster from different teams.
When 1 member of a team is killed he/she is permanently removed from the team, will not advance to the next round if his/her team wins. Spells and Body Points will replenish between rounds. Each surviving team will be paired against another team with closest remaining points.

[wallydubbs]

United Heroes
Barbarian, Bard, Berserker, Druid Dwarf, Monk & Wizard
Vs
Court of the Witch Lord
Witch Lord, 2 Doom Guards, 2 Mummies, 1 Zombie, 5 Skeletons & 2 Skeleton Archers

The gate creeks open as the Heros make their entrances, Barbarian leading the charge. The Bard speaks an inspirational Tale, filling the Dwarf with vigor. In preparation for battle the Druid Shapeshifts as the Wizard grants her Rock Skin. The Monk and Berserker follow their allies out.

The gate arises as their goes step out, slow yet menacing the Mummies lead. A Zombie follows it's master, the Witch Lord, out. Immediately the Witch Lord casts Fear upon the Barbarian, who is also the only hero in rage of melee attack. The Doom Guard follow out, with only 1 close enough to attack the Barbarian:
He catches his shield into the Barbarian's chest, knocking the wind out of him, but he's able to get his sword up to block the follow up blow.
The skeletons follow out of the gate. Among the slow undead only one archer is able to force an artist at the Barbarian, who managed to dodge it.

The Barbarian resists the fear spell: and strikes back at the Doomguard, barely piercing the armor.
The Bard uses his rapier to fight a Doomguard, but the Doomguard's defense is too strong.
The Druid runs alongside the Barbarian and tackles a Mummy, ripping it to shreds.
The Dwarf, inspired by the Bard goes after the Doomguard, but is unable to pierce his armor.
The Monk jumps into a fray of undead unleashing his Eye of the Storm technique, but alas, the Mummy, Skeleton and Doomguard all blocked any damage. However the 1 Zombie's head was taken clear off.
The Berserker goes after the Mummy, and although his Broadsword slashed open it's sternum, the Mummy did not fall.
The Wizard casts Fire of Wrath down upon a Skeleton Archer, reducing it to ashes.

A Skeleton sneaks around the fighting and attacks the Wizard, but missed.
The Doomguard's attack against the Barbarian was blocked as a nother skeleton futilely attacked the Druid. A Skeleton archers fired a precise arrow at the Monk, who caught it in mid air. All undead attacks were either clumsy or easily blocked, but the Dwarf did take a mailed first to the face from a Doomguard, who then ran away.
The Witch Lord saw 4 heroes in an offensive line and with remarkable speed moves adjacent to the Barbarian, casting Lightning Bolt in a straight line, hitting Barbarian, Druid, Monk and Dwarf. This removed Shapeshift and Rock Skin from the Druid.

The Barbarian reflexively attacks the Witch Lord, knocking him for 2BP of damage, without a block.
The Bard attempts to kill a Doomguard with his Lullaby but it was ineffective while the Berserker slashes a Mummy's head off. The Dwarf and Druid both fail to eliminate skeletons they've been fighting, but the lopped the head off one with a roundhouse kick. The Wizard ran from his Skeleton while casting Courage on the Barbarian.

One Doomguard turns his attention to the Bard, who almost avoided the blow, just barely being grazed. A skeleton deals minor damage to the Dwarf while an arrow catches the Monk in the shoulder. Two skeletons double team the Berserker, who only takes 1 damage from them while the Doomguard hits a grievous wound on the Barbarian, dropping him to 1BP. The Witch Lord capitalizes on the Barbarian's courage and casts Command on him, which takes hold. This forced the Barbarian to twist his angle at the last minute and his sword dealt 2 damage to the Druid.

The Barbarian fails to fight off the Command spell. The Bard backs away from the Doomguard announcing another Inspirational Tale, this time on the Berserker, who abandons the skeletons he's fighting and goes after the Doomguard, using Enrage from his own BP and attacking the Doomguard with 5 combat dice, landing 2 hits, which brought the Doomguard down to 1BP. The Dwarf and Druid both failed to land a hit against Skeletons while the Monk broke another one apart. The Wizard cast Heal Body on the Druid, restoring her to full health and reaccessing the Shapeshift spell.

The Dwarf blocked the Skeleton's attack. The Barbarian, under the Command spell attacked the Berserker from behind, landing 2 hits. A skeleton and Doomguard both attacked the Monk, but he was able to avoid damage. The Skeleton Archer's arrow found its mark, bringing the Dwarf down to 1BP. A skeleton attacked and dealt 1 damage onto the Wizard. And the Berserker took 2 more damage from the Doomguard, so he used Retaliation to strike back and kill the Doomguard. The Berserker is down 1BP. The Witch Lord casts his 2nd Fear spells on the Berserker, taking hold.

Barbarian failed to break the Command Spell, so the Bard stepped up with Healing Song, restoring 2BP to each of his comrades. Druid casts Shapeshift on herself. The Dwarf again fails to take out the Skeleton he's been fighting for 3 turns. The Monk uses Strength of Mountain to attack the 2nd Doomguard, but only 1 hit goes through. The Doomguard has 1BP left. Even though the Berserker failed to break his Fear he attacked the Witch Lord, but the was blocked. The Wizard, with his dagger, mages to get close enough to the skeleton and sever the spinal column.

The Witch Lord calls the Barbarian over to fight the Berserker, but he fails in his attack. The Witch Lord flies from the Berserker and casts Tempest on the Monk. Again the Doomguard and Skeleton fail to land a hit. But the Skeleton Archer targets the Wizard, who managed to block the arrow. The Dwarf also showed good defense from his attacker.

Barbarian still is unable to break Command. The Bard runs over to help the Dwarf but fails to roll a .
The Druid, unable to reach the Skeleton Archer, just reaches the skeleton fighting the Monk and tackles it, ripping off its head.
The Berserker couldn't shake Fear off either but tried and failed to attack the Doomguard anyway. The Dwarf finally deals a Deathblow to the Skeleton he's fighting. The Wizard casts Sleep on the Doomguard and it takes hold.

The skeleton archer fires an arrow at the Druid, but she blocked it. The Barbarian lands another hit on the Berserker, who is now down to 2BP. The Doomguard awoke and drew his sword through the Berserker, killing him. The Witch Lord hopes to deal some damage on the Wizard with Ball of Flame. Only 1 hit goes through.

The Barbarian is still under Command, but still the Witch Lord's court is outnumbered. The Bard finishes off the Doomguard and Monk takes out the Skeleton Archer. The Dwarf was too far to launch an attack on the Witch Lord, but the Druid had enough space, however her attack was blocked. The Wizard cast Ball of Flame back at the Witch Lord, which only did 1 Damage. The Witch Lord lives with 1BP and Barbarian still under his spell.

Turning the corner the Barbarian attacks the Wizard, but the Wizard managed excellent defence.
The Witch Lord cast his final spell, Firestorm sets the arena ablaze, dealing 1 damage to the Wizard, 2 to the Bard, 2 on the Dwarf, 3 on the Barbarian, 3 on the Monk and 2 on the Druid. Only the Barbarian was killed.

The Bard charges to get the final blow on the Witch Lord but it was blocked. The Dwarf was unable to make it across the arena. The Druid rolled high enough to reach the Witch Lord but her Dagger did no damage. The Monk made it to the Witch Lord and administered the Touch of Endless Inferno, ending the Witch Lord.

The United Heroes were successful, only losing the Berserker and Barbarian. Clearly the Witch Lord's tactic was to target the most skilled combatants. A strong showing by the heroes but we'll see how they fair in the tournament with their hardest hitters now dead.

[wallydubbs]

Cadre of the Raven's Veil
Rogue, Elf, Elven Warrior, Elven Archer, Scout, Glaive, Arbalist & Striker
vs
Zargon's Flame
Fellmarak, 2 Abominations, 2 Dread Warrior, 1 Gargoyle, 2 Mummies & 3 Skeletons

Led by the Rogue heir of Elthorn the Cadre emerge from the gate, they're slow for a race that is supposed to be light on their feet. Their distance is far enough that Fellmarak and his group cannot reach them. Though no physical attack is made Fellmarak casts a Command spell on the Striker, who immediately turns to the Elf, dealing 2 damage.
The Elf decides her next move, backing away from Striker and casting TimeStop on the Elven Archer, who targets a Dread Warrior. After two quick arrows the Dread Warrior is reduced to 1BP. The Arbalist follows suit, but his arrow is blocked. The Glaive then runs in hoping to finish him off and chops him across the neck. Zargon's Flame kicks in and the Dread Warrior does not die. Striker is then able to shake off her affliction and rejects the command. She runs in between the Flamed Dread Warrior and a Skeleton, attacking the Dread Warrior and failing to land a hit. The Elf then immediately casts Flashback allowing the Striker to make the same attack. Although she did manage a this time The Flamed Dread Warrior was able to block it. The Scout fearlessly runs into the fray, attacking a Skeleton, but fails to roll a . The Rogue is next to run in, despite having Opportunistic Striker he can't hit the Skeleton, but upon using Ambidextrous he stabs it in the head. Zargon's Flame keeps the Skeleton alive. The Elven Warrior then bravely challenges the Gargoyle and runs it through, dealing 2BP damage. Unfortunately the Cadre was unable to score a successful kill on their initial attack.

An Abomination comes around the battle lines attacking the Elven Archer, landing 2 hits on him. A Dread Warrior then finishes him off. The Elven Archer was killed. The Gargoyle attacked the Elven Warrior, but his attack was blocked. 2 slow Mummies were too far to fall into battle but they are approaching. 2 Skeletons attack the Scout but he is able to block their hits. The Flamed Dread Warrior attacks the Striker, but it was blocked. The other Abomination goes after the Glaive, but he too was blocked. The Flamed Skeleton is also blocked when attacking the Rogue. Fellmarak, however, launches another magical attack on Striker, casting Fear, which takes hold.

The Elf spots Fellmarak away from the battle and casts Slow on him. Keeping him in line of sight, allowing the Arbalist to take his shot. But despite losing a defence dice Fellmarak successfully blocks the arrow. The Glaive retreats from the Abomination and goes for a diagonal attack against Fellmarak, who still managed to block. The Striker could not roll a under Fear. The Scout manages to take out a Skeleton on his turn. The Rogue uses Combat Mobility to go through his foe and throws a Dagger into the skull of the other Skeleton fighting the Scout, Zargon's Flame does not save it. His 2nd throw from Ambidextrous failed, however. The Elven Warrior attacked the Gargoyle once more, he rolled 3 s and the Gargoyle managed 2 . This was indeed just enough to drop the Gargoyle to 0BP, activating Zargon's Flame, which saves the beast.

The mummy attacks the Scout, who takes 1 damage. The Flamed Dread Warrior backs up the Mummy with an attack the Scout couldn't even hope to block, killing him. The Abomination attacks the Glaive, who blocked the attack. The flamed skeleton goes after the Rogue, inflicting 2BP of Damage. The other Mummy comes in for an assist, adding 1 more. The Rogue is down to 2BP. An Abomination gives cheese to the Elven Warrior and hits him for 1BP. The Dread Warrior charges the Elf with a massive 4 s! Only 1 was blocked, the Elf is down to 1BP. The Flamed Gargoyle then grabs her and snaps her neck. Fellmarak casts Rust on the Elven Warrior's sword, leaving him with very little offense. He his also free from the Slow spell.

The Arbalist steps out of the fray and fires a shot at the Flamed Dread Warrior. Zargon's Flame could not save it this time. Glaive charges Fellmarak again and due to his diagonal attack manages to score a hit. Striker is unable to break Fear and thus tries to do her best for the team, running adjacent to the flamed skeleton, so the Rogue will up his attack. Although the Rogue missed on his initial attack, Ambidextrous allowed him to score a hit... But Alas Zargon's Flame saved the skeleton. The Elven Warrior, now without a weapon attacked the Abomination, even though he managed a it was blocked.

The Cadre was practically surrounded now. The flamed skeleton and mummy took turns attacking Striker. Though she blocked both attacks, Fellmarak grabbed her from behind and broke her in half. The flamed Gargoyle attacked the Glaive, who blocked the attack. The Dread Warrior went after the Elven Warrior, who also blocked. 2 Abominations laid into the Arbalist, who only took 1 damage and the Mummy strangled the Rogue, dropping him to 1BP. Things are looking bleak for the Cadre.

The Arbalist fled from the Abominations and fired an arrow at the flamed Gargoyle, who was not saved by the Flame. Glaive slashed at Fellmarak, who took 2BP of damage. The Elven Warrior and Rogue both failed in their attacks.

Zargon's Flame greatly outnumbered the Cadre now and closed in on the fleeing elves. The Mummy attacked the Elven Warrior doing 1 damage while the flamed skeleton failed to hit the Rogue. The Arbalist blocked an attacking Mummy, but an Abomination was able to finish off the Glaive, leaving only 2 for the Cadre.

The Rogue threw a small blade, wounding Fellmarak. He also tried to use Ambidextrous on the flamed skeleton, but failed to get a . The Arbalist backed away from the Mummy and fired a shot at an Abomination, getting a headshot. The flame did not save it.

The flamed skeleton and Mummy both took shots at the Arbalist, but he blocked them both. The Dread Warrior and other Mummy targeted the Rogue. Although the Rogue blocked the Dread Warrior, the Mummy got in close and bit the Rogue's throat out.

The Arbalist tried to take out the flamed skeleton, but his attack was blocked.

The flamed skeleton then stabbed the Arbalist and Fellmarak finished him off. Zargon's Flame was very successful. The team survived with Fellmarak, a Dread Warrior, 2 Mummies, an Abomination and a Skeleton.

[wallydubbs]

Heart of Ice
Frozen Horror, 2 Polar Warbears, 2 Yetis & 3 Ice Gremlins
vs.
Blightspinners
Giant Ape, Serpent, Blightcrawler, 2 Raptors, 4 Blightweavers & 3 Spawnlings

An arctic breeze fills the arena as the Frozen Horror follows his minions out. Though they are too far to reach the other gate they all fill to 1 side of the arena. The Frozen Horror casts Ice Wall, cutting off the southern side of the arena, this will leave a bottle neck of 3 squares the fight will have to filter through.
The opposing gate opens with the Serpent slithering out first, going straight to the front of the line, planting itself between the Yeti and an Ice Gremlin before attacking the Ice Gremlin, but fails to roll any s. A Raptor runs out next, going after the Yeti, using Clever Tactician to get am extra attack dice. Despite rolling 3 s, the Yeti blocked 2. A giant centipede crawls from the gate but doesn't go very far while a Blightweaver uses the Ice Wall to his advantage and casts Creeping Grasp on the Yeti, which ends up causing 1 more damage while holding him in place. The 2nd Raptor follows suit, going after the same Yeti, using Clever Tactician for 2 s that land. 2 more Blightweavers step behind the Ice Wall, each casting Creeping Grasp, 1 on the Frozen Horror, 1 on a Polar Warbear, but neither take hold. The 4 Blightweaver, seeing the Yeti is down to 1BP attempts to finish him off with Channel Dread. A is rolled and the Yeti's lifeforce is drained. The Spider and Snake spawnlings move out as does the Blightcrawler, but their movement doesn't get them into the fray. The Giant Ape, however, bangs against the Ice Wall.

An Ice Gremlin attempts to stab the Serpent, but it was blocked. As he runs away another one steps up and misses. The Yeti punches the Serpent for 1. The Polar Warbear runs into the fray, crushing a Raptor's skull with his first attack, and does 2 more damage against the Serpent. Frozen Horror casts Tempest on the Serpent.

All 3 Blightweavers, from behind the Ice Wall cast Channel Dread on the Frozen Horror from across the arena, rolling a , , , which adds up to 5BP of damage on the Frozen Horror due to the fact that they are adjacent to each other. The Giant Ape continues to pound on the Ice Wall. The Giant Centipede latches onto the Polar Warbear, poisoning it.
Using it's Agility the Blightcrawler passes through all opposing monsters to get to the Frozen Harror, aiming to to finish him off. Only 1 was rolled by the Frozen Horror barely blocked it. 1 Blightweaver boldly attacks the poisoned Polar Warbear, but it was blocked. Even though the remaining Raptor was a Clever Tactician it failed to roll a .

The Yeti grabs the Serpent's jaws and snaps them, reducing the creature to 1BP, while the Ice Gremlin fails to roll a . Another Ice Gremlin runs to help out the Polar Warbear and kills the Centipede, leaving the Polar Warbear to use both his attacks. The first attack was for 2 s against the Blightweaver, but his 2 defence dice were both s. He used his 2nd attack to deliver a fateful blow to the serpent. The Frozen Horror fled from the Blightcrawler to cast Soothe on himself. The other Polar Warbear and last Ice Gremlin attacked the Blightspinners, combining to 2 hits against the giant spider.

The snake spawnlings goes after the Polar Warbear, be he rolls a for venomous. The Raptor adds 2BP of damage against the Polar Warbear and runs off. 2 Blightweavers resort to physical attacks against the Polar Warbear but no damage is dealt. Another Blightweaver tries to break the Ice Wall but fails and the last one casts Creeping Grasp on the Frozen Horror, which deals 1 damage. The Giant Ape, who had previously given up on the Ice Wall attacks an Ice Gremlin, land 2BP of damage while another spawnling spider creeps closer. The Blightcrawler nights the Polar Warbear for 1 damage, also injecting venom, paralysing the Polar Warbear before fleeing.

One Ice Gremlin frees the Polar Warbear from the snake, while another attacks the Giant Ape, but his attack is blocked. The third Ice Gremlin kills a Spider Spawnling before it could cause any damage. The one Polar Warbear is paralyzed and not adjacent to enemies, she can't do anything, while the other one kills 2 Blightweavers with blows from his club, but still unable to to move. The Yeti punches the Giant Ape for one damage. The Frozen Horror, though, sees a Raptor, Blightweaver and Blightcrawler through the Ice Wall in close proximity to each other and casts Ice Storm on them, doing 1 damage to the Raptor, 1 to the Blightcrawler and 2 to the Blightweaver.

The remaining Blightweaver targets the Ice Gremlin with 1BP, but his attack was blocked. The Blightcrawler goes after a Polar Warbear, but it's attack was blocked. The Raptor ran in to use Clever Tactician, but his attack too was blocked. The Giant Ape clubbed the Yeti for 3BP of damage.

One Polar Warbear attacks the Blightcrawler twice, both attacks we blocked. But while it was distracted an Ice Gremlin climbed up it's back and stabbed the Icicle down through it's head, killing the Blightcrawler. The final Blightweaver was taken out by the Ice Gremlin it had attached. The Yeti and last Ice Gremlin attacked the Giant Ape, who blocked 1 but took another hit. The Frozen Harror cast a Command spell on the Raptor to attack the Giant Ape from behind but the Raptor resisted the spell.

The Giant Ape attacked the Yeti, but his blow was blocked, the Raptor then attacked the Ice Gremlin and bit off its arm before fleeing. The Ice Gremlin is still alive, though.

Frozen Horror casts Skate on a Polar Warbear, who glides to the other end of the Arena, attacking the Raptor, clubbing it to death. The Giant Ape gets swarmed by 3 Ice Gremlins, a Yeti and Polar Warbear, draining the hulking beast to 1BP.

The Giant Ape crushed 1 Ice Gremlin to get away only to be cut down the middle by the Frozen Horror's axe.

The Heart of Ice was victorious, only losing a Yeti and Ice Gremlin.