Odyssea partem de Mandragoris pt.2

Twelve soldiers march home from a ghastly war, but their route leads to a place of strangeness and sorcery. After having come to a house where their city should have been, the Sons of the Mandrake fended off the machinations of a Witch and her Phantom, and now find themselves reconsidering their path.

Episode Two - Bark and Howl

The scouts had rejoined the party, and recounted their skirmish with the sorceress. Faces around the company lost their color, and whatever hope the men had in their eyes was replaced with dull rocks that weighed their heads down Captain Pyter offered some consolation; they'd waited four long years to see their families, another few days would not make so much difference. No one mentioned the absence of the Twelfth soldier, and no one noticed the eyes peering at them through the mist that wove between the trees.

In this scenario, the soldiers are stalked by a Gigantic Beast. The men must escape up the hill to survive.

Additionally, the trees seem to have their own agenda, and not only move, but seem to be opportunistic predators themselves. Due to a thick cover of fog, all range for attacks and line of sight by the soldiers is reduced to d10+1 each turn.

I played this round fairly fast and loose. Our heroes are eleven Russian soldiers with identical loadouts, save for the captain who wields a small hand axe, coming to somewhere over 1000 points. To compensate, the Beast has 3 lives (it'll retreat or respawn when one of them is spent,) and the trees have a range of abilities that inconvenience or endanger, depending on this very small table that I've included below.

d6		range	effect
1	Throw Apple	9cm	d3+1 dmg
2	Throw Soldier	3cm	soldier is thrown d10cm and takes that much dmg
3	Grapple Soldier	3cm	soldier gets -d10+3 move next turn
4	Scratch	3cm	d6+1 dmg
5	Whisper	6cm	casts Withering Gaze
6	Summon Spirit	none	places a Tree Spirit in base to base with the tree.

I used this soundtrack as Atmosphere.

Turn One

The soldiers cautiously make their way through the trees in two groups, careful of the uncertain ground beneath the mists. Their vision is poor, and so none notice the Beast slinking towards them, positioning itself for an ambush. Without warning, Captain Pyter finds himself carried into the air by wooden arms. He unlatches the hatchet at his hip, and swings into the branches. The bite of the axehead into wood almost sounds like the yelp of a dog, and the tree releases him hastily. Another soldier, having witnessed the whole exchange, feels something wither inside himself. It doesn't help that he could swear these ancient trees were whispering...

Turn Two

Dusan's detachment rounded a corner of the fen, straight into the jaws of that monstrous creature. In a moment his arm was in its terrible maw and it tugged at him viciously. The soldier's comrades steeled themselves and they struck out, bayonette blades did little to remove the creature's vice grip on their friend. Meanwhile, Pyter's group made their move for the cliffside, weaving through the bramble and dodging the occasional vindictive branch.

Turn Three

With a wet snapping sound, Dusan's arm was torn from his shoulder. A communal cry escaped the throats of his comrades as he went down, and his remaining fellows took flight, save for two who were determined to salvage their friend. However, the woodland protects itself, and a soldier named Vadim found himself knocked away from the scuffle with the monstrous Beast. Further up the way, Pyter's men climbed the first rockface, and could now see a larger hill in the distance. Perhaps they'd find their bearings up there?

Turn Four

With one last soldier carving at it with his bayonet, the beast lashed out yet again, reducing the man to a bloody mess, barely able to hold his rifle with blood slicked fingers. As he tried to escape, the creature lashed out with its wicked claws and knocked him to the forest floor where his death knells were muffled by the dead leaves and undergrowth. A shot cracked through the air, taking out the monster's eye, and it hastily loped off to the woods. Shaken and bewildered, Vadim reloaded his rifle. Up ahead, the eight other survivors reconvened in a marching line, and no longer held any misconceptions about the woods. It was out for blood, specifically theirs.

Turn Five

Regaining its confidence, the beast circled back towards the soldiers. They were marching again, straight for it, and the promise of a feast was more than its restraint could contend with.

Turn Six

From out of the fog it appeared, more menacing than anything Pyter had seen in the war. Those had been men, and as horrible as they were, they smelled of dirt and sweat while this thing exuded raw meat and piss. Standing his ground, he and another of the guard aimed shots at the oncoming wall of fur and blood, and while his shot was true, it slowed the beast none. Behind him, a handful of his men stepped up and emptied their rifles into the monster, but it's momentum was too great. It would be on them any second now. At the other end of the line, Vadim caught up with the group. Were it not for the whispers he heard coming from the trees, he might have found some comfort in the closeness of his comrades.

Turn Seven

The monster crashed down on the first infantryman with the force of an avalanche, ending him in an instant. The men however wasted no time in sinking their bayonets into its hide. Denied of its meal, the Beast took off again for the safety of the treeline. Between ragged breaths, the soldiers uttered prayers and apologies for their lost friends, and hacked at the roots that snaked between their boots. They couldn't stay still for long, otherwise they'd be joining their brothers sooner than later.

Turn Eight

The Forest had fallen silent again, and the soldiers took the stillness as their chance to escape. They climbed over the hill, and none of looked back to see their one eyed adversary watch them crest its peak.

Eight of them were left; a full third of a full third of a full third of the men they'd marched to war with four years ago. Pyter looked at his comrades, who were weary and dirty, and worst of all sapped of all their hope. His voice broke as he tried to rally them, but the point was made; they could find their bearings at the top of the peak, and that would set them on the right course. With heavy hearts, the men agreed, and continued up the ridge. 

While this campaign has no set win condition, I doubt these soldiers would consider this battle a win. Given that, we can only hope that by the end of this campaign at least one of these souls will make it back alive. In all likelihood, I'll find a use for the points these soldiers are accumulating. Maybe they'll find allies in the strange country, or better weapons from abandoned battlefields; something to give them an edge against the unnatural forces blocking their way home.