STALKER7

A Nightwatch Blood and Bone AAR

A Nightwatch Pact under the leadership of Abbess Lorn traveled to the province of Kirth following reports of savage attacks on trade caravans along the ancient highway. Brutal bandits or something worse? They aim to find out.

Accompanying the Abbess were two Blades (a Warrior and a Rogue) as well as a Tracker. (Ranger) The Abbess herself was technically a Mancer. Normally squishy and cerebral, Blood and Bone’s ‘War Mage’ sub-class allows for a paladin/cleric profile, so the usual max spell casting abilities were dialed back in favor of a more physical build. With solid but limited magic, heavy armor, and a two-hand warhammer, Abbess Lorn definitely leaned more toward a ‘holy tank’ than ‘arcane professor’ type wizard.

Narrative Intro

To set the stage for the imminent battle, our heroes had to talk their way past a mob of angry vigilantes and frightened locals who had taken it upon themselves to protect their town and farmsteads. While the Abbess, the Blade Warrior and the Tracker Ranger were convincing, the Rogue was not. (Apparently, she bore a very close resemblance to a certain horse thief who operated in the region the previous year)

“I’ve never stole horses from this province. Ever!”

Yeah, well…

End result was a split deployment. The Rogue found herself on the far side of the clearing, separated from her fellow Hunters. The Pact had seven turns to investigate three areas around the ruins. Hoping to make a virtue of necessity, they figured that would grant them the opportunity to close quickly with two of the three objectives.

Tactical Engagement

Turns One and Two saw our heroes advance toward the nearest objectives. Unfortunately, their presence was detected. The first waves of Dark Spawn appeared, hungry and mean.

In Nightwatch Blood and Bone, enemy minions are still divided in three castes – Vermin, Horde, and Terror – but to make things more challenging, each tier now chooses certain lethal benefits or abilities from a menu of Monster Traits. Vermin-level Barrow Rats and Zombies close in. There’s some toe-to-toe slugging, especially the Rogue and the Rats, but the low-level threats are quickly dispatched.

Turn Three and Four

The Tracker/Ranger clears one of the objectives as the Rogue and the Abbess/Mancer start in on a second on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, Horde caste Dark Spawn arrive and things get real, real fast.

Horde-level enemies have more chance to act and an additional monster trait. Ghouls leap and claw at the Tracker and the Blade, drawing blood. The Abbess moves to assist, but right then, the Portal at the head of the road shimmers and skeleton archers emerge. Within seconds, black-feathered arrows are whistling through the murky air. The Warrior is staggered by several solid hits. What started as a quick jaunt through an historical site just turned deadly serious.

The Ghouls go down in a tough fight but the skeleton archers are still flinging arrows when the Terror caste baddies arrive; Hell Knights – maniacal fury in plate armor.

Two of the objectives are cleared. The Rogue approaches the third as her battered and bloody comrades engage the latest threats.

A vulgar brawl ensues. The still injured Warrior/Blade grips his sword and shield with blood fingers and advances on the infernal foe. Wounded, the Ranger/Tracker gamely trades shots with his counterparts, eliminating them one by one. Meanwhile, the Abbess keeps the Warrior on his feet in between swings of her hammer.

The Rogue finally clears the last objective and sets off toward the nearest exit. (at least one member of the Pact must exit the game area before the end of turn seven) One of the Hell Knights pursues – but the Tracker/Ranger puts an arrow through its spine and the Rogue gets away.

Victory for the Nightwatch.

Final Tally

First off, props to Occasional Tom who ran all four Nightwatch Hunters and juggled not only multiple characters with varying skills, stats, and abilities, but Blood and Bone’s rules tweaks and modifications. Even with all that, his verdict was the game still played smoothly and intuitively, but the changes make BnB a much more nuanced, challenging game. There’s more room for character customization. Even though there are fewer enemy models, the ‘monster traits by caste’ make them far more dangerous – which in turn make magic and healing much more valuable.

End result was a hard-fought, well-earned victory for Abbess Lorn and her crew. Time to heal up and resupply.

Because now the question is, why are foul revenants so interested in the ruins on the highroad?

Thanks for stopping by. There’s more on the way.

Have an excellent day.