Joined: 24 Nov 2008 Posts: 308 Location: Portland, Or.
Temple of Terror & Darktide
Remember the scenario contest that WizKid held a couple years ago? Well, this was my (losing) entry- basically king-of-the-hill with some twists:
TEMPLE OF TERROR
Background: Long ago, a strange cult built a dark Temple where they venerated their dark gods with human sacrifices. One especially bloody ceremony conjured supernatural energies which the cultists believed would grant them awesome powers if properly harnessed. They were thwarted from this goal by rival sorcerers, who banished the Temple into another dimension, where it would remain until complex astrological patterns allowed it to return to our reality. Tonight the stars have aligned and the Temple has magically reappeared, radiating eldritch power ripe for the taking! Will you be able to seize the mystical energies for yourself, or will the Temple's terrible power fall into the hands of your enemies?
Objective: The player with the highest point value of monsters occupying the Temple after the final turn is the winner.
Army Size: Two-player game; 300 point armies; 3 actions per turn. See "Special Rules" below for an alternate four-player version.
Time Limit: Six turns per player.
Map: Any Outdoor map.
Set-Up: Choose table edges and place victim tokens normally; then mark a four-square by four-square section in the center of the map to represent the Temple. The easiest way to do this is to place pennies or other tokens in the corners of a four-by-four square. Better, if you have a little prep time, is to make a template of the Temple by cutting out a six-inch square of heavy cardboard and, using a ruler and a marker, drawing a grid of 1.5-inch squares on it; then set the template in the center of the map (if it covers any victim tokens, shift them on top). If you are artistically inclined, you can sketch an alter, fallen columns, gargoyles, and piles of skulls on the template!
Scenario Special Rules: 1.THE TEMPLE: the entire Temple counts as Hindering terrain.
2.ARCANE POWER: The Temple is radiating supernatural energies which effect monsters in unpredictable ways. Whenever you begin a turn with one or more monsters you control occupying the Temple, roll a d6 during the Preview phase and consult the following table:
1.Magic Backlash!: Your highest point value monster takes one point of Penetrating damage.
2. Voices From Beyond...: Your lowest point value monster is Insane this turn.
3. Can't...move...: All your monsters occupying the Temple receive an Action token (up to the normal maximum of two tokens per figure).
4. Concentrate! Your highest point value monster is considered Vulnerable until the start of your next turn.
5. Premonition: You may re-roll one dice roll this turn.
6. The Power!: One monster of your choice heals one click of damage.
3.FOUR-PLAYER VARIANT: For a truly epic game, you can play this scenario with four players! Use one of the 3-foot square outdoor maps from the HeroClix game, and raise the point total to 400. Have a neutral referee place twelve Bloodspots, before table edges are chosen.
This was my "runner-up" scenario; it is a variation on "capture the flag". I decided not to submit it bacause I thought it was a little too long:
DARKTIDE
Background: For weeks now, strange rumors have been circulating through the town's occult underground: a mysterious new cult has arrived in town... a rare copy of the notorious volume of forbidden lore, the Liber Tenebrae, has been stolen from the local museum... collectors of arcane curios are turning up gruesomely murdered... strange rituals are being performed on moonless nights...
Now the underlying motive of these events has been revealed: the renegade cultists have used the eldritch formulae from the Liber Tenebrae to open a gateway into the Realm of Darkness! Rather than being rewarded for their efforts, the cultists were torn to shreds by the wave of Living Darkness which they unleashed into our world. As the Darkness spreads, slowly enveloping the town, gangs of rival monsters frantically search for the Liber Tenebrae in hopes of using it to bind the Darkness to their will before it dooms them all...
Objective: Each player tries to capture the Liber Tenebrae and escape with it off the edge of the map through their Starting area, before the Darkness completely covers the map. If neither player achieves this objective in time, then the player who kills the highest point value of enemy monsters is the nominal winner.
Army Size: Two-player game; 300 point armies; 3 actions per turn; see Special Rules for a three-player variant.
Time Limit: Until one player fulfills the objective, or the Darkness completely covers the map.
Map: Any Outdoor map. If using a map with corner Starting areas, both players set up on the same long edge of the map, opposite the edge from which the Living Darkness advances.
Set-Up: Choose Starting areas and place Victim tokens normally; then place a counter in the center of the map to represent the Liber Tenebrae (a coin or other small counter will do, but enterprising players my wish to staple some small rectangles of paper together and fold them in half to make a small book...)
Scenario Special Rules: 1. LIVING DARKNESS: As the Darkness spreads, the player's chances of success dwindle.
The Darkness advances one square onto the map from the long map edge on each player's Preview phase (thus, on the first player's turn the Darkness fills the first row of squares; on the second player's turn the Darkness spreads to the second row, etc). This can be marked by placing paper clips along the short edges of the map and moving them each turn to indicate the leading edge of the Darkness; or you can use a long string or piece of yarn lying across the map, or any other method you wish, as long as both players can tell how far the Darkness has advanced.
Within the Darkness, all monster's Movement and Range values are halved (round up). This applies even if the monster has a power that allows them to ignore the effects of terrain.
If any monsters are inside the Darkness at the beginning of the current player's Suspense phase, the Darkness will attack. If a monster in the Darkness is carrying the Liber Tenebrae, that is the monster that will be targeted; otherwise, the current player rolls a d6 to randomly determine which monster the Darkness attacks:
1-2: The monster with the lowest point value
3-4: the monster closest to the Liber Tenebrae 5-6: the monster with the highest point value
The current player rolls 3d6 and compares the result to the target monster's Defense value (the Darkness has no Attack value as such). If the attack succeeds, the monster takes d3 clicks of damage.
Any Victims inside the area of Darkness are immediately killed; remove their tokens from the game.
2. THE LIBER TENEBRAE: Any monster can pick up the Liber Tenebrae by ending it's movement in the square the book occupies; place the counter on the monster's card. The monster may then move normally, carrying the book as it goes, but it may not make attacks or kill/rescue Victims. If the monster carrying the Liber Tenebrae takes damage, it drops the book into an adjacent square of it's player's choice.
3. 3-PLAYER VARIANT: To play this scenario with 3 players, use the following alternate set-up: two players set up their forces along the short edges of the map, in a set-up area centered along the edges that is 5 squares long by 2 deep; the third player sets up in a similar-sized area centered on the long edge opposite the Darkness. Place the Liber Tenebrae counter in the central square of the Darkness edge, instead of the center of the map, so that it is roughly equidistant from all three players' starting areas.
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