Incursion - Root of the Beathacrann (Av)
The alchemist continued explaining to his martial colleague, “With samples we can learn more about it, we can develop alchemy that can affect it perhaps even kill it”. Looking back at his friend the adventurer was suddenly unsure why what was being suggested seemed so dangerous.The alchemist continued to petition, “Its roots spread the entire length of the stinking swamps, you'll not need to go too deep. Far from Kerkastal and the tree itself you’ll find the smaller tap roots, thin finger sized growths where the Beathacrann is just taking hold of the land”. This was the best way he thought to himself, “Hmm, I see what you mean brother. The Beathacrann won’t be able to defend itself too well if my warband are just cutting off a few of its extremities but what about the Avalonians? Won’t the tree alert them when we start chopping at it and how will we know the root belongs to the tree?”
“Yes, valid points my friend” the alchemist replied thoughtfully. “You’ll need to first detect the sentience within the roots, detect the thinking, living presence of the tree. Then you can dig the root out and cut the samples off with confidence”. Walking over to the long wooden shelves covering the wall of his study the alchemist selected a vial of blue glass.
“Here, use this to detect the sentience of the Beathacrann in the roots” he said turning and handing the adventurer the vial. “The milky liquid you see in the vial will change colour if the root is of the tree”. Nodding in understanding he slipped the vial into his clothing, “and what of the children of Avalon, how do they know which is which? I dare say they will try to thwart us once they see what we’re doing.” The adventurer met his friends gaze directly waiting for the answer a second time.
Smiling the alchemist replied, “They of course need no such potion, a simple laying of hands on the roots will allow them to detect their beloved trees presence. And yes, the tree will warn them and they will protect it as best they can and hide the roots if at all possible.”
“However, my weapon wielding friend, you’ll not be massacred and nor should you seek to massacre them. We’re creating mischief and trying to learn about this foul tree, not starting another war.”
The words rang around him as he walked off, thoughts of the raid, the four samples asked for and the cutting at the Beathacrann already filling his mind. “This is exactly how wars start, this won’t be the last request I’ll warrant you” he said speaking to no one but the wind and without a word headed off to Avalon, warband in tow.
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This scenario is one of four adventures in the 'Incursion' series by Winter Hill Games (www.winterhillgames.co.uk)
For details of this series of adventures and others in the Alkemy Trilogy (Incursion, Crypt Raiders, Books of Knowledge) visit website forums. (www.winterhillgames.co.uk/forum)
Setting up the Battlefield
This scenario is intended to be played on a table measuring 48” by 36”.
The players must place at least 8 scenery elements with the following constraints:
- Roll a die to see which player starts placing scenery elements, highest score goes first.
- Each scenery element must be placed at least 3” from any table edge or any other scenery element.
- The players alternate placing one scenery element at a time.
The players then define the gaming area:
- The table is divided in two equal halves, lengthwise.
- Each deployment area is set at 13” from the center line of the gaming area.
The players then roll to determine on which side of the table they will deploy, highest score chooses.
The players then place 8 Alchemical Component markers with the following constraints:
- The markers must placed on a scenery element
- They must be at least 5 inches away from any other Alchemical Component marker.
- The players place at least 2 of their components in their table half, and 2 in their opponent's half.
- The players place the components alternately, one at a time, starting with the player who did not choose the side.
- All components MUST be placed on the table.
Deployment
Player warbands must be Avalon defending against one other attacker of Khaliman, Aurlok or Jade Empire.
(There are 3 other scenarios on the Incursion series that switch Defender and Attacker roles. The Defender's scenario in the series is denoted by Av, Au, Kh and Ja in the title)
The players alternate deploying the miniatures of their warband from one card at a time in their respective deployment areas.
The player with the most cards starts.
- If both players have the same number of cards, the one with the highest total Mind value starts.
- If both players have the same Mind value, Roll a die to see which player starts, highest score goes first.
Victory Conditions
The first player to reach 16 Victory Points at the end of a turn wins the scenario.
- If both players manage to get 16 or more victory points in the same turn, the result is a draw.
- If at any time one player has no living miniatures the result is a draw. (See special Rules)
Special Rules
[Troop Killing]
In this scenario the attacking warband is gathering information not trying to start a major conflict therefore killing all defending players is to be avoided. Likewise, despite the incursion the defending players need to avoid killing attacking players to avoid repercussions later.
[Examining a root]
Roots are located on scenery elements which represent dominant plant growth in the marshy land. However, the Beathacrann is not the only thing growing in the marsh and players will first need to detect the sentience of the Beathacrann in the root.
- Any miniature that is within 1” of a root can spend 1 AP to examine the root.
- Roll one white die, if the score is 1-3 no sentience was detected, if the score is 4-6 it is a root of the Beathacrann.
- Mark the terrain element to show it is the location of a Beathacrann root.
[Digging or Hiding a root]
When a root of the Beathacrann has been detected a miniature can spend 1 AP to either dig it up and take a sample or hide it again by Covering Over.
Defensive Strike - When a miniature manages to Dig Up a root roll a white dice. For each mace symbol of the dice roll, all miniatures within 1” of the root suffer 1 Dam as the Beathacrann strikes out to defend itself.
Benevolent Blessing - When a miniature manages to Cover Over a root roll a white dice. For each mace symbol of the dice roll, all miniatures within 1” of the root are healed 1 Dam as the Beathacrann blesses the miniatures for protecting it.
Once a root is Covered Over it is hidden and the Beathacrann will move itself. Therefore the attacking miniature cannot try and detect a root on the terrain element until the next turn.
Likewise if an attacking miniature has Dug Up a root they cannot try detecting another root on the terrain element until the next turn. The Beathacrann will avoid the area for the immediate time and so no root will be present.
[Gaining Victory Points]
At the end of the turn, each player scores a number of victory points depending on the number of roots they’ve Detected, Hidden dug or defended:
- 1 for each root Detected
- 2 for each root Dug-Up or Covered Over
These points are accumulated from one turn to another as a measure of the success of the attack or defence.
