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- A visual playthrough: Episode 3
Dreadnought and Conduit.
A tank and a spellcaster descending deeper into the sewers in search of Essence. The only way to find it is to tear it off of monsters. Ruthless. But that’s how the Gloom works...
Both heroes start at Level 1.
TPL (Total Party Level) = 1 + 1 = 2. Novice bracket. The Sewers.
And it starts with Rats. Rolling a D8 to see how many Rats spawn. It's a 2.
Two Sewer Rats emerge from the filth. Manageable? Time will tell.
See that “Ambush”? That means they don’t politely wait for initiative. They attack immediately. Straight into action, this game.
Rolling to determine targets. Odds for Dreadnought. Evens for Conduit.
They get attacked by one rat each.
Rat 1 lunges at the Dreadnought.
D8 roll: 7.
That’s a bite! Ouch. 2 physical damage + Poison.
Dreadnought has 1 Armor, so damage is reduced to 1 HP. Poison still applies.
Rat 2 claws at the Conduit.
D8 roll: 4.
Scratch. 1 damage. No poison on that band.
Both Sewer Rats only have 1 action point (AP), so that’s their entire ambush.
And just like that, we’re bleeding before we’ve even acted…
Now the heroes respond!
Each Level 1 hero rolls 3 D8. That’s the base dice pool at Level 1.
Dreadnought rolls: 3, 5, 7.
Checking the attribute bands on his sheet: 3 falls into Agility OR Strength. Choosing the latter. 5 falls into Strength. 7 lands in Intelligence.
Two Strength AP. Perfect.
Spending both on Dreadnought's Dread Sweep!
Because he invested 2 STR (Strength) AP, he gets a +4 modifier to the roll.
D8 result: 4. Modified result: 4+4= 8.
Checking the Dread Sweep table at 8.
That’s lethal. Attack of 4 units desolates Rat 1's HP of 3. The Rat is obliterated.
Overkill? Possibly. But had to be sure...
Time to see if the Rat respawns. Roll D8: Odd.
R.I.P Rat 1.
Conduit rolls: 2, 5, 8.
One die in each band. Damn it...bad roll.
Spending 1 Strength AP to gain 1 Barrier.
Then 1 Intelligence AP to cast Ice Nova.
D8 roll: 6.
Checking the Ice Nova table. 2 damage. Factor Rat's Hope that will cut off 1 damage of Conduit.
1 damage in total. Not enough to finish the Rat…
The Sewer Rat 2 has 1 HP left.
Still alive. Still furious.
Rat 2 activates.
D8 roll: 8.
Another Bite. 2 damage + Poison.
Barrier absorbs 1. Thanking myself for adding it right before the attack..
Conduit lose 1 HP and gains Poison.
Barrier breaks. Now both heroes are poisoned. And this is still Round 1!
New round. Conduit rolls again.
This time, two dice fall into Intelligence. Opting for Ice Nova again.
D8 roll: 4.
Applying modifier and checking the table...Avada Kedavra!
The second rat freezes and shatters in sewer sludge. But wait a minute...
Respawn check. D8 roll: Odd. It’s dead. No respawning.
WHEW! Silence...for now.
Round 1 cleared. A bit of a mixed bag.
Wow... as much as I'm glad to clear round 1, I took some damage too. The Poisons inflicted on the heroes will reduce their already diminishing HP. But hey, defeating these rats is giving them 2 XP and 1 Essence. Something to cheer about!
Next round...either to opt for the Obstacle, or the Unknown.
Where do we go?
- Tas.
P.S- Essence: The Grim Expeditions is live on Gamefound as I write this, and it’s already firing on all cylinders. Read my blog to know all about it.
P.P.S- big thanks to our kind sponsor for this issue, AG1! 🥂 👇
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