Ash awoke, the premonition still lingering at the edge of conscience, lucid and alive. The very balance of nature was undone. The veil was torn, and decay had seized the heart of the forest; root and branch. Boor, the mighty Ursimar, Lord of Beasts, stood waiting on the verge, ready to serve.
“It has been foretold, my friend. We must leave the wild and warn the cities.”
“Fear not, Dryad. I am the wild!”
Our two heroes arrive in sunny Dragon Port with word of impending doom. Civilisation is already overrun with the horrors of the Dead King. Restwind Dale is under siege.
A forced march northwards to save the halflings and Boor is breaking the backs of freshly fallen townfolk; the limbs of the undead horde strewn throughout the gardens of Restwind Dale.
The Oracle senses evil emanating from the ruins nearby. But our adventurers are too late, barely escaping with their lives as a Terrible Portal opens and manifests the Dead King himself. The Lich Lord gives chase.
Onward to the next ruins, searching… searching for some clue to the origin of this Dark Lord’s power. Here, taking advantage of the valley’s turmoil, the Bandit Prince loots ancient relics for himself. Boor confronts the scoundrel and makes short work of his light-fingered entourage.
The heroes outpace the Dead King, moving to another ruined city infested with magical Grey Slime.
The Shrine of Endurance spurs our companions onward; one of these ancient cities holds the key. The Dead King has found them. Another Terrible Portal opens within the ruins and the Necromancer closes the gap.
More ruins but now the heroes push their luck. And again the Dead King finds them, his mind seemingly tethered to the young dryad seer and her beastly guardian.
Hunted, they press on to the ancient ruins at the foot of the mountains; the very edge of the known world. Ash uncovers a mythic relic and its awesome power transforms our heroes.
Under cover of the wilds, the adventurers pass quietly by the legions of the damned and race back to civilisation. The link to the Dead King broken and the portals closed, the Undead Patriarch is left to march his legions back through the ruinous valley of shrines, affording our heroes precious time to prepare.
Bezzlequark offers aid. Dragonport falls…
The Beast Lord ranges the wilds reaching out to the creatures of the valley, bringing only the strongest into his pack. He bests the Grey Wolf, and finally calls upon the mighty Alabast but the bear has fallen.
Durdin’s lifelong companion is no more. Boor defeats the unliving abomination on the slopes of Fiekins Peak, above the Iron Citadel of Hagh-Grindish. The Ursimar honours noble Alabast by donning his claws.
The Oracle binds and interconnects the pack as one, and the heroes set forth to meet the Dead King on the field before the Orc encampment at Rokk’to.
The battle is glorious. Many in the pack perish to the armies of the undead. But the savage onslaught of the creatures of the valley is too much for the damned and our heroes prevail. Boor crushes the skull of the Dead King.
The prophecy is fulfilled and the valley is saved!
Thoughts…
A fun Beast Lord and Oracle romp on a classic doughnut map start. A crazy sequence of Ruin explorations powered and buffed up the players via Epic boss battles. But three Terrible Portal events?
Luck stones were critical to roll through the circumstance deck for pack creatures. Not sure how else a Beast Lord survives.
Oracle’s “Interconnection” ability and the summoned pack make for a remarkable and somewhat unexpected set of combos. Can it be legal to pool all damage and channel a single point to every companion except one? One poor creature per combat round bears the brunt of the attacks, while the Beast Lord deals untold damage via Savage Barrage.
In the end the battle with old skeletal remains was short.