Quest 2 AAR - Cursed Isle of Morwen

Here is the 2nd part of Dwarf Quest, wherein our heroes are looking to acquire magical relics to combat the coming of Morgoth.

The wizard Heironymous and his companions appear in a bright flash and find themselves teleported to a misty swamp.
The wizard puts the Tele-Port-Key back into his pocket.

The White Dwarf:  Hmm... what is this huge skull marker doing here?  Dont worry little Hobbit, I will protect you.

Samwise Gamgee:  (to the Wizard Hieronymous)  That Tele-Port-Key only has 1 charge left?

Hieronymous:  Yes.

Samwise Gamgee:  And you are the only one who can power it?

Hieronymous:  Yes.

Samwise Gamgee:  So... if you die, we are all stranded here?

Hieronymous:  Yes.

Samwise Gamgee:   (to the White Dwarf)  Protect the wizard...

Legend has it that the isle of Tol Morwen (Isle of Morwen) has a stone monolith called the Stone of the Hapless.

Three skull markers are to be seen.
One in the south west, in the middle of the swamps.
The second in the north, at the bottom of a hill.
The third in the east, in the middle of a pool.

Upon the hill where the monolith is supposed to be, it seems that a chapel has been built over it.
Seeing such a structure in the middle of this misty depressing island brings a peculiar oddity to the scenery.

This building is from Ziterdes.
What strange things are occuring inside this place?
Soft chanting might be heard if one were brave enough to listen in...

Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

The heroes make their way out of the swamp and towards the high ground... and the strange chapel.

The two Slaan and a redshirt Goldshield Dwarf stay at the bottom of the hill where another skull marker is inscribed into the ground.

The doors of the Chapel are magically locked.

The wizard reads the inscriptions upon the archway.

Hieronymous:  It is magical formulae for raising the dead...

King Alrik:  We dont want to do that, do we?

Hieronymous:  Beyond these doors lies the cursed one...  Turin Turambar!  Wielder of the Black Sword - Gurthang!  It is prophesied that he will slay Morgoth and end the curse upon the Children of Hurin.

Samwise:  Wonderful!  Just the kind of ally we need!  How do we raise him?

Hieronymous:  Blood ritual.  We need the blood of an innocent and good hearted person...  (everyone looks at the Hobbit)

Samwise:  (rolls up his sleeve) Not all my blood, I hope...  and I expect some Rocky Road ice cream for this donation, thank you very much...

The spell requires blood to power up and the wizard begins the spell.

Once powered, there are 3 objectives (the skull markers) that need to be taken while the spell takes effect.
Whoever holds the 3 objectives at the end of the game controls Turin's destiny.
Variable end turns begin after Turn 6.

It looks like the Undead have been here waiting to take Turin's soul.
But without blood they could not use the ritual.
The heroes have unwittingly done it for them!

A Wraith on his dark horse leads a band of skeletons towards a pool where an objective lies.

For the Wraith's stats, I did not use the Cairn Wraith, but a Wight King with Wight Blade and Killing Blow.
Its a character killer for sure, roll a 6 to wound, and then it auto kills the target no matter how many wounds they have and also negates any armor save.
Which seems a better fit for a Morghul blade!

The Slaan Kremlo and Breedo, and a Goldshield Dwarf head to the pond.
Slaan, being reptillians would probably (with luck) fight better in the watery element there (water isnt considered difficult terrain to them).
With 1st Edition rules, they can also submerge in water (counts as Hidden more than 6" away) and can use poison blowpipes!
But DM rules that poison wont affect the Undead... (Boo...)

Both of the Slaan have minor hero stats:  2 attacks, 3 wounds each.
The nameless Goldshield dwarf is an Ironbreaker with Gromril Armor.

Hieronymous stays up on the high ground to weave his spellwork.
And King Alrik is at the bottom of the hill to cover the wizard and the objective there.

Sam, The White Dwarf, and the 2nd Goldshield head back into the swamp to take the 1st objective they saw at the start.
They are promptly ambushed by a band of skeletons!

The White Dwarf is a mighty hero:  4 attack, 4 wounds, Unbreakable, and plenty of magical weapons.
His helm auto rallies fleeing friends in 12"
His armor has 1+ save with 4+ Ward
His cloak has Magic Resist (3)
His axe has +2 Str and re-rolls failed To-Hit and To-Wound rolls!

King Alrik is another mighty stuntie!  6 attacks and 5 wounds.
He can declare Grudges (re-roll misses)
And his axe has a Breaking Rune (a hit on enemy destroys a magical weapon)

Kremlo and Breedo are set upon by the Dark Rider and his minions!

Meanwhile, the White Dwarf is surrounded by the Undead.

The Goldshield with him has been slain!
More skeletons arrive and take the objective. 
And Sam runs off into the swamp.

Samwise peeks around looking to avoid conflict.
Once the coast is clear perhaps he can try to use stealth to take the objective.
Sneaky fat Hobbit!

King Alrik is mighty indeed!
He shows what Dwarf Kings mettle is made of!

The other Goldshield with the Slaan perishes in the pond.

Kremlo shatters bone with every swing of his axe.
And the Dark Rider charges his companion, Breedo!

With 3 attacks, the Wraith rolls a 6 to wound on one of them and Killing Blow lands on the poor Slaan.
Farewell Breedo, we hardly knew ye!

The Wraith swings around and takes the objective, which means the forces of evil have 2 objectives under their control.
And its now turn 6, variable end turns begin.
The roll is made... one more turn!  

Suddenly, a figure materializes in front of the Chapel.
It is Turin Turambar!
Unless the heroes take the objectives soon, it looks like Turin will be joining the Dark Side!


This figure is Citadel coded C01 Fighter, but has "Elric" on his tab.
Looking online, it seems his name as C01 is "Weirdling Warrior Lord", also "Elric Sharp Sword"
Obviously he is an alternate sculpt of the Eternal Champions line.
But whatever, on this blog he is Turin Turambar!

Hieronymous:   I can feel the good in you, Turin.  Let go of your hate!

Turin:  It is too late for me.  Morgoth will show you the true nature of the Force.  He is your master now.

King Alrik has slain all the skellies at the bottom of the hill and hurries towards Kremlo at the pool.

The White Dwarf fights on!
More skeletons pile in!

Another Turn is rolled and the game continues!
Before the Wraith can land another Killing Blow...
Alrik arrives and his axe's Rune of Breaking shatters the Morghul blade!

Totally forgotten... Sam sneaks unto the empty last objective and turns this victory into a decisive victory!

And as the Final Turn ends...  it is Kremlo who lands the last blow and fells the Wraith.
The rest of the skeletons across the board rout and flee.
Breedo is avenged!
The 2 Goldshield Dwarves are avenged.

 [Turin joins the party]

 So who is this Turin Turambar?

He is the child of Hurin and Morwen.
His entire family was cursed by Morgoth.
Everyone in his life comes to some tragic end.
Hurin's brother is Huor - grandfather of Earendil, so Turin and Earendil are distant cousins (Earendil is Elrond's dad!)
Turin slew the dragon Glaurung (or drake, he was a big wingless dragon.  maybe he was a basilisk?).
Turin also has a black sword Gurthang (it speaks, its probably cursed.  yeah, its Elric before Elric. Edit: hmm no, both Turin and Elric were inspired by the ancient epic of Kullervo).
It is said, he will be the slayer of Morgoth by plunging Gurthang into Morgoths heart and ending the curse on the Children of Hurin.

Kremlo:  (to King Alric) You are a Norse King.  I grew up the foster son of a Viking Chieftain.

King Alrik:  Aye!  I knew your father and of how you are conflicted, being the son of dual natures.  The Legend of Kremlo the Slaan is known to me.  (see 1st Citadel Compendium for details)


Kremlo:  I set out to avenge him and poison the spawning pools of the Blue Spine Slaan tribe.  But at the last, I stayed my hand.  Because of this I became a traitor to both the Norse and the Slaan.  As I roamed in exile, I heard that my Viking family were put to the sword by the sorcerer Thulsa Doom, and this was how Conan the Cimmerian and I came to be friends.

Narrator:  But that is a story for another time!  (cue Conan drums & music)


~~~


Now we know how tough Dwarf Kings are, they are not to be sneezed at!
King Alrik is a beast.
I was hoping to character build Breedo the Slaan but alas... (I was going for Greedo and the Star Wars thing... but misspelled it and Breedo just stuck on.)

Ok, thats the 2nd quest down.
One more to go...  and its a doozy!

And lets try to summarize the lineages thing again, because I get confused too:

Lets use Earendil the half elf as a starting point.
Earendil the Mariner was married to Elwin, a descendant of Beren and Luthien and had a Silmaril and it was they who pleaded with the Valar to help overthrow Morgoth and end the War of Wrath.
Earendil was also the guy who had a flying airship called Vingilot. (Damn you GW and your Age of Sigmar... Arkanaut Ironclad you are justified to be purchased!)

Anyways, he had two sons: Elrond and Elros.
Elros chose to embrace his human half and his descendants became the Numenoreans which means Aragorn is his descendant.
Whereas, Elrond married Celebrian, the daughter of Galadriel, which means Arwen and Aragorn are distantly related.
Now Earendil's father was Tuor who married an elf princess.
And Tuor's brother is Hurin who was cursed by Morgoth.
And Turin Turambar is the son of Hurin, the promised One who will slay Morgoth in the Last Battle known as Dagor Dagorath.
Well... as long as he rolls some good dice when the time comes!


Next post:  Mysterious Isle of Mirdorog-Naht