The Final Encounter

Following their battle with the giant scorpion, Gregor and Belle continue their journey across the desert.

Rules commentary will be in italics.

A Discovery!

As the proceed on their journey, they spot something on the horizon. At first they think it is the mountain where Herman the hermit lives. But as they approach, they see that it is too regular. It is the ruins of some ancient tomb or temple!

Once again I rolled on the Encounter chart to see what the party comes across. I rolled another Discovery. The last time I rolled a Discovery I had no way of knowing what it entailed. So this time I created a quick Discovery chart. It is not overly detailed but it gives a way to jog my imagination.

• A bane is some bad occurrence not connected with a combat encounter. In the desert it could be something like a sandstorm or the party runs out of water. 
• A prize is a treasure or other valuable item. Note that is may be protected! 
• A wonder is some kind of remarkable feature that is not necessarily dangerous. 
• A clue is some information that will aid the party.
• A boon is some helpful occurrence. For example, in the desert they may meet a merchant caravan that can provide supplies or aid.

For this encounter, I rolled 3 - Wonder. Immediately, I had this idea of a long-lost pyramid. I then decided to see of this was true, with a 4+ indicating that it was. A roll of 6 indicated that it was indeed a lost structure.

Gregor suggests that they investigate but Belle reminds him that they need to deliver the message. They camp for the night, and Belle heals Gregor's wound.

I did not bother rolling because Belle had not called upon divine favor since the prior battle. It seemed extremely likely that she should succeed.

The Hermitage

After some more trekking, they spot the hermit's mountain. As they approach the entrance to the cave where Herman lives, a beast suddenly jumps out. It looks like a winged lion with a human-like face and spiked tail.

"A manticore!" cries out Belle.

It shoots its spikes at the party. Gregor leaps in front and uses his shield to block the spikes. It then swoops upon them. They swing their weapons but miss.

Note - I won't be doing a roll by roll explanation of this combat like I did with the scorpion.

It makes a second pass and Belle strikes it with her staff, wounding it. It lashes at her with its great claws, ripping into her flesh.

It pursues her, snapping with its fangs but she jumps out of the way.

I made a slight change to the combat rules. Baddies never roll for attacks. Instead, the target of their attack rolls to see if it can make the enemy miss. If the PC fails, then he/she can roll to resist damage. It's good that I made this change, because I kept rolling 5s and 6s for defense when the manticore attacked. Imagine if those had been attack rolls!

Then she hits it again. It seems un-phased (she scored a hit but it resisted damage).

Gregor leaps into the fray and slashes the monstrosity. It turns on him but misses. This gives Belle a perfect chance to attack. Her staff cracks against its skull! It swoons momentarily, then turns back on her.

Now Gregor attacks. He stabs his sword deep into the manticore's chest. The creature dies.

Aftermath

The heroes rush into the hermit's cave. They see the destruction wrought by the manticore, but no hermit! As they are searching, they hear creaking. A trap door opens up.

"Is it safe?" asks a wizened figure.

"It is, the monster is slain." answers Gregor.

The figure nods and sighs. "Pity, what an interesting specimen. Ah well, it could not be helped."

After some prodding they find that this is indeed the hermit. They deliver their message and complete their quest.

The End

And now I think I shall leave the saga of Gregor and Belle. I have too many characters and need to focus on one set. But never fear, I am not done with MicroBattle quests!