5
Accursed Village Part 2:
Horror Above, Horror Below
The Pictish shaman, his life fading, makes arcane gestures and traces sigils of gramarye, his final breath coming amongst whispered words not meant for the human tongue. In the darkness of the bowels of the earth below the village, something stirs in response...
With the village secure, you turn your attention to the unknown threat that led you here. You recall overhearing a former shipmate lamenting the loss of a map of the coast. The captured priest carrying it was consumed by a monstrous serpent in the forest. You formulate a plan to lure the beast to the village to retrieve the map.
Taking stakes from the crude palisade, you impale bodies on them, hoping the sight and smell will entice the serpent to enter the village. Meanwhile, your sorcerous companion
searches the shaman’s hut and discovers a scroll reveal- ing ancient lore about summoning the serpents of these primeval forests - it reinforces the idea of using the dead to lure the ophidian monstrosity.
As you wait for movement in the verdant foliage outside the village, you note with alarm faint sounds from below the ground, and increasing tremors beneath your feet.
Suddenly, howls and barking rend the air. From the gates pour a horde of beasts, intent on scavenging in a blood frenzy. The snake is not among them...
“Burn the bodies!” cries out the Sorceror, recalling more of the scroll. “The flames will dissuade the carrion-eaters and it is part of the summoning ritual!”
Objective
The Heroes must slay the Son of Set, recover the Map, and exit the board through the area marked 2 before the Horror Below burrows to the surface and collapses the village into the bowels of the earth.
Setup
The game starts with the Heroes turn. The Heroes set up in the area marked
.
Place 8 red gems 
in the Recovery Value
Tile space in the Book of Skelos; this will serve as the Ascension Pool. The Tools in the hut represent a fire brand. Shuffle
the extra 1 and 2 activation tokens and place them face down on the table. They will be used to place the Son of Set.
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After setup, each Hero moves 2 gems from their Reserve zone to their Fatigue zone. |
Asset Deck
Pay one gem for a simple Manipulation to open chests. The Asset Deck contains: Chain Mail, Life Potion, Life Potion.
Pay one gem to perform a simple Manipulation to cut open the Son of Set and remove the Spellbook (containing Mitra’s Halo and Map) after it is slain.
Event
Event 1: Horror Below
The Horror Below strives upward with increased vigor; thus trembles the surface above.
- Remove 1 from the Ascension Pool.
- Guard actions suffer -1 success for the rest of the turn
Event 2: Collapsing Earth
Each time Event 2 is activated, perform the first action listed below not already performed.
- Add a
token to the area marked
. - Add a token to the area marked
. - Add a token to the area marked
and then remove Event tile 2 from the river.
Special Rules
Map Notes: Normal map rules apply, but do not place any Boulder
tokens on the map at the start of the game.
Collapsed Earth: If a Hero occupies an area when a
token is added, or enters an area with a
token, roll
for falling damage. If the Hero has Leap, roll
instead. Leaving an area with a
token requires 3 extra Movement Points, 2 for Heroes with Climb.
The Son of Set may enter the area as normal but must pay one extra movement point to exit the area.
Ghouls and Hyenas must pay one extra movement point to enter and exit the area.
Ascension of the Horror Below: The entity awakened by the dying sorcery of the Pictish
shaman strives to reach the surface. At the beginning of every Overlord turn, remove 1
from the Ascension Pool. When the Ascension Pool contains only 1 gem left, the entire board is affected by Horror.
When the Ascension Pool contains zero gems, the Horror Below breaches the surface at the end of the Heroes’ turn and its gargantuan mass destroys the village. The Heroes have failed the scenario.
How Many Must I Slay? At the beginning of each Overlord turn, place all slain Ghoul or Hyena models in the reinforcement area.
The Feast is Over: A Hero may perform a simple Manipulation to take the fire brand
(Tools card). A Hero with the Tools card may perform a simple Manipulation in an area with a Fire token
to burn the corpses and flip the token to the
side.
A Hero may also throw the brand into the corpses to burn them using normal Throwing an Object rules.
When all four areas are aflame, the “How Many Must I Slay” rule no longer applies.
Son of Set: Ignore any activations (replace token and redraw) of the Son of Set until the conditions of The Feast Is Over have been met. The first time the Son of Set activates, draw one of the extra activation tokens set aside during setup, place the Son of Set model in the corresponding area, and then acti- vate the Son of Set.
Awash in the Filth of Slaying: If the Heroes acquire the map from the Son of Set,
remove 1 from the Ascension Pool - the ground is so saturated
with blood, gore, and ichor that the Horror Below is lured upward to feast.
Blood, Fire, Stench: A unit must spend 1 extra Movement point to leave an area
with a .
Options
Non-Campaign Mode
Cache: Akbitanan Sword, Atlantean Axe, Bossonian Bow, Buckler, Cutlass, Dagger, Heavy Spear, Leather Armor, Shield, Sorcerer’s Scepter (see page 22), Spiked Shield, Sword, Throwing Knives, Tribal Mace
Spells: Bori’s Rage, Born by the Wind, Mitra’s Healing, Pestilential Swarm, Set’s Halo, Telekinesis, Ymir’s Retribution, Yog’s Hunger
Four Player Mode
- After setup, each Hero moves 3 gems from their Reserve zone to their Fatigue zone.
- Son of Set has 12 Life Points instead of 8.
- Reminder: The Overlord activates four times per turn after the event.
Substitutions
- The Giant Snake may substitute for the Son of Set.
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Discard the Tools equipment card. It does not carry over to the next scenario.
Hero Victory: If the Heroes win, they are awarded 1 Victory Point per surviving Hero and get all the items from the asset deck they found during the scenario. Boon: In addition, each Hero is granted a permanent Boon. Choose one from the following list:.
- Manipulation dice gain the re-roll symbol.
- Total Stamina pool is increased by 1.
- Free Movement value is increased by 1.
- A Hero with the Spell Caster skill may, once per turn, cast a spell a second time, ignoring the spell’s threshold, so long as they have the Stamina gems to do so.
- Melee attack threshold is increased by 1 (max 6).
- Ranged attack threshold is increased by 1 (max 6).
Hero Defeat: If this scenario results in a Defeat, lose one Victory Point. Lose any equipment that they have found.
Corrections / Clarifications
The green-ringed Ghouls on the setup diagram should be the blue-ringed Ghouls.