Blackstone - Second Sess... So Soon? Super!

[shrug] apparently so.

With school holidays still a thing the road was still relatively mild so drove over in in the arvo. Not yet a true test of my resolve.

We returned to Chamber 4 where we left off last time. Looked like a fun map.

All 3 hostile slots were traitor guard, and the 3rd slot was a twist.

Here's the thing, this particular twist meant that movement cost 2 movements to move 1 hex, so basically everyone was moving in slow motion. 

This turned the map from fun to tedious but fortunately really helped filter out the enemy coming toward us too.
We popped the escape elevator right next to us early on, with the added advantage of reducing reinforcements, and left the map within 4-5 turns. 

Then a sewer passage where only the navigator suffered a minor wound.

Then onto our second shrine... the Shrine of Decaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

The mechanics of this map are different to the regular maps (and even the previous shrine), so basically; no shizzle there were were stuck in the middle of the map and reinforcements (of the nastiest varieties) start pouring in from all directions...
Things went from calm [above] to very surrounded [below] very quickly (and this pic was after we had started taking out critters).

The goal of the map is protect the central zone for 5-6 turns. which we managed without losing anyone. We did accumulate some wounds by the end but with the imminent return to Precipice afterwards it wasn't a huge drama.

Gaming the reinforcement rules was definitely a must (if you kill everything in a squad then they all must reinforce on their next activation), so leaving one lone survivor on the board was often useful.
We had all four the ship bonuses to use and we used three.
The missionary was devastating again, crisping enemy after enemy. The rogue trader did some very useful stabbing (including the cult firebrand who had just toasted elf and missionary) and corridor blocking. Navigator and servitor provided a wound soak whilst also contributing a bit of ranged firepower. Eldar helped thin down the hoard from afar.
So pretty much just as planned.

We're starting to work with the additional abilities of the characters as instinct now. So rogue trader gets a free gambit, navigator returns a bonus dice if required and can move critters, missionary with flame traps etc. Expanding beyond combat stats - or exploiting the full capabilities available on the cards (when appropriate).

With a different character set i'm sure this map would have been far harder, but it felt like there was an established synergy in play with these particular explorers. Additionally, although this map felt harder than the first shrine we played, i'm sure we were far more competent playing this one.

This is our current progress (session progress highlighted)...

We probably have enough clues to get us to Chambers 5 or 2 maybe, so looking at attacking the other corners of the map... we'll see.


And on our return to Precipice we had a look in the ships for booty, and rogue trader and missionary geared up a bit.
Final stats/disposition for future reference...

Overall, an entertaining session.

Unit next time...