💀 Greetings Gamers! 💀
Two years since our last Halloween Game, we're back, arguably better than ever (well, better than last Halloween at least). The scenery and miniatures have leveled up as it were!
This time, two 'heroes' are searching for a family member who has been unwittingly enthralled by a creepy old lady in a land of horror. There's monsters, pumpkins and lost souls all seeking something as well.
Into this ghoulish land enter Rick and Morty. Rick doesn't really want to be in this forsaken land, but Morty seems okay with it as he'd like a quest-like adventure for a change of pace. With limited resources, it seems they're forced to partake in a deadly game in order to rescue Summer.
Also, we have some cameos from Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar miniatures! In addition to a few others, such as special 'festive' warriors produced by Spellcrow.
How did the game turn out, you might be asking? Well, read on to find out!
Note that you can click on any of the images to enlarge them! 👀
To navigate to the article for this game on our website, click here.
💥Halloween 2017💥
In this mission, we play tested a Dungeon/RPG/Scenario game system we've been developing. It worked out pretty well I'd say! There was loot, key items, crafting items, mysteries and dialogue interactions in addition to combat. Good times!
Prologue
Entering from a great warp gate, Rick and Morty observed the land - the modified green portal closing behind them.
"Oh geez Rick, I'm working up some anxiety about this whole thing." said Morty.
"Shut up Morty, we've got to save your stupid sister." snapped Rick.
Looking around, there were graveyards, gates and a village in the distance. Nearby were some zombies shuffling around, with a grotesque man on a cart of corpses visible through the misty haze. Most troubling of all were the large pumpkins dotted around the landscape which confirmed his concerns. This was a dimension of endless Halloween.
Rick sighed, "What a pain my ass."
Nearby were some Eldar, stuck in this unsettling horror dimension. Perhaps they could be of some use?
The Heroes
Our heroes are Rick and Morty on this Dungeon Adventure. They are equipped with a variety of ranged energy weapons on their profiles. Rick has high intellect and perception for the dungeon, with the other stats being average.
Morty had better charisma, being more pleasant to talk to but would rely on his grandpa's intellect to resolve problems and discuss situations before doing anything. No guarantees though - Morty can be a little spontaneous and irrational, especially when pushed too far!
HD Sneak Peek Video (2 min, some spoilers)
Stage 1: Eldar Encounter
The heroes first encountered some Eldar (Warhammer 40,000), who had somehow been trapped there due to a mishap from traversing the webway. It didn't really make sense, but they were here and they wanted to go home.
Rick and Morty explained they could probably get them home, but they'd have to help them on their journey. The Eldar, seeing little option and having an unhealthy respect for the unusual old Mon-Keigh, agreed.
They joined Rick and Morty to help with any combat situations.
In case you're curious, the other alternatives Rick and Morty had were to attack and loot them, or leave them be.
Stage 2: The Corpse Cart
Immediately after recruiting the Eldar, the unlikely party had their first combat event: a necromancer of sorts on a corpse cart with a pack of zombies.
"Look Morty, it's a grave robber, but he's an idiot - there's so many (urrrp) other uses for dead bodies but he just piles them up on his cart. Like a starving hobo with a shopping trolley he just collects them Morty, - he stinks like a hobo, both literally and figuratively. He's basically this horror dimension's version of a homeless person, Morty."
"I get it Rick, geez."
The Eldar looked at each other with a raised brow, then readied their weapons. Rick and Morty also pulled out some energy guns to fight.
Some Eldar perished in the fight, but the crew of heroes was victorious.The necromancer gurgled and choked on his own blood as he died. Shortly after, the corpse cart fell into a stinking heap, the last zombie also cut down by an Eldar Warlock.
As the Eldar mourned the loss of two of their Warlocks, Rick checked for loot on the necromancer's corpse. There was a golden chalice (key item), a scythe shaft that could be salvaged (crafting item), and a scroll to bring a dead person back to life. He suspected the scroll's dark magics would disintegrate the item when used, so Rick quickly concealed the scroll before the Eldar noticed - in his opinion, it wasn't worth using on them!
There was also a bag of gold, of currency with pumpkins on them. The Eldar weren't interested, so Morty kept it.
Looking around, there seemed be new areas that were accessible with the necromancer dead.
Stage 2A: The Fountain Styx
The group went to a nearby fountain first. A description was on a nearby tablet:
The waters of this fount purify the mind: purging all
regrets, fears and joys of one who is willing to drink. The cursed dead seek it for purification, but they can never approach this soothing water. It brings peace to the aching bones of
dead warriors, who in life soaked the earth with the blood of their enemies.
Due to his high intellect stat, Rick was quick to assess and point out that drinking the water would cause amnesia, at least temporarily. But also mentioned it would be more useful to scoop some in a chalice and keep it as undead bait or as a bargaining chip. And so it was done.
On a roll, Rick also noticed a discarded lockbox. Pulling out a tool for the occasion, Rick opened it and saw a schematic. It was called a 'Nether Scythe', requiring a scythe shaft, a bloody blade and soulstones. Simple enough for him, but he needed some ingredients yet.
Stage 2B: Two Lost Graves
Moving on, the party came across two graves, separated from the rest of the graveyard.
The graves were unmarked as to who they were, though someone had scratched ‘the butcher and the witch, a marriage from hell, now by death do you part’ as a message on the two graves.
They decided to move on.
Stage 2C: Pumpkin Patrol
On their way, the group came across a group of small adventurers, all wearing pumpkins, or perhaps the pumpkins actually were their heads. No one was sure, not even the Eldar.
Morty was keen to talk to them, especially when he saw a girl with big breasts.After talking to them, Morty discovered the pumpkin adventurers were known as the Dyniaq. They were a race living in this realm and were fighters for hire. They accepted the pumpkin coin currency he found on the necromancer's corpse, and so hired the Dyniaq woman along with a sorcerer and a little pet Dyniaq. All he could afford with the money he had! They wouldn't accept any deals.
With their numbers bolstered with hirelings, they departed for the next area...
Stage 2D: Death Knights
This area was a graveyard, and eerily quiet. There was a restlessness in the air.
The chalice with the waters Styx began to glow. Shortly after, several undead knights with their skeletal horses manifested before them. With a raspy yet hollow voice, the undead captain ordered his knights to seize the chalice with force. Rick tried to tell them they could just take it, but the knights were disillusioned, thinking they had to fight an adversary they had encountered in life.
The combat began.
The knights were defeated, slumped into several piles of bones. Taking the Chalice, Morty tipped some water on each corpse, setting their souls free so they could pass on to face judgement. It was hoped that they could enter the next life in peace, though their fate would ultimately remain unknown.
The cost of victory had been significant - the sorcerer Dyniaq and the pumpkin pet, along with another Eldar Warlock, had paid with their lives to win the fight. Remaining with them were still two Eldar and the female Dyniaq, whom Morty was trying to get to know as they fought and explored.
A Rusted Lockett sat on the ground where the captain's bones lay. Apparently it was a memento of a previous quarry. Inside the lockett was a picture of a happily married couple - a rather tall and broad man and his attractive wife. Scratched onto the back of the lockett in tiny letters is a message: ‘the butcher and the witch, may your deaths bring respite to the land’.
Remembering the two lost graves and the message, the party ventured there. Morty was pretty curious about the whole thing, and rarely got adventures like this.
Return to Stage 2B: Two Lost Graves
With a deep breath, Morty sat the Rusted Lockett over one of the graves then stepped back toward the group. Rick opened his mouth, ready to pass a rude comment on the long silence when the ground gave a low rumble. A large man burst out of the ground, a bloodied blade in one hand and a fleshy club in the other. His wife soon followed, making an entrance not as forceful, but slow and still unsettling.
Speaking in a language that none of the group understood, the witch wife prepared to cast spells while the man, known as the butcher, leapt forward to begin carving them up. He wanted new skin to wear, and his wife needed a new hand, a new eye... and whatnot.
The combat began.
Though the fight was tense, the butcher and the witch were finally slain for good.
However, the last of the Eldar perished in the fight. This may have been troublesome or even tragic for some, but for Rick and Morty, it wasn't so bad.
Having 'Opportunistic' as a trait, Rick searched the bodies of the now deceased Eldar and discovered their soulstones, which housed their souls. None of the other party members had a disagreement (or alignment issue) with it.
"Nice, I can make some good sh*t with this."
Soulstones are a crafting item in this mission, part of the Nether Scythe schematic. All the components were collected - the scythe shaft, the bloodied blade (from the butcher who was just slain) and now the soul stones. A smithy or workstation to construct it in was all that was needed now.
Only the female Dyniaq remained as an additional ally. Morty felt that he was slowly winning her over, but time would tell whether that was true or not.
In one of the two (now empty) graves, they also found a strange metal case, it contained the following item:
Mysterious Serum: It has ‘Tentsu’ engraved on the steel case housing it and contains sealed serum vials and syringes. It was in one of the coffins of the murderous couple. Instructions: "Used as cure for mold infestation, or to terminate an E-Type weapon."
Rick studied it in silence, which was very uncharacteristic of him. They moved on shortly after.
Stage 3: Light and Dark
Approaching the ominous looking town, the party came across a gate, but there were two forces having a 'disagreement'. There was a large, hulking warrior with a scythe, known as Typhus, while against him were several warriors known as Stormcast Eternals.
Seeing the situation couldn't be handled peacefully, Rick and Morty were forced to choose a side or just slip past the gate. They opted to help the Stormcast Eternals (the logic was that holy or 'light' power could be effective given the undead and dark state of the region, besides Rick was enough of an evil tyrant without Typhus trying to boss them around).
The combat began.
As Typhus was defeated, he disappeared with a crackle of lightning and a cloud of warp dust, which settled as a residue onto the ground. Typhus had literally vanished - meaning he had escaped, but not without leaving a little reward...
"All right, that's what I'm talking about!" exclaimed Rick. Warp Dust was an item that enhances the offensive power of those who 'consume' it.
He quickly gathered the dust and divided it into portions. He 'inhaled' his portion quickly through the nose, shuddering and looking exhilarated. He was going to offer some to the lone surviving Stormcast Eternal, but he was busy inspecting something. Rick shrugged and offered some to Morty and the female Dyniaq, whom Morty had started to call Diane (or Dyanne as it were).
The Stormcast was observing the area where his two comrades had perished. During the fight, two of the Stormcast were defeated and had disappeared with a crack of lightning. It seemed that they could return to Azyr if they perished, though this was something the lone Stormcast would prefer to avoid, due to the ill effects of being reforged.
Invigorated and full of Warp Dust, the party advanced beyond the gate, heading toward the mysterious town...
Stage 3A: The Town
Although they could've skipped past the town to the creepy grandma's house down the road, exploring it was necessary to search for a forge to build the Nether Scythe.
Rick noticed that Summer's tracking chip hadn't really moved much since they arrived, so she was probably fine. At least this time anyway.
After having a little look around, they came across a smithy, perfect to forge the Nether Scythe. Rick being a master of crafting gadgets and whatnot, made it. It was basically death on a stick with its power.
The perfect opportunity to test it came along immediately - an abomination of a creature that was essentially the entire townsfolk merged together into one fleshy mass.
May as well put it out of its misery was the general consensus.
The fight was pretty brief with Rick wielding the Nether Scythe, though Morty was still slain in the battle by the abomination (it was pretty dangerous). Morty had been half dissolved by acid - it was pretty disgusting really.
Rick took out the scroll he found on the necromancer and used it on Morty, restoring his life and healing his horrific injuries. The scroll then vanished in a puff of dark magic. Rick emphasised how he warned Morty to duck with the incoming acid.
With that under control, the group had a look around where the monster was lurking - it seemed the town held another secret, an expensive looking magic orb, in addition to some other treasure.
Dyanne, as the female Dyniaq had come to be known, mentioned that the treasure would be very valuable to her kin, in fact, so much so that the whole crew could be hired. Rick would keep the magic orb for scientific experiments.
And so, that's the way it happened!
Stage 4: Evil Resident
Finally. The last area. There before them was the creepy old granny and Summer, of which both didn't seem to be in their right mind."Hand over Summer and we'll be right on our way. No fuss, no mess." said Rick to the old lady. Morty was a little creeped out by her and preferred not to speak.
The granny, seemingly out of her mind, said, "Hello, my name's Eveline. Have you all come to join my family?"
Off to the side, some shambling humanoid creatures rocked up, they looked a bit 'moldy'...
The combat began.
The molded people were quickly dispatched by the large group of adventurers and the Nether Scythe that Rick was wielding.
Granny was getting a bit angry, but Rick injected a syringe into her, it was from the case they found in the graves of the butcher and the witch earlier. The E-Type serum...
It took immediate effect, beginning to break her body mass down, but yet she still burst forward as a disgusting beast, calling forth more of her 'family' to fight while she was dying!
After the fight was over, victory had finally been won! Using some of the leftover serum, Rick made sure that Summer was cured of the 'mold'. Didn't want any of that coming back home.
Victory! Wubba lubba dub dub!
Rick was keen to start testing the orb, but he'd have to wait a little as he needed to take the grand kids home, and briefly explain or lie to their parents about the ridiculous (or Rick-diculous) adventure they'd gone on this time. I wonder what kind of new machine or device would be worked on in the garage with a magic orb? Magic was probably scientifically quantifiable.
It didn't work out between Morty and Dyanne.
The Dyniaq took advantage of the outdoor feasting table, while the lone Stormcast pondered if the red gateway at the back of the granny's house (that took Rick, Morty and Summer home) would lead him a step closer to home... or into the gates of hell - likely a realm of Khorne.
And lastly... out of it, Rick also now owned a scythe that had Eldar souls in it. Pretty neat. Maybe he could turn it into something else later too?
Credits
The gaming mat was made by Deep-Cut Studio if you're looking for an easy and nice grass roll-up mat! They have a bunch of other cool mats too, like the two we used in our Talk Like a Pirate Day battle. Check out our website to find out more or see what we're up to:www.warsurge.com
The miniatures were from a variety of companies - we had Spellcrow, Games Workshop Hasslefree Miniatures among some others. If you want to know some specifics, just get in touch with us.
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