Been quiet here, but our Monday night Relicblade group’s going strong.

This week featured a climactic, storyful three-way battle. Two or three player scenario made up on the spot: Three small treasures in easy reach from the corners, two medium treasures near board center, and a relic in a corner with Ancient Dead guarding it. Treasures grant whatever card is drawn as well as points. Small treasures are worth 1pt each, medium treasures 3pts, and the relic 5pts. Single-use items still yield the points even if they’re used, and they don’t become unused if traded or dropped. Importantly, the four skeletons on the relic trigger at 8in, 4in, and the last two at 2in from the relic. This stages them nicely rather than them all just blobbing up first time anybody comes near.

Almost every character had an important role—even if that was just hiding in a nook holding treasures delivered by teammates. Pretty funny watching big ol’ boys like Ihm’ Matt and the Swarmlord come marching over bringing goodies to hunched little Vermin Mouth lurking in some ruins. A tremendous amount of maneuver in the game as well, one of the things I appreciate most about Relicblade, with action everywhere and characters enacting really dynamic paths with lots of advancing, retreating, and even resurging. Great imagery as Nelda the Keeper went running across a series of ladder bridges behind her Sabertooth companion, transforming into a Cave Bear mid-air as they leapt at a skeleton together. Teklin, grenadier extraordinaire, held all foes out of his corner, charging onto a bridge, leaping into the river, and struggling mightily against the current to reach a raised dais perfect for sniping, all while putting out extraordinary damage at range. As usual a clear standout was the humble Billman, salt o’ the urth, dashing across rocks, rivers, and bridges, clobbering vagrants, and holding off frickin’ yetis and their silly long arms to singlehandedly claim multiple treasures. Fittingly, in the end the closely fought battle wound up a draw at the last possible moment when Lotus Bladesong tried for the relic in the final activation of the game but got tripped up just enough by Nelda’s Sabertooth that the Bladesong then wasn’t ready when the last two skeletons lurched up out of the dark and skewered her, dropping both the relic and the small treasure she’d picked up early on… Honestly didn’t even occur to me to just sit pat and take the minor victory rather than making a play for the relic and risking a draw.

Long days and great adventures to y’all!