As we wait for the February update (coming at some point this week – likely Friday), Bogstop pushes onwards, ever closer to that final golden hurdle.
But as always, a quick recap of what I’ve been up to: the Tyrant should now again be having doubts about his chosen flock. Whilst one of them ascended, blessed by the Sculptor (with a ridiculous 11STR) – our 2 best characters died shortly afterwards to the Harvester (basic HE10) on their way to a Flower Knight Lvl 3. Afterwards we lost both the Sculptor-copy to Murder (SE) and the Gambler-blessed Axtolotl to being exiled… which not even 5 rerolls could prevent.
We also fought our very first Dung Beetle Knight! Which actually went quite well. This settlement also is finding a stupid amount of founding stones.., we’ve had a grand total of 11 since the prologue and got another 4 on the way to the beetle, so we were set up quite well for it.
Which did not prevent a death during Spelunking of Death afterwards.
Finally I spent some time putting together the last few remaining minis I had yet to build – the 4 silk set survivors from Spidicules.
I can’t say I know why I held off from building those until now. The glue on those is still curing, so I don’t have pictures just yet.

But back to Bogstop. With the Watcher defeated, life continues on, the darkness somehow even more oppressive. Still, I was mainly relieved that my plans had worked out and we could continue playing.

And whilst I did miss out on securing a Strain Milestone last year – we had both the 4+ Black Lichen in our storage as well as a Brain Mint on a person for the Ethereal Culture Strain – we will just try our best to rectify this during this year’s hunt. Not to mention there was now also a chance for a us to get a second strain as well.

But, as always, first came the settlement event!
To stand proudly against our dire fate, we celebrated our victory with the Knighting (SE) of one of our victors.
The dice decided Ghurt should be the one to receive the honors, and he uttered a vow of persistence (Insanity at 11 over 5STR and 2 courage) and he gained Rageholic (D).

As we entered the development phase I picked up Ruby’s character sheet and noticed I placed Quixotic (D) under Fighting Arts when she got the disorder. After checking the last few Lantern Years, I decided I would remove it as she received several disorders afterwards.
I also did not want to be stuck with Arithmophilia (D) so I sent Ruby to the Bell of Challenge (I) to gain Honorable (D) instead.

Afterwards we once again endeavored at the Shrine and gained +1 armor for the next hunt by rolling a 6.

From the resources still in our storage we spent 1 of our precious scrap (of 2) and the Perfect Organ to build a Scrap Lantern. Ghurt took it, as he could make use of it to some degree.

At this point we had quite a few things sitting in storage, which is why I decided I would ignore the chance we had to get starvation and instead head to collecting scrap immediately.

Ghurt (+1ACC) took his time in the outskirts and re-emerged as a match maker, but without a lantern. The other 2 attempts also failed, costing him 2 survival.
Looking back at it, I should have sent somebody into the caverns below the Exhausted Lantern Hoard instead.
Either way, that was all we could do this Lantern Year, so we assembled the hunting party.

The Hunters:
Ghurt (Wrath, Marchioness bits)
Calystea (Killennium Cleaver, Dragon Armor)
Ruby (Lantern Glaive, Frogdog Armor)
Celestine (Bullfrog Mace, Bullfrogdog Armor)

This lantern year I wanted to do something new and so I tried training the cleaver spec for a bit as I wanted to aim for those strains!
I mainly chose the lope as a quarry because of its relatively low danger level combined with my general familiarity of the fight, as well as the generous amount of resources we could get from it. Whilst it doesn’t drop straight up iron, like our other quarries, we could bolster our storage for any larger scale project by hunting the Screaming Antelope.

The Huntphase:
Content with the copper gear we had built, we did not go noodling this time. (It only occurred to me after the hunt that the lure lantern is, in fact, a lantern as well). Instead we were presented with a Carpet of Ticks. The insects were smashed quite easily before we moved on though.
Ruby took charge of the group and suddenly the ground rose beneath our feet together with us! What fist seemed like Living Stone (basic HE97) appeared to be a gargantuan living being. Clambering atop the creature, Ruby found a vantage point to survey the world.. if only there were any light to see it. Experiencing this abyss was sobering for her and she lost all her insanity, turning off her Immortal (D).Before long we did reach our destination and the showdown began immediately.

Whilst we missed out on Mineral Gathering this time, you just can’t really complain about an expedited hunt against a Level 3 target.

The Horripilation Die started with Celestine.
After the “death” of the Watcher, the Monster Controller tile is no longer used and instead the Horripilation Die moves between the lanterns of the survivors. When they have it they are empowered and able to use 1 of up to 5 abilities that can be unlocked via Lantern Research in the settlement. For the time being we could simply add a single additional attack roll to an attack, once per round.
Ruby also took a -1ACC and -1STR from Delirium (D) as the group arrived to the fight.

22 cards in the monster’s deck, the Screaming Antelope began the fight, charging towards us with Run Down.
It managed to hit Calystea 3 times, dealing 3 damage with each. She dodged one of the 2 hits to her arms. It then continued to charge into her, trampling her with Diabolical, flinging her away, knocking over Celestine as well in the process.

Ghurt was the first to activate and his Frogdoggles once again saw the future. The horripilation dice with him, a great opportunity presented itself to make use of the new power. He hit the monster once with Wrath and I added a second attack roll with the lvl1 Pulse discovery for a second hit in total.
And with his sword specialization active he even was able to roll before choosing the place to wound at.
Still dealing critical wounds on 6+, he chose the Restless Chest to deal the crippling blow to the monster: 7 wounds in one strike. The monster lost a Giant Flat Tooth in the process and suffered a -1DMG token as well. The 2nd strike merely wounded. Ghurt still did not have 5 courage and suffered 3 brain damage from seeing the majestic Legendary Horns (from 11 to 8).

Finally, before ending his turn, he encouraged Celestine. Ruby quickly activated simple heading towards the closest Acanthus on the board, dashing once to reach it as soon as possible. The first plant yielded nothing to her.
Then Celestine, back on her feet, dashed away from the lope, before she used her armor to charge back in. With an additional 6ACC due to the charge, she hit both attacks, doubling all wound results, but as fate willed it, she only hit the trap. She and Ghurt both took 6 brain damage from seeing and hearing the frothing undermaw! Sliding along the wall away from its attacker, the monster stopped as it reached the closest corner.

We finished our turn by activating Calystea, who could use her Brain Mint to stand herself up… triggering a Strain Milestone for my game! Ethereal Pact was added to my game!

14 cards remaining, Back Kick was drawn. With no survivor in range, the Antelope wanted to graze instead. Although it made a valiant effort, it didn’t reach the acanthus, and angrily ran over Ruby in frustration.

Ghurt and Celestine got up and noticed the antelope had positioned itself nice and close to them. Ghurt activated first as he usually did and we saw that the next card on top of the deck was one of the legendary ones. He hit the monster and quickly wounded it, but the antelope jumped backwards into Ruby, trampling her and knocking her away. Celestine, again, dashed into range to use her armor.
She hit twice again, but did not find the trap just yet. Attacking the monster’s ear first she had +2LCK from her using a club, enabling her to crit the monster despite only rolling a 7, permanently dazing it.

She did also hit the next hit location for a quaint 44, but as she wasn’t insane, she still only dealt a single wound to the monster with that monster of a swing. It spasmed in response, dealing 3 hits at 2 damage each.

Calystea spent a survival to help up Ruby, who then approached the monster to unga-bunga it. 2 hits on 6+. She was just barely able to deal the first wound as her sharp dice almost failed her. Her surge was ended prematurely by Early Iron. Calystea ended our turn by picking another acanthus and eating it.

9 cards remaining, we only just noticed how the Screaming Antelope was Infested with huge, wriggling ticks – that did explain the hunt event earlier though.
Only Calystea was grossed out enough to take the brain damage and she immediately was sent into a spiral – Brain Trauma. At +5 she rolled an 11, knocking her down in fits of laughter. She gained 4 insanity, a -1SPD-token and became priority target. The Antelope drew its follow up AI: Bolt, ready to dish out some payback for the.. insult.. of being laughed at?

In the flow of the card, Ruby surged . She hit the monster twice, once of them perfectly, which triggered combo master (FA) for another roll. 3 hits in total she drew Restless Eye as one of the hits, but as she wasn’t insane at 1 insanity, she took the singular brain damage and struck the monster without remorse!.She crits once, showering Celestine in small fingers, before dealing a third and final wound. As her attacks end Ghurt and Celestine dashed out of the monster’s path.

After all that the Screaming Antelope Bolt‘ed over to Calystea and hit her twice in 3 hits for 2 damage each, before ran away again, only to Diabolical back, running straight at Ghurt and Celestine.

Ruby tore another acanthus from the soil, receiving nothing once again before taking a step to move out of the lope’s potential pathway. She also encouraged Calystea so she had a chance to attempt an attack with her Killennium Cleaver. Hacking away at the monster, she flailed at the Bushy Tail, wounding with 13STR vs 13TGH. Another 2 wounds followed afterwards more convincingly, putting on a -1MOV token as well. A crit from Wrath would outright kill the monster at this point.

Calystea then ran to the nightmare tree instead of continuing her attacks and surged to activate it. Deftly she plucked a broken lantern from its branches. Ghurt activated and attacked without concern, dealing a critical wound for 4 damage, killing the Antelope in the process.
And that was another strain for me!
Ghurt had both Rhythm Chaser (FA) and Hyperactive (D). This upcoming Lantern Year the settlement’s youths would creat a new fighting art inspired by the twitchy agility of Ghurt – Agility Fighter (FA)! I decided I would figure out who got to get it at the start of the next settlement phase.

As we collect our rewards, Ruby (Double Dash FA) reached age 3, whilst Celestine (+1STR) and Calystea (+1STR) each reached age 2.As all 4 gained their weapon proficiency, Celestine turned into our 2nd Club Master, whilst Calystea unlocked the specialist level of Cleaver spec (can be used while frenzied, ignore 1 wound reaction during each attack).

We collect our resources and move on. Wrath brought down another monster. And just as I was about to start packing up for the day, the Feline Entity payed us a visit.

I’m just happy I got 2 new strains. The fight wasn’t much of a challenge, but at this point, that should be hardly surprising against a lope. Not that stuff couldn’t go wrong, but this was clearly the expected result – which, I mean, is why I chose to go after this particular quarry this year to begin with.
Ethereal Pact (FA) is an interesting Fighting Art in my opinion. I’m not sure how good it is – as it can potentially ruin a character – but I really enjoy the idea of having a back door to saviors in any campaign. +3 to Brain Traumas is also nothing to sneeze at.
Agility Fighter (FA) on the other hand seems much more solid and thus usable, potentially adding even more power to the EVA stat.

Next Lantern Year though.., I’m not looking forward to that. Whilst I do not mind fighting the Butcher – in either version – my dislike for Invincible (T) is immense. And its the juiced up KillyB version as well. But we will deal with that next time.

For now, as always, thank you very much for your time, and don’t eat those soot-mushrooms you find in the forest,
Amathul