This .. is going to be a hectic year.
Even if the text does not do this year in particular justice, Braal is just a couple of minutes away from reaching the settlement’s outskirts and she is ready to throw down!
I have only fought her twice at this point (and seen the fight a couple more times) and I think that even with me tacking pictures throughout, it was easier when I was playing this alone. The timer did not nearly feel as harsh when I was responsible for all the moves and decisions.
I did take all my notes after each time the timer went off, so I did have sort of a longer pause in between each reset, which did likely also help a little as it broke up the stress. Of course I did not do anything else during these times – no thinking on strategy or pre-planning, ’cause that would have been cheating!

But enough of the pre-game talk, lets get into it!

***

Returning to the settlement a little depressed about losing Honeydew, we first collected endeavors for the year (6 in total – 2 contributing survivors, 1 Tinker, Cooking (I) and 22 pop) and then we drew our random settlement event:
It Rang!
I rolled a 3 and Trust set off into the darkness with a broken arm having violated an unspoken taboo.
The card says both -1 pop and that they walk off into the darkness, so I did consider this “being exiled” for our Cannibalize death principle.

And then all hell broke loose. A bellow from just beyond the settlement’s edge roused us; a thunderous roar in an unknown language challenging our martial prowess.

Challenger at the Gates is the event introducing us to the Red Witches and their first representative: Braal.
Now, if you have not seen this expansion before, when Braal is alone her temper runs unchecked and she does not care for procedures.
This means we are to use a 5 minute timer for probably the majority of the settlement phase, until we depart for the fight (and later on during that encounter as well)!
As already mentioned, I took all my notes in the breaks the event (and basic action respectively) provides.

During the first interval, because I largely knew what I wanted to do with the resources, I made Leather to build the Leather Helmet, before continuing on to the antelope set, which took almost all of the hide we had looted to finish.
I also innovated.
Out of Bloodletting, Scrap Smelting, Forbidden Dance and Face Painting I chose Forbidden Dance.

And then Braal had enough of me running around doing what I wanted.
As I rolled a 4 we lost an endeavor (3 remaining), activated a -1 insanity on Departure effect and restarted the timer.

For interval 2 thinking started to slow me down.
I did build a Beast Knuckles from the Large Flat Tooth and the last Pelt we still had, made 2 Dried Acanthus and with the “help” of the so aptly named Scab, I remade the Sword Scab before I decided to keep the rest of the resources.
If we would have had a survivor with Berserker (FA) at this point, we could have built the Piercing Claws from the Black Knight’s seed pattern! That would have been incredible!
But I seem to not have much luck when it comes to building seed patterns in general.

Braal shouted at us again in her impatience and it cost us another endeavor as something in the settlement got dropped.

With the final 2 endeavors I sent Ferrus to do some augury – +1 survival – and taught Synchronized Strike (SFA) to Hidari.
I don’t think I got to make use of that Secret Fighting Art all that often yet, but I was ready to keep trying.
And I was just slow enough doing these two things to have to roll again on the event.

After Ferrus joined the team of departing survivors Braal’s interest had apparently been peaked and the timer wasn’t restarted after the roll. And just as we were about to depart ..

The Chosen Defenders:
Ferrus – green (Frogdog Armor, Fist&Tooth, Sword Scab)
Candy – purple (Rawhide Armor, Sharpened Heel)
Calys – red (Leather Armor, Bone Axe)
Hidari – yellow (Screaming Armor, Bone Club)

Yeah! We were bringing the settlement’s A-team for this!

As I was putting these gear grids together I also noticed the Eproctophilia (D) on Candy that I still hadn’t removed because I figured it’d be easy to play around.., well, today it cost me one of my Bioluminescent Tonsils.
Things were starting to look bad for copper. It requires a lot of investment but I really like the Bullfrogdog Armor in particular – its one of my favorite sets!

Edit: I just got done with the fight and only now noticed the Skip Next Hunt box was ticked for Hidari – he was not forced to skip this hunt, rather I messed up by not clearing the box in the settlement phase from last year.

With everyone at the Survival Limit of 6, insanity with the 2 reduction applied and armor points fully calculated, we headed out to meet the ill-tempered Red Witch feeling good.
We were very well prepared for the fight, I would say, but Braal’s hit locations could be pretty wild, and she could be VERY mobile, shredding armor in the process as well, so a lot was going to depend on how well we could deal with those.

Braal enters play with 3 traits in addition to her 7MOV and the 11TGH that can fluctuate up and down quite a bit during the fight due to her Blood Magic.
Boiling Blood adds the 5 minute timer to the fight, triggering a basic action every time it runs out. This does not care whether or not it is her turn or ours, every 5 minutes she’s just had enough of waiting around to punch a thing and does it. She will stand up for this as well as I found out during the fight.
She also has the Life trait set to 10. This number might be a bit deceptive though, as she is capable of healing quite a bit of damage, so hopefully we can get her low enough to finish her off with the Sword Scab or crits from Candy before her trap can undo any of our hard work.
Her third and final trait is another interesting one: Discouraging Presence limits when you can encourage other survivors to only during your own act. And she will be knocking people over a lot! Not only does she regularly have Bash as an After Damage effect, but her hit locations will regularly run you over as well!

She also has a bunch of super dense hit locations, so I didn’t expect the Bone Axe to see the end of the fight, which is ultimately why I gave Calys the Beast Knuckles as well – to hopefully tide her over until we get back home should the axe break.

In classic nemesis encounter fashion: the survivors got to go first.
Hidari wanted to show Braal his own fury and he dashed a few spaces forward to use Slam, apply the -1TGH-token and then follow up with an attack. He missed the strike spectacularly, but it paved the way for the rest of the team to come:
Calys and Candy picked up the slack immediately by dealing 1 wound each.

Braal did dash away and through Calys though, taking out all her chest armor in the drive by.
Ferrus was too far away at this point so he just moved a little closer, pumping his armor for his action.
Candy also used 2 more survival to remove her Vermin Obsession (D) which she had gained from her Neurosis.
She ended our turn by surging to look at the top 2 AI cards and put Meteoric Hook on top.

At 8 Life remaining, Braal came charging into the group again, hitting Hidari hard in the chest with the hook! 3 hits initially connected, of which he dodged 1, taking out all of his chest armor as well.
But he remained standing in defiance.

As our turn rolled around again, I rushed to move Calys up and into the blindspot of the Red Witch, dealing a critical wound with the savage Bone Axe to knock her down just before the timer went off for the first time!
I spend a good 10 minutes at this point trying to find out if I had just stopped the automatic basic action from going of or if Braal would just get up immediately to punch me. And as my hopes slowly began dropping the more I read about it, Braal’s fist rose sharply.
Calys took a beating and went down from suffering a heavy chest wound as the basic attack resolved.

After this forced stop, the rest of our attacks fell mostly flat.
The first attempt ended as Hidari whiffed a wound against 19TGH (double Blood Magic), which knocked him and Candy down as well! because of Braal flexing her muscles.
Then, Ferrus failed to get any Fist&Tooth hits, but at least he encouraged Candy so she could try as well.
And whilst she managed to at least do another wound, the reflex sent Braal charging over Calys, almost trampling her hip.

5 life remaining, Braal rushed back at Candy with the other card we had seen the round before: Meteoric Flash Knee, ready to smash Candy up good.
Candy dodged a hit and gained her 3rd bleed to avoid the other.
And the timer went off again as well. Another 4 strikes were aimed at Candy, of which 2 connected.

Edit: Before I continue on, whilst I was initially quite happy thinking I did not make any major mistakes, I noticed after the fight that Hidari would have been hit by the Syncronic Attack of Meteoric Flash Knee as well.
I did spend 1 survival to account for an extra dodge and rolled to wound, which hit a spot that did not matter for the rest of the fight. As for the upcoming turn – whilst he would have not been able to Slam into Braal, missing -1TGH on her would not change the outcome of any of the rolls, mainly due to Club spec.

With Candy now kissing the dirt, Ferrus’ time had come!
He attacked with the Sword Scab, mainly because I feared he might not get another chance that easily .. and the Hit Location deck was getting pretty thin by then, only 6 cards left – the trap must be close!
He hit her on a 7, wounding the mighty Braal’s Meteoric Clenched Fist! The scab shattered, spreading Ferrus’ blood on the ground as Braal charged away, taken down to 2 life.

Ferrus encouraged Hidari who had just been run over to end his act.
Hidari in turn used Slam to follow the witch (Edit: which of course he could not have done, because I would have been much closer to where she ended up at). He hit her once in the back, and prevented her further escape to the side with a wound! (Edit:Still a wound even without the -1TGH and +2STR due to a Perfect Hit and club spec, which I did not think relevant at the time.)
Finally Calys dashed after the two. She just about made it to Braal’s side. She was going to be able to only attack with 1SPD and I did fear I’d draw the trap at any point.
Her regular attack missed, but on the surge she found the deciding hit against the Meteoric Jaw, and she wounded it thanks to axe spec as well!

With that hit, the fight was over!
The first Witch had been bested by 4 of our strongest!

A quick and brutal affair, our sudden surge in usable armor this Lantern Year as well as the return of the Sword Scab benefitted us immensely here!
It did also help that she did not draw either of her Legendary AI cards (I saw her full combo in action once – together with 2 basic actions it flattened a guy and broke another), and we got away without the trap being pulled either – it was the 2nd to last card in the deck – so the next hit would have found it, if we would have had to keep going.

But for all we know, Braal stomped back into the darkness, her craving for a good fight, satiated.
She does seem disappointed if she wins the fight.

For defeating the Red Witch we gained 1 hunt xp, though nobody aged from this, and 1 weapon proficiency for Calys and Hidari.
We also got 1 Red Thread, Blood Weaving (I) and Unconscious Fighter (FA) on Calys and Hidari.
The Red Thread will open up a tone of possibilities for us in the near future.
Finally Calys realized a new ability: Hyperaemic Defense! This meant she could take 1 bleed to Block 1, once per round.

And all that without the Feline Entity’s guidance.

Unga-bunga protects!
*Braal approves of this message*

***

As far as I can reasonably tell after 2 fights against Braal, if you can keep a bit of an eye on her AI cards, the 4+ to hit holds her in check decently well for Lantern Year 9.
Besides her Legendary combo (which can be avoided surprisingly easily) – I would say the real danger stems from her hit location deck and the tendency for the player to make mistakes because of the timer. The timer in particular adds a layer of pressure in an area we are not used to from Kingdom Death: Monster and that makes all the difference.
She will mess you up if you are used to long pondering or discussing each and every move in fine detail. Braal just does not care for your attempts at perfect execution or risk mitigation.

Unga-bunga protects!
And what can I say, so far I have really enjoyed my time with Braal.
Much like the Pariah, this nemesis alters the texture of the fight in a refreshing manner.
Braal will (thankfully) lose the timer in later fights against the Red Witches and I am looking forward to seeing how abilities replacing it will stack up. I am likely going to go up against Nico decently soon-ish, though I am most curious about Seer.

Also, I do just kinda love how the Red Witches give off this serene impression of archery with their models and the overall presentation, but then Braal arrives at the settlement, shouting at you to get into gear and immediately charges into melee-range, kneeing you in the stomach.

***

Next up will likely be either the next Lantern Year (I am looking at hunting a Dragon King with Candy) or the monthly update, depending on whether it drops at the end of this week or the start of next.
There has been some rumor-milling going on about Screaming God releasing early in the year i.e. January, February or March, and whilst I personally DON’T give these any stock, I will say that if I haven’t fought a Dung Beetle Knight before then, I will just wait on the Screaming GOAT.
For what its worth, I won’t be waiting till Easter either though; but I have been progressing much more slowly than originally planned, so I thought I’d do well in mentioning it again.

In any case, that will be all for today.
As always, thank you very much for your time, quick! Finish your move! Braal’s timer is about to run out again!
Amathul

Here she comes!