Aeon Trespass Odyssey
Battle Report - There Is No Maze
When I finished Cycle 1 I was able to bypass the final battle, having completed a side quest. However, I was curious to see how the final battle would have played out.
Most of my best Titans were dead, so I only had one of the special ones and the other three were the standard variety. They all had pretty good gear though and I had defeated the Temenos Primordial before. On the downside I had a scattering of despair token from the final storyline events.
Having completed all of the side quests in the campaign I found each one gave me a bonus in the scenario. I was able to go first (a rare and significant advantage) and I received various buffs on the Titans. I started closer and the Primordial’s vantage point was exposed from the start.
Starting positions
In my opening turn I managed to do three wounds, one of which was a critical which inflicted an additional wound. Off to a good start (ten wounds are needed to win). While delivering one of the wounds a Titan was hit back, but the wound card I drew gave me a bonus attack. Alas the Titan in question is a heavy hitter but needs other Titans to go first to setup his opening, so he missed. I also managed to get one of my Titans to climb up to the vantage point. Up here they hit harder and are usually immune to Primordial attacks, but they must test to stay on each turn. On the downside one of my Titans failed to wound and was knocked back a great distance.
In the Primordial's first turn it did a Foretentacle Smash on my most defensive Titan. He was able to block with his shield and his armour absorbed the rest of the damage. Then the Primordial performed its signature attack, Tentacle Strike. This favours far away Titans, so it ran across the board the Titan it had knocked back last turn. It did a fair bit of damage and I drew a Gaping Wound card, taking an extra point of damage then needing to draw again. I drew the dreaded Disembowelled card. Instant Titan death! That was unlucky. Worse, the rest of my Titans were now a long way away and could not achieve much in their next turn. I find this the worst element of Titan's being knocked back. Sometimes it puts them out the fight a round or two, but often a Primordial chases after them (they are much faster than Titans) and that puts all the other Titans out the fight for a turn or two.
In my second turn all the two Titans on foot could do is close the distance. The Titan on the vantage point was able to do a single wound.
In the Primordial's second turn it returned its attention to my most defensive Titan with Mazelight. Unfortunately this attack ignores most defenses and just forces you to make an Obol draw (i.e. draw from a two card deck. One card says you live, the other says your die). He died. And he didn't roll a 10 and get possessed by a God for two turns either. That was unlucky. The Primordial then did it signature on the remaining Titan stood on the floor. This did some damage, but critically added a third Despair token. With that many tokens that Titan is no longer allowed to attack. The mechanism for removing tokens is to attack and successfully wound, so from now on that Titan could only serve as a distraction and it was all down to the Titan on the vantage point.
For my third turn the Titan on the vantage point attacked but failed to wound the Maze Plate location. Fortunately while on the vantage point you ignore any Primordial reactions on Body Part cards.
In the Primoridal's third turn it did a Tentacle Strangle. This is one of the few attacks that prioritises a Titan on the vantage point. I took quite a lot of damage then drew the Disembowelled card again. That was unlucky.
The with its signature attack the Primordial attacked my one remainin Titan, adding a fourth Despair token. The Titan dropped dead of hopelessness before damage from the attack was applied.And after those three short turns, the battle was lost and the campaign would have been to if I had had to fight it.
I’ve found the combat in this game to be fun but often quite random with card draws. Sometimes they’re great for me and sometimes its terrible. Overall I’m ok with it. Just in this, the most critical battle of the campaign, luck did not go my way.
You may have also noticed the terrain never played much effect. I find this is the way in most battles. I’m not sure if its the rules mechanics, or just that I don’t have the bandwidth to use it properly while also managing every other game rule while playing solo.
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