Eldgren's Tactics: The Ancient

The Encounter

At this point, the PCs have to face Eldgren in all her rage, under the guise of the ancient and colossal guardian of the forest: a towering wooden colossus, similar to a giant moose with blazing antlers.

Conflict Setup

This conflict can either immediately follow the trials (described in the previous pages) or occur later on if the characters failed the trials or didn't reach the forest before it animated and began its march of destruction. In the first case, you should make sure that the PCs have enough time to reorganize and use potions or other abilities to regain strength; in the second, if the group took a really long time to arrive, this battle might include a Clock representing the progressive destruction of a settlement or a region, automatically filling by one section at the end of each round.

Ancient Abilities

In the form of the Ancient, Eldgren is powerful and unrelenting, but quite predictable. Her turn actions follow a five-turn cycle:

• On her first turn: If two or less PCs are enraged, Eldgren uses Rekindle the Embers; otherwise, she uses Scorching Gaze against a random target. If she doesn’t have enough Mind Points, she uses Ashen Antlers against a random target.
• On her second turn: Eldgren uses Toxic Despair against as many random targets as possible, prioritizing those already poisoned.
• On her third turn: Eldgren uses Scorching Gaze against a random target; if she doesn’t have enough Mind Points, she spends 1 Ultima Point to Recover.
• On her fourth turn: Eldgren uses Ashen Antlers against a random target.
• On her fifth turn: Eldgren uses Thousand-year Fury against the enemy toward which she bears a grudge. If she doesn’t have a grudge against anyone, she attacks a random target with Ashen Antlers instead.

Mechanics and Outcome

• Ultima Points (UP): In this phase, Eldgren spends Ultima Points to Invoke a Trait every time she fails a Magic Check to cast one of her offensive spells (OO), or to Recover during her third turn.
• Collapse Condition: Once reduced to 0 Hit Points, the Ancient collapses to the ground and stops moving, leaving the Heart of the Forest exposed (see page 204).