La Isla de Sombra

Here’s another preview of coming attractions. I’ve been working on this map off and on for some time and it’s nearing completion. It’s a small map made from a Rise of the Valkyrie Master Set, a Ticalla Jungle, and a bunch of extra water tiles.

La Isla de Sombra
(The Island of Shadow)


Idea:
I wanted to try my hand at a zombie island scenario. There’s just something very dramatic about being shipwrecked on an island crawling with zombie natives. What I came up with was a mini three-part campaign.

Backstory:
In short, one party was chasing the other across the Bitter Sea. A bad storm erupted and shipwreck followed. The crews from each ship find each other on the island and do battle. One team wins; the natives come out of hiding, and attack in an attempt to keep them away from the sacred totems. Darkness falls, totems glow, dead rise, panic ensues. The end.

Here are the battlefield and scenario texts for any who are interested.

Isla de Sombra
One of the hundreds of small isles surrounding the island nation of Haukeland, the Isla de Sombra remains shrouded in dense jungle and mystery too. Jagged coral reefs lurking just below the sea’s surface make approaching the tiny island very perilous indeed!

Typhoon Turmoil
“We were crossing the Bitter Sea in hot pursuit of our enemies and we had hoped to catch them before they reached their hideaway, believed to be somewhere on the mainland. But without warning, a frightful gale blew in from the southwest and the seas became choppy. We lost sight of our quarry in the storm and soon lost control over the ship. The waves dashed the ship against the reef and tore it to pieces. Only a handful of the crew and I made it to the shores of an uncharted island. I wondered what became of our foes – but not for long.”

Greeting the Natives
“After our successful victory we started back for the beach to search for wreckage and supplies that might have washed ashore. As we were hiking through the jungle a shout arose. An angry little pygmy, presumably a native of the island, was yelling, pointing at us and then to an odd stone totem nearby. We had seen a similar one on the smaller island. Both totems featured frightful images that looked like skulls. Suddenly several other natives appeared and one threw a hatchet that whizzed past my ear. What were they protecting so fiercely? We had to find out.”

Twilight Terror
“As night began to fall the remaining pygmy warriors gave one last shriek before disappearing back into the jungle. Why were they running away now? The totem nearby seamed to be glowing faintly, and as the darkness grew its radiance intensified. A rustling sound from the underbrush caught our attention. Suddenly the corpse of a vanquished native lunged out of the jungle and attacked. The zombified pygmy bit down hard on my companion’s shoulder, and pushing him backwards, demolished the island totem. As it fell and shattered the zombie was visibly weakened. Were the totems the source of this unnatural and terrifying power? If so, the other totem must also be destroyed.”

Scenarios:
This is a quick breakdown of the types of scenarios included; all are for two players.

• Typhoon Turmoil – 250-point armies battle with glyphs of Kelda and Astrid nearby.
• Greeting the Natives – 250-point armies in a capture/defend type battle.
• Twilight Terror – 200-point army versus 120-points of super-zombies.

Zombies obviously play a role in the last scenario, but in case you don’t have two squads of the Zombies of Morindan I plan on including a scan of the card with the scenarios so that they can be proxied. Until the totem in the middle of the island is destroyed the zombies are faster, stronger, and harder to kill.

As always, comments, critiques, and queries are always appreciated.

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