Return to Traitor's Toll

Facing the prospect of a quiet weekend, I set up another Traitor's Toll table and had a go at a solo run of Patrol Duty, the game's 'standard' mission. The main differences from the Training Mission would be a) proper plots, and b) a considerably larger number of guards (10 versus 5 for the solo versions of the respective missions).

The table as set up after deploying and scattering civilians. I need to do some proper market stalls and other such scatter at some stage, as the playing surface is still a bit sparse with what I have currently.

My 10-guard squad. With a budget of 45 points for solo players, that meant a captain and nine other guards, plus 3 points left over for extra kit. My captain had a bow (+2) and I brought in a crossbowman (+1) from a different squad. One third in total, including the captain, would have to be left in reserve, which in my case would include the man with a sheathed sword (second top left) and the man with a spear (bottom middle).

My first Plot turned out to require me to check all my accrued gold coins for counterfeits. Having earned none so far that wasn't a problem, nor did I trigger Secret 001, so that will remain, er, secret.

The second plot proved to be more of a problem, as a cartel-hired sniper appeared on the upper floor of the tavern and took a pot shot at an unready guard, inflicting a light wound.

After an unexpected early conclusion to turn 1, I decided to break for lunch.

The dwarven guard was seemingly in no hurry to enter the building, leaving the sniper potentially free to shoot again.

It was also at this point that the Major Plot entered the equation. It seemed I would have to arrest at least two of three suspects or else face the ire of my superiors.

Pickpocket 1: the Snake Charmer.

Pickpocket 2: the Surveyor

Pickpocket 3: the Cultist

As things stood at the end of turn 2, things were looking a bit tricky. The three pickpockets were dangerously close to their possible exits, and the sniper in the tavern remained a concern. When it came time to deploy my reserves, I brought my captain in on the entrance by the pond, and one guard each by the gibbet and the one-storey house at the back left.

Fortunately I drew this plot card early on Turn 3, and thanks to the strong constitution of the (wounded!) halberdier guard by the crane, she was able to stay on the table and earn an advance card, which by happy coincidence was this spell scroll.

Naturally, the first thing to do was to zap the sniper with it, which inflicted a wound, while the dwarven guard followed up and inflicted a second.

A shot from the captain inflicted wound #3.

And a second shot dealt the killing blow.

Less fortunately, during my arrest attempt the pickpocket by the gibbet managed to get a critical pass on her Dodge roll, giving her a free action.

A free action straight past a presumably rather confused guard, off into the back alleys of the city. I would have to catch the other two or a loss was all but certain.

Oh no, not now...

I now had two suspects requiring my attention over by the crane.

Turn 3 had ended with 3 guard tokens still unused, and worse still, two of the pickpockets had managed to steal from their marks, netting another two Discontent for a total of four.

Turn 4, however, started much more fortuitously, as my guards ganging up on the snake charmer managed to first subdue and then arrest him, earning us a neat little bounty.

It then ended with most of the guards' tokens still undrawn.

Everything would, it seemed, hinge on Turn 5. The good news was that my torch-bearing guard managed to calm down the annoyed merchant, but the bad news was that the halberdier had failed to leap into action as hoped, and my desperate attempt to just shoot the pickpocket with the captain had ended only in a slight injury.

Over on the left, an agitator had emerged at the end of Turn 4, and in my attempt to rush over and deal with her, the demoness guard who had been so decisive against the pickpocket instead bowled over the Legally Distinct Sinister Sorceress of the Occident, netting me another Discontent point.

The good news was that the agitator had decided to move towards my guards rather than away, and I also used a guard action to escort the captured pickpocket off for an extra coin.

The bad news was that the dwarven guard wasn't really any good at his job, and Turn 5 – and thus the game – ended with an overall loss, as I had five Discontent to deal with against four coins earned.

But wait – according to the rules, players can agree to continue past Turn 5 if the Major Plot remains unresolved. So, I agreed with myself to continue, and after three attempts, I finally nabbed the last pickpocket. The arrest netted me one more coin and -1 Discontent, and removing the plot as a whole meant that the only remaining Discontent came from the unresolved Agitator. So, I'd gone from net -1 to net +4 coins, which was a convincing win. Hurrah for optional rules!

Reflections

I think I'm getting the hang of things. I was referring to the QRS less often (and having the QRS to hand meant I barely had to check the actual rules at all), and with the exception of having to make a bit of a judgment about how to handle buildings (as the rules assume you're using buildings with external ledges) it all ran smoothly. One of these days I'll get another player involved, but I've enjoyed playing it solo.

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