The Book of Sunderved
The Book of Sunderved
Summoner of the Mountain Vargath - Master Set
Bio: The thing’s eyeballs rolled in their sockets, and it stared at the summoning stone that sat on the pedestal. General Sunderved snorted at this.
“It gladdens my heart to see you stare at the stone, thing,” said the general in his low, rumbling voice. “No doubt Ret-Talus wanted your appearance to dismay us. But you stare at my stone and wonder that it should sit out in the open, where any Vargath could take it who so desired. What you do not know, thing, is that honor matters more to a Vargath than life itself. My followers could all hate me, yet none would shame themselves by stealing the stone.”
The thing gave a gurgle, then asked, “And why does this hearten you general?”
“Because now we know you are not our beloved Govera. Were you she, you would not have looked at the stone in wonder. And this gives us comfort for now we know that while Ret-Talus may have stolen her body, Govera is truly dead. Nothing of her remains, and you are but a puppet of the Rotten King.”
The thing that had been Govera made a noise simulating amusement. Its face had been sliced open and peeled back, a large iron nail pinning the stripped flesh to the back of its skull. The body hung in ruinous sags, and its arms and feet had been crudely transposed. The odor that wafted off it was revolting, but the Vargath gathered in the hall did their best to show no displeasure.
“Your concern for Govera is admirable, General Sunderved,” gurgled the thing. “But let us instead bother ourselves with the reason for my visit. His majesty Ret-Talus has extended an unprecedented offer to the Mountain Vargath. I am unliving proof that the King of the Known World has the means to extend his reach up the stony slopes of the Gaellien Mountains and snuff out your insignificant lives. But… there is no reason for this to come about. Long have the Vargath shunned the rest of the world. What care do you have for the treacherous ants who crawl along Itharia’s ground, squabbling for its treasures?” The thing that had been Govera gestured around to all who stood in attendance. “Who among you truly wishes to see the Vargath embroiled in the Summoner Wars? All his eminence requires is that the Mountain Vargath relinquish to him their summoning stone. Then you shall be left in peace for all eternity, a friend to Ret-Talus and his kingdom.”
General Sunderved leaned forward in his seat, the heavy, oiled leathers of his armor creaking. He was clearly senior to most of the Vargath gathered in the hall, but his body was an intimidating mass of muscle, and he glowered down at the emissary before him.
“If Ret-Talus had learned anything from Govera, he would have known better than to come before us and spit insults and threats. Guards! Pin this blasphemy to the floor.” The thing wailed out as its rotting frame was skewered from five directions. The guards gripped the shafts of their spears tightly, and forced the undead creature to the ground. “You there,” Sunderved said, pointing to a guard. “Relieve this creature of its head.” The head parted under the swift stroke of an axe, but it did not stop the thing’s eyes from rolling in its head, and it stared up at the general.
“Destroy me if you wish,” it laughed. “The doom of your people is now assured.”
“Destroy you? No,” and the general stood and walked over to the summoning stone. He grasped it in a massive hand. “That body shall be burned,” and the general gestured to the guards to drag it away. “But I shall not destroy you. You are an emissary, so keep your mouth closed and listen to my message for your master. Selundar has been here and he has told me of his belief in a Steward. He claims the Steward is an entity that seeks to incite war with the stones it offer Itharia’s people. If this is true, then your master was the first to be solicited thousands of years ago. Why then are so many stones now becoming available? It seems as if every faction in Itharia is laying claim to stones. This tells me that Ret-Talus has failed. Whatever the Steward may desire, it gave Ret-Talus his chance, and Ret-Talus lacked the ability to please his benefactor.”
Sunderved strode over to the grisly head that lay on the ground, rotted tongue lolling from the ruin of its mouth, and the general knelt down and held the stone before the thing’s eyes. “Your master is an aging lion, too old and infirm to lead the pack he once dominated. Here is our response to his demand for submission: Ret-Talus! Come to the halls of the Mountain Vargath and throw yourself prostrate before my seat. Beg me for forgiveness, and only then shall we give you the mercy of true death. Behold! The Mountain Vargath come to war!” And the summoning stone glowed, and the head on the ground disappeared in a flash of light as the hall exploded with the triumphant chanting of Vargath warriors, and the clomping of cloven hooves.
Event Cards
Fall Back
Choose a Wall that you control. At the end of your turn, you may place your Summoner, and up to two Common Units that you control, adjacent to the chosen Wall.Greater Command
In place of Command, Sunderved gains the following ability until the end of this turn:
GREATER COMMAND
When attacking with a Common Mountain Vargath Unit you control that is within 4 spaces of Sunderved, add 1 to that Unit’s Attack Value during that attack.Muster
Place up to 2 Common Units that you control adjacent to your Summoner.Superior Planning
Search your Draw or Discard Pile for a Sunderved Event Card. Reveal the card, then place the card in your hand and shuffle your Draw Pile.Rulings and ClarificationsTorodin's Advance
When moving Torodin during the Movement Phase of this turn, you may move him up to 2 additional spaces.
Q: Can Superior Planning be used to obtain Wall cards?
A: No. Only the Events listed on General Sunderved's Starting Setup card can be chosen by Superior Planning
Q: Can Torrodin's Advance stack?
A: Yes. Each time you play Torodin's Advance, Torodin's movement capacity is increased by 2. Torodin could thus move up to 8 spaces in a single movement, if Torodin Advance and both Superior Planning are played during the same turn.
Q: Can I trample the same unit more than once during a movement with Torodin and Torodin's Advance?
A: You can move over the same unit more than once, but that unit will only receive 1 wound marker even if Torodin moved multiple time over that unit.
Community Contributions
Original idea of the Mountain Vargaths by Jacob Ollervides, a good friend of the author!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Marroking1
They aren't as good without Sunder being near the front, so it doesn't always work out well :-/
