Crownforge Below

Command Crownlord Borin and his company of dwarves on a crystal-lit hex battlefield deep under the mountain. The whole hold now musters along the left wall of the cavern, with the war camp, the forge beacon and every gold seam behind them, and everything hostile climbs in from the right-hand edge and its corners. Thirteen heroes hold the line from turn one: Borin, Brynja Runeaxe the rune-axe queen, drawn in the same round, compact chibi style as the other dwarf women, with no buns at all: thick dark red braids down the front, loose hair down her back, a gold circlet, an elegant sleeveless blue gown with gold and white fur trim, a large gold belt, brown armbands and boots, one hand on her hip and a rune-carved axe in the other, the Redmane Berserker, the Axe Guard, Blast Miner, Stone Cleric, the armoured Forgekeeper, the crossbow-carrying Deep Ranger and Crossbow Captain, the sturdy Guild Artisan, and Fist of Stone, a white-bearded melee brawler with a massive stone fist and no special abilities. Hammer Warrior joins them in blue-and-gold armor with a heavy two-handed hammer and no special abilities. Alchemist joins the company with green goggles, a raised potion flask, a leather apron and a packed backpack, with no special abilities. Bodies block the path, so positioning matters: only the Deep Ranger's Shadowstep slips through a crowd, and her Monster Hunter eye tears 50% extra damage out of beasts and dragons. The Crossbow Captain's Measured Shot adds 10% damage for every hex between her and the target, and her Running skill buys one more hex without spending her move or her shot. The Axe Guard's Bulwark halves anything loosed at her from two hexes or more, and Border Guard digs her in for +2 defense a level on any building, up to +10. The Forgekeeper's Forge Aura sharpens every dwarf beside her, and her Tempering hammers the dents back out of their kit at the end of the turn, because weapons and armour now wear down with every blow and shatter at zero durability. Borin's CrownForge and Royal Tutelage light up a green ring under every dwarf beside him and lift their attack and defense on the spot. Brynja's Queen's Bulwark hardens every dwarf in the company with extra health and defense, her Royal Tithe pours 20 gold into the coffers every turn, and her Ale skill sends a healing horn three hexes down the line; keep her standing beside the one she loves and both of them swing harder every level. Units strike first and reposition after. Mine gold seams, click any building to read what it does, hold the forge beacon, break cave rocks open for gold and runes, muster more dwarves from an twelve-strong roster, level them up, loot chests for weapons and armour, and hold off seven waves of cave slimes, cave rats, red-collar wolves, cave boars, cave bears, grotto orcs, ash goblins, goblin shamans, cave ogres, siege engines and the restless dead: Skeleton Archers that measure their shots, poison-handed Lantern Dead and braced Bone Guards. Every fifteenth turn a boss comes up out of the deep dark, in order: the horned Cave Yeti, whose Rending Force ignores half your defense; the bear-hooded Beastmaster, who drags a cave bear, a cave boar and a red-collar wolf up with him and drives every beast beside him 50% harder; and the dark elf Necromancer, whose Death Aura hardens the undead around him and whose Grave Calling pulls another one up out of the stone every three turns. Rat bites poison, boar and ogre blows stun, and a Stone Cleric mends the hold and burns the unliving. Watch the goblins: an Ash Goblin that reaches a wolf leaps onto its back and rides out as a Wolf Rider. Keep Borin alive and keep the war camp standing: if either falls, the hold falls.