Silkweaver Caverns: A Scenario for The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms

Words by Mark Latham Photgraphy by Rocio Martin

Arcadia, the alchemist and proprietor of Arcadia’s Cauldron in Whiterun, was recently harvesting mushrooms in nearby Silkweaver cave, when she was forced to flee from the wildlife that inhabits it. In her rush to escape she left her Alchemists Almanac behind. Full of recipes for her most important and potent draughts and elixirs, she has asked you to head to Silkweaver cave to recover it. She cautions you about venturing too deep, though, as the inner chambers are home to the monstrous Silkweaver herself: a Frostbite Spider of prodigious proportions! 

• Type: Wilderness Caves
• Size: 2 Chamber Delve
• Ultimate Quest: Trapped!

Silkweaver Cave is a two chamber Delve using the Into The Dark rules for The Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms. In it the player must take a party of heroes into the titular caves to recover the Almanac for Arcadia and then escape the caves past the Ultimate Guardian, The Silkweaver, a tough, Giant Frostbite Spider.

ULTIMATE QUEST: TRAPPED!

The Darkness rules are in effect throughout this Delve and you may give one of your party a free torch card from the Treasure Deck.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

• Complete the Chamber without losing a model as a Casualty – 2 VP
• Every Adversary removed from play – 1VP

After exiting the final Chamber, count up the total VPs scored across all chambers and compare to the following chart:

STARTING SEPTIMS.	LOSE.	NARROW VICTORY.	SOLID VICTORY.
0-99	0-5	6-10	11+
100-250	0-6	7-12	13+
251+	0-7	8-16	17+

 

OATHS

Oaths are selected in the first Chamber, and carry over to the entire Dungeon – any VP awards are only received after completing the Final Chamber, and they are only received once. If by the end of the game a player has not completed the selected Oath, they lose 1VP

RELENTLESS CHAMPION 

My Party Champion will have maximum Health when the Final Chamber is completed. 1 VP

RIGHTEOUS FURY 

I will destroy Adversaries worth at least double the Party’s initial Septim Limit. (Note the value of each Adversary you remove as a Casualty throughout the Dungeon). 2 VP

MAKE SURE IT’S DONE

 I will destroy the Ultimate Guardian with a melee attack. 3 VP

 

CHAMBER 1: THE RUSHING WAY

You clamber over loose stones and rock as you enter the steeply sloping mouth of Silkweaver cave. The loose material shifts under your feet and with a sudden crash and thunder you are thrown down into the caves as the entryway collapses! You will need to find another way out of these caves, but first, you will need to recover Arcadia’s Almanac. Looking around you find yourself in a chamber with a narrow, but fast flowing, stream running through the centre. Rock spires jut up here and there and a rickety looking bridge crosses the stream just ahead. A glint of light catches your eye and you see movement in the darkness…

• Chamber Size: 2
• Round Limit: 8
• Objective: Lost Relic
• Septim Limit: Party size +10% Adversaries should be from the Beast Faction
• Area 1 Scenery: 5 points – Small Stream, Narrow Bridge, Rock Spires
• Area 2 Scenery: 5 points – Large Stream

The four rock pillars from area 1 should be distributed through the whole chamber. The rickety bridge should be placed on the junction of the two Areas. 

 

Lost Relic: 

Each time an Adversary is removed as a casualty, roll the Skill dice. The first time a ! is rolled, Arcadia’s Almanac has been found. Use a spare Treasure card such as the Golden Claw or Family Heirloom to represent the Almanac. To complete this objective a model with the Almanac must move into contact with the Escape edge.

The Stream: 

The stream is shallow water, but is fast flowing and has an unstable bed. It flows from the Entry Edge to the Escape Edge. It counts as Difficult Ground and will put out burning models, but models can still use shouts and spells whilst standing in it. In addition, at the end of every Event Phase, roll a Yellow Effect Dice for every model standing in the Stream and move it 1” towards the Escape edge for every damage Pip. If a model touches the Escape edge it moves no further.

Remember to conduct an Exploration Phase after The Almanac is found and the Objective met, before moving on to the next Chamber.

 

CHAMBER 2: THE SILKWEAVER’S LAIR

You follow a current of air through small tunnels and caverns, the sounds of rushing water diminishing as you move further into the cave. Stepping out of a tunnel you see a shaft of light piercing the darkness off in the far distance. You have found a way out! However, the cave between you and your escape is filled with rock walls and outcrops, all covered in sticky webbing. As you survey the scene in the light of your flickering torch, you hear a chittering and rustling from all around you. The distant shaft of light slowly reveals the bulk of a monstrous spider, as it squats atop the platform you need to reach to escape. You have entered the Silkweaver’s lair!

• Chamber Size: 2
• Round Limit: 8
• Objective: Trapped
• Septim Limit: Party size +10% plus The Silkweaver. Adversaries should be comprised of units with Frostbite Spider in their title.
• Area 1 Scenery: 3 points – Linear Barriers, Large Outcrop
• Area 2 Scenery: 5 points – Raised Platform, Large Outcrop, Rock Pillars
• The Raised Platform should be placed in contact with the Escape Edge and a marker for the Exit placed on it. The Silkweaver starts on this platform. The remaining terrain should be arranged between the two areas to create a maze of webbed areas.

 

The Silkweaver: 

The Silkweaver squats in her nest in the deepest reaches of these caverns, surrounded by her broodlings. She is a Giant Frostbite Spider, as per the Into The Dark bonus cards or Chapter 2 Card Pack, but is considered a Master Adversary instead of Elite. As the Ultimate Guardian of the Delve, she gains a Green Accuracy dice to ALL Skill and Attribute Tests, and additional Yellow Effect Dice for her armour. In addition, her Health is increased to 5. 

Webs: 

All treasure tokens are covered in sticky webbing. Even Unlocked chests require a Strength Attribute Test to open. Alternatively a model can burn away the webs with a Free Action with any source of fire, such as a Torch or a Fire spell of some kind.

Trapped! 

To escape from Silkweaver Caverns A model must touch the Exit Marker. To complete the Objective at least half the models in the Party must escape through the exit. 

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This article originally appeared in issue 461 of Miniature Wargames. You can pick up your issue of the magazine here or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.