Supply Run

This is a battle report based on the Wasteland Wanderer solo scenario that I posted some time ago. I created a party consisting of two humans, a mutant and a robot. Here you can see, from left to right, Pink (Q4+ C3, Free Disengage, Telepathic Scream) equipped with a pistol, Ella (Q3+ C2, Savage) equipped with an electrical gun, Jones (Q2+ C2, Savage, Leader) equipped with a laser gun and laser-reflective armor, and MX40 (Q4+ C4, Artificial, Superior Software) equipped with an embedded power fist. They are carrying 9 energy cells and 6 food points.

 The Journey

The trip from Dust, a small settlement in the wasteland, to Mart takes about three days. It's dangerous as there aren't any fixed settlements or patrols in between, but the survivors must make it from time to time. After all, Mart is on the trade route from the merchants that come from the north and south, which means it's the nearest place they can go to find any goods we need. Which in this case are medicines.

The survivors left Dust in the early morning and it didn't take long before they reached the first ruins. In the middle of them, however, there was an old battered cargo container. It was obviously some kind of trap. MX40's scanners picked up movement ahead and they split into two groups just as a band of mutants appeared, moving toward them. A tall, two-headed pink mutant charged in the direction of Jones and Pink, but the leader shot one of its heads, causing it to explode.

Later, in the battle, Jones would pause to take a breath, and that would be his end as a mutant with an electrical gun fried him. The two mutants fighting Pink took the opportunity to slay him. Ella tried to escape, but the mutant dressed like a butcher chased her and hit her on the back with a vicious club. Only MX40 managed to flee. [At this point, 1 energy cell was consumed for upkeep of the powered melee weapon]

Running across the wasteland, MX40 noticed two men approaching. Unfortunately for him, they were the worst a lone robot could expect: scavengers. Still, he had a mission to complete and they could provide him with useful items for survival. The scavengers must have noticed him and were already charging. They knew how to fight and avoided the robot's deadly powered claw. It took several minutes until one of them fell. The other scavenger ran away. Searching the dead body, MX40 found a laser-reflective jacket and managed to patch some of its plates over his body. [At this point, 1 energy cell was consumed for upkeep of the powered melee weapon.]

As the night fell, MX40 hid in a small cave. Even though he didn't need sleep, venturing the wastelands at night was even more dangerous and he would not risk it. [At this point, 1 energy cell was consumed for the robot's upkeep, using the option to rest after the second encounter. I rolled to try to get a new party member but had no luck.] As he left the cave on the following day, he came across a travelling merchant. He managed to swap his laser-reflective plates for a battered force field generator, and also got a can of herbicide by trading the remaining items from the scavenger's backpack.

The second day of the journey was ending when MX40 detected encrypted radio signals. It was a derelict A.I. from a robotics facility summoning him as if he was one of its drones. The robot spent the night sheltered within the complex and gained a firmware upgrade (Civilian robot, Q3+ C3, and the Savage special ability rolled on the skill table.)

Leaving the robotics facility behind, MX40 continued his journey; he should be able to reach Mart by the end of the day. A dust cloud in the horizon warned him in time to hide from a pack of strange mutated monsters [voluntarily fled the encounter.] In the afternoon, MX40 was starting to encounter more ruined buildings once again; the remains of lost civilization were a signal that Mart was close. Just as he crossed the ruins, a mob of the wretched appeared. They were slow but tireless, and he couldn't risk attracting them to a survivor settlement.

 The wretched surrounded MX40 but his fighting ability, combined with the force field, allowed him to resist their attacks. Eventually the robot managed to drive his claw through one of the wretched and that sight spread fear among the others. He chased them as they scattered, leaving no survivors.

MX40 reached the settlement of Mart as the sun was setting. Settlers are always wary of lone robots, fearing they might have gone rogue and are on a killing spree. Luckily for MX40, the sentry recognized him from previous visits to the settlement and let him in.

They say that robots don't have feelings, but anyone listening to him would say there was certain dread on his metallic voice as he reported his adventure and the need to go back to Dust carrying the needed medicines.

Final score
1. Mutants- failed
2. Scavengers - won: 5 points
3. Traveling merchant - "won": 0 points
4. Robotics facility - "won": 5 points
5. Monsters - failed
6. Wretched - won: 10 points
One rest skipped (I didn't even remember it!): 10 points
One surviving party member: 5 points
Total: 35 points and mission accomplished!

Conclusion
I had a blast running this (although this doesn't mean that much, since I created the scenario.) As usual, the Song of Blades engine coupled with the random activation system by Dogui resulted in a nice solo play experience. My total playing time was of about four and a half hours, including pauses to take pictures and write down notes for this report. This means that the scenario might work as a solo mini-campaign to play on an afternoon.