Banner Saga: After the End

[Part of my Banner Saga play through]

Looks like victory to me!

Emerging from the basement, the few survivors of Arberrang are greeted by the warm sunlight of a once again moving sun. After taking in the view, Rook nods to his compatriots to enact "the plan". Aleo stabs Bastion in the back, but the dagger is too weak to kill the dredge who smashes the bard into paste as retaliation. Rook and Petrus take it down while Ludin and Yrsa murder the remaining dredge scum in Rook's revenge plan.

At the same time, Hakon tries a similar surprise attack on Canary, but misses wide and gets a poisoned javelin in the back instead with Scathach and Ro'Ech double mule kicking him on either side of his head to make it explode in a shower of blood. Fasolt manages to club Ro'Ech to death and catch Canary in his big hands - promptly throwing her off the cliff face onto the jagged rocks below to see if she can fly. Scathach runs him through before old Ubin catches the last horse born unaware with a mighty axe swing, beheading him. Then comes the grisly task of turning them into supplies.

The remaining survivors: Ludin, Rook, Ubin, Yrsa, Zefr and Petrus are left to decide if they will try rebuild Arberrang or begin marching elsewhere to see if anyone else survived the end of the world.

Insight: Welp, that was my "try be an idiot and get everyone killed" run through of Banner Saga though in part three I did try to make more sensible decisions when it came to Arberrang's defence and doom timer. I really liked that bit though, and wish they had more of it early on.

Banner Saga: A Bed of Enemies

[Part of my Banner Saga play through]

Much like the old tower, the relationship between the refugees and Ludin's father, King Meinolf, is also collapsing as they found their new leader in governor Rugga - who manages to stab the old king with a poisoned dagger just before getting his allies to attack the walls, desperate to get away from the growing darkness. So many are slain in the conflict that with the King's dying breath, he allows everyone inside the walls. Rook makes sure Rugga isn't one of them, which gains the approval of royal guard Petrus. Nid has the opposite reaction, and takes the first boat out of there to continue fleeing with a number of other cowards. As for Ludin - he's happy to pass all the responsibility to Rook.

One of the best parts of the game.

After a few days of quelling riots, Fasolt (the unkillable) arrives with the dredge army hot on his heels, rallied around a new leader called Ruin who uses a massive black anchor grappling hook to tear at the outer walls of Arberrang. Fasolt and Hakon aren't keen on Oddlief's cowardly plan to weaken Ruin with explosives so that's exactly what Rook opts to do and it works. They then drive a wedge right through the attacking dredge and its old Ubin who finally brings Ruin down, causing the remaining dredge back off and basically weep for they too fear the oncoming darkness.

"Let them rot," Rook decides, but is quickly countered by the arrival of Zefr who somehow survived the tower collapse. The old mender explains that the darkness will warp them into fiercer foes if left out there, so Rook and Oddlief make the bold move of opening the gates and inviting them in - and seeing Oddlief carrying a baby dredge she had kidnapped from the battlefield just earlier encourages them to do so peacefully.

Rugga's loyalists are having none of it though, and are quick to spear Oddlief to death upon returning into the city - causing further rioting and panic. Eventually with the help of a massive dredge guard called Bastion, Rook and Petrus round up all these rebels and burn the lot of them alive as a lesson for the others. That's how good rulers do it.

Insight: At the start of Banner Saga 3, everyone's gained level so make sure to spend all those points when you can! Petrus is especially handy since once per combat he can summon another guardsman into battle! On the Raven's side, you might also get Eirik who can do similar by summoning a bear!

Banner Saga: Flight of the Ravens

[Part of my Banner Saga play through]

Elsewhere, Bolverk and his crew of Ravens which include Folka the shield maiden, Sparr the old skald, Oli the axe thrower, Dytch the rogue and fellow varl Bersi who once served as Prince Ludin's bodyguard are on a secret job for Juno to dump a large box into the sea. Their road takes them through murdering refugees while out pacing dredge and eventually to the mining town of Bindal which is run by captain Gudmundr and menders Nikels and Zefr, where a large force of dredge finally catch up to them.

When Bolverk explains he's doing a job for Juno, Nikels and Zefr don't believe him as the mender council executed her months ago. Prying the box open they discover it contains the body of Bellower, and suddenly Zefr understands why the dredge have been pursuing them. To escape the dredge army at the wall everyone evacuates into the deep mine with Gudmundr sacrificing himself to seal the passage behind them to buy some time.

Not that it matters as there are dredge in here too, including the necromancer Eyeless who keeps reviving the fallen. Zefr explodes Nikels to escape from that, only for the team to run into warped dredge who absolutely wreck the party at every turn. When the survivors make it to the surface, they barely have time to look at the giant black dome in the distance as Bolverk calls for a death march to get past the swarming dredge and across the small human bridge of Old Ford which is guarded by Fasolt - who somehow survived the fall of Einartoft!?

So many spectators. They'd easily win if they all decided to charge.

Eyeless catches up to the Ravens here, and after a short battle on the bridge is brought down by Oli's axes, but not slain. With both sides too injured in the clash, a stalemate is formed giving Bolverk and Zefr the time to push on with Bellower's corpse while everyone else remains to hold the bridge. By chance, they run into Juno, Eyvind and Iver at an old tower and immediately attack, with Bolverk beating Iver down before Eyvind drops the entire structure on top of them all.

Insight: For a mender, Zefr's magic ability sucks as enemies can also benefit from walking over the tiles her boons randomly appear on. Best used as for her armor repair skills instead. Also somewhat worthless is Bolverk himself. Sure he has good multi-attacks but until he levels up and gets his "bear rage" on (which lets him counter) he's an easy target to beat down.

Banner Saga: A Measure of Quality

[Part of my Banner Saga play through]

The dredge threat extends to the other side of the continent, where Rook, a hunter, and his daughter Alette manage to raise an early alarm to get their small village of Skogr quickly evacuated away from the incoming horde. The caravan includes their old varl friend Iver, a young warrior named Egil, twin axemen Hogun and Mogun, Oddlief the Skogr chieftain's widow (he didn't make it) and Nid, Oddlief's apprentice archer.

Alette, you are a terrible hunter.

Like many other refugees they are denied shelter in the walled city of Frostvellr and so march on, picking up Iver's varl buddy Krumr and the rival warriors Onef and Ekkill as they pass. Since Ekkill looks like a psycho, Rook decides to keep him tied up just in case. Unwilling to get caught out in the open by the dredge forces, Krumr suggests going to the next safest place - the varl city of Einartoft which is protected by a massively long stone bridge to the East where they are allowed entry only thanks to Iver's reputation.

Here they meet the varl King Jorundr as well as the survivors from Hakon and Fasolt's caravans, including Eyvind - the mender Hakon rescued previously. To protect the city, Eyvind wants to destroy the bridge but King Jorundr has none of it - instead calling for a last stand from most of his people - including Fasolt, Ubin and Krumr. Apart from the humans, only varl that are injured, cowardly, and useless like Hakon are ordered to continue on with Rook to try reach Prince Ludin's home of Arberrang.

Upon reaching the lakeside town of Sigrholm, Eyvind asks that the team wait for the arrival of his master and so Rook obliges. As the town is full of thieves, supplies and people go missing daily until there are no more stores on the wagons and no more extra people outside the "hero roster". Onef decides to try take over at this point, killing Egil before being put down by Alette. Ekkill is pleased. Too pleased in fact, so Rook banishes him from the party. Rook knows it's not the number of people that matters. It's the quality.

Insight: Rook's mark prey ability is very handy if you position your allies well, but it also means he's probably moving last. Also it gets less good as your survivors level up.

Banner Saga: The Worst General

[Part of my Banner Saga play through]

Just because the sun has stopped in the sky doesn't mean people stop paying their taxes. It is for this reason the pair of varl (horned giants), old Ubin and Gunnulf, have come to Strand - and just in time to save the chieftain from "another" assassination attempt since his current bodyguards, Eirik and Valgard the turtle, are somewhat useless.

By chance, the allied fleet led by the varl Prince Vognir and the human Prince Ludin docks in town and since old Ubin is friends with Vognir's crew of Hakon and Mogr, he and Gunnulf soon join their caravan headed to the varl capital. Barely a day out of Strand and Ludin already needs saving from a random dredge (under earth dweller) stealing cattle. Since Hakon and Mogr are busy saving him, it is Prince Vognir who is killed by another dredge scout.

Hakon slaps Prince Ludin into unconsciousness and orders another varl, Fasolt, to take Ludin and his retinue to safety while keeping the majority of the varl army with himself to investigate the increasing numbers of dredge. While the early conflicts are easily won, once dredge numbers begin equaling that of the varl they start losing battle after battle thanks to Hakon's inept tactics, with Gunnulf among the fallen.

Should be an easy win... or not!

Seeking aid from the menders (spell casters) at Ridgehorn, they find the place already destroyed by the dredge but manage to save an unconscious mender they find in the tower. Pinned by dredge forces at this location, Mogr sacrifices himself by creating a diversion to let the rest of Hakon's party escape.

Insight: Mogr is a beast! Definitely the best of the starting varl.