Witch: Day 7

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Sabbath day is a special day, it's the day we get ready for magic.  In the case of the Witch, Day 7 is great, since she gains access to Black mana.

I've gone on, ad nauseum, about the importance of Day 7 to the Witch. If you are playing Magic Realm using any of the magic-using characters, you really should pay attention to when your preferred mana is freely available to you.

For the last several days, the Witch has been racing from tile to tile without a prepared broomstick.  You will recall that on Day 2 we used the broomstick to fly to the Ruins.  Subsequently, the Witch rested the two fatigued chits used to prepare the broomstick, but she has not yet prepared it again.  The Witch is extremely vulnerable without the broomstick, so I'm sure a few of you have been cringing every time the Witch ends her turn without broomstick prepared.

Trust me, i've been cringing too.  But i've felt justified in delaying preparing broomstick for several reasons.  First, the Witch has yet to gain a single fame or notoriety point, so she has little to lose in dying.  Second, this is a multi-player game, so if the Witch dies we simply re-spawn at the Inn, with valuable knowledge regarding monsters and treasure sites found in the furthest corners of the Magic Realm.  Third, the Witch's Absorb Monsters strategy is so powerful that once she finds and absorbs the Tremendous Flying Dragon, it will not take her long to satisfy her victory conditions.  So we have been slightly reckless here, but no more than is justified considering how quickly Day 7 creeps up on the Witch.

Right, back to Day 7.  There is a fourth reason to delay, and that has to do with Day 7.  On Day 7, White and Black mana are freely supplied to every clearing in the Magic Realm.  The implications are obvious: the Witch can prepare spells (broomstick and absorb essence) on Day 7 without the need for Black mana chits.  That means that on Day 7, if the Tremendous Flying Dragon were in her clearing, she could prepare broomstick from hiding during combat round 1, absorb the Dragon in round 2, and still have her single Black mana chit for the next following day.  Since the Witch currently has a single Black mana chit available to her, she could either use it to turn into a Dragon the following day, or employ her prepared broomstick to fly away from danger.

Our Day 7 strategy relies on finding the Tremendous Flying Dragon on or before Day 7.  So far we have been unsuccessful.  In order to be in the same clearing as the Tremendous Flying Dragon today, we must get a monster roll of 1, and be in the same clearing 6 as the Hoard. 

There is only one clearing 6 we can reach today: the one in Deep Woods.  Clearing 6 in both the Borderland and Crag are out of reach. 

The odds are not good.  On Day 7, there is a one in six chance that the monster roll will be 1, and a one in seven chance that the Deep Woods contains the Hoard (ten minus the three tiles we have already eliminated as potential sites during the first six days).  That gives us a less than 3% chance of absorbing the Tremendous Flying Dragon today.  Poor odds, but we must play them.  We will play it safe today, performing two hide actions after our move.

The Witch's familiar uncovered the site of the Large Campfire yesterday.  Today, the Black Cat will climb up into the Ledges and cross the bridge perilous, leaving until tomorrow the task of Peering for treasure sites.

Witch: Move-Deep Woods 1, Move-Deep Woods 6, Hide, Hide
Familiar: Move-Ledges 2, Move-Ledges 2, Move-Ledges 5, Move-Ledges 5

On Day 7, the monster roll is a 2: Serpents and Demons.  So much for a roll of 1, and Dragons.  We are thwarted before our turn even begins.

The Black Cat crosses the bridge perilous uneventfully.  The Witch moves to Deep Woods 6, and fails both hide rolls.  With two hides, there is a 90% chance she will successfully hide, but lady luck is not riding on the Witch's shoulder today.

The Hoard is not in the Deep Woods.  With the Serpents and Demons prowling, the Slither 3 chit summons the two Heavy Serpents, the very serpents the Witch most fears.  Fortunately they appear in clearing 3, and the Witch is in clearing 6, so there will be no combat today.  The other chit, Smoke M, summons two Heavy Flying Dragons, but they only arrive on a monster roll of 1.  During the combat round at the end of Day 7, the Witch prepares her broomstick, using the Black mana freely available today. 

Her Magic V6* chit is converted into a Fly L1 chit, and she retains her Magic V4* and a Black mana chit for her absorb essence spell.

Meanwhile, at the Inn:  The Sorceror rests after yesterday's roasting of her former friends, the Company, and the Black Knight loots four times, recovering two Horses (one of which he gives to the Sorceror) a breastplate and a treasure card.

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