Warlords of Erehwon Campaign - Table Ready for the Next Game

After the defeat at the ancient watchtower the surviving Elves fell back into the Northern Province, and the next encounter will happen on the border of civilization.

As usual, I have set the table for the next game well in advance (I set it earlier today, before Emil had responded to my text message about when to have another game), as we are not going to play before Tuesday.

I have taken pics from all four corners, like the last time.

In the meantime, danger lurks everywhere.

2022-10-14, Warlords of Erehwon Campaign - Battle of the Watch Tower

After the narrow defeat in the Battle of Desolation Pass where the cream of the Elven society in the Northern Province was all but annihilated, the young heir to the fiefdom rallied whatever troops were available, including the Rangers guarding the ruins of the ancient Watch Tower beneath Desolation Pass.

He also sent envoys to the Royal Court, the Jarls of the human settlements on the Western Coast, and to the Dwarven Kingdom of Karakhând in the mountains some leagues east of the Desolation Pass, bringing gifts and pleas for assistance.

The Elven force advanced on the double to meet the shambling hordes under control of one of the Necromancer's vile Captains, the Wraith known to the living only as The Defiler, at the now abandoned Ranger camp close to the old Watch Tower.

Here you can see the two warbands deployed:

Emil took on the role as the young and fairly inexperienced Lord, which was only fitting, as he had not played WoE ever before.

Of course, his inexperience also made him not be fully aware of the importance of using the terrain to cover his units from the Undead Stone thrower ... 😟

Turn 1 was more or less a general advance by the Undead Horde, some Zombies soaking up a hail of arrows, and the stone thrower landing a hit on the Elven Guard.

The Defiler raised the skeletons of five lomg forgotten warriors to bolster a five-skeleton Warrior unit.

Turn 2 saw another direct hit on the Elven Guard, and the Elves kept pouring arrows into the ranks of the Dead.

The Elves manuevered a lot, but still managed to get a lot of bows to bear.

The Stone Thrower Template was just forgotten om the table.

On Turn 3, the Skeleton Riders charged the Elven Rangers - and were beaten back!

The Zombie mob in the center finally fell apart under the constant hail of arrows.

On the Elves far right, the Elven Warriors clashed, first with a mob of Zombies (whom they destroyed), then with a unit of Skeleton Warriors (and were annihilated themselves).

The Skeleton Warriors closest to the camera failed to respond to an order to charge the Rangers, and went Down. They never recovered from this for the rest of the battle.

The Stone Thrower missed its target this time, but The Defiler killed some Elves with Chill Wind.

On Turn 4, once more, the Stone Thrower missed the Elven Archers.

The Skeleton Riders charged the Lord's Retinue - and were beaten back again!

The Elves were obviously giving up their right flank and trying to consolidate on their left.

As far as I remember, The Defiler  killed another Elven Guard with Chill Wind.

Turn 5 saw some heroic antics by the young and unexperience Lord, but he ended up skewered on the spears of the Dead.

At the end of Turn 5, the Undead Host had three Down units, but the Elven Warband was Broken, and the die decided that the game was over.

The Sun was really challenging my trusted Canon at this point.

Another Victory for the vanguard of the Necromancer. Will the Free Peoples of the north respond to the call to arms by the now fallen Lord, or will the Royal Court send reinforcements in time?

Stay tuned for the next chapter of this ever-growing saga!

Warlords of Erehwon - Setting the Table

I have been busy painting a handful of minis for the next installment of my WoE narrative campaign, and today I set the table for tomorrow's game, where Emil is going to take control of the Elven defenders of the Northern Province.

I've built slightly smaller forces (at 1100 points) for a quicker game, but if we don't finish tomorrow, I'll play the remainder solo during the weekend.

I took pics from all four corners, and you can see the opposing warbands lined up with their Order Dice ready.

Emil is joining me around noon tomorrow, and I expect us to have a jolly good time with a beer or two during the game.

Warlords of Erehwon Solo Game - Turn 5

 Of course, the routing Knights should have been moved before anything else, but I forgot that rule. Instead, I moved tham off the table as soon as I became aware of the error.

But, as you can see, the Guard fired at a Skeleton unit and took out the Leader.

Then, the Elven Hero charged the Undead Champion. The combattants failed to penetrate each other's armour, so both had to take a Break Test (and the Elf automatically passed, due to Haughty Disdain).

Both warriors wanted to push on, so a follow-up combat was fought. Again, no blood (ichor?) was drawn, both passed their Break Test, and the Champion had to Consolidate first.

Then a fresh (?) unit of Skeleton Warriors attacked the hero while hurling their spears at him. The Elf could not ward off all the projectiles, and thus suffered a Wound.

Shaken by the pain, the noble Elf succumbed to the insurmountable odds. Things were looking bleak for the dauntless defenderes of the pass.

To add insult to injury, the Undead horde made the final breakthrough by killing the Elven Lord with their spears while closing in.

The remaining Bodyguard broke and fled the battlefield. By this point, the Elven warband was well broken, and the Elves' only hope now was to kill off as many Undeads as possible.

A decimated unit managed to Rally.

Then, the remaining Elven Cavalry on the right flank fired at the Down unit of Skeletons - and destroyed them, which meant that the Undead warband was now also Broken!

The battlefield of Desolation Pass at the end of Turn 5. With both Warbands broken, a d6 must be rolled to decide if another Turn had to be played (1-3, the Game ends; 4-6, another Turn is played).

Aaaand.. it's Game Over, Man, Game Over!

The last effort by the Elves was too little, too late. 

The Undead had killed off units at a value of 984 points, and the Elves had killed the equivalent of 622 points.

The defense of Desolation Pass has failed, and the path now lies open for the armies of the Necromancer.

Will the Elves of the Northern Province manage to mobilize sufficient forces to stop the advance of the Undead hordes, or wil the region fall under the Shadow?

Well, I already decided that I like this game enough to make this a narrative campaign, and the next installment will be played against a live opponent taking command of the Elvish forces (my pal Emil and I are going to spend an afternoon playing a smaller battle, as the citizens of the Northern Province scrambles to stop the vanguard of the Undead invaders.

My verdict so far:

I really, really like this game. I like the flexible warband-building, and I like the ebb and flow of the game. I have to play a real opponent a couple of times, though, before I decide if Warlords is going to be my go-to fantasy game (but I have a good feeling about this).

In the meantime, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next battle!

Warlords of Erehwon Solo Game - Turn 4

With the Skeleton Riders pushed back by the Elven Knights, the Wraith felt a bit too exposed and opted to Sprint away from the danger zone.

The Elven Lord's retinue was charged by a Skeleton Warrior unit.

On the opposite flankk, the Knights charged the Skeleton Riders.

And when Consolidating, they followed the path of the Wraith.

The Elven Guard managed to down one (!) Skeleton.

The Undead Warlord willed some Skeleton Warriors with spears to block the path of the Elven Knights. 'Exchange of Missiles' is an important part of this game!

And the Skeletons came out on top of this fight.

Another Elven Cavalry unit failed and Order Test and went Down.

They were subsequently charged, lost the fight, and routed.

The Elven Lord swiftly moved in to avenge the Cavalry.

Another Skeleton Unit failed to Rally.

The Undead Champion charged the remaining Elven Knights. No damage was inflicted, but the Knights had a Pin already and thus lost the fight - and routed! The Champion Consolidated back into cover of the Skeleton battle line.

Some shamblers finally reached the enemy position - and wer chopped to pieces by the Elven Cavalry.

The Elven Hero charged a small Zombie mob. He managed to kill a single opponent, but the mob had Pins already, and it failed its Break Test, resulting in a further three Pins and a total higher than their Command Stat which means the unit was destroyed.

At the end of Turn 4 it was clear that th Elven rssistance would break very soon, but could the defenders of Desolation Pass inflict sufficient damage on the Undead horde to stop their advance?

I forgot to mak a Recovery Test for the Down units, but as soon as I realized, I just removed a Pin from them as if a test had been failed.