Two Very Very short games

The latest round in the club's Battle Companies campaign was very short and not particularly sweet.  I played Kev and the scenario called for me to defend a hill.  Kev simply went for all out attack with his Warg Riders and in 3 turns entirely wiped my force out!  We had an odd number of attendees so Alan played Kev next and there was no time for a third round.

100 % casualties

I did manage a second game.  After our day out at the Wartime experience event we attracted a new member and her young son.  I too the lad on in a game of Wings of War and am afraid I showed him no mercy shooting down his camel in even less time than it had taken in my first game.

Closing in for the kill

That was my gaming for the night.

Games 65

 Rules played 26 New 11
Places played 10 New 0

Ball and Chain

A kind gentleman recently posted a generous offer on facebook,  Rules that he no longer required - free to a good home. Included was a set of Fantasy rules that I had never heard of - Ball and Chain.

Published in the mid 90s they looked a little old school but certainly worth a game to try them out.  I posted about them on the Falkirk club facebook page and Following our game of Hannibal Crossing the Alps both Tim and Doug offered to play a game the following Monday.

I was happy to arrange something as I have been wanting to get some more of my growing collection of elves on the table.  This is the 3 way scenario I came up with

Background

The Elvish race came into existence at the birth of the world.  For eons they lived in peace and harmony. Despite their famed longevity few if any of even the oldest elves remember the so called Golden Time.

Then came the Great Sundering, the scattering of the families and an everlasting legacy of hostility and  hatred between them.  The old Elvish lands are remote, desolate and wild.  Occasionally intrepid rangers or foolish adventurers venture there in search of ancient artefacts.  None of any great power has ever been recovered but rumours of a hoard with strange properties have been circulating around the Courts.  Small parties have been dispatched by competing clans to investigate and return with anything that may be of value.

Rules

Ball and Chain by Dave Garnham

Scenario

6 x 4 table covered in woods and with a reasonably large central glade.  Paths lead from each of the four corners to the glade. Three elf forces will randomly enter down 3 of the 4 paths.  Each player rolls for deployment and comes on (up to 6 inches) on a roll of 6 on the first turn, 5 or 6 on the second etc. Roll to see entry point once a successful deployment roll has been made. 

There will be 2 imps that will appear when a player for any reason rolls 49, 50 or 51.  This player can place an imp anywhere he likes on the board and it will immediately attack the nearest elves.

There will be 12 artefacts scattered in the glade or just inside the woods bordering the glade.  They will be of 2 types. An elf in sole contact with an artefact at the end of its turn will have picked it up by the start of the next turn. If an elf carrying an artefact is killed it is difficult for it to be recovered and requires a 6 at the end of the first turn searching, a 5 or 6 at the end of the second turn etc.  Any searcher engaging in combat breaks the search sequence and if they wish to try again must start with a 6.  No elf may carry more than 2 artefacts.  If an elf tries to carry artefacts of different types there is a (one off) 10% chance of a deadly adverse reaction. No elf will voluntarily give up an artefact in any circumstances.

The aim for each group is to get off the board with as many artefacts as possible.  At the end of the game it will be apparent that although all the artefacts have power one type is vastly more desirable than the other.  There is no way of knowing this in advance so this will be determined only once the game has finished.  The group that has left the field with the most of the more desirable artefacts wins.

My biggest mistake was to go for a 4 x 6 table as this meant that 2 of the forces were inevitably going to be closer to each other and it would take the 3rd longer to engage.  This was made worse by all 3 rolling to enter the table on the same turn.  Doug with Dark Elves soon engaged my Wood Elves and Tim with his High Elves remained some distance away

The rules worked OK.  There was some difficulty with those for horsemen in combat and shooting but we made on the hoof interpretations to get something workable.  I got the upper hand against Doug early on but a couple of long range shots from Tim took a couple of my guys out and before long I was down to one man!  Having recovered most of the artefacts and all those within reasonable reach both Tim and Doug started to withdraw from opposite ends of the table when an Imp finally appeared. It was nearly packing up time so we let it do a couple of rounds of combat before calling it a day.

We all had fun.  The rules are usable and could certainly be easily modified to iron out our difficulties.  It was good to get some more of my Elves on the table and I now have a setting that would be usable for future games.

Pictures 

 

The Wood Elves advance

Brave Dark Elf charges 

The Imp arrives

Postscript: Looking at my background for the scenario I talk about  a Great Sundering of the Elves.  This is actually the way Tolkien describes the break up of the Elves.  I don't remember reading it and haven't actually read any Tolkien post the Silmarillion which I struggled through once.  I suppose it either is in the Silmarillion or I have somehow picked it up elsewhere.  I thought I was my own idea, although almost all fantasy owes at least something to the great man.  I think I will just keep it in anyway.

Games 63

 Rules played 26 New 11
Places played 10 New 0

Rivendell B Team Relic Found Gondor Captain Assassinated

It was catch up time in the Battle Companies campaign again so I brought out the B team again,  You may remember on their first foray they found Leigh's Hobbits quite a handful (see earlier post). This time I played Kenny and his Easterlings and Alan  with his Men of Gondor.


Kenny has had a difficult start to the campaign and was down to 4 men against which I was able to muster 7.  Find the relic has a string of 5 objective markers across the centre line of the table 4 of which are dummies and one of which is the relic.  4 were in the open with 1 on a hill to my right.


Both sides charged forward and fought over the central objectives.  I detached one spearman to look at those on my left.  We battered backwards and forwards with a couple of casualties on both sides and soon discovered that the relic had to be the one on the hill.  Once again I had a spare spearman to detach and pick it up.  The Easterlings were now down to 2 men and had no chance of getting to the relic.  I decided the best option was to pull back and make for my baseline.  I didn't realise that one of my opponents figures had a leg wound which made pursuit virtually impossible so I was able to claim the win.


Kenny does not have a copy of Battle Companies which is currently out of print so had 4 battles worth influence points and experience to spend.  He is now in better shape with 6 figures and some upgrades which is good.


My second game was against Alan who managed to beat Rory whilst myself and Kenny were battling it out, giving him an impressive 4 wins out of 4.  I was facing 10 figures against my 8 and I drew the task of assassinating his leader.  Instead of the camp we used a fantasy graveyard which made an interesting setting.  I snuck up on the camp but the alarm was raised almost immediately and very quickly I lost 3 elves to no men.  Now outnumbered 2 to 1 I didn't fancy my chances of winning at all, particularly as the Gondor leader was taking no risks and had not engaged at all.  Two more casualties on my side and that was the game up.


I am actually not at all sure how I won from such a dire position other than fantastic dice rolling!  The spearman on the right forced his way in killing 3 and other battles went my way.  Suddenly the Gondorians were broken and had to start making courage rolls.  I lost one elf but a failed courage test meant that I had 4 onto 3.  The Gondor Captain took a hit and then failed his fate save and I had somehow won!  I was also lucky in the reinforcement rolls getting a knight and another spearman (the B team is spearman heavy)  .


So I now have 2 strong warbands both of which have played 5 games and are 10 strong.  Our next meeting is intended to be an all in affair so the A team will make an appearance but as usual if anyone can't make it I will have the B team ready to take to the field again.

Games 57

 Rules played 22 New 9
Places played 9 New 0

Ding Dong Dell

The next round in our battle companies Lord of the Rings campaign was just two games this time.  My first was against Rory and his Angor force.  Although it ended up being a bit one sided in my favour the game actually took over an hour which I think is a record for the campaign so far.

The scenario involved the individual figures coming in from all edges of the board so it took us a bit of time to sort ourselves out but unsurprisingly it all ended up in big scrap in the middle.  The dice rolls were with me so I was pleased o chalk up another victory.  I was able to generate a mounted knight as reinforcement, but had to rely on a warg mounted orc supplied by Kev as a substitute as I didn’t have a suitable figure with me.

The second game was against Andy and his Mordor Orcs.  I was defending a camp with six lots of supplies which Andy’s forces had to set fire to.  To do that they had to be in contact with the supply marker, not in combat, and then roll a 4+. 

Andy, who has leading the campaign and has a fairly large warband attacked from all sides.  I decided to concentrate my forces and try and cause early casualties and risk some supplies being destroyed. Just about the first combat saw my elf knight (orc warg rider) put out action – not a good start!

On the other side of the camp I managed to mob two of Andy’s better Orcs including his leader and although they put up some resistance they went down.  Casualties were soon mounting on both sides but first one, then two then three lots of supplies went up.  Andy’s Orcs hit break point and the game ended (on a roll of a 1 or a 2) on the first roll just in time for a draw to be declared.

 

Games 35

 Rules played 18 New 7
Places played 6 New 0 

 

Theres founsands of them hobbitses sir founsands of them!

Well only 12 really but that is a lot for a group of 5  to break through even if they are much better fighters!


Leigh wants to take part in the Battle Companies campaign but had not managed any games as yet and with the next round coming up on the 30th I said I would field a new warband to help him catch up.  I used the same core Rivendell force as I started the campaign with so the warband straight from the book.


The first scenario was hold the line .  I charged straight up the road and lost 3 men as I got mobbed as I burst through.  The other 2 almost made it but just as I was about to get them off and win the scenario an arrow in the back was enough to give Leigh a victory.


The second scenario was stand your ground with my warband defending.  I did much better and dispatched quite a few of my furry footed opponents but once again he just hung on for the win


The final scenario was Rory's special.  I did much better once again causing multiple casualties but as the game ended with the Hobbits broken we both still had two objectives so it was a draw.


I will keep this warband available in case anyone needs some catch up games after the next round

Games 33

 Rules played 18 New 7
Places played 6 New 0 

Rivendell did Very Well

The Lord of the Rings (or Middle Earth if you prefer) Battle Companies campaign has now kicked off.  In it's early stages numbers on the table are quite low and games over rather quickly so we easily managed 3 games on the first night.


My Rivendell Elves proved to be quite tough nuts to crack.  First up were Kev's warg riders who are a bit weak.  Having  discounted any possibility of success he very quickly took down 2 of my guys, but after that lost figures pretty quickly for an elf win. 


I was able to recruit an additional warrior for my next game which was fortunate as one of my casualties had to sit out a round.  Next up were Kenny's Easterlings who were as heavily armoured as my elves.  We din donged backwars and forwars for a while but I was able to complete my mission and assassinate his leader


For the last game I was faced with Rory's Arnor.  Rory is running the campaign and has written 5 scenarios of which this was the first -  The Crossing of Emyn Sul.  The objective was a ruined tower and 4 outbuildings.  One contained a hideous fiend (can't remember it's name!) which would attack any who came close to his lair.  In fact Rory took it out quite quickly.  I was rather worried by being outnumbered by archers 4 to 1 and indeed mine was soon shot down.  I was however able to close without further mishap and win the day.

The two warbands close on the ruined tower

I am not sure how the campaign will play out.  Games will get longer as warbands get bigger, but there is a worry that those who did not do well early on will struggle to compete in the later stages.  We will have to see how things develop.



Games 19

 Rules played 13 New 7
Places played 3 New 0 

Hostile Realms Fantasy Wargames Rules

When I went on a buying frenzy of Piquet rules before Christmas the fantasy version was a little bit of a left field pick.  Piquet is very different to any of the Fantasy system that I have played and although Tim, the clubs Piquet guru, will play I don't think his interest will extend to buying any armies.

My plan is to make this another of my many slow burn projects.  If I can get my Elves painted up I should be close to being able to field both High Elf and Wood Elf armies with a smaller Dark Elf force.  In the meantime I will keep an eye out at Bring and Buys for painted and inexpensive reinforcements.  If necessary I can pad the armies out with some allies.  Once done I can hopefully have a couple of games with Tim and take it from there.  

Middle Earth Battle Companies

A number of Falkirk club members are interested in running a campaign based on the new Battle Companies supplement for the Middle Earth strategy battle game from GW. The core rules are very similar to their Lord of the rings game and in fact the only issue with using these rules is that some of the 22 companies are not covered by ealier versions.  However I don't think that most people will rush out to buy anything new and we will muddle through with what we have.


The basic companies are 5 to 6 models but the idea is to run a number of games from which they will gain experience additional gear and new recruits. Anyone familiar with Mordhiem will notice many similarities.


The campaign has not started yet so I wanted to try a couple of practice games to remind myself of the rules. Richard obliged with his (nasty) dearfs.  The starter companies are actually rather small and the games were pretty quick once we had decided on a basic scenario and got started.  We ran the scenario again with opposite sides (shock horror I got to play dwarfs against elves).  On both occasions the elves seemed a bit better powered than the dwarfs and won.  I forgot to take pictures I am afraid


If the games were all at basic warband level I would not be too interested but I think as warbands develop they the games will get a little more complex and interesting


I used Lothlorien against Richards Durin's Folk.  In the campaign I expect to use Rivendell and with that in mind have purchased some early High Elf figures from John.

Games 14

 Rules played 12 New 7
Places played 3 New 0

Another brush with nasty dwarfs

This time it was Dragon Rampant with Andy running the diminutives against my proud Wood Elves.  The scenario was 'Cooking Pot' from the rules with me defending said pot and slowly eating the contents whilst the dwarfs attempted to take it.


For some reason this tale has not been well preserved in elvish archives although rumours have circulated which have somewhat tarnished the previously unsullied reputation of our champion (failed to activate all game!). 


Revenge will be all the sweeter in our next encounter

Games 11

 Rules played 11 New 7
Places played 3 New 0

Wood Elves v Dwarves - always nasty

I had a game of Advanced Songs of Blades and Heroes at the Falkirk club on Monday.  Richard had worked out a neat scenario where my Wood Elves were attacking a dwarf siege tower in an attempt to destroy it. Any elf in contact with the tower would give it one fire point on a successful activation with 10 being enough to destroy it..  However there was one young dwarf at the top of the tower who also had the possibility of being able to douse the flames.


We took 400 points each.  I indulged in a little long range shooting with my 2 Longbows which drove the dwarves into cover behind their protective earthworks.  I then charged forward.  The real hero was a master duellist.  Richards leader was able to group the 4 other fighters and move them as one and the duellist engaged them for several turns with many deft parries.  Although he fell in the end he had bought time for his fellow elves to close with the tower and start to set it alight.  It was touch and go for a while but eventually the Elves were successful.


Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures but I did remember as we were packing up and took one of Richards excellent siege tower

Games 5
Rules played 5 New 3
Places played 2 New 0

What rules to use with Wood Elves

I am just about to purchase a collection of wood elves from a fellow club member, all old citadel stuff.  I will have about 90 infantry, 8 cavalry, 3 hawks/eagles with archer crew and a tree man ent type creature

Forces for Hordes of the Things and Dragon Rampant are very doable but I wondered if anyone had suggestions for other rule sets that might be suitable?

First game with the Elves

Played my first game of Songs of Blades and Heroes tonight and got taken down by Dwarfs.  The Curse of newly painted figures strikes again  !!!!

I am enjoying painting Elves!!!

At a loose end for a game this coming Monday I posted up on the club facebook page looking for an opponent.  Tim replied.  I know that he is a fan of Songs of Blades and Heroes and as this is a system I have not yet played I suggested this to him.  He was happy to oblige with an introductionary game and sent me some info through.

A starter force is only half a dozen models so I thought that I might have enough figures in my “stash” for a wood elf band.  Sure enough I found half a dozen plastic GW archers in need of a bit of a repaint, a couple of  metal figures of unknown origin in need of a touch up and a nicely painted dark elf (a little on the small side) who can be drafted in as a leader.

Last night I spent a happy hour applying paint to the figures.  Those of you who know me will recognise this as an unusual occurrence.  To me painting is a necessary chore rather than a pleasure.  I do get a good feeling once having completed a figure (however imperfectly) but the act itself is not one I particularly enjoy.

However, for some strange reason, painting the elves last night was a great experience.  Perhaps it was a one off but today I feel enthusiastic about expanding my elf collection (about 25 high elves, 12 dark elves and 8 wood elves) into full army sized forces.  As well as potentially SOBH I am thinking Hordes of the Things, Dragon Rampant and Chaos Wars.

I am not foolish enough to start buying masses of new lead or plastic.  One of my problems is that the transition from bare metal to finished figure always seems a long and daunting one.  My plan is to scour the bring and buys at shows for (cheap) painted and partly painted figures and bring the armies together over a period of time, looking for opportunities to find games I can use them in as I go.

Wish me luck.