This is dome fluff for my Nemesis Crown campaign army. Since I am fairly ignorant with regards to the official background to Altdorf and surrounding area, there may be some things here that are technically not possible. But I don't care.
Oh, and before any Hobblings read this, I never claimed to have an ounce of originality.
The Order of the Raven and Altdorf Raven Guard
The Order of the Raven, a knightly order based near Altdorf, is led by General Marcus Corvinus. His family have ruled land near to the city for generations.
Family legend tells the tale of Stefan Corvinus, who was the second son of the local landowner. With his elder brother as heir to the lands, nothing more was expected of him than to attend court and marry an Empire noble woman. Dissatisfied with this future and wanting something more exciting, he decided to run away and become an adventurer. Stefan was only marginally successful at this, joining various groups, mercenary bands and brigands over the next few years. Finally, whilst wandering through the World’s Edge Mountains dodging tribes of Goblins, he came upon a wounded raven being tormented by a Night Goblin.
Stefan killed the Goblin, and was surprised when the Raven spoke to him. It transpired that the Raven was in fact a powerful Wood Elf wizard, who had been turned into a Raven by a night Goblin Shaman the previous day. He told Stefan that he would be greatly rewarded for killing the Shaman and thus breaking the spell. Stefan agreed, and went in search of the Shaman.
Whether luckier than the Wood Elf, or blessed by Sigmar himself perhaps, Stefan did not suffer the same fate and was able to kill the shaman. True to his word, the Elf regained his normal shape, and as promised rewarded Stefan by enchanting his weapons and armour.
This was a turning point for Stefan. He decided that he would return home to his family, and raise an Order of knights in honour of the Raven shape the Elf had been turned to. With them, he would fight the evil creatures of the world.
The gift from the Wood Elf was handsome indeed. Stefan’s armour and weapons were all magically improved.
These include the Raven Armour, the Corax Sword and the Raven Arrows are fletched with raven feathers, and this gives the archer the same effect as if he held the Bow of Something. Stefan returned home, and started the Order of the Raven.
Over the following years, Stefan and his Raven Knights became famous for their support to the Empire army in times of need, as well as embarking on raids on the nearby tribes of Orks and Goblins. The jet-black armour became a familiar sight on battlefields and strike fear into Goblins in particular.
After Stefan ’s death, and with no direct heir, his brother’s second son took over as Preceptor of the Order. Thus began a tradition that continues to this day – the eldest son takes over the running of the family’s lands, and the second son leads the Knights. The second son dedicates himself to the Order.
In addition to the Order, the Corvinus family supports several regiments of foot troops to support the Knights in battle, and to join with Altdorf troops in time of need. Whilst maintaining the blue and red colours of nearby Altdorf for their uniforms, the troops often add black feathers to identify themselves as members of the Raven Guard, as the Corvinus regiments are known.
Today, Marcus Corvinus leads the Order of the Raven with Ulrik von Lederhosen as second in command. Ulrik fought alongside Marcus’ uncle when he was Preceptor, and the grizzled veteran trained the young Marcus from an early age. Ulrik usually carries the regiments Battle Standard, fighting on foot with units of spearmen instead of from horseback. He is trusted enough to act as leader of the regiment should Marcus be engaged elsewhere.
The Raven Guard are frequently supported by wizards from the Altdorf College of Magic, and by artillery from Nuln. The Order maintains links with the Wood elf tribe that Stefan helped, and will occasionally be joined by a unit of rangers in battle. If required to send troops to aid Altdorf against Wood Elves, the Order itself is permitted to decline to fight, however other troops are not exempt from supporting. No knight from the Order is permitted to raise a weapon to a Wood Elf – an agreement that is reciprocated by the elves.
Game rule notes:
Note that all the rules below confer no benefits to the army, bit do limit certain options over and above the Empire army book. They are merely to add a degree of uniqueness to the force!
Magic Items: the Raven Armour etc is taken in place of Dawn Armour – it would not be possible to field both at the same time, in the same way that two identical items cannot be taken. Similarly, the Corax Sword replaces the Sword of Justice and the Raven Arrows replace the Bow or Something or Other.
Preceptors: Units of knightly orders may not take a Preceptor as Marcus holds this position.
Marcus Corvinus: If fielded, Marcus will always be the army general. In addition, he must wear the Raven Armour and wield the Corax sword; thus no other characters will be able to take the equivalent items. He will always fight either on a barded warhorse, or his Griffon. Marcus will always join a unit of Knights if available, although if fighting with his Griffon this will not apply.
Ulrik von Lederhosen: If Marcus is fielded, then Ulrik, if taken, must be the Battle Standard Bearer.
Wood Elves: The fortune of the family and the Order itself derive from the favours of the Wood Elf mage; however occasionally the Empire is in conflict with this race and requires troops to be supplied. The Emperor does, however, respect the honour of the Order and their history and so whilst troops are still supplied in times of need they are not required to include knights from the Order itself.
When fighting Wood Elves, the Raven Guard may not include Marcus as General (or any other General of the Empire), Ulrik von Lederhosen or any units of Knightly Orders. All other troops, including Outriders and pistoliers, may be selected as normal. Other Lords choices may be taken as normal.
Wood Elf Rangers: Occasionally, Wood elf rangers support the Raven Guard. In the game, Wood Elf models may be used as foresters i.e. same points, stats and rules as per the Empire army list – it is only the models used that changes. The army will, of course, not include these if fighting against Wood Elves.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
A Fistful of Honey
At last, I finally finished painting these fellows.
The Good...
The Bad...
And the Cuddly...
The Good...
The Bad...
And the Cuddly...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
A call to arms - victory at last!
Finally, a significant victory for the Raven Guard!
Facing the Dwarves who had defeated me so soundly before, the Altdorf Raven Guard were eager to avenge their comrades.
Knights from the Raven Order, led my Marcus Corvinus himself, led the charge on the left flank into a unit of rangers. These were butchered to a man (well, dwarf) as they turned to flee after seeing their champion hacked to pieces by Marcus. In the centre, the solid line of foot troops advanced whilst on the right the Outriders advanced to take up position opposite one of the many bolt throwers, and the Empire artillery climbed the hill in front of them for a better field of fire.
As the centre advanced, one of the Hand gunner detachments was wiped out after almost every ranged weapon took aim at them. Embarrassingly, the spearmen unit panicked and ran, despite the best efforts of Ulrik von Lederhosen, bearer of the Battle Standard. The swordsmen unit held firm, however. The spearmen were to rally immediately in the following turn. The organ gun, however, decided to avenge the Rangers. The knights disappeared in a cloud of fire, smoke and debris. After a pause, Marcus charged through, unscathed but angered by the loss of the entire unit from around him.
The tone was set for the remainder of the game. The mounted troops attacked and destroyed one group of crewmen after another, whilst the foot troops engaged the Dwarf crossbow men and warriors.
Finally, as night drew in the remaining two units of dwarves withdrew from the field, leaving the Empire troops victorious.
Battle honours are awarded to:
- the crew of the 'borrowed' Dwarven bolt thrower, who finally managed to hit a target on turn five. This was, I believe, the first time the crew had hit anything in three games. They even managed to kill four spearmen, and narrowly missed Ulrik!
- the empire Volley Gun, which wiped out most of the Dwarven warriors unit with a final volley of 18 shots, from which nine kills resulted. The command squad that was left decided they would record the Grudge and withdrew.
- the crew of the bolt thrower that withstood the Outriders attacks for three rounds before being killed. The Outriders returned to the weapon after the battle, and buried the Dwarves with full honours alongside the bolt thrower the had been so protective of.
Facing the Dwarves who had defeated me so soundly before, the Altdorf Raven Guard were eager to avenge their comrades.
Knights from the Raven Order, led my Marcus Corvinus himself, led the charge on the left flank into a unit of rangers. These were butchered to a man (well, dwarf) as they turned to flee after seeing their champion hacked to pieces by Marcus. In the centre, the solid line of foot troops advanced whilst on the right the Outriders advanced to take up position opposite one of the many bolt throwers, and the Empire artillery climbed the hill in front of them for a better field of fire.
As the centre advanced, one of the Hand gunner detachments was wiped out after almost every ranged weapon took aim at them. Embarrassingly, the spearmen unit panicked and ran, despite the best efforts of Ulrik von Lederhosen, bearer of the Battle Standard. The swordsmen unit held firm, however. The spearmen were to rally immediately in the following turn. The organ gun, however, decided to avenge the Rangers. The knights disappeared in a cloud of fire, smoke and debris. After a pause, Marcus charged through, unscathed but angered by the loss of the entire unit from around him.
The tone was set for the remainder of the game. The mounted troops attacked and destroyed one group of crewmen after another, whilst the foot troops engaged the Dwarf crossbow men and warriors.
Finally, as night drew in the remaining two units of dwarves withdrew from the field, leaving the Empire troops victorious.
Battle honours are awarded to:
- the crew of the 'borrowed' Dwarven bolt thrower, who finally managed to hit a target on turn five. This was, I believe, the first time the crew had hit anything in three games. They even managed to kill four spearmen, and narrowly missed Ulrik!
- the empire Volley Gun, which wiped out most of the Dwarven warriors unit with a final volley of 18 shots, from which nine kills resulted. The command squad that was left decided they would record the Grudge and withdrew.
- the crew of the bolt thrower that withstood the Outriders attacks for three rounds before being killed. The Outriders returned to the weapon after the battle, and buried the Dwarves with full honours alongside the bolt thrower the had been so protective of.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Renegade's Magic
It's here!
After seeing a post on the board that Robin's "Renegade's Magic" had been sighted on a bookshelf in Scotland, I had to head over to my local Waterstones and see if they had it on the shelves early.
Luckily, they did!
So far (Chapter three) it's good. No spoilers here :)
:)
After seeing a post on the board that Robin's "Renegade's Magic" had been sighted on a bookshelf in Scotland, I had to head over to my local Waterstones and see if they had it on the shelves early.
Luckily, they did!
So far (Chapter three) it's good. No spoilers here :)
:)
Friday, June 22, 2007
Call to arms
The second practice game for the Nemesis Crown didn't go so well as the first.
1,000 points against an Ogre Kingdom army, played by someone who had never played at all. So, tactically speaking, fairly evenly matched!
My army is modelled on the Empire Gun Line, that is there are guns. Lots of guns. The army is designed to be more balanced than this - the larger army I have planned has half as many foot troops again, but no additional guns. However at this point there are the cannon, volley gun, Outriders and two units of hand gunners.
The game started well; I had a good terrain set up that included a hill to deploy some of the fire power on. The foot troops held position and waited for the ogres to move forward. As planned, the ranged weapons gave me several turns of fire before anyone was able to charge me. This wasn't as effective as I would have hoped; the cannon missed on the first turn, then jammed requiring two turns to fix. The volley gun was more use and was able to rout one unit of ogres. The hand gunners were also useful, hitting and wounding far more than I would have expected. However with each ogre having three wounds, they were only whittling away at the edges.
The wizard was more successful than in the previous game. He joined the spearmen for a little more protection, and was able to annihilate most of one unit of Ogres single handedly. Again, I had no magical opposition, so I'm still unsure how effective he might be against serious magic users with dispels.
I remembered a tactic from a battle report to prevent the ogres getting their bull charge. Basically, the sheer mass of the charging ogre causes impact hits - but only if they charge more than a certain distance. Advance your unit closer than this and you're only getting the normal combat.
I say normal combat, but Ogres are tough. Very tough. And strong. In addition to rolling badly and scoring no hits in almost every combat, the ogres were much luckier and tore through the spearmen and halberdiers. I won the combat through rank bonuses only; however the ogre general charged in on the following turn alongside the gnoblars(sp?). The general killed the entire halberd unit himself, and with the Gnoblars adding their rank bonus the spearmen broke and ran from the field.
On the other side, the lead belchers finally came into range, and blew away the outriders before charging the hand gunners. The ogre unit on this side, down to one ogre only after all the firing, charged the swordsmen. They lost the combat, and were cut down as they routed. The hand gunners met the same fate, leaving only my artillery left in the game after the final turn!
So...the empire gun line is a good, solid tactic, if a little unimaginative. Concentrating fire is a must, and deciding how many shots to commit to each target is going to be a necessary skill to acquire. The second cannon/volley gun plan is till sound, especially with the ever-present misfire rolls. I need to think about how to use the gunners I have; whether to continue to use them as two smaller detachments or to combine them into one unit on their own.
I can see that relying on the gun line to work on it's own is a recipe for disaster - unless the terrain set up is in my favour, the guns are going to have limited fields of fire past other units. Also, taking too many guns will limit the number of units that can then fight once whatever is left of the enemy reaches my lines.
The spearmen are a good solid unit. Perhaps increasing the unit size to 30 at some point down the line, instead of having two smaller units as I had planned. The swordsmen were again pretty useless, however they are still only 16 strong and need a little help in staying power. Keeping the core units closer together will be necessary, as the improved leadership from the general will be useful.
What I am missing is a hard hitting unit that can deal out some serious damage to tough targets. Just as well that I have the Knights then I guess! These will be equipped with cavalry hammers, giving them a higher strength; plus they have better armour than any of my other troops. If I had been able to charge an ogre unit with these, I am convinced they would have won the combat.
Word has it that there will be a General Meeting to be held at an inn somewhere in the Great Forest next week...these things have a habit of turning into a large brawl. Next on the "To Paint" list is the spearmen unit's champion, who will stand in as my general-on-foot, as the Griffon won't be allowed inside ;)
1,000 points against an Ogre Kingdom army, played by someone who had never played at all. So, tactically speaking, fairly evenly matched!
My army is modelled on the Empire Gun Line, that is there are guns. Lots of guns. The army is designed to be more balanced than this - the larger army I have planned has half as many foot troops again, but no additional guns. However at this point there are the cannon, volley gun, Outriders and two units of hand gunners.
The game started well; I had a good terrain set up that included a hill to deploy some of the fire power on. The foot troops held position and waited for the ogres to move forward. As planned, the ranged weapons gave me several turns of fire before anyone was able to charge me. This wasn't as effective as I would have hoped; the cannon missed on the first turn, then jammed requiring two turns to fix. The volley gun was more use and was able to rout one unit of ogres. The hand gunners were also useful, hitting and wounding far more than I would have expected. However with each ogre having three wounds, they were only whittling away at the edges.
The wizard was more successful than in the previous game. He joined the spearmen for a little more protection, and was able to annihilate most of one unit of Ogres single handedly. Again, I had no magical opposition, so I'm still unsure how effective he might be against serious magic users with dispels.
I remembered a tactic from a battle report to prevent the ogres getting their bull charge. Basically, the sheer mass of the charging ogre causes impact hits - but only if they charge more than a certain distance. Advance your unit closer than this and you're only getting the normal combat.
I say normal combat, but Ogres are tough. Very tough. And strong. In addition to rolling badly and scoring no hits in almost every combat, the ogres were much luckier and tore through the spearmen and halberdiers. I won the combat through rank bonuses only; however the ogre general charged in on the following turn alongside the gnoblars(sp?). The general killed the entire halberd unit himself, and with the Gnoblars adding their rank bonus the spearmen broke and ran from the field.
On the other side, the lead belchers finally came into range, and blew away the outriders before charging the hand gunners. The ogre unit on this side, down to one ogre only after all the firing, charged the swordsmen. They lost the combat, and were cut down as they routed. The hand gunners met the same fate, leaving only my artillery left in the game after the final turn!
So...the empire gun line is a good, solid tactic, if a little unimaginative. Concentrating fire is a must, and deciding how many shots to commit to each target is going to be a necessary skill to acquire. The second cannon/volley gun plan is till sound, especially with the ever-present misfire rolls. I need to think about how to use the gunners I have; whether to continue to use them as two smaller detachments or to combine them into one unit on their own.
I can see that relying on the gun line to work on it's own is a recipe for disaster - unless the terrain set up is in my favour, the guns are going to have limited fields of fire past other units. Also, taking too many guns will limit the number of units that can then fight once whatever is left of the enemy reaches my lines.
The spearmen are a good solid unit. Perhaps increasing the unit size to 30 at some point down the line, instead of having two smaller units as I had planned. The swordsmen were again pretty useless, however they are still only 16 strong and need a little help in staying power. Keeping the core units closer together will be necessary, as the improved leadership from the general will be useful.
What I am missing is a hard hitting unit that can deal out some serious damage to tough targets. Just as well that I have the Knights then I guess! These will be equipped with cavalry hammers, giving them a higher strength; plus they have better armour than any of my other troops. If I had been able to charge an ogre unit with these, I am convinced they would have won the combat.
Word has it that there will be a General Meeting to be held at an inn somewhere in the Great Forest next week...these things have a habit of turning into a large brawl. Next on the "To Paint" list is the spearmen unit's champion, who will stand in as my general-on-foot, as the Griffon won't be allowed inside ;)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
A call to arms -
The advance force from Altdorf weren't expecting to meet any enemy forces at the Tomb. The Empire forces were spreading out through the Great Forest taking and holding sites of interest so that a deeper examination could be made. Wizards from the Colleges of Magic would search for signs of the Crown. The tomb of Baden wasn't a high priority target, and so had only a small inexperienced force sent to take it. A couple of units, with supporting detachments plus artillery. The unit of Outriders were the most experienced troops in the force - the wizard "general" was little more than an apprentice.
As the column approached the tomb, the Outriders returned from scouting ahead to report. A small force of Dwarves, of similar size and power to the Altdorf troops, had been sighted advancing towards the same location. It was estimated that the dwarves would reach the tomb at the same time.
Word went out to the sergeants - prepare to engage the enemy. The raw recruits looked at each other nervously at the first sign of real battle. Suddenly, the sound of a dwarven horn came through the tree tops. It was answered by the Empire troops. The war for the Nemesis Crown had begun.
A small 1,000 point game against dwarves then. My opponent was a Dwarf player using the store army, but was not that experienced (at least he knew the rules - mostly). Helped by a couple of seasoned gamers on the rules advise, we were able to manage.
The tomb was located in centre of the battlefield, with woods surrounding it. A hill just in front of the Empire's left flank gave good visibility across the table and the far side of the tomb - the expected line of advance. I was expecting the two dwarf units of warriors to advance up into the gap between the tomb and woods (which they could do on either side of the table) and hold. This would protect their flanks, and the Grudge Stone carried by the commander would remove my ability to attack the rear of his unit. There was an organ gun and cannon opposite my left flank, and a unit of miners that would turn up at some point later.
I deployed my Outriders on the left flank, intending to move them forward as fast as possible to take out the artillery. They were supported by the swordsmen and hand gunner detachment that would advance over the hill; the hand gunners would then be able to see over the unit in front and fire at any incoming units. My artillery was located in the centre, the cannon with a direct line of sight to the enemy artillery, and the volley gun next to it (both the organ gun and volley guns would be out of range to fire at each other). The wizard was deployed with them, with a useful fireball spell that would help if the miners turned up unexpectedly. On my right was the main force; 20 spear men with the battle standard, and detachments of hand gunners and halberdiers.
Captain Ulrik von Lederhosen was the most experienced soldier in the force. General Corvinus had deployed him with the recruits in an attempt to add some degree of ability. Corvinus had been in no doubt as to the competency of Rinseuend the Wizard, "Ulrik, the man's an idiot. He'll get everyone killed if battle is joined. I can't put you in command, as I have my orders, but I can send you to carry the standard. Keep the men under control; once you are in a fight you'll be able to do what is needed to secure victory, but until then you;'ll have to do what the idiot orders, logical or not".
As Ulrik looked across the battle line, he realised what Corvinus had meant. His halberd detachment was barely able to manoeuvre, and their hand gunners were going to end up behind a nice safe wall, but would not have anything to shoot as the parent unit would be blocking the view. On the left, the hand gunners would be able to shoot over the heads of their comrades, but if the dwarf artillery could not be silenced quickly it was going to be a blood bath. Further more, the wizard had decided to stay with the artillery instead of with a unit. Wandering around making a target of himself was likely to end with him catching a cannonball with his teeth. Their forces were split, and if the Dwarven units stayed together they would be able to attack half the Empire force with their entire army.
I won the dice-off and elected to move first. The Outriders on the left charged forward, hoping to get out of the cannon's arc of fire. The swordsmen and gunners advanced over the hill, whilst on the right the spearmen and halberdiers advanced. The shooting was limited to the cannon firing at the enemy equivalent hiding in the wood. The gunner was spot on with his ranging, and narrowly missed the cannon, instead killing one of the gunners. First blood to the Empire!
The Dwarven army advanced, but surprisingly split it's force with one unit each side of the tomb to approach my two forces. The cannon elected to fire at my Outriders, and gave me my first important lesson of the day. The cannon shot either passes from front to back, or along a rank depending on the facing of the unit to the cannon. After checking, I realised to my horror that instead of the cannon hitting only one file as it passed through from the front, it was (technically) hitting from the side - and hitting every model. Unfortunately, the Dice Gods did not favour me at this time, and the shot did indeed bounce right through the unit, killing them all. The organ gun also opened fire at the swordsmen, but only two were were killed.
Turn two, and things were not looking so good. However, resolved to improve matters, the spearmen on the right manoeuvred themselves so that the halberdiers could support them when the approaching Dwarves charged (with spears, two ranks can fight except if they charge that turn - so my plan was to let the dwarves charge me, and counter-charge with the halberdiers). The swordsmen held their ground, as the gunners fired at the organ gun. The salvo only killed a crewmen, and they could see the remaining crew continue reloading the gun. My artillery was slightly more successful. Although the cannon again decapitated a crewmen, I was at least eventually going to silence the machine. The volley gun however was more successful, firing a dozen shots into the dwarf unit opposite. However the armour saved most of them and only a few were killed. The wizard sent a fireball rolling into the unit, but only singed a few beards.
The damn stunties continued to advance on their little short legs. the organ gun opened fire again, and the swordsmen disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Half the swordsmen ran panicking back towards the gun line - the rest had been slain. The hand gunners were unfazed and remained in place, taking careful aim at the volley gun, determined to wreak revenge on their fallen comrades.
Meanwhile the cannon returned fire at my artillery, a pattern that was to continue for the rest of the game. It was like watching tennis. The wizard wisely decided that being a valid target (albeit an ignored one so far) was likely to end his career prematurely, and that his presence was needed on the opposite flank and ran for cover. At least this time his fire ball managed to kill a dwarf, however this would be the last spell he was able to cast, as the innate resistance of the dwarves prevented him from casting through the remainder of the battle.
The volley gun, having seen the organ gun take apart the swordsmen, fired at the dwarven unit, determined to wreak as much havoc. Alas, a misfire was rolled on the second barrel, at which point all hell broke loose. Both remaining barrels loosed the maximum number of shots as the gun blew itself to pieces, killing the crew. however, the 26 shots at the dwarves resulted in the unit being decimated, leaving only the general, his champion and the musician.
"Bugger this for a game of soldiers!" the Champion said as the rest of the unit turned into a fine mist behind them, "We're out of here!". He turned, as did the musician on the other side of the general. The musician was looking at the remains of the horn he had in his hand - smashed to pieces by shrapnel that miraculously missed him. One look was enough. Without a word, each grabbed the General by an arm and ran, carrying him towards the safety of the woods, ignoring his angry cries "Put me down you bastards! Let me at 'em! Let me at em!"
On the other side of the tomb, the dwarves finally managed to get into charge range of the spearmen. They took the charge, as the halberdiers counter charged the unit's flank. The rank bonus of the swordsmen, plus having twice the numbers, meant that I won the combat; however the dwarves still managed to remain in the fight. Perhaps they didn't know what had happened on the other flank.
The second round of combat went more in my favour. In addition to killing more dwarves, they finally broke and ran. Both units ran them down, killing them all. However the miners had arrived nearby, and were in a position to charge the spearmen the following turn.
My gunners fired another salvo at the organ gun, now lining up at them. Their aim was true, and managed to kill the remaining crew, leaving the weapon useless.
The miners charged the spearmen, who elected to flee. The charge continued into the halberdiers, who were wiped out. The spearmen then failed to rally, and started making for the table edge.
Despite the victory over the dwarven warriors, the spearmen unit was ill-placed when the minors arrived. Threatened by a charge from the rear, the unit panicked and ran. It was all Ulrik could do to rein them in and return to something approaching order. Trust in their commander overcame the men's panic, and the unit reformed to face the miners.
With only the remaining miners effectively in play, verses the spearmen and two units of hand gunners (the artillery and Wizard not counting as scoring units), the Empire was declared victorious.
As the last dwarven warriors disappeared back into the tree line, a cheer went up from the Empire forces that, for now, drowned out the cries of the wounded. For now, they were the victors however each man knew it would be only a matter of time before they returned.
Ulrik walked over to the Rinseuend, who was still ducked down behind a particularly large tree. "Sir, the Dwarven forces have been driven away. They will return in greater numbers, so perhaps you should do whatever you need to do in this tomb." Wordlessly the wizard nodded, and regained his composure. He entered the tomb, whilst Ulrik posted pickets around the hastily formed camp.
It was going to be a long night.
As the column approached the tomb, the Outriders returned from scouting ahead to report. A small force of Dwarves, of similar size and power to the Altdorf troops, had been sighted advancing towards the same location. It was estimated that the dwarves would reach the tomb at the same time.
Word went out to the sergeants - prepare to engage the enemy. The raw recruits looked at each other nervously at the first sign of real battle. Suddenly, the sound of a dwarven horn came through the tree tops. It was answered by the Empire troops. The war for the Nemesis Crown had begun.
A small 1,000 point game against dwarves then. My opponent was a Dwarf player using the store army, but was not that experienced (at least he knew the rules - mostly). Helped by a couple of seasoned gamers on the rules advise, we were able to manage.
The tomb was located in centre of the battlefield, with woods surrounding it. A hill just in front of the Empire's left flank gave good visibility across the table and the far side of the tomb - the expected line of advance. I was expecting the two dwarf units of warriors to advance up into the gap between the tomb and woods (which they could do on either side of the table) and hold. This would protect their flanks, and the Grudge Stone carried by the commander would remove my ability to attack the rear of his unit. There was an organ gun and cannon opposite my left flank, and a unit of miners that would turn up at some point later.
I deployed my Outriders on the left flank, intending to move them forward as fast as possible to take out the artillery. They were supported by the swordsmen and hand gunner detachment that would advance over the hill; the hand gunners would then be able to see over the unit in front and fire at any incoming units. My artillery was located in the centre, the cannon with a direct line of sight to the enemy artillery, and the volley gun next to it (both the organ gun and volley guns would be out of range to fire at each other). The wizard was deployed with them, with a useful fireball spell that would help if the miners turned up unexpectedly. On my right was the main force; 20 spear men with the battle standard, and detachments of hand gunners and halberdiers.
Captain Ulrik von Lederhosen was the most experienced soldier in the force. General Corvinus had deployed him with the recruits in an attempt to add some degree of ability. Corvinus had been in no doubt as to the competency of Rinseuend the Wizard, "Ulrik, the man's an idiot. He'll get everyone killed if battle is joined. I can't put you in command, as I have my orders, but I can send you to carry the standard. Keep the men under control; once you are in a fight you'll be able to do what is needed to secure victory, but until then you;'ll have to do what the idiot orders, logical or not".
As Ulrik looked across the battle line, he realised what Corvinus had meant. His halberd detachment was barely able to manoeuvre, and their hand gunners were going to end up behind a nice safe wall, but would not have anything to shoot as the parent unit would be blocking the view. On the left, the hand gunners would be able to shoot over the heads of their comrades, but if the dwarf artillery could not be silenced quickly it was going to be a blood bath. Further more, the wizard had decided to stay with the artillery instead of with a unit. Wandering around making a target of himself was likely to end with him catching a cannonball with his teeth. Their forces were split, and if the Dwarven units stayed together they would be able to attack half the Empire force with their entire army.
I won the dice-off and elected to move first. The Outriders on the left charged forward, hoping to get out of the cannon's arc of fire. The swordsmen and gunners advanced over the hill, whilst on the right the spearmen and halberdiers advanced. The shooting was limited to the cannon firing at the enemy equivalent hiding in the wood. The gunner was spot on with his ranging, and narrowly missed the cannon, instead killing one of the gunners. First blood to the Empire!
The Dwarven army advanced, but surprisingly split it's force with one unit each side of the tomb to approach my two forces. The cannon elected to fire at my Outriders, and gave me my first important lesson of the day. The cannon shot either passes from front to back, or along a rank depending on the facing of the unit to the cannon. After checking, I realised to my horror that instead of the cannon hitting only one file as it passed through from the front, it was (technically) hitting from the side - and hitting every model. Unfortunately, the Dice Gods did not favour me at this time, and the shot did indeed bounce right through the unit, killing them all. The organ gun also opened fire at the swordsmen, but only two were were killed.
Turn two, and things were not looking so good. However, resolved to improve matters, the spearmen on the right manoeuvred themselves so that the halberdiers could support them when the approaching Dwarves charged (with spears, two ranks can fight except if they charge that turn - so my plan was to let the dwarves charge me, and counter-charge with the halberdiers). The swordsmen held their ground, as the gunners fired at the organ gun. The salvo only killed a crewmen, and they could see the remaining crew continue reloading the gun. My artillery was slightly more successful. Although the cannon again decapitated a crewmen, I was at least eventually going to silence the machine. The volley gun however was more successful, firing a dozen shots into the dwarf unit opposite. However the armour saved most of them and only a few were killed. The wizard sent a fireball rolling into the unit, but only singed a few beards.
The damn stunties continued to advance on their little short legs. the organ gun opened fire again, and the swordsmen disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Half the swordsmen ran panicking back towards the gun line - the rest had been slain. The hand gunners were unfazed and remained in place, taking careful aim at the volley gun, determined to wreak revenge on their fallen comrades.
Meanwhile the cannon returned fire at my artillery, a pattern that was to continue for the rest of the game. It was like watching tennis. The wizard wisely decided that being a valid target (albeit an ignored one so far) was likely to end his career prematurely, and that his presence was needed on the opposite flank and ran for cover. At least this time his fire ball managed to kill a dwarf, however this would be the last spell he was able to cast, as the innate resistance of the dwarves prevented him from casting through the remainder of the battle.
The volley gun, having seen the organ gun take apart the swordsmen, fired at the dwarven unit, determined to wreak as much havoc. Alas, a misfire was rolled on the second barrel, at which point all hell broke loose. Both remaining barrels loosed the maximum number of shots as the gun blew itself to pieces, killing the crew. however, the 26 shots at the dwarves resulted in the unit being decimated, leaving only the general, his champion and the musician.
"Bugger this for a game of soldiers!" the Champion said as the rest of the unit turned into a fine mist behind them, "We're out of here!". He turned, as did the musician on the other side of the general. The musician was looking at the remains of the horn he had in his hand - smashed to pieces by shrapnel that miraculously missed him. One look was enough. Without a word, each grabbed the General by an arm and ran, carrying him towards the safety of the woods, ignoring his angry cries "Put me down you bastards! Let me at 'em! Let me at em!"
On the other side of the tomb, the dwarves finally managed to get into charge range of the spearmen. They took the charge, as the halberdiers counter charged the unit's flank. The rank bonus of the swordsmen, plus having twice the numbers, meant that I won the combat; however the dwarves still managed to remain in the fight. Perhaps they didn't know what had happened on the other flank.
The second round of combat went more in my favour. In addition to killing more dwarves, they finally broke and ran. Both units ran them down, killing them all. However the miners had arrived nearby, and were in a position to charge the spearmen the following turn.
My gunners fired another salvo at the organ gun, now lining up at them. Their aim was true, and managed to kill the remaining crew, leaving the weapon useless.
The miners charged the spearmen, who elected to flee. The charge continued into the halberdiers, who were wiped out. The spearmen then failed to rally, and started making for the table edge.
Despite the victory over the dwarven warriors, the spearmen unit was ill-placed when the minors arrived. Threatened by a charge from the rear, the unit panicked and ran. It was all Ulrik could do to rein them in and return to something approaching order. Trust in their commander overcame the men's panic, and the unit reformed to face the miners.
With only the remaining miners effectively in play, verses the spearmen and two units of hand gunners (the artillery and Wizard not counting as scoring units), the Empire was declared victorious.
As the last dwarven warriors disappeared back into the tree line, a cheer went up from the Empire forces that, for now, drowned out the cries of the wounded. For now, they were the victors however each man knew it would be only a matter of time before they returned.
Ulrik walked over to the Rinseuend, who was still ducked down behind a particularly large tree. "Sir, the Dwarven forces have been driven away. They will return in greater numbers, so perhaps you should do whatever you need to do in this tomb." Wordlessly the wizard nodded, and regained his composure. He entered the tomb, whilst Ulrik posted pickets around the hastily formed camp.
It was going to be a long night.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Things not to say...
...to airport security: "I'm here to shoot a pilot"
From Aero-news.net
Report: Hollywood Director Detained By LAX Security
Ya Need To Watch What You Say Around Airports...
In Hollywood vernacular, a "pilot" is a proof-of-concept production to sell an idea for a TV show or movie. And what cameramen do with cameras is called "shooting" a movie. Perhaps airport security screeners in Los Angeles, CA need training on local vocabulary, or maybe they're just wound a little too tight.
Either way, Monsters and Critics reports a tale regarding director Mike Figgis, best known for his film "Leaving Las Vegas", in an encounter with security at Los Angeles International Airport. The story has Figgis being asked the purpose of his visit, and responding, "I'm here to shoot a pilot."
As you might imagine, completely un-hip security personnel are said to have detained the director for five hours until they finally consulted online sources to confirm the phrase's alternate meaning.
We're not completely sure whether this story isn't just an urban legend... but if it is, it's certainly a believable one!
FMI: www.lawa.org
From Aero-news.net
Report: Hollywood Director Detained By LAX Security
Ya Need To Watch What You Say Around Airports...
In Hollywood vernacular, a "pilot" is a proof-of-concept production to sell an idea for a TV show or movie. And what cameramen do with cameras is called "shooting" a movie. Perhaps airport security screeners in Los Angeles, CA need training on local vocabulary, or maybe they're just wound a little too tight.
Either way, Monsters and Critics reports a tale regarding director Mike Figgis, best known for his film "Leaving Las Vegas", in an encounter with security at Los Angeles International Airport. The story has Figgis being asked the purpose of his visit, and responding, "I'm here to shoot a pilot."
As you might imagine, completely un-hip security personnel are said to have detained the director for five hours until they finally consulted online sources to confirm the phrase's alternate meaning.
We're not completely sure whether this story isn't just an urban legend... but if it is, it's certainly a believable one!
FMI: www.lawa.org
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A Call to Arms
Well, this will be another entry title to avoid if you aren't interested in wargaming.
With the re-emergence of the Nemesis Crown in the forests of the Empire, I have been persuaded to join in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle campaign over the summer.
The first problem was, of course, which army to go for. This was tricky.
My first thought was to go for Night Goblins. Completely unreliable troops, and lots of random-but-potentially-lethal special options (squigs!). They would have made an interesting change from the Dark Angels, however one thing stopped me. Night Goblins are green. And black. And I have painted a lot of green and black troops.
Okay...
I've always liked the look of the undead armies, and very nearly ended up collecting an undead horde when I first got into gaming. Nowadays, there are two routes, Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings. The latter is an Egyptian feel to things, and concentrates mostly on skeletons and variations thereof. Vampire Counts allows other undead, but with both armies you need lots of troops...which fall apart (literally) once your commanders are killed.
To cut a long story short* I've gone for Empire troops. Not the most imaginative choice, perhaps, but more scope for a different colour scheme to other things I have, and there are some tactical challenges to using them.
Over the last couple of weeks I've picked up a couple of cheap sets from eBay, and with the freebies I looted at the weekend I've now got a reasonable starting force of 1,000 points.
All the troops I have are assembled and undercoated and I'll make a start on them this week.
* Too late!
With the re-emergence of the Nemesis Crown in the forests of the Empire, I have been persuaded to join in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle campaign over the summer.
The first problem was, of course, which army to go for. This was tricky.
My first thought was to go for Night Goblins. Completely unreliable troops, and lots of random-but-potentially-lethal special options (squigs!). They would have made an interesting change from the Dark Angels, however one thing stopped me. Night Goblins are green. And black. And I have painted a lot of green and black troops.
Okay...
I've always liked the look of the undead armies, and very nearly ended up collecting an undead horde when I first got into gaming. Nowadays, there are two routes, Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings. The latter is an Egyptian feel to things, and concentrates mostly on skeletons and variations thereof. Vampire Counts allows other undead, but with both armies you need lots of troops...which fall apart (literally) once your commanders are killed.
To cut a long story short* I've gone for Empire troops. Not the most imaginative choice, perhaps, but more scope for a different colour scheme to other things I have, and there are some tactical challenges to using them.
Over the last couple of weeks I've picked up a couple of cheap sets from eBay, and with the freebies I looted at the weekend I've now got a reasonable starting force of 1,000 points.
All the troops I have are assembled and undercoated and I'll make a start on them this week.
* Too late!
White Dwarf XXX
It seems that a lot of things are marking 30 years this year. As well as myself and Star Wars (released last week in 1977) the White Dwarf magazine has been running for thirty years as well.
GW were holding huge events all weekend, including a mega tank battle at the Bath store. This was fun, albeit total confusion. Jasper and I managed to field 21 vehicles in total (mostly wrecks and works in progress from me) and even then didn't have the highest count.
Jasper:
Leman Russ
Rhino
Dreadnought (good ol' Bomb Magnet himself!)
Mine:
Land Raider
3 Razorbacks
1 Whirlwind
Dreadnought
2 Leman Russ
Chimera
Predator
3 Land Speeders
1 Attack bike
Wrecks:
Predator, 3 Rhinos, Vindicator
The game itself was manic; Jasper and I ended up overseeing our end of the table, as we had eight grots taking part who weren't to hot on the game mechanics. Fun, but hard work. We managed to stop one little tyke from bullying smaller players into using his (loose) interpretation of the rules - surprisingly this meant he didn't kill things as easily, whilst his opponents had a chance at killing us. Once we realised what he was doing, out losses began mounting at a more realistic rate. Total losses were around 5-6 of the above list, whilst we racked up something similar. This was despite our Slanesh allies going nuts and attacking us by mistake (losing a Razorback) and my total inability to kill a group of bikers (firing the entire arsenal from the Land Raider, Leman Russ, Whirlwind and two Razor backs at them, for no kills). Matt fared better, as he was able to successfully roll the dice.
"Man of the Match" has to go to the little girl who had 'borrowed' two of her Dad's Carnifex models to add to our side. These are biologically engineered creatures from the Tyranid army (think Alien) who scour planets for biological matter to use (think Independence Day). The creatures are usually nasty enough, but these guys ripped through at least five tanks without taking a wound. She had great fun rolling all the dice and removing the 'dead' tanks.
After two hours of play, and having helped our side take out almost all the enemy at our end of the table (mopping up, really, after the Carnifex rampage), our opponents decided they wanted to defect; so Jasper and I packed our force away, and left the survivors to it.
During the fun and games, I managed to get several Empire sprues of plastics (enough for a couple of complete units!) whilst Matt has now started his Tau (well, once he finds his feet).
So a fun day, even if rather geeky.
GW were holding huge events all weekend, including a mega tank battle at the Bath store. This was fun, albeit total confusion. Jasper and I managed to field 21 vehicles in total (mostly wrecks and works in progress from me) and even then didn't have the highest count.
Jasper:
Leman Russ
Rhino
Dreadnought (good ol' Bomb Magnet himself!)
Mine:
Land Raider
3 Razorbacks
1 Whirlwind
Dreadnought
2 Leman Russ
Chimera
Predator
3 Land Speeders
1 Attack bike
Wrecks:
Predator, 3 Rhinos, Vindicator
The game itself was manic; Jasper and I ended up overseeing our end of the table, as we had eight grots taking part who weren't to hot on the game mechanics. Fun, but hard work. We managed to stop one little tyke from bullying smaller players into using his (loose) interpretation of the rules - surprisingly this meant he didn't kill things as easily, whilst his opponents had a chance at killing us. Once we realised what he was doing, out losses began mounting at a more realistic rate. Total losses were around 5-6 of the above list, whilst we racked up something similar. This was despite our Slanesh allies going nuts and attacking us by mistake (losing a Razorback) and my total inability to kill a group of bikers (firing the entire arsenal from the Land Raider, Leman Russ, Whirlwind and two Razor backs at them, for no kills). Matt fared better, as he was able to successfully roll the dice.
"Man of the Match" has to go to the little girl who had 'borrowed' two of her Dad's Carnifex models to add to our side. These are biologically engineered creatures from the Tyranid army (think Alien) who scour planets for biological matter to use (think Independence Day). The creatures are usually nasty enough, but these guys ripped through at least five tanks without taking a wound. She had great fun rolling all the dice and removing the 'dead' tanks.
After two hours of play, and having helped our side take out almost all the enemy at our end of the table (mopping up, really, after the Carnifex rampage), our opponents decided they wanted to defect; so Jasper and I packed our force away, and left the survivors to it.
During the fun and games, I managed to get several Empire sprues of plastics (enough for a couple of complete units!) whilst Matt has now started his Tau (well, once he finds his feet).
So a fun day, even if rather geeky.
Friday, May 18, 2007
From the Front Line - Beginings
This was something I put together in preparation for a WH40K campaign running soon at the local GW. As the Dark Angels Commander, this is the background to our forces being present.
Beginnings
The Dark Angels battle fleet had been shadowing the Imperial ship for months. Years of investigation by the Dark Angels agents across a hundred worlds had led to a full third of the Chapter being re-deployed. The opportunity to locate another Fallen was too great to miss. However the Eldar surprise attack on their quarry had complicated matters.
Deep in the bowels of the ship, in the most sacred Sanctum, five cowled figures stood in a circle. The air was thick with incense, shrouding the men as much as their hooded robes. The glow of vidscreens added a haunting backlight that only made the faces in the hoods even darker.
The door hissed open, and another figure arrived. The swirl of air allowed a brief glimpse of blue power armour emblazoned with runes and psychic hexes.
“Is it true?” one of the hoods asked of the new comer.
“Brothers, it is confirmed. Some images were intercepted just before the Eldar attacked. They show a Mark I Aquila-class shuttle leaving the Corvinus as she came under fire. Markings are consistent with those used by the Legion.”
“Then it is one of the Fallen?”
“Unconfirmed.”
“What happened to the shuttle?”
“Our observerators saw the shuttle hit and enter the atmosphere. Assessment is that it was badly damaged, but not critically. A 48% chance of survival for crew and passengers. 89% for Adeptus Astartes. Best estimate for a landing point is ...” He gestured at a vidscreen, “Here. Close to this city.”
“Then the time for secrecy is over. It matters not that we are detected now.” One of the figure straightened up, and threw back his hood. “We should deploy forces before further Imperial forces arrive.”
“They may already be on their way. A distress call was sent before out Astropath could intercept it. There are at least two Imperial Guard fleets in the area, including Astartes reinforcements. The Ultramarines 2nd fleet is closest.”
“Very well. Send word to our brothers. Deploy the Ravenwing to the crash site. Prepare support forces to launch a drop pod assault and establish a beach head as soon as possible. And ready my armour. I shall over see this operation personally.”
“Yes, Master.”
Beginnings
The Dark Angels battle fleet had been shadowing the Imperial ship for months. Years of investigation by the Dark Angels agents across a hundred worlds had led to a full third of the Chapter being re-deployed. The opportunity to locate another Fallen was too great to miss. However the Eldar surprise attack on their quarry had complicated matters.
Deep in the bowels of the ship, in the most sacred Sanctum, five cowled figures stood in a circle. The air was thick with incense, shrouding the men as much as their hooded robes. The glow of vidscreens added a haunting backlight that only made the faces in the hoods even darker.
The door hissed open, and another figure arrived. The swirl of air allowed a brief glimpse of blue power armour emblazoned with runes and psychic hexes.
“Is it true?” one of the hoods asked of the new comer.
“Brothers, it is confirmed. Some images were intercepted just before the Eldar attacked. They show a Mark I Aquila-class shuttle leaving the Corvinus as she came under fire. Markings are consistent with those used by the Legion.”
“Then it is one of the Fallen?”
“Unconfirmed.”
“What happened to the shuttle?”
“Our observerators saw the shuttle hit and enter the atmosphere. Assessment is that it was badly damaged, but not critically. A 48% chance of survival for crew and passengers. 89% for Adeptus Astartes. Best estimate for a landing point is ...” He gestured at a vidscreen, “Here. Close to this city.”
“Then the time for secrecy is over. It matters not that we are detected now.” One of the figure straightened up, and threw back his hood. “We should deploy forces before further Imperial forces arrive.”
“They may already be on their way. A distress call was sent before out Astropath could intercept it. There are at least two Imperial Guard fleets in the area, including Astartes reinforcements. The Ultramarines 2nd fleet is closest.”
“Very well. Send word to our brothers. Deploy the Ravenwing to the crash site. Prepare support forces to launch a drop pod assault and establish a beach head as soon as possible. And ready my armour. I shall over see this operation personally.”
“Yes, Master.”
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