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.