So I will first thank Jon for his hard work writing up
the battle report, he has done a wonderful job and saved me a few hours work.
This report will provide plenty of fluff and a pretty in
depth battle report, I have presented the fluff from both the Dark Elf
viewpoint (Jons Army in Purple) and The
Empire viewpoint (my army in Blue) with the
2 stories interweaving and hopefully setting the stage for future battles and a
background for my army. We won’t be offended if you skip the fluff, it will all
be in colour to make it easier to do so. Here’s
a link to Jons original post:
Jon was trying out the new Dark Elf army book for the 1st
time and I was playing my 1st official battle.
Scenario:
Battle line.
Dark Elf Army
List:
Lords:
Ashniel Emberrain, Supreme Sorceress Level 4
Tome of Furion
Black Amulet
The Other Tricker's Shard
Lore of Dark Magic
Black Dragon
Heroes:
Vaedra Chillslayer, Master (Mistress)
Battle Standard Bearer
Lance
Sea Dragon Cloak
Heavy Armour
Shield
Cold One
Razor Banner
Naxva Nightcaller, Sorceress
Dispel Scroll
Lore of Metal
Core:
20x Uraithen Repeater Crossbowmen (I refuse to call them
Darkshards, there was already a much better word for them in the fluff.)
Shields
Naliryan Kinkiller, Musician
Standard Bearer
20x Uraithen Repeater Crossbowmen (See above.)
Shields
Ilnar Dirgeblood, Musician
Standard Bearer
5x Dark Riders
Repeater Crossbows
Shields
Musician
5x Dark Riders
Repeater Crossbows
Shields
Musician
Special:
War Hydra
Fiery Breath
War Hydra
Fiery Breath
10x Cold One Knights
Dreadknight Ramene Witcarver
Standard Bearer
Musician
Banner of Swiftness
30x Executioners
Draichmaster Rakir
Musician
Standard Bearer
6x Shades
Additional Hand Weapons
5x Warlocks
Empire Army List:
Lords:
Arch Lector – Angus Beck
Great Weapon
Light Armour
Armour of Meteoric Iron
Dawnstone
Ruby Ring of Ruin
Battle Wizard Lord Level 4 – Tobias
Lore of Shadows
Power Stone
Talisman of Preservation
Heroes:
Captain of the Empire – Alexander Hanz
Battle Standard Bearer
Full Plate Armour
Enchanted Shield
Talisman of Endurance
Wizard Level 2 – Gais
Dispel Scroll
Master Engineer - Leonardo Pickwick
Warrior Priest – Leon
Gauss
Heavy Armour
Shield
Dragonhelm
Talisman of Protection
Warrior Priest – Hrolf Halfdane
Heavy Armour
Shield
Warhorse
Trickster's Helm
Witch Hunter – Victor Karver
Brace of Pistols
Helm of the Skavenslayer
Core:
10x Archers
10x Crossbowmen
40x Halberdiers
Shields
Full Command
5x Knights
Musician
11x Inner Circle Knights
Full Command
Rangers Standard
Special:
Great Cannon
29x Greatswords
Full Command
Rare:
Hellblaster Volley Gun
Celestial Hurricanum
Steam Tank
The fire was crackling loudly as
a damp log was settling in the fireplace, providing the only light in the
study. Duke Albert Hanz was sat staring into the fire, his scars accentuated by
the firelight and his eye patch was jet black as if it was sucking all of the
darkness from the room. A soft knock came from the doorway. “Come in
Alexander...” Alexander entered, his auburn hair matching his fathers but his
frame was much larger. Albert gestured to the chair next to him “Sit.” The
chair creaked under his weight as he lowered himself. Albert started, “I have
received news from the grand master of the cult of Hanann, Hrolf Halfdane. His
scouts have spied a Dark Elf raiding force that has landed at wreckers point.
He is unsure of the numbers and their motives as of yet but has informed us that
they are marching east. Do you understand what this means Alexander?” He turned
to his son, his face stern showing the discipline and concern that comes from
centuries of warfare.
Alexander considered the
information he was given for a moment and answered, “It seems that they want to
invade Nordland discreetly, that must be why they have risked coming ashore at
wreckers point with a vanguard force. They must be heading directly east using
the coastline to protect thier flank to
seize Salzenmund unaware and therefore create a foothold for a full invasion
into the empire.”
“Very good son, very good.
Salzenmund has mostly natural defences, it would be easy to take the city
unaware under the cover of night with an elite force, a task Dark Elves will be
very capable of and it is for this reason that I have called you here. You will
take most of my army, march west to Hargendorf and defeat or delay the Dark
Elves. I will head west to Salzenmund with a small force of knights to inform Count Gausser of the potential attack and allow him time
to prepare a defence for Salzenmund. If the battle is won, send a rider to
Salzenmund with news for the city will stand vigilant awaiting the attack.”
Alexander nodded after receiving his orders, Proud that he was the son chosen
to lead his fathers men. His father continued, “And do not fret son, Halfdane
is skirting the force to prevent them wreaking havoc throughout western
Nordland at the smaller settlements, when the time comes he will join you in
the field. I have also sent word to our
allies so you shall not stand alone, the Empire will prevail, Nordland will
assure it.”
As he finished both men got to their feet, understanding that this
may possibly be the last time they ever spoke as they left each other to
prepare for war.
____________________________
Alexander and his force were making
their way west, the journey was arduous but this was mostly down to the heat
coming from the midsummer sun. His contingent wasn’t the largest but his men
were eager. He led his fathers largest regiment the black stripes, the unit was
one of the best trained in all of Nordland but were struggling with the warmth
whilst carrying all of their war gear. Alexander tried his best to ignore the
chatting of discomfort. They were trying to keep pace with a steam tank his
family had recently bought from Nuln. It was huge and he could finally
understand why his father was so proud of the behemoth, it led the force like
the tip of a lance.
His fathers personal bodyguard of
greatswords were following closely behind, they were charged with guarding the
Hurricanum sent by the Celestial wizards; Alexander still didn’t know how he
was able to obtain one of the orders most prized relic but he was grateful for
it none the less, he was less grateful of the wizard that accompanied it, he
went by the name of Gais and he seemed like a bumbling idiot. Muttering
constantly about cogs and twists, snow and storms; he was completely oblivious
to his surroundings. Alexander was unhappy to have a wizard in the army but if
he had to accompany the Hurricanum he would not interfere with his fathers
plan. At the tail of the army were his
fathers war machines, the Helblaster Volley Gun and Cannon, they were guarded
by crossbowmen and led by the eccentric Leonardo Pickwick. The artillery was
followed by the knights of Hanann, the inner circle knights led by Hrolf
Halfdane himself. They had not seen the raiders since first discovering their
landing but they had provided protection to the smaller settlements as they
said they would.
During the march East the force had
come across a small band of traveling warrior priests accompanied by a Witch
hunter. After facing the inquisition of the more senior ranking priest, Angus
Beck; Alexander was able explain what the armies purpose was, they then offered
their services to him.
Ashniel Emberrain stood with
her apprentice Naxva and the army’s officers, overlooking the valley, as the
scouts and outriders made their reports. Several of the pale, raven-haired
elves shifted within their armour and kheitans. Druchii of Karond Kar were
accustomed to frigid winds and frequent storms of icy rain, not the mildly warm
climates of the old world. Ashniel smirked maliciously at their discomfort. Only
the Cold One Knights seemed immune, having already applied the toxic vrahsha
serum to their skin, numbing their bodies of sensation and allowing them to be
accepted as pack mates by their reptilian war beasts.
The Dreadlord Vallash’s twin
sister Vaedra Chillslayer stood foremost among them, with her hair pulled up in
a number of tight braids, and a cowl covering her mouth and neck. The rumours
said that when she went to bargain with their older brother Kalusyr, he slit
her throat and immediately sealed the wound with the burning vrahsha. Thus she
was forced to live on with the handicap of muteness, and even swallowing food
or drink would be a monumental struggle. Given that Druchii society was bent
upon showing no weakness, the insult that she was forced to bear was profound.
Despising Kalusyr and being unable to have true command, her loyalty and that
of her retainers to her twin brother was assured. If that was through Vallash’s
artifice, he was cunning and dangerous indeed, Ashniel mused with a smile.
Vaedra signed a few sharp
hand gestures to Ramene Witcarver, commander of the Chillslayer cavalry, who
stood a deferential distance behind and to her left. He nodded and turned his
patrician face to Ashniel. “As a High Sorceress of the Witch King’s convents,
seniority of command belongs to you, Lady Ashniel.”
Ashniel looked at the other
faces of note. There were the minor nobles in command of the Uraithen infantry
regiments, Ilnar and Naliryan “Kinkiller”. The other individual stood away from
the others with naked steel in his hands, held point-down into the earth.
Rakir, Draichmaster of the temple’s executioner contingent, disdained the use
of a helmet. His long hair was tied back from his sharply-boned face, and he
stared with anticipation at what was soon to be his killing field. He belonged
to the temple priestesses. The Uraithen belonged to their Dreadlord, and Ramene
and the Chillslayer knights would follow Vaedra. Ashniel may outrank them all
in Naggaroth, but here, her apprentice and a small number of cursed illegal
warlocks she had subjugated were the only resources that truly belonged to her.
And she was not about to place any trust in Naxva. Ambition was expected and
encouraged among the sisters of the convent, but that girl's insidiousness and hubris
didn't sit well with Ashniel. She'd seen it before. It wouldn't be long before
she coveted her mistress's position. Perhaps there was a way to deal with that
very problem here.
“I’ve heard that you’ve been
fighting in wars for millennia Lord Ramene,” She said with an appraising look.
“By all means, please showcase what you know. I’m sure we’d all benefit to see
the fruits of your experience.” Her tone was full of feigned admiration that
she didn't bother to disguise.
Ramene Witcarver turned a
questioning eye to his mistress Vaedra, who merely gave her consent with a
dismissive wave of her hand. Politicking bored him terribly, and he got
straight to the task at hand.
“The scouts report that the
enemy force appeared disorganised and fatigued from a forced march. It looks
like the humans have taken the bait and mustered this battalion at a moment’s
notice to respond to our raids, while they gather an army from the larger
cities. They didn’t even have any scouts or outriders of their own from what we
could tell. However, they are dragging some war machines behind them. From
their description, they sound like the black powder weapons they’ve been
copying from the dwarves. They’re unreliable contraptions but I want them
destroyed sooner rather than later. It will take them time to set up and we
need to get there first. We’ll take the knights west around the woods. The
riders will see if they can draw out any enemy horsemen so that we can lie in
wait for them with the Cold Ones. The scouts will go on ahead to create further
confusion. With that taken care of, we can flank them and take their artillery
apart at our leisure. Therefore we need to keep the enemy’s main line occupied
elsewhere.
“I gather that we’ll be doing
the occupying?” Naliryan Kinkiller inquired with an arched eyebrow. His angular
face was accentuated by his hair, tied up into a flamboyant double topknot that
would have been more fitting for a corsair or other dockside cutthroat.
“Correct,” Ramene replied.
“The Uraithen will make a cautious advance into the valley just enough to get
into range with their repeater crossbows. Take the beastmasters with you. I’m
certain their charges will help gain the humans’ attention. Rakir, I want you
and your executioners in the centre, but you will maintain your position until
the enemy has committed itself.
The Draichmaster turned
towards the rest of them, as though noticing them for the first time, with a
contemptuous look in his slate-grey eyes. His voice growled through the
chainmail cowl covering the lower half of his face. “One does not make the
Bloody-Handed God wait for his due.”
“No, however, I think it
would be wise to keep the Pale Queen waiting for us in Mirai a little longer
rather than acting hastily,” Ramene responded with impatience.
Ashniel threw a flare of
black fire into the sky and all eyes were on her once more. “A sound stratagy
Lord Ramene,” She replied with amusement. “In that case we’d better get
moving.”
A dark and serpentine shape
consumed them with shadow as it blocked out the sun above. Summoned by its’
mistress, Phlegathon the black dragon struck the earth close enough to make a
few of the men brace themselves against the downdraft of its’ leathery wings.
It laid one outstretched across the ground so that Ashniel might climb it like
a stair. As she straddled the great beast’s neck, it surveyed the valley ahead
and the creatures on the other side with a predatory stare and gave a low,
rumbling hiss.
Before the monster rose into
the sky once more, Ashniel looked down at the others. “Have Naxva accompany the
infantry regiments,” She called. “I’m certain they’ll find her talents most
useful.” And whether they do or don't, she thought, any number of misfortunates
can occur on the battlefield.
“The scouts have returned
with the vanguard knights” shouted a soldier in the front rank of the
halberdiers. Alexander questioned them but neither had spotted the enemy.
Alexander couldn’t help but smile, ‘He
will beat the dark Elves to the battlefield he has in mind and would have
plenty of time to prepare his men’. Out of the nowhere a Grey wizard
appeared in front of him, a trail of dense smoke wrapped around him. He turned
to Alexander,“Prepare yourself the enemy
is upon you!”
Alexander was shaken, his scouts had reported no enemy,
as he was about to shout his orders a hail of metal bolts poured over his men,
he then realised he was caught in a trap.
Deployment
Our battlefield was set up by our games master. It was left
relatively open, as the realm of battle board has lots of slopes that aren't
always kind to large numbers of men on movement trays. It was set up as a
valley with a broad hill with an arcane ruin on the west and another hill which
had a modular hill placed on top on the east, so it had enough height to block
line of sight. A large wood was placed off-centre and turned out to be a giant
venom thicket.
The Pictures should show you where all the units are. As for
characters, The dark elves placed their BSB with the Cold One Knights and the
Metal Sorceress with the Crossbows on the East. I placed his Mounted Warrior
Priest with the Inner Circle Knights and my Engineer loose with the artillery
but close enough to them & the Crossbows to benefit from Look Out Sir. My
Heavens Wizard was with the Archers and my Shadow Wizard was inside the
Greatswords with the Warrior Priest on foot. My Arch Lector, BSB and Witch
Hunter were all in the Halberdiers.
For spells he had Doombolt, Bladewind, Word of Pain and Soul
Stealer on the Dark Sorceress, and Searing doom for his Metal Sorceress.
My Heavens Wizard had Curse of the Midnight Wind and
Iceshard Blizzard. We forget some of the Shadow Wizard's spells but he
definitely had Mindrazor and Miasma. We think he also had Penumbral Pendulum
and Withering.
[Looking at the photos now, it does appear that my right Dark Riders are
a bit too far forward after their vanguard move, but the end result would have
been the same!]
Dark Elves Turn 1 (From Jons perspective)
The first thing I wanted to do was take down his war
machines, so I was aggressive with the left flank and more cautious on the
right to see how he would respond. I also moved my right Dark Riders to flank
charge the Archers and hopefully put one of his wizards down early.
The magic phase was quite dismal. We ended up with 6 power
dice to 6 dispel dice. I was told the Helblaster could use the engineer's
ballistic skill, so I lowered it with Word of Pain which he failed to dispel.
The warlocks then cast Soul Blight with irresistible force to drop their
toughness for the shooting phase, losing one of their number to the magical
backlash. In hindsight I should probably have just Doombolted something.
In shooting, both the Shades and the left Dark Riders fired
on his crossbows, killing 5, but they passed their panic test. The right Dark
Riders fired on the Archers and killed 4. They also passed their panic test but
only due to the BSB reroll. My two Crossbow units kill just 5 Halberdiers
partly due to prior advice to take shields for just such a rainy day!
The horns shrieked as the
infantry phalanxes came to a halt. Steel breastplates, vambraces and mail
shined coldly over violet kheitans and dalakoi, and banners bearing the rune of
Ereth Khial fluttered in the gentle breeze. It was an eccentric philosophy, but
their Dreadlord Vallash venerated the pale queen of the underworld just as much
as the war god Khaine. Seeking the favour of the latter in battle so that he
might find victory, and that of the former if he did not. He planned to lead
armies to war forever. Be it in this world or the next.
"That's close enough you
whoresons!" Naliryan Kinkiller cursed as the infantry settled into their
positions. He looked at the enemy force approaching them at a brisk pace and
spat into the weeds. "I can smell them from here already." The jibe
elicited sibilant chuckles from beneath the full-face helms of his men. He
signalled Ilnar's unit with a blast of his horn, who responded by mirroring the
sound. "Sa'an'ishar!" At the bellowed command, the Uraithen's front
rank knelt down and both they and the second rank took aim. Naliryan drew his
sword and held it high. "fire!" He snarled and swept the blade down.
Empire Turn 1 (from my perspective)
I was on the back foot straight away, I had no idea that
his army could close the gap so quickly and this mistake pretty much cost me
the game immediately! My idea of using the Helblaster to protect a flank was
going to fail and I could do nothing about it!
My reaction to the speed was to close the gap between my men
and his but also to keep the crossbows at bay to help weather the next 80 shots
at fairly lightly armoured troops. I kept the knights back as to avoid the line
of sight of his metal witch. I then slammed the steam tank into the dark riders
to stop them from causing havoc in the back field as best I could. My knights
had the ranger banner but it failed to help them and their pursuit of the dark
riders on the left flank was an utter failure.
In the magic phase I had 7 power dice to his 5 dispel and
completely shut down the Crossbow's. I combo’d both Iceshard Blizzard and
Midnight Wind on the unit to my right and miasma on the left, he failed to
dispel anything. At least magic was doing as I had wanted!
The shooting phase... absolutely sucked! My cannon aimed for
his BSB but he passed the Look Out Sir roll and lost only one regular cold one knight.
My Helblaster targeted the shades and jammed once, the engineer reroll jammed
again!! making just 5 shots that killed only 3 of the shades, they then passed
their panic test. They were in trouble! The Crossbows picked off one more of
the Dark Riders.
The combat phase resulted in the Steam Tank making 8 impact
hits on the right Dark Rider unit, destroying them completely.
Alexander never expected the
Dark Elves to be so quick, ‘how? How
could they have covered so much ground?!’ His deliberation was costing
lives and Angus Beck strode forward, shouting orders left and right, “FACE THE
ENEMY! FORM YOUR RANKS! SHOW YOUR COURAGE AND EMBRACE SIGMAR!!” His confidence
demanded obedience from the soldiers and they rushed to form their ranks, and
began to engage the raiders.
The grey wizard Tobias created a
thick fog around himself that he controlled as if it was merely a puppet, it
surged towards the crossbowmen yanking at their arms and legs causing every
action they attempted to become extremely laborious. The celestial wizard Gais
on the other hand had raised his staff to the heavens and almost instantly the
sky became dark and the temperature dropped significantly, an Ice storm had
been created and the ferocious weather severely affected the elves ability to
fire their weapons accurately.
On the left flank Hrolf Halfdane
and Leonardo were dealing with the vanguard force and being caught off guard
had left them slow to react. They failed to catch the enemy riders and the
black powder weapons were being operated with clumsy hands as they failed to
fire a full volley killing only a handful of elves.
Dark Elves Turn 2
With their shooting ability reduced, I swift reformed my
Crossbows to make some room for the hydras and also to form ranks for the melee
that would soon come. My Shades charged the Helblaster and the Warlocks slammed
into the flank of the Crossbows. My Dark Riders rallied and once again moved to
block his knights, while my own waited on the hill. I was still nervous about
the Steam Tank, but I found I could now move my dragon sorceress behind his
main line to cause some serious damage on a number of targets. Originally I was
going to throw my hydras out as a lure to set up some counter charges when an
idea came into my head...
In the magic phase it was 7 dice to 6. First I used Word of
Pain on the Halberds which he dispelled. Next I hit them with an irresistible
Bladewind. I lost one more Warlock and wounded my Metal Sorceress from Magical
Feedback but my Supreme Sorceress saved her wound with her black amulet and 16
Halberdiers got shredded.
Then the shooting phase came and many, many more infantry
died. The triple breath weapon crossfire resulted in wounding the Witch Hunter
and killing 6 Halberds and 12 greatswords. The Crossbows, being so cursed in
his turn, expectedly accomplished nothing.
Then combat came. The Shades killed the Helblaster crew and
the Warlocks killed all of the crossbows without even so much as a fight and
overran into the cannon. That just left his Steam Tank as the only main
headache left to me in my mind...
Ashniel laughed at the storms of
hail, strong winds and thick fog that the human mages had conjured. And even
more so as the Uraithen, men of Karond Kar no less, struggled to continue
firing. Many bolts flew, but they fell wildly off target. "What a clever
little magic trick," She giggled as though watching an animal perform an
amusing trick. "But let me show you how power is truly meant to be wielded!"
She shrieked, and followed the threat with a stream of arcane words. She
leeched power from the winds of magic and from another source. As she swept her
staff towards the men below, more storm clouds gathered above. Rain fell upon
the humans that was neither water nor ice, but solid, wickedly-edged, black
shards that cut like glass. That's when the screaming began in earnest.
Naxva Nightcaller gasped as she
felt her mistress's spell manifest. She clutched her chest in agony, and leaned
heavily upon her staff. So much power had fed into the invocation that she felt
a part of her own life energy being sapped with it.
Empire Turn 2
As Luck would have it when generating steam points, my
greed/desperation was punished, and the steam tank decided it was going to go
bang.
I charged the small knight unit into the right most Hydra
and The halberdiers charged the left side hydra, I kept the greatswords back
just to protect the flank of the unit and also because I fully aware of what
executioners are capable of. The Hurricanum and archer unit crept up behind to
continue their support. I charged and
caught the left side dark riders with the inner circle knights but failed to
reform and thus sealed their doom. In the name of fun and a lack of anything
useful to do I charged an extremely angry engineer into the shades just to see
what happened.
My magic phase was 8 power to 5 dispel. The Shadow Wizard
casts Mindrazor on the Halberdiers and scored irresistible force with a
Dimensional Cascade. I used the lore attribute to switch the wizard's position
with the warrior priest, so I would only kill greatswords and not halberdiers
as well. The wizard escaped with only losing a single wound and losing one
power die. 6 more Greatswords bit the dust though. My Arch Lector then used the
Ruby Ring of Ruin to fireball the left crossbow regiment which killed 4. I
decided to try out the Celestial Hurricanum on the Crossbows too, but It was
dispelled.
In his shooting phase the Archers shot the only target in
range which was the right Crossbow unit, killing 1.
The Warlocks naturally finished off the cannon and reformed,
and likewise with the Shades and Engineer. In fact they hit and wounded with
all 6 attacks, so I was dead as dead gets! He actually thought the Halberds
might fluff their chance when they only hit the hydra 6 times, but probability
won out and they wounded the beast exactly 5 times. They overran 8 inches,
stopping short in the face of my Crossbows. My glorious and knightly charge to
kill the other hydra didn't go so well. Despite hitting 4 times they managed to
wound it only once. With the hydra's remaining attacks it scored 6 hits and 5
wounds, while I saved 2 of them. 3 knights lost their lives despite their
courage. With no banner the combat was a draw and the hydra Combat Reformed to
face the survivors.
The Steam tank crushed the
riders and then started to turn towards the main battleline but the machine
experienced a malfunction and from nowhere it exploded leaving only a burning
metallic husk behind.
The men had continued their
advance despite the evil magic and poor luck they had been faced with, they
were closing in on the enemy but not a single one among them could have
prepared themselves for what they were about to engage. Two hulking monsters
broke free from the Elven battle line, spitting acid over the ranks of men,
many died but those that stood standing pressed harder to avenge their fallen
comrades.
Tobias turned his attention to
the beast and the fog he had conjured began surrounding Alexander and his men,
“What are you doing wizard! How dare you betray the Empi..!” Alexander was
about to finish his sentence when the fog began to dart forward as if to stab
at the monster before it. It screamed in pain and collapsed in a dead heap. The
men cheered and rushed onwards towards the enemy.
Alexander glanced to the left
flank and could see it was clearly overran, Hrolf was trying his best to
control the flow of battle but it became obvious his efforts were in vain.
Dark Elves Turn 3
Now it was time to put the poor humans out of their misery.
The Cold One Knights charged the Inner Circle Knights in their exposed flank.
The Executioners surged forwards into the remaining Greatswords but lost 3
after 16 dangerous terrain tests going through the venom thicket. Ashniel the
Supreme Sorceress and her pet monster charged the flank of the Celestial
Hurricanum. I was going to keep my Repeater Crossbows ranked up and could have
double teamed the remaining Greatswords, which probably would have put them
down for good. However, after being prompted by the games master, I decided to
prolong their agony by swift reforming and backing up 3" to fill them with
as many bolts as possible, both in my shooting phase and as a charge reaction
when they came at me.
The winds of magic and channels yielded 9 power dice to 5
dispel dice. I inflicted Word of Pain on the Greatswords dropping their weapon
skill by 2. I was hoping to lower it to 0 but it didn't turn out to be
necessary. Next the Supreme Sorceress
tried to Doombolt the Archers and the Wizard they were protecting but he
stopped it with his dispel scroll. He was unable to stop me again, however,
when the Warlocks followed suit and hit them 10 times for 7 wounds. The Archers
were obliterated and left a poor, gravely wounded Wizard behind...
...who was then picked off by a fluke shot from a Shade who
was found to be in range with his crossbow.
Gais had not foreseen these
events, he doubted himself and his time within the celestial order. He could
hear screams of pain all around and the sounds of hooves approaching; as he
turned to flee the bolt had struck him. It pierced his lung and his in his
dying thoughts realised that no man should be able to predict his death and was
grateful for its release.
Collectively the 2 Repeater Crossbow regiments put 11 more
halberdiers into the dirt, leaving just the command group and the 3 characters!
Then the bloodbath arrived and the Executioners hit 17
times, wounding with all of them! Despite allocating a few attacks to the
Shadow Wizard, his talisman saved all but one. Leaving him wounded for the
second time but still alive. The same could not be said for the Warrior Priest
who accepted my Draichmaster's challenge and got Killing Blowed. After watching
every man but himself die, the Shadow Wizard fled and displayed a most impressive
pair of running legs. He outran the Executioners and made it just past the
Black Dragon. The Executioners pursuit roll took them into contact with the
Celestial Hurricanum, and they promptly helped to smash that up too. Every
attack my Cold One Knights made found their mark but he managed to save 4 even
with the Razor Banner. That meant 7 of the Empire's Inner Circle Knights were
impaled upon barbed lances. Vaedra, the Battle Standard Bearer with them also
challenged the mounted Warrior Priest to a challenge and skewered him like a
pig on a spit! The remaining 4 Knights fled and managed to escape pursuit close
to the edge of the field. Up on the hill, the hydra crushed one more knight but
the survivor was made of sterner stuff than those of the Inner Circle and
battled on!
Ramene Witcarver sought the
carcass of the man his lance had struck. Once he identified the right one from
the pennant that was still threaded through it's torso, he dismounted and began
hacking the head free with his sword. The heavy footfalls of Cold Ones brought
his attention back up, as the knights who'd given chase began returning.
"Did you make your pursuit look convincing?" He asked.
"As you say, my lord."
"Good. By the time they
bring word of what happened here to the cities and dispatch a real army,
Dreadlord Vallash and the other force will have already raided the outlying
settlements and rounded up a fortune in flesh. And we'll all have boarded the
Black Ark and left further to the northeast before the humans arrive and
realise the truth."
Empire Turn 3
[By this point things looked so
bad for the Empire army that our games master stopped bothering to take notes,
so commentary will be quite brief from now on. But end game absurdity was going
to follow.]
The Inner Circle Knights failed to rally and continued to
run off the board. The Shadow Wizard also continued to run with superhuman
speed. The remaining infantry despite their devastating losses refused to panic
and charged the rightmost Crossbow unit with the Sorceress, only losing the
Halberdier command group to the stand and shoot reaction. That left just the
Battle Standard Bearer, the Arch Lector and a wounded Witch Hunter. I was
reminded that the Empire army now consisted of 5 men and a horse. And one of
those men was running for his life.
My Witch Hunter attempted to challenge the Sorceress who
refused to be part of such foolishness. The Uraithen (champion) finished the
Witch Hunter off, but through a combination of armour and magical items
protecting them, they failed to wound either the Arch Lector or the Captain
with the banner. They slew 3 or 4 of the Elves in return, he lost the combat. And then failed his morale test (He may have
forgotten that they still had steadfast!) and rolled abysmally for my flee
distance. The whole unit and the Sorceress were then routed by the 2 men! Then his Hydra not only fails to kill the lone
knight, but is wounded in response by the horse! It still stuck around though
thanks to being in range of the Supreme Sorceress's inspiring presence.
Hrolf Halfdane and a 2 of his
cult riders had managed to make their escape, they were being pursued by the
cold ones but his only concern was warning the Elector Count and General Hanz
about the Dark elf force that would be approaching the city. He sent a silent
prayer to Sigmar for the fallen men and battle brothers but continued to make
haste for Salzenmund.
Naxva heard Ilnar ordering his
men to keep firing. No matter how many humans fell, however, the rest kept
coming with dauntless determination. They were close enough to see the whites
of their eyes now. She was about to spit a curse that would turn their armour
into molten slag, when her concentration was broken. One of the lumpen beasts
in a long, tan coat was pointing his sword right at her and shouting in his
guttural language. She stepped back behind the ranks of the Uraithen.
"Deal with that stinking creature!" She snapped at the men around
her. They moved to obey and she was satisfied to watch as one of them slipped a
sword between the man's ribs. But something was wrong further up the line. Men
were cursing and staggering back against the press of their own cohorts. She
heard them muttering about a man with impenetrable armour who could not be
killed. Several were already withdrawing while their officers cursed them and
told them to hold, but the confusion was already sown.
“Witch come to me and die with
honour! Sigmar fights through me and you WILL face the wrath of my hammer!!”
The Arch kept shouting challenges at the witch. Alexander did his best just to
stay alive, their speed was overwhelming and he found himself thanking his
armour for keeping him alive.
Naxva began backing away, but
the Uraithen in front of her didn't see her as they turned to withdraw. Men
bumped into her and she thrashed and cursed at them as she tried to turn and
run as well. The wind was knocked from her lungs as a shield struck her, and
she sprawled onto the ground. She tried to get onto her hands and knees but a
tightening agony clutched her heart. It felt like the affliction she was
stricken with before.
Something heavy crashed into her
and drove her into the mud once more. She felt someone grab a fistful of her
waist-length hair and flip her over. It was the bloodied and mortally wounded
man she'd seen earlier. Before she could speak a single malicious spell to
defend herself, the man plunged his sword into her mouth, and collapsed dead on
top of her.
Dark Elves Turn 4
[Picture says it all. The Elves moved things around to deal
with the stubborn nuisances from the Empire and the lone knight and the hydra
continued fighting to a standstill, neither one harming the other.]
Empire Turn 4
The Arch Lector and his Captain charged into the melee once
again. This time things were as they should be though. The Captain carrying the
Battle Standard met his end, possibly to stand and shoot, and no Druchii fell.
The Arch Lector who had kept his men going in the face of innumerable hardships
and led them to their deaths, finally lost his nerve and ran. And the last
brave knight of the men of Nordland could give no more either.
Bolts flew through the air
towards Alexander and as he was about to speak his final prayer and flash of
smoke consumed him and he was pulled away from his doom. Tobias had saved him
and with the battle lost he now had to get word to his father.
"Ilnar? What in Mirai is
that fool doing?" Naliryan spat. "Their leader is the only one still
struggling. I want that mongrel alive. Shieldwall formation, box him in if you
can!" He emphasised the order with a few signal blasts from his horn.
"If any of you even think of turning your backs," he addressed his
men, "I'll put you to the sword myself!"
The human commander battered
against the shields arrayed before him time and again but to no avail. When a
dark and broad shape came sweeping down overhead, he realised his peril.
Ashniel whispered to Phlegathon,
"You can hurt it, beast of night winds, but don't kill it."
Dark Elves Turn 5
Got him!
As well as barracks, private
chambers for the highborn, armouries and pens for the warbeasts, the Fleetmaster
had also provided an audience chamber as his part of the bargain. In the centre
stood Ilnar and the men under his command whose discipline had failed. They had
been stripped of arms and armour, wearing only their kheitans. Stood facing
them, lining the walls of the chamber, were all of the other soldiers that had
been part of the battle. Closest to the doors were the Uraithen who stood their
ground, along with the beastmasters and other Uraithen and petty officers who
had not been present but were still called to witness. Rakir stood with his
Executioners alongside knots of surviving scouts and riders.
At the far end of the room was a
dais with a throne at its' centre. Dreadlord Vallash Heartshiver sat with his
hands resting on the pommel of his naked sword. The blade had been ensorcelled
by Ashniel herself, among other favours he had paid for with Phlegathon's egg.
Ramene, Vaedra, Naliryan and other retainers stood to his left at the correct
distance according to hithuan etiquette. Beyond them were the Chillslayer
knights. Ashniel stood on his right with the Heartshiver knights, who normally
rode Cold One-drawn chariots to war, and had been part of the other force that
struck the Empire's settlements.
The Dreadlord rose to his full
height. He was still wearing the full panoply of war, including his
breastplate, pauldrons, dalakoi, vambraces, gauntlets and his full-face helm
with a horned crest that swallowed his eyes in shadow. Instead of full greaves,
he wore the high boots favoured by corsairs for wading ashore and the tattered
hem of his kheitan robe hung behind his legs, still stained with the dust of
the battlefield. He removed his helm with his left and passed it to Ramene, who
took it without needing to be told. His scarless face was angular like a spear
point, and most of his thick black hair was pulled up in a topknot and held in
place with a human rib bone, but more of his hair still covered his head and
hung below eye level. Silver rings pierced his lip, right eyebrow and left ear.
"Tell me? Despite
overwhelming superiority, both in terms of numbers and discipline, you and
those under your command lost their nerve. As a result, one of the Witch King's
Sorceresses was killed." Vallash Heartshiver's voice was clear, but had a
dry rasping undertone. Ilnar was about to reply when his Dreadlord cut him off,
"Perhaps we should deliver you all to Malekith himself as a form of
recompense?"
Ilnar tried not to show
intimidation, but his body language betrayed him as he caught himself looking
around to see if anyone was about to seize him. Vallash began descending the
dias as Ilnar made his reply. "I make no excuses for my men Dreadlord.
I'll interrogate them myself and beat them to within an inch of their lives to
find the ones responsible for the confusion in the ranks."
"There will be no need. I
already know who is responsible." Before Ilnar could query what his master
meant, Vallash's sword flashed like quicksilver. The black marble floor became
stained with a vermillion patina as Ilnar's legs were separated below the
knees, and he collapsed amid his own shrieks. "Do the same with his hands,
then bind the wounds and throw him into the sea. Crucify his lieutenants. They
can watch him flounder just as they did on the battlefield!" Vallash
hissed as he went back to his seat. "Scourge the rest of them bloody and
then integrate them in the remaining regiments until we return to Karond Kar."
Naliryan signalled several his men and together they seized the struggling
offenders and removed them. Naliryan himself dragged Ilnar from the chamber by
his hair.
"Bring in the human!"
At his summons, a pair of slavemasters dragged the chained and manacled enemy
commander to the foot of the dias. "You've caused quite a bit of trouble,
haven't you human?" Vallash spoke down to him with a sardonic smile. One
of his retainers hissed a heavily accented translation to the man. He spat
several guttural syllables in return, but the druchii ignored him. "Know
this little man. Not only did you lead many of your kind to their deaths, but
many more will find themselves begging for it, every minute of every day for
the rest of their lives. It was your failure to them that made it happen. And
you will live to watch their unpleasantry go on. Begone!" He dismissed the
assembly with a wave of his hand.
As the other senior retainers
took their turn to begin filing out, Ashniel turned to leave as well. "Not
you," Vallash Heartshiver whispered and beckoned her closer. "Will
there be repercussions for the loss of your apprentice?" He asked
conspiratorally.
His genuine concern surprised
and amused Ashniel. She delayed her answer with a wry and wintery smile.
"My Dreadlord is concerned?" She asked. "There is no need. There
are always risks on the field of war. And besides," she added, "Many
neophytes lose their lives in the course of their studies. Sometimes they seek
power beyond their ability, you see. And they are seldom prepared for the accidents
that may befall them!"
So once again thanks to Jon for writing the report, I have
tweaked my turns a bit to explain my views and thoughts but it stays mostly
intact. Jon is primarily interested in Fluff as am I and if you read those bits
thanks you for taking the time
[Jon’s comments: Most of his
problems I think came from his deployment. Even though when I was making my
drops to counter what he placed, I also had an idea in my head of how I wanted
my army laid out. I knew I wanted the infantry together, backed up by the
hydras, and I wanted most of my fast movers together to rush one side of the
board. I don't know if he had a deployment plan in mind for his own units and
just abandoned it when he was confronted by my drops, but you can see just from
the first deployment diagram what a precarious state his left flank was in
before we'd even begun.
He did remark that he wasn't
prepared for how fast we could close the gap. Some fast cavalry/chaff of his
own would have help mitigate the problem I feel. Pistoliers can also move and
shoot and would probably have been able to send the Shades and Dark Riders
packing for example. I was also expecting to face larger units of missile
troops that could be used to deal with my fast cavalry.
And finally, he probably had too
many points sunk into characters. Considering his Wizards did plenty of good
things for him on their own, the Warrior Priests probably weren't necessary.
That said it was still an
enjoyable game, and documenting what happened for the first time in our gaming
careers was also good fun!]
[Ben’s comments: I too had
really enjoyed the game, it was my 1st proper game and it was a
blast. I don’t really mind losing as long as I get to do stupid things and at have
least 1 of my ideas work, in this case it was the earlier magic phases and the valiant charge of the furious engineer.
I do think I set up terribly in
hindsight (I was supposed to have a plan) Jon mentioned a denied flank once the
game was over but the thought never crossed my mind and I was hoping the
Helblaster & steam tank would scare him off the idea of attacking the
flank.
I agree that I spent too much on
characters, the warrior priests were a total no show, I didn’t even use their
battle prayers! I should try and refocus my strategy to include them properly
instead of as an afterthought.
Hopefully the next battle will
be a triple threat match using the triumph and treachery rules and will include
everybody’s favourite army, the Chaos warriors. If it is half as fun as this
then it’ll be great to be a part of.]
Thanks for taking the time to read this (if you did) I hope
you enjoyed reading it as much as we
enjoyed creating it. Thanks!
