With the realignment of the borders, Talomir is changing. The Border Kingdoms are no more, while the Brethren now have their own kingdom. Therefore, it seems appropriate to re-work the encounter tables for some areas. The following tables indicate changes to the standard encounter tables and show the appropriate lists to roll on.
Goblins
Humans in the Border Kingdoms have largely left the area and fled to Treyine. Those that remain are fighting a low level guerilla war against the Goblins.
1 - Border Kingdoms (freedom fighters)
2 - Brethren
3 - Treyine
4 - Black Moon Elves
5 - Orcs
6 - Special
Special encounters remain the same
The Abyss (Brethren Kingdom)
The Brethren hate Goblins and all followers of the Black Moon. Therefore, it is assumed that they are resettling Border Kingdoms citizens in the Goblin areas to enhance their control of them, while Goblins that live there have fled to Goblin-controlled areas instead.
Encounters with the authorities = Brethren
Other encounters with locals = Border Kingdoms
1 - Goblins
2 - Goblins
3 - Treyine
4 - Treyine
5 - Hykar
6 - Special
Special Encounters
1 - Mountain Giants
2 - First Ones
3 - Beastmen or Serpentmen
4 - Giant Serpents
5 - Centaurs
6 - Robber Knights (1-3 Border Kingdoms, 4-6 Ekra)
Ekra
Ekra's Borders have retreated significantly so its encounter table needs to be amended.
1 - Altengard
2 - Altengard
3 - Treyine
4 - Treyine
5 - Treyine
6 - Special
Special encounters remain the same
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Friday, 16 October 2009
Autumn 988 - Girls Gone Bad
Sir Geoffrey Chambers was ecstatic. He had beaten back the Tropilium invasion and now Treyine controlled a part of that once mighty empire, and he had preserved enough of the army to now face the Hykar with some possibility of victory. He felt sure that he was destined for greatness in the nascent Treyine empire. Still, there was the small matter of thousands of young, vicious girls on ponies facing him. He was outnumbered and would have to fight aggressively to counteract their advantage. He formed his troops up with both flanks refused. About half of his archers had set their stakes out to hinder the Hykari advance. The enemy had deployed their heavy troops in the centre with vast numbers of light horse on the flanks. It was clear what their plan was and Sir Geoffrey knew what was needed.
The enemy began their advance. The light horse swept down on his flanks as expected, so Sir Geoffrey raised his arm and yelled, "CHARGE!" His knights leapt forward beside the Ekran contingent. The infantry, even the Brethren spearmen who had finally turned up, followed, while the archers moved to guard their flanks as best possible. Then the fight began in earnest. Sir Geoffrey's knights crashed home against the enemy general's horsewomen, who fired a desultory rain of arrows at him. A few men were wounded but none fell from their saddles. The Ekran knights, however, took many casualties as they hit the enemy spearwomen and were driven back, but not before the spearwomen routed from the field.
The fight in the centre raged on as Sir Geoffrey's knights whittled down the enemy horsewomen, but it was taking too much time. Meanwhile, the light horse tried to encircle the archers, who desperately turned to face them and tried to loose as many arrows as possible. They certainly gave as good as they got and drove off many of the light horse, but archers died too and the Treyine numbers were being reduced too. Unfortunately, even the rout of the Hykari general did not discourage the light horse. Clearly they had little respect for their leaders and they fought on just as hard, but their command was hampered and they were soon facing more arrows as well as the Treyine infantry, who had turned to chase them. Slowly the girls on ponies died and slowly the Treyine army gained ascendancy.
Eventually there were only a small number of horsewomen left and the Treyine archers were all around. The end of the matter was no longer in doubt. It was merely a case of how much damage the Hykari could do before they routed. The answer was: not too long at all. The approach of Sir Geoffrey and his knights was enough to break the Hykari morale and soon they and their ponies were streaming from the field. Sir Geoffrey was most pleased, and he was sure that the King would be too.
I was worried about this battle. There were twice as many Hykari as there were Treyine troops. Also, they had significantly greater manoeuvrability than I did, so I expected to be surrounded and cut down. As it turned out, I was surrounded but driving off the enemy general severely hindered Steve's ability to make use of his advantage in speed. My longbowmen's advantage was range and hitting power, which allowed them to hold their own against twice their number of light horse. Steve still routed and severely hurt a lot of my archers, but not enough to win the battle. That said, it could have gone either way really.
One thing we learned from this battle was that light horse are quite hard to use en masse effectively. Steve suffered because some of his light horse routed when friendly units retired into them, but he will have learned by next time! I have some ideas of my own that I would like to try out, so I plan to use the Hykari army myself at some point. Can't wait!
The enemy began their advance. The light horse swept down on his flanks as expected, so Sir Geoffrey raised his arm and yelled, "CHARGE!" His knights leapt forward beside the Ekran contingent. The infantry, even the Brethren spearmen who had finally turned up, followed, while the archers moved to guard their flanks as best possible. Then the fight began in earnest. Sir Geoffrey's knights crashed home against the enemy general's horsewomen, who fired a desultory rain of arrows at him. A few men were wounded but none fell from their saddles. The Ekran knights, however, took many casualties as they hit the enemy spearwomen and were driven back, but not before the spearwomen routed from the field.
The fight in the centre raged on as Sir Geoffrey's knights whittled down the enemy horsewomen, but it was taking too much time. Meanwhile, the light horse tried to encircle the archers, who desperately turned to face them and tried to loose as many arrows as possible. They certainly gave as good as they got and drove off many of the light horse, but archers died too and the Treyine numbers were being reduced too. Unfortunately, even the rout of the Hykari general did not discourage the light horse. Clearly they had little respect for their leaders and they fought on just as hard, but their command was hampered and they were soon facing more arrows as well as the Treyine infantry, who had turned to chase them. Slowly the girls on ponies died and slowly the Treyine army gained ascendancy.
Eventually there were only a small number of horsewomen left and the Treyine archers were all around. The end of the matter was no longer in doubt. It was merely a case of how much damage the Hykari could do before they routed. The answer was: not too long at all. The approach of Sir Geoffrey and his knights was enough to break the Hykari morale and soon they and their ponies were streaming from the field. Sir Geoffrey was most pleased, and he was sure that the King would be too.
I was worried about this battle. There were twice as many Hykari as there were Treyine troops. Also, they had significantly greater manoeuvrability than I did, so I expected to be surrounded and cut down. As it turned out, I was surrounded but driving off the enemy general severely hindered Steve's ability to make use of his advantage in speed. My longbowmen's advantage was range and hitting power, which allowed them to hold their own against twice their number of light horse. Steve still routed and severely hurt a lot of my archers, but not enough to win the battle. That said, it could have gone either way really.
One thing we learned from this battle was that light horse are quite hard to use en masse effectively. Steve suffered because some of his light horse routed when friendly units retired into them, but he will have learned by next time! I have some ideas of my own that I would like to try out, so I plan to use the Hykari army myself at some point. Can't wait!
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Autumn 988 - The Eastern Border Kingdoms
The messenger entered the King's chamber in a hurry, but still performed the usual obeisances.
"Sire," he began, "I bring news from the Border Kingdoms. The Brethren have invaded in the west and subdued the land. The Goblins have invaded in the east. The Border Kingdoms are no more."
The messenger continued his tale hastily as the King looked intently at him. "Sire, I observed all as you had instructed. The Border Kingdoms army was decimated by the Brethren onslaught. They clearly knew that they could not hold the Brethren out and retreated from that battle with the remnants of their force. Perhaps young van der Walk thought he could hold the Goblins off more easily. I saw them deploy on the open plain where the Goblins caught them. The witch summoned a demon to assault the Goblins at the start of the battle. Its first pass caused the enemy skirmishers to flee but the infantry held steady."
"The Goblins were clearly incensed by the demon's presence and lost their minds for they charged heedless at their foes. Their assault was strong but the Border Kingdoms infantry held them off for a while. It was unfortunate that young van der Walk died in the first clash of arms. His presence might have secured a better outcome for his people. There were not many goblins left at the end of the battle, and all of those knew they had fought that day."
"I rode here as fast as I could after the battle to report to you, and I suspect many refugees will approach our borders before long too."
Edward IV of Treyine sat back and looked at the messenger with satisfaction. He indicated that the man should leave and turned to his counsellors.
"So, the Goblins appear to be working with the Brethren. Strange bedfellows indeed. I foresee an advantage in this, once we have dealt with those meddlesome witches from Hykar."
This battle went pretty much as expected, although I feel that I gave a good account of myself against the Goblin hordes. Had I not forgotten that the Goblins had the Frenzy attribute, I might even have done better. I forced enemy threat tests on the Goblins at the wrong moment and did not get to use my wizard again after that. I should have cast first and threatened afterwards. Still, it was not as lopsided a game as the fight between Tropilium and Treyine. The question is, what shall I do with all my nicely painted Border Kingdoms troops now?
"Sire," he began, "I bring news from the Border Kingdoms. The Brethren have invaded in the west and subdued the land. The Goblins have invaded in the east. The Border Kingdoms are no more."
The messenger continued his tale hastily as the King looked intently at him. "Sire, I observed all as you had instructed. The Border Kingdoms army was decimated by the Brethren onslaught. They clearly knew that they could not hold the Brethren out and retreated from that battle with the remnants of their force. Perhaps young van der Walk thought he could hold the Goblins off more easily. I saw them deploy on the open plain where the Goblins caught them. The witch summoned a demon to assault the Goblins at the start of the battle. Its first pass caused the enemy skirmishers to flee but the infantry held steady."
"The Goblins were clearly incensed by the demon's presence and lost their minds for they charged heedless at their foes. Their assault was strong but the Border Kingdoms infantry held them off for a while. It was unfortunate that young van der Walk died in the first clash of arms. His presence might have secured a better outcome for his people. There were not many goblins left at the end of the battle, and all of those knew they had fought that day."
"I rode here as fast as I could after the battle to report to you, and I suspect many refugees will approach our borders before long too."
Edward IV of Treyine sat back and looked at the messenger with satisfaction. He indicated that the man should leave and turned to his counsellors.
"So, the Goblins appear to be working with the Brethren. Strange bedfellows indeed. I foresee an advantage in this, once we have dealt with those meddlesome witches from Hykar."
This battle went pretty much as expected, although I feel that I gave a good account of myself against the Goblin hordes. Had I not forgotten that the Goblins had the Frenzy attribute, I might even have done better. I forced enemy threat tests on the Goblins at the wrong moment and did not get to use my wizard again after that. I should have cast first and threatened afterwards. Still, it was not as lopsided a game as the fight between Tropilium and Treyine. The question is, what shall I do with all my nicely painted Border Kingdoms troops now?
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Autumn 988 - Brethren in Arms
Luther van der Walk was pleased that the Brethren had chosen to invade. Now he would prove his worth and crush them. The battlefield was constrained by two woods, so he would be able to concentrate his best forces in the centre while leaving the rank and file to secure the flanks with the aid of these natural obstacles.
Seeing the enemy deployed in similar fashion, he directed his wizard, Endora Henbane, to target the enemy general with a blast of mystic power. She obliged and Brethren General Miles Gloriosus exploded in a fountain of blood and guts that caused his entire unit to bolt forward. Despite the loss of their general, the remainder of the army was unperturbed. With the general dead, Luther was convinced that victory would be easy. While his main body stood still, he orderd the skirmishers forward into the woods to secure them against the enemy skirmishers.
With that the enemy began to advance piecemeal. This would be even easier than he had thought. Brethren knights and sergeants charged his position, leaving their less impetuous comrades behind. Seeing a chance to remove some of the enemy threat, Luther led his cavalry forward in a charge against the advancing knights. They were sore hurt already but the fight went against Luther and his cavalry were driven back. A panicked cavalryman grabbed Luther's bridle.
"My lord, they are too strong for us." So saying the cavalryman turned Luther's horse around despite his protests and fled for the rear. Luther's horse bolted with the rest of the cavalry and suddenly Borderers were streaming to the rear on all sides.
A few lone units fought on, struggling to stem the tide of the advancing Brethren.
It was useless. They were isolated and cut down by the faster Brethren sergeants, leaving only a few spearmen to retreat. Many more were cut down in the pursuit.
This battle saw the Wizard killing the Brethren general in the first turn; yet another example of Steve's fabled ability to throw sixes at the wrong moment. Unfortunately, the Border Kingdoms cavalry, with their general, routed in the first melee they fought. This left the borderers much weakened and unable to coordinate their defence properly. The Brethren mounted troops were able to waltz around the Borderers and pick them apart at will after that.
The Border Kingdoms lost a territory and their morale collapsed so they surrendered to the Brethren. I wonder if there will be a Border Kingdom after the Goblin invasion in their other territory?
Losses:
Border Kingdoms
1 Retinue Cavalry
4 Borderers
2 Skirmishers
The Brethren had no permanent losses.
Seeing the enemy deployed in similar fashion, he directed his wizard, Endora Henbane, to target the enemy general with a blast of mystic power. She obliged and Brethren General Miles Gloriosus exploded in a fountain of blood and guts that caused his entire unit to bolt forward. Despite the loss of their general, the remainder of the army was unperturbed. With the general dead, Luther was convinced that victory would be easy. While his main body stood still, he orderd the skirmishers forward into the woods to secure them against the enemy skirmishers.
With that the enemy began to advance piecemeal. This would be even easier than he had thought. Brethren knights and sergeants charged his position, leaving their less impetuous comrades behind. Seeing a chance to remove some of the enemy threat, Luther led his cavalry forward in a charge against the advancing knights. They were sore hurt already but the fight went against Luther and his cavalry were driven back. A panicked cavalryman grabbed Luther's bridle.
"My lord, they are too strong for us." So saying the cavalryman turned Luther's horse around despite his protests and fled for the rear. Luther's horse bolted with the rest of the cavalry and suddenly Borderers were streaming to the rear on all sides.
A few lone units fought on, struggling to stem the tide of the advancing Brethren.
It was useless. They were isolated and cut down by the faster Brethren sergeants, leaving only a few spearmen to retreat. Many more were cut down in the pursuit.
This battle saw the Wizard killing the Brethren general in the first turn; yet another example of Steve's fabled ability to throw sixes at the wrong moment. Unfortunately, the Border Kingdoms cavalry, with their general, routed in the first melee they fought. This left the borderers much weakened and unable to coordinate their defence properly. The Brethren mounted troops were able to waltz around the Borderers and pick them apart at will after that.
The Border Kingdoms lost a territory and their morale collapsed so they surrendered to the Brethren. I wonder if there will be a Border Kingdom after the Goblin invasion in their other territory?
Losses:
Border Kingdoms
1 Retinue Cavalry
4 Borderers
2 Skirmishers
The Brethren had no permanent losses.
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Autumn 988 - A Farewell to Empire
Sir Geoffrey Chambers was a happy man. He led a small company of mercenaries normally, but today he was at the head of a battle-hardened army, invading the greatest empire that Talomir had ever known. This type of action suited his aggressive nature and his confidence was bolstered by the fact that he knew the enemy army had taken a beating recently. Naturally, he was confident.
With the enemy force arrayed before him, Sir Geoffrey could see that he outnumbered them ten to one or better. This would be a walkover. Even the enemy wizard, a runty little man called Pharos, was by all accounts not particularly a great threat. Well, he would swamp the wizard with bodies if he had to. He ordered the advance. The enemy awaited him on the reverse slope of a hill.
As he closed on them he ordered the archers on his flanks to swing around and encircle the enemy. He and his knights charged but were driven back by the enemy. The mystical aura was stronger than expected and he failed to trample them underfoot immediately. However, the enemy wizard fell in that initial onrush. He regathered his troops and charged again. This time the enemy fell like wheat before a scythe. The Tropilium general was last seen disappearing under Sir Geoffrey's horses hooves and the man's soldiers scattered and were cut down.
Sir Geoffrey had conquered new territory for this current masters. Perhaps he would be rewarded with a more permanent position now ...
This was the most unbalanced game we have ever played. A single Tropilium Legionary unit faced thirteen units of Treyine soldiery. Kudos to Steve for stepping up to the mark and trying to hurt the Treyine army before they could destroy him.
The end result was the total destruction of the Tropilium troops and the wounding of Pharos the Mage and the Tropilium general. Pharos will be out of the campaign for two seasons, while the general will return in three seasons.
After the battle, Tropilium morale collapsed and they surrendered to the Treyine army.
With the enemy force arrayed before him, Sir Geoffrey could see that he outnumbered them ten to one or better. This would be a walkover. Even the enemy wizard, a runty little man called Pharos, was by all accounts not particularly a great threat. Well, he would swamp the wizard with bodies if he had to. He ordered the advance. The enemy awaited him on the reverse slope of a hill.
As he closed on them he ordered the archers on his flanks to swing around and encircle the enemy. He and his knights charged but were driven back by the enemy. The mystical aura was stronger than expected and he failed to trample them underfoot immediately. However, the enemy wizard fell in that initial onrush. He regathered his troops and charged again. This time the enemy fell like wheat before a scythe. The Tropilium general was last seen disappearing under Sir Geoffrey's horses hooves and the man's soldiers scattered and were cut down.
Sir Geoffrey had conquered new territory for this current masters. Perhaps he would be rewarded with a more permanent position now ...
This was the most unbalanced game we have ever played. A single Tropilium Legionary unit faced thirteen units of Treyine soldiery. Kudos to Steve for stepping up to the mark and trying to hurt the Treyine army before they could destroy him.
The end result was the total destruction of the Tropilium troops and the wounding of Pharos the Mage and the Tropilium general. Pharos will be out of the campaign for two seasons, while the general will return in three seasons.
After the battle, Tropilium morale collapsed and they surrendered to the Treyine army.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Autumn 988 - Campaign Progress
And so it all kicks off. Treyine is upset at the wounding of Lord De La Warre, their favourite general, so they invade Tropilium, led by the fearless Sir Geoffrey. Hykar sees the chance of some easy pickings while the Treyine army is away and rides for Treyine as fast as they can. The Brethren decide that their recent regency in the Border Kingdoms entitles them to a bit more of the cake, so they invade. Meanwhile, Zog-Rot, seeing the Brethren distracted also chooses to invade the Border Kingdoms.
The rules do not cover what happens if multiple armies invade the same area. We decided to let the dice decide. 1d6 plus War Rating. Highest roller invades the nation first. After all, each turn is three months, which is more than enough time to march up and down a country. It all fell out as follows:
1. Treyine invades Tropilium
2. Hykar invades Treyine (the Treyine army will be footsore by now)
3 The Brethren invade the Border Kingdoms
4. Zog-Rot invades the Border Kingdoms
The situation at the start of Autumn 988:
Click image for a larger version
The armies for the Autumn turn are as at the start of the year, except for Treyine and Tropilium, whose remaining forces are detailed below:
Treyine Army
1 Foot Knight
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)
Tropilium Army
1 Legionaries
Pherros (L1 Mage)
The rules do not cover what happens if multiple armies invade the same area. We decided to let the dice decide. 1d6 plus War Rating. Highest roller invades the nation first. After all, each turn is three months, which is more than enough time to march up and down a country. It all fell out as follows:
1. Treyine invades Tropilium
2. Hykar invades Treyine (the Treyine army will be footsore by now)
3 The Brethren invade the Border Kingdoms
4. Zog-Rot invades the Border Kingdoms
The situation at the start of Autumn 988:
Click image for a larger version
The armies for the Autumn turn are as at the start of the year, except for Treyine and Tropilium, whose remaining forces are detailed below:
Treyine Army
1 Foot Knight
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)
Tropilium Army
1 Legionaries
Pherros (L1 Mage)
Summer 988 - The Battle of Poirotium Vale
The Treyine army was confident when it drew up, even though the Brethren tribute had failed to show. They would have strong words later about those missing spearmen. Facing them was a much reduced Tropilium army. The Wizard Pherros was still alive and General Pheeassko was now leading the army, following the untimely demise of his predecessor. He was not looking forward to the task ahead of him.
We forgot to include the stand of Brethren Spearmen, so the Treyine army was one stand down, although I doubt it would actually have made any difference to the outcome. In story terms, this will have repercussions later in the campaign though.
The battle began with Pherros casting Air of Strength on the Tropilium foot to boost their morale, while the Treyine army advanced. The Tropilium skirmishers quickly occupied the heavy woods on their left flank, so Treyine archers and knights wheeled to advance on them.
Threatened by the advance of the knights and fearing the power of the longbows, the Tropilium skirmishers fled the field. Meanwhile, the Treyine army had advanced within bowshot and begun firing from the top of the hill in front of the Tropilium line, breaking it up into separate units. The Treyine left flank was advancing as fast as possible to turn on the enemy flank at the same time.
With the skirmishers gone, Sir Geoffrey's knights and the Ekran levy knights turned towards the main battle. The Tropilium army had fared badly in the fierce fighting and only General Pheeassko's bodyguard remained. They were giving a good account of themselves and were wearing Lord De La Warre's foot knights down slowly.
A shout went up. Lord De La Warre had fallen. The enemy rejoiced, but, contrary to expectations the Treyine army did not rout from the field. Instead they sought vengeance for their fallen lord. This was too much for General Pheeassko and he fled the field.
The Treyine general was wounded in the melee, but all of the Treyine army passed its Leader Lost test and fought on. Sir Geoffrey Chambers, the mercenary knight, has a war rating, so he became the new general on the field. Lord De La Warre suffered a result of wounded. He is not dead but will not take to the field for three campaign turns. Steve really thought he had me when he downed my general, but the last picture shows his dice's view on the matter. Double sixes on the test meant that his troops routed while my own stood firm.
Permanent Losses:
Treyine
1 Infantry
Tropilium
1 Slinger
1 Auxiliary Archer
1 Auxiliary (Mixed)
1 Legionary
We forgot to include the stand of Brethren Spearmen, so the Treyine army was one stand down, although I doubt it would actually have made any difference to the outcome. In story terms, this will have repercussions later in the campaign though.
The battle began with Pherros casting Air of Strength on the Tropilium foot to boost their morale, while the Treyine army advanced. The Tropilium skirmishers quickly occupied the heavy woods on their left flank, so Treyine archers and knights wheeled to advance on them.
Threatened by the advance of the knights and fearing the power of the longbows, the Tropilium skirmishers fled the field. Meanwhile, the Treyine army had advanced within bowshot and begun firing from the top of the hill in front of the Tropilium line, breaking it up into separate units. The Treyine left flank was advancing as fast as possible to turn on the enemy flank at the same time.
With the skirmishers gone, Sir Geoffrey's knights and the Ekran levy knights turned towards the main battle. The Tropilium army had fared badly in the fierce fighting and only General Pheeassko's bodyguard remained. They were giving a good account of themselves and were wearing Lord De La Warre's foot knights down slowly.
A shout went up. Lord De La Warre had fallen. The enemy rejoiced, but, contrary to expectations the Treyine army did not rout from the field. Instead they sought vengeance for their fallen lord. This was too much for General Pheeassko and he fled the field.
The Treyine general was wounded in the melee, but all of the Treyine army passed its Leader Lost test and fought on. Sir Geoffrey Chambers, the mercenary knight, has a war rating, so he became the new general on the field. Lord De La Warre suffered a result of wounded. He is not dead but will not take to the field for three campaign turns. Steve really thought he had me when he downed my general, but the last picture shows his dice's view on the matter. Double sixes on the test meant that his troops routed while my own stood firm.
Permanent Losses:
Treyine
1 Infantry
Tropilium
1 Slinger
1 Auxiliary Archer
1 Auxiliary (Mixed)
1 Legionary
Friday, 18 September 2009
Summer 988 - Cedric Spends An Uncomfortable Night
Dear Griselda,
I hope you are keeping well.
We’ve managed to avoid having any more dealings with Wizards since my last letter. Last week was quite exciting as we got to go on a big boat across the Sea of Stryfe. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but several of the others didn’t. Herman seemed more convinced than ever, that we were going over the edge of the world. Brother Klaus again seemed upset by the food on the boat and turned a strange shade of green before being violently ill at each mealtime. Apparently there was an accident with the boat after we landed, I’ve drawn a picture. Brother Klaus tried to help put out the fire and had his beard singed.
I hope you are keeping well.
We’ve managed to avoid having any more dealings with Wizards since my last letter. Last week was quite exciting as we got to go on a big boat across the Sea of Stryfe. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but several of the others didn’t. Herman seemed more convinced than ever, that we were going over the edge of the world. Brother Klaus again seemed upset by the food on the boat and turned a strange shade of green before being violently ill at each mealtime. Apparently there was an accident with the boat after we landed, I’ve drawn a picture. Brother Klaus tried to help put out the fire and had his beard singed.
Our quest continues and we are now in Tropilium in the town of Herculepoirotium. It’s a nice town on a bay with a large flat topped mountain behind it. I think Brother Klaus is suffering again, as I keep smelling sulphur.
We met some strange, but nice people yesterday. While out in the market, several people rode in on their ponies, all gaily decked out with ribbons. It was obvious these were important women, albeit from some barbarous tribe. As they circled around one of their horses stood on my foot. I pointed this out to the young lady on the horse and said I would speak to her father, or whoever was in charge of her, when he arrived. She said she was in charge, at which point I laughed and said, "Don’t be silly."
Well, can you believe it? She actually was in charge! In her country things really are run by the women. How strange! Fortunately I have the ability to quickly grasp a situation and calmly talk my way out of things. This is exactly what I did, as we all lay nursing bruises, in the local constabulary cells. The next day we were all released after paying a fine and Barbax Gutripper, the Hykari noblewoman I had spoken to, invited us back to her camp for a meal.
It was strange being served by men, as the women sat and ate, but when in Tropilium …, well, you know. They served a kind of drink made from fermented milk, which was more potent than I had at first thought. When I woke in the morning I found that Barbax had kindly given me her bed for the night. This was a very kind gesture, although it wasn’t very comfortable really. I felt dreadful that morning, as if I had ridden all night.
After thanking them we left to continue our search. All the others must have found comfier beds, because they all looked happier than they had for many months. They all were loath to leave the Hykari and all promised to visit soon. I’m sure you would have liked them too.
Best Regards
Brother Cedric
Cedric travelled to the border country of Treyine near the site of the battle at Snakeye Woods. While at the town of Herculepoirotium he scored a Talk the Talk encounter with a Hykar noble. He beat her by 1 success and chose the extra advancement roll because he had lost one as a result of being rendered out of the fight at the end of last year. When rolling for advancements, he gained nothing but lost 1 point of Hardiness. How did that happen? Oooerrr, is he telling Griselda the whole truth about what happened?
Summer 988 - Once More Into The Dungeon
Goblins are an ever-present nuisance on the border near Alwinton, so Ragnar decided to lead a punitive raid against them for what they were almost certainly about to do. Leading his small band into the border country of Zog-Rot, he soon located the entrance to one of the goblins’ underground lairs. Ragnar quickly gave orders to his troops, formed them up and they entered the goblin lair. Ragnar was surprised that there were no guards or traps present in the outer chamber of the lair; Goblins are sneaky and often rely on traps to discourage their enemies. These goblins were very slack!
As the group advanced further into the lair, Hildigunn disarmed several traps. So, the lack of traps in the entrance was just a ruse to lull you into a false sense of security, eh. Well, Ragnar was not going to get caught out like that.
Eventually they found their way into a large chamber. It was filled with goblins. There was only one thing to do. Ragnar ordered his group to charge. Several of the goblins fell immediately, and their chief did not last much longer as Ragnar charged him. The remaining goblins fired a few desultory arrows, which unfortunately wounded Drogo and Hildigunn but the sight of the huge, red-bearded Mirholmer soon had them running for the doors. This was just as well since a new group of goblins joined the fray shortly after that. Fortunately Gunnvora and Grim were in place to guard the door. They prevented the goblins from entering the room for long enough that the rest of the group could aid them. After this the goblins had to wade through their own dead to reach Ragnar’s people. This was too much for them and they fled. After a thorough search of the rest of the lair Ragnar’s group found little treasure and no more goblins, but they feasted well on ripper beast and mushrooms from the goblins' farm before returning home to Alwinton.
This was a fairly standard raid scenario and is the last of my solo campaign scenarios. From now on Ragnar will be rolling as normal for new scenarios and I hope to include pictures of the games.
As the group advanced further into the lair, Hildigunn disarmed several traps. So, the lack of traps in the entrance was just a ruse to lull you into a false sense of security, eh. Well, Ragnar was not going to get caught out like that.
Eventually they found their way into a large chamber. It was filled with goblins. There was only one thing to do. Ragnar ordered his group to charge. Several of the goblins fell immediately, and their chief did not last much longer as Ragnar charged him. The remaining goblins fired a few desultory arrows, which unfortunately wounded Drogo and Hildigunn but the sight of the huge, red-bearded Mirholmer soon had them running for the doors. This was just as well since a new group of goblins joined the fray shortly after that. Fortunately Gunnvora and Grim were in place to guard the door. They prevented the goblins from entering the room for long enough that the rest of the group could aid them. After this the goblins had to wade through their own dead to reach Ragnar’s people. This was too much for them and they fled. After a thorough search of the rest of the lair Ragnar’s group found little treasure and no more goblins, but they feasted well on ripper beast and mushrooms from the goblins' farm before returning home to Alwinton.
This was a fairly standard raid scenario and is the last of my solo campaign scenarios. From now on Ragnar will be rolling as normal for new scenarios and I hope to include pictures of the games.
Summer 988 - Campaign Progress
Despite their horrendous defeat at Snakeye Woods, Tropilium has immediately launched a new offensive into Treyine. Tropilium national morale has been slightly shaken (reduced by 1 point) but they are still willing to fight.
With Treyine distracted the Ekrans are making unhappy noises about Treyine imperialism but no one else has gone to war yet.
The situation in Summer 988 (click for a larger version):
Armies at war in Summer 988:
Treyine
1 Foot Knight
1 Infantry
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)
Tropilium
2 Legionaries
1 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Auxiliary Archers
1 Slingers
1 Pherros (Level 1 Mage)
All other armies remain the same as they did in Spring 988.
With Treyine distracted the Ekrans are making unhappy noises about Treyine imperialism but no one else has gone to war yet.
The situation in Summer 988 (click for a larger version):
Armies at war in Summer 988:
Treyine
1 Foot Knight
1 Infantry
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)
Tropilium
2 Legionaries
1 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Auxiliary Archers
1 Slingers
1 Pherros (Level 1 Mage)
All other armies remain the same as they did in Spring 988.
Spring 988 - The Battle of Snakeye Woods
Lord De La Warre surveyed the Tropilium troops as they advanced. He did not fear these mongrels. Their empire was a shambles and they were but a shadow of their former selves. His battle-hardened troops were ready for another fight and were confident from their previous victories. He was less sure about the Ekran and Brethren levies though. Better be careful with them, or throw them into the first assault and rely on the enemy to deal with any issues. Ah well, Saint Lindorf was on their side and there was little he could do now. His troops were deployed with archers on the left and right flanks and the heavy infantry on the hill in the centre. Sir Geoffrey's knights were deployed as a reserve with the Ekran knights and Sir Geoffrey had orders to deal with the Ekrans should they prove troublesome.
The Tropilium troops had deployed on the other side of Snakeye woods with light troops on each flank. This whole southern border of Treyine was a welter of light woods and small copses that broke up the landscape. It made finding a battleground difficult, but it also suited the preferred Treyine way of war.
(Click the pictures for larger versions)
The Tropilium trumpets sounded and the advance began. Lord De La Warre grinned as he saw the enemy enter the woods. Right, he would go to meet them. He ordered his left flank and centre to advance. The right flank would stay put for now. He was uncertain what the enemy cavalry would do so those archers might be needed to hold them off. Meanwhile, behind him, the knights turned to the right and began a march on that flank. What the heck were they doing?
As the troops advanced, the enemy skirmishers soon emerged from the woods on the Treyine left flank. Treyine longbowmen were waiting for them and drove them back through the woods with heavy casualties. First blood to Treyine.
As the Tropilium centre emerged from the woods, Lord De La Warre suddenly realised that there was deviltry afoot. The ground shook under his feet and the Treyine centre was scattered apart. The enemy then ordered a charge. Fortunately for the Treyine soldiers the troops on their right decided that discretion was the better part of valour and chose to remain in the cover of the woods but bitter fighting ensued elsewhere on the edge of Snakeye woods. Lord De La Warre was in his element now. He loved a good scrap.
The enemy cavalry had emerged on the Treyine right flank by now too but the auxiliary cavalry was quickly driven off by bow fire. Sir Geoffrey and the Ekran knights were still parading uselessly around behind the Treyine lines. Without Badenhorst to focus on, Sir Geoffrey seemed to be having trouble deciding who to attack.
After the initial hard fighting, the Treyine troops seemed to be getting the worst of it and their infantry were being driven back, but Lord De La Warre was undaunted. He drove his men forward and, as the enemy was driven back, his men surrounded and killed one of the mages that had sought to aid the enemy. He redoubled his efforts and urged his men on harder.
With the enemy falling back and casualties mounting the battle seemed already won, but De La Warre knew better than to count his chickens before they were hatched. Dropping his shield and taking his sword in both hands he cleaved a passage into the enemy unit and his loyal knights followed. The enemy general soon stood before him. He recognised the man from various diplomatic missions. General Cloddius was a decidedly average man in all respects, but still he put up as good a fight as he could. It was not good enough though. De La Warre charged at Cloddius, who soon fell before the Treyine lord's fury. With the fall of Cloddius, the Tropilium army routed from the field and Treyine was safe once more from enemy incursions.
This battle was characterised by a general inability on Steve's part to roll high on his hit rolls, resulting in not many hits to the Treyine army. He still routed two units of Treyine infantry, the first casualties they have suffered in this campaign, but his dice rolling was terrible just the same.
Steve's progress was slow too thanks to all the light woods I put out. I rolled high for terrain so I was able to place a lot of it. This hampered his efforts to deploy usefully and reduced the amount of time I would have to face the mages for.
The knights in my Treyine army did pretty much nothing for the whole game. I had intended to use them as a tactical reserve but in the end I dithered too much with them and they just paraded around because I never got them anywhere useful.
Finally, Steve's ability to throw 6s at just the wrong moment was evident too. The mages were deployed in the centre with his general's stand and in two turns his best mage and his general both suffered mortal wounds as a result of rolling 6s. Ah well, perhaps he will roll better next time.
Permanent Losses:
Treyine
2 Infantry
Tropilium
General Cloddius (WR 3)
Pharos (Level 2 Mage)
1 Equites
1 Legionaries
2 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Archers
1 Auxiliary Cavalry
The Tropilium troops had deployed on the other side of Snakeye woods with light troops on each flank. This whole southern border of Treyine was a welter of light woods and small copses that broke up the landscape. It made finding a battleground difficult, but it also suited the preferred Treyine way of war.
(Click the pictures for larger versions)
The Tropilium trumpets sounded and the advance began. Lord De La Warre grinned as he saw the enemy enter the woods. Right, he would go to meet them. He ordered his left flank and centre to advance. The right flank would stay put for now. He was uncertain what the enemy cavalry would do so those archers might be needed to hold them off. Meanwhile, behind him, the knights turned to the right and began a march on that flank. What the heck were they doing?
As the troops advanced, the enemy skirmishers soon emerged from the woods on the Treyine left flank. Treyine longbowmen were waiting for them and drove them back through the woods with heavy casualties. First blood to Treyine.
As the Tropilium centre emerged from the woods, Lord De La Warre suddenly realised that there was deviltry afoot. The ground shook under his feet and the Treyine centre was scattered apart. The enemy then ordered a charge. Fortunately for the Treyine soldiers the troops on their right decided that discretion was the better part of valour and chose to remain in the cover of the woods but bitter fighting ensued elsewhere on the edge of Snakeye woods. Lord De La Warre was in his element now. He loved a good scrap.
The enemy cavalry had emerged on the Treyine right flank by now too but the auxiliary cavalry was quickly driven off by bow fire. Sir Geoffrey and the Ekran knights were still parading uselessly around behind the Treyine lines. Without Badenhorst to focus on, Sir Geoffrey seemed to be having trouble deciding who to attack.
After the initial hard fighting, the Treyine troops seemed to be getting the worst of it and their infantry were being driven back, but Lord De La Warre was undaunted. He drove his men forward and, as the enemy was driven back, his men surrounded and killed one of the mages that had sought to aid the enemy. He redoubled his efforts and urged his men on harder.
With the enemy falling back and casualties mounting the battle seemed already won, but De La Warre knew better than to count his chickens before they were hatched. Dropping his shield and taking his sword in both hands he cleaved a passage into the enemy unit and his loyal knights followed. The enemy general soon stood before him. He recognised the man from various diplomatic missions. General Cloddius was a decidedly average man in all respects, but still he put up as good a fight as he could. It was not good enough though. De La Warre charged at Cloddius, who soon fell before the Treyine lord's fury. With the fall of Cloddius, the Tropilium army routed from the field and Treyine was safe once more from enemy incursions.
This battle was characterised by a general inability on Steve's part to roll high on his hit rolls, resulting in not many hits to the Treyine army. He still routed two units of Treyine infantry, the first casualties they have suffered in this campaign, but his dice rolling was terrible just the same.
Steve's progress was slow too thanks to all the light woods I put out. I rolled high for terrain so I was able to place a lot of it. This hampered his efforts to deploy usefully and reduced the amount of time I would have to face the mages for.
The knights in my Treyine army did pretty much nothing for the whole game. I had intended to use them as a tactical reserve but in the end I dithered too much with them and they just paraded around because I never got them anywhere useful.
Finally, Steve's ability to throw 6s at just the wrong moment was evident too. The mages were deployed in the centre with his general's stand and in two turns his best mage and his general both suffered mortal wounds as a result of rolling 6s. Ah well, perhaps he will roll better next time.
Permanent Losses:
Treyine
2 Infantry
Tropilium
General Cloddius (WR 3)
Pharos (Level 2 Mage)
1 Equites
1 Legionaries
2 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Archers
1 Auxiliary Cavalry
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
The Tropilium Imperial Army
Tropilium EmpireAfter years of decline under successive Emperors, things seem to be changing for Tropilium. Following the death of Ferad the Studious, in an unexpected hunting accident, the Empire has been taken over by his cousin Herak the Sureshot. He has set about increasing the size of and re equipping the army, which has suffered years of cut backs.
There have already been several ‘border incidents’ with surrounding countries, several of which were previously part of the Empire. The navies, both merchant and military, have also been boosted, giving Tropilium a presence once more around the coast. There have also been claims, that members of the merchant navy, have been gathering information, on various countries. This is of course a lie, as Tropilium employs vast numbers of spies to do this work.
The Army is lead by the Eagle Legionnaries (centre), flanked here by the heavy cavalry and the armoured archers.
Here are the Auxiliaries and the light scout cavalry.
And finally the support from the skirmishing slingers and the Tropilium Artillery.Monday, 14 September 2009
Spring 988 - An Affair at Alwinton
Upon reaching Alwinton in the Border Kingdoms, Ragnar was relieved to be able to rest a while. Their journey into Zog-Rot had been profitable, but the need to set guards every night and the constant cold weather had been wearing. Now he could relax.
As he lounged around in the pub swilling ale, Ragnar suddenly heard shouts from outside. He knew those noises. They were the shouts of people under attack. Ragnar quickly called his group together. Moving to the window, he looked out to see who was attacking. The innkeeper told him that it was Lord DeVries, a neighbouring lord, who coveted Alwinton’s apple orchards and sought to tax the village despite the fact that it belonged to Lord Beauvriere. Ulf was the first to spot the enemy. He fired and killed the sole archer with this contingent of DeVries’ men. Ragnar led his people out into the street and lined them up. They formed a living barrier across the street, blocking it, and used their new bows effectively to shoot down several of the enemy before they had to grab their spears and shields. As they did so another contingent of DeVries’ men appeared. There were now half a dozen mounted knights and two dozen infantry. Fortunately there were very few archers and Ulf was able to pick them off easily before they could do any damage. The knights charged the shieldwall but it held firm for the most part. Barak and Gunnvora were driven back by one knight and Barak was laid low, but Hildigunn soon came to the rescue and the shieldwall was repaired. The knights fought well, but their palsied leader was not up to leading the charge and Ragnar soon cut him down. At this most of the enemy fled. One brave knight tried to rescue his lord but died in the process. Some of the enemy infantry dithered as they tried to work up the courage to charge. Ragnar charged them first and had cut down two of them before they knew what was happening. The third fled. So it went with the remaining troops. Without their leader they did not know what to do and so they died or fled.
Lord Beauvriere was pleased with Ragnar’s work and granted him the position of honorary protector of Alwinton. He also granted him leave to recruit troops from the village and surrounding farms in return for protecting the village. Lord DeVries, who was only wounded in the fight, now languishes in Lord Beauvriere’s dungeon until his relatives can raise the ransom. After seeing the fight, three of the village guard volunteered to join Ragnar’s band. The group now numbers 9 hardy souls and plans to set out on a raid in Zog-Rot soon.
As he lounged around in the pub swilling ale, Ragnar suddenly heard shouts from outside. He knew those noises. They were the shouts of people under attack. Ragnar quickly called his group together. Moving to the window, he looked out to see who was attacking. The innkeeper told him that it was Lord DeVries, a neighbouring lord, who coveted Alwinton’s apple orchards and sought to tax the village despite the fact that it belonged to Lord Beauvriere. Ulf was the first to spot the enemy. He fired and killed the sole archer with this contingent of DeVries’ men. Ragnar led his people out into the street and lined them up. They formed a living barrier across the street, blocking it, and used their new bows effectively to shoot down several of the enemy before they had to grab their spears and shields. As they did so another contingent of DeVries’ men appeared. There were now half a dozen mounted knights and two dozen infantry. Fortunately there were very few archers and Ulf was able to pick them off easily before they could do any damage. The knights charged the shieldwall but it held firm for the most part. Barak and Gunnvora were driven back by one knight and Barak was laid low, but Hildigunn soon came to the rescue and the shieldwall was repaired. The knights fought well, but their palsied leader was not up to leading the charge and Ragnar soon cut him down. At this most of the enemy fled. One brave knight tried to rescue his lord but died in the process. Some of the enemy infantry dithered as they tried to work up the courage to charge. Ragnar charged them first and had cut down two of them before they knew what was happening. The third fled. So it went with the remaining troops. Without their leader they did not know what to do and so they died or fled.
Lord Beauvriere was pleased with Ragnar’s work and granted him the position of honorary protector of Alwinton. He also granted him leave to recruit troops from the village and surrounding farms in return for protecting the village. Lord DeVries, who was only wounded in the fight, now languishes in Lord Beauvriere’s dungeon until his relatives can raise the ransom. After seeing the fight, three of the village guard volunteered to join Ragnar’s band. The group now numbers 9 hardy souls and plans to set out on a raid in Zog-Rot soon.
Spring 988 - Campaign Progress
Spring is largely a quiet time in Talomir this year. Only Tropilium has decided to go to war. Seeing the rapid expansion of Treyine, the Tropilium Empire has decided to invade Treyine and curb the threat that they pose. Of course, it probably helps that the Treyine mage has died over the winter. We can only speculate on the nature of her death and wonder whether the Tropilium Empire had something to do with it!
Only Ekra and Treyine are choosing to use mercenary forces this year. However, a rash of mages has emerged from all over Talomir and many nations have recruited them.
The situation at the start of Spring 988:
(Click picture for a larger version)
Armies at the start of 988:
Border Kingdoms
1 Retinue Cavalry
2 Retinue Infantry
6 Borderers
2 Skirmishers
1 Level 2 Mage
Brethren
1 Brother Knights
2 Brother Sergeants
3 Heavy Spears
1 Peasant Foot
2 Crossbows
1 Peasant Archers
Ekra
3 Knights
2 Infantry
2 Crossbows
The Black Company
1 Level 1 Mage
Goblins
3 Archers
6 Goblins
1 Wolf Riders
1 Black Moon Goblins
Hykar
1 Noble Cavalry
17 Cavalry
1 Jurgen Infantry
1 Level 1 Mage
Treyine
1 Foot Knight
3 Infantry
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)
Tropilium
1 Equites
5 Legionaries
3 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Auxiliary Archers
1 Archers
1 Slingers
1 Auxiliary Cavalry
1 Level 1 Mage
1 Level 2 Mage
Only Ekra and Treyine are choosing to use mercenary forces this year. However, a rash of mages has emerged from all over Talomir and many nations have recruited them.
The situation at the start of Spring 988:
(Click picture for a larger version)
Armies at the start of 988:
Border Kingdoms
1 Retinue Cavalry
2 Retinue Infantry
6 Borderers
2 Skirmishers
1 Level 2 Mage
Brethren
1 Brother Knights
2 Brother Sergeants
3 Heavy Spears
1 Peasant Foot
2 Crossbows
1 Peasant Archers
Ekra
3 Knights
2 Infantry
2 Crossbows
The Black Company
1 Level 1 Mage
Goblins
3 Archers
6 Goblins
1 Wolf Riders
1 Black Moon Goblins
Hykar
1 Noble Cavalry
17 Cavalry
1 Jurgen Infantry
1 Level 1 Mage
Treyine
1 Foot Knight
3 Infantry
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)
Tropilium
1 Equites
5 Legionaries
3 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Auxiliary Archers
1 Archers
1 Slingers
1 Auxiliary Cavalry
1 Level 1 Mage
1 Level 2 Mage
Friday, 28 August 2009
Winter 987 - Brother Cedric Lies Around A Lot
Brother Cedric had been lucky. The arrows had caused serious but not fatal injuries. His followers carried him to the nearest preceptory, where he lay in a fever for weeks. The Brothers at the preceptory were scandalised by his ravings about Griselda's baps and buns but they put it down to the wound-fever. Slowly he responded to their treatment and slowly he recovered. As he did so, he ranted and raved much less and eventually, towards the end of winter, his rational self returned. He began to exercise and recover his strength and, by spring, he was ready to resume his quest.
Winter 987 - Campaign Progress
Following the battles of the autumn, Treyine and Ekra have concluded a peace treaty. The Treyine empire is expanding rapidly but their progress will be hindered now by all the nations around them, with whom they have made treaties.
The Situation during Winter 987 (click for a larger version)
In other news, The Goblin general, Graash the Unflinching, died this winter. It is unclear whether he was poisoned or not, but Gargash Gutripper, the new Goblin leader, swears blind that there was only a natural succession within the Goblin tribes. A spell going awry also seems to have done for the wizard Callifraxia Glories-in-the-Sun. The Treyine army will certainly miss her.
No new heroes have stood up to be counted this winter. Perhaps they fear the Treyine arrows as much as Brother Cedric does now!
With the disappearance of Callifraxia, a number of other wizards have shown their hands. It looks like the Border Kingdoms, Ekra and Tropilium will all be hiring wizards for their armies. Unfortunately for the Goblins of Zog-Rot, they get no recruitment rolls this year, which is a shame because they could have had three wizards!
No new artefacts or magic items have been discovered within the campaign area this winter.
The campaign map now includes the Border Kingdoms as a separate nation from the Brethren, and adds Hykar and Tropilium. Steve is supplying the Tropilium Legionaries. Will they be able to stop Treyine expansion?
The Situation during Winter 987 (click for a larger version)
In other news, The Goblin general, Graash the Unflinching, died this winter. It is unclear whether he was poisoned or not, but Gargash Gutripper, the new Goblin leader, swears blind that there was only a natural succession within the Goblin tribes. A spell going awry also seems to have done for the wizard Callifraxia Glories-in-the-Sun. The Treyine army will certainly miss her.
No new heroes have stood up to be counted this winter. Perhaps they fear the Treyine arrows as much as Brother Cedric does now!
With the disappearance of Callifraxia, a number of other wizards have shown their hands. It looks like the Border Kingdoms, Ekra and Tropilium will all be hiring wizards for their armies. Unfortunately for the Goblins of Zog-Rot, they get no recruitment rolls this year, which is a shame because they could have had three wizards!
No new artefacts or magic items have been discovered within the campaign area this winter.
The campaign map now includes the Border Kingdoms as a separate nation from the Brethren, and adds Hykar and Tropilium. Steve is supplying the Tropilium Legionaries. Will they be able to stop Treyine expansion?
Hykar - Horsewomen of the central steppes
Every girl wants a pony for her birthday. It's a given. So what happens when all the small girls that were refused ponies band together and take them? The nation of Hykar is born, that is what.
The nation of Hykar is a confederation of steppe tribes ruled by women. Women rule the society and run everything. Men in Hykar society have no rights or say in what happens. Tribal councils strictly forbid men from taking part in any decision-making process. For this reason, the Hykari look down upon their neighbours, who are ruled by men. This makes diplomacy very difficult. The Hykari's primary interests in life are ponies and bling and they believe that it is their right to take either or both of these from the inferior peoples around them, or even from each other.
The Hykari army (click all pictures for larger versions)
The Hykari army comprises huge numbers of light horse supported by a smaller number of wealthy noble Hykari. Women that have not proven their worth yet (Jurgen in the Hykari tongue) are sometimes permitted along on the raids. The wealthier of these Jurgen will ride horses, but most will be on foot. Jurgen are forbidden by Hykari law from wearing pretty clothes or jewellery. Women prove their worth in Hykari society by killing in battle and stealing horses. Once a woman has stolen her first horse and killed her first enemy she may wear the pretty things that she aspires to. This is a badge of her social status and is important to getting along in Hykari society. The women of Hykar mark their status by their clothes and jewellery, and also by twining ribbons in their ponies' manes and tails. The more ribbons a pony has, the more bloodthirsty and vicious its rider is likely to be.
Hykari Heroines and Leaders
Hykari Nobles
Hykari Warriors
Jurgen (left to right: Nobles, Spearwomen, Skirmishers)
Note: Warrior Heroes states that the Hykari army list is based on Huns. I had Amazons, with a preponderance of light horse, in the lead pile and wanted to use them rather than buying new figures, so I have based my Hykari army around the Amazons instead.
The nation of Hykar is a confederation of steppe tribes ruled by women. Women rule the society and run everything. Men in Hykar society have no rights or say in what happens. Tribal councils strictly forbid men from taking part in any decision-making process. For this reason, the Hykari look down upon their neighbours, who are ruled by men. This makes diplomacy very difficult. The Hykari's primary interests in life are ponies and bling and they believe that it is their right to take either or both of these from the inferior peoples around them, or even from each other.
The Hykari army (click all pictures for larger versions)
The Hykari army comprises huge numbers of light horse supported by a smaller number of wealthy noble Hykari. Women that have not proven their worth yet (Jurgen in the Hykari tongue) are sometimes permitted along on the raids. The wealthier of these Jurgen will ride horses, but most will be on foot. Jurgen are forbidden by Hykari law from wearing pretty clothes or jewellery. Women prove their worth in Hykari society by killing in battle and stealing horses. Once a woman has stolen her first horse and killed her first enemy she may wear the pretty things that she aspires to. This is a badge of her social status and is important to getting along in Hykari society. The women of Hykar mark their status by their clothes and jewellery, and also by twining ribbons in their ponies' manes and tails. The more ribbons a pony has, the more bloodthirsty and vicious its rider is likely to be.
Hykari Heroines and Leaders
Hykari Nobles
Hykari Warriors
Jurgen (left to right: Nobles, Spearwomen, Skirmishers)
Note: Warrior Heroes states that the Hykari army list is based on Huns. I had Amazons, with a preponderance of light horse, in the lead pile and wanted to use them rather than buying new figures, so I have based my Hykari army around the Amazons instead.
Winter 987 - The Raid on Gruumsh
After months of searching for an opportunity, Ragnar’s band finally found the village of Gruumsh. This sleepy goblin hamlet looked ripe for the assault. Its inhabitants were no doubt ready for their Yuletide dinner and Ragnar intended to take it from them. The group sneaked close to the village. With a ferocious yell, they all charged into the village. The goblins were stunned and did not react until it was too late. Half a dozen goblins had spilt their guts on the floor before the others started to get organised. However, by then it was too late. Most of them were dead or had fled. Those that remained hiding in the buildings were quickly despatched and the serious business of looting could get under way. None of Ragnar’s group were even injured in this attack! With the loot that he had gained Ragnar’s reputation also improved massively. There would be much to sing about when he returned home.
Finally Ragnar finds something to fight! This was a standard raid scenario that went spectacularly well for our heroes.
Finally Ragnar finds something to fight! This was a standard raid scenario that went spectacularly well for our heroes.
Autumn 987 - Bloody Meadows
Brother Cedric had caught up with the object of his quest. He knew exactly where the Spear of Lindorf was and he knew who had it. Unfortunately, it was surrounded by thousands of Treyine soldiers. Sneaking into the Treyine camp was not really Brother Cedric's forte, so he needed another way to get to the Spear. The means was all around him. The battered Ekran army had rallied and was ready to try stopping the Treyine army once more. The soldiers in the army looked half-defeated already, but that did not stop them lining up ready to sell their homeland's soil dearly. Brother Cedric had a place as a captain in their midst. The Ekran general had been grateful to see even Cedric's small band willing to support his own forces. Half of the Treyine archers had set up stakes in front of their positions. The other half had refused the Treyine right flank. The Spear was with the Treyine general in the centre of their line. On the Ekran left flank, the mercenary captain Alfred Badenhorst had deployed his Black Company opposite the White Company of Sir Geoffrey Chambers. Both commanders were ready to settle an old score. Sir Geoffrey was particularly keen after the rout of his knights in the last battle. Trumpets blew and drums rolled as the advance was ordered.
Brother Cedric had rolled a result of find the object of his quest but he had to fight a battle before going to the raid scenario. Rather than do this in WHAA, we chose to combine the two campaigns and fight the battle in WH because there was going to be a WH battle anyway and we knew the object of the quest would be at that battle. Brother Cedric's task was to get to the stand carrying the Spear and rout them. If he did that then the next scenario, regardless of the outcome of the WH battle would be a raid on the routers' camp to recover the Spear.
The Treyine army had rolled low enough to be the defender in this battle, even though they were invading. Terrain was set up with two light woods on each flank. I worked out Brother Cedrics stats under WH and he was then fielded as a hero stand. Steve does not have a suitable 6mm version so we used the actual Brother Cedric figure. I think that gives him his proper heroic status!
Click the pictures for larger versions
As the Ekran army advanced, the witch Callifraxia made her presence known. The ground opened up under the Ekran right flank and all of the troops to Brother Cedric's right were swallowed up by a yawning Abyss, never to be seen again. The flower of Ekran chivalry was lost. More importantly, the Ekran general was lost. Brother Cedric rallied quickly and took charge. Even though the troops were shaken, Brother Cedric managed to stop them fleeing the field. He reformed the lines and marched on.
A level 3 wizard with an Abyss spell is a hugely powerful weapon in this game. In this instance, the spell destroyed three stands of knights and one of crossbows. I had not realised that one of those stands was the general. The conversation then went something like this.
"Right, Steve, do you want to make the remaining knight your general, since you had not told me which was your general? No? Ok, then you had better roll a die to see if your general survives. He will survive on anything but a 6. Ok? What did you get? A 6? Oh dear. Right, the general is lost forever."
We also decided that since Brother Cedric is a Star as well as a hero that he could take charge of the army so it would not be so limited by like of leadership. That's the heroic thing to do after all. WH does not actually have Stars, but it felt right porting over some of their attributes from WHAA.
As the remnant of the Ekran army advanced, Sir Geoffrey Chambers' hot-headedness took over again and he charged Alfred Badenhorst's pikemen, only to be repulsed. Badenhorst hooted insults at Sir Geoffrey as his knights withdrew from the pike block, leaving several of their number lying wounded and dying on the floor. Meanwhile, the Treyine archers on the right flank started firing, initially with little effect. On the left flank, the archers advanced from behind their stakes, wheeling to fire into the flank of the Ekran army.
Sir Geoffrey, smarting from the insults hurled at him charged again, only for his knights to be cut down around him. The remaining knights fled the field ignominiously defeated. Honour was restored, however, when Sir Geoffrey's archers opened up on Badenhorst's pikes, wounding many and causing Badenhorst to flee the field too. Honours were about even now. The archers fired once more, driving off the Ekran peasant infantry, and then the Ekran knights charged. A bloody and drawn out melee ensued as they were engaged by the Treyine infantry and men-at-arms. Meanwhile, the archers on the left flank had moved into range and began shooting. Brother Cedric's small band were soon wounded and it did not take long for Cedric himself to be grievously wounded. Seeing their leader fall, the small band of brothers retreated from the field with his body, leaving only the knights and Badenhorst's arquebusiers standing. They called for parley and were permitted to leave the field as the Treyine army once more drove all before it. Their casualties had been light and they could afford to be magnanimous in victory.
"Steve, the archers have scored a hit on Brother Cedric. He only becomes a casualty if you roll a 6. What's that? A 6?"
"Right, Steve, you need to roll for the severity of the wound. 1 or 2 is good. What did you get? Another 6? Right that means Cedric is dead."
But wait, can Cedric really be dead? Well, no, not really. He is a Star. As I mentioned earlier, we were porting over some rules from WHAA for this game. Because Brother Cedric is a star, he cannot be killed by anyone with a lesser Rep than him. CV in WH is basically the same as Rep, and the archers have a lower CV than Brother Cedric, so, even though the result called for a dead result, it became an out of the fight result instead. Brother Cedric is badly wounded, but not dead yet and he will forfeit his next Social Advancement roll instead.
Brother Cedric had rolled a result of find the object of his quest but he had to fight a battle before going to the raid scenario. Rather than do this in WHAA, we chose to combine the two campaigns and fight the battle in WH because there was going to be a WH battle anyway and we knew the object of the quest would be at that battle. Brother Cedric's task was to get to the stand carrying the Spear and rout them. If he did that then the next scenario, regardless of the outcome of the WH battle would be a raid on the routers' camp to recover the Spear.
The Treyine army had rolled low enough to be the defender in this battle, even though they were invading. Terrain was set up with two light woods on each flank. I worked out Brother Cedrics stats under WH and he was then fielded as a hero stand. Steve does not have a suitable 6mm version so we used the actual Brother Cedric figure. I think that gives him his proper heroic status!
Click the pictures for larger versions
As the Ekran army advanced, the witch Callifraxia made her presence known. The ground opened up under the Ekran right flank and all of the troops to Brother Cedric's right were swallowed up by a yawning Abyss, never to be seen again. The flower of Ekran chivalry was lost. More importantly, the Ekran general was lost. Brother Cedric rallied quickly and took charge. Even though the troops were shaken, Brother Cedric managed to stop them fleeing the field. He reformed the lines and marched on.
A level 3 wizard with an Abyss spell is a hugely powerful weapon in this game. In this instance, the spell destroyed three stands of knights and one of crossbows. I had not realised that one of those stands was the general. The conversation then went something like this.
"Right, Steve, do you want to make the remaining knight your general, since you had not told me which was your general? No? Ok, then you had better roll a die to see if your general survives. He will survive on anything but a 6. Ok? What did you get? A 6? Oh dear. Right, the general is lost forever."
We also decided that since Brother Cedric is a Star as well as a hero that he could take charge of the army so it would not be so limited by like of leadership. That's the heroic thing to do after all. WH does not actually have Stars, but it felt right porting over some of their attributes from WHAA.
As the remnant of the Ekran army advanced, Sir Geoffrey Chambers' hot-headedness took over again and he charged Alfred Badenhorst's pikemen, only to be repulsed. Badenhorst hooted insults at Sir Geoffrey as his knights withdrew from the pike block, leaving several of their number lying wounded and dying on the floor. Meanwhile, the Treyine archers on the right flank started firing, initially with little effect. On the left flank, the archers advanced from behind their stakes, wheeling to fire into the flank of the Ekran army.
Sir Geoffrey, smarting from the insults hurled at him charged again, only for his knights to be cut down around him. The remaining knights fled the field ignominiously defeated. Honour was restored, however, when Sir Geoffrey's archers opened up on Badenhorst's pikes, wounding many and causing Badenhorst to flee the field too. Honours were about even now. The archers fired once more, driving off the Ekran peasant infantry, and then the Ekran knights charged. A bloody and drawn out melee ensued as they were engaged by the Treyine infantry and men-at-arms. Meanwhile, the archers on the left flank had moved into range and began shooting. Brother Cedric's small band were soon wounded and it did not take long for Cedric himself to be grievously wounded. Seeing their leader fall, the small band of brothers retreated from the field with his body, leaving only the knights and Badenhorst's arquebusiers standing. They called for parley and were permitted to leave the field as the Treyine army once more drove all before it. Their casualties had been light and they could afford to be magnanimous in victory.
"Steve, the archers have scored a hit on Brother Cedric. He only becomes a casualty if you roll a 6. What's that? A 6?"
"Right, Steve, you need to roll for the severity of the wound. 1 or 2 is good. What did you get? Another 6? Right that means Cedric is dead."
But wait, can Cedric really be dead? Well, no, not really. He is a Star. As I mentioned earlier, we were porting over some rules from WHAA for this game. Because Brother Cedric is a star, he cannot be killed by anyone with a lesser Rep than him. CV in WH is basically the same as Rep, and the archers have a lower CV than Brother Cedric, so, even though the result called for a dead result, it became an out of the fight result instead. Brother Cedric is badly wounded, but not dead yet and he will forfeit his next Social Advancement roll instead.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Summer 987 - A Postcard from the Edge
Brother Cedric had ridden for days across the Border Kingdoms and had now reached the borders Ekra. He had heard that the Treyine army had advanced into Ekran territory and were bent on the conquest of their traditional rivals. He must catch up with the Treyine army if he were to accomplish his mission. The army could not be far ahead.
(Click the pictures for larger versions)
Dear Griselda,
Hope you are well and the bakery is running fine. Say hello to the lads for me. I couldn’t have been more honoured when the Grand Master himself picked me for a special mission. I have just crossed over into Ekra, but don’t tell anyone, as this is a secret. So what has happened since I last wrote. Brother Klaus has been complaining, as usual, saying this foreign food doesn’t agree with him. Hermann the spearman has been particularly quiet, he seems to think if we travel much further we will fall off the edge of the world. Brother Siegfried, who’s quite clever at this kind of thing, has told him that he will not fall off the edge of the world, as we will reach the lake of fire which the world floats on long before. This didn’t seem to calm Hermann at all. Some people just don’t undestand learning.
We travelled to see Nettle on the Slyde, the Friendliest Hamlet in the Border Kingdoms, as I had said we might in the last letter. Well it wasn’t overly friendly and the River Slyde was at least 6 miles away, but we decided to stay the night. It was almost as if someone was expecting us at the village as in the middle of the night cries came from outside. We quickly rushed out to see what was happening, luckily we remembered to take our weapons with us this time, we’re not getting caught out that way again. Ralf, one of our new crossbowmen, thought he saw something in the fields, but it turned out to be nothing.
This was a raid scenario with Brother Cedric being the defender. The enemy arrived in full force on turn 1 but failed to leave their start line and performed particularly poorly in the fight, with the exception of one Rep3 Archer, who passed all his reaction tests with flying colours and was the last on his side to fall.
It seemed that the traditionally rainy Treyine summer weather was following the Treyine army. Brother Cedric and his retinue were all soaked to the skin and miserable. It looked like they would have to spend another rainy night in the open when, as night fell, Cedric espied a tumble-down farm ahead. A light glowed welcomingly from the window. It was just a hovel, but it was a roof and four walls. He decided that a night spent in the warmth would be better than another night in the open, even if they had to share their beds with half a dozen goats and a cow or two. Cedric hammered on the door, which shuddered fit to splinter under his gauntleted fist.
"Open in the name of the Brethren."
The farmer that opened the door was a scrawny specimen, more wrinkle than skin, if truth be told. With the door open Cedric strode in. The farmer durst not deny Cedric entry, and Cedric was able to stretch out his legs before a rather poor but no less welcome fire. The retinue made the most of their opportunity for a dry night and huddled together around the fire, while the farmer and his wife and children huddled in a corner, fearing to say anything in case they upset their noble guests. The night passed and dawn came all too quickly. With the dawn came the thunder of hooves and the clatter of armour.
"Ho farmer," roared a voice, "'Tis time to pay your taxes. I'll have whatever you own and no less."
The farmer moaned in fear, "It's raiders from the Border. Sir Knight, please save us."
Brother Cedric looked up from the postcard he was about to write and leapt into action immediately.
(Click the pictures for larger versions)
Dear Griselda,
Hope you are well and the bakery is running fine. Say hello to the lads for me. I couldn’t have been more honoured when the Grand Master himself picked me for a special mission. I have just crossed over into Ekra, but don’t tell anyone, as this is a secret. So what has happened since I last wrote. Brother Klaus has been complaining, as usual, saying this foreign food doesn’t agree with him. Hermann the spearman has been particularly quiet, he seems to think if we travel much further we will fall off the edge of the world. Brother Siegfried, who’s quite clever at this kind of thing, has told him that he will not fall off the edge of the world, as we will reach the lake of fire which the world floats on long before. This didn’t seem to calm Hermann at all. Some people just don’t undestand learning.
We travelled to see Nettle on the Slyde, the Friendliest Hamlet in the Border Kingdoms, as I had said we might in the last letter. Well it wasn’t overly friendly and the River Slyde was at least 6 miles away, but we decided to stay the night. It was almost as if someone was expecting us at the village as in the middle of the night cries came from outside. We quickly rushed out to see what was happening, luckily we remembered to take our weapons with us this time, we’re not getting caught out that way again. Ralf, one of our new crossbowmen, thought he saw something in the fields, but it turned out to be nothing.
Brother Konrad ran out onto the main road and spotted a veritable army heading towards the village.
He rushed at them swiftly killing one and causing others to retreat before him. Their archers and slingers came into action, killing Ralf and his brother Fritz. Henning, our other crossbowman fought on bravely.
We rushed to the aid of Brother Konrad, as the enemy began to encircle him. Again his axe sang and another foe fell to the ground never to ride, this again caused several of the enemy to flee. I reached the battle as Brother Konrad fell, soon to be followed by Brother Leelove. I met their leader who soon fell before my flashing blade.
This seemed to be it for the attack with Brother Seigfried chasing most of the others off. Henning was knocked to the ground in the end by an arrow, before I despatched the last of their archers. By the time we had gathered ourselves together and bound the wounded, the cowardly enemy leader had slunk away into the night. Sadly we lost Fritz and Ralf in the fight, but everyone else made a full recovery.
Hope you like the card.
Best Regards,
Brother Cedric
Hope you like the card.
Best Regards,
Brother Cedric
This was a raid scenario with Brother Cedric being the defender. The enemy arrived in full force on turn 1 but failed to leave their start line and performed particularly poorly in the fight, with the exception of one Rep3 Archer, who passed all his reaction tests with flying colours and was the last on his side to fall.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Summer 987 - Into the bowels of the earth
Following a quiet few months as they established themselves in the Border Kingdoms town of Alwinton, Ragnar and his team set out for Zog-Rot. They had travelled some distance into the country before they found their first sign of goblin life. They quickly checked their gear before descending into the dungeon in search of glory (and treasure). As they entered the dungeon, they found themselves in a narrow corridor with two doors in it; one at the end and one on the right wall. Hildigunn moved up to the door on the right wall. She checked it out and was satisfied that there was nothing wrong with it. However, upon opening the door she was showered with rotten wood and faced with a blank wall. This door had clearly been trapped at one time but the trap had rotted and now it did not work.
The group advanced to the other door. It was locked too. Hildigunn failed to pick this lock and so Ragnar broke the door down. As he rebounded back through the door, the group realised that they were in a false entrance. There was nothing beyond either door. It looked like this was a trap for those that would raid the dungeon, and not a dungeon itself. Unhappily they returned to the surface. Their search for glory would continue later, but first they were going to get something to eat.
This scenario was an encounter with goblins in a dungeon. I was looking forward to a good dungeon bash. Unfortunately, this one went nowhere. The dice I rolled generated doors with nothing behind them and no goblins were encountered. Ho hum!
The group advanced to the other door. It was locked too. Hildigunn failed to pick this lock and so Ragnar broke the door down. As he rebounded back through the door, the group realised that they were in a false entrance. There was nothing beyond either door. It looked like this was a trap for those that would raid the dungeon, and not a dungeon itself. Unhappily they returned to the surface. Their search for glory would continue later, but first they were going to get something to eat.
This scenario was an encounter with goblins in a dungeon. I was looking forward to a good dungeon bash. Unfortunately, this one went nowhere. The dice I rolled generated doors with nothing behind them and no goblins were encountered. Ho hum!
House Rules 1 - The Campaign
Marrying up the Warrior Heroes and Warrior Heroes: Armies and Adventures campaigns has highlighted one issue that is giving me a headache. WHAA uses a system where you specify that you are in one area of a kingdom (Border, Inside or Heart). WH uses a system where you move from province to province. So, what happens when a province changes hands during a season as happened in the Summer 987 campaign turn? Brother Cedric was travelling to Ekra to intercept the Treyine army. He had reached the border of Ekra. This should put him in the province that the Treyine army had invaded. The Treyine army captures the province, so we need to decide where Brother Cedric is on the map. Is he on the border of Treyine suddenly, or does he shift to the border of Ekra still? Common sense says that he should now be in Treyine but we still do not know exactly when the province changes hands, which would affect which encounter charts he uses. We have decided to change the campaign movement system slightly for WHAA so that it matches up exactly with the WH system.
WHAA Character Movement
Each campaign turn is now one season. During one season a character may move up to one province. When moving, the player states where in the province the character will finish moving. The character may move to any location within the province. The character will test for an encounter at this location.
Capturing Provinces
A province counts as owned by the nation that began the turn in control of it until the end of that season. Any captured provinces transfer ownership at the end of the season and will begin the next season controlled by their new owner.
Conclusion
This new system will reduce the number of potential encounters for each character. On the other hand, it should keep the campaign progressing more smoothly. At the moment we have potentially three encounters for each character per season compared to one battle per nation., which means that one part of the campaign is usually lagging far behind the other. I hope that these changes solve that. I also think I prefer the map movement for characters, rather than the more abstract WHAA system.
WHAA Character Movement
Each campaign turn is now one season. During one season a character may move up to one province. When moving, the player states where in the province the character will finish moving. The character may move to any location within the province. The character will test for an encounter at this location.
Capturing Provinces
A province counts as owned by the nation that began the turn in control of it until the end of that season. Any captured provinces transfer ownership at the end of the season and will begin the next season controlled by their new owner.
Conclusion
This new system will reduce the number of potential encounters for each character. On the other hand, it should keep the campaign progressing more smoothly. At the moment we have potentially three encounters for each character per season compared to one battle per nation., which means that one part of the campaign is usually lagging far behind the other. I hope that these changes solve that. I also think I prefer the map movement for characters, rather than the more abstract WHAA system.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Autumn 987 - Campaign Progress
The Treyine invasion of Ekra was successful. They drove the Ekrans from the field and secured more territory for themselves. Treyine expansion is understandably making everyone else rather nervous, but there seems to be little that anyone can do about it yet. Both nations' governments are on shaky ground (both only passed 1 die following the summer battle) but the war continues.
The rules do not actually include anything on continuing wars. Treyine is the aggressor in this war and so would normally choose a province to attack. However, it strikes me that the defender might well counter-attack to retake land they have lost. I devised a test to determine who will attack whom in this case. Roll 2 dice versus the War Rating of each nation. Whichever nation scores the most successes will be the attacker. In the case of a draw, I re-rolled until there was a clear winner. I am half-tempted to include an option for not attacking, to allow for the consolidation of forces and a period of phony war, but where is the fun in that?
The Treyine juggernaut continued to advance, trampling their enemies under foot. The Ekrans chose to try to consolidate their forces and hold out for winter, in the hope that they can regroup and retake their lost lands next year.
The other nations are all busily setting their smiths to work, just in case they are next!
The Situation at the Start of Autumn 987 (click for a larger image)
Armies at war:
Ekra
4 Knights
1 Infantry
1 Crossbows
The Black Company
Treyine
1 Foot Knight
2 Retinue Foot
6 Longbowmen
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
Callifraxia Glories-in-the-Sun (Level 3 Wizard)
The rules do not actually include anything on continuing wars. Treyine is the aggressor in this war and so would normally choose a province to attack. However, it strikes me that the defender might well counter-attack to retake land they have lost. I devised a test to determine who will attack whom in this case. Roll 2 dice versus the War Rating of each nation. Whichever nation scores the most successes will be the attacker. In the case of a draw, I re-rolled until there was a clear winner. I am half-tempted to include an option for not attacking, to allow for the consolidation of forces and a period of phony war, but where is the fun in that?
The Treyine juggernaut continued to advance, trampling their enemies under foot. The Ekrans chose to try to consolidate their forces and hold out for winter, in the hope that they can regroup and retake their lost lands next year.
The other nations are all busily setting their smiths to work, just in case they are next!
The Situation at the Start of Autumn 987 (click for a larger image)
Armies at war:
Ekra
4 Knights
1 Infantry
1 Crossbows
The Black Company
Treyine
1 Foot Knight
2 Retinue Foot
6 Longbowmen
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
Callifraxia Glories-in-the-Sun (Level 3 Wizard)
The Border Kingdoms Reborn
For the past two years, the Border Kingdoms have been governed by the Brethren (see HERE for details) . That rule has now come to an end because the scions of the noble houses are now of age to take charge. The armies of the Border Kingdom will no longer march in the black and white of the Brethren, but will ride to battle in their young lords' colours instead.
The leading family of the Border Kingdoms is the van der Walk family. Gunther van der Walk was the third son of a minor Altengardian family, with little chance of inheriting his father's estates. He sought adventure in the east and carved out a kingdom for himself by force of arms. Now it is his son's turn to prove that he has what it takes to keep hold of that kingdom. Luther van der Walk is a real fire-eater. He set out to prove himself from an early age and is renowned for his strength and courage. Were it not for the law of the land, he might well have seized the reigns of power before now.
Gilbert de Beauvriere is the son of Drogo de Beauvriere, a young knight of Ekra when he joined the crusade into what became the Border Kingdoms. Gilbert is a more contemplative sort than Luther, but is known to be competent with arms and willing to fight. His father carved out his province like Gunther van der Walk did but his reign was characterised by more of an emphasis on administration than on beating up Goblins.
Childebert de Valons is the youngest of the three rulers. He relies much on the advice of his uncles to rule his province and is clearly perceived to be the weakest of the three. He is a spindly bookish man with little zest for warfare, but his theories on agriculture are likely to ensure that any province he rules will prosper and become wealthy. Unfortunately, in the recent unpleasantness he was forced to cede his territory to Treyine; ploughshares are not particularly useful against swords. He harbours a grudge against the Brethren, who were supposed to maintain the security of this area until he came of age.
The army of the Border Kingdoms consists of a mix of cavalry and infantry troops. The lords' personal retinues march to battle in their colours and are supported by a citizen militia with more taste for battle than many. The Borderers' primary weapon is the spear, but many are also familiar with the use of the crossbow.
The Borders Army Arrayed (click for a larger version)
The Lords of the Border Kingdoms are:
Lord Luther van der Walk (WR 4)
Lord Gilbert de Beauvriere (WR 3)
Lord Childebert de Valons (WR 2) (currently in exile)
The leading family of the Border Kingdoms is the van der Walk family. Gunther van der Walk was the third son of a minor Altengardian family, with little chance of inheriting his father's estates. He sought adventure in the east and carved out a kingdom for himself by force of arms. Now it is his son's turn to prove that he has what it takes to keep hold of that kingdom. Luther van der Walk is a real fire-eater. He set out to prove himself from an early age and is renowned for his strength and courage. Were it not for the law of the land, he might well have seized the reigns of power before now.
Gilbert de Beauvriere is the son of Drogo de Beauvriere, a young knight of Ekra when he joined the crusade into what became the Border Kingdoms. Gilbert is a more contemplative sort than Luther, but is known to be competent with arms and willing to fight. His father carved out his province like Gunther van der Walk did but his reign was characterised by more of an emphasis on administration than on beating up Goblins.
Childebert de Valons is the youngest of the three rulers. He relies much on the advice of his uncles to rule his province and is clearly perceived to be the weakest of the three. He is a spindly bookish man with little zest for warfare, but his theories on agriculture are likely to ensure that any province he rules will prosper and become wealthy. Unfortunately, in the recent unpleasantness he was forced to cede his territory to Treyine; ploughshares are not particularly useful against swords. He harbours a grudge against the Brethren, who were supposed to maintain the security of this area until he came of age.
The army of the Border Kingdoms consists of a mix of cavalry and infantry troops. The lords' personal retinues march to battle in their colours and are supported by a citizen militia with more taste for battle than many. The Borderers' primary weapon is the spear, but many are also familiar with the use of the crossbow.
The Borders Army Arrayed (click for a larger version)
The Lords of the Border Kingdoms are:
Lord Luther van der Walk (WR 4)
Lord Gilbert de Beauvriere (WR 3)
Lord Childebert de Valons (WR 2) (currently in exile)
It will be interesting to see if the Brethren willingly relinquish their hold on the Border Kingdoms next year.
I had originally intended to use a Norman army for the Border Kingdoms, although it is given an historical equivalent of Fuedal French in the rule book. However, I had a bunch of Wars of the Roses figures that needed painting, so I have used them as an interim force for this army. The liveried figures are painted in the livery of Sir Henry Grey, Lord Grey of Codnor, who fought on the side of the Yorkists at Tewkesbury in 1471. I made the banners and standards on my computer. I am not sure that the leader figure's standard is exactly correct, but it works well enough to suit me and I very much doubt that many people will know any better either! I do plan to replace this force with a Norman army when Baccus finally produce one, but these will suffice until that day.
Summer 987 - The Battle Between Two Woods
The men of Treyine were confident after their battle with the Brethren. They had a powerful sorceress on their side and their mercenaries had shown conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy. In fact, it seemed that Sir Geoffrey Chambers was a real fire-eater, charging off into the fray heedless of the dangers that he exposed himself to. So, when they were ordered to march on Ekra, they marched like men with nothing to fear.
Once onto Ekran soil they soon found themselves facing the enemy. They deployed between two woods and stood ready to face the famous Ekran charge. The sun rose in the sky and sweat dripped from many a brow as they emplaced stakes along their frontage. The Treyine army placed its faith in its longbowmen above all else. These stout yeomen could loose thousands of arrows in seconds on any enemy foolish enough to try to close with them. Sir Geoffrey's mercenaries were deployed on the left flank this time.
The Ekran army had its knights deployed facing Sir Geoffrey Chambers, on their right flank. Their infantry were deployed across the frontage of the Treyine army, but it was clear that these troops were intended solely to occupy the attentions of the archers while the knights tried to collapse the Treyine left flank. The Ekrans sounded the advance and their troops moved forwards. The knights quickly demonstrated their impetuousness by outpacing all but the Ekran skirmishers. This was too much for Sir Geoffrey, who ordered his own knights forward. The Ekrans, seeing this lone advance immediately sounded the charge and Sir Geoffrey countercharged. The melee was short but furious. Although Sir Geoffrey's knights took more casualties in the first onslaught, they drove a wedge through the leading knights, broke their morale and routed them. Buoyed up by this victory, he and his men trampled a unit of Ekran crossbowmen in their eagerness to break their lances on the next unit of knights. Unfortunately, this was just too much. The new knights drove Sir Geoffrey's men from the field.
However, in that first charge, Sir Geoffrey had laid the Ekran general low and now the Ekrans were leaderless. Their troops were shaken and many fled the field. Barely half the Ekran army still stood and the Treyine main assault had yet to fall on the Ekrans. The Ekran general's replacement called for a parlay and surrendered. His troops were permitted to retreat with colours flying and this province became another part of Treyine.
This battle was lost by the Ekrans thanks to particularly poor reaction tests in the first melee of the battle, which saw their general rout from the field. The sorceress did little but summon a unit of minor demons to aid the Ekran cause. She tried to destroy the Ekran army with an Abyss spell but exhausted herself instead.
The Treyine army had no permanent losses.
The Ekran army lost:
1 unit of Knights
1 unit of Infantry
1 unit of Crossbowmen
1 unit of Peasant Foot
Once onto Ekran soil they soon found themselves facing the enemy. They deployed between two woods and stood ready to face the famous Ekran charge. The sun rose in the sky and sweat dripped from many a brow as they emplaced stakes along their frontage. The Treyine army placed its faith in its longbowmen above all else. These stout yeomen could loose thousands of arrows in seconds on any enemy foolish enough to try to close with them. Sir Geoffrey's mercenaries were deployed on the left flank this time.
The Ekran army had its knights deployed facing Sir Geoffrey Chambers, on their right flank. Their infantry were deployed across the frontage of the Treyine army, but it was clear that these troops were intended solely to occupy the attentions of the archers while the knights tried to collapse the Treyine left flank. The Ekrans sounded the advance and their troops moved forwards. The knights quickly demonstrated their impetuousness by outpacing all but the Ekran skirmishers. This was too much for Sir Geoffrey, who ordered his own knights forward. The Ekrans, seeing this lone advance immediately sounded the charge and Sir Geoffrey countercharged. The melee was short but furious. Although Sir Geoffrey's knights took more casualties in the first onslaught, they drove a wedge through the leading knights, broke their morale and routed them. Buoyed up by this victory, he and his men trampled a unit of Ekran crossbowmen in their eagerness to break their lances on the next unit of knights. Unfortunately, this was just too much. The new knights drove Sir Geoffrey's men from the field.
However, in that first charge, Sir Geoffrey had laid the Ekran general low and now the Ekrans were leaderless. Their troops were shaken and many fled the field. Barely half the Ekran army still stood and the Treyine main assault had yet to fall on the Ekrans. The Ekran general's replacement called for a parlay and surrendered. His troops were permitted to retreat with colours flying and this province became another part of Treyine.
This battle was lost by the Ekrans thanks to particularly poor reaction tests in the first melee of the battle, which saw their general rout from the field. The sorceress did little but summon a unit of minor demons to aid the Ekran cause. She tried to destroy the Ekran army with an Abyss spell but exhausted herself instead.
The Treyine army had no permanent losses.
The Ekran army lost:
1 unit of Knights
1 unit of Infantry
1 unit of Crossbowmen
1 unit of Peasant Foot
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