Autumn 989 - Goblins, sah, fahsands of 'em

Summer had passed in an endless march through the Goblin lands but now Ragnar had trailed the Goblins that had raided Alwinton to their home, or so he thought. Certainly this is where King Rech had told him they would be. Unfortunately, as he approached the goblin settlement hordes of Goblins poured out of the place to form up in front of him and his company. Worse yet, they were led by not one but two Ogres and half the Goblins were mounted on Terror Birds. Things were going to get messy very quickly!

Ragnar deployed his crew in line among the boulders that dotted the area outside the Goblin village. They would provide good cover. The main Ogre had the majority of the Goblins around him, presumably to provide alternative targets. Ragnar could see over on his right flank that an Ogre and a Goblin Archer had emerged from the village onto the road directly opposite the vile King Rech and his chariot.


The battle began with missile fire. The desultory fire from the Goblins' side seemed designed to show only that they were doing what they were meant to. The shooting from Ragnar's crew told on the Goblins. The first Goblin fell to an arrow in his chest and pretty soon his compatriots were all fleeing. Ragnar laughed grimly as he nocked another arrow. These Goblins were spineless and the Ogre in command now stood on his own in the centre of the battlefield with only a couple of cowardly Goblins peeking out from behind his skirts. Ragnar did not know that a mounted force of Goblins was riding around on his flank at this point.


King Rech, on the flank was busily shooting at the Goblin Archer that was accompanying the Ogre. When he finally hit it, he killed it and the Ogre routed immediately, so he decided to advance up the road. After all, it was safe enough now!


With the Goblins in the centre scattered, Ragnar ordered his troops to concentrate their fire on the main Ogre but to little avail. It advanced amid the hail of arrows, apparently unconcerned by those that had impaled its hide. Then it paused, suddenly appearing unsure right at the moment when it was about to charge. Ragnar's crew fired everything they had at it and Barak finally managed to find a weak point, his arrow taking it in the eye and driving up into the Ogre's brain. It fell dead immediately and all the remaining Goblins fled. The village was Ragnar's. Time to search it.

This was a Pitched Battle scenario that I fought solo, because Steve could not make it through. I rolled that Ragnar had found the object of his quest but that he had to fight through to it, so Pitched Battle followed by a Raid if he won the first battle.

The Ogre was a particularly nasty Big Bad with Rep 6 and Hardiness 7. Yet, when Barak hit it, it managed to roll too many 6s to survive. No one is invulnerable in this game! Rather than allow Ragnar to choose all his reactions, I rolled for him on the Test of Wills and Charge tests. We have found that Free Will starts to break down in these tests once characters become as powerful as Ragnar and Brother Cedric. I still used it for other tests that he is allowed to choose. I treated the Big Bad Ogre as a character in the same way as Ragnar is.

Now that Ragnar has won this scenario, he moves to a Raid scenario to try to find the lost villagers. Let us hope that there are no more Big Bad Ogres in this village!

The Raid
As Ragnar congratulated himself on the bloodless victory; well, bloodless from his side of things, he saw a dust cloud approaching. What looked like a large Goblin war-party was returning to the village. Blast, he would have to fight his way through the village now. He quickly ordered the group to advance. No point in holding position when they could get into the village and start looking for the villagers from Alwinton. King Rech remained on the road in his chariot, shooting at the Goblins on the Terror Birds, while the others used their bows to try to whittle down the Goblins, but to little effect. Nothing for it but to charge.


Ragnar, Barak and Grim Redshirt all charged the Ogre. Suddenly Barak and Grim Redshirt were lying in pools of blood. The Ogre's giant axe had sliced both of them in two and Ragnar was backpedalling towards Armand, who had not made it into the fight. As he came level with Armand, this latter thrust at the Ogre and distracted it. Suddenly it was the Ogre that was backpedalling, before slipping in Barak's blood and getting cut down by Ragnar.


The others had charged the main body of the Goblins and were not faring too well. Although experienced warriors, they were outnumbered and it told. Although they held out as best they could, Hildigunn and Drogo were soon too badly wounded to fight on. Worse yet, Richard had been wounded by a Goblin arrow and was sitting by the altar staring at the hole in his side.

King Rech was firing arrows for all he was worth. He slew one Terror Bird and another routed. Then he charged the remaining one, only to find his chariot cut from under him by the Rider's fierce fire. Undaunted he charged on fought, only to be cut down and slain where he stood. The Rider turned and prepared to charge Ragnar's crew in the back.

Ragnar and Armand now charged the Goblins in the flank. In very short order the Goblins were soon cut down or routing, demoralised thoroughly by the grim efficiency with which Ragnar wielded his axe.



Enraged by the deaths of his comrades, Ragnar barged into the first hut and cut his way through the Goblins that were lurking in it. He repeated this process for the remaining huts and eventually found the target of his raid in a cellar beneath one of the stone huts. The villagers of Alwinton were all but saved. Now all they had to do was get home before the worst of the winter set in.

The raid was tough. Ragnar and his crew rolled poorly to start with and the ease with which the Ogre killed Barak and Grim was frightening. I really thought Ragnar had met his match here. Fortunately he was driven back next to Armand who was able to join the fight and help him to beat the Ogre.

After the battle I rolled for advancement. Ragnar lost one point of Hardiness. Drogo lost a point of Rep and is now Rep 2. I think he will stay with the villagers and not come on adventures any more. Richard also lost 1 Rep and is now Rep4. No one gained anything, except the villagers, who did not get eaten.

Summer 989 - Barbax Rides Out

My dearest Cedders,

It is with heavy heart and belly that I have to tell you that my attempts to join you have been thwarted by the Treyine army. The blighters have invaded Hykar. I could not believe the cheek of them when I found out. Anyway, I led my army out to meet them and proceeded to surround them just as the Hykari Battle Book tells us to. They advanced to meet us, as is only proper, while my ponygirls were riding around onto their flank.


So, anyway, then they suddenly stopped and planted stakes and other impedimenta in front of their lines. Dashed if I know what they were doing but it certainly upset the ponies. Worse yet, they had a wizard, who summoned a demon that spooked the ponies. I mean, what kind of an idiot comes to a battle and spooks the ponies? How are you going to catch them again afterwards? And what is the point of going to war if you cannot win some ponies to bring home? Idiots.


Worse yet, they summoned two of the things. Well, that set the girls right on edge and next thing we knew a whole bunch of them were bolting from the field of battle.


I decided that I should have to lead the charge home myself, despite my condition. Well, those Ekran knights are no gentlemen. That is all I shall say. The girls were positively mortified by the treatment they received. Worse yet, most of them had decided to head for home.


I decided I needed to make a break for it and charged at some of the Treyine footsloggers but that did not work as I expected. Next thing I knew my pony was bolting for home and me unable to do a thing about it. Ridiculous. These Treyine wallahs really should learn how to fight a battle properly.


So, this letter finds me currently a bit indisposed. I know you will be concerned, but you need not worry. I and my little treasure are fine but you will have to wait a little while longer before we can meet again. I am impatient for that moment and I know you must feel the same.


As a token of my esteem for you, I am sending these six ponies to you with the messenger. She will carry any message you care to send back to me. Please write. You have not responded to any of my previous posts and I fear for you.

SWALK,
Barbax Gutripper

The Treyine juggernaut once more pounded one of its opponents so badly that they had to submit. Hykar is now at peace with Treyine and must provide them with an allied contingent. Treyine lost no troops while Hykar permanently lost six stands of light cavalry. Ouch!

Summer 989 - Cedric Takes Charge

Dear Griselda,

Hopefully I should be on my way home soon. We met up with the Brethren Army and they seem to be having a few problems. General Miles Kristi has died, so when the Mirish came across us I had to take command. You would have loved it they had elephants and everything.


We met at the boundary of Hergest Ridge and the plain outside Levin-on-the-Jett. I must admit that this whole thing of being in charge of an army, seemed a little daunting. Still, I put the years of tactical training my father had given me into practice, and we charged to meet the enemy.

At first things seemed to be going badly, with, our allies, the Goblin wolf riders turning tail and fleeing the battle, never trust a Goblin, unless he’s dead. The spearmen were having difficulties in the centre against the elephants. Even my fellow brother Knights were forced to leave the field.

Eventually I managed to break through and attack their general, who turned tail and fled the field taking a lot of his men with him. This just left a little mopping up for us to do. Unfortunately the scouts have said the Treyine army is now heading this way.

Hope things are well at home and I’m sure I will quickly be able to sort out the Hykar Lawyer.

This game saw Brother Cedric pounding the heck out of the Mirish army. The rest of his troops were not particularly spectacular in their performance, but Cedric was awesome. I suspect it is because I allowed Steve to use a 28mm figure to represent Cedric rather than the more proper 6mm figure that it should have been.

Summer 989 - Campaign Update

Following the brutal attack on their provinces in the Spring, Treyine launches a retaliatory attack against the Hykar. Their general, Lord De La Warre, has returned to the army following his grievous injuries of last year and has decided to focus there rather than split his forces as a result of intelligence received from Mirish this season.

The Mirish, flushed by the success of their campaign versus the Goblins, look for other targets and fasten upon the former Border Kingdom territory held by the Brethren. Clearly the Treyine generals are keen to see how this attack fares first before committing their own troops to the area. Fortunately for the Brethren, Brother Cedric has bravely stepped up to the mark and will lead their army in lieu of Father Miles Kristi, who died in the Spring of this year.

There is also a strong 'hawk' contingent among the Seniir. The leading families are almost equal in power but the Flavians outnumber the Claudians slightly, giving them the edge in most disputes. Unfortunately for the Flavian hawks the senate vote is sufficiently divided to keep the Seniir army within their borders this time around. Perhaps the Flavians will be able to make a few offers to the other senate members that they cannot refuse by the Autumn.



The current status of all armies is now listed on the Campaign Army Lists page.

Spring 989 - Elf Risks

There was a man called Ragnar, the son of Ketil, son of Grim, the son of Ragnar, the son of Einar. Ragnar travelled north through the Border Kingdoms, which lay far to the east of Mirholme, in search of the villagers of Alwinton, whom he had sworn to protect. Ragnar was a great warrior ...

"Black Moon Elves," spat Ulf, as he espied an enemy threat approaching. The northern mountains of the former Border Kingdoms were an unpleasant place to be at the best of times but, with the nation overrun by Goblins it had got worse. Outlaws and followers of the Dark Moon were rife everywhere. The ruined farmhouse ahead of them proved this. Its former owners were nowhere to be seen. Only the Elves occupied the area now.
"There are not many of them," announced Ragnar, "Gunnvora, Hildigunn, Redshirt and Drogo, come with me. Let us try these Elves and see if they can face the arrow storm as well as we can. The rest of you stay with the Goblin and make sure he does not escape. We need him as a guide and cannot risk him in this fight."

Ragnar and his band sneaked up to the edge of the farm buildings. Only a single Elf was on guard and he appeared to be unaware of their approach.

After a quick reorganisation, Hildigunn and Grim stepped out from behind the cottage and loosed arrows at the lone Elf sentry. He fell immediately with two arrows through his heart. As they did so, Ragnar burst through the cottage door and came face to face with a big mean Elf. He immediately charged and a desperate fight ensued. The Elf was nearly as good as Ragnar, and Ragnar's followers, though well meaning, kept getting in the way.

All too soon, Gunnvora lay dying on the floor, her body destroyed by the Elf's glaive. Drogo lay near her, wounded but breathing still. Ragnar bellowed his rage and drove the Elf before him, out of the cottage. Now the Elf was on the defensive, bleeding from wounds that would have killed a lesser Elf. Grim and Hildigunn sought to help, but Ragnar told them to search the other cottages instead. He was afraid that they would go the way of Gunnvora.

Soon the Elf was exhausted. Ragnar had driven it back to the stream and its blows were getting weaker. Reversing his axe he pounded the hammer head against the Elf's skull and it collapsed into the water, still breathing. Quickly Ragnar bound it as a should went up from the stable. A wild Elf had been hiding there but Hildigunn and Grim demonstrated their archery skills once more. As the Elf fled they feathered its back with arrows, an ignominious end to a life poorly led.

While the others were spitting the Elf, Ragnar entered a small hovel across the stream, where the sentry had been. Another of the Elven brethren was within. With a roar of rage Ragnar raced to rend the reiver and redden his blade once more. A furious fight ensued that first saw Ragnar driven back and then the Elf. It was close fought as Ragnar was pushed back out of the door and then forced his way back in.

Soon the Elf was tiring though, while Ragnar's steel thews were still strong. He drove the Elf backwards once more into the wall of the hovel. Dust showered from the beams at the force of the impact. Then, stepping back, he raised his axe over his shoulder and drove it down through the Elf's body, cleaving it from shoulder to hip. The Elf lay dead on the floor as Hildigunn and Grim ran to aid Ragnar.

With the Elves dead or captured, the group were able to revive Drogo using the last of Gunnvora's potions of healing. She would not be making any more of those. With the battle won, they searched the hovels and cottages. In the cellar of one cottage a lone youth hid. He told them the tale of this farmstead, a not uncommon tale as it was. The Goblins had fallen on the area and taken all into slavery or eaten them as was their wont. The youth, Guillaume by name, had survived by snaring game and hunting with his sling, but then the Elves came and he had to hide. They had remained there several days and he had hidden all that time, until Ragnar rescued him. In gratitude he swore to join Ragnar's band and aid him in his quest to free the people of Alwinton. Perhaps in doing so he might also find his own family.

I chose to use only part of Ragnar's band for this encounter because I do not have enough Dark Elf figures to face the whole band. This proved unfortunate for Gunnvora, the group's healer. The fights were tough, especially against the Big Mean Elf (Rep 6 Big Bad, AC4, H4, CV9). His hardiness meant that he shrugged off most blows, while still being able to kill Gunnvora OD and put Drogo OOF. Rather than kill him though, Ragnar has taken him hostage. I hope to develop this side of things as a later scenario. You can find details of Ragnar's band HERE. In WHAA you can recruit once per month instead of doing an encounter, but we are playing turns of three months (one season) to match the WH campaign. Therefore we allow recruiting once per season. Thus, Ragnar was able to recruit a new band member. I rolled for him on the Border Kingdoms table and assumed that he was the last surviving member of this farmstead.

Spring 989 - The Battle of Hamnorthtoun

After rather too long we finally got around to the next campaign battle. It is Spring 989 and the Mirish army has invaded the Goblin-held territories that were once the Border Kingdom. Near the ruined town of Hamnorthtoun, the two armies meet up. The Goblins have adopted a defensive position on a large hill to the north and the Mirish army must drive them from it. A large but sparse wood occupies the Mirish left flank.


Seeing the enemy ahead of them, and being brave and dashing cavalry types, the Mirish army advanced quickly on its right flank. Meanwhile, on the left flank the skirmishers headed for the cover of the wood.


As the Mirish cavalry approached, the Goblins decided to descend from their hilltop eyrie and try to catch the cavalry on the hop. The Goblin hero in his chariot, with a wolfrider escort seemed to be trying to ride past the Mirish army and caught the eye of a passing elephant or two. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


With the Goblins in range, the Mirish cataphracts and clibanarii (that's cavalry to you and me) charged and drove off some of the Goblins without even breaking into a sweat. The elephants were now facing the enemy and the great Goblin hero could be heard yelling for ale as he turned his chariot and prepared to deal with the Mirish army. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


The Mirish cavalry turned around and prepared to charge the Goblin infantry again. Mughrant's wolfrider escort had been driven off by the elephants and he had turned his attention to the Mirish light cavalry. Meanwhile the skirmishers danced around each other to no great effect.


And so the Goblin line disintegrated and was destroyed piecemeal. The Goblin skirmishers finally decided to join the fray in the centre. But it was really too late.


In a last ditch attempt to salvage something from this fracas, the Goblin general girded his loins and prepared to charge. The skirmishers were moving into position to deal with the elephantine nuisance in the centre and Mughrant had seen the writing on the wall. He kept his chariot moving away from the battlefield.


Naturally I got too excited to photograph the final turn. Needless to say, the photograph would only have had a very small number of Goblins on it. The Goblin general charged the Mirish general and drove him back. Following up he attacked again, screaming fearsome cries as he cleaved his way towards the Mirish general. Then fate struck. Whether he tripped over a root, or just stepped in someone, we shall never know now. As he stumbled a Mirish clibanarius drove his spear through the general's body. The Goblin standard fell and soon the whole Goblin army was in rout. For the loss of just a few clibanarii, the Mirish army had utterly routed the Goblin horde. The Border Kingdoms were now back under human control.

This will be one of our last WH battles. We shall be upgrading to Rally Round the King at the end of this campaign year. The battle saw the Goblin army routed and their national morale utterly destroyed. The Goblins have sought peace. As part of that they will now supply a contingent to the Mirish army for the next six years.

Rally Round the King

Rally Round the King has now been released. This is an updated and refined version of the Warrior Heroes rules that we use for our massed battles and very fine it looks too upon a first read through. I must admit to having had some input into this iteration of the rules, so I may well be a little biased, but I am thrilled to see the rules back in print and brought into line with the newer sets from TwoHourWargames.

So, what does this mean for our campaign? Well, there are subtle differences between the two rules sets, and the army lists in the new version have been altered slightly, mostly by the addition of the Undisciplined ability and allowances that need to be made for that. Since we plan to use these rules largely as written, including the new army lists, we shall finish the current campaign year using Warrior Heroes and then transfer over to the new rules in the Winter refit phase. This should ensure a seamless transition between the two, not that there are huge differences really. I am looking forward to playing using the updated rules.