Winter 989 - Campaign Update

With the start of the Winter 989 turn we move to Rally Round The King as our battle rules, as mentioned previously.

Brother Cedric is currently languishing in a Treyine cell, awaiting either ransom or a daring escape. Ragnar has made his way to the former location of the village of Alwinton on the border of what is now Treyine territory. The villagers are pleased to be home and Ragnar may now mourn his dead.

The winter turn starts with Mirish ceasing to claim Brethren territory now that Treyine has captured the province and blocks all movement through to the Brethren. Treyine and the Brethren are still at war though.

Leaders
The Brethren must promote yet another Brother to the fore as general. Life in the Brethren army is clearly short but glorious. In this case Brother Superior (WR 4) now commands the Brethren army in battle.
Zog Rot is now led by Grargh the Merciless (WR 2).
In Tropilium the emperor has died this winter and is replaced by his son Cesare Salato (WR 3).

Heroes and Wizards
Sir Gervaise de Fe has died of gout while serving in the Ekran army.
The wizard Edrech (L1) has also died in a nasty accident in his lab.

Magical Items, Artefacts and Holy Relics
Treyine has recovered The Spear of St Lindorf, when they captured Brother Cedric in battle.
The Drums of Doom have been found in The Rock and are now in the possession of The Brethren.
The Book of the Hungry Moon has surfaced in Zog-Rot in the hands of their new leader. Coincidence? I think not!

The current state of the world:

With the advent of the year 990, Altengard and the Orcs join our campaign.

Autumn 989 - Go to Jail, Go Directly to Jail

Dear Griselda,

First off apologies for the length of time it has taken me to write to you. I have been having to save paper to write this. Sorry about the size and thinness of the sheets, still at least they are quilted. Sorry also about the reddish ink. Again this is another of the reasons for the delay in writing, rats seem to have very little blood in them.

Well the battle didn’t go quite to plan, in fact not to plan at all. The invading Treyine greatly outnumbered us and the fiends were using magic. I did the only sane course of action and surrendered to them. This at least would save the men.

This means I am now a guest of the Treyine. Although their idea of hospitality does seem a little strange. Still the cell does remind me of my first room when I joined the order. If anything the food is slightly better than the priory.

It was hard also to see the spear of Saint Lindorf go back into enemy hands. Still while there’s life there’s hope. Speaking of which, they are talking about hanging me in a week's time. Something to do with murder, robbery and spoiling the sanctity of holy ground. Still as I said while there’s life etc …

One of Barbax’s messengers came to see me today. They are seconded to the Treyine army at the moment. She offered any help they could to the ‘Father of the Nation’. I didn’t quite understand that, but it seems I’m still a bit of a hero with the Hykar. Not sure what help they can give as apparently they are having quite a bit of trouble at home. Something about not recognising an illegitimate son as a prince, I think.

Any way I’ll have to finish now as the crow is getting restless and is starting to peck my hand. Sorry about the handwriting.

Yours in bondage,
Brother Cedric

The course of the battle
The armies deploy for battle. The Treyine anchor their left flank on the woods and deploy their archers in the usual hedgehog pattern designed to take advantage of Brother Cedric's known propensity for charging headlong into everything:


Brother Cedric charges as expected. The Treyine cavalry attempt to flank the Brethren infantry while their wizards cast a Stench of Weakness on the Brethren left flank:


Sir Alaric Fitzhugh rides out to meet Brother Cedric in single combat as is only proper between heroes, while the Brethren cavalry contacts the Treyine infantry but is driven off. The rest of the Brethren army fragments:


The Treyine sorceror summons a demon that frightens the Brethren cavalry's horses. They are last seen heading north at high speed. The Treyine archers move out to support their cavalry and cut Cedric down if he wins the single combat:


Brethren dart hither and thither and Brother Cedric finally decides to save the lives of his men by surrendering:

Autumn 989 - Campaign Update

With the Hykar threat eliminated, the Treyine army is now free to deal with the Brethren and has marched northwards. The Brethren must make a decision. Will they hold off pursuing the Mirish army and deal with the Treyine threat, or will they split their army and try to punish the Mirish while holding the frontier against the Treyine incursion?

No other nations have chosen to go to war this season. Clearly they would rather gather harvests and stockpile food.

State of affairs at start of 989:

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.