Protect the Kingdom
“I can’t believe it, no sooner had we received word that the force of Orcs from the North had been destroyed, than we received word that a village on our Western border had been sacked by Gnolls, and the sails of a Reptile fleet had been spotted off the East coast. I guess we had better hope that the Undead in the South don’t rise up too!”
Welcome to the Kingdom of Grosmorne, a land predominantly home to Humans, bordered by four very territorial races. Things have been quiet but very tense for years and could bubble over at any moment. We have a sizeable standing army, ready be deployed to the borders at short notice, but nobody expected to have to fight on four fronts at once.
Our Kingdom is an alliance of three city states, St John’s, Grand Falls, and Conception. Each with its own troops and livery, but we will work together against these external threats.
[There will be 12 battles played from a pool of 40 scenarios, escalating in difficulty, and the forces available to me will be effected by the results of the previous battles].
Game 1 - The peace of the Kingdom is shattered, first a northern village is destroyed, then a mine. So I have dispatched a force North to defend against these raiders.
[This is a Low Difficulty Defend Scenario, and I rolled one of the easiest Adversary forces - 3 Rabble Fighters, 2 Rabble Shooters, and 1 War Machine/Monster - so I can field quite a mixed force myself. The scenario rolled was Break Through where at least 3 of my units are trying to exit off the Left table edge before the end of the battle (8 Rounds).]
A group of our soldiers have ended up behind the enemy advance and must break through it to get back to us.
Setup - of the Adversary units only three are currently visible so I set up ready to face off against them but balanced for wherever the other three are.
Round 1 - The rabble and Mage on the hill have a good view of the battlefield and can see another group of Orcs and a nasty looking Troll blocking the path through to their own army. This suggests there are some other goblin wolf riders lurking behind the wood or the hill. With a limited time before this lot will be reinforced the Kingdom forces have no choice but to push on.
Hostilities start with a volley from the crossbows at the wolf riders in the centre, killing four of them and sending the remaining two scurrying off in disarray. Though three of the crossbows are rendered useless in the process. This is upsetting for the orcs next to them who stand where they are looking at the dead bodies of their comrades.
To their dismay they then see the Human cavalry push through the frantically reloading crossbows, and they get no support from the two remaining wolfriders who are trying to pull themselves together off behind them.
The Slingers on the hill don’t want to be out done by those cocky crossbow guys and let fly at the orc archers below them, watching with great satisfaction as they too back away, leaving three of their number dead. They too regroup but then another one falls dead from a lightning bolt from the Elemental Mage.
That’s all the fighting though, the rest of the Kingdom Units start moving forwards and the Goblinoid Units at the back show no sign of coming to meet them.
Round 2 - There is a thunder of hooves as the cavalry charge into the dithering Orc spears. Both units then retreat away afterwards each leaving 3 of their number dead behind them, the orcs finding themselves unable to do anything else than recover from this while Human spears emerge out of the woods towards them, but then a howl erupts from the remaining two wolves as they suddenly throw themselves at the Humans! It is 2 verses 8 but the chances are actually even. The wolfriders are both slain but they take three humans with them and they are forced to retreat, forcing Lord Arundel to step forward in between the Orc spears and the retreating Human Spears.
The depleted Orc archers are feeling exposed and head back towards the supposed safety of the woods, allowing the rest of the Kingdom force to start heading forwards, but the second line of greenskins also gets up the courage to come to meet them.
Round 3 - knowing that his comrades need to get moving forwards, not backwards, Lord Arundel throws himself at the five remaining orc spears. He slaughters four of them and the last one retreats, while Arundel takes a single wound which he shrugs off as he watches the lone orc keep retreating. This allows the Rabble unit to follow along behind him, although still dirupted from their encounter with the wolfriders.
The Orc bows decide they should stop hunting for cover but don’t shoot, so the slingers let fly at them, killing another one but they take that in their stride. The Troll falters again as the central Kingdom Unit crests the hill, which in turn makes the Orc unit pause. The Mage decides to stay with the Slingers rather than proceed on alone and zaps another Orc archer with a lightning bolt.
The final Adversary unit, more Wolfriders, now shows itself as the the Human cavalry recovers itself and the Crossbows keep coming forward.
Round 4 - the Kingdom force needs to push forwards now if they are to get clear of the enemy army, so Lord Arundel heads onto the hill. The recently spotted Goblin wolfriders are eager to join the battle but are just to far away from the enemy to charge, so make their way forward, while the remains of the Kingdom cavalry, decide to stay out of the way and move further to their right. This makes sense as Lord Arundel is close enough to that last Orc spear to force it off the battlefield and giving the forces on the right, including the remaining Human spears a clear path to keep heading off the table to safety despite still being disrupted.
The two remaining Orc archers fire at the unit they can see on the wooded hill in the centre, but don’t achieve anything, so the Kingdom’s Rabble Shooters make their way forwards too. The Troll is next but seems less than eager and actually pulls away from the nasty Humans.
The Mage, seeing a great opportunity to help his comrades casts a Wind Funnel, disrupting the wolfriders, and after the remaining Orc fighters start moving towards Lord Arundel, the Kingdom fighters in the centre charge into the stricken wolfriders. 12 dice verses 6 leaves three wolfriders and 1 Human dead, the Humans are fine, but the wolfriders immediately retreat.
Finally, the Kingdom crossbows fire a volley at the Orcs heading for Lord Arundel, and despite the fact that three can’t shoot they kill three of the Orcs and the rest also go into retreat.
Round 5 - Lord Arundel plows into the retreating Orcs, at 10 dice verses 1 it should be carnage and Arundel is surprised when he takes a couple of wounds and only kills one Orc, but apparently that was enough and the Orcs rout!
The wolfriders have vicious Humans too close behind them so they leave too, and the Kingdom unit that defeated them turn their attention to the Troll. They manage to score 4 Wounds on it and survive unscathed themselves, which is not enough to kill the Troll but does force the Troll into retreat, although the Humans lose their nerve and go into retreat themselves.
This just leaves two Orc archers on the table, and they duck into the woods, while the rest of the Kingdom forces head towards safety.
Round 6 - the Disrupted Kingdom Unit recovers but then comes under fire from the two Orcs, well one Orc archer as the other one already broke its bow. They do no damage but force the unit into retreat again. This however leads the Kingdom slingers to fire at them, and both are killed. With no enemy troops between them and safety, the remaining Kingdom troops now make a dash for it.
Round 7 - four Kingdom units are off the table and the remaining three are close by the end of the Round, so that’s a Victory for the people of Grosmorne.
Aftermath - replacements are soon found for the 7 soldiers killed in the battle. The warriors that fought valiantly against the wolfriders and the troll are promoted to Veteran, the Elemental Mage Azriel is infused with extra power, and Sir Baldwin the junior leader that was with the crossbow unit during the battle also gains valuable experience.
[This was not expected to be too challenging, but there were a couple of lucky rolls that could have gone differently.]
Game 2 - Your neighbours to the East have heard about your troubles and seek to take advantage. Send a force East and defend against their efforts.
[A second Low Difficulty Defend Scenario, but I rolled a more challenging Adversary force - 1 Regular Fighters, 2 Rabble Fighters, 2 Rabble Shooters, 1 Magic User. I cannot use any of the units from the previous game but I do want to try giving some of my own rabble some experience again. This time the scenario rolled was Delay Them, where my troops only need to hold out long enough for there to be at least 3 Units still on the table at the end of the battle (7 Rounds) to achieve a victory.]
The enemy have been advancing rapidly and you only have a small force in the area, but they must do what they can to hold them up.
Setup - given the idea is to hold tight, I don’t need cavalry, and decided to deploy one of my two Monsters, a Gryphon. So with two shooter units in the centre with the Elite unit of St. Johns Guard behind them bolstered by Sir Clarenville, and with the hero Lady Gwen poised nearby, we were all set when the lizards and snakes started to march through having come ashore on the East coast. According to our scouts we are seeing about half the advance force at this point.
Round 1 - Hostilities begin with Kingdom archers firing at the Snake archers, killing 2 though suffering 3 weapon failures. The snakes were surprised though and immediately routed, which in turn made the fighting unit next to them hold where they were, so the Kingdom slingers then shot at them, killing 1 and causing them to retreat, which in turn uncovered another unit behind them, who then moved forward.
The St.Johns Guard decided to hold below the crest of the hill for now, but the Lizard archers fire at the Kingdom archers, killing 2 and forcing them to retreat. Seeing this, Lady Gwen heads over to support but the rest of the Kingdom units decide to hold where they are, though some do see a very strange lone lizard appear from behind a hill.
Round 2 - the Kingdom slingers target the lizard archers this time, killing 2 which proves enough to unsettle them and force a retreat, but that then uncovers the last of the reptile force. This is not enough to rattle the mean looking lizard fighters though, who keep coming on, unaware what continues to lurk just over the crest of the hill, or uncaring?
While the Snake fighters recover themselves, the Kingdom force decides to call up their Gryphon, hoping to menace the reptile front line, but this doesn’t phase the other lizard fighters. Lady Gwen also takes position just below the brow of the hill and the rest hold position, the lizard archers recover. Suddenly the woods near the Lizard’s Shaman burst into flames but nobody is quite sure why!
Round 3 - with two lots of lizards looking like they will charge, the slingers decide it’s is time to pull back and pass through the Guards. The mean lizards now having no obvious target start marching up the hill, and are surprised when the Guards sweep down and attack! The Guards kill 5, but so do the Lizards, and it comes down to who holds their nerve, and the Guards do, but the Lizards don’t.
This leaves three Guards alone on the hill though, so the Gryphon launches itself at the nearest threat, the other lizard fighters. The Gryphon kill 4 and takes only 3 Wounds which is not enough to kill it, the Lizards retreat and the Gryphon leaps forward, picking off another one, but bringing it too close to the snakes who leap to the defence of their allies. The Gryphon kills one of them too but takes enough more wounds to kill it. This doesn’t stop the snakes from retreating though.
The Kingdom archers now move to the top of the hill but they are in range of the lizard archers who shoot one and force the rest to retreat again. Lady Gwen remains below the hill crest ready to support the Guard, the Shaman has no target in range so moves forward, the remaining Kingdom units hold steady again.
Round 4 - the Kingdom force have done enough to halt the reptile advance, but at the sacrifice of the noble Gryphon, and decide they can start to withdraw, while the reptiles try to recover from their losses, with only the archers and the shaman moving forwards.
Round 5 - the Kingdom units withdraw for sight, drawing the reptile units on.
Round 6 - when the last few of the mean looking lizards crest the hill, the slingers cut them all down. The other lizard fighters see this and decide to stay where they are, while the snakes and the archers keep moving forwards. Last to react is the shaman, not close enough to cast a spell, but having seen the demise of the lizards, it decides to valiantly go for help!
Round 7 - next to brave the hilltop are the snakes, the slingers let fly again and kill 2 but the rest hold their nerve. The three lizards at the back still won’t budge. The St. Johns Guard pull back, ready to leave but this brings them in sight of the lizard archers, who kill another one. Lady Gwen seriously considers charging the snakes, but recalls their orders, they’ve done enough, the remaining force needs to live to fight another day.
Aftermath - when the force returns home there is of course some rejoicing but the loss of so many of the St. Johns Guard is keenly felt, elite soldiers are very hard to replace. Not so the 3 replacement archers, and the beast tamer has another Gryphon available. The slingers did well and gained +1 NRV.
[Again, expected to be an easy game, and I enjoyed the tactical decisions I made, but the loyalty gained was all used up immediately and the one Elite Unit I have is now out of action as they can only recruit out of damaged Veteran Units. As a side note, I had a discussion about Adversary Magic Users with one of the playtesters ahead of this game and yet I’m quite happy with how the shaman did completely unexpected things].
Game 3 - Rumours are spreading that the South will be next to be attacked. Sending a force that way to show you are ready for that will help settle fears.
[Another Low Difficulty, but an Encounter scenario this time. Mid table Adversary roll of 3 Rabble Fighters, 2 Regular Shooters, and a Leader (in fact the highest level Leader, who is with the second Shooter unit). The battle will be Pillagers, where the Kingdom force must have total control of the Centre area (no Adversary Units left in it) by the end of Round 7.]
You have ordered a force to visit some of the villages, looking out for trouble, but as they approach the villagers are fleeing and tell you they have seen an enemy patrol.
Setup - While this should be easy again, the Undead do not take Nerve tests, so I think shooters will be important this time and field three units of them. The third rabble spear unit will get their first outing and for smashing my way into the village I have a Veteran unit bolstered by a level 3 leader, Sir Brook, and a giant! We can’t see much of the enemy yet though.
Round 1 - the mounted archers go left (revealing another enemy unit and a decoy) and the first skeleton unit heads their way. Next the crossbows head right, which has the skeletons on that side come onwards, and the rabble shooters follow the crossbows. The new unit the mounted archers found have javelins which they let fly at them, killing half and making the rest retreat, not a great start for the Kingdom! The rest of the movement is hidden by the buildings.
Round 2 - on the right, the crossbows kill three skeletons, while the skeleton unit on the right is thrown off by their only visible enemy retreating, and holds where they are. The Rabble shooters swing further right while the remaining skeletons on that side march implacably onwards. The three remaining horse archers get themselves together and are out of range now of the skeleton javelins who also don’t know what to do now. The rest of the Kingdom units are now in the village, while there is a commotion at the enemy rear as another skeleton unit enters the fray. The scouts had said five units, so there must still be one out of sight.
The few remaining horse archers take a shot at the skeletons advancing on the left, and kill one. The skeleton javelins that hurt them so bad realise they can’t help from way back there so start forward, but it’s too late, the Veteran unit rushes out from the village and into the skeletons, and they have Sir Brook with them. Four more skeletons drop, but so do three Kingdom fighters, and both sides stagger back a little. Thankfully, though Sir Brook spotted the last enemy unit, skeleton archers, being pushed back blocks them from being shot at, forcing the archers to come forward looking for a target. Then there is a ragged yell as the Kingdom spearmen round one of the houses and plough into the already depleted skeletons, killing the remaining three! Sadly taking one casualty themselves makes them then retreat.
Round 4 - the crossbows start us off again, killing two but a fourth crossbow is now out of action. The skeletons decide that just walking into fire is not paying off and head behind the building, which serves to get them out of range for the Rabble, who risk moving up. The skeleton archers decide to play hard to get, already lurking behind the house. The Veterans realise they are at risk from the Skeleton javelins and risk a charge. Two more of the unit are dead, but they kill five of the skeletons, which includes the leader that was with them. The skeletons are pushed back but this just allows them to fling javelins, thankfully failing to score another casualty. The Giant moves in, the few horse archers get into cover, and the Rabble spears sort themselves out.
Round 6 - time is against the Kingdom force, they need to secure the village, so the Giant crashes into the six skeleton spearmen. The giant kills four and takes a couple of wounds, but then the last two skeletons charge back, achieving nothing and both getting themselves killed. However this might have been their cunning plan, as that now leaves the giant exposed to the archers! They do another two wounds, but that’s not enough, the giant can shake that off.
The Veterans keep hacking at the javelins, they kill two to one of their own, but that’s still leaves two to shoot, thankfully they decide they have a pressing engagement elsewhere and head away rapidly! The rest of the Kingdom force sweep past the village, sensing victory, but it’s not over yet that last skeleton unit is still too close to the village!
Round 7 - the giant plunges into them, but he must be getting tired and suffering some after effects from those previous wounds, as he does no damage while taking three fresh wounds! The skeletons are pushed back a little, they stop and shoot, the giant takes another wound and starts to retreat, leaving him in the way of both the shooting units! It’s all down to two veterans and Sir Brook, they charge! One skeleton is killed, and only one Kingdom soldier survives, but it’s enough, the remaining foes are pushed back another half an inch, and the Kingdom force has full control of the village!
Aftermath - the force returns home with their heads held high, but again there were losses that will no doubt be felt later, not least the brave death of Sir Brook and a whole Veteran unit (the lone survivour was invited to join the St. Johns Guards). We raised a new Rabble unit (a poor substitute for the Veterans) and replaced the three horse archers and the spearman. That said, the Rabble unit used this time have been promoted to Regulars.
[Oh boy, that was close. All down to the fact that the Undead do not make nerve rolls after taking casualties, so have to be completely destroyed. This is an optional rule in the game as it has always bothered me that undead could be scared off, and of course I will play it that way in the two subsequent battles against the undead too.]
Game 4 -
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