At the beginning of Turn 2 the forces of the Empire and the Wood Elves hold more territory (and by extension have the biggest armies).
- Wood Elves hold the Draken Downs & The Drakwald Deeps
- Empire hold The Talabec Border & The Barren Hills
- Bretonnia holds The Reik's Marches
- Greenskins hold The Taalford Lowlands
On the strategic turn, we could choose where to move an army to for each of our factions (I'm playing Empire and Bretonnia, Laura is playing Wood Elves and Greenskins). The move had to be from a controlled territory to an adjacent territory, and only 1 move was allowed, no matter how many territories we had.
We secretly planned our moves for the turn, and then revealed them to each other.
Campaign movement for Turn 2.
The Wood Elves and Bretonnians both decided to start moving on the neutral territory, whereas the Greenskins and the Empire look like they're ready for a climatic battle at the border between The Barren Hills and The Taalford Lowlands!
The 'empty' territories would have a roll to see if there was a neutral army defending them using the following table:
- Undead
- Dwarfs
- High Elves
- Pactsworn (Chaos, Skaven & Dark Elves - basically 'models I have that don't make up a valid army by themselves'!)
- Bandits
- Empty Territory
So if we'd have rolled a 6 each then we would've gained a territory for free, no battle required! As it turns out we weren't so lucky, we both rolled 1s and would be fighting the Undead.
I quickly knocked up a Vampire Counts army list of roughly 500pts (actually about 530pts). The army of the vampire Count Gulthias - Childe of Vlad von Carstein!
Both the Wood Elves and the Bretonnians would be fighting this Vampire Count army, so we decided to start with the Bretonnians vs. Vampire Counts battle at The Great Confluence.
The Great Confluence
This area is named for the great rivers that join here, which will eventually become tributaries for the Reik further downstream. Unfortunately I don't have any river scenery at present, but luckily the description of the area noted that many settlements and farmsteads exist, presumably working off the fertile land afforded by the rivers.
With this in mind I created a farmstead setup for the battle. And when you have a farmstead you should have some farmers too! So we decided that the objective for the mission would be related to these innocent bystanders.
The Quest
The evil forces of Count Gulthias were raiding the countryside, abducting the defenceless folk for some nefarious purpose. Babes were stolen in the night as wolves bayed in the darkness. Entire villages had become without its people on certain moonlit eves. The common folk of region were terrified and desperate for aid.
The evil forces of Count Gulthias were raiding the countryside, abducting the defenceless folk for some nefarious purpose. Babes were stolen in the night as wolves bayed in the darkness. Entire villages had become without its people on certain moonlit eves. The common folk of region were terrified and desperate for aid.
Sir Tristan and his Coterie had been lying low since his defeat at the hands of Gwynion of Athel Loren. His men had been roundly beaten and many lay injured, a step away from death. The faith of his men had faltered that day, and rightly so, for Sir Tristan had besmirched his good name. He had called for aid in a duel of honour - such was the behaviour of a coward, not a knight of Bretonnia!
Tristan had been wallowing in his shame when a commoner from a nearby farm came upon his Coterie and begged them for help. Seeing the desperation in this poor man's eyes shook something in Sir Tristan, and he was filled with a sense of purpose once more. Hunting for glory was not why he had become a knight; he was here to help the people against the evils of the world!
"Thy plight is grave indeed, good man. Thou'rt fortunate to come across us in thy time of need. We shall aid thy kin against these unholy beasts, and the Lady shall smile upon thee once more. I vow it!"
The commoner was a little confused (who's "the Lady"?), but grateful for the help, and directed the Bretonnians to the farmstead.
Mission
The objective was for each of us to collect as many peasants as possible, achieved by coming into base contact with them and ending our turn beside them. The peasant would immediately be captured (by the Vampire Counts) or rescued (by the Bretonnians). There were 7 peasants in total, so once all 7 had been captured/rescued then the game would be over and the winner would be whoever got to more peasants.
The farmstead
The peasants were scattered about the board, performing their daily chores
The Armies
The Bretonnian army ("Sir Tristan's Coterie") consisted of:
Sir Tristan, Grail Knight
Knights of the Realm (6)
Men-at-Arms w/ spear, shield & light armour (5)
Bowmen (10)
The Vampire Counts army ("The Host of Count Gulthias") consisted of:
Count Gulthias, Vampire w/ Bone Blade & spellbook
Wight Cavalry (3)
Skeletons w/ hand weapons (10)
Skeletons w/ spears, shields and light armour (10)
Count Gulthias also got to draw a spell from the book of Necromancy, and drew Gaze of Nagash. A powerful spell that causes 2D6 S4 hits (with no save allowed) on a unit in line of sight of the caster within 18".
We decided to change the 5th edition Magic rules a little to make it quicker. Whenever Laura wanted to cast a spell, she'd have to roll equal to or under her LD value to cast it. If she failed then she would roll on the 6E miscast table, which could have dire consequences for the caster.
In addition to this spell, Count Gulthias also had a vampiric ability granted to him by his von Carstein bloodline - he could summon D3+1 direwolves once per game.
We deployed our troops and got ready to fight for the lives of the innocent farmers.
Heinz & Magdalena
Young Knut
Jürgen the Handsome
Sibylle feeding the ducks
Berengar coming home from the fields
Christof helping his father with the fields
Count Gulthias
Skeleton swordsmen
Skeleton spearmen (painted by Rick the Grumpy Gnome!)
Wight Cavalry
Sir Tristan
Knights of the Realm
Men-at-Arms
Bowmen of Bretonnia
The armies deployed - Sir Tristan's Coterie rushes in to defend the farmers
Count Gulthias and his undead approach from the hill
The vampire observes the farmstead from his vantage point
The Realm Knights come rushing in through the woodland
Sir Tristan approaches Jürgen and directs him to the safety of the Bretonnian camp
The Bretonnian infantry make haste towards the field, hoping to set up a defensive position
The vampire enters the windmill, going for Young Knut
The skeletal spearmen march downhill towards Magdalena
Wight cavalry move out towards the farmstead.
The first turn is over
The men-at-arms approach Berengar and guide him to safety.
"Undead? By Sigmar! Look to the fields for my son, Christof!"
"Undead? By Sigmar! Look to the fields for my son, Christof!"
The wight cavalry ride for the farmstead, and the bowmen set up a defensive position behind the hedgerow. They fire at the Wights, but they appear to be protected by some unholy devilry and the arrows miss their mark.
Sir Tristan spurs his steed 'Gawain' towards the farmstead. The noble warhorse deftly leaps over the fence as the knight tries to reach Sibylle in time!
The Realm Knights make their way towards the lonely house, perhaps they can cut off the undead horde before they can reach the innocents?
End of Bretonnian turn 2. The undead have marched towards the peoples with unholy vigour.
Farmer Heinz looks on at the marching Bretonnians with confusion.
"What's all this, then?" he says as he clutches his prize piglet.
"What's all this, then?" he says as he clutches his prize piglet.
The Wights ride past the field, ready to snatch Christof!
They slay 3 of them in the charge!
...but an evil eye is upon him.
Count Gulthias uses the Gaze of Nagash on Sir Tristan, who suffers two wounds from the evil magick. He only has one wound left!
Magdalena is safe, for now. The Bretonnian Knights act as a bulwark against the monstrous undead. Magdalena clutches her babe and prays to Sigmar for deliverance.
Count Gulthias directs his skeleton swordsmen to turn about face.
With the knights busy fighting off the spearmen, the swordsmen can make their way around the house to the unsuspecting Heinz!
The spearmen break formation and surround the knights in the brutal melee.
The archers tried their best, but evil magicks protecting the Wights were too strong, and they were unfazed by the arrows. They moved on and swept up poor Christof before he knew they were upon him!
Count Gulthias called upon his ancient bloodline and summoned the darker side of nature to his aid.
Two dire wolves answered the summons.
They prowled towards Heinz, who was still oblivious to the threat around him.
"Maggie? What's that noise o'er there? Is the young'un safe?"
Christof had been kidnapped by the forces of darkness, but perhaps the stalwart men of Bretonnia could protect the others and hold the Wights here.
The men-at-arms quell their fear and charge at the evil cavalry.
The knights continue to fight with the skeleton spearmen. They're winning, but it's slow going.
The architect of evil smiles in the background as innocent lives are lost!
Tristan spots the dire wolves sneaking up on Heinz and makes haste towards the garden.
"Watch thyself!" he shouts, but to no avail. The squealing piglet in Heinz' arms is too loud for him to hear anything.
End of Bretonnian turn 3. So far 3 peasants have been rescued by Bretonnia, and 2 have been kidnapped by the Vampire Counts.
The men-at-arms hold out as best they can, but it isn't going well against such powerful creatures.
Count Gulthias tries to cast the Gaze of Nagash upon Sir Tristan again, but this time it fails, thankfully.
One of the men-at-arms has fallen to the ancient spears of the Wights.
Only four skeleton spearmen remain, but the knights are locked in combat until the end - the undead have no fear and simply will not flee!
The dire wolves sneak up on Heinz.
They pounce! Heinz is dragged away to the vampire's lair, still clutching his piglet and calling out for his wife and child!
The men-at-arms lose another man and it's too much for them, their courage falters and they turn and flee.
The Wights gain on them in pursuit and begin to cut them down with deadly efficiency.
The men-at-arms fall to the cursed weaponry of the Wight Cavalry.
Sir Tristan charges into the garden, but he is too late! Heinz has already been captured. Tristan makes sure the wolves will pay for what they've done.
The bowmen reform and loose arrows at the vampire, but all this does is anger the beast.
Sir Tristan slays the dire wolves, but knows that it will not bring back a husband (or his piglet).
The dread vampire Gulthias turns his magical Gaze upon the bowmen in the field and slays 7 of them in one fell swoop!
The remaining three bowmen watch their companions crumble to dust before their eyes. They drop their bows and flee in terror. I've lost the left flank!
Count Gulthias gloats from his perch on the windmill.
Skeleton swordsman round on Sir Tristan.
Tristan is filled with a righteous fury. "Try me, thou devils!"
Sir Tristan charges the skeletons as the Knights of the Realm finally defeat the skeleton spearmen. The Realm Knights rank up and turn to face Magdalena, ready to rescue her.
Count Gulthias sees this and swoops down from the windmill. He attempts to cast the Gaze upon the knights but finds the winds of magic suddenly unavailable to him.
This sudden betrayal by the winds of magic just infuriates him more.
"SHE WILL BE MINE" he shouts as he charges towards the knights with unnatural speed.
The Wights make their way through the farmstead, attempting to rejoin with their master.
Sir Tristan battles the skeletal infantry.
Four are slain on the charge!
Gulthias cuts down five of the knights instantly with his magical Bone Blade.
The final knight is shaken and turns to flee, but is caught by the vampire and is slain without mercy!
Sir Tristan sees the last of his knightly companions cut down by the foul vampire and prays to the Lady of the Lake to guide his blade.
He manages to defeat another four of the skeletal fiends.
Gulthias drinks the blood of the fallen realm knight, convulsing with pleasure at the feeling of hot blood coursing through him.
The wights make their way to the last Bretonnian.
Count Gulthias redirects them using his vampiric will. He must have the woman for his evil purpose.
Tristan defeats the last of the skeletal swordsman and spurs his horse on.
"Onwards Gawain, with haste!"
The forces of evil close in on the last commoner, Magdalena.
The mother clutches her babe to her breast as the undead surround her.
"Hush, hush..." she murmurs to it as she backs away, wide-eyed and tearful.
Gawain leaps over the fence and gallops around the corner!
Sir Tristan reaches out for the woman.
"Take my hand!" he calls as he rides towards her.
"Take my hand!" he calls as he rides towards her.
She reaches out to him and he grips her wrist, hoisting her up into the saddle with him.
"Thou'rt safe now." he reassures her as he rides away from the encroaching undead.
The vampire curses in some ancient tongue. He has not acquired enough subjects for his experiments. He vows to get his revenge upon the Bretonnian knight one day as he stalks off back to his lair.
The rescued peasants: Sibylle, Magdalena, Jürgen & Berengar
The captured peasants: Christof, Heinz and Knut.
It was a tough fight. Very tough! I didn't rescue as many peasants as I'd like, but considering how powerful that vampire was I think I was lucky to have won at all. The Lady must've been with Sir Tristan after all. I think this redeems his character somewhat.
I drew a random magic item as a reward, and received 'The Sword of Darting Steel' - a magical blade made by the High Elves which assists its bearer in combat. All attacks made with the Sword of Darting Steel automaticall hit with no roll required. This was awarded to Sir Tristan by Magdalena, an heirloom from her family and token of her appreciation for saving her child.
As I now controlled an additional territory (The Great Confluence) I also gained an additional 50pts to spend on my army, so I decided to purchase an additional 5 men-at-arms to bolster my infantry. Hopefully they'll last a little longer in combat in future.
