The Battle of the Bacon, Part 3

This is part 3 of a battle report spanning multiple posts. You can find the previous turn here, or go to the main report page here.

Dwarf Turn 3

Dwarf Turn 3

Lord Dungrim was worried. The left flank was folding, and the centre was in danger. His finest warriors, his personal guard – they were gone entirely. A monstrous killing machine lurked behind what remained of his lines... Things were not going well.

All was not lost, however. The more dire the situation, the greater the opportunity for heroism. It was time for Dungrim to teach the filthy greenskins the meaning of fear. Striking a heroic pose, he gave a wordless roar and raised his axe toward the Savage Orcs struggling to bring down Snorri's Gyrocopter. His shieldbearers charged forward in response, rushing toward the enemy. Then going slightly slower toward the enemy, breathing heavily. Then going at little more than a lame shuffle, gasping and wheezing. Dungrim growled in frustration and cursed the weaklings underneath him. Greatness awaited him, and his bearers were too weak to see it!

Chaaarge!!

Dungrim was not the only one moving forward, however. Several units took up the cry and surged toward the Savage Orcs, with the Iron Guard leading the way. They raised their axes and crashed into the flank of the Orcs, with the army standard flying proudly at their fore. Arri led his Hairy Men in alongside Snorri, their stumpy legs pumping as they roared with ancestral hatred. Peg Leg's Crossbowmen also hefted their great weapons and moved to join the fray, however Peg Leg himself stepped in a rabbit hole with his wooden stump and just about disappeared from sight. This did bad things for the regiment's momentum as they stopped to retrieve their spluttering leader, and they missed the fight.

Da Kleenskins under siege from multiple directions

With their own momentum having been spent on their earlier charge, the Orcs found themselves severely over-matched in the struggle that followed. The boss stood at their head, laying about him with a huge jagged weapon of bone, and two of Arri's finest fell to his brutal swings. But as ferocious as this display was, da Kleenskins were unable to follow his lead. Almost a dozen Orcs fell to the charging Dwarfs, and soon there were only a handful remaining. This terrible assault was too much for them to take, and they turned and fled. Snorri moved to pursue, but found his controls fouled by a severed Orc arm and wasted valuable time expressing his distaste and disposing of it. The Iron Guard also set off after the retreating Orcs, however the greenskins were moving very rapidly and they couldn't bring them down. Instead they found a new target for their aggression in the flank of the Trolls in the forest, and leapt in with renewed enthusiasm.

The handful of survivors break and flee, but manage to outrun their pursuers

The Iron Guard's pursuit finds them in the flank of the Trolls.

Run ladz! The Savage Orcs rolled an 11 to get away. This seemed to be the average roll for a fleeing Orc during the battle.

Whilst every fibre of his being wanted to set off in pursuit of the fleeing Kleenskins, Arri ordered his warriors to hold their ground. Instead they reformed their ranks and turned to face da Red Faces who were alarmingly nearby and leering down at them from the top of the hill. “Don't worry lads,” said Arri reassuringly, “there will be plenty of Orcs for everyone.”

The Grudge Thrower crew drag their machine out of the path of da Bored Boyz

On the hill in the Dwarf centre, the crew of the Grudge Thrower saw the Bored Boyz heading their way and decided that it was time to relocate their machine. With a discipline born of many decades of practice, gear was hurriedly packed and together they bodily dragged the stone thrower out of sight of the Orcs. Hopefully now they would focus on something else. The Organ Gun contributed to this plan by taking aim at the regiment and opening up with another blast from its barrels. Two of the Bored Boyz were blown from their mounts, but if they were at all impressed, they didn't show it. “Don't really like that machine, boss.” “Bah, I seen bigger.”

Having watched the fleeing Wolf Rider run from the field, Borri decided he could find a new target as he turned his Gyrocopter around. He considered the Rock Lobber behind the enemy lines, but looking back toward the Dwarf centre, he realised he was really needed elsewhere. Lord Dungrim was alone in the open, apparently having an argument with those poor warriors carrying his enormous shield. He seemed oblivious to the approach of a large mob of Savage Orcs on boars, heading straight for his flank. Dungrim was no slouch, but being sandwiched between charging mobs of boars would probably be the end of him. With a resigned sigh and a quick prayer to his ancestors, he gunned the steam-powered engine on his machine and took flight, soaring over the regiment. On his way he dropped a bomb directly upon the head of one of the greenskins in the rear rank, which exploded spectacularly and left his headless corpse toppling from its saddle. His companions didn't seem to notice his demise in their frenzied state, but they did not appear best pleased to see Borri when he landed directly in front of them, cramping their style. That at least gave him some satisfaction as he hefted his weapon and prepared to make his last stand.

Orc and Goblin Turn 3

Orc and Goblin Turn 3

With their numbers and morale shattered, da Kleenskins continued scrambling away from their Dwarf pursuers toward the relative safety of their own lines. Despite this however, Little Foot was satisfied with how matters were progressing. Or at least he had been, until the idiot Gyrocopter had landed directly in his way, blocking his path to the stunty general. With a roar of frustration, he led the thundering charge into the lone Dwarf on his rickety flying contraption.

Alas, poor Borri!

The Trolls on the hill next to the Dwarf Grudge Thrower found themselves far from their own lines and without the guidance of their betters, decided that their time would best be spent shambling nowhere fast, drooling and picking their noses. As he closed with the troublesome Gyrocopter, Little Foot took a moment to attempt to cast Hand of Gork to retrieve the bumbling idiots and bring them back somewhere useful, however his efforts were foiled by the cursed Runesmith once more, who activated his Rune of Spellbreaking to counter the spell. Bellowing in frustration, the Shaman instead decided to take his frustration out on poor Borri and his Gyrocopter. Summoning power to him once more, Little Foot summoned the Fists of Gork and seemed to swell in size and glow was an eerie green energy. His roar of irritation shifted until it was one of exhilaration as he felt his muscles rippling with unnatural power. Borri's eyes widened as he saw this terrifying apparition bearing down upon him, and his token attempts to protect himself with his pitiful weapon were futile in the face of such brutal strength. He was crushed in his pilot' seat as Little Foot folded the Gyrocopter into a ball of twisted, steaming metal and wood before tossing it aside without even slowing his boar. With him at their head da Crimson Tide swept on, roaring wildly and heedless of what went on elsewhere on the field as they were caught up in their battle frenzy.

On the left flank, da Red Faces didn't wait for orders and rushed headlong down the hill into the waiting ranks of Arri's Hairy Men, who locked shields and braced for the impact. The tide of Orcs crashed into the shield wall with a sound like thunder that echoed across the battlefield. The greenskins fought in a frenzied rage with weapons in each hand and no thought to protecting themselves; the Dwarfs focused on hunkering down to weather the assault with little consideration to striking any telling blows in return. Orc blows rained down on Dwarf-forged armour, but the stunties were too well set and largely shrugged off the attack. Only the boss of da Red Faces was strong enough to claim a victim, hammering aside the Dwarf warrior's shield before caving his skull in with the return stroke. With their formation set and Arri's cries to hold fast, the Hairy Men steadfastly refused to move in the face of the Orc attack.

The Dwarf Warriors of Arri's Hairy Men hunker down and weather the storm from the charging Savage Orcs of Da Red Faces

The Rock Lobber misses its preferred target by a country mile... Or does it?

The Trolls are unprepared for the sneaky ferocity of the Dwarf flank attack

The Goblins crewing the Rock Lobber spotted the Dwarf Lord standing alone in the open, and giggled excitedly as they re-aligned their machine. Their hurried enthusiasm got the better of them however, and their shot sailed wildly off-target – straight into the Iron Guard as they closed with the Trolls in the forest. Two of the heavily-armoured Dwarfs fell to the impact, with shards of shattered stone ricocheting off many others including Thori Sidesplitter as he sought to protect the army's precious standard with his gromril-clad body. If the loss of a couple of Ironbreakers bothered the regiment they gave no sign, and they crashed with relentless force into the flank of the confused Trolls. Two of the great brutes fell to the storm of blows from the elite Dwarf warriors, with Thori himself finishing one of them off with his great axe. The Trolls were too busy reeling to inflict any damage in return, and were soon fleeing rapidly across the field, nearly tripping on the wreckage of Borri's proud Gyrocopter.

The surviving Trolls make their escape. By a lot.

Old Peg Leg and his Quarrellers were caught up in cheering this efficient display from the Iron Guard and didn't realise that they themselves were in danger until it was far too late for them to react. A snorting, tearing noise erupted behind them and they looked back just in time to see Will the Mangler Squig crashing into their back rank. Fully half the regiment of Dwarfs was sent flying from the impact as the brute smashed right through their formation and whirled to a halt right in front of them. The survivors had the misfortune to witness the final moments of one of their number as he fell to the earth right in front of the Squig, who enthusiastically seized upon his broken form and wolfed him down, his screams soon replaced by the sound of splintering bones and shrieking metal.

"Will" continues his rampage, eating half the Quarreller unit on his way through.

The Warriors and Savage Orcs locked in combat. I should mention that in this critical first round when the Orcs were +1 Strength, I passed 6/6 saves on 5+ armour followed by a 5+ parry, and only lost a guy when the Boss landed 2 blows at Strength 5. It was a great display of Dwarf tenacity, and impressively impenetrable rolling.

The battlefield at the half-way point of the game

You can read the next turn here.