Sunday 18 January 2015

The Battle of Heffengen - Part 1


Welcome to the first part of our battle report recreating the Battle of Heffengen from the End Times: Nagash source book. This was a 40,000 point per side game, with 8 players. We had 2 photographers, 2 scribes fighting over the same Google Doc on separate computers, and several others on hand to help and distract as needed.

As with the previous large battle reports of Hel Fenn and Finuval Plain, I will present the game in a narrative style, covering the important events of the game in the story. Hopefully it won’t be too hard to follow (or take too long to read).

This time I have also included the bullet point notes taken during the game, down the bottom of the page. So if you don't want to read the story, you can go down there and get confused. Good luck.

Introduction 

The situation was desperate. The great Auric Bastion to the north had been breached, and a Chaos horde now rampaged through the Empire. The Emperor was scrambling to muster a defence. The hastily assembled force was mighty indeed, however it was by no means guaranteed to be enough to halt the enemy’s advance. Karl Franz knew  this, but he also knew that he was out of time. They could wait for no more reinforcements; they had to make their stand. The battle would take place a mile north of the city of Heffengen, on the banks of the river Revesnacht.

The Empire army had been in position for less than a day when the Chaos tide was upon them. Rain had been descending in a constant drizzle, dampening spirits and turning the fields to mud. There was little grass to be seen now, with the damp weather and oppressive lack of sunlight becoming a regular feature in these generally dark times.

The Empire forces were already arrayed for battle as the enemy approached. A stream of scouts and refugees had given them ample warning of what was coming. The Emperor stood upon a low hill behind the centre of the line, his hand idly stroking Deathclaw’s feathered head. The mighty griffon rested next to him, glaring toward the horizon as the Chaos legions advanced. Doubtless his keen eyesight could make out far more than the humans waiting anxiously around him.

Kurt Helborg, Grand Master of the Reiksguard and Marshall of the Empire’s armies, strode up the hill toward Karl Franz. “My lord, the army stands ready.” He hesitated slightly before contining hurriedly, “I would ask you again my lord, please reconsider your position. It’s not safe to fight from the back of a beast such as this,” he gestured toward Deathclaw, who finally turned his gaze from the distance to glare at the presumptuous, outrageously moustached human instead. Helborg pressed on, “It is the duty of the Reiksguard to protect the Emperor. We cannot do this if you are out of our reach.”

“We have had this discussion already, Master Helborg. Nowhere on a battlefield is truly safe, and I prefer the vantage point that Deathclaw provides. He has protected me in countless battles before,” Karl Franz continued to distractedly scratch the griffon’s head, whose expression seemed to Kurt to become somehow smug as he continued to stare at the leader of the Emperor’s bodyguard. Helborg opened his mouth to continue his protest, but Karl Franz finally turned to look directly at him and stifled his protests with a raised hand. “The other commanders are ready to report,“ he said.

General Gotfrei Talb of Ostermark and Garrat Mecke, Lord General of Talabheim, arrived simultaneously from either direction, dismounting as they approached. Talb was a no-nonsense man who Karl Franz knew would command dutifully and bravely. He bowed briefly before reporting, “My lord, the east flank stands ready. The river anchors our flank, and the Ogre mercenaries are prepared. The priest Luthor Huss assures me that the doom-seeking fanatics in the front lines will give the enemy hell.”

Mecke was slightly less efficient in his presentation, clearly revelling in this opportunity to display his credentials for the vacant position of Elector Count of Talabecland. “My lord, the assembled soldiery of Talabheim stands ready on the western flank. The artillery and ranged troops are arranged to make maximum use of the hills, and my troops stand ready to crush these Chaos upstarts with a series of counter-charges of my devising. I assure you, the west flank is in capable hands.” 

He looked set to continue, but the Emperor cut him off, “Thank you, generals. I’m certain the battle preparations are well in hand. You’d best return to your positions, however,” he said with a quick glance at the enemy lines, which seemed to be approaching at pace.  “I don’t think we will have long to wait.”

*****

Gurug’ath, Great Unclean One of Nurgle and Baron of the 6th Pestilential Circle, chuckled happily as he hauled his immense, grotesque bulk toward the waiting lines of Empire soldiers. Legions of daemons surrounded him, and his forces stretched almost out of sight to the east and west as they formed a line of battle, even as they advanced. There would be no pause before the opening of hostilities, no calm before the storm. The Chaos forces had spent far too long pent up behind the humans’ bastion to the north, and Gurug’ath himself had spent months trapped within the very fabric of the wall. The frustration had been overwhelming for all of them, and the swathe of destruction they had carved as they rampaged south had done little to assuage their irritation.

The coming battle looked promising, however. Nurgle whispered constantly in Gurug’ath’s rotting ear. The human emperor would command the coming battle, and victory here would leave an open path into the Empire’s undefended interior. Thousands of disgustingly healthy humans awaited the pestilential gifts that Gurug’ath would generously bestow. Whole cities would receive from Nurgle’s wondrous bounty of plague and disease. It would be beautiful.

Gurug’ath could hardly contain his joy at the promise of what lay ahead, but first there needed to be a reckoning. His pride demanded it. He had spent months trapped within the Auric Bastion, and it had been very, very boring. Someone would pay for wasting so much of his time, and the leader of the human Empire would suit well enough.

“The human Emperor is mine to toy with,” he boomed in a deep, reverberating voice. “None shall touch him but me. You can have your fun with his followers instead, my children.” He looked around him at the hundreds of deamons leaping, shambling and crawling towards their human victims. He could tell they were almost as excited as he was.

The Armies

Gurug'ath's Chaos Horde

  • GUO Gurug'ath, Exalted Great Unclean One
  • Blood1 60 Bloodletters
  • PB1 50 Plaguebearers
  • PB2 50 Plaguebearers
  • Gor 60 Gor
  • CWoS 46 Chaos Warriors of Slaanesh
  • Chos1 40 Chosen of Nurgle
  • CWoN1 40 Chaos Warriors of Nurgle
  • Hor1 40 Horrors
  • Mar 40 Marauders
  • CKoN 20 Chaos Knights of Nurgle
  • CKoT 20 Chaos Knights of Tzeentch
  • CWoK1 30 Chaos Warriors of Khorne
  • Chos2 30 Chosen
  • DO 9 Dragon Ogres
  • Troll1 16 Trolls
  • Mino1 14 Minotaurs
  • Mino2 12 Minotaurs
  • Beast1 12 Beasts of Nurgle
  • Crush1 6 Skullcrushers
  • Crush2 6 Skullcrushers
  • OgreK 10 Chaos Ogres of Khorne
  • Ogre 10 Chaos Ogres
  • CWoN2 30 Chaos Warriors of Nurgle
  • Pest 30 Pestigor
  • CW1 30 Chaos Warriors
  • CW2 30 Chaos Warriors
  • CKoK 13 Chaos Knights of Khorne
  • HC1 Hellcannon
  • HC2 Hellcannon
  • HC3 Hellcannon
  • HC4 Hellcannon
  • SG1 Soulgrinder
  • SG2 Soulgrinder
  • MoK 32 Marauders of Khorne
  • MoN 30 Marauders of Nurgle
  • M1 25 Marauders
  • Beast2 8 Beasts of Nurgle
  • Dog1 18 Chaos Hounds
  • Dog2 10 Chaos Hounds
  • Dog3 13 Chaos Hounds
  • Nurg 12 Nurglings
  • Drone 6 Plaguedrones
  • Cm1 through to Cm7 Chimeras
  • C1 through to C16 Chariots
  • G1 through to G4 Giants
  • Shag Shaggoth
  • Raz 3 Razorgor
  • Un 24 Ungor
  • Blood2 4 Bloodcrushers
  • Troll2 6 Trolls
  • MH 5 Marauder Horsemen
  • CKoS 10 Chaos Knights of Slaanesh
  • SC1 Skullcannon
  • SC2 Skullcannon
  • FH 10 Flesh Hounds
  • DPoS Daemon Prince of Slaanesh
  • DPoN1 Daemon Prince of Nurgle
  • DPoN2 BONUS Daemon Prince of Nurgle
  • Blood3 28 Bloodletters
  • D 20 Daemonettes
  • Beast3 5 Beasts of Nurgle
  • Fskn1 20 Forsaken
  • Fskn2 14 Forsaken
  • F 15 Furies
  • CWoK2 24 Chaos Warriors of Khorne
  • CWoT1 25 Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch
  • M2 24 Marauders
  • CWoT2 18 Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch
  • CWoK3 18 Chaos Warriors of Khorne
  • Chos3 18 Chosen of Nurgle
  • Fskn3 21 Forsaken
  • Hor2 20 Horrors
  • PB3 20 Plaguebearers
  • WS Warshrine

Karl Franz's Empire Defenders

  • KF Karl Franz on Deathclaw
  • WWolf 60 White Wolves
  • ICK1 40 Inner Circle Knights
  • ICK2 40 Inner Circle Knights
  • Hal1 72 Halberdiers
  • Hal2 60 Halberdiers
  • Hal3 60 Halberdiers
  • Great1 60 Greatswords
  • Sword1 50 Swordsmen
  • Flag1 50 Flagellants
  • Flag2 60 Flagellants
  • Reik1 32 Reiksguard
  • Demi1 10 Demigryphs
  • Demi2 9 Demigryphs
  • Ogre 18 Ogres
  • IGut 13 Ironguts
  • MF 4 Mournfangs
  • Flag3 30 Flagellants
  • Flag4 40 Flagellants
  • Demi3 5 Demigryphs
  • Demi4 3 Demigryphs
  • Sp 40 Spearmen
  • Sw1 40 Swordsmen
  • Sw2 40 Swordsmen
  • Great2 35 Greatswords
  • Great3 36 Greatswords
  • Hal4 35 Halberdiers
  • LB1 4 Leadbelchers
  • LB2 3 Leadbelchers
  • Sword2 35 Swordsmen
  • FC 30 Free Company
  • HG1 30 Handgunners
  • HG2 20 Handgunners
  • HG3 20 Handgunners
  • HG4 20 Handgunners
  • XBow1 20 Crossbowmen
  • XBow2 19 Crossbowmen
  • XBow3 16 Crossbowmen
  • Reik2 16 Reiksguard
  • Sword3 19 Swordsmen
  • Great4 20 Greatswords
  • Ar1 21 Archers
  • Ar2 20 Archers
  • Ar3 10 Archers
  • HG5 12 Handgunners
  • HG6 10 Handgunners
  • K1 14 Knights
  • K2 10 Knights
  • Pst1 12 Pistoliers
  • Pst2 5 Pistoliers
  • Pst3 5 Pistoliers
  • Pst4 5 Pistoliers
  • Pst5 5 Pistoliers
  • Out1 5 Outriders
  • Out2 5 Outriders
  • GC1 through to GC8 Great Cannons
  • M1 through to M4 Mortars
  • HRB1 through to HRB3 Hellstorm Rocket Batteries
  • VG1 through to VG6 Volley Guns
  • WA War Altar
  • ST1 through to ST5 Steam Tanks
  • Hur1 through to Hur3 Celestial Hurricanums
  • Lum Luminark
  • Grf1 through to Grf4 Generals on Griffons
  • Peg1 through to Peg5 Captains on Pegasus
  • Ar4 8 Archers

Deployment
Both sides are deployed. We didn't even bother with a screen. Everyone was so busy placing things that nobody cared what was going on over the other side.
Right there is about 70,000 points of models, another cameraman and an elbow...
The Chaos east flank by the river, including an impractical formation of Trolls up front.
Seriously, look at that formation. 9 wide? Better supervision was clearly required.
The flank was predominantly warriors, forsaken and chosen with the odd larger thing to spice things up a bit.
Gurug'ath hiding behind a unit of 12 beasts of nurgle. Yeah, they kinda look like trolls to me too. Apparently that's not their day job, though.
A look across the Empire centre
The Empire west flank, including almost all of the artillery and missile troops, as per the story. In this case that included 19 war machines
That's Crom the Conqueror in the centre of the image, with the blue axes. We had misplaced the actual model. Because we're organised.
At the centre of the Empire west flank sat this regiment. The one with the feathers is Garrat Mecke, at the head of 40 inner circle knights including a grand master (in blue), the western BSB on the end, and a warrior priest and wizard for good measure. So only half the front rank is characters.
I decided to use my "unit fillers" for the knights of the White Wolf. Because when you can field a unit of 60 knights, why wouldn't you?
Vlad von Carstein cheated the system by deploying early in a little row boat so he could watch proceedings. He's not really there.
He did roll his spells up at the start, though. He's got some skills.
The Chaos centre, looking across at the Empire lines.
A lower angle view across the lines. I tried to get a few of these.
Gurug'ath himself poses for a photo.
I'm pretty sure we'd come to the conclusion that demigryphs should not be deployed 3 deep. Someone didn't get the memo.
Plague toads! Actually, those are more beasts of nurgle. It seems nobody likes the actual models for those.
The Empire centre chose not to deploy as far forward as it could. The deployment zone actually extends 6" in front of that board divide. 
Ogres and chimeras and chariots, oh my!
A wave of marauders and beastmen preceded the daemon rush
The Chaos western flank, where most of the faster elements were located
Some lightweight units do their best to disguise the filth of the steam tanks lurking behind.
Just chillaxing in his boat, waiting for stuff to happen. Note Owen's nice new river made for the occasion. It's very pretty. If somewhat hairy with static grass in this shot.
The daemons brought a little firepower with them in the shape of a couple of skullcannons
The beastman contingent, including a herd of 16 minotaurs with a doombull
The Empire west flank has a CD player in case they want to listen to some tunes whilst they obliterate the enemy with massed cannons. Maybe the "1812 Overture", or "Fire Your Guns"
Another zoomed out view. Hard to get a 16'x6' table into a shot properly.
Lots o models
Another wider shot. Those central Chaos forces are not far away.
Valten and Luthor Huss join just about the only cavalry unit they could find on the eastern flank. Most units were flagellants and ogres.
Those are some very slythy chimeras. And a slightly monstrous giant of Nurgle.
The Khorne ogres somehow got in front of the skullcrushers.
Central command. Karl Franz sits next to another large regiment of knights, led by Kurt Helborg and Ludwig Schwartzhelm
A sensible unit of dragon ogres.
The aforementioned minotaurs, with the doombull on the near end
Gor! 60 of them, in fact.
Shaking hands was a bit of a stretch. Aaron looks like he means business.
What are you doing, Harley? Get out of the photo!

Chaos Turn 1
Chaos Turn 1. All ahead full.
The Chaos horde did not slow in its advance toward the Empire lines, surging forward en masse without forming a proper line of battle. Gurug’ath gurgled happily and bellowed joyous words of encouragement to those around him as he rushed toward the enemy. 
Here we go...
Ben lends a hand to help Rhys move his raft of models across the table.
"Onward, my beautiful pestilent minions!
On the extreme west flank a unit of Empire pistoliers dared to advance in an effort to disrupt the progress of the Chaos horde. A snarling pack of hounds took this as an invitation and set off toward them with a chorus of baying and howls, but a volley from the pistols of the humans brought down one of the pack leaders, tripping those behind it and stalling their charge.
Akkorak the Crow, leading from the 2nd or 3rd wave of Chaos troops like a proper Skaven Chaos Lord.

The western flank advances, although the hounds on the left of picture slowed things down a bit by failing their charge
Other things are moving up too
Pigsy!
The rest of the Chaos forces on the west steered around the hounds as they milled in confusion. A teeming horde of cavalry, beasts and chariots rumbled toward the waiting Empire troops and artillery. The mounted legions were led by Akkorak the Crow, Reaver of the Nine Wastes. Command was his by right of conquest, having challenged and defeated his rivals prior to the battle. 
Hounds race up and mock the Empire cavalry on the west flank, who are under orders not to charge for the first 2 turns. Such mockery.
The Nurgle daemon prince cowers behind the shelter of a regiment of Khorne ogres
The view across the field
In the centre of the lines, a wave of marauders and beastmen rushed forwards, followed closely by the legions of daemons being personally led by Gurug’ath. Awaiting them were the steel ranks of the Reiksguard and other knightly orders, as well as disciplined regiments of state troops. Upon a hill sat the Emperor himself, watching the Chaos advance impassively.

The east flank of the Chaos advance was commanded by Vardek Crom, the Conqueror. Around him marched endless legions of armour-clad warriors of the north, flooding across the plain beside the raging torrent of the Revesnacht river. A vast mob of trolls and similar abominations that defied description surged forward at their head, hunger for the flesh of the flagellants awaiting them apparent in their dim-witted eyes. 

The trolls edge ahead of most of the infantry behind them
Looking back across from the eastern flank
As the advance commenced, one of the chosen champions bellowed in victorious agony as his pleas to the Chaos Gods were heard and his body began to bloat and stretch into an enormous daemon prince. Screaming in pain and delight as he assumed his new form, he rushed forth from his former comrades and took his place out in front of the lines, racing toward the disgusted Empire troops.
I'm FREE! Well, almost free. I am the cost of a unit champion for the Chosen regiment
With so many wizards and daemons present on the field, the winds of magic eddied and swirled about the field. Excitement at the imminent carnage flowed through Gurug’ath, and he allowed the magical winds to do likewise. With a deep, booming, exultant laugh he opened his arms wide to lavish the power of Fleshy Abundance upon his minions. All around him, the daemons found their regenerative powers bolstered; an unholy vigour flowed through them at the surge of magical energy. 

Even as Gurug’ath revelled in the unleashing of such potent growth and new life however, something went wrong. His anticipation of his imminent triumph had caused him to become careless, and as he realised his error, he was punished for his folly. Cascading energies erupted from his corpulent flesh, sending maggots, goo and other indescribably revolting filth in all directions. The greater daemon seemed to twist in on himself like a sponge being wrung out, and with a last terrible howl of frustration, he blinked out of existence in the mortal plane. All around where he had stood, plaguebearers blinked their cyclopean eyes in confusion before shrugging and setting off once more toward the enemy.
Gurug'ath has left the building!
Gurug’ath’s carelessness proved distracting for the other sorcerers in the Chaos ranks, and their remaining efforts were either blocked by the Empire wizards, or else failed of their own accord.

The assembled hellcannons and skullcannons unleashed a volley with a roar, scattering shots through the enemy lines. Two steam tanks rocked on their wheels as shots slammed into them, crumpling the steel of their armour and damaging their systems. A shot landed in the midst of a regiment of greatswords, killing a dozen of them although the remainder stoically held their ground. Another shot was aimed at the war altar on the eastern flank, however it drifted off target and blew a celestial hurricanum to splinters instead.
Gurug'ath, Nurgle would like a word with you about "controlled enthusiasm". Nick Gentile can sit in on the session too.
Rank after rank of very expensive infantry
Chimeraslythe!
These leadbelchers represent about 1/3 of the ranged firepower on the whole of the eastern side of the Empire lines
A couple of slightly diffrerent takes on gorebeast chariots

Empire Turn 1
Empire turn 1. Things begin to die. That crosshair on the eastern flank is an incoming Comet of Cassandora...
There was little movement on the Empire east flank as Luthor Huss began a long and impassioned speech about how nobly the “Army of Sigmar” was going to fight and how horribly they would all die. The flagellants all around him whipped themselves excitedly and howl their horrified approval at these dire promises - all except one mob, which saw the newly formed daemon prince as it approached and surged toward it before they staggered to a halt under the withering gaze of Huss. They whipped themselves a little and whispered to each other about doom rather than paying too much attention to his disapproval at their enthusiastic lapse.
A mob of flagellants lets its excitement get the better of it and tries for a long range charge on the daemon prince, unsuccessfully
Doom!
Toward the centre, the regiment of Kislev free company howled something inarticulate about vengeance for their homeland before sweeping through a screen of skirmishing ungor and into the front of their far larger bestigor cousins. The greatswords next to them charged into the razorgor, however despite the exhortations of the warrior priest in their midst, the disturbing sight of the beasts was unnerving and they fought without their usual flourish. The razorgor dragged down and crushed several of the elite soldiers, but not before they cut down one of the beasts, sending the remainder scrambling through their own lines to safety. The greatswords allowed their momentum to carry them onward into the waiting ranks of ungor.
The Kislev free company charges into the one thing it might actually beat in combat - a unit of ungor skirmishers that is so insignificant, I didn't bother putting it on the map.
Greatswords charge unto razorgor, and although they quiver in fear, the hatred of the warrior priest helps ensure they do some damage
Give them the chop! Or turn them into chops, or something.
The pigsies get away, but the ungor are in the way of the pursuit.
Run, Larry! Did you see what they did to Curly?
Inspired by this display, a team of pistoliers rode forth and stopped in front of the huge herd of minotaurs, firing their pistols into the brutes ineffectually as they tried to draw their attention away from the ranks of White Wolf knights behind them.

Pistoliers try to get in some redirecting action.
After Gurug’ath’s undisciplined display, the Empire wizards fared only marginally better in their wrestle with the gusting winds of magic. The newly promoted daemon prince barely survived a blast of energy from the war altar, whilst a chimera nearby was incinerated by a mighty blast as a wizard lost control of Shem’s Burning Gaze and felled some of the soldiers that had been assigned to guard him. 

Other attempts to stifle the advance of the Chaos tide were futile, until the wizard of the Celestial college summoned forth the power of the Comet of Cassandora over the heads of Crom’s advancing ranks of warriors. All across the east flank, flagellants gasped and pointed overhead as a light lit the heavens. “It is a sign!” cried some, and “Sigmar’s comet returns!” The Empire forces on the west flank were less impressed, diving for cover as the foolish wizard vaporised himself in much the same manner as Gurug’ath had, taking many of his comrades nearby with him.

The west flank held its ground, having strict orders from Garrat Mecke not to engage whilst there was yet time for the Empire’s black powder to show its might. With a deafening roar, the very earth shook as the artillery opened fire. Huge clods of earth, iron and blood exploded amongst the Chaos ranks as the massed firepower took its toll. Two thirds of the massed dragon ogres fell to the opening volley, and they were not alone. Next to them the shaggoth staggered as a cannon ball slammed into its chest before a hail of bullets from the outriders brought it down for good. 

Another cannon and a volley gun combined to unleash a storm of death upon one of the chimeras, doing so much damage that its regenerative abilities could not save it. Hounds that had strayed too close to the Empire line were gunned down mercilessly, whilst multiple chariots were blown apart, and another turned and fled despite the curses and threats of Akkorak nearby. 
The front wave of Chaos forces on the western flank take a hammering
On the far flank, the ogre leadbelchers opened fire on the wounded daemon prince, however it shrugged the hail of lead off and continued its advance. The giant by the river was less resilient, and staggered slightly as another leadbelcher team aimed true. A pair of volley guns proved less effective, generating little more than a bewildering amount of noise.

As the smoke cleared a little, the level of damage was apparent to the Empire gunners. Many of their foes who had not fallen showed signs of being wounded. It had been a brutal volley, but would it be enough?
The gap in the centre shrinking as some elements advance.
Give them a volley. Or two. Or six.
Doombull!
Pesky dogs.
Another wider view from the Chaos back lines.
End of Turn 1

You can find part 2 here.

Turn 1 Original Notes
For those that are interested (and think they can follow them), I am including the notes taken by Pete and Owen. This is like a point form of what happened, with certain... eccentricities.

For future reference, you will find the table divided into 3 zones: Shooty (west), Middle and Valten (east).

Turn 0

  • Nurgle Chosen Champion on the Valten flank turns into a Daemon Prince 

Turn 1 Chaos
Movement
Shooty

  • Back Hellcannon rampages, doesn’t do anything
  • Big incompetent dog unit charges Pistoliers, lose one, fail charge needing a 6
  • Everything runs forward

Middle

  • Warriors run forward

Valten

  • Everything runs forward

Magic
Power: 21 (channels: 1)
Dispel: 16 (channels: 1, Luminarch)
Shooty

  • Tzeench Sorc lord fails to bubble Glittering Robe

Middle

  • Bestial Surge dispelled
  • Guragath irresistables Regen, dies to a cascade

Valten

  • Spirit Leach dispelled
  • Tzeentch level 2 casts Final trans on giant White Wolf unit on a 20, stopped exactly on 8 dice.

Shooting
Shooty



Middle

  • Skullcannon shoots 5 wounds off steam tank
  • Hellcannon kills 13 Greatswords, don’t panic

Valten

  • Skullcannon shoots 6 wounds off steam tank
  • Hellcannon drifts off War Altar, kills Hurricanum

Combat
Shooty



Middle



Valten




Turn 1 Empire
Movement
Shooty

  • Flagellants charge Daemon Prince needng a 12, fail

Middle

  • Kislevites chare ungor, lose some to stand and shoot, make it
  • Greatswords charge raorgors
  • pistoiers sit in front of minotaurs to divert

Valten

  • Steam Tank rotates
  • One steam tank stuffs up, S2 hits dont hurt
  • Everythimg else sits and glares

Magic
Power: 30 (channels: 1, 1 from hurricanum)
Dispel: 17 (channels: 0)
Shooty

  • irresistible boosted comet behind giant troll unit on valten flank, dies to cascade
  • luminarch fires laser at daemon prince, dispelled

Middle

  • Boosted flame cage on giant gor unit, fails
  • lame hurricanum spell kills a few gors

Valten

  • S5 banishment from War Altar at free daemon prince, takes 3 wounds
  • boosted shems on chimaera, irresistible, kills chimaera, small explosion miscast loses 1 dice

Shooting
Shooty

  • steam tank shoots 3 wounds off green chimaera
  • steam tank kills ‘nurgle’ chariot, panics another chariot
  • cannon shoots nurgle daemon prince, misses, fails to kill ogre
  • cannon does 2 wounds to daemon prince
  • cannon goes for daemon prince, ogre blocks shot
  • cannon misses shaggoth
  • cannon does 4w to shaggoth
  • cannon does 2w to gorbeast chariot, wounds minotaur
  • cannon kills chariot, 1 wound off chariot behind it
  • pistoliers, handgunners, halflings kill interfering dogs
  • outriders finish off saggoth
  • helblaster fires 16 shots, 20 after reroll at khorne ogres, kills 3
  • helblaster 16 shots at chimaera, 5 wounds, does last wounds
  • 26 helblaster shots at dragon ogres, kills 3
  • helstorm kills half small mauauder flail unit
  • archers kill a dragon ogre

Middle



Valten

  • owen takes notes
  • stank  misfires, one wou nd
  • lead belchers shoot d. prince. save.
  • Helblaster nothing at chimera
  • 3 LBs 3 wounds on giant

Combat
Shooty



Middle

  • owen takes notes.
  • ungor fled.
  • free co. over run into bestigor.
  • ungor escaped pursuit.

Valten

  • Owen takes notes. As a heading.
  • Razorgor fight Great swrods (who charged them) GS fail fear. Razorgor kill four. One kiled in return. Razorgor escape through wn lines.
  • GS pursue into ungor.
  • vlad watches from his boat and laughs a hollow laugh. hollowly.
  • oh yes.




10 comments:

  1. Exciting stuff. I've been looking forward to this narrative, so thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

    Poor Gurug'ath...as bathos goes, it's on a par with losing Malekith's dragon to the dwellers below.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This one felt a lot more self-inflicted. Use six dice on your first spell of the game and suffer the consequences...

      Delete
  2. Awesome!

    I like that shooting phase.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fantastic report, really looking forward to more.

    Poor Gurug'ath, I bet he's sitting in the naughty corner in Nurgle's castle.

    And the best bit, the worm in the tequila, the greasy bit at the bottom of the 4am kebab, is Owen's scribe notes. Please make sure they're included in all their glory.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome battle. Brutal. Splendid. As the battle of the Finuval's plain was too...

    My friends and I are preparing a large scale battle, and also, focused in the End of Times. We pretend to recreate the Siege of Altdorf, where 20.000 points of WoC will stalk,rape and sake (I hope) the city.
    If you want to know more about that, visit our blog: http://thefallofaltdorf.blogspot.com.es/

    And another thing. You have played 2 epic battles at least. Can you give some advices in terms of logistics, playing, oragnization, writing the repport, etc? It would be helpfull for us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like you're putting plenty of preparation into it. Hopefully it works out well.

      In terms of advice, I guess there are a few things:
      - Make sure the army lists are all ready in advance, and don't fill the lists with lots of characters carrying magic items. This will just get confusing and hard to track. I tend to say that any characters other than the major personalities from the battle are assigned to a unit and won't leave, in order to prevent endless shifting and to discourage people from doing things like moving them out as sacrificial speed humps in front of the enemy.
      - Everyone playing needs to share the same goal - to keep the game moving and tell a story, instead of wasting time trying to set up annoying traps and fiddling with things rather than making sure the game doesn't get bogged down. If there are arguments or there is a danger of something silly happening that might ruin the game or make no sense, feel free to step in and make sure that it's worked out in a way that keeps things flowing - even if it's technically not what the rules dictate.
      - Don't put too much terrain in the centre of the field (even hills) because it will just get in the way of the units moving around.
      - Make sure you have someone with a laptop to take notes of the game so that you know what happened, and someone with a decent camera who knows how to take some decent shots of a lot of models at once (preferably with a steady hand and no flash).
      - Make sure you cannon snipe an important character in the game. People love that... No, try not to do that.
      - Leave plenty of time for the game. Setting up all the models can take a long time, although it helps if you have them ranked up in advance.
      - When you're taking photos, try to clear all the dice, books, tape measures, beer etc off the table as it will ruin the photos.

      Anyway, that should be enough to give you something to think about. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck!

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  5. Thank you very much Hoodling! I think about some of this advices before... and with your point of view all make more sense now and is more clear. So the main idea is not to play a supertactical battle but something more fluid, playable and funny. I share this opinion.
    I'm curious... how much time did you spent in the deployment and how much playing?

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    1. In this case I think we spent about 2 hours setting everything up and then about 11 hours playing. Setting up was made faster because all of my models were magnetised onto movement trays in advance, so I was able to focus on other things. Having about 15 people around also made things faster. Many hands make light work.

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  6. An incredible spectacle of a battle. Well done!

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  7. So far, so awesome! Brilliant way to spend 13 hours!

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