This is a continuation of the battle report that started here.
What in Sigmar's name is that thing?
The opening blows had been exchanged, and already Azhag's plan was coming together. As the clouds swirled and the shadows of griffons and wyverns drifted in and out of view, a greenish glow appeared beneath him. He swept down toward it, and as he drew nearer he could make out a goblin standing atop what appeared to be the roof of a tower, frantically waving something that appeared to be a glowing green stick overhead. He appeared none too happy to be holding the thing, but when he caught sight of Azhag approaching, he jumped up and down and pointed down into the mists. Azhag smirked as he followed the goblin's directions. It was time to make his entrance.
Orcs Turn 2
This can't end well...
On the western flank, the steam tank driver had been whooping and hollering in celebration as he smashed through the goblin chariots, but now he gave a squawk of alarm and clanged down the hatch as a pair of giants lumbered up and on either side. He probably had visions of the ceiling being crumped in by massive clubs swung with unimaginable force, but the giants (being not very bright) had other ideas. One leaned down and bellowed so hard that the tank rocked a little on its wheels, before it lurched suddenly the other way as the second giant leaned back in then crashed his forehead down on top of the machine. Neither swung their clubs. It's hard to imagine what they were thinking.
Yeah, they're just as stupid as they look. Way to go, geniuses.
The regiments behind the giants pressed forward, with the night goblins losing control of their fanatics as they approached the tower and saw the flagellants pressed inside, hollering doom-laden prophecies out the windows and any other gaps they could find. The fanatics whirled out toward the vast legion of knights, but they were too far away and it would be a miracle if any of them eventually made it.
So many flagellants are jammed into the tower that they literally ooze out the top, like a tube of toothpaste. The kind that shrieks and hollers and generally isn't worth listening to.
A fireball erupted from the goblin warboss with the funny hat, who was weaving along drunkenly on his gigantic spider. It slammed into one of the windows of the tower, resulting in shrieks of dismay and delight from the lunatics inside as nine of them were incinerated.
Sigmar preserve us! Brace for impact!
On the other side of the hill, the halberdiers in the colours of Stirland had assumed a defensive position. This position was immediately tested by a combined charge from the remaining arachnarok and a mob of orc boar boyz. The massed ranks of halberds brought down a pair of the boar boys and even took the tip off one of the massive spider's legs, but nearly a dozen of the humans perished in return, and the momentum of the charge proved irresistible. Their courageous shouts of encouragement turned to screams of panic as they turned to flee and the boar boyz rode them down.
Honestly the halberdiers were probably lucky not to lose more than they did, but steadfast did not save them.
The halberdiers run for their lives, but not quickly enough to evade the pursuing boar boyz.
Azhag arrives, and apparently eats the head of his nearest opponent...
As the front lines began to make contact, Azhag the Slaughterer descended abruptly from the low clouds overhead, and dropped upon one of the Empire cannons behind the lines. The crew shrieked and retreated behind the machine as he landed, doing their best to stay away from the hissing wyvern and its rider's flashing blades. Azhag looked at them contemptuously for a moment, then drew upon the powers of his crown and called forth the Purple Sun of Xereus. A swirling vortex of energy engulfed the machine and its cowering crew, before throwing itself along the lines, toward the other enemy cannons. Unfortunately it had insufficient momentum and didn't reach the other war machines. Dissatisfied, Azhag grunted and then urged Skullmuncha forwards across the smoking ruin of his opponents, and out of sight of the nasty guns.
Azhag hates cannons. Wyverns and axes are too good for them. So instead he uses Purple Sun on the one he's already in combat with, watches it fall short of the other ones, then overruns off the field because he had been in combat and was now unopposed (so victorious). What a guy...
The trolls charge in, but not against the giant. He's sitting back just a bit. This is just between the trolls and the swordsmen.
In the centre of the field, the river trolls saw the Empire swordsmen trying to edge across behind the rocky pillar that they had been sent to "control". The trolls knew a good meal when they saw one, and lumbered into combat with them. Some of them struggled to reach their prey thanks to the ruin in their way, but it was still a savage onslaught. The swordsmen struck rapidly and managed to cut down two of the attacking brutes, but fully fifteen humans were hacked, stomped and devoured in return. To their credit, the survivors held the line - but they did not look too pleased to be doing so.
15 swordsmen die, but only half the trolls could reach... Not sure the swordsmen would even have been steadfast if they could all get in there!
Upset at half their number having been mowed down by enemy fire, the ogre ironguts set their sights on the regiment of handgunners immediately in front of them and bellowed a charge. This did not really have the desired effect when another of their number was felled as the Empire troops stood their ground and fired, and the dying ogre tripped his comrades as he fell, foiling their attempted attack.
The gap between the lines closes near the centre.
Behind them, the massed ranks of black orcs were forced to slow their advance as the ogres sorted themselves out. The giants stepped up side-by-side, whilst the goblin wolf riders in front did their best to interfere with any meaningful aggression the White Wolf knights might have been tempted to act upon.
The spider riders get their act together and charge the free company.
Say hello to my little friend.
Having resolved whatever argument had delayed them earlier, the forest goblin spider riders surged out of the trees and launched themselves at the enemy free company who had advanced onto the hill in front of them. Half a dozen militia fell to the charge, but more than twice that number of goblins perished as the attack went terribly wrong. Realising their mistake, the surviving spider riders turned to flee but tripped on the tangled legs of their fallen brethren and they were easily overtaken by the pursuing humans.
The free company's cries of triumph were short-lived, however. Having taken a fearful battering from the squigs as it charged in, the war wagon was unable to withstand their continued chomping and it collapsed. The men on top screamed as they fell into the swirling maelstrom of teeth that awaited them. This was unpleasant to witness, and the militia lost their nerve and fled as quickly as their legs would take them...
Let's be honest, this wasn't looking great anyway...
Right! So we're fleeing that way... Where does that put us?
There's got to be space there somewhere...
How to set a new land speed record without being entirely thrilled about the outcome.
Further toward the east, a large regiment of orcs somehow managed to take up residence in the ramshackle tower, and set about looking for ways to send a signal up into the sky. But as they were looking to send things upward, others were already on their way down. To the horror of the Knights Panther, a great, gnarly green foot seemed to materialise out of the clouds overhead, and proceeded to stomp thunderously and repeatedly into their midst. Men and horses fell everywhere, but it was a testament to the strength of their armour that they only lost a handful of their number, whilst the remainder were eventually able to re-mount and recover their formation as the regiment slowed to try to work out how to deal with a menacing mangler squig whirling and bounding its way toward their front ranks.
The orcs take the tower, giving them a fine view of the Knights Panther as a mangler squig heads toward them and Gork stomps on them repeatedly. Actually, this was my best rolling of the game. Pete did something like 24 hits after several stomps, and I saved all but about 5 of them. It was amazing.
The all its considerable enthusiasm in stomping upon the knights, the great Foot of Gork did eventually go awry, and landed upon some unfortunate rock lobbers up on the hill behind the greenskin lines. Most of the crew managed to desperately dive out of the way, however one of the machines was hopelessly wrecked by the force of the impact before the foot finally wavered and vanished from view, leaving only groaning goblins and a disturbingly large footprint in the ground.
Hello!
An eerie shrieking filled the air as a goblin doom diver sailed across the field, flapping his wings madly as he tried to stay below the menacing low clouds. It was clear he had no idea what he was really doing, but somehow he managed to stay on course and landed dead on target - crashing down head-first onto the sputtering wreck that was the halfling's steam tank. Normally a single doom diver would be of little concern, but at this point the tank was being held together by little more than the halfling's frantically applied sticky tape, and the mere weight of the goblin was enough to trigger a catastrophic collapse, with pieces of the machine tumbling all over the field.
The savage orc big'uns ignore orders and charge the landship due to failed frenzy test, stomping on their own mangler squig on the way in. Those boar boyz should also have been charging in the flank, but they rolled like potatoes. Knobbly, ugly potatoes that are not very round and don't roll fast.
The Empire landship had pressed a long way toward the orc and goblin lines, and the questionable wisdom of this was highlighted when the savage orcs were stirred into an incoherent rage by its proximity and, ignoring the bellowed commands of the black orc big boss at their head, howled wildly and and threw themselves at the massive, steaming contraption - straight through the thrashing mangler squig that sat right in front of it. Snarls and screams and pieces of savage orc filled the air, but it did nothing to stall their charge. By the time they reached the landship, the black orc himself had abandoned any attempts at control and joined in their efforts to frenziedly hack the machine apart. Their target was huge and surprisingly solidly constructed, but it received a significant battering from their reckless assault, with cracks appearing and some potentially important things falling off.
Scribe's notes:
On Empire left, 2 Giants charge Noakes' Steam Tank; Azhag arrives & charges cannon, Trolls charge swordsmen, Araknarok & Boar Boyz charge halberdiers, Boar Chariot rallies, Fanatics move towards the Venators.
On Empire right: Savage Orks charge Landship due to failing frenzy, land on a Mangler (POP!), Spider riders charge Free Company, Ironguts fail charge & go 3, Wolf Riders screen White Wolf knights, supported by advancing Giants, Mangler squigs screen Knights Panther, Boar Boyz fail their charge roll
Orc Magic - 15 dice, 10 dispel dice to Empire. Pete rolls 23 on the Knights Panther with Foot of Gork. Scatters and hits 3 knights, rolls again, 7 wounds for 1 kill, rolls again, 12 wounds for 4 casualties, 2 more wounds for no kills, then OOPS! Gork slipped and stomped an Orc stone thrower, eliminating it and panicking the one next to it. Pete then casts Puprle Sun (18) with Azhag and takes out the cannon on the far left of the Empire gun line. Fireball cast at tower, 10 hits, 9 dead Flagellants.
Ork shooting - Doom Diver misfire on Empire left, 2 bolt throwers at steam tank on left, One hits - 2 wounds. Tim's boarboyz and Araknarok combat halberdiers, kills 2, Araknarok takes a wound, Boarboyz lose 2. 10 Halberdiers lost in combat, they flee and remaining Boarboyz ride the remainder down. Two Giants vs Steam Tank - 1 yells and bawls, other headbutts for a wound on the Steam Tank. Trolls and swrodsmen combat, 2 Trolls lost and 15 swordsmen are lost. Azhag overruns off the table and Puprle Sun dies.
Empire right, Doom Diver scores the last wound on Greg's Steam Tank, spearmen pass Ldrshp. Spider-riders and Militia combat, Boss takes a wound, 28 hits translates to 13 dead spidey-riders! Pete inflicts 6 casualties, breaks and is run down by Militia! Beers on me, lads! Squig riders attack Landship & do a wound (now 4 total!) , then combat kills a couple of squiggies while the riders hit back & take 2 wounds - end of Steam Tank. The Free Company then fail Ldrshp and flee down table, losing 4 casualties to dangerous terrain (or enemy, really) tests. Savage Orks v Landship, boss shrugs off a hit and inflicts 2 wounds (now 6 wounds down) but, then, has a 6+ Ward and Greg rolls 2 wounds back!
Empire Turn 2
Having basically tanked Foot of Gork, the panthers take a beating from the mangler squig as they charge.
The Orcs needed to be moved out of the tower, and the Reiksguard needed a clear path to the enemy squig hoppers. The halberdiers duly set off for the tower, but they didn't make it far. Someone stepped on a very small rock or something and the entire regiment ground to a halt. The Reiskguard could be heard cursing as they dragged their own charge to a halt immediately behind them.
What are you doing, you idiots? We need that tower, and you out of the way!
The charge of the knights panther was not quite as glorious as they had imagined it, with the vast bulk of the landship preventing them from really getting to grips with most of the savage orcs. The danger posed by their arrival did not go unnoticed, however. The the savage orc great shaman saw them approaching and roared a challenge at their leader. This challenge was accepted by the grand master of the Knights Panther himself, who battered the shaman but was unable to finish him off. He received a wound in return, but the tide was turning against the savage orcs. Seeing their rescue was at hand, the landship crew struck about them with renewed vigour, felling several of the enemy themselves. They even tried to fire their cannon at the approaching boar chariots, however something went wrong (the savage orcs were very distracting), and the cannon misfired and was destroyed.
Tired after their initial flurry of blows, the savage orcs and their leaders found themselves unable to do much more than add a few scratches to the tough hide of the landship. With the arrival of the knights and the casualties they were now taking from the weapons of the landship crew, they realised they were losing the fight and immediately lost their stomach for it. They turned to run, but the knights were quick to spur their steeds onward and ride down the fleeing enemy.
The savage orc big'uns flee and are destroyed, along with the great shaman and the threat that he posed.
The landship sails on alone as the knights are held up by the tower. Fanatics emerge to greet it.
Poor old thing. I think by the time the fanatics were done with it, it was down to maybe 2 of its original 12 wounds.
Toward the centre of the battlefield, the White Wolf knights grew tired of the goblin wolf riders scurrying about right in front of them, hurling insults and whatever else they could find. The captain shouted a command, and the knights spurred their mounts forward to make extremely short work of their tormentors. They then halted their advance, warily eyeing the approaching wall of giants, ogres and black orcs.
Having watched the opening exchange of blows, the giant decides to step up and join the fight against the river trolls.
The giant stepped in to assist the swordsmen as they struggled to fend off the huge pack of river trolls, but his presence did little to sway the momentum in the combat. As he set about trying to headbutt the nearest troll to death, a dozen more were dismembered, and the giant himself was torn half to shreds. It was all getting a bit much for the soldiers, who turned and fled through their own lines, panicking the driver of the celestial hurricanum who joined in the retreat. The giant, who had stepped in to help, now found himself trying to fend off the trolls all on his own.
That's enough, we're out of here!
The hurricanum panics, but thankfully the knights and wolfygryphs hold their ground.
As the struggle along the front lines continued, the battery of Empire cannons continued to fill the air with noise, smoke and the occasional scream. One machine misfired and vanished in an explosion, but one managed to land an almost fatal blow to one off the enemy giants approaching the White Wolves, and another finished off the remaining arachnarok after fire from the crossbowmen had left it crippled. Still another shot hit the second giant, but somehow it was a glancing blow that inflicted no lasting damage. Most likely it bounced off his rock-hard head. Skull like a boulder, brain like a pebble...
Burdened by its wound marker (the enemy artillery kept shooting at it, to little effect), the steam tank spins about and looks to exact revenge upon the rumps of the orc boar boyz.
As the arachnarok was felled by combined fire from the Empire lines, the steam tank lurched about and careened into the rear of the boar boyz, its driver shouting largely incoherent things about vengeance for the fallen halberdiers. The crushing impact was more than the orcs were prepared for, and as more than half of them fell beneath its wheels, the remainder fled for safety as quickly as possible.
"No, wait! Come back so I can crush you some more!" Man that's a long flee move. Clearly they were not messing around.
On the western flank, the knights lowered their lances and charged the flank of the nearest giant in an attempt to rescue the steam tank, but it did not go entirely to plan. As they approached, the sheer size and smell of their quarry overpowered them, and their lances did not strike home with the accuracy they might otherwise have done. The warrior priest muttered encouragement, but he too was somewhat overcome with dread. In the end, the charge was nearly enough - the giant staggered from several serious wounds, and could only manage a knock a single knight from his horse in return. The other giant ignored all this, and continued bellowing into the view-slot of the steam tank. His singing was so bad that some of the knights struggled to keep their horses in line, but in the end they did their best to block out the noise and fought on.
The knights charged in, failed their fear test, and then failed to kill the giant outright, leaving him on one wound. This meant that when the other giant rolled "yell and bawl", the knights were still in a losing combat and had to test. Thankfully they avoided embarrassment and held their ground, but the impetus of the charge with (hatred and lance bonus) was gone.
Scribe's notes:
Fleeing Free Company rally right next to the Trolls; White Wolves charge Wolf Riders, Steam Tank reverses direction and charges Boar Boyz in the rear, Giant charges the Trollz, Venators charge one of the Giants in combat with Noakes' Steam Tank,
Halberdiers fail their charge against the tower, stopping the Reiksguard from charging the squiggies. Knights Panther charge flank of Savage Orks but lose 10 charging over the top of the Mangler Squigs to their front in doing so. Spearmen move up and Great Swords also.
Empire roll 17 power dice, 12 dispel dice to O & G.. Flaming Sword into the swordsmen vs the Trollz goes off but is dispelled. Soulfire from the Warrior Priest in this combat is also dispelled.
Empire shooting - Greg blows up a cannon. Landship shoots at Boarboyz - misfire: 1 wound and cannon destroy. Hellblaster in centre against ironguts and take 1 wound. Handgunners shoot at Orkz on the hill and take out 3. Greg's remaining cannon hits Grolbog for 5 wounds. On the left, crossbowmen hit the Araknarok with 1 wound left and it shrugs it off. The cannon then takes it out. The last cannon shoots at the two Giants in mid-table, hits one and fails to wound!
Empire combat: Greg's Knight Panthers Grand Master is challenged by Pete's shaman who loses 2 wounds while inflicting 1 back. The Pantherrs then take out an Ork, the Landship does 4 wounds and kn ocks Frenzy out of Savage Orks. Orks lose combat, flee and are run down by the Knights Panther.
Boar boyz hit in rear by Steam Tank lose combat (5 killed) and flee off the Empire side of the table.Venators fail their Fear test once in combat but reduce Blue Giant to 1 Wound remaining and he inflicted 1 wound in return; the other Giant yelled and bawled and the Venators passed thier Ldrshp test. Giant and swordsmen against Trollz - Giant headbutts a Troll. Swordsmen lose 12 casualties to the Trolls and flee through the Hurricanum, the White Wolves (which have just wiped out the Wolf Riders) and the Demigryphs. The Hurricanum flees.
End of Turn 2
You can find the next part of the battle report here.
Always happy to see yet another battle report. This reminds me, I need to get back to slogging through my mountains of miniatures and get them painted.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to have reminded you. You had done so well forgetting, too!
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