Shattered Dreams and Hopes Lost

My last post described the rules we would be using for a moderately large game last weekend. The intent was to try to break the pattern that we commonly see in multiplayer games, when the larger game turns into several smaller parallel one-on-one games with little interaction between them. Well we tried things out, and this is how they went.

This was never intended to be a really fancy report and I was playing at the same time as taking pictures, so the presentation is not all it could have been (some of the photos are really blurry). Oh well.

We played with about 17,000 points per side, with each player commanding a little over 6,000 points. It was all kind of thrown together with the models that I already had at my place, so the composition of the armies might not have been all that it could have been.

Armies 
High Elves (Empire West)

• Prince on Star Dragon with Shield; Armour of Destiny; Star Lance
• Teclis (Lore of High Magic)
• Archmage (Level 4, Lore of Death)
• Annointed of Asuryan
• Noble with Battle Standard; Halberd; Armour of Caledor
• 50 First Spearmen with Full Command
• 40 Lothern Seaguard with Full Command
• 15 Silver Helms with Shields; Full Command
• 12 Archers with Standard; Musician
• 12 Archers with Standard; Musician
• 15 Dragon Princes of Caledor with Full Command
• 40 Swordmasters of Hoeth with Full Command; Razor Standard
• 30 White Lions of Chrace with Full Command; Gleaming Pendant
• 40 Phoenix Guard with Full Command
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Frostheart Phoenix

Empire Centre

• General on Imperial Griffon with Great Weapon; Full Plate Armor; Talisman of Endurance; Dragonhelm
• Balthasar Gelt
• Wizard Lord (Level 4, Lore of Life)
• Captain with Battle Standard; Barded Warhorse; Full Plate Armor; Shield; Sword of Might; Dawn Stone
• Warrior Priest with Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
• 30 Knightly Orders with Great Weapons; Full Command
• 16 Reiksguard Knights with Full Command; Banner of Swiftness
• 60 Greatswords with Full Command
• 60 Halberdiers with Full Command
• 40 Swordsmen with Full Command
• 5 Demigryph Knights with Full Command
• 20 Handgunners with Standard; Musician
• Great Cannon
• Helblaster Volley Gun
• Celestial Hurricanum
• Steam Tank

Empire East

• Arch Lector on War Altar with Armour of Destiny; Mace of Helstrum
• General on Imperial Griffon with Great Weapon; Full Plate Armor; White Cloak of Ulric
• Wizard Lord (Level 4, Lore of Heavens)
• Wizard Lord (Level 4, Lore of Light)
• Captain with Battle Standard; Barded Warhorse; Full Plate Armor; Shield; Opal Amulet; Sword of Anti-Heroes
• Warrior Priest with Great Weapon; Heavy Armour
• Master Engineer
• 30 Knights of the Inner Circle with Full Command; Steel Standard
• 30 Knightly Orders with Full Command
• 60 Flagellants
• 60 Halberdiers with Full Command
• 60 Halberdiers with Full Command
• 40 Spearmen with Full Command
• 20 Handgunners with Standard; Musician
• 16 Crossbowmen with Standard; Musician
• 16 Crossbowmen with Standard; Musician
• 5 Demigryph Knights with Full Command
• 40 Greatswords with Full Command
• 5 Outriders with Sharpshooter
• Great Cannon
• Great Cannon
• Helblaster Volley Gun

Chaos West

• Daemon Prince of Khorne with Chaos Armour; Daemonic Flight; Exalted Gift (+3 Strength)
• Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury with Greater Gift (+2 Strength?); Greater Gift (+1 Toughness)
• Keeper of Secrets (Level 4, Lore of Slaanesh) with Greater Gift (+2 Attacks); Greater Gift (something)
• Herald of Slaanesh with Battle Standard; Greater Locus of Swiftness; Greater Gift (2+ Armour)
• Herald of Nurgle with Lesser Locus of Virulence; Greater Gift (Fencer's Blades)
• Karanak
• 30 Daemonettes of Slaanesh with Full Command
• 20 Bloodletters of Khorne with Full Command
• 40 Plaguebearers of Nurgle with Full Command
• 10 Pink Horrors of Tzeentch
• 6 Beasts of Nurgle
• 6 Fiends of Slaanesh
• 23 Flesh Hounds of Khorne
• 4 Bloodcrushers of Khorne
• 5 Seekers of Slaanesh
• Soul Grinder of Slaanesh with Daemonbone Claw; Phlegm Bombardment

Chaos Centre

• Belakor 
• Chaos Lord of Tzeentch on Daemonic Mount with Barding; Shield; Hellfire Sword; Talisman of Endurance
• Sorcerer Lord of Tzeentch (Level 4, Lore of Fire (yes I know)) on Disc of Tzeentch with Talisman of Preservation, Sword of Anti-Heroes, Scaled Skin
• Exalted Hero of Tzeentch with Battle Standard; Shield; Barded Chaos Steed; Dawn Stone; Sword of Might
• 30 Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch with Halberds; Shields; Full Command
• 20 Chaos Warriors of Khorne with Shields; Full Command
• 25 Chaos Warriors with Halberds; Full Command
• 40 Chaos Marauders of Slaanesh with Flails; Full Command
• 20 Chaos Knights of Tzeentch with Ensorcelled Weapons; Full Command
• 12 Chaos Knights with Ensorcelled Weapons; Full Command
• 8 Dragon Ogres with Great Weapons; Light Armour
• Hellcannon

Chaos East

• Galrauch, The Great Drake
• Great Bray-Shaman (Level 4, Lore of Beasts)
• Wargor with Battle Standard; Great Weapon; Trollhide Armour
• 50 Chaos Warriors of Slaanesh with Halberds; Full Command; Banner of Swiftness
• 40 Gor Herd  with 2ndWeapon; Full Command
• 3 Chaos Chariots (operating as a single regiment to keep things tidy)
• 28 Chosen with Great Weapons; Shields; Full Command
• 10 Chaos Ogres of Slaanesh with Great Weapons; Heavy Armour; Full Command
• 1 Doombull with Great Weapon; Armour of Destiny; Gnarled Hide
• 11 Minotaurs  with Great Weapons; Light Armour; Full Command
• Dragon Ogre Shaggoth with Great Weapon; Light Armour
• Dragon Ogre Shaggoth with Great Weapon; Light Armour
• 10 Chaos Knights of Slaanesh with Lances; Full Command

Deployment
There was some debate over how best to handle deployment. In the end it was a roll-off. The losing side had to deploy one of its 3 contingents first. Then the winning side had to deploy 2 of theirs, then the losing side had to deploy both of their remaining contingents before the winners placed their 1 remaining force. In this case the Empire won the roll-off, so the last thing deployed was the Empire centre (me).

The forces lined up along the table. The circles show the area of the rifts if they are opened (control comes from unengaged units standing on the marker in the centre at the start of their turn).

The Field of Shattered Dreams

This is a scenario intended for use in large (multi-player) games of Warhammer Fantasy 8th edition.

The intent is to allow 2 teams of players to fight an objective-based scenario, but where there is more point to controlling the objectives before the end of the game and where it is easier for players to take a direct hand in each other's area of the field (rather than pretty much playing 3 separate games alongside each other, as can happen in a game like this).

The Field of Shattered Dreams

Deep within the borders of the Empire, a coven of Chaos sorcerers performed a ritual to open a rift into the Realm of Chaos. This rift was intended to allow a flood of daemons to enter the mortal plane and cause havoc within the heart of the Empire whilst an army of mortal Chaos worshippers advanced under the cover of the confusion that followed. 

Well that was the plan, anyway. Unbeknownst to the sorcerers, their actions had drawn the attention of the Colleges of Magic in Altdorf. A response was hastily arranged, and at the height of the ritual the Empire wizards struck. The spell could not be entirely stopped, but the outside interference caused the rift to fragment, shattering into several smaller parts. These smaller rifts lacked the direction of the original spell, and as such they fell dormant, waiting for someone to seize control.

A mad scramble ensued as the mortal Chaos invasion force rushed to claim control of the rifts, whilst the Empire response force held what they could and waited desperately for aid. 

Painting Heavy Pike Ogres

Well in my last post My Republican Guard Ogres were assembled. Now they are painted! Hooray for progress! 

3 very heavily armoured Ogres, ready to go poke something with their long, pointy sticks.

As is always the case for things that I've sculpted myself, these guys didn't take long to paint. There is a certain lack of detail that helps speed things up. If they all had hourglasses and fish and dead cats hanging from their belts, it would take a lot longer (even if they might look fancier at the end). Simple is good. Simple is fast.

This guy was the first I constructed, and probably still my favourite.

Making Heavy Pike Ogres

In my previous post I showed 21 completed Ricco's Republican Guard models and stated my intentions to fill the unit out to a horde of 40 including 3 Ogre fillers. I've been quiet for a while on the blog, but I've actually been working on these silly Ogre pikemen every chance I could find. Progress has been slow.

My main problem is that I seem to be getting a bit pickier as I go with these Ogres. I already had moulds for the arms, legs and torso of an Ogre in heavy armour. The detailing didn't really match the Republican Guard, but I don't think that would have bothered me in the past. Apparently it bothered me this time though, because I set about modifying various components to get them to tie in better with their little friends. Here are some photos showing my efforts.

Making new heads and feathers.

Painting Pikemen

I stated in my last post that I was intending to work on my regiment of Ricco's Republican Guard, and I actually seem to be following through on it. This is relatively novel, as my last few months have been full of stalled efforts to pick a project and try to build up some momentum with it. I think this time I will actually be able to push through to my goal.

I've finished painting the first wave of 21. That leaves 7 more models and 3 Ogre fillers (which don't exist yet) to push the unit up to KoW horde size (ie 40 models). That's my current goal, despite the fact that I will have a number of models left over at the end. Given that they need work to sort out their incorrect and/or missing pike situation and 40 is a reasonable footprint in Warhammer too, it might be a while before I get onto doing anything with the remaining models. Let's not be picky. At least I'm making progress!

21 Ricco's Republican Guard, or if you speak KoW, 21 Heavy Pike. I thought these guys would be really fast to paint because they're pretty much fully encased in plate armour. But there is still enough feather, leather and cloth to slow me down more than I would have liked.

Twirling!

"As a young boy, I dreamed of being a baseball; but tonight I say, we must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling..."

Right now I feel like I have been taking slightly too much of my advice from Kang. Sure, it sounds like a good motivational speech (in places), but I'm not sure it really points towards progress...

Anyway, I have been making some limited progress in certain directions. I just don't feel like I have much to show for it right now. I think I am still in the twirling stages. I continue to hope that at some point I will settle on something and have a little more focus in my efforts.

Somewhere under there is a work space. Truly.

My first KoW tournament - Smorgancon

After trying out my first larger game of Kings of War, the following day I went along to my first tournament - a small event called Smorgancon. I think it was the first time any of us were involved in a Kings of War tournament, so it was always going to be something of a learning experience for us all. 

I was actually a pretty late entry (a spot opened up when someone pulled out), and my list was not exactly a finely honed precision instrument. I had been toying with lists that might resist flyer-heavy armies, as a theme seems to have been developing in our games that big flyers are very powerful and can be difficult to counter. Rather than taking this as an invitation to go mad with power and field several monsters, I wanted to try making a list that might counter them and help buck the trend. The list below was what I came up with. 

• Ax Horde
• Ax Horde
• Ax Horde
• Ax Horde
• Troll Horde
• War Drum
• War Drum
• Gore Rider Regiment
• Godspeaker with Bane Chant, Inspiring Talisman
• Godspeaker with Bane Chant
• Krudger on Winged Slasher with Medallion of Life
• Troll Bruiser

The theory was that this army could anchor its flank on a table edge, put out a solid 4 feet of orc hordes with no room for anything much to get in between, and then have enough other stuff to both shield the far flank and lurk behind the main line to charge any cheeky flyers that hoped to get into my rear. So theoretically both my flanks and rear would be protected, which would largely negate the impact of the flying monsters. Of course, I didn't play any practice games with the list I came up with. So it was all theory going into the event.

The theory was then undermined somewhat by my own incompetence and lack of preparation. When I arrived (late) at the tournament, I discovered I had failed to pack something - an entire horde of Orcs. I only had 3 in my box. So some emergency changes were made; a Giant made a sudden appearance in my list, and I wound up going into my games 15 points short. Oh well.

Behold my "Giant". Alas, he was all I happened to have on hand! Well at least the base size was correct...