Warhammer Fantasy Battle Report summary:-
"The beast herd impales the troll on the flank but its wounds quickly join back together, sealing a pair of ungors spears inside its flesh" (excellent report with Skaven themed maps)| source : underempire.net | credit : Nilax | 1-Jan-2009 |
Prelude to Battle...
Upon hearing a deep groan protrude from the darkness, Skullgor, champion of Khorne, knelt before his master’s cave dwelling.
The warrior stood motionless between the rows of primitive, makeshift torches lining the path leading from the chaos encampment below up into the rocky cliffs of the crevasse. In the darkness the flickering torchlight danced in wicked patterns along his blood-red plate mail.
Nothing stirred for minutes until at last a massive silhouette stepped out between the hanging crimson banners to either side of the cave face. Skullgor could hear at once the deep, rasping breathing of the creature. He knew the deep reservoir of his master’s hatred could not be controlled for long; and that by awaking him at this hour of the night he risked disembowelment unless he spoke quickly.
“My lord,” he said with his eyes facing the dirt, “spies have infiltrated the camp. Some were able to escape into the woods, but these were caught by your centigor riders…”
Skullgor motioned to his retainer, standing further down the path. The warrior of chaos dragged a pair of bloodied rat men up before Skullgor and backed away, his back hunched in subservience.
The silhouetted behemoth stared at the corpses and his deep breathing intensified.
“Rat-kin my lord.” Skullgor continued, “Ghorrich’s band spoke of such creatures; it is said they have a stronghold not more than three days march from here. They may intend to prevent our advance.”
There was a long pause, and the sound of Gors snorting in petty infighting around the great bonfires below overtook the cliffs before Skullgor went on.
“What are your orders, Master?”
The irregular breathing ceased immediately, and the beast strode into the torchlight; orange fire illuminating its red-scaled serpentine body and broad, muscled shoulders. Kargor, Shaggoth and Chosen of Khorne, looked out over the horizon nearing dawn; flocks of birds stirred from the forest canopy miles down the crevasse.
With a roar like crunching bones, Kargor barked,
“Prepare for Battle”
What follows is a 2250 point battle report (very heavy on graphics!) between my friend Kevin's Chaos army and my trial Hell Pit force. Special thanks to my friend/opponent Mike for redoing my graphics. Skaven units are green. Khorne units are Red. Fleeing units are blue. Stupid units are lavender. Hope you enjoy!
The armies...
Beasts of Chaos Army List
Khornate WarhostLord:
Kargor the Bloodenor
Dragon-Ogre Shaggoth Champion
Mark of Khorne
Great Weapon
Light Armor
Heroes:
Bray-Shaman
Braystaff
Lore of Beasts
Spell Familiar
Chaos Sorceror
Dispel Scroll
Lore of Fire
Core:
Beast Herd #1: 20 gors, 5 ungors
Shields; additional hand weapons; full command
Beast Herd #2: 20 gors, 5 ungors
Shields; additional hand weapons; full command
Tuskgor Chariot
Tuskgor Chariot
16x Khornegors
Halberds; Heavy Armor; Mark of Khorne; full command
Special:
5x Centigors
Spears; Shields
4x Minotaurs
Full Command; Mark of Khorne; Great Weapons; Light Armor
12x Chaos Warriors
Chosen; Mark of Khorne
Shields; Additional Hand Weapons; Full Command
Skaven Army List
Vanguard of Hell PitLord:
Ghorrich
Heroes:
Master Moulder
Light Armor
Great Weapon
Skavenbrew
Harbinger of Mutation
Whip
Dispel Scroll
Harbinger of Mutation
Whip
Warp scroll
Core:
4x Giant Rat Packs
4x Giant Rat Packs
6x Throtling Packs
10x Wolf Rats
20x Wolf Rats
3x Rat Swarms
Special:
4x Augmented Rat Ogres
3x Mutated Rat Ogres
Quadrupeds
Extra-limbs
Rare:
Chimearat
5x Trolls
Pre-Battle:
We were both experimenting with new army variants so we decided to keep the setup simple; we reused the terrain set-up from a previous game without rolling, and opted to go for a basic confrontation; standard victory points and no scenario.
I chose my army essentially to get a sampling of as many new Hell-Pit units as I could. For Hell Pit games, either Ghorrich or Throt must be taken as a compulsory character. Though we usually wave rules like this in our gaming group, I wanted to try out Ghorrich anyway. For those without the list: Ghorrich is essentially a cyborg khorne-berserker rat ogre lord, way too crazy for me not to try. He has a high strength and ignores armor saves, something I knew I’d be thankful for if he ended up in a challenge with the Shaggoth or tied up with chaos warriors.
I took an enormous unit of Throtlings as well and a master moulder with skavenbrew and a great weapon to lead them. I figured that these guys should be able to deal with most of his infantry with CR and certainly outnumber them…allowing me to auto-break them with fear. If the skavenbrew just so happened to make them frenzied and hateful…the d3 wounds per turn shouldn’t even be noticeable.
The Chimearat was a fairly obviously first rare choice for me, as I’ve been dying to try him out since the list was released. This guy is effectively a skaven war-hydra with a warpfire-thrower breath weapon. He should increase the threat level of my battle line wherever I put him.
The other rare slot was a bit more difficult to field. At first I felt that two aberrations would be best (essentially Skaven chaos spawns that are a bit more reliable) But after seeing that I only had two units of rat ogres and was certain I’d be facing a shaggoth and likely chaos warriors as well, I decided on a huge unit of trolls. The trolls can vomit, which allows them a str5 automatic hit that ignores armor saves…with a big unit of these guys, I could wash away a whole rank of chosen warriors with puke.
I took two Harbingers of Mutation not so much for access to vermintide but as magic defense and to include additional units with the beastmaster special rule to keep my army under control. Restricted to level 1, I doubted these guys would ever break through Kevin’s dispel dice pool, but should they ever drain him down—I gave one a warp scroll to unleash on one of the low leadership beast herds he’d likely be bringing.
My mutated rat ogres were given four legs to act as a flanking force alongside a unit of wolf rats. I hoped these guys would be able to get around the flanks of Kargor’s army and harass it from behind.
After our deployment (pictured below) Kevin rolled for spells for his two sorcerers and received Oxen Stands, The Eagle’s Cry, and The Bear’s Anger from the beast lore and Fireball and Fiery Blast from the lore of fire.
Ikskitch, my master moulder must have had to water down that skavenbrew quite considerably to feed all 42 Throtlings and pack masters because it had no effect in the game = (
Chaos wins deployment roll and roll for first turn...
Deployment:
Beasts of Chaos Turn 1:
Movement:
With a thunderous bellow from his war-horn, Kargor ushers his host to advance at the approaching Skaven horde. The Chaos army advances at full step in a bee-line for my battle line. The only exceptions are the chosen warriors of Khorne who advance cautiously out of character, aware of the unguarded forest path to their flank.
Magic:
The mortal sorcerer uses a total of five power dice to cast Fireball and Fiery Blast at the comparatively small giant rats ahead of him, but his focus fails as the dice rolls are both too low.
Skaven Turn 1:
Movement:
A cacophony of whips cracking on twisted flesh signals the beginning of the Skaven turn. The large pack of ravenous wolf rats and mutated, quadruped rat ogres take off running down the forest path at the right-hand side of the table.
At the opposite end, Ikskitch goads his throttling charges forward along the ruined dwarven stronghold. From the dense foliage of the forest, swarms of rats begin to pour out in the path of the frenzied Shaggoth and his accompanying minotaurs.
Magic:
The Harbingers of Mutation each attempt to summon a vermintide at the beast herds ahead of them but fail to cast.
Chaos Turn 2:
Movement:
Unable to contain themselves, Kargor and the minotaurs race out ahead of their battle-line and crash into the rat swarms in an explosion of tattered vermin-bodies.
The ungor driver of Chariot #1 whips and slashes his tuskgors to overcome their fear of the twisted throtlings and the chariot crashes into the massive unit-head on.
The remainder of the chaos army advances steadily and prepares to receive charges.
Magic:
With no tempting targets available, the chaos mages do not cast.
Combat:
Frustrated by their tiny bites, Kargor smashes the broad side of his great-axe down on the swarm of rats ahead of him and crushes a base. The minotaur champion and his closest companion trample another base of rats beneath their cloven hooves; the stinging nibbles of the little ratties failing to penetrate their chain mail.
On the other side of the forest, Ikskitch leaps onto the tuskgor chariot before the brutally scythed wheels eviscerate him, and they liquefy three throtlings instead. The tuskgors maul and kill a fourth throtling. From atop the chariot, Ikskitch shoves the ungor driver into the mob now swarming the chariot. Drawing his great weapon, he parries the blow of the Bestigor rider’s giant axe before decapitating him with a riposte. He causes a total of 3 wounds to the chariot and the agonized throtlings tear the tuskgors apart and finish it off. The unit overruns into the small unit of Centigors following close behind.
Skaven Turn 2:
Movement:
With a monstrous roar the cyborg-Ghorrich lunges forward with his augmented rat ogres and slams into the approaching unit of Khornegors.
The Chimearat fails its stupidity check and loses touch with reality before a whip-crack induced psychology reroll from the nearby harbinger snaps it back and it charges the Minotaur unit directly ahead. With their general in base contact, the Minotaurs pass their fear test from the terror-causing beast. The Harbinger’s unit of giant rats joins the combat alongside it.
The other unit of giant rats and wolf rats #1 join forces to charge beast herd #2 head-on.
The large unit of wolf-rats runs behind the chaos line and their rat-ogre comrats follow behind, stopping to the left flank of the chosen warriors of Khorne.
Magic:
As the harbingers are both in combat with hard targets, there is no casting.
Combat:
Ikskitch and his throtling pack tear four of the centigors limb from limb and the fifth, having dealt no wounds, flees from combat to the stringing crack of pack master whips to its hindquarters.
The Chimaerat’s multiple maws tear giant hunks of meat from the frenzied Minotaurs, causing 5 wounds to the unit and killing one outright. The Giant Rats and Pack masters follow up by finishing off the wounded minotaur. Outraged, the Minotaur champion decapitates 3 of the chimaerat’s six heads. The Skaven win combat and the Minotaurs hold but lose their Frenzy.
The Shaggoth, eager to join the massed bloodshed taking place adjacent to him, swings his axe over and over again in a frothing dervish to hack through the rat swarms bogging him down but leaves a single wound remaining on the base.
Ghorrich and his unit rip into the unit of Khornegors in a storm of blood, viscera, and choking black smoke. The cyborg-rats and their pack masters cause a total of 13 unsaved wounds on the elite beastmen before running them down and butchering them to a gor.
The nearby combat does not fare so well for the skaven, as the giant rats and wolf rats fail to cause a single wound to the herd of gors while the giant rats suffer five in return. Both units break and while the wolf rats escape the giant rats are run down in a stampede of cloven hooves.
Chaos Turn 3:
Movement:
Beast Herd #2, having driven off their attackers are now free to charge Ghorrich’s unit in the flank. Catastrophe is looming! The beastmen pass their fear test and lunge at the general’s unit, making contact with an augmented rat-ogre and a pack master.
The second Chariot crew goads its tuskgors into frenzy and joins the minotaur combat by slamming in to the Harbinger’s unit of giant rats.
Far to the left, beast herd #1 passes a fear test and charges through the corner of the forest to engage the throtlings head-on.
Magic:
On the right flank, the mortal sorcerer joins in with the unit of chaos warriors and attempts to unleash a Fiery Blast on the mutated rat ogres. Khorne’s pupils explode like supernovas as he witnesses MAGIC being cast from within his chosen unit; the sorcerer miscasts and bursts into flames, surviving, but ending the magic phase.
Combat:
Furious at the loss of its brother-heads, the remaining Chimearat heads take vengeance on the minotaurs by gnawing the head off the standard bearer and causing a viscous wound to the champion. The champion lops off another two heads from the corrupted monster, but the dominant head still remains. In the same combat, the harbinger drills his rats to make a path for the charging chariot, which charges into the unit causing insignificant casualties and suffering two in return from the crack of pack master whips on its tuskgors. Beaten, the minotaur and chariot break. The Chimearat pursues the fleeing minotaur champion and eviscerates him, while the giant rats restrain their pursuit and the chariot flees away 7”
On the other side of the forest, the charging beastmen kill two Throtlings but suffer four casualties in return. Outfought and outnumbered by the fear-causing throtlings, the beastmen auto-break and are pursued. They escape by a narrow 2”
The beast herd assaulting Ghorrich’s flank causes two wounds to the rat ogre in base contact and wins the combat. Outnumbered with no rank bonus, Ghorrich and his unit break, but manage to evade their pursuers by merely 1” thanks to the skaven flee bonus! He who runs away…
Finally, after slaughtering hundreds of tiny rats, Kargor roars in a triumphant crescendo, scattering what few rodents remain back into the underbrush to hide. The shaggoth is now free.
Skaven Turn 3:
Movement:
Furious that the beast-herd failed to put them out of their misery, the ravenous throtlings charge the fleeing gors and ungors and push them against the table-edge.
The Harbinger’s rats charge the broken chariot which continues to flee, revealing the beast herd pursuing Ghorrich. Desperate to save Throt’s greatest creation, the harbinger redirects his rats into the herd.
Seeing Kargor raise his enormous great-axe in triumph, the troll pack masters take the signal to unleash their charges onto the dragon ogre. Having sat lazily in the skaven deployment zone all battle, the 5 monsters are finally ushered into combat, passing their fear test from the terror-causing behemoth.
Fortune smiles upon the Skaven and Ghorrich rallies! Unfortunately, having lost frenzy, he is now stupid as per his special rules.
The small unit of wolf rats continue to flee. The large wolf rats reposition to face the flank of the chaos warriors.
Ghorrich roars at the nearby Chimearat to punish the beast-herd, and the wounded beast walks 5” towards the flank of the giant rat-beast herd combat.
Magic:
Knowing that he cannot attain irresistible force vs. Kargor’s massive dispel pool, the harbinger in combat with the beast herd holds back his vermintide.
Shooting:
Warpfire Attack!
The dominant head on the Chimearat reels back and belches out a thick gout of warpfire across the rear ranks of the beast herd. The beasts pass their panic check, but 8 gors are incinerated in the inferno!
Combat:
The much-crispier gors inflict two casualties on the attacking giant rats who return with one. The outnumbering bonus and extra rank of the rats cancel out with the extra kill and banner of the beastmen to cause a drawn combat. The beastmen musician tilts the balance of combat in the beastmens’ favor but the rats hold.
The trolls grab a hold of their distended, green bellies as they charge. Ikskitch had fed these trolls buckets of ripe skavenade before the battle, and now Kargor was in for a big surprise! The trolls puke all over the solitary general, the corrosive vomit eating through his light armor and scaly skin. The pack masters sting him with their whips but they fail to penetrate his thick hide. In retaliation, the vomit-soaked shaggoth disembowels a troll, but the beast’s wounds almost immediately seal back up…an unholy hybrid of the creature’s natural abilities heightened with warpstone therapy! The trolls win combat but the proud Kargor holds his ground.
Chaos Turn 4:
Movement:
Well-aware of the trap closing around them, the chosen warriors of Khorne attempt to break-out by charging the rat ogres but fail their charge by ½” and pause just in front of the frothing beasts.
The broken chariot rallies and wheels to face the Shaggoth combat.
Beast herd #1 continues to flee from the throtling horde and abandons the table, taking their shaman with them.
Magic:
None
Combat:
Beast Herd #2, still in a delirious frenzy from having been belched on by radioactive fire, butcher 8 giant rats in an attempt to escape the beast on their flank. The harbinger kills one gor with his ceremonial blade but the unit breaks. The victorious beastmen run the rats down, rending apart the harbinger and stopping just to the side of the Troll/Shaggoth combat.
The Trolls continue to upchuck all over Kargor, whose scales are beginning to fall off in soggy clumps of gelatinous goop. The puke causes 4 more wounds. Mad with pain, Kargor whirlwinds with his great axe. The shaggoth’s flurry of blows claim 5 wounds. 2 regenerate, but one troll is left nothing more but a pile of putrid guts and bile soaking into the dirt. The trolls win again, but once more Kargor holds.
Reinforcements for the champion-ogre of Khorne are on the way, but will they make it in time to save their general who is now down to only 1 wound remaining?
Skaven turn 4:
Movement:
The Chimaerat feels no pity or panic at the sight of the giant rats exterminated before its eyes.
With the chosen of Khorne mere meters in front of them, the mutated quadruped rat ogres charge in a great bounding leap at them.
Unable to control their feverish hunger any longer, the 20 wolf rats slam into the flank of the chaos warriors.
The Chimaerat growls as the wounded tuskgor chariot limps by, and moves to charge but…is distracted by a very shiny Khornegor armor scrap on the battlefield and fails its stupidity check, even with Ghorrich’s beastmaster reroll.
The small unit of wolf rats continues to flee and abandons the board.
Ghorrich and his unit reposition to face the Shaggoth combat.
Combat:
Charged on two fronts, the Khornate warriors shoulder their extra hand weapon and draw their shields, forming a testudo. The rat ogres crash into the shield wall, snapping and swiping with their crudely-attached extra appendages. One ogre manages to grab a warrior by his feet and drag him from beneath the shield wall, making a meal of his face. On the other side the wolf rats slashing and gnawing at the shields but failing to penetrate the thick barrier of metal. The warriors retaliate, killing a rat ogre outright but failing to strike at the wolf rats. Between the flank and outnumbering bonus the warriors lose by 1 and break, managing to just escape the pursuit of the wolf rats by an inch.
The trolls lay into Kargor with the crude blades attached to their hand-stumps. Though Kargor parries many blows, his vomit-corroded armor just isn’t what it used to be and he suffers his last wound, falling to the ground limp.
Chaos Turn 5:
With their glorious champion lost, it seems the end is near for the Chaos Warhost…
Movement:
The beast-herd passes a fear check and charges into the flank of the trolls now feasting on Kargor’s corpse.
The chosen warriors rally and turn to face the coming tide of wolf rats.
The chariot passes a terror-check at the fear of the Chimearat playing with shiny bits of metal only inches away.
Combat:
The beast herd impales the troll on the flank but its wounds quickly join back together, sealing a pair of ungors spears inside its flesh! The beastmen outmaneuver the lumbering troll’s attacks but the pack master engaged in base contact with the foe render cracks his whip and snaps the beast’s neck, reducing the leadership of the herd. The combat is drawn.
Skaven Turn 5:
With a rallying roar—after passing a stupidity check--, Ghorrich and his unit charge into the flank of the dwindling beast-herd. The beasts fail their panic test for being engaged on the flank and break combat. Lunging forward on all fours, his piston-driven claws tearing into the earth, Ghorrich catches the unit and butchers them all. To think…this unit had tried to run down Ghorrich earlier in the game and had come within 1”! Revenge is sweet indeed.
The Chimearat, disturbed by the intrusion of chaos warriors into its personal space, overcomes its stupidity and charges them in the flank. Moments later a vermintidal wave of wolf rats crashes into their front.
Combat:
The Chimaerat lacerates 3 startled chaos warriors to death while the wolf rats again slam ineffectually into the shield wall, causing 2 wounds which are both saved by the warriors’ 2+ armor. With no warriors left to strike the Chimearat, the only attacks are made against the wolf rats, who suffer one casualty. The Khorne warriors lose by six and flee. They roll double 6’s to escape this time…but the wolf rats roll 3 5’s.
At this point, the chaos army is down to one heavily damaged tuskgor chariot, and the game is called.
Victory Points:
Clan Moulder: ~3150
Host of Khorne: ~655
Result: Massacre to Hell Pit! (The Skaven)
Epilogue:
Barking in gutter-speak; Ikskitch thrashed his whip at the feasting trolls. “Back-back” he shouted, cruelly tearing at their flesh with his barbed cord. Growling between their teeth in protest, the trolls lazily abandoned the half-chewed-up and dissolved body of Kargor. With the trolls at bay, Ikskitch approached the shaggoth’s corpse and prodded it with his things-catcher. “Good-good” he said, “still good”. Barking again, Ikskitch turned to face a pair of his pack master attendants now approaching him with a strange mechanical device roughly bigger than the Shaggoth’s head, with twisting brass pipes and wires adorning the outside. Ikskitch pressed a button on the side of the machine, and a lid opened, unleashing a cloud of cool green gas that rose like fog.
Again approaching Kargor, Ikskitch clamped his things-catcher around the beasts neck and proceeded to pull the head right out from the dissolved neck tissue, separating it from the body. Crouching over the head, the master moulder peeled away chunks of corroded scalp and skull bone and finally lifted up the creature’s large, intact brain. Ikskitch placed the brain in the cool chamber and pressed the button again, sealing the lid. He then motioned to his retainers who carried the container off.
Ikskitch then approached the skulking body of the Chimearat standing nearby. The beast looked tired, and was drenched in several different colors of blood. Five long necks hung lifeless at its side, and its one remaining head prodded at them in depression. Ikskitch looked at the beast and grinned.
“Fought well today, new one, yes-yes” Ikskitch pet the creature’s twisted rat-featured head and it sighed.
“Ikskitch have reward for pretty that fought best, yes-yes”
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