warhammer fantasy battle maps report :-
I think Fear causing Lizardmen Cold Ones caused one commander a little trouble..."Charge! CHAAARGE! You imbeciles...you stinking goblin-brained fools! Khadriel screamed and ranted. He leapt off his chariot and made as if to run over to the quaking riders atop their panicked steeds.
Thasia caught his arm, "My lord! We must charge ourselves!"
I'll kill you all! Khadriel roared as he allowed himself to be dragged back to his place in the chariot, where the Nauglir were fighting amongst themselves. "I will wear your flesh as a cape! Your blood will be fed to the slaves! AHHHHHHH!"
(a well detailed report interspersed with some atmospheric narrative)
| source : druchii.net | credit : The Griefbringer | 30-Apr-2009 |
1500 Dark Elves vs Lizardmen: The Grudge Match Continues
It's been a long while since I've gotten in a game of Fantasy. However, with the new army book in hand and some small teaks to my army list, I was ready to take on Bobby's Lizzies again.
The jungle burned with unnatural fire. Once verdant and moist with life, the attentions of dark sorcery had withered and twisted the rugged landscape into a barren, black tangle of dead plants, ash, and dessicated animals. The sky was orange with the horrid fumes created by the sheets of green flame that the sorceresses summoned to do their master's bidding, and the stench was enough to choke a man dead.
Khadriel Griefbringer, Master of the Spire of Blood, breathed in the greasy smoke, relishing the burning sensation as it scorched and poisoned his throat. His driver, Thasia, whipped the Cold Ones further along the apocalyptic expanse of dead trees and scorched earth, the chariot's wheels grinding ashen logs into dust under its spiked wheels.
He had returned to Lustria for the fourth time in as many centuries. This time he was no longer amused to hunt and dodge the wretched lizards of this abyssmal land in their dank holes and sweaty forest. Now he burned his army a road from the sea to the very gates of Atzl-Qora, and there would be no retreat this time. He would either succeed in this endeavour, or perish in its attempt.
Thasia coughed, her face covered with a silk scarf.
Stop that. Khadriel barked, "Breath deep, Thasia. It is the taste of death. Even now, the cowardly skinks run to hide beneath the skirts of their stupid Saurus protectors. They will see how worthless the gesture is when we drag them, screaming, back to the Spire."
Thasia nodded. "My lord is very wise."
Khadriel grunted. He knew she didn't agree. From a less valuable servant, he might have killed her right then, but Thasia had proven herself a skilled bodyguard through the years, and showed promise as a general and a beastmaster. Besides, he knew her objections--the morale of his corsairs was low, thanks in part to the choking fumes he forced them to breathe on their march. Khadriel, though, was unconcerned--if bad air gave them pause, then they were too weak to be in his service and would perish, either by the hands of the enemy or by his own. There was no turning back.
1500 points Dark Elves Army list
Khadriel's Reavers (Dark Elves edition 7)Khadriel Griefbringer: Master, General, Heavy Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak, Crimson Death
in Cold One Chariot (Light Purple Chariot)
Ithis Duskwalker: Lv2 Sorceress, Focus Familiar, Power Stone, Dark Lore (Chillwind, Word of Pain)--Red-Purple
Helio Deathsong: Lv2 Sorceress, Tome of Furion, Power Stone, Lore of Death (Dark Hand of Death, Steal Soul, Doom and Darkness) in Purple Corsairs
15 Corsairs, Full Command, Reaver w/handbows, Banner of Murder (Light Purple)
15 Corsairs, Full Command, Reaver w/handbows, Warbanner (Purple)
5 Dark Riders, RxBs, Musician (Black)
5 Dark Riders, RxBs, Musician (Navy Blue)
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons (Black Skirmishers)
6 Cold One Knights, Champ, Standard, Standard of Slaughter (Dark Purple)
1500 points Lizardmen Army list
Defenders of Aztl-Qora (Lizardmen edition 6)Scar Vet: General, Light Armor, Enchanted Shield, Always-Strike-First Sword on Cold One, Bane Head (Red)
Skink Priest: Lv2, Diadem of Power, Lore of Heavens (Forked Lightning, Comet of Cassandora) in Yellow Skinks
Skink Priest: Lv2, Cube of Darkness, Lore of Heavens (Forked Lightning, Portent of the Far) in Light Blue Skinks
23 Saurus Warriors, Full Command, Spawning of Quetzl (Blue-green)
10 Skinks, Javelins and Shields (Yellow)
10 Skinks, Javelins and Shields (Light Blue)
10 Skinks, Blowpipes, Scouts (Aqua)
5 Cold One Riders, Full Command (Green)
3 Kroxigor (Olive)
2 Jungle Swarms (Light Green)
Salamander Hunting Pack w/2 Sallies (Orange)
Terrain and Deployment:
The board had two forests only, one in the NW and one in the east, mid-board. I placed my Murder-Corsairs on my west flank, followed by a team of Dark Riders. The center was held by the Cold One Knights and the Chariot, while the east flank had the Warsairs (+Helio) and the second group of DRs, behind which Ithis hid. The shades siezed the eastern forest.
Bobby's lizzies (which seemed much more numerous from the last time I played them at this point level) had a team of skinks + priest in the far west, on the other side of the forest, the Cold Ones and Saurus hugging the western side of the center, the Kroxigor at board center, then the Sallies. Behind the sallies went the other group of Skinks + Priest, then the two jungle swarms shielded the Scar Vet, then the blowpipe skinks, having nowhere to scout (yay burning forest), deployed in the far east.
Deployment:
Turn 1
I won first turn (after about a half-dozen times of us rolling the same thing). The Shades moved forward and shot at the blowpipe skinks, but I miraculously failed to wound anyone. Ithis follwed them into the forest, intending to use her familiar to gain LOS from a safe hiding spot. Both groups of Corsairs moved up and my Murder-sairs, stupidly, wheeled a bit to point themselves at the skinks in the far west. The Cold One units, neither of them stupid this round, stayed put. My western DRs rode up to harry the Cold One Knights, but couldn't kill any, while the ones in the east rode forward and managed to bounce their crossbow bolts off the Kroxigor. My magic phase turned out to be devastating. I hit the Salamanders with a Chillwind and a Dark Hand of Death and threw Doom and Darkness on the Scar Vet. With no high general leadership to save them, the Sallied panicked and, in turn, panicked the skinks behind them, who ran off the board along with a skink priest (though not the diadem one, unfortunately). Altogether, not too bad for a first turn.
Top of Turn 1:
The Skink Priest Nato sniffed the smoky air, his colorful crest flaring red with apprehension. The terrible druchii ran across the blackened field with terrifying speed, and he could sense that Old Krosk, the Scar Vet leading their army, was filled with dread from the way he crouched on the back of his mount.
Then Nato saw it--a small, winged beast, twisted and bat-like, with gleaming black eyes. It landed on the dead branch of a scorched tree and cocked its head at him. Suddenly, he felt the presence of a malign intellect behind those eyes, and he felt the air crackle with obscene power. Bolts of black energy arced across the landscape, reducing many of the skinks prodding the Salamanders forward to dust. The air became so cold it burned, and panic quickly spread.
Nato clutched the sacred Cube of Darkness given to him by his master tightly to his chest and ran for all he was worth.
In Bobby's turn, the Salamander's rallied. He then tried to charge the Dark Riders in the west with both the Saurus and the Cold Ones. I fled, of course, bringing his troops slightly closer but escaping unharmed. The Kroxigor, Scar Vet, Swarms, and both remaining groups of Skinks moved up, as well. Magic was easily shut down (and remained so the rest of the game). Shooting with the Blowpipes at the Shades was likewise worthless (Bobby needed a 9 to hit or some such). The turn ended without incident.
Bottom of Turn 1:
Turn 2
Things start to go poorly for me in this turn, when both Chariot and Knights go stupid (not that big a deal, since they had no target anyway). More importantly, my murder-sairs fail their fear check to charge the flank of the Cold One Riders, leaving them open to a flank charge next turn (stupid first turn wheel!). My Dark Riders in the west rally and try to box-off the riders' charge next turn, shooting down one of the riders in the process. My Shades charge the blowpipe skinks and slaughter them with prejudice (yay extra hand weapons!), running them down. My Dark Riders in the east charge the jungle swarms. I do four wounds with the Riders--good--but then my horses all miss, even with re-rolls! That means 10 attacks back instead of 5; Bobby rolls well, and I lose 3 DRs. Still, the musician wins me the combat by 1, killing one base worth of jungle beasties. In magic, a chuck some spells around but don't manage to do much damage (I consistently rolled 1 or 2 hits with any magic missile for most of the game). Doom and Darkness hits the Scar Vet again.
Top of Turn 2:
Cowards! Khadriel screamed across the battlefield at the sight of his men hesitating to charge the cavalry. His scream was loud enough to unsettle the nauglir mounts around him, and the chariot and the knights jerked forwards under their impulsive movement.
It's no matter, Khadriel thought to himself. "So long as the rest of them hold up..."
In the bottom of turn 2, Bobby charges his scar vet at the dark riders engaged with the jungle swarms, killing them quickly and overrunning to beside my war-sairs and Helio. The Cold One Riders, doing a lot of wheeling, manage to squeeze a pair of riders into contact with my corsairs flank (I've *got* to get better at blocking that stuff.). They fail their fear check (again), lose 4 men, and flee. They escape, at least. Elsewhere, various other elements of his army move forwards, though he forgets all about his Salamanders and they don't shoot. Magic is shut down easily, as usual.
Bottom of Turn 2:
Turn 3
My cowardly corsairs keep running, the b@stards. They go off the board and doom themselves to an ugly fate at their general's hands. The rest of my movment is set-up for the next turn. My Dark Riders ride to the flank of the Cold One Riders, but their shooting does nothing. My Knights wheel to face the Kroxigor while my Chariot sneaks behind to get a next turn charge at either the Saurus or Salamanders (who were actually a bit closer and more towards the center than the map shows). Ithis fled deeper inside the woods to avoid being charged by the Scar Vet. The shades trotted forwards and put a wound on the Kroxigor with shooting. In magic, I took a wound off the scar vet with Steal Soul, hit him with Doom and Darkness, but all other spells were dispelled or failed to do any damage. The Reaver handbows hit and wounded twice, but the scar-vet's 0+ armor save kept him alive and safe.
Top of Turn 3:
In the bottom of the turn, Bobby charged my shades with his remaining jungle swarm. The swarm killed 1, but the remaining attacks back from the shades wiped the swarm out. They overran into the rear of the Kroxigor. The Scar Vet, unable to see Ithis in the woods, tried his luck at charging the warsairs. He eviscerated my champ, of course, but lost combat by 3 and, when coupled with Doom and Darkness, this turned fatal. He fled, and I pursued but failed to catch him (though it was a near thing with the new slaver rule). Elsewhere, the Salamanders moved up, as did the remaining skinks, while the Cold One Riders did an about-face and moved a bit closer to the action at the center of the board. Though magic was shut down, the Salamanders killed 3 Cold One Knights with their massive flame-spew (I had to make 12 saves on a 3+--I was lucky).
Bottom of Turn 3:
Turn 4
This turn was just apocalyptically bad. Trouble the first: Chariot fails stupidity, so no salamander charge this turn. Trouble the Second: The Dark Riders fail their fear test and can't charge the Cold Ones flank. Trouble the Third: Though I pull off the combined charge on the Kroxigor, kill 1 and wound another, and pile up a mountain of combat res for the loss of only one shade, Bobby ROLLS SNAKE EYES. It's at this point I tell him he just won the game--that failure to break is going to cost me upwards of 500 points, ultimately. I swear profusely and proceed to flip off my dice.
On the bright side, I do chase his general off the board. Magic this phase was pretty much nonexistent, though I did manage to roll snake eyes when trying to damage a pair of skinks with the salamanders. Awesome...
Top of Turn 4:
Charge! CHAAARGE! You imbeciles...you stinking goblin-brained fools! Khadriel screamed and ranted. He leapt off his chariot and made as if to run over to the quaking riders atop their panicked steeds.
Thasia caught his arm, "My lord! We must charge ourselves!"
I'll kill you all! Khadriel roared as he allowed himself to be dragged back to his place in the chariot, where the Nauglir were fighting amongst themselves. "I will wear your flesh as a cape! Your blood will be fed to the slaves! AHHHHHHH!"
In the bottom of Turn 4, the Cold One Riders (who *should* have Dark Elf spears in their flanks right now...grumble, grumble...) charge the chariot, forcing me to flee. The Salamanders eat the remainder of their handlers while pelting the chariot with flame (and doing two wounds to it), while the Skinks miss the Dark Riders with their javelins. The Saurus actually fail a fear check trying to charge the chariot as well. In close combat, the Knights/Shades kill another Kroxigor, but the remaining Krox kills all three Knights and runs down the remaining shades. For their monster reaction test, the Salamanders feel guilty for eating their masters and decide to sit tight and just shoot anything nearby. Ugh...
Bottom of Turn 4:
Turn 5
Well, at this point I am pretty sure the game is a collossal failure on my part. Still, I keep slugging along. My Dark Riders charge and run down the skinks plus their remaining priest, losing one of their own in the process. My Chariot rallies, my spells do precious little (really could have used more magic missiles this game...).
Top of Turn 5:
In Bobby's half of the turn, the only thing he really does is walk his Kroxigor into the forest.
Turn 6
I, myself, fail stupidity for this round, since I decide to charge the Chariot at the Saurus block. I get word of pain off, but it does no real good since they fail their fear test, anyway. Doom and Darkness is a fraction of an inch out of range. I flub my impact hits, suck my damage rolls, and kill 3 Saurus all-told. Lose by 2, but stick. The Cold One Riders will be coming to kill me next round, and I have delivered my general into doom yet again.
Top of Turn 6:
Bobby's Cold Ones charge my chariot, I break after killing a single saurus, and run for the hills after Khadriel is beaten down (again) by Saurus clubs. I escape pursuit, but to no avail since I cannot rally. Balls.
Bottom of Turn 6:
Final Score
Dark Elves: ~1030
Lizardmen: ~1110
A Draw in the Lizardmen's Favor.
Thasia was summoned back to the Spire of Blood to meet with her lord, who was still recovering from his injuries. In his shadowy throne room, where he dwelled alone with the banners he had siezed in victory, she knelt before him.
She noticed the floor was carpeted with rugs made from elven skin. She swallowed her anxiety--the Griefbringer would not save this fate for her, would he? "You called for me, my Lord?"
Yes, Thasia. Rise.
Thasia rose. "The burning continues well, my Lord. Though we were bruised in the last battle, we still have many able troops and..."
Khadriel cut her off. Thasia noticed the labor with which he was breathing, the odd and broken angle at which he reclined on his iron throne. "I will not lead those wretches to battle again until they prove themselves to me. I am giving you command of the operation, Thasia. You have some talent as a beastmistress; see if you can't bring these beasts to heel for me."
Thasia bowed low. "I am honored, my Lord."
Nonsense--you are expectant and ambitious. You will use me for only as long as you cannot best me. The Griefbringer sneered. "But have no worries, girl--the fools under my command will soon break your body as thoroughly as they have mine. And then, when you fail, I will have the pleasure of skinning you for a rug."
Thasia met her lord's gaze. "That will not happen."
We shall see. Begone.
Post Mortem
Well, that game just p'ssed me off. The constant failure of fear check in the west flank (two failed charges against the juicy flanks of Bobby's cavalry--TWO!) coupled with that enraging Insane Courage roll for the Kroxigors turned what was about to be a great victory into a miserable draw.
Of course, I can't blame dice entirely. I did the math wrong on the amount of stuff I had killed compared to the amount of stuff Bobby had. If I hadn't charged with my chariot in the last turn, that would have been a 300 point knock to Bobby's score, earning me a marginal victory. Oh well.
Magic performed well (though I missed a heavier magic missile spell), shooting was lackluster, but the Chariot is the thing I'm really p'ssed at. I will no longer deliver my general into the hands of the enemy that way anymore. I keep doing it, over and over, and it is stupid. I am going to put my general somewhere he (or, now, she) can do the most good. I don't know where that is, yet, but I'll keep thinking.
In any case, this was a nice, close game (no matter how p'ssed I was in turn 4), and I thank Bobby for another challenging round. Thanks for reading!
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