Much Needed Supplies(700 pts T&G Merc Co vs. 1000 pts Orcs ‘n Gobs scenario battle)PrologueThis was the third day of their march and all were happy that no trouble had been met so far. The captain, a sturdy dwarf named Orrenguard, had expected trouble, but would be glad to be proved wrong. Still, he reckoned he had sufficient strength to fend of all but an army.
At the front of his column were the buccaneers, a bunch of wild fellows who seemed to be as fearless as dwarfs, but he could see that it was merely an affectation.
Then came his own company of mercenaries. He was proud of these dwarfs, for they had never yet let him down, and he chose to ride by their side nearly all through the march so far.
Off to the left flank rode a company of arabyan light horse. Originally tasked with the job of keeping an eye out for trouble, Orrenguard had changed his mind on the second day, deciding that they might actually draw attention to the convoy, so he ordered them to ride with the wagons. The reaguard, marching right behind the wagons, took the form of some Estalian handgunners. They seemed professional enough, though no Tileans Orrenguard had met had a good word to say about such men.
Convoy Guard (708 pts)
Dwarf Captain 102 pts
Hand wpn, gromril, war pony, Crossbow, Shield. Helm of Success
12 Tilean Buccaneers 113 pts
Hand wpn, pistols. Skirmishers.
12 Arabyan Border Horsemen 161 pts
Hand wpn, warhorse, bow, full command. Fast cavalry.
14 Estalian Condotta Handgunners 122 pts
Hand wpn, light armor, handgun, champion.
20 Dwarf Mercenaries 210 pts
Hand wpn, heavy armour, shield, full command
Scenario:
Simple: Three wagons, one point each. Whoever possesses (usual possession rules) the most at the end wins. As the merc’ player has all three at the start, he has only 700 pts, whereas the attacker has 1000. 6 turns limit. Trouble ArrivesCaptain Orrenguard should have known that it was too good to be true. Of course there was going to be trouble! There always was. And this was trouble of the kind that particularly annoyed him - damnable greenskins.
It was a raiding party, highly mobile. Three wolf-drawn chariots, two companies of ten goblin wolf riders, another much more threatening bunch of ten orc boar riders and three strinking, slimy trolls.
The veteran dwarf captain heard them before he saw them (there was little cunning in such creatures - had they had an ounce of that quality they could have got a lot closer to his column). Mind you, his pony seemed to sense them before even he heard them - becoming somewhat contrary moments before.
So Orrenguard gave his orders for a defensive deployment, hoping to use the copses of trees nearby to his advantage - let the enemy bring chariots through there, he prayed. The buccaneers were sent to guard the left flank, while Orrenguard stood with his dwarfs in fighting formation and the handgunners by his side. The wagons he hid behind the trees, putting the arabyan horsemen nearby with orders to go for anything that looked to be getting through.
Perhaps unusually every dwarf in Orrenguard’s personal regiment had a standard upon his back, a custom that had come from the far-east. Several of his mercenaries hailed from the far-flung land of Nippon and their unusual suggestion was happily taken up by Orrenguard and the rest of the company - if only to mark them out from other regiments. It had become something they were proud of.
Part 2:
The FightThe Greenskins wasted no time but came on apace - which was fast indeed. The trolls did their best to keep up.
Both packs of wolf-riders were looking to get around the woods and attack the Compagnia soldiers in the flank, but the orcs and one of the chariots just came straight on. The orcs had a species of confidence unknown to the goblins, and the goblin crew of the chariot were close enough to their orcen big boss too feel somewhat ‘obliged’ to do as he would wish.
The other wolf chariot held back, happy to see what might happen before racing into the fray.
Orrenguard shouted his and his dwarfs and men moved accordingly. The regiment of dwarfs turned and moved a little to one side, closer to the wagons - in the hope that they might get in the way of the orc boar riders aiming to burst through the handgunners. The arabyan light horse moved off to face the approaching wolves, while the buccaneers moved into the trees and cocked their pistols.
A rolling burst of gunfire from a dozen handgunners and nine pistol-men brought down only one boar rider, while a dozen arabyan arrows finished only one wolf rider. Orrenguard’s soldiers were not, it seemed, going to have it easy when the foe came on!
And the enemy did indeed come on. Only the rearmost wolf riders (armed with bows) began squabbling as greenskins are so often inclined to do. The wolf riders at the front charged into the arabyan horsemen (losing one goblin warrior to the countershot), and the orc boar riders and wolf chariot smashed hard into the handgunners.
The chariot on the far right of the greenskin line charged headlong into the buccaneers in the wood (
I did tell the lad what this could do to the chariot, but he reckoned the odds were low enough). The pirates did inflict some damage on the wolf-drawn chariot, then the journey into the trees finished the thing off altogether, smashing it to pieces.
Nine handgunners fell to the awful impact, thrusting spears and goring tusks of the enemy riders, the last three fleeing. This brought the orcs and the chariot into the dwarfs behind.
The Compagnia centre was being badly mauled, but on the right flank events were favouring them - the arabyan horse managed to defeat, drive off and then ride down the goblins, and at the loss of only one desert rider. The goblin chariot nearby did not like the look of all this, and fled away in panic.
Flush with success, the arabyans swung to charge the other goblin riders. This time the fight was a more even affair, but the sight of the arabyan standard bearer bravely holding it aloft whilst issuing curses in his strange native tongue made the goblins decide that this fight was not for them - they too turned and fled, this time getting away.
The buccaneers now ran as best they could from the trees back towards the wagons, hoping their to secure the vital supplies against any foe that got through.
Their efforts were to prove insufficient, however, for the wolf chariot slew three dwarfs from its impact alone, then the greenskins’ boars and spears fatally pierced five more. Orrenguard did what he could (which was quite a lot) for he smote the orc big boss, their commander. Even so, the dwarfs felt hard pressed and beaten by this assault, and they turned and fled, being hacked down and trampled in the process.
The arabyan horse were too far away to help, and the buccaneers knew full well that if a rank and file regiment of armoured dwarfs could not withstand the boar riders, then they truly had no chance.
(
Midway through turn 3 time stopped play - I had to do a lot of rules explaining to the beginner. He learned quick, for victory was obviously his.)
The supplies were lost and the buccaneers knew it. Keeping their pistols loaded in case of a surprise along the way, they ran off leaving the greenskins hooting and jeering as they tore the baggage wagons apart to see what they had won. The arabyan horse managed to meet up with them about half a mile away, and the two companies made for a sorry sight indeed when they finally reached the camp that evening.
Victory to the greenskins.