Topic: Campaign Lists Battle (Arabs + Empire versus Beastmen) 2500 pts

[Padre]

The Arabyan Intervention Force Face 'Wood Elves' in Battle

At long last, thought Captain Traugotts, we are going to war. Having spent several months guarding convoys, gates, constructions and fortifications, patrolling, foraging and ‘keeping the peace’, he had finally received unequivocal battle orders. He and his men were to march north with an Arabyan force, there to seek out the foe. Who exactly the foe was the orders were somewhat hazy about, but there was definitely an aggressive force or two moving southwards. Refugees from tiny villages in the area had described raids by monstrous denizens of the dark forest, which could mean many things, but very probably meant the almost mythical Wood Elves. This was certainly the belief of the Arabyan Caliph commanding the allied contingent, as he had expounded that morning at breakfast.

“I have made efforts to study,” Caliph Nur-al Rhabi had said, “these creatures of the green trees. You might think it an unexpected area of expertise for a man of the desert such as I, but I have always considered it my duty as a commander to know as much as possible about any and every enemy I might face in battle. There are no forests, of course, in our sandy realm, only the tended trees of fine orchards, watered by ingenious channels and pipes, but a true servant of the Sheik must ensure he is ready to fight in any land, even those far removed from his home and quite, quite different in …”

“The elves?” interrupted Captain Traugotts, knowing that if he did not then the Caliph may never actually return to the matter in hand. “You said you knew of the forest elves. What do you know of them?”

The Caliph smiled. “Ahh yes, my friend. “You must have heard the faerie tales? I know you must, for they come from the north, from your own realm and that of the Breton. Well, in parts they are correct, in others they fail to describe satisfactorily the full and horrible truth concerning the debased and corrupted denizens of the forest. Everyone knows how the elves jealously guard their realm, and will lure all who stray within to certain doom. How they steal human children for their wicked purposes, and how they thus conjure strange spirits to serve them. All these things are true. But there is much, much more to them. They have been seduced by unspeakable gods and demons who taint the realm in which they dwell to make it a twisted and chaotic place. Monsters abound, hideous creatures that swing from branch to branch yelping and howling; brutish giants that can tear a full grown tree from the ground, roots and all, so that it might be planted in a place more suited to the Wood Elves’ will; warriors sporting horns, thorns and calluses of bark instead of skin. In that shadowy realm walk wiry fiends with limbs as hairy as a spider’s, and eyes so heavily lidded that they creak every time they blink; there are creatures who appear to be beautiful young women when seen from one angle, and yet in truth are nought but hollowed out husks puppeteered by gnarled and crusty imps …”

On and on the Caliph droned. The captain drank deep of his morning ale, watching the caliph’s fleshy lips slapping up and down, the occasional glint from his several golden teeth, and instead of listening began to wonder whether any of the arabyan’s fantastical words could be true.

…

Then, at noon that day, any doubts the captain may have harboured concerning the Caliph’s strange tales were washed away. All that the caliph had said was true. If anything, the rotund arab noble had failed to capture the full horror of the elves of the wood and their monstrous servants.

Ahead of the allied force lay the edge of a forest, a scattering of trees growing thicker and more impenetrable as they extended upwards into the hills. The only dwelling place in the vicinity, no doubt abandoned, was a forester’s hovel, though there had once been a building of substance here. Perhaps an Estalian Don’s manor house, if the ruined pile of moss-ridden stones was anything to go by? But all of these details impinged only on the periphery of the captain’s mind, for spilling out of the trees was a monstrous horde of foul creatures.



Realising that to watch them would be to become fascinated in them, to become caught up in a nightmarish daze, the captain instead shook his head and began shouting commands. He had an army to lead, and a battle to fight for his life.

The allied forces:

Empire (Empire of Wolves’ campaign list) 1250 pts

Captain Traugotts (on foot)
Warrior Priest
30 Pike
2 x 10 handgunners
Level 4 wizard
12 heavy cavalry (cuirassiers)
Cannon
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AIF Contingent 1248 pts

Caliph Nur-al Rhabi 263 Pts - Light armour, shield; War Elephant
Emir  94 Pts - Light armour, enchanted shield, Battle Standard
Emir 101 Pts - Light armour, Arabian Stallion, Sword of Striking, Charmed Shield

25 Arab Conscripts 170 Pts - Spear, shield, light, full command, Insurgence upgrade
5 Jinete Mounted Tribesmen 127 Pts - full command   
6 Arabyan Camel Corps 146 Pts - full command

25 Red (Black) Guard 349 Pts - full command, Insurgence upgrade
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The Arabyans deployed on the left, as had been agreed the previous day when the order of march had been decided. Captain Traugotts had been impressed with the speed with which the men of the desert moved - horse and camel as well as foot soldiers - and had thus suggested that if they deployed together then at least they could all keep up with each other. To have the arabyans intermingled with his troops would surely lead to a ragged line as the arabyans ran on ahead leaving his own handgunners and pikemen behind.

The caliph rode upon his war elephant just behind the two large regiments of foot in his force. They were clad in black and white, contrasting colours reflecting the very contrasting quality of the two bodies of men. Garbed in black were his elite, professional guardsmen, while his raw conscripts wore unbleached linen. The former moved with confidence and discipline, the latter were barely kept together in ranks and files by their sergeants and officers. Out on the Arabyan flanks rode his horse and camelry, the former divided from the rest of the line by the ruins.



Captain Traugotts’ men adopted a fairly traditional posture on the field, with his cannon emplaced on a hill to the rear while his handgunners moved alongside his heavy horse, the pikemen ready to take the knights’ place as they moved off to gain some advantage in the field.



His little wizard jogged along the heights to the far right, surprising Traugotts with his courage.

The enemy army of Sylvan monsters had also apparently divided itself in two, as if in mockery of the allied forces’ positions. On their right their had two pair of chariots, flanking a stone wielding giant that seemed to be made of nought but bone, flesh and thin sinews, without one muscle to power his loping stride. On the far right came a large body of almost naked elves, their ugly heads sporting sharp horns, their legs ending not in feet but hooves. A hideous, slithering mound accompanied them, of a form that was so misshapen that it was hard to describe.



To their left another regimented horde of elves jogged through the woods, flying a blood red banner at their head, while just beside the trees came the largest and most terrifying beast in their army - a huge creature with a bull’s head and too many arms - each hand wielding a massive rusting blade longer than a man is tall.



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Wood Elves Roster 2500 pts

Beastlord
The Brass Cleaver, Ramhorn Helm, Dawnstone, Gnarled Hide
Great Bray Shaman
Level 4 Upgrade, Sword of Bloodshed, Hagtree Fetish
Wargor (Battle Standard Bearer)
Heavy Armour, Chalice of Dark Rain
Bray-Shaman
Level 2 Upgrade, Dispel Scroll, Ruby Ring of Ruin

4 Tuskgor Chariots
20 Gor Herd with full command, extra hand
20 Gor Herd with full command, extra hand
20 Bestigor Herd with full command, Gouge-Horn, Ranger's Standard

Cygor
Ghorgon
Chaos Spawn

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As the arabs moved quickly forwards, the Caliph Nur-al Rhabi watched them with satisfaction.

“Another, my lord?” came his servant’s voice.

“What?” asked the Caliph quietly.

“Another sugared delight, my Lord, or should I put the plate away?”

Nur-al Rhabi’s fat fingered hand, every finger encircled by a bejewelled golden ring, grabbed at a handful of the squashy confections as he spoke. “No, no. Keep the plate there, I shall have some more in a moment.”



It had long been his custom to nibble on sweetmeats as his army practised their manoeuvres. Perhaps it was superstition, perhaps simply habit, but he could not see why today should be any different. Besides, the elephant stank and the perfumed delights masked the full power of its odour.

“Nice,” he said in a muffled voice, his mouth stuffed full, as he turned his gaze towards the wood elves in the distance. “Very nice.”

Battle Report to follow

[Padre]

As the handgunners on the far right of the allied line loaded their pieces and prepared to give fire, and the halfling wizard began to wonder ‘What kind of elves are these?’ …
 


… the arabyan warriors made their vanguard move. The Jinette horsemen came between the ruins as the Black Guard (experienced at insurgency) moved up on their flank to form a line with them.



The camelry and conscripts, beating their war drums as best they could to hide their nervousness, made a much more cautious advance towards the centre of the field where a pair of monstrous giants were stamping about .



Perhaps recognising that his white-garbed soldiers stood little chance of standing against such an enemy if unsupported, the caliph commanded his elephant to move it’s reassuringly monstrous mass up to their flank.



The Empire troops performed some well-drilled manoeuvres to bring the pikemen in line with the handgunners, while the heavy horsemen made their way towards the Empire left flank and thus the centre of the field. Every man carried a brace of pistols, and all were now praying that Myrmidia would guide their bullets and lend weight to their impact. None were particularly keen to find out what hand to hand combat with such twisted monstrosities was like!



Having decided he would make enquiries after the battle concerning the foe, the halfling wizard now prepared unleash what magic he could (Magic = 7:7), but only his Banishment spell proved forceful enough to bend the winds of magic to its purpose and managed to wound the biggest of the two enemy giants. The cannon crew were thinking along exactly the same lines as the halfling and fired a cannon ball at the same monster. This proved well-aimed enough to clip the creature, but (roll of 1 to wound) apparently failed even to distract it, never mind harm it!

Suddenly the allied forces learned that the foe was even more numerous than they had previously supposed, as a large regiment of bestial warriors came running from the right flank to appear downhill from the cannon - almost in the rear of the allied lines.



The monstrous spawn of the twisted forest shambled as best it could towards the arabyans …



… while the regimented warriors came up behind. (Game note: Although I did not know it at the time, and so could not advise regarding the issue, the beastmen player was labouring under the assumption that wizards cannot use magic if they march. I thought he was simply playing cautiously, but later - when we asked him in similar circumstance why he didn’t march - he admitted his mistaken assumption and said had he known he would have moved the warriors to the spawn’s flank so as not leaving it so isolated.)

The giants now moved to face the advancing arabyans, ignoring the mercenary soldiers of the Empire for a while. The chariots also shifted slightly in hope of delivering a charge just as the monsters tore in.

Amongst the camel riders, two old friends were holding a shouted conversation (loud enough to be heard over the beating of the kettle drums).

“Not at all like the fairy stories, eh?” cried Dargo.

“You mean the monsters?” his friend Benganna asked.

“I mean all of them, even the little ones. Not what I remember at all.”

“Remember?” said Benganna, looking confused. “So you’ve seen them before?”

“No, not with my own eyes, but I remember the stories my uncle told me. He had a book from the northern lands filled with tales of elves and orcs, goblins and trolls. And the elves, well, they weren’t like that!” He pointed towards the enemy lines. “Not at all. They were cruelly beautiful, tall and lithe, much more like the elven traders in the sea ports. More fey, yes, and garbed somewhat more rustically.”

Benganna laughed. “You wanted them to be rustic? Ha! I think you got your wish. Look at them - they’re so rustic they look more like goats than goatherds.”

Dargo went quiet. He remembered his uncle’s stories of almond-eyed princesses and porcelain skinned warriors who could juggle sharp blades and sing whilst fighting forest trolls. What approached now looked more like he had imagined the trolls to look than the elves.

He turned once more to Benganna and shouted, “Don’t believe what you read in books.”

His friend laughed again. “You mean don’t believe what your uncle said he read in books!”

The largest of the Wood Elf warriors (Bestigors) were moving up behind the trees, heading towards the Empire soldiers, with a shaman nearby.



The Wood Elves’ mages now summoned what magic they could (magic = 6:5), cursing the Arabyan  Black Guards with the Hag Tree Fetish, then cast Traitors’ Kin on the Jinette horsemen, turning two of the steeds against their riders to kill them! The giant Gohorgon was blessed with Wild Form, though the mage in question hurt himself summoning such powerful magic. The other giant now attempted to hurl a massive rock but it slipped (misfire) and cracked his own skull. He rubbed his head whilst wondering what had gone wrong!

As the outflanking warrior elves moved closer to the cannon on the hill …



… the surviving Jinette horsemen and the Black Guard charged into the spawn of chaos.



Such an act might be considered bravery, but in the centre of the field the camel riders found even greater courage as they charged into the thinner of the two giants (Cygor). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the conscripts failed to reach the same foe, leaving the camelry to fight alone!



The Empire Cuirassiers moved to the flank of their line whilst hefting their pistols ready to shoot, while the handgunners also prepared to loose a hail; of lead shot.



The halfling Wizard (magic 6:5) found his first two spells dispelled by the foe, but managed to cast the Net of Amontok on the warriors behind him, hoping thus to slow their advance on the cannon. The cannon felled only one of the foe with its grapeshot, while the massive volley of pistol bullets proved entirely ‘unblessed’ and failed to harm the giant at all! The hangunners drew some blood from the enemy monster now turning to look at the knights, but not enough to slow it.

The emir leading the horsemen, backed by the rank and file might of the Black Guard, made short work of the span, then both pushed onwards to smash into the regiment of brutish elves following the now extinct beast.



The skinny giant was pierced here and there by the camel riders (2 wounds) but it return he punched two riders from their mounts and ground two more into the ground with a mighty stomp. Yet the men of the desert were not yet beaten (a draw due to fact in 8th we get +1 for charging) and the last pair elected to fight on!

Now came the moment for four chariots to charge - and they did not hesitate. All four crashed hard into the quaking desert conscripts …



… it should come as no surprise that the caliph’s least warrior-like troops could not hope to stand against such brute strength. Eighteen men all told died spears, tusks, hooves and rolling wheels. The last few attempted to flee, and were mercilessly cut down. But they did one more service in their death - their battered corpses slowed the chariots down so that only one reached the caliph’s elephant!

The huge Gohorgon also thundered forwards to hit the gentlemen of the Empire. These proved somewhat more stubborn than the conscripts, and although three died whilst the rest failed to harm the monster, they did stand their ground.



Out on the far flank of the field, near the ruins, the fight between the sylvan warriors and the Caliph’s best soldiers went on. Five wood elves perished, as well as the champion leading them, and although the defenders of the forest were filled with hatred for the foe, they could only kill three foot-soldiers and two riders in return. This was not enough to satisfy either side, and the fight went on.

In the centre of the field the Siagor finished off the camel riders and for a moment he stood in a daze thinking what to do next. He need not have bothered, however for (spoiler alert) he was not going to be long in the world.

(End of Turn 2) Rest to follow ASAP.

[rufus sparkfire]

Excellent, though I'm a bit scared of that giant.

What army list are the arabs using?

[Padre]

Hi Rufus. I was using the A5 AIF army list from the current animosity campaign.

Oh, and Rufus, PM me about that game! I'm painting figures, but I need games to use them in.

[Von Kurst]

Great report Padre.  The Beasts as Wood Elves is classic!

[rufus sparkfire]

Oh, and Rufus, PM me about that game! I'm painting figures, but I need games to use them in.

I'm away at the moment, but I will contact you later. I would love a game.


I haven't seen the A5 army lists. I'll have to remember to have a look at them.

[Gneisenau]

Awesome as usual! 

[Padre]

Thanks Gneisenau. I try me bestest!

Part 3



(Turn 3)
The VMC’s grey-uniformed pikemen reformed to face the right flank, readying themselves for the inevitable charge that must surely soon come from the brutish wood elves advancing towards them (the poor hand-gunners frantically reloaded in the middle ground).



The halfling wizard could find no etheric wind to suck and twist to his service (magic 2:2) and so his magical efforts came to nought. The more mundane method of attack, lead bullets, did not need magical winds to make it effective. A volley from the centre of the field felled the Cygor and a cheer went up from behind the rolling smoke. There was no such cheer on the right, however, for the handgunners there now failed to harm even one of the large body of beasts afore them.

Bravely the gunners manning the cannon on the hill, knowing that their end was surely nigh (what with the enemy so close) chose not to try a desperate defence with grapeshot and instead hurled a cannon ball at the chariots now threatening the Caliph’s elephant in the middle of the field. Their aim was good and the ball hit the middle chariot, but their powder must have been corrupted, or soft ground slowed the ball’s flight, for the shot failed to pass through the chariot - id did not even knock it out of action. The caliph and his monstrous mount would have to do the work of dispatching them.



The chariot’s crew were afraid of the mighty, grey beast, and it was perhaps this fear that led them to steer badly enough that they failed to hit the elephant squarely (one failed impact hit). Even though one of the tuskers pulling the chariot managed to draw blood from the elephant’s foreleg, the elephant reared, stamped and crushed the chariot into the ground, scattering shivers of wood in all directions. At the sight of this, the crew of one of other three chariots panicked and fled.

Meanwhile, the bloody melee on the allied left between the Black Guard, the mounted emir and the foul denizens of the wood went on, and although the arabyans gave better than they received, the wild warriors of the forest would yet accept defeat and fought on.



Now came the wood elf charioteers’ chance, and while the one that had fled in panic now rallied, first one …



… then the other …



…hutled into the elephant. As the tuskers’ gored at the elephant’s legs, Caliph Nur-al Rhabi spat out the mess of sugary confection in his mouth and hurled two of his razor sharp spears to dispatch the crew of the chariot in front. The elephant swung its massive tusks into the surviving chariots’ side, then kicked its leg to jolt the chariot back. Its crew were now (rightfully) afraid for their lives, and swung the chariot about to flee away.



Considering for a moment, the caliph bent over to whisper into his beloved elephant’s ear, persuading it to withhold and not to pursue as it would otherwise certainly have done. (Game Note: I would have chased, but my ally (Van Riekert) advised me that chasing a chariot off in the wrong direction was a stupid idea when his own men were being assailed by a Gohorgon, Gors and Bestigors! I bowed to his wisdom and privately wished I had someone offering such advice in my other games too!)

Now the Gors charged the cannon on the hill …



… and tore the crew to pieces without even slowing their pace. To their right the larger warriors tore the hapless handgunners apart almost as easily, but then chose not to overrun for they were not yet ready to face the pikemen. On the far side of the field the last Jinette horseman died as did one Black Guardsman, but the sylvan beasts perished in even greater numbers and finally their fighting spirit was shattered - they fled and were pursued by the lone Emir, whose blood was up.

The Priest leading the VMC pikeman was reluctant to lead his men into rough ground and thus seriously disrupt their ability to fight (They would lose the campaign rule: ‘Phalanx’, which is bad!) No such caution was shown by the lone emir, however, who chased the beastmen (and the level 4 shaman) from the field of battle, whooping and cursing as he did so. The Caliph turned the elephant about to threaten the giant off to the right, while the halfling wizard on the hill desperately summoned what magic he could, killing two of the largest enemy warriors with Shem’s Burning Gaze and casting the Net of Apontoth on the other regiment.

The fleeing chariot now halted and turned to face the Black Guard as they made their way back towards the fight, being joined by the other chariot in threatening the elite arab soldiers.



The Gohorgon turned to face the Caliph’s elephant, drool pouring from its snarling maw. The huge beast knew full well the elephant would lunge at it any moment…



The Gors could not help themselves, their frenzied state making them charge the handgunners, while the Bestigors (the player thinking ‘fluff it!’) charged the pikemen.



The surviving shaman did what he could with magic and managed to cast Pan’s Impenetrable Pelt on the Beastlord leading the Bestigor herd. The pikemen managed only to kill three of the foe, while the forest beasts killed fifteen of the VMC’s finest gentlemen of the pike, including the regimental champion. The rest turned to flee past the back of the handgunners, who, very unexpectedly, found the courage to stand even though there were only three left alive from their original ten - and thus stopped the Bestigors from pursuing the pike.



(End of Turn 4. Ok, so who d’ya reckon is gonna win?)

[Padre]

Too late to guess.

(Turn 5

As the Caliph atop his elephant commanded it to charge the Gohorgon …



… the Black Guard charged the chariot. The elite warriors lost three of their number battling the chariot, but they broke it through weight of numbers and sent it fleeing. They did not pursue, however, but rather reformed to ready themselves for the charge of the other chariot!



The VMC’s pikemen rallied and reformed, while their little wizard cast Shem’s Burning Gaze on the last fighting chariot, wounding it. The handgunners bravely killed three Gors as they themselves died, and the Bestigors in their flank ran towards the pikemen (on a 4” overrun they failed to reach). The Caliph and his elephant now bloodily cut down the monstrous Gohorgon and overran into the newly reformed Gors who had known what was likely to happen.



The Bray Shaman now threw himself at the little VMC wizard, rearing to his full height in an attempt to discourage the tiny fellow, and casting Wildform on himself too to better his fighting chances.



Yet the halfling proved a doughty opponent and although both hurt each other, he stood his ground and fought on. The largest of the forest warriors (Bestigors) crashed into the pikemen (who had, due to their reduced numbers, lost their phalanx rule), and the chariot smashed into the exhausted Black Guard, killing four of the arabyans all told. Still the battered guard refused to flee.

The pikemen were butchered to a man by the wild warriors, who overran some way in their anger, but the lesser warriors to their side could not fell the mighty elephant.



Four Gors perished yet they refused to flee (pass second LD roll). Over near the ruins the Emir (eher stood a bottle of one of the finest brewed ales in the land) charged the chariot in the flank hoping to drive it from the last of the Black Guard …



… while the elephant and the Caliph killed all but one of the now frenzied beastmen, with the mighty mount suffering only another scratch.



The Bray-shaman now hacked the halfling’s head right off, sending the little noggin bouncing down the slope. As he howled his gory delight, on the other side of the field the Black Guard and the emir finished the chariot off only to find themselves now charged (again!) by the last surviving chariot.



This time the chariot hit hard, killing six warriors with its impact alone. The army battle standard bearer (an emir) yielded neither to grief nor fear and killed the crewmen to end the chariot’s bloody work that day.

As Caliph Nur-al Rhabi speared the last of the Gors through his skull, and his elephant roared its frustration at having no more enemies before it to satisfy its blood lust, darkness brought the fight to an end. The tattered remnants of both army’s now withdrew, both unsure as to what enemy forces survived or even where they were.

End of Turn 6. Result: Draw (less than 100 VP difference) Only the Caliph, elephant, 2 emirs and a fragment of Black Guard survived of the allies, while the Bestigors, Beastlord, Wargor and Shaman survived from the enemy.

Thank you Van Reikert (of the AIF) and DamoB (of the Reavers) for coming over to play this game. I think I am right in saying that we all agreed it was a very fun day and a very satisfying game. And thank you ever so much for making me realise that the allies were likely to presume such forest dwelling creatures could well be Wood Elves.

[Derek Contyre]

I want a copy of that arabyan list... it looks awesome.

[Padre]

Derek - see http://animositycampaigns.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=346&Itemid=81 , or more specifically http://animositycampaigns.com/images/A5/downloads/Bretonnian%20and%20Araby%20Newsletter.pdf

If they work for you.