Topic: 'All that Glistens' - A Story/Bat Rep Project

[Inarticulate]

Those Gorillas are awesome!

And they could also make an appearance in a Monkey Kings of Ind army...

[GamesPoet]

Great work Padre!

[Von Kurst]

Woot!  Padre's back!  Good to see this pick back up again.  MORE! MORE!

[cisse]

Good to see this continue, Padre. Looking forward to it!

[katzbalger]

Okay, so I just looked at this thread for the first time.
Where's that smiley that has its jaw dropping and dropping and dropping? 'cos I need it.  This one just doesn't cut the mustard.
Wow.
I honestly don't know whether to call you 'a legend of a wargamer,' 'a proper old-school wargamer,' 'the kinda wargamer I wish I was,' or simply set up a shrine and worship you as the God of Wargaming.
A
May
Zing

[Padre]

Thanks guys for your support and encouragement. I am wholly on board with this project but ... currently struggling to get opponents for the battles. The guys I know I can get like to play their own armies and rarely want to do one of my'weird' games (though when they do they get to choose which army to command). And other possibilities, like Uryens for example, are just too busy. He is up for commanding a dwarf army (he has his own figures for that) in a squabble against the arabyans, but, that battle has been delayed some while. Also I may be close to finally getting a (cheaper than new from GW) Slann to command the army of the city of Gold, but even then I'm gonna have to model and paint him!

I am reluctant to continue the story until I get a battle in, so am instead just painting away and dreaming of future games. Until the battles are fought it's not really possible to move things on - they're what give the project its momentum.

See this as a lull between series as the studio faces problems with its cast! Or something.

[GamesPoet]

   Let's just hope the actors don't form a union and start asking for pay.

Don't worry Padre, your efforts are well worth the wait.

Too bad I don't live in England or that you don't live over here in New England.

[katzbalger]

Padre, where do you live? I'll sling some models around a table with you.
I'm in York, by the way.

[Padre]

Katzbalger, now that's an idea. I shall PM you.

[GamesPoet]

See ... that's why W-E is so freaking cool!

Padre puts up he can't find someone to work on his story battles with, currently, and he gets a taker!

[Padre]

The Hills Have Dwarfs

Introduction

For three days Prince Sadrin had pushed his army hard. His soldiers marched during every hour of daylight, and then a little more. Sadrin knew that dwarfs might have legs somewhat shorter than he and his men, but that nevertheless their incredible stamina was said to allow them to move rapidly for they needed little rest (if any at all).

The Dwarfs of Karak Zorn were almost certainly after him! His Tassingbe warrior scouts had surely not only offended them, but enraged them and fanned a burning desire for vengeance in their hearts. Four dwarfs had been killed upon the foothills, no doubt substantially more would be mustering to balance the wrong.

Now the Prince still had a substantial force, but he could not afford to lose any more men. He had a jungle to penetrate, a city of gold to find, perhaps even a garrison of some kind to defeat. Already his supplies had been robbed by fast-moving greenskin raiders upon wolves and boars, and although his fighting strength was not yet critically diminished, many slaves had succumbed to starvation. Not that their deaths concerned him, rather it was the thought that next it would be his brave soldiers who suffered.

Engaging in battle with irate dwarfs was the last thing he needed!

The Prince’s Army:

Prince Sadrin al Marwan  - General; Warhorse; Sword of Justice; Dawn Armor; Holy Relic
Agha Idrahil - Shield; Sword of Battle; Armor of Meteoric Iron
Wizard Zadra ibn Borhasa - Lev’ 2; Rod of Power; Sigil of Sigmar
Wizard Mukri al-Hajib - Lev’ 2; Talisman of Protection; Silver Horn

10 Camel Cavalry, full command  [Dogs of War Heavy Cav’] with War Banner
10 Light Cavalry, full command  [Dogs of War Light Cav’]

25 Spears of the Desert, full command
25 Spears of the Middle Palace, full command + Crossbowmen detachment
25 Royal Guard Swordsmen, full command

9 Handgunners with Marskman
12 Slave Archers with Marksman (numbers depleted from starvation)

1 Great Cannon
1 Mortar

War Elephant (Stegadon minus bow)

Total Points: 2236


Got Ya!

Despite their efforts, the arabyans of Amon proved too slow, for the dwarfs came just as they feared. Perhaps being denizens of this hilly region the Dwarfs knew how and where to travel swiftly? Or perhaps the Arabyans should sensibly have discarded their artillery pieces? Certainly the dwarfs had not brought anything to slow them down - the only machines they had were light Bolt Throwers and a Gyrocopter, no cannons or mortars or other such burdensome engines.


The Army of Karak Zorn

Dwarf Lord, General - Gromril armour; Oath Stone; Runes: Snorri Spangelhelm, Gromril, Spite
Thane, Battle Standard Bearer - Gromril armour, Runic Standard (Determination & Sanctuary)
Master Engineer - Handgun, Pistols, Gromril armour & Rune of Luck
Dragon Slayer - two Runes of Fury

10 Slayers, full command
22 Hammerers, full command
22 Dwarf warriors, full command, Heavy Armour; Shield
22 Dwarf warriors, full command, Heavy Armour, Great Weapon

20 Quarellers, full command
10 Thunderers + Musician

3 Bolt Throwers (one with Penetrating, another with Skewering)
Gyrocopter

Total Points: 2235


The Field of Battle

The two armies would clash in the lowest and outermost of the foothills, where clumps of jungle trees were scattered as if motley groups of outcasts meandering away from their homeland, forlorn and lost.

The Dwarfs arrayed themselves with their bolt throwers upon their flanks, with their four fighting regiments at the foot of a hill occupied by the Thunderers. The Quarellers stood left of centre, while the Gyrocopter hovered in the rear awaiting a chance to contribute something of worth.

Prince Sadrin himself rode with his camelry upon the far left of his line. His agha Idrahil led the swordsmen to the Prince’s right, while the two spear regiments stood next in line. The wizards had both joined the crossbow detachment, and to their right, at the heart of the Arabyan line, stood the mortar and the cannon. (Already one cannon had been abandoned due to the damage done to it when the Greenskins attacked.).

On the Arabyan right the handgunners were flanked by the hulking mass of the war elephant, with the skirmishing slave archers (their numbers depleted due to the more severe rationing they had endured) and the light horse beyond them.



Next part to follow soon.

So …. What’ya think? Who’s gonna win this one? You know armies, terrain and deployment. If you want to know more, then all I can say is that my friend ‘J’ chose to command the Arabyans and so I became a Dwarf for the afternoon.

[GamesPoet]

That elphant looks awesome coming through the jungle terrain!

[Timbor]

My vote is for the Arabyans.  Cannons FTW!

Plus, it would make your story more dull if they all died before getting to the city of gold!

[Von Kurst]

Hooray!  Good to see some more battles brewing.  I like the cannon and the mortar on the Arabyan side, but the stunties have those pesky bolt throwers, no reason to move and a good field of fire.

Plus the Arabyan deployment seems tentative.  A bad day for Arabyans.  Stunties win.

[Uryens de Crux]

Go Team Dwarf!

Make those treacherous manlings pay!

[GamesPoet]

If those bolt throwers all aim for the that center unit of crossbows and spears, there might be some serious damage done there.  Although its interesting to see that the araby cavalry on their left flank are currently hidden behind that one hill where those two closer bolt throwers can't see them at the moment.  And all the dwarf crossbows are out of range on the other side.

[Von Kurst]

True but they can't win and stay behind the hill.  Once they pass it they are in range of the dwarf handguns and the bolt throwers.  The dwarf crossbows can shoot up the elephant, or the Arabyan crossbows, or the light cavalry...


Also being out on the flank the heavy's closest target is the bolt throwers which is not a good point swap.

Light cavalry question--why 10 in a unit?  They don't get ranks nor can they fire in 2 ranks unless the target is on a hill...  I run them in 2 5 man units with only a musician or champion.  They can still hunt war machines or whatever but I get all 10 shots all the time...  Until they die.

I don't see the unit of Arabyan handgunners?

[GamesPoet]

Yep, and since the heavy cav are going against dwarves, its not likely they'll come running into the charge range.  I'm wondering if the heavy cav can take out the bolt throwers, and then flank the dwarves.  The thunderers might have to move losing a turn firing.  However, there is something to be said for placing the light cav to take out the bolt throwers and maybe have the heavy cav take out the crossbows, putting them closer to hitting something in the center as well.

The abraby handgunners are just on the other side of the cannons, I'm seeing the edge of them correctly.

[Padre]

The Battle Commences

[Turns 1 & 2]

Upon the Dwarfs’ left the crossbowmen, facing light cavalry, slave archers, handgunners and much worse, an elephant, knew they must waste no time and see if they could even the odds somewhat. The shot at what had to be the easiest target, the lumbering grey behemoth, though due to their long formation not all of them could take aim on the beast. Several bolts found their mark, and two even penetrated the thick flesh to draw blood.
    The Quarrellers’ larger kin, the bolt throwers, attempted to shoot at the elephant and the white garbed spearmen, but none found their mark. Other than this rather ineffectual volley, the dwarfs simply stood in their ranks and files and waited - they would make the foe come to them. The Thunderers knew their bullets would not reach, so bided their time.



Prince Sadrin was mildly surprised, expecting something rather more dramatic than a few quarrels and a bouncing bolt or two from the Dwarfen lines. Yet he was keen not to underestimate his foe, and so ordered his camelry to move cautiously forwards maintaining the line of battle with the Swordsmen and the Desert Spear.



The Palace Guard, finding themselves fronted by a line of busy crossbowmen, realised that if they were to join the battle without disrupting their own lines they would have to turn to their right and march perpendicular to the army’s front to join the other foot regiment’s advance, even if somewhat tardy in doing so. All in all, more of a shuffle on the Arabyans’ left than an advance.



On the right, however, the advance was a more confident affair. The light horse rode right up to the woods and reformed to make a better shooting line, while the handgunners and slave archers did their best to keep up. But it was the elephant’s thundering progress that drew most attention, as it’s drivers’ thought to reach the enemy while the beast had enough blood in its veins to keep it on its feet! They knew that enough crossbow quarrels, if allowed to do so, could bring the elephant down.



The Wizard Mukri, in his flowing black robes, ran to join the Desert Spear, while Zadra remained with the Crossbow detachment, but when they unleashed their magics only one Dwarf slayer fell to a fireball. Perhaps they were only warming up, and their full onslaught was yet to come?



The Arabyan artillery proved even less successful than the wizards, for they both missed their marks. Admittedly the crews were green, what with the most experienced gunners having been ridden down and skewered by goblin charioteers two weeks earlier, and so Sadrin had not expected great things from them. At least, Zadra had advised, they might use this battle as a chance to practise their art.
     When the horse loosed their arrows, one dwarfen crossbowman fell, to be joined by two more when the Arabyan crossbowmen let fly their own missiles. More than one soldier began to wonder: Was this to be a battle of manoeuvring and slow whittling away of lives?

The gyrocopter pilot was of another mind, and flew his steam powered contraption as close to the enemy line as he could manage. Ideally he hoped to fire a blast of bullets down the full length of the Arabyan handgunners, whilst sitting near enough to the elephant to make its crew think twice about advancing at full speed. But none of this was to be - the blast of steam generated by its boiler took it to the front and side of the handgunners (the wrong side to the elephant), allowing only an oblique shot with the steam gun which brought down a mere two of the foe.



Perhaps it is their true nature, perhaps merely what they would like others to think, but the Quarrellers calmly went on with the business of re-spanning their weapons even though the Elephant was getting closer and closer. Their next cloud of bolts failed to scratch the beast’s hide, and instead only killed on of the crewmen. Realising the danger the Quarrellers were in, the crew of the entrenched Bolt Thrower nearby once again tried - with no more luck. Another huge bolt flew right past the beasts to land some distance behind the Arabyan lines. Deciding his engines were not yet in range of the elephant, the dwarfen engineer on the hill to the right ordered his pair to shoot at the white clad spear again, this time tearing five men apart. Their comrades were now spattered with crimson lifeblood, and (rightly) supposed yet more would be spilled before long.
     The Arabyan handgunners, not wishing to let the noisy flying machine before them get another, perhaps better angled shot at them, charged it. The dwarf pilot, however, found enough steam to hop the gyrocopter successfully away from them. Nearby, the elephant and the light horse moved almost right up to the Quarrellers. The Arabyans had snatched the initiative on this side of the field, leaving the dwarfs unsure how to respond. The Quarrellers had had too much confidence in their crossbows, and were now facing almost certain death under the feet of a monster. Already there were noticeable signs of disarray in their line, as several stumbled a little backwards whilst other shouted in dismay.



On the Arabyan left the two advance regiments of foot marched onwards, while the Palace Spearmen turned to face and thus begin a move in the right direction. Yet Prince Sadrin halted his camelry, and wondered how best he might bring them to bear. He had seen the bolts flying through the spearmen and did not want to suject his best men, his young nobles, to such a fate.



The Arabyans’ magic now failed completely, sapped of its power by the famous Dwarfen ability to suppress the etheric winds. Worse still, the gunners’ inexperience now really showed, for both machines misfired, having been o’er hastily loaded by ill-practised hands. At least the crossbowmen knew what they were doing, and their well aimed volley brought down the gyrocopter and sent it crashing into the ground to smash into an hundred pieces.

(To be continued - turn 3 and 4 next)


Notes: @ Von Kurst - GP has placed the HG correctly. The elephant's cheeky trunk got in the way! And yeah, the Light Horse could be better formed into two units, but hey - this is a fluff army and I stuck them together as one. 'J' still got to choose which army he played and he still chose arabs. J was playing cautiously here, which is unlike him (he is very experienced), but I think there may have been an element of him not wanting to expect too much from his troops - he plays demons, High Elves, TK, Skaven and Ogres normally. All of which, in various ways, might make one think the arabyans were weak. 

[GamesPoet]

And the battle has just begun!

[rufus sparkfire]

Nice camels! Which rules are you using for the Araby army?

[Padre]

Which rules are you using for the Araby army?

It's a legal Empire army, with Dogs of War Light and Heavy Horse, and an elephant (bow-less stegadon, Lizardmen rules) added as a kind of arabyan stank-thing!

[rufus sparkfire]

Oh, I see. The camels need special rules too, really (lower movement, cause fear against horses).

Anyway, great report so far!

[Von Kurst]

Handgunners--Doh!  My failure to move the screen to reveal more of the picture.  I've had those same models for years.  Still not painted.  Good paint job Padre.

The Dwarf crossbows have be sabotaged by the same folks who got the Arabyan's artillery.

Fight on!

[Padre]

With the giant, enraged elephant heading straight towards them, the Quarrellers finally succumbed to terror and turned to flee away pell mell.



An eagle high above would see that the Arabyans were now truly beginning to flank the dwarfs. Only a lone Bolt Thrower remained upon the far left of the Dwrafen lines. Yet the Dwarfs’ main fighting line stood firm, and the now left-most regiment of Dwarfen Warriors turned to face the approaching elephant.



All three Bolt Throwers now targeted the grey beast of war, and although two bolts struck home, neither pierced the beast’s tough hide, and both simply hung down from its side. Three Desert Spearmen fell to the Dwarfen handgunners’ bullets (who had finally found themselves in range of the foe), but apart from this, the Dwarfs could only watch as the foe advanced.

And advance is exactly what the Arabyans did - their two foremost regiments of foot heading straight for the Dwarfs’ fighting line. 



On the right of the Arabyan position the light horse drove off the fleeing Quarrellers so that they would contribute nothing more to the fight, whilst the elephant moved confidently right in front of the warriors. Prince Sadrin finally decided to make his move, and advanced his regiment over the hill to head towards the dwarven flank. He knew not yet whether he would charge the massed foot or the engines on the hill, just that he could wait no longer to provide support for his brave men of the desert.



The mortar’s crew were struggling to put right the mistakes they had made in loading their engine previously, having to re-prime their piece and re-light their extinguished match. The cannon crew, however, managed to get their piece to fire, only to see the ball fly right over the enemies’ heads and smash into the hillside beyond. Two more dwarfs did perish, however, as the Crossbowmen and Handgunners poured two volleys into the warriors facing the elephant.
    The dwarfs of Karak Zorn could see that they were in danger of being flanked on both sides, and so now the three regiments on the right marched obliquely towards the foe, to face the spears, swords and camels in such a manner that the foe could only charge to their front …



… while the engineer upon the hill finally employed the rune inscribed upon his engine to send a magically powered bolt deep into the elephant’s skull, killing it instantly. The Thunderers on the hill did not stop to cheer, but fired a volley into the Desert Spearmen and brought down five of their number. This undoubtedly unnerved the arabyans, yet they did not run. Instead they calmly began to back off from the foe, joined in their unexpected manoeuvre by the black clad swordsmen to their side! At the same time the Palace Spearmen moved up thus creating a ragged line of three regiments, which is what the Arabyans were wanting.



This caution, however, was not shared by every arabyan on the field, for it was now that Prince Sadrin led his camelry in a charge against the war machines upon the hill …



… while the slave archers over on the far side of the field launched a charge of their own against the other war machine.
    The horse archers chose to ignore the nearest warriors for now and moved instead towards the centre of the field, while the two wizards (not keen to end up in any sort of melee, and seeing that the bolt throwers were now unable to shoot) moved out of the units they were sheltering in. Both Zadra and Mukri intended now to let rip with their magic, and indeed their next two fireballs curled through the air to crash into the Thunderers upon the hill. Perhaps the gunpowder they carried about their persons in horns and bottles added to the effect, for all but one perished in the ensuing blaze. The last remaining Dwarf stood dazed, still pointing towards the foe as he had been giving a command to fire when the fireballs landed. There was no-one left to follow his command!



The cannon sent a ball ploughing through the Dwarfen warriors on the flank of the enemy line, killing four, yet even though the handgunners brought down another the Dwarfs refused to be cowed and stood their ground. This spirit of defiance was present across the field, for the crews of the engines managed stubbornly to hold off both the camel riders and the archers. (Who would have thought it would have been the bolt thrower crews who saw the first real fighting of the battle? And who would have expected them to hold against such numbers of the foe? Not I, for one. But they did.)

Turns 5 and 6 to come soon.