To Forge A Kingdom

"First Contact"


The first week of the campaign consisted mainly of territory expansion. I fought two skirmish battles for new territories.

Bronislav sat behind a makeshift table made of rough-hewn wood. Upon arrival the Vor'Ir Aq'Kharneth set about erecting a fort. There was plenty of timber to be had, for this was a lush region where water and plants abound. A shock to all who had only known the sere volcanic landscape of Aq'Chamonek. The shrine to Aq'Chamoneth was complete. The clan commoners worked the land to supply food for the warriors, and had cleared a good road back to Aq'Chamonek. The land was so fruitful that soon he would be able to send foodstuffs back to his clan there.

With all preparations complete the men were already getting restless. Their axes were used to biting flesh and bone, not wood and earth. Bronislav sent out two raiding parties, one to the south and one to the east, to scout the surrounding lands. He, too, was growing impatient. Aq'Chamoneth wanted conquest, not farming.

I know your eyes are on me, Aq'Chamoneth. I feel them. I will bring you glory and honor.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Enter," he called. A warrior of the Infernal Legion marched up to his desk and saluted, striking his chest with his gauntleted fist. He had led the raiding party to the south.

"We met a force of wetlanders, Aq'Kharneth. They were using some weapon that we have not encountered, a sort of fire crossbow. We engaged, but the cowards hung back and fired from a distance. We lost some of the Firewalkers, and one Legionnaire. We were overcome and had to retreat. We have failed you, Aq'Kharneth, and we await our judgement," he reported, kneeling and lowering his head, exposing the back of his neck.

"This is grave news indeed, but am not displeased. Stand warrior," Bronislav replied. "We will meet the wetlanders again, and we will destroy them. This I swear by Aq'Chamoneth, the Fire Lord."

* * *

The first skirmish battle was against the Empire. We played on a 4' (north-south) by 3' (east-west) table with minimal terrain to simulate an open field. We each had 100 points to spend.

The Chaos Raiding Party

(4) Chaos Warriors with heavy armor hand weapon and shield [4*15 = 60]
(5) Chaos Marauders with light armor, shield, and flail [5*8 = 40]

The Empire Scouting Force
(10) Handgunners [10*7 = 70]
(1) Inner Circle Knight Champion (?) [1*30 = 30]

Chaos set up 8" from the southern table edge. The empire set up deep in their deployment zone. Chaos won the first turn.

The first four turns consisted of the Chaos force advancing at a run, and the Empire firing for all they're worth. I lost two marauders and one chaos warrior before I was able to engage. In addition, I had a few get knocked down, which spread out my forces.

In turn five I was finally able to engage, I took out two of his handgunners, but was unable to get past the knight's armor (a 1+). That tied up one chaos warrior and a marauder.

In turn six he got all of the rest of his handgunners into combat and I was just overwhelmed. I failed my very next rout test and we were off the table.

Lessons Learned: In a skirmish battle handgunners are vicious. In Mordheim, on which Warhammer skirmish was modeled, handguns can only fire every other turn to even them out. Firing every turn makes them well worth the points spent. If I ever encounter the Empire again I will be sure to bring some furies so I can cover the distance sooner and negate his advantage.

Later that day the eastern raiding party returned. The men were cheering and brandishing their axes, which were smeared with blood. They had met a group of dwarves in the forest and had slaughtered them all. They had control of new lands now.

Bronislav quickly dispatched a contingent of warriors and clansmen to secure and cultivate the new land.

* * *

The second skirmish was against the Dwarves. We played on a 4' (north-south) by 3' (east-west) table with a lot of tree stands, as we were fighting in a heavily wooded area. We each had 100 points to spend.

The Chaos Raiding Party

(4) Chaos Warriors with heavy armor hand weapon and shield [4*15 = 60]
(5) Chaos Marauders with light armor, shield, and flail [5*8 = 40]

The Dwarven Expeditionary Force
(4) Dwarf Rangers with great weapon light armor and crossbow [4*17 = 68]
(1) Dwarf Ranger Veteran with great weapon light armor and crossbow [1*29 = 29]

Chaos set up 8" from the southern table edge. The Rangers, using their infiltrate ability, set up in a forest at about the middle of the table. Chaos won the first turn.

Turn one saw the chaos force surge forward 8" at the rangers. The rangers pelted them with bolts, but I had my chaos warriors slightly in the lead, and the bolts just couldn't get through.

Turn two found another chaos advance and another salvo from the dwarfs. Again the best result was one warrior getting knocked down.

Turn three. Chaos swarmed all over the numerically inferior dwarfs. Two were taken out. In return the dwarfs managed to take out one marauder.

Turn four. Chaos took out two more rangers and only the Veteran remained. The Vet made his rout test but did no damage in return. Turn Five. Game over. I got two warriors and two marauders around him and he finally went down.

Lessons Learned: Things went very well for me this time. I only lost one marauder in exchange for a total massacre. I think my opponent made two mistakes. Taking Rangers, a very costly troop which led to him being severely outnumbered, was his first. I think clansmen with crossbows would have been better. The second was using the infiltration. He could have adopted the Empire tactic above and might have fared better. But then again there was so much terrain that I could have used it to shield myself from the majority of his crossbows until I was close up.

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