Santa: The Battle of 6 Armies

Introduction

It's that time of the year again!  Just before Christmas, I pull my Santa army from storage and arrange a big battle of Hordes of the Things.  This time, there were 6 armies involved (3 for Good/Jollity and 3 for Evil/Humbug) together with 3 objectives.  To find out what happened, read on...

Doesn't look much like the North Pole, does it?  I blame global warming...

The 6 Armies: forces of Good

1. Elves.  These are my son's figures and he hasn't painted up enough for a "proper" Hordes of the Things army.  To compensate for their inferior numbers, we lifted the "superior" status from DBMM and gave it to all of them.  In past games these elves have proved to be extremely tough...

Santa's army.  This is more fully described ==> here <==.

Kung Fu.  Again, this army is described in detail ==> here <==.

The 6 Armies: forces of Evil

Goblins.  Hordes and more hordes, some wolves, warband general.  Also, they have a troll...

Undead.  This is a difficult army to command as extra PiPs (initiative points) are needed for both the flyers and for the magician.

Barbarians: warband, shooters, panther riders (knights) and heroes.  Much of this army is impetuous...

 The Game

Wolves and a troll surged forwards towards Mrs. Claus' house.  It took the troll a while to work out how to enter, but eventually he (she? it?) did so and claimed the objective for the evil side.  I don't think Mrs Claus will ever get that smell out of the carpets...

The elves advanced to meet this assault; their archers rained arrows upon the wolf riders and destroyed one element.  Firsat blood to the forces of good!

Here's a little extra rule that we used on the day: one of my club mates had brought a large bag of chocolates to the meeting.  I ruled that each time an enemy element was destroyed, the victor could have one.  It certainly gave some real-world consequence to the fights.

On the other flank, the barbarians surged forwards enthusiastically.  In an unexpected turn of events, their hero general was repulsed; this defeat then affected all the other combats down the line and the barbarians didn't win a single fight.

The Kung Fu front line counterattacked and, with a spectacularly bad series of dice rolls, much of the barbarian army just disintegrated.

The barbarian commander fought on alone and even managed to slay one of the Kung Fu heroes, but the odds were heavily against him and he was surrounded.  Even though his attackers sportingly gave him a chance by rolling a '1' (!), the dispirited warrior couldn't fight on any more (he rolled a '1' himself.  Again!).

The centre was an almost totally defensive fight for the undead, as they never had enough PiPs to move more than a handful of troops.  Indeed, the giant bats were never activated during the entire game.

The necromancer general stayed at the back, casting ineffectual spells at Santa's army.  In return, the ice bears charged forwards and fought with zombies and skeletons.  There were losses on both sides, but when Santa joined in as well, the tide turned in favour of the forces of good.

Then, disaster struck the undead!  Firstly, the vampire knights were destroyed in combat with a horde of snowmen.  That's nearly (but not quite) impossible.

Then, Santa saw the necromancer standing alone behind the ranks of skeletal infantry.  A twitch on the reins was all he needed to guide his flying reindeer over the intervening enemies.  The sleigh landed directly on top of the undead general, squashing him into the dirt.

With the loss of their commander, the undead army crumbled to dust (it failed the "panic" roll on the turn after losing the general).  All that was left were a few ghosts (i.e. the sneaker element), drifting about the battlefield looking for something they could haunt.

Over near the cottage, the elf bowmen advanced slowly, slaughtering everything that stood in their way (by this time, the Good players were starting to refuse the chocolates they earned for every 'kill'; it was just too much for them).

The elf spearmen moved past the house in an attempt to engage the troll, but were ambushed from the side by the goblin general and his warband.  For many turns, these embattled elves threw the evil forces back (their 'superior' status helped here!), but the goblins just kept on coming until eventually they overran the first group of elven infantry.

The greater goblins pressed their advantage and pushed the remaining elf spearmen up the hill.  For a brief moment it looked as if the goblin army might be able to inflict some real hurt on the forces of good, but by this time Santa was free from crushing the necromancer.

The sleigh took to the skies once more and came barreling down the hill, into (and through) the troll without even slowing down.  That catastrophic loss was too much to bear and all of the goblin hordes fled the battlefield in terror, leaving just their demoralised general and his bodyguard.  There seemed little point in playing on after this, so we called the game.

Conclusion

That was a rout!  Of the 3 evil sides, only the goblins put up much of a fight. Their opponents (the elves) suffered the heaviest losses of any good army - and even that was only 2 elements.  The barbarians' collapse was unexpected but spectacular; I don't know if I've ever seen so many '1's rolled in a row.  The necromancer's command-heavy army never threw higher than a '3' on a d6 for PiPs (it might have been a '4' on one turn; my memory isn't perfect here) and was consequently paralysed & ineffectual.  It basically stood there and allowed Santa to attack wherever and whenever he desired.

I don't want to take anything away from the good side's victory, though: they played competently and came away with a massive win.  Sometimes what looks like an even fight just isn't.

So, make merry and enjoy yourselves this Christmas, in the knowledge that evil has been roundly defeated once again.  Have another chocolate, if you can face it 🙂...

Halloween: Horrors Stalk the Night!

Introduction

It's Halloween and once again I've arranged a seasonal battle to mark the occasion.  Like last year (see here), this will be a battle between the Witches and the Puritans (Witch Hunters).  This time, each of these forces will be supported by some rather uneasy allies, respectively the Rat Plague and the Five Musketeers.

[On a side note, I believe that this will be the 500th article on my blog.  I had no idea the number had grown so large until I was looking for the links to insert in the previous paragraph...]

The Scenario

Very simple: witches, ghouls and other beasties intend to raid the village of Middle Dorking and carry off at least some of the locals (for use as sacrifices, slaves, playthings, food...  Use your imagination!).  The local authorities would like to stop them.

3 villagers have been placed along the table's centreline.  Each of these can be moved, at a reduced rate, by anyone who has a model in base contact at the start of an action.  Whoever holds the most at the end of the game wins!  Note that in order to foster some unhealthy competition, each side (i.e. good or evil) wins or loses according to the number of objectives they have caught/saved.  Within each side, the force with the larger number of villagers will be declared the major victor and the other force will only be allowed a minor victory.

For example, if the Puritans rescue 2 villagers and the Musketeers none then the Puritans win a major victory and the Musketeers must be content with a minor win.  Even if the Witches have caught the third villager, the evil side still loses completely.  Clear?

The Game

The rat monster is an exceptionally dangerous foe; as well as its very high normal combat score it gains another +2 for its berserk attribute.  It loses this attribute as soon as it throws 3 failures in a single activation roll.  In this game, that happened in its very first turn - so the creature was no longer berserk.  Sighs of relief could be heard from the Puritans and Musketeers; this seemed like a very good omen for them!

Initially, the witches and rat swarms on the right surged forwards, though their bigger monsters on the left were sluggish and didn't make much progress.  For the good side, pretty much the same pattern occurred: the musketeers advanced rapidly on their right, whilst the Puritans on their left were slow to move.

Athos grabbed the nearest villager and tried to drag him to safety - but the shocked young man wasn't easy to pull along and the rat monster was overhauling the pair rapidly!

In the centre, near the unlit pyre, D'Artagnan and Leroux bravely tried to stop the rat priest from taking away the blacksmith.  They did look to be heavily outnumbered, but perhaps French élan would be enough to carry the day?

Nearer the wood, Aramis stomped on a seemingly endless swarm of rats and killed many of them, whilst Porthos faced off three huge, but distinctly reluctant, hell hounds.

At the other end of the village, Major Fairfax and his soldiers saw a ghoul trying to drag off a small boy.  Whilst one of the troopers led the rescued child away, the rest of them set upon the evil ghoul and butchered it!

So far, the few casualties had all been on the evil side, but that couldn't last forever.  Even as help approached, the beleaguered D'Artagnan was felled by the rat priest and his minions.

Another tragedy occurred when Black Agnes zoomed in and commanded her hell hounds to attack Porthos.  The musketeer could not resist the combined attack of such fierce opponents and he too fell in a bloody mess.

As he came into the open, John Sterne (the witch hunter) bellowed a challenge to Meg (the witch).  He fired both his pistols at her - but missed (despite having a reasonably good chance of killing the crone with a single shot).

Sword drawn, Sergeant Stone then charged forwards - but he was intercepted by a ghoul and thus couldn't prevent the rat priest from dragging away the kicking and screaming blacksmith.  He was promptly struck and transfixed by Meg's baleful glare.

When the ghoul tore apart the disabled Sergeant Stone, Leroux ran for his life.  Meg then cast another evil spell, this time at the witch hunter himself.  With an epic lack of situational awareness, John Sterne didn't see the attack coming and was bound and made helpless by witchcraft!

A long way from the action in the centre, a lone ghoul attempted to recapture the child from the village.  Major Fairfax and his lads fell upon the creature and butchered it; the child will probably have nightmares about the scene for the rest of his life!  [Normally in Song of Blades and Heroes, doubling an enemy's combat result kills it, whilst tripling it results in a gruesome kill.  Combined, these Puritans scored seven times the ghoul's defence.  Result: dead ghoul, though probably not recognisable as such any more...]

The rat monster chased down and finished off Athos, but rather than attempting to capture the nearby villager it turned and ran up the village street towards the Puritans.  Some of them shot at it as it came, but this merely seemed to annoy the creature...

In the open area, the rat priest continued to plod along with his prisoner, the blacksmith.  Aramis fought for his life against two huge hell hounds, but surely it could only be a matter of time before he made a fatal mistake?

The rat monster may not have been berserk any more, but it was still huge and fierce.  It charged down the main street of the village, tossing aside any soldiers who stood in its way.  One corporal attempted to shepherd the village boy away to safety, but he was really moving too slowly.

Eventually, most of the remaining troopers broke and fled, leaving the rat monster free to recapture the boy [and if you think he would have had nightmares about being taken by a ghoul then feel pity for him now!].

This tore the heart out of the good side and left them with very little in the way of forces.  Most of the Musketeers were dead; now the Puritans were also dead or dispersed.

For a brief moment, it looked as if Aramis might salvage the situation all on his own.  He slew one of the hell hounds, shook off the other and charged at Black Agnes.  The witch felt the Frenchman's steel as his rapier passed right through her body and with an unearthly shriek she fell, dead!

It was heroic, but it wasn't enough.  Meg used her black magic once more, paralysing the last Musketeer and making him easy prey for the nearby hell hound.

We did play on for a little while after this, but the outcome was already pretty much decided.  Major Fairfax rallied a couple of soldiers and chased after the slow-moving rat priest.  They nearly stopped it before it left the table - but couldn't quite do so.  After that, these last remnants of the human side chased after Meg - until the hell hound intervened and killed the major.  At that point, we called it...

Conclusion

That was a bitterly-fought game, for certain!  Initially it looked as if the Musketeers would triumph over everything in their path - but there just weren't enough of them and in the end they were outnumbered and overwhelmed.

The rats and the witches concentrated a lot of their force in the centre.  This gave them numbers against some of their enemies, but conceded some easy, early kills to the Puritans.  However, these Puritans seemed hard to motivate; their advance was very slow and a little bit fragmented.  In the end, the charge of the rat monster scattered the bulk of them past recall.

Man/Woman/Creature of the Match: A tough choice:

• On the one hand, Aramis cut his way through most of the rat swarm, one hell hound and the witches' leader (Black Agnes).
• On the other hand, Meg was instrumental in killing Sergeant Stone, the witch hunter (John Sterne) and Aramis.

I think I'd probably give it to the witch, because she survived and was on the winning team.  Her actions made a difference!

Biggest disappointment: I think it's a toss up between:

• The giant rat ceasing to be berserk on turn one
• The witch hunter failing to kill Meg with his pistols.

Take your pick!

Victory goes to the evil side, very obviously.  The rats held all three villagers at the end of the game, so they are declared the clear winners, with the witches taking the consolation prize.

Zomtober 2018, Week 4

<== Week 3's duel is this way

Introduction

Whew!  It's the last weekend in Zomtober 2018 and I've finished my models!  Well, OK - that's not entirely correct.  The figures you'll see below have had all the painting done, but they haven't yet been varnished.

Sealing these models would only take a moment, but I want to hold off for a while because the wash I've used on the bases is still slightly wet in some of the deeper recesses.  I know from bitter experience that if I spray sealer over paint/wash which isn't completely dry then the models will go "milky", at least in the damper parts.  It's better if I wait for a few days before varnishing.  Anyway, all the rest is done...

Cora vs Green-haired Zombie

Today's duel is between a couple of young women.  The lucky one (the survivor) is "Cora".  She's young, slim, pretty and armed with an assault rifle and a revolver.  Presumably the satchel slung over her shoulder holds spare ammunition, food, medicines or other useful survival equipment.  I've experimented with colours by giving her pink hair; not something I usually do.

The unlucky one is also young, slim and was probably pretty when still alive.  However, she's now a zombie.  She has half the scalp on one side of her head torn off, as well as gashes and cuts on one leg.  I'll call her "Green-haired Zombie" ("GHZ" hereafter) because she also has been used to practice my painting techniques.  In this case, I've given her green hair and a striped, multi-coloured skirt and top.

Cora is a Hasslefree model.  Indeed, I believe that she's just another version of the survivor I presented last week, though the model is still an excellent one.

GHZ comes from one of the "zombie mobs" produced by Studio Miniatures.  Personally I think that the sculpting is a little weak on this figure; she has slightly overlong arms and legs and an implausibly narrow waist.  The model is still good, just not great.

I'd give the GHZ model maybe 3.5 out of 5, whereas Cora is a solid 5 out of 5.

As always (at least, until I run out of them), both of these figures are mounted on Escenorama resin bases.  Cora's base is fairly plain, but GHZ is standing in a gutter near a crushed Irn Bru can (look it up if you're not Scottish) and a torn takeaway menu.

Conclusion

It looks to me as if Cora has this all day long.  She has a good weapon which she seems to know how to use (no firing from the hip!) and she seems fit enough to be able to fire it.  The zombie isn't particularly special in any way, but there are just a couple of doubts in my mind about this duel even so:

1. I wonder why Cora has decided to straddle a sunken - and probably dangerous - manhole cover.  If she loses her balance or shifts her position even slightly then she could suddenly find herself in a lot of trouble.  Falling down a hole in the road, or even just stumbling at the wrong moment, could be fatal during the apocalypse!
2. GHZ is really skinny.  If Cora doesn't aim carefully, she might miss this very narrow target, especially if she hasn't done this sort of thing before.  Killing zombies casually, without having any doubts or worries, is probably an acquired skill.

So, as always: what do you think will happen next?  Comments below, please 😃.

Zomtober 2018, Week 3

<== Week 2 is this way

Introduction

Well, we're into the third week of Zomtober 2018.  I've presented a zombie/survivor duel on each such occasion since 2013 and I'm not going to let you down this time.  Hope you enjoy this week's offering!

Sarah vs Parking Meter Zombie (PMZ)

This week, I have painted a couple of oddments from my lead pile.  The survivor is a young woman made by Hasslefree Miniatures; I've called her "Sarah".  She is reasonably well dressed and has a (camouflaged) hunting crossbow slung on her back.  Oddly, she doesn't seem to have any bolts for the bow.

Instead, Sarah is clutching what looks like a wooden stake or tent peg (are wooden tent pegs even a thing these days?).  It's not the improvised weapon I would chose to deal with post-apocalyptic monsters!  Something with a long handle and sharp bits at the far end - perhaps a type of gardening tool - might work better...

Sarah is about to attack Parking Meter Zombie (PMZ).  This zombie appears to be heavily damaged - he's missing half a leg and his belly has been ripped open.  However, he hasn't quite given up yet; he's using a parking meter that has been ripped out of the ground as a support.

PMZ is from one of Studio Miniatures's "zombie mobs".  I've mounted both figures on resin bases from Escenorama.

There seems little doubt in my mind that a fit young woman with a weapon - even a poor one - should be more than a match for a single, crippled zombie.  The real question must be why is she about to attack PMZ, though?

Here are some possibilities:

• She's shot her last crossbow bolt deep into PMZ without killing the creature and intends to retrieve the arrow, come what may?
• It's an act of revenge for something PMZ has done, either in his previous life or in his continuing zombie existence?
• Sarah is using the weak zombie as an opportunity to practice her hand-to-hand combat skills?
• The woman has a desperate need for any coins that are in the meter, perhaps to operate a vending machine that cannot be prised open?
• The zombie and his parking meter are blocking her path?
• She's cleaning up the street, making it safer for some companions who aren't as capable as her (possibly children or elderly)?
• Maybe Sarah isn't about to attack, but instead was caught off guard by a low moan from behind and has spun around to see what might be threatening her?

None of these possible reasons seem especially convincing to me.  Can you come up with anything better?

For Week 4's duel, follow me ==>

Zomtober 2018, Week 2

<== Week 1 is this way

Introduction

This is the second period in Zomtober 2018 and so far I'm keeping to my pledge of painting at least one zombie or survivor each week.  In case anyone is new here (does that ever happen?  If so then you're very welcome 🙂), I've gone slightly beyond the absolute minimum required, in that I've painted both a survivor and a zombie.  These are presented below as a duel, with the standard question of "what happens next".  See what you think...

Brett vs Dead Average Zombie

Today's survivor is "Brett".  He's heavily wrapped up, with his head and face covered and thick gloves on his hands.  It's hard to tell what age Brett is from his appearance, but his clothing and manner suggest that he's probably a young man.

Facing him, or rather creeping up behind him, is "dead average zombie" (DAZ).  This is one of the most unremarkable zombies that I've painted in quite a while; he's definitely just "one of the herd".

If I had posed these models with both facing each other then I don't think that most observers would have given much for DAZ's chances.  After all, Brett looks young, fit and aggressive - and he has a weapon (even if it's only a house brick).  Brett should therefore be quite capable of defeating a lone zombie with no special features.

However, this time the zombie is behind the survivor.  Brett doesn't seem to have noticed the peril; he's too focussed on his current task.  Maybe he's breaking a shop window in order to loot it, or maybe he's defending against another zombie that we don't see in this vignette?  Either way, it would appear that Brett's choice of clothing has muffled his hearing and restricted his peripheral vision.

Like last week's duel, the survivor is from Offensive Miniatures, specifically he's one of the street kids from their "Rioters and the Law" range.

DAZ is from Studio Miniatures; I forget which pack.  Both models are fixed to resin bases from Escenorama.

Conclusion

So, will Brett notice DAZ (and be able to respond) before the zombie makes an attack?  Failing that, will the survivor's heavy clothing provide enough protection to defend against the initial onslaught and give him a fighting chance of victory or escape?  Will Brett's thrown brick bounce off the toughened glass of the store he is trying to loot and hit him instead (or DAZ, or both)?  What you you think?

Click here for Week 3 ==>

Zomtober 2018, Week 1

Introduction

It's the first Sunday in October and that means it's Zomtober time!  I admit that I look forward to this event for much of the year.  Judging by the number of comments I get for my posts during this time I imagine that my audience also enjoy them more than my average output.

I've been putting up a duel between a zombie and a survivor every Sunday in Zomtober since 2013.  I can hardly believe it's been that long, but the evidence is here if you'd like to check for yourself: all posts labelled 'Zomtober'.  OK, enough rambling; on with this week's duel...

Luke vs The Baron

Today's survivor is a young thug called "Luke" (aka "Luke the looter").  He has decided that the most important thing to do in the apocalypse is to go out and steal a flat-screen TV.  I think that the education system has failed this lad somewhat...

On his return from his "shopping" trip, Luke has come face to face with a zombie that I'll call "the Baron".  Why "the Baron"?  Well, he's dressed in very formal clothes, though this doesn't in itself mean that he is/was a member of the aristocracy.  He would appear to be very polite (for a zombie); he's lifting his hat as a gesture of recognition or friendship (!).  Again, this doesn't mean that he is upper class.  No, I call him "The Baron" because this zombie bears at least a passing resemblance to Baron Samedi, the supernatural Haitian voodoo master of death!

The model of The Baron was a giveaway at some wargames show a while ago - I think the tag said "Newark".  I didn't acquire it there, but rather it was a welcome extra in some eBay job lot that I bought some time.  I haven't modified the figure at all, other than to mount him on an Escenorama resin base.

Luke comes from Offensive Miniatures' "Street Kids" pack.  I've made one tiny conversion here; I added an outstretched finger to his left hand.  Whilst it's a slightly crude modification, I think it does add an extra air of disrespect to the already uncouth youth.  Or maybe he's just picking his nose?

Conclusion

As always, the question is "what happens next?"  On the face of it, a young, fit man should be able to evade and outrun a somewhat damaged zombie, especially if he ditches his encumberance (the TV).  But what if this zombie really is Baron Samedi, or if it believes itself to be?  That might give it unusually strong powers, even if only for a short while.  And what happens if Luke isn't prepared to drop his acquisition?

One thing's for certain: Luke is going to be disappointed when he realises that the mains electricity doesn't work any more.  Even if he is smart enough to find and hook up a generator, I imagine that not many TV stations will continue to broadcast once the apocalypse is in full swing, so the TV is essentially useless.  Luke would have been better off if he'd looted food, tools or weapons...

Week 2 is here ==>