Author Topic: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus  (Read 23111 times)

Offline Horned Owl

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Back from the dead!

I´ve been somewhat busy and unable to post (much less play) the last two months. I know I´ve been terribly tardy, and anything coming from me in the next month will also come in piecemeal, probably.

But I managed to squeeze a game in sideways, and it´s been an interesting one! I´ll report on this one and save the rest of my not-yet-finished Mutant Chronicles report for later. This one is fresher in my memory...
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2012, 04:01:34 AM »
The icy wind whipped the sides of the sheer peaks and howled and moaned in the crags. The narrow mountain path was slick with ice, and great snowdrifts had piled up wherever a nose of rock or an outcrop gave a respite from the incessant wind. Shards of ice whirled in the gale, punishing trespassers into this frozen hell with their cold sting. Yet the warriors who negotiated the rocky slope showed no sign of discomfort, though their chests were bare and their frost-rimmed fur cloaks carelessly open.

Calum En´Nuadha, Lord of the Gouged Eye, turned on his stag´s broad back and looked back at the line of his fellow warriors. Lean skirmishers sprinted past, clad only in checkered loincloths of deep red and carrying leather slings tied around their waists, misty breath trailing behind them. Their strong legs pushed against the wind, never faltering on the slippery path. Behind them came deep-chested men and women, bearing reaver axes and swords, and overhead, strange leathery wings flapped – flying devils of the terrifying Dusk Realms, called to this plane by the sorcerous arts of the Skatha.

Calum turned again and gazed at the skyclad witch squatting on the outcrop. Her long black hair billowed around her like a cloak as she hacked at the intestines of a dismembered crow with a knife. Her lovely face, incongruously peaceful, seemed rapt in her work. It was the face of a child of thirteen winters, with not a care in the world, though Morag the Crone was said to be more than a hundred years old, cruel and cunning as a badger, and to hold the most terrifying secrets of witchery. Watching her, Calum shivered.

More crows had landed around Morag, watching her as intently as the warrior. They tilted their heads as if listening. She laughed, a piping innocent sound, and put out a slender finger, marking them on the tip of their beaks with their fellow´s blood. Then she looked up, and Calum suddenly felt numb. Her pearl-blue eyes held him fixed in their piercing gaze.

"The elves are there, on the other side of the ravine... three score and more, with bows of yew and feathered rock-crystal darts. They will reach the bridges if you are not swift, and block your path. Their leader is a strong and cunning man, and his steed flies nimbly through the storm, but his men are so very young, untried and afraid." Her voice grew soft, lost in some pleasant reverie, tasting the words and savouring them. "Bring me his living body, as a sacrifice to my Lord Bile. Do with the rest as you please." Calum nodded his assent and spurred his mount towards the head of the marching men. Silvery laughter followed him.

As long as there were enemies to overcome, a warrior had no right to be afraid. Calum En´Nuadha had fought many a challenge, slain many foes that had been reckoned mighty. He had never flinched from steel or fire or any number of fell beasts. But that innocent, lilting laughter turned his manhood to water, froze his spine and drained the strength from his arms. With nerveless fingers, he touched the reassuring firmness of the great battle-spear that lay across his lap. Then he cleared his throat.

"To the bridges, brothers!", he called. "There are elves to slay!" His men and women took up the call and eagerly drew their weapons.


« Last Edit: July 12, 2012, 03:33:53 AM by Horned Owl »
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline joshuaslater

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2012, 02:11:33 PM »
That's a good read!
May the Dark Lords of Lead-Free Pewter smile kindly upon you.

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Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2012, 03:25:55 AM »
Thanks! We used a black tabletop, representing a chasm – bottomless for game purposes –, and placed spires and hills, representing the mountain peaks jutting out of the mist. Around the peaks were ledges, mostly 1" wide, but widening into platforms in several places. Shaky rope bridges connected some of the ledges across the chasm. Those were the treacherous mountain paths leading to the Crystal Caves held by the Elves of the Silver Seal.

The weather was atrocious – we used the Deep Snow rules from the Sons of Kronos sourcebook (-1" movement for everyone without the Ice Warrior ability). Remembering the fun we had with desert twisters in a similar scenario, we also decided to include an Ice Storm, starting in the center of the ravine, which would wreak havoc with lines of sight and generally be a nuisance to both sides. In the first edition, the Sons of Kronos are a very difficult army to win with, so I prefer to give them a slight advantage whenever I work out a scenario.

We also used Agility in this battle, which is a house rule which comes up quite often when we play. Basically, each model has a separate Agility value which is checked against whenever a model has to avoid falling or move on slippery ground, or if a model without the ability to Leap tries to jump across an obstacle.

Examples are:

Vault linear obstacle less than Size of model in inches: check Agility.
Roll natural 1: move on as if obstacle was not there.
Successful: move across obstacle. Move ends once model has cleared the obstacle even if there is movement left.
Failure: move ends in front of obstacle.
Fumble: move ends in front of obstacle. Lose all remaining actions.

Vault a chasm: must be able to cross in a single Move action. Check Agility.
Roll natural 1: move on as if obstacle was not there.
Successful: move across obstacle. Move ends once model has cleared the obstacle even if there is movement left.
Failure: Model falls and takes falling damage.
Fumble: Model falls and dies.

... You get the picture. Agility is calculated in the following way:

Base Agility value depending on race, e.g.:

Elf – 13
Sons of Kronos – 14
Stygian – 14
Orc, Firstborn, Devout Follower, Ogre, Dwarf – 12
Goblin / Swamp Goblin – 14
Troll – 14
Skeletons, Unliving – 8

The Def modifier is basically a measure of reflexes. To represent this, add the negative value of the model – i.e. if the model has a Def of -2, add 2 to the Agility value. If the model has a Def of +1, subtract 1 from the value.

Subtract 20 from the Armour value, to get a positive or negative number, then subtract this number from the Agility value – i.e. if the model has an Armour of 24, subtract 4 from Agility. If the model has an Armour of 16, add 4 to Agility (16 - 20 = -4).

Add 1 for every Action the model has over 2 – i.e. if the Model has 4 Actions, add 2 to the Agility value.

Add 1 for every inch of Movement the model has over 3, subtract 1 for every inch it has less than 3.

Subtract 1 if the model has a polearm (those are cumbersome and tend to get in the way more often).

Subtract 1 if any weapon the model is carrying has a Damage of more than 10. (Stronger models can carry larger weapons. Subtract the model´s Strength from the Damage value before calculating this – thus a model with a Str of 2 could carry a weapon doing 12 damage without penalty.)

Examples:

Sons of Kronos Blade Maiden: Agility 16
14 [Sons of Kronos base value] + 2 [Def -2] + 1 [Armour 19 - 20 = -1] -1 [2handed sword´s damage of 15 minus Str 1 is over 10] = 16

Elven Militiaman: Agility 16
13 [Elven base value] +0 [Def 0] +4 [Armour 16 - 20 = -4] -1 [carrying a polearm] = 16

Stygian Swordsman: Agility 13
14 [Stygian base value] +0 [Def 0] -2 [Armour 22 - 20 = 2] +1 [Move 4 is 1" over 3] = 13

Vulture Legion Swordsman: Agility 10
12 [Dwarf base value] +1 [Def -1] -2 [Armour 22 - 20 = 2] -1 [Move 2 is 1" below 3] = 10

Ogre Heavy Infantryman: Agility 8
12 [Ogre base value] +1 [Def -1] -5 [Armour 25 - 20 = 5] -0 [Falchion´s damage of 11 minus Str 3 is below 10] = 8

Goblin Archer: Agility 17
14 [Goblin base value] -1 [Def +1] +4 [Armour 16 - 20 = -4] =17


The ledges were treacherous – wherever a model on one of the ledges was hit (regardless of the outcome of the Armour roll) it had to check against Agility -2 or go prone. If it went prone it had to make a second roll against its unmodified Agility or fall to the next lower ledge (if there was one directly below) or to its death in the ravine.

Any friendly model on Wait within Move distance could use its Wait action to move in contact with the falling model and try and save it. The saving model had to go prone to do this, and make an Agility roll. A fumble meant both fell to their doom below.

A prone model was placed face down and had to spend an action to stand up again before it could do anything else.


(The same rules applied when a model tried to march move on the ledges.)


These rules favoured the Untamed (whose Agility is usually pretty high), offset the heavier Elven armour and helped even the odds against the Silver Seal´s archers. They also ensured that both sides would choose lighter troops, in keeping with the skirmish character of this scenario, without introducing artificial limitations on the selection of models.


« Last Edit: July 12, 2012, 03:46:52 AM by Horned Owl »
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2012, 03:45:06 AM »
I had my usual premonition that magic would prove my downfall – honestly, I do not even know why I include sorcerers in my armies anymore since they (almost) never fail to fail horribly at their Power checks. But the recent stalwart performance of my Blue Lotus-Eater who saved the Prince in the nick of time made me hope that particular streak had been broken.

I could not help being a tad superstitious and took a Blue Lotus-Eater again.
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2012, 03:50:50 AM »
Even though we had chosen small units, during the set-up it proved difficult to place all models in command distance on the ledges, so we decided that, alternatively, a warband would also count as "within command distance" if all models were within 2" of at least one comrade from the same warband. Otherwise movement on the ledges would have become very awkward.
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2012, 05:16:46 AM »
Since I was going to field Flying Dragonbane, and Marius meant to use Demon Wings, we were going to use the turning rules for flyers Miriam and I came up with in the Wings of Song scenario.
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2012, 10:11:49 AM »
THE CRYSTAL LOTUS BORDER PATROL



Lord Revilian – Flying Dragonbane Rider

Thanis – Blue Lotus Eater - Agility 13
Ethereal Dragon
Wind Blast
Tempest

Dream Warriors (Thanis´ personal guard)
4 Dream Warriors - Agility 15
1 Leader - Agility 15

Militia warband
8 Militiamen - Agility 16
1 Leader - Agility 16

Militia warband
8 Militiamen - Agility 16
1 Leader - Agility 16

Militia warband
8 Militiamen - Agility 16
1 Leader - Agility 16

Archer warband
4 Archers - Agility 13
1 Leader - Agility 13

Archer warband
4 Archers - Agility 13
1 Leader - Agility 13

Archer warband
4 Archers - Agility 13
1 Leader - Agility 13


In the wind-swept mountains of the Wildlands, I would be forced to meet Marius´ Sons of Kronos at their own game. Heavy armour would only make my troops more likely to slip and fall on the icy ledges, so I took lightly armoured troops – which incidentally fitted the idea of a border patrol nicely. The Flying Dragonbane, whose movement was not confined to the ledges and rope bridges, would be my ace. I was going to keep him back, harrassing the Untamed tribesmen with javelins, and keep him ready to pitch in wherever he would be needed.
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2012, 10:31:51 AM »
THE SHADOW TRIBE

Calum En´Nuadha – Monarch - Agility 16

Morag the Crone, witch of the Skatha – Wyrd - Agility 18
Wall of Thorns
Blessing of the Goddess
Call of the Dragon
Way of the Wyrd

Hearthguard warband
2 Hearthguard - Agility 16
1 Hornblower - Agility 16
1 Standard bearer - Agility 16
1 Leader - Agility 16

Hearthguard warband
2 Hearthguard - Agility 16
1 Hornblower - Agility 16
1 Standard bearer - Agility 16
1 Leader - Agility 16

Slinger warband
5 slingers - Agility 19

Slinger warband
5 slingers - Agility 19

Slinger warband
5 slingers - Agility 19

Demon wings swarm
4 Demon wings

Demon wings swarm
4 Demon wings


Morag´s champion Calum had brought his own retinue of Hearthguard, hand-picked warriors who would not flinch from anything the Crystal House could throw at them. Before them ran nimble slingers to scout the way and take pot-shots at the Elves. With the slippery ledges, the low damage of the slings would – for once – not be such a liability; if the armour held, the target could still slip and take the plunge into the chasm below. (In fact, the stronger the Elf´s armour, the more likely he would be to fall.) The Skatha witch had a variety of spells to hold up the Elves and frustrate their archers. And she had summoned a ghastly flock of unclean winged demons from the Dusk Realms who could, uninhibited by the ledges, flit wherever they would be needed.

Agility was high throughout the Untamed force; it would be a rare incident to see one of the tribesmen lose footing.
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2012, 11:06:46 AM »
The Dragonbane snorted and hissed. Transparent lids flicked ever so often, clearing the snow from its eyes as it craned its neck. With its hooked wings and clawed legs, it clung face-down to the cliff´s craggy wall, leaving its rider (with his legs tied to the saddle by sturdy leather straps) leaning across the bottomless ravine at an awkward angle. The incessant gusts of wind buffeted the warrior and stung his eyes with whirling shards of ice.

Lord Revilian of the Silver Seal pulled off his right glove, wincing at the biting cold, and fumbled a crystal lens from his saddle bag. Carefully, he shielded it from the sleet with a cupped hand and raised it to his eyes. There were shadows moving on the opposite side, indistinct figures picking their way along the ledges. He twisted in the saddle, trying to get a better view, but a sudden icy gust struck his face like a physical blow, and he dropped the crystal. With a curse, he watched it plunge into the abyss below. Looking up, he noticed with dismay that the wind had picked up. The gale pressed his mount to the cliff, tossed his cloak of silvery fur and threatened to tear away the oval shield tied to his saddle. With a shiver, he watched the sleet circle and rise until it formed a huge pillar of whirling ice that danced between the sheer walls of the ravine.
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline Cirith

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2012, 01:48:22 PM »
Whoa, thats alot of units.
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Offline Horned Owl

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2012, 06:37:36 AM »
Not really. We played with 1300 points each. It´s the slingers and the Militia; being dirt cheap, you can fit a lot of them in 1300.
"How was I supposed to know he was an unarmed man? His back was to me."

Offline DogOWar

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Re: [Battle report] Storm Tossed – Shadow Tribe vs. Crystal Lotus
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2013, 09:31:08 PM »
What happened?  inquiring minds need to know!!
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