2000 Points v. High Elves
The Chronicles of Padraig, The Spring Campaign
“Where, oh where, has the Dowry gone?”
Ambassador Keiran was upset, pacing back and forth in his office and complaining to his friend Warmaster Loranderil. “Six months of negotiations, shuttling back and forth between Athel Loren and Ulthuan, hammering out the details of this marriage alliance, working out the Dowry amount – all time wasted. And why, I ask you? Because “Her Highness” doesn’t like the color of his eyes! What does the color his eyes have to do with it, I ask you?! Grrrr….!”
“Now Keiran, calm down – “, said Loranderil , “you know how youngsters are. She’ll come around once we get her to the altar. I doubt that her father, His Elvish Majesty Lothern, will allow a trade alliance between the High elves and the Wood Elves to fall through because of the color of our Princes EYES. He wants access to our Long Bows too much for her to get away with THAT for too long….”
The Warmaster was interrupted by the Captain of the Palace Guard bursting in after a hurried knock. “General! The High Elf contingent has left the city! Lock, stock and barrel, packed up and left without warning during the night. And they took the Bride Price with them!” “What?!” yelled the Ambassador,” What do they think to accomplish by this act of treachery?! You must send troops to catch them and bring them back! Honor must be served or this outrage!” “Yes,” replied Loranderil in a calmer voice, “and I know just who I can trust to pull this mission off. Captain – please ask General Padraig to meet me in my quarters in 15 minutes.” “Aye, My Lord” saluted the Captain, and he rushed off.
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Padraig was looking forward to this evening – it had been a long time since he had had a chance to cross paths with his old friend Dalmilandril. Now Dal was heading the army escorting the Envoy from the High Elf King, negotiating a new trade deal and Alliance Marriage between the High Elf Princess and the Wood Elf Prince. While Padraig knew that it was in the best interest of both realms to work out this alliance, he was mostly looking forward to an evening of regaling his friend with his exploits in the recent Orcish incursion, and perhaps getting a chance to win back the 40 gold pieces that Dal had won off him playing draughts the last time they had been together some 20 years ago. He still suspected his friend of stacking the deck somehow, but he wasn’t quite sure how he had managed it….
Padraig’s reverie was broken when the Captain of the Guard entered his quarters, with orders from the Warmaster. The High Elf envoy had left unannounced during the middle of the night, along with his escort. They had apparently taken by stealth the Bride Price that they were to have received through alliance. Now Padraig was given the task of tracking down his friend Dal, recovering the treasure, and teaching the treacherous High Elves what it meant to cross the Elves of Athel Loren. With a sigh, he sent the Captain out to inform his Sergeants to gather the troops, and began to trade his dress uniform for his fighting tunics….
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Lord Dalmilandril was still a little confused by the suddenness of their exit from the Wood Elf enclave the night before. OK, so the wedding negotiations had hit a snag, but was that any reason to pull up stakes and leave? Apparently the negotiations had ended on a very sour note, so bad that the High Elf ambassador decided he didn’t want to spend another night in Athel Loren. He hadn’t even had a chance to leave a note to his friend Padraig about the change of plans – and he had been looking forward to fleecing Padraig out of another week’s pay like he had back in Boot Camp.
“My Lord! My Lord! We have captured a spy!” Turning at the cry, Dalmilandril saw a group of his guards approaching with captive. When they drew nearer, Lord Dalmilandril could see that despite the elvish cast to his features, this was no High or Wood Elf – this was one of their Dark Elf cousins! “What is the meaning of this?!” he demanded.
“We caught the cur trying to sneak out of camp, and he was carrying this…” The Guard thrust a large haversack into his commanders hands. Placing the heavy bag on the ground, Dalmilandril opened it, and was dazzled by the pile of precious gems which poured forth. “But… these are… these are the gems that were part of the Bride Price! We weren’t to have received them until after the wedding. How did he…?” Just then the High Elf commander stood straight, as the implications of what had happened hit home. “They are going to think WE took these gems, and our sudden departure will only reinforce that thought. I TOLD Ambassador Teldrin that leaving in such haste was a bad idea.” He turned to his Captain and issued orders to deploy a squad of Reavers to their rear, with orders to inform him when they spotted the Wood-Elf pursuit. He knew all too well who was the ranking Officer in the enclave was, and who was most likely to be sent out to avenge this insult. He had really hoped to meet his old friend in better circumstances, not looking across a battle field at each other…..
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This was the fourth game I’d played in the Spring League, and the first against a fellow Elf. I was looking forward to it, as this player and I had had some really interesting games in the past. As things turned out, I enjoyed the game up to the last turn, and the last turn left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth, as you will see. The battle would be a pitched battle between 2000 pt armies. White Dwarf #222 Magic limits, no special characters, “Highlander Rule” in effect (No duplicate magic items – “There can be only one”). The Wood Elf mages would be using the Wood Elf Spell deck from Citadel Journal #18 (1996). The game would last at least 4 turns, with a dice roll determining if there would be additional turns.
THE ARMIES
HIGH ELF ESCORT FORCE
Lord Dalmilandril (with Swords of Hamakt) – Ogre Blade, Armour of Meteoric Iron, Potion of Strength, Long Bow
“Swords of Hamakt”, 17 Swordmasters, Standard Bearer- 2 handed Sword, Heavy Armor, Standard of Shielding
Champion -Jade Amulet, 2 handed Sword, Heavy Armor
Arwen (with Swords of Hamakt)– Mage Lord, Dispel Magic Scroll, Potion of Knowledge, Spells: Drain Magic, Assault of Stone, Glamour of Teclis, Hand of Glory.
Thalion , Army Battle Standard (with Swords of Hamakt) – Heavy armor, shield, bow
“Morgan’s Rangers”, 9 Shadow Warriors – Bow, sword, shield
“Argent Bows”, 10 Archers - Long bows
“Justin’s Sharpshooters”, 12 archers - long bows
“Gilden Bows”, 10 Archers – Long bows
“McFarren’s Raiders”. 6 Ellyrian Reavers – Elven steeds, bow, Spear, Lt. Armor, Shield
“Shea McFarren”, Champion - Elven steed, bow, Spear, Lt. Armor, Enchanted Shield
“Deathsinger 1”, Repeating Bolt Thrower – 2 crew, hand weapons, lt armor
“Deathsinger 2”, Repeating Bolt Thrower – 2 crew, hand weapons, lt armor
PADRAIG’S PATROL, Wood Elf Army
General Padraig – Warhawk, Long Bow, Lance, Shield, Magic War Paint, Bow of Loren, Potion of Strength
Randthlfr, Mage – Warhawk, Long Bow, Skull Staff, Wood Elf Magic Spell: Divination (p1, re-roll any one die and add +1 to result)
Deirdre the Dire, Mage – Long Bow, Destroy Magic Scroll, Wood Elf magic Spell: Raven Feast (R24”, P1 – Flock of ravens appear and chase fleeing enemy unit. Take immediate flee move, plus flee at start of subsequent magic phases. Remains in play until dispelled)
“Blue Iris”, (Blue) Chariot – Scythed wheels, 4 steeds, 2 crew, lt armor, spear, shield, Long Bow, Standard of Shielding.
“Rose Bud”, (Red) Chariot - Scythed wheels, 4 steeds, 2 crew, lt armor, spear, shield, Long Bow
“Kudzu Express”, (Green) Chariot - Scythed wheels, 4 steeds, 2 crew, lt armor, spear, shield, Long Bow
4 Warhawk Riders – Warhawk, Long Bow, Spear, Shield, Lt Armor
T’luren, Champion - Warhawk, Long Bow, Spear, Shield, Lt Armor, Hail of Doom Arrow
6 Glade Riders, Standard Bearer – Elven Steed, Long bow, Lance, Lt Armor, War Banner
6 Wardancers – Add’l hand weapon, Standard
5 Waywatchers – Long bow
10 Archers – Long Bow, Standard
“Deirdre’s Guard”, 9 Archers – Long Bow, Standard
10 Archers – Long Bow
The only dupliate items were the Potion of Strength and the Standard of Shielding, both of which were set aside by both armies.
TERRAIN & DEPLOYMENT
The two armies faced off on opposite sides of a wooded valley, near an abandoned village. Looking from the Wood Elf’s perspective, on the left side of the board along the center line between the two armies was a woods set between two hills. On the right side of the board, also lying along the center line, was another section of woods, with a section of difficult ground to it’s right. This left an opening between the rightmost hill and the right hand woods, and another opening by the difficult ground on the very rightmost edge of the board.
In addition, on the High elf side of the board on the edge of their deployment zone, near the center of the board was a section of wall. On the Wood Elf side of the board, just outside their deployment zone on their right, was a grouping of three small buildings.
The High Elves set up with the Gilden Bows archer unit between the two Repeating Bolt Throwers, just to the left of center in their deployment zone, positioned to fire through the open area in the center of the board. The Argent Bows archers unit took position behind the section of wall, also poised to shoot into the open area. Justin’s Sharpshooter’s took position to the right of the Argent Bows, next to the Wall, with Lord Dalmilandril’s unit of Swordsmasters immediately behind them. McFarren’s Raiders took position to the outside of Justin’s sharpshooters and the Generals unit. Lastly, Morgan’s Rangers hid out in the small building closest to the Wood Elf deployment zone.
The Wood Elves set up, from left to right from the Wood Elfs perspective again, with the Glade Riders and the Blue Chariot on the far left front edge of the deployment zone, with the War hawks and Randthlfr the Warhawk mage immediately behind them. Towards the back of the deployment zone, centered on the clearing in the middle of the board were the three archer units, with Deirdre’s Guard in the center. Immediately behind them sat General Padraig on his Warhawk. On the far right front edge of the deployment zone were the Wardancers, skirmished widely to act as a screen for the Red and Green chariots, which were immediately behind them. The Waywatchers stealthily deployed in the Woods near the difficult ground on the right side of the board, 3” from the edge closest to the High Elf’s Zone.
My plan was for the Glade Riders to move up into the trees in front of them, and hit the leftmost bolt thrower from the flank during the second turn. The General and the Warhawk Riders would fly high their first turn, and charge down on the second bolt thrower and the Gilden Bows archer unit. It was important that between the warhawks, the General and the Glade Riders both bolt throwers and the archer unit be engaged at the same time, so that none of them could flee and leave any of the others to fire at the stranded flyers. Meanwhile the chariots would position themselves to hit anything that advanced through the gap I the center of the board. The Wardancers would serve to screen the chariots until they got into position, and then to help remove rank bonuses by charging into the flank. The Way watchers were to prevent march moves in the early turns, and shoot at targets of opportunity. Deirdre was on the look out to cast Ravens Feast on any fleeing units, and was prepared to use her Destroy Scroll should the High Elves attempt to use Assault of Stone. Randthlfr was planning on casting Divination early and often, expecting that the re-roll option would come in handy with dispel attempts.
The Ellyrian Reavers used their pre-battle move to move down the right side of the board, setting up in a line between the difficult ground and the buildings, facing towards the Wardancers and the center of the board. The High Elf Player won the roll and elected to move first.
THE BATTLE
TURN ONE
The Ellyrian Reavers were on the move, and moved farther down the right side of the board until they were set up in a line next to the buildings, with a clear shot between the buildings at the Wardancers and the Green Chariot. The Shadow Warriors crept to the windows and door of the building they were in, and took aim at the Wardancers. Both Justin’s Sharpshooters and the General’s Swordmasters advanced to the edge of the woods in front of them, taking flanking positions.
The Reavers, Boltthrower 1 and the Shadow Warriors take aim and shoot at the Wardancers, who manage to dodge or save all but two of the shots, dropping two Wardancers. Boltthrower 2 shoots at Deirdre’s Guard, killing 1. Master Mage Arwen casts Drain Magic despite Randthlfr’s attempt to dispel – All Winds of Magic cards are turned in, and both Wood Elf Mages roll to save against the spells effects… both of them Fail and are reduced to zero-level mages! So much for any offensive spells for the Wood Elves this Battle!
Following the plan, the Wood Elf General and the Warhawks take to the sky and fly high. The Glade Riders march moved to the edge of the trees on the left flank. The Blue Chariot advances to behind the hill, and turns to face the gap. Randthlfr flew to a position behind Deirdre’s Archer Guard. The Wardancers run between the buildings to place themselves between the line of archers and the unit of Reavers that had run so far down the right flank. The Waywatchers moved to the southern edge of their woods, so as to also shoot at the Reavers. Both the Red and Green Chariots advanced towards the tree line, ready to charge anything which came through the gap.
The Waywatchers shoot at the Reavers, and manage to kill one. The left archer unit and Deirdre’s Guard shot at Argent Bows cowering behind the wall, killing 1. The right archer unit shot at Bolt-thrower 1, but had misjudged the distance – the arrows fell far short of their target. Despite the Winds of Magic blowing strongly, both Wood-elf mages are only able to store cards – zero level mages not allowed to cast spells! (Rats! Turn one and I’m without spells against a Master Mage using High magic – does it get any better than this?)
TURN TWO
The High Elf General’s Swordmasters and Justin’s Sharpshooters advance at a slow march into the treeline, on the look out for the Waywatchers traps (Traps are only set off by enemy units which CHARGE the Waywatchers, not if they march over them). All other units are apparently where they wanted to be, and none move. Boltthrower 1 turns and shoots into the Glade-riders just inside the treeline, killing two and causing the rest to panic and flee back through the trees. The Shadow Warriors shoot through the windows at the Wardancers next to them and kill 2 more, though the fearless elves refuse to panic and flee (I know, Wardancers are immune to psychology and shouldn’t have tested for panic, but I forgot and rolled – they passed anyway. No harm, no foul) Bolt Thrower 2 lobbed a bolt at the Red Chariot, causing 1 wound on the chariot body.
Confident of his magical superiority over two spell-less mages, Arwen attempts to cast Assault of Stone on the hill just in front of the Blue Chariot. Deirdre pulls out and reads her “Destroy Magic” scroll and not only dispels the spell, but destroys it also! Arwen is less confident as he casts Hand of Glory on the General’s Swordmaster unit, but neither Deirdre nor Randthlfr are able to counter it, and the spell goes off successfully. Lastly, Arwen casts Glamour of Teclis on the Red Chariot.
The Glade Riders manage to regain control of their fleeing steeds, and reform on the south side of the woods. Seeing that the Reavers pose a more immediate threat than the bolt throwers, General Padraig changes his plan “on the wing” and orders his Warhawks to follow him as he charges from up high into the Ellyrian Reavers. In the ensuing battle, 3 of the remaining 5 Reavers are slain, and the 2 survivors turn and flee off the board. The Warhawks successfully use their General’s leadership to keep from following off the board, but General Padraig is caught up in his bloodlust and chases the fleeing horsemen off the table (The hawks use his Ld 10 successfully, but he doesn’t – go figure)
The crew of the Red Chariot, under the influence of the Glamour, are unable to see the Green Chariot immediately in front of them, and whip their steeds into a gallop – crashing into the back of their comrades in the process! One of the Green Crew is killed by the impact, while the other managed to dodge the hooves of his be-spelled comrades’ horses. The Wardancers, seeing that the Reavers are being taken care of by the warhawks, turn and charge the Shadow Warriors, dancing Whirlwind of Blades while striking at them through the windows. One of the Shadow warriors falls to their blades, though they refuse to leave the protection of their position.
The Waywatchers turn and shoot at Justin’s Sharpshooters behind them, killing one. None of the other archers are able to hit anything this turn. The mages stored dispel cards, in preparation for the magical onslaught they expected to hit them next turn.
TURN THREE
The Boltthrowers and the Argent Bows target the Green Chariot, killing all four of the horses and leaving the remaining Crew cowering inside the ruined chariot body.
Not all the Shadow Warriors can get around the window to fight the Wardancers, and some of them move to shoot out the window at the Warhawks. None of the shots hit their mark though. The Wardancers use Woven Mist against the Shadow Warriors at the window, who fail their leadership roll. Since the Wardancers won the combat last turn, they are not affected by needing 6’s to hit over an obstacle – however since the Shadow Warriors failed their roll against Woven Mist they do need 6’s to hit the Wardancers. The Wardancers kill 3 of the Shadow Warriors, who break and flee out of the house. The Wardancers are not quite able to catch the fleeing elves, having to climb in through one set of windows and out through the door on the other side (Wardancers aren’t affected by difficult terrain, which the windows of a house are considered, so we didn’t think they would lose ½ their movement going through the window).
Justin’s Sharpshooters charge into the Waywatchers in front of them, killing 1. Despite losing the battle, the Waywatchers hold fast.
During the High Elf's Magic phase, Master Mage Arwen again tries to cast Drain Magic in an attempt to kill off the hapless Wood Elf mages, but to his frustration they are able to dispel the spell this time.
The Glade Riders again moved through the trees, and shot at the Bolt Thrower 1, though causing no damage. The Red Chariot, blue chariot and 27 of the archers target the Generals Swordmasters unit, but are unable to cause any damage. The Warhawks move north, over the intervening woods and difficult ground, and target the Argent Bows unit. The Champion uses the Hail of Doom arrow, which splits into 12 arrows. This combined with the troopers bow shots kill off 7 of the remaining 10 archers, but due to the Generals hand of Glory spell they pass their panic test.
The Wardancers charge the fleeing Shadow Warriors, who are unable to flee far enough and are destroyed. The Wardancers redirect their charge into the melee between Justin’s Sharpshooters and the Waywatchers. The resulting melee sees 4 sharpshooters and 1 waywatcher killed, but again due to the Hand of Glory the Sharpshooters hold their ground. General Padraig re-enters the battle after having chased down the fleeing Reavers the turn before. He has no targets to shoot at.
During the magic phase, both Wood Elf Mages attempt to dispel the Glamour of Teclis surrounding the Red Chariot, but neither are able to roll high enough (even with Randthlfr’s +! Due to the Skull Staff! Rats again!)
TURN FOUR
Lord Dalmilandril, apparently not content to sit safely inside the tree-line (and possibly a little put off by the vulgar hand gestures the remaining Wood-Elf Green Charioteer was waving at him and his unit) charges out of the trees and crashes into the Green Chariot and proceeds to pound the lone Charioteer into a bloody pulp with the help of his mage, champion and 2 of his troopers. Elsewhere, the Wardancers and the Waywatchers manage to kill the last remaining of Justin’s Sharpshooters. All the Archers and the bolt Throwers turn to face the Warhawks, and proceed to blow them out of the sky – the Champion in particular took a nasty shot from a bolt thrower which left nothing but a cloud of bloody feathers in it’s wake.
The Mage, perhaps a little preoccupied with the mauling he and his unit were giving the hapless charioteer, declined to cast any magic, and stored cards instead.
The Wood Elf Chariots, despite having a perfect opportunity to charge into the front and side of the Swordmasters unit, decide that discretion is the better part of Valor and stand back and shot into the unit, and along with the rest of the archers kill 7 of the Swordsmen. The Red Chariot managed to shake off the effects of the spell affecting them long enough to wheel their chariot around the High Elf Generals unit, preparatory to hitting it from the flank next turn. The Glade Riders charged into and destroyed the Boltthrower 1. Lastly, Deirdre and Randthlfr take advantage of the Master mages distraction to dispel the Hand of Glory protecting the Generals unit.
The dice roll to determine if there would be a 5th turn came up a “2”, so the game ended at this time.
RESULTS & EPILOGUE
Final score:
Wood Elves: 565 pts (Shadow Warriors + Sharpshooters + Reavers + 1 bolt thrower)
High Elves: 388 pts (Green Chariot + Warhawks)
A very narrow victory for the Wood Elves (more than the 100 pt spread required for a tie in the league.)
Well, true to the old adage, the battle plan didn’t survive first contact with the enemy. The flyers originally were to target the Bolt Throwers, but ended up taking out the Ellyrian Reavers instead. The Wardancers were to screen the Chariots as they advanced on the Swordmaster unit, but instead were pulled into the street fighting with the Shadow Warriors, and then involved in attacking and killing off Justin’s Sharpshooter’s. The glade riders actually stuck with their plan, and managed to kill their target after an initial falter. The Chariots never engaged the enemy, but they were instrumental in keeping the General and his Swordmasters blocked up in the woods in the woods, despite the Glamour of Teclis running the Red Chariot into the Green.. The mages were pretty much neutered after the first turn, though they were able to destroy the “Assault of Stone” spell with the “Destroy Magic” scroll.
I was able to redirect my attacks into the more threatening units, and kept the High Elves from getting their momentum going. Destroying the “Assault of Stone” spell seemed to throw the High Elf player off his stride, making me think his strategy hinged on moving those hills around.
My esteemed opponent spent some time trying to decide what to do during the fourth turn. Since he was out of the running for the league finals, he decided to go for a “Fun” tactic, under the assumption that I would go along with it. Wanting to have one big glorious hand-to-hand combat he decided that, rather than keeping his General’s unit safe inside the treeline, he would charge the Charioteer in front of him, knowing that this would leave him open to being charged by both the Blue and Red Chariots. He felt he had a good chance of surviving the impact hits, and that it would be interesting to see the resulting carnage.
I on the other hand was still in the running to make it to the league championship, sitting at 6th place with one more game to play after this one – I was trying to gain as many and lose as few points as I possibly could! I felt at the time that even having two chariots hitting the swordsmasters, the chariots would not be able to do enough damage to counter the bonuses for ranks and two standards, and I would have lost at least one chariot to the counter attacks from the 2-handed swords. More than likely I would have lost the fight, and very possibly have ended up with two chariots either fleeing or destroyed on the last turn. This would have meant potentially handing my opponent 224 pts on what was possibly the last turn of the game, with no chance to recoup the loss. With the Hand of Glory in place, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make them break the first turn of combat, which is what I needed to happen to make it worth my while. By wheeling the chariots outside his charge arc as I did, and successfully dispelling the Hand of Glory, I felt I greatly increased my chances of taking out his Main unit should the game go into a 5th turn.
My decision to go for the “safe” win instead of going along with his “Multi-collision car-wreck” ending really frustrated him, and as a result he decided to stop playing in the Fantasy league, since he hadn’t really enjoyed his games this season. I was sorry to hear this, as he was a very good player and a fun game, and I even offered to replay my final turn, just to see what would have happened. He demurred, though we did run through the numbers and realized that there probably wouldn’t have been much change in the final score either way. It still saddened me to hear him talk like he did.