Tuesday 29 September 2009

Autumn 988 - Campaign Progress

And so it all kicks off. Treyine is upset at the wounding of Lord De La Warre, their favourite general, so they invade Tropilium, led by the fearless Sir Geoffrey. Hykar sees the chance of some easy pickings while the Treyine army is away and rides for Treyine as fast as they can. The Brethren decide that their recent regency in the Border Kingdoms entitles them to a bit more of the cake, so they invade. Meanwhile, Zog-Rot, seeing the Brethren distracted also chooses to invade the Border Kingdoms.

The rules do not cover what happens if multiple armies invade the same area. We decided to let the dice decide. 1d6 plus War Rating. Highest roller invades the nation first. After all, each turn is three months, which is more than enough time to march up and down a country. It all fell out as follows:

1. Treyine invades Tropilium
2. Hykar invades Treyine (the Treyine army will be footsore by now)
3 The Brethren invade the Border Kingdoms
4. Zog-Rot invades the Border Kingdoms

The situation at the start of Autumn 988:
Click image for a larger version


The armies for the Autumn turn are as at the start of the year, except for Treyine and Tropilium, whose remaining forces are detailed below:

Treyine Army
1 Foot Knight
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)

Tropilium Army
1 Legionaries
Pherros (L1 Mage)

Summer 988 - The Battle of Poirotium Vale

The Treyine army was confident when it drew up, even though the Brethren tribute had failed to show. They would have strong words later about those missing spearmen. Facing them was a much reduced Tropilium army. The Wizard Pherros was still alive and General Pheeassko was now leading the army, following the untimely demise of his predecessor. He was not looking forward to the task ahead of him.

We forgot to include the stand of Brethren Spearmen, so the Treyine army was one stand down, although I doubt it would actually have made any difference to the outcome. In story terms, this will have repercussions later in the campaign though.



The battle began with Pherros casting Air of Strength on the Tropilium foot to boost their morale, while the Treyine army advanced. The Tropilium skirmishers quickly occupied the heavy woods on their left flank, so Treyine archers and knights wheeled to advance on them.



Threatened by the advance of the knights and fearing the power of the longbows, the Tropilium skirmishers fled the field. Meanwhile, the Treyine army had advanced within bowshot and begun firing from the top of the hill in front of the Tropilium line, breaking it up into separate units. The Treyine left flank was advancing as fast as possible to turn on the enemy flank at the same time.



With the skirmishers gone, Sir Geoffrey's knights and the Ekran levy knights turned towards the main battle. The Tropilium army had fared badly in the fierce fighting and only General Pheeassko's bodyguard remained. They were giving a good account of themselves and were wearing Lord De La Warre's foot knights down slowly.



A shout went up. Lord De La Warre had fallen. The enemy rejoiced, but, contrary to expectations the Treyine army did not rout from the field. Instead they sought vengeance for their fallen lord. This was too much for General Pheeassko and he fled the field.



The Treyine general was wounded in the melee, but all of the Treyine army passed its Leader Lost test and fought on. Sir Geoffrey Chambers, the mercenary knight, has a war rating, so he became the new general on the field. Lord De La Warre suffered a result of wounded. He is not dead but will not take to the field for three campaign turns. Steve really thought he had me when he downed my general, but the last picture shows his dice's view on the matter. Double sixes on the test meant that his troops routed while my own stood firm.

Permanent Losses:
Treyine
1 Infantry

Tropilium
1 Slinger
1 Auxiliary Archer
1 Auxiliary (Mixed)
1 Legionary

Friday 18 September 2009

Summer 988 - Cedric Spends An Uncomfortable Night

Dear Griselda,

I hope you are keeping well.

We’ve managed to avoid having any more dealings with Wizards since my last letter. Last week was quite exciting as we got to go on a big boat across the Sea of Stryfe. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but several of the others didn’t. Herman seemed more convinced than ever, that we were going over the edge of the world. Brother Klaus again seemed upset by the food on the boat and turned a strange shade of green before being violently ill at each mealtime. Apparently there was an accident with the boat after we landed, I’ve drawn a picture. Brother Klaus tried to help put out the fire and had his beard singed.


Our quest continues and we are now in Tropilium in the town of Herculepoirotium. It’s a nice town on a bay with a large flat topped mountain behind it. I think Brother Klaus is suffering again, as I keep smelling sulphur.

We met some strange, but nice people yesterday. While out in the market, several people rode in on their ponies, all gaily decked out with ribbons. It was obvious these were important women, albeit from some barbarous tribe. As they circled around one of their horses stood on my foot. I pointed this out to the young lady on the horse and said I would speak to her father, or whoever was in charge of her, when he arrived. She said she was in charge, at which point I laughed and said, "Don’t be silly."

Well, can you believe it? She actually was in charge! In her country things really are run by the women. How strange! Fortunately I have the ability to quickly grasp a situation and calmly talk my way out of things. This is exactly what I did, as we all lay nursing bruises, in the local constabulary cells. The next day we were all released after paying a fine and Barbax Gutripper, the Hykari noblewoman I had spoken to, invited us back to her camp for a meal.

It was strange being served by men, as the women sat and ate, but when in Tropilium …, well, you know. They served a kind of drink made from fermented milk, which was more potent than I had at first thought. When I woke in the morning I found that Barbax had kindly given me her bed for the night. This was a very kind gesture, although it wasn’t very comfortable really. I felt dreadful that morning, as if I had ridden all night.

After thanking them we left to continue our search. All the others must have found comfier beds, because they all looked happier than they had for many months. They all were loath to leave the Hykari and all promised to visit soon. I’m sure you would have liked them too.

Best Regards
Brother Cedric

Cedric travelled to the border country of Treyine near the site of the battle at Snakeye Woods. While at the town of Herculepoirotium he scored a Talk the Talk encounter with a Hykar noble. He beat her by 1 success and chose the extra advancement roll because he had lost one as a result of being rendered out of the fight at the end of last year. When rolling for advancements, he gained nothing but lost 1 point of Hardiness. How did that happen? Oooerrr, is he telling Griselda the whole truth about what happened?

Summer 988 - Once More Into The Dungeon

Goblins are an ever-present nuisance on the border near Alwinton, so Ragnar decided to lead a punitive raid against them for what they were almost certainly about to do. Leading his small band into the border country of Zog-Rot, he soon located the entrance to one of the goblins’ underground lairs. Ragnar quickly gave orders to his troops, formed them up and they entered the goblin lair. Ragnar was surprised that there were no guards or traps present in the outer chamber of the lair; Goblins are sneaky and often rely on traps to discourage their enemies. These goblins were very slack!

As the group advanced further into the lair, Hildigunn disarmed several traps. So, the lack of traps in the entrance was just a ruse to lull you into a false sense of security, eh. Well, Ragnar was not going to get caught out like that.

Eventually they found their way into a large chamber. It was filled with goblins. There was only one thing to do. Ragnar ordered his group to charge. Several of the goblins fell immediately, and their chief did not last much longer as Ragnar charged him. The remaining goblins fired a few desultory arrows, which unfortunately wounded Drogo and Hildigunn but the sight of the huge, red-bearded Mirholmer soon had them running for the doors. This was just as well since a new group of goblins joined the fray shortly after that. Fortunately Gunnvora and Grim were in place to guard the door. They prevented the goblins from entering the room for long enough that the rest of the group could aid them. After this the goblins had to wade through their own dead to reach Ragnar’s people. This was too much for them and they fled. After a thorough search of the rest of the lair Ragnar’s group found little treasure and no more goblins, but they feasted well on ripper beast and mushrooms from the goblins' farm before returning home to Alwinton.

This was a fairly standard raid scenario and is the last of my solo campaign scenarios. From now on Ragnar will be rolling as normal for new scenarios and I hope to include pictures of the games.

Summer 988 - Campaign Progress

Despite their horrendous defeat at Snakeye Woods, Tropilium has immediately launched a new offensive into Treyine. Tropilium national morale has been slightly shaken (reduced by 1 point) but they are still willing to fight.

With Treyine distracted the Ekrans are making unhappy noises about Treyine imperialism but no one else has gone to war yet.

The situation in Summer 988 (click for a larger version):


Armies at war in Summer 988:
Treyine
1 Foot Knight
1 Infantry
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)

Tropilium
2 Legionaries
1 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Auxiliary Archers
1 Slingers
1 Pherros (Level 1 Mage)

All other armies remain the same as they did in Spring 988.

Spring 988 - The Battle of Snakeye Woods

Lord De La Warre surveyed the Tropilium troops as they advanced. He did not fear these mongrels. Their empire was a shambles and they were but a shadow of their former selves. His battle-hardened troops were ready for another fight and were confident from their previous victories. He was less sure about the Ekran and Brethren levies though. Better be careful with them, or throw them into the first assault and rely on the enemy to deal with any issues. Ah well, Saint Lindorf was on their side and there was little he could do now. His troops were deployed with archers on the left and right flanks and the heavy infantry on the hill in the centre. Sir Geoffrey's knights were deployed as a reserve with the Ekran knights and Sir Geoffrey had orders to deal with the Ekrans should they prove troublesome.

The Tropilium troops had deployed on the other side of Snakeye woods with light troops on each flank. This whole southern border of Treyine was a welter of light woods and small copses that broke up the landscape. It made finding a battleground difficult, but it also suited the preferred Treyine way of war.

(Click the pictures for larger versions)


The Tropilium trumpets sounded and the advance began. Lord De La Warre grinned as he saw the enemy enter the woods. Right, he would go to meet them. He ordered his left flank and centre to advance. The right flank would stay put for now. He was uncertain what the enemy cavalry would do so those archers might be needed to hold them off. Meanwhile, behind him, the knights turned to the right and began a march on that flank. What the heck were they doing?



As the troops advanced, the enemy skirmishers soon emerged from the woods on the Treyine left flank. Treyine longbowmen were waiting for them and drove them back through the woods with heavy casualties. First blood to Treyine.



As the Tropilium centre emerged from the woods, Lord De La Warre suddenly realised that there was deviltry afoot. The ground shook under his feet and the Treyine centre was scattered apart. The enemy then ordered a charge. Fortunately for the Treyine soldiers the troops on their right decided that discretion was the better part of valour and chose to remain in the cover of the woods but bitter fighting ensued elsewhere on the edge of Snakeye woods. Lord De La Warre was in his element now. He loved a good scrap.

The enemy cavalry had emerged on the Treyine right flank by now too but the auxiliary cavalry was quickly driven off by bow fire. Sir Geoffrey and the Ekran knights were still parading uselessly around behind the Treyine lines. Without Badenhorst to focus on, Sir Geoffrey seemed to be having trouble deciding who to attack.



After the initial hard fighting, the Treyine troops seemed to be getting the worst of it and their infantry were being driven back, but Lord De La Warre was undaunted. He drove his men forward and, as the enemy was driven back, his men surrounded and killed one of the mages that had sought to aid the enemy. He redoubled his efforts and urged his men on harder.



With the enemy falling back and casualties mounting the battle seemed already won, but De La Warre knew better than to count his chickens before they were hatched. Dropping his shield and taking his sword in both hands he cleaved a passage into the enemy unit and his loyal knights followed. The enemy general soon stood before him. He recognised the man from various diplomatic missions. General Cloddius was a decidedly average man in all respects, but still he put up as good a fight as he could. It was not good enough though. De La Warre charged at Cloddius, who soon fell before the Treyine lord's fury. With the fall of Cloddius, the Tropilium army routed from the field and Treyine was safe once more from enemy incursions.



This battle was characterised by a general inability on Steve's part to roll high on his hit rolls, resulting in not many hits to the Treyine army. He still routed two units of Treyine infantry, the first casualties they have suffered in this campaign, but his dice rolling was terrible just the same.

Steve's progress was slow too thanks to all the light woods I put out. I rolled high for terrain so I was able to place a lot of it. This hampered his efforts to deploy usefully and reduced the amount of time I would have to face the mages for.

The knights in my Treyine army did pretty much nothing for the whole game. I had intended to use them as a tactical reserve but in the end I dithered too much with them and they just paraded around because I never got them anywhere useful.

Finally, Steve's ability to throw 6s at just the wrong moment was evident too. The mages were deployed in the centre with his general's stand and in two turns his best mage and his general both suffered mortal wounds as a result of rolling 6s. Ah well, perhaps he will roll better next time.

Permanent Losses:
Treyine
2 Infantry

Tropilium
General Cloddius (WR 3)
Pharos (Level 2 Mage)
1 Equites
1 Legionaries
2 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Archers
1 Auxiliary Cavalry

Tuesday 15 September 2009

The Tropilium Imperial Army

Tropilium Empire

After years of decline under successive Emperors, things seem to be changing for Tropilium. Following the death of Ferad the Studious, in an unexpected hunting accident, the Empire has been taken over by his cousin Herak the Sureshot. He has set about increasing the size of and re equipping the army, which has suffered years of cut backs.

There have already been several ‘border incidents’ with surrounding countries, several of which were previously part of the Empire. The navies, both merchant and military, have also been boosted, giving Tropilium a presence once more around the coast. There have also been claims, that members of the merchant navy, have been gathering information, on various countries. This is of course a lie, as Tropilium employs vast numbers of spies to do this work.

The Army is lead by the Eagle Legionnaries (centre), flanked here by the heavy cavalry and the armoured archers.

Here are the Auxiliaries and the light scout cavalry.

And finally the support from the skirmishing slingers and the Tropilium Artillery.




Monday 14 September 2009

Spring 988 - An Affair at Alwinton

Upon reaching Alwinton in the Border Kingdoms, Ragnar was relieved to be able to rest a while. Their journey into Zog-Rot had been profitable, but the need to set guards every night and the constant cold weather had been wearing. Now he could relax.

As he lounged around in the pub swilling ale, Ragnar suddenly heard shouts from outside. He knew those noises. They were the shouts of people under attack. Ragnar quickly called his group together. Moving to the window, he looked out to see who was attacking. The innkeeper told him that it was Lord DeVries, a neighbouring lord, who coveted Alwinton’s apple orchards and sought to tax the village despite the fact that it belonged to Lord Beauvriere. Ulf was the first to spot the enemy. He fired and killed the sole archer with this contingent of DeVries’ men. Ragnar led his people out into the street and lined them up. They formed a living barrier across the street, blocking it, and used their new bows effectively to shoot down several of the enemy before they had to grab their spears and shields. As they did so another contingent of DeVries’ men appeared. There were now half a dozen mounted knights and two dozen infantry. Fortunately there were very few archers and Ulf was able to pick them off easily before they could do any damage. The knights charged the shieldwall but it held firm for the most part. Barak and Gunnvora were driven back by one knight and Barak was laid low, but Hildigunn soon came to the rescue and the shieldwall was repaired. The knights fought well, but their palsied leader was not up to leading the charge and Ragnar soon cut him down. At this most of the enemy fled. One brave knight tried to rescue his lord but died in the process. Some of the enemy infantry dithered as they tried to work up the courage to charge. Ragnar charged them first and had cut down two of them before they knew what was happening. The third fled. So it went with the remaining troops. Without their leader they did not know what to do and so they died or fled.

Lord Beauvriere was pleased with Ragnar’s work and granted him the position of honorary protector of Alwinton. He also granted him leave to recruit troops from the village and surrounding farms in return for protecting the village. Lord DeVries, who was only wounded in the fight, now languishes in Lord Beauvriere’s dungeon until his relatives can raise the ransom. After seeing the fight, three of the village guard volunteered to join Ragnar’s band. The group now numbers 9 hardy souls and plans to set out on a raid in Zog-Rot soon.

Spring 988 - Campaign Progress

Spring is largely a quiet time in Talomir this year. Only Tropilium has decided to go to war. Seeing the rapid expansion of Treyine, the Tropilium Empire has decided to invade Treyine and curb the threat that they pose. Of course, it probably helps that the Treyine mage has died over the winter. We can only speculate on the nature of her death and wonder whether the Tropilium Empire had something to do with it!

Only Ekra and Treyine are choosing to use mercenary forces this year. However, a rash of mages has emerged from all over Talomir and many nations have recruited them.

The situation at the start of Spring 988:
(Click picture for a larger version)


Armies at the start of 988:
Border Kingdoms
1 Retinue Cavalry
2 Retinue Infantry
6 Borderers
2 Skirmishers
1 Level 2 Mage

Brethren
1 Brother Knights
2 Brother Sergeants
3 Heavy Spears
1 Peasant Foot
2 Crossbows
1 Peasant Archers

Ekra
3 Knights
2 Infantry
2 Crossbows
The Black Company
1 Level 1 Mage

Goblins
3 Archers
6 Goblins
1 Wolf Riders
1 Black Moon Goblins

Hykar
1 Noble Cavalry
17 Cavalry
1 Jurgen Infantry
1 Level 1 Mage

Treyine
1 Foot Knight
3 Infantry
9 Archers
The White Company
The Spear of Saint Lindorf
1 Heavy Spearmen (Tribute from the Brethren)
1 Knight (Tribute from Ekra)

Tropilium
1 Equites
5 Legionaries
3 Auxiliaries (Mixed)
1 Auxiliary Archers
1 Archers
1 Slingers
1 Auxiliary Cavalry
1 Level 1 Mage
1 Level 2 Mage