Elsewhere on this blog, I posted part 1 of this battle. The report ended with a photo from my opponent’s view at the end of turn 2. This picture is showed below again. As you can see, the wolfpacks on the far right (of this picture, far left from my side of the battle) have been routed or chased away, while the center line advances on the undead battleline.
Jarvis could barely control the soul reavers that were ready to run at the enemy battle line. While the Vortex formed in the center of the battlefield, most of his undead waited paitently, their impatience left behind when they died. The vampires, however, wanted nothing more than to rush into the fray, lusting for battle.
Turn 3
Player’s note: I forgot to take pictures this turn, there is no turn 3 picture.
“The Vortex is forming! Hurry, or all is lost!” snarled Veritia to Jarvis. “No” replied the Necromancer. “There is time still and we cannot allow ourselves to expose part of the army. We must wait!”
Jarvis commanded the zombie troll regiment on the far flank to charge the giant, bolstered by the magical powers of the Vortex as the channeling roll increased their nerve! The skeletons advanced enough and turned a little to make room for the vampires for future charge lanes. All other undead advanced enough to be in charge range against the clansmen, but kept enough distance not to be charged themselves.
As the wolves on the far left cowered behind the tower, both the mounted revenants and the skeletons on the hill turned sideways away from them to face the the major battleline. Hilda did likewise, the towering monstrosity looming over the undead horses directly in front of her. Both wizards and the catapult had no clear line of sight to the wolves, so they unloaded their spells and flaming skulls unto the closest horde of clansmen instead. The clansmen raised their shields and stubbornly walked on, undaunted by a few dead bodies left in the grass.
The melee was unimpressive. The dead trolls cut a few gashes in the frost giant’s legs, but the massive creature barely noticed.
Likewise, the reaction from the Northern Alliance general was conservative. The units defending the centre consolidated their hold, inching slightly backward to get out of the vampires’ immediate threat. On the far right (from my side), the frost trolls moved through the forest to support the giant next turn and the thane advanced enough to be able to support any one unit when it would charge. On the left, the wolves finally saw room to move out as opposing forces moved away. The beast sharply turned right and ran as far as they could, facing the edge of the board.
The giant thumped his club into the undead trolls, but they were as unfazed as the giant himself. Being dead does that, apparently.
Turn 4
As the Vortex slowly formed, Jarvis drew all available power unto the battlefield and formed into a surge of speed! “Now, GO!” he empowered Vertia’s soul reaver company with extra speed and unleashed them on the enemy clansmen. Immediately he issued a number of commands in swift succession, the tendrils of his necromancic energy set most of his units in motion, leading to a massive clash in the middle.
Players’ note: the above picture shows yours truly in the process of moving charges. The skeleton horde charged the trolls in the forest, the revenants the 2nd unit of clansmen. As it turned out, the distance between the zombie troll horde and the rightmost unit of clansmen was slightly under 12″. The vampires with increased speed due to the channeling roll could reach the clansmen too, so they faced a dual charge from the two most dangerous undead units.
While the undead raced (supported by magic if need be) into the enemy line, the magical prowess from spellcasters supported the fight. Jarvis healed the zombie trolls facing the giant and Lucienne cast her blizard on the thane, dealing a little bit of damage. The balefire catapult fired at the wolves and missed.
Unable to reach any enemy, Hilda trudged on to behind the two attacking units, her aura damaging the already sorely pressed clansmen. The skeleton troop on the hill was duly commanded turn once again, facing off against the wolves.
The following melee was as predictable as it was deadly. The zombie trolls wounded the giant again and the skeletons failed to make an impression after a charge through the forest, doing only a very small amount of damage. The revenant cavalry performed admirably , dealing some damage to the clansmen they were facing. The other horde of clansmen could not brace themselves in time for the vampires’ lightning onslaught. If not killed by a vampire, they were slaughtered by the horde of undead trolls, so the result was pretty brutal. Over a score of the clansmen were torn to shreds on the spot, the few remaining ran for the hills.
The destruction of the clansmen created a ripple of panic throughout the Northern alliance forces, for who could stand up to such a destructive power? Both the other horde of clansmen and the giant wavered in the face of such a foe, leaving the Northern alliance thane only limited options facing this onslaught. Instead of savouring the destruction, both the vampires and the trolls turned towards the remaining Northern Alliance units in search for more blood.
Player’s note: The nerve checks at the end of my 3rd round were very unlucky for my opponent. Not only did the clansmen rout (predictably, they had 18 or 19 wounds) , but both the giant and the 2nd horde of clansmen wavered on rolls of 9 (giant) and 12 (clansmen)
While most of his army panicked, the Northern Alliance thane did not. He ordered his wavering clansmen back to reform and used the opening to charge the mounted revenants himself, pressing into their flank with gusto. The wolves on the far flank turned around an marched up slightly, hoping for an opportunity for a rear charge. Moreover, the winds from the Vortex caused Hilda to lash out to all friends close by, damaging Jarvis, Veritia’s company and the trolls in equal meassure.
Finally, with an ear-piercing scream, the strange goat-riding skald charged the skeletons on the hill. Not that he did a lot of damage, he did pin them down where they were. Of course, Jarvis could use his surge-magic next turn to let them charge the wolves, but was there no better use for the magic instead?
The view of the battlefield at the end of the Northern Alliance 4th movement phase.
The following melee showed that the Northern Alliance army was not done for, not by a long shot. The thane destroyed the revenant cavalry convincinly and the trolls begin disassembling the skeletons with gusto. Futhermore, the positioning of the thane protected the snow trolls’ flank, keeping the safe from unwanted attention from the vampires.
The battle turned out not to be finished yet. The two undead heavy damage dealers still remained unharmed and the Northen Alliance thane would need to seriously do something about them to snatch a win.
Here is the battlefield (from my perspective) at the end of turn 4.
Turn 5
The Thane’s defiance in destroying the revenant cavalry made Jarvis consider his options. First of all, Lucienne drew power from the Vortex and a sudden flow of magic surged into Hilda. The Varangur chieftainess forced into an undead monstrosity started to glow brightly with power. With a cry of bloodlust, she hurled herself into the Northern alliance thane, limbs trembling with unearthly power.
Player’s note: the channeling table gave me an option to give a single model +5 attacks. What other good model to pick than Hilda? Suddenly, she grew into a d6+11 attacks undead monstrosity. It helps when one rolls a “5”, so she gets to attack 16 time this round!
With the thane taken care off by Hilda, both the Vampires and the undead trolls charged the formerly-wavered clansmen. They were already wounded, so dispatching these would be easy, right? Slightly south, the skeletons remained in combat with the frost trolls, the undead trolls with the giant and the troop of skeletons on the far hill would try to kill Clarion.
As all other units were in combat, both Jarvis and Lucienne blasted their magic at the wolves once again, aided by a glancing hit from a flaming skull. The wolf pack left a few dead, but were otherwise unimpressed.
The forthcoming melee wasn’t as deadly as expected. Though Hilda tore into the mounted Thane with gusto and soon the field was covered with blood and gore as expected, other parts of the army didn’t do as well.
Veritia and her soul reavers seriously underestimated the resillience of the clansmen. As eager for slaughter as always, they found their attacks met by a locked shield wall and most of their attacks were met by sturdy wood instead of flesh. The zombie troll horde fared no better, and while no one can stand up to a regiment of vampires and a horde of undead trolls unscathed, the clansmen held on against alle expectations.
The skeletons again failed to make an impression. All things considered, one cannot expect a bunch of animated bones stand up to a frost troll. Once again, the undead trolls beat the giant a few times, but this time the monster did not cower.
<- Player’s note: a picture of this turn after the melee phase
All things considered, the fall of the Thane did not hamper the Northern Alliance forces as all units stood ready for the counter-attack. That said, wounds were piling up and they must make their impression soon!
As the Northern alliance forces rallied, the Vortex empowered them too! The clansmen, having withstood both the Vampires and the Zombie trolls took out their frustration on the zombie troll horde and reduced them to a heap of dismembered body parts! While some parts still moved, they were in no condition to continue the fight. Likewise, the frost trolls finally destroyed the skeletons. The poor giant, however, could not damage the regiment of zombie trolls enough to destroy them.
On the far left, the tundra woves ignored the war machine and skeletons and marched closer to the center to bring their unit strength to bear if the game should end next turn.
-> Player’s note: This is the end-of-turn-5 picture, the clansmen are in the process of reforming after having destroyed the zombie trolls.
Turn 6, the wrap up
Time was running out for Jarvis. Fortunately, enemies were also running out! The Vortex made the Frost giant lash out in confusion to the frost trolls, wounding one more of them. After that, Hilda charged their front (sadly, not being able to surge into the flank due to good positioning) and wounded both of them again with her aura. In melee, she wounded the already wounded trolls quite a few times more and she did what the skeletons could not. Tired of fighting, the trolls refused to fight this monstrosity anymore and ran away from the battlefield.
Veritia and the soul reavers again charged the clansmen and made good for their lackluster performance last round. Soon, the only thing remaining was a heap of entrails and a handfull of running refugees. The vampires once again did what vampires always do.
Both wizards and the balefire catapult once again targeted the wolves. This time, seeing the carnage elsewhere on the battlefield, the wolves wavered. likewise, the giant wavered (again!) from his unending combat with the zombie trolls. This time, wavering was pretty good, as a “6” was needed for a rout.
Still, with only two units remaining, both of them wavered, the Northern alliance general conceded. The Vortex belongs to Jarvis this time.
Epilogue
Jarvis pulled the unconscious body of the Northern Alliance thane from under the dismembered body of his frostfang. Using a bit of necromantic magic to heal the warrior, he spoke:
“This battle was not needed. I do not bear you any ill will, but I need to go into the Abyss.” Jarvis stressed the ‘need’ part. He continued: “My Research requires that of me. And I made a promise to those who follow me. I am sorry for what we did to your force”
The Thane tried to focus his eyes on the necromantic scholar as Jarvis continued: ” Please refrain from contesting this Vortex. If you do that, I will not pursue your forces. Some will have survived, you can probably find them lingering in the hills. Be wary though, because the Abyss is close. “
With these words, Jarvis gathered his troops and contined towards the Vortex.
Vince on all things Kings of War 