This week the focus was on a narrative game. I'd been yearning to move away from one-off scenarios into something more story driven for a little while. Also, my listening this week consisted of the 'Generals and Napoleon' podcast with its many battle discussions. My mind lingered on Marshal Ney and his rear guard actions, so this is what I tried to recreate in MESBG.
One warband of Arnor had been isolated after a foray into enemy territory to search for a legendary artefact ... weapons from Eregion. Dunland hill tribes had noted their presence and responded to this incursion into their sphere of influence. Thrydan commanded a warband to run them down. The Arnor captain took shelter in a ruined fort as the day waned. He had led his soldiers to the edge of the Tryn Gorthad. Thrydan cajoled then threatened his superstitious hillmen to enter this haunted area. For now, his authority held, but as night drew closer, he knew his warriors would probably flee. He had but a little fading time to slaughter his foes and take whatever was in their possession.
The game revolved around the centre of the table, marked with a ... well, ... a marker ... above. The Dunnish would have 12 turns before nightfall to kill the Arnor soldiers. At the end of 12 turns, whoever contested the centre point with the most men would gain VPs. Arnor had 600 points while Dunland had 700. The Arnor reserves would be delayed, arriving no earlier than turn 3 or 4 - at latest Turn 6.
The Dunnish ran toward their foes from the corners and centre of their table edge. They used some of their plentiful might stores (12) to heroic march.
Two Arnorian rangers in the ruin loosed their bows slaying one hillmen but this only goaded the others to move forward more precipitously.
The Arnorians held the gap in the front of the ruin with stout shields. They prodded at their foes with sharp spear points to drive them back. The Captain readied himself behind the line. Much would rest on his marital prowess and tactical skill this day.
Another group of hillmen moved around to the right of the ruin looking for egress to harm their foes. A flock of crebain flew up onto the wall. From here it could land behind the lines perhaps trapping a soldier, engaging the captain or attacking the less armoured rangers.
Then, a clear piercing horn sounded! Malbeth, perhaps guided by his mystic vision, arrived leading a force of soldiers including two more rangers and, importantly, two knights on swift steeds. The hillmen were not expecting this eventuality. What had their shamen been doing? He had clearly neglected to 'roll the bones.'
Meanwhile, the Arnor warriors still held the ruin. They had surrounded the crebain flock and would hack it apart alleviating one threat. But, there were other cries and squawks nearby. The presence of these evil creatures, with their known affiliations to dark powers, made the brave soldiers of Arnor feel uneasy. To whom would they transmit their foul intelligence? What evil would it bring to pass?
Malbeth had urged his warriors forward to rescue the embattled forces but he had halted when he saw the size of the threatening force before him. To charge heedless of danger would only lead to his doom as well as sealing the fate of the Captain's force. Malbeth halted ... perhaps to gaze possible eventualities.
In order to preserve his dwindling command, the Captain ordered his soldiers to fall back and man an embankment. At this time, the second crebain flock swooped down to block any thought of retreat. The Captain moved quickly to prevent this threat from growing and, with an axe in each hand, cut apart the evil birds.
One forlorn Arnor soldier was left off the embankment and he boldly fended away his foes relying greatly upon his shield. Against the odds, he beat back his attackers.
Finally, in Turn 6, Arvedui, the last king of Arnor, arrived onto the field. He had with him 8 soldiers, 4 rangers and 3 knights. He had only a few moments to decide where to send his forces.
Back on the right, Malbeth continued to hold. Behind the line, Thrydan marshaled his forces with a mix of threats and encouragement. He knew time was growing short and he was eager to dispatch this force - teaching the northern kingdom not to trespass on his land.
The knights would bravely charge into this mass, hoping to thin their ranks and ride back but fortune was not with them. Although Arvedui and Malbeth could manipulate the initiative with their gifts of foresight, Dunland held a considerable advantage in might allowing them to grab hold of the battle tide. After their charge, the knights could not extricate themselves from the swirling melee. Their charge had failed to slay any foemen however, the knights would soon prove to be highly valuable in an unlooked for manner.
Frida of Dunland urged her troops into the action. They were bolstered by the Dunland banner but the Arnorians locked shields together (yes, I know they don't have the shieldwall rule but I'm trying to establish a dramatic narrative here!) and held off their foes. A gradual trickle of hillmen began to fall, pierced by the bright spears of Numenor's heirs.
Thrydan bellowed at his warriors and they ran on baying for the blood of their enemies. The Arnorian soldiers held firm, again striking down a foe or two with each combat. A hillman chieftain increased the threat as did Gorolf - yes, reader, he of the undiminishing force field.
Dunland now struck blow after blow and the Arnorian soldiers fell. The crebain were gone so the Captain waded in stem this procession of losses. The forlorn soldier also still stood and had edged his way up onto the embankment. The day was darkening but heroes arose to stand like a bulwark.
Arvedui ordered his knights to the aid of Malbeth ... he would run to the centre.
Aredui's relieving force arrived on the right. To their surprise, Malbeth's troops had taken little loss. The knights had held back Gorolf and many hillmen through their solid defence. They were aided by the keen perceptions of Malbeth would seemed to prognosticate each enemy blow with unnerving precision allowing many warriors to avoid dark death at the final moment. The hillmen could only gnash their teeth in response to each twist of fate.
The Dunland numbers began to thin. Thrydan used all his persuasion to make their blows more deadly. Bright spears of the north replied and the hillmen poured in more warriors to overwhelm the Arnorian right. The knights still held the line, their larger bases blocked the hillmen's ability to overwhelm their less numerous foes.
With a clear, resounding cry, Arvedui arrived and encouraged his men to surge down toward the objective. The sun had parted the clouds late in the day and recent momentum had favoured Arnor with many hillmen falling. However, the many 'minor' Dunnish heroes were not bowed and fought on. Soon they would enjoy the fickle turns of fate.
Dunland were now very thin on their left. Arvedui's knights now charged and, for so long outnumbered, the Arnor soldiers now held the advantage striking the hillmen with multiple blows. This filled their hearts with courage, victory seemed with their grasp as the morale of the hillmen must surely soon be tested.
The Arnorian banner waved on the hillside and both Arvedui and the captain fought bravely. At first, Arnor held the ascendancy, Frida relied on her fate to save her life and the Oathmaker stood exposed to multiple cuts which could have dealth him death. But Thrydan had chosen this exact moment to turn the tide of battle with his furious charge. His powerful axe blows felled warriors like brushwood. This seemed to bolster the tribesmen who cut down the enemies. The tides of chance once more had shifted.
Malbeth drove his soldiers to quickly cut down the remainder of the Dunland left. Malbeth's prescience had saved many warriors and perhaps won the day. Soon the sun would fall and the superstitious hearts of the hillmen would quail. Amid all this, Gorolf, of the impenetrable force shield, stood his ground unshaken. A Dunnish chieftain slew a knight who had threatened the rear but his momentum was slowed by a ranger who fought solidly.
Then, a lone crebain stole a key lithograph creating a gap in my pictorial tale ...
Dunland, led by Thrydan had scythed through the soldiers of Arnor in the centre. The Captain had succumbed to the blows of Frida. Arvedui knew he must confront the fearsome hillman leader if there was any hope. He had but few warriors to contest the objective although several factors were on his side. The sun was about to dip below the horizon and the Dunnish forces had reached their break point meaning their courage would be tested. He rallied whatever warriors remained and charged back into the churning maelstrom of battle.
And then the unexpected happened. The courage of Thrydan failed and he rode wildly from the field. Afterward, men said he had glimpsed a wight or banshee confronting him with a vision of his own wyrd. In his absence, Arvedui won the day for the northern kingdom. Frida and the Oathmaker remained strong but the momentum had shifted once more, and this time finally. The battle was over as darkness crept across the land. The superstitious tribesmen fell back while Arvedui ordered his soldiers to build fires to drive away the fell spirits of this place.
Any keen minded MESBG player could tell you right now there was a mistake in the final paragraph. With the Oathmaker nearby, Thrydan should not have made a courage test. We got that wrong but it was thematic in the final review. The scenario had worked well, much better than I had thought. It was tense, fun and, i think, looked great. The gods of wargames should have been appeased.
The biggest surprise was that MESBG worked with a 100 point difference between the armies. The terrain and additional rules supported this well. To me this shows the MESBG rules are thoughtful and robust which continues to surprise that I can make such comments about a GW rule set.
I'll sign off there. Arnor and Dunland seem well matched lists that, although anachronistic in Tolkien's world, do produce a good game. It's been a long battle report, which I had to rewrite more than once, due to my failure to update, resulting in the loss of half the report.
Now I just need to think up what will happen next in the narrative ...
No comments:
Post a Comment