With thanks to the almost biblical-sounding quartet of Ed, Mark, Luke, and Jason for putting this post together.
“HOW IT ALL CAME TO BE…” – THE PREAMBLE
Just after Christmas, several members of the Bedroom Battlefields hobby community decided that it would be brilliant to put on a big multi-player game of Warhammer – the kind of thing that would look right at home in the pages of White Dwarf, back in the golden age!
A central location was chosen, with the majority of the interest parties being based in the UK, and community member Mark managed to hire his local village hall at bargain-basement prices – less than the price of a box of Age of Sigmar golden space marines for the whole day 😉.
Jason, Knocker-down of Internal Walls, answered the call to be the ultimate Games Master; not only providing two HUGE 8,000+ point Empire and Orc & Goblin Armies but also enough terrain to fill a 15’ x 6’ table!
Not content with providing sufficient 28mm miniatures and terrain to open his own GW shop, Jason also devised and prepared a fantastic baggage train ambush scenario, ‘Through the Barrow Downs’, that was full of fantasy flavour and fun surprises – all using the fast-moving Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th Edition rules.
With the date set to Saturday 13th April, two more community members, Luke and Ed, jumped on board, travelling to Staffordshire from Yorkshire and Sussex for nine hours of pure retro Warhammer goodness. A day fueled by nostalgia, enthusiasm, packed lunches, some very nice alcohol-free Cava, (courtesy of resident sommelier Ed), and a multi-pack of Frazzles (which GM Jason requested on his rider).
“…AND HOW IT CAME TO PASS” – THE BATTLE REPORT BY JASON STOCKWELL
Entering the Barrow Downs…
Forward scout parties had discovered evidence of massed goblinoids on the main path. They estimated numbers in excess of one thousand…
Engineering guild representatives decided to seek an alternate path through the Barrow Downs. Advance scouting parties were sent out to explore the possible paths and establish their threat levels. Many parties did not return.
Of those that did, reports were made of large, heavily armoured Orcs in massed ranks advancing over the slopes. One long-disused path through the old river valley was estimated to have the least concentration of these foul creatures. But the guild must advance now as the Orc scouting forces had spotted the Empire scouts and had surely reported back. Who knows how many would concentrate their numbers, descending on these valleys in the days ahead? The guild scouts had not completed their work, but time was against the marching column, and a decision had to be made!
Once the column had reached the head of the old river valley, it was suddenly apparent that something crucial had been missed from the initial assessments; in the base of the valley, the river had dried up into a stinking marshy swamp. Fortunately, the bridge was still in place, but the orcs had started to crest the neighbouring hills. There was only one choice that could be made; the guild must dash to the opposite ravine and reach open country at the foot of the dwarf holds.
With Sigmar’s will, the guild could only hope they could do so before reinforcements arrived.
Objective for the Orcs: capture supply wagons and gun limbers.
Objective for the Empire: deny the enemy supply wagons or get them off the board at the north end of the road for victory.
As a pre-game setup we randomly drew out some magic items from the 4th edition magic set, this magic set was the best magic system GW ever produced (in Jason’s opinion) and works brilliantly in other editions too. It was also used to draw for the wizards’ spells. Two commanders per side donned their hats of office and decided on their colleges of magic. Each side had a Level 4 magic user and a Level 2.
Neither side knew what magic the other had until the game revealed it to them during play. Using the old power card system created a great sense of a game-within-a-game with some proper moments of tension waiting for reveals and lots of ‘should I do this now or not’ moments thrown in.
Magical highlights included:
- Double bluffs on power card betting to destroy enemy spells.
- Whole units being rendered immobile through ice storms.
- A thoroughly luckless boyar suspended in mid air for three turns!! He watched his unit of winged hussars run around like headless chickens and get cut down before he was released to run about, narrowly avoiding massed goblin artillery which missed him!
- The giant Cromwell steam tank being raised in the air and held there by the very same spell!
The Empire deployment was predetermined; the Orcs could pick and choose where to send their troops in the respective deployment zones. Tactics would shift radically depending on Orc commanders’ choices.
Other pregame moves included secret recorded deployment of scouts; where were they!?!? Oh bloody hell, they were hidden on the rocks at the end of the paths!!
After deployment, outriders got some free manoeuvres to put pressure on straight away. The warg outriders lept towards the mid-column, forcing a response immediately in turn one. The engineer guild outriders sped forward in the hope of bloodying the orcs’ noses and stemming the tide long enough for the head of the column to get off the bridge and make a proper show of itself.
The wargs did their job perfectly; the Empire minced towards the enemy and missed every shot for two turns in their wild-eyed panic at finding they were utterly useless in real battle. They should have stayed at home for their sakes and, more importantly, for the sake of their comrades’ morale. It was pathetic watching them fail in such a mediocre fashion. They later died out of hand.
But not to worry! The orcs had decided they hated themselves, and a round of terrible animosity rolls (cheers, Luke!) had the effect of showing us one unit of Uruk-hai really disliked the pikes in front of them. They killed the whole regiment to an orc. 👍
Lee, the giant, bravely died on a steam tank and, in his death throes, fell on it to damage its hull quite disastrously.
The head of the column had largely collapsed by Turn 4, but no wagons had been captured. Plenty had been blown up by misfire rolls or by enemy artillery. The only chance for the orcs to gain victory was to capture one of the central war wagons. Enter the valiant Hussite hero, known here as Stalwart Stan, who thoroughly saved the day by being the most impossible nut to crack against a horde of black orcs. Completely improbable defence was made!
In other news, a load of spiders had found the empire surprise of a howitzer hidden in a supply wagon, manned by two arachnophobic halflings!
The rear of the Empire column had finally started to catch up when two things happened: the night goblin reinforcements arrived. Took a look. And half of them ran away! 🤷🏻♂️
The night goblin reinforcements were just about to lure the Empire to turn and face them. BUT! As the Empire came about, the Stargate activated and some strange looking fellows arrived with magic staffs and blasted molten fire upon everyone in sight!
Finally, alas, the elven host sent to scout out this unusual orc activity by their high elven master, stumbled across the beleaguered Empire column too late to aid any victory.
The result was an inconclusive engagement; neither side gained victory, neither side lost everything. The first big engagement of the Wizard’s War has concluded. The dwarfs are unsure if business with the Empire can be as reliable as it once was.
The Orcs had proven their capabilities in war, now the continued advance into the Count’s border territories can begin. Three areas are now under threat from orcish invasion,
- The Norscan sea ports at the river mouth were relied upon for fishing, which fed the populace of the northwestern plains.
- The dwarf mines of Mount Zee-Da-Guld, responsible for the stable imperial mint. Losing this would force the count to dangerously destabilise his currency and many peasants could starve in the resulting inflation. Not to mention the loss in trade from the very miffed dwarfs who expect their mine protected by the counts forces!
- The sacred Temple of Amon Hen is at risk of falling to enemy hands. Such a wealth of ancient artefacts and power would surely be a boon to any necromancer wishing to rob the graves of millennia in the temple crypts. Rumours of armies buried alive long ago exist around that holy place’s history.
To be continued…
“WENT THE DAY WELL?” – REFLECTIONS FROM THE PARTICIPANTS
Jason, Empire co-commander, said, “The scenario turned out very well. It had a few options of tactics for both sides and would allow us to replay it and get a very different game each time. I would try to link up the Empire forces next time, and use the wagons as defensive points to rally around. Weaken the Orc forces then attempt a breakout manoeuvre later in the game to dash a supply wagon or two to the finish line. I found the game thoroughly enjoyable and flowed really well, it was great to meet chaps who like to game narratively and it made it a winning experience of a tabletop battle spectacle for me. I look forward to the next engagement in our tale! The roll out mats from Lidl recommended by Dr Spork are a winner! We used only 5 in this game to make a 6×15 foot board. A 6th mat exists which would give us a 6×18 foot table but we would need more players for that!😉. Finally, sorry I ate all the Frazzles, chaps. They were lovely though!”
Luke, Orc co-warlord, said, “I came to this game not knowing much about Warhammer 6th edition, I haven’t played in years and my hobby time is aimed more toward the collecting and painting side, so I was a little apprehensive about joining a massive game like this! Thankfully Jason was a great teacher/Games Master and pointed us all in the right direction. My first impression of the table was that it was so massive that we wouldn’t have enough men to fill it, but on cue jason produced box after box of stacked units (on movement trays for our convenience!). Ed and I worked together on the side of destruction with an army of Orcs & Goblins. Ed was a great player and a quality team mate, we talked through the options on deployment and his familiarity with the game’s principles really helped me immerse myself in the game. The game was thoroughly enjoyable and watching our miniature army perform pitched battles against the backdrop of an expansive and visually appealing gaming table really made it something special. Some of the highlights (or lowlights!) of the game for me was when the orcs managed to charge their own unit of pikemen (and wipe them out) in a badly rolled moment of animosity; when a stone thrower misfired and all the crew were tragically lost; and then near the end when one of the objective wagons looked like it it could be rallied and potentially give the imperial army a victory point, Ed’s trebuchet performed a superb shot across the table and destroyed it in its thundering tracks. Well, ‘if we can’t have it, no one can!’. Overall it was a great experience with a great group of people, thank you Mark and Jason for inviting me, and I’m really looking forward to the next one!”
Ed, Orc co-warlord, said, “What a fantastic day of gaming. My first time playing Warhammer Fantasy Battle and we went straight to a roughly 8k point massive battle. Thankfully with Jason’s calm and helpful guidance and knowledge of 6th ed WFB the whole day was a breeze. Once the board was built and the armies prepared the teams were chosen. Luke and I both wanted to play the Horde and ambush those measly little hummies! The animosity between the orcs was on display early on as they broke ranks and killed each other before a move could be made. Whilst this internal animosity was prevalent on the table it never came between the players, who all added moments to the battle with the choices they made and the spirit in which they played the game. I learnt the importance of positioning units in the game, that movement can make or break a battle plan before contact with the enemy, that the magic system in 4th edition rocks and that a well timed use of an artefact can turn back even the greatest knights in the realm. I look forward to the next opportunity to play with Jason, Mark and Luke, who all brimmed with enthusiasm for the hobby and were great fun to spend the day with. Sorry I had to cut and run at the end, next time I promised I will stay and help pack up!”
Mark, Empire co-commander, said, “Well. What an amazing experience! This was my first time playing Warhammer for over 30 years, and quite possibly my first time playing by anything close to the rules! Great fun was had by all, and the visual spectacle of this amazing game is going to lodge in my memory for years to come. Who said big games are dead?!”