Here at c0wabunga towers our second Warhammer Renaissance campaign is underway. Like the first campaign, it is played loose but tight… just like Led Zeppelin. We improvise the story against a backdrop of our choosing.

The story so far

The Chaos Lord Kreothul had been constantly eyeing the southern lands below the Chaos Wastes. He wished bring his armies south to reclaim the Dark Throne which resides in the mountains north of the Troll Country. In the Battle at The Skalle Pass, however, Kreothul was called to fight for the powers of Chaos somewhere else and his whole operation was surrendered to the Dragon Ogre Shars’ka.

Orin’s Brew

Every year the Dwarfs south of Karak Skag-Arak prepare a mighty October feast and the centrepiece of the feast is brewmaster Orin’s brew. Tradition has it that the Dwarf king and his men set out to bring back the brew to the keep. This year was no exception, but as the Dwarfs were busy prepping and the Runesmith was making sure that all the ancient traditions were followed correctly the towering figure of a half-dragon half ogre appeared on the horizon. The Dwarfs could not believe the audacity of the invading tribesmen and especially when they saw that Valdemar the Red was riding along them, they were filled with even more disbelief. The small bearded ones quickly mounted a defensive position at the brewery and wanted to guard the ale with their lives.

Scenario

It is an uphill struggle for the Dwarfs. They have to protect the ale from falling into the hands of the forces of Chaos. There is no time to move it all, and hence they must instead completely deny the Chaos forces in touching base with the objective. If any unit from the Chaos army gets in contact with the ale, it is spoiled and Chaos is awarded the objective. This is obviously a tall order (oh dear) for the Dwarfs, and hence it will be very difficult. The forces deployed 12” in from each long edge with the Dwarfs defending a small cluster of building close to some hills.

Armylists

The battle

The Chaos forces had been joined by Arkmett The Terrible since their last outing. This is quite standard, as soon as invasions start to mount… champions and miscreants from all over flock to the cause!

Another newcomer was Valdermar The Red, who had decided that the Lords of Chaos were most likely the future and threw in his lot with those.

Opposite them the stout Dwarf Hammerers and a the Dwarf King on a Throne of Power awaited patiently.

Patience did not describe Shars’ka the Dragon Ogre Lord’s tactics. He charged headlong at the forefront of his army. Arkmett the terrible was just as eager to spill the blood of the enemy and both of them directed their attention towards the Hammerers and the bolt thrower next to them.

It was a brief struggle. All the Hammerers were cut down and the two leaders rampaged onwards. Arkmett struck the bolt thrower and Shars’ka bellowed as he ran 15 inches forward in an overrun move.

The Dwarf bolt throwers had no luck in shooting, and only managed two take out a few Chaos Hounds with the Thunderers who had climbed into the tower. Meanwhile Arkmett had mauled the bolt thrower crew and Shars’ka had crept around the back to aid the Maruaders who were headed straight into the Dwarf King’s Ironbreakers.

Much to their own surprise Valdemar’s riders were suddenly imbued with the power to breathe fire (Gift of Chaos, S4 flamer). The magic flames failed to do much damage though – perhaps aiming was too fickle for the shocked horses (the gift doesn’t hit automatically, but only on 4+).

The thick Dwarf armour was too much for the flail wielding psychos. They ran off to get another run at the unit.

This allowed Arkmett the Terrible to charge into the Runesmith while the Axecutioners took over from the Maruaders.

The Runesmith fought bravely but in vein. The Eye of the Gods (Chaos Gift) was upon Arkmett and his power was only rising (+1 A). The Runesmith was mowed down like weeds before a scythe before tunneling into the ale wrecking all the barrels all over the place.

The Dwarf fared better against the Warriors and Dragon Ogre. The Dwarf King curled his moustache and then called out a challenge to the mighty beast. Shars’ka scoffed and roar “Come get some!”. The Dwarf King then proceeded to cause 21 wounds (8 attacks, 2+ to wound, each wound becomes 1d6 wounds) on the Dragon Ogre Lord, toppling him instantaneously. The battlefield went completely still.

Then Arkmett overran into the Ironbreakers but there was no way to get the Dwarf King out of his throne (2+ armour save, 4+ ward save). All the Ironbreakers were killed, and eventually the Dwarf King triumphed, but it was a Pyrrhic victory as the battle had been lost.

Conclusion

Super fun battle! My Dwarf opponent had somehow picked the perfect unit (Throne of Power) for a scenario he didn’t know he was playing (I hadn’t actually disclosed it beforehand). The game was a Victory for Chaos, but it really felt more like a draw. A last turn rally for the Chaos Warriors, Maruaders and Chariot was pretty important in this aspect. Of course busting the barrels also helped.

Impressively the Highking stood against, the Maruaders, The Warriors, The Minotaurs (which I completely omitted from the above), Arkmett and the Dragon Ogre Lord. Phew! We didn’t really know if the Throne counted towards rank bonus, but just assumed that it did. Of course I didn’t bring any magic, and no shooting either so that probably accounts for some of my predicaments.

Next in the campaign we will look to other dealings in Norsca, repercussions of the ongoing Chaos invasion. I have also purchased Mantic’s Armada game, so I will tie in some naval fantasy games in this campaign if all goes to plan.