We both knocked up an entry level warband, with Giles going
for an enchanter, whilst I randomly selected a witch (one Polda Nils and his
lovely assistant Daybee Magii). My witch warband consisted of a knight, two
archers, a thief and four thugs. In addition to our bands, Giles brought along
a selection of wandering monsters which we could roll for on a D20 if required.
I decided on the Worm Hunt scenario from the main rulebook,
but replaced the worm with a giant (mainly as an excuse to field my giant
model). We brought enough scenery that we could comfortably carry from the
carpark to the venue – a mix of scratchbuilt stuff and some of Giles’ Warhammer
scenery to showcase the various options available to a newbie wargamer when it
comes to terrain.
In the first game, Giles and I played against each other,
but were prepared to step aside of any of the casual observers during the day
decided to have a try. Both warbands deployed and advanced, with my wizard and
archers forming a firing line atop a ruin, temporarily joined by a
treasure-collecting thug.
This attracted the attention of an ice spider, which
scuttled on the table edge to my left, perilously close to a couple of my thugs
that were moving towards a treasure chest on a nearby ruin adorned with
dragons.
In the centre, Giles’ purple-clad enchanter urged his band
forward towards the treasure, only for his templar to be brought down by
combined bone dart and arrow fire.
Alas the sound of battle attracted a wandering greater
demon, which flew into the field directly behind my warband! My thug managed to
push it away, despite being treasure-laden, allowing my apprentice to leap him
off the board to safety.
In the centre my knight clobbered an enemy archer. With my
firing line established I decided to whittle down any chance of my opposite
number replying in kind.
The enchanter was nabbing more than his fair share of
treasure by judicious use of the telekinesis spell, so I sent my fastest
soldier, the thief, forward to disrupt his plans by attacking his apprentice.
Meanwhile the thugs on my left finally reached the treasure
on the dragon ruin, only for it to pop out of existence – damn fool’s gold!
They vented their frustrations on the ice spider, which had
been wandering around aimlessly while everyone tried to keep out of it’s line
of sight.
By now all of the treasure had been claimed – Giles had four
while I a paltry two. Time for the giant to stomp onto the field! After rolling
to decide what free table edge to come in on, the giant lumbered towards it’s
nearest target, a treasure-carrying thug from the enchanter’s warband (who’s
apprentice was still locked in a struggle with my thief).
Meanwhile the wandering demon behind my lines lurched up to
attack my firing line, wounding one of the archers. Hopefully they would be
able to defeat it before it got to my wizard!
The giant squished an enemy warhound as both sides came to
terms with this new threat. The area became a swirling melee as the enchanter’s
apprentice was reinforced in his battle with my thief while the giant swatted
it’s way through the soldiers.
My thief was vanquished, but so was anyone who had the
misfortune to be targeted by the giant. The enchanter decided to cut his losses
and began to withdraw with his treasures. But one was dropped by a squashed
thug. Could I claim it from under the giant’s nose and even the score?
The giant blatted the enemy apprentice and then turned
towards my knight and the enemy treasure hunter, who were by now locked in
combat. He stopped and scratched his head in puzzlement as both combatants
promptly killed the other!
By now the errant demon had clawed it’s way past my archers
and was slavering after my wizard. He raised his staff but was unable to
withstand the creature’s attack!
Now wizardless, the two thugs that had worked their way
along the flank from the dragon ruin came up with a plan. After drawing lots,
one of them distracted the giant so that the other could run up and grab the
last treasure.
But it was not to be! The retreating enchanter cast one last
spell and blocked off the treasure with a wall spell. The final chest was out
of reach and the giant quickly dispatched the thug. Thus the game ended with a
win for Giles – three treasure to my two, though the real winner was the giant,
who would dine well that evening!
Time for lunch and a quick wander around to check out what
other people were playing. Next to us was an X-Wing game that drew many
admiring onlookers, whilst in the main room, much intrigue was in evidence at a
Game of Thrones game. Check out
Giles’ blog for a more in-depth look at the
proceedings.
On to game two, where we badgered an innocent passer-by into
trying out the game. He took over Giles’ enchanter while I played again with my
witch.
Both warbands advanced and took some early treasures, which
brought on the giant much sooner than the last game.
Alas the enchanter was a little absent-minded this time
around, picking up a treasure which was in fact the fool’s gold he had cast
beforehand!
On my left flank, his warhound menaced my archer that was
covering that side of the field from a ruin. A lucky shot through the doorway
felled the hound. My other archer took up residence in the high tower to my
right, giving him unrivalled views over the area.
An enemy thug in the giant’s path wisely made himself
scarce, leaving my apprentice to be the next on the monster’s to-eat list. The
poor girl desperately swung her weapon and… I rolled a 20! A critical hit! It
wasn’t enough to kill the giant, but it bought me some time.
I sent the nearest thug to assist the apprentice. Dodging
the giant’s blows he lunged… Another 20!!! This comfortably felled the giant,
which now only posed a threat if it’s corpse landed on anyone when it fell.
In the centre, the enchanter watched as his templar moved up
to protect him from my advancing knight. As they slugged it out, both fighters
became wounded, but it was the knight who fell first, despite being reinforced
by my thief.
On my left, things were relatively quiet, but this changed
when an armoured skeleton wandered into the fray. A fog spell kept my troops
out of sight, but the wounded enemy templar found himself facing the creature
after a push spell sent him flying into it’s path.
A push spell, I might add, cast by his boss (being in
essence a shooting attack, we randomised the target, as the templar and thief
were in combat). This left the wizard to face the thief alone.
Another push spell from the enchanter’s apprentice saw the skeleton
scudding through the fog to attack one of my archers, who had left his position
on my left to protect his master. My wizard also cast another fog spell just in
case.
Despite taking wounds from enemy archers, my warband was now
closing in on their opponent. The thief earned much kudos by slaying the
enchanter, before teaming up with a thug to steal a treasure from their
opposite number.
They didn’t have it all their own way however, as the
opposing warband fought back, downing a thug and wounding my apprentice with
point-blank shooting.
They even nearly managed to kill my wizard, who, having
avoided the armoured skeleton, was taking cover when he got hit by an arrow.
Luckily his (recently healed) apprentice was on hand to provide cover with a
fog spell.
With the last stolen treasure off the board the game was
over – 4-2 to me but more importantly fun and enjoyment on both sides (I think
we made at least one convert,). Unfortunately we couldn’t stay longer, as more people trickled in while we were packing up, but it was an interesting
experience hosting my first demo/participation game in a public setting. Well
done to the organisers of the day and here’s to the next one!
