I’ve been busy building a Viking force recently, and am very rusty with
kings of War, so i thought i’d have an ambust battle to get familiar with the rules again… but i got carried away.
Kings of War vs2. Battle report. A Kingdom of Men (Imperial Roman) army vs Herd army (Celts with a few Viking thrown in) . Scenario … A Cattle Raid, of course, so there is a Major Victory if the Herd army can steal that plump Herd of Highland cattle penned up behind the tavern in the centre of the market town. The Kingdom of Men get a major victory if the cattle remain within the fortifications. I’ve limited the armies due to the confined streets of the town, so no hordes or legions, but with a proviso that troop or regiment sizes units of the same type can join together to bulk up into bigger units, and visa versa. The fortifications are protected by 3 troops of bowmen, two ballista in the watchtowers and a seige artillery in the top floor of the round tower. The Invasion starts once the Herd units appear out of the dense woods and start to charge across the cleared area towards the town. The two bridges can allow a regiment across unhampered, but anyone trying to the river will only go at half pace. The defenders can shoot on turn one, and will send a fast rider to the main force to request reinforcement. In order to enter the battlefield, each unit must roll a d6. on a 2-6 they arrive unimpeeded, on a 1, they are delayed.
The Kingdom of Men army consists of: two divisions:-
Division One: The Garrison force
Division Commander: An Aquilifer (an Eagle Battle Standard Bearer)
Three troop units of Bowmen
Two Ballista: (Bolt Throwers )
One Seige Artillery ( Onager)
The Second Division: The Reinforcments .
Three Regiments of Militia Mob (Auxillery Spearmen)
Three Regiments of Shield Wall, (Roman Legionaires)
One Regiment of Spear Phalanx (Roman Veterans) with Indomitable Will
One Regiment of Foot Guard with Indomitable Will (Roman Preatorians)
Two Regiments of Mounted Sergeants (Medium Auxillery Cavalry)
One Mammoth (Elephant)
One Hero mounted on horse
One General on Winged Beast (Giant Eagle)
Three regiments of Tribal Warriors
Three Regiments of Tribal Spears
Three regiments of Spirit Walkers (Fanatics)
One Regiment of Centaur Bray Striders ( Light Cavalry)
The Silent Hunt Formation: which consists of two units of upgraded Tribal Trappers and the Tribal Tracker hero)
One Regiment of Lycans
One Great Cheiftain on Minotaur Chariot (The army General)
One Greater Earth Elemental
One Gladewalker Druid with Heal and Surge
One troop of Harpies (Banshees)
One Regiment of Gaurdian Brutes, (Huscarls)
Great Plans of Mice and Men… The only unit that failed to enter from the Northern edge of the forest in Turn One: Celts was one of the two Tribal Trappers that make up the Formation : The Silent Hunt.
As the Tribal Trappers have scout, they would normally be ahead of the army, scouting out the territory in case of guards/traps/pooor terrain, or whatever it is that scouts do so I will put the rest of the Formation 12" hiding in the marshland , and then have them stop, realising that the rear unit didn’t follow. I’ll reroll for the latter , along with everyone else. I hope that makes sense.
The rest arrive on Turn One,:Fasted units first so as to avoid a bottleneck on the bridges. and thankfully the other Trapper unit finds the secret pathway through the marshland after a terse glare from Softhoof herself about wandering off!
Nothing else happened on Turn One Herd as there was no one in charge range, even for the flying units and whatever shooting power they had was out of range. The only spell worth the Gladewalker Druid casting was Surge on the Greater Earth Elemental, moving it forward a further 4 inches.
Turn One: KoM. ( Division One only) With a messenger galloping as fast as he could through the streets to summon help, the small garrison force were, for now at least, on their own, Moving position was unnecessary. and counter productive. It was only a matter of identifying a suitable target and shooting it. The artillery units in the towers were relatively safe, for now, as long as the fortifications kept the enemy out. The only threat to them was the flying critters, and maybe the Earth Elemantal, but the Harpies and the Avatar of the Father, so they focused fire at them. . The Bowmen units opted for whichever units were in clear view, front and centre. However, the suddenness and ferocity of the dawn raid had left them vulnerable. They could either shoot at the onrushing horde of screaming devils, or drop their weapons and close and bar the gates. Said gates, like the wooden walls of the pallisades were rotten in parts, rickety at best and overall poorly maintained. At twice the height of a man, the log walls would certainly hold an attack back … briefly at least, but were more for show that any actual defence. Seige weapons would obliterate them in minutes, as would any troll or giant. In fact, the only real benefit of the fortification was the killing fields that any army would have to run across under a hail of arrows, The river was an additional help, at least from Autumn to Spring, but in high summer like now, it flowed sluggishly and was of no great help.
So the militia bowmen opted for their trusted longbows. With a better range than the Herd’s short bows, they could slow and discourage any half-hearted attack. This morning’s attack was not some bandit raid, but from the look of the creatures still rushing from the trees, this was an all out war.
Despite the KoW ranged attacks rolling a number of 6s to cause Nerve tests, the individual units where spread over a wide area, and couldn’t focus on one or two units to sent them on their way. Added to this was the realisation by the unit in charge of the seige engine that the attackers were close to his minimum range and the engine might have been better used from the hills to the south, rather than the crew getting overtaken and the Herd turning the KoM weapons around and firing at the KoM army with their own engines.
The Greater Earth Elemental took 4 wounds, but shrugged them off, as did the two wounds into the Lycans, the single wound to the Avatar of the Father and even the single wound to a regiment of Fanatical Spirit Walkers.
Despite the KoW ranged attacks rolling a number of 6s to cause Nerve tests, the individual units where spread over a wide area, and couldn’t focus on one or two units to sent them on their way. Added to this was the realisation by the unit in charge of the seige engine that the attackers were close to his minimum range and the engine might have been better used from the hills to the south, rather than the crew getting overtaken and the Herd turning the KoM weapons around and firing at the KoM army with their own engines.
The Greater Earth Elemental took 4 wounds, but shrugged them off, as did the two wounds into the Lycans, the single wound to the Avatar of the Father and even the single wound to a regiment of Fanatical Spirit Walkers.
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Turn Two : part one, The Herd army attack the fortifications. With only limited Ranged attacks, and being fleet of foot/hoof/ Paw, the Herd army raced across no mans land, hoping to limit the rain of arrows and artillery that had rained down on them. TheTribal trappers slowed to a walk in order to shoot up at the KoM Bowmen, but at -1 for moving and shooting and a further -1 for their fortified position, the Bowmen remained unscathed. The Gladewalker Druid cast a heal spell on the Greater Earth Elemental, and the Lycans also healed wounds, before assaulting the troop of bowman on the western gate.
Only the fleetest reached the enemies fortified positions: The barrier hampered the werecreatures somewhat, but they did deliver 3 wounds, which was enough to Waver the unit of bowmen.
Only the fleetest: the Centaur Bray Striders crashed into the lightweight barrier blocking the eastern gateway, and despite the barrier hampering their efforts, they still managed to rout the unit of bowman behind it, before continueing into the town without breaking stride. They galloped passed the Battle standard Bearer, knowing that the infantry units behind them would make short work of him.
The only other units to charge were the flying squad; Harpies flying into the watchtower to charge the Seige Engine, whilst the Avatar of the Father pounced on one of the smaller towers, and the Ballista within. (From my understanding, the artillery peices within fortifications don’t suffer the usual 3 times roll as if being attacked from the rear, but i still deducted -1 from the to hit rolls for the assaulting flyers on top of this) Despite these restrictions the Harpies inflicted three wounds on the Seige Engine and the Avatar of the Father did 4 wounds and inflicted a Wavered result on the Ballista.
Turn Two : part Two Kingdom of Men’s turn. Two units didn’t arrive for the Kingdom of Men, One Shield Wall and the other was the Foot Guard. Perhaps they had broken into fisticuffs about who should cross a bridge first, or they had slept in. We may never know.
The rest marched as fast as possible whilst maintaining good order. The Mounted Sergeants at the fore, with the Mammoth not far behind, their orders were to secure the cattle, and they got as far as the southern most wall around the field.
This left only the remaining units of the Garrison Force to hold the enemy back for just a little longer to give time for the reinforcements to arrive. They were doomed, they knew, but they might make the invaders pay dearly for their raid.
The one unharmed Ballista targetted the Earth Elemental again, and again managed a wound, even forcing it to take a nerve test, but it rolled 5+ 6 rather that a double 6.
The less said about the rest of the garrison, the better.
At first glance, it doesn’t look good for the Kingdom of Men. Unless the Gods intervene, the garrison force will be wiped out this turn. However, the General of the Kingdom Of Men is not overly concerned. He still has his full force marching in from the hills, including his elite regiments … and a Mammoth! The few troops of militia bowmen and some artillery units have done their job in delaying the enemy and allowing the Herd to fall into his cleverly crafted trap, (Or at least that is how he will report it to the King).
Turn Three : Part One: The Herd run amock. The infantry and cavalry units within the Herd army pushed through the breach in the Eastern Gate and farther into the town. Finding the road blocked with other units, the Spirit Walkers attacked the crumbling walls around the easternmost watch tower that held the unharmed Ballista, and it started to collapse (Even needing natural 6’s to damage, they still did 3 ‘wounds’ .
The Battle Standard Bearer had charged the Great Cheiftains Chariot in the KoW turn 2, but failed to even scratch the paintwork. With a vicous counter attack, the Cheiftain was unfortunate not to kill the Standard Bearer (Snake Eyes on the re-roll for nerve) .
The Lycans routed another unit of bowmen and charged into the town, leaving the Western Gate open for the rest of the Herd Too.
The Harpies finished off the Siege engine, and the Avatar of the Father did likewise to the other Ballista. With the last troop of bowmen on the Western flank charged and routed by the combined formation of The Silent Hunt, that left only the battered Standard bearer still fighting fit, if barely, from the Garrison.
The last man standing sounds great in theory, but The KoM Battle Standard Bearer’s attempts to bring down the Great Chieftain and his minotaur chariot were far from Inspiring. He’d have done better hitting the chariot with a teddy bear, whilst all around the Herd units run passed, ready to pillage the town.
Meanwhile, the reinforcements arrive, but are a tad late to the party. Nevertheless, the real battle is not at the fortifications, and never was. It was always about the herd of prize cattle behind the town’s inn, and both sides were now in sight of the prize.
On the western side of the town, the Silent Hunt, as well as the Avatar of the Father , having wiped out the two units of Bowmen and one Ballista on that side, were almost at the field, and they had moved close enough to see the foremost Mounted Sergeants racing down the hill towards them. The regiment which had been late getting started had jostled ahead of the other regiment of Tribal Trappers by a fraction, but that was all the Sergeants needed. They charged down to block their way, hoping to ride over the unit. However, The Silent Hunt proved to be tougher than expected . But the reckless charge had caused the Trappers to Waver, as well as making space for the other unit of Sergents to close the distance and offer support should the other Trappers opt for a flank charge into the combat.
Other than that, it had been a cautious turn, as the infantry units, Mammoth etc. marched forward towards the central part of town.
Turn Three : Part One. The Herd streamed through the town with little or no resistance. As expected, The Greater Chief on his Minotaur Chariot slew the Battle Standard Bearer, claiming his Eagle as spoils of war.
The second of two regiments of Tribal Trackers in The Silent Hunt flank charged the KoM Mounted Sergeants, along with the Tribal Tracker herself. They tore chunks out of the cavalry, and only a roll of snake eyes saved them being routed, (So far in the battle two snake eyes and two double sixes had been rolled, all told.) In other scuffles, The Avatar of the Father flew at the General on Winged Beast, but failed to rout him. Finally, the Harpies claimed the Cattle, herding them up ready for the race home.
Turn Three: Part Two Kingdom of Men. Reinforcements start to attack in force, saving the town from the ravaging Herd raiders. It’s a shame that everyone is already dead, but hey! Don’t get caught up on the minor details. The Cattle are still in their field, so the General’s plan is still on track.
With a double charge of a regiment of Spear Phalanx (Veterans) and Militia Mob (Auxilleries with Spear ) charging the Centaur Bray Striders together, they did just enough to wipe them out. Likewise, the Mammoth charged the Harpies (Banshees) and did enough to Waver them.
The Sergents, came to the rescue of the General on a winged beast and together, took out The Avatar of the Father, whilst the other unit of Mounted Sergaents finished off the slower regiment of the Silent Hunt.
So this is what the Battlefield now looks like:- Only one regiment of Tribal Warriors left to cross the bridge, and a few units left clambering over the remains of the fortifications. On the Western side of the town the Softhoof the Tribal Tracker and the remaining regiment of Trappers are left facing two units of Mounted Sergeants, plus a hero on a horse, and a General on a Winged Beast. However, these same units are about to get flank charged by a regiment of lycans, and hot on their heels are the Greater Earth Elemental, and the Gladewalker Druid pushing it along with his Surge spells, along with a Rgiment of Tribal Spear and Gaurdian Brutes. The road along the Eastern side of the town is also cluttered with multiple infantry regiments of Tribal Warriors/Spears and three regiments of Spirit Walkers, and behind these is the victorius General on his Minotaur Chariot.
For practical purposes, i opted for the following rules regarding moving the herd of cattle.
Once a unit comes into contact with a cow, the cows, (I’ll avoid using the word Herd as it might get confusing) cluster together and can be moved around, but cannot do double speed or chargeing, nor fly. Also, when they cluster together, both gates open fully to allow ease of access.
Therefore, once the Harpies landed in the field, the cows clustered together behind the Harpies. The Harpies, being Wavered, opt to directly back for a half move, away from the Mammoth out of combat and north towards friendly units. Their passage through the gate howeever is hampered by the Lycans who opted to attack the General on his Winged Beast, leaving the The Silent Hunt to deal with the seriously damaged front Regiment of Mounted Sergeants. Rather than charging, the Silent hunt opted to pincushion the cavalry unit as even one wound might be enough to finish them off. If the cavalry survived, and charged the Silent Hunt, they would face not only the Ensnare problem but also a d3 damage from the Deadly Snares trap that the formation gets.
On the western Edge, it is pretty crowded, but the follow up after killing the Herd Centaurs has left one regiment of Militia Mob in the woods and fully visible to the Tribal Spears regiment that was waiting in there, and another unit of Militia had enough visible on the road to also be charged by a regiment of Tribal Warriors.
But before we get carried away… Spells and shooting, (The lycans are not carrying wounds so don’t need to regenterate this turn. )
The Surge spell moved it 5" forward, which was insufficient to reach any enemy.
The Bowmen fired on the cavalry, and only managed one wound out of a combined total of 14 dice rolled, However, as it already had 9 wounds and was now ten wounds, anything but another Snake-eyes and it was gone. Even with the mounted hero beside them, they couldn;t pull of a second Insane Courage roll, and they went down for good this time. despite the awful shooting .
so I will put the rest of the Formation 12" hiding in the marshland , and then have them stop, realising that the rear unit didn’t follow. I’ll reroll for the latter , along with everyone else. I hope that makes sense.
