A knight in Talomir

 A knight in Talomir is a supplement campaign for Warrior Heroes Adventures in Talomir ruleset from Two Hour Wargames, and this is how it starts:

You are Jean de la Roche, a minor noble and knight from the interior lands of Jellway, in the Borderlands in Talomir. You are sitting in the hall of your castle, looking at the fireplace with a glass of spiced wine in your hand, away from the chilling wind outside.

You are warm and safe, but you sorely miss the days of adventure, when you rode through the kingdom helping people from evil doers, exploring dungeons, killing monsters and witches as well as saving damsels in dire need.

So when you heard news of a Great Fair being held in Edhelion, South of Jellway, you quickly saddle up and take the road once again.

Adventure and the possibility of gaining honors and riches awaits you!

So my character is a wandering knight and his first mission is just to take the road and have some encounters along (minimum 3). He is a Rep 5, Star, swordman and with the combat perk "critical hit", and equipped with a long sword and shield, helmet, full chainmail and a war horse and a purse with 6 increasing Rep d6.

As he rides down the road he first meet with a group of pilgrims traveling to visit the Temple of the Amulet of Sorbrowane. They are a caster, a knight, a soldier, a peasant and a sheperd (miniatures are 1/72 soft plastic ).

 

Sir Jean addresses first to the caster (using here the new NPC Interaction chart, Courtly talk). The caster receives him well and barters a vial of mana for 1 Rep d6. Jean then talks with the knight who is very much impressed by his courtly manners; Jean gets an extra 1 Rep d6. He finally talks to the soldier but he doesn't get anything interesting from this simple man. After that, he resumes his travel, ignoring the peasants.

 

On his second encounter he just finds some food that can be gathered. He gains 1 Rep d6.

On his third and last compulsory encounter Sir Jean meets a noble woman who turns to be the lady of lord of a neighbouring castle. Again, Jean impresses the lady with his courtly and refined manners (gets 1 Rep d6), and seeing he has all her attention, he pushes forward to take a quest from the lady, but this turns to be too much for a first meet and she  dissmises him with contempt (loses 1 Rep d6).

 

I was having fun and didn't want to finish yet this first mission, so I went for another encounter in the road as I can have as much as I want. This time it was an ambush of four bandits!

Sir Jean activated first and charged the closest villain who almost thrusted his horse with a spear but was finally slain. Then it was the bandits' turn, and though they attacked the knight together, they were no match for him and were quickly and easily dispatched.

Suddenly, a stone smashed against his shield and turning his horse, he charged at the man with the sling and killed him in no time. Those poor bastards didn't know who they were attacking and paid with his lives. And much more they did pay as Sir Jean found coins in their pockets for a total of 9 Rep d6 plus two magical objects, a potion of vision and the sword of seeking!

 He then happiliy resumed his travel towards the Great Fair and future adventures.

 

The end

This is it, the end of the campaign, the final battle in which Eilif and his king Einar fight an all or nothing battle for survival against the Orcs.

For this battle Eilif has brought everything he could muster from his lands plus three units of Elves, one Mountain Giant and a wizard. The Orcs have also brought all his forces plus four units of big Orcs, three Trolls and two wizards.

I deployed first and then I rolled for the Orcs deployment. I got Penetrate Center, so the Orcs deployed in a very similar way to me, with the shock troops in the centre and cavalry in the wings.

Bottom left, the Elves and one cavalry unit, centre king Einar with his bodyguard (huscarles), the wizard and the Giant, on the right a unit of archers and Eilif' Rangers backed by another unit of cavalry, and finally four more units of Fyrd. In front of them the Orcs deployed as commented and with a unit of skirmishers up front.

Turn 1. Humans 2 - Orcs 6. Orcs don't activate. Humans advance and fire to the Goblin skirmishers. They cannot resist two units of Elves with long bows, one of Rangers and another of archers plus the wizard, and they are all eliminated.

Turn 2. Humans 2 - Orcs 5. Orcs activate first and move forward, then humans charge and the battle is joined.

The Elf archers make one unit of Orc cavalry flee the battlefield and kill a few Orcs on foot. In the centre, king Einar charges one Troll and suffers many casualties, the Giant goes for the Troll in the middle but the combat is inconclusive, the third Troll results wounded but most of the fyrd unit goes down in the process; The Trolls resisted quite well the melee because they had a spell of protection that the Wizard casted on them. Eilif and the archers don't charge but shoot and kill many Orcs. The right flank advances forward unchallenged.

 

 

Same moment from a different perspective. At the bottom you can see the Orc cavalry fleeing from the battle.

Turn 3. Humans 6 - Orcs 3. Humans don't activate and the rest of the Orcs charge and the humans received them in Shieldwall. The evil sorcerer casts a unit of Undead!

The Orc general is slained by the archers in melee as his units suffered many casualtiesfrom bow fire during the charge!

A general view of the massacre.

 The Orcs are already doomed and in the following turn they are finished. Einar charges and kills the wizard, making the Undead unit to disappear, the Giant kills the last Troll, the elves wipe out all the Orcs on the left flank, and the two units of cavalry finish the weakened units of Orcs.

A feast for the crows and new lands to colonise for  Einar and his people!

Happy Christmas!

Giant hunt

After Eilif successfully returning to his king's court with Elf allies, he is commanded by his king to one final quest before the decisive battle king Einar is planning against the invading Orcs.

Eilif is sent to try to hire or recruit one of those legendary Mountain Giants to fight against the Trolls the Orcs are rallying against them. He is allowd to recruit some free men from his kingdom to help him on his quest.

So Eilif Rep 5, AC 4, armed with a Sword of Rage, his comrade Arne Rep 4, AC 4, Sword of Rage and short bow of Seeking, both riding horses and accompanied by two Rep 3 archers and three Rep 4 spearmen, set off on their final mission.

I'm playing a Contact Encounter in which I have to find the Mountain Giant who is being attacked by some Hill Giants in one of their usual territorial quarrels. Basically, I have to help and save him from his attackers.

At the top of the picture there is the Mountain Giant defending the pass to his valley and then four Hill Giants attacking them. One of them has already spotted Eilif and his men at the bottom of the picture.

Hill Giants activate first, the closest to the Mountain Giant attacks him and is smashed against the ground after a few pathetic efforts to win the melee. Other two Hill Giants are on their way while the last one charges Eilif.

This Giant doesn't reach Eilif's men who in their activation shoot arrows to no effect and then charge him.

Eilif and Arne have both extra melee dice for charging on horse and having Swords of Rage plus the numeric superiority. His recruited men weren't so lucky as they were all wiped off like insects.

Finally, it was the Mountain Giant's activation who moves forward looking for some trouble.

In the next turn he is simultaneously attacked by the last two Hill Giants. A fierce fight is ensued in which all the combatants lose some Rep but little else.

Eiflis hurries to help the Mountain Giant before it is too late. The archers can't make it this turn without horses.

There are a few more rounds of combat and the archers finally arrive and add their weight to the general melee. In the end, one Hill Giant is killed by Eilif and the other by the Mountain Giant whereas Arne barely survives with Rep 1 and one of the archers is crushed to death.

So that was all, a short and very fast game in which Einar managed to save the now grateful Giant, and so, bringing him to his side for his king. 

Next there will be a huge all-or-nothing battle deciding the future of Eilif's people as a conclusion of this campaign in which I am alternatively using one ruleset for skirmishes (Warrior Heroes Adventures in Talomir) and another for battles (heavily modified Great Hall Burning), both from Two Hour Wargames.

Road to Lothgolin II

After safely reaching the border of the Elves forest, Eilif and his man dismount and try to sneak behind the Orc patrols to get in contact with the Elves.

This is a Defence Encounter played by the rules WHAT but with at twist. This time both sides, attacker and defender, are moved by the game's AI, and I'll be a third party trying to pass through the Orcs and kill as many of them as I can to help the Elves and have a favourable welcome. Eilif and his Ranger companion will start on turn 2 behind Orc units. Also, the three PEFs will be alrady loaded and resolved.

I am using new rules for weapons, armour and other things such as Combat Perks, Co-Stars, wounded characters, etc. from the supplement for WHAT,Crunchy.

Eilif is a Star and Ranger (dual class), with the Combat Perk Critical Hit, Rep 5, AC4, magic Sword of Rage, short bow and knife.

His companion Arne is Co-Star, Ranger (dual class), with the magic Armour of Protection AC2, short sword, knife and short bow.

All Elves are Rep 4. Archers with long bow, AC2, Marksman (3d6 for shooting). Fighters with two handed swords and AC4.

All Orcs are REp 4 except their leader who is Rep 5; their armour vary from AC2-3-4-5 depending on what they are wearing. The are all Rage (3d6 when charging into melee).

Turn 1. Orcs 1 - Elves 3

The Orcs entering in Lothgolin.

Elves keep their positions and then Orcs charge. Some are shot down but others reach melee and slaughter the Elves.

In the centre they suffer more casualties due to cross fire but they finally reach their target and eliminate it.

A closer view of the massacre.

The Orcs on the left cannot reach the Elves and suffer a casualty while another ducks back behind some bushes.

Turn 2. Orcs 4 - Elves 2

After killing the first Elves, the Orcs charge to another group but this time they are stopped with one shot down, another shocked and a third running away in panic. The one standing is killed later on the Elves activation.

The surviving Orcs in the middle with their chieftain charge the Elves infantry, suffering both sides one casualty each and both holding their ground.

On the left the Orcs finally charge and kill the Elves but they pay the price too.

On the Elves turn Eilif and Arne enter the board behind the Orcs and kill two of them with their bows.

Turn 3. Orcs 4 - Elves 6!

Elves do not activate and Orcs charge. Their leader kills another Elf and the succumbs overwhelmed by the Elf superiority in numbers.

The surviving Orcs in the left flank charge Eilif. One falls before them but the other attacks Arne who is down Out of Fight. Then, Einar dispatches the last Orc and finally meets with the Elves.

 

 The Elves are happy to see them and very receptive. Einar is quickly taken to their lord to who he will speak on behalf of his king Einar for an alliance against the invading Orcs.

But first he is allowed to loot all the slained Orcs. The Elves despise registering Orc bodies and let Eilif keep all the loot. He gets 14 Advance Rep d6, one magic Armour of Agility, one magic Sword of Rage (another), one magic Sword of seeking and one magic short bow of Seeking, yay!

P.S. - I think I should have made Orc groups of eight instead of six. That would have made twice as much as Elves, which I think it would have been more balanced and interesting.

Road to Lothgolin

After a successful diplomatic mission in which  you were sent to the Border Kingdoms to get cavalry to fight the Orcs, your king Einar now sends you to try to talk to the mysterious Elves from Lothgolin for an alliance treaty as they are also under the invading Orc threat .

Three of your rangers volunteer to accompany you and the king provides steeds for all (this is going to be my first Encounter on horses!) so you run for three weeks through the North border of Mirish, passing below Gorath and Bal-A-Tor and towards Lothgolin (see map of Talomir).

In the second week they have an encounter with a solitaire Orc who reluctantly agrees to barter with them but what Eilif wants is information. The Orc either doesn't know anything about the Orcs uprising or he is lying, in any case he decides to kill it just in case. After registering his belongings Eilif gets 1 Increase Rep d6.

They finally reach the borders of Lothgolin and explore the border trying to find a safe route through the woods...

This is a Wandering Encounter in which you have to resolve at least one PEF and then exit through the opposite side of the board. There are three PEFs, and being in Wilderness and in a C Area, the Enemy Rating is 5 and that means that Eilif is probably going to meet several groups!

Lothgolin at last!

Turn 1. Orcs 4 - Mirholme 2.

The PEF from the left doesn't move but the two at the top do and one is resolved as soon as it gets in sight. Eilif and his men hide behind a hill to avoid resolving more PEFs.

The PEF (Possible Enemy Force) is a group of seven Orc Wolf Riders!

In their Activation they move as fast as they can towards the men.

Turn 2. Orcs 1 - Mirholme 6.

Eilif is now Rep 6 so they activate first and move out from the hill and reveal another PEF, a Troll! Then they shoot at the Orcs, killing just one. 

One of the Orcs charges and leaves one Ranger Out of the Fight (OOF). Eilif hopes he's snapped his neck as they don't have time to stop and check.

 Turn 3. Orcs 1 - Mirholme 4.

Eilif and his men try to escape bordering the wood and the last PEF is resolved, a group of eleven Goblin archers! The Troll and the Wolf Raiders pursue them, but riding horses is great to run away from the enemy.

Turn 4. Orcs 1 - Mirholme 3.

Afraid of getting surrendered Eilif and his men turn back and charge at the Wolves, killing three of them and making another one flee in terror.

Then the last two Wolf Raiders charge at them but are defeated. The Troll and Goblins hasten behind the Rangers.

Turn 5. Orcs 6 - Mirholme 3.

The Rangers shoot with their bows at the Troll who seek refuge in the forest, then the gallop towards Lothgolin.

Turn 6. Orcs 3 - Mirholme 4.

The Rangers keep galloping are close to reach the woods of the Elves. A new PEF appears and is resolved. It is a group of two Dwarves.

The Troll keeps running after Eilif and the Goblins shoot at the Dwarves who enraged charge and kill two of them, causing another to flee.

Turn 7. Orcs 1 - Mirholme 2 - Dwarves 3.

The two Dwarves charge again and kill two more Goblins. Chop, chop! The rest can take it and flee in despair!

 

 

Now the Rangers activate and prepare to leave the area but they decide to shoot one last time to the stupid Troll. They miss and the Troll reacts charging at them. After so much pursuing he finally gets them!

Luckily, the Troll wasn't very good and the Ranger could kill it. 

Then Eilif's horse throws him to the ground with so bad luck that he snaps his neck; he is dead! He uses his Star advantage to try to survive and rolls 6d6 but only gets one success and now he is OOF. After that he uses his Extraordinary Effort and rolls one more die with success, escaping unscathed by a hair's breath in the end!

Then the Rangers dismount and together head to where the Dwarves are waiting. They are followers of the Black Moon but the men of Mirholme are Neutral, and more than them so they finally talk with them. Eilif spends 1 Increasing Rep d6 in Sweet Talk and manages to get some information from them, making the ER of the area one point lower. They also offer to barter but Eilif is not interested.

Later they check their fallen comrade but he scores two sixes in the After the Encounter Recovery Chart! He is dead and already cold and stiff.

Finally they loot all the Orcs and the Troll, the Goblins are for the Dwarves. They get a magic Armour of Protection and the Sword of Rage. They also collect 6 Increasing Rep d6 from loot plus an extra 1d6 for a successful mission, but they also lose 1d6 for Eilif using his Star Advantages, 1 for loosing one men and 3d6 in his men wages.