So we just startet a new campain in my gaming group, and I thought I would try a new warband too.
I think the skavens are very "Mordheimy", and no one in the group has been playing them so far. So I placed the old witch hunters on the shelves, and startet assembling some rats fra mainly the night runner sprues, and from my friends bitz box.
My starting warband looked like this (as I recall it):
Assassin Adept - sword & brace of warplock pistols - 140gc
Black Skaven - sword & sling - 52gc
Black Skaven – sword, sling & buckler - 57gc
Eshin Sorcerer (gnawdoom) - Spear - 55gc
Night Runner - club & sling - 25gc
Night Runner - club & sling - 25gc
4x Verminkin - club & sling - 100gc
3x Giant Rats - 45gc
Total - 499gc and 13 members
Warband Rating: 109
I know warplock pistols was a bit deluxe, but they are rather hard to find later, and with the leaders BS4 and
Perfect Killer they would come to good use I hoped.
The first game was a multiplayer against all the four others of the group. Dark Elves, Gunnery School of Nuln, Sisters og Sigmar and Dwarf Treasure Hunters. And we rolled a normal skirmish.
The Sisters started out spamming 15
sling wielding nuns at me. I guess thats a taste of my own medicine.
The dark elves and gun school came at me on the other flank, and so i
cunningly routed in 3rd turn.
Even though I had all my 6 heroes for seaching, I rolled pourly, and with heavy permanent loses, it was very bad income. I did though mannage to boost my numbers to 15 with giant rats.
The new list looked like this (as I recal):
Assassin Adept - sword & brace of warplock pistols
Black Skaven - sword & sling
Black Skaven – sword, sling & buckler
Eshin Sorcerer (gnawdoom) - Spear
Night Runner - club & sling
Night Runner - club & sling
3x Verminkin - club & sling
6x Giant Rats
Warband Rating: 128
I really wanted to have bought lucky charms and rabbits feet for my heroes, and maybe a holy relic, for not routing so soon, but the fund was not sufficient...
The next battle was a 2-player vs gun school.
We draw opponents at random, after complete post battle sequence (so that that you cannot prepare for a specific enemy).
We rolled the chance encounter, and I got to set up first.
His warband includes a very deadly marksman sniper group, so I choose the deployment zone, that would give him the worst sniper positions, and then deployed in good cover with all my rats.
His Marksmen was positioned very close,to my rats, and very far from his other men, and I eyed a chance to get up and personal with them. But it included a slightly daring jump over gaps, with a 10” drop. And since I choose to roll 6's for the first 3 rats to make the jump (taking 2 of them OoA), I choose to skip the plan, and just hide and wait for his heroes, who where advancing towards me on street level. I lost another rat to his shooting allso.
With all my focus on outmanouvering his heroes, and staying out of sight of his marksmen, I actually mannaged to make him split up his heroes, and I was just ready for a ”sure-win” ambush on his leader, when i lost the last rat needed for the rout test.
And so, once again, secreting the musk of fear, and make safe return to the lair, with one hero and 3 henchmen out of action, and no warp-loot from the scenario.
I did however get good (average) income from the exploration, despite having only 5 dice.
My hero recovered, but must miss the next battle, and only one of the henchmen (a giant rat) died from the injuries.
On xp-advances, I had level up with my night runners, and just my luck, they rolled LD and I respectively.
My verminkin allso advanced, but rolled A. A really nice advance for a henchmen group I think.
I bought a lucky charm, some rabbits feet and a toughened leather. And I bought another rat for my verminkin group.
So my list currently looks like this:
Assassin Adept - sword & brace of warplock pistols – lucky charm, rabbits foot & foughened leather.
Black Skaven - sword & sling
Black Skaven – sword, sling & buckler
Eshin Sorcerer (gnawdoom) - Spear – rabbits foot
Night Runner - club & sling
Night Runner - club & sling
4x Verminkin - club & sling
5x Giant Rats
Warband Rating: 139
After next battle my black skavens and sorcerer are sure to advance, so I'm looking very much forward to that. I allso hope to afford more charms, feet an leathers for my rats. Just to give a litle more protection.
My long term goals are to get eagle eye, pistolier, knife fighter and throwing knives for my assassin, art of silent death and fighting claws for a black skaven, and then I relly want to try out the blowpibe with the other black skaven, probably with eagle eyes and trickshooter.
My sorcerer will use his skill advances for spells mainly i think.
And then i just strive towards maxing out my numbers.
I'm still considering saving up for a rat ogre, but I don't really know about that.
My next battle will be a multy-player vs all the others. I'll be back when it's done.