Dark Elf Incursion: Defense of Marienburg!

Stronzo wrote:

So much atmosphere! I really like your reports/fluff stories dude keep 'em coming

Thanks! Glad you guys like them. Having this narrative between each battle has been a real creative outlet for me. It's actually pretty cool how the events of each battle manage to unfold in a story-like manner, and it's been a lot of fun coming up with the fluff afterwards. Now, the big question for me is, where to go from here? 6 days and counting... better get the ol' brain working again.

No detailed report this week (job search and other projects left me pretty exhausted yesterday), but there were definitely some good battles! Kudos to Boyos for putting more content into this thread. Logan's Cultists managed to rout my Witch Hunters in a heated battle (decided to field them instead of my Reiklanders this week) that left a newly-hired flagellant dead. All of his heroes managed an advance, and he earned a sizable amount of loot.
Travis' undead have proven to be Equal Opportunity Employers in regards to new additions. In the last three battles, he has managed to raise a Reiklander Marksman, a Dark Elf Fellblade, and an Orc Big'Un as zombie Henchmen! Bobby's Dark Elves are still going strong, but with the loss of his best close-combat warrior, it will take some time to find a suitable replacement. (They still have possession of the amulet though, and I should have its storyline worked out better after the 4th of July Holiday.)

Uriah Blackblade paced in his tent back at his warband's campsite. It was taking longer than anticipated for his Sorceress to harness the power of the amulet, and he was getting impatient. There was no way he was returning to the Black Ark without unlocking the secrets of the amulet, lest an assassin's blade put a quick end to his glorious future. He knew well the treacherous nature of his kind, as well as a general lust for power. He had even employed these same tactics to rise to his position... Added to these complications were the harassing attacks of the Vampire's forces. He had lost his best Fellblade to them, and now the prospect of facing his corpse in the future angered him greatly. The amulet had made them a target. Every greed-fueled band of mercenaries and killers in this region would be looking for them, but it did not matter. The amulet's power would be his, and he was not going to let anything stand in the way of his ambition.

Necromancer Toth sank heavily into his chair. The raising ritual always took its toll, but he could not help but gloat as he looked over his newest specimen. The elf corpse was much more slender than a man's, but belied a speed and agility that impressed even him. The Orc he raised two days before was the opposite: Crude and slow, but immensely powerful. They both made excellent additions, much like the marksman from the week before, whom Toth could thank for the dead elf, if he had any inclination to do so. Not that it mattered. Elf, Orc, Human... death claimed them all, and he could take from death what he wanted. The thought made him almost giddy. Downing the last of his goblet of blood-laced wine, he allowed himself to finally rest a bit. Little steps towards ultimate victory. That was always the way, and he had all the time in the world.

Once again, time constraints, job searches, and painting have prevented me from giving detailed battle reports, but before I had to head out tonight, I did manage a game against Scott's Orcs. Rolling a "Breakthrough" scenario was perfect for the narrative, as the Reiklanders race back to Marienburg to warn the city of the threat that is coming. All that stood in there way was an Orc Warband eager for a fight. The new Youngblood they hired to replace their fallen Marksman Hero proved to be near-useless, as he served only as a crossbow-bolt magnet. He was quickly dismissed after the battle when a much more effective replacement received a well-earned promotion. Scott's Orcs really took it on the nose during the battle, losing two Henchmen and their Leader! Seizing the opportunity, the most effective Orc shooter took control of the warband after the battle.

Captain Von Kriegstadt breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He and his men had traveled through hardship and danger to reach the city as quickly as possible to warn their employers of the danger that awaited them all. Roth's death was a bitter loss that had affected them all, and his replacement, a shifty-eyed beggar boy by the name of Dieter, was a disappointment to say the least. The Orcs that stood in their way had been routed, and now, hopefully, their path to Marienburg was clear. Casualties had been light. Hans was alive, though the bolt had left a nasty-looking scar across his face, and Friederich, one of his Halberdiers, was dead, having sacrificed himself to keep his Captain alive from a heavily-armed Orc. Once the gear had been secured from the dead, he motioned for his men to form up and get ready to move again. Accompanied by one of the hooded marksmen, Kailan approached the Captain.
"Dieter's missing," he said with a look of contempt. "Once Hans went down, the coward didn't have any more fight left in him. Bastard wasn't even worth his cheap price."
"Forget him," said the Captain. "We're better off without a deserter anyways. Is this the shootist that brought down those two Orcs?"
"Aye," replied Kailan, stepping aside as the tall hooded figure moved closer. Small, slender hands shouldered the crossbow and pulled back the hood to reveal a woman's face. Her blonde hair and sharp facial features were strikingly beautiful, but her stoic expression was one of a professional soldier. The Captain motioned for the two of them to follow as the rest of the warband gathered the rest of what they had scrounged. "You impressed me today," he said, "and we've been needing a good shooter since Roth died. Think you're up to the task?"
"Absolutely," replied the woman. Her stern expression softened at the thought of her promotion.
"Good," said the Captain with a wry smile. "It's settled. Once we get back to the city, your first flagon of ale is on me. May I have your name?"
"Starker. Juliana Starker," she replied as she pulled an axe from the dead hands of one of the Orcs. Kailan nodded approvingly as the rest of the warband closed in. Despite the urgency of the situation, Juliana finally allowed herself to crack a smile. The tall, lithe woman turned, and began to march shoulder to shoulder with the other officers. Together, they all began the long journey back to Marienburg.

So have you guys slowed down in getting games in as well as reports written, or have you been just not getting it written down? The campaign was going pretty good there for a bit.

A bit of both. With my painting taking up a pretty large chunk of time, as well as job-hunting for full-time work, getting the battle reports in has been difficult. The campaign is starting to wrap up, with about 3-4 more battles before our climax, which I'm still working on. We've been trying to get in games when we can, but there have been lots of distractions of late.

Yeah we normally meet on Wednesday, last week was the 4th so holiday for us, this week we were busy playing arround with malifaux. I'll post my half of the battle report tomorrow, busy at work tonight. Haha! With some good pictures. Sadly Boyos is dead, but hix stepped up to the leadership roll, taking out 2 crossbow men from 30 inches away.

Uriah Blackblade could hardly contain himself. Despite hardship, death, and near-constant harassment from his Vampire nemesis, he and his warriors had finally reached the coast. With the amulet still firmly in his possession, and his Enchantress having recently unlocked its secrets, he was ready to make his final push on the human city itself. No force had assaulted Marienburg in centuries, and with good reason. Despite the ferocity of his warriors and the power of the Black Ark, the Sea Wall defenses were too strong. That was all going to change now. The amulet once belonged to the High Elf seafarers of Lothern, and their sorcery had harnessed the power of the sea within it. Now, with it's power, he could use the ocean as a weapon itself. Motioning for his warriors to follow, he headed for the beach, and the small vessel that would take him back to the Black Ark. He had plans to put in motion, and no one was going to stop him.

Well, after a very hard-fought battle, Bobby's Dark Elves managed to pull off a successful Breakthrough scenario against Travis's Undead. Despite pouring dozens of bolts into the Vampire and his forces, the shots proved ineffective, and vicious close combat ensued. Eventually, the undead were driven back, allowing the Dark Elves to escape to the coast, with their prize in tow. Now the other warbands really have their work cut out for them., and will be looking for ways to counter their powerful foes!

Hopefully I'll be able to do some more detailed reports next week, but if you check my High Elf Army WIP thread, you can see I've been a little busy lately!

After too many setbacks to name, our campaign has finally come to a close! In proper cinematic fashion, we decided another 6-player brawl was necessary, as the power of the captured Dark Elf amulet has drawn all factions for one final showdown!
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Bobby checks over his warband list: he made sure to spend every last bit of gold he had for this one! I made sure the entire table had plenty of terrain.

Uriah Blackblade shifted in his saddle to survey the ground before him. The southern gate which led to the human city was flanked on three sides by ruined buildings and a marshy quagmire of swamplands: perfect for the amulet's corrupting influences. His sneering smile was met across the way by a signal from the Orc warband he and his forces had bested a few days prior. In exchange for the return of their captured war-chief, they had grudgingly agreed to aid them in this battle, though he could only guess as to how long that loyalty would endure. No matter, once this area was cleared, the forces from the Black Ark would attack: the pitiful defenses of the humans would be overwhelmed, and he could return to Naggaroth as a conqueror. Just one final step...

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The Reiklanders set up to defend the southern gate!

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While Travis sets up his Undead on the Eastern side. Bobby's Dark Elves managed to infiltrate further than expected, and took the South-east ruins.

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Scott's Orcs enter from the Northeast.

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Nathan's Skaven come in from the North, and Luke's cultists come in from the west. To Battle!!

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Bobby moves his forces to take up shooting positions in the ruins, as well as face the undead on his flank.

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The Reiklanders move to defend the gate with the shooters, and move the close-combat fighters closer to the invaders.

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Luke moves his Cultists as fast as he can, though he ends up being too close for comfort to Nathan's Skaven, and ended up losing one of his bretheren to a stone from a Skaven Sling!

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Scott moves his Orcs through the wooded marsh towards the center.

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Travis and Bobby get to an early start with combat, and Bobby decided now was the time to unleash the amulet's power. For the rest of this round, until the start of his next turn, all shooting ranges were halved, and any model moving through a water terrain needed a 2+ roll on a D6. On a roll of 1, that model is OoA! This really hampered Scott's Orcs, who were nearly all in the wooded marsh! Luke's cultists made it through without loss, but my crossbowmen would have to wait to take pot-shots at anyone that got too close!

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The Reiklander's Warlock and two henchmen are taken Out of Action from Dark Elf spells and shooting!

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Despite the losses, they press on, taking out a Dark Elf shooter from the tall ruins in response.

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Luke moves his forces forward, and calls a temporary truce towards the Reiklanders, not wanting to be shot up by the crossbowmen on the wall he was in front of.

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While Nathan does all he can to avoid the water!

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All of Scott's Orcs that were not in the marsh moved in closer to the center to get the fighting started!

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With Orcs on his right, and Dark Elves on his left, Travis's Undead move as quickly as they can towards the center. Since Bobby was concentrating all his shooting on the Reiklanders, the Ghouls and Vampire had an easier time, though a Ghoul Hero was wounded by a Reiklander crossbow bolt.

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Nathan and Luke continue to harass each other as they make their way towards the center.

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Scott's Orcs spot the Reiklander Swordsman Hero and move to intercept!

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Seeing that the Undead and Orcs have taken the bait, the Reiklander Hero and his Duelist sidekick make for the protection of the shooters on the wall. The center was about to become a killing ground...

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The Skaven and Cultists move to intercept the Orcs and the Vampire, much to the confused delight of the Reiklanders!

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Having lost their Ogre and a Corsair to the Reiklander assault, as well as their Beastmaster to the Markswoman Hero, the Dark Elves press on, taking the fight to the Reiklander Captain and his top lieutenants! Losses are heavy on both sides, as no faction expects mercy or quarter...

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Lukes cultitsts hold off the Vampire, while the Skaven charge the Orcs!

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The Skaven Assassin also charges the Reiklander Hero, and Scott then takes down several rats and cultists from some dead-eye shooting! Among the dead is the Possessed fighting the Vampire! As the Vampire had already taken several wounds from Reiklander shooting, this was very fortunate for Travis, but Luke was FAR from happy...

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The wounded Vampire backs off, and since the rest of his forces were shattered, Travis routs. Combat resulted in the Assassin being dispatched by the Reiklander Hero.

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The Reiklander Captain and his two Champions are taken Out of Action, though the Dark Elves lost another henchmen and their Warlock suffered another wound in the process.

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Bobby's shooting turns to the Orcs (Dark Elf treachery indeed!) knocking down two of the greenskins!

By this time, my Camera's batteries had died, as well as my hopes of continuing, as I failed my rout test! Luke also routed, leaving the Skaven, Orcs, and Dark Elves to fight it out. The next few pictures were taken from Bobby's camera phone.
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More Greenskins are knocked down or stunned by the Dark Elf shooting, but none are taken Out of Action!

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The last giant Rat charges an Orc Big'Un, while the Orc Chieftan takes out another with his crossbow!

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The Skaven Rout, and with nearly all Scott's greenskins on their backs with the remaining Dark Elves pressing in, Scott fails his rout test! The Dark Elves claim victory, and this will spell certain doom for the city, as the signal is given for the assault from the Black Ark!

Captain Werner von Kriegstadt awoke painfully upon a mule-drawn merchant cart, along with the bruised and bloodied remains of his warband. Most were still alive, though Marcus and Hans were conspicuously missing, along with the two new halberdiers he had hired before the battle. The old hedge mage that had traveled with them these last few weeks was also gone. Kurt was still unconscious, a large bandage engulfing his head.
"Rest easy Captain," he heard as Kailan's mailed hand squeezed his aching shoulder. "We're safe for the time being, though I can't say the same for those poor souls we left behind..."
"The city?" the captain asked weakly.
"There wasn't anything we could have done," Kailan responded, his voice choking to hold back the emotion. "It was all Juilana and I could do to get you and Kurt out of there. With Marcus's bad leg, he couldn't keep up..." his voice drifted and the young warrior turned away. It was too much for him to face his Captain in this way.
The Captain drew in a deep breath, and then rose painfully from the cart to stand and march with the remains of his men. The pain would go away soon, as it always did, and he knew that in this demoralized state, the sight of him up and moving around again would give them all hope. Marienburg was a hard loss to swallow, but there would be other battles to fight; other enemies to kill. There always were, and next time he would make sure they would all be ready for it.

Exiting reading! Good stuff, and nice amount of pictures to go with it

Excellent battle report and ending fluff. I've really enjoyed following the exploits of your groups warbands.

Thanks Stronzo and VK! Doing these narratives after our battles has been a lot of fun for me, and I'm glad you guys enjoy them. Our Wednesday night group will be taking a bit of a break from Mordheim, but I've got a new campaign in the works that we'll start around September or October. Battle Reports will be forthcoming for those too!