The Ironfang Pirate Fleet In Duskhaven

Duskhaven was a safe port amidst the treacherous misty seas of Ulgu. The sea around Duskhaven is called Okkam's Reach - a notoriously difficult area of ocean to navigate and there have been many shipwrecks along the coasts around the port. In the Age of Myth the Governors of the island exacted high tolls from passing ships and this of course meant that many smugglers were attracted to operate there as there was a potential to make a lot of money by avoiding the tax. When the Age of Chaos came a Verminous fleet, with typical skaven brilliance, tried to conquer it but only managed to destroy and poison it.

In the Age of Sigmar the forces of Chaos have withdrawn from Duskhaven to fight the Stormcast elsewhere. The port is now a den of thieves and murderers amongst the mist wreathed ruins and ales houses of the Duskers. Remnants of a once great city reduced to clusters of survivors foraging in the gloam.


~~~

Godfather Viktor and I are starting another mini-campaign (you can see the last one here The Crowmoons Adventures Through The Mortal Realms).

This one is set in Ulgu, The Realm of Shadow. We played the first "warm up" game today. I will be selecting my force each game from the Ironfang that I have so far re-based for Age of Sigmar. Today's game used a small number of the Chimeras - Orruk Corsairs from Hysh. Viktor used the Grudgebreakers - Duardin, Human and Ogor Pirates.

We used the Throne of Skulls: Clash of Empires (Download the PDF here).

We rolled Break Through on the "Laurels of Victory" table, so both of us could earn 1 Laurel for having 5 models or more in enemy territory at the end of each Battle Round and 1 Laurel if there were no enemy in our own territory. Viktor was the Underdog, as I had a Martial Strength 11 higher than him, so he could get 1 Laurel of Victory for achieving each of the Underdog Deeds.

~~~

The Black Bridge

After arriving in Duskhaven via the Gloomgate, to investigate the rumours of a growing Smugglers' Port there, the Chimeras encountered a Duardin Pirate crew. The Orruk Corsairs outnumbered the Duardin so the pirates decided to focus on the Corsair leaders in the hope of breaking the larger force by "cutting off the head of the serpent".

Gudrun 'Blackbeard' Kargasson led his entire force of Grudgebreakers forward, using his Inspiring Presence while Ishmael the Battle Wizard cast a Mystic Shield over the Pirate Lord. The Chimeras did exactly the same and the gap between the warbands disappeared in seconds.

Kaptain Sinbag called a Waaagh! Huge Ahkman banged off a pistol shot at Gudrun and winged him. Everything in the Chimeras warband except Weird Khaaan the Shaman and Huge Ahkman, his Ogor Bodyguard, charged and crashed into the Duardin battle lines.

Kaptain Sinbag immediately attacked and finished off Captain Gudrun and the Black Orruk Big Boss, known as Big Uluc, hacked down Cargo, the Grudgebreakers' Ogor Maneater.





Ishmael ‘s Chain-Lightning fried a few of the Chimeras and the Slayers took down a huge number of them - the rest fled.

The Grudgebreaker Slayers turned on and wounded Sinbag but he survived their assault, fending off many of their wild blows. Badbad the Troll raised his huge fist and smashed Ishmael, the Battle Wizard to a bloody pulp.



Sinbag, roaring and laughing, took down three more Slayers in triumph and the Chimeras managed to push the Duardin out of the harbour district.

~~~

We had only managed to play 2 complete Battle Rounds in just over an hour but as I had earned 2 Laurels and Viktor had only earned 1, I got the Major Victory result.

(Sorry about the awful quality of the photos!)

It is nice to see a ghost of the old Sartosa, miss the place, I do.

Quote :

We had only managed to play 2 complete Battle Rounds in just over an hour

Are you playing Lunchheim?

The art work at the beginning of the piece might find its way to the Karribean... Great find

Duskhaven is the new name for the Vercuso scenery when used for Age of Sigmar games

We aren't playing Luncheim as such - more "Lunch of Sigmar"! It plays much faster than Mordheim, and we both really enjoy the freedom it gives us in terms of models and game play

Feel free to steal the art - I did!

WbK wrote:

We aren't playing Luncheim as such - more "Lunch of Sigmar"! It plays much faster than Mordheim, and we both really enjoy the freedom it gives us in terms of models and game play

Says the guy who reports they only got a couple rounds in in an hour...



Have fun mate!

Yeah, can you imagine how much we would get through in a slower game!? (and don't forget the after game sequence).

We do use larger forces than starter Mordheim warbands and we probably chat too much...

The Battle Reports are WONDERFULLY colorful affairs with some truly GORGEOUS miniatures. GREAT STUFF!  

The Shadow Cracked
The Summoning - a home-brew Battleplan written by Viktor to play out the story he imagined while reading my Djinn summoning story (above).

Objectives
4 turn limit
Major victory for Witch Hunters if they kill the Djinn Binder before he summons the Djinn.
Minor victory for Witch Hunters if they kill the Djinn Binder or the Djinn.
Major for the Chimeras if they kill the Witch Hunter general and summon the Djinn.
Minor for the Chimeras if the Djinn, the Djinn Binder and the Witch Hunter general are all on the table at the end of the game.

Deployment
The Djinn Binder and one unit in the center, all other Chimeras models move onto the board from their table edge during turn one movement phase
Witch Hunters deploy within 6" of their table edge
Chimeras get first turn.

Witch Hunters
Pieter van Toorn - Witch Hunter General
Wilhelm Glaübig - Warrior Priest
Ludwig Mannhaft - Witch Hunter
Penitent Brotherhood - flagellants
Mandred and Magnus - Griffhounds

The Chimeras
Kaptain Sinbag - Orruk Warboss.
Weird Khaaan - Orruk Great Shaman.
Big Uluc - Black Orruk Big Boss.
Fat Gedik - Orruk Boss
Razkhadhim - The Djinn Binder (Sorcerer Lord of Chaos)
Irthaluk the Traveller - Djinn (Herald of Tzeench)

~~~



As Irthaluk the Djinn flowed smoke-like out of his brass bottle, and the echo of his deep booming voice rolled around the square, the Witch Hunters led by Pieter van Toorn appeared out of the darkness. The dour Templar saw Razkhadhim the Djinn Binder call forth a daemon and reveal himself to be a sorcerer in league with the Dark Powers - he ordered his acolytes to destroy both!



Realising that the Djinn Binder was threatened, Kaptain Sinbag ran to aid him with Weird Khaaan, Big Uluc and all the orruks he could muster in a few moments - 10 Boyz, including Fat Gedik.





The Penitent Brotherhood of Flagellants fell upon the Grots who had gathered around the Djinn Binder to gawp at the summoning. Five were cut down in moments and the sixth fled for his life.



Warrior Priest Wilhelm Glaübig swung his Sigmarite warhammer into the Djinn but the spirit became vaporous for a moment and the hammer passed through his smoky form.



Van Toorn and Glaübig leapt at the Djinn with holy blades and pistols and banished the creature - Irthaluk’s howling frustration could be heard long after his form evaporated into the mists.. The Witch Hunters turned on Razkhadhim.





The Chimeras arrived and swarmed round the Binder, cutting off the rest of van Toorn’s retinue. Kaptain Sinbag was blocked by the vicious Griffhounds - he cut one down and wounded the other but could not get to the Witch Hunters and stop them attacking Razkhadhim.



The Flagellants exacted a heavy toll on the orruks but the Corsairs held them back from the Razkhadhim. Both Witch Hunter and Witch Hunter General attacked the him but the sorcerer survived and focused all his energies - he called forth powers of the otherworld to imbue him with unnatural strength and skill - he wielded his dagger and staff with deadly accuracy and felled Pieter van Toorn.

~~~

A Major Victory for The Chimeras!

Cool little fight!

Storm of Flames
Throne of Skulls: Clash of Empires (Despair and Slaughter)

Tendrils of mist swirled around the harbour, clinging to the ruins like the tentacles of some kind of ghostly sea creature. Eddies and currents in the air opened pockets of clearer visibility at random. The Chimeras explored the waterfront cautiously, looking for van Toorn’s Hunters.

The corsairs felt that Pieter van Toorn and his Witch Hunters needed to be taught a lesson about who was boss, right from the start. The Witch Hunters had decided that the Orruk Corsairs were heretics that needed eradicating due their association with the Djinn Binder. So when they next met neither side was going to give the other quarter.



The Corsairs advanced and took up position behind a fence, just in case the Witch Hunters had brought some long-ranged weaponry with them. Razkhadhim lurked in a ruined building and summoned his bound Djinn, Irthaluk the Traveller, who appeared on the far right flank of the Witch Hunters’ line with a building between him and the Warrior Priest Wilhelm Glaübig.

The malignant air spirit raised his hands and Pink Fire scoured the Penitent Brotherhood, followed swiftly by an Arcane Bolt from Khaaan and then further Magical Flames from the Djinn.



Their numbers whittled down, the Flagellants were then subjected to a howling charge by the Chimeras’ crew.







Kaptain Sinbag and Pieter van Toorn squared-up to exchange blows - both parried each other’s strikes for the most part but Sinbag landed one or two hits.





The Witch Hunter’s Ogor Maneater ploughed into the Orruk lines, and smashed a couple of Corsair’s heads in. Sinbag cut down van Toorn.

Big Uluc and Weird Khaaan caught up with the rest of the warband as the last of the Corsair crew fell, Uluc and Sinbag piled into the Maneater and brought him down. and the Shaman met the charge of the last survivor of the Witch Hunter band - a combination of magic and steel took the Priest out of action.



~~~

Major Victory to the Chimeras.
The Chimeras had earned 4 Laurels of Victory, while the Witch Hunters earned only 2 Laurels, so even if they had not wiped out the Witch Hunters the Orruks would have won.

Have you ever noticed that battles most often take place where two or more boards meet?  

DeafNala wrote:

Have you ever noticed that battles most often take place where two or more boards meet?  

According to some WW2 infantry commanders something similar happens in real life too - they said most battles are fought where the fold in the map makes it difficult to work out where you are.

Thunder In The Darkness - Duskhaven Campaign, game 4
Throne of Skulls: Clash of Empires (Break Through)

Sinbag scratched his goatee beard as he peered through his spyglass. There wasn’t much of the city visible in the low light but there was definitely something moving through the ruins. He slowly panned across the vista of broken buildings. He stopped suddenly - there! Between the quays and the waterfront warehouses a small group of Duardin were moving something heavy on a wheeled carriage. More Duardin joined them from a side street and started heading towards his roof-top vantage point.

He turned to Weird Khaaan and said “What d’you fink? Shall we try the big smelly ladz out?”

“The keys that open doors are the keys that close them, and the keys in chains have nothing but the drama of tinkling.” said Khaaan.

“Right. Yeah, there’s that I suppose.” said Sinbag. “Let’s gather the crew and see if we can clear this lot out of our territory.”

~~~

Badbad and the Sea Trolls were herded forward by Sinbag, ahead of the other Chimeras, they lumbered along oblivious to the hammering they received from cannon, handgun and crossbow - one of the Trolls fell and the rest hardly noticed.





The Duardin Pirates advanced slowly, pouring a withering bombardment into the Corsairs’ lines.











The Slayers crashed into the Trolls, just inside Chimera territory and took down one of the brutes.



Sinbag roared and the Orruks joined in his guttural warcry. They counter-charged the Slayers and swept them away.



The cannon spoke again and all but annihilated the Orruks, keeping them out of Duardin territory and reducing the Orruk warband so that they could not hope to contest the ground. The Corsairs fell back from the battlefield knowing they could not win this day.

~~~

The Duardin earned 2 Laurels of Victory for having 5 or more models in enemy territory at the end of a round. The Orruks could have earned 3 Laurels the following round, but the cannon reduced their total numbers below the 5 model mark needed, so they only earned 1 Laurel from keeping the enemy out of their territory at the end of the next round.

2:1 - Major Victory to the Grudgebreakers.

YET ANOTHER GOOD LOOKING BATTLE! It's another fight at the junction...of four boards that is.  

Stolen Swords
Trial of Champions Battleplan:





We had to take it in turns to deploy each Hero no further than 12" from another model and at least 6" from all other models, starting with one in the centre of the board (in a building that had been placed there, just to make DeafNala happy ).

I had:

Kaptain Sinbag (Orc Warboss)
Big Uluc (Black Orc Big Boss)
Weird Khaaan (Orc Great Shaman)
Razkhadhim - The Djinn Binder (Sorcerer Lord of Chaos)
Irthaluk the Traveller - Djinn (Herald of Tzeentch on Disk)

Viktor had:

Dwarf Pirate Captain Gudrun 'Blackbeard' Kargasson (Dwarf Lord)
Dwarf Pirate Engineer
Pirate Captain Gregorius Pecker (Empire General)
Pirate Wizard Ishmael (Empire Battle Wizard)
Long Drong (Dragon Slayer)









The Chimeras got the initiative in the first turn and the Djinn cast Blue Fire of Tzeentch and then fired Magical Flames at Captain Kargasson, then charged him. Big Uluc charged the human Pirate, Captain Pecker. Sinbag charged Long Drong. The Dwarf Dragon Slayer was the only one to die but lots of wounds were dished out all round.





(Viktor got the initiative in round 2, so got two turns in a row, but fluffed nearly all his dice rolls!)









The Dwarf Pirate Captain Kargasson killed the Djinn but Big Uluc wounded the Pirate Captain Pecker again. Pecker picked up a Warpblade but later dumped it in favour of his trusty Sigmarite Cutlass. Sinbag picked up a Blade of Unrelenting Agony but never got to use it but it was, again, not as good as his pair of Kutlasses.



The Djinn Binder summoned the Djinn back and it killed Captain Kargasson with fire, more fire and extreme violence. Big Uluc killed Ishmael the Wizard, wounded the Dwarf Engineer and Weird Khaaan finished of Gregorius Pecker with a smack from his Totemic Staff.

~~~

At that point we were out of time but with the kills standing at 4:1 to the Chimeras, they had won a Major Victory.

You are riding a run of luck here.

Great looking game, too.

Scum and Villainy - Duskhaven Campaign, game 6
The Cleavermaws arrive in port!

The ugly misshapen form of The Cleavermaw glided slowly into the deepwater harbour of Duskhaven. The gentle oily swell rolled the hulk, more than it would most ships, due to its mis-matched prow and stern, from two different shipwrecks, and its top-heavy gundecks that bristled with heavy artillery.

The orruk crew shouted and cursed at each other as they maneuvered the ungainly vessel into the anchorage and the orruk pirate Kaptain Mogrum roared instructions that were mostly lost in the din. The arguments ranged from the right way to haul on a rope to the timing of when to drop anchor.

Somehow the ship found a likely spot to moor and the anchor splashed into the murky waters. A launch was lowered and a number of pirate orruks clambered down the sides into it, followed by Kaptain Mogrum, Mr Deadwood and Mr Sludga (the burly Black Orc mates), and Lost Uzzog (the ship’s Shaman and Navigator).

The crew pulled ashore with gusto and when, a few minutes later, the launch bumped into the wooden jetty two oarsmen jumped out holding lines fore and aft and hauled the boat in close.

~~~

Battleplan - Throne of Skulls Clash of Empires
Objective - Hold the Centre: At the end of each battle round, the player who controls the terrain feature closest to the centre of the battlefield gains 1 Laurel of Victory (i.e. there are more models from their army within 3" of it than there are enemy models). In addition, at the end of each battle round, each player gains 1 Laurel of Victory if their general is within 3" of the centremost terrain feature.




The Cleavermaws deployed in two groups: The River Troll and Black Orc mates were on the left, while the Kaptain and the Boyz were in the centre, with the Shaman just behind them.



The Church of Sigmar’s Retribution spread out into two groups to counter the Orruk Pirates.



Kaptain Mogrum led the rush to the objective building - rumours of a stash of books and papers from before the Age of Chaos brought him here. There was a possibility they were the records of the islands taxes on passing shipping and they could lead to a secret stash of treasure!





Klaw, the River Troll, Mr Deadwood and Mr Sludga, Black Orc Big Bosses, waited for the oncoming Flagellants.



The Church’s Militia got into position ready for their assault on the building.



They charged!



The Flagellants tried to outflank the orruks...



But “the Big’Unz” Klaw, Mr Deadwood and Mr Sludga dealt with them.



The Militia were slaughtered by Mogrum and his crew.





And so were the Flagellants! Klaw’s wounds healed even as the last of the Devoted fell.



The Witch Hunter Captain finally got to fight with Kaptain Mogrum, and though the Kaptain was wounded in the fight, the Witch Hunter came off worse.





~~~

We had near-equal Martial Strength with a slight advantage of numbers to Viktor, but I had 4 Heroes to his 2.

The way the charge-rolls went he ended up trying to kill my Heroes with his troops, but his Heroes were trapped at the back and only able to help with Command Abilities and Prayers until the very tail-end of the fight.

Meanwhile my troops set up camp under the central building's balcony, earning Laurels of Victory for me, and hardly took any casualties!

Laurels of Victory 3:1 - Major Victory for the Cleavermaws!

Great rollicking adventure there! Can't believe its taken me this long to notice the update. Ah well, congratz.

No worries VK!
Thanks very much - it was a great game; really good fun!

Vultures and Vultures - Duskhaven Campaign, game 7

Kaptain Mogrum and Ledger Nud pored over the ancient stained map of Duskhaven. The ink was faded and the paper water tattered, torn and stained. It was hard to make out large areas of the port town due to the age and bad condition of the chart but some parts could still be read. The other problem was that the town had been sacked since the map was drawn, so a lot of the landmarks were missing now. The Orruk pirates traced out streets and alleys, trying to relate the ink lines and names to the crumbling buildings and smashed cobbles.

The Kaptain’s gnarled finger drifted over a building at the corner of a block, labelled “Wizard’s House”

“I bet there’s some good loot in there!” he muttered to himself. “Let’s go and take a look!”

~~~

Battleplan - Throne of Skulls Clash of Empires
Objective - Seek and Destroy
The Capture Ground and Despair and Slaughter Victory Conditions both apply.
Capture Ground: After set-up, you and your opponent each select one terrain feature. At the end of each battle round, players gain 1 Laurel of Victory for each of these two features that they control.
Despair and Slaughter: Keep track of how many enemy models are slain (or flee) during each battle round. At the end of each battle round, the player that inflicted the most casualties upon the enemy army during that battle round gains 2 Laurels of Victory.

Underdog deeds were also worth 1 Laurel each to The Cleavermaws.

~~~











Kaptain Mogrum and The Cleavermaws face the Church of Sigmar’s Retribution again as they both vie for control of the old Wizard’s House (for it’s possible loot) and a neighbouring Baleful Realmgate (as an escape route).

The Cleavermaws deployment is mirrored by the Church, with their more numerous units opposite one-another and their “big guys” pared-off.





The Church's Griffhounds were the first into the Wizard’s House, hoping to keep the Orruks at bay, or at least reduce their numbers by the time the Flagellants arrive to storm the building.



The pirate crew push the Griffhounds out of one of the objective buildings while the Kaptain wades into the Flagellants and the Cleavermaws watch as their Kaptain slaughters most of the them single handedly! The Troll drools a bit and chews his fist while Mr Sludga and Lost Uzzog leave him behind. Uzzog continues to barrage the Churchmen with Arcane Bolts and the Gaze of Mork.











Kaptain Mogrum is finally worn down by devoted but the battle is already won: The Troll finally does something useful and pukes on a Witch Hunter for fun!



Uzzog chuckled to himself.





~~~

Major Victory to the Cleavermaws! (7-0!)

8-0
We didn't count a point for Lead by Example: you score it as soon as the General kills a HERO, MONSTER or 5 other models.

Yo-ho-ho! I didn't even think about checking that one!

Great looking game gents!

Fortress of Shadow and Mist - Duskhaven Campaign, game 8

Battleplan - Age of Sigmar: Storm the Walls

After their recent successes, the Cleavermaws had set up a camp, a base of operations of sorts, in a group of ruined houses with the remains of walls between them. They had gathered quite a stash of loot and most of it was hidden in the basements of the ruins, or buried in the gardens.

The area was also surrounded by the corpses of the previous inhabitants, and more recently a crop of adventures and explorers, Their bodies had become so steeped in wyrdstone dust that they did not rest easy. The slightest movement in the streets would disturb the deadwalkers and they would shamble towards the interlopers to feed on their warm flesh. The pirate orruks took full advantage of this, as well as setting up sharpened stakes and traps in the ruins they made sure that the deadwalkers stayed nearby but none came into their stockade.



The Church of Sigmar’s Retribution picked their moment to try to deal with the orruk pirates, once and for all. They mustered their full strength against the greenskins and waited until a heavy mist lay across the town, to conceal their approach.





The Militia got confused in the fog and left behind as the rest of the congregation advanced without them.



Kaptain Mogrum gave orders to his crew to hold the central house at all costs and ducked down a secret tunnel into the neighbouring house!



Klaw, the River Troll, took another secret tunnel and left Mr Sludga and Lost Uzzog to hold the left-hand house on their own.



As the Church approached through the mist, a small number of dead bodies pulled themselves to their feet and shambled towards the Witch Hunters.



The Griffhound cried out in warning and gave the Witch Hunters time to ready a brace of pistols each. They neatly shot the deadwalkers through their heads and dropped them.



The noise awoke a dozen more deadwalkers though!



The Churches Militia made up for their earlier mistakes by risking a Hazardous Journey through the Realmgate - they stepped out of a corona of grey flames... into the centre of the orruk's stockade!



As they charged the Kaptain and Klaw two of them fell victim to the orruk pirates' traps! They wounded the Troll, but his natural regenerative flesh knitted itself back together. The Kaptain's armour saved him from even a scratch.



Meanwhile the deadwalkers lurched into the Witch Hunters' lines.



Once again they were dealt with swiftly but they were costing the Church dearly in time, holding up their assault on the stockade by vital minutes. More deadwalkers pulled themselves to their feet and reached out with grasping hands and rusted weapons for the Churchmen.



After Kaptain Mogrum slaughtered the last of the Church Militia, Klaw barreled into the Witch Hunter Captain and his Unforged companion.



The deadwalkers turned on the nearest Griffhound!



Lost Uzzog blasted the Witch Hunters with the Gaze of Mork.



But they shrugged off the magical fires and dealt with the last of the deadwalkers...



Then charged into the central house.



The orruk pirates took a few casualties but gave back almost as good as they got.



Klaw the Troll fell but the Churchmen fell back into the mists leaving the pirates to tend to their few wounded crewmates.

~~~

The orruks still held two of the three loot stashes so they earned a minor victory for the Cleavermaws!

Great battle gents! (Both looking and reading)

Love the zombies (which I thought I was going to see in Slyvania) and the various counters.

Von Kurst wrote:

Great battle gents! (Both looking and reading)  

Thanks Boss!  

Von Kurst wrote:

Love the zombies (which I thought I was going to see in Slyvania) and the various counters.

The zombies will still get their hour of glory in Wortbad! But with the twins not sleeping so well in the evenings, arranging games at home or away outside of my lunchbreaks has been an unpopular concept with Mrs Kurgan

The scenario we used called for summoned Daemons, but we thought that was both over-powered for the forces we were using and tricky in practice, as neither of us owns a significant number of the other-dimensional beasties. So the zombies were the next best option.

The "buried treasure" counters were made by Viktor, the chest is mine. The tiny card skull wound markers came free with all GW mail orders for a week or so a few months ago.