September 29, Caudex Annales 70 AUP
Reeling from a rebuff by the beastmen horde, survivors of the Battle of the Skywash fell back along the road. North of the ruins of Umeskelion, the Expeditionary Force rendezvoused with elven emissaries from the Misvale Valley under Councilor Laurila. To cover the wounded, elven guardsmen were dispatched to the rearguard and dispersed into ravines along the roadside alert for pursuers.
Cavalry rebuffed by ogre steel.
Ogre Warchief Khazay had little difficulty assembling a pursuit group of dire-wolf riders from the servitor clans, moving into the range of elven sentries while the wearied human forces set camp for the night. As battle horns sounded the call to arms, a fierce spearhead of ogres and goblins charged the center of the elven position, shattering bowmen before they could take defensive stations.
Expeditionary force outnumbered...
Order of Battle - D.E.F.Elven magic singed the coats of the dire wolves, frenzying them into hasty retreat. Spears in three-deep rows held the line against the massive ogre onslaught until the arrival of cavalry support. The situation remained tense until it became apparent that the human vanguard would arrive well in advance of the Legion's rearguard. Warchief Khazay slew Knight-Captain Martyn in single combat, but was swiftly avenged in a counterattack by Company B under Captain Robart. A lone formation of wyverns was blasted by spellfire, and the remaining orcs turned to flee from the thunder of charging hooves. Reports indicate Khazay has been permanently scarred by a lancestroke, and has expressed his displeasure with the tardy arrival of the forces Chief Zraqua -- expressing his recommendation for their subsequent reassignment to ogrish command with an impromptu axe-based court-martial.
...until the human vanguard arrives.
- 1st Cavalry Division (Duke Conylt), four units: Heavy Assault Company A-r - Cataphract; Light Reconnaissance Companies A-x (Sir Martyn-x) and B (Sir Robart) - Light Cavalry
- 1st Infantry Division (Lord Proprietor Dermot Bag Kellag), six units: Bulwark Companies A, B, and C - Heavy Infantry; Armored Strike Company - Heavy Cavalry
- Misvale Elven Regiment (Councilor Laurila), four units: Lancer Companies A, B, and C; Warden Companies A-r and B-r - Light Composite Bow
"x" denotes destroyed
Order of Battle - Legions of the Undying
- 1st Smasher Division (Warchief Khazay), six units: Ogre Skullmauler Companies A-r and B-x, Goblin Wolfbrawler Companies A-x, B-r, and C-x
- 1st Shrieker Division (Chief Awitar), six units: Orc Eyegouger Companies A-r, B-x, and C-r, Orc Gutsticker Companies A-r and B-r, Wyvern Flight Alpha
- 2nd Shrieker Division (Chief Zraqua-x), six units: Orc Eyegouger Companies A-x, B, and C, Orc Gutsticker Companies A and B, Wyvern Flight Bravo
I would like to clarify the beastmen losses. Two units of Wolf riders were completely destroyed, and the third was routed. Also, the Wyverns A fled off the board due to a shock roll. Does leaving the board count as a rout?
ReplyDeleteIt is still interesting how close the fight was with only 2/3 of the beastmen army. The addition of heroes to the combat greatly helped the humans. I am noticing that individually, the beastmen units are more powerful than their human counterparts. But this is balanced by the poor leadership of the beastmen. I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to activate 3 units at one point with the warchief. Also, the fireball wand, and associated shock rolls from magic attacks greatly countered the wyverns. Remember it also took a wizard to counter the Nazgul!
Fixed!
ReplyDeleteFireballs are almost perfectly tailored to handle mounted enemies in the mid-range of the HD spectrum. They effectively scale up to whatever they're targeting, so that they are just as likely to rout a 5 HD unit as kill a 1 HD unit. That forces incredibly strong units off the map. Giving the evil army a necromancer wouldn't be nearly as game-changing as it was to give the good army a mage. Catapults and heavy ballistae have a similar dynamic, although they're less reliably accurate. I can see some definite logic in "screening" powerful units behind weaker units to keep them out of line of sight of an artillery barrage. It's another motivation for combined-arms groups, which the humans (with better leadership from fully-developed classed characters) can provide.
One feature that I like about the reinforcement idea is that it creates temporary time-pressure situations that encourage more aggressive tactics, like a penalty situation in hockey. When I saw I had three divisions on the board against two, I figured I had to start attacking as rapidly as possible before the advantage disappeared. It also creates some possibility for an inferior army to unexpectedly beat a superior force, due to operational-level disorder. (The "Stuart late to Gettysburg" problem.)