The order of the broken lance

[grumbaki]

The Order of the Broken Lance

The Order of the Broken Lance was founded in 1450 when the Crusades against Araby were launched. The founder of the order, Grand Master Hertwig von Kreltz earned his reputation during the fighting around the palace of Sultan Jaffar. Hertwig’s lance had broken after the charge against the palace guard and his sword was lost when the belt holding the sheath was cut off during the fighting. Bellowing Sigmar’s name he swung his broken lance with such force that it broke the neck one of the Sultan’s captains and he continued to fight in the melee with the improvised weapon. It is claimed by members of the order that he accounted for more kills with his broken lance than did the other knights with their swords. He later claimed that it was Sigmar’s favor that led him through the fight victoriously and he pledged that he would give up his (considerable) lands and money to the church of Sigmar in thanks and he pledged his life to the warrior god. A number of knights present in the battle (all of whom from minor noble families who had little to no wealth to speak of) were so moved by the fiery and pious warrior that they too made the pledge. These knights who followed him became the first members of the new order, with their chapter house being Hertwig’s ancestral estate. Such was his wealth, both from before the crusade and from loot taken that the order quickly grew as the sons of lesser nobles flocked to it. Located in the port city of Marienburg, it became a center for Sigmarite worship in the city.

The order flourished until 2429 when Marienburg seceded from the Empire. The Grand Master of the Order, Boris von Straul renounced his faith in Sigmar and attempted to recreate the order as a secular one. A number of knights followed him, but Boris’ younger brother and his seneschal, Luther von Straul, killed his elder brother and stole his blessed sword. The blade, known as both the blessed blade and the sword of fate is reputed to communicate with its wielder through their dreams. There it will show its chosen target to the wielder, as well as where they must go to find them. Taken as a sign from Sigmar and Morr, it is the duty of the bearer of the sword to follow their dreams and to do battle. It is one of the most precious relics of the order, and tradition holds that it is the seneschal of the order who must wield it. Together with a handful of knights and the majority of their men-at-arms, Luther fled from Marienburg and went back to the Empire. The knights who stayed in Marienburg were absorbed into the other orders of the city, while Luther, the new Grand Master, kept the name of the order. With church backing a new chapter house was built on the new border of the Empire. However, even with this the order fell on hard times, as few nobles wished to join what was seen as being disgraced. Luther then made what was to be the most controversial move of his reign as Grand Master. Five of the warrior monks within the order, all men of humble birth, were knighted as recognition for their valor in combat after an orc invasion out of the Grey Mountains. This practice of allowing men of humble birth into the order was, in a way, a very Marienburger concept that sat ill with other knightly orders and the noble houses of the Empire.

The Order of the Broken Lance found from then on many pious men of humble birth who flocked to the chapter house in the hope of proving themselves worthy of knighthood. They also received more than a few nobles seeking to join the order, most of whom were third or fourth sons of lesser nobles who would rather join an infamous order than an unknown one. Despite the animosity shown towards them by other knightly orders, the Order of the Broken Lance still holds the favor of the church of Sigmar and the Elector of Middenland. As the order’s fortress is located east of Marienburg and along the River Reik, the order stands as a guard against Marienburg mercenaries, Bretonnians from the Gisoruex Gap and monsters from the Grey Mountains.

The order is known for its gilded armor and for its practice of eschewing elaborate helmets. Instead, most members of the order have a simple piece of purple cloth covering the tops of their helms, which is claimed to be a sign of respect to their god. Only those of noble birth go to battle without this, as they are allowed purple plumes to show their status. However, that is all that noble birth may bring one, as advancement within the order is based purely on experience, skill and devotion. Unsurprisingly there are many warrior priests who are members of the order, and it is a rare unit of knights that goes to battle without one. The order itself is made up out of one Grand Master (Kessler von Ulster), his seneschal (Konrad von Staalsburg), six preceptors and a half dozen warrior priests. Within the chapter house there is also Father Sigismung, a retired warrior priest whose faith is such that he can perform miracles in the name of Sigmar, and over three dozen warrior monks. These monks are men who have sworn their lives and property over to the church of Sigmar and who train in the use of sword, bow and pistol. Each of them hopes to prove themselves in battle so that they can earn their spurs and become a knight of the order.

[grumbaki]

First of all, this is my first time making any kind of maps for the battle, so please be kind on that regard. With that said, please enjoy the battle report.

The Battle of the Horn

Maern had led his elves through the Empire by the skin of his teeth. His father had given him the corsair ship ‘Khaine’s Hunger’ to prove himself by raiding the Empire’s shores for slaves. However, what his father did not know was that Mearn had a different goal in mind. After years of scheming with his mother they had located the lost War Horn of Nagarythe. It was once held by an ancestor of his who helped the Witch King tame the old world before the sundering. His ancestor had fallen to a spear thrown by an orc and had been buried with the war horn as a sign of respect. The enchanted horn was said to have been enchanted to steel the hearts of allied and weaken the resolve of one’s enemies. Such a potent artifact could be put to good use, and would bring him much more respect and influence than a simple slave raid. However, his crew were unhappy at having to bypass so many defenseless villages, especially when finding this artifact would only increase Maern’s prestige and wealth; not theirs. Keeping them in line had been difficult, and would have been impossible if it were not for the cold one knights his mother had lent him for this expedition. All of them were minor nobles who were indebted to his mother, and without their blades and steeds Maern knew that his crew would have likely mutinied by now. Finally though, the tomb was in sight. Not much was left of it, having been damaged by weathering and human peasants who had stolen much of the masonry to build their hovels with. It did not matter though, for as long as Mearn could get his hands on the war horn then nothing, not even the bones of an his ancestor, mattered.

Unknown to the dark elves their march had not gone undetected. The tomb they were heading towards was located near the monastery of the Sigmarite Order of the Broken Lance. As the monastery was located so close to the wasteland, and thus Marienburg and Bretonnia, as well as beasts from the untamed mountains, their scouts had reported the march of the elves. Eager to test their skill against such a foe, the Order roused its knights and monks to repel the elves.

Terrain
http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/..._E_Terrain.jpg

Dark Elves
Noble: Cold One, Heavy Armor, Shield, Killing Blow Lance, Poison/Drug thing…
20 Spearmen: Shields, Full Command (Pink)
20 Corsairs: Full Command, +1 to hit banner (Yellow)
5 Cold One Knights: Full Command (Red)
10 Crossbowmen (Orange)
10 Crossbowmen (Orange)
10 Crossbowmen (Orange)

This player was new to fantasy, but decided from the get-go that he would either go heavy magic or have none of it. His plan was to swamp me with an overwhelming amount of men while his crossbowmen shot up anything that got within range. His noble’s job was to flush out and destroy my skirmishers.

Empire
2x Warrior Priests: Enchanted Shields, Swords of Might, Heavy Armor, Barded Warhorses (each one goes with a unit of knights)
Priest of Sigmar: Lvl 2 mage with lore of light (goes with duelists) Blinding Light, Direct Damage Spell (1st in the list) Van Horsman’s Speculum
6 Knights: Full Command (Light Blue)
6 Inner Circle Knights: Full Command, Steel Standard (Dark Blue)
10 Huntsmen: Marksman (Brown) War Horn of Nagarythe
9 Duelists: Pistols, Shields, Champion (Gray)

Deployment
http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...deployment.jpg

I made this list because I’ve played dwarfs too much and I wanted a really mobile army. My knights were my hammers, while the skirmishers were there to mark block, kill small units or characters and basically be an annoyance. Facing his list, my plan was to have the normal knights take out his crossbowmen, while hopefully my inner circle could break through his lines. My skirmishers just had to keep themselves alive. I knew that if he cornered me, I would lose, so it was important to dominate him in the movement phase.

Turns 1-2

Both sides move up. The dark elves reposition their crossbowmen, preparing to lay down a hail of bolts. Seeing the dark elf advance, I kept my skirmishers in the woods and lined up my inner circle for a charge. My hope was to hit his cold one knights, break them and thus over run past his infantry. Then I would just need, through attrition to wear them down so my knights could mop up.

What saved me was his lack of magical defense. My mage got off blinding light on his cold one knights after my inner circle charged. Hitting on 3’s, with re-rolls and str 4 on the charge took down 2 cold one knights for no wounds in return. The cold one knights broke and were run down. My archers also accounted for 2 spearmen. At this point he informed me that he thought that if his noble was within 2’’ of the woods he could see my archers, where instead my archers were more than 2’’ in, this pretty much changed his entire plan for his noble as he could not charge the skirmishers.

Turn 1
http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...V_E_Turn_1.jpg
Turn2
http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...V_E_Turn_2.jpg

Turn 3

Blood was shed on both sides on turn 3. The normal knights charged the crossbowmen on the hill, weathered the crossbow fire and destroyed the unit. They overran into the second unit. However, my huntsmen (who had ran out of the woods to give room for the duelists) got charged by the spearmen. I misjudged the distance and they were just in range. Through the 3 turns of shooting and the stand and shoot, the huntsmen managed to bring the spearmen down to 15 models, however they were broken and run down by the dark elves. The corsairs prepared for the cavalry charge, but lost a handful of models to my mage, while the duelists took one wound off of the noble.

http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...V_E_Turn_3.jpg

Turn 4

The knights on the hill broke the second unit of crossbowmen, but failed to catch the 4 survivors. The other crossbowmen turned to face the knights while the 4 crossbowmen rallied. The spearmen marched back towards the inner circle knights, while said knights charged the corsairs. Once again blinding light went off, reducing them to weapon skill 1. The knights easily took out the front rank, broke the corsairs and ran them down. After that, the dark elf noble charged the knights in the rear (being just in range) and with his lance killed one of the knights. In return the inner circle unit champion wounded and killed the noble.

http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...V_E_Turn_4.jpg

Turn 5

The knights up at the hill charged the survivors of their last charge, while the inner circle turned towards the spearmen. It was then that the duelists broke cover and fired at the spearmen. When the smoke cleared 8 spearmen lay dead (yes, with 9 shots I got 8 kills. Amazing luck). With 7 spearmen and 11 crossbowmen left, he conceded the game.

http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...V_E_Turn_5.jpg

Massacre for the Empire

From his vantage on the ridge, the warrior priest Ulrich Sigmarson watched the approach of the dark elves. The dark elves had seen him too, just as he had planned. As far as the elves knew, a mere six humans on horseback faced them. Eager for battle and frustrated with the lack of raiding, the dark elves broke into a run to reach the humans, despite the orders of their noble lord. Unknown to the bulk of the dark elf army, a flanking force of knights was moving around their position and the warrior monks of the order were ready to spring the ambush. While Ulrich knew that his men were outnumbered three to one, he trusted in Sigmar to see them through the day. Ulrich raised his blessed hammer as the enemy knights approached, their hungry mounts bringing them ahead of the army. “Men of the Empire! Today you test your lances against the heretic, the unbeliever! Sons of Sigmar, Charge!” With a roar of approval the knights of the inner circle of the order of the broken lance charged headfirst at the enemy. To the dark elf knights the silver and bronze armor of their foes seemed to glow, getting brighter and brighter as the knights charged in. The cold ones growled and went wild at the sight, two of them bearing their riders on an unwanted charge at their foes. Another two turned and started to lope away, while the fifth stood in a confused daze while its rider kicked it in the flanks. The dark elves were ill prepared for the charge when it hit and to an elf they were spitted on the lances of the knights, while Ulrich crushed skulls with his war hammer.

As the elven infantry attempted to make a line to face the knights, shots emerged from the woods. Corsairs fell face first with bullet sized holes in their sea dragon cloaks while spears dropped from slack hands as arrows found their mark. However, the monks of the order were used to facing humans and orcs, not elves. The speed of the elves took the monks by surprise as the spearmen broke ranks and with a savage roar rushed at the surprised humans. Arrows shot out, felling three of the lead elves, but by the time the monks turned to flee back into the forest it was too late. The monks did not just die, they were mutilated. Limbs were hacked off when the elves dropped their spears to draw serrated blades, men were impaled on a forest of spear tips and others were simply tramped by their iron shod boots.

Maern watched in anger as his army disintegrated around him. His spearmen had broken the line, leaving the corsairs defenseless as the enemy knights turned and ran them down. The blades of the corsairs were best used against infantry, not charging cavalry, where spears could hold off the enemy horses. To an elf they were run down, impaled by spears or cut down by the swords of their enemy. All the while pistol shots ran out from the forest, shooting down any who tried to reorganize the ranks of the corsairs or lift their banner. One shot even his Mearn, finding a weak spot in his greaves. The noble grunted in pain and nearly fell off his mount. As he began to shout out orders he heard a trumped blast. Looking behind him he saw more human knights ride down his crossbowmen whom had held the high ground behind his army. The noble knew that he had to act now if he were to salvage the situation. Kicking his cold one into a charge he went straight for the enemy knights. Maern hit them just as they hacked down the last of the corsairs. The knights had begun to turn when he hit. His enchanted lance took one of the knights in the back, punching right through his armor as if though it were made of paper. Mearn’s triumphant smile stayed on his face even as the preceptor of the knights turned in his saddle and decapitated the elf with a single stroke of his sword.

Ulrich roared his devotion to Sigmar as he and his knights turned around. He could barely be heard over the pistol fire and the screams of the spearmen who were bloodied by it. The broken remnants of the spearmen fled away from the devastation left by the monk’s ambush and directly into the path of Ulrich’s knights. With a savage grin Ulrich ordered the charge on the fleeing remnants of enemy infantry.

[grumbaki]

The Battle for Taalsburg

Images flashed before him. First there was a young boy, swinging a wooden sword at another child’s small shield. Then there was a teenager, learning to dance in an opulent Bretonnian court. The teenager was then a young man, married with children of his own. His hair turned gray, he was in a suit of armor, standing over a dead orc. The Bretonnian was riding into an Imperial town, a lance held high. He recognized the town as…

Konrad woke up covered in sweat. Konrad von Staalsburg was the Seneschal of the Order of the Broken Lance, his word second only to the Grand Master himself. He was the honored bearer of von Straul’s blessed sword, was a relic of the order. It was said that the sword was blessed by both an arch lector of Sigmar and a high priest of Morr to bring death to the enemies of the Empire. Konrad was gifted the sword after becoming the seneschal to the grand master, he was warned about how it would open a connection between the bearer and Morr, so that it could tell him who the sword’s next intended victim would be. It was Konrad’s duty to marshal his knights and to seek out the sword’s target. This was his first time communing with the sword, and it left him shivering, despite the warmth of the summer night. He had not only seen the man whom he knew he had to kill, but had seen the man’s entire life. He knew everything about his victim to the degree that he felt as if though he knew the Bretonnian better than he did his own brother. Konrad felt sick to his stomach with the knowledge of what he would have to do, for he had never before had to kill a man whom he knew; or at least felt as if though he did. Nothing from the visions had given him a reason to hate Luis, the Bretonnian whom he had seen. Konrad could still hear the revelry of his fellow knights celebrating their victory over the dark elf raiders they dispatched. Come morning, Konrad knew that he would be asking them to ride into battle once again.

Sir Luis rode at the head of his knights. Luis had spent over half of his life fighting for the duke and for his courage and cool headedness in combat he had been given this command. While Luis had not been born to the greatest of families, many saw the gray haired veteran as the epitome of chivalry. The duke had sent with him six knights of the realm, as well as his own champion who carried the duke’s personal standard for this mission. Luis’ heart swelled at the sign of faith in his abilities. His goal was to march into the Empire and bring forth one of the border villages under Bretonnian rule so that it could be divided up amongst the younger knights who still needed land of their own. Their spies in the village reported a small garrison protecting it, one that did not even have any gun powder. After he and his knights secured the town, the accompanying peasants would take up residence in it and help defend it until their new lords could come with their retinues. Compared to his earlier victories, Luis knew that this one would pale in comparison, but as his first command he was eager to do his duty to the best of his abilities.

Terrain
http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/..._E_Terrain.jpg
Gray square: building
Green circle: trees
Brown oval: hill

For this battle we had d3+3 pieces of terrain, and we took turns placing them. This goes against what usually happens which is using whatever is currently at the table, plus one or two cool looking pieces. I did however request more imperial looking buildings to replace some beastman/orc stuff.

Empire
Konrad-Captain with full plate, shield, barded warhorse and the sword of fate
Warrior Priest- Hammer of Judgement, heavy armor, shield, barded warhorse
Priest of Sigmar- Ring of Volans (Lore of light, Spells 1+6. Direct damage and 12’’ damage. Ring was spell 1)
15 Spearmen: Shields, Full Command
-7 halberdiers: detachment
10 Crossbowmen: Marksman
5 Inner circle knights: Steel Standard

Bretonnia
Paladin: (All I know is that he was str 5)
Paladin: BSB (+3 combat resolution from BSB, Warbanner and some virtue)
Damsel: Lvl 1, lore of beasts (beast cowers)
6 Knights of the Realm: Full Command
20 Men at Arms: Full command, halberds, shields
12-14ish archers: Skirmishers, Champion

Deployment
http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...Deployment.jpg

Turn 1-2
As the Bretonnians prayed the Empire went first. The crossbowmen fired into the men at arms, dropping four of them into the ground over the two turns. The men at arms tried to charge the spearmen, but failed the charge. The Bretonnian player worried about two things: 1) Staying out of my knight’s charge range and 2) keeping the knights close enough to give the peasants’ their leadership. The Bretonnian return fire failed to drop any spearmen. Neither of us got off any magic or prayers over the course of the entire game.

Turn 1
http://warseer.com/gallery/data/500/...V_E_Turn_1.jpg

Turn 3
Charge! The inner circle knights charged the knights of the realm. With the steel standard adding +1’’ to their charge range, they just barely made it in (My thanks to Mike for calling the charge like that. We both knew that it would likely decide the game and he acted as a true gentleman). The Paladin issued a challenge. I happily informed him about the sword of fate…and missed with all 3 attacks. In retrospect I deserved the whiff for being so overconfident. Fortunately, the captain survived the counter attack thanks to his armor. The warrior priest wounded the battle standard bearer, who was then finished off by the attacks of the knights. I breathed a sigh of relief when he told me that his BSB would have given him +3 combat resolution. Nobody broke, so the combat ended.

The spearmen and halberdiers charged the men-at-arms. The men-at-arms took down one halberdier, but lost three of their own. After they failed their break test, we wondered on whether they could use the BSB because it had died in the same turn as they needed it. I figured that they could because the combats were happening pretty much simultaneously, and the men-at-arms proceeded to roll insane courage. The Bretonnians held firm. Also, the crossbowmen shot down two Bretonnian archers. After that shooting would play no more role in the game due to combat and shooting modifiers. (As the crossbowmen were in a building, the Bretonnians were at -4 to hit. The archers were in the woods, so my crossbowmen were at -3 to hit.)


Turn 4
In hand to hand combat, the Empire captain did a total of 7 wounds to his Bretonnian counterpart thanks to the sword of fate, while the warrior priest and knights killed two knights of the realm. The Knights of the Realm broke, but got away from the pursuing imperial knights.

In the other combat, the Bretonnians killed one spearman, but took three more wounds in return. After they failed their break test, they fled and hit my knights who had pursued the knights of the realm. We didn’t know whether or not they would be destroyed by this, but in the spirit of good play we just had the men-at-arms stop just short.

In the Bretonnian turn the Knights of the Realm fled off the board and the men-at-arms fled to the table edge.

Turn 5

The men-at-arms were charged, who were then forced to flee off the board. At that point he conceded, and the archers disappeared into the woods.

Massacre for the Empire

Konrad and his knights reached the village just in time. The garrison had done all they could, with crossbowmen being deployed in the town’s guard tower and spearmen ranking up to face the knights and their men-at-arms. There were not enough spears to go around, and a number of villagers, most of whom were proudly wearing old and worn out imperial uniforms, clutched in their hands massive woodsmen’s axes and flails, these men held firm on the flank of their spear armed brethren. Upon his arrival the captain of the guard immediately offered command to Konrad in lieu of the knight’s experience. Konrad accepted it without thought as he scanned the village. An old priest walked the ranks, blessing the soldiers as battle neared. With the addition of Konrad’s knights, the forces were now nearly equal, with the Bretonnians, if the scouts were to be believed, having a slight numerical advantage. A chill went up Konrad’s spine, as he recognized what was happening now as the scene he had dreamt of. He had never been to this village before, but he felt a deep recognition, no doubt from the power of his sword. As he pondered this, one of the look outs in the tower called down the news that the Bretonnians had arrived. With more important matters on his mind Konrad called out for the men to form ranks and to march into battle.

He and his knights slowly advanced with the infantry and began to break into a trot as they built up their charge. The Bretonnian knights were coming down the ridge line and had to move around their men-at-arms to get towards him. Konrad could already tell that he and his knights would be on them before the Bretonnians could break into their charge, though from the way the enemy came towards them it was obvious that they had not reached the same conclusion. Konrad had fought in many battles before, against orcs, beastmen and bandits, but this would be his first time facing such similar foes. His heart pounded when he saw the knight who was leading the foe. The name Luis le Despont came unbidden in his mind as his men charged. He could barely hear the warcries of the spearmen behind him, so great was the noise that his own men were making. Whipped into a frenzy by the warrior priest who had come with them his knights charged with the wrath of Sigmar written on their faces, though Konrad’s mind was focused only on Luis. The Bretonnians then realized that their enemies had the advantage on them and desperately tried to rearrange themselves to limit the effectiveness of the Imperial charge. The enemy battle standard bearer stood firm, his sword out of his sheath and he yelled inspirationally to the other knights. As per Konrad’s orders, his knights focused their attacks on the enemy battle standard bearer, working in tandem to bring the warrior down. The paladin fell, his steed felled by a lance and his helm all but crushed by the priest’s warhammer. Konrad closed in on Luis, and as he did so the man’s life flashed before his eyes. Konrad could see the other knight as a boy; he could see the Bretonnian’s first kill that had elevated him from being a knight errant into a knight of the realm. He saw the other man’s wife, his children, his entire life. Konrad hesitated, and it nearly cost him his life as Luis’ blade crashed into his shield. Disoriented, Konrad acted on instinct, his own blade flashing out at Luis. The blow had no chance of breaking through the defenses of a knight as experienced as Luis, so his sword cut out and crashed into Luis’ shield. It cut through the armor, the arm and then Luis’ chest before coming clean out. Konrad looked in horror directly into Luis’ uncomprehending eyes. His stomach turned as Luis fell from his horse, dead before he hit the ground. Seeing both of their strongest knights cut down, the knights of the realm’s organization broke down and two more quickly fell to the blades of the Imperial knights. Unlike the Bretonnians, the Imperials aimed for their foes horses and worked together to bring down a single foe as well as to defend each other, while the Bretonnians fought for individual glory and avoided such dishonorable tactics such as killing the enemy’s steeds. It was all too much and the Bretonnians broke ranks and fled, their damsel at the forefront. Sick to his stomach, Konrad called for his men to halt and to let their foes ride back to Bretonnia. His men reacted immediately by following his orders, and as they wheeled around the terrified men-at-arms fled past them and back towards their own lands. Chasing them were the imperial soldiers, whose victorious cries echoed through the summer air. The Bretonnians easily outpaced their pursuers and fled into the woods. Konrad numbly looked back at this own men who were proudly holding aloft the captured enemy standards and yelling praises to Sigmar, to the order and to Konrad. Konrad looked at his sword and then at the body of Luis while the guilt of victory washed over him.

[selone]

Your background is supreme so thanks for that and your battle reports are okay. What points were you playing at?

[grumbaki]

Ah, I can't believe that I forgot the points. The first game was 1000, the second 750.

And thanks for the compliment about the fluff. For me, writing these is partly an excuse to give backgrounds to my armies. However, I'll try to work on the quality of the battle reports themselves (this was my first attempt at including maps. I hope that in the future they'll turn out better once I get more practice making them).

[Dexter099]

Marienburg secceded from the empire; I didn't know.

[grumbaki]

Yup. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marienburg_(Warhammer) has some information on Marienburg. It includes a handy timeline for the city. The only difference I can see in it from the current army book is that in the wiki timeline Marienburg secedes to escape harsh imperial taxes, while in the army book they buy their independence via a massive bribe to (I believe) Emperor Dieter IV. Then again, the reference to a treaty with eastern Albion in the timeline shows how old it is, seeing as how GW turned Albion in a complete backwater that was until the Albion campaign surrounded by impenetrable mists.

[grumbaki]

Empire vs. Orcs 1500 points

Before I start this, my thanks to my opponent; Scott. He had taken the time to help me through a game of 40k (which I still struggle at) so it was my turn to help him through a game of fantasy. He used this store army (the GW here is very nice about letting people use store armies). He plays Orks in 40k, so naturally the Orcs were brought out. The game was a blast and Scott was a gentleman throughout. This was his first game over 1000 points, and my first time using the Empire in a game over 1000 points. Our lists were as seen below.

Empire:
2 warrior priests: heavy armor, barded warhorses, swords of might, enchanted shields
1vl 2 mage: ring of volans
2 units of 5 knights: full command
5 pistoliers: musician, outrider with repeater pistol
20 spearmen: shields, full command and a 10 man halberdier detachment
10 huntsmen: marksman
10 handgunners: marksman with repeater handgun
Cannon
Mortar
Hellblaster Volley Gun

Orcs:
Black Orc Boss with the boar that does impact hits, light armor, shield and a magic axe
lvl 1 Orc Shaman: 2x Dispel Scroll
lvl 1 Goblin Shaman: Staff of sneaky stealing
8 Wolf Riders
8 Spider Riders
20 Night Goblins with 2 fanatics
20 Orc Boys with full command
30 Orc Boys with full command
20 Black Orcs with full command
16 Orc Arrer Boys
Boar Chariot
Wolf Chariot

Terrain and Deployment

In the center of the Empire deployment zone there stood a hill. The right and left of the battlefield was heavily wooded. The right side had a large hill running down its length as well. The Empire forces put the handgunners and the artillery on the hill. To the right of the hill was placed the spearmen (with the mage). To the left of the hill were both units of knights and the pistoliers.

The orcs put both mobs of orcs on the left flank as well as the goblins. The boss went there as well. In the center stood the boar chariot, the wolf riders and the black orcs. To the right flank went the spider riders, orc arrer boys and the wolf chariot. The goblin shaman went with the night goblins and the orc shaman went with the black orcs.

Right Flank

The orcs advanced straight ahead, except for the chariot and wolf riders who sheltered from Imperial artillery. The arrer boys were continually held up by animosity, but eventually brought themselves up the hill. For the Imperials, things went bad very fast. With the chariot and spider riders coming from the forest, the spearmen turned to face them while one unit of knights charged the black orcs. I was confident that the knights could kill the first rank of orcs and at least hold them up for awhile. Instead the knights and warrior priest killed two orcs, lost two of their number and fled. This brought them through the spearmen and at the board edge. The spiders then charged the knights (making them flee off the board) and hit the halberdier detachment instead. The black orcs charged the flank of the spearmen, who thankfully fled far enough away to escape them.

The halberdiers were slaughtered and the spider riders overran directly in front of the cannon. A grapeshot killed six of the spider riders and sent the remaining two fleeing off the board. Massed imperial artillery and handgun shots blew apart the advancing orcs (except the mortar, which misfired three turns in a row and then blew up). The hellblaster volley gun in particular shot off an impressive 22 shots against the black orcs before blowing up. When the dust cleared only one black orc and the shaman were left alive. The shaman promptly killed two cannon crewman with a spell. The handgunners when killed the shaman (hit the remaining black orc three times, but failed to wound with all of those shots), and the last black orc fled off the board.

The wolf rider chariot had peaked around the corner of the woods to charge the cannon, but he misjudged the distance and the spearmen charged it instead. After destroying the chariot, the spearmen trudged through the woods and up the hill to take on the orc archers. Weathering the hail of arrows they charged, outfought and killed he orcs, thus securing the right flank.

Right Flank Overview
Orcs:
Black Orcs and shaman: dead
Spider Riders: dead
Wolf Chariot: dead
Arrer Boys: dead

Imperials:
Mortar: dead
Hellblaster: dead
Halberdier detachment: dead
Knights and warrior priest: dead
Spearmen and mage: above half strength
Handgunners: untouched
Cannon: one crewman left

Left Flank

The huntsmen did their job admirably. Their presence, besides shooting down a few orcs, stemmed the green tide. They released the fanatics (one of whom killed itself and the other went back through the greenskin lines) and march blocked the horde. This, along with several units squabbling, left the two orc units and goblins barely moving all game. This lasted until one unit of orcs flushed out the huntsmen, who then rallied and managed to escape the angry greenskins.

The pistoliers moved up aggressively, and after losing one of their number of the wolf riders (who they in turn destroyed) they danced circles around the 20 strong unit of orcs, firing their pistols all the while. They eventually reduced them to so few that they eventually panicked and fled the table.

The orc boss worked his way around the woods and charged into the knights. Two of the knights fell for no wounds in return. However, due to outnumbering, their standard and musician, the orc lost combat and fled. The pursuit brought the knights into combat with the orc chariot, which they destroyed. The orc boss was soon shot down by the Empire chariot, which brought them into the goblin unit. The goblin shaman used his magic to get the larger of the orc units out of the woods and behind the knights before the knights killed the shaman, broke the goblins and ran down their unit. This brought them into combat with the second orc unit that the pistoliers had been harassing. The knights not only failed to break the orcs, but lost another knight, lost combat and fled. Their flight brought them into the orc mob which had appeared behind them and the knights (with their warrior priest, and my general) were destroyed.

With one unit left which was facing walking (as it was march blocked) across the board while being fired at by 3 units, the game was called.

Left Flank overview
Orcs:
Larger orc unit: above half strength
orc unit: destroyed
Goblins with shaman: destroyed
Orc boss: dead
Boar Chariot: destroyed
Wolf Riders: dead

Imperials:
Pistoliers: above half strength
Knights with warrior priest: destroyed
Huntsmen: unscathed

Outcome (roughly)
Orcs: 1181 victory points
Empire: 1495 victory points
Marginal Victory for the Empire

Thoughts
* Knights, even with a warrior priest, can’t take on an elite infantry unit by themselves.
* Animosity sucks. It really hampered his movement and allowed me to reform my army before he could swamp me.
* Don’t trust artillery dice. My mortar misfired 3 times and then blew up, and the hellblaster misfired as well (and blew up, though it did get an extra 10 shots from it).
* Skirmishing scouts are worth their points.. Having his two fanatics hitting his own lines as great for me. Without the huntsmen bringing them out and march blocking his orcs, I don’t think that I could have won.
* Pistoliers are gold. They can lay out an amazing amount of pistol shots, and are tough enough to beat off enemy fast cavalry. They were definitely a good buy. They and the huntsmen were the heroes of this game.

Ulrich Sigmarson, victor of the battle of the horn watched the orcs approach with a slight smile on his face. He had been lauded for his victory over the dark elves and since then his faith in Sigmar, and his own strength, increased tenfold. This orc warlord had recently moved down out of the mountains with the beginning of a Waaagh!, so he now stood with a contingent from his order and state troops from the town of Bogenhafen. He rode over to captain Stern of the Bogenhafen spears. “Captain, I take it that your men are ready.” It was a statement, not a question. Ulrich could already see the artillery that the state troops had dragged with them being placed up on the hill that over looked the killing field. While it was true that the soldiers had brought with them immense killing power, he cockily knew that without his knights there was no way that they could hold back the horde. Stern nodded. “We await your orders, priest.” Ulrich’s reputation proceeded him after his battle with the elves, so when the two forces met up Captain Stern immediately handed command over to the priest. Ulrich happily ran his fingers through his beard as he grinned.

Borgit Teethkicker held his standard high. He marched in step with the other black orcs across the field, watching with disdain as the humans came up towards them. They thought them idiots, that they would keep their eyes on the slow infantry while the cavalry came at them. Borgit felt the wait of his choppa and grinned under his helmet. They had picked the wrong orcs to try that trick on. The orc’s grin widened as the human infantry slowed and turned, screaming in alarm as giant spiders burst out of the tree line. The black orc didn’t care what happened to the goblins just then, as the human knights charged in. As one the black orcs surged forward, great axes in their hands. One orc was spitted by a human lance and another hand its skull crushed by a hammer blow. Borgit buried his choppa into the head of a horse, bringing it and its rider down. The human fell hard and was ripped to pieces by the veteran orcs. The shaman in their midst shouted out a curse and a second human died, its head and helm exploding with green energy. It was all too much and the humans turned to flee, leaving their dead behind. The Waaagh! energy sent the horses into a state of complete panic as they ran away. With a roar Borgit and his lads followed. The panicked horses went wild as the spider riders came out of the forest at them. The knights on top tried in vain to bring their horses under control, and one knight was thrown from his saddle as his horse reared. The knight fell on his head and died instantly from the fall. The remaining three horses bolted in random directions and all their riders could do was hold on tight to avoid meeting the same fate as their unfortunate brother.

With the knights gone the spider riders fell on the hapless halberdiers. The men died while soiling themselves, their worst fears realized in ten seconds of violence. That was all it took for the last of the humans turn and run, only to be born down by the vicious spiders and their even more vicious riders. The entire flank turned into a rout as the spearmen fled as well. Borgit roared out loud, his axe raised high. The imperial artillery roared back. The spider riders died in a hail of shrapnel and the few survivors scuttled back towards the tree line. Borgit was knocked to one knee as a bullet impacted with his pauldron, and the orc behind him died as his torso was blown clean through. The imperial artillery that spit out death with its spinning barrels kept firing, as did the handgunners. Borgit pulled himself up and kept charging, as did his lads. Their roars died with them as rank after rank of black orc was blown apart, leaving nothing but twisted metal and meat behind. Their tenacity paid off when the hellblaster crew pushed their war machine too far and it exploded, unable to take the stress of the constant firing. The explosion reached the powder of the mortar, which then too went up in flames. Borgit raised his grisly standard and roared in exultation at this. The fact that only he and the shaman had survived the deadly salvo hadn’t registered.

Karl was knocked to the ground by the blast, but his fellow crewman of the great cannon managed to keep their footing. It cost them their lives, as the shaman down the hill pointed a finger at them, and both of their heads exploded. Karl nearly soiled himself as the bodies of his friends fell down next to him. He might have stayed down there with them if it were not for the sight of the shaman being filled with lead as the handgunners turned their sights on it. Karl watched in horror as the heavily armored orc next to the shaman took three shots, two to the chest and one to the leg. It staggered backwards but remained standing. For a moment it looked like it was going to charge, but as it eyed the reloading handgunners it turned and loped off back towards the hills. Karl breathed a sight of relief that it hadn’t come for him. If it had reached their lines, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the monster would probably have killed them all. He pulled himself to his feet, and ignoring the smell of powder and cooked meat he began to reload the cannon.

Brother Helmar lowered his lance as he and his brother knights rushed over the broken chariot. Mobs of orcs and goblins were coming out of the forest and down the hills. He had sent the artillery explode and had heard the shouts of terror from the spearmen. Worst of all, he had seen Father Ulrich flee the battle. Helmar knew that this was the only way to restore honor to his order. Like a hammer he and the remaining knights hit the goblin line. Their lances had long since been broken, so they fought now with their swords. He swung down with all of his might, cutting the head of a goblin in half, and then slashed down to his other side, killing another goblin. They were outnumbered six to one, but it didn’t matter. They killed them all and rode down the rest. The orcs were roaring now, their foes deep within their ranks. Helmar could hear the cracks of pistols as the order’s pistoliers added a salvo into the orc ranks. It would help, but it wouldn’t be enough. Helmar and his knights knew that they needed to break through the next ranks of orcs if they were going to survive this. Helmar had been born a commoner and had worked his entire life to live up to this moment. He knew that because of men like him that his order was looked down upon, that all other knights thought them to be beneath them. Ulrich’s cowardice would live on forever in the annals of the order, a black stain upon an already looked down upon order of knights. Helmar led his knights on, into the thick of the horde expecting death but knowing that this show of bravery needed to be done. Without their lances the charge faltered, and from behind them came a huge mob of orcs, their choppas raised. Helmar screamed out a prayer to Sigmar, felt a surge of regret for all the things in life he never had a chance to do, and then he died.

Captain Sterner watched in horror from the hill at doomed charge of the knights below him. He and his men stood over the spitted body of the orc archers that they had cleared from the hill as the silver, gold and purple of the knights was swallowed by a sea of green. He was amazed at their bravery and at the toll they reaped, but also at the foolishness of the foolishness of their charge. As the last of the knights fell the pistoliers continued to fire, as did the archers that the knights had brought with them. The orcs, disorganized by the slaughter wavered as death showered their ranks. Few actually fell, but this was an enemy that they could not catch. Some charged forward and died. The rest took a step back, looked out at the handgunners still facing them and up at the ranks of spearmen on the hill and then began to move backwards. They turned and ran, harried by the pistoliers until they plunged into the forest that would lead them back into the mountains. As the last of the orcs fled, Sterner looked down the slope at the dead from his own regiment, the smoke from artillery hill and the broken armored bodies that lay amongst the green corpses. Like so many battlefields before it, this one was choked with the dead. The field belonged to the Empire, and from his position Captain Sterner could clearly see just what the price of victory was.

[selone]

Thanks for more great background and story, your thought's are pretty on the money too- I don't know what is but empire warmachines misfire a lot ! Empire knight's aren't the juggernauts of destruction modern cavalry ahve become but rather a cheap, well armoured flanking force.

[grumbaki]

1000 points...ish Empire v Empire

Today saw another battle, and while the armies were from the same book they were anything but similar. If you don't believe me, then take a look below.

The Order of the Broken Lance
Captain: Sword of Fate, Full Plate, Shield, Barded Warhorse (114)
Warrior Priest: Sword of Might, Enchanted Shield, Barded Warhorse (138)
Mage: Lvl 2 (Portant of Far and Celestial Shield) Ring of Volans (Uranon's Thunder Bolt) (120)
5 Knights: Musician (123)
5 Knights: Musician (123)
5 Pistoliers: Outrider with Repeater Pistol (107)
10 Huntsmen (100)
8 Duelists: Pistols (72)
Total: 897 (Like a fool I forgot about my second warrior priest...)

Marienburgers

Captain: Full Plate, Shield (60)
19 Halberdiers: Shields, Full Command (134)
20 Spearmen: Shields, Full Command (140)
20 Swordsmen: Shields, Full Command (145)
20 Greatswords: Full Command (230)
-10 Handgunner detachment (80)
2x Cannons (100x2)
Hellblaster (110)
Total: 1099

So now that I did the math that seems kind of odd. But with my second warrior priest I would have had an army of 1032 so it wouldn't have been that much of a difference.

Terrain

Brown-Building
Dark Green-Woods
Gray-Hill

Deployment

From left to right: For Marienburg, he had his hellblaster, followed by the swordsmen, then cannon 1, then the greatswords+handgunners, then cannon 2 and finally the halberdiers and spearmen.

The duellists deployed behind the buiding to the left, while the rest of the army hid behind the trees. The huntsmen deployed in the woods to he left as well.

Turns 1-2

The Empire army surged forward. The duelists went in to the building on turn 2. The Marienburg artillery fired, killing one pistolier and a knight. I was incrediably lucky, because if either shot rolled hire they would have hit my mage who was by himself (I forgot that cannon balls can bounce through trees), so thank Sigmar for that. On turn 2 Knight unit 1 went to the right of the trees, but the priest joined Knight unit 2 facing the spearmen.

The only useful application of magic happened on turn 2. The ring of volans unleashed it's spell, causing 3 hits on Cannon 2. All three hits smacked into the crew and killed them. Cannon 2 was gone. (yay)

Turns 3-4

The pistoliers and knight unit 2 charged the spearmen, who held. In close combat they killed 9 spearmen all together, for the loss of 1 knight, broke the unit and ran them down. Knight unit 2 hit the halberdiers on the flank. They proceeded to kill 6 of the halberdiers, break them and run them down as well.

The Marienburgers, in response to this killed 1 duellists with the hellblaster (-4 to hit as they were at long range and in the building) and then on turn 4 the hellblaster misfired while shooting at the pistoliers. Misfire-6. 30 shots later both the pistoliers and the hellblaster were gone. The knights came back on the table. Cannon 1 tried a grape shot but was out of range.

Turns 5-6

The knights charged cannon 1 and destroyed it. Knight unit 1 charged the handgunners (4 left after suffering from pistol fire), who fled. The knights themselves fled from a greatsword charge, but rallied on turn 6. The swordsmen turned to face them and were charged as well. The knights killed 5 swordsmen for no wounds back and thus tied combat. In the last turn they killed 2 more for no losses, lost combat and held, thus ending the game.

The archers and pistoliers, together managed to kill 8 greatswords (2 more to get them at half strength) and 1 swordsmen. The swordsmen were left with 12 models as well, again above half strength.

Marienburgers' Victory Points:
107
Empire Victory Points:
1084

Massacre for the Empire!

Thoughts

Ok, I am a fool. Why you ask? Never leave a mage by himself! That nearly cost me. Secondly, my turn 6 charge against the swordsmen was really dumb. I should have held back and safely won the game, instead I risked 675 victory points (2 heroes, knights, 2 captured banners and the unit) on the charge. I did it to make the game more fun. I'm glad that the knights were not lost, but they very well could have been.

Now, in my last game I mentioned that knights cannon break infantry blocks. I take that back, they can if they are supported by 2 heroes, and the enemy only has T3 AS 5+. That and getting the overrun into the flank of the halberdiers really helped.

What scared me the most was the artillery. His mistake was putting his hellblaster too far to the left, which meant that by focusing on the right I denied it any good targets for most of the game. In the end it still killed the pistoliers but it could have been much worse.

And finally: Empire infantry blocks need detachments. Getting hit in the flank by a detachment when I charged the spearmen might have won them the combat, or at the very least make me think twice about the charge. I still would have done it, but I would have felt really bad about it.

Overall, a good game. I might not take pistoliers because I got some (light) flack about that, but I really do love them.

Konrad woke up from another dream. It was becoming easier, but it still strained his nerves when he dreamt of a fellow human. This time it was easier than when his sword picked out the Bretonnian, as the man he was to kill was a rogue. A man who had scraped and clawed his way from the gutters of Marienburg into the position as a general of its army. Konrad felt dirty from the images of murder, deceit and backstabbing that he had witnessed in his dream. He tried his best to push it out of his mind as he focused instead on the location of the battle.

Two days later Konrad led his knights into the courtyard of the village of Magnusburg. It was located just off of the great The Great North Road, which placed it periously close to Marienburg. It had been years since any dispute had been raised over the village, but it was strategically placed and apparently one of the Burgomeisters of Marienburg wanted the village for himself. When his knights and warrior monks reached the village they found it already occupied by the enemy. Artillery lined the ridge just to the west of the village. Apparently the enemy knew they were coming as they had formed into ranks just off the ridge. The village itself was empty, a complete ghost town.

Adolfo stood in the front ranks of his Halberdiers. His parents had come to Marienburg from Estalia, hoping for a better life for themselves and their child. They were quickly disabused of those dreams and instead had to content themselves with the daily fight that was survival on the streets of the world's richest city. Adolfo had succeeded in at least part of their dream, as he had succeeded. Using every scrap of learning his parents could afford to give him, as well as from the lesssons gleaned from being a part of one of Marienburg's many street gangs, he had clawed his way to the top. And now here he was, leading an army into the border between Marienburg and the Empire. His mission was simple, to capture and destroy the up and comming village which he now found himself in. The village was growing, and with it came trade from Bretonnia, trade that should be going through Marienburg. With it gone his patron stood to profit, so here he was. His men had already killed or driven away all of the villagers and were preparing to burn the place when the knights arrived.

Adolfo scoffed, as by his account they were outnumbered and least five to one, though he had no way of knowing about the monks who accompanied the knights. Adolfo was an infantry man, so he knew little of how to deal with cavalry. As such he pulled his men back up to the hill and waited for his artillery to blow them away. He watched with baited breath as a cannon ball ripped through the enemy, sending two men crashing down to their deaths. Still they came on. Screams sounded behind him and his men began to nervously look behind them at the charred corpses of one of the cannon crew. He roared to his men to form up to face the cavalry who were rushing towards him. Adolfo didn't know what kind of fel sorcery the imperials had used, but what he did know was that to let his men get distracted would be far more dangerous. He looked at the cavalry that were coming at him. They were armed with steel breastplates and pistols, but they faced four ranks of halberds. It wasn't until the last minute that Adolfo realized that his men were not their targets as they veered off at the spearmen to their flank. He couldn't see what was happening, but he could hear the criest of alarm and of death. Adolfo screamed at his men to hold their ranks together, but the knights were already on them. Rushing up the hill, holding bloody swords up high they hit fast and they hit hard. Before the halberdiers could even register what had happened two entire ranks had been cut down and the rest were fleeing. Disbelieving, Adolfo tried to restore some semblance of order, but the last thing he saw was a sword flickering down towards his neck.

Konrad turned his men around after having chased down the last of the halberdiers. He was breathing hard, as he and his men had already killed or maimed forty men and all for the loss of but a single brother-in-arms. Even better in his mind he had personally cut down the man whom his sword had sent him to kill. A grin was etched on his face, a grin that came from the knowledge that he had done what was right and had killed the unworthy. He wheeled his knights around to face the terrified cannon crew who were facing them. They let loose a grape shot at the knights far too soon, and were rewarded for that with a victory cry from the charging knights.

The sun was setting as Konrad still fought. His men were battling against the remants of the enemy army. His men were exhausted, on the verge of collapse, but still they fought. Just as the sun shined out its last rays he and his foe heard the battle cries of Konrad's brother knights from around their flank. Konrad called for his men to disengage, which they did gratefully, leaving behind over half a dozen enemy dead behind them. Their foes turned to face their new threat only to see the elite greatswordsmen had already surrendered in the face of unseen death coming from the woods. Eight of them had already fallen to bowfire from an unseen foe and the elite soldiers had thrown down their swords rather than face a pointless death. Soon their swords and shields fell to the ground as well. It was only when they were rounded up that the Marienburgers finally saw exactly how many enemies they faced. Eighteen battle monks stood guard over the twenty four Marienburg survivors while Konrad rode over to his brother knights. Their lances were unbroken, but their armor was dented from the impact of the enemies' handgunners. Six of whom lay dead on the ground, the rest of whom had escaped by fleeing from the field. After praising his men for their valor he issued one last order. "Secure the prisoners and get me a rider. The Grand Master will decide their fate."

[Malorian]

Nice reports so far, and a ton of fluff!

Pistoliers are great. Don't let anyone bully you into not taking them.


Any plans for any 2K games in the future?

[selone]

Great story as usual, and youc an be happy with getting a massacre when the other guy had more than 20 % more points than you !

What flak did you get about pistoliers?

[grumbaki]

Praise from my two favorite battle report writers? Brilliant.

Malorian: I'm always looking for one. However, at the GW I play at I've yet to run into someone who either A) has the models or B) the time. Admitedly I usually go during odd hours, but I am itching for a higher point cost game.

Salone: Did I say Pistoliers? I truly am cursed by the god of typos. I should have said duellists. During this game we were fortunate to have someone who really knows the rules (and who has played Empire for 10+ years) watching / pointing our rule mistakes. I think he mentioned three-ish times that duellists are kind-of illegal. And when my opponent found out that they had pistols he made a face reserved usually for eating rotten fruit. A look which stuck whenever they were used (though they only succeeded to killing about six handgunners all game, so nothing to really write home about).

[grumbaki]

Empire V Orcs 1250

Empire:
Warrior Priest: AoMI (1+AS), Great Weapon (119)
Lvl 2 Mage: Doomfire Ring (Fire Ball + Burning Head) (130)
Lvl 2 Mage: Ring of Volans (The Wolf Hunts) (Rule of Burning Iron + Distillation of Molten Silver) (120)
19 Swordsmen: Full Command + 10 Swordsmen Detachment (139+60)
10 Handgunners: Hochland Long Rifle + 5 Crossbow Detachment (105+40)
10 Huntsmen: Marksman (105)
5 Pistoliers: Outrider with repeater pistol, musician (114)
Cannon (100)
Mortar (75)
Hellblaster Volleygun (110)
Total: 1217

(I meant to give my metal mage a luck stone, but completely forgot to. So if I wasn’t a fool my list would have been at 1242)

Orcs and Goblins: (Scott, who used the O&G last time against me. A true gentleman who I thank for always being a great sport)
War Boss on boar (unknown equipment)
Lvl 1 Orc Shaman (unknown equipment, direct damage spell)
Lvl 1 Goblin Shaman (unknown equipment, movement spell)
9 Boar Boyz: Full Command
8 Wolf Riders: Full Command
Orc Chariot
Stone Troll
20 Black Orcs: Full Command
25 Orcs: Choppas and Light Armor, Full Command
Total: 1248

Terrain:

On the orc side, the right flank held a copse of trees and an orc monument. Another copse of trees stood on the right table edge.

On the left side of the table a huge hill dominated the left flank of the field, on which a huge orc statue stood. In the Empire deployment zone there stood a small hill.

From this point on, the huge orc statue on the left flank will be the dividing line in this battle report. Everything to the left of it is the Left Flank, everything to the right of it is the Right Flank.

Deployment:

Orcs’ Left Flank (remember, to the left of the orc statue on the hill)
Chariot, Boar Riders (with the general), Troll, Wolf Riders

Orcs Right Flank
Black Orcs (with orc shaman), Goblin Shaman (hiding in the woods), Orc Boys (between the trees and the orc totem)

Imperial Left Flank
Pistoliers, Huntsmen behind the giant statue

Imperial Right Flank
Handgunners on the hill with the detachment to their left, all three artillery pieces, Swordsmen (with priest) and their detachment

Right Flank

Turn 1-2:

The Empire got the first turn. Magic killed a handful of black orcs, while shooting took down a few as well (and 1 goblin wolf rider from a stray mortar shell). The priest got off hammer of sigmar on the hochland long rifle marksman, who with the re-rolls put a wound on the orc shaman. The cannon misfired but only because they accidentely loaded the cannon with sand instead of gunpowder.

Turns 3-4:

The black orcs with their shaman eventually fell to Imperial shooting. This happened after the hell blaster rolled a misfire-6, destroying itself and all of the black orcs that were left. It took this, the mortar, handgunners/crossbowman and the hellblaster to do it.

On turn 3 the orc boyz charged the swordsmen, whose detachment flanked them. The orcs killed 2 swordsmen, who killed two orcs back. A challenge was declared between the priest and the orc champion, and the priest won it. The orcs fled 5’’, but both units pursued 4’’. The orcs rallied, were charged by the swordsmen and lost combat again. They fled and were finally run down. The goblin shaman spent the entire game hiding in the forest, but he was safe. The detachment made it over to the other side of the table, but were too far away to do anything (their movement was just to claim a table quarter).

Right Flank Secure

Left Flank

Turn 1:
This was the flank that I was worried about. On the first turn he went forward, putting his wolf riders on the far left flank. His plan was to roll down the flank, and since I had nothing to stop them he could destroy all of my artillery and missile troops.

My pistoliers ran to the far left side and put themselves right in front of the wolf riders. If I could get rid of the wolf riders then my pistoliers could march block the rest of the orc line, possibly winning me the game. The pistoliers shot down 1 wolf rider (bad).

Turn 2:

The wolf riders charged. Not good, asthey lost 1 more from stand and shoot. Three pistoliers died for the loss of two more wolf riders. The pistoliers lost combat and were run down. Damn.

Here I thought the game was lost. I had nothing left to march block them (my huntsmen were being blocked from getting around the cavalry by the black orcs, who were not quite dead yet) and my infantry were too far away to turn and face the threat. I was prepared to be massacred and was going into damage control to limit what the orc cavalry could catch. The troll failed it’s stupidity check here and shambled up alongside the boar boyz (who were preparing to rush down the hill and take out the majority of my army).

Turn 3:

Then, the remarkable happened. The troll failed his stupidity test again (with leadership 8) and walked right infront of the boar boyz. With that the orc cavalry could not move, thus saving me from destruction! During this turn, my artillery tried to fire up the hill. My cannon took down one boar boy and my huntsmen shot down one more.

Turn 4:

My artillery did nothing of importance this turn, but my mage did put two wounds on the chariot with distillation of molten silver. The crossbowmen did not shoot, but instead started to run like hell away from the orc lines (putting more space between my troops and them, plus if any orcs went after them it would take them away from the rest of my army). The handgunners grimly turned to face their death.

Then, for the third time in a row the troll failed it’s stupidity check, walking forward another three inches. Taking this in good stride he charged the last of his wolf riders into my huntsmen, and then did his best to line up the chariot for a charge and to get the boar riders into position.

The huntsmen killed all of the wolf riders with their stand and shoot. For having the unit destroyed within 6’’ (do orcs take panic tests from destroyed gobos? I don’t know, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they don’t) and the boar boyz fled. And yes, they fled off the board. With that he called the game.

Left Flank Secured.

Victory for the Empire

Thoughts

1. Ok, I didn’t deserve this win. Ok?! I said it. I won for 1 reason only, he failed three stupidity tests in a row. He should have been in combat for two turns, destroying my army, instead I spent those two turns shooting at him. That was really not fair. On an interesting note though, while he failed those stupidity tests three times in a row, he never once squabbled and even when he called a Waaaagh! His army never got a 1 or a 6 (or a 4+ in the case of a Waaagh!). Truly disciplined greenskins. Also, I don’t know whether or not the boar boyz should have taken the panic test, as I am not familiar with the greenskin army. I dare say that if it were not for the troll he would have at least gotten a draw and probably a victory. Also if he did not need to take that panic test, then I truly do feel bad, because he would have had two more turns to try and salvage the game (which would not be bad with a large unit of boar boyz and a chariot rushing at me.

2. I think that this is the last time I will take a mortar. Why, you ask? Well, because there are just so many damn arguments about it. I felt like every time I rolled the scatter die it was impossible to agree exactly where is was facing. Shooting it wasn’t something that I was looking forward to, and that is wrong when you are actually paying for the artillery piece. Then again, it is a very useful tool against weak infantry, so I guess I’ll just have to think about it.

3. He agreed that next game he needs to upgrade his spell casters to lvl 2 if he wants them to actually get spells off. Plus, his orcs should have either extra choppas or shields to make them more effective. I also don’t think that wolf riders should be 8 men strong, nor should they have a standard.

4. Never leave a flank open to destruction. I did that and only survived this game due to some amazing luck. Deployment and army composition is key to this.

Ulrich watched the orcs dancing around their totem with unsuppressed hatred. Because of these foul beasts he had become an outcast from his order, his past achievements forgotten. Along with the surviving knights of the unit he had led, he had been cast out to prove himself worthy of rejoining his brethren. Armed with a large warhammer and armored only with simple cloth and his prayers, Ulrich was ready to redeem himself. Just two weeks ago his honor had been lost when he had fled the field of battle, so now he found himself again ready to face the greenskin foe. The orcs that his order, along with the men of Bogenhaffen, had driven off, and regrouped in these hills and were building up a new Waaagh! The burgomeisters of Bogenhaffen were not to keen about this and had raised up a force to drive the orcs back into the mountains. Ulrich had come upon this army as it marched and was quickly absorbed into the ranks of the army’s swordsmen, all of whom were eager to have a man of the hammer amongst their ranks. As they marched Ulrich led the devout men of the Reikland in prayer, and by the time they reached the battlefield their hearts were full of righteous anger, almost enough to mirror Ulrich’s own hatred. There was little time to prepare as the orcs would see them once they broke out of their religious ritual. Ulrich and the swordsmen marched forward, chanting from the Deus Sigmar in tune to the roar of cannon and mortar fire. As the orcs began to charge towards them Ulrich singled out the largest of their number, a brutal looking orc holding a cleaver that was as big as Ulrich’s hammer. With a snarl Ulrich silently swore that he would drag the broken corpse of the orc boss back to the monastery. With a roar of hatred and fury the two lines slammed into each other.

Nort Onetusk hit the troll in the back of the head with the flat side of his cleaver, cursing at it all the while. His boar boyz milled about, snarling at their terrified mounts to move forward. The troll was staring hungrily at the boars, roaring and clumsily swiping at them. It was a test of who the boars feared more, the troll or their riders. Nort cursed again. It had all gone according to plan! He and the lads had swept down the side, using the cover of their god-statue to get close to the humies. All they had to do now was rush down the hill and overrun the artillery. The humies had sent their cavalry to slow them down and harass them with pistol shot, but they had been surprised by the wolf riders who had ridden behind the orc host. The goblins had lost half of their number to the spirited human defense, but had overwhelmed their foes. Already Nort could see the crossbowmen fleeing for their lives while the rest of the pink-skins tried to turn to face them. The boar riders were only just being able to move past the troll when Nort saw the last of his wolf riders shot down while trying to charge the human archers. From his vantage point the orc general looked down at the field below him. A line of dead black orcs littered the ground where they were shot down, and further down he saw a mob of sword wielding humans kill the wounded orcs after they had driven off the last of his infantry from the totem they had erected. What sealed the deal for him was the sight of one of the orcs riding the chariot being covered from head to foot in molten metal, no doubt the work of one of the mages. Annoyed beyond measure and facing charging into artillery and handgunners, the orc grunted. “Zog it, let’s go ‘ome.” With confused looks the boar boyz followed their boss away from the reloading humans and into the hills, well out of the range of the guns. The last crewmember of the chariot turned it around and started to lead it away. What saved the flight of the orcs was the presence of the troll, which finally forgetting the taste of boar flesh started to run down the hill towards the waiting imperial troops. Nort spared the worthless beast one last glare and prayed to Gork that the humans would kill it slowly.

[Golden Lion]

Superb reports and fluff Grumbaki! Enjoying it very much. I like your variation in lists, and like the small battles as well. In response to the points mentioned in your last post:

1) Ok, he was unlucky to fail three stupidity tests in a row with the general nearby. However, he should have positioned his troll in such a way that it couldn't block the boars. That would have prevented the roadblock. Or am I wrong? Also your 'refused flank' approach was pretty sound, with the pistoliers and huntsmen trying to delay the orc flank while the rest of your army charged at the other flank.

2) I know what you mean by disagreeing over the scatter of the mortar. One tip is to roll the scatter dice as close as possible to the aiming point. This makes it easier to see. Still, I cannot believe what some people make of the arrow on the dice. The mortar is pretty good value for points, however I never am capable of sacrificing the special slot. Would rather have cannon/pistols/outriders/IC.

3) Sounds like good changes to his list, yes. Though maybe the model collection is a limiting factor?

4) In principle I totally agree, but as I said earlier, I don't think you misplayed it in this match. You were slightly unlucky with the pistoliers, they could have done more to delay the orc cavalry. Good point to always remember though. Its the common empire slogan 'ranks 'n flanks'.

EDIT: also you mention a few times taking two swords of might and two enchanted shields (if I am reading it in the right way), I believe this is not allowed. Even common magic items are 'unique' as far as I know. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.

Keep the good stuff coming!

[Briohmar]

Grumbaki, I absolutely dig the fluff write-up. As a rule, I am incapable of that much story. I paint well and play fairly well, and enjoy writing the actual what happened reports, but you write very well. Keep up the good work.

[selone]

Orc's don't take panic tests from gobbo's That doesn't detract from your win though or your background. Keep it up

[vinny t]

Awesome, although I feel for your opponant. Failing 3 stupidity tests in a row for Cold One Riders is annoying. Still great BatReps!

[Matt1982]

Brilliant fluff stories to support the battle reports, really make it come alive, please keep going!

[grumbaki]

Thank you all for your comments. And Golden Lion, thanks for responding to my thoughts. As for your question, in the first battle report I had two warrior priests with identical equipment (each had 1 sword of battle and 1 enchanted shield). Sorry for the confusion. I am really glad that people are enjoying the fluff, it definitely gives me the incentive to keep writing.

The Order of the Broken Lance

Captain: Sword of Fate, Full Plate, Barded Warhorse, Shield
Warrior Priest: Hammer of Judgement, Barded Warhorse, Heavy Armor, Shield
Lvl 2 Mage: Lore of Light (Burning Gaze and Blinding Light) Dispel Scroll, Ring of Volans (Guardian Light)
5 Knights: Full Command
5 Inncer Circle: Full Command, Steel Standard
6 Pistoliers: Outrider with repeater pistol, Musician
11 Huntsmen: Marksman
Total: 1000 points

Marienburg Invaders

Lvl 2 Mage: Dispel Scroll, Power Stone, Lore of Heavens (Second Sign and Forked Lightning), Barded Warhorse
Lvl 2 Mage: Dispel Scroll, Power Stone, Lore of Heavens (Second Sign and Forked Lightning)
20 Swordsmen: Full Command
-5 Handgunner Deatchment
20 Spearmen: Full Command
-5 Handgunner Detachment
8 Inncer Circle Knights: Full Command
5 Pistoliers
Total: 997 points

Terrain

The battlefield took place within a village. To the far left was a hill with a watch tower on it, with a farm to the right of it (and a forest to the north of it). Further along to the right was a large forest (with a building to the north). It’s always great to play on a themed board.

http://www.warseer.com/gallery/data/...Marienburg.jpg

(sorry for the poor quality map, but I hope that it gives a better idea where the terrain was). Gray=Buildings, Green=Forests, Brown=Hill

Deployment

Marienburg:

The swordsmen with one mage went to the left of the farm. In their center, between the farm and the trees were the knights, followed by the spearmen. The mounted mage went between the two. To the far right he deployed his pistoliers, with a building between them and the rest of the army.

Empire:

Both units of knights went in the middle, with the pistoliers to their left (behind the farm). The huntsmen were deployed in the forest to the right, ready to take out the enemy pistoliers (a great benefit of them being scouts). The captain went with the regular knights, the priest went with the inner circle. The mage hid behind the farm house (which in retrospect is really stupid, as a single lightning bolt could leave him dead).

Turn 1

The Marienburgers took the first turn and advanced forward, keeping just out of my 14'' charge range. The swordsmen were turning to come towards the center while the pistoliers hesitantly went forward. Magic was stopped, but I lost my scroll in the process (thus saving my pistoliers from meeting an inglorious end).

No charges were declared, but the imperial pistoliers sped forward towards the mounted enemy mage. My knights positioned themselves to charge his knights if they accepted my pistolier bait. My magic was stopped by him, but in the shooting phase my pistoliers shot down his mage. My huntsmen also killed and impressive 4 pistoliers, and the last one fled from the field of battle. Overall, it was a very good first turn.

Turn 2

After thinking it over his knights charged my pistoliers. He was in a bind, because if he left them alone my pistoliers could run around doing damage, but if he charged he was setting his knights up for a double charge from my knights. The pistoliers fled 5'' and were run down. His infantry tried to keep up. Even with a mage gone he got off the second sign of amul.

My knights charged his knight unit, which fled and was run down (but only because the steel standard gave me an extra 3''). I could tell that his plan was to take out my pistoliers and then flee to safety, but for both of us this tactic let us down. This put my inner circle directly facing his swordsmen with his spearmen behind them. The only magic I got off was to make my inner circle unbreakable. In the shooting phase my huntsmen killed three handgunners, and the rest fled (never to rally).

Turn 3

His swordsmen charged my inner circle knights and the spearmen faced my other knights. Due to some woods to the north of the farm house, his handgunners couldn't reach combat to flank the inner circle. Magic was shut down and in close combat my warrior priest killed his mage (hit twice with the hammer of judgement and he failed both toughness tests) and he lost 1 swordsman. He won combat but my knights were unbreakable.

In my turn 3 the other knights charged the spearmen and broke them. The huntsmen had moved up behind them so when they fled they were automatically destroyed. The knights didn't pursue as I had the intention to get them towards the other combat. They didn't manage to get there by the end of the game. Magic blinded the swordsmen (WS 1). My inner circle did some more wounds, but the swordsmen held.

Turns 4-5

His handgunners flanked my inner circle, but lost combat and fled. The mage and huntsmen shot them all down as they ran. In hand to hand combat, my inner circle beat the swordsmen in combat every close combat phase (thanks in part to the spell blinding light). He passed his break tests for 3 phases, but finally broke at the end of turn 5. I was fortunate with my armor saves, but his swordsmen proved to be very tough indeed.

Victory to the Empire

Thoughts

My opponent (Ian) is pretty new to warhammer, but is a great guy with lots of potential. Before this game I saw him fight a vampire count army to a bloody draw (in his favor), and that proves that he's got some skill.

Thoughts

1) Knights are better run in units with 5-6 frontage and no second rank. He ran his knights with two ranks of four. The extra wound is the same as the rank bonus, but for far less points.
2) Because of the way he used his handgunners, swordsmen would probably make a better detachment.
3) Pistoliers need to avoid enemy shooters, because they really cannot stand up to any punishment themselves.
4) Always keep mages in units or far away from the fighting. He was surprised to see my use the pistoliers so boldly, but next time he will make sure that his mages are protected)
5) I was lucky that his mages didn't get the spell that doesn't allow armor saves. That could have really messed me up. As is, the pistoliers saved me from his magic phase by killing one of his wizards.

Rumors were rife. The mercenaries who had so recently been defeated were being kept together under armed guard and they could do nothing but wait for their fate to be decided. Some claimed that they were to be forced to join the penal legions of the count of Middenheim which were used to flush out beastmen from the forests of the Empire. Others swore that they were all to be sacrificed in some kind of Sigmarite ritual. Most though lamented the fact that no matter what happened to them they were not going to get paid. For Thurman, enough was enough. As the captain of the elite Goldsword company, he knew that he had a duty to keep his men alive. He had built up his unit to be known as the most stubborn infantry for hire in Marienburg and he had done that by attracting the best of the best within the mercantile city. Already two of them lay dead on the field and a third probably wouldn’t make it past the night. With a sour look on his face he pushed himself to his feet and walked up to one of their guards. Ignoring the unsheathed sword pointed at his chest he calmly said “I need to talk to your captain.”

Konrad paced while the preceptors and priests argued. The mercenary leader had offered him a deal. Apparently a second army had left Marienburg and was heading for the Lowland watchtower. It was a lightly guarded tower that had been built to give a warning signal incase of invasion. With that in the hands of the Marienburger no word would reach the Empire to take back the village that Konrad now stood in. The Burgomeister’s plan was a solid one, but he had not taken into account the sword of fate which had led Konrad to this point. All that the mercenary asked for in return for the details of what they would find there was safe passage for himself and his men back to Marienburg. Granted, the invasion had already failed, but Konrad could not stand by while the soil of the Empire was sullied by invaders. It was really a tempting offer, as they all knew now that they were in for a battle but now they had the option of knowing exactly what they were up against. After five minutes of listening to his subordinates argue, Konrad made up his mind. “Enough. Bring the mercenary to me.” Thurman was quickly pushed towards Konrad. Thurman was a big man, a full head taller than Konrad. Further enlarging the man was his moustache, which could even rival that of Kurt Helborg himself. Konrad on the other hand was completely bald, shorter and of a leaner build. If he felt any unease standing in the shadow of the big man, he didn’t show it. “We have a deal.” Thurman’s smile stayed on his face even as Konrad continued. “You will still be kept here under guard until we return, but should you prove to have told us the truth, then you have my word that we will release you.” Thurman nodded and gave a smug smile to the knights and priests surrounding him. “Aye then. Well, the old bastard sent the majority of us to take this here town. But the tower, he sent his mages and his personal guard to take that, and when I say personal guard I’m talking about his knights. He collects them, you see? Disgraced knights from Tilea to Kislev, he calls them Stromfel’s Chosen. They’ll likely have some pistoliers too, as their order makes use of them. As for their infantry, I don’t know the numbers, but a drinking fried of mine said that his mercenary company was hired to accompany them. I’ve fought with the Nordland Wreckers before, so they’ll likely have some swords, spears and handgunners with them. They’re called the Nordland Wreckers not because they are all from Nor-…” He trailed off when he saw that Konrad didn’t care about the history of the mercenaries, but instead just on the details. “So a handful of infantry with knights and mages, but no artillery, probably no more than fifty or so men all told.” Now, they went for the tower even before we left for here, so they’ll be dug in. You want a map? Aye then…”

It took Konrad two days to reach the Lowland tower, as he had his men round up every patrol that the order had out in the region to join them. They had found two such patrols and had added their numbers to the knights that he had brought with them. As they approached the Lowland Tower they could see the damage done to it. The tower was partially ruined, with its’ western wall partly collapsed and blackened from lightning blasts. Surprisingly, around the tower was encamped the enemy. Spear tips glistened in the sunlight as the enemy spearmen began to march towards them. Next to them were Stromfel’s Chosen; Konrad could feel his men’s displeasure upon seeing them. Konrad wasn’t sure how the enemy knew they were coming, but he guessed that sorcery was to blame. But magic or no, Konrad was a veteran commander of the order, and from the knowledge he had gained from Thurman, he was confident that he would win this.

Lazarus snorted in contempt at the enemy before them. A line of knights stood still and faced them, with one flank guarded by the abandoned farmhouse and the other by the copse of woods. His magic, and that of his colleague, had forewarned them of the enemy coming. He just didn’t know that there were so few of them. Lazarus did a quick headcount and saw that he had only slightly fewer knights, but he had infantry, his pistoliers and his own magic as well. Obviously these knights had stumbled upon them, so they would have to die. Lazarus called upon the winds of magic but his brow furrowed as the power slipped through his fingers. Odd, he thought, the winds were unusually slippery that day. All thoughts of the peculiarity of the winds fled his mind as he heard men screaming to his left. A quick glance over the heads of the spearmen gave him the sight of his pistoliers falling to the ground, they and their horses filled with arrows. Only a single rider fled from the onslaught. Arrows! It was an ambush. Lazarus was about to turn his horse around when a bugle’s note blasted through the air. A number of enemy horsemen were speeding towards him from behind the cover of the farmhouse. The bastards were taking themselves right in front of his knights. The fools! How could they be so bold? Lazarus had just turned his horse around when a pistol shot exploded through his skull.

Konrad watched as his pistoliers turned their horses around, but it was too late. The enemy knights had broken into a charge. The pistoliers scattered, but over three fourths of them were taken down by the lances of their foes. With a roar, his knights charged to the aid of their brethren. Stromfel’s Chosen tried to reign in their charge when they realized the trap they had been led into. The knights of the Broken Lance were coming in from their front and from their left. Their flight came too late as their world exploded with the shattering of lances and the death cries of their steeds. In half of a blood minute it was over.

Father Marius and his men rode hard, cutting down the fleeing knights. His blood sang with the slaughter even as he raised his voice in praise to Sigmar. Konrad had reined his knights in, turning them towards the incoming spearmen. Marius could hear battle joined behind him and was about to order his men to turn to face the spears when he saw before him a disciplined unit of swordsmen charging at him from the cover of the farm. Just as he had done, the enemy had sprung a trap on him. Marius saw within the ranks of swordsmen a woman who was chanting a spell. Marius raised his hammer and screamed “For Sigmar! For the Empire! Kill them all!” Infused by his fervor the knights dropped their broken lances, drew their swords and braced for the slaughter. Marius pushed his steed forward towards the foe, his hammer crushing the head of a swordsman who got between him and his target. The seeress’ eyes widened as she saw the priest fight his way towards her. She raised her hands and screamed out a spell of protection. It would have worked if Marius had been swinging a normal hammer. But his was anything but normal, as it had been blessed by the Grand Theonogist Sigismund himself when the church of Sigmar was founded. It was an ancient relic that struck the souls of the enemy, not just their bodies. The hammer passed through her spells and through her, leaving no mark. Then her body spasmed and light shot out of her eyes. The hammer had literally burned her from the inside out. The seeress fell to the ground, smoke coming out of her empty eye sockets. Marius fully expected the swordsmen to break, but was surprised when he felt a sword hit him in the leg. The swordsmen were swarming them, trying to find a weak point in their armor. However, they were fighting the elite of the order, each one a veteran of countless battles. Moreso, each knight was wearing full plate armor, forged by dwarven armor smiths. One by one the swordsmen fell, but they refused to break. With one flank protected by the forest and the other by the farmhouse it was impossible to flank them, but it also meant that they couldn’t surround his knights. As a unit of handgunners charged in as well, using their guns as clubs, Marius realized that they would just have to kill them all.

The slaughter went on for six bloody minutes. Of the twenty swordsmen who had charged over fourteen lay dead and dying, while not a single knight had fallen. Each knight’s armor was dented and a few had blood dripping out of the joints of their armor, but none had fallen. Now Marius and the five knights surrounded the last knot of defenders. The field was quiet, save for the sounds of the dying. The swordsmen could see more of their foes coming now; Konrad and his knights, who had finished slaughtering the spearmen, as well as the archers which had shot down the pistoliers and the supporting handgunners. Konrad pushed his way through the ring of knights to address his foe. He was surprised when he saw their leader, a scarred man who was aged beyond his years yell “The wreckers never surrender! Charge!” He charged down at Konrad, but hesitated when he saw that he was the only one doing so. A single downward stroke cut his head in half. The remaining five swordsmen dropped their swords and shields to the ground. Konraded nodded. “A wise choice.”

Luitipold wanted nothing more than to sleep. It had been a long day. Not only had he fought in a battle, but he had just finished burying his dead comrades. He had been fortunate though. The enemy commander had been so impressed by the bravery from him and his men that he had allowed them to join their order. He had joined the Nordland wreckers after he had gone with his older brother to Marienburg to join his uncle's business. Luitipold had found the life of a merchant to be exceedingly dull, so after a night of drinking he decided that the best way to see the world was to join a mercenary company. In other words, he drunk too much and woke up in a cot within the barracks of the Nordland Wreckers. As the details came back to him he remembered regaling the mercenaries he met with tales of his heroism back in the Empire (none of which was true) and showing off his skills with a blade (which were not too meager). Rather than try to get out of the mess that he had gotten himself into he rationalized that joining them would at least lead to some adventure. He was surprised when his first action had led him back into the Empire. All that they had done was standing behind the mages as they leveled a tower and then stood in ranks while waiting for orders. Then the killing started, and Luitipold, stationed in the back ranks, found the entire business to be somewhat different from what he expected.

The Nordland Wreckers were not all from Nordland, nor were they all from the Empire, or even wreckers. It was just that their captain, who had so bravely charged to his death, had done before founding the company. Luitipold counted himself lucky then that the other four survivors were Nordlanders. None of them were particularly devout, but they knew enough prayers to give the illusion. That, combined with their bravery in battle had been enough to spare their lives. The five of them were marching along with their fellow ‘warrior monks’, though they were all disarmed and still needed to be accepted by the chapter master and the order's high priest if they were really to be allowed to join. Apparently the order recruited many of their followers from those they defeated in battle, assuming of course that their foes could prove themselves to be Sigmarites.

The monks had told them a bit more about what they had signed up for. Apparently, any warrior who proved himself particularly worthy had a chance to become a knight. He could tell that all of the archers around him were eager for the chance, which probably explained their bloody swords, swords which they had used to slaughter the retreating spearmen. Luitipold gave a quick glance at the knights who were riding beside them and smiled. Back in Averland he knew that all of the knights were of noble blood, so he never thought it was possible that a man of low birth could join such an order. His life had already changed dramatically over the past week, so he took this too in stride. He thought with a smile 'mother always wanted one of us to join the church..."