*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 29, 2024, 01:26:55 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1686604
  • Total Topics: 118111
  • Online Today: 626
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves  (Read 4658 times)

Offline VoodooInk

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 362
    • bombshell-games.com
HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« on: July 19, 2010, 09:37:03 PM »
This weekend I played a game of HAVOC with my buddy Eric. Sine there has been so much buzz about WHFB (with the new edition out), and people comparing it to other games, we thought we’d let the models settle their differences on the field of battle. Skorne versus Dwarves!

After going through the pre-game ritual, it was determined that we would be playing a scenario know as ‘Parley’. Essentially, this begins with each of us sending a representative (or representatives) to the center of the field to discuss the terms of battle, trade barbs, boast, and jest with our opponents. This is a bidding war (sort of like name that tune), where players take turns saying how many less points the will bring than the other to the battle. As one might guess, sometimes the egos of those involved can allow things to escalate a bit, leading to concessions that may, or may not, be ill advised.



Rhoric the Red waited at the center of the ruins for the enemy envoy to arrive. There was the slightest shaking of the ground, dust fell from columns and lintels, and the rubies in his braided beard clicked together, at the advance of something large- very large. When he saw him, he knew his name immediately, though they had never met before. They called him Titan the Implacable, and he looked as much.

‘I thought that you’d be bigger’, Rhoric said, cocking his head to one side.
‘Did you now?’ Titan rumbled. His hot breath washed over the dwarf though he was some distance away. 
‘I think not,’ the Titan said. ’Actually, I know not. I think this will be an easy victory. I’ve already sent 86 of my troops away.’
Rhoric just looked at him. There was no way he could send more troops than that away. It would be too great of a risk. His silence said as much.
Titan made a loud bellowing sound that was apparently supposed to pass for laughter- dust fell.
‘It’s settled then!’ the Implacable rumbled.

The each gave their signals, and the forces took the field, setting up at the edges of the ruin.




Skorne won the Parley, would set-up last, have momentum, and the game would begin with a Cut-Scene.

Titan the Implacable, instead of going after Rhoric, charged through the ruin, and barreled in the firing line of dwarven Thunderers. A tusk gored one through, the carcass of the dwarf  hanging from it, but the other dwarf slipped beneath his gaping maw and engaged the towering beast.



The Titan moved across the field, spent a HAVOC token to move again, then repeated that action to perform Impact Hits on the firing line. He ‘should’ have trampled through 4 of them; however, he duffed the second roll and got stuck in melee instead.



Rhoric sees the rampage of Titan. He deliberates for only a second before moving off in the other direction. It’s not cowardice that takes him away- quite the opposite. He knows that the experienced Longbeards of his ‘Shield’ will be able to handle the Titan. He would buy them time to complete that task by challenging one of the Cyclopean Juggernauts to single combat. And so, he did…



The Cyclops know only as Foresight, accepts the challenge and jumps into the dwarf, steel singing on steel…

The Cyclops performs an Impact Hit on the dwarven Champion, causing him to use 2 HAVOC tokens to stave off a certain death. They are now engaged in melee.

The Longbeards charge in to melee with Titan. Their musicians sounds a long low note on his horn, and the remaining Thunderers move off to take position as previously planned. There is another shaking of the ground, not caused by The Implacable One, as the Deathroller moved around the perimeter of the ruins.



The Cut-Scene is ended and we now roll for momentum. Skorne spends a HAVOC token to boost the roll, and ends up keeping it for another round.

The other Cyclopean Juggernaut moves towards the center of the ruins. Rhoric hears a strange sound and recognized it at once. It was like two voices speaking at the same time, but the same voice, a whispered rumbling, that made the hair on his neck stand up. They had a Warlock, and he was preparing to use Arcanum! ‘I hate magic!’ Rhoric thought. ‘I’ll have to kill him next…’



The Skorne player moves Cyclops #2 and performs the ‘prepare Augmentation’ action.
The dwarves move their miners through the tunneled halls on the right side of the ruin, moving out into the open, hoping to temp the Cyclops into charging.

From a tunnel entrance to its left, the Cyclops known only as Scimitar, sees the warm glow of fire playing off of the ruins as the dwarven Miners come onto the field. He cuts three of them down, and turns quickly as the Thunderers dragon belchers launch shot at him- but not hitting.

The Thunderers hasten furiously to reload their blackpowder weapons, but they will not be able to do it in time unless a miracle happens… OR A DEATHROLLER!



Kicking up dust, belching out smoke and steam, with gears clacking and clanging, the Deathroller bowls into the Cyclops and almost kills him- but not quite. The remaining Miners join the fray in hopes of buying the Thunderers the time they need to prepare for another shot.



After Phase I and Phase II are complete, we move to the Assault Phase. Skorne has momentum.

Foresight swings his blade low and wide, Rhoric parries the blow with the war axe in his left hand, leaps onto the blade of his opponent and brings the axe in his right hand down on the helm of his foe. The helm opens some, and a trickle of thick dark fluid oozes down the chest plate. The Cyclops is injured, but not dead. And as his upswing comes back to meet Rhorics neck, his blade aglow, all the dwarf can think is, ‘Now, I won’t be able to kill that damnable Warlock!’ Darkness followed…



I’ll detail this melee for you. The Cyclops had a total of 5 MAD dice, all of which were placed in attack.

The dwarven Champion had a total of  6 MAD dice. He placed 5 in defense, and 1 in attack.

1. Cyclops declares he will attack with 3 dice.
    Rhoric declare that he will defend with all 5.
    Both players roll their dice, keeping 3 of their choosing.
    Rhoric wins the roll.
2. Rhoric uses his Parry Ability to interrupt the Cyclops attack.
    He only has 1 die in attack BUT he spends his last 2 HAVOC tokens to bring the total to 3.
    The Cyclops placed no die in defense, so only gets to roll 1 ‘Never Say Die’ die.
    Both players roll their dice, keeping all 3 and 1 respectively- the result is a tie.
    This is a Glancing Blow, so the damage roll is cut in half; it was already halved due to the
    damage reduction of the Cyclops.
    Needless to say, this attack did not cause any harm!
3. The Cyclops attacks with his remaining 2 melee die.
     Now, Rhoric has none left.
     The Skorne plater uses the Arcanum being held by the Warlock to augment the rolls and destroy
     the dwarven champion.

In the combat with Titan, The Implacable One kills another Thunderer, but the Lonbeards persevere
with the skillful use of their shields, emboldened by the standard of their Hold.

The melee with the Cyclops know as Scimitar ends with the 2 miners dead. The Deathroller survived and remained engaged with the Cyclopean Juggernaut

Back at the top of another round, after the dice have been rolled, the dwarves have momentum!

Fights abound all over the ruin. Foresight holds up the severed head of Rhoric, the reddish-orange of his hair and the rubies in his beard, are mixed and matted with the red of his own blood. Foresight lets out a roar of victory. And the Thunderers let out a roar of their own. Not with their voices, but with powder and shot. All 3 rounds catch the Cyclops in the chest, and the ‘roar’ he makes as he falls to the ground is a strangled and pathetic thing. Rhoric has been avenged!



There is some more maneuvering by both sides before moving to the next Assault Phase.
Not too much, however, as numbers are dwindling on both sides.

Light glints on honed edges, and catches on rubies and sapphires, as the war axes of the Longbeards rise and fall. The standard is held high for all to see. The Titan fights ferociously, but it turns out that he is not Implacable after all, and falls in combat…



The Deathroller falls in combat to the last remaining Cyclops. The Thunderers try to reload for one last shot, but Scimitar wreaks havoc on them with the aid of the Warlocks magicks.



At this point the dwarves have 3 longbeards remaining, 1 musician, and 1 standard.
The Skorne have 1 Cyclopean Juggernaut and the Warlock.

The line of Longbeards has reformed after the felling of Titan, and are now marching in song to finish the remaining foes.  Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet erupts in a spray of dirt and dust, and dwarves are flung through the air and to the ground. Looking through blurred vision, fighting to remain conscious, one of the Longbeards sees the hazy shape of the Warlock moving towards them. And then, a shadow engulfs him, as the Cyclops steps over him, sword raised…

The Skorne player uses the Disruption spell to break apart the Longbeard formation, and the Cyclops move in for the kill. In the combats that followed, the Cyclops known as Scimitar would fall, but so would 3 of the Longbeards: 2 shields and the musician. So, it is only 2 dwarves: the single Longbeard and the Standard Bearer versus the Warlock.

‘You won’t have time to prepare another spell before I’m on you Warlock!’ the Longbeard shouted as he charged forward. ‘I don’t need to, I have these…’ <schwick> the Warlock whispered as he threw back his hands and moved into a crouch, his bladed hands shining with sharpness. And then they met… the dwarf moving forward steadily, while the Warlock whirled about. The dichotomy of the dance was strange to watch, as the two differing styles merged into a beautiful dance of point and counterpoint- beautiful, but deadly. Once, the Standard Bearer tried to join the fight, but was quickly halted by a sharp and simple ‘No!’ from the Old One. This was to be his battle, win or lose, and the Standard must be returned to the Hold, should he fall.


The Warlock drove both claws at the head of the Longbeard.  The dwarf ducked under as quickly as he could, rolling forward, and behind his foe (losing a bit of hair, but keeping his head). The Warlock had meant this to be a killing blow, and had put everything behind this thrust. The miss caused him to bury his claws in the fallen beam that leaned against the rubble. There was only a moment for the shock to register on his face before the great hammer met the back of his head.

The dwarves eliminated the opposing host, having only a single Longbeard and the Standard bearer left. Now, let’s see who won the Scenario!

The allocation of Prideful Observances For Notable Tactics & Strategy (aka POINTS)

The Dwarves earned 3 POINTS for eliminating the enemy force.

The Skorne earned 1 POINTS for winning the negotiation during the parley.

The Skorne earned 2 POINTS for eliminating the opposing parleyers.

Dwarves 3- Skorne 3 The game was a tie. However, we both won, as it was an exciting game!
I hope that you enjoyed this little recap of our game.

« Last Edit: July 19, 2010, 09:45:17 PM by VoodooInk »
'HAVOC... it's okay to wreak a little!'    <a href="http://www.bombshell-games.com/>bombshell games[/url]

Offline Thantsants

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2142
    • Somewhere the tea's getting cold...
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2010, 10:28:27 PM »
Great battle report - edge of the seat stuff! I'm looking forward to trying these rules out myself when they arrive.  >:D

 The parley sequence sounds interesting at the beginning...

Lovely minis by the way and the table is very effective - your photography reminds me of Bakshi's version of LOTR!


Offline Doomhippie

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2688
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2010, 11:12:56 PM »
Yes, very nice. I, too, find your painting quite interesting.
Roky Erickson flies my spaceship!

Offline VoodooInk

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 362
    • bombshell-games.com
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2010, 03:21:00 PM »
Thanks to both of you for your comments. The game was an exciting one- lots of tension there at the end especially!

Great battle report - edge of the seat stuff! I'm looking forward to trying these rules out myself when they arrive.  >:D

 The parley sequence sounds interesting at the beginning...

Lovely minis by the way and the table is very effective - your photography reminds me of Bakshi's version of LOTR!

I was going for David Wenzels illustrated style used for the Hobbit! So, your reference to Bakshi is great! :)
Also, let me know if you want some profiles for playing HAVOC in Middle Earth once you get the rules. I have some unofficial stuff you might enjoy! ;)
 

Offline Thantsants

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2142
    • Somewhere the tea's getting cold...
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2010, 09:10:21 PM »
Always fancied a bit of middle earth action but no minis (proxies not withstanding!)

I'm sure Aygar Mistletaine from the Magnificent Sven scenario would make a good Gandalf!

Offline VoodooInk

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 362
    • bombshell-games.com
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2010, 06:40:06 PM »
Email sent with attachment. See you in Middle Earth! :)

Offline Muskie

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 248
  • Purple and Green are the only colours you need.
    • My Homepage
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2010, 03:31:56 AM »
Why'd you post-process the photos so much?

Offline VoodooInk

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 362
    • bombshell-games.com
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2010, 09:28:33 AM »
Why'd you post-process the photos so much?

Just having a bit of fun! I was trying to emulate an 'illustrated' style for the battle report. I had considered placing them on a storyboard- comic/graphic novel style.

Offline hetz

  • Assistant
  • Posts: 46
Re: HAVOC Battle Report: Skorne vs. Dwarves
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2010, 12:57:59 PM »
Nice report. I really like the photos, might nick that idea if I ever get round to a battle report.

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
11 Replies
18130 Views
Last post August 13, 2010, 11:40:37 PM
by Thantsants
14 Replies
8795 Views
Last post May 06, 2011, 04:02:25 AM
by Damien
3 Replies
1380 Views
Last post June 15, 2013, 02:16:48 AM
by Christian
0 Replies
877 Views
Last post March 15, 2017, 04:27:29 PM
by sean_68333
8 Replies
2220 Views
Last post August 07, 2023, 05:27:41 AM
by Raedwald