The Sword of Ares SoB&H AAR ***Pic Heavy***

[Gibby]

Tonight majorsmith (Andy) and I (David) assembled in a bit of a last minute meet up for a game using Andy's most excellent Greek Mythology collection. I actually scribbled up the scenario on the back of a label at work during my lunch hour, so I'm pretty chuffed with how well it played out!

The Sword of Ares

The adventurers Agathon, Nikon and Methodius, having arrived in Assyria, have hired local guides to take them in the direction of the ruins and forgotten cities they have heard of in their travels. After days of travel, and fruitless searches of ruins that were occupied with naught but the whispering of the sand-filled winds and the distant voices of long dead men, they saw in the distance columns of great magnitude.
Agathon, assuring his companions that this, the most glorious looking ruin they had yet encountered, must surely be the resting place of some treasure. All three companions desperately hoped so. Thus far their travels through the fabled ruins of the Assyrian desert had gained nothing but minor trinkets that wouldn't even recover the expenses of their supplies. Supplies which were dwindling.


The figure for Methodius changes pose mid game as the spear was knocked out of his hand by Andy. Nothing a spot of superglue won't fix!

On the other side of the ruins, the Arabian sorcerer Kavata, stood facing the columns from the opposite side. As he drew closer to these relics of a long forgotten temple, he felt the winds sigh with the magic that saturated the place. Speaking the words forbidden in the civilised places of the world, words unknown to almost all but the most powerful of his kind he cast his spell. Powerful winds of magic instantly drew around him and then exploded out into the ruins, into the scorching sands, and the long dead warriors and protectors of this place answered his call. The sands shifted and up rose armed skeletons, their shields still bright with their designs, preserved by the desert since the day they fell from their mortal lives in battle. With these he could surely defeat the rumoured guardian that was said to dwell below, in the resting place of the Sword of Ares, the sword that would be his!



As the three adventurers move towards the ruins, they hear a terrible voice on the wind, and each of them shudders as they know sorcery is afoot. They steel themselves, at last expecting to find some trouble, and hopefully with it, reward.

As they reach the ruins, they see the warriors of the dead marching inexorably their way in their lumbering gait.



Agathon jumps up onto a part of the ruin and readies himself for the approaching undead and whispers a prayer to Zeus.



As he readies to fight, he spots to his left a sunken in entrance to whatever lies below. He dashes for it as the undead warriors approach, yelling to his friends to follow and ward off the skeletons.



Kavata urges on his long dead slaves, watching as one of the inconveniently present adventurers makes his escape into the catacombs.



Nikon and Methodius seek to follow Agathon but as they scramble over the sand-drenched stone the skeletons move to block them off at the urging of their feverishly insistent necromantic master.



Seeing the threat of them becoming separated and the undead fiends following Agathon below, Nikon leaps down and swings his sword in an threatening arc before the skeleton warriors. Their reply is a silent advance, the skull-grimace giving them an almost gleeful expression as a dim magical glow fills their eye sockets.



Battle is joined as a skeleton reaches Nikon. Its clumsy attack is knocked aside by the adventurer and with a quick reverse of his curved sword he cleaves the skull from the long dead bones. Before it hits the ground he is ready to face two more skeletons who advance on him. Methodius leaps upon the marbled stone and thrusts his spear in a well practice attack, which despite hitting bone nevertheless strikes with such force that it smashes the spine of the nearest undead warrior, sending the bones to an ill fitting resting place as the evil magic animating them returns to the winds from whence they came.

[Gibby]

Agathon's eyes adjust to the gloom of the catacombs he finds himself in. He discovers he is in a tunnel created by cave ins that leave him with no options but to go straight on, all other paths blocked off by rubble.



On the surface, Nikon and Methodius hold the entrance, their attacks complementing each other's and the skeletons fall before their blades.



As the necromancer Kavata move further into the ruins with his undead entourage, he angrily speaks more words of power, drawing sands to him on eldritch winds, shaping them into a spear which he launches with a final, gutteral shout.



Methodius brings his shield up just in time and the missile slams into it with the clang of metal, exploding into a shower of sand. Shaking his head to regain concentration he returns to the fight, cursing the foul sorcerer with every thrust of his spear.

As the fighting becomes fierce, Methodius yells to Nikon to get below to find and assist Agathon against whatever secrets or horrors the ruins may hold down there. Clattering his spear to his shield he draws the attention of the dull-witted undead for just long enough for Nikon to duck from the fight and get below. Almost sliding down the sand-covered stone stairs he reaches below at a run and shouts for Agathon.



As Methodius dispatches yet another skeleton from his vantage point, and prepared for the approach of another, the two undead fiends that were momentarily distracted turn back and stumbled after Nikon, into the catacombs.



Methodius, dispatching another skeleton, watches as the sorcerer and what remains of his undead bodyguard scramble down into the underground after his friends.



Below ground, Nikon follows Agathon as the latter reports that he sees an entryway ahead, and from within it a slight glow. Treasure must surely lie that way!

Nikon, aware that they are being followed, tells Agathon to investigate ahead and, turning, awaits the approach of their foes.



Dodging aside from the downward swing of the first skeleton to reach him, Nikon pivots and brings his own wicked blade down on the neck of his opponent, leaving another shattered pile of bones in the dust of the catacomb floor.

Another skeleton charges in, thrusting its still-sharp spear point at Nikon's heart. The skilful adventurer knocks the spear's blade down into the sand and then stamps on its shaft, the snapping of the ancient, brittle wood echoing from the walls. Stepping in without delay, he dispatches the disarmed undead warrior and moves to rejoin Agathon, ignoring the mad sorcerer who is now babbling in his foreign tongue.

Meanwhile Methodius, having cleared the surface of the undead, descends the steps into the gloom. As his eyes adjust he makes out the face of a Gorgon, the design on the shield of the skeleton guarding the stairs.

Making short work of it, he knocks it down with his momentum before slamming his sandalled foot into its leering face, crushing the bone into a shower of dust.

[Gibby]

Agathon moves slowly into the entryway, as as he peers into the gloom, seeking the glow, a mighty shadow stirs accompanied by a growl that echoes right through the entire corridor.  Agathon shouts in alarm as a minotaur bellows its challenge and brandishes a giant sword. Beyond it Agathon can detect the glow he spied before. Steeling himself he yells for Nikon's assistance and moves in to fight his way to the treasure.



Further back towards the stairs, Kavata's babbling turns into the same words of power from before the battle, and as the sorcerous language echoes around the walls, long dead guardians, raiders or worshippers of the temple ruins stir from the places they fell, for whatever long-forgotten battles took place here left many dead and buried amidst their weapons. Thusly re-enforced,  the necromantic sorcerer sends some of his newly raised warriors at Methodius and bids the rest follow him towards the battle ahead, from which the clash of bronze swords, the grunts and exertions of the two warriors and the gutteral growls and bellows of a beast can be heard.

Kavata, who had spent many years in search of what the presence of the guardian now confirmed was here, was feverishly advancing towards the fight!

The minotaur, cursed by Ares to guard this place, never to die from hunger or thirst, was madenned by its years of isolation, awaiting the time when its vigil would be disturbed by mortals once again, was fighting its latest battle with fury.

Agathon and Nikon circled it, slashed at it, parried and dodged the swings of its terrible sword. Checking their courage at its every rage-filled roar, they fought grim determination.



Methodius slammed into one skeleton with his weight behind his shield, the blow shattering its ribcage and sending it to the ground destroyed. Swinging his spear in a wide arc he knocks aside the attack of a second skeleton before spinning on his heel to decapitate his foe with a powerful swing of his bronze-coated shield. Yelling a challenge to the sorcerer up ahead, he is taken by surprise as the necromancer turns and whips another magic-imbued arrow of sand at the adventurer. Stunned, Methodius is knocked to the ground as a skeleton charges in at the bidding of its master.



 With more skeletons clawing their way from rubble, or from the very dirt, the sorcerer cackles with glee as they advance on the fallen adventurer. Agathon and Nikon's melee with the Minotaur continues, both warriors wounded but keen, their skill proven by the many cuts upon the beast's torso. Suddenly, the Minotaur bellows with fury and slams itself into Agathon who is knocked winded to the ground. The beast spins and Nikon ducks back from the sword just fast enough to survive, but takes a cutting wound to the arm as he does so.

[Gibby]

In the confusion of this melee, Kavata, desperately seeking his prize, had darted through the entrance past the warriors and their monstrous foe accompanied by one of his undead minions. Agathon, recovering his sense, gets up and gives chase to the sorcerer while Nikon yells his challenge to the Minotaur; thus keeping its attention away from Agathon's back.






The colourful robes of the sorcerer who so perilously passed close to the Minotaur at this momentary break in the melee attract its attention and with a bellow it turns fron Nikon and stomps directly at Kavata. The wizard, in alarm, swings his poison coated dagger in a vicious ark, a swing driven more by terror than skill. The knife connects only with horn as the monster slams into the sorceror; knocking him to the ground.



Before the Minotaur can finish off the winded wizard, a skeleton moves in and thrusts its spear into the beast, distracting it and making it roar with rage. Kavata crawls away from the beast and regains his feet, stumbling maddeningly towards the glowing treasure in the corner.




Back at the entrance, as Methodius rolls aside from another spear thrust, he casts his own weapon through the skull of a skeleton. As he does so two more blades descend upon him, and as the brave warrior who had sent the most undead back to the grave brings his shield up to deflect one, the other slams into his chest. The undead warrior's wicked spear still held a keen edge, and with a final scream of rage Methodius is finally overwhelmed by the warriors of Kavata the sorcerer.



Back in the treasure chamber, Nikon engages a skeleton in the entrance while Agathon, seeing the sorcerer's intent, storms after Kavata, hitting him in the back and sending him once more to the ground, where upon the mad wizard splutters and crawls the last few feet towards the magical glow, which he now sees is indeed the Sword of Ares he so desires.



Nikon knocks back his foe, and seeing the situation ahead turns from his opponent and launches an attack at the Minotaur. Still fighting the skeleton that had saved its master from the beast with a spear thrust, it was ill prepared for Nikon's assault and stumbled back. The skeleton that had been fighting Nikon not a few moments before, charges at the bellowing Minotaur as well, somehow sensing it as the greater threat with its dull, magic-infused senses.



As the sorcerer crawls towards the Sword of Ares, Agathon kicks him back to the ground and vaults over to grab the sword himself. The weapon shines with an almost golden light, and as his hand closes around the hilt, Agathon is momentarily overwhelmed with a sense of power, and through his mind flash images of battles since time began, the anger, rage and glory of all warriors of all time fill his heart and he roars with triumph as he holds the magical sword aloft.

Filled with his own rage, his mind almost broken after working such powerful magics in the pursuit of his desire to possess this magical sword, Kavata shrieks at Agathon's display of premature victory and launches himself at the warrior. Overwhelmed as he is by the power flowing from the sword, Agathon is sent stumbling against the wall of the chamber and falls to the ground, the magical sword clattering beneath him as he descends.

[Gibby]

As this is going on, the skeletons fresh from defeating Methodius reach the chamber wherein the fight against the Minotaur has reached a new intensity. The beast cleaves the spear-wielding skeleton that has so menaced it in two with his giant curved blade. Nikon, wounded from the prolonged fight, steps back gasping for breath, and leaves the undead minions of the sorcerer to carry on the fight while he recovers his strength.





As Agathon falls so does the wizard move in to grasp the Sword of Ares for himself. The evil dagger, still burning with poison, slashes constantly at the warrior as Kavata shrieks and curses, near exhausted, in desperation for his prize. In spite of this onslaught, Agathon manages to grasp the hilt of the magical blade. Prepared this time for the surge of raw power, the insight into the might of the God of War himself, Agathon rolls at the feet of the sorcerer, knocking him back. As the wizard stumbles, Agathon leaps up with a terrible rage, swinging the Sword of Ares in an upward arc. The golden blade bites into the screaming wizard's groin and slices up with ease through the torso and out through the shoulder of the opposite side [Andy here rolled a 6, I a 1, and with the modifiers added by the sword this resulted in him winning the combat 12 – 3, a gruesome kill and then some!]. As he dies, his body ruined, the sorcerer screams a terrible echoing scream that seems accompanied by a crack of thunder and the howling of wind, and with a flash all noise ends, the wizard gone. The magic thusly dispelled with Kavata's death, the skeletons fighting the Minotaur crumple to the earth, bones rattling on weapons and shields.



The Minotaur roars and turns on Nikon, who so wounded barely avoids being cloven in two by the beast's attack. Countering with his own weakened sword work, Nikon desperately fights on. Suddenly, Agathon bursts forth back into the fight with the Minotaur. The Sword of Ares glows its golden light in his grasp. With a roar the beast turns to face Agathon, swinging its blade down at the warrior. With a mighty counter swing, the warrior parries the giant sword with his own magical blade, and filled with a new power, knocks the beast back with a shoulder barge that would've been ineffective if not for the magic of the Sword of Ares. As quickly as this attack is made, Agathon twist around and upwards once more, thrusting the sword savagely into the torso of the Minotaur, sending its magical blade straight into the heart. With one final bellow of rage that fades out almost into a sound of relief, the beast breathes its last, dead before it hits the floor.



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All in all a superb game, it ebbed and flowed between the sides and ultimately ended with such drama that it really reminded me of why I love wargaming, specifically skirmish games with imaginative scenarios. While I have fleshed out the events of the turns with some (possibly poorly written) narrative, what happens in this story happened exactly upon the tabletop (well, floor). Right down to the last desperate struggle for possession of the Sword of Ares between Agathon and Kavata. While not being a warrior himself, the Sword of Ares would have imbued the wizard with just as much power and thus if he had killed Agathon while he scrambled for the hilt on the ground, victory would've gone to the bad guys.

The perfect and most narratively dramatic end to a great game, though! We always prefer the good guys win, after all!

The Minotaur was controlled by whoever's figure was NOT being attacked upon the minotaur's turn. The Minotaur would always attack who was within a short stick, and if both sides had figures in that range, both of us would roll a dice and whoever scored highest would get to activate the Minotaur. If neither player's roll equalled the minotaur's quality, however, it would just below in rage and miss a turn.

Oh and there was a table to roll on for the player who first reached the treasure chamber. 1-2 had the guardian be a Minotaur [Andy rolled a 2], 3-4 was a Gorgon and 5-6 was a Cyclops!

 Thanks again to Andy for providing the figures and terrain! (The underground tiles were mine, from Descent the boardgame. Hoping the bright pink mushrooms aren't too out of place!)

[Heldrak]

What a fantastic report! Great painting and scenary too. 

[OSHIROmodels]

That was an enjoyable read 

Simple senario that played out well and I'm assuming was a lot of fun 

cheers

James

[Chairface]

Awesome looking game!

[majorsmith]

the game was alot of fun, dave did a great job making a great scenario! my dice rolling mid way thru the game almost cost me the game, but just in time i started rolling better and it made for a tense finish! thanks Dave!

[Mo!]

Wow super nice game! Lovely terrain and models... so jealous...

[Malamute]

Great stuff, it sounded like a lot of fun.

Who makes the various figures?

[Mad Doc Morris]

That's fun! Good scenario, cool minis, what's not to like? Love the inclusion of terrain tiles for the dungeon, too. Exactly what I'm going to do.

[Gibby]

Thanks for the compliments. All the figures and terrain belong to Andy, but I believe the Greeks are Wargames Factory (I too was surprised!) with the odd GW flagellant head. The skeletons are GW with weapon and shield swaps (with amazing transfers used). The Arabian wizard is Reaper and the Minotaur is from Spartan Games' 40mm range of Greek Mythology.

[Mad Doc Morris]

the Minotaur is from Spartan Games' 40mm range of Greek Mythology.

If that's their side show Studio Sparta, was there an official release?  The range is still shown as "coming soon" on their site.

[OSHIROmodels]

Ooo, I actually thought these were 40mm's

 

cheers

James