Lion Rampant with fantasy figures (Orcs vs Dwarves added 12/3, pg2)

[m4jumbo]

There one problem with losing the 3" rule for friendlies.  What happens if a unit defeats an opposition unit in close combat and ends up still within 3" of a second opposition unit?

Great write up, pictures and figures by the way!

Good point.  This has come up in games.  In this case we do use the 3" rule for retreating units being unable to move their full retreat distance due to a friendly or enemy unit blocking their way.

[m4jumbo]

Bloodbath scenario.  Orcs vs Dwarves multi player game.

While we eagerly await the release of Dragon Rampant, we got in another game of Lion Rampant using Fantasy figures.   To introduce Zane to his first game of Lion Rampant, I put together two 24 point forces of Orcs and 24 points of Dwarves.  There were three of us playing so one of us would run two forces vs the other two players.  

Since it was Zane's birthday we gave him the choice of what force he wanted to play and he chose to lead one of the Orc forces, saying he preferred to outnumber his opponent.  Darren & I rolled to see who would take control of the other Orc force along side Zane and who would lead the Dwarves by themselves.   Darren "lost" the roll and took sole control of the Dwarves.  

To keep things straight forward for Zane's first game we played the Bloodbath scenario and decided not to take the time to choose Glory Boasts.  Darren won the roll for being the attacker so Zane & I started setting up first in preparation of leading our ravaging Orc forces to victory against the stalwart Dwarves led by Darren.  

Once again for our house rule we allow units to be within 3" of other friendly units, but only from it's own retinue.  So even a friendly unit from an allied retinue must maintain a 3" separation.  

We played the Bloodbath scenario and since it was a multi player scenario with double the retinues, we would start rolling for last turn when there were 10 units left on the table rather than the normal 5 units.

I also used one of the upcoming rules from Dragon Rampant and created the Ettin unit using strength points.  So this unit of three models counts as a full 6 man Men at Arms unit but with 2 strength points per model.

Zane's Orc Retinue:

Leader skill - Rash, (leader's unit gains Wild Charge).
- 6 Trolls (Mounted Men at Arms)
- 6 Ogres (Foot Men at Arms with Leader)
- 12 Orcs (Expert Foot Yeomen)
- 12 Orcs (Foot Yeomen)
- 12 Orc Archers

Dan's Orc Retinue:

Leader skill - Strong, (re-roll one failed attack dice).
- 3 Ettins (Foot Men at Arms, 2 strength points each)
- 12 Orcs (Foot Yeomen with Leader)
- 12 Orcs (Foot Yeomen)
- 12 Orcs (Foot Yeomen)
- 12 Orc Archers
- 12 Wolves with Handler (Fierce Foot)

Dwarven Retinue 1:

Leader Skill - Brave Heart, (only hit on 6+ during a challenge).
- 6 Bear Riders (Drilled Mounted Men at Arms with Leader)
- 6  Dwarf Hearthguard (Foot Men at Arms)
- 12 Dwarf Heavy Warriors (Foot Serjeants)
- 12 Dwarf Light Warriors (Foot Yeomen)
- 12 Dwarf Crossbow

Dwarven Retinue 2:

Leader Skill - Lion Heart, (re-roll two failed attack dice).
- 6 Dwarf Hearthguard (Foot Men at Arms with Leader)
- 6 Dwarf Hearthguard (Foot Men at Arms)
- 12 Dwarf Heavy Warriors (Foot Serjeants)
- 12 Dwarf Crossbow
- 12 Dwarf Berserkers (Fierce Foot)

To Battle!


The Orc left flank deploys for battle.




The Orc right flank.  The Ogre leader taunts the Dwarves and promises them a severe thrashing in the coming battle.




Across from the Ogres, the left flank of the Dwarven force led by their leader and his bear riders.


The Dwarf right flank opposite the Ettins.


The Orc forces move first, but on the left flank only the Ettins succeed in moving forward.


On the other flank, Zane succeeds in moving all his units forward towards the Dwarves.




The Dwarves move forward in a coordinated fashion.


Screaming Dwarven berserkers (Fierce Foot) race towards their hated enemy.

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The wolf pack (Fierce Foot) moves at full speed through the woods in an attempt to outflank the oncoming Dwaves and attack them from out of the woods.


The Orc leader sitting upon his horse and shouting threats finally gets the rest of the left flank moving.


Charging ahead of the rest of his retinue, the Dwarf leader surges forward with his fierce bear riders and crashes into one of the Orc units, driving it back but not destroying it.




The Dwarven infantry continue to advance together.


Trolls (Mounted Men at Arms) wild charge against the bear riders, both units suffer casualties.


Rolling for a Lucky Blow against the bear rider unit, the Trolls manage to kill the Dwarven leader and drag him and his bear to the ground under a mass of claws and teeth.


Failing their Courage Test, the bear riders are forced to fall back directly away from the Trolls.  Due to the position of the Ogres, the bear riders cannot fall back the full required distance and end up taking more casualties as a result.  The remaining bear riders find themselves in a very bad spot and are soon destroyed.


Positions on the other flank.  Prior to this shot, the wolf pack had charged out of the woods to attack one of the Dwarf Hearthguard units but only caused two casualties and found themselves routed from the battle after badly failing their Courage Test.  However in a stroke of luck (for the Orcs), the leader of this second Dwarf retinue also fell to a Lucky Blow in the combat between the Hearthguard and the wolves.

The Dwarf Berserkers had charged into the shield wall of one of the Orc units and both units fell back and became battered as a result.  The remaining Berserkers would soon fall prey to Orc arrows and rout from the battle.


Back to the Orc right flank, with the bear riders destroyed the Trolls turned their attention to the Dwarf Yeomen.  The Dwarves formed a shield wall and held their ground, driving back the charging Trolls several times before what was left of the horrible monsters routed from the field. 

At the same time, the Dwarven Hearthguard unit charged against the Orc Yeomen who had also formed into a shield wall.  The Orc shield wall held firm for several attacks but finally both the Orc and Hearthguard units routed after severe casualties. 

Urging his fellow Ogres forward, the Boss Ogre hurled his unit into the Dwarven Foot Serjeants and routed them.  The Ogre leader ended up being the last one remaining from his unit, but he passed his Courage Test and stood firm.


Taking aim and the Ogre Leader standing all by himself in the open, the Dwarf Crossbowmen easily cut him down in a flurry of deadly bolts.


Across the battlefield, the Ettins and Hearthguard fought each other to mutual annihilation.  The Orc units formed shield walls and the Dwarves battered themselves against them again and again eventually destroying the Orcs but losing the Foot Serjeants in the process.


We had been rolling several times for the last turn since there had been 10 units or less remaining and the die roll finally came up to indicate the last turn.  Some ineffective shooting and positioning comprised the last turn and the battle drew to a close with only the two archer units remaining on the Orc side and two full strength Crossbow units, a Foot Yeoman and Hearthguard unit, both below half, remaining on the Dwarf side.  The battle had been very costly for both sides but the Dwarves held the field in the end.


A very fun game that once again showed us that the Lion Rampant rules work well for multi player games.  For his first game of L.R., Zane had no issue jumping right into leading his troops after only a quick run through of stats and rules.  He is definitely interested in playing again.   

In the Bloodbath scenario, the Foot men at Arms once again prove themselves to be king of the battlefield.  They are just tough as nails and can hammer their way through most units even when taking a bit of a beating. 

Can't wait for the release of Dragon Rampant!

[Hobgoblin]

Terrific! And what an appetite-whetter for Dragon Rampant!

It's great to see all those wonderful old Ral Partha orcs being fielded. And I'm pleased to see that I'm not the only one fielding mounted leaders of foot units - it really looks good on the tabletop.

[Elbows]

Wonderful tables and minis!  I love the tower in the background.

[Golgotha]

Wow this just gets better - great to see soooo many classic fantasy minis brought together for a good bit of carnage - MORE PLEASE!

[Argonor]

Great multi-purposing of minis!

[Paleskin]