The Gnawling Horde: Beastpeople for Five Leagues from the Borderlands

 The Beastpeople of Utavoll are few these days. They live on the margins and rarely enter spaces occupied by humans. They are kin to the fae folk but do not associate much with them for reasons that are not apparent to the human geographers that have explored Utavoll.

To humans, the Beastpeople resemble a variety of animals, hence the name. This resemblance often leads humans to treat them as beasts rather than as fellow sapients. Among themselves they refer to their own kind as Gnawlings, a word that translates roughly as The People. They live in tribal groups and subsist as hunter-gatherers for the most part. A rare few trade with the humans for new technology that they do not produce themselves. Gnawling art is particularly prized by humans for its delicate, primal style.

My Gnawling collection consists solely of Demonworld Beastmen figures from Ral Partha Europe. Although it would be possible to fill out the roster with different types of beastpeople for the different groups listed in the rules, I have chosen to use only armoured and unarmoured beastpeople. These provide good flexibility at a good price. The only thing really lacking is the full range of missile weapons listed in the rules, but I am fine with using generic missile troops to represent all the types of missile weapons. It's not like my opponent is going to complain!

Unarmoured Gnawlings

The bulk of the Gnawling horde is unarmoured tribespeople, who fight when needed but are not warriors per se. They are artisans and hunters and people from many other walks of life in the tribe and are expected to pick up weapons when needed. Sometimes they go out into the world to earn a little extra loot and that is when you are most likely to encounter these people.

Unarmoured Gnawlings

Armoured Gnawlings

The armoured Gnawlings are generally those who make a living from warfare and raiding. They have more opportunities to gather better weapons and armour. Some are bodyguards to tribal leaders or personal retinues, who serve full-time in the tribal warband. Others are outcasts who fight for the love of fighting or because they prefer the life of a raider and robber to tending the herds.

Armoured Gnawlings with Leader

Missile Troops

As hunters, the Gnawlings use a range of missile weapons to bring down their prey, and these weapons also work in warfare. Although my missile troops are all javelin throwers, these can stand in for the slings and crossbows listed in the rulebook without any issues other than the aesthetic.

Gnawling Missile Troops

ChiCom Acquisitions and Mergers Department: Corporate mechas (6mm sci-fi)

 If you followed the progress of our Hell on Dodgson's World campaign, you will know that ChiCom are the evil corporate invaders, who sought to overthrow the existing peaceful regime on Dodgson's World. An alternative perspective, as generally publicised by the ChiCom Corporate Marketing and Brand Awareness Department, is that they came to Dodgson's World to provide the benefits of access to the wider galaxy in return for being allowed to mine certain valuable ores. However you view it, ChiCom has decided to beef up its Acquisitions and Mergers Department with a mecha company consisting of two stars of mechs. I imagine the committee meeting went something like this:

"So, we need mechs. Everyone else has them and our shareholders are getting anxious that we are not keeping up with the latest technology. Also, the CEO has demanded one instead of his company AV. Biggins, how's the market outlook on these?"

"I've done some market research on these, and it is clear that mechs will boost our share price through increased shareholder confidence. They are also a useful tax write-off, so they seem eminently affordable."

"Wiggins, what's out there and how do we sort this out?"

"I've examined existing organisations and it is clear that the Clans are superior to the Inner Sphere in every way, so I suggest that we organise our mechs as stars of 5 mechs each. The shareholders have expressed a preference for this and would prefer that we call them Stars rather than Lances. They also like the idea of naming each mecha to give our corporate negotiations a more personal touch."

"Right, Stars of five mechs each and names it is. Higgins, can we source mechs at a price that the shareholders like?"

"It's tough but I have a line on some mechs. Clan mechs are too expensive, but the Star organisation should be enough there. It is clear that this organisation works well, because the Clans are kicking the Inner Sphere's arse all over the place. Using this organisational structure will give the right impression to our shareholders even without the Clan mechs. I have put some feelers out and find a source of budget mechs that meet our criteria and will keep the shareholders happy."

"Biggins, what about names? You're marketing. What do you have for me?"

"Sir, the consultants have run the numbers and presented the options to the focus groups. I can safely say that we have some absolute doozies for you. They truly represent our mission and values. I am certain the CEO will love them."

"Great, we have a plan. Well done, Biggins, Wiggins and Higgins. Set up a purchase order and get the first company of mechs ordered. To the next order of business, the company picnic..."

The Mechas

Following the conclusion of our Hellfire campaign, I decided to repaint the ChiCom forces. The old paint jobs were very basic and I was not happy with them. I started on repainting infantry and vehicles and still have to finish them all off. I also decided to add some mechs because I was getting dragged back into the idea of big, stompy robots as fun on the table top. At that point, the EM4 mechs fit the budget nicely, so I got 10 of them and built them. Half got painted really quickly and the rest have languished until now. The plan is to field these as a generic opposing force in solo games of Horizon Wars, Hardwar, FutureWarCommander, 5150 No Quarter: Mecha Combat and Battle Suit Alpha. Other rules sets may also get involved but these are the main ones I currently have for this.

So, without further ado, I present the first two trinaries of the ChiCom Acquisitions and Mergers Department.

White Trinary

White 1: The Spirit of Corporate Unity

White 2: The Global Reorganisation

White 3: The Management Buyout

White 4: The Executive Headhunter

White 5: The Corporate Reshuffle

Red Trinary

Red 1: The Management Directive

Red 2: The Hostile Takeover

Red 3: The Emergency Board Meeting

Red 4: The Internal Memo

Red 5: The Departmental Downsizing

Epilogue

The CEO looked up from the paperwork about his new mecha force and frowned.

"Hmm..."

"Sir..."

"Shush! I'm pondering!"

"Sir!"

He stared at the documents again and frowned again.

He sighed.

"Excellent job, Miggins. The shareholders seem delighted and my stock is up several points. Keep up this sort of work and I'll have that new Type Y Luxury Cruiser before this time next year. Go and carry on the good work."

He looked down at the paperwork again. As soon as Miggins had left the office he tabbed through the screens back to the details on the Type Y Cruiser, checked off a few options and clicked buy.

"No point waiting. Miggins has this well in hand."

He sighed again. This time contentedly.

The Thrappled Lemmings and the Ghost Stone (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

 Fires on the horizon told Aethelwyrd that Aksel had done his job. She hoped he would escape with his patrol. She thought the little squirt had potential. There was not time to worry about him now though. The Lemmings needed to escort Nesra the Mage to the Ghost Stone that was producing all these spectres. Nesra would destroy it if she got the chance, and it was Aethelwyrd's job to ensure that she did get the chance. Her plan was a simple one. She and half the Lemmings would destroy the guards around the stone, making as much noise as possible to distract the enemy, while Nesra and the others sneaked up to it and then cast the requisite spells to blow it to oblivion. The Lemmings were good at making noise and wreaking havoc. They were joined by three men-at-arms who had survived the battle and were eager for revenge. She hoped it would be enough.

"Righty-ho, Lemmings, let's go."

She forced herself to sound confident, but she was worried about this. There were a lot of powerful foes out there. The two groups moved out. Ahead of them were the enemy and the stone. They would only get one chance at this.

Forward to death!

As she advanced, Aethelwyrd could see a captured Elven MagicMecha capable of shooting a ten foot bolt great distances. A hit from that would kill any one of her people. A maddened cultist leader had summoned a werewolf while the eldritch powers of an Orc shaman would rain spells on to her patrol if they did not stop the man in time. Worse yet, there were spectres emerging from the Ghost Stone and giant flies clearly anticipated a good meal after the slaughter. She led her small group into the shelter of a stand of bushes. If only they could get close enough before they were spotted.

Elven MagiMecha with Orc crew (figure is a D&D Modron)

It was fortunate that the wan green light and magical aura of the stone was attracting the attention of so many of her foes. They had moved up to it, making it easier for her people to sneak a little closer. Then the area was lit up with a blast of fire. Nesra had cast a fireball at the Orc shaman and his bodyguard.

Look at the glowing stone, not the enemy sneaking up on you!

"Charge!" yelled Aethelwyrd. Well, they had to make noise and now she needed to distract the monsters round the stone from Nesra.

Bergsveinn shot an arrow at the Orc using the Elven MagiMecha and wounded it. The others advanced quickly. His second arrow slew the Orc, even as Incunabulum stepped out of cover to launch a fireball at the mass of foes beside the Ghost Stone. Two of them were fried to a crisp. The rest remained unhurt. Howling its fury, the werewolf led the charge towards Aethelwyrd, who had taken up a position near the now uncrewed MagiMecha

"Oh shit!" she muttered. She had definitely got their attention! She yelled at the others with her, "Come on then! Get stuck in!"

They obeyed.

On the other flank, Nesra incinerated the Orc shaman and wounded his bodyguards with a fireball. Her bodyguards raced in to finish them off, although Gorbin the Ogre quickly found himself badly wounded.

As the monstrous horde descended on Aethelwyrd, Incunabulum fired a bolt of mystic energy at the cultist leader. Bergsveinn fired an arrow. Both wounded the gibbering maniac. Aethelwyrd cut the werewolf down with a lucky blow and stepped in to assault one of the advancing cultists. She was in turn attacked by the spectral horseman and the cultist leader. Deft footwork saw her wounded but pushing back and then slaying the cultist leader, but she was still sore beset and so were the others. Despite this, she had the satisfaction of seeing Nesra sprinting up to the Ghost Stone tempered by seeing Gorbin cut down. Unfortunately, the fires from the supply depot were dying down too.  Reinforcements would soon be here.

Beset by hordes of foes

No sooner had she thought this than more giant flies buzzed towards them, attracted by the scent of blood. She turned on the spectral horseman and cleaved it in two with a frenzied blow. As the others fought and slowly cut down their foes, Nesra went to work. It did not take long. The stone glowed brighter.

Nesra does her thing

"Flee! It's going to blow!"

True to her words, she fled, followed by her bodyguards. Those others who could joined her. The stone glowed even brighter and bolts of energy shot towards the heroes but none were hurt. As they ran, one of the men-at-arms was felled with an arrow even as others of the Lemmings cut down spectres and giant flies. The stone let out a huge scream and pulsed even brighter as two more cultists arrived from the supply depot. Most of the Lemmings stumbled as the scream jarred their sense and made them slow down to avoid falling.

The Thrappled Lemmings ran for their lives as the stone pulsed brighter and brighter. A high-pitched whining noise had joined the light show. Two werewolves arrived from the direction of the supply depot. Suddenly the night lit up in a cacophany of shrieking and screams and their was a flash of light brighter than all the previous ones put together. A loud cracking noise followed and then showers of stone shards flew through the air shredding several minions of the Shadow Deep that were too close to it.

Once they had outdistanced their foes, the Thrappled Lemmings headed for the rendezvous. They waited for their comrades and were soon joined by Gorbin and the two men-at-arms that had fallen. Their wounds were superficial, it turned out, but one of the guards had a wild staring look to him that indicated something else wrong.

They made their way back to their base and met up with Aksel's patrol before making their way back to base.

Later, they sat in the Bug and Bed tavern supping ale that would strip paint, but it was still more than welcome after their experiences.

"You did alright, Aksel," Aethelwyrd announced, "We'll make a Lemming of you yet."

Aksel swelled with pride at the high praise.

"Now, you know what the most important job that potential Lemmings have, don't you?"

Aksel shook his head uncertainly. This sounded ominous.

"You need to buy us beer. The next round is on you. And so is the one after that."

Aksel headed to the bar. He would be skint by the end of the night, but he had found a home. More importantly, he had helped to stabilise this front against the Shadow Deep. They had not won, but Lord Arklin could hold for now, which meant that his friends and family would be able to enjoy their lives for a while longer. Yes, and the legendary Thrappled Lemmings had spilt buckets of their own blood to help. No doubt more would be spilt later but for now peace reigned... well, at least until the Thrappled Lemmings started yet another tavern brawl, but that was part of their charm. Aksel smiled as he gathered up the tray of ale and headed back to the table with it.

I got lucky in this scenario because Nesra managed to ignite the stone on the first try, which meant many fewer enemies to fight than would otherwise have been the case. As has been the case with much of this campaign, fireball spells seem remarkably ineffective. Even with the immensely target-rich environment of this scenario, only a few figures were actually even hurt by the fireballs. That was a bit disappointing because in my head fireballs should be more like nuclear bombs! Other than that, the heroes fought well, suffered a few knocks and kept going when it was needed.

This has been a great campaign. My experience of Frostgrave suggested that combat would be far too swingy, but it actually did not seem too bad for the most part and playing solo ameliorated the worst of it. My competitive instincts would probably have been aroused by an opponent that was not me, so the swinginess would have become an issue, while I am much more relaxed and interested in the narrative when playing solo.

And that's a wrap (until the next scenario collection is published). The Lemmings have fought the Shadow Deep to a stand still and I shall move on to something else for a while.

The Thrappled Lemmings and the Convenient Distraction (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

 Aksel stared big-eyed at Aethelwyrd. She was speaking to him. She was treating him like an honorary Lemming!

"Look, Aksel..."

He zoned out again. She had called him by name! Not just "Noob" but by name!

"I said, listen up, Aksel. We need you to take a patrol down to the riverside where the enemy is stockpiling supplies. Destroy those supplies and get out of there without getting killed. Do you understand?"

Aksel nodded furiously and then found his voice, "Yes, Captain."

"Well go then!"

Aksel turned to Sigrid.

"I'm sorry, Sigrid. You can't come with me this time. We need to be sneaky and you're a big, fluffy, gorgeous not-sneaky bear. I'll be back for you."

Sigrid snuffled disgruntledly and gave Aksel an affectionate head nudge that landed him on his backside. Picking himself up out of the mud, he gathered his gear and headed out with his companions. Dreams of glory and Aethelwyrd's praise filled his mind even as he organised his patrol. He would prove that he was as capable of being a Lemming as the best of them!

Aksel led his patrol to the supply depot. The group paused just outside. It was pitch black with no moon.

"Ok, you know the plan. There are six supply stashes. We're going to move in past the guards and set fire to them on my signal. With any luck, we do that without them giving the alarm. Once the supplies are alight we scram and meet back at the rendezvous point. All clear?"

Everyone nodded assent. They set out through the dark moving silently. Wulfric fell behind as his shoe laces came undone. The guards seemed to be patrolling randomly. Many of them seemed to be heading right for Aksel's patrol, who nipped neatly between them. Kalfr was almost stepped on by a passing guard. He stepped up behind the guard and slipped his dagger neatly between the guard's ribs before dragging the body into the undergrowth.

Sneaking up on the camp. Aksel's patrol enter from the bottom of the picture

While waiting for the others to get in position, Wulfric idly searched the supplies and found a sack of herbs. The buzzing of giant flies approaching was almost deafening in the still night air, but Aksel's patrol kept their nerve and carried on. They were almost all in position now.

Poor hygiene in the camp has attracted some flies

A guard wandered too close to Aksel and he buried his axe in the guard's head. The others were searching the supply stacks while they waited. Flosi found a book that he kept. He smiled slightly, realising that this stack of books should be easier to set alight. As guards approached, Tomasa nipped smartly round her stack to stay out of sight.

A pair of skeletal knights wandered into the camp far too close to Aksel. He rushed over to the nearest pile of supplies and gave the signal.

"Light 'em up and head to the boat!"

Following his own orders, he set the pile of supplies on fire. The Shadow Deep's minions immediately raised the alarm.

Wulfric and Tomasa quickly lit their own supply piles and raced towards the boat in the river. Wulfric remained unseen but a guard had spotted Tomasa and was pursuing her. One of the skeletal knights had spotted Flosi and moved to attack. Kalfr raced over to aid him. Panting as he reached the knight, only his armour saved him from a wound. Drawn by the sound of the alarm, a spectral horsemen drifted into the camp.

Despite the dry kindling, Flosi was struggling to light the supply pile and Kalfr was already wounded by the skeletal knight. The other minions of the Shadow Deep were racing after the remaining members of the patrol, as Wulfric and Tomasa both leapt onto the boat simultaneously. The fight was on now.

As minions of the Shadow Deep were cut down, Aksel's patrol started to get wounded in the fight. Kalfr leapt onto the boat next and a cultist fell, but Tomasa could not get past the guard of the cultist facing her. Flosi finally set his pile of supplies on fire.

Seeing the minions converging on the boat, Grim decided to sneak back to the rendezvous point, darting from cover to cover while the evil creatures were distracted.

"Stand by to repel boarders!"

Aksel rushed towards the boat. He badly wounded an Orc fighter and shoved it backwards so that it fell in the river. It swam towards the boat and crawled onto it dripping wet. Tomasa tried to slam it back into the water but was badly wounded for her efforts. However, Wulfric took advantage of its focus on him and crushed its skull with his two-handed sword. As more minions of the Shadow Deep approached, Aksel and Kalfr dealt with the nearest foes and leapt onto the boat, shouting arcane words that caused the spectral horseman to pause. Grim and Flosi continued their escape through the shadows.

"Cast off the boat!"

Tomasa did as ordered and the boat began to float downstream bearing the four heroes away from the supply depot. The spectral horseman pursued it, drifting over the water as if it were riding on land. Aksel managed to land a telling blow but was wounded in return, as another spectre pursued them. However, the current was strong enough that they managed to keep ahead of the undead.

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Back at the rendezvous point, they bandaged some minor wounds and examined the supplies from the boat while waiting for Flosi and Grim to join them. There was jubilation among the group. They had set alight to or stolen all the supplies. The Shadow Deep would be buzzing with evil foes out for their blood, but that should make Aethelwyrd's job easier. They slowly made their way back to camp

That went according to plan! I can't believe it! Does this mean that the assault on the Ghost Stone will go really badly? The worst part of this scenario was when it took Flosi four attempts to light the books on fire despite the bonus he received for it. Other than that, the patrol took wounds but nothing that incapacitated any of them and most of them were able to use the boat to escape. Flosi and Grim had an easy time of escaping because they were able to use cover to avoid being seen and the boat was the target point, so all the bad guys headed in that direction. Next up will be the assault on the Ghost Stone and the final scenario in this campaign (until a new collection of scenarios is released).

The Thrappled Lemmings and the Orc Encampment (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

 While Aksel was off getting his arse handed to him on a plate, Aethelwyrd was pursuing a band of Orcs through the dead forests of the Shadow Deep. The pursuit led to an encampment of makeshift huts and tents in a clearing, where the Orcs met with a group of cultists. The discussion between the Orc shaman and the cultist leader including a certain amount of pointing towards a hill in the distance. Aethelwyrd made a mental note to check the hill out later.

Night drew in and the leaders entered the ramshackle hut in the centre of the clearing. Talk died down and the other monsters went to sleep. Only a small number of the Orcs patrolled the clearing. It was time to strike. Aethelwyrd waved the Lemmings forward. Their two new guest members from Aksel's patrol, Wulfric the Barbarian and Flosi the Green, followed uncertainly. Both tried to put on a brave face but they recognised immediately that the Lemmings had done this more times than they had eaten hot dinners.

Speaking of hot dinners, Wulfric and Flosi were both so green that they did not know how to manage their rations and had eaten them all far too early. As a result, they were feeling the effects of low blood sugar as the patrol sneaked through the woods into the camp. The Thrappled Lemmings reckoned that this was the only way the greenhorns would learn, so they showed them some tough love.

With the Lemmings in position, Aethelwyrd nodded to Ash, who rustled a few branches, causing the nearest Orc to come and investigate.

"Quickly, take him down," hissed Aethelwyrd and then promptly wasted the Orc before the others could react. They sneaked closer as the guards followed their patrol routes. Bergsvein sniped a patrolling Orc as the others continued their routes, apparently all attracted by something on the opposite side of the camp from the Lemmings.

Sneaking through the undergrowth

As the Lemmings closed on the central shack, the guards turned around to retrace their patrol routes. Incunabulum quickly cast enchanted steel on Aethelwyrd's sword before she and Bergsveinn, raced cat-footed over to the shack door and burst in. A fire burned in the centre of the shack and supplies were scattered around. Burly Orc sergeants, a shaman and cultists confronted them. The evildoers immediately charged and Bergsveinn was wounded in that first encounter.

Inside the main shack

Outside, the rest of the Lemmings charged the nearest Orcs, seeing that the alarm was about to be raised. Wulfric slew one Orc while the other held off Onund and Ash, cutting Flosi down with a single blow in the process. Suddenly, a clap of thunder rang out startling all outside the tent. Wulfric and Ash froze as the Orcs yelled out warnings to each other.

Inside the shack, Incunabulum blasted the cultist leader and an orc sergeant with a fireball, frying both to a crisp in the process! Aethelwyrd moved to aid Bergsveinn and cut the cultist down with the aid of the other two. Outside, Wulfric took an arrow the chest that left him coughing blood, while Onund cut down an Orc archer with the help of Ash.

Hearing the alarm raised, Orcs started tumbling out of the tents.

The alarm has been sounded.

Aethelwyrd redoubled her efforts and slew the Orc sergeant after a brief exchange of blows. Incunabulum charged the Orc shaman, who died in a blast of lightning as Incunabulum's Staff of Elemental Strike expended its energy on the evil spellcaster. While they did this Bergsveinn investigated the tent and found a small pile of scrolls that he tucked in his backpack.

Outside, first Wulfric then Ash were cut down by the Orcs and Onund was badly wounded. Fighting desprately, Onund managed to slightly wound his opponent and use the brief respite to duck in through the door of the shack. At least here the Orcs would have to come at him one at a time. In the ongoing chaos, one of the tents caught fire.

Aethelwyrd ran to the door to support Onund. Incunabulum found a map in one corner of the shack. The Orcs closed on the door of the shack and Aethelwyrd quickly found herself once more in the fray. She knew that this was it. She and Onund needed to hold the door and slay all the Orcs if they were going to escape. She and Onund set to work. With nothing else to do yet, Bergsveinn and Incunabulum searched the rest of the tent and gathered what they could carry.

Orcs trying to force their way into the main shack

As the pile of Orc bodies by the door grew, Aethelwyrd pushed through and outside to take on the archers who were sniping through the door. Onund followed her. He cut one archer down but was laid low by another just as two spectres drifted towards the encampment. Even as the Orc archers were cut down, more Orcs emerged from the tents to join the fray. The remaining Lemmings were exhausted, covered in sweat and blood, but they still carried on. It was all they knew to do.

Bergsveinn and Incunabulum took refuge in the shack again as even more Orcs emerged from a tent. Aethelwyrd found herself surrounded by spectres and Orcs. It was a desperate situation. She gripped her sword harder and fought for all she was worth even as the Orc's spear carved gashes in her flesh. With mighty blows she cut down several Orcs but more still came.

Over in the shack, Bergsveinn fought desperately to hold the door and killed one Orc but was soon knocked out himself, leaving Incunabulum to fight alone.

Aethelwyrd found a reserve of energy and managed to duck away from the monsters that surrounded her. They would come after her, but she had a brief breathing space for a very short while. In that breathing space, Incunabulum was also cut down despite his heroic efforts.

Back to the wall and desperate

Surrounded and with her back to the wall, Aethelwyrd fought on desperately. She parried blows from all sides even though she was barely able to lift her sword any more. An opportunity presented itself and she buried her sword in a spectre that vanished with an unearthly scream. Barely hearing it, she fought off an Orc and then the other spectre and then another Orc and another.

Quiet descended. Aethelwyrd pinched herself to see if she was still alive. She was. And there were no more foes on the battlefield. She went in search of her comrades. Thankfully none of them were dead, although Incunabulum was badly wounded, while Ash and Flosi had leg injuries that meant they would never walk without a limp again. With the whole patrol gathered, Aethelwyrd led the way to the low hills where the Lemmings observed cultists worshipping at a glowing monolith with runes carved all over it. As the cultists prostrated themselves, the stone glowed brighter and a spectre emerged from it, letting out a piercing wail that chilled the very marrow before it headed off in the direction of Alladore. The Lemmings made their way slowly and carefully back to their base and reported what they had seen.

I nearly rage-quit this game after a few turns. It started well enough with all the bonuses for being sneaky, but the second the alarm was sounded, well, do you ever have days where you cannot win a melee to save your figures' lives? In the course of two turns, I lost three figures and Onund was reduced to 2 Health. The only saving grace was Incunabulum scoring critical hits on several big baddies and winning a melee by enough that his elemental strike could kill the Orc shaman. I am quite glad I did not quit though, because Aethelwyrd's last stand was something to behold. In the course of two turns, she cut down half a dozen foes, although she was reduced to just 3 Health by the end of the game. This will only fuel Aksel's hero worship even more, which may not be a good thing, but it will also make for a great tale to tell in the tavern when the Shadow Deep is finally beaten. Ash is already composing an appropriate ballad about it.

The Thrappled Lemmings and the Noob Recruits (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

 "You want me to do what?" Aethelwyrd was aghast. She had no idea how the Commander could do this to her and her patrol. This went beyond the bounds of propriety.

"I want you to take charge of Aksel and his patrol," repeated the Commander for the third time, patience wearing even thinner than usual, "Show them the ropes and teach them how to survive. You'll be going out with Lord Arklin to take the fight to the Shadow Deep. This is not your usual patrol. You and Aksel will be scouts for the main army. Show Aksel how it is done. Dismissed!"

Aksel was standing rigidly at attention in one corner of the command hut. He seemed quite uncomfortable after hearing the discussion between the Commander and Aethelwyrd. He also seemed overly eager to hang out with the legendary leader of the Thrappled Lemmings. Aethelwyrd did not give a damn, but knew she had lost this discussion. She saluted and turned on her heel.

"Come on, Noob!"

Aksel followed her out, his eyes wide with trepidation and hero worship in equal measure. This was understandable. Who had not heard of the Thrappled Lemmings and their exploits both on and off the battlefield?

A short while later, Aethelwyrd had gathered her own patrol and Aksel's patrol of noob recruits.

"Right, Kalfr and Atli, you're going with Aksel. Keep him alive at least until he is old enough to shave."

She looked at Aksel's companions.

"Wait, what? What the hell is that bear doing there?"

Aksel grinned, "That's Sigrid. She's my best friend."

Sigrid (left) and Aksel

Aethelwyrd took a moment to compose herself and nod before pointing to several of Aksel's companions, "You, you and you are coming with me. I shall try to teach you the ropes. I really don't have time to change your nappies and wipe your noses, so you're going to need to pull your weight and keep up. When you're out in the Shadow Deep taking the fight to the enemy there will not be time for rests or anything. Think of the upcoming fight as a gentle introduction to what comes after. Got it?"

She marched off to grab her gear without waiting to hear the answer. If they needed further instruction, she was certain they would die anyway, so no point wasting her breath. Behind her she could hear Kalfr and Atli sorting the others out and getting them in line. She knew she could rely on them because she had fought beside them now. Kalfr especially was as battle-hardened as she was and carried as many scars.

A short while later

Aksel was feeling very uncertain. It was his first proper battle and there were wounded and dead people everywhere. He and his patrol were posted away from the main battle. As scouts, it was their job to report to the commander about enemy troop movements and to warn of outflanking manoeuvres that might be about to happen. He took his job seriously and was watching as a line of white, wispy things advanced towards his patrol, flying too high to be hit. He sounded his horn to warn his commander, but there was little that could be done. Suddenly the Alladorean lines were hit by Gnolls and Spectres and other servants of the Shadow Deep from both sides. It could not sustain this assault and crumbled. The survivors routed towards Aksel's position. Inexperienced as he was, he knew his duty. He and his patrol would cover the retreat of the army.

The battlefield. The wounded soldiers need to escape to the bottom of the picture

"Right, chaps and chapesses," his voice broke a little as his mouth went dry, but he did not think his followers had noticed, "Stand to and prepare to fight for Alladore!"

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts!"

The new recruits looked frighted but excited. Kalfr and Atli just grimaced at each other and stood to. A slew of wounded Alladorean soldiers was advancing as fast as they could, which was not particularly fast, towards them. They were pursued by a line of Spectres. Aksel and his patrol ran to get between the soldiers and the Spectres. Their plan was to draw the Spectres after them to give time for the soldiers to escape. Sigrid was wounded in this first rush and Grim, the newest recruit, fell even before he had struck a blow. As new Spectres joined the pursuit, a hellish green light washed over the battlefield and a blood-curdling scream echoed all around. Half the patrol and soldiers froze in their tracks, startled by the call from beyond the grave.

Kalfr faces a target-rich environment

Aksel and Sigrid were both badly wounded by now, as they sought to hold off the horde of Spectres. Kalfr was doing better thanks to his experience, but numbers were telling against him. A scream from across the battlefield signalled the end of an Alladorean soldier, his lifeless corpse crumbling to the ground as the Spectre assaulted him. This was too much for another soldier who howled and turned on her own, driven mad by the eldritch energies that coursed across the plain.

Aksel finally slew a Spectre as Sigrid got further wounded. Numbers told against Kalfr and he fell unmoving to the floor. Aksel soon followed too. There were just too many Spectres and he had misjudged his own ability. Despite that, he had given a good account of himself and many Spectres bore marks from his axe. Atli banished another Spectre as he desperately fought off the maddened Alladorean soldier at the same time. As the patrol was whittled down, more members of the Shadow Deep force appeared on the battlefield. The Orc archers took aim at Tomasa, who had just slain a Spectre. They missed, but the nearby Spectres soon knocked her out of the fight, and Sigrid too fell, overwhelmed by the enemy force. Atli was the only member of the patrol left standing as the Spectres swept forward. He fought on but a Spectre flanked him suddenly and cut him down instantly.

Spectres hunt for more survivors

As the last of the Alladorean wounded fled to safety, the uncanny green glow of the Spectres settled over the dead and dying from Lord Arklin's army. Dark fell and the enemy regrouped. The remains of Aksel's patrol straggled back into camp, following those soldiers they had rescued. They were welcomed with open arms for their heroic effort, but Aksel and Kalfr were badly wounded and would be hurting for a while. Fortunately the rest of the patrol had only suffered minor flesh wounds in the end and was keen to take the fight to the enemy once more.

Blimey, that was even more brutal than normal. One major issue with this scenario was that the Spectres rolled really high when they won melees while the patrol just chipped away at the Spectres with lowish rolls. I'm not saying that I was diced, but I was diced! Half the patrol was one-shotted and Aksel went from 19 health to 0 in the course of a single turn. Fighting undead without magical weapons is clearly not a wise choice for inexperienced rangers. In retrospect, it would probably have been better to hold back and stay near the wounded soldiers rather than engaging the Spectres directly, although I feel that doing this would only have delayed the inevitable. Still, it was in character for Aksel, who is desperate to impress his idols The Thrappled Lemmings. Hopefully Aethelwyrd will give him another chance to impress her later.

The Guards Counterattack (Advanced Squad Leader)

 Over the past few weeks, my brother and I have played an ASL game via Skype. We each set up the board on our tables, relying on description to ensure that we kept up with each other, and it worked. We also rolled dice ourselves and just announced the result. This also worked for us. It would be nice to have a setup where you can see your opponent, their board and their dice rolls, but the whole thing was a bit ad hoc. Maybe next time. The only real issue we had was when his board appeared to deny a line of sight and mine allowed it. This is the difference between the original boards and the newer Start Kit style boards with updated artwork. All in all, it made for a pleasant, social game.

We could have played on VASL, the digital tabletop for ASL, but that would have meant staring at the computer for yet more hours. I don't want to do that, because I do that all week long at work and get really bad digital eye strain these days, to the point where it takes a solid half hour of staring at anything other than the computer screen before I stop seeing double. The other reason not to do it is that this hobby is tactile and aural for me. I want to feel the counters and hear the dice. If I wanted to play on the computer, I would play Cyberpunk 2077 or Parkasaurus or something, not ASL.

As we have both been out of the game for a while, we decided to follow Jim Stahler's "8 Steps to ASL" which was published in the ASL Annual 1990 to refresh our memories. This approach is based on the original Squad Leader rulebook that took a staged approach to learning the rules, and it uses the same scenarios but updated to ASL. These are now in the ASL Classic supplement that you can get digitally on WargameVault. The first scenario is "The Guards Counterattack". I have lost track of how many times I have played this scenario. It is just such a perfect introduction to the game with only infantry and machine guns, and no weird terrain rules.

The Scenario

The scene: Stalingrad, October 1942. Soviet assault troops are massing to try to retake part of the city. The Germans are digging in hard and resisting. They are outnumbered and their positions are flanked, but  they have the advantage of defending. Their only goal is to hold on and not lose too many troops.

My brother took the Soviets, whose goal is to take ground in Stalingrad (measured by stone buildings captured) or to reduce the German forces. Failure to meet one of these goals means that the Germans win. Set-up is limited by the scenario description, which made the scenario more suitable for our purposes and we were able to use email to set-up ahead of time, so that we could just get on with the important business of rolling dice and talking shite.

Red circles mark buildings controlled by the Soviets at the start of the game. Red arrows show Soviet movements. German-controlled buildings have blue circles and their movements are marked by blue arrows.

My set-up in this game was based around using my machine guns to get interlocking fire lanes to stop the Soviet forces advancing. Naturally, this failed on the first turn as my machine gun teams were broken by Soviet fire. Only one team managed to lay down any fire. Fortunately, this was the one that inhibited the Soviet assault troops' advance. In the end, I feel like this was pivotal in the result of the game alongside my sniper who get busy from the outset. The assault troops failed to advance quickly enough. Being held up in the first building meant that the Soviets could not push on fast enough to take more buildings.

As with every play of this scenario that I have every played, the Soviets advanced counter-clockwise and the Germans did the same. As my sniper took several solid shots, the Soviet leadership suffered. Troops broke, the leaders rushed to rally them and were shot down by the sniper. Even the Soviet commissar was wounded. By the end of turn 3, only the Soviet commissar remained, and he was doing sterling work shooting his own troops, who kept cowering behind cover instead of rallying and returning to the fight.

As the game continued, a German squad managed to manoeuvre round the Soviet forces, and started taking buildings previously held by the Soviet forces. Lacking leadership, the Soviet troops stayed broken rather than returning to the front. Those who remained had no fire support and were only left with the option of charging the German positions and hoping that they survived. Dear reader, they did not.

Situation at the end of the game. So many broken Soviet troops! The Soviet MMG top centre is actually possessed by a German squad. The wound marker on the right shows the wounded Soviet Commissar.

As the day closed, the Germans held on. The Soviet forces were in disarray with only a tiny number of squads still combat ready. All the rest were broken and hiding from the German firepower, unable to rally because their leaders had all been sniped. The Battle for Stalingrad would continue another day.

Thoughts

This is a great scenario and well-balanced. As was expected, the action moved in a circle with the Soviet assault troops taking their target building, while the Germans managed to circle round through the Commissar's building while he was broken and take Russian buildings at the top of the map.

The key things that won it for the Germans were the slow advance by the Soviet assault troops and the active German sniper, who killed two of the Soviet leaders by half-way through the third of five turns. With troops broken and no way to bring them back into the fray en masse, the Soviet advance stalled. My brother still heroically soldiered on and tried to get his troops into place. He did succeed in making small advances, but there was no way what remained of his forces was going to win the scenario without extremely lucky dice rolls that were not forthcoming.