Oathmark: Training Wheels

 I bought Oathmark in a sale at the local bookshop back end of last year and am finally getting around to trying them. Like with a lot of other rules, I am playing with 15/18mm figures at 60% scale using a printable ruler scaled down to 60% when I printed it out. This makes my normal 70cm x 50cm gameboard the equivalent of 46" x  33" which is a small table for Oathmark. At this scale my 5'x3' dining table will be more than large enough for a large game if I ever get around to that.

 The armies for this test game are cobbled together from the stuff I have been painting for Five Leagues from the Borderlands. They are far from optimised armies, but my opponent is cool with that, so it's ok. I am also not using the kingdom building rules which offer significant and exciting opportunities for cobbling together unusual fantasy army combinations. If I get on with the rules then that will be the next step to add, along with bigger monsters and spellcasters, plus the rules from the expansion books.

Not every battle in Utavoll involves the Thrappled Lemmings, despite what the Lemmings themselves will tell you. Sometimes local warlords fight or the Dusklings (Orcs) come down from their mountain fastnesses in larger numbers and attack the settlements in the flat lands. This happened recently in the large valley north of Fikaby. The village quickly mustered every able-bodied fighter and set out to stop the Duskling rampage before it started. The humans (502 points) managed to muster:

• 1 unit of 11 Soldiers
• 1 unit of 10 Archers
• 1 unit of 5 Heavy Cavalry

Facing them was a Duskling horde (500 points) with:

• 1 unit of 20 SpearOrcs
• 1 unit of 10 BowOrcs
• 1 unit of 10 Wolves

The Dusklings had the advantage of the ground and outnumbered the humans. Their archers occupied a hill on their left flank. The spear phalanx was deployed with the archers on one side and a rocky spire on the other, thus ensuring they could not easily be flanked. The wolves were deployed between the rocky spire and a woods. The humans were wholly in the open with their heavy cavalry ready to take on the wolves, their archers in the centre and their soldiers facing the Duskling archers.

I diced to see how much terrain to use (2-4 pieces) and where to place it. The dice favoured the Orcs. I then diced for deployment and placed the units appropriately. The deployment actually kind of makes sense. The BowOrcs will try to shoot up the human soldiers so that the phalanx can easily take them out. The wolves will try to stop the human cavalry. They have numbers but the cavalry will be fearsome if it charges first. I'm not sure how the archers and infantry will cope with each other, but I shall find out. The armies are starting closer together than they would on a full-sized table so the action will start sooner and there will be less manoeuvring.

Dusklings/Orcs at the top of the photo. The blue beads mark unactivated units

Turn 1

Humans win the initiative.

The human archers activate successfully and fire at the Duskling archers who are just in range. 2 hits.

Duskling archers fail to activate but still get to shoot at the human soldiers. The humans form shieldwall but still take 1 hit.

The human soldiers fail to activate and march forward with their shields held up to defend themselves.

The Duskling phalanx fails to activate and marches straight forward towards the human archers.

The heavy cavalry races forward towards the wolves.

The wolves fail to activate and edge slowly towards the heavy cavalry.

Turn 2

Dusklings win initiative.

Duskling archers fail to activate and shoot at the human soldiers. The humans form shieldwall. 1 hit.

The heavy cavalry charges the wolves and scores 8(!!!!!) hits. The wolves score 0 hits in return. Despite the horrendous damage, they pass their morale but are pushed back 1"!

The Duskling phalanx fails to activate and moves straight forward towards the human archers.

The human archers activate and shoot at the phalanx. 2 hits.

The Dusklings have nothing left to activate, so the human soldiers activate and pivot on their officer before marching towards the flank of the Duskling phalanx.

Turn 3

Humans win the initiative

The human soldiers charge the Duskling phalanx in the flank. 4 hits. The Dusklings score 1 hit in return. Both units become disordered and the phalanx is pushed back 1".

The Duskling archers activate and shoot at the human soldiers. 2 hits. This is enough to break the soldiers who flee the field. The human archers watch their fleeing comrades with contempt as the Duskling archers advance off their hill to support their own phalanx.

The human archers activate and shoot at the Duskling phalanx. 2 hits.

The wolves activate, pivot on their leader and race off in an attempt to flee the heavy cavalry.

The heavy cavalry activates, wheels to face the wolves and charges them in the rear. 9 hits. The wolves are roadkill and fail to hit back in return.

The amber bead marks disorder, which is not a Good Thing

Turn 4

Dusklings win the initiative.

The phalanx fails to activate and ambles towards the human archers.

The heavy cavalry moves forward and then wheels to attack the Duskling archers in the flank.

The Duskling archers fail to activate. They pivot on their leader to face the oncoming heavy cavalry. With any luck, they will get a good shot off before they are trampled underfoot.

The human archers activate and shoot at the phalanx. 3 hits. This is too much for the phalanx, which disintegrates and flees.

Turn 5

Humans win the initiative.

The heavy cavalry activates and charges the Duskling archers. 10 hits (!!!!!). The archers are roadkill and are so busy dying that they fail to hit the cavalry at all.

Game over. The humans win.

They think it's all over...

Conclusions

That was fun. The basic system seems simple enough. I like the use of two dice for activations and morale tests, with success being if either die rolls high enough. That reduces the randomness of the game a bit. Of course, it still did not help the poor Duskling/Orc force who failed more activations than they passed.

The fixed number of dice for combat was a bit weird. I took an age checking it up, because the heavy cavalry get 2 dice per figure, but even then, they only get to roll 5 of them and all adjustments start from that 5, so defenders with a shield then reduce that to 4 dice. They still stomped everything they faced, and their high armour rating meant that they took no casualties at all.

Morale is a two step process: first disordered and then destroyed. Passing activation means that you lose the disordered status, which is where the Duskling phalanx went wrong. I like this process and I like that morale recovery is built into the activation system. It's simple and neat.

I am sure I got things wrong, so I shall read the rules again and try another game before moving on to adding characters and spellcasters to the game. This looks like a good way to use more of the figures I have painted for Five Leagues from the Borderlands and to encourage me to paint yet more of my unpainted lead pile. It also looks like a system that will work well solo, possibly with the Charles Grant Programmed Wargames Scenarios book, which has lain untouched on my shelf for an absolute age. It could even form the basis of a mini-campaign.

Speaking of campaigns, another element I particularly like is the move away from monoracial armies. Sure, you can build an Orc/Goblin force or an Elf force, but the campaign system is built around territory instead. Your capital defines the dominant race in the area but you then choose other territories to fill out your kingdom and it is your territories that decide who is in your army, not your leader's race. Maybe your human capital city is ringed around by Orc and Elf suburbs, and then you have a Dwarven city outside that. As the leader of your kingdom, you can then recruit soldiers of any of those races., so Elves could be standing alongside Orcs and Dwarves in a total subversion of more usual fantasy tropes. This is neato!

Turn 36: The Thrappled Lemmings and the Ungrateful Dead (Five Leagues from the Borderlands)

 Following their success against the Hooded Men, Geir the Smith gave the Thrappled Lemmings a Fine Shortsword. The locals also charged the Lemmings less for their food than usual (1 Mark). With little else to do and a lot of gold in their purses, Sir Thiebault drilled Fulrad while the others prepared for their expedition against the undead on the edge of town (+1 XP each). The party also made 2 Marks selling excess gear and bought a Fine Shield for Wido as well as more Bandages and Tonic (-12 Marks total). As they were about to set off, Griselda the Baker's Daughter turned up and gave each of them one of her famous Apple Cream Pies (+1 Adventure Point).

Half an hour later, the Thrappled Lemmings were sneaking up on the centre of the zombie infestation. They could see seven normal zombies and two much fresher and stronger zombies. No doubt there were more around, but these would do to start with.

The Thrappled Lemmings began their approach towards the zombies. Wido, Fulrad and Sir Thiebault advanced towards a low hill overlooking the stone circle. Onesipe took up position at the corner of a building where he had a decent line of sight for sniping. Lysanthir and Drogo headed off towards a wooded copse on the left flank. They could vaguely see movement in there and did not want their party to be flanked by the zombies. They were almost all in position before the zombies spotted Sir Thiebault on the low hill. Onesipe opened the battle by wounding a zombie. Then the zombies lurched into action, shambling towards the Thrappled Lemmings.

Wido rushed forward and finished off the wounded zombie. Sir Thiebault charged down the hill and sliced the head off another zombie. As he did so, a new zombie lurched into view on the Lemmings' left flank. Drogo and Sir Thiebault slew two more zombies, but yet another zombie appeared, this time from their right flank.

Onesipe's sniping was proving ineffectual, but Wido managed to put an arrow right through the brain of one of the leader zombies. At the same time, Drogo cleaved a zombie in two and then cleaved a zombie lieutenant in two a moment later.

Sir Thiebault charged the last zombie but was puffing too hard to do any damage. Wido trotted up beside him.

"You need to lay off Griselda's buns," he commented as he slew the zombie. All was quiet. The zombie menace had been dealt with.

The search of the camp turned up a magical Talisman that Sir Thiebault immediately took charge of and a good quantity of gold plus some jars of valuable spices that they could sell. There was also a satchel of letters detailing the plans of a local warlord to strengthen his grip on the area. That would be worth a few marks to the right person.

They headed home to report to Sigrid the Beggar, who gave them a large purse of gold and information that could help them in the future.

Turn 35: The Thrappled Lemmings and the Manly Men in Tights (Five Leagues from the Borderlands

 A renowned magus was in Haitabu when the Thrappled Lemmings arrived and all the talk was about her. The Lemmings felt thoroughly put out after how they had been feted in Utstein Marknad. Fortunately, they felt better after the merchant covered their food and drink costs for helping him reach Haitabu without untoward events along the way. Fulrad and Drogo took time to spar together and both learned a little. Lysanthir headed to the market where he sold the remaining gold bars and bought a bottle of Tonic. It would come in handy at some point soon, he mused. While at the market, he met up with Griselda the baker's daughter, who had been travelling on deliveries and had passed near the Hooded Men's "secret" base. The Hooded Men had been dancing and singing, as was their wont, which gave her time to scout a bit. She passed on this intelligence to Lysanthir.

With all the chores done, Lysanthir rounded up the Thrappled Lemmings and they headed out. Time to make the town safer for beer and baked goods deliveries. With any luck, they could have the hideout destroyed and be back in The Unicorn and Lion by teatime.

As they approached the hideout, it became clear that the bandits in it were the least of their ilk. The others must be out doing evil wherever they were. Still, the lead bandit looked like a tough cookie, so perhaps it would not be as simple as all that. And the hideout was fortified, which would make it more difficult too.

Bandits line the walls of a stockade (Dave Graffam city walls)

"Right, lads," announced Sir Thiebault, "Here's the plan. Most of you have bows. We're going to use them. First one to hit the bandit captain gets an extra tankard of ale. The one who kills him drinks free for the whole night. Once he's dead we charge."

A chorus of "Yup" and "Yeah" from the rest of the Thrappled Lemmings acknowledge the tactical astuteness of, and agreement with, the plan. They moved out and were quickly lining the woods nearest the bandit fort. Lysanthir decided to push on ahead because he had no bow. He was within knife strike of the elderly bandit on the Lemmings' left flank before the man spotted him and raised a shout.

"Oh ho!" cried the bandit leader, slapping his thigh, "What have we here? By the pricking of my thumbs, 'tis a motley crew of ne'erd-do-wells and chancers. At them, chaps!"

Alas the jovial bandit captain would never slap his thigh again

Onesipe and Fulrad sighted carefully at the jovial bandit captain. They paused, breathed out slowly and then shot. Their shots were nigh simultaneous, and nigh simultaneously they missed by a country mile.

"Feh, it's a long shot," grumbled Onesipe.

Wido shot and put his arrow straight through the bandit captain's heart, despite the range and the cover afforded by the fort.

"Luck!" grumbled Onesipe.

Drogo sighted and fired. A bandit slinger fell from the stockade.

"More luck," grumbled Onesipe bitterly.

Lysanthir leapt the last yard at his target and struck hard, but the elderly bandit fought back hard and was only driven back. The bandit then attacked back and drove Lysanthir back in turn. Lysanthir returned to the fray. This time he had the measure of his foe, who was soon stretched out full length on the ground never to move again.

Onesipe finally had his crossbow sighted in and killed a bandit slinger on the battlements. In short order, two more bandits lay dead as Sir Thiebault and Drogo attacked and slew them. This was all too much for the remaining two bandits, who took to their heels and fled as fast as they could. The Lemmings let them run. The threat posed by the Hooded Men was weakened, and there must be some treasure worth seizing in that stockade.

The Lemmings found two letters that hinted at great treasure ahead if one followed the clues. Their search quickly revealed that the jovial bandit was none other than the Dread Bandit Barold. Searching his hut in the stockade produced documents that gave the Lemmings a headstart on the Hooded Men's plans. The Scout's Cloak and Repair Kit they found seemed small potatoes in contrast to all this.

The whole battle had taken less than half an hour, the haul of loot was satisfying and they had struck a blow against the Hooded Men. All in all, mused the Lemmings as they quaffed ale in the Mucky Duck back at Haitabu, it had not been a bad day's work. Lysanthir was particularly satisfied because he had found a scroll from which he had learnt the spell Meekness. That would come in useful for humbling his enemies.

While they drank, Sigrid the Beggar entered the tavern and approached the party. For form's sake, she demanded 1 Mark from them for the information she was about to give them. They paid up and she informed them that a horde of Stumbling Dead had set up camp on the road into town. She would pay them to kill the zombies within 3 weeks.

Turn 34: The Thrappled Lemmings have a Boring Day (Five Leagues from the Borderlands)

 The Lemmings regaled the regulars at The Battered Broo with tales of Drogo's heroics in Gamla Utstein and soon found that the locals were repeating the story with ever more embellishments (+1 Story Point)

"We really need to hire a bard," declared Lysanthir.

Food cost them 2 Marks and they spent another Mark on a healer for Drogo, while Fulrad practised his trick shots (+1 XP). Selling the treasure netted the party 11 Marks, 4 of which they used to buy a bottle of Tonic for Drogo. He complained bitterly about the taste, but at least his wounds healed more quickly because of it. The Lemmings also spent 6 Marks on more Silvertree Leaf.

Then they were ready and headed out with the merchant towards Haitabu. The journey was uneventful and they were soon being rewarded for their help in getting the supplies to Haitabu (+2 Adventure Points). With Drogo now fully healed, the Lemmings were ready to take the fight to the Hooded Men. But first, they were thirsty!

Turn 33: The Thrappled Lemmings and an Infestation of Goblins (Five Leagues from the Borderlands)

 The Thrappled Lemmings were feted by the owner of The Battered Broo after dealing with the sneaky thieves. Apparently, the thieves had been making a nuisance of themselves and everyone wanted to buy the Lemmings a drink for their help. The Lemmings were very happy to let others pick up their bar tab for a while. The Lemmings took this opportunity to get to know the locals and to let their story grow. Each time it was retold, there were more and bigger bandits being defeated, and this suited the Lemmings nicely. Meanwhile, Fulrad spent time practising. He did not want a headache like last time. Fulrad aslo went to the market to sell some of the loot they had acquired, and promptly spent his earnings on a fine shield. He figured he needed better armour than he currently had after last time.

"Right, lads," announced Sir Thiebault as they all sipped a restorative ale early one morning, "We're heading back to Gamla Utstein. We made a good haul last time and I think we need more of that sort of thing. Once we have everything we can from there, I think we should deal with the Hooded Men, but first we need a nice little nest egg to see us through."

The whole dungeon. Thrappled Lemmings entering from the left. The dice indicate which exploration marker each Goblin group is heading towards.

The Thrappled Lemmings packed up their gear and made their way to the old ruins, where they quickly descended through the crypts to the levels below. Fulrad scouted ahead of the group. The crypt was quiet  but for the faint, squeaky tones of Goblins. The occupants were clearly not on their guard. He waved the others forward humming to himself as he moved to take up a guard position.

"See the little Goblin.
See his little feet.
See his little nosey, wosey.
Isn't the Goblin sweet?"

Fulrad soon caught sight of a group of Goblins with a leader. He loosed a shot that went wide as the others moved quickly to catch up with him.

Fulrad and Onesipe shot but only stunned the Goblin leader, and then the melee began. It was a hard fight and the Goblins were tougher than expected, but eventually Wido's war spear pierced the breast of one of the Goblins and it bled out on the ground in front of him. He followed up by killing the Goblin leader and then the remaining Goblin in the group in very quick succession.

Goblins guarding a stash of treasure and about to be scragged

Sir Thiebault moved quickly forward to examine something glinting in the dark and quickly found himself facing a group of Goblin guards. Clearly this was a stash worth protecting. Sir Thiebault and Drogo charged and cut down the guards in seconds. Lysanthir took this opportunity to race forward and check the treasure which comprised fine light armour, a large quiver and a balanced staff. Not exactly great, but Fulrad could use the quiver and the rest could be sold.

More Goblins were now approaching so Sir Thiebault charged and cut one down. Lysanthir raced around them towards an interesting looking chamber but soon found himself facing and wounded by a Goblin. The others moved up to support their comrades.

Groups of Goblins converge on the Thrappled Lemmings' position. The cotton wool marks the noxious gas cloud that Drogo triggered

Lysanthir retreated to bandage his wounds and Drogo charged in to face the Goblin which put up a tough fight. The Lemmings could hear the chatter of even more Goblins approaching. It was about to get hairy! Sir Thiebault raced in and slew the Goblin Drogo was fighting. Drogo took up a position to face the oncoming Goblins that conveniently allowed him to check out the chamber Lysanthir had spotted. As he stepped closer, a stone clicked under his foot and suddenly the area was filled with noxious gas. He leapt back just in time, as Fulrad moved up and, in an unprecedented display of accuracy, put a shot straight through the eye of the closest Goblin, alerting its comrades to his presence.

The subsequent fight saw all of the remaining visible Goblins flee the fight. The Lemmings advanced further to explore and find the beautiful beer tokens they sought. Lysanthir and Wido split off from the others to explore a large chamber that one group of Goblins had emerged from. The others headed further into the tunnels. A lone Goblin challenged them, eager for revenge for its fellows. Unfortunately for the poor wee fellow, it was outmatched and outnumbered. It died there and then.

With the tunnels to themselves, the Thrappled Lemmings began to explore methodically, splitting up to cover more ground more quickly and gathering up their loot. As Drogo moved towards a promising looking crypt, he suddenly realised that it was guarded by a group of Goblins. The Goblins cackled as they ganged up on Drogo and quickly felled him. Unfortunately for them, Onesipe and Sir Thiebault had heard Drogo's cry and raced to the scene of the crime. Onesipe shot two of them in quick succession and Sir Thiebault slew the third. They checked their comrade-in-arms to see how he fared and were relieved to see that he was not dead.

Drogo has fallen!

There were no further routes deeper into this delve, so there was nothing left to do but take Drogo home to tend to his wounds, grab the treasure the Goblins were guarding and return to raise a horn of ale or three in their own honour. As they did so, a merchant approached them to ask if they would help guard his wagons. Haitabu was short of supplies and he was planning on heading there to profit from their need. The deal sounded sweet and the Lemmings were already planning on heading in that direction anyway, so it made sense to get paid for it.

Drogo was nearly the first fatality of the campaign! I used the Silvertree Leaf that they Lemmings found in the dungeon for a reroll that was also a Dead result, and then spent a Story Point for another reroll on the injuries table which resulted in Light Wounds instead. Phew, that was close!

I've been using these dungeon episodes to edge the dungeon tiles as I go along, trying to choose ones I have not finished, so that they will all eventually get done. We'll be returning to the wilderness next, I think, so I should aim to get more terrain made for that. I've started by making some rock pillars that looked like nothing so much as several wee jobbies on my painting table after the base coat. Sigh! Hopefully they will look better with a few shades and highlights applied. Either that or there will be Jurassic Park sized dragon poos on my gaming table.

Turn 32: The Thrappled Lemmings and the Sneaky Thieves (Five Leagues from the Borderlands)

 While waiting for Sir Thiebault to heal so that they could cart more treasure out of Gamla Utstein, Onesipe went to the market to buy supplies for their dinner. He returned 2 Marks poorer and with a sack of mouldy cheese. He had been swindled! Vowing eternal revenge, he set out to track them and soon found a bandit camp  near the ruins at Gamla Utstein.

Returning to Utstein Marknad, he managed to make a deal for supplies for just 1 Mark. Sir Thiebault saw a healer and was soon fighting fit once more. Lysanthir spent his time practising his spells and swordplay.

The others went to the market to sell as much of their loot as they could. Onesipe took the time to speak to the local council about investing in the community and donated some ideas and cash. This helped Utstein Marknad expand and more traders started coming there. Meanwhile, the loot sold at the market had netted the Lemmings 17 Marks.

With gold in their pouches, the Lemmings were satisfied with the results of their expeditions into Gamla Utstein. They were all set to return and explore further but Onesipe's news about the bandit camp changed their minds. They decided to retake their lost gold first, bearing in mind that where the Lemmings had been ripped off, others might too, so there could be much more gold in the camp. Also, who knew where it would end if bandits thought they could rip off the Thrappled Lemmings and still keep their insides inside them? No. This was about honour and justice and making the world safe for beer deliveries. The whole party marched off after Onesipe and were soon near the enemy camp and deploying to sneak up on it.

The bandits looked poor and unprepared for the most part, but there was a beastman mercenary haranguing those around the camp fire. From what the Lemmings could hear, the beastman was exhorting them to acts of greater and greater evil in the aid of Dark Powers that sought entrance to this plane of existence. A tougher looking bandit lieutenant was with the guards too, so this would not be a straightforward raid. The leaders would have to go first and then the rabble after. Sir Thiebault outlined the plan and the Thrappled Lemmings prepared to advance. The whole party made it into a copse near the bandit camp. Sir Thiebault, Drogo and Wido cut wide towards barricades around the camp and were stealthily moving forward when Drogo stepped on a dry stick. Suddenly the bandits spotted them.

"Part 2 of the plan!" yelled Sir Thiebault, "Charge!"

Fulrad and Onesipe started shooting to cover the others and wounded a bandit. The bandit archers returned fire and dropped Fulrad with a single shot. The other bandits raced towards the Lemmings who fought back hard and killed three bandits, while Lysanthir cast a fog spell over the archer in the bandit camp.

The Lemmings then went into overdrive. Wido closed on a bandit archer and skewered him with his spear. Onesipe put a crossbow bolt through the ears of the Feral Mercenary, clearing out his earwax and killing him instantly into the bargain. Sir Thiebault cut down the bandit lieutenant. Drogo raced towards the remaining bandit archer but got distracted by loot in a bandit bedroll. The Camp Gear looked useful, so he quickly stuffed it into his backpack.

With all his comrades cut down, the archer chose the better part of valour, leaving the Lemmings holding the field. They ransacked the camp, finding useful information on the bandit's plans, recovered their money, and found a further 6 Marks and a set of Thief's Tools. They also remembered to check Fulrad. Fortunately for him, his helmet had taken the full force of the blow and he was only knocked out. He would have a headache for a while but that was the worst of it, and it was a small price to pay for having reduced the Hooded Men threat in the area.

Satisfied with their work, the Thrappled Lemmings returned to town to drink away their loot, but mindful that the Hooded Men were clearly a threat that must be dealt with soon.

Well, that went quickly. All the bandits were dead or fled within 3 turns, and Fulrad got lucky with the injuries roll!

The random town event triggered the action this turn. The party was swindled out of 2 Marks and a new bandit camp was placed in the same area as where the party were. The choice of enemy was automatically Sneaky Thieves, basically unarmoured and poorly trained bandits, but they were accompanied by a Lieutenant because the scenario was a camp raid, and the dice roll for leadership was a Feral Beastman in the service of Dark Powers. Defeating him would be worth 2 Adventure Points. The scenario also states that the Lemmings do not get normal Adventure Points if they win, but rather that they get back the money that they were swindled out of.

 I also spent 3 of my existing Adventure Points on investing in the local community and rolled a 1 for a success. This had the effect of raising Utstein from a hamlet to a village, which will improve trading there. I am assuming that this represents several turns of effort and spending on the part of the party and others.

Against the Undead in Wizard Kings

While back in the UK over the Christmas break, I dug out Wizard Kings again. I was newly enthused because I had managed to get hold of new maps and some of the expansion packs that I have not previously seen on sale round these parts. This turned out to be a game changer. Literally!

The basic Wizard Kings set is nice, but it always felt a bit limited. You get eight blocks for each army, which is enough to get started, but it constrains your choices quite heavily. Having the Heroes and Treasures boxes has expanded my armies massively, and given me the opportunity to personalise them. Heroes and Treasures contains new units for each army and also chaos creatures that can be stuck to any type of block. You are not limited here and it really comes down to what suits you thematically. Suddenly, Wizard Kings feels like a complete game where the boxed game feels more like a taster set.

Getting the extra maps was cool too. The maps are mostly geomorphic. There are a few limitations but not many, and now I can have a lot more variety in my battlefields.

The Elven task force has made a beachhead on Undead Island

All enthused by the new bits, I set up the solitaire training scenario from the basic game to see if my Elves could defeat the Undead and wrest control of the island from them. The Elves have to fly over and take control of a port so that the rest of their force can sail over. Then they need to take out the Undead capital, all within a turn limit. The undead have a very basic AI that sees them moving towards the Elves if they get within two hexes. As all the cities are two hexes from each other, that means that the cities get reinforced quickly by nearby undead. The key to winning seems to be gaming this AI so that the undead move to attack one of your forces, while another one then swoops in to take the city. It's an interesting challenge. The game was close but I succeeded, so this is obviously a great game. Now all I need to do is find an opponent willing to play me at it so that I can test out the rest of the stuff.

I also wonder about using the maps to create fantasy wargame campaign maps. The maps and the blocks could be used for manoeuvring at the campaign level, and it would save on drawing my own maps. We'll have to see about that as I have little opportunity for a larger fantasy wargame campaign at the moment, unless I set it up solo or run it online.