Border Princes: Turn 8 Moves

Border Princes 18: House Rules So Far

So a recent change to the special rules for Tomb Kings (changes in red) has reminded me that I have been meaning to draw attention to some of the differences between the rules in the General's Compendium and those on this blog (esp. now that we have another player who has a copy of the GC).

So these are the house rules so far (more will be added as necessary):

1.)  Forests count as difficult terrain, though only a 2+ check is needed rather than a 3+ (in the GC forest is NOT difficult terrain).

2.) You DO have to make difficult terrain tests when falling back/retreating.  I actually didn't realize that the GC addressed this rule until Monday when I was looking for something else.  In the GC you DON'T have to make a difficult terrain test in order to retreat.  However, this strikes me as silly - if it is difficult to march across a river when you are in good order, how much harder is it to RETREAT over a river (w/ baggage train et al.) when you are fleeing your enemies?  From what I understand of early modern warfare many of the casualties occur in flight, particularly if blocked by a river or something.  Anyway, for our purposes if you are retreating and fail a difficult terrain you are SCATTERED.

I can't think of any other changes I made off the top of my head, except for the Bretonnian special army rules which I made weaker (I thought they were over the top).

Border Princes: Turn 7 Moves & Resolution

23rd Vorgeheim, 2516 IC

Esteemed colleagues, you and the worthies of the Empire should know that forces under the banner of the Ruinous Powers are now marching on the lower reaches of Black Fire Pass.  It is imperative that the Emperor, our dwarf allies in the Black Mountains and, especially, the Marius Leitdorf, Averland’s Elector, are made aware of this dire turn of events.  It goes without saying that Black Fire Pass must be reinforced and held.  Where this leaves Imperial interests in the Border Princes, cut off as we are from support from the Empire?  Well, I shall see what can be done.

-Herr Gavius Klugge, of the Order of Shadow

26th Vorgeheim, 2516 IC

Bretonnian lords are mustering their vassals, retainers and peasants at the South Road-Silk Road Crossroads and in the forest surrounds, pitching their gaily coloured tents and setting up their ridiculous tourneys and jousts and festivals.  Indeed, whoever finally wins the Border Princes might find themselves starving to death if the Bretonnians find any more excuses for a feast!  Let us hope they are pointing their lances towards Malko!

-GK

27th Vorgeheim, 2516 IC

Inexplicably, the Greenskin force advancing along the Old Silk Road before Malko set off into the forests to the north today, leaving nary a trace.  What diabolical scheme inspired by the Greenskins' Chaotic allies is this?

-GK

30th Vorgeheim, 2516 IC

My lackwit apprentice Adolphus sends word that the Young Henri and his Gallant Companions, increasingly surrounded by both Greenskins and the forces of Chaos, have turned eastwards and are freeing the slaves taken by the Orcs and Goblins along the north bank of the Blood River.  The orcs and goblins themselves continue to gather in great numbers around their traditional Ironclaw mustering grounds.  Meanwhile their allies, the vile servants of the Ruinous Powers, are claiming the lands to the north of the eastern stretches of the Silk Road, and have seized the East bank of the Thunder River in the wake of Young Henri’s departure.  Could it be that this ‘heroic’ young Bretonnian gallant is FLEEING from the forces of Chaos?  

-GK

Geheimnisnacht (Night of Mysteries), 2516 IC


The danse macabre and the japes with skulls and costumes are packed away long before nightfall in the Border Princes, for the dead here are without number and many did not have a peaceful death.  All is quiet in Malko's streets now save the priest of Morr and his procession, there to keep the dead at bay.  'Tis said that the spirits of the Geistenmund Hills will be abroad tonight, and no man, woman or child in the Border Princes will leave their home this night lest they be snatched away to those ancient Barrows 'ere the dawn...

-GK

6th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC

The Greenskin force which departed into the woods north of Malko has returned from whence they came in small scattered groups.  By means of my eyeglass I could tell that they were battered, confused (well, more so than normal) and somewhat reduced in number… my guess is that they became lost and were harried by the spirits abroad on Geheimnisnacht!  Whatever the cause, the half-wit Lord of Malko was too spineless to lead a sally out and destroy them in their weakened, divided state, and now I fear the opportunity is lost!

-GK

14th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC

Our colleague, Herr Oliver Heinnman of the Order of Light, sends alarming news that the undead forces of long-forgotten Nehekhara have pushed westwards across the northern bank of the central Blood River and through the forests surrounding the Imperial Blood River Bastion.  Our own eastward advance has been thrown into disarray as one of the skeletal legions has marched between our banners and is threatening the Imperial Bastion itself!  Grand Master Reichardt is leading his division in a desperate attempt to meet the Nehekharans before they reach the centre of Imperial power in the Border Princes… Sigmar grant him speed!

In the wake of the Neherakhan threat Imperial forces continue to secure and pacify the villages, holdings and manor houses around Malko.  Most of the petty lords here are apparently only all too willing to accept the Empire’s protection in these dark times.

- Gavius Klugge

17th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC

Victory is ours, esteemed colleagues!  Grandmaster Reichardt and his division, marching through the night, were able to intercept the legion of skeletal warriors marching on the Imperial Blood River Bastion.  Joined by the vanguard of another returning Imperial division, the Grandmaster lead our State Troops to victory over the Nehekharans who, surrounded on all sides by Imperial forces, crumbled as if into sand and blew away towards the West.  Tragically, the Grandmaster himself did not live to see his victory to fruition… 

Here follows an excerpt from Tomas the Penitent's psalter  (Tomas was a survivor of the Battle for the Blood River Empire Battalion headquarters or as is commonly referred to "Reichardt's Sacrifice") [Many thanks to our Empire player for this amazing, fluffy report.]

17th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC

"And I saw the Grand Master Karl-Heinz Reichardt, resplendent in his polished armour, charge into the skeletal horde that shambled relentlessly towards our battle line. Thinking nothing of his, nor his bodyguard's safety, and only the defense of the Empire battalion outpost he commanded utter respect from his men. Indeed, such was their esteem of the man that they would follow him to whatever end on that very day. Positioned as I was in the unit of greatswords adjacent the braying horses of the knights, I could hear Reichardt's words immediately before the suicide charge. He urged to his men: 'Our is not to question why, brothers, 'tis but to do and die!' as he kicked his spurs into his horse and galloped towards the enemy. This act of daring bought our battle line enough time to steady its flanks and draw the enemy cavalry back to its centre, instead of charging the embattled Demi Gryphons who were amidst battle with the savage Khemrian Sphynx. 

Despite his valiant efforts, Master Reinhardt and his bodyguard were rebuffed and cut down as they retreated. Fueled by this tragic sight, my comrades and I were filled with such a rage - as if summoning Sigmar's own divine wrath - that when we engaged the enemy our blades carved through the dusty bones of infantryman and horseman alike. It was as if the goddess Bironna herself had favoured us, making time appear to stand still, such was the efficacy of our work. Heinmann believes his magic one the day, however, to see the blood and sweat of our men it is clear to me that our faith alone in Sigmar one through. Praise be to Sigmar. 

Indeed, as we hacked at the perfidious foe until none remained and the hissing engine of Conqueror died down, it was clear that the victory - Reichardt's victory - was delivered through the sacrifice and daring of our brave commander alone. And the reprieve, such as it was, would prove to be only short lived...."

Tomas the Penitent

Reichardt’s Sacrifice, part of the Border Princes War of 2516-2518 IC
Date: 17th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC
Location: A small settlement Territory 90
Result: Decisive Empire Victory (Crushing Victory)
Belligerents
The Empire (Reichardt’s Imperial Bastion)	Tomb Kings (Cohort of the Sun)
Commanders
Grand Master Karl-Heinz Reichardt †	Pho’tum, High Priest of Ptra (†?)
Other Leaders
Captain Wilhelm Zeigier	Wosret, Prophet of Woe (†?)
Captain Bruno Schille
Oliver Heinmann (Wizard Lord of the Lore of Light)
(Mad) Werner of the Wildmoor (Battle Wizard of the Lore of Beasts
Tomas the Penitent, Warrior Priest of Sigmar
Strength
2700 pts.	2250 pts.
Casualties
709 pts.	1995 pts.
†=killed in battle

22nd Nachgeheim, 2516 IC

The woods to the south east of Malko now said to be crawling with orcs, goblins and worse.  No word has been heard of those few stubborn woodsmen who lived in isolated villages and had thus far refused to abandon their woodland homes for Malko, but there is little mystery as to their fate, for all through the night the citizens hear the howling of dire wolves and the terrible, terrible shrieks of the hunted.  It cannot be long now before the hammer falls.

-GK

Faction	Normal Territories	Special Territories	Total Territories	Razed Territories	Victory Points	Banners	Alliances
Bretonnians	11	1	12	0	16	5	Empire
Empire	12	1	13	0	17	5	Bretonnia
Orcs and Goblins	10	1	11	0	15	4	Tomb Kings, Warriors of Chaos
Tomb Kings	11	0	11	0	11	4	Orcs and Goblins, Warriors of Chaos
Warriors of Chaos	14	0	14	0	14	4	Orcs and Goblins, Tomb Kings

Border Princes 17: Battlefield Terrain Generation Guidelines

Guidelines for Battlefield Creation:

1.) Rule of cool.

Never feel that you HAVE to place a particular piece of terrain which doesn’t seem appropriate to the scenario/looks silly just because the dice rolls it.  Swap it for something more appropriate!  Similarly, if there is a piece of terrain which the particular combo of scenario and terrain type suggests (e.g. heaps of swamps in a swamp terrain piece) then feel free to modify by swapping these for less appropriate pieces.   I would rather both players (and a GM if available) create a battlefield which suggests a STORY – this is NOT a tournament!  If you are fighting in mountains and don’t have any rocks or mountains, put ‘em in!  If you are playing in a destruction HQ (e.g. Chaos) and you roll ‘settlement of order’, change it to ‘encampment of destruction’ instead!

2.) Remember, 8^th edition is designed for slightly more terrain then previous editions.

I have been reading quite a bit about people’s frustration with unbreakable hordes and the uselessness of skirmishers in 8^th – the general consensus is that people are not placing enough terrain pieces.  Remember, the MINIMUM terrain pieces (for a standard scenario) is meant to be d6+4!  Obviously you don’t want things to be TOO cluttered, but once you have that total (d6+4), I encourage you to add a few pieces of ‘mundane’ terrain (normal forests and hills especially, but also the occasional boulder, swamp etc. as appropriate) if it enhances the ‘look’/’appropriateness’ of the board or if the amount of terrain is a bit sparse.  

3.) I have changed the chart up a bit for standard games.

I’ve never really liked the idea that buildings are more common then hills (based on the 2d6 mechanic) etc., so I’ve switched things around so that there is more chance of getting mundane terrain – keeping the ‘special’ terrain more special.  It doesn’t really make sense to me that there are steadfast sanctums lying around as common as a peasant’s cottage wall, and I’m the GM, so there J.  I might modify it more for games in different terrain a bit but we’ll see – want to keep this part pretty fluid.

4.) If you don’t have an item of terrain, feel free to swap it w/ something appropriate

This goes w/ point number 1 I suppose – don’t be slaves to the dice roll!

5.) In the case of special terrain, the effects might apply to a different ‘thingie’

What the hell does this mean?  Well, imagine you are playing a game in Tilea (or somewhere you wouldn’t expect a Nehekharan sphinx to be!) and roll a Nehekharan Sphynx.  You might decide either to reroll the die, swap for something else, or else take a more suitably ‘fluffy’ item which has the same effect – instead of a riddling sphinx, place an interesting forest and have it mischievous faeries challenging the intruders to a game of wits, etc.

WARHAMMER: TERRAIN REFERENCE SHEET

Random Terrain chart

Roll 2D6 and consult the chart.

2 Settlement of Order

D3 Buildings, D3 sets of obstacles, plus one roll on

the Steadfast Sanctum.

3 Steadfast Sanctum

Roll a further D6:

1 – Grail Chapel

2 – Acropolis of Heroes

3 – Wizard's Tower

4 – Sigmarite Shrine

5 – Elven Waystone

6 – Dwarf Brewhouse

4 Marsh

1-3 Normal Marsh

4 – Earthblood Mere

5 – Khemrian Quicksand

6 – Mist-wreathed Swamp

5 Building (might also include ruins)

6 Hill

Roll a further D6:

1-4 – Ordinary Hill

5-6 – Roll Below

1-2 – Temple of Skulls

3-4 – Scree Slope

5-6 – Anvil of Vaul

7 Forest (Mysterious on 4+)

8 Obstacles (might also include boulders, rocks, etc.)

Three 6” sections of one of the following. Roll a D6:

1-2 – Fence

3-4 – Wall

5-6 – Roll below:

1-2 Blazing Barricade

3-4 Blessed Bulwark

5-6 Ghost Fence

9  River (Mysterious on 4+) (unless the scenario specifically calls for it this should not dominate the battlefield – preferably entering and leaving in one table quarter)

10 Magical Mystery

Roll a further D6:

1 – Sinister Statue

2 – Arcane Ruins

3 – Nehekharan Sphinx

4 – Sorcerous Portal

5 – Wyrdling Well

6 – Magic Circle

11 Sinister Structure

Roll a further D6:

1 – Altar of Khaine

2 – Charnel Pit

3 – Bane Stone

4 – Haunted Mansion

5 – Idol of Gork

6 – Tower of Blood

12 Encampment of Destruction

D3 Buildings, D3 sets of obstacles, plus one roll on

the Sinister Structure.

Border Princes 16: Fighting Battles

We have our first battle in the Border Princes campaign!

And it occurs to me that I haven't really written anything about how battles are fought out.  In general, it works pretty much as I laid it out here.

1. Once the campaign phase indicates that there is a battle (or more then one battle), the players involved (normally 2, but there may be 3 if allies are involved) work out a time and location to resolve the battle.  The players should choose a time which will allow plenty of time to finish the game.

2. Each player must calculate points based on the banners and supporting banners she/he is bringing to the battle.  If there are allied players involved then they should calculate how many points they are bringing to the battle.

3. Each player writes an army list based on his/her points total according to the 8th edition BRB, the most up-to-date army book available for the army and the army FAQs available from the Games Workshop website.  There are only a few rules for army list building beyond those in the rules:

a.) NO special characters (e.g. Karl-Franz, Archaon, etc.) are allowed.
b.) All heroes and lords MUST be named APPROPRIATELY (NO Bobs, and NO Karl-Franz's, Archaons, etc.  If you play Empire, Google German names, if Chaos then jumble up some consonants and vowels barbarian style or look up some names of Scandanavians or steppes barbarians, etc. not that hard :-).

That's it really.  As a side note I reckon a fluffy/appropriate army is always more fun than a 'mathshammered' internet list - just a general guideline which is not enforceable but I had to say it.

4. Ideally there can be a third (or fourth or fifth!) party present as a Gamemaster/s - this GM helps looking up rules and interpreting them though he/she is not in charge - I'm pretty sure we can all work out any disagreements - it's just a game after all!

5. I (or the GM if I am playing) will ideally roll off the scenario based on the appropriate chart BEFORE the game, but keep the result secret from the players.  This will enable me/the GM to try and make sure the sorts of appropriate terrain are at the location (either Gary's or Tom's - they both have most of the options available but there will be circumstances when borrowing would be great).  On those occassions (and there WILL be those occassions) when only the two players involved can be there, they will just have to make the best of the terrain they have available to the agreement of both.

6. Terrain should be set up as much as possible based on the combo of the territory you are fighting in and the scenario rolled - for example, if you roll the loot and pillage scenario in a river terrain section then you probably want to create a narrative (and battlefield) around the idea of a riverside village or something.  The idea here is that we all share in the narrative - do what you think is appropriate and looks fluffy!  I'll leave it to the players and GM (if available) to set up an equitable way of placing terrain - we've always been pretty good at this in the past so I don't think there should be any problems here, but if things are a little bit intense you can either have each player take it in turns to place a terrain piece or, better yet, have the GM make the board.  If people think there should be hard and fast rules about this feel free to suggest them but I think we're all good probably.


7. Finally, a reminder that these games are about constructing a fun narrative - they are (often deliberately) NOT going to be 'fair' tournament style games but more about playing around with fun (and appropriate!) combinations of scenarios and terrain types which are rooted in an overarching story we are creating together and have the added bonus of actually MEANING something in the context of the campaign.

That's it!  Have I missed anything?

Border Princes: Turn 7 Moves

And we have battle!

Border Princes: Turn 6

Sonnestil (Summer Solstice), 2516 IC

Sonnestil, the Summer Solstice, and those who can stomach it have razed a maypole and are dancing and singing the bawdy ditties of Midsummer.  Few of Malko's youths seem to be sneaking out to cavort in the woods and fields, however.  Many have been swayed by the stern, unflinching zeal of the flagellants, preachers and doomsayers which swarm the streets, and those that remain are probably afeard of goblin scouts prowling the woods, for the Greenskins have crossed the Thunder River to the South East.

Having failed to prevent the orcs and goblins from crossing at the bridge, Young Henri lead his Bretonnian force south to attack the orcs and goblins who were reportedly mutinying after a failed attempt at crossing the river.  Adolphus writes that the Bretonnians once again arrived too late, however.  All that remained of the Greenskin force were the corpses of those who had died in the failed rebellion and the leaders who had been dispatched by the chief Orc warlord: The remainder of the Greenskin force had already put ashore on the west bank with their rickety flotilla of rafts and longboats.

-Gavius Klugge

2nd Vorgheim, 2516 IC

Three divisions of our Imperial forces have marched forth from the lands around the central Blood River and around their fortress in a united battlefront, pressing eastwards into the territories seized by the dead from Nehekhara.  Word is that one division has already secured the woods to the west of their headquarters, while another has liberated the plains south of the Blood River Bogs from their long-dead taskmasters. 

-GK

4th Vorgheim, 2516 IC

Poor tidings, dear colleagues for the Imperial division advancing on the Blood River Bogs has been forced to withdraw after a long and arduous slog through the fetid swamps in the heat of midsummer.  The steam contraptions of the engineers (unreliable at the best of times!) malfunctioned disastrously, and our troops were afflicted with heat, thirst (for the fresh water in the bogs is scarce) and swamp-fever.  

Our huntsmen were able to penetrate deeper into the Bogs than the rest of our forces.  Those who returned reported that many of their comrades were pulled to their death in the much by great serpents.  However, a few especially skilled trackers were able to find their way right to the Neherakan encampment, which was being fortified by great throngs of slaves, both living and dead.

6th Vorgheim, 2516 IC

Dire news!  Word from my lackwit apprentice Adolphus is that Young Henri and his knightly host have been cut off in Greenskin territory by a band of blasphemous warriors and barbarians marching under the banners of the Dark Powers, who have seized the vital bridge over the central Thunder River.  From my ravens I can tell you that the bridge is now adorned by gibbets and stakes and the cadavers of their victims.  What is clear now is that Young Henri's bluster about being 'Malko's Defender' was just that.  Panic is beginning to set in behind our all-too-flimsy palisade.

9th Vorgheim, 2516 IC

Unrest in Malko!  The town was celebrating the the Emperor Sigismund's heroic death with the ceremonial plunging of the lord's sword into a ram skull representing Gorbad Ironclaw's wyvern when news reached the town that a greenskin force has begun marching westwards along the Old Silk Road, looting, burning or enslaving the smaller settlements and inns along the way.  The timing was unfortunate and between Malko's idiot lord and his jumpy mercenaries, the zealots, flagellants and firebrands crying hellfire and brimstone, and a hungry, frightened populace it is perhaps unsurprising that all hell broke loose.  The riots have been (brutally) suppressed, but I fear that agents of the Ruinous Powers continue to operate from the city, and we may be in danger of falling from within long before the Greenskin's reach Malko's palisades.

-Gavius Klugge  

10^th Vorgheim, 2516 IC

I have taken abroad with my ravens once again, esteemed colleagues, to form an accurate estimation of the Greenskin threat and, perhaps, find the slimmest opportunity for Malko’s survival.  I already knew that the orcs and goblins seem to be advancing westward on two fronts: along the Old Silk Road directly east of here and in the forests to the south east, where they have newly managed to cross the Thunder River.

My feathered friends have shown me two more large Greenskin threats.  Orcs and goblins are gathering in huge numbers in the traditional Ironclaw Orc lands around the Idols of Gork and Mork (or is it the other way around?), though I cannot guess at their intention.  The other force is digging in and erecting crude fortifications and defences around their camps along the eastern stretches of the Old Silk Road.  Whether this defensive activity was provoked by Young Henri’s Gallant Companions upon the nearby bridge or by the hordes of Chaos warriors boiling south from the Black Mountains I cannot say.  My hope would be the latter, though my guess would be the former… for there remains no doubt in my mind that the forces of the Dark Powers and the orcs and goblins are working in concert.

Oh, did I not mention the hordes of chaos warriors boiling south from the Black Mountains?  Well there you have it, esteemed colleagues, we have hordes of orcs from the east and every cultist and heretic in the Border Princes from the north ready to join their vanguard at the bridge across the Thunder… and right now there is more or less just ME here to deal with it (probably less, because I have to keep cleaning up the messes my feckless apprentices make of things). 

A little extra support would be much appreciated lest the Electors would rather this lot begins heading towards Black Fire Pass towards their soft feather beds.

-Gavius Klugge, (frustrated) Grey Wizard

13^th Vorgheim, 2516 IC

Alarmed at developments in the East, more and more of the petty lords southeast of Malko are throwing in their lot with the Imperial division claiming lands there. 

Northeast of Malko the Bretonnians hold sway, distributing lands amongst their knights where they are available and accepting the fealty of those lordlings who could not otherwise face the coming onslaught alone.  Bretonnian knights are now said to be patrolling the upper reaches of the South Road.

-GK

16^th Vorgheim, 2516 IC

Fell tidings!  The bridge over the upper Thunder River has been taken by the forces of Chaos! 

With the fall of the bridge, esteemed colleagues, passage from the Border Princes into the Empire via Black Fire Pass is all but impossible.  For our Imperial forces stationed here it means that any hope of reinforcement from the Empire is gone… the opportunity for that has passed.  Rather we must continue to draw upon those Border Princes of Imperial descent to fill our ranks.

Furthermore, there is now scant hope of retreat for our Imperial forces should the situation become untenable here.  If the worst comes to the worst, they may have to fall back south west towards Barak Varr and the mercy of the Dwarfs, perhaps taking passage to Tilea.

-         Gavius Klugge

19^th Vorgheim, 2516 IC

Ill luck for our Imperial forces, dear colleagues!  A legion of undead Neherakan warriors has struck boldly between a gap in our Imperial divisions as they advanced eastwards.  How the long-dead warriors knew where to advance remains something of a mystery, though I suspect the involvement of those carrion birds or other foul sorcery. 

Regardless, this fell turn of events has not only jeopardised our eastward advance, but has allowed the Neherakans within striking distance of our Imperial fortress!  I shall get little sleep this night until I know that our fortress is secure, for if it falls so do our hopes at keeping these lands and their peoples within the safe orbit of our Empire!

-Gavius Klugge

Faction	Normal Territories	Special Territories	Total Territories	Razed Territories	Victory Points	Banners	Alliances
Bretonnians	9	1	10	0	14	4	Empire
Empire	10	1	11	0	15	4	Bretonnia
Orcs and Goblins	10	1	11	0	15	4	Tomb Kings, Warriors of Chaos
Tomb Kings	9	0	9	0	9	4	Orcs and Goblins, Warriors of Chaos
Warriors of Chaos	11	0	11	0	11	4	Orcs and Goblins, Tomb Kings

Border Princes Announcement: League Declared Between Neherakans, Orcs and Goblins and Followers of the Ruinous Powers!

Many thanks to our Tomb King's player who supplied the fluff behind the announcement - I've worked it into Gavius Klugge's latest report but I thought it would be fun to have a perspective from someone who is NOT a crotchety Empire Wizard, so I've pasted the email below.  Other (Greenskin or Chaos) perspectives are welcome if they feel they haven't been well represented :-).

All three of us are in a three way alliance, so every person is allied to both other members. My personal take would be that King Nun'keb's accompanying priests (from the Sect of the Carrion God) have warned him of a rising power in the west, a building crusade of mortal men united in purpose and backed by powerful nations. They have learned this by communing with the whispering spirits that linger in this blood drenched land. Cursing his ill fortune Nun'keb has demanded more than just portents of his undoing from his priests. They suggest that the other inhabitants of this blighted land might be persuaded of common cause to break this western invasion. Nun'keb accepts that savages sometimes have their uses and their extermination can resume after this much greater threat is put to rest. Two ambassadors are then dispatched, to the green skin camp a great carrion bird departs, clutching in his talon a mummified goblin head such that the ancient dead might be able to converse with the green savages in their own tongue. To the men of chaos comes Khunil, Herald of the Silent Legion, a proud and fierce warrior bearing promises of glory. What was said to win over these two rambunctious factions I will leave to your imagination. 

Border Princes Turn 5:

32nd Sigmarzeit, 2516 IC

Well sanity has prevailed at least.  Young Henri and his Gallant Companions did not appear to have designs on Malko... at least for now.  While their were no Bretonnian knights hurling themselves at our gates, however, we did receive a stately looking herald upon a great charger, who proclaimed Young Henri to be 'Defender of Malko.'  Some of the Malko's citizens, who have been expecting orcs or worse to pour along the Old Silk Road, gave a hopeful cheer, but a warning salvo from Malko's handgunners sent the Herald on his way with the message that Malko already HAS defenders.

In any event, it seems that Young Henri means to hold the orc horde at the bridge over the Thunder River.  IF he is successful, Malko may even have the slimmest of chances of survival.

- GK

1st Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

All Malko has waited anxiously for news from the Thunder River for two days and sleepless nights, scanning the horizon and hoping to see the pennants of victorious returning Bretonnians, but fearing the fell banners of orcs and goblins or worse, the Ruinous Powers.  You could cut the tension here with a knife, and the result?

Nothing.

Adolphus has sent word that the Gallant Companions seized the bridge over the Thunder River unopposed, with nary a goblin in sight.  Adolphus tells me that Young Henri's rage and frustration at being denied battle is truly something to behold.

My feathered friends tell me that the fool young Bretonnian has been outsmarted and outmanouvered by base Greenskin cunning: The orcs and goblins had already crossed the Thunder River and are even now pouring North to establish themself on this side.  Worse still, the horde of Chaos advancing along the Thunder River has not attacked he Greenskin lands or banners but instead forded the Thunder River north of the Bridge, thus avoiding the Bretonnian force.

Young Henri might hold the bridge, but our enemies are already behind him, and Malko is now in the grip of deathly fear!  Worse still, I am worried that the Greenskins and Chaos warbands have not yet come to blows... I fear there may have been some cooperation between them in all this.

-Gavius Klugge, Grey Wizard

2nd Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Better news from my incompetent apprentice, Adolphus this day (really, dear colleagues, were we like THAT when we first began studying the Art?)!  Bretonnian mounted sergeants scouting south of the bridge along the Thunder River's eastern bank found the orc and goblin force encamped there killing each other with wanton abandon amid the wreck and ruin of what appeared to be a crude and hastily constructed fleet of rafts.  It seems that this force had aimed to make a second attempt at fording the Thunder River here and, had they been successful, Malko may have faced a two-pronged orcish invasion.

Apparently, however, many of the Greenskins were none too keen on braving the crossing again after the losses they incurred in last month's failed attempt, and the dissenters and supporters of the warchief were making their feelings known with their wicked hooked blades.  Let us hope that their ranks are considerably thinned before they are done!  Well, I can dream can't I?

-Gavius Klugge

4th Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Word from Imperial Huntsmen scouting in the forests south of the Blood River is that a fresh... er, new... I mean hitherto unknown unit of skeletal warriors have marched West from the ruins that seem to serve as their base of operations.  In order to avoid his supply lines being cut by the Nehekharans from the south, the Imperial Commander in the Blood River Bogs has wisely withdrawn downriver such that our forces now garrison both the north and south banks of the Blood River's central reaches.  A token force of scouts has remained to keep an eye on happenings in the Bogs.


7th Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Through the eyes of my winged spies abroad I have witnessed orcs and goblins gathering massing in large numbers on the northern, southern and western borders of their territory.  I am taking my ravens now to the sacred Ironclaw lands and the Greenskin shamans - if any have been able to broker some sort of deal with the Chaos horde it will have been them.

-GK


15th Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Strange and dire tidings!  I was borrowing my raven friends to keep watch over goings on in the lands sacred to the Ironclaw when a flock of vile carrion birds appeared on the Southern horizon.  The hideous, rotting flock descended upon the orc and goblin shamans I had been observing in their strange and vile rites around the idols of Mork (or is it Gork), in what I thought was a sorcerous attack on the Greenskins by the Neherakhans.  However, the Carrion flock parted to reveal that they bore aloft a dessicated, mummified goblin head.  More horrifying still, the head began to speak with the shamans.  The sorcery at work here must be great indeed, for the mummified head quickly detected my presence and turned to look directly AT my ravens.  Looking into those vacant eyes was like looking through the horrors of time and death itself, dear colleague, and I cannot express to you the terror I felt then.  What happened next is an awful blur - the carrion must have set upon my ravens, for I lost all awareness save terrible dreams, and have only just woken at my desk from what servants say was a deathly trance.  It seems I woke just in time, for the local zealots were apparently planning on burning me!

However, I did hear enough from that diabolical mummified skull before the magical attack to fill my waking hours with dread and keep me from sleep: the Greenskins and Neherakhans were speaking of a potential alliance!

-Gavius Klugge

16th Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Word from the West is that our forces continue to consolidate their holdings and secure the loyalty of petty lordlings around Aldium and south of the Old Silk Road.  The Bretonnians continue to muster and take oaths of fealty and vassalage in the lands to the North of the Silk Road.
-GK


19th Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Idiot Bretonnians!  Adolphus has sent me word from Young Henri's encampment of the approach of a single Neherakhan chariot, ornately gilt in gold and ivory and lapis-lazuli, drawn by skeletal steeds and bearing a great skeletal warrior in bejeweled, ornate armour.  One of the Henri's young friends foolishly begged his liege for his leave to challenge the Neherakhan to single combat for the right to cross the bridge and Young Henri, fool of fools, agreed to this fiasco!  To the shock and horror of all present, the young champion and was no match for this long-dead noble warrior, who promptly beheaded the foolish knight with his khopesh.  But this, dear colleagues, is not the REAL madness we saw this day.  Young Henri, mad with grief at rage at his friend's death though he was, decided to honour the Nehekharan's right for safe-passage across the bridge!  He even provided a knightly escort clear of the encampment!  Honestly, this sort of chivalric nonsense is going to get us all killed.

Worse still, the mysterious charioteer promptly headed north in the direction of the forces of Chaos!  I now have grave fears of a three-way alliance between the Greenskins, the followers of the Ruinous Powers and those of long-vanished Nehekhara!

22nd Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

I have taken to wing again with those of my raven friends who remain to me and taken flight in search of the lone Nehekharan charioteer.  I finally found him fearlessly urging his skeletal horses up into the haunted Geistenmund hills.  Here, amid the eerie ruins of the long-dead Barrow Kings, I saw through my raven's eye this ancient herald meeting with a cabal of orc and goblin shamans, each covered in fetishes and tattoos to ward of the spirits of the barrows, as well as a dark hooded emissary with a fell air about him who rode a rotting nag and whose escort comprised hulking warriors covered in dark, baroque armour.

I dared not linger, for the winds of magic grew as a storm around this company and I could not hope for my illusions to protect my ravens and I for long, but I there can be no doubt that my worst fears have been realized.  The Greenskins, the remnants of Tamurkhan's Chaos band and the Neherakhans are in alliance this night, and the Border Princes are about to awake to a living nightmare!

Let it be known that the Imperial-Bretonnian Crusade now faces a united foe!

25th Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Imperial Huntsmen scouting in the Blood River Bogs have reported a renewed Neherakhan advance, this time supported by the archaic reed and timber barges which so often grace Neherakhan engravings in our Imperial museums and collections.  The Huntsmen were unable to hold the Bogs against a full invasion force, and have not engaged the enemy.

30th Sommerzeit, 2516 IC

Marauders, heretics, cultists and the dark armoured remnants of Tamurkhan's fell warriors have begun pouring down from the mountains to the North East in great numbers.  There can be no doubt that our holdings here will soon be under threat from this vile horde.  The nightmare has begun, and alas, I cannot find a way to end it!

-GK
 

Faction	Normal Territories	Special Territories	Total Territories	Razed Territories	Victory Points	Banners	Alliances
Bretonnians	9	1	10	0	14	4	Empire
Empire	8	1	9	0	13	4	Bretonnia
Orcs and Goblins	9	1	10	0	14	4	Warriors of Chaos, Tomb Kings
Tomb Kings	8	0	8	0	8	3	Warriors of Chaos, Orcs and Goblins
Warriors of Chaos	8	0	8	0	8	3	Tomb Kings, Orcs and Goblins