Border Princes: Turn 8 Moves and Resolution

24^th Nachgeheim

Having already secured the southern stretches of Black Fire Pass, the Ogres seem to be pushing south and west rather than upwards into the Empire.  I am assuming, dear colleagues, that Imperial coin (and generous quantities of Averland beef!) has bought the Ogre mercenaries off invading the Southern Empire… would it not have been possible to find a little extra gold and victuals to keep them off our backs down here in the Border Princes?

Herr Gavius Klugge, Shadow Wizard

26^th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC

Frustrating tidings from our commanders to the Southwest, dear colleagues.  The Nehekharan force which was beaten back from our Blood River Bastion (at the cost of Grandmaster Reichardt’s life and many other worthies no less!) has evaded the pursuit and vengeance of two Imperial divisions sent to destroy them.  What fell ancient magics must we contend with!  Not only do the dead continue to rise even as we strike them down, their ancient commanders are cunning beyond measure and difficult to corner!

30^th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC

A force of Ogre mercenaries has marched into the Blood River Bogs where they have been welcomed by their allies, the Nehekharans.  This development could bode ill for our own conflict with the ancient dead of Nehekhara.

2^nd Erntzeit 2516 IC

Victory this day for the Empire, Karl Franz and Sigmar, for our Imperial forces have successfully defended the small hamlet of Franzburg from Nehekharan invaders.  The Neherakhans were apparently commanded by Num’keb the Erratic himself, and so furious was their assault that the local Shrine of Sigmar was destroyed.  However, backed by the Franzburg garrison and local militiamen and hunters, an Imperial force under the command of the Lector Albrecht the Righteous saved the remainder of the hamlet and thus secured the vital South Road which links our Blood River Bastion with our Bretonnian allies to the North. 

5^th Ernzeit 2516 IC

Word from the West is that our a host of our Bretonnian allies has set out into the mountains to the North of their castle fastness.

7^th Ernzeit 2516 IC

The poor citizens of Malko were briefly given the false hope of salvation these past days as the howls of wolves and shrieks of death fell silent in the woods to the west, while the orcs and goblins encamped along the Silk Road struck camp and marched – not towards Malko’s gates but North and into the dimness of the woods.  The fool lord of Malko suggested that the Greenskins had deemed Malko’s walls impregnable and taken flight.  Can you believe the people I have to work with?

The relief and joy of Malko’s citizens was soon squelched when a further throng of orcs and goblins emerged from the western woods and set up camp around the fire pits of their fellows, bearing aloft before them the grisly trophies of the woodsfolk they had been hunting.  When word reached the hungry, wretched citizens of Malko who were just celebrating their victory, the riots were almost predictable, and I have had to be many places at once to prevent the worst of the bloodshed in the streets turning into total anarchy.  Fortunately, dear colleagues, being in many places at once is something an old Grey Wizard like myself still knows how to do!

-Gavius Klugge

9^th Ernzeit 2516 IC

It seems conflict has erupted between our enemies!  A horde of Greenskins have reclaimed the East bank of the Thunder River from their erstwhile Ogre allies, slaughtering the skeleton force of ogres left their to defend it in what has been described as a brief but spectacularly bloody massacre.  Whether this is a sign of lasting hostilities between the Orcs and Ogres or merely a symptom of frustration at minimal bloodshed remains to be seen, dear colleagues.  For now at least, however, the Ogre-Greenskin alliance is in tatters. 

Will this turn of events deliver us from our fate here in Malko?  I am not so sure.  It may be that it is just a question of whether these poor folk end up in the goblins’ cookpot or the ogres!

11^th Ernzeit 2516 IC

Who would have thought to hear such good tidings in such a dark age!  With the death… er… again… or at least ‘corporeal demise’ of Num’keb the Erratic, the legions of Nehekharan undead across the Border Princes seem to be disintegrating into naught more than bone, bronze and lapis, before blowing away to the south on a strange dry wind.  It seems, dear colleagues, that the ancient magics binding this force from the depths of time has withered with the will of its commander, and all across the Border Princes those who survived the Tomb Kings’ enslavement are shaking off their chains!

14^th Erntzeit 2516 IC

More bad news for the citizens of Malko, for a crusading force of Bretonnians which attacked the Greenskins encamped along the Silk Road has been dealt a crushing defeat.  Commanded by the warlike Baron Odo, uncle to Young Henri and a seasoned and bloody warrior from numerous campaigns in Araby, the Bretonnians outnumbered their foes and enjoyed some initial successes.  However, arrogance got the better of the Bretonnians, and after a reckless charge their glittering knights were torn asunder by the furious assault of the savage orcs and devoured by the gaping maws of horrific squigs… less than one third of the proud Bretonnians under Odo’s command are said to have escaped the slaughter.  It is said that the Baron himself had to be ordered to withdraw from the field by one of those meddling damsels, and that his shame and fury at this defeat are beyond measure.

This Baron Odo’s besmirched honour is little to the folk of Malko, however.  His defeat may well be the death warrant of all within these walls. 

-GK

27^th Erntzeit 2516 IC

The host of Lord Tybalt du Boix de Balzac, the current liege of the most prominent émigré Bretonnian family in the Border Princes, has attempted to drive a greenskin force from the woods north of Malko but been driven back.  Tybalt was apparently striking at the lost Bretonnian abbey of La Maisonvert, which has long been reclaimed by the woods but is still of strategic significance for those trying to hold these untamed lands.  More cautious than his brother-in-law Odo, Tybalt managed to restrain his vassals from a headlong charge against the orcs, instead attempting to draw them out of their positions for a more timely assault, but the Greenskin gods themselves (some reports say Gork, others Mork) apparently foiled his plans in spectacularly bloody fashion.  Come nightfall, the Greenskin defense had still not broken and Tybalt was forced to leave the field to the orcs.

-Gavius Klugge  

Faction	Normal Territories	Special Territories	Total Territories	Razed Territories	Victory Points	Banners	Allies
Bretonnians	11	1	12	0	16	5	Empire
Empire	13	1	14	0	18	5	Bretonnia
Ogre Kingdoms	16	0	16	0	16	6	Tomb Kings
Orcs and Goblins	12	1	13	0	17	4*	Tomb Kings
Tomb Kings**	12	0	12	0	12	5	Ogre Kingdoms, Orcs and Goblins,
*Note that while Orcs & Goblins are entitled to 5 banners, they cannot form their new banner until they recapture their HQ. **Note that the Tomb Kings player withdrew from the campaign at the end of this turn.

Border Princes Battle Report: The Defense of the Blood River Bastion (Turn 7, Empire vs. Tomb Kings)

[An excerpt from Tomas the Penitent's psalter (17th Nachgeheim, 2516 IC) (Tomas was a survivor of the Battle for the Blood River Empire Battalion headquarters or as is commonly referred to "Reichardt's Sacrifice")]

"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...."

[Many thanks to our Empire player for providing Tomas's amazing in character account]

Campaign Background...

Turn seven saw the Tomb Kings' 'Cohort of the Sun', under the command of Pho'tum, High Priest of Ptra, outmanouvere the Imperial banners which were moving east, enabling the Nehekharans to launch a daring strike on the Empire's headquarters (HQ) in the Border Princes: the Imperial Blood River Bastion! (territory 90)  The Imperial Grand Master Karl Heinz was forced to race back with his Inner Circle Knights to aid the Blood River Bastion's garrison in the defense, but was fortunately supported by additional troops from the adjacent territory (91).

Scenario: Battleline
Attacker: Tomb Kings (2250 pts.)
Defender: Empire (2700 pts.)

The Battlefield (see above and below): 

The battlefield we rolled up was fairly sparse in terms of terrain relative to most 8th Edition games.  Note that the watchtower, the Sigmarite shrine (NOT enchanted) and the two hills flanking the watchtower were 'defensive objects' placed by the Empire player, because the Empire player was defending his HQ (+3 defensive objects) and the Border Princes allows the Empire a further defensive object (+1 defensive object) on account of their expert engineers.

Tomb Kings Deployment:

From front of screen (above) or from back of screen (below): screaming skull catapult, 16 skeletal archers, five skeletal chariots, casket of souls, 44 skeletal warriors with the general, the High Priest Pho'tum (level 4 Hierophant, Lore of Nehekhara), 16 skeletal horsemen with Wosret 'The Prophet of Woe' (level 2 with lore of death), warsphinx.

Of course, being Tomb Kings a fair amount of the force was burrowing its way beneath the sands: 1 tomb scorpion, 2 tomb swarms and 3 sephulchral stalkers.

Empire Deployment:

From front of screen to back of screen (below): 3 demigryph knights (Knights of the Golden Gryphon), a steamtank ('Conqueror'), 30 greatswords ('The Carroburg Immortals'), including Oliver Heinmann (level 4 wizard, lore of light) and Tomas the Penitent (warrior priest) and Captain Bruno Schille (BSB), next a hellblaster volley gun ('Angry Agnetha'), 5 outriders, 10 inner circle knights along with the General: Grand Master Karl-Heinz Reichardt himself (Grand Master), a great cannon ('Ol' Faithful) in the watchtower, 31 swordsmen ('The Burgomeister's Blackshields') along with 'Mad' Werner of the Wildmoor (level 2 wizard, lore of beasts) and 2 detachments of 15 halberdiers, and finally the Captain Wilhelm Zeigler mounted on an Imperial Pegasus.

Note: the outriders used their 'vanguard' move to advance into the cover of a forest in the middle of the battlefield.

Turn 1

Above: The Tomb Kings won the first turn and the Cohort of the Sun advanced cautiously towards their foe.  The winds of magic blew weakly, and neither Pho'tum nor Wosret was able to awaken the powers of their ancient gods.  The Nehekharan ranged attack was similarly lacklustre: the screaming skull catapult misfired, though was fortunately not destroyed.  However, the archers atop the chariots did manage to shoot down one of the outriders.

The Empire moved to meet the Nehekharan threat on two main fronts: the Burgomeister's Blackshields and their halberdier detachments moved to meet the oncoming chariots on their left, accompanied by Captain Zeigler and his pegasus.  The remainder of the Empire force manouvered towards the right to meet the skeletal infantry, cavalry and dread warsphynx.  The winds of magic continued to blow weakly and Imperial magic was ineffective, as were both Imperial warmachines, but the outriders paid the chariots back for the death of their comrade, firing a salvo and dealing 2 wounds to the chariots.

Turn 2:

Above: The Tomb Kings began their assualt on the left, as their chariots smashed into the Burgomeister's Blackshields and were countercharged in turn by their supporting halberdier detachments.  On the right flank the warsphynx charges towards the steamtank but fails its charge.

Below: The Tomb Kings were having their own problems with artillery finding their range, as their screaming skull catapult managed not to misfire but well wide of their target.

Meanwhile, from beneath the shifting sands...

Above: ...countless scarabs emerge and begin swarming through every crack and crevice towards of the watchtower towards the hapless great cannon crew.

Below: Worse still, the sinister sepulchral stalkers emerge behind the proud knights of the Inner Circle preparing to annihilate them with their ancient transmogrifying (sp?) gaze...

Below: ... only to find that their transmogrifying gaze was reflected back on them by the gleaming armour of the inner circle knights!  Obviously the Grand Master was a stickler for his knights polishing their armour for a reason!

Below: Seven of the Burgomeister's Blackshields and four halberdiers were cut down beneath the scythed wheels of the skeletal chariots and the spears of their charioteers...

Below: ... but without the impact of the charge the charioteers were quickly swamped by the state troops, who destroyed three of the chariots and cut down their skeletal crew,

Below: In the Empire's Turn 2 the Imperial forces continue to solidify their hold on the left flank: Captain Wilheim Zeigler swoops down on from the skies astride his pegasus and cuts down the hapless crew of the screaming skull catapult.

Below: Meanwhile the Burgomeister's Blackshields and their halberdier detachments dispatch the remaining chariots...

Below: ...all but securing the left flank for the Empire!

Below: All was not good news for the Empire, however.  Even as the swarm of scarabs crawling up the watchtower threatened to strip the flesh from the bones of the Great Cannon crew, one of the terrified crewmen accidentally dropped his torch and the cannon exploded!

The hellblaster crew, already frustrated at being unable to find a clear mark elsewhere on the battlefield, turned their warmachine on the offending scarab swarm, removing 2 wounds from one of the swarms (and presumably a fair bit more of the masonry from the watchtower, which already sported a smoking cannon on top!).

Below: Meanwhile, having held the Tomb Kings' assault on the left, the Grand Master orders an Imperial counter-offensive on the right...

Above and Below: The Knights of the Golden Griffon charge into the terrifying warsphynx, though the steam tank engineer is unable to find an opening with which to charge the ancient construct without endangering his comrades and is forced to hold.  Even the proud demi-gryphs momentarily falter before the terrifying visage of the warsphynx, though the sphynx is only able to deal one wound this turn and the battle ends in a stalemate.

Below: Meanwhile the Grandmaster had lead his Inner Circle Knights thundering into the skeletal infantry of the hierophant himself! 11 ancient warriors were smashed to smithereens by the impact...

Above and Below: ...but their were many more ancient warriors to take their place.

Below: Both the Grand Master and the Chaplain of the Inner Circle Knights sought the Hierophant Pho'tum amidst the sea of bone, but the cunning High Priest chose to battle the younger Chaplain instead.  The Hierophant perhaps underestimated the Inner Circle Knight, for he was dealt two wounds for his trouble!

However, the momentum of the charge was spent and the numbers of the disciplined skeletal warriors slowly began to tell, one of the Inner Circle knights was dispatched and things looked grim for the remaining knights...

Turn 3

Below: "He's behind you!  Behind you!"

Above: In Turn Three the buried tomb scorpion finally erupted from beneath the sands, right behind the Imperial hellblaster.

Below: Meanwhile, the Imperial State Troops who thought they had all but secured the left flank with the destruction of the chariots and screaming skull catapult suddenly found themselves charged by the skeletal archers, who had played no great role so far in the battle.

Below: On the right, with the momentum of the Inner Circle Knights' charge spent but the seemingly endless ranks of skeletal infantry unyielding, Wosret the Prophet of Woe saw his opportunity to crush his enemies and ingratiate himself by aiding his embattled hierophant, and lead his own skeletal cavalry into a devastating charge into the Imperial Knights' flank!

Above and Below: The High Priest Pho'Tum, locked in a ferocious duel with the Chaplain of the Inner Circle, was unable to precisely utter his ancient incantations and miscast his spell, putting it into play but reducing himself to level one in the process.

Below: Surrounded by archaic skeletal warriors and smashed in the side by sixteen skeletal horsemen, two more Knights of the Inner Circle fell, while the Imperial knights were only able to finish one skeleton in turn.  Worse still, more skeletal warriors were rising even as they fell!  The impact of the skeletal cavalry's flank charge proved too much to bear and the Inner Circle Knights were broken and then cut down to a man, each giving his life in an attempt to bear their Grand Master to safety but in vain...

Above: ...Wosret, Prophet of Woe, himself dispatched the Grand Master and then lead his skeletal cavalry hurtling through the dead and dying knights and towards the Imperial Greatswords who were advancing towards them, with vengeance and murder in their eyes...

Meanwhile the savage battle between the Demi-Gryph knights and the Warsphynx ground on, with neither side able to decisively best the other.  However, the quick demi-gryph knights slowly ground the slow moving construct down...

Above and Below: In the Empire's turn three Captain Sweigler and his pegasus dropped into a diving charge to the aid of the Imperial halberdier detachment which had found itself unexpectedly grappling with skeletal archers in close combat.  With the aid of the heroic captain, the skeletal archers were finally bested.

Below: Bravely ignoring the swarms of horrific black scarabs flying towards them, the hellblaster crew turn their fearsome weapon upon the dread tomb scorpion approaching them from the opposite direction, but catastrophically their hellblaster jams and they are unable to fire.

Below: Seeing their comrades' peril, the Outriders open fire on the Tomb scorpion but only one shotte pierces its chitinous, gold encrusted exoskeleton.

Above and Below: The winds of magic finally began to blow strong, and the Light Wizard Heineman cast Birona's Time Warp upon the Carroburg Immortals, allowing them to wield their greatswords with deadly speed against the oncoming skeletal cavalry.  Pho'tum countered with a magical feedback scroll, the magical backlash dealing a wound to the light wizard.

Even as the Carroburg Immortals braced themselves for the impact of Wosret's skeletal cavalry charge there was a great below of steam and steal as the steam tank smashed into the flank of the skeletal horsemen, grinding eleven of them into powder!  The Immortals' dispatched the remaining cavalry and sent Wosret back to the Nehekharan Underworld.

Meanwhile the Knights of the Golden Gryphon finally ended the game of cat and mouse (or is it cat and cat?) with the warsphynx, their mounts wicked claws dealing it horrific damage until the magics holding the construct together dissipated and it crumbled away into gold and sand.

Below: Pho'tum surveyed the battlefield and found of his force only his skeletal infantry, tomb scorpion and casket of souls remaining.  With the Greatswords, Steamtank and Demi-Gryph Knights of his enemies approaching there was only one thing his ancient gods would expect of him in this situation...

Turn 4

Below: ...Charge!

Above: Even as the tomb scorpion tore the hapless hellblaster crew limb from limb, Pho'tum lead his skeletal infantry headlong into the waiting Carroburg Immortals, and the deadly efficiency of their bronze blades nearly ended the life of the light wizard Heinneman.  However, the Immortals were already burning with the fires of vengeance and whipped into a righteous frenzy by the Warrior Priest Tomas the Penitent and unnatural speeds by Birona's Time Warp: six of them set about dismembering the High Priest Pho'tum while the remainder annihilated the rest of his troops.

Aftermath:

Victory for the Empire!  Reichardt was dead, crumpled beneath his fallen steed amongst the sons of the Empire's nobility, but the Grand Master's sacrifice had saved the Imperial Blood River Bastion and eliminated two powerful Nehekharan priests...

...or had it?  Even as the Imperial troops gathered their dead an unnatural sandstorm blew through the battlefield, sweeping all the ancient bones of Nehekhara from the field.  Twas not long before dread reports emerged of a skeletal legion formed up in the lands to the east...

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