Border Princes Campaign 8: Special Map Sections

Today I am blogging about the SPECIAL map sections for our Border Princes campaign.  These are expected to be pivotal strategic points (in other words: here be many bloody battles fought, aaargh!) in the campaign, because each of these territories is worth FIVE victory points at the end of the campaign, as opposed to the STANDARD terrain sections which are each worth ONE point.  Furthermore, the fortress-town of Malko is worth TEN victory points!  Each of the SPECIAL map sections also provides alternative benefits/drawbacks to those contesting them, and most will involve special bits of terrain as well.  We have taken the decision NOT to build the special terrain pieces until a battle is fought over these sections so that we don't end up building something that doesn't get used.  If Malko doesn't get fought over though, I'll eat my hat... 10 victory points won't win the campaign by themselves but they could well make all the difference!

My advice is to pay VERY SPECIAL ATTENTION to these rules because there are benefits to be had for taking certain territories with certain armies beyond the victory points, and you may well want to consider the benefits of each before choosing your HQ territory/planning your overall strategy.

Geistenmund Hills

The Geistenmund Hills are dotted with ancient barrows where some long-forgotten people were purportedly laid to rest.  Some say that the dead here burn with hatred for the living and seek vengeance for that which brought about their demise, others that ages past fell necromancers used dark magics to raise the dead here and bind them to their will, and that the dead are restless here still as a result.  Whatever the cause, the Geistenmund Hills have long been regarded as haunted.  In better times, the lords of the Border Princes enlisted the aid of dwarf Runesmiths to seal the barrows with powerful wards.  These protections have grown old, however, and occasionally someone will destroy the runes either in order to plunder the barrow's riches or to deliberately free the restless dead.  To this day, odd ululations can be heard from the hills on the darkest of nights, and mists from the river shroud this region in constant fog...

Rules:

Difficult Terrain: Given the haunted reputation and eerie surrounds of the Geistenmund Hills, most warriors are very reluctant to enter this region.  All armies EXCEPT Vampire Counts, Tomb Kings and Daemons of Chaos must make a difficult terrain test in order to enter the Geistenmund Hills (failed on roll of 1-2).

Battle in the Barrows Scenario: Battles fought in the Geistenmund Hills always use the 'Battle in the Barrows' scenario (see General's Compendium).  Basically, the battle involves four Barrows and a stone circle from which zombies and ghouls emerge to randomly move towards and attack the nearest enemy unit!  Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings generals have the chance to control the undead in each turn (general's leadership at -2, unmodified by banner).  Given that the (random) undead of the Geistenmund Hills move and act in the compulsory movement phase of BOTH PLAYERS' TURNS this gives Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings players a decided advantage in taking/holding this terrain section.

A sea of bones: The Geistenmund Hills can be RAZED such that they provide no support for BANNERS or VICTORY POINTS, but clearing the area of the countless restless spirits is impossible and as such some of the special rules for the Geistenmund Hills (Difficult Terrain and Battle in the Barrows only) apply even if they have been RAZED.

Iron Claw Orc Camp

The Iron Claw Orc Camp is a rocky, inhospitable region that hosts a seasonal campsite for the local greenskins.  Temporary huts and shelters are abandoned one month only to be inhabited the next.  The area is largely infertile and barren, and only Orcs and Goblins would find the landscape pleasant, but this stretch of barren rock has on occasion been the site of strategic battles.  Perhaps more importantly, the Iron Claw Orc Camp has been the rallying/gathering point for many a mighty Waaaaaagh! which has gone on to wreck havoc in the Border Princes and up through Black Fire Pass towards the Empire beyond...

Rules:

Seasonal Greenskin Campsite: As one might expect, battles fought in the Iron Claw Orcs traditional territory favour Orc and Goblin players.  Whenever two banners fight a battle in the territory containing the Iron Claw Orc camp and the territory has NOT been RAZED, then BOTH players roll a d6 BEFORE building their army lists and apply the result below.

1-2: The banner encounters few local Greenskins and is not affected in any way.
3-5: The banner encounters small bands of Greenskins as they journey through the territory.  Orc and Goblin armies may recruit these Greenskins, ADDING (2d6 x 10) points to their Banner FOR THIS BATTLE ONLY.  All other armies LOSE 2d6 x 10 points from their Banner FOR THIS BATTLE ONLY as a result of ambushes and skirmishes with the local Greenskins.
6: The banner encounters large bands of Greenskins as they journey through the territory.  Orc and Goblin armies may recruit these Greenskins, ADDING 2d6 x 25 points to their Banner FOR THIS BATTLE ONLY.  All other armies LOSE 2d6 x 25 points from their Banner FOR THIS BATTLE ONLY as a result of battles with the local Greenskins.

Note that the above described effects DO NOT APPLY if the territory has been RAZED, in which case the resident Greenskins make for more hospitable (well, for Greenskins anyway) territories in the Badlands to the south.

Malko

Malko has been taken and retaken countless times in the long and bloody history of the Border Princes, and few would-be lords of the Border Princes have the time or the wherewithal to repair its ancient stone walls before a new invader approaches.  Nevertheless, Malko's timeless stone foundations endure, usually topped by hastily assembled log palisades and other timber defenses.  Though often makeshift and poorly maintained, these defenses have repelled many would-be invader. 

The fortress-town of Malko is a large settlement by the standards of the Border Princes, and lordship of Malko confers upon the holder considerable symbolic status in this region.  This is probably because Malko is strategically placed on a dangerous portion of the lucrative silk-road, and has traditionally been responsible for the defense of the trade-town of Aldium.  Confused cartographers, scholars, ambassadors and heralds from the Empire, Bretonnia and Tilea, frustrated by the ephemeral governments and constantly shifting boundaries of the Border Princes, often assume that Malko serves as something of a capital in the Border Princes, though in reality the influence of Malko's lord is limited to the reach of his sword.  The current occupant of the Lord's Palace in Malko is a descendant of one of those Border Princes who was somewhat successful in bringing this region to a semblance of unity.  The current lord of Malko's rule is failing, however.  His influence now extends no further than Malko's walls, the citizens of Aldium no longer look to him for protection and and few have confidence that he will be able to check the warlords rising across the Border Princes.  Malko is isolated and ripe for the picking...

Rules:

Symbolic Heart: Traditionally, those who have (somewhat) unified the Border Princes have ruled from the ancient city of Malko, though holding the Lord's Palace in no way guarantees that other lords will bend the knee (witness the weakness of the current incumbent).  As such, the player who holds Malko at the end of the last turn of the campaign receives TEN victory points.

Take Malko!: The current lord of Malko may lack the vigour of his forebears, but is clinging tenaciously to his authority within the town itself.  The citizens, for their part, are rightly wary of accepting a new, crueler lord.  To represent this, the first banner to move into Malko must fight a siege scenario against a neutral Empire force representing the Lord's garrison and mercenaries.  The Malko garrison ALWAYS comprises 1325 points, no matter the size of the attacking force, and will never leave Malko's walls.  Paranoid and delusional, the lord of Malko will NOT form any permanent alliances or OFFER SUPPORT, but will ACCEPT SUPPORT from HUMAN banners in adjacent territories in the siege scenario.  Once the Malko garrison has been defeated (even ONCE) then the Malko garrison is removed from the game - effectively, the failing ruler has been killed/imprisoned/driven into exile, a dynasty ended, and a new era established in the Border Princes.  When battle ensues with the garrison, the garrison is to be played by one of the other players who is NOT allied with the invader.  Should 2 armies try to take Malko at the same time, they make a DON'T PASS IN THE NIGHT test.  The winner gets to assualt Malko, while the loser is forced to HOLD and await the outcome.

Hold Malko!: Once Malko has been taken and the original lord and his garrison dispatched, Malko functions as a territory with the following special rules.  The DEFENDER of Malko must either withdraw behind Malko's walls and fight a SIEGE scenario against the invader, OR sally forth from the walls and fight a decisive BATTLELINE scenario against the invader (defender chooses).

Malko ALWAYS counts as being FORTIFIED (200 point bonus to the defender in both SIEGE and BATTLELINE scenarios), though results of WATCHTOWER on the DEFENSIVE OBSTACLES chart must be re-rolled.  Malko CANNOT be FORTIFIED further.

In both the SIEGE and BATTLELINE scenarios in Malko, both DEFENDERS and ATTACKERS may be SUPPORTED by adjacent banners and/or allies as per usual.

These rules cease to apply if Malko is RAZED, and will re-apply when Malko is RECOVERED.

Tor Anrok

Scholars at the Imperial College of Magic claim that the ancient tower of Tor Anrok was once the ancient seat of the High Elven House of Lothain, long before the War of the Beard and the coming of Man to these parts.  Although the Elves abandoned the tower long ago, most of the structure stands to this day.  Rumour has it that Tor Anrok can only be seen once per month, and even then only when struck by moonlight.  Either these rumours are false or Tor Anrok's ancient magics are weakening, because the tower can indeed be spied by the keen-eyed and by those who know where to look for it.  Nevertheless, the tower provides an excellent defensive position: not only is it difficult to see and therefore attack, but it provides an unparalleled vantage point from which to observe surrounding lands...

Rules:

The following rules apply when a player's banner (any faction) controls Tor Anrok:

Vantage Point: All banners which BEGIN their turn in Tor Anrok OR in ANY TERRITORY ADJACENT TO Tor Anrok AUTOMATICALLY WIN DON'T PASS IN THE NIGHT ROLLS.

Command Post: All banners which BEGIN their turn in Tor Anrok OR in ANY TERRITORY ADJACENT TO Tor Anrok may choose which table-side to deploy on, whether to deploy first or second only and whether to take the 1st or second turn, BUT ONLY IN SCENARIOS WHERE THESE DECISIONS ARE RESOLVED RANDOMLY.

Battle for Tor Anrok: Battles fought in the territory of Tor Anrok when the territory is NOT YET CONTROLLED are determined with the CAPTURE scenario (6th ed. rulebook), with the Elven Tower of Tor Anrok as the Objective.

If Tor Anrok is already controlled by one player and is invaded by another banner, then the battle is played using the BATTLELINE scenario.  However, the defending player may deploy the Elven Tower inside their deployment zone (see Elven Tower, below).

The Elven Tower: In either the case of BATTLELINE or CAPTURE scenarios in Tor Anrok, a SINGLE wizard character may enter the Elven Tower.  A wizard character who ENTERS the elven tower may use the tower's ancient enchantments and libraries to enhance their own magical prowess.  While atop the tower the wizard character has access to all the spells of their lore (as per the wizard's tower in the 8th BRB, though the wizard must have ENTERED the tower for this to take effect).  Furthermore, the wizard casts all  spells as if one spell level higher while atop the tower.

Elven Ancestry: Furthermore, if Tor Anrok is controlled by an Elven army (either High, Dark, or Wood), the spellcasters in each of their banners are entitled to memorize ONE EXTRA of their RACE-SPECIFIC spells (e.g. High Magic, Dark Magic, Forest Magic).

Razing the tower: Tor Anrok's magical defenses remain potent, and RAZING Tor Anrok has NO EFFECT on the VANTAGE POINT and COMMAND POST rules, though the other special rules are nullifed if Tor Anrok is RAZED until the tower is RECOVERED.

Aldium

The cosmopolitan town of Aldium is the closest thing in the Border Princes to an international trading town like Marienburg or Miragliano.  Because of its proximity at the intersection between the Silk Road, South Road and the most navigable reaches of the Blood River, Aldium sees a good deal of foreign trading caravans which bring with them specialist mercenaries, caravan guards and other soldiers into town.  Aldium is also a haven for artists, engineers, intellectuals, Tilean engineers, outcast Imperial alchemists, tinkers, merchants and craftsmen of all kinds.  This intellectual and free-spirited community is very accepting of all kinds of eccentrics: religious zealots, discredited wizards and even deviants.  While the work that goes on in Aldium would never be permitted in regions where the Witch Hunters hold sway, the remoteness of this Border Princes town and its connections with exotic locales breed an atmosphere of tolerance.  Of course, this also means that darker forces may also have freer reign...

When there is a strong lord in Malko it usually falls to him to defend Aldium.  However, when Malko is weak (as is the case now) the burghers of Aldium will either defend themselves by employing the countless mercenaries who pass through the town or, more commonly, simply welcome the invaders and carry on living their lives as usual!  Such is the wealth, expertise and vice available in Aldium that even the most violent of invaders are often convinced not to completely level the town and, once convinced of Aldium's usefulness, these warlords quickly find the town to be indispensable!  Should the worst come to the worst, however, and the town be raised to the ground, it is seldom long before tents are pitched and then shops rebuilt... the potential profits to be made at this trade nexus outweigh the risks for many...

Rules:

Cosmopolitan Aldium: To represent the access to resources and skilled retainers in Aldium, the player who controls Aldium is allowed to discount 100 pts of their COMMON troop choices and allocate them instead either their SPECIAL or RARE slots in EVERY BANNER.

Battle for Aldium: Aldium is a haven for mercenary captains and caravan guards seeking employment, and whenever foreign powers try to take Aldium, the mercenaries immediately begin playing the foes off against each other and hiring their services to the highest bidder!  In practice, any invader who DID NOT try to hire these gold-hungry ne'er do wells would be annihilated, such that all parties are forced to hire as many as they can!  To represent this, battles for Aldium use the MERCENARY scenario rules from the 8th Ed. Brb.

The Warrens

The Warrens are a region of unusual rock formations in the foothills south of the Black Mountains.  The rocks form a natural labyrinth of natural corridors, walls and chambers which are the perfect hiding places for the cutthroats and brigands which plague Black Fire Pass.  Chief amongst these is a famous band of mercenaries called the Carrion Band.

Rules: 

Battles in the Warrens are fought using the ROCK LABYRINTH scenario as per the General's Compendium.  Essentially, this battle involves many many rock obstacles and thus suits skirmishers.  Furthermore, 2 NON-SKIRMISHING units may adopt skirmish formation in this scenario, and both sides may keep ambushers in reserve.  Finally, HUMAN armies may hire the mercenaries and brigands which lair here, allowing them to add 100 points of core infantry for battles fought here.

Border Princes Campaign 6: Scenario Charts for Terrain Tiles

OK, so I have developed scenario charts for battles occurring in each 'standard' terrain section (plains, roads, rivers, forests, mountains and swamps).  The general idea is that the combination of the terrain type of the territory in which a battle takes place and the scenario rolled on the table below will result in unique battles which will suggest exciting ways of setting up the battlefield and weaving a narrative through the campaign.  For example, if a battle takes place in a mountain terrain section, and the 'last stand' scenario is rolled, the players might decide that a portion of one players' army has become separated and isolated from the main force and is now vulnerable to attack by its enemies.

I have used the 2d6 dice mechanic, such that results of 7 will come up most frequently, then 6 and 8, then 5 and 9, then three and 10 and finally 2 and 12 (which will be very infrequent).  I did my very best to include a range of scenarios to keep things interesting, but also to try to ensure that they make sense.  Comments are welcome, however!

Plains:

Plains (2d6)
2	Ambush (6th Ed BRB)
3	Rear Guard (6th Ed BRB)
4	Breakthrough (6th Ed BRB)
5	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)
6	Blood and Glory (8th Ed BRB)
7	Battle Line (8th Ed BRB)
8	Flank Attack (7th Ed BRB)
9	Dawn Attack (8th Ed BRB)
10	Watchtower/Capture (8th Ed BRB/6th Ed BRB)
11	Loot and Pillage (8th Ed BRB)
12	Ruination of Glumhof (8th Ed BRB)

The plains sections are made up of fields and rolling hills which represent the 'classic' Warhammer battlefield: plenty of space and visibility for mighty armies to clash in battles which are minimally impacted (but still impacted!) by terrain.  As such the scenario chart emphasises pitched battles with lots of free movement (e.g. battleline, blood and glory,  flank attack) and certain battles never occur (no 'defend the pass' because there are no large stretches of impassable terrain like mountains, etc.).  Ambushes/surprise attacks are possible but unlikely given the open terrain, and while it is possible to come across isolated small farming settlements (e.g. Loot and Pillage, Ruination of Glumhof) these are few and far between beyond the roads in the Border Princes.


Roads:

Roads (2d6)
2	Dawn Attack (8th Ed BRB)*
3	Watchtower/Capture (8th Ed BRB/6th Ed BRB)*
4	Breakthrough (6th Ed BRB)*
5	Ruination of Glumhof (8th Ed BRB)*
6	Loot and Pillage (8th Ed BRB)*
7	Battle Line (8th Ed BRB)*
8	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)*
9	Blood and Glory (8th Ed BRB)*
10	Flank Attack (7th Ed BRB)*
11	Rear Guard (6th Ed BRB)*
12	Ambush (6th Ed BRB)*

*These scenarios should involve a 'road' or 'path' - a clearway from one table edge to another which is (relatively) straight and clear.  Battles fought in these sections would be greatly thematically enhanced by a road terrain placement.  The road has no effect on the game (other than presumably following a fairly clear path which is unobstructed.

The roads sections are similar to the plains in that manouverability and visibility are optimal, and as such pitched battles (battleline, blood and glory) are common.  However, the main roads in the Border Princes are the regions most likely to be populated, and as such battles involving human settlements (e.g. Loot and Pillage, Ruination of Glumhof) are also more common.  I rounded it out with more narrative style battles which could occur along a road: it would be difficult (but not impossible) to ambush an army marching along a road with another army before being detected, and we would also see attempts to 'break through' armies holding the road or fight rearguard actions to protect supply lines, etc.

Forest:

Forest
2	Battleline (8th Ed BRB)
3	Rear Guard (6th Ed BRB)
4	Blood and Glory (8th Ed BRB)
5	Surprise Encounter (8th Ed BRB)
6	Break out of the forest (General's Compendium)
7	In the dark woods (General's Compendium)
8	Woodland ambush (Wood Elves Handbook)
9	Dawn Attack (8th Ed BRB)
10	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)
11	Ambush (6th Ed BRB)
12	Flank Attack (7th Ed BRB)

Ok, now things really change around a bit.  The most common types of battles in forests are going to be dominated by the restricted movement of the trees (in the dark woods) and often involve ambush or desperate attempts to break out of guerilla style traps (woodland ambush, break out of the forest) as well as situations where lost armies stumble around in the gloom, making precise tactical deployment/movement difficult (surprise encounter, meeting engagement, dawn attack).  Pitched battles will be far less common.

Mountains:

Mountains
2	Battle Line (8th Ed BRB)
3	Blood and Glory (8th Ed BRB)
4	Last Stand  (6th Ed BRB)
5	Ambush (6th Ed BRB)
6	Hold The High Ground (8th Ed BRB)
7	Defend the Pass (8th Ed BRB)
8	Watch Tower/Capture (8th Ed BRB/6th Ed BRB)
9	Breakthrough (6th Ed BRB)
10	Rear Guard (6th Ed BRB)
11	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)
12	Dawn Attack (8th Ed BRB)

Wars fought in the mountains are won and loss by taking and holding strategic passes which either block the enemy or trap them/split their forces between valleys or divide them from their supply lines etc.  To reflect this, the most common scenarios will be defend the pass, hold the high ground and watchtower.  Also prevalent will be attempts to 'breakthrough' a trapped position, to 'ambush' an army from the slopes flanking a valley, fighting a desperate 'rearguard' through a mountain pass, or a 'last stand' when a portion of your army has become lost and isolated in a valley (300 Spartans anyone?).  Valleys big enough in which to fight pitched battles exist, but are rare.

Swamp:

Swamp
2	Rear Guard (6th Ed BRB)*
3	Battleline (8th Ed BRB)*
4	Breakthrough (6th Ed BRB)*
5	Woodland ambush (Wood Elves Handbook)**
6	Surprise Encounter (8th Ed BRB)*
7	Dawn Attack (8th Ed BRB)*
8	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)*
9	Ambush (6th Ed BRB)*
10	Break out of the Woods (General's Compendium)**
11	Defend the Pass (8th Ed BRB)***
12	Flank Attack (7th Ed BRB)*

* Swamp Rules (see Below)

** Swamp Rules.  In addition, swamp terrain sections replace trees as much as possible, though trees may also be included to represent drowning trees/swamp flora.

***  Swamp Rules.  In addition, the impassable long edges of the table in this scenario represent impenetrable swamp.

Swamp Rules:
Scenarios fought with Swamp Rules are subject to the following effects:

Swamp Mists (adapted from the Dark Shadows - Albion Campaign)

The Bloodriver Bogs are almost permanently wreathed in swirling mists and fog!

Roll an ARTILLERY DICE at the beginning of EVERY GAME  TURN (ie., every time you mark off another turn as having been played)

If the result is a MISFIRE, then the mists have dissipated and the sunlight has broken through, and there are no other effects.

If ANY OTHER RESULT is rolled, multiply the ARTILLERY ROLL by 3, and the result is the maximum distance into the mists which models can see.  You cannot charge, shoot or target spells requiring line of sight at models you cannot see.  Furthermore, ALL shooting attacks are made at -1 to hit.

Noxious Clouds (see the General's Compendium, pg. 104) - Often the Blood River Bogs will produce great clouds of noxious fumes which may burst forth from the swampy earth and drift across the battlefield.

Number the table quarters 1-4.  At the start of each PLAYER'S TURN, that player rolls a dice.  On a roll of 1, then a poison gas cloud (a 5 inch template) has appeared, and the player rolls on the table below:

1-4: A noxious cloud (5 inch template) appears in the table quarter corresponding to the number rolled.  To determine its starting location, place the noxious cloud in the centre of the table quarter and then scatter the cloud 2d6.
5: Give the cloud template to your foe.  She/he may place the noxious cloud wherever he/she chooses, but it will scatter 2d6.
6: The player whose turn it is may place the cloud wherever she/he chooses, but it will scatter 2d6 inches.

Models touched by a noxious cloud take a S3 hit with no armour saves allowed.  Noxious clouds remain on the table and move 2d6 inches in random direction at the start of each GAME turn.

Swampy Terrain - Swamps of all types may be found in the Blood River Bogs - the following table replaces the Mysterious Swamp Table in the 8th Ed BRB.


Swamp Terrain Pieces (D6)
1 – Suffocating – counts as Khemrian quicksand
2 – Septic – counts as necrotic ooze
3 – Bubbling – counts as a boiling flood
4 – Fumy – counts as a mist wreathed swamp
5 – Macabre – counts as a charnel pit
6 – Enchanted – counts as an earthblood mere


The swamp is similar to forests in that movement and vision are restricted, but while battles in the forest are hampered by the dense foliage, those in the swamp are characterised by getting lost and losing visability, leading to chaotic, unplanned battles being most prevalent (dawn attack, surprise encounter and meeting engagement).  Portions of the swamp MAY have bridged sections of rivers (race for the bridge, river of death) and while the swamp does not involve mountains, certain narrow portions of the swamp may be flanked by impenetrable morass in which units would be lost, leading to 'defend the pass' battles.

River:

River (2d6)
2	Watchtower (8th Ed BRB)
3	Loot and Pillage (8th Ed BRB)
4	Dawn Attack(8th Ed BRB)
5	Blood and Glory (8th Ed BRB)
6	Race for the Bridge (Circle of Blood)
7	River of Death(8th Ed BRB)
8	Battleline (8th Ed BRB)
9	Breakthrough (6th Ed BRB)
10	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)
11	Ruination of Glumhof (8th Ed BRB)
12	Rearguard (6th Ed BRB)

River (2d6)

2	Ambush (6th Ed BRB)*
3	Rear Guard (6th Ed BRB)*
4	Breakthrough (6th Ed BRB)*
5	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)*
6	Blood and Glory (8th Ed BRB)*
7	Battle Line (8th Ed BRB)*
8	Flank Attack (7th Ed BRB)*
9	Dawn Attack (8th Ed BRB)*
10	Watchtower/Capture (8th Ed BRB/6th Ed BRB)*
11	Loot and Pillage (8th Ed BRB)*
12	Ruination of Glumhof (8th Ed BRB)*

*As Plains, but ALL Scenarios Should Have a River Added Which Enters and Leaves the Board from a Table Edge.  Note that the river need not bisect the board and may only influence a table quarter - player judgement/rule of cool required here!  There should NOT be any safe crossing points like BRIDGES or FORDS (these are reserved for the BRIDGE section)

Battles in river sections involve relatively flat terrain (flood plains) for pitched battles (battleline, etc.) around the river.  Also, there may be human settlements along the river banks (ruin of Glomhof, loot and pillage).

Bridge:

Bridge (1d6)
1 to 3	Roll on Road Chart
4 to 6	Roll on River Chart

At this stage the bridge battles are rolled on either the road chart (suggesting that the battle itself occurs just down the road from the river) or on the river chart (suggesting that the battle occurs at the river itself).  However, I am now starting to rethink this idea and think that I might make a separate 'bridge' table, which focusses on the 'race for the bridge' and 'river of death' scenarios as well as human settlements (ruin of glomhof, loot and pillage) which would likely spring up around bridges (intersections of road and river trade).  If I did this, I would change the river table so that it was far less likely to involve crossing points, reflecting the fact that there are few bridges suitable for armies in the Border Princes map.  In other words, scenarios fought in bridge sections would have a high likelihood of 'river of death' and 'race for the bridge' scenarios, while river sections would have a low frequency of bridge scenarios and instead have more pitched battles complicated by river terrain.  Thoughts?

Bridges (2d6)
2	Ruination of Glumhof (8th Ed BRB)*
3	Loot and Pillage (8th Ed BRB)*
4	Dawn Attack(8th Ed BRB)*
5	Blood and Glory (8th Ed BRB)*
6	Race for the Bridge (Circle of Blood)
7	River of Death(8th Ed BRB)
8	Watchtower/Capture (8th Ed/6th Ed BRB)**
9	Battleline (8th Ed BRB)*
10	Breakthrough (6th Ed BRB)*
11	Meeting Engagement (8th Ed BRB)*
12	Rearguard (6th Ed BRB)*

* All these scenarios AUTOMATICALLY have a RIVER added which enters and leaves the board from a table edge.  The river need not bisect the board.  There may be crossing points (BRIDGES or FORDS) for the river.  There should probably be no more than 2 crossing points for dominating rivers (those which bisect the board) and no more than one crossing point for rivers which only impact a table quarter.  Players' judgment required here! 
** For Watchtower/Capture Scenario, a BRIDGE or FORD at least 5 inches wide marking a crossing of the river takes the place of the Watchtower.  The river should bisect the board and there should be NO other crossing points.

Border Princes Campaign 5: The Fortress-Town of Malko Continued

Ok, so here at last is my design for the towers of the fortress-town of Malko, to go along with the walls I and gate-section I designed in my last post.  I've also put a little concept sketch in, just for fun.

Now I HAVE gotten more done other than my little scribbles since last I posted.  With the help of one of the Modest Modellers I have completed the foundations (pdf) for the modular sections of Malko's walls, gates and towers:

It probably doesn't look like much at this point, but I am REALLY pleased with the dimensions.  The way it will work is that there will be enough room to deploy infantry three ranks deep on the walls, five ranks deep above the gates (in the centre) and in ranks of 6x6 on each of the towers.  This is also taking into a account space (1 cm) for the facade of the fortress: the bricks (representing the ancient foundations) and patchy log palisade (hastily thrown together to supplement the ruined battlements) which will cover the outside of the structure and provide cover to troops on the ramparts.

One of the Modest Modellers kindly gave me some foam board which just happens to be the perfect size to form the base of the wall, and I already have some pieces which are perfect for cutting into 'bricks' for the facade.  I am also busy collecting dowels and appropriately sized sticks for the palisade portion.

You can probably make out the pencil lines on the gatehouse section which marks out where the opening for the gates will be - this has space to allow units with ranks of 5 to pass through.  Of course, each section is modular, and I have cut extra foundations with which to make sections of wall and tower which have been breached/destroyed (as I am sure will happen in the bloody sieges we fight for Malko!).

Border Princes Campaign 4: The Fortress-Town of Malko

Right, today I am looking at the first special territory for our Border Princes, the fortress-town of Malko!  Malko is described as the key strategic location along the Silk Road: holding Malko alone doesn't quite make you master of the Border Princes, but it DOES give you 10 victory points which is sure to help!

Malko is built on an ancient fort which has been taken and retaken innumerable times, such that only the original foundation stones remain intact and the rest is largely makeshift palisade.  If a Banner which controls Malko is attacked, then the SIEGE scenario (adapted from the 6th Ed. rulebook) is used as the defending Banner retreats into the city walls.  Furthermore, any Banner which controls Malko is automatically counted as being FORTIFIED (plus 200 points of troops defending) and cannot be FORTIFIED further.

My thoughts on building the fortress walls of Malko are based on those in the GC, but I have modified the scale so that the different bits of fortress can be incorporated into GWs generic 'Warhammer Fortress' should we ever acquire one!  I've posted some preliminary ideas below:

Materials are still a bit up in the air.  So far my thoughts are:

Base = MDF

Rampart = balsa wood

Palisade = sharpened wooden dowels

I am not quite sure about the original stone foundations though - possibly foam bricks if they can be bought/constructed relatively cheaply and easily.  This part isn't essential to play the scenario, however, mostly its about the aesthetic of the ancient, battle-scarred foundations!

I will add plans for the watchtowers as soon as I've found out the dimensions of the towers for the Warhammer Fortress. 

Border Princes Campaign 3: Plains Terrain

We have started having a look at what terrain we have for our forthcoming Border Princes map-based campaign, and what terrain pieces we still have to build.  With this in mind I am starting to have a look at each type of territory type, the types of battles fought in each, and what terrain ideas spring from that.  First off, the plains sections!

In the Campaign Phase, Banners can move into Plains Sections without penalty.  The GC says that Plains Sections may contain 'farms, small towns, hills and the like.'  In other words, Plains territories represent the 'usual' battlefields on which most casual games of WFB are played.  While the GC says that all battles fought in non-special territories should be 'Pitched Battles' ('Battleline' in 8th Ed.), I'm not keen on this at all.  We really like the variety of the full range of scenarios from the 8th Ed. Rulebook, so I am going to just modify the table based on the terrain type rolled.

For the Plains Sections, the only 'standard' 8th ed. battle which doesn't seem that appropriate is the 'Defend the Pass' scenario (makes much more sense in the Mountain Sections), so I'll remove that one.  What to replace it with?  There are a number of excellent scenarios in the old 6th Ed. rulebook which do not have 8th Ed. equivalents which we could make use of, and for the Plains Sections both the 'Breakthrough' and 'Flank Attack' scenarios look promising.  Another possibility is to give a nod to the prevalence of Battlelines in the original GC campaign by replacing 'Defend the Pass' rolls with an extra chance at 'Battleline.'  And one final thing to consider is that the 'Watchtower' scenario doesn't really make sense if one player has already FORTIFIED a territory (see here for the FORTIFY rules: http://ubersreik.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/border-princes-campaign-2-how-it-works.html).

NOTE THAT THE INFORMATION BELOW CONCERNING SCENARIOS FOR PLAINS SECTIONS HAVE BEEN SUPERSEDED HERE.

So this is what I've come up with.  When two enemy Banners in one territory resolve a battle they roll on the following d8 table:

1.) Battleline

2.) Dawn Attack

3.) Battleline (WAS 'Battle for the Pass')

4.) Blood and Glory

5.) Meeting Engagement

6.) Watchtower (but if in FORTIFIED TERRITORY, play 'Battleline' instead)

7.) Breakthrough*

8.) Flank Attack*

*If the Battle is the result of a Banner MOVING into another faction's territory (an invasion), then that player is automatically the ATTACKER in this scenario.  If BOTH opponents MOVED into a third territory in which a battle is to be resolved (in other words, the territory belonged to NEITHER player before the battle is decided) then ROLL to see who is the attacker and who is the defender.

The benefits of this table are that they provide variety, while keeping true to the 'spirit' of battles in the Plains Sections, because Pitched Battles remain common (but not INEVITABLE) and the other scenarios are suggestive of open terrain with lots of movement.

Terrain wise, we obviously need lots of hills and forests.  Fortunately, one of my regular gaming opponents has heaps of these, and another has just gone on a hill-building spree with beautiful results (see below):

That's all for now, more to follow soon.

Idol of Gork Project Terrain: Idols of Gork and Mork (Concept)

My talented uncle has already been letting his creative juices flow with some ideas for the idols of Gork and Mork, so we’re well ahead of the game already!:

Some thoughts to consider:

·         Ideally the piece will be great fun to make and play with in this scenario, but will also be useful as an ‘Idol of Gork’ item in future WH games.

·         Size.  It should be impressive (a centrepiece) but at the same time (especially if we want it to be reusable) shouldn’t dominate TOO much.  Perhaps there is a way of having it taller than wider?

·         Related to the above is the base… do we fix it to a hill, or just make it so that it can be added to the top of a hill if necessary?  My feeling is the latter, for versatility.

·         Materials.  So far we are thinking polystyrene I think?