Baron Opal II
Hero
PART 2 – OPENING MOVES
Tyla and Zinnia returned from their scouting. Tyla, swooping in on owls wing, reported “the armies are doing their jobs. The Ivory King’s forces are drawn to the east and the north”. Zinnia said, “we might have a problem. There is a small force running up from the south. I thought that they were orcs at first, but they’re too big.” The Army with the strike force was preparing to march east, but they readied themselves from this assault from the South.
As they got closer, Medic raised his hand. “Stand down everyone,” said Medic. “They are from Taltasqa. This should be interesting.” A dozen warriors a head taller than anyone else, with an
overdeveloped, almost grotesque musculature, ran up to the command tent and stood at attention. Gilead stepped forward, “why are you here?”
“Through the will of the Provider, we have been sent to aid you. We are the Hashlemac of Taltasqa, Bloodfeasters of the Provider (blessed be the Provider). From visions granted to us (the Provider feeds us), we saw that you were in need. (the Provider sustains us) We wish to aid you in your battle, and to give your foes our gifts (the Provider guides us).”
“Gifts? What would you give the Ivory King?!”
“The gift of the Provider’s Pain…(glory to the Provider)”
Medic stepped in front of Gilead. Holding up his left hand, he cut into his wrist. As the blood ran down his arm, he said “accept my gift of respect, thin and weak as it is compared to the Gifts of the Provider.” The Hashlemac leader’s intense gaze turned to Medic. “I do accept it. We shall wage war with you!’ One of juniors came forward and caught the blood in a wide brass bowl. They moved off, and Gilead healed Medic’s wound. “What is going on?” Medic grinned, “You’ve just been offered the services of the craziest, hardest to kill fanatics on the continent. I said ‘yes’ for you.”
* * * * *
The army moved out, but the Hashlemac hung back for a ritual. Medic looked over at Gilead, “come with me, you’ve gotta see this! Hide over there, and don’t let them see you.”
They stood in a circle, holding the broad brass bowl. Their leader started a chant and they swayed to the rhythm. Soon they all were singing and dancing in a circle, the bearer holding the bowl standing still. They stopped, suddenly, and their leader held up a jug decorated with seals and ribbons.
“THE BLOOD OF THE PROVIDER!” he roared.
“EVER SHALL WE BE SUSTAINED!” they replied.
The jug was emptied into the bowl, pouring a thick red liquid. Then, all but the bearer slashed their wrists and bled into the bowl. As one of the Hashlemac began to sway, the bowl was brought so that he could drink. He took the bowl and went to the next one about to fall from blood loss. One by one, they drank from the bowl, infused with the blood of their comrades and the mysterious “Provider”.
“WE HAVE FEASTED UPON THE PROVIDER’S GIFTS!” roared their leader.
“WE PRAISE THE PROVIDER!”
“DO YOU BURN?”
“WE BURN!”
“DO YOU RAGE?”
“WE RAGE!”
“TO THE FOE!”
“WE BRING OUR GIFTS TO THE FOE!”
“Who are these people?” whispered Gilead, horrified.
“If you ever travel to Taltasqa,” whispered Medic, “never eat anything red.”
* * * * *
The six players of Team Phoenix discussed the troop composition for over an hour. My son, who plays Cardin, put forth his “beta list”, but that fell apart quickly during the discussion. At first, I was a bit concerned over how much time they were taking, but I saw that everyone was engaged. They were taking this quite seriously! Once they committed to their forces, I set out my troops. As they were setting up theirs, as they could see what was ahead (roughly), their first comments were “Woah, that’s a lot of zombies…”, “why aren’t there any casters?”, and “we needed a lot more archers!”
The Board (smaller than I thought)
The square on the left is a mushroom forest. The large square on the right is a hill, the small one is a collection of ruined buildings. (Left/Right based on the castle)
IVORY KING troops:
Ghouls, skeletons, zombies, a golem, skeletons, 2 draugr in the back, ghouls. (LR) If you squint, you might see the invisible lich on the castle wall behind the first squad of skeletons. (Heh. Heh.)
TEAM PHOENIX troops:
Not quite sure, but two units of ornithopters were on each side. The hashlemac (berserkers) and Oglethorp were on the right hand side, Elenia and the Brass Men on the left. The heavy horse, medium horse, and light foot grouped themselves in pairs, with the last medium horse, galvanic foot, and cogwheel archers scattered about. Asher was in the middle. The large amber piece was the strike team. “Undetected” meant greater than 3” from any Ivory King force, and more than 18” from any unit with Detection.
Round 1
Troops moved forward uniformly. Ivory King troops moved forward slowly, keeping pace with the zombies in the center. The ghouls on the left peeled off, circling around the mushroom forest.
Round 2
Player’s forces begin to drift to the right, distrustful of the Mushroom Forest. The Cogwheel archers take out a skeleton. “We needed more archers,” says Blaze. “I’m sorry,” says Tyla. Asher dimension doors between the hill and the ruins to be a hard point for the assault. A draugr charges and delivers a wound! “Why was that a good idea, again?” “It’s Asher, he’ll be fine.”
Round 3
“Okay, missile phase is next.”
“Right. The cogwheels…”
“Oh, my bad, artillery is actually the second phase.”
“WHAT? They have ARTILLERY?”
“Indeed they do. FOOM! A score of severed heads, bound together with a net and blazing with a greenish-yellow flame, arcs over the battlefield and,” - rolls dice - “impacts thunderously in the open area devoid of any troops.”
Energized, Team Phoenix makes their move! The Beryllian Horse charge forward into a squad of skeletons, destroying all but one of them. Unfortunately, the draugr is right next to them, and attacks, paralyzing them! The Hashlemac, accompanied by Oglethorp, charge up the right and attack a squad of ghouls. There is a lot of dice rolling, with not too much in the way of results. The strike team sneaks to the ruins, and the rest of the forces come up the middle.
Round 4-6
Team Phoenix begins to see the advantage of having a group of four or more units in a squad. Three main skirmishes develop. The Beryllian horse is tragically eaten by the zombie horde as they are paralyzed by the draugr. Two units of Amberian heavy horse and Asher try to help, but there are just too many zombies. The ornithopters have been completely ineffectual. Two units each have flown around the battle, but just can’t do any damage to the ghouls. They meet up behind the zombies, now four units strong. They pack a mighty sting, and actually take out one or two zombies.
The other draugr and skeleton unit are marching down the middle, and meet up with the Beryllian Foot and the Jaspian Galvanic Foot.
* * * * *
“To the right, sarge!”
“I see it. Ready! Who Are We?”
“THE FIRST GALVANC! PRIDE OF JASP!”
“What Do We Do?”
“WE COMMAND THE LIGHTNING’S HAND!”
“Call The Lightning and Bring The Thunder!”
* * * * *
Their flank shielded by the Thresher’s Boys of the 4th Beryllian Light Foot, the 1st Galvanic tore into the skeletons and the draugr that lead them. The intense light from their galvanic glaves hindered the draugr, and all the units had polearms, preventing a meaningful counter attack. The means of their destruction was hastened by Elenia and the Brass Men bursting out of hiding in the Mushroom Forest, shredding the skeletons.
* * * * *
The Hashlemac were a whirlwind of death. Limbs, from the ghouls and their own, went flying. Claws rended, axes hacked, and bodies picked up and hurled through the air.
At a pause, as the ghouls regrouped. The Hashlemac looked around, and then raised their axes.
“WORTHY FOES!” they screamed. “GLORY TO THE PROVIDER FOR THIS PRECIOUS GIFT! COME FORWARD ONCE MORE, AND RECEIVE YOUR REDEMPTION THROUGH PAIN!”
“Why am I here?!” sobbed Oglethorp.
* * * * *
There was a whole lot of nothing going on here. For at least five rounds, there were no losses on either side.
* * * * *
“Sir, a pack of ghouls is circling about the forest!”
“Indeed. Troops! Long sights! Hold this position and open fire!”
* * * * *
The pack of ghouls that had started maneuvering around the forest to attack the Galvanic rear came under fire from the one unit of archers Team Phoenix had. The ghouls would spend the rest of their unlives charging the single unit of archers, way over there. Surprisingly, the archers would drop the last ghoul not 4 inches away from their position.
* * * * *
Cardin, Medic, and Gilead conferred, “Okay guys, I think that we need to move our last horse over here…”
“What is that?” said Tyla.
“What?” said I.
“That blue unit on the wall.”
“Oh, well. I believe the tag says ‘lich’.”
“WHAT?” “Well, there’s the spellcaster.” “You know, we don’t have any units with Detection.” “I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, Tyla.”
“And..., fireball.”
“Oh, f---!”
“Language…!”
* * * * *
The lich actually appeared round 4, but didn’t act until round 5. Still Tyla’s player was quite observant. The lich became visible to cast Phantasmal Force to have a giant burst out of the Mushroom Forest. It was summarily ignored under the maxim of “bigger fish to fry”. Which, actually, they did. After the Cogwheel Archers took out the last ghoul, they fired a pot-shot at the giant since they hadn’t moved. Which, then, revealed its illusiory nature. Ah, well.
Tyla and Zinnia returned from their scouting. Tyla, swooping in on owls wing, reported “the armies are doing their jobs. The Ivory King’s forces are drawn to the east and the north”. Zinnia said, “we might have a problem. There is a small force running up from the south. I thought that they were orcs at first, but they’re too big.” The Army with the strike force was preparing to march east, but they readied themselves from this assault from the South.
As they got closer, Medic raised his hand. “Stand down everyone,” said Medic. “They are from Taltasqa. This should be interesting.” A dozen warriors a head taller than anyone else, with an
overdeveloped, almost grotesque musculature, ran up to the command tent and stood at attention. Gilead stepped forward, “why are you here?”
“Through the will of the Provider, we have been sent to aid you. We are the Hashlemac of Taltasqa, Bloodfeasters of the Provider (blessed be the Provider). From visions granted to us (the Provider feeds us), we saw that you were in need. (the Provider sustains us) We wish to aid you in your battle, and to give your foes our gifts (the Provider guides us).”
“Gifts? What would you give the Ivory King?!”
“The gift of the Provider’s Pain…(glory to the Provider)”
Medic stepped in front of Gilead. Holding up his left hand, he cut into his wrist. As the blood ran down his arm, he said “accept my gift of respect, thin and weak as it is compared to the Gifts of the Provider.” The Hashlemac leader’s intense gaze turned to Medic. “I do accept it. We shall wage war with you!’ One of juniors came forward and caught the blood in a wide brass bowl. They moved off, and Gilead healed Medic’s wound. “What is going on?” Medic grinned, “You’ve just been offered the services of the craziest, hardest to kill fanatics on the continent. I said ‘yes’ for you.”
* * * * *
The army moved out, but the Hashlemac hung back for a ritual. Medic looked over at Gilead, “come with me, you’ve gotta see this! Hide over there, and don’t let them see you.”
They stood in a circle, holding the broad brass bowl. Their leader started a chant and they swayed to the rhythm. Soon they all were singing and dancing in a circle, the bearer holding the bowl standing still. They stopped, suddenly, and their leader held up a jug decorated with seals and ribbons.
“THE BLOOD OF THE PROVIDER!” he roared.
“EVER SHALL WE BE SUSTAINED!” they replied.
The jug was emptied into the bowl, pouring a thick red liquid. Then, all but the bearer slashed their wrists and bled into the bowl. As one of the Hashlemac began to sway, the bowl was brought so that he could drink. He took the bowl and went to the next one about to fall from blood loss. One by one, they drank from the bowl, infused with the blood of their comrades and the mysterious “Provider”.
“WE HAVE FEASTED UPON THE PROVIDER’S GIFTS!” roared their leader.
“WE PRAISE THE PROVIDER!”
“DO YOU BURN?”
“WE BURN!”
“DO YOU RAGE?”
“WE RAGE!”
“TO THE FOE!”
“WE BRING OUR GIFTS TO THE FOE!”
“Who are these people?” whispered Gilead, horrified.
“If you ever travel to Taltasqa,” whispered Medic, “never eat anything red.”
* * * * *
The six players of Team Phoenix discussed the troop composition for over an hour. My son, who plays Cardin, put forth his “beta list”, but that fell apart quickly during the discussion. At first, I was a bit concerned over how much time they were taking, but I saw that everyone was engaged. They were taking this quite seriously! Once they committed to their forces, I set out my troops. As they were setting up theirs, as they could see what was ahead (roughly), their first comments were “Woah, that’s a lot of zombies…”, “why aren’t there any casters?”, and “we needed a lot more archers!”
The Board (smaller than I thought)
The square on the left is a mushroom forest. The large square on the right is a hill, the small one is a collection of ruined buildings. (Left/Right based on the castle)
IVORY KING troops:
Ghouls, skeletons, zombies, a golem, skeletons, 2 draugr in the back, ghouls. (LR) If you squint, you might see the invisible lich on the castle wall behind the first squad of skeletons. (Heh. Heh.)
TEAM PHOENIX troops:
Not quite sure, but two units of ornithopters were on each side. The hashlemac (berserkers) and Oglethorp were on the right hand side, Elenia and the Brass Men on the left. The heavy horse, medium horse, and light foot grouped themselves in pairs, with the last medium horse, galvanic foot, and cogwheel archers scattered about. Asher was in the middle. The large amber piece was the strike team. “Undetected” meant greater than 3” from any Ivory King force, and more than 18” from any unit with Detection.
Round 1
Troops moved forward uniformly. Ivory King troops moved forward slowly, keeping pace with the zombies in the center. The ghouls on the left peeled off, circling around the mushroom forest.
Round 2
Player’s forces begin to drift to the right, distrustful of the Mushroom Forest. The Cogwheel archers take out a skeleton. “We needed more archers,” says Blaze. “I’m sorry,” says Tyla. Asher dimension doors between the hill and the ruins to be a hard point for the assault. A draugr charges and delivers a wound! “Why was that a good idea, again?” “It’s Asher, he’ll be fine.”
Round 3
“Okay, missile phase is next.”
“Right. The cogwheels…”
“Oh, my bad, artillery is actually the second phase.”
“WHAT? They have ARTILLERY?”
“Indeed they do. FOOM! A score of severed heads, bound together with a net and blazing with a greenish-yellow flame, arcs over the battlefield and,” - rolls dice - “impacts thunderously in the open area devoid of any troops.”
Energized, Team Phoenix makes their move! The Beryllian Horse charge forward into a squad of skeletons, destroying all but one of them. Unfortunately, the draugr is right next to them, and attacks, paralyzing them! The Hashlemac, accompanied by Oglethorp, charge up the right and attack a squad of ghouls. There is a lot of dice rolling, with not too much in the way of results. The strike team sneaks to the ruins, and the rest of the forces come up the middle.
Round 4-6
Team Phoenix begins to see the advantage of having a group of four or more units in a squad. Three main skirmishes develop. The Beryllian horse is tragically eaten by the zombie horde as they are paralyzed by the draugr. Two units of Amberian heavy horse and Asher try to help, but there are just too many zombies. The ornithopters have been completely ineffectual. Two units each have flown around the battle, but just can’t do any damage to the ghouls. They meet up behind the zombies, now four units strong. They pack a mighty sting, and actually take out one or two zombies.
The other draugr and skeleton unit are marching down the middle, and meet up with the Beryllian Foot and the Jaspian Galvanic Foot.
* * * * *
“To the right, sarge!”
“I see it. Ready! Who Are We?”
“THE FIRST GALVANC! PRIDE OF JASP!”
“What Do We Do?”
“WE COMMAND THE LIGHTNING’S HAND!”
“Call The Lightning and Bring The Thunder!”
* * * * *
Their flank shielded by the Thresher’s Boys of the 4th Beryllian Light Foot, the 1st Galvanic tore into the skeletons and the draugr that lead them. The intense light from their galvanic glaves hindered the draugr, and all the units had polearms, preventing a meaningful counter attack. The means of their destruction was hastened by Elenia and the Brass Men bursting out of hiding in the Mushroom Forest, shredding the skeletons.
* * * * *
The Hashlemac were a whirlwind of death. Limbs, from the ghouls and their own, went flying. Claws rended, axes hacked, and bodies picked up and hurled through the air.
At a pause, as the ghouls regrouped. The Hashlemac looked around, and then raised their axes.
“WORTHY FOES!” they screamed. “GLORY TO THE PROVIDER FOR THIS PRECIOUS GIFT! COME FORWARD ONCE MORE, AND RECEIVE YOUR REDEMPTION THROUGH PAIN!”
“Why am I here?!” sobbed Oglethorp.
* * * * *
There was a whole lot of nothing going on here. For at least five rounds, there were no losses on either side.
* * * * *
“Sir, a pack of ghouls is circling about the forest!”
“Indeed. Troops! Long sights! Hold this position and open fire!”
* * * * *
The pack of ghouls that had started maneuvering around the forest to attack the Galvanic rear came under fire from the one unit of archers Team Phoenix had. The ghouls would spend the rest of their unlives charging the single unit of archers, way over there. Surprisingly, the archers would drop the last ghoul not 4 inches away from their position.
* * * * *
Cardin, Medic, and Gilead conferred, “Okay guys, I think that we need to move our last horse over here…”
“What is that?” said Tyla.
“What?” said I.
“That blue unit on the wall.”
“Oh, well. I believe the tag says ‘lich’.”
“WHAT?” “Well, there’s the spellcaster.” “You know, we don’t have any units with Detection.” “I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, Tyla.”
“And..., fireball.”
“Oh, f---!”
“Language…!”
* * * * *
The lich actually appeared round 4, but didn’t act until round 5. Still Tyla’s player was quite observant. The lich became visible to cast Phantasmal Force to have a giant burst out of the Mushroom Forest. It was summarily ignored under the maxim of “bigger fish to fry”. Which, actually, they did. After the Cogwheel Archers took out the last ghoul, they fired a pot-shot at the giant since they hadn’t moved. Which, then, revealed its illusiory nature. Ah, well.
