A 2024 Retrospective

 So, 2024 turned out to be a good year for gaming for me as you can see from this list of plays I logged on BGG:

1. Dorfromantik: The Board Game (61 plays)
2. Five Leagues From The Borderlands: 3rd Edition (28 plays)
3. Rangers of Shadow Deep: Standard Edition (22 plays)
4. Rangers of Shadow Deep: A Gathering of Heroes (12 plays)
5. Warfighter Shadow War: The Modern Night Combat Card Game (8 plays)
6. Warfighter: The Tactical Special Forces Card Game (7 plays)
7. Kinfire Delve: Scorn's Stockade (5 plays)
8. Oathmark: Battles of the Lost Age (5 plays)
9. Western Front Ace: The Great War in the Air, 1916-1918 (5 plays)
10. Advanced Squad Leader (4 plays)
11. Solo Fluxx (4 plays)
12. Nothing Gained But Glory (3 plays)
13. Firefly: The Game (2 plays)
14. Solitaire ASL (2 plays)
15. Basic Impetus (1 play)
16. Chez Geek (1 play)
17. DreadBall (Second Edition) (1 play)
18. Wingspan (1 play)
19. Wizard Kings (1 play)

That's over 100 games logged using 17 different rules sets. The surprise hit of the year was Dorfromantik. I found a friend here in Stavanger who enjoys the game and the majority of my plays were with my friend, although I did play an entire solo campaign too. I just find it so relaxing to play. It's a beat-your-own-score game, so won't suit those that prefer defined victory conditions, but it does have a nice achievements element where you get to add new elements to the game as you score high enough or advance along the achievements track

I also had a friend visit me and we played Firefly and Chez Geek together, which was nice. Firefly worked two-handed but Chez Geek could really have done with a couple more players to make it interesting.

I am surprised that I have only logged one game of Wingspan, because I am fairly sure I have played two or three games of the physical game. We have environmentally themed boardgames nights at the university here and I usually wind up playing Wingspan at those, so there should probably be more plays logged. I don't log plays of the digital version or the count for Wingspan would be a lot higher. It is one of my go-to games for when I have 15 minutes and don't feel like doing anything else.

Beyond that, the poor long-suffering Steve endured a game of Dreadball against me, and I played an ASL scenario against my brother, but all the rest of my plays were solo games.

Five Leagues from the Borderlands and Rangers of Shadow Deep both provided engrossing campaigns in two completely different ways. I love the story of Rangers but I also love the sandbox nature of Five Leagues. If I had to pick one of the two as my preferred rules, it would be Five Leagues though. The combat is less swingy and the sandbox nature of the game offers much more replayability at the cost of having to develop the narrative yourself. Anyone who has read all my posts about the Thrappled Lemmings in Five Leagues will know that this is not something I struggle with. I would love to get my sci-fi figures and terrain moved out here, and start a Five Parsecs from Home game, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Warfighter has a respectable number of plays to its name too. I like the standard game because you get to blow things up, and I like the Shadow Wars version because it rewards being sneaky. Both games are nicely cinematic and in my head I am an action hero when playing them.

Western Front Ace was a great game, and I am glad I have it. It's another game that relies on narrative to join your sessions together, but I got too attached to my last pilot and have not picked the game up again since he got shot down by a Hun pilot whom he never even saw. Perhaps enough time has passed now that I can pick it up again.

Oathmark turned out to be really good fun too, and I enjoyed the games I set up using the Charles Grant Programmed Wargames Scenarios book. I would like to do more with this, perhaps even setting up a solo campaign where I combine the scenarios in the Oathmark rules with the programmed options from the book.

The only game that was a bit dud for me this year was Nothing Gained But Glory. The theme of the Scanian war fits my interests, and the components and maps are lovely, but I tried it solo and it just did not work for me. This is a game where I would need an opponent to play against. Hopefully I can ask for one of those for Christmas.

A late contender was Kinfire Delve: Scorn's Stockade. I picked it up early in December and logged 5 plays in quick succession. It is not as quick to play as the small box suggests, but it works well solo and I am tempted to buy the other scenarios on the basis of enjoying playing this one. The game is billed as a dungeon bash, but is really a puzzle solver. In this, it reminds me of Gloomhaven. You have limited resources to get you to the end and to defeat the bad guy, so you have to maximise the effectiveness of your card use. While possibly not a game that will fit on the tray on a flight, it does not have a huge footprint and the box is small enough to carry with you while travelling and it will get you away from the screen for a while.That is always a bonus. I have way too much screen time at work, so playing analogue is always welcome.

In addition to playing boardgames, I have also managed to paint quite a lot of miniatures. My Vikings and Normans that I bought in the 90s are now mostly painted. I only have around 20 more infantry and 15 more cavalry left to paint and then I shall have painted all of those figures. it only took me 30 years or so! Should I catalogue them and realise that I am missing crucial figures for very limited and specific games that I could mostly avoid?

I've made good progress on my fantasy figures as well. These are newer, so I should probably let some of them age and ripen for another decade before painting them but I intend to expand these armies and I have a large Unpainted Lead Pile lying in my attic in the UK, so perhaps it is best to keep going.

So, that is my year in gaming. I have had a good time playing all these games and am delighted to have found at least one regular boardgaming partner here. It would be nice if there were 15mm gamers here, but I have seen no sign of them. Given the fun I am having playing solo, I don't really see that as a problem.

What will 2025 bring?

I imagine that 2025 will continue much as 2024 has, barring major upheavals in my life. I would like to get as many of my 15mm fantasy figures painted as possible and to play an Oathmark campaign.

Similar to the above, I would like to get all my battlemechs painted, my 6mm sci-fi figures rebased and many of those repainted, and I would like to use them in a campaign of some kind. I have a lot of different rules that would permit a solo campaign, and I am looking forward to seeing what the solo rules in Battletech: Aces are like. Hopefully they will be released in 2025 and I can try them out.

With the release of Mortal Enemies for Frostgrave, my final potential goal is a Frostgrave mini-campaign using the rules from Mortal Enemies to control enemy warbands. I have all the Frostgrave supplements to date, but no opponent in easy reach, so I have been thinking of adapting the Rangers of Shadow Deep bot to Frostgrave. The difficulty with that is the spells for the wizard and their apprentice, but Mortal Enemies offers a way round this problem. Rather than generate a single mortal enemy for my wizard, I can generate two or three enemies and dice to see which one turns up. This could be a fun way of playing the early campaigns that were published without needing an opponent.

Miniatures rules I would like to play in 2025 are:

• 5150: Mecha Warfare
• AD&D Battlesystem 2E
• Battle Suit Alpha
• Battletech
• Blood Eagle
• Frostgrave
• FutureWarCommander
• Hardwar
• Horizon Wars
• Oathmark
• Sellswords and Spellslingers
• Thud and Blunder

In addition to the miniatures games, it would be great to get more out of my boardgames collection. Specific games I feel I would like to focus on are:

• Barbarossa to Berlin
• Solitaire Advanced Squad Leader
• Space Empires 4X
• Terraforming Mars (especially with the new solo Automa expansion)
• The Dark Valley

I'm not adding War Without Mercy/Struggle for Europe series to this list because I have singularly failed to get it on the table for several years now, but I would love to give it a proper shot at some point.

It would also be fun to return to the adventures of Broneslav in Mystara. I need to get the maps made for the next story arc before I do that. Sitting at a computer at home working on maps is not my favourite thing after working on a computer all day at work, so we shall have to see if anything comes of it.

Obviously, I have a tonne of other games and figures stashed in my attic that I would like to play, but they are 1000 miles from me at the moment with little chance of getting them shipped over. One day they too can be taken into consideration when I plan my future gaming, but in the meantime they are there to ensure that I have something to do, if ever I can afford to retire.

With that in mind, the real goal for the year is to continue 2024's theme of focusing on one rules set at a time and playing it properly so that it feels like I am getting real value and depth of experience from these games instead of flitting between games at random. This is so much easier when I play solo and do not get caught up in other people's enthusiasms! There is still room for pick-up games in my life, but I want to prioritise depth over breadth as much as possible. I would also like to continue the weekly blog updates. How well shall I do, do you think?

Vikings and Normans for Basic Impetus 2

 I like the Impetus rules, although I never got around to buying 2nd edition. It seemed unnecessary, given that I do not play enough to have got irritated with any part of the rules set. With all the work I have been doing on 15mm figures for Oathmark armies, I suddenly realised that I might be able to put together a couple of armies and play a bit more Impetus. Therefore, I dug out the  2nd edition Basic Impetus rules and checked what I needed. The movement trays I bought for Oathmark are only fractionally larger than the standard bases for 15mm Impetus, so there is no need for rebasing, blu-tacking to temporary bases or any of the other improvisations that might otherwise have been required to make this work. All I needed was to make sure I had the right figures. A little bit of painting and a few spacer bases later, and I had two armies with a small number of options ready for the table.

The Vikings

At this point, I should note that I have issues with the Vikings list in Basic Impetus. The core list seems oddly specifically oriented towards 1014 and the Battle of Clontarf with the inclusion of Irish troops as part of that core. I also do not agree with the inclusion of "raiders" as a troop type in any Viking list for the Viking armies that fought in Europe in this period. These people being called raiders are the same people that are normal troop types at other times. And don't even get me started on having "berserkers" as a weird and wonderful special troop type! Army lists are such strange fictions. Still, I am working with what I have, so here are some of the Vikings.

Veteran Huskarls

Viking skirmishers with spacer bases

The Normans

I have no real issues with the Norman army lists, although I suspect that this is because I know so much less about Norman armies of this period. Ignorance really is bliss sometimes!

The Norman army

By using spacer bases, I was able to set the Norman knights up in a V-formation while the Breton medium cavalry are in a single line, letting me differentiate the two from each other. Spacer bases also differentiate the Norman skirmishers. In this case we have peasant stonethrowers standing in for Breton javelinmen and Norman crossbowmen.

A Quick Game

So, with the armies ready and organised, time for a throwdown on the table. The Normans wound up defending. Not sure how that happened given their superior mobility.

Set-up as seen from the Viking side

There was little subtlety to this game. My goal was to push figures around and learn the rules. So, the Vikings set up with their skirmishers occupying the marsh and their flanks anchored. The Normans were slightly more constrained and set up in a big block. They hoped to use their cavalry to steamroller the Vikings.

Norman luck after a cavalry charge

Alas for the poor Normans, their general was insufficiently lucky. As in the example above, they consistently failed to hit even when rolling generous numbers of dice. The Viking hird troops saw off the Norman cavalry and wheeled onto the Norman right flank.

The end of all things (weirdly squished image but you get the gist, I am sure.)

Over on the left flank, things went better... sort of. The Norman cavalry charged the Viking raiders and sent them packing. They regrouped and prepared to fall on the Viking flank and roll the troops up. Unfortunately, the Viking huskarls had other thoughts and drove off the Norman infantry before this could happen. Discouraged, the Norman general decided to retreat, regroup and try another day.

Conclusions

Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. I got a headache checking the rules repeatedly, despite them being so short. It was fun though. I've always enjoyed Impetus in the past and this iteration of the rules worked for me. One thing I particularly like is the limited options in the lists. When DBA first came out, I loved the rules because each army was only 12 or so elements. It was simple, easy to collect multiple armies and the armies were cheap. Then the whole thing bloated with multiple versions and way too many options and I lost interest. I really did prefer the army lists that were aimed at getting to the core of what each army should be about, whether you agreed with that interpretation or not. Having something similar with Basic Impetus is precisely what I want, even if the armies are larger in number of figures. However, I do wonder about just using smaller armies with the full-fat Impetus rules. That would make it easier to avoid the peculiarities I noted above that I do not like. We shall see.

Happy New Year!

Well, that is my last post for this year. It has been a productive year on the gaming front and I am pleased with what I have achieved. For once, I seem to have found my painting groove and stuck with it, as well as playing a lot of games. Let us hope that 2025 is more of the same.

I hope you have a Happy New Year and that 2025 brings you what you need.

The Gnawling Horde: Beastpeople for Five Leagues from the Borderlands

 The Beastpeople of Utavoll are few these days. They live on the margins and rarely enter spaces occupied by humans. They are kin to the fae folk but do not associate much with them for reasons that are not apparent to the human geographers that have explored Utavoll.

To humans, the Beastpeople resemble a variety of animals, hence the name. This resemblance often leads humans to treat them as beasts rather than as fellow sapients. Among themselves they refer to their own kind as Gnawlings, a word that translates roughly as The People. They live in tribal groups and subsist as hunter-gatherers for the most part. A rare few trade with the humans for new technology that they do not produce themselves. Gnawling art is particularly prized by humans for its delicate, primal style.

My Gnawling collection consists solely of Demonworld Beastmen figures from Ral Partha Europe. Although it would be possible to fill out the roster with different types of beastpeople for the different groups listed in the rules, I have chosen to use only armoured and unarmoured beastpeople. These provide good flexibility at a good price. The only thing really lacking is the full range of missile weapons listed in the rules, but I am fine with using generic missile troops to represent all the types of missile weapons. It's not like my opponent is going to complain!

Unarmoured Gnawlings

The bulk of the Gnawling horde is unarmoured tribespeople, who fight when needed but are not warriors per se. They are artisans and hunters and people from many other walks of life in the tribe and are expected to pick up weapons when needed. Sometimes they go out into the world to earn a little extra loot and that is when you are most likely to encounter these people.

Unarmoured Gnawlings

Armoured Gnawlings

The armoured Gnawlings are generally those who make a living from warfare and raiding. They have more opportunities to gather better weapons and armour. Some are bodyguards to tribal leaders or personal retinues, who serve full-time in the tribal warband. Others are outcasts who fight for the love of fighting or because they prefer the life of a raider and robber to tending the herds.

Armoured Gnawlings with Leader

Missile Troops

As hunters, the Gnawlings use a range of missile weapons to bring down their prey, and these weapons also work in warfare. Although my missile troops are all javelin throwers, these can stand in for the slings and crossbows listed in the rulebook without any issues other than the aesthetic.

Gnawling Missile Troops

ChiCom Acquisitions and Mergers Department: Corporate mechas (6mm sci-fi)

 If you followed the progress of our Hell on Dodgson's World campaign, you will know that ChiCom are the evil corporate invaders, who sought to overthrow the existing peaceful regime on Dodgson's World. An alternative perspective, as generally publicised by the ChiCom Corporate Marketing and Brand Awareness Department, is that they came to Dodgson's World to provide the benefits of access to the wider galaxy in return for being allowed to mine certain valuable ores. However you view it, ChiCom has decided to beef up its Acquisitions and Mergers Department with a mecha company consisting of two stars of mechs. I imagine the committee meeting went something like this:

"So, we need mechs. Everyone else has them and our shareholders are getting anxious that we are not keeping up with the latest technology. Also, the CEO has demanded one instead of his company AV. Biggins, how's the market outlook on these?"

"I've done some market research on these, and it is clear that mechs will boost our share price through increased shareholder confidence. They are also a useful tax write-off, so they seem eminently affordable."

"Wiggins, what's out there and how do we sort this out?"

"I've examined existing organisations and it is clear that the Clans are superior to the Inner Sphere in every way, so I suggest that we organise our mechs as stars of 5 mechs each. The shareholders have expressed a preference for this and would prefer that we call them Stars rather than Lances. They also like the idea of naming each mecha to give our corporate negotiations a more personal touch."

"Right, Stars of five mechs each and names it is. Higgins, can we source mechs at a price that the shareholders like?"

"It's tough but I have a line on some mechs. Clan mechs are too expensive, but the Star organisation should be enough there. It is clear that this organisation works well, because the Clans are kicking the Inner Sphere's arse all over the place. Using this organisational structure will give the right impression to our shareholders even without the Clan mechs. I have put some feelers out and find a source of budget mechs that meet our criteria and will keep the shareholders happy."

"Biggins, what about names? You're marketing. What do you have for me?"

"Sir, the consultants have run the numbers and presented the options to the focus groups. I can safely say that we have some absolute doozies for you. They truly represent our mission and values. I am certain the CEO will love them."

"Great, we have a plan. Well done, Biggins, Wiggins and Higgins. Set up a purchase order and get the first company of mechs ordered. To the next order of business, the company picnic..."

The Mechas

Following the conclusion of our Hellfire campaign, I decided to repaint the ChiCom forces. The old paint jobs were very basic and I was not happy with them. I started on repainting infantry and vehicles and still have to finish them all off. I also decided to add some mechs because I was getting dragged back into the idea of big, stompy robots as fun on the table top. At that point, the EM4 mechs fit the budget nicely, so I got 10 of them and built them. Half got painted really quickly and the rest have languished until now. The plan is to field these as a generic opposing force in solo games of Horizon Wars, Hardwar, FutureWarCommander, 5150 No Quarter: Mecha Combat and Battle Suit Alpha. Other rules sets may also get involved but these are the main ones I currently have for this.

So, without further ado, I present the first two trinaries of the ChiCom Acquisitions and Mergers Department.

White Trinary

White 1: The Spirit of Corporate Unity

White 2: The Global Reorganisation

White 3: The Management Buyout

White 4: The Executive Headhunter

White 5: The Corporate Reshuffle

Red Trinary

Red 1: The Management Directive

Red 2: The Hostile Takeover

Red 3: The Emergency Board Meeting

Red 4: The Internal Memo

Red 5: The Departmental Downsizing

Epilogue

The CEO looked up from the paperwork about his new mecha force and frowned.

"Hmm..."

"Sir..."

"Shush! I'm pondering!"

"Sir!"

He stared at the documents again and frowned again.

He sighed.

"Excellent job, Miggins. The shareholders seem delighted and my stock is up several points. Keep up this sort of work and I'll have that new Type Y Luxury Cruiser before this time next year. Go and carry on the good work."

He looked down at the paperwork again. As soon as Miggins had left the office he tabbed through the screens back to the details on the Type Y Cruiser, checked off a few options and clicked buy.

"No point waiting. Miggins has this well in hand."

He sighed again. This time contentedly.

The Thrappled Lemmings and the Ghost Stone (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

 Fires on the horizon told Aethelwyrd that Aksel had done his job. She hoped he would escape with his patrol. She thought the little squirt had potential. There was not time to worry about him now though. The Lemmings needed to escort Nesra the Mage to the Ghost Stone that was producing all these spectres. Nesra would destroy it if she got the chance, and it was Aethelwyrd's job to ensure that she did get the chance. Her plan was a simple one. She and half the Lemmings would destroy the guards around the stone, making as much noise as possible to distract the enemy, while Nesra and the others sneaked up to it and then cast the requisite spells to blow it to oblivion. The Lemmings were good at making noise and wreaking havoc. They were joined by three men-at-arms who had survived the battle and were eager for revenge. She hoped it would be enough.

"Righty-ho, Lemmings, let's go."

She forced herself to sound confident, but she was worried about this. There were a lot of powerful foes out there. The two groups moved out. Ahead of them were the enemy and the stone. They would only get one chance at this.

Forward to death!

As she advanced, Aethelwyrd could see a captured Elven MagicMecha capable of shooting a ten foot bolt great distances. A hit from that would kill any one of her people. A maddened cultist leader had summoned a werewolf while the eldritch powers of an Orc shaman would rain spells on to her patrol if they did not stop the man in time. Worse yet, there were spectres emerging from the Ghost Stone and giant flies clearly anticipated a good meal after the slaughter. She led her small group into the shelter of a stand of bushes. If only they could get close enough before they were spotted.

Elven MagiMecha with Orc crew (figure is a D&D Modron)

It was fortunate that the wan green light and magical aura of the stone was attracting the attention of so many of her foes. They had moved up to it, making it easier for her people to sneak a little closer. Then the area was lit up with a blast of fire. Nesra had cast a fireball at the Orc shaman and his bodyguard.

Look at the glowing stone, not the enemy sneaking up on you!

"Charge!" yelled Aethelwyrd. Well, they had to make noise and now she needed to distract the monsters round the stone from Nesra.

Bergsveinn shot an arrow at the Orc using the Elven MagiMecha and wounded it. The others advanced quickly. His second arrow slew the Orc, even as Incunabulum stepped out of cover to launch a fireball at the mass of foes beside the Ghost Stone. Two of them were fried to a crisp. The rest remained unhurt. Howling its fury, the werewolf led the charge towards Aethelwyrd, who had taken up a position near the now uncrewed MagiMecha

"Oh shit!" she muttered. She had definitely got their attention! She yelled at the others with her, "Come on then! Get stuck in!"

They obeyed.

On the other flank, Nesra incinerated the Orc shaman and wounded his bodyguards with a fireball. Her bodyguards raced in to finish them off, although Gorbin the Ogre quickly found himself badly wounded.

As the monstrous horde descended on Aethelwyrd, Incunabulum fired a bolt of mystic energy at the cultist leader. Bergsveinn fired an arrow. Both wounded the gibbering maniac. Aethelwyrd cut the werewolf down with a lucky blow and stepped in to assault one of the advancing cultists. She was in turn attacked by the spectral horseman and the cultist leader. Deft footwork saw her wounded but pushing back and then slaying the cultist leader, but she was still sore beset and so were the others. Despite this, she had the satisfaction of seeing Nesra sprinting up to the Ghost Stone tempered by seeing Gorbin cut down. Unfortunately, the fires from the supply depot were dying down too.  Reinforcements would soon be here.

Beset by hordes of foes

No sooner had she thought this than more giant flies buzzed towards them, attracted by the scent of blood. She turned on the spectral horseman and cleaved it in two with a frenzied blow. As the others fought and slowly cut down their foes, Nesra went to work. It did not take long. The stone glowed brighter.

Nesra does her thing

"Flee! It's going to blow!"

True to her words, she fled, followed by her bodyguards. Those others who could joined her. The stone glowed even brighter and bolts of energy shot towards the heroes but none were hurt. As they ran, one of the men-at-arms was felled with an arrow even as others of the Lemmings cut down spectres and giant flies. The stone let out a huge scream and pulsed even brighter as two more cultists arrived from the supply depot. Most of the Lemmings stumbled as the scream jarred their sense and made them slow down to avoid falling.

The Thrappled Lemmings ran for their lives as the stone pulsed brighter and brighter. A high-pitched whining noise had joined the light show. Two werewolves arrived from the direction of the supply depot. Suddenly the night lit up in a cacophany of shrieking and screams and their was a flash of light brighter than all the previous ones put together. A loud cracking noise followed and then showers of stone shards flew through the air shredding several minions of the Shadow Deep that were too close to it.

Once they had outdistanced their foes, the Thrappled Lemmings headed for the rendezvous. They waited for their comrades and were soon joined by Gorbin and the two men-at-arms that had fallen. Their wounds were superficial, it turned out, but one of the guards had a wild staring look to him that indicated something else wrong.

They made their way back to their base and met up with Aksel's patrol before making their way back to base.

Later, they sat in the Bug and Bed tavern supping ale that would strip paint, but it was still more than welcome after their experiences.

"You did alright, Aksel," Aethelwyrd announced, "We'll make a Lemming of you yet."

Aksel swelled with pride at the high praise.

"Now, you know what the most important job that potential Lemmings have, don't you?"

Aksel shook his head uncertainly. This sounded ominous.

"You need to buy us beer. The next round is on you. And so is the one after that."

Aksel headed to the bar. He would be skint by the end of the night, but he had found a home. More importantly, he had helped to stabilise this front against the Shadow Deep. They had not won, but Lord Arklin could hold for now, which meant that his friends and family would be able to enjoy their lives for a while longer. Yes, and the legendary Thrappled Lemmings had spilt buckets of their own blood to help. No doubt more would be spilt later but for now peace reigned... well, at least until the Thrappled Lemmings started yet another tavern brawl, but that was part of their charm. Aksel smiled as he gathered up the tray of ale and headed back to the table with it.

I got lucky in this scenario because Nesra managed to ignite the stone on the first try, which meant many fewer enemies to fight than would otherwise have been the case. As has been the case with much of this campaign, fireball spells seem remarkably ineffective. Even with the immensely target-rich environment of this scenario, only a few figures were actually even hurt by the fireballs. That was a bit disappointing because in my head fireballs should be more like nuclear bombs! Other than that, the heroes fought well, suffered a few knocks and kept going when it was needed.

This has been a great campaign. My experience of Frostgrave suggested that combat would be far too swingy, but it actually did not seem too bad for the most part and playing solo ameliorated the worst of it. My competitive instincts would probably have been aroused by an opponent that was not me, so the swinginess would have become an issue, while I am much more relaxed and interested in the narrative when playing solo.

And that's a wrap (until the next scenario collection is published). The Lemmings have fought the Shadow Deep to a stand still and I shall move on to something else for a while.

The Thrappled Lemmings and the Convenient Distraction (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

 Aksel stared big-eyed at Aethelwyrd. She was speaking to him. She was treating him like an honorary Lemming!

"Look, Aksel..."

He zoned out again. She had called him by name! Not just "Noob" but by name!

"I said, listen up, Aksel. We need you to take a patrol down to the riverside where the enemy is stockpiling supplies. Destroy those supplies and get out of there without getting killed. Do you understand?"

Aksel nodded furiously and then found his voice, "Yes, Captain."

"Well go then!"

Aksel turned to Sigrid.

"I'm sorry, Sigrid. You can't come with me this time. We need to be sneaky and you're a big, fluffy, gorgeous not-sneaky bear. I'll be back for you."

Sigrid snuffled disgruntledly and gave Aksel an affectionate head nudge that landed him on his backside. Picking himself up out of the mud, he gathered his gear and headed out with his companions. Dreams of glory and Aethelwyrd's praise filled his mind even as he organised his patrol. He would prove that he was as capable of being a Lemming as the best of them!

Aksel led his patrol to the supply depot. The group paused just outside. It was pitch black with no moon.

"Ok, you know the plan. There are six supply stashes. We're going to move in past the guards and set fire to them on my signal. With any luck, we do that without them giving the alarm. Once the supplies are alight we scram and meet back at the rendezvous point. All clear?"

Everyone nodded assent. They set out through the dark moving silently. Wulfric fell behind as his shoe laces came undone. The guards seemed to be patrolling randomly. Many of them seemed to be heading right for Aksel's patrol, who nipped neatly between them. Kalfr was almost stepped on by a passing guard. He stepped up behind the guard and slipped his dagger neatly between the guard's ribs before dragging the body into the undergrowth.

Sneaking up on the camp. Aksel's patrol enter from the bottom of the picture

While waiting for the others to get in position, Wulfric idly searched the supplies and found a sack of herbs. The buzzing of giant flies approaching was almost deafening in the still night air, but Aksel's patrol kept their nerve and carried on. They were almost all in position now.

Poor hygiene in the camp has attracted some flies

A guard wandered too close to Aksel and he buried his axe in the guard's head. The others were searching the supply stacks while they waited. Flosi found a book that he kept. He smiled slightly, realising that this stack of books should be easier to set alight. As guards approached, Tomasa nipped smartly round her stack to stay out of sight.

A pair of skeletal knights wandered into the camp far too close to Aksel. He rushed over to the nearest pile of supplies and gave the signal.

"Light 'em up and head to the boat!"

Following his own orders, he set the pile of supplies on fire. The Shadow Deep's minions immediately raised the alarm.

Wulfric and Tomasa quickly lit their own supply piles and raced towards the boat in the river. Wulfric remained unseen but a guard had spotted Tomasa and was pursuing her. One of the skeletal knights had spotted Flosi and moved to attack. Kalfr raced over to aid him. Panting as he reached the knight, only his armour saved him from a wound. Drawn by the sound of the alarm, a spectral horsemen drifted into the camp.

Despite the dry kindling, Flosi was struggling to light the supply pile and Kalfr was already wounded by the skeletal knight. The other minions of the Shadow Deep were racing after the remaining members of the patrol, as Wulfric and Tomasa both leapt onto the boat simultaneously. The fight was on now.

As minions of the Shadow Deep were cut down, Aksel's patrol started to get wounded in the fight. Kalfr leapt onto the boat next and a cultist fell, but Tomasa could not get past the guard of the cultist facing her. Flosi finally set his pile of supplies on fire.

Seeing the minions converging on the boat, Grim decided to sneak back to the rendezvous point, darting from cover to cover while the evil creatures were distracted.

"Stand by to repel boarders!"

Aksel rushed towards the boat. He badly wounded an Orc fighter and shoved it backwards so that it fell in the river. It swam towards the boat and crawled onto it dripping wet. Tomasa tried to slam it back into the water but was badly wounded for her efforts. However, Wulfric took advantage of its focus on him and crushed its skull with his two-handed sword. As more minions of the Shadow Deep approached, Aksel and Kalfr dealt with the nearest foes and leapt onto the boat, shouting arcane words that caused the spectral horseman to pause. Grim and Flosi continued their escape through the shadows.

"Cast off the boat!"

Tomasa did as ordered and the boat began to float downstream bearing the four heroes away from the supply depot. The spectral horseman pursued it, drifting over the water as if it were riding on land. Aksel managed to land a telling blow but was wounded in return, as another spectre pursued them. However, the current was strong enough that they managed to keep ahead of the undead.

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Back at the rendezvous point, they bandaged some minor wounds and examined the supplies from the boat while waiting for Flosi and Grim to join them. There was jubilation among the group. They had set alight to or stolen all the supplies. The Shadow Deep would be buzzing with evil foes out for their blood, but that should make Aethelwyrd's job easier. They slowly made their way back to camp

That went according to plan! I can't believe it! Does this mean that the assault on the Ghost Stone will go really badly? The worst part of this scenario was when it took Flosi four attempts to light the books on fire despite the bonus he received for it. Other than that, the patrol took wounds but nothing that incapacitated any of them and most of them were able to use the boat to escape. Flosi and Grim had an easy time of escaping because they were able to use cover to avoid being seen and the boat was the target point, so all the bad guys headed in that direction. Next up will be the assault on the Ghost Stone and the final scenario in this campaign (until a new collection of scenarios is released).

The Thrappled Lemmings and the Orc Encampment (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

 While Aksel was off getting his arse handed to him on a plate, Aethelwyrd was pursuing a band of Orcs through the dead forests of the Shadow Deep. The pursuit led to an encampment of makeshift huts and tents in a clearing, where the Orcs met with a group of cultists. The discussion between the Orc shaman and the cultist leader including a certain amount of pointing towards a hill in the distance. Aethelwyrd made a mental note to check the hill out later.

Night drew in and the leaders entered the ramshackle hut in the centre of the clearing. Talk died down and the other monsters went to sleep. Only a small number of the Orcs patrolled the clearing. It was time to strike. Aethelwyrd waved the Lemmings forward. Their two new guest members from Aksel's patrol, Wulfric the Barbarian and Flosi the Green, followed uncertainly. Both tried to put on a brave face but they recognised immediately that the Lemmings had done this more times than they had eaten hot dinners.

Speaking of hot dinners, Wulfric and Flosi were both so green that they did not know how to manage their rations and had eaten them all far too early. As a result, they were feeling the effects of low blood sugar as the patrol sneaked through the woods into the camp. The Thrappled Lemmings reckoned that this was the only way the greenhorns would learn, so they showed them some tough love.

With the Lemmings in position, Aethelwyrd nodded to Ash, who rustled a few branches, causing the nearest Orc to come and investigate.

"Quickly, take him down," hissed Aethelwyrd and then promptly wasted the Orc before the others could react. They sneaked closer as the guards followed their patrol routes. Bergsvein sniped a patrolling Orc as the others continued their routes, apparently all attracted by something on the opposite side of the camp from the Lemmings.

Sneaking through the undergrowth

As the Lemmings closed on the central shack, the guards turned around to retrace their patrol routes. Incunabulum quickly cast enchanted steel on Aethelwyrd's sword before she and Bergsveinn, raced cat-footed over to the shack door and burst in. A fire burned in the centre of the shack and supplies were scattered around. Burly Orc sergeants, a shaman and cultists confronted them. The evildoers immediately charged and Bergsveinn was wounded in that first encounter.

Inside the main shack

Outside, the rest of the Lemmings charged the nearest Orcs, seeing that the alarm was about to be raised. Wulfric slew one Orc while the other held off Onund and Ash, cutting Flosi down with a single blow in the process. Suddenly, a clap of thunder rang out startling all outside the tent. Wulfric and Ash froze as the Orcs yelled out warnings to each other.

Inside the shack, Incunabulum blasted the cultist leader and an orc sergeant with a fireball, frying both to a crisp in the process! Aethelwyrd moved to aid Bergsveinn and cut the cultist down with the aid of the other two. Outside, Wulfric took an arrow the chest that left him coughing blood, while Onund cut down an Orc archer with the help of Ash.

Hearing the alarm raised, Orcs started tumbling out of the tents.

The alarm has been sounded.

Aethelwyrd redoubled her efforts and slew the Orc sergeant after a brief exchange of blows. Incunabulum charged the Orc shaman, who died in a blast of lightning as Incunabulum's Staff of Elemental Strike expended its energy on the evil spellcaster. While they did this Bergsveinn investigated the tent and found a small pile of scrolls that he tucked in his backpack.

Outside, first Wulfric then Ash were cut down by the Orcs and Onund was badly wounded. Fighting desprately, Onund managed to slightly wound his opponent and use the brief respite to duck in through the door of the shack. At least here the Orcs would have to come at him one at a time. In the ongoing chaos, one of the tents caught fire.

Aethelwyrd ran to the door to support Onund. Incunabulum found a map in one corner of the shack. The Orcs closed on the door of the shack and Aethelwyrd quickly found herself once more in the fray. She knew that this was it. She and Onund needed to hold the door and slay all the Orcs if they were going to escape. She and Onund set to work. With nothing else to do yet, Bergsveinn and Incunabulum searched the rest of the tent and gathered what they could carry.

Orcs trying to force their way into the main shack

As the pile of Orc bodies by the door grew, Aethelwyrd pushed through and outside to take on the archers who were sniping through the door. Onund followed her. He cut one archer down but was laid low by another just as two spectres drifted towards the encampment. Even as the Orc archers were cut down, more Orcs emerged from the tents to join the fray. The remaining Lemmings were exhausted, covered in sweat and blood, but they still carried on. It was all they knew to do.

Bergsveinn and Incunabulum took refuge in the shack again as even more Orcs emerged from a tent. Aethelwyrd found herself surrounded by spectres and Orcs. It was a desperate situation. She gripped her sword harder and fought for all she was worth even as the Orc's spear carved gashes in her flesh. With mighty blows she cut down several Orcs but more still came.

Over in the shack, Bergsveinn fought desperately to hold the door and killed one Orc but was soon knocked out himself, leaving Incunabulum to fight alone.

Aethelwyrd found a reserve of energy and managed to duck away from the monsters that surrounded her. They would come after her, but she had a brief breathing space for a very short while. In that breathing space, Incunabulum was also cut down despite his heroic efforts.

Back to the wall and desperate

Surrounded and with her back to the wall, Aethelwyrd fought on desperately. She parried blows from all sides even though she was barely able to lift her sword any more. An opportunity presented itself and she buried her sword in a spectre that vanished with an unearthly scream. Barely hearing it, she fought off an Orc and then the other spectre and then another Orc and another.

Quiet descended. Aethelwyrd pinched herself to see if she was still alive. She was. And there were no more foes on the battlefield. She went in search of her comrades. Thankfully none of them were dead, although Incunabulum was badly wounded, while Ash and Flosi had leg injuries that meant they would never walk without a limp again. With the whole patrol gathered, Aethelwyrd led the way to the low hills where the Lemmings observed cultists worshipping at a glowing monolith with runes carved all over it. As the cultists prostrated themselves, the stone glowed brighter and a spectre emerged from it, letting out a piercing wail that chilled the very marrow before it headed off in the direction of Alladore. The Lemmings made their way slowly and carefully back to their base and reported what they had seen.

I nearly rage-quit this game after a few turns. It started well enough with all the bonuses for being sneaky, but the second the alarm was sounded, well, do you ever have days where you cannot win a melee to save your figures' lives? In the course of two turns, I lost three figures and Onund was reduced to 2 Health. The only saving grace was Incunabulum scoring critical hits on several big baddies and winning a melee by enough that his elemental strike could kill the Orc shaman. I am quite glad I did not quit though, because Aethelwyrd's last stand was something to behold. In the course of two turns, she cut down half a dozen foes, although she was reduced to just 3 Health by the end of the game. This will only fuel Aksel's hero worship even more, which may not be a good thing, but it will also make for a great tale to tell in the tavern when the Shadow Deep is finally beaten. Ash is already composing an appropriate ballad about it.