Gabriel Darkblood had obtained a mystic green gem from the ruined elven city of Quessallas for himself. He studied it deeply and decided he needed more information which could only be found in Quessallas, deep in the Woodspike forest, in a section controlled by Kargir.
Darkblood sent a large bribe to Gragg Elfslayer, ruler of Kargir, but Gragg murdered the messenger and kept the bribe, not wanting to share any power or secrets that might come out of Quessallas.
So Darkblood assembled a strike force and secretly made their way to the ruins of Quessallas. Along the way they were attacked by a band of orcs and a viscious battle ensued. The orcs were aided by a band of renegade Okuran mercenaries led by Shogura Sato.
The Battlefield
The vampires will deploy along the western edge, and the orcs along the eastern edge. There are heavy woods to the south west and north east. There is a ruined building in the south east and in the center is a large hill.
The Forces
Vampires: Gabriel Darkblood, 8 Blood Wolves, 4 Bakarathi, 8 Vampire Infantry and 4 Vampire Cavalry. 3021 Points.
Orcs and Samurai: 8 Sword Goblins, 8 Goblins with Spears, 8 Goblins with Bows (yes I recently got the Lord of the Rings boxed set 8-), Gragg Elfslayer, Shogura Sato, a Dragon, 2 human Necromancers, 12 Ashigaru (Samurai foot troops), 3 Samurai Cavalry, 6 Black Orcs with swords and 6 Black Orcs with bows. And finally, a Pillar of Evil. 3049 Points.
Deployment
The vampires deployed first. The vampire cavalry was to the north, the Bakarathi and Blood Wolves held the center and the rest of the vampires held the right flank.
Orc Deployment: The dragon and all the archers took the right flank (north). The center was held by all the non missile troops and Gragg Elfslayer while the left was under the command of Shogura Sato with a few samurai.
Turn 1
The orcs won the initiative.
Class 2 Movement Phase: Orcs
The sword and spear goblins charged forward and took up position south of the ruined building. The archer goblins took up a defensive position in the heavy woods in the North East.
Class 2 Movement Phase: Vampires
The Bakrathti leaped and bounded halfway down the battlefield, followed closely by the Vampire Cavalry. They positioned themselves to the north of the central hill and west of the North Eastern woods where the goblin archers were hanging out. The goblins began to cower in fear.
Class 3 Movement Phase: Orcs
The Ashigaru and Samurai Cavalry charged forward through the ruined building in the south east, the horses nimbly leaping over the crumbling walls.
Class 3 Movement Phase: Vampires
The vampire infantry led by Gabriel Darkblood charged the enemy position at the ruined fort in the south east. Darkblood killed many Ashigaru and goblins with his Blizzard spell, while the vampire infantry paralyzed the samurai cavalry, which made it easy for the blood wolves to swoop in and kill two of them.
Class 4 Movement Phase: Orcs
The black orc archers moved up to join their goblin brothers in the forest, while the black orc swords rushed to defend their crumbling left flank at the ruined building to the south east.
The necromancers came seemingly out of nowhere and both cast ice barbs, slaying 3 of the 8 blood wolves. Gabriel Darkblood ground his teeth in frustration, they had been favoured pets of his.
Turn 2
Vampires win the initiative.
Class 2 Movement Phase: Vampires
The Bakarathi and Vampire Cavalry continued their mad rush east to the forest in the north east. The Bakarathi tore into the ranks of the puny goblins, slaying many. The Cavalry cast strike at Gragg Elfslayer but he shrugged off the assault, laughing. Then a Bakarathi and vampire cavalry troop engaged him in melee. He valiantly survived one blow but fell soon after to the two handed sword of the wildy capering Bakarathi. A devastating blow for the orcs, assuredly.
Class 2 Movement Phase: Orcs
A few goblins made pathetic attempts to fight the blood wolves and got mauled for their trouble. The two necromancers each cast animate, creating 3 zombies apiece. The zombies shambled forward to bludgeon the blood wolves. 1 blood wolf tore his undead assailant limb from decomposing limb but gagged at the foul taste. The other wolf died beneath the club like bludgeoning fists of the other 3 zombies.
Class 3 Movement Phase: Vampires
The blood wolves melee'ed with some Ashigaru with mixed results. Several Ashigaru were slain by strike spells cast by the advancing vampires.
Class 3 Movement Phase: Orcs
3 Ashigaru teamed up to slay a blood wolf, sinking their polearms deep into its warm flesh. Several black orcs attacked the line of vampires. All were easily slain except for 1 who was apparently smarter than the rest because he ran for all he was worth. Shogura Sato challenged Gabriel Darkblood to single combat - and was accepted. Shogura was quickly dispatched but died an honourable death.
But all was not lost: The dragon flew in behind two vampire cavalry and slew both of them with ease, leaving nothing but two piles of steaming entrails and no way to tell were the horse left off and the man began.
Turn 3
Vampires win the initiative.
Class 2 Movement Phase: Vampires
3 Bakarathi, howling all the way, reversed direction and ganged up on the dragon. The dragon fought bravely but was pulled down before the ferocity of 3 maniac Bakarathi. The remaining Bakarathi slew 2 black orcs with one swipe of his mighty two handed sword, while a vampire cavalryman slew a black orc archer and in the final combat of this movement phase a vampire cavalryman and a black orc swordsman both lost heart and fled screaming off the battlefield in opposite directions. At this point the Orcs and Samurai, with all of their officers and heroes slain, outnumbered 3 to 1 by vastly superior troops, decided to surrender.
Conclusion
Victory went to the vampires. Gabriel Darkblood kept the Samurai prisoners to ransom and had the orcs nailed to trees.
Darkbloods force continued to Quessallas.
Forces
Vampires: Gabriel Darkblood, 8 Blood Wolves, 4 Bakarathi, 8 vampire soldiers and 4 vampire cavalry.
Elves: Melonir Windrunner, 2 lancers, 1 Tree Man, 10 Light Archers, 14 Heavy Archers, 2 Fairys, 3 Heavy Swordsmen and 2 mages.
Deployment
Vampires deployed first. Darkblood and his vampires took the right, planning to use the heavy woods as cover from the elven longbows. And since they were all flyers, it would not slow them down. The Bakarathi and vampire cavalry took the center, planning to charge straight down the field at the enemy. The Blood Wolves stationed themselves just to the south of them.
The elves strung themselves out in a line of archers 2 deep with other elements scattered about.
Turn 1
The Bakarathi and Vampire Cavalry charged up the center. The vampires cast paralyze and froze 10 archers into immobility. 8 Heavy archers took the hill. All the non-paralyzed archers took aim at the vampire cavalry and Bakarathi. The two mages each cast accuracy: 3 archers smiled mirthlessly with the knowledge of their newfound deadliness. They all fired and two cavalry were struck and fell from their saddles leaving their horses to run terrified from the field of battle. The 2 elvish lancers charged forward at a Bakarathi yelling war cries, but were silenced as the Bakarathi sent both of their heads flying through the air. The vampire foot soldiers, led by Gabriel Darkblood, flew through the forest while the Blood Wolves advanced to the south of them.
Turn 2
The vampire cavalry charged recklessly forward but failed to paralyze any elves. One Bakarathi charged the elves on the hill and slew three of them. Two other Bakarathi slew two elves each. The remaining Bakarathi entered single combat with Melonir Windrunner. They sparred briefly until Melonir fell, cloven in two by the Bakarathis mighty axe. Their leader gone, the elves rallied bravely. 11 archers, 3 with accuracy, aimed at 3 of the Bakarathi. Two of the ferocious Bakarathi fell full of arrows and a resounding cheer went up. The tree man lumbered forward, gnarled oaken fists flailing at a Bakarathi. It was all in vain as the tree man was felled like so much lumber. Darkblood and his vampires assaulted the hill, several elves, a mage and a fairy were destroyed, however one elf drew his sword and planted it directly in the guts of a vampire, who proceeded to die with a surprised look on his face. The Blood Wolves also slew many elves taking only one causalty.
Turn 3
Two Blood Wolves tore a shrieking fairy limb from limb, while an elven mage managed to slay two Blood Wolves. Another elf managed to kill a Blood Wolf, and the reverse occurred in another combat. Two Bakarathi slew 3 elves and a vampire took care of another. At this point, only an elf archer and mage were left standing. They decided descretion was the better part of valour as there were numerous vampires left standing.
Conclusion
The elves were slaughtered and had no chance to win. However, they did far better than the orcs in the previous battle.
After their lopsided deafeat in the last battle, the elves demanded a rematch. The vampires were only two willing to give it to them.
The forces will be the same as in the last battle, but the vampires will take a 1 Bakarathi and 2 vampire foot soldier handicap.
Deployment The vampire cavalry and Bakarathi took the center, the vampires and blood wolves took the left. The elves deployed in a giant row of archers two deep, with the heavy hitters such as the tree man and Melonir Windrunner in the center.
Turn 1
The 3 Bakarathi and 4 Vampire cavalry charged forward, eating up the distance easily in bounds and gallops, respectively. The vampire cavalry cast paralyze and immobilized 8 elven archers. The light archers fired at the three Bakarathi and killed one. The Blood Wolves and vampires advanced, and Gabriel Darkblood cast Blizzard, killing 4 elves and a mage. The other mage fled from a paralyze spell, and the rest of the archers were also paralyzed. The 2 elvish lancers galloped into the fray and heroically slew a Bakarathi. Melonir Windrunner was not so lucky and was impaled on the lance of a vampire cavalry trooper.
Turn 2
All four of the vampire cavalry cast Strike at the lancers but only slew one, however the Bakarathi got the other. The 9 light archers took out 2 of the vampire cavalry, and their was much rejoicing. Gabriel Darkblood slew several elves and a fairy with another Blizzard spell, while the other vampires paralyzed all the archers again. The Blood Wolves loped forward to attack the southernmost group of elves, and amid much screaming and howling, all the elves were slain. The tree man desperately tried to kill Gabriel Darkblood and perhaps turn the tide of the battle, but he was slain in one devastating blow.
Turn 3
Light elven bow fire slew a single vampire. Then the heavy archers started shooting and everyone was impressed by their sheer lack of talent. The elves decided to call it a day, realyzing that while their were equal numbers of troops on each side, they were vastly outclassed in terms of power.
Conclusion The vampires ruled the day, dominating every confrontation and taking minimal causalties. Before these two armies meet again the elves are going to have to overhaul their army and get rid of the dead weight.
