Song of Blades and Heroes - 3/12/15 - Monster Hunt!

The kids and I did some more painting of Reaper Bones II miniatures.  So naturally they wanted to play some SoBH.  I offered to just be a side-line referee and let them fight it out.  But then an inspiration came to me.  I had just finished painting some big monsters.  Thus begins a Monster Hunt.  3 VP per slain monster.  They would be neutral creatures, moving random at times and towards the nearest 'food' source.  For the most part they were Q 3, C4, and Big, with a couple different traits.

My son brought some more undead.  One Lich that had Fireball and Wall of Fire.  A Lich with Lightning Bolt.  A Necromancer and miscellaneous undead types.

Eldest daughter had her friends of the forest.  Led by an Elf Knight, the majority of the warband were various animals.  Added to it was a White Dragon with Wall of Ice, and a Blue Dragon with Lightning Bolt.  

Here was the set-up.  On the top left hill was an Ankheg, it can Burrow.  In the rectangular pond is the Were-Shark, a Tough Dashing monster.  All the way in the bottom of the picture is the Maw of Terror, he can Burrow and had Combat Master.  Top right hill had the Roper, a Burrowing Combat Master.  And the red beast near the steps of the central hill was the Bulette, a Tough Burrower.

Son's undead advance.  Yet once a turn-over is rolled, I get the opportunity to Activate the monsters.

The Bulette is Burrowed and advancing to the daughter's forest friends.  The Roper had also Burrowed on the hilltop.

The rest of her animals scattered around the hill.

The Bulette pops up to eat her Hound, but subsequently is 'knocked down'.

The Were-Shark would assault the undead ghoul and skeleton knight.

The animals would then circle back over the hill.

More animals enjoying the forest prior to joining a confrontation on the other side of the hill.

After chewing the Hound in revenge, the forest friends attempt to surround the Bulette.

The Were-Shark and undead ghoul would fight a constant back and forth battle the rest of the game.

The animals finally finish off the Bulette just as the Maw of Terror pops up from underground.

Were-Shark finishes off the skeleton knight as the Ankheg advances into the undead party.

The undead scatter away from the Were-Shark and Ankheg.

Just prior to the Necromancer Leader being demolished by the Ankheg, the remaining undead would survive the morale rolls to follow.  

The Maw of Terror is surrounded by animals, a tactic that worked wonderfully against the Bulette.  The Roper un-Burrows on top of the hill to attack the Elf Knight Leader. 

The Ankheg and Were-Shark dominate the undead side of the field.

The White Dragon drops a Wall of Ice to protect the Elf Knight from the Roper, otherwise things might have changed for the worse.  We called an end to the game after the Maw of Terror is slain.  

Overall things ran quite smoothly.  We got the rules for Heavy Armor and Block correctly this time, worked as designed.  My daughter used the Wall of Ice a few times, always to block a monster away from her animals so that she had time to gather them up to get an outnumbering modifier; great tactics.  First time using Burrow, its a nice thematic trait, just wish I could increase movement range beyond Short.  

Lots of fun regardless.

Song of Blades and Heroes with the kids - 3/12/15

Having just finished painting a few Reaper Bones miniatures, the kids and I made some quick warbands using the Fightin' Fungi calculator and played a game.  We decided on a 3-way match with a 'King of the Hill' type scenario.

We each had 400 pts.  The eldest daughter had a couple elves, some animals, and a baby dragon.  The son played his undead; with a plethora of skeletons.  I went all swampy with some bullywugs, spikey turtle guys, couple goblin archers, and the big swamp troll warchief.

Bullywugs to the left, swamp troll and the rest to lead the charge ahead.

A whole load of skeletons facing a bridge.

Elves and friends.

The bridge became a choke point for all the undead.

The daughter used her Forester traits well, often dodging in and out of forests to avoid LOS.

First kill was my poor lone bullywug, who also happened to be the first to reach the hilltop.

Big fight at the base of the hill.

Many turns and reactions later, nearly my entire warband is on top of the hill.  The daughter and son continued to fight each other, distracted by revenge attacks instead of the victory conditions.

Nearing the end, my swamp troll warchief is on the prowl mopping up stragglers.

The skeleton knight slays the elf leader.

Chomp chomp chomp...

The bear and dire wolf were very potent this game.

These guys hung out most of the match, watching everyone slaying each other, cheering on the fights.

By the end, the swamp dwellers have successfully claimed the hill and a decisive victory.  My son had 9 VP, daughter 13, and myself 22.

Reaper Bones have arrived!

Oh happy day!  Reaper Bones are here!

Fightin' Fungi - Garnak the Gladiator

Garnak the Gladiator is a warrior without peer.  He is a trained warrior slave, having been raised in the killing pits of Razorfin City.  Eventually he broke free from the chains and cages.  Garnak slaughtered his human masters and fled into the wilds.

This is by no means a 'legal' warband/Personality/character.  I wanted to create an ultimate character, then throw an entire warband at him to see how he holds up.

Garnak the Gladiator (190 points)
Q 2  C 4
Traits: Amphibious, Big, Block (Expert), Combat Master, Dashing, Evade and Counter, Free Disengage, Heavily Armored, Low Kick, Roll with the Punch, Tailslap, Veteran Group Fighter

As Garnak traveled into the heart of the Midnight Coast, his escape was not unnoticed.  The mighty Ogre champion, Volgrumm Skulltaker, has laid claim to the territory that Garnak was crossing through.  Volgrumm gathered his war party and prepared an ambush.

Goblin Warrior  (x 4)
Q 4  C 2
Goblin Archer  (x 2)
Q 4  C 2 - Shooter (Medium)
Orc Warrior  (x 3)
Q 4  C 3
Ogre Warrior
Q 4  C 4  -  Big, Long Move
Troll (P)
Q 4  C 4  -  Big, Tough
Vogrumm Skulltaker
Q 3  C 4  -  Big, Hero, Long Move, Tough

Garnak readied his battle trident as a warband of goblins, orcs, and ogres surrounded him.  Some would be quivering with fear being so outnumbered by bloodthirsty beasts.  Garnak only grinned, baring his own sharp teeth.

The warband of orcs and goblins circles closer.

Garnak smiles.

The calm before the storm.

In come the greenskins.

The troll, Bonegrinder, and the ogre warrior, Molg, appear.

Garnak spins his battle trident, felling foes with ease.

The ogre, Molg, bellows as he charges into the fray.

Garnak relishes the combat with a bigger foe.  Yet he dispatches Molg without breaking a step.

Another whirlwind of combat and greenskins are tossed about like chaff on the wind.

Volgrumm himself arrives only to witness his goblins and orcs slaughtered.

The troll Bonegrinder is finally able to charge in.

The troll is tough, but Garnak is able to fend him off as well.

Volgrumm could not stand idly by, so he stomped in swinging his giant club.

Garnak proved his martial skills.  He disengaged freely from the bigger opponents, slaying a fallen goblin as he passed by on his way to skewer the goblin archer further down by the rocks.

Bonegrinder and Volgrumm chased the slippery gladiator.

Garnak focused his attacks to lay low the vile troll Bonegrinder.

Now all attention was on the large Volgrumm.

Volgrumm could not find a weakness in the extremely skilled Garnak, who managed to score a wound on the tough ogre warlord.

Volgrumm was tripped by the sneaky tail of Garnak the Gladiator.  A humiliating defeat to a once a great terror of the Midnight Coast.

As night settled in, Garnak the Gladiator stood upon a pile of his vanquished foes.  Though he had won, this victory was not rewarded by cheers as he had received in the pits of Razorfin City.  Only silence answered.

Well obviously he is not exactly "legal" to be used in a typical game of SoBH or FiFu.  Just wanted a thematic story game.  But I witnessed quite a few of the new FiFu traits working quite well.  

Low Kick finished off a couple of the goblins.  Tailslap helped alot against Volgrumm.  Veteran Group Fighter was the only way to prevent the goblins advantage in numbers.  Roll with the Punch and Evade & Counter worked beautifully.  Combat Master is always great.  Having Expert Block and Heavy Armor seemed like cheating when he also had Roll with the Punch and Evade & Counter, but oh well, its all for fun.

I did come across a question regarding Dashing.  I'll ask over on the playtest forum.  http://tablewarfare.com/boards/index.php

Thanks for reading!