Vengeance of the Men of Stone

Men of Stone (Tim) vs Wood Elves (Gill) 

The Men of Stone had been ambushed and defeated in deep woods by a cowardly attack from both sides by the Wood Elves of Linwe.

But this time they controlled the theatre of battle. This time they determined the location and moment of attack.

This time they would utterly annihilate their enemies.

The Knights of Ebon Scar and their monstrous lizards caught the Wood Elves in the open and cracked the mass of their forces hard into the centre of the Elven phalanx, even a, far to the west, the Orcs did the same thing. 

 It didn't matter that the slim creatures fought hard, or that they took casualties themselves.

This was a battle that the Knights of Ebon Scar refused to lose.

 

With their huge Terminator knights crashing into the flailing claws of the Bloodwood Drakes, glistening magical blades brought down the great beasts.

The Knights were unstoppable and the Wood Elves of Linwe came to understand their folly in facing them. 

Massacre at River's Side

Orcs & Goblins (Tim) vs Wood Elves (Gill)  

The Wood Elves didn't know what hit them.

But on the edge of the River Trebleca where it wound round to border their realm, the Orcs and Goblins roared into battle on chariot and steed, pounding into the Elven ranks as, in their surprise, they floundered to respond.

More and more Goblins poured through the trees, hacking at the Elven forces and nothing they could do could fend them off.

That is until not one but two Bloodwood Drakes glided across the river and cracked into the flank of the Orc advance.

But it wasn't enough.

The Orcs and Goblins kept coming, a seemingly endless line of clattering spike-endowed chariots, smashing into every unit send to combat them.

The Elves had no choice but to withdraw, the wolves and goblins snapping at their heels.

And the Realm of The Wood Elves became suddenly horrifyingly smaller.

Massacre of the Men of Stone

Wood Elves (Gill) vs Men of Stone (Tim) 

 

Deep within Bloodroot Forest, Felix Wulf led his Men of Stone to war.

Down an ancient track through the trees the towering lizards moved slowly, the most powerful of the strange otherworldly knights marching steadily with them. They did not speak or pause for rest, but marched continuously, never breaking stride, utterly composed and focused.

Felix Wulf signalled the Sorcerer coming on behind that he would streak ahead to scout the path and ensure their safety then he and the mighty tyrannosaur disappeared in the gloom of the close forest path.

No sooner was he out of sight and earshot when the foliage broke as a massive Wood Elf contingent broke cover on both sides of the lane and attacked in sudden and deadly ambush; not one, but two of the frightening Bloodwood Drakes in their ranks. 

Confounded by the sudden onslaught, the Men of Stone turned about to attack but the Wood Elves were too swift and far too bitter from their previous defeat. Warhawks swept in from hidden branches and slew one of the lumbering creatures as flurries of bowfire brought down the second. 

The Men of Stone Sorcerer tried to conjure fell magics of the Sky Gods but fickle chance fumbled his incantations and a terrible explosion was unleashed in his very midst, slaying his own warriors.

The massive Terminator knights charged into the fray but their armour meant nought to the mighty dragons and they were slaughtered by tooth and claw. As the warriors fell the Wood Elves closed in further, wiping out a scouting party as they tried to relieve their comrades.

 The Sorcerer fell, his armour split and filled now with dark blood and the Knights of Ebon Scar were cut down until only one remained. He fought on against impossible odds and then he too, finally was slain.

Immediately, the Wood Elves melted from sight and fifteen minutes later, when Felix Wulf returned, all he found were the corpses.

The entire contingent had been massacred.

A Raid on Death Knell

Empire (Tim) vs Wood Elves (Gill) 

From out of the orchard they came: Wood Elves and their fey kin, spiteful spirits of the forest, eager to steal and burn.

The village of Death Knell had stood for centuries as its inhabitants quietly picked the magic-swollen fruit from the trees and made their wine, and in recent decades, the Elves had come to snatch away damsels and boys for their sacrifice on the Bloodroot Altar - only taking a couple at a time. Now though, something had changed. Now the Elves were here in force; now they were intent on only one thing: devastation!

They wanted Death Knell burned to the ground and every one of its patrons dragged off into the forests to be killed. The purpose of the dread ritual this would precipitate was impossible to guess, but Maglor Telemnar, commander of the Elves of Linwe, was clearly ready to step up his campaign.

However he hadn't reckoned on the brave men of New Sylvania!

They were ready for the Elves, prepared as much as could be for the raid, a large force of men stopped here for provisions before pushing on to destroy the Wood Elf capital. Their scouts had signalled the almost silent Elven approach and they had time to take up positions.

As screaming Dryads dragged screaming children from their beds, others, wielding torches, set the buildings aflame. Glad Riders galloped down the lane that ran aside the great orchard, seeking to snatch up fleeing villagers, but knights awaited them, and leading the knights: Marcus von Drak himself, lord of all New Sylvania.

The knights clashed, easily devastating the unwary elven riders, but as Handgunners stationed in one of the buildings found it hard to draw a bead through the narrow gaps between the buildings, the Dryads, continued to set fires, capturing townsfolk all the while for their grisly sacrifices.

And as the forest spirits worked their evil, the Glade Guard let fly their flaming arrows at buildings across the way, setting them aflame and forcing the Handgunners to flee.

But the Greatswords and Swordsmen fought hard, ignoring the arrows from harassing Warhawk Riders, clashing with a Gargantuan Treeman and sending it off, hacking at the Dryads, steeled by the prayers of the three Warrior Priests who strengthened their cause.

And as they cleared the village, freeing the prisoners the Wood Elves had taken, they set to, extinguishing the flames that were taking the buildings.

Laden with captured victims, the last few Dryads emerged from one of the burning buildings but the knights were waiting for them and ran them down, hacking them to kindling.

The Wood Elf raid had been shattered, the fey folk sent to flee back into the woods.

The plans of Maglor Telemnar to gather sacrificial victims on an unprecedented scale had fell to nought. Though surely his dark plan and darker purpose, whatever it was, remained a potent fear.

But that was a worry for another day. For now, the men of the Empire, the men of New Sylvania, had won the day, and they had sent a message to the Elven capital of Linwe, hidden away in the centre of Bloodroot Forest. Four simple words:

We're

coming

for

you!

The Dead Fall, The Dead Rise & Chaos Blossoms

Tim (Spider Goblins) vs Gill (Tomb Kings) 

And in the south west as Nagash's dread magics had brought down meteors from the baleful green moon, a storm of magic swept the plains before Barak Varr. There the Chittering Horde descended on the Tomb Kings, wiping them out once more as the final battle between these forces drew closer. Every fight had been won by the goblins and this was no different.

Even as unholy sites were imbued with the power of Arcane Fulcrums, the wizards of both forces took command of the eldritch might, throwing devastating spells in all directions. 

It mattered nought. The Chittering Horde won as they ever had, crushing bone and banishing magic. 

The dead could no more stand against them than they could breathe again.

Tim (Skaven) vs Tomb Kings (Mike) 


And in the midst of the Border Princes, as Tomb Kings closed their skeletal claw around Spike Hole, the Skaven fought hard and bitterly. Again the power of the Arcane Fulcrums cascaded from the ground but again, the defending force were pressed to maintain control of it. The Tomb Kings tried to hurl the ratmen back from the field of blood but their power was not great enough.

Biding their power and not allowing their greed to risk losing control, the Skaven slew each enemy wizard, gaining the fulcrums and hurling the Tomb Kings back in turn.

Mike (Tomb Kings) vs Tim (Spider Goblins) 

But again in the south, scant miles from the gates of Barak Varr, the Chittering Horde finally outstretched itself. Drawing might from a new tome of ancient knowledge (the new Tomb Kings army book), the undead legion suddenly recovered the might that they had once used to slay every last dwarf in the Dwarfen City of the sea.

The Spider King and his unnumbered  crawling lackeys were more powerful than any living foe but this close to their fortress, the legions of death could not be defeated. It did not matter how great their strategy and how powerful their magic, the skeleton warriors showed no mortal weakness and an immortal strength.

In time, they drove off the goblins and their spider mounts, signalling their first defeat in this lengthening war and blunting at last their seemingly unstoppable surge to capture Barak Varr.

Chaos Daemons (Tim) vs Wood Elves (Gill) - Massacre

And so evil battled evil, waxing and waning as the fates decried and in the north, the spiteful Elves of Linwe  skipped into battle with those most unholy of enemies, the Daemons of the Pernicious Gate.

But pure evil cannot be destroyed and undiluted malice lay at the heart of the daemons, where once, millennia before the Elves had known goodness. Bloodwood Drakes soared into the air to destroy the things before them but flames cast high brought the first one low before it had even the chance to roar.

 As the other Drake neared the Daemon lines, fire ripped the Wood Elf lord from its shoulders and the throng of unholiness brought the beast down, surrounded on all sides by the devilishly clever creatures of chaos.

The bloodletters hurled themselves into the onrushing ranks of Dryads and Treemen as Seekers of Slaanesh ran ranpant behid then Elven lines. And soon only daemonic flesh stood amidst the blood and corpses. Only daemonic voices screamed of victory.

On the Painting Table: The Coven of Shadows

I have been busy. 

Here are three miniatures that I'm using to represent the Coven of Shadows, special characters from my Wood Elf army featured in the History of the Elves & Dwarfs above.

I'll post more about their background and stats in future but for now, enjoy the slightly pornographic nature of the miniatures. 

I'm not entirely happy with the paint jobs (which felt a bit rushed to me), but they'll do for now. 

They are all Dark Sword miniatures: The Summoner, Demogorgan & Female Black Witch. 

Actually I'm a little embarrassed about the paint jobs up close but what the heck! They look great on the tabletop. 

And they're half naked women! This is the pinnacle of the hobby!  It doesn't get much better than this!

The Knights of Ebon Scar

Tim (Space Marines) vs Mike (Wood Elves) 

Arodor Naurven, the Scourge of Bloodroot Forest, narrowed his eyes, repositioning himself on the wide neck of his Bloodwood Drake, peering into the mist surrounding the village on the edge of the forest. 

He had thought he'd seen movement but it was unlikely. The village was long dead. His minions had seen to that. Every man, woman and child had been dragged from their dwelling and slain for no more reason than that it pleased him to give the order and see it carried out. 

No. No movement was possible, but he was sure he'd seen... something. 

Even if all that lay beyond the village was the Ebon Scar: the great rift that had formed overnight as a shooting star had sliced a deep swath in the earth.

Then from deep within the circling mist, he heard the growling as from a pack of powerful beasts. But this growling grew louder and louder; far louder than anything he had heard before. Still he could see nothing concrete but he gave flicking hand movements to his troops to take up station in preparedness. And they did, drawing hard on their bowstrings. 

And not a moment too soon. 

From out of the mists came something terrifying and almost outside of his comprehension; something that made no sense to his eyes nor his ears.

At a glance they might have been knights on steeds, but the crimson  armour of these knights was unlike anything he had seen. The beasts they rode roared and sped toward his waiting Elves, pouring out smoke in their terrible wake; churning up the earth as they went. And behind them soared some devilish flying steed. Not dragon or giant bird.

Something else.

Something new.

Surely something conjured by dark sorcery.

Then between the buildings came marching more of the knights, this time on foot, steam issuing from the massive packs on their backs as they came on without pause.

Arodour gave the signal and his Elves let fly their arrows but only one of the knights fell from the volley fire of his entire force, the arrows falling useless against the impenetrable armour of the knights.

The Elves sought out allied faces, questioning and not comprehending. And then the Knights of Ebon Scar raised their weapons, at once similar and entirely different from those born by Dwarf or Empire Handgunner. They opened fire and Arodor began to comprehend the scope of what he was facing.

 Wherever the shots of the Knight's weapons struck, there followed a fiery conflagration of light and noise, an explosion that ripped apart their targets with no hope of survival.

Arodor called for the spiteful hate-filled Dryads that he commanded to dart forward, branch-clawed hands flexing wickedly. No foe could battle for long against they rapid attacks and magical resilience.

But over the rocky outcroppings, more of the Knights came; but these wore massive structures on their backs that bore them up into their air amidst fumes and blasts of noise and power, before they crashed down in amongst the Dryads and hacked them to kindling.

Arodor commanded his Elves to hammer the unspeaking Knights with every arrow in their quivers, but still the Knights marched, uncaring. And they knew no fear. They were implacable.

With a glimmer of fear in his chest, Arodor rode his Bloodwood Drake into the thick of the fighting. The mighty dragon cared nothing for the strange indomitably of these foreign Knights. The power of it and its kind was unequalled in all the Border Princes.It ripped the Knights apart, ignoring the blasts from their weapons, sending them to rout, and Arodor, leapt down from its shoulders to join the battle himself; strike left and right against these new and unknown foes.

The Drake forced back the crimson blades of the enemy, but that was its downfall. Circling it on all sides, the Knights of Ebon Scar let loose a fell and unending volley of fire from their sinister weapons, tearing into the flank of the beast and bringing it down, even as it struggled to get back up; struggled to lash out at its tormentors.

Arodor fell to the side, knowing his doom was upon him; trying to lose himself in the smoke from the ripple of explosions. The Knights were closing in and all he could do now was crawl on his belly away from them, praying to his dark masters that their glowing eyes did not seek him out in the carnage of his dying mount.

All across the battlefield the Elves of his force were crying out in agony as they were cut down and all Arodor could think as he slipped away from it, leaving his men to their fate, was that this new force in the Border Princes was perhaps more powerful than anything he had ever faced before.

More powerful than anyone had ever faced before.

Intriguing News for Fantasy Fans

Thought I'd share this with the world...

The reason I got into Warhammer Fantasy in the first place was because the idea of pitting 40k against Fantasy was kind of exciting.

Did I do anything about it?

No I didn't... until now.


Next week, my good (but occasionally annoying) friend Mike and I will be pitting the Wood Elves of Linwe against the Knights of Ebon Scar.

... also know as Space Marines!

I've gone to some effort to come up with background justification for them being on the Warhammer World and I'm working on the rules for it as we speak. I'll post these when I've got them all sorted (including the army list I'm working from).

Suffice to say; stay tuned and we'll be seeing how Space marines fare against the pointy eared forest dwellers sooner rather than later!

I don't know about you but I can't wait!

Spotlight On... Forest Spirits of the Wood Elves

Going full steam ahead over on Conflict Valorax, my Warhamnmer 40,000 site, is leaving me precious little time to dedicate to that other most precious endeavour: Warhammer Fantasy. Still, I was perusing some of my Wood Elf Forest Spirits this morning and thought I'd bring them down off the shelf to get a closer look.

Dryads are lovely models. They aren't too expensive and they're reasonably quick to build (though sticking the arms on is a bit annoying with such a small surface area of join. It's possible to put a whole army of these together pretty quickly and in the old rules I'd have been more inclined to as these guys had great advantages in woody terrain. Now though... Not so much. They're still good, and with 2 Attacks each and high Strength and Weapon Skill they're nice to have around.

I painted mine the same colour as I did my trees: a Scorched Brown first coat and then Codex and Fortress Grey as highlights, picking out the leafy skirts in dark and lighter greens. I wanted to go a little further though so I purchased some of the amazing Clump Foliage; available from model shops, Hobbycraft, etc; and gave a suggestion of foliage on those bare upper branches.

Now this Treeman is one of the joint first Warhammer miniatures I ever bought (in a bulk buy from a kid in the paper) and for years I didn't use him because I thought he was crap. I didn't like his pose and he was far too small. I tried various ideas to change his pose but none panned out.

Then I had the idea of adding some spare branches from the Citadel Forest set. Some clump foliage later and voila! NOW he's one of my favourite models and the only one that I've managed to pull off (to my satisfaction) the glowing red eyes. Astute readers will have noticed that I FEAR eyes and tend to leave them shaded. I went a little further on this chap and am glad I did.

Tactical Review: Massacre at Dipswallow

MIKE:

I’d never played Wood Elves, even when I first collected Warhammer way back when, and to be honest I wasn’t sure what to do.  Should I stay back and ping my arrows at those stout little fellows or should I dive in for some good old fashioned hand to hand combat……? Well I did neither with my Glade Guard or Glade Riders.

In the first round of Dwarf shooting they decimated my Glade Guard and took out a few Glade Riders for good measure so that should have given me an idea of what to do.  This warning went unpunished and neither the Guard nor the Riders managed to get into combat all game.

My Treeman and Dryads were excellent.  I used them as a battering ram through the Dwarven ranks.  My Treeman killed (or for the sake of the campaign seriously wounded) Morgrim. The Treeman with the Ariels’ Blessing spell granting regeneration was an excellent combination. The lord on the mighty drake was awesome, hacking his way through the Dwarven crossbowmen and Thunderers.

Although my Wood Elf battle plan was very poor, luckily for me, Tims’ rolling was pretty poor after the first round of shooting.  His cannon misfired and blew up which was a relief and he had no luck in combat.

The pros for me with a new army were that Glade Riders and Guard aside, I thought my tactics were pretty much spot on.

The cons were that the magic was very weak and the initial set up of the army could have been better. 

Still victory was mine and the massacre of the dwarfs will live long in the memory…

TIM:

Well yet another massacre under my belt! When I lose I do tend to lose big.

Mike had been rather worried for some time about the rules for Morgrim, suspecting he was too powerful, but he need worry no more. Morgrim got his ass handed to him by that Treeman! I have to say, Treemen are amazingly tough – they really are! It was a big mistake to go up against it alone. Maybe avoidance should be my top strategy there.

My warriors, Thane and Battle Standard Bearer did okay for a while but that Treeman did them in too!

One thing I did do right and that was to bring the miners on behind the lines. This was a tactic I’d seen work well with Mike’s Skaven Gutter Runners in the past. Against a gun-line army it is fantastic but with an army that moves forward it isn’t so good. I tend not to take them against assaulting armies.

That dragon!

I must admit I have a problem with big monsters. They always seem to be my nemesis. And once again I’m left feeling a little bewildered. I was down on points in this game again so I just didn’t have enough men to fight my battles for me. It would be interesting to analyse how many uneven battles like this lead to disaster. It’s nice to have them to make the map movement worthwhile but in-game it can be a bit of a challenge.

Two things that did do well were my Gyrocopter and Quarellers: mowing down Elves by the dozen. My Thunderers didn’t do so well though. Mike was wise to them and didn’t come close enough for me to blast him!

As for the cannon! Once again – it could have really done a lot of damage… but didn’t. Boom.

And something for Wood Elf players to chew on… The Athel Loren spell that gives Regeneration (Ariel’s Blessing) did a massive amount to keep that Treeman alive. If it hadn’t been for that, maybe Morgrim would have at least weakened it enough to allow the warriors to chop it down!