Welcome to the Last Chance War, a site tracking an ongoing Map Campaign set in the turbulent Border Princes, a lawless realm to the south of Games Workshop's Warhammer World. Each campaign turn, armies move around on the map below, attempting to capture as much ground as possible and when they meet, a game of Warhammer is played to determine the victor. Losing armies have to withdraw onto a friendly map section. After all the battles have been played another campaign turn begins with the armies moving again.
Benefits of Capturing Ground
The more land each force controls, the more resources they can bring to bear in their battles against their enemies.
At the end of each campaign turn, count up the number of map territories each force controls. Each force gains one army for every three map territories.
In addition:
· For each HQ territory they control (generally one) they get one extra army
· Special territories (bordered in red) count as two territories
If new armies are created, they appear in a capital owned by that force.
If another army is present in the capital then at least one must move (as no more than one army can hold a map section).
Strategic Movement
When armies meet, a mighty clash of arms is the result, either one side or the other being forced to withdraw.
At the start of each campaign turn, initiative is determined randomly. This decides the order in which the forces will be allowed to move. Each force has only one opportunity to move its armies when its turn comes, but may leave them in place if it wishes.
Each army may move to one adjacent map section. If an enemy army is present in that section then a battle is fought in the coming campaign turn.
Once an army has been Engaged in this way it cannot move away, even if the owning force has yet to have its move.
Only one friendly army or two opposing armies can ever share the same map section.
Unless using a bridge section, an army must roll a 3+ to be able to cross a river and move on. Placement on the map indicates which side of the river the army is on. If the roll is failed, the army still crosses the river must may not leave the map section.
Fortifying
Sometimes it is wise for an army to dig in and act defensively, especially if overwhelming enemy forces are on the way.
An army that remains stationery may Fortify its position instead of moving. Fortified armies are bordered by a heavy black line on the map. Fortifying means that they gain an additional 10% points if they are attacked.
Supporting Armies
The careful maneuvering of armies to support friends and allies is of critical importance.
When battle occurs… For every friendly unengaged army in an adjacent map section, the army in battle gains an extra 10% points over its opponent.
If the supporting army is not of the same race as the fighting army then the additional 10% troops are fielded from the allied army list. Overall, the combined army must meet the usual criteria regarding the distribution of points to the differing sections of the army list.
Once the Strategic Movement Phase is over, supporting armies become bordered in yellow. Only those armies highlighted in this way may offer support. Allied armies who begin the turn engaged may not offer support, even after their game has been played (they are too busy kicking ass).
Winning Battles
The victor holds the battlefield.
At the end of a game of Warhammer, the losing army must withdraw to a friendly map section – either one they own or one owned by an ally.
If no friendly map sections are available OR if the game concludes in a massacre, the army is Scattered and disappears is moved back to its capital. In the following turn it possesses only 50% of the points of its opponent if brought to battle.
Attacking Capitals
Ultimately, capturing the realms of your enemies and destroying them utterly is your goal.
If a force loses its capital it has three campaign turns to recapture it before its men are scattered forever.
During this period it cannot create any new armies and scattered armies will have nowhere to reconstitute themselves at the end of the campaign turn.
Attacking capitals is difficult however. There is a standing force of 25% of the size of the attacking army in addition to the benefits of holding a fortress.
General Principles of Strategic Movement
The order in which armies move weighs heavily on a force’s ability to take the initiative. A force that finds itself close to the end of the list will have limited ability to capture ground and will be placed in more of a defensive position.
The following goals are worth bearing in mind when moving armies:
o It is always best to capture new ground
o Moving through your own realms (though sometimes unavoidable) does not expand the realm
o Only fight supported battles if possible. Plan strategically to move allied armies into supporting positions
o Think long-term
o Red bordered Special Realms give double the bonus for ownership
o Capturing capitals wins the game but doing so without sufficient support will lead to a loss
o Use roads and rivers for swift movement
o Be careful about overextending your forces. Remain close to supporting armies
o The ideal is to capture ground without going to battle
o Locking enemy armies in place stops them from invading your realms
o The ideal is to capture ground without going to battle
o Locking enemy armies in place stops them from invading your realms
Random Events
Prior to counting up map sections at the end of a campaign turn, roll for each army on the Random Events table. These provide a range of interesting events that will greatly affect the upcoming turn.
