The Dark Host Of Locutus The Mad
Billows of smoke filled the night air as fires consumed the town. The dreaded Dark Elf Noble, Locutus The Mad had raided in the dead of night and was pillaging, destroying and butchering the town and its folk. Wether this was for loot, pleasure or some sick ritual was not known, only that he was here and unless he was stopped, the town and its people would all die tonight, or worse.
Captain Burke had been fighting against the black-clad assailants since midnight until his guard was forced into rout and now, because of his failure, the town's fate looked grim indeed. However, he had regrouped the surviving guards and a mob of townsfolk in one last-ditch attempt to throw back the Dark Elves or die trying.
Failure would mean death or capture, success would mean living until tomorrow...
This was a 220 point Skirmish game fought inside a town. I was in control of a mass of Peasants and Men-At-Arms led by a Captain whilst my brother's Dark Elves were a small force led by his feared Noble, Locutus.
The Raiding Dark Elves:
- 10 Dark Elf Warriors with Hand Weapons, Shield and Light Armour.
- 1 Dark Elf Noble with Heavy Armour, Shield, Sea Dragon Cloak, Dark Steed Mount, Lance and Repeater Crossbow.
- 2 Cold Ones without riders. (They follow the Noble around because they are his pets).
The Defending Guards:
- 9 Men-At-Arms with Halberds and Light Armour.
- 1 Men-At-Arms Captain with Halberd and Light Armour.
- 10 Men-At-Arms with Spears, Light Armour and Shields.
- 20 Peasants with two hand weapons.
THE BOARD:
The board was set up as a town, with a main street down the middle that we would be setting up on either end of. Many small alleys went off to the side but didn't go anywhere exept into ruined buildings. The battlefield was set!
DEPLOYMENT:
I deployed in a huge mob on my board edge with no real tactics or idea of what I'm going to do, my men are obviously going to get in the way of each other in this cramped space. I have 40 men to move in a 10" wide space!.
The Dark Elves deployed in two forces, one with his Noble, four warriors and the Cold Ones deployed next to a really demolished buidling on the left side of the road. Six other warriors were deployed on the other side of the street, black-bladed swords at the ready.
I got a 5 and the Dark Elves got a 6, they go first!!!
DARK ELF TURN 1:
One of the Cold Ones passes its test while the other stands around looking dumb, the two groups of Dark Elves merge into a long line of troops ready to gut my men!
Locutus's Reapeater Crossbow fires a volley of small bolts into the crowd, most of them hit but don't wound.
BRETONNIA TURN 1:
My Peasants yell a challenge to the Dark Elves as my mob surges forwards, the Peasants forming a front rank so I don't suffer any early Men-At-Arms casualties.
No other stuff happens this turn, I have no bows, magic or combat.
DARK ELF TURN 2:
Both the Cold Ones pass their Stupidity tests, one of the Cold Ones roars and charges my foremost Peasant, who duly fails his fear test, meaning he now needs 6s to hit.
Locutus's Repeater Crossbow mows down one Peasant at the front of my mob, luckily for me, the Peasant is only Knocked Down.
After ripping the Peasant to shreds, the snapping jaws of the Cold One devour the corpse of the unfortunate Peasant. On the good side, after this gory display I now have two Peasants in charge range of the hungry beast, and my turn is next.
BRETONNIA TURN 2:
A peasant gets to his feet after being shot by the Repeater Crossbow bolt while my mob continues charging forwards, now they are only a turn or two from reaching the enemy line of Warriors. Two Peasants swallow their fear and charge the Cold One that has fresh Peasant blood on its snout.
The Peasants cannot pierce the thick hide of the Cold One, one of the Peasant is Knocked Down by the swinging tail of the beast.
DARK ELF TURN 3:
The Cold One that isn't fighting fails its Stupidity test again, dribbling contentedly. Locutus (The Noble) charges a Peasant who got too close to the line of Warriors, wicked lance pointing at the target's chest. Some of the Dark Elves from the line of warriors charge into combat, one joins in the fight to help the struggling Cold One.
A Peasant is killed instantly by the lance of the Noble, ouch! In the massive melees that have broken out across the table , 1 Dark Elf Warrior is slain, 2 Peasants are Knocked Down and 1 Peasant is Stunned. There are many combats all across the street.
BRETONNIA TURN 3:
3 Knocked Down Peasants get up from their daze. 1 Stunned Peasant starts to awaken.
Many Peasants join in the various fights while the Men-At-Arms try to get into combat. They are blocked by the mass of fighting commoners and will have to wait until a gap appears. The Captain shouts encouragement from back because he can't find a way through the hordes of people.
Screams of rage, agony and death rip through the air as 3 Peasants and 2 Dark Elf Warriors die in the combats. The Noble's armour protects him from harm.
DARK ELF TURN 4:
Now needing to take Rout tests, the Dark Elves pass their test. The Cold One that is battling passes its Stupidity test yet again, the other one fails it again. It must be watching something else.
More Dark Elves charge, making the line of warriors thicker. The combats block any assistance from Men-At-Arms, who are stuck in the street behind the fights, which go from one side of the street to the other!
The battle continues to claim lives as 1 Warrior is killed by Men-At-Arms and the Noble kills 2 Peasants. Also, a Warrior is Knocked Down and a downed Peasant is wounded but not killed.
BRETONNIA TURN 4:
A Peasant gets up, the cacophony of battle ringing in his ears.
Finally finding a way into combat over the corpses of friend and foe, the Men-At-Arms join in the fray. A small force of Peasants and two Men-At-Arms run through a small gap in the fighting to try and attack the Dark Elves from behind, but instead find themselves facing the Stupidity-test-failing Cold One, they hope it fails its next test. A mound of Peasants swarm Locutus.
The Swame manages to wound Locutus twice, Knocking Down the Noble from his horse. 1 Man-At-Arms and 2 Peasants are stunned.
DARK ELF TURN 5:
Locutus gets to his feet and the Rout test is passed.
Both Cold Ones pass their Stupidity tests. The Cold One which finally passed its Stupidity test charges a Peasant who, reeling in fear, now needs 6s to hit.
Locutus stuns a Man-At-Arms who had a halberd. The other combats end in a lot of Knocked Down people and one or two Stuns, but nothing else.
BRETONNIA TURN 5:
2 Stunned Peasants begin to regain their senses, some Men-At-Arms climb to their feet.
The combats become more furious as more Peasants and Men-At-Arms join in the fight, forcing holes in the enemy line.
Locutus hacks at the Peasant and gets a Knocked Down result. The Cold One that had been in combat since turn 2 is finally Stunned by a heavy attack from a Peasant. No other wounds happen.
DARK ELF TURN 6:
2 Dark Elf Warriors get up. A roll of 8 sees the Dark Elves just pass their Rout test, the not-stunned Cold One passes its Stupidity test. The other Cold One becomes Knocked Down from stunned, while the Dark Elf Noble Locutus gets onto his Steed. Will this combat never end!
2 Peasants are Knocked Down, 2 Men-At-Arms die and 1 Dark Elf Warrior is killed in the huge fights across the board. I now will need to make Rout tests!!! Dispite the carnage caused to my men, I have managed to force many small holes in the enemy line, weaknesses which I shall attempt to use to my advantage.
BRETONNIA TURN 6:
I pass the Rout test by the skin of my teeth.
Three Men-At-Arms charge the Cold One which is still standing, one of the Men-At-Arms fails his fear test and stands stupidly. A Peasant charges the Dark Elf Noble, shouting a war cry as he comes.
The Knocked-Down Cold One is slain by a brutal blow that kills the beast instantly, A Peasant and a Man-At-Arms are both Knocked Down in the fights that still ring out across thee street.
DARK ELF TURN 7:
A 3 passes the Rout test easily. The now lone Cold One passes its Stupidity test, oh great, just when I start to attack it, it suddenly gets smart.
Locutus hacks down at one Peasant, Knocking the poor wretch down. Dark Elf Warriors stun 1 Peasant and knock another down.
BRETONNIA TURN 7:
I pass my Rout test.
A small army of men get up from being knocked down. Most of my remaining men charge at Warriors. With me so greatly outnumbering my foes, there are now many two, three or four-on-ones. The fight against the Noble is three Men-At-Arms and two Peasants against him! My hope was that, although better armed and trained, the Elves wouldn't be able to stand against such great odds.
Two Men-At-Arms are stunned and one killed by the Noble's attacks, a pathetic set of return attacks do no harm on the fine warrior. Elsewhere one Peasant is slain and one Knocked Down.
DARK ELF TURN 8:
A 9 just passes the Rout test. The lonesome Cold One fails its Stupidity test and looks around for something else to do other then fight.
1 downed Dark Elf Warrior gets to his feet.
One Dark Elf Warrior is killed in the big fights! Joining the tally, the momentarily Stupid Cold One is slain, and another Dark Elf warrior is Knocked Down. This is what I was hoping for!
BRETONNIA TURN 8:
I pass my Rout test.
Three Stunned people start to get better. My Captain tries to steal the glory by charging Locutus, along with three of his friends. Every enemy on the board is surrounded by at least three Bretonnians, and I still have people not in combat!
2 Peasants die on the swords of the Dark Elves but take one Warrior with them. Locutus butchers my Captain.
DARK ELF TURN 9:
Last four DE pass thier Rout test, these guys are persistant!
In a good round of combat, two more Dark Elves die and only take 1 Peasant along with them. A harsh blow from Locutus stuns a Peasant.
BRETONNIA TURN 9:
I JUST pass my Rout test with a 7, that was close!
Masses join the combat against the Noble and the last Druchii Warrior, the last Warrior is surrounded by 5 men and the Noble is completly surrounded.
Locutus is Knocked Down while the Warrior is stunned.
DARK ELF TURN 10:
The few remainign Dark Elves pass their Rout test. The Noble gets on his horse and the Dark Elf Warrior gets a little better.
I Stun the last Warrior again. The Noble swats down two Halberdiers. Now I just need to kill these last two Elves...
BRETONNIA TURN 10:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I fail my Rout test!!! My men flee!!! My 24 men run from 2 Elves! Why!!! WHY!!! (ahem) Good game, though.
THE END OF THE GAME:
Bretonnian Kills: 11
Dark Elf Kills: 16
Bretonnian Survivors: 24
Dark Elf Survivors: 2
That was quite a game, I took down most of the Dark Elves but that last roll meant my men ran in fear from the combat prowess of the Noble! A fully enjoyable match all-in-all and a well-spent hour or so. Since my brother and I played the game quicker than I expected it to finish, I managed to do a "comments" section for this battle:
Sir Gindle: You see what happens when you trust common-folk? I needed a Paladin...
Seriously though, I may have taken down most of his Dark Elf Warriors but I didn't have many things which could hurt the Noble. My additional weapon-armed peasants just couldn't get through his armour enough and my Halberd-armed Men-At-Arms were off dispatching the Warriors.
Locutus used his troops well, lining up where I couldn't do four or five on ones where his men would be butchered, until about turn 6 when I broke through the line. During the combats, I fared well with the Peasants (two attacks, even at WS 2, is good) but my spear-armed Men-At-Arms had trouble getting through the 4+ armour save of his Warriors.
One last thing and then I'm done, my Captain was as inspiring in combat as a lump of dirt, he was chopped, butchered and massacred in the first turn of combat he entered. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. At the end of the day, Locutus won fair and square, and I did have lots of fun with this game.
Locutus The Mad: I certaintly only just made it out of that one. My Dark Elf warriors, armed with swords instead of spears for that extra point of armour, did admirably. Praise also goes to the Cold Ones, who killed a few peasants, but more importantly, held up many of them with their high toughness and good armour save. My noble (fully converted, of course) did well also, killing some peasants, men-at-arms and the captain too. However, a few times he almost bit the dust, so luck was with him. There was also one peasant I have to give praise too, as he managed to kill two of my Warriors, and disable a Cold One. Locutus had to personally kill him to bring the stubborn commoner down. I was also glad at least one my men survived, because returning home to Naggaroth with all your soldiers dead doesn't garner you much respect.
My main tactic was to deploy in a long line that would prevent the overwhelming number of Bretonnians to swarm around me, and afford them only two-on-one at best, and kill as many as possible as quickly as possible. The fairly low LD of the bravest Bretonnian was 7, compared to the LD of my noble of 9. I knew I just had to hold out long enough for the horde to break, as there was no way I could kill them all, there were just far too many. Luckily, my plan worked, and Locutus The Mad holds sway for now......
Locutus swept his dark blade through the chest of another peasant, as the blade cut through the ribs of his hapless foe, a scream of agony bellowed from the peasant as he fell, dead, to the ground in a pool of crimson blood. These fools had swarmed him and would pay the price!
The Captain, Burke, stepped forward, halberd ready, to do battle with this horrid reaper of death and pain. He swung his weapon towards the head of Locutus but the deft Noble cut the halberd blade from the shaft with a quick flick of his blade, the Dark Noble continued the attack into the forehead of the Captain, cutting it off like a coconut shell and sending ichor about in a most grizzly fashion.
After watching that rather gruesome moment, Locutus gave a quick glance around at his forces and was surprised to see all but one of his men dead, Locutus would need to act quickly or be swamped and killed by these hairy, stupid humans. With a roar of defiance Locutus waded into the hordes of the enemy, cutting and impaling his foes as he went.
The humans were afraid of this reaper of death and fled from him, Locutus let them go, he had had enough bloodshed for today...
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