2019-08-06: Age of Fantasy Skirmish AAR

Emil and I duked it out in the garage attic once more - he playing the staunch defenders of Gondor, and I the devious Goblin horde.

We played the standard 4 Rounds.

We rolled only 3 objectives this time, and Emil won the deployment roll-off.

The first couple of photos show the table before deployment (almost - we had just begun placing units when I remembered to pull out the camera).

The next three pics show the forces deployed.

This photo I snapped to make sure that all Objective Counters were shown (there is one in the ruined throne room upper center right).

In Round 1 both forces sped forward - I was able to secure two Objectives, while Emil took the last.

In Round 2, the fighting commenced. The Gondorian wizard hit one of my Trolls with a Fireball which left it flat on its back. My Shaman failed horribly to cast Glare on the enemy Wizard.

I could not defend the Troll, and he was quickly dispatched at the beginning of Round 3. My other Troll took its place, was also hit by a Fireball, but shook off most of the effect. My Shaman failed another casting attempt.

Early in Round 4 it became clear that Emil could not shift the Goblins from any of the two Objectives I held, and we agreed to call it a day, with a 2-1 win for the Moria horde. Before that, my Shaman actually managed to Glare the Wizard, and managed to inflict a whooping 3 hits (on 2d6), and one of those was saved, leaving the Wizard to cast another spell.

The game could have gone either way, but I succeeded in taking and holding the two Objectives closest to my side of the table with the majority of my warband. I need to think up some alternative scenarios, though, as the game may get a bit samey.

2019-06-28: Åcon 2019, Friday

Last weekend, I attended the private event Åcon in Esbjerg (it was on pause last year) - a small 'invites only' gathering of gamers.

Rasmus Wichmann, probably the driving force behind Team Dread Streets, publishers of Dread Streets, the cinematic swashbuckling game, was present for a couple of hours, and I sat in on a simplified demo of said game.

It was very hot, and it probably influenced our ability to focus, but we managed to play it to an abrupt end, when Rasmus was called home. If I recall correctly, I was deemed winner (or second) because of some unused counters.

I then demoed One Page Rules Age of Fantasy Skirmish. I really need to make some mats large enough for this and other games!

At the end of Turn 4, The Goblins carried the day, holding 2 objectives against 1.

I think this late evening pic looks a lot like this one from 2016: https://argonor-wargames.blogspot.com/2016/07/acon-1-day-in-esbjerg.html

Moria Goblin 'Character' Re-based

Another metal Moria Goblin mini not painted by myself, but bought as part of a second hand lot.

I am going to use it as a 'Hero' in Age of Fantasy Skirmish, and a 'Lieutenant' in Age of Magic (if the list I use permits it - I actually have not checked it, yet...).

Again, his eye(s) need some attention, but that will be for another day.

I am trying to get a game arranged this weekend, so he has gotten ready just in time for joining the carnage!

Another Batch of Goblins Re-based

Another unit (not painted by me) for Age of Fantasy Skirmish rebased. Again. I shall probably have to go back and dot in some eye pupils, but right now I am too busy getting a bunch of minis re-based for AoFS and SAGA Age of Magic, and am about to paint a couple of models for the same purpose so I am skipping it for now.

Moria Goblin Characters NIB

I found these today (an also the War Drums), and I have already broken one of the Shamans open and started cleaning it up, as the last game of Age of Fantasy Skirmish told me that I have to bring a Wizard to the table.

I had to leave it half done, as the grass in the backyard needed mowing, and the weather was quite summerly today, and this evening we went to watch Dark Phoenix, but I expect to have plenty time for tinkering with little metal men tomorrow.

2019-06-14: Age of Fantasy Skirmish AAR

Emil and I played 400 points/5 Rounds Moria Goblins and Gondorians on a 4x6 table in the Attic this afternoon. The sunlight played tricks on my camera for the first couple of pictures, but the red dot marks an Objective Marker..

Boromir lead a force headed by two Knights of Dol Amroth, and supported by the more arcane arts of his father (having a Palantír in his possesson, Denethor seems fit for the rôle as 'Prophet' (Wizard)). I shall paint a Saruman or Gandalf (or even Radagast) somewhen soonish, but in the meantime, Denethor will have to do.

As I have not been able to locate my Mori Goblin Shaman (I know I have one, somewhere, alongside some Goblin War Drums, and a Moria Goblin King (I think it is called)), but in exactly what box they are situated eludes me completely), I have not painted him up for the Goblin force, either, but instead I bolstered their ranks with another Troll (of the Mordor kind).

 

The positions after Round 1:
My Goblins had seized two of the four objectives, while the Gondorians clamed the one on their far left.

In Round 2, the action was focused near the only non-claimed Objective, and the large tree in the center.

Denethor attempted to cast a Fireball, but failed miserably, and my Trolls seemed to have forgotten how to use a hammer.

Round 3.
Denethor all but annihilated a Goblin spearmen unit with a fireball, but was the rapidly dispatched by some archers and my Boss.

The Mordor Troll almost single handedly held back the humans, while the Goblins fell like ripe fruit.

A handful of Goblin archers rushed for the far right Objective, but were spotted by Boromir who failed to wipe them out, and the Objective changed hands.

Round 4.
Both forces were worn down at this point, and the game really hang in the balance.

Round 5 started with the Goblins taking Break Tests.
I tried out my house rules for this, and as I had one Hero standing, each unit rolled two dice and picked the best result. Some of the Goblins farthest away from the Boss broke and ran away (among those the archers guarding the objective in the central ruin, which was kind of a bummer).

I tried very hard to kill off the last Gondorians within reach of the ever contested objective on my left, but the dice were not in my favour, and I had to give up.

As the objective in the central ruin could no longer be defended, the outcome of the fight at the tree was no longer of any consequence, as Gondor would inevitably end up controlling at least two Objectives, while I could only hope for keeping my single one (Boromir having reclaimed the opposite flank), so we called it a day.

Conclusion:

It was a tense and close fought game, and I still really like the simplicity and fast flow of the One Page Rules.
Had I managed to kill a single human more in Round 4, the Gondorians would also have had to take Break Tests at the start of Round 5, which might have changed the outcome decisively. As it were, I did not have the necessary luck with the dice (especially my Trolls were not able to hit a barn with their warhammers), and I may have been focusing a tiny bit too much on taking/holding Objectives, instead of killing the opposition.

We shall definitely play this game some more - but I also want to get some Grimdark Firefight and SAGA Age of Magic up and running, so I think I am looking at a busy summer!

Moria Goblins Rebased

I finished the bases on these two units for One Page Rules Age of Fantasy Skirmish (I did NOT paint the guys in red), and they should see some action later today, when I have an appointment with Emil and a couple of beers.

As with all my Moria themed stuff, I went for the grey rubble look. That may make them stand out a bit from my other minis, but when gaming in their natural habitat, it should enhance the overall experience!

2019-06-06: Age of Fantasy Skirmish, Goblins vs Gondorians, Game 2

We played 350 points right after a short trip to the local store for a cold sixpack. This time the Objective Roll yielded only 3 Objectives, and they were distributed evenly across the table.

Initial setup from the Gondorian side

I quickly seized the Objective on my right, while Emil moved fast to control the other two. I then pushed forward with my Cave Troll and a bunch of Goblins between the center and left Objectives, making it possible to go for either.

At the same time, a single unit was running fast forward on my extreme left to outflank the enemy.

The Minas Tirith Knight succeeded in skewering Tiny on his lance, removing him from the equation, and I was pretty certain, I had now lost the opportunity to take a second Objective.

At this point, though, the Gondorians had lost more than half their models, and each of their units on the table now had to take a Rout Test. As most of the units have a Quality of 5+ or 6+, the Gondor Force crumbled right away, which was kind of meh...



Conclusion:

This was the first time I encountered the Rout Test, and I must say, I think it is far too brutal.

Heroes, per the rules, provide a re-roll of any results of '1' for models within 6" of them, but this is still not good enough, I think.

My suggestion will be as follows:

Each Hero within 12" of a unit provides one extra dice for Morale Tests. That means that a unit within 12" of one Hero would roll two dice and pick the best result for the test (three dice if within 12" of  two Heroes, and so on).

The unit may re-roll one failed dice for each Hero within 6" (not only results of '1').

This way it is possible to bolster the ranks by spreading out the heroes among the common troops, and being close to a Hero will actually strengthen the resolve of the warriors.

We shall have to try this, of course, before we put it down as a solid house rule, but I really do not like to win a game by default, because my opponent's army is smaller.