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.

2019-06-14: 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!

Cave Troll Rebased

I also managed to get Tiny's base finished for tomorrow's game.

I expect him to be found in the midst of the action, probably taking on Boromir and/or the Knight of Dol Amroth, and it will be interesting to see how he fares against those Human heroes!

In about 12 hours, Emil and I should be stooped over the Age of Fantasy Skirmish table in Argonor's Attic, rolling dice and probably enjoying a beer or two, and with 250 points a side, a game probably lasts for between one and two hours, which would give us time for a re-match if we feel like it.

But that is for tomorrow - now I shall soon be turning in for the night to get some sleep and be fit for tomorrow's ordeal!

Rebasing a Mordor Troll WIP

I did not paint this big fella; he was part of one of the big lots I bought several years ago, but now that we are playing Age of Fantasy Skirmish, he is likely to see some action with my Mordor Orcs, so I thought it wise to get him based on a large washer for added transportability (stability when transported in a box with a magnetic sheet at the bottom).

They Have a Cave Troll!

For Thursday, when I have an appointment with Emil for playing Age of Fantasy Skirmish, I am re-basing this Cave Troll to use as support for my Moria Goblins.

Emil is going to command a Gondor patrol lead by Boromir, so I thought I might need to pack a bit of punch for the encounter, as Boromir and the Knight of Dol Amroth would otherwise surely just cut a swathe through the Goblin ranks.

I may not be able to finish the process in time, as I have to attend classes the next couple of days, but I think I should be able to at least get the base base-coated and covered in sand, so it will have to do as it is for that particular game.

I am also re-basing some Goblins, but I do not expect to use other than the Boss (metal) Goblin - the rest of the hunting party must stay on their slottas for now, while I work on another batch to take their place.

An Old Troll Getting a Base

The ancient Ral Partha troll is getting some attention.

I pondered long and hard, whether to remove a portion of the very thick integral base, before gluing the mini to the washer, but as it is a bit small as trolls go, I decided to keep the added height.

Tomorrow, I have a lot of tasks scheduled, so I shall probably not get much hobby time in, but as soon as I find an opportunitu to sit down at the prepping station, I shall put quite a large amount of filler on the base to make it look a bit more natural when textured, panted, and flocked.

Reaper Bones: Assorted Fantasy Stuff

Yesterday, I could finally pick up my parcel from Miniatures Giant, almost a month after I ordered (it only took it about a week to reach Denmark, the rest of the time it was held up by PostNord and Danish customs).

The Spiders, Trolls, and Mindflayer are firstly for SS&SS, while the Brass Bull is meant for rules like Broken Legions and OGAM (but can probably also figure in SS&SS), and the Fire Giants I intend to use as deities for OGAM (the Bodyguard for an army of LotR Dwarves, and the Princess probably for an African warband).

Fenris should be self-explanatory, I think.

But, really, they are all usable for multiple purposes, so all in all an interesting purchase!

So, instead of sitting here at the keyboard, I should be painting instead... 😏

2018-05-05: SS&SS, First Co-op Game, Part 3

So, after visiting one of my oldest friends and gaming buddies for a test run of Black Powder (more about that later) Sunday afternoon, and spending most of Monday sitting idle in Odense University Hospital, waiting for Anna to have her left knee surgically altered, waking up from anaesthesia, and getting the last instructions from the surgeon (we had to wait two hours, while he was doing another operation, because Anna had not woken in time before it), picking up a parcel from Miniature Giant (also more about that later), and spending another hour in the garden removing dandelions, I am now finally able to spend a little time with the laptop.

Finghal ran to safety, while Argesïl dragged himself along, and Rhagador stepped in a trap!

An Orc Brute spotted the crippled Rogue, and moved in for the kill. Saimon hit him twice with Magic Darts.

Argesïl spotted the approaching Orc, and made an extra effort to get away (three successful Activation Rolls, one result of '20' for an extra Action). Rhagador failed to break free.

Kentosh dispatched the Orc, while Duregar was looting, and Saimon helped Rhagador.

Argesïl finally made his way to safety. Only Rhagador remained of my party on the table, and he still struggled with the trap.

Kentosh avoided the Troll and moved closer to the edge. Ulitari joined Saimon's attempt to break Rhagador free, while Duregar placed himself to intercept the Troll, should it suddenly decide to eat some adventurers.

With the aid of two fellow adventurers, Rhagador broke free of the trap, and started following Kentosh.

More Orcs appeared, but Kentosh avoided them and left the area. Duregar and Ulitari both started following Kentosh, and I think Saimon was shooting Magic Darts after the Orcs, but either failed the spell or missed.

Rhagador made his way off the table.

The other party tried to avoid the Orcs, but they were caught by the horde, and Saimon went down!

The other two rushed in and killed the Orcs and as it turned out, Saimon had only suffered minor wounds.

More Orcs closed in!

The adventurers decided that they had seen enough blodshed for that day, and did not want to risk sustaining further injuries so close to escaping, so they ran off in the same direction as the others.

This ended a five-hour session (I have no idea why it took than long), and I shall chronicle the Campaign Activity Period of my party in another post.