The campaign has wrapped up this last week, and as usual - I'm a week late with the S2 game wrapup...so here it is, the latest one to be neglected in the publication schedule:
The Forest of Shadows
2012 Warmachine Campaign
There is no question the Kingdom of Llael has faced fewer tests of it's mettle mightier than those it now faces. Having been without a King for at least eight years, the small country has recently been subjugated it's larger and aggressive neighbor - the Empire of Khador.
Many nobles have been caught up in the courtly intrigues that plague the Llaelese Council of Nobles, many for years. Each jockeys for position, even as they kowtow to their Khadoran oppressors. However, not every noble in the last decade has busied themselves with such nonsense.
Many years ago, a Llaelese Baron named Du Vantaine was one of the last King's most proficient warcasters. He took the threat of Khador seriously, but never got quite the political following it would take to do much more than take minor preparations to defend his homeland from invasion and war. The Baron traveled far and wide, meeting with other magic users from all walks of life in order to learn all he could that may help prevent what he saw as inevitable - war between Llael and Khador.
As the Baron traveled the realms, he grew more and more detached from the Council of Nobles and the court of the Llaelese King. When the last King died, Du Vantaine retreated to his castle at the edge of the kingdom, in a remote forest near the Khadoran Willow Barrens. There, he began to experiment in secret...
When the invasion came and the Khadoran warriors attacked the castle, they made a dark discovery. The entire castle was bristling with warjacks, and a single warcaster stood upon the battlements. The very forest itself seemed to turn against the attacker, and a fierce battle ensued. An entire company of soldiers were deployed there, and to a frightening result.
At least five Khador warcasters were killed, and nearly two hundred men. This devastating damage was done by a single warcaster - the Baron himself. There are many rumors as to how this was accomplished. Some of the few surviving soldiers tell of a huge magical orb in the courtyard discharging disintegrating beams. Others speak of the frightening warjacks of unknown design the Baron commanded. All this, along with a huge loss of warjacks (around twenty) prompted the Khadoran forces to set the castle to ruin and leave the area.
Now, the castle has seemingly rebuilt itself. The ruined castle is ruined no more, but the forest where it is located has turned to a dreary and desolate haunt. Now, years after the battle - the place is shunned by those who live nearby, and the Khadoran army has yet to return to the area. In this dark place, our warcasters converge on separate missions, all to the same place. Castle Du Vantaine houses many secrets, and if even a few of them are true there will be another great battle here.
Some say the Forest of Shadows is haunted. They say that the dead walk, and that the woods themselves come alive to strangle the life from the living. Still others speak darker tales in frightening whispers. Some even say that the Baron has returned to Castle Du Vantaine, despite having been reportedly killed in the invasion.
The Forest of Shadows is the 2012 campaign for Warmachine at the Wargate!
The campaign will take the form of a three segment round robin, with scores calculated from performance during the campaign. All normal battle rules apply, and players need only have 15 point forces in order to participate, but players can play any size game that's mutually agreeable.
Each scenario will be determined randomly as in the rulebook.
Each warcaster will play each other warcaster three times, earning Campaign Points as they battle. Battles can be played any time until two battles have been played against each opponent. The final round can only commence once all other games are played, and represents the warcasters reaching the castle.
A win is worth 3 points, a loss is worth 1 point, and the unlikely draw is worth 2 points. Campaign Points will accrue for all battles played during the campaign, and players will have between 9 and 27 by the end.
Each warcaster will also have a calculated Influence score, which is their current win percentage. This starts at 0%, and by winning all 9 games players can finish with an Influence score of 100%. This represents your warcaster's dominance of the lands around Castle Du Vantaine as the campaign progresses.
The Adjusted Score (or Final Score) is obtained by multiplying your Campaign Points by your Influence rating. This score will be used in the final rankings, and our 1st Place winner will receive a commendation for their outstanding performance! As always, the final ranks will dictate the outcome of the narrative of the campaign!
The following warcasters are making their way to Castle Du Vantaine, each on their own separate mission and unaware of the danger they are walking into. Some come for money, others out of patriotism or religious fervor. Each seeks an artifact of immense power that they believe was responsible for the Baron's reported powers.
Lt. Allister Caine has been dispatched by Cygnar Command to investigate the site of the Khador defeat and ascertain it's cause. A secondary objective is to locate the Baron's personal papers, correspondence or perhaps a journal. Caine will have to fully explore the castle, which may turn out to be a perilous task indeed.
High Exemplar Kreoss is come from the Protectorate, to do battle with Menoth's defilers. The Baron Du Vantaine was a devout Menite, and had performed great deeds on behalf of the church in his youth. Du Vantaine was a powerful enchanter, and his faith in the Creator was total. He spent a year on a holy crusade in Cygnar, and at the height of his piety created an enchanted spear of legendary power. With this spear he smote the worshippers of the Devourer Wurm all across the east, before returning to his homeland. The spear is known as the Lance of Ancient Law, and Kreoss is certain it exists, and the Khadorans do not possess it - he has seen it in his dreams. This prophecy is the gift of the Creator, and High Exemplar Kreoss will serve him.
Warwitch Deneghra has come here at the bidding of Toruk, on the trail of the magical artifact her master desires. The Sphere of Remissal has surfaced again, and after long centuries the Dragon himself wishes for the return of his creation. Forged from a fragment of his essence in the heart of the world, the Sphere has many powers - one of which is known as the Seal of Unmaking. Deneghra herself feels attuned to the Sphere after the Lord Toruk made his will known - not only can she find the artifact, but she will understand how to use it...
Mercenary Drake MacBain has been commissioned to reconnoiter and if possible secure the Castle Du Vantaine at the border of Llael and Khador. Since he's accepted the job from the Guilders, Drake has heard a few stories about the place the locals call the Forest of Shadows. His interest piqued, he's very interested in finding out more about these warjacks who reportedly outperformed the Khadoran army by such a wide margin. Surely such a piece of machinery would look fine next to his Nomads.
Campaign statistics are presented in this section, with updates to follow. The first two rounds take place in the forest itself, but the final round takes place at Castle Du Vantaine.
Exemplar Kreoss
has seized the
Lance of Ancient Law!
has seized the
Lance of Ancient Law!
Campaign Updates
The Creator must truly condone the purpose of the Protectorates' more recent acts of aggression, as Skim totally pulled ahead of everyone once again during our campaign! Exemplar Kreoss and his Cinerators have but a boot in, and defeated all the wards and traps of Castle Du Vantaine to obtain the mystical artifact he had pursued there.
 |
| Domination by Exemplar |
- Skim: Exemplar Kreoss, 1st Place - 11.11 CP
- Captain Video: Warwitch Deneghra, 2nd Place - 8.44 CP
- Dirty Greg: Drake MacBain, 3rd Place - 5.33 CP
- Dave Bone: Lt. Caine, Dead Last - 2.89 CP
Not exactly the same placings as our last small campaign, but very similar. Captain Video's Warwitch did some serious damage this time, preying on the weak and advancing the cause of Lord Toruk. Drake MacBain and Lt. Caine battled for Dead Last, and of course I got Dead Last.
Hey, I got both Dead Lasts this season. I'm glad we only hand out certificates for one each season.
Exemplar Kreoss entered the gates of Sul with his head held high. The banners billowed in the wind, and the magical lance he'd recovered from the haunted fortress was gripped in his hand. He held it point high, so the white Menite pennant could be seen by every peasant and lord.
The procession greeted Kreoss and his warriors near the city's cathedral district. Kreoss motioned to the lords that had gathered, among them scrutators of his own faith. He offered the lance to the most senior of the priests that had joined the throng, and all the while the ranks of the Exemplars in Kreoss's procession moved into the small plaza where they had stopped.
"This is the Lance of Ancient Law." Kreoss intoned, and the priests dropped to their knees in praise of Menoth. "I have brought the artefact here as was Menoth's will. You are to safeguard it from evil in the lowest and best guarded vaults of the cathedral." Kreoss's instructions were concise and clear, and there was little the assembled priests could do but bear witness to the Lance's coming back to Sul.
"Are you certain..." one of the priests began, but Kreoss raised his hand to cut him off. The warcaster gestured toward the lance, now in the hands of the elder priest. "Look for yourself." The skeptic began to gaze at the weapon, and his eyes glazed over. There was a nimbus of bluish flame dancing around the pointed blade of the lance, and all assembled - save Kreoss and his Exemplars - gasped in awe.
"Soon, our nation will have a need of the magic in this lance. You must safeguard it until I return." With this Kreoss turned, rejoined his procession and began to climb atop his mount. The priests' puzzled looks turned to panic when they realized Kreoss intended to simply leave, to continue to enact Menoth's will elsewhere.
"Exemplar?! What are we supposed to do?" the senior priest cried out as the lance flared to life in his startled hands.
"Take it to the Visgoth. I must off." Kreoss flatly replied, checking his gear for riding. He still had to get fresh supplies for his knights before the returned to the front. The priests were not yet satisfied, however.
"Why must we be prepared?" one of them barked, obviously indignant at how they'd been treated by the knights.
"All of the battles of late have been skirmishes, priest. Yet soon, we will have a real war on our hands."
The procession greeted Kreoss and his warriors near the city's cathedral district. Kreoss motioned to the lords that had gathered, among them scrutators of his own faith. He offered the lance to the most senior of the priests that had joined the throng, and all the while the ranks of the Exemplars in Kreoss's procession moved into the small plaza where they had stopped.
"This is the Lance of Ancient Law." Kreoss intoned, and the priests dropped to their knees in praise of Menoth. "I have brought the artefact here as was Menoth's will. You are to safeguard it from evil in the lowest and best guarded vaults of the cathedral." Kreoss's instructions were concise and clear, and there was little the assembled priests could do but bear witness to the Lance's coming back to Sul.
"Are you certain..." one of the priests began, but Kreoss raised his hand to cut him off. The warcaster gestured toward the lance, now in the hands of the elder priest. "Look for yourself." The skeptic began to gaze at the weapon, and his eyes glazed over. There was a nimbus of bluish flame dancing around the pointed blade of the lance, and all assembled - save Kreoss and his Exemplars - gasped in awe.
"Soon, our nation will have a need of the magic in this lance. You must safeguard it until I return." With this Kreoss turned, rejoined his procession and began to climb atop his mount. The priests' puzzled looks turned to panic when they realized Kreoss intended to simply leave, to continue to enact Menoth's will elsewhere.
"Exemplar?! What are we supposed to do?" the senior priest cried out as the lance flared to life in his startled hands.
"Take it to the Visgoth. I must off." Kreoss flatly replied, checking his gear for riding. He still had to get fresh supplies for his knights before the returned to the front. The priests were not yet satisfied, however.
"Why must we be prepared?" one of them barked, obviously indignant at how they'd been treated by the knights.
"All of the battles of late have been skirmishes, priest. Yet soon, we will have a real war on our hands."
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