House Ralpar

Today's post is by Jerry Wargate, who regales us with the tales of the elf-lords of the Gnarley Forest...

First Son of Ralpar, Lord of the North Umber, Ruros was raised in the last light of the once majestic circle of elvish royalty. Pushing away the court scholars best efforts to educate and refine him, Ruros preferred the clash of steel and the weight of the armor to the proper etiquette and taboo of court.  A warrior prince by nature, Ruros felt no stranger to the labor of the guardsmen or the unceasing vigilance of the border watch.

As the years rolled by the King had other sons,  Ganth and Hamboné.  Ruros spent little of his life in the comfort of the court, and watched the growth of his brothers from afar.  He traveled often in secret to aid against danger where needed inside the Gnarley kingdom.

Receiving summons to his father's chambers, Ruros walked inside to find his father in an endless slumber, unable to waken from his dreams.  Chief advisors of magical power and the divinely blessed used their arts and blessings to no avail, unable to stir the King from his sleep.

The kingdom now is ruled by a Steward - Elgaldim, Second Consul of the North Umber. The King's body sustained magically, his subjects waiting with baited breath for the waking of their king.  The Brothers Ralpar adventure afar, losing Ruros’s sorrow in battle, searching for power to return home with.  Tragically, Hambone’ fell inside the Temple of Elemental Evil.  

The wrath of The Sons of Ralpar has been fired against the denizens of the evil temple.

---

No one knows why the Lord Ralpar has fallen into his magical slumber.  There are many theories, as the Lord of the North Umber in the Gnarley Forest has many enemies.  The Brothers' Ralpar, should they survive their clash with the forces of Elemental Evil, might be in a better position to investigate the matter.

No one knows if the Lord Ralpar can even be awoken, but there are a few leads to be followed.  In Greyhawk City, there are wizards who might be able to help with the answer.  In the Gnarley itself, the druids work to find the source of the evil power that has overcome the regent.

All in all, it is a dark day for the elves of the Gnarley Forest.  In the back of everyone's mind, they know something evil lurks deep in the woods...something that has designs on the lands of the North Umber.  Perhaps the brothers will be successful in finding some information, or some clue that leads them to the truth.  The remaining blood kin of Ralpar have a daunting quest - and that's after they clash with the forces of Elemental Evil...and whatever else Oerth might throw their way.

Rulebook Ruminations: Flames of War, 3rd Edition

Well, it's time for another Rulebook Rumination.  Now, you guys know I never review a book as it is released...best I've ever done is blog my thoughts few months after it becomes available.  The reason for that is that I only review books that become relevant to our club, when they become relevant.  Now, our Flames of War inaugural campaign is over, and I just want to take a moment to share a few thoughts about the 3rd Edition rulebook.

While this was our first campaign, we've been preparing for WWII for well over a year before the commencement of the games.  I bought a hardcover copy of Flames of War, 2nd Edition before 3rd Edition was even announced.  It's been a little over a year since this new book was published, and there was basically nine months betwixt the time we got the book and when the tanks started rolling out of Moscow.  We've put this engine through it's paces.

The main thing I want to draw attention to is the mentality of the rules, if that's the correct word.  The phrasing of items is hard to wrap your head around if you're used to the conventions espoused in a lot of wargames, yet the mechanical conventions are very similar.  In this way, the game is both much alike and very different from most of the games we play.  In practice, a lot of these items are very simple, yet when you read them for the first time it's hard to connect all the rules.  We've seen this in other manuals before, in almost every game you've ever played - but the disparity between this system and some others makes it hard to study from the book.  However, the simple concepts make it very easy to teach.

Most of the rules are clear and concise, and due to the way things are set up there isn't a lot of room for "random events" you might see in other games.  Not a ton of special rules that are spread out over twenty plus army books.  To contrast, in Flames of War, most situations have specific methods of resolution.  Special rules don't override the basic flow of the game so much as provide an advantage or disadvantage regarding the basic rules.  What this means is that once you have the basic flow of the game down and how the resolution systems work, it's very easy to assimilate ALL the special rules, and further - they don't bog down the game as much.  Combine that with a system that uses less rolls rather than more rolls or book keeping and you have a very lean combat simulator that's expressive enough to cover the entirety of the second World War.

We have both the smaller softcover version, and I can't say I'm really a fan.  The book is thick and the binding isn't that great...in fact, ours has a lot of pages falling out after one campaign's worth of being used.  The version I bought for myself was the large hardcover rulebook (you guys know how much I like hardcovers) and it's money well spent - it's a powerful tome that can stand up to some serious use.  Get the hardcover, and skip the softcover.  Or, if you decide you want the minis from one of the beginner sets, do yourself a favor and buy a hardcover as well.  The two extra guides that come with the hardcover are great as well, being a guide to the hobby and having a smattering of late-war armies that can be fielded (no lists are described in the rulebook by itself).

All in all, Flames of War is shaping up to be the Season 4 flagship here at the Wargate.  The game itself is grounded in reality, and draws a different sort of crowd than the standard Robots & Cannons or Swords & Sorcery battle games.  It doesn't require more than a handful of dice, so the conventions are easy to keep track of.  Armies aren't that large, and although you can find lists that require a lot of expensive pieces you can also get a 2000 point army for a little over $150 or so.  Best of all, the game is super easy to teach to new players - which is something every game club should be quite interested in.

AD&D 1e Character Outfitter

We've been in the Temple now for going on 12 weeks.  We've logged many hours, which you can see on our campaign page.  One thing has become apparent - the mortality rate of the Temple of Elemental Evil is higher than any other campaign so far, with 15 dead bodies of foolish adventurers so far.

The ramifications of this are far reaching, and we've seen it spelled out in deadly detail in the game.  When new players join the party, they are at a disadvantage if spit out into the game at a higher level.  They are expected to have a certain amount of magical defenses and capabilities at certain levels - that level being 3 in this classic Greyhawk game.  It's clear that I need to give starting players some magic so they don't immediately die in situations likely to be entered by adventurers in our current group.

We've been playing with it for a few weeks, and I've given all new characters a few magical items with which to start the game.  Not everyone gets a magic weapon, but there is a reasonable amount.  Throughout all that, I've just given out magic items from the book to folks to speed along play, but I've been threatening to codify the process to make it faster at the table.  Well, that day is here.

Check out the Character Outfitter here!

We'll be launching a new page soon, a Gaming Resources page.  A permanent link to any gaming material we'll be using will be posted on that page, and we have more than a few planned supplements.  Mostly, these focus on facilitating play rather than adding new material such as items or adventures.  You'll get to see more of them later, but there will be more than a few Character Outfitters from AD&D 1e and most likely 2e as well.  For now, the one we are currently using is available here.

I'd like to leave you with a few thoughts about what it is and what it's meant to do.

First of all, the main purpose is to quickly generate a few magic items for new player characters entering the game so they might remain competitive.  A few folks might scoff at this, but I'd say you'd have to look at the actual in play notes to get the idea - that none of this stuff is overpowered, and will hardly matter in the end.  Plenty of different magics are available, and they are only the most common and simplest magic items out there.  Sure there are some real gems...but the severity of the campaign will make sure nothing brought into the game from these tables is going to be unbalancing.

It's not meant to be a shopping catalog for player characters.  To that effect, this is Dungeon Master material only, to be referenced only by the DM during actual play.  This will prevent "window-shopping" and "playing the tables".  Not that it will matter...a 10th level character will only have a few magic items of lesser to mediocre power, and perhaps one of greater than average power.  Perhaps, yet not likely.

The inclusion of treasure is there to help offset the amount of treasure lost in the campaign vs. what will be needed simply to level up.  It's a huge issue, and this will help to mitigate it.  It won't solve it, but some adventurers may start with more money towards their next level - which is the basic problem most adventurers are having at the moment.

The moment that the main source of treasure becomes slain Player Characters, no new characters will be able to use the Outfitter at creation.  The moment that the party realizes it has a surplus of these lesser magical items, no new characters will be able to use the Outfitter at creation.

That's all for now.  The Character Outfitter will be on the table this week, and it looks like we even have our first player to try it out.  Poor Shaunny.  Murdered by shopkeepers last session.

Index Mardannon: Pandaemus Subsector

Pandaemus Subsector

								1	Travertine's Dock
	1							2	Pandaemus Offensio
								3	Malificus Aestus
	2		4					4	Kordent
						5		5	New Waco
		3

The Colonial Frontier

Many of the worlds in the Pandaemus subsector were won with fire and steel between two and five thousand years past, with some such as Travertine’s Dock colonized during the Old Crusade.  A few are relatively newly colonized, such as New Waco.  What they all share, however, is a deep and abiding feeling of collectivity, stemming from the fact that most of these worlds were promised to retired Imperial Guard regiments.  Those martial traditions still exist today, together with the instilled feelings of propriety that the original settler’s descendants feel about their worlds.

In Pandaemus, space travel within the sector is very common, and most citizens are quite aware of the Imperium and the larger galaxy.  The effect is that this place is one of the wildest zones in the Mardannon sector, teeming with pirates, rogue traders and other riff-raff of the Imperium and beyond.  The subsector’s Battlefleet is stretched very thin dealing with these raiders, not to mention overt threats such as the xenos breeds of Necrons and Orks.

Travertine’s Dock System

• Travertine

• History:  During the Old Crusade, this world was quick to join the fold of the Emperor’s Grace by aiding the Imperials as they made planetfall.  The citizens were not advanced, but soon came to call their world by the Imperial name for it – Travertine, after the commander of the original explorator fleet that discovered it.  The hereditary nobles of the world became Knight Houses renowned all across the sector, though in recent years there are only a handful that still exist. 

• Geography:  Travertine is a world covered by nearly seventy percent water.  There are a few minor continents and three major ones, all are in very good condition ecologically.  The planet itself is largely temperate and comfortable to humans. 

• Inhabitants:  Travertine boasts a large and productive population, and is centered around a type of sprawling city called a “megaplex” rather than a traditional hive style.  Space travel is fairly common, and a majority of the population has been off-world, at least to a moon or further in-system. 

• Mierax 

• History:  Mierax is actually the first habitable world that the Old Crusade found in this system, but was deemed much too cold to colonize.  After the success at Travertine and the resources available in-system at Roth’s Mirror, the Mechanicus set about modifying Mierax’s atmosphere to retain more heat.  Around five hundred years later, the planet retained massive amounts of water and oxygen and was declared ready for colonization. 

• Geography:  Mierax is further from its’ sun than Travertine, and is much colder in climate.  The land is very rough, with many insanely high and jagged mountains and deep, shadowed valleys.  Much of the water on this world is frozen, and semi-liquid gaseous oceans form above the ice in the deepest recesses and highest peaks of the world, creating a very thick cloud cover that precipitates mist all the time.  There is very little livable land, and it’s only within a certain altitude band that humans find a relatively non hostile environment to build standard hives. 

• Inhabitants:  Hives exist both in the optimal altitude band, known as the Optimus Band, and in the deep recesses of what should have been Mierax’s seas.  In the atmosphere and highest peaks, hives also exist, though those above and below the Optimus Band are sealed air locked against the semi-liquid clouds, which are pervasive and too clogged with water to breathe.  However, the clouds possess a large amount of chemical reagents that can be processed and exported throughout the sector, and remains this world’s livelihood. 

• Roth’s Mirror 

• History:  The gas-giant of Roth’s Mirror is the reason the Old Crusade came to what would be called the Travertine’s Dock system.  A huge, silver orb shining in the night sky, it is laden with unlimited chemical storms and mineral gases intensely valuable to the Imperium.  It became known to the Old Crusade’s fleets via long range outrider patrols looking ahead for worlds that might be valuable to the crusade. 

• Geography:  Roth’s Mirror is a gas giant ringed by a large and dense asteroid belt.  Stations have been set up at intervals in geosynchronous orbit with the planet to monitor the movements of the chemical storms and harvester fleets that are constantly sweeping the planet’s surface for various resources. 

• Inhabitants:  The inhabitants of Roth’s Mirror live primarily in Belt Stations located at various locales around the perimeter of the asteroid belt.  These stations have various functions; some are processing plants for the various harvests brought back from the planet.  Some stations are devoted to demolition of asteroids that stray too far into the inner orbit.  Some are simply hab stations where the workers dwell, but they are all highly advanced.

Pandaemus Offensio System

• Canis Aedilis 

• History:  The world was once a cultivated agri-world, a product of the Explorator fleet that set about terraforming the worlds of this system during the end of the Old Crusade.  For almost a thousand years, it was productive and vital, and the system showed signs of great prosperity.  However, almost one hundred years ago a massive space hulk smashed into this world, carrying innumerable orkoids.  They spread across the planet, and even built new system ships to carry them across the system.  Ever since, this world has been struggling to survive against the tide of greenskins. 

• Geography:  The world is actually quite nice for a world that was terraformed fairly recently.  It consists of several continents that are covered with various ecologies, and the planet itself is temperate in climate.  The atmosphere is thin, and at the highest elevations the oxygen levels drop dramatically. 

• Inhabitants:  The Explorator colonies still exist, but are in a constant state of warfare with the greenskins from the Sky-Hulk.  They now resemble armed and guarded plantations, with most of the military resources devoted to guarding what harvests can be safeguarded in the massive city compounds. 

• Concipio Canticum 

• History:  This thick jungle planet is in the last stages of terraforming, and its ecosystems are just beginning to blossom.  It has been the home of several large Explorator colonies which dot the landscape in huge agro domes.  It has remained largely untouched by the greenskin onslaught due to the Mechanicus defense platforms in orbit, which forbid entry to the planet until it is more suited to the Emperor’s will. 

• Geography:  The landscape of Canticum is a primordial jungle rife with volcanoes and other seismic activity.  Vast jungles dot the land and the planet itself has a large volume of salt water.  There are four main continents amid the vast oceans, and scores of smaller islands and archipelagos. 

• Inhabitants:  Only the beasts of Canticum are known to dwell upon the surface.  Most ork craft approaching the planet are simply destroyed by the orbitals, and the Explorator colony forbids Imperial ships to land on the planet unless accompanied by the Mechanicus themselves.  All sorts of feral predators and animals exist on the surface, and creatures of vast proportion dwell in the oceans. 

• Quaestio Argus 

• History:  Quaestio Argus shares a similar orbit around the binary suns of Pandaemus Offensio as Canis Aedilis.  A single colony was established here, and though the planet did not have to be terraformed, existence was hard. The Explorators here were charged with making the earth productive while the vast majority of the fleet concentrated on Canis, which was more suited to the Emperor’s needs of the time.  For the next several thousand years, the Mechanicus here would work to make this a thriving world.  However, for the last century orks have been running rampant over the surface, turning this once peaceful world into a one of blood and iron. 

• Geography:  A temperate world with slightly lower temperatures year round, Quaestio still has large areas of rocky crust jutting forth from the oceans, forming continents of unworkable rock.  The best areas in the world have been made into arable land thousands of years ago, and the Explorators continue their work to this day. 

• Inhabitants:  Many of the people living on Quaestio Argus live a feudal existence, ignorant of the Imperium at large and dependent on the Mechanicus to exist.  The population is allowed to govern itself, and the men of the world have divided it up into kingdoms.  One of these is appointed High King, until his death.  The High King is the liaison with the Mechanicus also inhabiting the planet.  For the last one hundred years, their technology and contact with the Imperium has dwindled so much that now most men have to meet the orks falling from space or emerging from under rocks armed with crude powder pistols and swords.  

Malificus Aestus Subsector

• Caelum Subterraneous

• History:  This system’s star is huge and blue, and the first habitable planet in the system is over three times as far away from its sun as Earth.  Visual conditions around the star cause the human eye to see it as blue, even though most of its output is in the ultraviolet range.  After the founding of the hives on Inlustro Veritas, Explorators were sent to assess the planet’s value to the Emperor and found numerous materials suitable for use in the Emperor’s armies.  They colonized the planet and have been working here for almost three thousand years.  Since the Explorators arrived, the world has been riven with wars amongst the Mechanicus factions stationed there. 

• Geography:  Most of the planet is flat, with very little atmosphere.  Explorator Colony Domes dot the surface, with a few large connected and covered thoroughfares connecting them.  Under the surface, the world is cavernous – to the point where that’s where everyone lives.  The domes simply connect to the underground factories and hab complexes of the Mechanicus. 

• Inhabitants:  Originally seen as a barren rock with little to offer, Explorator colonies have been set up here and dot the planetoid’s surface, but most of the life is underground.  A tech-heresy of great magnitude was once said to take place here, and now the populace is divided between the official version of the Omnissiah’s faith and the apostate version that has been handed down.  Militant groups have repeatedly gained control of Skitarii weapon systems and brought the world to war.  Currently, the situation is one of extreme wariness and spiritual tension. 

• Inlustro Veritas 

• History:  Returned to the Emperor’s Fold almost three and a half thousand years ago, the people of Inlustro Veritas were a strong willed and technologically advanced strain of humans.  They readily accepted the Emperor, remembering him from their tales of the Star-God who fought back the beasts of the Old Night.  Since then, they have worked hard to stand tall as servants of the God-Emperor. 

• Geography:  Inlustro Veritas is a very dark world, with little of the sun’s blue light making it to the surface as the atmosphere is perpetually bathed in dark clouds.  The planet itself consists of almost 16 different continents separated by heavy saline oceans, but most of the surface is dusty white sand. 

• Inhabitants:  The folk of this world are hard working hivers who venerate the Immortal Emperor as men should – by letting their faith drive their work and (less commonly) their play.  They are grim and dour by most standards, but take such pride in their toil that they stand as model citizens across the galaxy.

Kordent System

• Kordent 

• History:  Terraformed only a little over two thousand years ago, most of the arable land had long been plotted out and marked by the magos biologis for growing biomass food products.  Populated mostly by the Magos and their serf laborers, Kordent is almost idyllic by the standards of the Imperium. 

• Geography:  Covered with seas and small continents, the planet Kordent has many different topographical elements.  Mountains, deserts, forests…all those are present on Kordent.  The most inhospitable part of the planet, however, is the southern climate band.  The planet is slightly closer to its sun than it’s neighbor Lumis, and the axis tilts the southern hemisphere towards the star.  In the south, burning deserts thwart life.  In the north, glaciers crush ever southwards. 

• Inhabitants:  The inhabitants of Kordent are a curious lot.  They are very dependent on their agri-machines for day to day life, and know a great deal about the planet they live on.  They are aware of the Imperium but do not really care – there are few visitors to Kordent, mostly from nearby Lumis.  However, as one of the pristine agri-worlds in the sector, large ships can be seen in the sky more often than not. 

• Lumis 

• History:  Originally established as a base of operations for the Old Crusade, this fortress world was established nearly four thousand years past.  Since then, it has grown a strong military tradition and is one of the most heavily defended worlds in the sector.  From this position, most of the subsector was conquered and consolidated under the power of the Immortal Emperor. 

• Geography:  Lumis has little surface water in the form of oceans, but massive rainfalls on the northern hemisphere that turn much of the plains to marsh-fen.  There are also huge mountain ranges housing Imperial training facilities, as well as arctic deserts in the southern hemisphere.  All of these features are dominated by the Imperial military machine. 

• Inhabitants:  The inhabitants of Lumis are of a proud warrior tradition deeply steeped in the culture of the Imperial Guard.  There are several types of Guard formations that the Lumisi train and field in the wars around the sector, the most famous of which are the Lumisi Geared Regiments, consisting almost entirely of mechanized infantry.  The Imperial authorities around the subsector also make use of Interdiction Teams from Lumis, who are trained in handling subversive populations on Imperial worlds.

Gregoriam System

• New Waco 

• History:  A backwater even when it was founded, New Waco has been a place for the dispossessed to flee for over two thousand years.  Protected from much of the galaxy by Kordent and pretty much out of the way of everything else, this planet has grown a civilization out of the burgeoning population of transients and workers. 

• Geography:  Much of New Waco is wasteland, either desert or rock barrens.  The few patches of arable land are home to great agri-domes or cities.  A few of the cities are truly major, and span hundreds of miles along the surface of the planet.  There are few seas on New Waco, and most have a high salinity value.  Even the rain has a high level of salt, and there are salt flats in many areas. 

• Inhabitants:  The people of New Waco are a tolerant lot.  While there have been many outbreaks of violence on the planet, no major conflicts have risen here except perhaps a few Redemptionist purges, which are usually put down by the Arbites fairly quickly.  Many disparate lots of folks who try to eke out an existence here, but war has left the place remarkably untouched. 

2012 Season 4 Campaign Awards

Well, it was a massive undertaking but we just finished up two great campaigns, and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate the winners of our most recent battles!  Season 4 brought an end to Flames of War and our first team victory award has been given to the winning team, and the Second Half terminates an end to our Warhammer Fantasy Battles campaign for 2012.

In Flames of War, our German team walks away victorious from the Battle for Moscow!

Jerry Wargate and Captain Video have crushed the opposition, and the German team advances across the Moscow oblast in the wake of this historical upheaval.  Next year will prove even more bitter, as the trenches are dug just a little bit closer to the new salient.  We'll be looking for more mid-war combatants as well, and hopefully things will go a little easier for us in those campaign months than they did this year since the club was slightly disrupted towards the end of 2012.  Now we have everything back in place, and it's full steam ahead for this next year!

Accepting the award on the behalf of his team is Jerry Wargate,  shown here in appropriate regalia.

Yet, the big prize was given to the victor of the Warhammer Fantasy Battle campaign!  Incredibly, it was myself who managed to beat out the opposition with my dastardly Dark Elf army, the Tower of Iron Woe.  Vanquishing my mortal enemy, the High Elves, there was little left to do except battle those who dared set foot in the pass, and only the Tomb Kings had a chance at pushing the Dark Elves off the Firecrag at the end of the campaign.  I'm totally impressed with the Dark Elves, and will be building that army up to 2500 points...just a little shy of that yet.

Who's that guy?  How'd he get in here?

Oh, and there was a cash prize for Warhammer Fantasy Battle as well, which I put towards new terrain for the club's games.  More stuff specifically for Warhammer 40,000 and Flames of War in particular!  Watch out for other campaigns this year that will have a material prize as well, beyond the club acknowledging you as champion for an entire year!

So to close out today, I'd like to take a moment to thank Skim and Bignutt for their contributions this month as well.  We've all piled in and gotten a mountain of new Battlefield in a Box stuff which I'll be spotlighting in the coming weeks.  You guys are fantastic, and your enthusiasm helps propel the club forward.  2013 is set to be a great year to be a wargamer, but it will be a totally awesome year to be a member of the Wargate!

Directive 39 Campaign Log!

Our first Flames of War campaign finished up a few weeks ago.  It was a valiant effort by the club, which heroically raised a ton of cash to outfit four armies simultaneously!  Next year will be even bigger, and some new ideas might make their way onto the campaign trail.  Some off-season gaming will be done in Season 2 as well, so don't be too hasty to put down those rifles yet!

Directive 39

The Battle for Moscow

December 5, 1941

For the last few months, the Wehrmacht has been closing in on the Moscow Oblast.  Since October, Hitler has pushed forces east in an attempt to wrest the city from the communists.  Operations Typhoon and Wotan have both failed to push the Soviets from their layered defenses in the six hundred kilometers of defended area around the important and symbolic city of Moscow.

Today, the Fuhrer has issued Directive 39, ordering his troops to hold the defensive line at all costs.  Today, a new counteroffensive starts into Russia from the west.  Through the biting cold and severely constructed defenses of the Soviets, the Germans begin their push into the Red Bear.

Now, we begin our own battle here on the Eastern Front.  The fate of Moscow hangs in the balance, as German forces push in from the west and massive reserves arrive from the eastern oblasts of the Soviet Union.  Fascists and communists will clash here once again amidst the forests and defenses in the biting cold of the Russian winter as terror crawls across Europe...

---

Campaign Rules

Directive 39:  The Battle for Moscow is a campaign for Flames of War, and it's the Wargate's first such campaign!  We're not only introducing a new game system, but the way we're fighting the campaign will be open to anyone who wants to try the game out!

The campaign rules are simple:  there are two sides, U.S.S.R. and Germany.  All fighting done in each of the three months we have for the battles will be tallied up to create an Influence rating for the month.  At the end of the fighting, all the battles will be averaged together to get a total Influence score.

So, play and win as many games as possible for your side!

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Campaign Updates

1. 10/14/12 - October games postponed due to extenuating circumstances.  October games will be played the last week of October / first week of November and retro-actively applied to the month of October.  
2. 11/4/12 - Opening Volleys finished!  This month, the battle moves Deep in the Woods!
3. 12/30/12 - The final battles are fought, but Germany's new offensive takes the Russian defenders by surprise!

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December 28, 1941

The chill of winter has set in.  The forests are frozen and for a time, they are silent.  It's hard to tell what will happen next, and every man on the line knows in his heart he is already dead.  Except for the howling of the wind there is little noise except men quietly jostling, trying to keep warm.

The defense of Moscow oblast has gone poorly.  The Reich's soldiers approach the city, but the armored tanks and fearless men of the Soviet Guards has each done his duty.  At each stage of the conflict, more and more men died and more ground was lost.  Yet for all this carnage, this is only the beginning.

German soldiers hid near the forest ridge, waiting for the next phase of the battle on the Eastern Front to commence.  They had been lacking in armored vehicles, but their skilled infantry and powerful artillery had pummeled the oblast's defensive lines for weeks.  There was little left for the Guards to defend.  Now, however...the engines and metal creaking of heavy German armor approached from the west.

Soldiers on both sides grip their weapons, and wait for the command to engage.  For the defenders, it is a desperate bid to save national unity.  If Moscow is taken by the Reich, it could be disastrous to the defense of Mother Russia.  For the invaders, the call to glory is great indeed...and littered with the spoils of conquered nations.

The fortunes of war will wax and wane.

Imperial Assault Campaign Begins!

Greetings all!

I've been falling behind this week, but here's an attempt to catch up to everything.  This last week, our campaigns ended and the new schedule begins for 2013!

Why do we change schedules every six months?  Can't we get it together?

Well, the dynamics of the club are slowly changing.  We have slightly less folks at the beginning of the year since we've been ratcheting back the pandemonium on Game Day.  Now we have a more focused group, so we've changed the order of the campaign schedule for the coming year.  Well, less changed the order and more dropped some games from the main schedule.

There will be four main games on the yearly campaign schedule, and four games that are now event games.  We'll get to that in a moment...for now, lets talk about the year's first campaign:  Imperial Assault!

Last year, the hordes of Chaos attacked the planet Nydrazom in the Incendia Paeniteo subsector.  The cost was great, and the planet left a smoking ruin as the forces of chaos overtook the Imperial defenders.  The battle for the Mardannon sector is much bigger than any one world, and in this new campaign we approach the planet Caelum Subterraneous, an explorator colony in the Pandaemus subsector.  There, Chaos Space Marines have infiltrated the local populace and have raised large numbers of seditionists - more than the skitarii legion can handle.  As Imperial reinforcements make planetfall, the chaos forces move to meet them and contain the invaders until their infernal plan comes to fruition!

You can scope the campaign page here!

This is our first 6th Edition campaign, and we're going to mostly stick to the main rulebook - nothing too fancy as far as mission generation or even complex methods of keeping track of who's winning.  There are two teams, and two scores.  The battle will be given to the winning team at the end of the campaign, but the player with the highest Influence score will take home the trophy and title of Space Overlord for 2013!

Now, onto our schedule.  The new campaign schedule for 2013 will proceed as follows, with random interruption for skirmish level games.  By and large, skirmish games will be relegated to RPG time with the game they are linked to, e.g. Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle will be linked to any Middle-Earth Roleplay games we have this year.  Ditto Clan Strife and Legend of the Five Rings.

1. Warhammer 40,000 (January, February and March)
2. Warmachine (April, May and June)
3. Warhammer Fantasy Battle (July, August and September)
4. Flames of War (October, November and December)

After trying a six month model for campaigning, we've decided the three month model is far superior to promoting multiple games.  Also, instead of two campaigns at once we will be focusing on a single campaign at a time to maximize participation.

If you've elected not to game with us this season, there's always the next!  See you on Game Day!

The Greystone Pass War Campaign Log

This year's Warhammer Fantasy Battle campaign is over!  The complete log follows, along with the narratives that occur in the aftermath.  Next season begins July 1st, 2013!!  Also, this is post #200 for the Wargate!

Nachexen 13, 2526 I.C. - The New Moon

Spring is fast approaching, and in the Grey Mountains more has occurred over the winter than most would like.  The Hold of Khazid Grimaz lies in ruin, the mountain split in half by the volcanic upheaval beneath.  In the passes, the dwarfs watch towers and carefully guarded mountain trails are unmanned as the Throng recoils in horror at the tragedy that has befallen them.  However, their land shall know no respite.  A great evil has gathered in force in the passes where the dwarf rangers once guarded against the forces of destruction.

The Lady of Woe and her army of black ark warriors have marched en masse from their magical towers.  They are looking for something...perhaps the dark elf sorceress' plot has not come to fruition?  Whatever the case may be, dark elf warriors are hidden everywhere in the passes, wreaking havoc on anyone who approaches.  They are intent on securing the whole pass for some nefarious reason.  Given their activities of late, the outcome cannot be wholesome.

Yet all is not lost.  Though the Storm of Chaos abates in the north, the shadow of war falls now upon the south.  For years the Bloo Moonz orcs have threatened the land around the Grey Mountains, but they have moved their horde further north since the ominous earthquakes and fire upon the mountain.  As they move north, they threaten to enter Bretonnia.  The Duke of Beziers, Brique Zigler, will not allow that to happen and even now is moving troops from Long du Riviere to Greystone Pass.  However, the Duke will find that orcs a hundred miles away are the least of his issues.

To add insult to injury, the Deathmaw Ogres have decided to run rampant and pillage all around the mountain.  Camp Deathmaw is now a target on the Empire's list, but once troops are mustered the Deathmaw will be long gone.  Now they smell blood, and have made their way to Greystone Pass.  However, rumors tell that perhaps the Deathmaw weren't doing random violence, but were hired by an as yet unknown benefactor to wage war on dwarf and man.

Yet these ominous tidings aren't the only factors in play.  The Elemental Seal under the mountain is the prize, and a detachment of high elves have arrived in the mountains seeking their lost kin.  The Dawn Brigade has disbanded, and it is under a new prince that they march to war.  The dark elves are their prey, and the kin-strife of ages is about to come to the Grey Mountains.

From below, monstrous creatures erupt from the mountain.  The forests of Wissenland are strewn with beastmen.  All of the tribes are rising up, all chanting the name of their dread master - Fekul-Hoof.  The herdstones begin to glow alight with the balefires of chaos, and the beastmen know that the eyes of their gods are upon them.  Now they storm the pass, flocking toward the fiery mountain and it's wyrdstone mines. They say even stranger creatures, reptilian in nature, guard the entrances to the lower holds with vicious military coordination.

Not even the dead do not rest here.  From far away Khemri, the agents of the Pharoah Atekh Ra-Amon continue their search for power in the mountains, though now they know the true power is the Seal of the Old Ones. He has resolved to find this, and understand it's power, for he believes a doom stands over his kingdom unless he can find a way to stop it.  The Pharoah can sense a terrible burning power here, and has spent considerable resources in moving more of his assets to the mountain.   Their sandy breath haunts the dreams of those who sleep in the pass, and they remain hidden in the deeps below.

For now, Wissenland and the dwarfs recoil from the battle erupting in the mountains.  The men of the Empire's regiments are far too busy tending refugees and protecting the border (and interior) of their country.  Small bands of dwarfs and men, adventurers, enter the Grey Mountains to find survivors still coming out of the holds.  The way is dangerous, but the need is great - and there are always a few bold souls who will go always go where danger dwells.

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The snows at Greystone Pass begin to melt, and the armies begin to march.

The Greystone Pass War is the Wargate's first six-month campaign, and it's a got a few new features that incorporate a lot of the ideas we've been mulling around and developing in other campaigns.  In the new six-month model, the scope of the campaign is widened, and the amount of players is not limited.  The campaign structure is a lot more open-ended in what can happen, and we've brought back a few older ideas as well.

The specifics of fighting a campaign game, including battle size and terrain involved, are included on the battle sheets at the Wargate.  These are available for download here, and additionally the basics are as follows:

1. Any number of players can join the campaign, even in progress.
2. Players can play any number of games against any other player, provided they don't play the same person twice in a row.
3. Campaign Points are earned for playing in campaign games as follows: 3 for each win, 2 for each draw and 1 for each loss.  Campaign Points can also be earned during play, as detailed on the battle sheet.
4. Influence Score is equal to the player's Win percentage.  The players' Campaign Score is equal to (Campaign Points x Influence).
5. Battle Magnitude is the highest total number of games so far among each player.  All players receive a -5% Influence penalty for each game they are behind the Battle Magnitude.
6. Units gain Experience Levels from participating in the campaign.  Units with levels are kept track of in the unit directory.  Units keep their levels until they are destroyed in a game or declared destroyed by a Defeat result.

The campaign will run from now until the end of the year.  Players will have plenty of time to get in as many games as possible, and players who have a problem finishing their allotted number of games will have an automatic penalty applied in the form of the Battle Magnitude rule.  This model will help us focus more on gaming and less on who needs to play who.

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Campaign Updates

1. (7.1.12)  The campaign has begun!
2. (7.1.12) 7 Armies have gathered!
3. (8.23.12) The battle has been so intense we haven't even posted anything!  The battle magnitude is 10 at the time the dust settles for the first brief respite of the campaign, and the Tower of Iron Woe is dominating the pass, and it's agents have punished the High Elves for their interference.
4. (1.1.13) Though the Tomb Kings have fought mightily for the magical power beneath the Firecrag, the Tower of Iron Woe is victorious!

The Tower of Iron Woe is victorious!

The Guardians are vanquished!

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Jandor Bloodbane set the gory point of this massive magical blade into the ground and surveyed the battlefield.  His armor radiated dark energy, and Jandor was exultant as it soaked up the blood of the few of hated high elves they had managed to find.  It was always better to kill the living than destroy the dead, yet for the past several months only the dead rose to face them.

He didn't know why the dead rose to oppose them so.  The Sorceress herself had said these spirits were the damned of Khemri, far from their home.  To Jandor, none of that mattered...they were just another foe to be destroyed.  As he looked to the distant volcano, now called the Firecrag by those that once lived in Khazid Grimaz...he remembered why he had come this far.

Jandor strode to the edge of the cliff and looked down.  There, far below in the valley - the throng of Khazid Grimaz made a camp that approached a city in size.  Refugees of all types - men, dwarfs and elves - made the tent city their home now.  Since the eruption of the volcano beneath their city, the dwarfs of the Khazid struggled to find purchase on the slippery slope to destruction.  From this valley, they had hoped to arrest their decline and reclaim their home, after a fashion.  

Jandor Bloodbane had another purpose in mind for what he saw as hundreds of pathetic refugees.

"Tell the Sorceress we are ready."  He said to a trusted aide nearby.  "Greystone Pass belongs to the Tower."

Jandor Bloodbane smiled a horrific smile that belied his bloodlust.  Today, they would kill and kill and kill until all the killing was done.  No man or dwarf would stand in the pass by nightfall, he vowed as he heard the marching feet of his spearmen approaching the pass.