Dread Tide!

This season has been kind of slow.  Armies are being built, and the tournaments are restructuring.  That doesn't mean that we've been utterly idle - in fact, new forces are about to clash as the last month of our 2015 season begins!

So where are we at now, with Western Immoren?

For us, the factions are solidifying together nicely.  We've got a large collection of models, and despite our best attempts at marshaling the growth and keeping it in check, it's gotten away from us a bit.  Gatekeepers just like the models.  It's a no-brainer.

So, like our other games, we'll be focusing on specific conflicts as we grow and develop our armies. The Cygnar Royal Army, the Northern Crusade Army and the Nightmare Army will be the "big three" each made up of , and Retribution will gain the Mercenary forces of the Highborn Covenant as part of the Vindication Army.  These armies will form the focus for our club for the next few years as we explore two major skirmishes along the Cygnar border.

Marked on the map above are the incursion zones.

The green area marks increased Cryxian activity.  Something horrific is no doubt brooding on the horizon for this area, and rumor has it trencher units are being directed to the westmost terminus of the Twelve Day Road.  The proximity of the nearby Garlghast Island has always been a concern, but the goings-on of late have been full of sinister omens.

The purple area marks the area where the Northern Crusade Army finds itself under attack by Retribution forces.  These highly disciplined and motivated forces are augmented by Mercenary companies from the Iron Kingdoms - an interesting development indeed.  The Protectorate has ordered these supply caravans to be defended at all cost, as they are critical to continued activity further north.

At the outset, the Vindication Army has a foothold in the north - but the Protectorate has yet to mount a meaningful attack on this position.  Cryx's outward feeling tendrils have been clipped, but Nightmare Army forces fester all over the countryside, waiting for the right time to attack.  It is a time of tense skirmishes, but very soon the entire region will be embroiled in dire warfare.

This season is therefore preparatory time for next year's hardcore tournaments.  With painted warriors and a nice terrain set, we will make the Iron Kingdoms just as realized as any other game we've played.  It's almost Season 4, though...and the Wargate waits.

The Reaping of Caen Campaign Log

The Reaping of Caen

2013 Season 2

Warmachine Campaign

Black River Settlements Near Sul, 608 A.R.

Cygnar and the Protectorate have been at each other's throat, as the two major cities on the Black River alternately laid siege to one another.  Of course the close proximity of the two cities directly across the river from each other exacerbated the bitter nature of the siege, yet the religious fervor and dogged determination of the Menites repulsed the Cygnarans from Sul and set their cannons on Caspia. The savage battle recently ended in a tenuous truce - but peace is in short supply in the Iron Kingdoms.

High Exemplar Kreoss has moved troops into the area north of the walled cities, and has been forcibly converting the populace.  His Cinerators move from town to town, and the judgement of the Creator passed upon the folk who live there.  It has become a place of fire and dread, where starving refugees hide amidst shuttered homes while they are burned down around them.  Into this battleground our Warcasters find themselves thrust.  Though they all come for different reasons, they all know this battlefield could very well be their last.

Welcome to the Black River.

---

Campaign Rules

The campaign will follow a three month round-robin format, where each player will play each other player at least once per month in a sanctioned campaign game.  This gives each player twelve campaign scored games to play, so roughly once per week per player.  Any games set a date for and missed by either or both parties, that game will be scored as a Loss for the missing party and a Draw if both parties accede as standard.

Each game will grant a number of Campaign Points.  

• Wins are worth 3 points.
• Draws are worth 2 points.
• Losses are worth 1 point.

In addition, Battlefield Influence will be calculated as percentage of winning games for each Warcaster.  The Influence total is the amount of earned Campaign Points that count for each Warcaster's Total Score.  Each player will contribute to their faction's narrative according to the ranked Total Scores at the end of the campaign. The player with the highest score will be the Wargate's Steampunk General for 2013!

---

Faction Narratives

For the Protectorate of Menoth, High Exemplar Kreoss scourges the lands closest to Sul to ensure there are no Cygnaran spies or Morrowan unbelievers standing between the walled city and the supply lines to the Northern Crusade.  Now is a time of action, and he dares the Cygnarans to respond - which they promptly do once they hear of the Wracks being left up and down the river, left in the middle of desolated villages.  Kreoss will pass Judgement on the unbelievers, and reap Caen of the rest of the rabble.

For Cygnar, Lt. Caine's recon patrol is tasked with investigating disturbing reports across the Black River.  Once the Cygnarans see the torn bodies nailed to steel torture devices, they are certain of what has happened.  For Caine, it's a little different.  It had been a while, but now he crossed the path of High Exemplar Kreoss once more.  Caine vowed Revenge upon the Menite and his cultists for the humiliations he received during the skirmishes leading up to the siege, and at the Castle Du Vantaine.

Yet this battle isn't interesting because of the friction between Cygnar and the Protectorate.  The East Bank is about the get a lot more crowded.  In fact, it's lousy with Warcasters.

For Cryx, War Witch Deneghra has seized the confusion to move a small force up the river to reap the souls of the unprotected masses there.  In fact, she has been doing this for quite a while pursuing her own ends.  The initial reports that Lt. Caine was to investigate were in fact Cryxian movements, but the Menites got to the sites first and burned everything.  Above all else, Deneghra desires the Power she can gain in this fertile and confused area.

However, Ios has made itself known.  Chasing Deneghra south and intent on destroying her and every other spellcaster he finds, Lord Arcanist Ossyan of House Vyre desires Redemption most of all.  His myrmidons are mysterious and powerful.  His followers are skilled Iosan Mage Hunters.  Every other Warcaster on the East Bank is his prey.

Like all Mercenaries, Drake MacBain is all about the Money.  As for the man who hired him, MacBain is pretty sure he was investing on the behalf of Khador...but he didn't seem to talk like a Khadoran.  Either way, there weren't very many questions asked.  The contract is to engage and destroy any warjack movements on the East Bank of the Black River for a few square miles north of Sul.  MacBain means to fulfill this potentially very lucrative contract.

---

Campaign Updates

1. (4.7.13) - Lt. Caine's Long Range Recon intercepted the Word of Menoth just north of Dustville, a tiny burg Kreoss had just put to the sword.  The Menites fight fiercely, but Kreoss is forced to withdraw north after a particularly close encounter with Caine's twin Spellstorm pistols.
2. (4.14.13) - Lt. Caine continues to rally forces around the Black River, and encountered the Cryxian Warwitch Deneghra!  Though her 'jacks inflicted grievous damage on Caine's, she was lost in a puff of smoke after being subjected to a torrent of spellstorm pistol blasts.  Drake MacBain encountered a small section of Kreoss' Cinerators and was pushed to the West Bank in flight.
3. (4.16.13) - Kreoss is surprised by Lord Ossyan's strange powers when they encounter each other in a narrow canyon.  The High Exemplar breaks off the combat to assess the situation - there are many more warcasters here than the Menites originally thought.  Lt. Caine arrives and chases Ossyan through the canyon, confounding Ossyan's manipulation of time by manipulating where he's at himself within that time stream...
4. (4.17.13) - Drake MacBain returns to the East Bank and pushes into Ossyan's hiding place, where battle is joined and the Lord Arcanist retreated to the forest for cover.  The steelheads moved toward the nearest town, rather than pursuing the Iosans into the forest where they would be at a disadvantage.
5. (4.28.13) - MacBain continues his push along the river, and finds the hiding spot of Warwitch Deneghra.  After a short battle, the Cryxian witch decides discretion is the better part of valor after running afoul of one of MacBain's Nomads.
6. (5.5.13) - Lt. Caine pursues Warwitch Deneghra to the West Bank, where she is found by Exemplar Kreoss and chased even further away from the center of the action.  Doubling back, Lt. Caine engages the column of Drake MacBain as it moves south, and forces MacBain's forces back north towards the East villages.
7. (5.12.13) - Drake MacBain's professional "ethics" drive him on towards the largest formation he can find - the Exemplar host.  Kreoss is not amused, and divides MacBain's forces.  MacBain decides to withdraw rather than risk losing more money on repairs.
8. (5.26.13) - Exemplar Kreoss roundly bests Warwitch Deneghra as she attempts to terrorrize riverside villages closer to Sul.  He chases her right into MacBain's battlegroup, who destroy many of her assets and force her back onto the West Bank.
9. (6.2.13) - Exemplar Kreoss, fed up with Caine's shenanigans in harrying the flanks of his battlegroup, attempts to lure the Cygnaran into a trap.  Very nearly succeeding in capturing the elusive warcaster, Kreoss forces Caine to back off from the hotzone and captures more territory along the West Bank.  Caine then encounters MacBain's group, and seething with vengeance makes quick work of the mercenary infantry accompanying.  MacBain withdraws to the forest ridge to avoid contact with stronger Cygnar forces.
10. (6.9.13) - Exemplar Kreoss, keen to get the better of his Cygnaran nemesis, arrives in force at an extraction site for the Blood of Menoth.  The area had recently been shelled by the Cygnaran batteries a few miles away, but Kreoss quickly seized the vital areas and forced Lt. Caine to back off.  After loading all the barrels they could onto their wagons, the Menites absconded with a large load of the valuable Blood.  Lt. Caine returned to the extraction site when the Protectorate's battlegroup withdrew, and found the Cryxian Warwitch Deneghra picking among the ruins.  After holing up near the building, the witch made a terrifying attack on the Cygnaran gun mages...but disappeared in a puff of oily black smoke.

---

Campaign Results

Cygnar wins the campaign!

Dave Bone is 2013's Steampunk General!

The win was narrow, but my Gun Mages pulled out the campaign win!  Cygnar has done well by me, and I really like the faction story and look.  Now that I've figured out how Caine is supposed to fight (very sneaky) my game really picked up.  Once I had the upper hand in most fights, our canny opposition had to invent new ways to beat me.  Namely, by sticking to the objectives - which for some reason I have a hard time locking down.  I like Cygnar so much now that I have a large stockpile of Revenge I think I'll break from my normal routine.  My next Warmachine army will also be Cygnar!

Coming in close on my heels is the resident champion that I managed to dethrone this year - Skim's Exemplar Kreoss didn't get to mete out as much Judgement as he wanted to, but he did get close.  I'm sure next year he'll be keen to burn and mutilate some more unbelievers.  Honorable Mention goes to Joe Kool's Drake MacBain, who I'm told made enough Money while pillaging the Black River to have more Steelheads when he takes the field next time...and probably repair all his 'jacks as well!

Thanks to everyone who played, it was great fun.  Yet now I have to tell you that Dave Bone is the Wargate's 2013 Steampunk General!

---

It was night when the Cygnarans crept back along the bank headed towards the extraction site.  When they arrived, Lt. Caine took an extra long time with the recon maneuvers before he ordered his troops into the area proper.  With a glance, he could tell the Menites had been working hard to get all the "blood" back to where ever they were going...probably Sul.

In any case, they were all gone now.  The Menites, the Iosans and even the Cryxians had all backed off.  He was sure MacBain was lurking somewhere nearby, but since the last time he'd gotten reports from further up the east bank, Caine had decided that MacBain's contract must be up.  They were partying way too hard to be "on the job".

Caine smiled.  He remembered the last time he'd seen Kreoss up close, and the look of surprise and pain on his eyes behind that damned armored mask.  Revenge...well it's ok cold.  He cast his gaze south, along the trail on the other side of the river that the Menites must have followed.  It was easy to tell - those oil-laden wagons made heavy ruts in the sandy banks of the river.  Yeah, revenge is ok cold, Caine thought to himself...but he decided at that moment he liked it much better hot.  Specifically, as hot as the rune-graven lead bullets that burst from the muzzle of his Spellstorm pistols.

"Let's get a move on, men." he called to his officers.  The Gun Mages formed up and waited for the next order.  "I think we can catch them if we leg it towards Sul."

Warmachine Unit Types: Battle Engines and Colossals

Welcome back to the Gate!

This season is our third Warmachine campaign, marking a full three years we've been pursuing armies here at the club!  As you might know, we don't really stay with the trendsetters as we're really just too caught up in our own thing...which is why I'm only now penning this article outlining these newer unit types for the club. 

Today's spat of words is a continuation of an older article detailing Warmachine Unit Types.  We went over the basics in that article, and today I'm going to make sure all the Gate Keepers know that in spite of how we've been playing, Privateer Press continue to make awesome updates and add new things to the game we all really enjoy.  The business model they have embraced goes a long way to making Warmachine one of the top games here, and who knows what the future may bring?

Now, a look at Battle Engines and Colossals.  These have been added in Privateer Press's yearly updates to the game.  If you didn't know, each year (usually during the summertime) a new volume is added to the game that details new models for each of the factions.  Battle Engines were a gift from 2012's Wrath supplement, and Colossals were added in the expansion of the same name last year in 2013.  Both of these unit types represent rather large machines of destruction, dwarfing the other units. 

We've added units from these books to our armies, but we haven't actually added any of these big pieces.  There may be some stigma for our club regarding large models like this, but that's mostly because of an entirely different company and their questionable business practices and disregard for customers.  We have deliberately avoided the huge units for years and years now, but mostly since no one - not a single, solitary one of us - think that a tank for a battle game is worth hundreds of dollars.  However, thanks to Privateer Press... we might get to see some serious majesty on the game board.  Battle Engines and Colossals have special rules all their own, but these integrate with the base game completely and nothing seems out of balance.  

Privateer Press, like Battlefront, take their game seriously and realize that the competitive aspect is one of the main draws of the game.  Here at the Wargate, we're gamers first and foremost...modelling is a distant second or perhaps third priority for some of us.  We appreciate that they take the time to make sure that everything works together well and no one is penalized for not possessing the latest super weapon.  Kudos, guys.  You've earned our trust and admiration, and we'll show that with our wallets.

Khadoran Gun Carriage, Battle Engine.

Battle Engines are large machines of war that run the gamut from horse drawn carriages to strange electrical walkers.  They are autonomous - your warcaster won't have to allocate focus, and the army's officers can focus on their own troops.  Battle Engines cost about as much as many heavy warjacks, and can effectively fill the same role in your army.

Though they are on par with heavy warjacks, they'll cost a few more bucks.  If you're looking for a large unit for your army or just want to paint something large and imposing, this is a more cost effective way to add one than a colossal.  The models are fantastic, and the tactics that could be devised with such an asset can drastically change how your army works.

Cygnar's Stormwall Colossal compared with a heavy warjack and warcaster models.

Colossals are just that - the Warmachine answer to a certain style of giant model made popular (and insanely expensive monetarily) by another company.  However, there is a much stronger appeal to we Gate Keepers for these units.  It will set you back about a hundred dollars (USD) give or take, but it's made of resin and metal and they look absolutely awesome on the battlefield.  If you're in the market for a ridiculously sized monster of a unit, you've found what you are looking for.

Colossals behave exactly like a warjack does, but basically is the equal of two heavy warjacks and has the points cost to match that.  In fact, though each one's rules are different and a certain subset of rules apply to the colossal, they are pretty much exactly that - two heavy warjacks in one.  You'll have to make allowances for that...or plot the list entirely around an approximately twenty point monster - which has a certain appeal to it as well!

As we continue campaigning in the Iron Kingdoms, you can expect to see more varied unit types.  We take things painfully slow around here, but don't worry.  More players are joining the fight in the Iron Kingdoms, and more armies are being raised for the battle.  For this year's release, Warmachine gains a new faction - The Convergence of Cyriss!  Our campaign is drawing to a close, there's only one more week left!  Get in those last hits on your opponents and gain as many points as you can to obtain the narrative and bring your army to the fore of our ongoing story!

The Iron Kingdoms: Mercenaries

The Mercenaries of the Iron Kingdoms conduct war as a trade in an open market.  Primarily making their homes to the north of Cygnar in the small kingdom of Ord, Mercenaries are a facet of everyday life in Western Immoren.  A code as old as the Iron Kingdoms themselves rules their conduct, and in many cases these bands of sell-swords are more forthright in their dealings than most victuals merchants.  Violating this ancient Charter is a grave act which will ruin a Mercenary company for many reasons - the foremost of which is the reality that the Charter is accepted as law in almost all of the Iron Kingdoms

Mercenaries in good standing are accept contracts to conduct military action against other military forces.  Some of these contracts are from private individuals, but the main employers of Mercenary companies are the Iron Kingdoms themselves.  It's sometimes humorous to review a company's deployment history - though they never accept missions against the agency that first commissioned them, they very often fight against those they recently were employed by.  Unless of course that particular contract stipulated a "cooling down" period against the employer.

There are four big contracts that constantly attract new companies.  These are for major military forces, for the most part.  For example, the Highborn Covenant Contract is pretty much given to any Mercenary company who is fighting in occupied Llael, especially if they are hired by the Cygnaran government or the Llaelese government in-exile.  The Searforge Commission is a contract that any potential mercenary commander has to deal with if they want to hire Rhulic mercenaries.  However, the Four-Star Syndicate has a standard contract, and routinely hires companies of Mercenaries to conduct its more brazen raids.  Even the fleets of pirates on the Broken Coast have founded their own standard contract, called the Talion Charter.

In our particular neck of the woods, there are large movements of the Steelheads, an old and highly reputable Mercenary company.  Aside from a few smaller companies of great renown, it's this company you're most likely to encounter.  The Steelheads are very large, and have multiple deployments across a wide range of contracts - of course, they never violate the Mercenary Charter by creating a "conflict of interests".  However, there are whispers of soldiers marching out of Rhul...

The bottom line is that Mercenaries are employed as a matter of course by the military powers of the Iron Kingdoms.  They are motivated solely by profit, and governed by honor.  Non-military targets are never accepted, and civilians are never tortured, pillaged or extorted.  This is ancient tradition, and practical policy as well.  In many cases, Mercenary companies behave better than many national militaries.  It is for this reason the populace at large does not balk at such private armies.

Many laws, contracts and charters rule the Mercenary's life.  Yet, this code has a certain honor in it.  Many commanders never feel restrained by it at all, but rather they feel liberated from many other laws.  Though there are many strictures in the Charter, a clever Mercenary commander can find a lot of wiggle-room in the wording of his contracts.

The Iron Kingdoms: Protectorate of Menoth

The followers of a vengeful god have created a haven for themselves in Western Immoren.  Menoth, the True Creator of Man, has called forth his chosen.  In recent times, followers of the True Faith have heard the call of the Creator and migrated en masse to this new land, a holy land.  Now, the world shakes with the power of Menoth's armies, and the ranks of the believers continue to swell.

Once (and not so long ago), the the lands now known as the Protectorate of Menoth were a part of Cygnar. Following the Cygnaran Civil War in 484 A.R., Cygnar ceded the eastern portion of the capital city of Caspia.  The Menites renamed their portion of the city Sul, and the new kingdom on the eastern bank of the Black River began to flourish.  With their warcasters seemingly empowered by their Creator god, the worshippers of Menoth began a campaign of expansion that now includes lands as far north as the Llaelese city of Leryn.

The people who dwell in the lands of the Protectorate are invariably faithful adherents to the Canon of True Law, the holy writ of Menoth.  Almost all of the original inhabitants who lived in these lands were driven out if they accepted other gods, and as Menites from other kingdoms began to arrive and settle in the new promised land there became less and less room for the unbelievers.  Now the land is populated by fundamentalists, extremists and zealots.  The onward grind of the Menite war effort does not lack for enthusiastic volunteers.

Worship of other gods is outlawed in the Protectorate, which is problematic given the state of affairs with the more open-minded Kingdom of Cygnar.  No other god is above Menoth, and it's not uncommon for travelers who are openly reverent of other deities to be murdered by angry mobs frothing with religious zeal. Indeed, few are the fools who travel to the Protectorate without Menoth in their hearts.

The other Iron Kingdoms keep the Protectorate at arm's length, diplomatically speaking.  It's a state of open war with all other kingdoms as far as the Menites see it, and this does much to continually widen the gap between their new state and the other nations of Western Immoren.  As things are now, the state of affairs is only poised to worsen.  Yet even as the other Iron Kingdoms are forced to deal with them militarily, the might of the Protectorate of Menoth grows with each new pilgrim that finds their way to Menoth's holy land.

This short treatise is the second part outlining one of the Iron Kingdoms background for our players who have been on the edges of the club's game.  Check out the earlier background segment for Cygnar, then choose a warcaster and help us build a fantastic narrative!

The Reaping of Caen Campaign Open!

The 2013 campaign is underway!

Now we're in a good groove with Warmachine, and we've got new players this Season!  This time, the games are bigger and the battles more expansive!  Not only that, but there will be more battles this season altogether!

We've decided that the Protectorate of Menoth, having won the first few campaigns in a row, will be our narrative's villains!  That puts everyone else on the back heel, including Cryx...we'll have to wait until Cryx warcasters outnumber their Menite counterparts to consider them a real threat at this time...but they are there, feeding on the helpless.  This will mean they count as Forces of Destruction!  At this time, the Warmachine faction alignments are arranged as thus:

• Cygnar - Order
• Retribution of Scyrah - Order
• Protectorate of Menoth - Destruction
• Cryx - Destruction
• Khador - Warcaster Choice
• Mercenaries - Warcaster Choice

For those, you could really argue it should be each warcasters' choice when you really think about it, but we're not going to.  Factions are set for now, since this is the narrative we've chosen.  When Khadoran or Mercenary warcasters enter the narrative, they will choose Order or Destruction as normal.

Time to start your games up!  You can check the campaign page out by clicking the link in the State of Play or the Inner Sanctum on the right.  Be prepared for more Warmachine goodness coming this Season!

Lt. Caine's Skirmish Team! (15 Points)

Well, the Warmachine season is over, so for the next few months we'll be working on some other nifty modelling projects.  Yet before it's too long forgotten, I'm going to post this last season's project log as I actually got something accomplished (however small the project...)!

I finally buckled down and started painting, and turned out a 15 point force for my warcaster, Lt. Caine.  I've heard he's not all that competitive (and I certainly didn't do well in the campaign) but I don't know if it was because my force selection wasn't up to par or just being newish to Warmachine in general.  Whatever that case may be, I do think I painted some passable models.

Lt. Caine

I decided to do this project with Army Painter Quickshade, which a lot of our recent projects have been using.  This particular army is done with Strong Tone, as I prefer a darker appearance.  I used a variety of Games Workshop and Army Painter colors, and basically tried to paint the scheme from the books, which is sort of a new thing for me.

Gun Mage Captain-Adept

Warmachine has a nifty advantage in terms of painting projects.  That is, the forces are smaller than the hordes of minis you have to paint for some other games.  Not that I mind that, but I find the smaller forces for a lot of the Schedule 2 games make for satisfying opportunities to accomplish something with my downtime.

Hunter Light Warjack

Warjacks are fun to paint.  That is really the point of this entire post.

Charger Light Warjack

It makes me want to play Battletech, really.  I might really yearn for a Rifleman and a Longbow, but these 'jacks do scratch the giant robot sized itch in my heart.

Defender Heavy Warjack

I finished the bases with a combination of Autumn Blend and Autumn Foliage, by Gale Force 9.  I really liked the effect, and I'll be playing with these a lot in the future I can tell.  It's always neat to do something different for the bases, and to be quite honest I wanted to break from my "Forbidden Planet" routine for bases.

Long Range Recon (15 pts) - March 2011

Next season we're expanding to 25 points!  There will be more mayhem and 'jack handling in the Iron Kingdoms in a few months, and we're going to be seeing a lot more projects for Warmachine down the line.

Bone out!

Forest of Shadows Final Scores!

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.

The campaign is over!

Exemplar Kreoss 
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

1. Skim: Exemplar Kreoss, 1st Place - 11.11 CP
2. Captain Video: Warwitch Deneghra, 2nd Place - 8.44 CP
3. Dirty Greg: Drake MacBain, 3rd Place - 5.33 CP
4. 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 Word of Menoth

The

Word

of

Menoth

by Scrivener J. Potter

The Protectorate of Menoth, 605 A.R.

With an unwavering faith in the Canon of the True Law, Mikael Kreoss is a powerful leader and a hero to the people of the Protectorate.  Unafraid to oppose heretics and unbelievers, he has led many forces to victory with a dedication that has not gone unnoticed by the ruling visgoths.  Fresh from a successful campaign to the Bloodstone Marches in search of the Holy Blood of Menoth, Kreoss began having prophetic dreams of the Lance of Ancient Law. He knew that action must be taken to retrieve this holy relic before it fell into unworthy hands.

Kreoss consulted with various high priests and scrutators and learned the supposed location of the Lance of Ancient Law.  The mission was deemed vital and Kreoss was soon dispatched to the Forest of Shadows in search of Castle Du Vantaine, which had previously been the site of unnatural happenings.  The fighting in the area has been intense.  There have been sightings of Cygnaran forces, mercenary companies, and worst of all Cryxian scum.  It is no matter to Kreoss, as he has taken the lead with a small force of warjacks and various Exemplar units hand selected to send all the unbelievers to Urcaen for judgement.

Judgement for the Unworthy

In Kreoss' main battle force he has chosen the finest members in the Knights Exemplar units, along with a large contingent of Exemplar Errants. A unit each of Exemplar Bastions and Exemplar Cinerators was chosen as well, to help burn the unclean and protect Kreoss. Upon hearing of the importance of the operation, Leonius Thracius, an old friend and Knights Exemplar Seneschal volunteered to join the ranks and help lead the forces to victory.

The decision was made to include only a few warjacks in the force as to allow less need for fuel and repairs.  Only one heavy warjack is included, the Crusader, a very powerful and lethal lumbering behemoth.  It was chosen for not only the amount of damage it can take, but the amount it can give.  It is able to use it's open hand for straight damage, grapples and throws. Its greatest weapon, however, is the powerful inferno mace.  It not only smashes opponents to dust, but burns them to ash as well.

A Repenter and a Revenger have been included as well.  These smaller jacks are faster than the Crusader and can deal quite a bit of damage to the unbelievers as well.  With the Repenter's flamethrower, it is able to handle troops from afar as well as in combat with it's powerful war flail.  The Revenger is equipped with a halberd that gives this jack an advantage in combat as well as a repulsor shield that keeps this machine from taking too much damage from an enemy combatant by pushing them out of reach.  With Kreoss and his Exemplars marching north for the Protectorate, the other factions of Western Immoren have much to be concerned about.

Long Range Recon

Long Range

Recon

By Scrivener Hannan

The Border of Cygnar and Llael, 605 AR.

Allister Caine has been a thorn in the side of Cygnar High Command for quite some time.  He's got quite a reputation for being generally uncouth, and has a long record of disciplinary actions.  After a particularly nasty business involving a fifth of Shmashmouf's cheapest cognac and a certain general's daughter, Caine has found himself reassigned to what his last commander considers a "more appropriate use of your talents".

Fighting has been heavy in the Thornwood, and not just against Khadoran forces.  Cryxian raiders, Menite crusaders, employed Mercenaries - even strange talk about pigmen with guns.  The Cygnaran 1st army will need more information from the various salients, and constant intelligence updates if they are to outmaneuver enemies on all fronts.  To that end, the 1st Army has begun to employ long range reconnaissance units to gauge the current situations in Llael, Ord and even Khador itself.  Lt. Caine has found himself in command of one of these "prestigious" units.

The mission is simple:  Continually run a reconnaissance picket in the most dangerous parts of the warzone and engage enemy units that can be destroyed.  Alert Cygnar command to concentrations that cannot.  Through this sort of hit and run warfare, the beast that is Khador will be trimmed of it's claws.

Reconnoitre and Engage

Assigned to Caine's command are Arcane Tempest Gun Mages, though not very many personnel would be assigned to this sort of mission.  Hand picked by Caine, his "friends" are both accomplished Captains of the Arcane Tempest (one respectable enough to be called Adept) and readily accepted this assignment once they lost a certain amount to Caine in a card game.  Though only a handful of soldiers, the Black 13th Strike Team has been seconded to Caine's command for the duration of his stay north of the border.

The reconnaissance force consists mostly of expendable warjacks, instead of living soldiers.  Caine has managed to secure several Hunter warjacks, his current favorite.  The reconnaissance force mostly contains light warjacks as it needs to move quickly, and includes a Lancer.  A Defender has been assigned to Captain Jhaq and his Gun Mages, and has done well as a gun platform and as the only heavy warjack in the recon force.  Since the unit mostly works in wilderness areas and conceals itself with trickery both arcane and mundane, the warjacks need to be tended at all times.

Arlan Strangewayes has volunteered to maintain the warjacks for this mission, which he is thoroughly enjoying.  Seeing his beloved machines put through the ringer, far away from the lines, proves to him that his faith in Cygnaran engineering is well founded.  He is determined to make sure every 'jack makes it back to the border.  For his part, Arlan has become friends with Elton Friske...a journeyman warcaster assigned to Caine. Friske's Charger now bears some tinkering from Strangewayes, and the young man may be picking up more useful information from Arlan than Caine.  Any way it goes from here, one thing is certain: each man is in it for the long haul...

The Iron Kingdoms: Cygnar

The Iron Kingdoms has been riven with warfare for hundreds of years.  Nations have risen and fallen to the might of the sorcerous constructs characteristic of that world, Immoren.  Today I'm going to go over a few of the basic points dealing with one of the "superpowers" of the Warmachine world, the Kingdom of Cygnar.  They call Cygnar the crown jewel of the Iron Kingdoms, and rightly so as it is hands down the center of learning and the arts throughout the known world.  Of all the places one might visit in the entirety of Western Immoren, the Kingdom of Cygnar is almost assuredly the most hospitable and cosmopolitan.

Cygnar is located right in the middle of the Western Immoren coast, and controls many islands in the Wailing Sea.  The Nightmare Empire of Cryx infests the western isles leading into the Sea of a Thousand Souls, and wages a constant war with Cygnar.  The Kingdom of Cygnar shares its southeastern border with the Protectorate of Menoth, and on the north the Kingdom of Ord and the belligerent Empire of Khador are it's neighbors.  The Bloodstone Marches form the wilderness to the east, and it is rumored there are monstrous warriors from a distant land making the Marches their home.  Truly, Cygnar is surrounded on all sides by enemies who would stamp it out if given the chance.

The people of Cygnar are nothing if not courageous, however.  They have cultivated their arts and sciences and are really the only egalitarian and cosmopolitan kingdom in all of Immoren.  King Leto, the current monarch, presides over the kingdom from his fastness at the ancient city of Caspia.  He is supported in his decision making and the rulership of his people by the Cygnaran Royal Assembly.  Despite the constant state of war, advances are being made all the time, and Cygnar is without a doubt the most humanitarian of all the Iron Kingdoms.

Science has made huge leaps in Cygnar to the extent that all of their warmachines and other arms rely on advanced technology.  Rifled cannons, armor penetrating rounds and even huge electric arc generators are the province of the army of Cygnar.  They boast some of the most advanced warjacks in Immoren, and when compared to those of the other Iron Kingdoms the superiority is apparent - most Menite and Mercenary 'jacks are simply the cast off old models of the newer, more advanced models from the Cygnaran Armory.

The Menites might argue that Cygnar is a bed of slithery and vile apostates, but the fact is that Morrow is a more tolerant god than Menoth.  Save the hardliner Creationists, most Cygnarans venerate Morrow as their saviour and protector.  Morrow is a more caring and forgiving god than Menoth, and it's much better as a "state" religion, although official Cygnaran activity is never undertaken as the will of their god but rather all the states' moves are secular in origin.  Taken from almost every standpoint in Immoren, Cygnar stands tall as the mightiest bastion of light, law and good in the entirety of Caen.

This short treatise is meant to bring up some of our folk who have been lingering on the periphery of Warmachine to catch up on some of the background.  With the new Iron Kingdoms RPG hitting the shelves this year, we want to make sure everyone has a cursory knowledge of the goings on in Immoren!  New narratives will be built, more warcasters will join the fight - soon Warmachine will have a huge intertwined campaign continuity here at the Wargate!  Stay tuned for more treatises on the lands of Western Immoren!

Warmachine Unit Types

Well blimey, we've had almost two weeks since our last post!  Thanks for the small vacation - that's our longest lull yet!  However, we're never resting here at the Wargate - our current campaigns are right on target! That brings me to today's topic...

With Warmachine becoming a fixture in our pantheon of games I wanted to do a short primer for those folks who aren't versed with how units are delineated and armies constructed in Warmachine.  Compounded with the recent announcement by Privateer Press of a new Iron Kingdoms role-playing game (which I believe we're going to see here at the Wargate soonish) it felt like the right time to discuss this.  If  you're not a Warmachine player yet, take a second (or even a first) look and join us in Immoren in a different kind of armored warfare!

There are four basic unit types available in Warmachine.  These are warcasters, warjacks, units and solos. Each of these units will be described in a little more detail below, but for now just know that each army will possess the ability to buy units in those four broad categories.  There is a fifth unit type that was made available last summer with the Wrath book:  the battle engine.  I'm not covering those here, however - this is a beginner's primer and the battle engines are a new addition to the game.

After you have decided which army you're going with, the next step is to pick a warcaster.  You have to pick a warcaster before you choose your army, for a number of reasons.  Warcasters don't remove points from your army total, instead they add points to your available total, but with one caveat:  you must spend the extra points on warjacks.

Once you have chosen a warcaster, choose your army in one of two basic ways.  First, you can simply take units straight out of the book.  You have your army points limit and extra points from your warcaster, and there is nothing stopping you from taking whatever awesome units you want from the army list.  However, your second option is a "tier" list based on your warcaster.  Each warcaster will have a "tier list" card that shows you what the restrictions and bonuses you can accrue with that warcaster by taking certain units.  For instance, Lt. Caine of Cygnar gains bonuses if he takes ranged warjacks and Arcane Tempest Gun Mages.

Cryx Warcaster - Lich Lord Asphyxious

Your warcaster is your most important and arguably most powerful playing piece.  It's the most important because most games are over if your warcaster (which represents you, the general, on the tabletop) dies.  Warcasters possess fantastic stats, but also possess a range of special rules and are able to cast a plethora of spells.  Each warcaster has his own theme to build on, so check out the spells and feats of each warcaster when choosing one.

Mercenary Warjack - Mangler

Warjacks are the big robot things.  Yeah, they might have different names, like bonejack or helljack.  These monsters are the real line-breakers, and each one is tailored to a special battlefield need.  You can mount heavy assaults with some, while others can deliver a punishing amount of firepower.  Each army has access to a large range of warjacks for it's warcasters, however if you are using a tiered list for your warcaster you may be restricted to certain types.

Protectorate of Menoth Unit - Temple Flameguard

Unit is the term for a squad of soldiers.  These aren't powerhouse individual like warcasters, but regular troopers from your faction.  Units are capable of fulfilling a lot of roles on the battlefield, and unlike warjacks can actually control an objective on the map.  Units can pose a major threat to other units and solos, and can cause problems for even the mightiest warcaster.  Beware warjacks, however - unless your unit is tailored to fight against a 'jack, the high armor ratings of such units means your soldiers will struggle with them.  Briefly.

Khador Solo - Koldun Lord

Solos are heroic individuals who are more powerful than a normal soldier but not as awesome as your warcaster.  They typically possess several fantastic skills and are usually very cheap to include in your army.  Solos usually work well with units, and in some cases represent a more advance warrior from a unit available to your force.  These warriors can add special rules to your arsenal you wouldn't otherwise possess, and can be critical to achieving success certain forces.

All in all, Warmachine is a tight game.  The mechanics are easy, the models are cool and building an army is fun.  Don't listen to those nay-sayers - even if it shares elements with other genre of games, it doesn't mean it's not successful at the blend.

The Forest of Shadows continues this week!  We're going to see some neat project logs this season from our clubs' jaunt through Immoren.  The 15 point armies we've been playing with are small and easy to paint up, so why not give it a shot?  It's cheap (for a wargame) and doesn't use up much space (for a wargame) or time (for a wargame)!

Rulebook Ruminations: Forces of Warmachine

Ah, the mighty army book.  We see a lot of them come and go, mostly for Games Workshop games.  Today I want to take a moment to talk about the line that brings our Warmachine armies to life, Forces of Warmachine.  These books detail all the units used by each of the armies of the Iron Kingdoms in lavish detail.

The books are extremely high quality, printed on nice glossy paper in full color.  Each of them is packed with huge and colorful artwork, vividly bringing to life the warriors of the kingdoms.  Also included is a more complete background treatment for your force, at least more complete than the ones given in the basic rulebook.  There's also a good sized story opening each volume, to get that extra bit of characterization.

One of the best things about this line is that you don't really need them to game.  All the unit's important stats are given on it's card, which you get when you buy the model (unless it's second hand or from another edition).  Really you want the cards anyway, but the Forces books are nice to have for that extra completeness.  There's a wealth of information on individual units that simply can't be put on a card, but none of it mechanical in nature.

This line was also one of the first to introduce the concept of having hardcover army books to game-dom at large.  Forces of Warmachine volumes are available in both soft and hard cover formats, which adds a great deal to the value for a lot of folks.  It seems to have spread - Battlefront and Games Workshop are starting to turn out better hardcovers, even for the army books and expansions.

All told, if you're considering Warmachine you should definitely pick up the Forces of Warmachine book for  your army.  The characterizations alone are valuable for our narratives, and the books themselves are beautiful.  They look fantastic in a set too, so if you're a collector watch out for these volumes.  You might find them slowly taking up more and more space on your shelf...

Creeping Into the Forest of Shadows

It's been a few months since our last Warmachine campaign, but the fires are still warm in our warjacks.  Our new campaign, The Forest of Shadows has begun along with the New Year!  Check out the campaign page here!

Welcome back to the Iron Kingdoms, warcaster!  We're going to have a longer campaign this time, with some interesting scenario rules later on to boot.  We're going to see a lot more varied combat this time around, as we're a lot more versed in the rules.  So what's the skinny on the campaign itself?

First, this campaign is simpler in design than some that have come before it.  Our standard system is becoming that of Campaign Points and Influence (or CP*INF, for you nerds), rather than one or the other.  We seem to like this method best, so we'll be trying it out in a few different games starting with this one.  We'll still by trying new systems all the time, but I wanted to point out that this campaign presents that system as transparently as possible.  We'll get to see it in action this campaign, right as our scores change.

So who's this strange Baron Du Vantaine?  There's a few rumors the warcasters managed to hear on their journey to Llael, some of which ring of truth.  One thing in particular weighs on their minds, however.  In the last few years right before the invasion, the forest around the castle was already shunned and considered haunted.  It seems the Baron may have turned mad toward the end.  Strange things were seen all around, and it is said that the voice of the Baron calling out could be heard on the wind.

For miles around the forest, the land is desolate of human life.  Not even an occupying force to garrison the castle.  What could possibly lie there?  The warcasters all know one thing - whatever it is, it is a powerful weapon of war.

We're gonna have a blast in the next few months finding out what happens.  Though it hasn't quite caught on with everyone here just yet, Warmachine is a great game with an exciting world behind it.  There's lots of possibility with the narratives here, and I expect to see more armies spring up this coming year. Don't be afraid to look into it, as forces are relatively cheap in the gaming hobby and the pieces are large and spectacular.  Check out the Privateer Press Warmachine website for more, and see if you can find an army to make your bid for control of the Iron Kingdoms!

The Blood of Menoth: Victorious Protectorate!

The campaign has wrapped up for this season, so I thought I'd waste no more time in trying to post the results of the campaign and commend the campaign to record!  

The 

Blood 

of 

Menoth

Wargate Summer Campaign 2011

Western Immoren has been at war for some time now.  Since the invasion of Llael by the Empire of Khador, the realms have been in turmoil even more agitated than normal, with skirmishes breaking out along the entire breadth of the Iron Kingdoms.

North of the Protectorate of Menoth in the Bloodstone Marches, a great discovery has been made.  The oily Blood of Menoth has been discovered in vast quantities - a substance that is crucial to the Protectorate's holy crusade.  Before a large scale operation to harvest it can be mounted, it must be determined to be in the interests of the realm before the Hierarch will devote manpower to obtaining these new fields, and enemies abound everywhere.

Hither comes High Exemplar Kreoss.  He has brought a small force of warjacks and cinerators to seek the perils of the Marches out, even as the small band of prospectors and engineers move in to the fields where the Blood of the Creator lies.

However, Kreoss has been watched.

Lt. Caine of Cygnar has been ordered to scout the movements by the Protectorate warriors and ascertain their purpose in the Marches, so close to Cygnar's borders.  Fearing a military action on the nation by the fanatic Menites, Caine and a few light warjacks move into the Marches.  After observing Kreoss' battlegroup and the accompanying Cinerators guarding the Menite drillers, it was obvious what was happening.  After reporting back to Ft. Falk, Lt. Caine and a Arcane Tempest strike team enter the Bloodstone Marches on an extended mission to sabotage the Menite harvest of oil.

They aren't alone in the Marches.  The mercenary Drake Macbain has attacked the Menite harvesters, and attacked the Cygnarans when they attempted to parley.  It appears whatever entity has hired the ruthless mercenary has tasked him with keeping the Marches clear of other troops - which raises questions as to who exactly hired these mercenaries.  Dispossessed Llaelese nobility?  Khadoran forward scouts?  Or something more sinister, such as the Skorne?  Only time will tell.

At last comes the emissary of Toruk, Warwitch Deneghra.  Hungry for souls and low on power, her bonejacks and helljacks swarm across the land at night, attacking the mortals in their camps.  Her slayers seem to want only death - and she has a requisite number of souls to reap.  The agents of Cryx have taken an interest in the development of the Protectorate's armies, and the Warwitch will stymie that development here in the Bloodstone Marches.

---

The Blood of Menoth is a narrative campaign taking place in the Bloodstone Marches.  Each of the four factions are vying for various objectives in and around the places the Protectorate is scouting for the black oil. As the campaign progresses, each faction warcaster will shape the ongoing narrative the Wargate uses for it's Warmachine campaigns.

The campaign will be a short set of skirmish games in a round robin format.  Each player will play each other player a skirmish game, and points will be calculated from their combat record.

• 1 Campaign Point for Loss
• 2 Campaign Points for Draw
• 3 Campaign Points for Win

There will also be a series of multiplayer games after each round.  This will consist of two Team Skirmishes (2v2) on 6'x4' gameboards and a final free for all game to determine the victor.

• 2 Points to Each Surviving Warcaster on Team Skirmishes.
• 3 Points to Surviving Warcaster in Free For All.

The number of campaign points each faction accumulates will determine the direction of the narrative, as well as other awesome Wargate bonuses!

---

The campaign is over!

Exemplar Kreoss has won the campaign!

Total Campaign Points and Rankings

• Lt. Caine - (0/2/0 +4) : 6 pts
• High Exemplar Kreoss - (6/1/0 +4) : 11 pts
• Warwitch Deneghra - (6/1/0) : 7 pts
•  Drake MacBain - (3/1/0) : 4 pts

---

Skim won the Wargate's first Warmachine campaign with his Protectorate of Menoth force!

The Creator Favors Those Who Are Brave!

This guy was outta control during the campaign!  Next time I'll be especially careful with Lt. Caine around Kreoss, as his feat is off the chain!

Warwitch Deneghra was played by Captain Video, and proved highly annoying to enemy warcasters because of her stealth rule!  He pulled off second place, just in front of my Cygnarans.  Drake MacBain is silly with his Jackhammer power, especially if Dirty Greg's Devil Dogs pull you to the ground with their huge metal nets.  Still, Dirty Greg got Dead Last in this campaign.  Better luck next time!

---

Exemplar Kreoss watched the Cygnarans withdraw from the battlefield.  Only a few of their soldiers actually fought the Cryx or their mercenaries, and the main force that was promised on several engagements always seemed to have logistical problems.

It was no matter.  After personally smiting her into whatever dark hell she had come from, he was confident she would not return so quickly this time.  She had suddenly collapsed into what appeared to be the darkness of her own soul, and he was robbed of the satisfaction of watching her body burn.  

He had succeeded in driving off all comers, and not even the arrogant, deceitful Cygnarans would approach the extraction sites now.  The cavorting pumps of the menials had begun to extract the Blood of the Creator from the torn earth, and the equipment and laborers were safe for now.  

With a spiteful glare at the last glimpse of blue vanishing across the sandy and rocky hills, Kreoss turned to regroup his warriors.  

The Creator had plenty more work for them to be doing...