We decided that with the fulfilment of the Torch & Shield Kickstarter complete, we would run a small Tale of Gamers series in the style of the White Dwarf favourite series.
Being a smaller scale skirmish game, we decided to run it over three parts.
Crew creation - we build our lists and assemble our minis
Crew painting - put a lick of paint on the minis
Multiplayer bash battle report - we are going to play the Wraithstorm scenario from Darker Halls, and the winner will take the spoils and the glory!!
Jimmy's Knights of the Crown
I wanted to give the black sheep of the Copperbrow family a run and see if I could make it work.
The Knights of the Crown force is tough to win with, because you are always going to lose out on initiative. You simply wont have enough cards to to get the drop on larger crews. Fortunately, the Knights have some big advantages. They have a high Martial Skill and they are survivable. You must buy them either Mail, Platemail or Full Plate - so they will be hard to remove.
I chose to go with the following list:
Greyshield with Broadsword, Shield, Platemail and Jarl's Mountain Brew. I also chose the Hardcore Trait, and a Valour point.
KotC with Platemail, a Torch and a Hammer.
KotC with Mail, a Shield, a Halberd and Red Brick Kvass Master Brew.
KotC with Platemail, a Spear and a Shield.
KotC with a Lantern and a Pick. Plus a tankard of Manling Piss.
I used the Torin the Blade model for my Crew leader, and as he is a big dwarf, I wanted him to just be a nightmare to kill. Jarl's Mountain Brew will help heal him up, and with the Hardcore trait, he will be a top fighting form until his last breath.
I also went with two polearms. This will give me options in the Delving Phase in a pinch. Knights of the Crown are not the greatest at Reach Attacks, but a third of the time is good enough odds when things get desperate. I have a couple of shields for Barge actions and a pick to deal with any other heavily armoured enemy.
Noddy's Buldahr Rune Hunters
The Buldahr clan called to me with their wilder style of the miniatures, and I enjoy painting skin and fabrics. I also was also drawn to the cool Bloodthanes (I'd take two if I could in a starting list!) and runes, so I decided I would try to theme my list around this a bit.
My thought process - due to not having access to armour, I should try to atleast outnumber enemy dwarf crews (hopefully) but still tried to fit in a healthy mix of weapons, leaning to the harder hitting ones of course. Due to the restriction of one Bloodthane to a starting list, I decided to take the Wandering Rhugni hireling into the crew with the idea that he is helping them hunt for new runes and possibly going to inscribe the second Thane (who will be my crew leader) with some blood runes in future!
I believe my weakness will be coming across a crew with lots of heavy armour, as I'm lacking the Piercing trait to help puncture them, but I hope that I'll be able to make up for it with damageif or when they manage to get past the armour. Time will tell!
My crew list is as follows:
Thane - Grit, Halberd, +1 Fortune
Bloodthane - Paired Axes
Berserker - Battleaxe
Clansman - Hammer/Mace, Shield
Clansman -Â Broadsword, Torch
Hurler - Ancestral Charm of Hastus, Blackpowder Brew
Shortbeard - Spear
Wandering Rhugnir
I've fit in 3 heavy weapons, 3 reach, 1 paired set (exploding hits please!), two hammers for pushing, a couple with riposte and one lonely shield for a barge action. I'm a bit light on throwing axes for my liking but we can't afford it all! To make up for the lack of armour, I tried to add a bit of staying power with selecting Fortune and the Grit trait on my Thane, who will be leading the crew.
The Bloodthane comes with a fortune point already, and the Hastus Charm (giving +1 Fortune) on the Hurler spreads out more staying power on dwarves that I believe will be on opposing crews' hit lists.
For attacks with range further than reach weapons, I've got the Hurler who can throw the first spear with some oomph drinking the Blackpowder brew like a champ, this will negate his 'wind up' of power throws (he throws better the less spears he has) by kicking off with a big throw too! And the Wandering Rhugni will provide some vital support of bringing my second torch light source, helping the crew with any craft checks and a lot of utility with his Runecraft abilities - one of which may help negate enemy crews' advantage of blackpowder weapons, or putting out their torches (Torrent Rune).
Come fight me like dwarves, where we Buldahr can wrestle you!
Now to see if I have the time or ability to paint tattoos on my rune hunters...
Dave's First Ironthanes
Hi,
I'm Dave and I've never played Ironthanes before.
*sound of crickets*
Dan's "Tale of Four Dwarves" articles seemed like an excellent opportunity to get to grips with the clan I've spent the least time with during development (that time is zero). Ironthanes get some very cool and powerful abilities in the form of their Tactical Doctrines and have some very specialised fighters that absolutely excel in their role, so I'm very keen to put them through their paces. For the actual models, I'll be using the normal Ironthanes, printed with magnet holes in their arms. I've already got a small arsenal of painted weapons available, so this will save me some time. The Ironthanes do have some uniquely designed weapons, so I will be printing and painting those.
I like to take the coolest toys, so one of each unique Ironthane option seems like a good place to start. By default, the Weaponthane becomes my crew Leader. He's got a beastly profile and I have seen them perform some truly monstrous feats in playtest games, so I'm very excited about him. Three specialists is not a lot of bodies though. Ironthanes can take Greyshields, Thanes, Clansmen and Shortbeards. I've already got all the big hitters I need, so time for some cheap guys to fill things out.
One Weaponthane
One Shieldthane
One Siegethane
Clansman
Clansman
Shortbeard
Shortbeard
Shortbeard
Much better. Copperbrows and Ironthanes tend to sit at around six to seven crew, while Buldahr usually clear eight. More bodies is always better but I need to save some money because I still need equipment!
I'll start with the mandatory stuff. The Shieldthane needs a shield and to make the most of the Siegethane, I need to give him a decent ranged weapon but can't use blackpowder. I also want to invest in keeping my better fighters alive but I can't take Full Plate. Mail increases Resilience without breaking the bank, so Mail for the Dwarves that I expect to get hit.
I also need light. Going in to the Hold without a light source is asking to not come back out again. The Shortbeards aren't going to be winning too many combats, so they get torches.
One Weaponthane with Mail Armour
One Shieldthane with Greatshield & Mail Armour
One Siegethane with Arbalest
Clansman with Mail Armour
Clansman with Mail Armour
Shortbeard with Torch
Shortbeard with Torch
Shortbeard with Torch
Ok. With the exception of my Siegethane, I've now got a bunch of unarmed Dwarves.
I've still got gold left, so time for some actual weapons. I want to be using my Weaponthane to be hunting other heroes and with the Vainglorious rule, I expect some silly Bloodthane is going to try and Duel him at some point. So, he is getting a sword and an axe. The sword is for winning when the odds are even. The axe is for killing things when the odds are already good.
The Shieldthane is going to get a pick, as that will give me a way to deal with some tarted up Knights of the Crown. The Shortbeards are getting Spears. I'm a big fan of Spears. Reach Attack is an incredibly powerful ability, particularly coming from fighters that would lose in an even match. The two Clansman are getting some specialised weapons. The War Mattock is just in case that Shieldthane can't manage Full Plate by himself. The Warhammer is there for all of those occasions when you just need to spartan kick someone in to a ravine. Being able to control positioning is an incredibly strong ability when used well and hammers deserve a spot in your crew.
One Weaponthane (14gc) with Sword (2gc), Axe (2gc) & Mail Armour (3gc) = 21 gc
One Shieldthane (10gc) with Greatshield (2gc), Pick (1gc) & Mail Armour (3gc) = 16gc
One Siegethane (10gc) with Arbalest (4gc) and Firebombs (2gc) = 16gc
Clansman (8gc) with Warhammer (3gc), Shield (1gc) & Mail (3gc) = 15gc
Clansman (8gc) with War Mattock (3gc) & Mail (3gc) = 14gc
Shortbeard (4gc) with Torch (1gc) & Spear (1gc) = 6gc
Shortbeard (4gc) with Torch (1gc) & Spear (1gc) = 6gc
Shortbeard (4gc) with Torch (1gc) & Spear (1gc) = 6gc
Three torches might not seem like much light but it's worth mentioning that the Siegethane can take Firebombs. Lighting your enemies on fire is just as good, if not better, than carrying the lantern around yourself. With that, I've spent all my gold and have a fairly fearsome looking crew to show for it.
Time to go recoup my investment...
Jeremy's Fat Ironthanes
As soon as I saw the cool as spartan style Ironthanes I couldn't choose any other clan.
I tried to make a decent sized crew. Which meant I couldn't really think about the Weaponthane. I tried to take units I wanted, that sounded cool like the Shieldthane and kinda keep costs down enough to still have enough models in the crew.
Ironthanes tend to be the smallest of the three clans, so I had to pull back on the armour purchases and stick with breastplates. Same reason as above, to keep costs down so I could still have a good amount of models on the board. In future, I might make another crew later that are fully tanky but I know I’d probably only have 4 dudes. I gave them all the breastplates to keep it simple for my smooth brain so I don’t have a lot of things to manage.
I kept my leader choice simple too, a basic Thane. I didn’t think I really needed a Greyshield that much. The Thane gives me the leader, and again that couple of bucks difference allowed me to buy something else.
My main strategy with this force is try to make the most of the shieldwall rule, and try to synergise it with my chosen tactical doctrine which is the mountain breaker doctrine - this allows all my Dwarves to Drive Back one adjacent enemy at the start of the phase. Very handy.
Okay here is what I have got:
Ironthane Mountain Breaker Crew
Thane - 10gc + 2gc for Breastplate + 2gc for Sword + 1gc for Shield = 15gc Shieldthane - 10gc + 2gc for Breastplate + 1gc for Shield + 3gc for Warhammer = 16gc
Siegethane - 10gc + 2gc for Breastplate + 4gc for Arbalest = 16gc
Clansman - 8gc + 1gc for Shield + 1gc for Spear + 2gc for Breastplate = 12gc Clansman - 8gc + 2gc for Breastplate + 1gc for Lantern + 1gc for Mace = 12gc Clansman - 8gc + 2gc for Breastplate + 1gc for Torch + 2gc for Sword = 13gc Clansman - 8gc + 2gc for Breastplate + 1gc for Shield + 1gc for Spear = 12gc 96gc
NOW TO PAINT THESE FINE WARRIORS
Over the next couple of weeks we will post up our paint schemes and show the fine lads in colour!
Stay tuned for the next episode as we get ready for the big bash!
J.E
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