Re: [BOYL 15 Game] Journey to the East (3rd ed WHFB scenario
Righto folks - got a bit of an update for this game.
So far there will be myself with a large force of Hobgoblins, my mate Ollie - probably with a Wood Elf warband, and Van loon and one of his mates with a small warband led by his disgraced hobgoblin Officer and a band of Ogres. Originally me and Chico had planned on some Goblinoid on Goblinoid action - still up for it fella?
I've come up with a scenario that should take into account the differing sizes of the forces involved -
The Warlord Vidhal Timotei has had a very profitable campaigning season. Having absconded from the ranks of the Mournghul Horde and stabbed all his rivals in the back, Timotei had led his small army south from the Steppe, down into the Mountains of Mourn. From a lofty viewpoint in those inhospitable peaks, he led his savage Hobgoblin warriors in raid after raid against the hapless caravans that plied the Great Silk Road.
And yet all was still not well. Despite the small mountain of gold and the sweet lamentations of its former owners still ringing in his ears, the Warlord was not satisfied. That which he sought still eluded him - an elixir of almost magical qualities that was said to be traded in small quantities in the border city of Shangwang - Sham Pu. Until Timotei had a vial of this precious liquid in his possession there would be no rest for his raiders.
Unfortunately for Timotei, however, time was not a luxury he could count on. Unbeknownst to him, his enemies were slowly closing in on all sides. From the North came Og Akhutai, one of his former officers and a notable renegade, nursing both a knife wound in the back and a thirst for revenge. With him came a band of mercenaries and lowlifes, intent on getting their hands on whatever they could. From the West and a long way from home, a band of Elves hunted the Hobgoblin known as Throgg. Before joining forces with Timotei, Throgg had terrorised the Border Princes, penetrating even as far as the outskirts of the Empire and the Loren Forest. Here he had earned the enmity of the Elves through his burning and killing and had escaped their wrath - until now.
Rumour had it that there was also a very disgruntled band of Greenskin outcasts who were on the way from their stronghold in the South to investigate why their usual rich pickings on the Silk Road had dwindled to a trickle.
As the sun sinks in the West, camp fires are lit and strong drink is passed around the Hobgoblin camp. However, as the shadows lengthen and creep forward, so to do their assailants...
As my Hobgoblins are quite a large force I figured I'd make them the objective with me as the GM. As hinted at in the back story, objectives are going to include;
- Revenge - kill a particular Hobgoblin character because of past atrocities they have committed
- Rescue - rescue captives taken by the Hobgoblins - I have 4 casualties representing an Elf, a Barbarian, a Wizard and a Knight
- Rivalry - Kill the Hobgoblin leader to take over the tribe or steal all their plunder - I have a decent size baggage train including lobotomised slave ogres pulling wagons!
I've also got a big War Altar on the go which could become some kind of objective as well...
I know Van Loon's warband is around the 400 points mark so I'd suggest upping the number of characters - L5 and L10 heroes to make them a little more durable.
I'll also be setting this scenario as a night attack - most of my army will be sat around camp fires, asleep in their tents or unconscious due to drink - cue specially made random table! I envisage there being lots of rolls to test for alcoholism and stupidity as Officers and men are woken from their drunken stupor and plunged into the chaos of a night attack - providing of course, that the sentries can be bumped off!
I'm also happy to forgo the usual rules on ranking up units and the bonus that this confers - or at least treat it as a complex maneuver with a leadership penalty to simulate the difficulty of forming coherent ranks in the dark against an ambush. Included in that will be -1 to hit penalties in the first round of combat for any Hobgoblins who have been sat around a camp fire as they struggle to adjust their eyes from the brightness of the fire to the surrounding darkness. Line of sight will also be reduced and ambushers will have the option of sneaking at half move which will make them harder to spot. If and when there are multiple combats, they'll just be treated as normal in 3rd ed. with attacks being shared out as the players see fit - if you've run out of attacks you've just got to take what's coming!
All in all that should level the playing field a bit and lend itself to all sorts of shenanigans I hope! If there is anyone else who fancies jumping in then let me know - don't forget that Paul is lending us his Barbarian Horsemen.
Here's a few pics of the bits of my army I've got done -
Best get making some tents and camp fires...
