Kings of War Battle Report and Game Review

It was inevitable -- after Karl and I split a huge box of random miniatures that we purchased at Little Wars earlier this year, we found ourselves awash in really cool fantasy miniatures. As we pawed through piles of old-school chaos warriors, Bob Olley dwarves and Ral Partha skeletons, we began sketching out ideas for playing some large-scale fantasy games. After considering a number of rulesets, we settled on Kings of War, which seemed to offer a fast-playing game that still allowed for pretty big, epic battles. The rulebook and army lists are available as free PDFs, but both Karl and I splurged for the nice hardcover rulebook.

We played our first game last week at Games Plus, our occasional game venue in suburban Chicago. The game might have taken place sooner, but Karl and I found that we needed a few extra weeks to paint and base our armies. As it was, we were able to muster armies of about 1,300 points -- basically medium-sized forces that were still below the 2,000-point threshold that Kings of War suggests for typical games.

We laid out a desert tabletop with a couple hills, a couple areas of scrub-brush and a small clump of barrels and crates near the center of the table. Kings of War is a mass battle game in 28mm, so it needs a big battlefield with less terrain that we typically use.

Karl arrayed his chaos forces along one table edge. A few of his guys are still shiny from the dip -- they were dry, but he hadn't sprayed them with matte sealer to take the shine off. Those are Confrontation werewolves in the foreground, from the prepainted plastic miniatures line by Rackham. They proved to be 1) very affordable and easy to get on the battlefield and 2) dead hard in the actual game! I fielded a block of 'em in my army, too.

I deployed my undead legions opposite him, trying to go for a tactical arrangement despite not really knowing how things would play out. I'm using custom movement trays from Litko, sized for the 25mm round circles that almost all of my undead guys use. In the background you can see my skeletal dragon. The rat swarm in front of the skeleton regiment is an actual unit upgrade in Kings of War!

We rolled for a scenario and got "Kill and Pillage," which is one of three very generic scenarios provided in the Kings of War rulebook. Basically we are both tasked with securing supplies (represented on the battlefield by oak barrels) and killing each other, with a six-turn time limit.

And then we were off! Karl's forces were much faster than my undead guys, so he surged forward and managed to get into combat in the second turn, when I was barely out of my deployment zone! Here his werewolves (the all-star unit for both of us in this game, as it turned out) and chaos lord crashed into my cavalry, which was attempting a sneaky flank move.

Shortly after this photo was taken, the cavalry took a big hit and then failed their Rout test and were removed from the table. Kings of War doesn't use individual figure removal to indicate damage to a unit -- rather, you just use a dice to track overall damage, and if the unit ever fails its Rout test, you just remove the entire block of troops from the table. This took some getting used too, since it was rather heartbreaking to remove 20 beautiful, handpainted skeletons from the table after a particularly brutal charge. But the game played fast, due in no small part to these rules!

After my cavalry evaporated into a fine red spray at the hands of Karl's werewolves, I knew I needed to get serious. I sent a block of skeleton archers charging into the flank of Karl's dragon, which suffered a bit of damage and then turned to face these bony aggressors.

Then I mobilized my own werewolves and charged them into Karl's main line of troops, eviscerating a block of chaos foot soldiers and threatening the chaos leader and standard bearer. My dragon brought up the rear in this assault.

Now, most of my photos show only the best, most decisive clashes in the game. But I left out the parts that showed how my flanks just collapsed under the combined weight of the werewolves, dragon and chaos cavalry that hit me from both sides. In both cases (again, not pictured due mostly to embarrassment) I had a 20-strong block of skeleton warriors that just fell to pieces after one or two rounds of combat. Oh look, turns out I did have a pic showing my skeletons getting turned into oversized toothpicks.

Yep, they're getting it from both ends in that photo. Victory was clearly Karl's in this game. However, it would have been interesting to play out a few more turns. I strongly suspect that our game would have devolved into "werewolves vs. werewolves," with both units (mostly unhurt) meeting in the middle of the battlefield to pound the crap out of each other. The werewolves were so potent on the battlefield (for both of us!) that before the game was even over we were already contemplating house rules or house limits on their use.

OK, now it's time for some closing thoughts from Karl and me.

Karl's Conclusion
So Kings Of War is exactly what I'd hoped it would be. The game was fast and didn't take much longer than a Song of Blades and Heroes game. The rules are really straightforward and there was comparatively little rulebook checking for a first-try of a new game.

Pat and I agreed that the game will probably balance and play much better at 2000 points. At our 1300-point limit, we didn't field quite enough units to really bring out the strategy of denying your opponent certain movements and supporting your own units through maneuvering.

My closing thoughts wouldn't be complete, however, without mentioning the mayhem that regiments of werewolves (equivalent in power to a "Horde" of most other units) can have in a game where almost all the other units are "Troop" level. My recommendation for games under 1500 points would be to limit the size of units to 20 for infantry, 3 for large infantry and 5 for cavalry. That would probably keep big units from smashing little ones too quickly as well as give each player enough units to really utilize strategy. All in all, a game I hope to play many more times. I'm painting more units for it now!

Pat's Conclusion
I had expected maneuvering to play a bigger role in Kings of War, since the unit footprints are really quite big and it's unrealistic to expect such big groups of figures to turn on a dime to face a flank threat. However, since each unit can rotate 90 degrees as part of its movement, and many units were able to rotate as many times as needed due to special rules, it never really felt like maneuvering was quite as important as it should have been.

Also, it was a big shock to play a game with such long move distances. Karl's cavalry and werewolves were charging from 18 inches away, which allowed him to reliably get into close combat on turn 2. That's a big increase from Song of Blades & Heroes, our go-to skirmish game, in which only a handful of figures can cover that much distance in a single turn.

I've concluded that I need more core foot troops like skeletons or zombies. Simply taking up space on the battlefield does not equate to combat prowess! My 20-man blocks of skeletons were dealt with easily by Karl's forces. Now, if I had another 20 or 40 skeletons waiting around to counter-charge....

Anyway, the games were fun and I think they'll be even more enjoyable once we can muster 2,000 points per player. Tim is already interested in basing up some of his miniatures for Kings of War, so look for more battle reports in the future.

 -- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Dark Days of Qaarra, Session 3: Defense of Dustcrag Oasis

We played the third session of our fantasy campaign this past week, and the evening was dominated by one big 4-player game for Karl, Tim, Josh and me. The scenario was a continuation of the narrative established during Josh's ill-fated attempt at raiding the desert caravan in our last session. His battered warband retreated into the ancient, sand-pitted hulk of Dustcrag Oasis, located on the western edge of the great Agamin desert, to rest and heal his wounds.

Josh’s position, though, is threatened by the Black Crown’s servants (Karl's warband) and the Peak’s Top kobolds (Tim's warband), which have made temporary alliance. Only a desperate missive to Brynwulf’s dwarves (Pat's warband), encamped a few short leagues away, may stave off the impending slaughter at Dustcrag Oasis. As the cold-hearted raiders close in on the fortress, the dwarves rush aid the brave defenders...

So that lays it all out -- we played a fortress siege featuring two 700-point attacking warbands versus two 500-point defending warbands. Both of the attackers started in the rocky canyon in the center of the table, while Josh's resolute defenders took up positions in the fortress. I included a scenario handout detailing victory conditions and a handful of special rules, including rules for ladders, boiling oil, and two mountain passes that just might offer a back door to the besieged fortress.

Here's how the game looked at the outset, with Karl's chaos raiders and Tim's sneaky kobolds mustering in the canyon. My dwarves are arrayed atop the rocky cliffs in the foreground, while Josh's forces peer over the battlements of the fortress in the background.

Here's a closer look at the left flank, featuring Karl's chaos knights and warriors.

And here's the right flank, currently swarming with kobolds. That huge thing on the right is an undead samurai giant. Yes, it's part of Tim's warband. Yes, it can see over the fortress walls.

And here's what Josh saw from his position on the parapets of the fortress. The fountain in the foreground is the eponymous oasis from which this locale draws its name. Over the years, travelers erected stout stone walls to protect this vital water supply from raiders and brigands.

After a few minutes' discussion of the rules, we got underway! As attackers, Karl and Tim took the first turn, and they wasted little time sending their warriors surging toward the fortress. Karl's chaos warriors sought a path across the bridge toward the main gate, and Tim's kobolds made a beeline for one of the potential canyon passes that we had identified in the scenario rules.

My dwarves weren't technically on the battlefield at this point, but they arrived en masse on turn one. Here is the scene that greeted them as they appeared on the bluffs overlooking the valley.

So much evil contained in one valley! How can the forces of Good hope to stand against such a display of savagery? Grimly hefting their axes, the dwarves prepared to march down into the valley and meet the invaders in single combat. In fact, due to the vagaries of single-figure activation in SBH, combat was joined quite a bit sooner than I had anticipated, because one of my dwarves was caught out in the open, unsupported by his comrades, when my turn unexpectedly ended. Tim's kobolds, supported by a retinue of crocodile-men, fell upon this hapless dwarf.

Thankfully, the stout fighter beat back this assault and was soon joined by his comrades. By this point, Tim's kobolds were advancing through the valley toward the canyon pass, hoping to sneak around behind the defenders.

On the left flank, Karl's chaos warriors were making good progress toward the walls. Here are a couple photos showing how his men leapfrogged one another in their haste to get to the walls. His figures are carrying ladders, which will figure heavily into the remainder of the game.

Hoist the ladder! In fact, look closely and you can see that one warrior has already gained the battlements and is engaged in hand-to-hand combat atop the walls. That's so metal!

Up on the parapets, Josh's warband watched the attack unfold with a sense of grim fatalism. His team was extremely good at shooting, and he put these skills to good use throughout the first half of the game. Here's what he saw.

Gandarf the wizard directed the defense from the fortified gatehouse.

Back in the canyon, my dwarves were harrying the flanks of the attackers. Karl and Tim had both left behind a rearguard force that was making life quite difficult for the dwarves, though. It was about this time that Tim began a string of bad-luck dice rolls that effectively put him out of the game for three consecutive turns. It took the pressure off my dwarves and allowed them to advance into Karl's backfield, threatening his advancing chaos warriors.

Upon the walls, the fighting was savage and bloodthirsty. Chaos warriors clambered up the ladders and met the blackpowder pistols of Josh's warband, not to mention the fearsome magic of Gandarf the wizard.

Near the base of the castle walls, chaos knights mustered alongside Tim's great purple worm in an attempt to batter down the gates. The scenario rules allowed both attackers and defenders to "stack" figures against the main gate by pooling their Combat scores. If at any point the attackers' collective Combat score exceeded the defenders', then the gate would come crashing down. It took some careful maneuvering, but within a few turns the attackers managed to smash open the gates and jeopardize Josh's entire strategy.

By the time the gates gave way, however, the game was nearing its turn limit. Tim's kobolds had successfully exploited the hidden canyon pass and were racing around behind the fortress. Karl's chaos knights, bloodied and reeling from their headlong charge, rallied for another assault on the thinly defended gatehouse. My dwarves reached the edges of the main battle and began to carve through the kobold rearguard. The last few turns were tense indeed!

In the end, the defenders were able to hold out for a full 10 turns against the overwhelming onslaught, so Josh and I achieved victory! Given slightly more favorable dice rolls for Tim and Karl, the game could have easily gone against the defenders. As it was, Karl quipped that this was the most fun he's had getting his butt kicked in quite a long time! The game was fun and we agreed that the scenario was pretty good, with just a few tweaks needed if we decide to play it again.

From a narrative point of view, it was neat to create some flavor and backstory for the Dustcrag Oasis, which up until now had just been an icon on our campaign map. Now it will be remembered as the site of a great battle between the forces of Good and the tides of Evil!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Third Time's a Charm for CSW's 40k Gaming

Mike and I met at the local Games Workshop store south of Chicago for a small (yet epic) clash in the world of Warhammer 40,000. Mike's Imperial Guard force met my Dark Angels army in a 530-point skirmish game.

Dark Angels Forces 

• Company Master Balthazar 
• 10-man tactical squad with plasma gun and plasma cannon 
• Dreadnought with assault cannon and missile launcher 
• Ravenwing Darkshroud with assault cannon

Imperial Guard Forces 

• Tons of mans with lasguns and grenade launchers! 
• 2 HQ squads with medics 
• 1 heavy weapons squad with autocannon 

Since we were just playing a small game, and were limited to a table with one gigantic piece of terrain, we decided to start on the corners and have an all-out battle. Here's how things looked at the outset of the battle.

Turn 1 
The Imperial Guard split their forces, sending one group around each side of main building in a flanking attempt. This turned out to be a very good move! The Dark Angels advanced, though they were less concerned with getting into cover, since the Darkshroud vehicle confers a cover save to all squads within 6 inches.

Turn 2 
The Imperial Guard started shooting through the building at the Dark Angel forces, taking down one space marine. The flanking group moved further around the building even as the Dark Angels returned fire. The dreadnought's frag missile blast templates took out a handful of guardsmen.

Turn 3 
The Imperial Guard main force moved up into the building for cover, while the flanking force maneuvered to opend fire on the advancing marines. The Dark Angels turned to face the flanking heavy weapons team.

The Guardsmen managed to destroy the Darkshroud with a single penetrating hit, blowing it up and taking out a number of nearby marines. Enraged, the Dark Angels returned fire, destroying the heavy weapons team and slaughtering handfuls of guardsmen.

Turn 4
The remaining guardsmen sneaked around behind the dreadnought and destroyed it with their grenade launchers!

The four remaining space marines and their fearless leader continued to butcher the seemingly endless hordes of guardsmen.

Endgame 
At this point, we ran out of time. From a victory points perspective, we were tied, and we decided to call it a draw. I am fairly certain that given another turn or two, the Dark Angels would have fallen to the guardsmens' numbers. I think my list choice was fun, but maybe not the most effective army. The points I spent on the Darkshroud might have been better spent on another tactical squad. I probably also should have tried to move into close combat, where I would have both dominated and been protected from further shooting.

Mike's thoughts: I got a better idea of what my force can and can't do. I know I need a few more weapons that penetrate better, but I can rely on lasguns to put some pain on standard marines. I think a few more autocannons and plasma guns might have helped more, especially if I could have gotten the plasma guns into the fight earlier. But the big winner for me were the grenade launchers. Expect to see a bunch of them in the future! I don't know if the medics did a lot to help, but I think standards would have been a good idea, along with some commissars. It was a fast (surprisingly) and fun game of 40k!

-- Josh, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Dark Days of Qaarra, Session 2: Reinforcements and Dark Rituals

Last week saw the second session of our fantasy campaign, Dark Days of Qaarra. We gathered at Josh's house this time, and the first half of the evening was taken up by one of our favorite activities: miniatures commerce. Every few weeks someone will place an order with an online retailer, or do a big group trade, so we regularly arrive at club games to find someone with an armload of miniatures, terrain or supplies that just arrived in the mail for three or four other guys.

This game night was no exception! This time we were distributing Reaper Bones (a couple guys ordered Vampire-level sets for themselves, and a couple other guys split a Vampire pledge) as well as a big order from an online shop. Because of that, we had a rather truncated game night, with three games played among six players. No big deal -- the pregame table-talk and banter is what makes CSW such a fun game club to begin with.

Game 1 - Expedition to Hearthspire (Pat) vs. Fomorian Orcs (Jon)

In this scenario, the dwarves of the expedition were camped out in a ruined village in the hinterlands surrounding Vildeburg, the capital city of Qaarra. After their fierce battle near the village of Tallenwood last session, the dwarves had received a pledge of support from Hurskegr, a thane of Vildeburg, who promised to join up with them with one of his household knights.

As the dwarves awaited the arrival of Hurskegr the thane and Erland the knight, a band of vicious Fomorian Orcs gathered in the predawn gloom to assault their position.

What followed was a vicious battle in the ruins of the village. Only the timely arrival of Hurskegr and Erland -- and the death of an orcish champion -- helped the brave dwarves prevail. Honorable mention goes to Rolf the bear, a wise guardian of the wilderness who fought fiercely for the dwarves yet again in this skirmish.

Game 2 - Servants of the Black Crown (Karl) vs. Brotherhood of Three Primes (Tyler)

The servants of the Black Crown explored deep into the fertile farmlands of Brionbock Dale, but their purpose was nefarious -- they intended to draw upon the powers of chaos by performing a ritualistic sacrifice in the bucolic woodland. Here is the only photo we got from that game.

Only the timely arrival of the Brotherhood of Three Primes, and their contingent of fearless homonculi, prevented the Black Crown warriors from completing their dark ritual. Afterward, Karl's defeated chaos worshipers found an abandoned alehouse, which they were able to get up and running again.

Game 3 - Prince Roland's Company Raids the Desert Caravan

This last scenario was a special one that Karl had been prepping for several weeks. He painted up an entire Middle Eastern-themed desert caravan complete with pack camels and lizard riders, then set up a scenario set in the Agamin Boneyard (the big southern desert) that pitted player warbands against this third-party caravan. The objective was to steal the pack animals while fending off the guards -- before the caravan could reach the safety of the Dustcrag Oasis, near the western edge of the desert.

As this was our first play-through and no one knew what to expect, it was a little rough. Despite getting mauled on the highway, Josh's warband got a few lucky rolls on the casualty charts and didn't suffer very much long-term damage. It definitely taught him a thing or two about how to use his warband! It also taught the rest of us one very important lesson: when Karl gives you a scenario handout, read it!

It was an abbreviated game night, but still plenty fun. There were a handful of casualties, some permanent, but as with our previous campaign, many players embraced the idea of the noble retreat, to let their surviving warband members live and fight another day.

We hope to keep the narrative threads going in this campaign. How will the Black Crown warriors react now that their ritual has been disrupted? Can Prince Roland's company keep soldiering on even after its defeat in the Agamin desert? Stay tuned as we play out these storylines and more!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Expedition to Hearthspire: A Dwarven Warband

At Little Wars this year, I stumbled across an old-school miniatures treasure trove: a bag of 50+ Ral Partha dwarves sculptured by Bob Olley and Tom Meier, carefully primed and based, clearly somebody's long-abandoned fantasy army project. The sculpts are old but full of charm ... and they're remarkably well proportioned. I mean, these dwarves have knees, ferchrissakes! I got the bag for $20 and immediately set about painting up a skirmish squad for our fantasy campaign.

Here's a bit of fluff, which helps situate my little group in Qaarra, our campaign world. They're based in Stonehill, a dwarven city on the west coast of Qaarra. I rather like the idea of a dwarven city that's not a subterranean labyrinth.

As chaos grips the lands of Qaarra, the fallen king of Stonehill has returned to the ancient dwarven fastness. Brynwulf, exiled lo these long years for a tragedy suffered in the past, once again strides the echoing halls of Stonehill -- but not for long. The fallen king, who still wields the shattered sword Khafnzel, has returned to muster a band of warriors to seek out the fabled mountain bastion known as Hearthspire. 

In this redoubt, sealed by arcane runes for thousands of years, rumors persist of a source of magic that might ward off the coming doom. Brynwulf and his mage Rykker, together with a band of brave dwarven warriors, have set off across the wilderlands on an expedition to find Hearthspire -- and salvation for Stonehill and all of Qaarra itself.

Brynwulf, Hurskegr and Rykker
Brynwulf himself is actually the "Fallen King" model from the Stonehaven Dwarven Adventurers Kickstarter, which I backed last year. You can see him in the center of the photo above. He is joined on his quest by Hurskegr, a human thane from the city-state of Vildeburg (the largest city in Qaarra). Hurskegr was always gripped by wanderlust, and his duties as third son of a prominent prince of Vildeburg have left him with few duties and fewer opportunities for the future. As such, he is left to win fame and fortune with sword and shield. The third leader of the expedition is Rykker, a journeyman wizard who has convinced the leaders of Stonehill that Hearthspire may hold the clues to the doom that threatens Qaarra. (Hurskegr is a "mounted thane" from Alternative Armies.)

Sigismund Breakspear, Derico the Anvil, and Odric Hammerfall
These three warriors form the core of the expedition's fighting force. Armed and equipped in the traditional dwarven manner, Sigismund, Derico and Odric can be expected to hold the line in combat.

Rolf the Bear, Skolling the Forge-Captain, and Bjorn Thunderstone
As captain of the expedition, Skolling is responsible for overseeing the dwarven warriors in battle. He also commands Rolf, the great mountain bear that has pledged his support to the dwarves' cause. Rolf is a fearsome fighter and will defend his dwarven friends with savage brutality. Finally, Bjorn Thunderstone has proven himself an able archer and scout. (Rolf is a repainted Heroclix figure.)

Even though I'm just getting around to posting about this warband, they've already hit the battlefield -- and suffered a tragedy. A dwarven warrior named Vylmar fell in combat, but the leaders in Stonehill sent his brother Derico to take his place in the expedition. So, Derico is a relative newcomer to this warband.

We're playing our campaign again this week -- stay tuned for a battle report!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

CSW's Western Chapter Demos SBH

(Editor's note: The following post is from Ryan, founding member of CSW and current president of CSW's Kansas City chapter. His fantastic orc carrying the City of Chicago flag, pictured above, inspired our current club logo.)

I had the pleasure of introducing some friends to Song of Blades & Heroes recently. I prepared a simple one-on-one battle-royale scenario between a band of vicious lizardmen and bloodthirsty orcs fighting over a remote hamlet.

Since both players were new to the game, we chose to ignore the special abilities, except for ranged attacks. Overall I think the game went well and the rules, as can be expected with Song of Blades & Heroes, were pretty easily picked up. I even think that ignoring the special abilities didn’t detract much from the game. What follows is the tale of that battle...

Sure, I’ll tell you what happened here… if you buy me a drink and a meal. Things seem less fuzzy when a man has a full belly and a satisfied thirst. Otherwise I might accidentally leave out some of the details. 

Ah, that’s better. So, you see, my boy and me were putting in an honest day’s work in the smithy when the church bells start to ringing, which around here is never a good sign. Usually it means someone’s died, someone’s married or something bad is coming. Turns out in this case it was the latter. We set out running for the church with the hope of some protection from what was coming. Some of the shepherds, and most of their sheep, had met an unfortunate end when they was set upon by a band of filthy, stinking orcs. What? They really don’t smell that good, and I ain’t never even been close to one! 

Anyway, we made it just in time, because a group of them orcs and one of their ogre fiends started marching into view. 

Of course, before they could get to reaving and marauding, they was set upon by a group of walking lizardmen. I guess those shepherds didn’t get a chance to warn us they was coming... 

Well, we had a right nice view of all the action from inside the church tower. Didn’t want to be getting too close now, did we? They wasted no time closing on each other with arrows flying, axes grinding and steel ringing. 

At first the lizardmen seemed outmatched, especially with that ogre lumbering up from the rear of the battle, but those quick little orange lizards musta been awful lucky, as they took a couple good shots at that giant and got him right between the eyes, all four of ‘em I guess. 

Well, he came down with a mighty crash and things went from bad to worse for the orcs from there on out. The lizards ganged up on the remaining orcs until all that was left was the big bloke with horns sticking out of his helmet. 

He put up a pretty ferocious defense and was able to take down one of two of the lizards but they eventually swarmed him, and well, that was that. Luckily those lizards were preoccupied with their, ahem, spoils to care about sniffing us out and left dragging their prizes behind them. Here’s hoping we don’t see them anytime soon, eh? 

Well there you have it. Told you it’d be a pretty gruesome tale. Hope it don’t give you nightmares. Oh and safe travels. You’re gonna need it. 

--Ryan, Chicago Skirmish Wargames member