The Chronicles of the Emerald coast - 1820ic

 I Matthias, continue my chronicle of these times.

Summer 1820

• Empire wizards cast a yearlong storm onto the fortress of Rasador making scouting and subsistence nearly impossible

• First month of the year the chaos dwarves begin a siege of Belburg

• 2nd month of the year the siege of Belburg continues and the Empire pushes north exploring the riverbanks towards the lake.

• 3rd and 4th month siege continues with the inhabitants of Belburg beginning to starve

Chaos Dwarves Besiege Belburg

• Month 5 the Chaos Dwarves and Empire come to terms over Belburg, saving King Marcus Leitdorf's life and allowing his forces to march home, giving up a steam tank as a monument for Kar-Tor.

• Turn 6 the Treaty comes into effect and the Empire forces retreat returning the territories they took from the Chaos dwarves

• Beginning of winter a force of Chaos dwarves wintering in one of the outlying fortresses of Kar -Tor is struck by a plague and lost to illness.

• The empire suffers moderately from raiding losing some revenue to escaped Goblin slaves and brigands on the borders

• The Empire wizards send out a tsunami of magical energy to fill the dreams of heroes, leading to flocks of soldiers to join the banners of the Empire, adding 100 free points to the Empires roster.
• The Empire builds a fortress adjacent to Belburg anticipating a Chaos Dwarf attack in that direction, whilst the Chaos Dwarves replace losses and buy additional Baggage for the coming year.

Captured letter off of the Kings courier, during an aerial skirmish between a Griffon courier and a Taurus scout:

As of 1820 , After spending two years of heavy campaigning against the Chaos Dwarves, including a close escape due to uncharacteristic mercy from the Chaos dwarves (in no small part of the looming chevauchee of Marshal Perun (targeting a city and a village behind the front), King Marcus plans to tour the southern deserts and incorporate them into his growing kingdom. The Royal guard are exhausted and half starved, and bedevilled by bad luck since the loss of the Patriarch of fire, Henry Plotter in the first large scale engagement with the Chaos Dwarves, and are mutinous at the thought of a third straight campaigning season again those volcanic horrors.

He has trusted the campaign in the north to his trusted Lieutenants under the nominal command of Marshal Perun. The Royal banner will be carried into battle by the king's champion Captain Tiberion. For saving his King from certain capture or death in the siege of Belburg by leveraging captured Chaos Dwarven territory in a peace treaty, Marshal Perun was honoured with the Royal banner carried by Captain Tiberion and further ennobled as viscount-secundus, 2nd man of the Empire. 

Marshal Perun expect another savage year of slaughter on the frontier, with the empire losing its defensive lynchpin in the city of Belburg in the peace settlement which secured King Marcus' life and army. He expects far greater reinforcement in the year ahead, not knowing the threat Lady Athelfled also faces in the west.

 General Bagrattion and his men have vowed to retake Belburg. With his ranks swelled by new recruits and the veterans of the Royal Core who stayed behind, eager for vengeance, Bagrattion stands ready for a new season, in support of the Marshal.

Turns final thoughts

 The turn was dominated by the Siege at Belburg, The Empire player Rolled a 1 for population subsistence and would have lost all their Banners and their 'King' so we agreed to terms as the Empire player could not go on if they lost the two armies. The armies were allowed to march out, giving up a steam tank and returning all lost territories to the Chaos dwarves. This turn was short and the temptation to storm the city was great, however I knew I had such a strong advantage in starving the defenders out, so I persisted.

The Chronicles of the Emerald coast - 1819ic

 Matthias Kahn - Observer from Blessed Tower

I Matthias, continue my chronicle of these times.

• 1st month of the new year, The Empires council of Wizards put an unnatural curse on the great river flowing from the western foothills of the Ironjack mountains. This allows one of the Levied forces to scout the valley north and west along the former banks of the river. Much to the Empires dismay, not much was found there.

• 2-4th month of the year, The Dawi-Zharr explored their Northern border, discovering a Ossified Realm of  Sea Elves. Heavily defended but neutered. 

• Towards the middle of the campaign season a force of Dawi-Zharr Explored the Southwestern fringes of the empire, in the process raising a farming valley for the supplies needed to continue their exploration and to deny the Empire its use in further turns.

• Whilst that Drama unfolded the 2 Main armies of the Dawi-Zharr and the 2 main armies of the Empire Engaged in a large battle along the coast near the Elvish Village of Rasador.

The Battle of Rasador

The scouts of the Empire and the Dawi-Zharr swarmed across the farming valley, moving to counter or probe a point here of there. The Dawi-Zharr Hobgloblin scouts got the better of the Empire Pistoleers however and revealed a full half of the enemies forces there.

Table setup by random terrain generator - Empire occupied the high ground on the left whilst the Dawi-Zharr deployed over open ground

Chaos Dwarves and Bullcentaurs Sandwich the Halbadiers on the hill. The Hero on a Flying Taurus causes terror and adds 3 attacks to the combat.

Bullcentaurs try for a dangerous push in the centre, it ended up costing them dearly.

The Battle ended on Turn 6, having run out of daylight the warring armies both fall back, the Dawi-Zharr got the better of it. The Empire losing a battle wizard with his altar, several Knights and many Infantry. The Dawi-Zharr lost some Bullcentaurs, Blunderbuss Infantry and Orc Slaves.

 The battle demonstrated this campaign will not be decided by a single combat, but rather a grinding campaign of back and forth.

The final Summer months and Winter

• 4th month after retreating both sides consolidated their Banners into a single larger Banner.
• 5th month, Chaos dwarves are Brutally turned back by an enclave of Sea Elves North West of the Blackstone mountains. The question is raised, why are the Sea Elves in the mountains?
• The Banners of both empires retreat without incident at the start of autumn. 
• Winter - Dragons swoop down from the Blackstone mountains, burning the dwarven village of Forbrinkrag, the dragons sow terror but the physical damage was minimal - surely a warning of Hashut encouraging greater carnage
• The Empire, has a plentiful harvest boosting their coffers during a hard year of fighting
• The Dawi-Zharr turn Rasador into a fortress town
• The Chaos dwarf Spies disappear from the city of Belburg whilst Empire saboteurs burn down Kar athol. Chaos dwarf saboteurs burn a small fleet of the empire and assassins on both sides remove mid level men in both armies sapping valuable knowledge and the spirit of the soldiery.

Final thoughts on the year

 The eagerness of the two Warlords to face each other in battle was tempered by the grinding nature of battle, the Chaos dwarves had a hard start but really pushed the Empire whilst the Empire Warlord realised he did not have enough men of command to move his ponderous forces forward consistently.

The year ended with large scale recruitment and reconstruction efforts in the Empire, whilst the Chaos Dwarves prepared for a year of Sieges and being besieged.

Clan Cragbeard and the Chaos dwarves of the Emerald coast

  Hashudath Cragbeard and the ascent of Kharagroth Ghazath Cragbeard

The home city of the Dawi Zharr (also called Chaos Dwarves), is Zharr Naggrund within the Dark Lands. The great slave forges are a Stepped Obsidian Ziggurat surrounded by shanty towns of hobgoblins and enslaved Orcs, Goblins, Dwarves, Men, Elves and Ogres, the political machinations are not unlike it's physical form. At the bottom of the social hierarchy is the mass of Dwarves who make up the artisans, engineers, slave drivers, supervisors and clerks of the forges. These men also serve as the warrior caste, either armed with a black powder weapon or heavy shield, armour and Axe in hand. Towards the middle the Sorcerors, lords and Despots politic and conspire with the top to advance themselves or their clans all whilst worshiping at the Altar of Hashut. Finally there's the Sorceror Prophet and his retinue of Overlords who set the policy and goals of the great war machine that is Chaos Dwarf society.

Map of the Warhammer world, the Dawi-Zharr originate from the dark lands of the central continent

 

Normally territorial gain is not an explicit goal of the Sorceror Prophet, the real motivator is access to a vast flock of slave labour for the industrial machine, working in the mines, felling trees, working in machine shops and eventually meeting their fate is some damned ritual for the dark god Hashut.

 The Story of Hashudath Cragbeard begins with the fall of his clan from favour, during a slave raid into the wastelands, the clan was tasked with defending the baggage when it was caught unawares by a pack of goblins riding squigs, stealing the pay chest and setting fire to the priceless alchemist carriage the Goblins met their end when a patrol of Bullcentaurs chased them down and crucified them upon large praying stones of their Greenskin gods (the squigs were consumed). Hashudath Cragbeard was not present during the raid, instead he was absorbed in important experiments into rocketry, but the fall was painful for him and his clan. The political turmoil took on an energy of its own and many believed the Sorceror Prophet would declare the Clan Cragbeard traitors to be sacrificed in the pits alongside the slaves.

 Pulling together the remainder of their political and material wealth, the clan migrated to Uzkulak and set sail in smoke belching behemoths of the Chaos Dwarf Navy. Navigating the Frozen sea by moving up the coast, they sold weapons and armour to the Chaos wastes tribes, all produced on board their great ships or acting as pirates and mercenaries Enslaving those deemed too weak.

 The Clan Cragbeard landed on the Emerald coast in 1815ic, establishing their city of Kar-Tor along the Obsidian river that flowed down from the Blackstone mountains. They quickly subdued the local City states of Men and Sea Elves in a series of pitched battles that ended any notion of organised resistance either on sea or land, as 1817 came around a new rival appeared. A scion of the Empire landed and confederated the city states along the southern coast south east of the Ironjack mountains.

 

 Conflict was as unavoidable as it was profitable, Hashudath Cragbeard saw the chance to swell the slave ships that returned yearly to Zharr Naggrund as well as establish an empire apart from the Sorceror Prophet and his court, beyond reproach or authority.

 Disaster was to strike for Hashudath Cragbeard, in the year 1817 an Empire assassin attempted to slay Hashudath whilst out hunting giant wolves. The assassin managed to kill many bodyguards, but the Lord was unharmed if shaken. Hashudath Cragbeard Worst fears were to be answered the next winter, in 1818 another Empire assassin made an attempt on his life, finally ending Hashudath Cragbeard.

 

The fallout was disastrous and only the extreme separation between Subjects and Chaos Dwarves kept much of the details secret. After many disturbed days and nights Kharagroth Ghazath Cragbeard was officially declared successor, his opponents corpses thrown into massed graves the outcome of much duelling. 

With Kharagroth Ghazath Cragbeard as warlord the Year 1819 was fought sharply in the best spirit of Hashudath Cragbeard, taking the fight to the Empire and trading shot for shot. It is yet to be decided if Clan Cragbeard will dominate the Emerald coast or will the Empire reign supreme, ending Clan Cragbeard and any chance of redemption, let alone ascension.

The Chronicles of the Emerald coast - The first two years 1817 - 1818ic

  Matthias Kahn - Observer from Blessed Tower

I Matthias am charged with recording these histories of the realm, there are many names for this place but they are so varied and unrelated that there is no point in recounting them here for any kind of posterity, unless you're of the type who enjoys vague and inane lists, in which case I am glad to disappoint you. From my perch, I see the Empires of Man and Infernal Dwarves expand and contract, flow and solidify and I recount to you the events as it happens.

 The Empire Started in a bay towards the south whilst the Dawi-Zharr placed their capital on a river leading out to sea, with mountains to the east and west the Empire make best time north whilst the Dawi-Zharr and lots of open space to spread their empire.

• Year 1817 3rd month of spring, the empire engages in a bloody struggle for the river valley, known as the bloody bend from now on. The city of Reil Grois falls and the Bretonnian lord is returned to bretonnia with his sword for fighting such a sharp action with honour as befitting a lord of the lady.

Year 1817 4th month The Empire mops up the remaining Bretonnian nobility in a decisive victory taking the farming valley north of Reil Grois.

A Dawi-Zharr scouting party runs into a group of mercenaries who join them in their exploration. Another group of scouts runs across a travelling Merchant and secures further supplies however both miss out of exploring the region.

Sorgolgost

• The Dawi-Zharr under Warlord Hashudath Cragbeard besieges and occupies a coastal fortress of the Sea Elves Sorgolgost, the starved survivors are thrown into the iron smelting pits for the worship of Hashut and new ships of the line are forged from the screaming iron.

Dawi-Zharr Thunderfire Battlebarge

• Empire scouts come across a Dragons Lair, they slink away and luckily the Lair is not disturbed, A Blessing of Sigmar for sure.

Winter 1817

• Last months of winter Year 1817 an elite assassin fails to assassinate the Warlord Hashudath Cragbeard but takes a whole company of body guards with him in his escape. Cragbeard has the area scoured but all that's found is a few observers who are promptly despatched to the slave pits for their sloth.
• The fortress of the elves was reduced in the Black stone mountains whilst the dawi of the valley resisted the Chaos dwarves in a bloody battle.

Summer 1818

•  - A breakaway human colony was killed to a man in a valiant defence that cost the attacking Empire levies dearly. 
• The Dawi-Zharr finally put down the valley Dawi whilst advancing across all fronts securing 2 fortresses and a village.

Winter 1818

• The Empire establishes a new city south of their capital and expands their trade fleets. Recruiting many Espionage operatives they swarmed across the Dawi-Zharr empire.
• The Dawi Zharr Establish 2 new cities and expand their army, they hire some Manthing operatives to sow havoc amongst the Empire as well as an Agent to hunt down Saboteurs in their own colonies.
• Winter 1818 Warlord Hashudath Cragbeard is finally killed by an Empire assassin, the forces of the Dawi-Zharr fall into disarray and infighting until a new Warlord is established: Kharagroth Ghazath.
• Final months 1818, A Dawi-Zharr agent, infiltrated a city south west of the Empire capital and burnt the place to the ground in a firestorm, taking one of the trade fleets with it.

The state of the Map at the end of the 4 hr session, The Empire expands in all directions but the many mountains and unlucky rolls (mountains are the hardest tile to generate settlements on) meant most are barren and provide no revenue. The Empires expansion along the coast means the Dawi-Zharr will now be able to confront them in battle during the coming turn.

The Dawi-Zharr had much better going and that was shown from Turn 1 revenue of 21 vs 30 something in the Empires favour to Turn 2 revenue of 44 to Empires 39.

Something of particular note, during the first year the Chaos dwarves rolled 5 events on the scouting chart, a crazy number. Luckily half the rolls were inconsequential and two of them Netted the Chaos Dwarves 60 extra points and 6 baggage respectively. The Empire narrowly missed out on activating a Dragon rage which probably would have crippled their Empire being so close to so many banners and their capital.

Mighty Empires - The Chronicles of the Emerald coast - Introduction

Before Fantasy

 For the last 2 years from 2021 til the end of 2023 I've been playing a Warhammer 40k campaign with my good mate Scott, We used a tile set I made from MDF 60mm Hex's and the planetary empires campaign rule set.

 The Battles were resolved with Epic Armageddon because I had sworn off of regular 40k for cost and disagreeableness towards the rules. A steady 2 years of Imperium vs Chaos lead to a slight Imperial land victory but dominant Chaos control of the Void space.

I Integrated Battlefleet gothic and Aeronautica imperialis into the campaign to give certain bonus's to supply or deactivating certain map infrastructure.

 Coming to the middle of 2023 I started to get an inch to play fantasy when I realised that Fantasy was not just 40k with swords instead of Lasguns and Knights instead of space marines. This lead me down a path that lead me here, Jordon inspired me and I had to find the rules. I've been obsessing over campaigns for some years now, after leaving Boltaction where we played a great sequential narrative campaign around the battle of Kursk I delved into Blackpowder and eventually Epic Armageddon.

So here we are, after years of swearing off fantasy and declaring it was not for me as a wargamer, I was watching some Lord of the Rings as I turned 30 and BAM, here I am. I played some 8th edition fantasy on Tabletop Simulator and got into Total war: Warhammer, but the Game felt too small. I didn't want to play 6 hr games like in my Old 40k days to get the feeling and I get tired now and I could feel my tactical grasp slip as the battle went on, I loved the speed and scale of Epic, so I started to explore Warmaster and that was that.

Warmaster and Mighty Empires

 Playing Total War: Warhammer I really enjoyed the campaign, though I sucked at it. I wanted to play a fantasy/Medieval setting and I knew my previous campaigns would not help me much in designing my own ruleset. I decided on Mighty Empires, Scott was always down to play whatever, a total bro. We hammered out a few games of Warmaster, demonstrating my inability to teach properly but Scott's a patient man, bless him. 

 Now we're starting the campaign post haste, and as of the time of writing we've already played 2 'years' of the campaign, effectively 6 movement/Battle phases and 6 Economy, magic and event phases.

ManOWar and a final note

 So the final piece of the puzzle is ManOWar, I 3d Printed the models from the great community and got the rules from them as well. When Mighty Empires came out in 1990 there was no Warhammer Naval wargame, though allusions to playing homebrew Naval wargames within the Mighty Empires rules and admission by those responsible for publishing them tells me they did have an early version of ManOWar in circulation within their own gaming group.

I ended up printing and painting a High Elf, Chaos Dwarf and Empire Fleet. There's also some Orc stuff somewhere but we don't talk about them. Within the campaign any naval actions fought, we fight using the ManOWar ruleset.

Final thoughts

 I'm excited to start this chapter, I've not really delved into the Fantasy lore just so I don't get too stuck in a certain mindset regarding who did what/when/where and why, that WILL hamstring me and was one of the reasons I moved away from Historicals, I AM the guy to let history stop me, even if I'm not the kind of 'Well acktually' kinda guy in public.