The Hykrian wastes - Warmaster Faction focus: Orcs and Goblins

 

 The Orcs of the Hykrian wastes originate from the area to the North along the coast, their realms capital is Drog-Waz and the kingdom encapsulates the Drog Bog where many if not all the Orcs and Goblins are born from the muck as well as being the stomping ground for many of the trolls; the Giants Hohle is to the north of the Drog Bog and that's where the many giants are coaxed out of their caves and brought into the Horde.

 Playing the Orcs in the campaign came about by chance, having 3d printed all my armies myself I was always pouring over the websites like Forest Dragon, Cromarty Forge and Greenskin miniatures. I decided out of the blue to start supporting Forest Dragon on Patreon just as I was trying to decide on which army to play, I was originally going to go with a Chaos Army for my main Warmaster force and create a secondary army of Chaos Dwarves and maybe even Daemons! 
 Upon Signing up to Patreon I realised that Forest dragon had begun making Orcs, honestly I wasn't initially excited by the idea of playing as Greenskins, they've never really interested me all that much. They were very cheap to get as a Patreon supporter however, I next looked up a speed painting guide and decided on a scheme. Within a week I had printed 8 units of Orcs, 6 units of Goblins, a Giant and 2 Heroes; from my Chaos Dwarf army I already had Wolf riders and Black Orcs so I just snuck those in as well. I set myself the goal to try and paint at least 1000pts by the weekend so If we had a battle in the first year of the campaign I'd have a painted for to play, I got through the 1000pts in 3  days though there was no battle.

 Since that weekend I've continued to hammer out the painting and today I finished the total 2500pts in little under 2 weeks.

I've got to decide on another potential 600 points to add because I've invested in a temple using the extended Mighty Empires campaign rules, As Orcs and Goblins I can add D6x200 free points (really D6x100 as we're playing half points) per campaign year which are lost at the end of the year. I'll probably add Black Orcs and more Boar Boys.

Painting the Orcs

1. Base coat Army painter Fur brown using a spray can.
2. Paint Orc skin dark green
3. Paint Steel parts
4. Paint Red (or your choice of colour) on shields
5. Wash with Nuln Oil
6. Highlight skin with Moot Green or any other Bright green

Painting Boar Boys

1. Base coat Army painter Fur brown using a spray can.
2. Dry brush Boars with Orange Brown
3. Dry brush manes with light brown
4. paint tusks Ivory
5. Wash with Sepia wash
6. Paint orcs as above

Painting Trolls

1. Basecoat in Grey seer
2. Use contrast paint Talassar blue
3. Paint bellies Ivory
4. Paint Weapons brown and Grey

The Hykrian wastes - The first year of the campaign - 1698ic

Grimbag Gutta was the meanest and biggest Orc of the Clan Gutslashas, spawned out of the Drog Bog in 1695ic; in 1696ic Grimbag sailed out with Pirate Goblin King Skarsnag Moontongue getting progressively bigga and 'arder, fightin' and killin' any Orc, Man or Elf brave enough to oppose him. In year 1697ic he returned Bigga and 'arder than any of his land lubber brethren could have imagined. He confederated the Orc tribes with the help of Moontongue, subjugated the tribes of forest Goblins; and brought the Giants of the Hohle and Trolls of the Drog Bog into the fold.

 Following the Battle at the Gran-Fluss river along the indigo belt Gimbag was moved, the Realm of Men and Dwarfs was strong and his own Empire was Weak and Puny. He had to correct that or he wasn't gonna be the Warboss much longer.

The Campaign opened with the Empires pretty far apart, both players chose strong Inlet positions with the Dwarfs taking a part of the Emerald Isle in their initial realm.

Events of note:

• The Orcs discovered a small kingdom of Skaven to the south east of their Capital
• The Dwarfs explored the jagged peaks more thoroughly and found no settlements (maybe some deeper exploration next year?)
• The Fleets of both empires moved banners rapidly along the coasts to explore.
• The Dwarfs explored the Emerald Isle and discovered and enclave of Chaos dwarfs.
• The Dwarfs then discovered an infested fortress to their south (left) of their capital in the Nau-Volten Mountains.
• The Orcs explored North of their maps and discovered a trading route and a Hoard of gold, adding 7 revenue total for the year.
• The Dwarfs tried crossing the Kul-Tor river but failed and lost 90pts of troops to the rapids.
• The Dwarfs suffered raids by Skaven in the Nau-Volten Mountains severely crippling their economy this year.
• The Orcs suffered no ill effects other than losing 10 points to some Autumn magic.
• The Dwarfs Generated 18 revenue this year
• The Orcs generated 30

Todays game was very quick, no battles were fought and I don't think we wanted any, the focus is on building up for next years battles.

Key Figures:

• Grimbag Gutta: Warboss of the Gutslashas Clan.
• Pirate Goblin King Skarsnag Moontongues, Admiral of the Moon-raiders Pirate Fleet.
• Haltrazan Dourhelm: Successor of Thurin and Dwarf King of the Jagged peaks.
• Lord Aglim von Helmstadt: First Lord of the Empires holdings in the Hykrian wastes.

The Hykrian wastes - The Jagged peaks - 1697ic

Frail is not a term used to describe Dwarfs often, the King Thurin Makaihammer sat and drank sheepishly as the revelry of another Dwarven holiday swirled around him. The King was old, extremely old and his reign was bound to come to an end any day; however the stubborn old man refused to abdicate and live out a comfortable life until age took him. 

 

 Thurins successor was Haltrazan Dourhelm a rowdy warmonger, Dourhelm had spent the better half of his 121 years leading patrols clearing out the tunnels connecting the various settlements within the realm. Dourhelm saw the kingship as his chance to carve out a new Dwarven Empire free from the races of Skaven and Greenskins and the bootheel of Dwarf Authority firmly on the neck any upstart Human power in the region. Thurin was worried, during his reign he had guided the Jagged peak Dwarfs through famines, civil war and Greenskin invasions; the Warrior Dourhelm might just undo the fragile alliances he forged with Men and Elves and the trading routes that serviced those alliances kept the hold fed through their tougher harvest years.

 The Jagged peaks would only ever be considered habitable by creatures like Dwarfs, with little arable land the peaks were instead bursting with precious gems and metals. The Dwarfs had to dig deep to pay for the imported food and luxury goods needed for civilization, whilst perpetually caught in a balancing act of trying to increase imports of food to grow their population whilst simultaneously maintaining scarcity within the markets of precious gems, weapons and jewelry.

 The two conflicting views of the Dwarf leadership reflect the larger dichotomy of their society, the warrior castes made up of miners and farmers desired revenge and fame, it drove them to endorse a militaristic and imperialist outlook; looking beyond their mountain peaks and river valleys they saw food and resources to fuel the machine of Dwarf society, whilst the Mercantilist and artisanal castes saw the raw aggression of their opponents as a harbinger of doom, drawing down the powerful enemies of the local states. The Merchants and artisans had visited these Realms and had seen their power, contending that trade and smart deals would serve their race much better than bloodshed. 

 Thurin Makaihammer was dead, the hold was in shock and the interested parties were paralysed with caution. As the ceremonies of honour for Makaihammer came and went tension grew as the Merchants and Miners made moves to secure loyalties and exchanged bribes.

 Haltrazan Dourhelm underwent the traditional ceremony of ascension by submitting to a council of admonishment from his peers and rivals; no one attended and Dourhelm could not understand it, had his ascension been unanimously accepted or had he been slighted. For the first time in his life Dourhelm was unsure where to proceed, if he forged ahead he risked opening himself to attack but if he reserved himself he was vulnerable to criticism from his most stalwart supporters who wanted aggressive expansion.

Dourhelm was tested with his first challenge, the Hyrkrian colony of the Empire sent their first despatch to the green king. The indigo belt, the main trade route through the realm was due for review, the Human Lord Aglim von Helmstadt asserted they had legal right to maintain security of the trade route. Whoever had legal authority over the route could levy tolls, the route itself was generally very safe, the cost of security was so low that control of the route was exceptionally profitable but also meant that by fudging the books the power in control could avoid tolls on their own goods giving the owner a step up in the endless trade and price wars fought in markets and docks throughout the region and beyond.

The stage was set for a showdown, as the situation escalated and the lines of division amongst the dwarfs were subsumed by the realities of politics in the realm, advice came from those considered other in the hold, 'A show of strength AND compassion was necessary to secure friendship and peace' - peace through war.

Helmstadt leading his men from the front

Dourhelm Leading his army into battle

The Dwarves and Empire faced off across the Gran-Fluss (river), The Empire army of Men under Lord Aglim von Helmstadt brought with them a mighty band of Ogres mercenaries and bestowed a magical banner of battle increasing their attacks in the first combat by +1 per stand. The Dwarves marched to war with contingents of miners (warriors) forming the core of the army supported by the artisans (Handgunners, Gyrocopter and Artillery crew), they were joined by a marauding band of Slayers who got lost whilst looking for the Giants Hohle.

Turn 1

The Dwarfs go first after winning the scouting phase and roll off, the empire matches their move by crossing the river with knights and blocking the crossing with hand gunners and the Scary Brigade of Ogres backed by Halberdiers.

Turn 2 

The Dwarfs use their infernal flying machines, Artillery, Flamecannon and Thunderers to wipe-out a unit of Empire handgunners!

Turn 3

The Dwarfs move forward and threaten the crossing and the Empire countermoves in an attempt to charge, the infantry brigade crosses but slows down until they halt in front of the arrayed pikes of the Dwarf Mercenaries.

The Handgunners blast the Dwarf Warriors and push them back confused before the brave Empire knights make a flanking charge and wipe out the Slayers and Continue on to destroy the Flamecannon.

Turn 4

The Dwarfs charge the Knights in the flank, wiping out the valiant nobles. The Pike Mercenaries turn and charge the Ogres. The Ogres lose 1 stand but wipe out the Pikemen. 

 

Turn 4 continued...

The Ogres are just in Initiative range and arc of the Thunderers flank so charge using Initiative, they wipe the Thunderers after two rounds of combat. One of the Halberdier units is not in support any longer so cannot follow in the charge and instead is ordered by the Hero to turn and face the Dwarf Warriors flank but fails the 2nd order to charge. 

Turn 5

 The Dwarfs shoot the remaining Knights off of the board with Cannon and Gyrocopters. The General Dourhelm tries to move a block of Warriors into the flank of the Red Halberdiers but fails their 2nd order to charge.

 The Ogres face down the Cannon after wiping the Thunderers, a Failed order on the blue Halberdiers (middle) uses their half move to block in the flank of the Dwarf warriors as the the Red Halberdiers charge in initiative on the opposite flank. The subsequent loss leads to 2 Wounds and losing a base due to fallbacks into an enemy stand.

Empire Battle losses

Dwarf Battle losses

The battle of the Indigo belt was over and Lord Aglim von Helmstadt has clearly won, the Belt was to remain in the hands of the Empire but that was not all. This was a Pyrrhic victory, the cream of the Empires knights had been obliterated, most of the young men were alive but many suffered broken bones when they were unhorsed by cannon, steam rifle and arquebus. It would take months to heal the physical wounds but the psychological impact was greater, the noble houses that supported and ran the economic machine that was the Empires colony in the Hykrian waste were shaken and they look angrily at Lord Aglim von Helmstadt. The way they saw it, Helmstadt sacrificed their sons instead of his Ogre Mercenaries and the expendable state troops that were the core of his force. The growing pressure at home forced Helmstadt to make a bargain with Dourhelm, Empire assistance during the campaign and a reduction in taxation on the Indigo belt.

Dourhelm himself was shaken by the experience, all his years killing Orcs, goblins, trolls and Skaven in the tunnels and shafts of the Jagged peaks had not prepared him for the brutality and scale of carnage of a surface world battlefield. In the past during Skirmishes and raids friends had been lost but it was rare to lose a single friend in a decade, the starved cave dwellers were not the same enemy as those on the surface and Dourhelm had to hold himself back lest he broke down in front of his fellow Dwarfs. Maybe war was not always the same, maybe the scale of carnage did matter and the price of it may be too great for a brave Dwarf to pay.

Key Figures:

• Thurin Makaihammer: Elder and former king of the Jagged peaks Dwarfs, he desired peace with Men and Elves to protect the realm.
• Haltrazan Dourhelm: Successor of Thurin and Green King of the Jagged peaks, he desires power and sovereignty of the entire region.
• Lord Aglim von Helmstadt: First Lord of the Empires holdings in the Hykrian wastes and representative of Sigmar. He holds no ill will to the Dwarfs but also desires his own independence from the Kingdom of the Jagged peaks and ongoing revenues from the indigo belt.

Conquest of the Black Peninsula - Battle of Thor-A-Grin pass 1537ic

 Following the collapse and slaughter of the Chaos Dwarfs the threat the Shimmer beards coalition reared its head. After several attempts to send envoys to Anol-A-Luk ended in further embarrassment, to the degree Gutter whisker faced a minor revolt of Nobles who were next in line to try, the decision was made to send a Banner into the wilderness and ascertain by way of a reconnaissance in force what they faced and possibly force a political solution through a show of local strength.

 The Shimmer beards faced their own problems, the violent opposition to Skaven Envoys though not out of character for Dwarfs was also a calculated political move.

 The coalition was already fracturing, the cost of raising and keeping militia armies in the field for the Bretonnian lords with their limited economies based on grain production was beyond their means, the Dwarfs offered financial support in the form of gold and silver coinage but that held its own problems, the peasantry did not normally trade in coinage, instead relying on wooden Mill tokens and promissory notes for barter and exchange; an introduction of Gold and Silver coins would cause social upheaval as the Peasantry was suddenly faced with the possibility of engaging with the economy outside of the tightly controlled Silo and Mill combine owned by the local lord. The Bretonnian Lords were acutely aware of the threat this posed to their realms.

 The other more pressing issue was the Skaven had gone to ground, the Coalition was discussing the threat of an external enemy that had not been seen in a whole year, whose sole engagement had been through envoys. The devastated lands to the east barely stirred and most considered it more so cursed land than enemy territory, something to pass nearby with prayers on their lips rather than an open an impeding threat.

 The Army of the Skittervald advanced towards Anol-A-Luk, the Shimmer beards sent their Militia to face them at Thor-A-Grin Pass. The pass was unremarkable except for a Single watchtower which controlled the road and passed smoke signals to Anol-A-Luk and the fortress east called 'Thor's Mantle'. Whoever controlled the tower could either sneak up on the opposing side or get advanced warning of an assault; more so the Tower was a simulacra of the struggle between the Shimmer beards and Gutter whisker, whoever controlled the tower would control by proxy the western region of the Black Peninsula.

The Battle

The Dwarfs deployed in 3 Brigades, two Melee brigades on the flanks and a Brigade of cannon and Thunderers in the centre.

The Skaven deployed in 3 Brigades also with a similar configuration.

The Skaven won the roll off to go first, moving their brigades up except the right flank Brigade lead by the Clan Eshin hero Snifolkn Mouldshard. I didn't realise but you don't count VP from controlling the tower unit turn 3 (oops). The Dwarfs Swung around their right right securing the hill whilst their Brigade on the their left got bogged down after one order.

Turn 2 the Skaven moved their shooting to face off against the Dwarf Gunline, managing to kill one stand of Thunderers.

This exposed the whole line to a charge from Slayers in the initiative phase and followed up with a wider charge from Dwarf Warriors and Fledunost Cavalry.

Feldunost Cavalry - Mercenary knights with a banner of Fortitude

Turn 3 after 2 rounds of combat the Dwarfs cleared most of the rat swarms, shooting from the gunline wiped out the Warpstone cannons before Dwarf Warriors led by their King wiped out the Jezzails and charged forward to clear out the Clan rats holding the tower but failed.

Turn 4 The Doom wheel turned around and charged into the Dwarf warriors only to bounce off and for those same Dwarf warriors to charge the Doom wheel and do the same.

The Feldunost charged the clan rats whilst the Slayers continued carving their way through.

The Fledunost and Slayers slaughtered the Clan Rats and turned to fight the Doom wheel now in its 3rd combat with the warriors. The combat ended in a tie and the doom wheel turned away and withdraw to face down the inevitable Feldunost charge.

Whilst all this was happening Storm vermin and the Great Bell moved around to flank charge, only to be charged in the rear by Slayers and wiped out. The Clan Rats and their Eshin Leader Snifolkn Mouldshard were wiped in a subsequent charge from the Feldunost, however no Ratkin could say they saw the Eshin leader fall...

The final Gambit from the Skaven was to march the Rat Ogre Brigade initially lead by the Eshin leader, around the forest past the serried ranks of dwarfs and right into the axes of the Slayers, the first 2 command rolls succeeded but that final 3rd order failed and with it the chance of Victory for the Skaven at Thor-A-Grin Pass.

I Rolled on the pursuit chart to see what happens. I rolled a 3.

 Throt Gutterwhisker was captured! The Skaven forces fell back in complete disarray harried by the Gyrocopter squadron and Feldunost the whole way. Throt was manacled and put in an Iron cage forged by the runesmiths with ancient and terrible wards to prevent magic being used to escape.
 The personal retinue of the Shimmerbeards defended the Cage abstaining from too much ale and keeping a keen eye on the oversized rat, little did they know they were being stalked.

 Out of the shadows a glimmer of green, suddenly from the baggage train came a gigantic fluorescent green mushrooming cloud and flames; the snap thump of bodies hitting the floor was heard by Throt, relief washing over him until he realised who it was standing at the cage door... Snifolkn Mouldshard. With a Sneer Mouldshard handed the death token to Throt, Throt understood now all those agents sent away to never be heard of, the firebombing of his barracks den in Vers-Aisle, the assassinations it was all clan Eshin. Throt realised that the opportunity at Skittervald was not meant as a challenge but a grave, when he achieved success beyond what they thought possible he became a threat they could no longer ignore, especially considering the power such a vast reserve of mineral and agricultural wealth he could command through the vast slave mines and plantations possible in the Black Peninsula. The assassin brought up his warp blade still wet with Dwarfen blood and ended Throts short stint as imperial master.

 The council of 13 received notice of Throts death without comment, moving onto more pressing concerns. 

The Total Victory at Thor-A-Grin pass cemented the Shimmerbeards as the second Imperial power in the region, the Bretonnian lords knelt at the newly coronated King Kurag Shimmerbeard. The Skittervald declined and eventually succumbed to civil war, eventually a equilibrium in power was reached and stalemate endured.

Closing thoughts

 The Eshin Subplot in the story came about because the Skaven could not for the life of them (or throt) roll a decent result on any of the Espionage tables, as a joke I began to comment that the lack of Gutter Runners and assassins in my army was a tell tale sign of Eshin conspiracy. 

 I felt the final Battle of Thor-A-Grin pass was necessary to tie up the loose end of Anol-A-Luk, the city was discovered mid Campaign with a garrison of 900points so naturally we both ignored it has too hard a nut to crack.

 I really enjoyed this campaign, I felt like the war was won in the campaign map rather than the battlefield. The ManOwar battles were great fun but generally inconsequential to the wider campaign.

Til next time.

Conquest of the Black Peninsula - Storming Zharr-Mag-Rud 1536ic

 

 With the estuary and its fortifications in Skaven hands and the second fleet, 'The Plague bearers' on station to enforce the blockade, the calamitous outcome of the Battle of Ithrag-Mun and the loss of the Black fortress sealed the citizens inside Zharr-Mag-Rud.

The action shoots back to the City of Zharr-Mag-Rud, the Chaos dwarves having secured for themselves a huge volume of stores for a long siege dig into their capital city and prepare to wait the Skaven out; before the Battle of Ithrag-Mun the last colonist ship arrived to bolster the mauled Chaos dwarf forces, taking the garrison up to 1000points.
 Throt Gutter Whisker commands the siege himself and having gained valuable knowledge of the stores and quantity of troops garrisoned there decides on an assault rather than trying to starve the defenders out, no less because other developments in the peninsula. During the last 4 years of campaigning since Throt Gutter Whisker arrived the division amongst the individual Dwarven holds as well as that of the Brettonian lords aided the two burgeoning empires during their expansion; however as time went on the fractures began to heal as the pressure of powerful outside enemies with the real possibility of invasion forced old enemies into cooperation if not friendship.

  A new coalition lead by the Dwarven clan Shimmer beards began to form, their capital being that of Anol-A-Luk; the capital was an odd place filled with Brettonians, Empire explorers, mercenaries and of course Dwarves. The Dur-Alin River allowed the Dwarven Trade fleets to enter the southern reaches of the Black sea, it also made Anol-A-Luk the congregating point for all the refugees fleeing west from the expanding Skaven and Chaos Dwarf empires. This rising power only a few hundred miles west of Skittervald threatened Throt Gutter Whisker with all previous attempts to create or induce diplomatic cooperation being rejected culminating in 1534ic when they Killed or shaved the representatives of the Skaven Diplomatic mission and sent them home.

The Storming of Zharr-Mag-Rud

Zharr-Mag-Rud was a fortress, a bastions of resistance to break the waves of Ratkin against its walls or tomb, a pile of timber and stone to contain the restless spirits of those cursed people, the Chaos Dwarves.

The shattered Chaos Dwarf armies manned the walls whilst patrols of Hobgoblins on Wolves scoured the countryside for Skaven. They came in the first months of 1536ic, Long columns of Clanrats, Rat Ogres and grinding war machines churning up the dirt roads; dragging with them long wagons of tarpaulin covered equipment.

The Ratkin were able to cut off and surround the landward approaches to the city, whilst the Bloodclaws fleet controlled the River Ithrag-Mun.

The defenders mounted the ramparts and in the second month of the siege the Skaven began their assault.

The Skaven Brought 3 siege trains with them, carrying Bombards, Trebuchets, Ladders, a Ram and Siege towers.

The assault began with a rapid movement of Storm vermin and Clanrats alongside a DoomWheel, pushing their ram forward they were able to move right up the the Gate turn 1, only for the Ram to be cut to ribbons by the concentrated fire of Blunderbuss's.

Turn 2 saw casualties on the Chaos Dwarf defenders as Bombard and Trebuchets concentrated on them, followed by Jezzails in siege towers and warpstone cannons.

By turn 3 the Siege towers were now in place to assault the left front of the walls.

Rat Ogres and Plague Monks use their initiative to assault the walls the combination of inordinate shooting from 2 units of Blunderbusses, 1 on the wall and the other in a supporting tower mean the assault is beaten back with few Chaos Dwarf casualties and many plague monks blown apart.

Further shooting from the Jezzails, Siege artillery and Warpstone cannons obliterates a unit of slave orcs sent to reinforce the ramparts. Plague monks and Rat ogres attack again but are repelled by blunderbusses and the Fiery breath and Blackiron axes of the Chaos Dwarfs.

Stormvermin and Rat Ogres assault the front walls again, this time more plague monks and Rat Ogres swarm in to flank the walls.

The plague monks and Rat ogres overwhelm the slave orcs destroying 2 of 3 bases whilst the blunderbusses lose 2 stands but repel the attackers.

The siege artillery collapses the Towergate the turn after a unit of Chaos Dwarfs beat and destroy a Doomwheel sent through the gateway to clear them out.

Turn 7 the Chaos Dwarfs are pushed back everywhere, only a single unit of Hobgoblins and depleted units of Axe and Blunderbuss Chaos Dwarfs remain, cut off and dying to the Swarms of Ratkin.

End of Turn 7 Chaos Dwarf Casualties

Turn 7 Skaven Casualties.

The final Showdown between Chaos Dwarfs and Skaven went much like the total campaign, a very lucky and aggressive Skaven force overwhelms and slaughtered a Dwarf force. The shining star of the storming was the Siege artillery and Jezails in their towers, able to pour fire into the hapless defenders the walls became death-traps.

Ultimately the city was razed to the ground, Gutter whisker had no use for the port facilities and the total lack of infrastructure north of Ithrag-Mun and the general poverty of the north western region meant it was far cheaper to withdraw and garrison south of the river than try and control the wilderness north. The Chaos Dwarfs died to their last, Hashut on the tips of their tongues right until the last, the slaves died before they did and the Hobgoblins who made it through the bloody fighting were either caught and fed to the rat ogres by the Blood claws as they tried to cross Ithrag-Mun or those able to slink out of the polluted water and melt into the wilderness in the north lived lives of fear and poverty as they were despised by the orcs, men and dwarves and usually killed on sight.

Final Thoughts

It was really good we played out the final 2 scenarios of the campaign to build a comprehensive story, this campaign really felt like the real deal, playing the campaign map outside in the sun, using IRL manuals and pieces felt so good, addictive even. I hope my readers can join me for the next couple of games fleshing out the story of the Black Peninsula before we delve into the next campaign.