40k: Orks v Nurgle

Stephen came over to the Soldier Shack and we decided on a game of 40k. For some reason we couldn't muster enthusiasm for WFB and as I've just finished a bunch of Orks and he's been working on Papa Nurgle boys a 1000 point Patrol game seemed to fit the bill.

 Nurgle's boys out on patrol

 More of 'em. Don't like the look of that big thing at the back.

 Big mob o' Boyz

 Burnaz. Ready to cough up points.

 Klankenstein ready for mayhem

 The field of war

 Another big 'un

The Lord (of the Flies) arrived. So I shot him a bit. Then he murdered all the Burna ladz.

The Nurgle centre pushed up and shot all the boys dead.

Then the rest of my army turned up and marines started back pedalling.

 Send in the Klowns Kans

 Uh oh

Terminators arrived to shore up the centre. I was well behind at this point with three units wiped out with no Marines dead.

Then the red and green tide hit home.

 There's a Nurgle fella in there somewhere

The boys did what boys do best, wiping out both units of marines and falling on the terminators and big demon thingy.

Unfortunately the terminators were able to take down the warboss before they and the demon engine both succumbed.

End result was five dead units each. So a hard fought draw.
Maybe I'm getting the hang of 40k.

Sellswords and Spellslingers First Game

I am a fan of the Song of...series of games, particularly the roll up to 3 dice mechanic that lets you gamble on the number of activations you can take. It makes for a tense, variable game and for me feels quite immersive at the skirmish levels the games model. I've enjoyed Song of Blades and Heroes with the gaming heir, ...of Drums and Shakos and ...of Muskets and Tomahawks with Steven and General Ballroom and Of Gods and Mortals with all of them and James too.
So when I heard that Andrea Sfiligoi the man behind the system had developed a solo/cooperative fantasy game I was intrigued and duly picked up a copy of Sellswords and Spellslingers for the princely sum of $8.

The game came as a PDF rulebook with several sets of cards to print out.

Unlike the Song of... games SS&SS uses D20 instead of D6 but the principle is the same - roll up to 3 dice, with 8 being a pass. Any fails mean you turn over an Event card - which can cause the enemy monsters to activate. There's a cool little AI to work the monsters and several scenarios.
Characters are made up from a list of traits and a few negatives if you choose.

So I created a party and they set off on their first adventure.

Imadriel Greenbriar - elf archer
Grumni Throngwang - dwarf fighter
Norbin Wensleydale - halfling thief
Zank Frappa - human hedge wizard

Barring their way (at least initially) would be 3 Orc Brutes and their smelly green troll chum.

All the party has to do is get from one side of the board to another. Simple.

First of all a failure by the halfling saw another Orc brute join the fray.

Then an event meant something shiny was spotted on a nearby rock.

 The party moved slowly forward.

The shiny thing proved to be a valuable necklace. A good start.
However the Orcs were closing in.
And the dwarf pulled out his chopper and got to work.

Eventually the chopped the beast down, but at some cost to his health.

Fortunately the wizard Frappa was nearby to lay healing hands on the wounded fighter.
Unfortunately he tripped over a root and fell over. Giving the nearest Orc an excuse to rush toward them.

However Wensleydale the thief proved deadly with his sling and dropped the brute.

As the wizard and dwarf caught up with the elf another Orc burst from the bushes and struck the wizard to the ground.

Dwarf and elf joined the fight and another Orc got involved. The party won the day but at the cost of being wounded.

The halfling helped the wizard to his feet, he was in bad shape and could only move slowly. The sound of fighting had drawn trolls to the area, things weren't going to plan.
At this point the halfling fell over.

Another Orc leaped from ambush and attacked Greenbriar.

Despite the arrival of the Dwarf the elf was hacked to the ground

The rampaging brute then hacked down the dwarf too.

Wensleydale was ambushed, but bravely fought off the brute and helped Greenbriar back to his feet.

Sadly Throngwang had slipped away to the halls of his ancestors.

At this point the nearest troll decided to get involved and raced over to attack the halfling.

Greenbriar killed the Orc he was fighting but Wensleydale was no match for the brutal troll.
Smashing the halfling to the ground the troll careered into the elf archer and killed him before catching the wizard too.

The inevitable death of the wizard followed and the party's dreams of wealth and adventure were over.

First game ends in Total Party Kill!

Despite the result it was good fun to play.

I think I was the terrible combination of cautious dice rolling mixed with getting distracted from the mission to leave the board. With the result that I bogged down in the middle of the board and eventually the monsters overwhelmed the party.

Never mind. I shall give it another go soon...

Ork of da Day (19 and out)

No more Orks remain near enough to completion for any more to be added tomorrow.
So here is where Ork of da Day comes to an end.
Sad I didn't make 20, but I'm 19 Orks closer to a fully painted army. Which has to be a gud fing.

Last of da Burna Boys.

Chain of Command Campaign (3) - the beastly Germans

General Ballroom has sent me his platoon profiles for our CoC campaign.


Unterfel Gabriel Bolt

Born in the last century, at 51, he fought in the last war; he was hoping to miss this one! Luckily,   he didn't get sent to Russia, instead he saw bitter fighting in Italy, on the Gustav Line. He was wounded in an attempt to successfully halt an assault by the Americans. He got sent home, after the worse of his injuries were healed, he was rewarded by a  commission in a newly formed Infantry Division. The men in his platoon are impressed by his recent combat experience, even though he's spent the last 25 years waiting tables at the Ballhaus Watzke in Dresden. (Add +1 to the men's opinion).

Obergrefreiter Cornelius Beck

At 22, Cornelius grew up in central Nuremberg, with his father working all hours in an armaments factory, furthering the Führers ambitions, Cornelius whiled away his time reading Der Stürmer and practicing amateur thuggery, using his prodigious size and faith in the new Germany. He joined the army in 1940 just in time for the invasion of France and the low countries. He's fought in North Africa and Italy before his unit was almost wiped out by the degenerate Americans. He respects the authority of command and enjoys the respect that his rank and physical prowess engenders.

Obergrefreiter Matthias Schultz

Schultz, a former dock worker from Hamburg, joined up when his communist leanings became known to the local authorities. At 27, his quick wits and powerful voice led to him leading a squad of ‘Hitler's finest’, nobody knows about his past or his political sympathies, but come the day, he's got a plan….. His fame as the companies finest scrounger and black-marketeer means that he and his squad eat well (a little too well based on his expanding belt size!).

Obergrefreiter Felix Weber

An office clerk since school, and now the army needs office clerks. Although, they seem to have made a mistake now he's been given a rifle and a squad to lead. At 32, the oldest NCO on the Platoon, yet, at least in his eyes, the least experienced and prepared.

Ork of da Day (18)

Some frantic late night pigment pushing sees yet another Black Reach Nob finished.

Ork of da Day (17)

Barring a minor miracle this is likely to be the last Ork of da Day.

So both sides of a Loots.

Ork of da Day (16)

One more Black Reach Boy

Don't think I'm going to get to 20...