With a flash that nearly blinded the grumpy travellers, lightning smashed into a nearby peak sending small bits of rock and great plumes of snow high up into the air to cover the Dwarfs. Barely a minute after the members of the retinue had regained their footing and brushed the ice from their beards, the rolling crash of thunder was heard. Strangely, the thunder sounded less like a great god's rolling drumbeat and more like the echoing roar of some angry beast! "Stay close, men. I sense some troubles ahead." With another flare of white light, Drokki distinctly saw multiple hulking shapes standing in silhouette upon a craggy cliff. "Stand firm and guard the chests. I smell the stench of Chaos!" It seemed that the storm wouldn't be the only thing standing in their way to Karak Kadrin... |
torm's
kickin' up," said Drokki Thorinson, declaring the obvious to his
nearly frostbitten compatriots. "And it looks to me like it's going
to be a mean one." The rest of his snow-covered retinue grunted their
agreement in near unison, followed by rounds of coughing and cursing.
Not one of the Dwarfs wanted to be caught this high up in the Worlds Edge
Mountains during such a fierce blizzard.
The battle takes place on a 24" x 24" table covered with rocky terrain to represent mountainous cliff faces. A mountain pass travels from east to west across the table. Snow-covered terrain would be best but is not required.
The Dwarfs must get their precious chest of gold from one edge of the mountain pass to the other. Accomplishing this task gives victory to them.
The Dragon Ogres are extremely hungry from the long hibernation and view the Dwarf retinue as a tasty snack before they begin their pillaging elsewhere. They win by killing all of the Dwarfs.
The Dragon Ogres appear on a cliff. Deploy the three Chaos creatures above the trail in the middle of the northern table edge. The Dwarfs start on the trail within 6"of the eastern table edge.
The Dwarfs get the first turn.
This scenario uses the special rules detailed below:
Slippery!
Due to the slick ice and snow drifts that cling to the sides of the pass, quick
movements could prove fatal! If a Dwarf attempts to run, roll a D6. On a roll
of a 4+, the model falls off the cliff and is lost. Note: models actually charging
do not need to make this test.
Blizzard
Due to the flurry of snow, all missile fire is made at -1 to hit. Thus, Thunderers
are -2 to hit at long range and -1 to hit at short range due to the inclement
weather.
Lightning Strikes
Each turn, roll a D6. On a roll of a 5-6, a bolt of lightning has struck the
table. Roll Scatter and Artillery dice to determine where the bolt actually
hits (bolts scatter from the center of the table). The model closest to the
bolt gets zapped! A hit on a Dwarf kills him outright. However, a hit on a Dragon
Ogre does no damage and causes him to be subject to Frenzy.
Heavy Chest
The chest is so full of gold that it takes at least two Dwarfs to move it. The
Dwarfs carrying the chest can't charge unless they drop the chest and obviously
can't run while dragging it. The gold is too precious to risk anyway.
Dwarf Gold Lust
Dwarfs will never run away from some hard-earned gold but will run away with
it! Drokki and his men are not affected by Fear or Terror in this
scenario and will not leave the board before the gold does.
Although this scenario was written with Dwarfs and Dragon Ogres in mind, it is easy to imagine this type of situation happening elsewhere, with other combatants. Here are a few more ideas:
• Four Trolls attack a small band from a Dogs of War army returning to
base camp with a new chest for the Paymaster.
• Four Kroxigors ambush a Dark Elven retinue returning home after plundering
Slann treasures.
• Four Rat Ogres charge a band of undead warriors bringing unholy treasures
back to their Necromancer.
Here are some ways that this small game can affect a much larger battle:
Attackers Win
If the monsters win, they will feed heartily on the bodies of the slain. Their
appetites momentarily sated, they happily join the controlling player’s
army for “free” (and do not count against the number of Rare or Special
choices) in hopes of more carnage and subsequent feasting.
Defenders Win
If the treasure bearers win, they are able to hire more troops, buy more weapons,
or afford more supplies. The controlling player may add 200 points of “free”
troops to his army. These troops may be added to an existing unit or form a
new unit. If a new unit is formed, it does not count against the maximum number
of Rare or Special choices, nor does it count toward the minimum number of Core
choices (as appropriate).
Terrain
Project: You can find an article on how to make your own cliffs for
this scenario, here.
