Battle Of Waterdoom Part 1 - The Setup

 Since this blog's fluff is surely a blight on Tolkien purist's radars, and probably Warhammer purists as well, I will now offend another type of purist.  Perhaps, the most rarefied purist of them all - the Napoleonic wargamer, or as I call it... Nappy gaming!  (Yuck even I hate the term, but I am embracing it with all my newfound shockjock wargaming blog vitriol.)

I wanted to do this parody of the Battle of Waterloo a month ago for the bicentennial anniversary, but the progress of this blog's fluff and the status of painted figures were not at a sufficient level to do so.  But here it is at last!  As fashionably late as Marshal Grouchy to the sound of the guns.  Im guessing this is going to be a pic heavy affair, so I will chop it into parts.  No new painted figures, this is purely a fluff/AAR post (after action report).  I will be using Warhammer 1st Edition, so this is a proper Oldhammer battle!

When last we left you, Gimli and company had decided to put off the search for Balin (they found a map to his location though).  Scouts were reporting that orcs were massing for an attack against the fledgling Eastgate colony, Gimli gave orders for an immediate return to help in its defense.

But they were ambushed in tight tunnels and caverns by Dragons of various colors spitting fire and acid and lightning.  Also, black hooded Drow were hampering their advance.  Little did the dwarves know that they were being corralled towards a large cavernous expanse known as Waterdoom. It was roughly square in its shape with a chamber hewn from the living rock on one end and a rise of rock on the other. (the cave of Caerbannog, wherein, carved in mystic runes, upon the very living rock, the last words of Olfin Bedwere of Rheged ... )  In the center was a mossy vegetation and a small marshy pit.  This was ground of the Dark Elf general's choosing...  a plan long thought out.  Plans within plans.  (I will not fear, fear is the mind killer!)

So Victory Points, or VP is the object of this battle.  If at any point, Dwarves control 3 VPs they win a sudden death victory!  The game ends when this happens or if the Dwarves are all defeated.  Sound easy?  Not so fast!  Orcs will arrive on the Eastern edge at the start of Turn 6 on a d6 roll of 5+.  If they dont arrive then, roll at the start of each turn.  4+ on Turn 7, 3+ on Turn 8, 2+ on Turn 9, automatic arrival on Turn 10.

Also, the Dwarves setup first without knowing where or how many enemies they will be facing!  Ooo, scary... deploy smartly, lil stunties!

PS.  House rule:  No Hatred rules for my Dwarves.  I want control over them, no mindless moving towards enemy.

PS ps.  Remember, this isnt just a battle report, the outcome will affect the whole fluff of the blog!  Actually that isnt saying much, since Im making up all this stuff on the spot.  I take pics and hope my brain will weave it all into a somewhat cohesive storyline.  And now, there sure are alot of characters and storylines going on... I hope I can keep all of it straight.  Im optimistic but no promises of consistency!  (Oh God, how is evil Balin going to fit into this whole mess?  Or that darned new Lizard king fella?)  But at any rate, if the Dwarves win this battle, they make it back to Easthold long before it is sieged, which in game terms, means they help the entrenchment level of the fortress; more food stores, ammunition, higher defenses of the walls and gates, and also better scout information on the enemy advance.  However, if they lose, Gimli and company are cutoff from Easthold and must decide on going west, upwards towards Mazarbul and the higher levels, or downwards to the more difficult levels where even more enemies live.  Or perhaps that secret map that Pickles found in the last battle?

View from the Western edge of the table.  Nearest to the edge we see the Chamber of Hougoumont.

Pickles:  It sure looks like Balins Tomb! 
Hodor:  But its not. 
Pickles: How many chambers are there in Moria that have a tomb smack dab in its center and a blue light glowing down on it?  What are the odds?
Hodor:  Just go with the bit, dude! 

And the view from the Eastern edge of the table.  Closest to us is the rise of rock known as Papelotte.

Pickles:  I think thats the hill where Prince Uther and Helfast defended the Beer Cart from the Beholder!  But that cant be!  That hill is outside Moria miles away from here!  There's some inconsistencies in this fluff I object to! 
Hodor:  You know what, you got something there.  Sometimes I think we are all just pawns in some big cosmic game.

And here is the central "valley" of Waterdoom Cavern.  With the mossy vegetation known as La Haye Sainte. and slightly north east of it is the Sandpit,  errr I mean the Swamp Pit.  And to the north of both is the northern exit of the Cavern.

Pickles:  You know La Haye Sainte means Holy Hedge?  Or maybe even Holy Wood...  its Hollywood, man!  In the future, thats where the humans make movies about us!  They think we arent real, Hodor!  But they are the ones that dont even exist yet!
Hodor:  Dude, my mind is blown... 
(Disembodied voice of Jesse Ventura):  Miiiinnnnd  Controooolll.  HAARP, chemtrails, its all a conspiracy little Dwarf people!

Victory Point 1 is next to the well in the Chamber of Hougoumont.

VP 2 is in Holywood, err La Haye Sainte.

VP 3 is the north exit tunnel out of Waterdoom

VP 4 is in the Swamp Pit

And VP 5 is on top of Papelotte "hill"

4 Hours earlier...

Lord Commander Alric:  We still dont have enough forces to crush these Dwarves.  We underestimated their stubbornness.  We are not powerful enough to stand against Gimli and his Dwarf Lords.

Alyssa:  But our dark elf soldiers... They are the salt of the Blackroot Vale!

Lord Commander Alric: Scum! Nothing but beggars and scoundrels.  Mushroom Ale is the limit of their patriotism.

Alyssa:  Yet you expect them to die for you?

Lord Commander Alric: mm hmm

(enter Orc Ambassador Muffling)

Alyssa:  That Orc will spoil the dancing!

Lord Commander Alric:  Muffling!  Where is General Gragg and his army?

Orc Ambassador Muffling:  Gimli beat us at the Chamber of Mazarbul but he did not send any force to pursue us.

Lord Commander Alric:   If General Gragg will fight the Dwarves, I promise to hold them here in Waterdoom.  Tell him, I know Drow and Orcs have never been the best of friends, but together we can rid Moria of the Dwarven menace!

Orc Ambassador Muffling: On that promise, General Gragg would barbeque his favorite squig!

Lord Commander Alric:  I need you to tell Gragg, to march to us here in Waterdoom and outflank the Dwarves!

View of the Dwarven left flank.  Commanders Hodor, Pickles, and Grombrindal face the Chamber of Hougoumont.

Hodor leads a chant to boost the morale of his mercenaries.

Silver, Gold, Mithril... Trinkets!  Loot! Loot! Loot!

Pickles has been given a field promotion and now commands a small tunnel fighting outfit.

Grombrindal, the White Dwarf stands ready to battle!

Porkins:  I hope no Dragons show up this time!

Grombrindal:  Be a good fellow and settle down Mr Porkins... you will upset the lads.

The Dwarven main force in the center. Gimli and his advisors decide the main strategy is to break and control the center.  There are 3 VPs there, enough to win the game.  The side VPs are just a distraction.  (Hmm, the Dwarves line of thought seems oddly similar to a certain French fella's strategy as well.  Come to think of it, Mr Bonaparte might have been a stuntie due to his smallish stature)

Dwarven high command:  Nindalf the wizard, Gimli, and Baron Hawk.

Here are Nindalf's spells and info:
Constitution is generated thus: 2d4 x mastery level +4
Nindalf is a Level 2 wizard and ends up rolling a measly 4 on 2d4 (I dont think I ever rolled d4s in a miniature wargame before!)  So his constitution is 12.  Which means in the whole battle he can cast 12 points worth of spells. Each spell has energy cost, which is basically constitution cost.

Here are his randomly generated spells:
Level 1 Spells
- Cure Light Injury: 3 energy, cures 1 wound
- Far Sight: extends line of sight, pretty much useless in this game
- Fireball: 2 energy per fireball, can cast 2 per turn, 24" range str 2
- Bless: 4 energy, lasts d4+1 turns, gives target an additional 3+ save
Level 2 Spells
- Smash Door: useless here
- Turn to Frog: Sounds great! Then you realize it only targets the caster. Hmm... for escaping?
- Mystic Mist: 4 energy, 12 diameter cloud blocks line of sight, but also forces anyone in it to randomly move only 1" in their move phase.  This could be very useful!

King Gorrin and his Dwarf Lords are THE Old Guard!
Ive made each one of them a minor hero!

Gloin and his veterans.

Grumpy:  Harrumph...

The main unit of the Reaper Clan stands ready!

On the Dwarven right, facing Papelotte.

Captain Drogo, Baron Hawk's second in command, leads another unit of the Reaper Clan

Finally, we have Wallace and his Irregulars.   They are a motley assembly of miners, scouts and ne'er do wells.

Hamish: There's somebody coming. 

Campbell: MacGregors from the next clan. 

MacGregor: We heard about what was happenin' and don't want you "Amadans" thinkin' you can have your fun without us. 

Wallace: Go home. Some of us are in this; can't help that, now. But you can help yourselves. Go home. 

MacGregor: We'll have no homes left when the Orcs come through and burn us out. And they will!

[Wallace motions for the MacGregors to join them]

Hodor marches into the room!  Dwarves in oldhammer move a measly 3 and a half inches.
I must remember the Turn sequence, which is:

1 Movement
2 Shooting
3 Combat
4 Second Movement - as long as you didnt Combat, also no closer than 4" of enemy
5 Magic
6 Routing

So there is no running. You can charge in the first move phase though, but not the second.  Also, countercharges are available, which helps in the "To Hit" chart as a modifier.

Pickles is going to back up Hodor.

Grombrindal and Gimli decide to act as reserves and hold their ground.  When the Dark Elf positions are revealed they can then decide where best to lend a hand.

The center moves forwards with Gloin, Baron Hawk, and Captain Drogo.  Nindalf thinks about casting a Bless spell, but decides to wait, afterall energy points are so precious.  So precioussssss....

And finally, Wallace decides its probably best to go right up that hill instead of to the left and around.  Lucky for him, his troops are excellent at climbing the "high" ground.  Get it? Coz they are "high"landers?  Ba dum psh.....  (Crickets)

Next post:   The Battle Begins!