Ziggurat Of Doom Redux, Part 1 - Its A Tower, err... Ziggurat Defense Game

This is a 3-part battle report based loosely on the "Ziggurat of Doom" scenario as found in the Warhammer 1st edition White Box set. Since we already showed off all the newly painted units in the last post... let's get straight to the action!

Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria was surrounded by a flash of magical light.  When his eyes adjusted, he found himself and his companions transported to a ziggurat in a humid jungle that could only be The Temple of Chicken-Itza in the Savage Lands, far below Moria.  His 2nd in Command, Mad Furrikson gave a low growl, how he hated magic, that mad one.

Balin:  YOU!  Who are you, to teleport me without my permission?
Bullywug King:  I am the Lizard King, I can do anything!
Mad Furrikson:  (whispers)  he is no Jim Morisson, if ya ask me...
Bullywug King:  Hundreds of years ago, our two kinds built the Undermountains.  You Dwarves built Khazad-Dum, the Mines of Moria.  We Slann built below your Underdeeps of Moria, this land... The Savage Lands.  We lived in harmony until Chaos came and destroyed our peaceful existence.  The Orcs drove you out, Chaos annihilated my people.  I am the Last Bullywug King!  I have waited for your kind to return and here you are.  The power of this Temple is failing and the enemy will soon penetrate its defenses, but I can still use the last of its energy to help us both!
Balin:  And if we ally ourselves with you, what help can you offer?
Bullywug King: I am a summoner, I can summon great and vicious beasties that will help you reconquer your Kingdom.  Dwarf King, your enemies are mine also!  Together, we can crush the Orcs, Dark Elves, Undead, and whoever else from our lands.  In fact you have no choice!  In moments, the tribe of Orcs known as the Metal Magic Clan will attack us! 
Balin:  Hmmm... this place doesnt look very defensible. 

The Bullywug King raises his staff and suddenly crystals sprout from the spawning pools.
Bullywug King: I can summon reinforcements for us with the power of these crystals.  But you must make sure I am not disrupted.
Balin:  My companions and I are powerful heroes, but we are only seven.  What can we do against a whole tribe of Orcs?

The Bullywug King raises his staff and suddenly a giant Sabertooth Tiger and a Raptor appear.
Bullywug King:  Here are some quick summoned creatures to help us start!
Poopytail the Sabretooth Tiger purrs, while Fangs McGillycutty the Raptor snarls.

Overview of the board.  Enemies will approach from the West, South and East edges.  3d6 Orcs will appear on turn 1 from a random edge.  Every turn d6+1 orcs will also appear from a random edge.  There is a card deck as well.  Every turn a card will be drawn to determine when the Bullywug King will have finished his summoning.  This Slann Summon Card (Ace of hearts) is shuffled with 5 other cards, and then placed under 6 more cards, which means it will arrive in turn 7 at the earliest and turn 12 at the latest.  When drawn, 6 Slann appear, and it also triggers the end of Orc reinforcements.

The deck is composed of mostly number cards which signify no event.  There are 2 other ace cards in the deck: one that means a Cockatrice summoned creature arrives for the Slann/Dwarf side and another for a goblin spell caster arrival event.
The Bullywug King and his pet Raptor are at the top of the Ziggurat.

Balin and Baldrik Backbreaker take the highground crossroads, so they can protect the Bullywug above them, or act as a reserve for any direction that needs help.  If the Bullywug King dies, it is a catastrophic loss for the Dwarves/Slann and a Decisive Victory for the Orcs.

The Western Crystal is guarded by Poopytail the Sabretooth Tiger, Mad Furrikson, and Antor Axebreath.  If the Orcs control both Crystals, they gain a +1 to their reinforcements every turn (d6+2).  This represents the loss of power in the Temples energy which allows more Orcs to pass the jungle defenses around the Temple.

Protecting the Eastern Crystal are Jezreel Ironhand, Napper Grundin, and Spikes Harveywotan.
Also the crystals can be destroyed. They have 3 hitpoints each and have a Toughness of E (thats T5 for those of you who play new fangled editions of Warhammer!)

Leonidas: Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty... For tonight, we dine in hell! 

Start of Battle:
10 Orcs arrive in the West!  Led by their hero, Guthnog Bristlenose.
The Orcs are in a tight formation.  The Dwarves of both Crystals decide to unify their forces and form a unit to face the incoming Orcs.  Of course this means, they must leave one Crystal unguarded.  Balin and Baldrik hold their position above.  Poopytail, hides behind the trees and waits for an opportune time to pounce!

6 Orcs appear in the East!  3 archers are among them.

They have a choice of going up the steps to where Balin is, or to take the now unguarded Eastern Crystal.

The Orcs move in fast!

 I will detail one turn of combat, so those unfamiliar with 1st edition can see the differences.
The Dwarves charge, but is met with a counter-charge from the Orcs.  They clash in the middle.  Charging adds +1 to hit, countercharging negates that bonus.  The Sabretooth maneuvers around the flanks and next turn is ready to attack the rear of the Orc formation.

4 wounds on the Orcs, 1 fails to save.   3 wounds on the Dwarves, 1 failed save, which means Jezreel Ironhand loses a hitpoint.  The Orcs lose the combat resolution 4 to 3 (add wounds and failed saves) and are pushed back 2".  The victorious Dwarves are allowed to flank up to 2 figures per flank if they have any figures in a 2nd rank.  They do, so Napper Grundin moves to flank the left side.  The Orcs may turn to face the flanker if it has a 2nd rank, they do and avoid a flanking penalty.  1st edition has no rank bonus, but if a unit is flanked there is a -2 to hit penalty for all figures in a unit.

4 Orcs appear in the south and can grab either of the Crystals!

The 6 Orcs in the East split up, 3 orcs climb the Eastern steps of the Temple, and 3 archers stay below to pepper the Dwarves above.

Mad Furrikson and the Dwarves continue pushing the Orcs back.  The Sabretooth is happily munching on an Orc.

Balin and Baldrik charge the Orcs on the steps and make short work of them.
Balin: Next time, bring more friends!

Then a special card is drawn.  Its a goblin spell caster!  Minnie Castavet and her pets.  After randomly rolling up her stats and spells... she has Lightning for range attacks, Thunderhand for close combat, and a heal spell.  She also has useless spells like Detect Life, Lock Door, and Telepathy.  I suppose Telepathy saves her money on cell phone bills at least.

Blix:  Black as midnight, black as pitch, blacker than the foulest witch.

She and 7 goblins appear in the SouthWest.  Not good for Mad Furrikson and friends.  They better defeat Guthnog Bristlenose and his boys soon, or else they will be surrounded!

Meanwhile 2 Orcs are killed on the steps, and the last runs for it.  The archers are able to cause a wound on Baldrik, who takes a Morale test and succeeds. (Characters must test every time they are wounded)
Of course it helps to have the general right next to you.
Balin:  Steady now Baldrik... Its just a flesh wound!

Next post: Part 2 - Apocalypto