Dungeon Chef: Quest For Meat Part 3 - No Room For Dessert

The stunning finale of this 3 part battle report...

Rope Dwarf leads his captive Giant Frog over the bridge, as skellies shamble from the northeast.

Penny, Bertha, Cheery Dwarf, encourage the drunk Dwarf to run faster towards their battle line.

The skeletons in the northwest corner capture counter 3, which turns out to be an Elven Blink Dog.

Valdor and Mochi might have Bonked the Dire Boar too much.  They practically have to to lift and carry the great beast to make it move faster.

The last of the Dwarves from the north are coming over the bridge now...

Rope Dwarf:  Cmon Sleepy, lets get this cattle drive a'mooving!

We'll ride on the Prairies' across the wide rivers
And on through the flats where there's never a town
Our horses are weary, we're tired and we're hungry
They still, little dogies stop roaming around

Whoopee ti yi yo, get along little dogies
It's your misfortune ain't none of my own
Whoopee ti yi yo, get along little dogies
You know that Wyoming will be your new home

Ratcatcher spied these fellas two turns ago and fell back to the center.  Now, all four corner entry points are crawling with the undead.

The Dwarves form a battle line and beat back an assault from the southwest.
The Undead lose 3 and fall back 2".  They decide to wait for more skellies to bolster their numbers, before they attack again.  At least it buys some time for the Dwarves.

Cheery Dwarf fell casualty in that last attack, and Ratcatcher picks him up.  With 2 casualties on the Dwarven side, it is time to get out of this place.  The heat is definitely on.

Mochi drags the Boar onwards towards the southern tunnel.
Valdor breaks off and faces the oncoming enemy from the southeast.
They are attacking from all 3 directions in a coordinated attack!

The Dwarven line forms up again.  We must hold them up for one more turn!

Valdor spies 5 skellies... no problemo!

Get that pig outta here, Mochi!

Fall back... retreat...

But one Dwarf does not!  He stands in the narrow corridor of the southern tunnel.
He will buy time for his friends to get away.

Valdor lives up to his name, Valdor the Valiant.
As the last of the Dwarves escape, they manage to catch a last glimpse of him smashing bones to dust.  His heavy mace smashing his enemies aside with bone crushing intensity.

Up above, Valdor sees the Undead commander.  He begins to sing a bloody song of death and vengeance...  of probable doom and certain woe.  He stomps skulls and laughs.  This is what Dwarves were born for...
The sheer numbers of his foes eventually brings the Dwarf down to one knee, a dozen wounds streaming from him...
With his Slayer challenges braying from his bloody lips, Valdor defies his enemy for the last time...

Murkillor!!! 

Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!

Despite his bravery, Valdor falls at last...

Even the Wraith, for all his hatred of all things Dwarven, was moved by the bravery of the Slayer.

Renzo Avanti, undead champion, brings forward the captured Elven Blink Dog.

Murkillor thinks it is a good omen that they were able to catch this creature.  It would make a fine gift to their new Dark Elf allies.  Perhaps he can court favor with the Vampire Witch Elf Alyssa and use her to overthrow Lord Commander Alric.  Divide and conquer... 

To his surprise, Mordini brings forward the Dwarf Slayer, bloody, broken, but still living. 

Murkillor:  And now, we will discuss the location of your hidden rebel base... 

Valdor: (watches the Interrogator droid enter but remains silent)

Murkillor:  People have no grasp of what they do. You broke into my house, stole my property, murdered my servants, and my PETS! And that is what grieves me the most! You killed my snake. Thorgrim is beside himself with grief! He raised that snake from the time it was born. 

Valdor:   You killed my mother! You killed my father, you killed my people! You took my father's sword... ah... the riddle... of steel...

Murkillor:  Not until you tell me all about the house that Xavier built... and the machine called Cerebro.

Valdor:  Im the best there is at what I do, but what I do isnt very nice...

 Murkillor:  You look nervous...Is it the scars? You wanna know how I got 'em?  So I had a wife, who tells me, I worry too much, who tells me I oughta smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep...with the sharks. One day they carve her face. I just wanna see her smile again...hmm. I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So...I stick a razor in my mouth and do this...to myself. And you know what?...SHE CAN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF ME! She leaves...Now I see the funny side...Now I'm always smiling!

---

Again, those damned wires keep getting crossed! 

As for this battle report, I must say, I do like Warhammer 1st edition when its small scale actions.  Its clunky and old, but it gets the job done.  I do keep forgetting some rules, like checking for morale on individual hero models (not in a unit) when they are wounded.  With that said, I hope to acquire a 2nd edition box set in the future when my finances allow.  And 3rd, with the Realms of Chaos books.  Sigh.  Im afraid to pick up Rogue Trader 1st edition, because then I would have to buy squats.  I cant afford to fight a war on two fronts. I... must... stay... strong...

So, about the fluff implications?  The dwarves managed to eke out a Minor Victory with 7 points of dungeon meat, but suffered 3 casualties.  The siege of Easthold, when it comes, will find the Dwarven food supply adequate.  Oh, also, Im happy with Mochi as a character, he was unlucky with his to hit rolls, but he always managed to avoid death multiple times.  I was saddened to see Cheery Dwarf fall, but Im sure Balgar Blackwing can mix a potion to get him back to snuff in no time.  As for Penny and Bertha... they are death machines, exemplars of Dwarven women everywhere.  I wonder, however, if the valiant Valdor needs a rescue scenario. 

But before all that can happen, the next couple of posts will bring the focus back to Gimli and the events and new miniatures that are happening in the deepest levels of Moria... the Savage Lands.   Its going to be beautiful and I cant wait to see how events unfold there!  The minis, the terrain, the scenarios, and the new fluff...  I want things to go in a certain direction, but ultimately, its for the dice gods to decide.  Until next post, Baruk Khazad! Khazad Ai-menu!

Cheers,
Mar

Dungeon Chef: Quest For Meat Part 2 - Dire Pork Luau Party

The quest for dungeon meat continues...

Penny and Bertha close in on the southeast location and it is revealed to be number 5.

Manticore!  These vicious beasts are lions with wings and scorpion tails!  It is edible, but the meat is sure to be a bit wild and gamey.

The two girls wish they had brought more help with them.  This is going to be a life or death battle!  Penny levels her crossbow and unleashes bolts at the scary monster charging at her.  Bertha steps in front of Penny, grits her teeth, raises her cleaver and countercharges! 

Bertha: For King Kazador, Easthold, and the Reclaimed Kingdom of Moria!

Mochi has a string of bad die rolls and doesnt identify the token until he is close.

It turns out to be a whopper of a monster!  Its a Dire Boar.  Worth a tremendous 3 meat points.
But it has multiple wounds and is pretty tough to boot.  Wheres that Slayer, now that you need him?

Vincent: Want some bacon?
Jules: No man, I don't eat pork.
Vincent: Are you Jewish?
Jules: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.
Vincent: Why not?
Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.
Vincent: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood. 

Waving Dwarf delivers the Grick to the tunnel and checks to see if Sleepy is doing his job.
Might have to put some coffee in his mug instead of beer.

Valdor the Slayer and Ratcatcher are back in the center again.
Choices, choices... where do these two go now?
Mochi needs help across the bridge in the north, but Penny and Bertha also need help against that scary manticore!

They split up!  Valdor heads north to make himself some pork chops.
Ratcatcher takes a party Dwarf (Cheery Dwarf) with him to help turn the tide against the Manticore.  And their combined attacks brings the monster down!

Meanwhile in the north, Rope Dwarf and Chumley decide to go for the north east objective.
It turns out to be number 6...

Giant Frog! The frog is worth 1 dungeon meat point and turns out to be a runner.  It hops away!
The two Dwarves run after it.

Mochi has trouble landing any blows on the Dire Pork, even with Dudley lending an axe chop or two.

Haru: Do not worry. A ninja knows when he is in danger.

[Tanley and his men fire machine guns at them]

Haru: Now we are in danger. We are really in danger. 

And then, what everyone feared would happen, happens...  the Undead show up.
Isnt it a little early in the year for Halloween?

And where do these trick or treaters show up?  Right on the doorstep of the southwest corner.
Even with the Drunken Dwarf sentry there, they will show up next turn.  Which means they are lurking at the entry point.

Another band of skeletons show up lurking outside the entry point of the northeast corner.
That Frog is doomed one way or another...

Cheery Dwarf leads the now passive Manticore to the south entrance.
Hey Sleepy, you still with us?

Seeing how useless putting a drunk Dwarf on sentry was for the southwest, Ratcatcher is nominated to sentry for the southeast.  He has a further +1 modifier for detecting enemy further out in the tunnel.
But it does keep him from helping out in combat elsewhere.

The Dire Boar will just not go down easily!  Valdor is finally here though, lets see how long that giant porkchop lasts against a Dwarf Slayer.

The Giant Frog is finally captured and dragged by Rope Dwarf and prodded by Chumley.

More Skeletons arrive in the southwest.

Six skellies lurk outside the northwest entry point, which is going to make it really really hard to capture the last objective point.

Dudley the woodcutter is knocked out by the Dire Boar.  Enraged by the fall of one of their own, Valdor brings the hurt down on the pig.  And finally, Mochi succeeds in wounding and Bonking it.

Haru: I may not be a great ninja; I may not be one with the universe; but I will say this: NO ONE MESSES WITH MY BROTHER.

Chumley picks up his buddy and carries him towards the bridge.

Chumley:  We have to abandon the north now!  Get that big pig moving!  Undead approach from both entry points...

Next post:  No Room For Dessert!

Dungeon Chef: Quest For Meat Part 1 - Mushroom Appetizers

Units of Orcs and rumors of the Undead approach!  Princes Ulther and Helfast are ordered to harass and delay the enemy.  King Kazador is fortifying the defenses of the fortress outpost known as Easthold.  Even the civilians are doing their part to help the war effort.  Twelve Dwarves are tasked with gathering food supplies for the upcoming siege of Easthold.  This is their story...

Hello, dear readers to yet another 3-part Battle report!  Im still using Warhammer 1st Edition for this.  This time its a bit smaller in scope, and gives us the perfect scenario to help introduce some secondary characters in Easthold.  Im using a card deck to determine this scenario's enemy appearances - they will arrive randomly after turn 4, in groups of 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8.   A Dwarven reinforcement card is also in the deck.  On top of that, six tokens are placed on the board for the Objective locations.  These tokens are numbered and represent a dungeon denizen that the Dwarves are hunting for food supplies.  Each of these have their own stats and abilities, but also have their own temperament rating.  Some are aggressive and charge the Dwarves, some are indifferent and remain stationary, and others will bolt and run from the hunters.  The tokens are revealed by rolling a die when a Dwarf is within range of it.  Some dwarves have modifiers that help them when rolling on their temperament monster rating check.  Once a monster has lost all its wounds, it is considered to be "Bonked" - a good thumping to its noggin will tame the beast and it will move at the speed of any Dwarf that leads it.  Each monster has a dungeon meat rating, which are worth victory points.

Victory table is:

Dwarf Major victory - Bring back 7 or 8 points worth of dungeon meat and have no Dwarven losses.
Dwarf Minor victory - Bring back 5 or more points worth of dungeon meat and have no more than 3 Dwarven casualties.
Draw - Above conditions not met.
Enemy victory - Dwarves have 5 or more casualties

These victory conditions will affect the Siege of Easthold scenario.
 

And now we bring you to the action....

From left to right:  Mochi the Dwarf Ninja, Ratcatcher, Chumley, and Dudley the woodcutter

"Be vewwey vewwy quiet, Im hunting wabbit!"

Mochi, being a ninja sneaks forward towards the first counter!  Chumley in his armor makes a racket and decides to hang back while the more stealthy Dwarves move into position ahead.

Getting closer, the stunties should be able to identify the target any second!
Penny, a female Dwarf from the Reaper Clan also comes forward, using her crossbow to cover Mochi and Ratcatcher.

Penny:  (whispers)  What is it, Mochi?
Mochi: OMG!  Its... its...

I turn over the counter and its revealed to be monster meat number 2...  Myconid.  Myconids are a race of sentient fungoids.  Some of them can release dangerous spores when attacked.  Luckily, this is a "garden variety" Myconid.  It is worth 1 Dungeon meat.
Its indifferent to the Dwarves and just stands there stupidly.

Mochi: Cowabunga!

Ratcatcher: (slaps forehead)

Penny:  Cut him some slack.  Yeah, maybe he isnt teenage or a mutant, but he is a ninja.
 
Mochi jump kicks the creature, excited to add mushroom cuisine to the larders of Easthold!
Ratcatcher has his hands full, holding back his frisky rodent companion.
And the Dwarves have their first success, as the Myconid is quickly Bonked into submission.

Bertha, the cook wrangles it and has it follow her to the main tunnel entrance.

Sleepy Dwarf is elected to watch over the captured creatures.

Bertha: Dont let them get away, Sleepy!  Or else!

Overview of the game board.  The southern tunnel at the bottom is where Sleepy is.
The center bridge is where the first token was revealed.
There are five more: southwest, northwest, north, northeast, and south east.
The corners are where possible advancing enemies may appear.
All captured creatures and Dwarves must exit from the southern tunnel only.
A Dwarf that stands sentry at the corners provide a modifier when enemies appear there.  This represents the early warning a sentry provides.  A drunk dwarf will only provide a +1, but a more vigilant Dwarf provides a +2

The Dwarves know that enemies are approaching quickly and must decide to spread their forces thin and explore as many locations as possible or play safe and move slowly and surely.  They decide to risk it and spread out!  Good luck little stunties!

Ratcatcher and Valdor the Slayer team up and head to the southwest location.

Penny and Bertha head to the southeast location.

Mochi, Rope Dwarf, Dudley the woodcutter, and Chumley head over the bridge to the northern locations.  While the 4 party Dwarves (2 are drunk) stay near the main southern tunnel as a flying reserve.  They will act as guides for Bonked creatures, guard them and also act as sentries for corners when they are captured.

Ratcatcher and Valdor the Slayer approach the southwest counter.

Its revealed to be number 4.  A Grick! 

Gricks are aberrations from another dimension.  They are wormy tentacled horrors that have a sharp squid like beak.  It is worth 1 Dungeon meat and has an aggressive temperament.  It charges the Dwarves!

Valdor:  Are you sure this is edible?

Ratcatcher: Wrapped in seaweed and dipped in soy sauce, it makes a great sushi roll!

The Grick is quickly Bonked by the power of Valdor the Slayer!  Im thinking making Valdor a great hero might have imbalanced this game in favor of the Dwarves.  Ah well...

Two party Dwarves show up.  One leads the Grick away, and the other...

is now the sentry for the southwest corridor.
Unfortunately, he is a drunk Dwarf.  But any lookout is better than none.



Next post:  Dire Pork Luau Party