Steve Jackson's Ogre Vs Oldhammer Part 3 - Finale, A Close Run Thing

The conclusion to this battle report...

The Beholder charges Counsellor Thadar and his unit.  They are being charged by a Fear causing creature and roll a 3... they break and rout!  There goes the midfield defense!

King Kazador sees that besides Helfast, only the Ratnik Dwarves, Beercart Defenders, and the Cannon are in place to intercept the Beholder in the mid and back field.  He can intercept as well, but he must organize his men now and march out!  Alhough, what if the Beholder wants them to empty Easthold, to defend the Rune Vane, then instead flies over the fortress walls?  Should he stay inside and continue protecting the crossbows, catapult, and Balgar the wizard?  He reluctantly decides to stay in Easthold.

3 crossbows on the wall and 2 from Helfast amount to 1 wound, which knocks out the Sleep power.

Balgar considers his options, he can cure either Helfast or Ulther, fire off a Lightning Bolt, or Windblast the Beholder and stop it from moving for one turn.  He uses Lightning and knocks out the Charm Person power. 4 out of 9 minor eyes are destroyed.

The Beholder rolls for 2 power points this turn.  He thinks about taking a gamble and not using any powers, instead saving them up for a bigger burst when he gets to the endfield.  Hopefully, Helfast will fail his charge roll!  As for the Cannon ahead, the routing Thadar is blocking them for now... Oh wait, routers move at the end phase of every side's turn, which means they will move out of LOS and the cannon will be clear to fire on their turn!  Change of plans then, try to kill a Cannon crew member with Disintegrate. 4+ to hit, 3+ to kill... and yes! 1 Dwarf is fried to a crisp, which means the cannon must roll a 4+ on a d6 to fire for having less than 3 crew.  (I know the rules say bombards have 5 crew, my mistake.  But lets change that for this one game.)  The Beholder saves that last point for next turn.

Councillor Thadar's Dwarves continue routing. Prince Ulther's Dwarves and the Slayers have no hope of catching the Beholder and decide not to try, because if the Cannon does fire, they would get caught in the blast!  Prince Helfast does the same and just encourages his 2 crossbow Dwarves to continue firing. 

Finally, the moment of truth.  Dwarf Cannon makes its roll to fire, hits for 4 Str 6 hits, and causes 2 more wounds.  This might be the most important wound allocation decision.  Slow it down, or knock out 2 more minor eyes?  They go for the eyes, and knock out 2 more. Death Ray being one that is the deadliest.  The long range firepower of the Beholder is compromised.

Counsellor Thadar continues to rout.

Up on the walls Balgar positions himself to continue blasting the Beholder.  Due to the angle, only 5 crossbows can fire down.  After all the firing is done, 2 wounds are allocated to the Beholder's carapace, slowing it down to 4" movement!  Balgar is down to 6 constitution for magic.  He fires off another Lightning attack and causes damage!  He chooses the minor eyes and ends up knocking out the eye with Telekinetic Blast!

King Kazador changes his mind again, and opens the gates and begins marching his men out.  The High King Thorgrim and Runelord Kragg remain in Easthold.  The game is coming down to the wire.  Chief Ratnik tells his men to stand their ground.

The Beholder rolls for 3 power points this turn and with the 1 saved previously, means he has 4 points to use.  He powers up his main eye and fires off a Freeze Ray for 3 points.  Only saving throws can save anyone underneath. Chief Ratnik their leader is frozen solid, as well as 4 other Dwarves.  With its last point this turn, the Beholder uses Turn To Stone on a cannon crewmember and succeeds. With only 1 crew member remaining, the Cannon would need a 6+ to be able to fire next turn.

The Dwarves are desperate!  Helfast continues harassing the Beholder.

King Kazador races down the ramparts trying to get to grips with the Beholder.
Balgar decides to use his last points to cast Windblast! The Beholder may not move next turn!  Whats going to happen? 

The last remaining crew member of the Cannon has alot resting on his shoulders, will he choke or become a legend?  He sure is sweating profusely, that's for sure!

The last six Ratniks defiantly stand their ground.

The Beholder is unable to move, so settles for hopefully powering up its main eye and blasting some Dwarves.  The Beholder rolls for 3 power points!  He uses Freezing Ray again...

... and kills 4 Ratnik Dwarves, the 2 remaining warriors rout.

And now the Beercart Defenders are moving up as well, but are they just causing a traffic jam?  Crossbows cause no damage this round.  And the cannon... rolls a 5.  So close, but sorry... 

The Beercart and its brave citizen militia form up in front of the Rune Vane!  Victory or death, their names will be remembered in song as they stood up to the beastly Beholder!  Again, no cannon fire, but the crossbows cause 1 wound, to a minor eye, the Disintegrate eye.  The Beholder only has 1 minor eye left (Turn To Stone), 1 main eye (3 HP), and 8 carapace points.

The Beholder charges them and they scatter in fear.  The dice are just not in the Dwarves favor this game.  Kazador is just one step behind, but too little too late.  The cannon is useless as the last crew is Turned To Stone.

The game ends as the Beholder starts chewing on the Rune Totem and it collapses... bringing down the Anti-Undead force shields of Easthold.

Veers:  Yes, Lord Vader.  I've reached the main power generator.  The shield will be down in moments.  You may start your landing.

---

Beholder's epilogue:
Sated, with vengeance and a full stomach, the Beholder decides to run down the tunnel towards the Eastgate of Moria and freedom.  Feeling the cool night breeze in the Dimrill Dale, he finds the Anduin River, looks downstream at Lothlorien to his right, then across the river at Mirkwood, then finally upstream to his left towards the north.  With his giant eye, he focuses past the Gladden Fields, past the Old Ford and the Carrock, to the source of the Great Anduin, up above in the snows of Ered Lithuin, even beyond them!  There, he thinks to himself, beyond the politics of the Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and Undead... he could make a new start in the wintery north of Forodwaith.   He thinks to himself... "and no more Hellpepper eating contests!  Even if its for Radagast's winning prize of Hasenpfeffer rabbit-stew!"

---

An enjoyable little battle for an evening.  Mistakes were made!  Mistakes, I tell you!  And they cost the Dwarves dearly.  Mostly, mistakes of underestimating the speed of the Beholder.  Perhaps, more damage should have been allocated to slowing its movement down, instead of its firepower in the minor eyes.  Also, the forces inside Easthold kept second guessing the goal of the Beholder by staying behind their walls.  They were so sure the Beholder would first come in and deal with the firepower inside the fort before heading to the Rune Vane. They kept the midfield relatively clear, for the cannon, allowing the Beholder to run right through it.  The Cannon only dealt 2 damage anyway, the one time it was able to fire.  But seriously, blame the dice!  No Dwarf unit was able to charge, or stand up to a charge from the Beholder... not a one!  Its only a 50% chance to do so!  But no, the Beholder had fortune on its side, which I can only attribute to its purity of purpose, it needed to do this thing and get free.
Run to the hills!  Beholder...  Run for your life!

We fought him hard, we fought him well
Out on the plains, we gave him hell
But many came, too much for Cree
Oh, will we ever be set free?

So what next?  I think we must return to the events down under... in the Savage Lands with Balin!  Then after that another adventure with Tyrion and Basic/Expert D&D.  Where is Gimli and company, I hear ya say?  Soon, all will be made clear.  Patience young jedis.  This blog is a juggling act, so much has to be timed, just right.  Actually there is much to paint, terrain wise, for what Im planning to do with Gimli and friends...  Oh, enough with the spoilers! 

Next post:  Welcome To The Jungle

Bonus feature: Soundtrack To This Post!
While playing this battle, I listened to:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUipMnVM0esh96G-486H8VLfMZfRtDmZ-
Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost
Liege Lord - Freedom's Rise
Metal Church - Metal Church (1984)
Warrior - Fighting for The Earth

Steve Jackson's Ogre Vs Oldhammer Part 2 - Prepare For Ground Assault

Some last info before the actual battle begins...

Balgar Blackwing, Level 2 Dwarf wizard has 12 constitution points
Useful spells include:
Windblast, cost of 2 energy, prevents enemy from moving next turn.
Flight, 3 energy, fly 12"
Lightning Bolt, 3 energy, 24" range, Str 4 attack
Aura of Protection, 3 energy, an extra 4+ save
Cure Severe Wounds, 3 energy

Rune Vane Totem:  has a Toughness of D, 6 Wounds
Immune to Beholder's eye powers, must be destroyed in close combat.

The game ends when either the Rune Totem or Beholder is destroyed.

Before the game starts, we allow the Dwarves to shift their deployment around, knowing what type of enemy they now face.
Initial thoughts on Dwarven strategy is about weighing the risks of bunching up to do damage to the Beholder but suffering casualties from its various template weapons.

Prince Helfast decides to split his forces and have 3 crossbows in his unit on the bridge.

The 2nd unit is led by Counsellor Thadar and is further back in the midfield of the board.

The Dwarf Slayers are near the southern edge of the board.

Prince Ulther also splits his forces in two.  The militia is deployed to his south.

The Rune Vane Totem is carried out of the fortress and to the furthest eastern position, right next to the Organ Cannon.  The Ratnik Clan deploys in front of it.

Beholder Turn 1:
Since the Beholder can float around, it doesnt need the bridge.  It moves right over the seemingly bottomless chasm.
Beholder moves up 6" in first phase, then another 6" in the reserve phase.  Now for the magic phase, where it can fire off its arsenal of eye powers...

The Beholder considers its power points: 3 points for main eye, 1 point for each minor eye.  He fires his main eye at Prince Helfast and freezes 4 Dwarves to death, not enough to cause a morale check. 

Prince Helfast himself, survives by making his save throw, but barely.

Hoth Rebel:  “Your tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker.”
H. Solo:  “Then I’ll see you in Hell!”

The Beholder has 3 more power points.  Fires off a disintegration at an unlucky crossbow Dwarf up on the battlements of Easthold fortress.  That was a lucky shot, even with the Beholders WS of 4 which is a 3+ to hit, the hard cover modifier is -2, which means 5+ to hit.  Followed by a d6 roll of 3+ to roll over a Dwarf Str of 2.

The Beholder uses Telekinetic Blast at Prince Ulther and 7 Dwarves including the Prince are blasted back 9" against the rocky base of Easthold's walls.

2 Dwarves are slain from the impact, and Prince Ulther himself takes a point of damage!  Finally the Beholder uses its last point to cast a Charm Person but fails.  Thats 7 Dwarves frozen, disintegrated, or been thrown into rock walls, in the first turn!

Dwarven Turn 1:
The turn starts with the Catapult lobbing off a rock at the Beholder.  First we roll a d6 for overshoot, then undershoot, then left and right deviation.  Then we place the 3" template and amazingly, the Beholder is hit! 4+ to hit any model underneath, but a +1 for being large, and another for having more than 5 wounds.  Thats a 2+ to hit, and it is easily rolled.  Damage?  d3 Str 5 hits... causes 1 wound.  Lets review Beholder damage allocation, 3 areas to choose from: carapace, main eye, or randomized minor eye.  The Dwarves further consider where to cause the damage: Main eye has 3 hitpoints, carapace with 12, or minor eyes with 1 point each, total of 9.  If we choose main eye, it will lose 1 point, but will still fire, and the carapace will need at least 2 to cause a -1" of movement loss.  So they decide to damage the minor eyes for an immediate loss of a Beholder weapon... which we randomize to be the minor eye stalk with the Paralyze power.  Buh-bye, Paralyze power, we hardly knew ye!

Then we get 8 crossbows up in Easthold, 2 from Prince Helfasts unit, and 2 more from the militia (Penny and Sleepy!  Who knew he could use that thing for more than leaning on and napping!) The 8 up in Easthold are long range and need 4+ after modifiers and score 4 hits, need 4's to wound and cause 2 wounds!  The Dwarves below roll and Sleepy and Penny hit, but only Sleepy hits to wound!  Thats 3 wounds on the Beholder!  After consultation, the Dwarves use 2 wounds on the carapace, so Beholder is slowed to 5" per move.  And the last wound to knock off another minor eye, which turns out to be the Slow eye...  The Dwarves are cautiously optimistic.  "If it bleeds, we can kill it..."

Finally, we have the Dwarf magic phase.  Balgar has 12 constitution points for casting spells.  Useful spells he has are: Windblast to prevent movement for 1 turn, Flight, Lightning, Aura of Protection, Cure Wounds.  He decides to start simple and cast an Aura of Protection around himself for an additional 4+ Save.

The Beholder considers where to move.  It must fall under the 18" minimum range of the Catapult to avoid getting hit again with a big rock.  Those crossbows hurt alot too, he must somehow kill them or avoid their attacks.  He also wants to get straight to the Rune Totem, so no dilly dallying around the fortress.  So, the Beholder moves right towards Prince Helfast and rolls a d3 and gets 3 power points for the turn.

He first uses the Death Ray, a template weapon where the narrow end touches the Beholder... and is used against the militia to deadly effect!

6 poor Dwarves are knocked out, including both Penny and Sleepy with their crossbows.  Also Stilts and Cheery Dwarf!  Revenge for their earlier insults at the bridge and their pesky crossbow attacks!  The militia are below half strength, promptly fail a morale check, and are routed.

Then a great idea pops into the Beholder's giant head.  He fires his Sleep power against the crossbow unit up on the walls and 5 of them fall asleep, missing their next turn.  Things are looking up.  Should he use his last power on those crossbows?

No, he must pay some attention to the danger nearby.  He uses Telekinetic Blast to fling Prince Helfast's unit back into Counsellor Thadars unit...

... and knocks out 3 more Dwarves.

Prince Ulther tries to charge the Beholder, but must roll a 4+ to charge a Fear causing unit.  He fails.

The Slayers go under the bridge ledge and come up behind the Beholder.  Which is a mistake, and they realize that too late.  The Beholder is too fast to catch.  Unless some one slows it down further downfield.

Next post:  Steve Jackson's Ogre Vs Oldhammer Part 3 - Finale, A Close Run Thing

Return Of The (High) King! Part 2 - Planning The Defense Of Easthold

High King Thorgrim calls a meeting of all the Dwarf commanders.

King Kazador welcomes High King Thorgrim and relinquishes overall command of Easthold to him.  Kazador gives a situation report to the High King, about how much food and beer are in the stores of Easthold.  He also tells of the approaching enemies of Undead, Orcs, and Drow.  The greatest threat of the three seems to be the Undead army raised by Murkillor the Wraith.

Princes Ulther and Helfast state how they have delayed the Undead as best they could, but the skeletal army is an endless horde.  Prince Ulther says that he hopes Gimli, Gloin, and Baron Hawk can get here before the enemy arrives.

Chief Ratnik finishes drinking his tankard of ale then speaks up and says he has bad news.  He has received a message from Baron Hawk, via his favorite bird.   Gimli and company have joined forces with some Dwarves that entered from the Westgate of Moria, its King Gorrin and the 8 Dwarves of Legend, Grombrindal the White Dwarf, and Hodor and his mercenaries.  They have found the Chamber of Mazarbul and know where Balin might be.  Unfortunately they have been cutoff and are unable to break through enemy lines.  So, they are heading deep below Moria to find Balin and then come back with his forces to break the siege. Gimli wishes the defenders of Easthold good luck and hope they can hold out until he can return with Balin's forces.

High King Thorgrim then says, they must hold out as Gimli says.
Runelord Kragg has been working with Balgar Blackwing and his assistants to create a Dwarven Rune Totem.

They present their creation, the Rune Vane of Morr.  It creates a shield of protection around it that undead cannot pass through.  The range of the shielded area reaches just a little over the furthest end of the Bridge of Khazad-Dum.  It will not stop orcs or drow though, who will definitely try to destroy the Totem.

Now, the deployment of the defenders...

King Kazador and his Goldshields will be deployed inside Easthold proper, right inside the Gate.

Nine crossbow Dwarves will line the battlements of Easthold.  Their range reaches along the bridge and slightly past it.

The Catapult will be able to fire at anything on the table.  Oh, it does have a minimum range of 18".

High King Thorgrim and Runelord Kragg are right outside the entrance to the lower Keep and the food stores, where the bulk of the civilian populace, womenfolk and children are.

Prince Ulther deploys right under the walls, to protect Easthold against siege ladders.

Four Slayers will hold the bridge.

Behind them, Prince Helfast is deployed.  Behind them are some citizen militia... Its Mochi, the Ninja Dwarf, Chumley, Cheery, Ratcatcher, Penny and friends.

Here is the furthest end of the table where the tunnel that leads eastward to the actual Eastgate of Moria is.  The Organ Cannon gun covers the entrance to Easthold.  The Ratnik Clan and the Beer Cart Defenders are here too, to cover the back field, in case anything gets through.

Finally we have an overview of the eastern side of the Bridge.

So, the board is set, the pieces are moving, and the opening salvoes are ready to fire.

Next post:  Enemy At The Gates!

Return Of The (High) King! Part 1 - Easthold's New Arrivals

Greetings, dear readers, in this post we return to Easthold in Moria and show off the new Dwarven arrivals / reinforcements.

Left to Right: Banner bearer for Prince Ulther's Imperial Dwarves, High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer, and Runelord Kragg.

Thorgrim is the descendant of the most ancient and noble of all Dwarf lords. The very blood of Grungni flows in his veins and the wisdom of Valaya sits upon his brow. The High Kings have kept the Great Book of Grudges, the oldest and most important of the many Books of Grudges that exist throughout the Dwarf realms . This book, known as Dammaz Kron, recounts all the ancient wrongs and deeds of treachery perpetrated against the Dwarf race.

Runelord Kragg the Grim is the oldest and by far the greatest living Runesmith - a gnarled old Dwarf, strong and enduring as a weather-beaten oak. His staff bears his own personal master rune which he refuses to share with anyone, finding none worthy of it. His armour is the finest and strongest in the kingdom. So strong and thick that none could pierce it, his knowledge of ancient rune smithing and crafting techniques is unsurpassed, and he has witnessed the wonders of Karak Ankor at the height of its power.

5 new Goldshields for King Kazador.

Brand new Dwarf technology in the form of gunpowder weaponry.
Its the Organ Cannon Gun.

 Here is a champion of Prince Ulther's Imperial Dwarves.

And I finally have the Bridge of Khazad Dum!

It is a Hudson & Allen Three-Arch Bridge.  Very light weight, nice details, and takes paint well.

Now for some fluff...

King Kazador and his commanders have been fighting a defensive retreat against a vast horde of Undead, Orcs, and Drow.  But now they have returned to make a last stand in Easthold.  The Dwarven citizens come out to cheer the approaching Dwarven forces.  Bugmans Brewery has their Cart set up to greet the army with nice cold beer!

Chumley:  Whats going on here?  I just got back from chopping wood near the borders of Lorien.
Cheery Dwarf:  Arent you paying attention?  The Captains of Easthold are returning.  Here they come!

Four Dwarven Slayers are the first to cross the Bridge of Khazad-Dum.

Chumley:  Seeing them reminds me of Valdor. 
Cheery Dwarf:  Huzzah!  Welcome back, Slayers!

Behind the Slayers, the Heartbreakers come marching proudly with their leader Prince Helfast and Councillor Thadar.

Chumley:  How many of them are there?
Cheery Dwarf: Twenty mighty warriors from the Heartbreak Hills!

After them, comes Prince Ulther and his Imperial dwarves.

Chumley:  Brave Prince Ulther!  I used to cut wood for his father.
Cheery Dwarf: Sixteen well armored and highly disciplined Dwarves.  They can form a shieldwall like no other.

Then King Kazador himself and his heroic Goldshields.

Chumley:  What fine shields they carry!
Cheery Dwarf:  Ten Goldshields, each one is a hero worthy of a saga.

And bringing up the rear, is Chief Ratnik.

Chumley:  Those are some of the fattest Dwarves Ive ever seen.  Is that all that is coming?
Cheery Dwarf:  Eleven stout Ratnik Clan warriors.  Dont forget about Gimli and his forces!  They are still out there, somewhere...

Next post:  Part 2 - Planning The Defense Of Easthold