Undead Scorpions Painted with Grenadier Crew

As I mentioned in my Skull Chucker post, I've finished a couple more war machines, bringing me up to the required three for our Dark Shadows campaign. 

One of the Scorpions with crew

In my various job lots of random undead,  I found enough crew members from the Grenadier bolt thrower (one with some sort of trigger lever and one with a spare bolt), for two machines, but no actual bolt throwers. 

It can't be too difficult to scratch build a couple of bolt throwers?

The Skeleton Crew

Warlords of Erehwon has a standard war machine crew of three, so I'll add a couple of orc skeletons with axe, also from my pile of random skeletons; they might be dwarves, raised to add some lingering knowledge of siege machines to the army?

The crew from both machines, showing the fronts and backs of the three different minis

The crew were painted just like all the other skeletons I've done recently, in fact, I'd already painted one of the loaders a while ago, though I didn't know what it was, so repaired the broken bolt as a spear. 

The Scorpions

I had various plans for the bolt throwers; I considered scratch building something from some old Halloween toys; war machines made out of bones, very tempting, but I couldn't come up with a design that worked with my materials.  

As a stop gap I thought I'd build and paint a couple of the old Warhammer Bolt Throwers that were available (with different crew) for both Dwarf and Orc armies. 

But while hunting through a bits box for an elusive wheel, I found some Scorpion models (the Roman bolt thrower, not the arthropod; though come to think of it, I've got some of those somewhere too). I think these are from Irregular Miniatures, sadly no longer in business, though I've no idea why I ended up with them.

There are enough pieces for three Scorpions, but I've only got the crew for two, and I don't see me needing lots of war machines anyway. 

The models aren't the most detailed, but they are fine for what I want. I added some decorative bits from the newer Skeleton Regiment shield sprue, just to tie them in to the undead force. 

Two Scorpions

The scorpions and the crew are all on individual bases. One day I'll make bases for each set of crew and war machine, with magnets and everything.  For now though, they'll do. 

So that's two bolt throwers for my undead. How will they perform, along with the classic Skull Chucker? Read The Mists Recoil to find out.

What's Next?

I'm well on with the actual 'jacks for Scrapjacks, and I've started on the robots. I'd like to get the game ready for play soon.

I've a few bits that need painting for the next Dark Shadows game (make that at least two units, plus bulking out existing units).

And beyond all that, I need to plan for the next face to face Dungeons and Dragons game in July. 

Busy times. 

Citadel Skull chucker Painted

Long time readers might remember that I picked up the Skull Chucker at RECON in 2023? Back when I was just starting to collect Oldhammer minis?

The Skull Chucker came in MD8, Machinery of Destruction,  Undead War Machines. The set also included a skeletal chariot, and came with it's own backstory (you can find it on Stuff of Legends).

It might have taken a while get around to it, but Dark Shadows has given me the impetus to get it done. I need three war machines, since, following Boðvoc's introductory scenario, I'm defending the shores of Albion against the marauding dwarves. 

Machinery of Destruction,  the Skull Chucker

Painting the Skull Chucker 

After stripping and re assembly, painting was straightforward.  I used the same method that I use on ordinary skeletons.  

I'm not sure it's quite as effective on such large bones, but it certainly fits in with the rest of my undead. 

I added some thread, which doesn't quite look right now I've painted it; a combination of colour choice and it not matching the sculpted rope detail on the catapult arms. At least I can repaint it at some later date. Perhaps I should have completely covered the existing detail?

The catapult with it's ammo

From the side

Rear view - skulls go here!

The Crew

These were painted the same way as all my skeletons.  The minis are nice, with little details like the shackles on some of the crews' ankles. 

Presumably the big bone is some something to do with a winding mechanism, and the pile of skulls is fun.

The Skeleton Crew

The crew again

Rear view

While I'm not completely happy with the painting, especially the actual Skull Chucker, I'm delighted to actually own this Oldhammer gem and it's great to get it finished.  It was a lot of fun to do.

What's Next?

At some point I'd like to make a base and magnetise everything, but that's not immediately necessary. 

I need two more War machines in our next game; they're already finished, just waiting for their post to be finished.  They are quite different from the Skull Chucker, so they'll get their own post. 

Undead aside, I'm continuing with the Scrapjacks, and I have a few bits of other stuff in progress,  such as some more Rangers. 

Warlords of Erehwon, the Map of Albion (Dark Shadows Preliminary Game)

Boðvoc and I played the first game in our Dark Shadows campaign.  To get us a bit more used to the rules and how to use our armies we played a preliminary game where both sides raced to get a map to the mysterious isle of Albion. 

Boðvoc used his tin cans dwarves and I used my new undead. 

The Scenario 

As host, and campaign organiser, Boðvoc came with a suitable scenario: both sides were trying to find a thief who had stolen a chart showing a safe route to the mysterious (and misty) Isle of Albion. 

Six tokens represent possible hiding places for the thief, a unit contacting a token reveals it, with a 1 in 6 cumulative chance it will be the thief with chart. 

We each had 500 points, which doesn't buy a lot of dwarves.  My secret weapon was a Carrion Beast, which you can see painted in the previous post. I thought something fast would prove useful grabbing objectives. 

Apologies if the following focuses more on the undead than the dwarves, you can read Boðvoc's account over on his blog.

The Field of Conflict 

The battlefield was suitably busy; ideal for this sort of skirmish. Cliffs blocked the far end if the table, as seen on the photos  -  these were actually the old modular plastic hills from Citadel stood on their side! A track leads along the length of the battlefield to a couple of fields and a farm house, with a hedge extending the line of the track.  A couple of low hills flank the hedge near the centre of the table,  and a couple of woods and a large hill dominate the near end of the table. 

There are a couple of boggy areas, near the cliffs and at the end of the hedge, and minor ruins scattered around. 

Objective tokens were placed in both bogs, both fields, one of the woods and on the rocky hill. 

The undead moved on from the left and the dwarves from the right. 

Opening Moves 

Once both sides had deployed it was clear that most of the action would be over near the cliffs. 

The two sides face off

Initially, both sides moved forward towards the objectives. Makhar boosted the skeleton spears, increasing their number to nine, otherwise it was simply a case of making progress towards the objectives.

Two turns in

The dwarven archers occupied the nearby woods.  They searched in vain, no sign of either thief or chart.

Makhar climbed the hill with his bodyguard.  No sign of the chart here either.  He took advantage of his position to inflict a Chill Wind on the dwarven axe troops, killing four.

The zombies shambled forwards, keen to feast on dwarf. To their left, the skeletons advanced into the field. Hiding in the crops was the thief, and, more importantly,  the sea chart.

Over near the cliffs the Carrion Beast circled round and dropped a rock on Amlodi.  The dwarf hid behind his beer barrel, one of his drinking chums was less fortunate. 

The action hots up, the chart is in bony hands

Main Battle

Shaken by the loss of one of his guard ("he owed me a pint"), Amlodi Forkbeard did little more than check his beer barrel for leaks.

The skeletons withdrew from the field, accompanied by a nervous rogue clutching the map. 

The dwarven infantry moved up, hoping to catch the skeletons with the prize, while the zombies shuffled ever closer.

Makhar scrambled down the hill and caught the dwarven guard in another chill wind, but they were made of sterner stuff and largely shrugged it off. They were less fortunate when the Carrion Beast dropped rocks on them, losing one of their number. 

The dwarven archers shot at Makhar and his bodyguard,  but caused no casualties. 

The undead take shots at the dwarves who desperately chase the the map

The Carrion Beast continued it's bombardment of the dwarf guard, taking out another, as did Makhar's Chill Wind. Seeing the skeletons withdraw with the chart, the necromancer decided to make the dwarves pay for their presumption. Hopefully it would delay any attempt at dwarven expansion into Albion. He ordered the zombies to charge the dwarven guard.  Despite acquitting themselves well, the dwarves were spent from their previous casualties and broke, the survivors fleeing the battlefield. 

The dwarven axes then charged the remaining zombies to avenge their kin and wiped them out. 

Desultory shooting from both lots of archers caused no casualties, but both sides suffered somewhat (a pin each).

The Dwarven Guard have gone to the Halls of the Stone Ancestors, the zombies are destroyed, and neither side's archers are up to much

End Phase 

The dwarven archers crouched down in confusion (failed Order test). Both Makhar and the Carrion Beast slew a dwarven axe, but the dwarves had the effrontary to charge the necromancer.

Dwarven axes vs Makhar and his guard

One of Makhar's bodyguard was smashed to bits by the axes of the dwarves,  but their earlier casualties caused them to break. They kept their discipline,  and withdrew in good order.

The skeleton spears continued their withdrawal,  keeping the chart safe.

Gradual whittling down of both sides

The undead gradually retreat.  Makhar tries a final blast of Chill Wind on the remaining dwarven axes, but they shrug off the effects. 

With no way of catching the skeletons with the chart, and unwilling to risk more dwarven lives (according to some, because his beer barrel had sprung a leak), Amlodi Forkbeard sounded the retreat. 

The Chart is safe in Makhar's hands

Well that was a hugely enjoyable game. I did wonder what Boðvoc has done to upset the dice gods: his luck, especially to begin with, was shocking.  Amlodi failing a Command test when he needed a 9 or less, for example.

Conversely, my rolling was good, especially early on, and I managed to cast every spell, though not always terribly effectively. 

It was my first game using my undead, though I did face them when T'Other One squashed my orcs with them back in November. I was pleasantly pleased with their performance, though a lot of the success was down to avoiding the dwarves.  The scenario helped a lot here, I'm sure I'd have struggled in a straight up fight. 

The Carrion Beast seemed very powerful, essentially being untouchable, as it stayed away from any dwarven missiles.  I predict a lot more archers and rangers, and probably some magical support in the dwarven lines in the future.  

What's Next?

The next scenario is The Mists Recoil, actually the first one in the original campaign.  It's an odd one, designed for individual skirmishing minis using a  system akin to Mordheim. It pits boats full of attackers trying to land opposed by three war machines and a tiny garrison. 

We'll not be trying to do individual minis; so far we are looking at the three war machines and 200 points of undead against 600 points of dwarves in boats.  This may change of course. 

I need an undead champion to lead my skeleton crew, fortunately I've already got one part painted.  I've also got some Grenadier war machine crew, and a complete Skull Chucker catapult.  I'm looking out for potential war machines for the crew, or perhaps some scratch building?

At some point I must paint a banner for the Fantasy Lords standard bearer I painted in December.  Boðvoc has a Spoils chart, and my undead got a magic banner granting Command 10 to all units within 10".

Warlords of Erehwon - Another Introductory Game

I thought it only fair to introduce T'Other One to Warlords of Erehwon.  Bodvoc and I have been having a lot of fun with the game, and have quite a few plans for scenarios and campaigns, and T'Other One is definitely interested in playing through the Lichemaster stuff. So I set up a short game to introduce the gameplay. 

Basic Stuff 

I went for a straightforward clash for the game and used my recently painted skeletons and zombies, plus an unpainted unit of archers, and a roughly similar force of orcs.

I also printed off an edited QPS and rosters, taking the opportunity change some of the quirkier stat names (Fight for Strength etc).

I've not done a full report, but here's some pictures and a brief rundown of the game. 

If you want a bit of a story, the two warbands are fighting for control of the potentially magical trilthon (though the orcs foolishly forgot to bring along their Shaman, that, or I ran out of points).

The Vale of Sacred Stones

As the mists clear, the two warbands eye each other over the plain,  or the orcs do; very few actual eyeballs in the undead force. 

The Vale as the armies deploy

The undead shuffle on, archers occupying the hill, while the undead champion leads a flanking force. 

The undead left flank

Another flanking force of spear armed skeletons, while the suspiciously boney necromancer holds back. 

The undead right flank

The skeleton archers proved more effective than the orcs; unsurprising, given the poor bow skills of orcs generally. 

The skeleton spears managed to get the charge in against the orc spears, routing them.

On the other flank, the skeleton guard followed the champion and charged into the orcs who followed their champion. Initially,  the orcs held their own,  helped by Grashak Kra crashing into the undead champion. Unfortunately an impressive flurry of blows were largely stopped by the ancient rusting armour. 

As the melee continued, the skeletons gained the upper hand,  eventually driving off the orc warriors and pulling Grashak Kra down. 

Champions clash on the flank

On the other flank the orc warboss and his retinue charged the zombies shuffling out of the woods (they needed to pass an Agility 2 test in the woods - and succeeded!) they took out over half of the walking dead (might have been more if I'd remembered their extra attacks) for no loss.

Unfortunately, the skeleton spears then charged them, gradually dragging down the warboss' chums.

Warboss vs zombies

The orc archers had suffered from the superior undead missile fire, at one point hunkering down rather than returning shots, but enough remained to either charge or shoot at the skeletons with swords. Having chosen to shoot, they did little damage, and were punished when the skeletons charged into them, breaking and running for the hills. I realise now that just charging would have been a better option, ah well, lesson learnt.

At this point only the orc warboss remained (it had been a brutal turn!), surveying the field he decided that discretion was the better part, etc, and joined the remains of his broken force. 

Final Thoughts 

A great fun game, and I'm not at all embarrassed at being absolutely tabled by someone playing their first game. 

Clearly the dice had their favourite that night.  I think the undead passed every single Command test, whereas the orcs passed two. Mind you, Grashak Kra's armour held up even better than the undead champion, passing every Tough reroll. In the end it was weight of attacks that did for him.

But T'Other One played well, and kudos especially to him picking up a new game so quickly. 

I hope we'll play more games of Warlords of Erehwon in the future, and it's been useful for me to get an idea of how the undead play on the battlefield. 

Ghost Miniatures Trolls

If you've read my last Warlords of Erehwon report, you'll have seen these trolls. I've had these for many years, originally as RPG monsters, then in my old Kings of War orc army.

I stripped them a while ago with the intention of repainting them for Old School stuff, though Orc's Drift has tended to refocus my orc painting. But it's fun to add extras, hence little additions like the orc chariot and these lads.

The trolls were originally from Ghost Miniatures, now available, in the US at least, from Old Glory Miniatures. 

They might not be the best detailed minis, but they've lots of character. I used a Ghost Miniatures dwarf for Fimbul at Ashak Rise, and I've a handful of their orcs and elves which I might paint up some day. 

I painted the trolls just like big orcs, differing skin tones and all.

Clothing is minimal, mostly furs, so I tried to use colour to suggest different 'donors' for the fur.

The Trolls

'Grabber'

'Chopper'

'Yeller'

'Basher'

They are a nice addition to my Old School forces and can fight for orcs or goblins.  I've even thought about assembling a monster army, mostly as an excuse to sort through and paint some of the monsters in my collection. 

They are a little smaller than the traditional Oldhammer Citadel troll, but still big enough to obviously be a monster of some sort.

Size comparison with Ghost Miniatures dwarf and Citadel orc

Whats Next?

Checking the Ghost Miniatures website I saw that the trolls were sold in a pack of five. Sorting through my older Kings of War orcs recently,  I found the missing troll.

Troll Boss

He's since been stripped and is awaiting painting to match his pals. As he's got more armour than the rest of them, he can be the unit leader.

Warlords of Erehwon: Troll Hunt

Bodvoc and I played a game of Warlords of Erehwon recently, continuing our 'not campaign' of orcs vs goblins. 

We'd agreed to boost our forces to 1000 points, and Bodvoc mentioned trying out his newly painted goblin chariot. In response I painted my Old School Miniatures orc chariot. If he was trying out the chariot rules, it made sense if I did too.

As host it was up to me to come up with the scenario. I struggled a bit, but since I'd recently painted up some trolls, but couldn't quite squeeze them into my army, I decided to make them an objective instead. 

Note: both Bodvoc and myself are quite rusty with the rules, we may have made mistakes,  but we're getting more confident. 

Also, we're using home made order dice, partly because, having no gunpowder weapons, 'FIRE' is a meaningless term.

I'm not giving a full turn by turn report, but here's some highlights. 

Opening Moves 

The two sides advance, wary of each other, but more interested in the potential trolls. 

The goblins are first to search troll holes, but the first two are empty.

Bagrat the orc shaman, still nursing bruises from their last encounter, creates a magical portal in front of the goblin dervishes, sending them right back, much to their frustration.

The two sides advance towards each other

The orc spears prod a troll out of it's hole, but the vile brute comes out fighting and drives them away and off the battlefield.

The goblin force as they march in

The orcs as they advance

Troll hunting is a risky buisness

The goblins find an occupied troll hole. It's not friendly.

The goblins think they've got the beast, but it's wounds knit back together and it runs off.

Middle Phase 

The goblin dervishes slog towards the action, only for Bagrat to send them back again (absolutely the best way to deal with them, although I have an even more cunning plan for next time, mwah ha ha haaa).

The orc archers move up to the wall, ready to shoot, while the orc swords advance. The guard approach a troll hole, hoping to get there before the goblins, but it's empty.

The goblins in the woods abandon their empty hole and the gobbledogs eye up the guard. A tasty snack?

That's the way to do it!

Hagar Sheol and his ladz uncover and slay a troll. The chariot sights the troll that dealt with the spears and rides it down.

The chariot claims a troll

The dervishes advance and the goblin chariot rides towards the troll that slew so may goblin halberdiers.  Alas, it rides through a strange magic portal and finds itself back at the baseline.

The battlefield mid action

The bulk of the goblin infantry

End Game

The goblin chariot shamelessly copies the orcs and ride down the troll that caused so much damage to the halberdiers.

Goblin chariot vs troll

 

Hagar Sheol and his ladz drag their troll trophy away out of the woods. On the right flank the goblin spears charge round the wall and into the orc guards, peppering them with javelins as they go. The stoic orcs hold, and despite minor losses they wipe out the goblins. 

The orcs then charge the gobbledogs and send them packing too.

The goblin wizard targets the orc swords, causing them to lose heart (aura of timidity), the goblin bows then loose a volley and wipe them out.

Gurk now targets the archers who also lose heart. 

Bagrat then shot his fiery balls at Gurk, incinerating the gobbledog guards. Gurk himself only survived through sheer luck (Tough reroll saved him, but the extra pin).

Despite their magical timidity (order test at -6, rolled a 1), the orc archers shot back but Gurk had had enough and scarpered.

The orc chariot driver cracked his whip and charged the goblin chariot, the two vehicles lock together, but neither gain the upper hand.

Chariot on chariot action

Brave halberdiers watch on

Conclusion 

Well, a great fun game.  I'm not sure if my rather complicated special rules helped or hindered,  but I enjoyed hunting down those trolls.  In hindsight,  it was theoretically easier for the orcs to kill a troll than for the goblins.  That said, I did lose my unit of spears to a troll. 

As for the chariots,  they were great fun to use, and looked great. I'm not sure that our chariot duel was that good an idea, they seemed a bit too equally matched,  struggling and failing to cause any damage to each other. I'm sure we're missing something here. 

It did take us a little while to recall the rules, play speeded up during the day. 

If you're interested, I gave out VPs as 10% of a unit's PV and +35VPs per troll.  Bodvoc won by a few points, a minor victory, but has we fought on I suspect that the orcs would soon have broken.

In the end, the winners were both of us.

Final Thoughts

We are certainly enjoying Warlords of Erehwon.  It's not perfect, (I don't think there is a perfect set of rules), but they give me the old school feel that I'm looking for. I'm sure they are here to stay, and we'll be playing more games in the near future.

I do have one complaint though, the counterintuitive nomenclature.  I'm sure they are good reasons for this, but it adds a layer of confusion for new players (and, perhaps, makes it harder to introduce them).

I'm looking forward to Bodvoc's next scenario, will we benefit from the troll trophies?

Warlords of Erehwon; Attack on Jomstead

I had another great game of WoE recently when I visited Bodvoc.  The purpose was to get a better grip on the rules, which we certain did, sometimes though making mistakes.

The Mission 

As is traditional, the host came up with the scenario, n this case a raid for loot which was available both from two static sources (the farm buildings at Jomstead) and two mobile ones (Jom and Osbert).

The Armies 

We played with just short of 900 points; both of us expanding the armies we used in the previous game. I'm using mostly my Severed Hands orcs, but gave Grashak Kra four Hobhounds (using the Gobbledog profile from the goblin army list) and I tried a Shaman again. Otherwise it was largely a case of increasing the size of the units. 

Bodvoc took a Shaman too, his main addition was a unit of Goblin Dervishes.

The goblins of Kruk the Destroyer

The Severed Hand orcs

Opening Moves

Both armies gradually advance. There is some ineffective shooting. 

Both the Hobhounds and the Gobbledogs approach each other 

The Gobbledogs seize the initiative and charge the Hobhounds.  Some savage biting ensues and the orcish pack is wiped out. 

In response,  the orc spears charge the remaining Gobbledogs who fall beneath a hail of thrown and thrust spears.

Mid Battle 

The Dervishes swing round the farm and smash into the orc spears quickly destroying the unit. The orc Shaman looses his Fiery Balls at them, slaying some of them. The smouldering remainder just grin and clutch their weapons.

Gurk, the Goblin Shaman, steps forward and with a gesture the orcs facing him tremble with dread.*

End Game 

The Dervishes contact the Orc Shaman,  wiping out him and his bodyguard,  but lose some of their number. They spin on into Hagar Sheol, killing his bodyguard as they finally exhaust themselves.  Hagar Sheol decides enough is enough and flees, er, makes a tactical withdrawal. 

Elsewhere, the remaining orc warriors charge the cowardly goblin archers in the woods. Amazingly,  the goblins survive, and are able to turn the tables and drive the orcs away **.

The remaining orc archers try to down the goblin Shaman, but fail to hit.

At half the number of units, the orcs were broken, and the dice dictated that the game was done.

So another glorious defeat for Hagar Sheol. At least he survived, merely making a tactical withdrawal (in my mind anyway). Partly this is due to my almost deliberate avoidance of any loot, I had hoped to take some from the cold dead hands of the goblins, and perhaps focus on the farmers in the last couple of turns, but Bodvoc's clever tactics kept me on the back foot most of the game. 

The Devishes are scary.  They managed to whirl their way through three of my units, including my underused Shaman. 

I was a little unlucky with my dice in the second half, but I did pretty well to begin with with my spear armed orcs. I seemed to be good at getting the goblin units down to one or two remaining minis, but failing to finish them off.  Kruk and Gurk being notable examples.

Conclusions

I do need to look at my army and find a credible response to things like Dervishes as I'm sure that I'll be seeing them quite often.  I also need to work out the best response to annoying missile troops hiding in cover (and remember that they don't benefit from that cover when charged).

I think that something faster would be useful, we were both surprised that Gobbledogs (or Hobhounds) aren't Fast. 

Unfortunately, orc boar riders are expensive.  I have thought about doing some conversions using the Old School Miniatures boars that I got a while back, I just need to find the right orcs to go on them. 

Orcs aren't great at shooting.  I think splitting my ten archers into two units was a mistake.  I've got some nice war machines to paint up, but they still rely on an Accuracy of 4, so would be of limited value. 

Against poorly armoured opponents such as goblins, I think more spears will be good.  The pre contact volley of spears was suitably impressive.

And I must learn to be more careful with measuring.  Several times I roughly measured distances, mostly to make sure that the Dervishes were just out of reach, only to find that I was out, and they were just in reach.  This cost me the orc spears, and possibly more.

Mistakes Were Made

This was a learning exercise, Bodvoc and I don't get to play often enough and we are still very much learning the game.  

* We made this spell far more effective than it should be, it crippled my centre.  At the time I didn't really understand how to use the Rally order, which would have helped.

** Giving the goblins cover for being in the woods is fine against missiles, but we granted it in melee too.  Oops, no wonder nine rampaging orc warriors failed against ten puny goblin archers.

But anyway, a great fun game, and I even got another mini from Bodvoc's Old School Haul for my orc's Drift project, so win-win (or lose-win in Hagar Sheol's case).

You can read Bodvoc's account over on The War Crow