Barrels and blasts
"So uncivilised!" Xal'ar'ap scoffed, its green tongue darting out between every word. "Staging a heavy cavarly charge during an underground siege..."
"Typical of Khornates and Pantheonites", quipped Vyzorak watching as Umbra, Ghargon and Shërbëtor took their places at the head of the column and disappeared down the largest tunnel leading to the Aetheric Bastion.
"And what are we to do in order to show them Tzeentch's superiority?" asked the Changecaster.
"They'll provide the distraction we need. While they get all the attention, we'll use the blastpowder bombs we recovered from the Wolfram Industries at the grot camp you mentioned."
"Did I tell you they fight for the Boltbreakers?"
"Then we'll make sure nobody sees us as we really are, and plant some of the Wolfram corpses on the battlefield."
"Blaming another enemy for your actions, Lorehoarder?"
"You're not the only schemer, Plotgibber", came Vyzorak's reply amidst a growling laughter.
The grots were camped around one of the outer structures of the old Stormfort, a massive rockgut troggoth shambling around, idly kicking up black ash.
Vyzorak had tasked the Tzaangors to act as sappers and assigned a small escort each to Kleok and R'tefcar. They were waiting, at the end of opposite corridors, for the rest of the Coven to provide a diversion.
It was up to Vyzorak, Xal'ar'ap and Inklineilis to provide that, and hidden under layers of glamours that made them look like Wolfram Industries' mercenaries, they launched themselves at the grots.
As the grot camp descended into a bedlam of high pitched screams and multihued fire blasts, the sapper teams advanced carefully, least a sudden movement triggered the volatile charges ahead of time.
Xal'ar'ap and Inklineilis had despatched half of the grot and pinned the rest in combat, though Zirithinion had fallen under their spears.
Vyzorak channeled all the sorcerous power he could into his staff and managed to smash aside the troggoth while Thalamyr took care of a grot and their squig snuffler. The way was open for the sappers.
But as the sappers prepared to close the distance to the Stormfort walls, the rest of the grot showed up, dangerously close.
Iridios and the Blue Horror Vyzorak had bound to his service leapt forward, blocking the mouth of the tunnel the grots were coming from while Kleok reached the first steps of the Stormfort.
But R'tecfar was held back. Though he and Ocladius dispatched a grot fanatic, the Loonboss stopped the Tzaangor from advancing.
Daemons and Acolytes continued to trade blows with the grots, their line holding firm.
Vyzorak and Talamyr rushed forward, pushing the Loonboss away from R'tecfar.
The two Tzaangors reached the battlements almost at the same time, lit the fuses and jumped away squawking for the others to run for cover.
Then the charges detonated, debris and oily smoke mixing with the Howling Abyss' ashes.
As the grots dispersed, the Coven of the Purple Flame moved onto the breach, tossing a couple of the Wolfram militia corpses into still burning fires.
As they entered the Aetheric Bastion, Vyzorak prayed to Tzeentch for the rest of the March forces to have been equally succesful. If not, they'd soon be inside an abandoned Sigmarite stronghold surrounded by enemies.
***
This time, I played The Fall of Snagglewart challenge battle from the Tome of Champions 2020. I have to admit the dice rolling I did for the grots was terrible, turning what should have been a difficult scenario into a rather easy one. I guess Tzeentch was smiling upon the Coven of the Purple Flame.
Knowledge and theft
Plotgibber had been true. The human wizard was accompanied just by two scores of militiamen. Vyzorak had observed them for three days, the wizard supervising the operation, some of the militia operating the air pumps provided by Wolfram Industries, the rest diving into the clear waters of the Vitrian Well. Seven of them never made it back. The others emerged encased in their metal suits, carrying four glowing orbs. Inside them, even from the distance, images could be seen forming in an endless repetition of what the divers saw.
The wizard was now studying them, surrounded by guards.
It was time to strike, before he could learn anything useful.
Two pickets of militia stood at the edges of the Wolfram camp.
Vyzorak split the Coven of the Purple Flame so that every militia group could be engaged at the same time.
Bellowing a challenge to the wizard, Vyzorak stampeded toward him, the militia quickly jumping to intercept his advance.
The rest of the Coven sprang forth too, rasing surprised shouts of alarm, warning squawks from the gryph-terriers and a few pistol shots.
While on the left flank the fight stalled, on the right, supervised by their captain, the Wolfram militia quickly recovered their with and got the upper hand.
In the centre, Vyzorak and Kleok opened a bloddy path for R'tecfar and Zirithinion to launch themselves upon the orbs, the wizard's arcane bolts washing over R'tecfar's armour.
Vyzorak was charged from the right and pinned in place, but many a militiamen fell under his staff and horns.
Inklineilis was brought down, marking the collapse of the Coven's left flank.
And yet, even if Kleok was mauled by a gryph-terrier, R'tecfar and Zirithinion ganged up on the wizard creating an opening for Iridios to come forward and grab another orb.
Bleeding from countless wounds, Vyzorak struggled not to give into a furious rage. He instead lowered his head and pushed trought the militia, headed for the last orb. As he grabbed it, the Coven run for the cover of the Snarl undergrowth.
Though this time all members of the Coven had survived, the number of seriously injured fighters was growing. Still, it had been a well worth effort. During their retreat, Zirithinion had fallen into an abandoned scorpid nest which the Coven could put to good use to move quickly around the Snarl. While crawling away from the battlefield, Kleok had been able to snatch an explosive devices carrying the Wolfram Industires mark. And Vyzorak could sense the mixture of arcane and technological power within the orbs as he studied the images contained within them.
Soon, that power would help him bring forth the Plotgibber into Azyr.
***
I continued to play the Rat Hunters campaign, this time using the Ironweld Armoury scenario. Again, it was a tense solo game with half of the Coven taken down and the rest badly wounded, so I've definitely found a better way to play solo games.
The ambusher ambushed
Vyzorak had been right. A massive Gutlord was bullying over the gnoblars. Even worse, whatever they had pilfered from the Gilded Manor was nowhere to be seen. Now, the only course of action left was to force an entrance into the Manor. But to do that, they had to get rid of the Gutlord. They were approaching with the cover of darkness, preparing to spring an attack from multiple directions. And then, the damn gnoblars spotted the forward members of the Coven. As their screeches filled the night, the Thaumaturge felt an ominous stirring in the strands of fate...
The members of the Coven froze around the orrery marking the centre of the square leading to the Gilded Manor. In the pitch darkness of night, they could not see the gnoblars, but they could hear them approaching from both ahead and behind them.
Zyrtx quickly dispatched the first gnoblar that launched itself at the Arcanites, but as his fellow Acolytes were unable to target the approaching enemy with their arcane bolts, they drew back toward the street where reinforcement would come from. Behind the screaming gnoblars, they could hear the deep rumble of the Gutlord's voice taunting them.
Vyzorak and his party came up the road, the screaming more than the half-glimpsed figures telling them where to head.
Pinned against a wall by three gnoblars, Zyrtx flailed wildly with his blades, until the Gutlord stepped forward and lopped off the Tzaangor's head.
Enraged by the loss of one of his followers, Vyzorak lowered his head and charged forward, pushing gnoblars aside and slamming into the Gutlord.
Behind him, the rest of the Coven pressed forwards, but the sheer number of gnoblars prevented them from reaching the Gutlord.
Another party of gnoblars emerged from the darkness behind the Coven. Whispering its true name, Vyzorak ordered his bound Blue Horror to move and slow them down.
Inklineilis' party arrived on the scene, emerging on the square just behind the Gutlord.
The ogor hacked and slashed with his massive weapon, concentrating all of his blows on Vyzorak. The Ogroid fell and only R'tecfar's sudden rampage saved him, the Tzaangor's greatblade tracing deep burrows onto the ogor's armour and flesh.
Although still bogged down by the gnoblars, the rest of the Coven pressed forward, managing to land a couple more blows on the Gutlord.
In the press of bodies, Kleok and Zirithinion were hacked down before they could strike again.
But then, squawking words of arcane power, R'tecfar lunged forward, the incantation landing strength and precision to his greatblade.
As the Gutlord crashed to the ground, the remaining Acolytes raged pitilessly on him, sending the gnoblars in a horrified rout.
Vyzorak woke up inside the Gilded Manor. He could tell by Inklineilis' furrowed brow, as the Adept studied the tiny inscriptions covering every inch of the walls. A sudden fit of pain reminded the Thaumaturge of how they got there. He looked around, and saw Zirithinion breathing painfully, his chest wrapped in bandages. The rest of the Coven nursed only marginally lighter wounds. Entering the Manor had been a costly endeavour. He prayed to Tzeentch for it to be worthy as he approached Inklineilis and started to study the inscriptions.
***
This was another solo game, but rather than generating a battleplan as normal and using the rules for Adversaries from the Tome of Champion 2020 to control the gnoblars and ogor, I've decided to play The Northern Sewer Entrance battleplan from The Rat Hunters solo campaign from the Tome of Champions 2021. I simply swapped the Skaven for a faction better fitting the Animosity VII narrative.
I have to say, it was a really challenging and rewarding game. So I'll continue to use that campaign, as long as I can make the battleplans fit with the Animosity paths.
Wheels within wheels...
To the ogors next to him, Vyzorak Lorehoarder appeared just like a young and unexperienced Glutton. More than once, the burly leader of the search party sent in by Wolfram Industries had slapped him behind the ears as the Thaumaturge lagged back to study the inscriptions on the weapons lining the walls of the Archive of Swords.
Vyzorak played along, growling in begrudging recognition of his place in the team hierachy, as it was expected. It was just a matter of time, and he would have returned the slaps ninefold. He only had to wait until he or any other member of the Coven of the Purple Flame spotted a worthy prize. Acolytes and Tzaangors had infiltrate most of the Wolfram Industries search parties. Their mission was simple: wait until the mercenaries had located exactly what they were looking for and snatch it from them.
Suddenly, warning cries went up from another wing of the Archive. Vyzorak clearly distinguished the insane babbling of the lesser daemons controlled by Thalamyr. With a whispered incantanion, he erased himself and the cries from the mind of the ogors and slipped away, rushing to join his followers.
"We're taking those" said Zirithinion pointing at the pile of finely chiselled daggers as his features morphed into his real self. The Freeguilders stared in shock for just a couple of seconds, then called out for their comrades. All the while, Thalamyr summoned forth a Blue Horror and another even lesser daemon and had it call for the rest of the Purple Flames.
Soon enough, both Freeguilders and Arcanites appeared at the back of the parties facing each other over the daggers.
Vyzorak barged forth, putting himself between the Freeguilders and the daggers and ordering Kleok to grab them. The Tzaangor loped forward and back, securing the weapons.
The Blue Horror lashed maliciously at the pikemen that had appeared behind the Coven, leaving Zirithinion and Thalamyr free to pour their sorcerous bolts onto the one that was about to strike at Vyzorak. Then Zyrtx leapt up the walkway and sank his beak into the man's back, finishing him.
From the corners of the vast chamber came more fighters, called in by the commotion. As the Freeguidlers advanced, they spotted a heavy leather-bound tome.
Ignoring the quarrels and blades piercing his skin, Vyzorak stepped to seize the book, his eyes gleaming with greed.
In a wet rip, the Blue Horror collapsed under the strikes of a pikeman, only for a pair of Brimstone Horrors to burst forth and impale themselves on the weapon of the other.
Already shocked by the daemonic onslaught, the pikemen were then engulfed in sorcerous fires unleashed by Inklineilis and Iridios.
With a bellow of bestial fury, Vyzorak charged back in, joining Zyrtx in the fight around the walkway.
Kleok squawked in triumph as he withdrew, the daggers held firmly in his grasp.
Even more fighters poured into the room, just as a pikeman recovered a gleaming jewel.
Quarrels flew towards Inklineilis and Iridios, which replied in kind with their incantations, killing the crossbowman and slowing down the fencers charging at them.
Thalamyr and Zirithinion sank their cursed blades deeply into the flesh of the last pikeman threathening the Coven's rear.
Ocladius and R'tecfar rushed to encircle the pikeman that had secured the jewel, but the man braced himself and didn't give ground.
The fencers closed on Iridios and Inklineilis, bogging them down in a vicious sword fight.
The last standing crossbowman fired steadily onto the Arcanites slaughtering his comrades, but it was now too late. They fell and with them Wolfram's hopes of securing that chamber.
The Coven of the Purple Flame gathered amidst the Freeguilders corpses. From other chambers they could hear the fighting still going on. But for now, they had achieved their goal. They had secured plenty of arcane lore and weapons. Whether or not these were actually the objects Wolfram Industries wanted for their coffers mattered little to Vyzorak. What mattered most was that Grakko wanted them destroyed. It would only take a small lie for Vyzorak to add them to his personal collection. Surely, he felt, he had pleased the Great Schemer that day.
***
This was a solo game and I have to admit that the behaviour table for adversaries (from the 2020 Tome of Champions) don't work very well with treasure token victory conditions. I think I'll have to mod them a bit, or at least use them with other types of victory conditions.
