Looting the farm, a Warrior Heroes Legends skirmish

I wanted to become more familiar with the combat in WHL and the heroic melee optional add-on.  So I set up a little skirmish in which 4 barbarians would attempt to overcome a Milesian farm.

The background:
Barbarian raids had become a little too familiar in the area of Heimdal's farm.  So when he and his brother-in-law Golroth decided to add a new compound to the farm, they kept their weapons nearby.  Heimdal's first wife had died several years back, and he became acquainted with a young shield maiden, Friztkie, and married her.  His teenage son Hymie didn't seem to care, since she was a better cook than his father.  Hymie had just returned with their flock of sheep and was practicing with his sling, his only weapon.

Toondar the barbarian had convinced some drinking buddies that a farm raid was just the thing to keep them in ale.  Maki, a mongol bowman, Ali, a Saracen, and Raquel, a spearwoman liked ale enough to join him.

The Barbarians

All the figures, except the missile men,  have the standard Warriror attribute of Resilient.

Ali, Rep 4, spear, AC2, and Vicious.

Maki, Rep 3, bow, sword, shield, dagger, AC2, no attribute.

Toondar, Rep 5, 2-handed axe, AC2, no additional attribute. The leader.

Raquel, Rep 4, spear, dagger, AC2, Brawler.

The Milesians

Golroth, Rep 4, 2-handed sword, AC2, Strong-willed.

Hymie, Rep 3, sling, AC2, no attribute.

Friztkie, Rep 4, sword, shield, AC2, Rage.

Heimdal, Rep 5, 2-handed axe, AC2, no additional attribute.  The leader.

The barbarians crept up on the farm, and saw the two men working on the fences, and the teenager practicing with his sling.  They did not see Friztkie bathing in the stream behind the house.  There was a large open space to cover, and though the men were busily mending the fence, they saw the barbarians long before they could reach them, except Hymie, who went down with an arrow and not a sound before he knew the barbarians were there.

Turn 2: Barbarians 1, Milesians 2

Heimdal and Golroth advance to charge range and do so!  

Friztkie hears the commotion and comes running, but can't get within charge range.

Heimdal and Toondar swing and miss, neither gaining advantage.  Golroth rushes Raquel, and is pushed back in heroic combat, with Raquel following up.  Ali charges Heimdal, and is pushed back.  Heimdal can't follow up because he's locked in with Toondar. 

Activation now goes to the barbarians.  Toondar and Heimdal keep one another at bay.  Golroth knocks Raquel down, even after being pushed back.  Maki fires at Fritzkie and misses.  She is caught unprepared, and runs for the cover of the house.  Ali charges Heimdal again, and is pushed back again.

Turn 3:  Barbarians 6, Milesians 5 (this was going to become familiar to the barbarians)

Toondar knocks Heimdal down.  Golroth keeps Raquel prone.  Friztkie is too far to benefit from Heimdal's leadership.  Besides, he's prone, not Carrying On.

Turn 4 Barbarians 6, Milesians 4

Heimdal safely stands up.  Raquel successfully holds Golroth off, but Friztkie charges in and kills her.

Turn 5: Barbarians 5, Milesians 2

Toondar and Heimdal tie again, and Ali charges in, and gets knocked down!  Golroth and Frizkie charge Toondar.  Golroth is evenly matched, and Friztkie gets knocked down!

Turn 6: Barbarians 2, Milesians 5

Heimdal pushes Toondar back, and then knocks him down. Ali stands up.  Maki fires at Golroth and misses, and Golroth ignores it!

Turn 7: Barbarians 5, Milesians 2

Since Toondar is prone, his Rep cannot be used to motivate his troops.  (This may have been a GM error, since he would stand up at the beginning of the turn.)

Heimdal probably makes a strategic error and choses to charge Ali, since Toondar can only stand up.  Ali pushed Heimdal back, and then is knocked down by Golroth, who also charges in.

Turn 8: Barbarians 1, Milesians 6

Toondar attacks Heimdal again, and is killed for his trouble!  Ali stands up.

And gets knocked down again by Golroth!

 Maki looses an arrow at Friztkie, which enrages her and she charges him.  He fires again and misses.  And

is killed by Friztkie!

Ali is an NPC and outnumbered 3 to 1, and flees.

If you haven't obtained the heroic melee combat, some of the Knock Downs may seem a little strange.  The Recover from Knock Down chart is exchanged for one in which, condensed, pass 2d6,loser is pushed back 2" with the winner automatically remaining in contact. Pass 1d6, knocked down and must spend one full activation prone before arising.  Pass 0d6, OOF.  This makes the melee in small groups like the ones I used more detailed, and perhaps last longer.

I tried to make the groups as equal as possible, since I was getting used to the rules, and wanted to learn the mechanics without too much falderol.  Of course, this little skirmish didn't take into account People and Savvy skills, but those are more role play goodies.

I'm very happy with this, my first attempt to use the system.  I was a little disappointed that the slinger had no chance to return fire, but, oh, well.  

All of the Milesians are from Alternative Armies.

Toondar is a slotta-base figure of I know not what manufacturer.  Maki and Raquel are old GW, and Ali is from Harlequin, now Black Tree Design.

The totals, and after battle dodads.  Maki OOF'ed 1 figure, and then missed 4 times.  Heimdal killed Toondar, his opposite number.  Friztkie did best, killing 2 figures.  Hymie died of his wound.  The Milesians have gained 1 helmet, a sword, a shield, a bow, a dagger, and a 2-handed axe.  Friztkie may be able to wear the fur bikini after some alterations.  Probably no one wants Toondars fur loincloth. But boots are always welcome.

Cromak Returns!

Yes, gentlefolk, Cromak has returned to the ring!  His latest bout is featured below.  Cromak's opponent is Niobe, a Hykarian female warrior with a two-handed axe, a Savvy of 4, Strength of 4, and a Speed of 5!  In addition to the warrior attributes, she has Guile! And she is a 6 pointer.

Cromak is a slow mover, so she will probably always move first, and win more Maneuvers.  Their weapons are equal, but her lesser Strength could tell in the long run.

Right off the bat Cromak moves from his gate to the heart of the arena, as does Niobe.  But then, Niobe, apparently afraid of Cromak's reputation, hesitates.
                                 

She hesitates again, drawing boos from the crowd, and abuse from Cromak!

Then Niobe slips past Cromak's guard, but is unable to strike home.

Her greater speed and agility keep the two of them bouncing back and forth, unable to connect with each other, until Niobe steps out of Cromak's way, and gives him a slight belly wound as he charges, and he goes down.

Elated, Niobe does a victory dance instead of charging in while Cromak is on the ground, and he regains his feet!  (NPG movement)  By this time, both Cromak and Niobe are out of bonus dice.

Cromak charges in and nearly severs Niobe's right arm, pushing her backing her back!

But even wounded, Niobe's speed and Guile make it very difficult for either to gain an advantage.  They go round and round, slashing and hacking, dodging and feinting to no effect.  But time is beginning to tell on Niobe as her life's blood reddens the sand!

Niobe knows there's no surrender and continues to fight, even as little sparkles outline her narrowing vision!  With desperate swings, she forces Cromak back to the wall, but cannot overcome his defense.

And suddenly, she collapses, robbing Cromak of a killing stroke, as her blood ceases to flow from her wound.

Cromak is the victor, but Niobe's vigor had kept him out of the center of the arena, and backed to the wall.  It is not a pretty, manly victory, as Cromak would have wanted, but he consoles himself with another point of Fame, his earnings, and his returns on his bets!  Little cost for a good return, but nothing to brag about over a mug of ale.  But the barmaid salves his cut on his belly, and he tries unsuccessfully to increase his speed with a Fame point.

Because the fighters were so evenly matched, there were many retakes, and the NPG table insured that Niobe would use her bonus dice quickly, though not quite as quickly as Cromak.  He now has a total of 8 Fame points, with 6 useable, having failed to increase his Speed twice.