For this Five Leagues from the Borderlands session I’ll try a new journal style that might be easier to keep up with. I’ll be writing the campaign turn mechanics and aftermath, as well as posting photos from the battle between them. But the narrative will be altogether in the end.
Since I was finding that my warband walks through encounters unchallenged, I will be trying some new optional rules. They will be posted later on in detail, and I’ll keep you updated. In sort, there will be a limit to how many Adventurers I can field, any excess (called Agents) will be sent of to quest on their own, with their whereabouts unknown until they return. If they stay in the village I’ll have to pay upkeep.
Campaign Turn
Village Events: Offerings of food and Ale. Seems I don’t have to pay upkeep costs. Maybe I’ll keep them in Eerfeld, safe and sound. Healing Up: Ardus -1RT=5RT Actions: Ardus (supported by Evie): Visit the town healer: (6): -2RT=3RT Roving Wanderer: Forage for herbs: 1 Medical Herbs Wigmar: Labor: +2GM Where are we going: Go adventuring Sell Unwanted Gear: Nothing sold Trade: Nothing
Adventuring: Combat Encounter: Dark Secret: Fanatics: Encounter While Travelling: No leadership presence: No Personalities: 7 Fanatics (1 Archer): 13″ apart: Seized Initiative
Theme: Near a farm house Oddities: Fleeting Encounter
The Roving Wanderer taking aimRudiger fighting the last Fanatic
This week there was a feast in Eerfeld. Saint Patron’s Adeus. The villagers seem to have found affinity to us, and with the outlaw threat eliminated, they’ve come with offerings of food and ale. I was about to send Bruno, Alida and Frans questing, but the villagers wanted them to stay. Truth is they could use the rest, and the villagers the extra feeling of protection.
I went to the healing lady with Ardus. He barely made it alive from the last battle, so I stayed and helped however I could with my knowledge of herbs. She seems to have taken a liking to my presence and no longer grimaces when I bring more wardens in need of her skills.
The rest of the wardens did some side tasks, foraging and helping with the fields, before we gathered and set off to prove once more to the villagers of Eerfeld that their trust in us is worth it.
It didn’t take long before we heard war cries from near a farm house. We drew our swords and bows. Dusk was falling, so the time was limited before we would lose the enemy in the darkness. Me and Gustav took one side of the farm house while Rudiger, Wigmar and another warden, the roving wanderer the other. The enemy made no effort to stay hidden. Screaming madmen, fanatics, charged furiously at us, but we were ready. Their menace was so great that it took me 3 arrows to bring the first one down. 7 of them alltogether, they were no match for us. I killed two, Rudiger and Gustav killed two more, while another was brought dead by the roving wanderer. What struck me as odd, was that they did not yield or flee, but stood to fight to their last drop of blood. Not that it made any difference, as we managed to clear the farm before nightfall. We searched their belongings, finding a longbow, 6 gold marks along with a letter, signed from ‘Crerdieu, Host of the Bleak Keep’, and a crude map showing the keep, Eerfeld, and places they were looting. Maybe we should pay Crerdieu a visit.
Evie’s Journal, week 11
Session Summary
My warband is strong enough to defeat enemies coming their way. I really like the reduced numbers, which both give a challenge, and made the game faster. I’ll keep playtesting them. Looking forward to reducing the threast to Eerfeld to 0, and seeing how the game progresses, but I also want to clear the Bleak Keep before I do so.
Another solo game of Knyghte, Pyke and Sworde by Nordic Weasel Games. Now I went ahead and used the Fantasy Preview rules, and also took note of the mistakes I made during my last game, in order to not repeat them again.
The theme is undead vs dwarves and halflings. In contrast to the previous battle, feeling more safe, I only stayed true to the points cost of the opposing armies. I have created a new terrain board, which I wanted to try out. I chose a SAGA battle on the concept Pitched Battle.
Gilda was picking turnips by the hillside, when something odd happened. She saw the turnips around her shriver and die. She stoop up, as tall as possible for a halfling, and looked around her. All the vegetation withered. Where there was once green, patches of ash and dirt appeared and expanded.
A heavy chill clouded her heart.
She heard a weird sound… like clacking… bones, and looking up on the hill, what she saw she will never forget. Corpses marching, weapons drawn, with a course, towards her village.
Her feet were heavy as lead, she couldn’t move. She had to warn them. She was about to faint, when the loud sound of a horn blowing, woke her up from her stupor. Someone else had seen the dead too!
Dwarf and halfling warriors, all together in unison, took positions on the opposite hill. Gilda run towards them as fast as she could, and quickly she was in the safety of her village, hiding with the rest of the civilians, while on the outside, the battle for their lives was about to begin.
Turn 1
The dwarves and halflings win initiative, but there’s no combat as both sides run towards each other.
Some of the finest dwarves, under the leadership of Lord Kirim were already in formation. Ironshields and Skullbreakers as well as Thunderrers. Halflings, little folk from the hills, had sent their militia, armed with spears to fight on their side. Two halfling heroes, Ben the Tough and Larry the Sly lead them in battle.
Across the valley, what stirred the dead wasn’t a puny necromancer or cleric of death. A vampire coven thirsty for blood had used their dark powers to animate the corpses. Most likely the corpses of their own victims.
Eager to take up strategic positions, and maybe fortify themselves in the tower, the two sides run towards each other.
Turn 2
The Undead win initiative, but there’s still not blows exchanged, as the skeletons are barely outside the arquebus’ range
Avoidin the Thunderrers, the Vampires lead their troops downhill, to the south side, behind the tower and tree grove.
Hoping to avoid a broken flank, Kirim orders half his troops through the trees to face them, while the rest of his force continues forward in an attempt to encircle the enemy.
Turn 3
Dwarves and halflings win initiative
Arquebusiers (3) shoot at Skeleton Knights (3). No hits.
With the skeleton knights in range, the Thunderers fire a volley of lead towards them. But they’re so unnerved by the unreal foe, that all their shots miss.
Charging into each other, the little folk spearmen and the skeletons clash. Ducking and dodging, the short people evade their enemies blows, while managing to send one into oblivion and damaging another so much that their ribcage shatters in half. Assisting his animations, a vampire minion swoops down into the halfling spearmen. The little man is scared, but in his fright, he turns his spear toward the vampire, who receives a nasty wound and backs off. Larry sees the creature grasping its wound, and quickly but decisively drives a wooden stick through its heart. It screams in an unknown language and dies out, vanishing in dust. Unstoppable, the skeleton warriors, charge at the ranger, he fights valiantly but is outnumbered. He falls under the undead, taking one skeleton with him. Ben screams and joins the fray, wanting revenge for the loss of his friend, he sends one more skeleton into oblivion
On the other side of the valley, in the plains, the vampire lord and his minion move towards the Skullbreakers. He engages in close combat, and with supernatural strength, he kills one of them, drinking his blood and sending shivers of fear in the rest of the brave dwarves.
Lord Kirim screams at the little folk. “Go on you little bastards! Show these rattlebones what you’re made of! Your kin rely on you! Destroy the unholy abominations! Charge!”. The spearmen charge, but the skeleton is indifferent. With cold precision it wounds one of the halflings and pushes them back.
The vampire minion flies onto the Skullbreakers, wounding one with his claws. They rebound quickly and strike back, flanking him. One hurts him, which isn’t enough to kill such a vile creature, but the second one aims for the neck while the vampire is stunned from the wound, instantly decapitating him.
A wave of dark energy is released, and the zombies crumble to the ground, inanimate. The skeleton knights, held by a stronger spell are not affected as much, and they are pushed back away.
Seeing the battle lost at that front, the vampire lord switches to the other side, near the tower. He commands his skeletons to attack the halflings, and with his focused strike, one halfling falls under the scythe. The Thunderrers shoot at the skeleton, one bullet hitting it, smashing some bones but not destroying it. The skeleton warriors charge at Ben, who fights furiously, showing his skill, and destroying one of them. The halflings push back, attacking once more, eliminating the damaged skeleton. Kirim shouts at them “Again! Again! Leave no bone unturned!” and one of them pushes back into the fray, but tired as he is, he receives a nasty wound on his side. Ben joins into the fight, to cover the gap, but this leaves him in the open, and a rusty scimitar slashes his arm. He stumbles back, just in time for the Ironshields to reach him. They close in, and with their maces and axes, smash a skeleton to pieces.
Ben, wounded, sees eye to eye with the vampire. He charges, but it’s a half arsed attempt, and scores no hits.
The skeleton knights, with the spell back to strength, close back in, while the Ironshields attack the vampire. Flanking him, they bash him down to a pulp.
Wanting to eliminate the last enemy, Kirim shouts at the Ironshields to attack the skeleton knights, and as one of them does, he receives a swift blow from a rusty bastard sword. It was a wrong call, as soon, the skeletons stand motionless. The spell holding them together has been broken.
Cheers sound across the battlefield. Dwarves and halflings hug together yelling for victory. Some of them go quickly to tend the wounded. This will be a day to be remembered.
Session Summary
The more I delve into skirmish miniatures gaming, the more I love it. KPS can definitely handle varied styles of combat. I liked the Fantasy Preview. There are some things I would have done a bit differently, especially coming from a WHFB background, but I decided not to touch them now, as I want to see the upcoming complete KPS Fantasy before doing so. Ivan from Nordic Weasel Games has shown more than often that he tweaks the rules to just the right amount. The end result is 90% common to what I have in mind, which speaks a lot, as I consider myself a very demanding person in terms of rulesets.
I’d love to have made the Vampires stronger, but I’m still learning, and also I had to abide by the number of miniatures at my disposal. Maybe I should do so, and balance the dwarves by giving them stronger foot units. Food for thought.
This time I didn’t make as many mistakes. Overall I was very careful. Maybe I missed a bravery test when the Vampire captain was KO at the end, but I can’t remember for sure (I wrote this AP report several days after playing the game, and had to rely on my sketchy notes).
Something else I noticed is the importance of tokens. In my previous game I had used some tokens to count casualties and wounds. This time I decided against it, and their lack thereof was evident. I intend to make some more token for exhaustion, activation and volley statuses, as they are very helpful with bookkeeping.
Finally, I loved my new terrain boards. I made them from corrugated cardboard, foam, paper mache, speckle, coffee grinds, ash and flock. It was quite easy. If I had more flock they’d be more uniform, because I run out, and I had to cover the second board with more coffee grinds and ash, giving a different color and texture. This variety isn’t bad though, it’s just not what I had in mind when I was making them. The size of the two boards together is 2×3 (its 2×1.5 each) which gives a very nice room to play, and they are a bit modular depending on how I chose to place them together (4 different configurations).
Trying different manufacturers, here’s a bunch of xenomorphs from QRF miniatures sci-fi range.
The Aliens and Facehuggers were almost the same pose per pack, so I’m going to show only one of each. The Predators were more lively with a separate pose for each and nicely sculpted.
Getting them right was a challenge and I’m not 100% sure I’ve got the best result, but it’s quite close. Painting them involved a lot of tinting and washing.
Also something went wrong with the final mat varnish and it left white streaks around the base. Thankfully I only varnished around the base rim on that step, which can be easily fixed.
Considering that, maybe the problem is that not all of the rim was painted, so the varnish had nowhere to stick to, and it just run down and pooled as it couldn’t hold on to the bare plastic.
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
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