Margana, the Third Year , the Battle of Uphill

 

The Ubhadi 

During the strategy phase, each nation rolls for its strategy for the coming campaigning seasons. This consists of its Army Build Strategy and its aggression level.

The Army Build Roll

Roll 2d6 at beginning of year

11+ Call out the Guard! = Must use Elite/most expensive unit. Must have more expensive units than cheap ones

9-10= Best Foot Forward! Must have at least one high end unit. Must have more expensive units than cheap ones.

6-8= On the Fence= can have choice of any units, must be equal mix of expensive and cheap units

4-5= Your Country Needs You! Cannot use most expensive/elite units. Majority 60% + must be spent on lower end troops

2-3 = Rabble Raiser! Must use 80% + lower end troops

Subsequent years successful Warlords will want to keep a winning formula, army remains unchanged. 

Warlords that have lost may want to change strategy, roll on the table with a -2 modifier if previous army was of higher quality, +2 if it were mostly comprised of cheaper troops.

Aggression stance 2d6

>10 very aggressive will cross multiple subdued regions, will always strive to bring enemy to contact

9,10, aggressive will cross one subdued region

4,5 defensive, will protect occupied regions if owns more regions than opponents

<4 very defensive, will protect occupied territories

Modifiers

Owns least regions +2

Owns most regions (min 6)-2

Army Build Roll Best Foot Forward/Call out the Guard +1

Army Build Roll Your Country Needs You/Rabble Raiser -1

 Subdued regions are referred to as friendly regions

 With an Army Build Roll of 12, Call out the Guard, and an Aggression Roll of 11 it looks as if Harno’s King Denoeth intends to compensate for running away at Snake Pass

 

The situation at the beginning of the year.

 

Spring Harno attacks Golden Valley but fails to subdue it

Dahar has a choice 1-3 Uphill 4-6 Broad Plain rolls 4 attacks and subdues Broad Plain

Morrod attacks and takes Mudwater

 Malthodor attempts to subdue The Forest of Nee but fails

 

 

 

Summer Harno attacks Golden Valley for a second time but fails

Dahar from Broad Plain has a choice of Uphill 1-3 or Mount Spyre 4-6 ,attacks Uphill but fails to subdue it

Malthodor can’t subdue The Forest of Nee

Morrod takes Snake Pass

 

 Autumn-

Harno Finally takes the Golden Valley

Dahar fails to subdue Uphill

Morrod being aggressive attacks Dahar in Uphill

Bat-rep below

Malthodor fails for the third time this year to subdue the Forest of Nee

 

The Battle of Uphill
 As you might expect, the battle field is very hilly, overlooked by the highest of these, Big Hill, on the centre of the southern edge. The hill in the South West is broken and strewn with rubble so as to be impassable

 There are two settlements, joined by a road. The one in the middle of the North edge adjacent to a small wood has a walled area

 Central in the battle field, there is a large area of rough ground, scrub and thorn to the South of the Northernmost hill adjacent the road

 

Dahar’s army,on the right of the picture, defending, is led by the Mage-lord Zokhora, victor of Snake Pass. He has the dreaded Ubhadi, huge men, like half trolls that rip their enemies to pieces. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the army he used at Snake Pass

Gorlakh leads the attacking army of Morrod. He has a high-quality army by Orc standards Black Uruks, Orc Berserkers and wolf riders as well as the usual Snagas and Orc Rabble

 

Zokhora rolls his Prophecy dice. During the battle, he can replace any of his or his opponents rolls with any or all of these

I like this spell as it frees up the mage to lead a unit. In the previous  game it  proved decisive at a critical point. I wonder would I like it so much if it rolled up 3’s and 4’s!

 

 

Mishaps occur!

The Dahar spear unit arrives late by 4 b/w, this will have a profound effect on the battle. The Variags are enthusiastic and charge 3 b/w forward

The Ubhadi have caught some awful disease, minus one resolve per company. It won’t spread as no one is brave enough to go near them.

Disease has struck the Orcs too; Berserkers and Rabble are poxed. The enthusiastic Snagas, run ahead towards the hill.

 

Turn 1

No shooting. Everyone pushes forward. The Easterling archers get on to North Hill. Zokhora rallies the Ubhadi

The Snagas and wolf riders climb Big Hill in the South.

Gorlakh rallies the Rabble.

 

 

Turn 2

Shooting; Snagas and Variags score two hits on each other

Berserkers turn towards Big Hill

The armoured archers of Dahar wheel on North Hill

Everyone advances

 

 

How close was this? The lil red dice show the loss of Resolve. Each unit will disperse at 12 hits. Zokhora uses two of his prophecy dice, the “2’s”, to replace two of the Wolf Riders results to prevent the Variags from dispersing! High drama indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn 4

All troops creep towards each other. The Wolf Riders massacre the hapless Variags

 

 

 

 

 

  The Dahar axes, already late, are slowed by the tangled bramble patches of the rough ground and are further delayed from getting involved in the melee.

The archers of Dahar command North Hill but are out of rangeof the Orcs below them

 

 

 

 

Turn 5

Shooting-Dahar cause two hits on the Orcses

Snagas cause three hits on the Ubhadi

The Orcses crash into the Spear armed heavy infantry of Dahar

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The Orcses inflict 4 hits and take 8 themselves, they have total resolve of 9!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn 6

Shooting the Snagas score 3 hits on the Ubhadi

The Wolf Riders about face and charge the rear of the Ubhadi, while the Uruks charge them from the front. The Orcses get a last desperate 3 hits on the spears of Dahar but take 3 themselves and disperse.

The Ubhadi cause 9 hits on the Uruks, the Uruks cause 5 and the wolf riders cause 6 the Ubhadi disperse!

 

Turn 7

Shooting -Dahar archers fire at the Rabble causing 6 hits, they disperse like the unreliable rabble they are and as they are expendable no one cares!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Uruks charge the Spears sustaining 3 hits but causing 5 which is enough to disperse the spear unit and win the battle!

Outcome-Morrod takes Uphill

The Dahar spear and the Ubhadi take to the hills and are not seen again. The Bloodied Variags have -1 resolve per company. Fortunately, it is now the end of the Autumn campaigning season and they will have the winter to recover.

The orcses and the Rabble are also bloodied.

 

 

 

The campaign map now looks like this. Morrod have subdued 6 regions and will get the maximum 1000 points budget.

It truly is the year of the orc!