15mm Fantasy Skirmish Round 2 Playtesting

Over the long weekend I had due to school closings, Archer and I played a couple more games, continuing to test the skirmish rule I have developed.  I decided to pull out some really fantastic ruin pieces I purchased from Crescent Root Studio years ago.  These were designed for 28mm but work perfectly for 15mm.

Ruined City

 For this game Archer chose to play the adventurers.  He took a paladin, a fighter, a ranger, a cleric, a druid, a wizard, a dwarf barbarian, and an elf assassin.  This gave him 3 close combat warriors, 2 long range figures, and 3 spellcasters.  After learning the dangers of splitting a small party in the previous game, he set his figures up closer together.

The Adventurers

 I took a force of troglodytes, led by a naga and its hook horror bodyguard.  I absolutely love these troglodyte figures and can’t wait for them to be released for the general public in a few weeks (the naga and hook horror will be in a second dungeon set coming later this spring).  The trogs had two powerful warriors, a wizard, 8 standard warriors, and a guardian lizard.  The naga was a powerful spellcaster and the hook horror was a strong melee presence. 

Troglodytes

The trog force split their force with 2 warriors, the chieftain, the naga and the hook horror on the left flank and the rest of the force on the right flank, moving down the center of the street.

Troglodyte Left Flank

Troglodyte Right Flank

In the opening moves the adventurers decided to stay together and set out down the left flank towards the smaller, but stronger, force of trogs.  The wizard moved out to the front with the assassin flanking him in order to get some early spells in play.

Opening Moves

Falling into the trap of over confidence, the trogs moved too far up and immediately lost 2 warriors to a well placed fireball, which the chieftain managed to survive with minimal burns.   The ranger placed a well shot arrow through the eye of the hook horror, dropping him before he could reach the melee.

Fireball!

Unfortunately for the adventurers, the guardian lizard moved more quickly than anticipated on the right flank and charged the druid, who was bringing up the rear with the cleric.  The fight was quick and bloody and suddenly the adventurers were down a spellcaster.

Fallen Druid

Another group of troglodytes moved down a center alley, hoping for an opportunity to strike at the wizard and were met by the chieftain, who dashed across the rubble strewn courtyard to reach the safety of the alleyway.

Sneaking up on a Wizard

The naga stayed in the cover of a large piece of rubble, hoping for a good opportunity to unleash his arsenal of spells.

The Naga

The next turn brought a lot of action.  The troglodytes won initiative and charged the adventurers from two directions.  The troglodyte brute rushed the cleric, who had hoped to heal the druid but ran out of time.  The guardian lizard charged the assassin; the fighter was attacked from the flank and the front, and the ranger was rushed by the troglodyte chieftain.  

A Bloody Fight!

Four troglodyte warriors moved into position for a later charge.

Troglodyte Right Flank Moves in

After this round of combat, the situation looked dire for the adventurers.  The assassin managed to kill the guardian lizard, but the cleric was smashed down by the troglodyte brute.  Though the fighter eliminated the foe to his front, he fell to the foe on his flank.  The troglodyte chieftain dropped the ranger and suddenly the adventurers only had 4 models left. 

Archer, refusing to break player morale, seized the initiative and turned a tough situation around.  His dwarf barbarian yelled his defiance and charged a troglodyte warrior while the paladin used a heal spell to put the ranger back into play.  The elf assassin charged the troglodyte wizard, who had gotten too close to the combat.  In the game saving move, however, the wizard cast a wall of fire, blocking the troglodyte brute and the four warriors from being able to move into the rear and flank of the adventurers. 

We Have a Chance!

 Brilliantly (and luckily) winning the initiative the next turn allowed the adventurers to go a second time before the troglodytes could move. The paladin and barbarian teamed up on the troglodyte chieftain while the ranger moved into position to shoot at the naga.  The elf assassin continued to fight the wizard, who had managed to survive one round of combat. 

 

The Fight Continues

Suddenly, the situation looked grim for the troglodytes and naga as the chieftain and wizard both fell, though the adventurers lost the paladin as well.

Die Monsters!

Not to be taken for granted, however, the nage moved into range and unleashed a fireball of its own, killing the ranger but only slightly burning the assassin and dwarf. 

The Naga's Fireball

Winning initiative and being out of spell points, the naga decided to run away and called to his remaining forces to cover his getaway.  The adventurers moved into position for the next wave of troglodytes, who would be charging once the firewall dissipated.  The elf assassin used the cover of a building and a handy window to shoot at the troglodytes, without effect.

The Assassin Shoots

When the final assault came it was brutal.  The troglodyte brute fell before the dwarf and elf assassin, while the wizard cowered in the corner out of spell points.  

The Brute Falls

The final four troglodyte warriors fell beforet the elf and dwarf but not before fatally wounding the elf assassin.

A Grim Situation for the Assassin

End Game

Overall, I am very happy with how these rules are playing and will begin playtesting with two warbands against each other as opposed to a warband vs adventurers. 

In the coming weeks, I will be posting and asking for playtesters.  For now, it is just nice to be playing some games!