First try of the Warlords of the Erehwon
Warlord games released recently the fantasy version of one of my favourite games Beyond the Gates of Antares. I was bit sceptic in the beginning how the system will work with mainly close combat oriented armies as the system is based on shooting and the close combat is very bloody. Well after acquiring the book I got little bit less afraid as the rules had been slightly tweaked and there really isn't so much shooting. Although quite many units get some sort of shooting, like throwing rocks etc. which is nice. Also the rules still using 'pins' and 'down' terms are bit off in a sword and sorcery setting, but it doesn't matter too much.
The rules system is based on the Bolt action mechanisms. I haven't ever played BA, but the system of random activation through drawing order dice combined with pins and command checks makes the system really fun to play and keeps it interesting. I have plenty of existing armies that are suitable for the game so it was just a matter of finding an opponent who has the same schedule as me. As there was the big Winter war event, I didn't have too much time before that, but soon after we found a good time with my friend Herkko, with whom we have been playing the Antares as well, so the rules were not an issue. Herkko dug out some Vampire counts from just after the goblin green base edge period and I went with my multipurpose fantasy humans, for which this was a third ruleset after AoS and Saga.
We played the scenario Relic, where in one corner there is a ruin that has a relic that needs to be captured and taken off table. The set up was nice. For 4x4 table the ruin is in one corner and then the armies come from the table halves opposite from that corner. So both armies "flanked" each other. The undead army consisted of 3x10 zombies, 2x10 skeletons, 6 knights, a chariot, necromancer with entourage and a flying bat. I had Lord knight on horse (+2 sidekicks) with a second unit of 3 knights, Knightly champion, 8 foot knights, 2x8 halberdiers, 8 archers, 2x5 crossbowmen and a treant.
The zombies came straight in, but didn't cause too much damage, while my knights flanked the undead force and destroyed one unit of skeletons. The big unit of 6 undead knights destroyed a lot of units from me, with the help of the "Surge" spell that allowed them to act twice per turn. In the end however, my lord knight managed to beat them down. Chariot was quite underwhelming while the flying bat got pummeled by my very lucky foot knights. In the end most of the undead force was destroyed before anyone got the relic and we called it a day.
Some notes:
-Fast units like knights are really good
-Shooting is quite useful, undead having none was a clear disadvantage
-Magic is good, but only one spell per turn doesn't break the bank
-High resistance is pretty nice, knights having resistance of 9 was really strong
-Everything moves really fast, you can charge 30" by single action. Even footmen go 15".
-Close combat is still very brutal. Unit of 3 knights easily slaughtered a unit of 10 skeletons in single turn.
-The game is fast, flavourful and fun, but not too balanced. It would be fairly easy to do an armylist that wouldn't be too fun for anyone.
Here are some photos, not maybe exactly in order, but anyways.
All in all, a fun game, but maybe still better suited for games where shooting weapons are the base. It gives great possibilities for using the random mish mash armies that I have so surely I'll play more when I can.
The rules system is based on the Bolt action mechanisms. I haven't ever played BA, but the system of random activation through drawing order dice combined with pins and command checks makes the system really fun to play and keeps it interesting. I have plenty of existing armies that are suitable for the game so it was just a matter of finding an opponent who has the same schedule as me. As there was the big Winter war event, I didn't have too much time before that, but soon after we found a good time with my friend Herkko, with whom we have been playing the Antares as well, so the rules were not an issue. Herkko dug out some Vampire counts from just after the goblin green base edge period and I went with my multipurpose fantasy humans, for which this was a third ruleset after AoS and Saga.
We played the scenario Relic, where in one corner there is a ruin that has a relic that needs to be captured and taken off table. The set up was nice. For 4x4 table the ruin is in one corner and then the armies come from the table halves opposite from that corner. So both armies "flanked" each other. The undead army consisted of 3x10 zombies, 2x10 skeletons, 6 knights, a chariot, necromancer with entourage and a flying bat. I had Lord knight on horse (+2 sidekicks) with a second unit of 3 knights, Knightly champion, 8 foot knights, 2x8 halberdiers, 8 archers, 2x5 crossbowmen and a treant.
The zombies came straight in, but didn't cause too much damage, while my knights flanked the undead force and destroyed one unit of skeletons. The big unit of 6 undead knights destroyed a lot of units from me, with the help of the "Surge" spell that allowed them to act twice per turn. In the end however, my lord knight managed to beat them down. Chariot was quite underwhelming while the flying bat got pummeled by my very lucky foot knights. In the end most of the undead force was destroyed before anyone got the relic and we called it a day.
Some notes:
-Fast units like knights are really good
-Shooting is quite useful, undead having none was a clear disadvantage
-Magic is good, but only one spell per turn doesn't break the bank
-High resistance is pretty nice, knights having resistance of 9 was really strong
-Everything moves really fast, you can charge 30" by single action. Even footmen go 15".
-Close combat is still very brutal. Unit of 3 knights easily slaughtered a unit of 10 skeletons in single turn.
-The game is fast, flavourful and fun, but not too balanced. It would be fairly easy to do an armylist that wouldn't be too fun for anyone.
Here are some photos, not maybe exactly in order, but anyways.
The chariot rolls toward the human lines.
The Briar knight charges the undead knights killing one or two, but getting killed in return as i rolled two tens from three resist rolls and after bit of searching, you can't indeed re-roll tens.
The aforementioned knights slaughtering their living counterparts.
Chariot getting hacked to pieces by the foot knights with heavy warhammers.
Knights doing what they do best.
Overview.
Second overview shot.
Yellow line leads to trouble.
The forests fight back.
Archers soften up the zombies that have taken hold of the graveyard.
The undead horde shambles forward.
All in all, a fun game, but maybe still better suited for games where shooting weapons are the base. It gives great possibilities for using the random mish mash armies that I have so surely I'll play more when I can.
Comments
Post a Comment