Lord Commander Coleman Stryker's controversial actions along the Black River have once again had bloody consequences. Your humble Observer brings to these pages the heart-wrenching tale of Cygnaran Menites shot or bayoneted by Cygnaran soldiers. The Lord Commander's example apparently inspired soldiers of the Fourth Army garrisoned south of Five Fingers, who took it upon themselves, without orders, to round up any similar "suspected traitors" in their midst. Soldiers attempting to capture and interrogate locals met armed resistance. The Cygnaran soldiers claim they only fired in self-defense, but Menite survivors insist otherwise. Many Menites, fearing for their lives, attempted to flee South Shore and Cygnar across the Choked Finger Channel into Five Fingers. The zealous and better armed soldiers cut down any defenders who stood their ground to give their families time to launch their makeshift boats. The tragedy was exacerbated when one of the boats broke apart in the Choked Finger's dangerous waters. Nearby vessels could save only a handful of the refugees from drowning. All the escapees who survived found safe haven in Five Fingers. The Observer has heard no word regarding Lord Commander Stryker's reactions to the incident or whether the soldiers will be punished for acting outside of their orders. (more...)
In related news, Menites spurred into action by the appearance of the Harbinger in northern Cygnar have struck a blow for their god. Dispatches recently received by the Observer state the town of Fisherbrook has fallen to a Protectorate army led by Menoth's prophet herself. The local Menites were aided by a large Protectorate army gathered for specifically this purpose. So swift and brutal was the revolt that most of the city burned to the ground in a few hours. This terror was followed by bloody interrogations and executions of those who would not to renounce their Morrowan faith. These actions sadden the Observer as greatly as the news of the South Shore Massacre. When will such barbarism end?
The first of the prison barges constructed on Lord Commander Stryker's orders have begun their sad journey down the Black River to the Gulf of Cygnar. Entire families sit aboard these vessels and await a fate many dare not imagine. Witnesses on shore say they can hear the sobs and wails of the captive Menites as the ships pass by. A terrible sentence for those whose only crime is faith in Man's Creator. We hope the conflict between Cygnar and the Protectorate ends before similar tragedies are visited upon the innocent elsewhere.
(close)The Ordic Observer is published by the Oaken Press in Midfast, collecting reports and dispatches from trained correspondents traveling across the region. It is a non-partisan weekly newes periodical unaffiliated with any crown, merchant house, or religious agenda.
Dispatches tell of Cygnaran soldiers cut down in bed, swords hanging on the bedpost. Those who could mount a defense were overrun in short order by the great numbers of both Sul-Menite and Cygnaran Menite forces entering the city. Traditionally, the inhabitants of Fisherbrook have looked to Stonebridge Castle for their defense and planned to flee the city if attacked and make for that fortification to the east.
Apparently, while many in the town were taken unaware, at least one large group did flee the city and followed the river east. Cygnaran soldiers at Stonebridge Castle have moved to secure these refugees and bring them back to the fortress. They expect to face a difficult pitched battle somewhere along the river against the Protectorate forces giving chase. If this rescue operation fails, and the Cygnarans suffer too many casualties, there is a real risk of this engagement leaving Stonebridge Castle inadequately defended.
Description
It is a simple plan. Cross the river and crush the enemy on the other side. Now all you have to do is cross the river...
Special Rules
A 3" wide shallow water River runs through the center of the table from the east to the west table edge.
A player ending his turn with one or more of his models on his opponent's side of the River while none of his opponent's models are on his side of the River scores one (1) Control Point. Models touching the River are not on one side or the other. Points cannot be scored during the first round. The first player to score three (3) Control Points wins the game.
The primary feature of a river is that it is made up of water, moving water. At the start of the game, participating players must agree upon which direction the river flows. This river is shallow water (see Prime Remix page 79).
At the beginning of each player's Maintenance Phase, small- or medium-based models whose bases are completely within the area of the river are moved in the direction the river is moving. The distance a model is moved depends on its base size. A small-based model moves 3". Medium-based models move 1". Move the models furthest down river first. A model stops moving if it contacts another model's base. A model cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement. If a model is moved off of the table due to this movement it is removed from play.
Beginning
Determine deployment zones and turn order with a standard starting roll, and use standard deployment zones (see Prime Remix, pg. 29).
Victory Conditions
The first player to score three (3) Control Points scores a primary victory condition and wins the game.
A player wins when he has the only remaining warcaster(s) in play. If time runs out before one player has won, the player with the most Control Points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Cygnaran soldiers have shifted from the already strained Northguard trenches to try to break the siege surrounding the forest fortress. Our sources indicate this move may be premature as there is inadequate intelligence regarding the strength of the besieging Khadoran force. These relief columns expect no aid from the defenders, as all estimates place casualties at Deepwood Tower high and their supplies of ammunition quite low. For this reason, simply breaking through the siege may not suffice unless the Cygnarans can also restore supply lines to the fortress.
Description
Two armies converge on a lonely field ravaged by winter and war. Even as new growth reaches from the muck the battle is joined.
Special Rules
See the map in Prime Remix on page 83. Divide the table into 1-foot squares and place domination points at the vertices of each intersection. Instead of placing terrain normally, players will take turns placing a 3" forest, tall grass, or sink hole terrain feature. Tall Grass is rough terrain that provides concealment to models within its area. Sink holes are considered shallow water.
A player captures a domination point when any part of the base of a model under his control passes over it. If a model leaves a domination point, the point remains under its army's control until an enemy model moves on top of it. Only one model may be on top of a domination point at any time.
Spring Cleaning lasts for eight (8) game rounds as players rush to capture specific points on the table.
Beginning
Determine deployment zones and turn order with a standard starting roll, and use standard deployment zones (see Prime Remix, pg. 29).
Victory Conditions
The game ends at the completion of the eighth game round. The player controlling the most domination points scores a primary victory condition and wins the game.
A player wins when he has the only remaining warcaster(s) in play. In case of a tie, or if time runs out before one player has won, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Escorted by troops from Point Bourne, several Morrowan clergy braved the battleground to offer last rites to as many victims of the Protectorate's attack as possible. The clerics worked quickly, ensuring numerous souls would find their way to Urcaen and Morrow's embrace, before undead attacked the holy men and their bodyguards.
The undead corpse thieves attacked without warning and forced the defenders into a portion of the city flooded by Thornmere Lake's rising waters. The final dispatch from the area reported the Cygnarans mounting a strong defense, but slowly retreating deeper into the burned out ruins of the town. What fiendish purpose this might serve we shudder to guess.
Description
Two beleaguered forces meet on a flood plain in the midst of a torrential down pour. With the waters rising, a decisive victory depends on seizing the high ground.
Special Rules
Place a 12" diameter, 1" high hill in the center of the table. Place a 6" diameter, 1" high hill centered on top of that hill. No additional terrain features can be placed on either hill. Players place additional terrain features normally. Forward thinking players will place additional hills.
Players gain one (1) Control Point for holding the 6" hill. A player holds the hill if he controls all models on the hill at the beginning of his Maintenance Phase. Models engaged in melee combat cannot be used to hold a location. Neither warrior models with CMD stats of 1 or less nor Incorporeal models can hold a location. The first player to score seven (7) Control Points wins the game.
At the end of the second player's second turn, the waters rise. The ground level of the table, meaning entire surface of the table with less than 1" of elevation, is now covered in shallow water. The game goes into Hammertime.
When the hammer falls, the waters rise again. When this happens, the ground level becomes deep water and 1" elevations are covered in shallow water. (See Water, Prime Remix, pages 78-79.)
After a number of rounds described in the scenario, a random chance exists in which the hammer will fall at the end of each additional round. At the end of the last player's turn of the round described, one of the players rolls a d6. On the result of 1 the hammer falls. If the hammer does not fall, players continue to play until the end of the next round. At the end of each additional round, roll to see if the hammer falls. The chance of the hammer falling is increased by 1 each additional round until the third round. From the third additional round on, the hammer falls on a roll of 1-3.
For example, Erik and Rob are playing a scenario that goes into Hammertime after the second round. At the end of the third round, the hammer falls on a roll of 1. At the end of the fourth round the hammer falls on a roll of 1 or 2. Starting at the end of round five, the hammer falls at the end of any round on a roll of 1-3.
Beginning
Determine deployment zones and turn order with a standard starting roll, and use standard deployment zones (see Prime Remix, pg. 29).
Victory Conditions
The first player to accumulate seven (7) Control Points scores a primary victory condition and wins the game.
A player wins when he has the only remaining warcaster(s) in play. If time runs out before one player has won, the player with the most Control Points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Winter Guard from the 201st Kompany fell upon Flameguard and zealots making their way through the eastern Thornwood, presumably to bolster the troops already in the city. The attack proved a deadly encounter with no quarter asked or given.
The massed Khadoran troops overmatched the Menites and forced them onto the defensive. Ultimately Protectorate warriors surviving the encounter fled back toward the Black River. Our correspondent reports the retreating Menites joined fresh troops across the river and have regrouped. We anticipate this fighting to begin again very soon.
Description
Two rival forces square off for control of a forest in the center of the battlefield. An army that can hold the forest will take the field.
Special Rules
Place a 12" forest in the center of the table.
The first player to hold the forest for three (3) consecutive rounds wins the game. A player holds the forest if he controls all models within the forest during his Maintenance Phase. Models engaged in melee combat cannot be used to hold a location. Neither warrior models with CMD stats of 1 or less nor incorporeal models can hold a location.
Beginning
Determine deployment zones and turn order with a standard starting roll, and use standard deployment zones (see WARMACHINE: Prime Remix, pg. 29).
Victory Conditions
A player wins and scores primary victory condition if he holds the forest for three (3) consecutive rounds.
A player wins if his opponent no longer has any warcasters in play. If time runs out before one player has won, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
One of several armed search parties discovered a necrotite mining operation on one of the region's hundreds of ancient battlefields. According to dispatches, the Menites wasted little time before engaging gathered Cryxian forces with the intention of annihilating any trace of them.
Description
Two armies meet on a virtually open expanse of battlefield. Between them lies No Man's Land.
Special Rules
A player ending his turn with one or more of his models on his opponent's deployment zone while none of his opponent's models are on in his deployment zone one (1) Control Point. The first player to score four (4) Control Points wins the game.
In this scenario, each player places six (6) small terrain pieces instead of normal terrain placement. Small terrain pieces are no more than 3" across.
Beginning
Determine deployment zones and turn order with a standard starting roll, and use standard deployment zones (see WARMACHINE: Prime Remix, pg. 29).
Victory Conditions
The first player to score four (4) Control Points scores a primary victory condition and wins the game.
A player wins if his opponent no longer has any warcasters in play. If time runs out before one player has won, the player with the most Control Points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Having placed scouts along the Black River, Kommander Milianov was rewarded when word reached him of a ship carrying more of the restless dead. The Kommander dispatched Greylords under his command and redirected a unit of Iron Fang Pikemen from Merywyn to aid in the interception.
The Khadorans sprung their trap when the vessel touched land near the ruins of Riversmet. They caught the vessel and its unholy cargo between the explosive steel of the 22nd Iron Fangs and the freezing magic of the Greylords Covenant. On their own authority, the Greylords have declared Riversmet a den of undeath and have begun organizing troops to sweep the area for any more of these monsters before they can do more damage to Khador's interests in the region.
Description
Rival forces must consolidate their battle lines to crush the enemy.
Special Rules
See the map. Before the start of the game, divide the table into four Quarters.
A player controls a quarter if he has more models completely within the quarter than his opponent. A unit counts as one model for the purposes of calculating who has more models within the Quarter but only counts if all models in the unit are completely within the quarter.
If a player controls two Quarters that make-up one complete table edge at the end of his turn, he scores one (1) Control Point. The first player to reach five (5) Control Points wins the game. For example, a player controlling the northwest and northeast quarters at the end of his turn controls gains one (1) Control Point since he controls the entire north table edge.
Each player has two 10" x 10" deployment zones located in corners of the table. One player deploys in the northwest and southeast corners. The other player deploys in the northeast and southwest corners. The first player chooses his deployment zones at the start of the game.
During this scenario, models with the Ambush ability cannot be placed inside their opponent's deployment zones, but may be places along any table edge.
Beginning
Determine deployment and turn order with a standard starting roll.
Each player has two 10" x 10" deployment zones located in corners of the table. One player deploys in the northwest and southeast corners. The other player deploys in the northeast and southwest corners. The first player chooses his deployment zones at the start of the game.
Victory Conditions
The first player to score five (5) Control Points scores a primary victory condition and wins the game.
A player wins if his opponent no longer has any warcasters in play. If time runs out before a player has won the game, the player with the most Control Points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Due to decreased visibility and wet powder, all models suffer -2 RAT. Living models suffer -1 CMD.
