Dominion of the Orc

 

Dominion of the Orc

The latest (I think) of the prolific Steve Parker's Dominion of... rules brings very fast play solo wargaming into the world(s) of Fantasy wargaming. Anyone who has already tried the format will quickly get started with Dominion of the Orc, which basically plays like Dominion of the Spear with magical knobs on. For me, the fun part is going to be working the Fantasy monsters and "Support" units (including flying units, assassins and Mages, ie Magic Using individuals of various types) into the amies. I tried a couple of games yesterday using my armies of Men and Orcs from my Arnor (Middle Earth) project and I can report an enjoyable outcome! I have a little bit of painting to do before I can try all the Support units but the following hopefully gives a flavour of the Rules. The figures are mostly Copplestone Castings 10-12mm (available in UK from North Star) and the two Mages were, I think, from Pendraken.

The first game was a simple pitch battle, so very much like DotS; the second involved Mages. The Orcs were Attackers in both games and are on the right-hand side in the photos.

The purple mini dice indicate Elite units; the white show unreliable units.

A victory for the Orcs - being the Attackers is an advantage though not overwhelmingly so.

In the second battle, the Orcs deployed a Shaman who raised magical defences for two of the units, indicated by black mini dice.

The Army of Men fielded a Wizard who used an offensive spell that managed to turn one of the Orc units unreliable (some sort of Fear spell?), which was handy as it was an Elite unit that had been magically given more defencive capabilities.

 The battle progressed

and this time victory went to the Army of Men

For my games I'm definitely going to add a Home Rule regarding the use of Hero/Anti-Hero units that can be either embedded with a unit (for +1 advantage) or fight independently as an Elite Unit.

A fun Solo game (that could also be played with two players - see App D of the rules) if you like short, sharp battles, and a good way to resolve battles in a mini campaign.

The Siege of Thalasus - Hyboria Ladder Campaign

 In which King Conan arrives at his objective...

The Western Nemedian town of Thalasus

Arriving at Thalasus, Conan found the town, unsurprisingly, closed and well defended. The Aquilonians sent heralds to parley with those on the walls, offering to withdraw without fight if they send out the King's concubine. No such undertaking was to transpire. Grinding his teeth, Conan gave orders for the siege to begin.

The game was played once more with Dominion of the Spear; the defenders received the defensive position bonus. Readers are urged to suspend their disbelief and assume that the attackers have long ladders, grapnels and the like. As the defenders were in cover they had a slight numerical disadvantage. 

As the attackers advanced, a sortie by Nemedian knights sallied forth and fought the Aquilonian knights, quite successfully; however, they were soon overwhelmed.

The battle was inevitably one of attrition; waves of attackers stormed the walls and both sides suffered grievous losses.

By the latter part of the day, it became obvious that the Aquilonians would, once again, have the better of their foe.  

In a lull in the fighting, a postern gate opened and Governor Prudentius emerged to surrender the town to Conan.

Having secured Thalasus, Conan demanded the return of his concubine, only to discover that she had been spirited away by persons unknown during the previous night! "Smells like a plot twist to give the author an excuse for a second campaign", growled Conan. And so it was.

In his rage, the King ordered the citizenry leave the town. Thalasus was then torched (after the treasury had first been emptied of course).

The Aquilonian army marched home and Conan sent out his spies to attempt to discover where his favourite concubine had been taken.

It is three months later, and a heavily guarded caravan wends its way through Turan heading for the Sea of Vilayet...

The Battle at Castle Desespero - Hyborian Ladder Campaign

 The next "rung" of the ladder that confronted Conan, King of Aquilonia, was an attack on a defended place. The place in question was the ruins of Castle Desespero.

Conan's scouts reported that a force of Nemedian Knights, Regulars and some mercenaries had taken control of the ruined castle and now threatened the Aquilonians' flank or rear if they were not confronted. Taking personal command of part of the army, Conan marched swiftly to remove the threat.

In terms of the Dominion of the Spear rules, the ruins represent the Nemedian left flank and the occupiers gain a defence bonus.

Sir Malvolio (nearest camera on the left) led the Nemedian force,
 as far away from his opposing number as possible!
Conan led the attack on the ruins.

Castle Desespero saw the majority of the early fighting, as Conan and the Aquilonian infantry stormed the crumbling walls, quickly removing the defenders.

Attention then turned to the other wards. 

The Nemedian centre inflicted early casualties, however with Conan now able to out flank them, they were not going to last long. The Nemedian Knights gave a good account of themselves, but the writing was once again on the wall. General Malvolio and the remaining Knights made a tactical withdrawal, better to fight another day.

Simple One Page Rules

 The rules being tested by the Duke of Tradgardland, are a very simple set I created for quick games when I didn't want to bother with any form of record keeping for accrued hits. They were written for Hyboria games but could easily be used for Ancients or other Fantasy games. I'd be interested to read any changes / additions that players might make. Here they are:  

The Battle at the Crossroads - Hyborian Ladder Campaign

 The next rung on the ladder was to be a battle at either a Crossroads (1-3) or River crossing (4-6). A 1 was thrown. The game played using Portable Wargame Ancients.

Prudentius, Governor of Western Nemedia, had received reports of the approaching Aquilonian army and sought to cut off its advance. Not having a military background, the Governor was determined to keep out of the action.

Initial Positions - Aquilonia to the East

King Conan was determined to swiftly brush aside the Nemedian force and march on towards the town of Thalasus where, if his spies were correct, his favourite concubine was being held captive.

The Aquilonians advance

Knights' cross swords whilst arrows fly

Facing the ferocious Aquilonian onslaught, the Nemedians fell back and were becoming enveloped.

 

With Aquilonian arrows beginning to fall among his bodyguards, Prudentius mounted his horse and making his excuses to his Captains, insisting they hold the road as long as possible, he prepared to vacate the battlefield...

 The Nemedian army reached Exhaustion Point (set at 50% as is my preference for Fantasy games) and the Governor high-tailed it, bound for the fortified town of Thalasus.

Another victory for Conan. Can he be stopped? Seems unlikely.

Hyborian Mini Campaign - the Battle at Pevia

 In a previous post, King Conan defeated an Army of Nemedia, slaying its Commander, Baron Panatone. In today's installment we find the Aquilonian Army marching deeper into enemy territory, until their advance is blocked by another Nemedian force at the village of Pevia.

Conan and the advance guard of the Army of Aquilonia

The Nemedians were led by a Brythunian mercenary, General Dubalclix.

The Nemedian defenders

The battlefield contained the village of Pevia, and its open fields, and the surrounding pasture (the Waste). The locals, having sent their women and children into hiding in the nearby hill country, took up position defending the village itself, in the main with improvised weapons and rudimentary defences. 

Assuming the villagers resolve would be weak, Conan used Archers, after a mass volley, to storm the barricades at Pevia, concentrating his Knights and foot on the Nemedian regulars.

The ensuing melee was brutal, and there soon were casualties on both sides.

The peasant defenders proved to be tougher than had been imagined and held on while the main armies clashed, fell and were scattered.

The Aquilonian ranks began to thin and Conan found himself leading a company of Archers against some stout Nemedian pikemen Captained by Dubalclix himself.

Units on both sides broke but the defenders appeared to be getting the upper hand.

The King suddenly found himself in combat with the Mercenary General. With a single mighty sweep of his sword, Conan slew the Brythurian and his mount.

The Nemedians, seeing Conan and his remaining Knights advancing in wrath, fled the field leaving the well-stocked village to the Aquilonians. 

Hyboria Ladder Campaign

 

The following is a quick post to confirm how the latest foray into Robert Howard's Continent of Hyboria has been structured.

The winner of the first game, a Pitch Battle, enters the portion of the "Ladder" belonging to the losing side. Assuming the winner defeats their enemy again they move further along the ladder continuing as attacker; if they lose, they are pushed back into their own part of the ladder, or to the previous position, now as defender. The ultimate winner is the side that takes their opponents Major Town, or the side that is deepest into enemy "territory" after, in this case, six battles. I've decided to set a time limit as I fear it may all get stuck at some point, moving backwards and forwards! We'll see...

Having won the Pitch Battle, Conan moves on to the battle for the first step in the Campaign

The rules used to fight the battles will probably vary based on the situation, though Dominion of the Spear and the Portable Wargame are most likely to be used. I hope that explains things a little. The next post hopefully will report the battle for a village, as the Aquilonian Army pushes into Nemedia.