Warhammer 3rd Edition AAR #1

A skaven warband has appeared on the outskirts of a village with the aim of capturing some unfortunate souls on whom to work their sinister experiments on. They have been tracked by a retinue of the local lord who seek to rid the land of their foulness. The men of the village quickly assemble while the women and children hide themselves. Will the courage of men be enough to see them to another dawn?

For this scenario some civvies were hidden in the village that would give victory points if they could be stolen away. To score the points, captives had to be returned to the skaven table edge.

The field of battle

The mensfolk assemble and their women see them off with brave smiles.

The skaven steadily advance on the village led by a fierce warrior and his bodyguard of big orcs. About to be engulfed by a horde of rats, the men grimly await them behind a shield wall.

With a roar the lines clash and the men stand their ground!

Above the sound of fighting come the sounds of horn calls and stamping hooves. Help has arrived! Quickly, the cavalry fans out to the wings while the captain rushes down the center to bolster the village men. In his wake follows a band of mercenary spearmen and archers.

The captain joins the fighting men and together they see off furious skaven assaults. Even the fear of the terrible rat ogres is overcome thanks to the captain's courage and that of his faithful falcon who perches on his wrist the entire time without flinching even once.

All the while, the cavalry is rushing down the flanks. Can the center hold long enough for them to deal their ruin on the skaven?

The skaven leader begins to rage at his rats, haranguing them to extend the line to meet the oncoming threat of horsemen. The skaven center continues to batter at the shieldwall in their attempt to break through to get their grubby claws on the helpless women and children of the village.

The ranks of the villagers have been steadily whittled down in the fighting. The spearmen and archers are coming up to reinforce them.

The skaven leader holds his orcs in reserve and orders one more push will all effort...

...and it's enough! The men break and fall back, getting cut to pieces in the process. Their panic is infectious unfortunately and the spearmen that had been coming up to help the villagers instead join them in their retreat. The center is gone but have they done enough?

The cavalry on the wings assume wedge formation and charge!

The left is unable to penetrate the skaven line and is soon swamped with rats. After exchanging a few blows they pull back to reform.

The right wing crashes into the skaven with irresistible force and sends rats spinning into the air.

Meanwhile, the skaven continue their push down the center. The men are soon rallied by their captain but they are now too few and unable to withstand another enemy assault. In a fine display of courage the captain battles a rat ogre in single combat. The other rat ogre is distracted by easier pickings and chases the men down the street, killing as he goes.

The way is clear to the first house and a grab-team bursts in to find a pair of villagers who are unhappily dragged from their homes. Now to make off with the booty!

The skaven left flank has been taking a beating from the knights all the while and the right has see the return of the lighter horsemen who now wade with in with renewed fury. The ratty center has pushed too far and the likelihood of ever seeing their warrens again are slim.

The captain slays the first rat ogre and promptly does the same to the other upon its return from chasing villagers. The mercenary archers now add their weight to the fight and several skaven are shot down, hastening the end.

The skaven grab-team does not get far with their captives before being ridden down by the captain and the grateful villagers are freed.

A general rout was soon brought upon by the rampaging cavalry and the skaven skittered away to plot their vengeance another day.

This was a fun game. I didn't expect the center to hold for as long as they did. I also didn't believe there would be civvies in that first building but with the enemy cavalry coming down the flanks I was running out of time and would soon run out of rats so was glad when I got a couple to try to run off with.

My undead army is now complete and they recently saw dice rolled in anger. That AAR will be posted as well.