In this article Gav Thorpe is looking at the results of the recent Dark Shadows campaign and what this can mean to your games of Warhammer. The campaign itself was a great success, and thanks have to go to all the people who helped make it happen, not least the illustrious guys and gals of GW Web Teams across the globe, and, of course, all those Warhammer players who took part and made it the success it was. But enough of the award ceremony speeches, let's read about gaming! There's a more in depth round-up of the campaign results in last month's White Dwarf and on the website, but to summarise: the forces of the Truthsayers have narrowly thwarted the plans of the Dark Master, who has fled the isle. Unfortunately, they have been unable to raise the protective mists which once shielded the isle and now all manner of adventurers and ne'er-do-wells can still land for treasure hunting and pillaging. With the Dark Master's departure, large numbers of Lizardmen have been seen occupying the Bastion of the Old Ones. However, despite this overall victory for the forces of Order, the massive Dark Elf host that landed on Albion has established a sizeable enclave, anchored by several Black Arks that have beached upon the shores of the island. The High Elves patrol much of the coasts, guarding against further Dark Elf forces, while the armies of the Empire are busy creating a new state around the southeast. No single power controls all of Albion and the island is set for many more battles to come. It is unlikely that any one race will ever achieve total supremacy.
The results of the campaign suggest a number of possibilities for further massed battles on the Isle of Storms. You may like to continue using the following scenarios from the Dark Shadows book: The Fens; The Ogham Stones; The Giants Causeway. Also, below Gav have included a new scenario we've devised which you may want to play - Reclaim the Stones. Getting a bit more specific, the scenarios in the Warhammer rulebook can be used to represent various battles that are likely to occur given the new situation on Albion, and here are some of the ideas Gav have had: Battle on The Lost Road Use Scenario 3 - Meeting Engagement (Warhammer, page 203) to represent two forces moving along the Lost With the Dark Shadows campaign over, here are a few ideas that will keep your Truthsayers and Dark Emissaries on their quests for the foreseeable future. Road running into each other. Fight the battle along the length of the table, ignoring the deployment rule that stops units deploying within 6" of the side edges. The road itself, a rather old and battered scattering of stone slabs these days, runs the length of the table. Units on the road may march an extra 2", Into the Jungle A force led by a Dark Emissary leads an expedition into the jungles now growing around the Bastion of the Old Ones. However, the cunning Lizardmen lie in wait. Use the Lost Valley terrain rules detailed later, with Scenario 6 - Ambush on page 209 of Warhammer. Steal the Ship Desperate to flee the vengeance of the Truthsayers, a Dark Emissary has mustered an army to steal a vessel to leave Albion's shores. However, the owners aren't going to just give it up! Use Scenario 2 - Breakthrough, from page 201 of Warhammer.
With the Dark Shadows campaign over, what can you do now with those special Albion miniatures you've bought and painted? Well, with the Dark Emissaries dispersing across the world, and the Truthsayers pursuing them, it's likely that they'll continue to turn up in many battles, so we've made them Dogs of War. Truthsayers For Hire: Truthsayers may be hired by Lizardmen, High Elves,
Wood Elves, Dwarfs, Empire, Bretonnia, Dogs of War and Orcs &
Goblins armies. They use up both a Rare choice and a Hero choice.
Dark Emissaries For Hire: Dark Emissaries may be hired by Dark Elves, Skaven,
Chaos (all types), Vampire Counts, Tomb Kings, Empire, Bretonnia,
Dogs of War and Ores & Goblins armies. They use up both a Rare
choice and a Hero choice. Fenbeasts For Hire: Any army containing either a Truthsayer or a Dark
Emissary may include Fenbeasts. Up to 3 Fenbeasts can be included
as a single Rare choice (see the Fenbeast rules).
With the departure of the Dark Master, the winds of magic raging through Albion have finally begun to settle, though the rankings of the winds of magic at the end of the campaign continue to stay in effect. This only affects magic for battles fought on Albion itself. Final results for the winds of magic are:
Albion is also perfect for devising skirmish scenarios. Rather than go into length here, Gav thought I'd just list some of the many ideas Gav have had: Hunt for Thrashlaar: Forces led by Empire Witch Hunters scour the Bleak Moor for the hiding place of Thrashlaar, the Strigoi vampire who now stalks the barren hills of that region. This could be based on the Vampire hunt scenario GW published in White Dwarf 258 (and reprinted in the Warhammer Annual 2002 and posted on RED ELF site: here). Wighter than Wight: A small force of grave robbers have sailed across to the Isle of Wights to loot the tombs of the dead. Unfortunately, they didn't reckon on meeting quite so many of the unnatural creatures! Fighting against several Wights (Grave Guard, maybe a single Wight Lord!) and a host of Skeletons, can the looters get to the treasure? More importantly, can they escape with it? Stop the Summoning: A Truthsayer or Dark Emissary is attempting to summon up a Fenbeast from the depths of the swamp, protected by his followers. Can his foes break through the defensive picket and stop him, or will they have to try and destroy the Fenbeast once it has been summoned? Into the Giant's Lair: A particularly loud and belligerent Giant has set up lair in caves not far from an army's encampment. They cannot move out for fear of being attacked. However, the whole army cannot be sent in to deal with this problem, so a few of the bravest individuals have volunteered to enter the cave systems and either slay or drive out the Giant.
The Lost Valley: Using their great magics, the Slann Mage-Priests of the Lizardmen have begun to alter the climate of Albion and a new jungle is beginning to appear north of the Forge of the Old Ones. Therefore, it's perfectly reasonable to use the Lustria and the Southlands terrain table for some of your battles. The Albion weather rules won't apply to battles fought here. The Grim North: Alternatively, the far North of Albion has been even more heavily corrupted by the presence of the Dark Master and the massive influx of Chaos energy caused by the huge conflict. Battles fought north of the Citadel of Lead might take part in twisted areas of Albion represented by the Chaos Wastes terrain table. Unfortunately, it is still raining. After all, it's grim up north! Neuland: As the Empire enclave begins to establish itself, the men of the Emperor have started to try and cultivate the lands east of Bol-a-Hat and towards the site of Losteriksson's third landing. The peasants who arrived after the armies have begun to dig drainage ditches, and a few farmsteads have sprung up. However, these are still fairly scattered. When generating terrain for battles fought in this area, use the Realms of Men generator from Warhammer, with the following entries replaced by those from the Albion terrain table: a Village becomes a Fen, a Ruin becomes Foetid Swamp, and a large building becomes a Stone Circle.
Not all of the armies that fought on Albion will remain there. Some of them will have to deal with the consequences of leaving their homelands when they arrive back. Two ideas for such battles occurred to me, I'm sure you can think of others: Slay the Raiders: Whilst the army has been fighting on Albion, a marauding warband has devastated their lands (Dark Elves, Chaos, Orcs and Goblins, or perhaps human brigands represented by Dogs of War). The raiding army is caught in the centre of the table and is surrounded on three sides. They must attempt to break out and escape before the vengeful army wipes them out. Usurped! On returning home, the general has found that his castle/ mansion/cave/glittering spire has been taken over, either by a rival of the same race or perhaps an invading enemy. Your army must fight a siege in order to reclaim your rightful place of power. |
