Idol of Gork Conversion Scenario 2: Ambush

It has been a little while since I’ve worked on the Idol of Gork 9th Age conversion, but now that reality is no longer getting in the way I am excited to get back into it!

Scenario 2 in the old 5th Edition campaign pack involves an Orc ambush of an Empire marching column. Count Rutger has sent riders back to the Empire in requesting reinforcements and in particular some heavy artillery from Nuln and magical support from the Imperial College in Altdorf. The latter is particularly important because Rutger needs the enchantments on the Orc Idols dealt with so that they can be torn down and the hold of the Orc gods on the land broken. These reinforcements are marching along the road towards Rutgerberg when they are ambushed by a force of Orc raiders, and the Empire’s capacity to see off the attack will determine whether or not the reinforcements reach Rutgerberg and are available for the final battle.

Armies: The armies were originally 1500 pts, so they will be doubled to 3000 pts to fit 9th Age rules.

In the original 5th Edition campaign the Greenskins are allowed to field ANY NUMBER of goblin wolf rider or wolf chariot units and orc boar boy and boar chariot units. This perfectly fits the theme of a mobile raiding force which has been striking fast and then retreating! The greenskins will also be allowed any number of regular orc infantry and archer units and any number of common goblin units – all of these are lightly armoured and suggest mobility. I have decided to disallow the single Black Orc unit allowed in the original campaign – they are too heavily armoured to fit. However ‘big uns’ may fit the bill and the Greenskins are allowed a single unit of these! These are the only troops available to the Greenskins.

The Empire should be themed around the idea of ‘special’ reinforcements, artillery and magical support as per the campaign story. The 5th Edition Empire army didn’t have warrior priests available but Sigmarite support seems likely too – after all, who else better to call on to deal with blasphemous orc idols! So, it makes sense that the Empire would be able to call on an Imperial Steamtank and the Hellblaster Volley gun + 2 other artillery pieces (special delivery from Nuln), the Luninark of Hysh / Celestial Hurricanum under the careful gaze of a powerful Wizard (Lord?) (as requested from the Imperial College), and a warrior priest leading a mob of crazed flagellants (zealots flocking to some messianic goal of obliterating the orc idols and founding a Sigmarite paradise in this new land). Pistoliers and outriders form the escort. Possibly also an ‘exotic’ order of Knights (the White Wolves?). So the Empire get a lot of toys to play with but risk losing them, and the Orcs advantage will be in positioning / situational.

Deployment: The original campaign has deployment as below:

The Empire player deploys their entire army first, along the road as outlined in the map above, all marching in the direction of the arrow. All warmachines are being pulled (either by horses or by units of infantry). Once the entire Empire force has been deployed the Greenskin army is deployed.

First turn: The Greenskins have the element of surprise – they go first!

Number of turns: The initial scenario lists 4 turns, but once again I think an element of randomness / race against time is fun. Let’s imagine that Rutger has sent out a force to meet and escort the reinforcements and the Orcs and Goblins will have to break off the attack when this arrives. So, rolling a d6 after turn 4 the relief force arrives on 5+, after turn 5 it arrives on 3+ and it arrives regardless after turn 6.

Victory Conditions:

1.) As per the original campaign the Orcs and Goblins win a sudden death victory by killing or disabling (e.g. fleeing) the Wizard Lord and the Warmachines.

2.) Otherwise victory is determined by the number of victory points at the end of the battle. However, in the event of a draw in terms of victory points the Empire are deemed victors, as in this instance they will still likely be able to make it to reinforce Rutgerberg.

Victory Gains: If the Orcs and Goblins win the battle then the Empire’s artillery and magical reinforcements are destroyed. The Empire will not have access to the Steamtank, Hellblaster, Rocket, or Luminark / Celestial Hurricanum in the final battle. In the original version they also lose access to the Wizard Lord (either killed… or at least returned to Altdorf to repair his priceless Luminark!) and I am thinking of keeping this option too, particularly if the Orcs and Goblins risk losing their wizard lord in the first game.

Furthermore, several of the reinforcing units are not readily available for reinforcement this far from the Empire and will not be available in the final battle if they finish the game with the whole unit destroyed (and/or fleeing?). These units/characters include: the Flagellants, the Warrior Priest, and the exotic order of knights (likely White Wolves – perhaps Demi-Gryphs?).

Special Rules:

1.) Ambushed on the march!: In order to reflect the chaos of the rapid orc and goblin attack I really like the idea of some sort of impediment to the Imperial response (though this was not included in the original rules). I am still working on this, but what I am thinking is that every Imperial unit and character needs to make a discipline test in order to respond effectively to the ambush (redeploy in battle formation, ready equipment, etc). I am still playing around with this but think a version of “Stupid” would work – must pass a discipline test or count as shaken and must move d6 inches directly forward ALONG THE ROAD (in other words, the unit carries on marching rather than deploying for battle). This test only needs to be taken ONCE for each unit + character (thereafter they have taken battle formation). Pistoliers and Outriders will ignore this rule as scouting units used to rapid response.

2. ) Unlimbering the artillery: All artillery (including the Steam Tank) begin the game pulled by horses or infantry units. It takes the Empires whole first turn to unlimber the artillery and ready them to fire – therefore they remain inactive their first full turn (and even then only ONCE they have passed their discipline check as in Ambushed on the march above).

Well there it is. As with the first scenario, nothing finalised and lots still to think about but the general elements are there. I think I will complete writing out my thoughts on the remaining two scenarios and then go back and tweak and tighten them all together to ensure continuity.

Idol of Gork Conversion Scenario 1: “Da Snatch”

The Idol of Gork campaign opens with the eponymous Idol falling upon the Imperial settlers trying to pull the idol down. Fearing sinister magic is at work, Count Rutger calls a halt to the work and sends messengers back to the Empire for the assistance of the College of Magic and the Cult of Sigmar. In the meantime he dispatches a small force to guard the Idols and prevent Greenskin mischief…

In the first scenario of the original campaign, a goblin raiding force under the Night Goblin Shaman Oddgit attempts to snatch the Crown of Gork from a small force of Imperial guards, commanded by the veteran captain Manfred von Bock.

Armies: The battle was originally to be a small 1000 pts battle, which for 9th Age is simply doubled for 2000 pts. In the original campaign the Greenskin force could include any goblin troops, but given the prominence of the Night Goblin Shaman, that the attack happens at night and that Gary has a large and varied force of Night Goblins, I have decided it would be more flavourful to have an all Night Goblin force (including Night Goblin themed units like Squigs etc.). For the Empire, guard duty suggests infantry only and less prestigious troops, so the Empire force will be limited to Core infantry models as well as Greatswords.

Deployment: The original campaign has deployment as below.

There is also a Warmaster conversion which has the idols of Gork and Mork slightly closer to the Empire deployment zone (as below). To me this makes more sense both from a narrative point of view (the Empire are on guard duty after all) and is likely more balanced if the original victory conditions are used. So we’ll have to decide which one to go for. It should be noted that the Greatswords can be deployed in front of the Idols in both versions of the scenario.

First turn: This one is not controversial – it’s a night raid under cover of darkness so the Night Goblins go first!

Number of turns: The original scenario listed 5 turns, representing the 5 hours from midnight until sunrise when the Night Goblins, who hate the light, break off the attack. This seems very thematic – the only thing I am tempted to tinker with is to make the turn length random to build tension on both sides – when will the sun crest the hill? The rule would be something like: after turn 4 roll 1d6 and the battle ends on 5+; after turn 5 role a dice and the battle ends on 3+; the battle ends after turn 6 regardless. Another thing to consider.

Victory conditions: In the original scenario only Oddgit the shaman could retrieve and claim the crown of command, so the following special victory conditions followed:

1.) The Empire automatically wins if Oddgit is killed.

2.) The Night Goblins automatically win if Oddgit reaches the fallen idol.

3.) If neither of the above ‘sudden death’ conditions are met, then the Empire just need a draw in terms of points to win (they are considered to have beaten off the attack). The Night Goblins require a points victory in order to claim the Crown of Gork.

From my reading about this scenario it seems the Night Goblins ‘automatic victory’ rule walking Oddgit into the idols is a little bit easy for them, particularly given the special rules (below). One option would be to insist that Oddgit has to actually either get off the board with the Crown of Gork or survive till the end of the battle with the Crown of Gork in his possession in order to get it. The other option would be to keep the original victory condition but have the Idols of Gork placed closer to the Empire deployment lines as in the Warmaster version (see deployment, above). More thinking required on this one.

Victory Gains: If the Night Goblins win then Oddgit presents the Crown of Gork to Grotfang, which means the Orcs and Goblins do NOT suffer animosity in the final battle. Now, the 9th Age has done away with animosity for Orcs and Goblins. I am not going to go into the debate about it (though I personally think there has been a bit of an overemphasis on balance at the cost of flavour, and find the rule characterful myself). One option would be to replace the Crown of Gork with an alternate magical item, but none of the items in the Orc and Goblins 9th Age book really excited me. Instead, I thought why not just include the old animosity rule for the purposes of this campaign? Perhaps the Iron Claw orcs are particularly unruly or undisciplined? Perhaps their cohesion has been shaken by the Empire’s invasion of their lands? All that is left to do then is choose WHICH VERSION of animosity from previous Warhammer editions to use.

Special Rules: As per the original scenario, the following special rules apply:

1.) Darkness – Night Goblins re-roll any missed to-hit rolls when shooting due to fighting in their preferred conditions. In contrast, the Empire receive a -1 to hit when shooting and are unable to make march moves due to their poor vision. Ouch.

2.) Sneakin’ Up – Prior to movement on the first turn the Night Goblins may move forward d6 inches to represent them sneaking up on the foe before spotted by the Empire pickets. Will have to figure out whether this happens before or after animosity!

3.) Eerie Noises – No Empire troops may be deployed on the Idol of Gork terrain, and must make a leadership test in order to move onto or through the Idol terrain. Superstition!

I’m inclined to keep the special rules as written. Overall, they are fairly heavily in favour of the Night Goblins, which in combination with the rather limited Empire army list leads me to consider modifications to the Deployment (having the Idols closer to Empire deployment zone) and Victory Conditions (making Oddgit have to flee with the Idol) which give the Empire a bit of a boost.

For now, there is lots to think about. I will make decisions about these issues and discuss the characters in my next post…

Idol of Gork Terrain II

Gary’s latest concept sketch for an Idol of Gork (or possibly Mork?).

Idol of Gork Campaign Overview

The old Warhammer 5th Edition Idol of Gork campaign is set in the Border Princes, that Balkanised frontier land of squabbling petty fiefdoms where second sons, lordlings and glorified bandits have the opportunity to carve out their own domain… albeit until all laid to ruin by the next warlord, orc horde or Chaos invasion to sweep through.

Our particular tale begins when Rutger, an Imperial second son with little hope of inheriting, receives a grant to settle lands in the Border Princes by a local ruler. The catch is that these lands are already settled by the IronClaw Orcs and conflict ensues to determine who will be the master of these lands. (Interestingly, given that the Orcs are generally cast as villains, one can’t help but sense that the Empire are cast as colonial aggressors in this, but maybe that’s just me?)

Anyway, the campaign takes the form of four linked battles in which each of the first three battles has an impact on the fourth, final showdown which determines the ultimate victor:

In Scenario 1: ‘Da Snatch’, a small force of goblins attempt to recover the “Crown of Gork” from beneath the idols of Gork and Mork, while a small force of Imperial soldiers on guard duty attempt to stop them. Victory determines whether or not the Orcs and Goblins will get to use the ‘Crown of Gork’ to mitigate animosity in the final battle (this will require a fair bit of thought for conversion in 9th Age rules which no longer included animosity rules for Greenskins)

In Scenario 2: ‘The Ambush’, a mobile greenskin force ambushes Imperial reinforcements on their way to bolster Rutger’s forces. Victory determines whether the Empire gets to deploy some of its fancier toys and heavier firepower in the final battle.

In Scenario 3: ‘The Battle of Troll Rocks’ the Empire take the initiative with an attack on the village where the Ironfang Orcs are seeking to negotiate with a neighbouring tribe. Victory determines whether the negotiations succeed and as such whether the Ironfang Orcs have numerical superiority over the Empire in the final battle.

In Scenario 4: “The Battle for Rutgerburg”, the Ironfang Orcs lead a final all-out assault on the fledgling keep of Lord Rutger. Each of the previous battles has lead up to this point and had an influence on the forces arrayed against each other. If the Ironfang Orcs win the fledgling settlement is raised and the Greenskins resume control of the region. If the Empire wins then control of the region is consolidated and Lord Rutger takes his place as one of the Border Princes!

Idol of Gork Terrain Ideas

The first battle in the our planned narrative campaign is fought over the titular Idol of Gork (and Mork as well, though possibly the other way around). The old 5th edition Campaign set came with printed cardboard terrain, but we want to do something more special than that. Besides, orc idols are a great terrain feature to use in future games! Back when we were first playing around with this idea my talented uncle developed these concept sketches which I still really like.

In terms of design parameters, I think getting the size right is important. We want something big enough to impress but not with such a big footprint that it dominates the battlefield. Verticality is probably the way to go for in terms of impact from size then. Another thing we decided would be fun would be to create spaces for characters to stand on the model (imagine a spellcaster perched on a jutting orc brow or tooth… or perhaps even a war machine mounted on top!).

A quick google search turns up some interesting interpretations others have had about the Idol of Gork:

Then of course there is the ‘Rogue Idol of Gork’ model from ForgeWorld for inspiration:

Idol of Gork Campaign

I am keen to get back into Warhammer Fantasy Battles (WFB) with my uncle, who has adopted the 9th Age community driven ruleset since Games Workshop stopped supporting WFB officially. What interests me about miniature wargames is the potential to play out a campaign arc, where each battle has implications for the next and a narrative thread runs throughout. Also, fatherhood, work and study means I don’t have a lot of time for gaming at the moment so I want to make the rare opportunity that comes by count! So we have decided to adapt some of the old WFB campaigns to the 9th Age ruleset and play them out slowly, perhaps even one campaign across a year, so that we can savour each battle with my uncle’s gloriously painted armies. For our first campaign we have decided to convert the WFB 5th Edition’s Idol of Gork, pitting the Empire against the Orcs and Goblins in the Border Princes (I actually started converting Idol of Gork to 8th edition some years back but never completed the project). I am going to use this blog to keep my thoughts on the conversion process together as I go, and eventually to write battle reports as we play the campaign out!