Turn 2

Please see Mouse's turn 1.

"AHHHrg!!" 

Lord Asgard stops singing as he watches in horror as The Wizard Grendir Bagotrix gets first shot by the Thunder Mount Bolt Thrower, and then hit by a Fireball thrown by the opposing wizard. 

"Oh, that poor, poor old fool", thinks Lord Asgard, "When I told him to Dazzle them I meant conjure up an illusionary army or make the sky turn a sickly orange or...oh, that poor fool...but no..."

Suddenly all of Lord Asgard's Army stops singing.  Moans and wails are heard from all the Clan Grenadier troops...

The table at the end of Mouse's turn.

Movement -  The Grenadier Speardwarves and the Grenadier Hand Weapons surge ahead 3inches. 

"...No!", shouts Lord Asgard, and he turns towards the Grenadier Counts As Crossbow unit.  "They mustn't move..."

I decide to take a Leadership Test to see if the Grenadier Counts As Crossbows are overcome by emotion and charge towards the evil Thunder Mount Dwarves.  I hold my breath and roll...Whew.  They stay in position.

"Clansmen", says Grendor Nevermiss, leader of the Crossbows, "let us avenge our brave cousin with our bolts.  Take aim, my kin, and know that those that have done such a thing cannot be Dwarves..."

Before they fire, Lord Asgard's unit turns 90 degrees to the right and moves forward 3inches.  (I love the manoeuvre and formation rules in Third Edition!) 

The other Citadel Hand Weapon Unit wheels slightly to the right, moving forward three inches from the leftmost warrior. 

The Skirmishers move forward three inches.

Shooting

"This can't be happening", thinks Lord Asgard, "Grungni forgive me, but they drew First Blood!" 

He lifts his beloved battleaxe and shouts over to the Crossbows, "Fire!  Brethren, Fire!  This is for Grendir Bagotrix!!!!"

The Crossbows fire at the unit with the evil Thunder Mount wizard.   I roll seven dice.  Four hit.  Two Wound.  (Hey Mouse, when you roll your saves, please put your results in my comments.)

Reserves -  Lord Asgard's unit wheels slightly to the right while moving up three inches.  (Mouse, how do you want to play manoeuvres in the Reserve Phase?  This is Lord Asgard's unit's only manoeuvre in this phase but it is his unit's second manoeuvre for the turn.  I rolled a Leadership test and passed, but this really wasn't really necessary (but it is fun).  Do you want to have it where Leadership rolls are required for a second simple manoeuvre for the whole turn or if it is just done within a phase?  Either way, I'm happy.)

All other units move up 3 inches.

 
Magic - AAHHHHHH!!!  There is no Magic!


The table at the end of my turn:

Turn One of The Battle on The Plain Of Crows

The two Dwarven armies stood across the Plain of Crows staring each other down.  The air was still.  All was quiet.

  "This can still be stopped," thought Lord Asgard.

All of a sudden he begins to sing:

                                "When I first felt the pride of a beard on my chin..."

His beautiful bass voice carries across, and up and down the Plain of Crows.  Every Dwarf knows this song.  Every Dwarf knows that it is, "I Am A Dwarf", the first song from the immortal Song Cycle, "Songs of My Ancestors".  Every single Dwarf on this field of battle instantly remembers the first time he felt his own beard ... and with that first stroke, how he felt the first flush of belonging to the great Fraternity of Dwarves.

                                "When I first knew the love of my Clan and my Kin..."

Without hesitation, all of the Dwarves of Asgard's army raise their voices, voices shaking and surging with emotion, and join this song of what it really means to be a Dwarf...

And they begin to march.

Every single unit moves forward three inches in the first movement phase.

There is no shooting.   But the song continues:
 
                                   "I am a Dwarf.   I am a Dwarf.  I AM A DWARF..."

In the Reserves phase, the unit of Crossbows (rather, the unit that counts as crossbow) performs a simple manoeuvre and forms itself into an Archer Wedge.
        

The Spear unit wheels slightly towards the left and moves three inches. 

All other units move straight forward three inches.

In the Magic Phase, the Wizard Grendir Bagotrix remembers Lord Asgard's words to him before the battle:

                                    "You must dazzle them, dear Bagotrix, dazzle them with your power!"

Well, Bagotrix is a Level 10 Wizard and he knows the Battle Magic Spells, Fireball, Flight and Hammerhand.   He has 6 Magic Points.

He uses 3 of them and casts Flight.

 

                            " Hey!  Hey, Down There.  Behold the Mighty Magik of Me, the Mighty Grendir!!
                               Behold what I can do!!"

And he flys through the air, landing 7 inches in front of the Thunder Mountain Bolt Thrower.

The field as my turn comes to an end...

The Battle of The Plain of Crows

With a heavy heart, Lord Asgard ordered his troops into formation...

 

Mouse, the Wizard Grendir Bagotrix is about a half inch from the forest edge with the unit of crossbow.

All the other units are one and a half inch from one another, and 12 inches from the table edge to the front of the first rank's bases.

Lord Asgard is in with the first unit beside the Speardwarves (which is beside the crossbows). 

Thane Dundeldir (the unarmoured hero with the extra hand weapon) is in with the last unit of hand weapon and shield guys.  (The unit with no standard. (Well, they do have Standards, they just choose not to carry one.))

 

Hey, everybody, this is the start of an internet/no-border/two table/two country game of Third Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles, played with Mouse of the great  Tales From the Big Board. 

Stay tuned...

Just Outside The Plain Of Crows...

Just outside The Plain of Crows, Lord Asgard addresses his band of followers...

"...Friends, Friends, do you know that there are those that would call me mad?"

A collective gasp from the rapt audience.  Followed by sounds of disbelief and many, "No! No! A thousand times No!"

"Yes, yes, believe it or not my friends, this is what I've heard," continues Asgard, "Mad they call me.  But perhaps I am mad...No, no, great Friends, hear me out.  If it is madness to turn One's life away from Greed and the folly of glittering stones, then I am Mad.   If it is madness to remember the Glories of our once Mighty Empire, then I am Mad.  If it is madness to love my Dwarven Brethren with all of my heart, then I am surely, truly Mad.  Yes.  Yes, if it is madness to believe that all Dwarves can stand together, and to BELIEVE that all Dwarves SHOULD stand together again...stand together Proud, stand together Strong...Stand Together as The Shining Example of All That Is Noble and Good in this Beautiful World of Ours...well, then, by Grungni, I am Mad!   Yes, I am Asgard The Mad!!"

Thunderous, thunderous applause.

Lord Asgard raises his hands to quiet his audience.  It takes several minutes before the applause begins to die away.  "Friends", says Asgard, "we have an Envoy from the great clan of Thunder Mountain...yes, send in the Envoy...

"Brother Envoy, please tell your lords that we come in peace.  That we come in solidarity with your Cause.  Please tell your respected lords that we desire not bloodshed, but brotherhood.  We want Unity, not illwill.  Dear Brother Envoy, tell your honoured lords to Surrender to their better judgement...To Submit to the Truth that beats in their Noble hearts.  Brother Envoy, ask them to join us in Friendship...May we march together, not march at each other...But Brother Envoy, tell your lords that if they deny all reason and desire a fight...that we will give them one.  And, that We Will Win!!"

"HUZZAAHHHH!!!!" 

The roar of the crowd just outside the Plain of Crows is deafening...


(Hey Mouse, here is my version of table.)

A Dwarf Starts His Tale of Times Gone Past

Snorri Hornhelm couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"These Dwarves", he thought, "these silly, weak-willed Bretonnian Dwarves.  These Brewarves.   I just gotta say something here..."

"Lads, lads.  Look at you!   Drinking, lollygagging, cutting your beards, and droning on about your defeat.  Sure it was shameful.  A bunch of Elves.  And Wood Elves at that.  But Lads, pull yourselves together!  Remember your Ancestors!  Remember when Dwarves were Dwarves!  Remember a time when a Dwarf could stand on his own.  No slottas for our ol' fellas!  Yes, that was a time.  And think a moment of Lord Asgard.  Yes, Lord Asgard.  What a fighter!

A Hero!

A Lover!

Even a Dragon Slayer!

But remember that he was also the mighty Uniter!  Yes Lads, it was he who brought the various clans together after the great sundering of our First Empire.  It was he who brought Clan Grenadier back into the fold.

Yes, it was he who brought our Citadel Grandfathers together again.

And do think he ever dwelt on defeat?  Do you dare think that he ever allowed an Elf to get him down?  No, he had more important things to deal with.  Like Destiny.  Like facing the greatest adversary a Dwarf can face - he had to battle Dwarves...!!!!"

(Hey Mouse, this force works out to 1407 points.  Oops.  But I really want to use it.  Do you mind 1400 points?)

It's True, It's True!

King Charles III, the decadent, irresponsible king of Bretonnia, has been dabbling in Chaos!

Poor Bretonnia is in chaos. 

And Chaos is in Bretonnia!

A chaotic host waits for the day's announcement.

A Champion of Nurgle presents a message from Tzeentch:

"Here-ye, here-ye, today's Chaotic Attribute is...that everyone will be named... 'Jimmy'"

A little later on, two mighty Exalted Heros of Chaos approach one another.  The air cackles with excited anticipation.

"Good Morning, Jimmy."

"And a very good morning to you dear Jimmy."

"Any word from our beloved general?..."