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Happy Tuesday! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to Tanuki Tabletop this past Saturday. We were able to get 5 different games in and first chance to meet many of the participants in the campaign. Special thanks to Stephen and Dro who took the time assisting Alex in his first two games of Age of Sigmar. I really appreciate everyone embracing the spirit of welcoming and learning together in the first month of this escalation style campaign. New players to Age of Sigmar are welcome to join and get involved.

First in action, the Solemn Saviours claimed victory over the Celebrants Insatiable. Meanwhile, in their first foray into the Ravaged Coast, the Whiskers of the Labyrinthium claimed victory against the Cult of the Black Sun. Next, the forces of Destruction emerged, with the Gloomy Looniez burying the Solemn Saviours in a tide of Squigs, while Krule Intentionz pushed the Whiskers back into the Labyrinthium. Finally, the Celebrants Insatiable held back Da Toof Punchas as they couldn’t quite WAAAGH! across the field.

The action continued Monday night, as the Knights of the Ramparts and their dragons proved dominant against the Grand Army of the Ratpublic. The Solemn Saviours were able to follow up against the Grand Army on the ground, but those clever Skaven managed to escape with the majority of the Emberstone shards before fleeing back into their Gnawholes.

In the wake of the Grand Army of the Ratpublic’s battles, a letter was left behind. If you have a few minutes, take a look on their army page here. Some amazing back story for the Celebrants Insatiable appears on their page as well. Hopefully these inspire more lore, battle reports, and short stories as we continue the narrative together.

Some quick housekeeping notes. Reminder that your Emberstone shards to spend on your April list come from your “best” battle, and are not cumulative. I’ve added a standings table to the results log so we can quickly see where everyone’s at. With the good comes the bad, so your battle wounds for each month should come from your “worst” showing each month (the battle where you accumulated the most wounds). The most any one unit on your roster can acquire is 3 per month, and reminder you do get up to 2 heal rolls (if you have 2 heroes), so I don’t expect we’ll see any permanent battle scars until May or June at the earliest. I’ve purposely been playing it a little loose this month as everyone gets their feet under them and comfortable with the format. For battles with an * next to wounds, we can roll for the actual wounds / heals at the end of the month when we spend our stones together. I’ll continue to update the site with available Paths, Enhancements, and Artefacts that are unique to the Ravaged Coast for players without the book so they know what’s available for purchase. There are some powerful traits and artefacts available in the Ravaged Coast.

Also, a quick discussion about Faction Terrain since we have 2 Skaven players so far. In Path to Glory, Ravaged Coast, page 27 says “Your Path to Glory army does not start with a faction terrain feature”. I took this to mean, and maybe incorrectly, that you do not start with Faction Terrain that you would deploy in the Deployment Phase of Core rules 10.0 “Deploy Faction Terrain Features”. However, the Skaven Gnawholes (and they are tagged as “FACTION TERRAIN” on their warscroll), do not deploy in this phase. They deploy “Once per Round (Army), Start of the Battle Round” from the Skaven Faction Rules. Three out of five of the Skaven’s Faction Rules depend on Gnawholes being on the field, so lack of access to them I interpreted as a handicap to how the army functions, compared to other faction terrain that buffs, but isn’t core to the army. Thematically, we’re invading the Skaven’s territory of the Gnaw to claim the Emberstone of Hel’s Claw, so I’m ok with a little home-field advantage. These are the reasons I’m allowing Skaven armies to use Gnawholes at no Emberstone cost. For all other army Faction Terrain, it is a one time cost of 3 Emberstone shards to add it to your Roster. Ravaged Coast page 40 describes it as “Acquire a faction terrain feature: Construct an outpost on the Ravaged Coast”. Thematically, that makes sense to me needing to build a Stormreach Portal, Bossrokk Tower, Skaregob Totem, Bad Moon Loonshrine, etc or any other Faction Terrain that would go down in the Deployment Phase before the battle.

There’s still a week and half left in the month if you’d like to try to acquire more Emberstone shards or join the campaign, however, I would not recommend facing Sigmar’s Dragons if that’s your goal. If you’re up for a challenge though, they’re looking to be a tough nut to crack. Anyone is also welcome to join the campaign next month or in the future.

April’s battleplan, Rise through the Ashes, is posted on the schedule page if you want to look ahead at our path to breaking through the Adamantine Chain of Aqshy. The field shifts 45 degrees, and control score comes into play as you acquire VP for each objective controlled, rather than just uncontested in the Rift in the Peaks.

Happy Thursday! This weekend marks half way through March, and we’ve had 6 battles fought so far in the Rift in the Peaks.

This past Saturday, the forces of Order met the forces of Destruction at the Warhammer Central Texas Marketplace. Chris was super accommodating, providing tables, battle mats, some terrain, and allowed us some extra time after closing to wrap our battles. The Solemn Saviours prevailed over Krule Intentionz by flanking and cornering their shooters and General, forcing a withdrawal.

On the other side of peaks, the Gloomy Looniez were able to bully the Aethergold Storm into withdrawing with wave after wave of ravenous squigs.

Then Tuesday evening, the forces of Order were back in action against the forces of Chaos at King’s Landing. The Knight-Questor and his Soulsworn decimated the Tzaangor forces of the Cult of the Black Sun, and the arrival of the Reclusians from the Celestial Realm on the remaining troops forced a withdrawal.

Meanwhile, the Celebrants Insatiable and Aethergold Storm each sustained heavy losses battling over the center of the rift. Some last minute transport tricks of the Khemist, and the sacrifice of the remaining Arkanaut Company secured a Draw between the armies.

The dragon riding Knights of the Rampart, the Grand Army of the Ratpublic, and the Brutes of Da Toof Punchas are all poised to join the fray in the next week or two. So stay active on Discord and reach out to schedule games. There’s still plenty of time to join in the war for the Emberstone cache in Hel’s Crown.

Saturday, I’ll be at Tanuki Tabletop to run some learning games with the Whiskers of the Labyrinthium. Feel free to join us to get a game in or just come by to say Hi and check out the new store.

The Battle for the Ravaged Coast has begun!  The Solemn Saviours met the Aethergold Storm in a Rift in the Peaks. Shout out to Tanuki Tabletop for hosting our game. 3 Seams of Emberstone Objectives were laid out according to the Rift in the Peaks. 4 Emberstone Clusters were added on a D3 + 1 roll, with at least 2 placed in neutral territory.

The Saviours won initiative and deployed first, dispatching the Knight-Questor Mordred and his Questor Soulsworn in the middle of their territory, naming the center objective their “Ordained Quest” and in position to claim a nearby Embershard Cluster.  The Aethergold responded with the Bountiful Tradewind Gun Hauler and Khemist Kadasst Cholerborne along western flank.  The Saviour’s General, Bergar the Lamented mirrored their deployment in the west, while the Templars of the Anvil Liberators deployed on the opposite, eastern flank.  The Scions of the Great Sanctuary Prosecutors and Timeworn Defenders of Sigmaron Reclusians both remained in the Celestial Realm.  The Skybound Company’s 2nd Platoon mirrored the Liberators deployment, while first platoon, and the Endrimaster General deployed in the clouds aboard the Frigate, Flying Reckoning.  The winds of Aqshy were calm that day, and no twist was available to aid the underdog in the battle to come. 

Annotated Battle Layout after deployement:

First turn, the Saviours advanced on all 3 objectives.  Bergar was able to quickly advance on his Gryph Stalker and claim the western objective.  The Reculsians rode Sigmar’s lightning to deploy and support Bergar, and claim a nearby Emberstone cluster.  Unfortunately, the lightning must have set it off, and they suffered a grave wound when it exploded.  In the middle of the field, the Questor Soulsworn were able to recover an Emberstone Shard.

The injured Reclusians were able to rally from the detonated Emberstone.  The Aethergold Storm responded by descending from the clouds on the Eastern Objective and isolating the lone Liberator force advancing there, and their guns began to chip away at the Templars of the Anvil.  The Bountiful Tradewind was able to quickly ferry Kadasst to the middle Objective.  The Storm claimed 2 Objectives and 2 Emberstone Shards on their first maneuver.

The Aethergold Storm kept the momentum, and stayed on the offensive.  They continued to fire on the isolated Liberators who would rally and hang on, and the Gunhauler and Khemist opened up on the advancing Questors midfield.  The Liberators were being whittled away under heavy gunfire, while one of the Questors fell to the Khemist’s toxic gas attacks.  Sensing weakness, the Skybound Company’s first platoon charged the Liberators on the Eastern flank, while the Endrinmaster and Frigate held back, securing the objective.

The Saviours responded with the Questors pushing up the middle, forcing a retreat from the Gunhauler and Khemist, claiming their ordained objective, while the Reclusians and Bergar approached from the West.  The Liberators battled the company, trading kills until only the champion remained in the face of the Skybound Company.

But all was not lost, as the momentum shifted back to the Saviours.  The Prosecutors descended from the Celestial Realm in support of the lone liberator, and with throwing javelins and a brutal charge, wiped out the Skybound Company before they could claim the last Liberator.  Meanwhile, the Questors and Reclusians converged on the Gunhauler midfield, while the Khemist retreated to the safety of the Skybound Company’s second platoon.

Despite their brave rescue, the guns of the Endrimaster and Frigate were too much, and wiped out the guardian angel Prosecutors, while the Liberator was able to rally a comrade and retreat.  The combined might of the Questors and Reculsians brought down The Bountiful Tradewind, costing the Aethergold Storm the token the Gunhauler had claimed earlier.

The Reclusians chased the retreating Khemist, while Berger ordered them to Deliver Judgement. They mortally wounded the Khemist while the Skybound Company avoided the whirling axes of the Reculsian Champion.  The Questors held back and consolidated to hold the middle objective.

Sensing the death approaching, the Second Company retreated with their claimed Emberstone Shard, while the General and Frigate attempted some parting shots at the retreating, rallied Liberators.

In the end, the Saviours were able to claim victory on this field, but the Questors were unable to dig an additional shard from the Middle Objective.  The Endrimaster was unable to dig a shard from the Eastern Objective before leaving the field.  Despite being forced from the field, the crafty Duardin were able to claim 5 Emberstone Shards to the Saviours 4.

The Prosecutors suffered wounds from the Frigate’s vengeance, while the Questors suffered wounds from carrying and digging for Emberstone.  The Khemist suffered worst under the Reclusian’s wrath, while the Gunhauler limped away battered, and both Platoons of the Skybound Company had minor wounds.

Detailed Breakdown of Results:

Turn 1:

Solemn Saviours 1 VP – Western Objective

Aethergold Storm 1VP – Eastern Objective

Turn 2:

Aethergold Storm 2 VP – Eastern & Middle Objective

Solemn Saviours 1 VP – Western Objective

Turn 3:

Solemn Saviours 2 VP – Western & Middle Objective

Aethergold Storm 1 VP – Eastern Objective

Turn 4:

Solemn Saviours 2 VP – Western & Middle Objective

Aethergold Storm 1 VP – Eastern Objective

Final
Solemn Saviours 6 VP – Victory

Aethergold Storm 5 VP

The Solemn Saviours

Emberstone Shards:

Glorious Victory: +3 Emberstone

Token Secured by Questor Soulsworn: +1 Emberstone

Token Exploded by Reclusians: (Missed 1)

Middle Objective Dig Exploded by Questor Soulsworn: (Missed 1)

Fully Painted: No (Missed 1)

4 of possible 7 Collected.

Battle wounds:

Prosecutors Destroyed: +2 rolled D3

Questor Soulsworn: +1 Rolled 1-4 for carrying token

Questor Soulsworn: +1 Rolled a 1 on end of battle dig

The Aethergold Storm

Emberstone Shards:

Loss: +3 Emberstone rolled on D3

Token Secured by Arkanaut Company: +1 Emberstone

Token lost on Destroyed Gunhauler (Missed 1)

Eastern Objective Dig by Endrinmaster Not Found, rolled 2-3 (Missed 1)

Fully Painted: Yes + 1 Emberstone

5 of possible 7 Collected.

Battle wounds:

Khemist Destroyed: +3 rolled on D3

Gunhauler Destroyed: +2 rolled on D3

Arkanaut Company 1 Destroyed: +1 rolled on D3

Arkanaut Company 2: +1 rolled 1-4 for carrying token