Nerd Greatness

A colleague (also a software engineer) sent me the link

http://www.nerdtests.com/ft_nq.php

Here are my scores



and



So, I'm a "Kinda Dorky Nerd King"

My good lady wife scored




What about you?

WFB - 13th Oct 2007 - Dwarfs vs Bretonnians

It's been a while since Jennifer and I played a game of Warhammer, so she dusted off her copy of the Dwarf army book and put together a 1,500pt list as follows.

Dwarf Army
Thane
17 Dwarf Longbeards
Thane - Battle Standard
17 Dwarf Warriors
18 Dwarf Warriors
Dragon Slayer
17 Trollslayers
8 Thunderers (handguns)
8 Crossbows
2 Bolt Throwers (each with an engineer)
1 Cannon

Bretonnians
My force was quite similar to the army that vanquished Dave's Orc horde just days earlier

Paladin (Questing Virtue)
8 Questing Knights
Paladin BSB
5 Knights of the Realm
Paladin
5 Knights of the Realm
6 Knights Errant
6 Knights Errant
5 Mounted Yeomen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen - Skirmishers

Both armies chose few magic or runic items as they always seem to get forgotten.

The Battlefield
Alas, I forgot to take a picture but in honour of the occasion I got out my (rather large) coaching inn and placed in the centre of the table - and very impressive it looked too. The rest of the table was scattered with a few hills, woods and more buildings on the flanks. It looked splendidly scenic - trust me.

Since I'd set up the table I gave choice of sides to Jen. Not surprisingly she chose the side that would afford her missile troops the best view of the approaching enemy cavalry.

The Battle
As is typical of most games I had to forgo the first turn in order to gain the blessing of the Lady. The Dwarfs stood firm and unleashed a hail of crossbow bolts, bullets, spears and cannon shot, but not a single Bretonnian was slain ... charge!

The entire Bretonnian army moved forward, even my "trusty" peasant bowmen who I had rather stupidly deployed just beyond the 30" range of their longbows. This would leave my army dreadfully exposed for the next turn, but there was nothing for it if I was to close for combat quickly.

The Dwarf heavy infantry moved forward slightly to close down my choices for charging next turn, but the missile troops stood firm and once again hurled everything at the rapidly approaching cavalry. This time a number of shots found their mark and several brave knights fell, but (amazingly) no panic tests were failed.

Due to the clever manoeuvre of the Dwarf heavy infantry I had to charge two Dwarf units (Slayers and the Warriors with the BSB) with three cavalry units (Knights Errant and two Knights of the Realm). The Questing Knights took on another unit of Warriors, whilst a brave unit of Knights Errant hurled themselves at the Dwarf General in the vain hope of stopping them attacking the flank of the Questing Knights next turn. The Mounted Yeomen just failed to reach their target, the crossbows, and stumbled to a halt within short range of their enemy.

The combats went well for the Bretonnians. The large five unit combat in the centre went convincingly to the Bretonnians who routed the Warriors, but of course the slayers would fight on to the end. One unit of cavalry pursued and slaughtered the fleeing Warriors. The Questing Knights wobbled a bit but just about won their combat and routed the other unit of Warriors. The Knights Errant did well against the Dwarf General and his Longbeards but were soundly beaten. Needing a 5 or less to avoid a rout they failed their first roll but the presence of the Battle Standard allowed a re-roll which they passed, thus achieving my aim of delaying the Longbeards for a turn.

Next turn, with most of the cavalry in combat or out of LOS the Dwarf artillery turned its ire upon the hapless peasant bowmen. Such punishment is not worth any amount of turnips and they soon headed for the nearest tavern. The Dwarf crossbows must have been laughing when the Mounted Yeomen pulled up in front of them, having failed to charge successfully. But their round of shooting killed only one yeomen - not enough to force a panic test on their dreadful Ld of just 6. The Yeomen spurred their horses forward and readied their spears!

The combat between the knights and the slayers ground on and resulted in only a handful of knights remaining. The Dwarf General and Longbeards defeated the impetuous Knights Errant but by then the Questing Knights were able to charge and subsequently defeat them. During these turns however, the Bolt Throwers exacted a hefty toll on the knights, their best shot reserved for the Bretonnian General who was by now accompanied by only 3 knights. Therefore the shot had to be randomised (character in a unit of less than 5 models) and truly skewered him.

The game finished with just 6 brave Thunderers left of the Dwarf army. The Bretonnians had three units of Knights left, but of these 2 had taken heavy casualties.

The Victory Points were Bretonnians 1904 to Dwarfs 1141, giving a solid victory. However, I do not think the VPs give an entirely accurate picture of what proved to be a very bloody, hard fought, yet funny and thoroughly enjoyable game of Warhammer.

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Games Workshop now sell model rocks.

Click here

Anyone who says that GW doesn't have a sense of humour must be wrong.

WFB - 10th October 2007 - Orcs vs Bretonnians

Had a splendid game of Warhammer with my friend Dave this evening. Here's a pic of the initial deployment.


(click for larger picture)

Sorry about the slightly odd camera angle, but getting a 6' x 4' table in one pic is tricky.

Both Dave and I tried something slightly different with our armies for this 1,500pt game.

Orcs
Orc Big Boss on Chariot
Goblin Shaman
10 Orc Boarboyz (Big 'Uns)
25 Orc Warriors
25 Orc Warriors
15 Orc Archers
3 Trolls
Orc Chariot
8 Squig Hoppers

Dave had ditched his usual 2 Bolt Throwers in favour of a second chariot, plus he'd invested a whopping 300+ points in a large unit of Orc Big 'Un Boarboyz. Seeing them on the table really gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Bretonnians
Paladin (Questing Virtue)
8 Questing Knights
Paladin BSB
5 Knights of the Realm
Damsel - Level 1 Sorceress
5 Knights of the Realm
6 Knights Errant
6 Knights Errant
5 Mounted Yeomen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen
10 Bowmen - Skirmishers

I normally field only 2 or 3 larger units of knights so 5 smaller units was quite a change for me. Also I decided to leave out the Pegasus Knights because at 55pts each they soon use up a big chunk of the army allowance (and I never seem to make good use of them). Must admit that initially I did miss having a unit of 20+ foot slogging Men-at-Arms, but to be honest I can barely recall the last time they actually proved that handy in a game.

Both armies were fairly light on magic and magic items - which is how I like to play Warhammer. Not every Tomas, Dyck or Harald needs to be armed with a Vorpal Chainsaw of Immense Choppiness. Nor does every army need a 'Heironymous von Kloppenspelsinger the Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Mysterious Magic' (please insert ludicrous wizard name of your choice). But that's just my view.

The Game
The battle began with the Bretonnian army kneeling in prayer to invoke the blessing of The Lady (those ward saves are so handy), thus giving the first turn to Dave's Orcs. The Boarboyz and one of the big Orc units failed their animosity tests and stood quarreling, whilst almost everything else headed for the Bretonnian lines. The Trolls took full advantage of passing their stupidity test and moved 12" straight ahead.

In return the Bretonnians hurled the 2 units of Knights Errant against the Trolls and scored an impressive 9 wounds, but the Trolls regenerated a staggering 7 wounds! However, combat resolution favoured the brave. Actually it favoured the fellows on horses too - the Trolls failed their break test and fled only to be slaughtered by the knights, whose pursuit rolls left one unit stuck in the middle of a forest!

In Dave's next turn he called the Waaagh and his army surged forward without a problem. Across the table Orcs threw themselves at Bretonnia's finest. The most interesting combat was the chariot riding Orc general taking on the small unit of Knights accompanying the Bretonnian Battle Standard. The chariot's impact hits were saved by the knight's ward saves. Enraged, the Orc General challenged the Paladin to single combat, the brave knight could not refuse and a terrible melee began. Ok - perhaps I'm being a bit romantic here ... actually the combatants ineffectually waved the weapons at each other only to have the knight's warhorse inflict a single wound on the Orc! Combat resolution went in favour of the Knights as the Paladin was the BSB, and the Orc general broke from combat only to be hewn to pieces by the victorious knights. A very extraordinary combat indeed.

Dave's Boarboyz massacred their opponents, a unit of Knights Errant, but their slow pursuit left them open to two counter-charges from knights in the following turn, which saw them destroyed.

By turn 4 Dave's (beautifully painted) Orc horde was much reduced. The Bretonnians had 4 units of Knights still in the fray, though one of them was in bad shape. However, the Orcs were surrounded and in their turn the Bretonnians once again charged the Orc lines. A special mention should be made here of the brave Mounted Yeomen who sacrificed themselves holding up a large Orc unit and preventing it from potentially attacking the flank of the Questing Knights.

The final turn saw the last remaining Orc Warrior unit charged from 3 sides by Knights. Predictably they broke and were cut down as they fled through a wood. The pursuing knights almost caught the Goblin Shaman who had been keeping a low profile in the wood for most of the game.

As the dust settled it was clear that there was no point in adding up the victory points. Only one chariot remained of the Orc army. It was a 'Massacre' to the Bretonnians.

I must say that I really, really enjoyed the game. Dave is a first class opponent and a complete sportsman who keeps smiling throughout the game, and never gives up either. My lack of familiarity with the latest edition of the rules (haven't played since July, plus only a handful of games this year) meant that I kept muffing things up a bit or getting things a bit R's about face, but Dave patiently put me back on track (Thanks).

Need to play a lot more regularly, that's the ticket!