I thought I would try something new this time, and make a small battle report! The game is just a small one of 100 power per side, using the Day of Glory rules (on this website). I hope you like it!

Esthor gazed across the landscape rushing away below him. The mission on which prince Inthel had sent him was no trivial one, and he did not want any mistakes. The prince had recieved a message from the great birds in the southern mountains: the humans were increasingly enroaching on their territory, and it was time for them to migrate. Inthel had granted them refuge in his realm, and had sent Esthor to guide the first wave of birds to the elven isles. Esthor rode a giant owl named Renelda, and around him in loose formation flew eight more mighty creatures. They were nearing the great forests now. Evil things lived there- he would have to be careful.

Suddenly, as they neared the trees, Esthor’s mind was struck by a wave of evil energy. Something terrible was hiding not far away. Guiding Remelda downwards, out of the cloud cover, he spied a small group of figures stumbling out of the woods. His witch-sight showed him the aura of evil magic that surrounded them, and as they neared, he saw to his horror that it was a group of skeletons and zombies. They were seemingly lead by a diminuative human in dark clothes. Esthor paused for a moment: attacking now would undoubtedly lead to the loss of some of his flock, but such evil could not be ignored. He sent his thoughts to the birds, and listened to their squawks of response. A sad look on his face, Esthor prepared for battle.

Miranda blinked as she stumbled into the bright sunlight. She was more used to the dark, and damp- and she preferred it too. Waving one of her minions over to provide her with some shade, she looked out across the landscape. A rocky hill in the distance could provide a good base to work from- everywhere else was mostly flat grasslands. She and her undead formed but a small part of a much larger plan, and it was important to establish a foothold outside their forest home. Then she felt the presence of another wizard nearby. The stench of heavenly magic made her nostrils flare. She looked around quickly, spotting a group of giant birds flying at her. Leading them was an elf- the source of the magic. Gritting her teeth, Miranda commanded her soldiers to organise.

The armies

Forces of Esthor: Elf kingdoms (old kingdom)

Esthor Elf hero (general) Wizard level 3 (lores of mountains and heavens), tactician level 1 light armour mounted on giant eagle (Renelda) Total: 59 power

2x units of 4 giant eagles Total 20 power each

Army total: 99 power

The models from this army are mostly just toy birds I painted and based. Esthor is a conversion based on the elf infantry set from Oathmark.

Forces of Miranda Nightmare legions

Miranda Human hero (general) Wizard level 2 (lore of necromancy) Total: 35 power

8x skeletons Spears, shields, musician Total: 53 power

6x Zombies Total: 12 power

Army total: 98 power

The models in this army are mostly GW- the older skeletons, and newer zombies specifically. Miranda is a converted D&D model, but I’m not sure where its from originally.

Turn 1

Miranda decided on a defensive strategy: she kept the zombies in the cover of the woods, and organised the skeletons into a tight shield wall. Her efforts to bring to life more zombies failed, but she succeeded in raising some more skeletons, almost doubling the size of her force of them.

Esthor guided his eagles forwards on the charge, gaining ground against the undead. His first attempt to channel the forces of the earth failed, but on his second attempt, a mighty earthquake shattered the well-organised defence of the skeletons. He decided to reserve the rest of his power for later.

Turn 1 was mostly just organising and moving forwards. Both wizards succeeded in casting one spell, and failed at another. The undead defence was weakened by the earthquake spell, but massively bolstered by a succesful reanimate, and a lucky roll, bringing six more skeletons.

Turn 2

As the eagles neared the enemy, Esthor focused all his efforts on his magic: he waved his hand, splitting the earth beneath the now disorganised skeletons, and destroying many of them. Unfortunately, almost all of them simply got back up again, and a backlash of magical energy caused him great pain. He next drew upon the energies of the skies, summoning clouds over one unit of eagles, protecting them from view. Miranda panickedly tried to retaliate, fumbling two spells, causing her to wince in pain from the rampant energies she had unleashed.

Now one of the groups of eagles took the opportunity to attack the disorganised skeletons, crushing them in their claws. The zombies organised into a tight formation to defend against the other group of eagles, who only managed to permanantly destroy a single one. The skeletons re-organised, and stabbed at the birds flapping around them, bringing one down with their combined effort. Esthor sighed: it was the first of many deaths today.

Turn 2 saw the first combats. There was some unlucky magic on both sides, with both wizards rolling ones and taking damage, but otherwise, the power levels of the armies remained similar.

Turn 3

Miranda cursed as she fumbled another two spells, but it wasn’t just her having trouble: Esthor tried time and time again to bend the magical energies to his will, but with no effect. The strain dealt great pain. The birds attacking the skeletons organised, and destroyed many of the skeletons, but another of their number was killed in retaliation. In the woods, one of the birds was dragged down in a tide of rotting flesh, but many of the zombies were killed in return.

Turn 3 was pretty brutal, with five failed spells, and casualties in both combats. Esthor was now down to less than half his health just from rolling ones, and the zombie flank was rapidly crumbling for the undead.

Turn 4

The birds were the first to react, destroying the remaining skeletons in a flurry of feathers, claws, and beaks. Miranda however ignored this, and focused all her attention on her magic. It finally paid off: with a flood of necromantic energy, two more units of zombies were marching towards the enemy. But even with the considerable re-enforcements, the undead were only able to wound one of the birds, and many of them were destroyed in return. In the middle of the combat, Esthor saw a chance to end this quickly, and called upon the skies for a bolt of lightning. The energy was building up in the sky, ready to smite the necromancer, but at the crucial moment, he lost concentration, and groaned as the magic attacked him instead.

Turn 4 was a bit of a mixed one: the undead first lost their only really capable combat unit, but then gained a ton of extra zombies with two succesful raise dead spells. But these didn’t really do anything, and many of them died. On the elven side, the eagles did pretty well, but Esthor failed a three-dice lightning bolt spell, rolling an 8 (needing 9), including a one, bringing him down to a single point of health. At the end of the turn, I rolled a 6, so the game continued for one more round.

Turn 5

The birds moved into action, attacking the fresh unit of zombies. Their attacks proved too weak however, killing only one. The zombies however proved just as innefectual, wounding an eagle, but killing none. Miranda, encouraged by her earlier success, attempted to bolster her forces once more, but she was too careless, and lost control of the magical forces. Esthor took a deep breath as he began chanting the spell once more. He could feel the power growing beyond his control, but he gritted his teeth in determination, and continued. Miranda howled as a bolt of lightning smashed into her, obliterating the necromancer, and Esthor let go, allowing the magic to break him too.

The order of activations in turn 5 was pretty great, reserving Esthor’s turn for the very end. With the failed spells, the undead were in a pretty bad situation now, surrounded by birds, but the deciding factor was Esthor. Another three-dice lightning bolt succeeded this time, but once again, he rolled a one, taking away his last point of health. This meant the battle ended pretty dramatically with both generals killed in the final activation of the game.

Conclusions:

Renelda, weakened herself from all the magic unleashed that day let the rest of the birds deal with the remaining zombies. She gently lifted the broken body of Esthor into the air: he had given his life to rid the world of a great evil, and he deserved much respect for that. Perhaps his kindred could heal his wounds if they reached the elven isles in time. If not, then all the birds of the Southern mountains would attend the hero’s funeral.

Meanwhile, in the dark depths of the great forest, a powerful mind sensed the explosive demise of Miranda. Plans would have to change…

This game, though small, was very fun, and pretty dramatic. I think it really showed how wild magic is: it’s powerful, but you also can’t rely on it too much. I think the giant eagles are perhaps a little too cheap, so I might make some edits to the rules, but overall it was a pretty great experience, and I’ll definitely do this again in the future!