Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

This is a narrative battle report of a game from a week or two ago against a guy at my local store, Cygnar v Cygnar. I hope you enjoy it, if you want I can let you know the army make up and what not, but that isn't really relevant to the story. And it is my first go at WM/H stuff, so go nuts tearing it apart, it's the only way I'll learn. I'm aware that a lot of this is just a fight, but since I really wrote it about a battle I had at the local store, well, what do you expect.

Two men crouched at the front of their camp, one wrapped in a camouflaged cloak which helped obscure his outline, the other in the proud colours of a Trencher Sergeant. "Captain," Sergeant Grimes called out, gesturing to the grizzled Trencher, "Burns and his boys found the enemy." The man he was calling to trudged over, a gun of tremendous size leant on his shoulder, an unlit cigar poking out of his top pocket.

His response grated, "Did'jer get a look at who they were boyo? Who was leading them?"

"Aye Captain," responded the man in the camouflage, his Trencher uniform dulled compared to the two in front of him, "It was Captain Sloan and her boys, and she's got Boomhowler and some Rhul from Horgenhold with her, the ones with those hammers that sent that Juggernaut flying last Spring. They were making a beeline for our camp, should we get the Major?"
"Aye sonny," Maxwell Finn nodded, "She'll need to get her 'jacks fired up for the biff to come. And remember, none o' that Cap'n Sloan stuff, call her what she is. The enemy. Now, off ye go." Digging the cigar out of his pocket as the Commando slipped away into the camp, he accepted the match held out to him by Grimes. A flick of his wrist across his jaw line lit the match, and he soon had the cigar glowing, noxious smoke puffing from between his lips. "It'll be a fair brawl Grimes-y, are yer boys ready for it?"

"Yes Captain, they'll be ready," the Sergeant promised him, "Good luck today Sir." He shook his commanding officer's hand before heading off to ready his men. "95th sir. Remember Northguard".

" Remember Northguard, laddy, do the Gravediggers proud." With that the young Sergeant loped off, and Finn was left to contemplate the battle to come, his cigar trailing smoke skyward. "Aye," he muttered to himself, "It'll be a fair brawl..."


Tossing and turning, Major Victoria Haley's sleep teemed with dreams. From the mists of her mind, a figure emerged. A dark figure came sashaying into view, a thick knot of scar tissue across her bare midriff.

"Hello dearest sister, how have you been? You probably thought our last meeting would be the end of me, considering the damage you did to me," she said, gesturing at the scar across her stomach. "But don't worry sister, I'm not angry. I pity you. You who waste your power fighting for a 'king', one who can't even hold his throne against the foes to come, from inside and out. And we are coming for your nation sister. And that means that I'm coming for you. I will have my revenge and be whole again." Deneghra's arm reached towards Victoria, turning ghostly as it stretched for her heart until, with a jolt, Victoria woke up.

Shooting out of bed, Victoria clutched at her chest, gasping for breath. A whirr of gears made her look down at her mechanikal arm. She hadn't walked away from the last fight with her sister without injury, but she had thought that she had finally escaped from the grasp of her twin's plans. The thought that she may not have caused a cold sweat to break out on her brow. Reaching with her magical power for comfort, she found the safety of Thorn's cortex, the familiarity of her trusty Lancer helping calm her breathing. Looking out from under her hoochie, she saw that the night was starting to disappear, along with her chance to return to sleep.

A rustle heralded the arrival of Corporal Burns. "Ma'am, the enemy have been spotted approaching our position. They'll be here in just over an hour. Should we prepare for battle, or move out?"

Victoria thought for a moment before responding, "We need to bring them to battle eventually, and it may as well be while they think they have the advantage. Get the 'jacks fired up and I'll get my armour on. Good luck today, Corporal."

"Thank you Ma'am, good luck yourself." With that, the Corporal jogged off to rouse his men who hadn't been on the patrol with him.
Standing up from her bedroll, Victoria faced her armour. She donned her armour over the next 10 minutes, her mind feeling the touch of her Stormclad as it's heartfire burst into life. She fired it up to high power as fast as she could, before she hefted Echo in her mechanikal arm and left the tent to confront the enemy.


Major Victoria Haley surveyed the battlefield. She knew that the enemy force was largely comprised of mercenaries, so their morale was suspect. This wouldn't be an easy battle though, she knew the enemy. Knew her well. Kara Sloan wouldn't let herself get too close to the sort of hard fight her Gravediggers would love. She'd need to figure out a way around this.
Signalling to Finn to start the advance, she forced the jacks under her control to catch up with her troops. The Trencher Infantry, under Sergeant Grimes, advanced cautiously on her left flank. Shovels in hand, they dug quick pits before rolling off a volley of fire that dropped short of the enemy ranks. On her right, the commandos under Corporal Burns sprinted forwards, taking up positions under their camouflaged cloaks, ready to ambush the enemy when they got closer. Cigar clenched in his teeth, Captain Finn followed his men up, hefting his mini slugger in one hand while he expertly primed and tossed a smoke grenade, his outline becoming blurred and indistinct in the thick haze. Her Stormclad and Defender thumped forwards, while Thorn darted between them towards the commandos. Having fought alongside Kara before, Victoria knew what was going to come. Summoning her arcane might, runes sprang from her hands as she slowed down the passage of time around her troops, to help them avoid the incoming fire.

Just as she finished preparing her spell, two rounds slammed into her Stormclad, the force rocking her jack back on its heels. She saw the Trollkin mercenaries rapidly redeploying to press the attack on the Trencher Infantry, along with the greatcoat-clad gun mages. Familiar runes from her time as a journeywoman danced around their armour. So Kara had a trainee along as she launched her attack. Victoria knew she would have to deal with the junior warcaster before the battle's end.

Corporal Burns peered up at the sky. Dark storm clouds began to gather over the his Commandos, a prelude to the coming storm. Sheet lightning started to flicker within the clouds, but thankfully no incandescent strikes punched down into his men. Opposite their position, the heavily armoured Rhul-folk marshalled. "Smith, take out the damn Stormsmith before he fries one of us, the rest of you, knives at the ready. I don't think our carbines are going to be much use against those Forgeguard."

Finn's whistle cut through the morning air, Sergeant Grimes and the Trencher Infantry hastening on his signal to prepare new pits and unleash a volley at the enemy. Their rifles cracked, red blossoming on the chests of two gun mages, whose precious tricorne hats were knocked from their heads as they were thrown back by the force of the rounds. Several shots cracked off the power field surrounding Kara Sloan, before it collapsed. Haley saw a round crease her foe's shoulder, but couldn't make out how much damage had been done before a Defender interposed itself between her men and its controller. A bolt of brilliant lightning from her Stormclad lanced towards the same 'jack, but dissipated before it impacted with its torso. The heavy round from her Defender didn't suffer the same problem, punching into the chest of the enemy 'jack. A rattle of fire from the Commandos resulted in a clearing of the clouds over the field, a sure sign that they had hit the enemy Stormcaller with their fire. She urged Thorn to advance alongside the Stormclad, to better put pressure on the enemy 'caster.

Always able to feel the use of magic around her, Victoria's hairs rose on end. The gathering of energies she felt could be centred on only one individual, and mean only one thing. Before she could give warning to her troops, the enemy line erupted with fire. Rounds began to hammer into her Stormclad and Thorn, her mental bond with them forcing her to suffer with them as their systems were knocked out one by one, before cortexes went dark and they were thrown to the ground. The loss with her bonded 'jack hurt almost as much as being severed from contact with Thorn, her trusted Lancer. Rounds continued to slam into her forces, damaging her Defender and dropping several Trenchers. She saw Finn himself go down in a spray of red, the force of the shot knocking the cigar from between his teeth. A ululating war cry emerged from the enemy lines, and trolls in quitari barrelled into Victoria's Trenchers, forcing them out of their hastily dug pits and into bitter hand to hand combat. Meanwhile, on her right, her Commandos were in trouble.

Corporal Burns ducked a hammer blow from the Rhulic mercenary in front of him, his knife trailing red across its exposed throat. This bought him space to glance about, and what he saw was not comforting. He saw his men smashed to the ground by the enemy's hammers, Smith going down with a wet crack that echoed over the din of combat. He saw the rookie Daniels successfully perform a similar manoeuvre to his, but knew that it was too little too late. His remaining Commandos were in deep trouble if the Major couldn't pull their asses out of the fire.
Gritting her teeth, she poured all the power she could into her Defender. She drew on her mastery of magic to speed up all of its movements and increase its accuracy, as well as ordering it to prepare its Heavy Barrel for the chance to come. Because it would only get one. Her forces were in disarray compared to her foes, and would be unable to hold them back if they began to push harder. Sergeant Grimes, ever aware of the battlefield, saw her urgent gestures. Lunging with his bayonet, he put the apparently drunk trollkin in front of him off balance, before dropping him with the stock of his rifle. The warrior fell in time for Grimes see a blast from a Scatter Gunner knock several more of the trolls down. Signalling desperately to his men, they dropped to the ground and opened fire on the now exposed enemy 'caster. Shot after shot slammed into her power field, until, with a pop audible over the din of fire, it collapsed. A moment later a heavy round whipped over the Trencher's heads before slamming into the enemy leader's chest. It lifted her off the ground, spraying the trolls and jacks around her in a bright red, before she slammed to the ground.


Victoria coughed, choking a moment before she burst into full throated laughter. Flicking her goggles up, she tossed a brilliant arcane bolt into the air, signalling the end of the exercise. A string of curses erupted from behind the Defenders opposite her, before a young blond woman limped out from between them, a red stain covering her from thigh to hairline.
"Morrow damn it Major," Sloan cursed, "did you have to hit me with a Heavy Barrel round? Luckily my power field was over boosted, or I would have broken something." She probed her ribs, and winced, "I think I may have, regardless." Kara shook her head before addressing Victoria again. "Well done though, I thought I had you when I stole that march on you. Your boys are pretty game, I'll give them that. I'll write up my report this evening, once my ribs have stopped aching." With a salute and another wince, she hefted Spitfire and started marshalling her men to head back to base.

A dirty mound stirred to Victoria's right. Lifting himself up off his back, Maxwell Finn knelt down to retrieve his cigar, dusting it off before jamming it back into his mouth. "You're a tough bastard, aren't you Finn," Victoria commented as she approached. She knew how much those dye rounds could hurt, and that was with the benefit of powered armour. Some of the Trenchers on the ground were still gasping for breath.

"Yes'm," replied the grizzled Trencher, tipping the front of his helmet to her, "I'll go get a report from the boys, see how they pulled up." With that, he stomped off, whistling to the leader of the Trencher Infantry and Commandos. After a brief discussion, he returned to her side, again touching his helmet in respect. "Ma'am, the infantry are at 96% combat effectiveness, Jones from the Commandos got his shoulder broken by the Rhulfolk, so he'll be out of action for a little while. No need to dock the Rhul their pay for it though, the sod was too hungover to roll with the blow, it'll be a good lesson. Some of the other ladi-...," he paused, eyes flicking towards Victoria, "ahem, some of the men report bruises and scrapes, and will complain about them all the way back to the barracks, but they'll be right after a brew. A brew which, as I understand it, Captain Sloan's boys will be buying?" He asked, hope in his voice.

"Take them back to barracks Finn, and try to keep them out of too much trouble. As you go, send McClusky and his gobbers up here to ensure that the Old Man's shock ammunition didn't damage my 'jacks more than they were meant to. It wouldn't be the first time a prototype didn't work out. That'll be all." Finn departed with a final tip of the helmet, leaving her with her mechanikal arm resting on Thorn's inert faceplate. "Don't worry friend, I'll have you back on your feet in no time," Victoria promised. She didn't know how long they would have to relax before they were deployed again, but she knew that the Gravediggers would be ready for whatever was thrown at them.

That's the end

So yeah, that's what I went with for a Cygnar v Cygnar thing, paint/shock rounds and a war game. I wanted to write it up, and couldn't think of any logical way to do it without that. I hope it wasn't too silly/poorly formatted