Hordes and Heroes on Hexes

Alliteration FTW!!

Wow! Doesn't time fly? It's hard to believe it's been nearly a year since I posted anything here, but there's been a fairly good reason and, funnily enough, she is about 1 year old!

But I think it's time to get this show back on the road. My wee project that I've been working on recently is 10mm fantasy. I've long had a hankering for the good old days of WHFB where I built my armies up over time, playing a game, adding a unit and so on. These days I just don't have the time to paint that many miniatures and Warhammer is actually gone now, anyway. So, I turned to the small scale again and looked at Pendraken and Kallistra. Having always been a fan of hex based systems, such as Commands and Colours, the Hordes and Heroes rules from Kallistra really appealed and I decided to plump for some of their Hexon terrain too. So, after some furious painting to get two sides done (100 points each), George and I took the rules and terrain for their maiden voyage on Tuesday.

The battle lines are drawn! Undead on the left, Orcs on the right.

With the river blocking the chariots, the Undead attempted a flank march with their mobile units. But the Orc flyers spotted them and they were met, like for like.

The respective centres face up. The Orcs protect the bridge with two powerful units, the Trolls and Mountain Orcs. Their far right is all rabble, though, and possibly not the best match for the lurking terror of the Tormented Spirits (far right of pic).

The trolls can't help themselves...there's a bridge!

The Undead cavalry and Orc wolf riders clash as the chariots size each other up. The flyers circle, waiting to pounce.

The skeletons advance in silence.

Meanwhile, the melee on the flank widens...

...but the wolf riders are broken. The Undead chariots do not fare so well, but the fact they will not flee is a thorn in the Orc's green hide for the whole game.

Eager for a fight, the Orc horde surge across the river.

They are met by the implacable ranks of skeleton warriors and the howling spectres of the Tormented Spirits.

The undisciplined horde are stunned that their axes and spears are no use against the ghosts and they fall back in disarray.

And the game ends as the horde all break and run for it. The centre was largely static, with the powerful units all unwilling to attempt the river crossing. On the other flank, the Undead cavalry attempt to disrupt the Orc rear, but they are caught by the chariots and flyers. Again, though, their attempts to destroy the skeletal horsemen are frustrated by efforts of their general and the fact they will not flee,

Both George and I agreed that the game went well and the rules were easy to pick up. The table looked great and it certainly gave me that 'big battle' feeling that I was after. What I really liked was the command and control rules, that didn't rely on random activation rules for battlefield 'friction', but rather it was contact with the enemy that brought your plans crashing down. I have already got more units to paint and we are both aiming to make up to 150 points for the next game.

Great stuff!