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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Battle Report: Whispers In The Woods

Hey everyone and welcome a double taking issue of the Dispatch!

For this installment we are going to take another look at Song of Blades and Heroes. That's right, the battle report is finally here so without further ado, lets get to the bloodshed!

Dark Whispers in the Black Thorn
A Song of Blades and Heroes Battle Report

After my faulty start last time, I went back and tweaked my two warbands and this time I think I got them right! I still went with a small battle, not only to keep things short and sweet but also because it fits with the narrative I have in mind. For this first battle, a couple of Wolfen hunters have stumbled across a small group of dweller minions (yeah, the name is still a work in progress...). What are these strange creatures and what are they doing in the Black Thorn? Our scene opens as the hunters move in for a closer look at these strange creatures.

The hunters hold their ground and observe the strange creatures from a distance (aka They failed their first activation check... and here I thought I'd fixed this problem!)

Immediately sensing the presence of the hunters, the minions waste no time moving to close with their enemy. Even as the enemy moves closer, the hunters continue to hold their ground (aka Yep, they failed the activation check again!)

A couple of the minions continue their advance as they once again scurry forward to get to grips with the hunters.

Sensing that trouble is brewing, the hunters slowly advance forward as they try to get close enough to use their spears.

As the rest of the group advances, one of the minions launches itself forward to lock itself into melee with one of the Wolfen! They may be smaller but that doesn't make them any less fierce!

Unfortunately the minion's enthusiasm was not appreciated by the hunters who easily dispatched it while another minion was forced back after being hit with a spear.

The remaining minions surged forward to attack the hunters but only one actually managed to reach them this turn. The little guy didn't really stand a chance and was quickly knocked down by the hunters.

Needless to say one of the hunters was able to quickly dispatch the downed minion while the other hunter moved forward to deal with one of its companions. This left only two minions and forced them to take each take a morale check. One passed while the other turned tail and ran.

At this point, the outcome was pretty much a given but there's no point in going down without a fight! The last two minions each charged forward but they were both quickly killed by the hunters who emerged from the skirmish completely unscathed.

With the last of the minions dispatched, the hunters gathered a couple of the carcasses to take back to their pack leader. Though of little threat this time, who knows what could happen if these strange creatures are allowed to gain a foothold in the Dark Thorn? Coming up next week, the conflict escalates as the Wolfen call upon the Dark Thorn itself to aid them while the dwellers respond with force.

Closing Thoughts On The Battle

Having adjusted the stats of the various critters, this battle went much smoother than my first attempt even though it might have seemed rather one sided. The minions are much weaker than the hunters so its not surprising that they were put down so quickly. Not to worry though as the dwellers have a few tricks up their sleeves that will make them much more potent in the upcoming battle.

As for the system itself, I like it. It is a very simple compared to most of the others out there but sometimes simple is a good thing. Song of Blades and Heroes is very easy to learn and fast to play, plus you can use any miniatures that you have on hand. This really opens up the hobby end of it as you pick up any mini that happens to catch your eye, stat it up, and get it on the table. Combine all of these things with the exceptionally low price tag (coming in at a mere $5 for the basic rules) and I think most people would agree that Song of Blades and Heroes is worth taking a look at.

The Parting Shot

And there we have it! Thanks for checking out the blog and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to either leave them right here on the blog or you can email me at SinCitySnowman@gmail.com. Be sure to come back next week as for the next part of the story but until then remember that patience might be a virtue but persistence is a blessing!

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