This is the third report in our narrative campaign series, Campaign of Thrones. After each battle, the characters on the losing side will potentially be captured or killed. This will transform the story as we know it, inspiring new ‘What If?’ scenarios and battle reports. Join us on this alternative dice-driven version of the War of the Five Kings and battle at the Wall.
The Campaign continues with the Battle in the Whispering Wood. The last report ended with the shocking death of Tywin Lannister after his forces were brutalized at the Green Fork. Things are not looking much better for Jaime, surrounded by vengeful Starks in the Whispering Wood.
The game size was large at 50 Points per army. The lists were:
HOUSE LANNISTER:
Units (Attachments)
Lannister Halberdiers (Jaime Lannister, Commander)
Lannister Guardsmen (Guard Captain)
Red Cloaks (Assault Veterans)
Mountain’s Men
Lannister Guardsmen
Knights of Casterly Rock
NCUs
Joffrey Baratheon
Cersei Lannister
Pycelle
HOUSE STARK:
Units (Attachments)
Stark Sworn Swords (Robb Stark, Commander)
Mormont She-Bears (Maege Mormont)
Umber Berserkers (Theon Greyjoy)
Umber Greataxes (Greatjon Umber)
Tully Sworn Shields (Brynden Tully)
Grey Wind
NCUs
Eddard Stark
Catelyn Stark
DEPLOYMENT
This scenario uses elements from the A Game of Thrones and Fire & Blood game modes, but with a twist: beginning on Round 3, Lannister units that control objectives are able to retreat from the board and score victory points.
The Lannister army is bundled in the middle of the battlefield. On one side of the woods, Robb in Stark Sworn Swords, Theon in Berserkers, and Greatjon in Greataxes faced off against Red Cloaks with Assault Veteran and Guardsmen with a Guard Captain. The Knights of Casterly Rock were protected in the middle of the formation.
The other side of the woods saw Maege and her She-Bears along with Brynden Tully and the Sworn Shields go up against Guardsmen and commander Jaime with Halberdiers.
ROUND 1
The Starks began as first player. After trading spots on the tactics board, Catelyn claimed the swords and the Stark player used Assault Orders. The fearsome Umber Greataxes charged into the Red Cloaks and caused 5 wounds. The Axes activated and attacked once more, looking to vanquish the powerful panic spreading unit in Round 1. Jaime’s battlefield presence played a big role in mitigating the damages this time around, with both Kingslayer’s Infamy and Kingslayer’s Renown being used by the desperate Lannister commander.
The Stark army moved in on the Lannister combat units. Cersei used her NCU ability to pick up both Subjugation of Power and Hear Me Roar. Robb Stark and his Sworn Swords activated and placed a VP on the injured Red Cloaks. Subjugation of Power was used successfully against Robb, but the headstrong Young Wolf charged into a unit of Lannister Guardsmen anyway. Despite having all abilities striped from him this turn, Robb still doled out 5 wounds thanks to some truly terrible Lannister dice rolling. Luckily for the Guardsmen, Lannister Supremacy did 4 wounds back to Robb. The Knights of Casterly Rock activated and crashed into Robb, but rolled four 1s during the attack. Robb only suffered 2 wounds total from what should have been a devastating lance charge.
The She-Bears and Jaime tangled on the other side of the battlefield, and a crit panic fail caused Jaime to lose half his tray. Jaime went to strike back, but only managed to get 1 hit from 7 dice. The Lannisters rolling has been mostly terrible for the campaign overall. If they continue like this, the campaign is going to be very short for House Lannister.
The Tully Sworn Shields charged into the Red Cloaks and finished them off, scoring 2 victory points for the Starks. The Mountain’s Men backed away from the fighting and claimed the right flank objective token.
2 to 0 for the Starks.
ROUND 2
The Knights of Casterly Rock started off by doing more damage to Robb Stark and his Sworn Swords. The Stark player used Sudden Retreat to escape the melee and healed several wounds from both Robb's Regroup ability and Ned Stark’s NCU ability.
The Mountain’s Men shocked the Stark player by abandoning their objective token and declaring a surprise charge into poor, innocent Grey Wind. Grey Wind saved *all* hits and used Sudden Retreat to break free from the Clegane men-at-arms. Grey Wind then attacked Jaime in the rear, nearly killing Jaime’s unit. This can’t get much worse for the Lannisters. Jaime activated and placed a token on Grey Wind, but was unable to kill the direwolf. After passing the panic test, Grey Wind fully healed using Ned’s ability.
Robb charged back into the Guardsmen, but came out worse for wear as he only dealt 1 wound to the 3 he suffered from Lannister Supremacy. Robb’s unbridled aggressiveness proved costly as the Knights were able to destroy his unit the next turn. The score was still 2 to 1 for House Stark, but the Lannisters were finally gaining momentum. The Guardsmen on the left side claimed the objective token as the round came to a close.
2 to 1 for the Starks.
ROUND 3
Catelyn claimed the swords and Grey Wind attacked Jaime in the rear. The enraged direwolf became the 'Kingslayer Slayer' as he finished off Jaime and his Halberdiers. 3 to 1 for House Stark. Both sides traded attacks, looking for an advantage. Grey Wind activated and caused even more carnage by getting into the Guardsmen’s rear. Grey Wind: the real MVP.
Theon and his Berserkers performed a reckless charge into the Guardsmen and scored 9 hits, but the Guardsmen rolled well in defense and only suffered 2 wounds from what could have been a game ending blow. The Tully Sworn Shields and Knights of Casterly Rock traded shots, leaving the Knights with just 1 wound left.
At round's end, both the Mountain’s Men and Guardsmen controlled objective tokens. They retreated from the battlefield, scoring 2 VPs for the Lannisters.
3 - 3 tie game.
ROUND 4
Pycelle kicked off Round 4 by claiming the swords, allowing the remaining Guardsmen to attack Theon and his wounded Berserkers. A few hits later, the Berserkers were wiped out. Somehow, the Lannisters had taken a 4 to 3 lead. Though currently ahead on the scoresheet, the Lannisters were still greatly hampered by their activation disadvantage from those early retreats.
The Sworn Shields activated and played Winter’s Might. The tactics card play was huge as the attack was just enough to destroy the Knights of Casterly Rock. 4 to 4 tie.
Only the Guardsmen were left for the Lannisters, and if they could retreat at the end of the round they would win the game. They claimed the token and prepared to flee. On the very last activation of the round, Grey Wind charged into the Guardsmen, contesting their control of the objective and saving the game for the Starks.
4 to 4 tie game.
ROUND 5
Grey Wind continued his unanimous MVP performance by destroying the Guardsmen and sealing the game for the north. The Guardsmen had a VP placed on them earlier by commander Robb, so the final score was 6 to 4 for House Stark.
WRAP-UP
I always enjoy playing this scenario because it really captures the spirit of the event, though I think it may be getting to the point where there have been far too many ‘close wins’ for House Stark and not enough wins for the Lannisters. I’ll try playtesting it a few times with 2 VPs scored for each Lannister retreat, but that leads to problems of its own. I’m not sure if holding off on the retreats for 1 more round would have led to a Lannister victory this game. They were also hurt by losing their commander early, as Jaime could have been adding VPs to friendly units before their retreat to gain easy extra VPs. It’s hard to criticize when the Lannisters came 1 solo unit contesting them away from winning.
Grey Wind went off this game. He was able to use his maneuverability to get in the middle of the field and constantly attack engaged Lannister units in the rear. He probably saved around 10 hits throughout the game, too, showing the strength of his Disrupt ability.
Things are looking rough for Joffrey, Jaime, Cersei, Tyrion, and the Lannister gang. I’ve decided to play the whole thing out by doing the Battle of the Camps next, but if the Lannisters can’t win that scenario they are going to be facing some serious consequences as the campaign marches on (with or without them…).