Here be trolls: a Border Princes style campaign in Troll Country

Unwanted visitors: the campaign kicks off!

Here be trolls!

"Have ya heard the news?" Willy asked, as he absent-mindedly fondled his bagpipes.

"News?" Domnall answered. "Wha' news might tha' be?"

"The horsemen of Kislev are restless."

"The horsemen are always restless!"

"They've been wanderin' intae Troll Country. And it's no just them. There's talk of men from further south - wi' guns and fancy armour."

"Fancy armour, ey?" Domnall stroked his beard. "Fingal! Where are ya?"

"Here I am, so I am." The priest of Slaanesh appeared by Domnall's side, his great oiled crest glistening in the early morning light.

"Fingal, old Willy here says there are men with fancy armour. Is tha' true?"

The Servant of Slaanesh looked off into the distance. Domnall knew he was hoping the Lord of Pleasure would bring him a vision. No sooner had Fingal glanced away than he began to speak.

"I see glistening armour. I see crossbows and pistols and a gun on wheels. I see mad little dwarfs dressed as pirates."

"Really?" Domnall asked, astonished. The priest's visions weren't usually that precise. "Ya can see all that? Are ya sure?"

"Well, ya can see fer yersen," Fingal said. "Because they're over there."

Domnall followed Fingal's gaze to where a small army was drawing up in anticipation of battle under a red and white striped flag. 

"Aw... Bawls... Where did they come from?"

"From far away. And the Lord of Pleasure wants them dead."

"Aye..." Domnall said. "Well then. We' best be havin' 'em, then."

Troll Country: a popular destination this spring!
Note: these are just the 3 factions from my first 2 days of the campaign.

Our growing Oldhammer community based at Dark Sphere, West London, decided to put together a Border Princes style campaign (see Warhammer 6th ed. rulebook, pp.232-237). The great thing about Border Princes is that you don't all have to be present on the same day (though it is obviously more fun).

We opted to fight it out in Troll Country, that desolate land between the (let's be honest, already quite desolate) plains of Kislev and the Chaos wastes. my Chaos war tribe - the Sarls of Slaanesh - already call that area home. By nemesis (since the start of the year) Niklas plays Kislev. Other factions include another Chaos army and an Empire army - so Troll Country seemed a fitting battleground.

How the campaign system works (basics)

The concept of Border Prince campaigns is really fun:

I. Army selection

• All armies are the same points value (1,000pts for us).
• Armies are restricted to: 
• 1 character (Hero or Lord, representing the player)
• 2 Special unit choices only
• 1 Rare unit choice only
• No skirmishers
• 1 war machine only
• 1 monster only
• 3 magical objects max. with total value of 100pts
• You can change your army list between battles - within the confines of the above rules + territory modifiers (see below). 

II. Territories

• Each player chooses 1 territory from the list on page 237 and gets 2 more generated at random.
• Each territory gives the player in-game bonuses. For example, my territories are: a Town (allows me to take 1 extra character), a River (gives me extra 25 points) & a Village (gives me an extra Special unit slot).
• There is no-man's land between all the players, so each can attack whoever they like.
• If you win a battle, you can occupy one of your opponent's territories for the next battle only. You get the advantage from that territory for your next battle and they lose it for their next battle.
• Grudge points: I'll come onto this in a later post to keep things simple for now - but it's another fun twist.

My army at the beginning

My persona for this campaign:
a sex-mad servant of Slaanesh!

Though I have a unit of Chaos Knights, I wanted to keep the barbarian horde theme strong. I hadn't really tested by Marauders with 2-handed axes yet, so opted to put them in. So here's what my force looked like for the first 2 battles:

• Fingal the Frisky (me), Lvl 2 Slaanesh Sorcerer with Mark of Slaanesh (immune to psychology & has Lore of Slaanesh) Powel Familiar (knows 1 extra spell) & Dispel Scroll
• Domnall the Deviant, Grand Champion of Chaos with Battle Sxord (+1 Attack) [thanks to my +1 Hero town]
• 20 Marauders with light armour, shields & full command
• 17 Marauders with 2-handed axes, light armour & full command
• 5 Marauder Riders with shields & musician
• 3 Ogres (Special choice)
• Hamish the Hairy, Giant (Rare choice)

TOTAL: 1,021 points [thanks to my +25pts river]

How with Fingal the Frisky fare in what promises to be a brutal campaign? Find out soon!