"As You Wish"

A DarkeStorme Scenario for Two Players by Anonymous Bosch

Djinn Painted and Photographed by Alternative Armies

A group of Dwarves summon a Djinn to help defeat an Orc Warband. Things go well for them, at first anyways...

Dedicated to those who write the rules and make the toy soldiers, GBS and the rest of AA, and those who keep the flag flying, esp. Craig.

~

Heiner and his Dwarfs huddled in the bushes and stared at the ruins across the clearing. Normally the Orcs camping within the rubble would have commanded their attention. Even more so because these were not just any Orcs. These were Mulgor's warband, the archenemies of Heiner's lads, against whom they had fought many battles. No, the focus of their attention was a big rock, about the size of a large bucket, that lay on the ground a few feet from the camp fire. No doubt about it, thought Heiner. That large, spiral stone was definitely the the Drinking Horn of the Gods, an ancient relic stolen from Heiner's clan by the Orcs a year ago. Heiner and his band could retrieve the relic and wipe out Mulgor's Orcs at the same time. This will be a night to remember.

Heiner turned to his men. “You know the plan. Are there any questions?”

“Are you really going to use the Djinn flask?” asked Fatty Rogar.

Heiner answered, “Aye, I will open it, but don't be surprised if nothing happens. The Djinn inside might have merely been a tall tale of my Grandfather's.”

The oldest of the Dwarfs, Franz, scratched his head thoughtfully and offered, “My uncle used to say that Djinn are tricky devils, quick to twist your wishes against you. If one appears, you'd best be firm with it. Always let it know who the boss is, or a Djinn will turn on you.”

Heiner looked thoughtfull at the iron flask, and removed the bronze stopper. Smoke poured from the bottle, and gathered in front of Heiner, swiftly coalescing into a huge humanoid, 12 metres tall, wreathed in flames and smoke. His skin was bright red, and two ivory horns sprouted from his forehead. He wore nothing save for a white loin cloth and a pair of brass bracers. His heavily muscled frame implied great strength, like that of an ogre, but without any of that race's clumsiness. As if to prove this, the Djinn easily twirled a giant trident above his horned head before planting the butt hard on the ground in front of Heiner. The impact made the ground under Heiner's feet shake for a moment. Licking his lips hungrily, the Djinn frowned as he looked down at Heiner, and said in a harsh voice, “I must grant you three wishes.”

Remembering Franz's warning, Heiner replied, “Enough of your stupid banter. I use all my wishes for the same thing. I wish for you to fight my enemy, Mulgor and his Orcs! Get started now, or else.”

The Djinn flashed Heiner a furious look, but he turned around an moved to attack the Orcs. The Djinn would do as the Dwarf wished, at least for now.

Motivations

The Drinking Horn of the Gods is a sacred relic to many Dwarfs. Dwarf armies used to bring it on military campaigns. Before a major battle, Dwarf clerics would fill the hollow stone vessel with a special brew and say prayers to sanctify it. Any Dwarf who wished could then drink a draft from it. It was said that those who drank from it received the special attention of the gods, and should they be slain in the battle, their souls would feast forever in the Hall of the Gods.

Last year a band of Orcs raided the general's camp while Dwarf army was busy fighting a pitched battle against an Orc horde. Among the spoils that they spirited away was a heavy, ornate chest encrusted with jewels. To their disgust, the ornate box contained no gold or precious objects. Instead the Orcs found a stone vessel about the size of a large bucket. The Orcs stared at the Drinking Horn of the Gods, trying to figure out why the Dwarfs carried this with them in such a precious chest. Finally the Orc leader pronounced that this must be the Dwarf king's chamber pot, and it would be a grave insult to the Dwarf king if any other relieved themselves in it. With the mystery solved, the Orcs lugged the stone back to their lair and have been using it as a chamber pot ever since.

Recently a Dwarf shepherd reported seeing something that looked like the Horn in deserted ruins atop a hill. Before he could get close enough to be sure, some Orcs spotted him and gave chase. The shepherd barely escaped. Heiner volunteered to take his lads there and bring back the Horn if he found it. Heiner does not believe in the sacred properties of the Drinking Horn of the Gods, but he knows that he and his band will be richly rewarded with fame and gold if they recover the relic. Heiner's folk might even make him the next clan chieftain. Of course if he found the Horn and left without it, both he and his clan would be the shamed forever in the eyes of the Dwarfs.

To ensure success, Heiner has brought along a family heirloom, an iron flask that is said to hold a mighty Djinn. If his grandfather's stories are true, the Djinn is magically bound to grant three wishes to person who releases it. As they stealthily approach the ruins, they can see the Drinking Horn of the Gods to the side of an Orc campsite. Just before the Dwarfs launch their attack, Heiner opens the bottle, and it releases a Djinn. Heiner insults the Djinn and uses all three wishes to have it attack the Orcs. The Djinn obeys Heiner, for now...

Terrain

This scenario uses a 6 foot (East to West) by 3 foot (North to South) table. The western two thirds of the table should have terrain that suggests the remains of stone walls. A few pebbles can be used in a pinch. Leave wide gaps, at least two inches, between the wall fragments. See the included map for an example. The eastern side should have a scattering of trees within 10 inches of the edge. The trees provide cover, but they do not hinder movement.

Deployment

Refer to the map for this description. Place a marker at the location indicated by the small oval. This marker represents the Drinking Horn of the Gods. Next the Orcs deploy within 10 inches of the area marked by the X. This is the Orc camp. The Djinn makes a lot of noise, so theOrcs know that trouble is coming from the eastern side of the board. Then deploy the Dwarfs anywhere within the wooded edge. Lastly place the Djinn on the board in front of and facing the Dwarf leader.

Heiner's Dwarfs

Any group of eight Dwarf models could be used to represent Heiner and his warband. Pick the favorites in your collection, or visit the Alternative-Armies.com site for a wide selection of nicely sculpted Dwarf figures. AA carries fantasy dwarves in their 28mm fantasy line, and many more in the Ganesha products that they also make and sell. Creating a warband whose stats match your figures is quick and easy in DarkeStorme.

Mulgor's Orcs

Any group of eight Orc models could be used to represent Mulgor and his warband. Pick the favorites in your collection, or visit the Alternative-Armies.com site for a wide selection of nicely sculpted Orc figures. AA carries fantasy orcs in their 28mm fantasy line. Creating a warband whose stats match your figures is quick and easy in DarkeStorme.

Djinn

The Merciless Djinn

The Djinn is armed with a magical trident that can be used in melee to pin an opponent, or it can be thrown once per game as a missile weapon. Once every three turns the Djinn can cast any first level spell.

You can use this miniature: VNT 32 The Splendorous Djinn. Although you could substitute with another miniature, VNT 32 really captures the look of this Djinn.

Special Rules

The merciless Djinn is described on pages 50 and 52 of the Darkestorme rulebook. In addition, this Djinn also uses the following rules.

The Djinn gets his own initiative roll at the start of each turn. Now that he has been released from the lamp and given three wishes, the Djinn cannot be controlled by any beast handler. First the Djinn will first attack the Orcs. After the third attack, successful or not, the Djinn will either side with the Orcs or vanish, as described below.

In the early part of the game, the Djinn is bound by the wishes of the Dwarf leader. He must spend three actions attacking the Orcs. If he is in base to base contact with a Orc, the Djinn will attack him with melee. If not, he will spend an action moving towards the nearest Orc. If the Djinn has an action left, he will either try to attack the nearest Orc with a spell or by throwing his trident at the nearest Orc, as the Dwarf player wishes. Each hand to hand attack action, each attack spell that affects an Orc, and the trident throw, if used, counts as as an attack and uses up one the Dwarf leader's three wishes. Don't forget that the trident can only be thrown once, and it can't be used by either side after it has been thrown.

After third attack action, the Djinn has now granted the last of the three wishes. The Djinn uses his next action to scream, “I am free, little man!” If the Orc player role plays this with a loud scream (or at least a shout), the Djinn will then attack the Dwarfs for the rest of the game, acting however the Orc player wishes, but still rolling for his initiative separately. If the Orc player does not role play this, the Djinn merely vanishes in a puff or smoke on his next action, disgusted with the temerity of the Orc leader. (Yo, Orc dude, it's worth the shout!)

The Drinking Horn of the Gods has no special effects for either side, but the Dwarfs need to carry it off the board in order to win. Any Dwarf touching the Horn and not in base to base contact with an enemy can spend an action to pick up the Horn. The attempt is automatically successful. Once a Dwarf has picked up the Horn, that Dwarf can carry the Horn when he moves or runs, but the weight of the Horn costs him one inch of movement, or two inches he runs with the urn. If two Dwarfs carry it together, they can ignore the movement penalties. If a Dwarf carrying the Horn is killed or panics, the Horn is dropped right in front of the Dwarf, even if another was helping to carry it. It can be picked up again for a cost of one action.

The Orcs won't pick up or carry the Horn during the scenario. Really, Orc player, I am surprised that you would even think such a thing! What self respecting Orc would carry a big rock around while there are Dwarf heads to smash?

The merciless Djinn won't carry the Horn either. Hauling a big rock around would be far beneath his dignity. I pity the fool who suggests otherwise!

Victory Conditions

The Dwarf player wins if he succeeds in both carrying the Drinking Horn of the Gods and Heiner off the Dwarf's edge of the board. The Dwarf cannot move Heiner off the board willingly while the Horn of the Gods is still on the board. Leaving without the Horn would be a terrible disgrace for Heiner and his Dwarf clan he was born into. Heiner can leave with the Horn, if he is carrying it, or any time after the Horn has been carried off the board by someone on his side. The Orcs win if the Dwarf side cannot satisfy both conditions.

~

Webmaster's Notes

The above scenario is an Orcs in the Webbe original and was first published on December 14th 2017 as part of its 2017 Advent Calendar.