"The Dirty Arf Undred"
or
"Kyng of the Hill"
A Flintloque Scenario by Gavin Syme
Will Colonel Sterf Yong and his lads hold out in this ‘king of the hill’ adventure?
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Puffing and wheezing Colonel Sterf Yong made the final few climbing steps to the top of the hill. Around him were a smattering of privates and a sergeant from his beloved ‘arf undred’ and the two colour bearers for the regiment. He was not an especially elderly Orc but he had been campaigning hard since the first ships had landed in Al-Garvey and it had taken its toll on him.
'Sir, the pointy eared bastards have us surrounded and cut off from the rest of the company. Orckiss made it through with our message for relief but it will take the lads a while to get here. Shall I instruct 'em to open fire on the cavalry off to the left?'
The Colonel acknowledged the sergeants report and told him to wait until the Elves made their move to take the colours. For it was surely their intent and as they outnumbered the Orcs they would make their attempt before help could arrive. With a salute the sergeant traversed the slopes of the hill and barked orders to the Orcs who were unwrapping their locks and sharpening wicked looking bayonets. Several hundred yards away the Elves began to form up into two ranks shoulder to shoulder, their steel cuirasses glinting in the high sun. They drew their long straight swords and then broke into a canter towards the slope of the hill.
It was time then. One charge, one chance to take the Kyng’s colours from the bloodied and dead hands of every single one of them on top of this unknown hill in the Catalucian sunshine. Perhaps relief would come in time, perhaps it would not. Seconds counting down. The Colonel stood to his full height, bared his tusks and drew his sword. Holding it high he spoke;
'Wait until they are in range, wait until you can strike them true. Two volleys and then give bessie the iron and we will gut them up close. Protect the colours, to lose them will shame the whole 50th and I ain't standing for that!'
The Orcs roared their approval and clicked back their flints...
Scenario Forces
This is a scenario for two players. The first player takes the role of the 50th Foot patrol and the second player a large section of Elvish cavalry who are intent on capturing the colours of the ‘Dirty Arf Undred’.
50th Foote (Grand Alliance)
Use the 5025 War in Catalucia book to generate a section of twelve Orcs. The must all be Albion Orcs as per the book. There is one Veteran Character among the Orcs; determine the other experience levels as normal. Six of the section are Troop Type Regular and the others are Light Troops. All are armed wirh Bessie Muskets or pistol and sword for officers. Allocate Skills / Traits / Flaws and Wylde Magicke as normal. There is no points limit but troop type, weapons and experience ratings must be adhered to.
You may make use of any of the 50th Foote characters by taking out one of your normal characters and replacing him with the special character. You may use a normal officer as Sterf Yong or the given stats for him. Either way there MUST be one character named Sterf Yong incharge of your section.
3er Le’Esprit du Garde (Ferach Empire)
Use the 5025 War in Catalucia book to generate a section of fifteen cavalry. They must all be Armorican Elves and mounted on Heavy Horses as per the book. There is one Veteran Character among the Elves and three Experienced and all are Cavalry troop type and are armed with sword. Allocate Skills / Traits / Flaws and Wylde Magicke as normal. There is no points limit but troop type, weapons and experience ratings must be adhered to.
Scenario Map and Set Up
You will need a standard playing area of six foot by four feet (though if space does not allow feel free to change this, but keep the length and width in the same ratio). The terrain required is outlined as follows and it along with the forces on all sides of this scenario should be laid out as per the map for this adventure.
The surface of the playing area is smooth and covered in grass. There is one hill in the middle of the table which has three levels and has a few piles of stones and bushes on it. A few trees and a ruined cottage make up the rest of the playing area.
The 50th Foote section begins within 10cm of each other anywhere on any of the three levels of the central hill. The Elvish cavalry section begins within 5cm of each other and 10cm of any table edge.
Scenario Objectives and Game Length
Here are the objectives for the two sections in this scenario:
50th Foote (Grand Alliance)
You have been caught with your breeches down in a right royal style. Not only have you got both of the regimental colours with you, you also have the colonel of the regiment too! Losing any of these would be devastating for the morale of the 50th Foote and in a bigger sense for the whole Army of Albion. It would give those cursed pointy eared sods a real boost!
Luckily you have managed to climb a steep hill and you have managed to get a runner back into the next valley to alert the rest of the 3rd company which means hopefully in not more than a few minutes the first of those eighty Orcs will arrive. Then the Elves will have some trouble of their own!
Your objective in this scenario is survival and honour. You need to, at all costs, protect the two Kyngs colour banners of the 50th Foote. Secondly you must try and prevent your colonel Sterf Yong from being killed. It is a total victory if you manage this. A partial victory if both banners are in your possession at game end and if Sterf Yong is killed. It is a lose for you if you lose possession of even one of the banners at game’s end.
Le Esprit du Garde (The Ferach Empire)
Many patrols are downright boring, indeed being elite heavy cavalry you should not even be doing any scouting but times are tough for the Empire at the moment. So patrolling it was and just as you and your squadron were about to head for camp you spotted a group of Orcs on their own in the valley.
Much to your amazement and joy not only was their leader a high ranking officer but they had BOTH of their colours with them. To capture these would bring you great prestige and shame Albion. The wretches have climbed a hill which is not idea but you will ride them down none the less. Your objective in this scenario is to kill and humiliate those barbaric Orcs. If you can kill their leader, this famous Sterf Yong, then it is a minor victory. If you can get a hold of one or even both of the regimental banners and you have one or both in the grasp of your characters at the end of ten turns then it is a total victory for you.
Game Length
This scenario is time sensitive and will last for ten turns only. At the end of the tenth turn the rest of the 50th Foote company arrives and the Elves flee. At the end of the tenth turn establish who has possession of both of the banners and whither Sterf Yong is alive. This will give victory to one side or the other.
Special Rules for This Scenario
This scenario has no special rules applied to it and these are used in addition to the unique character rules for any of the Orcs used as outlined in this article.
Kyngs Colours
Two of the characters in the Orc section must be made ‘standard bearers’, each of them having one of the colour banners. Apply Standard Bearer modifiers to them. They may not put down these banners and to take them an enemy must kill its holder and then spend one action picking it up. To get it from an enemy that enemy must in turn by killed and an action spent picking it up. No firelocks may be used when carrying a banner. Note: Code 54045 contains two standard bearers for this purpose.
The Hill
Steep is not an understatement. Treat the hill as follows for movement. It costs one centimetre per four travelled to descend the hill. It costs one to one to go sideways across the hill and it costs four centimetres to ascend one up the hill. Do not use normal movement terrain modifiers for the hill.
Expanding The Scenario
It is perfectly possible to expand this scenario to take more forces into account and here is one way to do so.
Perhaps more of the 50th Foote is present on the hill and also perhaps the Elves have some back up in the form of a foot patrol of Voltiguers. To game this scenario on this form you will want two extra players or you can take the part of two allied section for each player.
The original Orc section is joined by another section of twelve more line infantry Orcs armed with Bessie muskets. Create the section as normal and site them all on the hill.
The original Elvish cavalry force is joined by a section of ten light infantry Elf Voltiguers with standard muskets. Create the section as normal and site them on a different table edge to the cavalry section.
The time limit of turns remains the same as do the objectives for the game but be assured the carnage will be all the greater!
Solo Playing The Scenario
This scenario is perfect for being a solo play game. You take the part of the Albion Orcs and allow the solo play engine to control the Elves. Look to pages 89-90 in 5025 War in Catalucia. The Elves are side A and are Agressive. Their objective is to capture the banners and then flee the table. Treat all ‘Fire’ and ‘Reload’ options simply as movement towards the closest standard bearer.
Scenario Requirements
In order to play out this scenario you will need the following wargaming items. Some are essential and others can be exchanged for items you have in your collection. Just make sure that you and any other players are aware of what miniatures represent which forces in play.
5025 Flintloque 3rd Edition - War in Catalucia.
Flintloque Game Book will all needed rules and background.
54043 50th Foote Centre Company Command (3)
54042 50th Foote Centre Company (3)
54045 50th Foote Light Company Command (3)
54044 50th Foote Light Company (3)
These miniatures provide the needed figures for the entire 50th Foote force. This includes Sterf Yong and the two colour bearers in 54043 plus the sergeant in 54045. These rest are line and light privates with bessie muskets. This is a useful core force of Albion Orcs which can provide a section and or can be expanded.
51501-U Le Esprit du Garde (10) (x1), 51042 Le Esprit Troopers (2) (x3)
These miniatures provide the needed figures for the mounted Elves. Your collection of Ferach Empire miniatures can benefit from this number of heavy cavalry and provides you with more than a unit’s worth for Slaughterloo. If you do not have an all uniform force then fifteen mounted Elves of any kind will suffice.
Designers Comments
When the 50th Foote packs were released by Alternative Armies it fulfilled a wish that I had and Gavin Syme had too which was to be able to field one of the most infamous regiments for the real peninsular war, to give them their own story and to field them in a game of Flintloque. They are such striking miniatures and though there are many Orcs in the range these ones have a personality all of their own.
The idea for the scenario came roughly from the movie ‘Hamburger Hill’ and though only one attempt at climbing is made in the scenario during testing we fought four waves and saw how long the Orcs could last.
When you play this ‘king of the hill’ scenario victory comes down to luck and to skill too. As the 50th Foote Orcs protecting the two banners of the regiment is vital. Place them at the highest point of the hill with the Colonel between them. The Elves have no ranged weapons so its only melee you need to worry about. Then arrange your best shots and most steady troops in a semi circle around this core. Once you see what direction the Elves are coming from place the rest of your Orcs, including a sword armed sergeant, on the facing slope; bayonets fixed. Try to shoot at optimum range and hope to fit the horses as this will allow reloading. Ten turns will pass quickly and use your Command Points where best suited to prevent any Elf from reaching the summit.
If you are playing as the Elves then one sound tactic is to divide, circle and then attack on two fronts. This takes a few turns but its worth it to split up the volley from the Orcs you have to expect when climbing the slope. Otherwise send in your five least experienced characters to absorb the volley first and follow in before the reload with the better melee fighters.
Personally I prefer playing as the Orcs and also use them as two full units of regular line and light infantry in Slaughterloo.
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Webmaster's Notes
This article was originaly published on Alternative Armies' content portal, Barking Irons, and is reproduced here with permission.
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