'Sharke's Morning'
A Flintloque Scenario by Paul 'Wiggy' Williams
Enshrouded in dense fog, Sharke's Rifles must break cover from a ruined farmhouse in order to escape a unit of Elven Volitigeurs...
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Recent Events
With the destruction of the Elvish cannon, Big Eric, the pinned down Orc Brigade has been able to move up the canyon towards the Elvish garrison town of Santa Barbara. The Brigade has travelled throughout the night in order to make up for lost time and has left their former position far behind.
Sharke's Rifles have began to move towards Santa Barbara on a course roughly parallel to that of the main Brigade. Sharke plans to meet up with the main force of the Brigade outside of the town. Unfortunately his unit took longer than expected to destroy the cannon and despatch the Elven defenders, causing them to be almost a day behind the Brigade..
The unit moved off but as darkness fell a thick fog came over the land and the Rifles were forced to find shelter in a ruined farmhouse for the night. Morning dawned on the farmhouse and the sentries saw movement in the morning mist.
Moving towards the farmhouse were a unit of Elvish soldiers, no doubt scouting the area trying to find the Rifles and punish them for destroying Big Eric. The Rifles prepared for trouble as the soldiers approached closer. It seemed that luck was with them - the Elves hadn't noticed them yet.
The farmhouse is situated roughly in the middle of the battlefield. Three small copses should be placed on the map - none should be placed closer than 20cm to the edge of the table, nor closer than 40cm to the farmhouse.
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Action at the Ruined Farm
It is early morning and a force of ten Elves has happened upon the farmhouse purely by chance. The Elves are not expecting trouble, especially from the Rifles.
The early morning mist has not yet cleared and for the first two turns the battlefield is covered with a thick mist (-75% to attack rolls). For the next three turns the fog is light (-40% to attack rolls). On the start of the sixth turn the mist has cleared.
The Elves begin the encounter and they have no idea that the Rifles are in the area. All of the Rifles must begin the game within the farmhouse but are free to act as they wish on their turn.
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The Elves
The Elvish Voltigeur force given the task of scouting the area in which the farmhouse lies consists of two Experienced Elves, three Average, and five Raw troopers. They are all armed with muskets and the unit is Regular. The unit is lead by an officer, Lieutenant Gascon le Boeuf, and his aide, Corporal Luc le Grand-Fromage. Both Elves are Experienced. The two leaders also have swords.
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Victory Conditions
Sharke's Rifles win by killing or driving off the Elf soldiers or by successfully fleeing off the far end of the table. The Elves win by destroying or capturing Sharke's Rifles - routing the unit is only a partial victory as the Rifles will soon regroup and wreak more havoc on the Elf army.
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Webmaster's Notes
'Sharke's Morning' was originally published in Valkyrie magazine #17 (Vol. 2, Issue 6) as part of its regular Battlelines column way back in 1998.
The scenario was first published on Orcs in the Webbe on the 10th December 2024 as the tenth entry in that year's Advent Calendar and, of course, is part of Orcs in the Webbe's ongoing Flintloque Archive Project.
Any comments in maroon in the article above have been added by me either to provide additional information or clarity. I may also have made small changes to grammar and layout but have not marked these.
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