"You Long Legged Spinners, Hence"

A Frontear Scenario by Craig Andrews

Orc settlers and a Logann war-party rush through spider infested woods to try and save two captured Orcs in this original scenario based on one of the stories in Alternative Armies' Frontear rulebook.

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Fully Compatible with Alternative Armies'

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Frontear? What's That Then?

In 2008, after the success of Flintloque Reloaded, Alternative Armies released a follow up using Reloaded's updated "2nd Edition" ruleset which told the history of the Amerkan continent in the West of Valon far from the Mordredian Wars in Urop. You can read more about it on Orcs in the Webbe by clicking here.

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Introduction

The full introductory story for this scenario, "The Hunt", can be found on page 7 of the Frontear rulebook.

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Bill and Jake Treadwater had gone into the woods to provide for thier families, but had not returned. Ignoring the warnings of a Logann shaman they had heedlessly gone hunting deer in the woods to the south. The Logann knew not to enter there unless in well armed, fast groups, and even then survival could not be guaranteed. The Orcs knew little of the true masters of that wood and now they stood to loose two of thier number to the horrors that lay within.

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Scenario Objectives

The Logann

Stupid greenskins. You warned them not to go into the forest, those two will surely have been taken by the Spinners by now. However, just as a wise bear can benefit from the stupidity of the dodo, we can benefit from the stupidity of these despoilers of the land. With events these days spiralling out of control, more and more damned settlers arriving, it could not hurt to garner some trust with these new peoples. Who knows, one day they may become allies, perhaps even friends. They see us as monsters now, but if we were to rescue some of thier own they may be more friendly in future. Be careful though, those firesticks they carry are dangerous and you can see in thier eyes that the trust which is needed is not yet there.

The Rescue Party

Bill and Jake should have been back hours ago and you never quite trusted those Injians that live off to the south west. Rounding up the few members of the village who can fire a gun, you decide to head off into the woods to look for them. Jake mentioned some kind of clearing where deer gathered near the edge of the woods, that'd probably be a good place to start. It'll be dark in a few hours so speed is of the essence.

The Spiders

Foolisssh new creaturesss invading home foressst. Warm blood. Tassste fresssh. Family will be fed. Sssecretsss will be kept.

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Scenario Forces

The Logann

Voice Like Thunder [Veteran Logann] 52 Points
Warbow, Tomahawke
Skill: Elven Movement
Skill: Elvish Speed
Skill: Streete Fighting Orc
One of the more experienced Logann, Voice Like Thunder has seen the tribe undergo many changes. He believes peace can be made with the greenskins.

Three Fingers [Experienced Logann] 42 Points
Warbow, Tomahawke
Skill: Elven Movement
Skill: Elvish Speed
Having suffered at the hands of the first settlers who arrived Three Fingers is wary of the strange peoples who arrive by the great water.

Pawnee Killer [Experienced Logann] 42 Points
Warbow, Tomahawke
Skill: Elven Movement
Skill: Elvish Speed
A brave warrior, Pawnee Killer is the son of the chief of the tribe.

Touch the Sky [Average Logann] 32 Points
Warbow, Tomahawke
Magical Ability: Cloud Striker (Potent)
Skill: Healing Own Wound
One of the Logann's many shaman, Touch the Sky now struggles to maintain his powers now his link to the spirits has gone.

Yellow Thunder [Average Logann] 33 Points
Tomahawke, Logann Poison Smoker
Skill: Joccian Melee
Newly raised from a cub to warrior, Yellow Thunder has excelled and learnt much in a very short time. More of his type will be needed if the shaman's predictions of the settlers future actions are to be believed.

Total Force: 200 Points

The Rescue Party

Jim Smythorc [Legendary Orc] 66 Points
Ferach Musket, Exquisite Knife
Skill: Orcish Reloading
Skill: Luck O' The Guinaleans
Skill: Heal Another's Wound and Your Own (Two Wounds)
Skill: What A Shot!
An experienced hunter having been one of the first to arrive in the New Worlde and founder of the settlement. The knife he carries is a heirloom that has been in the family since the days of Dresda before the arrival of Black Powder on Valon.

Charlee Trundle [Experienced Orc] 45 Points
Standard Musket, Knife
Skill: Joccian Melee
Skill: Joccian Stramash
Charlie runs the bar in town and used to run a gin palace back in Londinium, he is no stranger to a bar fight.

Mikal Jons [Average Orc] 36 Points
Standard Blunderbuss, 2 Orc Grenades, Knife
Mikal runs the general store and maintains an impressive array of weaponry to deter those looking to make a quick dollur through theft. The rumour is he used to run guns in Mudcester.

Jorge [Average Ogre] 31 Points
Ogre Axe (+3)
Named by his adopted Orc parents after the Kynge of Albion, Jorge has made a life for himself in the New Worlde as a lumberjack.

Burt Downs [Raw Orc] 21 Points
Standard Musket, Knife
Newly arrived at the settlement and seemingly filled with hate. This young Orc with a murky past needs guidance or he'll find himself at the wrong end of a musket barrel one day.

Total Force: 199 Points

The Spiders

6 x Giant Spiders 36 Points each

Total Force: 216 Points

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Set Up and Scenario Length

There is no map provided for this scenario. The table should be setup to represent a dense forest with a 24cm wide clearing in the centre. There should be a network of narrow paths running through the jungle. Two counters representing the prone web encased forms of Jake and Bill should be placed at the edge of the clearing. Place the spiders every 4cm around the clearing D10 cms out. Use a D4 to determine which direction they face (1 = North, 2 = East, 3 = South, 4 = West). The rescue party enter from the Northern edge of the board and may deploy within 5cm of it. The Logann enter from the Western edge of the map and can deploy up to 10cm in from it.

The scenario last until one of the sides completes thier objective or after 15 turns when night falls and the rest of the spiders come down from thier lairs high in the trees. Any miniatures left on the board at this point are considered lost.

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Victory Conditions

The rescue party must find Jake and Bill and get them off the northern edge of the board. The Logann must find Jake and Bill and get them off either the western or northern edge of the board.

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Special Rules

Caught!: When a character moves at a speed faster than prone speed it runs the risk of becoming entangled in a previously unseen web. Roll 1D10 and add the characters melee modifier. If the result is 5 or more they can move as normal. If it is 4 or less then they have become trapped in a web. Characters trapped in a web cannot move but can perform other actions as normal (i.e. firing a gun, casting a spell etc). To escape the web the character must win a round of melee combat and score at least 1 hit. Simply roll 1D10 for the web, it gets no modifiers. Another character armed with a bladed weapon may cut the victim free by spending one turn in base-to-base contact with the victim. This does not affect spiders.

Trust: The new settlers are somewhat wary of the Injians, and do not know that the Logann are trying to rescue thier people as well. To represent this the first time a settler spots a Logann the character has a 25% chance of nerves setting in, reacting badly and firing at the Injian. The roll is modified as follows:

Legend +30%
Veteran +20%
Experienced +10%
Average 0%
Raw -10%

Once attacked that Injian treats the settler that attacked them as an enemy, if it then subsequently moves within 5cm of any other Injian that Injian then also treats the settler that made the attack as an enemy. Once they are seen as enemies they can be attacked as normal.

The Spiders: Spiders, once activated, are not controlled by the players but by an action table, which determines the actions of the spider depending on the circumstances it faces. Each turn, immediately before the movement phase, one D6 roll is made on the relevant action table for each creature. The table columns are read from left to right. The result of the roll in the first relevant column applies. The column headings refer to both current events, or, in the case of the wounded column and shot at and fired at columns, events which happened on the previous turn. In all cases however, it is the first relevant column which is rolled on . For example, a spider with a enemy within charge range, which was fired at last turn would roll on the "fired at" column for this turns action, as this is the first relevant column. Similarly, a spider which was wounded last turn, but is currently in melee combat will roll on the first column ,"melee", for this turns action.

Any actions which are required by the table results occur in the relevant movement, firing, and melee phases as normal.

Any figure who is charged by a spider, must make a morale check as if charged by cavalry, but with a -2 modifier on the die roll. 

Attack: Move at run speed towards nearest opponent and engage in melee.
Charge: Move at charge speed towards nearest opponent and engage in melee.
Halt: Make no movement, defend itself if in melee.
Flee: Move at half Charge speed away from opponents. If this is impossible then treat this result as an attack result.
Retreat: Move at 75% run speed away from nearest opponents. If this is impossible then treat the result as an attack result.
Prowl: Move in a randomly determined direction (roll d12 and use a clock face) at Prowl speed, fight if in melee.

Spotting: All spider's start the game inactive simply waiting for prey to approach. Each turn if a character moves anywhere within the front 180 degree arc of of a spider roll on the following table. If the roll is under the percentage shown below the spider becomes active.

Stationary Standing Target 25%

Target in Wood -25%
Crawling/Prone Target 10%
Target in Scrub/Light Cover -10%
Walking Target 50%
Running Target 75%

Once one of the characters has reached a position where he is eligible to roll on a successful sneak attack (see Sneaking rules below) the spider may no long roll on this table, but any other spiders continue to roll during the turn of the attack to see if they notice the struggle (if they are in lne of sight).

Sneaking: On any turn any character which is within a single move of their intended target, and has enough movement distance remaining to close to contact they may roll on the table below. They have a base 50% chance of successfully moving up behind the target (into base to base contact) from cover, modified as follows:

Legend +30%
Veteran +20%
Experienced +10%
Average 0%

Moved less than 8cm 0%
Moved 8 to 16cm -10%
Moved 16cm plus -20%

Should the stalking roll be successful, you should immediately resolve a Hand-to-Hand combat, treating the spider as being Attacked in the Rear and giving the attacker an extra +4 modifier as well.

Dead Weight: The prone forms of Jake and Bill can be carried by any character. That character is then limited to a stagger rate of movement. Note that due to his size and strength Jorge is not affected by this and can move at normal rate whilst carrying one body or stagger rate whilst carrying both. Characters carrying cannot fire any weapons and suffer a -3 penalty in melee.

Magical Ability: A character with a magical ability uses the rules as described in appendix two on pages 103-104 of the Frontear rulebook.

Skills: A character with a skill uses the rules as described in appendix one on pages 101-102 of the Frontear rulebook.

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Webmaster's Notes

"You Long Legged Spinners, Hence" was written exclusively for Orcs in the Webbe and was published on the 4th February 2008.

It was absent for several years due to a prior regeneration of the website not transferring everything over correctly, the wrong has now been righted and it returned in August 2018 as part of Orcs in the Webbe's ongoing Flintloque Archive Project.

The rules for the spider's movement are adapted from Matthew Hartley's excellent Wilde Thinges rules for Flintloque/Dresda.

The sneakling rules are taken from a scenario written by Steve Blease and Mac Coxhead in the original Dresda rulebook.