HaggettCon Fantasy Siege 2009

Attackers

The Trooper The Goblins rode from the East under the leadership of the mysterious warboss "The Trooper." The massive horde included Gobbos from the forests, deep underground, and the hills. They had issued a call for all Greenskins to attack the fortress at Karak Woolsey. The Trooper cursed at his army in tones that would make a drunk sailor from Marienberg blush. His leadership was an exacting one, and troops found lacking the proper highlights were left at home. Richards brought his vast Goblin and Orc horde miniature collection. The attacking army contained over 230 models, yet this was only a fraction of his painted collection. The Demon Tatted The young Black Orc leader led his Waaagh from the south. His body tattooed with demons, the Warboss hailed from a land just off a major trade route, full of shops and fat women looking for discounts. It was enough to make anyone angry and The Demon Tatted brought the usual Orc attitude and more! Ryan had never played a large scale miniatures game before and his was an initiation in fire! He was in store for two new experiences: Playing a massive miniatures game and playing a game with Richards and I. The experience undoubtedly left him scarred.

Defenders

Master Tinkerer The Dwarfs rushed to defend their precious fortress from the West. Hailing from the land of the bulldogs, The Tinkerer was determined to display tenacity and stubborness worthy of that stalwart canine breed. The Tinkerer's Dwarfs had two advantages: One was Karak Woolsey, also known as the castle of poor paint jobs, and a mysterious ability to change the rules of engagement on an arbritrary whim! Pogue set up the fortress and controlled the Dwarfs. Most of the figures were from the late 80's and early 90's. Awesome sculpts, but the paint jobs were suspect at best. A Christmas basement flood insured the fortress would have a slip-shod paint job, but most the base building were constructed. Next year it will look much better!

The Game

The Rules The rules for the Siege were cobbled together using four main sources. The basic combat rules came from Warhammer Ancients. The rules on weapons and various siege machines came from 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Siege. The force lists came from 3rd edition Warhammer Armies. Finally, the initiative and turn order rules were derived from Divine Battle Lust (a game I wrote a number of years ago). I did not have time to fully flesh out the rules and made a quick reference sheet. Players were going to have to trust that I would make fair rulings on the spot for a lot of the game. Despite its shortcomings in construction, I was very pleased with the results overall.

The Scenery

The Scenery The inspiration for running a siege came from mostly finishing my model castle, a project I have been working on and off on for the past six years. Running the siege gave me the impetus to finish all of the walls and towers. The model is made mostly from Hirst Arts blocks. As I explained above, I did not get it properly painted prior to the siege, but it served its purpose well. One problem with the model is it is too damn big. The footprint of the keep, walls, towers, and gatehouse eat up most of a 4' x 8' table. My solution was to give the attackers the option of attacking from one of three directions. This allowed the fortress to be set back against one edge, and left some maneuvering space for the attackers.

The keep's roof is yet unfinished. The three towers that are darker in the picture is how the final paint job will look. All of the structures, aside from the gatehouse need doors too. The courtyard is fairly stark now, but I have plans to fill the interior with a stone finish and a few more interior buildings. I just need a few more years...