South Auckland Miniatures Wargames Club

Newsletter - January 2005

Next meeting:

Saturday January 12^th 2004, at St. Johns Church Hall, Norrie St., Drury, starting at 9a.m.

Games arranged:

* City Guard Visit

Copy for the Newsletter

Copy for the news letter needs to be to me by week before we meet .- Kevin

From the Prez

Club Fees Now Due!

Club Membership Fees MUST be paid as soon as possible (technically they're overdue right now), as the hire fee for use of the Church Hall is due, and a little bit more expensive than it used to be (they finally realised that it might not actually be right for the Club to pay less to use the hall than the Scouts that are an official Church group... rediculous generosity only goes on for so long you see).

Please endeavour to make your full Club Fee payments on the 12th of February.

Glen Orsbourne has the full details, but if I'm not mistaken the fees are $25, or perhaps $30 this month having incurred a Late Fee (best to be prepared, worst case scenario you've got $5 change to spend on lunch!) for full members. Anyone that does not wish to become a Full Member is required to pay $3 per meeting they attend (this option is fitting for those who are unlikely to be available for most meetings).

But again, defer to Mr. Orsbourne for full details.

Club Officials

Another year rolls around with an influx of new gamers arriving and old ones departing.

On of those perennial joys is a tad overdue, and that is the Club Elections.

There are four positions that work as the administration of the South Auckland Miniature Wargames Club, and these are the following:

Club President - The senior role in the Club, the holder of this position is required to uphold the Club's rules, handle disputes, and maintain order and discipline at club meetings. The President is also the contact point for new and prospective members, and is obliged to make them feel welcome and involve them in the club. The Club President should (try to) know everyone in the club, and act as a role model for younger club members. Preferably the President should be helpful to other club members where needed, and promote the Club when appropriate.

The President is the ultimate authority within the Club, and his lawful directions must be followed and adhered to by Club members. He is able to censure, discipline or ban mambers for serious offences.

This position is currently held by myself, Peter Colson

Club Treasurer - The 2IC role, the Treasurer manages the Club's finances, collects annual fees from Club members and pays bills etc. on behalf of the Club. All financial decisions are run through this role with consultation and approval with other Club officials. This position carries authority to enforce Club rules and Club members must follow lawful directions.

Glen Orsbourne currently holds this position

Club Secretary - The 3IC role for the Club. The duties of the Club Secretary is to update and maintain the Club Membership list (including addresses/contact details etc.). This role arranges games for Club members by using a table booking system (usually arranged a month in advance where possible), and is entitled to handle any Club correspondance (in consultation with other Club Officials), and carries authority to enforce Club rules as noted above.

Currently held by Arthur Young, who quite enjoys his Secretarial mini-skirt...

Club Editor - The 4IC role for the Club. This role is responsible for producing the monthly club newsletter, including writing club news, games listings and battle reports and other material provided by Club members, and distributing the newsletter to Club members. This distribution is currently done by email. The Club Editor also has authority to appoint a Webmaster to run the Club's website (currently this is Kevin) and the authority to appoint a Sub-Editor (currently Peter Colson) to assist with writing the newsletter. These last two roles are appointments made by the Editor, not elected roles, and they do not form part of the Club Officials.

This position is currently held by Kevin Carberry

If anyone is interested in stepping forward to take on any of the previously mentioned roles, and responsabilities involved therein, be sure to mention this at the February meeting of Games Club, we're already a month overdue for this so a prompt response will be greatly appreciated.

As far as I know, all current Officials have volunteered to run for the same position again this year, but don't let this put you off if you have a genuine desire to serve one of these roles.

For the newer members to our club, the above may also serve as a bit of useful information this coming month while it's still valid, so that you now know exactly who to harrass for any given reason, to maximum effect =)

The Club Points Ladder

Well, this fell apart last year for various reasons, but hopefully will work perfectly this time round.

Anthony Hurndell (the gangly looking chap prone to outburst of randomness and '1337-speak') has shown some interest in administering this, and so I've decided to give the lad the job

The basic run-down is as follows:

Each Arranged Game Played - 5 points

Winning an Arranged Game - 5 points

Drawing an Arranged Game - 3 points

Writing a Battle Report for the Club Newsletter - 15 points

Making a Newsletter Submission - 10 points

Absence from your Arranged Games without notification - 30 points reduction of your Score so far

It is ultimately the responsability of the individual Club Members to notify Anthony of any of the above criteria.

Points for Club Tournaments for the Points Ladder are to be worked out between the Umpire and our Ladderman Anthony, based on each Tournament.

Extra-curricular activities (i.e. large tournaments) that are attended by an official SAMWC team will also be eligable for points, to be worked out for each seperate instance or event, and may be based on merit in promoting the Club and participation.

Also, Awards of Merit may be granted by Club Officials where appropriate. The proper framework for these will be decided upon later.

Good luck on the Ladder, guys =)

Inter-Club Gaming Day

This meeting, the 12th of February, we'll have about 10 members of the Auckland CityGuard club down to attend our meeting.

This means the Club will be a little crowded so I urge you all to, well, behave yourselves and keep in mind that space is limited, keep the voices down a little too, and generally be good gamers.

And try really hard to keep the hall clean and under no circumstances should it be damaged in any way.

We're hoping to make a positive impression here =)

Cheers

-Pete 'el Prez' (for now at least =P)

BATTLE REPORTS

Anthony (Empire Middenlanders) vs. James (The Elves of Ulthuan)

This was a fairly evenly-matched game. James' very first game of Warhammer Fantasy, vs. an Anthony so tired he barely knew where he was.

The game played was a Capture scenario Warhammer: Cold Steel/Fantasy in a Flash/Border Patrol/LunchHammer game (500 points with pre-set restrictions etc.)

James ran an army that would be considered typical of the Elves, consisting as it did of an Elven Commander with Reaver Bow (I think... the one with the three S5 shots per turn), a unit of about 13 Spearelves (with command options), a unit of 5 basic Silver Helms, and a unit of 10 Elven Archers.

Facing off against that was an Imperial army consisting of 24 Imperial Swordsmen with full command group, 5 Inner Circle Knights of the White Wolf with Champion, 10 Wolf Kin of Ulric with Light Armour and Shields, and an Imperial Captain with Full Plate Armour and a Shield.

The North side of the field was held by the Elves, with scattered woods to the North-West, and a hill to the North-East.

The immediate West of the field also featured a smattering of woodland, and the East had a rocky outcropping of a hill.

The Southern side belonged to the men of Middenland, with the South-West holding a plain hill, and to the South-East a hill with rocky sides on the Eastern and Western edges.

The Elven archers deployed on the North-East hill for a commanding view of the battlefield, with the Spearmen holding the centre, and the Silver Helms ready to storm the Western flank.

The Imperial troops deployed with Knights to the East, Swordsmen in the centre, and the Wolf Kin to the West.

Anthony claimed the first turn, and immediately leapt into action, advancing his infantry and cavalry onto the field, hoping to claim the centre early on. With no ranged ability, however, his turn swiftly ended.

James took the opportunity to advance cautiously, re-positioning his Silver Helms, and advancing the Spearmen at an easy pace.

Then the shooting phase came, and a white-fletched wall of death flew from the ranks of the Elven Archers emplaced upon the hill. Many of them found their mark, and at the end of the phase, 4 Knights were plucked from their saddles by the keen-eyed Archers, with the fifth running for dear life. Such a blow would be crushing to the morale of any other man, but our suspicion that Ant might not actually be human were confirmed when he remained undaunted by this turn of events.

Not wishing to see a Mexican Stand-Off ensue, Ant pushed his forces ever onwards to claim the objective, with his Wolf Kin within charge range of the Silver Helms, and his Swordsmen taunting James' Spearmen. With naught else left to do, Ant handed the reins to James to do his worst.

This was it, the enemy now within range, James gleefully sped his Silver Helms into the Wolf Kin, intent on slaughtering all who stood before them. His spearmen, however, decided to turn around and waltz out of charge-range of the Middenland Swordsmen so that he could thin-out the human ranks with another volley from his archers.

The Silver Helms caused immense damage, leaving a mere three Wolf Kin alive, but the Stubborn Wolf Kin held their ground.

And so the trap was closed.

With the Silver Helms pinned down by the Stubborn Wolf Kin, and the Elven Spearmen now undoubtedly out of charge range, and facing away from the Swordsmen (and therefore unable to charge them next turn), Ant ordered the Swordsmen to charge the exposed flank of the Silver Helms. The initial shock of a flank charge did not rout the Silver Helms, but they could not stand in the face of such odds, and at the end of the combat, fled with the Wolf Kin in hot pursuit. The Swordsmen, however, restrained in order to hold the central objective (something Ant learned when he'd played this scenario against me, watching my Teutogen Guard racing hell-for-leather away from the objective in order to brain some pesky skinks).

The Silver Helms rolled up a pathetic four inches of flee, with the three Wolf Kin sprinting nine, easily enough to catch the proud nobility of Ulthuan.

James was left with no choice but to re-position his Spearmen and let loose another volley at the Swordsmen, which resulted in too few casualties to make a great difference.

Anthony also re-positioned himself, and prepared to receive the Elven charge.

When it came, however, it lacked the awesome presence that first round of shooting had, the Elves managing to miss with most of their attacks, and failing to wound with almost all of their meager hits. The Middenlanders responded in kind, and the combat was near inconclusive.

In the end, however, the Middenlanders were able to gain the upper hand, thanks to the presence of their Captain, and routed the Elven Spearmen. They failed to restrain, however, which could potentially leave them out of vital objective range, causing a draw... when the pursuit roll came up, to Ant's great relief it was a mere three inches, and his Middenlanders held the objective, winning them the game!

A great effort on both sides, and a respectable baptism of fire for James' first game.

Chez

-Pete

LotR Mini-Tournament

Game 1: Pete vs Andrew (?)

Oh joy, a Mordor Troll...

Fortunately this scenario did not necessitate that I should kill the Troll. No, instead I had to catch the Orc Captain leading Andrew's force, kill it, and every other Orc that followed him.

Seizing the initiative with a Heroic Move called by my Disposable Mobile Might Dispenser, Lord Peregrin Took of the Shire, my Men of Gondor valiantly surged forward, sunlight glinting off their shiny metal outfits. With a crash they found the Orcs' lines, and after a flurry of blows, all I'd achieved was to push the Orcs one inch closer to escape... bugger.

However, I had won Priority for the second turn, and again assaulted the Orc lines with most of my army. By this point I was beginning to surround the Orcs with my superior numbers, with my Knights of Minas Tirith closing in. The remaining two-thirds of the Orc army were still half a table away. I just needed to crush the small smattering of Orcs on my side before the rest of the horde, and the accursed Mordor Troll, arrived to break up the scuffle. To this end I despatched two Warriors of Minas Tirith on a suicide mission to distract the Mordor Troll by looking extra tasty.

The Fight went a little better, with a couple of combatants actually dying this time round.

The next round came, and Priority was instead won by the Orcs, with the need for a further Heroic Move called. Andrew declined the urgings of many to Heroic Move his Orc Captain the hell away from danger, reasoning that it would be a 50/50 chance of a wasted Might point that may be better spent on keeping the Captain alive just a smidgen longer.

The Troll took the bait, however, and plodded off to play with the two Men of Minas Tirith. The one he caught didn't play long, and got tired pretty quickly.

The Fight Phase went pretty well for me. No unacceptable losses, and the enemy was beginning to look a little worn.

Within the closing turns, the Troll managed to squash the second Warrior of Minas Tirith, and then obliterate my Super Tasty Diversionary Hobbit, but this was merely a distraction that isolated the Troll from the important action.

The Captain of the Orcs soon fell amid a hail of armour-clad bullies of Minas Tirith to a chorus of "Stop hitting yourself", and the two remaining Orcs made a break for it, only to be felled by the Knights of Minas Tirith.

That's Game 1 to Gondor!

Game 2: Peter vs. Dean (?)

Dwarves... damn. Super-hard and, unlike the Men of Minas Tirith, actually able to do some damage when they hit things.

The Dwarves and Men of Minas Tirith thundered up the centre and clashed in a titanic... clash. Of arms.

Unfortunately several turns were unconclusive, but Balin started carving it up, and it was only canny repositioning that allowed me to swamp the centre with troops and win me the game.

Game 3: Peter vs. Ant

The blasted Rohirrim, confounded flighty horsemen!

The only game in the entire day that I managed to lose, because I couldn't close the ground until half my force was shot dead, then once combat began, my Infantry got seperated and crushed by the cavalry charge.

It was a hard-fought game, but the two wings of cavalry swept around and without any ranged support, my Warriors of Minas Tirith were easy pickings.

Game 4: Peter vs. Arthur

Dain bloody Ironfoot. This was going to be a tough one.

I had to use my general speed to my advantage on this one.

With the table set out with a wood on my right, a little farmstead nearing towards my left, and nought but a hill and a few trees on the opposing side, I deployed most of my infantry in my centre-field, with a smaller grouping accompanied by a captain trudging through the farmstead to take cover from the Dwarf Bowmen they were advancing on. The Cavalry was also placed on the extreme left flank. There was only six Dwarf Bowmen, but the other grouping had a horde of hard-as-nails Dwarfs and Dain bloody Ironfoot himself.

The Bowmen were set up ahead of my small infantry force, and the Dwarfs themselves directly ahead of my large infantry grouping.

The Captain and his men advanced swiftly through the farmstead, taking no damage from the lax archery of the Dwarf Bowmen, whilst the Dwarfs and Warriors of Minas Tirith in the centre closed ground. As they drew nearer and nearer, the Men of Minas Tirith shuffled to the right, making a stand before the woods, in order to avoid Dain and the majority of the Dwarf host, which paid off as some early wounds were managed, and Dain was left out of the conflict for most of the game.

The Bowmen were pinned by the Captain and his retinue of Warriors of Minas Tirith, and the Cavalry closed the gap, striking the Bowmen in the rear, and crushing the flank in a manner of a few turns.

With the Dwarfs being worn down on the right, the magic 50% was reached, and I held each Quarter for all it was worth, and struggled through a decisive win against the rock-hard defences of the Dwarfs

Game 5: Peter vs. The Kid with an army identical to mine

Warriors of Minas Tirith vs. Warriors of Minas Tirith. I know how these games turn out, incredibly boring as everyone's too tough, but too weak, to take each other out.

In my left hand corner was a well defendable position, a couple of buildings with a defensible wall, and so my force took up position there, racing to hold the wall against all aggressors.

The opposition moved up, and halted before the wall.

This is, of course, where I decided to throw caution to the wind, and I charged out from my defended positions and clashed with the enemy. The initial shock bore me to great fortune as some men were struck down.

The battle raged for many turns, with my cavalry commiting to the attack and slaying many before being dragged from their saddles.

The enemy archery became aware that there were simply too few targets available, and so joined the fray.

After many, many turns, the enemy were reduced to a shattered shell of the great force they once were, and I carried the day to a first-equal placing in the victory charts!

All glory to Gondor!

Club Information

This newsletter is edited by Kevin Carberry so anything you would like included in the newsletter should be sent to me at kevin@profax.co.nz