As some of you may know, I have been playing through the Realmgate Wars campaign, using forces appropriate to each battle – someone asked about me compiling the battle reports and, as we have just finished Balance of Power, now seems like a good time!
I have already compiled the battles we played through from the first hardback here: link
And those from the second book, Quest for Ghal Maraz, here: link
Now, for the battles of the third book (which is Book 2 of the Realmgate Wars, which confuses the hell out of me):
AROUND THE REALMS
To kick things off, we took a little look at what else was happening around the Mortal Realms as the great events were underway. We have these little breaks now and again, using them to go through the Battleplans within the various Battletomes. First up was On Tainted Ground, which featured the Battle of Mossgleam. Clan Feesik had betrayed a group of Rotbringers, using them to soften up a combined force of Sylvaneth and Stormcast before the Plague Monks corrupted a secret glade.
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After that, we went back to the Realm of Metal. Having finally gotten hold of Ghal Maraz, we were just itching to use it (I had forbidden myself from using the Celestant-Prime in the campaign until we had completed the Quest for Ghal Maraz storyline!). But which Battleplan to use? Well, it was obvious – Martial Contest from White Dwarf. Here a combined daemonic and mortal force was being led by a vicious Bloodthirster, and only the Celestant-Prime could hold the line:
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We had newly Fyreslayers to try out as well, and At the Threshold seemed like a good battle for them to take a swing at. This Battleplan features the vanguard of a truly massive Bloodbound force attempting to breach the front gate of a Fyreslayer Lodge, with victory being determined by how many women and babies they managed to slaughter (seriously, check out the Battleplan!):
link
Then it was time for a multi-Realm battle, one split between the Realms of Fire and Metal. Fortresses of Death was our first two-table battle, and was a long. long fight, with plenty of tooing and froing between the armies:
link
That done, it was on to Balance of Power. This book bounces back and forth between different Realms a fair bit…
REALM OF LIFE
Alarielle and her Stormcast bodyguards were in a lot of trouble. Having been routed from the Athelwyrd during the Quest for Ghal Maraz, she was on the run, her seed pod carried by the Lady of Vines. Unfortunately, Torglug the Despised was hot in pursuit and the lead elements if his army caught the refugees on the frozen Sea of Serpents:
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This fight was sufficient to slow thr Lady of Vines down enough for more of Torglug's forces to engage. This was played out using The HIdden Artefact:
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REALM OF FIRE
Things started fairly slowly in the Realm of Fire – well, unless you happened to be a Fyreslayer. You see, one of the Clans Verminus (led by a Verminlord Warbringer no less!) had burrowed under a Fyreslayer lodge and launched a massive assault, stealing ur-gold and kidnapping one of the Runesons. The Fyreslayers launched a desperate counterattack to free the Runeson before he could be sacrificed by the Verminlord in the Consumed Battleplan.
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The Fyreslayers were sore after that battle, having lost a great deal of ur-gold. This was when the Stormcasts turned up, promising ur-gold in exchange for a little job – they wanted the Fyreslayers to lead them to a massive Khorne stronghold, For their part, the Fyreslayers did not even ask why, so eager they were for restocking their vaults, and they led the Stormcasts to Runestruck Pass where they were ambushed by both Bloodbound and Clans Verminus in the Uneasy Alliances Battleplan.
REALM OF LIFE
We needed to hope quickly back to the Realm of Life for the next battle, Raging Fury, as this would have powerful repercussions for the Stormcasts in the Realm of Fire. Torglug was getting very close to snatching Alarielle, and Khorne was not happy with that, so he threw Skarbrand at the Lady of Vines, However, the Seraphon were there to intercept the beast and banish him before he could attack the Sylvaneth.
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REALM OF FIRE
By this time, the Fyreslayers had burrowed into the Bloodkeep and finally found out why they were there. The Stormcasts knew the Bloodkeep was where Khorne kept Skarbrand bound, using a great artefact known as the Brass Chain. If they could grab it, Skarbrand would be under the control of Sigmar, removing one of Khorne's most potent weapons from the war. This was a good plan, and victory seemed easy – so long as Skarbrand was not hurtling his way back to the Bloodkeep even as the Fyreslayers and Stormcasts emerged. This was played out using The Dilemma.
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REALM OF LIFE
This were reaching a head in the Realm of Life by this time, The Lady iof Vines had found somewhere suitable to 'plant' Alarielle so she could be regrown into a more warlike aspect (see big beetle in the current rumours!). However, Torglug had got there first and, with massive daemonic aid, formed a barrier that the Sylvaneth and Stormcasts had to break through. This was played using Breach the Line:
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REALM OF DEATH
The Home Ground Battleplan gave us a little segue into what was going on in the Realm of Death. Archaon wanted Neferata brought low, and had dispatched several Chaos Lords to find her. It was a Slaaneshi Lord that finally found the city of Nulahmia, and he immediately launched an assault. Neferata, for her part, desperately needed aid to defend her city, but ended up getting a little more than she had bargained for…
link
REALM OF METAL
A great deal was happening in the Realm of Metal and, being Tzeentch-led, it was extremely convoluted – seriously, if you want to know all the ins and outs, you will need to read the battle reports or, better, the actual Balance of Power book. Anyway, to cut a long story short, a Gaunt Summoner thought he had a way to bind Archaon to his will. The ritual was almost complete, and then Archaon himself showed up, demanding to know exactly what the Gaunt Summoner thought he was doing. Cue the next Battleplan, Path of Retreat…
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Then, finally, we came to the final battle of Balance of Power – Never Give Up. A large force of Stormcasts are in all kinds of trouble, and Archaon himself is leading a force to wipe them out.
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And that was another milestone done in the Realmgate Wars campaign! We are just painting up the models needed for Godbeasts and, in the meantime, we are rattling through various Battleplans from the Battletomes again. Looking forward to seeing of Archaon can unlock a big beastie or two in the next campaign book!