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81. Protect Hornsby's Ferry!

Source: Fanatic Magazine #7
Setting: The Empire
Author: Mark Havener
Broheim notes: Defenders must protect a boat & pull-rope style river ferry-crossing from sabotage. Attackers must sabotage it. Defenders must also protect ferry operators from harm. Attackers must harm ferry operators. Features a river and, naturally, a ferry-crossing.

The Hornsby family has heard rumors that another family is planning to build a lucrative toll bridge across the Aver, and wish to stifle all competition. Buggles Horsnby (the family patriarch) has hired one of the warbands to guard his ferry until he can come to some sort of “agreement” with his aspiring competitors. The other warband(s) have been hired to wreck the ferry (and if some of the Hornsby’s get hurt in the process, there’ll be a nice bonus in it for ya...).

terrain​

A river should cross the center of the board, representing this section of the River Aver. We recommend that this river be at least 6" wide (preferably wider). In the middle of the board should be the ferry crossing (a raft with a pulley rope crossing the river. On one side of the river near one end of the ferry crossing should be Hornsby House, where the family lives. There should be some sort of road leading to the ferry crossing on both sides. After this basic set up, the players should take turns placing additional terrain until they are both satisfied with the amount of terrain present (alternatively, after each places at least one additional piece, a player may state he has finished placing terrain; his opponent is allowed to place one more piece of terrain). The additional terrain should be either a set of hedges or walls, hill, section of forest or similar item or terrain appropriate for Empire in Flames. There should be no other buildings than Hornsby House, and no other rivers/streams than the Aver on the table.

special rules​

The Aver: The Aver is considered to be a Deep River, and is Fast Moving. So it is impassable for non-aquatic models, and Difficult Ground for aquatic models (and they may not swim against the current). Determine the direction of the current at the start of the game (technically this doesn’t change, but we don’t know whether your local game room points north or south). Unless a warband has aquatic models, the Ferry Crossing is the only way across the Aver. Obviously the models have to be on the Ferry itself in order to cross at the Crossing, and the speed depends upon how many warriors (not Animals!) are pulling the rope and doing nothing else. The speed across is 1" per model pulling (twice that for every Large model that is pulling). Enemy models on shore may fight against the pull at the same rate (-1" per model, doubled if the model is Large). The number of models that can take the ferry across at any one time depends upon the model used and how many of the warrior models can physically fit on it.

The Ferry Crossing: As shabby as it may appear, the ferry is actually made of quite sturdy materials. In fact the rope is the finest Elven line, imported from Ulthuan. While it’s not impervious to harm, it’s a bit more sturdy than it might at first appear. Similarly, the ferry itself is of tough wood, and will take some effort to dismember. An warrior who wishes to attack the ferry crossing itself must first move into contact with the parts he wishes to attack (rope or ferry). The rope will need to be sawed at for at least one full, uninterrupted game turn to cut through (it is too tough to simply be slashed at with a sword and severed that way). If a warrior sawing at the rope attempts to shoot missiles, cast spells, attack in close combat, he will have to start all over on his next turn. Similarly, a warrior who is attacked in close combat or Knocked Down for any reason will have to start over on his next turn (if still able to). Animals (Hounds, squigs, etc) lack the intelligence to figure out how to get through the rope, and so may not attack it. If the rope is cut, the ferry crossing is considered destroyed. If the ferry is not on one of the shores when the rope is cut, it will drift downstream and off the table in that same player’s turn, taking anyone onboard off the table with it (they are unharmed, but are taking no further part in THIS game).

The ferry may be attacked in close combat as if it were an enemy warrior. Attacks automatically hit, its Toughness is 6, it has 3 Wounds, and an Armour Save of 4+. Of course it cannot attack back. If the ferry takes all its Wounds, the Ferry Crossing is considered destroyed. If for some reason the ferry is destroyed while it is not at the shore, anyone on board is dumped into the Aver and washed downstream off the table (treat them as being taken Out of Action, and roll for injuries accordingly).

The Hornsbys: The Hornsbys are hiding in their house, waiting for their employees (the defending warband) to drive the attacking forces off. They are of absolutely no help in this scenario. In fact, the family is something of a liability, as the defenders have to protect them as well as the ferry. If one or more attacking warriors manages to enter Hornsby House and stays there for an entire game turn without at least one member of the defending warband in the house, the Hornsby’s are assumed to be ‘taught a lesson’ and roughed up by the attackers. The doors to the house are locked, obviously, though the family will let members of the defending warband in (it’s not considered locked for them).

set-up​

The player with the highest warband rating is automatically the defender. The attacking warband(s) is not set up on the table at the start of the game; instead the attacking players note down from which table edge each hero/henchman group will enter the table. A warband may enter the table from multiple table edges (this is an ambush), or only one, as the player wishes. After this is done, the defender must place all warband members within 6" of the ferry crossing or Hornsby House.

starting the game​

If there are multiple attackers, attacking players each roll a D6 to determine who goes first. Play proceeds clockwise around the table among the attackers (based on where players placed their warbands) from there. The defenders go last.

As each attacker starts his first turn, he must reveal which board edge(s) his warband members are arriving on. He then moves each warband member onto the board from anywhere on the board edge noted for the model, measuring their movement from the edge of the board. Attacking warband members may not charge members of the defending warband on the first turn (though the defenders may charge attacking warband models, so watch out attackers!).

Keep in mind that more than 4 players should be accommodated with a larger battlefield than normal (see the “Chaos in the Streets” article on multiplayer games in the Best of Town Cryer, page 30).

ending the game​

The game ends when either the ferry crossing is destroyed, all warbands but one have failed their Rout test, or eight turns have passed (after that amount of time a patrol have heard the commotion and arrive on the scene. Warbands which Rout automatically lose. If the ferry crossing is destroyed, the defenders automatically lose. If the turn limit passes and the defenders get rescued by the patrol, it is considered a win for the defenders, but Buggles Hornsby will be subtracting the Patrol's ‘Emergency Alert’ fees from the warband’s pay.

If one of more warbands have allied when the other warbands have all routed, they may choose to share the victory and end the game, or they may continue the game until one warband is victorious.

In addition to normal Exploration money, the following rewards await the warbands taking part in this scenario:

If the attackers win the scenario, they receive 3D6 gc each (roll separately for each warband, as each contract was negotiated separately). Any attacking warband that has a warrior taking part in ‘roughing up’ the Hornsbys receives 2D6 gc, whether the attackers win the scenario or not

If the defenders win and the Hornsbys have NOT been roughed up, the defenders receive 5D6gc from the Hornsbys. If the defenders win because the turn limit has passed, subtract 2D6gc from this total to represent the Patrol’s fees. If this is a multiplayer game and the defenders have managed to convince one of the attacking warbands to share the victory with them, the defenders will have to share their pay as well (in whatever manner the two players agree), as Buggles is unwilling to cough up any more gold. If the defenders win but do not manage to keep the attacking warbands from roughing the Hornsbys up, they receive NO pay, and in fact are escorted out of the area by the local Patrol.

experience​

  • +1 Survives. If a Hero or Henchman group survives the battle they gain +1 Experience.
  • +1 Winning Leader. The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
  • +1 Per Enemy Out of Action. Any Hero earns +1 Experience for each enemy he puts out of action.
  • +1 Roughing Up the Hornsbys: If members of the Attacking warband rough up the Hornsbys, that warband's leader earns +1 Experience.
  • +1 Defending the Hornsbys: The leader of the Defending warband gains an additional +1 Experience if his warband manages to win the scenario without letting the Hornsbys get roughed up.