So this past weekend was the Easter weekend in the UK, and with the sun shining in between trips out I thought I'd finally get this solo campaign on the way for Silver Bayonet.
As I mentioned previously my narrative will be based in the early months of the invasion of Russia during 1812. So expect French Bandits, Deserters and a French Warband down the line!
I have tried to push the boat out more when it comes to board setups and definitely breaking mats up with Lichen and rocks creates a real seamless feel. I was very happy with the setup for the first scenario.
So with that said, lets explain what our brave Russian Adventurers will be facing today as they venture into the woods....
Two weeks ago, a specialist unit was sent in search of a lost chapel, deep in the forest. They never returned. Now, your unit has been dispatched to find the missing unit, or to learn their fate, and to see if you can locate the lost chapel yourselves. If the missing unit is located, it is imperative that their orders be recovered, so that they don’t fall into enemy hands.
Following the trail of the previous unit proved no trouble at all, as they left obvious tracks, and there has been little rain to wash them away. For three days, you follow their trail into the ever-deepening gloom of the dark woods. Then, near dusk on the third day, you come upon a scene of carnage. It appears you have found the missing unit; however, before you can confirm this, you hear a bone-tingling howl from nearby and suddenly bright eyes are staring at you from the shadows all around.
Our Warband consists of the following:
Officer - Grigori Miroslav (Great Faith, Strong)
Senior Officer - Pavel Glebov (Inspiring)
Champion of Faith - Father Dimitry Sokolov
Light Cavalryman - Koldan Zhukov
Grenadier - Tikhon Kuznetsov
Oleg Emsky - Infantryman
Rostislav Feneko - Infantryman
Fedot Vlasov - Infantryman
I won't bother listing their Equipment, this can be referenced from the book anyway and I'll try fit it in the narrative wherever possible.
If you go down to the woods today...
You'll probably find a Werewolf
Another view from the North side
Our Interpid Russian Warband
The woods surround them on all sides
The Wolves howl and danger draws close
The clues all laid out ready to be investigated
Beady eyes glare through the undergrowth at Human flesh
Koldan Zhukov our Cossack Raider locates the first clue
And finds a Silver Knife, perfect for cutting down Werewolves
Rostislav Feneko takes up position, aims and fires felling a Dark Wolf
Oleg Emsky of the 19th Jaegers scouts another clue and finds the missing orders!
Unfortunately there is a rather grizzly beast waiting in the undergrowth..
The Dark Wolves are on the move
Musket shots ring out all around
Pavel Glebov investigates a clue and walks straight into a unfriendly figure, managing to wound it.
Grigori Miroslav heads south after spotting some clues
Wolves descend upon Koldan Zhukov
Silver shot is loaded but misses its mark on the prowling Werewolf
Pavel Glebov backs away and fires at his hairy opponent but misses
Koldan is attacked by the oncoming Wolves
Dark Wolves nearly overwhelm the East flank but are beaten back
The Jaegers practiced aim finally hits his mark
More hungry predators show up
Another clue scouted by Grigori, moving in the direction of his Cossack friend
Hungry for flesh the Werewolf moves in
Koldan falls to a lucky blow and passes unconscious
Our brave Grenadier is finally overwhelmed
Pavel gets a mauling from the Werewolf
These Russians better hope their faith holds!
Rostislav decides he would rather live another day and bolts!
Our plucky Jaeger also makes a break for it, realizing he must secure the missing plans
Unfortunately for Rostislav he is closely followed by hungry Wolves
Our Priest attempts to outrun the Werewolf and finds himself corned
Grigori gets some payback for Koldan and kills the remaining Wolf near him
Poor Rostislav, he couldn't quite make it
Grigori makes a quick assessment of the situation
Well that didn't go too well!
I did manage to score XP for locating the Missing Plans, killing the required amount of Dark Wolves and for scouting enough clues. Unfortunately, I didn't get any for the Werewolves which would have been nice considering the circumstances.
What went wrong?
I think I split my forces too much and really underestimated the staying power of Werewolves with their Quick Heal ability. The dice gods definitely didn't help with both my Grenadier and Light Cavalryman going down to lucky hits, when they were initially winning those fights handily. I probably needed to keep my Officer also in the center and let another Infantryman scout the South clues, as he was best equipped to tackle with the Werewolves in melee.
The after action injury table also didn't go in my favor...
Both my Junior Officer and Infantryman perished and became Wolf food. I can replace the Infantryman easy enough but I think Pavel Glebov will be sitting out the rest of the campaign. Lets just say the dice didn't think it was his time to shine. My Grenadier and other Infantryman also suffered permanent injury's (-1 HP) for my Grenadier and (-1 to Shoot) for the latter. I could replace them, but honestly its a short campaign at four missions so lets see if they can survive the whole ordeal. They should consider themselves lucky they are still alive.
I'll be uploading pictures also from my game with a Friend where we have just tackled scenario 2 in a later post. Excitingly Salute is this weekend so I am looking forward to stocking up on Silver Bayonet, mainly monsters for some of the later missions!
