Battle of Castle Rock Island

A mist forms above the cold, still waters of the Sorylian Sea around Ratrap Island.  Ships take shape in the mist, black smoke belching from their stacks, the hiss of steam from engines, as two Dwarven fleets approach Castle Rock on the island renowned for the presense of a sinister mage.

Our first proper game of Uncharted Seas in more than a month, we started by setting out the sea mat and islands to play Dreadfleet, but we decided to break out the reliable old fleets instead.  800 points in each fleet, no composition rules and no special objectives.  I placed my Shroud Mages along the southern edge of the space, a pair of frigates to the north scouting for a battleship, then a pair of heavy cruisers, the flagship Lightbringer, a squadron of Adept Destroyers, and, somewhere, a Ripper Submersible lurked beneath the becalmed waters.  And barely three feet away, suddenly appearing as the fog lifts slightly, and just within long range, was Admiral Redhammer's fleet of Iron Dwarves with battleship, flagship, heavy cruisers, destroyers, and their Cursed Bellows Skyships.

Start of Turn 1:  Iron Dwarves to the North and Shroud Mages to the South.  Note the coffee mug from the Blogger's favorite used bookstore just beyond the southwest corner of the board; not for any good reason, I was just very pleased to be sipping hot coffee from my Powell's mug while playing my usual opponent my favorite tabletop naval game on a new sea mat during a comfortable Sunday afternoon.  No harm in recognizing the pleasure of having the time (and cash) to enjoy this hobby.

New Player's Battle Report

Some miniature tabletop gamers to the north have been paying attention to what I've been saying about Uncharted Seas and tried their first game the other night.  They're still working on the details, but they clearly have the basic rules down and enjoyed a game which lasted 10 turns before a battleship finally sank beneath the waves.  Link to a fine & descriptive battle report on the DWVA forum (we have a sub-forum for Uncharted Seas on the Dystopian Wars in Virginia forum now):  http://www.etcinversus.com/dw/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=34

Dwarves vs. Dwarfs

Redhammer's Iron Dwarf fleet up against my Shroud Mages among some coastal islands and reefs.

We put everything on the table, almost 1200 points each, with only 36 inches between our ships.  This was a big battle for control of the Sabre Coast, involving a plenty of capital ships, each fleet including a flagship in addition to the main battleship.

Dystopian Wars Incursion

Some DW fleets matched up with our usual suspects from the Uncharted Seas in a 4-player alliance game.

Sea Lord Thuclyd leads a contingent of Thaniras Elven ships, in loose alliance with a Prussian patrol force operating in the area, move against their sworn enemies, the Ironclad Dwarves led by Admiral Redhammer, as a FSA force is spotted in the far distance.

Turn 2.  Forces close and Sea Lord Thuclyd orders an extra ration of grog for all crews involved in bringing down the Dwarven Bellows Airship which had been approching across the island above the yellow cathedral.  Meanwhile, the Prussians and FSA forces pound each other into pieces, frigates sinking left and right.  We didn't include the tiny flyers, but all of us gained a better understanding of how the DW rules worked, especially compared to the US rules.

The Black Shroud

After the Dwarven victory against Sea Lord Kelven and the Mountain Fury Fleet of the Thaniras Elves in the Helgath Sea, Admiral Redhammer consolidated his ships and ordered repairs and shore leave for sailors.  The Shroud Mages, presuming the Iron Dwarves to be flush with victory and in a weakened state, sent a force led by the indomitable Black Shroud to test the Dwarven defense of these waters.

600 points per side, all of the ships medium or small classes, the Dwarven airship the only exception, so everything had fast movement without any heavy battleships slogging along.  The SM heavy cruiser wearing the modified gun turret is a fan-created ship class which I'm using in this game.

Drouble Harbour

"Dwarven airships spotted on horizon, bearing east by northeast," Elven guards on the watchtower at the mouth of the Drouble Harbour called down to the garrison, sounding the alarm.  The Dwarven fleet attacked at dawn, an offshore breeze hindering the Elven ships relying on sails to form up to defend the harbour.

Elven fleet had 1000 points at dockside, only 2 squadrons ready to move on the first turn, the rest raising sail to move starting on the second turn, 200 points off board as reinforcements.  The Dwarven fleet had 1200 points, the airships leading the attack.

Sea Lord Kelven Defeated

After making repairs from a recent battle in the Helgath Sea, Lord Kelven led a smaller force against the Dwarves in the sea.  The previous battle had ended in a draw at the end of the day, but when a Dwarven airship is spotted in the distance the Sea Lord abandons the damaged ships in his fleet, setting out with a reduced force to destroy what insignificant Dwarven force he expects to find just over the horizon.
500 points on each side, playing on a 3x3 foot playing area, the starting deployment zones marked with glass beads (how classy).  The objective for each player is to sink or capture the enemy flagship.

A strong wind was at their backs, providing the Elven fleet the weather guage and confidence in victory.  Start of turn 1.  Dwarven fleet had initiative, the airship scouting ahead.

Clash in Helgath Sea

Our first clash between two large fleets, the Dwarven Admiral Redhammer in His Admiral's Ship with seven squadrons met the Elven Sea Lord Kelven at a small group of islands in the Helgath Sea.  Each fleet's strength was just shy of 1000 points, but having four hours late on a Sunday night to play, both players looked forward to resolving their largest sea battle to date.  We placed the 3x5 board on the kitchen counter so we could stand or sit on stools rather than crouch over the coffee table in the living room where we usually play.  The terrain was placed using the MATS method which was new to us and created some random placement of large and small islands.  The smallest island in the center, where only a pair of palm trees grow from an exposed sand bar, is home to a hermit long ago shipwrecked; he was, at first, excited to see ships on the horizon and the prospect of rescue, but joy soon turned to dismay at the sound of the boom of Dwarven cannon shot and the crack of Elven lightning bolt.

Convoy

We played this strategic mission with too many unpainted models, and few pictures show more than gaps of white on the blue board. But here is the scratchbuilt mechanical squid my opponent has half painted, preparing for a ramming attack against one of my Elven Heavy Cruisers.

Recon Among the Rocks

A third Recon mission in our X-Cam. We wanted a relatively short game, so I held back on a challenge for a strategic match. After rolling to determine the scenario we use my new random terrain & condition generator, and we get 4 terrain pieces along with 4 shoals, so the middle of the table looked like a series of rocks and breakers. I set up my Elven force near the western edge of my deployment zone to take advantage of the wind blowing directly east down along the table. We deploy 500 point lists, neither of us taking frigates or flyers, but the Dwarves launch a new addition to their fleet, a scratchbuilt mechanical squid! The Dwarves also include a squadron of destroyers which had only been purchased from the drydocks the previous day and remains unpainted.

Running the Gauntlet

Kyle spent all his Recon points accumulated from the first two games to challenge me to a Strategic mission. We rolled up one mission which scared the Dwarven Admiral, so we rolled again and settled on "Running the Gauntlet." We each had 800 points and set the playing space for 3x4, placing the towers shown at the bottom of the above photo to effectively serve as the "finish line" for a single Dwarven ship to cross. According to the mission, the attacking player needs only get one large class ship from one short end to the other. He estimates that with the speed of his battleship it will take him at least 11 turns to reach the finish line with that model, but he also deploys an airship which has better movement.

Escape to Base!

We rolled up this mission according to the X-Cam document, and then we rolled off to determine attacker. Then we rolled to determine wind direction after placing the island, and I realized I would win this scenario because my ships would easily out sail the pursuing Dwarven fleet in no time. I decided I would make an effort to put up a good fight and maybe pick up some extra VP by sinking some of the Dwarven ships so set up to one side, upwind of the island, but with room to come about to deliver some Elven "Weight of Metal" against the Dwarves. I had 265 points in my force of a green dragon, a pair of cruisers, and three frigates. We played on a 3x5 foot table, the Elven ships already 24" inches in from the far side, only about 28"-30" from the nearest edge of the island. (The dragon was a shy bit closer which proved helpful in eventual escape.)

First X-Cam Recon Mission

A Dwarven scouting force is at anchor near an island in contested waters. An Elven reconnaissance force moves in from the south with a primary mission of studying the Dwarven ships and returning to their main fleet with information, particularly concerning the Dwarven armored cruisers and airship. The Dwarven force consists of 4 squadrons, including the airship, at 400 points; the Elves have just a cruiser squadron and frigate squadron at 300 points, their objective to hold fire and use their attack dice to study each class of Dwarven craft. The cruisers manage to get a partial success on both the airship and the frigate. The strategy of the Elven commander was to move in close, complete the objective, and then use the superior speed of their ships to escape before the Dwarves have a chance to act.

Dawn Harbour Attack

The Mountain Fury Fleet works into an offshore breeze in the early dawn to attack squadrons of the Dwarven Redhammer fleet at anchor in the harbour. The Elves had 550 points of medium and small ships, determined to destroy the battleship and supporting squadrons of cruisers and frigates anchored at the docks BEFORE a Dwarven patrol consisting of an airship, armored cruiser squadron and escort frigates returned to port. The playing space was 4x3 feet, the Elven fleet starting in the narrow end at the bottom and sailing East. The white circles between the jetty on the port side and the island to starboard are mines which moved randomly at the start of each turn. North is to the left, and in the upper right of the photo is the Dwarven patrol squadron which is only activated according to a special die roll at the start of each turn after the initial attack commenced.

First Meeting in the Sorylian Strait

The Seventh Elven Expeditionary Fleet had maintained nominal control of the Sorylian Strait waters surrounding the Gray Point Lighthouse until the Dwarven Fleet arrived to challenge the Elven authority.