Saturday HOTT

I'm still suffering from the dread lurgi which has afflicted me since last Wednesday. Oh, for a decent night's sleep.

Still, with a holiday weekend on the go, it would be rude not to play some games, even if my head does feel like mush. So I got some HOTT armies out, on the principle that it's a game that I can pretty much play in my sleep (and, indeed, have, amongst other things ...).

Whilst sorting through boxes of armies I came upon my neglected 15mm Dalek/U.N.I.T. matched pair, so I thought I'd give them an outing.

The Daleks defended. Here they are in front of their stronghold, with the Special Weapons Dalek (Artillery) ensconced on a hill and The Master (Sneaker) lurking in the background.

The battlefield - fields and hills, crammed into one corner, and a road.

The Dalek left flank was covered by human mercenaries (Shooters).

 U.N.I.T. - The Brigadier (Hero General) and The Doctor (Sneaker) plus various troopers (Shooters and one Rider).

The rest of U.N.I.T. faced the human mercenaries; this force was mostly Shooters, but was supported by heavy weapons (Artillery).

End of the first bound - the Brigadier and the Land Rover (Rider) are making a run around the Dalek right flank, whilst the rest of U.N.I.T. advances slowly. Aside from pushing forward the humans, the Daleks did nothing.

End of the second bound.  U.N.I.T. is dangerously spread out, but the Daleks lack the speed to exploit it.

The Brigadier and the Land Rover engage the Daleks.

And on the other flank the heavy weapons open fire.

At the end of the third bound things are looking good for U.N.I.T.

The Brigadier continues his heroic attack. The Master waits in the wings.

The Master and the Brigadier meet, and fight to a stalemate. This allows The Master to escape through the Brigadier's element on the next Dalek bound (a Sneaker variant currently being playtested).

U.N.I.T. soldiers mow down some of the Dalek's mercenaries.

The end of another bound. U.N.I.T. has a solid line, and the Daleks are in disarray.

Danger for the Brigadier, as the Special Weapons Dalek gets a clear shot at him. It misses.

Meanwhile the U.N.I.T. heavy weapons destroy some more mercenaries.

And the Land Rover engages The Master, causing him to flee off the table, winning the game for U.N.I.T.

The game was U.N.I.T.'s from the start; the Daleks never really got into it. To win they need to pin the Brigadier, then use the close combat superiority of the Daleks themselves (Blades) to roll over the U.N.I.T. Shooters. Standing still and letting U.N.I.T. march up to them an open fire was not a good plan. So much for the Supreme Beings Of The Universe.

Next out of the box was my Hawaiian matched pair - Hawaiians faced the evil Sorceress of Lanai.

The Sorceress defended, her hordes of Huaka'i Po spirits (Hordes) led by the Sorceress herself on the left flank and the pig-god Kamapua'a (Hero) on the right. Behind their sacred volcano stronghold can be see two Lurkers.

The attacking Hawaiians were heavily outnumbered. Led by King Kamahemeha (Hero General), they consist of Warband and Spears. Off table can be seen the little Menehune (Lurkers) and a Mo-o dragon god (Dragon).

Two rival deities observe the battle, ready to intervene on a whim - Pele the volcano goddess and Poliahu the goddess of snow-capped mountains. Pele favours the Hawaiians, as the Sorceress's army contains Kamapua'a, her spurned lover. This means that her rival Poliahu favours the army of the Sorceress.

The armies arrayed for battle.

The Hordes advance. The Hawaiians choose to sit on a hill and wait, hoping to deploy their Dragon or God before the fighting starts in earnest.

The Sorceress summons Poliahu to the aid of her army ...

... who promptly deserts them.

Meanwhile the Mo-o appears to aid the Hawaiians.

The Sorceress of Lania uses dark magic against Kamahemeha to no effect.

Pele appears to aid the Hawaiians.

And the armies finally clash.

With inevitable results - the first attack on the hill is thrown back.

The Hawaiians go for a quick victory - Pele attacks the Sorceress.

And loses. Both God elements are now out of the fight.

The Hero Kamapua'a makes an attempt to engage the Mo-o.

Meanwhile one of the elements of Huaka'i Po are ambushed by Menehune after straying into a grove of palm trees.

Hawaiian warriors engage the Sorceress, to little effect.

The Mo-o overflies Kamapua'a and moves into the rear of the Sorceress's army, as Hawaiian pikemen push evil spirits down the hill towards her.

Kamapua'a attacks the Hawaiian left, and slays a couple of elements of Warband.

The warriors attack the Sorceress again, supported by the Mo-o. Again the Sorceress fights them off.

Her persistent attempts to ensorcell Kamahemeha come to an end, as she rolls a '1'. There's too much risk of turning into the Hawaiian equivalent of a frog to attempt any more magic now.

But it's academic anyway - Kamahemeha takes a calculated risk and, with the aid of the Mo-o, slays the Sorceress, ending the battle.

The army of Lania lost the Sorceress, a God and four Hordes. The Hawaiians lost their God and two Warband.

This is an interesting pair of armies, because so many troops start off-table or can be brought back. The army of the Sorceress has a God and a couple of Lurkers and is otherwise mostly Hordes. The Hawaiians start with a mere seven elements on table, with a Dragon, and God and a couple of Lurkers waiting in the wings. Both sides rolled a string of sixes for PIPs just as the armies met, allowing the deployment of all of the Gods and Dragons, even if Poliahu didn't hang around for long.

Anyway, I hope all of the pictures make up for the lack of a pretty game report on Thursday.