Another HOTT Knockout - Part Five

I played these games a week or so ago, but hadn't had chance to finish writing them up until now. In the previous season the Squidmen had eliminated the Knights of Simba from the campaign. Now there were only three nations left, with the Squidmen and Ophidians both high of aggression and the Elephantmen looking lonely and vulnerable.

Season 10

The rolls were as follows:

Squidmen - 4+2=6
Elephantmen - 3
Ophidians - 6+2=8

Not unsurprisingly the Elephantmen had the lowest total roll, so were forced to defend their territory. And the Ophidians were on the offensive.

The Elephantmen opted for an open terrain, to offset the Ophidians' warband and shooters, and to exploit the longer line the Elephantmen could deploy.

The Ophidians advanced to the safety of a small hill. The Elephantmen advanced and got their god on early.

In rushing to take the hill the Ophidians had left that flank vulnerable, and the god was able to exploit it, destroying the warband there. This was a major setback for teh Ophidians, as the warband were their primary weapon against the enemy blades.

The Ophidian magicians combined their magical might and, in a risky move, attacked the god. Luck was with them, and they forced her to flee the field.

The Elephantmen would now have to rely on their conventional troops. Their cavalry attacked the enemy archers.

But it was the main attack with their blades in the centre which bore fruit, and the first rush drove back all of the Ophidian troops bar their general. In the next round of combat the Elephantman high-priest defeated his Ophidian opposite number in single combat to win the battle for the Elephantmen, 10g-4

The Ophidians never really got into the fight, although driving off the enemy god was a bold move.

The Elephantmen had defended their territory against one attack. Would they now go on the offensive, or see the other two nations fight each other?

Season 11

The rolls were as follows:

Squidmen - 5+2=7
Elephantmen - 4+1=5 (4)
Ophidians - 4+1=5 (5)

The Squidmen rolled high and were the aggressors, whilst both the Ophidians and Elephantmen tied for defender. The Elephantmen 'won' the dice-off, and found themselves defending their territory once more, this time against a Squidmen invasion.

The Elephantmen looked confident as they lined up along a long ridge and, once more, their god appeared early.

The Squidmen charged rapidly; it's what their army does best. They were repulsed.

The god swung into action, destroying some warband.

She didn't hang around though. The Squidmen were disrupted but not out of teh fight just yet. Their landsharks pushed through on the right flank.

But the faster Elephantman cavalry saw an open flank and rushed to exploit it.

The landsharks also turned to exploit the Elephantman flank, and their enemy responded by turning some troops to defend the end of the ridge.

The Elephantman cavalry caused havoc in the Squidmen's rear.

The Squimen's walktapus behemoth drove deep into the Elephantman line. The Squidmen were attacking boldly where they could, but their opponents' hilltop position was too strong.

With cavalry attacking their rear, the Squidmen warband was slowly eliminated.

The Squidmen lost the battle 6-12.

So the Elephantmen had repulsed another invasion. All three nations were also now on +1 aggression.

At this point I decided that a peace would settle on the region. Both of the major players have tried to invade the Elephantmen, and failed, and whilst it's possible that the Elephantmen could now go on the offensive themselves, I'm not sure I want to play any more games at this stage. Eleven rounds has been quite enough for me.

Next time a do a campaign I might limit myself to four nations.