Fingul Trollstomper fastened the strap to his helmet and settled his war axe more comfortably across his broad shoulders. Picking up his small sack of provisions he made his way down to the courtyard where the half company of Dwarven warriors awaited him. He could still remember the words of the Elder Council, "You will travel to the Griffon Mountains, to the old mine workings. There you will recover the bones of the late Dwarven hero Harvin Beerguzzler and return here with them so that they may receive proper ceremony due to one such as he, Do not return without them!" You are Fingul Trollstomper, a Dwarf of some 50 years. This is the first time that you have been given command of an expedition, and you are determined to succeed, as failure would bring disgrace on the name of Trollstomper. With you on the quest are 30 Dwarven warriors, all wear light chainlink armour, 10 carry crossbows and the rest Dwarven warhammers or axes. After a march of 20 days you arrive at Point "A" on the map and brief your men on how to approach the mine . DO NOT READ ON UNTIL YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR TROOPS THEIR ORDER OF MARCH AND UNIT ORDERS! Unknown to you hostile eyes are watching you. These piggy eyes belong to Naznub Stuntiethrottler, a vicious Orc (even by Orc standards). His scouts spotted your column three days ago and have been following you ever since. Once he was certain of where you were heading he circled around to await your arrival. In his warband Naznub has 10 Orcs on foot armed with armed with sword and shield, 10 Orcs riding giant boars armed with spear and shield, and 10 Goblin warriors armed with a short bow and sword. All the troops have leather armour on and Naznub has a metal breastplate. The Orc infantry are in position "I" on the map, the Goblins at "2" and Naznub and the boar riders at "3". The infantry are on the reverse slope out of view and the "cavalry" are well hidden in the tree line. They will not move into position until signaled by Naznub. The Goblins will then get themselves into a position where they can fire at the Dwarfs. The Orc infantry will charge the nearest Dwarf unit and the boar riders will charge straight down the valley. For this battle all the goblinoid forces are considered Fanatics. This has been brought on by them drinking Fenweed water which has poisoned their brains. The goblinoids will fight on to the last. On entering the mine the Dwarfs will be faced with a large cavern. At the far end lies the bones of Harvin Beerguzzler. Around him lie the bones of his enemies, a band of robbers who were after Harvin's treasure. It was in this mine that Harvin made his last stand. Outnumbered and bleeding from countless wounds Harvin cursed his attackers even in death. As soon as someone touches Harvin's bones those slain by him will rise up to protect his remains. There are 10 skeletons in the cavern and they will attack the nearest living creature but will not move outside the mine. There you have it. A Dwarf whose family honour is at stake, an Orc warband who is out for Death or Glory and the bones of a Dwarven Champion protected in death by those who attacked him in life. I used my usual Warhammer rules for this game but any Fantasy rules should suffice. If you want you can give the Dwarves a chance of spotting the ambushers before they get into position, or of one of the ambushing units going off prematurely. Whichever way it will be a close run thing. Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #110 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com