[IHMN] King of the Castle

The stars aligned, John finished painting his Lord Curr's Company, and we convened for another game of In Her Majesty's Name.

We elected to play a King of the Castle scenario - one player's company  defends a central site while the other companies attempt to winkle him out.

We each had a 250 point company and we decided to trial Chris' Campaign Rules. In this case, taking out an enemy leader was worth 5 Victory Points, taking out one of his companions was worth 2 VP and holding the objective - in this case the keep of the derelict fort - was worth 20 VP. All casualties in one's own company would make a pluck roll after the battle, rejoining the company immediately if exceeding Pluck; being out of action for a battle if just making their Pluck Roll; and being deceased or otherwise unavailable if failing Pluck.   

Looking north from Poxly village towards the ruins of Poxly Manor

And so we see the fields outside of the little village of Poxly. Selous' Scouts (Chris) have learned that a copy of  Livingston's Concordium - an account of an ancient treasure Doctor Livingston discovered during his quest for the source of the Nile - was hidden in the ruined tower of Poxly Manor. Descending upon Poxly, the Scouts have been digging in and around the ancient fort but, unfortunately for them, their activities have been noted.

The tower and part of the walls of Poxly Manor are medieval, but the manor was heavily modified during the Civil War

The Thule Society (Jonathan) believes that Livingston's Concordium contains the location of occult artifacts and have determined to seize this book for the greater glory of Prussia. Approaching from the west, they take up position behind the wood to the left of the fort.

The Society of Thule approach the manor through the wood

Meanwhile, Lord Curr (John) and his Incorrigibles have been dispatched by the Ministry to prevent a valuable historical document from falling into foreign and/or unscrupulous hands. Approaching from the north-east, they deploy amongst the orchards on both sides of the Poxly Brook.

Lord Curr and some of his men in the orchard beyond the Poxly Brook

Representing the aforementioned unscrupulous hands, Doctor Cornelius and his Most Excellent Company (your humble correspondent) approach from the south-west, amidst the old maze and folly of the manor house (and beside the village water tower which seems to contain a rather flavorsome red).

Cornelius' Most Excellent Company approach the Manor through the old Maze

Selous' men took up positions within the manor ruin, attempting to cover the approaches, and soon came under a withering fire from both the woods to the west, and from the orchards.

Selous' Scouts prepare to defend Poxly Manor

As the firing grew heavier, and casualties began to mount, one of Selous' marksmen and his medic managed to break out through the south gate and take cover near Poxly Village to the south-east. Cornelius' Company, while approaching the manor from the south-west, lacked the long-range fire power to prevent Selous' withdrawal.

As the Scouts fell back, the Society of Thule burst into the ruined manor through the north gate, even as Doctor Cornelius' men were sprinting towards the south gate. When one of the Jaeger climbed the old tower, Maxim Destroyevsky brought him down with a well-aimed shot. To his alarm, the dead Jaeger lurched into life as a todh-truppen and rushed to block the south gate.

Plucky Coleman, one of the Rotten Row Drainers, attacked the todh-truppen while the not so plucky Seamus O'Tipple ran away, screaming like a little girl.

Cornelius' Company assault the south gate, defended by a todh-truppen. Seamus O'Tipple flees to the left.

Seamus was able to redeem himself by sneaking up the west side of the Manor and gunning down a Jaeger defending the north gate, and the Society's leader, Von Stroheim. As Doctor Kobalt leapt to Von Stroheim's aid, Maxim Destroyevsky nailed him with a superb long range shot.

The demise of Von Stroheim removed his force field projecktor. This meant that Selous' marksman, firing from the trees near Poxly, was able to fell the todh-truppen guarding the south gate. Sprinting across the court yard, Lofty scaled the tower where he was soon engaged with Lord Curr and another todh-truppen. The todh-truppen was swiftly dispatched and the tower remained contested between Lofty and Lord Curr as time ran out and the authorities arrived.

A tense end-of-battle, but as the objective was in contention at the end of turn 12, no one side could claim the Victory Points for it. A fun game, and Doctor Cornelius' Company performed a lot better this time. After all ganging up on Chris, we all turned on Jonathan as the Society of Thule looked set to take the game. That left John and myself to contest the tower at the end.