Ax and his undead begin with the most aggressive maneuvers to attack. The Graptors make a flanking move to the right and climb to the top of the hill and its protective trees. Spear moves to setup for long-range support while Ax himself begins a flanking movement toward the ruins.
After several turns of movement trying to gain a position of advantage, the first major scrum of the game is undertaken. The Zulus choose to remain in a massed formation. The Graptors emerged from the woods and charged down the hills in a full frontal assault on the Zulus.
The odds seemed to favor the Graptors but the dice can be cruel at times. The Zulu’s repelled the assault and defeated all 3 of the Graptors but at a heavy cost. Valdez fell in battle.
Meanwhile Ax continued his movement through the ruins and pillaging as he went. However, his greed allowed the Zulus to reform, cross the river, and charge in for the attack.
This was a closer than it should have been combat. Ax could not hit with his ax but the Zulu attacks could not get pass his heavy armor. After several turns locked in combat, Ax slew 1 Zulu but was burdened by 2 stunned markers (-2 to attack rolls in close combat).
Ax was still in position to win. On the attack, rolling a D12 with a -2 modifier he simply needed to roll higher than the wound Zulu warrior with a D10 and a -1 modifier for wounds. Unfortunately, fate was not on Ax’s side today. He rolled a 1 on the attack, failed his armor save, and the Zulu rolled a 10 on the wound roll. He was immediately removed from the game and sent off to lick his wounds.
The final showdown was at hand. Both sides were down to a single warrior. Spear versus a wound Zulu warrior. Neither side wanted to back down and so the card continued to be dealt. Spear missed on 2 opportunities to remove the Zulu warrior from play with is bow. He rolled a D12 and had a +1 aim modifier, a +1 dead-eye modifier, and a +1 because the Zulu has the Large trait. Seriously, the die can be a cruel mistress some days and Spear could not hit the side of the great pyramid of Giza.
And so Spear finds himself locked into hand-to-hand combat with a giant Zulu. This is bad. Very, very bad for Spear. He only rolls a D8 in close combat but there is hope as the Zulu is wounded. However, the Zulu got the jump on Spear playing a Jack of Spades which gave him a +1 to close combat rolls. The Zulu struck down Spear and won the field for Valdez’ Zulu warriors.
The Zulu was able to scavenge 1 area and found a strange helmet that perfectly fit the head of a wolf…strange indeed…but next time The Wolf (he was taken out by a Graptor in the initial scrum) will dawn a strange helmet into the future. The helmet will provide him a +1 to armor save rolls.
And so the battle ended with the Zulus holding the fields and the band of Ax the mutant sent of to regroup and heal from their wounds.
