Dash28 Campaign: The XXXIst Legion on the March

Introduction

Hello everyone, my name is Chris. I do some behind-the-scenes work for Dash 28, and I’ll be joining the Kings of Kavus map campaign for my first writing on the site. I’ve been playing wargames for as long as I can remember and Kings of War for several years now. I started playing Brotherhood (I played Bretonnia in WFB), but I became frustrated at the first KoW Masters after I played against four De6-heavy Dwarf and Abyssal Dwarf lists. I switched to Basilea right afterward, before the Lute of Insatiable Darkness became a thing. I also run Mountaineer GT each June and have a games store, Troll Hoard Games, that has a bit of a focus on Mantic products.

As much as I’ve thought of going back to Brotherhood or finishing out the several armies I’ve collected over the years, each Clash pack makes me more and more attached to the Hegemony, blessed be the Shining Ones! When I was asked if I’d be interested in joining the Kings of Kavus campaign, I jumped at the opportunity. I loved campaigns and narrative play in the past, but since my son arrived my gaming time has been restricted, and I’ve only filled it with competitive play. There are lots of units I’ve liked over the years but that haven’t made it to many of my tournament lists. In addition, I recently picked up the new KoW novel Steps to Deliverance, and the description of Basilea and her subjects in the book really got me excited to role-play a force of legionnaires on the tabletop.

My force in the campaign is the XXXIst Legion based out of Nova Primovantor on the border of the Hegemony and the self-titled Successor States. With the recent threat of The Abyss having cooled off, Basilea has begun looking at opportunities for expansion out from Nova Primovantor and Nova Ardovikio, the youngest of the Hegemon’s subject provinces. One such opportunity was seized when word reached the Duma from Abbess Sovleka, protector of the isolated Temple of Arabos at the foot of the Dragon Teeth Mountains, that multiple warlords had descended on the lands around the “Successor” City State of Alrenn, threatening her small enclave of priests and sisters. Dictator-Prefect Christos of Ardar, a veteran of the recent war with the Abyss hailing from a young but distinguished military family of Nova Ardovikio, was immediately dispatched to lead the XXXIst Legion and several auxiliaries to secure the abbey’s safety. Christos was also tasked with the unofficial mission of demonstrating the strength and prosperity of the Hegemony to the government of Alrenn in order to have a friendly forward base of operations for future opportunities. Should the Alrenn residents be too blinded by their history of independence to see the benefits of joining with the true heirs of Primovantor, there is to be an emphasis on the demonstration of strength…

On the eve of the legion’s departure, however, Grand Master of the Paladin Orders Gnaeus Sallustis himself arrived at the garrison and requested the honor of leading the Basilean expeditionary force. While technically, as representative of the democratically elected Duma, the Dictator-Prefect should have the right to refuse, such is the respect that the legionnaires and Paladins hold for the Grand Master that the “request” was intended more for the Dictator’s honor than Gnaeus’. Christos graciously offered his command to become Gnaeus’ second, privately concerned at what personal crusade Gnaeus intends for the legion.

Operating so far from the borders of the Hegemony and Mount Kolosu, the Dictator-Prefect and Grand Master will have to do without the aid of their heavenly protectors, the Elohi. It’s conceivable that a particularly powerful Ur Elohi may deign their endeavors worthy of an appearance, but as far as the two leaders can reliably assume, this expedition will rely on the might of Basilea’s soldiery alone. Knowing this, and to further impress the unenlightened locals, the Dictator-Prefect has been granted a cohort of Ogre Palace Guards and a large force of Paladins from the Order of the Sacred Ark and the Blades of Onzyan in addition to the XXXIst Legion and whatever forces currently garrison the abbey.

Campaign Goals

With my force being led by two wise, mighty generals of the Hegemony, one appointed by the Hegemon himself while the other representing the senators of the Duma and thus the people, I have a few goals in mind.

• Secure the Abbey. The stated goal of Dictator-Prefect Christos and the true goal of Gnaeus align here: the Abbey must be secured. Starting in this region means I’ve taken it under the protection of the legion, and I intend to maintain control throughout the campaign. A secondary goal of securing the alley would be to eliminate the leaders of the various warbands surrounding Kavus Keep, as an army without a head will be much easier for the new garrison to keep down after Gnaeus is called away on other business.
• Annex Alrenn. The City of Alrenn is the largest human population center and would greatly benefit from the influence of the Hegemony, while providing a secure and profitable forward post from which future legions can pincer the “Successor” States between Kavus Keep and Basilea.

Beyond that I’m simply aiming to play some fun, narrative games of Kings of War!

Army Design

• No Elohi, no Phoenix. While I may break down and take an Ur Elohi at some point, representing a more powerful Elohi able to sustain himself further from Mount Kolosu, I will not be taking Elohi or a Phoenix in this campaign to represent the distance from the Hegemony of my force. This will also let me play around with some lesser-seen units, including (gasp!) Sisterhood Scouts and a Dictator on Foot.
• Emphasis on Paladins, Men at Arms, and Sisterhood. My force will have access to Ogre Palace Guard, but I’ll seek to also use a more traditional force of infantry and cavalry. I’ve mostly played fast, alpha-strike Basilean lists since Clash 19 came out, so it will be nice to change things up to a slower, more reactionary force.
• Multiple commanders. Gnaeus Sallustis is famed for having never beaten in battle, and while I’d hate to diminish that reputation by possibly slipping in the campaign, he’s also a a required part of the Holy Lancers formation — my favorite of the Basilean formations. As much as I’d like to use Dictator-Prefect Christos as my overall leader, I find it unlikely I’ll play without Elohi and the knight formation. At the same time I consider it unlikely for Gnaeus to cede overall command to a representative of the Duma, an institution he isn’t particularly fond of. As a compromise, I’ll use the Dictator where I can but with Gnaeus as overall commander. Any storytelling I indulge in will be from Christos’ point of view.

Round 1

The first round of the campaign sees the forces of the Hegemony facing off against a group of mysterious tree spirits led by Mike Rossi. This is especially exciting as Mike and I have never played despite being to multiple of the same events.

We’ve cooked up a fun narrative scenario for our game. Without giving too much away, the XXXIst Legion arrives at the Temple of Arabos and quickly fortifies and repairs the ancient abbey so it approaches the defenses of their home fort on the frontier. Gnaeus then sends Dictator-Prefect Christos to the nearby town of Windy Hills to secure the area’s farms for the Basilean force, as the abbey’s existing farmland and resources were intended for no more than a few dozen warrior nuns and priests, not an entire army — the ogres alone would need more sustenance than what the nuns provided! The abbey being on good terms already with the denizens of Windy Hills, Abbess Sovleka races ahead on her chariot along with several panther-mounted sisters to announce the arrival of the legion’s Xth cohort led by Christos. The Abbess is in talks with a delegation of the town’s guard when the neighboring forest begins to walk…