Platoon Fire: A Nation Sundered, part 2.

The Lord Edwin Dufflecoat, commander of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, leaned on his pommel and gazed disdainfully around the deserted village. A handful of fresh corpses scattered around the sole street betrayed the fact that until recently it had been a thriving community, but like a dozen more villages they had investigated, nobody lived here now. Even the vegetation was sickly and blackened. Half a dozen troopers were all that moved here, ensuring that such evidence as might still be found was undisturbed.

Grand Meister Grym of the Amethyst order of the Unpunctuated Otter dismounted his horse and strode to the centre of the village, his cloak swirling about him. He held his ceremonial Scythe aloft and brought the butt of it down on the dry earth in a gesture Lord Edwin considered to be far too dramatic. Dust and debris rose in a cloud and settled on the Wizard's outstretched hand. He peered closer, his lips moving soundlessly, his countenance that of unbreakable concentration. The air around him glowed and lensed, changing from hue to hue rapidly. Lord Edwin leaned forward, craning to see what the Grand Meister might discern, would he at last find evidence for the use of Alchemical weapons as had been rumoured? The Wizard was almost frozen, the tiny particles the focus of all his power and attention. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity the wizard threw the dust to the ground in frustration, and without a word stalked off to examine some nearby foliage.

Lord Edwin sighed, and sank back in his saddle, disappointed at what appeared to be another wild goose chase. But something had to have happened here. A dozen villages don't become deserted without a reason. What power had been unleashed here, what devilry was at work? His reverie was broken by a flurry of pistol shots from the edge of the village, and the pounding of hooves as the Troopers galloped towards him.

"Sir! Look out, Sir!" cried the Lieutenant commanding the troop of Pistoliers, riding hard and aiming a pistol behind him. As the pistol fired, Lord Edwins gaze followed the bullets path, his heart skipping a beat as he saw the cause for the Pistoliers panic.

At the end of the street the dead villagers were beginning to move...

Firstly, some new rules for the campaign!

Each time a player plays a game they get points- 1 for a loss, 2 for a draw, 3 for a win.

The top two ranking players on the 1st of December will play a match with no staked territories, and a special prize territory up for grabs; The Abandoned Alchemical Weapon Factory!

Players are to be reminded to keep track of their Veteran Bonus's and not to forget to roll on the Generals Victory Bonus Chart on page 152 of the Battlebook!

There is also an events chart:

Whenever a roll on the Territory chart is required for a game between two or more players a roll of a double will trigger an Event! After the game the two players roll off and the loser rolls 2d6 on the Events chart: Should any of the events result in a player having less than three territories then he must abandon them and roll three new ones as through he'd started the campaign afresh.

2) PLAGUE! A terrible plague has broken out among your territories. Victims are stricken with blue and yellow boils all across their body, develop an unquenchable thirst for soy sauce and finally breakout in a rendition of Chumbawumbas 'Tubthumping' sung at a volume that wrecks lungs and vocal chords, and can last for days until the victim finally succumbs. The Plague is invariably fatal, and extremely annoying. Test with a d6 roll for all Towns and Villages under your control; a Village is destroyed on a 4+, a Town reduced to a Village on a 6+. Pick one other territory you control which is also destroyed.

3) PIRATES! Since the war began Pirates have become more common in the Black Gulf, preying on shipping mostly but occasionally daring to land on Ayris's undefended coast... Roll a d6 for each wizards tower you own, it is destroyed on a 4+. If you have no Wizards Tower roll for each Sacred Grove, Shrine or Temple- on a 6+ it is reduced to a Wizards Tower.

4) BANDITS! The kingdom of Ayris is almost lawless now, with armed bands with nothing to lose roaming and looting at will, and its impossible to maintain patrols on all your lines of supply...

Roll 1d6 for each Trade Route, Road, Bridge and Pass you own. You must abandon it on a 4+.

5) FIRE! Somebody left the gas on, and now the whole towns aflame! Quick peeps, bury your Cheese...

One random Town or Village is burnt down: retain the Teritory but gain no benefit from it and you can't stake it. After each subsequent game roll a D6 (add +1 if you win) - on a 6+ the settlement is rebuilt!

6) Mine Exhausted! If you dig up to much gold, eventually you'll run out of gold to dig up...

Randomly select a Silver or Gold mine you own. Abandon it.

7) SCANDAL! Your political opponents at home are making life difficult for you with spurious rumours that aren't in any way true! Fake news! Fake News! And that picture of you with a Badger is clearly photoshopped...unfortunately until you can gain some good publicity your funding has been cut and confidence in your abilities is at an all time low. Your General is at -1 LD, and can't earn or use Veteran or Victory bonus's. This lasts until you win a game.

8) STORMS! The weatherman didn't see this one coming, Storms and heavy rain turn your roads into swamps and wash away your bridges...lose the benefit of any Passes, Bridges or Roads in your next game, and you can't stake them either.

9) The Peasants are Revolting! One of your Towns (if no Towns then a Village) has risen against you, fed up with your emptying their graveyards/filling their graveyards/massive taxation/bizarre demands for physical gratification (delete as appropriate) . They have had enough and now spend their days chanting slogans , building barricades and waving flags. The town now gives you no benefits, and can't be staked (nobody else wants that problem!) . If you lose a game the Rebellion spreads to another Town or Village you control. If you win a game you've managed to hang the rebel scum in one settlement. Once you've stamped out all rebellions it stops spreading.

10) Earthquake! The native Earth Gods of Ayris are angry at the temples you've erected to false gods on their turf, and they intend to destroy the intruders! One Random Temple/Wizards Tower/Shrine/Sacred grove you own is destroyed.

11) VOLCANO! Ayris is littered with sleeping volcanoes...and one has just woken up. One Random Territory you own is destroyed, unless in your next game you appease the Volcano with a sacrifice! One character model (not a unit champion as they are not important enough, and not your General as you're not stupid enough to sacrifice yourself) that you can take as part of your army must have its points paid for as part of the army but then NOT be used in the game! Deploy as normal and then declare which of your deployed characters you are sacrificing! Roll 2d6 and multiply by 10. If the Score is lower than the Points cost of the Sacrificed Character the Volcano is appeased and the Territory saved!

12) CHAOS REIGNS! The Chaos Gods don't have quite as much power this far south, but the way Ayris is tearing itself to pieces amuses them greatly, and they're keen to join in the fun and games: Randomly select one random Territory you own- It now does the opposite of what it is supposed to do! So for example, if you have a Trade route allowing you a magic item it no longer grants the magic item, AND it counters the effects of another territories effects as well, so if you had a second Trade Route the first Reversed Territory would cancel this out, and neither would gain you a Magic Item. Or if you had a Shrine the Reversed Trade Route would mean you no longer received the 50pt magic item from the Shrine but could still have the level 3 wizard. This Effect is permanent, and you can continue to stake the territory as well...whether you tell your opponents about it before or after they take it is up to you!

The News

Battle has come to Ayris and a flurry of battles have heralded the arrival of many combatants each faction seeking to establish a base of operations from which to conduct its campaign. The Undead tasted first blood with a victory over the forces of Chaos, but found it tougher going against the less rash and more calculating Empire. The Dark Elves saw victory across the board with the Orcs and Chaos Warriors tasting their whips and chains.

In other news A Giant Sea Creature has been sighted in the Black Gulf. It is hoped that this is targeting the Pirates that infest the Gulf rather than the Ships that are intended to resupply the campaigning armies. Also the City of Minimostok has vanished. Reward offered for its safe return.