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AD&D FORGOTTEN REALMS, BATTLE FOR THE 'CITADEL OF MANY ARROWS'.

Extracts taken from the Journal of Garion Spellsinger, Bard Lore Master.

Cast of Player Characters & Followers...

 

Player Character	Name of Character	Class of Character	Race	Level
Terry	Jonah Stormybreeches	Fighter/Thief	Dwarf	10/9
Follower	Joxer Eventide	Thief	Human	6
Andy	Darthan Mornraven	Ranger	Human	15
Follower	Chessa Falconstar	Druidess	Human	11
Follower	Tanyl Hawksong	Ranger	Elf	4
Follower	Mael Amazilis	Fighter/Mage	Elf	7/7
Follower	Gavor	Fighter	Firbolg	4
Mark, (Mutz).	Jade	Cleric	Human	13
Follower	Brangain	Cleric	Human	6
Tony	Jayden Mournstar	Fighter/Thief	Human	15/15
Follower	Dain Blackspur	Fighter	Human	9
Follower	Kiara Moonglow	Mage/Thief	Human	7/7
Follower	Garrion Spellsinger	Bard	Human	6

 THE 'CITADEL OF MANY ARROWS', PT1 

The Citadel of Many Arrows is located North East of the City of Silverymoon in the AD&D Forgotten Realms RPG system.  The Citadel is home to some 40,000 Orcs led by a mighty Orc king and his retinue of Mages, Clerics and Warriors.  Just to the North in the mountains are a further 60,000 Orcs ready to come to the aid of the Orc king, should he need assistance.  

The PCs and their followers have spent many months in the Realms in and around the City of Silverymoon, gathering an army of different races,  preparing to do battle with the Orcs, and re-take and hold the Citadel, obliterating the Orc menace in this part of the Realms.  The army is 15,000 strong and is made up of some 5000 Elves, 5000 Humans, 3000 Dwarfs and 2000 Barbarians,  plus the PCs and their followers.

The mine complex is located just to the North of the Castle and holds many captives and slaves of the Orcs.  The mines and the outpost above ground garrison some 500 Orc warriors.  The first stage of our battle plan is to clear the mines, free the captives and then use the mines as a base of operations.

The pictures below show the mine and cavern layout on the tabletop ready for the game session to begin.

The layout uses the Dwarven Forge 'Master Maze' gaming system.  Several different sets used in combination to make the layout seen on the table above.  If you wish to see more of the Master Maze box sets and components, there is a link to the Dwarven Forge web site on the 'Links' page in the War Games & Miniatures section.

Pt1- Take the Mines. 

Overview :- The Orc outpost above the mines was assaulted by a small part of our army, about 5000 strong, this was done to make the Orcs think that a raiding party from Silverymoon was only interested in freeing the slaves and other captives that were being held.  The main part of the assault force, led by Andy's Ranger character and his followers, and Mutz's Cleric character and his Cleric Fighter follower, laid in wait until my Fighter Thief  character and 50 warriors crept silently before dawn to take and hold the entrance to the mines.  With all the troops in place, the operation began at sunrise.   The Orcs attacked on seeing a part of our force moving, after a failed stealth roll, and rushed headlong into combat,  but realizing that they were actually  vastly outnumbered, tried to retreat into the mines, however my Fighter Thief and 50 elite troops blocked the way.  The Orcs were caught between my small force and Andy & Mutz's main force, the resulting battle ended with all but 4 of the Orcs being slain, these were deliberately left alive to make sure that they take the news of our attack to the Orc king in the Citadel.  Our plan is to lure a large force of Orcs from the Citadel to give chase to us, and for them to try to re-capture the slaves.

Meanwhile Terry's Dwarf Fighter character and his Dwarven infantry enter the caverns to begin the job of clearing the mines.....

Picture 1... Some of the Dwarf contingent led by Terry's Dwarf  Fighter character and his fighter follower, enter the mines and go Orc hunting.  Picture 2... Andy's Ranger with his Druidess follower and my Fighter Thief enter the mines behind the Dwarves, just after the battle at the outpost.  The main force remain above ground to secure the perimeter.  Picture 3...  Mutz's Cleric character joins our characters in the caverns.   Picture 4...  My Fighter Thief attacks some Orcs in one of the cavern corridors. Picture 5... Terry's dwarven infantry secure one of the large caverns. Picture 6... The Fighter Thief rushes the Orcs in one of the chambers, while the Ranger and his follower attack down the main corridor.  Picture 7... The Ranger and his Druidess follower, with the Dwarf Fighter continue to fight the Orcs in the corridor,  the other Dwarves move down the corridor in support, the Clerics follower, follows my character into the chamber. Picture 8... My followers, a Fighter, Mage Thief and a Bard Lore Master enter the mines.  Picture 9... The Fighter Thief clears a chamber of enemies, the Ranger his follower,  the Dwarf Fighter and the rest of the Dwarven infantry continue to battle down the corridors, pushing the Orcs back.  Picture 10... The Cleric and our followers locate some captives and slaves. 

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Picture 11... The Cleric and our followers release the captives and slaves from captivity. Picture 12... The Ranger, his Druidess follower and the Fighter Thief attempt to clear another chamber of Orcs. Picture 13... The Fighter Thief rushes some Orcs attempting to enter the chamber to assist their comrades, while the Ranger and his Druidess follower finish off the remaining Orcs in the room. Picture 14... Orcs start to group in the large barracks room.  Picture 15... The Cleric and our followers release yet more slaves and captives.  Picture 16... The PCs break into the large barracks room and rush the enemy. Picture 17... The PCs and some of the Dwarven infantry battle dozens of Orc warriors in the large barracks room.  Picture 18... The PCs enter the torture chamber, the chamber had a dozen elite Orc warriors and an evil human accomplice.  Picture 19... Battle is joined and the elite Orcs and human are slain, the remaining captives are released.

The PCs, followers and all of the freed slaves and captives return to the main cavern entrance, where the clerics heal and attend to any wounds.  The party must now rejoin the main force above ground and retreat back towards Silverymoon, before the Orc king can send an army of Orcs from the Citadel to intercept the assault force.  A force of about 200 Dwarven infantry remain behind to prevent any Orcs from entering the mines.

 Pt 2- Orc Ambush, The Setup.

Overview :- Our battle plan is to lure as large a force of Orcs from the Citadel as possible, to give chase to our small army.  The Orc king thinking that his warriors will face an army of only about 5000 warriors, has sent an Orc force of some 13,000 warriors to completely destroy our army and recapture the slaves.  

Unbeknown to the Orcs however, is that the whole of our 15,000 strong army is laying in wait in the forest to ambush the Orc army at the appointed  moment.

Pictures 1 & 2...  The PCs, our followers and part of our army, apparently in full retreat, head back to the rendezvous point, with the Orc army in close pursuit.  Pictures 3 & 4... The field hospital, (MASH,  Mutz And Several Helpers), is set up and readied by Clerics from Silverymoon.   Mutz's Cleric Character and follower arrive at the field hospital to take charge. Picture 5... The Dwarven infantry led by the Dwarf PC take the right flank and use the terrain to conceal themselves from view. Picture 6... The wagons with the wounded and captives start to arrive at the rendezvous point, (OK not many wagon's or captive figures here, after all it is Fantasy Roleplay, but at least the beer barrels are safe). Pictures 7, 8, 9 & 10... Our forces deploy in the woods. The PCs and their followers ready themselves. Picture 11...  The wagons move slowly into position, the Orc army begins to catch up to the convoy.  Picture 12... The Orcs see their quarry and mass, ready for battle.  

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Picture 13... The Orcs eye view of their quarry.  Picture 14 ... The wagons move off of the road to safety, our warriors take up position ready for the coming battle, as the Orcs approach.  Picture 15 ... The Dwarves lie in wait as the Orcs pass them by, unaware of their presence.  Picture 16 ... The wagons take up position at the field hospital.  Pictures 17& 18 ... The main force of Orcs rush forward to attack our small army.  Orc archers take up position on what they believe is a good vantage point.  Picture 19... Here they come......

 Pt 3- Orc Ambush, The Battle Report.

Round 1... PCs win initiative.  Our Gnome Illusionist had cast Illusionary Terrain on the ground at the cross roads, which had previously been set with a series of pit traps, some of the frenzied leading Orcs in their headlong rush fell into the holes.  Several dozen suffered broken limbs or were crushed by their comrades, the Orcs behind these piled into and on top of the injured, this had the desired effect of slowing down their charge and throwing them into some confusion.   At this point four of our Elf archers shot fire arrows as range markers for the rest of our archers.  Our archers opened fire, 1000 elf archers fired two volleys at the Orcs on the hill top, 1000 Human and 200 Barbarian archers fired two volleys into the mass ranks of the main body of the Orcs.  The PCs use ranged weapons this round at the Orcs leading the charge down the road, the Fighter/Thief's Mage follower fired off a Fireball spell into the lead Orcs, toasting at least a dozen, the Bard Loremaster follower cast a Stinking Cloud spell causing more confusion and slowing a portion of the Orcs down, as they try to get out of the nauseous gas.  The Rangers Druidess follower casts the Spikegrowth spell on the hill, wounding many Orc bowmen as they try to get out of the 100 sq ft tangle of thorny spikes, the Rangers Mage follower casts a Fireball spell at the Orc bowmen incinerating a dozen or more.  

The Orcs suffered some 2500 casualties as a result of our initial ranged attack.  The DMs Orc bowmen target the only troops that they can see, and kill or wound about 100 of our Elf archers with their bow fire.

Round 2... PCs win initiative.  Our archers open fire again with two volleys causing another 1800 casualties to the Orcs.  The PCs followers use ranged weapons or spells, The Bard Loremaster uses his remaining Stinking Cloud spell, causing even more confusion in the leading press of Orc warriors.  The Fighter/Thief's Mage follower uses another Fireball, toasting about 15 more Orcs.   The Rangers Druidess follower casts a Needlestorm spell on a Fir tree close to the Orcs, the resulting lethal spray of needles kill about 20 or so Orcs and wounds many more.  The PCs draw swords and attack the leading wave of Orc warriors, the Rangers Mage and Firbolg followers close to attack with a group of Orcs moving on the left flank.  

The DMs Orcs respond with more bow fire, the DM rolls maximum hits and maximum damage for his Orc bowmen, and this time 200 Elf archers are killed or wounded, the Rangers Firbolg follower takes several hits from the Orc archers and is severely wounded.  The Orc warriors in combat with the PCs cause no damage at all.

Round 3... DM wins initiative. The Orc bowmen fire another volley at our Elven archers, to our dismay the DM rolls yet more maximum damage, another blow to our Elves, 140 are killed or wounded, the Elf unit is ordered to retreat to the Field Hospital to prevent yet more casualties and have their wounds healed.  The Firbolg follower is targeted again,  but no further damage is taken, so he manages to retreat back to the Field Hospital to have his wounds attended to by Mutz and the Clerics.  The leading mass of Orcs continue to press forward, but are held back on the road by the PCs, who again take little or no damage.

The Dwarves spring their trap and move into position, Dwarf crossbowmen mount the hilltop on the right flank and fire into the rear of the passing Orc multitude, killing about 900 of them, the Dwarven infantry move around the right flank to the rear of the Orc warriors and attack the surprised Orcs killing another 200 or so.  The Elven and Human infantry move in to position ready for combat.  The Elven archers fire one volley at the hilltop before withdrawing, and cause 500 casualties to the Orc bowmen.  The Dwarf PC attacks and kills one of the Orc Commanders.  The Fighter/Thief's Mage follower casts a Web spell across the road between two trees, snaring about 20 Orc warriors in the web and slowing the advance of the following Orcs.  The Human and Barbarian archers now turn their attention to the hilltop and target the Orc bowmen,  two volleys are fired, causing about 800 casualties.  The PCs and their followers continue the fight in close combat killing two dozen or more Orcs between them. 

Round 4... PCs win initiative. The Elven archers and Firbolg follower are treated by Mutz and the other Clerics at the Field Hospital.  The PCs continue to battle with the Orc horde preventing them from advancing any further, the Mage Follower casts her remaining memorized Web spell trapping at least another 20 Orcs within its sticky webs.  The Dwarf crossbowmen fire again, but Terry's dice rolls are so awful, the Dwarves do little or no damage, the Dwarven infantry kill about 250 Orcs, and they try to close off any possible escape route that the Orcs may have had.  The Human and Elven infantry engage the Orcs and manage to kill nearly 1100 warriors between them.  The Barbarian and Human archers again target the Orc bowmen on the hill and kill another 350.  The Firbolg unit, which until now had been held in reserve, advances to launch boulders at the Orc archers, but miss all of their targets. 

The DM uses his Orc bowmen and fires at the now visible Barbarian archers, killing or wounding 52, the remaining Orc bowmen fire at the Firbolg unit, but completely miss their target.  Orc infantry engage the Dwaven, Human and Elven infantry, and kill or wound around 280 Dwarves, 60 Elves, and 50 Humans.  The Orcs continue to attack the PCs, but only cause very minor damage.

Round 5... DM wins initiative. The Orc bowmen finally realise that the hilltop was not the vantage point that they had first thought, and need to take a morale roll which they fail, with this they start to abandon the hilltop and start to retreat.  The Orc warriors fail to cause any wounds to the PCs and the Elven, Human and Dwarven infantry as their advance stalls.  All of the DMs dice rolls were appalling this round, fortunately for our side.

The Human and Barbarian archers shoot at the retreating Orc bowmen killing another 160.  The surviving Elven bowmen having reformed and regrouped open fire at the Orc bowmen and kill another 185.  The Human, Elven and Dwarven infantry kill nearly 1500 Orc warriors as the net tightens.  The Firbolg unit lob more boulders at the retreating Orcs and manage kill another 295.  The Dwarf PC kills the remaining Orc Commander, the horde seeing this are now in complete disarray.  The Orcs try to disengage our troops, finally realising that they have been out maneuvered and trapped.  The PCs and their followers press forward cutting down enemy warriors as they try to flee the battlefield.  Two of the Fighter/Thief's followers move onto high ground to harass the fleeing Orcs.

Round 6... PCs win initiative.  The Elven archers and Firbolgs fire at the now fully routed bowmen and kill another 110, the Barbarian and Human archers also target the fleeing bowmen and kill yet another 500, virtually wiping out the entire Orc bowmen force.  The Dwarven crossbowmen pour bolts into the now retreating Orc warriors killing 150, the Dwarven, Elven and Human infantry pursue and kill another 900 Orc warriors.  The Ranger and his Druidess follower mount the hilltop and give chase to the few remaining orc bowmen.  The Fighter/Thief's Mage follower fires her last Fireball spell into the mass of fleeing Orcs.  The Fighter/Thief, his Fighter follower and the Dwarf PC chase down and kill any Orcs that get in the way.

The Orc horde is now fully routed and are in full retreat, trying to flee the battlefield at best speed with no attempt to fight off any of our troops.  The archers target and pick off stragglers, and our infantry regroups and gives chase to the fleeing Orcs.  Mounted scout parties and Rangers are sent out to track and kill the all of the remaining Orcs.  All but three Orcs are caught and killed, these were deliberately left alive to take word of their defeat to the Orc King at the Citadel of Many Arrow's.  He will now in all probability send out for reinforcements from the Mountains.  Our forces will now redeploy at the mines, and use the mine head and mines as a base of operations for the next stage of the campaign.

13.000 Orcs were killed in the battle, our casualties amounted to 542 Human, Dwarf, Elf and Barbarians killed in Action.  The casualties would have been far worse if not for all of the Clerics at the Field Hospital.

Pictures 1 & 2...  The Human and Elven archers open fire, the Ranger, Fighter/Thief and their followers ready themselves.  Picture 3...  The Rangers Druidess, Mage and Firbolg followers move into combat, the Fighter/Thief and his Fighter follower attack the lead wave of Orc warriors.  Pictures 4 & 5... The Human and Elven infantry move into position ready for combat, the archers pour more arrows into the enemy.  Pictures 6 & 7...  The Orc forces are thrown into confusion and are split, the PCs followers battle on.   Pictures 8, 9 & 10... The Orc advance stalls against a wall of Human infantry, the Fighter/Thief and the Fighter follower cut down any Orcs that come too close.  Pictures 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15... The Dwarves spring their trap, Dwarf crossbowmen pour bolts into the Orcs, while the Dwarven infantry attack the Orcs rear, cutting off any escape route.

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Picture 16... The Human troops push back the Orc warriors, the archers fire volley after volley into the Orc bowmen.  Picture 17... The Dwarves continue to battle valiantly despite terrible dice rolls!!! The Dwarf PC spots an Orc Commander, and moves in to attack.  Picture 18... The Dwarf PC battles and finally kills the Orc Commander.  Picture 19... The Ranger and his followers push the Orcs back across the road. Picture 20... The surviving Orc bowmen flee the devastation of the hilltop in disarray.  Picture 21... The Ranger PC and his Druidess follower mount the hilltop and chase down the Orc bowmen.  Picture 22... The Orcs are battered from every side, the Fighter/Thief's Mage and Bard Loremaster harass the now retreating mass of Orcs.  Picture 23...  The Dwarven crossbowmen continue to fire bolt after bolt into the mass of confused Orcs.  Picture 24... The Orcs are routed and start to flee the battlefield, The PCs, followers and troops give chase.

 A final word from the DM at the end of the battle, 'You evil PC bar stools, (he did actually swear at this point I will point out), you killed all of my Orcs, just you wait till my other Orcs get here". 

  A couple more pictures... 

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Picture 1... The DM, (Dave), caught red handed in the act, actually moving his figures, all thoughts of his beer temporarily forgotten, this is so rare an event, we had to have a picture to prove it that it happened!!!!!!!!  Terry, who is just in the picture is stuffing cookies into his mouth.  Picture 2... The Dwarf PC forgets to watch his back and gets caught from behind by the comedy Orc, tough little bugger this one, the comedy Orc that is!!!!! Mind you it put a smile on the Dwarf's face!!!!!!  Picture 3... The DM cracks, normal service has been resumed, now all thoughts of moving figures are forgotten.   Picture  ... The DM hard at it with the calculator.  We had thought he was working out how many of his Orcs we had killed, actually, what he was really doing, was working out how much more beer he could get into his Xena mug!!!!