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Nippon Batrep Log

15K views 55 replies 11 participants last post by  MDSW 
#1 ·
Hey there guys (and girls, if necessary) - I finished up my Nippon Army Book a little while ago, and have managed to play a few games with it. Since it's not an official book, I don't want to clutter the forum too much with a bunch of reports, so I'm just going to throw everything into one thread, and start a sort of log here for any games that I manage to play with the finished book. There's an older thread from 2 years ago, when I was still playing "tester games" with the book. This thread is for the finished product (which is still evolving as I find the seemingly endless number of typos and mistakes - the one virtue of .pdf publishing).

For those who aren't familiar, to summarize the army, it's WHFB:Japan in a nutshell. The best way that I tell people to look at it, is to take the current Empire book, remove the crazy warmachines, and replace them with Japanese-themed units of spirits, and replace the Elites with Samurai themed models. The army itself is a glass cannon in the extreme - on the attack, they can deal a lot of damage, especially with their characters. However, they're still only "human tough", ranging from T3-T4, and their best save is a 4+. Combined with higher points costs, it makes the army fragile. The unit choices themselves are flexible - if you have a solid collection of Samurai or Feudal Japanese miniatures, you can play just about any army you want, as well as have them proxy almost 1:1 with the Empire book (for "legal" games).

During the reports, I'll try to point out certain rules - either in the lists or during the gameplay - since most readers probably won't be too familiar with the Magic Items or rules from my book.

In final, if you are one of the few players who has downloaded a copy of my book to play the army, and you've got a report you'd like to share, I'd like to read it. You can link to it here, or just post it in this thread if you like.
 
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#2 ·
2500pts vs. High Elves

I haven't gotten to play against the new High Elves that much yet, so I was really excited for this game. I had just finished using the army in "Empire proxy" form, but my opponent had been flipping through my printed copy of the Nippon book and was interested in perhaps playing a game against my fan-book. It's definitely cool to see strangers give the okay for a book like this, rather than having to keep my games among friends.

His list wasn't quite "my style", but it was definitely mean. To the table, he brought:

L4 Archmage w/ Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Preservation, Lore of Shadow

BSB w/ Armor of Destiny, GW
L2 Mage w/ Dispell Scroll, Lore of High Magic

25 Spears w/ musician, standard
25 Spears w/ musician, standard
5 Reavers
5 Reavers

18 Swordmasters w/ Banner, Muso
18 Swordmasters w/ Banner, Muso
18 Phoenix Guard w/ FC
6 Dragon Princes w/ FC

15 Sisters of Averlorn
---------

On my side of the table, I brought:

Daimyo w/ Murasama, Bashiri no Seiryu, Minamoyo Clan Mon, Komainu
@ 340 typical Fighter-Lord, Murasama is magic sword granting Frenzy. For each successful wound, can make an additional attack - these can generate additional attacks, but if there are no other targets, he will attack himself or allies. Bashiri is magical Heavy Armor granting a 4+ Regen save. Komainu is essentially a Demigryph

Heroes 510/625
Taisho BSB w/ Armor of Destiny, Additional Sashimono, Minamoyo Clan Mon
@ 235 Standard fighter-hero, Sashimono breaks Steadfast on D6=5+
Lvl2 Onmyoji (Beasts) w/ Talisman of Preservation, Aspect of Kitsune, Baku
@ 275 A shape-shifter, with a Familiar who gives all wizards within 12" -1Cast/Dispel and the Onmyoji +1Cast/Dispel.

Core: 625/625
40 Ashigaru w/ Yari, Banner, Musician
@ 340 Empire State Troops with Pikes (fight in 4 ranks, I10 when charged, +1S vs. Charging Cavalry
5 Samurai Horsemen w/ Light Armor
@ 95
5 Samurai Horsemen w/ Light Armor
@ 95
5 Samurai Horsemen w/ Light Armor
@ 95 Ellyrian Reavers with Longbows. Can Multishot(2x) if they remain stationary, have S4, 2A

Special:
23 Kensai w/ Musician, Standard Bearer, Minamoyo Clan Mon
@ 459 WoC Chosen, can have +1A or Parry, Armor Piercing, Break enemy Steadfast on D6=5+

Rare: 564/625
19 Sotei w/ Full Command
@ 334 Similar to Phoenix Guard - 5+ Ward, Halberds, Heavy Armor, enemy wizards within 12" at -1 to Cast

3 Hatamoto w/ Naginata, Musician, Standard Bearer
@ 230 Think Demigryph Knights

Total: 2498
---

Deployment

The plan was to send my Samurai Horsemen forward to deny the small village on the left flank, hopefully killing off his Sisters before they can get into a building. The right-flank is my strongest side, I plan to advance the Hatamoto (with the Daimyo) through the trees and break through his lines. The Onmyoji is standing with the Sotei, to give me a very effective "de-magic" bubble, and the BSB is standing with the Kensai, who's Bodyguard rule makes them Stubborn while joined by a member of the same clan.
For his part, he put all of the characters into the Phoenix Guard, giving him not-quite-a-deathstar, but still a solid VP-denial regiment.

After Vanguard

Not much to show here - just the Samurai Horsemen moving forward to block out the village, and the other regiment advancing to meet his Reavers on the right. He said that his plan was to use the Reavers on my right based on what I did with my own troops - if I went around the trees, he would meet me and attempt to cut me off, otherwise he would move towards the center and block/redirect my main host.

Turn One

I take the first turn and advance - the Reavers turn out to be blocking my Ashigaru, which was bad planning on my part. I manage to get the Hatamoto into the trees, as planned.
Magic is a bust, I don't generate enough dice or have anything worth the potential Miscast.
For shooting, both left-flank Reavers open up on the Sisters with Rapid-Fire, killing 6 but not panicking them. On the other flank, I open on the Reavers, and kill off two of them - they panic, only to rally on his turn and move back up.
He charges my SamCav with his Reavers on the left flank. I Stand&Shoot to kill 2. I'll kill 2 more during the combat, but he'll pass his Break.
For magic, he starts by throwing boosted Miasma on my Cav in combat - I let it go for -3 to my stats. He throws Withering at my Hatamoto, as it's a RiP, I also let it go, for another -3. Then he throws Okkam's at his Spears, which I dispel with all of my dice.

Turn Two

Busy turn!
The Hatamoto charge out of the trees and hit the Spears. Sotei and Kensai advance, and I move up the SamCav to redirect the Dragon Princes away from a flanking charge. The Ashigaru move to accept the almost inevitable Dragon Prince overrun (Pikes vs. Cav should be good).
Magic Phase gives me 4D6, which is enough to end Withering on my Hatamoto.
In combat, the Hatamoto and Daimyo rip the guts out of his Spearmen, the Daimyo kills 4, the rest of the regiment kills 7, and I only suffer 4W in return (1 dead Hatamoto, and a wound on another). He Flees, no longer being Steadfast with just 1 complete rank against 1 complete rank. The Hatamoto pursue, cut him down, and flank the PGs.
In the combat with the Reavers, the Reaver does 1 more wound to my SamCav before I score 1W to finish him off.

The Dragon Princes take the bait and charge the Reavers I sent to redirect them. He also attempts a charge with the Swordmasters, but due to the steep angle and a bad roll, fails the charge - possibly the most critical moment of the game.
Magic-wise, he throws Withering on the Hatamoto again, which I let go, and he rolls -3T, again. Then he throws Okkams, which I can't let through, and stop with all of my dice, again. At least the Sotei and Onmyoji are in range to drop his casting scores!
In the shooting phase, he uses the Sisters to soften up the Ashigaru and kills 3.
In combat with the PGs, my Daimyo challenges and he answers with his BSB. We each deal 1 wound in the challenge, and 1 wound again in the wider combat. I lose by 1pt, but Hold fast.
His Dragon Princes smash apart the Reavers, and overrun right onto my Pikes - just as planned.

Turn 3

The Kensai charge the front of his Phoenix Guard, and the Sotei charge his Spears. My horsemen move to block his Swordmasters from getting involved.
Magic finally pulls through and I get 11D6. I stop Withering, then throw a boosted Wyssan's which he dispels, and finally a boosted Savage Beast, which he fails to dispel.
I shoot at the Swordmasters with my cav, and only kill 1.
In combat, the Daimyo chops the BSB to pieces, but because of his sword effect, is forced to attack himself twice as well, and scores 1 wound. The rest of the PG kill one more Hatamoto, and then 7 Kensai. The Kensai and Beasted BSB score 10W, while the Hatamoto roll up another 3W. The PGs flee and the Hatamoto run them down (the Kensai are Stubborn and can't pursue).
The Sotei break the back of the Spears, 7W to 4W. Without the BSB, it's a bad roll that sees the Spears flee, and I run them down.
The Dragon Princes slaughter the Ashigaru - even without ASF rerolls (I10 when charged), and my +1S against cavalry, the DPs take it 10/3 and my Ashigaru don't care enough about Steadfast to hang around.

He charges the Swordmasters at my horsemen. The left regiment flees, but my other regiment S&Ss and kills nothing. The Dragon Princes turn around to get back in the fight.
His Wizards are all dead, there is no magic from him.
The Sisters shoot at the Hatamoto and fail to cause any damage.
In combat, his Swordmasters butcher my Samurai Horsemen before I can even strike.

Turn 4

My Horsemen fail to rally, and keep running towards my board edge. Everyone else turns to face new threats.
Magic sees another solid roll, and I throw 3D6 at Wyssan's on my Kensai, 3D6 at Savage Beast on my BSB which he fails to dispel, and then I attempt to use my BSB's bound spell (part of his Minamoyo Crest) to activate the regiment's Kei Power (an ability triggered when they are the target of a successful spell) and fail to cast it.

His Swordmasters charge to face my Kensai, while his Reavers move so that my Hatamoto can't intervene. His Dragon Princes hold back in a moment of confusion, trying to decide if he should move towards the fighting or stick around to mop up the fleeing SamCav.
In combat, the Swordmasters and Kensai+BSB is nearly a draw, with both sides hacking each other to pieces. He targets several attacks at my BSB, and kills him.

Turn 5

My Horsemen rally and move back towards the fighting, while the Hatamoto take the bait and charge his last regiment of Reavers.
For magic, I throw everything at Wild Form, which he dispels.
In combat, the Hatamoto rip through his Reavers as planned, but thanks to the Frenzied Daimyo they have to pursue. The Kensai kill the last of the Swordmasters and survive with just the Musician and Standard Bearer.

He charges his Swordmasters at my Sotei, and nearly wipes them out, then routes them but fails to catch them. His Sisters take shots at the SamCav to try and finish them off, but fail to cause any damage.

Turn 6

My Sotei manage to rally (barely). I move the SamCav to provide cover to my Kensai and BSB - if he's going to get VP for a unit, I'd rather he take the Horses than the BSB and/or Kensai. The Hatamoto ride hard to get out of range, for the same reason (there is just 1 left, and 1W on my Daimyo).

He charges the Swordmasters at my Sotei, kills most of them, including the Onmyoji, but I hold.
His shooting kills off 3 SamHorsemen, and that's the end of the game.

The final scores were estimated at 1092 vs. 1929 (Banners and General), with the army of Nippon taking the win!

Final Thoughts
I have to say, the game was very close, despite what the final tally of the victory points might have said. I was only 2W away from giving up points for my Kensai, and my Daimyo and Hatamoto were in equally bad shape. If the game had gone on for another turn of heavy combat, I would have likely been tabled. That's not even considering that if he had rolled anything other than a 1,2 for his charge with the Swordmasters against the back of my Hatamoto, it probably could have been game-over in Turn3.
Truth be told however, that is almost exactly how I want the army to work. Against enemy chaff and regular-quality soldiers, my elites can tear through them in round or two of bloody combat. Against the elites-of-elites though, such as the Dragon Princes and Swordmasters, or against Chaos Knights or Chosen, they still have an uphill battle. They're powerful, yes, but not that powerful. It took focused magic and 569pts worth of my own elites and characters just to bring down 250pts of Swordmasters.

The best part though is that we both left the table happy. He wasn't a friend of mine who was giving my book a "sympathy game" - he actually enjoyed looking through my armybook and wanted to play against it, and he wasn't disappointed. The army didn't pull punches or try to be an inoffensive pushover, but it also wasn't a total "Fanboy Powertrip" like so many people fear Fan-Lists will be. There were lots of enjoyable "fluffy" moments during the fight, with lots of bad 'Japarese-Rip-Synching', the challenge between his best warrior and mine, and that even though he wasn't a serious 'Japanophile' he was able to understand the real or legendary basis for a lot of the items and special rules in my army.
 
#4 ·
I gave your book a read through and it looked really good. I was surprised by the level of detail you went into. One thing bothered me though. What was the rational for making the hamamoto I6? Nothing else in the army list has anything that high. While it didn't come up, that would have negated the Always Strike First re-rolls on the sword masters. I think you should bump that down to I5, which would put them in line with the Kensai. Hell, right now those are 10 points cheaper then skullcrushers (the best monstrous Calvary in the game) but have more movement and attack first. Comparing them to Demigryphs also shows just how good those are. 7 points for an attack and 3 initiative points. Sign me up.
 
#5 ·
Paragon - I'm glad that you liked the book. The detail is all there because I wanted it to look and feel like you were reading a GW product. When I have the money together, there is a company that will print documents into hardback books which are almost identical to what GW prints the Armybooks on, and it's my hope that I can send them my armybook and have a something that will be almost indistinguishable from an official GW release.

Hatamoto actually started out as Empire Captains riding on Demigryphs, with a minimum unit size of 1, and a cost over 100pts. Eventually I realized that they were as good, or better, than my Taisho(Hero) and needed to be dropped down, but kept separate from the Kensai somehow.

The big problem with pricing out my list is that they are entirely glass cannons. What makes Crushers so good (in my opinion) is how difficult they are to kill. It's a T4, 3W model with a 1+ Armor save. That takes a lot to bring down. On the other hand, the Hatamoto is only T4, 3W, with a 4+ save. The Hatamoto are easier to kill than a Troll, for 30pts more. The Crusher is as "easy" to kill as 3 Chaos Knights, for 45pts less. Also, the difference of 10pts in a standard sized game, between rare units doesn't mean much. I can afford 8 Crushers in a list, or 9 Hatamoto.
When I first posted the nearly finished list, and even the book, people went through and started saying how "cheese" some of the units were. The Hatamoto were never mentioned overtly, but I can understand your point. People are quick to look at the offensive output of the units, and overlook the fact that nothing in this book is particularly hard to kill before it reaches combat or even during that combat.

Also, Swordmasters no longer have ASF+. All Elves now have standard ASF, which means that they strike at Initiative when armed with Greatweapons. Let's look at the effects of Swordmasters on a regiment of Crushers vs. Hatamoto:

4 Crushers vs. 21 Swordmasters (6pt difference) strike simo
Crushers = 5 wounds
SMs = 3 wounds
Jugs/Stomp = 6.25 wounds
Win by 8.25. Elves are not Steadfast. Will take 2 rounds of combat to wipe them out, losing ~2 Crushers in the process

4 Hatamoto vs. 18 Swordmasters (8pt difference)
Hatamoto = 3.55 wounds
SMs = 4.1 wounds
Komainu/Stomp = 6.25 wounds
Hatamoto win by 5.7. Elves are not Steadfast. Will take 2 rounds of combat to wipe them out, losing ~2 Hatamoto in the process.

I could go on for pages about how pricing in WHFB isn't nearly as cut-and-dry as we wish that it was. For instance, the cost of increasing to I4 over I3 is very great, but further increases are actually cheaper by comparison, the higher you go up the scale, because each increase affects fewer and fewer potential foes. The same is true of WS increases, which also "spike" at certain places because of the 2x+1 formula for being hit on 5's. Having tested the list a few times with the current specced Hatamoto ranged from 55pts to 80pts, 65pts seems like a good compromise.
 
#6 ·
You're right. I didn't factor in the cost of a 1+ save (crushers and chickens) versus your 4+ save here. However, look at everything else they do have that I also didn't mention. Forest strider, movement speed 8, auto wound on 3+, and magic resistance. All of that adds indirectly to defensive staying power (auto wounding things it normally couldn't kill means there is no bad combat for these guys). Throwing all of that aside, your description of Empire captains on a chicken still backs up the point I'm making even if it negates some of the argument against pricing. You're putting hero level characters onto monster cavalry. Every other monster cavalry is just a standard knight on small monster. Empire use a normal inner circle knight and crushers are simply warriors. No stat increases except to the toughness and wounds. These monster cav are getting +2WS and +2I over your standard samurai. That is what initially caught my eye and that is what makes these look simply too good.
 
#8 ·
Thanks D_K. If you want to read a more scathing review of my book by the guy who's done the other fan-based armies, check here: Warhammer Armies Project: Spotlight: Other fan-made Army Books
It was rated the lowest (by a full point) of any of the three fan books reviewed, and mostly over nit-picking little things that the other writer is guilty of themselves. I think that the poor review, plus the 2+ updates to the book while mine was still in development pretty much validate my army's quality as being much higher than it's given credit for.

Unfortunately, I doubt that GW will ever make a Nippon army, and if they do, it won't be a Samurai army. There are too many companies out there who are already making Samurai and even fantasy-styled Samurai models for GW to be able to copy their visual cues or expect players not to buy the cheaper alternatives. For now, you have my own book, and the older (although recently updated, and updated, and probably soon to be updated again) Nippon book from the WhAP page.

If you like the idea of a Samurai army, and you're a fan of the myths and legends surrounding them and ancient Japan in general, then go ahead and check out my book. I've found that most of the negativity surrounding it is actually very similar to the kind of negativity that you see surrounding any newly released GW book - people see the lists on paper and feel that they're going to be too powerful, can do too much, are too different from the norm, etc.

The only place where I will agree, is that the book is a bit dense on rules. Seven of the units have a unique spell-like ability which activates when they are targeted by magic (Kei), and there is a detachment-style 'Clan' system which revolves around Character-Unit interactions. Those are the two most difficult rules to grasp, and I haven't seen anyone have trouble with them during a game.

In terms of units, they actually are historically accurate, and inspired. I had to laugh about that in the review, as the whole reason that I started this project was because the only other Nippon book was focused more on L5R. There is a difference between historical accuracy, and Fantasy theme. No, Samurai didn't have magical powers, obviously - but there also were never Wizards, Dragons, steam-powered Tanks, etc roaming the battlefields of ancient Europe either. The armylist lends itself towards building a force that is very similar to a historical Sonae in the field. You have a core of Ashigaru or Samurai, backed up by Cavalry and elite Samurai. As the book is based on the late Sengoku or early Meiji periods, you'll see a smattering of gunpowder weapons fighting from behind bamboo screens.

The units that most people consider broken, actually feel more balanced once you get them onto the table and play them for a while. The entire army is more of a glass cannon than High Elves, and that is their biggest weakness. If you let a Nippon player dictate the flow of the game and take the initiative, you're in for a beating. If you can stymie them and choose your battles wisely, you will find yourself running roughshod over the Samurai. All of their greatest advantages involve attacking the enemy and winning combats - take this from them and they're worse off than an Empire list. Ironically, the units which people like the most, such as the Kabuzei and Shinobuzei (ninjas) are actually the ones that I find the most off kilter. While they don't win games on their own, and take a bit of skill to use efficiently, they can reduce an opponent to frothing, swearing, wrecks after a few turns of "shinobi shenanigans" (as one of my common opponents calls it).

Have a run through with the list, and let me know how you like it. Even if you want to post an army list and/or some tactics for me to try in my next game (if you lack opponents or models). I like getting feedback from other players. I wish that this book would receive wider attention than my own occasional outings with it.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Toriyomo is almost an exact carbon-copy of Franz. I'm not necessarily proud of that, but also admit that it was intentional. Franz is a powerful "The King" type character, and is really the only one of his type. I wanted the same for the shogun, but didn't know how far I could push the envelope and so took the easy way out.

It's worth noting though, that the sword is called simply 'The Sword of Yoritomo' and that I have no "Borne on the Winds" spell or effect. The link to my book in PDF format is in the first post- are you sure that you're looking at the right version? My spell list should read:
0. Misogi Harai, 'Purification of Water' 6+
--Augment, Hexes targeting the unit have +3 casting cost

1. Schichi Fukujin, 'The Seven Fates' 5+
--Augment, +D3 Ws, Bs, or Ini. Boosted 10+ for all three

2. Odayaka Nashio, 'Calming Tides' 10+
--Hex, enemy regiment loses all Psychology special rules

3. Kenno Hachiman, 'Hachiman's Sword' 12+
--Augment, friendly character, successful wounds generate an extra attack (these do not generate further attacks)

4. Shirudo Kojiki, 'Kojiki's Shield' 18+
--Augment, friendly character gains 4+ Wardsave. If a blow would kill the model, roll a D6, on 1-4 no effect, on 5 the wound is ignored, on 6, the wound is ignored and character regains D3 wounds

5. Ikaro no Izanye, 'Izanye's Wrath' 21+
Direct Damage. Each model Ini test or 1 automatic Flaming wound with no armor save allowed

6. Benzai Tennyo, 'Gift of Voice' Cost=Variable
Augment, friendly character, with casting cost as target's WS+2. Grants 'Gift of Tongues'

The only effects in my book which grant additional moves are 'Kakuyoku' from my Drums, which may affect D3 units if they pass a successful Ld, and moves them d6", and Nasunaga's Kei Power "Cruel Overlord" which grants one unit of Ashigaru within 8" to make a normal non-march non-charge move the first time he is the target of a successful spell in each players' magic phase.

I do have a bat rep to share with you guys when I get back to my computer. No spoilers, but it actually showcases Nasunaga's dastardly Odai Clan of Tachiwara House, and their rotten Shinobuzei allies in a skirmish with an Empire caravan along the Jade Road of northern Cathay.
 
#11 ·
hmmm.... maybe I wasn't. But I can't read the link that you put up in the main post for some reason, which is why I tried to find it elsewhere. Guess I found the wrong one! (actually, not a guess, but certain!) Oh well, my bad! :( Sorry for the confusion!

looking forward to your battle report!
 
#12 ·
The link's been working for me, but I'll see if I can't host it elsewhere for you. Scribd has been being a bit of a pain, forcing me to download the document to view it on a mobile etc. I have no affiliations with Scribd, I'm making no money off of this or anything, so I have no intention to make it difficult for people to get to my book. I've just uploaded it to Google Docs, so try this link:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3_wrWnpRjs9QTBWdkFIVnB4dE0/edit?usp=sharing
Unfortunately, Docs does require a download, but you don't have to be a member or upload a file of your own like you do on Scribd.

Anyways, I still need to sit down and make the pretty 'Battle Chronicler' pictures for you all, but here's the lists, explanations of the Nippon stuff, and the scenario:

Scenario: modified 'Loot and Pillage'
the shop was a bit crowded, so we split a table with another group that was playing a small game. Our table therefore was 3x4' and 3' is a bit too narrow to play straight across, meaning that we were going to have to play with someone in the middle of the table. We decided on a diagonal deployment, so that we each had a friendly section of long edge and a reasonable amount of space between the army. For those who only have the pocket guide, the rules for the scenario have players fighting to capture a building center field for 5VPs, and a wandering cart of goods for an additional 5VPs. Killing enemy units is worth 1VP each.

-I didn't really want to play a scenario, especially a goofy one like this. Unfortunately, my only available opponent was another Empire player, so I didn't really want to play Empire vs. Empire either. The guy I played in the last report gave a good account of my Nippon book, and my opponent agreed to play a game against it provided we randomly generated a scenario from among the Narrative Battles (goofy) section.

My Nippon Army:

Daimyo Odai Nasunaga (special character) - 300pts
:: a generic Daimyo. He has a lot of abilities which focus on Ashigaru regiments, and Samurai count as Special in his army, in exchange for Arquebusiers in Core. His Kei Power grants an Ashi unit within 8" a free move, and he can recycle destroyed Ashi regiments (D6+Turn = 6+). Has a Mempo that can give him FrenzyD3, but 1's will strike friendlies in Base/Base. With 3 Sashimono, he breaks enemy Steadfast on a roll of 4+

Miyushiro Masune (special character) - 190pts
:: a Legendary Warrior based on Musashi. He removes the restriction on Ronin units, makes Legendary Warriors Special rather than Rare, and gives friendly Legendary Warriors a +1 on their 'Peerless Warrior' roles. He has Gift of Tongues, a 4+ Ward while fighting in Challenges, and his wooden Samurai Sword (Heavenly Bokken) ignores Ward Saves.

Kabukara Gozeimon (special character) - 175pts
:: a Level2 Kabuzei who uses Lore of Shadows. Has Scout, and causes Fear (as well as Smoke Bombs and Shurikens per normal Kabuzei/Shinobuzei). Enemies are at -1 To Hit in combat. At the start of the game, he nominates an enemy character - his attacks against that character have Poison, KB, and Armor Piercing, and will always wound on a 3+ (unless it would be less).

Kabuzei of Shadow w/ Smoke Bombs, Shuriken 135
:: A Level1 Wizard who can use Shadows or Death, with modifiers to the Lore Attributes. With Shadow (Smoke and Mirrors), he no longer has to switch places with a Friendly Character, but can simply join a friendly unit, or move to Base-base with an enemy character within 18". Kabuzei cause Fear. Their 'Body of Shadow' rule allows them to voluntarily Break from combat before deciding Combat Resolution. Smoke Bombs means that enemies roll 1D6 less when Pursuing him. Shuriken are Poisoned Throwing Weapons. His 'Wretched' rule means that he can only join other 'Wretched' units (Kabuzei/Shinobuzei, Tachiwara Mon regiments)

Core:
34 Ashigaru Spearmen w/ Full Command - 200pts
Empire Spearmen. Nothing special about these guys. Nasunaga will join them in the fight.

10 Arquebusiers - 100pts
10 Arquebusiers - 100pts
Empire Handgunners for 1pt more. They normally appear in Special, but Nasunaga is famous (or infamous) for his dishonorable use of black powder.

10 Ronin - 100pts
Skirmishing, Unarmored Samurai. Their 'Repentent' rule makes them Immune to Psych on the turn that they Charge.

Special:
Legendary Warrior w/ Mastery of Kenjutsu, Talisman of Preservation, Potion of Foolhardiness - 125pts
Legendary Warrior w/ Master of Kenjutsu, Armor of Destiny - 125

Unarmored, Hero-level characters. Usually taken as a Rare "2 for 1" unit choice, Masune makes them Special (to allow for "7 Samurai" lists). They have Killing Blow, and must choose a Martial Mastery as part of their wargear. Kenjutsu (swordplay) grants them ASF, and equips them with Samurai Swords. Their 'Peerless Warrior' rule allows them to roll to break Steadfast just as if they were equipped with Sashimono. Usually they would break Steadfast on a 5+, but the +1 from Masune means that they will now break Steadfast on a 4+. They may not use this rule if a friendly character with one or more Sashimono is also present in the combat.

9 Shinobuzei w/ Poison, Smoke Bombs, Shurikens, Scout - 262pts
9 Shinobuzei w/ Poison, Smoke Bombs, Shurkiens - 208pts

Ninjas. They have the same 'Body of Shadows' rule as the Kabuzei, which allows them to break from combat and flee. They are upgraded to have Poisoned Attacks, and the Poison upgrade stacks with their Shurikens to make the throwing weapon Poison(5+). Otherwise, they're nothing special. Just light armored, 2HWs, 1A Skirmishers.

Total: 1998/2000

The Empire Army:

Arch Lector w/ Tal Endurance, Mace of Helsturm, War Altar, Heavy Armor, Shield
@ 338

Heroes: 410/500
Captain bsb w/ Armor of Destiny, Pistol
@ 140

Master Engineer w/ Pigeon Bombs, Barded Warhorse, Light Armor, Featherfoe Torc
@ 135

Warrior Priest w/ TalPres, Potion of Foolhardiness, Barded Warhorse, Heavy Armor, Shield
@ 135

Core: 503/500
29 Swordsmen w/ Full Command
:: Detachment, 15 Crossbowmen
:: Detachment, 15 Crossbowmen
@ 503

Special:

3 Demigryph Knights w/ Full Command
@ 204

5 Pistoliers w/ Musician
@ 100
5 Pistoliers w/ Musician
@ 100
5 Pistoliers w/ Musician
@ 100

Cannon
@ 120

Hellblaster
@ 120

Total: 2000/2000
------------------------------------------

My plan was to use my characters to get into contact with him, force him into challenges where he can't bring his units to bear and I have the advantage, and then use Peerless Warrior or my Sashimono's to break his blocks, or use Body of Shadow combined with my Smoke Bombs to slip away before the unit can lock me into another round. Meanwhile, the Ashigaru would try to lock down the building in the center, and the Ronin would be the ones to secure the caravan wagon. The Shinobuzei would deliver their character payloads, and then worry about thinning out the Demis and the Pistoliers. I was hoping that the altered Smoke and Mirrors on the Kabuzei would let them hop around the battlefield and wreak havoc amongst blocks and characters, but it was hard to be sure.

Tomorrow I'll have the Chronicler pics posted, and you guys can see if everything went according to plans (hint: not quite)
 
#13 ·
Nasunaga, master of the Odai Clan, heir to the legacy of Great House Tachiwara, sat atop his steed and surveyed the valley below. Through the very throat of the valley, the Jade Road carried valuable trade from the lands of Cathay, far to the West. In the mad Bushi's wandering through Cathay, he had only been able to follow rumors of the trade caravans, slipping away westward laden with riches. Now it seemed, he had the opportunity to capture one.
The procession seemed large, as though a small army had been tasked to guard these valuables. Red and white quartered livery caught the early-morning light. Nasunaga raised his war-fan, signalling his men to assume a battle formation. As the ranks of lowly peasant Ashigaru, and impoverished Tachiwara Ronin and sellswords drew themselves up into order, Nasunaga dismounted his horse. Better to fight on foot, and be an inconspicuous target. Other Bushi might scoff at the idea of hiding amongst the rank and file, but Nasunaga would see to it that he lived to have the last laugh. His army ready and eager, Nasunaga led the charge into the valley with a roar...

Deployment and Vanguard Moves

*the Shinobi units are both down a man as I miscalculated when I tried to "cheat" the Chronicler program
Legend:
N - Nasunaga
K - Kabuzei
G - Gozeimon
M - Masune
L1, L2 - Legendary Warriors
S1, S2 - Shinobuzei (S1 has Scout, with Gozeimon)
As - Ashigaru Spears
Ar1, Ar2 - Arquebusiers
R - Ronin
AA - Arch Lector on Altar
WP - Warrior Priest
E - Engineer
[not shown] - BSB, deployed with Swords
SW - Swordsmen
DX1, DX2 - Detachment Xbows
D - Demigryphs
P1, P2, P3 - Pistoliers
"Dot" - Cannon
"Chevrons" - Helblaster Volleygun

The wagon is the white and green checked box. It was deployed a Scatter+Artillery from the outpost. The outpost is the building in the center. There is a tower on my left flank, and some ruins on my right. We treated the ruins as a building, except that it only provides -1 To Hit.
Turn 1 I got the first turn by a slim margin

Both armies make a general advance. Gozeimon tries to Miasma his XBows, IFs it, loses Miasma and a Wizard level and ends my phase. Shooting from my Arqs kills a Pistolier. Opponent charges the cart with his Pistoliers and it Flees (as per scenario), he fails to catch it, pushing it closer to me. His other Pistoliers open fire on the Ashigaru and kills one. Almost everything opens up on Gozeimon's regiment, but Skirmishers in Trees at range are hard to hit, and I suffer no losses.
Cavalry wheeled out from the enemy formation and rode hard towards Nasunaga and his men. Smoke blossomed from their guns, much smaller than any that Nasunaga had ever seen, and one of the peasants nearest him fell to the dirt. In the confusion of the sudden attack, the driver of the trade-wagon steered his cargo directly towards Nasunaga's eagerly waiting ranks. The cruel Daimyo had promised an extra handful of rice to the captain of whichever regiment lay claim to the wagon first. As the wagon careened directly towards him, it seemed that he wouldn't have to make good on any promises - he would catch it for himself.
A fierce noise erupted from the right flank, behind the tradepost and out of sight. Gunfire unlike any other. The longer Nasunaga fought these outlanders, the more he anticipated the moment of victory, when their powerful weapons would be his for the taking. Looking to Gozeimon, the hired Kabuzei he had brought along, he saw the small copse of trees torn apart by fire. He hoped that the small fortune it cost to hire the merciless killer would not be wasted so soon.

Turn 2

The Shinobuzei occupy the tower, to rain shots down on the passing units and give them cover while the Kabuzei waits for his chance to strike. Nasunaga and his Ashigaru were meant to attack the building, but can't pass up the chance to recover the trade wagon. The Ronin are diverted towards the building, rather than circling around to attack the artillery. The Warrior Priest leaves the Demis to join the Swordsmen as they prepare to fight the Ronin for entry into the building. Pistoliers move to try and pin my Shinobuzei into the tower, while the another regiment charges the Ashigaru to clear the way and buy time for the Demigryphs to attack. He unloads a wall of fire at the Ronin, softening them up considerably before they reach the shelter of the building.
Nasunaga grinned wildly as he and his men swarmed over the caravan. They hacked down the driver and pulled the horses in. The wagon was theirs. Meanwhile, the other band of Shinobuzei ran spider-like up the walls of the nearby tower, slipping in through the windows and murder-holes to butcher any Cathayans they found inside. For a second time, the right flank was darkened by smoke and the dark shadows of crossbow bolts, scything down the Ronin as they ran for the shelter of the trade-post. Additional fire kept Gozeimon threatened, pinning him amongst the trees.
A regiment of the outlander horsemen crashed into Nasunaga's regiment and their waiting walls of spears. For the first time, he saw these outsiders up close - pale skin, with poor and ruddy complexions. Their hair was light, some even red. It made no difference, they bled and died just like any other man, and Nasunaga and his men cut them down without a further thought.
So far it seemed that Nasunaga would claim an easy victory this day...

Turn 3

Masune leaves the Ronin to attack the Demis, hoping to stall them by forcing their Champ into a challenge. He is killed in the second round fo fighting. The magic phase finally pulls through and I get 8 dice, plus channel 1. The Kabuzei in the tower casts Miasma at the Demis to "help" Masune, and then uses his modified 'Smoke and Mirrors' to leap into contact with the Warrior Priest, who is within 18". He issues a challenge, the BSB answers, via a Make-Way (weren't clear on the rules for this) and the Kabuzei is cut down without doing any damage at all. Gozeimon casts Steed of Shadows, again Irresistible, but manages to jaunt out of the unit before rolling a 7 and blowing up everything in base contact (nothing) but not himself. As the spell resolves, he uses Smoke and Mirrors to leap into contact with the Arch Lector. My gunners kill two more of the Pistoliers, and the last survivor retreats in good order to preserve Victory Points. The other regiment eats a very lucky volley of poisoned shurikens, is reduced to a single man, and flees - it will not rally for the rest of the battle.
The Kabuzei taken care of, my opponent assaults the building, kills the last 2 of my Ronin, but my Legendary Warrior cuts down his BSB in a challenge, and I win the combat. He sends in the XBows to provide Combat Resolution against Gozeimon - I kill his Arch Lector in a challenge, and elect to flee before we can determine CR (don't want to be stuck with rank'n'file) - this is a mistake, as even with 2D6 vs. 1D6 for him to catch me (Smoke Bombs) he runs Gozeimon down, rolling a perfect 6". So much for my lethal trap. A cannonball fired through a building scores D6 hits, this one rolling almost perfect and dropping 5 of my Shinobuzei in the tower.
Nasunaga's trap was sprung. From out of the forests, and from the top of the tower, leapt two figures of pure shadow. As the veils of darkness peeled away in the rising sun they revealed two Kabuzei, their horrific appearance made even more so by their painted faces and bright, tattered robes. Masune also broke from his regiment of Ronin, intercepting the giant bird-like creatures threatening to bear down on Nasunaga, and challenging their leader to single combat. It seemed that across the enemy lines, heroes were destined to fall beneath the skillful blades of the Nipponsei.
But they did not.
Masune - undefeated swordsman of the East - was driven off after only a brief fight. He had sworn, when Nasunaga coerced him into joining the expedition into Cathay, that for that single folly, Nasunaga would know a thousand. The Daimyo did not see him fall, and imagined that the arrogant Bushi had slipped away, intent upon letting him suffer defeat at the hands of these inferior humans. The Kabuzei who Nasunaga had retained in his court for nearly a decade, was cut down as if he were a mere child. Only Gozeimon achieved his goals, quickly slicing the throat of the priest on his glittering wagon, before he too retreated from the field in a burst of colorful smoke.
This was to be Nasunaga's hour of victory! Why were his allies deserting him?!

Turn 4

Another active turn.
The Shinobuzei in the forest charged the Crossbowmen, who fled. With a 12" roll on their charge, the Shinobuzei redirected into the Swordsmen. Hoping that the Shinobuzei would be able to hold them for at least a turn, I committed the biggest mistake of this game - planning on getting Nasunaga and the Ashigaru into the building, I pre-emptively bail-out with the Legendary Warriors, completely forgetting that I could bail out next turn and then move the Ashigaru in. DOH! I jump the Shinobuzei out of the tower to block the Demis and redirect them to either overrun into the tower, or be forced to reform before charging Nasunaga again. The handgunners move out of the ruins to get into range and provide CC support if needed.
In combat, the Shinobuzei lose by a whopping 8pts after fluffing all of their attacks. They flee, running back through my repositioned Handgunners (wouldn't have happened if I hadn't moved them) and Panic them as well. Say bye-bye to my right flank.
The Demis charge my Shinobuzei at the tower, as expected, and unexectedly I actually do some wounds with my Stand and Shoot, before fluffing all of my attacks AGAIN and being slaughtered to a man. The Demis are happy to reform and face Nasunaga, who is now trapped outside the tower since the Kabuzei utterly failed at their jobs and the Swordsmen were allowed to walk right in through the front door. The unridden Altar charges my Legendary Warrior and drops him with Impact Hits alone, just to rub salt in.
Nasunaga could feel his victory slipping away faster than he could prevent it. His warriors were being driven from the field without even putting up a fight. These men were spineless - they had no guts, no balls. There was not a scrap of honor in any one of them. It was humiliating. He had been perched to bring Cathay to it's knees. He was meant to accomplish feats that no Bushi had dreamed of in almost a thousand years. And yet here he was, his army reduced to nothing before his eyes...

Turn 5 - The Last Samurai, and Nasunaga's Impotent Rage

The last turn. My gunners flee off while the Shinobuzei rally. My last Legendary Warrior charges the War Altar, defeats it and it flees. I run it down, only to be caught in the open and subjected to an 11-hit blast from the Volley Gun. Needless to say, he is reduced to little more than pink mist. Nasunaga activates the power of the 'Oni Skull Mempo,' which gives him the berzerk rage of a Demon-Ogre. Frenzied, with +D3A, I send him in with 9 Ashigaru to oust the Swordsmen. Hilariously, Nasunaga whiffs his attacks, kills 1 Swordsman, rolls a 1 to hit and ends up killing one of his own men as well - totally cancelling out his effect on the battle. The rest of the Ashigaru fight like the lowly peasants they are, and are defeated. As a result, as per scenario rules, control of the Wagon passes to the Swordsmen who defeated me in combat. The Arquebusiers manage an excellent shot at the Demigryphs, finally downing one of the beasts and then wounding another.
The Demis charge Nasunaga. Their champion challenges me to keep Nasunaga out of combat with the rest of the unit (he has "made way" to the side) and I hack him to pieces in an instant. The rest of my unit achieves very little, but I win the combat and surprisingly, the Demis run like hell. Because Nasunaga is Frenzied, I'm forced to pursue, I catch them, overrun them, but have no chance of capturing the center building and the wagon, and thus ends the game.
Nasunaga was frothing with rage. Spitting bile and curses at the Ashigaru around him, he drove them forwards like a slaver, pushing them through the doors and window of the blood-soaked building, and onto the swords of their waiting foes. He even went so far as to cut down one of his own men who got between him and the foe. The inside of the building was dark, and claustrophobic as the men pressed together and fought blindly to gain the upper hand. Soon, Nasunaga found himself hurled back outside into the light of day. Looking about himself, he found that the cart of riches had gone missing. The jeering faces at the window, holding up bags of gold and veritable ropes of precious rubies and emeralds confirmed his fear - the enemy had somehow captured his wagon during the assault!

The last noble Bushi on the battlefield, a lone Legendary Swordsman, drove off the horses of the errant War Altar and sent it fleeing from the field. He held his bloody swords aloft and screamed his defiance as the outlanders callously gunned him down with their honorless warmachine. Nasunaga had no time to enjoy the gory spectacle though, as the squawking bird-monsters of the West charged into his flanks and threatened to rout his core of Ashigaru. The angry Daimyo shouldered his way to the fight and sought out their leader. He would show that miserable Masune how to kill a man properly. In a single sweep his tore off the beast's forelegs at the midpoint, the creature toppling over in a splash of gore, as Nasunaga scrambled to drag the rider from the saddle. Throwing him into the mud, Nasunaga hacked relentlessly at the metal-encased body of the knight. Around him, his men recoiled and fell back, and the last surviving bird-rider retreated in abject horror at the barbarity of his enemy. Barely looking up from the pile of bloody meat and tattered steel before him, a red-eyed Nasunaga screamed for his men to chase the coward from the field.

Tears rolled down Nasunaga's face like a spoiled child. Victory had been so close at hand. But no - his army had abandoned him. For the second time in his life he had been left to die. And for the second time, he clawed his way to safety. Perhaps not victory, but survival. And soon, survival would be all that mattered in Nippon...
----------------------------------------------------

Final Score: 18-5
This battle seemed to be going fantastically well until I got a little ahead of myself and made some silly gambles and horrible mistakes. It's nothing that I'm ashamed of though - I've been playing with my High Elves and Warriors, and was getting a bit too used to being able to "claim victory" halfway through the battle and spend the last 2-3 turns planning how to kill as many extra badguys as I could. The Nippon book doesn't exactly do the whole "tabling... thing" quite as readily as the others - once your army is engaged and spends it's momentum on a foe, this army as whole becomes a lot less forgiving.

Of course, I will admit that it doesn't help that this wasn't exactly the best list that I could have written. If I had been able to scale this concept up to 2500pts, I think it would have done substantially better. Legendary Warriors are nails-hard, having done the math, I could have probably left them in that building for the rest of the game and nothing in his army short of the Demis would have been able to put together an "Assault Group" strong enough to oust them. After the last game against the Dragon Princes, I was drastically underestimating the staying-power of Ashigaru, but if I had known that Nasunaga was so hungry for General Tso's Demigryph, I'd have kept him outside and even thrown him into the Chicken MkNiggits.

The Kabuzei, Masune, and Gozeimon were actually first-timers for me since publishing the book (I haven't played them since testing). I keep my book printed out and in a spiral-bound report cover, and when I turned to their entry page and saw that they were each rocking ~5A (and 3W on Masune, a typo in his Beastiary page but corrected in the Army Entry - he should have 2W) I almost thought that I had done something horribly wrong and broken. NOPE! They got ripped to shreds in a hearbeat. Neither of them has a save, and without a magic weapon, the Kabuzei lacks the strength to get a wound in edgewise. Masune's lack of Heroic Killing Blow means that he was out of his element fighting the Gryph champion (get down here and fight me like a man, Birdman!). Gozeimon has KB, and that's what brought down the Arch Lector, but he only has it against 1 opponent. After that, he's just as bad off - S4 and just hoping to score wounds. I should have put the points from the other Kabuzei into beefing up the Shinobuzei, as they actually did a decent job on the battlefield, soaking up a lot of shooting by virtue of being Skirmishers in Cover, and returning some pretty solid fire of their own, even if they only have a 6" range.

So there you have it - the list does lose. And considering he beat my score by almost 400%, I'd say that it loses pretty hard. That was as much a failure of the list (not that they're bad, but S4 doesn't cut the mustard with the characters) as it was of my tactics, but hey - it happens. Just gotta roll with it, and come back better.
 
#14 ·
Ooh missed this thread when browsing randomly, what a shame.
Glad I found it now.
I forwarded your link to a friend of mine, he's more into feudal Japan then I am (I take Norse Mythology over that anytime!:messed:) and I think he'll appreciate the book a lot.

The batreps are fun to read, I like the bits of fluff you put in there with the last report, it always adds something to the immersion of it all.
Nippon sounds like a fun army to play with and against though quite punishing if you mess up a bit (goes for both sides), but again that's all in the nature of the game, as far as I can tell you did a sterling job of it yourself and should be very proud! have some rep :)
 
#15 ·
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It took a lot of work to get the book finished to where it is now. If your friend likes it and perhaps decides to give it a few whacks around the table, that would be awesome. Let me know what he thinks. He should definitely pick up some connections - the 47 Ronin, the 7 Samurai, historical figures Miyamoto Musashi, Ishikawa Goemon, Date Masamune, Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, Honda Tadakatsu, Yamagata Masakagi / Ii Naomasa, as well as references to several Japanese legendary weapons, and the names of the spells all being provided in Japanese(ish).

As for the 'unforgiving' bit of it, I think that it has to be. If you want historical accuracy, you can make a pretty good Samurai army out of the Empire book, provided you don't use any of the Empire cavalry. I wanted a historically accurate army at first, and then realized that it's just not Warhammer without going entirely over the top and making really stylized. Samurai in the legends are all killing machines - doing crazy stuff like defeating 100 men in a battle. To represent that, I took the Empire that I started with, dialed the "killyness" up to 'Khorne Warrior', and dropped the defense to 'Lucky Skaven Slave'. Is it fun to play? I certainly think so. Is it fun to play against? Meh - it's just like playing against any other army, it has it's do's and don't's (don't cast spells as Samurai, for instance, haha)


I've only glanced over, but there's at least something to be said for Eliason's Norse book, you can get it for free on Scribd. I would write a Norse book up for you because I do agree that they're awesome (I also want to do an Albion list, as I played the campaign and happen to love the Celts), but I don't want to deal with the same humbuggery from him that I did with this one. His book is decent though, my only complaint being that because of the way that he writes his books (based on human statlines with a modest +/-1 on a few stats here or there) the units are all a touch "samey" and you can definitely get a feel for the basis of each one.

It makes sense, his book probably is more balanced than mine, at the expense of being much more one-dimensional. Sure, these fan armies are made 'just for fun', but when everything is so similar, it doesn't really give you reason to field anything in particular. In the Samurai book, what defines unit choice is the friction between roles. If you field Core Samurai, why bother fielding Kensai? If you field Kensai, field Ashigaru core. If you want Cavalry, you're getting into Special, but that rubs with your Kensai, and is rivaled by Hatamoto in Rare. And of course, the interactions of Bushido provides friction as well - do you take Kensai to be Stubborn when your leader is there, or do you take Stubborn Uzabushi who can escort a non-samurai, but for a slight hit on the statline? Or do you take Sotei, who rival Samurai in many ways, but provide huge boosts to your Caster? Writing a Nippon list is meant to be a bit of a puzzle - the book is rife with 'opportunity costs' which provide limits to what you can do beyond just "how many points". I don't force players into what I call the 'Sonae' playstyle, with historically-based armies, but the nudge is definitely there. I think of it like a skill-tree. There are certain "hooks" which allow for different playstyles, but the synergy means that once you start down a certain path, it starts to snowball along that path - you can 'cross class' into another playstyle, but it gets expensive, and you can't do both to 100%.
 
#19 ·
By pure happenstance I came upon this thread, and I have to say I'm rather disappointed Sarathai. First off, if you have any issues with me, please feel free to bring them up with me directly instead of complaining here where I most likely won't see them.

Secondly, I have to say I disagree on your review of my review regarding your book, for several reasons:

If you want to read a more scathing review...
1. Is there a less scathing review out there? So far, I haven't seen one, nor a more positive one (if we shall go after what would constitute as a review). I would also like to point out that 3,5/5 is a good score, not a bad one.

It was rated the lowest (by a full point) of any of the three fan books reviewed...
2. It was rated the lowest of the 3 I brought up, which I said were my favorites for 8th ed. There are several worse ones I didn't bring up at all. Furthermore, I gave it a 3,5/5, whereas the Norse book got a 4/5. Half a point's difference, not a full (if that matters so much).

mostly over nit-picking little things that the other writer is guilty of themselves...
3. Which I nitpicked on in the Norse book as well. And reviewed accordingly. Though bear in mind that I read the Norse book back in 2011 when it came out, and my standards are a bit higher now. Were I to rate my own older books now, they would not score high at all. Furthermore, these nitpicks jumped out more at me than they did with the Norse book for some reason. On the whole the layout is good, but it could improve. Same goes for my own work.

I think that the poor review, plus the 2+ updates to the book while mine was still in development pretty much validate my army's quality as being much higher than it's given credit for.
4. While your view on my review is completely subjective (as the review itself was), you'd have to explain the second part clearer. What 2+ updates? To your book or mine? How do you update a book 2+ times while it's "still in development"? And how does this validate your army's quality?

In terms of units, they actually are historically accurate, and inspired. I had to laugh about that in the review...
5. "Accurate" was rather poor wording on my part I admit; "realistic" would have been a better fit (I've even edited the blog entry to reflect this). Which your army isn't, which is fine if you like that sort of thing - I personally didn't since there was no real background justification for them being on the same level as Chaos Warriors other than "they are Samurai, duh!". Which again, is completely subjective - some people might like it, some people might not. I stated as much on my blog.

Finally, don't let me stop you from doing a Norse/Albion book with my "humbuggery", you are obviously above the need of any kind of constructive feedback (and will most likely consider this entire post as a childish rant). I promise I won't try to help out in the future since it apparently bugs you so much.
I'd still be very interested in seeing what you can come with in terms of making the Norse different from a just human statline with just a few +1/-1 changes (very interested, since that's exactly what Marauders, and in effect other humans, are technically supposed to be). And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

Anyway, respond or ignore as you wish. Cheerio.
 
#16 ·
Absolutely love it - in fact, I had been following your book for quite sometime, but I don't think I had peeked at the latest version.

You are right, GW will probably never do a real Samurai army, but they do have lots of books for standard type armies that I am sure is way above some of those and there are tons of mini companies making models.

This has really gotten me excited about starting to assemble and paint my almost 200 WGF Samurai army still sitting in a box - I just have to finish a few more projects forst!
 
#17 ·
MDSW - I've been meaning to pick up more of the WGF Samurai, presently all that I have are the old "cabbage head" Dixon models, and they're not really of the quality that I'd want to put up. I don't have any free cash at the moment, I'm moving in with the lady friend and we're going paycheck to paycheck right now until we can get started (it doesn't help we're both chefs, so our kitchen probably costs more than most folks' bedroom set). Seriously, if you do a project thread or just some shots of your stuff whenever you get around to it, I'd be willing to give you a spot in the pdf to show them off. I'd like to have a 'hobby section', and I'm not expert painter or anything. With permission and all that, of course.

I won't deny that you can use plenty of other companies to make a Brettonian or Empire army, just like people are using Kings of War models for their Dwarfs and Undead armies. The problem is that when those armies first came about, there were few other companies doing those models, and those that were, GW was probably actually able to undersell. Now, other companies are cranking out minis at literally half the price or better, with just as much or more quality than the money-gougers at GW. GW knows that if they try to push a 10-for-$22 pack of Samurai at us like they did for the Empire, nobody will buy them up. No worries - I like my book better than anything GW would pop out anyways :p
 
#18 ·
I think your book is fantastic and the art and layout is top notch. I would whole-heartedly endorse the WGF Samurai, as all figures in this line are really excellent. Most of the criticism has been the details are too fine and will get lost. However, it is very hard to compare a 28mm proportionally correct to a 28mm hero-scale and not say the realistic proportions look off.

Cabbage Head??!! - Ha!! that's funny! Yes, I have to agree that there are quite a few companies out there that went with a blend of realistic and hero-scale at 28mm and ended up with some very squat and strangely proportioned minis. The WGF Ors are horrid by any comparison, the Saxon/Vikings are very good and the Samurai are excellent. I have many Samurai, Ashigaru and the mounted Samurai from them and just wish I had more hours in the day...


holy cow - 1000th post!!!
 
#21 ·
The forum's been a bit slow lately, and the BatRep section itself is slowly slinking back to obscurity, so I don't feel the least bit guilty about shamelessly plugging another Nippon batrep in here. The army has been coming along slowly, owing a great deal to my moving in with the girlfriend and having to pay triple my old rent. No money for hobbying. So I have a few half-assembled ranks of the WGF models coming along. I know that a handful of other LO'ers have picked up the reigns to the army, notably Idomisei's gaming circle, and MDSW if I recall.
Anyways, for those of you who follow the High Elf section, you might remember my cavalry Light-Star getting a pretty solid trouncing by some Lizards. I thought that it was time to repay the favor, and as a bit of a "for kicks" rematch, we went with a battle between that same list, same terrain, and my Nippon Army. The goal was two-fold. First, to see if I couldn't pay him back for the loss, and second, to get another guaging of Nippon against the new Lizards book. No pics of the battle, again, as we had an embarrassing number of proxies, half-built and unpainted terrain (the RoB board we use is barely flocked) and just general goofiness on the table. We were also playing on the floor of the apartment mentioned earlier, with the girlfriend's PS3 controller wires looping overhead while she played Kingdoms of Amalur and laughed at the nerdlings and their toy soldiers :p
-------

my list, and the overviews:

Lords: 575/625
Izeguri Kojiro -General-
@ 290
Kojiro is the Daimyo of the Izeguri Clan, who use the Minamoyo Mon. He has a 5+5++ save and MR3, and is armed with Samurai Swords. Kensai in his army may take additional Sashimono at no extra cost (usually +5pts/model). He has 3 Sashimono of his own (negates Steadfast on 4+). The Minamoyo Clan Mon means that he can activate his own or his units Kei Power as a 7+ Bound Spell. His Kei Power has no direct effect, but activates any other regiment's Kei power within 6".
L4 Shindo Priest (Light) w/ Talisman of Preservation
@ 270
Standard, L4 Caster. Nothing fancy here.
Heroes: 190/625
Taisho BSB w/ Naginata, Additional Sashimono, Armor of Destiny
@ 190
Halberd, armor piercing, and wears 2 Sashimono (Breaks Steadfast on 5+).
Core: 630/625
15 Samurai Horsemen w/ Light Armor, Full Command
@ 342
15 Samurai Horsemen w/ Light Armor, Full Command
@ 342
These guys are Samurai Fast Cav with Longbows. They suffer no penalties for Moving and Shooting, or gain 2x MultiShot if they remain stationary - BS4. In close combat they are 2A, S4, T3, and Armor Piercing, just like foot Samurai.
Special: 531/1250
27 Minamoyo Kensai w/ Banner, Musician, Additional Sashimono
@ 531
Kensai are elite Samurai, their difference being that they each wear 1 Sashimono (these have been upgraded to wear an additional). When joined by a character from the same clan they are Stubborn. The have S4, 2A, Armor Piercing and Killing Blow. When their Kei is activated, they reroll failed To Wound. Their swords grant either +1A or Parry, as normal Samurai Swords. They cannot have a Champion, so you cannot "Deathstar" your Wizard into the second rank without 3 characters in the first.
Rare: 587/625
14 Uzutsu w/ Gashira
@ 252
Uzutsu are large hand-cannons. They have 2 modes of fire: either as a 12" S5 Handgun, or as a 12-48" range Stone Thrower using the 3" template and hitting at S3. If there are 10+ models in the unit, they drop the 5" template. The weapon is Slow to Fire, the crew are Samurai, so they are contenders in close combat. Their Kei Powers lets them reroll a Misfire on their Stone-Thrower type shot.
4 Hatamoto w/ Torai (Sashimono), Standard Bearer, War Banner
@ 335
Somewhere between Demigryphs and Crushers. 65pts each, with a 4+ save, Forest Strider, and MR1. Their Torai (Champion) wears 3 Sashimono, the only non-Lord model able to do so. He will break Steadfast on a 4+.
2498/2500
----------------------------------------

My opponent took a very spartan armylist, focusing more on sheer numbers rather than characters. It's an interesting comparison, since my Nippon book is intentionally "Hero Hammer-y" to keep that 'Kurosawa' feel.

Lord Kroak
- xxx

Tetto’Eko
- xxx

Skink Chief BSB w/ Stegadon, Unstoppable Stampede
- 265

30 Saurus Warriors w/ Spears, Musician, Standard Bearer
- 284
30 Saurus Warriors w/ Spears, Musician, Standard Bearer
- 284

40 Skinks, 4 Kroxigors w/ full command, poisoned attacks
- 510

26 TempleGuard w/ full command
- 422

Bastilodon
xxx
2500/2500
--------------------------------------------------------

The wall at the front of Lord Kroak's chamber shimmered, passing glimmers of musty green foliage from some far off jungle where his race had once tread. He was being called to war. Called to defend the forgotten corners of the world once again. More and more the warmblood-races were uncovering the lost Temple Cities, hoping to plunder them and gain their secrets, to unlock their powerful magicks to turn against the world. Lord Kroak was fated to stop them - to resist them for an eternity. It was his burden, and his choice.

The wall dissolved as the summoning was completed. The sounds of crackling incense burners and the warm glow of the embers was replaced with the chill of an early morning mist, a cacophony of jungle-birds in the treetops, and the low croaking and bleeting of the Saurus Warriors who surrounded his palanquin. Kroak could hear the intruders within the mist - their language was unfamiliar, nearly the singson of Cathayan, and he guessed that he must be in Khuresh. This was the UnTold Race, the Blank Race which Should Not Be. The plaques had not foretold of these humans, hidden somewhere upon the sea. Once before they had attacked Khuresh, but the Lizardmen magic had bent the jungle paths around the temple, leading them in circles so that every step took them farther from their goal. What was different this time? How had such upstarts located the lost temples?


Deployment
U - Uzutsu
H1/H2 - Horsemen
K - Kensai and all characters
M - Hatamoto
My spells are Burning Gaze, Pha's Protection, Light of Battle, and Birona's Timewarp

SW1/SW2 - Saurus Warriors
B - Bastilodon
TG - Templeguard and Slann
BSB - BSB on Stegadon
SK - Skinks, with Kroxigors and Skink Wizard

There are ruins on the left flank, trees everywhere else.
He gets the first turn
Turn 1
Kroak and a nearby Bastilodon moved forward tentatively, hoping to get a better look at their attackers, and perhaps ward them away with a display of lethal magic. Kroak raised his withered hands and gestured, calling down the wrath of Itza to smash aside these upstarts. There was nothing. It was as if something, somewhere on the battlefield was draining the Winds of Magic, pulling them away from him. Casting his gaze out into the realms beyond, Kroak could see a lingering haze around the armor of his foes - where they somehow channeling the magic from the world, into their wargear? There was little time to think - the Solar Beam from the Bastilodon fired off, but a small man in bright robes stepped forward with an outstretched hand, deflecting the blast with a wall of dazzling light. Kroak had come face-to-face with his adversary in this battle.

There was no time to appreciate the aptitude of the wizard. Kroak was reminded of the simple-mindedness of the cruder races, when a hail of blue-feathered arrows snapped and buzzed through trees. The accurate volley peltered off the thick hides of his Saurus bodyguards, but four were felled by lucky darts. A deafening roar sounded from Kroak's right flank, a blazing orange flash in the fog mixed with drunken, raucous cheers. A complimentary explosion hurtled several Saurus on the opposite side of the battlefield to the ground amidst gigantic plumes of dirt. Many of the beasts were only lightly wounded by the blast, and crawled back to their feet bewildered, but determined.


Turn 1
My opponent moves to get some spells off, no doubt planning to fall back into line as I approach, but the first turn winds are weak. A 6,2 for my opponent sees him burn 6 dice on the boosted Deliverance of Itza and fail to to meet the 24 required. His remaining dice go towards the Bastilodon but it's bound is easily dispelled. My turn sees me advance slowly, looking to keep Kojiro close enough so that when I activate his Kei, the nearby Horsemen will benefit (no negatives to Hit in the shooting phase). I roll a 3,3 and throw 3D6 at Pha's Protection, which confuses him and he lets it go. Kei is triggered on all three units. Then I throw 3D6 at Burning Gaze against the Basty, which he dispels.
Being stationary and having no negatives for cover/range/multishot, I double-tap with the Horsemen against the TG, but the S3 bows do little. the Uzutsu get a lucky direct hit on the Saurus Warriors, but again - little damage from the S3, and the Priest makes his Look Out!
Kroak motioned for the rest of the line to advance to his position. The newcomers were approaching slowly, and Kroak saw an opportunity to beat them back before they could reach the temple stairs. Tetto'Eko moved his Skink cohort forward in response to reports of enemy cavalry in the treeline nearby. The Saurus, deafened by the recent explosion in their ranks, moved back in an attempt to hem the riders into a pocket. Tetto'Eko tried his hand at magic, calling down the powers of the stars to rain comets upon his foe. Again, the magic fizzled at the caster's fingertips. This time though, the Solar Engine of the Bastilodon let forth a blazing ray of molten death, illuminating and incinerating a handful of the artillerymen who had fired upon the Saurus moments before.

Kroak could hear the earth begin to rumble as the treeline to his right burst open. A handful of riders - covered head to foot in ornate armor and hideous masks - charged headlong into Tetto'Eko's cohort of Skinks and Kroxigors. A suicide mission, no doubt. Even mounted upon the outlandish cats they had ridden into battle, no force so small stood a chance against Tetto'Eko and his Spawn-kin. A Kroak prepared to watch the slaughter, the robed man stepped to the fore again, and with a gesture, imbued the blades and fangs of the cavalry with light. The giant cats leaped with supernatural agility, driving the Kroxigors to the ground and pinning them beneath tearing claws, snapping teeth, and circling blades. The great lizards didn't stand a chance, magical blades ripped through their hides and spilled their blood onto the marshy ground. The skinks fell back, but dared not run under Tetto'Eko's stern gaze. The trap had been set - the ferocity of the new foe was admirable, but it would not win this battle.


Turn 2
He moved closer to me, and tried to cast Comet of Casandorna onto the ground just in front of my Kensai, but failed. His winds have been very poor. He puts the last dice into his Bastilodon Boundspell and gets 2D6 S5 hits against my Uzutsu, killing 6 of them. He fires his Giant Blowpipes from the Stegadon at my Horsemen but achieves no kills.
I charge out from the trees with my Hatamoto, and then march Kojiro close enough to buff them with Light. I roll up a 2,1 for Winds, and throw everything at barely casting Timewarp onto the Hatamoto. This triggers their Kei Power (wound on a 3+ unless it would be less) and I see a perfect opportunity to kill the Kroxies before they can do any damage. Everything but the Stomps go towards the Kroxs, and kills all 4 of them with some overkill I was happy to give up. I fail to roll to break their Steadfast though, so they hold in the face of the slaughter.
My Uzutsu get a shot off against his Saurus, but I'm reduced to the 3" template now as there are fewer than 10 gunners in the regiment.
T3
The trap was set, and the cavalry had taken the bait. There was no force behind them - this was their vanguard regiment? The young races were always difficult to combat - always swaying somewhere between genius, madness, and arrogant stupidity. Kroak pressed the advantage, sending his Saurus Warriors forward into the trees, prepared to meet the invaders beyond the mass of jungle which shielded the temple. On the opposite flank, the Saurus Warriors bellowed a war-roar and charged into battle with the hopeless cavalry.
Once more, Kroak raised his hands for the deliverance of Itza, and once again, the spell failed. Something was clearly amiss. Matters only got worse when Kroak heard the shrill hisses of panicked Skinks. Turning his withered body to gaze upon Tetto'Eko anchoring his left flank, he saw both the Skinks and Saurus in full retreat, a lone, pendant-bedecked warrior charging through the underbrush to catch them. The Skinks were horrified, and scattered beyond any hope of rejoining the battle.
A fresh warcry was raised, and the human troops surged through the trees to attack. It was a sudden shift in the momentum of the battle, and the warm-bloods were eager to take advantage of the confusion amongst Kroak's host. The archers who had been harassing his Saurus from horseback, slung their bows over their shoulders and drew swords, darting through the treeline to attack the Saurus's exposed flank. The Bastilodon had been meant to dissuade them, but the beast could only watch as the horses darted by no more than a hand's length from it's face. The main force of the enemy, footsoldiers similarly armored to the demon who had just crushed his right flank, charged into the front of the Saurus. A brilliant, dazzling light filled the small copse of trees, followed by a thunderous explosion. Kroak felt magic flood into the world unchecked as the enemy wizard overloaded his abilities and was torn apart by the gale. Warriors on both sides were caught in the maelstrom, but neither could afford to retreat. The carnage was unimaginable - the Saurus regiment was slaughtered before the beasts even had time to flee.


Turn 3
A somewhat confusing image, as a lot happened this turn. The Saurus flank charged my Hatamoto. In the combat, still buffed with Timewarp, I hacked apart no less than 20 Skinks, losing 7 wounds in return - enough to kill 3 of my Hatamoto. The remaining Hatamoto had won combat by a wide margin, and as the champion, still had his 3 sashimono. In a crushing roll, I broke the Steadfast of the enemy and routed both regiments instantly. I chose to pursue his wizard's unit, and ran them down. On my turn, I wheeled the lone Hatamoto in preparation for a charge against the fleeing Saurus, if they didn't rally first.
He rolled a 4,3 and threw 6D6 at Deliverance again, but failed to meet the required 24. Magic was frustrating him all game. He moves the Saurus forwards into the trees, and moves the Bastilodon to watch their flank in case I charged with my cavalry or even Uzutsu (he has seen them in combat before).
In my turn, I charged the horses and Kensai straight into his waiting trap and basically just prayed really hard. I rolled a 2,2 for Winds, which looked awful until I threw boosted Timewarp and rolled 3 sixes. Then rolled a 2 for the Miscast result. Yay. Most of my unit was caught in the blast and relied on their Magic Resistance to save them, and then my Wizard got ripped off the table by Khorne. Still, my Kensai have ASF and +1A, and thier Kei is active, allowing them to reroll failed To Wound rolls. The Horsemen gained +1A and ASF as well, to put 20A forward. The two units combined, plus the characters, killed the Saurus to a man before they could even strike. I took the opportunity to overrun the boosted Cavalry into his Templeguard, leaving my Hatamoto with nowhere to go. Really, this was the turn that flipped the game.
Turn 4
Kroak was fighting for his life. His plan had unraveled so quickly - he realized that perhaps he had underestimated these new warmbloods. They fought like Daemons, screaming warcries and stabbing and slashing at everything within reach as though it were a frenzy of bloodletting. The horsemen ripped into his bodyguard and left the first several ranks in shambles. Even when pulled from their horses, the riders refused to give up the fight and were more than able to fend off the Temple Guard. The faithful Saurus refused to retreat, even in the face of such overwhelming foes. The Bastilodon fired it's Solar Beam for a final time, and killed two more of the monk's former companions, but Kroak had little to show for his efforts.

The warmbloods retaliated by charging the Bastilodon, slashing and clawing at the beast's face to no avail. Once again Kroak had to wonder how such recklessness had prevailed in this battle. They might as well be slashing a wall, the Bastilodon was heedless of their attacks, and stomped several of them into the ground for their efforts. The Chieftain carrying Kroak's standard was still as fearsome as ever though, and drove off several lingering horsemen, and rallied the fleeing Saurus, who in turn forced the lone cavalryman to steer back for friendly lines.



Turn 4
There's talk of packing it in at this point, but we battled on to turn 5. My Horsemen take a bloody toll on his Templguard before Timewarp wears off. He's Unbreakable with Kroak, so I can't route him, but I can hack him to bits until then. I can't damage Kroak however, with T5, 6W, and a 3++. I have similar difficulty against the Bastilodon, who I charged simply to put the Beam out of action. His Saurus rally, so I move my Hatamoto out of their charge arc to avoid giving up any more points - I'm not praying for another miracle here. His BSB charged my unengaged Horsemen, who fled. I used this chance to run my Uzutsu into shooting range, but I can't move and fire with their guns.
Turn 5, and the End
Izeguri Kojiro blocked another desperate tail-sweep from the enormous beast in front of him. It's hide was as strong as granite, and there was no way he could possibly bring the creature down, but it's will to fight seemed to be gone. Stepping back from the battle, he pushed two of his Kensai forward to guard himself as he surveyed the battlefield. The enemy right had crumbled at the charge of the Hatamoto. The carnage had been great, and the battle costly, but Kojiro could not convince himself that these were the fabled Kappa - the frog-like guardians of the Kami. This could not be the lost temple. Rather, Kojiro had blundered upon some herd of jungle-creatures, like the Beastmen who plagued the northern islands of his home. The enemy leader was fighting alone against his horsemen - Samurai who, at the start of the campaign, had declared themselves too old and venerable to be seen in the grisly hand-to-hand combat they had taken part in today. Even they had been able to carve a bloody path through these rivals.
Kojiro was well-versed in the fables and stories of the Lizard Guardians. He had expected that few - if any - of his men would return from this expedition to Khuresh. That if he survived, he would claw the secrets of the Kami from their plinths with broken, bloodied, fingers. Walking away from the crowd milling about the cornered beast, Kojiro wiped his blade over the back of his glove and trudged towards camp. Seeing his general return, the signalman raised a brilliant flag, and was answered with similar banners and blowing conch shells across the battleline. A full withdrawal. This was not the Lost Temple of the Kami. These were not their immortal, peerless guardians. These were beasts. There was no honor to be had in the slaughter of beasts.

Turn 5
At this point, we packed it in. I have reduced him to Lord Kroak, his Bastilodon, and the most untouched regiment of Saurus who had fled earlier and were now stranded too far from the battle. In return, I had lost none of my units, except nearly so for several of them. My Horsemen were below half, my Kensai were below half, and neither were making headway against his models. My Hatamoto were shattered and useless at this point, aside from avoiding giving up their points to the enemy. The Uzutsu were in similar shape, and I had no magic.
------

Overview
I almost felt sick with myself after this game, and spent the rest of the evening talking with him about how the book was possibly broken and hideously unfair. He assured me that it was not - rather, he had been dealing with terrible luck the entire time, and his list was slow hammer to my sharpened katana.
Turn 3 was really the breaking point, and I was incredibly lucky. We both fought the entire battle thinking that it might go either way, but at the start of Turn 4, it was clear that it was over. If he had caused just 3 more Wounds, he would have slain my Hatamoto. If he had rolled average, he would have been left with a nearly-fresh regiment of Saurus and his caster. He admitted that the problem was that he had been focused on killing my shooting regiments instead of pelting the Hatamoto like he should have. Even though they skirted the trees for cover, they are not difficult to take down outside of combat.
The real killer was the back-to-back casting of Timewarp. Even I couldn't believe my luck on that. If I had gone into his Saurus without it, he would have at least gotten to strike back, and I would not only have been down by 6 attacks, but I would actually have Parried with my Kensai rather than taken the extra attack from their Samurai Swords - cutting me back by an additional 6A. A combination of incredible luck and terrible rolling meant that his regiment crumbled almost immediately.

In the end, I think that the Nippon list that I wrote is still balanced. It is certainly a glass cannon, and moreover, it requires that everything go as planned. In any of the games that I've won, if I had been forced to play for two more turns, the battle would have likely turned around and he would have beaten me. The list that I ran for this game is what I would consider an optimized list for this army - one where I applied the weaker parts of the balance in my book (Izeguri is only 190pts, when he should probably be closer to 240 for example). While yes, it was certainly brutal, it's still no Light Star, and I could have had similar results with my usual Warriors of Chaos army.

As usual, if anyone else has reports from games with my army, I would always be glad to hear them.
 
#22 ·
Nice report Sarathai, what system did you use for the pictures?

When I had a flick through of the Lizard book I was pretty unimpressed by Kroak. His one spell is 'ok' but hard to cast for what it does and he's very predictable. Maybe if he'd have gone for something like the LoreMaster Slaan he'd have had more luck with his magic?
 
#24 ·
The pics are from Battle Chronicler. It's a free download, and can be used for a variety of games. I haven't tried it for 40k yet, but they do have rounded bases and the ability to run loose formations. The only thing which makes my reports different is that I load both armies under the same player, but with custom colors to differentiate them. This way, instead of the usual BatChron reports which only display the arrows and "goings on" for each players' individual turn, I can display both turns simultaneously. It cuts down on pictures, but in many cases it makes the entire thing easier to read. The exception of course being turns like T3, where the arrows get a bit wonky trying to show out-of-sequence movement like Overruns, or Fleeing and subsequent rallies.

As for Kroak, that's the list he used to obliterate my High Elves. The boosted 24" version of the spell is definitely hard to cast, but Kroak himself is a cannon, and dirt cheap for it at 200 Skaven Slaves. He makes his bodyguard Unbreakable, which was a real thorn, and puts attacks/shooting at -1 To Hit them. I learned from my HElf game that he prefers to use Tetto'Eko as his primary caster, which is a lot of the reason that I locked him down almost instantly. With the Elves, Kroak did very little aside from constantly threatening the blast, which can be very damaging. Together with the Basty, he uses them to force me to close the range with him. This game though, I think we felt pressured by my own shooting (which was actually pretty ineffective - with the HElfs at least I killed his Basty with Sisters), particularly the 60 shots at no negs to hit, and decided that he needed to get close. That, combined with his lackluster Winds rolls really hurt him. Winds were all over the place in this game, and it was really down to forcing Miscasts in order to get anything through. I broke-bad with my luck, and forced through some really clinch spells (and then exploded my wizard! haha)

What a great read, Cap'n... It is motivation like this and by others that has prompted me to begin assembling the Nippon Army (WGF minis) I have had for over a year. I have already assembled the following:
12 Mounted samurai with Yari
20 Ashigari Bowmen
30 Ashigaru w/ long Yari
10 Samurai w/ Katana

...and I still have over 90 minis to go... My plan is red armour w/ light blue details. The army will be the Clan of the Red Mountain. I already have all of the sashimonos and banners designed with Red Mountain kanji and such. I will try to paint a sample Samurai for color over the next week or so inbetween assembling the rest of the minis.

Back on topic - great report!!!!
Nice! Can't wait to see some pics. There's no mention of a Red Mountain Clan in my book, but when I wrote the Clan system I wanted players to be able to come up with their own forces - while there are named characters for the four major clans (Izeguri/Uesugi, Takata/Takeda, Datashi/Date, Odai/Oda) they all use their ancestors House name for their distinctive features.
The paint scheme sounds good, it's pretty similar to what I was planning with a few of my Takata troops - the dark red armor was common among Samurai, as certain colors were considered lucky. I was going to do the dark red and either khaki or grey/blue (Spacewolf-ish?) cloth, with darker blue/black designs on it. Of course, that's if I ever even get around to finishing my models!

I've also been looking at doing up a Samurai or perhaps a few specific Clans for the Saga game, now that someone brought it up in the 'Other Games' section. You could definitely play a solid game of that with the models you've already assembled, and it's loads of fun.
 
#23 ·
What a great read, Cap'n... It is motivation like this and by others that has prompted me to begin assembling the Nippon Army (WGF minis) I have had for over a year. I have already assembled the following:
12 Mounted samurai with Yari
20 Ashigari Bowmen
30 Ashigaru w/ long Yari
10 Samurai w/ Katana

...and I still have over 90 minis to go... My plan is red armour w/ light blue details. The army will be the Clan of the Red Mountain. I already have all of the sashimonos and banners designed with Red Mountain kanji and such. I will try to paint a sample Samurai for color over the next week or so inbetween assembling the rest of the minis.

Back on topic - great report!!!!
 
#25 ·
I am always a 'create your own group' kind of guy - even when I was building my big radio controlled warbirds. I did not want to re-create someone's actual warplane, but what mine would look like. I will be starting a progress thread soon, but not entirely sure of where it will be posted....
 
#26 ·
The Great Nippon Cheese War!

Hey guys, just finished up a game a little while ago against one of my friends at the apartment. It was an interesting one, because he based it on a challenge - I was tasked to write the deadliest, most broken army that I could... for any army that we both played (either High Elves, Dark Elves, or Vampire Counts). He didn't tell me who I'd be facing, and to be honest, I expected some sort of trick, and therefore either HE/DE/VC, whichever I didn't pick. I stayed away from the traditional BotWD Light-Star because I've been questioning it's effectiveness for a while now, and based the list on an army by LiefBlackclaw that (I think) was - in turn - based on some theorizing that I did over in the High Elf section. It's almost everything nasty that you'd expect from the Light Star, but by cutting down on the characters, and moving them out of their typical unit, it frees up a ton of points to sink back into making a nice spread of downright brutal regiments.

Little did I know that at the same time, my friend was going through the Nippon book with the eye of a real cheesemeister. Pulling on some of the common complaints that we've heard about the book, plus some of the more queasy moments from playtesting, and some of the comments and reviews that we've read here on LO and elsewhere. He didn't want to break this army - he wanted to destroy it. Every unit that I under-priced, every abusive power that I threw onto different regiments, the whole nine.

So needless to say, he showed up this evening (technically last evening now) without an army in hand, just his Realm of Battle board and his army list. He answered my questions with an explanation as to what, and why we were doing this. After our last game (the report above, where I trounced his Lizards pretty soundly) I was afraid that there was some pretty hellishly broken stuff in my Nippon book. He assured me that there wasn't, and that the game had come down to a lot of tilted luck, but when he got home he gave my book another run through. He didn't say what his final verdict was, but that's what we were here to test. So we rolled out the minis and got down to it. Once the armies were unpacked and ready to go, we each rolled a D6. The winner got to pick their army. He won, but I won't say which force he chose. We'll leave that as a mystery...

I'll try to put together a picture report later tomorrow (today? It's nearly 3am where I am) when I have time. For now, here are the army lists that will be battling for the right to be called 'The Kings of Cheese'. Enjoy, and feel free to place your bets on the winner!

Nippon: The Feral Host of Lord Tachiwara Boroken

Daimyo Boroken w/ Tachiwara Mon, Murasama, Talisman of Endurance, Additional Sashimono
The Murasama featured in my first batrep. The magic weapon Murasama gives the player Frenzy and for every unsaved wound inflicted, he must make an additional attack (which can in turn generate more attacks) If he runs out of enemies, he attacks friendlies, or himself. Three Sashimono means that he and any unit he joins will negate enemy Steadfast on a 4+

Heroes: 190
Hachehiro Takematsu ‘The OniBushi’
A special character Oni (Ogre Demon). Oni rules below. He has a rather ludicrous S6 and T5, 4W and 5A, with a sword for +1S(S7). A 4+ Regen from his Heavy Armor as well.

Core: 628
5 Oni w/ Great Weapons
6 Oni w/ Great Weapons
Oni count as Daemons, and as such have a 5+ Ward and Instability, as well as being harmed by Lore of Light and other attributes. They inflict Impacts just like an Ogre Charge, and boast S4 and T5, with 3W and 3A, plus Frenzy. They are normally Special, but the character puts them into Core.

5 Samurai Horsemen w/ Musician
Already featured in the earlier report. These guys fire without Movement penalties, or can Double-tap if they remain stationary. Their Kei Power (if targeted by a spell) lets them fire with no 'To Hit' penalties at all. No armor, Fast Cav, but with a Samurai statline for attacks, making them decent against enemy chaff if they can strike first.

Special: 757
29 Kensai w/ Tachiwara Mon, Musician, Standard Bearer
The 'Deathstar'. With the Tachiwara Mon, these guys have Hatred as long as they're with the Daimyo. Likewise, their role as bodyguards means that they are Stubborn while he is present. Their Kei Power (if targeted by magic) lets them reroll failed 'To Wound' rolls. Their Samurai Swords can be used for either +1A or to Parry, and are Armor Piercing. They have 2A, at S4, T3 and wear Heavy Armor.

6 Naginata Riders w/ Horsemaster (Additional Sashimono), Musician, Horo
Samurai, with 2A and S4, equipped with Halberds and riding horses while wearing Heavy Armor. They are Fast Cavalry. Their additional Sashimono means that they negate Steadfast on a roll of 5+, and their Horo gives them +1 Armor against shooting attacks.

Rare: 615
L2 Ryujin (Beasts)
A Dragon who counts as a Daemon (like the Oni), with a 3+ Scaly Skin, 5+ Ward, Fly, Terror, a S4 Breath Weapon, Large Target, and has been upgraded to have 2 wizard levels. S6, T6, W4, A5.

3 Hatamoto w/ Naginata, Torai (Additional Sashimono)
The fearsome heavy cavalry of Nippon. Their Komainu mounts have the stats of a Chaos Juggernaut, without the Impact and extra armor, gaining instead Forest Strider and MR1, their riders are WS and Ini 6, with 2S4 attacks each, equipped with Halberds to make it S5. Their champion wears 3 Sashimono and therefore breaks Steadfast on a roll of 4+. They wear Heavy Armor for a 4+ Save, which is their achilles heel.

Army Total: 2500/2500

High Elves: The White Host of Allarielle the Fairly Unfair

Allarielle (Light)
Noble BSB w/ Banner of Avelorn, Heavy Armor, Bow, Shield

15 Silvers w/ Shields, Banner, Musician
15 Silvers w/ Shields, Banner, Musician

24 White Lions w/ Standard, Musician, Banner of Flame
24 White Lions w/ Standard, Musician, Banner of the World Dragon

12 Sisters
Eagle
Eagle
4 RBTs

Army Total: 2498/2500


So, who do you guys think will walk away with the coveted cheese-title?
 
#27 ·
Got to give it to the Nippon, as long as that general takes the initiative and goes for the charges, not because they are that hellishly broken as far as I can tell with my limited experience but because the units from Nippon just strike so hard even Sigmar would take a step or two back. They usually don't take the retaliation that well though but this list seems to have 'fixed' with their heavy armour/scaly skin and all that.
 
#28 ·
Oni Blood

Well, as promised, here's a pic report. I don't have a shot for T6, as it was pretty uneventful (visually speaking) and I didn't save/export it before shutting down the reporter.

Terrain, Deployment, and Vanguard

We set up our board in our usual "U-river valley" shape (we're working on getting a river together), so there are two medium hills in the right-hand corners, and a large central hill along the left side. There's a small forest in the valley between the two hills, and at the foot of the large hill. Also a fortified manor was newly added to break things up.
Characters in Units, and Key:
SHo: Samurai Horsemen
Hac: Hachehiro Takematsu and his 5 Oni
Nag: Naginata Riders
Ken: Kensai and Lord Boroken
Oni: 6 Oni
Ryu: Ryujin, with Lore of Beasts - Wyssan's and Savage Beast
Hat: Hatamoto

SH1 and SH2: Silver Helms
WL1: White Lions with Banner of Flame
WL2: White Lions with Banner of World Dragon
Ea1 and Ea2: Great Eagles
Sis: Sisters of Avelorn, the BSB, and Allie, with Lore of Light - Burning Gaze, Speed of Light, Banishment, and TimeWarp
BT1-4: Repeater Bolt Throwers
Turn 1

Nippon won the first turn and things got off to a raging start. Things are a bit hard to see, as this was a busy turn. Naginata Riders advanced up the middle to ward off any Eagles which might try to block the path, and bait the Elven cavalry into a charge against the Onii. The Elves took the bait, confident that they could deal plenty of damage to the Oni as well if they scored an Overrun after their own magic phase. The Naginata Riders were dead without striking a blow, and the Elves overran onto the Oni, while blocking the way with their own Eagles so that the Nippon army couldn't move to help.
Everqueen casts boosted Burning Gaze (S6) at my Ryujin and rolls Irresistible Force, rolls up Power Drain, losing a level and forgetting the spell. Then goes on to roll terribly and fails to cause a single wound to the beast. RBTs focus fire on it, launching single bolts, and each bolt either misses or bounces off the 5+ Ward.
Sisters of Avelorn have better luck shooting at the Hatamoto in the woods, and score 2W.

Turn 2

The battle intesifies through turn 2. Hachehiro and his Oni charge the Eagle, needing to clear chaff one way or another. The Hatamoto and Ryujin team up to charge out from the trees and hit the non-BotWD regiment of Lions. The Samurai Horsemen actually charge into the flank of the Silver Helms still in the Elf deployment zone, as a delaying action.
The Ryujin casts Wyssan's Wild Form on 4D6 and gets an IF, also rolling Power Drain, but losing both wizard levels. Nippon is now without a caster.

In battle, the Oni slaughter the Eagle without contest, while the other regiment of Oni drive off the Silver Helms but fail to catch them.
The White Lions slay 2 Hatamoto but can't land a wound on the Ryujin. For their part, the Ryujin and Hatamoto lay waste to the White Lions, unleashing the Ryujin's Breath attack. The roll for the Sashimono to break Steadfast is a failure, and the White Lions go right on being Stubborn. This keeps them in the fight.
The Sam Horsemen do well against the Elves initially, killing 3 of their number but their Steadfast means they stick around. They reform amidst Defeat to face the Horsemen 6x2.

For the Elf turn, they charge the exposed Oni with the BotWD Lions, while charging an Eagle at the Kensai to free up the lane. The Sisters and Everqueen move up a bit.
Everqueen throws a Bubble of Timewarp, catching every major combat. The RBTs shoot at Hachehiro's Oni, since there are no other targets, and fail to cause any damage (6's to Hit, 5's to wound).

In combat the Lions kill off 4 Oni while the Oni's fail to get through the 2+ Ward (they are Daemons, and have Magical Attacks as such). The Oni lose combat, fail the Instability and are vaporized. The White Lions reform to taunt the Kensai into charging. The Kensai murder the Eagle. The Silver Helms reduce the SamHorse to 1 model before it fails it's Break check. The Hatamoto+Ryujin vs. Lion showdown continues to be a bloodbath, killing nearly all of the Lions and wiping out the last Hatamoto.

Turn 3

Hachehiro's Oni reform to face the fleeing Silvers. The Kensai advance to spitting distance of the White Lions, hoping that they'll get another shot at dispelling Timewarp in the Elf turn. The Samurai Horseman has no hope of rallying and continues to flee (less than 25%)
The Ryujin finishes off the White Lions in combat, never suffering a scratch (was only ever in contact with 1 Lion).

The Silver Helms rally and turn to face Hachehiro as a blocker/redirect. The White Lions charge into the Kensai. SH1 has no room to complete a charge, and therefore waits for the dust to settle.
First good Winds roll of the game for either player, and the Queen chucks not only Timewarp (which is left through) but also Speed of Light so that the Lions will attack before the Kensai rather than simultaneously. This is dispelled by the Nippon player - at least ensuring mutual destruction.
All the shooting goes at the Ryujin again, and solid rolling on the dragon's behalf (and Elf RBT-men who need glasses) means that it once again comes through unscathed.
In combat, the Kensai use their dual swords for Parrying, and their Hatred makes it a bloodbath. It's 24 vs 24, with 32A each, and neither side getting their armor. The Lions wound on 2's, but the Kensai wound on 3's and have Hatred. 10 Kensai fall, and 14 White Lions go down with them. In a clinch roll, the 3 Sashimono on the Daimyo sees the White Lions losing their Steadfast, but they hold all the same.

Turn 4


Hachehiro and his Oni charge the Silver Helms while the Ryujin moves to threaten the Everqueen and the Samurai Horseman just keeps on fleeing.
In combat, the Oni blast right through the Silvers with minimal damage, routing them and then overrunning. The Kensai finish off the White Lions, who fight to the last and bring down 6 more Kensai.

The Elves retaliate by charging the Oni with their reserve of Silver Helms, and unloading the Sisters and half the RBTs on the Kensai. The other two RBTs keep slinging single bolts at the Ryujin and fail to get through. The Everqueen manages however, with her Chaos-Bane, to sneak two wounds through.
The combat with the Silver Helms is a fiasco, as the Silvers kill off 2 Oni. Hachehiro's attacks barely keep the Oni in the game, but they lose the combat and their Frenzy.

Turn 5


The Samurai Horseman finally runs off the edge. Daimyo Boroken throws his weight into the flank of the Silvers while the Ryujin charges the Sisters. For the first time, shooting gets through the Ryujin's hide as the Sisters Stand&Shoot.
The Ryujin causes minimal damage in combat. The Silvers are cut down and routed by the combined efforts of the Oni and both characters, and they are run down as they try to Flee.

The Sisters finish off the Ryujin, between lucky attacks and another wound from the Chaos Bane. The RBTs lob all of their shots at Hachehiro and his Oni, and reduce them to Hachehiro and one loyal follower.

Turn 6

The Oni charge the flank of the Sisters, and Boroken throws himself against the front. He eats a Stand-and-Shoot, and is killed instantly - his 5+ Ward is not enough. The Oni for their part, combined with the damage dealt by the Ryujin, manage to not only defeat the Sisters, but Hachehiro kills the BSB in a challenge, with Overkill, and they route the Everqueen and her bodyguard. The Elves don't flee from the table, but are "bumped" through 3 of the 4 RBTs, ending their move off the board edge, and Panicking two of the RBTs into coming with them!
The last two RBTs fire volleys during their turn, killing the final Oni, and scoring 1W against Hachehiro - the lone survivor on the Nippon side.

Final result:
190pts left on the table for Nippon
140pts left for the High Elves
The actual Victory Points gap was a bit wider, owing to the number of Seized Standards gained from the High Elf army. Still the Nippon forces only won by 148pts when the dust settled.

The Ryujin was dead to rights from T2 onward. The number of consecutive 5's we rolled (To Hit, Wound, and then Ward) with single bolts from the RBTs was more than I care to recount. The rest of the rolls were pretty average though, aside from the Winds never getting above 7 dice (which I think would have only spelt doom for Nippon).

I agree with Idomisei's assessment, because it has been my own soap-box since I put the book out: yes, there is no denying the army hits hard compared to it's cost (in fact, Kensai and Black Guard are nearly identical, except the Dark Elves are 3pts cheaper). However, that owes almost entirely to the fact that this army has paper-thin armor. The best save is a 4+, and that's on the cavalry, and includes the monstrous cavalry unit. Yes, getting hit by Nippon can be brutal, especially if they bring Sashimono to back it up (interestingly, the only time the Sashi's cancelled Steadfast, the Elves passed regardless of the modifiers), but Sashimono aren't cheap. It costs 20pts to put one on your Champion, atop his 10pt upgrade. The Clan effect (Hatred) and Stubborn on the Kensai? Cost 75pts altogether and only works when the character is with them.

If you can outlast the Nipponsei for 1-2 rounds of combat, or you can shoot them before they hit you, you're able to beat them. Meeting them head-on is only playing to their sensibilities. You can do it (this game was certainly a meat-grinder), but you better bring your A-game and be prepared to bleed hard for it.
 
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