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Orcs in the Hills
Issue 2 - Online Edition Return to the Contents Page
Go Back to the Previous Article - Continue on to the Next Article A crack squad of Elves try to sneak past Orc guards to assassinate
the Duke in this Flintloque scenario for two players. The muffled oars swept through the moonlit waters of the lake. Only the faint creak of wood in oiled rowlocks and the sound of the rower's breathing disturbing the calm. Somewhere in the distance a waterfowl called twice and was silent. Lieutenant Soufflé checked his pistols for the hundredth time that night and glanced back at his section as they carefully rowed shoreward. Even with their backs to him in the dark, Soufflé knew every Elf, and they filled him with confidence. The last two months of intensive training had made him and his little command the best troops in the whole army. No, he corrected himself - in the whole of Valon. The shore loomed closer and he turned his full attention back to the task in hand and the boat grounded gently. Quickly and quietly the Elves disembarked, pulling their vessel up the beach, four pickets already moving forward to secure the immediate area. Soufflé motioned his huge and grizzled sergeant to him and they conferred in brief whispers. One of the pickets materialized silently beside them. “This is the place Sir - the villa is just through the trees. Lights in four windows and only two sentries. The cocky bastards think they're well secure.” A savage grin. “Well done, Camembert. Sergeant Éclair, take your demi-section and commence the operation.” Soufflé was filled with an immense pride. Tonight they would change history just as these upstart Orcs had when they dared to challenge the glorious Elven Empire! Private Partz was bored. He hated sentry duty and wanted to be back inside with his mates playing dice. Alright, so it was a cushy billet guarding the Duke, but it didn't get you any loot or excitement. He yawned and glanced to his left. Where had private Baldrik gone? Wait, was that him in the ornamental garden? He took a step forwards, bringing his musket up to the port, thumb on the lock. What the Hells? That's an Elf his mind told him, as a shadowy shape glided swiftly past the fountain. The shape stopped and turned towards him. It grinned. It waved at him, and pointed. Instinctively the Orc's eyes followed the finger. In the fountain was the huddled body of Private Baldrik. It was the last thing he ever saw - a pale hand clamped over his mouth and an Elven dagger slashed savagely through his throat. Fusilier Détente let the Orc's body slump to the ground as fusilier Croissant joined him from the garden. They listened briefly, then moved towards the rear of the villa - Sergeant Éclair went in from the ear. A perfect operation fell victim to the soldier's curse - bad luck. Fusilier Latrine tripped over the doorstep and, trying to recover, dropped his musket and grabbed for Fusilier Montage. As it hit the floor the musket discharged and put a ball through the roof. There was a shout from the next room, and the sound of doors opening. A bare-chested Orc came out of the kitchen, half a roast chicken in his hand. He froze at the sight of half a dozen Elves crouched in the passageway. Sergeant Éclair shot him in the face at point-blank range. "Forward mes amis!" he yelled, "There's still a chance!" He threw his musket aside and pulling out his pistols ran for the entrance hall. Ahead of him he could hear Lieutenant Soufflé screaming an order, feet pounding on the tiled floor and a confused spattering of musket fire. Merde!, he thought to himself, it had all been going so well… Operation Weasel The use of small, specially-trained units picked for initiative and self-reliance is something new in the Elven military, and has been influenced in no small way by the success of the Orcs’ rifle troops. To date three special service companies have been raised and trained, and if they are successful the Elven High command intends to expand the force to two full battalions. Operation Weasel will – it is hoped – prove the efficiency of the special service companies. The operation is a carefully planned attack on the Duke of Wheeling-Turn’s villa in Catalucia, based on information that he will be in residence following a series of planned meetings. The orders to the section chosen for the job are simple – 1) get in, 2) kill the Duke, 3) get out (part three strictly optional). Using only one section minimizes the security risk and command and control problems, and the attack will rely on surprise to reach the Duke. It is known that, arrogant as he is, the Duke does not have a large guard which will greatly ease the Elves task. Lieutenant Soufflé has been thoroughly briefed on his mission and training has been intensive for all concerned. The plan is for half the section to go in through the front of the villa, find the Duke and kill him. Meanwhile the rest of the section will go in at the back to protect the escape rout and deal with any guards. Spies have informed the Elves that Wheeling-turn will be in residence and that he is guarded by only one section of line Orcs plus a few flunkies. 
The High Elves Commanded by Lieutenant Etienne Soufflé, a rising star in the Light Company of the 4e Infantrie de marine. He is an experienced soldier, and like all the Elves under his command, he is Elite. Of the nine soldiers in his unit, Sergeant Éclair and three of the fusiliers are Experienced, while the other five are Average. All members of the section are armed with a musket, bayonet and knife, and in addition the Lieutenant and Sergeant have a pair of pistols and a sword. The Orcs In command of the guard detachment at the Villa is Major Mayjuh, a bad-tempered Orc who doesn’t think there is anything funny about his name and rank. Neither does anyone else who has remarked upon it to his face. Under normal circumstances he would be commanding at least a platoon guarding the Duke, but at this point in time only one section is present pending reinforcement. The Major is an Experienced Elite, and is armed with a sword. The guard are Regular Light infantry from the 52nd (Orksfudshire) Regiment. The Experienced Sergeant has a half-pike (spear), musket and bayonet. Of the nine Orcs in the guard, one is raw, two are Experienced and the rest Average. They are all armed with a musket and bayonet. Other Orcs in the villa comprise the following: A Cook - Regular, Average, improvised heavy weapon. Three Staff Officers - Regular, one raw, two average, swords. Two Clerks - Regular, One Raw, one Average, musket and bayonet. Woja’, the Duke’s Servant - Elite Experienced, knife, pistol. Duke of Wheeling-Turn - Elite, Experienced, sword. The Orc garrison should be distributed as follows: 2 sentries outside at the front, cook in the kitchen, 2 clerks in a downstairs room, 4 Line Orcs downstairs, 4 Line Orcs upstairs, 1 Staff officier outside at the back of the villa, 2 Staff officiers in an upstairs room, Duke and his servant in an upstairs room. The Orc player can either choose rooms for himself or dice randomly for them, but the Elf player should not know which rooms the figures are in, only which rooms are occupied. Terrain and Conditions The scenario takes place in darkness in dry conditions. The terrain surrounding the villa is gently undulating grassland with open woods on two sides. There are no fences, walls or hedges except for the low wall surrounding the villa grounds. Within the wall are ornamental gardens that prove no impediment to movement (but look rather pretty). Special and Optional Rules Flintloque is perfectly satisfactory for almost all the situations likely to occur in this scenario. However, you might like to consider these: 1) Sneaking. To simulate sneaking up on an unsuspecting guard from behind and slitting his throat use a simple percentage die roll to see if the attack succeeds. Base chance is 50%, subject to the following modifiers: Elite +20%
Experienced +20%
Guerilla +25%
Average +10%
Regular +10%
Raw -0%
Militia -0% Therefore and Experienced Guerilla would have a 95% chance of successfully stalking and killing a sentry, and an Average Regular would have a 70% chance. If the roll is successful a kill is automatic. 2) Spotting. As an action (50% off movement), characters can try and spot enemies approaching in the darkness. Orcs cannot move towards or fire on Elves that have not been spotted. Stationary single infantry standing 30%
Running single infantry 75%
Walking single infantry 50%
Crawling single infantry 10% 3) The Fumble Factor. Each Elf player’s phase, he must pick one of his characters at random and test to see if they make a noise. Roll a D10 based on his experience level: Raw 7+, Average 8+, Experienced 9+, and Veteran 10. If the character rolls his number or more, check the table below to see what stupid/clumsy/unlucky thing happens to them. Fumble Factor Table (Roll 1D10)
1-2: Negligent Discharge – The figure accidentally fires compromising the whole operation.
3-4: Whoops – The figure trips over noisily, compromising the whole operation.
5-6: Sight-seeing – The figure spots an exciting plant/animal/piece of architecture and exclaims in a loud voice ‘Hey look at that!’, compromising the operation.
7-8: Disorientated – In the dark the figure loses it’s way and blunders into view, compromising the operation.
9-10: Spooked – The figure panics, convinced the operation has been compromised, thereby compromising the operation. 4) Initiative. When fighting inside the villa, movement should be alternate rather than simultaneous. If you like a reaction/initiative system where each side rolls a D6 and the highest scoring side moves first could be used. This avoids the potential problem of enemies running past each other on the stairs without stopping to fight. Inside the villa I would also recommend that aimed fire is not allowed due to the fast and confused nature of fighting room-to-room. The floor plan of the villa should be gridded using the dimensions of your figures bases (25mm x 25mm for example) to make measuring movement easier. 5) I Was Wheeling-Turn’s Double. If the Elves succeed in their mission to infiltrate the villa and kill the Duke, it can be revealed that the “Duke” was in fact a stunt-double. The real Duke is miles away at a secret meeting with his artillery commanders and the elves therefore never has a chance of killing him. Better luck next time… Uniforms The 52nd Light Orcs wear standard Orc uniforms with the stovepipe shako and buff facings. Use Orc 62nd Foot Light Company (54008) to represent them. The Elf Infantrie de Marine can be represented either by the Elf Voltigeurs that come with the game (5001-E) or alterntively Chasseurs of the Gardes (51017) (shako's or bicornes being used interchangeably by the Elven Marines dependent on where they are serving). The uniform is similar to that of Elven Light Infantry Regiments (see Uniformation in Orcs in the Hills 1) with blue jackets and trousers and red facings. Orcs in the Hills
Issue 2 - Online Edition Return to the Contents Page
Go Back to the Previous Article - Continue on to the Next Article Webmaster's Notes This scenario was originally published in issue 2 of Orcs in the Hills and was reprinted with some additions and amendments in issue 2 of MARS: Adventures in Miniature, the above version is mainly from the MARS article with the exception of the starting places for the Orcs and the map. The latter map whilst good did not include a first floor and a coach house attached to the villa. I have made minor edits to the text by replacing the miniature codes with the revised ones all of which are available on Alternative Armies website. Extra thanks go to Mark Lesny who supplied me with copies of the original Mars articles. |
