Prolog: The Battle of Mushroom Gulch (a.k.a. Orcs vs. Cowboys)

Campaign Date: Royal Orion Year 311, Day 305

Forces:
A) The New Pecos Forces (Dave N and Bob L)
   Sheriff Whiskey Tom Donovan (shotgun)
       Posse—15 cowboys with revolvers
    Sergeant Scott Randolph (revolver)
       14 militiamen with rifles and bayonet
    Sir Robert Flashbolt (psionic powers, laser rifle)
       5 Royal Orion Marines with Laser Rifles
B) The Grundorian Tribesmen (Andrew S. and Gramm R.)
    Warlok Plazmuk (spear, magic powers)
       20 shorty Grundorian archers
       20 shorty Grundorian axe throwers
    Big Chief Grudnutz (great axe)
       15 Heavy Grundorian Infantry
    Big Chief Blorgo Purple Drawers (large scimitar)
       10 Grundorian swordsmen with shields
       10 Grundorian swordsmen without shields

GM: Dave Nelson

Set-Up:

Sheriff Donovan and his posse are escorting a mysterious prisoner connected to the Grundorian uprising back toward a base camp. Sergeant Randolph has 8 of his militia riflemen in 4 foxholes in a line in front of camp, and the other 6 militiamen are with him near one of two mushroom forests nearby. Sir Robert and the 5 marines are in the base camp behind some breastworks. The vast Grundorian horde is hot on the posse’s trail, coming around a hill, about to come into view of the camp and its troops. The New Pecos forces must get the prisoner into the camp and hold him there against the horde. The Grundorians must free the prisoner and get him off the board. If either side kills the prisoner, it loses.

Log:

The Warlock and his archers attempt to climb over the hill, while the heavies and axe throwers move around the left side of the hill with Grudnutz and the swordsmen follow Blorgo around the right side of the hill. Plazmuk scores initial success by using witchcraft to blow up about half of the posse. But then he is killed by rifle fire from militia on a nearby hill and laser fire from the marines and Sir Robert.

The swordsmen take some casualties from the militia but drive them out of the mushroom forest and from the foxholes closest to the camp. Meanwhile the axe throwers kill one of the militiamen on the left hill, and drive the other one off. The heavies come under intense laser fire in the middle of the field and are halved in number. The posse manages to keep together and drags the prisoner back into the camp. Sir Robert decides to leap into the action, teleporting into a knot of swordsmen, killing three of them. However, Chief Grudnutz catches him and kills him. Sheriff Donovan is badly wounded and incapacitated by Grudnutz and some heavies while attempting to aid Sir Robert.

The axe throwers, archers, heavies and shieldless swordsmen now attempt to converge on the base camp, while Blorgo, Grudnutz and the rest of the swordsmen are still fighting Sergeant Randolph and the slowly withdrawing militia riflemen. However, the concentrated automatic laser fire from the marines wrecks a terrible toll on the Grundorians. The remant shieldless swordsmen are devastated, the archers are halved in number. The axe throwers try to rush the breastworks but shuffer 50% casualties and their morale is shattered. At this point, Grudnutz and Blorgo decide that, without the Warlock’s magic blasts to destroy the marine laser-men, they cannot hope to free the prisoner from the base camp, which is now defended by the marines, the remains of the posse and the militia who are beginning to file in as well. They order a general retreat, and the battle is over.