The Cú Chulainn Cup - the results are in!

 On Sunday last, a dedicated band of high spirited gamers sat down for the the inaugural Northern Irish Song of Blades and Heroes competition, the Cú Chulainn Cup. There were seven of us in all, bucking the trend perpetuated by the 'bigger' name wargaming systems who dominate the hobby. Six competitors and myself as an impartial umpire. We had prizes provided by both Ganesha Games directly and from Wee Gamers, the host club for the event. These were for the overall winner and for the winners of two popular votes - the favourite warband and the most sporting player.

Each player brought along one fixed 300 point warband and played against each of the other competitors  in a five round competition day. There were six different tables set up with predetermined scenery and scenarios which would put the various warbands through their paces. Ideally, I hoped that no player would have to play on the same table twice although as it turned out, one of them did have to play one of the tables twice. Not such a bad result.

The six competing warbands were:

The Baron’s Brawlers (Andrew T)
Theme: Societal dregs		Points: 300
Models: 9		Personalities: 88 (27%)
Morale check: 5		Warriors: 210 (73%)
Baron Silverfish			Points: 88	Q:3	C:2
Special rules: leader, legendary shot, shooter medium
Deadeye Vic			Points: 46	Q:3	C:2
Special rules: good shot, shooter: long, unerring aim
Eric the Brave			Points: 40	Q:3	C:3
Special rules: reckless
Big Sword Claud			Points: 26	Q:3	C:2
Special rules: fearless
Stinky Clete			Points: 36	Q:3	C:2
Special rules: good shot, shooter: short, unerring aim
Pin Cushion Jones			Points: 36	Q:3	C:2
Special rules: good shot, shooter: short, unerring aim
Young Bob			Points: 8	Q:4	C:1
Special rules:
Young Sid			Points: 8	Q:4	C:1
Special rules:
Scaredy Cat Frank			Points: 12	Q:4	C:2
Special rules: coward

The Crooked Claw (Andrew C)
Theme: Swampy greenskins		Points: 300
Models: 10		Personalities: 95 (32%)
Morale check: 5		Warriors: 205 (68%)
Orc Boss			Points: 60	Q:3	C:3
Special rules: leader
Goblin Warchanter			Points: 35	Q:4	C:2
Special rules: coward, magic-user
Orc Warriors (x2)			Points: 23	Q:4	C:3
Special rules:
Orc Archer			Points: 29	Q:4	C:3
Special rules: shooter: medium
Orc Berserker			Points: 38	Q:3	C:3
Special rules: berserk
Goblin Archers (x2)			Points: 18	Q:4	C:2
Special rules: coward, shooter: medium
Goblin warrior			Points: 12	Q:4	C:2
Special rules: coward
Swamp Troll			Points: 44	Q:4	C:4
Special rules: big, savage, swamp walk

Wildlings (Jim)
Theme: Northern raiders		Points: 300
Models: 11		Personalities: 100 (33%)
Morale check: 6		Warriors: 200 (67%)
Wildling Leader			Points: 100	Q:3	C:4
Special rules: hero, tough
Wildlings (x10)			Points: 20	Q:4	C:3
Special rules: dogged

Edaric’s Crew (Brett)
Theme: Norsemen on tour		Points: 300
Models: 7		Personalities: 82 (27%)
Morale check: 4		Warriors: 218 (73%)
Edaric			Points: 82	Q:3	C:4
Special rules: fearless, heavy armour, hero
Úlfhéðnar			Points: 50	Q:3	C:3
Special rules: berserk, fearless, savage
Hearthguards (x2)			Points: 42	Q:3	C:3
Special rules: fearless, heavy armour
Warriors (x3)			Points: 28	Q:3	C:2
Special rules: shooter: medium

Hell hath no fury (Dale)
Theme: Vengeful Japanese ghosts		Points: 253 (+94 summon pool)
Models: 8		Personalities: 93 (31%)
Morale check: 4		Warriors: 218 (69%)
Oyuko a lover scorned			Points: 58	Q:3	C:1
Special rules: shooter: short, slow, summoner, teleport
Ubume			Points: 35	Q:4	C:2
Special rules: Necromancer, slow, undead
Onryo, Vengeful Spirits (x2)			Points: 62	Q:4	C:2
Special rules: entangle, flying, free disengage, undead
Ancestral Spirits (x3)			Points: 10	Q:5	C:1
Special rules: free disengage, shooter: medium, slow, undead
Lost Love			Points: 6	Q:6	C:2
Special rules: poison, short move, slow, standard bearer, stealth undead

Morton Raiders (Andy B)
Theme: Romans		Points: 300
Models: 7		Personalities: 72 (24%)
Morale check: 4		Warriors: 228 (76%)
Centurion			Points: 72	Q:3	C:3
Special rules: group fighter, fearless, leader
Legionaries (x6)			Points: 38	Q:4	C:4
Special rules: heavy amour, shooter: short

Providing the backdrop for this clash of heroes were the following tables:

TABLE 1 - The Titanbane Quest 
Three counters are placed on the table marking possible locations of a magical weapon known as Titanbane. When a model comes into contact with a counter they may spend 1 action to search the area. Flip the counter over and compare the number with the possible ‘finds’ below.

I. The model has found Titanbane, a magical weapon of great craftsmanship. A model must spend 2 actions to pick up Titanbane. Any model holding Titanbane may give it to an adjacent model by spending 1 action. If a model carrying Titanbane is killed, another figure may pick it up from the dead model’s body by spending 2 actions.

The wielder of Titanbane is granted the Combat Master, Giant Slayer, Group Fighter and Fearless special rules.

II. Face your Fear! A manifestation of Fear (Q3, C3, artificial, drain, dogged) appears in the location of the marker, i.e. engaged in combat with the model. It will be activated by the opposing player at the start of their next and subsequent turns – always roll three activation dice; it won’t cause a turnover even if you fail them all. Fear may only attack or be attacked by the model who discovered it. If the model who discovered Fear is killed, Fear will disappear. Fear and any death it causes are ignored for the purposes of calculating victory points.

III. Nothing but footprints in the dust, fingerprints in time… Lost in thought, the model may make no further actions this turn.

Victory conditions: 1 victory point per 25 points of defeated opponents (killed or routed off the table), plus 5 victory points for holding Titanbane at the end of the game.

Morton Raiders vs The Crooked Claw in the Titanbane Quest

Morton Raiders vs The Crooked Claw in the Titanbane Quest

Edaric's Crew vs Wildlings in the Titanbane Quest

TABLE 2 - A Place of Power 

The rival warbands have found a stone circle ripe with mystical energies and will now fight to possess it. 

Magic-using models (including all magic users, magic using subtypes and clerics) standing within the perimeter of stones gain +1 on all their Quality rolls, including Morale rolls, and cannot run out of magic power until the end of the game so long as they continue to stand within the stone circle.

Victory conditions: 1 victory point per 25 points of defeated opponents, plus 3 victory points for every magic-using model standing on the Place of Power terrain at the end of the game.

Wildlings vs Crooked Claw in a Place of Power

Wildlings vs Crooked Claw in a Place of Power

Edaric's Crew vs Baron's Brawlers in a Place of Power

TABLE 3 - Village Skirmish
The rival warbands engage in an all-out battle to the death (or for 45 minutes, whichever happens first).

Victory conditions: 1 victory point per 20 points of defeated opponents.

Wildlings vs Hell Hath No Fury in the Village Skirmish

Wildlings vs Hell Hath No Fury in the Village Skirmish

Baron's Brawlers vs Morton Raiders in the Village Skirmish

TABLE 4 - Doom-Chasm Caverns

The rival warbands engage in an all-out battle to the death (or for 45 minutes, whichever happens first). However, they happen to have met while exploring the Doom-Chasm Caverns, a seemingly bottomless cave system where movement is restricted to platforms connected by walkways.

Any model that falls on a walkway must pass a Q check on one die or will fall of the edge into a chasm. Any model forced to recoil over any edge of a platform or walkway will likewise fall into the chasm. All models who fall into the chasm are removed from play and count as defeated opponents for the purpose of victory points.

Victory conditions: 1 victory point per 20 points of defeated opponents.

Wildlings vs Morton Raiders in the Doom-Chasm Caverns

Wildlings vs Morton Raiders in the Doom-Chasm Caverns

Baron's Brawlers vs Hell Hath No Fury in the Doom-Chasm Caverns

TABLE 5 - Shadows and Dust
The two warbands meet in the dark alleyways of a great city. Here they will each attempt to assassinate their rival’s leader.

This scenario uses the climbing and leaping rules from Song of Shadows and Dust. Models may climb up the walls of buildings at the cost of 2 actions. They must make a Q test on three dice:
· If they pass all three they may climb their normal movement rate.
· On one or two passes the model starts to climb but the distance reached is reduced by one movement category (that is, Medium becomes Short, and Short becomes one-base-width). If they have not reached the top they will fall.
· Three failures will see the model climb to the top of the wall and then fall back to the ground.

A model on the edge of a raised terrain feature may freely drop their own height for free as part of their normal movement. Any larger drop causes the model to stop at the edge of the terrain piece. They may spend one action to make a controlled drop, easing themselves down to a lower level no more than 1x Short distance below.

A model can attempt to leap between points up to his normal movement distance. The two points must be either level, or with the landing point no more than 1x Short distance lower than the starting point. Leaping between two points takes one action. The model makes a Quality check on three dice.
· If they pass all three they may leap their normal movement rate.
· On two passes the model leaps their normal movement rate but falls over at the far end.
· On one pass the model leaps one movement category shorter than normal (that is, Medium becomes Short, and Short becomes one-base-width).
· Three failures will see the model fall falls midway through the jump.

If a model falls when at the edge of a raised terrain feature or during a climb or leap, he falls for the whole distance. A falling model must make a Quality roll, on one die if the fallen distance is up to 1xShort, two dice if up to 1xMedium, three dice if up to 1xLong. On any failure, the model is out of action. Models falling further than 1xLong distance are automatically removed from play as a casualty.

Complete success on any falling damage roll means that the model has fallen but is otherwise uninjured.

Victory conditions: 1 victory point per 25 points of defeated opponents, plus 5 victory points for killing (or routing) the personality in the opposing warband with the highest points value.

Edaric's Crew vs Hell Hath No Fury in Shadows and Dust

Edaric's Crew vs Hell Hath No Fury in Shadows and Dust

Wildlings (vs Baron's Brawlers) in Shadows and Dust

TABLE 6 - Wilderness Skirmish 
The rival warbands engage in an all-out battle to the death (or for 45 minutes, whichever happens first).

Victory conditions: 1 victory point per 20 points of defeated opponents.

Crooked Claw vs Baron's Brawlers in the Wilderness Skirmish

Crooked Claw vs Baron's Brawlers in the Wilderness Skirmish

Edaric's Crew vs Mortan Raiders in the Wilderness Skirmish

And the results were.....

1st place - and the Cú Chulainn Cup Champion - Andy B with his Morton Raiders (4 wins, 44vp)
2nd place, Andrew T with the Baron's Brawlers (3 wins, 40vp)
3rd place, Dale with Hell Hath No Fury (3 wins, 8vp)
4th place - and voted the people's favourite warband of the day - Andrew C with the Crooked Claw (2 wins, 26vp)
5th place, Jim and his Wildlings (2 wins, 15vp)
6th place - and voted the most sporting player - good ol' Brett and good ol' Edaric's Crew (1 win, 26vp)

As Andy B is one of the chaps who runs the Wee Gamers wargaming club, he graciously passed up the prize for coming in top of the leader-board and it fell instead to Andrew T for coming in second. The day was smashing good fun. I really enjoyed it even though I didn't even roll any dice, and I suspect the lads enjoyed themselves too. We will most certainly repeat the exercise in the future.