Dhogu vs Devanu

[Dhogu Warlord]

Hello One and All! So, tonight begins my very first Chronicle of Anyaral! I'll be playing my Dhogu force and my buddy Matt, who I usually wargame with, is going to play as the Devanu. I've read over the rule book several times now and think I have a fairly decent understanding of how to play. There are a few things that I'm not altogether certain of, but I'm sure as we play, it'l make more sense. As there aren't any scenarios with these particular two forces going up against each other in the book, we're simply going to do a points match game. I'm not sure if there will be pictures of the battle or not, since none of my models are currently painted and I just built a 4 by 12 gaming table a few weeks ago and with the upcoming holidays, I haven't had time to paint or even flock my table and I fear it'll all look exceptionally dull and unexciting right now. I really don't have much else to say at this time, since we haven't even played yet. I was just too excited about playing my very first game (of many to come) to not say anything at all! Anyways, I wish you all well and I will post an update after our first game!

[GrimSnik]

well good luck to the Dhogu against those ravenous Devanu.     it's a fun game for sure with lots of options and great cinematic moments. 

[Dhogu Warlord]

Well, the mighty Dhogu were able to push back and defeat the ferocious Devanu! The game started out a little slow and we had to keep referring back to the rule book at first. Once we got into combat a few times, things really just fell into place and the game mechanics sort of just made sense and took over on its own. Both of us really enjoyed the game and there were quite a few moments where we both stood up and cheered over a heroic moment or something as simple as two of my skerrats defeating his much larger Jenta Hunter! Overall, we loved the game and the more we played, the more curious we started getting about our respective forces and their history and what we could do to make our forces stronger and more formidable. I guess that means that I'll be buying more minis after the holidays!

I did have a few questions, if someone can help me out. There was a point when my Dhogu Warlord cast 4 Erac Stones and 2 Oran. My opponent (I don't remember what it was exactly) rolled the exact same thing. From my understanding, that means we both had to make 2 saving dice rolls and that is what we did. Ironically, we both failed our first save and we removed both models from the game. To me, this sounds right but I just wanted clarification. Should something else have been done or did we understand that correctly? My other question was, when drawing the Initiative Stones, does the game end once they are all drawn or do we put them all back in the bag and keep going? We decided to keep going so we could get a better understanding of the game and played until one of us was completely wiped out, which in this case was the Devanu. I have a feeling that his is probably somewhere in the rules and perhaps I simply overlooked it.

Anyways, I know that this was brief but we plan on playing again tomorrow afternoon and I think we're going to play several games and switch forces on our first game tomorrow and then end with our own armies. Initially, this was supposed to be a game that I played with my daughters, but my oldest is apparently too busy being a 14 year old and my youngest daughter isn't interested because it's not My Little Pony. I guess all I can do is keep asking if they want to play and hopefully wear them down until they give in! Or I could just ground them if they refuse to be insubordinate! Ah, such is the life of a wargaming father...

[Carcharoth]

Thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to following your progress!
Looks like you've got combat sorted - both sides can land blows as you described.
Sounds like you might have got initiative confused though...
You put all fourteen counters in the bag, then draw one at a time. If one of your counters is drawn you can choose a model to activate (who may then be able to activate more models). Each model may only be activated once per turn. If a combat stone is drawn then everything fights if it is engaged. After the second combat stone is drawn the turn ends and all the stones go back in the bag. You then start a new turn by drawing more stones. Does that make sense? How have you been playing?

[Dhogu Warlord]

Ok, that is how we were doing the initiative also. Perhaps I just didn't explain what had happened correctly. We are going to play again in about two hours or so and then I can give an update once we are finished. Man, I will say that my Dhogu force is very fitting to my preferred play style and I couldn't be happier with choosing them. It does, however, really make me curious about the other factions and what they have to bring to the table. Having played against the Devanu, I can already tell that they, though fewer in number, are a force not to be underestimated and have quite a lot of special abilities to help them balance the playing field when facing against greater numbers. I guess I'll have a better understanding of what to purchase next after we sound the drums of war later this afternoon!

[Dhogu Warlord]

Today we were able to get in a total of 3 games! The first game, my Dhogu just annihilated the Devanu. To be fair, the Devanu had a sound strategy but the dice gods just weren't with them. Both the combat stones and dice rolls were against them and there was nothing he could do about it. The second game was much closer, however, my Dhogu were victorious. Once again, the odds were just in my favor when it came to the combat stones and dice rolling. In the final game, the vile Devanu slaughtered my warlord and my trapper in the third turn. On the fourth, each and every one of my skerrats went down, along with two of my spear men. After that, one by one, my mighty Dhogu were felled by the ravenous Devanu and it ultimately became my first defeat. I do have to say though, even in defeat, it was a brilliant game and all it did was make me want to play again and buy more models! We may play again tomorrow but I'm not sure. Matt is here until Saturday, so it's very likely that we'll get in a few more games before he leaves. I'd really like to give a more descriptive battle report, but it's already after 11pm here and I am exhausted and heading to bed. After the holidays, I plan to get my armies painted up and I will start posting more exciting battle reports with pictures to go along with them. 

[Carcharoth]

It's great to be hearing that you've been having so many good games! Glad to hear you've got a good grip on the rules as well.
Interesting that the Dhogu are on the winning side - general feedback is that they can be slightly under powered (something I am working on remedying), so you can feel particularly smug.

I made a real effort to make sure that all the different forces play in a unique fashion, particularly with the Empire (standard forces, with simple command structures and some elites), Delgon (troop heavy, relying on critical command structures), Devanu (highly elite warriors) and the Kedashi swarms (large swarms of very weak models) all feeling very different. The Dhogu probably have more in common with the Empire forces than their allies the Delgon, but with slightly more elite standard troops.

Good luck getting some more games in before Matt leaves!

[The Slann]

It's great to be hearing that you've been having so many good games! Glad to hear you've got a good grip on the rules as well.
Interesting that the Dhogu are on the winning side - general feedback is that they can be slightly under powered (something I am working on remedying), so you can feel particularly smug.

I think Dhogu are pretty well playable, but they might need a "special character". The combination of Trapper and some Bowmen can be pretty mean, and can work out. Also, the Yirnak are not cheap but very powerfull with the charge.

[Carcharoth]

The yirnak could do with a bit of tweaking - either dropping the points cost or improving the stats slightly. Then there's the idea of the Archer (equivalent to the reyad) and a captain on yirnak.
Not to mention a dhogu shaman that may currently be at the casters...

[Crucium Giger]

Not to mention a dhogu shaman that may currently be at the casters...

You tease

[Carcharoth]

Not to mention a dhogu shaman that may currently be at the casters...

You tease

 

Hopefully I'll have more to share soon!

[TuffSkull]

Great to hear the dhogu are getting more action and indeed fairing well in it. They're a tough force to use, especially against the speedy devanu.

I need to get them on the table more often myself - too many cool forces to choose from in Anyaral ! 

[Dhogu Warlord]

We only got a single game in last night and it was literally neck to neck until the end when all I had left was my Captain (on foot) and the devanu had a jenta handler. On the final combat, we cast our stones and the devanu won the game by having a single Erac more than I had Oran and when I recast my a single stone, it came up blank and then I failed to make my save. Man, did that ever hurt! I think because of the week we were both having, when the odds seemed to mostly be in favor of my dhogu, defeat was a real blow.

You know, what is funny about this game, is that after having played it through about six to seven times now and using the exact same forces, no two games are the same and each have their own highlights and tragedies. At this time, I have no forces to add to my dhogu apart from what is in the initial starter, two extra spearmen and two yirnak riders. There really isn't a whole lot for me to change around (until I buy more after the holidays!) and still, every game has been completely different. With that knowledge, I am convinced that this game and its creator, Mike Thorpe are indeed very special and I am very thankful to play whatever role, however small in the world Mike has created. So, I thank you, Mike for all the hard work and years and dedication you have put into this game to make it something that I have been hoping existed for years. The dhogu warlord and the two yinark riders are definately my MVPs in all of m games and I know I need to add more of them to my army.

Unfortunately, today will be a very busy day and I'd be happy to even get a single game in tonight. A group of us are going to see the new Star Wars movie and then we're all coming back to my place to order pizza and wings and have a guy night, so until I can pick up some more armies, gaming is pretty unlikely until tomorrow. I will keep everyone updated with our progress and soon with photos of painted dhogu and devanu!

[serin]

Not to mention a dhogu shaman that may currently be at the casters...

You tease

Ooh, very interesting. I am sure you have mentioned this before a while ago. Was there not also mention of a new Twilight Traveller?

[serin]

Forgot to mention that it is great to read of the Dhogu exploits. Looking forward to seeing them painted.