CLASH OF SPEARS... THROW DOWN YOUR THUNDERBOLT...

Following reports from the distant village of Epididimus, where mysterious skeletal apparitions have been seen sighted in the dark and shadowy woodland, close by the farmstead of Gurunius the Swineherd, Domestos, lion hearted warrior of Hallitosos, has been dispatched, with a small retinue of lightly armoured troops to investigate.

Domestos and his force of Peltasts and javelin armed skirmishers approach Epididimus from the east, with a large pond and rocky ground between them and the ruins of an earlier oikos which once stood on the site of Gurunius' dwelling. To the south lies the woodland, where the ghostly sightings have occurred and, to the west, Heinos and his skeletal horde lie awaiting the moment when their dreadful assault will begin.

Skeleton archers, secreted behind the boundary wall of Gurunius' farm, prepare to unleash their deadly arrow storm upon the approaching Hallitosians. Sadly, throughout the game, the Gods of the Dice simply refused to look down kindly upon them.

Heinos with his skeleton band and personal guard of Zealots.

Domestos and two groups of Peltasts.

Psiloi advance across the rocky ground to scout out the farmstead.

While the Zealots sneak into the Lemon Grove ready to launch a savage assault on the advancing Hallitosians.

And Verdigris leads his skeletons into the woods.

From whence they launch an attack on the Psiloi.

The skirmish specialists are able to avoid the attack and send one of the skeletons clattering back to Hades.

The Zealots attack Peltasts in the ruins.

And drive them back.

The action on Domestos' left develops, with the skeletons suffering more casualties from the javelins of the Psiloi, but the javelinmen are beginning to suffer dangerously from fatigue.

Behind the Psiloi, the Peltasts are at breaking point from the fierce assault of the Zealots and Domestos will be dangerously exposed with no other troops around him for support.

With the Gods of the Dice against them, the Peltasts finally break and flee the field of battle, leaving Domestos no option but to engage the Zealots, in a desperate attempt to save the day.

With a flurry of flashing strokes of his blade, Domestos drives the Zealots back and they are unable to react to his tenacious bravery... however...

the epic defence of the Psiloi, bravely fighting in a manner for which they have no training or desire to perform, eventually crumbles, as they succumb to the overwhelming power of the skeleton horde and they too turn and flee the battlefield. Finding himself alone and facing both the Zealots and the skeleton blades, Domestos calls to his remaining group of Peltasts, who had been pinned down by the skeleton bowmen at the farmstead, to take flight and save themselves for another day.

At the cost of just three casualties between them, the Zealots and Verdigris' cadaverous Undead had driven the main part of Domestos' forces from the field, bringing victory and glory to the followers of Hades.

Heinos the Necromancer and his skeleton warriors celebrate a victory over the forces of Hallitosos, commencing their embryonic quest for vengeance, more than two centuries after their betrayal at the Battle of Miocardium.

The Battle of Epididimus was a very small affair of, probably, only a couple of hundred points per side, intended to get a feel for using forces from the Arcane Companion along side the original Clash of Spears rules. Heinos himself was never in a position to employ his magical powers so I don't yet know how that works on the battlefield. Activating the Undead was a tad frustrating at times, as they often didn't get the number of tokens necessary to complete the actions they needed; the skeletons attacking from the woods got a single token several times when the Psiloi were standing off just out of range of an Attack action, which meant they could close the distance, but would then be hit by a shower of javelins before the Psiloi would back off again. However, at the crucial moment in the battle, they got three tokens and the Psiloi failed their Reaction Test, which gave the skeletons the opportunity they needed to charge in and finish them off! 

I suspected that using 'Fantasy' figures with Clash of Spears would be challenging and a whole load of fun and that is exactly how it proved to be. Clash of Spears always makes you think and you can never just sit back and watch events unfold but, with the extra complications of activating a skeleton horde, the game climbs to a whole new level... 

Lots more action to come from the Hemoroides Chronicles as Heinos and "The Defeated" continue their quest for vengeance!