Unbreakable

Light drizzle stopped and first wisps of fog started to appear. Weather was good, place and timing were right - Udo would smile, but a snarl was the best he managed. His lack of humour was just another sign of a job that had gone from ordinary to personal. Men of the Bad Company were concealed in the woods and around the road that the dwarven warband marched, unaware of their presence... 

Scenario: Ambush
Defender: Bad Company

Dwarves:

• Gorm Shieldbearer (P); Q2+ C4, Leader, Fearless, Short Move, Steadfast, 95pts
• Ragnar "Knock-knock" Shieldbreaker, Q3+ C4; Fearless, Short Move, Steadfast, 46pts
• Giml... just a warrior (shield and axe); Q3+ C3, Short Move, Steadfast, 30pts 
• Robur, wounded warrior (shield and hammer); Q4+ C3, Short Move, Steadfast, 30pts 
• Skadi the Sharpshooter; Q3+ C3, Good Shot, Shooter: Medium, Short Move, 44pts
• Lorn the Leery, crossbowman; Q3+ C3, Good Shot, Shooter: Medium, Short Move, 44pts

-Tough as Nails
-Courageous (waste of VPs, but it's my opponent's choice)

6VPs, 2CPs

Bad Company:

• Udo, Leader (P); Q3+ C3, Leader, 60 pts
• Yira, Veteran halberdier; Q3+, C3, Steadfast, Tailslap, 42 pts
• Wilhelm, Crossbowman; Q3+, C3, Shooter: Medium, Good Shot, Fearless, 50 pts
• Rudi, Halberdier; Q4+, C3, Dashing, 27 pts
• Vladimir, Bowman; Q4+, C3, Shooter: Long, 33 pts
• John the Bowman; Q4+, C3, Shooter: Long, 33 pts
• Carpenter Jack; Q4+, C3, Greedy, 20 pts
• Neat Pete, Thug; Q4+, C3, Greedy, 20 pts

2VPs, 0CPs

Game

Vladimir was the first to reveal himself, taking a shot at the wounded dwarf, hitting only his shield.

Most of the dwarves ran down the road, apart from Skadi and one warrior. Moment of surprise was gone.

Well placed bolt knocked down the wounded dwarf, and then, before Vladimir could finish him off,  the dwarves moved as one. (Bloody turnover)

Like a tidal wave the dwarves crashed at forest's edge, knocking down Vladimir. Skadi and Lorn did what they did best - shoot the leader. Udo took one bolt to the shield and had to hit the dirt to anoid another.

Udo stood up and was about to command Yira and the scum when his voice failed him. 

(Yep, another turnover.)

Ragnar sent Vladimir to his own red hell and Udo was knocked off his feet by another volley. John sent a warrior reeling back, only to be faced by Gorm.

Thwack! His face unchanged, Wilhelm started reloading his crossbow, keeping one eye on fallen Robur. Udo got his feet and voice back and barked an order. Jack and Pete knew their bussines well, dispatching Robur through exemplar cooperation (there goes Tough as Nails), whileYira flanked the dwarven leader. Rudi then charged Gorm only to push him back.   

Thwack! Thwack! Pete and Jack went down, finished by Gorm and a warrior afterwards. Ragnar failed to move.

Rudi charged and knocked down Gorm, and although Yira tried to avenge his fallen comrades, Gorm proved to be dangerous even when outnumbered and shaken. Both shooters let loose on Ragnar, forcing him to dodge - and close with Udo. (A mistake, grievous mistake - however, Gorm succeded only to stand up and and fail the remaining two dice, resulting in a very convenient turnover).

Yira attacked from the flank, pushing Gorm back. (Fatal blunder - I forgot to use Yira's tailslap.) John then flanked Ragnar, and Wilhelm went for the kill. Rudi charged a crossbowman and pushed him back.

The last picture looks good, doesn't it? Sadly enough, both halberdiers were killed in the next turn, forcing John and Wilhelm to flee. Udo disengaged, muttred something about "the next time" and left the field.

VP score was 11:2 for the dwarves; Ragnar recovered fully and Robur -again- only partially.

Summary: Great game, almost balanced and full of surprise. I hoped to use the ambush bonus, but I had only one chance, and took it only with Vladimir. 

Regarding the campaign, I came up with some house rules, like getting any ability you want for its cost in XP, and -more importantly- buying the next level of C or Q for as many XP as the new C or 6-Q respectively (eg. 3XP for C2 to C3 or Q4+ to Q3+). Although it favours me now, my chivalrous opponent considered those changes sensible and agreed on them.