The Battle of Bedrock
by Dan EustaceThis an account of a key battle that took place in a PC dominion IMC that was being invaded by a humanoid army. The PC had been warned of the invasion by a group of low level PCs who were adventuring in the wilderness to the south where the humanoids are prevalent. The battle was resolved using the Battlesystem rules for mass combat. You'll be able to see some of the effects of high level magic.
The main characters described here are Count Melzo Hara, ruler of Sularus County (C36); Marquis Throm the Mighty from the bordering land of Sabre River (F36); Throm's magist, Karakia (M25), and chaplain, Kane (C17). Also present were Throm's bodyguards known as the Lords of War (F9), assigned here to protect his son Jason (F3), and his friends Acronon (M3) and Varyn (C4).
Here is the account:
3/14/98 6/1/2023 AY
The Hobgoblin Raiders, led by the Night Bringers, along with giants and other mercenaries, move down out of the hills to attack the Defenders of Sularus at Bedrock. The humanoids outnumber Melzo's forces, including the airship, approximately 800-550. A heavily armed War Machine crawls toward the town but Throm flies out invisibly to intercept it. A huge red dragon, Thrithrak, sees Throm and other invisible heroes who are advancing, and blasts Throm with a fireball. An ogre mage within the War Machine hits him with an ice storm. The dragon engages Melzo Hara in an aerial battle, torching him with his breath of flame. Throm enters the War Machine and the carnage begins. Melzo battles for his life with the dragon above. Meanwhile, the airship has advanced, and it quickly draws fire from the mountain giants. The skyship is badly damaged from the barrage of boulders and is forced to flee the battlefield, but not before it gets off a few rounds of artillery and spell-fire. Karakia begins creating dragons to take out the giants and assist Melzo. Melzo keeps himself in the fight, thanks to his healing spells and resist fire. The dragon retreats to regroup, and is eventually slain by one of Karakia's created dragons. Throm is still slashing away at the occupants of the War Machine when Melzo arrives to clear it out with a holy word. The humanoid forces have been steadily advancing and they defeat some of the Sularus cavalry. Melzo slows their advance by unleashing a mighty earthquake spell that engulfs many troops. Throm's chaplain, Kane, is shot down by a hobgoblin leader's arrow. Throm takes care of the hobgoblin leader. Melzo's cavalry engages the advancing hobgoblins, orcs, and goblin riders, but there are too many. Others manage to retake the vacant War Machine and start it toward the town. The giant skirmishers have begun to advance across the quarry, and Karakia retreats to the woods where he joins Melzo's skirmish archers and the band of heroes he made invisible prior to the battle: Jason, Ack, Varyn, and Throm's five Lords of War. The archers and Karakia's magic keep the giants at bay, but other humanoids are approaching as well. The archers rout back to the town after a devastating wave of boulders rains upon them. The heroes join in the fight against the invaders. Jason, Varyn and the Lords of War fire missiles while Ack wounds a mountain giant with his wand of cold. The giants and several humanoid leaders engage the Lords of War, leaving the heroes to do battle with advancing humanoids and their leaders. Meanwhile, Melzo's cavalry has been lost and the humanoids begin to press on toward Bedrock, still defended by a contingent of longbowmen and heavy footmen. Throm and Melzo hold them back, Throm by defeating giants and leaders, and Melzo with spells such as holy word and earthquake, plus the occasional melee battle with a hobgoblin chief. Jason takes down several humanoid leaders with his swordsmanship, but Varyn is struck unconscious from a blow to the head. Ack duels with a goblin riding a dire wolf who survives a blast from his wand. The goblin wounds him with his spear, but Ack slays him with his dagger. Two of the Lords of War have fallen, so the group retreats into the forest and heads back to town. Throm and Melzo have once again neutralised the War Machine, but the longbowmen can no longer hold off the charging giants. As they approach the gate, Melzo sends down another earthquake that crumbles the hillside and sends the giants fleeing. The remaining humanoids and giants flee in panic as Melzo casts down a few more temblors for good measure. Bedrock is saved!