HOTTBAP 2003 Report
By Alan Saunders
Early
start, as ever, with Thomas in tow. We got to
Registered
and then met the usual suspects. Joined a number of them for a full English
breakfast at a cafe round the corner. Very nice. Then on with the games:
I
used my Elephantmen: Eight blades, including the general, two riders and a god
(Kali).
Game
1, vs Nigel Jones
Nigel
had a Wolfen army, made up of figures from Thanes Games. All twelve elements
were beasts. I defended, and tried to avoid setting up too much bad going -
good for him, very bad for me. I rolled a '6' on my first bound, but elected
not to bring the god on, using it instead to bring my blades out of the rough I
had been obliged to deploy them in.
Nigel
tried a flank move, which I moved riders and blades to block, whilst others of
his troops, including the general, went for my main blade line. In the ensuing
melee the element next to his general died, allowing me to swing my general
into his flank. In the next combat it was all over; a 48-0 victory to the
Elephantmen.
Time
for a browse round the hall to see what games were being played, then on to ...
Game
2, vs Tim Sharrock
Tim
was using his Person Eating Pasta People of T'Esco, as heavily previewed on the
HOTT list. I defended again. This was a short game; Kali came on early, and Tim
had made the mistake of leaving his behemoth general exposed on the end of his
line, next to another behemoth. One flank contact later it was all over, as
Kali poured tomato sauce over the hapless Pasta leader. Another 48-0 victory for
the Elephantmen.
Lunch
was spent buying things down the road in Spirit Games; some figures for a
future project and a copy of Carcassone. Spirit Games is an amazing shop; far
too many tempting thinngs to buy.
Game
3, vs Pete Duckworth
Pete
had that popular HOTT army, the Inuit - six shooters, a behemoth, a magician
and a hero general. I defended, again.
I
sat back and decided to wait for the god to turn up or for his shooters to get
close enough for the blades to rush them. Kali turned up on the first turn and I
deployed her ready to exploit the open flank of Pete's hero general. Open flank
and no recoil room. Pete spotted it and moved his troops to prevent me recoing
anything into anything else. Kali moved behind his line, and was opposed by a
magician, which she killed. She then hit his hero general in the rear, and
started driving him back towards some bad going. My riders also came up and
started skirmishing with his shooters, killing one. One rider moved into
contact with the Inuit hero's rear, and Kali was able to finish him off. Yet
another 48-0 victory.
With
big gaps between the games there was time for a couple of rounds of 'Before You
Die, Mr. Bond'. Not enough over-acting from the players, it was felt. Then on
to ...
Game
4, vs
Steve
was using his Angel of Mons army, with St. George as a paladin and an artillery
general. Steve defended, but I still elected to hold my blade line back and
wait for Kali. She turned up quickly again, and whilst his army advanced slowly
through some rough, went straight for the front of his general. The odds were
against me, but I only had to win to kill him. She ended up surrounded and
overlapped, and Steve kept rolling well and saving his general. But Kali
wouldn't roll a '1' and go away, and eventually the combat odds fell in her
favour. 48-0 again.
So
I came first, with a perfect score, winning a voucher to spend at Behind The
Lines.
James
came last, winning the beautifully painted Sebastian Trophy. Thomas, playing
with Dwarves in his first HOTT competition, came 11th, and says he had a great
time. I can't remember any of the other placings - Steve may have come joint
third, but my memory may be playing me false.
Thomas
and I finished the game playing a camel-based boardgame with Tim and Benedict
Sharrock, the name of which escapes me. Then I drove the 150 miles home.
Bar
the first, my games were won entirely by Kali, who managed to come on early and
not go away in three games on the trot. I certainly had no other plan in any of
them, bar that of waiting for my blades to be contacted and hoping to wear the
enemy down. James and I had discussed the idea of using armies with a god in
before Easter, and both went for it thinking it would be different, if
ineffective. As it turned out, four of the fourteen armies in use had a god.
Are gods the new black?
Thanks
to Behind The Lines for organising the event and for introducing me to an
excellent show I'd not been to before. I'm tempted to go for the two days next
year; one playing HOTT and the other playing various boardgames.