Song of Blades and Heroes - first test game

So tonight I made a giant leap in my geeking, and whether forward or backward remains to be seen. In the interest of learning the newly-acquired Song of Blades and Heroes, I set up a solo game and tried to learn as I played. I have a fairly limited collection of painted fantasy models, but I tried to make due with what was at hand, and in fact, I managed to scrounge two almost-300-point forces.

Curse of the Vampire Queen:

Gro'ghall, chieftan of the dark dwarves of Delving Rock, leads a small scouting party across the plains in search of the abandoned tower of Thrad'mo, his honoured ancestor.


The party rounds a copse of trees near a stream, and there it looms before them...


...but it's far from abandoned. "Cross the river if you dare," shrieks a booming voice. "I am Jikatta the Vampire Queen, and all who pass here shall be feasted on by my minions."


Gro'ghall and his giant hounds ford the river and face the first of the Vampire Queen's skeletons.


The skirmishers find places near the riverbank and provide covering fire, their arrows having little effect on the undead creatures shambling towards their chieftan.


With lighting speed, Jikatta is upon the hounds. After some combat, a skeleton is dispatched by the hound...


...and the vampire dispatches the hound.


The skirmishers get a couple of lucky hits and slow the horde down (as if they weren't slow enough already)


In the meantime, the battle at the ford has escalated. Bone and claw collide in a savage melee with Gro'ghall driving his hounds hard.


The undead seem to be winning...


...however, thanks to the overall unreactive nature of the majority of undead minions, the dark dwarves are not outnumbered by much.


Finally, Gro'ghall brings his mighty weapon to bear as the hounds begin damaging the undead queen in earnest.


Suddenly, in a burst of necromantic magic, the Vampire Queen disappears...


...and a cackle resound on the evening air. "Come hither, chieftain of the dark children. Your doom awaits within, if you have the strength to come and receive it." And with another crackle of smoke, Jikatta and her minions vanished, leaving Gro'ghall and his henchmen confused in the eery mist.


So there was the first game of SBH, and the first solo game of my geeking career. I quite enjoyed the game. It's a great way to learn a game, and it worked surprisingly well as a solo game. There were a few questions that will need answering, but overall, I think the system is very entertaining and unpredictable. It actually took me back to the classic role-playing of my youth.

Thanks for reading,
JET