Campaign for the Darkened Wood

The Campaign for the Darkened Wood is a fantasy campaign set in the borderlands between the realm of man and a vast forest tainted by dark magic.  The games are played with the Savage Worlds Showdown skirmish system, the best universal system I've encountered. 

Test Game:  Beastmen vs. Elves

I chose the SW Showdown system after comparing it side-by-side with Song of Blades and Heroes.  Both games allow players to stat up any miniature they have and throw down on the table.  I played a test game with Beastmen versus Elves, a melee-heavy versus missile-heavy matchup respectively, in the Treasure Hunt scenario from the SoBH rule book.  There are three chests in the middle of the board, one of which holds the treasure that is the object of the two factions' contest.

In the Song of Blades and Heroes game, the Beastmen shrugged off Elven arrows and walked away with the treasure without breaking much of a sweat.

In the Savage Worlds Showdown game, the contest went starkly in the other direction, with the Elves using the Beastmen for pincushions. 

SoBH is a fun game system but one that, in my opinion (and as explained in depth by

evilleMonkeigh), didn't have the qualities I wanted for a full-spectrum campaign.  It's got a much better magic system, too - though this may have been remedied with the release of Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes.

So, it's off to battle, with several factions involved - the aforementioned Elf/Dwarf Coalition, Beastmen, Orcs & Goblins, Human Royals, and Human Rebels.  I plan to add a necromancer and undead faction when the paint is dry on the necessary minis.

Game 1:  Elves & Dwarves vs. Orcs & Goblins, Battle for the Everfrost

Deep in the heart of the Darkened Wood, there lies a mystical place touched by unknown and mysterious magics.  This place, the EverFrost, features three pillars of blue, frozen stone that stays frigid in spite of its placement in a lush and green forest.  A force of Orcs and Goblins, led by Chieftain Urg and Shaman Grimnobb, ventured to the EverFrost on the eve of the Summer Solstice, when the contrast between the summer heat and the cold of the EverFrost pillars will heighten the power that Grimnobb can direct into a devious spell.  Sensing a disturbance in the magical realm based on Grimnobb's dark designs, Dwarf mage Forgoth Greybeard and warrior Erik the Berserker lead a Dwarf warband that unites with a similarly-motivated band of Wood Elves, led by Chieftain Eofar and Swordmaster Turwyn, hoping to keep dark magics out of this world.

Result:  A bloody Elf & Dwarf victory.  The Orc chieftain (above) flees the field as his forces route.

Game 2:  Human Royals vs. Human Rebels, A Stroll in the Woods/Kidnap the Tax Man

King Richard's younger brother, a dilettante by the name of Lionel, serves as tax collector for much of Richard's kingdom.  He is making the rounds in the outer regions of the kingdom, and his horses (by rebel leader Robb's design) have taken sick.  He must make the next leg of his circuit on foot through a lightly wooded area near the Darkened Wood.  Robb plans to be there.  With the successful kidnapping, and subsequent ransom, of Lionel, he can secure funds to continue his revolution and the abolition of Richard's wicked reign.

Result:  A bloody (but pyrrhic) victory for the rebels.

Game 3:  Orcs & Goblins vs. Humans vs. Elves & Dwarves, Magic Treasure Hunt

The Darkened Wood seems to attract strange stones that fall from the sky, and a large one just did so, breaking into several pieces as it impacted.  The stones are useful to magicians, tend to glow green, cause hair loss and burns/lesions on the skin, and are highly prized.  The king directed Captain Trent to get as many of the meteor fragments as possible, with hopes of attracting a mage-for-hire to the king's retinue.  But Captain Trent faces opposition.  A group of Orcs, and an opposing coalition warband of Elves and Dwarves, also want the valuable stones.

Result:  A bloody grudge match breaks out between the Orcs and the Elf/Dwarf coalition, while the humans run off with the treasure.

Game 4:  Beastmen vs. Humans

Now the humans have departed with the loot and are making their way back to human lands. But first they must pass through a stretch of swamp. The swampy green ground on either side of the path through the swamp imposed a movement penalty on the humans. 

Any beastmen that may be in the swamp were immune to this penalty, owing to their swift movement and long legs. And the beastmen were hoping to get the meteorites from the men, in order to lure a necromancer to join their faction and add legions of the undead to their cause (any excuse to dust off old Warhammer skeletons).

Result:  The Beastmen are overwhelmed by human numbers and only two survive. The Beastmen are no longer a competitive faction in the game, and the humans take their magical (radioactive?) stones back to their king.

Game 5:  Human-Elf vs Orc-Human Rebel Showdown!

The human success against the beastmen gave the human king the resources to attract a wizard to their faction. Who looks more than a bit like Gandalf.

And now the human rebels, who attacked and killed one of the king's taxpayers out for a stroll in the woods, know that their days are numbered. The human rebels join forces with the Orcs and Goblins and mount an offensive against the humans. The human king allies with the Elves to confront the human rebel-orc & goblin force.

Result:  The elf-human faction grinds out a close but bloody victory over the human rebels and orc & goblin faction.

That's the campaign so far, hope you enjoyed it!