PAYROLL RUN
Warmaster Scenario by Rick Wynn

Strategic Situation: An imperial army is laying siege to a large
rebellious city, somewhere in the southeast of the Empire. Paying
the troops at least part of their back wages is crucial to avoid
massive desertions that would oblige the army to lift the siege and
render the campaign a failure. A small fortune in silver coins is
enroute to the army, escorted by a powerful force; unfortunately, an
orcish warlord got wind of this and has moved to intercept the train.

Ground: Long axis of the table is NS. A ridge runs NS down the
center of the battlefield, almost extending all the way to the N and
S edges. There is a small village in the center of the W edge, from
which a road runs E over the ridge and off the E edge. There are a
few patches of woods and scrub here and there.

Forces: An Imperial army (we used 2000 pts) deploys first, within
20cm of the W edge. Two wagons loaded with coins begin in the
village on the road. The orcs (same size army) deploy second, within
20cm of the E edge, and move first.

Special Rules: The wagons move 20cm per successful order, follow
chariot move restrictions, and are -1 to command if they leave the
road. They cannot be shot at or attacked in melee. They belong to
the last side that has control of them.

Victory: Casualty points are not used. The Empire wins if they
break the Orc army, or if they successfully exit the two wagons off
the E edge. The Orcs win if they break the Empire army, or if they
capture the wagons and exit them off the N, E, or S edge under orc
escort. If both sides make off with one wagon, the scenario ends as
a draw.

Notes: The main twist to this scenario is the ridge running down the
center, which prevents the Empire from just sitting on its haunches
and bombarding with artillery. If the orcs hustle they can get to
the higher ground first, preventing the Empire from enjoying defended
status. The Imperial commander can either decide to leave the wagon
train on the "start line" and concentrate on defeating the orcs, or
else can try to punch a hole in the orc army and drive the wagon
train through. All he has to do to win is to get the silver train
through. Since the wagons can't be destroyed, it's quite possible
they'll change hands several times before the battle is decided.