Hey folks, thought I'd share this amazing campaign I've been playing for the past 80 turns. I apologize, this is a rant, and it's kind of just a description of how it went. But everytime I mention battles think of the loading screen art and old Warhammer Fantasy artwork. Basically how it went, it's awesome. Again, this is a passionate rant.
Let me begin on why it's amazing,
Shoutout to the tabletop reborn mod for keeping the battles fresh, full of actual units and intense. Seeing regular dudes battle it out and stand up to warriors of chaos, forsaken and chosen alongside their emperor. Awesome stuff.
If you are familiar with the events of the end times, the factions, locations, chronology and so on. And then you try to incorporate all that into total war. That can seem pretty difficult to get right. Maybe I just got lucky with the AI, but oh my was it grand. First campaign in this game by the way
Start out slowly expanding through empire territory, helping out the electors, developing Reikland and the surrounding area. I have heard Marienburg grab is lucrative but I am quite the narrative oriented person so I refused the opportunity. Instead keeping the various enemies of man at check on the empires Western border.
As I played firemen in the center, South and West of the empire. Suddenly, the far East goes dark. Kislev is gone.
Alright, maybe just a bad start for them eh?...
It didn't take too long after that.
Once again in the East, Ostland, ostermark go radio silent. Or rather, driven into their hovels and burned out. Only Sylvania and tabecland stand defiant like stone.
Norland is overrun In one fell swoop. Poor Hockland is in the thrall of the leechlord. Only due to the Titanic efforts of Boris todbringer and the middenheim counter-offensive that the northern part of the empire holds out.
The south is faring beautifully, wisseland is developing into a regional power, controlling solland and a few further territories. Averland is bothering stirland, as supposed to, stirland who is treated like crap and is thrown to the wolf that is Sylvania. No surprise there. Everything is fitting the picture.
Franz meanwhile is developing his territories meaningfully and holding the empire together through a string of battles. The statesman and general that he is. Eventually leaving the north up to Boris and deciding to bring the fight to rebelling Sylvania. Whom at this point was chewing through talabecland. As we all know, Vlad wants to be emperor, and the circumstances have made his faction a large miny boss of sorts. So it's a fitting case for a civil war.
Through another series of pivotal battles against Vlad, clan moulder and some greenskins, a few quest ones for fun as well. Talabecland is in our hands, averland in our debt, stirland in my a double s, I jest, they are also ours. And Sylvania itself in possession of wisseland. Who along with Boris is the MVP of elector counts. The story is becoming wrapped around the three elector counts.
Up north, the norscans continue to terror nordland, Festus spreads his plague along the empires roads, the glotkin, just like in the books, beeline for Marienburg. Which falls at their hands.
This impressed me, I thought it was coincidence, but everything was fitting together and the level of challenge ,story and immersion was amazing. I start snowballing a bit, beating the norscans/glotkin out of the north and continue building up. Before I began the mini snowball, middenheim was on the edge of falling and everywhere save carrolburg had fallen. So I confederated them and relieved the city. The city of Ulric shall not yet fall! Very cinematic, and goes along with the prophecy that when the magic fire or light in middenheim goes out. That they are all doomed. Very end times coded.
Sidenote, a little after, only wissenland isn't confederated. They hold a lot of territory that means I don't have to defend it yet.
And truth be told, don't know if it's the new patch but miss dracken is phenomenal. She managed to push out into the chaos wastes(makes me think of realms of chaos) and with dwarven help, restore some former kislevite strong points.
Now by this point. Franz was cleaning up in nordland while Boris todbringer had been moving northeast through ostland. Stopping at the fortress of erengard. When I stopped to take it all in. The empire, although fresh out of the string of crisises, was more centralized and stronger than before. Or so I thought.
The world around me changed organically too in a awesome way. Major wars between order and chaos happened, with the ogre kingdoms pulling out on top in the desert wastes South of averland. After like two waaghs from greenskins and a close defeat for the king with the book of grudges. Amazing stuff. I will describe the forces of order as they are.
The wood elves, initially hostile, waged a bloody war on the Darrow legion and other unknown enemies(probably Skaven, orcs and demons) and took an expanse of mountains for their own south and west of wissenland.
The bretonnians are healthy too, with couronne consolidated, fighting out the vampires. Skaven and norscans pushed out or south. The lands west of the empire are controlled by the forces of order.
The Western forces of order had a mini great war against grom the paunch and the Skaven and Barrow legion. Felt a little similar to how the bretonnians wars of the end times went.
On ulthuan, it seems the high elves won out. On the right side at least. Haven't seen them much. Made me feel like actual Karl Franz.
Oh, and I won't forget the dwarves. Absolute beasts. They surround the mountains of Sylvania, in droves. Consolidated and allied with order. They have fought off a lot of enemies from what I could tell. Ungrim is cool. The old alliance of dwarves and men holds true.
Everything beyond? No idea. They are fighting their battles, I am fighting mine.
And then, everything hits. The warnings, the omens. Then. Him.
Archaon has come(and he's flippin close!)
IT IS THE END TIMES.
BY THE HELDENHAMMER, SUMMON THE ELECTOR COUNTS!!
It's too soon, too soon, I thought I'd have more time. The empire has only just come together again, the cracks haven't healed. The ancient foe rises from the forests of empire and lay siege to the city of talabheim. Franz rushing South, but I fear he is too slow.
Tzeentchian hordes march on wissenland, caught off guard. The determined but outmatched garrison of fort stroll is defeated. Already their armies burn settlements towards nuln. Poor solland will doubtless fall. An Imperial army awaits them, hopefully to be supported soon. But such is the end times.
To the mountains near Sylvania, already an army sent to investigate has been slaughtered. Archaon himself rears to Castle drakenhof, only meager armies can afford to stand against the steel of the everchosen. Thankfully the dwarves have put up bitter resistance. But how long it'll hold I do not know.
To the chaos wastes. The wissenland expeditionary armies(now Confederated) face à multitude of huge chaos hosts. In the mountains just beyond norsca. Already on is battered and reeling. With the other two not far behind to aid.
They know they will not return to their homes. But the Ill fated expedition may be of use yet. A poorly exposed deamonette army may yet be vanquished in a vicious battle before their land stand against the unrelenting forces or chaos. They buy us time. Much needed.
It is at this point I realize the situation I am in. I cannot win, at least, I don't know how to. These are indeed my end times. And it is beautiful.
I am not even able to physically fight archaon. So if someone could explain why not please do.
I will lose probably 4 elector state capitals before I can meaningfully fight back. And fighting back doesn't mean win.
It will be a fighting retreat, armies will be raised and die and again and again, I will consolidate around Altdorf, nuln and middenheim. I will fight around settlements to be supported by my many mega garrisons.
The empire may fall, but by faith, steel and gunpowder may it fight hard. Man will not go quietly. The light of Ulric yet burns and its walls have yet fallen.
I do not know if I can restore burned settlements, if not, I am irreversibly crippled. They say chaos has 50 armies. Already 26% of the world burns.
It feels like the books, I love it
(Although, if there's a way I can still win, I would like help, a little hope makes it all the better. I have no idea where archaons beacons are)
