The Battle in the Underground Pass of Karak Varn - way too much info unless you like long descriptions

 Dwarfs vs Undead

- a mix of mostly 6th edition rules and army lists -
- with many an old metal model and a few new ones -

Baroque Kahn the Runesmith hears reports of a Vampire led undead force making its way from Sylvania under the mountain passes towards Karak Varn and toward the Vaults.

Mustering the troops for defence and taking up his RuneHammer of Flight, Baroque commands the Great Anvil of Doom to be hauled out and set into position, guarded by two Anvil Guard and seven oathbreakers, who seek death at the hand of the foe to reclaim their honour.

The Hammerers Elite unit Order of the Turquiose Boar and their Gatekeeper join the ranks.

The Varn Clansmen arrive with their thunderers captained by Thrane Jefferson with his rune-axe of Fury. The Bolt Thrower is moved into place under the supervision of Morful the Engineer armed with his runehammer of Alacrity.

The Imperial Dwarf Organ Gun covers the flank.

The Dwarf back line is set for defence.

Carole the Lahmian Vampire brings her troops through the cave systems not needing to alter the weather or bring the darkness of clouds to protect the troops from sunlight. Three units of wight cavalry are spaced across the front line, headed by captain Spiko with his enchanted shield.

Sluggaz the vampiric Thrall and most recent concubine of Carole, commands the skeleton spear unit armed with a flail and a wicked enchanted sickle. The unit carries the screaming banner of Doom that wails and howls with unending tortured voices from the souls trapped within. In front of the spears the scytheweilders form their rank.

The Screaming Skull Catapult is put in position and the vampire bats descend from the cave roof. A banshee is raised by the vampire in a distorted and earsplitting scream.

The Necromancer Brian Skullface and his raised archers accompany his legion of skeleton sword and shields with their war banner fashioned from the cured leathery skins torn from battle victims. He raises spirits from the aether to extract their vengeance on the dwarfs.

The armies face eachother and the battle begins.

The undead advance quickly under the magic of Danse Macabre.

The Screaming Skull Catapult is loaded with the enchanted skull. The grisly severed hands grip onto eachother and the roped sinews retract while the skull columns wail and howl in agony. The arm is released, sending the skull screaming its death howl through the air, bursting into balefire flame before exploding on impact, overshooting the hammeres by mere feet.

Baroque responds by smashing the Rune of Air, causing magic lighting to strike the Banshee in a crack of thunder, although wounded the Banshee carries on, screams echoing throughout the vast cavern.

Once again the screaming skulls come crashing down, and once again fall short of ther target.

In a surprise attack, a unit of dwarven miners tunnel into the cavern from the rear, putting the catapult in grave danger, whilst the cavalry on the flank are likewise ambushed.

The Runesmith strikes the rune of water and the ground under the cavalry wells up, creating a muddy bog that prevents the undead horses from gaining a charge on the miners, instead giving the miners the opportunity to strike first. The fight is intense with casualties on both sides, but the miners press forward and eventually cause the cavalry to crumble.

In the rear undead lines, the vampire bats halt their advance and fly back to defentd the catapult, slamming into the miners, killing but a few of them. The stalwart miners howl at the opportunity to cut the beasts down, breaking wing and bone and crush their skulls under iron-shod boots.

The attack of the bats provides time for the catapult to fire again, but for the third time, the screaming skull missed the target by a fraction. The hammerers control their nerves and prepare to hold the charge headed by Captain Spiko.

Morful commands the singular runestruck bolt to be loaded and carefully takes aim at the banshee. The missile strkies home and the banshee howls in pain and terror before being dragged down through the earth to the nether regions of whence she came.

On the left flank the mounted wights round the rocky columns too eagerly and are mercilessly gunned down by the organ gun and the thunderers. Whilst the armour protects a few of their number, the rest are blown to fragments of bone, wood and rusted steel. The remaing three slam into the clansmen killing a few on impact, but are swiftly dispatched by Jefferson and his mighty axe.

The Bolt thrower is quickly aligned to Captain Spiko's cavalry unit and a well placed bolt pierces two of their number, sending the bones crashing into the ground. The remaining wights charge headlong into the hammerers, who hold their ground, even though the lances find their way home through dwarven armour and shield.

From the centre of the battlefield, Carole observes the charge and with a smirk, raises zombies from the ground, up and around the back line of the hammerers. Ambushed from behind and fighting on both sides, the hammerers smash the zombie corpses into bloody piles of rotting flesh and bone, but are overwhelmed by Spiko; his military prowess and enchanted shield provding wicked offence and defence that proves too much for them to handle. The hammerers' morale breaks and they turn to flee over the corpses of the zombies and are hewn down by wight blades till the very last.

In the back line, the miners destory the screaming skull catapult, ending its terrifying barrage, however, in that time, Sluggaz and his spear unit have about face turned and with the assistance of Danse Macabre magic, quickly advance on the company of delvers.

Unable to match the fighting skill of Sluggaz and shaken by the incessant screaming of the banner, the miners break and run back into the safety of their tunnels, counting their dead and vowing revenge.

On the other side of the Battlefield, the Runelord strikes the rune of stone as the scytheweilders round a rocky outcrop. The earth beneath them explodes upward whilst the rocky column smashes apart and falls down on top, utterly destroying them.

It is at this point that the cat, Mr Bitey, decides that it is time for the vampire to move up toward the rest of the fighting and enter the combat and duly takes over.

Morful the Engineer, seeing the spirit host advace, parts company with the bolt thrower and crew and marches out alone across the battlefield to bring them low.

Taking a chance, Skullface orders the archers to fire on Morful, but alas, the arrows fall all around and he remains unharmed as if protected by Valaya herself.

The spirits charge the organ gun before Jefferson can react or Morful can catch them, and they begin smashing the great weapon, while the crew retreat.

Morful finally catches up and one by one destorys the spirits with his runehammer.

With the hammerers defeated, the wights turn on the slayers, leading a devestating charge into their few numbers. Only able to destroy one of the wights, the slayers bravely fight to the last, who wound Spiko before being utterly cut down.

The organ gun crew return to man the war machine, but as they begin loading, Skullface raises a group of zombies upon them, and although they attempt to drive them off, the crew are bitten, held down and torn to bloody pieces. Jefferson and the clansmen retailate and destroy the zombies, as the thunderers and skeleton archers exchange missiles.

Morful charges the Necromancer but missed his swing and takes a blow to the chest. Fortunately, his stout leather apron proves to be of superior design and he is unharmed. The rest of the dwarven warriors and thunderers charge the archers who are then joined by the sword and shield skeletal unit behind them. A mighty clash begins but when the dwarfs seem to gain the upper hand, with Jefferson smashing four skeletons in a single blow every time, Skullface raises up more of the undead and the battle again evens out the numbers. Morful lands blow after blow upon the Necromancer, but his strikes become underpowered, as the talisman around Skullface's neck reduces the impact. Skullface laughs maniacally and raises a dozen more skeletons.

 The runelord then turns his attention to Spiko and hammers the rune of Flame, sending a scorching fireball into the cavalry, negating all armour, leaving only charred bone and smoking, twisted metal.

Carole rounds the other side of the outcrop, and using her superior speed and dodges the lightning bolt cast from the Anvil. Baroque throws his Hammer of Flight, catching Carole in the skull, but she barely flinches, as if the hammer was but a small irritance, and charges into the miners.

Attempting to use her seduction on the captian, she thrusts the bloodblade into the miners, draining their blood through the accursed steel and into her body, regenerating any wounds she receives.

The captain resists and the banner gives the dwarves additional stubborness and resistance, but eventually the vampire is too strong and even the captain is temporarily charmed into fighting his own troops. Snapping out of it, he curses the vampire as she thrusts the blade deep into his chest, draining the last drop of blood from his frame, leaving the captain a dry and empty husk.

Sluggaz advances on the Anvil as the Runelord strikes the rune of Flame, immolating half the spear unit. He throws his Hammer of Flight, hitting Sluggas in the head, but the Thrall simply shrugs off the hit just like his Mistress.

The battle on the left flank eventually sees the dwarf warriors push the skeletons to the point of destruction as Skullface desperately tries to summon more legions, but this time Morful gives the Necromancer a solid punch to the stomach, ruining his spell. Skullface is overrun and Jefferson puts his runeaxe through the spellcaster's skull in one powerful blow.

With the Anvil now without defences, Sluggaz charges with the spears, joined by Carole, who instantly beheads one of the Anvil guards. The other guards takes out a few skeletons, but is pierced in the face by a spear and drops to the ground, lifeless.

The Runelord breaks Sluggaz' arm with the hammer and in return is gouged twice by the unholy sickle, rending the gromril armour and slicing his flesh to gory ribbons.

The bolt thrower crew place one lucky missile right through the vampire's torso, hoping that a "stake through the heart" will kill her. They gasp in disbelief as she turns toward them and snaps the solid bolt in half, pulling it out and throwing it on the ground.
"She cannot be killed!" they yell, drawing the rest of the wariors attention to the anvil.

With his last remaining strength, Baroque Kahn brings his runehammer down on the skull of the Thrall, smashing his brain all the way into his clavicles. Carole screams in anger and through her mind a skeleton spears the Runelord through the heart, ending his life at the foot of his beloved anvil.

The remaining dwarven throng, shocked and agape at the defeat of their blessed and revered Runelord to the Vampire, quaver and quake, their resolve broken.

"Retreat!" orders Jefferson. "Retreat to the caverns! We shall have our vengeance another day!"

Carole surveys the destruction; the death littered over the battlefield and in a mighty burst of magic raises every last corpse and renews her army.