With the end of the holidays, we return to our campaign!

(For those of you just joining us or in need of a refresher, make sure to check out Setup and Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)

Round 7 of the campaign was filled with so many notable and exciting battles, I don’t even know where to begin to encapsulate it all!

Probably the most fun game to watch was the battle between Ed and JR as they battled over and across the treacherous ravines of Demonhead Pass. I will admit I took endless pleasure in pressuring JR to try to jump one of the ravines with his Trollkin War Wagon. I even went so far as to promise him that, should it succeed in its daredevil attempt, I would paint him a new one in the colors of the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard. Perhaps wisely so, he declined to take my awesome bait and instead proceeded to eek out a victory over Ed. The penalty for his cowardice came when he failed his capture roll, though, leaving the tile under Cryxian control.

Simon and Agel’s battle over the Orgoth Ruins was another blast to watch, as they found themselves not only fighting against each other but also against swarms of Orgoth Dread who were awakened from their slumber deep beneath the earth by the sounds of battle above. Despite this horrific interference, Agel was able to earn a narrow victory over Simon to reclaim the ruins for the Convergence.

My third pick for battle of the round would have to go to the rematch between Hungerford and Plummer at Rimmocksdale Lake. This time, the forces of the Minions were finally able to triumph over the long-entrenched Retribution forces. In the end, Hungerford was able to clinch the win by two-hand throwing one of his own heavies into the crumbling docks, sending the models standing on it to a watery grave. Though the gambit cost Hungerford a significant portion of his forces, it was a crippling blow to Plummer, who simply was unable to recover and lost on control points.

As everyone prepared for the last season to begin, once more I—in my role as GM—tossed some unexpected curve balls at them for them to deal with. Round 8 began with a roar that pierced the sky and caused all on the ground to tremble in fear as massive shadows blotted out the sun above. Toruk’s progeny had arrived in anticipation of the arrival of the Athanc Wagon. The sudden terror in the skies caused the troops below to be less than eager to march, throwing a wrench into several of our intrepid players’ plans as their forces remained frozen in terror when they failed their strategic rolls.

When the dust settled, Round 8 ended with no battles to be fought. It was at this point we sat down as a group, and, looking at the upcoming craziness of the holiday schedule, decided to take a break from the campaign—rather than try to schedule around the many family vacations and the end-of-the-year crunch time on the horizon. Though everyone was excited to continue, sometimes the best way to keep a long-running campaign running is to know when to take a breather. By putting the end of the campaign on hold until the New Year, we ensured it didn’t become a source of stress for everyone. Instead, the break simply made everyone all the more eager to come back and bring it to its dramatic conclusion!

’Til next time!