The Dark Omen Campaign

the Hand of Nagash quest

[mission's 14-19]


Updated: 4th May, 1998

You get back to Altdorf where you learn your next mission lies East in the snowy region of Kislev. You are to destroy the Hand of Nagash, a hideous Archservant trapped in a glacier, before the Dread King defrosts him. If he does, the gods only know what vile plans he has with the Hand as his ally. Oh yes...yess...I cant wait to meet this Hand guy!


Mission #14: Ambush en route to Talabheim

Mission #15: Raid on Greenskin Camp

Mission #16: Ambush enroute to Kislev

Mission #17: The Northern Wastes: Troll attack

Mission #18: The Northern Wastes II: Screaming Skulls

Mission #19: Northern Wastes III: The Hand of Nagash


 Mission #14: Ambush en route to Talabheim

Magic Items: None

On your way to Talabheim you meet Urblad Rotgut, Ogre mercenary who informs you Talabheim has been flooded. You detour around the town and stumble into a large force of Orcs.

You start with your cavalry to the South. The Orcs will come from the West (about 2 units) Northwest (1-2 units) and North (abt 2 units). Watch out for the enemy archers from the N and NW! they are the biggest threat. Dont worry about your right(East) flank yet. Theres a river separating the enemy there from you.

Place your Cannon and Mortar to the East, just beside the trees by the river. You can use them to waste the Arrer boys as they come scurrying from the North/NW

Waypoint some of your assault units (I use Infantry + Flagellants) to move due West from where 2 Orc units will emerge from the trees. Your cavalry shud be on standby to assist any hand-to-hand combat later. I put them in the middle.

The rest of your units including archers, use them to guard your cannons and mortar.

I didnt use my wizard here. But if you do he comes w a flamestorm so that might come handy.

Once game starts, pummel the enemy arrow guys with Mortar and Cannon. This shud be easy. Once they're gone, you're a lot safer. And your assault team shud also make short work of the Orcs from the West. Get your other units to help as well when the next group of enemies comes pouring out of the woods.

Now for the Orcs from the East. I've seen the AI do 2 different things. On my first game, they crept up to the banks and started firing at my troops. But this may be cos I placed my men too close to the river. On the second game when Ive placed troops nowhere close, the Orcs made their way up to the North where there's a river crossing to make a turn due SW to my postion. This is what you want :-) When they do this, hit them w archers, cannon and mortar fire and they wont even get a chance to soil your welcome mat.

 

Mission #15: Raid on Greenskin Camp

Magic items: Banner of Arcane Warding, Horn of Urgok

Turns out Urblad Rotgut has been leading you towards an Orc encampment, where with his Boss, (the rogue trooper Jurgen Muntz), they're planning a raid on Greenskins

You have a choice: (1) Attack the Camp or (2) Continue to Kislev.

Pick the first choice and the Ogres will join you after the fight! And they make excellent fighters even tho there's only 3 guys in the unit.

Jurgen Muntz and his men are disposable. Yes! for once you don't have to worry about men getting killed cos they're temporary and doesn't affect the campaign. Ofcos you need to use them to your advantage be it to harass enemy units or as enemy bait.

Deployment: I deployed everyone in the box to the SW, leaving the box where u start to the SE empty. It's just a preference, cos Im too lazy to pan back and forth between the start positions during battle. Leave out the cannon and Wizard since they're not that useful here and just get themselves killed since the box is so crowded to start with :-)

Waypoint your fastest unit i.e. Cavalry to hit the enemy Archers a bit to the NW behind the trees. Send Jurgens and his men to the Cave entrance.

Put your archers facing East to take care of 2 units Spiders moving in from the NE. Guard them w some assault units.

Once battle starts, 2 units Nightgoblins to the North will pick up their gold chests and start running North. I dont chase these guys cos they're escorted by some Goblin Fanatics who can't be attacked (i.e. your cursor doesnt change). Just aim your mortar at the Orc Bolt Thrower and 2 direct hits will put it out of commission.

Ok the tough part. To the NW, where u sent Jurgen, in order of appearance; 1 unit Arrer Boyz, 2 units Orc Biguns and 1 unit Orc Shaman will walk out the cave. The arrow boys and big ones are not that tough(use your Orcs, Infantry, Jurgens,etc to engage), but watchout for the Shaman! Left alone he will cast a STOMP spell on your troops where a gigantic feet drops out of the sky and stomps your men.(i wish my wizard has this spell!). The best way is to waste him early. He's not that tough. Note: One of the Orc Biguns units is carrying the Banner of Arcane Warding, good for deflecting spells! So make sure you kill off the 2 Biguns units! I had one game where they surrendered and ran off the map :-(

Then 2 units Orcs will appear NE, one unit heading towards the cave, hit them w the mortar if u like(jus remeber to Halt firing once they get close to your troops there) and the other Orc unit will head towards your Archers to the SW. Slow them down w arrows and engage w assault units once in range.

When all enemies have been killed/routed, use your Grudgebringer sword to flame the statue(w the red eyes) about 8-10 times and Wola! you get the Horn of Urgok. This cool item allows you to drive away all enemy units w the exception of the undead. Also helps to stop your troops from routing.

Overall, not a very difficult mission. Use your magic items to good effect. For example, I arm my Infantry w the Hellfire sword so when in melee, u get to fry the bad guys. Also, I managed to capture one of the gold chests that the Orcs picked up(abt 200 gold)

The only difficult part is killing off the Biguns; if they route or surrender, the only way to stop them is by using artillery or archers. And if they run off the map there goes your magic banner.

Interesting: Since Jurgen and men are disposable why not arm them with the Heart of Woe; which explodes upon death of bearer, and send them to the cave entrance. I havent tried this but wud be interesting to hear from any of u who did :-)

 

Mission #16: Ambush enroute to Kislev

On the way to Kislev, you run into Vladimir Stormbringer, Ice Mage to the Czarina Katerina. He will join your party so look up his spells to see what they do!

This mission's tough simply because the enemy catches you stuck on the lowest end of the map while they hold the higher ground w lots of archers and a kickass Screaming Skull Launcher(or SSL).

I found a cool way to "cheat" in this mission(altho seasoned Commanders may not want to do this). Your mortar is the key. Deploy them 4 flags to the right of your box(from the NW corner), next to a boulder. Keep in mind in this mission, as long as the enemy doesnt spot you, they cant vector in your postion to the SSL crew. And the SSL is major bad news cos a hit from one of the screaming skulls can wipe out almost an enitre regiment! So place all your troops (I only deploy Cavalry, Infantry, Ice Wizard and Bright Wizard) *very* close to the cliff walls of your start box.

Back to your Mortar. There are 4 places on the map where you can hit the bad guys. Firing blind ofcourse. The first is the clifftop up North next to 2 boulders, where the skeleton archers are. The 2nd place is midway between the Christmas trees on top of you and the cliff face up North. The 3rd place is to the left of 3 boulders(2 small, 1 big) to the NE of your mortar, and the 4th is to the right of the same spot but slightly upwards. Try these out. Hit them w mortar and listen to the screams of the dead as you score a direct hit! Give em about 5-6 hits each; and that shud lessen the enemy forces by 50%. It will take a bit of time, but its definitely better than rushing up the slope against superior numbers, a necromancer and the dreaded SSL!

Your Bright Wizard is your spotter. Teleport him where it's safe (but far away from ur postion) and telep back before the enemy grabs him. You will have LOS for abt 4-5 secs. Use this to mortar more bad guys!

The AI will still have about 4 units in reserve. Sooner or later he'll spot where u are and send in a few units zombies and skeletons to you doorstep. Use the Horn of Urgok to chase away the zombies and necromancer! The skeletons, you kick ass with your assault units.

If your mortar hasn't hit the SSL yet, teleport your Wizard to the SSL site and toast those guys point blank. They turn *very* slowly so take ur time frying them. But make sure, beforehand you've killed off the enemy Necromancer who hangs around the vicinity( I got a lucky direct hit by Mortar bfore that!).

My mortar unit had a kill of 118 in this mission alone!

I didnt find any magic items here. Let me know if you stumble on sumthing. Cheers!

 

Mission #17: The Northern Wastes: Troll Attack

Magic Item: Staff of Osiris

You meet your friend Ragnar (of the Ragnar Wolves) who asks for your help to attack some Trolls. You have a choice 1. Attack Trolls 2. Proceed to glacier. You choose (1) and Ragnar will join your mercenary army.

This mission's not too hard. The trick is to use brute force, which means your melee units will play a major role. You only have to deal w one type of enemy: Trolls. About a dozen of those giants.

5-6 Trolls will attack from the North, 1 from the West, and 1 from East. Deploy Imperial Greatswords, Flagellants and Infantry to guard your West flank, and Ogres, Cavalry and Ragnar's Wolves the East flank.

Cannons, Mortar, and Wizards are useless. Trolls walk faster and are harder to hit and are immune to spells. and Archers dont seem to faze them. I didnt deploy all these guys unless you're desperate for experience.

The Trolls will mostly attack your East flank. So move some spare units there to help soon as they're done on the West. Watchout for the Troll hiding at the foot of your hill! I keep forgetting he's there.

Then bait w your Cavalry the second wave of 3 Trolls from the North. Gang up on these guys and they're meat.

There's a rock to the NW with some pebbles shaped in an arrow. Go there and hit the rock w your Grudgebringer bolts or whatever your Wizard has(if u have him). You'll get the Staff of Osiris. It's similar to your Banner of Wrath in that your wizard gets to use this and can call lightning from the clouds, um ...to smite thine foe :-)

 

Mission #18: The Northern Wastes II: Screaming Skulls

Magic items: Stormsword

This is similar to Mission #16 in that you're caught at the foot of a slope and all the bad guys higher up the mountain are lined up in a crescent facing you; about 6 units Skeleton Archers, and 1 unit Sreaming Skull Launcher. And depending on how far u go up the slope, you'll trigger 2 waves of undead - a mix of Undead Chariot, Skeleton Horsemen,and uh..regular Skeletons.

And no, unlike Mission #16 your mortar wherever you place it can't hit the enemy who's too far out

Here's an easy way to ace this mission: Place your Ragnar Wolves to the NW corner facing East. Then to the South West, in order from the left : Ogres, Ice Wizard, Archers, Imperial Gtswords all facing North ofcourse.

Wizard and Archers shud have clear LOS to the North and NE. The Ogres and Greatswords are there just to guard them in case of melee so feel free to add your fav melee units.

Dont worry about the SSL, they cant reach you in the box.

Across from Ragnar's Wolves place your Infantry guys facing the Wolves and the mortar crew behind them like this, with the small hill to hide them

-----------------------------------------^^^^^hill^^^^^^^^^

|--Wolves-->--------Cavalry-----------<--Infantry---Mortar

Essentially what all these does: Your Wizard and Archer will start hitting the enemy from medium to long range. Your Mortar can be assigned to bombard a patch of ground to the NE (I do this cos its near impossible to hit the chariots and the faster enemy units and this way any hostiles crossing said "hot spot" is toast)

Ok to bait the 1st wave: deploy your Cavalry [Armed with Banner of Arcane Warding, Grudgebringer Sword, Shield of Ptolos] to the West and Front of the box (actually thats where they are) and waypoint them North towards the 1st hill(there are 2 as u go N). The SSL cant hit you long as you're moving(I zig zag them a bit) and the archers cant hit u either cos of the shield. Once u make it to the hill, the 1st wave from the NE will move towards you. They're slow so waypoint your Cavalry back towards your postion, preferably a bit to the East of your start box.

As the skeletons, chariot, horsemen make their way South West towards you get your Wizard to cast those "Twister" spells (v long range) and archers/mortars to start firing. I wasted a considerable number of undead troops before melee starts. Once they're close, move in your Wolves from the West, your Infantry from the East your Orcs and Imp Gtswords from the South.

You'll lose 1 or 2 guys but most important make sure that everyone fights, yes the troop AI has to be instructed everything *sigh*

Now your Cavalry shud engage the Necromancer coming down from the NE. Your banner of Arcane Warding shud protect you. He's easy to take out w the cavalry or mortar.

Once you've killed off the first wave, time to waste the Screaming Skull Launcher. Again your cavalry plays a major role. Move them NE towards the SSL site. You're protected from Skeleton Archers and the SSL crew cant hit you anyway(they suck at moving targets). Get real close and flame them w your sword. Two Skeleton Archer units will fire at you; keep moving around in a small circle right below the SSL; cos the shield of Ptolos is not exactly 100% arrow proof. Too many arrows and you lose a guy.

Everytime your sword recharges, flame the SSL. takes about 4-5 hits. Once SSL is out, move SW to your position. The second wave will follow you. Note: One of the enemy units(the wraiths?) this time carries a Stormsword. So make sure you waste *everyone* in the 2nd wave or u can kiss your magic sword goodbye. Use your ice spells, get your mortar to hit somewhere and hit the already demoralised enemy w your assault units. BTW, its safe to move ur troops to the N short of the remaining skeleton archers now if needs be.

Once you killed off the 2nd wave, its just a matter of knocking out the 3-4 enemy archers left. I use my Cavalry and Ice Wizard to hit them from a safe distance. very easy.

 

Mission #19: Northern Wastes III: The Hand of Nagash

Magic items: None

Ok, time to waste the end level boss. It's not too hard and the enemy comes in 2 waves comprising, Wraiths (use either of your magic swords to nail these guys), Skeletons, Chariots and a Necromancer. The Hand will stay back with 1 chariot, 1 unit wraiths, 1 unit Skeleton archers and another unit I cant remember. He's very easy to kill you'll see how

I deployed: To the West, I place my Archers, 2 wizards (to the back), and Imp. Greatswords and Flagellants(One of these guys armed with StormSword). These guys are to engage the Necromancer, 1 unit wraith and 1 unit Skeletons attacking from the West.

To the East, next to the rock, I place my Ragnar Wolves, Cavalry, and Infantry ready to overwhelm the enemy as they come scurrying in. Behind the rock I place my mortar crew primed to fire to the North where u will see three stones in a "triangle". The rock second furthest N from your crew is where the enemy will bunch up as they round the rock heading SW. Aim your mortar there!

You will wipe out the 1st wave easy(w a few dead guys). Just watch out for the Necromancer to the West, and the wraiths that come w him. I wear them down w my "twister spells" and by the time they reach my men, their numbers are much reduced. The Necromancer was ice shrapnel from 2 hits of my twister. hehe

If you move your units to the "triangle" of rocks, the 2nd wave attacks with a force of Undead Chariot and Skeletons. No problem with these either. In fact I accidentally triggered the 2nd wave while still fighting the 1st ones. My Raganar Wolves, Cavalry and Infantry aren't any match for them. Plus some help from the other units ofcourse.

Ok, so you've taken care of the assault force. Now for the Hand.

All I needed this time was my Ice Mage. Move him up North until he spots the Hand and his 'bodyguards'. Cast Cold spells their way and if u hit the Hand w about 4-5 of those twisters, the dude is history. Repeat till all units are no more.

There's a Chariot unit to the NW corner. Find him and freeze his ass as well.

No magic stuff this mission. Damn. 

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