After an initial conquest the party realice that they have an army to big for the small budget that the newly created domain provide they have savings to pay the army only one more time, as their wages where of 31210 gp. Decidet to not disband their military force they try to get money in any way (taking over a small criminal guild, serching treasures, etc.) in the end they realice that the only productive way to keep the army was to use it and conquer an orc domain nearby. But they didnt know how big the orc realm on the other side of the mountains was. With good use of terrain and come luck they asault an orc castle b surprise and took it with minimal loses, there, they decide to wait for the orcs retaliation.
The army was composed by 300 light infantry, 180 heavy infantry, 90 slingers, 120 bowmen, 120 long bowmen, 210 ligth cavalry, 60 heavy cavalry, 60 horsed archers and 45 veteran catapharcts. Accompanied by a small elven force of 60 light infantry, 30 heavy infrantry, 30 long bowelfs, (all together formin a mix unit) and 30 light horselfs and 15 horsed archers (forming the other mixed unit) and 60 trained direwolfs.
at the last time they recibe reinforcements in the form of 360 dwarven heavy infantry and 240 dwarven crosbowmen.
They where confident with their almost 2000 strong army till they get the report of a 3100 strong army of orcs and goblins aproaching. In that army they were also a good number of terrible gnolls, some bugbears and worst of all 10 fire gigants.
The siege started with an artillery duel betwen the castle´s trebuchete and the enemy armie´s trebuchete. That was the first victory of de players as the sheep familiar of one of the wizards was an expecionaly talented siege engienieer. With their longest range siege weapon lost and the fear of looking weak in front of the other clans the orcs marched to a frontal assault.
The march was painful for the orcs and many goblins died before geting to the walls, but then a unit of orcs armed with a ram managed to get to the main door, and one of the walls was swarmed by a large group of gnolls armed with flails and a group of orcs. At the same time the gigants started to rain stones on the elven archers and force them to retreat to the safety of the keep.
The dwarves knowing that the ram was about to break the doors in no time open the doors themselves and charged the surprised orcs to great efect, till the gigants meet the brave dwarfs and sent them to their ancestors in a brutal attack (13 attacks is just painfull).
Now things look dark, the orquish general was at the gates leading the gigants behind them the bugbears and the ogres wait for their turn, the gnolls managed to take a foothold on the south walls and more orcs where climbing.
But a concentrated attack from the crossbowsdwarfs, and then the slingers, and then the bowmen, and finally an advance of a phalanx of heavy infantry and the dwarven heavy infantry managed force a shock roll for the gigants, bad dice force them to retreat, but they have no way out as the bugbears and the ogres blockthem their pat, so they end disbanding. And on the outside of the castle the veteran catapharcts managed to kill the goblin unit that spell doom to the orcs, for they have lost more than 1/3 of their army and the enemy had only lost one unit. The players capitalise this by poking units to disorganize them and give them the -2 to the morale roll. The rolls where bad, with most of the enemy units wavering, some fleeing.
The victory was taken away from the orcs, as morale roll after morale roll make the army unmanageable to the liders, the players army pushed that advantage, keeping the enemy disorganized and aiming to the liders. The general fell when surrounded by the trained direwolfs alone. And of those orcs that scape half died in the chase.
The battle lasted more than 2 hours. with lots of other details, like 2 fireballs used to kill one of the orc commanders that had a ring of delusion, and belived to the last second that he has resistance to fire. the almots doom of the veteran catapracts when one unit of goblin wolfriders charged at it. etc.
But it felt epic, and dangerouse and good.