A Traveller Brings News of a Battle

The battle has been played and blogged. 

For those who are interested there are 3 posts: (click to be taken there)

The Prologue

The Setup

The Battle

Up next: Henry VIII sends the Duke of Belmont to France.

Coming Soon

 To a blog near to this one: Gathering of Hosts.

The Gathering of Hosts.

If all goes well, I'll have the battle played and posted by .Sunday evening (Atlantic Time)

We Now Return You To.....

 The Adventures of Prince Michael

In moments, the crew was armed and ready as the ship rode the waves in toward the beach. Soon arrows were flying back and forth.

The fight did not last long. Soon the enemy broke and ran into the trees, presumably to carry a warning to their chieftain. Well, their trail looked easy enough to follow.  After a quick conference, a boat guard was detailed  with orders to find sweet water, fill the ship's barrels and to hunt for meat and smoke for the return journey, or for the coming winter! 

The rescue party started to prepare to follow the enemy into the woods when a young, dark skinned woman approached cautiously. She had been spotted by the fire as the ship had run in and obviously she was neither British nor some sort of beast-man, had been a captive herself, and was grateful for her rescue. They had no words in common but by drawing pictures in the dirt and using gestures, while repeating "Awli-son", they soon understood that she had met the Princess Alison and knew which direction she had been taken. Armed with the news that the Princess had survived the voyage, and with a guide, the rescue party could make better time than anticipated, and with more hope of success rather than mere vengence.

There was no time to lose. The rescue party, cleaned the blood off their weapons, and prepared to follow their guide.

There They Are!

After a long and difficult passage, the pursuers have sighted land, an endless land full of trees and rocks and rivers, but little else it seemed, until the lookout shouted: "I see Smoke rising beyond the next headland!"  Down came the sail and out went the oars. Eagerly, those on deck scanned the coast as they rounded the cape and entered the small bay. GOT THEM!    

"Rach gu sgiobalta!"

Only a boat guard, and now the enemy will be alerted, but at least there will be a trail to follow.

To be continued....

If You Go Down To The Woods Today....

 All done. The rest of the 'work' went easier once things like  colour schemes and techniques were settled on and rusty 'how to' techniques started to come back. 

Close up: There's a few things about the wolf that aren't quite right but since he's being ridden by, well, an orc..., officially, just about anything goes.

Now I need to figure out stats: how fast? How effective? etc etc.

The whole gang.

Once the rules, stats, etc are worked out, it'll be time to see how they fight, and how lucky their leader is! The forecast for Friday and Saturday incudes a high probability for rain and/or snow, so perfect gaming weather, this time if year,

Three Done

I decided that, after years of quick painting on simple castings, painting all nine (10 including wolf)  as one lot was in danger of stalling now that the base colours were on, so I decided to break them down into 3 groups of 3 for the finishing work.  

The archers came first: (Pictures are life size on my Chromebook. These 40mm figures are 3d printed, sold by Day of Battles.)

From the front: 

And the back:

The swordsmen, who may or may not be given either a javelin or a buckler, will be 2nd (hopefully appearing Tuesday night) and the command group, including the Kreacher look alike on Thursday night. 

Then I'll need to come up with a scenario and back story.

Back To Basics

I had expected to finish these lads today but I had over estimated my current endurance and under estimated the number of duty interruptions. Still, I made some significant progress, including suddenly realizing how rusty I was at various things and getting frustrated with the state of my motley paint collection, largely due to lack of local availability. 

I also managed to achieve my primary target for today: figuring out what 'swarthy' was going to look like on these figures and how to achieve that in an easily recreated manner. 

Not done yet, but starting to come together and I'm getting a feel for what I want them to look like, and how they are going to fit in.

My first efforts this morning were a dismal failure. Several figures had roughly the right shade and I could live with the variety but most of them needed touch ups and I just, could not, replicate it. Didn't help that  I had been playing about yesterday with various mixes, adlibbing and adjusting as I went and trusting to memory to recall which 3 or 4 colours were used in what proportions....AIGHHHNNN not anymore!  and anyway, I still wasn't really sure what I wanted. 

But, after a break for lunch and some thinking about colours, what I do and don't want them to look like (greenish khaki being out!) and so on, I decided to keep it simple and choose a base colour, straight out of the bottle, and a heavy wash to shade it and modify the colour slightly. It didn't take too many trials to decided on a Raw Sienna base with a wash of Burnt Umber. So that's settled.

However, I also decided that I'd had enough of my current motley collection of mostly cheap paints which had been the only option available within 75km since the local art supply shop closed down more than a decade ago. So, I broke down and ordered a set of 24 Artecho paints, largely in traditional colours (eg Raw Sienna, Phthalo Blue, etc etc). I don't know the company so whether or not the paints are any good remains to be seen, but I'll be surprised if they aren't as good as the better of my veteran paints and will be deeply disappointed if they aren't better then the bulk of the various cheap ones.

A Start

 It was a quiet day here and I decided to get a start on my 40mm not-orcs. 

So far, I've filed the bottoms of their feet so they will stand, glued them to washers, added some putty vegetation to reinforce their adhesion to those bases, undercoated in a 'yellow brown' and  begun experimenting with colours, something similar but not uniform, and suitable for lurking in woods. 

They are well sculpted with detail which would have been a delight to a younger me with sharper eyes and steadier hand, and which still is appreciated now. 

The Day of Battle webpage described this set as LOTR Orcs so while I will not be sending Prince Micheal to Middle Earth, I may well use a very similar name for these lads. Tolkien described his Orcs as "swarthy" and so I'm going to come up with something that looks "swarthy-ish' to me. 

I'm still in experimental mode, mixing colours and trying to decide on suitable clothing colours etc., but a number of my current favourite paints are at, or near empty while some of the replacements for old favourites are garbage. Since I can no longer get suitable paints for my needs nearby, I've had to start looking at what I can get on line that will serve my needs and budget. Even as recent as 10 years ago, $20 would be a lavish annual expediture on paint but I can see that won't do it now, even for craft acryllics, but basically I need a selection of basic artist colours so that I can mix the rest.   

 

And Now, Our Plan for Twenty..Psst...What? ....We don't have a plan?

 Happy 2023! May the coming year be as good a year as possible for as many of us as possible. 

I'm not yet ready to write up the generic scenario that I've been trying out, but the 1790's West Indies version was another cracker of a game. It also came down to the last turn after various turns of fortunes, but this time it was the 'Blue army' that won a victory on the first 1/2 of the last turn, breaking Red's morale before they could launch a desperate counter attack.

Oh dear! Looks like horrific carnage. Since 'hits' are supposed to reflect fear, fatigue, ammo shortages etc etc, not just dead and wounded, I think I might go back to tracking hits on the small dice I bought for the purpose rather knocking guys over.

One of the things I noticed after the first game was the foot of table next to the wall was completely unused while the other side was over cramped. So, today being a day for new starts, I essentially shifted the terrain one square over. Since I like multi-period scenarios, I intend to give Prince Micheal's men a go at holding the line. 

As long as I'm not being very historical, I might just wait until I get my Christmas present to myself painted up and ready to join their barbarian allies.

Day of Battle 40mm printed Orcs

Oh dear, it is a slippery slope isn't it? 

The Battle of Nolac Hill: Day 2

 It was delightfully cold, wet and windy this morning so I was able to throw together a new version of the draft of my gridded medieval/fantasy rules (All of the backup copies seeming to have gone astray.) followed by a test game of the same scenario.

Turn 2 and the opposing Generals seem to have made better plans and discovered different mistakes to make.

Turn 4 and the hill is being contested.

Turn 5 and the Red General has again learned to beware of fickle dice.

Turn 7 and the Red Duke has been gravely wounded and escorted off the battlefield  while his remaining units are starting to crumble. The battle is lost again!

This game was much more engaging and this One Hour Wargame scenario took a full hour to resolve. A few more turns were played, roughly 1/2 the alloted turns, ut more imoortantly, the advantage flipped back and forth and this time, my decisions had as much influence as chance did.

When I get the rules done and proofread, I'll post a link but now, its time for another, bigger, game.

Too Few Have Come!

 But we will defend the hill anyway!

I thought by now I would have two, twelve stand, armies but, well, "Winter is coming!" and there's been an awful lot of chores to do and errands to run.  Still, I've managed to work up to two, nine stand, armies which is enough for my gridded, homegrown rules version, of the One Hour Wargame version, of CS Grant's classic "Reinforcements On The Table" scenario.

"Prepare for battle!"

While I'm At Loose Ends .....

It seemed like a good time to tie up a loose end. 

My small, miscellaneous, haphazard, 1/72 pre-gunpowder collection, is a bit of a lost lamb, due originally to nostalgia. At last however, I'm beginning beginning to awaken to some practical advantages it might have in some plausible versions of my future. Since I had no particular "call" to paint any of the waiting hordes of recruits for my acrive collections, or play a game, it seemed like as good a time as any to revisit my ideas about having an emergency or unpleasant future situation where I had to pick one compact 'game in a box' that I could coax potentially non-wargamers into playing as well as playing it solo. A wargame that might be suitable to tempt people without an interest in military history into playing a game, perhaps those who enjoy fantasy movies and books, (LOTR, GofT, etc).

This motley collection was distinctly NOT acquired for this, or any other purpose actually. 

Some might recognize the game pieces from "Feudal". My copy was a present back in the late 70's. It was a time when my collection of miniatures were in storage some 5,000 km away, and I did not know any local miniature gamers. I was reduced to being trounced regularly by a board wargaming friend, and picking up and painting whatever miniatures I could find, the best source being a small card and gift shop where I bought some Armada ships and some Heritage Napoleonics which I converted to ECW Scots to go with the handfull of Minifigs, my first 15's, that I had painted in my cabin on HMCS Otatwa on the opposite coast, a year or so earlier. Board games aren't first choice, but are better than nothing for a social activity. Naturally, I stated painting the miniatures.... I even managed to play a game or two with a friend, bless her heart. Anyway, not long after, I got posted to Halifax and my gaming drought was over, but I kept the figures largely I suspect, for the good memories of those days.

Apart from my first, brief dip back into ACW, my reconnection with 1/72nd came when Hat released the old Airfix Ancient British set. As it happens, I had  received the Britons and Romans on my first Christmas leave from Military College in '72. I broke out Featherstone and played a quick solo game but by next year, Simon MacDowall had arrived and I had a copy of WRG 3rd ed Ancients. Soon, two small airfix armies were learning the ropes. Those armies were long gone and I wasn't  doing anything in 1/72nd, but could not help supporting my local hobby shop by buying the occasional box. So, for nostalgia's sake, I bought the Ancient Britons. 

The last key piece was that I had always yearned for the 4cm Elastolin figures. I used to ogle them at Eaton's and Simpson's at Christmas time but they were well outside my parents' budget. When I found out that a Revell set included  scaled down copies and later found that Orion's vikings included not only copies of some Elastolins, but also copies my old Marx 25mm vikings, well, had to have them!

So that's where the gaggle of pieces came from. At some point, I painted up two small DBA armies as a travelling game, but didn't do much with them, until Rob Dean decided to run a 6 player 1/72nd Dragon Rampant event at Huzzah a few years ago.   Since we've been co-hosting events since the turn of the century, I volunteered to bring 2 of the armies. After that they went back into the cupboard until one hot summer day in 2021 when I took the non-fantasy elements out for a quick solo game. 

That was enough to make me think there just might be a place for them as a 'game in a box' at no expense.  The Horse & Musket era one I built earlier this year is fine, but the attraction for non-wargamers might not be great. Something with a wider audience was needed, possibly something for people who enjoyed Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, etc, and something compatible with several published rules sets as well as homegrown rules.  

Shouldn't take long to paint up the last few figures, non-human units might be considered later...

If You Go Down To The Woods Today....

The Adventures of Prince Micheal: Episode 25: 

Be prepared for a big surprise!

As the month of October drew towards a close, Prince Micheal found himself assigned to escort his Aunt Kathleen home after an extended visit.  They set out on a cool but sunny October morning, two of his companions,  four archers, a wagon, 8 infantrymen as a rearguard and a mounted rider scouting ahead. 

(Click on the pictures to see an enlarged version.)

All had been quiet until the scout was surprised by a troop of Centaurs emerging from the woods ahead of him, followed by the sound of battle from behind him. With the way ahead and behind him blocked, he chose to try to out run the arrows and warn the rear of the column. He nearly made it......

The sudden appearance of armed lizardmen in the woods startled Lady Katherine whose horse bolted. The brave Sir Jeffery was soon in hot pursuit leaving only Prince Micheal and one knight to hold off three times their number of lizards. They decided to exercise their discretion. 

Hardly had the fray begun when a party of centaurs appeared from the woods behind the column, acompanied by woman in purple riding a giant Siamese tiger! As the Centaurs' arrows began to clatter on their armour, the Purple witch rose up waved her hands and lightning flashed out. Unable to reply, the soldiers fell back into the woods.  

For a moment, the whole force, faced with such unusal and terrifying enemies, like characters from an old folk tale, wavered but the example of their bold Prince, the cover of the woods and the sudden appearance of a huge Woodmen who called encouragements to them as he appeared out of the depths of the woods. 

With the line steadied, the archers emerged from the woods to get a clear shot at the Lizards, supported by Prince Micheal, the Woodsmen and the remains of the escort. In the rear, the infantry lurked in the woods, sheltered from the Centaurs missiles while Brave Sir Jeffrey (who had been first to the rear as usual)  stood guard over the Princess. 

The archers peppered the Lizards with arrows but it wasn't enough. The Shamen leading the Lizardmen summoned evil images and thoughts and hurled them at the knights. The Prince stood firm but the rest were cowed and fell back, even the brave forester found himeself unable to withstand such magic. The Prince, determined to end this or die trying, pricked his charger and bellowed a challenge. As he hewed the first Lizardman, the rest suddenly broke, not even the old Shaman could hold them.  

With the flight of the Lizard warriors, it was over. There were not enough Centaurs remaining to tackle the whole of  escort supported by their new friends and as quick as they came, they were gone, fadingback into the woods.   Back by the farm, the Lady of the Glade  treated the wounded and calmed the Lady Katherine while Michael's men regrouped and started preparing to camp for the night.

Note: This game was played using the current version of 'Stout Hearts and Willing Swords' with a few hurriedly written fantasy rules. These will probably be adjusted and expanded.

A Sunday Morning Ride

Its been a busy few days. What better way to spend a Sunday morning than a ride through the woods to Grandma's?

The cards are a mix of hidden units, and "dummies". The cards and dummies were mixed by troop type then placed in likely spots so even I don't know who is where.

I was going to start Saturday morning but realized that I didn't have unit stats and capabilities for the non-humans and special characters so I came up with a few ideas which I added to the Quick Reference Sheet. Now it remains to be seen if they'll work.

____________________ 

UNIT CHARACTERISTICS QUICK REF. SHEET

UNIT	MOVE	MELEE HIT	SHOOT HIT	SAVE	SPECIAL
	CONVOY & FREINDS
Prince Micheal	4d6”	4+	-	3+	3 wounds
Companions	4d6”	4+	-	4+
Captain	2d6”	4+	-	4+	2 wounds
Spearmen	2d6”	4+	-	5+
Archers	3d6”	5+	18” 5+	5+
Wagons	2d6”	6+	-	6+
Woodsman	3d6”	3+		4+	3 wounds
Blanche	3d6”	6+	Spells	4+	Enchant
AMBUSH
Mountain Queen	4d6”	4+	Spells	4+	Bolt, Fear
Lizard Wizard	3d6”	5+	Spells	5+	Fear, 2 wounds
Lizards	3d6”	4+		4+	4
Centaurs	5d6”	5+	9”  5+	4+	Full speed in woods.
Enchant:	All enemy within 6” who fail to save may not move or shoot or attack on their next turn.
Fear:	All enemy within 6” who fail to save will immediately retreat a full move.
Lightning Bolt:	Roll 3d6” vs 1 group within 12” or vs 1 Hero within 6”.