Christmas Sellswords and Spellslingers

Sorry for the silence for the last four years, folks. Life just got very busy. I have barely managed any wargaming though I have been dealing with my lead pile - mostly painting it but also selling off the spares on eBay in preparation for my retirement and downsizing to a smaller home. Hopefully I will now have more time to focus on the hobby.
Any way, enough of the excuses; on with the preamble.

Last Christmas, one of my sons and I played the first scenario in the Sellswords and Spellslingers "Last Stand at Mistham" campaign. It was touch and go with some seriously poor dice throwing again but we just about managed to rescue the village chief's eldest daughter from the goblin's prison. The only problem was that we enjoyed ourselve so much much, we both forgot to take any photos so I didn't stick up a post. 

This Christmas we played the second scenario and we did take some photos though not particularly good ones, sorry!

Having rescued the lady Minai from the prison (at the bottom of the picture below), our two warbands (my son's five on the left and my four on the right) had to either carry her or accompany her to the opposite board  edge.

To start with, all we had to face were two small hordes of goblins, two individual goblins and two orc brutes. We were very lucky with our dice throwing when it came to positioning them so our warriors could pick up a good head of steam before the fight began.

The board.

If she was left on her own, because of her frail state, she would go wandering off in a random direction so we decided the best approach was to throw her over our shoulder. Foolishly, we initially chose my son's short guy to do the carrying. He was a slow mover already (move of 3") so went down to 2". My swordsman soon took over.

Minai accompanied by swordsman, archer and short guy

Our lucky dicing throwing continued. Plenty of 20's and very few <8's. When reinforcements appeared, they arrived to our rear and,  moving no faster than us, very few of them caught up with us.

An ogre and goblin horde desperately trying to catch up with the escaping heroes

A bear appeared (random event) also to our rear, moved onto the board, attacked the nearest figure (a goblin) and then charged straight of it again, never to be seen again. 

Near the end of the game two wolf riders appeared (didn't have any mounted wolf figures so will have to drop an order to Pendraken before the price increase), but even with their speed they couldn't catch up with us.

Not surprsingly, we managed to get Minai back to her village without out too much difficuly. Only my barbarian failed to make it off the board.

My barbarian gets taken out by an Orc Brute

All in all, a very enjoyable game with much laughter over the ridiculous amount of luck we had with our dice-rolling. We're looking forward to Christmas 2024 when we'll take on a scouting expedition in the third scenario. In the meantime, I'll have to play a few solo scenarios. Playing once a year leaves me rather rather rusty with the rules and I'm sure that we got a few things wrong but it was fun and that's the main point.

Five Parsecs from Home

Sorry for being so quiet for so long. I have been doing stuff - mostly painting and modelling.

I managed to have another game of Sellswords and Spellslingers over the Christmas - this time as a co-operative game with my son. As it was his first game, we played "Through the Badlands" again. I decided that it was even more fun with two players.

Like last time, we did manage to escape the pursuing Orcs. Well, almost, just as my son's last figure was about to make his escape off the board, he was ambushed and killed. All my figures and the rest of his looked on helplessly from the safety of making it off the board - very dramatic - a bit like the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. Flee, you fools!

Unfortunately, we were enjoying ourselves so much that we forgot to take any pictures. 

Sorry.

I'm gradually increasing my numbers of 10mm fantasy figures both for skirmish gaming using S&S and larger-scale conflicts using Mayhem. And I'll start selling off my 15mm fantasy armies (see elsewhere on this blog if you're interested in any of them). This is all in an effort to convince my wife that I'm downsizing in preparation for retirement!

Meanwhile I have also been building up my 15mm scifi stuff and have actually managed to have a game of Five Parsecs from Home which was great fun!

I've decided to devote this blog just to the fantasy stuff and create a new blog (Tanaquil Standpoint) for the Five Parsecs campaign.

 

The End of the Journey

Close to the northern border, it looks as though the little band of heroes will reach safety or will they?

Move 9

Rodmar - more dice throwing- 2, 2 and 3. Reinforcements - two Orc Warriors appeared from the right flank. Monster Frenzy - all the Orcs homed in on the player characters. Even the Green Troll, though still too far away to be aware of them, managed to start travelling towards the heroes. Wandering Monster - yet another Orc Bruit appeared on the left flank. This is getting scary.

Jusius - 10, 12 and 13. He rushed towards escape.

Aldun - 14. He followed Jusius.

Oswyn - 16. So did he.

The End of Move 9 - Tension is growing!

Move 10

Rodmar - 2 and 9. Monster Frenzy - the Orc Brute closed in on him and attacked but again got beaten back - 1Hp. Horde Activates - the groups of five and two Orcs moved closer still. With dice throwing like this they could still catch the heroes.

Aldun - 9, 12 and 20. That's better! He attacked thr Orc Brute but took a wound -1Hp. He tried again and again was hit but managed to block it with his shield at last. He used the last two activations for further attacks and at last struck home, killing the Orc Brute.

Jusius - 1. Oh, come on! Reinforcements - another 5 Orc Warriors appeared. This time on the northern edge but fortunately a little way to the right of the band.

Oswyn - 18. He breathed a sigh of relief and rushed off the board.

End of Move 10 - Closing in

Move 11

Rodmar - 9 and 17. He searched the Orc Brute's body, finding 8 Sp, and then escaped.

Aldun - 4, 17. Monster Activates - the Green Troll moved round the bush but was still too far from the heroes to cause a problem. Aldun moved off the board.

Jurius - 10 and 11. And finally all of the band were off the board.

The end!

The Final Scene - the heroes gone but plenty of foes still on scene.

There you have it - the game over- and I haven't had as much fun on my own for a long, long time. There was real tension building as the game progressed and more enemy appeared. I think I was lucky that the Green Troll started off stuck in a corner and so didn't cause any problems. Perhaps that is why Andrea has a different way of deploying.

Next posting I'll do the Post Battle and Campaign Activities.

 

 

The Journey Through the Badlands Continues

So we left three of our heroes going like the clappers up the board while the fourth is being left behind single-handedly having fought off an Orc Brute.

Move 3

Oswyn - again trying to rejoin his friends, rolls 3 dice - 1, 11 and 12. Trap - fortunately in this scenario, this card only applies in the northern half of the board so he can ignore it. He moves twice and almost catches up with them.

Aldun - 3. Scenario Event - Oswyn spots something interesting on the next Orc Brute.

Jusius - 3. Ambush - an Orc Warrior springs out of a bush right beside Rodmar who rolls a 15, battering him with his staff. Don't mess with a druid with a hangover!

Rodmar - 17. Moves on muttering to himself.

End of Move 3 - So far so good. Oswyn is getting closer to the rest of the band and no one has been harmed.

Move 4

Oswyn - 4, 4 and 18. Monster Activates - the Orc Brute moves closer but doesn't reach the warband. Wandering Monster - another Orc Brute appears on the northern edge. Oswyn gets closer to the others.

Aldun - 9 and 17. He increases the distance between himself and Oswyn and reaches the next Orc Brute but doesn't have an activation left to fight him.

Rodmar - 11 and 14. Angry because of Aldun's recklessness and his hangover, he charges the Orc Brute and attacks him - 2. Whoops, he takes a hit from it.

Jusius - 16. He continues to scuttle after Aldun.

The End of Move Four - the first wound to our heroes!

Move 5
Aldun - 7 and 9. He tries to attack the Orc Brute but Loss of Balance and falls down. The Brute gets a Free Hack and inflicts 1Hp. He manages to stand up with his successful activation.

Rodmar - 2, 5 and 9. Reinforcements arrive - just one Orc Warrior appears at the southern edge. Ambush - another Orc Warrior jumps out at him from the bush and gets despatched just as quickly. He moves on, deciding to lay off the drink in future.

Oswyn - 9, 13 and 17. He shot at the Orc and killed him with a 20. Oswyn moved on and then shot at the Orc Brute who came into view but he missed him

Jusius - 11 and 19. He moved to join Aldun and Rodmar and struck the Orc Brue with his dagger and scored a hit.

The End of Move 5 - the heroes are beginning to leave quite a trail of carnage behind them.

Move 6
Aldun in base contact with the Orc Brute decides to go in for the kill and throws three dice - 7, 16 and 16. Loaded - it has twice the amount of treasure on it. He attacks the Brute with the two activations and, aided by Rodmar's presence, gets two hits. The Brute is dead.

Jusius - 7 and 1. Manna Flux again. Who cares - he can't use any magic following his disaster in the first move. Things Could Get Worse - it's now raining. -2 for Oswyn's archery.

Rodmar - 12 and 16. He searches the corpse of the Orc Brute - 6Sp and then moves forward.

Oswyn - 20, 5 and 17. I decided to use the 20 critical activation bonus to cancel the 5 and Oswyn finally managed to join up with the others.

The End of Move 6 - Another Orc Brute Killed and the band back together

Move 7
Aldun - 3, 7 and 15. That'll Come In Handy - they spot a jewel worth 11Sp under the nearby bush but the Orc Brute behind the bush suddenly appears round the corner. Horde Activates - there were no hordes on the board and nothing that could form one. Aldun moved on.

Jusius - 8, 10 and 16. He moved to the dead Orc Brute, searched it (6 Sp) and caught up with Aldun.

Rodmar - 2, 5 and 7. Ambush - another Orc Warrior jumps out of the bush and attacks him but again Rodmar swats him with his staff. This is becoming a habit. Wandering Monster - another Orc Brute appears. Fortunately he arrives at the far side of the southern board edge well away from the warband. They're at Our Back - 5 Orc Warriors appear. Again they are some distance from the heroes.

Oswyn - 2, 11 and 19. Horde Activates - the 5 Orcs start their long journey towards their prey. Despite the rain, he takes two shots at the Orc Brute and hits he both times and kills him.

The End of Move 7 - Things are beginning to heat up a bit

Move 8
Rodmar - 12, 14 and 18. He moved to the bush and picked up the jewel; then he searched the corpse for 4Sp and then moved on again. Escape seemed close hand.

Jusius - 1, 3 and 4. Oh dear! Horde Activates - those five Orcs moved closer. Loss of Balance - but he managed to make his DL throw. That's a Big One - the Orc Brute to their front has an extra 1Hp.

Aldun - 3, 9 and 16. Manna Flux again! He moved on.

Oswyn - 2, 10 and 10. Things Could Get Worse. The rain stopped. Oswyn rushed forward to keep up with ohers.

End of Move 8 - The foe is moving in!

I'll leave it there for this evening. The final installment should come tomorrow hopefully.

Fun with Sellswords & Spellslingers or How Hard Can it be to Roll an Eight!?!

No, I haven't been abducted, imprisoned or otherwise hidden away. I've been busy painting up some of my lead mountain - both 10mm fantasy and 15mm scifi - and spending money on a variety of sets of rules. 

And I may finally have found my Holy Grail for fantasy skirmish rules - Sellswords & Spellslingers by Ganesha Games. I have always appreciated Andrea Sfiligoi ideas but I think that he has really excelled himself with this set. I won't spend any time decribing them - there are several others who have already commented favourably on them. See, for example, John's thoughts, The Raft or Argonor.

But this morning I managed to have my first game, playing solo and will give a blow-by blow account which should give you a good idea of how it works. This is going to take more than one posting but here goes.

So firstly, here's my initial warband, all 10mm Pendraken Miniatures:

From Left to Right, Oswyn Strong Arrm, Jurius Flamewielder, Rodmar Oaksoul and Aldun Swiftblade

Oswyn - Archer - 10Xp

Archery Level 1 (6Xp)

Strong Level 1 (4Xp)

Armed with a Strongbow (Damage 2) and Dagger (Damage 1)

Jurius - Magic User - 17Xp

Spellcaster (20Xp)

Spell - Fireball (5Xp)

Negative Trait - Weak (-8Xp)

Armed with Dagger (Damage 1)

Rodmar - Druid - 13Xp

Fighter: Staff Level 1 (5Xp)

Healer Level 1 (2Xp)

Tough (6Xp)

Forrester (3Xp)

Negative Trait - Heavy Drinker (-3Xp)

Aldun - Swordsman - 20Xp

Fighter: Sword Level 2 (10Xp)

Armour Level 1 (6Xp)

Shield Level 1 (4Xp)

Like probably all wargamers, I had a little tinker with the rules but nothing too drastic.

The rules suggest a board of 36" by 36" with a normal move of 4" for 28mm figures and suggests that for 15mm and below, the board should be 60cms by 60cms and the numbers are given simply regarded as centimetres instead.  However, that would mean that a 28mm figure could theoretically traverse the board in nine moves while a 15mm figure would take fifteen moves. I, therefore, decided to say that 1" for 28mm figures is 1.5cms for 15mm figures.

Also random deployment is done by rolling d6 x d6 but, as other players have identified, this tends to lead to foes or terrain being placed centrally. Instead, as my board is 60cms x 60cms  I used a d6 to decide the tens and a d10 to decide the units for each axis.

Like others, I decided to plump for the first scenario in the rulebook - Through the Badlands - where the characters have to cross from one side of a rather bushy board to the other confronted initially only by one Green Troll and four Brute Orcs and the potential of a trap or two laid in the northern half of the board. 

And the characters only needed to roll 8+ on 1-3 d20 activation dice apart from Rodmar who needed to throw 9+ due to a bad hangover following a heavy drinking session at the Duck and Dragon the night before.

Easy, right?!

I used the above method to randomely place the bushes and then the Troll (fortunately right in the top left corner) and four Orc Brutes (one right at the top centre, two in open ground in the northern half and one on the right flank behind a bush). 

The Initial Set Up with the Warband at the Southern Edge

Move One

So I decided to move Aldun first and threw two dice - 5 and 20. I could have used the 20 (critical success) to cancel out the 5 but decided to risk it and drew the Monster Frenzy card - all foes move. So that was a good start! Fortunately none were within charge reach but they all got a little closer...all apart from the Troll who just wandered around. Aldun then moved on.

Oswyn - 1 and 13. Mana Flux - an equal chance to increase or reduce Jusius' chances at casting magic. I rolled a 5 so chances have improved by +2. Oswyn decided to shoot at the Orc Brute on the right flank and succeeded - 2 damage.

Jusius - 8, 8 ans 20. He decided to launch a fireball at the Orc Brute to well and truly finish him off so I rolled and got a 1 - a critical failure. Jusius can not cast magic for the rest of the scenario so that Mana Flux +2 came in handy! Now all put harmless, Jusius decided to use the rest of his activations to catch up with Aldun so that he had some protection.

Rodmar - 9 and 17. He also moved to catch up with Aldun and Jusius.

The End of Move 1 - Oswyn pauses to take a potshot at the advancing Orc Brute on the right while the others leg it! Meanwhile the rest of the Orcs draw nearer.

Move 2

Oswyn - I decide to roll three to enable him to catch up with the others but 1, 3 and 19. Tread on a Scorpion - fortunatley he rolls above the necessary DL10 and so managed to squash the creature without being poisoned. Then Monster Attack - the Orc Brute charges Oswyn, who decides to have a go at an Opportunity Shot - 7 and misses! The Orc Brute is on him and attacks - 16. Thankfully Oswyn even with his little dagger manages to finish the wounded Brute off. He uses his successful roll to search the Brute and finds 9Sp.

Aldun - 8 and 20 and, ignoring the desperate combat going on behind him, decides to continue towards the horizon with two moves.

Rodmar - 12 and 16. He follows suit.

Jusius - 12 and 15 - is no better.

The End of Move 2 - Oswyn may be a little richer but his friends seem to be deserting him.

Well, that's enough for the first post. I'll get more of the report done later.

Froudian Goblin Army Started

Well, here's the start of the Froudian Goblins - a base of Blades, Spears and Flier.

All the figures are Pendraken 10mm. The figures on each flank are Gnomes and are as they come. The figure with knife raised is actually a ratman. I've added a little chin under the snout to make it a little more humanoid. The taller figure at the back is actually a beggar with a head made of ProCreate.

These are all Pendraken Gnomes but the figure second from the right has had his sword replaced with a spear.

A Pendraken owl flies over a seriously converted Gnome. The figure started as the shieldless Gnome with spear (second from the left above). I've chopped off his left arm, head and spear. Then I've replaced his head with one copied from the Gnome with sword using Oyumaru and ProCreate and added left arm, a shield and axe.

I'm reasonably pleased with it.

The bases are a little different from my norm - I have used 1mm static grass from WarWorld rather than the usual Javis longer stuff and a few 2mm Silflor tufts which I hadn't used before. They are really nice and simple to use so I can see future bases having a few of them. Obviously the toadstools are home-made.

I think that this army is going to take some time to complete because I want to try to create  figures of very different heights like Froud's Goblins and I also want some Froud-like trolls so there is going to be quite a bit of converting.

But it's a start. I've entered all three bases in the Pendraken Painting Competition but I will be amazed if I get anywhere - there are some really brilliant entries this year.

Arrival of the Recruits

Pendraken Miniatures

Well, this morning the goodies arrived from Pendraken Miniatures. I only ordered them late last Thursday so well done, Dave, Leon and the other PM minions, for a speedy service yet again.

So here's what I've got to start the Froudian army off:-

FGN1 Gnomes with Swords

FGN2 Gnomes with Spears

FGN3 Gnomes with Lances (ruddy long spears)

AC38 Giant Owls

The Gnomes with Swords and Spears come in two varieties (one with shield and one without) while there there is just one version of the Gnome with Lance (see below).

 Like the Minotaurs I bought from Pendraken (see here) I plan to convert the Gnomes so that there is more variety. Obviously the poses of these small figures are far more compact than the Minotaurs so this is likely to be a bigger challenge but let's see how I get on. The head of the Gnome with Sword and no shield is nicely clear of clothing, weapons, etc so should give me the chance to copy its head with a bit of Oyumaru so that I can convert a few other figures into Gnomes. 

I was thinking of mounting a Gnome on each of the owls but I am not sure that the owls are big enough to convincingly take the weight of them. I might have a rethink on that one.

I have my day off tomorrow so hopefully I'll have an hour or two to have a play.

Recruiting a New Army - Decisions, Decisions

Last  year I sold off my Animal Farm and Pirate Armies (see here) as they didn't really fit in with my others. Not surprisingly I have been thinking about creating another army for a while but what to do? So many figures, so little time!

I quite fancy doing one based on Black Hat's "not-Ewoks" Tolero at some stage, especially now that they do them mounted too. But not at the moment.

I could do with another human army but am still contemplating what type to go for - barbarian, peasant revolt, aztec, caveman (with various creatures).

In the end my mind has been made up by the Pendraken painting competition 2015. I've always liked the art of Brian Froud and have recently been very inspired by DeafNala's "Last Hurrah Project" on the Lead Adventurers Forum. So I am going to give it a go to create a "Froudian" army using Pendraken's 10mm Gnomes as a basis. The competition is only open for a month so I am going to start small with a couple of units and if they work out I will go for it big time.

Watch this space.

 

House for Sale

Well, two of them, actually.

Scratchbuilt Fantasy Homes

You may remember that I made a whole village of fantasy buildings last year (see here). Well, I've come to the conclusion that I have got too many of them.  

If I used them all on my normal size battlefield there would be no room for the troops to manoevre so I've decided to sell these two.

They are suitable for both 10mm and 15mm.

You'll find them on eBay here.

There and Back Again - a Wargamer's Tale

Well, 2013 was an interesting and quite active year for me.

Wargaming-wise I discovered Mayhem and actually managed a game which I thoroughly enjoyed. I almost got a second game in too but my son decided he wanted his bedroom back!

I also discovered Pulp Alley and managed a game of that too but decided that I am one of the few who didn't like it. I think it's the cards that did it for me. Dice - good, Cards - bad!

I managed to paint up and convert quite a few Pendraken 10mm figures (though still have plenty in my lead pile) and also did some 15mm stuff.

I bought a couple of hills after two attempts. The Royal Mail lost the first set but The Scene sorted the problem out brilliantly. And for birthday and Christmas I got some roads from Fat Franks which I haven't used yet but they look good.

And I sold off all my scifi figures and scenery.

And personally there was a lot to thank God for.
My wife landed a job which she absolutely loves to bits as a teaching assistant at one of our local schools - class TA with nursery in the morning and one-to-one with a child with Down's Syndrome in the afternoon.
Our eldest son continues training as an assistant manager at the local pub and is really flourishing.

Our second son received an award in his second year of university (3D Games Art) from heads of industry when in was competing with final year students.

Our third son managed to drum continuously for 71 hours to break the Guiness World Record for Team Drumming and has developed and grown in so many ways.

And our fourth son who is on the autistic spectrum succeeded in riding his bike without stabilisers and has also developed in so many ways.

And I feel that I had a pretty good year too.

And what does 2014 hold? Who knows?
Hopefully more time for gaming but life is already looking quite demanding so we'll have to see.
Wishing you a wonderful year.
Hugh

Here There Be Dragons!

Well, there's one dragon.
Since starting HOTT in 15mm I have never found a dragon figure that met my requirements:

• It must look convincing 
• It must fit on the appropriate HoTT 15mm base
• It must be pretty cheap.

I had toyed with AD&D Miniatures baby dragons but they looked too much like... well, like babies. Finally I found this:

Reaper Bones Young Fire Dragon with 15mm Spearmen

It's from Reaper's DHL Bones Plastic plastic range  and comes in at £2.76 from Miniature Heroes in the UK. I have read some comments about the plastic being too bendy on some websites but the figure worked just fine for me. I immersed the figure in boiling water for a wile so that I could lower the wings a little and then plunged it in cold water so that they stayed in place.It painted very easily.

Now I just need to decide what army to ally it with. But of course it will also fit in with Mayhem, RRtK and WHAA in 10mm.

BTW I can recommend Miniature Heroes too - quick delivery and first class customer service from Tim Fitch.

A Champion for my Minotaurs

I've got enough Pendraken Minotaurs to make quite a few warband bases and have a chieftain and shaman as characters but felt I needed a champion that looked a bit different from the others. All the Pendraken ones are based three poses so I thought that I'd do a bit of converting with an Ogre by the same company.

And voila!

Minotaur Champion

I used Oyumaru to make a mould of one of the other Minotaur's faces; then cast a new head with Procreate. Having removed the Ogres' head, I superglued the new Minotaur face on and then built it up with more Procreate with a bit of wire added to form the horns.

Now I just need to think about creating a standard bearer.

Still in the Land of the Living

Like so many others, I been failing to keep up this blog. Sorry for that.

But I have been doing some painting, modelling and reading though sadly no gaming for quite some time.

In fact the only game I've played is a try out of the "Pulp Alley" Rules with some British Bobbies seeking to foil the plans of an evil cult. I know that a of people are raving about the rules but they didn't really work for me. I think that I am going to revert to using Two Hour Wargames' "Larger than Life" though I might take some ideas from other rules to flesh them out a bit.

 

Painting-wise, I have been gradually dealing with my lead mountain of 10mm fantasy and pulp and the three Pendraken resin ruins that I bought at Colours 2011. They paint up really well and give me a more urban setting for pulp games. And I almost forgot that I also painted most of a 15mm Hobbit Army for HoTT (I'll add some pictures to my gallery soon). I have only had the figures for about a decade so not bad, huh! I just need to paint up a few rangers and convert a barrel wagon so that it has a hobbit on top and then the army will be complete.

And I have also been doing some scratch-building of a fantasy village, using a cardboard tube, some plastic tubing and an old towelling sock. I'm really pleased how they turned out though I haven't quite decided who would live in such buildings.

My lack of gaming (and blog updating) has also convinced me that I need to hone down my interests to restrict myself so that I paint, model and read less and game more. So I am soon going to be selling off all my 15mm scifi (figures and scenery) on eBay and focus all my attentions on fantasy gaming - 15mm for large battles with HoTT if I play my son (when he's back from uni) or Rally Round the King and/or Mayhem for solo gaming and 10mm for skirmishing and dungeon crawling using Warrior Heroes - and perhaps the occasional 10mm pulp game.

Of course, like many wargamers, I have made myself similar promises before but I hope that this time I will stick to it. Watch this space.

Oh, I Do I Love Pendraken Miniatures!

Sorry it's been rather quiet recently but I've been gradually working my way through my 10mm lead mountain (as well as adding to it) and nearly getting rid of all my 28mm stuff.

So why the subtitle?

Well, three reasons.

Firstly Pendraken Figures are ready good figures.

Secondly they are great fun to convert with just a little bit of Pro-Create, a pair of clippers and a file or two. The three scientists below are all conversions from their SCW and  WW2 ranges as is the Rocketeer.

The plain-clothes officer is another conversion (same guy as the Rocketeer), the inspector in the flat cap is just a repaint job of a SCW guy and the three constables are as they come.

The old guy on the left is from their recent WW2 Refugee packet but just shouted out "Professor Quatermass" etc.
The guy on the right is a jolly good chap who has had a cloak and face mask added in an attempt to make him look like The Shadow albeit with a shotgun rather than pistols.

And thrdly, the guys at Pendraken are so ruddy helpful and obliging. Their packs are extremely reasonable any way but they are more than happy to send individual figures and chop and change to suit your needs.
I have just sent what I thought was a pretty awkward request - a couple of complete packs but all the others were 5 of this, 10 of that, the crew of that but without the mortar, one of them, several of them but with x amount of officers. Hey presto! In less than two weeks they all arrived just as requested.
So thank you, Pendraken Miniatures!

Erred and Strayed

Well, it has been a long time hasn't it. Life keeps on getting in the way.
Added to that is that fact that having said that I would stay faithful to 10mm I am afraid that I gave into temptation when Critical Mass Games had a sale and before I knew it I was painting them and focusing on 15mm scifi scenery.
 
But I have been doing some 10mm stuff too which I have added to my gallery and I hope to starting gaming again soon I have managed to back two of our boys off. One is returning to uni while the another is about to start a gap year which has left our home looking like a warehouse for relief aid (they have a very caring mum!)

Now the question is do I start another blog for my 15mm scifi stuff or do I just accept that tenmilwargaming is a misnomer?

Sorry, It's Been a Bit Quiet on Here

Life has been pretty full on these last few weeks both at home and work so I haven't managed to move the campaign on and Eorlith and his companions are still stuck in the Ragged Gauntlet (must be totally paralytic by now!)
However, just to show that I am still around, I've started a gallery page which I will gradually populate with all the figures I have or will use in 10mm games.
If you want any size comparisons or further details of the models just leave a comment.

The Scouring (Hopefully) Continues

But just as Lorhan slows down, two more Night Orc Spearmen come into view, closing in rapidly on Multair.

Things are not looking too good - four enemy behind them, two in front of them [and the PEFs closing in. Though they have had a bit of luck in that the PEF that moved in close to the rear of Multair turned out to be Number 5 - reinforcements at last! And then the Test of Wills for Multair and the Orcs ends up with the same number of successes. Phew!]

Eorlith and Lorhan run to the aid of Multair and attack the two Orcs. Eorlith beheads his Orc but Lorhan's puts up a sterner fight.

Meanwhile four villagers burst out of their homes right into the midst of the Night Orcs who turn to attack them.

The results of the melees between the villagers and Orcs are mixed. One of the villagers takes out an Orc with his bow as it charges. Another thrusts his spear at the oncoming enemy but has his blow pushed aside by the Orc's shield and so begins a long fight as neither can find the telling blow to dispatch their foe. But a third villager is overwhelmed by the onslaught of the Orcs and wolf.

But now the tide starts to turn in favour of the Orcs. They overcome all of the villagers bar one who bravely continues to fight his foe. Eventually, though, exhausted he collapses and is speared.  

Realising that the odds are becoming too loaded against them, Eorlith and Lorhan take out one last Orc each and then beat a hasty retreat quickly, followed by Dulf and Multair.

They will have to come back another day, hopefully with more and better support.

Conclusion

Well I enjoyed the game even though it didn't turn out how I had hoped. Ironically the tables turned in favour of the Orcs when the villager reinforcements turned up because sunddenly all the PEFs came into line of sight and were activated. Before then the heroes were just about holding their own, killing off one PEF at a time.

Perhaps I had been a bit harsh on the villagers making them Rep 2. Rep 3 may have been more suited as they were protecting their homeland. However, I had reduced the Night Orcs to Rep 3 and not given them the Frenzy attribute as that is not my understanding of Orcs (I think that they were more driven by fear in stories like Lord of the Rings).

Oh well, Eorlith may  have to find an easier foe to fight.

[I seem to have the tune "Brave Sir Robin" from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" running in my head - can't think why!]