Very Impressed!

A variety of stuff

I ordered some figures from Peter Pig at 9.14am yesterday and before 10.00am today they were delivered. Well done, Peter Pig and Royal Mail!
And in case you're wondering, I'm off on another tangent - hoping to convert them into post-apocalyptic figures for After the Horseman by Two Hour Wargames.
Now it will probably take months (years?) to convert and paint them!

No One Would Have Believed in the Last Years That this World Was Being Watched Keenly and Closely by Intelligences Greater than Man's...

"Why, O why did you forsake us?" Abbot Crispin whispered as he knelt in earnest prayer on the cold stone floor of his private chapel. "Was our cause not worthy of you? Were you not glorified by our bloodshed?"

But there was no response form his god.

Instead the silence was interrupted by a sheepish knock on the door. 

The abbot sighed and beckoned the knocker in but soon regretted it as Brother Equile entered the room followed rapidly by the stench of the pig sty that he had just left.

"Yes, Brother, what do you want?" Crispin demanded impatiently, still finding it difficult to exercise the forgiveness that he so often encouraged his flock to embrace after the monk's treachery at the battle on the steppes.

"Father Abbot, I bring dire news" Equile announced his head bowed low.

"What is it, man?" asked the abbot, trying to fend of the smell of pig swill.

"A messenger has come from the next parish," explained the monk. "He speaks of creatures appearing from another plane - evil beings, soulless beings, followers of another god."

"Enough of your blasphemy!" the abbot shouted. "There is only one god. Get out and tell that foolish messenger not to spread such terrible lies or he will face excommunication."

The monk scuttled out the room. He had learnt not to challenge his superior. 

Turning his back on the closing door, the abbot wandered to the window and surveyed the  rolling landscape. In the distance he could see dark smoke billowing into the sky. But no, that wasn't smoke! They were dark flying beasts - creatures that he had never seen before. And as he looked on a troublesome dread crept upon him.

Once more Crispin fell to his knees: "Lord, we need your help. Do not abandon us in our hour of need."

Well, I enjoyed my recent game of Mayhem so much that I thought I would get going on another one straight away, though the battle may take a while to actually set up. And this time the creatures of Chaos are going to come to Crispin's homeland seeking to take advantage of the Crusader's weakness after their recent failed attack on the Orcs.

Once again, I've gone for armies of about 200 crowns and I've also adopted RRtK's idea where half of the crowns are used for a base army and then the rest of the crowns are spent on units which are selected by rolling dice. This allows a general to be sure of having certain units in his army but unable to choose the whole make up of it. Of course, this can mess things up a little as there were some units of my Chaos Army that I was hoping to give an airing to but they weren't chosen by the dice rolls and I'm afraid that I didn't manage to recruit the angels this time. Clearly Crispin's god is having one almighty sulk at the moment.

And so here are the armies:

The Crusaders

Abbot Crispin (the General)

Leadership D12

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

General

Cost 10 Crowns

Brother Germaline (Hero)

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

Hero, Spear & Shield

Cost 15 Crowns

Brother Equile (Hero)

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

Hero

Cost 11 Crowns

Two Units of Knights

Move D8

CQ D10

BAR D10

Cavalry, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield

Cost 26 Crowns

Two Units of Spearmen

Move D6

CQ D10

BAR D12

Spear, Shield

Cost 15 Crowns

One Unit of Crossbowmen

Move D6

CQ D12

BAR D12

Crossbowmen

Cost 16 Crowns

Five Units of Pilgrims

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

Hordes

Cost 15 Crowns

Chaos

Major Demon (General)
Leadership D12

Move D12

CQ D8

BAR D8

Flyer, General, Terror

Cost 41 Crowns

Kronos (Hero)

Move D6

CQ D6

BAR D12

Hero, Axe

Cost 47 Crowns

One Unit of Chaos Knights

Move D8

CQ D8

BAR D10

Cavalry, Heavy Armour, Lance

Cost 29 Crowns

One Unit of Chaos Warriors

Move D6

CQ D8

BAR D10

Disciplined, Sword, Shield

Cost 21 Crowns

One Unit of Large Demons

Move D8

CQ D6

BAR D8

Behemoth, Terror

Cost 21 Crowns

One Unit of A Mass of Chaos

Move D4

CQ D20

BAR D10

Behemoth, Fear

Cost 16 Crowns

I'll stick up pictures when I get the battle going.

Initial Thoughts on Mayhem

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed the game, even though it was a bit disjointed when the demands of life interrupted the flow. Even though the loss of the angels so early did rather make the result seem inevitable there were certainly several points in the battle where it appeared the tide could have turned.

The rules worked well for solo wargaming. Being used to the mechanisms of Two Hour Wargames, which are very much designed with the solo gamer in mind, I had wondered whether Mayhem would cope as well. I would say that they work better, albeit that I used 2HW's ideas for the layout of terrain and choice and deployment of troops. There is just the right balance of uncertainty and the greater number of options for troop design give much more variety so that I create the troops I wanted and make sure that there was sufficient differentiation between them.

I'm not usually a lover of lots of different dice but it does work here. And I particularly liked the concept of having to choose between "default" and "danger". Just to explain more fully, when it come to rolling dice, you can either not roll and simply accept the default score - half the potential score (2 for d4, 3 for d6, 4 for d8, etc) and you can go for danger and roll the dice so that you can achieve the maximum score but also the minimum. This is such a simple concept but, as some of my "wrong" decisions demonstrated, they can have catastrophic results.

And while on the subject of the dice, I couldn't believe the number of natural 1s that I rolled and again they tended to be at quite decisive moments.

As I say, the loss of the angels so quickly was decisive - the loss of nearly 25% of the army's points value. I had been looking forward to watching the carnage that they wrought amongst the orc riders but, thanks to a natural 1, it was all over for them. I do wonder about the quality of Terror that I had given them. The rules say that if a unit wishes to initiate combat with a unit that causes terror, it requires more command points to be used but if the terror-causing unit initiates the combat there is no effect as such. I would imagine that if you are attacked by a unit of terrifying creatures, there would be a tendency for some of your own ranks to turn and run.

The pilgrims did far better than I had anticipated, especially as I had given them very poor statistics - a combat quality of d20 I thought would be a death sentence for them. I can see hordes being a real problem as they take so much to wipe them out.

I do like the way that the way units are destroyed differs depending on the type of troops they are - disorder, damage and attrition - though I found myself having to reread that section several times to make sure that I got it right.

I am not sure that I used the generals and heroes correctly. On a small board with 40mm bases there was never a problem of a unit going beyond the control of a leader so the orcs did not seem to be at a disadvantage by only having the one compared to the crusaders' three.

Of the rules themselves I would say that they could be better organised. There were times when I knew that a specific rule was in there somewhere but needed to trawl through them to find the clarification I needed. I have created my own quick reference sheet which helped. However, I recognise that part of my problem has been that I have got far too comfortable with the  mechanisms of Hordes of the Things and 2HW and this problem will no doubt dissipate as I get more used to them.
In the meantime I hope that Brent Spivey, the author, will correct me if I misinterpreted the rules anywhere.

Sometimes I felt the results were perhaps unrealistic (a fantasy game - realistic? Yeah, right!) particularly the way that the crusaders battled on even though they were reduced to just two units of  crossbowmen. Using the command point dice to decide whether they will break may not work as the higher value of the dice the less likely the army is to break and surely one sign of a good commander is knowing when the battle is lost and when to make a tactical withdrawal. Hence I felt that one of the Brothers had to make a move and risk demotion in his holy order.

And the way that you can carry out some actions with one unit, then move to another and then return to the first does feel strange. I like it as a game mechanism. It's fun and I can see how making the right moves at the right time can make a real difference in a battle but it didn't feel realistic. I couldn't see some of the moves I carried out happening on a battlefield while the enemy just watches on.

So in conclusion, I will certainly be using these rules again. They have been promoted to being my favourites for solo mass fantasy battles and I look forward to having a game with one of my sons to see what he thinks of them (he is used to beating me at HotT games).

Mayhem are not complete yet. Brent says that there is a third section coming soon-ish, covering strongholds, sieges, mini-campaigns, terrain and more and I am certainly looking forward to that coming out (especially as once you have bought the rules you can download the updated rules for free!)

And finally,what of the armies? The peace-loving orcs returned to the steppes, the chieftain's leadership still intact. Abbot Crispin went back to his chapel to reflect and question his god about what had gone wrong; Brother Germaline returned a hero and spent the rest of the year travelling the villages relating how god had blessed others through him, and Brother Equile, following his desertion from the cause, was guided to a new ministry in the pig sty.
Meanwhile, on another plane, the gods of chaos have been observing the foolish clerics' failures. Now is the time to move into the world of men. I just need to paint up my chaos general and heroes.

Prepping for a Game of Mayhem

I've managed to paint and base enough generals and heroes for two armies for "Mayhem". And I've read through the rules several times and sent Brent Spivey, the writer, a number of questions to get some points clarified so I think that I'm ready to give the rules a go.

I quite like the idea from 2HW's Rally Round the King" of not having full control of the choice of units so I have created tables for the two armies creating a basic foundation for each of them of around 100 Crowns and then rolling dice for the other 100 crowns' worth.

So here goes....

Spring has sprung and it is time for campaigning to commence. In his private chapel Abbot Crispin the Third has been meditating upon the scriptures and interceding with his deity for guidance. With whom should he share the love of god this year?

In the "Gospel of St Justinian" (a very late addition to the scriptures and, no doubt, a likely source for another Dan Brown blockbuster) he reads, "I will draw my flock from other meadows" and he has an epiphany. That's it! His god doesn't just want humans to join his followers. His love is for everyone. And so Crispin proclaims a crusade to free all peoples from the tyranny of ignorance, starting with the orcs that wander the nearby Steppes of Hordaz.

His call is soon answered by two equally zealous monks, Brothers Germaline and Equile, who scour the parishes recruiting an army worthy of this holy quest - a mixture of professional warriors supported by masses of enthusiastic but unskilled pilgrims. And as the Abbot leads his army out they are joined by a host of angels - surely a sign that their god will bless this venture. 

Meanwhile, on the Steppes of Hordaz, the Wargs growl uneasily, troubled by the smell of incense wafting through the air. The Orc pickets spot the mass of white cloth and silver helms and send news to their chieftain, "Muster the riders!"

The Crusaders

Abbot Crispin (the General)

Leadership D12

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

General

Cost 10 Crowns

Brother Germaline (Hero)

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

Hero, Spear & Shield

Cost 15 Crowns

Brother Equile (Hero)

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

Hero

Cost 11 Crowns

One Unit of Knights

Move D8

CQ D10

BAR D10

Cavalry, Heavy Armour, Lance, Shield

Cost 26 Crowns

Two Units of Crossbowmen

Move D6

CQ D12

BAR D12

Crossbowmen

Cost 16 Crowns

Four Units of Pilgrims

Move D6

CQ D20

BAR D20

Hordes

Cost 15 Crowns

One Unit of Lesser Angels

Move D12

CQ D6

BAR D6

Flyers, Steadfast, Terror

Cost 46 Crowns

The Nomadic Orcs

Orc Chieftain (General)

Leadership  D8
Move D8
CQ D10
BAR D12
Cavalry, General, Sword
Cost 21 Crowns

One Unit of Orcs Nobles
Move D8
CQ D10
BAR D12
Cavalry, Elite, Musician, Standard
Cost 21 Crowns

Seven Units of Orc Riders
Move D8
CQ D10
BAR D12
Cavalry
Cost 17 Crowns

Two Units of Trollkin Mercenaries
Move D6
CQ D8
BAR D10
Berserkers, Beat Back
Cost 25 Crowns

That's the forces organised. I am probably going to have to wait until Wednesday to start the battle (and take the photographs).

Recruiting Again

Well, I've had a good read of Bombshell Games' "Mayhem" fantasy mass battle wargame rules and I have to say that I do like the look of them. They just give that little bit more opportunity than "Hordes of the Things" and "Rally Round the King" to tinker with your units so that you can create the type of troops exactly as you imagine. And thankfully Mayhem, while suggesting base-sizes, allows you to use units as already based for other games (both HoTT and RRtK use bases with 40mm frontages for 15mm figures).

The one problem is that both Mayhem and RRtK require heroes, generals and sorcerers to be based individually and preferably on round bases.

Queue a fortunate find on eBay:-

There's enough individual figures here to create a number of characters for several of my armies as well as bolster up a couple of them (RRtK needs more units than the average HoTT one).

And I've sold off my 15mm scifi stuff also thanks to eBay so I have some "pocket money" to fill the gaps in my armies' leadership. And I've got a few days annual coming up so hopefully I'll get some painting done too. Who knows...I might even get a game!!!!

Isn't life (and God) good!

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.

Scifi Scenery So Far

I am planning to use Two Hour Wargames' "5150 New Beginnings" rules for my main scifi stuff and their "After the Horseman" for post apocalytic stuff so will need afair amount of buildlings.

So far I have put together a few shanty town shacks:

 I used the little bits of foam that you have to remove from protective foam trays to form a basic shape and then built the walls of the shacks around the foam using matchsticks, balsa and various plastic card and rod. The tarpaulin roofing is made from ordinary kitchen roll. In places this leaves the tarpaulin with a dimple texture but I can cope with that.

For more up-market buildings, I have used electrical boxes, hopefully to give the idea of prefabs which the owners have had the opportunity to customise (pimp?):-

The green one is meant to be a 'corner store' supplying a bit of everything and the orange one is the bar.

The customising has been mostly done with card, bits from various kits and other items from my bits box. The pub's sign is the end of a twizzle stick that you get with a cocktail. I've had it in my bits box for about fifteen years, knowing that it would come in handy one day.

Other parts have been cast using Oyumaru to make the moulds (exactly the same as Instant Mold but less than half the price - check on eBay!) and then using Milliput to make the copies. If you haven't used it give it a go. It is so simple and quite addictive. It gives you a new perspective on things as you look at the various textures,  protrudances and cavities as well as the item as a whole. For example the entrances of the buildings are copies from an old HO scale railway carriage.

I've got a police station and several prefab habitations on the workbench (if I had a workbench to have them on!)

And finally for the moment, I got these two off eBay recently for 99p. Hopefully, a bit of converting and a decent paintjob should make them look sufficiently realistic scifi.

It's All Their Fault

The first time I saw the Kaamados Squamata by Critical Mass Games, I thought that I would like to have a paint of them but managed to fight the temptation until CMG decided to discount them. But I haven't been disappointed - they are a real joy to paint.

Of course, you can't only buy the figures that you really want so I got these too:

and I have got a few more that I haven't finished painting yet.
Like the squamata, they are a pleasure to paint but I have to say that some of them are quite fragile and I have managed to break several of them off at the ankles and needed the supeglue to rescue them.

And then, of course, I felt that it wasn't write simply to CMG all my custom so I got these from 15mm.co.uk:

 I am not sure about these police - a bit of a labour of love - but I don't like the Laserburn law officers - too Judge Dread!

Fairly basic casts but I am pleased with them.

I do like their new SHM (an example on the left) and will be ordering a few more in the future. I might even submit a few of my own attempts when time allows. The second on the left is an assassin from the Laserburn fantasy range which I thought would fit. The guy in the centre is not 15mm.co.uk but I can't remember where I did get it. I think he looks a bit Obi Wan Kenobi a la Alec Guiness. And the dogs are the from Laserburn.

Well, that's all the figures that I've currently done. There's quite a few more in the pipeline.