A Bit of a Mish Mash

Contrary to my usual tendency to wait until the last minute, I've begun working on my Christmas day game. For a change of pace, it will have nothing to do with Christmas itself, and everything to do with the harsh reality of winter (with a heaping scoop of supernatural activity added) on the American frontier in the early 1770s.

Inspired by The Silver Bayonet, at least in concept, I'm preparing a colonial America horror game - my take on the British tradition of Christmas season ghost stories. For rules, I have settled on a free set that so far in my tests seems well suited to the genre. They do require some effort to grok, since they are a beta version: Perilous Tales. That said, they seem easily teachable to my players who have little experience with wargames (other than my previous holiday games).

Figures have been acquired - here are the photos from the eBay seller:

Technically they are AWI militia from Barzso/LOD, but they will do for settlers.

 

Frontier women from Barzso/LOD

 

I may have anywhere from 3 - 8 players so those two lots will cover my bases. 

 

What I am undecided about is painting. I know a lot of people clutch their pearls at the idea of unpainted figures, or horror or horrors, mixing painted and unpainted, but I grew up with unpainted plastic soldiers - as is often discussed, this is the typical route in the US, green (and later, tan) plastic "army men", not painted figures. 

 

So, I prefer it for 54mm figures for the pure nostalgia of it. Which is why my 54mm WWII collection has been cleared of almost all the painted figures. But I digress.

If I do paint them I will go for a more "grimdark" approach than "toy soldier", since I want to convey the game's atmosphere through the physical components.

 

And speaking of grimdark, my Sisters of Battle / Blessed Sisters have been started.

For the Emperor.

This represents half (in terms of model count) of my starter 300 point Grimdark Future: Firefight team. It is clearly a WiP shot - there's quite a few more steps in the process to go. 

I'm following Sonic Sledgehammer's tutorial for Our Martyred Lady, in large part. He is by far my favorite painting tutorial creator on YouTube - he sounds very friendly and is very encouraging,  his painting steps are accessible to us mere mortals, and he's not afraid to make a painting error on camera.

Yesterday, our family and friends D&D group started in on act three of a campaign set in Ravenloft (I play a "business man" who is really a thief specializing in the liberation of rare books from private collections). 

It had been so long since the end of act two that most of us had forgotten nearly everything. Our DM did an admirable job at summarizing it all. There was no combat in the session - just role play - which I thought would irritate my son, but he dove into his character head first and provided the most enjoyable moments during the negotiations with Baba Yaga.

Finally, tonight I will be playing game three in the 2024 Blitz Bowl season. 

Saturday Night Lights

The Reikland Reavers and the Skavenblight Scramblers collided under the lights Saturday night, in a bone-crushing, fast-paced game.

The Reavers came out strong - setting their hopes on the passing accuracy of their star quarterback. Knocking on the door to the endzone, it was slammed shut soundly by Skavenblight's linebacker and defensive powerhouse.

Injured frequently in his team's last match-up against Nurgle's Rotters, he came into Saturday's game in good health and determined to dish out brutal hits to the opposition and erase any doubts about his abilities.

On offense, the rats refused to risk the ball and relied on hand-offs, short passes, and ample blockers to dominate the possession time.

The aggressive Reaver defense had several opportunities to stop Skavenblight but ...

 

... the Scramblers had the edge on speed and put up the first touch-down of the day.

With the pressure on, Reikland again turned to their QB's arm - a decision that paid off in a touch-down to cap the drive.

Undeterred, the Scramblers managed to run up the points, and sadly, for Reaver fans, they proved to be the more consistent of the teams, both on offense and defense.

Facing a Sudden Death loss, Reikland's QB orchestrated a thrilling last-ditch drive for the end zone, reminiscent of the team's first touch-down of the day, but they came up short, literally within an inch of staying in the game.

When the gun sounded, the Scramblers won 20 - 10, putting them 1-1 for the season, The Reikland Reavers go into their match against Nurgle's Rotters at 0-1.

***

I really love the board for Blitz Bowl. The entirely flat board looks uncannily three-dimensional. So even though it's a board-game with minis, it still feels like you're playing on a field with obstacles.

Once all the teams have played each other on this side of the board (what I call round one), I'll play another series using the other side, which features two trap doors and a multi-ball possibility.

With only three teams, it's quite possible the season will end in a three-way tie. I suppose what that really means is that I should ask Santa for another team this year.

Wagon Train, the Second Part

 We rejoin the action ...

 With lizard archers and javelin-throwing Geckos continuing to hamper the wagon train's progress, Captain Butler ordered his Highlanders up from their position as the rear guard.

A raptor, earlier driven into the jungle, burst forth to attack the AVEF's advanced guard. Its powerful hooked claws and razor teeth, in the end, were no match for hot lead.

With the raptor's defeat, the trail to the left opened up, and on the right, the lizards fell back under fire from the second unit of Legionnaires.

The wagons could finally advance!

Sgt Major Chalmers accompanied the second wagon, armed with his specially tuned "Tartan Thumper" bagpipe (modifications provided by the Blackwood Manufacturing Firm, Hull, name suggested by Msr. Chat Gepete, Paris). 

Jubilation was short lived as the lancers struggled against the archers and a new, more disturbing, threat arrived on leathery wings!

And yet, Providence smiled upon the Earthlings, when, from their lofty perch atop the fort's tower, the stalwart crew of the fort's lone gun performed a stunning feat of marksmanship not seen since Locksley split the Prince's arrow.

At this point I should just admit that I have usurped ownership of my son's building blocks. To be fair, he's 13 and has no interest in them and I kept them around for just this reason. Indeed, it's quite probable that I purchased these for him, fully planning on this day would come.

A resounding "Huzzah!" went up from men both in the fort and guarding the wagons.

Celebrations were cut short when the Marine Iguanas rallied and charged the steadfast Highlanders. The men in kilts gave better than they got.

Yet, the cunning lizard leader saw this as his moment and sprinted towards the second wagon, a blood curdling roar exploding from his toothy maw.

Captain Butler, personally commanding his few remaining Legionnaires, engaged the lizard archers at close range, and even charged into hand to hand in support of the lancers, who had ridden up to provide assistance. 

With their combined efforts, the red menace was driven from the field.

The way ahead opened and the wagon's handler spurred the plodding stegosaur forward. 

Butler and his Legionnaires turned to aid the second wagon, and the lancers led the way for the first wagon.

Brave and duty-bound, Captain Butler, his aristocratic sensibilities enraged by the audacity of the cold-blooded creatures to attack the caravan that he was charged to protect, rushed headlong into the fray with the lizard leader.

The warrior, fierce and formidable despite his small stature, killed the wagon handler and knocked the stegosaur itself to the ground.  Yet, the man atop the strange looking four-legged beast did not yield so easily, and the two exchanged and parried blow after blow.

With the din of battle behind far behind them, the first wagon arrived at the fort! Within moments it was safely inside behind the thick wood and iron gate.

No good deed goes unpunished, and Butler was knocked from his saddle by the lizard. 

Sgt. Major Chalmers, himself a short distance from the duel, moved quickly. It was only by his self-less action was the dear Captain spared and ignominious death on the Venusian ground.

No man, let alone lizard, could dare hope to trade blows with the proud Scot from Coylton, and as the sun went out of the sky, Chalmers stood victorious over his prisoner.

****

Rules used were FUBAR Victorian Sci-Fi.

I should note that any figure on its side is Suppressed, not KIA, so Butler and the stegosaurus are still alive, as well as the lizard leader. In fact, technically the fight wasn't over, but it was the last scheduled turn for the game before the sun went down and I decided that meant it was a knockout blow dealt by Chalmers.

I like the FUBAR rules but bit off a more than I could chew with this one. 

The game lasted over 3 hours largely due to 1) being a solo game and 2) having too many units to activate on each side. A lot of people like longer games; I do not. Sixty to ninety minutes is enough for me, and then I start thinking about going to do something else. 

As a result, at some point, I decided that if a unit failed a morale check and would move off table if moving straight away from the threat, I decided they would rout at that point. In this way most of the lizard units left the table - none were completely decimated, unlike the AVEF units who often rallied, and then fought to the last (the fort really needed the supplies).

The AVEF had three units in the fort (infantry, gun, lancers), two wagons (each wagon was handled largely by the vehicle rules, and the "crew' represented by a figure that could shoot with 1 die), three infantry units guarding the wagons, and two heroes.

The lizards had four units of foot, one unit of flyers, and two heroes (leader and the raptor).

The scenario is more-or-less Charles Grant's Tabletop Teaser No. 2: "The Wagon Train" In a a rare occurrence for me, I used the entirety of my kitchen table for the game - all 3' x 5' of it. Still this is smaller than what Grant had in mind, I am sure.

As it is night now in the game and as per the scenario, any wagon that doesn't make it back is sure to be raided (Stegosaurs don't travel at night. At least Venusian stegosauruses don't), the next game suggests itself - a defense of the "wagon" from night attacks. 

I may have a handful of the fort's garrison to make their way to our two heroes (with the captured lizard hero) but maybe not. 

Dinosaur, er Wagon, Train (part 1)

Captain Butler, ordered to guard a train of stegosauruses loaded up with supplies and destined for a remote Allied Venusian Expeditionary Force (AVEF) outpost, nervously checked the sun's position during breaks in the thick cloud cover. There was little daylight left and should the wagons, such as they were, not reach the fort before sundown, they would undoubtedly be captured in the oncoming darkness.

The fort's garrison anxiously peered to the horizon; their loan artillery piece trained prepared to offer supporting fire on any natives, should they appear.  A troop of lancers prepared their horses to ride out and meet the caravan.

The caravan's escorts roused their courage with rowdy songs of women, wine, and home.

All the while watched from tangled jungle by the cold reptilian eyes of a lone but fierce, lizard warrior, the leader of a warband sent to capture the wagon train and supplies

At his command, a detachment of Iguana Marines burst forth from the jungle and assaulted the column - attempting to block the way forward for the oncoming wagons.

Meanwhile, lizard archers crept stealthily through jungle, just within range of the lead AVEF unit. Their arrows let loose with deadly accuracy.

The fort's artillery crew spotted a velociraptor emerging over the crest of a hill and peppered it with shot, which forced it to take to the cover of the jungle.

The AVEF infantry held off the Iguana warrior attack, driving them back into the jungle. They then shifted to aid against the archer threat. 

Finally, lumbering behind came the first wagon.

At the call of a bugle from the approaching caravan, the fort's s gate lifted, and the readied lancers burst forth.

They raced to the sounds of battle ...

but did not notice the menace to their flank.

To be continued in part 2!

Season Kickoff

Saturday afternoon, the 2024 Blitz Bowl season kicked off with the Skavenblight Scramblers vs Nurgle's Rotters.

Skavenblight's fast moving, big-play offense saw little opportunity, as the plodding, hard hitting Rotters gained possession early and opted for a conservative ball-control offense. 

Skavenblight Blitzer takes on Nurgle Bloater

Nurgle's team maintained near continuous possession for the duration of the game, recovering fumbles with success and beating up the Skavenblight defense at nearly every opportunity.

Patience was the order of the day for the Rotters. Moving more laterally than forward and choosing hand-offs over risky passing, they oozed steadily towards the goal-line.

Nurgle Lineman carries the ball into the End Zone

Despite being held to a single touchdown (their first ever under my coaching), the Rotters handily scored a Sudden Death victory, 13 to 2, thanks in large part to their successful completion of multiple challenge cards.

Skavenblight's blitzer suffered multiple injuries on the day but is expected to be ready to go again in time for the team's next outing, according to their coach.

That match-up will pit the Scramblers vs the Reikland Reavers.

Archaeology is Hard to Spell

Despite recent setbacks for the Allied Venusian Expeditionary Force (AVEF), the civilian explorers who had tagged along on this inter-planetary adventure were not content to stay put in the security of the AVEF strongholds. 

Thus, it was that Professor Blackwood led an expedition to an ancient site that had piqued his curiosity - a site that bore evidence of a pre-lizard civilization, or at the very least, a center of pre-Bokrug worship. Accompanied by Lady Pennington, late of the Geographic Society and a celebrated traveler of Central Asia, a team of Royal Engineers and an armed contingent of French Legionnaires under the command Lieutenant Candide (who had volunteered his services in hopes of catching the attention of Lady Pennington), the party enjoyed a relaxing afternoon ransacking liberating artifacts from the ruins.

Lady Pennington and Professor Blackwood admire the heretofore unknown iconography.

Unbeknownst to the expedition, although not unanticipated, a native warband encircled their position.

When the fighting started, Lt. Candide ordered the civilians to retreat. Lady Pennington was reluctant - obeying orders isn't high on her list of priorities - but the professor seemed keen to return to safety.

"Ladies first, Lady Pennington."

He was, as she discovered, a bit keener about it than she had realized. Aided by Lt. Candide who engaged one of the great Saurian warriors who had taken a targeted line of attack for the retreating civilians.

"On second thought, age before beauty!"

The lizards breached the walls, but the defenders held their ground - certainly better than the AVEF had performed in recent clashes.

A second Saurian had attacked the Royal Engineers before turning his attentions to Lady Pennington. She would have none of that.

"You filthy creature, do you know who I am? I am your worst nightmare."

As the good Lady put her knife fighting skills to use, the surviving engineers made for a ford and crossed the river.

Lady Pennington left the wounded Saurian and fell back across the river - time was running out to get to safety, as Professor Blackwood reminded her. At least that's what she thought he said - he was running quite fast by that point and moving away from her rapidly.

"Devil take the hindmost!"

Speaking of devils and hindmosts, Lt. Candide was brought down by the fierce leader of the warband. At least he would never experience the pain of Lady Pennington's piercing brushoffs.

Both sides suffered significant loses - the Venusians more so than the Earthlings. The fighting ebbed until both sides disappeared into the jungle in the directions of their respective security.

For the AVEF, their valuable civilian scientists had survived, and the Legionnaires had held the ruins long enough to ensure their escape.

It was not a resounding triumph, but still, it was a much needed boost for the flagging morale of the AVEF troops.

****

Rules used were Age of Fantasy : Skirmish, half ranges for everything since I was playing on a 3' x 3' square. This was a 300 point per side game. The lizards used the AoF:S Saurian list, while the AVEF used the Duchies of Vinci (I use the crossbow stats for the rifles - it works). 

I set 5 turns for the game - to win, the AVEF had to get their two high-value targets out of harm's way, and hold the ruins long enough so they could escape.  

The ruins were contested when the game ended, but Lady Pennington and the professor had escaped.  So that seemed good enough to call it a minor victory for the AVEF (they needed one).

To further aid the AVEF, my lizards were distributed by die roll, which led to them being spread quite far apart - which made some of the heroes abilities to give bonuses to other figures moot.

If you're wondering why the Royal Engineers took off across the river - after they delayed the one Saurian warrior they had really done all they could do. They only had melee weapons as they were on artifact liberation duty.

Lady Pennington, by the way, as is fitting for her, was statted as a Duchies of Vinci assassin (Quality 4+, Defense 5+, armed with dual poisoned arm blades as well as throwing knives). The professor was a Vinci Scholar. Poor Candide was a Vinci Leader, for all the good it did him.

I should add that Lady Pennington and that coward Blackwood have plot armor. If they had been killed, they would have been captured instead.

Man the Walls!

Although I had planned to write up the Family Fall Festival Cthulhu Dark game, I was overcome by the desire to play a miniatures game set on Venus and gave into temptation as it were.

I was thinking about One Hour Wargames and how I like my VSF mish-mash version, but I really don't like little dice on the table trailing the units around (as of the other day - sometimes I don't care).

Hordes of the Things doesn't have this issue and while I have never played it or even read the whole book, I do have it and have seen plenty of game reports. 

So, I cherry picked a bit from it and had myself a game of what I am calling "HoTT and Lazy" (lazy because I am not using more than few of the combat rules). This is actually the second game played with the rules - the first one was spent tweaking things every turn. A re-match was in order (outcomes were the same).

***

The Allied Venusian Expeditionary Force (AVEF) after two recent disasters, became aware of movements towards a lonely outpost - one of the outer ring of small fortifications that provide a first line of defense for the AVEF zone (they think it's a zone; the local residents feel otherwise). 

A relief column was sent out almost immediately.

The fort's garrison held off frontal assaults by bands of determined lizard warriors, but on both the left and right, lizard forces were bearing down hard surround the defenders.

The AVEF's lancers (The Duke's Own), leading the relief force, were the first to arrive to aid the beleaguered fort.

The AVEF infantry were thrown into battle immediately as the lizards begun turning the flanks - presenting opportunity for the AVEF. Teeth and claws, stone, steel, and lead cut down swaths of fighters on both sides

The gallant Lt. Taylor commands the relief force.

Disaster struck! In a swirling melee, Lt. Taylor met his end at the hands of the lizard hero.

Moments later the fort was overrun, and with their forces crumbling, the remaining AVEF troops were forced to fall back.

Fortunately for the AVEF generals, word of failures, such as these, takes a ridiculously long time to reach the politicians back on Earth.

***

From  a HoTT perspective these are 24 point forces:

• AVEF: 1 Hero (General), 1 Artillery (in the fort), 6 Shooters (1 in the fort, 5 in the relief force), 2 Riders.
• Lizards: 1 Hero (General), 1 Behemoth, 2 Shooters, 2 Spears, 4 Warband

Playing area was 36" wide by 24" deep. Lizard foot troops move 6", AVEF moves 4". 

I was undecided on how to handle the fort in this game.

In my first game, the night before, I played it as a stronghold in HoTT. In this game - I started treating it as two units in cover, but didn't like the idea of troops recoiling out of the fort. So, I let them ignore recoil. But after a number of them, I realized they might never be eliminted. 

So, eventually I decided they would count as two units for shooting (Gatling with a 12" range, rifles with an 8" range) but they would fight as a stronghold (+6) for close combat and if a garrison unit was forced to recoil it was destroyed.

I'm not sure what I'll do in the future - that's the fun of playing solo though. I can change my mind and my opponent goes along with it!