Footsore Arab Spearmen - Outremer States.

The Crusaders need someone to ride down.... after a couple of evening sessions the Arab Spearmen finally clear the paint table.

The garish colours once based and given a Army Paint Flesh wash blend rather well together, lovely castings as always from the guys over at Footsore so much character in their sculpts.

Still a little on the cold side for a matt varnish but that will help take the shine off the shields and help protect the decals - so much easier than trying to hand paint the shields with Islamic script.

Whilst it's take a little more time far better to get all the spearmen completed on in one group, with two groups of 8 and 4 swordsmen it gives me plenty of options on the table.

I have mixed the colours across the spearmen so they should come across as non-uniformed vs the more orderly Christian forces, although the pilgrims will be in a dull mix of browns and greens..

Really pleased how these have turned out itching to get them on the table top but will certainly need some better armoured support to stand up to the Knights Templar.

Nice to get a mention in the Footsore News letter this morning.

Toadily awesome (mailchi.mp)

High praise in need given the quality of the painting on the Baron's War Facebook group no pressure to the get the rest of the Kickstarter complete then.

The Outremer Fortified Hospital is up for auction on e-bay - not yet available on the Footsore site.

As much as I would love to get it made and painted the projects are backing up - Still in the box the Kickstarter came in.

Original price £200.00 but all reasonable offers considered.

Footsore Miniatures Barons War Outremer Fortified Hospital Crusader Fort | eBay

Pony Wars - Life is cheap on the plains.

Can it really be the first outing of these rules???

The figures were painted months ago but it wasn't until a club night conversation turned to who had a copy did the nudge occur to read them and get figures on the table. A real gem from the 80's whilst the casualty calculations takes a bit of getting used to, the Indian reaction tables are fantastic and really make the game what it is.

For a change we all played on the same side the fear and dread made us all play nicely together in a single focus of rescuing the homesteaders.... We collectively felt a real need to do the right thing and get the settlers out alive.

Things started so well the column cleared the first pass and came upon the sheep farmers, who instead of coming under orders ignored the boys in boy and decided to hunker down in their farm..... bloody civilians don't they know we were trying to save them.

Elsewhere another group of settlers were set upon by a war party, the white folk grabbed their weapons in an attempt to drive off the hostiles.

Meanwhile the next homestead started to pack up their belongings as they could hear the gunfire from over the hill, a party of scouts raced to help them, just as a wagon train appeared on table, this lot would take some shifting....

The scouts galloped off to help the other settlers but they were too late and the farm was already a blaze and more Indians were appearing from the treelines. The cavalry commander orders the settlers to head for the fort, but they opted to circle the wagons instead..... arrrggghhh.

Elsewhere the main column had run into a problem, looking to push head to the far encampments they rushed to form a firing line as women and children ran for safety with the boys in blue.... The Indians just kept on coming and ammunition was now becoming a problem.

Meanwhile the settlers at the far end of the valley heard the firing and decided not to wait voting to pack up and head to the farm without an escort..... bad news a war party spots them in the open....

As the troopers held back the angry Sioux warriors another settlement is raised to the ground and the settlers killed.

All in all not a good day on patrol for the cavalry, they were forced to beat a hasty retreat to the fort with barely handful of homesteaders. The scouts were left conflicted as they watched the settlers be butchered by the natives.... if they had pressed on they would surely be killed, instead the left them to their fate to ensure others made it home.

The cavalry when kept together were strong but they could not be everywhere at once. But when the ammunition started to run out, they, were forced to strip the civilians of their ammo. That will not look good in the papers back east....

A great fun game, you can see why it stood the test of time and so many people clambered to see if back in print....

You can see why B troop did not make it back.... we must do better next time or their will no one left to protect....

Barons War - Footsore Miniatures.

In a break from the Middle East a trip back to Ye Olde England for the first run through of the Baron's War over at the Wyre Forest Club.

With the Kickstarter pledges likely to start flowing from Footsore miniatures in the next couple of weeks for their Outremer release the pressure is really on to get other stuff finished before these hit the paint table.

Paul over at movealongnownothingtoseehere  was hosting with his excellent set up. The Angle Saxons faced off against the Norman invader.

Despite early successes forcing the Normans back, the Norman Crossbows stripped the Saxon Leader of his body guard (they are rather nasty at close range). Before he was ridden down by the Norman Heavy cavalry, very unsporting. Although it felt realistic as I was standing in the middle of an open field and one Dane Axe was unlikely to stop five knights charging at the gallop.

The rules had a good feel to them the idea of forcing units to take with compulsory actions makes the use of commanders really key and rewards those that can pressure enemy troops early on.

The use of command order forces you to keep your commander close to the action to use their orders to command units into combat and other actions however these extra actions for troops makes them 'weary' which can significantly impact their performance and put them at risk from fresher opponents.

I am still a little undecided on which rules to use for the Outremer project, I still have the hankering to turn the old Standard Games - Cry Havoc/Outremer to miniature but Baron's War is that obvious step up from one on one to small units....

Plenty to ponder when the postman comes knocking.....

Dispatches from the front XXIV - Digital down loads & Kickstarters

Months without a major spend and then several come along at once.

The next 6 months could be really busy on the paint table. First up Baron's War Outremer and perhaps Andy's most successful yet, a monstrous £94 grand.... In a fit of madness I ended up going all in.....

Wow that's quite a lot of bare metal..... but this is perhaps a project that I have been on cusp of starting for over 30 years, right from when Standard Games brought out their version Outremer variant.

At the height of lockdown I played several games over Zoom of Standard Games wonderful Siege and if I wanted to recreate the Siege Warfare element I would need a fort to defend.... I was quick enough to pick up one of the few resin offerings.... What a fantastic piece of kit, perhaps the biggest one off purchase in several years. Roll on 2023 when delivery takes place.

Meanwhile like buses you back one and another comes along, whilst a game in it's own right the figures will make a great addition to the Elizabethan project.

Meanwhile a number of companies had offers to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the UK, the Too Fat Lardies had a 20% reduction which prompted me to make a couple of purchases for future games. The Swamp Fox has a great list of scenario's which I figured can be transferred to Haiti and Blitzkrieg 1940 gives me a whole raft of army lists for the main combatants in the early years of the war.

I do like to paint under pressure so with fresh lead landing in September, I best crack on and clear the decks as projects are starting to pile up.

The Elizabethan Zombie Chronicles #7 - The Dee Sanction & The line Must Hold.

The latest kick starter dropped on the mat last week in the form of the Dee Sanction. A Standalone RPG of Elizabethan supernatural investigation where players take on the role of characters aiding John Dee in the fight against dark malevolent forces.

The perfect compliment for the on going Zombie Chronicles and the prompt to give the Spanish a run out on the new table.

On the far side of Barnford - Alvar Fanez had been extending his earth works and readying his men for an attack from the forces of darkness.

Supplies were in short supply and the men's morale was low, a few had been caught stealing from the warehouses in the town, surly these good Catholic souls would not be conspiring with the those evil beings, a night in the stocks should sort them out. 

Dawn on the 2nd and the cadavers shambled forwarded supported by evil doers on broomsticks. Let's hope the earthworks are high enough. Fanez took his place in the line amongst his men.

On eastern side of town Fanez had not had time to prepare barricades he hoped the noise and movement on the main road would be enough to distract this opposite number.

In the northwest corned under the magical control of one of the witches the dead found a gap in the line.

Wolves raced out from the tree line seeing a gap in the livings defences as they shifted to support the north wall.

On the eastern edge of town yet more undead stumbled from the fields towards the open road, black power filled the air as the defenders shot down a number of the risen. But wave after wave slowly wore them down, the troops broke and ran into the town.

With a gap in the line the early morning sun was blocked by the death of crows swooping down on the remaining defenders. The troops on the earth works were unaware that the town was wide open.....

Stay tuned for #8 and the escape from Barnford.....

Itching to give this a try with a couple of living opponents, with the pub gardens open, some spring sunshine a few more weeks and finally some face to face gaming.....

The Battle of Killiecrankie 1689 - Jacobite Rising - Command and Colors.

In the absence of face to face gaming time to give Jacobite Rising a run through. Another offering from the guys from Command and Colors that I picked up on Kickstarter recently. 

With 13 scenario's in the rule book I thought I would play out a number of the encounters in solo play, First up the opening Battle at Killiecrankie 1689. 

The English Parliament had replaced the Catholic King James VII with William of Orange and his wife Queen Mary, the Protestant daughter of James. The following year the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of doing the same with the crown of Scotland. Many Scots, mainly the Catholic and Episcopalian Highlanders, took exception to this and in response John Graham of Claverhouse, ‘Bonnie Dundee’ raised a force of mainly Highlanders loyal to James (called Jacobite's) to contest this decision. 

In response, the Scottish government assembled an army of mostly Lowland Scots to counter the rebellion. Under the command of General Hugh Mackay, the Government troops marched to intercept the rebels at the Killicrankie Pass near Blair Castle, on the key route into the Highlands from Perth. 

The forces deploy...

The Jacobite's who had arrived first, took up a position on a ridge above the pass. Mackay formed his troops in a line and simply ordered them to fire their muskets at the enemy. 

The Government army consisted of Dutch, English and (lowland) Scottish troops armed with slot bayonets. The Jacobite's lacked the uniformity - in equipment and clothing mainly armed with sword and shield. The main tactic of the army was the Highland charge. This involved a full speed advance the enemy line before discharging their muskets and pistols before then charging into hand-to-hand fighting with their traditional bladed weapons. 

On the day as the sun sank on the horizon on 27th July 1689, Dundee ordered his men to advance and, true to form, the Highlanders charged the Government line. Surprised by the rapid change in tactics, Mackay’s troops did not have time to fix bayonets and so were ill equipped for the close quarter hand to hand fighting that would follow. 

In this encounter the same was true, I pushed the lowland scots forward in the centre of the table to enable them to bring the Highlanders into range only for the Highlanders to draw a centre sector card and rush forward contacting the government line. 

On the day the battle quickly turned into a rout. Although the Jacobite's had secured their first victory of the rebellion, they had lost a third of their number as well as their inspirational leader Bonnie Dundee, who had been killed alongside his men in the charge. 

In the refight as the government centre crumbled under the assault, I rushed the cavalry forwards only for them to be defeated before they could stem the charging highlanders.... (losing to yourself in hand to hand is not fun :-)) 

Six flags to three the government forces are swept from the field. 

On the day the Jacobite's won in under thirty minutes. Government casualties were in excess of 1,200 whilst hundreds more were killed in the pursuit. Jacobite casualties were around 1,000, most of whom had been killed in the initial Government volley. 

A good opening game I need to brush up on the rules a little bit, solo play worked reasonably well 

drawing two cards for the Highland command and selecting the most appropriate, the Highlanders are aggressive in attack and the government troops really need to soften them up before they get into combat.

A fun afternoon's gaming - now back to the brushes.

Dispatches from the front XIII - Lock down special.

Locked down, Locked in, Locked up....Well it's only month right.... 

Day 1.

First up.....time to stock pile.. nope not toilet rolls or pasta but Foundry, Newline and Scarab to keep me going over the next month. With the first Egyptian game put back to December time to fill the ranks with some extra's...

Scarab's Ramesses II is a touch on the large side but he is a living a god so can probably justify the extra height. Before these hit the paint table I need to crack the first of the Egyptian chariots.

Meanwhile much like a supermarket delivery slot I managed to secure an order from Pete at Baccus, an early Christmas present and the start of next years project - 6mm Pony Wars, a very very little project for next year.

We managed to slip in a final game before lock down an adventure to the Barbary Coast. A great table to play on and a fun encounter using Sharp Practice

I played Keiff al Vaz some would say a terrible pirate but I would argue a successful businessman and man of the people. Just ask my band of jolly pirates !!!!

The British Marines came to interfere in our business interests by sending in row boats full of sailors and Infantry. The Brits had to storm the beach, secure the fort and rescue the prisoners a tough ask but they went at it in true style.

But the pirates were having none of it and defended the fort with cannon and musket and lots of wallah's with pointy sticks to defend the village.

A great days gaming with the battle raging across the beachhead and coastal village. In the end it came down to whose morale would last the longest.

The pirates nicked it in the final round securing the slaves in the compound including Lady Sarah Boyles and forcing the plucky Brits to get back on there boats.

To help while away the winter evenings I found a great Korean series on Netflix - Kingdom.

Shogun meets the Walking Dead what's not to like and perfect timing after the recent Water Margin outing.

Inspiration for a couple of Elizabethan Zombie solo outings in the weeks ahead and perhaps a quick order to the 1st Corps for a few extra's for the Sung Chinese.

This was an interesting find on Kickstarter and rather timely as additional inspiration for the Elizabethan Zombie Wars. The Dee Sanction. I don't play as many RPG's but this has some potential good ideas for scenario's.

A tabletop roleplaying game about serving Queen and country in the late Tudor period, in a time where kingdoms vie for power, the Church splinters under the pressure of reform, and creatures of folklore emerge from enforced hiding seeking revenge against those who imprisoned them.

You're a bad person — sentenced to hang for dabbling in magic — given a chance to redeem yourself and earn freedom in service to Queen Elizabeth's newest line of defence.

You can find more details here.

I spotted this on Laphams Quarterly and thought it was worth re-posting which could add a little colour to games. If you have not come across Lapham's before it's well worth taking a look if you are interested in oddities in history. I must be able to weave this into the forthcoming games or the Kickstarter above.

For those that are interested and once we are allowed outside again this is a great source of interesting places to visit on your door step.
http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/

Something to look forward to in the spring.....