Thursday, April 30, 2015

Old SChool reinforcements

My lead pile runs deep. I've been enjoying Lion Rampant quite a bit. There's news that a Fantasy version is one it's way, "Dragon Rampant", but I can't wait that long. The forces of Chaos are too strong...
These boys are getting a coat of paint (in suitable Chaotic colors) and will join the banner Vorak the Vile in his conquest of my table. They'll be treated as Foot Men-at-Arms. I've got mounted forces coming, too.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Five Core: Battle for Meridian Prime Pt IV

The Confed attacks were at a standstill. They needed a break. That break came in the form of captured Union data housed in a service robot. Now the Rebels had to grab the bot and get it out of Union held territory.
The scenario involved 3 Rebel players starting in one corner and the 3 Union players split between two other corners to try and cut them off. The players only knew the robot was in the center of town.
Several great rolls early on by the Union commander gave them back to back "Scurry" rolls, allowing them to get to town first.

Then, once they found the droid, it became an on going battle to get the bot off the board. They would lose a lot of men trying this.
Meanwhile, the mesa north of town was covered in blood. Two squad fought for control of the high ground. It would prove a brutal little fight.
In the end, the Rebs just lost too many men. The important plans would stay in Union hands.
 This IS the droid you're looking for..

Friday, April 17, 2015

Lion Rampant (or is it Raven?)

Had another great game of Lion Rampant using my battle hardened Dark Age troops. While not specifically designed for Dark Ages, the rules handle about any small scale, pre gunpowder period. Although there those on the LR forum doing just that!
We had 4 new players trying it. They picked up the rules within a couple turns. It was quick, it was bloody, and a lot of fun.
Guy de Fountanbleu got word that yet another Viking raiding party had washed ashore and was pillaging their way across his lands, led by none other than Hrothgar the Red Handed and Scotti the Hairless.
Guy called up his servants and retainers led by Sir Gregory the Cautious and rode to met the invaders.
By the time Guy got his men on the field, Hrothgar had most of his men near the helpless village. He immediately lost several men from his household guard from arrows launched from Viking bidowers in the trees. But luckily, Gregory had men in the village formed up in shieldwall. They sent two Viking bands to Valhalla.

Hrothgar and Guy called each other out for a challenge, but the fight inconclusive. Guy refused to dismount and "fight like a man".
But, for as many Vikings as Gregory killed, Guy was losing too.
As night fell (you play this scenario until 5 bands are left on the table), it appeared to be a draw.
A great game. As many miniatures I own for the period, I see much painting in my future.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Beat Down at the Bend - A Campaign for the Kingdom game

With Horace dead, the field was wide open for claiming the throne. Roderick was the next logical choice, Lionel, Baron of Stonekeep, thought Roderick a poor choice. Lionel was one of the few remaining lords since the beginning of the conflict to still have his head. He intended to keep it that way.
Lionel leads his men forward.
With winter finally receding, the campaign season began. But before young Roderick could rally other lords to his banner, Lionel struck. He began burning the southern part of Roderick's lands, drawing him out to a place of his choosing. It was bend in the river that would constrict Roderick's movements. The brash young lord fell for it.
The forces were evenly matched, and both felt God was one their side.
Baron Lionel had brought the veteran campaigner Duke Ulrik and his band of barely civilized northern Islemen. Roderick was only able to bring another young, inexperienced leader, Archibald, Duke of Westgate.
It began, as always with some ineffectively archery. Then grew to a brutal scrum. As planned, Archibald was unable to to effectively concentrate his forces due to a small wood in the center. Despite this, he managed to run almost half of Ulrik's not-so-brutal Islemen off.
In the thick of it.
But the big moment came when Roderick and Lionel's forces collided. Roderick was able to get his timing just right and sent a hellish charge unto Lionel's men. They dealt many casualties. Casualities that should have broke Lionel's line.
But they didn't. The men of Stonekeep held, and in return dealt their own death.
Roderick did not hold.
The new standings:

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

New Playtests

The kids are off for Spring Break, so I decided to take a day off, too. Being Tyr's Day, the Norse god of war, it was only fitting we played a dark age battle between Norse forces.
I bought Lion Rampant when it first came out, but never had a chance to play. Most of our gaming involves 6-8 people, so know chance for one on one games.
Yes, Lion Rampant can support bigger games, but I don't want to invest in all the minis for that.
We played a 24 point game with equal forces.
Bill, our newly minted retiree, came over and brought his Hiberno-Norse.
It was a huge amount of fun. Lots of subtlety for for such a simple game. We didn't have to look in the book much.
I will definitely be playing again, and I'm thinking of a Dark Age campaign already.

We were done in about hour and a half. Time for some more fun. I dug out a little experiment I've been brewing for a long time: Leonardo Tech. It's GASLIGHT rules played with Renaissance era troops and a flair for "What if Leonardo Divinci's projects actually hit the battlefield?"