Just to let you all know that "Muskets Mohawks" and "Long Rifle" are now available from Two Hour Wargames at: http://store.twohourwargames.com/blackpowderera.html
If you have been reading the blog you will know that "Muskets and Mohawks" was written as a single title. However Ed at Two Hour Wargames split it in two and added features to both.
"Muskets and Mohawks" uses 10 man units and caters to battles with up to a company or so on a side.
"Long Rifle" is a skirmish game that uses individual figures with maybe 5-10 figures per side although there is no reason more cannot be deployed. Ed has added a nice campaign system that allows players to operate as hunters or trappers as well as some swell canoe rules.
Both sets also include army lists for the American Revolution, Napoleonic, and Texas War of Independence settings.
Hope you enjoy them.
Also time to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year!
Thanks for stopping by.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Giglamps' Kraal
The Doctor had told Lt. Giglamps that he was lucky to be alive. The Lt. wasn't so sure.
The months it took for Lt. Giglamp's multiple stab wounds to heal, were also a time of healing for the Albion army in Naal. All offensive action had been halted after the disaster at the Fords of Isandlwana. Troops were weekly arriving from Albion as Lord Chumpsford gathered strength to crush the Halfling impis of Shaka Sackville-Baggins and so redeem his Lordship's own fortunes.
Among the new arrivals were Giglamp's own regiment, the 17th Heavy Dragoons, better known as "The Sewon and Soforths". Yet if Giggers had expected a warm reunion he was sadly disappointed. Apparently when one loses the Kyng's Colours it is bad form to survive the incident, and Giggers was now shunned for being "the Orc who Lived".
But Giglamps had a plan for redemption. Even before he could walk he engaged a local HEVC nurse to teach him "Biltu", the Halflings' native tongue. In fact the Lieutenent absorbed all aspects of Halfling culture like some sort of big cultural spongy thingamajig.
By the time he was able to walk again, he was ready. Stealing away from the hospital, Giglamps replaced his Albion uniform with the trappings of the uNodproudfoot regiment and disappeared into the veldt.
It was roundly believed that Giggers had deserted but events were to prove otherwise...
Lt. Giglamps may be seen blending in with uNodproudfoot right horn. |
Following on from the events in "Giglamps at Fugitives Drift", "Giglamp's Honour" starts with the plucky Lieutenant, disguised as a halfling warrior, seeking to recover the colour he lost at the Drift. Having ascertained that the colour was being held at the kraal of the uNodproudfoot, Giggers infiltrated the regiment and has been waiting for an opportune moment to recover the Kyng's Colour of the "Eyes in Gourds". As a mounted column of orcs, hobgoblins, and goblins approached the Kraal, Giggers knew the moment had arrived.
The Scenario
This game is based on an actual incident from the Zulu War of 1879, laced with adventure films such as "Gunga Din" and "The Four Feathers". A mounted column is approaching the halfling kraal with the intention of destroying it. However the halflings are ready and lying in wait, ready to charge once the column has ridden into their trap.
Giglamps provides a twist in what would otherwise be a standard raid/ambush game. The Lieutenant needs to spoil the halflings' ambush and make his way to the large hut in the center of the kraal to regain the Colours. The effects of all this are noted below.
Forces
Albion:
C in C: General Hom Jones, Rep 5 Hobgoblin mounted on a ram.
Naal Mounted Goblin Contingent, 10x Rep 4 goblins mounted on giant lizards, carbine, sword. One figure is an officer.
Ram Border Guard, 10x Rep 4 hobgoblins mounted on rams, carbine, sword. One figure is a Rep 5 officer.
17th "Sewon and Soforths" Heavy Dragoons, 10x Rep 5 orcs mounted on horses, carbine, sword. One figure is an officer.
Lt. Giglamps, Rep 6 Orc, iklwa, shield. His sword, pistol, carbine, and uniform are hidden behind the large hut!
uNodproudfoot:
Odocewayo Proudfoot, Rep 5 leader.
Loins, 10x Rep 5 halfling warriors.
Chest right, 10x Rep 4 halfing warriors.
Chest left, 10x Rep 4 halfling warriors.
Right horn, 9x Rep 4 halfling warriors (Giglamps is with this unit).
Left horn, 10x Rep 4 halfling warriors.
All halflings carry a shield, iklwa or knobkerry, and throwing spears.
The Right Horn lurks in the scrub. Note wily Giggers hanging back. |
The game was played on an 8x4 foot surface. The kraal is on a hill near one of the short sides. There are areas of scrub and gullies along the long sides. A nice open area leads from the kraal to the opposite short side of the table.
Deployment
The halflings begin the game with the horns and chest hidden in the scrub and gullies. The loins are arrayed on the hill just outside the kraal facing the opposite short side of the table.
The Albion forces enter from the short side opposite the kraal.
General Jones advances with goblin scouts, followed by the rest of the NMGC, Ram Border Guard, and the 17th . |
Gigger's Giglamps: Needless to say Giggers has had to hide his spectacles lest the halflings find him out. Without his glasses, Giggers is woefully short sighted. He may not use any ranged weapons until he sheds his disguise. It takes one activation for Giggers to reveal that he is in fact, an orc and not a halfling at all.
'Alfings! Fousands of 'em: The fifty halflings that start on the table are only a fraction of the numbers the uNodproudfoot can field. In fact the best warriors are currently off hunting Olephants and Woozils. Each time halfing casualties reach 10 in number, the figures may be returned to play in the form of a new REP 5 unit. The unit enters play along the long table edge just beyond either side of kraal hill. Halfling losses (OOF, OD, and Runaway) will continue to be replaced in this fashion until either the kraal has been destroyed or the Albion flag is seen flying above the kraal.
The Kyng's Colours of the 21st: are kept in the large hut in the center of kraal hill. Giglamps may recover the colours and fly them above the kraal simply by entering the tent and spending an action to drop his disguise and grab the flag. The entrance to the hut is guarded by two rep 5 halfling warriors equipped with iklwa and shield. Giggers must kill, incapacitate or drive off the guards before he may enter the hut. Should the Colours be raised on kraal hill, all Albion forces immediately increase their Rep by 1 while all halfling forces suffer from a reduction of Rep by 1 for the remainder of the game.
The Warning: Play starts when Giggers calls out a warning to the approaching raiders. At that time Giglamps must fight two of the halflings in his unit while the chest and horns charge from cover, their ambush foiled. After the combat and halfling move, the Albion forces take a turn. Thereafter the game is played according the usual turn sequence of the rules in use.
Objectives
Simply put Jones must capture and destroy the kraal, while Odocewayo must prevent that outcome. The game continues until one of the following occurs: There are no Albion forces left on the table, the kraal is destroyed, or their are no halfling forces left on the table.
Here is how it went:
As the goblin scouts edged nearer, Giglamps knew he had to act to prevent a massacre. He did the only thing he could under the circumstances and shouted the alarm; "There's a halfling on the wall! There's a halfling on the wall"!
The goblins scouts immediately doubled back rejoining their unit, while the halflings, their ambush spoiled, charged!
The two warriors nearest Giggers immediately set about him with iklwa and knobkerry, knocking him senseless.
The trap is sprung! |
The counter charge. |
Ram meets Horn. |
The Ram Border Guard were soon bogged down by the press of halflings. Nearly half the regiment had been unrammed. Yet halfling casualties were mounting.
Doleful slaughter |
The Recall |
Seeing the chest fast approaching, General Jones sounded the recall and both goblin and hobgoblin cavalry retired to the flanks of the 17th,
Opening volley |
Giggers blends in with the fugitives |
A telling fire. |
The fire of the hobgoblins killed the induna of the left horn and the warriors fled in dismay.
Odocewayo girded his loin and remaining chest formation and fought a delaying action, awaiting the reinforcements he knew must be even now running to the sound of the fighting.
Giglamps directs the reinforcements. |
Giglamps faces Des and Tiny. |
Sound the Advance. |
Tiny is down and Des is stunned. |
RBG enter the gully. |
The halflings reform their warriors. |
The Colours appear over the kraal. |
At them with the sword! |
The RBG fired, dropping four of the front rank halfings including Odocewayo.
The Sewon and Soforth's charged!
The uNodproudfoot break! |
Gigger's honour restored |
Let slip the dogs of war... |
The subsequent pursuit of the uNodproudfoot destroyed the regiment as a fighting force. There would be one less iButho to oppose the force sent to capture the Sackville-Baggins, capitol of Ubagendi.
Game notes
This game was played using the version of Muskets and Mohawks submitted to Two Hour Wargames for publication. As of this time, the rules are being split into two books, "Muskets and Mohawks" and "Long Rifle". M&M will deal with units of about 10 figures each, while LR is intended to be a smaller scale skirmish set of rules. I've not seen the final version of LR yet, but I imagine the game just recounted used rules more like LR than M&M.
Afterward
Well now that Giggers is freed from the stain on his honour caused by the loss of the Colours (and daring to have survived! What cheek!), he is free to join Mungorc Park's expedition to find the source of the Nigella River.
The scenario is an interesting one as the Albion force is not large enough to sustain much loss and retain any real bite. So should Jones launch an all out assault from the start and try to occupy kraal hill before the weight of halfling reinforcements can be felt, or should he wait it out and hope that Giggers succeeds in his mission? Giggers must fight at odds of two to one against him at least twice in order to capture the flag so success is by no means assured.
And what of Odocewayo? Should he try and recall his prematurely launched horns and chest or should he join them in a bid to overwhelm the mounted foe? Indeed even if he only weakens the Albion forces a bit, he is sure to delay them, giving time for his own reinforcements to arrive. The alternative of course is to do as was done here and let the horns and chest destroy themselves in piecemeal attacks so they may sooner return to the fray as fresh and higher Rep reinforcements. Which approach is the correct one?
Well I do hope you have enjoyed the tale and as always, thanks for dropping by!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
NATIVE AMERICAN PLAYER CHARACTERS IN SIX GUN SOUND
This supplement was
written for the original version of Six Gun Sound. Players will find that most
of this material can be used as is in Six Gun Sound: Blaze of Glory. Feel free to alter anything here to fit your
view of the characters and situations presented here.
Brig. M. C. Monkey-Dew (retd.)
December
2011
The
following variant rules allow players to use Indians in the Six Gun Sound
campaign game. As they represent a large departure from the other characters they
have a lot of differing circumstances than the others. As such, if a player
chooses to use an Indian Player Character then ALL of the optional rules that
pertain specifically to them must be used.
Characters should be generated
using the standard 6GS rules. Remember the +2 Toughness for Indians.
CHOOSING
A PROFESSION
For the purposes of this game,
player characters will be considered Renegades. This allows players great
latitude of action without concern for the occasional years or relative peace
between the government, the settlers, and the tribes.
Characters may be either Plains Indians (Comanche, Kiowa,
Kiowa Apache, Arapaho, etc.) or South Western Indians (Jicarilla Apache,
Mescalero Apache, Kickapoo, etc.)
LIFE
AND TIMES
Not all of these are applicable to
Indian characters. Use your discretion. Note that
Plains Indians will automatically receive #6 “Have
exceptional horse” as their first result.
LOCALES
Plains Indians may operate in all
three locales. while Southwest
Indians are limited to the Southwest and Texas.
Locales Encounter
Modifiers
|
|
|
|
|
SW
|
Texas
|
Kansas
(and the IT)
|
Capture (Attacker)
|
+2
|
+1
|
-1
|
Capture (Defender)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Cattle Rustling
|
+1
|
+2
|
0
|
Indians
|
+2
|
+1
|
-1
|
Posse
|
-1
|
+1
|
0
|
ENCOUNTERS AND
PASSAGE OF TIME
Possible encounters for Indians are
listed above in the Locales Encounter Modifiers.
All Indian encounters take place
“On the Trail”
NON-PLAYER
CHARACTERS
All Indian NPCs will be rolled for
on the Warrior table.
Rangers will be rolled for on the Ranger
table.
Soldiers will be rolled for on the
Cowboy table.
AVAILABLE WEAPONS BY
TYPE
For each figure required in an
encounter roll 1d6 to determine what weapons are available.
Chief:
1 = bow
2-4 = rifle
5-6 = lance and pistol
Brave:
1 = bow
2-5 = rifle
6 = lance and pistol
Youth:
1-4 = bow
5-6 = rifle
Ranger:
1-3 = pistol
4-6 = rifle.
Soldiers will
carry both pistol and Trapdoor carbine or rifle.
ENCOUNTERS
CAPTURE (ATTACKER)
In this encounter the player’s band
will try and capture prisoners.
Follow the directions for a Capture encounter in the main
rulebook except:
Roll 1d6 at start to determine whom
the opposition will be.
1-3 Civilians
4-5 Cowboys
6 Indians
If the defenders are not Indians
roll another d6.
1-3 Defenders set up in a building
(shack, ranch house, etc.)
4-6 Defenders set up in a camp
(tents, wagon(s) etc.)
Indian defenders always set up in a
camp. Camps may have one tent or wagon for each two defenders or fraction
thereof.
CAPTURE (DEFENDER)
In this encounter the player’s band
is attacked while in camp.
Follow the directions for a Capture
encounter in the main rulebook except:
Roll 1d6 at start to determine the
attacker
1-3 Posse
4-5 Rangers
6 Soldiers
The defender sets up camp in the
middle of the table, one wcikiup/teepee for every two warriors or fraction thereof.
CATTLE
RUSTLING
The player’s band is the rustlers.
Play proceeds as described in the 6GS rule book except:
Roll 1d6 at encounter start to
determine the pursuit
1-3 Cowboys
4-6 Soldiers (Rangers in Texas)
INDIANS
The player’s band might find
themselves on either side of this encounter.
Roll 1d6 at game start
1-4 Player is the attacker
5-6 Player’s and is attacked by a
hostile tribe. Having determined which part the player’s band is to play,
proceed as in the 6GS-rule book.
POSSE
Vengeful enemies are pursuing the
player’s band. Play proceeds as per the 6GS-rule book except:
Roll 1d6 to determine the pursuit
1-3 Posse
4-5 Rangers
6 Soldiers
WINNING
THE CAMPAIGN
Southwest Indians receive points
just as other characters do.
Plains Indians receive points as
follows:
Every time a character counts coup on an armed enemy he
receives 15 points.
To count coup a character
must make a successful hand to hand attack on an enemy figure.
The attempt at coup
counting is declared before the attack die is rolled.
A
successful attack accrues points but does not harm the defender.
Coup may only be counted
once on any given enemy.
Every time a character kills an
armed enemy in an encounter he receives 5 points.
Points earned for successful encounters are awarded as for
other character types.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Muskets and Mohorcs
Just finished these fellows today. As you can see they are GW Savage Orcs converted with firearms from Alternative Armies extensive range. They can perhaps use a bit of lightening up of their skin tones. Already did this for their paint which darkened quite a bit when they were washed.
They've turned out well enough, and will serve as tribals in many of the wilder parts of Valon. In particular they are meant to be lackeys of the elves in their plans for domination of New Albion. Their leader "Old One Eye" is ably backed by their shaman, Name Yet to be Determined.
Will probably add feathers and scalps and that sort of thing over time. For now they are ready to ambush any orc, dog, or dwarf foolish enough to enter the dark woods beyond the frontier. There are 15 with firearms, 4 with bows, and the shaman wielding his totemic bone.
A few words on the kit itself. I am no stranger to plastic figures having used GW's first plastic release from what, the 80's? as the core of several armies and of course having started wargaming with Airfix figures in the far distant past.
However I am no fan of multi-part plastic kits as these take much longer to get ready for painting than figures that come already posed. The Savage Orcs are particular offenders here for not only do they have separate heads, torsos, right and left arms, they have separate hands as well! Worse yet although the arms are separate there are not a lot of options when it comes to positioning them as you can see from the photos.
Still there aren't a lot of choices available when it comes to non-metal working orcs and goblins and these warriors will do as the Duke might have said.
Thanks for dropping by!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Le Beau Sabre Gauche
They Seek Him Here... |
Not much of a post today, just wanted to get photos of this fine fellow on the blog.
A simple conversion, using Alternative Armies' Duke of Yippstatte. Having received the original (above), I just had to get another one to rework as an homage to Baroness Orczy's hero extraordinaire!
Both miniatures were originally painted by the staff painters at Alternative Armies. I had to re-paint the converted model a bit to cover up construction, paint the sword and scabbard, and of course put his mask in place so none might guess his true identity.
The Duke aka "Le Beau Sabre Gauche" is the start of a collection Gentlemen Adventurers being gathered for missions throughout Valon. A long term project that moves in fits and starts.
Thanks for stopping by!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Titan's First Families: Turf War
A Triple Threat. |
When the Mega-Cities decided to convert Titan from an airless prison to a habitable planet, everyone knew it wasn't going to be easy. The initial colonists would have to be very hardy and adaptable to survive long enough for their terraforming efforts to have effect.
Enter the Apes. Intelligent apes had been marginalized back on earth, being neither human enough to prosper nor animal enough to warrant the pampered life of their less developed cousins in the zoos.
Inevitably when human colonist's arrived the pioneer apes, euphemistically dubbed Titan's First Families, were faced with the same problems they had hoped to leave behind when they left Earth.
The vast majority of the ape community on Titan, as on Earth, are law abiding citizens just doing what they can to carve out a nice living for themselves and their families.
But inevitably a few have turned to a life of crime.
Recent Judicial actions in the wake of the Passenger 135 Killings have left a power vacuum, and crime hates a vacuum...
The Brains |
The Brawn |
The Beauty |
With Muskets and Mohawks 2 off to the publisher, I finally found some time to paint. Not a big fan of painting really, but I do like to have the finished product so "needs must" as they say.
Re-painted a selection of witches a friend had painted for me, only because my plans for them had changed. Also finally got work on these beauties.
Probably should have waited until I got back into the swing of things but just couldn't. Always loved these figures. In particular the way the big guy has his pockets stuffed to bursting with bananas.
Have some ideas for incorporating them into the Titan Rangers games but for now going to keep on painting.
Hope you like them and thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
October 31st, 1759
The Wabenaki of St.
Francis set great store by the Virgin of Chartres, a silver statue of the
Madonna, sent by the friars of that renowned cathedral, in appreciation for
some devotional wampum belts sent thence by the Wabnenaki. The idol was reputed
by the Indians to ward off the Sons of Malsum, fiends of aboriginal lore;
however it failed to ward off the righteous anger of those hardy New Englanders
who produced the frontiersmen of Roger’s Rangers. In 1759, the statue
disappeared in the wake of that doleful village’s destruction by fire, musket,
and sword. To this day the Virgin’s whereabouts remain unknown and it is
presumed by this author that the statue has been consigned to that still
largely uncharted wilderness of the Green Mountain country.
-- Myths and Talismans
of the Mountains, Bertim O. Doane, 1884
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW FRANCE, OCTOBER 1759
It had been several long, cold, weeks since Roger's Rangers had burned St. Francis to the ground.
The return march to Fort Number Four on the New Hampshire frontier would be a nightmare from which some were destined never to awake.
Shortly after leaving the village behind,Major Roger's split his men into several smaller detachments, instructing each to make it's way to Number Four as best they could. Captain Johanthan Delapore led one such party.
In addition to the sergeant and ten men under his command, Delapore was also entrusted with one of the handful of captives taken in the raid, an Abenaki boy of about 12 summers.
As the small band made their way south eastward, they suffered greatly from a lack of game. Even though every night was full of the howling of the wolves and each day with the cawing of crows and ravens the men never caught site of any animals and the foraging parties returned with barely enough roots and bark to sustain life.
Throughout the captive boy was restive. Delapore presumed the boy's obvious fear was caused by his circumstance, it being no good thing to be held captive by one's sworn enemies.
Eventually, as Delapore was to learn, the boy's fear was real enough, but it was not fear of the Rangers that vexed him so, rather it was a fear at once more primal and pervasive.
The boy finally spoke up in camp the night that Delapore had ordered all of the men's packs to be searched for stocks of food. Major Rodgers had expressly forbid the carrying of loot, in place of food stocks, and it was with some consternation that Delapore discovered the silver statue of the Madonna in one of his men's packs.
At this the captive boy broke down, and between sobs related a strange tale. The statue he said was the only thing that had kept the Sons of Malsum at bay for these many years. Yet as the statue had been taken from sacred ground it would no longer do so. No doubt the keening of the wolves every night was no mortal howling but howling of the fiends of the night.
Delapore was disinclined to believe such ravings and yet, that would explain why howling wolves should be so abundant while game was so very scarce.
The boy went on to say that they were all of them doomed unless the statue be returned to a sacred place, and that fortunately he knew of one not a day's march from their camp. It was a site of "the old ones" or so he said, a mound in which the statue could be tucked away and the Sons of Malsum banished back to the region from whence they came.
Delapore resolved to send the boy in company with three of his most trusted men, to scout for this mound while the rest of the party dispersed to forage.
The boy and his three minders did not return that evening, and Delapore, fearing treachery, led his party on their trail at first light.
The trail led them through a crevice in the rock face into what was apparently a secluded valley. There they found the remains of the men they sought, seemingly ripped to pieces. And always the wolves howled...
Delapore's company of Rangers. The Captain is is first row left in the photo.
The Valley. The Rangers enter from right back ground.
The Burial Mound of the Old Ones.
Blackbirds take flight. What startled their roost?
Delapore leads his men into the valley.
The men make ready to confront something skulking through the brush.
It is a false alarm.
The men reach the edge of the clearing and prepare to approach the Mound.
Ominous movement across the clearing.
Wolves burst from the wood.
Some of them bipedal and brandishing cruel stone weapons!
The wolves charge!
The Rangers open fire.
Two wolves drop but the rest come on.
A fierce melee ensues.
There are losses on both sides as Captain Delapore drops a wolf warrior.
The wolves withdraw, taking their casualties with them.
Now that is strange indeed!
The wolves that were hit on their way in must have only been winged.
They shrug and regain their feet.
Delapore's less experienced men are shaken by the days events.
The Captain instructs his veterans to keep the wolves under fire while he rallies the men who are faltering.
There is a lull in the battle allowing the wounded to be tended too and order restored.
The warrior Delapore slew in combat rises to lead the wolves in a fresh assault.
That can't be good!
It appears the four legged wolves have had enough as they slink back into the forest.
One of the two warriors is dropped by a well aimed shot.
The lone warrior standing prepares to charge.
What's that movement in the trees behind him?
Scattered shots ring out as the risen warrior charges home.
It is a brave gesture but the warrior is over matched...
...And dies again.
Of a sudden the sound of breaking branches and pounding feet comes from the Rangers' left.
A fierce looking white haired warrior bursts from the brush, lesser wolves bounding behind,
It is too much for the Rangers.
They break and run.
All that is except brave Delapore who faces the wall of fur and fangs undeterred.
Delapore is torn to pieces and his men hunted down and slain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is rumored that treasure looted from St. Francis still waits to be uncovered by those of an adventurous bent. Every few years some brave soul sets out in search of these riches never to be heard from again...
-- Myths and Talismans of the Mountains, Bertim O. Doane, 1884
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game notes:
This was a combined Muskets and Mohawks 2 and Warrior Heroes; Armies and Adventures scenario.
The Ranger force consisted of 9 figures, each armed with a musket.
Captain Delapore, Rep 5, statue.
3x Rep 5
5x Rep 4
The Rangers' goal was to take the statue into the mound and leave it there. Had they succeeded all of the warrior wolves would have been banished from the earth and the four legged wolves would have gone back to being, wait for it...plain old wolves.
The game system generated the wolves as Possible Enemy Forces were resolved.
The Alpha wolf warrior was Rep 6, immortal, 12" move.
Other wolf warriors were Rep 5, immortal, 12" move.
The wolves were Rep 5, 12" move.
Immortal: Wolf warriors may not be killed, only banished. As such whenever one sustains a Knock Down, Out of the Fight, or Obviously Dead combat result it may recover by taking the Recover From Knock Down test. Each time it passes the test, its wound heals one step from OD to OOF, from OOF to KD, and from KD to no wounds at all. As you can see "killing" a wolf warrior would keep it out of play at least three turns as it regenerates.
Both the wolves and the Rangers were classed as Irregulars for the game.
With a little tweaking here and there I suspect this scenario would work with any game system.
Well that's all for now.
Have a Happy Halloween and as always, thanks for stopping by!
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