Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Waiting For Skyss-Ryssa

It's that time of year when a Lizardman's thoughts turn to Lizardwomen...actually that is any time of the year really.

Dwarven Forge has just finished up a Kick Starter that will, among all the beautiful scenery, include a Lizardwoman Priestess and Lizardwomen warriors.

Ever since he heard the news my Lizardman Shaman (also from Dwarven Forge) had been...well, sprucing up his wardrobe.




Hours spent preening and fussing in front of his basalt mirror.

I do hope She is impressed and he is not consigned to the Skull Feast Ritual...

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Gotrek and Felix...with Age of Sigmar


Brought out some old chums to play one of the Warhammer Skirmish scenarios using...Age of Sigmar.
Once the situation and Gotrek and Felix stats were suitably modified it went very well.
In AoS Gotrek and Felix are not very...durable. Probably a good thing for game play but not very true to the tales of Mr. King.
Giving them the number of attacks and ward save from their WFB profiles put that to rights.



The scenario is meant to represent the climactic battle of William King's brilliant short story "Wolf Riders".


It is actually not a very accurate (!) portrayal of same.


Revealing most of the reasons would spoil the story so do find it and read it yourself.


However I can say that in the book the attack was carried out by Wolf Riders and Orcs on foot, led by a Spoiler.


The scenario as presented resulted in a fairly static game...as sieges and  defending a passage can sadly.

With some tweaks it would make a great game.

As for Age of Sigmar, I am now a fan of the rules if not the setting. Even the Stormcasts have a place, to my mind, as "daemos" or "angels" for the good guys. Much prefer seeing them in a supporting role to mortal troops than as a faction on their own.

As for the rules, much simplified. The lack of a toughness score eliminates a die roll and makes every creature vulnerable to any troop type although saves play a huge part here.

Even better, one of my design goals for Warrior Heroes: Armies and Adventures in regards to organization and morale! Now, I am convinced it is simply a case of parallel development. That has happened to me too, so this is not a "they stole my idea rant". Rather its pointing out something about the the design I really like.

To wit, when morale is checked individuals may rout from the table, decreasing a unit;'s strength rather than the wholesale loss of unit morale.

What this gives is the experience of some figures running away, gradually decreasing a unit's effectiveness. Eventually one has to weigh the merits of staying and dying in place or retreating to perhaps fight again under more favorable circumstances.

Well the rules are available for free so you should try them out for yourselves if interested!

Thant's all for now.

Thanks for stopping by!

Russo-Swedish War of 1808 with a Difference...

Troopship from Scotland!
Since the beginning of this year I have been working on recreating the Swedish Army of the 1808 Russian invasion of Finland...using trolls.
Received a great many figures yesterday, all painted by the great staff painters at Alternative Armies. Were it not for them I never get a project done. I am a fair painter but slow, so spend my time on smaller projects.
I can claim to have add the flags though. These are from the wonderful research and generosity of Lars Rössle of Sweden.
Pictured here are three battalions of the Tavastehus regemente. 
The uniforms of the Tavastehus and Nylands are the grey coat of regiments raised in Finland rather than the more recognizable Swedish blue.




Three battalions of the Nylands regemente ,




 Two battalions of the Goteborg garnisonsregemente.
The Göteborgs garrison regiment had been disbanded in 1801, but apparently there were sizable forces present that used to compose that regiment, and they took to the field as the Russians approached. Their uniform is the basic Alternative Armies Trolkin uniform, which is a near enough match for the regiment's uniform at the time of its disbanding.



a couple of squadrons of dragoons, 


Three artillery crews.

... and some general officers.



...Also a druid, fantasy troll, and elves for a completely different project.





If you are still with me after all of that, thanks for stopping by as always!