Happy New Year!

Just to wish everyone a Happy & Joyous New Year!

The 5 Parsecs crew on their first Xmas outing.

It's all work & no play!

Game mats. Who needs them?

Travelling to the US I was thinking how to transport my game mat which is housed in  4' tube. I decided it wouldn't be ideal to take it lije that or fold it creating creases. Another think was needed.

I decided to look, once in the States, at the fabric shops for an adequate piece to fulfill the shortage.

What a great surprise awaited me!

The range is practically mind-blowing with colours and shades for almost any scenario you can think of.

I bought four 36''x 42'' pieces for $52 ( mind you it was in New Hampshire so no sales tax!). That's 4 pieces for the equivalent of one game mat. Three pieces were under $13, the fourth was under $14.

Take a look at the 4 below

Grey's

Green's

Black

My favourite. Looks great for a  town/dungeon setting. A cobblestone effect for $14 a yard!

They will need ironing before using but are very lightweight and take a fraction of the space a games mat normally would.

Now only if I hadn't forgotten to pack my dice. A trip to Gigabite Cafe in Marietta is now a necessity.

T-Shirts

 Hi!

I found these great t-shirts on red bubble (Immortal)

And the Ishtar Gate (Ishtar gate)

I think they will be great for next summer.

There are other designs, and more covering Mesopotamian civilisations if you'd like to take a look.

I have no association with redbubble and do not receive monetary gain from posting. Just sharing a product wargamers might not be aware of and might like.

Wood elves

  Hi!

Having a grand total of one elf I thought I'd put that right. I bought two more, wood elves.

Both from Forlorn Hope Games (forlornhopegames.co.uk). As you can see one is bow armed and the other a bard with lyre and sword.

Just what a hero needs, someone to sing songs of your heroic deeds.

These are useful for Sell Swords and Spell Slingers as well as the 5 Leagues from the Borderlands.

Last projects. Probably

 Hi!

I'm at a crossroads in my wargaming life.

Being on the wrong side of 21 by a factor of 3(+ a couple) I'm wondering about my last projects. I've rather embraced the skirmish type of games in recent years and I'm blaming the F&IW present from my son. Not that that is a complaint as it is really enjoyable.

Moving onto Frostgrave, The Silver Bayonet and Sell Swords and Spell Slingers (encompassing Forbidden Lands) has been quite exhilarating. Many figures painted for future use.

And then comes 5 Leagues from the Borderlands (5LFTBL) and 5 Parsecs from Home (5PFH). Both RPG campaigning systems just right for solo play or where the opposing enemy on the tabletop could be controlled by another.

I'm lucky in that I have a lot of figures now so the 5LFTBL would be quite an easy fit into my wargaming world. That's not to say I wouldn't need the odd figure here or there. Possibly. Probably.

But I like to fill time painting figures and it is an enjoyable pastime in itself so it is quite likely I'll purchase some others to keep busy.

I was looking forward to getting 5LFTBL for my birthday, which has just gone and is now in my possession! That is a great start.

I've decided to start a new blog solely for 5LFTBL (Khusru's 5 Leagues from the Borderlands) and likely to do the same for 5 Parsecs from Home in the near future

And I've just bought a sprue of Stargrave Troopers (Northstar Miniatures, northstarfigures) off eBay. These can easily pose as police or government troops. I'm not going to buy a whole box of anything other than for the crew, likely opponents can be cobbled together from the other 16 or so figures. Or not. I've just ordered two robot figures. Specialists and civilians will likely be needed. Or they can be alluded to if I don't fancy going fully down that route. As above, I like to paint to fill time so it is likely I'll NEED them.

There is always something surprising coming down the road.

Thanks' for visiting.

 

CIA Museum

 Hi!

I just read an article on the BBC website about the CIA Museum at Langley. A restricted museum. The article had blanked out pictures but I Googled CIA Museum and found out a little more about it.

One extraordinary piece of information was that special forces engaged in cavalry charges. Can anyone confirm this from other sources? Well, you know the reputation of the CIA for misdirection, right?

And does anyone do special forces on horseback with an M46 or M48? Bizarre much?

As the saying goes ;- You learn something new every day.

Cheers!

The Silver Bayonet

 Hi!

Two new figures to add to my F&IW Silver Bayonet monster range.

These two are from First Nations mythology so should fit right in.

Flying Head 

and the Wendigo

As gruesome a pair as you are likely to find in your nightmares!

I was really pleased to find some pre-European folklore figures though I wish there were a couple more. I am undecided about Skin-Walkers or the Deer Lady both of which could be portrayed as animal figures.

I'll keep searching I think.

Thanks' for dropping by.

Don't Look Back!

 Hi!

I'm blessed. I saw this game on Guerrilla Miniature Games on YT (Don't Look Back) or Black Site Studios (blacksitestudio.com) and liked the look of it. It is similar in some ways to 7TV in that is played like a film. With plots and markers to investigate.

The game comes boxed with figures, rules and accessories. Any scenics/terrain will need to be purchased though many may have the basics of trees, rocks even buildings they can use rather than buying the proffered offerings on the website.

It is in the horror genre so not for the young IMHO.

Here are a few pictures of the cast:-

The cast of innocent teenagers

The deranged, evil killer

There is a choice of heads and weapons for the killer. Not so for the characters


From the expansion Blackhearts. Why not call it a sequel? There are figures only in the expansion. There are further scenarios you can purchase from the website. 

The twins, allegedly on the side of good

Three more allegedly on the side of good

Yet to play a game. I have more The Silver Bayonet and Sell Swords and Spell Slingers to game yet but time spent painting is never wasted. And I rather enjoy painting these days.

And there are some Napoleonic French cavalry from Heroics and Ros to finish also.

Happy days!

The Silver Bayonet-The Investigation, F&IW style

 Hi!

This is my first game of The Silver Bayonet using my French and Indian Wars figures.

The unfortunate consequences of people invading your lands is they, unwittingly, bring spirits and folklore creatures from their own lands. There are people who try to contain the mischief and evil of these spirits and creatures.

SP=speed; MEL=melee, ACC=accuracy with weapon, DEF=defence, COUR=courage, H=health

The parties:-

The Spirit Watch (All have native scout ability)

Sachem, Walks with wind - SP6, MEL2, ACC+1, DEF14, COUR3, H3

Abilities-supernatural veteran, unflappable,

Equipment:- Special-cold shot, silver shot, silver weapon (tomahawk)

General - Musket & cartridge box.

Champion of Faith x 1 = 20  Spirit Talker - SP6,MEL+0, ACC+0, DEF13,  COUR+2, H12

Abilities-miracles, supernatural veteran, 

Equipment - General-hand weapon

Veteran Hunter x 1 - 30 Black Hawk - SP6, MEL+2, ACC+2, DEF14, COUR+0, H12

Abilities-inspiring

Equipment - Special-cold iron weapon (spear), silver weapon (tomahawk)

General-hand weapon

Walks with Wind, Spirit Talker and Black Hawk

Native Scout x 5 =50pts Great Elk, Running Water, Leaps like Fish, Grey Cloud, White Wolf

SP6,MEL+1, ACC+1, DEF13,  COUR+2, H12

Great Elk, Running Water, Leaps like Fish, Grey Cloud and White Wolf

The Colonial Commission

The Special Commissioner - Major Walkden (rtd) - SP6,MEL+1, ACC+2, DEF14, CPOR3 H13

Abilities - Hard to put down, Inspiring

 Equipment -Special-Cold iron shot, silver shot.

General - Two pistols

Supernatural Investigator 1 x 22 - Thomas Holland - SP6, MEL+2, ACC+1, DEF14, COUR+0, H12

Abilities - Supernatural veteran, monster expert

Equipment - Heavy weapon, pistol

Irregular 1 x 15 Gordon Isherwood - SP6, MEL+1, ACC+1, DEF12, COUR+0, H10

Maj. Walkden, Thomas Holland and Gordon Isherwood

Junior officer 1 x 22 Lt Oliver Cromwell - SP6, MEL+2, ACC+1, DEF13, COUR+2, H12

Abilities - Unflappable

Equipment- Sword, 2 pistols

Infantrymen 3 x 10 = 30  Jubal  Houghton, Michael Sutcliffe, Jeremiah Jones

SP6, MEL+1, ACC+1, DEF13, COUR+0 H10

Equipment - musket and cartridge box

Lt. O. Cromwell, Jubal Houghton, Michael Sutcliffe and Jeremiah Jones

And after the game when writing this is when I realised The Commission were one man short. I had it down as 4 infantrymen but only played 3. Ah! well, perhaps he was sick that day. It may have changed the game but it's too late now. This is how it went:-

The Colonial Commission start point

The Spirit Watch start point

The Spirit Watch move first

End of turn one

The Special Commissioner, Thomas Holland and Jeremiah Jones move towards the cover of the cabin. Jeremiah Jones takes the first shot and misses Grey Cloud. He shoots back and misses. When his turn came White Wolf shot at The Special Commissioner, and missed.

Spirit Talker finds the first clue

Jubal Houghton finds the second

Gordon Isherwood using his woodcraft abilities to move up on the left flank. Oliver Cromwell, Jubal Houghton and Michael Sutcliffe in the corral.

Grey Cloud and White Wolf at the bottom in the rough area,

The main group of the Spirit Watch around the second corral.

Jeremiah Jones heading off to the cornfield in the distance

Grey Cloud finds the third, horrifying, clue. He takes a courage test and passes.

Gordon Isherwood shoots at him and misses.

Out behind the cabin Jeremiah Jones finds a gruesome scene, takes a courage test and passes. Later, he moves round the back of the cabin and hits Spirit Talker who retreats behind the corral fence.

The shooting hasn't been effective so far apart from Spirit Walker's injury.

The Spirit Watch have moved through or around the corral. The Colonial Commission was pretty static preferring to shoot where possible, not hitting anything due mainly to cover.

Oliver Cromwell makes a dash for the final clue but Leaps like Fish is faster and reaches it first. He finds the reason for the investigation and passes his courage test.

The goblin

Sachem takes a shot

Walks with Wind shoots and hits (8 damage!)

The Goblin charges Leaps Like Fish but swerves towards Oliver Cromwell (used monster die). He defends well with his sword, but suffers a wound. But rescue comes from an unlikely source.

White Wolf shoots and hits

Meanwhile, White wolf shoots and hits Gordon Isherwood, who is badly injured. 

He returns fire

Gordon Isherwood returns fire and hits White Wolf.

Next turn Grey Cloud makes the fatal shot and Isherwood falls.

Jubal Houghton scores a hit on White Wolf.

And he takes a hit from White Wolf and ducks behind the cabin

The Special Commissioner and Thomas Holland had shot at Leaps Like Fish with their pistols so he retreated to the cover of the cabin uninjured. He takes a shot at the Goblin and kills it. It saves Oliver Cromwell, for a moment

After retreating from the rough ground White Wolf and Grey Cloud join Walks with Wind. The injured Oliver Cromwell is shot down.

Grey Cloud and White wolf shoot at Thomas Holland

and he goes down.

Three men down the Colonial Commission retreats to lick their wounds.

It was a good game. I had tried a solo scenario with one unit but found that unsatisfactory. The Watch just stood off and shot the zombies. This was a much better game even though I was gaming solo.

The funny thing was Spirit Talker and Black Hawk had no black powder weapons so would have needed to be very close to throw them or use them in melee. I put the range at 6 inches, 3/4 of pistol range. Neither chanced it!

I had to check on the Lead Adventure Forum regarding the rule for making a monster move or attack something other than the nearest model. The wording didn't make it clear to me at first. I had an answer which fitted my, eventual, guess at what it meant. Where in some instances it means throw a die again to get a better result, in this it means relinquish one die and move the monster as required.

The Spirit Watch gained 7 XP. Walks with Wind gave 1XP to each member.

Oliver Cromwell and Gordon Isherwood's wounds were more superficial then serious and both recovered. Thomas Holland was interred in the Special Commission's graveyard in Salem,  Commonwealth of Massachusetts. God save the King!

Hope you enjoyed that little trip to the northern backwoods of the colonies.

Sell Swords and Spell Slingers/Forbidden Lands

 Hi!

Continuation of my SS&SS/FL campaign.

The party stayed a while in Lorimer. (Abbreviated story)

Halfdan learning the Merchants Trade,

Old Tom bought a Shield and Sword

Batilde learned Horde Fighting

Sigilla Bought a scroll to Protect Others and a Sword. She also learned the spell.

The party had heard the tale of an Elven Ruby said to be in a ruined monastery north east of Lorimer, beyond the The Shroud. No one actually knew what an Elven Ruby was like, or how much it would be worth. The tale was a little short on how it had been acquired. 

They thought it worth their while to venture and see what else might be valuable there. The bit about Ogres was a bit vague. Weren't they solitary creatures? Not very nimble?

Equipped for a long trip they set out. 

The route avoided the The Shroud, a dense wood rumoured to contain a dungeon and many evil beasts. Best not to take too many chances.

They espied the wood 14 days later after a largely uneventful journey. Camping outside without a fire lest it attract unwelcome attention, they spent a cool night resting. Sleeping in turns.

For this game the ruin is an old monastery.

The wandering monsters are Ogres using the Green Goblin statistics, or single Wolfkin (as detailed below), with alteration for damage and treasure.

DL12; HP 6, Dam 1, 

Ogre treasure:-

Roll 1 D6

1= Artefact,  2-5= 2xD6 SP, 6=Potion then roll 1D6 for SP

Wandering Monsters  (Ogres, only 2 on the table at any one time. When two on a single Wolfkin is a wandering monster)

Ambush (Wolfkin, in this case Knolls, using Orc statistics)

DL8; HP1, DAM1, SP1D6+1

Let us continue:-

The interior of the monastery

The party looking from the treeline at their target

Two further views of the monastery

Sigilla races ahead before any Ogres show up

Old Tom Ambushed! Halfdan sees something in the bushes and finds a bag of coins worth 12SP

Sigilla in the monastery, searching. The Ogre appears

Old Tom and Halfdan try to outfox the ogre by going round the well. He is smarter than the average Ogre and cuts across

Batilde takes on the Ogre as another enters the field.

Sigilla is attacked by a Wolfkin and kills it. She finds a potion of Spell Enhancement. One gulp of potion later and she's up for anything! She spies the ruby on the statue and goes to retrieve it. Old Tom joins her in the monastery. She is attacked by another Wolfkin and Old Tom kills it, finding 2 SP in its jerkin. 

Meanwhile, Batilde and Halfdan cut the Ogre down. Halfdan searches the body and finds an artefact. Queen Agatha's Twin Tablets. Then another Ogre shows up, but too far away to intervene.

The party exits the wood slipping away as fast and silently as possible.

This was a somewhat quieter affair than the last two outings. Three Ogres and three Wolfkin. Luckily only one Ogre and three Wolfkin to fight. The statistics for an Ogres is quite intimidating. Having too many on the table would have been overwhelming I think. 

The party were lucky in the first couple of turns having no adversaries and were able to move into the middle and past the half way line without major obstacles.

They were also lucky in the fact no hordes appeared. The cards being kind to them this time.

Not only that but Sigilla's luck in finding a useful potion for herself will help enormously. I drew a card from the deck at random. Spells work!

You may notice the green counters with skulls on them. I punched these out of some old White Dwarfs I flicked through before throwing them out. I used them to denote both a killing and unsearched bodies. Useful objects to have.

The Ogres were form the The Ogre Horde, part of the old Heroquest board game. There are 7 of them in the box!

Now all the party have to do is go back to Lorimer, or travel on to who knows where and find out what an Elven Ruby does or is worth. Also find out what Queen Agatha's Tablets are for. Two tablets with the same exact wording. Starnge.