tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89115863766398175742024-02-19T01:43:42.697-08:00War In A BoxWarren Aboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671897478928823164noreply@blogger.comBlogger738125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-12348306910780315052021-09-30T03:30:00.003-07:002021-09-30T03:30:00.193-07:00The Great MigrationOne way or another, this blog is not long for the world.<div>The great and powerful Goog is a capricious and fickle technical wizard.</div><div>To cut him off at the knees, I've been dual-posting content both here and <a href="http://jonmollison.com/">over at my personal blog</a>.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfbWDsxPXIxvzuxrZphy2k0ci1APe5t5WOFIq1AIoswZO2zr_Exxt3sABYp6Qc51cZ-WeATlHsXeBHjHm9ncmMZeAPfA1AORR4DP5LXDy2VK51XR2gYRnfba2ItSEjWCS3Gr5HP9EyaJj/s1291/header1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="1291" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfbWDsxPXIxvzuxrZphy2k0ci1APe5t5WOFIq1AIoswZO2zr_Exxt3sABYp6Qc51cZ-WeATlHsXeBHjHm9ncmMZeAPfA1AORR4DP5LXDy2VK51XR2gYRnfba2ItSEjWCS3Gr5HP9EyaJj/w400-h109/header1.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div>I'll leave this blog up as it is to help prevent link-rot. There's a lot of good stuff here, and there's no reason for me to wipe it out. If it disappears without notice, you'll know it wasn't me.</div><div><br /></div><br /><div>Many of you might not follow. That's understandable. </div><div>No hard feelings, my firend.</div><div>Good gaming.</div>Warren Aboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671897478928823164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-80006697453794519032021-09-23T22:52:00.000-07:002021-09-23T22:52:00.216-07:00Black Ops: Trouble With the Guards<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One thing about "Black Ops" that still gives me pause is the concept of 'raising the alarm'. In one sense the game has dual-states; either the defenders are unaware of intruders or they are not. Unless individuals become aware, and then the question arises of what it takes to raise the alert for everyone. My understanding is that the first guy to be alerted can wake the leader, who then moves about unaware of threats unless he passes an observation check.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimAonQlN8uK-FdIWo5ajXq-_Mdthyphenhyphenq7eGotGeQSo_ey3AjaHTAhUHVmabyePkizUrYExscxerbo6lpj3PyF1F_Lr3vN3WZFFFkR2fbgP2f9NBCLQ9o8XnFdR6MzmVPLc6Riw3lxQWlrA/s1200/boog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1200" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimAonQlN8uK-FdIWo5ajXq-_Mdthyphenhyphenq7eGotGeQSo_ey3AjaHTAhUHVmabyePkizUrYExscxerbo6lpj3PyF1F_Lr3vN3WZFFFkR2fbgP2f9NBCLQ9o8XnFdR6MzmVPLc6Riw3lxQWlrA/s320/boog1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>That leaves a lot of activations in play where the attackers can set up a nice little ambush. Three-quarters of the defenders are stuck in their house or off-board. It tilts things really heavily in favor of the the attackers, and it is only when you have an objective buried deep inside a building or the attackers have the poor luck to find their objective on the last marker on the board that things balance out.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiibEgjikBDRcdbvW2y0uLqhaaGfJjOgXGcwtCgFPv6wCMXfBYYhTXV4A04gKrkrHsTkg3KUeD98YIGQgUDcvk285wGRdSb16pUo4phe1r8uUqSu9iKwyDBSQ5kNYpfwEU8j6s6Qopng/s1200/boog2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiibEgjikBDRcdbvW2y0uLqhaaGfJjOgXGcwtCgFPv6wCMXfBYYhTXV4A04gKrkrHsTkg3KUeD98YIGQgUDcvk285wGRdSb16pUo4phe1r8uUqSu9iKwyDBSQ5kNYpfwEU8j6s6Qopng/s320/boog2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Which they might in the long run, but on the short run it can make for some seriously short games.<div>But then, I guess that requires a lot of luck on the part of the attackers, and is perfectly in keeping with the source material.<br /><br /><p></p></div>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-47519902702271091122021-09-21T12:20:00.004-07:002021-09-21T12:20:00.196-07:00GADD About Miniature Wargames<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hi, everyone. My name is Jon, and I suffer from Gamer ADD.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsDT2dddgGXI8C3iIcgGpq6YMGq6MA_H3YILIAy0mmortBdb4UZcKDo-x0rGi2jbf66fXWrH5pwnIJrL9WSC5yApPok2hbC4aTWoeLlqHyvPAjYDPxsHIZfYzH1ewUIS9zZXb3kDacQ/s680/nap2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="680" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJsDT2dddgGXI8C3iIcgGpq6YMGq6MA_H3YILIAy0mmortBdb4UZcKDo-x0rGi2jbf66fXWrH5pwnIJrL9WSC5yApPok2hbC4aTWoeLlqHyvPAjYDPxsHIZfYzH1ewUIS9zZXb3kDacQ/s320/nap2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>Well, not so much 'suffer from', as 'revel in'.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIIcJX8uQp5FeyiXMmqruzxPJO02FW7PlvKtGkdP5wJmDj50R4Xejy4oSeWTbCvNSn-ZEnxt4eWhweofhGWLyfnUBuuk4eQnykFTxcVvnP63wlbIAn4X63h9bSEfjehC3vsOe65o52w/s680/nap3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="680" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIIcJX8uQp5FeyiXMmqruzxPJO02FW7PlvKtGkdP5wJmDj50R4Xejy4oSeWTbCvNSn-ZEnxt4eWhweofhGWLyfnUBuuk4eQnykFTxcVvnP63wlbIAn4X63h9bSEfjehC3vsOe65o52w/s320/nap3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>How can you not, when we have the pleasure of being born in the right time and at the right place to enjoy this late-stage golden-age of the hobby? And yet I find myself looking back to Tradition, and taking up the challenge of Napoleonics. These French light infantry need some grass on the field and maybe a flag but are otherwise ready to play ball. A small unit of seven gives them a lot of flexibility and just enough punch to keep the Redcoats hopping.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Hj_rIjTSMQZAkI9sO54VGDS4ojZmtRKZjJBiLYjay6cp7CbGPqyIXsXDVaWKOUBCDJbYGVvOVGxw6yOWxcM0pMkVl565xTk97PcWjFhfEfMrwRIaMwh5PZ0fv1uo3149kAtTclXAxA/s2048/nap4.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="2048" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Hj_rIjTSMQZAkI9sO54VGDS4ojZmtRKZjJBiLYjay6cp7CbGPqyIXsXDVaWKOUBCDJbYGVvOVGxw6yOWxcM0pMkVl565xTk97PcWjFhfEfMrwRIaMwh5PZ0fv1uo3149kAtTclXAxA/s320/nap4.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>As reported before, I'm getting deep into Osprey's "Chosen Men" and finding it a fun little throwback. It's been called a Warhammer knock-off, and I can't speak to that except to say that the game is just a lot of fun. It allows for a lot of customization for that sweet off-table fun of army building, uses a tidy alternating activation system, and doesn't suffer when you ignore fairly sizable chunks of the command rules. Seriously, some of the order stuff takes a long time to wrap your head around, and the game remains just as fun even without those rules.<div><br /><div>One minor nit-pick - the lists assume you're building troops in increments of either five or ten, and swapping out fighters for standard bearers, buglers, and trumpeteers. Eh. I pro-rate the costs and use units of whatever size I have on hand. If that means a unit of seven figures on one side and nine on the other, so be it. As long as the points generally work out, it's all good.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=seagrisi-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1472810805&asins=1472810805&linkId=c97c9e52b9539664287e80065bfb7f6d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><div>Let's close with a bit more art. These foot dragoons will never see the back of a horse - Chosen Men operates at too small and furious a scale to allow for the business of dismounting, horse wrangling, and whatnot. But they will show up as hardy skirmish types ready to seize ground and hold until relieved. Like the paratroopers of the day, they dive deep into the enemy territory and embed themselves like an Alabama tick, and the look so much better while doing so. Normally fielded in units of five, as with the rest of the units in this game, I allow for larger troops to get the most out of my collection.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_DrIrNEjx0R4DLTsiKyJWVavMHBWU09gWhYgx8c1_6URaasgsyxQnZpeJQQPyikDsR2t9IIVm_TO3YDq5lsirAbwkXkrZAXaELUiHsdcNPeQpjRnzzxLyG0Tw_G80Na0UMZUp7rlSw/s2556/nap5.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="2556" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_DrIrNEjx0R4DLTsiKyJWVavMHBWU09gWhYgx8c1_6URaasgsyxQnZpeJQQPyikDsR2t9IIVm_TO3YDq5lsirAbwkXkrZAXaELUiHsdcNPeQpjRnzzxLyG0Tw_G80Na0UMZUp7rlSw/s320/nap5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p></div></div></div>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-68012232439304759452021-09-19T12:07:00.001-07:002021-09-19T12:07:00.200-07:00The Littlest Big Igloo<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Back in the day, at the height of the Cold War, cloak and dagger battles were deadly earnest affairs, with only the rare example of a Get Smart to lighten the mood. Today is no different, with the added frisson of a clandestine asymmetric war waged by entrenched forces against a beleaguered and largely leaderless resistance. Into such weighty matters and ray of humor must shine, and here we have my tongue-in-cheek campaign wherein the forces of CONTROL and KAOS are played by Hapless Control Freaks and a Well Meaning but Poorly Led Herd of Cats. You can decide which is which for yourself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here, we have the Black Hats infiltrating a small, rural airport on the hunt for Very Important Financial records that take the form of rare Pokemon cards. Black Ops involves more status tokens on the board than I really like, but they speed play and I'm less inclined to obsess over "visual appeal is everything" than in my younger years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6TrbEU35DDYpFUSLx2GTZ0KoyghER7qpDzurvxqn3WsPC_-KjfAa-ZNJaTxUpvCVjWIlL7l8Iar0brNlxebGGXArOa2Hn0vF_Vb8IfKV0VtPMFp4P3feqjgtagc9XyLozDzJ6_KslQ/s1270/miniboog3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1270" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6TrbEU35DDYpFUSLx2GTZ0KoyghER7qpDzurvxqn3WsPC_-KjfAa-ZNJaTxUpvCVjWIlL7l8Iar0brNlxebGGXArOa2Hn0vF_Vb8IfKV0VtPMFp4P3feqjgtagc9XyLozDzJ6_KslQ/s320/miniboog3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The leader of the Black Hats, Very Special Agent Ray Getard, takes aim at an airport guard from the corner of a field office. The resin terrain came from <a href="https://gcmini.mybigcommerce.com/">GameCraft Miniatures</a> and they offer a set of three different models for $16.00. Not a bad price for the kind of terrain you can drop into a variety of settings. They work for everything from 1950s Africa through modern, post-apocalypse, and well into the future.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI65UiHXV-4NypjnB3TCF5619xtZWgeO0h22-QkxTToHu3VvVeyNPm2CHsi5cKym0nVPnhunekvs4nwPAn96BENriRi6V6u5ot-kCI7_IkUvC3vVbvx73J6BYV4Twg_xR1Z78Iql9rBg/s900/miniboog2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="900" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI65UiHXV-4NypjnB3TCF5619xtZWgeO0h22-QkxTToHu3VvVeyNPm2CHsi5cKym0nVPnhunekvs4nwPAn96BENriRi6V6u5ot-kCI7_IkUvC3vVbvx73J6BYV4Twg_xR1Z78Iql9rBg/s320/miniboog2.png" width="320" /></a></div>And here's a group shot of our plucky resistance. The guy in the cowboy hat is charismatic leader Ron Wildcard, and for the first time in a short stealth-campaign, he has managed to get his hands on not just an RPG, but a guy who knows how to use it without blowing off his own head.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yXeMSN0hrRw6Dn9N-E4JOVSdHFUKsab5wf5LEbbx9PCn4PZSq_SmRF-oPxx5drBGdtLzhe7DUcDvdWNxyu5mWa-YOVabDYV1LvUKkeiELu6jPcwbjwblE2ozLMN-Zyh8acOtRSDA2Q/s1200/miniboog1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yXeMSN0hrRw6Dn9N-E4JOVSdHFUKsab5wf5LEbbx9PCn4PZSq_SmRF-oPxx5drBGdtLzhe7DUcDvdWNxyu5mWa-YOVabDYV1LvUKkeiELu6jPcwbjwblE2ozLMN-Zyh8acOtRSDA2Q/s320/miniboog1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>The campaign has really helped maintain my interest in this ruleset, which <a href="http://warinabox.blogspot.com/search/label/black%20ops">I've discussed at length elsewhere</a>. Just good stuff, man.<br /> <p></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-17983258348732282442021-09-16T12:07:00.002-07:002021-09-16T12:07:18.095-07:00A Pirate Looks at Wasted Years<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRNgVE0K4TuzNDGOOkF91c6MO2x0477spuizRxDWyJ4wmjyYCJE5fOWy0s_UwFNCoCza635AOcwUc6MPfkRcLecG57pOblYgA598RdhbtpQZKEZsiDx-vWXNBN6rZC6cfwqpBJr85CA/s2048/boats5.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="2048" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRNgVE0K4TuzNDGOOkF91c6MO2x0477spuizRxDWyJ4wmjyYCJE5fOWy0s_UwFNCoCza635AOcwUc6MPfkRcLecG57pOblYgA598RdhbtpQZKEZsiDx-vWXNBN6rZC6cfwqpBJr85CA/s320/boats5.jpeg" width="320" /></a>On its surface, Osprey's "<a href="https://amzn.to/3EpemCx">Fighting Sail</a>" is a simple bucket-o-dice pool game, with a breezy little wind-gauge mechanic. I'm finding that the simplifications necessary to allow for fleet actions turn the chore of managing the wind into a real pleasure. This game plays so fast and easy that I struggle to put it down. For years I played spaceship battles that amount to the same sort of game minus the wind-gauge and now I'm wondering...why?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgD03doB-puCE-Z-ck6h_wd7xgk73rWT2mIj71eNYOnVvPo3iAJs_3qUbUPKcV58ifdS_AxjJKPG9J55rZ2GbzT4qt5q2PEU-oDW-nQJprSAA6l8Ls3EnHYZBF9EZ_c9MUTrEzDb2Opg/s1408/boats1.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1408" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgD03doB-puCE-Z-ck6h_wd7xgk73rWT2mIj71eNYOnVvPo3iAJs_3qUbUPKcV58ifdS_AxjJKPG9J55rZ2GbzT4qt5q2PEU-oDW-nQJprSAA6l8Ls3EnHYZBF9EZ_c9MUTrEzDb2Opg/s320/boats1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>The ships from <a href="http://www.tumblingdiceuk.com/">Tumbling Dice</a> - I opted for 1:2400 scale for reasons of cost and portability - have the heft necessary to give this game its tactile satisfaction, and paint up with all the same techniques as human sized figures. They have been a delight to add to the collection and take up very little room on the shelf. Dressing the table for battle couldn't be any easier. You just drop the cloth and you're done. Sure, you can add shoals and fog banks and other such fun, but you don't have to.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dABzj7b5dTK-67W8ELdj4rtD9JffXQNCvjUetKI6-Bs6vrmWgLD8sup7QPm1YbtVDgb8HFaFUA5SIYHyrNR5SutVD6i-Q6Ams7IwKnphEXgNd5RlCABQ3UBsYL_RRCPEJiK8giBpqg/s2727/boats4.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="2727" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dABzj7b5dTK-67W8ELdj4rtD9JffXQNCvjUetKI6-Bs6vrmWgLD8sup7QPm1YbtVDgb8HFaFUA5SIYHyrNR5SutVD6i-Q6Ams7IwKnphEXgNd5RlCABQ3UBsYL_RRCPEJiK8giBpqg/s320/boats4.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>Speaking of...here's a look at the terrain that I've put together to add just a little more dimension to the game. Shown here with a 15mm Napoleonic figure for scale. This island is nothing more than the core of a 10-mm thick piece of foam-core shaved to suit my taste, mounted on a 5-mm thick baseboard, and covered with a layer of glue and sand. The houses are just balsa wood cut into the right shape, and then a layer of flock and shrubs/trees scattered about.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIftCT14R4CZ1gMXzofsD9bV5u3QH6KoUQw59DaCSioptVKPVK-J_cramYZ7einXRpJGqU-eNG8wXlM97r25Ay-8ClHnSUXvKbjzvebNVZzN5SsSlljHVFTug99zOIo0h6RMvkIElpA/s2677/boats2.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="2677" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIftCT14R4CZ1gMXzofsD9bV5u3QH6KoUQw59DaCSioptVKPVK-J_cramYZ7einXRpJGqU-eNG8wXlM97r25Ay-8ClHnSUXvKbjzvebNVZzN5SsSlljHVFTug99zOIo0h6RMvkIElpA/s320/boats2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>Once painted, they look incredible, and now the ships have something more substantial than smaller ships to hide behind. All six islands in the collection took a single two-hour session to make and maybe twenty minutes total to paint. It's really just that easy, and if you're gaming in 1:2400, you have a lot of options for pre-cast terrain from <a href="https://www.picoarmor.com/">PicoArmor </a>and <a href="http://www.tumblingdiceuk.com/">Tumbling Dice</a>. You can find docks, piers, coastal forts, lighthouses, pretty much anything you need to make your table your own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYweSjZMWvarmGLxIDTJPOZJZULLSwzh5uHBY_4_SNUZsLIvrhKbexBNOujAOVFqeDT63K37KSHhbqZkk9w0ducAD2hEcTrqu3suQsWhUJzJsSSshlk-jE6UcQ5JIzI-VJIMzH3KvaDw/s2710/boats3.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="2710" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYweSjZMWvarmGLxIDTJPOZJZULLSwzh5uHBY_4_SNUZsLIvrhKbexBNOujAOVFqeDT63K37KSHhbqZkk9w0ducAD2hEcTrqu3suQsWhUJzJsSSshlk-jE6UcQ5JIzI-VJIMzH3KvaDw/s320/boats3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>For about a hundred bucks I've assembled not just two fleets - each with five or six ships of the line and twice that number of frigates - but also a small pirate fleet and an in-shore squadron of fireships and bomb rafts. If nothing else, these make a great entry into a side of the miniature wargaming hobby that I put off for far too long.JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-86424326464121172052021-09-10T13:04:00.002-07:002021-09-10T13:04:30.088-07:00Clever Scenario Design<p>Wargaming videos make a fine soundtrack for painting sessions, and every once in a while you stumble across a bit of genius you can't wait to steal. T<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIM35j1W9yw&t=7s">his wonderful battle report</a> from House of Hengist Comics Wargaming Channel struck me as a novel sort of game, and one of those rare scenarios that I've never played. It's a WWII fight, a little slice of Market Garden fought using Flames of War, but at it's core is a very different sort of scenario than the usual 'line 'em up and crash into each other'. As ever, we can take the ball from Hengist and run with in a direction more suited to our own style and purpose.</p><p>The basic idea is a race for an objective as shown here. Two forces running parallel to each other, both seeking to claim an objective at the far end of the table. The center line of the table is broken by terrain that blocks movement and line of sight, with only one or two breaks to allow for that all-important tactical decision tree. Here, we've got a Napoleonic skirmish that pits two equal sized forces, both entering the table from the west.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UvqEixZ5FcvC0kHDpEPJc2LMcZq5sONhN5W6oGDN0W7tfCa25LE7zArTSSZkO36n91DGJrQ6PpUTGnhDb0ffAhPx7zW6uWmYB1wwjpmSe2xq7J94MYrh-p193JG_M9Pn_PYpBsaITw/s1200/scen1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UvqEixZ5FcvC0kHDpEPJc2LMcZq5sONhN5W6oGDN0W7tfCa25LE7zArTSSZkO36n91DGJrQ6PpUTGnhDb0ffAhPx7zW6uWmYB1wwjpmSe2xq7J94MYrh-p193JG_M9Pn_PYpBsaITw/s320/scen1.png" width="320" /></a></div><div>On this much simplified level, the major decision point arises from the question of whether to waste time and resources seizing the bridge and perhaps cutting the enemy's forces in half, or fully commit everything to grabbing the fields to the east. The enclosed fields are rough terrain, and not well-suited for cavalry maneuvers, adding the complication that the units on each side that can get there first are not the best for holding onto that ground.</div><div><br /></div><div>To complicate matters, and this might have been a wrinkle too many, I held one (random) unit in reserve on both sides of the fight. That uncertainty adds additional weight to the choice of whether to drive across the bridge, given the increased probability of cutting the enemy's forces or at least delaying any reinforcements long enough to allow your other forces to dig-in for the delayed counter-attack.</div><div><br /></div><div>No spoilers. To find out how the fight went, you'll have to check out the channel later this month when the play-through video of this "Chosen Men" scenario goes live. For now, you'll have to settle for some pretty shots of the fancy lads in their fighting gear.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYmwBh3L6PQ5tiByyBQJQG7Ff9x4IplZ-_5ghw3jCe0RVLDrZoDcTeOUgtQPIUwoVwmdKSh4W5x5REdgxrRH_SN0ugWjFs7rFGsCcG5BabmiTwM-Q7FjzUewULEwo0WsYxxlgo7-9eQ/s1200/scen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="1200" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYmwBh3L6PQ5tiByyBQJQG7Ff9x4IplZ-_5ghw3jCe0RVLDrZoDcTeOUgtQPIUwoVwmdKSh4W5x5REdgxrRH_SN0ugWjFs7rFGsCcG5BabmiTwM-Q7FjzUewULEwo0WsYxxlgo7-9eQ/s320/scen2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Yeah, I used a post-it note to mark the British Major. Some day I'll have a reliable printer or get around to painting up a suitable flag on my own. Some day.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEh_5DOAvBF8UjB0TMqRRbrPzE2k0N4DyfHyfsAoCsYPDXzKHrhPhp7YgblegqV9tf9MXz_PiSwLl_ZWN0qYfPVjdfxo4bDo8rUVTLNmo9TvhfQfCIVsi3dgyXIieODwGYl1HFSRPusQ/s1200/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1200" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEh_5DOAvBF8UjB0TMqRRbrPzE2k0N4DyfHyfsAoCsYPDXzKHrhPhp7YgblegqV9tf9MXz_PiSwLl_ZWN0qYfPVjdfxo4bDo8rUVTLNmo9TvhfQfCIVsi3dgyXIieODwGYl1HFSRPusQ/s320/Untitled.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Okay, slight spoiler for those who know "Chosen Men" - that cannon rolled snake eyes while trying to thin the redcoat herd to the north. This is too nice of a picture not to memorialize here.<br /><p><br /></p></div>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-77381396819783911112021-09-05T11:35:00.001-07:002021-09-05T11:35:00.194-07:00Gaslands - A Few Thoughts On City Streets<p> My Gaslands set up is a little unusual in that all my fights take place on the streets of Midville, USA.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwRKtMJh6Cg_hpE2xA6fcj4flurgRH8W5q9MNJ9oJr5MjIlriUKN9lkE2zqVKMVyVjQ1b9qeb5VQtKuFpaObVZZoewu58CIYYkT_QGPMLRp0iWDRAJZer-rsyCHh3oF6tZXF5-JNZKA/s1200/gaslands1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1200" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwRKtMJh6Cg_hpE2xA6fcj4flurgRH8W5q9MNJ9oJr5MjIlriUKN9lkE2zqVKMVyVjQ1b9qeb5VQtKuFpaObVZZoewu58CIYYkT_QGPMLRp0iWDRAJZer-rsyCHh3oF6tZXF5-JNZKA/s320/gaslands1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This leads to two big differences between the games shown on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/thejoyofwargaming">The Joy of Wargaming</a> and most other videos - two differences that largely balance each other out. For one thing, driving on city-streets means that your car has a lot more opportunity to push its luck and re-roll skid dice. Not always, but often enough that my games feature a lot more driving between Wipe Out checks than most other games.<div><br /></div><div>Notice, however, that the existence of parking lots, sidewalks, and grassy areas means that enough areas remain "rough going" that players have to consider their routes a few moves head lest they lost that advantage of the free Luck Push. Sometimes it makes sense to eat the roll to get a better line of attack, and that leads to significantly more interesting tactical choices than a dirt lot with a few obstacles.<br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqChOWCSgtcyVvvkfVSK82YcZ6jSWeTNXgxlLtQoscXEBTnDHpwkKgctpVV55tQ5-HNg3j5mih1fX_zEgDJI4tS98F3K99co3zxBeaoboVnwvVdgD5BzhQLQHXirlAmIXs3GbfBRDmIw/s1200/gaslands2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="1200" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqChOWCSgtcyVvvkfVSK82YcZ6jSWeTNXgxlLtQoscXEBTnDHpwkKgctpVV55tQ5-HNg3j5mih1fX_zEgDJI4tS98F3K99co3zxBeaoboVnwvVdgD5BzhQLQHXirlAmIXs3GbfBRDmIw/s320/gaslands2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>On the other hand, this is balanced out by the necessarily narrow city streets. The tight confines and limited drivable space makes all the Luck Pushing not just a luxury but a necessity. If you want to get the right line at the right time, you're going to need both Spin and Slide results at the right time, and you're going to need to keep a tight lid on the number of hazard tokens on your car to keep those options available.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's not exactly a different game, but it's a whole different way of playing the game. And it's one rich with possibilites that I high recommend to any aficionado of the sweet science of vehicular mayhem.</div><div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrl6Szf8Pen3izlbmcFamPjhuuI2pzq908sQuxsZhlNYqTO3s3JYZazOM2Cc_2jl-CZkjGG6lyyOYyiC3mwrmoXHcYOyPNAkWTbLk35h8JVy7CnVOeOkKl0lLIiXbN5MX2QYY9dPp-_w/s1200/Gaslands3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1200" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrl6Szf8Pen3izlbmcFamPjhuuI2pzq908sQuxsZhlNYqTO3s3JYZazOM2Cc_2jl-CZkjGG6lyyOYyiC3mwrmoXHcYOyPNAkWTbLk35h8JVy7CnVOeOkKl0lLIiXbN5MX2QYY9dPp-_w/s320/Gaslands3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Drivers and pedestrians alike!</p></div></div>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-57166330919997100692021-09-03T05:42:00.001-07:002021-09-03T05:42:00.187-07:00On FIghting Sail<p> What a fun little game from Osprey's blue book series.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiheXsKNy8RA-HmzwhoQaXmhzxql8BH7oOo1iyI0oTBIgIRhJeJKuOpKg7CfGgjHHiU5WrUDTwn-tAFnMhy0crZ0JfaeE7GiD_Q4A8-Gr0bpkZzx1oYawyAmwZXjDkvIwdgwmBM45Lqbg/s1200/fighting+sail.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1200" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiheXsKNy8RA-HmzwhoQaXmhzxql8BH7oOo1iyI0oTBIgIRhJeJKuOpKg7CfGgjHHiU5WrUDTwn-tAFnMhy0crZ0JfaeE7GiD_Q4A8-Gr0bpkZzx1oYawyAmwZXjDkvIwdgwmBM45Lqbg/s320/fighting+sail.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fighting Sail is a fleet action game that lets you chug a half-dozen or so ships of the line around the table, merrily blasting away at each other. It strikes a very good balance between historical feel and playability, with ship facing, wind direction, and terrain all used in a way that complicates tactics without overly complicating the game. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So far I've got two fleets of six to eight ships of the line in hand, with only the smaller craft painted up. Pretty soon I'll be able to throw triple-deckers at each other, though. And that'll be a very good day.</div><br /><p></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-72392990275816870292021-08-31T05:36:00.000-07:002021-08-31T05:36:00.202-07:00More Napoleonic Eye Candy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As promised, a quick comparison of Eureka and Irregular. As you can see, the former are a full head taller than the latter. The really mean it when they talk about 18mm vs. 15mm, don't they? C'est la vie, they pass the arm's length test.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfMkHBBwZ4AMgRYVTMZO19OttltJFQgV23r-rtRI3cotaieS4jWYxwo4N6VkCqKozIz3XHKzkpqf1cN00gGMbVIhoRA0pOZFn3CgmU17l7RePE46Z7Uv_B4klBKZ08seKhWjAaCbGlg/s900/comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="900" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfMkHBBwZ4AMgRYVTMZO19OttltJFQgV23r-rtRI3cotaieS4jWYxwo4N6VkCqKozIz3XHKzkpqf1cN00gGMbVIhoRA0pOZFn3CgmU17l7RePE46Z7Uv_B4klBKZ08seKhWjAaCbGlg/s320/comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These three objective markers come from Eureka. A well, cross, and...the rifle stack was a kit-bash of extra musketoons that probably should have been glued to the French cavalry.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_8eS9d7XAlfXSnPeQoyHD6hBQ4j6uHnrI44ZHiUQBX9qf8WLZBRubYNpCJcLCpJYHozimcN0DfXgvnxDqTExTu9ew-UyywjAyT7pEjK35MHA43tyis_1ErPFsPBc6T4SbrsO4nGe2Q/s900/terrain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="900" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_8eS9d7XAlfXSnPeQoyHD6hBQ4j6uHnrI44ZHiUQBX9qf8WLZBRubYNpCJcLCpJYHozimcN0DfXgvnxDqTExTu9ew-UyywjAyT7pEjK35MHA43tyis_1ErPFsPBc6T4SbrsO4nGe2Q/s320/terrain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Since I'm eyeing <a href="https://ospreypublishing.com/chosen-men">Chosen Men</a> we'll probably be playing a lot of fights between foraging parties. That means we'll need some forage. In addition to a couple of heavily laden donkeys, we'll need a couple carts, and these come from Irregular.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6ViNGcDR0961nIDeIBIDhtPDhAH2YR8Z-N-G5Vg7-Lu9646g8l6R_JkROclgjP9sSuOVU4EoNZgN6FaVW_xgv4C4Xz1dLYt8P3tDPKXNZhVIXS1vSVwWhzQl7nNTg_Wo16WGVn4b8g/s2581/wagon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="2581" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6ViNGcDR0961nIDeIBIDhtPDhAH2YR8Z-N-G5Vg7-Lu9646g8l6R_JkROclgjP9sSuOVU4EoNZgN6FaVW_xgv4C4Xz1dLYt8P3tDPKXNZhVIXS1vSVwWhzQl7nNTg_Wo16WGVn4b8g/s320/wagon1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmxFVsfsea9EJmnjU5CtJfKIm721jHId8u-wYd441A54fJZQCfHaL3Z0OshipRPzAAEBe8F0ihIekKiJOchD3bSb-vx8cEOqTnWZ8YmipCNW-Z9xXdr2MaPZXGCXGLrfyu0SNPfinEg/s1200/wagon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="1200" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmxFVsfsea9EJmnjU5CtJfKIm721jHId8u-wYd441A54fJZQCfHaL3Z0OshipRPzAAEBe8F0ihIekKiJOchD3bSb-vx8cEOqTnWZ8YmipCNW-Z9xXdr2MaPZXGCXGLrfyu0SNPfinEg/s320/wagon2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-73631961191571445372021-08-29T17:35:00.001-07:002021-08-29T17:35:09.586-07:00Bit By Napoleon<p> It finally happened.</p><p>Reading through some old Featherstone books, I've been bit by the Napoleonics bug. Maybe it's age and the fear of not getting to the things I always meant to get to, but whatever the reason, I'm eyeing horse, foot, and guns. More than eyeing, I've been slapping paint!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW47hp_FKAyfBPsCPiAAZOurrrrLqFUW_XnplRR1DWxOptkDAsxYp-D_icM6Mg4K8S6VGtaIQlSuSSt9cCDWOt2FGYLxW0IDwDyGLcca42KanjzeceZ6XIb5Kzy-ufa9iBrgHd-k6_aQ/s1200/cannons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="1200" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW47hp_FKAyfBPsCPiAAZOurrrrLqFUW_XnplRR1DWxOptkDAsxYp-D_icM6Mg4K8S6VGtaIQlSuSSt9cCDWOt2FGYLxW0IDwDyGLcca42KanjzeceZ6XIb5Kzy-ufa9iBrgHd-k6_aQ/s320/cannons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The gun on the right is new, and matches up well with my other cannon. I bought a crew in older uniforms painted in gray to allow them to be used for either side. Meanwhile, four French cannoniers stand by to serve. All eight are from Irregular Miniatures, but I think the guns are from Eureka.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Okay, these Frenchie bois are really suited up more for fighting in the French Revolutionary wars, but whatever. My Brits are suited up for the American War of Independence. Squint.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_rHelTzooWWOr0X0S4SFJfnryFV-of3bbxIU0MLhcO4nWrLmguxE7QS4BMeWRUsmuaRcyKRH-66WavHcH3QFP_yCUtc_mE49_kkhdteUaf9vNiQot6fS57e6-2YiYzoC6imMWEStBw/s1200/foot1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="1200" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_rHelTzooWWOr0X0S4SFJfnryFV-of3bbxIU0MLhcO4nWrLmguxE7QS4BMeWRUsmuaRcyKRH-66WavHcH3QFP_yCUtc_mE49_kkhdteUaf9vNiQot6fS57e6-2YiYzoC6imMWEStBw/s320/foot1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47qIBlfoQCvMtI85lYCrXqmRHw03D3QOeJPmI-8mhZsRP5cNLQ19Mu0G8qEn4iFupk5dHjUutDt-OqGGiWvMFUmAywHlwf-2gb6pnhzg8m_omj1AmZlkZQh2BQzkDdCrsgL8geOo9WQ/s1200/foot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="1200" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47qIBlfoQCvMtI85lYCrXqmRHw03D3QOeJPmI-8mhZsRP5cNLQ19Mu0G8qEn4iFupk5dHjUutDt-OqGGiWvMFUmAywHlwf-2gb6pnhzg8m_omj1AmZlkZQh2BQzkDdCrsgL8geOo9WQ/s320/foot2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This unit of line infantry are also from Irregular and they paint up really well. I'll throw together a comparison shot of Irregular with Eureka figs next time.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQlEUHN_R41-WCoxssxwdjfU4mGrU-SwKRJZjHobujwIK1tSa3IQ2uzhSm-XUGcgDMB-nLUFfuuNx26u2CWdnWb89WOb70YHObVBkBTVyEZ26tN5Oxw3oWHWm1fKkHDzs4BJhyrkpFA/s1200/horse1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1200" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQlEUHN_R41-WCoxssxwdjfU4mGrU-SwKRJZjHobujwIK1tSa3IQ2uzhSm-XUGcgDMB-nLUFfuuNx26u2CWdnWb89WOb70YHObVBkBTVyEZ26tN5Oxw3oWHWm1fKkHDzs4BJhyrkpFA/s320/horse1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Meanwhile, I've even got some horse boys, seven in all, to go with them. With all of this done, I now have enough forces to start playing around with Osprey's "<a href="https://ospreypublishing.com/chosen-men">Chosen Men</a>".<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGLkQ6yERH-KkY4lz2zTiu-jz_h0CJRCEIIcHvCzGUNp21GDuYQ-rnYiTAVU-qaSyNX5J1wVKDwhPo_8OniQjh73CZ-jzyOvupewUc9H9e8YBEoZY0kx4wKY38Zpt3Ygee6RWo6I6NQ/s1200/horse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1200" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGLkQ6yERH-KkY4lz2zTiu-jz_h0CJRCEIIcHvCzGUNp21GDuYQ-rnYiTAVU-qaSyNX5J1wVKDwhPo_8OniQjh73CZ-jzyOvupewUc9H9e8YBEoZY0kx4wKY38Zpt3Ygee6RWo6I6NQ/s320/horse2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Eureka just send me more metal figs so that I can expand my current 300 points of Red vs. Blue and add in some variety. Then maybe we can think about running a Featherstone map based campaign just like they used to do.<br /><p><br /></p></div>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-81962255284800409012021-08-20T11:00:00.004-07:002021-08-20T11:00:47.658-07:00It Begins<p><a href="http://warinabox.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2021-07-24T10:35:00-07:00&max-results=7">Remember when I said</a> the following?</p><blockquote><p>[W]hen a critical mass of people adopt [the lost art of Gygaxian campaign play] for their own table, you can expect a deluge of smart-boy posts from the Usual Crowds staking a claim to have "always known" about the glories of real-time and always-on gaming.</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/08/random-roll-phb-p-7.html">It begins</a>:</p><blockquote><p>This is another aspect of old school play that I think is forgotten nowadays: the play of multiple characters. In my House of Worms campaign, this is not unusual. Most of the players have several characters whom they can play at any given time, depending on what is happening in the session. </p></blockquote><p>It's nice to see a recognition of the value of Gygaxian play. Really looking forward to Jimmy Mal discovering the value of 1:1 timekeeping and having always used it but just never got around to mentioning it until lately. Grognardia is also on the cusp of discovering the joys of faction play all on his own from reading the Big Three D&D books and just about ready to tell you all about his breakthrough realizations that he had all on his own. </p><p>Not even being ironic or sarcastic here*.</p><p>The guys who have been pushing the D&D envelop and making Real D&D sing for the last year or so have been pushing back against some pretty stiff resistance. To see others adopt and claim the OG (Original Gygax) for their own is gratifying. While I can't speak for the rest of that crowd, I can speak for myself when I say that I'm not pushing this new/old style of play for my own gratification. I genuinely want to make play better at <i>your</i> table, and if it takes time for these ideas to percolate through the culture deep enough for the smart boys to pick up the signal and run with it - great!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6gcJIog52X5IPh9unvNdPHFq3wJ85q5AUaomMLu8ZIC1yDfP0b5UZbFtvQivzTHVLp-jKSweu8J2WCVVhA8hR_5tf5FC8E6CPLpzAi_OjrGtqc8hbTrH4KsYSn6X4bPVXW9RyAyZCg/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="613" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6gcJIog52X5IPh9unvNdPHFq3wJ85q5AUaomMLu8ZIC1yDfP0b5UZbFtvQivzTHVLp-jKSweu8J2WCVVhA8hR_5tf5FC8E6CPLpzAi_OjrGtqc8hbTrH4KsYSn6X4bPVXW9RyAyZCg/" width="320" /></a></div>Heck, J-Mal probably doesn't even understand where this new shift in the conversation came from. It's just...you know...this thing that's out there or whatever. You can't explain it, it's just one of those "nothing can stop an idea whose time has come" things. It's just what people who shall remain nameless because everybody is talking about it are talking about. And hey, if it's an idea that needs somebody to jump in front of the parade dedicated to it, rest assured there are plenty of people trying to sell you products who are more than happy to jump in front of the band.<p></p><p>Meanwhile - you and me? - <a href="https://jeffro.wordpress.com/">we know where these discussions come from</a>. <a href="https://bradfordcwalker.blogspot.com/2021/08/my-life-in-fandom-geek-gab-talks-with.html">We know who to watch</a> to see what people will be talking about next month, and why. We know why people are talking about<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23trollopulous&src=typed_query"> last month's news</a>. As usual, <a href="http://harbingergames.blogspot.com/search/label/DM%20tips">we're one step ahead of the crowd</a> and already turning our attention to deeper mysteries. </p><p><br /></p><p>*Okay, maybe a little.</p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-50871406517134985602021-08-13T20:40:00.000-07:002021-08-13T20:40:00.195-07:00Random Shots<p> As we ease into the weekend, let's take a look at a couple of preview shots of battles coming up on <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/thejoyofwargaming">The Joy of Wargaming</a></i>. First up a look at Osprey's "Black Ops" which features a surveillance fight gone wrong when competing espionage agencies arrive to gather blackmail from the same luddite professor's backwoods cabin.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="900" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_kvBf0-_zH7Z50URMpy3oguvrJTJgkRhk0R9YFrZqHi89pFNC7WlobmC1kufhzVN4WeeyeDA4hrBrDIE_3WMr6d7hoXx9QvOzZG-JNXUVCsB_Ld40quuKbDzPm50gTFWHGCxEVUG0g/s320/BlackOps.jpg" width="320" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here's what a game of Patrick Todoroff's "Nightwatch" looks like when dwarves encounter undead in a high, rocky desert.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9r61ciyV10mSV-9Xj6oT3r6ovCamLsyfAoVHIHNE_vjSL8ZR6vvKxQZwQT3dbTvh0OBIkXmfAA-W52jhMgyjw6OwlGVBhfTw_pTU1jahELKAGWkYx81dNf0QnqxC3mWuuYNuQFuuLQ/s900/Nightwatch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="900" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9r61ciyV10mSV-9Xj6oT3r6ovCamLsyfAoVHIHNE_vjSL8ZR6vvKxQZwQT3dbTvh0OBIkXmfAA-W52jhMgyjw6OwlGVBhfTw_pTU1jahELKAGWkYx81dNf0QnqxC3mWuuYNuQFuuLQ/s320/Nightwatch.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"><u><br /></u></span></div>Both of these are parts of on-going campaigns featured on the channel. They are great examples of the rich experience this hobby has to offer when you embrace long-term play with steady advancements and long-term injuries.<p></p><p>fun this weekend, guys.</p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-72253801570631271022021-08-11T11:35:00.003-07:002021-08-11T11:48:48.642-07:00Epic D&D Made Easy Through Faction PlayJeffro spitting fire on the latest episode of Geek Gab:<div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lw72EQ0L8l0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>There's a key moment where Jeffro points out that Modern D&D cannot handle a moment like that in <i>The Two Towers</i> where the Fellowship of the Ring breaks up. Taking a broader view, I would contend that a truly Epic D&D campaign requires Chantisonian faction play.</div><div><br /></div><div>For those of you out of the loop, Chanisonian faction play takes its name from a combination of Chanticleer, a notoriously hilarious Twitter firebrand, and Dave Arnseon, the man who married the Braunstein proto-RPG with Chainmail to create a style of D&D that seldom sees the table today.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAFDfO6ZmUn0oI3mY4O7TAieAGUbmX6el6dtvnd8xtCDrzq1pnMCgM4_7NoVoFauSUvDHSrWz8yIG5HpeErgINQrHLuuN-wUpZtUUKeldg56Mw7WtAQ0RzimwQF8PRxZg0tJWc36F_Pcx/s536/tunnel.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAFDfO6ZmUn0oI3mY4O7TAieAGUbmX6el6dtvnd8xtCDrzq1pnMCgM4_7NoVoFauSUvDHSrWz8yIG5HpeErgINQrHLuuN-wUpZtUUKeldg56Mw7WtAQ0RzimwQF8PRxZg0tJWc36F_Pcx/s320/tunnel.png" width="320" /></a></div>The premise is simple: Each player earns or is given a character with a clear goal and the resources to achieve that goal. The goals for each player can be mutually-supportive or mutually-contradictory, but generally speaking no player has enough to "win the game" outright. This forces players to work with and against each other to achieve their character's goals. This is a style of play that embraces henchmen and hirelings, and encourages players to think not as a lone wolf, but as a member of a more heroic managerial class.</div><div><br /></div><div>In practice it looks like this: A city on the border of civlization, run by a corrupt Duke. Player A is a climbed to the rank of Captain and earned a warchest before quitting the service of the corrupt Duke. He wants to carve out a castle and small barony from the wilderness outside a border city. Player B is a cunning thief who has backstabbed his way into leadership of the city's thieves guild. He wants to take over the whole city government. Player C is a druid who wants to check the growth of the city and preserve a sacred grove out in the woods perilously close to Player A's intended castle. Player D is a cleric who has been appointed to the city to re-invigorate the flagging faith of the citizens. </div><div><br />Throw them into a blender and see what happens. Does the merc make a deal with the druid to protect the grove with promises of pushing back against the city? Does the cleric enlist the mercenary's aid, trading moral authority and combat buffs in exchange for muscle to push back against the thieves guild? Do they all agree to work together to overthrow the Duke?</div><div><br /></div><div>The easy example from literature is <i>Game of Thrones</i>, but I'm already bored so let's look at a good fantasy epic instead. Most people think of<i> Lord of the Rings</i> is a pure good vs. evil tale, but if you look close you'll see that it is a factional story. Sure, Sauron and Saruman are loosely allied and we all know Sauron will betray Saruman at the first opportunity, but those are still two factions. On the side of the good guys you've got dwarves, elves, Rohirrim, and Gondorians. Heck, even the trees represent a separate faction. Yeah, they all want to beat back the Dark Lord, but they don't always agree on how or where. There's a lot of negotiation that goes on in those novels.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Fellowship acts as a wild card. They run a few delves, and manage to take a few pieces off the gameboard (the balrog) or move pieces onto it (the army of the dead) to counteract other potential factions. The army of the dead arise from a delve, and in the books do little more than negate the power of the Corsairs of Umbar. Even the super-ghosts of Peter Jackson fail to insta-win the campaign.</div><div><br /></div><div>If that's the kind of play you're looking to get out of D&D, then you've got to turn away from static parties and pre-written scripts and embrace the chaos of faction play. In a lot of ways, it'll make your job as the DM a lot simpler.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIA8kw1Sk70gj8VIBOamOaMghe01NFjqGiY1yjiDCrMXMFB5PD9VyPe2Ng2JqA8gTBjm-aOaSt8_SV1yD6A19IZT1l8EEmeH7KN9sV1uW_zz9QKvQPodKM6jOQMpGwNdPcdA9caCTFRV_e/s636/easymode.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="636" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIA8kw1Sk70gj8VIBOamOaMghe01NFjqGiY1yjiDCrMXMFB5PD9VyPe2Ng2JqA8gTBjm-aOaSt8_SV1yD6A19IZT1l8EEmeH7KN9sV1uW_zz9QKvQPodKM6jOQMpGwNdPcdA9caCTFRV_e/s320/easymode.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Warren Aboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671897478928823164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-70266338191784249152021-08-03T06:42:00.000-07:002021-08-03T06:42:00.202-07:00New Era, Who Dis?<p> Sometimes it do be like dis:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYuQSIMcfjYWa09deP4yFyxhpiiloPs91X280WURBvFO4YaaDwsmUimGwnl2Tu8uS-XUk-b1HJRt1ExI4yvrNYhO0tUWxGXCQFvUdK2OHFTwsRfsVKDZLzWPthYF90VcIsdv1VhyP0w/s756/E7pRJ0UUcAQUQ_d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="642" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYuQSIMcfjYWa09deP4yFyxhpiiloPs91X280WURBvFO4YaaDwsmUimGwnl2Tu8uS-XUk-b1HJRt1ExI4yvrNYhO0tUWxGXCQFvUdK2OHFTwsRfsVKDZLzWPthYF90VcIsdv1VhyP0w/s320/E7pRJ0UUcAQUQ_d.png" width="272" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah, I made the mistake of re-watching Master and Commander. Naturally, that means I need to get into a new era and scale of wargaming. Happens all the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm going with 1:2400 scale figures and that means <a href="http://tumblingDice.co.uk">tumblingDice.co.uk</a>. as a complete noob, I went with two starter packs, the American and the Barbary pirates and privateers pack. The tumbling Dice website does list which packets are included, but I thought you might want to see what they look like lined up on the table.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqkNYVRbQejGdSnDGfhCzcj5bolxsUHBfL1r-6IcaA-AwXU5YyET1sYUaWKUyZhMSTx-CJcELg5BNm2ClEaxCrdjCFGqw8FM74r3_h5rzl7Lk7Ltm1FkiqXUp65j0_BP8EDxpBCIbdw/s2689/IMG_20210801_151915958%257E2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="2689" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqkNYVRbQejGdSnDGfhCzcj5bolxsUHBfL1r-6IcaA-AwXU5YyET1sYUaWKUyZhMSTx-CJcELg5BNm2ClEaxCrdjCFGqw8FM74r3_h5rzl7Lk7Ltm1FkiqXUp65j0_BP8EDxpBCIbdw/s320/IMG_20210801_151915958%257E2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ASA17 - Napoleonic Sinking Frigates</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Sharp eyed readers will notice that the pirate and American packs that I've ordered are limited to the smaller 5th rate and below ships. I'm okay with this, as it represents a bit of a toe-dip, and if the era plays as fun as hoped, there is plenty of room to expand the collection to include a matched pair of the heavy bruiser ship packs with 1st rates and escorts, and maybe an inshore squadron for that sweet bomb raft addition.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIIMpwTRl5L5lZxEqcDL9pkSl0G40RdF_Y6tznfGhobtAGdpalhfwywbD_w4wQSnXQ2oqfXxfImJLoQodOcGM4Z-GyMCC59XaVAEchgfAHbinP452WHS92qUsvuaOxzO1Ue5uZH-Rqw/s2701/IMG_20210801_152153251%257E2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1164" data-original-width="2701" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIIMpwTRl5L5lZxEqcDL9pkSl0G40RdF_Y6tznfGhobtAGdpalhfwywbD_w4wQSnXQ2oqfXxfImJLoQodOcGM4Z-GyMCC59XaVAEchgfAHbinP452WHS92qUsvuaOxzO1Ue5uZH-Rqw/s320/IMG_20210801_152153251%257E2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ASN MSP3 - Privateers and Barbary Corsairs</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbpw878EQ7htZrcUppEpqbQIxlB3Hg4wq2yrWdtYKEoObjuTQiNRJn_upM6tTCmAQ3gCo3Nb8bVLNrvNiC4-n0HYXbRt6frEhqHfCDw7s529n861yuJfG067q-3ZZM1tb12z3XIms0w/s2048/IMG_20210801_152319567%257E2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="2048" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbpw878EQ7htZrcUppEpqbQIxlB3Hg4wq2yrWdtYKEoObjuTQiNRJn_upM6tTCmAQ3gCo3Nb8bVLNrvNiC4-n0HYXbRt6frEhqHfCDw7s529n861yuJfG067q-3ZZM1tb12z3XIms0w/s320/IMG_20210801_152319567%257E2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ASN MSP4 - American 1814</td></tr></tbody></table><p>These were a nightmare to put together and involved a considerable amount of superglue, stripped skin, and sweaty brows. And I'm really looking forward to ordering more of them.</p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-77689209675604225642021-08-01T18:37:00.006-07:002021-08-01T18:37:35.337-07:00Finished Figs<p> Just a couple quick shots of some quick paint jobs today. My 15mm fantasy adventures needed some Bowman at home in the woods. These DemonWorld figures have amazing detail for the scale. Best of all, you can order them individually.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMIUsGjRSutvO7T5u2ibe1YWzmxdCfMNGu_hxPsmCGUab4Oqy-yMHBZeVbx1A4Hqu1QgJF2OJwomYGReAGsGH9HKD7nCgh75FldVbkXZBgfWDJ5-dUzbofKPqO4nkR0_qdbXTgVKNKw/s2048/IMG_20210731_122749941%257E3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1927" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMIUsGjRSutvO7T5u2ibe1YWzmxdCfMNGu_hxPsmCGUab4Oqy-yMHBZeVbx1A4Hqu1QgJF2OJwomYGReAGsGH9HKD7nCgh75FldVbkXZBgfWDJ5-dUzbofKPqO4nkR0_qdbXTgVKNKw/s320/IMG_20210731_122749941%257E3.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And what the heck the XCOM fan in me has wanted snake man like this for a long time. No real plans for these figures, but they are fun to paint and make a useful addition to any sci-fi collection. One squad of Critical Mass Astagar figures makes a good faction or good unit to add to any kind of xenos Empire faction.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ql4UdtSnULE8rRw6S1Cci8NeRUCN-YeADAk_h-tQTmTx_7E76Fo9uXVYo6Acfzzvg61TWPi4fNRzBv5YdEBmcOm8JroCp4wDbmUFHZ5tpMPSSFz2sVaWFNRtTF4WeG03sP_XsWrjiQ/s2048/IMG_20210731_122640754%257E3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1760" data-original-width="2048" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Ql4UdtSnULE8rRw6S1Cci8NeRUCN-YeADAk_h-tQTmTx_7E76Fo9uXVYo6Acfzzvg61TWPi4fNRzBv5YdEBmcOm8JroCp4wDbmUFHZ5tpMPSSFz2sVaWFNRtTF4WeG03sP_XsWrjiQ/s320/IMG_20210731_122640754%257E3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-28609945206096753752021-07-30T07:32:00.003-07:002021-07-30T07:32:00.188-07:00In Case You Missed It<p> I made the punchline to my current "Nightwatch" campaign clear with this satirical cover to a supplement that will never be written.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nGU7Bzcx8tsnZRwNytlQkHasrw_PNu8CubIMFUmXUJp6vQQ_zVvvSXeqo21BpdHAcqcZa2wy5gkebOTfK24vNb1O4xO7x02or6M6c5Mv82vIFCQaFGS4qvlZYfsGtuyHUlUdkVL-ag/s419/airom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nGU7Bzcx8tsnZRwNytlQkHasrw_PNu8CubIMFUmXUJp6vQQ_zVvvSXeqo21BpdHAcqcZa2wy5gkebOTfK24vNb1O4xO7x02or6M6c5Mv82vIFCQaFGS4qvlZYfsGtuyHUlUdkVL-ag/s320/airom.png" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-71088876810204858032021-07-28T12:31:00.005-07:002021-07-28T12:31:46.893-07:00Nightwatch: The Airom Reconquista<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oh, those lovable, roly-poly weirdo beardo dwarves. Always delving too deep. That's what the ladies say about them, anyway. Over on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/thejoyofwargaming">The Channel</a> we kicked off a second campaign of Patrick Todoroff's "Nightwatch" with an easy mission to cleanse the desert of the plague of nasties that have been, er plaguing it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZKM1X7cSNnXUXo6jQfsQzh-Q69ENFiReBxE3LEo3dANe1hUutbmPlqNRWgNkOlSm1GOQWnyzDaYrDeEsxb9nPT2dHUiEEjjmqHADqvI9wxFEk1F4uFtpGOxASBz1HEpRBRF9qzQtVA/s900/Airom1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZKM1X7cSNnXUXo6jQfsQzh-Q69ENFiReBxE3LEo3dANe1hUutbmPlqNRWgNkOlSm1GOQWnyzDaYrDeEsxb9nPT2dHUiEEjjmqHADqvI9wxFEk1F4uFtpGOxASBz1HEpRBRF9qzQtVA/s320/Airom1.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our four heroes have sworn a vow to retake the homeland or die trying, and even pledged the first 60 sp worth of loot to finance the economic rebuilding of the old place once they clear out the squatters. The names of our heroes (Jonal, Gav, Arthru, and Bob) were swiped from the commentors, and all fit the theme of slow and steady. They are heavily armored, but a bit plodding as they trudge their way to glory. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAIluVScWT0lCoS9AwSbLPGRi9gP0ZsPER0ZvxPSgklg61FyfS0H6-FR9q33Sutrv_XluCIzTOcbAKTsvpowvSJZAeJkpuLPPObgegtj5uVRyJlTPV0wRfDxG4i5Ich-mV_bO47FecQ/s800/Airom2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAIluVScWT0lCoS9AwSbLPGRi9gP0ZsPER0ZvxPSgklg61FyfS0H6-FR9q33Sutrv_XluCIzTOcbAKTsvpowvSJZAeJkpuLPPObgegtj5uVRyJlTPV0wRfDxG4i5Ich-mV_bO47FecQ/s320/Airom2.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Yeah, we use dollar store plastics for monsters in our games. We are old-school, and tend to sneer at those who think spending money is the same thing as playing the game. There are more people out there with that mentality than you think.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepahcAM1oa-yk34km8gY-LRHRTc8eAXUHkZxyKc0Xhruzo0MEtoDfEr3iT02if5G4TR8ilmJZt0dj6VT5IlAcVu4f0GQtjGFAmdZZV-UMswU3WCkbe2A8E1k-uqCQKrPDt8BD9RSWdw/s600/Airom3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepahcAM1oa-yk34km8gY-LRHRTc8eAXUHkZxyKc0Xhruzo0MEtoDfEr3iT02if5G4TR8ilmJZt0dj6VT5IlAcVu4f0GQtjGFAmdZZV-UMswU3WCkbe2A8E1k-uqCQKrPDt8BD9RSWdw/s320/Airom3.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Two bucks for fifteen miniatures that work great in scale isn't just frugal, it's smart. Bright and cheery, these reptiles are still fearsome and menacing once you put them into the proper context.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIx6zXxvK44SpkWG3RE_xfF0RlY_0DHUESmQUnltVj7bG0kBtWpwMyny1-haRw-u3E4N2BB-YKUQKRIUkOh32Oy1EfB2xv2bkTdvzSjqU0oxDfsuy2CvPvagAObUoPLE6EG8z8dPdWA/s800/Airom4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIx6zXxvK44SpkWG3RE_xfF0RlY_0DHUESmQUnltVj7bG0kBtWpwMyny1-haRw-u3E4N2BB-YKUQKRIUkOh32Oy1EfB2xv2bkTdvzSjqU0oxDfsuy2CvPvagAObUoPLE6EG8z8dPdWA/s320/Airom4.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>In "Nightwatch" your AI-driven enemies spawn every turn from one of four randomly chosen points. In my first campaign, I struggled to remember which point was which, so for this go-round, I made it easy. I whipped up some quick stone circles with ruined tiles that have the spawn number right there on the board. When you're running solo, every little reminder like this frees up processing power for the rules of the game, and I think the little tiles look smashing on the table, too.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEcChk5di4Eym-Q0QnoU_ss_JEJD3nycpEwXMF9ei4ZZmPQ6GUkmAkBrFNDM5rg7MujzPKIlWC2IHIO6xQ_0XK_gsjavzgAg_ABReK3ZYEsPoehOln4M7YmpU7CiS3mDxNZ2Qc4PBSw/s1030/Airom5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1030" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEcChk5di4Eym-Q0QnoU_ss_JEJD3nycpEwXMF9ei4ZZmPQ6GUkmAkBrFNDM5rg7MujzPKIlWC2IHIO6xQ_0XK_gsjavzgAg_ABReK3ZYEsPoehOln4M7YmpU7CiS3mDxNZ2Qc4PBSw/s320/Airom5.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-17827994067390223852021-07-24T10:35:00.001-07:002021-07-24T10:35:00.210-07:00Who Cares What Non-Wargamers Think About Wargaming?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Karwansaray Publishing recently <a href="https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/wss_gws/gws-2020-personality-and-motivations/">dropped a link</a> to a low effort "scientific study" that used data collected by said publisher to reveal some surprising things about wargamers. Did you know competitive people prefer competition games, and cooperative people prefer collaborative games? You might have thought this, but thanks to the magic of science and with the gracious permission of our technocratice overlords we now have permission to say so - we now have that all important SOURCE to which we can link.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So dumb.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, aside from the "no shit sherlock" portion of the "study", we also have the real impetus for conducting this research:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mGRqitIBCauSdk0q0STF0PkOfZeh2H761ICvi6hauvtkpl7frL-OBeyXExnVctocS2FSUG6oQf6FBFX59C-ZZJynM-xai69dAdj7XlkhRyirt4VTjX7uGKyhYx9HoXA931NQd0WncWIN/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="1018" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mGRqitIBCauSdk0q0STF0PkOfZeh2H761ICvi6hauvtkpl7frL-OBeyXExnVctocS2FSUG6oQf6FBFX59C-ZZJynM-xai69dAdj7XlkhRyirt4VTjX7uGKyhYx9HoXA931NQd0WncWIN/w400-h66/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Read between the lines here and you'll find something a little more pernicious than the usual, "this needs more study, so make sure you hit that FUND button!" conclusion. There is a strong push underway for the entire hobby to shift its focus from wargamers to non-wargamers, and down that path leads only madness.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7H78J4h0DWZQeIgmdqQ-LowdZMR09jvg9dFa5DmDLuSAdnrlf0aJL9XMYzeLWsVaWQBUuavZW7Bi7BO1LbcWGH3nKNWTWBVqt3poMT05LS_nKMq3mDvZ5qCgxTg3NYQsxiIBtDVV5nso/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="502" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7H78J4h0DWZQeIgmdqQ-LowdZMR09jvg9dFa5DmDLuSAdnrlf0aJL9XMYzeLWsVaWQBUuavZW7Bi7BO1LbcWGH3nKNWTWBVqt3poMT05LS_nKMq3mDvZ5qCgxTg3NYQsxiIBtDVV5nso/" width="210" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madness.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As usual, the people pushing this new narrative fall into two camps: those who see our robust, healthy, long-lived, fun, and exciting hobby as ripe for conquest, and those who are already in the hobby who stink of a desperate need for approval from outsiders. So desperate are they for approval from people who want to radically and fundamentally change the hobby that they would burn the village to the ground to prove their worth to these outsiders.</p><p>As usual, this strategy - welcoming people who don't wargame to help define what it means to wargame - is being sold as a way to save the hobby. From what? Dunno. We live in a golden age where we are spoiled for choice. Rules, figures, paints, communities, you name it, we've got more than we can handle already. It is a fun and exciting time to be a part of this hobby, and it's no wonder more and more people want to be a part of it. The problem enters in when people who don't participate want to define what it means to participate.</p><p>Painting is a part of this hobby, sure. Collecting is a part of this hobby, sure. History is a part of this hobby, sure. Math is a part of this hobby, sure. Writing is a part of this hobby, sure. But all of those aspects are buttresses that support the main cathedral of...wait for it...PLAYING THE DAMN GAMES.</p><p>You laugh, but people are already asking non-players what the hobby community should do to change the hobby to suit their non-playing desires. The answer of course is that the hobby should keep on doing what it has always done, and those who don't like it can change themselves or go pound sand.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5m7nw-HhR8DiiNiVWpBE_8KZ9Q-vLan11AjTXXNrProDRzyI_F9d9h4L02VQqF7r42axQpEVlz8EpakEqKmSOC91JRd8ZrPdJ1t06h16weTKOjx5ymLG5Wp1ksyVSjNorhtWA3vmtH_EY/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1250" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5m7nw-HhR8DiiNiVWpBE_8KZ9Q-vLan11AjTXXNrProDRzyI_F9d9h4L02VQqF7r42axQpEVlz8EpakEqKmSOC91JRd8ZrPdJ1t06h16weTKOjx5ymLG5Wp1ksyVSjNorhtWA3vmtH_EY/" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because you are a psychopath.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The hobby is fine. We don't need any johnny-come-latelies and hangers-on to tell us what we should do to cater to their whims. These locusts will just move on once they've eaten all the seed corn anyway.</p><p>Just a warning that too few will heed. I expect that wargaming will go the way of fantasy books, vidya, comics, TTRPGs, and a host of other hobbies. The forces arrayed against her are too wealthy, too motivated, and too experienced to be turned back for long.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinX0N7seiYViSMRF9bW1cLpWfYRtZ91pQiX8EIg7FYpfmmTHp1VPKuzkk3dx6TPxkaPF2KhA_nVSLRJ-ZhC-CVg88QNVSqlofxsCxyoeyh3QYJA-HNPqTGcfHo1DCVpVACTVAT2Sg9V2oR/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="900" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinX0N7seiYViSMRF9bW1cLpWfYRtZ91pQiX8EIg7FYpfmmTHp1VPKuzkk3dx6TPxkaPF2KhA_nVSLRJ-ZhC-CVg88QNVSqlofxsCxyoeyh3QYJA-HNPqTGcfHo1DCVpVACTVAT2Sg9V2oR/" width="320" /></a></div><br />And you know what? It's okay. We built this hobby from nothing once, and we can do it again. Hell, within the tabletop RPG community the BROSR is actively rebuilding D&D for the <i>second time</i> even as we speak. (The first was the OSR, which failed to regress hard enough. This time around we're reclaiming the Gygaxian method of complex games that never turn off.) All we need to do is protect our tables and our conversations and our local (internet or meat-space) implementation. We can build our own little redoubts, free from the brain-virus that has infected so much of our culture. And when Big Mini crumbles, which will take some time but is inevitable, we'll still be here, plugging away in delightful obscurity and thumbing our noses at our would-be conquerors.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn9ADCPkcutgtYU7oBVWoCccx2RKfF3OE8E46XuwzObIowAWMYgsSY-_FvElhjg1Wf9kjtA1EenHU5u5H4ySGbKX9VpgGwDXq27hL0ZeuWhWml_3mgvFWoA9apcMOcS2y9JSnH9RoYVg2/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="512" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEn9ADCPkcutgtYU7oBVWoCccx2RKfF3OE8E46XuwzObIowAWMYgsSY-_FvElhjg1Wf9kjtA1EenHU5u5H4ySGbKX9VpgGwDXq27hL0ZeuWhWml_3mgvFWoA9apcMOcS2y9JSnH9RoYVg2/" width="320" /></a></div><br />Gatekeep your hobbies. Gatekeep your tables. <p></p>Warren Aboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671897478928823164noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-748805349764116322021-07-22T10:35:00.005-07:002021-07-22T10:35:53.936-07:00Black Ops: Extraordinary Rendition<p>Been breaking out the old <i>Black Ops</i> for a bit of the one-two lately. The African militias work great as disgruntled Americans, and now we can run some domestic, near-future wargaming on the streets of Bloody America.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo25sDzRezKbnD-PXPqfaU6lfM9ur97l9TaKYpn5ltjrY5aJb5AFfpKY0XvWiu4_ZNZ0T1NlTcGZGBTaPdw1L7mfA5hGrtaHssOJAq4hIpKHM6zlWszaayDRMec48XzACdiBOxTnqwpIP/s800/modern3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo25sDzRezKbnD-PXPqfaU6lfM9ur97l9TaKYpn5ltjrY5aJb5AFfpKY0XvWiu4_ZNZ0T1NlTcGZGBTaPdw1L7mfA5hGrtaHssOJAq4hIpKHM6zlWszaayDRMec48XzACdiBOxTnqwpIP/s320/modern3.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rebel Minis makes a fine selection of modern figures, suitable for everything from 1980's banana republic fighting in South America to 2020s banana Republic fighting in North America.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ru-4AF9naCku8F_pIzu_3FdTVaZfEZYQjAIInwY-MLzwilgOGti1kwe94CY-4HpjdXw-PhImc7RTngUxeaLV1J-UenxvdMV5pcs3U9kuHx1n6vlRGl0d9aNdcYT1-yiA6qYEAMyltpZE/s800/modern1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ru-4AF9naCku8F_pIzu_3FdTVaZfEZYQjAIInwY-MLzwilgOGti1kwe94CY-4HpjdXw-PhImc7RTngUxeaLV1J-UenxvdMV5pcs3U9kuHx1n6vlRGl0d9aNdcYT1-yiA6qYEAMyltpZE/s320/modern1.png" width="320" /></a></div>It's a card driven system that works really well. It feels strange to play a full game of four turns that contains so much back and forth. In this scenario the cops are escorting a political prisoner from a small backwater airport to a waiting off-site transport vehicle when they are ambushed by Team Red Hat.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfX2XcUziSpCtFABBgDI7rAOcphTtfNnlxkh-1UWZ4BwHrKSyENLxT_Wlsxo1WC3JYVeBcaKkXww__4vni8PkPSomhSZXC8YKGuzSnbF4d18i6rlHVd9AEuTV9G3jpvJ93IGNQJM6gCdq/s800/modern2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfX2XcUziSpCtFABBgDI7rAOcphTtfNnlxkh-1UWZ4BwHrKSyENLxT_Wlsxo1WC3JYVeBcaKkXww__4vni8PkPSomhSZXC8YKGuzSnbF4d18i6rlHVd9AEuTV9G3jpvJ93IGNQJM6gCdq/s320/modern2.png" width="320" /></a></div>Team Red Hat has a slight edge in numbers and motivation, which make up for a lack of training and overall competence. The above shot was taken moments after the balloon went up - yellow tokens represent noise counters that will surely alert the SWAT Team Leader that it just got real, yo.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbZFZGDnbSofOv6tKkR7_xEg7tcyfD_jk8YkUtU3gLzfkBVnd3OY7gor2eq92z5kZoyLB2Ei6Cd5BQPnBD-CkhdIyFBPy-VMWxtRW4JHQjMUESlmFoKU1YUh-O04JsNFlQUg2Wncow0y0/s800/modern4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbZFZGDnbSofOv6tKkR7_xEg7tcyfD_jk8YkUtU3gLzfkBVnd3OY7gor2eq92z5kZoyLB2Ei6Cd5BQPnBD-CkhdIyFBPy-VMWxtRW4JHQjMUESlmFoKU1YUh-O04JsNFlQUg2Wncow0y0/s320/modern4.png" width="320" /></a></div>And finally, for a last bit of eye candy, a hidden sniper opens up from the hilltop just next to the escape vehicle, to good effect. The green ship indicates that he was hidden at the time he took his shot.</div><div><br /></div><div>A fun game, easy to film, and just about the only real world satire you'll see outside of a webcomic these days. Look for it on the Joy of Wargaming this week.<br /><p><br /></p></div>Warren Aboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671897478928823164noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-24537856864555889002021-07-14T21:34:00.001-07:002021-07-14T21:34:09.769-07:00Cha'alt 28<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Blackraven action has shifted to the alien planet of space weirdos some call <a href="http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/">Cha'alt</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_400Vq4L1fA0bdZaA9NISYKCAET_L1pIxt-__nzWiZ21PBzyYlGiYgeIa5gqbGKrjQUtU943eJEHmS6581WzDbmD_cd_ZeHQYezKJyYenT3UTjh10UkKd9U1VGQgyXlkcUkIxwJTYYQ/s1100/chaalt1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="1100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_400Vq4L1fA0bdZaA9NISYKCAET_L1pIxt-__nzWiZ21PBzyYlGiYgeIa5gqbGKrjQUtU943eJEHmS6581WzDbmD_cd_ZeHQYezKJyYenT3UTjh10UkKd9U1VGQgyXlkcUkIxwJTYYQ/s320/chaalt1.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And that means it is time for some eye-candy. Here we see the Cult of the Spicy Wyrm, ambushed by the ragtag band on the right. For some reason, Cobalt-15 brought the MSB along on the mission to ambush these pilgrims and steal a sacred relic that took the form of a pretty juicy rifle.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZs-9Gg7rkhpS-nlfvntk0F5ENhvUK0FXnbCxMMJL2m8bCnSmKVc3J4wnWjFNzFsArW0upKPOYETk3Bru120hkjdDF4v0URZehG0CnXlKwlcX_eDx7aceTeMze67kmtXNNQoO0dlz1A/s900/chaalt2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZs-9Gg7rkhpS-nlfvntk0F5ENhvUK0FXnbCxMMJL2m8bCnSmKVc3J4wnWjFNzFsArW0upKPOYETk3Bru120hkjdDF4v0URZehG0CnXlKwlcX_eDx7aceTeMze67kmtXNNQoO0dlz1A/s320/chaalt2.png" width="320" /></a></div>Now, in all it's glory, and with the fuchsia skies of the drug-addled planet of mystery, we can play some <a href="https://www.wargamevault.com/product/307469/Planet-28--Simple-narrative-skirmish-rules">Planet 28</a> and figure out how well it works for a long-run narrative campaign. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjHlNH-6lIR4lTomwpSzTTpmm1m6FuFMnmChSDFnRVhFgR4s9VztawoawiyY2Ju_47-Y-kfUCAuyKpE9B4zL2G-wbyEE2Uy_8tujL49AiECkfzJqQBgfLrMqiYNOOgK-E2mOFFDCV8g/s900/chaalt3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQjHlNH-6lIR4lTomwpSzTTpmm1m6FuFMnmChSDFnRVhFgR4s9VztawoawiyY2Ju_47-Y-kfUCAuyKpE9B4zL2G-wbyEE2Uy_8tujL49AiECkfzJqQBgfLrMqiYNOOgK-E2mOFFDCV8g/s320/chaalt3.png" width="320" /></a></div>The short story is...not great. It's a fun little skirmish game, but it's really made more for short-run campaigns filled with nameless mooks. It's a brutal game that is hard on its characters, and the advance system doesn't allow for a whole lot advancement without incurring a whole lot of devolution along the way. The cost to stay in business just overwhelms any advances you earn along the way.<p></p><p>Or perhaps the game shines when you're running campaigns of 5+ games. That's possible, but at three games and ready to move on, I can't say for sure. If you have a few teams going against each other then the drop in team quality over time should be matched by that of your opponents. Or maybe in a 'race against time' campaign, one where you're struggling to preserve your resources for as long as possible, it could work great. The core rules are certainly robust and offer a lot of room to play with different team strategies.</p><p>But for an episodic throwback to 1980s action-adventure TV where you're looking to bop on through various settings and fun, it just doesn't work out all that well.</p><p>Highly recommended for what it is, but what it is just isn't what I'm into at the moment.</p><p> </p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-52218519067552523602021-07-09T12:22:00.001-07:002021-07-09T12:51:08.031-07:00Trollopolous Lives!<p></p><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8MDqL1LaFddxtuJeRC25IppTYBoDRwOr-boeyptts2_JMWn5WqgXzzZfEvaEg6AMRBkhR4Ip5bUHS5kLy1vgPq40yc0ctloTlbU8RyBpgwfCXcRR7jm1h90UeuEqZx7GWIlAkCxjOA/s717/HowToWinAtRPGs.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="717" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8MDqL1LaFddxtuJeRC25IppTYBoDRwOr-boeyptts2_JMWn5WqgXzzZfEvaEg6AMRBkhR4Ip5bUHS5kLy1vgPq40yc0ctloTlbU8RyBpgwfCXcRR7jm1h90UeuEqZx7GWIlAkCxjOA/s320/HowToWinAtRPGs.png" width="320" /></a></div>Things are getting a little crazy over in Trollopolous and her nearby provinces. The besieging orcish army, leaderless after the capture of their demon-queen, has quit the field, and that only made things worse.<p></p><p><a href="https://jeffro.wordpress.com/">Jeffro's AD&D campaign-by-the-book</a> has kicked into high gear with a week of Braunstein style faction play featuring a number of different factions. This is an always-on game of D&D in which events are on-going, and most of the factions are run by actual players - even when they don't have a table-session character affiliated with that faction. Yes, some of the players have characters that are working at cross purposes to each other. </p><p> It's bretty nutz.</p><p>I'm not a participant, just a guy fanning the flames, and here's what I've been able to piece together so far:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://twitter.com/Bdubs1776/status/1413186391056556035?s=20">Chaz The Elf</a> is leading a massive elvish push to secure the city for the King of Elfland</li><li>Somebody has stirred up the goblins by funding Goblin Lives Matter riots which routinely target the AEI stores (Adventurer Equipment Inc.) for looting and pillaging</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/licensedtodill/status/1413547039913398286?s=20">John Wick, Regent to Prince Elric</a>, has vowed to secure the peace by any means necessary and has declared a curfew for the whole city exempting only the Trollops, the city's most important export</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/BrianRenninger6">Fluid the Druid</a> is working to eco-nuke the whole city from orbit</li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/unitedcavemanfederation?src=hashtag_click">The United Caveman Federation</a> is a federation of peace</li><li><strike>The Church of Saint Cuthbert has been quiet, but they are Up. To. Something. (And run by an actual, real-world, not-even-kidding Catholic Priest!)</strike> [Edit: Oops. Wrong campaign. That's in the <a href="https://waterdeeposr.blogspot.com/">Waterdeep Session Reports</a>.]</li><li>The queen of Mount Glovermore is an NPC with a faction out in the hinterlands</li><li>There's something going on in the City of the Dead, but I'm not sure who runs that qurater or if he is even still alive...undead...uh, I'm not sure if he's still kicking</li></ul><div>And frankly, I have no idea who to root for in this mess.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a few low-key wildcards out there. For example, <a href="https://twitter.com/KKalvaitis/status/1413155160277278723?s=20">Rhedegar is a blade for hire currently keeping the peace at the Prancing Umber Hulk Inn</a>. SaruMachoMandalf has made an appearance, but I have no idea what he's up to. And there are more out there that I'm missing.</div><p></p><div>There is no central location for information. Just like the real world. The Trollopulous News Network is unreliable. Just like the real world. And you have to sift through everyone's own personal biases to obtain any information that you can use in your own life. Just like the real world.</div><div><br /></div><div>Combine that with a wealth of meme-dumping geniuses and you've got the makings of the the most gripping RPG campaign currently being shared across sociable media. </div><div><br /></div><div>For a good time, click the links. Do your research. </div><div>Where We Go Fun, We Go All In.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and remember to watch out for Sarn Idh. He keeps getting away with it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisgLovLO81KuGjP0eSdg-_hY3xUOeKEfmNO7_usOc5nP7xh-c4Q1c_tpYWP79ND5U0hrUaq0N0bnABVRilgfRKovQ_Rj_xUmrsunvv5FADqT036Bul0LEIiKUfxNhoXAAN-75MS0s4w/s1600/sinder.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisgLovLO81KuGjP0eSdg-_hY3xUOeKEfmNO7_usOc5nP7xh-c4Q1c_tpYWP79ND5U0hrUaq0N0bnABVRilgfRKovQ_Rj_xUmrsunvv5FADqT036Bul0LEIiKUfxNhoXAAN-75MS0s4w/w225-h225/sinder.png" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-37462683586968302302021-07-05T11:27:00.001-07:002021-07-05T11:27:23.138-07:00A Tale As Old as Time<p> Brace yourself for a revolution in table-top RPGs.</p><p>At last, after forty years of D&D and twenty years of instant and always-on communications, the two have been married to create a style that is a literal game changer:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLq49i_3QtSDM9-pKCNaGEjZx9VyZAwlzdwIvKogsclf76WaVRewS4t1lVO2FMwGLgZhlQvYXXg3Ul5IWHCZOaq8mW09R5Cf65QffhHdB83VFZwy_ZfJ3QdCDHFfOOhWhkVS_bfWDepQ/s1368/sessions.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLq49i_3QtSDM9-pKCNaGEjZx9VyZAwlzdwIvKogsclf76WaVRewS4t1lVO2FMwGLgZhlQvYXXg3Ul5IWHCZOaq8mW09R5Cf65QffhHdB83VFZwy_ZfJ3QdCDHFfOOhWhkVS_bfWDepQ/s320/sessions.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>But it ain't me. It's Jeffro, the madman that redefined how to approach background research for D&D sessions with his <a href="https://amzn.to/3ytjcdZ">ground-breaking literary analysis</a> - an analysis so profound it was memory holed for five years before the woke crowd trotted out a low-energy goof to spoof Appendix N with a cheap and flaccid imitation. </p><p>Here's the man with the plan himself:</p><blockquote><p>Maybe we didn’t need to adapt seventies style rpg lore to eighties style module conventions. Maybe we needed to adapt ourselves to even more seventies era rpg lore! 1:1 timekeeping with multiple independent domain-level actors is fundamental axiom we have been missing. Here is what you get by implementing this one neat trick.</p></blockquote><p>His latest post also features links to two other campaigns that are doing similar ground-breaking work. Proof of concept, if you will.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Every monster lair you hand over to a real player will necessarily generate a personalized and idiosyncratic encounter locations...</li><li>When player characters need to interact with a domain level player, the DM does not need to improvise something to fit the type of adventure he is trying to run...</li><li>There will be so much domain-level information being generated and no way to create fair or useful session reports that you will have no choice but to set up a news feed for your campaign...</li><li>Similarly, your campaign will immediately begin spontaneously generating SECRETS...</li></ul><p></p><p><a href="https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2021/07/05/the-always-on-campaign/">Click here to learn more about this one weird trick and what it can do for your table</a>. </p><p>Once people try this, and decide they like it, you can expect a lot of fascinating discussion on the what, the how and the why. Jeffro has barely begun to scratch the surface of this fundamental mindset shift. There is a lot of room for more input, experimentation, and discovery here, people. It reminds me of the earliest days of the OSR, when people were falling all over themselves to discover and reinvent the minutiae of Moldvay-style D&D, but this time it's even bigger than a retreat and reskin of the easy mode of the 1980s. It's a complete renovation from the ground up.</p><p>And finally, as always, when a critical mass of people adopt this style for their own table, you can expect a deluge of smart-boy posts from the Usual Crowds staking a claim to have "always known" about the glories of real-time and always-on gaming:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJe2dMhT5en_YWRaQrgmYNs7hE4CnZJ_Fo3XTETYVvTuczZgDK2w9k3QfSEaLJ_mE8OCd8wpdlbNfrKJ7aqt502ihmMh6rllSdE8cl66DWftsbqrGyPeu0oapt77tbj47Hr3dv-u3ug/s1024/realtime.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1024" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJe2dMhT5en_YWRaQrgmYNs7hE4CnZJ_Fo3XTETYVvTuczZgDK2w9k3QfSEaLJ_mE8OCd8wpdlbNfrKJ7aqt502ihmMh6rllSdE8cl66DWftsbqrGyPeu0oapt77tbj47Hr3dv-u3ug/w400-h175/realtime.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Or maybe not. This system of spontaneously generated adventure doesn't lend itself to the subscription model that keeps the grifters in business. It's inherently a table-directed style that doesn't rely on the imagination of others. It's a focus on the hobby side of the game rather than the consumer side of the game, and without a clear path to profit the guys with dollar signs in their eyes might just continue to play the role of Baghdad Bob, insisting that there's nothing to see here, that everything is fine in D&D-land, and whatever you do, just ignore those guys laughing riotously and enjoying long-lived, robust, and authentic D&D campaigns over there near the wieght machines.</p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-19181032702724010172021-06-25T11:38:00.010-07:002021-06-25T11:38:55.660-07:00Good Crop Coming In This Year<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am but a humble meme farmer, tending to my memes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7yk1tvV30yKWSkpxjyasI-q_3nYJEtWpHhe6gyidsrWNsg0PFjtbVtJaiHbbpoidPvKcnmovcb-WEcmIyi1N3rBP4IqbnJBcYxtUD10oRveTbSRC8GTs_5AQ0dOKTo4kvwxQxGblHA/s800/miniatures.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7yk1tvV30yKWSkpxjyasI-q_3nYJEtWpHhe6gyidsrWNsg0PFjtbVtJaiHbbpoidPvKcnmovcb-WEcmIyi1N3rBP4IqbnJBcYxtUD10oRveTbSRC8GTs_5AQ0dOKTo4kvwxQxGblHA/w256-h320/miniatures.png" width="256" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzO5x1y4Y_jdvUp9dgZncFoD6OXtrQL7cjXj5JHvN_O9vl6ASt340LTINL47feOvE8YSBX0E5ZePeApiD48_bPpbTBDdiFBF4sDX0fBWWyqKvBfWhimUKgI3MHifRFoGGc9N4k1rwDVQ/s600/gymnast.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzO5x1y4Y_jdvUp9dgZncFoD6OXtrQL7cjXj5JHvN_O9vl6ASt340LTINL47feOvE8YSBX0E5ZePeApiD48_bPpbTBDdiFBF4sDX0fBWWyqKvBfWhimUKgI3MHifRFoGGc9N4k1rwDVQ/s16000/gymnast.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-57720746622666486762021-06-06T18:52:00.005-07:002021-06-25T11:39:11.594-07:00Thanks for the Meme-eries<p> Howzabout some light hearted fun using shortcuts to humor?</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhkiDe0Uvn3FPkX7FaeXrqS_J5ykdIbSikYLPUrFqm2ey3iqXAE1qtgrULUC11Zf8SXHMOmtt53yLK2cRD9YRM76d18A8KCRlS7kx7M6VLTPpBPZXbR0m10odQSOXYC2kN8xNQyZkjg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhkiDe0Uvn3FPkX7FaeXrqS_J5ykdIbSikYLPUrFqm2ey3iqXAE1qtgrULUC11Zf8SXHMOmtt53yLK2cRD9YRM76d18A8KCRlS7kx7M6VLTPpBPZXbR0m10odQSOXYC2kN8xNQyZkjg/" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK_VE-jc-KkFmUIfb38nPt8cC1CgCEGGNlqwvxW8BHMOHVDwFBw1PONLK78vB2jBvlrsaaLcst5E3Kt8FFJWYrLzWuCY6emI-y0ZbYQcx6TFFAn3EEiwZtPjkWZzjAYdp6jSol6xnbg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK_VE-jc-KkFmUIfb38nPt8cC1CgCEGGNlqwvxW8BHMOHVDwFBw1PONLK78vB2jBvlrsaaLcst5E3Kt8FFJWYrLzWuCY6emI-y0ZbYQcx6TFFAn3EEiwZtPjkWZzjAYdp6jSol6xnbg/" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one was somebody else's:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljvY1U_Uz4hehUgmqj2cR80S4hj2aLjBZ7i-cv65ITd30WeGMzelluvXowhqtdAScCEAgQBTYgVpO3mg8zJao3CVNd06n3Rhb9xtKYZF-iycutuUse17hxDOWNx3GAt83eeOosRJaxQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="502" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljvY1U_Uz4hehUgmqj2cR80S4hj2aLjBZ7i-cv65ITd30WeGMzelluvXowhqtdAScCEAgQBTYgVpO3mg8zJao3CVNd06n3Rhb9xtKYZF-iycutuUse17hxDOWNx3GAt83eeOosRJaxQ/" width="242" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But it inspired me to make this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdhnrbmg-3y91vP99sFv4Q-wtYRYqHA3X4vsehn1zLQl5ZxFawWQcKu1uijZw0Xe-D8d9HAwZRAmmVnOaf_K34qB0_IfaNjle1Lc8mHJN9ler4sh5S9B1q5Bkh0t2I41tX7V5jX5K_Q/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdhnrbmg-3y91vP99sFv4Q-wtYRYqHA3X4vsehn1zLQl5ZxFawWQcKu1uijZw0Xe-D8d9HAwZRAmmVnOaf_K34qB0_IfaNjle1Lc8mHJN9ler4sh5S9B1q5Bkh0t2I41tX7V5jX5K_Q/" width="289" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Because sometimes it really do feel like this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxM_QPSNghIF6StkuRxKPpc86seKbEZMApWEhTUzYagrqBdaENlQ6t2CD6a6TzyRS6dKAA_YWcW8gS3nQDQwkh7sDOrZqilijrbtWJdl3NKx0QjT5pWgTvRZrZshutQDg-ELs5-tCcg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1481" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxM_QPSNghIF6StkuRxKPpc86seKbEZMApWEhTUzYagrqBdaENlQ6t2CD6a6TzyRS6dKAA_YWcW8gS3nQDQwkh7sDOrZqilijrbtWJdl3NKx0QjT5pWgTvRZrZshutQDg-ELs5-tCcg/" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /><br /></p>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911586376639817574.post-71751447576845825132021-06-04T23:38:00.005-07:002021-06-04T23:38:31.665-07:00A Song of Fords and Shallows<p> Mostly eye candy today with some thoughts on "A Song of Drums and Shakos". It's just a reskin of Andrea Sfiligoi's "Song of..." series, but I'm really glad to have added it to my library. Having the background and points lists for each army really makes it a snap for a Nappy neophyte like myself to throw a game down and get to rolling.</p><p>Here we see a veteran unit of French trying to hold a crossroads following defeat at Tres Verdes. The Redcoats are in full pursuit, and if this French unit can do enough damage to a squad of British dragoons before they cross the table, they can save a lot of lives. Unfortunately for the, the British have an equal number of green infantry on the way as well. The British infantry hope to do enough damage or at least distract the French enough to allow the dragoons to slip past.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFJwrxjS5PrOAQ0pbZOjGdIGeKmdGYHYh-PsYkFGr-mkUSVApl5nSYdiwYmtg8qQ_etbvdT56BHNzANMRDfwOcNy7K37pHPnuKisdGFuhxo1-tXDhgNYkCordI9jjTczdPgu4FCsMoA/s879/nappy1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="879" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFJwrxjS5PrOAQ0pbZOjGdIGeKmdGYHYh-PsYkFGr-mkUSVApl5nSYdiwYmtg8qQ_etbvdT56BHNzANMRDfwOcNy7K37pHPnuKisdGFuhxo1-tXDhgNYkCordI9jjTczdPgu4FCsMoA/s320/nappy1.png" width="320" /></a></div>The French commander opts to split his forces. He positions three men in the woods between the two fords with the bulk of his men inside the small hedged farm field. Here you can see the larger unit of British as they advance in two waves.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhePM2Kyp-_OzcA4QUZZbHDrJI6ohHzdKwonYhqx3944f6UkiQOzOCiel-0Tu5jh-SOIAvwTFVGwix0pWKCqlYZs-veiGdbIcb-g8bPT_6_Naq0815FL7NyTRN7O5XmHDtID7Ul9zdg/s800/nappy2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnhePM2Kyp-_OzcA4QUZZbHDrJI6ohHzdKwonYhqx3944f6UkiQOzOCiel-0Tu5jh-SOIAvwTFVGwix0pWKCqlYZs-veiGdbIcb-g8bPT_6_Naq0815FL7NyTRN7O5XmHDtID7Ul9zdg/s320/nappy2.png" width="320" /></a></div>Having disrupted the French a bit, it's time for the British Dragoons to begin their race northward...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhNhxJw2XGxBUmHZHixVK5Zs7wSFanvvH-nYSY7PzhRSJO1_EoExUANX9z4S4bPXqXi6TNXyXT-xTf0t6UyCABvnqRlfBNrxJdCwGcWHhajFD9EajfPywcIlOwpfdaQQgzTPHgJkBnQ/s900/nappy3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhNhxJw2XGxBUmHZHixVK5Zs7wSFanvvH-nYSY7PzhRSJO1_EoExUANX9z4S4bPXqXi6TNXyXT-xTf0t6UyCABvnqRlfBNrxJdCwGcWHhajFD9EajfPywcIlOwpfdaQQgzTPHgJkBnQ/s320/nappy3.png" width="320" /></a></div>Refusing to be distracted, the French quickly put down the first two mounted enemy...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF2Zzt01-kjqG3aDQhh_ypQebP5SBTrH82cEGI4mz7Z7fU_nds7nmnFGGbX4lDtawUYiKlE1S9Jk8VQvFPPA_YZKC9jKGF-tdXmnkFWZSqcjr2eSQWOHRPYw-j1mmJ7Mada6q1TYKkQ/s1287/nappy4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF2Zzt01-kjqG3aDQhh_ypQebP5SBTrH82cEGI4mz7Z7fU_nds7nmnFGGbX4lDtawUYiKlE1S9Jk8VQvFPPA_YZKC9jKGF-tdXmnkFWZSqcjr2eSQWOHRPYw-j1mmJ7Mada6q1TYKkQ/s320/nappy4.png" width="320" /></a></div>To win, the British need to get four horses off the road on the north side of the table. Here you can see that two of them are off, with a third just about to cross the finish line.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMXSQD-QvyXepW_3KBbpjMlTGF5z2yA6PSKY0fItno6Imu-tIUIzCNuUKZB4VN3q7ysJBZpTZz-mxfaqwIr8w8V6lC0KjFmbitOhhXGVhTousU9K4x49ktCYZxIAn2xS4P29G3yip3w/s900/nappy5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMXSQD-QvyXepW_3KBbpjMlTGF5z2yA6PSKY0fItno6Imu-tIUIzCNuUKZB4VN3q7ysJBZpTZz-mxfaqwIr8w8V6lC0KjFmbitOhhXGVhTousU9K4x49ktCYZxIAn2xS4P29G3yip3w/s320/nappy5.png" width="320" /></a></div>All that remains is for the British squadron leader to make his escape...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBVxTXnUlNFsldLmdIrtd6onOOKPD7JlQagM0mLD3QLDFYu6Vcvw-CR8_aO2nVK6yYmgm_elJNfjUh3VBtGHHKH_JKvWBfsB8PKIaHRI0P6HIvAQUg-JyWRDBkdzeOjEAQwLyDW335Q/s800/nappy6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBVxTXnUlNFsldLmdIrtd6onOOKPD7JlQagM0mLD3QLDFYu6Vcvw-CR8_aO2nVK6yYmgm_elJNfjUh3VBtGHHKH_JKvWBfsB8PKIaHRI0P6HIvAQUg-JyWRDBkdzeOjEAQwLyDW335Q/s320/nappy6.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>To find out how this fight ends, check out the full battle play over on "The Joy of Wargaming"!</p><p>Oooo, what a bait and switch. Have I no shame? Apparently not.</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ii56KU_Wcac" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>JonMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07705424889025942210noreply@blogger.com1