Another mud hut.
An unfinished palm tree.
Sixteen hoplites and five mercenary commanders from Foundry’s World of the Greeks range, which is my favourite miniature range, and Gladius, an old Citadel miniature.
Showing posts with label mud huts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mud huts. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 October 2020
Things on my Desk
An unfinished palm tree.
Sixteen hoplites and five mercenary commanders from Foundry’s World of the Greeks range, which is my favourite miniature range, and Gladius, an old Citadel miniature.
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
The Village / Dragon Rampant Battle Report
The topics I mostly write about on my blog are "Krüger", "Beyond the Pillars of Heracles" and "battle reports".
Krüger is one of my best friends who lived in Berlin for a long time, studying philosophy. We have played many tabletop games and we also played Badminton regularly, talking incessantly about strategy games during the breaks.
Unfortunately, Krüger moved to Dortmund at the end of March. A few weeks before he left we wrote a scenario for Dragon Rampant, D3+2 Objectives, which we also tested several times.
This blog post is about the last game we played when Krüger still lived in Berlin. It was the 16th game of our campaign "Beyond the Pillars of Heracles", taking place on the imaginary island Waltrop. As objective markers we used some mud huts, I recently finished.
The Greeks, who had landed on the northwestern coast of Waltrop some time ago, had put the orc tribes, living there, under a lot of pressure and now made a move to attack one of their villages (hexagon 20 on the campaign map). Heracleides the Great commanded the Greek army himself.
Krüger played the orcs defending the village with this army list:
Elite Foot (Leader) / 2 Bellicose Foot / Light Foot / Heavy Riders / Light Riders (Short Range Missiles)
I played the Greek attackers:
Elite Foot (Leader + Enchanted Weapon) / 2 Heavy Foot / Light Missiles / Light Riders (Short Range Missiles) / Scouts
My goblins (light foot) were supposed to protect my right flank and the objective on my right side, a mud hut. I placed a unit of boar riders (heavy riders) on the other side of the mud hut and close to the second mud hut on my side of the table. This way they could secure one of these objectives later or just go forward to attack.
It was my intention to attack mainly from the centre and from my left flank, so I placed two large orc warbands (bellicose foot) and the orc boss (elite foot) in the centre. On my left, a unit of goblin wolf riders (light riders) was ready to threaten the objective on my opponent’s side.
The Greek used their light riders in a similar way, to threaten the objective on my right side. Both objectives on their side of the table were protected by units of hoplites (heavy foot).
Their centre was rather weak. It had scouts and light missiles. Heracleides, the general, (elite foot) stood in the back to protect it.
During the first turns not much happened. The orc boss and the boar riders moved forward. The goblin spears formed a shieldwall in front of the mud hut, while the Greek light riders moved towards them. On my left flank the two orc warbands moved forward very slowly, so the goblin wolf riders rode towards the Hoplites alone.
During their first turns, the Greek Hoplites formed shieldwalls next to the mud huts on their side. Their scouts and light shooters sent arrows in the direction of the advancing orcs which made me loose two boar riders.
The orc boss got close enough to attack the scouts and destroyed them in two turns.
The boar riders moved to the right to defend the goblin spears against the Greek light riders and to protect the objective on my right flank.
On my left flank the goblin wolf riders broke under the arrows of the Greek bows.
Now most units were close enough to move into close combat and the eventful middle phase of our game began.
The Greeks prepared themselves for the onslaught of the orcs and fired a last volley of arrows at them, but in vain.
On my right flank the boar riders attacked the Greek light riders. Although the orcs slew two Greeks and only suffered one loss themselves, they broke and fled towards the woods. Then the goblin spears attacked the Greek riders. Both units suffered one loss. To my great disappointment the cowardly goblins broke.
Meanwhile the orc boss attacked the Greek light shooters, three archers lost their life, but my general also suffered a wound. The retreating archers were attacked by one of my orc warbands and broke.
Heracleides seized his chance and attacked the orc boss. The orc was wounded twice and Heracleides lost a man. This loss broke Heracleides’ moral and made him flee in the direction of the attacker’s table edge.
All the orc units rallied. The orc warband on my left angrily assaulted the Greek Hoplites who received them in a "Wall of Spears" formation. One Hoplite and two orcs died, but the orcs broke again.
Meanwhile the goblin wolf riders rode back to protect the mud hut in the centre on my side and the boar riders rode towards my general in order to help him.
Heracleides and his men rallied. The Greek light horse rode towards the objective in my centre, to attack the goblin riders I had just moved there.
My second orc warband also had to make a wild charge towards the hoplites on my left side. Their fate was even worse. They suffered three losses and were destroyed immediately.
Now the orc boss attacked Heracleides, but wasn’t lucky. He lost another strength point.
Heracleides seized his chance, attacked the orc boss and killed him. What followed was a streak of bad luck. Each of my units had to test courage because I had lost my general. The result was that all my mounted units - the wolf riders and the boar riders - were removed from the table.
Until this happened the orcs had a real chance to win the game, but now their losses were too big. The Greeks won the game and now occupy the village in hexagon 20 on the campaign map.
Until turn 6 it looked very well for my orcs. I couldn’t wrap things up though, as I failed so many courage tests. Even then I had a chance to win. I had troops, able to occupy the objectives on my side and troops going for the objectives on the opponent’s side, while the Greek light cavalry was no real threat, being too far away from my objectives. The end came a bit sudden. The last two turns I lost too many troops.
The game was exciting and full of action until the end. It was lots of fun. I think our scenario works well and lets you play games that are undecided and exciting until the end.
Krüger is one of my best friends who lived in Berlin for a long time, studying philosophy. We have played many tabletop games and we also played Badminton regularly, talking incessantly about strategy games during the breaks.
Unfortunately, Krüger moved to Dortmund at the end of March. A few weeks before he left we wrote a scenario for Dragon Rampant, D3+2 Objectives, which we also tested several times.
This blog post is about the last game we played when Krüger still lived in Berlin. It was the 16th game of our campaign "Beyond the Pillars of Heracles", taking place on the imaginary island Waltrop. As objective markers we used some mud huts, I recently finished.
The Greeks, who had landed on the northwestern coast of Waltrop some time ago, had put the orc tribes, living there, under a lot of pressure and now made a move to attack one of their villages (hexagon 20 on the campaign map). Heracleides the Great commanded the Greek army himself.
Krüger played the orcs defending the village with this army list:
Elite Foot (Leader) / 2 Bellicose Foot / Light Foot / Heavy Riders / Light Riders (Short Range Missiles)
I played the Greek attackers:
Elite Foot (Leader + Enchanted Weapon) / 2 Heavy Foot / Light Missiles / Light Riders (Short Range Missiles) / Scouts
Both generals got the trait Boneshaker as the result of a roll on the leader traits table.
This map shows the initial deployment of both armies. Krüger wrote the following battle report which I translated from German to English. (Orcs speak German, of course.) I took the pictures and drew the maps.
This map shows the initial deployment of both armies. Krüger wrote the following battle report which I translated from German to English. (Orcs speak German, of course.) I took the pictures and drew the maps.
Deployment
It was my intention to attack mainly from the centre and from my left flank, so I placed two large orc warbands (bellicose foot) and the orc boss (elite foot) in the centre. On my left, a unit of goblin wolf riders (light riders) was ready to threaten the objective on my opponent’s side.
The Greek used their light riders in a similar way, to threaten the objective on my right side. Both objectives on their side of the table were protected by units of hoplites (heavy foot).
Their centre was rather weak. It had scouts and light missiles. Heracleides, the general, (elite foot) stood in the back to protect it.
The First Turns
During their first turns, the Greek Hoplites formed shieldwalls next to the mud huts on their side. Their scouts and light shooters sent arrows in the direction of the advancing orcs which made me loose two boar riders.
The orc boss got close enough to attack the scouts and destroyed them in two turns.
The boar riders moved to the right to defend the goblin spears against the Greek light riders and to protect the objective on my right flank.
On my left flank the goblin wolf riders broke under the arrows of the Greek bows.
Now most units were close enough to move into close combat and the eventful middle phase of our game began.
The middle Phase of our Game
Turn 6
The Greeks prepared themselves for the onslaught of the orcs and fired a last volley of arrows at them, but in vain.
On my right flank the boar riders attacked the Greek light riders. Although the orcs slew two Greeks and only suffered one loss themselves, they broke and fled towards the woods. Then the goblin spears attacked the Greek riders. Both units suffered one loss. To my great disappointment the cowardly goblins broke.
Meanwhile the orc boss attacked the Greek light shooters, three archers lost their life, but my general also suffered a wound. The retreating archers were attacked by one of my orc warbands and broke.
Turn 7
Heracleides seized his chance and attacked the orc boss. The orc was wounded twice and Heracleides lost a man. This loss broke Heracleides’ moral and made him flee in the direction of the attacker’s table edge.
All the orc units rallied. The orc warband on my left angrily assaulted the Greek Hoplites who received them in a "Wall of Spears" formation. One Hoplite and two orcs died, but the orcs broke again.
Meanwhile the goblin wolf riders rode back to protect the mud hut in the centre on my side and the boar riders rode towards my general in order to help him.
Turn 8
Heracleides and his men rallied. The Greek light horse rode towards the objective in my centre, to attack the goblin riders I had just moved there.
My second orc warband also had to make a wild charge towards the hoplites on my left side. Their fate was even worse. They suffered three losses and were destroyed immediately.
Now the orc boss attacked Heracleides, but wasn’t lucky. He lost another strength point.
The End
Heracleides seized his chance, attacked the orc boss and killed him. What followed was a streak of bad luck. Each of my units had to test courage because I had lost my general. The result was that all my mounted units - the wolf riders and the boar riders - were removed from the table.
Until this happened the orcs had a real chance to win the game, but now their losses were too big. The Greeks won the game and now occupy the village in hexagon 20 on the campaign map.
Conclusion
Until turn 6 it looked very well for my orcs. I couldn’t wrap things up though, as I failed so many courage tests. Even then I had a chance to win. I had troops, able to occupy the objectives on my side and troops going for the objectives on the opponent’s side, while the Greek light cavalry was no real threat, being too far away from my objectives. The end came a bit sudden. The last two turns I lost too many troops.
The game was exciting and full of action until the end. It was lots of fun. I think our scenario works well and lets you play games that are undecided and exciting until the end.
Friday, 17 May 2019
D3+2 Objectives / a scenario for Dragon Rampant
SCENARIO: D3+2 OBJECTIVES
I made a lot of mud huts this year to use them as objectives in our games of Dragon Rampant. I think tabletop games which are about taking objectives are fun because they are often undecided until the end.
Krüger and I wrote this scenario for Dragon Rampant. (It's an adaptation of a scenario from a popular Science Fiction wargame which we have played a lot.) Please try it and let us know if it works and how it could be improved ...
SET-UP
Before choosing Attackers and Defenders, starting with the winner of a roll-off, the players alternately place D3+2 objectives on the tabletop. These objectives may not be in impassable terrain, nor within 12" of a table edge or another objective.
The Defender chooses one of the long table edges and deploys up to a 12" depth from that table's edge. The Attacker deploys in a similar way on the opposite site. The Attacker goes first.
SPECIAL RULES
None.
ENDING THE SCENARIO
Play until one player has had half or more army points of units removed from play. From then on, at the beginning of each turn roll a dice. On a 1-2 the game ends immediately, on a 3+ the game continues.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Both Attacker and Defender add up the point value of enemy units routed or wiped out before the game ended; damaged units still in play are not counted. The player with the higher score wins 1 Glory.
At the end of the game you control an objective if there is at least one of your units and no enemy unit within 3" of it. Battered units cannot control or contest objectives.
Each objective controlled earns the player 1 Glory.
At the end of the game you control an objective if there is at least one of your units and no enemy unit within 3" of it. Battered units cannot control or contest objectives.
Each objective controlled earns the player 1 Glory.
Thursday, 17 January 2019
Three Mud Huts
Over the holidays I made three more mud huts.
And my daughter made a house for a goblin sorcerer.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
A Mud Hut
After a long summer break, I just finished the first of eight mud huts I'm currently working on. It's painted and varnished now. Ready to play.
Walls and roof are made of papier mâché, with stripes of coloured paper added for the straw on the roof. The door frame is made of green stuff.
Tuesday, 11 July 2017
Mud Huts
I’m currently working on 5 mud huts. Inspired by the classic 40K scenario 'Seize Ground' where you have to roll for D3+2 objectives, I want to use them as objectives for Dragon Rampant. I think this will be fun.
I have to deal with metal objects falling onto our balcony every other day and my "Arbeitszimmer", ähh … how do you call that in English? My study has already been flooded three times.
Never mind. I hope to finish the mud huts soon.
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