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| Simply gorgeous Ral Partha Europe 15mm miniatures, an absolute joy to paint |
Monday, 6 April 2020
Army Gallery - Empire of Man (15mm Fantasy)
As I gear up for mt solo fantasy campaign I finally got around to taking some pics of the protagonist forces. Today's post is the Empire of Man army. For more images click here.
Sunday, 5 April 2020
Solo Fantasy Campaign
I've been planning a fantasy solo gaming project for some time now and the current situation means there's a lot more time available to me and the inclination to keep myself busy is also there.
I mentioned previously I had been working on fantasy rules based on Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame and had been painting forces. That has continued on and off in a very ad hoc manner and I now have Orcs, the Empire of Man and Undead completed. I've decided to kick the campaign off using the Orcs and the Empire of Man.
Driven from their lairs in the mountains by the harsh conditions, the Orcs crossed the ice bridge in search of food and plunder, spreading out across the island in the depths of winter. With the coming of spring the ice bridge melted leaving the Orcs trapped and determined to consolidate their hold over the island.
War between the Orcs and the Empire of Man is inevitable and as the campaign season begins we find the opposing forces in control of various provinces and ready for war...
Each season will contain a random number of between 2 and 4 battles, with campaigning happening in spring, summer and autumn. For each battle the attacker will choose to attack a province under enemy control, with limited bonuses to their force based on number of friendly provinces adjacent to the province under attack (i.e. supporting forces). The outcome will decide ownership of the province in question, with draws meaning the defender retains possession. The winner of a battle (or in the case of a draw, the defender) decides where the next battle will occur and is the attacker.
Ultimate victory will go to the force able to capture all provinces on the island or I get tired of things!
Attacker: Base 30 points + d4 points per attacking province and supporting province (max 3).
Defender: Base 30 points + d8 points per defending province.
On the map above if the Empire of Man were to attack from Oldmead into the Orc held province of Faywick they would compose a force of 30 + 3d4 points. The Orcs would defend with 30 + d8 points worth of troops. Minima and maxima of troops are according to the army builder on my Portable Wargame Fantasy page.
Table setup will be generated randomly using a set of terrain cards and mechanics allowing for some rearrangement, again based on Peter's ideas found here.
That's all for now. More when I kick things off properly.
Cheers,
Millsy
I mentioned previously I had been working on fantasy rules based on Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame and had been painting forces. That has continued on and off in a very ad hoc manner and I now have Orcs, the Empire of Man and Undead completed. I've decided to kick the campaign off using the Orcs and the Empire of Man.
Background
The winter of 1230-31 was the worst in recorded history, so bad that the very seas froze over and the island home of the Empire of Men became connected to the wider world by an ice bridge.Driven from their lairs in the mountains by the harsh conditions, the Orcs crossed the ice bridge in search of food and plunder, spreading out across the island in the depths of winter. With the coming of spring the ice bridge melted leaving the Orcs trapped and determined to consolidate their hold over the island.
War between the Orcs and the Empire of Man is inevitable and as the campaign season begins we find the opposing forces in control of various provinces and ready for war...
The Campaign
I'm a big fan of the campaign system Peter has put together on his Grid Based Wargaming - But Not Always blog and will be using something very similar.Each season will contain a random number of between 2 and 4 battles, with campaigning happening in spring, summer and autumn. For each battle the attacker will choose to attack a province under enemy control, with limited bonuses to their force based on number of friendly provinces adjacent to the province under attack (i.e. supporting forces). The outcome will decide ownership of the province in question, with draws meaning the defender retains possession. The winner of a battle (or in the case of a draw, the defender) decides where the next battle will occur and is the attacker.
Ultimate victory will go to the force able to capture all provinces on the island or I get tired of things!
The Battles
Battles will be fought using 15mm fantasy armies on a 70mm grid using Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame rules. Before each battle forces will be composed from available troops up to a point total using the following formula:Attacker: Base 30 points + d4 points per attacking province and supporting province (max 3).
Defender: Base 30 points + d8 points per defending province.
On the map above if the Empire of Man were to attack from Oldmead into the Orc held province of Faywick they would compose a force of 30 + 3d4 points. The Orcs would defend with 30 + d8 points worth of troops. Minima and maxima of troops are according to the army builder on my Portable Wargame Fantasy page.
Table setup will be generated randomly using a set of terrain cards and mechanics allowing for some rearrangement, again based on Peter's ideas found here.
What's Next...
I'm planning on running a test battle or two during the week to iron out how I want to run the defender in each battle e.g. tactics, aggression level, etc. I have loads of options to choose from in my collection of wargame books but it needs to be simple and quick to fit with the Portable Wargame ethos.That's all for now. More when I kick things off properly.
Cheers,
Millsy
Sunday, 29 March 2020
Ev's Challenge - All Over (Or Is It?)
Greetings Paint Fans! The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has ended for another year, and even though I fell short of my target, I flatter myself that I was able to get some decent entries on the board.
Following the Fertility Goddess, I was able to submit an entry for Awdry's Atoll, a location which required Challengers to create a vignette on a CD base. Basing on CDs is something of a specialty for the estimable Sir Michael.
I give you The Riddle of the Sphinx;
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| "So, mortal, I ask you again; why did the chicken cross the road?" |
A couple of Pleistocene pussycats;
And more giants - two of them!
And finally, delivering on an earlier promise, some worshippers for the Green Goddess!
So that's all for the moment - but there's more around the corner...
Snowlord Curt has proposed a new Challenge to get us all through the COVID-19 lockdown; the Quarantine Challenge!
To quote the man himself, "With more and more people going into isolation, keeping safe and taking care of those around them, I thought it might be helpful to provide a space for people to keep in touch, post their hobby projects and to simply unwind."
This is a marvellous opportunity to support one another in our hobby, so I've signed up to paint some more - don't be too shocked, everybody!
More to come over the next few weeks, so keep your brushes sharp and stay tuned...
Ev
Thursday, 13 February 2020
Ev's Challenge - Day 55 - The Journey Upcountry (and a Detour or Two)
Greetings Paint Fans, and welcome to my second round up of entries for The Tenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!
I struck out from Sander's Sand Dunes, making my way inland to Millsy's Mill Pond, a deceptively calm stretch of water where old and forgotten figures were to be displayed, with provenance!
Well, they don't come much older than this chappie, a Daka Fal Adventurer from Citadel's line of RuneQuest figures, released in 1982. He's a member of the Sable Tribe of Prax (hence the horned helmet), and the priest of a cult of ancestor worshippers.
He netted me an excellent score, thanks to his extreme age, and so I felt emboldened to undertake a detour of sorts. I produced a Curtgeld entry, the price of admission to Challenge X.
This year, Curt asked us to produce a figure for someone else, not necessarily another Challenger. So, because my blolleague Millsy is sitting out this Challenge after having fought monster fires for the last couple of months, I decided he deserved a gesture of appreciation.
It's the old Warhammer Giant, a plastic model 110mm tall, and an imposing addition to Millsy's Orcs and Goblins, or Dogs of War armies. I really enjoyed painting this one; he's so characterful!
My most recent entry is this substantial lady, a Fertility Goddess from Reaper Miniatures.
Based on the Paleolithic Venus of Willendorf (only much, much bigger), she comes with a decorative base dotted with pots and baskets of offerings.
All I need to do is come up with some worshippers for the Green Goddess, and the vignette will be complete!
As she is an indisputably female figure, I was able to secure travel in Lady Sarah's Balloon, all the way to the other side of the island. This honour is vouchsafed only to those who have submitted a female figure as the price of passage.
I'm now at Awdry's Atoll, preparing a vignette based on an old CD. Hey, it's what Mr Awdry specified, and who am I to disagree?
What's up next?
Stay tuned...
Ev
Saturday, 18 January 2020
Ev's Challenge - Day 28 - Not Even At Base Camp!
Greetings, Paint Fans, and welcome to the first of my entries for The Tenth Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge!
Doughty painters from the four corners of the circular globe are gathered at Challenge Island, landing on its deadly shores and beating their several paths into the interior to make their final assault on Snowlord's Peak...
Not exactly covering myself with glory this time round, I'm afraid. It's been a busy new year so far, and if I'm to meet my target of 400 points, I'd better get a move on.
I've made landfall at Sander's Sand Dunes, in the NW corner of Challenge Island. The stipulation for this locale is the colour red. Submit anything you like, as long as it features red. So here's my first entry for Challenge X.
It's the Orruk Megaboss, from GW's Warhammer Age of Sigmar. And no, I'm not buying into the new lawyered-up naming conventions. He's an Orc, pure and simple!
He was a gift from my young friend Patrick, who brought him back from a visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham (Rich Nerd Central). Given the fact that Paddy had gone to so much trouble, I couldn't not paint him up for the Challenge!
Stupid IP-protective names aside, it's a lovely figure. The assembly can be fiddly, but it avoids the solid-across-the-hems look of previous GW Orcs. I painted the head before adding the jaw plate, since it would have been nigh-impossible to get to otherwise. The sometimes tedious business of painting sub-assemblies is worth the extra time taken.
The base was built up with Milliput over an extruded foam core, and assorted Skullz™ were scattered around the resultant rocky outcrop (it's virtually the law when it comes to basing GW figures). I was going for a wind-scoured sandstone look, and I think it turned out nicely.
What's next? Well, I really have to produce a Curtgeld figure as the price of admission to Challenge X, but I'm to-ing and fro-ing on what it should be... Better be something pretty bloody spectacular if I'm to get some serious points on the board!
Stay tuned...!
Ev
Doughty painters from the four corners of the circular globe are gathered at Challenge Island, landing on its deadly shores and beating their several paths into the interior to make their final assault on Snowlord's Peak...
I've made landfall at Sander's Sand Dunes, in the NW corner of Challenge Island. The stipulation for this locale is the colour red. Submit anything you like, as long as it features red. So here's my first entry for Challenge X.
It's the Orruk Megaboss, from GW's Warhammer Age of Sigmar. And no, I'm not buying into the new lawyered-up naming conventions. He's an Orc, pure and simple!
He was a gift from my young friend Patrick, who brought him back from a visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham (Rich Nerd Central). Given the fact that Paddy had gone to so much trouble, I couldn't not paint him up for the Challenge!
Stupid IP-protective names aside, it's a lovely figure. The assembly can be fiddly, but it avoids the solid-across-the-hems look of previous GW Orcs. I painted the head before adding the jaw plate, since it would have been nigh-impossible to get to otherwise. The sometimes tedious business of painting sub-assemblies is worth the extra time taken.
The base was built up with Milliput over an extruded foam core, and assorted Skullz™ were scattered around the resultant rocky outcrop (it's virtually the law when it comes to basing GW figures). I was going for a wind-scoured sandstone look, and I think it turned out nicely.
What's next? Well, I really have to produce a Curtgeld figure as the price of admission to Challenge X, but I'm to-ing and fro-ing on what it should be... Better be something pretty bloody spectacular if I'm to get some serious points on the board!
Stay tuned...!
Ev
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