Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Barroom Brawl - Fistful of Lead AAR

Having played a few games of Fistful of Lead, Kevyn and I decided to start a campaign. We gathered and outfitted our gangs, and I suggested we try using the Barroom Brawl scenario to start - it's a nonlethal, close-quarter battle that make for a convincing reason why two gangs are going to have it out in and around a small, dusty Western town.


The two gangs started on opposite sides of the room, the other patrons having quickly vacated, apparently taking all the furniture with them!


As the scenario only allows for non-lethal damage, instead of models taking Wounds and being Killed, they're Bruised and Knock Out. After a round of throwing down cards, two of Kevyn's gang members had gone done, with little ol' Grandma knocking out one of mine.


Another round of flying fists saw all the gang members but Kevyn's Boss go down. I lost my own Boss in return, while one the gang's members tried crawling for the exit.


Finally, the old lady went down, and my gang stood supreme. After a few well placed kicks and insults, they decided to hightail it out of there before any guns were drawn in retaliation.

Of course, Kevyn's gang weren't going to take this sitting down, so I expect to seem them back again sometime in the near future.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Painting Update - Arena Rex, Blood Bowl, Guild Ball, SAGA

This week's update is definitely sports based, from grassy pitches to the blood-stained sands of gladiatorial arenas. 


I finally received the Ludus Magnus starter set for Arena Rex that I had ordered back in March. I quickly painted that up and, after a few games, decided I definitely needed more, as simple 3v3 games weren't going to cut it.

All of the above models are from the Ludus Magnus faction, the state-sponsored gladiatorial school in Arena Rex's alternate history, where the Roman Republic exists alongside the Roman Empire in 420 AD. I plan on completing the faction after playing a few more games, especially since one of the options is the impressive Titan/Beast/Mount, Nero, a massive bull that can be ridden by Septimus, another Ludus Magnus gladiator.


To the left is an old 2nd edition Ogre I added to the Loch Rysk Warhawks, for a little extra punch against bashy teams.

On the right are Greed and Avarisse, two Union team members that the Masons can take in Guild Ball. I was originally not a fan of the fluff or the sculpts of the models, but after having seen their usefulness at the recent Cleaver tournament, I decided to add them to the team. They have also grown on me as I painted them.


Finally, I also finished a mounted Hearthguard unit for my Normans in Saga.

I've got another mounted Warrior unit to work on, and that'll mark the end of the Saga project, which will leave me with at least 6 points for each of the original factions - Vikings, Anglo-Danes, Welsh, and Normans.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

A Devil of a Whipping - Battle of Cowpens AAR

On Saturday, I took part in a game based on the Battle of Cowpens, put on by the Metropolitan Wargamers who had come down from Brooklyn, NYC. The original battle took place in January, 1781 in South Carolina, between an American force led by General Daniel Morgan, and a British force led by Lt. Col Banastre Tarleton. 

The historical battle ended in an American victory, thanks to Morgan's strategy of leapfrogging his lines of skirmishing and formed militia to avoid the British infantry's charge, and to wear them down before engaging with the Continental soldiers. 

We were using a variation of the rules that the Metropolitan group used for their own AWI campaign, simplified for convention games. They had actually contoured the table under the mats to match the maps found in Babits' history.


The initial positions of the British infantry and cavalry were already known. The Americans, however, were largely hidden, with only the skirmish line of the militia and a single regular unit visible.


The Americans began by firing and moving away, much as they had in real life. The British moved forward at the double, hoping to close the distance before too many casualties could accrue from the militia's rifle fire.


Unfortunately, thanks to a mix-up on the militia's part, a large number of them were caught by the charging British. Rather than breaking and running, however, some of the militia elected to stand and fight. The 17th Dragoons hit home into the skirmishers, breaking them. A unit of American Dragoons revealed themselves and begin moving to challenge the 17th.


The British center and left flanks bogged down considerably, having to break through the skirmish line with cold steel. They were successful, however, at reducing the American's morale value, which started at 8, and was rolled against with a units quality die whenever morale needed to be tested. As the game continued, the American's morale decreased at a steady, but faster, rate than that of the British.

The militia on the American right continued to fall back, with the 17th Dragoons in hot pursuit. Another unit of American cavalry revealed themselves, to challenge the Legion Dragoons.


The American skirmishers continued to hold in the face of the British regulars, surprising everyone. The 17th Dragoons were nearly routed, but came back and managed to slaughter one the companies of American cavalry that attacked them.

The British cavalry on the left flank slaughtered the dwindling group of skirmishers. However, the rest of the regular militia units were revealed as the British broke through the skirmish line. Lurking behind them, somewhere, were the real Continental soldiers.


The cavalry on the British left took a moment to reorganize, as the infantry marched forward. A gap appeared in the British line, as there was still one unit of militia skirmishers that just wouldn't go away. A company of cavalry moved to fill the hole.


Finally, Washington's dragoons appeared, opposite of the large British Legion dragoon force. The last of the American skirmishers to still be in contact with the British line are seen off.


Having chased away another small force of American cavalry, the 17th Dragoons see their chance and headed into the center of the American militia line, which reformed and began to protect the last remaining skirmishing units. The American line still fell back where it could.


The main Continental units were revealed, showing that the Americans still had some fight left in them. However, a massive cavalry brawl broke out over on the British left. The American dragoons were certainly better soldiers, but the Legion cavalry had the advantage in numbers.


The cavalry scrum broke down, causing huge casualties on both sides. A number of British infantry units, however, charged into contact with the militia units, which caused a number of morale results that leave the Americans despondent.

At this point, the GMs recommended that the game could be ended. The American's morale had gotten so low that it would be very difficult for any but the most elite units to resist simply breaking and routing from the battlefield. These routing units would then add to the morale burden in a cascading effect.

The result, historical though it was, was a decisive British victory.

I had a lot of fun in this game. The rules were fairly simple, but allowed for a lot of tactical action. The paper minis were a surprise, but they not only looked great, but held up over the course of the game (accidentally thrown tape-measures non-withstanding, of course).

Monday, June 13, 2016

NJCON 2016 - Saturday Games

This past weekend was NJCON 8. There was no SAGA tournament this year, so instead I decided to join in a participation game, which I'll cover later this week. 

In the meantime, here are pictures of some other games that were going on during the day. 

American Civil War

WWI Western Front

Zombie apocalypse skirmish

American Civil War

Ancients, Romans vs Germans

WWII Skirmish

American War of Independence

Pre-European Native American skirmish

American Civil War

American Civil War (seemed pretty popular)

Napoleonics

WWII in the Desert

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Disable Sensor Net - Heroes of the Aturi Cluster AAR

Raider Squadron returns with some new additions. 

Rebel Command: "Raiders, the TIE Defender pilot you brought back has given us some critical intel.

An asteroid field in the Argus system conceal an Imperial refueling station. If we can capture this base, we could gain a well-defended starting area, deep in Imperial space."

However, the base is protected by an early-warning sensor net, which would give the Empire ample time to prepare against any attack we launch. Disable it before we can strike!"

Raider Squadron
Raider Two: X-Wing
Name: Brian
Callsign: Starfish

Raider Three: Y-Wing
Name: Bob
Callsign: Screwball

Raider Five: Y-Wing
Name: Gary
Callsign: Blip

Raider Six: Y-Wing
Name: Cameron
Callsign: L-Jenkins


Raider Two: "Alright, Raiders. Let's try and keep of the Imp's sensor net - we don't want the entire system's worth of TIEs coming down on our heads."


Raider Three: "You jinxed us, Two! We've got Squints inbound."


Raider Five: "Two sensors down!"

Raider Two: "And there goes an Eyeball."

Raider Six: "Damn! We've got another Squint that wants to tangle."


Raider Three: "Scratch another Eyeball."

Raider Six: "Fourth Squint in range. If this keeps going, we're going to be drowning in Imp fighters!"


Raider Six: "Ok, that's another sensor gone... Keep an eye on that new Squint."

Raider Three: "Boom! Glad I brought that bomb."

Raider Five: "Careful Two, you've got a Dupe on your tail!"


Raider Three: "Second bomb away! Take that you imperi-"

Raider Five: "Three's down! But I've got a transponder signal - he's alive!"

Raider Six: "One more sensor destroyed! Let's get those last two!"


Raider Two: "Glad these morons put this net in an asteroid field. They can't seem to avoid them!"

Raider Five: "Ha! I got another sensor. Onto the last one."


Raider Six: "What are you doing, Two?"

Raider Two: "Gonna see if I can't get that Dupe before Five gets the sensor."

Raider Five: "You're on, Two!"


Raider Two: "Damn! Dupe got past me."

Raider Five: "Lucky me - I've got a stationary target. And it's gone!"

Raider Six: "The Imp's are running for it!"

Rebel Command: "Raiders, the sensor network is broken! We'll send a shuttle to retrieve Raider Three. All other ships, regroup with the main strike force and prepare to launch the assault. The refueling station will be ours!"

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Cleaver Named Guild Ball Tournament - Guild Ball AAR

While enjoying a nice three day weekend, I took part in another local tournament, run once again by local area pundit Alex, who unfortunately failed several times while trying to name the tournament correctly.


 You can also call him "King Typo."

The tournament saw 14 players assemble, from the Liberty and Capital Guild Ball groups, along with some visitors from New Jersey.


I was running Masons again, with the following line-up:

  • Honor
  • Marbles
  • Brick
  • Mallet
  • Flint
  • Decimate
  • Mist

Over the course of fours games, I played against Union (12-10), Brewers (6-12), Masons (12-10), and Morticians (6-12). With two wins and two losses, I placed 7th overall - not too bad for a casual player. 

My games mostly revolved around trying to make the Chissile work - using a supercharged Chisel to run up the field and potentially take out multiple players and score a goal if possible. In the two games I won, it worked. In the two games I lost, it didn't, with my opponents shutting down Chisel through movement debuffs.

Now that the tournament's passed, I can really start to play with Hammer, and maybe pick up Avarisse and Greede, who I saw all over the place at the event. 



Overall, I had a great time, and I'm looking forward to Alex's next event.