Hobby: 1490 Doom Crew

 

We've recently been trying out the very interesting 1490 Doom ruleset, by Buer Games (LINK) which has been a lot of fun to try out, and with a low model count, its an approachable project. You can see my wayward band of fogwalkers here, made from a combination of Frostgrave pieces, and Wargames Atlantic Villagers and Guards kits.  

I think overall an appealing little project, I'll try to put up the actual images of the playtest we did soon.  I suspect we will be getting some more games in of it in the future as well. 

One thing we found while working on our warbands was that the villagers and guards kits don't quite scale together, the Guards are slightly (and in some cases much) larger than the villagers, just as an aside if youre thinking of making your own.   That being said, both the North Star plastics and the Wargames Atlantic kits are excellent, and well worth the price point being asked for them. 

We found that the 1490 Doom companion app was hugely helpful in playing the game and made it a breeze. If your reading this, then I'm imaginging youve probably played a tabletop game or two, so many of the conventions should feel very familiar to anyone who's played Dungeons and Dragons, or a flavor of Warhammer. 

Thanks for reading! 

-Your Favorite Madman-

The Western Marches: Battle of Wraithwood

 Some time ago now, my friend Chris descended upon our realms here in North Carolina once more to darken the skies with crossbow bolts and cause the ground to rumble with the clattering of a thousand dice. He brought with him a very lovely force of 15mm Renaissance figures painted up as a the retained men of a noble house within the Kingdom of Wallonce in his Western Marches setting.  We played two games of Dragons Rampant during his visit, this first game he squared up against our other friend Chris (I know, it gets confusing), who brought a sizeable force of very spooky skeletons to plague the realms of men with.  As this was in October of last year, I'm a little hazy on the exact disposition of forces and a direct play by play, but I'm going to attempt to catalog the tenor of the game as best as I can below

The Game Size was 24pts and they were playing the "Into the Valley of Certain Death" Scenario, which sees both armies attempting to move off the opposing table edge, through the enemy army and a table filled with dangerous terrain. 

The Retinue of Lord Hollowell of Wallonce

Painted by Chris H.

Lord Hollowell [Elite Foot]

-Goader

Pikemen Militia [Light Foot]

Halberdier Militia [Light Foot] 

                                                Crossbow Militia [Heavy Missiles]

                                               

                                               Alchemist's Company [Scouts w/ 'Spellcaster']

   The Unquiet Dead of the Wraithwood

    Painted by Chris Mc.

   The Bone Lich Mull'Occm [Light Foot w/ Undead]

    4x Skeleton Warriors [Light Foot w/ Undead]

 

    Skeleton Archers [Light Missiles w/ Undead]

 

                                                 Wraiths [Lesser Warbeasts w/ Undead]

An overview of the table before deployment, the forest stands, and the giant mushrooms are all counted as dangerous terrain for the purposes of this scenario, no doubt the evil magic tainting the Wraithwood has seeped deep into the roots of the trees, and encouraged them to new heights of arboreal malice.

A view of the Walloncian line, the ranged arquebuses and crossbows deployed to the right, and the pikes and halberdiers on the left, both wings using the hostile terrain to their advantage, encouraging the undead host to march through a hail of bolts and bullets across dangerous and rough terrain to get to grips with them

The undead, however, have the numbers to weather the fire, and the Wraiths have the 'ranger' ability allowing them to cross through terrain features without distress (after all, who best to traverse the Wraithwood but the Wraiths themselves)

multiple Regiments of Skeleton Warriors move to engage the Walloncian Pikes along the left flank, but several units falter in the rough terrain or fail to organize well enough to charge just yet. Resulting in several Undead units strung out in dangerous terrain, with only one unit making it into close quarters with the Humans on the left.

The Wraiths on the Right have better luck, crashing into the Alchemist's Company and causing some casualties. If the Wraiths can continue to roll up into the Crossbows, it could prove disastrous for the Humans, by taking away their ranged advantage. 

Lord Hollowell and his retainers survey the battle, waiting for the most opportune moment to commit to the fight in earnest.

The Undead were repulsed from the Pikemen and lost a scattering of other units to the restless spirits of the trees. Walloncian strength of arms was holding the line firm for the moment.

Taking decisive action in the center, the Halberdier Militia charged into the entangled Skeleton Warrior units. They made some good progress in causing damage to the skeletons, but not as much as they would have hoped, and were rewarded for their bravery with a hail of arrow fire from the Skeleton Archers, which did a brutal number on the unit, and broke the spirit of the rest, causing them to flee. The Pikes slew another depleted unit of Skeletons but were overwhelmed at last by the last of the Undead's reserve, collapsing the entirety of the Walloncian left.

The Right faired little better, with the Alchemist's Company being slain or fleeing from the Wraith's attack. The Crossbows finished off the battered unit of Wraiths, but they too found themselves overrun by the last of a damaged Skeleton Warriors unit.

Lord Hollowell stands alone. defiant in the face of the Wraithwood's evil

While things might appear grim for the Men of Wallonce, a unit of Elite Foot with a leader is a daunting prospect in Dragons Rampant, and Chris H. did a lot to whittle down the threats on the table with his foot and missiles, before ever engaging with the Elite Foot. Essentially the Humans have a very powerful, heavily armored unit, capable of moving and performing actions reliably, versus the remaining undead force which is comprised primarily of light archers and lightly damaged light foot.

The Archers open fire onto Lord Hollowells Retinue, but struggle to score damage against their Armor 4, despite getting a fair number of hits.

The last of the Skeleton Warriors, move to charge the Humans, but fail to activate sadly, leading to Lord Hollowell's forces engaging and destroying the last of the Skeletal Warriors

With the dedicated melee infantry gone, the game was largely decided. The Skeleton Archers fired off a parting volley into the retinue, effecting no casualties, and vanished into the dark eaves of the Wraithwood, no doubt taking the word of the defeat to their Dark Masters

The Banner of Lord Hollowell stands tall on the battlefield, and the first rays of sunlight break over the gray cast clouds, lightening the heaviness in the air and returning some life to the haunted trees and dead grass. The Dark Magic of the Wraithwood has been repulsed for now but at a considerable human cost, no great reveille will be held this night, merely a stoic toast that those that fell did not do so in vain.

Minor Walloncian Victory. 

Hobby: Midland Bandits #1

A few old Wargames Factory Viking Huscarls with pieces from the Frostgrave Cultists added on, these friendly fellows are the first in a wave of shield-bearing infantry to accompany my Knights of the Feast in games of Dragons Rampant.  For their base, I want to get some tall grass and meadow flowers with likely a dark brown earth color like Stirland Battlemire, with small rocks to break things up visually. 

Jornath 40k: Kula

Location:   Kula, Kula Province

Country: Manfredi-At Prima

Province: Kula Province

Population: 4.5 Million

Kula is the capital of Kula Province, the largest civic and maritime producing region in the nation of Manfredi-At Prima along the Imperial World of Jornath’s Northern Hemisphere. It is the focal point of the opening stages of the Battle for Jornath.

History: Kula was founded 3,500 years after initial human settlement on Jornath, springing to life at the confluence of the bountiful river systems flowing in from the coast. It was a combination of numerous agricultural facilities, communications outposts, and minor maritime ship crafting factories. For several generations Kula gathered regional influence, through the petty feuding of local Lords or Kings, it even purportedly enjoyed a brief time as the capital of a regional kingdom. Though much of the information and histories of this period were lost during reunification, with the Imperium of Mankind.  After the Legiones Astartes departed, vast caravans of interplanetary traders, artisans, and the enigmatic tech-priests of Mars, flooded the planet, Kula was one of many cities on Jornath to benefit from the technologies of the wider Imperium. Already a truly labyrinthine metropolis,  the advanced building capabilities and solutions that the techpriests offered turned Kula into North-western Jornath’s first Hive city,  though a meagre hive by comparison to other worlds, Kula’s reputation terrestrially, as a beautiful river city, a place of business, art and mercantile power was amplified a thousandfold.  Soon the Patrician Families from Guffmans-Platz, to Oakenzid and even further south were scrabbling, bribing, and scheming to control the “River Jewel”. This reached a head several years later, during the outbreak of the Horus Heresy. The Genntim Family, with the backing of the Black Cross Shipwrights Union, and a notable supporter of the Warmaster’s cause, (Addolense Genntim, the family patriarch seemed to believe the burgeoning Church of the Emperor was being encouraged rather than dissuaded by the Emperor) marched into Kula’s southern civic basilica, with a few dozen well armed retainers, and began shooting.   The Genntim Massacre, solidified Kula Province in the name of the Warmaster; echoing similar scenes across the planet, and indeed the galaxy as Chaos tore at the soul of the Imperium.  Fortunately, the Traitor’s did not hold Kula for long, thanks in large part to the commander of the (then infantile) Kula Conservator Cohort, Euclid Kinnell, who remained loyal to the planetary governor’s ( an Ultramarine Administrator and Advisor) final order to maintain the Imperial Truth, as laid down by the Master of Mankind himself.  The Kula Conservator Cohort, was at this time billeted several kilometers outside hive spire,  in the Indigo Sparrow Dockyards, Euclid rallied his men, and marched to the southern civic basilica, encountering traitor union men from Black Cross, and mustermann from House Genntim. Eventually the K.C.C.  battered their way to the civic basilica, and therein forced the Genntim families surrender, under pain of having their name expunged from the noble enscrolle of Kulaian Families, a threat worse than the death of each member of the family. Since that time the people of Kula hold loyalty, and pride of arms in high esteem,  the path of the KCC’s march to save Kula’s soul from Heresy is now immortalized and is a must see for any pilgrims to the area,  beginning at the Indigo Sparrow Dockyards (now the regional command center for the planetary defense forces) and ending at the Cathedral to Saint Euclid the Loyal.  

Geography: The Hive city of Kula covers an area of 1567 km,  and sits only slightly above sea level,  the city itself is criss crossed by rivers, tributaries and lakes, which sparkle with the millions of lights from the city, which is divided into 27 districts. The land around the city is marshy, and nutrient rich,  covered in agricultural complexes, fisheries, and swamps.

Military: About 5% of the population is permanently enlisted into the Kula Conservator Regiment, which equates to roughly 225,000 fighting men and women.  Which is broken into 10 Regiments of 22,000 Armsmen apiece with a single 5000 Armsmen mechanized regiment.  Basic equipment is fashioned in the Cadian style, but with a bent towards the finery and circumstance consistent in traditional Jornathi battledress. The Cadian Flakhelmet Mk XI, is an expensive and highly technical piece of equipment, which can be difficult for less disciplined or less technically inclined personnel to maintain efficiently,  the Jornathi Defense Forces meeting both of these criteria, the optionable alternative chosen by many cities on Jornath, is the Alar-Median, Slatthelm K1,  which, offers a similar weight and protective capability to that of the Cadian Mk XI, but does not include the Vox interface or advanced user HUD, or sensory deadening suite.  In terms of Body Armor, Jornath sources from Antax, Alar-Median and Tolkhan.  Kula chooses to take from the Tolkhan Dura-Curiass 023, which takes the Cadian style flakvest, removes the shoulder plating, and alters the sensory and trauma response systems to maintain operation at peak efficiency under water, or in highly damp conditions, but it suffers from decreased performance in high-dust situations, it offers similar impact resistance. The Kula Conservator Regiments, use the M36-C Kantrael Pattern Lasgun, for the carbines obvious benefits in naval operations.  The Regiments use the Chimera Armored Personnel Carrier as its chief combat transport,  the Helstannon “Intrepid” Carrier, for both hauling equipment and most terrestrial troop conveyance. The Chief combat vehicle for the KCC units, is the Leman Russ Battle Tank

This has been a detailed look at one location involved in the Battle for Jornath.

-Your Favorite Madman-

The War of Saints and Kings. (Another Wargames Setting)

Hey all, I wrote this setting, based off a campaign fluff of my own creation that I've been playing in Napoleon :Total War (which is a very good game, and i recommend it)  on my phone today while waiting in lines on Black Friday.  Im thinking of using the Black Powder ruleset for it which are produced by Warlord Games. Its obviously a bit of Alternate History,  and is roughly inspired by "A Very British Civil War" . All that said, i hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

After successfully defeating and killing Napoleon at the Battle of Dover, the Coalition went to work dividing the vast tracts of the former French Empire, which by this point (1845)   spanned from the southernmost tip of Italy, to the border with Denmark in the Far North.  The British opted to take control over the Italian and southern European territories, to offer good ports and way stations to mercantile fleets headed to colonies in Africa and India.    The King  appoints his cousin  Sir Edmund Vincent as governor of the region, assured that he will honor his wishes.    Edmund however has aspirations of glory, and is far from contented with just Italy,  he is set on all of England.     Two decades after Napoleons death, and Italy has become far less anglicized than had been hoped.   With the bulk of the population pushing for separation from England rather than total absorption into it.   The original plan,  to make Italy highly favorable to natural born English citizens to get them to integrate the two societies had failed.  In no small part due to Edmund's secretly resisting the migration of British citizens into his cities.    Worried about an open rebellion, the King sends an army group to Italy, as a sign of good faith to Edmund. Italians see this as a forced occupation by a foreign power and become even more riotous and angry.    Their nerves are soothed over shortly however when Edmund converts to the Catholic Church, and moves partial control of Italy to a puppet government, consisting of The Pope ( loyal to Edmund  after his conversion and significant financial "donation") ,  an Italian General, and a group of Governors, all under Edmund's payroll.  With the Italians swooned to his cause, Edmund sets to work on the army group,  throwing lavish parties for the officer corps at the Italian peoples expense, and getting many of them pretty Italian consorts and some even gained wives. In a years time it becomes evident to most in Italy that the Army Group is more loyal to Sir Edmund than the King.  

Finally catching wind of Edmund's actions from some concerned Officers and in-country loyal citizens, the King heads an army to Italy, in a show of force to get Edmund to back down from his traitorous actions.  The Kings army  sets down on Sicily,  from there they actively begin to fortify the island and blockade Italian ports.  Before any kind of battle is joined, the King sends a pleading letter to his cousin to relinquish his position and come back to England with him.   The response was bold.  The next day, Edmund declared himself (with the support of the pope) a living saint and rightful ruler of Italy.   No further words needed to be said,  The King set his forces on the march from southern Italy to Rome,  where "Saint Edmund" had made his capital.    

Edmund's army consists of some 700,000 Italians, and 300,000 English. With anywhere from 100-250,000 militia able to be raised from religious pilgrims, farmers, and other citizens.

The King's Army consists of 800,000 Regular English Army.   200,000  Colonial Troops from India, Natal, and Zululand.   And a possible force of 8,000- 15,000 militia loyal to the English Crown.

                                                           -Your Favorite Madman-