The Adventures of Claude Canard - Episode 5 - Dust Tears and Dice.

The return of an old favourite after a rather lengthy delay Ensign Claude Canard and his Friend and mentor Ensign Côtelettes de Mouton of the French Sloop "Le Vendeen" is back this time repackaged within Sharp Practice 2.

 

Our last outing saw Claude trapped in a cluster of farm buildings as Ottoman Infantry marched on to the table looking for blood. Fortunately for our Claude a sand storm allowed him and his crew to slip away before the Ottomans closed in for the kill.

 

After a number of days evading Ottoman patrols Claude stumbles into a Company of Regular Infantry but before he can relay his story Mameluk Cavalry appear on horizon.

 

 

With deployment points at opposite sides of the table it would be a stand up fight between foot and cavalry. Using the Dawn and Departure terrain rules, the Ottoman player had the drop on the French and moved the best terrain away from the reach of the French lines.

The French rush forward their light troops and secure the adobe building hoping to hold off the advancing cavalry.

The Mameluks bring on their whole command and look to ride down the French Company and our hero Ensign Claude Canard.

With the Arab horse picking up pace, the French line hold their fire, the skirmishers

take pot shots but the mass of cavalry is large in number and the Shock Points are easily absorbed. Arab lancers on the far right start to flank the French line. Claud and the men of the Le Vendeen scramble up a dune to observe the fight having had their fill not a few days before.

With Drummer and Doctor in toe the French line braces itself for the charge of the Mameluks.

The French line gambled on fire power alone and instead of taking up a line formation poured a  crashing volley into the galloping horsemen, it was not enough and Mameluks engaged with the French line.

The French company buckled and ran seeking cover in a stand of palm trees.

Claude looked on in horror.

Claude had to act he pulled his men together and poured fire into the flank of the regrouping cavalry.

They had suffered a significant about of shock from the melee and Claudes volley and the reforming line Infantry was enough to break the Mameluk Force Morale and send them running from the table. Claude's valiant actions had saved the day but it had been a close run thing.

It was great to see Claude and the men of the Vendeen back on the table. Sharp Practice 2 does give the Cavalry player a much improved chance of taking on a formed body of troops. Some poor dice by the French failed to slow the cavalry charge they could easily have been caught in the open and would have been a far risker scenario.

Next up a mission for Claude from the Dawns and Departures campaign suppliment.
Until next time.

Dick Turpin

All work and no play at the moment but a trip up north gave me the opportunity to mix in a little bit of historical fact with what's on the paint table.

Recently the paint table has been filled with Marines and Gentlemen, so why not throw an outlaw into the mix?

I give you Dick Turpin. 

Another find casting from Black Scorpion.

Our Dick wasn’t from York, was not dashing and did not even own a horse called Black Bess.

His grave in York is hidden in a back street alongside a housing estate and is pretty unremarkable. You really would not know it was here unless you were looking for it.

I was probably the only visitor recently apart from what looks like the markings of a drunk after a Friday night. The York sight seeing bus passes by his burial site but does not stop.

Turpin was tried and executed in York, most of his Highwayman crimes were commited in Essex. Whilst on the run he fled to Yorkshire. Where he continued he criminal adventures stealing horses under the guise of John Palmer.

He was unmasked whilst holed upon in York when he wrote to his brother asking for help.  His brother refused to pay the sixpence due on the letter and it was returned to the local post office – where Turpin’s old schoolmaster recognised his handwriting.

Unmasked he was caught and sentenced to death - All for the price of a stamp.

At his hanging at Tyburn, it is said that Turpin hired five professional mourners to follow him up the scaffold and he put on a show for the large crowd. His body was dug up by a labourer and taken to the garden of a surgeon, who paid for corpses for illegal medical dissection.  But the people of York people discovered what had happened and marched on the surgeon’s house and Turpin was laid to rest for good. 

The man very different from the myth a rather unimpressive criminal, much like his final resting place. 

But thanks to the Author Harrison Ainsworth and his 1834 novel Rookwood - Turpin became a legend after his death. Ainsworth inventing Black Bess and his ride to York.

Let's see if he can live up to the legend on the table top.

Until next time....

Saturday Paint Table - Gentlemen and Revenue Men.

Limited paint table action this week, but I did manage to finish off a couple of characters for Cutlass!.

With the Marines finished recently, I figured these two characters would be great for potential heroes or officer types.

My daughter has stepped in to suggest that my photgraphy is not the best and has offered up the following alternative pics. Secretly I have to admit the images are far sharper than my own, but she is relucant to become the full time PR manager for the blog :-)

I also finished off a couple of Revenue Men, the perfect opponents for Dick Turpin who is primed and waiting to join the fray.

Until next time.

The Rescue of Lu Whey - A Dragon Rampant Scenario - Part 2

Sunday night saw the first outing for Dragon Rampant - Chinese Style and what a game.....

Very 6.00pm BBC 2 if you are a child of the 70's...

 

Shih Chin's wife has been held hostage by the evil Kao Chau in an effort to keep him from joining the rebels at Liang Shan Po. Our heroes have received news that Lu whey is being held in a house several miles from the capital but she is soon to be escorted under military escort to the Capital.

 

 

Wasting no time at all Kao sets off down the road, he had chosen his forces well, a whole bunch of regular army, Temple Guards and even a pair of enchanted Foo Dogs.  Lu Whey was held in the war wagon. It was only a short distance and he felt confident he would whisk his prize away...

 

Meanwhile the men of Liang Shan Po split there forces looking to sandwich the column between two forces, Shin Chin had recruited Lu Ta and Sung Chaing to his cause together with a couple of detachments of cavalry.

 

 

Seeing the Water Margin Rebels to his left and right, Kao dispatched a unit of Infantry to stall the rebel advance. They pour out of the village only to be confronted by two heroes and the palace guard. They did not stand and were soon swept from the field.

 

 

Battle is joined at the head of the column, the Imperial militia are no match for the light cavalry of Liang Shan Po and they to are broken and flee the table, not the best start - Just because you where a uniform it does not make you soldier.

 

 

Kao Chau calls forwards his temple guard to force the road open. But the Cavalry fight on and force them back.

 

 

The Foo Dogs with their wild charge engage the cavalry and finally force them from the field but they had delayed the column long enough for the Heroes to catch the slow moving column.

 

Sung Chaing - The Good Judge catches up with the War Wagon and with his mighty Iron clubs  smashes through the wooden defences forcing the defenders to flee, he grabs Lu Whey and heads back towards her waiting husband.

 

 

Kao Chau who to be fair was really not having a good night rallied the wagon escort only to be set upon by Lu Ta  who had struggled to get into the fight thus far. A vision in Orange he chases the escort party from the table.

 

 

The Temple Guards who had been by far his best element were engaged by their arch enemy the Palace guard and are pushed back.

 

The Palace Guard fresh from their victory over the Temple Guard charge into Kao Chau and force him to flee. It really had not been his night.

The Good Judge escorts Lu Whey back to her Husband.....

Roll the Credits.....

A really fun game to run, the Heroes were valiant and the villains numerous but ineffective. The outcome could have been written for television, a shame the flame throwers did not make an appearance but. I am sure Kao Chau will have a cunning plan to seek his revenge.

The Rescue of Lu Whey - A Dragon Rampant Scenario - Part 1

The setting for tonights - Dragon Rampant outing using the Heroes of Liang Shan Po.

Shih Chin's wife has been held hostage by the evil Kao Chau in an effort to keep him from joining the rebels at Liang Shan Po. Our heroes have received news that Lu whey is being held hostage in a house several miles from the capital but she is soon to be escorted under military escort to the Capital.

If our heroes are to free her it must be now...

 

Can they rescue Lu Whey?

Will Kao Chau whisk her away to the capital.

Will the newly painted flame throwers make it to the table?

Stay tuned Water Margin Fans...

Scenario Notes.

Kao Chau and his prisoner escort start in the North East corner of the table they must cross the table and exit Lu Whey off the South West corner of the table. Our heroes can deploy in the South East or North West corners or both. They must free Lu Whey by beating her escort unit in combat and return to the home of Shih Chin.

 

Wargaming The Water Margin using Dragon Rampant.

Not perhaps the most exciting title for a blog post but it does what it says on the tin.

With the expansion of the Water Margin forces over the past 12 months the games have probably increased beyond your average game size for Songs of Blades and Heroes. I have always wanted to put on a larger game using the whole collection and Dragon Rampant should fit the bill allowing me to combine individual heroes and larger units on the same battlefield.

Set out below are the stats for each unit in the collection, broken down into the Heroes of Llang Shan Po, the Evil Kao Chau and several more generic pieces including the latest couple of recruits.

Foo Dogs.

I picked these up from Watchful I Studio last year when they launched their Warring States Range on Kickstarter, a simple golden paint job and they are table ready.

Sunday is the first outing for Dragon Rampant Oriental so lets see if all the paper planning has paid off.

DRAGON RAMPANT ROSTER

The Water Margin – Song Government Forces.

Units Name – Kao Chau – Government Offical – Prime Minister			Points                           5
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Offensive

Units Name – Imperial Army Yellow Banner			Points                           5
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	6+	Shoot Value/Range	5+/12”
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Mixed Weapons – Unit includes spear and bow.

Units Name – Imperial Army White Banner			Points                           5
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	6+	Shoot Value/Range	5+/12”
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Mixed Weapons – Unit includes spear and bow.

Units Name – Imperial Army			Points                           5
Attack	4+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot		Shoot Value
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Offensive – May not form Wall of Spears.

Units Name – Provincial Militia			Points                           5
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	6+	Shoot Value/Range	5+/12”
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	None	Options Chosen	Mixed Weapons – Unit includes spear and bow.

Units Name – Provincial General			Points                           6
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Prefect of Qingzhou			Points                           6
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger.	Options Chosen

Units Name – War Wagon			Points                           3
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6+
Move	6+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	7+	Shoot Value/Range	5+/12”
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	None	Options Chosen	Weighty Projectiles – Shorter Range Weapons.

Units Name – Flame Throwers			Points                           3
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6+
Move	6+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	7+	Shoot Value/Range	5+/12”
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	None	Options Chosen	Weighty Projectiles – Shorter Range Weapons.

Units Name – Temple Guard			Points                           4
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	6+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wild Charge. Counter Charge vs Ft.	Options Chosen

The Water Margin – Outlaws Heroes of Liang Shan Po

Units Name – Lin Chung – Hero.			Points                           6
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Shih Chin – Tattooed Dragon  – Hero.			Points                           6
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Lu – Ta Flower Priest - Hero			Points                           4
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	6+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wild Charge. Counter Charge vs Ft.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Sung Chaing – The good Judge – Hero.			Points                           6
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Chao Gai – Hero.			Points                           6
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Hu San-Hiang – 3rd Sister - Female Hero.			Points                           5
Attack	6+	Attack Value	4+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Offensive.

Units Name – Sur Erniang –2nd Sister - Female Hero.			Points                           5
Attack	6+	Attack Value	4+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Offensive.

 

Units Name – Palace Guard			Points                           6
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	6+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	3	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wild Charge. Counter Charge vs Ft.	Options Chosen	Shiny Armour.

Units Name – Liang shan Po Red Banner men			Points                           3
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wall of Spears.	Options Chosen

Units Name – – Liang shan Po White Banner men			Points                           3
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wall of Spears.	Options Chosen

Units Name – – Liang shan Po Black Banner men			Points                           3
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wall of Spears.	Options Chosen

Units Name – – Liang shan Po Blue Banner men			Points                           3
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wall of Spears.	Options Chosen

Units Name – – Liang shan Po Red/Blue Banner men			Points                           3
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Wall of Spears.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Cavalry			Points                           4
Attack	5+	Attack Value	4+
Move	5+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	10”
Armour	3	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Counter-Charge	Options Chosen

Units Name –– Liang shan Po Archers			Points                           4
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	6+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	6+	Shoot Value/Range	5+/18”
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen

The Water Margin – Fantastical Units

Units Name – Foo Dogs			Points                          6
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	6+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	10”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger. Wild Charge.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Chinese Dragon			Points                        10
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	6+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	5+	Shoot Value/Range	6+/12”
Courage	3+	Maximum Movement	10”
Armour	4	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Ranger.	Options Chosen	Flame Attack Cunning

Units Name – Terracotta Warriors			Points                           4
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	6+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	2	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Ranger. Wild Charge. Counter Charge vs Ft.	Options Chosen

Units Name – Undead			Points                           3
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	6+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	0+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	1	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Fear	Options Chosen	No Feelings – Hits rounded up.

Units Name – Fangshi Necromancer			Points                           5
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	5+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	8”
Armour	3	Strength Points	6
Special Rules	Hard to Target. Skirmish. Evade.	Options Chosen	Summoner

Units Name – Emerald Wizard			Points                           8
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	6+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	3	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Spellcaster.

Units Name – Azure Wizard			Points                           8
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	6+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	3	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Spellcaster.

Units Name – Amber Wizard			Points                           8
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	6+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	3	Strength Points	12
Special Rules		Options Chosen	Spellcaster.

Units Name – Rural Wizard			Points                           6
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	6+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value/Range	-
Courage	4+	Maximum Movement	6”
Armour	3	Strength Points	12
Special Rules	Heal Thee. Befuddle Thee. Sod off Spell.	Options Chosen	Wizardlings.