The Elizabethan Zombie Chronicles #3 - The Batlle of Barnford

Having regrouped after the attack on the camp the Spanish under Captains Fanez and Cabanellas marched towards the Hamlet of Barnford, they had to clear the village if they were to secure a base of operations for future campaigns.

By now the Spanish Captain's had become cautious to the ways of the dead, the archway into Barnford was clearly a trap...

The cavalry flanked the village and galloped into the village square charging down a werewolf before it had a chance to counter charge. The square was full of the dead, the cavalry commander swallowed hard, had they bitten off more than they could chew this time?

Wave after wave of evil creatures scrambled to attack the cavalry, each time they beat back the dead and foul beasts until finally down to two valiant souls they were forced to retreat.

Meanwhile the Spanish main forces spread out to attack the village, with the cannon covering the main gatehouse.

The dead when not under the direct command of a witch have no concept of control and shamble forwards looking for living flesh to feast upon.... 

The Spanish had quickly become veterans from their first encounters and teased the dead out from the village, waiting behind the hedge row and shooting several down before they could reach the defenders.

Fanez spotted an opening in the ranks of the dead and charged into the Witch and her escort, she had been sitting back casting a chill wind across the Spanish troops but was caught cold by the lightening attack, stripped of her escort she broke and ran.

Battled was joined on all fronts as the dead clashed with the living. slowly the dead fell and their number became fewer...

In a final act of defiance the dead overran the cannon consuming the crew before they were dispatched by a group of sword and bucklermen.

The bulk of the dark forces destroyed the Witches fell back from the village leaving Barnford to the Spanish who mopped up the remaining zombies who without their controllers were no threat to the victorious spanish.

Another fun encounter.

The Witches and their spell casting created a new treat for the humans, who lost a number of soldiers to the chill wind cast across the battlefield. 

Next up the Spanish go on the offensive.
But the dead will be waiting....

Caution may contain sharp objects - Elizabethan Pike.

The recent out break of Zombie Games have given me the push that was needed to get these fellows off the paint table.... They have probably been hanging around for the best part of 8 years...

Great to paint but a touch dangerous to handle as the pikes are rather sharp which adds to the danger of the Zombie games :-)

Painted up as English they should be able to fulfil a number uses as Spanish reinforcements and for the plantation of Ireland which is on the cards for later in the year. 

With less than 10 days of 'Elizabethan' February to go I hope to get a second unit complete before thinking about what to switch to in March, which could be more fantasy elements or Korean Micro-Armour.

Anyhow these might get an outing soon as the Zombie games start to take shape and the human's great draw deeper into the Rising in Elizabethan England.

The Elizabethan Zombie Chronicles #2. Attack on the camp.

After their first encounter on English soil Captains Fanez and Cabanellas and their detachment made camp at a small holding on the road to Barnford, they ordered their men to pitch their tents and the cavalry were sent off to scout the surrounding area.

As the sun slipped below the surrounding hills, the camp was attacked by forces of the Army of Darkness.

Cabanellas rang the alarm and his troops rushed to defend the camp...

Half the Spanish forces were able to deploy with 12" of the centre of the table, whilst the remaining forces rushed to reinforce the camp from the second turn.

The forces of evil attacked from all sides with half their forces deploying on the first turn and the second half appearing on the second turn, they are able to appear on any edge as along as it is not immediately following a human unit.

The Witches had learned from their early skirmish and stood back casting a deadly chill across the Spanish defenders. Troops cowered under the evil spell and picked up early pins. 

However the early successes were not to last as Spanish reinforcements rushed to defend the camp from the evil creatures they caught a number of the old hags in the rear, killing them and their zombie body guards.

In the confusion of battle and as day turned to dusk, zombies pushed towards the centre of the camp. Closing with the defenders, the decaying husks were struck down but not before they had inflicted a number of casualties on the camp defenders.

Meanwhile in the woods to South of the camp Spanish troops attempted to clear the woods of attackers only to be set upon by more evil forces being drawn to the sound of battle, wolves charged into the Spanish Calviers who were torn to shreds by the foul beasts and the Werewolves.

The wolf pack and the werewolves prepare to charge again.

Captain Fanez rushes to support his men killing a number of the werewolves before the Vampire swept in killing his bodyguards and striking him down.

Meanwhile the shambling dead entered the camp but with each passing turn their number got less and less as the Spanish struck them down with sword and shot.

As the Spaniards secured the camp the final attack from the werewolves charged in killing several defenders before they were destroyed and the remaining attackers slipped into the darkness.

A closer scenario than the first, the Werewolves are vicious on the attack but lack the numbers to sustain more than a single round of combat. The zombies have the numbers but with such a low resistance score don't last long...… but that's what I had in mind, I guess I will need to paint more...

Next up the Spanish reach the village of Barnford…..

Warlords of Erehwon - Pin Markers

So 14 days into February and I am a little behind on the plan to stick to a project each month. I picked these casualties up from Colonel Bills back in November at Warfare.

They will be perfect for shock/pin markers for Warlords of Erewhon or Sharp Practice.

The good doctor and the assault team are from Warlord Games, I have added a dice holder to the bases as they were not getting any table time. They should now if the Zeds get hold of the them.

Next up English Pikes......

Dispatches from the front V

It's been a busy couple of weeks since the last dispatch from the front, unfortunately painting to a ground to a halt due to real life distractions and a lack of pikes, but more on that later. 

Over at the wyverns we have been bolstered by a couple of new club members, the club always struggles in the winter months with membership dropping to around break even point and just as you begin to question the commercial sense in running in it's present form we seem to get extra's to bolster our number.

Step up not one but two new members both with an interest in Napoleonic's amongst other things. So we thought we would ease them in with a run through of Sharp Practice and very close it was to, a classic game where the turn of a card or pull of chit made all the difference, the French had been on a foraging mission, the British were slow to react and watched as the French grabbed their loot and ran before they could get their charge in.

A close run thing and everyone had a great time.

Elsewhere Battlestar Galactica was given a run out - very nice.

If anyone fancies coming along on a club night we are based just outside Worcester and meet on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month you can find the club site here.

As a Christmas present I was signed up for the Worcester ghost walk, It amazed what you can learn about your own city, from the tunnels that shipped the defeated army of Charles II to the river after the battle of Worcester, to the Ghost of King John's dancing bears.

One of the most interesting stories was the head of Oliver Cromwell on the Guildhall complete with devil horns. The suggestion was that he sold his soul to the devil for victory at the Battle of Worcester and 7 years good fortune.

He died on the 3rd Sept 1658 - 7 years to the day of the Battle of Worcester.
I had heard the story before but did not know we went as far as adding him to a civic building,  I am definitely pinching that story for the Elizabethan Zombie Campaigns.

V is back...

Ok it's a re-run of the follow up TV series which was seriously short of budget and used much of the stock footage of the original mini-series but hey it's a good watch although it does tend to drive everyone else out of the room when it's on.

You can catch it on Forces TV if you have satellite or free view.

We also gave Zombicide Invaders a run out, some interesting mechanics beyond Black Plague. Iam not sure it moves the gaming experience on much. In it's desire to shorten the game play it seems to have lost something along the way, you are straight into super weapons and a serious number of infected... the beauty of the earlier editions was the build up of tension as you went and the need to build up your armoury... still it was good to give it a try...

The pikes from Foundry finally turned up yesterday I ordered them in their New Year sale but there was a stock issue. I can now crack on with the pike units for February's painting challenge, but what's with the packaging?

Surely an envelope would have been enough?

Right back to the brushes....

King Rat.

Another cheap purchase from e-bay and additional forces for the forces of Darkness. He is from the Bushido Miniatures range and comes with a horde of black rats to keep him company.

With the dead nailed into the plague houses and the plague pits full to the brim, it is unsurprising that other evils creatures were likely to evolve or rise out of dark magic conjured up by the witches.

Is this a new enemy or an unholy alliance?

Either way the streets are no place to walk alone with the King Rat and his hordes spilling out from cellars and ruins. 

You never know he might just get an outing next weekend.

The Elizabethan Zombie Chronicles #1 - Beachhead.

First game in a series of encounters set in a zombie infested England...

After storms off the English coast had wreaked havoc to the ships of the Grand Armada remnants of the Army of Flanders came ashore somewhere in Southern England, the army gathered its shattered units and regroups and elements of the army march inland to seek a suitable position of defence to await further reinforcements and local Catholics to rally to their cause.

Using the Warlords of Erewhon Rules the Spanish field 1000 points to patrol this foreign land seeking shelter when they are confronted by elements of the Army of Darkness.

Two Ships Captains are present Alvar Fanez and Miguel Cabanellas, with Calviers, Sword and Bucklermen backed up by Cannon and Horse. To win the day they simply have to destroy more points of an enemy also fielding 1000 points.

Following a stream inland the Spanish forces find their path blocked by a mass of dead and other fowl beasts, 

The Spanish forces advance to the hedge row over looking the farm house, when the air is turned black as crows poor from the trees diving straight for the advancing Spanish, they slash with their swords hacking the Crows down as they flew into their human foe.

The dead advance through the valley, whilst other evil forces swing left taking the high ground to the West of the farm house.

Fanez orders his cavalry forwards.

They crash into the recently turned firing their pistols as they charge in, the warhorses trample the dead under foot, while their heavy swords send the dead back to where they belong.

Miguel Cabanella on the West Flank is faced by the stuff of nightmares, a vampire type creature sweeps into attacking him and his defenders time and again they force him backwards slowly gaining the upper hand.

Meanwhile the cavalry continue their bloody work tearing into mass ranks of the rotting dead, despite their numbers the dead fail to land a blow on the well armoured cavalry.

A creature half man and half wolf skirts the farm house and rips into the advancing Spanish catching one unfortunate soul before he is killed by the human defenders who shoot him down before he can inflect further casualties.

Facing increasing pressure from hill top the Spanish Captain is set upon by a mass of the dead, but is able to defeat them his body guard sacrificing themselves to drive the dead back.

The Cavalry continue their advance striking down yet more of the evil dead, it is only when the Witch sends a chill wind towards them that unhorses one of the valiant knights that they begin to question their mortality. But the heavy lifting had been down and the valley was clear of the risen.

The skirmish was over and the dead retreated under the cover a thick mist that appeared on the battlefield. The Spanish were content to hold the field, they had suffered minor losses but knew the dead would sure to be back.

An interesting encounter and a good scene setter for a number of linked games, it was nice to get some of the new stuff on the table. The heavy cavalry make short work of the zombies. The dead have the numbers but the chances of striking a blow and securing a kill is very slight, they need to think about picking their targets next time. The cannon would be better to target single creatures such as the Werewolves and Vampire as ball did little to slow the dead advance.
The likes of the Werewolves and Vampire perhaps need a couple of "supporters" to keep them in play a little longer.

Plenty to think about whilst I plan up the next games.
I am sure the make up of forces will be different as the Spanish look to clear the hamlet of barnford in the next encounter which will give them a base of operations or will they be beaten back and be forced to fit with their backs to the sea.