Hittite Guard - Infamy Infamy

Well it looks like next week game is off.... 

So a little less pressure to complete the current ancient lead pile, however I am managing to get in a couple of hours of hobby time in a day, I suppose lockdown has some advantages...

After last weeks officer types, the first of the Newline Hittites hit the table, a bit of a hidden gem if you ask me, some really nice designs which mix in really well with the other manufacturers.

They do require a little more cleaning up, with excess flash under the arms, legs and underside of the base, plus a number of the models need the hand drilling out to take the spear, but they take paint really well and with a mix of shields give you plenty of modelling options for units.

The unit above represents a Hittite guard unit more formally dressed than the previous units. These elite Warriors will bolster the infantry arm of the Hittite army. I lifted the colours straight off the Newline Website, the oranges and yellows give a superior feel to the mixed colours of the regulars.

Next up something a little different from the unfinished box.... 

Hittite Leaders - Infamy Infamy.

Having posted the assembled Hittite warband last week, first up of phase two, the leaders for the Hittites.

The  officers are a mix from, Warlord and Newline Designs, I have not come across the guys at Newline before but they have a wide range of figures for a number of ancient armies and are a lower price than their Warlord and Foundry counterparts.

The Newline castings mix in well with both Warlord and Foundry, they need some cleaning up, with excess flash under the arms or the underside of the base and in some cases the hands need drilling out to insert the weapons, but once based and painted you can see no real difference and do add some variety to the Hittite forces.

The Hittite officers are in bronze mail shirts and come with a number of shield options. Front row L-R Newline, Warlord, Warlord, Back row all Newline.

I have based them on the new command bases which I have custom made from Warbases. All I now need is to get a game in.

Next up Hittite Guards.

Infamy Infamy - The Elizabethan Zombie Chronicles #5

With the Dee Sanction at over 800% funded on Kickstarter it got me thinking about kicking off some of the Elizabethan Zombie War Games.

Whether it was lockdown boredom or the recent run of LOTR games using Infamy Infamy I figured I would adapt the Warlords of Erewhon - Army of Darkness to Infamy, Infamy - Both rule sets use chits or dice to provide random orders, which are a great aid to solo play.

So a short game to give the Infamy horror rules a run through.

Back in February the Spanish had cleared the village of Barnford see here. However the dead continued to seep into town, an earlier scouting mission identified the main entry point as the  bridge at the far end of town, if it could be blocked the Spaniards could secure the town properly. There was a sturdy wagon which would be perfect if it could be reached.

During lockdown one, I painted a number of new units for the Zombie Wars, but have yet to get them on the table. The perfect excuse. So a hand picked group set off on the mission.

The hand gunners picked off a few of the dead as they shuffled forwards. The way to the farm seemed clear of the dead.

Alvar Fanez and his body guard rushed forwards to secure the bridge and dispatch the few dead milling around, however despite hacking and slashing the dead would not die.

Fanez was beaten back... after being caught in the flank by some of the recently returned. That's really not what I had planned.

With hordes of dead now crossing the bridge, Fanez fell back along the river bank, having lost one of his body guards but he had escaped the clutches of the dead.

Meanwhile his men were having there own issues, the noise of the handguns had attracted numerous groups of the dead who slowly advanced across the cornfield.

The curse of newly painted figures.. The Pike block fell back unable to hold back the dead.

Unlike the Warlords of Erewhon rules the dead were no push overs and crept ever closer to the living. The hand gunners engaged to their front were caught in the flank by beguiled villagers who ambushed them and were driven back...  The living force morale slipped to zero. The bridge would remain open for now.

A fun encounter, the new rules worked well and provided some fresh challenges for the living, they will need to be far more cautious in the future.

Perhaps once Lockdown Two is finished I can get a few more games in.....

A summary of the rule modifications are set out below.

Tempus  Fugit.

The living play uses all of their Sigma Cards first conducting there actions before the undead player.

At the end of a turn, an unactivated undead group will move 1D6 towards the nearest living unit, if any Sigma Cards are in play these may be used to direct an undead unit to a target of the players choice.

Human Shock

The living ignore shock when moving on the table top.

Handguns

Range 24” – To Hit 5,6 – Lower Armour Class by one level if hit. Slow reload (requires 1 action)

Undead -  Each kill inflicted within hand to hand roll on the following chart. Each success adds a further figure to the unit.

No Armour	Light Armour	Medium Armour	Heavy Armour
5 or 6	6	6	6

Undead ignore shock up to the point that it stands at double the number of figures in the group. At that point the group is removed from play.

Undead have a limited ambush of 6”

Necromancer – On two Sigma Cards an additional undead unit from any deployment/ambush point may be deployed.

Fleet of Foot – All Terrain penalties are ignored (Rats and Crowz etc.)

Slow – Roll 2 Dice and discard the lowest dice for movement. (Zombies)

Kings of Bronze - Forces assemble.

Finding myself with a spare hour I thought I would get the freshly painted ancients out on the table. Whilst Covid19 has played havoc with so much of the fabric of what we do day to day, it has given many of us far more hobby time than could have been expected. Thank heaven for an immersive hobby.

Having spent much of the spring clearing the backlog of unfinished projects, I was determined that no metal mini should be left behind in this and future projects...

Phase one complete and all mini's painted.

First up the Hittite Forces.

Three units of spear.

Three units of bow.

One unit of levy spear.

One units of skirmishers.

One unit of chariot runners.

Two chariots.

Opposing them the New Kingdom Egyptians looking to reclaim their conquered lands.

Three units of spear.

Two units of close combat troops

One units of skirmishers.

Two chariots.

Not a bad start for the Infamy Infamy project.

Now for part two.

All of the above are from Warlord or Foundry, very different in style, but they do mix in rather well, Warlord are a little slighter than the heavier set Foundry casts. 

I plan on getting the first game on the table in December and should have part two well underway with Commanders for both sides more Egyptian's in the form of archers, Nubian auxiliaries & more Hittite spearmen. Plus more chariots for both.

Lots to do before the year is out...

New Kingdom Egyptian Chariots - Infamy Infamy.

Finally after a couple of weeks the Egyptian chariots roll off the production line.

I need to add shields but these count as done. Slightly inferior to their Hittite counterparts with only two crew rather than three. These are a great addition to the Egyptian forces, I think another 2-4 should be enough to give a true feel to the period. As usual great castings from the Foundry guys... others are available, but I like how sturdy these are....

I opted for a similar colour scheme for each model, There are mixed views on the correct colour but this feels right for what I am looking to achieve.

I adapted the Infamy Infamy rules to reflect the difference in use within bronze age armies. The chariot for the Hittites was a battle wagon designed to break the enemy ranks and ride down the enemy. Whilst the Egyptian variant was more of a mobile firing platform.

Within Infamy warriors are typically deposited before charging in on foot, but in my variant warriors will not leave to dismount from the chariots but will fight on board in hand to hand combat. With each chariot recording 8 casualty points.

Chariots will withdraw 2" for any point of shock on the group irrespective of the result of one round of combat.

If an enemy warrior or cavalry/chariot group moves within 4" of a group of warriors in chariots on the flank or rear the chariots may choose to evade.

Movement Light & Medium 2D6 + 6" Heavy 2D6 + 2"

Chariots may not enter broken ground.

Chariots against Open Order Foot receive a +2 in combat

They may carry a group of Chariot Runners who can deploy anywhere up to the limit of the chariots movement.

The Egyptian chariots were crewed by a driver (Kedjen) and a warrior (Seneni). Whilst not as well armoured as their Hittite counterparts, the horses were protected with textile armour and the warriors were usually armoured, with the driver armed with a shield... or will be when I finish them.

Unlike the Hittites that I have armed with a heavy throwing spear, I opted for bow for the Egyptians, whilst armed with both composite bow and javelin, I figured bow better describes the doctrine of a missile platform rather than an assault weapon as with the Hittites. 

I have not included heavy chariots but have added the elite variant of the Ne'Arin or 'Young Warriors' these were an elite regiment that saved Ramesses at the Battle of Kadesh. There are suggestions that they where drawn from the Amurru region, which would give me the excuse to use some of Foundry's Canaanite chariots.

The stats for Infamy Infamy.

Ne'Arin Chariots				Type	Elite Warriors
Points Value	22	Weapon	Bow	Strength	8
Armour	Step Out	Aggressive Attack	Characteristics
Medium	1	Always	Darken the skies

Medium Chariots				Type	Warriors
Points Value	16	Weapon	Bow	Strength	8
Armour	Step Out	Aggressive Attack	Characteristics
Medium	1	1	Darken the skies

Light Chariots				Type	Inferior Warriors
Points Value	14	Weapon	Bow	Strength	8
Armour	Step Out	Aggressive Attack	Characteristics
Light	1	2	Darken the skies

The Battle of Killiecrankie 1689 - Jacobite Rising - Command and Colors.

In the absence of face to face gaming time to give Jacobite Rising a run through. Another offering from the guys from Command and Colors that I picked up on Kickstarter recently. 

With 13 scenario's in the rule book I thought I would play out a number of the encounters in solo play, First up the opening Battle at Killiecrankie 1689. 

The English Parliament had replaced the Catholic King James VII with William of Orange and his wife Queen Mary, the Protestant daughter of James. The following year the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of doing the same with the crown of Scotland. Many Scots, mainly the Catholic and Episcopalian Highlanders, took exception to this and in response John Graham of Claverhouse, ‘Bonnie Dundee’ raised a force of mainly Highlanders loyal to James (called Jacobite's) to contest this decision. 

In response, the Scottish government assembled an army of mostly Lowland Scots to counter the rebellion. Under the command of General Hugh Mackay, the Government troops marched to intercept the rebels at the Killicrankie Pass near Blair Castle, on the key route into the Highlands from Perth. 

The forces deploy...

The Jacobite's who had arrived first, took up a position on a ridge above the pass. Mackay formed his troops in a line and simply ordered them to fire their muskets at the enemy. 

The Government army consisted of Dutch, English and (lowland) Scottish troops armed with slot bayonets. The Jacobite's lacked the uniformity - in equipment and clothing mainly armed with sword and shield. The main tactic of the army was the Highland charge. This involved a full speed advance the enemy line before discharging their muskets and pistols before then charging into hand-to-hand fighting with their traditional bladed weapons. 

On the day as the sun sank on the horizon on 27th July 1689, Dundee ordered his men to advance and, true to form, the Highlanders charged the Government line. Surprised by the rapid change in tactics, Mackay’s troops did not have time to fix bayonets and so were ill equipped for the close quarter hand to hand fighting that would follow. 

In this encounter the same was true, I pushed the lowland scots forward in the centre of the table to enable them to bring the Highlanders into range only for the Highlanders to draw a centre sector card and rush forward contacting the government line. 

On the day the battle quickly turned into a rout. Although the Jacobite's had secured their first victory of the rebellion, they had lost a third of their number as well as their inspirational leader Bonnie Dundee, who had been killed alongside his men in the charge. 

In the refight as the government centre crumbled under the assault, I rushed the cavalry forwards only for them to be defeated before they could stem the charging highlanders.... (losing to yourself in hand to hand is not fun :-)) 

Six flags to three the government forces are swept from the field. 

On the day the Jacobite's won in under thirty minutes. Government casualties were in excess of 1,200 whilst hundreds more were killed in the pursuit. Jacobite casualties were around 1,000, most of whom had been killed in the initial Government volley. 

A good opening game I need to brush up on the rules a little bit, solo play worked reasonably well 

drawing two cards for the Highland command and selecting the most appropriate, the Highlanders are aggressive in attack and the government troops really need to soften them up before they get into combat.

A fun afternoon's gaming - now back to the brushes.

New Kingdom Egyptians - Close Combat Troops.

With the first game having to be postponed until we escape lock down it gave me the opportunity to get a couple of extra units out of the lead pile and on to the table.

These are a mix of Foundry and Warlord, the Foundry chaps are slightly bulkier than their warlord counterparts but look ok once based up and give some variety to the Egyptian forces.

As mentioned in a previous post with spearman being in blue, I opted for red for the close combat troops, these fighters are carrying their shields slung on their backs to enable them to move at a brisk pace or use their mace axes with two hands.

The Nakhtu-aa or 'the strong arm boys' were close combat infantry who would advance rapidly and close with the enemy with their Khopesh sickle swords and two handed mace axes.

For those interested this are the points and stats for Too Fat Lardies - Infamy Infamy.

When compared to spearmen I have lowered the cost of the aggressive attack characteristic and given them Impetuous so they fight as Elite in the first round of combat.

New Kingdom Egyptians - Close Combat Troops - Nakhtu-aa				Type	Warriors
Points Value	20	Weapon	Hand to Hand	Strength	8
Armour	Step Out	Aggressive Attack	Characteristics
Medium	2	1	Drilled, Impetuous

Next up... The last of the original order. Egyptian Chariots roll on to the table.

Dispatches from the front XIII - Lock down special.

Locked down, Locked in, Locked up....Well it's only month right.... 

Day 1.

First up.....time to stock pile.. nope not toilet rolls or pasta but Foundry, Newline and Scarab to keep me going over the next month. With the first Egyptian game put back to December time to fill the ranks with some extra's...

Scarab's Ramesses II is a touch on the large side but he is a living a god so can probably justify the extra height. Before these hit the paint table I need to crack the first of the Egyptian chariots.

Meanwhile much like a supermarket delivery slot I managed to secure an order from Pete at Baccus, an early Christmas present and the start of next years project - 6mm Pony Wars, a very very little project for next year.

We managed to slip in a final game before lock down an adventure to the Barbary Coast. A great table to play on and a fun encounter using Sharp Practice

I played Keiff al Vaz some would say a terrible pirate but I would argue a successful businessman and man of the people. Just ask my band of jolly pirates !!!!

The British Marines came to interfere in our business interests by sending in row boats full of sailors and Infantry. The Brits had to storm the beach, secure the fort and rescue the prisoners a tough ask but they went at it in true style.

But the pirates were having none of it and defended the fort with cannon and musket and lots of wallah's with pointy sticks to defend the village.

A great days gaming with the battle raging across the beachhead and coastal village. In the end it came down to whose morale would last the longest.

The pirates nicked it in the final round securing the slaves in the compound including Lady Sarah Boyles and forcing the plucky Brits to get back on there boats.

To help while away the winter evenings I found a great Korean series on Netflix - Kingdom.

Shogun meets the Walking Dead what's not to like and perfect timing after the recent Water Margin outing.

Inspiration for a couple of Elizabethan Zombie solo outings in the weeks ahead and perhaps a quick order to the 1st Corps for a few extra's for the Sung Chinese.

This was an interesting find on Kickstarter and rather timely as additional inspiration for the Elizabethan Zombie Wars. The Dee Sanction. I don't play as many RPG's but this has some potential good ideas for scenario's.

A tabletop roleplaying game about serving Queen and country in the late Tudor period, in a time where kingdoms vie for power, the Church splinters under the pressure of reform, and creatures of folklore emerge from enforced hiding seeking revenge against those who imprisoned them.

You're a bad person — sentenced to hang for dabbling in magic — given a chance to redeem yourself and earn freedom in service to Queen Elizabeth's newest line of defence.

You can find more details here.

I spotted this on Laphams Quarterly and thought it was worth re-posting which could add a little colour to games. If you have not come across Lapham's before it's well worth taking a look if you are interested in oddities in history. I must be able to weave this into the forthcoming games or the Kickstarter above.

For those that are interested and once we are allowed outside again this is a great source of interesting places to visit on your door step.
http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/

Something to look forward to in the spring.....

Infamy Infamy meets the Water Margin.....

The last club before lock down.... let's hope we can be back F2F gaming in a month....

After the recent run of LOTR games it got me thinking about making a few minor adaptions for the Water Margin project, they have not been out of the box for a while and the mix of heroes and units would transfer well to ancient China.

So the last game at the club saw the heroes of Liangshan Marsh attempting to hold off the government forces who are looking to rescue the evil tax collector who has been pressuring the local population. The rebels had him holed up in the hide out to secure a confession.

Backed by Mongolian mercenaries it looked like a quick capture for Kao Chiu as his troops marched directly towards the rear of the compound. But Lin Chung had other ideas and moved quickly to defend the house.

The riders of Liangshan Po crossed the stream to counter the mercenaries heading there way flanking them as they marched through the corn field.

Sung Chiang - The Good Judge lead reinforcements from their deployment point behind the rice field, they rushed forward knowing that government forces were already at the hide out.

In the court yard Lin Chung fought was an impossible number of Imperial soldiers, he was wounded but held his ground killing several of their number. But slowly was forced back as their numbers began to tell.

Kao Chiu looked to skirt the courtyard and enter the house from the main entrance, but was met by Lu-Ta the Flower priest who sent him packing with a number of blows.

The heroes of Liangshan Po were forced from the house, whilst carrying a number of wounds they could not recover enough stamina (shock) to attack again and had to watch helplessly as the military started to break in. however the armed mob had finally reached the hide out and were rushing to confront the government forces.

As Kao Chis limped back from the front line the cavalry finally made an appearance and rode him down as he attempted to cross the stream.

Once again the walled garden gate was fought over as the men of the marsh attacked the imperial defenders. The attacker had become the defender.

Having danced around the stand of pine tree's the cavalry's mobility finally told and a good turn of the cards and they caught the Mongolian's in the flank pushing them backwards driving the Government Force Morale to Zero. 

A great game and good way to finish the month as we prepare to be barricaded in doors for a month.

It got me thinking about bolstering the ranks a little bit with an order to 1st Corp for a couple more foot units and some government cavalry, something else to add to the paint queue. Lot's of projects on the go at the moment.... Great to have an immersive hobby in these very odd times.