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.

LOTR Campaign Battle #5 Release the Hounds

In the far north of Middle Earth from the old Fortress of Cairn Dum Orc's pour into the Borderlands, the small hamlet of Weisterham had barely time to get the children to safety when the raiding party struck.

As is the way of things in these opening rounds the forces of man are heavily outnumbered and face off against an attack force twice their number. The scenario was a village raid with the human forces having to defend the main house from the orc war party.

The local militia grabbed their shield, spear and bow and packed together in a tight formation, they knew their shield wall would protect them as long as they kept in formation.

From out of the early morning mist Orc skirmishers appear, loosing arrows into the dense formation. The sneaky Orc commander had already infiltrated the barn and out house before the militia had time to get into position.

The Orc main force was huge in number the Orc commander going for mass, groups of angry Urak- hai, ranks of archers and crossbow and packs of Warg hounds snarling and snapping and ready for blood.

The Warg riders were fast and flanked the main warband looking for an opening.

The massed Rohan archers darkened the skies but the arrow shower was not as effective as he had hoped. The old gods were not with the men of Rohan today.

On the left flank the village militia had managed to rush to protect the farm house the Warg riders charged in but were repulsed having been unable to penetrate the closely packed shields, but frustratingly no casualties merely shock. Perhaps the best chance to break the Orc force morale was gone.

Before the militia were able to draw breath berserkers rushed from the massed warrior ranks, clattering into the militia sheltering behind their oak shields. They held the line but were unable to drive back the fanatics who were desperate to break the human line and reach the defenders.

More warg riders skirted the main battle finding a path through the bog, the Rohan commander could do little to stop this flanking move as the Orc's were closing across the enter front.

Rushing troops from the centre he had to watch as his militia who were holding their own against the fanatics were attacked in the rear, the inexperienced warriors fled in panic, they were ridden down.

The wargs and their orc riders torn into the back of the men holding the shield wall who also broken and ran, those that remained were torn apart where they stood.

The Weisterham militia their force morale broken fled the table.... The route to the shires was open.

A great game with a touch of the Battle of Thermopylae about it, the shield wall gave the orcs some real trouble, cavalry into close order infantry is not a good idea. But the mobility and sheer numbers of mounted units made it difficult for the human defenders. You really need to watch your flanks in Infamy Infamy...

One more game to go in this round.... although I suspect it may not be until December due to flaming Covid.....

New Kingdom Skirmishers - Infamy Infamy

Three weeks before the first game and the pressure is on to get the lead mountain down other wise the Egyptians are going to be seriously out numbered.

Whilst preparation continues on the close combat troops, I finished off a group of skirmishers to support the spearmen.

Great castings from the team at Foundry, as usual flash free and no mold lines.

I opted for a paler blue in their head gear to signify them as skirmishers, tucked away in the to do draw are several packs from Newline who will form the main archer groups.

Once again for those interested set out below are the points and unit stats within Infamy Infamy.

New Kingdom Egyptian Skirmishers				Type	Skirmishers
Points Value	5	Weapon	Bow	Strength	6
Armour	Step Out	Aggressive Attack	Characteristics
None	1	-	Darken the Sky, Supra Numerum