Elves has left the building!

Another lonely guy battle report coming up. Yep - a late night, solo effort, along similar lines to my previous battle report. - (I had intended to do a solo dungeon type thingy, but by the time I got round to setting up, I thought a big dungeon escapade would run till the LATE hours, not just the early hours!)

However, I did want to push things a little further, and try out a hunch which came to light in the Orcs v Dwarves battle.

wanted firstly to set up a larger scale skirmish, so each force was allocated 580 points (almost double the suggested army size.)

The first thing that sprang to mind following the previous battle, was how poorly the orcs performed when not under the guidance of a leader. So, for this reason I appointed 2 War-Chief figures, and intended to keep the archers and warriors bunched up in a couple of carefully managed groups.

The elves had just one standard bearer / commander, but the overall quality of the elves tends to indicate that they can look after themselves a little more effectively anyway.

Unit breakdown was as follows:

ELVES
6 x Wood Elf Warrior - 36 pt = 216
1 x Elf Commander - 100 pt = 100
2 x Elf Cavalry - 60 pt = 120
3 x Wood Elf Archer - 50 pt = 150
TOTAL = 586

ORCS
2 x Orc War Chief - 100 pt= 200
10 x Orc Warrior - 23 pt = 230
5 xOrc Archer - 29 pt = 145
TOTAL = 575

The set up was that the elves were spread randomly around a village set up and wooded area toward one end of the board, The orcs invaded from the opposite end. Then let battle commence.
Orcs started with 1 free move, but wasted it by floundering at the first attempt. The 2 elf cavalry units moved round in a pincer move to both flanks , (which in retrospect was probably a very poor maneuver) - Both attempted to engage the orcs, both however fell quickly, one being so brutally hacked to bits that the elf leader and 2 warriors were forced to beat a hasty retreat.

One of the elves managed to pick off a lone orc, but wokring as a group one of the elf archers was surrounded and under heavy attack. The elf leader managed to despatch one of the orc warriors, but in retaliation the gang of orcs butcher the lone archer - causing yet more panic in the ranks and making all but one warrior retreat to the safety of the woods.

Once again the leader leaps in and manages to kill one of the orc chiefs, causing panic, and being so close to the board edge, forcing 3 orcs to flee in terror.

The lone elf found himself surrounded and bludgeoned to death, then the elf leader was surrounded and un protected.

By now, it was getting pretty late, and the remaining elves surrounded a couple of detached orcs. The orc archers moved in but failed to make a hit, and as tiredness took over I declared a virtual draw. Perhaps a hollow victory for the elves, due to the loss of the orc leader and subsequent panic.

All in all, a good battle, but fairly unfulfilling end. - Only a couple of pictures taken, niether of which is good enough to post.

My Special Egyptian Adventure Book - By Ryan

From a couple of posts back you will see the details about me getting an egyptian tomb kit made from Hirst Arts blocks. This is a special project for my eldest son Ryan, but as it is so special, he had to do something special for me. My request was that he wrote me a suitable story, based on an Egyptian adventure. At first he was a little reluctant, but I said it didn't have to be very long, I would be more than happy for him just to try.

Well, he exceeded all my expectations. He produced a little booklet, with a brilliant story (He had a little help from mum, for spelling), but for the most part, the whole idea and story progression was entirely his work. I am SO impressed. So I have copied off a few sample pages.

This first page is the cover to The Mummy Of Doom



as you can see the story revolves around me finding an old key and door, going in to discover untold treasure, but being chased off and almost caught by the Mummy....


...fortunatley the tomb collapses, crushing the Mummy, and I escape with my life, if not the treasure.

This was a really well thought out story,and the treatment is perfect. The pages have been stained with the old tea-bag aging treatment which works perfectly.

Can you tell - I am SO, SO proud of my sons achievment?

Ryan's modelling

So, following on from the dungeon scene, Ryans wanted to have a little play with some green stuff. I broke off a small amount, worked it together for him, and gave him a clix figure to experment with - (Sorry no pictures at teh moment, for any of this piece.).

He did a pretty good job of building up a big hand gun, which he then painted a copper / bronze colour, and also making a semi-fish looking helmet. Some minor alterations to the paint job, and job done.

Of course, all this time, we can't leave Ryan's younger brother out..... BUT, I have to confess I go into a bit of a sweat when I let him loose with a brush and enamal paint. Hardly surprising, as he is only 4!

Anyway - Dec had 2 figures, I put a few drops of paint into a pallet for him ... (What? - You expected me to give him an open tin of Humbrol???? - You're as mad as I am !). He proceeeded to paint his figure mostly green. Also added a bit of green stuff, then lost interest and wanted to go and do something else.

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Today the Hirst Arts blocks arrived which means that Ryan and me can work on his Egyptian tomb. Not sure quite how I feel about this yet. The plaster blocks seem a little more powdery than I expected. - Certainly more powdery than the Linka plaster I used to do. I expected these blocks to be crisper and less powdery, as they are made of dental plaster.

I will of course upadate as things progress.

1st Battle Report - Song Of Blades & Heroes.

Last night was my first read through of the rules and first battle. This was a solo effort, as I want to know my way around the game well enough before I try to explain it to my 7 year old son.

The game is surprisingly quick to get to grips with and requires minimal references to statistics. The 3 stick movement system is also fantastic. Both these factors leave you free to concentrate on where to move your figures. It's also a nice quick, easy system for assembling a fighting unit.

This first battle was between a raiding party of orcs seen here in the bottom right hand corner - and a group of dwarf fighters in the upper left.

The breakdown is as follows :

ORCS - 1 Standard Bearer / 4 Archers / 5 Warriors

DWARVES - 1 Commander / 1 Orc Slayer / 1 Skirmisher / 3 Crossbows / 2 Elite Warriors.

The game lasted a 13 full rounds. (a round being 1 turn each for the orcs and the dwarves.)

The orcs took the initiative, with the archers being ordered to take position in the trees, and the warriors moving onto the road toward the ruins. The flag bearer took up a central position so that he was able to command either group. During the first part of the battle, the dwarves were dogged by misfortune, and as a result unable to move more than a couple of figures. With this in mind the group of archers were ordered to break cover and make for the ruins.

The 2 elite dwarves moved to the North end of the ruins and ran into the wall of archers. the first volley of arrows failed to cause any damage to the lone elite, but the second volley brought both dwarves down.

At the same time one of the orc warriors had moved through the ruins to engage the orc slayer, but was surounded and quickly despatched by the skirmisher. this caused the onlooking warrior to panic and flee from the battle.

The orc slayer and commander were now free to approach a pair of archers who had become seperated, but were both forced to give ground on their first attack. The orc archers re-grouped, but before they could let off another volley, the orc slayer had executed one of them, which sent another 2 scampering for safety.

During theis time, the orc flag bearer moved into the ruins to order the group of warriors to attack the now undefended crossbow units. The order went unheeded though. This gave the commander and orc slayer time to join them with moral support. There was a small amount of scuffling in which both sides withdrew a little. A lucky shot from one of the crossbows dispatched the orc flag bearer.

This lowered moral of the last 2 orcs, and with the time at 1.am, drew the conflict to an end.

Final score - Dwarves 2 dead / Orcs 3 dead - rest fled.

I really do recommend this game, as a quick and easy introduction to fantasy battles. The simple mechanics, and minimal use of complex tables is ideal for the novice, yet still allows for hardened gamers to concentrate on tactics. With a price tag of just $4 / £2 for the PDF, it's hardly a massive risk investment either.

Ganesha Games - Talk about speedy service!!!

From deciding to purchase to owning!

this morning I read reviews on A Song Of Blades & Heroes. after reading for a while I decided that it was worth a try. 10 minutes after paying my £2, the rules arrived in my inbox.

That's quicker than having to queue up in a proper shop!

A Song Of Blades & Heroes

Right. First let me say, I don't have the rules for this yet, but at just $4 for the downloaded version, I think I'm going to jump in and get them. They will be the ideal battle-plan for my CAESAR orcs / dwarves / elves and so forth.

It would be nice if my small band of skeletons sold first, as that can go towards paying for this rule set - But at that price, it's hardly going to break the bank, and I'm sure slightly larger bands of fighters would be useful anyway. So if they sell, they sell - if they don't I'll keep them.

You can check out the rule set by clicking on the link in my Blog roll. - You can also check out a preview document

Preview