More Eye Candy

Introduction

I've not been doing much blogging recently - either writing my own articles or reading other people's.  Here's a nice, simple posting to try to get me back into the swing of things.  It's just a catalogue of recently-finished models, but still I home you enjoy it.

Recently Finished

Everything in one picture.  These are all the models I've completed in the last 3 or so weeks, I think.

A Torii gate from Sarissa Precision, with a lot of filler added to hide the "steps" between the layers of MDF.  This is a ceremonial gate associated with a Shinto sacred place (it might be a temple, but it might equally be something else).  It's a huge and very imposing model that could be used as a less dramatic structure for 54mm or even larger models, I think.

After Sir Henry's achievements in our most recent campaign game of Pulp Alley (see here for details), I decided that I needed to be able to represent him in his diving suit.  Well, here he is...

Hippos from Wargames Foundry.  I dithered over these for quite a long while as they're quite expensive.  In the end, I decided that (a) they're good representations of the animal [not necessarily true of all manufacturers' hippos] and (b) I liked the idea of the waterline and half-submerged versions as well as the one on dry land.

More Greek Mythology, also courtesy of Wargames Foundry.  On the left is the winged hero and Argonaut Zetes, son of Boreas, god of the north wind, and on the right is the Hydra.  I wasn't convinced by Foundry's hydra model when I saw the picture in their catalogue, but with a different colour scheme and camera angle, I think it looks impressive!

It's been a while since I finished any new stuff for Frostgrave, I think.  Here are a wizard and apprentice, colour-matched and ready for adventure.  Both are from North Star, though I forget which school of magic they represent.

More Test of Honour figures now.  This is Tadashi the Dishonoured (sp?), leader of a band of ronin.  He's followed by 3 more thuggish, disinherited samurai.

To add some missile power to my "bushi" samurai, I've recently painted these arquebusiers from Perry Miniatures.  3 are in red for use by my Takeda clan, whilst the 3 in black have Oda clan markings.

I've painted some other Perry Miniatures samurai.  Here are 5 bases of casualties and I think that these are some of the best figures I've come across in a long time.  The poses are life-like (or "death-like", if you prefer) and the sculpting is excellent!  I particularly like the wounded samurai being helped to leave the field by one of his faithful retainers whilst using his sword as a walking stick.  The grimace on his face hints at the pain the injured man is feeling, though his code of honour requires him to hide such weakness.

I like the samurai casualty models so much that I've added another picture of them.  The slightly different angle shows the detail on the fallen figures much better.

Conclusion

Well, that's it - for now!  Please let me know what you think of these models.  Also, feel free to ask questions about anything I may have missed.

Congo: Mungo Mah Lobeh, Game 2

Introduction

On to our second game of Congo in the Mungo Mah Lobeh campaign (if you haven't already done so, then I suggest you read all about the start of the campaign before continuing with this account).

So, after failing miserably to make any real money in trading native masks, Mary Kingsley has decided to seek help from some local elders: a guide, a witch doctor and a wise man.  The trouble is that her enemy - Ujuwa - has heard about this plan and is determined to stop this interfering foreigner once and for all!

The Setup

There are 3 huts down the centre line of the table; each contains one of the local savants.  There's plenty of elephant grass and termite mounds (high, dangerous terrain) as well.

Ujuwa's ruffians, ready for action.

Mary's usual column; a mixture of disciplined soldiers, European adventurers and African mercenaries.  Also, 3 young boys (scouts) who tagged along from the last village, claiming that they knew the way to the wise men...

The Game

Almost immediately, a group of pesky hyenas appeared amongst the termite mounds.

As the player who drew the "animal" token and therefore had to place the beasts, I was torn.  On the one hand, the creatures were potentially dangerous and might hurt my enemies.  On the other hand, as the controller of Mary's expedition, I would score a bonus campaign point if I could kill a hyena and brag about it.  I was also conscious that dead hyenas would turn into loot tokens, which were worth victory points and might therefore contribute towards victory or defeat in this game.

In the end, I decided that they were too dangerous to place near my own troops; I'd let them eat some tribesmen first before I shot one 😁.

My 3 young hangers-on got lost in some tall grasses and were struck with terror!  They did make a useful discovery, however (Token no. 3).

Meanwhile, Ujuwa was trying to impress the locals.  It wasn't really working very well, though; his reputation as a powerful spiritualist took a bit of a knock when he failed to save the local chief's wife.

It turns out that this pack of hyenas was all bark and no bite; they weren't dangerous at all.  The native hunters slew one of the beasts effortlessly, though the other pair continued to snap at their heels.

After a few turns, this is how things stood:

• Ujuwa and his thugs had hustled the guide from the furthest hut and were making off with him.
• Mary's soldiers quick-marched up to the central hut, knocked politely and invited the wise man to come with them for his own safety.
• Since they were under no immediate threat, the soldiers then opened fire on the remaining pair of hyenas and managed to kill one of them.  I think this apparently magnanimous act took the natives by surprise!
• Mary's Ruga Ruga ruffians ran up to the home of the witch doctor [nearest hut].  They shouted and jeered for several turns, but the doctor wouldn't come out.
• Most of the remaining tribesmen were advancing cautiously, en masse - whilst many of Mary's other followers were lost in patches of elephant grass.

The soldiers shot again, but this time at a group of natives who had carelessly left cover.  The rifle fire was deadly - however there were many more warriors now thirsting for revenge!

Amongst the termite mounds, the native archers finished their game of "hide and seek" with the hyenas by shooting the last of the beasts.

Meanwhile, the Ruga Ruga clashed with a group of spearmen who charged out of the tall grass towards them.  A short series of melees ensued which caused some casualties on both sides, but eventually the Ruga Ruga managed to grab the witch doctor from her hut and break off.

It seems that the native bowmen were all fired up now.  A volley of arrows caught the soldiers as they prepared to retire with their prize (the wise man); this turned an orderly retreat into something decidedly more hasty!

Meanwhile [in the background], Mary led her ascaris in pursuit of Ujuwa and the kidnapped guide; it didn't seem likely that the guide's best interests would be served by remaining in the hands of the tribesmen's fanatical leader and Mary was determined to save him if she could!

Ujuwa had left a small group of scouts hidden in the long grass to discourage such a pursuit, but the ascaris fired a close-range volley into the dense foliage.  They only hit one man, but the sound of the guns and the thick smoke so terrified the others that the remaining tribesmen ran away.

Still, even this brief action had slowed Mary down.  By the time she re-organised her ascaris and set off in pursuit again, Ujuwa [and the guide] were gone.  No doubt the poor man would spend the next day or so staked out on top of a broken ant hill...

Another group of hyenas appeared from the thick vegetation near the tribal warriors.  This pack were definitely more ferocious, as they killed more than one of the natives over the next few turns - and the threat they posed effectively prevented the tribesmen from taking off in pursuit of Mary's retreating forces.

Despite their losses, there were enough warriors around to surround and kill all the beasts, eventually.  However, when the survivors looked up after finishing this grisly task, they discovered that they were alone on the savannah; everyone else had departed.  At least they had 6 loot counters - there would be quite a feast tonight on hyena meat!

Winners and Losers

Victory points were added up at the end of the game thus:

Mary's Expedition

• 2 rescued teachers/wise men: 8VP
• 1 loot [a rather fine elephant-hair bracelet obtained from a wandering trader]: 2VP
• 3 discoveries [in fauna, flora and geology]: 12VP

...for a grand total of 22VP

Ujuwa's Tribesmen

• 1 kidnapped teacher/guide: 4VP
• 6 loot [hyena carcasses]: 5VP
• 1 discovery [ritual object]: 4VP

...giving an end result of 13VP.

This game went very much Mary's way; her victory was decisive.  However, note that Ujuwa scored exceptionally poorly for his large collection of loot, only gaining 5 out of a possible 18VP for it.  I guess that Hyena meat isn't very good eating after all!

Conclusion

Once again, this game was much more about objectives than about fighting.  There were some squabbles, for certain, but these were relatively muted affairs - typically short, sharp exchanges with both sides then withdrawing.  In many ways, the exploration and role-playing aspects of this game made it more interesting, in my view.  Here are some highlights/lowlights:

• Several of Mary's groups became lost in the tall grassland.  Both the small boys/scouts and the white men/adventurers just vanished into such terrain and pretty much stayed there all game [mainly because I couldn't spare any activations for them, but still...].
• Ujuwa's attempts at magic fell very flat in this game.  He failed almost all of his attempts to cast spells, and the few which did succeed were quite low-level affairs.
• On the other hand, Ujuwa's soothsayer, Komboso, finally guessed a [single] totem card correctly!  He was acquiring quite a reputation for incompetence as he had never succeeded in such a prediction before, but we can no longer accuse him of being a complete idiot.  A half-wit, perhaps...
• The polite, disciplined soldiers succeeded in their mission to rescue a wise man very easily, whilst the rude, ruffianly Ruga Ruga had a much harder time making friends with their assigned target.

In the after-game wrap up, Mary acquired a pair of strong brothers as bearers, whilst Ujuwa was joined by another mysterious sacred warrior.  He still shudders whenever anyone calls his band the "hyena men", though...

==> Game 3 is this way

8th Voyage: House Rules for Crooked Dice's 7th Voyage

Introduction

In this article, I present my revised combat rules for the 7th Voyage rules, by Crooked Dice.  Straight away, the question is: why modify anything at all?

Well, I've always wanted to play games that recreate episodes from Greek myth (or rather, from movies about Greek myth such as "Clash of the Titans").  This is exactly the point of 7th Voyage and so when it was published, I bought the rules and played a few games:

• Jason and Medea
• Jason and the Harpies
• The hunt for the Calydonian Boar
• The Argonauts go Forth!

As you can see, in 2015/2016 we tried these rules exactly as written, but it just didn't feel as exciting as it might have done.  Command & control was fine, the scenarios were good, the magic system (which we barely scratched) seemed workable.

What fell flat for us was the combat system.  Once 2 models were in combat, there seemed to be an endless stream of dice rolls (to hit, to wound, saves for armour, shield or mystical force), with the only outcomes being either injury or nothing at all.  Sure, the rules allowed an attacker to attempt to knock down their opponent instead of striking for damage - but who would ever choose that option?

Compare this with another set of rules that I use (though not for this type of game): Song of Blades and Heroes.  In that, the combined results of a single die roll by each of the attacker and defender determines whether either is pushed back, knocked over or killed (or even killed gruesomely).  Note also that this is accomplished in a very simple manner; it doesn't require any table lookup or anything like that - just the application of a few simple rules.

Using Song of Blades and Heroes, we have had some really swashbuckling games where sword fights between the good hero and their evil protagonist have moved all over the scenery.  In particular, I recommend "Robin Hood and the Forest Road" (or here for the thrilling conclusion, if you're too impatient to read the whole thing).

So, I want heroes to be forced to the ground by the weight of the monster's crushing blows, before summoning up a lucky strike to the bad guy's vitals.  I want soldiers to have to watch their step when fighting on a cliff top (or rampart, ship...); if they give ground then they may be in for a fall!  I want combat to be resolved quickly and easily with a minimum of dice and statistics, but with a variety of possible outcomes for each attack.

What you see below is my attempt to meet these goals and breath fresh life into 7th Voyage.  To distinguish my house rules from the base set, I'll call my version 8th Voyage.

So far, 8th Voyage has been tested in these battles:

• Jason and the Playwright
• Kill the Enchantress!

8th Voyage: Revised Combat Rules (v0.2)

First principle

The basic rules of who and when an attack can be made remain unchanged from the rules found in the 7th Voyage rulebook.

A minor additional rule

A couple of adjustments to facing are permitted to a defender:

1. If a defender sees an attacker at any point during that attacker’s activation then the defender may turn on the spot so as to keep the attacker in their front arc.  It’s not reasonable for an attacker to run completely around an aware defender and strike them from behind in a single turn.
   Note that the defender may choose not to change facing, presumably because this would expose their rear to a future attack from a different, more dangerous enemy.
2. After any attack from the rear (even one that failed to have any effect), a defender may choose to turn on the spot to bring the attacker into their front arc.  Put simply, you cannot make multiple attacks from behind without the defender noticing something...

Strike vs Defence

The mechanism for resolving an attack is changed as follows.  Note that this is strongly inspired by, but not completely identical to, the Strike rules in 7TV (2nd edition):

1. Declare a target
2. Determine line of sight (for ranged targets only)
3. Determine the range (for ranged targets only)
4. Defender makes a defence roll
5. Attacker makes a strike roll
6. Determine the effects of the attack.

4. The Defence Roll

• Start with the defender’s Defence statistic.
• Add or subtract modifiers as follows:

Per defender status:	-1
If prone:	-1
Soft cover, against missiles:	+1
Hard cover, against missiles:	+2

• Add the score of 1d6, unless the target is unconscious.

5. The Strike Roll

• Start with the Strike value of the attack being used.
• Add any modifiers which apply:

Per attacker status:	-1
If target is flying	-1
If range is more than 6”	-1
If prone	-1
If attacking from behind	+1
If a ranged attack is aimed	+1

• Add the score of 1d6

6. Determine the Effects of an Attack

If the strike result is equal to or greater than the defence total then the attack has been successful and the defender takes the normal status effect and/or damage from the hit.

However:

• The defender may convert any strike total which equals the defence value into a push back instead of a hit (i.e. the defender retreats from the attacker by one base depth).  This cancels any damage or status that would otherwise be inflicted and does not permit any parting strikes from any models.  If the defender is unable or unwilling to be pushed back then the damage/status is not cancelled and has its normal effect.
  
  A defender which is larger than the attacker is not pushed back; they can simply ignore this hit.
• The defender may convert an attack which equals the defence value or exceeds it by one into a knockdown instead of a hit (i.e. the defender is knocked prone, but avoids damage and any status that would otherwise be inflicted by the hit).  If the defender is already prone or is unwilling to do this then the damage/status remains.  Presumably the defender would only choose this option for an 'equals' score if they were unwilling to be pushed back as in the previous bullet point.
  
  A defender which is larger than the attacker may choose to be pushed back rather than knocked down.

Note: even if the damage and/or status from the attack is cancelled by a push back or knock down, it still counts as a hit.  That will be academic in most situations, but some rules may have other results which are neither damage nor status.  For example, the Hurl special effect allows a defender to be thrown 2" and knocked prone on a successful hit.  This is neither damage nor a status and therefore the result of this effect cannot be cancelled or avoided.

Design Notes:

Calculating a Defence Value

The Defence value is calculated as the original ‘Def’ value, plus 4.  Here are some examples:

Def [original rules]	Defence [revised rules]
3	7
4	8
5	9

Calculating a Strike Value

The Strike value for an attack is calculated from the data for the original 7th Voyage attack using the following formula:

Strike = 8 + Weapon Str  – Hit number (- 1 if the attack is unarmed).

This assumes that a weapon or natural equivalent such as claws or horns is in use; subtract 1 for an unarmed/brawl attack.

Here are some pre-calculated Strike Values (for weapon attacks.  Remember to take 1 off for an unarmed attack):

		Str
		3	4	5
Hit	5+	6	7	8
	4+	7	8	9
	3+	8	9	10

• If no ‘Hit’ number is given (for example, a Str 4 hit is made automatically if a Dangerous weapon explodes) then assume a value of ‘Hit 3+’ and work out the Strike value accordingly.
• If a weapon, spell or other game artefact has ‘Scatter’ then roll the ‘Hit’ number as normal, but only for the purpose of determining whether a direct hit has been made or whether the weapon/spell/... scatters.  Calculate the Strike value from the combination of Hit and Str as above when resolving damage to any model that is under the template.

Weapon Effects

Unless noted here, there is no change from the rule as written in the 7th Voyage rulebook.

• Entangle: If the Strike total equals the Defence value or the Strike total is only 1 lower than the Defence total then the defender is knocked prone instead of being hit.  The defender may not choose to cancel the hit by being pushed back.
• Parry: A Defence roll of ‘1’ by the defender cancels the first otherwise successful attack in a turn.
• Thrust: Roll 2 dice against flying targets or against defenders which are larger than the attacker and choose which result to use.
• Unwieldy: Cannot make an attack as part of a move into contact.

Special Effects

Unless noted here, there is no change from the rule as written in the 7th Voyage rulebook.

• Armour: Adds +1 to Defence value.
• Shield: Adds +1 to Defence value against attacks from the front 180 degrees.
• Titanic Blow: Adds +1 to the Strike value for a Brawl attack.
• Herculean Strength: Adds +1 to Str and to the Strike value of melee attacks from this model.
• Dodge: For the first attack against them each turn, the defender rolls 2 dice for defence and chooses which one to use.  Cannot use this to dodge attacks from the rear.
• Invulnerable: Adds +1 to Defence value.
• Bull Rush: Attacks where the Strike result equals or beats the Defence result, or in which the Strike result is only 1 lower than the Defence result cause the defender to be knocked prone or pushed back (Attacker’s choice) in addition to any other results.
• Shield of Force: Ignores successful hits on a further roll of 5+.

Examples

1. A warrior (Strike 7) uses an action to attack a satyr (Defence 8).  The warrior rolls a '5', for a strike total of 12.  The satyr rolls a '4', also for a total of 12.  The satyr avoids the blow by skipping nimbly backwards.
2. The same warrior uses his second action to move forwards and attack again.  The warrior rolls a '2' (giving a strike total of 9) and the satyr a '1' (giving a defence total of 9).  This time the satyr has his back to a rock and cannot avoid the blow by retreat again.  However, he can - and does - avoid taking damage by being knocked to the ground.  The satyr is now in some difficulty; it cannot avoid any further attacks by falling prone or retreating since it is already on the ground!
3. A hero (Strike 8) attacks a huge cyclops (Defence 8).  Both roll a '3', thus tying the scores.  Normally, the defender could avoid such a hit only by stepping backwards or falling prone.  However, the cyclops is larger than the attacker and can just shrug off such a weak blow with no ill effects.
4. The cyclops retaliates!  Its Strike is 8, compared to the hero's defence of 8 (7 natural, +1 for armour).  This time the cyclops rolls a '5' and the hero rolls a '3', giving respective Strike and Defence totals of 13 and 11.  There is nothing the hero can do to avoid this blow, so he takes a wound.

For what it's worth, the probabilities of an injury are much the same in 8th Voyage as in 7th Voyage, at least in some situations:

• 7th Voyage: consider a fairly average "Hit 4+, Str 3" attack on a "Def 4" target.  The chance of a hit is 3/6 and of that hit converting to an injury is 2/6.  This gives the overall probability of a hit that causes damage at 6/36, or 1/6.
• 8th Voyage: the statistics above convert into a Strike value of 7 and a Defence of 8.  The odds of the attacker's total beating the defender's by 2 (needed to ensure a damaging hit) are 1/6 - exactly the same as for 7th Voyage.  However, the attacker also has a 4/36 chance of knocking the defender down and a 5/36 chance of pushing them back.

Further Thoughts

This a work-in-progress and although I'm reasonably happy with the reworked rules above, there are still some questions in my mind:

• Should there be an option to spend an action on a "power blow" when in melee, possibly for a +1 to the Strike value?Pro: this is analogous to aiming for a missile attack and would give more choice to an attacker (do I use a flurry of weaker blows or try one more potent attack?).
  Con: it's exactly the same as the Herculean Strength effect as written above.  So would Herculean Strength then need to be changed, for example to add +1 to Str and +2 to Strike?
• Should there be a greater chance of a push back and/or knock down?
  Pro: it would make combats more mobile.
  Con: how would such a rule be framed differently, without becoming much more complex?
• Should combat be more bloody?  Possibly by increasing all Strike values by 1?
  Pro: games would be quicker and more decisive.
  Con: an attacker is already allowed to spend both their actions on melee attacks.  This might change the tone of the game quite a bit...
• +2 Defence for a combination of armour and a shield seems very potent.  There has to be some benefit from having either and a greater benefit from having both, but how can it be made a bit more subtle?  Perhaps rerolling '1's on defence for one item and rerolling '1's or '2's if the defender has both?
• I'm not keen on the 'Shield of Force' effect requiring a further die roll to resolve.  But equally it seems wrong to reduce it to (for example) a +1 to Defence.  How else might it work?

7th Voyage/8th Voyage: Kill the Enchantress!

Introduction

I don't normally run the same game 2 weeks running at the local club, but I've been trying out my "8th Voyage" house rules for Crooked Dice's 7th Voyage game.  This time, I thought we'd delve into the realms of magic...

So, the scenario is going to be a standard Slay mission.  Jason and the Argonauts have been tasked with hunting down and killing a powerful enchantress whom the locals accuse of all manner of misdemeanours.  Mainly this comes down to the occasional seduction of handsome young men, but you know how superstitious these villagers can be, full of tales about the dangers of the forest and so on.

Anyway, our heroes have finally caught up with Circe at the site of a ruined bath, deep in the woods.  She is only accompanied by a few nymphs, barely visible behind the foliage, so this shouldn't take long.  After all, it's just one woman and a few teenage girls, versus a large number of Greek warriors.  Mind you, some of those trees look a bit creepy.  Weird - I could have sworn that one just moved - and not just swaying in the breeze either.  Must be imagining things...

The Forces

Argonauts

• Jason: star/hero (though more of a leader of men than a combat monster).
• Meleager: co-star/minor hero.
• Atalanta: co-star.  In our game, she was given a powerful magic bow as well.
• 11 hoplites/veteran heavy infantry.
• 6 psiloi/light infantry.

Forces of Nature

• Circe: extremely powerful enchantress, with magic and hypnotic powers.  She was given a magic item: the "All-Seeing Eye" - so she knew that the Argonauts were coming...
• 4 wood nymphs.  Capable of seduction and with an ability to move instantly between trees.
• 4 treemen.  More shrubs than mighty oaks, but still able to tear a man in half.  These start the game concealed in plain sight; they are treated as part of the scenery until they either choose to act or until they randomly let their enthusiasm get the better of them and act anyway.
• 1 water elemental.  An almost unstoppable force of nature.  This doesn't start the game in play; it needs to be summoned first.  Mind you, that shouldn't be at all tricky for a sorceress of Circe's abilities...

The Game

Jason, Meleager and a couple of Argonauts ran forwards towards the lone figure near the pool.  This was easy money; what could go wrong?  4 warriors against one defenceless woman - the fight should be over in just a moment, right?

It seems that Circe had other ideas, though.  She immediately summoned a huge figure of living water from the nearby reservoir, followed by calling down a pillar of fire on the heads of the impudent mortals who had disturbed her meditations.

Perhaps the second spell was a bit hasty, as the fire didn't strike the earth anywhere near where she intended it.  Still, as a warning shot it was quite impressive!  [Note: from this point on, we left the 'fire' templates where they fell, just to show the pattern of the action.  Apart from the moment of summoning, these fireballs had no effect on game play.  Though I did nearly run out of such markers by the end of the game...].

Most of the remaining hoplites were then ambushed!  Bushes came alive and grabbed at them, whilst seductive spirits stepped from within the trunks of trees and whispered promised of delight in an attempt to entice them.  Most of the hoplites were too steady to be affected by this surprise, but it did hinder them and prevent reinforcements from reaching the leaders immediately.

The water horse flowed forwards to engage Jason and his bodyguard, and a treeman approached the same group from behind.

At this point, a veritable horde of Argonauts rushed down the far side of the pool.  Atalanta stopped to turn and shoot at a nymph, but missed [this turned out to be very much her thing all game long.  Even with a magic great bow, she just couldn't hit anything much.  Definitely not pulling her weight/points cost...].  Mind you, it looked as if Circe might be swamped by this body of soldiers even without the assistance of the famed archeress.

Never underestimate the power of an enchantress!  Circe stepped back from the mens' rush and summoned one of her nymphs to her side.  She turned to cast another pillar of fire on her pursuers [with rather more effect this time] and then effortlessly hypnotised a lone hoplite who thought he had the drop on her.

Another pillar of fire struck the Argonauts, slaying some and sending most of the rest running around with their clothes burning!

Meanwhile, Jason and his buddy were having a hard time against the forces of nature.  Time and again, they were saved from serious injury only by the narrowest of margins (and stout armour!), but they were very much on the defensive.

Circe even had time to call down fire upon Atalanta; the strike wasn't exactly on target but it still set her alight.

Not everything was going against the Argonauts.  They had slain a couple of the wood nymphs and had even managed to injure one of the treemen.  However, the humans were now completely scattered across the landscape.

Circe continued to stoll through the glade ahead of her pursuers, throwing pillars of fire at any who came too close.  Another lone Argonaut charged at her, but was immediately hypnotised before he could do any damage.

Meanwhile, the elemental contemptuously turned from the fight with Jason, leaving him to the tender mercies of a treeman.  It moved to try to save the last of the nymphs from Meleager and Amphion, but it couldn't halt the slaughter.  The water horse did take revenge by slaying the hoplite, however.

At this point, Circe's luck ran out.  Jason knocked down the treeman he was fighting and then ran after the enchantress.  He caught up with her just as Meleager and one scared hoplite arrived; together they attacked the witch!

Even when it seemed as if there was no hope, Circe was unstoppable!  She ducked out from the middle of the scrum without so much as a scratch, then turned and invoked another blast of magic that left both Jason and Meleager burning.  Circe wasn't friendless either; the water horse was sloshing along to her side as quickly as it could.

The enchantress was becoming tired, now.  Meleager had panicked and run around until he burned to death and Jason was preoccupied with dousing the flames on himself.  Despite this, there were still more Argonauts around.

Two hoplites managed to corner Circe and even though one of them was drowned by the water elemental, the other man stabbed straight and true [aided, if I remember correctly, by the sacrifice of an event card to gain +2 on the strike].  Circe finally took a wound - though this was only 1 of the 3 that would be needed to slay her.  At least it was some consolation for the Argonauts...

At this point, we had to call the game because we were running out of time.  Both casts had been reduced to 50% of their starting figures, though both had high morale values and had passed the required tests to avoid any further effect.  Atalanta and Jason both managed to put out their fires and survived, but there weren't many hoplites left!

Conclusion

I think it's fairly obvious that Circe and her allies won this game!  For the record, she gains 3VP for simply being alive [after all, it was a Slay mission], plus 2VP for dispatching Meleager [don't worry - I'm sure he'll be back, miraculously unhurt, for the next episode in the series].  So, a grand total of 5VP.

In contrast, Jason and the Argonauts gain 1VP for surviving [because of his Honourable trait - the VP gain cancels out some of the disadvantages] - and that's it!

Looking at the forces at the beginning of the game, it seemed as if the Argonauts had an overwhelming advantage.  They outnumbered the enchantress' force by 2:1 - all they had to do was trap her in combat and sooner or later the sheer weight of attacks would have cut her down.  Indeed, there was one turn where the hoplite rush might well have achieved this, if only they had won the initiative.  Instead, Circe won that turn's initiative and moved away, out of their reach.

This game was intended as a playtest of my revised combat mechanics.  For the most part, I think it worked well.  I've added some extra house rules to cover artefacts that scatter [such as the pillar of fire spell] and also to permit defenders to turn to face their attackers under some circumstances [basically, when any initial surprise is over].

In addition, I'm having doubts about whether armour is too potent and/or strikes are too weak - although the casualty rate from this game seems to suggest that there's not really any imbalance here.  The elemental did seem maybe a bit too invulnerable, for all that...

So, further tests will be needed.  Who's up for another game?!

The Pledge: update

Introduction

A short while ago, I made a pledge: here.  For anyone who doesn't want to revisit that article, I promised myself that I would only start one brand new model for every two part-completed pieces in my collection that I finished off. This was aimed at helping me to reduce the numbers of my many "stagnant" models; pieces which had been started (built, undercoated, or even partially painted) but for a variety of reasons had not been completed.

Well, it's time for an update, I think...

Progress

For the most part, I have indeed been sticking to my self-made promise.  There was one set of new purchases that excited me too much and I have started them even though I didn't have "credit" to do so.  However, that's only a slight wobble and (at least in theory) these models are straightforward and should therefore be completed with very little effort.

Apart from that glitch, here's the list of pieces which I have finally finished:

A couple of Dreadball hangers-on.  One coach/owner and an excitable fan...

More "Nightfolk".  These (and others) will form my "green" warband for Frostgrave - or any other game, really

A flock of Stymphalian birds for my ancient Greek heroes to encounter.  These are cranes from some 'O' gauge railroad supplier, though I did paint their beaks bronze, as they should be for flesh-eating, armour-piercing monsters of death!

A pair of bramble thickets.  With a few more of these, I could really populate a gaming table with some difficult terrain...

So, the above are on the "credit" side; they were all models that I had begun before I took the pledge.  By my own self-imposed rules, finishing these 19 pieces permits me to begin 9.5 brand new models.  Here's how I used some of that credit:

3 shifty-looking Zanzibaris, to add to my Congo column.  I've got quite a few more, but am not yet ready to start painting them.

Another 5 ninjas for Test of Honour.  Painting black isn't terribly exciting (and I don't think I did it very well in this case), but at least they're finished and ready for action.

So, there we have it.  I've stuck to my promise (mostly) for 2 months; let's see how much longer I can sustain it!