Ambush Markers for 28mm Figures

 Introduction

Games such as Paleo Diet: Eat or be Eaten allow models to go into hiding, in order to spring out later and ambush some passing prey.  This supposes that the local geography is sufficiently covered with enough small cover that can be used for such a purpose, but I'm very happy to accept such an assumption.  After all, most real-world landscapes aren't flat and featureless.

If you are anything like me then your default mechanism to mark a figure's status is to place a coloured token beside the model, or perhaps on the model's "character card", if it has one.  This has several issues, though:

1. It's not very pretty.  Tokens like this are completely functional and after all, what is the point of playing games with miniatures unless the visual aspect is a major part?  Otherwise, just use cardboard counters for everything.
2. The token can be confusing if several models are close together (with which figure does this token belong?), or - if placed off-table on some "stat card" - they can be forgotten in the heat of the moment.

An Alternate Ambush Marker

So, at almost no expense, I've been experimenting with a different way of showing that a figure is hiding in cover.  It seems obvious in hindsight: I've created some vegetation-based markers.  You really cannot see Talut the hunter hiding in the picture above, can you?

How To...

How did I create this marvel of illusion?  Well, I started with a 3D-printed "base ring".  I cannot remember for certain, but I might have bought mine here: https://protechmodels.co.uk/products/base-convertor-25mm-to-32mm-gw-sityle .  I'm sure that other makes and models exist, though do remember to check the sizing is suitable for your figures!

Normally these are intended to "enlarge" an existing figure without requiring it to be rebased, though the rings can also be coloured or painted and used to identify different factions.  This latter would be especially useful if you have a civil war going on, or are playing a game with novices who cannot tell that this particular soldier belongs to tribe A whilst that almost-identical figure is loyal to tribe B.

However, here's another way they can be used:

1. Cut the ring in half (i.e. into 2 semicircles).
2. Carve away any "shelf" which would sit under the figure's base (in the photo of the ring above, that's the "hexagon" inner part).
3. Paint in the colour of dirt, then stick a mixture of vegetation on to the top of the half ring (especially tall grasses and small shrubs.

When you wish to show that a figure is lurking, just place one of these semi-circles around the  model's base.

Conclusion

This project may seem blindingly obvious, but I assure you it took me some time to come up with the idea.  Maybe I'm slow or something?  Once conceived, it took very little time or money to build these markers.

I suppose that the same concept could be used to create other status markers as well.  For example, I could imagine how I might design "on fire", "frozen" or "tangled" markers, if I needed them.  Mind you, I don't think these would stack very well; they wouldn't really work if your model was hiding, on fire, tangled and frozen all at the same time!

Paleo Diet: A year in the life of the Stone Finger Tribe

Introduction

A little while ago, I described my first ventures (nay, mishaps!) into the Paleo Diet rules.  You can read the sorry tale here, if you so desire.  Well, last Thursday at the Helensburgh Alternative Hobby Association, we tried the game again.  I had been busy painting more figures and effects (fire!) and was keen to see how these would work.

Game 1: the Mammoths

The hunters of the Stone Finger tribe were pleased.  Their group had survived the long, harsh winter without very many deaths and now that the spring was here, mammoths were on the move.  There's a lot of meat on a mammoth and their families were hungry, so if they could bring down one of these behemoths then everyone could feast!

So, here's the plan:

Grod and Vorn would enter from the left, upwind of the mammoths.  They would set fires in the grass to drive the beasts to the right...

...where Droog and Groob, Dorv and Guban would be waiting in ambush.

Ok, it's a very simple plan, but would it work?  Read on...

So far, so good.  The fire has been lit, the mammoths are getting a bit restless and (most of) the ambushers are in hiding.

One beast breaks ranks and runs forwards.  Dorv leaps up and hits it with his club (Really, a club?  Honestly, who brings a club to a mammoth hunt?  This is 50,000BC, after all...).  He does manage to hurt the animal before it tosses him aside.

While Dorv limps away, someone else inflicts another wound on the confused and angry pachyderm (I cannot remember for sure, but this might have been a lucky shot from Groob's sling).  Meanwhile, Vorn continues to light more fires, just in case...

Droog throws a spear at the injured mammoth: it's a critical hit!  The beast falls over, dying.

The rest of the hunters walk forwards slowly, shouting and waving to drive off the other two mammoths (but not getting too close).  They depart and the hunters cheer!  A successful hunt; plenty of meat for everyone, no-one died and only one hunter was injured.

Game 2: The Puppies

In our second game of the evening, the well-fed Neanderthals decided that some hunting dogs would be a nice addition to their tribe.  There weren't any dogs near them, but a wolf pack was breeding nearby.  Could the hunters raid the wolves' den and steal the litter?

So, another simple plan: approach from 3 sides and try to scare the adult wolves away (rather than fighting with them).  If the adult wolves are gone then catching the puppies should be easy...

Initially, things went rather well.  Vorn lit several fires upwind of the den; these caused consternation amongst the wolf pack.  They kept trying to pluck up courage to charge a hunter, only to turn tail and run from the smoke whenever they got close.

One animal broke sideways from the pack, but Groob injured it with a well-placed stone from his sling.

The injured wolf's mournful howls scared the wits out of Droog and Dorv; they emerged from the den each clutching a puppy and ran in the opposite direction...

...and straight into the path of the somewhat out-of-control flames that were burning forwards at an alarming rate.

Meanwhile, Groob finished off the injured wolf with another sling shot and the rest of the men queued up to grab their own puppies.  The remaining wolves were too scared of the fire to do much other than make a few futile dummy charges, so the tribe escaped with most of the litter (and a couple of badly burned hunters).

This probably counts as a successful scenario too 🙂.

Game 3: Who wants to be King?

The old chieftain died later in the year.  As he was dying, he announced that the next chief would be whoever managed to slay a large and dangerous sabretooth cat which had recently moved into the district.  Four hunters didn't even wait for his last gasp but instead gathered up their weapons, called to a couple of dogs and set off to slay the monster.

So, this scenario was co-operative, but only up to a point.  Tribesmen (and their dogs) may not attack each other, but there can only be one winner: whoever delivers the final blow to kill the predator.  There were some herds of small horses around as well, but they played no real part in the game and so I'll not mention them again.

Droog's dog, Scar, was first to attack the sabretooth.  It didn't go very well for the smaller animal; he ran away yelping with a nasty gash on his flank.

Next up was Guban, aided by his dog, Alpha.  The hunter rushed in without waiting for assistance and although he did manage to spear the tiger, he was promptly mauled to death.

Dorv leaped in as well, though too late to aid his friend.  He gave the sabretooth a crack on the head with his club, but it then turned on him and tore him to pieces.

Droog and Groob were trying to catch up, but were still some way off.  Whilst they ran and panted, Alpha and the sabretooth (both injured) snarled and snapped at each other.

Incredibly, the tiger's attacks missed the dog again and again.  Eventually Alpha got a good hold and ripped out the cat's throat to deliver the fatal blow.  And that is why, even to this day, the Stone Finger Tribe worships dogs and holds them supreme over all other spirits and gods.

Conclusion

Paleo Diet is a quick, simple, fun set of rules.  The animal behaviours are unpredictable, but within realistic bounds, so the (player) hunters are never certain of an easy victory.

We were able to fit three very distinct games into a single evening, with a different (but overlapping) set of players in each.  It would have been ideal as a mini-campaign - and there are rules for this, but on this occasion we weren't tracking injuries, successes or failures from one game to the next.

Next time we'll have to do such a campaign properly.  Hmm, I wonder if it would be possible to organise a club league, with people dropping in for the occasional game as & when it suited them?

Prehistoric Fauna: the Carnivores

Introduction

Last week, I showed my very limited collection of 28mm mammalian (& avian) prehistoric herbivores (excluding the big beasts, which have their own megafauna article).  Well, to complete the series, here are the carnivores.  There are rather more of them than the plant-eaters!

Smilodon

Leaping Smilodon.  I think that this one comes from the long-defunct Amazon miniatures.

Old (out of production?) Smilodon from Steve Barber Models  The new version from the same manufacturer is a much nicer model!

Smilodon is probably the best-known of the sabre tooth cats.  It's often called a "sabre tooth tiger", though this is inaccurate as it isn't a tiger at all.  The species lived in the Americas until about 10,000 years ago and probably specialised in ambushing large herbivores.

Neither of the models above is particularly well-sculpted, though the first one is a more likely size for an adult animal.  There are a number of other versions of 28mm Smilodons; all are quite different from each other!

Megalania

This Megalania model has a very upright stance that may not be accurate?

Megalania is a rare giant monitor lizard that inhabited Australia until about 30,000 years ago.  It's entirely possible that early man encountered these horrors, which have been estimated to grow up to 5.5m (18ft) long!

My version is yet another model from the defunct (but very useful) Amazon Miniatures range.

Dinofelis

The name Dinofelis means, of course, "terrible cat".  However, whilst they were probably a considerable danger to Australopithecus, most varieties were no larger than a modern leopard.  I suppose that's bad enough if you only have stone tools, though.

Actually, Dinofelis died out about 1.2 million years ago - so the Neanderthal hunter in the picture shouldn't really be too worried about meeting one!

This model is from the Dazed range (or DeeZee or DZ, as the range has been variously renamed).  It's still available, from Arcane Scenery.

Thylacine

Thylacine is very unusual for a "prehistoric" animal because they existed right up until the 1930s.  Indeed, there are still occasional sightings claimed, though it would be quite sensational if any of these were verified!  It's a marsupial predator, sometimes referred to as the "Tasmanian Tiger" - although at one time it was widespread across all of Australia and New Guinea.

My thylacine pack is by Steve Barber Models.

"Terror Bird"

There are a number of species of giant birds in the prehistoric environment.  This particular model is one of the earlier figures from Steve Barber and is now retired, I believe (there is a newer giant bird model from the same manufacturer which is very nice!).

I haven't been able to identify the species that this figure represents and so I cannot give you many details about it.  However, given its size I think that the Neanderthal may well be able to drive it away from its nest and take its eggs!

Diatryma Giganticus

Now here's a species worthy of the title "terror bird"!  Diatryma Giganticus (aka Gastornis) inhabited North America and Western Europe  about 45 million years ago and - despite its ferocious-looking beak - may have eaten tough leaves and shoots rather than being a hunter.  However, scientists appear to be split on this, as well as whether related species in China are actually the same creature.

This pair of models come, once again, from the defunct Amazon Miniatures range.

Phorusrhacos

Phorusrhacos is another variety of giant "terror bird".  This species lived in the Americas until maybe 13 million years ago and is believed to be a predator.

Several manufacturers make 28mm models of Phorusrhacos, but again mine comes from Amazon Miniatures (if I remember correctly).

Daedon

Strictly speaking, the world-wide Entelodont family (of which Daedon is a North American species) are omnivores rather than carnivores.  But then, so are bears (and humans)!  They'll eat meat if they can get it, though otherwise they'll live off vegetable matter.

I've put the Entelodonts in this article on predators because their taste for meat and their sheer size would present a considerable threat to any humans they encountered.  Of course, they wouldn't have met any people because Daedon died out about 19 million years ago - long before anything remotely like a human existed!

These models are from the Primaeval Designs range, available from Acheson Creations.  If they seem familiar then that may be because I've used them recently in a game as the fabled, monstrous Calydonian Boar and also (less recently) as "not-targ" in a Klingon Holiday.

Andrewsarchus

This is possibly the largest land-dwelling, carnivorous mammal of all time.  A fully-grown Andrewsarchus has been estimated to weigh 1 ton or even more.  With a 3 foot long jaw, it would have had a ferocious bite, though it isn't really known whether it was primarily a hunter or a scavenger.  Fortunately for the Neanderthal in the picture, Andrewsarchus lived in Mongolia some 36 million years ago, long before humans!

Good luck with finding a 28mm model of this beast!  Mine came from the long-defunct Amazon miniatures; I've never heard of another manufacturer attempting to make this creature.

Cave Bear

Now here's an animal which most certainly would have encountered Neanderthals!  The cave bear lived in Europe until 27,500 years ago - well within the timeframe for cavemen.  Given its huge size (a male could weigh 0.5 tons), they must have been quite a threat to stone age people!

This is a resin model that I thought came from Steve Barber Models as it's based in the same manner as my other "Prehistoric Settlement" game models.  However if it is from there than it must be an earlier sculpt; the current catalogue shows nothing like it.

Dire Wolves

Dire wolves are slightly larger than a modern grey wolf, but had a rather heavier build.  They existed in the Americas until maybe 10,000 years ago - well within the timespan for early humans.  I imagine that even primitive men were reasonably safe from them - unless the wolves were in an overwhelmingly large pack, were starving or otherwise motivated to attack!

This pack comes from the Dazed/DeeZee/DZ range and is still available from Arcane Scenery.  They were the stars in one of my most successful "offbeat" battle reports: The Howling!

Conclusion

There are many more prehistoric predators in model form than there are herbivores!  Indeed, a lot of the creatures that I have described above can be found in 3 or more different ranges of miniatures.  For example, Phorusrhacos (or something very like it) is/was made by Amazon Miniatures, Dragonblood Miniatures, HLBS, Ral Partha, Steve Barber and Reaper Miniatures.

I've noticed whilst making this list that much of my collection are older models, many of which are no longer available.  It's very tempting to start buying some of the more recent sculpts as well, to fill gaps or perhaps just for fun!

28mm Prehistoric Fauna: the Herbivores

Introduction

A long time ago (in 2012, no less), I showed some of my collection of 28mm Prehistoric animals: the Megafauna.  Not all mammals from prehistory are so big, though!  I also have a reasonable collection of smaller creatures that I'd like to record and publish.  Since there are really too many of them for a single article, I thought that I'd start with the subgroup of herbivores.  Even though these would have been numerous in real life, I find than I don't have many such models, so this might be quite a short post.

As with the Megafauna article, I've included a figure of a 28mm Neanderthal hunter, for scale purposes.  Note however that most of these creatures were removed a very long way in time and space from such a hunter.  They'd only meet in some strange, Hollywood-inspired Lost World setting for a game - and who would ever have the imagination to do that?!  Something like this, perhaps?

Diprotodon

Diprotodon is (roughly speaking) a giant wombat.  They were the largest marsupial ever to have lived.  Diprotodons lived in Australia and died out maybe 46,000 years ago.  I suppose that contact with very early humans was just about possible, though I'm not an anthropologist and don't know this with any certainty.

Actually, this model must be either a female or an immature youngster.  The fully-grown male would have been 3m (9.8 ft) long and have weighed 2.7 tons.

The model is (I think) from Mega Miniatures.  Although it was sold as a 25/28mm model, I can't help wondering if the sculptor intended it to match 15mm figures instead.

Chalicotherium

Chalicotheres are very strange-looking animals.  They were widespread across Europe, Asia and Africa for many millions of years.  Sadly for our Neanderthal hunter, Chalicotheres seem to have died out about 3.6 million years ago; that's long before any humans were around!

Once again, this is a Mega Miniatures model and (like the Diprotodon) it's about half the size that it should be!  A fully-grown Chalicothere stood around 2.5m (8 ft) tall at the shoulders, whereas this creature is no higher than the man.

Doedicurus

Doedicurus is one of the best-known Glyptodonts; it ranged across the Americas (North and South) and finally became extinct about 11,000 years ago.  This puts it very definitely in the period for early humans, though it wouldn't have met our Neanderthal (he's a European, after all).

Guess what?  This is from Mega Miniatures and it's a lot smaller than it should be for a 28mm model!  An adult Doedicurus could reach about 4m (12 ft) in length, so once again this figure would make more sense with 15mm humans.

Miohippus

Horses have been growing bigger for many millions of years, from the very small ancestors such as Eohippus (60cm / 2 ft long) to our current animals.  The prehistoric species differed mainly from modern horses in being smaller and in having separate toes rather than fused hooves (but who's going to notice that or care in such a small model).  However, the basic form of the animal remained similar, whatever the size of the species. 

This being so, I decided to create my Miohippus herd by using models that were designed for 15mm.  Rather than using 15mm horse figures, I chose to use donkeys - though zebras or wild asses would probably have a more accurate body shape.  Still, these are good enough for me, especially when painted with a spotted coat.  I think the models came fro Lancashire Games, but I could be mistaken about that.

Miohippus lived in North America and died out about 25 million years ago, so once again our hunter is completely anachronistic!

Dodo

Now here's a real oddity!  Dodos were flightless birds that lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean until they encountered modern European sailors; they were last seen in 1662 (the dodos, that is - not the Dutch and Portuguese sailors).  Once again, our poor hunter wouldn't have encountered dodos, if only because they existed in such an isolated location.

Unlike the earlier models in this article, these figures are too large.  A dodo should be about 1m (3.3 ft) tall, whereas these birds are much bigger than that.  The sculpts also have a rather strange body shape and are missing the very distinctive upright plume of tail feathers.  Still, I don't know of any other dodo models in this scale, so I'm quite happy to have a small flock!

These dodos are from Black Cat Bases, home of some of the most intriguing and bizarre miniatures on the internet!

Conclusion

If you exclude dinosaurs, there aren't many models of the smaller (i.e. less than a mammoth or wooly rhinoceros) prehistoric herbivores in any scale, though most of those which do exist are scaled for 28mm figures.

Here are some herbivores that I don't have (yet!) and which I believe to be still available:

• Steve Barber Models make an alternate Diprotodon and the unusual Macrauchenia
• Eureka Miniatures make a herd of Aurochs.

As ever, the best source of information on this subject is Steve Pugh's Very True Things site, which is an absolutely invaluable resource!

Lost World: the Lucid Eye Simians

Introduction

It's been a long while since I posted anything about my Lost World collection.  It's a genre which hasn't had much coverage on my blog.  Indeed, it's been 2 1/2 years since I wrote about the large beasties (megafauna).  That doesn't mean that I've given up on it, though.

A couple of recent events have reawakened my interest in the Lost World setting.  Firstly, Steve Barber Models has announced a reworking of the old Prehistoric Settlement game; there will be a nice range of cavemen and Ice Age beasties to support this.  Secondly, the well-known figure sculptor Steve Saleh has created the Lucid Eye range of figures, currently available from Arcane Scenery.  These are specifically aimed at Lost World/Hollow Earth scenarios and the range already has such curios as Atlanteans, Neanderthals and Amazons.  However, the figures that immediately caught my eye were the simians.

Lucid Eye Simians

I've been looking for figures that I could use as early hominids for almost as long as I've been collecting prehistoric figures.  They have to be more than apes, but not as advanced as (or recognisable as) early humans.  As soon as I saw the Lucid Eye simians, I knew that they would do nicely!  They might or might not be based more on fiction than on palaeontology (I'm not an expert on this), but for my purposes that doesn't matter at all.

From the left, "Kobo", "Hurkey", "Skeech" and "Zaius"

 There are 2 packs of simian figures in the range at the moment.  Firstly we have a set of 4 ape men in assorted poses.  They all have weapons; 2 of them have well-made flint spears whilst the other pair have a tree branch and a large bone.  Are they intelligent and skilled enough to have created the spears themselves?  Or did they pinch them from some nearby humans?  I'm not sure and I think I would have preferred less advanced tools - perhaps a simple sharpened stick or a handy-sized rock instead.  Oddly, it only occurred to me after painting these models that I could have converted them very easily.  D'oh!

The SCT32 pack of 4 simians is currently retailing for £7.49, plus postage of course.

I'll call him "Caesar"

 Next, we have the alpha simian.  He's much the same size as the other creatures, but has perhaps a more thoughtful (yet still challenging) stare rather than the raw aggression of the other members of the tribe.  Alpha also has a flint spear, though again it would have been very easy to replace it with a tree branch or some other type of tool.

SCT31 Alpha Simian costs £2.99, thus making him almost twice as expensive (ape for ape) as any of the grunts (and I use that term intentionally!).

 Here's the entire tribe, all together.  It would be very nice if another set or two of simians were to be produced (perhaps some females or adolescents?), but this isn't really necessary.  I could easily build quite a large troop from the models already available, especially with some conversions of their weapons and some different painting (darker for the leaders, grey for the older hominids, perhaps?)

These hominids are actually quite small models.  I've mounted them on 20mm washers, rather than my normal 25mm bases.  They're definitely not in the "giant killer ape" category (unless used with 15mm figures), but then there are plenty of models of gorillas or yetis to fill that niche already.  No, these will do just fine as early hominids in my games.

I can also see them being used as Tarzan's ape family in a more Victorian setting, or even as hostile natives in a remote part of any Pulp world.  Finally, these models are very reminiscent of the chimps and other simians in the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" film.  They could easily be used in a modern setting as hyper-intelligent laboratory animals bent on escaping from their slavery - change their flint spears for stolen pool cues or cattle prods.  Now there's an idea for a game!

Lost Lands: Mamut and Ogrom

Introduction

I run a lot of games at the Helensburgh club.  Roughly speaking, this is 1 game per week during school term times, so something like 30 sessions per year.  Each of these has a cunningly contrived and balanced scenario that's designed to stimulate and interest all the players.  None of my games are ever get thrown together at the last minute, just because real-life pressures mean that I haven't thought about it until the day before, no sirree!

Well, OK - that last bit is not totally true.  Sometimes a scenario is underdeveloped and doesn't play out the way I'd hoped at all.  This is not frequent, but here is an example; this didn't really work well in my view (though the players seemed happy enough, for all that).  Note that I'm not trying to railroad my players into certain courses of action when I set up a game.  However, it's important that both/all sides feel they have (a) something to do and (b) a reasonable chance of achieving their goals.

The Scenario

We're back in the Lost Lands this week.  A group of explorers have established a base camp, from where small parties intend to set out to gather specimens for science, meat for the pot and trophies for the ancestral home.

However, before they can achieve these goals the camp is raided in the night by a couple of large bull mammoths ("Mamut" and "Ogrom").  Amongst other destruction, the crate containing all the bottles of gin is smashed.  Swearing revenge, Sir Reginald Utterly-Barking leads a small band to hunt down the animals, unaware that they are crossing the territory of a local tribe of ape-men to whom the mammoths are sacred!

So, this is a 3-way battle (the mammoths are a player side as well as the explorers and the "ape-men"):

Forces

• Explorers: 2 white men (1 with .577 express elephant gun and 1 with .303 rifle), 1 askari (with .303 rifle) and 4 native porters.
• Mammoths: 2 wooly mammoths ("Mamut" and "Ogrom")
• "Ape-men": 5 Neanderthal warriors with flint-tipped spears.

Objectives

Note that these objectives were secret and known only to the appropriate faction:

• Explorers: kill the mammoths!  For extra credit, collect trophies and use the native porters to carry them back to base camp.
• Mammoths: Each mammoth must drive off or kill all intruders who approach within 12" or who shoot at it.  Otherwise, a mammoth won't itself move closer than 12" to models from other factions.
• Neanderthals: Drive off or kill the explorers!  If the mammoths get in the way then by all means dispose of them (they aren't that sacred).  But note that it'll take considerable luck for only 5 of you to hurt a mammoth...

Game 1: Ambush!

As is often the case with my games of Lost Lands, we had time to run the scenario several times in our 2 hours of club time.  This is what happened the first time around:

The explorers advanced until they passed the clump of trees where Mamut was feeding.  On taking the In Sight test, the mammoth decided that he really didn't like the look of these strangers, so he charged!
The native porters fled immediately, but the 2 white men and the askari all fired at the rapidly-approaching beast.  Their hasty shots went wild...

...so Mamut stomped on Professor Contender before spinning round to gore Sir Reginald.

Bakhari decided that he wasn't going to do the white mens' work any more; he fled for the trees, hoping to be able to evade the victorious beast in the thicket.

Result: the explorers were obliterated.  The Neanderthals hadn't even managed to cross the river (they're slower than average), so they slipped away quietly and left the field to the trumpeting mammoths.

Game 2: The Power of 3

This time, the explorers (their force bolstered by a second white man with elephant gun) climbed the hill on their baseline and refused to move from it!

 Again, the Neanderthals made slow progress and didn't manage to get close to the action.

Ogrom and several PEFs (Possible Enemy Forces) approached the explorers, taking care to remain hidden by a clump of fir trees whilst doing so.

One of the PEFs advanced past the trees and was resolved as a small pack of dire wolves.  However, the explorers were waiting for just such an event...

First one wolf was shot down, then another.  The last remnants of the pack fled in disarray before they could reach the humans, terrified by the sudden death of their fellows.

Mamut and Ogrom both moved forward to investigate the strange noise and were joined by a 3rd mammoth, as one of the PEFs just happened to resolve as a mammoth.  The stunned explorers didn't react initially (the group threw a double-6 for their "in sight" test, then rolled a further 6 for their leader dice!).  When the men finally came to their senses, they decided to make a hasty strategic withdrawal - they ran away!

Result: no casualties to any player forces, but the mammoths held the field (the Neanderthals withdrew as quietly as possible without even seeing either the mammoths or the humans).

Game 3: A Friend in Need...

For the third game, I started the Neanderthals half-way along one edge of the table, rather than at the far end.  With their slow movement rate, this might allow them to be part of the action!

Almost immediately, they encountered a PEF; this was resolved as a Smilodon (sabretooth).  It looked as if the beast would attack the Neanderthals, but the explorers could also see it and one of them fired at the animal.  Warily, the animal turned to face the humans instead.

The Neanderthals had a good run of initiative rolls and silently approached the big cat from behind.  This was too good an opportunity to miss and they fell upon it, stabbing with their flint spears.  In the initial rush, they knocked the Smilodon down and wounded it.  However, the predator wasn't badly hurt; it quickly regained its feet and turned on its attackers!

This was too much excitement for the nearby explorers.  They couldn't resist "trying to help" and started to fire volley after volley into the melee!

By the time the smoke had cleared, Crug, Brun and the smilodon were all dead from gunfire.  The remaining Neanderthals were defiant and angry.  This puzzled Sir Reginald: he thought they should be grateful to the explorers for having helped to slay the sabretooth.  He was even prepared to let the cavemen have the pelt as a sign of goodwill!

Result: Another cultural misunderstanding that ended in a massacre.  That seems to happen a lot in my games of Lost Lands, though in no way had I planned such an event.  In this game, the mammoths just stayed where they were, grazing and letting the noisy humans fight it out.

Conclusion

This was designed as a 3-player scenario.  However, in all of the games we played only 2 forces had any contact; the 3rd side might as well have not been there.  That's not what I had intended at all.

I'm also a little unhappy with the one-sided results, particularly of the first 2 games.  It's always difficult to balance a game where the technologies, resilience and abilities of each force are radically different from each other.  This is very apparent when fielding rifle-armed hunters against large wild animals.  At range, the hunters will almost always win, whilst in melee the mega-fauna cannot really lose.  It's one of gaming's great perennial problems and if you have any solutions then I'd be delighted to hear them!