In Deo Veritas- The Battle of Bolden Hill 1644 in 6mm

 This week we tried out a new set of rules for small scale 17th Century battles called 'In Deo Veritas' (available from the Helion Wargames range of rules). The rules come complete with a few scenario's and even more available on line. For our first game we went with one of the smaller on-line scenario's from the ECW, 'The Battle of Bolden Hill' of 1644. Basically the Royalists commanded by William Cavendish, the Marquis of Newcastle have to prevent the Scottish Covenanters led by Alexander Leslie, the Earl of Leven from raiding south. 

Happily we have lots of 6mm ECW units (from Irregular Miniatures) between the three of us so making up the two forces was easy. Our figures are even based up in almost the right sized bases. My hope is that these rules live up to their title as exciting and fast play and that we can eventually get loads of units on the table. There is even a scenario for Marston Moor which has to be a target game to play. 

Deployment see's both forces set up on the opposite side of a small valley. Order of play is decided by drawing leader cards (also available on line with each scenario). We also used the cards to decide who would lead each wing of the two sides with Ian and myself being the Scots against Phil taking command of the Royalists. 

The Scottish Covenant forces deploy

With the Royalists lining the hill opposite. 

Needing to get my forces off the road I advanced quickly to face Phil's infantry tucked behind the walls outlining the enclosures.

  The first couple of turns were fairly slow as the others picked up the sequence of the game. 

Ian also pushed his cavalry wing forward. 

My attack on Phil's infantry stalled as Phil made good use of the cover to hold my forces at bay. 

On the right Phil caught Ian out by moving off the hill and attacking with his cavalry. This proved to be a decisive move as after a few turns of frantic melee Ian's wing broke and routed. This led to a General Will test on our whole force and with one of my raw Scottish brigades having also broken and a poor dice throw we were forced to retire from the field leaving behind a happy and victorious Royalist force led by Phil. 

So what did we think of the rules?  Well there is much good and once you get used to the relatively simple mechanics the game does flow quickly. The simple mechanics are supported by quite a few charts and lots of + and - factors which you need to get used to but we were certainly picking them up and getting used to them as we played. 

We had a few queries as we cannot find an evade rule (Ian's Dragoons were charged by Cavalry and wanted to run away but couldn't as far as we can tell?) and we would have liked our cavalry units to be able to counter charge each other but the turn sequence being dictated by cards seem to not allow this. Both are issues that can easily be 'house ruled' but I will have another read through the rules to see if I have missed anything.  

Overall In Deo Veritas seem a fun and fast moving set of rules very suitable for large battles with small scale figures. Once I have moved house we hope to try an even larger battle on a bigger table and maybe build up to doing Marston Moor. Between us we do have about 50 infantry units and loads of cavalry so should be fun. 

 

Ice Drow against Orcs, 15mm Fantastic Battles.

 Phil brought along his 15mm Orcs for a battle against my Ice Drow today, using the excellent Fantastic Battles rules. No specific scenario today, just a straight forward scrap apart from we used my newly finished 'Viking Bearserkers' as a random company that once contacted could join either side. The Bearserkers were living in the hut bottom middle of the photo. The blue dice there is our turn counter. 

A quick dice throw decided that Ian was aiding me with my Ice Drow and the armies deployed as below.  

A view along part of the Orc line. 

The whole Orc army, great figures. 

Turn 2 and my artic wolves activate the Bearserkers who promptly ally themselves with the orcs (there was a dice throw that decided this) so the artic wolves chased them down and destroyed them. 

Turn 3 and the Orc archers in the wood (we had removed the trees for ease of movement) manage to defeat the wolves and the Ice Drow rogue with them.  Deploying his big unit of orc archers in the wood (they were skirmish troops with Forester) proved to be a great move by Phil as they proved impossible to dislodge and cost me dearly. 

The photo below shows how the rest of the table was descending into a huge battle. With Ian forgetting to apply his Shieldwall trait properly and my Trolls forgetting to both regenerate and throw rocks the Ice Drow did not really help themselves and Phil's well armoured Orcs ground out a very convincing victory, only losing one unit by the end of turn 6. Even the dice seemed to be on Phil's side (I won't mention that Phil was using my lucky red dice!). Another fun game despite the great win by Phil and his Orcs but revenge shall be mine!

  

Meanwhile I have decided to add a few fantasy companies to my 15mm Vikings so that I can use them in Fantastic Battles too. Below is the first company, the above mentioned Viking Bearserkers. The bear is a Copplestone Castings bear (I think) and the Vikings are from the Splintered light range. Plenty more to come including a Frost Giant.

I have also started to paint my third 10mm ACW army, having sold the previous two. Here is a photo of the first batch fresh from the painting table. I have opted to paint up a Confederate force this time around but may get some Union eventually as well. We will be using the Black Powder rules with the ACW Glory Hallelujah supplement. Figures are from Pendraken.

6mm Biblical Hail Caesar

 For our game today we returned to Biblical times using our 6mm armies and Hail Caesar rules. Before the game my Hittites posed for a few photo's, all 26 units and 5 command bases. You can also see some of the scenery I have created over the last few months.  

We decided to play a 600 point game of my Hittites against Phil's Egyptians with Ian being Phil's sub general. As I had set the table up the Egyptians chose a table edge and took the first turn.It was a straight forward encounter battle with deployment as seen in the overhead photo below, Hittites on the left, Egyptians on the right. The blue dice in the tower top is our turn counter.    

I had deployed first and the cunning Egyptians caught me out on my right flank by deploying both units of chariots there which soon came racing towards me. 

Luckily for me the rearmost unit of chariots had a 'Blunder' next turn and were forced to withdraw 2 moves and take a point of damage on each unit and they then refused to move for the next three turns. This was the first of several Blunders in the game, perhaps our most ever? We had units rushing forward in the wrong direction, pulling back etc... all great fun and really added to the action. 

Overhead view of the chariots in melee. My scout cavalry were quickly destroyed but the Egyptian chariot unit, but the chariot clash went on for a few turns.  

The game was so closely fought that I sadly forgot to take as many photo's as usual. 

More chariot action, look at all those damage counters. 

The view of the battle from behind the Egyptian lines. 

In the centre the Hittites were pushing the badly mauled Egyptian forces back but could never quite catch them to finish them off. 

By the end of eight very hectic turns I think each side had lost 3 of their commands and had many other badly mauled units but neither side was quite at the army break point. As time had run out we called it a draw but one more turn may have proved decisive? 

Hail Caesar gives a great game every time and the 6mm scale chariot armies allow us to use lots of units on a small table. 

Chasing Hobbits (500 points a-side Fantastic Battles),

 Chris and I had long planned to do some more 10mm LOTR themed games using the excellent 'Fantastic Battles' rules. With me having painted some Riders of Rohan and Chris having painted both Orcs and Men of Gondor (all the excellent Copplestone Castings) it was only right that we planned some games around these forces. So the two scenarios of 'Chasing Hobbits' idea was born from the two of us exchanging several emails discussing ideas and this is what we came up with...

My Riders of Rohan so far, a touch over 500 points there so not all of them will be playing. 

 Two 500 point games of Fantastic Battles.

Hunt the Hobbits: very loosely based on and inspired by the chapter 'The Riders of Rohan' from the Two Towers, using the forces we have ready.

Merry and Pippin have managed to slip away from the orcs that were taking them to Isengard. The orcs, led by Ugluk are now trying to recapture them when the Riders of Rohan led by Eomer arrive.

Terrain: along one short side of the table is Fangorn Forest, the rest of the table can be fairly open, perhaps the odd small wood or hill etc...

Each player will place 3 tokens on the table, outside the deployment zones and at least 3BW apart. Then dice for table edge/deployment zone.

Objectives: Find the hobbits and defeat the enemy.

The hobbits are currently trying to hide from everyone. Each token could be Merry and Pippin. Whenever any base or character comes into contact with a token, throw a d6, on a score of 6 you have found and captured the hobbits. If the hobbits have not been found from the first 5 tokens then they are automatically found and captured on the 6^th token.

Once found and captured, the hobbits will still try and escape. For each turn that you are in control of Merry and Pippin throw a d6, on a 1 the hobbits break loose and flee 1xd3 BW towards Fangorn Forest, but must try their best to try and keep at least 1BW away from all other figures when moving. Obviously, the forces of Rohan or the Orcs may chase the fleeing Hobbits and try to recapture them by moving into contact with them. However, if the hobbits manage to get into contact with the edge of the forest then they will escape off board. (What happens to them next could be another game).

The armies deployed for battle (after 'Mishaps' had messed the orcs about quite a lot). Chris was playing the Orcs whilst Ian and I were riding for the Riddermark!

Rohan scouts go scouting!

The wooden tokens are the possible hobbit locations? 

The two forces close in on each other in the centre. 

The red and green tokens are the character tokens reminding us who has activated. 

The Riders of Rohan line up for the charge.

(Furious Charge with Master of Horses, we were looking forward to this).  

 

Smash, one unit of orcs have disappeared on the left and the Rohan unit even threw an 11 when testing for Character casualties, marking the end of the Orc Warlord Boldog. Great fun as it was only turn 2!

Melee and mayhem everywhere. The Rohan combo of Furious Charge proved to be too powerful for the orcs and broke their army. 

Meanwhile at the far edge of the table, well away from Fangorn Forest the last unit of wargs capture Merry and Pippin. So the Orcs lose the battle but gain the objective...we called it a draw. Great game and also fun to finally play games in Middle Earth with a set of rules that we really like. Chris and I have been searching for these rules for over 30 years. 

On to game two...

-------

The Ruins of Osgiliath: the attempt by Frodo and Sam to move through the ruins undetected whilst the Orcs attack the brave defenders of Gondor.

Frodo and Sam are desperately trying to pass un-noticed through the ruins of Osgiliath as the forces of Gondor clash with a host of invading Orcs.

Terrain: The river Anduin runs along one short edge of the table with the ruins of Osgiliath set on the eastern side. A few other pieces of scatter terrain can be placed around.

Objectives: each force must try to defeat the other and gain a bonus objective if they find/capture Frodo and Sam.

Frodo and Sam are moving around trying to get safely to Mordor, they may shift between areas of difficult terrain. Roll to determine if they are in an area (6 on a d6) when it is entered by troops, but no area is ever considered ‘cleared’. Once unoccupied Frodo and Sam may appear there in future turns. There is no ‘auto find’ in the last area searched, which does mean that it’s possible they may never be found (in which case they got through to Mordor).

If captured Frodo and Sam may also be 'stolen' by the opposition by defeating any unit/character currently in possession of them.

In both games the usual 'ending the game' p25, conditions apply. 

Deployment for game two, both sides took a far more cautious approach this game. This time Ian and I played the orcs with Chris commanding the brave forces of Gondor. 

The wonderful 10mm scenery belongs to Chris. These ruins are 3d printed by 'Telford 3D printing' I believe, link: Telford 3D Printing - Home

Two turns in and the Ithilien Rangers are about to be destroyed by warg riders... 

...and my trolls found Frodo and Sam. 

The two forces slowly approach each other, seeking the best position.  

Bash, all hell finally lets loose. The trolls leave the hobbits with the large unit of orcs on the right and try to get around the Gondor flank.

Biff, another great dice throw and the Gondor Warlord is downed by a unit of orc archers. 

I had to record these two dice throws as it was me chucking the dice. 

But the forces of Gondor edged the win. Close to breaking themselves they reduced the Orcs to their breakpoint claiming the battle but the remaining Orcs escaped with Frodo and Sam thus rewriting the whole Tolkien storyline and the result feeling like an echo of the first game. 

Fantastic Battles certainly lived up to it's name and gave us two wonderful LOTR themed games. We are increasingly happy with the armylists that the rules allow us to build for Middle Earth forces. Next time we may try a single, large battle. 

18mm Wiglaf Armoured Anglo Saxon Spearmen.

 I am slowly building up an Early Anglo-Saxon army using the wonderful Wiglaf Miniatures. Today I finally finished a unit of 24 armoured spearmen, a group of 6 skirmishers with bow and another command stand. I am really enjoying painting these figures as they are such good, crisp casts with clear detail. Progress is slow as I keep getting sidetracked by other projects plus I am moving house later this month so I am also busy packing a lifetimes worth of books and figures and will also be painting walls and ceilings soon instead of figures.  

The whole army so far. I only have 24 more unarmoured spearmen to do then the basic army pack will be complete...but how big is this army going to be. 

These figures are all based to suit a variety of rules ranging from Hail Caesar, Midgard, Dux Bellorum and even To the Strongest. 

More Midgard-Take the High Ground.

 So for this weeks game of Midgard we decided to try scenario 3, 'Take the High Ground'. A quick dice throw decided that Cynric and his Barbarian Alliance of Saxons and Picts would be the defenders, deployed on the hill guarding the three standing stones (one of them is a cross rather than a standing stone as I only have 2 of them). We also gave the Barbarian Alliance a unit of Trolls and the Romano British, (still led by Aliortus) a giant so we could try some of the monstrosities. There was just the two of us this week and the dice decided that Ian would be Aliortus and the Britons and I would be Cynric, defending the hill with his Barbarian Alliance. 

Here is the table after deployment, you can hopefully see the ridge with the standing stones.

As the Barbarian defenders I only have 75% of my force on the table at the start. 

From turn 3 you can Reputation gain from controlling/possessing the stones. 

Ian advanced rapidly, fully aware that I may have re-enforcements arriving. 

Even his infantry got across the table quickly. 

Morgana cast a wall of mist to obscure the Britons missile power. 

The first attack came on my left as Aliortus himself charged up the hill. 

Brave Drest charged forth from the Barbarian Lines to challenge Aliortus to a duel. 

He shouldn't have done as he got killed. 

The BFG (Blue Friendly Giant) charged in too and managed to get himself up onto the hill. 

The Barbarian Trolls charged down from the hill scattering a unit of formed archers, then some skirmishers before then flattening Merlin. 

Merlin wonders where the support is? 

(answer was they were all climbing up the hill slaughtering Barbarians). 

At last, turn 4 the Barbarian re-enforcements turn up on my right flank. 

Bottom left show the late arrivals, the rest of the board is a heaving mass of melee's. 

By the end of turn 4 things were looking bleak for the Barbarians as the Britons had managed to get several units onto the hill and had starting claiming the standing stones. 

Despite a brief rally in turn 5 it all went wrong in the final turn with many units being destroyed. Ian bagged a clear victory having control of two of the three stones and with 10 Reputation Points left compared to my -6 (yes turn 6 was a nightmare!). 

This was a very exciting game and the scenario worked really well. I had thought that with the Saxons deployed up on the hill they would be very difficult to force back but Ian's rapid advance helped him get on the hill before my re-enforcements arrived. Midgard is proving to be a great game to play as it is so fast moving. The giant and the trolls (Monstrosities) worked well and both units were still standing at the end. Neither side were able to attack the monstrosities in force allowing them to beat single units or lone characters into pulp. 

Win or lose, we both enjoyed the game very much and Midgard will certainly become a regular game for our little group. .