DBA, a Bit of Fistful of Lead, and a Bit of Painting

Went up to Krieg Haus 2 yesterday, There were seven or eight people there, but we used three smaller tables instead of one big one, so it didn't feel quite so crowded even in the smaller space. Jim ran DBA and Mark ran Fistful of Lead.

Me, I (or my minis) ran headlong into heavy fire.

A few of the armies on display.

Having been reading up on pike-and-shot lately, I wanted to try Swiss. I ended up doing a mid-Swiss-mercenary army, with seven Pike bases plus a Pike general (who had to be proxied by a Blades unit with huge sword), two Blades bases (halberdiers) and two Psiloi (crossbows). My opponent, Stephen, fielded Hundred Years War troops - mostly archers which turned out terrifying because they can shoot twice a turn!

Opposing deployment ...

... and mine.

Turn One, approaching the hill as the English hastily climb it.

Turn Two, not quite in range to fight.

Turn Three, almost there. My only shooting units are too far to help.

Turn Four, my assault is pushed back.

And back...

And back...

In DBA, you roll a die to see how many units you can activate. You can keep all units touching and count them as one (see both deployments) but if units are forced to recoil or flee this can be broken up and suddenly you have three or four discrete groups instead of one. If you then roll a two on the activation die, your army becomes less effective.

My pikes, strong though they were with a bonus for attacking in column, were fighting uphill (minus one to their roll) and as my force broke up and the victorious enemy moved into the gaps, they had greater support (more minuses).

My command element is surrounded... game over.

My mistakes:

• I was under the mistaken impression that both sides deployed terrain, and was hoping to raise Difficult Hills for my (Hilly home terrain) Swiss to block lines of sight. Nope, once a low hill was raised, that was it.
• And I'd conceded it to my opponent during the choose-an-edge phase.
• My deployment also isolated my camp. If my opponent's mounted troops had tried to take it, there's not much I could have done to stop them.
• While my General's base counted as Pike, it didn't look like one (the center figure is hefting a massive sword instead) and so I failed to support it with more Pike and it was isolated and easily surrounded, losing me two victory points. Lose four and the game is over.
• In the first turn of combat, I fought with only one row of Pike, not realizing they had a bonus to fighting in depth.
• I kept marching up the hill into steady bowfire; even weak enemy bases were able to hold me off with support and an uphill bonus.
• My shooty guys never really got into action. At one point, I could have used them to flank the HYW army, but I only rolled one move for that turn and decided instead to march six pike blocks back into action instead.

Suffice to say that for such a small, quick game, DBA is more complex and tactical than it looks.

On a better note, my Swiss had to proxy their camp with a small square of cloth - a required objective for any DBA force. Afterwards, I asked Jim if I might try making some Paperboys-style base camps for his 15mm DBA armies and he jumped at the prospect. We agreed to trade small DBA hills (of which I could use more for my own 18mm Wofuns) for bases, and I will use the robust 32-pound paper, magnetic bases and various camp elements, appropriately reduced in size, from the Paperboys website and Helion books. For example, the Roman Invasion volume has druids and ritual items that could serve well for any Celtic army.

I had to leave soon after, but I was able to take a few turns at Fistful of Lead. It was a Northwest Frontier scene based loosely on The Man Who Would Be King:

The minis belonged to a member of the club who died last year,
but who loved the period and the movies it spawned.

The scenario had about 45 figures on the board, with British outnumbered by Pathans who spent most of their time charging across the board and (unsuccessfully) providing cover fire with rifles.

I crept up close to get into charge range but
lost nearly everyone. Still an incredibly fun game...

... that makes me eager again to get that damn Picacho Pass
scenario on the table. This spring. Really.
You believe me, right?

Paperboys-wise, I have finished assembling my Fyrd. Just need to slip them all into an envelope and send to Peter, but I'll need to wait til I'm back at work tomorrow to print the labels.

The command strip - my low-class mob only gets a couple flags.

Finally, I picked up some Speedpaint markers from the FLGS, which has finally got them in (and they seem popular, as some colors were already gone). I also received the starter set of ten basic colors. More on them next post!

Catch you next time...

Year's End

 As usual, more reading, and finally some proper painting!

I spent some of today working on some of the Quar. I now have five Coftyrans basecoated, all except skin.

Highlord Blue coats, Hardened Leather straps, stocks and boots,
Averland Sunset collars and cuffs, Sir Coates Silver metal.

Skin will take a little thought, as it's varied, pastel, and often spotted. I think it should contrast a bit with the uniform, too, so I won't use blue or yellow. But I'm pleased I've got this far!

There's also the machinegunner's hat, and the blanket rolls. I need a spot color for those, and I'm leaning towards red.

Reading-wise, I found an excellent new book on the 1216 French invasion of England. I was surprised to find it's published by Osprey.

It's fairly short (which makes sense for Osprey), but is not typical even of the publisher's more "conventional" histories - it's not a summary, guide or overview, but an in-depth coverage of the years immediately following Magna Carta.

The author has nothing good at all to say about King John, except that he died at just the right moment. His son succeeded him as not a tyrant but an innocent, now not about to be overthrown by a savior but by a foreign usurper. He also had the support of the Pope. The struggle is depicted as one that turned England from a cross-channel empire into an individual country independent of France. This started with the loss of Normandy, although nothing is said of Aquitaine.

The battles are Dover (a typical siege), Lincoln (pitched cityfight, relief of siege), and Sandwich (a naval battle). (Hilariously, Sandwich is now landlocked.) Hanley describes these all in a lively style, along with the key characters. Two of the most interesting are the female chatelaine of Lincoln, and a Robin-Hood-esque character who led a savage rebellion on the south coast, forcing the French invaders to go out of their way to avoid him.

The cross-channel relations of the two sides also made for interesting interplay - many of the lords on both sides had holding in both Normandy and England and had been forced to choose a side when Normandy abruptly became French. The King of Scotland held lands in England and swore fealty for them to the pretender from France. 

There are so many interactions between so many characters that I have only really given a taste. But this is quite a good book, and I'm glad I read it.

Happy New Year. I hope your next is full of hobby. (I still have two boxed games on the way myself!)

De Bellis Antiquitatis

 Today's South Florida Miniatures Gamers (SMG) meeting was to learn the classic DBA (3rd editon). Member Jim, eager to introduce us to his favorite game, provided six boards and a dozen armies for about ten of us to try. The club generally does 18th century and up, so this was new to most of us. I got in two games.

The first was between Hundred Years War English and ancient Egyptians. (For whatever reason, the French weren't available.) I ended up playing Jim, which meant this actually resembled my home solo games quite a bit because he was moving about answering questions from the other players. This made the game fairly relaxing, and I had plenty of time to contemplate my moves.

Bottom: two units of knights, seven of archers, and two of 
men-at-arms on foot. Top: Four chariots, four archers, four spearmen.

My opponents:

We rolled for weather, and on a 1, the fields were wet and boggy. So much for the chariots! In the knowledge they couldn't reach me, I aimed to do an end-around of the Egyptian right with my knights (below).

What I hadn't considered was that this put them in range of the Egyptian archers. They spread out and concentrated on my commander unit, on the grounds that if the commander is destroyed and his side has lost more units, his side loses. So if your general is the first casualty... luckily the dice were with me. Not only did I win most of the roll-offs (higher scores force your opponent back, while doubling their score kills them), Jim kept rolling ones for activation, meaning he could only move one of his units.

The mobility of cavalry makes a difference however, and finally two of the chariots raced over to cut me off. By that time, I'd shot away some of his archers and had also got my knights into position to charge. I won by destroying four of his twelve units before he'd killed more than one of mine.

The second game was Indians vs. Alexandrian Greeks. My Indian army had three (!) elephants, two chariots, two light cavalry, one skirmish unit, and four archers.

I made the mistake, however, of just charging straight ahead. In hindsight, I should have chosen the option to move two of my (defending) army's units and stuck the elephants all the way on my right flank, which you can see above was facing normal infantry.

It turns out pike phalanxes can hold pretty darn well
against rampaging pachyderms.

Flanking makes a difference, too.

My own archers never got a look in, though my chariots managed to overrun the Greek war machine and then take their camp - a backline objective in every game that is worth two units. That made the game surprisingly close, three casualties to my four, which ended the round.

Several of the games were quick, enabling players to start again and try several different periods and armies during the day. And with small (2x2foot) boards and quick terrain layout, army creation and deployment, DBA and its variants are appealing for clubs like ours.

When I told him of my summer plans to run games at work, Jim generously donated one of his boards, a handful of terrain and a couple measuring sticks. (I'll make the armies with Paperboys.) Given my small tables for home solo games, and my hope of running small demos at work, these will come in handy even if I don't play DBA - though I certainly will try it again.

A 2x2 carpet square, fields, hills (that can double as forests),
a handful of lichen, and two measuring sticks.

Lion Rampant

Been a while since I posted. I had two wisdom teeth out the other day, and my Dad is also visiting and he's not a gamer, so we have been watching TV and movies together and I've had less time for playing - though more for reading.

I last used these 1314 Paperboys with a Featherstone ruleset (happy belated birthday, Don!): Medieval Battle Report

Lion Rampant is a skirmish game, so multibases will be a little tricky. Luckily, all units are either of six or twelve men. I am leaving out Boasts and Commanders for the purpose of the test.

The sides are English and Scottish. The English get:

Two mounted Men at Arms

Two Foot Sergeants

One Archers

The Scots get:

One mounted Men at Arms

Three Foot Sergeants

One Crossbowmen

One Bidowers

The recommendation for Scots is for "Fierce Foot," which I don't have cut out. I would have liked to skip the Bidowers (light, elite archers) and give the Crossbowmen pavises, but lost the pavise strip some time ago. So here we are.

For the test game, I'm using the first scenario, Bloodbath, and no terrain. The table is about 5'x3'. I'm also experimenting with Google Photos, sending them straight from my phone to the computer. It works, but slowly...

Starting Positions

After a few abortive attempts at movement (kept rolling low to activate, which turns initiative over to the other side), the Scots shifted to the left and most of the English moved towards them (left photo). The Bidowers moved to the right to try shooting from the flank and one of the English MAA units went after them (right photo). The English archers to the rear are actually in range, but Bidowers cannot be shot at outside 12".

 

Turn 2: I "formed" the Scottish spears into schiltrons. They can't move now but are armour 4 against any charge from the English knights. On the right I tried to "skirmish" the Bidowers but failed. The knights charged them, but they successfully evaded - though they caused no casualties, needing four hits and scoring only three (with six dice at 6+!). 

The other English knights failed their move roll, so Scots turn again.

Turn 3: The Scottish knights move forward to challenge the English, but not in range to attack just yet at a move of 10". Then I recall they are required to Wild Charge the closer English spears:

They score five hits on the spearmen, causing one casualty; in exchange the spears score three hits, not enough to kill a knight. The spearmen test courage and pass - but having lost, retreat half distance, three inches. The Scots crossbows fail to shoot and initiative passes to the English.

English knights charge the Scottish knights, who fail to counter-charge so will be using their defense statistic (left). The Scots take one casualty, pass courage and retreat five inches. They are in range of an English MAA unit, which charges them for the heck of it (right); again they fail to countercharge. The knights take a second casualty.

 

Forgot about the second English knights, who must charge the Bidowers, who failed to cause any casualties and took three of their own. They fall back (not quite off the table) and are Battered.

Turn 4: Scots again, the knights back after the English spears who just beat them. They cause a casualty against the spearmen, but take two in return and retreat again! They're down to two men and Battered. The Bidowers, also Battered, fail their rally test and are eliminated. I'm assuming I only roll to rally the knights next turn.

Scottish foot sergeants attack English ones, but fail to score enough hits to cause casualties (and take one of their own; spears are better on the defense than on the attack). Scots crossbows try to shoot the English spears but fail, and initiative returns to the English.

The English knights fail to Wild Charge, but the spears follow up on their victory, both sides score five hits for a casualty apiece. The Scots retreat through their own units behind - not sure if they are supposed to roll for extra casualties in this case, or only if blocking units are enemy.

The English knights and archers on the left move towards the enemy before init changes again.

Turn 5: "Now the Scottish Lion rallies." Not that that will do the knights any good. A fresh Scottish spear unit charges the ten-man English spears for six hits (two kills), taking one casualty in return. The crossbows try to take a potshot at them as they run but fail.

On the English turn, their knights charge into the crossbowmen, scoring six hits for three casualties - the Scots retreat, battered.

The other English knights careen into a block of Scottish spears. They kill one spearman in exchange for one knight. Both pass courage tests, so the knights retreat. Turn ends when another English attack fails its roll.

Turn 6: The two surviving Scottish knights fail to rally and are removed from the board. I've mostly been ignoring leader rules, but under normal circumstances the leader would be in this unit and his loss would require all surviving units to test Courage. Only the crossbowmen fail - they lose another model and retreat. The Scots are down by 8 unit points of the 24 they started with. When I roll to rally the crossbows, they fail by enough to eliminate them from the board, so now the Scots are down to half their initial points - while the English, though a few units have taken casualties, are all still extant. I'll call that an English victory.

A good basic game, I think. As usual for me, I didn't play it all in one go, but took turns at intervals over several hours of multitasking. (I was actually surprised that my cats did not wreck the board while I was out shopping!) This could have easily been completed in half-an-hour of "normal" play. 

One thing I like in comparison with the same author's The Men Who Would Be Kings is that activation is not nearly as frustrating. It's easier to activate on two dice instead of one, and if a single activation is failed initiative instantly goes to the opponent, keeping the game exciting and active.

Things I left out or mistakenly missed:

• Leadership. The commander's unit and anyone within 12" of it gets +1 to dice rolls, and the unit also gets a random characteristic bonus. This is also done in TMWWBK, for characterfulness. I ignored these for simplicity's sake.
• I effed up on Attack characteristics, rolling one attack per figure. The correct way is that any unit over half strength gets twelve attacks, and any under half strength gets six. This made a serious difference in the effectiveness of the six-strong knightly units.
• Terrain, which could have helped the Bidowers and in fact all the shooting units; cover automatically evens everyone's fighting and wound characteristics, helping even Serfs survive.
• The shooters barely got a look in, mostly out of range or line of sight, and I don't think anyone took any casualties from shooting.

Overall, I would happily play again, though with Paperboys will need a way to tell similar units apart. The figures in a strip are so colorfully varied that it's hard to differentiate them; perhaps giving each one a single large banner instead of lots of little ones. I also had to pencil in casualties, but some of the Wofun individual-figure sets would do well with this game.