Basement-Con: Friday and Saturday

Night 2 of Basement-Com saw the clash of two fantasy armies. The Empire teamed up with the elves to take on an Orc horde (is there any other kind?) using Hail Caesar. The game and minis were provided by Lead Addict, who I think used every piece of terrain I own to simulate the foothills being fought over.
We had a core set of units we had to use, but could then add from a pool to a max of 20 units a side. As the elves, I decided to go heavy into cav and shooties, while the Empire loaded up the bang-bangs.
I stacked the horse on the left flank and did what I do best, CHARGE! We smacked into Minotaurs and Trolls and despite the monsters being "Big" managed to drive them off, then in a second charge route them. We units were blown, but light cavalry riding in reserve filled the gap. This little skirmish showed the importance of supports.

Meanwhile in the center, the Imperials were getting slammed. They were just barely holding the farmstead and the tower, the objectives of the game. Due to poor initial placement by me, I wasn't able to support being across a wide river.
The center finally broke and fell back. The farmhouse was close to falling, but from across the river came the Treants. Like a scene out of the Two Towers, they smashed into the goblinoid lines. These casualties caused the orcs in the center to break. It was over.
Great game. Hail Caesar is perfect for Fantasy.

Speaking of Caesar, Saturday afternoon was spent playing Commands and Colors ancients. I have played C&C many times at our local con using the lovely mini collection from Cluck Amok, but never played withe the blocks in my own home.
The Romans faced the Carthaginians in the battle right after Cannae. Carthage was trying the old Double Envelopment again, but the Romans were ready this time. It looked like an easy Roman victory, but just like every C&C game I've played, it came down to wire with one unit a side deciding the outcome. Carthaginian victory!
It was a good weekend. Although my beer horde has seen better days.

LIttle Dwarves

By little I mean 15mm. I've had these guys for a looooong time. Thanks to Hail Sauron, they may get a fight, finally. All are from the now defunct Demonworld line. Yes Ral-Partha UK has the molds now, but not to everything, and not the really nice lead and really nice new molds the Germans had.

Cavalry. Have enough for 3 more units

Veterans

I must of had more time 15 years ago, because these guys all have different, distinct heraldry.

Another great thing about 15mm?

This 28mm Manticore, finally has the scale to be scary.

Hail Sauorn! Second try.

In somewhat of a first for the Basement Generals, we played the same game in back-to-back weeks. Everyone seemed to have a good time last week with Hail Sauron! (the Fantasy adaptation of Hail Caesar!), so we gave it another go.

We adjusted the armies slightly since last week. Orcs are more a mix of Gauls and Huns and Elves closer to medieval English mixed with some heavy cavalry. We must have done good because in the end, it was tie.
The opening of the battle saw the elve's centaur allies charge pell mell at the beastmen horde and giant. The giant smashed the pretty ponies, only to go down to a hail of elven bowfire later.
The orcs had trouble getting the center moving while on the right flank wolf and spider riders sparred with the elven flyers and cavalry.
After much pushing and shoving, the center broke for both sides and it was decided both sides limped off the field in a draw.
Many troops types and units, and it still played to conclusion in 2 1/2 hours. We didn't use magic rules but they seem pretty simple and best all, I think everyone is excited. I get to dust off all the 15mm fantasy I bought 20 years ago, and people are actually buying new lead for a group type project. Ral Partha Europe might be getting a large Demonworld order from Kansas City.
Please excuse the lack of proper finished stands. As a general rule we don't usually field unfinished armies, but this was a playtest. Now that we are settled on a size (which will double as units for Commands and Colors) we can finish them off properly.

Hail Caesar Renaissance playtest

First of all, let me apologize for the lack of pictures. It was a playtest, so the terrain was pretty sparse. Also, I'm in the process of repainting/rebasing for this playtest, so I hard to improvise on troops and commanders (thus the War of the Roses command stands).
As a background let me say, this is one of favorite periods. I've been waiting for just the right rules for these guys for literally, years. I've tried every wargames rules set there is for Renaissance (yes, I have. So don't throw out suggestions). Playing Black Powder really got me jazzed when I saw Hail Caesar.
To me, Renaissance is really Ancients with gunpowder. Most generals of the day had been studying ancient texts and were trying to recreate the legions  and phalanxes of years gone by. I wanted a set of rules where I could build the units the way I thought they should look. I don't like counting figures, or a ton of modifiers. I'm getting old, so I like simple, too. HC did it for me.
I've read the rules 3 times but never played, so of course we got things wrong, but there was a lot of right in here too.
The scenario was a fairly even match up between Neopolitan Spanish and the French. The forces were fairly small, 4 commands a side. Each side had two commanders with a unit of Heavy Cavalry (rated as cataphracts) and a mounted crossbow/arquebus unit (rated as missile armed light cav). One general had artillery, a pike unit, and two open order crossbow/arquebus units. The final commander on each side had two pike units and two crossbow.
There were surprisingly few 3 move manuevers, so the sides moved slowly at each other. Our supreme leader (even with a reroll) couldn't get the center forward. The heavy cav on one flank clashed and after a quick see-saw had my Gendarmes running for the hills. On the other flank, our mounted bows kept the enemy tied up all night.
Over all, everybody fought as they should. Regular units that didn't get out the way got smahed by the pike blocks. The pikes scrummed for a bit, til one broke. I gave the pikes a short range attack to simulate the arquebus skirmishers many used, and it worked great. In the future, I might let them detach such units to act as Forlorn Hopes. I'm very pleased with the results. Once everyone got the hang of it, the game went really quick. The French got chased off the field, but just barely.
Huge, huge thumbs up.

Rules found?

As anyone who follows this blog will know, I've officially tried every wargames ruleset for Renaissance. Every single one. And I haven't been satisfied completely with any of them. I have a large collection of minis that have rarely seen battle, except in play test.
I like what I saw and played with Black Powder, so I ordered Hail Caesar! by the same folks. Though similar, there are some significant differences, as there should be.
I'm excited to try out HC! not for ancients, but for my long suffering Italian Wars minis. I think the rules will work for simple the reason that Renaissance thinkers had not only rediscovered classical art, but classical warfare. Many a general was trying recreate the armies of Rpme and Alexander. What are Swiss pikemen, but the Macedonians phalanxes of old?
Only gaming this out will see. I will keep everyone posted.