Dragon Rampant Fantasy War Gaming from Osprey Publishing

Over the holidays and into the new year we discovered Dragon Rampant, the wonderfully simple fantasy war game from Osprey Publishing!

After the last few years of Bolt Action it was grand breaking out the old fantasy figures and putting them into action. The beauty of the game, created by Daniel Mersey, is the fact you can use virtually any fantasy figure you have or like! His previous game Lion Rampant is the historical equivalent of the same game. The Command and Control aspect is where the game differs from others.

It's not as simple as you move, enemy moves, you move, etc..  You begin by giving a command to one unit and if it passes, then you go to another unit and test. If it passes your turn continues, but the first time you miss a command test, then your turn is over. You can have a turn where you move every unit in your army just as easily as failing your first test and ending your turn that fast.

Armies are made up of an average of 5-8 units with anywhere from 1-12 figures. A basic infantry unit has 12 figures and a basic cavalry unit has 6.

Here we have a 24 point army with 12 Heavy Foot, 6 Heavy Riders, Heavy Missiles, 12 Belicos Foot and the army general is an Elite Rider with the Flying Special Rule

If you like Orcs and Goblins, they are just as easy to build a 24 pt army. The spider riders are Light Riders, the wolf riders act as Heavy Riders, The general is a single model that stands as a unit of Elite Riders so he will have the same number of wounds as a six model count unit. On the right is a 12 orc unit of Belicose Foot which act like beserkers with high offence and low defense. And a six model count Heavy Foot unit. Heavy Foot normally have 12 models so can take 12 wounds. Each wound removes one model. With a reduced model count unit of 6, each model can take 2 wounds before being removed.

Here a heavy hitting Lizardman army, also 24 points, has a Greater War Beast, two units of  Belicose Foot, and a reduced model count Heavy Foot unit consisting of only 3 models. Because it is still a 12 wound unit, each model can take 4 wounds before being removed. The general is acting as a unit of Elite Foot

The army builds are evenly balanced so every army has an even chance. The rule book gives you an Overview, Understanding the basics,
Playing the game section, How to build your Army list, basic Strategies and tactics, Sample armies, 6 easy Scenarios and lastly a Campaigns section.

Yes that is an undead T-Rex.

Here the orc Belicose Foot charge into a Greater Warbeast as the Heavy Foot move in for the kill.

You can build an army using any figures YOU like!! So go wild with it and try out as many options as you like. The one army here has A Greater War Beast with the fly rule, 2 giants are Lesser War Beasts and the Chariots are Heavy Riders with the chariot special rule!



So break out those fantasy figures and Have A Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

New Release: Warhammer Lizardmen Bastiladon

This just in, The latest addition to the Lizardmen in the Warhammer world, the Bastilidon!

The Bastiladon is the most heavily armored beast in Lustria,  a veritable walking fortress that carries the most treasured weapons of the Lizardmen to war.

The Bastiladon can be assembled in 2 variations. The first carries the Ark of Sotek upon its back and is crewed by 4 Skinks armed with javelins.

A large horned helm is unique to this version of the Bastiladon, along with special spiked armor on its carapace.

You also get plenty of snakes to decorate the base of the miniature.

The second variation carries the Solar Engine and includes a distinctive glyph plate mounted on its head.

Armoured sections cover its tail and front legs. 3 Skinks armed with javelins ride atop the beast, one of them is unique to the Solar Engine and acts as the gunner.

The keen eyed will notice that the firing mechanism of the Solar Engine has enough space for a four-fingered creature to fire it, yet the Skinks themselves only have 3 fingers.

This multi-part plastic kit contains 83 components with which to make either a Lizardmen Bastiladon with Solar Engine,

or Lizardmen Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek.

As always, this kit comes unpainted and requires assembly

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Ruglud's Armoured Orcs Dogs of War Unit Completed!

Last summer we did a post on How to Build Ruglud's Armored Orcs and never showed the finished models. Well today we rectify that error. Here they are in all their orcyness. The entire unit works well together and all have collected their mementos from past battles.

We'll review the individual models in the order we showed you in the previous post.

Here are the first two of Ruglud's boyz, both have items raided from the lizardmen across the pond in Lustria.

Next the veteran from the Dwarf Wars sports a miners pick.

This orc boy has some chaos warrior armor and sword.

Sporting a dwarf shield as a breast plate.

More dwarf mementos

These guys have some chaos and Empire memorabilia...

... and additional items from Lustria

And lastly as I mentioned, my favorite raided a Tomb King treasure trove and brought the kings head back to prove it.

Kings shield carried on his back too.

So there you have them all individually and together!

Have a Great Battle,
The Old Crow

How to Build a Ziggurat Ruin for Warhammer Lizrdmen

Finally got the Warhammer Ziggurat finished for a Lizardmen army to defend or Goblins to invade!! This was another project started and finished to the point of using it to play Warhammer with, but it needed finishing touches. So we'll take you through building it step by step.

As mentioned, this was a piece started a while back and used along with the jungle terrain we showed you how to make back in October. You can see the previous post here.

Start with basic polystyrene insulation board which can be easily acquired at any major hardware/construction store.The bottom piece is approximately 18" wide by 15" deep. Start by measuring off 1.5" x 1" blocks along the edge and score the board with a pencil.

The next layer is 2" shorter along the front and the back can vary. We are going up to a third partial layer of stone and sloping it down in the back. We also chipped the edges with a hobby knife and carved out some of the seams between stones.

The back was sloped with a hot wire foam cutter. You can also see how some additional blocks were cut.

We were fortunate to find a gallon of latex paint in the "wrong" mix bin that was gray, so we painted the entire structure with it.

Then take some watered down black paint and wash it into all the cracks.

It should look a mess when done, like this.

Then drybrush a lighter gray over the entire structure. We used a can of "Stone Texture" spray paint leftover from another project to give it a little something extra. Then onto the plants. Here's a smattering of foliage getting ready for action. A piece of hardboard was glued to the bottom for stability.

Check your local craft store for small leaved stems that hold a bunch of individual pieces. Get a variety of tropical leaf types.

Once you pull off the individual items you will wind up with a stem looking like this.

Trim it down about an inch for a lower level or a bit longer if you plan on putting plants near the top of your ziggurat. That will allow you to push it down through all the layers

Now attach different individual stems to your main stem to get the jungle look and feel.

We drilled a pilot hole right near one of the seams where we felt plants would sprout...

and shoved it in. We later pulled it out and added glue into the hole and on the bottom of the foliage. Add these bundles around the entire piece.

Next we took our magic mixture of medium gray ballast, spring mix blended turf, old spices (oregano and parsley), coarse turf and stirred till all ingredients are thoroughly intermingled.

Apply hobby glue into cracks where the mixture will be...

and apply a liberal layer over the glue.

In areas of heavy vegetation we added some mossy foliage along with our mixture. 

Next we painted a dark green up the back slope where the grasses would be their thickest...

.. applied glue and more of our mix.

Here we applied the glue in the same pattern as the block  and then as it would naturally grow out of the cracks.

Lastly we added little extras like lost gold medallions under plants..

and extra chunks of gold dropped by would be thieves. A couple less fortunate chaps lost their heads on a wild treasure hunt and now hang around as omens to those who might try the same.

Goblins never can take a clue, here they are charging up the back side of the ziggurat!

And taking up firing positions!

Anyways, I hope you find this helpful and a start to expanding your gaming terrain.

Til next time,
Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow