Imagi-Nation Wargaming

Hi!

As per usual, I find myself run off my feet with work with precious little time for anything else but something I've been pondering for a bit is to delve into Imagin-Nation wargaming.

This interest has partially sprung from following the AK-47 Republic group over on Facebook which has had all sorts of interesting bits and bobs posted but I'm not too keen to delve into historical gaming as I must admit I'm a bit uncomfortable with playing games set during actual conflicts. 

Boarhound Armoured Car

Instead I've been pondering more on my Farpoint setting and using some of the fantastic historical ranges out there to come up with my own imagi-national games as just look how cool the Boarhound British armoured car of WW2 looks! 

Looking back through my blog, here's some examples of Rdnrundt forces that I painted up years ago:

Count Cassitor and Henchmen

I'm still unsure as to what sort of basing to go for as the single figure style I've been using for years is perfect for small skirmishes but for slightly larger games, I'm not so sure and may go for a Flames of War or similar style but still can't decide.

Converted Civilian Armoured Car

Many moons ago, I picked up some vehicles from Peter Pig and in the ensuing years lost the turret and ended up bodging up Old Thunder here using a turret purloined from a Mechwarrior Dark Age clicky tank:

This is the sort of vibe I want to go for, low to medium tech level with a decided dieselpunk style to things! I've got some bits and bobs kicking around that I'm going to see if I can get a coat of paint on to see how I get on with this random side project.

Galactic League Peacekeepers

I don't know exactly what I've got lying around at the moment but I'll see what I can rummage out and in the meantime, All the best!

Farpoint AK-47 Characters

 Hi!

I've been sat painting a few bits and bobs for my Planet 28 project (more on that later!) but have also been working on some characters for my AK-47 alternative Farpoint campaign.

As I'm making the project a re-imagined and low tech sci-fi with a hint of history thrown in, I've had quite a bit of fun drawing some characters that I will also be portraying in miniature format as I work on the project, either as army leaders or objectives for the opposing forces to try and capture. I also plan on using them to build the narrative of the campaign as it proceeds

Laars von Dorn Governor General

Laars von Dorn is the Governor General of Farpoint having replaced the previous Governor due to his complete ineptitude and corruption. The von Dorn's are a wealthy family that is respected by much of the population but the latest von Dorn has sparked controversy by taking power in what some call a coup.

Laars wishes to form alliances and trade deals with other planets and has been brokering a deal to join the Galactic League which would see the somewhat backward Farpoint gaining access to new tech and trading opportunities.

Count Cassitor of Rdunrundt

Count Cassitor is a despotic ruler of the region of Rdunrundt and was the staunch supporter of the previous Governor, mainly due to the fact that the corrupt fool was so biddable to Cassitor's suggestions and as such the Rdunrunt region and the count himself had seen themselves greatly enriched under the previous administration. With the coup this changed and now the count, along with his somewhat shady offworld supporters seeks to claim the rule of Farpoint for himself, obviously for the good of the people.

Colonel Jaswant 'Blood and Thunder' Singh

Colonel 'Blood and Thunder' Singh is a stalwart of the von Dorn military and a canny warrior in his own right but is tactics tend towards frontal assaults and letting bayonets do the talking and while he is revered, the fear is that his outdated expertise may lead the forces of von Dorn into trouble.

Saying that, Jaswant is a patriot and his zeal to put down the rebellion and enthusiasm has given his forces a near fanatical support for the aging warrior. Whether this survives the first encounters with Rdunrundt's military remains to be seen.

Major Victor Kurtz

Kurtz is the commander of the Rdunrundt Dragoons, Count Cassitors personal guard. Not much is known of the man but it is suspected that he's actually from offworld and is an agent of the Count's shadowy allies.

He is a brutal but cunning tactician who doesn't worry about collateral damage and has been working hard in secret to train the forces of Rdunrundt in preparation of the upcoming campaigning season. Cassitor doesn't fully trust his henchman as he suspects that the man has other masters who seek to use his holy crusade for more money as a subtext for taking control for themselves. With this in mind, the Count has several agents hidden within Kurtz's staff. 

Tony Wong, FPITV News

Tony is an enthusiastic newshound who will no doubt be breaking the news for his station, Farpoint Independent Television News as the conflict begins to unfold. Unflappable and with a near suicidal disregard for his own safety, Tony has made a name for himself by holding the government to account and was instrumental in breaking the scandal of the previous governors malfeasance. 

 

Albrecht Schliemann Chief Press officer of The Rdunrundtian Patriot

Schliemann is a cold and slimy sort of a fellow but has a knack for rhetoric and misinformation, something that Count Cassitor recognised would aid him in his quest to take control of Farpoint for his own more noble purposes. As such he installed Albrecht as chief press officer at the Rdunrundtian Patriot where he issues thundering denunciations of the degenerate enemy von Dorn and his lapdogs who constantly seek to put true citizens of Farpoint down. 

The demagogue is often used to whip up the citizens of Rdunrundt into a patriotic fervour that has seen volunteers forming militias on the Counts behalf.

Hopefully I'll get more background put together as I go and I've placed a small order with Peter Pig to get the first unit for each force started with enough figures to give me eight bases a side as well as a couple of rival camera teams!

As I mentioned in my introduction I've also been working on painting a few other bits and bobs which I will be posting later as I seem to be coming out of the hobby slump just in time to go back to work tomorrow!

In the meantime, All the best!

Farpoint: AK-47 Republic

 Hi!

I've been on holiday this week and have been to the Christian Aid book sale in George Street in Edinburgh. We've been going pretty much every year for over two decades now and its a family tradition, especially as we're all bibliophiles and this year was pretty awesome and I spent probably too much money on books I probably didn't need but the addiction is strong!

I've also received my copy of Mutant Chronicles Siege of the Citadel which is a lovely brick of a box which I spent yesterday rummaging around in and the rules seem pretty simple and entertaining. They feel a bit Space Crusadey which is good and there's a really interesting card mechanic for solo players too. 

No doubt I'll be kept entertained with it for some time, especially as the room tiles and figures will see double duty in games of Planet 28 but thats not the reason for todays post. Instead I'm looking at the classic wargame AK-47 Republic.

Aimed at playing warlord level battles in Africa in 15mm scale, I picked up the PDF of the game recently after reading quite a few battle reports and assorted bloggage about the classic edition being a rather fun game. While playing historical games in post colonial Africa isn't really my cup of tea, I did think that it could be useful for playing a quick, simple and characterful low tech sci-fi game set on a backward planet such as Farpoint.

With this in mind, I created a map of the unsettled region:

The primary foes will be Governor General Laars von Dorn with his government troops in Farpoint City who currently controls Toreday and Freiburg regions and Count Cassitor of Rdunrundt who is a despotic dictator who controls the Rdunrundt and Felvar regions.

Next up, I've created some flags for the two main factions:

The Blazing sun of von Dorn

The Black Hand of Rdunrundt

At this point I've become a bit obsessed and decided that I wanted a somewhat hapless peacekeeping force to try and stop each faction from killing one another so created the Galactic League Peacekeepers (I had been tempted to use the Imperium but felt it doesn't quite fit with the idea of a peacekeeping force...)

The Noble Galactic League

The rules provide you with several different types of forces to choose from which will effect the build of your army and with that in mind I settled on making von Dorn a Superpower backed client force and Rdunrundt a dictatorship. I'm seriously considering picking up the supplement for more inspiration for the Galactic League who won't immediately be making an appearance as hostilities between the dastardly Count and the noble von Dorn heats up.

One of the most interesting elements to the game is the Political Manoeuvring chart that you roll on which can radically alter, supplement or even hinder your forces but it makes for a really unique sort of an experience and I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Similarly, you must roll to see which of your units actually turns up for the game with reinforcements possibly never arriving and forcing you to try and make do with what you have. While this isn't the sort of thing that I imagine tournament players would enjoy, it does lend itself to some really characterful scenarios where one force could be caught flatfooted by an enemy attack and the border guards desperately trying to hold out until reinforcements arrive.

The plan is to put together the forces slowly over several months before expanding into adding the Galactic League peacekeepers or any one of the dozen or so other factions I've got floating around in my head.

I also plan on using primarily historical figures from Peter Pig for my armies, supplemented here and there with Laserburn bits and bobs and whatever other gubbins I've got lying around to provide vehicles and whatnot.

Count Cassitor

This will mean that no actual games will be played for a while but I do have a bit of a framework to work towards and we shall see how I get on going forwards. 

I have been rummaging around and have found quite a few odds and ends that can be put into use and am looking forward to seeing how I get on with the project and have some hopes that this will get my hobby mojo back as this year seems to have been a bit of a non starter thus far.

I'm also conscious of budget so will be limiting myself to the bare minimum for each months attempts and will be placing a small order with Peter Pig come payday for the initial unit as well as some much needed bases from Warbases (I'd originally thought of using 30mm round lipped bases as it would look nice but would struggle to get heavy weapon teams onto such a small surface and have settled on getting some 30mm round MDF bases instead).

Hopefully I'll get the first unit done for the end of June and will be able to keep the momentum going so until next time, All the best!