Mentally Terraforming: Tanks but no Tanks (AAR)

 I admit this game has been a strange one to write up what with the prologue being split over the previous two posts (Down the bottom of this one and the whole of this one). However 'normal' service is about to be resumed as bellow is the whole bloomin' report and also the details of the scenario i made up and played!. This is also a bit of a first for me as its the first documented ding dong between Verland and the Guilds, which has been in the offing in my mangled brain for quite some time!.

The scenario
  As the prologues suggest the game is set in the disputed state of Arradan in one of the many areas of no mans land that lay within its borders. A run away experimental Steam tank made by the Guilds has come to a stop and is stranded between two advancing forces intent on capturing it for their own ends!. The object of the game is to lay claim to the stricken tank and to drive off the enemy.

The rules
 deployment: The opposing forces set up on opposite table edges according to the normal deployment rules. I used the basic Kings of War rules by mantic but whatever rule set you are using as long as the armies are set up on  opposite table edges with a good area of open ground between the two.

 The tank: The steam tank needs to be placed in the middle of the table an equal(ish) distance between the two forces. It is well and truly broken. The crew of the tank are inside trying to bodge anything they can to get it moving again. To represent the attempted fix the Guild player may roll 1d6 at the end of his turn and consult the table below to see if the crew have managed to do anything!.

             1D6 roll                     Result
              1-4                            No luck!, the tank is still broken.
                5                              Fixed the cannon!, the tank itself is broken but the cannon is fixed, It
                                               counts as a cannon with a 360 degree field of fire that the Guild player
                                               controls.
                6                             Bodged it!, The tank may move up to 3 inches per turn and may turn up
                                               to 90 degrees before moving. The cannon is still broken unless you have
                                               rolled a 5 in a previous turn.

  The tank may not charge into combat and may not fight in any way. If it is fixed in any way the opposing Verland troops may attack it as normal. It has 1d6 hits (determined at the start of each  attack) and counts as having heavy armour (whatever that is in the system you are using, its Wronghammer, bodge it!).  Should any attacking enemy reduce the tanks hits to zero it counts as broken again and will loose the cannon and/or any movement it may had gained.

Winning: The Verland force wins if it manages to get 1 unit of unengaged troops within 5 inches of the tank at the end of the game with no Guild forces within 5 inches of the tank. Any other result is a win for whichever force kills the most enemy troops.

The forces: I used 1500 point forces for each side to give a large(ish) game. Feel free to use any size you like. Its your game after all!

GENARAL FALLACS VERLAND REPO FORCE!

Rear left to right: Pike horde, Militia horde, Pole-arms horde.
Front left to right: Crossbow regiment, General Fallac on Quentin the great eagle (counts as General on winged beast), Scout sargent Fitzerran (counts as a Hero), Crossbow regiment.

From left: Border guard regiment (mounted sargeants), Royal Guard horse regiment (count as Knights with elite), Verland Knights regiment.

The verland force are based on red and white bases and are made up of minis by Red box, Mini art and Strelets.

COMMANDER ALRRANS GUILD RECLAMATION CREW!

From rear: 2 Cannon, Commander Allran (general on horse), Pike and shot horde (a pike horde with the Ra and Special of an Arquebusier regiment).
Front: Enforcer regiment (count as foot guard with the Ra and Special of an Arquebusier troop), Pike and Shot horde (see above), Swordsmen regiment (count as shield wall).

From left: Two Guild lancer regiments (count as Knights)

The Guild forces are based on Red and Yellow bases. The force is made up of minis by Zvesda, Ceaser, Revell, A call to arms and Red box.

THE TABLE

Another quiet day in the peaceful wastes of Arradan. (photo taken from the Arradan tourist board archive).

SET UP

The center with the stricken Steam tank in the middle, Verland to the Left and the Guild force on the right.

                                              The Verland battle line ready to attack!

The Border guard and Royal guard ready to sweep the right flank.

                           Crossbows and Knights watch the left ready to spring into action!.

                             In response the Guild forces form a gun line in the center.

The horse prepare to take high ground on the flank.

The swords form a reserve to warn off any attempt to turn the gun line.

IN TO ACTION!

  The Guild horse waste no time and advance as far as they can on the Guild left ready to take the hills overlooking the tank.

In the center the guns roar.....targeting the unfortunate Militia!, the whole gun line pour shot after shot into the volunteer troopers!. Their nerve almost deserting them they just about hold on but are wavering, remaining in a disordered state!.

KABLOODYBOOM!!!!!!!!

Hearing the thunder of hooves in the ruins the Swords advance to cover the flank.

In response the Verland line attempts to push forward, however the disordered Militia block the Pole-armed troops path meaning only the Pikes and the hero can get forward!.

Not exactly a steady advance!.

On the Verland left the General and Knights advance to cut off the Guild Lancers. The crossbows on the hill open fire. On the other flank the Verland horse prepare to charge!.

'Prepare to Charge!!!!, mind the dice!!!'

Seeing the Verland pike advancing the Guild guns roar!, The pike take a pounding but hold fast!.

On the flank a Lancer regiment charge the Verland knights while the other regiment advances on the hill.

The crunching charge of the Lancers causes the brave Verland Knights to rout!.

On the opposite flank the Verland horse smash aside the Guild swords. In the center the Militia finally restore order in their ranks and advance freeing up the Poles to also move towards the steam tank.

The crossbow regiments re-position themselves to fire on the Guild lancer regiments damaging both!.

New Verland smokey crossbows in action!.

(I classed the Verland missile troops as crossbows to make them less powerful than their opposite numbers as both forces have black powder but the Guilds are more advanced in its use!)

.Seizing his chance while the Missiles rained down on the lancers General Fallac drove Quentin into the flank of the closest enemy regiment.....

Causing no damage whatsoever!!!.

In response the Lancers pivoted and crashed into the Great eagle destroying it and its rider!. The other Lancer regiment charged up the hill into the crossbows who although badly damaged stand in the face of the onslaught!.

On the left the Enforcers and a cannon turn to fire at the Horsemen sweeping around the ruins but failing to stop the advance.

The main gun line continue to pour fire into the advancing enemy. The pike again get the worst of it and eventually rout!.

Inside the Tank the crew finally manage to fix the cannon!, Much whooping and backslapping can be heard from the machine, confusing all that hear it!.

The rout of the Pike horde left the Verland center weakened so the Pole armed troops made for the Steam tank and charged it but fail to do enough damage to break it again.

The horse charge headlong into the cannon and smash it to splinters!

Things take a turn for the worst for the Verland force as the Lancers charge the crossbows again wiping them out leaving the left in the hands of the Guild horse, the other lancer regiment double back towards the tank.

W-W-W-W-WIPEOUT!!!!

In the center the Pike and shot horde break ranks to attack the Militia routing them too!.

And worst of all the Enforcers throw themselves at the Royal guard horse busy smashing the cannon but do minimal damage.......

......but when the Royal guard test to rout they roll a double 6!, automatic rout!. The Verland forces loose 3 units in one turn!. TThen the crew in the tank manage to fix it again meaning it can now move and fire!!.

The Verland Border guard charge the victorious Enforcers but fail to do much damage. The pole armed horde charge the Tank again damaging it enough to undo all the good work of the crew, who can be heard sobbing and cursing in equal measure!.

'I think its the boiler!'

Seeing the battle go against his side Scout sargeant Fitzerran chooses to try to regain some momentum for his troops and charges the closest Pike and shot horde!.......Because hes not cleaver!.

'aaarrrrggghhhhh!!!! WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING!!!!?????!!!!'

Not surprisingly he failed to do enough damage to rout them!. With the battle drawing to a close the pike and shot horde charged Fitzerran back but failed to do any damage!. A regiment of Lancers move closer to the tank in order to contest it as an objective. The last action of the game of note saw the Verland Border guard rout the Enforcers but it was too little too late!

The battle draws to a close.

At the end the tank lies between the Verland pole-arms and the Guild Lancers, the Verland force is all but broken and so is forced to withdraw without their objective. Once again the Guilds have proved that their superior fire power and training win out over tradition and heart!. 

Well that was alot of pictures!. I may move away from the Mentally Terraforming stuff for a bit. I have big plans for the next post.....something about a challenge.....i seem to recall some quotes somewhere along the line....... I just hope it comes together quicker than the saga detailed above!!.

Anyhow, thank you for taking the time to read this chapter of my silly little corner of the interweb....till next time!.....

Mentally terraforming: Tanks but no tanks (prologue part 2 lalalalallongtitlelalalalaalal!!)

 Well that took a while!. Its been sooooo long since my last post. A working life that can only be described as being as much fun as wading through a lake of tepid diarrhea is mostly to blame so boo to work and its inane hobby smothering pantsness!!!. However, i have just about managed to nick the required time to piece together a slightly longer prologue than the first part in my last post so without further ado......

  '...Its broken Commander, kaput, shafted, knackered, beyond repair and whats worse its stranded in no mans land!, how it got so far we cant say, we think the rudder got stuck some how but we cant be sure of course!'. Blurted Head engineer Vallin as he struggled to keep pace with the commander striding through the camp. The Commander stopped abruptly causing Vallin to bounce off of him, almost making him to loose his footing. 'I dont want to hear this Vallin, we need this prototype to work and to know it works we at the very least need to know where it is!.....and where is it do you think?'. The Commanders gaze bored into Vallin, the heat of the Arradan wastes seemed to triple causing him to loosen his collar. 'Well.....' he started. 'Well?' answered the Commander testily. 'Well' Vallin continued, 'it was headed in the general direction of...of.....'. 'Yes, of.....' Mimicked the Commander trying to hurry Vallin. ......Of the.....well.....the....'.continued Vallin nervously. 'Well, the what?' Interrupted the Commander again. '....The enemy....er...sir'. offered Vallin staring at the dusty ground. The Commander raised his fingers to his temples and massaged them roughly. 'The very advanced, very expensive, highly important war machine of the future, the very highest achievement of the greatest collection of Guild weapon smiths on the planet is in the hands of the very enemy we are attempting to destroy with it?' 'Well maybe not in their hands sir, it may have broken down before it got to them and my best men are on board sir, they will do all they can to fix it sir, if it can be done they will get it back to us sir you can count on that sir'. The Commander raised his hands to the sky, 'Well why dident you say so Vallin?' he replied sarcastically,' Your best men...tell me can they fight?'. 'Well no sir not much they are engineers sir' Vallin answered. 'And can they find water and food in the wastes?', asked the Commander. 'Well thats not part of their training no sir'. 'And do you think the enemys scouts can fight?, do you think they can track?, do you think they can find water and food out there in no mans land?'. 'Well yes Commander'. 'So your best men are soon to be ex best men dont you think Vallin, and who will that leave with our shiny new state of the art Steam Tank do you think?' Asked the Commander with a calmness that dripped with menace. 'Errr....well......point taken Commander'. replied Vallin meekly, shrinking before the Commanders gaze. 'As usual you and your blundering stupidity have dropped me in it Vallin, we have to present the findings of this pet steam project to the Governor in three days...three bloody days and you have lost it!, as per usual it falls to me to fix the problem. Dont worry i'll lead out the entire camp worth of troops to get it back, i'll launch an offensive when we have been ordered not to engage , i'll risk the lives of all the men under my command to fix you and the engineering guilds problem...AGAIN!'. With that the Commander turned sharply and marched towards his tent barking orders for the troops to ready themselves once more........

Mentally Terraforming: a little bit of fluff and a prologue if you're very good!

As you may be able to tell from the title this post has quite a few parts to it and in my 'capable' hands is likely to be a right old mess!. However as readers of these 'mucky' pages you are probably used to that so i will promise to persist if you do!. This Mentally Terraforming stuff is starting to take over Wronghammer at the mo, hope you find it of some use or even bordering on interesting?. Its nice to be able to write and make my ideas some what solid. The rest of the posts from this subject can be found by clicking about hereish but in the classic Wronghammer style you need to read the posts from the bottom up to get any sense out of them (and then it might not help!).
This post will contain a little info on the last of the guild (kinda') nations and an overview of it, a short (i hope) prologue leading to a battle report next post......Right, deep breath and lets dive right bloomin well in!.

ARRADAN, THE DISPUTED REALM.

Arradan lies between the southern border of Verland and the northern borders of the Guild controlled nations. It forms a natural buffer between these hostile counties. It was one of the small kingdoms rebuild after the age of strife that like its neighbours became a target for the Guild revolution. The Arradan royal family called for aid from the crown of Verland for protection against the rising tide threatening them. The crown sent a large force to support Arradans troops and to warn off the Guilds. It made sense for Verland to do this as they were the only nation in the area strong enough to stand up to the young Guilds and Arradan was ideally placed to form a 'no go' area between the Guilds and Verland. This worked for years as Arradan remained a Kingdom untouched by the ambitions of the Guilds. However it was not too long before the Verland troops became a drain on the nations economy as Verlands King refused to pay to feed and house the troops he sent, seeing this as the king of Arradans duty. This cost was shouldered as ever by a raft of new taxes that made the poorest poorer. This in turn breed resentment among the common folk. looking on the Guilds saw the change in opinion  and sent agents in to Arradan to drum up support from the masses. It was not long before the first riot in the capital begun, half the city burned as the unwashed masses rose up, supported by guild troops in peasants garb. The Arradan army moved to quell the rioters and the scene became a blood bath, a fact the Guild used to further the discontent in the nation. The commoners were soon in open rebellion and Verland forces marched to bring order to the streets and fields of the land at the order of the King. The situation became a powder keg and drew the troops into unseen levels of blood shed. The perfect storm was created and made the ideal situation for Guild forces to invade to 'support' the rebels. The Guild grabbed the south of the nation within a few days driving off anyone who opposed them  and digging in around the capital. The king of Verland responded by sending his forces to attack the invaders and their supporters. For the first time the titans of the west were in open war. After several bloody seasons a stalemate was reached. Verland grew weaker economically and could not give their troops the support needed to retake the south of Arradan and the Guilds were so tied up around the world spreading their influence and claiming any patch of dirt that held a profit they were not willing to advance further so consolidated the ground they held. To this day the nation is at a cross roads, Controlled by two outside nations after a war that left most of it in ruin and decline. Neither the Guilds or Verland are willing to invest further in the land so those native folk are in poverty and fight just feed their children. The royal family hide in their castles, all authority undermined, poor relics of a once proud nation.
As the nation is split it is not uncommon for small acts of aggression between the occupying nations to break out, most of the Officers have seen a lot of action against the opposing forces and see it as a matter of pride to not give ground to the enemy. Along side this the commoners often perform acts of civil unrest against whichever of the occupiers they oppose. Life in Arradan is cheep and very tough but goes on due to the strategic importance of the area to the occupying forces and the whims of their leaders.

At the time of writing there is no standing army of Arradan, its troops consist of a a small palace guard to protect the royal family. Order is kept by the invading forces in their respective areas. Often a force of rebel common folk will rise against whoever holds their lands at the time. This often occurs when one force takes land from the other. The area is no place for raw recruits so the Verland and Guild forces are often made up of Veteran troops.

TANKS BUT NO TANKS (PROLOGUE)

  Scout sargent Fitzerran ran panting through the Verland camp, he was sweating, his face reddened by the effort. He ran through the guards on the generals tent and came barreling into the massive canvas structure and directly into captain Sallridge, sending himself  the old man and the pile of scrolls he was holding flying. Fitzerran  sprung to is feet as he heard 'WHAT IN THE NAME OF TOTAL BLOODY FUCKINGTON ARE YOU DOING SARGENT, THIS IS A COMMAND TENT NOT A RUGBY PITCH YOU DOLT!'. Fitzerran rubbed the dust from his eyes as he turned to face the source of the outburst. 'Yes sir, sorry sir', he blurted as he regained his composure and his breath. 'Its happened sir, its broken down they are trying to fix it but its taking ages and i think we have a chance sir i really do!, 'What in the blazes are you talking about Sargent?' Blurted the General who had far too much to think about since he was transferred from Silvermarc to the wastes of Arradan and did not need to put up with whatever more the bloody scouts could add to his workload. 'The new contraption the Guild have been testing General, we followed it like you ordered and its stuck by the old ruins'. The old general sat up and rubbed his beard, lost in thought, after an age he said almost to himself '.....so if we get hold of it we will can get the engineers on it, work out how they are making it go....i'll be a hero, the king will reinstate me after...well you know...' He jumped off his chair and grabbed Fitzerran by the shoulders. 'SARGENT READY QUENTIN, TELL THE TROOPS WE RIDE IN HALF AN HOUR....LETS BAG OUR SELVES A STEAM TANK'. He spun the scout sargent smartly around and put a brotherly arm around his shoulders while marching him into the bright sunshine outside.

......From within the tend a muted voice came from underneath a pile of scrolls.'Hello...' it said weakly ...'i think i may have done myself an injury.....hello?.....hello?......


Any way the game this prologue is for has been played already (i know, organized or what?) so it wont be long (famous last words n' all that!) so i know who wins!.

Anywho.......till next time.........

Mentally Terraformish, Rats over Lowbridge (AAR)

'Anyway, i think i may get this game played tonight (if i can prep and base enough militia minis in time!) so i may turn this one around quite quickly (which will be a change!)'. Thus ended my last post over two weeks ago.....what a tit!!. So why the wait?, well i have just returned from two lovely stress free weeks with the family Sprinks in Spain, and i have stayed as off line as poss during this time. I did play this game before going but it has had to wait until now to write this up. Sorry!. You can read the first part of this post here.

   The outlaws camp was cramped, muddy, smelled of rotten veg and this noontime was alive with the sounds of fiddlers fiddling, outlaws singing, drunks burping and wenches....er......wenching!. Big Ronnel lurched over to the lone figure clad in a hodge podge of rat pelts and rags on the edge of the crowd, The man was stooped, feeding morsels of food to a gaggle of massive rats crowding around his dirty feet. Ronnel stopped to laugh at a bawdy jape and pat mouldy dave on the back before facing the rat man . 'So young Stephan you were no jokin' yous can deliver on your word, me an the boys thought yous was just full o' shite but turns out you really can get people to do what you says. we's all been talkin', he held out his massive hand in friendship 'put her there, if yous wants it yous can be one of us', he grabbed Stephans hand before it was offered and turned to face the rest of his men 'AY BOYS, WHAT DO YE SAY, HES ONE O US NOW, ONE O THE BLACK WOOD BOYS EH!, YOU AN YOUR RATS!'. The rest of the outlaws raised their flagons and dropped their strumpets and gave a rousing manly cheer. Ronnel pumped Stephans hand rather too enthusiastically, almost dislocating his arm with a massive smile on his massive face. 'Who'd a thunk it, me an the lads ave been tryin' for months to raid the tax wagon out of the bridge country and youz just walk up an ask those solders to give it to us!'. Some of the men raised sacks of stolen gold and gave another hearty cheer.  He put a brotherly arm around Stephans shoulder and turned him towards the men. 'I have to kno' how do you do it?'. Stephan stepped away to remove Ronnels arm, causing Ronnel to stagger a few paces, the ale making him unsteady. 'First thing my man, its The majestic Stephan, I,ll have you know i dident spend the last three years honing my talents to be just called stephan. And i dont want to join your grubby little band i am going to lead it!'. Ronnel looked confused for a moment before he began to protest. Stephan cut him off before he could say anything. 'You are the first of my underlings, soon i will form an army of obedient followers and i will storm the lords keep and take the area for my own before enslaving the local townsfolk and then marching against the crown itself!!'. Ronnel looked confused, then angry then a little more angry before his features finally twisted into a toothy smile. He laid his huge hand onto Stephans shoulder and let out a massive belly laugh!. His men relaxed and also joined in the laughter. 'Oh youz really ad me goin there pal, i thought you was for real for a mo....'the Majestic Stephan'....what is you like man...'. While Ronnel roared with laughter Stephens face grew dark. He looked at his biggest black rat and clicked his fingers, the rat bared his yellow teeth and jumped at Ronnels neck, a spurt of crimson sprung from the big mans wind pipe and he fell back with a dull thud. The rat leaped deftly to the floor and washed the blood from its nose. For a moment the camp went silent, then as one the outlaws drew their blades and notched their bows. The majestic Stephan raised his gnarled staff and waved his hand before the camp. 'You will drop your weapons' he said slowly, not blinking. As one the outlaws dropped their weapons and stood, confusion on each face. 'You are now my loyal followers you will do as i bid and will obey me totally. As one the camp repeated the words vacantly, all except one brigand who shouted 'YOUZ CAN BUGGER OFF MATE!!' and charged towards Stephan with his club raised. Stephan sighed, theres always one that dosent take, children if you would be so kind' he turned and walked away as the rats pounced...... Above the gnashing and screams came the sound of horns and galloping hooves. 'Damn, we've been discovered, men to arms, defend the camp!', without blinking the men collected their arms and rushed to meet the attackers......

 So another game and the first in the setting i am beginning to put together. I thought a small game would be best as time has been in short supply. To this end i gave Dragon Rampant another spin and once again it was alot of fun!. I played a pitched battle but decided that if any side lost their leader they would loose the game. The forces i chose are as follows:

THE DEFENDERS OF LOWBRIDGE

Clockwise from the front: Militia missiles ( light missiles), Militia foot (light foot), Border guard (heavy riders with missile upgrade), Lord of lowbridge and sons (elite riders), The lord is the forces leader. The minis are a mix of Mini art, Streletes, hat and A Call to arms.

THE BLACKWOOD BOYS (UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP)

 Rear from left: Bow armed brigands (light missiles), Outlaw foot (light foot). Center: The Majestic Stephan (light foot, wizardling: Almighty prod!, Befuddle thee!, Bog Thee!), and in the front: Giant rats (lesser warbeasts). The minis are airfix, red box and games workshop.

As ever the miniatures are on coloured bases, the Militia forces are on Red with white trim and the outlaws are on Black with Green trim.

The game takes place on the edge of  darkwoods eastern side, at noon.

The local forces rush to attack the outlaws head on, From the left are the horse, border guard and The lord and his boys, the Militia foot in the middle and the missiles on the flank.

The outlaws rush out to meet the attackers, on their left the bowmen stand guard the rats and the Majestic Stephan skulk behind the rocks.

The foot face the Militia on the other flank.

The outlaws take the chance to get forward and close the distance, they all advance against the foe. The militia also advance and the missiles pepper the outlaws with shot killing one of them.

The horse also gallop forward to face the foe, the border guard eager to hunt down the wizard and bring him to royal justice!. Stephan orders his rats to shield him.

The outlaw foot charge forward but cant quite reach the militia and the Bows seem confused for a moment, the glamour of Stephans spell weakening, or may be it was the ale!. The militia take the chance to unleash a flurry of missiles on the outlaws battering them, Captain Turner then gave the order to 'pay attention for smith sake and CHARGE!!!

 Even the militia are too much for the demoralized outlaws and they turn and flee!, Captain Turner  tries to reform his men while they seem intent on jeering, swearing and mooning the fleeing opponents!.
In the center the Majestic Stephan fixes the border guard with a stare and raises his staff, the border guard suddenly seemed to go blank and stop dead on the spot!.

                                         'Come get me you one eyed horse shagger!!'
The bowmen fire on the Lord and his boys wounding young Delpher twice, seizing his chance Stephan guides his rats against the Border Guard!

 The rats push the border guard back, killing two of them and sewing confusion among them!, in reply the Lord and sons charge the furry buggers!

'CHARGE THE FURRY BUGGERS!' (see told you!)

The rats are driven off by the horse and suddenly their leader dosent feel so majestic exposed against the combined Horse!.

Oh bollocks!!!!

Mean while Captain Turner has an idea, a cunning idea of truly amazing  cunning idearness. 'follow me men, lets sneak round and get 'em from behind. And no stupid jokes about taking them from behind or suchlike!'

While the lordly horse get peeved by the sharp sticks of the bowmen pinging off their armour and sweep them from the field!.

The majestic one decided to form a new plan. 'Right men, fall back and protect me.....men.....men.....'

Theres bleak and then theres this!, The Majestic Stephan considers his major decisions in his life and how the bloody hell hes going to get out of this one, i called the game at this point as he was the only member of his force left and the whole enemy force was bearing down on him!.

Well calling that one sided is like saying Salad fingers* is a touch dark!. However it was a fun game to play and i enjoyed watching the outlaws fall apart!.

Well all thats left this time out is to ask the question on every bodies lips, Is Duc de Goblin a sufferer of masochistic episodes?. I ask this because he has become the latest person to follow these silly writings of mine!. You are very welcome sir, glad to have you along!. I cant tell if you are a blogger or not, if you are please put a link in the comments as we would love to see what you get up to when you are not following this twattery!.

Anyway....till next time!

*

see!

Mentally Terrorformish: Rats over Lowbridge (prologue)

So, rather than move on to the next nation i thought i would play out a game in the nation of Verland i detailed last time out. I took one of the scenarios i suggested  and decided to expand upon it. Enjoy.

.....the action takes place in the eastern side of dark wood next to the village of Lowbridge (so named because within its boundries is a low bridge, as opposed to the neighbouring settlements of Highbridge and Broken bridge. Simple folk and all that). but first we are transported to the village square where the militia have been gathered......

'Right men' said captin Turner, leader of the Lowbridge irregulars (and cooper to royalty), veterans of the battle of slops mound, who almost got out of the inn on time to march upon the rebels of Stonewatch, who managed to not all crap themselves before the charge of the bondsmen of brechdorne at the battle of  Northpass (old tom was looking the other way and billy the stumps was deaf and half blind anyway). 'We have been assembled at the will of the Lord of Lowbridge, the representative of the royal counsel no less and he will be along any moment so for the Smiths sake stand to attention, let me do the talking and please, please do not be yourselves!'. At that the sound of hooves on cobbles filled the square as a slew of horsemen entered. The three at the head of the column were dressed in fine if slightly old plate riding fine warhorses, the rest were in tattered mail and leather, they were rugged and dirty and many has scars on their faces and exposed arms. the leader was a bearded man with an  eye patch over his left eye, chewing an unlit cigar. The riders stopped in front of the gathered militia. The lord of Lowbridge was a large man with long grey hair and a close cropped grey beard, he studied the assembled men before him. 'Captin, is this all of you?' he said. Captin Turner stepped forward nervously 'yes me lord these are the famous Lowbridge irregulars at your service sire'. At the word famous the leader of the ragged horse snorted in derision. 'Yes i can see that captin' the lord retorted 'what i mean is, where are the rest?', 'Well me lord we lost quite a few at the scrap over on the hill last new moon quelling that riot at the old inn' answered Captin Turner. 'Ahh yes' replied the Lord of Lowbridge 'i recall that one, those sewing circles can get fiesty after a few turnip wines'. 'Yes me lord and there was the training exercise last week we lost three there too'. 'Why what happened?' Asked the lord. 'It were  Nate the brewer sire, he liked to try his produce a bit too much you see, he turned up drunk as anythin. next thing Quentin the cheesemaker said somethin derogatory about radishes and Nate flew off the deep end, never could keep his temper that one!. He chopped off Quentins head and stabbed Glup the masseuse in the guts. We had to shoot him in the end!'. 'Right well you lot will have to do' announced the Lord. 'Allow me to introduce you to my son and heir Ralph' he said turning to present the young horsemen to his right. Ralph looked at the ground and mumbled a greeting 'elloanthatimralphnthat'. 'And my second son Delphus, hes almost been accepted to train for the royal guard havent you boy' said the lord turning to his right hand. Delphur also stared at the ground 'yesdadihavedadelloevryone,'. 'And this is Corpral Callur of the royal border guard horse who has been sent by the kings counsel themselves no less to help us in this important task' he said with more than a hint of pride in his voice. The rough man with the eye patch guided his horse forward a few paces, removed his cigar and spat a massive pool of flob and half chewed tobacco at Captin Turners feet. 'Right listen up' Callur said, his massive booming voice filling the square and challenging all other voices in the world to just try to interrupt him. 'We have been sent to chase down a threat that has settled with the outlaws in the dark wood. A so called wizard has set up with a fierce band that have been terrorizing the local area. We are calling on you to join us in a daring daylight attack on the outlaws hide out to eliminate this threat. We have identified the outlaws position and plan to attack at noon to ensure we are seen and get some proper resistance, for us its all in a days work but for you this may be a suicide mission, however as the local militia it is your duty to do this and as such you will join the attack under the lords command. And be warned, while on this exercise if any of you SCUM step out of line i have orders to skin you alive and play chopsticks on your rib cage with whatever manhood your daddy gave you....IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!'. The irregulars to a man suddenly looked at their boots and mumbled. The Lord of Lowbridge took over 'right, if all thats clear we will take up position. On we go, Captin lead your men on theres a good chap'. Captin turner swallowed hard,'right you heard his lordship, by the left....'

All thats left this time out is to offer a massive wronghammer welcome to the latest basketcase... er follower of these humble pages. Step forward Mr Symphonic Poet who it has to be said writes a fantastic blog by the name of the Tartarus rim which is frankly wonderful, i dont want to say too much about it so you get the full eclectic whammy without me spoiling it for you, check it out its great. Welcome sir!.

Anyway, i think i may get this game played tonight (if i can prep and base enough militia minis in time!) so i may turn this one around quite quickly (which will be a change!). Till next time.....

Mentally Terraforming- The last of the western kingdoms

So back in again to look at this crazy little land. I mentioned last post that i would 'zoom in' on parts of the world and cover them in detail. I decided to begin with one of the central nations in terms of the evolution of the world. I do need to mention all the nations have differing relationships and some of the content of this post wont make a lot of sense until that nation is covered in similar detail so bear with it and loose ends should tie themselves up in the end.

First i thought it best to show the world i am expanding on:

picture by my inner 6 year old!.

Today i am going to look at a nation in the middle of the western side:

 The westlands, the last true kingdom and the lands under the alliance of guilds.

VERLAND, the last kingdom.
 In times past the west was ruled by a collection of kingdoms, greatest of which was the kingdom of Verland. Known all around for its riches and massive army it was a powerhouse among powerhouses. Verland always stood out for its ability to rise above the petty grudges of its neighbours and expand its borders into lands that would prove to be of strategic importance. The kings held the isles of the inner sea for years while the other kingdoms argued over their own boundries, creating trade routes to the east and protection against raiders. Verland is the last monarchy in the west, the rest being engulfed  by the guilds years ago and they stand proud of this fact and are strongly opposed to the Guilds desire to expand further. Despite its past Verland is a major power in decline. The finances of the kingdom have dwindled greatly due to being overtaken in trade by several nations and being unable to keep up with the advances of the guilds in many areas. Added to this is the fact that the crown is in debt to the Guild of moneylenders with little hope to pay make its current world position one of an archaic land that is being made redundant despite its past glories.
The long line of kings of Verland go back hundreds of years before the time of strife. It was the king of Verland that united the west during this time, leading to the fight for freedom against the united forces of the shadow (more about the time of strife in other posts, it is fair to say without the united armies of the west the land itself would have fallen!). Since that time each king has taken the name of the king that led the fight against the forces of darkness so the current ruler is king Thaddius the 127th, his father being king Thaddius the 126th before him. It also seems to be a tradition for kings of Verland to be poisoned by one of their advisers! as it was for the last king, leaving his son, Thaddius the 127th to lead the nation at the age of 7!. Until he reaches his 14th year he is to be served by a counsel of advisers with the power to veto the kings commands if they think it is for the good of the nation. Among the advisers are the Kings mother, a strong woman that wishes to reinstate Verland as the main power in the world through any means. Also the Captin of the northen forces, the Earl of Whiteguard wishes to lead a large campaign against the lairds of Lamavic, a nation that has been an enemy of Verland since its first days. Also involved is the earl of Stonewatch, a man that has great debts to the Guilds and who repays such debts by using his position to further the Guilds plan to take over the west. The royal family rule from the capital city of Silvermarc, an old city known as the jewel of the west. Its great riches in contrast to the dower and functional buildings that make up the rest of the cities and towns.
Life is tough for the people of Verland if they are not part of the top 6% of the population. They are a poor nation these days although the monarchy continue to live in the way they did all those years ago. The economic downturn is shouldered by the lower ranks. The cities provide chances to trade and grow for the smart and talented (and the crooked), but those that live in more rural areas live as farmers, smiths or starve. Many have turned to the life of the outlaw and the forests and wlderness' of Verland harbor many bands of such men.
Religion in Verland is a prickly subject. As a nation the crown and its people worship the Smith and see in his festivals of the forging. However the church is a pawn to the crown since the Templar uprising in the north after the king (Thaddius 86th) removed their leaders from his counsel due to the church arguing with his claim to rule the church as well as the state. The uprising led to the exodus of the Templar orders and the establishing of the state of Immere, which also meant the loss of the only port the nation had in the inner sea (which was absorbed by the new state), destroying any chance of trade with the east. Since that time those wishing to worship the Smith truly in the way of the Templar are frowned upon and often shunned as traitors. This has led to under ground groups wishing to restore the power of the church.

The Verland army is still vast as it always has been and the nation boasts a strong navy. However in terms of military advances it has been left behind. Although it has access to black powder and uses the pike like the more advanced nations it does so by buying the knowledge from the other nations and is still training its troops into its effective use. Black powder weapons tend to be coupled with the crossbows of the past, they do not yet have the ability to produce such advanced weapons in the numbers other nations can. The pike is used by much of its trained foot but also important is the pole arm, used to argument the longer pike and give tactical flexibility. The rough mix of half pike armed units and half pole units make up the core of the verland strength. The royal guard are the cream of the verland army. Chosen from the sons of great officers and lords they are well armed and wear full plate and have the best training of any force in Verland. They can fight on foot but will ride when they can. Although small in number the Royal Guard are often the difference between victory and defeat. Sanctioned Militia groups are used, made up of citizens from a particular location. They are armed by the crown and loyal to them and are tasked as being the first line of defense against raiders and outlaws. During times of war they march proudly along with the other troops, large rag tag groups under their own banners. The riders of the Border Guard live for weeks away from civilized areas, protecting the realm from attack as best they can. These rugged men make reliable light cavalry and will often ride ahead of the main force scouting and raiding the enemy. Verland engineers are no match for the guilds but have still managed to produce effective cannon. This gives them a reply to the artillery employed on the modern battlefield. Leading these armies are great men of office and power, men chosen from great military backgrounds. It is inbuilt in the minds of verland citizens that these high families are to be respected. Not just superiors but truly their betters.


Sooo, thats the first nation to be looked into, dont worry, only 17 or so to go!. Ithought i would throw in some notes on how to use them as a 'gamable' force, cos thats the point of doing this after all!.

In terms of the look of the force i see them as a mid to late medieval English/French style force. Basic foot troops will wear the colours of their regional lord and will be quite uniform in look. Royal guard are all full plate and wear the colours of the crown. Militia groups wear whatever armor that is available to them and will be quite rag tag in style, they will wear their own colours of their area and a banner bearing their groups victories. Border guard are armed with easy to maintain equipment such as short bows and leather armor.
On the table most of their troops will be basic with the militia being poor. The Royal guard are the top end of human troops and this needs to be reflected. They are not overwhelming in terms of missile troops but use black powder weapons and crossbows in equal number. The foot are well drilled using pikes and pole arms. Border guard are rugged and brave but poorly armored. Officers are high quality but with little regard for the common solder.
Their is plenty of scope to game scenarios involving outlaws and rebel Templar groups (both would be common militia quality at best, outlaws could have scouts and good missile troops), as well as using the nations decline in fortunes to fuel games against other nations, a secure nation has no need to invade others!.

Well thats the first one done, i hope it was in some way entertaining or even useful!. This project is by no means a complete thing but more of a frame to offer a starting point, feel free to add to or take from it as much as you like. Any ideas or feed back would also be appreciated as i am winging it to a large extent!.

Anyhow, till next time.....