Through the Mines

Once again Matt laid out his dungeon terrain and we played a game. He's been working on using the Flint & Feather game engine for LOTR and it's shaping up nicely.  The scenario has Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli escorting the four Hobbits through the mines hoping to get out the other side.

A Wraith awakened while getting a treasure. 

Surviving the fight our group head to the next chamber.

Attacked from all corners Legolas and Gimli make short work of the skeletons.

Winding through the narrow passage.

Dinner time in the mine.

The fight is costly but won. 

Two of the Hobbits are down before Aragorn and Boromir can move in.

A vicious battle but in the end Good prevails.

It was a great game with the victor unknown until the last die roll. One of the great things about playing at Matt's is he has all the little details that add color to the table.

See some more pics of the action on Matt's blog.
Saltflats1929

What I did last Summer.

 With the start of school I'm reminded of how often our first assignment was to write about what we did during the break from school. As adults our summers don't contain the long break for summer and for some Summer is a busy time for work.

As September began I started to think about The Pledge from TMP and realized I hadn't painted anything in three months. A bit depressing but I started looking at what I had done and saw that despite being busy at work the Summer had been filled with activities though not all gaming related ones.

Our two year old niece had a baby sister in July so the niece came to visit us for a week while Mom, Dad and little sister got acquainted. We had forgotten had labor intensive a small child was but also managed some fun times with her. She did enjoy playing with the horses from my Civil War Playset.

Next came a ten day visit of my daughters dog. Another break in the routine but one that gives plenty of opportunities for hiking.

A day at the beach offered  some scenario inspiration.

Last of the big adventure was a seventy five mile ride around New York City. It was the last year for Transportation Alternatives NYC Century Ride. Always a fun ride I wasn't in shape for the whole event but squeezed out a good ride. It's fun to see the city from the seat of a bike and to take a more relaxed pace through some areas not usually seen. 

While painting miniatures was not an activity I did much of I was able to get a few games in.

Flint & Feather 

Lord of the Rings

A Gentleman's War Skirmish.

Chainmail Bikini in the Scottish Highlands.

I guess I lose points for turning this in late but hey it was fun and that's what counts in a Hobby.

Latest games

Gaming slowed a bit near the end of summer but now has picked up a little. Recently we've played Flint & Feather, En Guard, and A Nobleman's War, a work in progress based on A Gentleman's War.

Flint & Feather played quickly as most of us are familiar with the system. The other two moved a little slower as we discussed and clarified rules. Fun evenings all around.

Iroquois warriors spy the interloping Hurons

Warriors outflank the Hurons

Ensuing melee goes poorly for the Iroquois.

Bloody defeat for the Nation.

Trial game of A Nobleman's War. The English formed up on a hill and waited for the French attack. A group of English Knights grew impatient and charged into the advancing enemy. The game was played as much to see how the mechanics worked for this  era as for glory and plunder.  I think things worked well maybe a few tweaks will be needed but it looks like I'll be painting some Knights soon.

French Billmen and Sargents

The French Knights

English Knights charge the Sargents

Never good to be caught in the flank.

The impetuous Knights the charge the Crossbow men.

As a group we'd been looking for a set of rules for swashbuckling games. We gave Ganesha's Flashing Steel and Eureka's And One for All. Neither gave the game we were looking for. The other night Howard and I tried out Osprey's En Guard. As per usual we quickly scanned the rules and started off playing. After a couple of fights things didn't seem right so we gave the rules a more thorough reading. Yes there were some more modifiers, different level characters had better skills, there was more to it. The next round of combat was more interesting and provided the player with some decision points. We burned through our allotted game time  and finished one section of the planned game but did have a better grasp on the rules. This set definitely calls for a few more tries and may well offer what we're looking for.  

An argument in the Tavern spills out onto the street.

The discourse escalates from taunting to cold steel and warm blood.

Everyone as an opinion to express.

after the loss of so many comrades both sides are happy to pull back and end the fight.

It's been good to get back into the swing of gaming.

Flint & Feather review.

A few years ago Howard asked if we could try some combat rules that he was working on of course I agreed. I was happy when he showed up with beautiful looking Native American figures ( and somewhat envious of them). Although I like to use my own figures when playing I'm always willing to play with figures that are well sculpted and painted such as these were. The rules were similar to Battle Troll but the tweaked a bit to give more of the combat style of the period. A few more games followed and time passed on. Then Howard mentioned that Bob Murch who had sculpted the figures was interested in the project, there was a blog with a group posting their playtests, the game showed up at the conventions and then the Kickstarter was launched.

The Kickstarter was funded quickly and work started on the rulebook. Pulp Figures produced some more figures, rules were tweaked, player aids improved, The figures shipped, and then the book and cards were sent out.

The Kickstarter

Here's what I got. Rulebook (hardback), a set of attack/defence cards, 28 miniatures (unpainted) representing Huron and Iroquois and a bonus Great Warrior.

The figures had been sent out ahead of the rulebook so I was able to paint them up. They're great sculpts and were fun to paint. I used the guide on the website but there is one in the rulebook and the photos in the book are provide inspiration.

Hurons

Iroquois

The production quality of the book is outstanding. Filled with pictures of the figures in action and  artist's drawing for more inspiration. Organization moves from an introduction to forming a Warband, Combat, Campaign, Supernatural, Scenarios and Optional rules. In the back is an index and all the charts, roster and cards needed to play.

Combat Cards

example page

example page

example page

The game sequence is player1 rolls to see who can activate (one group,all groups) activate, player2 reacts, player1 activates again and then it is player2s turn. Combat is by card draw and then a die roll to determine winner. Damage is rolled for on a chart. It plays quicker than those two sentences. There's lots more to the rules. We've played mostly straight up combat games but may try a campaign game out soon.   Some AARs are posted elsewhere on this blog.

I knew I liked the game before joining the Kickstarter and feel that the quality of the book, figures and cards was well worth the price.
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Thanks for reading.