Dark Days of Qaarra, Session 1: Searching for Clues

The sun dims in the skies over Qaarra. Across the land, bands of adventurers, ruffians, villains and scavengers gear up and take to the high roads, determined to make their own destiny amid the tumult of the coming chaos.

We played the first session of our summer fantasy campaign, Dark Days of Qaarra, at Jon's house last week.  Six of us showed up. We're using Song of Blades & Heroes as our primary ruleset, so we were able to get in 6 different games on the three tabletop layouts that we set up. As with last summer's campaign, we used the warband advancement system from Song of Deeds & Glory.

Here's a brief writeup of the games, along with photography by Josh. You'll notice that both the photos and the battle report details get a little thin as the night goes on. What can we say -- we were so engrossed in the games that we forgot to take notes and pictures!

Round 1 - Servants of the Black Crown (Karl) vs. Fomorian Orcs (Jon)

Rolling randomly for scenario and battlefield, Karl and Jon played out an attack on an inn near the borders of the Moaning Marsh. Karl's forward group of chaos knights (scouts for the main bulk of his Black Crown marauders) crumbled before an onslaught by Jon's orcs. With Karl's leader in jeopardy, he wisely fled the battlefield before seizing the inn.

After the game, Karl's warband found a roadside shrine that unfortunately yielded no booty, and Jon's orcs sacked a caravan of refugees moving through the wilderness, making off with a small pile of gold.

Round 1 - Prince Roland's Company (Josh) vs. Expedition to Hearthspire (Pat)

At our desert-themed table, Josh and Pat set up a scenario in the Sunderstone Badlands. Both warbands were exploring a destroyed village, attempting to gather information on what evil befell the town by questioning the terrified survivors. This was one of those weird scenarios where we could have (and almost did) complete the whole game without ever coming into conflict with each other.

Josh's adventurers managed to gather more information by the end of the scenario, making him the winner. Afterward, Josh's warband stumbled across an empty cave, and Pat's dwarves found a corpse stuffed with gold.

Round 1 - Brotherhood of Three Primes (Tyler) vs. Peak's Top Kobolds (Tim)

In the steaming jungles of Drakespear Grove, Tyler's homonculi warband, led by a potent elementalist, tried to stop the advance of a horde of chittering kobolds, which were escorting a huge undead giant through the jungle. Check out therse photos -- the undead giant is an action figure, of course, but it looks great with all those kobolds swarming around its feet.

Tyler's warriors met the kobolds on the bridge and stymied the advance, winning the game. Afterward Tyler's warband encountered a group of refugees fleeing Drakespear Grove and "relieved" them of their gold and belongings. Tim's exploration roll resulted in him acquiring an alehouse! In game terms, owning an alehouse means he can generate ale each game to either use for his warband or sell for gold. Not bad!

After Round 1, we did all the post-game campaign paperwork (roll for casualties, income and exploration), then we switched up the players and rolled new scenarios for the next batch of games.

Round 2 - Servants of the Black Crown (Karl) vs. Peak's Top Kobolds (Tim)

Tim and Karl played out a surprise-attack scenario in the Agamin Boneyard, the huge desert that dominates the southern portion of our campaign map. As the game opened, Tim's kobolds advanced toward Karl's chaos guys, who were scattered in some ruins. However, before the kobolds could liquidate their enemies, some surprise reinforcements appeared to their rear. After the kobolds' standard was captured, the diminutive little scavengers were quickly driven off -- but not before they encountered a group of refugees on the high road and did a little more thieving.

Round 2 - Fomorian Orcs (Jon) vs. Prince Roland's Company (Josh)

In the Woodlands of Vitu-Daru, Prince Roland's adventuring company had stumbled across a valuable cache of treasure and supplies amid some mossy ruins. They were tasked with defending this find from the marauding orcs. After an abbreviated game, Josh emerged victorious.

Round 2 - Expedition to Hearthspire (Pat) vs. Brotherhood of the Three Primes (Tyler)

In the final game of the night, Tyler and Pat squared off in a scenario featuring a bridge spanning a swampy morass in the Village of Tallenwood. The bridge was guarded, however, by a savage winged ape-troll, who wanted nothing to do with these invaders! In game terms, the ape would randomly attack characters that got too close to his bridge lair. It was a lot of fun and made for some careful maneuvering for Pat and Tyler as they tried to close with each other while avoiding the foul beast that lurked under the bridge. We called this game a draw, as it was getting late and we needed to pack up and give Jon his basement back.

All in all, it was a great kick-off session for our campaign. Karl did a bang-up job as campaign scribe, taking notes on each game played so that we could craft a proper blog post. Josh delivered fantastic photography as always.

Stay tuned for more games soon!

Prince Roland's Company

I was in a bit of a quandary for our upcoming fantasy campaign -- I had no fantasy figures! Up until now, I'd been a dyed-in-the-wool sci-fi minis gamer. Luckily, the problem was easily remedied. In true Song of Blades & Heroes fashion, I put together a fantasy warband featuring random cool miniatures from several different manufacturers, including Privateer Press, Reaper and Brushfire. Here are some photos and a bit of fluff about my team.

Roland wasn't always a mouse. Far across the ocean, there was a small kingdom, where Roland was a prince of the realm, and was much loved by his people. Tragedy occurred when Roland's father, the King, passed away. The healers said it was natural causes, but Roland suspected otherwise. He kept his suspicions quiet, only sharing them with the court wizard. Roland never wanted to be king, but his sense of honor and duty to the people convinced him.

On the evening before his coronation, he went to bed early, falling into a fitful sleep. He awoke at dawn the next day, confused. He was in a field not far from the castle, naked and surrounded by field mice. He stood up and stretched his tail, planning to make his way back to the castle. Wait, A TAIL?! Yes, Roland had a tail.

He ran to the nearby lake and looked into the still water. A human-sized mouse-man stared back at him. Something was obviously wrong. He started back towards the castle. The court wizard might be able to explain what happened! Clothing himself in rags stolen from a farmer's clothesline, he was nonetheless arrested when he got to the castle. He tried to explain to the guards who he was and what had happened, but they hurled him into the dungeon, where he languished for days.

Then he received a visitor: King Roland! The false king vowed he would keep the true Roland locked up forever. His kingdom was being oppressed and his father's death was no accident. He slumped to the floor in despair. Hours later, the door to his cell opened, revealing Gandarf, the court wizard had known Roland all his life. Just now Gandarf was puzzling over the peculiar change in behavior of the "king." After his coronation, the king was acting malicious. Fluffy, Roland's loyal hound, went crazy with anger whenever he was near. Gandarf heard a rumor from the guards about a freakish giant mouse in the dungeon, so he decided to see it for himself.

Sensing his opportunity, Roland laid it all out for Gandarf, who understood the young king's quandary at once. There might be a way to regain his identity, but it would require a magic item rumored to be located in Qaarra, a kingdom located far across the ocean. Gandarf collected supplies and a few loyalist guardsmen (and Fluffy), then sprang Roland from his dungeon, and they set off on their long journey...

Roland
The deposed prince has been turned into a mouse. Deadly with a blade and ever honorable, Roland has embraced his quest in Qaarra. He inspires others by word and action.

Fluffy
Roland's trained warhound is loyal to a fault and only occasionally listens to commands.

Gandarf
The court wizard is a very skilled mage, and loyal to Roland and the kingdom. He has his own reasons for seeking the magical item which may cure Roland... 

Lord Stryker, Mercenary Captain

Stryker spent most of his life fighting for the highest bidder, but became disillusioned. He came across Roland and Gandarf during their journey and decided to travel with them for a while. He is fascinated by the idea of having a cause to fight for. Every night, he takes first watch. Every night, as Roland is going to sleep, he tells him that he will be likely gone by morning. And every morning he awakens and takes his place at the side of his prince, ready to soldier on.

Guardsmen
The sergeant and his three soldiers are competent fighters and crack shots with their black powder pistols.

Edlenor
This ancient elf is old enough to remember a time before the ocean separated the continents. He is the best archer the world has seen.

Odwin Fistsmasher
Odwin is young for a dwarf, but he has seen quite a lot in his years of travel with Edlenor. He is stubborn and absolutely brutal with his pole-axe. Together they are adventurers who champion the cause of good wherever they go. They came across Roland on their travels, and have stayed with him ever since.

Stay tuned for more photos and battle reports as the campaign gets up and running!

-- Josh, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Night Herons of the Black Crown, Part 3

With the start of our fantasy campaign only a few days away, I put the finishing touches on my warband, the Night Herons of the Black Crown. These are mostly character figures, and like my earlier postings, most were acquired at Little Wars.

Corvin Vunzeister, Arch-Mage of the Black Crown
This year we've made it mandatory to include a magic-user in each warband, so I painted up this Reaper wizard. I had a bit of trouble with his wand, which snapped off at the hand, but I carved the stub out of his palm and glued the wand back in his hand. I particularly like the little creature on his shoulder, which looks a lot like Salacious Crumb, the nasty little pet of Jabba the Hutt.

Vunzeister was once a young apprentice mage of the Silver Tower. His prodigious skills marked him early on as heir to the White Seat. However, a miscast spell by a fellow student nearly killed him, and young Corvin turned to the dark arts to repair his broken body. His health quickly returned, but the phenomenon drew the attention of his instructors, who could sense the presence of ill powers. As soon as he was able, he fled the Silver Tower and sought our the Black Crown to complete his training among wizards with less aversion to the forbidden arts. 

Valspan, Half-Giant and Horg the Ogre
Anybody know the origin of these two figures? Neither came with any marks. The ogre was missing something on his belt, so I covered the hole with a sword in sheath. He had square pegs under his feet, presumably for a base, but he didn't come with one. Unfortunately, the picture obscures the impressive double-sided greataxe he is wielding.

Valspan and Horg have been fighting side by side for as long as Horg can remember. Neither is particularly likely to wax emotional about their long friendship (or anything for that matter), but they are comrades of long standing. They have both already lived more than an average human lifetime and they've fought for just about every kingdom. Presently their services have been retained by the Black Crown. 

Digging in the lead pile, I found a Ral Partha Chaos Knight to add to the Night Herons' foot knight unit. He's a bit shorter than the Grenadier figures in that unit, but I bulked up his base a bit and now he fits right in.

He has a pretty cool shield also. One more knight and the unit will be a full 10 strong!

Lastly, I painted up this Dragon. He's part of a two-pack of toy "Paint and Play" dragons that was given to me by a fellow on the Reaper forum.  The material seems to be about the same PVC vinyl as Reaper's Bones, and it takes paint well. Though not finely detailed, the sculpt is pretty good also, and looks kind of old-school-RPG to me. The base is four cavalry bases glued together with a big piece of pine bark cemented on top. This is my first try at painting a dragon using a purple highlight over blue.

Singetooth Clawback is a dragon of great age and fierce reputation. Adopted by an unnamed servant of the Black Crown several hundred years ago, he has long been a mythic character among the small-folk of the Darker North. Vunzeister is presently the human he has chosen through which to communicate with the Black Crown.

Here's a shot of the entire warband together. At this point it would work well for Song of Blades and Heroes or WarEngine. I'm looking at a few options for enlarging it to be suitable for small games of Kings of War. More on that if and when it develops.

As a bonus, here are three figures I got in the recent Little Wars lot. Normally all such models get stripped, but these were already painted enough that all I had to do was rebase and brush-dip them. A warrior, dwarf and squire all seem like pretty useful fantasy tropes to have on hand. Their bases were obscured with goo, so if any one can help me identify them I'd really appreciate it. I'm nearly positive the dwarf is Ral Partha, but I'm not sure about the barefoot swordsman and the squire/standard-bearer.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

The Battle of Ten-Pike: A Wreck-Age Battle Report

Last night CSW met at Games Plus with some folks from Hyacinth Games, developers of Wreck-Age, a new post-apocalyptic skirmish game. They ran a special four-player event for us called The Battle of Ten-Pike.

Wreck-Age, as you might have heard, takes place on a future earth that has been abandoned by the rich and powerful, leaving the unwashed masses to fend for themselves. Various apocalypses were visited upon this desolate earth, and the survivors are just beginning to claw their way back from the rubble as the game begins. It's rich with fluff and boasts a well-developed back story (some of which will be published as an upcoming RPG companion).

Ten Pike is a trading settlement located near the ruins of Mt. Prospect, Illinois. Perhaps one of those shacks is a ruined Games Plus!

The town was populated with numerous civilians -- some armed, some not. Many of the civilians minis were Mordheim figures, though the majority of the minis on the board were official Wreck-Age models.

We split into teams. Tim and Mike controlled the Drifters, a ragtag group of bandits and thieves. They were tasked with escaping off the board with pack boars loaded with stolen loot, while causing as much havoc as possible on the way out.

Pat and I controlled the Stitchmen, a faction comprised of hunters who prolong their lives by harvesting organs from other humans. Our job was to assassinate the villagers and cut out their organs, and most of our guys had non-lethal (yet still powerful) weapons to aid this task. The Stitchmen are fairly powerful, so Pat and I only had three minis on the board.

The civilians were controlled by Matt and Nick from Hyacinth Games.

Matt began by explaining the setting and the basics of each turn. Players dice off for initiative and then alternative activating one figure at a time. Models have a number of Activation points that allow them to perform actions on the tabletop, such as moving, running, shooting or harvesting internal organs (in the case of the Stitchmen). Here are some highlights from the game.

One of Pat's Stitchmen started off the fun by stealthily knocking out some of the town guards.

The drifters made an efficient dash toward their board edge after snatching up the pack boars. (Sidenote: Boars serve a variety of purposes in Wreck-Age. In addition to working as pack animals, some factions rig them with explosives and use them as pig bombs!)

On the way out of town, the Drifters cut their way through a swathe of innocent civilians. Here they are, attempting to fight back against the raiders.

My lone Stitchman hid behind some barrels while planning his attack.

He decided the best course of action would be to storm the bridge and slaughter one of the guards. Unfortunately he was swarmed by two townspeople as he harvested the guard's organs. The other guard shot him with a net gun, so he was unable to fight back.

One of Pat's hunters assisted by tranquilizing the other guard from afar, allowing my Stitchman to free himself from the net, whereupon he killed and harvested both civilians. At this point, the short game had come to a close and we tallied up victory points. Overall, the Stitchmen managed to harvest organs from seven townspeople. The Drifters caused more havoc, and also managed to escape the town, so Tim and Mike were declared the winners.

Thanks to Matt and Nick for running this event for us! We are looking forward to playing Wreck-Age again soon.

-- Josh, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Night Herons of the Black Crown, Part 2

I've been hard at work painting more miniatures for our summer fantasy campaign. Last month I showed off the Night Herons, a group of Chaos Warriors and their mutated champion. Now I've added some lightly armed skirmish troops and cavalry. As before, all of these figures came from that bin-o-lead that Pat and I picked up at Little Wars.

This first batch I'm calling Half-Elf Tribesmen. When I pulled them from the bin, I thought they were just Celts. After priming them, I noticed that they have elf ears -- turns out they are Sidhe Faerie warriors, a line of figures for Alternative Armies "Erin" game based on Celtic mythology.

Regardless, it's neat to see Celtic equipment and imagery on elves, when such decoration is much more common on human barbarians and dwarves in fantasy settings. Alternative Armies figures are typically large (30mm or bigger) and well-detailed. Thus even these 90s-era miniatures scale very well with current fantasy offerings. There was a bit more flash than expected, but it cleaned up fine. I think the leader figure is particularly well done.

The children of men and elves, Half Elves are born without the near-immortal lifespan of their pureborn kin. Pureblood elves call them "Stillborn," as they are considered to be dead already. Their numbers have increased in the past few generations and they have begun separate themselves from men and elves. They are now mostly found in tribes who prefer to establish seasonal lodging in protected canyons adjacent to the grasslands and forests where they do their hunting. Half Elf tribes are disparate in geography, culture and belief. 

My savage Half-Elf shaman is a Grenadier Barbarian Shaman. The figure is a human, but you can't see his ears under the horse skull, so he makes a fine Half-Elf shaman. Interestingly, he also has a small medallion on his waist that matches one on a couple of my chaos warrior figures.

Half Elf Shamans perform a vital religious and ceremonial roles for their tribe. It falls to them to take from the beliefs and cultures of men and elves and to create a narrative that will shape the folkways and traditions of the tribe. Though outcasts from both cultures, Half Elfs are not as reticent as purebloods to become involved in the affairs of men, and when war comes, it usually falls to the tribe's shaman to discern which side to support.

Now let's take a look at a pair of vintage Ral Partha cavalry figures that I am calling "Beast-blood Knights." The first is "Perfidion, Knight of the Chaos Lords." He's stock except that I glued a skull (cut from a piece of Space Wolf iconography) to his shield to avoid having to display my poor freehand skills.

The second is a "Champion of Chaos." He was originally sold in a pack containing horse, rider and dismounted rider. Unfortunately, I do not have the dismounted version or the correct horse, but I think his replacement horse looks fine.

 
The fierce warriors known as Beastbloods are a mix of humans and beastmen. Usually the progeny of a liaison between woman of partial beast blood and a chaos knight, Beastbloods who show promise as warriors are often reclaimed by their father when they reach a sufficient age to join the Black Crown. Many of the strongest and most successful Beastbloods are the sons of the Night Herons.

With a bit of searching, you can see both on this page. However, as far as I can tell, both of these are long out-of-print and are not amongst the Ral Partha figures currently reissued by Iron Wind Metals. They both appear to share the exact same legs section, and as far as I can tell are the only two Ral Partha figures that do, so it was extremely lucky to find both in the same lead bin.

It's no surprise that these figs all painted up pretty fast with my usual prime/base/dip/matte technique. I feel I can confidently recommend buying of any of them if you're into vintage figures. Look for an upcoming post containing a set of notable characters in the service of the Black Crown.

Appendix: Why so many figures in your warband? 
Astute Song of Blades & Heroes players will note that I have already far surpassed the standard 300-point Song of Blades & Heroes warband size for the Night Herons. We're using 500 points as the starting point for our campaign warbands, but I'm sure to exceed even that amount. So why keep painting? Well, it's not only because I enjoy it (though I do). This year we are also going to dabble in larger engagements occasionally throughout the campaign. We are planning on trying WarEngine a few times and I'm even becoming intrigued by Kings Of War. More on this as the campaign progresses.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member