Song of Drums & Tomahawks game 2 British militia vs Braves

Song of Drums and Tomahawks game 2.

Indians vs British.

Should we say Native Americans? The rules say Indians and we use the same with no racial slur intended.

 

We are learning the rules. There is a bonus for shooting from ambush, it was missed from the cheat sheet. Some say that games like this are “generic”. Well that's true with respect to the core rules. We play Flying Lead and its offshoot Flashing Blades. The former can be used for this period, the latter (being a pirate-set) is firmly entrenched in this time frame. Yet each is subtly different. SODT has a different group activation system. Doesn't sound much, but it gives a different flavour to the game. Troops move faster, in larger numbers and in set formations. We found that our normal 2ft table needed to expand to 3ft. The rally back options (we had used in in the trial Song of Spear and Shield) is a very useful device for regular troops to extract themselves from danger.

The Game

Tony wanted to use tomahawks, he took an Indian force composed of half archers, half muskets plus a warchief. I had a mixed force, a scout section comprised of a traditional Indian brave, an Indian archer, 3 British Rangers led by a British sergeant. An officer led 6 militia.

The terrain is a mix of old and new all bar the new swampland under the heading “can do better”.

 

 The hills are part of my King Kong range. Looks good, but not appropriate. The wood bases are fine, but trees are placed, not individually positioned.

 

 

 

Tony has a good grasp of tactics. In a skirmish game you have to play what your characters can see , not what you know. With reference to the group activation rules I formed my ranger force into a skirmish line in front of a column of militia. Tony started in Indian file. Winning the initiative he deliberately showed his archers moving to my right, “dropping off” his other braves behind some woods whilst heading for the high ground.

I moved my skirmish line to the right, the Brave climbing the hill to my flank. Tony kept moving back and sent 2of his archers up the rock overlooking the trail. The other two went after my mountaineer. One got a push back from a shot, so plummeted. He was avenged by his mate.

 

 

 

The musket armed braves always managed to get 1 activation, so crept through the woods like vampires at a garlic festival. The warchief, getting a good score, did an attack on the nearest ranger, springing out of the woods to dash him down. He was driven back by a shot before he could scalp, and this set the trend-. The sergeant waded in, only to be dispatched. This leads to a general falling back of the rangers. One flees, only to be hurried on by a shot from the chief. The warchief was then shot at 4 times by my archer, each time pushed back from the corpses. A ranger shoots the warchief, misses, then grapples with him. Every time the chief knocks him down, he springs back up-.

Meanstwhile, a miss at near point blank warns the militia of the presence of the braves in the woods to their flank. They turn. The officer is shot. They run, all bar one who stands over his officer and gives a good account of himself, holding up 3 braves and saving the lives of several of his friends.

 

 

 

With both leaders dead, I had no control. With the chief engaged in fisticuffs neither had Tony. Everything was down to individual actions. My force simply melted away off the table.

A positive win for Tony's braves through superior tactics.

 

15mm Daleks from Dalek Risk, some comparison shots

How many posts have you seen with regards to 15mm Dalek?  You can travail the multiverse on them.

Now there's Dalek risk.
The BIG ones are better 28mm than the Dr Who comic models.
The MEDIUM would work in 20mm or as HW conversions.
The SMALL are nicely sized for true 15mm (say Peter Pig)  but to be fair the addition on a small base (which a metal figure would have-) should work, watch this space!

You get 3 sets of 42(!) old style old and 2 of the rather strange new.  On first look the top section is just too small, but any conversions will create newer, better models.

You also get a nifty perfect size Tardis.  So whatever you get to use, you are talking less than 10p a figure.  Never mind the quality, feel the waves of sleeting energy!

Excuse the selection, I did this in a rush as I'm doing 12 hour days-.

Now for the porn.

Large, Tardis, GZG old figures, Small, Medium, New type.
 

Closer look

Meet the Ancestor, Khurasan Exterminator not spider Dalek
 



Vs new GZG Japanese

Some real-life comparisons.  A friend used to organise SW Model Expo at Bovington Tank Museum. When we decided to have a SF theme.  First year I struggled to get 5.  Then they copped theWW1 trench system.  Next year we had to beat them off with a stick.  We had 30 booked in, ended up with 33.  Now my clever missus, she was told that digital photography didn't work in the trenches due to the ambient low-level red lighting.  So she used real black and white film -  just before it became impossible to get.  Enjoy.

Yes that is a real tank!
 

Note the Hu-man and Dalek at rear of picture

This is the Boscombe Tardis, a stone

s throw from our shop.

New and Old GZG Japanese

Pictures say a thousand wosnames.  If you're looking you probably know what your looking at - so.

The old codes, do you remember when these were the bees knees, particularly the power armour?  Don't tell me what year, thank you.

The new codes are sharper and crisper, weapons better detailed and well, better.  The helmets and heads are larger.

My old ones are getting redone (rebased mostly) as paramilitary cops.  Ready for Harder Than Steel, making it harder to resist A Fistfull of Kung Fu.

Gripe.  Only 2 figures with swords, no real replacement for the officer type with pistol so ideal for close assault troops.  I'd love a pack so armed, or 2, one bareheaded.

And finally, my old power armour in police colours.  I'm tempted to add 15mm.co.uk's corporate ashagaru and make another faction, bad corporation armed street gangs.

 Close assault

standard squad

platoon

heavy weapons



size comparison Brigade

size comparison UNSC Heavies

Song of Drums and Tomahawks game one

Our first Song of Drums and Tomahawks game.

Good news. If your familiar with the Ganesha rules methodology then you'll find this set easy, and the group activation changes give a distinctive period feel.

Bad news. If your not familiar, you'll find the rules somewhat obscure and in need of clarification.

First impressions.
The leadership rules are different:
adds +1 to morale rolls when close
can lead specific group movement actions depending on their troop types
can perform rally actions.

There is no volley action, which was a bit of a surprise.

Shooting, melee and traits are simpler than Flying Lead, but the traits could be listed on the playsheet (i.e. +1 in melee strong trait).

No plus for shooting from ambush.  We cheated and added it.
No minus for moving and shooting.

No use of reaction, which would greatly benefit the looser troop types by moving individuals.

The Game

I'd set out a hamlet with a road running past it. Carpet patches indicated woods.

Tony chose an Indian Brave force under a French officer. I took a regular British patrol with officer and sergeant. All were taken straight from the book and about 250 points.

I marched down the road. The group activation is much simpler than the FS version, as it's one roll for all.

 Three moves and I stopped right in front of the ambush, which was nice. Tony's Indians piled out of the wood, lined up on the hedge and started shooting. First one injures the officer (passed scalping roll), the squaddies bar one leg it. Second shot sends the sergeant for cover of opposite hedge. The rest of the Indians pile over the hedge after the officer and sergeant.

 

 

While the Indians cluster around the downed officer, the sergeant scarpers back to the nearest house where he is able to yell “rally to me”, forcing his lads into a firing line.

 

 One Indian followed him along the hedge and hit the left trooper, sending him reeling back. In steps the sergeant and beats him down. Sneaking around their blind left, 2 others. One hops up the building to sneak a shot at the sergeant. He reels back, commands the nearest soldier to shoot and the Indian does the classic plummet. His mate sneaks around the corner and tries for the sergeant again, a near miss. Getting a bit fed up with being a target, he steps up lively like, them not liking the cold steel up 'em. The French officer having dragged the wounded English officer off, the rest of the Indians decided it was tea time and melted away.

A fun little game that could have gone many ways. Watch this space for more.

Sorry for the unfinished figures, the Martians are from an old project still on the back=burner. The Indians have seen service as Caribbean natives.