A.R.E.A. 51 Skaro, new Imperial squad Heavy Weapon Dalek test series

A.R.E.A 51* Skaro

Wait, wait – 3 Rels exactly.

Patoom. Trial subject 007**, production prototype squad level Heavy Weapon Dalek.

Advances in enemy (and rebel) technology has promoted the adoption of a new squad level support Dalek. Although the Uber-Dalek project has fulfilled most requirements, slow and limited production coupled with a tendency for their override to self destruct provided a cap on numbers.

The new model uses off the shelf components with drone genotypes chosen for stability. As with any high energy weapon system, heat dissipation is a major problem. A basic gas cooled gatling laser plus walker configuration*** provides a cost effective solution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z6X4oFY5Ts&list=PL6A90789FF9D27FF8

Although similar to the rebel conquest model, those use an advanced travel machine that recycles waste heat as a motive power source. Plus, rebel HW are selected from combat veterans who are transferred to standard travel machines between assignments

Test Force

Vehicle Q4, C1, Medium armoured +3, gyro stabilised, “off road” vehicle = 88

Heavy Weapons standard weapon anti-personnel Gatling version AP, auto-fire, lethal vs soft targets, long range, spread C4

Section of 5 Imperial drones

Q4, C3, body armour, eager, lethal vs soft targets, range max 3 medium. 45x5= 225

Force total 313.

Patoom. Observers present Dalek Supreme (Area controller) Chief Scientist, General Paiyn (1^st Guards senior, combat assessor) assorted science and technical support.

Patoom. Test one. Human squad strength, urban area. Support, one standard squad.

Sergeant Q4 C3 72points  Leader, Reluctant, Submachine gun, Commo, Pistol 3 Troopers Q4 C2, @ 44points, Submachine gun, grenades

LMG Team Q4 C2 65 points, crewed LMG, steady under fire

APC with heavy MG fitted.
 

Mention in dispatches.  MG team ran forward under the guns, set up and dispatched 2 Daleks knocked down by grenades.

Tony used drones to distract the humans, leaving the HW to pick targets.

The APC was twice stunned until destroyed by a mis-thrown gredade






Patoom. Test two. Mechanoid Hive Shard, large mine chamber. Support, one standard squad****.

Mechanoid Q3 C1, Medium, Mook, Flamethrower, poor shot, commo 84

Controller +hero = 99

Any successful close assault results in a grapple. 4 Mechanoid drones Total 336

Daleks got lucky and gained the high ground.
Again Tony used the drones to herd the Mechanoids into a shooting solution, taking out 2, disrupting 2 by group shooting.

Keeping to the upper level, the HW had a  couple of close hits, but was able to line up effective firing solutions.

Could have been a different game if I'd used the open terrain I'd originally planned.





Patoom. Test three. Rebel model Storm, blasted open area. Support, 1 drone. Total 133

Storm HW Dalek

Q3, C4, Body armour, crack shot, elite, steady under fire, commo, long move, Total 134

Storm took and kept the initiative, zooming from cover to cover.

The drone went down early.

When it came to the showdown the HW took advantage of a reaction to kill Storm, the lesser armour giving way to the obscene beauty of coherent light sleeting from the barrels of the gatling.





*Advanced Reality Enhancement Area, a facility where Daleks create and dream.

** Prototype 1-3 used direct installation via transmat for fast deployment. These went mad due to pain, stress and rapid heat exhaustion.

Prototype 4 used an enhanced travel machine. The occupant was broiled by its own weapon.

Prototype 5 used a sub-commander genotype that proved incapable (or unwilling) of semi independent action without causing disruption and large body count.

Prototype 6 used a low level drone genotype with enhanced computer support. This model went catatonic after observing itself in a reflective surface.

 

***Multiple legs provide both stability and large heat dissipation surfaces.

 

****General Paiyn remembered asteroid mine 4444gh. Mechanoids can adapt to their environment. Most of those encountered had an outer shell of superdense ice, others vat grown diamond over a carbon core fitted with drilling laser. It was there that he lost his original travel machine (as did most of command) before getting installed in a customised HW travel machine. Rumours that the troops call him hoppy remain groundless.

 

 

Early Skaro War version of HW Dalek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the usual subjects:

New HW

PAU SAW team

Imperial Drone

Uber Dalek next generation HW Dalek. 

 

Note shield generator used to protect Dalek from heat of own weapon.

 

 

 

 

 

You can just see the MG team in the ruin getting set up.

I'm so pleased with this, all scraps made in 30 minutes.

The base is the reverse of my urban sections.

 

Take the high ground!

How's this for stealth?

 

 

 

 

 

Mechanoids, Robots and Drones for Flying Lead

Mechanoids, Dr Who version  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynAvpn3jNc8)  not the Khurasan late-comers. Mechanoids were sent out by Earth as an early colonisation effort. Their MOO can be summed up as Exploit, Adapt, Construct. Piles of mined material and partially finished colonies can be found throughout a broad area of space, needing only the correct code to access. Mere robots at the start, smart programming led some hives to become self aware particularly after contact with other intelligent species. Hives adapted, absorbing or even enslaving less involved hives. The twin focus for change was the spread of UN backed human colonisation coupled with conflict with Daleks. Rather than attempt to control the Mechanoids, the Daleks responded with (even for them) extreme xenophopia.

I made some from blank D20's and some beads. Not as good as the not-mechanoid available from Ansty but these cost about 20p each and get used once a year or so. They do what we call a proper job.  Want more information?  Goto Area 51.

Each Mechanoid is equipped with either a flame thrower or mining laser, depending on their environment. Basic programming allowed for an effective anti Dalek (or other intruder) is to use tool to frighten off, if that fails grapple with its pincers, hold the intruder and use tool at point blank until it is ordered to release or falls apart. This may be the reason for Dalek's reaction as the grapple is usually fatal for both parties. Although the Dalek weapon can penetrate, the effect will not remove the grapples and often result in the Mechanoid brewing up. The Mechanoids weapon cannot damage a Dalek's casing but it will cause rapid overheating that leads to a particularly slow and unpleasant death.

Suggested play.

Each hive has a number of Controllers. These can be considered focal points in a hive mind rather than a self aware entity. Each can be considered a Hero. It can use each activation to change the orders of any number of drones. EW success can negate an activation.

Drones carry out SOP when faced with an intruder. When faced with a human it will request an authorisation code. If none is forthcoming it will grapple until a Controller is available. If met with force it will carry out SOP.

Mechanoid Q3 C1, Medium, Flamethrower  For effect, see AREA 51

Any successful close assault results in a grapple.

Robots. Most are effectively normal infantry who will MIRROR (SOP) the activation or reaction of its parent unit. Loss has the same morale effect due to loss of asset.

A hit that has a non penetrating hit represents an impact that causes loss of unit integrity, a bit like losing your wifi on the move.

Exception 1) in the case of a withdraw, a robot unit will always take the rear position.

Exception 2) a robot can be ordered to seek and destroy (i.e. against a sniper) without regard to own safety.

Exception 3) a robot vehicle benefits from end-of-move free movement like any other unit. Unmirrored robot infantry do not.

Exception 4) only one activation is required to go on overwatch.

Exception 5) no test needed to close assault, can be programmed to close assault as a reaction.

Drones. Scout and/or electronic warfare (EW) asset, from shell delivered to grav AI's. EW can be built into any vehicle or robot. Here is a use for those plastic covers on CD's as its area of influence. Use as seems logical. For instance in a built up area a drones effectiveness is greatly reduced.

Drones are replaceable small targets. Any wheeled or tracked counts as in soft cover, any flying as hard to represent random evasion movement and small size. Q will represent tech level and sophistication. Most drones are unarmed. Any armed drone loses cover advantage above. Armament could be a tazer on a police model, shotgun on a bomb disposal or light MG on a recce by fire model.

Here's my suggestions:

Actions

Move

EW attack, 2dice Q test. If passed any unit in area cannot make aimed shot due to disrupted electronics.

Or command radius reduced to Short.

Or target vehicle(s) (including robots or Mechanoids) lose 1 activation, which counts towards switch-over.

Reaction

Move.

Target has revealed itself and is painted, if successful 2dice Q test any shot against will count as +1. This lasts until drone is destroyed or end of turn.

We will try these out soon as our schedule will allow.

Space Raptors are Go!

New toys just out of the bag, how can you resist? Don't sneer at unpainted, you know you do it!

Big, bi g thanks to  http://www.15mm.co.uk/    for bringing this range over, American postage would have doubled the cost.

 

Tony bought the platoon deal plus a senior officer, special forces and bare-clawed close assault.

 

A lazy bank holiday day trying colours, beading, basing and organising and they're ready to start.

Getting the TOE right helps, allows you to pick from a menu. The SOM is doubly so. We have Raptors, so Jurassic Park comes to mind. Tony tried a squad of 6 with independent attached SAW and anti-vehicle weapon. A small command group included drone controller*. He used the close assault troops as individuals without regard for unit integrity.

I wanted to try my new urban board, use my Vespid buildings. I gave some thought to the opponents, discarding Daleks (at great personal risk, watch this space in 2 Rels). Tony's cops still need a little work (including a Wall.Ee drone). I settled on my PAU as this is their job.

I had 2 Jeeps with crew of 2 and a SAW team, APC with crew of 3mounting a heavy MG, squad of 4 and a drone specialist.

Tony had set up a signal station, my job to find it. All Tony's were hidden, some billeted, others patrolling.

I started up good, one Jeep nosing ahead (cotton balls represent speed & direction).

One of his SF found itself able to assault my drone. Fairly inconclusive but my APC's MG fire put him to ground behind it. More MG shooting, infantry debus, line up, advance shooting. Nothing!** In comes Jeep 2 on the flank, MG, drive at it, is this thing indestructible? As the Jeep comes to a halt, the second SF jumps on the back and attacks the machine gunner. He makes an undignified exit, commander and driver whip out pistols and blow the SF's head off. They are rewarded by an AT round in the side that wipes out the softskin. The crew seek a safer billet, the MG team go to ground. Infantry follow SF 1, APC advances, takes an AP shot that's defeated by its glacis plate.
 

Meanwhile, Jeep 1 does a strategic withdraw, stops, crew bails out before they are surrounded.

 

 

*Need some simple rules for drones, working on it.

** I could here the drone controller yelling “Oi! I signed for that) and trying to find a way out of all the friendly fire holes in it.

Flying Lead, Cops, Coats and Aliens.

This is why I love these rules.

 

I can pinpoint exactly when the plan crashed.

 

 So we did a couple of games based around a bit of a town like Wimborne in the UK.

 

 We started with an armoured car robbery.

 

 The bad guys got away, one trooper had his outline painted in a hail of lead.

 

 

 

 

Second game, dodging the traffic,

 

Frank's mob ram an armoured car right in front of the cop on the doughnut run.

 

 Frank leaps out of the front, grenade launcher to ready – click, a one!

 

So there he is, out in front with a useless weapon. Deputy 2ic sniper gets 2 activations so Frank end up with an extra hole in his head, a 6:1 no less, a gory death. So that's bit of a morale test, then. All pass!

 

 But the element of surprise is lost, the driver's taking fire so everyone piles back in. One trooper had got near, so she hops up onto the barrier and lets loose with her shotgun at no range into a crowded, open vehicle. Two dead and a third wounded. Driver panics, goes into reverse and slams into a building. Score one for law and order. You have to play with, not against, to get the best from these rules.

Here are the what? Warbands, gangs, concepts? Nothing big but enough to have fun with. Sometimes a force like this is spawned by a figures range, a vehicle find or some inspiration. I look for one to complement another. You need an antagonist for your protagonist. I don't expect you to replicate these forces exactly, but rather to take inspiration, go “aaaaaaah” a lot. Plot, scheme. With your version of these forces, you can take over the world!

Cops.

Here's local Sheriff Mediumarch and his deputies. As we all know, any alien not choosing Cardiff will land in a small American community. The odd monster or zombie outbreak will occur at regular intervals.

 

 These are a selection from GZG's armed colonists, security and specialist packs*. The wee doggy is from Museum Miniatures. Kit limits their range, but I feel up to using them on a colony world. There's just over £3 worth here. Khurasan does several versions from the 1920's upwards, including British that I aught to get so they can annoy UNIT.

 

  I trawled the local toy shops and scoured what I could find of my collection for a good selection of vehicles. As these cost about £1 you've a total of £10. Painting took a few hours spread over a weekend.

The White (duster) Coat Wild Bunch.

Frank, he's the tall chap with very blue eyes, and company have seen service as VSF nasties to the wayward crew of a freetrader called the Hornet. If you need to be told the inspiration, you're either too young or no wargamer! In contrast to the above, these guys have taken a few years to assemble from Khurasan (free trader crew supplied Frank) The Store and GZG. The converted military cargo hauler was a present from Matt Hay many years ago and I think was part of the old Laserburn range that is now produced by 15mm.co.uk. Can I just say that I didn't get to boldly go to where I am today without mixing a few metaphors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN3-uOjK4TY

 

The Posse all Q3 C1

(A) Sheriff Mediumarch, Leader, Semi auto rifle with scope, Pistol, Handcuffs, Danger sense @116

(B) Specialist, Pistol, Commo, Handcuffs @36 (driver, radio or drone controller)

(C) Deputy, Rifle, Pistol, Sniper, 2ic, Handcuffs @106

(D) Specialist dog handler, driver, Heavy Pistol, Crackshot, Handcuffs @46

(E,F,G) Trooper, Shotgun, Pistol, Crackshot, handcuffs @60

(H) Specialist/Forensics/Medic, Pistol, Handcuffs, @36

Ralph Q4 C3, Cbt fiend, Eager, Dashing, Junglecraft, Long move, @ 83

You could make the handler 2ic, as once dog deployed at least part of the force is then tasked with support. I count handle and dog as one activation as with heavy weapons team.

The Vehicles

Tracked Overlanders. I can see these providing long term support – a mobile cop-shop for a small number. Q4 C1, Armoured+1, Off road, wide tracks, 6 passengers, @47

SWAT van, Thin armour, 6 passengers, @41

Cruiser. Standard cop-car. Q4, C1, Normal move, 3 passengers @ 24

Pursuit vehicle, faster version. Q4, C1, Long move, 3 passengers, @39

The Posse on a bad day (When the bad guys guns never empty, any hit or bump sends a car flying and exploding, plus they cannot hit or stop anything)

The  Mook Posse all Q3 C1

(A) Sheriff Mediumarch, Leader, Semi auto rifle with scope, Pistol, Handcuffs, Danger sense @116

(B) Specialist, Pistol, Commo, Handcuffs, Mook @33 (driver, radio or drone controller)

(C) Deputy, Rifle, Pistol, 2ic, Handcuffs @91

(D) Specialist dog handler, Mook, driver, Pistol, Poor shot, Handcuffs @30,

(E,F,G) Trooper, Mook, Shotgun, Pistol, Poor shot, handcuffs @44

(H) Specialist/Forensics/Medic, Mook, Pistol, Poor shot, Handcuffs, @30

Ralph Q4 C3, Mook, Dashing, Junglecraft, Long move, @ 74

Frank's Gang all Q3 C3

Frank Leader, Grenade Launcher grenade cbt3, move @ shoot, Long. Hero, bodyarmour, cbt fiend, Strong @160

(U) Mr Red Heavy Pistol, Body armour, CQB, Crackshot @ 64

(V) Mr Yellow 2ic, SMG, Pistol, Body armour, CQB, Crackshot, Jungle craft, @134

(W) Mr Blue Shotgun, Pistol, Body armour, CQB, Crackshot, slippery @100

(X) Mr Brown, Semi auto Rifle & scope, Sniper, Pistol, Body armour, CQB, Climber @114

(Y) Miss Black, Machine Pistol, Pistol, Body armour, CQB, Specialist, Dashing @88

(Z) Mr White Pistol, Knife, Smoke/flashbang Grenades, Body armour, CQB, Chucker, combatfiend, stealth, weapons expert @120

Vehicle, Q3 C3, Armoured +1, Long, Off road, 9 passengers, @120

I'm not going to do grades of this lot. They either be themselves, or if they can't they're pirates

 

*Jon's packets these in 2 each of 4 sculpts. These provide an excellent opportunity for headswapping and a good stock can soon be drafted into service as I did with the cops above. I have a plan to do both an UNSC and Japanese boarding/ground assault party with added specialists.

Lhurggs. These, in my opinion, are one of the best-buy alien infiltrators. I have used them as mercenaries working for a Dai-Oni vs Japanese warrior monks (Flashing Blades), perfect for VSF.

Mutant. This is a big boy, a good boy, do you want to talk pure animal magnetism?

Q5 C4,  body armour, Heavy machinegun, cbt fiend, poor shot, short move, strong, @132

Chieftain/Hero/Leader Q4 C3, Machine pistol, Poor shot, cbt fiend, long move @128

Warrior Q5, C3, Machine pistol,  long move, poor shot, @35

You could make 'em into a nice Battlesworn force, say-
Mutant as Tank/Shooter or Warmage 2
Chief as Brute/Leader 2
5 Warriors as fighters 5
3 Warriors asshooters 3

http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/15mmscifi.html  About 3/4 of the page down.

Watch this space, I'm planning to “upgrade” this force with some matchbox “acquired technicals” mounting unaimable rocket launchers. The sort of low grade merc's you'd drop into the sticks to draw off regular forces away from the real incursion forces. Now who would employ mercenaries like these?

 

The Old Indian Burial Ground farm.

 

 Strange sightings reported and the inhabitants have not been seen, missed appointments.

 

 So the Posse goes in-.

3 boards, the road turning, farm (opposite)  and the burial ground.

Made lots of use of nearly finished matchbox vehicles.

Ended with slowest "drive by" shooting in history!

CD movement trays and scrap plastic vehicle bases

Movement trays

CD's and no-more-nails* have a natural affinity. I've seen articles sanding CD's then flocking them. Too much for me, plus there's still the hole and it's only one sided. Double thickness of NMN also means easier to pick up.

 

 Tear some scraps of cornflakes cardboard, cover both holes (shiny side of cardboard down) at same time with minimum NMN. Thump. Cover one side with good splodge, leave to dry. Paint or flock.

These are about a year old with no attempt to keep fresh.

Vehicle bases.

I've always used ply but without the need to have measured bases these days it's a bit, well, wooden. I admit it's still the best method for fragile models like walkers.

 

Tried using shard of CD to create a shadow-base for a grav or ground effect vehicle, I like the effect, but cutting up CD's is a pain. I hate having a nice textured and decorated base, then it's in the wrong environment and it looks naff.

 

 

I'm sold now on waste plastic from food packaging plus a layer of NMN. If you use toy cars** a few drops of superglue does wonders. For dirt roads I run the vehicle up and down before gluing to produce tracks and dirty up the tyres.

 

Here's a thickness comparison. .8mm ply and sand/pva vs plastic and NMN. Not only is this method cheaper, it's a lot quicker. Cut, splodge, press. Paint underside. Glue when dry, paint.

 

Very thin plastic sandwich and a thin layer- you have a modern road surface, but you have to wash the plastic first, and it can curl where a single layer base doesn't. Do everything wet and be prepared for a mess.

 

This method also does road damage, cut and peel back the top layer.

Plus, try this shadow method as it goes anywhere. Just offset base and highlight the other side. The main difference is that the surface method the vehicle is in, the shadow method it is on.

 

 Be prepared to change your mind. Wheeled and tracked AFV's, construction vehicles go into the ground, look wrong with just a shadow- unless you want them for urban, in which case I'd suggest a vey minimal base.

 

I first got the idea last year during the snow/freezing part of our UK annual 51-week monsoon. Regardless of the surface, there's always the shadow. Even now, during the middle cycle (we get one overcast week, as soon as the kids go back to school at end of summer) there's a shadow-blurring to the underside of vehicles. Or is it just a fine shower of dirt, salt and rust?

Watch out for texture! Cake packaging makes perfect 15mm cobbles. Watch this space for figure bases and lamp posts. I'm thinking a roofing nail topped by either a toothpaste top or rawlplug. If you've got any ideas, please post here!  Now if I can only get it to photograph-.

*Abreviated to NMN. Actually I use the generic 151 product Hard as Nails available from the Poundshop in the UK. I get through 1 tube a week in the slack times and 1 every 2-3 days when in full flow. I could give it up, couldn't I?

** I'm always collecting these. Now they're filler or A-B movers that get thumped. Blue ink on the windows to disguise the lack of driver, tone down the paintwork and dirty up. Jobs done.

Credit card (based) scenery

For every large building, you need several small pieces. Credit cards, or similar, provide a nice base. Match them with roofing nails (which have big heads and come in convenient sizes) and small buildings, lean-to's and large tents can be made very quickly. Set up a production line.

Open buildings, used as garages, market stalls, workshop, storage or open walkways. Nail in each corner, pierce corners of a second card to make a roof. The usual NMN floor. Add any internal detail and paint bottom half. Roof, if you want it removable plastic hair beads would work. Smaller nails or “V” folded card insert added to make an apex, suggest add coffee stirrer support to cover nails. Paint inside and bottom. Over this you add roof of cardboard, thin flock,  tile, cardboard or papier mache.  the one's below use one tongue depresser for a flat, strips of stretched scourer to make a thatched roof or simple one-piece scourer.  Simple thick paint job and it's done. Finish off with more coffee stirrer bits if required.

 

 If you want a stepped building, punch nails through bottom card then add a vinyl tile lower level(s). The depth of the nails will add a small step.

Remember, these go “boom!” or “whoosh!” if even glanced at by a Hero, so make some destroyed ones as well-.

 

Ran out of "A's, so battery is an "AA"

 

 

Sandbag sided tent. As above, but supports a little further in and a wall made by cutting scourers into 5mm strips and built up to 10mm height. You can go mad and cut into individual sandbags. Good coat of NMN. You could even add 6x15mm scourer beds.

Closed buildings, add walls of crinkled paper, stirrers or corn flakes packet card. Don't use silver foil, it discards paint. Makes lots of shanties. Consider a modular stable block.

 

 

 

 

Vehicle or building lean-to. Many parked military vehicles have the “makings” to put up a simple lean-to. I'm using bamboo skewers for the top. Yes, the uprights are too thick, but they do. Paint black with a smaller stripe to thin down. Building add-ons usually have pretty poor walls or roof.

Market place/larger tents. I've added nails of different heights then built up the roof and stalls with coffee stirrers. A little change and you can use same for bronze age to star colony. Remember that pursuits often bring these down, so make some collapsed path-blockers.

Smaller tents and soldiers lean-to's can be made using cardboard formers and match, pin or nail supports bedded in a punched hole and NMN floor. Using the card bases you can get some uniformity.

 

The type of thin packaging foam you find in chocolates and fragile stuff makes a fantastic roof, as it droops.  paints well.

 

Battlesworn our first series of test games

In the Hall of the Mountain King Liche Mage.*

This is an idea for a quick n easy Battlesworn test game. Inspiration, Solomon Kane scenes at start (Arab fort) and end (castle) plus Stargate's (film) first fight, and a particularly poor fight in Troy, just of the beachead. Too many Conan novels.



Four floor tiles, as this is 15mm, gives a basic playing area. Spare dice (forgot bluetac) marks positions of support pillars. 

Smaller pieces of tiles can make raised areas.
A few bits of clutter to break things up.

 I may add treasure and/or prisoners to be rescued in later games.

Cheap shops sell poker chips that paint easy, better for larger scales but works for 15/18mm. Other colours can be used to track spell effects, reloads and the spell-raised. I'm all in favour of anything that prevents confusion. Get graded D6, big as betting dice to keep tabs of initiative/reaction, another medium set for shooting/combat betting and 8D6 for combat & shooting.

This game starts with skeleton rabble doing the job of statues in niches against the walls. Liche Mage is at the other end protected by others. The aim is to rattle through various combinations, so the 10 bet maximum rule is a good way to go as you get a good idea as to who's going to win by then. I'd recommend this approach as a club intro. Respectfully suggest that any youngster requiring weaning off any other game system that seeks to restrict choice and imagination this might be an ideal choice.

Liche Lord's Lads

Liche Sorcerer Leader 2

5 Fighters 5

2 Brutes 2

3Skeleton rabble (6 figures) 3

14 figures

 

 

We tried this (pictured above) first with 4 fighters and 3 tanks. Tanks end up as a slugging match, you tend to use “6” each time as they can take the hits. Leaving all the shooting to the mage is deliberate, making this a “get stuck in” force. Skeletons are like the prawns in chess.

Achaean Warband

Leader/Brute 2
7 Spearmen Fighters 7
3 Shooters 3
11 figures
This works quite well, a good, solid force giving a good game. A balanced force will always be fun to play with. You could get a “winning” army of tanks, shooters and sorcerer – but who's going to fight you?

Mention in dispatches Spearperson Big Bertha the Bone Buster, who “killed” four skeletons and in the 10^th took on the Mage in hand to hand, being the only “ranker” in our games to do so. I used my normal shooter/spearman teams and these worked very well. One team shot a brute to red.

Amazon Warband
Leader/Brute 2
Sorcerer 1
7 Spearmen Fighters 7
2 Shooters 2
11 figures
With two sorcerers you have the initial game of spell-choosing.

Ratmen
Rogue/Leader 2
Rogues 4
Brute/Warmage 2
Fighters 4
10 figures.
 Rogues are fun to use, this force naturally splits into 2, or rogue-fighter-rogue “battles”. It's another get stuck in force. The warmages spell can change the nature of the force.

Pirates

Tank/Leader 2
4 fighters with blades 4
1 Arquebusier 1
1 Sniper pistolier 1
4 rogues 4
11 figures

Sniper and Arquebusier

make an attempt on the mage,

 skeleton getting in way.

 

The sniper is the type of pirate who has lots of pistols and throwing knives to get around the reload problem. Both sniper and arquebusier are skeleton magnets. Main advantage was to keep the mage moving, so that there was no LOS, effectively forcing it out of the game. They “soaked” up the rabble sent in to deny other targets.

Tank vs Tank, our most boring fight to date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A solid line of rogues being snuck up on be ye olde rattlin' bones.

 

These are pendrakens 10mm giant skeletons done up for OGAM, hence the tower shields.

 

 

A solid line up of fighters face off a baby ('is mum loves 'im!) liche -

 

watch out, he's behind you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trained Men (Napoleonic)

Brute/Leader 2
Brute Sgt 1
4 Arquebusier/Brutes 8
Sniper 1
7 figures

These chaps in green are a rough, tough bunch. All hangs on the shooting. In our game the Officer made a sharp charge against the mage early on only to be defeated and killed by the intervention of a raised Tank (a giant snail, so possibly French?).  Brute on brute fights are furious fun rather than the boring tank on tank fight. Break the multiples rule and you pay the numbers penalty. Must fight the pirates sometime!

Adventurers Club (VSF)
Rogue/Leader 2
Fighters Stewards or stout chaps 4
Sorcerer Professor (or Dok-tor) 1
Professors Niece Warmaster 1
Sniper Hunter 1
Rogues 3
11 figures

Everyone concentrates on the protection of the magic users. Raised “creatures” can be fun, mechanical creations on biological horrors!

Near Future (Modern/SF)

Shooter/Leader 2
4 Shooter/Brutes 8
Brute/Sniper (sgt) 2
6 figures

This was our quickest game to date, both sides saw the benefit of being fast and aggressive. Brutes might seem an odd choice, but if you think of a modern soldier armed with grenades, knife and a machine pistol you'll find it fits. These need to advance by fire and movement, often facing combat odds of 3:1. Change leader to Shooter/Tank and you could do original Stargate baddies. Another force of Shooter/rogues with a shooter warmage and Shooter/Tank makes the other force.

*Sound track available