Saturday 27 June 2015

Plassey Update 3

Clive's main base was Madras!

We're on the final push for Plassey and the Thursday night session covered a lot of ground.  I think we have the layout, rules and a rough idea of the terms of engagement for the day.  Below is a list of the last actions to complete the demo game.

Phil 

Earth bank
Brick kiln.

Russ

Paint Horse Archers
Get more unit number stickers.

Jon

More red trees?

Mark

Print up display map
Bring 2 or 3 units of Indian archers.

Ian 

Crib sheet for 18th PoW 
Quick Play rule amendments
Paint up Native Porters
Base up and finish Indian Horse Archers
Paint up Indian Boat
Paint up extra Indian command
Paint up extra matchlock unit
Paint up extra elephants to push artillery.

Is there anything I have missed or are there any further constructive criticisms?

Friday 26 June 2015

Kiln for Plassey

We're putting on the Battle of Plassey for Joy of Six in July. 

Most of the scenery is done (we had a run through last night) but we need to create an earth bank to surround the mango grove in which the East India Company troops hid in at the start of the battle (as varied jezzail bullets, rockets, cannon balls, arrows, spears and other missiles landed all around them from the Nawab of Bengal's forces assorted shooty troops and French artillery).

Clive had stuck some artillery in a brick kilnworks along the track that followed the road that followed the river past some empty water tanks (essentially large earthworks) in which the French had placed their artllery) and into the Bengali camp.  This was to provide covering fire against incoming Bengali forces and to engage the French artillery.

We therefore also need to make up a scratch kiln / brickworks.  I drew up a plan last night and hope to produce the finished article before our next Thursday night get together.

The plan!
The idea is to create an enclosed space in which an artillery stand can sit but will also look good (well, ok) even if vacated.  The works will be enclosed on 3 sides but allow a field of fire to the front.

That's the plan - I'll update on progress and hope it comes out ok. 

Thursday 25 June 2015

You'll thank me in the morning

For those of you who do your own scenery and terrain, check out this hidden gem. 
http://modelshop.co.uk/Shop 

Incredible range, great prices...and loads of idea-generating stuff. It's basically terrain-making porn.

Monday 22 June 2015

waterloo

This is the waterloo set up for Gauntlet
just a few odds and sods to do and the game is ready
 
 

The British line

Hougoumont

La Haye sainte




Pkancenoit


The road to Brussels




The French guard, ooo er!!



The prussians



Sunday 21 June 2015

Leven Miniatures WW1 slip trenches



Check out Leven miniatures. Looks like he is releasing some WW1 trenches,

http://www.levenminiatures.co.uk/previews.htm

Saturday 20 June 2015

Double Six



Just to clear up another rule query, when you are lucky enough (or your name is Mark) to roll a double six you get a bonus per 6 rolled. Forget about the double with 6's all you need to remember is that for each six rolled you get 1 bonus.

In the above example if you allocated these 6's to a unit of fresh cavalry (D3) and charged you would receive 2 bonus from impetus (fresh cavalry) plus another 2 bonus which could be used to give you an extra 4 inches movement or 2 combat dice. Alternately you could split the bonus and allocate 1 for movement and 1 for combat.

Any other double result (and one which exceeds the discipline of the unit) will proved 1 bonus.

If you are stuffy enough to have 3 dice with the same no allocated you would then receive 2 bonus.

The easy way to remember this is No 6's rolled = bonuses, Other same dice allocations = No of same dice allocated - 1 = bonuses.

Friday 19 June 2015

Friendly Neighbours

Well, I just had to put this to bed once and for all.

I posted another thread last night about our little rule problem that has been cropping up in our games.


Please follow the link below and all will be clarified (with diagrams too!)

http://polkovnikproductions.freeforums.org/extra-dice-for-defender-with-friends-in-contact-t482.html


Tuesday 16 June 2015

Impetus and who gets it



Thought I would bullet point these as they are subtle rules which everyone needs to know....


NO DICE FOR IMPETUS IS GAINED IF THE UNIT:


  • IS FIGHTING ENEMY IN CONTACT WITH ITS FLANK OR REAR.

  • IS FOOT WHO HAVE MOVED THIS PHASE AND IS FIGHTING FRESH MOUNTED WHO HAVE IMPETUS.

  • IS MOUNTED AND IS FIGHTING FRESH FOOT ARMED WITH SPEARS OR PIKES WHO HAVE NOT MOVED THIS PHASE AND HAVE IMPETUS.

  • IS FOOT OTHER THAN PIKES AND IS FIGHTING FRESH FOOT ARMED WITH PIKES WHO HAVE IMPETUS.

  • IS MOUNTED OR HEAVY FOOT AND IS NOT COMPLETELY IN OPEN TERRAIN.

  • IS LIGHT HORSE AND IS FIGHTING NON-SKIRMISHERS FRONTALLY.

  • IS MOUNTED OTHER THAN ELEPHANTS AND IS FIGHTING ELEPHANTS.

  • IS ELEPHANTS FIGHTING AGAINST SKIRMISHERS.

  • IS MISSILE TROOPS THAT HAVE ALREADY SHOT THIS PHASE (EXCLUDES SPARABARA) AND THEN IS INVOLVED IN A CLOSE COMBAT IN THE SAME PHASE.

  • IS FOOT ARMED WITH MISSILES, EXCEPT FOR JAVELIN ARMED LIGHT FOOT WHO ARE FIGHTING LIGHT FOOT.

  • IS INVOLVED IN A COMBAT WHICH IS THE RESULT OF A PURSUIT.

  • MOVED AS PART OF A GROUP THIS PHASE.

  • CARRIED OUT A MANOEUVRE THIS PHASE.

  • CHARGED THIS PHASE AND IS FIGHTING ACROSS AN OBSTACLE OR STAKES.

There are a few here to familiarize yourselves with but the more we play the more we will remember.

These are probably the most complicated the rules get so well worth the effort to get acquainted.




Painting progress (essentially slow)

OK - just to keep you abreast.  I now have 11 bases of Spanish for Italian Wars (up to 1515) - 3 Sword and Buckler, 3 Musketeers, 2.5 crossbow (the 0.5 is painted but not based), 1 Archers (i.e. cavalry not bow-armed troops - don't ask!) and 1 genitors (or jenitez - basically skirmish cavalry).

Still got a lot of cavalry (genitors, gens de armes and archers) to finish but getting through about a base a night at present.

Reading the Osprey book, they suggest that the foot troops worked in close contact (usually intermingled) - and often had Imperial pike (Landschnects) to hand as well.  It also suggests that the collenas - pike and shot units - were available much earlier than the POWR book suggests.  However, I'm focusing on the Spanish in Italy army list first (as many of the units can then be used for Imperial and later Spanish armies as well).

Also knocked out some more Republican Romans (8 bases so 2 S&S Units) as they looked a bit threadbare in the box.  I'm going to aim to get some more triarii done by Wednesday - I think I've got some 6mm Gallic cavalry somewhere as well as Numidian skirmishers so will aim to get some of these done for Thursday.

Friday 12 June 2015

Sword & Spear Rule Queries From Last Night's Game

I posted on the Forums to see what responses I would get from our two little rule queries that cropped up.


Here are the posts and replies which I think clear both queries up....




Monday 1 June 2015

Plassey Update

Phil's jetty which looks better close up but I wanted to show the overall effect.  This is the coastal version.

Well I've finished tarting up the TSS terrain and I am rather pleased with myself.  Big terrain projects are not really my bag as I concentrate too much on the detail and I take too long.  But this time I put all my pernickity effort into the initial samples and then once I accepted a particular technique I was away.  Once JoS is out of the way I will definitely be buying more TSS to create more coastal and river sections as it's now quite straight forward.  


This was the TSS terrain straight out of the box as pictured in a previous post.

The whole point is to create a better looking generic coastal/ river terrain to give as many options as possible for future games; WW2 amphibious battles, SYW naval operations, major river crossings and the banks of great lakes and lochs are some of the battles that need this terrain.  By adding the reed beds I hope to maintain the generic use of the boards, although I will be making some specific beach sections and harbour pieces.



Reed beds are added to, hopefully, make the terrain look like a river bank!
So, by finishing the terrain and the ship model I have completed the largest parts of the project.  I still need to make the ox propelled Indian artillery, the mango grove, paint more tents and baggage and  add some more units but I feel I am now peddling down hill to JoS.  I am relying on everyone for the jungle and Phil is kindly making another jetty for use by the Nawabs army further upstream.

Originally I had said about putting on a practice game in early June but I didn't have enough items finished to give you all a sense of what the game would look like and I do want your constructive criticism.  Therefore I was going to see whether we could use a Thursday at the end of this month to come over to mine and review the game.  Please could you let me know which Thursday you could all make?