Fantasy - Spooky Scary Goings on, part 2.

A couple of weeks ago i posted about my Nighthaunt models and changing them up to use in Dragon Rampant.

Some more for the force have been finished recently.

The chainrasp unit now have their full complement of 12 models.

 The bearer of souls (I don't know what its actual name is) was the most recently finished model.

Next up, the Grimghast Reapers, 6 models strong, led by the limited edition store birthday model from 2018.

The Cavalry, 3 models strong, this unit also includes the army leader in the form of the Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed.

And the scouts, 3 model strong Banshee unit, some of my favourite models.

Which just leaves the big gribbly monster to finish in the next two days, as i announced in the previous post that i wanted the ghosts completed by Halloween!

As a finishing touch, i cleared off a shelf in the display cabinet and placed everything finished on it, set against the Stormcast whom I am building up to face them.

Still more work to to on the Stormcast, but that's one of the best things about this hobby, always something else to do.

Until next time...


 - Lewis

Test of Honour - Sohei Warband update.

Greetings,

Tonight's update takes us back to Feudal Japan and Test of Honour.

It's been a while since I did any real progress with my Samurai game, real life commitments have impeded much hobby recently, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of it all and hopefully start posting more regularly, especially as the blog is coming up on it's second year anniversary...

Anyway, Sohei...

A while back I picked up the Sohei boxset from when Warlord Games were still producing stuff for ToH.

I've been slowly working on them as and when I felt the inspiration and here we are so far:

Hozoin In'El, the leader of the warband orders some troops through a bamboo grove, (I've done some terrain too, more on that in another post):

The Leader, along with a Companion*, Banner Bearer and a Yari armed monk:

Two more monks i finished this evening:

 A rear view showing some of the details on the quiver and the katana sheathed:

Finally, the entire warband so far:

I have another Yari armed monk and two archers to finish, and the warband will be complete, until i decide to make a sergeant or something for them.

These are painted a little more muted then my previous monks, and i may return to the other ones some day and repaint their robes to match, who knows.

Until next time...


 - Lewis

*A companion is a new term in second edition ToH. It is essentially the old Samurai who weren't leaders, therefore have slightly less stats and one less action then the main leader of the warband.
In second edition there are a lot of new companions and named warrior types.
I'll do a post about second edition soon as well....

Armies on Parade 2019, part 4... DISASTER...

Well...things could certainly have gone better recently.

Here in the UK, we have been experiencing the tail end of 'Hurricane Lorenzo' as it blew itself out in the northern Atlantic and headed westwards over our green islands here.

Lots of rain and rain and more rain, along with some wind, but mainly rain for the past week or so.

What does this have to do with Armies on Parade?

Well, I was storing my board in my utility extension when I wasn't working on it. Apparently there has been a lot of moisture around (unsurprisingly with all the rain), and it has affected the board.

I just picked it up to move it the other day and the corner where i was going to mount the corn field felt a little strange, but i went for it anyway and the MDF broke on me...

Upon closer inspection, the board itself had collected enough moisture to make the MDF turn spongy, even though I thought I had sealed it all.

The polystyrene hills also suffered from the same, not where the sand was, but around the back mainly.

This is after i had left it in the sunlight for a little:

The broken corner...

 Another view, there is also a definite warping of the board happening as well.

The ground cover has also started to peel away on the edges.

So, with Parade Day on the 19th of this month, I think I'm going to have to give it a miss this year...

Until next time...


 - Lewis

Solo RPG - Okada Sai and Hatamoto Sakuna.

In-between working on the Armies on Parade board, the Nighthaunt and some other 40k bits, i was inspired after my first Solo-RPG game the other week.

Sitting down with the paints i worked up the two principal Onna-Bugeisha characters, Okada Sai and her Hatamoto Sakuna.

Ostensibly the Warlord Takahashi Tae and an Onna-Bugeisha model, they have taken on further life then expected due to the start of the story.

Sai, the katana wielder, is a model i finished last year, and put the final touches to recently. I'm not sure whether to leave her with the poorly painted cherry blossom tree on her kimono, or just paint over it to even things out.

Sakuna is the model finished most recently. She's the only Onna-Bugeisha with a naginata who isn't wearing armour which came in the box. So i never felt she fitted the group properly.

These two will be having their story furthered soon, i just need to be a little less busy in order to make it happen.

Until next time...


 - Lewis.

Fantasy - Spooky, Scary goings on...

Hello, welcome to another project i have on the go currently, my nighthaunt army.

If you look at the tags, you'll notice that a new one has appeared, "Dragon Rampant".
This is a generic fantasy ruleset, in which you can use any miniatures you want as they fall into broad categories:

Elite Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Elite Foot, etc.

This means that everything has an equal chance on the table and there aren't any "auto-include units".
You flavour your units by adding fantastic rules for extra points per unit.

E.g. a Heavy Rider unit is 4 points to start, but you make them undead and able to fly and they are now 8 points (i think, it's late and I don't have my copy of the rules nearby).

Anyway, i decided to turn my AoS armies into Dragon Rampant armies as i like the rules, and much less faff then AoS!

So far this is everything that I have completed.

Knight of Shrouds, Bladeghiest Revenant, Tomb Banshee:

These are the leaders of various units, instead of being individual characters like in AoS.

Myrmourn Banshees:

These are a scout unit, the ranged attack represents the Banshee howl attack.

Chainrasps:

The meat (metaphysically speaking of course) of the army. These will be twelve strong and led by the Knight of Shrouds. Classed as Light Infantry, they are a big block speedbump really.

Glaivewraith Stalkers:

These models aren't actually in the Dragon Rampant list, i just had them at something like 70% completion and decided to clear them off the desk as i was working on the dead stuff.

Dragon Rampant is a much smaller set game then AoS, games are typically played up to about 30-40 points.

So here is my 30 point Ghostly undead list:

• 3 model Heavy Riders unit (leader, enchanted weapon, flying, undead) - 7 points.
• 3 model Scouts unit (flying, undead) - 4 points.
• 6 model Bellicose Foot unit (undead, enchanted weapon) - 5 points.
• 12 model Light Foot unit (undead, offensive) - 5 points.
• 1 Lesser Warbeast (undead, flame attack, flying) - 8 points.

The list is actually 29 points, but who's counting??

Most of the units are reduced model count meaning that individual models will have multiple wounds.

I am aiming to get this force completed for Halloween this year, for extra spookiness.

I may even be able to get my Stormcast up to the same level in order to have a few games.

I'll go into an overview of the game properly once i have stuff done in order to post a battle report alongside my explanation and thoughts of the game in the future*.

Until next time...

 - Lewis.

* Kind of late to the party with Dragon Rampant as it's been out for a few years now, but i like it and it deserves to be more well-known then it is!

Armies on Parade 2019, part 3...something, something ground cover...

Welcome back to another edition of Armies on Parade 2019.

Its been a little while since my last update, but things have been progressing, albeit slower then before, mainly due to extra hours at work, and waiting for step on the board to dry, you'll see.

Anyway, on with the ground cover, this was the next step after making sure that the filler and PVA on the hills had dried properly.

Supplies gathered, a mixture of PVA, water and Nutmeg Spice emulsion from Wilko's was used to first paint the board.

This ensures that if any of the following ground cover falls off, white patches don't show through the ground.

This was then sprinkled with fine builders sand which had been dried thoroughly beforehand.

It was then given another coat of the mixture to seal it all together ((hopefully).

I worked in small patches at a time to give the previous layer chance to dry and to maximise my working time.

The bare bottom corner has plans, so don't worry about that yet.

Onto the road, and for texture i followed the advice of Luke from Luke's APS, in which he uses textured wallpaper.

With a "sample" torn from a roll in B&M, i set to covering the roadway segments.

This wallpaper has a suitably rough texture that, once painted, it should look like some form of weathered, worn cobblestones... that's the hope anyway.

Afterwards i attacked the edges with some filler to smooth things out.

The board is currently drying, so some more emulsion, PVA  and sand will be added before the road starts to get some paint.

So far, I am on schedule to finish, so here's hoping, but with a possible new job in the line and being short staffed at my current job, things may get a bit dicey.

Until next time...

 - Lewis

Solo RPG - Vengeance for the Okada, part 1

*Disclaimer over artwork at the end*

 In my last post, I mentioned the rules that I had been jotting around with for playing an RPG game solo, one of the things I really wanted was to avoid the reams of stats and modifiers found in traditional RPG types, like D&D (whilst I like D&D, I wouldn't want to play it solo).

With the rules sorted, I sat down for an hour to play through a short story which I got Marovian of A Cardboard Fortress to pick from a list I sent him.

• The character is searching for a particular Ronin.
• The Ronin is thought to have killed someone close to the character.
• The setting is a Samurai encampment
• The character is an Onna Bugeisha

A few moments with a couple of name generators (there are a ton of these online) and I was ready to go.

-------

Hero: Okada Sai, Onna Bugeisha of Clan Okada.
           Clan Okada are sworn in fealty to Clan Shiro.

Setting: In the year 1540, the rival forces of Daimyo Shiro Ichibei and Daimyo Yamabe Kagehisa are preparing to fight the third and largest of their battles for control of the northern plains of Shimatama.
The southern Yamabe clan were in the midst of making their most determined push yet to claim the fertile lands and trading route to the northern provinces, land which was owned by the Shiro clan for decades.
In amongst the chaos of armies gathering and preparing on the eve of battle, a lone Onna Bugeisha stalks through the Nakatama encampment on the eastern flank of the Shiro army.

Scene Goal: Okada Sai needs to discover there whereabouts of the hired Ronin in the Shiro army.

-------

Okada Sai walks through the encampment at dusk, the armies supply train is full of peasants moving supplies, dust hanging in the air from all the movement. She approaches an Ashigaru clerk trying to load arrows into a quiver.

Does he notices her presence?

Yes, But...

 The Ashigaru glances up nervously, he tries to move away as if he has not seen her approach.

Not accustomed the being ignore by the lower classes, Sai gets closer.
"You there, I  need your help in finding someone"

Does he stop and answer?

Yes, But...

"Sorry, Okada-San" he says nervously, glancing at the clan mon on her kimono, "I am behind schedule and Taisho Shiro-Sama will not take kindly if I don't get these supplies to the front line troops".

"Very well" Sai says, "Can you point me to someone in charge?"

Can he?

No, And... *Draw skill card "Shove"*

"Erm, I'm not really sure where..." He starts to say, stopping abruptly as he drops the quiver he is holding, scattering arrows all across the floor.

"For Kami's Sake" Sai utters, clearly annoyed by this bumbling fool, she proceeds to shove her way past him and moves further into the encampment, away from the front line.

Does she notice anyone who might know about troop dispositions? 

Yes, And...*Draw skill card "Feinting Attack"*

Twist, NPC, Helps the Hero *Draw encounter card "Experienced Spearmen"*

 As she moves past, a group of Ashigaru Spearmen march along the thoroughfare in the same direction.

"Okada-San" one says in greeting noticing her moving along.

They have the swaggering walk of veterans, their armour has clearly seen use, but their spears are well kept, the blades reflecting the cooking fires of the camp.

Can these men aid Sai finding someone in the camp?

Yes

Twist, Item, Helps the Hero

"I am searching for the hired troops of the army, do any of you know where they might be?"She asks.
"Really? Not the kind of people I would assume you would associate with" answered on of the Spearmen.
"If you assume about me again, you wont get another chance" Sai says, resting her hand on the sheathed katana at her waist as she does so.
"Ignore him please, Okada-San, he means no harm, we are just tired from a long march.
Reluctantly she removes her hand from the katana, noticing that the spearmans' eyes linger on the flask next to it.
"I have Sake to offer if you can aid me" Sai says as a way of offering.
"We'll take you to our Sergeant, I'm sure he'll help you" the spearman replies, eyes lighting up at the prospect of drink.

"Lead on then" she replies, her hand straying to the flask in case any try to take it first.

Over the course of the next ten minutes she discovers that these men are veterans of the previous two battles here, and that they have become quite wealthy, for peasants, through this, although they have lost quite a few of their unit in the last battle.

Do any try to take the Sake?

No

Twist, NPC, Changes the Location *Draw story card "Sergeant"*

Arriving at the tents of the unit, Sai waits for a moment whilst Gunso Ishimoto Shinzabaru, the leader of the spearman unit is informed.
The man ducks out of his tent and stands swaying slightly in front of her.

"Greetings, Okada-San, my men say that you need help and they brought you to my tent, please tell me what an Onna Bugeisha of the Okada clan could possibly need the help of a bunch of wardog Ashigaru with?

Is he surly towards her for a reason?

Yes, And... *Draw skill card "Foreknowledge"*

"Excuse me" Sai begins "You should know how to address your superiors properly"
She is taken aback by the mans impoliteness and the smell of liquor emanating from him.

"You Samurai, your families, always using everyone in your own petty schemes for power and honour. Why are we here again? Why am I loosing men again, for what? And as for the "honourable" Okada clan, where were your troops during the last battle? eh? Consorting with Ronin instead of supporting us! Honour, Pah" Ishimoto spat towards her.
Grunts of approval issue from the spearmen who have gathered, her hand strays to her katana.

Do they attack her?

Yes
Twist, PC, Helps the Hero *Draw story card "Onna Bugeisha"*

"Banzai" the spearmen yell, and launch themselves at Sai before she can draw her sword.
Fists and feet batter her as she stumbled and tries to draw her katana.

*Use card "Feinting Attack*

Throwing her elbow high, Sai feints throwing one of the men off guard, a shrill scream and gout of blood erupt from the mans mouth as the blade of a Naginata sweeps up the mans spine.

"Sorry I was waylaid Okada-Sama" the newcomer replies hurriedly.

The new Onna Bugeisha sweeps out with her polearm to clear some space.

Does she hit any other spearmen?

No

She steps up to the side of Okada Sai, who has had chance to regain her feet and draw her katana.
"Arigato, Sakuna-San" Sai says gratefully, "Now, hold your ground Hatamoto"

Do any Spearmen flee?

Yes, But...

Seeing two Onna Bugeisha stood before them with weapons drawn, many of the spearmen realise their error in attacking the Samurai and slink away into the shadows of the camp.
the drunken sergeant however stands his ground with his own sword drawn.

"Okada bitch! Go back to your ronin friends like your brother"

Does he hit Sai?

Yes, But...

*Use card "Foreknowledge*

Slashing out with his katana, he clips Sai in the arm with the blade, however in his drunken state he wildly broadcast the strike, armed with this foreknowledge Sai weaves backwards away from the strike. The blade tears through her kimono sleeve, narrowly missing her arm.

Is he off balance?

Yes

Seeing that he is overextended, the Hatamoto Sakuna trips him using her Naginata, she forces him to the floor holding the blade inches from his face.

"Excellent" Sai says, Sakuna strikes the man as he struggles to rise, "let's get some answers, shall we?"

Does he know where the hired troops are?

Yes, And... *Draw skill card "Commanding Presence"*

With the man now bleeding on the floor, he begins to co-operate, self preservation taking over from his drunken confidence before.

"The hired troops are staying in The House of Kami's Blessing, north of here, just off the road to Narakita"

Having learned what she needed to know, Sai now seeks to right the insults the man threw at her earlier, by drawing her katana.

"You have insulted the honourable name of the Okada clan and my brother, I cannot, will not let that go unpunished, especially from a lowlife drunkard such as yourself"

Does she kill the man?

Yes, And... *Draw skill card "Dangerous Reputation"*

Twist, NPC, Ends the Scene

Slicing her katana down, the mans shriek is cut off as his head detaches from his body and rolls a few feet until it is stopped by a foot.

Intent on their interrogation, the pair had not heard this interloper approach, both Sai and Sakuma look up and quickly greet him.

"Greetings Taisho Shiro" Sakuma says hurriedly whilst bowing.
"Hello Sadakuno, it's been a while" Sai bowed, then with a flick of her wrist she clears her blade of blood before sheathing it. The movement of the blade causes Shino's own hatamoto to move between her and his lord..

Grimacing at the headless corpse on the group, Shino looks up.
"You two had better come with me".

-------

 And there we have part one.

I enjoyed creating this, an hour of creation depending on what the dice rolls were and we ended up at this opening sequence.

The rules worked well, even with my modifications and card usage.

The story itself is very loose, not bad considering I started with just four broad lines to work from.
Parts of the story felt very "Chambara" movie-esque.
I especially like the image of Sai stalking through the camp at the beginning, very "Yojimbo" (if you've ever seen that film, if not, why not?).
In case anyone was wondering, the clans and places are fictitious, but bases upon the battles of Kawanakajima fought historically by the Takeda and Uesugi clans in northern Japan.
Being from the north, the Okada and Shino clans are my analogues for the retainers and the Uesugi clan.

Obviously I have butchered Japanese honorifics and etiquette somehow during this. I'm not fully versed in the complex nuances of Japanese social customs, but I tried.

I think I may continue this somewhat irregularly as time goes on, perhaps find a way to use some of the stats from the ToH cards.

Until next time...

 - Lewis

*Disclaimer: Obviously, I have used some artwork I photographed from my Test of Honour 2nd Edition rulebook. This is used as an aid to the story and I make no claims to owning this artwork.*