On the workbench for December

After a lamentably long time since the last update I really must add something. No games have been played for some time. Our social commitments have left us too busy. Precious little has happened for the solo campaign as work has intruded too often to allow me to give it any thought.

However, as I see a clear patch ahead I also see a busy workbench with many jobs waiting to be done.

Here is the first and most important: a group of cuirassiers for my 30YW forces. These are Warlord, and are just dandy. I like them a lot. A concern I have is in giving them the blackened armour typical of the Germans at this time as I worry that it will dull them down too much. True, they are a not a colourful flamboyant bunch, but dark dark dark colours will make them ugly on the table. It is a question to be resolved.

After these are a troop of mounted Arquebusiers.

Enquiry table update

The Enquiry Table has been one of the mainstays of our story-jamming activities. We use it for miniature wargames as well, and it would have easy application for a conventional role-playing game, though this is not something wedo any more.

Its last use was for the Strange Seas game at the Nunawading Wargames Club where I unleashed it on a totally naive audience. My impression is that it was received well. It certainly received questions and requests for copies.

Through repeated use I have found room for improvement. The original nine categories were derived from Mythic. When used, this seems to cause a brain freeze for many people as there seems too much choice. Often, the selection of category was either in the middle (50/50) or the extreme (million to one). The intermediate categories are so similar that they are redundant.

Reducing the number of categories to seven greatly improves this situation. Million to one, to Long shot, to A possibility, to 50/50 is an easier progression. Another advantage of the seven point scale is that it fits perfectly into a FUDGE/FATE interpetation, and I have added those alternate words for alternate use at the bottom. I used Steffan O’Sullivan’s new interpretation: VG (Very Good) FUDGE, as I think it is a superior and intuitive scale.

Below that I find that the seven point scale elegantly fits our Silhouette dice system, and below that the Savage Worlds dice system as well.

Technically, this tool covers everything required for a role-playing, story-telling, and wargame system. And it has built in conversion to the published systems that I admire.

The picture at top is just for illustrative purposes. Get a nice version here: enquiry resolution table v11

Return of classic solo gaming

Hot on the heels of recovering from pneumonia, I was informed that we are soon to leave for a holiday. With the thought of a long plane flight in mind, I browsed the App Store to see what I could find for my iPad.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I found that the classic idea of the choose-your-own-adventure bookshave been translated into iPad and iPhone format by Tin Man Games. And why not? It is a perfect fit: seemless referencing with no chance of accidental or ‘accidental’  flipping to the wrong page, a built in dice roller, a bookmarking facility, imbedding of images and sounds, and the addition of achivements and large maps. It is almost as if the medium and the message were made in heaven for each other. They are even from Victoria. I couldn’t be happier for me and them.

I still have a large collection of the Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone  Fighting Fantasy series, starting with the Wizard of Firetop Mountain. I have the Fighting Fantasy RPG, beastiary (Out of the Pit) and campaign background (Titan) for it as well. You can say I was, and remain a fan.

At the download of around five dollars it is an easy buy, as well. Much better a million people spending five dollars than a 100 spending 30.

Over the last couple of days I have completed the first of the seven adventures already written, An Assassin in Orlandes. This has several twists and dead ends and a couple of alternate paths. Since the genre is, by definition, a pre-programmed adventure, and is essentially an old-school text adventure, that it ran on comfortable rails is to be expected. I look forward to more complexity as the writers mature through the series, but I was not disappointed with the time spent on this puzzle.

Now I anticipate those air hours flying by, and look forward to this range of puzzles increasing and improving with age. I wish them the very best of luck.

Tha Last Valley – Week 4

Apologies for the gap that has occured in this story. A bout of pneumonia took the wind out of my sails, and explains why there have not been enough battles yet…

So, what happened in week 4 of the campaign?

The weather turned colder, delivering sleet and a dusting of snow. The wind dropped as well, and the whole village underwent an invisible change. A different mood an attitude settled on them. The with the coming of snow the inevitability of winter and of the continued occupation of the troops everyone seemed to become more calm and resigned.

Following the loss of Eduare and his three men, the Captain was deeply concerned about the reduction in horse power. For the rest of the week, the men and any spare villagers were sent to recapture any horses that had survived the battle from both sides. Armour and saddles from the defeated invading cuirassier troop were retrieved and stored. Dides’ men used the parts to replace or repair their own kit, placing the rest into reserve.

Two horses were found and placed into the stables with the others. Three others were never found. The remaning three had been killed in the battle. They were quickly butchered and preserved, a welcome addition to the Winter stockpile.

And so all seemed well in the valley, until the fifth week arrived…

Flashing Steel is out now

After a long journey, the Flashing Steel rules are out and available for sale. These are the rules for skirmish level war-games for the Late Renaissance: the 30 Years War, 80 Years War, English Civil War, French Wars of Religion, Swedish-Polish Wars, Holy Roman Empire – Turkish Wars, and the Gold Age of Pirates. It is man-on-man skirmish with an emphasis on dramatic actions. The result is a set of rules that are less about historical accuracy (though they are) than in capturing period flavour.

Thanks to everyone who I ever bored by talking at them about this topic. Special mention to Simon and Paul, who were always peripheral to the main event, but who provided some valuable insights.

The Last Valley – week 3

Last time, you will recall, Dide confronted his mutinous men. Rather than play this out and write it blow by blow here, I made a few rolls against the Enquiry table and came to a conclusion. Dide put the men in their place.

On the following week, however, Eduare and his scouts were passing through Lansby Vale when they spotted a group of marauders. Word was hastily sent back for help, and he engaged them.

The marauders were clearly on a foraging mission and made straight for the fields to capture some pigs. Their leader with his group of Cuirassiers barrelled straight down the road at Eduare and quickly slaughtered them all (one character and group gone from the protagonist force). However, The following body of pikemen under Gari formed up and bloodily repelled the invaders.

By this time reinforcements had arrived. Ernat and his picked musketeers swept around the side of the hamlet and provided enfilading fire, smashing the cuirassiers and killing the leader. They then took the time to pour fire at a lone sneaky marksman. On the other side of the table some of the marauders had been successful in capturing some livestock and were retiring. Another group moved into the middle of a field while Dide and his cuirassiers bore down on them from the hills. In desperation, the marauders formed up to repeal the cavalry, only to be caught in withering fire by Jurisco and his men. Ranks broken, Dide’s cavalry swept into them. Few survived.

This called for several morale checks and individual groups dissolved, giving way to a general retreat.

The three men from Eduare’s group (Redmond Strohkirch, Kellen Esser, Dieter Seidel) and Eduare himself were killed. But apart from that the only other casualty was a single man from Albergio’s mixed group (Leopold Sauber).

In the opposing company the Captain was killed, along with all their cavalry. Two entire groups were destroyed, along with a marksman: approaching 50% casualties. This bunch are extremely unlikely to return, I think.

From a campaign point of view it was a great outcome for the protagonist company. They stamped out a rival force with great effectiveness. The loss of a cavalry group is a tough blow as the horses will be hard, if not impossible, to replace. However, overall the casualties were extremely light.

This game was played by myself and Andrew S, using the developing Flashing Steel – Forged in Blood rules. Andrew is primarily a Napoleonics player, so his insights into combined arms in this earlier period were valuable. Overall the rules seemed to hold up. There were several tweaks that were thrown up that need to be incorporated. Overall, the variable turn mechanism and the period specifics allowed Andrew to pull a classic manoeuvre on me: lure a group into forming up in the open under under threat from cavalry, then pouring shot in to the flanks to cause disruption, and then charging home the cavalry to sweep them away.

The Last Valley, week 2. Set up.

Last time, you will recall, Ernat and his company of soldiers had settled themselves into the valley.

A week later the weather had not improved and already there were rumblings of disagreement with the decision to stay and exploit rather than raze and move on. The sunsets had been blood red: a clear sign to the pious that God himself was in violent disagreement with the plan to lounge here in this den of Satan when a war was raging without.

The cavalrymen of Dide’s group were of the opinion that the decision to stay had been a poor one. Under the leadership of Lewis Wildgrube, they had met in an abandoned blacksmith’s workshop in Lansby Vale to discuss what to do about it. Their plan was two-fold. Firstly they would attempt to convince the musketeers under Jurisco’s command to join them. Then they would capture the captain and force him to issue new orders. If he disagreed they would kill him and elect a new leader – preferably Dide.

However, their plan was undone when Dide got wind of the plot and rode alone to confront them on that bitter windswept night.

The resulting fight between Dide and Lewis would change the shape of the company. This is the fight that will occur next, using Flashing Steel duelling rules.

And here are the raw dice rolls against the tables developed and uploaded earlier that informed this narrative:

Scenario for TLV Campaign. Week 2.

Internal or External event (odd – internal. Even – external): 2. An external event. But in the end the narrative made it pretty much and internal event, and I’m OK with that.

Weather: 3, no change. The weather continues cold with rain.

Where: 14. Lansby Vale.

Place events: 31. Nomadic Horseman’s tomb

People Events: 30. Mutiny in the ranks

Acts of God: 33. Red sunsets three days in a row

Textures: 3. Abandoned

Significant terrain: 5. Blacksmith

Eye Catchers: 32. Heretical symbols.

Mutiny? Is it led by one of the officers? Long Shot: No.

In whose group does this mutiny start? Dide – The Cuirassiers.

Dide is a persuasive talker. Is it possible that he has inadvertently given his men the idea that he disagrees with the Captain’s decisions? Do they think they are quietly doing what Dide wants? 50/50. Yes, but. They do, but Dide definitely does not want to split the company.

Does Dide get wind of the mutinous plot? Safe bet. Yes, and. He takes it as a personal matter. Without telling the captain he confronts his men on the hilltop in the abandoned blacksmith’s shop.

What was the nature of the plot? Imprison/Enemies. The plotters wanted to snatch the captain and hold him, convincing him to change plans and lead the company elsewhere. If he did not comply they would kill him and make Dide the leader.

What did they intend to do next? Cruelty/Art. Jurisco is considered the artist of the group. He is also the one most hard on the locals. The rebellious horsemen were planning to approach his group of musketeers and with them they would have the rump of the company on side.

Had they already made contact? Fair chance. No. So they are still in the planning phase and isolated.

The five horsemen are: Garin Hochberg (Choleric), Dustin Steuben (Phlegmatic), Waggoner Keil (Choleric), Lewis Wildgrube (Choleric), Ellery Linden (Melancholic). So the majority of these men are hot headed and aggressive, as suits their role as cavalrymen, and traditional types at that. Lewis (26 brave, 28 merciful, 33 change averse) seems to be the ringleader of this group.

Does Lewis challenge Dide? Long shot. Yes. Despite Lewis’ apparent loyalty to Dide and resistance to change, he challenges Dide for the leadership of the group of horsemen.

And so now we know the wargame scenario. It is a Flashing Steel skirmish between Dide and Lewis in and around the blacksmith’s shop. The other troopers will not interfere.

If Dide wins the remaining troopers rejoin the company and Dide will say nothing to the captain. As far as he is concerned the matter will be closed, whether or not Lewis is alive.

If Lewis wins he will lead the other troopers out of the valley, reducing the company by that group.

In both cases opportunities are left open for repercussions of this fight.

The Last Valley – historic scene

Sunday morning. School holidays so the kids are in bed and will languish there for half the day before they get up full of demands. Wife busy with her course material. Bereft of anything better to do, I decided to set up a wargaming diorama to show off my latest modelling efforts in buildings and to get the full protagonist company of The Last Valley war-game campaign on the table for a review.

And here it is. In the front is Ernat with his five picked musketeer bodyguards. Next is Dide with his 5 cuirassiers. Then comes Albergio with his mixed group of 4 pikemen and 6 musketeers. Then Gari with his 10 tough pikemen (I pick these guys for brawlers, actually). Jurisco is next with his body of 11 musketeers. And finally comes Eduare with his 3 scouting cavalrymen with mixed armour and equipment.

The military figures are a range of Renegade, Warlord and Old Glory. The many civilians around the joint, including the row of ‘ladies of negotiable virtue’, and the two kids taking their lives into their hands are from Megaminis. The roads are modular print of demand tiles from Lord Zsezse Works. The barrels are wooden beads.

The buildings are all paper model templates downloaded free from the Dungeons & Dragons site, printed colour then glued down on thick cardboard (I used the back boards of note pads that I had been collecting for a long time). The exception to this are the two large buildings. These were cheap wooden treasure chests that I bought from a two-dollor shop. The sort designed for little girls to keep their precious things in. Once the hinges and latch are off, I again printed out sheets from the D&D range, selectively carved them up and glued then directly on the wood, making easy equilateral triangles to form the peaks of the roof. Now the roofs can be removed to give a playable upper story interior, and the whole top layer can come off to give a ground story interior.

I’m pretty comfortable that I can now host an ‘urban’, village combat, with interior spaces for house to house action. To my eye, the main thing lacking from this rural scene is domestic animals.

Return to Strange Seas

The date of the Strange Seas game at the Nunwading Wargames Club suddenly lurched into view. I had been to this club once before, many years ago. It was a very typical scene of a nerd trying to bust in to a small group of nerds. In predictable fashion, the oh-so-intellectual barbs were at my expense and for the benefit of the friends there. Being a thin skinned artist type, I never returned.

This was a mistake, of course, as I’m sure they were well intentioned. We all cannot help being over brainy dorks. And if I had persisted I’m sure that my gaming would have taken a different turn to the one it followed. That was at least 15, possibly more, years ago.

So I arrived with no little trepidation. Things were different this time. The atmosphere was different: you could see it in the age of the players: there were a lot more my age. And my skin has thickened somewhat, so it mattered not a whit to me whether or not I was ‘liked’ this time round. This was not even a question: they were all, to a man, friendly and inclusive. I met a very old friend who I had lost contact with and saw his exquisitely painted Napoleonic Austrians. We have agreed to actually get together and play a game sometime. I met many new potential friends and look forward to having an opportunity to talk to them again.

The game that Greg and I put up under the invitation from Nic of Eureka was a reprise of the Strange Seas game we ran in Adelaide. We did not have Alan’s lovely terrain this time, but we made do, and a few different figures had to be press ganged into the action. The boat, missing for most of the game, appeared at the end as an origami model that Nic triumphantly introduced.

The action followed the expected pattern. Squads rampaged around the table, falling foul of natural hazards and the vagaries of the natives that changed sides every turn. In a very short time the players seemed to get into the swing of things and there was a lot of smiling and laughing rather than frowning and concentrating (nothing wrong with this in some games, of course. But Strange Seas is a Pulp giggle, and if it can get that happening then the game, regardless of result, is a success).

I used our Enquiry chart to find the answers to a few questions. This seemed to work as well, and was a nice confirmation that the method of play that Greg and I have developed over many patient years actually has application for a larger audience. The only real hurdle is writing up a coherent set of rules, I guess, and there are many irons in the fire where this can happen. The squad movement system that will be used for Flashing Steel-Forged in Blood continued to work well. The players found it intuitive enough and there were no questions concerning formations and facing, as I had expected.

A success, I think. An introduction to a larger group of players; a rediscovery, as every man must continually confront, that try as he might he is not an island.

[Please excuse the ordinary photo, but I took it with my phone and I was sober.]

Where is the Last Valley?

It’s a pointless question in so many ways, but my relentless pursuit of detail drives me to ask where exactly in middle Europe this campaign is taking place. It is self defeating to attempt to nail it to a specific place because the genuine detail can clog up the fiction of the game campaign.

However, I’m pretty sure it is in the east, perhaps North East of Prague and South East of Dresden. Somewhere in the Carpathians. Bohemia. Perhaps the closest place might be Liberec. Perhaps these photos are typical of the area.

If nothing else, I now know that the place for inspiration for terrain can be found in the Czech Republic.