Last of the Mohicans (movie) synopsis

In 1757 during the French and Indian War, the British and French are battling for control of North America. Though they are bound by law to join the militia to aid the British, many settlers are reluctant to leave their frontier homes and families defenseless against Huron Indians allied with the French.

Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), Chingachgook (Russell Means), and Uncas (Eric Schweig), the last of the Mohican tribe, visit the Cameron household. Jack Winthrop joins them and tells Hawkeye that he is gathering volunteers for the British army. The next morning, Jack and a group of others go to Albany to obtain terms from General Webb, who agrees to grant them leave if their homes are attacked. Satisfied, the volunteers join the British forces at Fort William Henry, north of Albany, New York.

Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her sister Alice (Jodhi May) have received word from their father, Colonel Edmund Munro (Maurice Roëves), the commander of the British garrison at the fort, to meet him there. A native guide named Magua (Wes Studi) and a detachment of British soldiers commanded by Major Duncan Heyward (Steven Waddington) escort the women on the trail. However, they are ambushed by Hurons led by Magua himself. All of the soldiers except Heyward are quickly killed. He, Cora and Alice are rescued by Hawkeye and his companions, who have been tracking the war band. Magua prepares to shoot Cora, but Hawkeye distracts him. With the rest of his men dead, Magua flees into the forest. The rescuers reluctantly agree to escort the survivors to Fort William Henry. Along the way, they discover that the Cameron homestead has been razed and everyone killed, though nothing has been stolen, a sure sign of a war party.

When they arrive at Fort William Henry, they find it under siege by the French. They manage to sneak inside. When Munro scolds his daughters for joining him, they realize that Magua has deceived them for unknown reasons. Munro tells Heyward that the fort can only hold out for three more days. Their only hope is to get a messenger through to General Webb at nearby Fort Edward for reinforcements.

Hawkeye tells the colonel and the colonials about the attack on the Camerons and the colonials demand that he release them to defend their homes, as General Webb agreed. Munro refuses, so Hawkeye covers for Jack and his friends so they can desert. Hawkeye, who stays behind to be with Cora, is arrested for sedition and sentenced to hang.

Several days pass. As the fort is on the verge of falling, the French commander, General Montcalm (Patrice Chéreau) offers Munro surrender terms, presenting a letter from General Webb that he can’t spare any forces. The garrison and their families are offered safe passage to Albany, on condition they return to England and no longer fight in the war. Munro reluctantly accepts, after Montcalm shows him an intercepted message that Webb has refused to send aid.

As the British march away, they are ambushed by a much larger force of Hurons led by Magua. Before Magua kills Munro, he tells him he will kill the colonel’s daughters so that his family will be extinguished; he then cuts out Munro’s heart. Earlier, it is revealed that Magua’s village had been destroyed years ago by British soldiers led by Munro, resulting in the death of his children and his wife marrying another man when she thought Magua was dead. Magua himself was made a slave.

Hawkeye, Cora, Alice, Uncas, Chingachgook, Heyward and two other soldiers escape and hide in a cave behind a waterfall, but Magua and his men are close behind. With their gunpowder wet, Hawkeye and his two companions jump into the falls, knowing their presence would precipitate a hopeless fight. Heyward and the two women are captured while the remaining soldiers are quickly dispatched.

The prisoners are taken to a Huron village, with Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook in pursuit. Magua is bargaining with the sachem when they are interrupted by the arrival of an unarmed Hawkeye running the gauntlet of hostile warriors. With Heyward translating, Hawkeye convinces the chief that Magua is acting for himself, rather than the Hurons’ best interests and traditions. The chief agrees and renders his judgment: Cora is to be burned alive to atone for Magua’s dead children; Magua is given Alice to be his wife so that both bloodlines can continue; and Heyward is to be returned to the British in the hope of avoiding reprisals. Hawkeye is given safe passage in recognition of his bravery. Desperate, he demands they take him in Cora’s place. Heyward, out of love for Cora and newfound respect for Hawkeye, deliberately mistranslates, offering himself instead. When the chief accepts, Magua curses him and leaves with Alice and his men.

Uncas immediately follows the war band, while Chingachgook waits for Hawkeye. From a safe distance, Hawkeye shoots Heyward, ending his suffering. They then set off in pursuit of Magua.

Uncas catches up with Magua’s band alone. He kills several men before engaging Magua in single combat. Magua kills Uncas, dropping his body off a cliff. Alice then throws herself after him. A devastated Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Cora witness their deaths from a distance. Finally catching up, the two men slay several warriors. As Hawkeye holds the rest at bay, Chingachgook fights Magua and avenges his son.

In the final scene, Chingachgook and Hawkeye engage in a spiritual ritual to send Uncas’ spirit to his ancestors. With the death of Uncas, his last blood relative, Chingachgook names himself ‘the last of the Mohicans’.

White Snake House development

White Snake House is a political entity occupying a geographical region along the future Murray River centred roughly on the former region of Mildura. South of the Murray the [geological history] rising, then falling, course of the river has created a vast area of islands and marshes and is known as the Bay of Thousand Islands. Many different peoples occupy the islands – some advanced and cultured, others barbarous and primitive.

To the north, east and west of the territory controlled by White Snake House are other feudal-clan domains with whom they are in competition. Below them, in the Bay of Thousand Islands, they have many enemies, though few that are organised. The house attempts to subdue pirate activity, impose its own system of taxation and fiscal governance, enforce its own laws and ensure security for travellers and traders who attempt to make their way through the territory to the sea.

The house’s main access to the lucrative, and dangerous, sea is primarily down the Murray – past the site of the ancient ruins of Adelaide – and this zone is controlled by another house. Relations with this other house are primarily friendly, but it remains a strategic weakness. White Snake House continually seeks to mitigate this weakness by attempting to subdue the Bay.

Warfare for the regular military consists of two main duties:

1. garrison to the east, west and north against the civilised foes in prepared defences such as walls, watch towers and so on
2. amphibious operations to the south.

Dipping step by step

This sequence shows the dipping technique from start to finish. The figures are an old set from BattleMasters that have been sitting in the spare parts box for years. As you can see, I have used few colours and have not even been particularly careful in applying them.

Once the acrylic paint was dry (I used GW and Privateer for this job) I grabbed the base with a pair of needle nosed pliers and dipped them in the Wattyl Walnut Stain and Varnish.  I did glue on some basing sand before beginning painting, and I dipped up to the lip of the base to get that as well. Then I gave it a few shakes – I have a large box that I hold my arm in so that it does not go everywhere. Then I used a few facial tissues to pat the surface down to get a really clean surface in some parts. I also made points with the tissue to suck out deep pockets of stain.

Twenty four hours later and the varnish was dry. It was semi-gloss, so I sprayed it with Helmar’s Crystal Kote matt fixative to create a surface the matt varnish could adhere to. Final varnish was with Mr Hobby matt varnish. Even now the figures have a little sheen. I could probably spray a few more coats to bring this down. But I don’t mind it.

All that remains is some basing.

Dipping comparisons

After experimentation with the dipping technique, a method of speed painting that requires only bright block under colours and then a dip in one of the commercial stain and varnish preparations, I am sold. You can buy the stuff called Army Painter, or you can use Wattyl Walnut Stain and Varnish. If you are as old, contrary, cheap, and resistant to brand-marketing as I am then your choice becomes more clear.

Here are a few comparisons. The last figure is one painted the traditional way with layer after layer of painted highlights and shadows. The second to last has lighter highlights and claws painted on before dipping. The first two were painted block white, then block metallic red or green. All have been matt varnished using Tamiya spray.

All are good enough for the game table – none are worth a Golden Demon. But the dipping technique dropped total time significantly. I can simply get more painting done now. Which means I can get more gaming done.

Next entry will be a step by step sequence of the technique.

Mutants and Deathray Guns. 20090906

Managed to have a wargame with Greg last Friday 6. We chose to try out Mutants and Deathray Guns rules, one of the now many variations of Song of Blades and Heroes. For scenario generation we used the attached table (Hamurabi), an expansion and variation of a table I found in the Mythic forum.

This gave us the following results:

Terrain:

1) Ruins in a poisonous swamp

2) Drainage tunnel off the shaft

3) Urak stronghold with dungeon

Objects of significance:

1) Empty leather cylinder

2) Sword sheath but no sword

3) Arrows for a small bow

Twists/objectives for side A:

1) Friendly priests with slaves

2) Elder’s personal guards

3) Well in the middle of ruins

Twists/objectives for side B:

1) Remember the incident in the mess hall?

2) Assassin sneaks over the ridge

3) Sumerian reactivated ancient vehicles

From this we interpreted the following, and used the findings to populate the battlefield and select forces:

Side A (the Uraks) live in the reclaimed ruins of a pre-collapse building which they have converted to a stronghold. It is in a low lying area surrounded by dangerous swamps. There are drainage channels and tunnels that serve to keep the central part dry. These people are religious slavers with a single autocratic militaristic ruler–say a classic warlord.

The people are known for their use of small arrows – or blow darts perhaps – that have tips poisoned by an extract from a local toad.
In the centre of this structure is a shaft that goes to unknown depths.

This well has religious significance. Sacrifices are made to the old gods by turfing stuff into it. One of the sacrifices was a particular sword that had significance to side B. Another was an artefact. Only the containers for these two relics remain up top.

Side B have one primary objective, to assassinate the leader of side A.

To assist them they know that there is a drainage shaft. They learnt this from an escaped slave who told everyone back home. They also have a couple of pre-collapse mobile machines. A secondary objective may be to recover the artefacts.

Now prepared, we launched into battle. We found MDG to be slow going for a few turns as we had to flip between pages. But this passed very quickly as the rules are childishly (but appropriately) simple. Very soon we were running the game with only the occasional reference to the rules. These times were as a result of trying something unusual – essentially a role-playing element. This is consistent with Greg and my belief that a skirmish game is a lot more like a role-playing game than a ‘wargame’.

Without giving a blow by blow account, the game rolled out as follows: Greg’s bare-arses were on patrol as my stealthy goons, assisted by a couple of clunky old mechanical men, approached their ruined stronghold in the swamps. In short order, the murderous mutant pygmies slaughtered all the goons and the menhanical men, using astoundingly acurate arrow shooting, poisoned speartips, and a brash willingness to close up and assault.

However, my sneaky assassin had curled around behind his stronghold while the rest of the party was being carved up. Unseen, he made entrance and began his search. When he was spotted he dropped out of sight and scaled the walls, reentering the stronghold from the upper floors. While the search party spread out to find him he returned below, bumped off a couple of curious bare-arses and recovered the sword. Then he leaped out to assassinate the native warlord. The attempt was unsuccessful, and before the hordes could descend on him he fled into the miasmal swamps.

Result: a partial victory for me: the sword was recovered, but the Swamp Warlord remains at large.

On the workbench

The last few weeks have gone quickly with events piling up on each other like an avalanche. After ten years of trying, a novel has been accepted. This is great, but I now realise I’ve just got to step 1. So I have had no time to continue to tell myself a story of Ravenloft. I will get back to it soon, just as soon as I finish the polishing edit on The Vanilla Assassin.

In other news, I found, quite by accident, the Japanese anime series Armored Trooper Votoms. I have started to build forces for it in 10mm/1:144, and intend to use the Heavy Gear rules to handle the tabletop battles. Also in that range are the Core Silhouette rules for role-playing, and these have an elegant simplicity about them. Not that I have a need for any more RPG rules.

Here are a couple of shots of recently painted Votoms (vertical one man tank for offensive maneouvres) miniatures – in this case GZG figures. These were supplied by Eureka Miniatures. They are supposed to be 25mm power armour troops, but they suit 10mm Votoms just fine – especially with the addition of a correctly scaled figure on the same stand to really spell it out.

The paint job was the simplest possible. I gave them a base colour – green and brown respectively, then dipped them in Wattyl walnut Stain and varnish. Then I shook them off a bit. When dry I picked out a couple of details. That’s it! Finding a matt varnish that does over the spirit based varnish is proving tricky. For these figures, being metallic, it looks OK on the gaming table. For flesh and material it will become a more urgent search.

Mythic Ravenloft – scene 7

The gypsy camp had twenty or more wagons drawn into a rough circle around a central cluster of fires on a flat bank by the gushing river. Madam Eva escorted the characters into the circle and instructed boys to look after the horses. A card table was set up for her by a quick-fingered villain with gold ear-rings and dirt baked into his face. A slim waisted girl padded over in purple and black slippers with a platter of roasted goat and a jug of wine. Had the men not already been satisfied they would have studied her more closely.

Madam Eva shuffled the dog-eared cards and laid them out:

This card is a symbol of great power. It tells of a powerful force for good and protection against the forces of darkness.
10 Hearts
This is in a place of dizzying heights that all loathe to travel. The road winds ever upward and the rocks themselves live in here. (High Tower Room K60)
There is a very good influence here. If you are there, the powers of good will aid you. (+1 AC bonus.)

This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient may help you understand a foe.
3 Spades
It is in a place of tranquillity, a harbour for the mighty and powerful. It is in a place of wisdom, warmth, and despair. Great secrets are there. (Study K37)
The Spade is a dark shadow of evil cast over that place. You fight under its influence there. (-1 AC penalty)

This is the object of your search! Ah! I see darkness and evil behind this card. It is a powerful man whose enemy is light, and whose powers are beyond mortality.
7 Spades
You may find this amid the ruins of a place of supplication. (Chapel of Ravenloft K15.)
The Spade is a dark shadow of evil cast over that place. You fight under its influence there. (-1 AC penalty)

This card is good for you. It is a card of power and strength, the victor’s card. It tells of a weapon of light, a weapon with a vengeance.
Jack Diamonds
This lies with a fallen prince of old. The brother of dark is light and he rests in this place. (Crypt of Sergei von Zaravich K85)
The diamond blesses your skill here, but bodes poorly for your protection. (+1 bonus to-hit, -1 AC penalty)

And here is the root card. Out of darkness and chaos, this card finds the reason and foundation for darkness and chaos. This card shows the purpose of all things. It is the key to life and death and else beyond.
King Clubs
The darkness loves a light and desires it. Great subtle plans are in motion about you; plans that the dead may find warmth from the living. (Strahd wants the love of Ireena Kolyana)

Gari crossed himself and flicked his eyes from side to side to see what the others were doing. Dide narrowed his eyes and cast his senses out, searching for any taint of magic in the air.

“Bullshit,” Ernat said.

Despite his cynism, Ernat was chilled by the experience. He ordered them mounted without any further interaction with the gypsys. They cantered back into town and shared the news with Jurisco who declared it the work of the devil.

NPCs:

Madam Eva (Gypsy witch)
Carlos (Delightful Priest of the religion of Strahd)
Estavan (Confident Monk)
Roman (Unsupportaive merchant)
Altivo (docile entertainer)
Antonio (pessimistic shopkeeper)
Beltran (curious officer)
Damian (conformist statesman)
Elisio (insensitive hitman)
Fadrique ( established thug)
Fernando (barman – shrew villain)

Open threads:

* What attacked the child.
* Who is Ireena Kolyana.
What the hell does all that tarot mumbo-jumbo mean.
* What help do the villagers need.
* Why are their clothes and manner of speech so old fashioned. (closed – the characters believe it is because of physical isolation)
* Dide has critically not been to the eastern empire. What does that mean? (New character discovery: Dide does not like to appear ignorant. While he knows a lot of stuff if he does not know he just makes it up as he knows the others know no better.)
* What is the story with the mysteriously used Roman baths.
*What is the story with the destroyed schloss.
* What is beneath the floorboards at the schloss.
* Where are they that there can be high lands and coniferous forests in Flanders.
* Where have all the other travellers gone. (closed – the characters believe that the valley has been neglected by the war)
* What does Albergio’s dream mean.
* Will Eduare become a king and where is all this wine coming from.

Mythic Ravenloft – scene 6

Ernat, Dide, Albergio, Eduare and Gari headed out of town over the winter-hard fields, over an ancient stone bridge and then up to the tree line to the West. They scouted a little into the forest, but there was something that unnerved them in the silent expanse and they pulled back till they could see the open fields again.

They curved around toward the North without catching sight of a single living thing. The forest broke around a road that wound up from the village and into a sheer mountain pass. It was soon out of sight as it traced a tortuous path into the mountains to the north. They crossed the rutted road and followed the tree line again until they came to the river. It curved away to the left into the mountains and, far above, they saw a impossible bridge spanning the gorge.

Smoke rose from a fire nearby and the party were drawn to it. Around this fire on makeshift camp chairs and a table sat three villagers and someone the characters had never seen before. (Using the Une tables and the Ravenloft encounter tables).

A) Confident Monk (power level 95, slightly stronger), B) Unsupportive merchant (PL Comparable), c) Delightful Priest (PL Slightly stronger).

a) Advise Pride, Manage Opulence, Discourage Slavery

b) Associate Family, Inform Strength, Advise Expertise

c) Undermine Enlightenment, Understand Contraband, Aid Myths

NPC focus – current story.

Complex question. What were these guys doing out here? Truce. The Mundane. They were out here negotiating for the continuation of the status quo.

Madam Eva, the witch ‘queen’ was with them and she glared evilly at the characters, but then appeared to warm to them and welcomed them. She had remarkable charisma for someone so ugly and cruel.

So what do we have here?

We have a priest of the new religion of submitting to the will of Strahd (Carlos). People are culled at the vampire’s discretion, and for this they get protection. The priest is completely convinced of the justice of this.

The monk is an aggressive administrator and supporter of the system (Estavan).

The merchant is there to ensure that new goods continue to be brought into Barovia via the gypsies (Roman).

The priests were wearing Ankh symbols instead of normal Christian crosses and said things that disturbed the characters. They spoke of sacrifice and submission. They referred to the Black Prince who comes and takes what he wants, but this is good as he makes sure that no everyone dies of, say, the plague. He is the arbiter of population control. He is clearly a god to these people

When the characters arrived the villagers concluded their business and make off, leaving the characters with the witch. She invited them back to the camp to read their fortunes.

Mythic Ravenloft – scene 5

Days went by and the Spaniards settled into the little village nestled under the glowering cliffs. They took what they wanted, eating the best food and drinking the best grog. They billeted themselves out amongst the townsfolk and helped themselves to whatever that household had. Nothing was spared. Wives and daughters were given no rest. Husbands and sons were put to work fetching a carrying.

Despite the cultural difference—a cultural difference that seemed to be because of the villagers’ isolation—an understanding started to form between the people and the occupiers. The conquerors and the conquered settled into a, if not always harmonious, largely peaceful coexistence. The villagers accepted the Spaniards as sheep might accept a new set of guard-dogs.

And so it may have remained until the winter snows had receded. At that time the men would begin to feel the call of their regiments to renew the war against the Dutch rebels. However, one day something unusual happened that interrupted this predicted path.

The valley of Barovia was only a few miles long and wide. Forbidding forest started at its margins, rising quickly to the mountainous barriers all around. Through the middle of this valley ran a stream, frozen in many places where the water ran slowly, but still open and flowing in the middle. Fields of winter root vegetables were interspersed with thin grain crops. This surprised Dide, who concluded that the villagers were so ignorant that they planted in the wrong season. Surrounding this, in stone walled enclosures or along the many muddy tracks, or away on green hillocks, herds of goats were tended by the youngest members of the community. At night the goats were herded into sheds, but by day they wandered. So too were groups of pigs, grunting and digging up the ground near, and just inside, the edge of the forest.

A boy was brought into the village square. He could not have been more than eight. He had been attacked by some indescribably savage beast. Somehow he had managed to escape whatever it was and had run back to town, but had died of blood loss before help could get to him. The women of the town wailed and pulled at their hair, howling ‘muerto’ and ‘autómata’, over and over a again.

“What do you make of it?” said Ernat.

“Well, he’s obviously dead,” said Dide, “but I have no idea what machinery has to do with anything.”

“Perhaps they have some kind of mill up there and he was caught in it,” said Jurisco.

“Perhaps,” agreed Albergio. “Still, we have heard wolves, and those wounds look like bites.”

Ernat nodded. The villagers took the boy’s body away to wash for burial.

“I should help with this job,” Jursico said, and followed the sad procession.

“The rest of you.” Ernat raised his voice. “Get mounted up, and light your matches. We’re going to have a look around.”

Mythic Ravenloft – scene 4

Morning came and the soldiers woke to a brittle winter day. The snowfall that had started when they reached the village had clearly not lasted long into the night. A thin white blanket covered everything, but in the mean sunlight the contours of the land and buildings were protruding as if they were ribs poking through the skin of a decomposing corpse.

The village was active as the men slouched out of the foul smelling tavern. They looked along the road. One way lead back the way they had come to the forest and the other lead up to the fairy-tale castle. Buildings clustered around the road: clearly the lowest point in the valley. Over West a river bed was visible wending its way down from the mountain. It was impossible to tell at this distance whether it still flowed for was iced over. People moved between the buildings. They moved quietly, with no talk. Their clothes seemed quaint and old fashioned to the cosmopolitan Spaniards. Ancient looking caps covered the villagers’ heads. Smocks reached to knees in a way that would not have looked out of place in a painting several centuries old.

Smirking to themselves, they decided to explore the town. There could be loot. There could be food. There could be women.

[New scene modifier. Praise, Masses.]

Before the soldiers get set about despoiling the place, the villagers started to cluster around.

Fearful at first, the Spaniards readied themselves for battle. Albergio, Eduare and Gari summoned their still-mind, relaxed their postures and placed their hands on scabbard and hilt ready to draw. Dide muttered to himself, readying a spell. Jurisco did likewise, though his mutterings invoked The Virgin. He also slapped his warhammer in his palm a bit. Ernat’s busy eyes darted about the street, calculating the best positions for fight and flight.

But the villagers came forward in friendship, bringing gifts of food and wine. They clustered round, fondling the soldiers’ clothes.

“Thankyou,” they said. “Thankyou for coming.”

They were distrustful at first, the soldiers of Spain. But the feelings were sincere. They allowed garlands of winter flowers to be strung around their necks. They took the flasks of wine. They savoured the kisses.

“This place seems to be untouched by the war,” Jurisco said.

“Yes.” Ernat and Jursico sat in conference on stools in the middle of the street while their friends danced with the locals in a spontaneous celebration.

“No better place to winter?” Jurisco said.

But before Ernat could offer an opinion on the matter Damian, the Burgomeester they had met last night, came to them.

“We are so pleased that you have come to us to free us from the tyranny.” He inclined his head to the castle.

[Complex question (thanks to Blastedpsychic on the Mythic group for this formulation). Trust. The Innocent.]

“They need our help.” Jurisco shook his head later when they were all pretty plastered.

“Look at them,” Ernat said. “They are clearly Calvinists. Their houses and clothes are dull. They have no joy. No ornamentation. They have no loot,” he said, shaking his head.

“They need our help,” Jurisco repeated. He clasped his crucifix and nodded to himself.

That night they slept, fully-bellied and drunk again. Again the scratching at the shutters did not have an impact, but the nocturnal visits of lithe bodies kept them in a haze of lust and exhaustion.

How much time passed this way?

NPCs:

Altivo (docile entertainer)

Antonio (pessimistic shopkeeper)

Beltran (curious officer)

Damian (conformist statesman)

Elisio (insensitive hitman)

Fadrique ( established thug)

Fernando (barman – shrew villain)

Open threads:

* What help do the villagers need.

* Why are their clothes and manner of speech so old fashioned.

* Dide has critically not been to the eastern empire. What does that mean? (New character discovery: Dide does not like to appear ignorant. While he knows a lot of stuff if he does not know he just makes it up as he knows the others know no better.)

* What is the story with the mysteriously used Roman baths.

*What is the story with the destroyed schloss.

* What is beneath the floorboards at the schloss.

* Where are they that there can be high lands and coniferous forests in Flanders.

* Where have all the other travellers gone.

* What does Albergio’s dream mean.

* Will Eduare become a king and where is all this wine coming from.

* From where will the party get food and drink. (Closed. The party are being fed by the villagers of Barovia.)

* Will the horses get fed before they die of starvation. (Closed. Horses fed.)

* Is Dide serious about cannibalism or is he just being an asshole as usual. (Update: chances are he is just an asshole.)