TOR games survey

Via Trouble at T'mill

Tor games has a war gaming survey up which given their product lines has some VSF and Steampunk connections.  Go give it a look.

Reinforcements for the forces of Kas'trum

Thanks to the current Federal Election in Canada (If you are Canadian, please go vote) and the resulting overtime, I have been able to make a sizable upgrade to the forces of Kas'trum.

The 2/3 Dragoons will get an upgrade to a full squadron of lance and musket armed gashant heavy cavalry. Num'da's Raiders will also be increased to a full squadron of gasahant light cavalry. The Kas'trum scouts will get a bow armed platoon bringing them to company strength (and allowing them to double as  Boer style mounted infantry / dragoon dismounts in conjunction with the Raiders). The Pier Worm Roaster's Guild has also been on a recruiting drive bringing them up to company strength  -or- perhaps a rival merchant group has also taken up the worm hunting challenge? 

On the artillery side, two pairs of Greek fire projectors will serve as sweepers and a brace of 1841 pattern light howitzers has been acquired along with  the requisite Trucial and Martian crews. These crews will allow artillery on both sides.

Those keeping track will note that the Earthers are seriously outnumbered in all areas, this is by design. To simply get within charge range of magazine rifle armed troops requires an awful lot of open order troops to screen the heavies. The Martian cavalry should encourage the Empire player to pay attention to the flanks (though there is a small unit of Sikh Lancers in the queue).  The artillery will encourage the Earthers to move up and engage rather than be shelled to pieces as well as giving the Empire something to break up any fortified rebel Martian towns. I will also have enough troops for Martian on Martian battles with Earth forces playing only a supporting role - if any role at all. 

With this purchase, my Space 1889 project, at least on the figure side, is as complete as it is likely to be. Any more figures and my table is likely to 1) Look like a FoW armoured battle with wall to wall figures and B) collapse under the weight of lead.

And a picture:

   

Thoughts on Kas'trum and Old School Game Design.

The scenarios in Space 1889, especially those in the core books, have received a lot of criticism for being on rails. Some modern commentators have rightly remarked that players and game masters both are locked into a single story line. For example, if  On Gossamer Wings is played out as written, no matter what the players do to fix Professor Grant's ether flyer, they will always crash - no exceptions and no player input.

So too is much of the rest of the Space 1889 background. When working up possible organizations of my Martian lead pile, I found that the options I wanted to use did not fit into any of the published city states and especially not Oenotria. Instead, I put them in the previously unknown city state of Kas'trum. I wanted to put Kas'trum off to one side of the main British advance preferably in the swamps between Crocea and Gorklimsk. According to known maps, the only way the British can get to those swamps by water is through Crocea with canal routes further north blocked by mountains. Crocea itself is still powerful enough to block any raiding red men coming down the canal and the British are close enough to its walls to make shoe-horning in a decent sized city state difficult.  So what was I going to do? After much hemming and hawing, all I had to do was remember how we used to do things. I'll let Frank Chadwick speak from the designer's notes for the Soldier's Companion rules:

Let me close with a piece of general advice to players and referees alike. Miniatures gaming is a form of entertainment, and these rules are intended to provide you with the means of putting on an entertaining game. It is foolish, then, to let the printed rules stand in the way of your enjoyment. The bulk of this book should serve as testimony to the effort put into making it as complete as it can be, but a set of rules is sterile without an active set of players. If you disagree with anything in these rules, please feel free to modify it to suit your own tastes. Just don't argue about it while the game is being played. During the game, the referee's word is absolute law, above even the printed words of the rules.

So with a plan refreshed by this wisdom Crocea is going to get moved further south, new canals dropped into place and Kas'trum will be put exactly where it needs to be so nothing stands in the way of my enjoyment.  Besides, the Earther maps were likely wrong to begin with.

To no particular scale - but around 3.14159 miles to the hex.

This is entertainment. If you are not re-fighting particular historical battles or you are not playing in a tournament where consistent rules are a necessity, throw out the canon and rewrite the rules until you get the enjoyment out of the hobby that works for you. It's what we did in the old days so there is historical precedent.      

Fort George and the Grand Canadian Steampunk Exposition or Canadian Combat Wheelbarrows!?

This past weekend (11-14 September 2014) I was at Fort George Ontario for the first annual Grand Canadian Steampunk Exposition.  Apart from all the steampunk goodness, a real treat for me was being able to explore the fort and even spend several nights in the barracks.

I took a great many photos and some will certainly show up here in future posts. I did find traces of a little known part of Canadian military history: The Combat Wheelbarrow!

Now wheelbarrows are so generally useful it is to be expected that your standard wheelbarrow will see use by the military such as these cargo variants:

And a better shot of the model on the right. the slats seem to suggest this was used for fodder or other bulk material:

Then there is this model with adjustable sides:

Surely the mortar in front is just part of a general display of equipment under repair in the Artificer's Shop.   But no.  In the depot section of the barracks block, the ingenuity of Canadian (Ok early British Imperial) military thinking is revealed. An example of one of the earliest self-propelled (or should that read squaddie propelled) artillery pieces in North America the Combat Wheelbarrow!:

In loaded and deployed configuration:

Based on information in the display and accompanying markings on the equipment, this was not just an interesting way to pose equipment in the museum but a historical method of moving and deploying light mortars. A great vignette for any modeller or gamer. Forward the First Upper Canadian Barrowmen!

RAFM Scores a great new line of figures!

RAFM Airship Pirates  Yes folks, Abney Park and RAFM have banded together to produce a line of 32mm heroic scale Airship Pirates.  At the moment the pics are only on Facebook but I am sure they will be showing upon the main RAFM page as they become available.  This should be a very very  cool line of figures.  And now to go crank up some Abney Park

The Push Part III More Paper Work

Since I am aiming at a potentially newbie audience and Soldier's Companion is an older more dice intensive rules system, I wanted to put together a QR sheet. It's not perfect and I have intentionally omitted a few things but I hope it will help make matters clearer.

Some of the formatting could be better and I caught one spelling mistake as soon as I printed it - always the way. On the whole I am quite happy with the results.

One interesting discovery was how working methodically through all the little details brings up some of the finer points of the rules that you don't see when playing. The morale rules in particular have some subtleties I hadn't noticed in the heat of it. Next up Unit Cards again.

New Steampunk Miniatures from Meridian

Yes I am an unrepentant RAFM fan-boy but sometimes you want to order off a different menu. Andrew May over at Meridian Miniatures has been working on a new line of steampunk miniatures.  He has a few pictures up on his Blog and has posted quite a few more on the most august of all war gaming boards: WD3. Be sure to check out his Facebook page as well.

Although there are other steampunk lines on the market, Andrew has come up with a range of heads that cover the usual subjects but also add in some diver's helmet and post apocalyptic variations that capture the genre very nicely. But, what I am really excited about is his range of weapons. Most steampunk weapons I have seen have been influenced by  WH 40K. Andrew's are unique and beautifully capture the creativity and variety of weapons created by steampunk cos-players and authors. 

Post Apocalyptic Heads

Diver Helmet Heads

Great Steampunk Weapons

Be sure to check out some the contract work he has done. He is a very talented sculptor.

The Mechanic

The RAFM babbage engine has been update with new paper tape and the clockwork assistants are ready to take your Aethernet orders: The Mechanic

Big Mechanic, Little Mechanic

On Tuesday, I received a package in the mail. The missus aka +Geeky Godmother  asked if she could do a special un-boxing post for her blog and here it is: Geeky Godmother


Enjoy!

Handsome Devils

Work has kept me busy the last while and with the cold weather coming in, it has been harder to work on the big projects. However I have some fine examples of steampunk sartorial elegance ideal for the games table. The first is Steampunk Montreal's Baron Celsius von Fahrenheit:

Elegantly dressed in coat and top hat, the Baron is equipped with his patent steam powered aethric communication apparatus, ideal for long range conversation in English et en Francais.  The Baron is available form RAFM miniatures a fine Canadian purveyor of miniatures and gaming accessories.

Next up we have a preview of the Winter line:

His trusty bowler hat firmly seated, and sporting an A. Smith designed armgun,  The Mechanic is ready for action at a moments notice. He too will be available from RAFM. Stay tuned for updates.

Further details on the RAFM Facebook page

On Pilgrimage to the Lead Belt

The first couple of weeks in September were a little busy what with the family heading over to the UK to attend the Asylum Steampunk gathering and do some exploration of the touristy bits of England*.

We took in the usual sights in Lincoln and Nottingham, took a Ripper tour in London and of course spent a day at the Tower. However, the highlight, at least as far as this blog is concerned, was my trip to the lead belt a.k.a. Nottingham and parts close by. Whilst the ladies were off getting their hair coloured and pampered and other lady like things, my friend John was good enough to drive me around Nottingham to visit a number of establishments.

Caliver Books

The first stop was at Caliver Books. Located in an industrial complex tucked into the corner of a residential road, it didn't look like much. A little poking around was required to find the front door but entry was effected. The staff had just returned from a show so there were neatly stacked boxes everywhere. Frankly I was overwhelmed. Books, books and more books, rules, reference material, and boxes and bags of figures as far as one could see. Somehow a cup of tea made it into my hand and I was able to take a moment to adsorb it all.  One of the ladies putting away show stock suggested I might want to volunteer to assist. If we weren't on a schedule, I might have done. I received a warm welcome and highly suggest a visit if you are in the area.

I came away with DBMM army book 2, Saga, I Ain't Been Shot Mum and Forlorn Hope, thus starting a commitment to three new periods.

Foundry Miniatures

The next stop was Wargames Foundry  more commonly known as just Foundry.  Google maps threw us for a loop so a little extra driving was required - thanks again to John.  We pulled up at yet another non-descript  door in an equally non-descript industrial building. A push of the bell brought us into another warehouse space. Again after show restocking was under way. Where Caliver was filled with books, Foundry was filled with rack after rack of miniatures. I was able to more or less keep to my list picking up a platoon's worth of Home Guard (currently kicking myself for not buying a company)  and a pack of Victorian Heliographs. Then the nice lad helping us out mentioned that the Victoriana line was 50% off. I bought rather a lot only being limited by the spectre of overweight luggage charges. We were also told if we wanted anything that was out of stock, just ask and it would be cast up on the spot. This is service!  I was asked what I was playing and I mentioned I was just starting ECW. Somehow some engineers, musketeers and civilians made it into my bag along with a Foundry rules and modelling compendium.

Foundry has been reworking their shipping prices and is bringing a large number of lines back into production. Definitely worth a visit to the shop or on-line.  

Warhammer World

Our last stop was Warhammer World. I was a big fan of WH Fantasy in the early days but never swallowed the 40k pill. Unlike our previous two stops, there was no doubt we were in GW territory. From the 40k inspired building design to the FV432 APC converted into a Space Marine Rhino out front it was very obvious we were in Warhammer heaven. The galleries were full of beautifully painted troops - so nice I would never risk them on the table. I even saw some of the old figures I used.  The shop was extensive and reasonably full of starry eyed young gamers. We were not there for one of the rumoured half off / half off sales which is a probably good thing as we may have been crushed in the press.  Next to the shop is an extensive gaming area with many tables set out with beautifully sculpted terrain for all of GW's games. Beyond that was my target: Bugman's Bar. I had been told that the Bugman's Game, only available here, was a must get so I picked that up.  After looking at E-bay prices, I should have bought many more. I also got a little something for a friend.

Not being a fan boy, it was the least interesting of the three places. However if you are a GW fan, and there is nothing wrong with that,  you will not be disappointed.

More posts in the future as I get rules read and my new toys painted up.

*Wales, Scotland and Ireland (north and south) will have to wait for a future visit. 

RAFM announces an Indiegogo campaign for new Space 1889 miniatures!

RAFM producers of the classic Space 1889 miniatures in 25mm have just started to raise funds through Indiegogo to keep the current 25mm line going and to expand it into a new realm - 28mm.

 In addition to the existing 25mm line, at the base level of there will be ten (yes 10!) new character figures including three air ship sailors, three Canal Martian civilians and four assorted heroes and ruffians.

 But it gets better! The stretch goals at increasing levels are the Martian Steppe Tiger, the Knoe Shoshu, the Skrill and finally the Ruumet Brehr! Think about that for a minute - a Ruumet Brehr on the table in 25/28mm.... puny elephants beware!

 But we are still not done yet. At the $56 plus level, you will get a 40% discount on any on line miniatures purchase for a full year. "But I am not a Space 1889 or VSF player" you say? RAFM has many lines including American Civil War, French Indian wars, Riel Rebellion, Colonial British, WWII, Vietnam, Ancients, USX Modern Day Heroes and of course the massive line of fantasy figures.

 Check out the full details here.

RAFM Steampunk miniature contest winner

Alexandre Adam of Steampunk Montreal is the winner of the RAFM miniature contest!  The green is complete:

A different Cyclops build

James over at Rabbits in my Basement has a great variation on the RAFM Cyclops landwheeler made for him by a friend.  I particularly like the addition of a small turret. Although James says it was painted to match naval practice, the overall white scheme would be ideal for Canadian winter scenarios.

Look away for a second and....

Over July, I have been trying to make up for a very busy June and clear out some of the lead pile. I have been plugging away at my last RAFM order. No real work plan just an hour or so when I could grab it. I did basic clean up on the figures, undercoat, block paint, dip and varnish. It seemed like a bit of a slog then last night I was laying down a coat of matte spray varnish and thought "Now I have to get on with the flocking."  Wait a second - all that is left is the flocking?  Without realizing it in under three weeks I had produced this:

Not a large output by some standards but a record for me especially on top of the monorail work I did in the same period.

Next step - a storable games table.

RAFM is looking for a sculptor

My favourite VSF/Steampunk/Space 1889 Canadian miniatures manufacturer is looking for a sculptor:

http://rafm.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=555

"Silver Fox/RAFM Miniatures is currently looking for sculptors to fill requirements for 2 new 28/30mm projects. These projects are in the Steam punk genera and require multiple sculpts to complete. Ability to work to a deadline and enthusiasm for the genera are an asset.

Interested parties should send rates and portfolio to brock@rafm.com for review and consideration."

Unashamed self-promotion

As mentioned in an earlier post, RAFM miniatures is running a competition on Facebook to design an new Space 1889/VSF/Steampunk miniature based on a user submitted photo.  Mine is here: My Photo. If you are on Facebook would you be so kind as to give it a like and push me into the lead - or pewter if you will.  Should you be so inclined, submit your own photo and see if you can achieve metallic immortality. 

Thanks

Space 1889 Soldier's Companion High Martian draft house rules

Basing up some of the RAFM High Martians has presented a few problems.  The landed figures will fit on the standard basing washer but the flying figures aren't really stable. I was thinking about basing the flyers on mounted washers and turned to the Soldier's Companion for guidance. As many others have found, our favourite flying monkeys are barely mentioned in the Soldier's Companion rules. I decided to work up a set of draft house rules. Below are my thoughts and the end results.

The Thought Process

In the Space 1889 rules, High Martians are described as primitive brutes who primarily use hand weapons and Bows. Physically they are shorter than other Martians. Martians overall are limited in strength as player characters. As flyers, we can reasonably expect Hill Martians to be weaker still. And yet these primitive, technologically backward, physically inferior beings maintain an iron grip on the liftwood supply and keep large numbers of slaves under control. How is this possible?

I decided to use the dual basing sizes to drive the process. Each airborne High Martian needs space to manoeuvre just to stay aloft making them cavalry sized yet they can land and fight as foot troops. This sounded a lot to me like a flying variant of mounted infantry. Reading those rules, especially the restrictions on mounted fire further suggested that High Martians are more like Light Horse, capable of firing on the move and charging into combat but not getting the full melee benefit of Light Cavalry. This decision also sets the movement rate to that of irregular cavalry while flying and irregular foot while landed. The average cavalry movement also roughly fits the High Martian move rates in Sky Galleons of Mars

Irregular troops are limited to mass and open order formations. I thought about limiting flyers to open order to represent the extra space needed but we have used a large flying base to compensate for that already - besides who doesn't want to see a mass formation of flying monkeys charging across the board?  That leaves formation changes. By the book, irregulars have to take a full move to make a formation change. That makes sense for troops shaking out into skirmish order from mass formation or vice versa but what about landing? High Martians are supposedly good flyers so let's say they can make a half move and land, or take off and make a half move.

So far so good. What about terrain? For units on foot, it is simple - they move and are blocked as irregular foot. Flyers present another set of problems.  Let's fix combat height at Very Low as used in Cloudships and Gunboats and call this out of the reach of any hand weapon used from the ground but not quite as high as your average multi-storey building, woods or forest - NOE if you will. At Very Low, flyers can move over any terrain without delay but must move around large buildings. They can fly through forests and woods at the normal cavalry rate. Line of site is normal. Let's call Low higher than anything on the board. Barring the standard blocking terrain shadow, flyers at Low can see and be seen by any unit on the board. Guns get dangerous. To change levels, let's call that another half move. For firing or being fired at, units at very low count as being at ground level. Units at low count as 12" further away.

So now to combat. There are a couple of things to take into consideration here. The Soldier's Companion rules don't really address shooting at or by flyers. The 1889 rules give a bonus to the to hit target number making it harder to fire against flyers. I had thought about giving the Hill Martians extra fieldcraft and allow them to use that only when flying.  That works fairly well but instead I decided to stick with a low field craft for use both when landed and flying. The aerial field craft  bonus, the targeting flyers bonus and the open order bonus add up pretty quickly making it tough to hit skirmishing flyers. High Martians in mass lose two of the three bonuses which makes sense - it being easier to hit a fur ball of flying monkeys.

Next is melee. Given their smaller size, High Martians count as a weak adversary. High Martians can charge into melee on foot as any other ground troops. If flying, they can charge into melee as light horse and if their move permits, can land on top of an opposing unit. In this case, High Martians get the bonuses for flying, light horse and defending from higher ground for the first round of combat. For morale purposes this initial attack counts as a rear attack. In subsequent rounds, the High Martians are considered to be brought to ground and fight as normal foot. And that about does it. I haven't tested these yet but will post results when I do.

The short version

High Martians, standard V1,   Kings Guards E1
Weak Adversary
High Martians follow the same rules as Light Horse when airborne and irregular foot when landed. Foot and mounted bases can be used by agreement. At Very Low level, flying High Martians can move over any terrain except high buildings which they must move around  and forests or woods which they can move around or through with the normal mounted movement penalties. Normal range and line of sight rules apply. At Low level, A High Martian unit can see or be seen by any unit on the board subject to the normal blocking terrain shadow rules. They can fly over any terrain on the board without penalty. They count as an additional 12" further away when firing or being fired at. It costs a half cavalry move to change level, land or take off.

Hill Martians on foot fight as any other similarly armed foot unit. Flying High Martians receive their fieldcraft bonus when flying as well as the aerial target bonus when shot at.   They can charge into melee as light horse and if their moves allows, land on top of the defending unit counting as flying and up hill for the first round of melee. For morale purposes, this first round counts as a rear attack against their opponents. For subsequent rounds the High Martians are considered to have been brought to ground and fight as normal foot.

Preserve yourself in pewter! New 25mm VSF figure competition

RAFM of Canada is running a competition to create a new steampunk character for their Space 1889 line.  Full details here. Submit a picture and see yourself immortalized in shiny, shiny metal!

Talisman and Pith Helmets?

One of my all time favourite games is the original 1980`s Talisman. We have all but one of the expansions and it still gets brought out regularly. I just found out that Gary Chalk the artist for this edition is also a traditional war gamer who has created the terrain and units for some rather nice colonial scenarios. He also plays English Civil War and probably other periods.