Put Up or Shut Up.

First, Bad Daddy, Cyborg, the Kid and I played Fantasy Rules! in January.  Actually we attempted to play them. I was supplying all the minis, the army lists, the table, and lunch.  I did a great job of getting it all together and then losing the army lists.  I cranked out four lists (Dwarves [I prefer Tolkien's misspelling over Dwarfs], Orcs, Japanese, and Chinese) in ten minutes.... and we played Dwarves (Cyborg) and Orcs (Boaz) in an unlikely coalition versus the eastern alliance (ooooohhh, Galatica reference) of the Chinese (Bad Daddy) and the Japanese (the Kid).

If you've played Fantasy Rules! then you know about the Moral Clock.  Suffice it to say that each side starts with ten morale and the first to zero loses.  Cyborg and I lost the first turn and were immediately behind.  Entering what would be the last turn, Bad Daddy and the Kid were leading five to one and they went first.  Needing a miracle, my Orcs overran and killed the Shogun (minus 2 morale) and Cyborg's Dwarves surrounded and executed the Imperial Prince (minus 2 morale) and won the turn (minus another morale for the eastern alliance... and we won.  We only took them down by five morale in the first fourteen turns and then got five in the last turn.

And then we looked a bit closer at the rules and found out that I cheated because I did not have a beast master with my wyvern... Ultimately it flanked and ate a third of the Samurai on the field.  Oooops!

It was an interesting mechanic.  There's a lot of pushing and disorganizing units.  There is some amount of loss of command and control.

But the feeling is not as epic as our system.... Scramasax.

Second, we played Scramasax in February and March.  Crusaders, Kong/Lost Jungle, Fairies, Sky Pirates, Dark Elves... it all blends into one giant beating.

Third, the Romans are still waiting for primer.

Third, I ordered the Ping Panda from Bombshell.  He's painted already.  He'll be a great hero for the Chinese.

Fifth, Copplestone Castings has produced 15mm Barbarian Cavalry.  If you did not click the link, then think of Conan on horseback.  Bare chests and long hair.  If  I replaced the swords and axes with arakhs (sort of like scimitars), then I'd finally have my Dothraki Khalasar for A Song of Ice and Fire.  It's time to put up or shut up.

Sincerely, Boaz

Fantasy Rules!

I'll confess that the setting of fantasy (magical medieval, mythological, and Middle-earth) floats my boat much more than science fiction settings... i.e. Fantasy Rules! I also happen to be hosting Bad Daddy, Cyborg, He-who-must-not-be-named, and The Kid on the 25th when we will put aside our Piquet rules and play Fantasy Rules! The Kid and I have never played these rules and it's been about fifteen years for the other guys. We'll see how it goes...

On the plus side for Sci-fi, I have been replaying Knights of the Old Republic. I'm almost done. My character, Jaran Rando Kang is ready to face the droid assembly line and then Malak. I've probably played through KOTOR ten times over the years. Jaran is a 5/15 light side Consular, but he's not as fun as a dual wielding Guardian. I'm a bit apprehensive about fighting Malak. I just don't know if I can do enough damage.

 Hopefully this post will come out in seperate paragraphs.

 Sincerely, Boaz

Edit: Paragraph problems solved... and I went back and edited the last few posts.

Swords of the Noldor!

Turgon, son of Fingolfin and High King of the Noldor, said to his brother in-law Eol, “I will not debate with you Dark Elf. By the swords of the Noldor alone are your sunless woods defended. Your freedom to wander there wild you owe to my kin and but for them long since you would have laboured in thraldom in the pits of Angband. And here I am King and whether you will it or will it not my doom is law. This choice is given to you: abide here or to die here and so also for your son.”

My Elven host took the field last week as allies of Cyborg's Elves. We went to throw the Swamp Horde of Bad Daddy and and the Kid's Mercenaries back into the fetid swamp where they belong. The battle was as even as we've ever seen. All of us had units destroyed or driven from the field, but many of them were miraculously refielded through powerful magics or brilliant leadership. I must say that my Elven hero, Mithelpiffelel (that is the effeminate name the He-who-must-not-be-named uses for nancy Elves... and Mithelpiffelel is a good name because the hero wears white tights) did kill two Turtle heroes and a Salamander shaman twice... Yes, Bad Daddy resurrected him.

The most important development is that the guys want to create a Facebook page to display their armies. I'm a big fan of anonymity regarding this hobby of mine, to wit, I call myself Boaz. True, the Elven knights on winged tigers deserve a pic or two... I admit, flying tigers and white pants (especially after Labor Day!) are not representative of true Noldor. But as Cyborg likes to point out, there aren't really any true minis that do exactly replicate Tolkien's concept of tall, graceful Elves in lofty helms... The minis out there have too many feathers and too much overall poofiness. (I might have just invented a word.)

Sincerely, Boaz

p.s. Mythological Romans are my next project.

Dragnet.

Ladies and gentlemen, the post you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Sooooooo..... I have finished multiple units of Elves and some characters over the last few days... All figs are from Demonworld and Mighty Armies lines. When I only have the MA minis on the table they don't look half bad. But when they are set down next to Demonworld... Oh, boy. Multiple units of Spearmen from Chariot and archers from AD&D Battlesytem are also primed and ready for paint. And I'm waiting for Ral Partha Europe to send me more Demonworld Elves. The reason I'm painting Elves, after only one game with my Kong army, is that our next home cooked Fantasy Piquet battle will be before the year's end. And my partner for the upcoming disaster... uh, battle, Cyborg, will be bringing his noble and puissant elves. Cyborg, does not call them Vanyar, but that is who they are. If you are reading this and you don't know who the Vanyar are, then turn in your nerd card immediately if not sooner. In Professor Tolkien's stories, the Vanyar are the High Elves. They are rarely mentioned even in The Silmarillion. I do not have time to discuss the authorship and the canoniciy (I sure hope that's a word) of The Silmarillion. Anyway, this is Cyborg's favorite army. He painted it decades ago. He's a better painter than me. So we'll field Elves against whichever armies Bad Daddy and The Kid bring. Bad Daddy has everything... I mean almost every army you can think of in 15mm fantasy. Frogs, Lizards, Hindus, Undead, Orcs, Goblins, Centaurs, Fairies, Dwarves, Elves, Demons, Teknowmancers (sic), Ogres, Zulus, Da Vinci, Medievals, and Romans, plus a smattering of every conceivable miscellaneous troop type ever made. Bad Daddy may coordinate with The Kid to give us a themed opponent... and then again maybe not. The Kid will either bring fairies or Dwarves. But he might pull out the Dragonkings or the Atlanteans. But he won't bring the Ratmen because they are undergoing an overhaul.

For the record, I should state that Cyborg, Bad Daddy, The Kid, Azael, and He-who-must-not-be-named are not actually the names that their parents gave them. Mayhaps I should also note that Bad Daddy and The Kid are not related... but paint is thicker than water.

I really hope this post does not appear as one giant paragraph as the last one.

Namarie, Boaz