Irregular Wars Wargaming

To finish this year’s Palaeo Diet season, Mark used the Pulp variant of the rules to play a game of skulduggery, as the black hand of the Russian regime - the Okhrana secret police - tries to capture V I Lenin who is resting up at a German army camp at Bialystok on his way to the Finland Station. So, it’s April 1917 and Lenin is being conveyed by the German High Command from his exile in Switzerland, back to Russia where they hope he will further destabilise the tottering Provisional government. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Here’s an overhead view of a small German army camp outside the town of Bialystok. In Lithuania if you’re a patriot or in Poland if you’re not. It’s the dead of night … (Photo #1). The camp is guarded by a detachment of six men (Goons, commanded by Sgt Ostmann, all armed with smg). A snatch squad of five Okhrana men (Adventurers, commanded by special agent Malinovsky, all armed with pistols) will try to infiltrate, grab Lenin, and escape with him (Photo...

Continuing with his rampage through prehistory, Mark returns with another Palaeo Diet: Pulp (mis)adventure! *** The freighter Excelsior! was carrying a fusion bomb to the Europa colony when it lifted off from Suvarnabhumi at the start of its most recent voyage. Unluckily, in what is being officially described as a sequence of unforeseeable events, the weapon had to be jettisoned to allow the ship to break earth orbit and enter the aether flux. Luckily the astrogation crew got a good fix on where and when it impacted. Six months later, and the Eromanga Sea about 93+/- 0.02Mya is the focus of the search for the errant weapon. As usual in such cases the Uttlerley-Barkinge (Time-travel & landscape gardening) Corporation is leading the search, on contract from Imperial Spaceways. The approximate site has been confirmed by aerial sensing, and a recovery team is ready for insertion. Here is the official group photo of the recovery team. It comprises six divers (Gold 1-3 & Red 1-3) a...

Mark returns to the Trout clan for some more Palaeo Diet mischief : At about the same time the Grey Wolf party was encountering the Glyptodonts in the lands beyond the East River, the Trout Clan faced their own problem, with a beast that had dropped by their home territory. A huge Giant grazer had appeared in the rocky area from which the Trouts had - only last year - finally driven away the cave hyaenas. The area is already becoming a prized foraging ground, especially for snails and other tasty small critters, and the Trouts aren’t about to see it invaded and laid waste by some shovel-toothed hefalump. A hunting party is organised to drive away, or kill, the intruder (Photo #1). The hunters comprise two men armed with spears, three with clubs, and the leader, Crocus, who carries a burning brand. They approached cautiously. The terrain comprises rocky outcrops, which the hyaenas had favoured for their dens. The Trouts can scramble at reduced rates through these, but the Giant Grazer c...

Mark returns to the Grey Wolf clan for some classic Palaeo Diet  goodness: An exploration and hunting party from the Grey Wolf clan has crossed the Eastern river and followed the retreating ice into the uplands beyond. They encounter a herd of giant armadillos, which resemble half-forgotten descriptions from their grandparents’ time. In game terms they are Giant Grazers. There isn’t much other game around, and supplies are running low, so these new beasts are targeted even though they look formidable. The hunters must kill one for food, without incurring any casualties. The party comprises: White Antlers (leader); Fire Stick; Sneaker; Yellow Hair; and Grey Hair. All are spear-armed except Fire Stick who carries fire, and Sneaker who has a bow. Grey Hair has a hound looking to him. Here’s a charcoal & ochre sketch they left on the wall of a rock shelter a few days ago (Photo #1). The hunters observe the herd in the valley below, from the top of a convenient ridge. After much di...

Mark's hunters return in a new  Devilry Afoot  scenario! **** Pauline is a secret witch, who has been apprehended by the Witch Finder and his assistants. They are taking her to Oakham to be tried and hanged. Her fellow secret witches must rescue her. The secret witches are Hunters. The Witch Finder’s party are rated as Outlaws. Here are details of the cast for this encounter. The Secret Witches Pauline: Secret Witch / Innocent William Atkins SJ Religious: Devout. Secret Witch. 30s Sword, Pistol (28s) + 2s in pocket Henry Crawford Esq. Gentleman: Secret Witch. 31s Sword, Flintlock 6s to equip Cleeve with sword. 25s in pocket Cleeve Follower: Secret Witch. Polearm, Sword Atkins, Crawford & Cleeve are all characters in my progression table, and are outfitted and equipped accordingly. Here’s a woodcut showing the rescue party, with their familiars, as they were imagined by the anonymous author of the pamphlet Divers Strange Tales of Rutland Shire (photo #1). The Witchfinder ...