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PDEE: A Gomphotherium drops by

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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...
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Aeneas and his Dardanians for Ilium: A Game of Heroes

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The third contingent for my 28mm Trojan forces is Aeneas, son of the goddess Aphrodite and leader of the Dardanians. All minis are from Eureka Miniatures. Keeping the red-brown key colour, the Dardanian contingent has yellow as their binding colour. Aeneas was a second cousin (first cousin, once removed?) for the Trojan king and one of the most prominent heroes on the Trojan side. He helped lead the Trojans following the death of Hektor, and would lead the Trojan refugees to Italy in the aftermath of the war. The Dardanian promachoi warriors (Eureka Bronze Age Greeks). The Dardanian promachoi archers (Eureka Chaldean archers).
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PDEE: The return of the Glyptodonts

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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...
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Devilry Afoote: Imbolc (Candlemas)1626 - The Perils of Pauline

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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 ...
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Ilium: A Game of Heroes - open for playtesting

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In Ilium: A Game of Heroes , players take on the role of mighty Homeric heroes, each supported by a contingent of followers, as they compete for Kleos (κλέος) – deeds of renown that will have their names remembered through time. Each player will normally control between 12 and 28 models whose management at key moments will be crucial in securing Kleos. Glory, not survival, will dictate victory. Every group and every person approaches rules a different way, so it is always essential to explore different perspectives. Therefore, having worked steadfastly to bring the rules to a stable point, we are now looking for a small number outside playtesters to have a look. Ilium: A Game of Heroes  is written as a two player game with flexibility to allow additional players. Playtesters will need approximately 28 models each to represent the Achaean and Trojan heroes and their promachoi, a 24" (60cm) square playing area, and a couple of d10s. Playtesters should be able to commit to playin...
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Ilium: Gaming with Heroes

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We took  Ilium: A Game of Heroes  out for another run this week. I'm not normally keen on showing games with unfinished minis, but the game is in a good place and, fired by enthusiasm, I thought I'd share a glimpse. We played the standard Battle on the Plains scenario, pitching three heroes and their accompanying promachoi against each other between the main army lines. I started with Helenos, prince of Troy, and the Amazon queen, Penthesileia. Andrew started with Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and Ajax, prince of Salamis.  As the initial contingents clashed on the right of the plain, reinforcements arrived in the form of Aeneas and his Dardanians on the one side, and Achilles and his Myrmidons on the other.  The gods were very attentive, intervening early in the battle. Apollo sent a plague to weaken the Achaean promachoi, while Athena took the form of the lesser Ajax before being driven off by Penthesileia. Penthesileia and Helenos then focused their attacks on Agamem...
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Troy rocks! (and also some Trojan archers)

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Continuing to flesh out my Trojan contingents, I finished up a couple of archers to join with Helenos and his warriors.  I wanted to have an aesthetic difference between my Trojans and any future Achaeans, so I didn't want to go for Minoan/Mycenaean archers and instead stuck with Eureka Miniatures. Rather than the clean-shaven nudie boys of the Late Bronze Age Greeks, I decided to bend the rules slightly and pick up some Chaldeans. They are not of the same sculpting quality as the LBA Greeks, but with the same painting, colour scheme and basing, they do the trick and fit right in. I've also been working on a bit more terrain - this time some rocky outcrop obstructions. Using rocks picked up on a walk, I did the most wargamery thing possible and painted the rocks, to look like rocks. I think they work rather well! Meanwhile, the first complete draft of the rules is ready and undergoing a first proof before playtesting begins in earnest.
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Making 28mm olive trees (part 2)

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Following on from l ast week's post , I have now finished my attempt at 28mm olive trees. These are the four trunks I made earlier, undercoated dark green, over-brushed dark brown, dry bushed with a mix of dark brown and light grey. The foliage is Woodland Scenics fine leaf foliage which is pretty great stuff. Having said that, it was a pain to glue on, and it remains to be seen how robust it will be with use. Bases were done with the same AK Interactive sand and tufts that I've used on other scenery and model bases to give a sense of uniformity. I also took a couple of branches of the WS fine leaf foliage to make some olive saplings starting to emerge from two of my ruined building bases. This is now the extent of the scatter terrain being made specifically for this project. I've two more buildings and some rocky outcrops ready to undercoat and then I'll start looking for a 2' long section of city walls. When required for the specific scenario, my lad has a wooden ...
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Wolves in Sheeps' Clothing

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I ran a fun introductory game of the Wolves in Sheeps' Clothing scenario for Devilry Afoot this week for Andrew and Roger up at Clare Gaming. The werewolves emerged as far from the hunters as possible, and savaged two of the innocents before the others scattered.    One of the werewolves was killed, while the other survived, if barely. Of the four hunters, two were taken out of action. Both survived, one bearing a lasting leg wound, and both now have the wolf-bitten secret. The other two hunters both fled the scene unwounded. Great craic!
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Making 28mm olive trees (part 1)

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I need olive trees for my Bronze Age Aegean board - and indeed for all Mediterranean gaming. Olives are ubiquitous in the area now, and were in the past. However, the commercial options for wargamers are very limited, very expensive, and don't look overly like olive trees. What I'm looking for is something that has been grown and tended for generations. A gnarly, twisted, thick trunk, kept low to make harvesting the olives easier, with low hanging branches. So over the weekend I set out to make a proof of concept. The above picture is an olive grove around the Mycenaean tholos tomb at Amphissa, but any would do for inspiration. Starting with semi-flexible wire left over from a long forgotten project of my lad's, I twisted some rough shapes to use as armatures. Over these, I (further) twisted green stuff, making sure to have nice thick trunks and much thinner branches. Using an old knife and a plastic rod about 5mm in diameter, I smooshed and prodded until I had something th...
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