Irregular Wars Wargaming

The third and final dispatch from Mark relating events recently transpired in Rutlandshire... The attack on Sir Thomas Bertram’s hunting party at Cottesmore shocked the whole county. Indeed it was a topic of conversation as far afield as Northampton and Leicester. Many communities got together to establish defences in case the Revenants came after them next. One of these was the insignificant village of Frommage, in the SE of the shire, near Fineshade Wood. Sir Barty Hardacre, the local bigwig, was out of town, but the parish men of business, mainly the Reeve (Uriah Heep) and Curate (Obadiah Slope), called a meeting to enlist temporary additional Watchmen. It was felt the standing Watch, comprised mainly of the local wastrels and sturdy poor, and armed mainly with sticks and agricultural tools, wouldn’t be up to the job of fending off the undead fiends without black powder support, and the steadying influence of their social betters. So it was that when the Revenants did make their nex...

The second in a three-part dispatch from Mark relating events recently transpired in Rutlandshire... It’s two or three weeks after the terrifying news of the ‘orrible murders on the Uppingham road, and things are beginning to calm down. Anyway, this sort of thing was not going to keep the gentry of Rutland from their normal avocations. So we find a party of deer stalkers in the woods on the Cottesmore estate, walking back to the house at dusk after a fine sporting day. It comprised three gentlemen and their men. Sir Thomas Bertram, Bt. Gentleman, Demonologist. Sadist. Sword, Flintlock. Brompton. Follower. Drunkard*. Lantern, Spontoon. Henry Crawford Esq. Gentleman. Secret witch. Sword, Flintlock, Silver shot** Cleeve. Follower. Secret witch. Pole-arm. John Maddox Esq. Gentleman. Flagellant***. Sword, Flintlock. Maury. Follower. Gambler. Lantern, Club. * affected by drink. -1 on all activation & resolve tests for the game. ** Crawford was a cautious man. *** unaffected. In the photo...

The first in a three-part dispatch from Mark relating events recently transpired in Rutlandshire... The ancient festival of Samhain, celebrated at the end of October in modern reckoning, marks the end of the harvest season and the onset of winter. According to Wikipedia it’s pronounced SAH-wen and is a time when the boundary between the living and the dead becomes liminal, and the spirits of ancestors are honoured and propitiated. So it seems appropriate that Revenants (undead) came into Rutlandshire just at this time. Coincidence? I think not. Writing many years later but drawing on stories he had heard first-hand, the antiquary and gossip John Aubrey recorded the only narrative we have of this terrifying chapter in the history of the East Midlands. I have used his notes (unpublished ms in the Ashmolean) as the basis for these reports. There were two “human” revenants, in the form of ghastly horsemen, said to be dead cavalry soldiers or huntsmen. One wore a red coat and was known as J...

This week I was down at Battle Inc in Belfast to take my Seleukids out for a spin at a game of Hail Caesar with the lads from the Irish Historical Wargamers Guild. With a total of seven divisions and six players, two of my divisions were commanded by other players - I retained command only of a division of eastern thureophoroi and Arab auxialiaries. It wasn't necessarily their most glowing performance, as reported below by Nikias, commander of auxiliaries. An account of Nikias of Amphipolis, commander of auxiliaries. Being in command of thureophoroi from Osrhoene, scythed chariots, and various camelry and other Arab tribesmen, I was posted to the far right of the Seleukid line; a position of honour, but also beyond the left flank of the barbarian enemies - an assorted line of Libyans and Romans. At the outset, my speeches fell on deaf ears as the translators struggled to convey my orders from Greek into Aramaic and Arabic. Restless for action, the two companies of scythed chariots...

Mark has just sent through the latest dispatch from the East Indies: The annual Goa convoy sailed down the Pearl River estuary. Once out to sea it turned SW to begin the first leg of its thousand league journey. It comprised the old carrack Sa Isabella (Don Manuel Silva), which had been making this annual round trip for many years, and her escorting fragata Sao Martinho (Don Cristobal da Crespo). Here are the profiles - 1 x Carrack (35) Santa Isabella das Indias Q4 C5: High castles, Merchantman, Reinforced hull, Sluggish, Square rigged 1 x Frigate (60) Sao Martinho Q3 C3: Chaser guns, Galleon rigged, Master gunner, Trained guncrew Some time later the topmast lookout on the Sa Isabella reported a group of ships on an approaching course. They turned out to be - 2 x Large merchant junks (20) Ginger Jar, Hainan Trader Q4 C3: Merchantman, Reinforced hull, Square rigged 1 x Small escort junk (50) Bamboo Shoot (easily mistaken for a pirate vessel) Q2 C2: Derring-do, Intimidating, Lateen rigge...

This week my Night Stalkers (vampires and their minions) took on Roger's Ghost Pirates in a spooky season-inspired clash of Fantastic Battles .   Although playing 1,000 points, both armies were small but perfectly formed (both had break points of just 9). The Night Stalkers used the Night March strategy, hoping to avoid the powerful shooting of the ghostly pirate shot unit. The Night Stalker necromancer was using the Bless spell, to vivify the army, while both ghost wizards were equipped with Curse.  Despite also having an Igor serving as the army's quartermaster, the Night Stalkers were ravaged by the Mishaps rolls. The poor ghouls were wracked with disease, the succubi were late, and the dire bats overly enthusiastic. Meanwhile, the ghost pirates and their aquatic allies escaped completely unscathed.   The night march followed by a swift start allowed the vampiric forces to close the gap between the lines in the first activation. The impulsive ghouls had the capaci...

Having  gazed lovingly at all our hard work long enough , Andrew and I sat down for a bit of a laugh and did what any good late Seleukid would do - had a civil war. So it was on for the diadem and the fancy palace in Antioch. Who would win, Antiochos the legitimate king, or his half-brother/cousin/uncle/nephew, Antiochos the other legitimate king? We only had access to a six foot table which, while perfect for a 1,000 or 1,200 point game of Fantastic Battles, turns out is a bit tight for 1900 points a side! 😁 I tend to steer away from games that are just crowded with figures with no scope for manoeuvre and zero terrain, but as we had already chatted for a while and spent time gazing at the completed project, we were also a little short for time. So we dispensed with both terrian and mishaps, purely to be able to move models around the table and roll dice. Predictably, there was little scope for cleverness, and much opportunity to have units blocking the way for others. But it was ...