'Longstreet' - River Crossing

Last night we tried the river-crossing scenario from Longstreet. The union, under Ralph and Austin, defended, whilst Caesar and Bryan attacked with the Confederates. I took photos.

Here are the Confederates.

And here's the table. The river could only be crossed at the four fords.

The Confederate right, under Bryan, offered a diversionary attack ...

... but somehow it became the main attack, as Caesar's flank made less headway.

Caesar finally got his act together, and assaulted the ford on the Confederate left, throwing back the defenders.

A view down the table, with the Confederates starting to push forward at both ends.

A Union counter-attack threw back the Confederates on the left.

At that point we ran out of time. The Confederates had taken more casualties, but still had plenty of fight left in them.

It was interesting to see how much more confident people were with both card-play and handling the units. Our plan for the next game is to possibly try an historical scenario.

Meanwhile, across the room - Full Thrust.

This was a convoy action, but I forgot to find out who won.

Narnian Army Lists For 'Hordes of the Things'

These lists cover the Narnian Chronicles of C.S.Lewis. The information has been gleaned from the seven books* that make up the chronicles as well as Brian Sibley's 'The Land of Narnia'. The latter book contains a timeline, which has been used for all the dates. In the following all dates are Narnian time. Each list is designed to give a standard 24AP army and no more than half of the points can be spent on elements costing 3AP or more.

*The seven books, in chronological (not publication or reading) order, are: 'The Magician's Nephew', 'The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe', 'The Horse And His Boy', 'Prince Caspian', 'The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader', 'The Silver Chair' and 'The Last Battle'.

Army of the White Witch (900-1000)

Jadis, Queen of Narnia	Magician General @ 4AP	0-1
Wolves, led by Maugrim	Beasts @ 2AP	0-1
Upgrade Maugrim and his Wolves to Army Commander
	Beast General @ 2AP	0-1
Minotaurs or Giant	Behemoths @ 4AP	0-2
Bats and Vultures	Flyers @ 2AP	0-2
Assorted Nasties	Up to half Warband @ 2AP
	Up to half Beasts @ 2AP
	Remainder Hordes @ 1AP	4-20

This list covers the forces commanded by the White Witch Jadis, the self-styled Queen of Narnia, from her appearance out of the North to her overthrow by Aslan and the Pevensie children. Ideally she should be depicted as a tall woman with white skin, dressed in white riding in a sleigh drawn by two reindeer and driven by a dwarf. At the time of her final battle with the forces of Aslan, though, all the snow she inflicted on Narnia had melted and she in fact fought on foot. Maugrim was the wolf commander of Jadis' secret police and was slain by Peter. It is assumed that he led the army in the absence of the White Witch. In American texts he is called 'Fenris Ulf'.

Most of Jadis' army was made up of a variety of horrible creatures, few of which are described in detail. This list has been created by examining the text of 'The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe' in conjunction with the original Pauline Baynes illustrations. Creatures mentioned are Ghouls, Boggles, Ogres, Minotaurs, Cruels, Hags, Spectres, the people of the Toadstools, bull headed men, evil tree and plant spirits, Incubuses, Wraiths, Horrors, Efreets, Sprites, Orknies, Wooses and Ettins. The illustrations show a mixture of weird and wonderful creations, some fighting with tooth and claw, others with weapons. Small dragons and a giant are certainly shown. The above list tries to give the best possible range of classifications for them. Bats and Vultures are specifically mentioned in the Flyers class, but other airborne creatures are possibilities. The small dragons depicted do not seem large enough to merit classification as anything other than Flyers or Beasts.

Narnian (1-2555)

Aslan	Paladin @ 4AP	0-1
King and Bodyguard	Knight General @ 2AP	1
Upgrade King to Peter, Edmund or similar	Hero General @ 4AP	Any
Human Nobles	Knights @ 2AP	0-2
Human Archers	Shooters @ 2AP	0-4
Friendly Giants	Behemoths @ 4AP	0-2
Centaurs, Unicorns or similar	Riders @ 2AP	0-2
Dwarves with Bow	Shooters @ 2AP	0-2
Rearm Dwarves with Axes	Warband @ 2AP	Any
Big Cats or similar	Beasts @ 2AP	1-3
Eagles or other Birds	Flyers @ 2AP	0-1
Lesser Animals and Beings	Hordes @ 1AP	*2-10
Naiads	Water Lurkers @ 1AP	0-1
Only After 1000
Talking Mice	Blades @ 3AP	0-1
Only during the Civil War of 2303:
Downgrade King to Guerrilla Leader	Blade General @ 2AP	Any
Downgrade Hordes to Guerrillas	Lurkers @ 1AP	0-1/2

This list covers Narnian armies from the accession of King Frank until the End of the World. The majority of Narnian armies were made up of talking beasts and various creatures of myth and legend such as unicorns, centaurs, dryads, naiads and fauns. Of the legendary creatures, the centaurs are best classed as Riders, as are the unicorns, which do not seem to be magical. The other legendary creatures are brave but do not seem to be sufficiently warlike to rate classification as anything other than Hordes. Illustrations show them fighting with slim swords, if they are armed at all. Talking beasts ranged from lions and leopards down to such things as beavers and squirrels. Those creatures with an obvious combat capability are classed as Beasts. The others are best included in the Hordes. Armies during the reign of the High King Peter and reigns of the Telmarine-descended kings also seem to have had a human contingent. These are assumed to be nobles, fighting as mounted knights, or archers.

Aslan is the archetypal Paladin. Although a driving force behind all events in Narnia he was by no means present at all battles that took place and should therefore be considered optional.

All four Pevensie children, who ruled Narnia from 1000-1015, took part in battles at some point. Peter and Edmund both commanded armies. Lucy and Susan either fought as or commanded archers so should be included in the Shooter elements.

Birds made up part of the party that rescued Edmund from the White Witch, and an eagle fought against the Calormenes, but otherwise they seem to have been used primarily as scouts.

Dwarves are described and depicted as attacking the White Witch's army with battle-axes. However, they do not seem to be the miniature Vikings beloved of other fantasy genres so are here classed as Warband. During Caspian's war with Miraz they were used predominately as scouts and seem to be skilled with the bow. Indeed, dwarven archers were especially effective against both Calormenes and talking beasts alike during the war of 2555.

Classifying Talking Mice as Blades may seem over generous, but anything less would reflect on the honour of the noble Reepicheep and his followers. Talking Mice only appeared in Narnia after the non-talking variety released Aslan from his bonds during the war against the White Witch.

Guerrilla warfare took place under Prince Caspian against the Telmarines. Hordes may only be downgraded to Lurkers if the general is downgraded to a Blade element.

Narnian shields carry a red lion rampant on a white or silver field. There is a reference however to a red lion on a green ground being used on a banner.

The minimum marked ^* applies only if no Human troops are used.

Calormene (300-2555)

Tarkaan	Rider General @ 2AP	1
Downgrade Tarkaan on foot	Blade General @ 2AP	0-1
Horsemen	Riders @ 2AP	5-11
Downgrade Horsemen as Dismounted Swordsmen	Blades @ 2AP	0-1/2
Spearmen	Spears @ 2AP	0-6
Chariots	Knights @ 2AP	0-2
Tash	God @ 4AP	0-1
Only in 2555
Talking Beasts	Beasts @ 2AP	0-1
Other Narnians	Warband @ 2AP	0-1

Calormen was a desert kingdom far to the South of Narnia and generally hostile to it. Horsemen appear to be armed at least with a sword and possibly with lance as well. The army that invaded Archenland was entirely mounted but dismounted to attack Anvard. The Tisroc (ruler) of Calormen measured his army in terms of numbers of spears however, suggesting that a large proportion of foot was available. Spearmen made up the second wave of Calormenes that invaded Narnia in 2555. 'The Horse and His Boy' contains a single reference to chariots being used in war.

Tash was the primary god in the Calormen pantheon. Humanoid, he had four arms, a vulture's head and moved in a cloud of grey smoke. Although there are no references to his direct intervention in Calormene affairs through the vast majority of its history, he did appear during the events that led to the End of the World, so is included in the list for completeness and variety. An image of Tash appears on the only Calormene banner illustrated.

Some Narnians allied with the Calormenes during the war of 2555.

Telmarine (1998-2303)

King and Bodyguard	Knight General @ 2AP	1
Knights	Knights @ 2AP	1-2
Soldiers	Spears @ 2AP	8-10
Archers	Shooters @ 2AP	0-2
Before 2100:
Downgrade King to Chief	Warband General @ 2 AP	All
Downgrade Knights and Soldiers to Warriors
	Warband @ 2AP	All

In 460 pirates from Earth crossed over and established themselves in the land of Telmar. Some 1500 years later they invaded and conquered Narnia, subjugating the human population and driving out the non-human population. Over time the non-humans became figures of legend and their existence denied. The Telmarine's irrational fear of the Narnian forests extended from the fact that it was in these that the non-human population survived. The list covers Telmarine armies from their invasion to the overthrow of their kingdom by Prince Caspian. The initial invaders are assumed to have been barbarians, who adopted Narnian civilisation after their conquest. Their post-conquest fear of forests is reflected in the classification of their infantry as Spears. Archers are not specifically mentioned as taking part in open battle, but the Pevensies were engaged by Telmarine bowmen on their journey from Cair Paravel to Aslan's How.

Archenland (180-2555)

King	Knight General @ 2AP	1
Nobles	Knights @ 2AP	5-9
Halberdiers	Blades @ 2AP	2-4
Archers	Shooters @ 2AP	0-2

Archenland lies directly to the South of Narnia and was closely allied to it. Indeed, a Narnian army came to the rescue of Anvard when the Calormenes attacked it in 1014. Although not openly stated, it appears that Archenland was populated entirely by humans. It is therefore assumed that the army would be similar to that of Narnia, but without the mythical and talking beasts. This gives it a core force consisting of a King and his nobles supported by soldiers on foot. The only reference to infantry is soldiers with halberds, but archers cannot be ruled out given the Narnian ties.

Northern Wastes (407-2304)

Giant King	Behemoth General @ 4AP	1
Giants	Behemoths @ 4AP	1-2
Lesser Giants	Warband @ 2AP	2-6
Wolves, Hunting Dogs or worse	Beasts @2AP	0-2
Outlaws and Bandits	Lurkers @ 1AP	0-2
Dragon	Dragon @ 4AP	0-1

There are a number of references in the Chronicles to Narnian kings engaging in raids or wars against the Giants of the Northern Wastes. This list covers their forces as they can be conjectured from the sparse information available. It cover the Giants of the North from the first mention of them in the Chronicles until their defeat by Caspian X.

Although Giants are best classified as Behemoths, the rules forbid a 24AP army to have more than 3 of them. This leaves the problem of how to classify giants without using the Behemoth troop type. Classing them as Warband seems to be the best solution. It can be rationalised by showing that an examination of the text and illustrations of the chronicles show that giants vary in size, and that the smallest are a mere 8-10' in height - hardly Behemoth material.

The giants in 'The Silver Chair' used normal sized dogs for hunting and these could have been used in war as well.

The Wolves (or worse) represent the remains of the followers of the White Witch, some of whom were still being hunted down years after her defeat. The ones in this list are assumed to be those enterprising enough to ally themselves with the only major power in the Northern Wastes. These renegades can also make up the Lurker elements, although these also represent various outlaws and bandits of human origin that sometimes harassed Narnia.

Puddleglum speculated that a dragon was attacking Narnia at one point, suggesting that such things happened, although the only large dragons that appear in the Chronicles are actually enchanted humans. One is included for the sake of variety.

Underworlder (2356)

Lady of the Green Kirtle	Magician General @ 4AP	0-1
Black Knight	Hero @ 4AP	1
Upgrade Black Knight to Army Commander	Hero General @ 4AP	0-1
Gnomes	Hordes @ 1AP	12-20
Enchanted Animals	Beasts @ 2AP	0-2

This list represents the forces assembled by the Lady of the Green Kirtle in her attempt to seize control of Narnia. It is a 'fictional' list, as the invasion never took place, being thwarted by Jill, Eustace and Puddleglum. The Lady of the Green Kirtle was a powerful sorceress of unknown origin. If engaged in combat she could shape-shift into a giant poisonous serpent. The Black Knight was, in reality, Rilian, heir to the Narnian throne, but the Lady held him under an enchantment. She had planned for him to lead her army but this list allows for the possibility that she might take a more direct role in events. Thus the Black Knight is only considered a general if the Lady is not present.

Gnomes should not be depicted as the bearded, pointy-hatted miniature men of popular legend. Although humanoid they varied greatly in appearance and it is best to read the text of 'The Silver Chair' for descriptions.

A number of surface creatures found their way into the underworld, where they slept in enchanted sleep. It is assumed that the Lady would make use of the more dangerous ones in her army.

Earthsea Lists for HOTT

This a a slight reworking of a piece from the original Stronghold.

Earthsea is a fictional archipelago created by Ursula Le Guin as the setting for a number of novels and short stories published between 1964 and 2001. The most famous of these 'A Wizard of Earthsea' is the basis of these lists, developed by Alan Huyton. It's based very much on the first book, and is fairly rudimentary, but provides a useful basis on which to draw more compete lists. The archipelago is made up of many islands and people, and warfare between them in some for is almost inevitable; it would make the basis of an interesting campaign, with small, conventional armies, lots of naval movement and a smattering of wizards and other fantasy elements*.


Earthsea 

1 x Hero or Magician @ 4AP (Sparrowhawk)
1 x Magician @ 4AP (Ogion the Silent)
1 x Dragon @ 4AP (Tamed by Sparrowhawk as he knows its true name)
5 x Spears @ 2AP (Gontish spearmen)
1 x Flyer @ 2AP (Hawks tamed by Sparrowhawk)

For figures, any medieval types will do, although Le Guin appears to have not considered the cultures of the islands to be entirely European in nature. The spearmen are rustic peasants and could be classed as a Horde if desired, although the general is likely to be one of the Spears. Other possibilities include Viking type warriors (Blades) or pirates (Warband or Shooters) but these would tend to be enemies of Sparrowhawk and Ogion, so you might prefer to substitute renegade wizards. For example:

Enemies of Roke

1 x Magician @ 4AP (Jasper)
1 x Cleric @ 3AP (Acolyte)
1 x God @ 4AP (The Shadow)
5 x Warband @ 2AP (Pirates)
3 x Hordes @ 1AP (Undead sailors)

Update: There's an excellent map of Earthsea HERE.

*Many years ago - as in 'When I Was Still At School' - I actually drew up a five player Diplomacy variant map for Earthsea. I wish I still had it, as it would be perfect for HOTT.

HOTT On Barsoom

Last night the Gong Garage Gamers mostly played HOTT, using my 15mm Barsoom army collection - a chance to try various combinations of Blades and Airboats, with a few extras thrown in.

One of those 'extras' is, of course, the Green Martians, which is a mixture of Knights and Shooters:

Geoff (looking particularly sinister in this picture) Used them against Caesar, who took the Red Martian city-state of Gathol.

Some lone Red Martian thoat-riders took on most of the Green Martian horde. The result was inevitable.

Meanwhile I used the illusionary Bowmen of Lothar against the army of Helium, led by John Carter himself.

This is the only Barsoomian army to feature a Magician.

John Carter led from the rear.

On the other table Geoff's Green Martians surrounded the Gatholian general andkilled him.

Lothar's army is assisted by eight-legged Martian lions - Banths. They ended up being neatly sliced and diced by the Heliumitic foot-soldiers

Geoff and Caesar set up another game - Caesar took the mosty-aerial Black Pirates whilst Geoff had the Red Martians of Lothar, with their disintegration-ray and cannibals.

More of the fight between Helium and Lothar.

And on the other table we had an epic air-battle ...

... whilst the Lotharian Hordes tried to outflank the Black Pirate foot-soldiers.

The Bowmen of Lothar battled the warriors of Helium, but couldn't resist them. Helium scored a decisive win.

More aerial action from the other table.

A Black Pirate Airboat attacked Phor Tak and his disintegration-ray.

Peter and Dave set up Gathol against the primitive Red Martian state of Manator. This was the only picture I took of the game, and I can't remember who won.

Over on the other side of the room, Ralph and Bryan played Flames of War. I think French and Germans were in use, in the desert somewhere.

The Black Pirates eventually triumphed in a very close game - both Jahar and the Pirates were one element away from breaking.

The final game of the night - I used Jahar whilst Caesar took Helium.

Again, we had an exciting air battle.

A Jaharian warship tried to sneak up on John Carter.

And a Heliumitic vessel threatened the Jaharian line.

Undocumented, John Carter dealt with Jahar's navy, and went Horde-hunting.

This, despite the potentially deadly attentions of Phor Tak's disintegration-ray.

He survived, and Helium picked up another victory, destroying Jahar's aerial navy and some of the supporting Blades.

This was a great night of HOTT, with all seven armies getting at least one outing.

Longstreet In 6mm

Caesar and I played Longstreet this week, using my 6mm ACW figures. These are conveniently mounted on 20mm square bases, so fit in with the rules perfectly. despite the effective halving of the necessary game area, we used a decent-sized table and, whilst the terrain density could have been a little higher, got a game with a bit more available space.

We played the Crossroads scenario, and Caesar defended with the Union. He tried to be clever and use Memoir '44 card holders. After they fell over, revealing his cards, he abandoned that idea.

My brave boys in butternut marched up to the attack. With Caesar digging in I decided not to muck about and get stuck in as quickly as possible.

He dug in before I could attack. I attacked anyway, bcause that's what you do in ACW games. I threw my eager recruits into the centre, where the church was an objective.

On the flank our cavalry units fought each other in a melee, but we realised that as veterans they were better in defence, so that bold cavalry charges weren't worth the effort. Both dismounted and shot at each other for the rest of the game.

I kept up the attack in the centre ...

... but Caesar counter-attacked.

Essentially the battle went like this - I attacked boldly at the start, stalled and then got shot to pieces. I made a few minor assaults after that, but was rapidly approaching the point where all of my units were too weak to make any more attacks. I was getting closer and closer to my breakpoint. Caesar wasn't, despite some good shooting on my part. However I did get his army to the point where it was worth rolling dice to see if he was defeated - and did it. So despite the Confederates being in a very poor position, with fewer troops, it was the Union who conceded. We can only assume that their commander thought that there were a few more Confederate brigades hidden in reserve (this was 1862) and lost his nerve at the last moment.

This was the battlefield at the end. The Confederates had taken lots of casualties, but hadn't lost any units. The Union had lost a veteran infantry unit (pretty much taken out by long range artillery fire over several turns) and an artillery battery (also taken out by artillery fire).

We found that we had the rules pretty well sorted this time, with few things we had to look up. We were also less prone to playing fun cards like Confusion just because we had them, often using them to activate movement or firing phases instead and that benefited the whole army. As the attacker I found that the choice between having a movement phase or charging into melee was a tricky one; you really need to get your troops into position in a fairly coordinated way, then launch your assault in one go.

A great game, and I was quite pleased with how the 6mm figures looked too. They go back a long way ...