King David

 Had a solo game today of King David, an older game that was the precursor of Basic Impetus.

Today was just a trial run to give the rules a go, and spot any mistakes in my understanding of the rules before introducing them to a friend.  The rules are intended for Biblical battles, with army lists covering around 1600BC to about 600BC. 

All models and the buildings came from Campaign Miniatures in Spain, the tents I used for baggage I have had for so long,I no longer remember their origin. 

The armies were around 165 points each, with about 200-250 being standard. 

Initial Set up from the Hittite Side

The initiative rules are interesting and unpredictable. Each side rolls 1D6 , with bonuses for good commanders. The winner activates as many units as their D6 roll, the opponent does the same, then the player who won initiative activates another 1D6 units and so on.  I found it best to mark each unit with a small die once it had been activated so it wouldnt be moved again in the same turn. 

Archery is a single D6 roll, hit on a 4+ at short range, 5 + at medium, and 6+ for long, with penalties for moving. A single hit will destroy a unit unless a saving throw is made, with heavier units having the best throw. 

Melee is a single die roll each, adding a number for troop type and various tactical factors, like heavy troops or chariots in bad going or a flank / rear attack etc, followed by a saving throw for the loser. 

Troops making the save in melee make an about face & a half move away from the enemy who can pursue. It is possible for multiple fights to happen between two units in a single turn if contact is maintained. 

The army breaks when half its strength is lost, with higher values for higher priority units . 

The game ended as an Egyptian victory once the Hittiite commander was shot from behind by a roving Egyptian light chariot. 

Overall, I found the rules very enjoyable and look forward to trying them again, 

Dead Zone

Hi Guys

 Ed came down last week with a new game from Mantic called Dead Zone. He had picked it up the week before and assembled all the models etc so we were ready to go. The game is set in the same universe as Mantics 40K clone "Warpath" but the rules and scale are completely different. We have played warpath with about 70-80 figures on a 6' X 4' board, from the Deadzone boxset we played about 12 figures a side on a 2' square board. The Warpath rules are very similar to Kings of War, their fantasy counterpart, but for Deadzone the rules are unique. Each player has about 10-12 figures per side, and the initiative passes from player to player after activativing one figure, so you carry out the actions for a single model, then the opponent activates a single model etc so both players are continualy envolved. In addition, a lot of the tests are based on oppossed die rolls, so you are active even doing your opponents action.

There are two factions in the box, a high tech human force with cool armour and a variety of weapons, and the Plague force who are basically sci fi zombies. Some of them are ex human soldiers, still carrying guns which is unusuall for Zeds, some are hulking monsters from earlier waves of infection. The humans would not look out of place in a lot of scifi settings, the plague would be usable in horror or sci, and would suit a resident evil style game very well, they even have a pair of zombie attack dogs in the starter force.

The box contains a set of cool modular buildings with raised walkways connecting them and a variety of debris to scatter on the board as cover. The board itself is a good quality mat, two foot square, divived into 3 inch squares in an 8x8 pattern. All movement and ranges are measured in these squares  and there is a limit of how many figures can occupy any given square at one time.

There is a deck of cards per faction, which contains stat cards for each figure, mission cards to give each player their in game objectives, and cards which give temporary bonuses to you, or causes problems for you opponent.

The rules are D8 based. To perform an action, you roll a given number of dice against the appropiate stat and count the successes. Cards can increase the number of dice you roll. Your opponent rolls against their own appropiat stat, you then compare the numer of successes you have each scored. Uusually a draw favours the defender, if the attacker scores more it will be a minor success, doubling or tripling the defenders number of successes will get a more severe result.

There are various other factions, including Marauders (Orks), Forgefathers ( Dwarves), Asterians ( Eldar) and rebels who are a mix of various humans and aliens. There are also support options for each race and some races have walkers as well. Each force can have one mercenary which are unique characters with their own stats.

All in all, we really enjoyed the game, and were impressed by the quality of everything in the boxed and liked the completeness of it. Rather than a weak force as a starter, you get a good strong force for each side. I am looking forward to the next game ( I will try the plague forces next time) and will pick up my own copy of the boxed set next time I am in the game shop. I might have to get the Marauder starter set while I am at it.....

Hi Guys

some old unidentified GW miniatures from years back

A pair of unarmed skaven

15 orcs armed with halbard, I think there are a few figures missing from the original set.

Can anyone identify these lads ?

Thanks

Phil

Battle of Neapolis, pyrrhic campaign game.

Hi guys

A little while back Ed & I played the next game in our Pyrrhic campaign using Basic Impetus.  It was the battle of Neapolis, with Pyrrhus the attacker & Rome the defender.

 

Battlefield from the Pyrrhic side

 

Turn 1, Initiative Pyrrhus, the entire army advances except Pyrrhus, who holds himself in reserve toplug any gaps or exploit a breakthrough.
Rome ,  The Legions wheel forward to cover their flanks

 

 

Turn 2, Initiative Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus moves to the side , which causes him to be disrupted, skirmishers close on enemy, all others advance straight ahead

Rome, Light Horse & cavalry advances, Legions  continue to wheel outward.

Turn 3, Initiative Rome. Cavalry charge Oscan light foot, cavalry takes 1 point of damage & falls back.
Light horse & Legions advance.

Pyrrhus, Oscans throw javelins at cavalry, causing a point of damage. Light horse withdraw.
Skirmishers block opponents, Elephant, pike & cavalry advance, Pyrrhus reforms

Turn 4, Initiative Rome, Cavalry reform, right hand legion advances, skirmishers fall back

Pyrrhus, Elephant charges skirmishers who fall back. Oscan javelins break Roman cavalry. Pyrrhus
advances & the Hoplites wheel to face the Legion

 

Turn 5, Initiative Rome. Cavalry charge Elephant but are destroyed, the Elephant takes 1 point of
damage. A javelin volley from the skirmishers causes a further 2 points of damage to the elephant.

Pyrrhus, Skirmishers again block their opponents, the elephant wheels, and the oscans form up with
the hoplites.

Turn 6, initiative Rome. Legion charges cavalry and destroys them. The Roman triarii charge the pike
and cause 3 points of damage and suffer 1 point in return. A Legion charges Pyrrhus but take 1 point
of damage and fall back.

The legion destroys the hoplites and take 1 point of damage in the process.
The triarii destroy the rear unit of pike.

Turn 7, initiative Pyrrhus. The oscans & light horse charge, but to no effect. The elephant charges
the flank of the legion, each takes 1 point of damage

Rome, Legion kills Elephant, The pike drive the Triarii back, a javelin volley from the Oscans destroys a Roman legion , breaking the Roman army.

Result :Minor Pyrrhic victory, advance 1 stage.