The Queen's Justice

After the recent weeks employed on refurbishing older figures and painting those newly acquired, I felt we might give the Heart of Darkness collection a run out on the tabletop battlefield here in GHQ. Back in the day when our original collections hit the table we would have used Chris Peers' Death in a Dark Continent rules. But as in many other areas our hobby has moved on and so we are giving our Frankenrules, first seen a couple of months ago in a game with Paul, a second run out. Phil as our rules junkie in residence will no doubt have something to say about the experiment in due course...

On to the game then! In the opening scenario it seems King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi has been somewhat abusing his position as the dominant influence on neighbouring native tribes, fermenting unrest and interfering with the local commerce of the British SCEA Company! 'Robinson of the River' has determined the errant monarch shall feel the force of the Queen's justice!

To that end he has gathered his force, lead by the fearsome Askaris of the Queen's Own SCEA Rifles and the famed Sikhs of the Jalfrezi Rifles, fresh from triumphs on the NW Frontier in Rhanzlistan. Accompanied by two mountain guns this formidable array of Imperial might should soon put old Bykalaizii in his place!

The peaceful and tranquil abode of King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi and the P'Doki, totally unaware of what the wrath of Robinson of the River is about to unleash on them.

Activation and movement rates are borrowed from Bolt Action. Each side has 12 elements in the game, so 12 dice, with a Red End of Turn dice added for jeopardy. In addition at the start of each turn until every unit is on the table the arrival point of the Natives is determined by a three sided dice, each number corresponding with three tiles on the tabletop battlefield. 

All units in this run through are designated as Regular units as defined by Black Powder Mk2. Most Colonial units are of 6 figures, some native units are up to 12 figures and could be Large in future games? The Jalfrezi Rifles are charges here by a unit of P'Doki warriors. We add Closing Fire casualties into the total when determining the outcome of Hand-to-hand fighting. [Having used Hail Ceasar Clash and Sustained in the first trial of the Frankenrules we used the Black Powder rules' version today.] The P'Doki came off worst in this instance...

The second unit of the Jalfrezi Rifles catches the Pygmies in the open with a devastating volley! Phil suggested rather tongue in cheek that perhaps they should be a Small Target!

The Sikhs bring their mountain gun into action to further inconvenience the Pygmies! They become Shaken with excess casualties and fall back Disordered on failing their Morale roll.

The P'Doki attack is supported not just by the Pygmies but also the famous Lion Guard. The violence of the attack sees the Sikhs Shaken by losses and they must take a Morale test.

Unsurprisingly they fail and Rout. Our House Rule will allow two chances to Rally when their Order Dice is drawn.

While the Jalfrezi Rifles are engaged on his left flank Robinson has thrown three units of irregular Askari forward towards the King's Kraal. The leading element is surprised by P'Doki warriors who burst from cover. Although their Closing Fire is desoltary they are made of steam stuff and beat the Warriors in Hand-to-hand combat.

The Jalfrezi Rifles and their supporting Mountain Gun have blunted the attacks from the P'Doki Warriors and their Pygmy allies. This flank has seen several Turns of heavy fighting with fortunes ebbing and flowing.

While much attention has focused so far on the Left flank of Robinson's forces he has taken advantage of the scattering of Bykalaizii m'Tuubi's main forces by the random entry dice to advance largely unapposed on the King's Kraal. 

More P'Doki Warriors appear on the flank ofvthiscadvance rushing forward to engage our hero and his entourage. They ate greeting by a volley which Disorders them and leaves them Shaken! Oh, its those damned 'dice gods' again...

Morale check duly failed of course! The Warriors flee in Rout ~ remember the two Rally chances though!

Two units of the Queen's Own SCEA Rifles drive off more P'Doki Warriors opening the way to the King's Kraal and possible victory!

Finding the King's Kraal largely undefended, the irregular Askari waste no time in putting the huts to the flame! By now Bykalaizii's army is Broken. The remnants skulk away back into the forests to regroup and heal their wounds. The King's Kraal will be rebuilt and Bykalaizii m'Tuubi will wreak his vengeance on Robinson of the River!

A thoroughly entertaining game for both players. The game threw up one or two ideas which we incorporated as we went along. The red End of Turn dice introduced degrees of jeopardy in early turns, but then seemed to hide at the bottom of the dice bag! Some modifications were trialed to the Firing and the Hand-to-hand stats for Robinson's group and for the Europeans leading the Irregular Askari which we felt reflected rather better their attributes. Certainly handling the Natives after the early interrupted Turns (red dice effect) proved challenging and allowed Phil's more disciplined units to steal a march on Bykalaizii! We will reflect on the game experience over the next couple of weeks and perhaps try another run through.

Keep Right On...

...to the End of the Road, or in this case to the end of the newly acquired figures from Wargames Foundry and North Star Africa for The Heart of Darkness project. With these figures added to the collection there should be enough for occasional games with a variety of scenarios inspired by history and fiction ~

I am quietly confident that baring the occasional woke gamer who might drift here casually most readers will clearly understand this and others in the series are of their time. Today's values and opinions have significantly evolved, for the better in most cases, but Wallace's novels set in Colonial West Africa can provide lots of ideas for scenarios, as can the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burrows. Enough of that now though, back to showing the last figures for the project ~

The tribal drummer, drum, witch doctor and heap of skulls from the Congo King set sold by North Star.

I really disliked the witch doctor pose, but I'd bought it so I painted it. Its just a dark blob really! The skulls were much easier!

Probably the most controversial element of the project, carefully labelled by North Star as 'Captives' and without an illustration on the website. They are of course slaves, lets not beat about the bush; no political correctness here abouts and a highly necessary component in games featuring the Arab Slavers faction, or indeed inter-tribal conflicts. Four figures in walking and standing poses and two slave yolks in each pack. I mounted six figures yolked in pairs and two others individually for a bit of variety.

Finally, six more P'Doki Warriors to add to the tribal faction. These are from the Wargames Foundry figures I purchased at 'Ommer'ead back in the early Spring! The Lead Pimple is now devoid of any figures for The Heart of Darkness project I can report, so time to clean up and spray undercoat something else to cleanse and reinvigorate the old mojo...

Added Firepower

While browsing the Wargames Foundry stand at Partizan last month I came across this Askari gun & crew pack featuring a mountain gun and four crew. I must have had this set before at some point, because the crouching figure is already amongst my remaining figures from the original collection based along with some small statuettes. The bugler comes from the Askari Characters pack I also got at Partizan. He will muster into the ranks of the Queen's Own SCEA Rifles in due course.

Phil and I are planning a trial game next Tuesday across the tabletop battlefield here in GHQ. Hopefully he will bring his collection along too, once he's swept the cobwebs off it, to swell the numbers. We'll be using our 'Frankenrules' I first tried out with Paul earlier in the year. They combine Bolt Action Order Dice and Movement rates with Black Powder Firing and Hail Caesar Hand-to-Hand combat. We used the Stamina checks from Black Powder, along with Disorder and Shaken for Morale status. Paul and I thought they worked really well for a first try so I think that I might add in some Special Abilities for the second run through. More on all this I'd hope towards the end of next week after Tuesday's game. 

King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi & entourage

 

I have been beavering away off and on painting various figures for my In the Heart of Darkness project. As I've now completed enough to warrant a post I thought that I would take time to share the latest additions with you. First up naturally is the principle native figure, King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi of the P'Doki. While he figures on a large base with wives/daughters and a witch-doctor I thought we needed a fighting version too. Here he is then, represented by a single figure from the North Star Africa range, Congo Chieftain figure pack ~

As you may recall from a game report posted earlier, he is protected by his close bodyguard unit, the Maiden Guard. I thought there should be a male equivalent and so the Wargames Foundry pack of masked warriors were pressed into service as his Devil Guard, joined by a chieftain figure from North Star's Africa range. The shield pattern matches that of the Maiden Guard to help them stand out on the tabletop battlefield here in GHQ ~

King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi, famed more for his low cunning than martial spirit, is not above seeking an unexpected advantage against any and all enemies. To that end renegade W'Tzoni warriors are recruited as needed for his Lion Guards ~

Strangely, or perhaps not on reflection, these warriors do not seem to enjoy a long career. Perhaps their charge has something to do with that when hunger strikes...?

There remain in the Lead Pimple just a few figures to round off the project, for now at any rate, comprising: six more warriors to swell the P'Doki ranks; a witch-doctor and war drummer for the W'Tzoni faction; and a handful of other figures to serve as objectives or table dressing in future games. Hopefully they will be finished in the coming days, then it will be back to Post-Roman Britain and some armoured infantry Phil has passed to me.

W'Tzoni Warriors

Either side of our sojourn dodging the showers down in the South West I have painted up more Native Warriors for my Heart of Darkness project. All but the Chieftain figure are from Wargames Foundry - the main man himself is from North Star's Africa range. They are slated to be the W'Tzoni, cannibal allies of the Arab Slavers faction, and so to differentiate them from the P'Doki Warriors I have fitted them out with basket weave shields. Sadly painting complex patterns on these proved beyond my hands and eye issues and so I've perforce settled for a brown ink wash in an attempt to bring out the sculpted texture on the shields ~

I have one further group of Warrior figures to show when their bases are finished. There is then a final group of Warriors, together with a secret weapon for King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi's forces, left in the Lead Pimple awaiting their moment under the Brush of Doom, but in the meantime I have to finish the Askari mountain gun and crew. While we were away I squeezed off a sly order to North Star for a few further native figures some potential game scenarios will need. More on those of course as and when...

Forgotten Figures

 Just before we came away last week I finished two more figures for the Heart of Darkness project. They are gun bearers in my view, though one at least was from the Askari Character figures pack. I've fixed them on single figure bases so they can be added to any party of figures in a game as needed. Anyway, here they are ~

Wargames Foundry figures of course, so the sculpts are over 30 years old now but still wearing well in my opinion. A little fun with an AI generated setting ~

Back in the groove over the coming weekend I hope as there are several figures on the painting desk in various stages of completion. To end this short post, a few pictures of the P'doki village I made back in the 1990's which featured in the April and May 2000 editions of Wargames Illustrated. 

The figures I managed to complete before the R&R trip to the South West posed next to the scratch built native village.

A Pulp Figures damsel in distress will surely need rescuing from the clutches of King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi...

There is more from the...

Despite the rather warm spell for late May I've still managed a little time wielding the Brush of Doom.  The current victims are more of the Foundry figures I picked up at 'Ommer'ead,  supplemented by a Copplestone Castings Chieftain and some Foundry Askaris I picked up at the recent Partizan. The single Askari figure will join the Colonial elements in future games while the base of two figures is versatile enough to serve the Arab Slavers, the Ruga-Ruga and even muster into an Explorer's expedition. The single female warrior will join King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi's Maiden Guards of course ~

The Warriors with spears and round hide shields will join their fellows in the P'Doki element of future games. 

They might resist Colonial forces under Robinson of the River, ally with Arab Slavers for a quick profit, ambush an Explorer's or Big Game Huner's expedition, or even defend the Lost City of R'Nzli against exploitation by a determined archaeological expedition ~

That's it now for a while, as Sue and I are off for some R&R down in the South West. Fingers crossed for better weather than is currently forecast for next week! I'll close with an old friend you will have seen before ~

🎼🎵🎶"Summertime..."

"...and the living is easy." It's that time of year once more when folk start to head off on holiday as summer moves into view and all falls quiet on the GHQ gaming front. Phil and Di are off to Cornwall, Paul and Liz to Devon, Partizan is now just a happy memory, so I am in 'Billy No-Mates' mode once again. No need to feel sympathy for me though, I've plenty of hobby related activity in hand, so what better time to reveal the latest figures to endure their moment under the Brush of Doom?

Firstly then in The Heart of Darkness project expansion, a group of Ruga-Ruga figures. A mixture of Wargames Foundry Darkest Africa and Copplestone Castings Africa figures, the latter via North Star. Lead by the fearsome warrior Al Bakr Medhi-Medhi they strike fear into any opponent's heart ~

Next are the Tribal Archers to give King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi's forces some hitting power at distance to support his groups of Warriors as they close with the Colonial forces ~

Once again these are a mixture of Copplestone Castings and Wargames Foundry figures, the latter including two figures from the pack of Natives in fearsome masks! There are another group of Native Warriors well underway together with a couple of Askari figures, the latter which can join either an explorer's expedition or the Ruga-Ruga groups. I've also cleaned up an Askari mountain gun and crew and a few more Askari Character figures ready to spray undercoat, if/when the weather improves that is! Time for me to wield the infamous Brush of Doom once more then...

Meanwhile, back in the Heart of Darkness...

 ...I have been wielding the Brush of Doom over the first few figures I bought at 'Ommer'ead from Wargames Foundry, or subsequently from North Star by mail order. First up are some Copplestone Castings female archers. These five figures are destined to join the Maiden Guard of King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi in British South Central East Africa - a lost 'colony' not even recalled today by aging stamp collectors!

I've provisionally decided on mostly round bases of 50, 40 & 30mm for all fighting elements in the collection, in groups of 3, 2, & 1 figures. The figures comprising the Colonial arm are so far fixed to their new bases, which need texturing, washing, dry brushing and vegetaing still! Painting these five figures was a good opportunity to experiment with a different colour palette for the ground work, based on Burnt Sienna as the foundation ~

Alongside these figures I've been working on the first of the Ruga-Ruga figures, which I've chosen from both the Foundry and Copplestone ranges, and a test Foundry male native archer. I expect their fellows will appear in a future blog posting as and when they are done, but in the meantime here are the test figures I just mentioned ~

I've no firm recollection of when I assembled the older parts of this collection, but judging by the mix of figures in comparison with the current blistering it may well have been back in the now sadly lost Golden Age of buying individual castings. While I'm on a roll with the project in question I have cleaned up, assembled and spray undercoated the relevant remaining figures in the Lead Pimple, mostly a mixture of various Warrior types with spear and shield. My plan is to process all of the figures now ready for their passage under the Brush of Doom before returning to the Age of Arthur project. Plans though, we all know what happens to them don't we?

Now, where did I put that old stamp album?

*Stamps & map courtesy of Gemini of course.