Wargaming the Roman Army - Online Extras

Wargames Illustrated asked me to write a piece (which turned into a two-part series) on the Roman army from a wargaming perspective. This was what I considered one of those Holy Grails of tabletop gaming assignments - right up there with the Vikings and the First Crusade. 

The first part appears in issue #272, right in the midst of the biggest collection of Napoleonic articles I think I've ever seen assembled. I'm honored that my work was included in such a magnificent endeavor. 


Anyway - when I took a look at the Roman army, I went all the way back. There's few figures for the earliest warriors, but a fair number of worthy substitutes and - you guessed it - lots of opportunities for conversions. Here's a link to the Wargames Illustrated extra online content for some cool conversions by Matt Parkes (see picture on the right for a sneak peak at the even bigger sneak peak of Wargaming the Roman Army). 

FOW Dogs & Devils

I recently purchased Battlefront's Dogs & Devils, which focuses on Anzio but gives a lot of info regarding the Italian campaigns post-Sicily to the march towards Rome. I mentioned Wargame Illustrated's coverage of the supplement not long ago and I can say that I think the book lives up to the sneak peak and additional material found in the magazine.

I have long wanted to build a unit based on the Herman Goring Division, and they make an appearance in Dogs & Devils, along with the US 3rd Infantry Divsion and the Allied Devil's Brigade (I believe James Garner appeared in a movie about them back in the 60s). They all look like interesting forces to put on the table.

Loot

The summer project blogs are in progress. In the meantime I thought I'd share some thoughts about some fun card and board games that don't take a long time to learn or play.

Loot is a great little card game where the players assume the role pirates attempting to gather up treasure ships.

Each player maintains a hand of cards that fall into the following categories: 

• Numbered and colored pirate ships. Color indicates fleet affiliation and number indicates strength; I believe there is 5 or 6 fleet colors and strength runs from 1 to 6 - or maybe 7.

• Captains. These are colored according to fleet affiliation. Each fleet only has one captain.

• Merchant Ships. These have gold coins imprinted upon them, indicating value. I believe the lowest value is 2, and the greatest is probably 8 or 10. Seems like most fall in between 4 and 6. 

• The Admiral. 

Gameplay

Players put merchant ships into play and attempt to claim them by playing the strongest fleet suits upon them. Captain cards trump, but a player may only introduce one that is affiliated with the pirate fleet they put into play on a particular ship. A player may never put more than one colored fleet against a particular merchant ship. The Admiral is kind of a wild trump card, but he is not all-powerful. 


I have fun whenever I get to play this game, and I highly recommend it for those looking for a good - and short - game that requires a little thought, but yet is not complicated. Four or five players can finish a game in about half an hour.
 

Upcoming Blogs

I've hit a few stumbles this month. Various writing projects have piled up and they have taken a lot of time and effort. That said, I've got some blog ideas that I've been working on in my head at least. 

One is an ambitious look or three at summer projects, both gaming and modeling. I'll also offer some thoughts on inspirations for role-playing games of different genres. Finally, I've got a few Wargames Illustrated pieces coming out this summer that I'll chat about.

Nottingham and the Beginning of the English Civil War

Outside of the Commandery in Worcester, I wasn't looking for any particular sites related to the ECW theme. As it turns out, I kept stumbling across them. On the walkway up the sandstone hill on which Nottingham Castle rests, one can find a marker dedicated to King Charles' attempt to rally Royalist support (see picture to the right).

Dan F of Wargames Illustrated advised me that Nottingham was a Parliamentarian stronghold and that "approximately three men" joined Charles.

Set into the side of the sandstone hill is the pub Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which claims to be the oldest pub in all England. Nice sandwiches and beer - the staff was nice too. Maybe the three Royalist recruits had a pint there before embarking with the king.

Worcester and the End of the English Civil War

I like to visit historical sites. While I have never written anything on the English Civil War, I enjoy studying it. 

We visited the Commandery Museum in Worcester during a holiday trip to England a few years ago. The audio tour leads you through the last desperate hours of the Royalist cause as you walk through the medieval building (which began as a monastic hospital). I recommend spending an afternoon there if you are in the area.

Review: Wargames Illustrated 271

It's been kinda quiet on the blog this week. Frankly, it has been crunch time on several competing deadlines and I just haven't had the time to keep up with the blog. 

I received my copy of WI 271 this week and I got a chance to read through it, so I'll offer a quick (and probably incomplete) review: 


The Flames of War material for The Road to Rome theme, based on the Dogs & Devils release, was pretty good. Lots of interesting bits on army lists and army building - I especially like the advice article on creating a US 3rd Division company at different point levels. I was pleased with the Market Garden coverage few months ago and Battlefront continues to put high quality articles in place. I don't get to play this  game as much as I'd like, but I find the historical content interesting and appreciate the special scenario mechanics. 


I also liked Neil Smith's The Perfect Battle: Aliwal, 1846. Not only is it an informative piece on the Anglo-Sikh conflicts of the mid-19th Century, it has some great sidebars on the 16th Lancers and contemporary accounts of the fighting - as viewed by the soldiers. It also features Black Powder stats for the scenario game. 


The Battle of Melle, 1745. I have actually just started reading it, but it involves WI's Dan F and some of the Warlord Games guys putting on another scenario using Black Powder rules. Nice town layout, and the BP unit tweaks to fit the troop capabilities were good. 


The Little Fighting Fours. I have only skimmed this one, but it looks like it will be a good read also. I really liked the article about the Prussians a few months ago and this one is done along those lines. I'd really like to see more units explored in depth like this in the magazine.


There's more, of course, but I'll stop here. I do want to say that the photos for my Brunanburh article were pretty dang awesome. Again, my hat is off to Dan F's photography. 









 

Battle of Brunanburh Bonus (More Vikings!)

Wargames Illustrated 271 features my take on the epic Battle of Brunanburh, where the Dublin Norse made their last great attempt against Alfred's scions in 937. This material was written in support of the previous issue's Vikings of Ireland theme. The WI website features orders of battle I created using Warhammer Ancient Battles and Warmaster Ancients rules.

I mentioned previously that I really liked Howard Whitehouse's article on the Battle of Clontarf because he made the effort to present the scant historical facts as best as possible and let the mythology provide flavor. This is exactly the way I felt Brunanburh should be handled. Most of the medieval text concerning the battle should not be taken at face value. The orders of battle noted above were created with these kinds of thing in mind. The Brunanburh battle poem, found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (and also presented in the online bonus material), served as my guide; the tweaks especially try to bring out the flavor of the poem.


So now I'm wondering what the lists might look like with Howard Whitehouse's beta Clash of Iron. That sounds like a fun project to try out next month. 

The S.I.E.G.E.

With luck I will get to attend the second annual S.I.E.G.E. in Chattanooga this coming Saturday. This game convention will feature miniature games (fantasy, sci-fi, and historicals), role-playing games, card games, board games, and console games. It's got tons of tournaments.

Dicehead Comics & Games (located in Chattanooga and Cleveland, TN) is organizing the event, but they have received a lot of ground level support from game clubs in East and Middle Tennessee. Shane Grubb, one of Dicehead's owners, really raved about the prize and game master support the convention has received from Battlefront/Gale Force 9. 


I think this all-games convention is what the region needs. I can't recall anything like it in East Tennessee, ever. Folks really have to travel to Nashville, Atlanta, or farther to enjoy a good game convention. Here's to more good gaming in the Southeast.

Coming Soon: Wargames Illustrated 271

It's been a long week as I work on a number of project deadlines, and I expect updates will be a little irregular from time to time. But here's a preview to the next Wargames Illustrated issue, which features my take on the Battle of Brunanburh 937 - more on that later. It also features a cool 19th Century India article by Neil Smith - and more on that later too. 

If you read the kind words WI US Editor Dave Taylor had for me in WI 270's editorial, you saw that I'm involved in an American Civil War project. Yeah - more on that later too - I'm sworn to secrecy at the moment. I did want to say I've had a lot of fun researching and writing about a military subject outside of my Ancients/Dark Ages favorites.

Dominion

I finally played Rio Grande Games' Dominion recently, and I definitely saw similarities between it and AEG's Thunderstone (see my brief review here). Players assume the role of medieval aristocrats attempting to increase their controlled territories through judicious use of political and economic resources. 

I believe the game may be played with only two players, but it seems like it is more fun to have four players (maximum). Again, this is a game of card resource management and the players must decide on whether to build/trim their decks or pursue victory points (growing their kingdoms). The choice between strengthening your hand and purchasing victory points becomes more acute as the game progresses. Offhand, I'd say anytime you get a chance to make a big score on points (grabbing a province), you should do it.


The resource cards do a great job of linking the late medieval/renaissance theme and their game functions/mechanics. For instance, throne rooms and council rooms - the corridors of power - let players multiply the effects of other resources or bring more resources into play, respectively. Players can't ignore things likes workshops or woodcutters, either - they are nuts-and-bolt cards that can serve a number of minor, but essential purposes. 

I highly recommend the game.

Whitehouse on Clontarf in WI 270

I must say that I really like Howard Whitehouse's take on the Battle of Clontarf in his article "The Plain of the Bull" in Wargames Illustrated 270. I got to drive the content for the Vikings in Ireland theme and I knew that the battle would be difficult to portray in any way close to reality. Whitehouse took to dispelling the saga myths, but used them for flavoring - and I think that is the best way to go. Off the top of my head I can name a few introductory books on the period that I've read that don't bother much with exploring the scant historical facts - they just recount saga legends as if they were history - and readers deserve better. Kudos to Howard.

Also of interest - the article presents orders of battle and some basic info for playing the Battle of Clontarf using Whitehouse's "Clash of Iron" rules, currently in beta. The rules should be available for download at wargamesfactory.com in the "none-too-distant future" according to Whitehouse's posts on the Wargames Factory forum. 

Wargames Illustrated: Painting Vikings

Editor Dave Taylor and Josh Landis show us how to paint up some Viking and Irish figures in Wargames Illustrated #270. The article includes some of Wargames Factory plastic Vikings and some of Crusader's metal Dark Age Irish, and a painted likeness of Brian Boru (based on an Angus McBride plate). We also get some how-to steps for painting Celtic knots. 

Speaking of plastic Vikings, Gripping Beast will join Wargames Factory with their own releases later this month. I'm tempted to give both a try. The cover art for WI 270 is taken from the new Gripping Beast figure box.

Paul Davies also gives us a very cool Early Irish Christian Church in his How To Build series. He breaks out the foamcore, Dulux paint, and Dremel tool like no other to make a model church complete with a tower. I wish I could do stonework like that. Anyway, lots of great pics of project and the finished work, plus a picture of the real thing and a list of inspirational source material. 

Greek Fire

I was able to grab some feature space again in Dragon magazine based on Dark Age history. Issue 
#334 featured my piece on Greek Fire, a staple alchemical weapon going all the way back to the 1st edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game. I took it back to its famous historical roots, complete with flame-spewing siphon projectors in "The Fires of Alchemy."

The editors did a great job of putting together a theme that evoked historical and legendary elements of the medieval eastern Mediterranean world. "Monsters of Arabia" (by Wolfgang Baur), "The Janissary," and the "Ecology of the Kraken" were all great pieces. Ed Greenwood's Cities of the Realms feature, "Crimmor, City of Caravans," could easily serve as the basis for a real world trading city between Italy and Asia Minor. 

This wraps up the short look at Dark Ages and Dragon (and Dungeon) magazine this week. At another time, I may take a look at other historically themed content that appeared in its pages. Some of the most interesting things I read in Dragon's pages were based on people, places, and things from the world's past.

Next week may be slow going on the blog, but I think it may be time to talk a little more about Vikings...

The Rus in Dragon and Dungeon

My first published works appeared in Dragon #290 and Dungeon #89. Dragon contained the historical campaign setting "Red Sails," which focused on the history, mythology, and monsters of Eastern Europe of the Dark Ages (ca 600-1100 AD), but focused on Viking Age Russia. I submitted the first draft opus (hard copy by mail!) in September 1999, right before we went to see The 13th Warrior at the theater - seemed very appropriate. I did get a bit of a bad feeling when I saw the advertisements for 3rd Edition D&D in the August issue of Dragon magazine though. A revision and a few editors later, the setting hit the shelves in October 2001. 

Chris Perkins encouraged me to write a supporting adventure for the setting, and I submitted "Rivers of Blood," which I originally titled "Blood on the Steppes." I suppose Perkins made the call on the better name.  The adventure takes place in 9th/10th Century Russia, with the player characters taking sides of a vendetta between competing chieftains - complete with a slave raid, a dangerous river journey, sacred pools, a kidnapping hag, and a fortified market town.

Age of Arthur: Dragon #257 and #263

While taking a few months off from work while taking care of our newborn in the summer of 1999, I queried Dragon Magazine about doing a campaign setting for Arthurian Britain. Editor Dave Gross advised me that it was a great idea - and that they had published Ian Malcolmson's "The Dark Ages" a few months earlier in Dragon #257(pictured right - cover art by Roger Raupp, who did another Arthurian theme cover for Dragon a decade earlier). This is the kind of thing that happens when you don't have a subscription... I did intrigue Dave Gross with another historical campaign idea - but more on that in another post. In the meantime I searched out what I believe must have been the last issue in Atlanta. 

The article offered great advice for modifying the D&D classes through the use of the 2nd Edition-style "kits" so players could assume the role of Saxon thegns, Romano-British horsemen, and clergy. Also, if the players wanted a little more fantasy in their game, the article listed appropriate monsters and the like. 

Malcolmson also wrote a follow-up piece regarding Saxon mythology which appeared in Dragon #263 that fall. It was pretty cool too; readers got to see older and somewhat creepier versions of the gods that appear in the Icelandic sagas.

Coming Up: Dark Ages in Dungeons & Dragons

This week on the blog I'm going to take a look at some of my favorite articles from Dragon magazine which either helped players get closer to a historical setting or bring historical warriors and weapons to their games. My first articles to see publication fall in this category and I'll give some anecdotes on them as well. In the meantime, enjoy the cover from TSR's Greyhawk Wars game, which used Roger Raupp's cover art from Dragon #125. It features Raupp's vision of the showdown between Arthur and Merdraut at Camlann.

Inspiring Vikings: Clare Downham's Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland

It was my privilege to take the lead on the Viking theme for Wargames Illustrated #270. I got to push ideas for the article contents and write a few of them as well. When asked if I would like to write something for the Viking Age, I immediately agreed and decided to offer something that I have not really seen in a wargames magazine before - a frank review of the Norse activity in Ireland taken from political and martial perspectives and put into context of their relationship with Viking, Scottish, English, etc. kingdoms in Britain. 

The introductory article I wrote would not have been the same without Clare Downham's Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland.  She does a lot to untangle the dynastic threads that the Dublin Norse wove throughout Ireland and northern Britain. Her book even has an ultra-cool appendix which lists personalities and their relevant notations in the various annals of the period.

Game Review: Thunderstone

Time for a little game blogging this week - and the promised review of AEG's Thunderstone.


Before I go into the review, let me preface it by saying that I have been advised that Thunderstone's core mechanics are very similar to Rio Grande Games' Dominion. I have seen Dominion played in passing, but I didn't watch long enough to learn much about it. I did hear this statement from more than one person - even a guy who just chanced upon us playing at the local game shop - so I feel I'm offering more than hearsay.

The game takes the fantasy dungeon quest and turns it into an interesting game of resource management and acquisition. Players build a card pool of heroes, weapons, spells, and items and use them to defeat the game's monsters. Every turn one must choose whether to go the village to purchase more heroes/powers/whatever or go the the dungeon and engage the monsters. Defeating the villains gives players experience points and victory points; experience points may be spent to increase a hero's abilities, and victory points win the game. Another way of looking at the game is the recurring question: Should you grow your forces this turn or make a grab for more victory points? For the most part, the players don't directly conflict with one another; when they are able, it tends to be in the form of temporary losses of cards.


We played the intro scenario, which gave a fairly quick and balanced game. Then we played a scenario with randomized resources and it proved much more challenging. We did not have an easy time with making hero/weapon/magic purchases and the monsters were already pretty tough. The lesson here is that the mix of player resources can have a big impact on how fast the game plays and how much determination and strategy one needs to succeed. I recommend the game, and I can definitely see how the same game might not ever be played again.


The last thing I'll mention is that the game looks great - very nice production values and quality artwork. I really like the thick cards too.

Coming Soon: Thunderstone

Time is tight this week on the Pencil & Dice blog, but I thought I'd throw out a sneak peak for AEG's Thunderstone. This is a cool fantasy card game that I got to play a few times over the weekend. I'll give it a review later this week.