My warbases order arrived so I could work on my larger miniatures. Here are 2 Dire Wolves and 5 Wolves from the wolf pack of the Demonworld line of Ral Partha Europe.
I varied the darkness of the fur coat by diluting my final wash in different concentrations.
These are the unique poses I received in my 16 pack miniatures from the Indian Horde of “Z” range from Museum Miniatures.
Really muscular fellas, they’re going to fit in well with several wargaming and rpg scenarios. I like the variety of armaments.
Continuing through my Museum Miniatures order, here are the unique poses of my Greek Archers.
Again, went with simple distinct white tunics and earth colors.
Some greek javelin men from Museum Miniatures “Z” range. Weirdly one sculpt didn’t appear in the website pictures, and I didn’t get two of the other poses. Nevertheless I liked the set. Here are painted the 3 unique poses out of the 8 of the pack.
I went with a simple white tunic and brown hair. I used bronze for the shield and javelins.
My first foray into miniature mounts came with the Museum Miniatures Donkey Pack. Had to look up some donkey reference pictures, and went with the typical gray coated donkey.
I think these will fit in along nicely with my porters
A scene wouldn’t be complete without some non combatants. Here are some porters from the baggage crew of the ‘Z’ sculpts from Museum Miniatures.
For this Five Leagues from the Borderlands session I’ll try a new journal style that might be easier to keep up with.
I’ll be writing the campaign turn mechanics and aftermath, as well as posting photos from the battle between them. But the narrative will be altogether in the end.
Since I was finding that my warband walks through encounters unchallenged, I will be trying some new optional rules. They will be posted later on in detail, and I’ll keep you updated. In sort, there will be a limit to how many Adventurers I can field, any excess (called Agents) will be sent of to quest on their own, with their whereabouts unknown until they return. If they stay in the village I’ll have to pay upkeep.
Village Events: Offerings of food and Ale. Seems I don’t have to pay upkeep costs. Maybe I’ll keep them in Eerfeld, safe and sound.
Healing Up: Ardus -1RT=5RT
Actions:
Ardus (supported by Evie): Visit the town healer: (6): -2RT=3RT
Roving Wanderer: Forage for herbs: 1 Medical Herbs
Wigmar: Labor: +2GM
Where are we going: Go adventuring
Sell Unwanted Gear: Nothing sold
Trade: Nothing
Adventuring: Combat Encounter: Dark Secret: Fanatics: Encounter While Travelling: No leadership presence: No Personalities: 7 Fanatics (1 Archer): 13″ apart: Seized Initiative
Theme: Near a farm house
Oddities: Fleeting Encounter
Unusual Finds: Evidence (Dark Secret Camp)
Experience:
Gustav: +1 Agility
Roving Wanderer: Nothing Gained
Loot: 6 GM, Longbow
This week there was a feast in Eerfeld. Saint Patron’s Adeus. The villagers seem to have found affinity to us, and with the outlaw threat eliminated, they’ve come with offerings of food and ale. I was about to send Bruno, Alida and Frans questing, but the villagers wanted them to stay. Truth is they could use the rest, and the villagers the extra feeling of protection.
I went to the healing lady with Ardus. He barely made it alive from the last battle, so I stayed and helped however I could with my knowledge of herbs. She seems to have taken a liking to my presence and no longer grimaces when I bring more wardens in need of her skills.
The rest of the wardens did some side tasks, foraging and helping with the fields, before we gathered and set off to prove once more to the villagers of Eerfeld that their trust in us is worth it.
It didn’t take long before we heard war cries from near a farm house. We drew our swords and bows. Dusk was falling, so the time was limited before we would lose the enemy in the darkness. Me and Gustav took one side of the farm house while Rudiger, Wigmar and another warden, the roving wanderer the other. The enemy made no effort to stay hidden. Screaming madmen, fanatics, charged furiously at us, but we were ready. Their menace was so great that it took me 3 arrows to bring the first one down. 7 of them alltogether, they were no match for us. I killed two, Rudiger and Gustav killed two more, while another was brought dead by the roving wanderer. What struck me as odd, was that they did not yield or flee, but stood to fight to their last drop of blood. Not that it made any difference, as we managed to clear the farm before nightfall.
Evie’s Journal, week 11
We searched their belongings, finding a longbow, 6 gold marks along with a letter, signed from ‘Crerdieu, Host of the Bleak Keep’, and a crude map showing the keep, Eerfeld, and places they were looting. Maybe we should pay Crerdieu a visit.
My warband is strong enough to defeat enemies coming their way. I really like the reduced numbers, which both give a challenge, and made the game faster. I’ll keep playtesting them. Looking forward to reducing the threast to Eerfeld to 0, and seeing how the game progresses, but I also want to clear the Bleak Keep before I do so.
Another solo game of Knyghte, Pyke and Sworde by Nordic Weasel Games. Now I went ahead and used the Fantasy Preview rules, and also took note of the mistakes I made during my last game, in order to not repeat them again.
The theme is undead vs dwarves and halflings. In contrast to the previous battle, feeling more safe, I only stayed true to the points cost of the opposing armies. I have created a new terrain board, which I wanted to try out. I chose a SAGA battle on the concept Pitched Battle.
| Undead (88) | Dwarves and Halflings (87) |
|---|---|
| Zombies Rabble (3) | Arquebusiers Fire (3) |
| Skeleton Warriors Lights (3) | Dwarf Warriors Shields (3) |
| Skeleton Knights Chargers (+1 Fighting,+1 Armor) (3) | Halfling Spearmen Polearms (3) |
| Skeleton Spearmen Polearms (3) | Dwarf Heroes Chargers (3) |
| Vampire Captain Captain – Cha:3 | Dwarf Lord Captain (1) – Cha:3 |
| Vampire Fighter | Halfling Hero Fighter |
| Vampire Scout | Halfling Ranger Scout |
Gilda was picking turnips by the hillside, when something odd happened. She saw the turnips around her shriver and die. She stoop up, as tall as possible for a halfling, and looked around her. All the vegetation withered. Where there was once green, patches of ash and dirt appeared and expanded.
A heavy chill clouded her heart.
She heard a weird sound… like clacking… bones, and looking up on the hill, what she saw she will never forget. Corpses marching, weapons drawn, with a course, towards her village.
Her feet were heavy as lead, she couldn’t move. She had to warn them. She was about to faint, when the loud sound of a horn blowing, woke her up from her stupor. Someone else had seen the dead too!
Dwarf and halfling warriors, all together in unison, took positions on the opposite hill. Gilda run towards them as fast as she could, and quickly she was in the safety of her village, hiding with the rest of the civilians, while on the outside, the battle for their lives was about to begin.
The dwarves and halflings win initiative, but there’s no combat as both sides run towards each other.
Some of the finest dwarves, under the leadership of Lord Kirim were already in formation. Ironshields and Skullbreakers as well as Thunderrers. Halflings, little folk from the hills, had sent their militia, armed with spears to fight on their side. Two halfling heroes, Ben the Tough and Larry the Sly lead them in battle.
Across the valley, what stirred the dead wasn’t a puny necromancer or cleric of death. A vampire coven thirsty for blood had used their dark powers to animate the corpses. Most likely the corpses of their own victims.
Eager to take up strategic positions, and maybe fortify themselves in the tower, the two sides run towards each other.
The Undead win initiative, but there’s still not blows exchanged, as the skeletons are barely outside the arquebus’ range
Avoidin the Thunderrers, the Vampires lead their troops downhill, to the south side, behind the tower and tree grove.
Hoping to avoid a broken flank, Kirim orders half his troops through the trees to face them, while the rest of his force continues forward in an attempt to encircle the enemy.
Dwarves and halflings win initiative
| Undead | Dwarves and Halflings |
|---|---|
| Zombies Rabble (3) | Arquebusiers Fire (3) |
| Skeleton Warriors Lights (2) | Dwarf Warriors Shields (3) |
| Skeleton Knights Chargers (+1 Fighting,+1 Armor) (3) | Halfling Spearmen Polearms (3-) |
| Skeleton Spearmen Polearms (1) | Dwarf Heroes Chargers (2) |
| Vampire Captain Captain – Cha:3 | Dwarf Lord Captain (1) – Cha:2 |
| Vampire Fighter | Halfling Hero Fighter |
With the skeleton knights in range, the Thunderers fire a volley of lead towards them. But they’re so unnerved by the unreal foe, that all their shots miss.
Charging into each other, the little folk spearmen and the skeletons clash. Ducking and dodging, the short people evade their enemies blows, while managing to send one into oblivion and damaging another so much that their ribcage shatters in half. Assisting his animations, a vampire minion swoops down into the halfling spearmen. The little man is scared, but in his fright, he turns his spear toward the vampire, who receives a nasty wound and backs off. Larry sees the creature grasping its wound, and quickly but decisively drives a wooden stick through its heart. It screams in an unknown language and dies out, vanishing in dust. Unstoppable, the skeleton warriors, charge at the ranger, he fights valiantly but is outnumbered. He falls under the undead, taking one skeleton with him. Ben screams and joins the fray, wanting revenge for the loss of his friend, he sends one more skeleton into oblivion
On the other side of the valley, in the plains, the vampire lord and his minion move towards the Skullbreakers. He engages in close combat, and with supernatural strength, he kills one of them, drinking his blood and sending shivers of fear in the rest of the brave dwarves.
Lord Kirim screams at the little folk. “Go on you little bastards! Show these rattlebones what you’re made of! Your kin rely on you! Destroy the unholy abominations! Charge!”. The spearmen charge, but the skeleton is indifferent. With cold precision it wounds one of the halflings and pushes them back.
Undead win Initiative
| Undead | Dwarves and Halflings |
|---|---|
| Arquebusiers Fire (3) | |
| Dwarf Warriors Shields (3) | |
| Skeleton Knights Chargers (+1 Fighting,+1 Armor) (3) | Halfling Spearmen Polearms (2-) |
| Dwarf Heroes Chargers (2-) | |
| Vampire Captain Captain – Cha:2 | Dwarf Lord Captain (1) – Cha:1 |
| Halfling Hero Fighter (-) | |
The vampire minion flies onto the Skullbreakers, wounding one with his claws. They rebound quickly and strike back, flanking him. One hurts him, which isn’t enough to kill such a vile creature, but the second one aims for the neck while the vampire is stunned from the wound, instantly decapitating him.
A wave of dark energy is released, and the zombies crumble to the ground, inanimate. The skeleton knights, held by a stronger spell are not affected as much, and they are pushed back away.
Seeing the battle lost at that front, the vampire lord switches to the other side, near the tower. He commands his skeletons to attack the halflings, and with his focused strike, one halfling falls under the scythe. The Thunderrers shoot at the skeleton, one bullet hitting it, smashing some bones but not destroying it. The skeleton warriors charge at Ben, who fights furiously, showing his skill, and destroying one of them. The halflings push back, attacking once more, eliminating the damaged skeleton. Kirim shouts at them “Again! Again! Leave no bone unturned!” and one of them pushes back into the fray, but tired as he is, he receives a nasty wound on his side. Ben joins into the fight, to cover the gap, but this leaves him in the open, and a rusty scimitar slashes his arm. He stumbles back, just in time for the Ironshields to reach him. They close in, and with their maces and axes, smash a skeleton to pieces.
Dwarves and Halflings win initiative
The battle is over. The Dwarves and Halflings have won.
| Undead | Dwarves and Halflings |
|---|---|
| Arquebusiers Fire (3) | |
| Dwarf Warriors Shields (3-) | |
| Skeleton Knights Chargers (+1 Fighting,+1 Armor) (3) | Halfling Spearmen Polearms (2-) |
| Dwarf Heroes Chargers (2-) | |
| Dwarf Lord Captain (1) – Cha:1 | |
| Halfling Hero Fighter (-) | |
Ben, wounded, sees eye to eye with the vampire. He charges, but it’s a half arsed attempt, and scores no hits.
The skeleton knights, with the spell back to strength, close back in, while the Ironshields attack the vampire. Flanking him, they bash him down to a pulp.
Wanting to eliminate the last enemy, Kirim shouts at the Ironshields to attack the skeleton knights, and as one of them does, he receives a swift blow from a rusty bastard sword. It was a wrong call, as soon, the skeletons stand motionless. The spell holding them together has been broken.
Cheers sound across the battlefield. Dwarves and halflings hug together yelling for victory. Some of them go quickly to tend the wounded. This will be a day to be remembered.
The more I delve into skirmish miniatures gaming, the more I love it. KPS can definitely handle varied styles of combat. I liked the Fantasy Preview. There are some things I would have done a bit differently, especially coming from a WHFB background, but I decided not to touch them now, as I want to see the upcoming complete KPS Fantasy before doing so. Ivan from Nordic Weasel Games has shown more than often that he tweaks the rules to just the right amount. The end result is 90% common to what I have in mind, which speaks a lot, as I consider myself a very demanding person in terms of rulesets.
I’d love to have made the Vampires stronger, but I’m still learning, and also I had to abide by the number of miniatures at my disposal. Maybe I should do so, and balance the dwarves by giving them stronger foot units. Food for thought.
This time I didn’t make as many mistakes. Overall I was very careful. Maybe I missed a bravery test when the Vampire captain was KO at the end, but I can’t remember for sure (I wrote this AP report several days after playing the game, and had to rely on my sketchy notes).
Something else I noticed is the importance of tokens. In my previous game I had used some tokens to count casualties and wounds. This time I decided against it, and their lack thereof was evident. I intend to make some more token for exhaustion, activation and volley statuses, as they are very helpful with bookkeeping.
Finally, I loved my new terrain boards. I made them from corrugated cardboard, foam, paper mache, speckle, coffee grinds, ash and flock. It was quite easy. If I had more flock they’d be more uniform, because I run out, and I had to cover the second board with more coffee grinds and ash, giving a different color and texture. This variety isn’t bad though, it’s just not what I had in mind when I was making them. The size of the two boards together is 2×3 (its 2×1.5 each) which gives a very nice room to play, and they are a bit modular depending on how I chose to place them together (4 different configurations).
Trying different manufacturers, here’s a bunch of xenomorphs from QRF miniatures sci-fi range.
The Aliens and Facehuggers were almost the same pose per pack, so I’m going to show only one of each. The Predators were more lively with a separate pose for each and nicely sculpted.
Getting them right was a challenge and I’m not 100% sure I’ve got the best result, but it’s quite close. Painting them involved a lot of tinting and washing.
Also something went wrong with the final mat varnish and it left white streaks around the base. Thankfully I only varnished around the base rim on that step, which can be easily fixed.
Considering that, maybe the problem is that not all of the rim was painted, so the varnish had nowhere to stick to, and it just run down and pooled as it couldn’t hold on to the bare plastic.
I return to Knyghte, Pyke and Sworde by Nordic Weasel Games. Since I had so much fun the first time, I decided to delve a little deeper and went ahead and printed the rules and Reference sheet to accompany me during the game.
I still don’t have any mounted miniatures, so I prepared a roster for two opposing forces on foot. I went ahead with a Fantasy theme once more, without introducing any new rules, except for one hack that I will describe. The troop classes and descriptions are enough to give the dimension I want for my game.
The theme is orcs vs humans. For fairness (until I devise some solo play AI), I did a symmetric terrain with woods and hills at the corners of my 2×2 table, and a ruined tower (the Crow’s Nest) in the middle. I chose a SAGA battle on the concept Fight for the Hill (in our case the hill is the tower).
I’m still getting used to KPS mechanics, so I didn’t add any upgrades to the troops, but calculated the Points Cost for balance.
| Orcs and Goblins (86) | Humans (86) |
|---|---|
| Orc Archers Missile (3) | Pikemen Polearms (3) |
| Goblin Archers Missile (3) | Champion Fighter (1) |
| Goblins Rabble (3) | Knights Chargers (3) |
| Troll Big One (1) | Ogre Big One (1) |
| Orc Boss Fighter (1) | Lord Captain (1) – Cha:5 |
| Orc Warriors Light (6) | Footmen Shields (3) |
| Orc Chief Captain (1) – Cha:1 | Bowmen Missile (3) |
| Goblins Rabble (6) | Rangers Missile (3) |
So the fantasy hack concerns the Big Ones – a Troll and an Ogre. I gave them a 5″/+1/2/3 with a +1d6 to damage and -1d6 to receive damage. Apart from the Big Ones which don’t have a cost, the Points Cost of the rosters are equal at 86 points. It be interesting to see how equal points forces, but with different qualities and sizes, will fare. Essentially, the Orcs and Goblins have 6 more figures.
As for the Charisma of the Captains, it was all rolled out, and the dice were in favor of the humans.
The Crow’s Nest. Once a tall tower measuring over 30 meters tall, now in ruins, only the ground floor and basement remains. But it is in this basement that long forgotten tomes and scrolls have been left unguarded.
Ulmug cares for one such scroll. The one detailing the fortifications and defense of the human kingdom. With this in his hands, he can plan his raids unopposed. But they are not alone. Human scouts detected their presence, and they mustered a force to meet them.
As they reach the tower’s clearing among two hills, Ulmug makes out the enemy in the distance.
Humans win Initiative.
| Orcs and Goblins | Humans |
|---|---|
| Orc Archers Missile (3) | Pikemen Polearms (3) |
| Goblin Archers Missile (3) | Champion Fighter (1) |
| Goblins Rabble (3) | Knights Chargers (3) |
| Troll Big One (1) | Ogre Big One (1) |
| Orc Boss Fighter (1) | Lord Captain (1) – Cha:5 |
| Orc Warriors Light (6) | Footmen Shields (3) |
| Orc Chief Captain (1) – Cha:1 | Bowmen Missile (3) |
| Rangers Missile (3) |
The two sides close in on each other. Archers and Rangers take position upon the hills.
Lord Albert orders the rangers to rain arrows on the advancing goblins. Their aim is true, and under the casualties, the goblins rout. Screaming for their lives, they run away.
Ulmug with his right hand, Zilug, close in next to the tower, to make sure none of the puny humans block their way.
Orcs win Initiative.
| Orcs and Goblins | Humans |
|---|---|
| Pikemen Polearms (3) | |
| Goblin Archers Missile (3) | Champion Fighter (1) |
| Troll Big One (1) | Ogre Big One (1) |
| Lord Captain (1) – Cha:5 | |
| Orc Chief Captain (1) – Cha:1 | Bowmen Missile (3) |
| Rangers Missile (3) |
Sir Robert sees the orcs take aim at him and shoot their black feathered arrows, but miss. He charges at them with his bastard sword, coming face to face with the bigger orc, but his enemy parries the attack and manages a weak strike on his plate armor.
The goblin archers shoot at the advancing pikemen but miss. On the other side of the battlefield, the rangers shoot at the orc mob, and miss as well. The bowmen next to them shoot at the same enemy, and an arrow wounds one of the orcs, who reach the hill’s foothold.
Lord Albert orders the footmen to charge at the enemy. Fierce fighting ensues, with wounds and casualties on both sides. The orcs weren’t ready to find so much resistance, and the footmen were just the pampered sons of nobles, one or two puke at the sight of gore. The orc mob disperses and they flee in all directions, while the nobles retreat back in a cohesive manner, away from the battlefield. Bunch of cowards Lord Albert thinks.
The dismounted knights are near the tower and charge at Zilug. A knight and the sergeant close in on the orc boss. Zilug kills the knight, but as he does so, he exposes his side to the sergeant, who slashes with a strong overhead strike, decapitating him instantly. Fear strikes at the orcs surrounding them. From the top of the hill, they saw everything loud and clear. The orc archers and goblin mob flee from the battlefield, leaving the goblin archers alone to face the music.
Ulmug orders the goblins to shoot at the knights, in an effort to restore his troops morale. A knight is seriously wounded. The sergeant tries to convince him to stay, but he’s afraid he will perish in the middle of the battlefield, and the two of them scurry away.
The earth trembles as two hulkering figures close in on each other. The humans have an ogre mercenary with them, while Ulmug has brought with him a troll. They clash, but equal as they are, there is no winner.
Humans win Initiative.
The Humans have won.
The pikemen have reached the hill. They charge forward, their long pikes, negating any advantage the goblins have due to higher ground. Nevertheless the nimble short goblins dodge underneath the pikes and wound two pikemen, killing the other. The wounded pikemen retreat in cohesion, reaching the rear of the battlefield, but not abandoning the battle.
With the pikemen out of the way, the goblins shoot at Sir Robert. An arrow hits him, but is deflected by his armor.
The ogre now sees an opening, Ulmug is alone. The ogre isn’t the smartest fella around these parts, but he can add one and one. Seeing the orc shouting orders, he knows he’s the leader. He charges with his heavy footing with his huge axe. Ulmug tries to deflect the blows, and only receives a glancing blow, which is enough to send him tumbling back to the tower walls. Ulmug is down. Seeing their leader down, the goblins scatter and flee the battlefield.
The troll charges at the ogre, in an effort to show who’s the strongest in the battlefield. The ogre is the strongest of the two and cuts the troll’s club in two with his axe. The strike doesn’t stop there, and reaches the troll’s skull, splitting it in two.
With no orc, goblin or troll remaining on the battlefield, the humans have saved the day. The kingdom is secured.
It was an exciting battle! KPS can handle many figures easily, and I had no trouble monitoring what had happened. I need to make a few more tokens for Exhausted and Activated statuses to help me with bookkeeping but even without them, I didn’t lose the grip on what was going on. As I noted above, I made a serious mistake with regards to the Captain Orders, which made the game a bit more swingy than it normally is.
Looking forward to the next battle. As I get more experienced, I’ll be adding more and more options. Eagerly waiting for my mounted figures and bases for cavalry to arrive so that I can expand my roster options.
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
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