En Garde: Rathbone and the Fat Knight

The Fat Knight has been out on the Great North Road attempting to rob travellers, again...  Rumour has it that he has never actually been successful in this, but he has annoyed his cousin, the Countess of Alnwick.  As the North Country's foremost Aristocratic Lesbian Vampire, Countess Ingrid has sent one of her henchmen, the duelist Rathbone, to capture the Knight, and deliver him to Alnwick Castle.

The Countess wants a quiet, and probably fatal word with the Knight...

The Bishop's Guard have also decided to take Sir Huge into custody.  Captain Cushing, that clever tactician, has decided to wait until the knight has lost his drinking competition with the Priest, and arrest him when he finally falls unconscious.

The door of the Inn bursts open and Rathbone's men enter, probably soaking wet since according to the scenario dice a rain storm is lashing down outside.

At table A is the Bishops Guard, Captain Cushing, Corporal Nym, the swordsman Bardolph and Solomon Whitemoore.

The Knight and his henchman "The Ancient Pistol," (almost certainly a comedic name referencing his age withered ... equipment) are seated at table B conducting a drinking competition with Father Dick Emery, a Catholic Priest.
Emery is awful, but you have to like him!

Entering through the door at point C Rathbone has Fang and Snare, as well as Feeble.  

Civilians inside the Inn are Mistress Quickly, Doll Tearsheet, Bubbles McGurk and Jim the keg boy. (Jim is employed to carry kegs around the Inn)

The Scenario
Capture
Both sides will attempt to take control of the knight.  

SET-UP
• Forces: Both sides are of equal points value.
• Terrain:  For this scenario the KnIghtfield should be in the exact centre of the board, however the use of the Inn skews this,  so he is located against the far wall.
• Weather: Not inside the Inn, but outside it is tipping it down.  No slow match can be lit outside the Inn. 
• Time of Day: Early evening 
• Deployment: Edge deployment.

VICTORY
Both sides are attempting to take control of the objective, which counts as a (very) heavy 
object. To count as having control, a model must be in base-to-base 
contact with the knight, not be Engaged and to have subdued him.  
If one side controls the objective at the end of the game (or has been able to remove it from the board), it gains an additional 5 Victory Points.

GAME LENGTH
The game lasts for 8 turns.

Turn 1.  Rathbone wins priority.  He will be first to move and choose the order of all fights this turn.  Rathbone's men enter the Inn.  The Bishop's men reposition and draw pistols.  Solomon aims at Feeble (he has a feud with the Feeble boys)  Cushing aims at Rathbone..  

Turn 2.  Cushing wins priority.
He fires his pistol at Rathbone, at +1 for his aim.  He rolls 5+2 plus a shoot score of 2 and the turn aiming at +1 (11).  Rathbone has - 6 as the target.  The final hit score is 5, a grievous wound, almost a kill.
Rathbone moves the short distance to contact Ancient Pistol, but he is at -2 from now on.
Solomon shoots next, but misses Feeble


Fang and Nym move alternately from each side to join the combat.

Rathbone chooses 3 Attack counters and two defence from the comabt pool.  Fang chooses 1 attack.
Pistol chooses 2 Attack, Nym chooses 1 Attack 1 Defence.
Initiative, Pistol is using a pistol as his weapon which is fast +5 to initiative.  It's one of the few weapon stats I use, apart for a +2 on a dagger attack.   He rolls 6 (+5) and adds his character initiative of +1 for a mighty 12.  Nym rolls 6 (+1) Rathbone rolls 3 (+2), Fang rolls 1 and has no modifier as a level 1.  The order of attacks will be Pistol, Nym, Rathbone, Fang.

All of this takes seconds to do, but needs a lot of explaining!


Pistol shoots as his close combat attack.  3+4 (plus his FIGHT score of 2)  9.   Rathbone defends and rolls the double.  Double 6 means he gains an extra attack counter.  Pistol's attack fails miserably.
Nym strikes at Rathbone too.  3+4 plus his fight score of +2.  9.
Rathbone draws a defence counter and parrys with a 10, miss.

Rathbone now attacks pistol with a sword cut.  1+5 plus his fight score of +5. -2 for that wound (9)
Pistol defends with a single dice roll of 5 Fight +2  (7)   A light wound.
Finally Fang gets to attack, with a sword thrust at Nym.  He rolls 1+5, plus his fight score of 1 (7)  Nym parrys with a defence counter 2+5 +2 (9)  The attack misses.

The Combat initiative has come back round to Pistol.  He fires his left hand gun into Rathbone's chest at point blank range.  6+4+3 -1 (12)   Rathbone defends 4  +5 -2 (7)  With a second grievous wound Rathbone falls to the floor (to be replaced by one of my army men casualties!)

Mistress Quickly's pet pig!

It is the end of the turn and since Rathbone's men have lost their leader they must roll morale.  2d6, looking to roll lower than a 7 they roll a 7.  
Rathbones men are wavering. 





 Turn 3

The Bishop's men win priority.

Near the table at the far side of the room Cushing reloads.  Snare moves to engage Pistol.  Bardolph joins the fight.  Feeble short moves towards Whitemoore, and takes an action to recover the plot point from the table. 

A quick roll on the plot point table reveals that it is a moment of epiphany.  A puzzled Feeble points at the fat knight and delivers the classic line, "But I know this man!"  Perhaps Sir Huge owes the Feeble family money.  He owes everyone else!

The Plot Point "But I know this man!"

Whitemoore reloads.
Snare challenges Bardolph and moves into contact with him as a duel between the two begins.
The fat knight fails his cowardice roll (that being one of his attributes)  He slinks towards the door at his lumbering slow 4" move speed.  Perhaps he has recognised Feeble too!
The priest meanwhile has opened the trapdoor, and vanishes down the Priest hole.

Lastly Bubbles McGurk draws her daggers and approaches Feeble from the rear...

Fang chooses one attack from the Combat Pool.  Nym chooses 1 Attack 1 Defence. Pistol chooses 1 Attack 1 Defence
Pistol wins initiative and attempts to club  Fang with the now empty guns.  2+3+2 (-2 for the weapon, -1 for his wound) 4
Fang rolls 6 +1 and the attack fails.

Nym attacks Fang with 1+3+2 (6)  Fang defends with 4+1 (5)  The difference of 1 is a stunned result for Fang.  But his opponents are out of attack counters and he has survived the combat.

Snare and Bardolph duel.  They are rivals for the affections of the prostitute Doll Tearsheet.  Each take an attack counter.  Bardolph wins priority.  He rolls 4+5 and his fight score of +1 for a 10.  Snare rolls 2 +1 a 3, he is run through and killed outright.

Rathbone's men roll morale.  They are already wavering so this is mandatory at the end of the turn.  The dice roll of is over 7, and has additional modifiers that take it up to 9.  The warband goes from wavering to routing.


In the confusion the Fat Knight slips out of the door and escapes into the rain.


Game pretty much over.  The Bishop's Guard earn 7 Victory Points for Rathbone (Level 5) and Snare (Level 1) plus a single point for the two routing level 1 figures.

Bardolph is promoted to level 2 (For 5 points)  His fight with Snare was the winning point of the game. 

My three taster games have set the scene, and established some of the key characters for my Hammer in the North solo campaign, although I still need to source a few additional figures.  I`m liking this 54mm scale.

54mm Conversions and "cheap dip"

I've done more than a dozen conversions for my 54mm En Garde project.  Almost all have involved removing muskets to add swords.  Sometimes additional daggers or pistols have been added, quite often head swaps and green stuff.  The "A Call to Arms" figures I used were almost all musket armed and this meant a lot of conversions. 

I have played a lot of En Garde!  I knew what I was after with these figures, swaggering swordsmen rather than militia musket men, and this meant snipping away muskets, bending arms and repositioning hands to take swords.



Several figures needed a lot of green stuff.  Sir Huge, a Falstaff like fat Knight required a big belly as well as boots and cuffs, belts and hat feather.  Not clear in this shot is the grenade he also carries on that sash just behind him here.

The left hand pistol needed some work after this picture was taken.  Sir Huge is slow, but has the powerful attribute... just look at those arms!

Huge's  decrepit henchman and Servant is the "Ancient Pistol," his real name is long forgotten. He is named for his weapon off choice, the snaphaunce Pistol,  of which he carries two, as well as two slow match pistols hung on his belt.

Like his master the Ancient Pistol is slow, but in combat he is a real handful.


At the point of this photo the figure needed detailing and a dip coat, followed by a varnish.

It was also at this point that I discovered my Strong tone Army painter had dried up, and the gunk that was left beneath a crust in the tin was oxidising any paint it contacted.  Time for a re-think...

Here is my solution, at £3.65, in a 250 ml jar from Boyes, it's a lot thinner than Army Painter, but applied with a paintbrush it works fine.  I'm never paying £20 for dip again.
It is a redder brown than strong tone, but it works.


What it doesn't do is give a protective coat, just the dark stain, so a jar of Humbrol gloss (or satin or matt, take your pick) finishes the figure off.  These are big toy soldiers so I went for gloss as a personal preference ( but usually I'd be satin)

The fat Knight,  modelled with his doublet burst open from his belly and his assets swinging free... need to touch up that hand.

Quilp the Highwayman with a dirty secret...

This is the swordsman Corporal Nym, showing the oxidisation on his hat here.  I killed that with a brush over in turps, followed by stain, followed by gloss.  Actually  I stained his face again after this, and of course he needs his name on the rear of the base.

Captain Lee

Captain Cushing, from the same base figure as the Priest.

Bubbles McGurk, from a pound shop army man plastic figure.  She is around 40mm tall, so basically a double dagger dealing dwarven doxy.

The next game I'm planning is a return to the Queen's Head, where the gang of the duellist Rathbone are determined to kill the fat Knight, whose friend, Catholic Father Dick Emery, has hidden in a priest's hole behind the fireplace to avoid Captain Lee...  Game on...

A second fight in the Queen's head...

My second game of En Garde! in a series of warm up games before I start a solo campaign.  I have added more figures, all converted from 54mm plastics, as well as making a good start on the Inn (the cardboard box I nicked from a skip!)

The floor of the box in now tiled and undercoated burnt umber, as are the inner walls.  Two of the walls had wooden beams added to give a flavour of the Renaissance.  

The County Palatine of Durham has been the seat of some of the worst religious fighting in England.  Catholic agents move through the county on their way from Scotland and France.  One of the very worst of these is Sir Patrick of Troughton, a former Doctor, disgraced Lawyer and defrocked priest.  He was knighted by Old King James, but since those days his loyalties have been suspect.

The scene of the action is once again the Queen's Head Inn.  Mistress Quickly and her girls are hosting Captain Lee and his Bishop's Guard.  The ale is flowing and Lee's men are enjoying themselves.  As for Lee himself, well its difficult to say.  He hasn`t enjoyed himself since the last mass Catholic burning.

 As part of the Inn have added some chairs, a table and bench, although for the look of it I probably need to double the number of these.  

As the door is flung open the guard turn to see Troughton, the Bishop's old adversary and his men entering the Inn.  Game on...

Lee is level 4.  He has with him Corporal Nym (3), Kinsky the hunchback dwarf (2), Ned and Blunt (1).  Blunt is carrying his Arquebus!

Troughton (5), has Lawrence Chaney (3) as his very hairy second in command, the swordsmen Lorre and Carradine, as well as Burr, an Arquebus man, all level (1)

Troughton wins priority, and charges in.  Movement is alternate as the figures jostle for position, choosing which fights to join.  

Lee finds himself with Nym facing Lorre.  Troughton and Chaney attack Ned, but Kinsky is agile, and vaults the table to join Ned in combat.

 

Burr moves off to the left, looking to outflank the fight and fire his Arquebus into the melee.  Blunt simply stands up and shoots across the room at Burr.  The range is all of eleven inches.  Blunt rolls 4+5, plus his shoot skill of 1 for a score of 10.  As the target Burr starts at -6, and -1 for his leather coat giving a final hit score of 8.  He receives a grevious wound.

 In his melee Sir Patrick wins the initiative.  Kinsky successfully defends.  Chaney attacks Ned, killing him outright.  

Kinsky attacks Troughton with a "Mighty Blow" ploy, using his two Combat pool attacks.  He rolls 1+5+6, discarding the one he adds his fight skill of 3 for a mighty 14.  Troughton parrys rolling 2+3. Even his Buff coat can`t save him and Troughton drops to the floor unconscious.

For a hunchback dwarf that boy can fight!

 Chaney takes another cut at Kinsky, but fails, and Kinsky himself uses his dagger to strike left handed at Chaney.  He rolls the Doublé, a double six means that he regains that attack dice.  in any event it is devastating.  Chaney rolls 1 +2 and is killed.

 Blunt tries again, having actually managed to reload!  He rolls double one.  Misfire. 

 Across the room Captain Lee wins the initiative and uses an extra attack dice from his combat pool to attempt a mighty blow ploy.  He rolls 2+4+5 and discards the low dice (9) plus his fight score of 4 is a high score of 13.  Lorre spends aadefence combat pool countercou parry.   He rolls a 2+3, and his fight score of 1 for a 6. With aadifference of seven he  is spitted on Lee's blade.   In true Lee fashion the Captain runs him through again with his remaining attack dice... just to make sure!

Troughtons men are wavering, rolling 5 on 2d6  (to pass a morale roll they needed 7)

Lee wins priority for the second turn.  Kinsky charges into Blunt.  The Dwarf rolls 6+3, plus his fight score of 2 (11) Blunt rolls 2+3 plus his fight 1 (6). He has a light wound already so this greivous wound renders him unconscious.

The game is a forgone conclusion; Troughton's warband is routed (although it should be noted that the only actual survivor was Carradine, who took no part in the fighting and used his movement phase to move out of reach, so he was probably routing anyway)

The unconscious Troughton was picked up and transferred to the castle dungeons to await the Bishops  pleasure...

On Troughton's body Lee discovers the plot point... "A Purloined Letter!"
It is addressed to the infamous duelist Basil Rathbone, another of Lee's enemies.

Sword fight in the Queen's Head, En Garde!

So I didn`t exactly rob a skip, not quite, but whilst out looking through a bathroom fitting shop for a shower able to stand the weight of a 20 stone adult I just happened to see a empty cardboard tile box, 18" square, sitting unattended... beside a skip...

Perfect.  Once I have laid a pattern of thin card squares as the flagstones, and done the walls as a mixture of Tudor frame, stone and wood work, it will be my new storage box for the 54mm.  It will also be a terrain/set area, representing the interior of an Inn, or a courtyard, the interior of a barn or a hall, or perhaps just a city square...

At the moment then, pretty much just a box I may or may not have nicked from a skip, but give me time.  For the game I`ll be adding trapdoors, a bar, a few trestle tables, benches, stairs and a fireplace...

My heroic collection so far... getting there...

The Fight in the Queen's Head

It is unclear how the fight started.  Certainly the Bishop's Guards had little idea just who it was that they had cornered in the Queen's Head.

It may of course have simply been the beguiling beauty of Mistress Quickly, the Hostess and brothel keeper, or the jaded look of young Doll Tearsheet, her best working girl.  In any event The Bishop's Guard reported that they were only at the Inn at all to enable Captain Lee to "see to his needs," and the dark needs of such a terrible man should not impinge upon this narrative in any way.

Across the room the Bishop's Men saw a motley band of criminals, led by the Highwayman Quilp, who styled himself "Captain" Quilp following a brief and ultimately unrewarding career change into piracy.  Having spotted the Bishop's men, and perhaps to save Mistress Quickly from an unpleasant encounter with Captain Lee (encounters with Captain Lee being almost exclusively unpleasant) the highwaymen decided to have a go.

For the record however, the Priority roll went to Captain Cushing, and so it would seem that it was the Bishop's Men who actually started it...

Lee, Cushing and the Puritan Soloman Whitemoore.

Cushing makes a short move and fires his pistol into Quilp.

                                           Combat Pool Int Fight  Shoot  AR
Captain Lee                               4               2      4      2         2
Captain Cushing                        4               2      4      2         2
Soloman Whitemoore                2              1       2      1         1
                                           Combat Pool Int Fight  Shoot  AR
Captain Quilp                            4               2      4      2         2            
Feeble                                        2              1       2      1         1
Travers                                       2              1       2      1         1

 

Cushing wins Priority for the Bishop's Men.  he short moves and then fires his pistol into Quilp (at -1 for the move)  He rolls 3+5 (8) plus his shoot score of 2, for a hit score of 10.  He moved (-1) and Quilp wears a buff coat (-2) so the hit score is  7.  The score is adjusted by -6, giving a final hit score of just one, but this is enough to cause Quilp a stunned, that will have a minor effect on his ability to fight.

The Non Priority side now move Quilp himself closer to the Bishop's men.  Alternate figures move on both sides, until  Solomon Whitemoore stands his ground and fires his pistol into Feeble.  He rolls 2 x 4 on 2d6, adds his shoot value of 1, for a 9.  Feeble has only a leather jerkin (-1) and after the shooting adjustment of -6 the Final Hit score is a 3.  This is a light wound.  Feeble moves closer drawing his (rusty) sword.

Both Cushing and Solomon are given reload tokens at the end of the turn.

The fight gets pointy

Quilp wins the priority for Turn Two.  He charges into combat with Lee.  (Is that a good idea?)  Alternate movement sees the fight develop into two separate sword fights, both two against one.

Quilp chooses to resolve the fight with himself and Travers versus Lee.  Lee takes two attack two defence counters from the combat pool.
Quilp chooses three attack one defence.
Travers takes one attack one defence.

Lee however wins the initiative and attacks first, with a trust at Quilp.  Lee rolls 5+5 on 2d6, plus his fight score of 4.  Quilp uses a defence counter to parry, rolling 2d6 instead of just one, for 2+4, (minus one for his light wound) plus his fight score of 4. His buff coat (AR -2) makes the final hit score 9 vs 12.  A score of three is a light wound, but Quilp already carries one of Cushing's pistol balls, and the two lights become grievous.  he will suffer -2 to his fight score from now on.

Travers draws an attack from his combat pool, and Lee uses the parry ploy.  Travers rolls 9, but Lee rolls a double 6, riposting, and an attack counter is added to his combat pool.  

Quilp tries a cut, but Lee's Buff Coat saves him.  Lee counter attacks striking at Quilp with a roll of 4+5 plus his Fight score of 4.  Quilp defends with a parry 2+3, plus his depleted fight score of 2.  7 versus 13.  Quilp drops like a stone, unconscious, leaking into the floorboards.

Travers is a little nervous now, since Lee has one attack left in his combat pool.  Lee rolls 2+5 fight score 4, 11.  Travers parrys with a 2+3 (fight score +1)  6.  Travers falls back with a grievous wound.

Travers is the last man standing

In the second fight Cushing wins initiative having chosen three attacks, one defence from his combat pool, and he attacks with a roll of 4+5 and his fight score of 4, 13.  Feeble probably wets himself.  He tries a parry ploy, rolling 3+4 plus his fight score of 2, 9.  Feeble is grievously wounded.
Solomon comes in hard with an attack of 5+6, plus his two fight score, 13.  Feeble hasn`t got a parry left in him and rolls 2, plus 2.  With a difference of over 6 poor Feeble is killed outright.

Travers throws his sword down and surrenders.

Plot Point.  As he falls Feeble whispers, "My brothers shall revenge me..."

Solomon has earned himself a blood feud with the Feeble boys!
Captain Quilp is taken off to the Castle barber to have his wounds sewn, and from there into the Castle gaol, to await the Bishop`s pleasure. 

Solomon Whitemoore gives his felicitations to Mistress Quickly.

Hammer in the North 1634

Hammer in the North 1634
 
The narrative structure of my En Garde campaign is based on the Bishop's War as interpreted through the medium of Hammer horror films.  A movie represents an extended mini campaign within the war, as a sequence of three games with a linked plot.

The game titles and plots have to be vaguely linked to Hammer movies, and I`m starting with "The Witchfinder General" as a pretty straightforward plot.  

I`m anticipating two movies per campaign year, and as in pulp gaming I will adopt some movie terms for the framework.  Different terrain sets will be used for each action scene in the movie.

Durham and the Bishop's War

Captains Cushing and Lee, 1634

It is 1634.  Thomas Moreton, Bishop of Durham, employs two Captains to keep the peace in the Prince Bishopric and along the border.  They are tasked to defend against robbers, Scotchmen, fanatic Puritan Preachers and treasonous Catholic Aristocrats.

Rumours of witchcraft still abound in Durham and the King`s Witchfinder is somewhere in the North, helpfully burning people...

The Games

Action Scene 1
Will be a scenario game from the En Garde rules.  The movie's Stars will be pitted against a villain.  The game, Win or Lose, must have an effect on Scenario 2, and a plot point will be generated at the end of the game. 

Action Scene 2. More is revealed.  The movie's Stars will be pitted against another villain linked to the first, (or a surviving villain).  The game, Win or Lose, must have an effect on Scenario 3, and a plot point will be generated at the end of the game. 

Action Scene 3.  The final showdown.  The movie's Stars will be pitted against the boss villain, (with any surviving villains). The plot points that are won may lead into a sequel movie.  Experience is generated, Wealth is added, additional En Garde attributes may be awarded.

Sample Plot points

1. The purloined letter
2. The Lady's ring
3. A well known dagger
4. The curse of a dying man
5. A purse full of silver
6. A Catholic crucifix
7. A riddling poem by John Milton
8. The token of a lover
9. But I know this man!
10. My brothers will avenge me
11. "This is Treason!"
12. The monologue of a villain

Loot
Purses of the wounded and slain
Loot from the surroundings in this scenario

Characters
Captains Lee and Cushing of the Bishop's guard
The Yorkes, Young and Old
Young Errol
Puritan Solomon Whitemoore

Minor Characters
Mistress Quickly of the Garter Inn
Justice Shallow
Justice Silence
Fang and Snare Justice Officers
Davy, Shallow's servant
Dogberry and Verges 
Doctor Caius (a French Physician)
Rugby the Doctoor's servant
Abraham Slender (The Justice's Cousin)
Simple, Feeble
Fenton a young Gentleman runaway
Mistress Alice Ford
Feste, a Fool and Dwarf
Michal Gough
Patrick Troughton
Lawrence Chaney
Peter Lorre
Burr and Caradine
Tony Perkins
Von Helsing, Doctor of Divinity


Villains
Captain Quilp the Highwayman, a robbing git
Ingrid, Countess of Alnwick, a lesbian vampire
Captain Rathbone the duellist
Vincent Price, the Witchfinder
Miss Helen of Mirren, the witch
Sir Huge Farthingdale, the fat knight, and failed robber

My 54mm Bishops War plan for En Garde!

 Having  used En Garde in "the Flashing Blade," and really enjoyed the games, I was keen to keep playing whilst back in Durham.  I had left the  15mm Blue Moon Figures back in Cyprus, but I wanted to try a larger scale.  The idea of fighting a skirmish with larger figures appealed to me, and after all En Garde is a game that uses space well... 

It is true that larger figures allow more personality to come through as well as allowing a figure to be bespoke for the game.  I wanted to get a feeling of the figures as individuals, especially my star figures.

Since this is a solo game I considered 28mm, and the Warlord Games plastics could work well, but I had something entirely more meglomanic in mind.  54mm...

Now back in the day, 1973 or so, I was quite keen on 54mm "Army figures."  I seem to remember that I kept them in a bucket, unpainted, unbased.  Not really what I will be looking for in an En Garde game circa 2018.

It's a neglected scale for wargaming, I suppose because of the sheer table top size a traditional game would need to be.  En Garde is smaller, and I think will deliver a good game within a 3ft square area, even with 54mm figures.

Sourcing the figures I needed presented some issues.  The 1/32 "A Call to Arms" English Civil War figures come 16 to a box, and can deliver Musketeers, Pike and Artillery.  At 2 boxes for £10 I can afford to do some conversions, and Im going to need to.  

En Garde!  A lot of black leather!

 For En Garde I need swordsmen, and that means cutting away muskets, bending arms, green stuffing hands and folds and adding sword blades daggers and hilts. 

Add into this mix head swaps, weapon swaps, and pistols; modifying the dignity of at least one musketeer to create some ladies in gowns, servants and peasants.  

It's an ambitious modelling plan, even before I create the bespoke terrain features for an En Garde game.

I am a novice to working in this scale, but so far its been enjoyable.  The limitations of the plastic figures and one of the most interesting aspects.

Mistress Quickly, the hostess with the mostess, of the Queen's Head, is a case in point.  I have further work to do, including adding a deadly bodkin in her right hand... for non paying customers!


I perhaps went a little too far with the nipple rouge...  still she is a bit of a babe, for a former Royalist Musketeer...