HAWKS

Buck

Stug. III Bs from Tamiya

Despite working a string of 50-60 hour weeks and missing most of my club’s gaming events, I have managed to complete a handful of 1:48 vehicles.  I can do these a little at a time, so they fit into my work schedule where painting the 80 Russian infantry sitting on the painting table have had to take a back seat.

2x 1:48 scale BA-64B’s from Tamiya

2x 1:48 scale British Bedford trucks from Tamiya

British 7-ton Armored Car Mk. IV in 1:48 scale from Tamiya

Japanese staff car with the top down from Tamiya

The same staff car with the top up. I think this car looks “cute.”

Two 1:48 scale BA-6 armored cars from Butler’s Printed Models

British light utility car from Tamiya

T-28 tank from Butler’s Printed Models

2x M-8 Greyhound armored cars from Tamiya

Russian 1.5 ton Zis truck, 1941, by Tamiya.

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Chris Palmer     Two Saturday’s ago, on the 18th, we got together for the eighth game in our Ghost Archipelago campaign.  We unfortunately only had 4 of our regular 8 players in attendance.  We continued to work on the scenarios in the rulebook, moving on to the sixth one: The Eritherean Graveyard.    Because of so few players, we only used a 5’x3’ table, with two players on each side.  As per the scenario instructions, the 2 Central Treasures were placed within the graveyard temples; along with one of the regular treasures from each player.   The players’ second treasures were placed normally.
    Because there were just four of us, we used dice rolling instead of our usual chips-in-a-bag method for determining player order.  I got second placement, and chose the spot opposite my old nemesis Skorri, who had first choice, rather than risk ending up across from Herndon and his wall of Archers.  With Skorri and his Beast Warden, Agger, opposite me; Herndon and his Wave Warden, Ashalla, did end up on my right, and Molly Malone and her Storm Warden, Niskaru, diagonally across from  me, facing Herndon.

To see my account of the previous game, see The Stone Circles

A view of the table, showing starting zones.

    The Report

        The Elf Heritor, Lord Fortrywn, had first heard the tales of the Eritherean Graveyards from the sailors on his ship, The Silver Sword.   About half of the sailors believed the stories of the ornate temples and surrounding burial halls of the Archipelago’s large elephant men were false, while the rest believed in their truth, and that they contained piles of gold and other treasures not to mention valuable Eritherean Tusks; all just laying around for the taking.    Over the months the stories the Heritor had heard on his travels around the Archipelago continued, and he began to think there may be some kernel of truth to them.  However it wasn’t until the Elf Lord had found the old scrimshaw map in the bazaar on their last supply stop, that he knew where to look for such a graveyard; to see for himself if the tales were true.
     The seller had thought it was just a novelty piece, with various symbols and swirling lines carved on it; but to the eyes of an old military campaigner like Lord Fortrywn,  it was easy to see it was a map of sorts.
     They arrived at the island a little after dawn, and made their way ashore.   It was easy going, as there were clear paths leading to the island’s interior.  Marked trails worn by centuries of large flat feet, made by Eritherean pilgrims heading to their final rest.    They passed a number of stone markers, crude symbols carved on them, marking the way for the old and very sick Eritherians who made this one-way journey. 
     It wasn’t long before the walls of a tall temple came into view.  They were crumbling and vine covered with age.  Moving closer, they spied one of the graveyard halls. Lord Fortrywn halted his crew to survey the area.  He could see the hall was also in a state of disrepair like the tall temple, it’s walls all crumbled with sections missing in spots.  The roof, if there had been one, was long since collapsed and probably blown away.  The air hung hot and heavy with the smell of death and decay mixed in with the usual stink of the humid rotting vegetation of the jungle.
     Lord Fortrywn crouched down and turned to the crew, and assigned the commands.   With himself he took the Hunter, Bindidell; and the dependable Crew-woman, Arbyn; as well as the Pearl Diver, Salin.    He assigned to his Niece, Marnilyne, (she was also his Vine Warden); the Archer, Tannin; and the Crew-women, Bry and Lilisea.   Crewmen Finil  and Crew-woman, Meriwyn were with Marnilyne, but were instructed to help where needed.

Starting positions.  On the Left; Lord Fortrywn, Bindidell, Arby, and Salin.  On the Right; Marnilyne, Tannin, Bry, Lilisea, Meriywn, and Finil.

              Lord Fortrywn had not even risen to move forward, when he heard loud voices on the other side of the graveyard hall.  From a small area of jungle on the far side, men appeared, and the Heritor quickly recognized the riff-raff that sailed with Skorri Drakenburg, the accursed human Heritor who always seemed to show up and plague the Elf Lord.   Lord Fortrywn couldn’t even begin to fathom how Skorri had found this place and managed to arrive at the same time that he had.  Was there a spy in their midst?
    The Elf Heritor didn’t have long to ponder that thought, before a strange bellow rent the dank air, and a living Eritherean appeared directly in the path of Skorri’s men.  Lord Fortrywn wasn’t sure if it was a temple guard, or some poor soul who had been disturbed from his deathbed.  But, whatever it was, Lord Fortrywn was overwhelmed with joy at his good fortune; knowing that this interloper would buy him precious time, while Skorri and his crew had to deal with it.  Quickly, he gave the signal to advance, and under his breath he hissed, “Hurry!”
     Lord Fortrywn, Bindidell, Arbyn and Salin all rushed for the Graveyard.  Knowing time was critical, the Heritor Surged, and ignoring the rising heat in his blood, he unshouldered his bow, and took a quick shot at one of Skorri’s Archers who was in turn aiming at the Eritherean.  Unfortunately, the Elf Lord’s shot went wide. 
     Meanwhile, Marny and her group headed towards the tall temple to investigate what treasure it may contain.  Stopping at the corner of the graveyard, the Warden cast Ladder on the nearest corner of the temple, and thick ropey vines quickly grew up the side of the ruins to the very top; forming a sturdy natural ladder.  Marny turned to Bry and Meriwyn, and said, “You two climb up there and let me know what you see.”
   Tannin, the Archer, took up a position to offer covering fire, but knew his job would be limited as clouds quickly began to boil up in the sky signifying somewhere a Storm Warden had cast Cloud Cover. (Molly Malone’s Warden, Niskaru.)

Lord Fortrywn and the rest of his command rushes to the edge of the Graveyard, the Heritor Surging to fire his bow.  The Central Treasure can be seen on the wall in the middle of the Graveyard, near the top of the photo.

Arbyn gets tantalizing close to the Central Treasure on the wall before Skorri brings her down.  Lord Fortrywn is climbing up to assist.  Over on the left, Salin moves towards the chest by the pillar.

          While Lord Fortrywn and Arbyn had dealt with the chest on the wall, Salin had spotted a another small chest over on the far right of the graveyard, near a pillar along the wall.  It lay half buried in a pile of bones, and more mementoes left by the dying.  Quickly the Pearl Diver raced to it, but could see a pair of Skorri’s crew heading the same way.  The Pearl Diver drew his sword and prepared to defend the prize.  The first human came wildly at Salin, and he easily cut the man down (Rolled a 20!) The other man was a better swordsman than his fellow crewman, but Salin was able to defeat him as well.
         Meanwhile, at the nearby tall temple, Bry and Meriwyn climbed higher up Marny’s vine later.  The Warden herself, however, raced back along the graveyard wall where she could see Bindidell trying to bandage her wound.  She could tell from the Hunter’s shaking hands that she was badly hurting, so quickly chanted the spell for Waters of Life, and healing water began to form like dew on the Hunters skin.  Bindidell was shocked at first, but looking up, she spotted Marnilyne, and nodded at the Warden in appreciation for the relief.
     The moment of distraction cost the Hunter though, and from around one of the nearby pillars, appeared Skorri’s Pearl Diver.  The man sliced at the Elf, and put a gash across her stomach. (-7 HP)  The Hunter stumbled backwards, clutching the new wound, and trying her best to defend herself wielding her 2-handed sword with one hand.  As Bindidell tried to stay conscious, and keep the Human at bay, she became aware of a chittering above her, and as she glanced up a Screamer Monkey (Summoned by Skorri’s Warden)  dropped down on her head, and sank it’s fangs into the side of her neck.  The Hunter’s whole body seemed to burn with pain from her many wounds, and quickly a darkness flooded into her head, and with the manic chittering of the monkey in her ears, Bindidell passed out and fell to the grassy ground.
     While the others fought desperately around the graveyard, Tannin the Archer had been distracted by a distant buzz that had gradually grown louder.  Turning from covering the tall temple, he spotted a large winged creature  flying over the trees in the distance; behind and to the left of where the group and entered. (Giant Wasp, treasure generated beast.)  As it got closer to the graveyard, he repositioned himself to get a clearer shot, and notching an arrow, fired at the creature.  The arrow hit the insect in the side, and it dropped to the ground like stone.  Bt it wasn’t dead.  (1 HP remaining) It buzzed and twitched it’s wings, and staggered around the ground for a minute.  Then to Tannin’s amazement, with the arrow still sticking from it, the Wasp took off again, though in more of extended hops now than in true flight; and it headed directly for the Archer.

Lord Fortrywn hands off the Treasure to Finil, and Salin takes on two enemy Crewman and bests them both.

     Over in the Graveyard, Salin now saw that the Crocodile was heading his way, along with others of  Skorri’s Crew.  Marnilyn from the other side of the graveyard saw the enemies approaching him too, and she quickly cast Brambles near to where the Pearl Diver stood.  With the Brambles keeping him safe for the moment. Salin, knew it was time to grab the small chest.   As he picked it up with one hand, he noticed a beautiful pearly white tusk laying next to it, and grabbing the valuable ivory object with his other hand, shoved it into his belt. Quickly he turned and ran to get out of the graveyard.
     By this time, the Crew-woman Meriwyn had reached the top of the tall temple to survey the area and see if she could spy anything of value.  She could see two other crews fighting in another graveyard on the far side of the temple.  On the vines several feet beneath, Bry called up to her, “Well?”
    Meriwyn turned to answer, and as she looked down, noticed a bit of shiny metal in the moss and weeds growing on top of the crumbling temple.    Reaching down, the Crew-woman grabbed hold of whatever it was and pulled.  The Elf was surprised when a crossbow emerged from the tangle of vegetation.  She couldn’t fathom how a crossbow had gotten up on the temple.  Well, yes, she could; as she looked around at the excellent field of fire below her.  However, this weapon was far from being usable, caked in dirt grime and decaying plant-life as it was; but the fact that the metal fittings still gleamed and had not rusted over, told Meriwyn that this was no ordinary weapon.  “Found something!"  she called to Bry.
   And as she brushed off what detrius she could from the crossbow, she called back to Bry, "Who’s at the bottom?”
    Bry glaced down, and saw the other Crew-woman, Lilisea, standing guard at the base of the vines. “Lilisea,” she answered.  At the sound of her name, Lilisea looked up, and Bry directed her attention to Meriwyn at the top.  Meriwyn indicated she was going to drop the weapon down, and then did so.  The Crew-woman on the ground caught it deftly.  With that, Meriwyn began to climb down, and to Bry said, “I didn’t see anything else important. Let’s get back to the others.”
     Back in the temple, Lord Fortrywn could see, like Salin had, that the enemy was now closing in on them.  Looking back he saw the Crewman, Finil, coming up and motioned for him to hurry.  Quickly the Heritor handed off the chest to the Crewman, and then prepared to hold off Skorri’s crew. 
     Lord Fortrywn didn’t realize just how many enemy crew that meant; but with Salin walled off by Marny’s Brambles,  the Heritor had become the easiest target to reach.  With in moments, Skorri’s Hunter, Archer, a Crewman, and the Crocodile (who had subsequently had Beast Strength cast on him by Skorri’s Warden), had all converged on Lord Fortrywn.  (Skorri’s men had a +11 Fight bonus for the first combat!)  Even with his Heritor’s ability, it was too many opponents, and the first wave of fighting left the Elf Lord, bloodied and battered, but still standing. (Skorri’s men roll 17+ 11F= 28; Lord Fortrywn reduced to 5 HP).  Lord Fortrywn knew it was a hopeless fight, but he could at least try to buy his crew time to escape.  If he could just bring one of the enemy down…  But fate wasn’t on the Elf’s side.  Lord Fortrywn lunged at the group, but the many blades, and teeth, were too much, and he fell to the ground, with multiple wounds covering  his tall frame.

Lord Fortrywn is attacked by 4 of the enemy and overwhelmed.

          While Lord Fortrywn was unsuccessfully trying to hold back his four attackers, just a short distance behind him, his niece, Marnilyne, found herself in a similar predicament.   As she had been distracted casting the Brambles to protect Salin and his treasure, Skorri’s Pearl Diver and the summoned Screamer Monkey, had moved on from defeating Bindidell, and now charged at the Vine Warden.  Marnilyne tried desperately to defend herself;  but she was no match for two opponents, and the Pearl Diver’s blade sliced her across her shoulder as the Monkey yanked her hair and took bites at her head and neck.  It’s claws gouged into her.  (Hit with an 18, leaving Marny with 6 HP.  The Elf flailed her arms, and tried desperately to dislodge the Monkey as she lurched back and forth.  The Monkey was flung off, and the Pearl Diver stood there, shocked by the spectacle of the frenzied Warden. (Marny denies to fight on her activation, trying to buy time.)  However, it did not take her opponents long to regroup, and they had now been joined by Skorri’s Hunter.  In seconds the Warden’s three opponents were back at her, and a final attack dropped her, bleeding from multiple bites and cuts, to the ground where she lay in a contorted heap in the tall grass.
   A dozen yards away, the Giant Wasp had made it’s way to Tannin, and the Archer found his dagger little use against the giant insect.  It’s wings were as much of a hazard as it’s stinger, and as it came at him, he stumbled backwards, and the stinger caught hm in the leg.  He cried out in pain, as his thigh was pierced, and the Wasp’s venom entered his system.  (Wasp hits with an 18 total, and Envenoms.) Tannin’s insides felt like they were all being turned inside out.  Bile rose in his throat.  Desperately, he lashed out with his dagger, and though it scraped along the insect’s chitinous body, it did not pierce it  The Wasp buzzed backwards as best it could.  (Tannin hits, but does no Damage; pushes the Wasp back.)  The Wounded beast came at him one more time, and once again it nearly knocked him down.  The Archer’s eyes caught the shaft of the arrow he had shot earlier still sticking from the insect’s side, and without thinking, before he fell, he grabbed onto it and pushed with all his might, sinking the metal tip deeper into the Wasp’s body.  The creature seemed to convulse, and its legs contracted violently, as it’s momentum brought it’s full weight into the Archer, knocking him over again.  But this time the creature was dead.

Marny is attacked, as Finil makes it out of the graveyard.

          Back in the Graveyard, Finil picked his way through the bones and other debris, as he tried to get the Chest away as quickly as possible  A sudden piercing pain in his back sent him stumbling forward.  The Crewman knew he had been hit by an arrow (From Skorri; 3 HP remaining), but despite the pain he had to keep going.  Regaining his feet, he continued forward; hoping to distance himself in the gloom of the Cloud Cover. 
   By that time the two Crew-woman had come down off the vine ladder.  Bry, who was first, ran to protect Salin’s back.  Meriwyn hit the ground just second later, and she ran to cover Finil’s escape.  The Crewman had cleared the graveyard, his back searing with pain with each step, and was trying to make it to the cover of a patch of nearby jungle.  Another arrow whizzed by him; too close for comfort.  He was so glad to have help, as he was growing weaker, and he knew Meriwyn could carry the chest if something happened to him.  As if his thoughts mirrored reality, another arrow from Skorri found it’s mark, and Finil went flying in mid stride, dropping the chest as he tumbled to the ground. (Skorri’s Hit total: 20.)   Meriwyn gasped in shock.  She must get the chest!  Skorri however, using his Heritor’s skill, had already notched another arrow, and he had the range.  Before the Elf Crew-woman even took a step towards the the prize, an arrow found her as well; and with one clean shot to the lower back, sent her sprawling to the ground, where she lay motionless next to Finil.  (Skorri’s second shot total is a 24!)

Help arrives as Meriwyn moves to cover Finil’s back (to the left), and Bry cover’s Salin’s (near top center of photo).  In the lower right, Lilisea makes it to the cover of a patch of jungle.

      Later that night, Lord Fortrywn lay in his bed, bandaged nearly from head to toe, and pondered the day.   The Heritor wasn’t sure how he had recovered enough strength to get back to his ship, much less carry the limp form of his Niece to the landing boat.  Thank heaven for his Heritor’s blood.  Marny was not much better off, but at least she would recover as well.  She too looked like a walking mummy; particularly with her head all swathed in bandages from the damage the Monkey had done.  The surgeon had assured the Warden the tip of her ear would grow back.
     Lord Fortrywn didn’t even want to consider what the day had cost him.  His Hunter, Bindidell, was badly wounded from her encounter with the Pearl Diver and the Screamer Monkey, and might not make it.  Likewise, The Archer, Tannin, was not doing well, between the poison from the Giant Wasp, and deep stomach wound, the ship’s surgeon was not sure he would survive the night either.  And, lastly, the Crewman Finil was looking like he might not live as well.  Skorri’s first arrow, had hit a lung, and he lost a lot of blood from the wound.  It’s amazing he had got as far as he had.    Lord Fortrywn was not a praying man, but he said one now to the Elvish Gods.  It has not been easy decision for the Heritor, but the surgeon had been insistent; if he wanted these people to live, they needed to get serious medical help… the kind only available at a major port.  And so they were headed for the mainland.  A trip they could ill afford.
     There was little on the bright side for Lord Fortrywn to look upon.  Yes, they had recovered two treasures, but that little made up for the injuries to his crew, and the expenses they now had to pay.  The chest that Salin had brought back from the graveyard had contained two bottles of Potion of  Regeneration  (I rolled 12 on the Herb & Potion table twice!) And at least he could sell one or both of them to help pay their way to port.  And the clever Pearl Diver had had the quickness of mind to grab a tusk in the midst of the chaos.  That would bring a very good price in the port as well.  Also, the Crossbow Lilisea brought back was a beauty of Superior quality.  The Elf Lord considered he may just have to keep that for himself.   And, luckily, if you could call it that, the rest of those who had fallen that day would make relatively quick recoveries… well, at lest they didn’t require expensive medical care he thought.  And with that, he closed his eyes and tried to find the rest he desperately needed.

The ending body count.

 Epilogue
     Arrg, what a fiasco! 
     I was so happy when on the first turn my initiative roll, last place as it was, triggered the appearance of an Eritherean that I got to place anywhere out of LOS.  Skorri’s crew had not moved that far onto the table, and I was able to place it directly in his path behind a patch of jungle.  How was I to know his crew was carrying a Jade Idol of a Crocodile!
     And I made the cardinal mistake of dividing my crew.  The thought of the treasure on the temple, and the ease at which I could get to it using my Ladder spell clouded my judgement to the overall battle.
    And as usual, my dice luck was running at it’s usual low level, with my crew getting last or next to last initiative every turn.    Compounded by Skorri’s dice luck running at its peak height.
     Of interest in the game was that once again we had the channelling of the crews so that the encounter quickly devolved into two 2-player games.  A number of factors contributed to this I think.  One was that the majority of the treasures on both sides (3 out of 5) were located within the graveyard.  The other was that, with these rules, you just can’t afford to let folks wander around; you need all your power in the same area, or the enemy will quickly overwhelm you.

via One More Gaming Project http://onemoregamingproject.blogspot.com/2018/08/ghost-archipelago-campaign-18-game-8.html
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Chris Palmer

     This past week, continuing to try and do simpler figures for limited time reasons, I painted Rogan, Half-Orc Rogue, from the Bones 2 Heroes I set.
  I prepped the figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying it.   I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene’s Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

  I began by giving the figure a wash with Reaper MSP “Grey Liner”; and when that was dry, I painted his face and arms with a mix of Americana “Shading Flesh” and Americana “Avocado”. (I believe half-orcs should retain some of the pinkish coloration from their human parent, and not be all green.)  I then painted his pants with Americana “Neutral Grey”, and his tunic with Americana “Mississippi Mud”. When the tunic was dry, I gave it a border with Reaper MSP Bones “Cinnamon Red”.

      Next, I painted his boot tops with Americana “Light Cinnamon”, and the bag tucked in his belt with Americana “Khaki Tan”.  I then painted his belt, sheaths, and dagger grips, with Americana “Bittersweet Chocolate”, and his fangs with Americana “Antique White”.   After that,  I gave his skin a wash with Citadel “Reikland Fleshshade”.  When it was dry, I gave his clothing and accoutrements all a wash with Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” wash.

via All Bones About It http://allbonesabout.blogspot.com/2018/08/rogan-half-orc-rogue-bones-2-figure.html
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Chris Palmer

     It was another busy project week for me so, knowing my time would be limited, I picked a relatively easy figure to work on: Bandit Enforcer, from the Bones 3 Stoneskull Expansion, Part 3.
     I prepped this figure in the usual way; soaking it in a dish of water with a couple drops of dish-soap added, then giving it a light scrub with a soft toothbrush, and then rinsing and drying it.   I then glued the figure to a black-primed 1" fender washer with Aleene’s Tacky glue, and then placed the figure in my painting grip.

  I began by painting his armor with Ceramcoat “Black”.  When dry, I drybrushed the armor with  Folk Art Metallics “Gunmetal Grey”.  I then painted his skin with Americana “Shading Flesh”.

     I then painted his tunic with Apple Barrel “Apple Maple Syrup”, and his boots with Americana “Light Cinnamon”.  After that, I painted the turn down on his right boot, his belt, the sword grip, and his wrist strap on his left wrist, all with Americana “Bittersweet Chocolate”.

      I then went back and painted over the “Zinc” with the “Gunmetal Grey”.  After that, I  gave his face, arms, and hands a wash of Citadel “Reikland Fleshshade” wash.   When that wash was dry, I then gave a wash to he rest of him with Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” wash.  When the washes were dry, I painted his eyes, and then highlighted his face with a mix of the “Shading Flesh” and some Crafter’s Acrylic “Flesh”.  I then highlighted his hair using Americana “Sable Brown”.

     Next, I highlighted his tunic with Americana “Antique White”, and then highlighted the leather armor on his left thigh with a mix of the “Apple Maple Syrup” and some Accent “Golden Oxide”.   I then highlighted his boots, and the pouch around back with Americana “Khaki Tan”, and highlighted his right boot top, belt, and wrist guard with Folk Art “Teddy Bear Brown”. After that I highlighted the cord on the canteen with Crafter’s Acrylic “Orange Spice”, and the canteen itself with some of the “Orange Spice” mixed with the base “Burnt Sienna”.  I wrapped up the highlighting by doing all the metal with some Ceramcoat Metallic Silver".
     Lastly, I painted the figure’s integral base with the “Bittersweet Chocolate”.
     I let the figure dry overnight and the next day I gave it a coat of Americana “DuraClear Matte” varnish.    Then, when  the varnish was dry, I used some white glue to flock the base.  Another overnight dry, and I sprayed it with Testor’s Dullcote".

     Well, not my greatest, but there he is.  You can tell he was a rush job, but certainly good enough for tabletop use. 🙂

via All Bones About It http://allbonesabout.blogspot.com/2018/08/bandit-enforcer-bones-3-figure.html
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Don Hogge
A couple weeks ago we got together to play the seventh game in our Ghost Archipelago campaign: The Stone Circles.  We had six of our regular eight players in attendance.  Instead of the layout described in the book, we decided to make the entire table deep water and the hills became islands.  We added several more islands and some floating vegetation to the table.  Lord Fortrywn’s report can be read here:  Game 7 – The Stone Circles

All the crews ready to get started

The Story
“Captain, 2 fathoms,” rang out from the First Mate as he sounded out the depth.  “Plus its getting a bit tight for maneuvering.”

Skorri gazed out from the quarter deck at the small islets, protruding rocks, and clumps of vegetation.  It did look like navigating much further into this collection of islands would be difficult.  Plus it made sense to be able to sail out quickly in case of trouble they couldn’t handle. “Thank you Mr. Wu.  Helmsman, please come about and drop anchor.  Prepare to lower boats.”

The crew scurried about their duties while Skorri scanned the numerous small isles and rocks that made up this unchartered cluster of islands.  An ill-wind blew across the deck causing Skorri to shiver for a moment.  Hopefully that was not a portent of things to come.  As he strode towards his cabin to gather his gear for going ashore, he observed his crew doing the same.

In short order, Skorri and his crew were in two boats rowing into the watery maze of islands.  All he had to guide him was a torn page from an old diary that mentioned clues to the ancient fountain might be found within a circle of standing stones on a hill of spirits.  The area they were traversing may have once been above water and the islets may have been hills.  But today it was just a large marshy area containing hundreds of small island.

After several aborted stops that turned out to be large stumps covered by vines and moss, Chen Lee pointed towards a small island a couple hundred meters away, “Stones."  Skorri’s gaze turned in the direction indicated.  Sure enough, that looked like several standing stones.  "Head that way” he told his crew.

Skorri and his crew approach the standing stones

As they slowly approached, Skorri could hear the faint echoes of other commands being given off in the distance.  It appeared other Heritors were here as well.  Skorri constantly scanned the shores of the small island they passed, ever alert for signs of danger.  He did spot something on a small island off to his right.  He softly called to the other boat, “Blue Boy, go check out that object.  We’ll be back to pick you up."  Without hesitation, Blue Boy (Crewman) dove in and swam away.

The two boats continue to row forward.  As they get closer, Skorri notices two things: what appears to be a large chest in the center of the stones; and the dregs of Herndon’s crew approaching from the other side of the island.  His blood immediately starts to boil as he Surges forward in an attempt to beat Herndon to the chest.  With a tremendous leap, he lands on the shore and rushes forward.  almost immediately, a semi-translucent figure appears  beside the chest.  Skorri draws his sword and engages the creature.  He feints a thrust and quickly changes to a slash that appears to cut all the way through the creature (Attack causes 10 points of damage).  He spins around and attempts another sword slice (a third action due to the Surge).  This time the creature anticipated his move.  Skorri feels an icy claw rake his left arm leaving it cold and numb (Skorri wounded for 9 damage).

Skorri wins the race to the central treasure

Seeing the Skorri dash forward and engaging what appears to be an undead creature (Spirit Warrior), Agger (Beast Warden) moves forward to assist.  He points his staff towards the algae covered water as mumbles a spell.  Droplets of water leap forward and land on Skorri.  Feeling returns to Skorri’s arm and the chill mostly dissipates (Successful casting of Water of Life).

The sun light is suddenly blocked out as clouds quickly gather overhead reducing visibility (Someone cast Call Storm decreasing line of sight to 16 inches).  Herndon and his crew can be seen coming ashore and moving towards the stone circle.  Spotting each other, the two crews engage in an archery contest.  Arrows and crossbow bolts fill the air but initially none of them find a target.

Visibility continued to degrade (Line of sight reduced to 14 inches due to Call Storm) as more and more of the two crews moved forward.  Arrows and bolts were flying thicker than the mosquitos.
Chen Lee (Crewman) lets out a yelp as an arrow clips the side of his leather cap.  He spins around and drops to the ground.  First blood to Herndon and his crew.  Spotting one of Herndon’s crewman leaning out from behind a tree, Alaneil (Archer) takes aim and releases his arrow.  He watches as it strikes Herndon’s crewman in the shoulder.  Following the flight of the arrow, Kukala (Hunter) let loose with an arrow as well.  It flies straight and true as he watches the crewman fall into the brush.

Skorri is still locked in hand to hand with the Spirit Warrior.  He is able to thrust his sword into the creature’s chest causing it to vanish into a wisp.  Not knowing if the creature was killed or merely banished, Skorri reaches down and scoops up the chest. 

Action in the stone circle get intense

Taucher (Pearl Diver) reaches a chest that he spotted lying under a large bush.  As he bends down to check it out, several arrows strike by his feet.  Dancing around to avoid getting hit, he slips and bashes his head on the small iron chest.  The last thing he sees is a flash of stars as he slumps to the ground.

Another Spirit Warrior materializes beside Skorri.  Wu and Amrod spring forward to assist their Heritor by distracting the creature.  Their intervention was sufficient.  Without any fancy moves, Skorri kills the Spirit Warrior with a single thrust to the chest (rolled a 20 +10 adds for a total Fight of 30).  Skorri then backs out of the stone circle to take cover behind one of the standing stones.  Herndon and his crew continue to demonstrate their fondness of ranged weapons as they release arrows and bolts in all directions.  Fortunately, none find their mark as the clouds get a bit darker and ground fog starts to accumulate (LOS reduced to 12 inches).

Out of the brush, a rabid looking dog charges Hat Chet.  He fends the creature off.  Seeing the animal attack Hat Chet, Agger points at the dog and speaks the magic phrase to Control Animal.  He then mentally sends the animal an image of dog bones hidden in the pockets of Herndon’s crew.  The dog runs off and immediately tries to chew a hole in the pants of one of Herndon’s crew members.  The crew member whacks the dog on the head knocking it out cold (luckily PETA doesn’t exist in the Ghost Archipelago).  Watching the event unfold causes Agger to chuckle.  Hat Chet turns to watch the dog run away only to be cowardly coldcocked by one of Herndon’s crew.

Skorri’s hunter and his two archers demonstrate that they do not know how to accurately shoot a bow – they missed every target.  While Amrod is pulling another arrow from his quiver, unbeknownst to him, another Spirit Warrior rises from the ground behind him.  The Spirit Warrior lunges forward striking Amrod in the back.  The icy touch immediately crumpling him to the ground.  In an attempt to avenge their fallen comrade, Kukala and Wu charge into contact with the Spirit Warrior.  Too late they realize they are outclassed.  The Spirit Warrior parries each of their attacks and his counterattacks knock both of them unconscious.

Skorri’s crew watches as Herndon’s crew runs away

Meanwhile, Skorri had been watching one of Herndon’s crewmen dragging a chest through the undergrowth to a boat.   In order to get into a better shooting position, Skorri Surges, moves to a firing position, shoots and takes down the crew member carrying the treasure.  He then shoots again and wounds Herndon (5 points of damage).

Skorri is forced to watch as his foe and his crew escape into the fog with their treasures.  Herndon waves just before his boat fades out of view.  Skorri and Agger look around and realize that, other than Blue Boy who swam to another island to recover a treasure, they are the only two left standing.  They move around and check on their crew members.  Wu, Hat Chet, and Chen Lee have serious wounds which Agger treats by casting Water of Life to stabilize them.  The others only have minor bumps and bruises.  Eventually, Skorri gets everyone into the two boats and they slowly make their way back to the Raven’s Beak to recover.

The butcher’s bill was quite high.  Spirit Warriors – not cool.

Epilogue
Although they have little to show for their effort this day (105 gold coins and a Superior Dagger +1 Damage), Skorri is still proud of how his crew forced Herndon to turn tail and run off the island.  Skorri will still be recording Herndon’s name into the book beside his other nemesis Griffon.  And he will be scheduling archery practice for all his bow users.

The right boat contains the survivors. the left boat contains the casualties

Commentary
The game was one of the shortest we have played, only six turns.  The nature of how we modified the scenario to accommodate six players and making the terrain mostly water led to the game evolving into three separate and distinct sub-games.  Other than the crew directly opposite, there was no interaction with the other crews.  For Skorri, all of the action was on a single island except for Blue Boy who went to another island that I think was overlooked by Griffon who was on Skorri’s right.  We’ll have to think changes out a bit more as we work to modify the remaining scenarios for our eight player group.

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Buck

I have been converting some 1:56 scale Bren carriers into unmanned ground vehicles for science fiction skirmish games.  I finished them earlier this week in my copious free time.

At the last minute I decided to keep them olive drab instead of painting them with some wild camouflage pattern.  See them with some Pig Iron figures in the picture above.  I think they came out pretty nicely.

I also finished two Tamiya M-8 Scout cars.  I need to put the stars on the front this weekend.

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Buck

Sign up today!

The folks from Little Wars TV will be there filming!

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Chris Palmer

     Back in June I painted the Count Lorenth figure from the Bones 2 Expansion Set 2, to enter in the Reaper Facebook Page’s Summer Painting Contest.  I had to enter anonymously, so I wasn’t able to identify myself as the painter until after the contest was over.  The contest ended last week, so I can now post this article.  I didn’t fare too well with my game table style up against really top notch display painters, garnering only 22 votes; but it was fun to take part.
    While I didn’t personally get the Expansion Set 2 during the Bones 2 Kickstarter, I was able to pick up this figure in a trade a while back.
        The figure comes with the rider already attached, so the first thing I did was pry him off his mount to make painting easier.  I forgot to take a photo of the figure before I disassembled it, so here is one from the Reaper store.

     I began by painting the entire figure with Ceramcoat “Black”.  I then drybrushed the caparison with Americana “Neutral Grey”, followed by a lighter drybrushing of Folk Art “Platinum Gray”.  Next, I drybrushed the main and tail with Citadel “The Fang”, and after that I drybrushed the body of the horse where it could be seen, with Folk Art “Barn Wood”.

     I then painted the barding with Folk Art Color Shift “Black Flash”, and the saddle and reins with Reaper MSP “Coal Black”.  After that, I painted the decorative metal parts with Ceramcoat “Bronze”.

     Next, I applied a wash to the barding, and decorative Bronze medallions on the horses rump, and the decorative chest piece, using some Citadel Nuln Oil wash.“  Then, when the wash was dry, I highlighted the barding with some of the "Black Flash” mixed with a little Ceramcoat “Metallic Silver”, and highlighted the decorative bits I had painted Bronze with some Ceramcoat “Wedding Gold”.  I then highlighted the saddle and reins with some Apple Barrel “Apple Black Green”.   After that, I free-handed some blank skulls on each side of the caparison using Ceramcoat “White”.

      When all the glue was dry, I painted the skeleton with Americana “Antique White”, and the front of the shield with the “Black Cherry”.  Next, I painted  the back of the shield with Americana “Mississippi Mud”, and then the sword and the rim of the shield with Ceramcoat “Walnut”.   When all the paint was dry, I gave the skeleton and shield a wash with the “Nuln Oil” wash.  When that was dry, I went over it again with some Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” wash.

    Much like the horse’s barding,  I began by painting the whole knight with Black, and then painted his armor with the Color Shift “Black Flash”.  When dry, I gave the armor a wash with the “Nuln Oil, and then when the wash was dry, drybrushed it with some of the "Black Flash” mixed with a little of the “Metallic Silver”

      Next, I re painted the shield Black.  I then worked on the visor, which I hoped to make look like it was glowing.  I first painted it with White, and then painted it with Nicole’s"Neon Green"., and lightly drybrushed some of the “Neon Green on the surrounding armor.  I then painted a thin strip on the inside of the open visor with the White again, slightly thinned.

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Buck

Preparations are in full swing for Barrage 2018, 28-29 September in Havre de Grace, MD, USA. Barrage is a great little convention, which will feature upwards of 5o events over two days. No politics, no hassles. On site food at reasonable rates and dining options within a short drive. Easy parking. A broad spectrum of games. Friendly HAWKs! Many kid-friendly games.

The guys from LittleWarsTV will be there filming.

We’ll be publishing a list of vendors soon.

TWO Flames of War tournaments.

The largest ADLG tournament East of the Mississippi.

If you go to the Barrage Web site, http://www.hawks-barrage.org, you will see the currently scheduled games. The number is what we usually have seven weeks before the convention, and more are being added literally every day. If you’d like to run a game, please sign up soon.

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Buck

This Saturday we held an organizational meeting for Barrage with the HAWKs who usually participate in running the convention.  After lunch we played a fun game of Combat Patrol.  Greg and I will be running this Sea Lion game at both Barrage (28-29 September) and Fall In.  The terrain will look similar to that of our Sea Lion games at Historicon 2018.  Little Basely by the Sea is once again the scene of a German attempt to gain a foothold on British soil.

Just as the game began, the Germans are coming over the sea wall while a 35(t) comes up the narrow ramp. We placed many trucks near the waterfront to give the Germans and opportunity to steal them to help them get to the airfield.

The Germans landed in force on the beach.  This landing craft and these Germans in rubber rafts were somewhat separated from he main body.  Their goal was to disrupt the nearby airfield so that the RAF could would be hampered in its attempts to support the beaches.  The German objective was to get across the table and into the corner of the airfield represented on the table to blow up a Spitfire.  That is a long distance to cover in a four-hour game, so we placed a lot of trucks and cars near the sea wall to enable the Germans to steal them and move more rapidly.

Early in the game, the Women’s Land Army hears the alarm and runs from the fields to “fight them on the beaches.”

The British forces consisted of two squads (sections) of Home Guardsman with Boys ATRs, a 6-lb. Smith Gun, one squad of regular army British soldiers.  The locals got into the action in the form of Land Girls from the Women’s Land Army, church ladies, and some women’s auxiliary with improvised weapons.

The German forces consisted of a full platoon of German infantry, two 35(t) tanks, and a Panzer III.

I had a squad (section) of sailors who were — of course — in the Frog and Firkin pub when the shooting started.

The British thought that they also had a squad (section) of sailors, but it turns out they were Fifth Columnists.  They were actually German sailors in disguise.  I decided that their best use would be to run over to where the Home Guard had set up some AT weapons kill the crews and make it easier for the German tanks to get off the beaches.

German tanks coming up from the beach, Germans disguised as British sailors, and a civilian truck full of Germans.

The Sailors (who are really Germans in disguise) attack the Home Guard’s Boys AT Rifle to pave the way fro the German tanks.

The German players didn’t realize I was on their side and almost began to fire on my sailors.

The fight between the Fifth Columnists and the Home Guard gets ugly.

The entire squad (section) of sailors was killed by the end of the game, but I had successfully kept the ATR out of the action and even began to threaten the Smith Gun with my single survivor.

The Smith Gun takes aim — and misses bot the civilian truck full of Germans and the 35(t).

In the meantime, Duncan had advanced his 35(t)s up the ramp from the beach and was “racing” toward their objective.  One of them kept getting really poor movement distances and the other bogged down in the woods for a couple of turns.  The Smith Gun took a shot at the advancing truck full of German infantry, but it missed horribly.  Then the 35(t) rolled into sight.

The Smith Gun fires!

A scene in the middle of the game from the beach. One 35(t) is burning, but the Germans are advancing on the left. The ladies’ auxiliary is harassing the Germans on the right.

The Home Guard getting organized to fight the advancing Germans coming up from the shore.

The game was set up so that the Germans were supposed to have an easy advance until the British reinforcements were released.  Geoff’s Home Guard and Eric’s particularly aggressive Women’s Auxiliaries slowed them more than anticipated.  When Greg’s truck full of Germans got to the third table (between the town and the airfield), that was the trigger to release the troops from the airfield.  The reinforcements consisted of four Bren carriers.  While none were equipped with ATRs, this gave the British six Brens and a .30 cal. water cooled machine-gun.  The .30 cal. could disable the lightly-armored early war tanks but failed to do so.  In the last turn, the Pz. III got close enough to shell the airfield, the British machine-gun got two shots the tank but failed to cause any damage (it was a long shot anyway).  So, I called the game a German victory.

Late in the game, the advance of the Germans has triggered the release of some reinforcements from the airfield: four Bren carriers.

Eric turns his Women’s Land Army girls toward the center of the bagel, while Greg ponders his position.

It was a very fun scenario.  With one or two small tweaks, I think it will go well at Barrage and Fall In.

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