In Pursuit of Rules

Those of you who have been following my blog know about my scale switching for Viking/Saxon gaming and the start of collecting figures.  While painting up my warbands it is time to start my search for the right flavor of rules to game with.  Before I start talking about specific rule sets I should lay down some ground rules for what I am ideally looking for.  First and foremost I prefer skirmish gaming.  Secondly I want to be able to run a campaign where the outcomes of battles affect the next battle.  Consequently I would like something that makes it easy to tell a story about main characters while also providing a small RPGish feel to the overall campaign.  Thirdly I would like a rule set that is not overly complicated, something easy to get a hang of and jump into gaming.  Finally, due to lack of regular opponents I'll need something I can game solo with but that is still a challenge.

Obviously there is probably no rule set that will satisfy all my qualifications.  As I've delved deeper into the hobby I am finding this is a common problem amongst wargamers.  Each has his ideals for what a rule set should be rolling around in his head but each person's ideas are different.  So the on going quest for the ideal rule set is a journey shared by us all.

To that end I have been searching and found several options.  None of these options are exactly what I am looking for.  However, with some cutting here, tweaking there and throwing it all in a blender, I feel I might be able to cobble something together that will suit my taste.
The first rule set I already had before switch scales and that is Pig Wars.  Its a fairly simple rule set that uses a deck of cards instead of dice.  It was very easy to learn with good concepts but lacks any kind of in depth campaign and has no rules for solo play.
Being a fan of Two Hour Wargames rules I went to their website to see if they had anything that would fit my needs.  After a bit of research and question asking at their wonderful Yahoo! group I purchased Warrior Heroes: Armies and Adventures.  Although it is a fantasy rule set there are some good mechanics that will translate well into my gaming.  More importantly this game gives great rules for playing solo, specifically how to automate enemy actions that still provide a good game.  There is also a campaign system that while already written could be tweaked to fit my needs.
Finally I looked into the rule set used by Paul of the Man Cave called Age of Blood: 2nd Edition which is a free set of Viking era rules.  This set contains much of the campaign and RPG elements I was looking for.  It also includes a fairly easy to use combat mechanic which I will most likely use.
So with the combination of AoB's campaign and RPG elements, PW concepts, WHAA's solo rules and some home brew rules I believe I should be able to have a rule set that will suit my tastes.  Now back to paint.

Next Step Buy 28mm Dark Age Minis

As I informed everyone in my last post I have switch scales to 28mm just for my Dark Ages gaming.  Part of making this decision was looking into the variety of figures I could purchase.  As I am sure many of you know the options are varied and numerous.  So shortly after deciding to game and paint figures in 28mm scale I did what any good wargamer would and started trolling eBay for any possible deals on Viking and Saxon figures.  Needless to say I was not disappointed and quickly found several good deals to bid on.  Several days later and several dollars poorer I won two of the actions.  Today when I got home two boxes where waiting me by the door. 

As you can see in the picture above I won two boxes from 'Wargames Factory Hammer of the Gods, The Dark Ages' series.  They are the Viking Bondi and Saxon Fyrd plastic sets of unarmored warriors.  I have to admit its a bit daunting to jump into a new scale and have so many figures to paint at once, but I could not pass up such a great deal on eBay.  However, I'll be taking the advice left by one of my readers to split up the figures and just do a set of 4-6 at a time and add them to the warband.  I plan to use the figures from these to boxes to fill out the Viking warbands and Saxon fyrds.  Then as I progress I will purchase smaller sets of figures to use as characters and heroes in my games.  I look forward to assembling and painting these figures and getting some gaming in.  If anyone has any tips for assembling and painting these figures please feel free to leave them for me.

Adventure Into a New Scale

As I teased in my previous post I was in the process of making a decision on switching scales for my Dark Age gaming.  Until now I have been painting some 1/72 scale Vikings and Saxons.  I have finished a handful and have a some more almost done, but the majority remain untouched in the box.  This has to do mostly with the lack of variety of 1/72 scale Dark Age figures.  There are only several sets of Saxons and one good set of Vikings that I found.  However, within those sets there are alot of repeats and I do not have the skill or patience to modify them.  Personally the lack of variety makes for less interesting skirmish games.  That being said as I began digging deeper into Dark Age miniature gaming I saw the variety that was offered in 28mm.  At first I was hesitant to jump scales since I had already started painting and buying in one scale.  Recently due to someone else in the hobby's generosity I was given the chance to try some 28mm Dark Age figures.  Below you can see the results. 

I enjoyed painting them very much and think they came out ok for my first attempt at painting in 28mm.  After doing some more research on my options in both 1/72 and 28mm I have decided to throw my lot in with 28mm scale.  All I'll say for now is that I have two small boxes coming from eBay.

Besides beginning to paint figures and build terrain I plan to also begin to plan out a campaign.  I will be looking into different rules and seeing what will fit my personal taste for a good linked campaign.  I want to keep it close to history but would not be against my warband running into some orcs or goblins. Most likely my campaign will have to be done solo as I do not have any steady gaming buddies.  I'll post later on my hunt for rules and planning for a campaign.

WIP - Stockade Fort - Part 6 (almost done??)

Well with some great encouragement from some of you readers and a request from Paul of the Man Cave I got some motivation to get some work done on my stockade fort.  Its been a while since I updated the process, since October actually.  Here you can see my last update of the fort that includes links to the process.  As you can see the last thing I updated on the project was putting on the black 'goop' and undercoat.  Since that October update I have worked on it some, painting here and there, but it has not been enough to warrant a blog update. 

Well the past couple of evenings I have had time (and motivation) to finish the painting and get some flocking down.  Since it has taken such a long time for me to build and paint this fort the idea behind has twisted some what from the original.  (In fact I hope that my readers can help with the final stage of building it).  The original intent was suppose to be a full scale permanent fort for 1/72 scale figures.  Since then I have scaled back the idea slightly and now describe it as a hastily put up stockade, either working as an outpost or to temporally house an Ealdorman and his household guard while they gather the army, wait for spring, wait for orders etc.  Also this fort might be used instead for 28mm scale as I am close to making a decision on switching scales.  (And yes that was a big hook and teaser to keep you coming back)

For the most part the painting is done and the flocking is about 75% complete.  Im not sure Im happy with the flock on the inside of the stockade.  However, I am not quite done with the inside of the fort and as I mentioned earlier in the post this is were I hope my readers can give some input.

I would like to put some sort of structure or structures inside of the stockade.  I was thinking of perhaps putting a couple of tents in the lower portion on the grass or perhaps a small stable for horses?  In the upper portion I am really at a loss for what to include.  The problem is I backed myself into a corner and did not leave enough room to build a full fledged hall or larger buildings.  Some of my thoughts include putting watch towers in the corners with stables beneath, some small shelters along the sides, or put more tents with some grass.  If any of you have ideas or suggestions about this please leave a comment below, your help will be much appreciated.  Also as always any other comments, questions, constructive criticisms, favorite recipes or suggestions are welcomed below.  As always thank you for reading and a big welcome to the new comers at 'The Command Tent.'

The Workbench - June 2011

Not a very productive month at all for the hobby.  Its disappointing but I am realizing thats part of the hobby as well.  Some months are very productive and other months I just get lazy which in turn shames me into being productive the next month.  That is part of the reason I do 'The Workbench' post at the beginning of every month.  Its not that I did nothing.  Here and there I did some paint or gluing but no projects were finished.  However, I did only add one new project to the list this month, some of the 28mm Viking test figures I was given.  Hopefully this next with month will allow more time and provide more motivation to get some stuff done.


Current Incomplete Projects:
-Viking stockade fort (built, painted, dry brushed: needs flocking and sealing)

-15mm gas station (built, details added: needs painting, flocking and sealing)

-15mm ruined buildings (built: needs details, painting, and sealing)

-1/72 vikings (primed: almost done painting, basing and sealing)

-15mm test FOW command stands (primed: started painting, basing and sealing)

-Forest/Road terrain piece (built and flocked: need to decide whether to add more woods and then seal)

-2nd batch of Post-Apoc figures (primed: needs painting, basing and sealing)

-1/72 WWII figures (primed: started painting, basing, and sealing)

-1/72 scale country house (primed: needs painting and sealing)

-28mm Viking test figures (primed: needs painting, basing and sealing)