Dragon Rampant Fantasy War Gaming from Osprey Publishing

Over the holidays and into the new year we discovered Dragon Rampant, the wonderfully simple fantasy war game from Osprey Publishing!

After the last few years of Bolt Action it was grand breaking out the old fantasy figures and putting them into action. The beauty of the game, created by Daniel Mersey, is the fact you can use virtually any fantasy figure you have or like! His previous game Lion Rampant is the historical equivalent of the same game. The Command and Control aspect is where the game differs from others.

It's not as simple as you move, enemy moves, you move, etc..  You begin by giving a command to one unit and if it passes, then you go to another unit and test. If it passes your turn continues, but the first time you miss a command test, then your turn is over. You can have a turn where you move every unit in your army just as easily as failing your first test and ending your turn that fast.

Armies are made up of an average of 5-8 units with anywhere from 1-12 figures. A basic infantry unit has 12 figures and a basic cavalry unit has 6.

Here we have a 24 point army with 12 Heavy Foot, 6 Heavy Riders, Heavy Missiles, 12 Belicos Foot and the army general is an Elite Rider with the Flying Special Rule

If you like Orcs and Goblins, they are just as easy to build a 24 pt army. The spider riders are Light Riders, the wolf riders act as Heavy Riders, The general is a single model that stands as a unit of Elite Riders so he will have the same number of wounds as a six model count unit. On the right is a 12 orc unit of Belicose Foot which act like beserkers with high offence and low defense. And a six model count Heavy Foot unit. Heavy Foot normally have 12 models so can take 12 wounds. Each wound removes one model. With a reduced model count unit of 6, each model can take 2 wounds before being removed.

Here a heavy hitting Lizardman army, also 24 points, has a Greater War Beast, two units of  Belicose Foot, and a reduced model count Heavy Foot unit consisting of only 3 models. Because it is still a 12 wound unit, each model can take 4 wounds before being removed. The general is acting as a unit of Elite Foot

The army builds are evenly balanced so every army has an even chance. The rule book gives you an Overview, Understanding the basics,
Playing the game section, How to build your Army list, basic Strategies and tactics, Sample armies, 6 easy Scenarios and lastly a Campaigns section.

Yes that is an undead T-Rex.

Here the orc Belicose Foot charge into a Greater Warbeast as the Heavy Foot move in for the kill.

You can build an army using any figures YOU like!! So go wild with it and try out as many options as you like. The one army here has A Greater War Beast with the fly rule, 2 giants are Lesser War Beasts and the Chariots are Heavy Riders with the chariot special rule!



So break out those fantasy figures and Have A Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

How To: Make Impassable Terrain for Bolt Action or Warhammer, Historical or Fantasy War Games

Having Impassable Terrain on your table top battleground gives you distinct advantages and equal disadvantages. It can cover your armors flank or block line of site for your casters fireball. No matter which you are befitting from, it makes your table look great.

We started with a hardboard base and a can of spray foam insulation. When using the insulation foam, there is always a little left in the can and you can't save it! So, spray the remainder on a piece of old cardboard and let it harden. Once it dries you can peel it off and place it on your hardboard.

You can use White PVA glue or a hot glue gun. We added bits of foam, rock and debris to fill in gaps and add texture

Once you have everything glued and its dry, add a base coat of paint. We always advocate checking mis-tinted paint at your local hardware store, Home Depot or Lowes. We found this ugly dark green which works great for terrain projects. We then used light green and grey to drybrush on highlights.

Then glue flocking and ground cover into the recesses and add any foliage. We used an eclectic mix of HO scale pine trees and bushes plus a few oddball pieces clipped from plastic floral arrangements.

We diod two pieces at once. That helps you keep working on one while the other is drying.

And there you have it, instant gracious cover or pain in the rear site blockers!

Enjoy

4Ground Ox Wagon: for Bolt Action, Historical or Fantasy Wargames

A quick view of another 4Ground model, the Ox Wagon. We did a post a few months back on the 4Ground Terrace House. The objects, wagons and furniture available from 4Ground allow you to really customize your battleground for any historical or fantasy war-game. The wagon payload were cast from a Hirst Arts mold.

Here is the plain package, no frills.

Only one 4.5 inch by 8 inch board in the package.

The instruction sheet has simple to follow directions and plenty of photos to go along with it.

The side board supports and benches fasten to the bottom base of the wagon.

Flip it over and you can see the ease with which it goes together.

Each wagon wheel goes on the axles and an end hub hold them in place.

The front support is made of several hubs stacked and sets in the bracket on the bottom of the wagon. This will allow the front axle to turn freely.

Its a great addition to any scenery on your battleground.

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

New Release: Rune Lord Adventurers From Crusader Miniatures

Mark Sims of Crusader Miniatures has added 4 new Adventurers to his Fantasy range. The four figures, Rune Lords, come in a single pack with the Adventurers III title.

You can get them directly from Crusader or from a supplier. These figures would fit the bill for any fantasy adventuring party.

Mark has created a great range of historical figures as well as a few fantasy and other genres.

Crusader Miniatures are 28mm-sized, made of metal and supplied unpainted. The miniatures shown here were all painted by Paul Cubbin.

Have A Great Battle,
The Old Crow

New Release: Pike & Shotte Baggage Wagon from Warlord Games

This superb new resin-and-metal baggage wagon is now available to order from Warlord Games in their Pike & Shotte line.

If you like objective based scenarios in other genre of games like Warhammer Fantasy, a couple of these would make for a sweet nights gaming. Attacking or defending, a baggage train was always key to defeating or sustaining an army.

Baggage Wagons were essential for every army on campaign. They would be used to carry the portable equipment and supplies of an army, with hundreds of baggage wagons forming an army's supply train.

These were multi-purpose vehicles, but were particularly used to transport hay and forage for horses, and food and supplies for the soldiers. However, as well as food, ammunition, animal fodder, and loot, the baggage wagon would carry the servants of the officers; tradesmen, such as armorers, farriers and blacksmiths; and the wives and families of the troops.

Have a Great Battle,
The Old Crow

How To: Warhammer Terrain

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make some easy terrain for Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, or any other Fantasy, futuristic or historical genre of table top gaming. Here is our terrain piece with some Warhammer 40k figures to show scale.

We started with a leftover piece of polystyrene from a large disassembled project and some hardboard cut to the same approximate shape.

Overlap the hardboard past the edges of your foam.

Here is a smaller version...

adding old stone ruins to the top.

Apply hobby or craft glue to the bottom and press the polystyrene firmly on to the hardboard.

We then used coarse drywall screws to hold everything together. If you decide to use this step. carve a bit of the hardboard away so the screw head sets in the board. You wouldn't want to scratch your playing surface.

Our screws were long enough to go through the base and up into the ruin to help secure it on top.

Next we applied liberal amounts of craft glue along the base edges were foam meets base...

and poured coarse ballast onto the glue. Press it in to get maximum coverage.

Using any paint for a base coat, mix in some ballast...

and apply with a larger brush.

The mixed in ballast will give you a nice texture.

We sprayed the whole thing with a black base coat.

Now the real painting begins. We started with a Raw Umber and Charcoal Gray. Use a smaller brush, this is a half inch flat brush which is great for dry-brushing techniques.

On the flat bare surfaces and along the outer edges we applied Chocolate and Burnt Sienna.

The ruins got a coat of Pewter Gray...

and then a dry brush of Slate Gray.

A final light dry-brush of Granite was added to bring out any highlights and add a final contrast to the darker base colors.

Then we stippled on some Olive Green where we plan on adding foliage.

For our dry leaves and grass we use a mixture of herbs and spices mixed with Coarse Turf from Woodland Scenics.

Add in the crevices where blown leaves and old plants would gather.

Here is another example of filling a crevice in the rock.

Don't forget about along the edges of the base.

And there you have it! Ready for the gaming table. You could use lighter and greener colors with more traditional green flocking, These pieces were more cut to facilitate a rocky terrain area.

As we mentioned these can be used for almost any game system and scale. For Fantasy and Dark Age games like Saga add a cairn or load stone to the  base.

For World War II or Napoleonic era games like Bolt Action or Black Powder add barricades or sandbags.

Until next time,
Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow