Yokshie Tokubetsu Goes to Midgard

Weirdy-Beardy's Warrior Monks engaging Yokshie Tokubetsu's center

We got our Samurai out this weekend to try and see if Midgard would work for them. Finding a semi-biggish battle set of rules has been a problem. Ok, ok, I really haven't done much with my Samurai in a long  while, since this game of Seven Spears. Of course I haven't done anything with my Samurai, except buy (and then promptly put into storage) 6 boxes of Perry figures, since November of 2023. There were all those Quar grabbing my attention. 

Rebels on the left. The legitimate Lord, Yokshie Tokubetsu, on the right.

So Saturday afternoon I hastily scribbled out some lists for Yokshie Tokubetsu, the Lord of Tea, and the Ikko-ikki who are contesting his control of the region with their nonsensical complaints about oppressive taxes and how to properly perform the Tea Ceremony.

Yokshie Tokubetsu's sonae advancing. Formed units of 6. Skirmishers 3 to a base.

Samurai are Warriors with upgrade to Armour 4 and Spears as Tribute plus Steadfast.

Ashigaru with Yari are Warriors with Pikes.

Ashigaru with teppo are Massed shooters with Armour 3, Marksmen, Longbow and Hell's Breath 

Ashigaru with yumi (bows) are skirmishers with Longbows and Marksmen

The Mounted Samurai I made Heavy Riders (Knights)

The Hatamoto with yumi and naginata got Armour 4, Spears as Tribute, Pikes, Steadfast and Fearsome.

Hatamoto shooters got Marksmen and Hell's Breath.

Yokshie Tokubetsu himself is a Level 3, Mounted, with Battlesmiter and Today We Fight to Win.

He was assisted by five Taisho (Captains) who were all Level 2 with Battlesmiter.

This came to 362 points and 43 Reputation.

Ikko-ikki.

The Ikko-ikki are much more of a mixed bag, with everything from fierce ronin and monks swinging naginata (Brutal trait) to peasants clutching sharpened bamboo poles (Warrior Horde). As a force, they generally aren't as well equipped so the samurai were armour 3 and everyone was Reluctant. Some units were even downgraded to Armour 2. The bandit cavalry armed with bows were treated as Heavy Riders with Elf Bows, so not as shock charging as the Lord of Tea's cavalry, but the shooting helped them. They certainly held their own against Yokshie Tokubetsu's cavalry. The Bandit Chief was very tooled up; level 4, a legendary weapon and Today We Fight to Win. Their force came to 39 Reputation.

Bow armed Skirmishers foreground. Peasants beside them. 

After this game, when there was confusion over unit compositions and who was with which group, I had asked Don to print me some movement trays holding 6x 1" round bases. Some were neatly lined up 2x3, and others were more wiggly for orcs or skirmishers or peasants with bamboo spears. This naturally meant I had to quickly cut new measuring sticks for the different base width.

Yokshie Tokubetsu's Samurai doing surprisingly well against the Monks

Yokshie Tokubetsu (in yellow coat and helnet) rides to his doom. He is killed by an arrow leading his Hatamoto forward against the Monks with yumi.

The game went very well I thought. Lots of pushing to and fro. Things were looking very bleak on Yokshie's right as his cavalry fared poorly against the ronin. But in the final combat the bandit chief had his buntai of Mounted ronin destroyed around him, costing him an extra Reputation.

When the dust settled, the Ikko-ikki were at -1, and Yokshie Tokubetsu's heir was at 0. So a very tight game indeed. Although I made some errors with Reputation Tokens at the start, so this might not have been correct.

I messed up a few things as usual. I'm pretty sure I buggered up some Reputation. And I forgot that every hero had Battlesmiter and Yokshie Tokubetsu had Today We Fight to Win, which might have helped kill those monks.

I need to think about a trait for Hatamoto though. They should be harder to shift and fight to the death if their lord is killed. 

But results were very exciting and I'm now looking at those 6 boxes of Perry figures and planning what to paint next. Of course I'd been thinking about Sharp Katanas or Seven Spears when I made the order, so I've got a box of teppo and yumi commanders which will mess up unit numbers.

But, if organized into units of 3 and 6, I should, hopefully, be able to field an in house opponent for Yokshie Tokubetsu. 

A Miscellany of Quar

Axes of the Quar! The axes of the Quar are upon you! Oh, wait...

This little squad are intended to be Toulmorese Pathfinders. But their hoods and axes make me think "dwarves", specifically Thorin Oakenshield's Companions (perhaps I should ask Don for enough to make 13?). Now, mountain troops don't really fit into my jungle theme for the Toulmorese, so what to do with them? Yes, one can have mountains in jungles. But still. The hoods and collars especially seem to me to be very hot for jungle warfare.

But the Fidwog live in a mountainous area and their greatcoats make me think cold. So these might be the start of Quar Army Number 8: Fidwog! The Command and Specialists for Fidwog are coming soon in plastic. So I'm waiting and will just buy the whole bunch all at once, so I have the plastic accessory arms in the command and specialist sets to do conversions, instead of messing about with 3d prints and superglue like I've done with my other armies.

I hadn't initially been terribly enamoured of Fidwog in their red greatcoats. But then someone on the Quar Discord had painted their Fidwog in khaki greatcoats and dark green helmets, like 1940 French, which struck me as very attractive. So I tried the same scheme on these figures.

Fidwog are 10% smaller than other Quar, continuing the Quar-Dwarf idea. But these chaps, being hardy mountain troops, maybe are selected from the largest of Fidwoggian troops. Or maybe I won't really notice the 2 or 3mm difference?

Their uniforms are Tamiya Khaki, hoods are Tamiya NATO Green. Equipment and gaiters are done with sepia ink.

I think I will reassign these tractors to my Fidwog army when I build them. Perhaps change the camo to something more French.

I also did some batches of casualties that had been lurking around. Nine each of Coftyrans and Toulmorese. They definitely overindulged at Madam Maeb's Beetle Buffet, or weren't paying attention to the Medic's briefing on Enviromental Hazards and which bugs a Quar should not eat.

I should figure out a use for them. Perhaps to mark morale state or something.

So tidying up some loose bits on two existing armies, and perhaps the beginnings of a new army of Quar. I've got some vehicles for the Crusaders and Royalists to work on next, plus a few civilian characters.

Feallan, Not Fall In

My group of friends regularly traveled to the HMGS-E conventions. Fall-In was generally regarded as the highlight and best attended. Some years it was a couple of van loads going down. But this year everyone decided to not do that until the current political silliness is sorted out. 

Brian attended a family birthday celebration in the tiny village of Port Albert on the Lake Huron shore and realized that the venue, the Port Albert Inn, would make a nice venue for a game gathering. So a bunch of us said it sounded like a Good Idea and he booked the entire inn. Operation Feallan was born.
 

Bar and lounge. We had to stock the bar ourselves

Just some of the libations that were consumed. I had a cider.

Cozy little room

But I'd only want to share it with someone I really liked being in close proximity to

Eleven games were played over the course of Friday night and Saturday. I was last to arrive and a 15mm game of Ruthless was already underway as gangs of desperados shot up Kevin's 3d printed town.

Your correspondent, in the corner, green cardigan

After that there was the board game Thunder Road on one table and the card game Groo on another. The third game of Groo, featuring seven of us and after several drinks, got very raucous and went until 0200.

Groo

Saturday morning Keith whipped up a Full English, including blood pudding for those who like it, and stuffed on eggs, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans and toast we got down to the serious business. There were two games on offer. Six of us played Midgard while others played Devilry Afoot.

Saturday morning. Midgard on left and Devilry Afoot on the right.

Devilry Afoot. Blackadder and Baldric encounter some very cuddly witches

Six of us played Midgard using Brett's 30-plus year old classic metal Warhammer Fantasy Battle armies and some custom traits he devised to cover some of the unique WFB things like Night Goblin fanatics and the Imperial Steam Tank.

 

The Old Worlde comes to Midgard

Ogres

Trolls

Boar and wolf riders surge forward!

Imperial knights, steam tank and flagellants

My command of Night Goblins

Dramatic Things Happening on the right wing

Center hotting up

Me, doing my best to keep big scary knights busy

Man of the Match. Brian's Imperial Captain, who even after the rest of his command was dead around him, pulled Victory from the bloody, and rapidly closing, Jaws of Defeat by slaying Keith's War Boss in single combat after already killing Kevin's Orc War Boss as well! Game ended with the Empire at negative 7 Reputation and the Orcs at negative 9 Reputation! Very close indeed.

After a late lunch of potato soup and ham sandwiches, Keith and Brian ran a 6mm game of O Group while Peter ran a game of When Nightmares Come.

German Kompanie HQ. The Germans were Brian's Fallschirmjaeger kompanie.

American Company HQ. The American forces were Keith's.

Norman farm

Tank duel. I knock out two StuGs!

I finally get my attack moving in the center but by then the Germans had collected their three FUBARs to end the game. Keith's flanking attack on the right and US heavy artillery battering the Built Up Areas in front of me killed the necessary number of Germans to win.

Meanwhile on the other table...

When Nightmares Come

They played a total of three linked scenarios in the afternoon

After dinner Brian ran a 15mm Slave Holder's Rebellion (or more commonly called the American Civil War) game using the computer moderated Carnage and Glory rules.

Leading Union brigade

The Carnage and Glory rules are interesting in that the computer tracks casualties and morale status and all you know is if your troops are advancing or disordered or not responding to orders. There are no dice rolls or figure removal.

This was a historic action from 1862 in Kentucky that was a heavy Union defeat. We did better than the historic commanders by not being bundled off the table as quickly as they had been.

My cavalry brigade trying to protect our flank

On the other table people were playing some board games: Battle of Hoth, Splendour, and 1812.

Charcuterie and dessert wine for Afters, which sadly my stomach was in no mood for. If I'd known, I'd have skipped dinner and held out for this!

Sunday morning was just clean up and March Out. Plans are afoot to do it again next fall.

Sunday morning group photo

Fun was had.

'Feallan' is the Old English word from which we get the common English name for the Autumn season.