Ravenfeast: First Battle

 

I downloaded the Ravenfeast free rules and gave them a whirl with my boy. We had a good time.

Ravenfeast is based on the One Page Rules system, and are very nicely produced. Ravenfeast also has a handful of scenarios and optional expansions available on their site, as well as tutorials on how to get started with modelling, painting, terrain building, and so on. It's really well put together.

We quickly selected our forces - my boy got 400 pts and went mostly for elite types, while I got 300 and concentrated on much cheaper basic farmers with shields and spears.

We ended up splitting our forces around a farm (the freshly tilled soil counting as difficult ground).

The system was fast and intuitive and enjoyable to play. The only issue we had was with shield walls...

A group of the local leiðangr forming a shield wall.

The implementation seems pretty realistic. You can only move forward (or backward) in a straight line, and you get some bonuses to armour saves.

The separate clashes - shield wall vs shield wall - develop, tying up the majority of models on the field.

The problem we had is that the bonuses you get in a shield wall meant that there was a whole bunch of dice rolling with very little impact. Most of the models ended up with a "roll 5 or less on a d6" armour save against hits. And since most of our models were in mutual shield walls, not much seemed to happen for a while.

To be fair, both my boy and I played quite cautiously and we had pretty basic forces so we may have missed options that could've broken the stalemate earlier. And, of course, it's probably pretty historically accurate.

After a long period of pushing, one of the shield wall melees finally broke up as one side had insufficient models to maintain the formation.

Once one of the shield walls broke up and the combat devolved into 1 on 1 or 2 on 1 fights, the game got a lot more dynamic.

In spite of the shield wall quibble, we both had a great time and we'll be revisiting the game. I expect adding some Saxons, some Normans, mythological options and/ or some more complex scenarios will make the game more dynamic.

Vikings and Gaels and Harpies, a Dwarf Wizard, Normans and a woman with a child

So I've been painting miniatures on and off and finally I got around to photographing them. As you can tell from the title, it's a bit of a random assortment.

They all seem to be brawling over control of a small Dark Age style hovel.

These are Foundry vikings. Personally I'm not convinced by the historicity of the breastplate. The beards and hair are a little too wild and unkempt too, if you ask me.

The fellow with the horn is Citadel IIRC, while the other two are Foundry.

Suddenly three fierce Harpies (Foundry) appear, intent on capturing the hovel.

Using their superior mobility, the Harpies displace the Vikings...

... but the Vikings rally.

Here a Dwarf wizard with a crow familiar (Oathmark) and three Celtos Gaels have taken possession of the hovel. Not sure where the Vikings and Harpies are up to, but if the opportunity is there it'd be foolish not to take it.

The Gaels have not accounted for the small handful of Citadel Normans. Off to the side we can see woman with a child. She's Citadel as well and, I think, somewhat later than the Norman era.

Things are getting confusing now. The Normans have the hovel, but one Gael swordswoman are still among their lines.

Confusion reigns. Who is fighting whom? Maybe it's all just for show...

In the end, the Harpies reappear and claim the hovel. Most likely they're feasting on the bones of the slain.

I still have to varnish the minis, but otherwise they are done. 

Two Vikings Freshly Painted

Not a whole lot, but two is more than zero. Just look at these pictures.

A wolf-heathen (ulfhednar) and a more regular fellow. One is old citadel (in actual 25 mm) and the other is Wargames Foundry (closer to 28 mm).

Here they are walking away. Vikings were pretty keen on finery as a way to show of social status. So far I'm mostly using dot patterns to suggest fancy embroidery. It kind of works, I think. Also, as I understand it there are no accounts of vikings disliking pink, so I use it a fair bit (it could also be faded red).

From the Dark Ages

I painted another handful (12) of spear wielding Gripping Beast plastic dark age warrior types. I figure they can do duty as a fairly wide range of early medieval North West European fyrd or levy type warriors, as well as generic warriors, tribesfolk, and/ or angry local farmers in various fantasy settings.

This time I went for a much more muted palette, attempting to represent warriors of more modest means dressed in humble homespun fabric. Again, these lads were painted mostly using contrast paints.

Charging across a white, featureless plain.

The shield designs are entirely speculative.

Granny and the Boys

I finished a few more viking types, including Granny. I'm in the process of planning my first Dragon Rampant game and Granny is going to feature in it - as are her two friends, most likely.

I picture Granny as being a local force, both due to her tendency towards sorcery (real in fantasy games, less real in historical games) and sheer force of personality. The miniatures themselves are (L to R) Citadel, Citadel (I think), Wargames Foundry.

Vikings Muster

A little while ago I posted some pictures of a batch of vikings that were "in progress". Well, I actually legitimately finished some of them. So here they are.

First up a pair of berserkers who've kept their pants on:

These fellows (Citadel) look to me like they've both just about had it.

I'm pretty happy with how that red and white shield came out.

Next up, a set of three berserkers who in terms of clothing seem to own an eye-patch, two shoes, and a belt between them. I'm not sure if they share...

That line from Dirty Old Town comes to mind: "I'm going make me a big sharp axe, shining steel tempered in the fire, I'll chop you down, like an old dead tree...."

The lesson here seems to be that a belt and a pouch will make your butt seem just a little juicier. These are Wargames Foundry miniatures.

Also, a handful of more regular viking types. They're a bit fancier than the shieldwall types I posted earlier. In the interest of transparency I should disclose that I finished the lass miniature a while ago (in fact you might recognize her from earlier posts), I just redid her shield.

Here they are coming towards the viewer...

... and here they are, moving away. The fellow second from the left is an old Citadel mini, the rest are Wargames Foundry.

And last but not least here's a cute viking couple and their kid. I hope they all stay out of trouble.

Hands on hips lady looks like she is not going to put up with any nonsense...

... that is, if she can locate the nonsense. The man is a Citadel mini and I think the woman is too. If not, she's from Wargames Foundry.

Twelve More For the Shield Wall

Here are twelve dark age warrior types. I'll most likely use them as viking javelin hurlers or Saxon fyrd. In any case, their only armour is their shields and their bloody minded determination to return home to their farms and families after the fight. These are not the social elite of their societies, nor are they the cream of the crop of the battle field. They'll have to rely on strength in numbers and the skills of their leaders to prevail in battle.

They'll probably also do some duty as bandits, minions, and retainers in D&D and other rpgs as the opportunity arises.

In any case, here are the lads...

... bravely charging across a muddy field, out of a humble cottage. As an aside, I think the middle fellow has a bit of a Jeremy Corbyn cast to his facial features.

And here they are, bravely charging at the humble cottage, presumably because the enemy is hiding inside.

These were primarily painted using the new Citadel contrast paints. Some of them were pretty good, shaving significant time off with the "paint and shade in one go" capability. However, the results vary greatly between shades, with some being too watery and faint for the alleged colour, and others coming out too solid in my opinion. The paints aren't a one stop solution across the board, but some of them offer useful features depending on the colour and what you're after.

As for the minis themselves, they're the Gripping Beast Dark Age Warriors in plastic.

For my part, I'm mostly happy to actually finishing a few more minis.

Painting Update

Got some vikings in progress. Hopefully I finish them up before I get distracted by something else...

Personally I think the mommy viking is the fiercest looking so far.

Plenty of detailing left to do, and shields of course.

Once I get these done, there's only another 200 left or so... from back when I had plenty of disposable cash and foolish ambitions.