*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 07:42:05 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Recent

Author Topic: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident  (Read 4166 times)

Offline agentbalzac

  • Librarian
  • Posts: 123
In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« on: March 02, 2018, 02:37:34 AM »
February 189-

Few, even in faraway Moscow, could deny that on the long, sub-arctic night of 29th January 189- they did not feel a slight tremor.  Others reported a flash on the distant northeastern horizon, and closer still villagers and local officials across the Tunguska Oblast reported a rumbling and some even an odd, dry smell as if the very freezing air had been burned.

Not surprising then that within days of this strange event being telegraphed across the globe, forces from across the civilised world had begun journeys - some from as distant as London and Tokyo - to the remote corner of the Russian Empire investigate the source of the tremendous event.  What they found when they arrived was as enigmatic and odd as could be…Only one thing was certain - whomever could control it - or the powerful forces it suggested - would hold the whip hand in the next round of the Great Game played by nations and more nebulous forces while good people sleep.

**********

In a silent, snow-covered corner of the Taiga, a huge, odd monolith rises where once stood rank upon rank of proud pines.  These now lie scattered like matchsticks, prostrate as if in obeyance to the great alien stone which towers over them, darkening the low winter sky.



From among the boles figures come stumbling through the drifts:  some familiar - there is that old adventurer Lord Curr and his usual coterie of companions - Mohan Singh, 'Mad' Mick McFarlane and some Incorrigibles.  Others are new - yonder, from another side as if strolling Red Square strides Count Casamir Myshkatov; his wife the Countess Valentina (a cousin of the Tsarina and the real leader of the group), Potemkin - a sailor and thug known from the Crimea to Vladivostok and Tganasyn, a Siberian Shaman who is followed by a shambling Brown Bear.

With a hiss and a skitter, arrives a decrepit man, bound to his steam-powered wheelchair.  Scuttling along either side, apparently at his command, are hideous Dragomen, horridly unnatural fusions of man and lizard, carrying ornate jezzails.

Death and mayhem are inevitable: only one of these forces can hope to control the monolith long enough to inspect it, and perhaps to unlock the secrets of its smooth alien stone.  Furthermore the strange goings on have awoken the denizens and critters of the Taiga from their wintry hibernation - how will they react to this brutal intrusion into their world?

The forces stalk each other through the woods, each sizing the other up.  Lord Curr’s company then dashes forward, seizing the initiative.  To their right, L’Estrange’s  smooth, honeyed voice, at odds with his decrepit body, urges his Dragomen forward through the chaos of twisted and torn trees.  Suddenly, there is a deep, thunderous roar as three shadows erupt into form - a tribe of Yeti!  They leap forward across the snow on well-adapted feet, lunging for the Dragomen with yellowed teeth and claws - at once terrified and terrifying, the creatures face off, one Dragoman telling back from the primitive horror, another raising his muzzle loaded weapon. 

Attack of the Yeti!:



A crackle of rifle fire shows that Curr’s men have established a base of fire next to the monolith - can they hold it against all comers?

Not far away, the Okhrana skulk among tree-trunks, weary from their long journey across the Trans-Siberian and then a marathon sled ride through the frozen nights. They creep forward, and are spotted by Mohan Singh.  The bear shambles forward, even as Singh’s mighty machine gun swings in their direction.  With a guttural cry Tganasyn holds aloft his arms and disappears into a swirling blizzard, along with his comrades, obscuring their menacing advance.

The Dragomen are locked into a desperate fight with three Yeti.  One of the shaggy beasts chases a Dragoman across the ice, but another, wielding some form of primitive stone-headed club, is cut down by the accurate fire of a Jezzail.

A desperate battle between Yeti and Lizard...



An Incorrigible picks off another Dragoman, but the tables are turned as an Okhrana Bear leaps forth from the shamanic blizzard and falls upon Lord Curr’s company.  A short but desperate fight ensues.  Potemkin hurls a Molotov cocktail which is snuffed out in the icy air, and the Countess blazes away with a heavy revolver.  Singh is felled by a blow from Count Myshkatov’s sabre, collapsing into a thick snowdrift, and an Incorrigible falls to the ground..

While McFarlane studies the alien stone with an engineer's eye, his comrades and the Okhrana fight tooth, claw and pistol:





The Dragomen finally kill the last two Yeti, and turn to advance on the monolith - but padding between the rocks are a dire wolf and her pack who leap forward, vitalised by the smell of blood.  Unperturbed, Professor L’Estrange engages his steam chair which creaks forward, surging into the howling, growling, grey fur fray and blasting away with his .455 Webley.

Meanwhile, the Dragomen have their own battle:



Professor L'Estrange himself goes into action against the wolves:



‘Mad’ Mick McFarlane turns from an apparently oblivious study of the monolith, to hurl a brass plated grenade at the advancing Okhrana.  Count Myshaktov the Countess Valentina, and the bear are struck down by the blast.  Potemkin survives, blasts two rounds from his Russian naval revolver and is fried by a well-timed shot from Curr’s arc-rifle.  Tganasyn follows shortly - set upon the path to the spirit world when he is brassed up by a .303 betwixt the eyes.

Even as the Dragomen despatch the last of the  wolf pack howling back into the wilderness, their pack-leader’s blood staining the pristine snow, Royal Navy sailors approach, bearing a Union Jack and a flask of reviving Irish coffee for Lord Curr.  At this, Professor L’Estrange orders mutters a curse and orders his leathery lizard men to retire into the descending night…

*********

In Her Majesty’s Name King of the Hill scenario set in icy Siberia the other night at Perth Miniature Gamers Group.  Another chapter in the ever-twisting tale of our 200 point demi-companies - two on debut this time - my brother Anthony’s Dragomen of Professor Phineas L’Estrange, and the Okhrana and their Siberian Shaman (based on the Company described in HVF, but with a Bear in place of their designated wolf).  We added a couple of random hazards to complicate proceedings.  For what it is worth, my 12 y.o., in charge of Lord Curr’s Company, hung on to 'control' the monolith by the twelfth turn and took the honours yet again!

All present can generally report tremendous fun.  I do hope you enjoy reading this over warm breakfast tea and toast or perhaps in your favourite armchair by the drawing room fire, with a tumbler of something invigorating to take the edge off the Siberian chill.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2018, 05:21:33 AM by agentbalzac »

Offline BrizzleRob

  • Lurker
  • Posts: 3
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2018, 07:28:44 AM »
Fantastic AAR. Thanks for sharing :)

Offline Sunjester

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1510
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2018, 07:55:53 AM »
A great looking game, sounds a lot of fun.

Offline Craig

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2078
  • Youth & Talent are no match for Age and Treachery.
    • The Ministry of Gentlemanly Warfare
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2018, 01:48:49 PM »
Lord Curr was ever my favourite, so pass on my congratulations to your Junior Incorrigible.

Excellent AAR!
My sincerest contrafibularities
General Lord Craig Arthur Wellesey Cartmell (ret'd)
https://theministryofgentlemanlywarfare.wordpress.com/

Offline Vagabond

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1622
    • Vagabond's Wargaming Blog
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2018, 06:42:25 PM »
Another excellent game report. I've never used these rules but your games sound a lot of fun, so maybe I'm missing out.
A very enjoyable write up.
Cheers

Offline The_Beast

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Galactic Brain
  • *
  • Posts: 4916
  • As my grandchildren see me...
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2018, 11:18:02 PM »
It now always seems strange to see Yeti in a battle, and no obvious actions of the Black Tong.

In the shadows, perhaps?  :D

Awesome, and need we say 'more, more!'

Oh, are descriptions/cards available anywhere for the Professor and has draconian assistants?

Doug

Offline Captain Darling

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 904
    • Captain Darlings Miniatures Emporium
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2018, 11:48:59 PM »
Great scenario and set up!

Thanks for posting...
"There's nothing cushy about life in the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps!"

http://captaindarlingsminiaturesemporium.blogspot.com.au
https://toysoldiersforoldgits.blogspot.com.au

Offline Paboook

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 275
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2018, 01:06:38 PM »
Very nice indeed!

Offline Codsticker

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • *
  • Posts: 3276
    • Kodsticklerburg: A Mordheim project
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2018, 04:04:41 AM »
Fantastic stuff AB. 8)

Offline lethallee61

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 274
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2018, 04:37:08 AM »
With games like this going on in my home town, I might just have to pay this club a visit one night.  ;)
Enjoying the game is ALWAYS more important than winning the game.

Offline butchyboy73

  • Lurker
  • Posts: 3
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2018, 04:20:06 AM »
A wonderful report for a great game. The terrain, the companies and the yetis look excellent. Is this part of a narrative campaign?

Offline agentbalzac

  • Librarian
  • Posts: 123
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2018, 03:11:34 AM »
A wonderful report for a great game. The terrain, the companies and the yetis look excellent. Is this part of a narrative campaign?

Many thanks for your comments.

No, this is not part of a narrative campaign as such, but the same companies keep on cropping up all over the world (see various other AARs).  In writing them up I simply prefer to place these tales in the context of a vast, ongoing global struggle.  At our club (Perth Miniatures Gamers Group) we are toying with a specifically structured campaign and we'll get to it one of these days...

Offline horridperson

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 899
  • Doing the Will of The Horned Cat
    • Void Spaces
Re: In Her Majesty's Name AAR - The Tunguska Incident
« Reply #12 on: July 24, 2018, 08:01:15 PM »
Really cool!  I love a game built around a good story.