Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => VSF Adventures => Topic started by: Dewbakuk on June 05, 2008, 04:37:54 PM
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As those of you who are members of the GASLIGHT yahoo group probably know. I'm shortly going to be running a short campaign to try and build some VSF interest amongst my friends. I'm going to be altering the balance of power on Venus most probably.
Currently (as you possibly know), Venus is primarily under British control, or at least the bits with humans are. Other major powers have trading settlements (and a few not too obvious military bases) to interact with the natives but the limited habitable areas have enabled diplomacy (and the Royal Navy Aeronefs) to maintain British dominion. It helps that they control the primary travel route from Earth.
The setting of Venus is fairly straightforward and probably familiar as variations of it have circled the globe many times since my original GASLIGHT post all those years ago. Venus is a Jungle planet covered almost entirely in trees and swamp. On the surface the air is hot, thick and humid, so much so that humans can only breath there for a short time without apparatus. Thankfully, large mesas tower over the deep jungle, rising high enough for the air to be rather pleasant. These mesas are where human settlers built their homes.
This settlement has led to some minor conflict however as Venus is inhabited. The Deep is inhabited by savage lizardmen and many dinosaur like creatures as well as odd exoskeletal ones. The Mesas are inhabited by the Parrotmen and their beasts. (information on the two species and their interactions held elsewhere)
As humans have spread they have impinged on Parrotman territory, up until recently this was mostly unopposed as there were many empty mesas. However some Parrotmen Elders and Tribal Leaders are speaking out against the human encroachment, both on their land and on their culture. It is only a matter of time before at least one tribe declares war...........
So that's the setting for the mini campaign. Essentially it's going to be a reworking of the Boxer Rebellion. The idea is the players will fight each other in small skirmishes to start with and have Parrotman forces appear occasionaly in their games. The Parrotman forces will increase as the games go on until it (should) become obvious that they need to join forces to defeat them. At which point a full rebellion will kick in and we'll play some big games to settle it.
At the very least, should the Parrotmen suffer a hideous defeat, they will be on a more militant stance from then on. Should humanity be defeated then they will be driven back to their strongpoints and many settlers and their homes lost.
Either way, the result will be settlers who will look to their own protection. So, this gives me a new army to collect! lol
This force will be armed militia troops with dinosaurs! It was discovered early on that the beasts used by the Parrotmen couldn't be trained by humans and became dangerous if Parrotmen were not around. The beasts of the Deep however are different, while difficult to train, it is not impossible and the rewards are great. Not only are they suited to the terrain and climate, they can operate easily in the Jungle which is somewhere the larger Steam-contraptions cannot go. Unfortunately they are of limited use elsewhere due to their requirement for humidity.
So, what figures to use? I'm currently thinking Boers but I'm open to suggestions........
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Or what about ACW figs with green uniforms? The new Perry ones are tempting and being plastic, should be easy to convert.
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I recently decided to go with Perry's Sudan British Camel Corp figures to represent my Interplanetary British. It was the boots and goggles that decided it for me.
(http://www.perry-miniatures.com/images/sb/SB%2041.jpg)
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Ooh, good call for that. I'm after something a little less British. I know most of the colonies had troops in British Uniform but they were mostly properly raised regiments. I'm thinking something more akin to the Natal horse from the Zulu War.
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Kind of talking to myself here :)
I can't find a good picture but the Warzone Bauhaus Mounted Hussars might serve as inspiration, less the machine guns and armour.
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I would go for boers myself
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Sounds like Boers would be a good fit. Are you planning mounted and foot units? Are the mounted troops going to be riding dinos? You might want to take a peak at Brigades Australian Light Horsemen
(http://www.brigadegames.com/images/BGGL/BG-WIEB77_sm.jpg)
(http://www.brigadegames.com/images/BGGL/BG-WIEB85_sm.jpg)
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Aside from the obvious Boers, how about 2nd/3rd Maori War militia - late 1860s clothing adapted for operating in a humid forest - perfect for Venus! These from Eureka:
(http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/ekmps/shops/fighting15s/images/100col18.jpg)(http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/ekmps/shops/fighting15s/images/100col17.jpg)
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Those Aussies are great. I assume they're for the Great War? Does anyone know if there's anything on them that's obviously not Victorian?
Yep, I intend both Mounted and foot. The mounted will be on dinos of assorted kinds, both as cav and howdah riders. Probably do some flyers too, lying on the backs of pterasaurs.
Okay, next question. Who makes decent Boers?
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Not a bad idea Dave but I'm not too keen on those sculpts. Besides, they do kinda look like they're in dresses ???
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The Light horse are for WW1 Gallipoli and are very nice sculpts. I don't think there is anything on them that would glare out as Post Victorian.
Foundry makes Boers and I believe they are Perry's but you have to call them to discuss ordering them as they are not shown on the site anymore.
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Apart from the rifles, that is. But just file off the magazines.
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The ten shot Lee-Enfield was used by British forces from 1895 onwards in large numbers. It's supposed to have been used selectively before that, so you can get away with the mags.
Foundry do Boers but they are old sculpts, pretty much 25mm so too small to mix with my other figs.
Black Tree do big ones but the pics on the site make them look rather over chunky. Anyone seen them in the flesh?
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I'm liking the Aussie cavalry. For Infantry I think I'll use US Plains Infantry
(http://www.artizandesigns.com/images/aww101.jpg)
I'll probably pick up some Boers to use as townsfolk/farmers as well.
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Those Plains war infantry are nice. I've got some for my Americans. For your farmers and townsmen you might take a look at Foundry's War Out West and Indian Country collections. I use a lot of those for generic Militia. Pretty sure they were all sculpted by Mike Owens. The same gentleman that does the Plains Infantry and the Aussie Light Horse I think
http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/OW/5/index.asp (http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/OW/5/index.asp)
http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/OW/6/index.asp (http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/OW/6/index.asp)
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Remember to look out for wild west hunters/ACW snipers with buffalo guns - perfect for shooting dinos and big
kroot (sorrry parrotmen) beasts.
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That's a good point. Brigade do a unit of ACW Sharpshooters with Steam Rifles, I'll take a look at those again. I have more than a few Darkest Africa Hunters, some of which I think have slouch hats rather than pith helmets. I'll have a look through but a couple of those may join the force as characters.
Kroot? There is no Kroot here, only Parrotmen o_o
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I found I had too many Foundry/Copplestone explorers etc for Darkest Africa exploration games, so what I did was formed them into a local defence force, along with a couple of spare Boers.
They don't have a formal uniform, but are dressed in brown or khaki jackets and trousers, with grey shirts and red bands around slouch hats [where applicable]. Any with pith helmets had a red flash on the side and NCO rank insignia and any jacket piping are also red. The OC has an obsolescent Zulu War era uniform.
They all have different weapons etc, but the whole look unit quite respectable if highly irregular - just what I imagined an ad hoc unit in a far flung corner of Empire should be. They are sort of a 19thC "Dad's Army". It also meant I have managed to justify some extravagant & probably wasteful spending lol
This idea might work for your chaps. It would also mean you could use a number of different figures instead of relying on one source.
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What about 1st Corps Cape Wars/Kaffir wasr figures.
They are dressed for tropical climate, but are very early Victorian in appearance. They would be less easily identified as Boers or Sudan British when placed on the table.
They have some nice mounetd figures as well armed with shotguns.
http://www.1stcorps.co.uk/CWpg1.htm
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Hi,
Black Tree Design do Boers and they look good.
Great sounding plot, can't wait for the battle reports
Cheers
Fritzy
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Those 1st Corps Cape Wars mounted guys are great! Gotta love units armed with shotguns :-* Some of them do look a bit too early for my tastes but there are certainly some gems mixed in there, thanks!
I mentioned the BTD design Boers in an earlier post, are they as chunky as they look in this pic?
http://www.blacktreedesign.com/uk/product.php?productid=25233&cat=2510&page=1
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I haven't seen them personally but have used the Brits from the Zulu war range. If you email them or give them a phone call they will send you a free figure from the range of your choice, just say you are looking to compare sizes of minis. I've found them really helpfull. The british are the same size as the Ironclad miniatures Moriaty and look good.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Fritzy