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Author Topic: Fantastic Battles - videos on Youtube  (Read 12872 times)

Offline Easy E

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (call for playtesters)
« Reply #30 on: July 01, 2020, 06:56:54 PM »
This is looking smashing! Top drawer!
Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing

Offline Irregular Wars Nic

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (call for playtesters)
« Reply #31 on: July 02, 2020, 07:58:29 AM »
This is looking smashing! Top drawer!

Thanks Eric!

Offline Irregular Wars Nic

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (halfling army showcase)
« Reply #32 on: July 02, 2020, 07:09:09 PM »

With playtesting now in full swing, I thought it was time to showcase another 1,000 point army for Fantastic Battles: the halflings of Hearthshire. From the Shire to the Moot, I have always had a soft spot for the wee folk. It was the start of this 10mm halfling army - a gift from my good friend JB - that drew me back to fantasy gaming after a hiatus of ... rather a number of years; you've a lot to answer for JB. This army combines ranges from Eureka Miniatures, Magister Militum, Pendraken and Alternative Armies.


The halflings of Hearthshire are a peaceable and earnest folk. Settled in a quiet land of agricultural small-holdings nestled between low rolling hills, they are slow to anger, but stout in the defence of their homes. To represent their less than martial nature, the 'militia' trait (-1 to a company's basic Melee factor) has been adopted as a racial trope. The army consists of five characters and 23 companies which I usually field in 11 units.


From left to right: Mr Hotspur, Sheriff of Hearthshire, serves as Hearthshire's Warlord and is carried into battle on a ceremonial shield; the two Captains, Puck Goodfellow and Captain Fishwick; the Magic-user, Barmbrack Hamfist riding a giant guinea pig; and the Rogue, Rosie Foxglove. As a halfling wizard, Barmbrack uses buffing rather than destructive spells.


Mounted on stout ponies, the Hearthshire Yeomanry are the closest Hearthshire gets to heavy cavalry. As a small unit with good Resolve and decent speed, they can be used to support the flanks of the main halfling battle line, or swing around to harry the flanks of enemy units.


Riding on the backs of geese, the poultry scouts lack the Resolve or Melee capacity to make good front line troops but can be useful to take and hold terrain features.


The Hearthguard of Hearthshire are the most resilient infantry unit among the halflings. Armed with long spears, they are at their best when receiving charges or fighting against larger foes.


Halfling militia archers are eminently capable shooting troops, however lacking they may be when it comes to melee skills.


The halfling kitchen militia feed the army on the march, but also muster as a stout, if ineffective, fighting unit. With ready access to the kitchen stores, they have the ability to regenerate any Resolve lost through the course of a battle.


When not foraging for supplies, the truffle-hunters are able to deliver a disruptive blow against any unit they charge. They do, however, lack Resolve, so their attack must be well timed.


Watching from the woods and other rough terrain features, what the halfling wardens lack in martial prowess, they make up for with their skill as archers and skirmishers.


The treefolk of Wyldwood provide much needed close-combat support to the Hearthshire muster. Their ability to move easily through wooded terrain is also a major boon to any halfling army.


What better monster than a cockatrice to support an army of wee farmers?!


The Hearthshire Academy Mathematics Society produces a small but able body of engineers to man small artillery pieces. With the ability to lob large stones other the heads of intervening troops, Hearthshire catapult batteries are often deployed in support of the Hearthshire army.


Offline scatterbrains

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (halfling army showcase)
« Reply #33 on: July 03, 2020, 01:47:47 AM »
Gorgeous little army, epic scale!

Offline fred

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (halfling army showcase)
« Reply #34 on: July 03, 2020, 06:55:44 AM »
Great looking army Nic, and I really like the thought and imagination that has gone into it.

Offline Bearwoodman

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (halfling army showcase)
« Reply #35 on: July 03, 2020, 07:24:23 AM »
A very nicely painted and characterful army! It's interesting to see how you can field such a variety of units and yet the army remains very coherent, both visually and in terms of their backstory. It looks great and will no doubt present some fascinating tactical challenges on the battlefield!

Offline Irregular Wars Nic

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (halfling army showcase)
« Reply #36 on: July 06, 2020, 12:57:41 PM »
Thanks all.

It looks great and will no doubt present some fascinating tactical challenges on the battlefield!

It does that!

Offline Irregular Wars Nic

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles
« Reply #37 on: July 06, 2020, 01:00:56 PM »

This week's playtesting of Fantastic Battles took the form of a multiplayer game, pitting an alliance of night elves and ratmen against a coalition of humans and halflings. Multiplayer games play out in the same way as a one-on-one game, except that we each deployed smaller armies - for this game, 500 points a piece.


The elves and rats were the defenders, setting up a battlefield broken by two hills and four large areas of broken terrain. The elves deployed pretty poorly, with their most effective combat (the night elf legion) unit taking up a position behind the much slower and larger unit of undead thralls. Thus, while the pointy-eared elves slowly pulled themselves out of the self-dug hole, the pointy-nosed ratmen surged forward towards the halfling line.


Despite nominally being the attackers, the halflings took up positions on their own side of the broken ground (turnip fields as it turned out), allowing the ratmen to cross it if they chose. Which they did. The battle then mostly played out as a ratman offensive against the withdrawn halfling line, while the humans surged forward to tackle the elves while their line was still in disarray.


The ratmen were far more capable than the halflings in melee, but the stunted farmers managed to kill the great rat with their massed archery before the lines closed. The fact that we were using smaller armies, meant that we had less characters in play. An army breaks when all characters have been killed or fled the battle; a few turns, and two lucky rolls later, and the last ratman character was dead and the vermintide fled from the table.


On the far side of the battlefield, the human heavy cavalry and flame-throwing battle wagon managed to make short work of the night elf spider riders. However, while that was going on, the elves' undead thralls engaged the human medium infantry while the elvish legion maneuvered behind. The human's angel flew to attack the end of the ratman line, but was then charged in the rear by elvish crossbowmen. In the end, the elves and humans fought each other to a mutual destruction - both forces losing more than 50% of their army at the end of the same turn.

I think the elvish performance was evidence that deplorable and much-ribald deployment decisions do not necessitate a total disaster. The elves also suffered from command and control issues throughout the game which hampered their attempts to redeploy. Despite that, they ended up pulling a fairly respectable result from the jaws of ignominy.

The humans did fine, except for the angel charge (on my bad recommendation). There were a couple of badly chosen match-ups - they certainly had a mobility advantage over the undead thralls and could have chosen to avoid them throughout, but the heavy cavalry were smashing (pun intended) and the flame-thrower wagon was so cool!

The ratmen clearly did not anticipate the halfling hellfire or their warlord would never have charged unsupported against the centre of the halfling line unsupported. The halfling plan in contrast was pretty boring, but in character for halflings. And as the last army standing, it clearly paid off this time.

Offline Irregular Wars Nic

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles
« Reply #38 on: July 13, 2020, 01:41:08 PM »


Across the parched plain, the mindless hordes of the liche-king shambled forward, keen to add to their number with the countless corpses of their goblin foes. This week's game of Fantastic Battles saw a completely undead army for the first time, pitted against the brave boyz in green.

I've a full write up over on the blog for those with an interest  :)
https://irregularwars.blogspot.com/2020/07/fantastic-battles-battle-of-bonefields.html?fbclid=IwAR3qgfYpXi0QcWiBUrQlS75tPcVKbonNmUMqyESHt2-fw0NIwQgEPCTh28o


Offline Irregular Wars Nic

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (dwarvern army showcase)
« Reply #39 on: July 14, 2020, 12:00:01 PM »

The next example army for Fantastic Battles comes in the form of 1000 points of Ziggurat Dwarves. These are all from Cibo's Little Dudes in Switzerland - most are from his range of Evil Dwarves, but some pieces are regular dwarves and the flying carpets are made from greenstuff.


The Ziggurat Dwarves are an ancient people from an arid land broken by fertile flood plains. Living in walled city-states, they build huge stepped monuments reaching into the sky. Some travellers believe these to be a memorial to an ancestral mountainous homeland far to the north, others feel the dwarves may simply be overcompensating for short-comings in other areas. To represent their steadfast nature, the 'doughty' trait (+1 to a company's basic Resolve factor) has been adopted as a racial trope.


By far the smallest of the armies showcased to date, these dwarves favour quality over quantity mustering only five characters and 18 companies (intended to be fielded as eight or nine units).


The command element of the army - the Warlord Gargamesh mounted on his city's lamassu, flanked by the Captains Lakish and Uruk.


The magically inclined characters, the Magic-user Akkad, and the Djinn. The Djinn counts as both a character and a company and should be able to hold its own in battle, as well as casting wee spells to help the army along.


The temples provide a cadre of specialist priests to support the Ziggurati with carpet-riders. In such a slow army, the carpets provide a highly mobile reserve as well as limited fire-power as the priests throw down assorted fireballs and lightning bolts. 


The Ziggurat Guard are the elite unit in the armies of the Ziggurati cities. Equipped with two handed axes, they should be able to make short work (pun intended) of any unit foolhardy enough to stand before them.



Shield-bearers make up the bulk of Ziggurati armies. Lacking the punch of the Ziggurat Guard, Shield-bearers are, however, almost impervious to frontal attacks as they present a solid shieldwall bristling with spears.


Lacking warriors with regular missile weapons, Ziggurati armies usually march to war supported by plentiful war-machines. These ballistae are equally capable of breaching enemy formations or fortifications. The grand battery would usually be broken into smaller groups to spread its shooting capacity along the entire dwarvern line. 


The last unit in the army is a company of dwarvern highlanders, less sophisticated than their lowland cousins, they serve as scouts and foragers for the army on the march, and crucial flank support in the line of battle.

Offline blacksoilbill

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (dwarvern army showcase)
« Reply #40 on: July 14, 2020, 12:12:08 PM »
That's another great looking army. Really characterful!

Offline fred

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (dwarvern army showcase)
« Reply #41 on: July 15, 2020, 07:13:06 AM »
That is a great looking army Nic, and nice to see a slightly different take on evil dwarves

Offline scatterbrains

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (dwarvern army showcase)
« Reply #42 on: July 15, 2020, 01:50:28 PM »
Loving this scale more and more with every update.  :-*

Offline LouieN

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (dwarvern army showcase)
« Reply #43 on: July 15, 2020, 04:50:35 PM »
The armies look great

Offline Irregular Wars Nic

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Re: Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles (dwarvern army showcase)
« Reply #44 on: July 26, 2020, 09:00:06 PM »
That is a great looking army Nic, and nice to see a slightly different take on evil dwarves

They are not evil. Why does everyone keep suggesting they might be evil!  :D

 

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