Bugman's Lament: Dwarfs vs Goblins in the Old World-Brewery Complete!

[Davout]

Got the gate done. Popsicle sticks with Hirst Arts metal sheeting.



I've started to prime the completed buildings while I wait for the parts I need to finish building 3.


I can see the finish line!

[Davout]

Major milestone today, I've finished Building 3 and am ready to move on to paint. I definitely took advantage of this week away from school to get a lot of hobby done.  Between having to cast more bricks (putting those molds away for awhile  ~8) ) and the sheer size of this last building I spent more time in the basement then I should have.

I really like the way this one turned out. It's got a lot of different levels that keep the eye busy and will really stand out among the other buildings in the brewery. I think I ended up using pieces from almost every mold I own and I dug deep into the "I'll use it someday" box of bitz (I knew I was smart in never throwing anything away!)

The final detail will be a simple crane for the 3rd floor window/door.









Time to do a work space clean up then it's on to prime and paint.   

[Davout]

Mega Update! The brewery is done!

This particular piece of terrain was always meant to serve as the center piece for the campaign and I had been thinking about how I wanted it to look for a long time.

The original:


And my version:



The dwarf himself, Bugman! Happy to have a home again.



I ended up having a more open look but I think it still conveys the right idea. All the buildings come apart and are removable from the base. This makes it easier to store and I can use the buildings for different purposes in different games.





And some interior shots:





Finally a few shots of all the major terrain features I'll use for the game.







Hopping to solo play test the scenarios tomorrow, then a play test with my daughter and then hosting the game for my group. 

[Pattus Magnus]

Wow, that’s an impressive piece of work!

[Little Odo]

Absolutely fantastic brewery. That is a great centre piece for any table.

[Cubs]

What a beauty.

[Davout]

Now that all the miniatures are painted and terrain built and painted I've started solo play testing the scenarios.

As I mentioned in my first post I'll be playing the games using the Dragon Rampant rule set. I've had the basic unit profiles done for some time and I've started work on the profiles for the various scenario specific heroes and characters. It's been interesting to dabble in game design via porting the old GW scenarios and special rules into Rampant.

The original scenarios are definitely asymmetric with either the dwarfs or goblins having a clear advantage. I'm not trying to change this basic feel as this is something that makes the overall campaign fun and interesting to play. The goblins always have a numbers advantage but their units tend to be of very low quality (I've given most of the "core" choices the Fear trait, which makes it very easy for them to fail Courage and Rally tests and scamper off the table).

The dwarfs tend to be stout but very slow and better on the defense then on the attack (which feels right).



In my first play through of the first scenario (Ambush on the Old Dwarf Road) the goblins managed to capture 2 out of three of the beer carts. The dwarfs were more then capable of seeing off the various Goblin units but having to make the choice to either attack/shoot or move saw the dwarf infantry get left behind while  the wolf riders picked off the carts as they pushed up the road.



I adjusted the goblin list for the second play through (dropping one of the wolf rider units). This made little difference as 2 out of the 3 beer carts ended up being driven by drunken louts who couldn't wait to bust into the Bugman's XXX. This meant that  the two leading carts either wouldn't move or charged off road in a drunken rage. In the end the goblins captured all three carts.



I've done one play through of scenario #2 with the dwarfs pulling out a pretty easy win. The defenders of Skeggi's Watchtower are very much outnumbered but have the benefit of stout walls and not having to really go anywhere. Things started out rough for the Dwarfs with a unit of Slayers bouncing off a unit of wolf riders and routing off table. Dwarf shooting ended up carrying the day with goblin unit after unit falling to crossbow bolts, cannon shot and handgun rounds. It also helped that the dwarf warriors and Longbeards were able to form "Wall of Shields" which makes them very hard to kill.

I've adjusted the goblin deployment and added a turn limit (10 turns). We will see how try number two turns out.       

[Davout]

Play testing continues. I played out scenario 2 for the second time and the dwarfs again got the win. The dwarf units can be stubborn on the defense and the goblin player has to deploy his units in such as way as to let the explosive Fungus Loons reach the tower relatively unmolested.

Scenario 3 is probably the most complicated as there are special rules for the river, debris and the goblin rafts themselves. It took till about 1/2 way through the second play through till I got it all figured out and running smooth.

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The dwarfs saw off the goblin pirates easily in the first test run. It was also one of those frustrating Rampant games where you can't string two activation's together in a row  for love or money and this hurt the goblins as they could never get close to the barge and just kept drifting down river.

[url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/1127395-.html]

Game two saw the goblins close with speed and that made all the difference. Through effective shooting and the liberal expenditure of goblin lives they were able to knock enough dwarf units off the boat to claim the win.

Bugman himself survived, his wondrous tankard filled with his special brew allowed him to shrug off wound after wound.

It's been a lot of fun tinkering with the Rampant unit profiles and making the various hero's unique. 

Apologies for the shoddy looking barge. It's the top half of the Fat Dragon Medieval Cog Ship. I typically enjoy paper craft but for some reason (exhaustion) this particular model did not want to go together easy. The hull ended up a mess the masts were a disaster and I had my doubts it would hold together through the play tests and the campaign. I junked the hull and called it a flat bottomed river barge. My daughter, always one for honesty asked "is it finished" when she first saw it.

On to scenario 4!   

 

[jon_1066]

Well you are certainly keeping busy.  Look like some fun battles.  Great work on the brewery.

[Davout]

Final scenario has been play tested and I can put this project to bed. It's been a long road from when I first picked up these White Dwarf mags till now but it feels good having two armies painted up and an entire table of terrain put together.

Excited to play through with my group and see if my scenario design balances with a real person rolling the dice on the other side of the table.





A few pics to wrap up. Did Bugman and his reinforcements arrive in time? Did the brewery fall? Hopefully we will see soon!