FFoL Might & Magic game 1

 England, 915AD, along the border of the Danelaw.

Elderman Stefn had a problem. That problem wasn't only that his Saxon lands bordered the Danelaw, but portion ruled by the Dane Jarl Thor. The two had been at each others throats for years because Jarl Thor held to tadeonal Viking traditions, predominantly raiding Stefn's lands. Because a "peace" was supposed to exist between the Saxons and Danes, Stefn had been forbidden from sending a force into the Danelaw to put an end to Thor. He thought other ways to undermine his neighbor, one of which was to undermine their Pagan roots by spreading Christianity to the common folk in the Danelaw. To that end he planned to build a fortified monastery along the border from which missionaries could be sent. It was while he was out surveying a possible location with his family priest Father Lunden that he ran into Thor. 

Thor was out hunting with his closest group of fighters, either for game or helpless peasants remained to be seen. He knowingly crossed into the Saxon lands in search of good prey and thrilled that he stumbled upon the best prey of all. None other then Saxon dog Stefn with only a handful of guards. He would make a truly fine prize if he could be taken. 

Both leaders saw this as an opportunity to remove the other. If Stefn killed Thor while on Saxon lands he would not have broken the peace. If Thor could capture Stefn he would be worth a great deal in ransom. 

This was the setting for a game of Fistful of Lead, Might & Magic that I played with my son Thomas. My office is small but has just enough room for a 3x3 table which is perfect for FFoL. This was Thomas's first game with the rules and using all his own models. 

Thomas lead the Danish Vikings and had picked the names, traits, and equipment for his men. He painted all of them except the dog, which I had painted to look like our German Shepard that we had to leave back in the States.

I commanded the Saxons using models from my Anglo-Saxon army. I took no ranged units but up armored my sergeant. My priest was very weak but fast and could heal. 

The table is set up. I kept it pretty simple since Thomas is only 7 and not very experienced gamer.

I had us each set up within 6in either side of the road and up to 6in onto the table.

I got the first go and started by sending Ator around the left flank.

Thomas moved up Benjamin who could shoot extra far and took a shot at Stefn but missed. 

Then he moved up Dedric, who is an exceptional shot but weak fighter.

He took a shot at Ator and...

...his bow string snapped!

Next I sent Nodons around the right flank.

Then my sergeant Abeodan up the road, followed by Stefn and Father Lunden to threaten the bowmen.

Thomas sent Elliot to protect them.

Thor held back, directing his men. Not very Viking like.

Thomas had his sergeant Felix also move to back up the bowmen and that ended the first turn.

The second turn started with Benjamin taking another shot with his bow. Much to my dismay, the arrow found its mark and struck Stefn Out of Action. Nodons rushed over to put himself between the archers and his fallen leader. Then Thomas activated Dedric with a 6. He was able to restring his bow, take aim, and let an arrow fly...right into Nodons. Amazingly Thomas's dice rolling guided that arrow through Nodon's guard and took him Out of Action.

Seeing how dangerous the bows were (and Thomas's rolls), I sent Ator charging up followed by Father Lunden. He couldn't quite reach and in turn got charged by Felix. A short fight and more amazing dice rolls saw Ator Out of Action at Felix's feet.

Though geared for defense I sent in Abeodan against Elliot. Elliot won the fight and despite his armor, Abeodan was sent Out of Action. 

That left poor Father Lundon all on his own. Thor chose to deal with the priest on his own. Lundon did so poorly that he dropped his club right before Thor knocked him out. 

Normally a game of Fistful of Lead Might and Melee is not quite so deadly or one sided. Each model has a number of wounds. Though when you roll as poorly as I did against someone rolling as amazingly as Thomas... then this is the game you get.

Post Game:

We decided to make this an ongoing campaign so I rolled to see what happened to all of my guys. If they survived then they could be taken capture.

All of my men survived though both Stefn and Ator will start the next game they are in with a wound. Abeodan was also wounded but his is permanent had he will take a negative trait. Rolling for that it turns out that he is Unskilled and gets a -1 in close combat. I guess his position as sergeant was more status and not on skill. 

Next game we might see friends of Stefn attempt a rescue or Stefn and his men might find an opportunity to brake free.
 

The Harem of the Undying King

 So for a small distraction from historicals and to practice some painting techniques I decided to paint the zombies that came with kickstarter I backed from the 13th Warlock. I wanted to practice highlights for skins and figured zombies would be good because if I messed up they'd still work. The models are a rather adult group of female zombies but where a real treat to paint. They are all 3D prints and some of the artifacts from that process where visible in a few. 

Since I have been recently playing Oathmark which uses units in denominations of 5, and I have 10 of these zombies, it got me thinking. I came up with a name for the unit "The Harem of the Undying King" which I think fits the adult nature of the poses and would go well with an undead army. I think I might field them as Ghouls though.

Here is the whole unit.

Here are the individual shots. I am really happy with how they came out. I must confess I rushed the bases a bit just so I could take photos. Will probably go back as add a bit more to them.

Anglo-Saxon Casualties

 I recently finished 20 Old Glory Viking casualties as casualty/wound/fatigue markers for my Anglo-Saxon army. I made a spot for a small D6 to track up to 6. Intended for Hail Creaser in which 6 is the max a unit can take. Will work equally well for SAGA and other games.