The Leopard - Pilot Episode.

1967 RetroVision Weekend TV sought something to fill the early Sunday evening slot. Success in recent years at the cinema of several swashbuckling films has suggested this would be a suitable format. Enter Pat Harris, the company's leading documentary maker and a fan of the English Civil War. He and his writers came up with the idea of the Leopard, a mysterious swashbuckling character with royal connections.

Harris’ ideas soon exceeded the budget, and the channel’s producers wanted to cut the project. In the end, Pat persuaded them to proceed with a pilot episode. However, the budget was reduced, and the pilot had to be made on the set of the recent Dracula movie. Therefore, overnight, Whitby Abbey became a remote, ruined monastery in the heart of Oxfordshire.

Pilot - The Wayward Messenger. November 1642. Aired 3rd September 1974

King Charles I’s courier and his satchel of important letters have gone missing. The letters contained embarrassing revelations about the Queen's medical condition and sensitive diplomatic correspondence between the King and Louis XIV’s all-powerful minister, Mazarin. Edward Hyde, the King’s advisor, dispatched the young Edward Clements, a.k.a. The Leopard, to find a courier and retrieve the letters before the King’s enemies saw them. However, the Parliamentary Council was aware of the missing letters through a spy at the Royal Court. A troop of the London Trained Band is dispatched under the command of the Parliament’s fixer, Ezekiel Sutton, to capture the messenger and retrieve the satchel and its contents.

Unbeknown to both parties, the messenger had been ambushed by bandits near a ruined monastery. The messenger remained alive but was unconscious, and the contents of his satchel, considered useless by the thieves, had been discarded.

Episode Summary

As the mist envelops the ancient abbey ruins, Edward Clements, aka the Leopard, and his men tread cautiously, expecting danger at every turn. The ominous fog conceals allies and enemies, setting the stage for a covert mission.

Blades in the Dark

Amidst the ruins, Edward's men split into groups, navigating the treacherous terrain. A sudden flash disrupts Maarten's, Edward's boyhood friend, advance, signalling the start of a deadly confrontation. Captain Sutton, the renowned Parliamentary leader, watched his men edge forward and, for a swift operation, as he grappled with uncertainty and unforeseen challenges that this mission brought. 

The Hermit's Revelation

As the mist thickens, one of the Leopard's less reputable men, the ex-poacher Isaac Fletcher, encounters an unexpected obstacle in the form of a hermit with a body odour problem. Distracted by the smell and the man's curses from the Bible, Isaac allows the dishevelled preacher (Aaron Bell) to run into the fog. This eccentric encounter was too much for Issac, who decided to sit down and take a swig of ale. An unexpected turn that added a touch of the bizarre to the unfolding drama. 

Clash of Blades

The mist clears to reveal a face-off between Edward and a formidable Parliamentary officer. The battle intensifies, with Edgar holding his ground against overwhelming odds. Enter Captain Ezekial Sutton, the Beast of the Fens, unleashing chaos with his unbridled ferocity in swordplay as the two sides fight over the prone body of the King's messenger. However, the Leopard triumphs in the end, and the injured messenger is hauled to his feet.

Unveiling Secrets

With the messenger recovered, a new threat emerges as brigands, who had originally ambushed the poor messenger, attack. Whilst the bandits had the advantage of surprise, they were soon beaten off, and Edwards drops fanned out to recover the scattered contents of the royal satchel. 

Kiss of Deception

The Leopard's band searches for their lost letters as the mist clears.  Amidst the chaos, a beautiful lady of a dubious background called Katie Reed is found tied up, claiming that she had been kidnapped to be sold to Barbary pirates. A kiss exchanged, secrets exposed, and a plea for protection set the stage for an unforeseen alliance. 

Into the Mist

With the mission accomplished, the Leopard and his men retreat into the mist, leaving a trail of uncertainty. As the credits roll, the haunting melody accompanies their disappearance, setting the tone for an enthralling series filled with intrigue and danger.

Scenario and Some Post-Production Thoughts.

The game worked out well, although I need to develop the NPC character 'AI' because they create extra uncertainty for a solo gamer. The character cards need a few tweaks, and I need to add a few more period weapons. Also, Katie and Aaron will return as members of the main cast. The next adventure of the Leopard will be a barroom brawl involving a spy and assassin. However, next on the production run is RetroVision's entrance into their world of Greek mythology with Atalanta the Huntress. Mainly because I have some old Kickstarter figures sitting in a plastic box. 

The first draft of this scenario on the 7TV Facebook page.

Spendle Moor

The Shadow Wars campaign started in 1046, two years after the inconclusive battle at Blackthorn Abbey. The winter snows lasted into the spring campaigning season; therefore, the campaign's first year started slowly because the weather made it difficult to muster the armies. Even in good weather, the notoriously unreliable Bitter Wood Goblins (Pau-Umbarji) only began to emerge from their forests in early summer. In and1046, they were the last to join, the host that had gathered near the site of the old battlefield.  

Strategies

I used William Sylvester's approach in his book, The Solo Wargaming Guide, for the strategy. For the Umbarji, I wrote down three options and threw 1d6 to acertain the Ozbeg's Umbraji Warlords strategy. Therefore, in early summer, Ozbeg decided to complete the subjugation of the Lake towns that had started two years earlier. The old war horse, Doba Skullcrusher, was sent south with a small force to take command of the Marshport garrison to complete the conquest. Ozbegs's main thrust would be to cut the Amber Way trade route and force the Steppe tribes away from their secure positions. 

Great Moot

Sylvester's method would work for the Umbarji with their strong central command structure, but it was unsuitable for the Tribes, with their fragmented objectives and loyalties. Therefore, a Great Moot was held, which decided the strategy by scoring the tribes' numerical strength and the charisma of the tribal thegn. More on how this was done will appear in a later post.  

The result of the Moot was a cautious strategy where the main army waited for developments at Thorkeld’s Tower whilst a sizable force led by the Zebra Tribe and the Lake Refugees moved to support the Lake People. 

Therefore, by mid-summer, the campaign's focus had shifted to Lake towns, and it was here that the first battle of the campaign occurred, north of Lakeside at Spendle Moor, 

Battle of Spendle Moor

By Midsummer, Doba Skullcrusher had joined forces with Malzag, the governor of Mashpoint and decided to march around the northern end of the Lake and fall one  Marshpoint from the north. The plan had the advantage it would also open up a line of communications to the Thrang Hills, where he assumed the main horde would be located.

Meanwhile, Lake people had been reinforced by the Zebra and Rhino tribes, plus the expected arrival of Elf adventurer Eranil (Chance Card) and his followers. Yet Doba kept the initiative and forced marching his army, now over 3000 Umbarji strong. His rapid movement caught the Lake commander Tiberian and his newfound allies off guard. They now had two options: wait for Doba to besiege Lakeside or stop him on the moors before reaching the rich agricultural lands surrounding the Lake. Despite being riskier, the second option was preferred, and the small force, some 2000 strong, marched northwards to hold the ridge at Spendle Moor.

Never Underestimate Your Enemy

However, once again, the humans and their allies underestimated Doba, who had already moved his Wolf Riders so they could gain a foothold on the ridge. Doba planned to implement his famed strategy, the ‘Skullcrusher’ or hammer. He would hit one of the enemy flanks hard, in this case, the right, whilst the hammer’s shaft pinned the enemy until they were slowly ground into submission.

Opening Moves 

With a rapid attack on their right flank, Doba took the initiative, which allowed him to secure a foothold on the high ground and threaten Tiberian's militia without the latter gaining the advantage of the slope. The Lakeside's enthusiastic but inexperienced horse countercharged but was cut to pieces by the Wolf Riders.

Eranil Saves the Day

Eranil, seeing the threat, decided to march his Elves forward and force Doba's centre into battle. The powerful bows proved lethal as Doba led his centre to engage the outnumbered Elves. Meanwhile, Liefe had moved his Zebra Riders forward to threaten the Umbarji Youngblood on the left flank, supported by the lumbering Rhino charioteers. It was not long before there was fighting across the whole battle line. The Wolf riders finally got the upper hand, and the militia horse fled; in the centre, the elf spearman made quick work of the inexperienced Youngblood. On the left, the other Youngblood regiment was equally unlucky in their first battle, being cut down by the Zebra tribesmen.

Caution as a Virtue

After their victory, Umbarji Wolf Riders came under bow fire from the scouts in the wood, sufficient to make them withdraw to reorganise. Doba Skull crusher still had the Boar Rider and his Wolf pack to throw at the Lakesider's right flank. However, his centre and left had collapsed under pressure from the Elves and the Zebra Riders. It was now clearly apparent that the Youngbloods were not ready for the battle, let alone a full-scale siege that would probably have followed any victory. Doba decided it was too risky to commit further men to the fight when he could not follow up any triumph, so he ordered a withdrawal. An action that relieved Tiberian, who was happy to hold the ridge and watch the enemy pull back along the road.

Some Pictures 

Campaign and Different Attitudes

A campaign changes your attitude to a battle. Previously, I would probably have fought the battle to one side’s morale had collapsed. However, it suited both sides to disengage to fight another day, knowing that replacing men was a haphazard business. The other impression from this battle was the Doba Skullcrusher had outmanoeuvred his enemy but lacked the quality of troops to give him the victory his tactics deserved.