This blog is always self-indulgent because it aims to set out my projects and ambitions for the forthcoming year. A similar bit of self-indulgence occurred last year, although personal circumstances made many of my ambitions attainable. However, it would be wrong to blame the vagaries of life on my failure to deliver all my projects last year. The most crucial factor was that I was too ambitious, a common trait with wargamers. Therefore, this year, I have been more constrained in my aims; although the project list is still as long, some will not see the light of day during 2024.
Campaigns
Last year, I had two campaigns that I planned to play during the year. The first was a fantasy campaign, the Second Shadow Wars, using the rules of the Fantastic Battles. This campaign saw little action since the early months of 2023. First, the campaign took an unusual turn when Umbarji Khan ( my Orcs ) suddenly died, leading to a succession crisis. I had not drawn up the maps for all the Umbarji realms, nor did I have detailed biographies of the various brothers and sons that would contest the Blood Throne. Finally, I needed rules to cover these surprise developments.
I have learnt from this campaign to stop trying to develop everything myself and take some of the work the other enthusiasts have placed on the web. Therefore, I plan to play the Umbarji Civil War by adapting some one-page campaign rules and personality-driven mechanics in Henry Hyde's 'Wargaming Campaigns'.
In the meantime, the original campaign centred on the Wilderness Steppes will concentrate on the struggle for the Lakeside towns. Due to his father's death, Ozbeg has been drawn into the struggles with his family and has left the Wilderness campaign to one of the leading generals, Doba Skullcrusher, to conduct the war on his southern border. Again, this will involve looking at off-the-shelf campaign roles, using a hex system, or even returning to such old favourites as Mighty Empires.
The Tomb of the Serpent
The second campaign used the Pulp Alley and their Tomb of the Serpent campaign. This is now halfway through, and I plan to complete this during the year. Slade Horton and his companions from the Mace Institute are now crossing the desert in search of the Serpent’s tomb, where they will come face-to-face with the Egyptian God of chaos, Apophis. I have fallen in love with this band of adventures and plan to translate them to other game systems, so expect to see the Mace Institute appear in alternative World War II adventures.
Recreating Battles.
I have two recreations near completion in painting and research, and they will hit the table in the first quarter of 2024. The first is the Battle of Crediton in 1643,Marius and the German Invasion
The next set of battles re-fight the battles between Marius and the Germans, Aquae Sextiae (102BC) and Vercellae (101BC). These will be played using Strength and Honour rules. However, these battles are essentially holding games whilst I start to work on the big projects of 2024, Hellenistic World and Rome's Expansion. Why start this new development?
Partly anticipating Mark Backhouse's supplement to cover this early period; it is my favourite era of Ancient History. The main difference is this era will be played using 6mm figures rather than 2mm because I have a box of painted minis that have been unloved for several years. Rebasing and some in-filling of figures will be required, but hopefully, this will not be too burdensome. Unsure of the first battle, try to get to the table, but the following are on the list: Paraitatiene (317 BC), Ilipa (206 BC) and Pynda (168 BC).
Wellington in the Peninsula
This project was on the list last year and is slowly progressing in 2 mm. 2mm is ideal for this era because it gives the authentic flavour of the mass movement of large bodies of men across the battle field. Once the painting is completed for the Battle of Vimero (1808), moving on to the other conflicts of the Peninsula campaign will be easy.
Lion Rampart, Saga and Midgard
The one campaign I completed last year was my Feud campaign set in the period before the Magna Carta. I plan to turn my interests to the Early Medieval period, where I will experiment with several rules, including Lion Rampart, Saga and yet-to-be-released Midgard. All three games have the potential to play a Fantasy version, so I may dig out some old 28mm Citadel miniatures to set up some small-scale fantasy battles. I plan to have some extra stuff painted by the excellent Matt Slade to give some of my old armies a new flavour. Ultimately, I may extend these one-off battles into some form of campaign. I'm interested in doing an alternative breakdown of Roman authority in Britain. Where the invaders may have been dwarves and their allies.
Skirmish Games and Roleplay
Besides using Pulp Alley for the Tomb of the Serpent campaign. I have employed 7TV to bring the swashbuckling character of the Leopard to life as he fights his way through politics in war and the time of the English Civil War. I plan to join these adventures together and publish them as a set of scenarios. 7TV system is also being used for my Sword and Sandles project where a Greek demi-god will take on numerous quests, a mixture of Xena, Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts. However, this idea is still in its early days.
Superhero Genre
The last area skirmish is superheroes. In 2023, I played the first part of my mini-campaign when the evil Dr Nicholas Amargus (DNA) attempted to brainwash San Diego with his mind-bending gases. I adapted Pulp Alley for this first game, but for the second instalment, I will use Super Mission Force, which is designed for the genre using the gaol system. While these adventures are going on, I am building two teams of superheroes from the Golden Age who will fight Hitler's minions.
Dungeon and Dragons
Connected to the skirmish games is my renewed interest in role-play, where the character develops even more. A magazine I found in the supermarkets made me to re-look at Dungeons & Dragons. I have found that since I last role-played – in the 1980s- enthusiasts have done much work on playing solo adventures. I plan to use these ideas and employ AI as a tool to help the game master. I hope to post a blog on my thinking behind this and how it can generally impact wargaming.
Naval
I am planning a small Kiss Me Hardy game based on the scenario in one of the Lardies' magazines that is set off the island of Corsica. I am still struggling to find a set of ancient naval roles that reflect the era's sea battles. At the moment, I'm tempted to take up one of the ideas that came out of a discussion between Henry Hyde and Simon Miller of using To the Strongest mechanism for naval engagements. This could be a large project if I decide to undertake this challenge. Whatever, nothing is likely to appear next year.
Some Final Thoughts
No doubt, as a wargaming magpie, some other distraction will draw me off in an unforeseen direction. Games Workshop has re-hacked the old Epic 40,000 as Legion Imperialis. A reminder of time playing Warhammer, so I am likely to give the game a try. No doubt there will be others.
I also hope to attend a couple of shows and a 'Lardie Day'. Whilst, I remain mainly a solo warmer, the hobby has a fantastic community that always gives me a boost. However, these events often provide the seeds for another project. Chain of Command has lingered in the back of my mind since my outing to Nottingham last year.
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