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Friday, September 6, 2024

En Garde! - The Red Warband Re-Based!

I looked it up, groups in teh game are called "Warbands" and I do like using the proper terminology used in games... 

As with the GREEN TEAM posted a few days ago, the Red Warband had ONE minature that was not, for some reason painted... (Why just ONE in both warbands!?) The Brown Warband, on the other hand is completely finished, and the Blue Warband is a little over half done...? 

Some of these aren't really all that RED... they're more of the "Warm Hues" Warband... 

So I finished up this one guy with a pike... Maybe that was supposed to be a standard bearer. 

And here is the rest of the Warband freshly rebased! 

I started flipping through the rules and realized/remembered that I bought these without any knowledge of the rules and just split up all the miniatures, more or less, at random (or... just what looked to me like a good - or interesting? - warband) without ever actually figuring out - points-wise - if ANY of these actually worked... 

So I started looking some more and had the hardest time trying to find how many you actually NEED for a game. I had a brief panic when I cam across the WHAT YOU NEED FOR A GAME section and it listed about 20 miniatures!! Then I realized they probably meant for the complete game - like, the total miniatures required for both sides!). Eventually I found there ISN'T any hard and fast rule about how many to use. 

I found a section that reference the suggested size of battlefield for a 100 point game and discussion of sizes to use for larger games... So I guessed the expected starting place was 100 points... but then had another panic when I saw that a Rank 5 Leader (the very best of the best) was 26 points, but the Rank 1 and Rank 2 fighters - which the majority of the warband is meant to be comprised of are only 4 and 9 points, respectively... but to this are added more points for weapons (basic ones - dagger, sword, etc - are free though)

So I thought I might cost out this warband to see if I have enough!

Leonardo di Lodovico - Rank 4, Medium Armour, Sword - 26 points

Raphaello di Lodovico (the rakish younger brother of Leonardo) - Rank 3, Sword, dagger - 15 points

Andrea da Vinci (Leonardo's trusted lieutenant) - Rank 3, Sword - 15 points

Tommasso da Caravaggio - Rank 2, Sword - 9 points

Piero Bellini - Rank 2, Blunderbuss, Dagger - 11 points

Giorgio Botticelli - Rank 2, Pike, Sword - 11 points


Giovanni Alberti - Rank 1, Matchlock Musket, Dagger - 7 points

Fillipo Gentileschi - Rank 1, Halberd - 7 points

Dammit... that comes to 101 points. I guess I could make someone's initiative less great for -1 point...? 

Initially I'd made Leonardo Rank 5, and Andrea Rank 4 and Giovanni Rank 3 or 4...? And gave anyone with a helmet "Light Armour" (there is no clear definition, that I could find, that differentiates what exactly is "Light", "Medium" and "Heavy" armour!?) and all that very quickly added up to more than 100 before I even added in the weapons! 

Yeah, I gave them all names... 

afterwards I realized I should have saved Leonardo and Raphaello for the Green Gang... 

Oooh... maybe I need alliterative names... the Green Gang... the Red Retinue... the... uh... Blue... Band..? The Brown Brigade...? 

I also got it in my head that I could cost out the warband for Flashing Steel - the swashbuckling game based on Song of Blades and Heroes. 

Unfortunately, unlike EVERY OTHER GAME based on Song of Blades and Heroes... there aren't really "army lists". All the other games will have a list of pre-made characters or fighters with their Quality, Combat, and any Special Rules, and a point value, that you can quickly use to come up with a warband - or, at least, gives you a place to start and then adjust as necessary... 

But there is NOTHING like that in Flashing Steel - just a list of famous pirates through the ages and what their stats point costs would be (ranging from about 70 points to 120)!? 

So I'd have to make every fighter from the ground up and that just seemed like too much work for today... (but possibly a fun exercise for a future day - because I DO LOVE the Song of Blades and Heroes system - though it has been YEARS since I've actually PLAYED it!?) 

So I have two complete warbands... Maybe I do need to figure out the En Garde rules and play a game... (or spend some time to work out the costs of a handful of Swashbucklers in Flashing Steel!) 

8 comments:

  1. Cool figures.

    If I ever get around to something like En Garde, my plan would be to use some of my GW and Foundry dwarves (and some of the musketeer dwarves from an old Kickstarter) and some old Foundry orcs who look like later Rennaisance-ish figures.

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    1. Thanks!

      Ah, yes! Those Foundry/Warmonger Dwarf swashbucklers are brilliant!

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  2. Splendid looking swashbucklers! Lovely finish and excellent looking gate too!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain!

      (The gate I got in a trade, fully painted...I think maybe from Bob in Edmonton...? I'm not really sure what to do with it as it is JUST the gate section - none of the walls or tower sections...? but it seemed like it might work for a backdrop for a photo of a very small - ond congested - scene!)

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    2. Town walls were often an eclectic and not particularly coherent collection of different periods and materials, more than castles which mostly tend to follow a scheme, so I think you could have walls of just about any kind, stone , brick, timber or rendered, my town walls are ripped down flush doors with plastic toy castle walls stuck on the front, it's no doubt not a priority but a bit of foamboard and some wallpaper will go a long way!
      Best Iain caveadsum1471

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