Ser Julien Grimlowe, Lord of Goldmoor

Here is the first completed command stand for my planned A Song of Ice and Fire gaming experiences (mentioned in my previous post) using my now fairly decent sized (c. 650 figures) War of the Roses collection. The characters are representing fictional minor houses who reside in the border region between the Westerlands and the Riverlands.

This is Julien Grimlowe, the young, arrogant and adventurous 'Black Lion' of Goldmoor. House Grimlowe's blazon is a barry-bendy of 8, or and gules, a lion rampant sable. Their words are 'By Tooth and Claw.'

The figures are all Perry plastics, except for the horse, which is a Perry metal (I wanted a more static pose that the plastics, unfortunately do not provide without serious modification), and Ser Julien's head, which is cut from a Foundry slinger from their now defunct line of Franks.

His faithful squire makes sure that the brash Ser Julien does not careen into battle without his helm, as the lord regards him with disdain. I like how this one turned out. I am working on incorporating more motion into my multi-figure bases and attempting to tell a story through their posing. It sort of began with this figure (posted in a previous post), my Edward IV command stand.

Here too are a couple shots of a portion of my War of the Roses figures in action, fighting at the battle of Tewksbury. The wife and I were play-testing a scenario I am working on for Historicon 2015.

The van and main close on each other. Richard is in danger of outflanking if only Somerset could navigate the 'foul laynes and dykes' on his right. Here Hastings and Devon stare at each other from across the field.

Edward's retinue has crushed Wenlock's mainward in the center of the field. Only a single group of levied array troops remains facing the enemy.

I hope you enjoy!

Some WOTR action

I just wanted to quickly post up a couple pictures from a recent battle fought in my living room at our new place in northern Virginia.

The wife and I fought out a hypothetical War of the Roses battle the week before Historicon (I hope to do a more detailed post with pictures from that soon). The set up was based on C. S. Grant's 'Making the best of a bad situation' scenario. The Lancastrians, marching up country, stumble into a smaller encamped Yorkist host presenting significant challenges for both sides: the Lancastrians are all deployed in lines marched halfway across the table, while the Yorkists are outnumbered and in a disorganized clump behind a hill.

A smaller action was fought on a separate table that would eventually lead onto the main table, in which an offshoot of the Lancastrian vanguard has to split off to delay a group of Yorkist reinforcements.

The rules were my own period specific variant of Hostile Realms by Piquet, which I have taken to calling Hostile Roses. I am continuing to develop these and there is still much adjustment to be made. The wife graciously offered to play the Lancastrians (since she knows I despise the usurping dogs!!), while I took command of the Yorkists.

The result was a decisive Yorkist victory. The Lancastrian vanguard  did an excellent job of keeping off the Yorkist reinforcements, but back on the main table the Yorkists crushed the center of the Lancastrain army.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester and his men are hard pressed to relieve the embattled Yorkist main force due to a fierce effort by John, Lord Wenlock's men, including some hired Welsh spearmen (center).

Back on the main table, Edward IV sweeps down the hill to crush the Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset before he is surrounded on his right by the other half of Wenlock's vanguard (temporarily under the command of Edward, Prince of Wales while Wenlock fights his delaying action).

It was an enjoyable afternoon/evening with the wife; much fun was had by all.

Si valetis bene est,
-The Fox

Lancastrian Commanders

Here we feature the commanders of my recently painted Lancastrian forces for the Battle of Tewkesbury. We have already had one re-fight, using a version of Piquet's Hostile Realms which I have modified slightly for period flavor and tactics, and I am tentatively calling 'Hostile Roses.' There will be a short write-up on the action in the days to come when I find the time.

Here are the ward commanders beginning with the vanward and proceeding down the line.

First we have Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset (and his infamous axe). One of the myths surrounding the Lancastrian collapse on the field is that Somerset, in his rage at John Wenlock over his lack of support for Somerset's (botched) flanking maneuver, caved in the old soldier's skull with his axe--an act which helped precipitate the rout. He was facing Richard, Duke of Gloucester across the field (as Edward IV had his vanward on the left, presumably to match his more skilled younger brother against the slightly more experienced Beaufort, rather than leaving the job to Hastings, who had performed poorly at Barnet in the weeks prior).

'Souvent me souvient!' (Somerset = Perry metal; others = Old Glory 25's) 

In the mainward we have the tough ol' John, Lord Wenlock. Wenlock had once been on the Yorkist side, but that was because he was a devoted follower of the Earl of Warwick. When Warwick betrayed to Margaret of Anjou, he took his seasoned commander with him. For the scenario, I have put Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales with Wenlock in a sort of 'understudy' role and as an objective for the Yorkist forces. Wenlock was pitted against the ever-doughty (and later doughy) Edward IV.

Not even his turtle-like appearance could save him from  Somerset's fury. (Wenlock = Perry metal; others = Old Glory 25's)

The eighteen-year-old needs a little advice from the Hospitaller John Langstrother. (Edward and Langstrother  = Perry metal; others = Old Glory 25's)

Bringing up the rear is John Courtenay, 15th Earl of Devon. Devon was squared off across the field from Lord Hastings. He was not particularly influential in the battle from reports, since it was largely decided on the other side.

All dressed up, nowhere to go. (Devon = Perry metal; others = Old Glory 25's) 

I hope you enjoy the photos! Good gaming to all.

S. V. B. E.
The Fox

Piquet/Field of Battle/Hostile Realms @ Historicon 2012 in Photos

Another Historicon has come and gone, and once again there were a great number of games featuring the Piquet family of rules. I got some good photos of most of them, and thought I would post the bulk of them here.

All in all it was a good outing. The venue could use some work, as no place is going to be perfect, but to be honest, I go for the excellent company!

I plan on loading the full quantity of pictures into a zip file and hosting it for download on a free site to those who are interested. Feel free to re-use the photos in any way you see fit, but I would appreciate a credit and a link (if applicable). 

Hostile Realms: run by Dave M., with figures by Eric B.

 Eric B.'s Din of Battle game:

Peter A.'s Field of Battle re-fight of 1st Polotsk:

Another Din of Battle game, put on at the same time by Eric B.:

More of 1st Polotsk:

 Tim C.'s FoB Franco-Prussian War game in 15mm:

The massive Borodino Field of Battle game put on by Peter A., Barry F., and Joe F., with figures provided by the 'Rats.:

The traffic jam at Maloyaroslavets, run by Peter A.:

The Saturday night Franco-Prussian pick-up game, put on by Tim C.:

Enjoy!

S.V. B. E.

The Fox