The battle of Stuffitt Holme

It's been bloody ages since I wrote a proper battle report. I have been doing rather a lot of painting since the summer and the number of games played has suffered because of this. I have however been working on some rules for element based armies and have been playing test games. I decided to do another one with my 6mm armies this morning and post it on here, however on review the pictures were pretty crappy as the light in the gaming area was not great at that time of the morning. When I noticed it improve I decided to have a change of pace and get out my larger game board and break out the 12mm figures. The narrative largely wrote itself as I put down the terrain. But first:

Noisy ladies.

THE BATTLE OF STUFFITT HOLME

(Or the ungentlemanly guzumping of Lord Loafe)

  'Its a bit of a fixer upper to be sure my boy but just look at 'er will you, good ground for miles, a river running past an' plenty a' trees for buildin'. You can't go wrong. Whatta you say son, a castle fit for your beloved?'. Lord Peter Loafe beamed at his first born son Peter Junior, arms outstretched  dramatically towards the sketch of the ruin of Stuffitt Holme on the desk before them. 'Aye father, it's a beautiful pile an' smack bang between the territories of us an' 'er family.  Replied Peter Junior 'but' he continued 'will it be enough for the dowry?'. Lord Loaf put an arm around his sons shoulder 'Something you need to understand son is the way it works'. 'Works Dad?, what Dad?'. 'It Son, the unsaid, the unexplainable...thing, the Order of...err...stuff'. The young man looked puzzled. 'IT' Lord Loafe continued...the unspoken...errrm..what do they call it... political position, social standings...that sort of thing. You see, we are richer than 'er lot an' we got more land but they got the mines at Tweekin Caverns an' all that good farm land out east. If we can come together as two 'ouses we will become more powerful than even that Jovi and t'hed lot over the valley. The dowry is more symbolic, a gesture to show we are serious an I want you an' 'er...ah...'. 'Megan' interjected Peter the younger. 'Of house Adeath'. 'Thats right son that's right, well I was going to get you to fixed up wi' a tidy 'ome befittin' of the name Loafe anyway and if I put it as the dowry it gets that done too, I already put down the deposit so let's send word to Lord Adeath an' set a date!. As he finished his speech an arrow flew through the window, narrowly missing both of them and thudding into the heavy wooden door behind them. 'Ah son, mails 'ere'. Lord Loafe strode over to the arrow and removed the letter attached to it. 'Its from the agents,  sabre, sabre and Clodde. Probably confirmation of my deposit'. He unfurled the parchment. 'Now let's see...blah blah monies...blah...drivel...non refundable yes yes...drivel blah blah blah....... ANOTHER INTERESTED PARTY!!..... COMPLETED IN FULL!!' Lord Loafe turned a violent crimson 'LORD BLOODY RONALD JOVI!!!!.... THAT TOTAL BASTARD!!, THE CHEEK O' THE MAN!!....AND IT SAYS HES TAKEN OWNERSHIP WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT!!. Lord Loafe ripped the letter in two. 'RIGHT SON, TIME TO LEARN ABOUT THAT POLITICS, ROUND UP THE TROOPS, GET ONTO THAT LORD ADEATH.....WHATS HIS NAME.....THEODORE OR SOMETHING, HE'LL WANT TO GET IN ON THIS. TIME FOR AN ' OUSE CALL!!.

The battle takes place before the ruins of Stuffitt Holme. The vile curr Lord Ronald of house Jovi has snatched ownership of the ruin from under the nose of his long time rival Lord Peter of house Loafe, wanting it as a starter home for his son Donald of house Jovi (and to prevent the potential  alliance between house Loafe and house Adeath). However not known for his easy going type attitude Lord Loafe is heading right for them seeking a bit more than an explanation!....

The field of battle. The ruins are in the top left corner. The river Drippage runs along the bottom of the field (which is impassable unless using the bridge).

The army of House Jovi bar the way into the castle (left to right: Cellwin the Giant, Lord Ronald Jovi, Foot Knights, 2 units of men at arms)

 His son and heir Donald leads the troops anchoring the right against the river (l/r: Mounted bowmen, crossbowmen, Lord Donald, More crossbows, Leve mob).

 Units of mounted bowmen and mounted men at arms are ready to strike on the far left. Lord Jovi let out a sneer as the forces of house Loafe entered the field. 'Donald, have you sent messages to Lord T'head?, i trust hes on his way?'

 Entering with the parping of horns, the stamping of marching step and a loud 'OI, THATS MY BLOODY CASTLE' came the forces of house Loafe. (l/r)Crossbows, 2 units of men at arms, Lord Peter Loafe jnr, 'Titchy' Keith the giant, Retainers with halberds, more men at arms and more crossbows).

 Over on the right Lord Peter snr leads his household Knights.

 Two units of mounted men at arms deployed on the road ready to charge!.

On the far bank of the river some scouts lurk ready to distract and annoy the defenders.

'ERE SON' shouted Lord Loafe, 'IS THAT LORD ADEATH COMMIN' OR WHAT?'. 'YEH DAD, HES ON HIS WAY NOW!'.

The battle about to ruddy well kick the flip off!!.

 I'm testing my new rules for this game. I wont go into the details and mechanics of them for this report, i would rather stick to the narrative. I will say that one of the things i am playing with is the use of 'pips' for activating (think hott) but giving 1d6 worth per commander in the force (these forces have 2 each). The players roll pips then put the dice to the side. when activating they activate one unit per pip but must take turns picking a dice and resolving that number of units actions. The opposing player then uses one of his dice. Play passes back and forth using each dice at a time making the decision of how many pips to use before play passes to the opponent crucial. You could end up needing to charge with three units in one part of the field but wanting to hold back with 2 elsewhere to react to your opponents moves but having rolls of 6 and 2 meaning you can charge but have to also activate the other units or hold back where you need to but not being able to charge!. Its been fun so far and creates a fog of war effect with players having to make tough decisions not just on a unit by unit basis but also on a command level. Also i have been giving some unit types actions they can attempt during the opponents turn such as archers firing at moving units, skirmishers sniping and running away, cavalry counter charging and a few other bits, meaning even if you dont get enough pips to activate all your units you can still use them to disrupt your opponents actions.

 Anyway enough about the boring stuff......

Lord Loafe orders the advance!

Arrows fly across the river as the mounted bowmen and skirmishers engage each other.

 The House Jovi mounted men at arms crashed into the counter charging house Loafe knights, Lord Loafe wasted no time in throwing himself into the fray!. Meanwhile some house Loaf crossbows shot at the opposing battleline ....

Sending som men at arms scurrying from the battlefield!!.

Around the field charging troops clashed...

With House Jovi gaining the upper hand!.

Although the Knights of house Loafe sent the enemy running for the exits!.

All across the field troops clashed in a mighty scrum of blades and (presumably) flying limbs!.

With House Jovi getting the best of it!. Then over the din of battle came the sound of thundering hooves and blaring horns. 'Ah, that must be Lord T'head, right on time' sniggered Lord Jovi as he lopped the head of a hapless house Loafe soldier. 'NOT BLOODY LIKELY' bellowed Lord Loafe. 'ITS...

'OUSE ADEATH, NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON!!' The forces of house Adeath thundered onto the field, ready to aid the plight of House Loafe! (Top of picture: two units of men at arms and two units of archers, bottom: Two units of mounted men at arms lead by Lord Theodore Adeath)

Lord Jovi ordered his available troops to cut off the new arrivals 'Where the hell is Lord T'hed!!'

Meanwhile in the shadow of the castle...

House Loafe started to gain the upper hand!.

 A shaken Lord Jovi slunk into the cover of some trees to take stock of the situation.

Meanwhile Lord Loafe jnr charged Lord Donald Jovi. 'Oi, this is meant to be my bloody starter 'ome!'.

While all this was unfolding more thundering hooves and hunting horns could be heard approaching!

Enter House T'head! (l/r: Skirmishers, crossbows, 2 men at arms, Lord Maurice of House T'head, 2 units of mounted men at arms and a unit of Knights). 'Finally, any chance of a hand?' quipped lord Jovi sarcastically.

 House T'head sprung into action, first failing to destroy the Knights of house Loaf....

Then coming second in an archery duel with house Adeath!.

While his newly arrived ally failed to make an impact Lord Jovi found himself surrounded by an angry rival Lord and his household troops!.

Which ended very badly for the now ex-lord!!.

The situation at the end of the battle. With the loss of their lord and their forces taking a right pasting House Jovi threw down their weapons and surrendered. The field, the day and the ruins of Stuffitt Holme belonged to House Loafe and House Adeath!!.



.....'till next time....