Kataphract WiP 2

Finished (more or less) the horses last night. Painted three with a Khemri Brown basecoat with Bleached Bone highlights, and three with a Calthan Brown basecoat and a Graveyard Earth highlight. Also painted the sword blades as well (yay me). Will probably start on the cloth and/or the armor this evening.

Kataphract WiP

Work proceedes slowly, but progresses. Painted three of the horses with a basecoat of Khemri Brown and am going to try a highlight of bleached bone. Not sure if it's quite what I had in mind, but I wanted to make them distinct from my other horses. Something I've noticed about Khemri Brown, or at least this particular pot, is that it seems quite "goopy", or thick, and that it seems to dry into an almost pebble like texture if I leave it sit on my brush. Maybe it's just a paint that really needs thinning, but it's a little annoying. Oh well. I am thinking of doing the other three horses in a basecoat of Calthan Brown with a Snakebite Leather highlight, but we shall see. I think once the horses are done the pace will pick up a bit, as I like painting warriors/humanoids better than animals for whatever reason.

New Project

Done with the Army for two weeks (yay for late-in-the-month drills!) I'm thinking of starting on my Easterling Kataphracts next. I've got six of them (the older metal models), and they have been sitting for a while basecoated, but unpainted (like many of my other miniatures). Once they are done, I will have almost all of my prospective Easterling Army painted for the next battle (should I decide to use Easterlings, that is). Not quite sure what color I want to make the horses. The Rohirrim horses I painted were dark brown, the Haradrim horses were white/grey. Not sure if I want to try for a different color (maybe a lighter brown?) or make them a mix. The Easterlings themselves are pretty consistent in their colors, which makes things simpler.

High Elves Finished

Here are my latest elves. I have not yet added any heraldry or other designs to the banner, but I may come back at a later time and do so. Anyway, wanted to get these guys posted. Hope you enjoy :)

High Elves WiP 3

Finished the sashes and the Snot Green last night, as well as the wood pieces (bows, blade handles and spear shafts). Now just about all that is left is the gloves and shoes, which I think I will be painting Snakebite Leather. After that will be the feathers on the arrows (skull white, will be pretty quick) and the banner. I had painted my other High Elf Banner solid Enchanted Blue. This one will probably be solid Snot Green. What I may do if I feel adventurous or as a project for a later date, would be to add some heraldry over the base color. Not sure what yet, but it's something to think about.

High Elves WiP 2

Didn't get/spend as much time as I had thought over the weekend, so they are not quite finished yet. The armor is done and the Burnished Gold on the shields is done as well. For the shields that mainly leaves the Snot Green for the gem thing in the center. Decided to try Goblin Green for the sashes to further distinguish the Rivendell elves from the Eregion/2nd Age Lindon elves. Not sure it's quite what I had in mind, but I'll roll with it and see how it goes. Six of the twelve are done with that so far. Should be able to finish the rest this evening I would think, and maybe get some of the other remaining colors done as well.

High Elves WiP

Finished painting the cloaks and robes/skirts (for lack of the proper term). Decided to try Mordian Blue rather than Regal Blue, just to see how it would look. Seems fairly similar, though I think Mordian is a slightly lighter blue than Regal. One thing I noticed though, was that kind of like my pot of Mechrite Red, it needs a minute or so of shaking the pot or the color isn't exactly consistant. Finished painting the spear blades and swords Chainmail and started paitning the Burnished Gold on the armor and got two of the spear elves done. Hope to have a few more done this evening, and after that it will be the shields (which should go fairly quick) and the gloves and boots (which should also go fairly quick). After that will be the sashes/belts. Had painted them Ice Blue on my previous High Elves, I might try a different color to help distinguish from my two factions. Not sure what other color I would use yet though.

Onward We Go...

Well, with that battle out of the way it's time to move on. We decided to try the new "Hold Ground" scenario from the warband rules for the next game, though we have not yet set a time for it. Doing our usual side flip, I'll be playing evil for the next go around. There's three main armies I'm looking at using: Easterlings, Isengard and Moria. Easterlings would be fun I think, and I already have a decent number of troops and heroes painted, but Goblins and Uruks could be fun too. Don't know who I will be facing yet.
For painting, I decided to do up a few more High Elves. I like painting them, and it's been a while since I did. Painting four bows, four spears, two blades and a Captain and Banner. This will give me ten of each basic troop type that are painted and an extra Captain and Banner. Was trying to think of a way to differentiate the Captain from the previous one, and I think I might paint the gem/orb/teardrop shaped thing on the center of the shield snot green. On the previous one I painted it Enchanted Blue. Rough idea being that the warriors/heroes with the blue on the shield are part of Gil-galad's household and the green ones are part of Elrond's retinue.

Battle Report: 6Apr12

Had another battle last Friday, finally getting around to posting it. As always, it was a lot of fun and looking forward to the next one :)
The scenario was one I designed, so not sure how polished/fair it really was, but still fun to play. The scenario details can be found here:
http://bensminis.blogspot.com/2012/03/battle-preperations.html
We used Warriors of Harad with Spears to represent the unhorsed Serpent Riders, and the Riders themselves were represented by six Haradrim Raiders and six Easterlign Kataphracts. When a Rider of Rohan lost his horse, we used a Warrior of Rohan with bow to represent the dismounted rider. I'll apologise ahead of time for the amount of blurry pictures. Not sure if I was using the wrong setting on the camera, or my hands were just shaking more than usual. In any event, here we go:

Mordor & Harad vs The Kingdom of Rohan and The Fellowship

Scenario: River Assault

Good:

Theoden, King of Rohan /w Heavy Armor & Shield
6 Warriors of Rohan /w Shields
6 Warriors of Rohan /w Shields and Throwing Spears
Eomer, Marshal of the Riddermark /w Horse, Bow & Shield
6 Riders of Rohan
6 Warriors of Rohan /w Shields
Gamling, Captain of Rohan
4 Warriors of Rohan /w Shields
4 Warriors of Rohan /w Shields & Throwing Spears
4 Warriors of Rohan /w Bows
Gandalf the White

748pts, 40 models, 9 might

Evil:

Cave Drake
Gorbag /w shield
12 Mordor Uruk-hai /w Shields
Thagdrak (Mordor Orc Shaman)
12 Orc Warriors /w Spears
Urblog (Orc Captain)
11 Orc Warriors
Druzgar (Orc Captain)
2 Spectres
Alkazan (Haradrim Chieftain) /w Bow
12 Haradrim Warriors /w Bows
Hasharin
12 Serpent Riders

1000pts, 68 models, 12 might

Battle Report

Turn 1 – Priority Good
Gandalf spends his free will point and casts “Blinding Light”
A Rider of Rohan shoots and kills an Orc.
A Haradrim Archer shoots at a Rider of Rohan and kills his horse, but the Rider manages to stay on his feet.

Turn 2 – Priority Good
Thagdrak summons dark power to his command and casts “Fury”.
A storm of arrows fly back and forth across the river, an orc sprouting a white feathered shaft from a Riders bow, while another Rider tumbles from his saddle after being struck by a southron arrow.
Another Rider is dehorsed after his mount is shot down.

Turn 3 – Priority Evil
Gandalf extends his staff and casts “Sorcerous Blast” at a Serpent Rider, killing him and propelling the dead weight it into two others who are knocked down, one of whose horse flees the battle.
Another storm of arrows sheets across the river. A Serpent Rider is shot and killed by a Rohiric Archer, while an Orc is slain by a second Rohan arrow. Fortunately due to Gandalf's Blinding Light, none of the arrows directed at the Men of Rohan cause any damage.
At the North ford, the Rohirim heave their throwing spears accross the river. A thrown spear strikes and kills an orc, and a second orc is nearly killed, but the fury of the Shaman keeps him going. Urblog is also hit, but manages to avoid the wound through Fate.
Despite Gamling failing his terror check, several Warriors of Rohan succeed in charging the Cave Drake and shield, halting the raging worms advance.

Turn 4 – Priority Evil
Casting their baleful gazes at a pair of Riders, the two Spectres succeede in lureing them away, one being led off into the small patch of woods near the river.
Gandalf again casts “Sorcerous Blast”, slaying a Serpent Rider and the horses of two further Riders
An unhorsed Rider of Rohan is shot and killed by a Haradrim arrow, while a second arrow destined for a Rider instead slays his horse. A thrown spear kills the horse of a Serpent Rider, tumbling him out of the saddle, though the southern warrior manages to keep his footing.
The Drake charges the Warriors of Rohan at the south ford, but is once again forced back as they shield themselves from his attacks

Turn 5 – Priority Evil
A dismounted Rider is lured away from the riverbank by a Spectre, while a second manages to shrug off the beguiling effects. A horseless Rider of Rohan is struck by an arrow and falls twitching to the ground as the virulent poison races through his body. An orc attempting to cross the North ford is killed by a flying spear and tumbles face first into the water. Urblog buries his pick into a Warrior of Rohan, killing him instantly. King Theoden slays an orc spearmen, his sword stained by the beasts black blood. A Warrior of Rohan is defeated, but manages to avoid a wound. Another Warrior of Rohan shields, and manages to defeat his foes. Wit ha roar and rolling a six, the Drake overcomes the brave warriors at the South ford, killing three of them.

Turn 6 – Priority Good
Both Theoden and the Hasharin call Heroic Moves. Theoden wins the roll off, burning both of his Might points. Thagdrak attempts to Transfix a Warrior of Rohan, but his sorcerous powers temporarily desert him. A Spear Thrower is lured away by a spectre, preventing him from throwing his spear that turn. A Rider of Rohan manages to resist the lure of the second spectre.
Alkazan calls a Heroic Shoot, leading his archers to slay a Rider of Rohan, a spear thrower and the horse of a second Rider in a hail of arrows. Eomer responds and shoots and kills the horse of a Serpent Rider. An Orc is impaled by a flying spear and collapses into the water. A second orc is killed by a pair of warriors, desperate to repel the evil horde.
In an amazing feat of combat ineptitude, Urblog supported by an orcish spearman, rolls three 1’s in a fight against a pair of Rohan Warriors. Perhaps feeling overconfident, the two men also roll 1’s, allowing the Captain’s higher Fight to carry the day. Keeping with the pattern however, no wounds are rolled. Theoden shields, but still loses his fight against the Hasharin and supporting orc spear, burning two Fate points to avoid wounds. At the South ford tragedy strikes as Gamling and a warrior are slain by the Drake.

Turn 7 – Priority Evil
Gandalf calls a Heroic Move, and prepares to cast "Immobilize" at the Drake, but the evil reptile resists his attempt. Two spear throwers resist separate attempts by the two specters to lure them away from the battle, their wrath aroused by the destruction around them. This is only hieghtened when a third spear thrower is killed by a Haradrim archer. Returning fire, a Rider of Rohan fires a return shot and kills a Serpent Rider. Urblog loses his fight against a pair of warriors and suffers a wound. Only a few feet away, Theoden successfully shields against the Hasharin and his orc support denying them the opprotunity to push further onto the bank. Over to the south, the Cave Drake wins his fight against Gandalf, Eomer and supporting warriors, but fails to cause any wounds.

Turn 8 – Priority Good (Had been a Tie)
Gorbag, who had been lurking rather quietly  away from the front line of the raging melee at the North Ford, calls a Heroic Move, allowing the King of Rohan to be brought back into combat before he could fall back and seek support from his warriors. A spear thrower resists a lure attempt from a spectre, shuddering in the process. Alkazan again calls a Heroic Shoot and his archers concentrated fire brings down a spear thrower and two Riders of Rohan. Two warriors of Rohan manage to kill an Orc warrior, sinking their blades into the creatures hide. Urblog is defeated again, but this time does not suffer any wounds. In return, two rohirrim warriors are slain by ravening orcs. Again locked in combat with the Haradrim assasin, Theoden suffers a wound after failing to defeat the Hasharin. At the southern ford, Gandalf is almost swallowed by the Cave Drake, but is only saved by the timely intervention of Fate.

Turn 9 – Priority Evil
The Good army is now Broken, a Rider and one Warrior fleeing the field. Stand Fast checks by the remaining heroes strengthening the resolve of the other warriors. A die is rolled to see if the match ends, but the result is a four. Gandalf expends a Might point to call a Heroic Move and casts “Sorcerous Blast” at the Drake, but fails to do any damage and only moving it one inch away. With the beast slightly dazed, the White Wizard, Eomer and some of the remaining warriors charge forward to engage it. A pair of warriors manage to kill an orc spearman, his black blood seeping away down stream. Urblog is again defeated in combat, but avoids the blades seeking his life. A Warrior of Rohan beats Gorbag, but is unable to cause a wound, being forced to settle for driving him back. Several orcs band together to kill a Warrior of Rohan. Theoden again shields and this time defeats the Hasharin. A spear thrower at the South ford kills an unhorsed Serpent Rider in close combat, drawing his blade and driving it into the evil man's heart. Eomer, Gandalf and the warriors defeat the Cave Drake, Eomer spending a point of Might to draw the first blood against the creature.

Turn 10 – A One is rolled and the game ends!

Casualties:

Good-
Gamling
9 Warriors of Rohan /w Shields
4 Warriors of Rohan /w Shields & Throwing Spears
2 Warriors of Rohan /w Bows
6 Riders of Rohan

Evil-
3 Serpent Riders
8 Orc Warriors
2 Orc Warriors /w Spears

Result: Rohan still controlled/contested all of the objectives, so they technically won, but with their army broken, I would call it a Minor Victory at best, especially since if the game had lasted another turn or two I think the Drake would have broken through, probably while killing the rest of the defenders at the South ford. Once that happened, the remaining Serpent Riders and the Uruks could have had a free shot at the rear objectives. I don't think the North ford would have held out much longer either. It might be a win on paper, but it really did not seem like it. Oh well, was still fun to play.
Something I did not record was all the misses by the bows. With twelve archers, the Haradrim were sending out sheets of arrows every turn, and I was thanking the Lord for Blinding Light. I would hate to see the kind of carnage they would have caused if all their shots were hitting on 4+ instead of 6's. Another thing I noted, is that I cannot underestimate Fight value, as there were at least two times that I didn't even bother rolling against the Drake, as it had rolled a six, and there was no way I could contest it.
Comic moment of the match had to be the five 1's rolled between the Orc Captain (Urblog) and supporting orc against the two Warriors of Rohan. I am still amazed that that happened.