Ilium: A Game of Heroes - Night Mission

 

Sleeping Thracian warriors with
Rhesus' chariot in the centre

Diomedes and Odysseus deployed,
Odysseus is near the chariot

Odysseus escapes in the chariot

On Tuesday morning Craig came over and we played another game of Ilium: A Game of Heroes out in the shed. This time the scenario was a Night Mission with Odysseus and Diomedes raiding the sleeping Thracians (allies of the Trojans) to steal a chariot, from the Thracian king, Rhesus. The scenario is from The Iliad:

Then on they went, through weapons and black blood,
and soon they reached their goal - the Thracian camp.
The men were sleeping, totally exhausted.

The splendid weapons lay beside the sleepers,

set tidily in three rows on the ground.

Each fighter had his chariot beside him,

and a pair of horses. In the middle, Rhesus

slept, with his fine quick horses at his side,

tied by the reins onto the chariot rim.

Homer, The Iliad, Book 10, 585-593 translated by Emily Wilson, pp.240-241, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2024

This was a really tough scenario for the Achaeans to actually win as the two heroes were alone, against three sleeping Thracian heroes and their contingents, with a single promachos from each contingent, awake as sentries. These sentries could alert their sleeping companions, who could awake on passing a resolve test and then activate in the next turn. 

Night vision in the scenario was limited to 6" and in our game one of the heroes and their contingent never woke. Odysseus was able to jump in to the chariot and move it towards his side but the sentries alerted their companions who were able to attack the two Achaean heroes. In the end it was a very short game as Diomedes and then Odysseus were overwhelmed. Maybe two Thracian heroes and their contingents rather than three would make for a more balanced scenario? 

Thracian sentries raise the alarm

Diomedes and Odysseus are eventually overwhelmed

Desert Well and Greek/Successor Baggage

 

Here is a desert well and a Greek/Successor baggage stand that I've just finished painting. The well is a nice resin and metal terrain set by Architects of War that I've had for about fifteen years but finally got around to painting for our Ilium Settlement Raid game, which required a well for the scenario. I've got more of their Middle Eastern buildings, an animal enclosure, a ploughed field and another well to paint as well. The Greek/ Successor baggage stand is by Aventine Miniatures. They do a Steppe/Eastern baggage set with more horses which I will use for my Sassanids.

Pataliputra 319 BC - Command and Colors Ancients Game

 

Initial deployment from the Mauryan side

Initial deployment from the Nandan side

Mauryan elephants on the right flank

Nandan elephants attack Mauryan infantry

Last Sunday Rob, Gary, Rick and I met down at the Vikings Club in Lanyon for the Canberra Regional Wargames Group's monthly meeting. We played a Command and Colors Ancients game, the scenario was Pataliputra 319 BC, Mauryan Indians versus Nandan Indians. We diced for sides, Gary and Rick commanded the Nandan forces, Rob and I commanded the Mauryan forces. The scenario had auxilia bow for both sides and these fought in combat as auxilia but used the shooting rules for regular bow infantry. We also increased the block sizes for elephants and heavy chariots from two to three to make them more resilient and the same as all cavalry units.The two sides were fairly evenly matched. 

The Nandans had a slight advantage in infantry, elephants and cavalry, while the Mauryans had a slight advantage in heavy chariots. The Mauryan side moved first and got off to a good start with some effective shooting from the light infantry and auxilia. The Nandans counter attacked the Mauryan infantry with their elephants. It all unravelled fairly quickly for the Nandans a Clash of Shields card saw further casualties inflicted and soon all the Nandan elephants had been destroyed. They didn't have much luck with cards and dice and never really got on a roll. In the end the Mauryans won very easily 6-1 victory banners with the entire Nandan centre of infantry unused in the game.

Action on the Mauryan left flank

Mauryan shooting proves effective

All the Nandan elephants are destroyed

Last ditch effort with the Nandan light cavalry

Mauryans win easily 6-1

Indian Skirmishers

 

Here are some Indian skirmishers that I've just finished painting. The figures are by 1st Corps and Newline Designs, and those in the photos below are Forest Indians. We have a Maurayan vs Nandan Command and Colors Ancients Pataliputra 319 BC game organised for next Sunday at the Vikings Club, some of them will see action then.

Ilium: A Game of Heroes - Settlement Raid Game

Achaean attackers on the left,
Trojan defenders in the centre,
guarding the well

 

Opposite side

Achaean raiders with two heroes
and their contingents

Trojan defenders attack, the buildings, well and village
notable are objectives for the Achaeans

On Tuesday afternoon Craig came over and we played our second game of Ilium out in the shed. This time the scenario was a settlement raid with Achaean raiders attacking a Trojan village, their objectives were to burn buildings, poison the well in the centre of the village and capture the village notable ( a goat herder with a goat). The Trojans were to prevent this and the usual kleos (renown or glory) applies in the scenario for killing enemy heroes and stripping them of their armour etc. 

The Achaeans got off to a good start and quickly had two buildings burning. The game was level pegging and reinforcements for both sides arrived on the table in turn three. All heroes on both sides were heavily wounded but none were killed. It looked as if the game would be a draw but the Trojans just managed to hang on and win 3-2, as two buildings were undamaged and the well was clean.

Trojan reinforcements turn two,
two buildings are already burning!

Hector dashes ahead to protect the well

Reinforcements for both sides on turn three

All heroes are heavily wounded

Trojans just hang on to win 3-2

First Game of Ilium: A Game of Heroes

Aeneas and his Dardanians,
four warriors and two archers

Hector and six shield bearers

Last Thursday morning Craig came over and we played our first game of Ilium: A Game of Heroes out in the shed. I forgot to put the memory card back in to my camera so none of the photos I took actually turned out! It's a pity because it was quite a nice looking game with two hills, trees, goat herders and their goats, grape vines, a ploughed field and the Achaean and Trojan forces. I took extra photos of the Trojan force I used in the game to make up for this and have posted these with the game report. 

Craig had an Achaean force with three heroes Menelaus, Odysseus and Menestheus and their three contingents of promachoi (forward fighters). My Trojan force also had three heroes Aeneas, Hector and Sarpedon mounted in a chariot with Glaucus as his driver and their three contingents. The rules have stats for all the various heroes and their contingents, use D10 dice and random activations with tokens or cards. We played the Battle on the Plains scenario, which has six turns with reinforcements of a third hero and their contingent arriving on the third turn.

It proved to be a lot of fun and a very close game which could easily have gone either way. In the end I just managed to kill Odysseus and Menelaus, although both Aeneas and Hector were severely wounded. The game is won by the side that earns the most kleos (glory or renown) and by killing Odysseus and Menelaus in a duel I had three points to nil. I could have earnt more by stripping them of their armour and carrying it off the table but it was the sixth turn and the game was over. We both really enjoyed it and hope to play another game soon.

Sarpedon and Glaucus with four Lycian warriors

Goat herders and their goats

Trojan War Heroes

 

Hector, Paris and Aeneas

Agamemnon, Achilles and Nestor

Here are some Trojan War heroes that I've just finished painting. Figures are all Wargames Foundry sculpted by Alan Perry. Back drop photo is the of the reconstructed walls at Hatussa (modern Bogazkale). These Trojan and Achaean heroes will be handy for Midgard and Ilium: A Game of Heroes games. This is a Trojan War skirmish game by Nic Wright of the Irregular Wars blog which was recently released. We've got our first game of this organised for later this week, so some of the figures will see action then. If you're interested in the rules they're available as a 97 page, colour pdf on his site or on the Wargames Vault site.

Diomedes, Ajax and Odysseus

Parthians versus Late Republican Romans - Age of Caesars Saga Game

 

Parthians deployed

Romans deployed

Forces advance

Roman cavalry shoot at the Parthian cataphracts

Last Friday afternoon Craig came over and we played an Age of Caesars Saga game out in the shed.  My Parthians fighting Craig's Late Republican Romans, six points with the usual Clash of Warlords scenario. I seem to average a Saga game about once every two years, usually when there is a new supplement out. The Romans were the attackers and the two forces advanced to within shooting range. The Roman cavalry shot at the Parthian cataphracts then withdrew repeating this again in a later turn. 

The Roman ballista shooting was effective while the Parthian horse archer shooting was not. A Cataphract charge against a unit of legionaries on the left flank forced them to retreat and on the right flank the Cataphracts managed to destroy the Roman cavalry. The Cataphracts, worn down by shooting and combat, were destroyed. The Romans easily won the game when a legionary unit launched a Pilum attack to destroy a unit of horse archers, who were unable to evade like they would have historically. 

The Age of Caesars is a really attractive supplement with great photos and illustrations. It includes faction rules and battle boards for Caesar's Legions, the Parthians, Imperial Romans, Spartacus Slave Revolt, Germans, Dacians, Sarmatians and Palmyrans. As well as additional rules for Gauls, Britons and mercenaries, so plenty of new and old factions for the Saga enthusiast to game with.

Cataphracts charge the legionaries

Roman cavalry shoot again

Cataphracts are worn down, Romans win easily

More Samnite Cavalry

 

Here are some more Samnite Cavalry that I've finally finished painting. The figures are all Crusader Miniatures, a mixture of armoured and unarmoured riders, with LBM shield transfers. They're nice figures that paint up well but not quite as good as the Aventine ones I painted a few years ago. I still have quite a few infantry figures to paint for this army.

Samnites versus Camillan Romans Midgard Game

 

Romans deployed

Samnites deployed

Forces advance

Samnite cavalry on the right flank

Equites charge, Samnite cavalry countercharge

Last Sunday Gary, Rick and I met down at the Vikings Club in Lanyon for the Canberra Regional Wargames Group's monthly meeting. We played a Samnites versus Camillan Romans Midgard game. I commanded the Samnites, who were the attackers, and Gary and Rick commanded the Romans. The two forces advanced cautiously, opting to advance in single moves to avoid breaking up the line. There was the usual cavalry combat on both flanks, when the equites charged and the Samnite cavalry countercharged. 

The Romans won the cavalry combat but were at half strength leaving them with limited options. In the centre the skirmishers exchanged missile fire, the Samnite javelin men and slingers charged and managed to destroy three Roman leves units. The Samnite infantry charged and had some initial success, even accounting for the equites on the Roman left flank. The Roman infantry were eventually able to win the combats and once the Linen Legion on the Samnite left flank broke, the Samnites had lost their last reputation token.

Cavalry combat on both flanks

Samnite cavalry are destroyed

Linen legion guard the flank

Linen legion break on the left flank

Roman equites break but the Samnites have lost