Modeling the 3 Sisters -- Native American Corn, Beans, and Squash

    Native Americans "3 Sisters" of corn, beans, and squash

A number of scenarios that I'm planning for Song of Drums and Tomahawks games recreate the area just outside of Native American towns or villages. Many of the Eastern Woodlands tribes were agriculturally based. The women of the tribe would tend fields, typically of corn, beans, and squash. These vegetables were the staple of their diet, and were important to them religiously, too. They grew them together in their fields. The corn stalk would provide a vertical pole, of sorts, for the bean plants to grow up. Meanwhile, the squash would grow around them, their wide leaves preventing weeds from growing around the other plants.

European settlers typically plant their crops separately. So, you'd have a field of corn, a field of squash, and so on. I'd created some corn fields awhile back using the excellent JT Miniatures terrain. These placed three of the corn plants on a base so I could rearrange them in rows for fields outside of settler cabins. Now, I figured it was time to try my hand at modeling the 3 Sisters. I began by doing Google Image searches for drawings or photos of what it may have looked like. There actually weren't as many as I thought there would be. However, I am including a line drawing that I liked.

Next was the problem of what to use for the pieces? The corn stalks were easy. I bought another box of the JT Miniatures corn stalks from Hobby Lobby (I recommend keeping the 40% off coupon web page saved on your smart phone, if you have one). I looked through the plastic plants section of Hobby Lobby and Michaels, but there really wasn't anything with small enough leaves to pass for the beans. However, I had a backup plan. Years ago, I bought plastic plant terrain from a company called Pastimes on the Square. They had a large variety of plants individually based and flocked. One of the packs was very vine-like, and looked like it would pass if I cut them into strips.

    I had bought these from Pastimes on the Square, and thought they'd serve as tiny bean stalks when snipped apart

Now, what to use for the squash? For my prototype pieces, I snipped apart another plastic plant base from Pastimes. I didn't want to cut up a bunch of them, so eventually it was back to Michaels to find something else that worked. I'm not 100% satisfied with the more round leaves of what I ended up using. However, the idea is to give the effect of the 3 Sisters -- not be a museum model of it. I was satisfied with the prototype, so I went into full-on production mode.

    1-inch wooden disks made a perfect base for these terrain pieces

For the bases, I purchased packs of soft birch wood 1" circular disks. I was gambling they would not warp when the paint and glue and water soaked in. I needed them to be soft so that I could easily drill holes in them. I match up my hand drill's bits against the corn stalk and drill a hole in the center of each disk. I mixed up a batch of 5 Minute Epoxy, and put a dab over each hole. Then, I forced one corn stalk into the hole, pressing down on the edges of the disk when I was done to ensure the stalk doesn't protrude from the underside.

    The bean plants attached temporarily to the corn stalks with bluetack until the epoxy dries

While the epoxy is hardening, I cut up the bean stalks and match one up with each corn plant. I also set a tiny ball of bluetack next to each one. I mix up another batch of epoxy and dip the bottom of each bean stalk into it. I then bluetack the bean plant to the corn stalk so that the blob of epoxy on the end touches the disk base. Once the epoxy has dried, I remove the blob of bluetack from the bean and corn stalks. I arrange a corn leaf or two to clasp the bean tightly to the stalk.

    The squash plants are added -- some of them were trimmed up later because I felt they were too tall

Next up are the squash plants. I decide to put two to each base. First, I trim the top part of the plastic plants, leaving about a half inch of stem on each. I ended up going back afterwards and trimming even more off. Squash plants do not rise very high off the ground, and I made them too tall at first. Once I have two for every base, I match the stem against my hand drill's bits, and pick the match. I drill two holes on opposite sides of the corn stalk. Just like with the corn stalk, I put a dab of epoxy over each hole, and then set a plant down in each hole. This went SO much easier than the prototype, when I tried to epoxy the squash plant upright just to the base, without drilling a hole.

    The bases flocked with Woodland Scenics brown ballast to simulate earth

Next, I take my premade glue and brown paint mixture and brush it on the base, avoiding the leaves, but going up to the bottom of the stalks and stems. I dip the base into a tub of medium brown ballast from Woodland Scenics. I shake off the excess, and then make sure the base sits flat without globs of ballast on the underside. I set them on a box I use to spray paint things. It has an irregular, almost pebbled surface, so they don't stick. I leave them to dry overnight. The next day, I mix up a batch of dark brown wash and gently brush it over the ballast. This gives it some depth, and makes it look more like dark earth.

After a few hours and the wash has dried, I dab the base with white glue in several spots. I sprinkle these areas with Woodland Scenics blended green turf so that each base has a mix of grass and earth areas. After the glue dries, I spray them with Dullcoate. Once dry, I brush on a 50/50 mix of white glue and water to seal it all in. One more spray of Dullcoate and the bases are complete!

    Closes up of the completed 3 Sisters bases next to a 28mm Native American woman figure

I was actually surprised how quickly these were created and finished. It did not take long at all to make up 14 of them. There was no warping of the disks that I could notice. The soft wood made it so easy to drill the holes, so I think that was a good choice of base material. I will likely make up more of these, once I find some more plants I can use for the bean stalks. I used up pretty much all of my Pastimes on the Square bases that looked appropriate. So, if anyone knows where I can find more appropriate basing material, feel free to leave a comment!

Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 3

My players keep getting better and better at emailing in their strategic orders (choice of War 1 through 8 or Hunt 1 through 8 cards). We were finished with our group email within a week, allowing me to publish the "Order of Play" in plenty of time to pre-select our opponents. Those with the highest numbered War cards declar first, followed by the lowest Hunt cards. Typically, it means the top four attack one of the bottom four, but since the Susquehannock player could not make it to our chosen Saturday to game out the battles, I had my Erie tribe (second in order of play with a "War 3" card) attack his tribe (third in order of play). I told him we would pick a time to fight out our battle, letting the other six players who showed up all get their game in.
Our Order of Play and scenarios for this round were:
Order: Seneca > Erie > Susquehannock > Miami > Mohawk > Shawnee > Neutrals > Kickapoo
• Seneca attacked the Kickapoo, rolling  “Give Them Time”
• Erie attacked the Susquehannock, rolling “Hold Them at the Gates”
• Miami attacked the Shawnee, rolling “A Shot Rang Out”
• Mohawk attacked the Neutrals, rolling “Tracks in the Mud”

    Kickapoo hunters at bottom and left flee before the Seneca onslaught, after their leader is killed

A couple of the battles were slam dunks, so to speak. In fact, Mike S and Andy were finished with their game so quickly that they set it up and played it again! In "Give Them Time," a Kickapoo hunting party detects the approach of a Seneca warband intent on attacking their village. The swiftest runners are sent back to warn the village, but the leader of the hunting party decides it must circle around onto the rear of the raiders and attack, causing them to halt their advance and turn and face this unknown threat. The board is completely forest covered, except for a path snaking from one side to the other. The Seneca turned on the surprise attack fiercely, killing the brave Kickapoo leader early in the skirmish. The Kickapoo quickly lost heart and many fled the field.

    Miami hunters, right, cross a creek and brush-choked ravine to close with an intruding Shawnee hunting party. In the top center, a horse figure stands in for the deer carcass (I *do* have to get around to painting a deer kill one of these days!)

The next game was a long, bitter struggle between two rival groups of hunters. A Miami hunting party is investigating the sound of a matchlock shot in what they consider their hunting grounds. They find a Shawnee hunting party across a creek, beginning to cut apart the deer carcass for carrying. That shout out their war cries, telling the intruders that this is their hunting lands, given to them by their fathers. The Shawnee are defiant, and matchlocks are loaded, arrows nocked, and the two bands of hunters closed in on each other looking for larger game than deer. Joe, the Shawnee player, had deployed cleverly so that the Miami would be slowed down and disordered crossing the creek and a ravine. He kept his braves in a tight line, hoping that the Miami would be forced to attack piecemeal. The struggle raged back and forth, with both sides suffering losses. Both Shawnee and Miami had to pass morale checks as their numbers dropped below half. Eventually, the Shawnee simply outlasted the Miami. Three battered Shawnee stood guard over the deer, for which much blood had been shed. The lone surviving Miami hunter raced off to tell his tribe about the trespass and the brave attack his companions had made.

    The closing stages of the fight -- much Miami and Shawnee blood is shed over the deer. The skirmish rages until only 3 Shawnee and 1 Miami are left.

The third battle fought on a frigid Saturday (but we were warm inside the pizzeria!) was called "Tracks in the Mud." A hunting party from the Neutrals tribe returns to where they've hidden their canoes in the brush by a creek. One of the hunters notices strange moccasin tracks in the mud. A ripple of alarm goes through the hunters' ranks, and they quickly fan out to face possible ambush from the forest. Within seconds, they see a Mohawk hunting party stalking towards them through the trees. For a more detailed report on this battle, I highly encourage you to check out Keith Finn's gaming blog. He is blogging a turn by turn report of his participation in the playtest. The link for Keith's blog is here: OrcaFinn's Basement

    On the right, the Neutral hunting party fans out to face the forest after discovering strange moccasin tracks near their hidden canoes. Mohawks stalk towards them on the left. Sad to say, I forgot to bring my canoes -- it would have been only the second time they made it to the tabletop!

Unfortunately, this was another "slam dunk" battle. Our leader after the first round of the campaign, Dave's Mohawk tribe, has fallen on hard times in the last two turns, suffering two major defeats. His strategy to maximize the number of beaver pelts his tribe obtains each turn is keeping him in the middle of the pack despite the losses, though, in 5th place out of eight.

    The Erie attacking force: Four Warriors armed with Primitive Weapons and bow in the front, three with matchlock in the second rank, two Youths with bow on the flanks to beef up my numbers slightly, and the Erie chieftain with matchlock in the back.

Two days later, Steve and I got together to fight out the Erie-Susquehannock clash. Going in to this round, Steve's tribe was in the lead. He would have double the number of upgrades that my tribe had. This is tracked by the number of Scenario Victory Points (SVPs) each tribe has accumulated from its battles. These points -- Steve had eight, I had four -- can be used to buy Traits from Song of Drums and Tomahakws rules, such as "Marksman," "Strong," etcl. Players do know which scenario they will play before selecting their roster, so I knew it would be "Hold the Gates." My Erie raiding party has slipped close to a Susquehannock town and are racing for the gates. Word of our attack has just been shouted by women racing in from the fields. So, a force is quickly collected to hurry and stop us at the gates before we enter. Knowing that I would need to close quickly, I used all four of my upgrade points to give "Primitive Weapon" to four of my warriors. They would be my spearhead and seek to engage in hand to hand -- not taking time to shoot.

    My spearhead of warriors with Primitive Weapons races through the winding passageway that was the "gate" of many early Native American towns. Beyond the palisades, you can see the Susquehannock force mustering to dispute our entrance.

As for shooting, Steve's level of Beaver Pelts meant he had 4 upgrades of Bow to Matchlock. I had only three, but the attacker in a scenario always gets a bonus one, so we'd be even on that. As it turned out, there was a minimum of shooting in our battle. Like I envisioned, it would be settled in melee at the gates of the Susquehannock town. However, it was a desperate struggle. I would be on the losing end for most of it, until a final, fatal blow turned the tide in my favor.

    This is where nearly all of the fighting and killing would take place, between the palisades and a birch bark lodge, beneath the scalp poles that celebrated the triumphs of the men of this town.

My activation rolls were subpar the first few turns, as I managed to move only three figures before "crapping out" -- as we call it -- on the first turn, and two figures on the next. However, those first three figures boldly raced into the entranceway of the palisaded town. They were met by about half of the Susquehannock force. Some lingered back in Steve's deployment area (the leader had raced ahead and he was having trouble ordering them to move up), while two matchlock-armed braves circled to catch me in the flank as I began to pour through the entrance. Even though I was outnumbered, I thought I would have the advantage. The force meeting me at the entrance was mostly Youths, along with a couple braves and his Leader. However, the Susquehannock youths knew that the town was watching them, and that their deeds would be sung around the campfires if they triumphed. Steve's youths gave as good as they received from my warclub wielding warriors. When Steve's leader entered the fray, things began to swing in his favor.

    A good overview of the battle: Two Susquehannock warriors with matchlock seek to flank my raiders as they enter the town, while my force continues to trickle forward in the passageway to reinforce the first raiders to arrive.

We were killing some of our enemy, but were losing more. The Erie warleader knew the crisis point had arrived when five of his 10 raiding party had fallen. One more loss, and the men would likely begin to break. So, he shouted a warcry and charged into the fray, confronting the Susquehannock leader, who had just cut down one of his braves. Throughout most of the game, my combat dice had been subpar -- with Steve's youths consistently holding off my stronger warriors. It was payback time, though, as Steve rolled a "1" and I tossed a "6"! This sparked an immediate morale check for his entire force. One disadvantage of selecting the cheaper Youths on your roster is they have the trait "Wavering." This means they are -1 when rolling morale checks. Seeing their chieftain cut down, the Susquehannock youths raced for the rear. Enough ran offtable to force Steve to immediately take the "Below 50%" morale check that I had been dreading. Two checks in a row meant almost all of his force fled offtable. Somehow, miraculously, the Erie had won the battle that had been going steadily against them. Our tribe's first campaign victory was all the more sweet because we were in last place going in, while Steve had been in first!

    The bloody and brutal battle for the gates of the town rages

One of the things I am really liking about this campaign is that each scenario gives you a chance to tailor your force for the mission. Players are given 20 campaign army points to spend on their force: Leaders cost 4, Warriors 2, and Youths 1. We have seen forces that featured lots of Youths, and those that featured mostly Warriors (like mine in the last battle). Also, it allows the players to use some of the Traits in the rules that we might not in a straight-up, convention event. The Beaver Wars campaign is allowing players to experiment with tactics and weapon combinations. It is all part of presenting players with a tactical puzzle. If a game is simply about who rolls better dice, then its attraction may fade after awhile. One of the best features of Song of Drums and Tomahawks is the players are constantly presented with decisions and choices. Which figure do I activate first? How many dice should I roll -- balancing out the chance of "crapping out" and losing my turn against the objectives I need to accomplish on this turn, and overall. Players are constantly wondering, "What's the most important thing for me to do at this moment?" The campaign setup is complimenting that without adding in complicated or time-consuming logistics.

Here is the leaderboard, showing where each tribe is at if the campaign were to end on this turn:

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Neutrals	1st	20.5 points
Shawnee	2nd	18 points
Susquehannock	3rd	15 points
Seneca	4th	14 points
Mohawk	5th	12.5 points
Erie	6th	10 points
Kickapoo	Tied 7th	9 points
Miami	Tied 7th	9 points

The points come from their rankings in three categories: Battlefield victories (Prestige Points); Scenario Victory Points; Beaver Pelts collected. I've pasted below each of the three separate tables showing the rankings in each category.

Prestige Points (3 for a Major Victory, 2 for a Minor Victory, 1 for a Minor Defeat, 0 for a Major Defeat)

Tribe	Prestige Points (PPs)
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	7 (1 MajV, 2 MinV)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	7 (2 MajV, 1 MinD)
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	7 (1 MajV, 2 MinV)
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	4 (1 MajV, 1 MinD)
Erie (Mike Demana)	4 (1 MajV, 1 MinD)
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	3 (1 MajV)
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	3 (1 MinV, 1 MinD)
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	1 (1 MinD)

Beaver Pelts (these are obtained by your position in the Turn Order -- the least aggressive stance, or highest numbered Hunt card played, receives 8 pelts, next 7, then 6, and so on. You also steal a pelt by defeating an opponent with a Major Victory)

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	18
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	17
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	16
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	16
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	14
Erie (Mike Demana)	10
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	10
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	7

Scenario Victory Points (these are obtained from each scenario your tribe plays in)

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	44
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	43
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	37
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	36
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	28
Erie (Mike Demana)	25
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	18
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	15

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the battle rules we use for the campaign, Song of Drums and Tomahawks, click here: First Command Wargames website

Our next turn will be in two weeks, so keep checking back here for more reports on the playtest of the Beaver Wars in Ohio campaign rules!

Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 2

Eight players gathered on a cold, January morning to refight the clashes that, centuries ago, could have occurred not from from where we sat. The Beaver Wars in Ohio simulates the late 17th and early 18th century struggles between Native American tribes for dominance over hunting and trapping lands in what is now Ohio and surrounding states. A local pizzeria graciously donates their side room to us every three weeks or so, and we reciprocate by enjoying a post-game lunch of pizza, subs, or salads.

The campaign for Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules uses strategic card play to determine a player order and the number of beaver pelts each side obtains that turn. Tribes also fight a skirmish with an opposing tribe each turn. The battles are rolled from a list of 18 that will come included in the campaign rules. Triumphs over opponents, scenario victory points, and beaver pelts will determine the campaign victor. We are playtesting not only the campaign rules for balance and fairness, but also the scenarios to make sure they are enjoyable, present interesting tactical challenges, and are not one-sided.

    My Erie traders prepare to move out and engage the Seneca who had stolen items from our trading bundles at the European fort

This turn's clashes included a rum-induced brawl between opposing Seneca and Erie trading groups inside the walls of a European fort (entitled, "Who's a Thief?"), a Shawnee ambush of a Mohawk traders portaging their goods past a rapids ("Attack at the Portage"), and angry Kickapoo villagers chasing down a band of raiders from the Neutral tribe -- who'd seized captives while the men were off hunting ("Rescue the Captives"). And finally, Miami warriors lay in wait for a Susquehannock trading party escorting pack horses along a forest path ("Ambush the Traders").

The players' forces tend to improve after each turn. Although they are given the same basic campaign army points to buy their force for each battle, they are given a number of free upgrades depending upon their progress in two categories. The first category, beaver pelts collected, determines how many matchlocks they receive to replace their bows (which come standard). The second category is Scenario Victory Points. Their accumulated total throughout the campaign allows them to purchase Traits from the Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules for specific figures in the force. These can include Marksman (+1 to shooting), Strong (+1 to melee), Primitive Weapons (think Chingachgook's club in The Last of the Mohicans), Sprinter, Steadfast, and so on.

    The enemy Seneca boldly advance out between two log cabins, stung by our accusations against them of theft

I am playing the Erie tribe in this playtest. Our skirmish for this campaign matched us up against a party of thieving Seneca that had stolen goods from our bundles inside the European fort (of course, they were making the same claims against us!). I decided to give one of my two matchlock swaps to my Leader since he has a higher combat score. The other matchlock went to a Warrior. I was at the lowest level in Scenario Victory Points (dead last, I must confess), so I received only two points of upgrades. I decided to spend both to make my Leader a Marksman. With a higher Combat score than rank and file Warriors or Youths, I figured he could be fairly lethal. As it turned out, my leader slew three Seneca all by himself, but then I'm getting ahead of my story...!

My opponent set up the wooden stockade walls and log buildings that made up our battlefield. It would be fought wholly within the confines of a French trading post. He also placed various piles of firewood and stacks of barrels throughout the open areas to provide cover. I placed my campfire and bundles in one corner, and my opponent placed his in the opposite one. The battle opened with us advancing cautiously, using the cover of the buildings, barrels, and woodpiles.  I kept my two youths to the rear of my force, thinking to send them on an end run to loot the Seneca bundles once our forces joined. My bow-armed warriors led the way, the two Indians with firearms close behind.

    A Kickapoo blocking force and pursuit force catch the Neutral raiders on a forest path along the lakeshore

My chief and his companion with the matchlock found a good firing position behind a stack of firewood, and blazed away at the Seneca. When one of the enemy with matchlock darted forward and shot down one of my Warriors, he was charged in turn and dispatched with a tomahawk. Both of us were proving rather deadly, and our losses began to mount. I was happy that we were killing as many foes as the we were losing ourselves. I thought the battle was won when we forced him to make his first morale tests upon losing over 50% of his force. The Senecas withdrew only a short distance, though, forcing us to go get them to drive them off.

A turning point came when two of my warriors darted up to attack two Seneca sheltering along the corner of a cabin. My opponent rolled a "6" in both battles, which knocked my braves down, leaving them vulnerable to be finished off on his turn. Both died, and our numbers dropped below 50%, forcing us to give ground back to near our original position. The last few rounds were tightly contested, but I had only my chief and two Youths left, while the Seneca had their leader and three warriors. It wasn't long before only my chief was left, who knew the fight was lost, and escaped over the walls of the fort.

My own game was so gripping that I really did not have much of a chance to watch the others. Keith Finn, the player controlling the Neutrals tribe, has written up a good account of his attempt to evade pursuit by angry Kickapoo villagers who were seeking to recapture the captives he'd taken. Check that account out on Keith's website here: Orca Finn's Basement

Otherwise, the Susquehannock were able to blow by the Miami ambush and win the turn's most overwhelming Major Victory. This enabled them to take the campaign lead on total points in the three categories we are competing over. The turn's other ambush, a Shawnee attack on a Mohawk hunting party at a portage site, was as big of a success as the Miami one was a failure. All of the Mohawk ended up fleeing the battlefield, giving the Shawnee their second victory of the campaign (and second place on total points).

After two turns of play, here is the Leaderboard in total victory points:

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Susquehannock	1st	20.5 points
Shawnee	2nd	17.5 points
Neutrals	3rd	17 points
Mohawk	4th	16 points
Seneca	5th	12 points
Kickapoo	6th	11 points
Miami	7th	8.5 points
Erie	8th	5.5 points

If you're curious, here are the leaders in the three individual categories, as well:
PRESTIGE POINTS (Major Victory = 3 points, Minor Victory = 2 points, Minor Defeat = 1 point)

Tribe	Prestige Points (PPs)
Shawnee	5
Neutrals	4
Seneca	4
Susquehannock	4
Mohawk	3
Miami	2
Kickapoo	1
Erie	1

BEAVER PELTS

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk	15
Susquehannock	13
Kickapoo	11
Erie	7
Miami	7
Neutrals	7
Shawnee	7
Seneca	5

SCENARIO VICTORY POINTS

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals	31
Susquehannock	31
Shawnee	29
Seneca	23
Mohawk	16
Kickapoo	15
Miami	15
Erie	13