Table All Set Up for Surviving 'Nam Playtests at World at War

    A view of my table set up in the basement to prepare for running Surviving 'Nam this weekend

It has been a busy last two weeks getting things ready for two upcoming conventions -- World at War at Fort Meigs this weekend (Nov. 7-8) and Hold the Line at Camp Perry, OH, the following weekend (Nov. 14-15). I've mainly been working on three things -- more bamboo and rice paddies as mentioned in the last post, and a couple sampans and Japanese Fishing Village items from Miniature Building Authority. I would like to get more bamboo stands done, but I have enough of the rest of the stuff ready to go. I proved it to myself by setting up the game table this afternoon.

    View from the back corner of the table looking towards the market (Viet Cong's view...?)

It turned out that I don't need the two large rice paddies that are nearly completed. Oh well, the sooner they get done, the better...right? I am using all of the MBA market stuff and sampans, though. I'll include pictures of them in this post, along with views of my table. In fact, it was setting up the table that made me realize I really didn't need the larger rice paddies. The board was crowded enough with my various Vietnam buildings, river, and jungle. There definitely wasn't room for them! 

    Close up of Stone Buddha Market, with various market stands and types of food for sale

I'm trying to duplicate one of the scenarios my most prolific play testers, Bob and Pete, ran. Thus was born the ville of Piit Baub at a river and trail crossroads in the territory assigned to the Big Red One (U.S. 1st Infantry Division)! The center of the board is Stone Buddha Market, a weekly trading place for villages and hamlets in the area. The market is adjacent to a wooden bridge crossing the river. Two sampans are pulled up alongside the bridge and shore, selling their fish (and other illicit wares?). Fanning out from the marketplace are my two scratch-built jungle huts, my resin MBA farmer's house and barn, and two 3-D printed hamlets on stilts that I also picked up from MBA. Beyond them is the jungle. Abutting the river are the ville's rice paddies. 

    One of the two sampans I painted up, along with some of the fishing village items

I think the table looks really nice, and I'm happy with seeing all the various elements I've been working on come together. Hopefully, I will have enough stands of bamboo for a second patch of heavy vegetation done, but if not, it is no biggie. The plan is for the U.S. infantry to enter on the left board edge (as you're looking at the market from the bridge), search several hooches, the market place, and sampans, then exit on the right. I'm sure the Viet Cong will have something to say about that, though! Jenny and I got in a last-minute playtest of the scenario this evening, and it went well. No blow-by-blow of the game, as I plan to do that for my games at the two conventions.

    Close up of the Buddha altar and a few more of the fishing village items in front of it (and on table)

I think the game went well. When it looked like the U.S. infantry had things in hand, we called the game and headed for bed, as it was getting late. Out of 17 U.S. infantry that marched onto the table, all but three were able to walk off. Since this was a one-off play test, I didn't roll for their recovery in the rules. One of Jenny's two squads really took it on the chin, so to speak. However, my HQ element and 3rd Squad came away fairly unscathed. We did lose our M60 gunner, though, which would have been a bad thing in the long run. However, the M79 grenade launchers and the lieutenant's fire missions were making up for the loss of our heavy hitter.

    The U.S. infantry marched onto the table from the left hand board edge in the above photo

Will I change anything because of the play test? I think I will add a fifth squad member to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Squad (HQ already has five figures). I was trying to imagine an individual player controlling Jenny's 1st Squad when two (or was it three?) of their men went down. It might not be that fun having only 1-2 figures to control. It also helped me remember that I needed to print out enough copies of the Civilian Random Movement table so that everyone can help with moving the villagers. It also encouraged me to create a couple smoke templates in case any of the players decide to throw a smoke grenade to cover their movement or block a firing lane for the V.C. And finally, I'm going to reprint my event card deck. The one I had been using was my first draft with hand-written changes. Might as well have a fully armed and operational Death Star, er event card deck at the game's first public showing! 

    A look at 3rd Squad and HQ elements entering the outskirts of the village

Technically, I had not actually decided on what the scenario parameters were before the play test. I'm glad that it forced me to commit to a force of V.C. to arrive on table when the "Countdown to Contact" phase ends and the enemy springs their ambush. I thought the size of the enemy force worked out well. I will likely reduce the number of civilians on table, too. It took awhile at the end of each turn to move them all. I also reduced the number of search points the U.S. soldiers have to investigate to make the game fit in the three hour window. Similarly, I will give them a choice of three table edges to exfiltrate from. Everyone who signs up knows that it is a play test of the rules, but nevertheless I want to give them a satisfying game.   

    One of the civilians was secretly a V.C. -- jumping down off the bridge into the cover & opening fire

Otherwise, I need to go back up to Office Max and print off some stuff and then pack everything up so we are ready to leave for Fort Meigs Friday morning. I hope my players have fun. I promise a more extensive battle report for those two games. I expect that I will have four players for each, but it is no biggie if not. Being a cooperative game and with the enemy force tailored to the size of the friendly forces, it would be easy to modify. Expect to hear back from me on either Sunday or Monday!

    A final look at the center of Piit Baub before the action commences

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 258

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 67

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212

Vietnam Terrain: Rice Paddies & Bamboo Stands

    Vietnamese villagers tend to their rice paddies during a moment of peace during the Vietnam War

Although I already had created plenty of jungle pieces for my 28mm Vietnam games, I did not have two of the more iconic types of terrain in that country: rice paddies and bamboo stands. I had an idea of how I would do the rice paddies, and luckily it worked out fairly well. The bamboo was going to be more of a challenge. I saw one video on YouTube where someone scratch builds amazing stands of bamboo. However, the amount of time each stand of trees would take, and the fact that I don't have an airbrush, meant I needed to come up with my own idea on this.

    28mm Viet Cong guerrillas patrol through my scratch-built stands of bamboo 

First, the rice paddies. My own travel photos from southeast Asia show various sized and shaped paddies surrounded by earthen dikes. The color of the water in some of my photos was a brilliant green, which is what gave me my inspiration. Hobby Lobby has scrapbook paper that is a mottled bright green, and also has a bit of texture to it. They also sell thin clear plastic sheets. My idea was to attach the green paper to the underside of the clear plastic so that light would reflect off the surface -- just like with water. The various colors of green on the paper would give the impression of depth. Then, I would attach some form of flocking or tufts to the top of the plastic to represent the bamboo shoots in their rows.

    Scrap-booking paper that I bought at Hobby Lobby which I felt would be perfect for rice paddy water

The berms or dikes that enclose the fields I decided to build up with wood -- either bass wood, balsa, or pine pieces I had laying around. I shaved each side of the dike with a utility knife to give sloped edges and a relatively flat top for people to walk along. I used up most of my various lengths and shapes of wood that I had accumulated making the dikes for the first three paddies. So, I had to go out and buy more more wood. So how did I assemble this list of materials into a rice paddy? I started with cutting very thin styrene plastic sheet for the base. Next, I glued the green scrapbooking paper atop it. After trimming and shaving the berms to size, I put two-part epoxy on their underside and placed them atop the clear plastic. I had to build up the corners so they would be evenly sloped all around. I did that with white glue and coarse ballast or sand.

    Yes, they look like picture frames! My wooden berms glued to the clear plastic with 1st coat of flock

The next step was to flock the berms. I started with a 50/50 mixture of brown craft paint and white glue. I brushed this onto the berm surfaces and then poured Woodland Scenics Fine Brown Ballast over the glue. This gives it a bit of a rougher, earthier surface. Once dry, I brushed on a 50/50 mixture of white glue and water over the ballast. I sprinkled that heavily with Woodland Scenics Blended Earth Turf. I tapped off the excess and set them aside to dry. Astute readers may have noticed that this is very similar to my flocking method for miniatures, and it is! I've found I like the look of ground produced this way, so why change it?

    You can see the 2nd (turf) layer of flock on the short sides with one of the 1st layers coated with glue

Normally, if flocking a miniature's base, this is the step where I do my first clear spray coat. However, I was worried about my clear matte spray paint "fogging" the plastic. I wanted to shine as if light were reflecting off of it. So, I applied blue painters masking tape to the exposed surface of the plastic. Then I sprayed each set of dikes. Once dry, I apply white glue from the bottle along the edges of the berms, smoothing it out with a wet brush. Then I sprinkle Woodland Scenics Blended Grass atop it. The very final flocking step is to add tiny pieces of green clump foliage to represent scrub and other weeds growing on both the inner and outer dike slopes. The dikes then received a heavy final clear matte spray coat.

    My first three rice paddies with the strip foliage (not cheap!) applied in uneven rows

Since the dikes are done, I can take off the blue painters tape at this stage. The most expensive step is the final step -- the rice plants themselves! I found something from Woodland Scenics called "Edging Strips" at the local train store. They are narrow strips of tall grass in various shades of green. I simply cut the strips into various lengths and affixed them in rows to be the growing rice plants. I decided to not make them continuous, solid rows, though. Instead, I left empty spaces between the strips, showing that some rice seedlings have poked above the surface and grown faster than others. For example, some rows may be in three pieces while others two. This not only looks more irregular, it uses fewer pieces of the edging strips. Those boxes are not cheap! Each strip has an adhesive backing, which is how I attached to the plastic pretty. It seems on there pretty good. 

    I like how the clear plastic surface reflects light, but you can see the green paddy depths beneath

I am happy with how the rice paddies look. Yes, I have seen other miniature gamers build much more beautiful ones, but these look serviceable and I believe will give the right effect on the tabletop. I have started two more rice paddies that will be bigger than the three smaller ones that were my first batch. I think that will help make the rice paddies look more realistic if they are of different sizes. I like how the pictures turned out, too, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how they will appear on the tabletop of the first game I run using them!

    My next two paddies will be bigger than these three - I like how the figures look on the berms

Now, on to the troublesome bamboo. I went to the various craft stores hoping to find some plastic plant that looked like bamboo with little modification. No such luck! So, I followed the YouTube video's basic method, shortening the process drastically. My prototype piece looked awful. I chucked it into the garbage can and did some serious brainstorming. I looked at Google Image Searches of bamboo and stared at the pictures, hoping for inspiration. I pulled out my plastic tubs with my various scratch-building craft items and picked through everything. Only one idea came to mind. Why not use bamboo to represent bamboo groves? Specifically, bamboo skewers! I decided to use still use the plastic plants I'd first bought from the craft store, but only as the vegetation at the top of each bamboo stalk, so to speak. The sides I would leave smooth. The first step would be to trim off a section of the plastic plant for the top and then poke or drill a hole in its bottom center. Then, I apply Tacky Glue to the pointy tip of a bamboo skewer and impale the plant into the plastic. I used a brush to spread out the Tacky Glue over the bottom part of the plant and an inch or so down the skewer. I then set the bamboo piece upright to dry.

    First step is to trim off a section of the plastic plant and poke a thumbtack through the bottom

Once dry, I marked a spot along the skewer that would likely be the bottom of the stalk. I painted both the plastic plant top and the skewer stalk a medium green. I set it upright to dry, then later dry brushed them a lighter green to give some depth. Once dry again, I painted a series of horizontal lines about an inch to 3/4" inch apart in a very bright green. This is to represent the segmenting of bamboo, which is a lighter color. After the first experimental batch, I improved upon my method to stand the stalks upright. I used a scrap of foam board to poke the bamboo into to stay upright while drying. I also decided to paint the individual bamboo trees BEFORE gluing them down onto the base. The final step for each bamboo tree was to give both the tuft of vegetation on the top and the long trunk of each bamboo piece a brown wash. 

    Next you put some Tacky Glue onto the end of a bamboo skewer...because bamboo, you know!

These shafts would be set into pre-drilled holes in a 1.5" circular piece of birch wood. I purchased a whole bag from the craft store for $2.99. The holes were made with a pin vice. I did one hole in the center, five evenly spaced in a ring around the center, and then a further ring of nine around the five. In all, I used 15 bamboo skewers for each 1.5" piece. Once the bamboo had been all painted, I used wire cutters to make the final sizing trim, and then an X-acto knife to sharpen the bottom so it would go into the hole easily. I applied a blob of Tacky Glue to the bottom of each skewer and then forced it into its hole in the wooden circle. I started in the center and then progressed outward. Usually, I would have to trim off a few of the plant "leaves" so that I could crowd the trunks even closer together. That was an idea I kept from the YouTube video. Otherwise, the branches or leaves of the plastic plant stick out in all directions and push neighboring plants away. I would snip off the branches from the side facing those already in place to make sure they fit together properly.  I also tended to make the center bamboo shafts taller than the outer ones, which also helped with everything fitting together.

    Forest of skewers with their plant bits atop (I have since switched to sticking them in foam board

I noticed at this point that the circular base was very top-heavy. So, I went to the hardware store and found heavy steel washers that would fit under the wooden bases, and epoxied them into place. All that was left was to flock the surface of each base. It was easy to take a brush and paint between the bamboo stalks with my 50/50 mixture of brown paint and white glue. I then followed with my usual method and poured Fine Brown Ballast across it first. Like above, I followed that up with 50/50 white glue and water and sprinkling the Blended Earth Turf. After a spray clear coat, I dabbed in full strength white glue mostly around the other edges, and sprinkled Blended Grass. The last step was to glue in various leaf scatter, and the bases were done.

    Paint each skewer with its base coat, dry brush, and section lines BEFORE putting them in the base

Yes, it seems like a LOT of work for just a single 1.5" base, especially since each base contains 15 individually painted bamboo trees. However, if you would have seen how much time following the YouTube video would have taken, I think that would have been much, much more! I figure I'll need about three bases placed atop a piece of styrene to represent each thick bamboo groves. The plan is to do nine of these circular bases of bamboo, so I can have three medium-sized bamboo patches on the table. We'll see if I actually make that many -- it is somewhat time consuming a process! I have gone out and purchased another one of the plants I cut up for the tops ($2.99 each), so I'll be working on them for at least the next week or so, I imagine. I am also working on the two larger rice paddies. The plan is for them to get as much possible done in time for this coming weekend's game at World at War convention at Fort Meigs, in Perrysburg, OH. 

    Pre-drill all the holes in the wooden bases first, then attach their metal washer weight

    Stick them in the holes from the center outward (early version before deciding to pre-drill all holes)

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 258

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 66

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201

    I used 15 bamboo skewers per 1.5" round wooden base -- labor intensive? Yes, but I like them

    Final look at some V.C. patrolling through a bamboo thicket (heavy vegetation in my rules)

Dinosaur Hunt - Back to the Jurassic!

    Keith, in pith helmet, set up a prehistoric world for us to each to explore with a trio of dino hunters

Once a fixture of our Sunday night games, but not having made an appearance for awhile on the tabletop, Keith finally ran a Dinosaur Hunt for our weekly game, again. Keith had found a new set of rules on the internet and wanted to give them a try. Truth be told, if Keith has run a dozen Dinosaur hunts for us through the years, this has to be at least the fifth or sixth rules sets he's used! As always, there was a new twist. We were teams of three hunters each being sent through a Time/Dimensional Portal by the government's somewhat crazy Health & Human Service's Secretary. We were looking for a cure to the pandemic raging through the world, and a well-known shaman Influencer told him where we might find it.

 

    My 3 Paleontologist dino hunters - would they survive going back to the Jurassic Age and return??

Yeah, a wacky premise, Keith admitted. Dino Hunts have always been about the fun and laughing at other hunters' misfortunes more than a serious game, so it fit the bill! I chose a group of Paleontologists well-armed with single-shot elephant guns from the different groups Keith had created for us. Allen, Keith, Joel, and Mike S all had their own group of three hunters, and we were transported through space and time into the alien but ancient looking ruined temple in the center of the board. The shaman said there were four nearby buildings and the cure would be in a crate inside one of them. Each of us took off for a different corner of the board, with Joel initially following his brother, Allen. After each group of hunters took their turn, Keith would roll to see if carnivorous dinosaurs would appear at our destination buildings. After seeing Allen roll for the arrival of an Allosaurus on three consecutive turns, Joel's "Boys from Brazil" turned around and began to follow my hunters, instead (who's destination building had yet to spawn any large carnivores).

    My hunters leave the time portal temple and begin to descend the hills, keeping an eye out all around

My group of Paleontologists had climbed down from the temple hill, crossed the river, and were climbing the rocky slope opposite when we heard the first hungry roar. Sure enough, we could make out the form of a Gojirosaurus prowling among the vegetation in front of the building we were heading towards. My best shooter was Jack, who closed the range a bit to 18" inches, aimed, fired, and brought the huge beast down with a critical hit head shot! It would be my own critical hit that evening, which you do by rolling doubles on your 2d6 damage dice. It was also the first kill by a hunter of the evening, which apparently prompted a horn to go off at the temple. In turn, this prompted every carnivore to immediately charge the closest hunters. Fortunately, we had just killed the closest to us, but it made things tricky for the other groups of hunters!

    My hunters crossed the river without incident -- Mike S had his hunters attacked by a giant croc!

In particular, Allen's group of elderly hunters was in trouble. A trio of Allosaurus had spotted them and were homing in on them. Allen ducked around a sheer-sided hillock, momentarily confusing the big predators. They scrambled and climbed up the steep-sided hill, just in time to see one of Allen's hunters get side-swiped by the tail of a Stegosaurus. It lumbered off afterwards, having proved its point not to mess with a grumpy, dangerous herbivore! Meanwhile, Allen tried to hustle through the gorge beneath the hill, while three curious and hungry Allosaurus watched him closely. Keith ruled that they'd be reluctant to scramble down the steep hill, giving each a 50% chance of doing so. Only one did, which prompted Allen to sprint for the building, while the other two ambled along the hill, tracking his progress.

    We spot our first dinosaur predator - a Gojirosaurus...is that really a thing? Sounds like a Kaiju!

As Allen's first hunter sprinted through the door, he was greeted by the sight of a half a dozen smaller dinosaurs. All curious at his arrival, and hungry meat eaters -- or "meat-osaurus" as they were referred to by a child in one of the Jurassic Park movies...ha, ha! Allen's hunter furiously fought them off for a turn, and then darted back out the door, placing his back up against it as the critters banged their bodies against it chasing him. The hunter's two companions ran up and cleverly fired through the windows at the smaller dinosaurs until all were eliminated. Of course, that meant they had their backs to a much larger threat -- the three Allosaurus, who were the largest predators on the table, Keith admitted later. Sure enough, the other two eventually worked up the nerve to descend the hill and came loping up. 

    Jack's gun booms out and I roll my one and only critical hit of the evening! One dino down!!

There was a mad scramble for the door, which two of the hunters successfully made it through, while one was snatched into the jaws of a hungry Allosaurus. The hunters now began to fire out the window at the looming danger, and were actually able to finish off one they had wounded earlier in the game. However, one persistent apex predator finally banged his way through the door. More gunshots rang out, and then screams as another was snatched into the jaws. At this point, Allen did one of those things that he does every week that make us scratch our heads. Knowing that the munching Allosaurus had only one hit point left, he ran up to engage the dinosaur in melee. The dino proved he is not a picky eater and dropped the one lifeless hunter and snatched up the new one that offered himself up as dessert.

    One of Allen's unlucky hunters gets too close to a grumpy Stegosaurus and is wounded by its tail

Meanwhile, my hunters were drawing closer to the building. Another Gojirosaurus -- I have to admit, it sounds more like a Kaiju from Godzilla movies than actual dinosaur -- appeared near the door. He was also shot down by Jack, who had notched up two kills, so far. As we continued on, another scrambled out of the jungle, drawn by the sounds of gunfire and the roars of pain by his brethren. As my hunters advanced, we made sure to stay just outside of its 12" charge range. Sure enough, it pounded up the slope towards us, falling just short on its move. I think I will suggest to Keith a random component to dinosaur moves for the next game. It was too easy to stay outside of their movement range and gun them down. Which is exactly what we did on our next turn. I was not tempted to emulate Allen and enter melee with them...haha!

    Allen's hunters being stalked by 3 Allosaurus predators who contemplate climbing the ridge

Joel's Boys from Brazil group were following along, just behind my group. Frankly, it made my Paleontologists a little nervous. Did they harbor ill intent? Were they just letting us clear the way for them? It looked for a moment like they would beat us to the building, after they spent a turn running with both actions. However, two of the three ended up winded, and decided to rest and catch their breath, while the third stayed with them, watching the vegetation for signs of dinosaurs. This allowed my three to duck inside the door and locate a wooden crate. As we closed in on it, we heard sounds from above. Three terror birds fluttered down from the rafters and closed in menacingly on us. We fired as they closed, but all three continued and their clawing and pecking wounded two of my three hunters. Eventually, though, we were able to kill all three birds and end their terrifying attack.

    Will Allen's hunters make it inside the door? Well, one of them did before the other became a snack!

Just then, the Boys from Brazil charged into the room, chased by a pack of four Paleo dogs. They scratched and howled at the door. One braced himself against the shuddering door while the other two went over to the window and opened fire on the pack with automatic weapon fire. After a cacophony of howls and yelps, the door stopped shuddering. Joel's hunters began to search the room, their eyes eventually resting on the crate that Jack was sitting on. "That belongs to us," they said. Our loaded, single-shot elephant guns pointed at them. Joel and I looked at Keith. Would our hunters actually fight each other over the prize? Keith explained it was supposed to be cooperative. The world needed just one group of hunters to bring back the cure. With that, Jacked tucked the crate under his arm and my trio exited the door and began making our way back to the temple ruin.

    Blissfully unaware of the horrors Allen was undergoing, my hunters cross travel across the ridge

When we arrived there, we discovered that not only had Allen's hunters been killed to a man, so had Keith's. They had been charged by a trio of Ceratosaurus predators. They killed one before they closed, but the other two gulped down one each of Keith's three hunters. Winston, the remaining one, fired at one of the two that was wounded as the other loped off into the woods carrying his meal. He'd killed the second Ceratosaurus, but didn't see the point of chasing down the other, if his friend was already dead. He continued on to his destination building where he was overwhelmed my smaller predators and devoured. Mike S had all three of his predators survive, make it to their destination building, and also recover a crate. The three surviving teams met back at the temple, activated the dimensional portal, and returned to save the world!

    Another Gojirosaurus charges my trio, only to be shot down by three, single-shot elephant guns!

It was good to get in another dino hunt. We had been telling Keith that it had been too long since our last one. I think he was inspired by Tim R's Caveman game he played in at Advance the Colors 2025 a few weeks ago. He decided to get out his dinos and set up another entertaining game. Speaking of games, I plan to do one more Vietnam playtest this week. I want to test out the Surviving 'Nam scenario that I will be running this weekend at World at War at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg, OH. I'm furiously finishing up terrain for the game this week, and hopefully will have all done. Stay tuned for pictures of that and maybe one more bonus game soon!

    Meanwhile, Keith's hunters were having a very 'Allen-like' experience with Ceratosaurus carnivores

   Two of Keith's hunters having the worst day of their lives -- or at least the last few seconds of it!

    Hot on my trio's heels are Joel's 'Boys from Brazil' who are being stalked by a pack of Paleo dogs

    Jack dealing with a terror bird ambush inside the building -- with an unloaded weapon!

    Once the terror birds were dealt with, we were able to obtain the prize! Now, back to the future!!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 258

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201

    Keith ponders the imminent demise of his hunting party...now, how will the rules get me out of this?

Last of the Woodland Animals & Creatures for Devilry Afoot

    Three 28mm wolves and a coyote skinwalker to bedevil my players in our new 'Devilry Afoot' games

I was in a bit of a hurry to get as many of the 28mm woodland animals done as I could before this past Sunday's game. In the end, I squeezed in only three wolves and a special monster that would appear in the scenario. The other ones (raccoons, badgers, foxes) are sitting on my desk with their base coat applied. No hurry to finish them, now. As it turned out, the shamans did not summon a single woodland animal! I ended up using only my previously painted deer figure as a spirit animal when one of the shamans rolled "Flee" on their action table. So, essentially, most of two week's worth of work for naught!

    I used Google Images to do my best to get the wolves coloring right, like this timberwolf

The wolves are -- I believe -- Ral Partha/Iron Wind Metals. If someone knows differently, please comment on my blog so that I can change the information here. I actually have more wolves in my unpainted drawers. Some are closer to 15mm scale while others are meant to be huge dire wolf types. These were the middle ones -- big enough to look scary next to 28mm miniatures!

    Pictures don't really bring out the contrast between the white, black & gray areas on this wolf

I chose three different colors -- a classic black and white wolf (almost Siberian Husky looking), a brown timber wolf style one, and a dark "black" wolf. The black and white wolf got a light gray base coat followed by very light gray highlighting. I then did white highlighting in the areas that looked white on the photograph of an appropriately colored wolf I was looking at. Last, I added in black patches where the photo showed. His claws and mouth was painted black with pale yellow teeth, while his eyes were done with a black oval filled in with light yellow. A dark brown eye filled the pupil, and he was done. 

The timber wolf had a light brown base coat with khaki dry brush. I then added white similarly to I had done above, and darker brown in the appropriate places. I think it is very useful to have a page of Google Images pulled up of the animal you're trying to paint. It helps you get the coloring done correctly and makes it look right in people's minds. 

    You've got to have at least 1 black wolf -- too iconic of an image to ignore...these pics came out nice

The black wolf was done with a very dark gray base coat and slightly lighter gray dry brush. I added in just a few patches of a medium or lighter gray in places that the photograph showed, mainly to give it contrast. This wolf probably went the fastest as he was mostly the dark gray color. As with the other two, he was given yellow eyes and a dark brown eyeball. All in all, I'm happy with how these three wolves came out, and I am sure I will be able to use them in a number of other games. Note to self: Don't sell these woodland animals! I don't want to have to do them again...haha!

    Painted this Brigade Games werewolf as a coyote skinwalker - really like how the coloring came out

The final figure mentioned above, but was a werewolf from the pack of two I bought from Brigade Games. (part of the Dracula's America line). Wolves look like coyotes, for the most part. The monster I imagined for this past Sunday's scenario would be a Coyote Skinwalker. I chose the leaner looking of the two from the pack and once again pulled up Google Images. He would look similar to the timber wolf, but more lightly colored. I began with a light tan base coat, dry brushed white, then started applying darker patches for the fur. It was a mix of a few different colors of dry brushing or direct brush strokes -- medium and dark brown.

At first, I wasn't sure if I liked how it was coming out. The further I got along with it, though, the more pleased I was. There was a lot of dry brushing and painting tiny strokes of darker fur on this model. Unlike the other animals, I did a dark brown vehicle wash over him and feel it really pulled the various colors together. Sometimes a darker wash can hide your dry brushing. Other times it does a good job of pulling various colors together into a smoother transition from one tone to the other. I painted his eyes and mouth similarly to the wolves. His claws were done first in black with a bone colored top coat. I really liked the way her turned out. Now, I just need to find figures for skinwalkers equivalent to other animal types! 

    One final look at danger running through the forests around Franklinton in frontier America

Other than the aforementioned abandoned animals like the raccoons, my painting desk was fairly clear once I finished off these four. Since then, I have pulled out another batch of goblin archers for my Dragon Rampant army. In addition, I am going into full assembly line mode on my bamboo patches for my Vietnam games. My first method was an abject failure and looked terrible. I finally came up with a new idea, and I like how it turns out. The prototype is mostly done, and is on a 1.5" wooden base. I'm satisfied it will look good, so just this morning started up another five bases of bamboo. I have a feeling this will take awhile, so don't expect a quick post of my bamboo anytime soon! The good news is that my recent progress means I am only 32 figures "in the hole" on Acquired vs. Painted for Miniatures. As long as I don't go crazy and buy a bunch of stuff, I think I will make it into the green this year, after all....

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 258

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201

The Coming Storm - First Game of Devilry Afoot

    Mid-game view of our first Devilry Afoot game - you can see the circles of lantern light vs. shadows

For weeks, tribal drumming at night was heard from a nearby hill by the residents of Franklinton, a new settlement in the Ohio Territory. As the drumming built to a crescendo, each night storms of deep rolling thunder would roll in. Their thunder matched the drums' bass pulsation. Unnatural flickering lighting in brilliant colors would illuminate the night. Worried by the storms' growing intensity, the Marib and Enoch Domigan called together a meeting of their secret society of supernatural hunters. Something had to be done. Each storm was more violent than the last, and in the morning, livestock would often be found ripped apart. The Monsignor, visiting from the north, agreed and said the storms would only get worse until the town was torn apart by nature -- and the Devil's -- fury.

    Board after setup with the stone altar on the hilltop in the center & hunters arriving on the edges

The next night, six hunters gathered as the witching hour began -- when the drumming would usually start. The co-founder of the Society, Marib Domigan, her friend Sarah Starling, lawyer Orris Parish, the Monsignor, scholar Jacob Shade, and the former Indian captive Jeremiah Armstrong each brought a trusted man so their number would equal 12 -- same as the Apostles of Christ. Marib also brought her faithful English bulldog, Henry, who feared no night shadows. His throaty growls answered both the drums and thunder as they pulsated through the night in unholy rhythm. For some reason, the dog's growls brought both courage to the hunters and a thrill of anticipation. The time had arrived for the Society to act. Franklinton would strike back at the devils that had besieged their village in recent weeks. For the missing hunters, for the strangely torn apart livestock, and for the fearful, godly folk of the Ohio Territory's newest settlement, they would seek out the enemy tonight and attempt to destroy it.

    Old Grubb carrying a lantern, illuminating him & Jeremiah Armstrong, while Old Sarge advances

Unbeknownst to the brave hunters from the Society, three shamans drummed and dance furiously on the Cursed Hill less than a mile away. They danced around a stone altar surrounded by a ring of oddly shaped stones. Guarding their backs were three fanatically devoted Delaware braves, stripped to the waist and painted for war. Occasionally the three warriors would hear the echo of a howl in the woods, far away. The braves knew that the medicine men were summoning not only the forces of nature to send against the trespassers, but also those from the spirit world. The braves also knew their tribal chiefs had instructed them not to follow the way preached by Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwatawa. All three felt Tenskwatawa was right, though. Only by summoning help from the spirit world would the tribes be powerful enough to drive the invaders away. The chiefs may have signed the Treaty of Greenville, but the braves believed its words did not bind the shamans nor the true believers of their religion. They would continue the fight and call upon the aid of the spirit world to regain the land that once theirs. 

    Advancing in the shadows, from left Jacob Shade, Marib Domigan & her dog Henry, and MacAfee

The society split into two groups to approach the cursed hill from different directions. Marib, her faithful servant MacAfee, and Henry padded silently through the trees. To their left, they saw the lantern glow of Mr. Shade and his man, Old Grub, as they advanced. Also illuminated by Old Grub's lantern were the young woodsman Jeremiah Armstrong, who had been kidnapped in his youth by Indians, and the gleaming halberd of his devoted, older friend nicknamed Old Sarge. As silently as they could, they moved forward, making out a ring of strange trees bare of any leaves, then the circle of stones, and finally the altar. Dark shapes cavorted around it.

    Shamans and Indian warriors on the hilltop react to the approach of the hunters from two sides

On the other side of the hill, Sarah Starling led a group that included her neighbor, John Huffman, village lawyer Orris Parish and his neighbor Arthur O'Harra, and dimly visible in the distance, the Monsignor. He was accompanied by Domigan family servant Hanby, who held aloft his lantern. These glowing yellow orbs of light alerted the shamans and Indian warriors to the approach of the society. Blue lightning crackled overhead, and suddenly, men and women were in motion all around the hill. One of the shamans strode purposefully down the hill towards Marib. The shadows seemed to make the masked Indian grow larger. At her side, Henry growled menacingly. MacAfee fired off a shot of his blunderbuss, but it appeared to miss. A crashing in the undergrowth to the shaman's right preceded a loud voice ringing through the woods. "Damn you, devil!" Old Sarge cursed as he charged. "This is for my cattle you and your demons have slaughtered!" The former Revolutionary War soldier swung his halberd, but it missed the shaman.

    Old Grubb charges a shaman stalking towards them, while Marib & her friends hurry to help

Suddenly, a flash and pistol shot boomed out from behind the shaman. The tongue of flame briefly illuminated Jacob Shade, who had crept behind the distracted shaman and fired upon him. The pistol ball took the shaman between the shoulders. His arms flew up, and he fell forward on his face and lay unmoving. "See you in Hell," Shade muttered. Soon, the woods were full of the flash and bang of musket and pistol shots. Lanterns waved wildly as the Indian braves fired at the advancing Society members, whose return fired crashed out in reply. Seeing his compatriot fall, one of the shamans raised his arms and screamed a long, ululating cry. Old Sarge's eyes grew wide and he turned and fell back through the trees. Seeing the society members wavering, the shaman dashed down the hill to his right towards Old Grubb's circle of light. Waiting for him, Jeremiah raised his musket and sighted down the barrel and whispered, "I see you, uncle, but I will not let you harm my friends." Another crash of musket fire. The shaman, who had just taken a swipe at Old Grub, missing, yelped as Jeremiah's musket ball struck him. 

    First shaman down! Scholar Jacob Shade sneaks behind him and fells him with a pistol shot

"Mother of God," Old Grubb gasped. Before his eyes, the shaman's form wavered and a towering buck stood in its place. The deer glanced once in Jeremiah's direction and then crashed away back up the hill, gathering speed as it raced past the stones. It stopped just outside of the circle of light thrown by Orris Parish's lantern. Realizing a real deer would be nowhere near the chaos on the hilltop, Parish fired his pistol into the deer's bulk. He then backed away slowly from the unnatural animal. 

    One shaman howls in response from the hilltop, causing some hunters to back off in fear

Not far away, one of the Indian braves charged down the hill towards Sarah, where she stood holding her lantern aloft. She held her dagger, pointing it at the Indian's painted face in her other hand. Feet pounded through the undergrowth and both Arthur O'Harra and John Huffman raced to her side. Furious fighting ensued, and soon the Indian brave lay dead at their feet. Sarah automatically reached for her medicine bag and began to kneel to check his wounds. "My lady," John said reaching out to her shoulder, "you can treat him later. For now, the fight is still afoot..." Sarah closed the flap and followed John and Arthur up the hill. 

    Wounded Indian warrior charges toward physician Sarah Starling as fights break out across the hill

On the other side of the hill, another Indian warrior was engaged in melee with Marib and Henry. Orris Parish raced to her aid, also, as the giant deer ran off. Blood was spilled amongst all the combatants, until finally the Indian lay dead at their feet. All across the hilltop, the Society's hunters were gaining the upper hand. Just then, a terrifying howl erupted from the woods behind Marib. A coyote skinwalker appeared at the end of the trees -- more than man height, covered in fur, and stalking erect on its hind legs. Several society members edge backwards. Indian shamans and warriors were one thing, but here was truly a demon from Hell! One man stood firm, though. Jacob Shade muttered a term in the tribal tongue, recognizing the form of the creature from one of his books on the supernatural. "Yee Naaldlooshii -- I do not fear you!" The creature turned its head and charged at Shade who slashed at it eyes with his dagger. The two fought, Shade pulling his reloaded pistol out and firing it. The skinwalker howled in pain. Shade grunted as one of its slashes drew blood from his shoulder.

    One of the shamans stalk towards Old Grubb as Jeremiah Armstrong prepares to fire at him

Old Grubb, seeing his young friend in danger, charged into the fray. He slashed wildly with his dagger as the lantern swung in his grasp. The flickering yellow light seemed to affect the skinwalker more than his dagger thrusts, though. The melee continued as thunder boomed out, again, and all could smell the approach of the rain on the gusting wind. All around the hilltop, the hunters of Franklinton had gained the upper hand. All three shamans and Indian braves lay motionless in the grass As they looked up to where Grubb and Shade fought with the nightmare coyote-man, the skies opened up. Drenching sheets of rain crashed down on the hilltop like a wave on the shore. Marib reached out to Henry who she could not see, though he stood next to her. She clutched his collar and shouted, "Home, Henry!" The dog began to tug her in the proper direction, downhill. She called out to MacAfee, reaching her hand out into the rain. She felt the Scotsman grab it, and fall into step beside her.

    Marib, Henry, & MacAfee close in on the hilltop guarded by an Indian brave with musket

Shade called to Grubb, whose lantern had become extinguished in the torrent of rain. He heard no answer, and warily felt around till he stumbled over a crumpled form at his feet. It was Grubb, curled into a ball and shuddering in pain. He looked around for the skinwalker, but no attack came. Apparently, the wounded horror had withdrawn into the trees. Shade scooped up his neighbor in his arms and began stumbling towards where he thought Franklinton lay. Unseen in the torrents of rain, the Society's other hunters did the same. 

    The Coyote Skinwalker has charged Shade at left, while Marib, Henry & a shaman melee in center

As the rain slowly let up, and the thunder rolled away into the distance, the society's hunters finally looked up. They could dimly see the outline of Franklinton's homes in the clouded moonlight. Sarah raced to her side, already unshouldering her medical bag. "Grubb...is he...?" Shade set him down, reassuring her that he was still alive. The young physician began treating his wounds. Others who had been injured walked over and stood, waiting for her attention, as well. The Monsignor arrived, and taking bandages from Sarah's pouch, began to treat those who were bleeding. After each wound he bandaged, the Catholic priest muttered in Latin, saying a blessing on it to help ensure the healing. 

    In a bloody melee, the final shaman falls to the combined blows of Marib, Henry, & Orris Parish

 "Marib...?" A voice called out from the direction of Franklinton. It was her brother Enoch, racing to the small group of hunters. "Mr. Culbertson and I kept an eye out on the town -- nothing approached. Is everyone okay?"

Marib nodded. "We have won. Sarah says Old Grubb will be fine, and the rest of us, myself included, will also survive our wounds. The Society has won, and driven the devil drummers from the Cursed Hill..."

    Shaman lies in the grass, felled by the Society, as Hanby & the Monsignor investigate the hill

We played our first game of Devilry Afoot last night. We had six players, each of whom controlled a character and a follower. Opposing them were three shamans (witches), three braves (outlaws), and one Coyote Skinwalker that would appear on turn 3. The board was the recommended 2'x2' square, but all six of my players felt it was a tad small for so many figures. I agreed, and will likely enlarge it to 3'x3' for the next game. I wasn't exactly sure how to balance out the forces of hunters and horrors. I decided to err on the side of caution and make the enemy force a bit weaker. I certainly succeeded in that, as only one Follower was taken out of action, Old Grubb, and none of the characters. All of the shamans and Indian braves were taken out of action. The skinwalker had taken two of its three wounds when Turn 5 arrived and the first roll to end the game was a "10," which brought the rain and closed the struggle. 

Although Devilry Afoot has "bounties" for each monster in the game, it does not have a corresponding points system for the players to balance things out. Each scenario lists a recommended number of characters to oppose the monsters in it, but I'm sure it will take some tweaking to figure out how to make a balanced game. The players learned the fairly simple rules easily enough. The only mistakes were things I forgot. I did not remember to do the Opportunity Attacks for the defender when the attacker misses until turn two or so. Once everyone knew about it, we remembered it easily enough. 

    Old Sarge helps Marib & Henry finish off an Indian warrior during the end stages of the game

I was disappointed that the shamans did not summon any woodland animals to their aid on their action rolls. There was only one attempt and it failed. All of those 28mm animals I painted up...haha! I did forget until about turn 2 that when a shaman flees or hides it changes into spirit animal form. I remembered it after that, though. All in all, things progressed easily enough. The game took only about two hours to play, despite having 12 chits in the bag for the hunter side (one for each of six characters and followers), and 5-8 for the monsters (the three for the skinwalker not being put in till turn 3). So, it moved along quickly enough.

My biggest question is if my decision to give each player a character AND a follower was truly necessary? I will ask my players about it. Would they have been fine controlling just one hunter -- their character? I was worried that they wouldn't get to do much with only one figure under their control. Unfortunately, one of my player's character and follower really didn't get a chance to do much. I think that was more a function of his starting location being fairly far away and also that the others polished off the bad guys before he could get in range to do much. If the players are willing to try it with no followers and just their main characters, I will do that for the second game.  

I think the Devilry Afoot combat and movement system works fine. The QRS I had designed helped players and myself adjudicate the shooting and combat quickly enough. I was worried about the randomness of the separate roll to wound, but I think it added a nice touch of uncertainty. The players picked up on how to use the 4" circle of lantern light to their advantage. Groups of characters and followers tended to cluster around the light, which not only made their activations a higher percentage of success, it also helped them in combat or shooting. Same with the player controlling Marib who had a dog. Dogs are a pain in the butt for the monsters, and Mike S used Henry the bulldog well. The stout old canine did suffer one wound, but will be back for more devil-hunting action next time!

I asked the players if they enjoyed the game enough for me to run it again, and they said yes (in varying degrees of enthusiasm). No one seemed to hate it, which is a good thing -- considering all the time I've spent painting up stuff for it! So, hopefully, stay tuned for more Devilry Afoot in Franklinton in 1797 Ohio...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 254

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201