Rats! And I said I was done Painting 15mm (ish) Figures...

    8 Splintered Light Miniatures rat slingers that I need for my solo Sellswords & Spellslingers games

The other day I sorted through my Splintered Light Miniatures anthropomorphic animals (that's a mouthful...), both painted and unpainted. I discovered that I don't have quite as many rats painted up as I thought I did. They're going to be the "Orcs & Goblins" of my solo Sellswords & Spellslingers campaign. I must have sold some to my friend Rich Brown of RRB Minis & More this past Advance the Colors. I talked him into buying my multi-based armies (5 infantry or 4 missile troops per large hexagon base). He would be using them for Grey Matter Games' Mice at Arms rules. I had painted and based these for my own big battle fantasy miniatures rules set that never got written. So, I figured, why not make some money off of them? I remember also taking along my individually based ones, so I'm pretty sure he picked up some of my mice and rats.

    There were two poses in the batch of 8 figures - here the one with a pouch for sling stones

The reason for this long-winded diatribe is one I am sure you can guess: "Rats! I needed to paint up more rats!" So, I pulled out a bag of 8 rat slingers and sorted through and picked out 10 with hand weapons that looked like good characters. I would do them in two batches -- the slingers first and hand weapons after. To be honest, I had not painted figures this small in a long time. What scale are they? Well, that's a great question! When Splintered Light first released its miniatures, they were 15mm scale. Then, they started releasing bigger and beefier figures intended more as characters than as packs for 15mm armies. Initially, they said these were 18mm/20mm. Well, I looked on their website the other day, and they're listed as 28mm. To be fair, they say quite clearly, "Please note that these stand 15mm-22mm in height and are similar in size to halflings and kobolds." Measuring one of the slingers, he stands 14mm from bottom of the feet to eyes. So, yeah. I'm painting 15mm figures...

    LONG time since I painted such small figures - these rats measured 14mm from soles to eyes

Thankfully, this blast from the past of painting 15's went well. I did not pluck my eyes out and run screaming from the room! I told myself going that I would not go as crazy as I currently do 28mm figures. Every item on the figure would not be getting a base coat and highlight. Did I hold true on that? Hmm...you be the judge. Either way, this batch of 8 rats went fairly fast. First, I cleaned them up. Splintered Light figs have very little flash and are excellent castings. I glued them down onto the Litko hexagon bases that I started using for my individual ones long ago. And...um, that was for another set of rules that never got written! Then, I primed the rats white with Gesso.

I did a Google search of various rat fur colors, and end up choosing four to five. With a big brush, I slapped on their base coat, not worrying about splashing over onto other parts of the figure. Similarly, once dry, I grabbed my flat brush and dry brushed each in the appropriate highlight color. Next, it was time to look at the figures more closely and plan things out. I decided to go with their tunics/shirts next. I used pale or dark colors for that. I also did a drybrush on each. So far, no real difference between how I was painting them and how I do 28's! Next, I did the leather belts and straps in Autumn Brown base coat and Iron Wind Metals Leather highlight. Oops, still the same recipe as my 28mm figures!

    Here is the other pose which carry shields -- they were easier to paint than I'd feared they might be!

Pouches and bags were next, with the tiniest pouch on four of the poses getting only one color. The slings were done in a base and dry brush (Maple Sugar and Wild Rice highlight). The stones visible in the sling and in the pouches were done in a medium gray, with a dot of light gray highlighting. There were basically two poses in this batch of eight. Four had shields, and I did each design differently -- once again, with a base coat and dry brush. I chose to do individual shield patterns mainly because I went back and saw I had done that on my previous rats. I tried to strike a balance between barbarian looking shield designs and simple ones 

All that was left at this point was the pink of their noses,  tail, and skin inside their ears. This was done with a Salmon base coat and a tiny highlight of Pink. I also gave them big black eyes. I was tempted to put a tiny white dot of the light reflecting, but felt that I wouldn't be able to consistently make it small enough. At this stage I was essentially done. The biggest difference between painting these and my 28mm figs, I guess, is that there simply isn't as much detail -- not so many pieces of equipment festooned all over them!

    I also put tiny leaves on the bases from a bag I'd bought -- adds a nice woodland touch, I think

I finished them out with brown and black washes, and then flocked them. I added a couple steps over my standard flocking. I put three small tan colored pebbles on each base, and then at the end, I added a few scattered leaves on each base. It seemed like an appropriate touch for woodland fantasy figures. I may yet go back and add leaves to my already-painted animals. We'll see.

So, what else is on my desk right now? I am finally just about done with my two Shipping Container buildings. They took longer than I thought they would. They are in the flocking stage now, so you will see them likely tomorrow or the day after. I have the batch of 10 rats with their fur base coated, now. I also have the clothes lines from Miniature Building Authority (still) primed and ready to go. So, as you can see, I have plenty to work on!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 100
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 39 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 10
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 14

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 30

Prelude to a Solo Sellswords Adventure

    My 'Sellswords & Spellslingers' solo campaign will use my Splintered Light Miniatures animals

 Wait...what is this about?

From previous posts here, you may remember my plans to run a series of semi-historical series skirmishes set in Britain during the Dark Ages, and using Ganesha Games' Sellswords & Spellslingers miniatures rules. With my Five Parsecs From Home solo campaign wrapping up, I thought why not do another one of those for myself using these rules? It'll give me more practice with them, and be a chance to use my Splintered Light Miniatures anthropomorphic figures. It has been since last January that they appeared on table as enemies in a Might & Melee game (Wiley Games rules). We also used them in our brief dalliance with Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago back in 2018. In this case, my SLM animals will be both the heroes and the foes! 

With that, here's a little intro monologue introducing the characters: Badger Mage Jemmy Tar, Coyote Barbarian Yo-Dee, Pin Marten Ranger Woodbine, and Armadillo Fighter Abraxis. Apologies for my hack fantasy fiction writing...!

    The Splintered Band (from left) are Woodbine, Abraxis, Jemmy Tar, & Yo-dee

 On the Trail Towards Porthewn

"I am looking forward to finally arriving at Porthewn," said Jemmy Tar, as he adjusted the shoulder straps of his pack. He was the tallest of the four who were walking single file along a forest trail littered with fallen leaves, broken twigs, and lots of mud. Jemmy next straightened his light purple mage's robes, craning his neck to see if he could spot the roofs of the riverside town ahead, yet.

"Are you looking forward to sampling the town's ales, my friend?" asked Abraxis, the stout armadillo soldier, who was breathing hard as he tried to match his tall companion's longer strides. "We know how much you love your ale...!"

    Jemmy Tar, badger mage, and his little apprentice (who may appear in games, or may not...)

Jemmy snorted. "Ales are just one part of it! I want to see this new town that has been chopped out of the Great Forest. I want to talk to the mice settlers, learn what challenges they've overcome setting up along the river. I want to study their relations with the Frogfolk, who trade along the river's winding course. I want to talk to their Town Elders, hear why mice chose to settle here, in a place that only scattered forest monasteries of the Emerald Robe existed before. What new plants or herbs have they discovered?" At this point, Jemmy paused, and looked ahead to see if the cloaked pine marten, whose footsteps they were following, reacted. He received a quick glance back from the ranger, who then faced front again, deep set eyes scanning left and right.

"Are you suuure it's not the ales?" Abraxis asked. "That's the only thing I'm looking forward to after this interminable journey! Your stride is so much longer than mine," he puffed, swinging his arms vigorously, then patting his armored hide. "Plus, I'm carrying more weight than you!"

    Abraxis, the Armadillo soldier, is a sworn drinking companion of the ale-loving Jemmy Tar

Behind Jemmy, Yo-dee spoke up, in his heavily accented common tongue. "Yo-dee goes to Porthewn because Jemmy Tar does. Where Jemmy Tar goes, Yo-dee goes...!" The coyote barbarian's voice rumbled in the silence beneath the canopy of leaves.

The armadillo turned and craned his neck around Jemmy so he could make eye contact with the coyote. "Do you follow him out of friendship or service, Yo-dee?"

Yo-dee used his long, shiny sword to push aside a low-hanging branch and duck beneath it. "Yo-dee is Bloodguard. Because Jemmy Tar saved our village pups, Yo-dee follows. Our Wise Ones knew not why the young were dying. Jemmy Tar knew and provided potions. The young ones were healed. They die no more from the sickness. Yo-dee's village is grateful. If Yo-dee's life or death can serve the master, Yo-dee swears to do so."

    Woodbine, the pine marten ranger, is the band's guide through the Great Forest

Their ranger guide, Woodbine, spoke from the front of the column. "Well spoken, Yo-dee." He continued, "Jemmy, I have been meaning to ask. What was killing the young? Was it a new food source or a plant, or a vermin that infected them? I'd heard you tell the story before, but never the cause of the illness." The ranger's voice was modulated so silently that each could barely hear his words, but just enough that all could understand them.

Jemmy patted one of the herb pouches secured to his belt. "It was zuduk, an infestation. A vine that was growing on the trees close to Yo-dee's village. When the wind blew strongly, tiny petals, or pollenaides, would detach from the zuduk plant and and waft their way into the village. As you've noticed, coyotes pant to cool themselves. The zuduk is a mild poison to them. All would ingest it, but they are a hardy people. Only the very young were unable to shrug off the infection. They would wither, lose their appetite, and die."

    The Splintered Band trudges along on a path through the Great Forest

"Ah!" Woodbine nodded. "Ten autumns ago, there was no zuduk near Yo-dee's village. Now, it spreads throughout the Great Forest. No wonder their wise didn't have lore of that plant." Jemmy Tar made sounds of agreement, but did not elaborate on the cure. He knew the ranger, who was a skilled healer and understood the forest plants better than himself, would ask later.

Abraxis nodded as well, adjusting his shield on his back. "So, Yo-dee's village, in their gratitude, sent our friend here to be a bodyguard in repayment? No mean gift," he said, looking back at the tall and rangy coyote. He paused for a moment, then said, "Ah-ha!" Chuckling, he added, "If Yo-dee is oath-sworn to Jemmy Tar, then I must be tankard-sworn to him! For I have never known a better drinking companion than our friend the badger in all my days!" he laughed.

    The Great Forest has become dangerous, haunted by vicious bands of rat raiders

"Aye," Jemmy said, "but I don't have an armadillo's constitution to handle excesses of ale, my friend! Still, I agree -- we are companions of the tankard. Malty Browns, tasty Bocks, thick Porters, crisp Lagers!" Both badger and armadillo smiled, remembering many joyous evenings. "And I admit, I am thirsty..." All four laughed, for each had memories of their merriment. The band had been traveling for weeks to Porthewn, but had been boon companions for nearly a year, now. 

Woodbine's whisper carried back to the others, almost quizzical in tone, "No rats on our journey, so far..." Each made a sound in reply, but Jemmy's head continued to nod. Finally, he appeared to have gathered his thoughts, took a deep breath, and sighed.

    Jemmy Tar and his Bloodguard companion, Yo-dee the coyote barbarian

"The wars of the mice and rats have been going on for centuries -- all the way back to the Great Awakening. When the woodland creatures opened their eyes and their minds grew, remembering, acting on what they learned -- no longer on instinct. Many creatures began to walk on two legs. The mice, smaller, but wiser, focused on lore. Accumulating knowledge and passing it on to their litters. They were the first to build communities. The rats, stronger, bigger, and meaner, learned to prey on others -- seizing was easier than building, they decided. The other races were occasionally drawn in to their wars, but the fighting never ceased. A century ago, the rats were defeated and driven back to the margins of the Great Forest -- the mountains, swamps, and desolate places. However, in recent years, they've returned. They are raiders, kidnapping merchant caravans or travelers, and taking their goods. Some say they devour those they take. Others say prisoners languish in cages, and still others say that they make the captives fight each other in gladiatorial games. That would fit their cruel nature...

"I confess I have led our merry band here, because I have learned rats are closing off the trails leading to Porthewn. If travelers do not come here soon, the way may be shut. So, I wanted to see Porthewn with my own eyes, and learn if the elders know what has brought the rats back. Why has their menace been reborn? So, I apologize if I lead you into danger, my friends..."

    Yo-dee the coyote has sworn to protect the life of Jemmy Tar, the badger mage who helped his village

Behind Jemmy, Yo-dee whacked a branch with his sword, scything it cleanly from where it was overhanging the trail. "Yo-dee does not fear rats..."

Abraxis turned around again, eyeing the tall coyote. "And you shouldn't -- not with that giant rat-cleaver of yours...!" Yo-dee paused and seemed lost in thought. He stopped walking for a moment, then abruptly strode forward, again.

"Maybe Yo-dee should name his sword. I call it 'Sword', now." The teeth in his long, narrow snout gleamed as his lips pulled back, revealing sharp canines. "Rat-cleaver is a noble name, friend. Yo-dee likes."

Jemmy chuckled. "A noble name indeed, Yo-dee. And look ahead -- Woodbine sees Porthewn, now. He is pointing out it the town's rooftops..."

    The Splintered Band arrive at Porthewn -- a mice city hewn out of the Great Forest

 

What's next?

Hopefully soon, I will begin posting battle reports and pictures from my solo games of Sellswords & Spellslingers. I encourage you to check out this cooperative/solo miniatures game, if you haven't played it. The defenders are controlled by a deck of cards and the game's A.I. You can play without a GM, or with, if you prefer. Stay tuned for reports from the adventures of the Splintered Band (named in honor of Splintered Light Miniatures, whose figures I am using).

    Along the river, mice settlers have built Porthewn -- where the Spintered Band begins its adventures

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 100
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 31 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 10
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 14

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 51
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 26

Vikings Descend in Fury on Anglo-Saxon Town at Cincycon

    Ragnar Lothbrok (near the church door) tries to fight his way into the church in search of loot

The fabled Ragnar Lothbrok of the Norse Sagas, accompanied by his friends and companions, brought chaos and mayhem upon an Anglo-Saxon town at Cincycon 2025. My convention game that I will run for at least the first part of the year is a cooperative historical miniatures game where all six players are Vikings trying to loot a town. The role of the Anglo-Saxon townsfolk and defenders is played by the game's A.I. and cards. Ganesha Games' Sellswords & Spellslingers is the rule set I am using, and did a great job throwing the unexpected at the players and making each running of the scenario unfold differently.

    A look at my town tabletop at Cincycon before the figures are placed and the Viking raid commences

I had a full table of six players for both my Friday evening and Saturday morning game. I had a great group of players both times who joked and laughed throughout despite their reversals of fortune. In addition to the players supposedly cooperating, they were also competing to amass the most loot. This could be gained mostly from slaughtering the townsfolk (1 silver piece each), levy Fyrd (1d6 silver), and hearthguard or household troops (2d6 silver). The windfall, though, would be if they made it to the central church, which stood in the center of the hexagonal board. Each player deployed their three Viking raiders along their respective hexagon edge. In Friday's game, they made it to the church courtyard, but did not gain entry. On Saturday, Ragnar Lothbrok and his son Bjorn Ironside both actually made it into the chapel and slaughtered monks, gaining 4d6 silver for each.

    My Saturday players were a rowdy bunch and had a blast teasing each other and enjoying themselves

The way SS&SS works, the player rolls one, two, or three 20-sided dice to activate one of their raiders. For each roll of 8+, they get an action (move, fight, shoot arrows, loot bodies, etc.). For each failure, a card is drawn from the deck. These cards can bring more defenders onto the board, trigger an Anglo-Saxon springing unseen from ambush, and activate defenders on the table to move towards and attack the Viking raiders. Most of the cards are bad for the players, but a few are beneficial or neutral. I had worked out ahead of time what each card would translate to in this historical version of the fantasy miniatures game. For example, a "Wandering Monster" was a mounted hearthguard who appeared on a random board edge and immediately charged the closest raider. "Trap" meant a town dog darted out and attacked a raider. Some of the cards activate the Anglo-Saxon (foe) closest to the player rolling the failure, while others activate ALL Anglo-Saxons on the table.

    Ragnar's brother, the sometimes treacherous Rollo, and his Viking raider companions

In addition, some cards dictate the deck to be reshuffled after playing that card, which keeps things mixed up and interesting. There were three levels of foes, as mentioned earlier. Townsfolk were the weakest, levy Fyrd were the next toughest, and the hearthguard were the most powerful. Hearthguard also have armor that might block a raider's hit on them. In a one-on-one fight, the raiders ("PCs" or player characters) are much more powerful. However, the defenders can form "hordes" which give them an outnumbering modifier, which can greatly reduce or negate the raider advantage. Plus, there is still good old-fashioned bad die rolling! For example, on Friday night, Ragnar's brother Rollo almost met an untimely, early end. He was quickly down two of his three wounds, but ultimately survived. Each player had a Viking hero (either Ragnar, his wife Lagertha, brother Rollo, son Björn, friend Loki the shipbuilder, or Ulf the Wise). Each player also had a swordsman or axeman, and their third raider was an archer. The archers had no armor, so were most vulnerable to counter-attacks, while the leaders and other raiders had armor and/or shields which could negate enemy hits with a good enough roll.

    Sounds of steel clashing on steel reach the Anglo-Saxon defenders in the church courtyard

Interestingly, in each game, there was one Viking band that was swarmed by defenders almost immediately. On Friday, it was the maniacal Floki, who had trouble keeping his footing on the muddy streets. Anglo-Saxon defenders sprang from nearby houses and the woods on the edge of town to attack his trio again and again. On Saturday, it was Rollo, who almost never made it off of the wharf where the longship was tied up. Mounted hearthguard came in waves after Rollo and his men, nearly killing all three. Still, in both games, most of the Vikings penetrated the outer buildings and advanced steadily through the muddy streets. On Friday, Ragnar made it to the courtyard in front of the church, but couldn't break through the solid shieldwall of the Anglo-Saxon captain and his hearthguard defenders.

    'Horde Fighter' Rollo takes on a pair of Anglo-Saxon Fyrd in the streets during Friday's game

On Saturday, the players did better. Lagertha's archer stung the shieldwall in the courtyard, prompting them to charge after the shieldmaiden and her raiders. This opened the way for Björn's band to break through the defenses and enter the church. Ragnar followed his son soon after. Monks shrieked as they fell wounded or were knocked senseless to be taken captive. Perhaps hearing the chaos in their beloved church, the Anglo-Saxon defenders began to swarm the perimeter of the table. The sound of their shouting convinced the Vikings they'd gathered enough loot and it was time to escape back to the ship before more of them fell. Both games lasted about three hours before I called them.

    Ragnar's companions, Hakon and Sigurd hurry to keep up with their quick-footed lord

The players seemed to have a lot of fun. They laughed at each other's misfortunes and howled in protest as a fellow player's failed activation rolls sent a horde of Anglo-Saxons randomly at them instead! This being only the second and third times that I had run these rules, I was pretty busy handling the arrivals of new defenders, deaths of Anglo-Saxons, and doling out silver pieces. However, the players do all the die rolling and control the action. Still, Friday night the players kept me hopping and it seemed chaotic to me, at times. However, on Saturday, I was able to relax and anticipate the rhythm of the game. I spiced up the narration of what was happening, taunting the players, "You can't miss that roll, right? You can do this all day...!" Of course, they realized that was likely jinxing them and chuckled at my ribbing.

    Lagertha's swordsman, the wounded Fafnir, is beset by two determined Saxon Fyrd

The die rolls and randomness of the frequently reshuffled deck created its own flow. For example, Blake's Rollo suffering charging mounted hearthguard after hearthguard. Dan's board edge was the unlucky recipient of an odds-defying number of Anglo-Saxon reinforcements. Derek's die failed rolls were to blame for the other players' misfortunes. It was hectic, unpredictable, but enjoyable -- at least that's what my players told me. Several of them planned on going out and downloading the rules from Wargame Vault. I got lots of compliments on how my table looked, especially my scratch-built Anglo-Saxon church. To this day, it is probably still my favorite scratch-build I have ever done.

    The decorated inside of my scratch-built church, defiled by the presence of pagan Björn Ironside

I plan on running the game again at DayCon (April 11-12) and at Drums at the Rapids (May 17-18). And then I will run the heck out of it all weekend at Origins Game Fair (June 18-22). So, if you want to give the game a try, show up at one of these conventions! I was gratified by the number of players who told me they signed up for the raid game because they love my games and always have a good time playing in them. I had a fun time, too, this weekend at Cincycon. I will do another blog post soon about my purchases I made there. Look for that in another day or so!

    Another look at Ragnar Lothbrok and his family and friends (28mm from Brigade Games)

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 15 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 5
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 9

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 9
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 5

Viking Town Raid With Sellswords & Spellslingers

    Anglo-Saxon defenders rally to try to fight off fierce Viking raiders who have come to loot their town

With my playtest of the Viking Town Raid using Saga not being a smashing success, I veered from armies to the other extreme. I would give each player command of three Viking raiders and they would be trying to gather the most loot, captives, and animals to win. It would be a cooperative game using Ganesha Games' Sellswords & Spellslingers fantasy miniatures rules, but with only one winning Viking player. Under these rules, the foes (Anglo-Saxon townspeople and defending soldiers) are controlled by the AI and a deck of cards.

    A good view of the Anglo-Saxon town as Allen, Mike W, and Joel laugh about how the raid is going

So, instead of commanding four units, my players were down to just three guys each. I had read reviews of SS & SS rules and was intrigued. I especially like how it neatly encapsulated the actions of enemies in its activation rolls and card deck system. When it is a player's turn, they select one of their characters and choose to roll for either one, two, or three potential actions. Rolls of "8" or higher on a 20-sided die are successful, 7 and below failures. For each failure, a card is drawn from the event deck. This could activate either a single foe, a horde of them, or even every foe on the board. It can also bring on reinforcements for the bad guys, have an enemy pop out of ambush, or a myriad of other events. 

    Joel's leader, Olaf the Wise, is under attack by a Saxon axeman while his companions rush to his aid

People are encouraged to tailor the event deck to their scenario. For example, whenever the "Trap" card was drawn, I ruled that a village dog would spring out and charge the Viking character who failed their roll. Another neat mechanic is that when a player character (PC) attacks a foe, or an event card determines one attacks the PC, only one die is rolled. The player rolls and if he equals or exceeds the "Danger Level" of the foe, they inflict damage on it (usually killing it -- except for tougher foes). If the player rolls less, they are struck by the foe and possibly take damage if they fail any armor or shield rolls.

    I put our host, Mike W in the blue shirt, in charge of drawing the event cards and reading the results

Designed as a cooperative or solo game, SS & SS essentially "runs itself." I stood by as GM and directed the action for our first game, but I can easily see in the future we can run it as fully cooperative and I can play, as well. Not for the Viking raid, of course, but for our own skirmishes (which, I am sure you are SHOCKED to learn I have an idea for...!). The game flowed easily with the players understanding the sequence and system by the second turn. I could step away for a bathroom break or refill my beer and come back to find the action continuing unabated.

    Tostig, at right, engages an Anglo-Saxon archer while his leader Krumm takes a breather

I used my new hexagon game mat and had each of my five players select an edge to start with their three Viking raiders. In the center of the board was my scratch-built stone church (with flickering LED lights inside tonight!). Guarding the front were the Anglo-Saxon captain in charge of the town defenses and his hearthguard. Their numbers would swell by one whenever the "Scenario Event" or "Mana Flux" cards were drawn. On subsequent runnings of this scenario, I will probably reduce that down to just one of those two cards. By the end of the game, there were far too many hearthguards for the Vikings to risk trying to break through.

    Viking chief Halfdan, left, and his swordsman Fafnir fight off a horde of Anglo-Saxon fyrd

In fact, I will likely reduce the number of foes that begin on the table at the start of the scenario, too. Only two buildings were entered, and only the crew of Mike W's Hakon the Skald took any captives. No one bothered to snag any of the town animals in their pens, either. I will likely make both captives and animals worth more loot in future games to encourage such raider-like behavior! As it was, most of the "silver pieces" worth of loot was taken from the bodies of the slain defenders. 

    Each of the "blood spots" marks where a defender was slain by the deadly Yvgni and his Viking crew

Still, all the players knew it was a playtest and understood their goal. Even if they didn't reach the church, they had fun slaughtering townsfolk and avoiding their counter-attacks. The deadliest defenders were the "Wandering Monsters" of a mounted Anglo-Saxon hearthguard who would show up on the table edge and charge into the closest raider. The town dogs performed particularly badly, though, being driven off without causing any hits in all but one occasion. The most spirited defender was a town boy who, after watching his mom and older sister being knocked unconscious by a Viking, fought off that same Viking for several rounds before finally being subdued. 

    Ulfgar the archer is ridden down by an angry mounted hearthguard, while Tostig tries to aid him

Still, the Anglo-Saxons inflicted some losses. Mike S, despite it being his birthday, received the unhappy present of terrible combat die rolls. Two of his three Vikings were knocked out of action by the defenders. Allen lost one, as well, and probably had the worst luck at activation rolls of any. Otherwise, all forces were able to withdraw off-table when we called the game for time. Mike W barely edge out Tom 36-35 victory points as we "kibbitzed" what would happen in the next turn and counted up the points. Allen scored 31, Joel 25, and birthday boy brought up the rear with only 14 points. Hard luck for Mike S two weeks in a row!

    Mike S, left, smiles in the early going of the game, not knowing the ill luck that awaits him in town!

Unlike last game, I am calling the Viking Town Raid using SS & SS a success. It will likely be my game that I run at conventions in 2025 -- well, at least for the first half of the year. In fact, I plan on giving the game a "Hollywood" hook and purchasing figures for "Vikings" stars Ragnar Lothbrok, his wife Lagertha, and their sons and painting them up for my convention games. I asked my players what they thought of the scenario and rules and their comments were very positive and encouraging. The only suggestions were on how to balance the scenario out a bit more. So, I would say look for more semi-historical skirmishes in 2025 using SS &SS!

    Young Viking chieftain Krumm falls to a horde of defenders just as he was in sight of the church!

What's next? Well, I took the week to hurriedly bring two more buildings into play, nine town defenders, and six farm animals. Amazingly, they were done in time and used in the game. So, it will be just a matter of taking pictures and writing up the blog post to show you those. Looks for that in the next couple days!

    It is dawn and a pit fire burns in front of the church before word of the Viking raid awakes the town

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 227
  
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 254 

    The monks are awake, though, and singing praises in the church by the flickering candlelight

    An overhead look at the raid's progress towards the end of the game