Now that's a Battle Report!

Craig from the D6G has been writing some fun narrative battle reports on the blog over on the Spartan Games website, part of a tsunami of new material for Uncharted Seas, including some new options for Captains of Renown and featuring some awesome pictures of ships on the tabletop.  Here is a link for the most recent report:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/battle-report-deep-within

I especially enjoy the conflict between my two favorite factions in the Uncharted Seas, something I have never witnessed because I'm always playing either one or the other but usually against Orcs or Dwarves.

The Glorious 6th of November

Dystopian Wars VA Autumn Event 2011

We had more than a dozen players for our DWVA Autumn Event which included three rounds of a Dystopian Wars tournament with 10 registered players and a 3-way exposition game of Uncharted Seas.

Here are the full rankings for the DW tournament:

1. Andy - Prussians

2. Kyle - CoA
3. Steve - CoA
4. Brian - CoA

5. Dave - KoB

6. John - Prussians

7. Trevor - KoB (with French leanings)

8. Greg - FSA

9. Nate - KoB

And, last but definitely not least, and only a mere 2 points behind Nate....

10. Jack - Empire of the Burning Sun

The first three placed players won store credit, and Andy also took the Best Painted Fleet prize. 

The runner-up for best painted fleet was our winner at the Uncharted Seas event last year, Mike with his incredible Orc ships.

The Grand Alliance

Since I started tabletop wargaming with some passion two years ago I've had my eye on Games Workshop, specifically the Warhammer Fantasy Battles, and I even went so far as to sign up for a forum for players with a preference for Wood Elves, even tinkered with some Mantic elven spearmen figures in some Autumnal colors, but I never purchased any new GW products.

Until now.  When I saw the news of the Dreadfleet release I started looking for information on Man'O'War in a way I started looking for information on Battlefleet Gothic when I bought and started playing Battleship Galaxies two weeks ago (and BG was the first Hasbro game I've bought in decades).  Sure, I read the hype along with the skepticism, but critics of everything produced by GW remind me of the days when I was involved in the live rock music scene when I lived out on the West Coast with cool dudes talking about bands selling out because they got a record deal.  Dreadfleet caught my interest because it's a fantasy naval game, and I can't seem to get enough of those lately.

I bought a copy of Traflagar a few months ago, a bit late, but I was interested in how the system compared to Uncharted Seas as well as some other historical naval games I've played, like Wooden Ships & Iron Men or Flying Colours.  I suppose my used copy of Trafalgar was technically my first GW purchase, but with Dreadfleet my money when directly to GW through my FLGS.  And I felt justified by my purchase, especially after I opened the box.  Sure, there were an awful lot of skulls on those islands, but nothing a little flocking couldn't help, and the models certainly looked better in person than they did on the Beasts of War video I watched the previous week.  The scale was about right, and I saw no reason why I couldn't incorporate most of these ships, wrecks, and islands into my regular games of Uncharted Seas.

But the system, simple enough, really grabbed my attention with the FATE and DAMAGE cards.  Sure, Uncharted Seas is designed for fleet actions, fun and fast, but Dreadfleet looks like a game for a few big ships firing broadsides into each other at close range.  So, why not take the system for a spin?

Battle of the Boiling Seas Strait

The Dragon Lords have sent out a vassal fleet of dwarves to harass the imperial expansions of the Elves from the Old World.

We had almost 1000 points each, almost everything on the table. A flagship and battleship each, plenty of destroyers and frigates.

Turn 1: The Shroud Mages spotted the Elven fleet near a strait between two islands in the Boiling Seas and set straight toward them. Fortunately, the Elven fleet possessed the wind gauge and set battle sail to move the frigate squadrons into medium range and commence firing upon the leading elements of the Shroud Mage fleet.

After forming a beautiful line-of-battle with 8 frigates in two squadrons, the Dwarven guns start punching holes in the Elven sails. I invent a busy character named Melvin the Elven Sailmaster who sets out, with thread and needle clenched in teeth as he climbs the ratlines, to mend the holes and tears. But, unfortunately, he can't keep up with all the damage. The Elven Battleship Mountain Spirit Fury moves directly through the gap in the frigate line-of-battle and leads a brave but foolish charge into the center of the Shroud fleet. Meanwhile, the heavy gunship which is the Shroud flagship moves slowly into position, gunning an Elven destroyer into splinters and firing upon the grand Mountain Spirit Fury.

New Uncharted Seas Models!

A new range of ship models for Uncharted Seas has been announced, and I'm particularly interested in the new Elven designs:

And although the flagship still lacks sails, it still exudes that essense of speed:

Americans meet Japanese, English Civil War on land, and a skirmish in the Uncharted Seas

Six players showed up on Sunday at the Game Vault.  We had limits on time, and half the players had limited experience, and two players had no DW fleets of their own, so we just played some casual games, 500 points in each force.

The start of the game beteen FSA & EBS, 500 points each.  My Imperial fleet was commanded by a junior commodore while I took pictures, hung flyers in the store, and helped some new players with questions.

PIRATES!

This past weekend I discovered the old Pirates collectible card game from Wizkids.  Sure, I was aware of it to some degree, and I was even interested in a tabletop naval game using plastic card cut-out ships, but I never invested myself in the game until I found a box of 20 card packs on sale at Target for ten bucks.  What the hell, I picked up a box, brought it home, and started putting inexpensive little model ships together.  Incredible that they seem to be the equivalent scale to Uncharted Seas, and they will work in a pinch to play with the Trafalgar rules I bought last year but haven't found any models... until now.  Here is a comparison shot with some of my Elven ships.  The pirate ships are about the same size as a frigate or cruiser.

We tried to interest some kids in playing US or even DW during our last teen gaming event at our local public library, but I think Pirates is just the thing to get some of them moving model ships around on the table.  The rules are ridiculously simple, but all the elements of a game is there, and the ships are cheap.  And now I have some ships to use for playtesting the moderate naval rules I've been toying with writing.

Playing Actual Games

I met two DW players at the GV on Sunday.  One player is new to the area and still doesn't have his Britannia fleet shipped in, so I brought my Shroud Mages for him to try a game of US against my Elven fleet.

We had 600 points each, a submersible on his side and a dragon on mine so he could see how the flying and Defensive Fire rules worked compared to DW.  But my destroyer squadron was no match for those Dwarven frigates at ramming range, and he took two of mine as prizes.  I conceeded after five turns.

The Perfect Ruler

I've had some discussion with my regular opponent about the comparisons between using a flexible tape measure versus a rigid yardstick.  He prefers the tape measure which is compact and easy to use for a variety of distances; I prefer the yardstick which is not so compact or easy to use, but it makes a satisfying snap when I slap the length against my leg while contemplating my next move.  But the yardstick, although perfect for measuring the limit of range band four, is too long for plotting ship movement, so I supplement it with a standard wooden foot-long ruler, only that stick is often too short, especially when moving my Elven frigates or trying to measure the limit of range band four.  I have seen 16" wooden rulers, and I thought one would be a perfect tool for my games of Uncharted Seas.  But now I found and immediately bought my perfect measuring device for the tabletop....

Dystopian Wars Incursion

Some DW fleets matched up with our usual suspects from the Uncharted Seas in a 4-player alliance game.

Sea Lord Thuclyd leads a contingent of Thaniras Elven ships, in loose alliance with a Prussian patrol force operating in the area, move against their sworn enemies, the Ironclad Dwarves led by Admiral Redhammer, as a FSA force is spotted in the far distance.

Turn 2.  Forces close and Sea Lord Thuclyd orders an extra ration of grog for all crews involved in bringing down the Dwarven Bellows Airship which had been approching across the island above the yellow cathedral.  Meanwhile, the Prussians and FSA forces pound each other into pieces, frigates sinking left and right.  We didn't include the tiny flyers, but all of us gained a better understanding of how the DW rules worked, especially compared to the US rules.

Significant Other

My S.O. is an avid chess player and has beat me in several games, and seeing my colorful ships on the blue board finally interested her enough to try a game.

Approximately 600 points per side, the Lady playing the Smoke Belchers while I take my Pristine Elven sailing fleet to the seas.

Drouble Harbour

"Dwarven airships spotted on horizon, bearing east by northeast," Elven guards on the watchtower at the mouth of the Drouble Harbour called down to the garrison, sounding the alarm.  The Dwarven fleet attacked at dawn, an offshore breeze hindering the Elven ships relying on sails to form up to defend the harbour.

Elven fleet had 1000 points at dockside, only 2 squadrons ready to move on the first turn, the rest raising sail to move starting on the second turn, 200 points off board as reinforcements.  The Dwarven fleet had 1200 points, the airships leading the attack.

Sea Lord Kelven Defeated

After making repairs from a recent battle in the Helgath Sea, Lord Kelven led a smaller force against the Dwarves in the sea.  The previous battle had ended in a draw at the end of the day, but when a Dwarven airship is spotted in the distance the Sea Lord abandons the damaged ships in his fleet, setting out with a reduced force to destroy what insignificant Dwarven force he expects to find just over the horizon.
500 points on each side, playing on a 3x3 foot playing area, the starting deployment zones marked with glass beads (how classy).  The objective for each player is to sink or capture the enemy flagship.

A strong wind was at their backs, providing the Elven fleet the weather guage and confidence in victory.  Start of turn 1.  Dwarven fleet had initiative, the airship scouting ahead.

Clash in Helgath Sea

Our first clash between two large fleets, the Dwarven Admiral Redhammer in His Admiral's Ship with seven squadrons met the Elven Sea Lord Kelven at a small group of islands in the Helgath Sea.  Each fleet's strength was just shy of 1000 points, but having four hours late on a Sunday night to play, both players looked forward to resolving their largest sea battle to date.  We placed the 3x5 board on the kitchen counter so we could stand or sit on stools rather than crouch over the coffee table in the living room where we usually play.  The terrain was placed using the MATS method which was new to us and created some random placement of large and small islands.  The smallest island in the center, where only a pair of palm trees grow from an exposed sand bar, is home to a hermit long ago shipwrecked; he was, at first, excited to see ships on the horizon and the prospect of rescue, but joy soon turned to dismay at the sound of the boom of Dwarven cannon shot and the crack of Elven lightning bolt.

Convoy

We played this strategic mission with too many unpainted models, and few pictures show more than gaps of white on the blue board. But here is the scratchbuilt mechanical squid my opponent has half painted, preparing for a ramming attack against one of my Elven Heavy Cruisers.

Recon Among the Rocks

A third Recon mission in our X-Cam. We wanted a relatively short game, so I held back on a challenge for a strategic match. After rolling to determine the scenario we use my new random terrain & condition generator, and we get 4 terrain pieces along with 4 shoals, so the middle of the table looked like a series of rocks and breakers. I set up my Elven force near the western edge of my deployment zone to take advantage of the wind blowing directly east down along the table. We deploy 500 point lists, neither of us taking frigates or flyers, but the Dwarves launch a new addition to their fleet, a scratchbuilt mechanical squid! The Dwarves also include a squadron of destroyers which had only been purchased from the drydocks the previous day and remains unpainted.

Running the Gauntlet

Kyle spent all his Recon points accumulated from the first two games to challenge me to a Strategic mission. We rolled up one mission which scared the Dwarven Admiral, so we rolled again and settled on "Running the Gauntlet." We each had 800 points and set the playing space for 3x4, placing the towers shown at the bottom of the above photo to effectively serve as the "finish line" for a single Dwarven ship to cross. According to the mission, the attacking player needs only get one large class ship from one short end to the other. He estimates that with the speed of his battleship it will take him at least 11 turns to reach the finish line with that model, but he also deploys an airship which has better movement.

Escape to Base!

We rolled up this mission according to the X-Cam document, and then we rolled off to determine attacker. Then we rolled to determine wind direction after placing the island, and I realized I would win this scenario because my ships would easily out sail the pursuing Dwarven fleet in no time. I decided I would make an effort to put up a good fight and maybe pick up some extra VP by sinking some of the Dwarven ships so set up to one side, upwind of the island, but with room to come about to deliver some Elven "Weight of Metal" against the Dwarves. I had 265 points in my force of a green dragon, a pair of cruisers, and three frigates. We played on a 3x5 foot table, the Elven ships already 24" inches in from the far side, only about 28"-30" from the nearest edge of the island. (The dragon was a shy bit closer which proved helpful in eventual escape.)

First X-Cam Recon Mission

A Dwarven scouting force is at anchor near an island in contested waters. An Elven reconnaissance force moves in from the south with a primary mission of studying the Dwarven ships and returning to their main fleet with information, particularly concerning the Dwarven armored cruisers and airship. The Dwarven force consists of 4 squadrons, including the airship, at 400 points; the Elves have just a cruiser squadron and frigate squadron at 300 points, their objective to hold fire and use their attack dice to study each class of Dwarven craft. The cruisers manage to get a partial success on both the airship and the frigate. The strategy of the Elven commander was to move in close, complete the objective, and then use the superior speed of their ships to escape before the Dwarves have a chance to act.

Dawn Harbour Attack

The Mountain Fury Fleet works into an offshore breeze in the early dawn to attack squadrons of the Dwarven Redhammer fleet at anchor in the harbour. The Elves had 550 points of medium and small ships, determined to destroy the battleship and supporting squadrons of cruisers and frigates anchored at the docks BEFORE a Dwarven patrol consisting of an airship, armored cruiser squadron and escort frigates returned to port. The playing space was 4x3 feet, the Elven fleet starting in the narrow end at the bottom and sailing East. The white circles between the jetty on the port side and the island to starboard are mines which moved randomly at the start of each turn. North is to the left, and in the upper right of the photo is the Dwarven patrol squadron which is only activated according to a special die roll at the start of each turn after the initial attack commenced.