En Garde! trial and the better part of valour

I joined in the fun at the Hamilton Road Games Group with the intention of playing one game and ended up playing another. When I arrived, a few people were playing the Sci-fi game "Sunder the Stars" using a lot of Star Trek ships. Another group were playing Osprey Publication's En Garde, a skirmish game set in the period of "The Three Musketeers." The first game ended rather abruptly, and I got in on the second game. The first game had minimal terrain and that was beefed up in the second game. Both Eric and I ran a small warband of 6 and 5 fighters respectively, musketmen, swordsmen, and a halberdier. Martin and his associate ran a similar group. The tighter terrain made for less distance shooting and there was a lot of hand-to-hand combat, which you'd expect with these rapier-swinging bravos. (Photos by Andy, Martin, and myself.)

Two of my swordsmen advance into the garden, trying to avoid being beguiled by M'Lady deWinter.

The view of my part of the warband. The coin was the objective.
Andy put one of his Kinder-egg surprises in the pond as the fountain.
The small white disk indicates a light wound on that figure. Wounds can accumulate until the figure is dead.
Or you can be killed right away.

In the first game, my swordsmen died by doing the stupid things I usually ask of troops under may command: you know, "Attack that swordmaster!", "Jump through that window!", "Hold your ground!" My musketmen, who had taken good sniper positions in a ruined house, fell back and left the field to the enemy. As I told Ralph, who was gamesmastering, "It's not my army!"

The second game saw an interesting mix. Martin fielded a force of Korean peasants from his list for Osprey's "Ronin", a Japanese Samurai-era skirmish game. One musketman, a number of archers, a few swordsmen, and one armoured swordsman. I fielded the same eleven man warband as before. Well, the Koreans die like flies... if you hit them. The archers have a slight advantage in that they don't have to spend time reloading, but they have a slightly tougher time wounding. Of course, Martin won and smacked my Portuguese mercenary band around with his peasants.

My one fellow with a partizan attempts to sneak up on a few peasants.
The Korean 'way to the right had armour under his clothing and was very hard to hit.

Martin's well timed photo of me taking a photo.

I found En Garde to be a fun, playable with some availability of simple dueling rules, such as attack, parry, riposte, and the "mighty blow." Firearms are matchlocks, firelock muskets, and pistols. Inaccurate and deadly if they hit, the balance is about right. The integration of the Ronin warband seemed rather smooth. (I've never played Ronin, so I can't say for sure.) I've got to try a Scots warband of muskets and sword and targe or an Irish warband of archers and Galoglaich. I have the figures so it shouldn't be a big issue. I look forward to trying it again. I'd even recommend the rules to those who would find skirmish gaming in this period interesting.

The Korean musketman, an archer, and a guy with a nasty polearm.

My commander attempts to lead some swordsmen to confront the Korean right flank.
A commander can issue a "Follow Me" order and have a crew of guy (if within 3 inches) move with him
and even more ahead of him.

Here Martin's team take out a few of Eric's figures and one
shoots through a house window at my advancing swordsmen,

The "chit"with the red mark indicates a light wound.
The swirly circle chit indicates that the figure is "stunned."
You can recover from a stun on the next turn... if you roll the proper number.

Confrontation at the hedge.

The armoured sword-bearer advances.

An aerial view of the action as my swordsmen advance through the one house.
Ralph's scratch-built houses all have removable roofs to allow movement or action indoors. 

Further Facinations

Since I've been finding interesting art work of late, I thought I'd share some more of it.

These works are from the Polish artist, Jakub Rozalski. His subjects tend more to the "Steampunk" than the futuristic Science-fiction. He draws the inspiration for his art from Polish history and from some rather grim mythology. Some of his work illustrates an other-when Soviet-Polish War of the 1919-1921, a Polish rebellion against Tsarist Russia in the 1830's, the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and some horrific (in the sense of horror movies) works from what he calls his "Wolfpack 1863." I'm not much for horror movies, but this man's work is very interesting. His early 20th Century Steampunk works are evocative of such things as the band, Steam Powered Giraffe, as well as some alternative fiction. Many of his illustrations are for video games where they set the atmosphere.

An illustration of a twisted, steampunky version of the 1831 rebellion.
Even the Napoleonic-ish constructs are wearing shakos.

A little view of some futuristic Polish army units on some not-to-be-hoped-for battlefield.

An interesting view of the advance of the Kosciuszko Squadron made up of American volunteers.
There actually was such a unit in the Polish-Bolshevik War, but it was a squadron of planes.
Pity.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be as calm with the flocks if those mech stomped by.

A German/"Saxonian Empire" armoured unit advances.
The officer in the foreground is one of the characters in the video game, as his his wolf.
The mech is based on the hull of the German A10 tank from the First World War.

The Polish resistance, led by Anna, another named character from the video game.
She's usually accompanied by her bear, Woytek.

There he is! On detached duty.

Nordic Empire intervention forces. I think they're from Scandinavia and might be
Swedes or Finn (who had a bone to pick with the Bolsheviks.)

"Iron Fields" Cold... mechanized... industrial...

Anna and Woytek ask directions... and get them, I'd guess.
Note the harness and packs on the bear; he pulls his own weight.

A Nordic Hunter... a Steampunk viking! and why not?
Of course you can mix genres! It's imagination!

Polish cavalry and mechs advance past some women continuing to work in the fields.
They're braver than I.

I think this is called "Leaving Home." The woman is handing the sabre to her man before he rides off to battle
with the uhlans and the mechs in the background.
I find this piece very evocative and romantic... and really cold.

If you look close you can see the Soviet mechs firing while Red Army cavalry advance in front of them.
The Poles, both mechs and cavalry advance from the right of the piece. It appears some cavalry have been
detailed to screen the farm workers.

Winged Hussars... with bazookas! Oh, yeah!

The Battle of Warsaw. Steampunk romantic art.

Crimean Tatars with a wild tricycle mech in the background and a walking one behind that.

This is just called "Medic." My wife and daughter find it heart-breaking.

This fiery image is a piece showing the German/Saxonian (I'm at a loss) invasion of the newly
revived Polish nation.

This one has to do with the 1939 German invasion of Poland...
with a massive steampunk twist.

Scary stuff from the "Wolfpack" gallery. I don't like Werewolves very much.

This is a separate case. The Krampus and Santa Claus duke it out in the snow while children watch.
A bit disturbing.

The artist also has a series of works based on a world where Samurai Japan intersects with Viking homelands.
I think it's called "The Ancients" and there's plenty of large monsters or deities or demigods all around.
Here the giant Shogun cuts into a Samurai army.

This is just a small sample of Mr. Rozalski's work. There's lots more... some of which I'm not as much interested in. The "historical" works I find intriguing. I recommend you look them up and enjoy them. I may do more another time.

One last one... entitled "Knock knock."

Facinations

I haven't been blogging much of late. I've been too busy now that I'm covering two Christian congregations, one Evangelical Lutheran and one Anglican. At least they're in the same town!

I have discovered an artist whose work intrigues me, namely the Swedish digital artist, Simon Stålenhag. I find his art fantastic, satisfying, and often at the same time, disturbing. Maybe all you folks who read my blog know all about him; I just feel I'd like to share some of his visions.

Much of the man's art is "a Sci-Fi 80's that never was."
Often the works depict a Sweden that wasn't, although some show Northern California.
Many of the pieces look quite cold... and normal... and twisted.

This is called "Fly-By."
I'd have to ask all sorts of questions.
What's going on? Who is flying?

Some sort of out-door winter rescue unit. I just like the vehicles.

Familiar... yet entirely alien.

This one's titled "Local Servers."
Of what? For what? Why so many cables?
May of these pieces are from an RPG and an art book entitled "Tales from the Loop" and another called
"The Electric State", which all seems to be some sort of interconnected society.

Kids building a snow fort... in the shadow of the Loop's cooling towers.

A little less winter-y, but still the alien familiar.

... and some of the things are just out-right weird and whimsical.

Colossal Ducks used for target practice by unknowns. Part of the northern California part of "The Electric State."

"War Machines" Building? Disassembling?
How big are those things?

The artist does dinosaurs, too.

Since I was a little kid, I've loved dinosaurs. How could I not love this?

Bad day on the delivery route.

Living in Canada as I do, I could imagine this scene of run-away mechs.

"Decoy"
Are the mechs curious? Are they ticked off? Are they being led into a trap?
The rear mech has an air of curiosity to my thinking.

This is my favourite one.
Abandoned Swedish military mechs... back from stomping around.
I have a load of questions.

I have another artist in mind, but I'll save that for another entry.