The Gobbo's Grotto Militia

Hi all,

I kinda jumped a bit with regard to my BnB warbands, just claiming that the first one was poorly thought out. However, I thought I’d showcase the band as I did quite a bit of blurb/fluff/background for them. So here they are - The Gobbo’s Grotto Militia

The Gobbo’s Grotto, a small township that nestled in the sleepy woods north of the Ironstone Hills was an idyllic part of the kingdom, stoutly loyal to the King in a kind of wistful way. It’s inhabitants, so far away from the centre of influence, rarely bothered with the politics of the region and other than paying their taxes (as much as they had to anyway) and the statutory provision of a militia, had little interaction with the wider kingdom. 

Fatefully, that would all change on midsummer’s eve (which would subsequently  be called the “Night of Tears”). A missive from the local Lord of Catwick demanded troops from their vassals to rid the King’s favourite vineyards of bandits. A patrol from the Gobbo’s Grotto Militia and led by Sir Harold Harefield - a retired veteran of the Boarstown Flea Party uprisings, answered their liege’s call. After a fruitless week of chasing the “bandits” (in reality, starving peasants displaced by the expansion of the vineyards), the patrol returned home to find the township aflame. The small patrol wept as they rushed from building to building only to find the broken bodies of their families lying among the wreckage. Anxious that the raiders who had destroyed their towns were still in the vicinity, Ol’ Harry led the shattered militia to the ruin of his old homestead, which was slightly more defensible and there he sits, desperate for information that would lead to revealing the identity of the raiders, all the while blaming his liege lord for his part in the tragedy.

Sir Harold “Ol’ Harry” Harefield - Hare (leader)

Sir Harold fought in the “King’s Royal Jumpers”, a regiment of Laporidae formed during the insurrection dubbed the Boarstown Flea Party, where the merchants of the town rebelled against a “parasitic tax” on their goods.

Sgt Bridget “Stripes” Badgersdottir - Badger (2iC)

Stripes is a ferocious fighter, devastated by the loss of her Sett and her family has vowed to protect her militia comrades with her life.

Maester Tobias Toadley - Toad (mage)

Maester Tobias is an inscrutable fellow, no one knows where his brilliant mind is at, at any one time. However, his loyalty to ol’Harry and the small band of survivors is absolutely crystal clear.

Scout Kevin Kingston - Kingfisher (small bird)

Kevin is an expert scout, using his skills to track the enemy. Used to working alone , he none the less loves his comrades and will do anything to keep the band safe.

Pvt Regina “Bucky” Runnerford - Rabbit (archer)

Bucky was a “happy-go-lucky” type of rabbit. Full of the joys of spring she would be ever ready to provide jokes or play pranks on the more serious members of the militia. Since the Night of Tears she has become more dour and serious, and longs for the day when ol’Harry leads them to the raiders who slaughtered her loved ones.

The Gobbo's Grotto Militia fought a series of skirmishes and as is my wont I wrote up a series of background stories to provide some added fluff for the campaign, and i've added them below just for fun.

Ol’ Harry sat on the gentle slopes of the hill overlooking the ruins of his homestead, melancholy gaze taking in the small orchard where he used to lovingly tend the summer apples before harvest. Now his ragged warband gathered the scattered fruit into baskets that showed scorch marks across their wicker sides. He sighed heavily, the expelled air whistling through his large front teeth creating an undertone that matched his mood. He had taken his rookie militia into the streets of the nearby market town in order to meet an old contact who may have a lead on the perpetrators of the raid against the citizens of Gobbo’s Grotto. Instead he had stumbled across a rampaging band of scum and villainy posing as respectable critters of the King. Caught off guard his band had been pummelled mercilessly, with even the mighty badger -sgt Stripes being pulled down under the weight of numbers! Poor scout Kingston had been hurt badly, losing an eye in the fight.

Licking their wounds, they had made their way back toward the Grotto, dragging poor Stripes on a litter. Unfortunately they had been set on again, this time by a pack of rabid hounds, who had taken advantage of his reduced circumstances, and broken poor Kevin’s arm as well as mauling his poor fellows. Harry had managed to knock one of the brigands out of the fight however, and they had dragged the cur from the battlefield for enhanced interrogation. Sadly the mangy mutt was addled or witless and knew nothing. Enraged by his failure to secure any information, Harry had swung his sword and executed the Pug on the spot.

Lost in his maudlin vigil, he barely registered the approach of the Maester, the toad Tobias. 

“I’m pleased to report that sgt Badgersdottir will be reporting for duty, sir!”he croaked. 

Harry nodded absently, pleased that the giant fighter would be back in harness but still unable to break his sullen mood.

The mage went on, “poor scout Kingston, has mended his wing and is able to fly again, but will never be able to shoot his bow again, I’m afraid”.

Again, Harry nodded, his gloom deepening.

“Good news though sir Harold” the warty amphibian enthused, “the slaves you freed from the Catminster Corrals have thrown in their lot with you, and wish to aid us in our campaign” 

Again Harry nodded, his ears perking up as he processed the news. There was no time to wallow, there was no rest for the weary warband, the restless dead urged him to find their killers and wreak their revenge…

“The name’s Fergus McFearson o’ the clan McFearson, and I’m in your debt….”

The thick Strath Clotan drawl pulled ol’Harry from his mental meanderings, and forced him to focus on the critter that slunk into the ransacked drawing room of the Hare’s ruined home. The tartan clad ferret then stood tall and proud, dressed in the looted plate armour and carrying the huge claymore of the pug prisoner Harry had executed. Stark contrast from the battered and dirty figure he’d cut when wearing the shackles of a slave not a fortnight ago, when the warband had freed him from the Catminster Corrals - a flesh market in that sinful town.

McFearson and the mysterious sparrow that had later introduced himself as Senor Sergio Santiago Sebastian Sanchez, had been on the brink of death at the hands of their cruel owner and only serious ministration from the Maester had brought them back to some semblance of health. Even so, for a week it had looked touch and go, and the toad mage had reported on more than one occasion that he would just end their lives swiftly and painlessly and ease them from their suffering. But now the former slaves had rallied and were in far better health than they had any right to expect and it pleased the veteran hare to see them recovered after all the recent sorrow.

“I hope ya dunnae mind, but we kitted us oot wit some gud gear from yoursens wee stash” McFearson stated, rather than asked. 

It took Harry a minute to unravel the ferret’s broad accent and nodded his approval, especially seeing the easy swing of the massive sword in the critter’s paws. He’d seen the sparrow sporting poor Kevin’s bow earlier that day, the kingfisher scout was too battered to carry the weapon anymore, and Senor Sanchez was proving to be as good with the bow as his avian brother ever was.

Harry sighed and stuck out his paw to the highlander 

“Welcome to the Gobbo’s Grotto Militia my friend, help us deliver our righteous vengeance and we’ll consider your debt paid in full.”

Sir Harry’s deep sigh seemed to emanate from the bottom of his tortured soul, so profoundly dark and troubled as it was. The clink of cold steel, a poignant counterpoint to his whistled exhalation, as the chain links of the heavy manacles that secured his forepaws drew taught. Fate was a fickle mistress, he mused darkly. Just a month ago he had executed the brainless hound his troops had captured in a random clash with a rival warband, and here he was languishing in another rivals stronghold. The same warband he hastened to add that had attacked the Grotto Militia weeks ago, while he was gathering intel from a contact regarding the mysterious group who had destroyed their homes. That thought battered around the inside of the veteran hare’s head, causing him to wonder if the two incidents were less random than had first appeared. Twice now the blasted “Remnants” had appeared from nowhere while his attention had been elsewhere and caused significant damage to the militia. This time while he had been fighting off some renegade royalists and almost single handedly putting the band to the sword.

Twice was more than a coincidence, this bordered on personal! He needed to get out of here, he needed to join up with his fellow militia members. But first he needed to use this time to mourn the death of the strange sparrow he had rescued from slavery, who had given his life to the cause. Then he would try to gather more intelligence about the “remnants”and their role in the sacking of the township of The Gobbo’s Grotto.  Harry sighed once again and looked at the very solid manacles that constrained him, despite his vulnerability, as a captive he was in a position of access to the very people who may have the answers he so desperately needed.

Sadly the warband did not win a single game and ultimately Ol' Harry was captured in his pursuit of the truth of what happened on the Night of Tears. Despite a valiant rescue effort by the rest of the militia, he was later executed by his vicious captors and the warband fell apart.

That's it for now though

hope you enjoy

dGG

The King's Royal Jumpers

Hi all,

In my last B&B post, I showed off the magnificent miniatures that comprised The Gobbo's Grotto Militia, led by Sir Harold "Ol' Harry" Harefield. As part of his background I mentioned his former regiment - The King's Royal Jumpers. 

This unit of Laporidae were an elite band, able to rapidly deploy and move around the battlefield by leaping over barricades and obstacles. The unit was formed during an insurrection dubbed the "Boarstown Flea Party", when the town's merchants rebelled against the Crown and it's imposition of a series of parasitic taxes that bled them dry. Boarstown, a wealthy trade hub vital to the Kingdom's economy ceded from Northymbria (according to the merchant council that "ruled" the town) and began spending its treasury on mercenaries to swell the town guard's ranks in anticipation of the King's response. Predictably that came within days of the newly dubbed Free City Of Boarstown throwing down the gauntlet. The Crown, wildly underestimating the speed with which the merchants could recruit and deploy their mercenaries, sent a couple of local militia bands to bring the rebels to heel. These part time soldiers were no match for the professional mercenary bands and were soon retreating with their tails tucked between their legs.

Shocked by this turn of events and desperate to nip the insurrection in the bud, before other regions of the kingdom would start to break away, the Crown began to recruit and organise it's own professional warbands to deal with the rebels and the King's Royal Jumpers were formed. During the following days and weeks the professional soldiers of both sides were involved in dozens of bloody clashes and atrocities were perpetuated by rebels and loyalists alike. Finally the city was brought back into the kingdom, but the butchers bill was so costly that it shook the region. Of the "Jumpers" original deployment of 50 hares and rabbits, only 5 remained. 

the remnants of the King's Royal Jumpers

So who are they?

Sir Harold "Ol' Harry" Harefield

You've already met Sir Harold, but here he is again as the commander of the Jumpers. Ol' Harry was a seasoned warrior when he was drafted into the Jumpers. The second son of the Lord of the Gobbo's Grotto, a small and sleepy hamlet far from the centre of power in the kingdom, he was expected to join the ranks of the King's Guard as all second sons were. Dutiful as always, he enlisted as soon as he came of age and spent many years fighting for his liege in numerous clashes on the borderlands with the wild tribes of  Strath Clotha. Following the death of his father, Harry expected to be recalled to his brother's side to assist him with the running of their ancestral lands. Before he reached home, he was asked to serve his King one more time to help quell the insurrection.

sir Leopold "Lightning" Lepwig

Sir Harold's right hand hare, Leopold was second in command of the Jumpers and a very stern hare indeed. Brutal in combat, he whirls his morning star with deadly efficiency and bloody finality. Fiercely loyal to the King, he was devastated when Harry retired to his farmstead in the Grotto following the insurrection.

Magus Heather Haretta

Magus Heather Haretta was assigned to the Jumpers to provide magical support. Despite her dreamy nature, she has a rod of steel running through her and more than once she has single pawingly saved the unit from complete disaster, healing her comrades and raining fire upon their enemies.

Sgt Heathcliff Hareson

The sarge, as he was called throughout the conflict, was the glue that held together the regiment during the campaign. Despite his gruff nature, he cared deeply for his comrades and literally bled to keep them safe. However, the conflict was too intense, the fights constant and bloody and at the end he barely clung to sanity at the huge loss suffered by the Jumpers, in fact if it wasn't for pvt Runnerford who would constantly tease and play jokes on the jaded hare, he would have gone insane. Following the insurrection, the sarge resigned his stripes and brought a tavern, where he has found a measure of peace, only broken by the occasional drunken brawl.

private Regina "Bucky" Runnerford

Regina's natural good humour and sense of joy, was imperative for the morale of the Jumpers. Despite the nasty nature of the conflict, she managed to emerge from the horrors intact and still have that love for life that she protected from all the day to day awfulness of the insurrection. Following Ol' Harry, Regina retired from the army to live in The Gobbo's Grotto, content to work as a courier/messenger for the veteran hare. Sadly the "Night of Tears" proved too much even for this robust rabbit and has changed her forever.

So that's it for the King's Royal Jumpers as I don't have any more Laporidae minis - yet!

hope you enjoy

dGG

Carnevale - the bridges of Venice

Hi all,

With the imminent arrival of Carnevale to da Grotto, it was time prepare the battleground! 

Carnevale is set in an alternative timeline, in the city of Venice. This northeastern Italian city is built over 126 islands separated by canals and open water, linked by 472 bridges and for nearly a thousand years was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Thanks to it's ports and central European location it was a dominant force from the 9th until the 17th centuries when, thanks to the rise of Western European countries such as Portugal, France and Great Britain and invoking the displeasure of the Ottoman Empire, it faced a long decline. In the alternative timeline - the year 1795 (2 years before Napoleon invaded and set about the destruction of Venice as a power in Italy), a great catastrophe engulfed the planet and "The Rent in the Sky" has caused cities to disappear below the waves and empires to crumble, creating a shift in geo-politics. Once again Venice has become one of the most influential cities of the world. Factions fight for influence, power and sometimes for the sheer fun of it, spilling blood into the streets and the canals of the once beautiful "Queen of the Adriatic".

So how am I going to represent the battlegrounds of Venice? Well years ago I made up these dungeon/sewer tiles from thick MDF and XPS foam for a dungeon crawler game I designed. So they will be repurposed and used as the basis of my board. Each tile is 12 inches squared and covered by either 1" squares cut into the foam or canals filled with resin. They were perfect for the dark/murky canals of Carnevale. Unfortunately, I only made one bridge for the game as it was a pinch point for the dungeon crawler. As Carnevale is played over 3 foot x 3 foot boards, this left a lot of canal that needed crossing and a lot of space to fill with buildings and terrain for an immersive game.

my blank(ish) canvas

So first things first, another bridge or two was needed and some simple crossings to give the gangs some ability to move across the board. Now because Carnevale is very much a movement based game, with a Parkour type mechanism that encourages risk taking and characters to leap from building to building etc. I wanted plenty of places for them to land and jump off from.  Time to get the XPS out and build some bridges...

my first effort was a simple stone bridge

and some rickety wooden pilings

excuse the alligator, not really part of any faction, but a legacy of the old sewer build

these were really quick to build and to get onto the table, but I felt like I needed to do something a bit more imposing. So I looked at the source material and wanted to do a "tower bridge" type crossing. Out comes the XPS and this time some coffee stirrers. Venetian architecture definitely revolves around "the arch" so that definitely had to feature, also the post cataclysm Venice did not escape unharmed from the event - although nowhere near the devastation of other nations, it still nonetheless has a lot of patchwork repairs or ruined parts. I wanted the bottom part of the bridge to show the solid stone foundations and arches of the old city, but the makeshift wooden structures of the current city.

and voila!!

I think it came out pretty well, with plenty of height and launching points for the parkour side of the game. The doors on the external ground floor and internal upper floors represent an inner stairwell, allowing less agile folks to gain some access/altitude.

That's it for now, next time the rest of the buildings and the whole board reveal.

hope you enjoy

dGG

The scourge of the Northymbrian coast

hi all,

Following on from last week, I literally just finished the last of my newest warband for Burrows & Badgers so thought I would showcase them. With all of my warbands there is some crossover with other models, which is a testament to the utility of this beautiful miniature range.

the crew of the "Black Cutlass"

Up and down the Northymbrian coast and the lands beyond, pirates lay waste to settlements, disrupt shipping and plunder the wealth of the Kingdom. The Black Cutlass is one of those talked about in hushed tones by the common folk of Northymbria. Swift as lightning, the reavers of the "Cutlass" sweep through the villages and monasteries of the coast, causing mayhem and leaving chaos in their wake.

Oswald Otter and Olive Otter - large animals

The Otter siblings, Oswald and Olive provide the crew with some much needed muscle. Otters are strong animals, which add to the damage their heavy blades can cause. Oswald also carries a pistol, with Olive sporting a sling meaning that both can offer some ranged options as well. In fact all of the crew carry a mix of both hand and ranged weapons, meaning that they are very versatile in the way they can deploy.

Pierre Polecat - medium animal

Pierre is a very ambitious animal indeed, as the Third Mate of the Black Cutlass, he is the lowest officer on the ship, but he has his eye on bigger things.  This unfortunately is being hampered by the Second Mate - Roland and his ever vigilant bodyguard Reggie. These canny black rats always seem to be one step ahead and thwart his every move. However, this hasn't stopped him dreaming of someday climbing the ranks.

Reggie Rat and Roland (yes i know) Rat - medium animals

First Mate "Salty" Sam Shrew and Sal Shrew - small animals

First Mate "Salty" Sam is the 2nd in command of the Black Cutlass, this wily shrew has maintained his position through sheer viciousness. He knows how ambitious Pierre is and encourages the rivalry between him and Roland, figuring that the more energy they expend on each other, the less they have to turn in his direction.

Captain Percival Puffin - large bird

Finally we have the main erm.. man, Capt Percival (who may or may not look like a certain other captain). Capt Percival comes from a rather more lawful lineage than one would expect from one of the most feared pirate captains in the kingdom. Youngest scion of the Bebbanburg Puffin family, Percival was a bird without a position in society. His eldest brother Ponsiby, the heir to the family estates was always needling him to make something of himself, and the second son - Pinot was a fancy captain in a special Royal guard unit and looked down his beak at his wastrel kin. One fateful night, in a seedy gambling den somewhere in the bowels of Bebbanburg, Percival found himself in a high stakes card game with a grizzled brown rat. After a long, tense night Percival was sat behind stacks of coins, his opponent looking shiftily at his cards and back at the massive pot and licking his lips. With the hook that had replaced his right paw, the massive rat pushed a scrap of paper across the scarred table. 

"Its the deed to me ship" he drawled in a raspy, whiskey ravaged voice. 

Percival, deadpan with a sigh that gave off a worried air, reluctantly nodded. 

With a flourish the pi-rat threw down his cards in triumph, one paw reaching for the pot. Percival lifted a flight feather in a "wait" motion and deliberately placed his winning hand down on the table a card at a time. A hush fell in the crowded tavern as the puffin began scooping the coins and the piece of paper into his hat. Looking up he looked across the scarred table and down the barrel of a large pistol. The huge rat grinned a nasty smile and pulled the trigger. As the smoke cleared, Percival swivelled his head and looked at the huge chunk of wood that had splintered out of the booth behind him. With an evil smirk that matched the one the rat had worn, the puffin reached for his own pistol...

hope you enjoy

dGG

Burrows and Badgers - warbands part 1

hi all,

Years and years ago, I was at Salute and I was perusing the stalls and generally having a good nose at all the fantastic products on show. When I come across a small independent merchant with an absolute belter of game, where anthropomorphic animals fought skirmishes. There were mouse knights and shrew beserkers facing off against fox rogues and crafty rats, I had discovered Burrows and Badgers from Oathsworn. At that time, I was very into Bushido and had spent pretty much my whole budget at GCT and Hasslefree Miniatures, which meant that sadly I couldn't afford the beautiful miniatures on offer, so with great reluctance walked away, with sad backwards glances.

Fast forward to about 18 months ago and I start reattending TWC, my local games club and what do I find? a thriving Burrows and Badgers community! oh hell yeah!! I jumped in with both feet and purchased my first warband made up purely of models I liked the look of... It was a disaster - not because the models aren't amazing because they really are lush, or because of Oathsworn because they have literally the best customer service I have ever experienced in the hobby (massive shout out to the Lovejoys for being a positive force in this hobby). Nope it was a disaster because it had no shape, synergy, composition - but boy did it look good.  Since then I've been absolutely hooked and every couple of months I order a few more models and have built up quite a selection. So I thought I'd show a few off over the next couple of weeks.

First up is the second warband I bought, this time it had a theme, can you guess what it is?

The Flying Squad, a special unit formed the ranks of the Royalist factions of Northymbria

l-r Capt Pinot (Pelican - large bird), Sgt Ottis (Owl - large raptor),
Magis Rosie (Raven - massive bird), Big Red (Red Kite - massive raptor)

l-r Scotty (Sparrow - small bird), Simon (Sparrow), Kevin (Kingfisher - small bird)
Cpl Solomon (Sparrow Hawk - medium raptor), Stella (Starling - medium bird)

Magis Bernard (Bat - small animal)

Next up is a warband from the wilds of Strath Clota, wearing their famous tartan, these fierce warriors raid the towns and villages of Northymbria. Incidentally, the tartan is actually my family tartan on my maternal side.

l-r, Sandy (Squirrel - medium animal), Clara (Cat - medium animal),
Harry (Hedgehog - medium animal)

l-r, Fergus (Ferret - medium), Wilhamena (Wildcat - large animal),
Haggis (Hound - medium)

l-r, Scotty (Sparrow - small bird), Maggie (mouse - small), Mervin (mouse - small)

that's it for this week,

hope you enjoy

dGG

Mansions of Madness

 hi all,

A late post and a very quick one as we go into traditional winter pressures in the NHS and my work/life balance tips toward the work side.

In a fit of complete laziness (and long suffering despair of knowing what I want for xmas and my birthday, which is only 4 days after!), my wife has just let me go mad with some board game companies currently holding a Black Friday event and I must admit I went to town - that town being Innsmouth!

To that I have managed to secure Mansions of Madness base game and 3 of the 5 expansions. For those of you who don't know, MoM is a game produced by Fantasy Flight Games and is a horror type game styled by the works of Lovecraft in a Cthhuluesque setting. It is for 1-5 players playing cooperatively to investigate a series of scenarios that pit them against a sinister cult and it's nefarious minions. The game is run by a free to purchase app and its the app that decides the layouts and obstacles/opponents that you will face and each replay is slightly different, allowing for multiple replays of the same scenario. It also allows for solo play, which is appealing to me due to my awkward hours restricting my access to my games club. Thankfully my wife allowed me take the miniatures from the games early so i can get painting - gotta love that woman!

So far I have only painted the investigators and one of the main antagonists, but they do look splendid!

hope you enjoy

dGG