Some palm trees added to my naval terrain...

Hey all!

Well, way back at Cold Wars, I found a great vendor at one of the flea market tables... they were selling little plastic baggies of trees and the like.

One of the things I got was a baggie of palm trees, with the idea of using them to flesh out my naval terrain... so, I did!

Here are a selection of islands with the trees added.  I kept two groups of three on their original bases, with a bit of paint around the edges to match the shorelines... I figure they will be useful as tiny little offshoots of main islands.

Overall I'm really happy with how they look... the scale is right, and you REALLY do need palm trees for these sorts of islands to look right!

My repurposed "Pirates of the Spanish Main" fleets

Hey all!

Well, I thought I'd share my repurposed "Pirates of the Spanish Main" fleets!

I made up two fleets, with bases, for a new set of rules I am cobbling together (which, so far, are working out well!)  It makes use of the Star Wars: Armada movement tool.... hence the notches in the bases.  Above is the Pirate fleet... one First Rate ship, two Third Rate ships, two Fifth Rate ships, and two Sloops.  (Note: those are designations I use in my game, not strict naval history ones!)

Here is the other fleet, the "fleet of Civilization" (i.e. Brits and Spanish.)  It has the same breakdown as the Pirate fleet.  Honestly, you wouldn't use them all in a game; you'd probably only use three or four ships or so, but it is nice to have some variety available.

First naval game played

Hey all!

Well, a buddy came by last night, and we played two games of a new set of naval rules that I am working on.

The fight was pretty simple... each of us had a 1st rate, a 3rd rate, a 5th rate, and a sloop.  He sailed the the sloop "Defiant," the 5th rate "Bounty," the 3rd rate "Headstrong," and his flagship was the "Argonaut."  I had (in the same order) the "Surprise," "Venus," "Harpy," and "Dauntless."  Crews were of average size; he had some pirate crews, and I had some marines, but otherwise it was the same.

Above is the first turn.  My fleet is on the left.  I sent the Venus around the smaller island with an idea towards boarding the enemy (the Venus gives you a reroll on boarding, and I had some marines on board.)  The Harpy and the Dauntless went towards the middle, while the Surprise headed off towards the other flank.  

Turn two.  Uh oh... the Argonaut and Bounty all head towards my poor sloop, who hopes to sneak by without getting too badly hammered.  I get the Harpy and Dauntless into line to cross the T on the incoming Headstrong and Defiant (which isn't as terrible as it could be for the Headstrong, which gets to roll double dice for its bow chaser.)

The Surprise tries to get past the oncoming enemy, firing away as it does.

The Dauntless and the Harpy prepare to fire.

I forgot to take photos for a while!  Well, this is later in the battle.  The Harpy has the Headstrong and Argonaut cross right in front of her, and gets absolutely pummeled by cannon fire.

Here that fight is again.  I eventually rammed the Argonaut and tried to take it, but unfortunately it didn't work out, and my crew was decimated and eventually surrendered.

So the rules seemed to REALLY work.  They need a little tweaking (I am thinking about changing up a tiny bit how many times you can fire/do stuff, and the crew is a little vulnerable right now to shooting.)  But overall I was really happy with them, ESPECIALLY with how movement, speed, and damage to sails is represented... I made some FANTASTIC little markers that I am not ready to share yet (they aren't all painted up) but when they are done, I'll share them and maybe the rules too.  Super, super simple, but they seem like they really work.

Anyway... a new era for The House of War, and I hope people enjoy!

A Naval table... finished in two hours!

Hey all!

Well, my neighbor was throwing out a perfectly good round wooden tabletop this morning... so, I finally made up the naval board I wanted!

It features some Pirates of the Spanish Main ships that I have (I have a bunch more) that I touched up, and my old islands, which I redid the sand on (thank god.)

I plan to make a little simple set of rules for them, borrowing the movement tool from Star Wars Armada... it should be a fun little game.  Simple, but fun.  Now I just need people to try it out!:)

Anyway, I had wanted to do this for a LONG long time, and I'm glad I can showcase a new period and game at the House of War.  I am at the point where I need another table... and I may have something in mind.  I'll share more another time:)

Thanks for coming by!

First game of Pirates of the Spanish Main

Hey all!

Got a game of Pirates of the Spanish Main in, so thought I'd share a few photos.  I made one or two changes (didn't use crew for this game, and I also made a range ruler that increased the ranges by a bit... felt that the old white/red card sides were a little too short... but I kept the same ratio between them) but otherwise we used the regular rules.

I finished the islands just recently, and after placing them I do think they turned out basically fine... not great, but fine.  In the first photo above you can see one of my pirate ships looming up on a docked enemy... I got close enough that my ship took fire, but in a horrific display of poor rolling the enemy didn't so much as put a hole in my hull.

I, in return, sheered the masts off in one massive volley, and in the next turn I simply sank the derelict ship with another broadside.

After some pretty spectacular fire my opponent and I pass each other in the ocean, each towing an enemy derelict!

My enemy proceeded to repair my own ship fully and sail it against me!

Here is one of my ships, collecting gold from an island guarded by a fort... this full shipment of gold won the game for me when I returned to my home island!

So... that's that!  It was a fun little game.  There are changes I'd make to the game to make it last a bit longer (for example, the cannon hit a little too easily...) but overall it is a fun game.  Wish I could play it more often!

And in that spirit... well... nevermind, I'll save it for my next post;)  Stick around!