The first figure for 1588

It hasn't all been splinter cam and field grey in the last few days. In between colours on the fallshirmjager I thought I'd paint up a test figure from the Sgt Major Minis Border Reivers.

Senor Geraldo Lopez

So here is a Spanish sword and buckler man, ready to create mischief for the Virgin Queen and her domain. He doesn't have a particularly original name, but then Spanish is not really my language.
Next post will be Fallshirmjager.

Nate

1588 - phase one

The first phase of this project is to get two posses up and running. The two that I am focusing on are an English posse and a Spanish one. This makes sense considering the background to 1588.  You've already been introduced to a couple of the characters, but here is a little more info about them.

The Seething Lane Special Agency
Recruited by Francis Walsingham, these men are chosen as field operatives in defence of the realm against the most insidious threats to Her Majesty. They are tough, brutal, intelligent and utterly loyal, ready to do their master's bidding. They have no official titles or status, operating in the shadows.

The man responsible for the recruitment of the Special Agency

The Captain of these men is Henry 'Harry' Charlton. The last of five sons born to a relatively impoverished border family, he was the scapegoat when the March Warden needed to deal with two families after a raid ended in bloodshed. Some rumours say that he wasn't actually a scapegoat, but was indeed the culprit. Either way, he was shipped off in 1572 to be a 'volunteer' with the English in the Netherlands at the tender age of 16. There are those that say that he became involved with a Flemish girl, and that her murder by Spanish troops left him with a lifelong hatred of Spain and the Counter-reformation.

The Spanish at work in the Netherlands

He also caught the eye of Sir Philip Sidney, whom he saved from an assassination attempt. It is believed that it was Sidney who brought Charlton to the attention of Francis Walsingham.

Alongside Charlton is his friend, Owain Williams, who came to be in the Netherlands through very similar circumstances to Harry. A small man, Williams is incredibly skillful with a main-gauche, and there are few who can survive a duel with him.

Amongst the party is also Jeremiah Godley, a big, dour Puritan, dressed in black and given to talking only in recited Biblical verse. Fervent, powerful and utterly loyal, he is also a total killjoy during drinking sessions. This means that no-one in the agency likes him very much, but they do respect him.

There are times when a female operative is absolutely imperative. The agency can call on the talents of Alice Ryddell. This auburn beauty is deadly with a rapier or dagger, happily dispatching any enemy she comes across. She is also highly intelligent and a superb undercover operative.

Nicholas Stark-Raven is not as formidable as his colleagues in hand to hand combat, but his knowledge of the occult and alchemy make him invaluable.

Alongside these personalities are a number of Men of the Shadows, tough brawlers and wily operatives.

His most Catholic Majesty's Avanzada
Infiltrated into England to stir up local resistance to Queen Elizabeth; carry out sabotage, espionage and assassination missions; and protect the Jesuit Priests operating throughout the land, the Avanzada are some of Spain's most trusted and skillful operatives.

The enemy!

Their leader is Hernando Garcia Ferrero de Leon, a veteran of Lepanto and the Army of Flanders. Although of humble birth, Garcia was made a commander of men. The promise of nobility upon his return from a successful mission in England is a key driver for the man, as is his insistence that God is on his side. It is said that there is no finer swordsman in all of Europe.

Lepanto 1571 - Garcia is on the third galley from the right at the rear of the picture

With Garcia is Jose Lopez, a big brutal man who swings a halberd as though it were a fine rapier. He exudes an air of menace.

Gonzalez Esperito is a man of great charm. The archetypal spy, Esperito's suave tongue hides the fact that he is just as swift with a rapier.

Padre Ignacio is a Jesuit Priest who has also been known to be quite handy with a dagger when necessary. His presence can spur on the Avanzada in combat.

Accompanying these characters is a mixture of Spanish veterans and Catholic English supporters.

So these are the two posses I've come up with so far. As I paint them and tool them up for whichever rules I decide to use I'm sure their stories will develop and change, but I have a foundation.

Phase Two will see the introduction of a supernatural warband - witches are a definite, and probably a necromancer or vampire lord. But that is for the future. I'll get Phase One complete first.

Nate

1588 - the rules

At present the rules for this project are still in consideration. I could write my own, but I'd rather not reinvent the wheel if I can find what I want off the shelf. A few options are the following:

Flashing Steel by Andrew Boswell and Greg Hallam - Ganesha Games

This set of rules is written for swashbuckling and derring-do. Using the standard Ganesha Games engine from Song of Blades and Heroes it gives a simple, quick and fun game. Chrome is added with special rules rather than tooling around with the basic character stats. Game play is 8-15 figures a side, so perfect for what I'm looking at. The chance turnover of the active player from failed activation rolls is an attractive feature for solo games.
At the moment this is the leader in my considerations.

En Garde by Craig Woodfield - Osprey Wargames

This is brand spanking new this month, and one the shopping list for post-Xmas purchases. Apparently based on the same system as Craig's Ronin skirmish game, this promises to be more granular than Flashing Steel. It looks like it would use a similar number of figures and there is supposed to be an appendix looking at adding in supernatural characters, which works well for where I'm thinking this project will head.

Lord of the Rings by Games Workshop

The reason that this is in here is because of  Tim Eagling from the Spirit of the Game club. Tim has been working on his 1588 and all that project for some time, which looks at an alternative history where England is invaded by the Spanish in 1588. The website is inspirational, as are the 3 articles that he published in Wargames Illustrated a couple of years back. Tim came up with stats for the LotR rules for his project and has done the hard work already, although my characters will need some work. The beauty of using this rules set would be that I'm also using it for Star Wars and for... errr... Lord of the Rings.

Galleys and Galleons from Ganesha Games

These are the only rules that have been decided on. There may be some sea fights required in certain scenarios, and this is the set I will use to fight them out. Using the Song of Blades system but heavily modified, I've only read through these the once, but they seem perfect for what I want.

So there we have it. Have I missed something obvious? I like simple and I like quick and I like suitability for solo play, so if you can think of anything else that fits, let me know.

Nate

1588 - the figures

Having decided to put this project together the first question that came to mind was what figures to use. Well that one was easy - the Vendel Miniatures Border Reivers that I sold a couple of years ago. OK, so I would need to replace them. It turns out that there is no Vendel Miniatures any more. The range has been sold to Sergeant Major Miniatures. This is annoying because postage from the US is always more than the equivalent from Royal Mail. Never mind, I have duly ordered the Maxwell clan. It could just as well have been the Johnstones - the name isn't as important as the quantity of figures - 16 foot and 4 cavalry, all in various poses. This will give me the guts of the posses that I need (I've used the word posse rather than faction or unit for a bit of period flavour).

An example of the SMM (ex Vendel) figures.

OK, so that is the rank and file taken care of. Now, the characters. No contest here. These three packs from Wargames Foundry:

The only thing about Foundry is that they are like buying gold figures, not white metal ones. Nonetheless, I'm committed to this project and so NZ$100 for 18 figures sounds entirely reasonable...

But I'd like some civilians too, just for a bit of window dressing and NPCs who might need rescuing. 

Foundry don't do these, but their sister company Casting Room Miniatures does:

These chaps (and chapess) have duly been ordered. But are five civvies enough? I don't think so. This is where the Assault Group can come to the rescue. Now unfortunatley I can't post photos of their figures, but I can link to them here:

Tudor Crowd I

Tudor Crowd II

Tudor Crowd III

Blackadder and gang

The Assault Group also has Gloriana herself, in armour astride her warhorse.

So that is the figure sourcing for the humans. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.
The other figures have already been bought - the ships for Galleys and Galleons in 1/2400 scale, just in case I get the mood to take to the seas for a full on naval battle.

The entire project so far

Above you can see my one completed galleon and a feisty female with obligatory ripped dress. She was part of a pirates haul I got a number of years back and she's just been sitting around ever since. I splotched some paint on her last night. I think she works quite well for the period.

The second phase will be to start expanding into some supernatural posses - undead and witches are the two definites for the future.

Nate

1588

I have a new project in the works. I'll reveal a bit more about it as it comes together, but just imagine In her Majesty's Name set in Elizabethan times. In the meantime, I beg your indulgence as you wade through the drivel that passes for the introduction to my fictional world:

Henry Charlton cursed under his breath as he wiped the rain from his eyes. Despite his oiled leather cloak the cold water was still running down his neck and back, and his hands numbed under his gauntlets. He looked up at the shadow of the manor house in front of him. There was no sign of light in the windows, although he knew that there would be guards behind the heavy oak doors, keeping each other awake in the hallway. It would be virtually impossible to hear anything happening between the heavy downpour of the rain and the howling gusts of wind. Only a madman would be abroad in this weather.

‘Fourth window to the left of the door, Harry.’ The Welsh accent came in a whisper, but could still be heard above the weather. Charlton turned to make out the dark figures behind him. At their front was Owain Williams, a man he would trust with his life. They had been together since they were both sixteen year olds in the Netherlands, brought to each other’s side by a justice system that was just as arbitrary in the highlands of Wales as it was in the Northern borders.

The small party of four moved stealthily to the window. Charlton pulled out his dirk and slid it between the shutters, prising them apart. The unlatched window behind was easily opened just as he had been told it would be. As he and his men scrambled through the opening he marvelled again at the way Walsingham’s plans always worked out. He had been the man’s rough and ready agent for several years now, and no assignment had ever been left to chance. It couldn’t be. Elizabeth’s enemies were many and England was in peril – no more so than in this year of the Great Enterprise. Not that he needed any extra motivation to kill Spaniards – their actions during his time in the Netherlands had given him more than enough reason. And now, here, in the heart of England, were traitors ready to throw open the doors to welcome King Philip, Parma and thousands of their brutal veterans.

No-one speaking, all the men moved through the darkness to where they knew the door would be. This part needed to be executed with celerity. Behind the door would be two guards. Owain and young Edmund were the men assigned to silence them while Charlton and Dick moved up the stairs to the entrance of the Priest hole. With a quick look the four men moved into action. The door swung open.

It was immediately obvious that something was wrong. There were no guards. There was no staircase. The hackles raised on Henry Charlton’s back.

‘I don’t have a good feeling about this, Harry.’

‘You and me both, Owain.’

‘Señor Charlton is it?’ The four men spun to where the voice had come from but there was no-one there. Only the wall at the end of the corridor where the stairs were meant to be. In a moment the bricks before them seemed to melt away and collapse and Harry realised that it had been a prop – a painted sheet that had blended into the darkness. Now standing there were half a dozen men armed with pistols and swords.

‘I am Hernando Garcia, special emissary to his most Catholic Majesty King Felipe. It will be very pleasing to my King and cause to inform him of your death.’

In a heartbeat the four men were a blur of motion. Spanish pistols fired in a great burst of smoke and noise, and steel struck steel as the melee commenced. Charlton lined up Garcia, who only barely managed to bring up his guard in time.

‘Your King will have to wait a bit longer, because whenever I die, Spaniard, it won’t be today!’

More info about the project later.

Nate