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Saturday, June 21, 2014

Picts & Brits for Dux Britanniarum

Hugh and I started a Dux Britanniarum (DB) campaign last year.  The campaign had a nice symmetry, with my Britons and his Anglo-Saxons alternating as victors.  The end came unexpectedly when the Saxon warlord failed to make a tribute payment to his king at year's end.  Displeased, the King declared Hugh an outlaw.

Hugh reveled in his outlaw status but it came with a catch.  He faced a "must win" battle to regain the King's favor. Losing meant his warband would melt away and the end of the campaign.  Our final battle started with the Saxons catching my Britons fording a river. Rallying from a bad start, I enjoying a run of luck that sent the Saxons packing.

Hugh lived out his days as a fugitive, despised by all. I was hoisted onto the shoulders of my victorious Britons for a celebration we hoped might last until the end of days.  Then came reports of new raiders at our shores. Proving that trouble comes in threes, the Irish, Scotti and Picts are raiding our fine lands. I'm getting the (war) band back together to send our enemies off.

Up today is a Pict Lord and his chariot for the DB raiders expansion.  The chariot is tricked out with 6 severed heads and another to spare. Apparently, 6 heads just wouldn't do for this Pict Lord.



I also painted up missile troops for both sides to buff out our DB forces.  The fellows in cloaks double as Picts or Scoti, and the rest art Britons.  All figures are Gripping Beast, including the chariot.


I'm really looking forward to a new DB campaign.  I love the RPG-like Big Man elements built into the campaign, and the way the IGO UGO turn is busted up with cards activating each unit on the table, and influencing events. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the new Pict lord trying to collect another head for his chariot.

41 comments:

  1. Awesome! really nice "Matt" colors you used here Monty, the flocking look good as well.
    curious, what is the base size of the chariot?
    I just love those severed heads :o)

    cheers,

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    1. Thanks Phil! I custom cut a base to fit the chariot and horses. It's approx 20mm x 45mm. Those heads would make a terrible noise, knocking around on the chariot.

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  2. Beautiful chariot and figures Monty, I agree with Phil about about the severed heads - Love them!

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    1. Thanks Jason! I think the heads make this one. It would put me off, seeing this monstrosity chase me down on a battlefield. ;-)

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  3. Very nice job, I am hoping to start a dux campaign once we finish the Longstreet campaign.

    John

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    1. John! We share the same taste for TFL rules. I think you'll really enjoy them. I just love a good campaign.

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  4. Fantastic brushwork, Monty!

    The red capped archers are especially well done and the charioteer looks to be racing "to get a head!"

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    1. Jonathan, thanks! A big LOL on the race. Chariots are in the air it seems.Your biblical chariots, Satrap's biblicals and this madman.

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  5. Wow, this is some excellent painting Monty! I really like missile troops – the tartans on the raiders looks great – and the chariot is mighty impressive.

    Looking forward to hearing more about your campaign too.

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    1. Thanks Jonas, I'm looking forward to hearing how your 3 force campaign plays out!

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  6. Lovely or should I say gruesome work on the chariot Monty! Dux B, is a lot of fun!

    Nick and I have not officially closed our campaign, but my Saxon Warlord is already a king and it looks highly unlikely that Nick's Romano British Warlord can reverse the trend so we might officially close the campaign soon. We are thinking of starting a new campaign, but maybe try using SAGA rules for the skirmish encounters as we are fans(like you) of that system, but are undecided.

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks Christopher! I do love every TFL product I've tried so far. If you've reached the level of King, it would be hard to get you off the thrown. Well done!

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  7. Bloody lovely chariot Monty and those Irish always causing trouble!

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  8. This chariot really looks awesome. The missile troops look great also.

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    1. Thanks Moiterei! Even though we're half a world apart, we're facing a similar challenge. I'm sitting in my painting room, the hottest in the house. It really saps one's painting mojo. A cold beer is calling and when I answer that call, I'll be done for the day. ;-)

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  9. Spiffing work Monty. The chariot is gorgeous.

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    1. Thanks Michael! I'm not sure of the wisdom in riding around with no hands.

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  10. Lovely Picts and Late Romans Monty. Dux Brittaniarum is a great set of rules, really ideal for campaigns.

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    1. Thanks Cyrus, I do love DB. They make for a great campaign vehicle!

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  11. Most impressive paint work on the chariot Monty, and the archers are gorgeous...and what can I say about the tartans? I have no words!
    Excellent!!!!

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  12. Great work as always, Monty. The chariot is particularly nice. Dean

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    1. Thanks Dean! I want to run Picts, just so I can run the chariot.

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  13. That chariot is a thing of beauty Sir!

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  14. Very nice work on the chariot, Monty!

    I think that a case might be made for the reintroduction of the chariot. The chariot has a certain panache not found in modern conveyances. And if you had one of those scythed Pontic numbers, you really could cut someone off in traffic!

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    1. Mithridates, he was a man who was not afraid to bring back the scythed chariot. It didn't work out against the Romans but I like his, and your thinking!

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  15. Looking good. Sounds like a great game as well.
    cheers

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  16. Very nice figures. Good paintjob, Monty.
    Especially those matt colours are excellent.

    By the way I finally got the recipe for the "Altbierbowle". I'll translate it and send it to you soon.

    Cheers
    Stefan

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    1. Stefan, that would be so cool! Looking forward to it. The weather is just right for a good alcoholic beverage!

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  17. Marvelous additions Monty! I'm quite curious about the DB rules, but at the moment I remain safely oblivious. :-)

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    1. When we get together, remind me and I'll bring the rules down so you can thumb through them. The maps are exquisite, the Big Man element is just cool, and the campaign system almost runs itself.

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  18. Superb looking figures! Looking forward to following this campaign, the previous one sounds great. Cheers, Paul :-)

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    1. Thanks Paul, and on top of this, our FoG group just voted to do a fall/winter SAGA campaign. Now lets see if either of these campaigns are seen through to the finish! ;-)

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  19. They look fabulous. They have a great late roman look to them!

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    1. Thanks Burkhard! I did try to lift a bit of the late Roman look without being an exact copy. ;-)

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  20. Great painting, and glad to hear your campaign went well. I'm all in for this era too, but I'm working on tweaking the DB and SAGA rules to do some Trojan War-era sea-borne raiding, w/ Big Men and campaign elements. And more chariots!

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    1. That is very clever Christopher, please do post up your TW forces for us to see. I'm working to get a friend of mine to port DB to a Viking- Rus campaign so he can use his only 28mm forces. It could be done with a minimum of work. Your port sounds much more challenging!

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