Warrior Monks for Ronin

In college, I saw Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" for the first time in a film study class.  It sparked my interest in the Age of Samurai and from there, I watched nearly all of his majestic films. Years later, my fascination was rekindled with the PC wargame "Shogun: Total War."  It was a masterpiece of thematic music, 3D graphics, small vignettes and a good AI.  On top of that, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts periodically displays a collection of Samurai weapons and armor.  My son and I always stop to stare at the oversized yari and naginata.  Lately though, the Samurai era has fallen off my plate. I have no Samurai figures or armies, hardly any books on the subject and no boardgames either.

I took this commission hoping it might of rekindle my interest. The figures are for Ronin, a skirmish wargame set in 16th century feudal Japan.  It's described as providing the flavor and excitement of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo." That sounds like my kind of game and I hope to try Ronin before the year is out. 

All the robes were done in triads but my color jumps were tight, perhaps too tight.  Yellow was the usual pain in the arse but the finished product is quite bright and pleasing to the eye. I think my faces are getting better as I break them into smaller sections. The North Star Military Figures are superb but quite challenging to paint.  There's a lot going on with each figure.  One buntai (squad?) down, one bunch of Samurai to go.

I also painted up some oxen for my friend Mark. I didn't base them up as he has Dark Age carts waiting for them.  I'm looking forward to seeing these in our SAGA games over the summer.

This last week was a big one for my son, the composer.  Over spring, Grant wrote a wonderful programmatic piece called The Triumvirate for percussion trio.  The piece has 3 movements, each representing a member of the First Triumvirate of Crassus, Pompey and Caesar. During the final movement, (Caesar), a drummer yells out "The die is cast" in Latin and the Pompey theme mixes with the Caesar theme, as they battle for dominance.  As a huge fan of history, I was thrilled to see these great men of history come to life in this composition.  With this piece, Grant was chosen as one of 7 BMI Young Composer Award winners for 2014.  BMI flew him to New York City for an all expenses paid trip and ceremony. He's the fellow in the front with the yellow shirt.  I don't think his feet have touched the ground since!

Follow the draco, Dacians done

If camps had titles, this would be "Mopping Up." I decided early on to use the ambush and annihilation of Legio V as inspiration for my Dacian camp. Luckily, I had just enough spare Xyston lead to pull it off. Two of the Roman shields are mangled to reflect damage from the dreaded falx.  The downed legionaries and Dacians were doused with Citadel blood.  A falxman is running around with the Legio V elephant standard.

Field Fortifications:  I've had this resin kit for awhile.  I painted it up in case it might be useful in a scenario with the Romans.  Nice kit by Hovels, Ltd.   

Command Stands:  I used a spare Khurasan Miniatures Sarmatian horseman to represent my Sarmatian allied leader. That way, he won't get mixed up with the Dacian commanders. The dracos do pop nicely on the bases.

Dacians marched into the battle accompanied by boar-headed trumpets and the draco. The hollow dragon's head was mounted on a pole with a fabric tube attached. When filled with wind, the draco make a shrill sound.  Proving once again the Romans never let a good idea slip by, scholars believe the Romans adopted the draco following their conquest of the Dacians.

To wrap up the Dacian project, I can think of no better finish than the picture below.  King Decebalus lead his Dacian tribes and allies against Rome in multiple wars.  When the end came, Decebalus took his own life rather than face a humiliating captivity and parade down the streets of Rome.  In 1994, a Romanian businessman and historian commissioned a statute of Decebalus. 40 meters high, the monument is carved into a rocky bank of the Danube. The first time I came across this picture, I thought it was something from Lord of the Rings.  Instead, it is magnificent tribute to an amazing figure from ancient history.

The Shield, Dacian edition

Painting shields for ancient armies can be a challenge, with the first question being "what should the shields look like?"  For some armies, the painting trail is well established. There's a wealth of material on Roman shields for color and style. Iberian shields? There's a baseline for colors and geometric styles. There's lots of reference material for Greek and Celtic shields as well. Dacian shields are a different story.  I looked at the Little Big Man Studios website for ideas, and also Trajan's column.  What I found was unpaintable in 15mm.

Then I stumbled across an old post on the Iron Mitten blog. Secundus drew highly stylized animal figures for his Celtic shields, much like the Uffington White Horse. Animals were worked around the shield boss with an elongated neck,  or legs, or antlers. Following the trail Secundus blazed, I painted one animal figure, then another and another.  BINGO!  It's simple but looks quite nice in 15mm.

Javelinmen: Medium foot javelinmen make up the backbone of my Dacian army.  They're undrilled average impact foot.  Like most "barbarian" foot in Field of Glory, they must disrupt the enemy at impact or else struggle in melee. Dacian foot is portrayed as javelinmen because archaeological evidence reveals many spearheads & javelins but not many swords.  Then again, Emperor Trajan may have had his legionaries collect all the Dacian swords after subjugating them.

Skin tones for the shirtless lads was done with 2 highlights. The Dacians are one of Old Glory's best  lines. Great sculpts, very little cleanup required and a huge variety of poses.

Skirmishing Javelinmen: These skirmishers have a crucial role in my Dacian army.  Falxmen are vulnerable to missile fire as they carry a 2 handed falx and no shield.  I'll need the skirmishers to protect the falxmen from missile fire until they're ready to go in.

Archers: Medium foot archers have a roll to play in my army as well.  I'm going to run my javelinmen warriors in large 12 base units.  6 bases of archers can provide rear support to 2 large units of javelinmen. My javelinmen need rear support and a general leading from the front to have a prayer against legionaries.

During Trajan's campaign, it was reported that the Dacians placed well-camouflaged archers in trees to snipe Roman officers.  I figured green was a good color for tree-sniping archers.

Sarmatians & more

In Field of Glory, Dacians can take a Sarmatian ally to field the superb Sarmatian lancer cavalry. That gives the Dacians cavalry equal to or superior to anyone else in period.

My heart briefly sank at the sight of 36 riders without lances or holes in their hands for the same. Out came the Dremel and in less than 30 minutes, I was done. Note the superb Ancient Warfare magazine, vol VI, issue 2 featuring Trajan's Dacian wars.  This magazine is a treasure which I find to be inspirational and informative!  The artwork is superb as well.  

Bastarne Cavalry: They're quite average for the period.  If I field them, it'll be to provide rear support. These bright geometric patterns were my first idea for Dacian shields. I wasn't thrilled with the results here so I'm striking out in another direction.

Light Horse: There might be a place for light horse in my Dacian army.  If so, these fellows are ready to serve, and swerve, when called upon.

I've been looking for inspiration in painting Dacian shields since the day I got this army from Old Glory.  The Dacian shield patterns found on Trajan's Column are unpaintable in 15mm and I did not like my first try above.  Looking for Plan C, I found inspiration at the Iron Mitten blog. Stay tuned!

Dacians, a warband you don't meet every day

I'm painting up a Dacian army for our next Field of Glory (FoG) campaign.  Me falling for another lost cause is a bit predictable. "Barbarian" armies fare poorly in FoG but that doesn't stop me from falling in love with a new one every year. I loved the story of Sertorius in Hispania so I painted Lusitanians.  I loved the stories of the Celts and painted 3 Gallic armies to prove it. While most of the Dacian's story is lost to time, what's left is riveting. That's how I knew that it was true love! Let's hope it's a love that lasts.

I'm using Old Glory figs for my Dacians.  OG doesn't post pictures of all their ranges on their website so I was reluctant to put an order in.  Out of the box, I was pleased to see the Dacians are one of their better lines. The figures are well sculpted with lots of variety.

Dacian Falxmen:  Dacians can field up to 24 bases of falxmen in FoG so I painted up all 24. The downside is that they're unprotected Medium foot.  The upside is they're cheap as chips for superior foot with a heavy weapon.  If they survive the impact phase with legionaries, they'll be even in subsequent rounds of melee. Watch the face of your Roman opponent as you trade bases and he remembers falxmen cost 7 points a base and legionaries cost 14!

The falxmen were primed with Army Painter Brown Leather followed by block painting in an earthy and tight palette. Vallejo's sienna wash went over the base coat. Vallejo's wash is currently my favorite as it goes on thick and stays put. The last step is applying highlights. For shirtless fellows, I used 2 rounds of highlights on the skin as it did make them pop.

So about that backstory, the Dacians were a collection of up to 15 tribes in what is now Romania.  Located in and around the Carpathian mountains, they possessed abundant mines and resources, including hordes of gold.  In the lectures "Rome and the Barbarians," the Dacians are described as skilled stonemasons, metal-smiths and miners.  All 3 skills were crucial in their wars against the Romans. Their kingdom lasted from 82 BC until the Roman conquest in 106 AD.

The story goes hot when King Decebalus assumes the throne and unites the tribes. Cassius Dio described him as  "a man shrew in his understanding of warfare" who "judged well when to attack and chose the right moment to retreat."  His raids across the Danube and into the Roman province of Moesia culminated in the Roman Governor Oppius Sabinus being killed in the field.

Emperor Domitian and his Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, Cornelius Fuscus, traveled to Moesia to put things right.  Fuscus drove the Dacians back across the Danube and followed them through the Iron Gates. At the First Battle of Tapae, he was ambushed along with Legio V Alaudae. The legion was annihilated and Fuscus killed. The Dacian king received his name Decebalus after this battle, meaning as strong (or brave) as ten men.

Domitian launched a second expedition in 88 AD.  According to Dio, the Dacians slew a great number of Romans while suffering serious losses themselves.  Facing multiple threats, Domitian offered terms that were stunningly generous. Decebalus became a client king of Rome with a stipend of 8 million sesterces per year. He was also provided Roman engineers, craftsmen, and war machines. Decebalus used the Roman stipend and engineers to build new defensive fortifications in the mountains and to reinforce existing ones.Clever man, that Decebalus, as the Romans wouldn't let him rest after such generous terms.  

Coffee or Calvados, a Chain of Command AAR

Hugh and I played our first game of Chain of Command.  There's been a very positive buzz about these WW II skirmish rules and I was anxious to see what makes them shine.  Hugh provided everything from figures to terrain. The buildings are by Crescent Root Studio.  Comparable to 4Ground buildings, some come with 4 pins inside, allowing a quick breakdown and assembly for when space is an issue.  

Hugh sketched out the back sotry for our patrol scenario to recon a Calvados brandy factory in Normandy. It was a wonderful bit of color as I got to learn about Chain of Command AND a famous French apple brandy. I must remember to take the time to frame up a game with a story as it makes for a deeper gaming experience, win or lose!  For our next match, perhaps the first player to occupy the factory rolls see if his men imbibe and rolls for results, something like Dux Britanniarum's Bibamus table.  

This scenario saw a German infantry platoon going up against a British Airborne platoon. CoC has national characteristics for each force, grounded in their military doctrine. For example, "Maschinengewehr" rewards the German players with more D6 when attaching a squad leader to LMGs.

British Airborne are tough, with 6 command dice versus 5 for the Germans.  They're also rated as elite and aggressive.  Being new, we bungled the German support list and poor Hugh got only a medic and panzerchek team to even out the disparity between our forces.  On the other hand, it was realistic that the Germans found themselves over-matched at the start of the Normandy campaign.

These pictures are not the best but I want to show what the figure requirements are and how the squads are composed.  Hugh put leaders in larger bases to make them distinguishable on the tabletop.  Basically, you're looking at 3 squads per side with some support.  

The first bit of genius in Chain of Command is the Patrol Phase, which is a wonderful game within the game. Each side has 3-4 Patrol Markers which are moved one by one, 12" onto the table. Each marker must remain within 12" of a friendly marker. Once your marker comes within 12" of an enemy marker, both are locked. Players continue moving their markers until all are locked.  Behind the locked Patrol Markers, players place their Jump Off Points, which are where troops deploy to the battlefield. Going first, I was able to lock up Jump Off Points behind the Calvados factory.  This was a huge as it left the Germans on their back foot with Jump Off Points in a farm field, a road and an orchard.  Not ideal.  

With no troops on the table to start, I threw 6 command dice.  Command dice are used to bring forces onto the table and then later, active them for movement.  How and when you commit your forces onto the table is critical. My rolling was crazy good and I rolled up back to back phases repeatedly. I put one squad on my left flank in the orchard with a Bren covering a German Jump Off Point.  I got my 2nd squad into the main building and my 3rd squad went out on the right flank in a warehouse.  

Above, I split a section off from one squad to flank and fire on the Germans taking cover against a wall. Concentrating fire from two squads on one German squad I was able to pin them. I send in an assault that took them right off the table.  

Hugh brought his last squad to where his other squad had just perished. I was eager to occupy one of his Jump Off Points in order to degrade the German force morale.  Here, I miscalculated badly in deciding to assault the fresh Germans. Their MG 42 ripped me up and I lost my entire squad in the debacle. Lesson learned, you can't charge in like a maniac even if you're elite.  You must first knock the enemy down with fire, pin them if you can and then go in for the kill.  

My failed assault did weaken the German squad and they eventually broke from our steady fire. Hugh sent his last squad against my squad in the orchard.  Assaulting fresh troops backed by 2 Brens and some stens, the results were catastrophic for the Germans.  Their force morale dropped to zero and the game went to the British.

Two very big thumbs for Chain of Command.  It's a great set of rules, one of the best skirmish rules I've ever played.  CoC is going to get heavy rotation this year and I can't wait to run the Calvados scenario again. One game and we're both mulling over other armies and theaters of war.  That means we're hooked, I think!