The Year In Review

Another year has almost passed. Let's take a look back at this year.

Going strong without miniatures

This is the first full year of the War Without Minis blog. I have to say I'm doing fine without miniatures. 

Instead, I opted for generic counters. This gave me the flexibility to dabble in lots of eras, such as:

• Pyrrhus
• American Revolution
• Late 19th Century
• Even fantasy!

Semiquincentennial

I began gaming battles to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. So far, I gamed:

• Lexington-Concord, and the British retreat to Boston
• Bunker Hill

I should have Quebec up soon.

Dominion Of

This was my big trend of the year. I discovered Dominion of the Spear in early January and never looked back. I purchased and gamed with many of the other titles in the series. This has become my default set of rules.

The originator

Sports

I got into sports gaming.

• This summer, I did a tournament using major league teams from 1922 using Fast Inning Baseball. 
• I did some fantasy gladiator fights featuring Nocan the Barbarian.
• Recently, I used Fast Drive Football to play the 2025 college football playoffs and have started a league using my own fast play football rules.

Prognostications

Traditionally, I begin the year with prognostications for my gaming in the upcoming year. How did I do for 2025?

• Micro Dungeon - I expected to finalize my quick play dungeon crawl / fantasy adventures rules. I abandoned them in January. WRONG
• More Killian - I planned to continue the adventures of Ser Killian, my main Micro Dungeon character. I played one adventure then dropped him. WRONG
• More GADD - Not a stretch here, and I did jump between many eras, as detailed above. BUT, I settled on a single series of rules - Dominion of. We'll call this HALF WRONG.
• Counter Consolidation - I wanted to consolidate all my counters into a single box. It didn't happen; in fact I went the other direction. WRONG

3.5 wrong out of 4. Well, that was an epic fail!

Merry Christmas!

What is Christmas all about?

May the blessings of the Lord be on all people on this holy day.

WWMFL Halftime Report

I am halfway through my WWM Football League's first season.

Current Standings

Here are the standings (the teams are listed alphabetically)

New York is opening up a good lead in the East while Dallas and Denver are in a close race in the West division.

Notable Games

Here are some notable games so far.

• In week 2, Seattle and Dallas played to a 10-10 tie, with each team missing  a field goal. In WWMFL overtimes, each team gets a chance to score. In this game, the teams traded 2 touchdowns, Then Dallas held the Seals to a field goal and score a touchdown for a 31-27 win.
• Seattle is involved in another overtime game in week 4. Washington scores first then the Seals respond with 2 touchdowns to lead 14-7 at half. The Warriors score early in the 3rd quarter to tie it up. Seattle goes ahead with a field goal at the end of the 3rd. Washington ties the score in the 4th. In OT, Seattle holds Washington to a field goal then wins it with a TD. Final score 24-20.
• A number of close games in week 5.
• Dallas holds on to a 37-34 win vs. Chicago
• Down 7-0 at half, Seattle scores 13 points in the 3rd quarter then holds on for a 13-10 win.
• Dallas scores a TD in the 4th to squeeze by Washington 14-13.

WWM Football

What's Next?

I had a lot of fun with the Fast Drive Football college football playoff. I want to keep playing some football.

However, I decided not to use FDF. It's a good game, but games take a little longer than I want. And the instant result rules are too quick. Therefore, I chose to try creating my own rules.

The Rules

FDF works well, but each side gets a lot of possessions, many of which don't result in scores. To speed things up, I created rules where each side gets fewer possessions but score more often. I assume that there are more non-scoring possessions but the game skips over them.

In general, here is what I came up with.

• Each team starts with 1 possession per quarter.
• Roll a D6 to find the result of that possession: 1-2 no score, 3-4 field goal attempt, 5-6 touchdown
• If the roll is even, the team will get another possession in the quarter, up to a max of 3 possessions.
• It requires a roll of 3 or more to make a field goal.

Those are the basic rules. I also wanted to account for differences in team quality. I settled on three categories, offense, defense, and kicking, rated as superior, average, or inferior.

For a team's first possession of a half, roll 2D6 and determine the results as follows:

• If the offensive rating > defensive rating, use the highest roll.
• If the offensive rating < defensive rating, use the lowest roll.

If there is a 2 degree difference (for example, superior offense vs. inferior defense), roll 2D6 for the first possession of each quarter.

Sample Game

Here is a sample game for team A vs. team B.

First Quarter

• Team A scores first with a field goal. Team A leads 3-0.
• Team B drives but misses a field goal. Not surprising due to an inferior kicker.

Second Quarter

• Team A scores a touchdown. 10-0.
• Team B misses a field goal.

Third Quarter

• Team B actually kicks a field goal! They're down 10-3
• Team A gets a TD. They lead 17-3
• Team B gets a TD. 17-10
• Then they miss another FG. That's 9 points missed!

Fourth Quarter

• Both teams miss field goals.
• Team A then ices the game with a TD. 24-10.

This game took only about 5 minutes to play.

The WWM Football League

Now that I have rules, I decided to build a league and play a season.

Key features:

• Eight team league with two 4-team divisions
• Each team plays 10 total games - two each vs. division rivals and one each vs. the teams in the other division
• Division champions will play in a championship game

I asked Chat GPT to generate helmets for the 8 teams. Here they are

Protecting Pearl - Part 2

Last time, Lts. Crowe and Raven stopped the Japanese attack on Hickam Field on Dec. 7 1941.

Now the radio crackles, "Incoming torpedo bombers heading for the battleships! Need assistance!"

Crowe (Green 1) and Raven (Green 2) get a jump on the Japanese. Crowe chases the escorting zero while Raven attacks one of the bombers. Both miss.

Crowe goes head to head with the Zero. As bullets whizz by, Crowe damages the Zero. Raven misses.

The Zero is on Crowe's tail and damages him. Raven misses again!

The Zero fires and misses. Raven gets a kill!

Another head-to-head attack. Both miss, as does Raven.

Crowe shakes the Zero and downs a bomber. Raven is rattled by defensive fire from another bomber.

The last bomber gets through, but anti-aircraft guns take care of business.

The battleships are safe!

WWM College Football Playoff Finale

Wrapping up my version of the college football playoff using Fast Drive Football.

Semi-Finals

With Notre Dame out of the playoff, I just used FDF's Instant Results table to generate the semi-final scores.

• James Madison with another shocker! They beat #1 Indiana to advance to the championship game.
• Ole Miss squeaks by Ohio State 24-21

The Championship Game

Curious to see how James Madison would do, I decided to play the full game. They take on Ole Miss.

First Quarter

• JM gets a safety and a field goal to take a surprising 5-0 lead.
• OM drives for a TD. OM 7-5
• JM fumbles. OM recovers and drives for another TD. OM 14-5
• JM returns the kickoff for a TD. OM 14-12
• OM drives for a TD run. OM 21-12

Second Quarter

• Defense dominates. The only scoring is an OM field goal. OM 24-12

James Madison is still in this ballgame.

Third Quarter

• OM's defense dominates, shutting down JM.
• OM gets a TD run after a great punt return. OM 31-12
• OM recovers a fumble for a TD. OM 38-12

Ouch.

Fourth Quarter

• JM gets a TD after a great punt return. OM 38-19
• JM tries an onside kick but OM recovers. OM then gets a field goal. OM 41-19
• JM drives but turns the ball over on downs. OM runs out the clock.

Final score: Ole Miss 41, James Madison 19

Ole Miss wins the 2025 college football championship!

WHAT's NEXT?

Well that's over, but I'm still interested in some football. I'm thinking of building a fictional league and playing some games.

WWM College Football Playoff Round 2

Continuing with my version of the playoffs.

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

In the first round, Notre Dame beat Texas A&M. ND advances to face Ohio State.

Ohio State beat ND in the CFP final last season. Can ND flip the result?

First Quarter

• OS tackles the ND QB for a safety. OS 2-0
• Then OS gets a field goal on the ensuing drive. OS 5-0
• ND intercepts a pass then drives for a touchdown run. ND 7-5

Second Quarter

• OS and ND trade long drives ending in TD runs. ND 14-12
• OS and ND trade field goals. ND 17-15
• OS intercepts deep in ND territory. It's returned for a TD. OS 22-17

Third Quarter

• ND takes the opening drive for a TD. ND 24-22
• OS gets a field goal. OS 25-24
• OS and ND trade TDs. ND's 2-point conversion attempt fails. OS 32-30
• OS is driving but fumbles near the goal line. OS 32-30

Fourth Quarter

• After a great punt return, OS gets a TD pass. OS 39-30
• ND drives but only gets a field goal. OS 39-33
• ND tries an onside kick. OS recovers and runs out the clock.

Final score: Ohio State 39, Notre Dame 33. 😢

GAME NOTE: This actually was my second try for ND. I accidentally erased the result from my first playthrough. The score was very close to this one.

Other Games

Other 2nd round action:

• James Madison upsets Texas Tech 38-35.
• Indiana squeaks by Oklahoma in overtime, 36-30.
• Ole Miss beats SEC rival Georgia 34-27

WWM CFP Round 1

Continuing with my version of the college football playoff using Fast Drive Football.

Previously, I ran a play-in game for ND and Miami. Now we move on to the first round.

Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M

After defeating Miami in a play-in game, Notre Dame takes on Texas A&M. 

They met earlier this year, with A&M squeaking by with a 1 point victory.

First Quarter

• A&M returns a punt for a TD. 7-0.
• ND responds with a TD pass. 7-7.

Second Quarter

• ND starts the quarter with a TD pass. 14-7 ND.
• ND intercepts a pass, then drives for another TD (pass). 21-7 ND.
• ND fumbles. A&M recovers and gets a TD (pass) 21-14 ND.

Third Quarter

• A&M gets a field goal. 21-17 ND.
• ND responds with a TD pass. 28-17 ND.

Fourth Quarter

• The teams trade field goals. 31-20 ND.
• ND fumbles. A&M drives for the score. They add a 2-point conversion. 31-28 ND.
• ND strikes quickly with another TD pass. 38-28 ND.
• A&M gets a 4th down conversion to keep its drive alive, but runs out of time.

Final score: ND 38 - Texas A&M 28

Other Games

Because I wanted to get to ND's next challenge, I did not use the full-blown FDF for the remaining games. Instead, I used the Quick Results table in the Commissioner's Expansion (on the FDF downloads page)

• James Madison shocks Oregon 47-17.
• Oklahoma squeezes by Alabama 21-16.
• Ole Miss defeats Tulane 30-17.

The WWM College Football Playoff

Disappointed that my team, Notre Dame, did not make the College Football Playoff, I decided to hold my own playoff. I will be using Fast Drive Football.

I spent some time last week calculating the 2025 college football ratings. I'm ready to go.

Play-In Game 1

Miami (Fla) got a bid over Notre Dame. These two teams played in week 1, with Miami securing a 3-point victory. That got them the playoff nod.

But are these teams the same as week 1? Let's find out. I'm giving ND a chance to play their way into the playoff. Because Miami is ranked above ND, I'll let them have home-field advantage.

Quarter 1

• MIA takes the opening drive all the way for a TD. 7-0.
• Three straight turnovers. Still 7-0.
• MIA starts in great field position but only manages a field goal. 10-0.
• ND takes the next possession for a TD. 10-7 MIA

Quarter 2

• MIA scores but ND runs back the ensuing kickoff. 17-14.
• MIA scores but ND runs back the ensuing kickoff. No, that's not an accidental duplication. 24-21.
• MIA scores but ND responds with a field goal. 31-24.
• Finally some defense. ND forces MIA to punt. ND gets a great return, setting themselves up in excellent field position.
• ND scores to end the half. 31-31.

Quarter 3

• ND and MIA trade TDs. 38-38.
• Then two punts. 
• ND has the ball and is moving.

Quarter 4

• ND scores, holds MIA, and scores again! 52-38.
• MIA and ND trade punts.
• MIA punches it in for a TD. 52-45.
• MIA forces a punt and gets an exciting return. They start in great field position.
• As they drive for the tying touchdown, they FUMBLE. ND recovers and wins the game!

Notre Dame takes Miami's spot in the playoff! Next up is Texas A&M.

Play-In Game 2

The last spot in the playoff came down to two conference winners - James Madison and Duke. JM was ranked higher and got the spot. Could Duke (my brother's team) pull off an upset and make my playoff? Let's find out.

Quarter 1

• JM gets 2 field goals. 6-0.
• Duke takes the lead on a TD run. 7-6.
• JM gets another field goal. 9-7 JM. Still, it's close.

Quarter 2

• JM scores 3 touchdowns. 30-7 JM. Ouch.

Second Half

• It's all JM with 3 more TDs.

Final score: JM 51 - Duke 7. No upset in this game.

Relief of Rashur

After the last battle, Saladin has trapped some Crusaders in the town of Rashur. King Guy rides to the rescue.

The Opposing Forces

• Crusader vanguard - Crossbows, 2 spears, 2 knights
• Saladin's pickets - 3 horse archers, bows, spears

Note: I did not have the army lists handy so I just rolled randomly to determine the forces. The Crusaders have a slight advantage (12 points vs 11).

The Battle

King Guy's vanguard approaches the town and runs into Saladin's troops on picket duty. The spears advance. The horse archers on the right unwisely charge and get cut down.

The horse archers in the center are smarter. Their volleys rout the Crusader spears.

But then the knights charge from the reserve and scatter the horse archers.

Horse archers on the left rout the crossbowmen.

The knights do more damage.

Then flank and destroy the bows.

The remaining horse archers fall back on Saladin's camp. Saladin must abandon the siege of Rashur and prepare to meet the Crusader army. Meanwhile, Guy brings up the rest of his force. A climatic battle is in the offing.

GAME NOTES

This was a surprisingly LOOOOOONG game. You may have noticed that there is only 1 defeated unit in each picture. That's because in each turn there was at least one sector where no one hit. And I didn't take pictures of the many turns where no one hit at all! I didn't count but there must have been at least 10 turns in this game. Contrast this with my silly Thanksgiving game, which ended after a mere 2 turns.

Ser Killian On Hiatus

After last week's musings about my dungeon crawl rules, I decided to put Kilian's story on hiatus.

Killian (left) with Haiden his squire, Nashad the man-at-arms, and Martin his priest.
I imagine Haiden as a bit older, but otherwise Chat GPT did a good job.

.

Killian's Story

Killian's story ended nicely when I completed the Dragon of Icespire Keep module. He defeated the titular dragon, built a church in Phandelin, and brought peace to the region.

I enjoyed the climax so much I decided to continue with the sequel module, Storm Lord's Wrath (SLW). I played the first adventure then stopped.

A New Strategy

I have some ideas for tweaks to my Micro Dungeon rules. I think it will be best to test them with new characters. But first, I wanted to finish SLW.

Problems Arise

Last weekend, I pulled up SLW and began prepping the remaining adventures. This involves translating D&D encounters into my rules. Sometimes, I need to add encounters because the published adventures are pretty slim and also include social encounters, which I drop.

As I worked through the module, I encountered some problems.

• Multiple main quests - in SLW, you face the minions of TWO evil priests. Couldn't they just focus on one? I considered dropping one main quest and just completing the other. That would give me some closure.
• Stupid side quests - there are some side quests that have no bearing whatsoever on the main story. I want to finish Killian's story quickly, therefore I won't bother with these.
• The Big Bosses aren't here - this is the big issue. The confrontations with the evil priests aren't in this module. There are two more modules! I did not realize this when I bought SLW. I thought it would be like Dragon of Icespire Keep, in which the main quest is completely in the module. But no, they want to string me along. I am not buying another modern D&D module.

Because of these problems, especially the last one, I'm done with SLW.

What Next for Killian?

I'm leaving Killian at the start of a story. I feel like I need closure. Perhaps I will create my own story where he fights one of the evil priests.

BUT, that is a bit of work. I think I will put Killian on hiatus and start new characters.

Protecting Pearl

A few years ago, I did a mini Pearl Harbor campaign using my Micro Battle air combat rules. It's on my old blog so I decided to start fresh, with a slightly different scenario,

The Dogfight

It is the morning of December 7th, 1941. Lt. William Crow and Lt. Rex Raven, based at Hickam Field, get the alarm. Enemy forces inbound! They scramble for their P-40s and take off.

They engage 3 Val dive bombers (gray) escorted by a Zero (red)

The Zero gets on Crowe's (Green 1) tail. He takes damage. Meanwhile, Raven gets behind the Vals (left).

Raven damages a Val. It breaks off its attack. 

Crowe manages to slip the Zero. He and Raven get behind two Vals. Rat-tat-tat. BOOM!

Both Vals go up in flames.

The Zero stays in the fight, targeting Crowe. Evasive maneuvers! The Zero misses.

Raven comes to the rescue and damages the Zero.

There is more circling and missed shots. Finally, the Zero, running out of fuel, abandons the fight.

Crowe and Val have saved Hickam Field!

What's Next?

I have one more scenario - protect the battleships! I haven't played it but will post it when I do.

In future years, I don't want to keep repeating Pearl Harbor scenarios. Maybe I'll designate December 7th as Air War in the Pacific day and do further battles (Coral Sea, Midway, etc.). Crowe and Raven will be the stars; I guess they'll transfer to the Navy.

Saladin Sallies

I decided to start a Crusader-themed campaign for Dominion of.

Saladin sallies across the border into the Crusader States. His army (blue) consists of 2 units of Mameluks (elite horse archers), a unit of Turkoman horse archers, foot archers, and spears.

The Crusaders defend with crossbows (in the town), 2 units of knights, and 3 spears.

In the initial attack (not pictured because for some reason blogger is not uploading it), the Crusaders lose some knights and spears. Knights and spears fill in the gaps.

The reserve knights charge the Turkoman horse archers. A rain of arrows wipes them out.

Some of the Mameluks recklessly charge the town. The crossbowmen shoot them down. But Saladin's archers take out the spears on the right.

This opens up the Crusader flank. The archers hit the center spears.

The Crusader crossbowmen are bottled up in the town. Game over, Saladin has won. But for the sake of narrartive.

Saladin's forces prepare to storm the town.

What happens next? Stay tuned!

Shipbuilding

With time on my hands over the extended weekend, I found my thoughts turning to gaming. But not in any systematic way - just a bunch of random thoughts.

This random thought came courtesy of Bob Cordery, Arthur Harman, and Mark Cordone. Recently, Mr. Cordery and Mr. Harman edited and released the latest compendium for the Portable Wargame.

In it, Mr, Cordone provides an ancient naval variant of the Dominion of series. I decided to give it another run (this variant was initially posted on the Portable Wargame Facebook page. I previously posted about it).

I played a game of it, liked it, but did not like my current counters.

He is a picture from my August battle.

I don't know why I don't like the squares. They just seem bulkier.

Anyway, I decided to rectify the situation. I created two new types of counters: line abreast and line ahead.

I plan to use the line abreast for ancient warfare and line ahead for age of sail to modern. I have two fleets of each (red and green).

As you'll notice, I have 3 types of counters. Dominion of the Oar and Spear has 4 types of naval squadrons, plus a bonus for large ships. I may need some additional markers to indicate the types. I will likely designate the small ships as ambushers. I need to think about the rest of the markers.

Getting Tripped Up

I'm typing this on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I have nothing to do and nowhere to go (no Black Friday sales for me). I should be playing a game, but I feel like I'm getting tripped up.

Image created by ChatGPT

After months away from it, I suddenly have an urge to dungeon crawl. Yet I am reluctant to pull out my dungeon crawl rules.

What's wrong?

The Basic Concept?

No, I think my basic concept is sound. With my Micro Dungeon rules, the chance to hit is based on the relative combat skill, not what armor the target wears.

Think about this scenario. A level 1 fighter in plate armor vs an unarmored level 10 fighter. According to the BECMI attack tables, the level 1 fighter as a 55% chance of hitting the level 10, and the level 10 has the same odds of hitting the level 1.

At a glance, this is counterintuitive. The level 10 should be more capable of hitting the level 1. I am reminded of this scene.

I know there are other factors at work - getting through the armor and the level 10's higher hp. Still ...

In Micro Dungeon, I switched things around. The chance to hit depends on relative skill. The level 10 is far more likely to hit. I changed armor so it reduces damage rather than affecting the chance to hit. In general, I think it works.

But

So what went wrong? I'm not sure, it's been so long since I played Micro Dungeon. I think I may have had an issue that plagues D&D - power creep. My characters, now at 6th level, have enough hp that it takes a while to whittle them down, and that also applies to their enemies. Perhaps hp should not increase.

What Else?

I'd like Micro Dungeon to be easier to pick up and play. To do that, though, I need a complete list of monsters. I'd like to create an easy conversion from D&D to MD but I never got around to it.

So What Now?

Well, instead of playing games, I am revisiting my Micro Dungeon rules and pondering changes to make the game easier. Stay tuned for my thoughts.

The Turkey Fights Back

Well, I never got around to printing the counters for my silly Thanksgiving project. I decided to play the game anyway using generic counters and a little imagination.

Background

The native Wampanoag peoples warn the Pilgrims that there are dark things in the forest. Inhuman things. Dangerous things.

The Pilgrims (bottom) send out an expedition. It consists of 2 cavalry, skirmishers, and line infantry.

Suddenly, out of the forest, a frightening army emerges. It consists of potato people infantry, corn shooters, dire turkeys (represented by a cavalry counter), and pumpkin chuckers (green counter).

The chuckers lob their pumpkins at the right flank cavalry, spooking it (downgraded to unreliable status).

The dire turkeys (center) charge. The skirmishers unleash a ragged volley then flee. The left flank cavalry charges the corn shooters, who shoot them down.

The potato infantry attacks the Pilgrim's spooked cavalry. The cavalry flees. Meanwhile, the Pilgrim reserve infantry advances. In the center, the Pilgrims slay the dire turkeys. But they take grievous casualties and can no longer fight.

This leaves one unit of Pilgrim infantry. They wisely retreat from the battlefield.

NOTES

• I probably should have used the Pike & Shot rules, but I used my generic horse & musket rules instead. Still a fun game.

Happy Thanksgiving

On this day, we pause to give thanks to the Lord for his blessings.

I am especially thankful for the miracle he performed for our cat Fuzz. Earlier this year, she was desperately ill in Intensive Care. The vet did not think she would make it.

Driving home, this song came on the radio - Desperate by Jamie Macdonald. 

The lyrics perfectly expressed what I was feeling. “Oh God, I'm desperate. Down on my knees, Send help from heaven, 'Cause that's what I need.” I sang along, desperately praying to the Lord to save Fuzz.

The next song was Don’t Stop Praying by Matthew West.

One line really struck me. “Don't stop believing, 'Cause mountains move with just a little faith.”

A few days later, Fuzz was home and on the road to recovery.

By the way, this is a little meme we created starring Fuzz.

(In reality, the pictures were taken when we first adopted this hungry street cat and then several months later).

Nocan Season 6

Season 5 ended in a disappointing fashion - a first round loss in the regional tournament.

Let's see how season 6 goes.

Preliminaries

• Preliminary 1
• vs. a novice knight. Tied 2-2 after the first round but then Nocan pulls away to win 5-2.
• vs. a novice hyenid. Again tied after the first round (1-1) but Nocan pulls away for a 7-3 victory.
• vs. a novice goblin archer. Tied 2-2 after 1 (I sense a pattern here) but Nocan wins 6-3.
• vs. an experienced orc. Nocan fails to score and loses 5-0.
• Preliminary 2
• vs. a novice goblin. Nocan knocks the goblin down in the first round then cruises to a 7-1 victory.
• vs. an experienced spearman. Nocan gets 2 knockdowns and wins 6-1.
• vs. an experienced elf archer. The archer's aim is off - no hits. Nocan scores in two rounds and wins 3-0.
• vs. a novice dwarf axeman. I previously gave a preview of this bout. After two rounds, Nocan leads 4-3.

In the final round, Nocan wins the initiative and charges. But the dwarf uses his long axe to his advantage. Swinging it from the end, the dwarf clocks Nocan in the head. Stunned, Nocan misses (and fails his reroll)

The dwarf wins 5-4.

• Preliminary 3 - Nocan loses to a veteran hyenid 5-3.
• Preliminary 4
• vs. a novice goblin. Nocan cruises to a 6-1 victory.
• vs. an experienced dwarf. Tied 2-2 after two rounds. The dwarf gets a head shot but Nocan plows through the pain and gets a knockdown. Nocan wins 5-4
• vs. an experienced spearman. Nocan is off his game (still smarting from the head shot in the last round?). He loses 5-0.

Nocan advanced to one semi-final and two finals, but no tournament victories. Successful but a little disappointing.

The Regional Championship

Nocan earns an invitation to the regional championship due to his final appearances.

1. vs. an experienced orc. Nocan gets a knockdown in the final round to win 4-1.
2. vs. an experienced Kafiran.
1. Nocan gets a head shot and uses his experience (reroll) to avoid a headshot. he leads 2-1.
2. The Kafiran gets a head shot. Nocan misses. The Kafiran leads 3-2,
3. The Kafiran misses and Nocan hits. Tied 3-3. Go to sudden death.
4. The Kafiran misses again. Nocan gets a head shot! Nocan wins 5-3
3. vs. a novice dwarf axeman. This is a grudge match. The dwarf beat him for the championship of the second preliminary. This time, it is a rout. Nocan scores two knockdowns and a head shot for an 8-1 victory.
4. The Final vs. an experienced knight!

Round 1 - Nocan scores a head hit. He leads 2-0.

But the knight retaliates. Score tied 2-2.

Nocan charges. The knight misses but Nocan scores a hit. Nocan wins 3-2.

NOCAN IS THE REGIONAL CHAMPION!

Here is Nocan with his defeated foes.

Championship

On to the grand championship.

1. vs. an experienced elf archer. Tied 1-1 after two rounds. The elf then gets a hit but Nocan knocks him down. Nocan wins 4-1.
2. vs. a veteran orc archer. They trade knockdowns in the first two rounds. The orc misses and Nocan hits for a 4-3 victory.
3. The Semi-final vs a novice goblin archer. A novice? This should be a cake walk.
1. The goblin gets a head hit but Nocan knocks him down. Nocan leads 3-2.
2. Where did he go? Nocan misses and the goblin hits. Tied 3-3.
3. Nocan gets a hit, but the goblin raps him on the head. NOCAN LOSES 5-4!

Well, that was disappointing. At least Nocan comes away with a regional championship. This should elevate him to the senior circuit.

Silly Thanksgiving Project

In the US, the Thanksgiving holiday is about a week away. 

I have some time off from work so I should be able to fit in some games. The question is "what should I play?"

The answer came in a roundabout way.

• I'd like to play some Dominion of.
• I should get Pilgrims involved.
• Pilgrims vs. Indians? Too obvious. Besides, the holiday celebrates an instance of cooperation between the two cultures. Shouldn't they work together?
• WAIT. What if ...? No, that's too crazy.

So I'm going to do it anyway.

Many years ago, my LARP group did a silly Thanksgiving themed scenario - we fought fire-breathing dire turkeys! Let's do the same.

I decided to make some one-off special counters, incorporating a variety of Thanksgiving foods. I grabbed some icons off the web and got creating.

Here's what I have so far - dire turkeys, pumpkin chuckers, and potato heads.

The potato heads are melee infantry, pumpkin chuckers are artillery, and I will likely use the tank stats from Dominion of the Trenches for the dire turkeys. I want some skirmish infantry - thinking cranberry or corn shooters.

Creating the Counters

I'm not sure if I'll keep the counters after the game, so I plan to take a simple approach to making them. Instead of using Litko plastic bases, I will likely just use cardboard. I have a load of Amazon and Chewy boxes lying around to scavenging won't be an issue.

The Opposition

I will use my generic counters, specifically the black faction, for the Pilgrims. I may give them some Indian allies using brown.

The Scenario

Who knows? I'll whip something up.

Nocan Season 6 Underway

Gaming proceeds slowly.

After the Dominion fantasy battle, I've been focusing on Nocan and his arena adventures. I have begun season 6. It's taking me a while to finish because Nocan is doing well. Shocking!

I'm going to save the detailed results for a later time so I can have all the matches in one post. But I'll leave you with a preview.

Nocan (right) finds himself pitted against a novice dwarf axeman. As a veteran, Nocan has a sizable advantage (no pun intended).

The first pass. Nocan charges. The dwarf's axe hits Nocan and forces him to stumble. But Nocan relies on his experience-honed reflexes to get in a head hit.

Score 2-1 Nocan.

Nocan uses a reroll to increase his damage.

Second pass. Again Nocan grabs the initiative. This time, both get in head strikes.

Score 4-3 Nocan.

Nocan chooses not to use his last reroll, saving it for the last round.

What happens in the final pass? I'll save that for the full season results.

Thank You Veterans

God bless our veterans!

Hold the Line!

The Hyenid War - Part 3

Returning to my LARP's fantasy world.

Background

After the disaster in the desert, the Empire scrambles to defend the heartland of Palmyra. It scrapes together some auxiliary cohorts supplemented by one legionary cohort.

The hyenids pursue into Palmyra.

Battle of the Little River

The Imperials set up defenses at a small tributary of the mighty Kemi River.

The Empire (red, bottom) sets some archers and the auxiliaries behind the river. The legionaries guard the right flank.

The hyenids include some archers (left), and beasts of war (right) along with regular warriors.

The archers (left) take each other out. On the other flank, the legionaries halt the beasts but are too decimated to continue the fight.

The hyenid warriors rush across the river and slaughter the auxiliaries.

The Empire is defeated!

What Next?

Technically, the hyenids win the campaign. However, I'm thinking they should try to sack the capital of southern Palmyra. Stay tuned!