Song of Blades Thursday

Orcs, Elves, Lizardmen, soldiers and barbarians battle for control of an ancient water source, the Well of Infinite Knowledge. It was a bloodbath as usual. The Lizardmen hid in the trees until their opponents took some casualties. The barbarians had a rocky start, shrugging off losses with their "Fearless" trait. The Elves lost their wizard almost immediately, and the Orcs struggled to maintain any kind of plan. In the end, the king's soldiers' numbers won out.
These rules are easy to learn and have a lot of depth. We played a very simple scenario, with no bells or whistles, but still had a great time.

Battle is scheduled

The upcoming Battle of Salzenmund is set for August 8th. Now to get painting!

B.R.A.S.S. & Rock Monster

Here's pictures of the Battlefield Repair Armored Steam Suit and a Rock Monster. Both are repaints of existing toys.
I decided that the nefarious prof. Nightshade needed a way to repair his mechanical menaces on the battlefield. He attracted too much fire walked around unprotected.
The rock monster is another one of those figures I can use for multiple purposes.

Borogravian Cuirassiers

Presented are the 2nd Cuirassiers, also known as Birgermenn's Horse. Made up of landless sons of lesser nobility, the 2nd have a tough reputation and are eager to prove themselves.

Prinz Ruprect of Borogravia

The man himself as he appears on the battlefield. The Prince sits astride his black charger, Malevolence.
As mentioned in prior travelogues, Borogravia was once part of greater Unkerlant, but was partitioned off in the last war of succession, nearly a century ago. Ruprect's father Otto, brother to the recently deceased Karl Franz III, seized Borogravia in a bloody coup after realizing his chances of ruling Unkerlant were slim. Otto ruled Borogravia with an iron fist, ruthlessly bleeding the peasantry dry. Prince Ruprect has proved to be a more refined ruler, subtle in his machinations.

Battle map set

Presented is the field of battle for the upcoming tussle between Borogravia and the Duchy of Volborg. The generals in charge will choose a deployment zone to take the day of the battle. Volborgian scouts were able to drive off their counterparts, giving General Wolfe and the Volborgians an edge in deployment.

Bring out the big guns

Presented are Borogravian artillery

and their Volborgian counterparts, ready for the upcoming battle

An engagement of some import

Gentlemen of the Realm,
Battle has been offered and excepted in the town of Salzenmund, Salacia bewteen the forces of Borogravia and Volborg. The principles involved will agree upon a time and date for this engagement. Initial scouting will give the choice of battefields to Prince Ruprect. At the time of battle, placement of forces will be decided by chance.
Outside observers are welcome, and a strict record of the following hostilities will be made for posterity.
I remain your humble Servant,
Baron Von J
Aide to Our Departed King, Karl Franz III

May Moves: the South and West

Borogravian troops converged on the town of Salzenmund, Salacia. All of Prince Ruprect’s invading army save those under General Czerezya, crowded the roads into Salzenmund only to find those of the Duchy of Volborg had the same idea. Even the Volborgian 1st army under General Wolfe forced marched all the way from Waldbruk, losing men and horses along way in order to link up with his other armies.
If a battle occurs at Salzenmund, it will surely decide the war in the west.

May Moves: the Northeast

Zlobenia’s 1st Army under the Duke himself marched out of Ostvald, quickly to be replaced by the 2nd Army. The Duke reached Zwolen in Drakwald, and was confronted by not only a Franistoverian garrison, but an army falling back from Asstyria. Both armies passed each other on the road going opposite ways. The peasants could only watch in shocked dismay as the two generals tipped their hats to each other as they passed. The Duke moved on to the Electorate of Styrland, exchanging places with the Zlobenia 2nd Army.
Then, in a bold move, Zlobenia’s 3rd Army marched into the capital, Keonigstadt. General Vasisdas was greeted with much pomp and circumstance by General Von Stern, commnader of the Civic Militia. Now an Electorate and the capital are in Zlobenia’s hands.
On the Franistover front, Prince Adalbert pulled back almost all of his troops to the capital, Wurzen, perhaps in response to the Zlobenian troops sitting on his northern border. But, a significant number of garrisons have been left behind in four towns, holding firmly on to three provinces. The 5th Army seems content to sit in Pfugzig, perhaps keeping guard against Borogravian incursion.

Rock and Roll

This is a repaint of a D and D plastic. I got the idea from Dampf's Modeling Page. He can pull several duties, stalking the battlefields of Song of Blades and Heroes, Retro SciFi and even VSF.

In the Navy...

British sailors for my ever expanding British VSF force.

Turn 2: May 1702

Presented are the dispositions after Turn 1.

Lightning Raid!

Volborgian troops in Salzemund awoke to find their baggage train was under attack.
Borogravian light cavalry, in fact, Prince Ruprect's own Hussars, managed to burn several of the fodder wagons and disperse many of the civilian drivers. The combined Volborgian cavalry force was able to drive them off, but at a cost of several casualties.

Zlobenian Cuirassier

A member of the 2nd (Von Chumley's) Cuirassiers in pursuit of some Franistover cavalry outside Ostvald.

I wanted to do some troops in 25-28mm and had some Old Glory laying around. It was fun to paint, but the figure is awful. The miniature doesn't fit on the horse well at all, missing pieces of sculpting (no stirrup sculpted on one boot, the scabbard is floating unattached to anything, etc,) didn't inspire me to do more than one. The picture isn't great either. I think I'll be picking up some Front Rank (when funds permit) to try again.

Opening Moves: Volborg

Volborgian forces crossed the border into Durmwald today. A close ally of Volborg, Count Deitrich Von Durmwald personally presented the keys to fortress of Wladburk to General Wolfe.
At the same time, three other armies marched into their neighbor’s lands. Salzemund in Salacia now hosts a Volborgian army led by General Manfred Dracohelm. The Salacians are no doubt already stealing anything that isn’t nailed down from the occupier.
Helmgard is now fully occupied. Both major towns, Herzig and Volgen have Volborgian troops in them. Bishop Bloefeld claims the invasion is “surely God’s punishment on his sinful land”, but sees the Volborgians as a godly people, worthy of Helmgard’s help.

Opening Moves: Zlobenia

Zlobenia quickly took advantage of chaos to march into its neighbor’s lands. Duke Sigmund personally led his troops into Ostland, bypassing the fortress of Normark and stopping in Ostvald. The tiny Ostland regional forces could do little to stop them.
Simultaneously, another force led by General Wilhelm Vasistas moved into Nordland, and its capital Nordvald. There, as sign of peaceful intentions, the general visited the grand cathedral of St.Dilbert the Unfortunate for morning prayers.
Styrland was the next feel the trod of Zlobenian boots. General Oscar Franfurter stated he and his men “were merely on parade through Veckholm, and might stay to take in the sites”.

Opening Moves: Franistover

The forces of Franistover marched out of their mountain home in what seems to be a lightning attack.
General Ernst Von Unger moved north from Wurzen to Ostvald in Ostland. There they encountered forces from Zlobenia. Vastly outnumbered, they returned to Wurzen.
The cavalry General Leopold Lippizanner moved through Zwollen, dropping off a garrison, before moving on to Asstyria in Styrland.
Prince Adalbert personally led his troops into Averswald, thus completely investing Drakwald. Baron Hugo was nowhere to be found while his lands were occupied.
Just as quickly, General Hamish O’Hegarty left Waldendorf to Zhufbar, leaving a garrison behind before moving on to Middelheim, capturing the Electorate. The Middelheimers were still discussing what to do while their capital fell.
Meanwhile, Reichwald’s other town found itself hosting a new garrison led by General Kroft. In one fell swoop Franistover has captured three provinces and 2 Electorate votes!

Opening Moves: Borogravia

Borogravia INVADES!
The soil of Bergstaat was defiled by Borogravian boots today. The Baron Siegfried retired to Gesehburg to form the militias, while the lowlanders of Kruetzhofen greeted the invaders as liberators in what they consider highland oppression.
Ruprect the Younger and General Czerezya then moved from Kruetzhofen to Averheimburg in Graveholm, taking Count Ludwig hostage and claiming an Electorate vote.
Ruprect Jr, then moved on to Wissenburg in Sumpftlund, claiming the Sinking Library.
Meanwhile, the Principality of Hurn hosted a Grand Ball for Prince Ruprect at Alsdorf, before Borogravian troops moved on to Carroburg. Then, General Von Sedlitz dashed ahead with cavalry to claim Klessen in Overholt. Overholt’s other town, Schoppendorf blames Klessen duplicity, handing over the town to outsiders.

It is with a heavy heart that I, Baron Von J, loyal servant to the king must announce the death of our beloved monarch, King Karl Franz III. Our king managed to hold the desperate factions of Unkerlant together for over thirty years, and as he passes from this world without legitimate heir, I fear the kingdom will be torn asunder. Already forces from the leading contenders for the throne mobilize. Whomever can gain the majority of the Electorate votes will find themselves monarch, but at what cost to our tiny kingdom?

A Response by Volborg

My dear shite eating Nephew,

As is to be expected, you have also usurped the word of God, to twist it to your nefarious deeds. I have asked for a response to your prattling words from the one religious authority I think all of Unkerlant will agree with, The Emperors most trusted confidant, His Most Humble Servant of God, Unkerlants Arch-Bishop of Koenigstadt. He had the following response:

“ My dear Arch-Duchess, I have reviewed the letter the foreign usurper and attempted murderer of our beloved Karl Franz III, your nephew, the despicable Ruprect, and I have the following response.

As you know, I am a humble servant of the emperor, and we are all humble servants of the Lord, our God. I am also THE ruling member of the Church’s circle on the validity of the historical texts and the Vice chairman on archival and antiquities research. And as such am a recognized authority in the Church on such things as have been stated in the aforementioned letter.

In regards to the letters of Saint Paul to Timothy, it is commonly known in the church, although as I am told by the Cardinal Wilhelm in Borogravia the common thing in church there is the always absent Ruprect, that the letters are not written by our beloved Paul, but one of his admirers. There are many reasons they are believed to be false, for example, the Greek used by the author or authors of the Pastoral Epistles (Timothy I &II), finding that over 1/3 of their vocabulary is not used anywhere else in the Pauline epistles; more than 1/5 is not used anywhere else in the New Testament, while 2/3 of the non-Pauline vocabulary are used by second century Christian writers. The evidence of teaching as of style and vocabulary is strongly against Paul’s authorship, nor are these arguments seriously weakened by any supposition that the epistles were written late in Paul’s lifetime and to meet a new type of situation. The three epistles show such a unity of thought and expression that they must be the work of one man, but for the author we must look rather to one of Paul’s admirers than to Paul himself.

Additionally, as evidence that I Timothy is not Pauline, the freedom granted [women] in the aspostolic age to exercise the gifts of the Spirit, [and] Paul's insistence that in Christ there is neither male nor female, [which] had brought them into quick and widespread public activity, and therefore are counter to all of Paul teachings that we know are valid and true. I would also point out that the reasoning in I Timothy (the fall was Eve's fault) is non-Pauline: “Paul himself prefers to assign blame to Adam (as a counterpart to Christ – see Rom [Romans] 5:12-21; I Cor [Corinthians] 15: 45-49…).

And as such is demostrated above, The Church’s view on these letters are that they are non-Pauline and a work of an admirer of Saint Paul’s and therefore as used by your nephew, are not the Word of GOD, and therefore are an affront to his true words and the great teachings of the Saint Paul.

It would also be my opinion that your nephew simply means to stir his own piss pot in hopes of rallying anyone who is easily led astray from the true teachings of Our Savior.

Your humble servant and of HIS LORD, OUR GOD,

Heinrich Schleiermacher
Arch-Bishop of Koenigstadt”

I therefore have this to say to my nephew. Leave the land of Unkerlant and reasoned thought to the adults. Go play with your armies against the Turks. For every ounce of blood spilled by your hand will be an ounce of Unkerlantian blood, worth one thousand times the bracken that runs in your veins. And for every drop of blood spilled by you, I shall extract a gallon of your foreign blood to feed the fish farms in Graveholm.


Arch-Duchess Brunhilde

The calm before the storm

A map of Unkerlant was smuggled out by foreign spies (no doubt Borogravians!) and fell into outside hands.

An open letter from Borogravia

An open letter to my dear Aunt and the goodly men of Unkerlant,

Succession is a quandary for mere mortals. Perhaps we should admit it a task worthy of God himself and so seek guidance in God's Holy Word as spoken through our beloved Saint Paul in 1st Timothy, chapter 2, verse 12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence". And so we see if my aunt were but more devout Unkerlant could have been spared her unfortunate missive and what appears to be the unholy contentions and strife that her irreverent usurpation seems set to release.

Prince Ruprect, Emperor Elect of Unkerlant