Christmas Break

Thought I'd put a little note out that I'm on Christmas break. I'm off work unitl January 2nd, and probably won't be posting until next year. But fear not. I'll be busily painting and gaming and should have tons of photos when I return.

Honor accepted

Prince Adelbert of Franistover, claimant to the throne of Unkerlant, proudly wears his newest honor, the Military Order of the Golden Crown, presented to His Serene Highness by the Reich Duchy of Beerstien.

The Battle of Altenbruk...

...Or a "bad night of dice rolling".

With his back against the wall, Duke Sigmund of Zlobenia, made at stand at the hilltop town of Altenbruk. It's command of the only two crossings of the River Blut made it ideal for defense. With this in mind, the Duke Sigmund arrayed what was left of the Zlobenian army on the slopes of the town, waiting to find out which crossing Prince Adelbert and the Franistover army would take.
It was a particularly cold Spring morning, and fog covered the lowlands around the river for miles. Sigmund had placed his Horse, led by the remnants of the Ducal Horse Grenadiers, forward in hopes he could catch the Frannies at the bridges, holding them long enough for the Infantry to arrive.
Luck, and the weather was against the Duke. When the sun fiannly burned away the fog, it was to reveal the entire Franistover army crossing at one point, the northern bridge, the farthest from his Horse.
Zlobenia seized the initiative, and the Duke raced his Horse in a giant arc, north towards the bridge. His Foot, however either were tardy, or didn't budge. The brunt of the attack, would rely on his cavalry, which had preformed abyssmally at the last engagement.

Frainstover Horse range across the countryside, while the foot battle it out.

Meanwhile, Franistover had managed to get a few troops across the bridge. The Horse move quickly to swing wide and ride hard for a spot between two forests. Prince Adelbert was having a hard time getting his Guard units to move. They had stopped dead in their tracks on the road. Maybe they had seen the Zlob horse thundering down from the hilltop town, straight for them.
Indeed, the Duke's horse slammed into the still forming Franistover foot. They horse caught them in marching formation and cut them to pieces.
The Franistover Horse that had crossed the Blut, bypassed the fight and rode headlong towards the only road from Altenbruk to the capital. If they succeeded in holding it, Altenbruk would be cut off from the rest of Zlobenia.
The battle over the bridge was getting heavier. Rain started to fall. More troops were committed. Prince Adelbert left his carriage and trudged through the mud to his General of the Guard, the Count Zuffel. Prince Adelbert literal put his boot to the Count's backside. Finally, the Guard would move across the river.

The steady drizzle was turning a firefight into a slow grinding of bayonet and sword. A battle of attrition was something Duke Sigmund could not afford. Weakened by earlier battles, the Zlobenia army was giving way. Troops sent to drive off the enemy horse from the road to capital were slow to respond, and were proving ineffective at budging the horse.
As night fell, Duke Sigmund pulled his troops back, as Prince Adelbert encircled Altenbruk.
It would be a siege.
Horrible dice rolls ruled the night. Both sides had trouble moving troops, and command points were hard to come by. But, as always, Might and Reason proved a fun and period game.

Thursday night shootout

I knew we were having quite few of the boys over last night, so I dug an old favorite, "Fistful of Lead". Every bit of scum in the territory showed up to steal the railroad payroll.
Each player had their own objectives besides capturing the gold. The Leftover Gang and the Injuns started a skirmish right off, but decided after a couple of casualties, maybe a team-up might be better.
El Guappo and his banditos stated in a terrible place between to other gangs, and got chewed up pretty bad. Meanwhile, the Longriders and Stinky Dixon's gangs took advantage of cover and stayed clear of the sometimes violent citizens of Lesterville. (except when the Dixon's almost ran over local Egg Shin and got karate chop in return).

the Dixons steal a wagon

In the end, Injun Joe of the Longriders, was able (with the help of the Dixons) to steal the payroll and win.

Run El Guappo, run!

too slow

Cool Update: Video Review by Grubman:

Goings on in Northeastern Unkerlant

After the disastrous Battle of Derlopp, Duke Sigmund and what was left of his army, fell back to his capital in Zlobenburg. Several of his foreign military advisors "disappeared" while he personally oversees the defense of the city, and consolidation of his army.
Sigmund's dragoons now scour the countryside around Zlobenburg recruiting soldiers to fill his decimated ranks.

Meanwhile, Prince Adelbert of Franistover has not been idle. His forces quickly occupied the much larger town of AltenBruk after a dangerous crossing of the river Blut, where the two main bridges had been destroyed by the retreating Zlobs.
Now, there is but a few miles of road separating the two forces. Two old foes pair off in what is surely to be their deciding battle.