Victorian Science Fiction action with HotT

To finish off a week of HotT games, Jim and I played a Big battle HotT game. Jim was keen to see how BBHotT played when compared with our first foray into the new DBF rules. We chose my two 20mm VSF armies - British and Turkish. Of note was my choice of a God ... that never showed up. We also both included an aerial hero in our multitudes, along with a solid core of blade supported by shooters and artillery. In HotT terms, we fielded the standard three x 24 point commands. In DBF terms, the British army totalled 194 points, the Turkish 192. Both armies included a solid core of Riders, the British also including a number of knights to the Turkish single knight base.

This isn't an AAR, so it's short on detail of composition and detail of the action. The report is more simply intended as a visual record.

British riders moving forward towards an old industrial complex

British behemoths

British aerial hero supported by two flyers

The Turkish army also included the same detachment .. aerial hero supported by two flyers (men on flying carpets, of course)

The first major clash came on the Turkish left

The Turkish right, a behemoth supported by riders and shooters

The centre became very messy very quickly once action was joined

That doesn't look good for the unit of Turkish lancers/knights that has become isolated

The two airboats went head to head.. quite a jostle

The action was fairly balanced, until my own die rolling turned to disaster, and in two turns I lost the CnC and the general of the left flank command, and quite a few fighting stands, including the artillery and several riders. That's the way it goes. We now plan to use the same armies in a DBF game some time soon. Life has got in the way over the next week, so it will be a little while.

Regardless of the dice though, HotT games are always a lot of fun... and it was good to see the larger Big Battle armies arrayed on the table.

A British VSF stronghold

Every now and then I have a flash of inspiration. Not exactly like realising how to split the atom, or solve world poverty, or banish the forces of the neo-liberal right wing .. but in the 'gaming sense, a germ of an idea that with a little time evolves into something I quite like. This is an example. 

My British Victorian Science Fiction army for HotT (Hordes of the Things) has lacked a stronghold. Browsing through my many 'bits boxes' as you do I stumbled across a 15mm old country farm house, and a futuristic piece of equipment that could perhaps have been a 'power house' .. or ... whatever heinous machine you care to imagine. The appeal, the inherent anachronism, of their juxtaposition appealed to me. Both on the same base, a heinous machine pseudo-disguised, only half hidden, behind an old farm house. So this idea took shape.

The finished product, farm house in front, scientific 'machine' behind connected with a heavy red cable, as you do.

I wanted the machine half hidden behind a mound, as if the ground had been partially excavated and the machine is half hidden deep in the earth. To create the 'mound' or hillock I glued some old plastic sprues to the base in order to give the filler compound something to key onto, and also to save weight on the overall base.

I then gradually layered filler over the sprues, allowing each thin layer to dry before proceeding. I am hoping this will minimise the chances of shrinkage and cracking

The base overall was then given a layer of plaster

... and the building and machine were glued into the wet filler

A few small hedges ... actually hedgerows for 6mm, but who notices ...

A piece of thick copper wire to represent a heavy duty cable connecting the machine and the house...

... and an old Airfix Cuirassier figure standing in the road outside the farmhouse with horse.. yes I know it's French, but this is 'fantasy', so I can do whatever I like.. and it was a way of emphasising the anachronisms I wanted on the stronghold base

And voila, a stronghold for the VSF army. 

A few Victorian Science Fiction shots

I've been plying a few HotT (Hordes of the Things) games over the past week. Last night veteran 'gamer Nick came around and we played few more. I love the aesthetic of Nick's British VSF, it inspired my own British VSF army a few years ago (thanks Nick). These photos are from a game with Nick's British battling my Turkish VSF army. Both of our armies have been built in 20mm.

Just a few random shots from one of our games.

Nick used this awesome piece as an aerial hero, but it could equally be an airboat

Nick's behemoth, a steam tank, ably supported by knights (lancers), and shooters in the background of the photo

A few of my own Turkish VSF, including my behemoth, and my hero.

Creatures most hideous

To the Honourable Gentlemen of Horseguards
Your Lordships

It is with heavy heart that I write this report to you from my own camp bed, recovering as I am yet again from a most deleterious confrontation with beasts most foul. You will no doubt see from the deterioration in the quality of my penmanship that I am much aggrieved by our most recent battles.

Having recovered from our meeting with the tribespeople and their ferocious beasts, the subject of my last dispatch, in which we drove these fierce peoples from the field despite their rough treatment of me and my loyal bodyguard, we proceeded to continue our advance inland. Four days we advanced, in jungles through which our progress was measured in yards per hour. The men's consumption of water far outpaced the ability of our supply caravans, and by jove those poor fellows dropped like flies from heat exhaustion.

On the fifth day, we decamped once more and had only been on the trails for less than an hour when we came across a plain on which were deployed beasts so terrifying that it took all of our efforts to steady our most steadfast of men. There before us lay arrayed creatures so hideous that even our worst nightmares might never have prepared us for what we were about to face.

Caruthers' forces advance from the right, the spider hordes are deployed on the left 

Indeed there were creatures so monstrous, half woman, half spider, spiders of such size as to dwarf the very man himself, and scuttling hordes of spiders that made the very skin crawl. And from the entire host arose a noise the like of which we had never heard before.

The Spider 'host', their God seen off table awaiting the right 'call' to summon him

Caruthers' forces, with the enhances aerial forces arrayed on his right.

Immediately the purpose of the strange noise became apparent, as a God like man appeared, of such size as to spread tremors through the very earth with its every step.

The Spiders' God (Spiderman) appears, as the first PIP die roll is a 6

Caruthers advances his line, with a 1 as the first PIP die roll

Spiderman swoops across to the rear of the British line

I ordered Lord Chelting and his supporting flyers to attack, and he flew straight into the hordes of small spiders.

The flyers hit the Spider hordes

Crash Bash.. but the hordes all hold

Spiderman hits Caruthers in the rear.. 

Damned bad form, old man., attacking a chap from behind.... eh wot?

Caruthers is recoiled from the God's attack

Having held off this damnable God fellow, my blessed hero nephew Lieutenant Winstanley came to the rescue and threw himself, yes threw himself,  at the God.

Winstanley (a Hero) hits the God

The behemoth, and the Spider hero general ,advance

The flyers realise that hitting the hordes was not the best idea.. they are bogged down in the mire of the hordes

The God hits back at Winstanley

The remainders of the two lines clash, on the British left

At this point I threw myself at this God Chappie too, to aid Winstanley in his valiant fight.

The flyers now overflew the hordes, in order to break off and get to the real action

The God bounces back both Winstanley and Caruthers

A most dreadful tussle develops between the hideous spider woman and their Hero general, and the British mounted Riders

Before my very eyes, the God threw himself at Winstanley..

And I watched Winstanley fall before the onslaught.

Winstanley the hero is beaten by the God, and with insufficient room to recoil, the stand is eliminated

 It was with desperation and hope in my heart that I watched as the God overran Winstanley and his gallant crew.. I could but hope that I might distract the God for long enough that my dear nephew might be able to drag himself clear. A unit of our sharpshooters advanced to try to keep the God occupied.

The battle with the riders, and one unit of blades  on the British left flank continues

The British flyers manage a massive wheel in order to try to get back to support Caruthers, but do not have sufficient move to get beyond the hordes. They find themselves trapped in the control zones of the spider hordes

With aerial help so near and yet so far, Caruthers is attacked by the Spider Hero General

The God eliminates the shooters, and more importantly is now free to turn attention to the main battle

Caruthers fights off the Hero general

I now found myself fighting off both the massive spider hero general, and the God... by Gad Sirs, this was dire indeed.

But the God joins the fight

At this point in time I once again found myself beaten most severely, and it was only by the sacrifice of my own loyal Guards that I was able to escape, all of us with much personal injury.

Caruthers' stand is eliminated, and so the battle is lost 

At this point in time my troops executed a most commendable and orderly fighting advance back to our starting positions. We were able to rescue poor Winstanley, albeit in a most aggrieved condition, while I myself sustained considerable injury once more.

I regret to inform your Lordships that several of the units of men that we deployed came to a most unpleasant end, under circumstances not at all advantageous to our glorious British forces.

We expect to resume the advance once more in the near future.
I remain, Sirs, your most obedient servant
Major General Sir Chelmswood Reginald Augustus Piers Caruthers