A Hail Caesar Test Drive: Much Bonking and Hacking

This weekend in the old Rectory games room I had a few hours to put all my painted ancients figures on the table and try the Hail Caesar rules from Warlord for the first time.   I used the early German and imperial Roman army lists and had enough figures to field the following:

Roman: 1 18 regular sized and 1 8 small sized unit of Heavy Infantry Auxiliary Infantry w Spears, 1 small unit of slingers, 1 small unit of Auxiliary archers, and 1 regular sized unit of Medium Auxiliary cavalry.

German: 2 32 figure warbands, both Eager Fighters, 1 small unit of 8 javelin skirmishers, 1 small unit of 8 archers, and 1 small unit of skirmish javelin cavalry.

Most of the figures on the table are Victrix plastics, though there are a few Foundry metal figures and some fantasy castings from Thistle and Rose filling out the German ranks.

Here are the forces arrayed at the start of the battle.  I didn't put any terrain down as I simply wanted to learn the core mechanics.   I quickly realized that with infantry movement at 6", cavalry movement at 9", and maximum bow range at 18", you don't want to put the two forces too far apart.  My limited collection meant that I played with one division aside, though HC allows for three divisions per side.

Romans won the initiative, which as I understand HC means that they keep it all through the game.   The command/activiation rules mean that units might get 1, 2, or 3 moves, or none at all, depending on how far they are away from their division commander, so the side that moves second might have a better turn depending on how the activations go. 

In their first turn, all the Roman units got to move, but in subsequent moves things got a bit herky jerky for both sides, so if you don't like activation rolls, this probably isn't the game for you.  The war band on the German right held back, and the Roman cavalry were reluctant to move.   I quickly learned how missile fire worked, and between them the Roman slingers and archers made short work of the German bows.  The German skirmishers and Roman horse exchanged volleys of javelins.  It seems to me that most units in HC have some kind of missile capability, but the real game is decided in hand to hand combat.

Below, a small unit of German skirmish horse is trying to annoy the Roman left, but as they are skirmishers and the Romans are formed, there didn't seem much that they could do, and the Roman archers kept them well at bay.

Proconsul Luigi briefly visited the battlefield and watched as everyone in the centre collided.  He seemed to be planning his next triumph, with my dogs in chains behind his chariot.  I don't have a lot of experience with ancients gaming but it seems that the big scrum in the centre is how most fights are decided.

Giving the Roman archers some love.  They did well in their first fight.  My sabot bases from Warbases take eight figures, and as far as I can tell from HC, eight figures is a small unit, and sixteen would be a regular sized unit, so that's convenient.

So on to the big final scrum.   There are a lot of photos just because it amused me to see all my figures on the table, locked in combat.   One thing about Ancients, the big battles just look darn cool.

The two war bands had an initial advantage.   For their first melee they throw seven D6, hitting on 4-6, but as Eager fighters they get to re-roll misses.   The Roman auxiliary infantry elected to Close Ranks, meaning that they get a plus on on their save rolls, saving on a 4-6, but hitting on a -1.  That seemed a fair trade, and thus the Romans survived the first round with only two hits.  

However, in subsequent rounds, the tide began to shift.   In their subsequent attacks, the war bands only attack with 6 d6, whereas the Romans fight every round with 7d6.  Hits on the Germans began to accumulate faster than they could cause them.  In the third round, the Roman cavalry finally passed an activation roll and joined the battle.  Likewise, the small unit of Roman infantry joined, though how they achieved that was funny.  I rolled a 12 on 2d6 for them to join the fight, which in HC is a blunder, but the blunder table result was an uncontrolled advance into the enemy, which allowed them close the distance and contribute to the final round.

At close of play, the German war band on the left broke thanks to the intervention of the cavalry and was removed from play, while the one on the right was very close to breaking.   The larger of the auxiliary infantry had been forced to retreat in disorder, but the result was still a Roman victory.

It's always interesting to try a set of rules for the first time.  The mechanics were fairly simple to grasp and there was a clear result within six turns, but there were some dynamics that I would like to explore further, particularly how skirmish, open order, and close order units interact.   There was a moment where the Roman slingers fired annoyingly, and then in the next turn the auxiliary infantry advanced through them to seek a resolution, so I felt I was doing that part right, but there feels like more to explore.   

The two sides felt different - the German power lies in their unwieldy war bands, which felt both powerful and fragile, whereas the Romans felt more resilient. Perhaps it would have been a tougher fight if the Romans had been outnumbered.

One thing I felt I might have missed was the influence of commanders on the game.  As far as I could tell, they simply exist as a measuring point to units being given orders - if they are beyond 12" from the commander, it's harder to get them to react.  They didn't seem to have any other rule that I could see. There were rules for commanders becoming casualties, but in my first play through I couldn't see how that worked, but you always miss details the first few times.

As for the activation rules, you either like them or you hate them.   I recall the same sort of activation principle when I once tried Warlord's Black Powder, and they are not unlike Lardie rules in that respect.  

Having all these figures on the table looks grand, but in 28mm, if you use the unit sizes that HC requires, you need a LOT of figures.  Two war bands at 32 figures each exhausted my available figures, so I had to add in some fantasy barbarian figures from Thistle and Rose.  If you look closely you can see them in the back ranks of the war bands.   My friend James suggests just using smaller units, or another set or rules, such as Midgard.  Not bad ideas; Midgard certainly has some interesting roles for commanders and their influence on battles.  Another way to maximize a smaller collection such as mine would be to try playing skirmish games using a set of rules such as TFL's Infamy, Infamy, or Clash of Spears.   Those are both options to explore.  Otherwise one is looking at painting a LOT of figures, which may be what a company that makes minis and rules wants!

So, congratulations to me for trying a new set of rules and getting all my ancients figures on the table.  I'll give Hail Caesar another try down the road.  Next up, the same armies using the Midgard rules from TFL/Reisswitz.

Thanks for reading and blessings to your die rolls!  

MP+

Stinky, Hairy, and Violent Foundry Germanic Warriors

 Here are six recently completed 28mm Foundry Germanic warriors from their Ancients range.  I have a large batch of Foundry Germans in the lead pile, but wanted to see how they took paint and their irregular quality makes a pleasant break from painting a large uniformed regiment.  The shields are hand painted and you probably guessed that they aren't transfers.  :)

Young men doing what they do best, shout, posture, and look for a fight.   The fellow in the centre seems quite comfy wearing his pajama bottoms.

The fellow on the left earned his grey beard the hard way, he was probably a young shirtless buck braying in the front of the war band but he's gotten smarter over the years.  He looks like a tribal leader.

"This envoy bored me and now he's broken.  Send another!"

One thing I've noticed playing a test battle of Hail Caesar yesterday (more on that in the next post) is that if you want to field multiple war bands, you need a lot of figures.   If you use the prescribed figure count in the rules, a war band is 32 figures, and I had two on the table, which meant augmenting my Germanic figures with some fantasy barbarians.  By that point, the quality of the painting needs to bend a bit if one wants to put a lot of figures on the table.    Perhaps I should look at a skirmish game like Infamy, Infamy if I want a smaller figure count?

Thanks for looking and blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Finished: Some Victrix Roman Auxiliary Archers

A dozen Roman auxiliary archers have stepped off from the Basing Depot and will be mustered into the Emperor's service.   They'll be marching off to the forests of Germania shortly.

I continue to like the Victrix figures, they look good, are well proportioned, and take paint well.   The assembly was a bit of a chore, and while they do come in a pleasing variety of poses, there were one or two where I felt, "that doesn't look quite right".   However, they'll do.   I painted them fairly quickly, I'm not sure it qualifies as "slapchop", whatever the kids mean by that, but they are I guess what one would call "wargame standard".   I painted them with the same light blue tunics that I gave to my existing auxiliary infantry, to suggest the same legion or affiliation.

They're based individually but the washers I can use can fit into my Warbases sabots, and can be stored in a box lined with magnetic paper.

The Victrix early imperial archers set comes with 12 figures from the western empire and 12 in the distinctive dress of the eastern empire.  I'll save the eastern figures for a Middle Earth project, and while it would be nice to have another 12 of these painted, I am not sure how reliant the Roman armies were on archers - I suspect they were a fairly small and specialized arm, but not sure.  Probably for now a dozen for a small tabletop army are sufficient.

Speaking of Middle Earth, it also occurs to me that these figures could be used as Gondorian militia archers, as opposed to the Games Workshop Gondorian archers in their full armour, but that's another thought.

I noticed that quite a few of the heads are sculpted wearing moustaches.   It reminded me that in Rosemary Sutcliffe's The Legion of the Ninth, the hero commands some auxiliary archers and they are described as being from Gaul, and one thinks of ancient Gauls as being hairy fellows.   Or maybe a coincidence?    Pray speak up in the comments.

Next up, some definitely hairy ancient Germans.

Thanks for looking, blessings to your brushes.

MP+

Some 28mm Horse and Musket Civilians

Not all the figures in this post are freshly painted except for the gent in the brown coat and hat, but the rest were done later in 2024 and I don't think I've blogged them here, so I guess they count (count for what?  points?  prizes? 🤪).

Groom leads a horse out of the barn for a gentleman.   The groom and horse are from Foundry's 18th century civilian range, the gent in the hat is a Front Rank figure from their Napoleonic civilian range.  The barn is I think from Warbases.

It's funny what you see in photos that you don't see otherwise.   The poor groom looks like he has a bandage on his nose, when in fact I think it was just some pale flesh highlight that looked ok at the time.  I'll have to have a hard look at him and see if he needs fixing.   The gentleman is sold by Front Rank along with a packhorse, and I think he's meant to be a pedlar, but I decided to make him look a bit posh.   His clothing is probably too early 1800s for a Lace Wars game, but tant pis as they say. 

 MDF cart and cast metal horses from Warbases.  The kit includes a resin casting of straw as a load for the cart if one wishes.   The farm labourer is from Front Rank's Napoleonic civilians range, enjoying a tankard while stopping at a pub.

These figures could be used just as table dressing or as characters and plot points in a skirmish game like Sharp Practice.  That gentleman going for a ride could actually be a spy with valuable intelligence.   The straw in that cart could be hiding contraband or a deserter.   The farmer with the pitchfork could be a dashing intelligence officer in disguise or maybe he's just Theo from Plotzen. 

  

Thanks for looking.  Later this week, some ancients figures, and maybe a test drive of the Hail Caesar rules.  

Blessings to your brushes,  MP+

Seven Years War Russians in Two Scales

 First, a WIP of my latest big project, a 36 figure Russian regiment in waistcoats from the Foundry 28mm SYW range.   All my Russian infantry to date are in green coats, so this unit will stand out on the table, and the red is a nice look.   If I'm lucky I get a few hours a week to plug away at these guys, and have developed a sort of Zen like attitude towards painting one colour at a time on all 36 figures.

At the same time, I've had a look at these 15mm Russian SYW figures from TundraWorks, a Canadian company based in Ottawa.  I ordered an army pack during their Kickstarter last year and have just gotten around to looking at them.

As others have noted online, these pewter figures seem slim, but people also tend to say that they look good when painted.   I thought I'd give this batch, also in waistcoats a try.

As things get fraught between Canada and our neighbours to the south, it's good to know that there are home grown sources for figures.  Tundraworks has a line of Lace War and Napoleonic figures, which can be ordered from their Kickstarter page, though how one orders seems a little opaque to me.

Cheers and blessings to your brushes,  MP+

New Years Day Seven Years War Battle

Here's some more reporting on the gaming day I hosted this New Years, which is already well in the rear view mirror!   The players were Conrad, visiting from Ireland (THE Conrad Kinch), and David.   CK is a total grognard, whereas David was playing his second war-game ever.   We used figures (mostly Foundry and Front Rank) from my collection, and the rules were the very dependable Honours of War by Keith Flint, published by Osprey.

CK set up his Russian army, giving his commanders ridiculous names like General Timoshenko Hortonivitch.   To stretch my limited collection, we used three base units, which worked well enough:  regiments had a decently sized footprint on the table and gave both players enough units to manage while having a decent range of tactical choices.

The Russians had an advantage in infantry: two brigades of three regiments each, while the Prussians had one brigade of four.   Both sides had a grenadier regiment, and the rest of the troops were line.   The Prussian advantage lay with their better generals.  The Honours of War rules are unforgiving with the Russian subcommands, who statistically tend to be worse than their Prussian counterparts.   Thus Conrad had three dim and doddering brigade commanders, whereas the Prussians had two competent ones and one dashing general.   This would give the Prussians a huge advantage in initiative and twice allowed a Prussian brigade to get an extra move.   To offset, I should have given the Russians another battery.

Prussian lines arrayed for battle:

Given some coaching, David, the novice player, decided that the best thing to do with his Prussians was to be aggressive.   He ordered his cavalry forward, the hussars on his left and the heavy brigade of horse on his right, see here thundering forward.

While the fifes and drums called his infantry forward in the centre.  Frederick is seen on the far right, plotting the course of the battle.

The Prussian and Russian heavy cavalry collide on the one flank, and engage in a massive scrum in which the Prussian horse gradually and slowly get the upper hand.

The battle was actually decided on the Prussian left flank, where sadly I don't have any photos, but after defeating the Russian light horse, the Prussian hussars were able to exploit an extra move thanks to their superior commander, and start rolling up one of the two Russian infantry brigades.   Conrad was an excellent sport, coaching David on how to use his cavalry to best advantage in the situation,  even though he was working to defeat himself in the process.  Well done, CK.

The decisive moment was the impact of the Prussian infantry brigade on the Russian centre, where the bloodiest moments of the battle occurred, but when the smoke cleared, two Russian regiments had been mauled for the cost of one Prussian, and the Russians were at their break point.

Here, Frederick is being congratulated by happy Silesian peasants, who are trying to sell him snacks and souvenirs.

A decisive Prussian victory achieved through good sportsmanship by both players.  My friend David is keen to play another game, if I can get him away from working on his model railroad layout, and I continue to be impressed by the HOW rules, simple, easy to teach, and highly playable.   Also a thrill to get the bulk of my slowly growing Seven Years War collection on the table.

Cheers and blessings to your die rolls,

MP+

 

Canadian Wargamer Podcast Episode 27 is Up!

 We've been hibernating a lot lately, but the latest edition of our (me and James Manto) highly irregular podcast is up.   Give it a listen.  Will we do more?  Hopefully, the mojo is seeping back, like maple syrup.