Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Pickett's Charge

The throbbing rumble of cannons continued ceaselessly as the messenger rode up to the men.
  The young man gracefully dismounted his horse and smartly saluted General Pickett,  General Pickett extended his gloved hand the young messenger seemed to say something in protest.  General Pickett looked at General Longstreet and said something lost to the thunder of the guns.  The messenger awkwardly handed the note to General Picket; who accepted the message and returned the young man’s salute.    He barely read the note as he turned on his heal to march the few steps to where General Longstreet half slumped half sat along a dull gray split rail fence staring into space watching the immense artillery duel in the valley below.


Nearly 125 cannons had opened fire on the Union position a hour proceeding, prompting the 100 plus Union artillery to return fire.   General Longstreet continued to stare at the nothingness of the valley below as if the weight of 6,555 souls weighed down his body.
"A message from Col. Alexander."  General Pickett announced.  The sound prompted a small response from General Longstreet as he half turned his head towards General Pickett.   "Hurry up for god sakes or the artillery cannot help you."  It was only a momentary pause, but to General Longstreet it seemed like an eternity before General Pickett spoke again.  "What are your orders Sir?"  Longstreet again gazed at the nothingness of the Valley below.  "Should I commence the Attack?"   All General Longstreet could do was nod his head in agreement.  With that nearly 20,000 men began their charge into destiny.

The Centurions will be running a scenario based upon this momentous moment of American history, Pickett's Charge, this Saturday at the Source Comics and Games.   Setup will begin at 10:30, the Artillery duel and game play there after.


Sunday, August 25, 2024

August 31st - Alpha Strike

 Date: 9 July 3031

Location: Betelgeuse (Capellan Space)

Background:  Due to the lack of Free Worlds League participation in the Fourth Succession War a political crisis arose within the League.  The Duchy of Andurien took the opportunity to use this discord and officially succeed from the Free Worlds League on 11 September 3030.  The Duchy, along with it's ally The Magistracy of Canopus, invaded the Capellan Confederation in a bid to claim legitimacy as a minor House power.  As part of that bid, the primary Duchy objectives were the occupation of the Grand Base and Betelgeuse systems.  These systems were the remaining production sources left to the Capellan Conferation in the wake of the war with the Federated Suns.

Spurred on by an early lack of response by House Liao, Duchy of Andurien forces landed on Betelgeuse on 2 December 3030.  These forces were opposed by Warrior House Kamata and planetary Home Guard units. Due to the inability of Duchy forces to achieve victory, they were further reinforced by the mercenary regiment Tooth of Ymir on 9 February 3031.  This tipped the balance in favor of Duchy forces.  Until on July 9th, Warrior House Hiritsu conducted a surprise combat drop on the rear area of Andurien forces.

Game Scenario: Players will be playing as Warrior House Hiritsu with each player controlling a lance of 4 battlemechs.  (While they are still rebuilding after the Fourth Succession War, the Warrior Houses are still some of the most preeminent units of House Liao.)  The players forces will deploy via combat drop on to the game area during the first turn of the game.  The goal for the players is to inflict maximum carnage upon Andurien rear area elements and then withdraw once Andurien forces start to react to their presence.  

The Andurien forces will be controlled by the Aces open beta playtest system.  This opfor will be set and not adjusted for the number of players.  

Force Building:
Since this is an asymmetric battle, we are going to try something a different for building a lance.

●) Using the first chart here, players will determine what weight class of lances they will have available to them.  


This will give a result of 3 lance options that will apply to the next step.  Because this is House Liao, and they are still rebuilding from the Fourth Succession War, treat the 'Assault' result as a 'Heavy' result instead.

●) Using the chart below, roll to see the composition for each of the lance types that were the result of the previous chart.


Using these results, use what miniatures you have to fill out the lance(s) that you choose.  Nothing newer than 3031 though to keep within canon.  Also, keep in mind you will only actually field one of those lances.  

●) Finally, since Warrior House Hiritsu is a scratch battalion in the middle of rebuilding after being destroyed by House Davion, roll for the skill rating for the pilot for each of your mechs.  Warrior House Hiritsu is rated as 'Veteran', so use that line on the following chart when rolling.



Useful Links:
To check mech availability (nothing newer than 3031)

Alpha Strike Force Builder:

My email if you have any questions
battlestarto@yahoo.com

Intelligence Briefing:
Betelgeuse - this system is the second largest military manufacturer in the Confederation, and is responsible for a third of the consumer goods produced.  It is also the home system for Warrior House Kamata.

First Defenders of Andurien - this is a vetetan combined arms regiment and is considered to be the best unit within the Duchy of Andurien forces.  Though their specialty is defensive operations.  Like all Duchy forces, they full embrace and promote combined arms warfare.  As a result, expect, at the very least, to see some form of mixed rear area security elements in or near your landing zone. 

Tooth of Ymir - this is a mercenary regiment hired by the Duchy of Andurien to supplement their forces for operations against House Liao.  While the unit is experienced in defensive operations, they are also very aggressive when it comes to offensive operations.  And have pushed Warrior House Kamata back during their short time on planet.

-Terry

Sunday, August 18, 2024

September 2024 Game Schedule

September 7th
Koenig Krieg - Seven Years War
Wars of the Jumble Alliance
Jim Fitzgerald

September 21st
Glory is Fleeting (FOG-N)
Napoleonic 10mm
Jim Fitzgerald

All Games at the Source Comics and Games
Setup begins at 10:30 AM and play soon after.
No Figures or Experience are Required to Play

Friday, July 26, 2024

War of the Roses

As a group we have had a long running discussion about wargaming the War of the Roses [WotR]. A few of us had previously purchased a box (or) two of figures for the WotR when the Source Comics and Games carried Perry Miniatures. Fitz and I have been discussing how to move the project forward recently and getting figures on the table.

This weekend Pat B. informed me the Source will again be carrying Perry Miniatures, assuming everything goes as planned, in the near future. There is an opportunity to piggyback on the first order if you are interested.

WotR has a low cost entry point, while we don't have the price yet figure about $40 (give or take) for a box of Perry Plastics. WR1 - War of the Roses Infantry, has 40 figures which can be configured into 2 Leaders, 15 Billmen, 18 Archers and 5 extra figures. This arrangement is the basis of an "Allied Command" for Field of Glory (3rd Edition). This mix creates a Troop Commander, 4 Bases of Protected Billmen (16 figures), and 6 bases of Archers (18 figures).

If you are interested in participating in this project let me know.
the_goldy_gopher(at)yahoo.com

August 2024 Game Schedule

August 3rd
Field 0f Glory Renaissance - 10mm
Jim Fitzgerald

August 17th
Field of Glory Ancients: 3rd Edition
Carthage's Invasion of Iberia

Jeff Johnson

August 31st
BattleTech - Alpha Strike
Sci-Fi Saturday
Terry Ollila

All Games at the Source Comics and Games
Setup begins at 10:30 AM and play soon after.
No Figures or Experience are Required to Play

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

June 2024 Game Schedule

June 1st
Spearhead - World War II
Battle for Carentan - 15mm

June 15th
Napoleonics Game
10mm Napoleon's Battles 2nd Edition or Field of Glory Napoelonics 3rd Edition


June 29th
BattleTech - Alpha Strike
Sci-Fi Saturday

All Games at the Source Comics and Games
Setup begins at 10:30 AM and play soon after.
No Figures or Experience are Required to Play

Saturday, March 16, 2024

April 2024 Schedule

April 6
Wings of War - World War II

April 20
Field of Glory 3rd Edition
TBD

All Games at the Source Comics and Games
Setup begins at 10:30 AM and play soon after.
No Figures or Experience are Required to Play