Monday 30 January 2017

Pikeman's Lament - Table and Set up.

A miserable, grey and overcast day here, not ideal for taking photographs, but I will do my best. The only table I have available measures 43 1/2 x by 28 1/2 inches (110 x 72 cm), not really ideal but it will have to do. I did consider replacing movement and firing with centimetres as opposed to inches, but will stick to inches on this occasion.


On the left, we shall refer to this as West,  are two small woods at either side of a small hillock, in the centre is a walled enclosure and finally a larger wood on the right. All the other areas of the table are clear terrain. I have tried to add a little of everything to test out the movement and firing rules.


Eye level shot of the small hillock from the small wood.


The walled enclosure.

A die roll decided that the Royalists would be defending in this battle and they will set up on the southern edge of the table. Although I am playing solo, I still went through the set up procedure in the rules. So all foot units were deployed, a single figure for now.


Friendly units only need a distance of one inch between them, different to the three inches in Lion Rampant, though of course they cannot move within three inches of an enemy unit unless charging. Trimble's Shot and Pike take up a position in the centre.


Spencer's Shot on the right (east).


Clan McGregor will form up behind the large wood in the north east.


Forlorn Hope in the centre.


Clan Douglas on the right flank, facing the hill.


Next all horse bar dragoons are placed on the table.


Sullivan's Troop on the left flank.


Barker's Troop to support Spencer's Shot.


The only parliamentary horse unit, Garnett's Troop, forms up opposite Barkers's Troop


Finally, the dragoons are deployed. Foulston's on the left flank, opposite the hillock.


1st and 2nd Troops of Okey's Dragoons, supporting the Forlorn Hope.


Finally add all the units to their markers.


This photo is a little brighter, (switched on the lighting, bloody 1 pm too!)


Just a few photos to show the position of each unit in a broader context.







Finally, some troop eye level shots.





Looking down the Royalist line.


The Parliamentary line.


Table from the east looking west. I still have to place the two majors with a unit, as they have to be attached to a unit, and each will replace one figure in that unit.

I am now finally in a position to fight the battle/skirmish. Of course I shall be taking lots of photos and writing a comprehensive battle report on the next post.
I would also like to thank everyone who commented on the previous post, either directly to the blog or via anywhere else the link was posted. It is really appreciated, any ideas or suggestions will be gratefully received.

17 comments:

  1. Nice setup!

    If you play on a narrow board you might consider to lett all or some units to start ofboard and have to nake a ordinary move action to enter.

    Loking forward to see the AAR :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dalauppror, I did consider that, along with using cm instead of inches, but decided against both. I will have to play with what I have, and a good exercise for people who say they have no room to play!

      Delete
  2. Looking forward to the Battle Report.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kenneth, poor light has stopped play for today, I would normally carry on under artificial lighting, but as I am documenting it for the blog, daylight will be much better.

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Thank you Don, there will be more to see tomorrow.

      Delete
  4. Excellent! Let battle commence...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks Leo, even as I sit here now, the table with the figures on looks very impressive, and yet, there are less than 60 figures per side.

      Delete
  5. Echoing dalauppror's thoughts: when I started with Lion Rampant I had a small table so I drew a scaled down table on a whiteboard.
    I started the game on the white board using coloured markers for the different units and fought it until I decided that the first two units were on the actual table.
    It got damned complicated! :)
    In the end I gave it up, went to the Dark Ages circa 9th and 10th centuries and forgot all about horses. Much simpler

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, thanks Nobby, I was really interested in your whiteboard system, then you took it all away at the end. It is food for thought though, Mmmm now how could I do something similar?

      Delete
  6. A tense meeting. Fingers on triggers and blades.
    It's a nice layout even if the table is a bit small for 28mm giants.

    I'm building myself one this month, with an eye on keeping it portable/stowable. Aiming for 4x6 but no place to really set it up except the back (covered)patio. So maybe 3 months of the year conducive to outdoor play... still, it has to happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you buddy, space both to play and to store these giants, is always a problem. I could half the size of the units for my small table, and it would still look acceptable, but I shall see how this plays out with full size units, though it sure does look crowded. Not my style at all.

      Delete
  7. I like posts that cover the bigger figs on smaller tables - loads of gamers with 'real life' spaces need this sort of inspiration. 28's look lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Norm, very true, many gamers do not have a wargaming table to use, and must make do with whatever is available. There is something extremely satisfying about using 28's.

      Delete
  8. Some nice pics. I like that little layout. So small, yet so effective. GO ROYALISTS!!! : ()

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kurtus, small and simple, but should give a good test of the rules.

      Delete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.