Hoplimania 4: 15mm Labors...

Now that looks more like a phalanx!

First, time to repair spears that were knocked off. Trusty Dremel is at the ready!

repairing shields that were knocked off - they would have been fine if based on the magnetized ones like the batch of Panhellenic hoplites. These were just sliding around on the craft sticks in the tool box.

Cleaning and filing some more shields.

It's been hard to go from the massive GW "heroic 28mm" or whatever they are billed at this point to 15s again. Even the bigger one to left is pretty small to work with. I had to hold the shields still with a small piece of wire while I primed them.

Some more shield work - using Army Painter "Warpaints" metallic "Weapon Bronze".  It has a reddish hue to it, much like GW's "Dwarf Bronze".  I like that it has a mixing ball in it.  I gave it a good shaking then opened it up. However, it did leak a bit all over the top. Below pic you can see where I used the excess paint.

Another thing I didn't like is that despite the rattle pea, and a good mixing, the paint went on pretty thin over the black undercoat. You can see a lot of black from the first coat, and how thin the bronze layer is.

Below, you can see where the cap is cleaned off, and therefore how much paint was all over it.  Also, a second coat definitely made more of the bronze pigment show up. All I can say is from this initial first impression, is that there isn't a lot of pigment in Army Painter's "Warpaints" series, or at least not in the metallics.

Below, work continues on 32 more Panhellenic hoplites.  These are almost ready for decals and spears.

I did an experiment with black priming some of the Xyston figs, and white priming the other half - the two groups are identical, part of the command packs.

Confident that the armor will look better over the black, and the clothing on the white if it is bright colors.  Most of it is.

Their flesh is too pale.  Even with a wash, I think it will be too light for agriculturalists who are outside a lot.

The above are generic leaders for Greek hoplites. I plan to decorate their tunics and cloaks a bit to make them look "special".

The below are leaders for Spartans.  They are a lot easier to paint since they didn't wear much, and it is nearly all the same!  Crimson is the color.  I believe I can get away with painting their helmet crests in some different colors, not all red.  

The above were white primed. This meant I had to paint the bronze armor black.

The below were black primed.  With a light drybrushing over the black prime, I do feel like there's a noticeable effect on the top coat.  

The effect is a bit more noticeable here.  White prime left, black prime right.  You can see that there's a natural darkness in the folds over the black prime.  The white prime looks flat and consistently colored.

Won't know until I finish them up... but white v. black prime?  It all depends...

BASING

Yes, basing...the wargamer's quandary, and Ken Litko's success story! These fellows are on 40mm x 20mm bases, pretty much DBx sized. I believe they should be 40 x 15mm deep, but that won't fit them.  Issues to consider:

   a. The bases are not nearly deep enough or high enough to handle without picking the figs up by their heads or spears, which means too much scratching and damage from spears bending or popping off.

   b. I never will play DBA with single bases again. I'm double-basing all my 15mm ancients and putting them on thicker bases for easier handling. 40x40mm would work well for Age of Hannibal...

   c. Hoplites look good in groups of 16, 24, or 32. That's what a taxis should size out to be. Hoplomachia always uses two ranks of hoplites anyway, and Tearless Hoplite Battles is basing agnostic.

Another view without a lot of clutter. The bases underneath are 2" deep and 1.5" wide, so 50mm deep by not quite 40mm...uncertain about that depth, however...

...but the top-down view shows that the depth is just about right to keep the figs and their spears within the base edges and from getting scratched and banged together. The alternative is to remount the spears so fewer of them extend to the rear [which may be wrong, anyway, the grip point of balance was pretty far back].  Extra space will also make for the occasional diorama effect.  I wonder if 50x50 would work...45x45? My hoplite armies and their foes are a "closed project" in that I don't intend to play them in competitions using DBx, AOH, Triumph! or - Lord have mercy - ADLG.  I'm done with that sort of gaming.

Now the cavalry and light troops are not only smaller units, but they move as individual bases. So these may stay on single bases of 40mm by 30mm deep, and have 2-3 figs on them as appropriate.  Interestingly, DBA classed peltastes as psiloi (s), not Auxilia. This made them two figs a base. Thracians are Aux since they have big swinging choppers as well as javelins and a shield, so they are three per base.

Hoplomachia! Tearless Hoplite Battles, Men of Bronze, AMW, Tactica 2?  As long as the basing is consistent on both sides, it doesn't really matter.  Age of Hannibal does really need square bases for optimal play.

Project thoughts

To run a 4-player game, I want a lot of Hoplites, about double what I have. With proper basing they should be easily handled and therefore it can be possible to share with some friends.

44 lochoi  [double bases] total x 40mm = 176 cm, or 90cm of hoplite phalanx a side. At four lochoi a taxis, that will be 11 taxeis, each player managing some lights on their flank as well.  That will require 350 or so hoplites!

What could be better than the hoplites I have?  MORE HOPLITES!

There was a bit of a sale, so I picked up from Noble Knight three DBA army packs, one Spartan:

This has 44 hoplites altogether.

Two Theban:

For 32x2=64 more hoplites, all in Beoetion helmets, but...who cares?  I will likely use half as "Panhellenic" hoplites.  

Interestingly, the "Beoetion helmet" is a metal rendition of a cloth cap with two straps, front and back, which explains the unusual shape.

I also got 24 Phoenician Marines [look like everyday hoplites...what makes them "Phoenician" I dunno, but that's what it says on the label!] and about 24 more in three 8-packs of stray hoplites [command, early, late].  With some odds and ends, that will get me into the 300 realm for hoplites.

HOPLIMANIA TASK LIST 

1. Order more shield transfers / decals - Little Big Man?
2. Print out and assemble some Greek buildings - OHW scenario terrain.
3. Decide on the basing and double base the hoplites.
4. Corrections on 15mm figs: more darker hair, some gray, shield rims bronze or patterned, hat/helmet mold lines, clothing patterns, Thracian and other shield transfers, thin spray coat of matte varnish
5. Mix new miracle dip - thinner, with black tint [bright Med. sun effect].
6. Markers: Heroes, Strategoi, Sphagia, Couriers [running figs], Initiative, Defensive Stance Bonus, 

Well, it's nice to have a bit more time for gaming projects, and to be progressing.  Nothing quite as discouraging as boxes of dusty lead...!

Hoplimania 2b: RULES - "Tearless Hoplite Battles"

"We're ready to share our culture with you today!"

second painting by the obviously talented Karl Kapinsky, from here: https://age-of-discovery.blogspot.com/

Another battle, another opportunity for Tears! After the very strong narrative and enjoyable time I had with THB last post [CLICK] I played a few more games, made a few tweaks and edits, incorporated Mike T's answers, and felt like I could do another AAR with some interesting happenings.

Again, Corinthians are on the top, Thebans are on the bottom.

Both sides used a Traditional Deployment, so had 2 Veteran, 3 Average and 2 Novice hoplite Units from [their] right to left. Both sides chose [I diced] to shift right to overlap the other, resulting in a large overlap of three Units a side!  I considered redoing this, but wanted to test the full range of possibilities in the rules so stuck with it. Both sides chose to Attack instead of Defend.

The player's card hands are visible to the sides because this is a solo game. I can't cheat since I barely remember what the cards may mean without the rules...

In the pre-battle shooting phase, the Corinthians [top] suffered a Disordered Unit, but inflicted 2 Disorders and a Shaken result on the hapless Thebans [bottom].

Turn 1, Advance Phase. The Corinthians come out with a very decent line - a couple units only one zone [square] out of placed - the Strategos himself is one ahead, and one of the Average Hoplites is back one. One of the Novices didn't hear a command, apparently...has been left two zones behind.

The Thebans have very random rolls, and are spread all over the place - ugh! The Theban Strategos [General] plays a couple of cards to get one Unit a couple zones advanced, and improve the Courage of another. The Corinthians play one card.

Both sides then check the Omens, or Sphagia, sacrificing a goat (poor thing). I may have used cards or rolled, forget which - rolling is my idea. Net result is both sides think the Omens favorable and each  gets one Unit improved one level of courage - The Corinthians take an Uneasy Unit and make it Firm, and the Thebans an Uneasy Unit goes up to Eager.

Both sides now must make a plan for the large overlap they have against each other. The Corinthians keep straight on while the Thebans start Maneuvering one Unit by making a left Turn. In THB, Units can't start maneuvering and leaving their original column on the grid until / unless they don't have an enemy Unit in the column - so they either need to defeat it or have overlapped.

Turn 2. As the two sides come within striking distance, the Thebans develop their outflanking plan while the Corinthians successfully slow their left-most Unit in response - they needed 3+ to succeed which they got. The Theban left-most Unit is already waaaaay behind so no effort spent there, which is good since the limited maneuvering ability is going into the Veteran Units on the right.

Turn 3. The phalanxes clash!  The Corinthians have almost all their Units in a solid line, playing a card to help with this. The Thebans look like they're a mess, but actually they are succeeding in getting into a better position to outflank the Corinthian left. The Corinthians are now Maneuvering their right-most hoplite Unit to cross the board and attack the Thebans at the right time. As the Units are a bit cumbersome maneuvering, one has to plan ahead - I enjoy this "realism".

In the Melee phase, the Thebans have one Unit Pushed Back, Shaken, but Break one Corinthian and Push back another in Disorder.

In Turn 3 Rally Phase, Corinthians re-organize one Unit on a '4', but fail to do so with another, using a Card for a bonus Rally, rolling a '1'. The Thebans fail to reorganize one Unit on the black '3' below.

The Corinthians have only lost one Unit, so easily pass their army break roll.

Turn 4. Chaos descends on the battlefield, as both sides organize their right-most Units for flanking maneuvers, while the neat battle line disappears in a flurry of combat results. Thebans have two Pushed Back Shaken, Corinthians one.

Thebans roll high and Rally off a Shaken, while the Corinthians fail to do so.

Theban long-term planning bears fruit, and we start to see a small battle line developing to the right. Corinthians are not quite so organized. The scrum in the center continues.

Turn 5. Corinthians break two Novice Hoplite Units, and lose one of theirs.

Both sides easily pass their army break point test.

By Turn 7, the Thebans had a neat phalanx of four Units heading left across the table. The Corinthians are not quite as organized. Both - again - overlap the other's left flank. Thebans have one very game Unit that is fighting hard in the center and has Pushed Back the opposition, Shaken and Disorganized. The nearest Thebans can't help as they have enemy approaching down their row so can't stop or Maneuver. Both have lost two Units, and both have five on the battlefield.

The Theban then Rallies off a Disorganized - very disciplined, hard-fighting Unit! 

Turn 8, the overlapping phalanxes clash.

Despite the use of Cards to improve the rolls, the Theban Unit is broken in a dreaded 6 v. 1 roll-off.

But the Thebans manage to break the center Corinthian in a 5-1 roll off!

Both sides now had lost a third Unit, and the Thebans failed their Army Break Test.

I started to execute the rules for withdrawing from the battlefield, but it was late and I was too tired to make headway on them, so called it a Corinthian win.

Overall, the game had plenty of narrative and the small differences in each side's phalanx, combined with the overlap on the right, and each side's plan to exploit it, shaped the game:

- Corinthians faced a Theban left that was lagging way behind, slowing the confrontation and the likely result of losing a couple units.

- Thebans faced a neat Corinthian line and Maneuvered very effectively, also destroying the Corinthian left, but finished the process much better organized.

Ultimately, the results were close enough that the battle was decided by a dice roll, which I am fine with since both sides were at almost 50% losses and should be faced with significant force morale rolls. Had the battle continued, it would largely have depended on the dice results, with whoever lost a Unit first having a 50% chance to break.

Very enjoyable time, but must carefully read the rules for withdrawing from the battle after failing the army break test when more awake!

Hoplimania 2a: RULES - "Tearless Hoplite Battles"

"The arbitration team has arrived to discuss our territorial boundaries..."

by the obviously talented Karl Kapinsky, from here: https://age-of-discovery.blogspot.com/

Tearless Hoplite Battles was published in Slingshot 251 by Mike Tittensor, a game designer lurking in his mountain stronghold somewhere in central Europe, who is rumored to be a direct descendant of Vlad the Endgamer... but rumor abounds. I heard about them from that analyzer of wargames, Dale Hurtt [CLICK], who always seems to have something intelligent to say about game designs - so of course I set out to find the rules immediately.

I was able to track Mike down with the help of a few former Neil Thomas operatives recently returned from his stronghold in Nottingham woods - it's amazing what a few pints will do to loosen the tongue! Despite being busy with other gaming tasks and analyzing pork cuisine in the Czech Republic, Mike graciously found time to have a clandestine courier drop them off into my inbox.

A quick read and I knew I wanted to give them a go. They use a grid, are very period specific to the era of the Greek hoplite, 7th-5th centuries BC, and have mechanics to restrict players options to traditional hoplite warfare. They are also fraught with narrative and feel and flavor. And I like having historical limitations and flavor!  

EDIT: Mike himself sent a winged-footed courier [in what appeared to be a ballet outfit] bearing a message that said:

"The rules are designed to reflect how to get a long line of potters, bakers, masons and wine merchants to advance in a straight line through the dusty plains of Greece when your C3 infrastructure consists of a bloke with a loud voice and a kid with some pan pipes. 

Men love war…but they love talking about it over a crater of wine a lot more. This is a set of rules for those battles."

So...let's get out onto the plains of Greece!

The game is logically arranged by phases: 

Setup

Approach

Battle [repeated], and, 

Victory!

The Battle Phase is the repeating Game Turn in which the hoplites maneuver and fight.

I didn't have a 40mm grid ready to go for my partially completed DBA hoplite armies, so used an unmarked grid, which worked fine. With 7 hoplite units a side and some spaces on the flanks, there were 13 columns by 15 rows for the grid. 

I then: 

• determined the hoplites quality and bravery, 
• set up the battle line, 
• chose a tactic [offense or defense], and finally, 
• determined any attempt by a phalanx to overlap the other. 

As the two phalanxes were the same size, and it was the first play, I kept them straight on at each other - simple! Not having any specific forces, I will just call them Corinthians [top] and Thebans [bottom].

I then began the Approach with missile attacks. Lights are abstracted into missile attacks that occur once a turn so players can concentrate on the hoplites. Still, I had some bases, so I tossed them out there to mark what columns the lights would attack - I randomly rolled these since I had no idea what to do!  I ended up disordering two Corinthian Veteran hoplite Units and the same two on the Thebans [red pipe cleaners]. 

Note that the Veterans on both sides are on the right, the position of honor. Both sides had two Veterans on the right, three Average next, and on their left two Novice hoplite units.

Next, the actual approach was made. These are rolled with a d6 and modified, and then the Unit moves forward that many spaces. This gives a large spread of outcomes, so the hoplite phalanx is quite scattered as can be seen below.

Part of the design's challenge is for players to order their lines as best as possible before contact. This is complicated by mandatory forward movement combined with limited ability to add or slow movement.

The cards provide buffs and bonus opportunities. In this case, the Corinthians played the Queen of Diamonds which allowed them to advance a lagging veteran hoplite. The Thebans played the Jack and Queen of Hearts, allowing them to advance one unit and re-roll the bravery of another.

Finally, the battle phase occurred, with all Units advancing one space, then some missile shooting resulting in another Disordered Corinthian [white six].

Finally both sides attempted to rally one unit that was in disorder, and rolling 1's they failed.

For Turn 2, the Battle phase brought no one into melee, but I succeeded in rallying one Corinthian from Disorder, and reigning in one Disordered Veteran Theban Unit.

Clearly, the Thebans have managed to get their phalanx in better order, with two main blocks and one well ahead and one lagging behind.

Turn 3 saw the two sides get into strike range, so the success of two Units removing their Disorder was welcomed. 

Turn 4 saw two opposing units both about to enter the same space - as movement is simultaneous, they had to dice off...

...and the Thebans took the space first.

In this specific instance, it resulted in the Corinthian halting a space early and getting supported by three other units - the alternative was to advance alone, so this was optimal outcome for the Corinthians!

Additionally, the Corinthians placed a card that pushed back a Theban in Disorder. 

Overall, the Corinthians have managed their left better than the Thebans their right.

Combat was then fought out, with the Thebans breaking one Corinthian and advancing, despite being overlapped on one side. Another Theban to the left pushed back it's opponent, Shaken. 

Combat is a simple d6 roll-off with a few modifiers, and comparing the totals for four results: tie, win by 1, 2-3, or 4. A tie is a push with a chance at being disorganized, a 4 breaks the loser who is removed, and the intermediate results are push backs with morale issues.

The Thebans finish a strong turn by playing a card that disordered a Corinthian. 

Having lost a Unit, the Corinthians rolled a 3 to stay in the field easily.

Turn 5, the Thebans continued to kick Corinthian butt, resulting in another unit breaking and another unit shaken.

The Corinthians need to bolster their courage with some wine from the Peleponnese. Liquid courage is better than none at all...

Turn 5 concludes with both sides removing a Disorder on one Unit, and the Corinthians rolling a '4' to remain in the field.

Turn 6, the Corinthians lose another unit, but finally broke a Theban. Both rally off a Disorder and then the Thebans roll a '6' to easily stay on the field - all praise to the bravery from Bacchus!

Finally, on Turn 7, the Thebans break a fifth Corinthian while their other Novice Unit was also broken. Fantastically, both sides fail their army break point!  The Thebans had to roll a '1' [success!] and the Corinthians needed a high roll to stick around but rolled a '2'.  In any event, on Points, the result was a minor Victory for the Thebans - failing army morale cost them a Major victory they richly deserved!

What a buncha fun!

The cards presented additional possibilities that can matter but don't dominate the game. I was pretty busy with the rules so forgot to play three of them.

The disordered advance of the phalanxes during this period was pretty exciting, and not orderly or boring at all. This is the somewhat wilder period of hoplite warfare, when disciplined, professional phalanxes were less common than those that charged forward wildly, somewhat disorganized. This was definitely accomplished by the rules, witness the pic for turn 1 with the widely spread hoplite Units, and Turn 4 which has a lot of yellow disordered markers.

The aesthetic of the square grid spaces resulted in the Units appearing more spread out on the table than they were in movement speed. I didn't like the wide spread, and could see using rectangular spaces just for the sake of visual appeal.

Overall, I really liked this free set for its flavorful ambiance and highly structured approach that was evocative of the limits of hoplite phalanxes. While there were some issues with mechanics, there were none that stopped the flow of the game or that impacted the game enough to change an outcome. 

The bottom line is that altho the Corinthians managed to be more orderly at impact The Thebans edged them out in the combat dice rolls.

Will be playing again, soon, but simply MUST make a QRS or condensed set of the rules so I don't have to page around so much. The good news is I'm looking forward to another Tearless Hoplite Battle!