Zombies - Episode 2; Just a Walk In The Park - When last we saw our intrepid adventurers, they had managed to extricate themselves from the Winery/Tavern with evidence of potential poisoning which seemed to result in the entire population of the village of Chagrin being changed into zombies. After leaving the tavern, Sgt. McLaughlin forms his men up. "We've but to make it back to the castle and our problems are solved. The colonel has moved the entire regiment to bivouac there, and awaits only our evidence to march the darlin's through this hovel like crap through a goose!" Sergeants sometimes talk that way.
The men set out for the only bridge crossing the tiny but truculent Pissoir river, and almost immediately come under attack from itinerant undead, searching for food, shelter, and a little loose change. All were dispatched posthaste although the good sergeant did manage to be bitten a couple of times before blowing his opponent's head off. As the party reached the roadways convergence with the main highway, calls for help could be heard to the east. Virgil, the blacksmith, was still hale and healthy, and fighting for his life in his smithy. Escape was to the west, but self-preservation not withstanding, the valiant Irishmen charged the zombie onslaught, killing all and rescuing the giant St. Mauricier. The good sergeant was nibbled on yet again, and this time the results were less than stellar. "I'm for it lads. Don't wait for me," he called after his troops, who were rapidly putting as much distance between themselves and him as possible. When the reports were taken, each to a man expressed concern than the NCO would himself turn into a zombie, and thus pose a threat to them and their mission. Truth be told, each owed the sergeant money and had no problem taking advantage of his little inconvenience to make life a bit easier.
The troop was attacked again in front of the church, and this is the location where Sgt. Mclaughlin met his end. Further fighting at the bridge, and yet twice more in the forest beyond, proved inconsequential, and the party arrived safely and intacked at the castle. Unfortunately, a rather extensive search established that absolutely no one was currently occupying the fortress. Acting Corporal O'Tool found a note attached to the door of the keep, which appeared to be written in their colonel's hand. It read, "Gone for Guinness. Back soon. Keep an eye on the place. Sincerely, Seamus.
"Well, what do we do now?" The newly appointed (self-appointed) corporal was perplexed.
"Not for nothin'," chimed in McGillicutty, "but I know of a barrel of the local squeezin's tucked away in the lower regions of this place. It isn't Irish, but it'll do!" They all agreed, and set off for the basement.
Stay tuned for Episide 3: O, You Take The High Road, And I'll Take...

...With a Little Help From My Friends - St. Maurice has finally seen fit to move into the modern age of gun powder by adding decent field transportation to it's artillery arm. Up until now, prolonging a gun in His Majesty's kingdom was just that; prolonged. Line batteries will be mobilized using the animals of the local agricultural representatives, while the horse artillery will actually outfit it's own equipment handlers. Both types are shown here. The horses, limbers and attendants are all Stadden miniatures, and in fact, the riders are the same figure I used for my hussar regiment.

Merry Christmas!! - His Majesty, Henri-Phillippe VII, of St. Maurice cordially wishes His tow or three friends, as well as his vast array of enemies a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Blessings to you all.

The Life Guard - In his marvelous book, "Charge! Or How To Play War Games," Brigadier Peter Young states that the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, "may have a life-guard of not more than ten troopers." In the kingdom of St. Maurice, this service is performed admirably by a squadron of mamelukes.
These excellent light horsemen impressed His Majesty while exiled... er, on vacation in Egypt, and he brought a detachment with him when he returned home. This nonsense that Napoleon 1st was responsible for introducing these exotic soldiers to the world seems to be yet another example of yet another credit placed upon that miserable Corsican for someone else's idea. The squadron (also referred to as The Khomene Light Horse) is always in attendance when His Majesty takes the field, and occasionally with some senior commanders. Marshall Neigh in particular seems to make good use of the bodyguard. It may be simple coincidence that he is also the general least popular with the troops.

Hovels and Ruins and Shelters, oh my - My friend Gary suggested that I post some photos of the structures we've created over the past couple of years for our wargames table. I constructed the majority of the buildings using block molds created by Hirst Arts Fantasy Archetecture. No links, but the web address is:
http://www.hirstarts.com/
I highly recommend them to any wargamer wanting to punch up the look of the table top. In addition to the blocks, the buildings are almost exclusively with a craft item called Skinny Sticks and the adhesive of choice is Aleene's Tacky Glue. Both products can be purchased in Walmart, or any craft store. Ok, here are pictures of some of the stuff we use:

Now THAT'S a Regiment! - In accordance with His Majesty's Summer decree, all line regiments in the army of St. Maurice will reorganize in the continental style. Each will be composed of two battalions plus one understrength company of grenadiers, permanently detached to the Battalion of Converged Grenadiers and part of the Household Legion.
As might be expected, Clare was first to expand it's numbers (it's simply never difficult to recruit Irishmen into a fight). The gentleman to the far right in the picture (at the end of the second battalion), is the sub-Colonel commanding the second battalion. A close look will also show that the second battalion marches with the royal standard and the Colonel's color for the Clare Regiment, while the first marches with the royal and the regimental colors. When I began to develop the army of St. Maurice, I wanted about 1000 infantry. As my little state is truly little, it never made much sense to create a lot of regiments, so I've opted for what you see here. There will be eight regiments, each of two battalions. Don't know how it will fight, but it sure does look good to me!

Next report: Another Battle

The St. Maurice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Flintlocks has received word of and illegal spirits processing operation, developed in the small town of Chagrin, on the border with Ardoberg-Holstein. Never one to allow free enterprise to go unpunished, His Grace Edmond, Duke of Duque, has dispatched a patrol from the Clare Regiment (His Majesty's "Royal Shenanigans") to obtain a sampling of the volatile liquid and bring in a member of the current development crew to "answer a few questions." When they arrive, the patrol discovers that the substance created has turned out to be something less than a world class vermouth. The whole town has been turned into zombies, and the Irishmen realize they must return with enough evidence of the disaster here to convince His Majesty to dispatch the remainder of Clare to kill, burn, and otherwise destroy all of Chagrin and the immediate surroundings (in the interests of the survival of human-kind don't-ya'-know).
The first picture is of our intrepid band of St. Maurice's finest, led by that legendary Irish sergeant Victor McLaughlin, and includes privates O'Dool, O;Tool and McGillicuty. In the game, each trooper had 5 activity points per turn, while the zombies had 4. The objective was to search the tavern ("La Vin Noir") and find 4 items (by card draw) that could be used as evidence.
Move 1 - O'Dool shoots a zombie, killing him (again), as McLaughlin advances toward the bar (goes without saying). O'Tool and McGillicuty move to the door of the processing room.
Move 2 - O'Dool's shot was not enough as his zombie opponent rises almost immediately and attacks McLaughlin. The sergeant shoots him in the face, and this time he stays dead. O'Tool and McGillicuty enter the processing room where the latter shoots another zombie. O'Tool searches the work tables and, over the next two turns, comes up with a recipe for the swill and a fluid sample.
Move 5 - Our intrepid pair in the bar have been slugging it out with the dead from the beginning, and it's beginning to tell. O'Dool is down to 2 activity points while McLaughlin remains unscathed. In the mean time, O'Tool and McGillicuty have moved on to the kitchen, where they kill anothe zombie and manage to turn up the secret ingredient for the whole concoction.
Move 8 - O'Dool is in really rough shape and developing a craving for barBQ'd brains. McLaughlin remains uninjured, but severely disappointed that the bar seems to offer nothing but wine ("It's a sin I tell ya"! A mortal sin!"). The adventuresome pair from the kitchen have made their way back into the bar just in time to take on several more zombies that have broken in through the back and side doors.
Move 9 - O'Tool (with a final card draw) manages to locate the creator of the concoction, Henri Pissoir, hiding in a barrel. "Why did you not arrive sooner," cried the indignant Pissoir. "Can't you see that I've ruined my clothes?!"
Move 10 - Our final picture shows the Irishmen extricating themselves from the bar (Begorrah, who'd have thought we'd be fightin' our way OUT of a bar?")

This was a great little game which took Gary and I about an hour and a half to play. Fast moving a a roaring lot of fun. We're planning a follow-up with the troopers in the street trying to exit the town. Great fun. I would be remiss if I didn't give credit for the rules. They were originally developed by Bruce Hurst of Hurst Arts Fantasy Architecture. I no longer have the web address, or I'd put a link here.
Sorry, but the pictures are not coming through, Will try to add them later.