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Thursday, December 26, 2013

2013 summary

This year was not as good as 2012 rpg-wise. I'm slowly working on the Cossacks & Tartars rpg from time to time, but now I'm focusing on my M.A. thesis in psychology.
App. 20 sessions this year, of course me as the GM, one Cossacks & Tartars sandbox campaign and 6 one-shots (only OSR games) .
Wargaming-wise I did a lot better. I've converted more than 100 minis, and painted half of it, still working on my inn. Nowadays doing mostly solo-wargaming with various rules like Flashing Steel, Fear & Faith, Song of Blades and Heroes  and Gloire. Hopefully it'll change next year.

2014 goals:

- finish Cossacks & Tartars
- finish painting my XVIIc minis in 1/72 scale


- run an arduin/carcosa -style gonzo sandbox game

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

W.I.P :rotmistrz and cossack style cavalry

Here're some cossack style cavalry I'll hope to pit against my hungarians using TFL game Sharp Practice.                         







Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Cossakcs & Tartars braunstein-esque game musings part II

This time I'll focus on the previously established factions.

Registered cossacks
Registered cossacks are those few, who got enrolled into the register, that is a part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's army. Their leader is Hryhoryj Czornyj - the Registerd Cossacks Hetman.They currently reside in the city of Cherkasy.

Goals:
- prevent unregistered cossacks from revolting
- protect Cherkasy from Tartars

Secret goals:
- prevent registered cossacks from flipping sides to the unregistered ones


Unregistered cossacks
Those cossacks weren't enough lucky to get in to the register. Poor and angry, try to get rich by pillaging nearby noblemen's holdings and raiding on chaikas crimean estates. There're the main force behind most of the cossacks' revolts. They are led by Taras Fedorowicz.

Goals:
- Make the registered cossack to flipp to your side
- protect Taras Fedorowicz from PLC army

Secret goals:
- kidnapp Hryhoryj Chornyj


Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army
These soldiers are the part of Polish-Lithuanian army that stays in the city of Cherkasy for winter. They are part of the komput.

Goals:
- pacify drive away unregistered cossacks from Cherkasy
- protect the city from the Tartars

Secret goal:
- kindapp Taras Fedorowicz

Townsfolk of Cherkasy 
Tired of stay and abuse of cossacks and PLC army. Mostly greek orthodox ruthenian people, some jews, armenians and german city watch.

Goals:
- protect your belongings from PLC army, registered and unregistered cossacks and tartars

Tartars
These are the tartars from uluses pillaged by the cossacks. There are mean and angry looking for revenge on cossacks and loot.

Goals:
- kidnapp Taras Fedorowicz
- take as much yasir as possible

Secret goals:
- check the fortifications of the city and make plans of them for the future siege.

Next time more on the rules.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Cossacks & Tartars braunstein-esque game musings part I

For a long time I've wanted to run a braunsteinesque game, but many obstacles were laid in front of me. First I didn't have minis, and what more - there wasn't any range of minis that would be required to play XVIIc. PLC game. Second, I  only had a vague knowledge what braunstein was, yet enough to spur my imagination. Now I have sculpted or converted enough minis to play such a game, I've also came across some very insightful descriptions of this type of game.



First is to establish a plot, a quite uncomplicated one. So here's my:

The game is set in the south-eastern Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in march 1630 near Cherkasy. The civil unreast makes the atmosphere very dense. Those cossacks that didn't get in to the register, envy those that did. Some of them came to the city of Cherkasy, where Hryhoryj Czornyj- the hetman of registered cossacks with his men stayed for the winter. In Cherkasy stay also some soldiers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to keep peace in this tumultuous region and time. It is said that tartars are coming near Cherkasy to counter-raid unregistered cossaks, who sacked their domain. In the middle of this hard situation is the townsfolk of Cherkasy.

From this short scenario pitch we can pick few (favourably odd number) factions:

Registered cossacks
Unregistered cossacks
Polish-Lithuanian army
Townsfolk of Cherkasy
Tartars

More in the part two of the musings.

I'm not dead

Hello gentle readers I'm not dead. For the past 4 weeks or so I have been intensly working (and I still do) on my M.A. thesis in psychology and I really didn't have the time to write anything here. But still in my very restriced spare time I've sculpted and converted some minis  for the Cossacks & Tartars, which I hope to use in a braunsteinesque game near the Christmas. As for the progress in the Cossack & Tartars, I'm waiting for the proofreaders' feedback and I'm working on a booklet about magic & magical beasts for it.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Proofreading Cossacks & Tartars

It seems I didn't receive any e-mail since 4th september. I've solved the problem with my e-mail account. So if anyone has sent an e-mail about proofreading my Cossacks & Tartars please send it again - geezerbutler2 at wp dot pl . Sorry for the inconvenience.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Proofreaders needed for the Cossacks & Tartars

During next two weeks I'll be releasing beta version of my Cossacks & Tartars game, so it's high time to ask someone to do some proofreading. If anyone would be interested in reading through the current version of my game and giving some feedback, send me an e-mail at geezerbutler2 at wp dot pl.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Finished sculpt of Polish Magnate Gabriel Amor Tarnowski

My blog has reached 50,000 views!!! I want to thank you  for all the support and interest :).

Cossack style cavalry and polish magnate sculpts in 1/72 scale

First post for over a month, I was on holiday and didn't have much time to do something rpg- or wargaming-wise, but here's what I've done:



Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Cossacks & Tartars summer campaign

This summer campaign started with a complete mess. First I've planned to run sandbox in the rutheninan voivodeship set in 1620s, then my player's asked me to run a campaign during the Smoleńsk War (polish-lithuanian commonwealth-russian war (1632-34). Now were're playing at the dawn of the PLC-turkish war (1633-34), being a bit angry about my players for all these changes, now I think we're having a blast! 

Both of the players wanted to play zaporozhian cossacks and wanted to do some chaika raiding along the Black Sea, which in turn will be the cause of the aformentioned PCL-ottoman conflict.

So during the first session we've rolled up two cossacks, and started in the Zaporozhian Sich on Bazavluk island. My friends and I are a history-buffs so we did a lot of role-play in the sich, drinking and doing some other day-to-day stuff typical to cossacks. Then lured by the prospect of earning some money and looting muscovites they've tried to enroll to the registred cossacks, who were sent to the Smoleńsk. So they went to Łubnie, where they were to gather. 

During the trip to Łubnie they've looted a village that belongs to Kniaź Jarema Wiśniowiecki. When they've arrived at Łubnie,  Jarema behaded those, who've looted his estates, however PCs by their wit and sheer luck escaped execution.

Now pissed off  PCs with other  cossacks not allowed to go the Smoleńsk war build chaikas in secrecy to raid some cities on the Black Sea shore.



This session was rather sims-like game, which I and my players really like, exploring cossacks' daily life and main features of their existance. Since the campaign has turned upside down in terms of place in which it's set and period, I did not have the hex map of the Black Sea region. 

While searching for good map for my sandbox I've stumbled at a great site - http://www.maps-for-free.com/
So now I've only had to place a hex layer on the map, and here is how it looks:

Monday, July 29, 2013

Top Ten Troll Questions for Your Game


(1). Race (Elf, Dwarf, Halfling) as a class? Yes or no?

Definitely yes. Demi-humans in the Barbaric Frontier are a very small group, so the issue of one culture one race is non-existent.

(2). Do demi-humans have souls?


Yes like all the sentient races of the Barbaric Frontier.

(3). Ascending or descending armor class?
Definitely ascending AC, I hate  combat tables,



(4). Demi-human level limits?
Yes, in the Barbaric Frontier all PCs (demi- and humans) can achieve 10th level and then retire.


(5). Should thief be a class?

Definitely no, all classes can steal, pick locks etc.. 

(6). Do characters get non-weapon skills?


Yes, in a way, I'm using ST-as-Skills as in Crypts & Things.

(7). Are magic-users more powerful than fighters (and, if yes, what level do they take the lead)?


Yes, dabbling into the dark arts make them more powerful, however they can go easily insane. They can lead even at 1st level if they have rolled high Int.

(8). Do you use alignment languages?


I don't use alignment so alignment languages are non-issue.

(9). XP for gold, or XP for objectives (thieves disarming traps, etc...)?


XP for overcoming monsters (killing, tricking them), per miles of explored wilderness and gold spent on carousing.

(10). Which is the best edition; ODD, Holmes, Moldvay, Mentzer, Rules Cyclopedia, 1E ADD, 2E ADD, 3E ADD, 4E ADD, Next ?


I'd say Swords & Wizardry: Core Rules 4th printing.  I have no nostalgia for the previous editions of D&D as most of my rpging occured during the d20 craze and last breaths of 2E ADD. 

Bonus Question: Unified XP level tables or individual XP level tables for each class?

Individual XP level tables, dunno why but it seems more appropriate 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Cossack warband for Flashing Steel

Here're my cossacks for Flashing Steel:

Porucznik Myhajło Petruszewski
Points 50Quality 3+Combat 2
Special RulesLeader, Sword - other, Whip

Martyn Sawczuk
Points 45Quality 3+Combat 2
Special RulesBodyguard, Chainmail ( Cuirass SDS), Duellist, Sword - other

Kirył Orendarenko
Points 20Quality 3+Combat 1
Special RulesSword - other

Sawka
Points 40Quality 3+Combat 2
Special RulesPistol, Sword - other

Kirdiaga
Points 40Quality 3+Combat 1
Special RulesBrawler, Hawkeye/Poacher, Musket - light

Taras
Points 40Quality 3+Combat 2
Special RulesPistol, Sword - other

Iwan
Points 33Quality 3+Combat 2
Special RulesAcrobat, Sword - other

Ostap
Points 33Quality 3+Combat 2
Special RulesStrong, Sword - other

Sunday, July 14, 2013

More w.i.p s for C&S campaign

Taras Bulba
                                                                Transylvanian Noble

Friday, July 12, 2013

Update: more wips for Cossacks & Tartars summer campaign(including Solomon Kane in 1/72 scale)

Well, for last two weeks I didn't have time to post, but I've worked on some minis and the inn for my summer campaign(rpg/wargaming mashup, with a bit of braunstein-like).

Innkeeper's room
Stables
Registered cossacks or semeni (some headswaps and handswaps)
Tavern wench
                                                                        Szekely Lofó
                                                                          Solomon Kane