WOTR Workbench

The last wee while has seen me gather quite a bit of Medieval stuff for the WOTR, and I have been particularly emphasizing 'personality' figures, to help make the next campaign a bit more 'narrative' in style.  So, I've stocked up  Here, in no particular order, are some of the things cluttering the work-bench.  Some were ordered pre-Carronade, but most were picked up opportunistically on the day itself!  

16 Archers from Front Rank.  Pleasantly 'chunky'-seeming next to the plastic ones, as if wrapped up against a cold day.  

4Ground house model - marvellous little thing!  It is also a 4Ground wagon, which has been stuffed with plastic Renedra barrels, to provide army supplies.

10 Archers by Old Glory.  I got these guys because they are dressed very much in the 'peasant' style, with hoods & padded armour more prevalent and metal armour much scarcer - should be good for levies.  

A pair of Perry Cannon with crew.  These are the 'single-arc' cannon for elevating the barrel, which should make a bit of contrast with my existing one (twin-arcs, looking a bit heavier)

15 Billmen by Wargames Foundry - also includes the odd captain figure.  Remarkably appealing models, some of them so long-faced and stern they are practically cartoonish - love that effect! 

Command Group by Crusader Miniatures - two generals/nobles, a herald & (a bonus?) trumpeter.  I got them because I feel my nobles would often want a bit of a 'riding company' to announce their brilliance to the world.  

Command Group by Corvus Belli - a general, standard-bearer/champion, plus a herald & trumpeter.   The champion is hoisting a sword roughly his own size, while the general looks angry enough to kill the entire world.  

Wargames Foundry Captains - excellent little bunch, perhaps fractionally on the stocky side, but how couldn't you love 'em?  I particularly like the one who is head-to-toe in plate, with only his nose poking out between his Bevor & Sallet.

Some random extra freebies here - Wargames Foundry sent me a mountainously-plumed general with my order (not period-appropriate, but he looks lovely) plus a standard-bearer of great use.  While I ransacked Colonel Bill's stand at Carronade, they gave me this peasant from their pick-and-mix box.  My first civilian commoner!

Perry mounted personalities - finally, my nobles don't have to walk!  The figures (at least notionally) are Edward IV swinging on horseback, Salisbury waving his helmet, and York sitting rather contemplatively, holding a hammer.  (Best way to ensure no interruptions while daydreaming, I suppose.)

Last, the Front Rank personality set for 'Warwick' plus a standard-bearer, a noble adviser, plus a squire close-by with a horse.  

The Battle of Baunton - Aftermath

Following on from the battle of Baunton, it's high time to deal with the aftermath.  I'm on the brink of new campaign phases, as mentioned in previous posts, so it's only right to tidy up the loose ends of the previous phase before moving on to fresh fields.  Let's recap on the climactic battle of our campaign!

At the start of 1461 it must have looked pretty grim for the Yorkists.  The north in rebellion; Henry VI "liberated" to join his queen Margaret; Warwick routed and fled to Calais; London lost.  Poor Edward of York was looking like a doomed man after this run of poor luck, but he was located in his Welsh-border heartlands with a good army - so when the Lancastrians marched on him to settle the whole business, he was more than happy to oblige.

The armies clashed at Baunton in a day-long grinding match, before the Yorkists emerged triumphant.  Losses on both sides were very high, but the Lancastrian army was routed off the field and disintegrated.  Result: a decisive victory for the Yorkist dynasty, and Lancastrian hopes completely devastated.  

The two sides probably lost about half their army's strengths in the battle through dead, wounded and (the majority) fled.  The Lancastrian force however then underwent a complete disintegration as the surviving nobles fled for exile.

With defeat, comes the reckoning: Henry VI has fled with his queen into exile, to France via a fast ship from Southampton.  Buckingham, his most powerful lord, is likewise heading overseas to sanctuary.  His erstwhile puppet-master, Edmund Duke of Somerset, lies dead on the field.  Edmund's son, Henry Beaufort (now the new Duke of Somerset, thanks to his father's death) is wounded & captured by the Yorkists.  Historically, Henry Beaufort led the Lancastrian army at Towton and was defeated, only to later be pardoned - apparently the Yorkist regime wanted to show it could forgive and forget, plus Edward IV and Henry apparently shared an appetite for wine and women - therefore, it seems only fair that in our re-fight that he receives some similar forgiveness.  (True, he's just had his dad killed, but 'forgive and forget' works both ways, right?) 

Many other Lancastrian nobles wound up dead on the field, or fled with the king to exile - those captured all turned out to be either related to Yorkists who would save them (Baron Neville of Raby, for example, is part of the Warwick faction) or were too minor to be worth executing in place of a flamboyant pardon.   Those that fled are, of course, attainted by the next parliament to let Edward confiscate their properties & titles.  

On the Yorkist side things are mostly rosier - fewer dead, at any rate; and prisoners are largely abandoned back into friendly hands when the Lancastrian army routs.  The one notable exception is Edward's brother - Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland.  He was taken prisoner when Trollope wrecked his ward on the field, and he would have gone as a prisoner to Edward of Lancaster.  There seems little reason to doubt how the seven-year-old would have been prompted by his mother, when it came to sentencing the son of the great Yorkist usurper!  Taking a lead straight from his historical behavior at the Second Battle of St Albans, we decide that he orders Edmund beheaded on the spot.  Shame really, as if he had been spared he could have been a useful bargaining-chip for later use.  

For Edward however, the loss of his younger brother is a blow to be offset against the triumph of his house.  From tenuous control of the prisoner Henry VI a year ago, he is now the sole and undisputed ruler of England - fresh from his claim being 'vindicated by the god of battles'.  He proceeds to London where the crowds receive him, and he is crowned Edward IV.   

Carronade 2014

It's that time of year again, when I basically do my one big show of the year - the FDWC 'Carronade' show!  It was a highly successful trip for the club no doubt, but also for me personally!  

The resulting plunder of a day spent roaming the stalls:

1 Box of Perry Plastics WOTR Infantry

(Yes, I know I swore I'd never put myself through it again, but the new WOTR campaign has got me pursuing all sorts of new purchases to flesh out my medieval campaign-world!)  

Set of 'narrow road' strips for my tabletop, from S & A Scenics

(Been meaning to get scenery for ages, and I've been steadily growing my supply by getting the odd thing at each show.  Last year was streams, so this year it's roads!)

Pair of 4Ground MDF Houses - one Tudor timber framed cottage, one late-medieval dwelling

(4Ground appear to have taken over the world, as practically every stall had at least a few of their MDF kits!  I can see why, though - look good, and pretty much 'instant' terrain....)

4Ground Peasants' Ox-Cart

(I want my WOTR forces to have more of a baggage-train, so this fits the bill nicely!  Couldn't find any medieval-style tents anywhere, however.  Unfortunate.)

Pendraken pre-ordered wedge of Undead 10mm Fantasy figures

(I haven't played Fantasy since I did Warhammer in my early teenage years, back about 20-odd years ago!  I'd never pay to get back into it again, but Ric - my friend from the club - and I have recently fallen into a plan to make 10mm armies for the Mantic Games ruleset 'Kings of War' - which is apparently a quick-&-fun successor to it!  The rules are free online, look good, so that's me entering into a new wee painting project.)

Two bags of mini-sized dice & MDF 'frames' to hold them on a base

(Damage markers for the undead - I picked purple dice, to suit the creepy undead-magic vibe.)

Two paint-brushes, & two paints

(basic inventory-stock-up stuff.  Dull, but important!)

Two Perry Artillery pieces & crews

(I have, to date, got one artillery piece from them - a double-arc cannon.  I bought two single-arc cannons, to represent lighter pieces, and bring the artillery numbers up to three.  The bloody barons rule-set has many historical scenarios, and definitely shows how cannon became far more common as the period continued - time to stock up!)  

Kallistra 'Hordes & Heroes' blister - Undead Command

(Kallistra also do lovely 10mm fantasy figures, but I didn't want to use them as many come in pre-set strips, which I wasn't sure about.  However, the command pack should provide many individual 'hero' figures for use!)  

Five 'Colonel Bills' bags of second-hand figures - all WOTR

(I have officially lost my mind - more Wars of the Roses figures?!  I won't even tell you how close I came to buying a group-discount boxed set collection of the Perry plastics!  Anyway, although I was aware of Colonel Bills' shop, the fact that they traded in second-hand figures from other manufacturers' ranges had somehow slipped by without sinking in.  Seeing them at a games-day however, it suddenly dawned on me, and I went mental.  I wound up getting a bag of 4 foot command (Grenadier Miniatures); 4 mounted command with heralds, pages (Corvus Belli); 10 peasant-levy archers (Old Glory); 15 Billmen (Wargames Foundry) & 16 Archers (Front Rank) - in total, 53 individual figures - 54, if you count the pick-&-mix peasant they chucked in for free!)

Two Warbases Archery Butts

(Basic camp scenery, but cheap & fun! Plus, it has now dawned on me that I have bought very nearly 100 new WOTR figures, so they need somewhere to practice!)

So, that's that - enough to keep me going for quite the while, I should hope.  Reviewing it all, there are a few odd things that leap out - I didn't get a single rule-book or anything to read, which was surprising.  Also, besides the particular fantasy-themed project, pretty much all my focus was on growing my WOTR collection, rather than starting something new.  I was also within budget when I managed all this, so in total: I'm pretty damn happy with myself!