Barrage XXI: Gaming with the HAWKs

My initial awareness of the HAWKs (Harford Area Weekly Kriegspielers) was stumbling across their website in early 2016 when I first started to explore the tabletop miniatures hobby and was hoping to find local players to school me in the gentlemanly art of wargaming. I followed their Facebook page, signed up for their email newsletter, and hoped to one day cross paths with them.

About 18 months later, that day finally came in November at the Fall In convention (recap), where I unknowingly stumbled into their room on Sunday morning in the waning hours of the four-day convention. I had a grand time in HAWKs member Eric Schlegel's game of competing against fellow treasure hunters as we scrounged around the tabletop forest looking for loot and fighting off its monstrous inhabitants. It was a perfect finish for the convention for me, and I left impressed by the spirit of fun and camaraderie that pervaded that game in which other members of the HAWKs pitched in to help Eric with the logistics of refereeing. I left the game even more determined to eventually spend time gaming with these fellas.

Which led to several subsequent weeks of me being thwarted by weather, work, or traffic in my attempts to join them for one of their Friday evening games up in Harford, Maryland. The upside was that I developed a nice correspondence with HAWKs original member Chris Palmer, who encouraged me with regular invitations to upcoming games.

Sometime in the interim I got wind of Barrage, the annual convention the HAWKs organize, and I quickly registered and signed up for a couple of the more interesting sounding games (I'm typically drawn to genre skirmishes in fantasy or sci-fi settings than the historical battles). I convinced my good friend and gaming buddy Jared that he should join me, and so we both took Friday off work and headed for the con.

We arrived in Havre de Grace (70 miles north of Washington, D.C.) to some friendly faces, and within minutes I was chatting with Eric, who recognized me from the Fall In game and Facebook, where we had connected last November. A bit later I finally got to meet Chris Palmer face to face, and he proved as welcoming and affable in person as he had been in our Facebook messaging. It wasn't hard to spot the other members of the HAWKs, as they all wore matching shirts with embroidered logos. And to a one, they were a congenial group of guys (with wonderfully supportive spouses who were obviously integral to keeping a lot of the logistics and behind-the-scenes details in order over the course of two days).

Although the game Jared and I registered to play wasn't scheduled to start until 6:00 that evening, we wanted to get a game in before then, if possible, and quickly agreed that it should be Sea Kings of Mars.

DAY ONE (Jan. 19)

SEA KINGS OF MARS

When we wandered over to the table for our first game I found another familiar face, Steve Braun, who had run the Tekumel-inspired game I played at Historicon last summer (recap). Here's the official con program description:

SEA KINGS OF MARS: Join the nations and city-states of ancient Mars as they fight for control of barsoomicite.
Rules: Savage Tales-based homebrew / Scale: 28mm / Period / Genre: Fantasy
GM(s): Steve Braun / Duration: 3 hours / No. of Players: 6-8

I like Steve's play style: He fosters "cinematic" moments during play, and he obviously has fun concocting these seafaring skirmish games. As a neophyte, I tend to give him ample opportunities for such moments with what is turning into a knack on my part for unintentional shenanigans (in the Tekumel game from last summer I kept insisting on screwing about with an ancient artifact I found even after it brought a bolt from the heavens that killed my ship's captain). In this game, I untethered the sled from my sky galleon in the hopes of using it to beat a rival player to an island where we were both intent on harvesting its "Barsoomicite." I opened the throttle and jumped overboard onto the island below. The problem was I forgot to leave anybody behind to crew the sled, and it spent subsequent turns speeding off unmanned across the table, leaving my men temporarily stranded on the island. Boneheaded but fun!

My league of Lotharians and their vessels before the game starts!

My league of Lotharians and their vessels before the game starts!

The captain and his mates...

The sergeant and his bolt throwers...

Joe and Jared, plotting before the great battle commences.

Everybody had to simultaneously plot their ship's course at the beginning of each turn and then reveal it. This mechanic leaves open the possibility of unintentional collisions, which are always dramatic.

The captain stands alone on the foredeck before the crew has embarked on my sky galley (with sled in tow)...

Me (seated), Steve the referee, and Jared discussing the finer points of sky galleon combat on Mars.

My Lotharian spearmen drop from their sled with their sergeant onto the island only to find themselves face to maw with a banth (sadly missing six of its ten legs). My more-judicious opponent's saucer people are about to steal the Barsoomicite while I'm preoccupied with the beast.

There goes my unmanned sled, speeding away. It would have been nice if it had rammed into the distant saucer, but it simply sailed overhead.

Struggling to kill this banth...we eventually took it down, and found ourselves empty handed and utterly alone on the island. Note my sled receding further toward the horizon. That's a great strategic mind at work, I tell ya!

Disembarking from my main sky ship to grab the Barsoomicite under that red cone. I'll have to contend with those weird zombie dudes on the right first, though...

Jared's Thun ships racing for an island...

(left to right): Joe, Steve, and Jared

White apes were waiting to meet Jared and another player when they stepped onto this island.

Jared said it best about this battle he was embroiled in: "Sometimes you're just trying to have a little flying-ship-to-flying-ship combat in ancient Barsoom when some giant white apes jump aboard and start killing everyone."

Near the end of the game, with all of my troops eventually consolidated onto one ship, I attempt to speed to the fray in progress in the middle of the ocean. If I remember correctly, my crossbowmen did manage to take down a foe or two in the distance with a final volley before time was up.

The sky galleon at game's end with a deck full of precious Barsommicite. It'll help pay for a new sled, I suppose.

My rival actually was able to eventually catch up with my empty sky sled and board it, taking it for his own. Oh, the indignity!

It was another fun game with Steve, and he later asked Jared and I if we wanted to play another round at the end of the day Saturday to help him playtest some new rules he was developing for the game. Unfortunately, we had to head back to D.C. Steve is local, though, so I hope we can catch up some weekend afternoon for more sky galleon engagements over ancient Mars (you have my email, Steve). The only downside was that we only had four players, half the number the game could accommodate and half the number of players who participated in his Tekumel game at Historicon. It would have been even more enjoyable if a couple of more crews had been skirmishing over scattered loot across the sea and sky lanes of Mars!

EXPLORING GHOST ARCHIPELAGO

I was doubly excited to play this game on Friday evening: It was an opportunity to spend some time with new gaming friend Chris Palmer, and it was a chance to finally try a game in the popular Frostgrave series. I had wanted to play on the giant Frostgrave table at Historicon, but was unable to, so I was glad to see the newly released sister title, Ghost Archipelago on the Barrage schedule.
Here are the details from the program:

EXPLORING GHOST ARCHIPELAGO: Come explore the mysterious Ghost Archipelago with your powerful Heritor, his magical Warden assistant, and their crew of brave adventurers! Try out this exciting new sequel to the popular Frostgrave fantasy rules. Feel free to bring and play your own crew.
Rules: Ghost Archipelago / Scale: 28mm / Period/Genre: Fantasy / GM(s): Don Hogge
Duration: 3 Hours / No. of Players: 4-6 / Club or Sponsor: HAWKs

The game was fully attended with six players, including Jared and myself, and it benefited greatly from the cool terrain pieces (many scratch built) and beautifully painted miniatures pulled from the collections of Chris and the game master Don Hogge. Another member of the HAWKs gang, Hogge was an affable and fun referee, keeping the pacing on track and playing the several creatures that crept out of the swamp as the players' warbands scrambled through the muck in search of glory and treasure.

Not that it mattered to me one jot, but somehow I won this game, making off with a major treasure and three lesser ones in addition to scoring some points for successfully casting a handful of spells (my favorite being a magic wind blast that knocked a rival off of the cliff side he was climbing in an effort to beat me to some treasure).

A decent shot of the jungle table we played across.

My band of treasure hunters.

Some of Jared's pirates.

Jared's men and some dwarves fought over the treasure here...I don't think it played out well for Jared's troops.

My wizardly Warden leading some soldiers along the cliff side path, racing for a treasure pile behind the waterfall.

Jared and Chris Palmer's troops fought up and down this pyramid structure, spilling much blood over the course of the game.

My men closing in on the hidden treasure behind the waterfall.

A wandering swamp zombie began to roam the board about half way through the game.

My Heritor and some of her troops snatch a major treasure from this snake goddess shrine (built by Chris Palmer from a Barbie and a lizard toy).

This giant snapping turtle mauled everyone that came near, including these dwarves, who as a result failed to get this treasure off the board.

One of my pirates climbing the scaffolding of a tower to retrieve the treasure before the troll notices him.

Jared and I (center)

My winning crew and their amassed treasure!

DAY TWO (Jan. 20)

TAKE THAT, YOU FIEND!

As mentioned before, I had a great time playing in Eric's game at Fall In, and when I saw he had worked up a home-brew set of rules for a "circle of death" style skirmish game, I knew I would have to try it. The program description was as follows:

TAKE THAT, YOU FIEND: A one-on-one-on-one battle royale between various fantasy characters. Easy to learn and quick to play. If you’ve got some time to kill before your next game or are just intrigued by this description, come and join the mayhem. Kids welcome, but need to be able to count to 6.
Rules: Take That, You Fiend! / Scale: 25mm / Period/Genre: Fantasy
GM(s): Eric Schlegel / Duration: 1 hour / No. of Players: 1-7 / Club or Sponsor: HAWKs

I hope Eric keeps refining these rule because I would love to own a copy of them. I think they'd fit nicely on one sheet of paper, front and back, and provide a fun "time filler" before or after longer gaming sessions.

Eric worked up about 25 different character cards and paired them with a miniature that the players chose before entering the rudimentary arena he set up on the table with a single piece of line-of-sight blocking terrain in the middle. Every miniature was placed around the outer perimeter, we rolled initiative, and then everyone set off to kill or be killed in the arena.

Eric refereed our game (which took about two minutes to teach), and the combatants consisted of me, Jared, another funny gent, Chris Palmer's wife Jennifer, and Eric's girlfriend (sorry to all whose names I've now forgotten). The banter and "trash talk" was fun, and everybody instinctively took the game for the light diversion it was intended to be.

Game master Eric in the ball cap.

My character card. You marked these up with a dry-erase marker.

My bow-and-sword carrying ranger in the center of the field.

About 45 minutes later, Jared's magician managed to kill off my ranger with a magic missile and shortly thereafter dispensed with the last remaining character, a pesky paladin played by Jennifer.

THE RATLINGS ARE ON THE MARCH

Jared and I wrapped up Take That, You Fiend and had to scurry across the convention hall to jump into our next game, which started at 3:00. I was excited to see Chris Palmer was also participating in this game. Everybody besides Jared and I was a HAWKs member. The program description read:

THE RATLINGS ARE ON THE MARCH: The other races have formed an (uneasy) alliance to stop them. Will the force of Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and Necromancer with some undead be successful?
Rules: Bear Yourself Valiantly / Scale: 28mm / Period/Genre: Fantasy GM(s): David Wood / Duration: 4 hours / No. of Players: 6

Being new to the wargaming hobby, I don't really know how common it is to actually get to play in a game with some of the very folks who designed it, but this was the case with Ratlings, which used the ruleset Bear Yourself Valiantly, co-authored by both Palmer and the game master, David Wood. I appreciated that opportunity, but I actually appreciated even more how welcoming Wood was of Jared and I as complete newbies to this game. Jared and I ended up sitting across the table from each other right next to Wood, which was perfect because he spent a fair amount of time in the beginning of the game reviewing the basic mechanics of play with us. Wood was an exemplar of a characteristic that seems common among HAWKs members: a genuine concern that no player is left behind and that everybody is having fun. Wood had the gifts and patience of a natural teacher, and it helped a lot as Jared and I struggled at times to keep our heads above water for what was a fairly complex if fun game.

Jared sided with the Ratlings, while I took on the role of the Elven coalition in the defending army. There were three players to a side, and we all took turns battering and trying to outflank each other's contingent forces up and down the line. Four hours later, I'm not exactly sure how, but the Elf/Dwarf/Human army managed to stymie the Ratlings attempts to break through our ranks, and so we left the field victorious.

Prepare for battle! (left to right): Jared, Dave Wood, and Joe.

Some of my Elven troops.

The Dwarves brought a mounted ballista! Good ol' Dwarves!

My wizard on a flying mount.

Jared's mounted Ratlings.

Ratlings on the march! 

(left to right): Chris Palmer, Jared, and Dave Wood, our game master

Ratlings

Elven archers on unicorn mounts. I was comfortable enough with my masculinity to play these troops.

The red pipe cleaners represented the number of wounds a unit had taken. The dice tracked their activation number.

Casting spells from the "safety" of the woods.

My Elven general and retinue.

My Eleven pikemen and archers stand firm. "No ratling will take the hill this day, brothers!"

Chris Palmer trying to surreptitiously keep a wary eye on my advancing Elven cavalry.

Ratling crossbowers

I sent these ratlings scurrying into the woods after a withering volley from my archers.

Me, waiting for the next wave of Ratlings to charge.

Mounted Dwarves!

These custom bases by game master Dave Wood were great, containing all of the stats necessary for each unit.

Jared trying to break my lines.

My wizard got chased out of the woods. The red pebbles mark Morale rolls I'll have to take on my next turn to see if I stay and fight.

(left to right): A boisterous gent who insists on being called "Tank," Chris Palmer, and Jared. 

Some of the human troops that were part of my team's army (but on the far side of the table from my Elves).

We also enlisted the help of an Ent and a couple of giants (old Grenadier Fire Giants, if memory serves).

Another in a string of examples of the encouraging vibe that marked every game I played in, Eric Schlegel's brother, David, went out of his way several times during the game to offer me counsel and encouragement, wanting to make sure I didn't feel too overwhelmed by this massive wargame and its complex rules. At one point near the end he even pulled me aside and suggested that if I wasn't having as much fun as I wanted that I should forget about "strategy" and just start moving my troops into skirmishes. Once I realized my teammates were into having fun as much as winning, it instantly made the game more enjoyable.

David "Zeb" Cook

We didn't know that early TSR writer David "Zeb" Cook was an official HAWK. On Friday he ran a really cool looking Victorian War of the Worlds game that I hope to have a chance to play someday in the future. Jared convinced me we should take a D&D book from our collections for him to sign. Jared brought Oriental Adventures, while I brought the classic module Dwellers of the Forbidden City. It's probably the first signature I've asked anybody for in a decade, and I'm glad I did because Zeb was a charming, affable guy.

David "Zeb" Cook

Cook's inscription--"I Hope You Didn't Die!"--after telling him I had played this adventure as a teenager.
(Coincidentally, if you want to read something hilarious, check out the commentary at this link between two guys reminiscing about old school D&D art.)

Other Games

As always, there are any number of interesting games that one can't play at these gatherings. Here are photos of a few.

A cool looking Star Wars game that I think adapted the WWII Combat Patrol rules.

Aerial combat game I hadn't seen at other cons. 

A different aerial combat game, but one I've seen at Historicon and Fall In.. 

The closing game of the show was called "Eat Hitler" (I believe). I think the premise was that Hitler and his Nazi entourage attempted to escape Germany in a malfunctioning time machine that accidentally deposited them in the Mesozoic period. The object is for each player to see how many Nazis they could eat with their dinosaurs.
I think.

Loot!

Although the attendance of vendors was listed as a feature of the con on the Barrage website, I have to admit I was skeptical about finding much that I'd be interested in. I was gladly mistaken, and walked away with some real bargains.

Look at the luminaries on that byline. Mine for a fiver.

I bought a bunch of painted Genestealers because Jared and I are now obsessing over creating a giant multi-player Space Hulk scenario.

I love this kind of stuff. A guy in the flea market was selling these hover craft he scratch built from bits and bobs, primarily coffee and soda lids from Starbucks and McDonalds. Genius!

Insane deal on untouched Warhammer boxed sets from one dealer. $5 and $10 a box for these.

Yes, $20 for an untouched boxed set. On eBay? $120.

I didn't buy any of these scratch-built Ork vehicles because I don't play Warhammer, but wow did I love them.

The Wife

I came home from the wargaming convention to find that Ellen had spent part of my absence entertaining herself at home taking dramatic photos of some of the miniatures I had left laying around the dining room. She's the best!

The End?

Jared and I both had a great time, and Jared commented on the drive home how welcoming and hospitable everybody was. This completely mirrored my experience of Barrage, but also my previous experiences at Historicon and Fall In.

Truth be told, the HAWKs were a large part of what inspired me to start my own gaming gang, the Second Saturday Scrum Club, which has met twice now at my home.

My only disappointment? Circumstances led the HAWKs to bump this year's Barrage convention back to January from early September. It will be nearly impossible for me to make it to their regular September dates in the coming years...folks who know me know that that is the most hellishly busy month for me on my day job as well as the month when I exhibit at a convention myself, the Small Press Expo, with my Lost Art Books publishing company. But even if I can't find a way to make it to a September Barrage, I still hope to stay connected to this fun group of gamers!

And we'll always have Havre de Grace.

As I went out the door on Saturday, HAWK Mike P. put one of these in my palm. If you're serious about this hobby, you need a lucky tape measure!

Note on the photographs: While most of these can be blamed on me, a few are from Jared Smith and a handful of others (mostly the ones in which Jared and I appear in the same shot) appear with permission courtesy of HAWKs member John "Buck" Surdu. John has authored and co-authored a lot of fine wargames...you should check them out!