Legends of the High Seas - Clash of Swords - Pictorial Battle Report

Arr Ship mates, have at 'em, look'ee, belike, shatter the main brace , clean the poop deck and prepare to board!

Play the video while reading the blog, stirring stuff, I love this music, has me reaching for my rulebook and dice every time...

(if you wish to continue listening to music while you wish to view the pictures enlarged, right click on picture and open in new tab or window)

Well all this frantic pirate making activity has paid off today. After I finished my sloop the Becky Boo, a couple of weeks back, and having previously painted up a crew for it, and having now made several suitable buildings, I realized one thing was missing from having a good platform for a game - a suitable looking gaming board. So last weekend, I went and got more 3mm MDF sheet and set to with it and the 50mm polystyrene sheet I had previously bought.
So all this week I have been busy making the port, with dock and town square areas, and finally got finished just in time last night, with the help from the electric fan heater to get the paint dry in time! But work well worth it I think.

So the call went out to Roly and Brett that our campaign was ready to start.

Roly brought some extra terrain including fields, windmill, well, carts, walls and more buildings. Also his excellent ships.  Roly also had a great many period civilians types, that added the feel of a bustling port. Things were looking good. Brett brought a great selection of barrels, crates, sacks and general cargo type stuff. It all came together excellently.

A view across the bay to the port town, with Roly readying his crew

A closer view of port, with Roly and Monique checking crew roster on laptop

Just across the bay, Dead Mans Isle...

Roly's converted Disney toy Black Pearl at anchor beside Isle

A view from port out to sea, with Brett finishing his crew roster.

My crew, led from the rear by Cap'n Jim Blackblood, leaving the dock and heading towards the town.

Brett's crew come in from the side of town. They were to have a little bit of a rough time of it as they were sandwiched between mine and Rolys crews, but they acquitted themselves well.

Rolys crew came in from beside the Church in two groups

The first exchange of fire between my Ol' Ned, and Bretts Jack Hawkins

A grander view of docks and my musketry forcing Bretts crew to retreat

My crew leaving the dock, passing the Chandler building, now with Cap'n Jim at the fore

My greater grouped number prevailed, and Bretts crew retreated back along back alleys and paddocks, allowing my crew to press on past a rather startled gent, heading towards the action in the town centre.

The vanguard of Rolys crew enter town square

Street level shot.

A surprise from Bretts crew; a grenade! Flattened by this blast was one of Roly's poor crew - who actually did quite well from it - although put out of action during the game, he gained extra experience from the event, in the post game sequence

The skulking 'grenadier' - he became a marked man!

Another video interlude ...

Rolys and Bretts crew still at it in the alleyway

The town square, Rolys Captain is just entering centre top

These guys are still fighting, this one lasted several rounds

An overall shot of port activity

Rolys and Bretts crews mixing it up it up. This alley way saw several bodies pile up.

Rolys crew enter town square with Bretts crew emerging from the distant paddocks

Its all happening - Roly and Bretts crew are mixing it up already as my crew appear. They quickly realize they can shoot into the combats, not caring which side they hit. My late arrival to town square was paying off in a way I hadn't foreseen

Melee, my crew and Bretts; Muzza ( big black guy) thonks Mistress Gray over the head with his club. I thought he wanted to do off with her back to the ships bilges, but the post game sequence revealed he hit her just a little too hard! Sorry Brett! In the background my 2nd mate Dandy Jack and Jack Hawkins go at it

Distant musket smoke

Final shot of game, the civilians come to implore peace from the victorious crew! Ahem...

A thoroughly great game with good companionable players, and fun light hearted way to start our campaign.

Brett got ahead early with his crew taking out 2 of Roly's crew (the first one with a grenade that spooked the bejesus out of me and Roly, as we'd never played with one in a game before, damn thing is Strength 5!) and one of mine (yes you guessed it, the newly painted model that was having his first game, ain't it always the way...). Roly and Brett continued gamely to go at each other, and it wasn't until I managed to rush into town and set up a 'firing line' facing the fighting protagonists, and felled two of them with one round of shooting that discretion seemed the better part of valor...

So I emerged the victor, after Bretts and Rolys crew had fought each to a standstill, and they voluntarily routed as I piled into the town square taking pot shots at the melee combatants. I can't say it was a plan from the outset, but that's the way it played out.

I look forward to more of these games, and making more terrain and ships for the game.