Sunday 5 August 2018

The Scouring of Muchwhinging

They came and came again, three times before the day was done. Three times the villagers of Muchwhinging had to muster every ounce of courage they possessed in a seemingly vain attempt to repel this blight to the land. Casualties were taken on both sides, some wouldn't make it through the night. The evil would come gain, but would we be ready?
Joined by Messrs Bull and Templar, Awdry Towers played host to some Witchfinding fun, this weekend, brought to life by using the 'Donnybrook' rules. I have been beavering away since the start of the year, sketching out, planing, building terrain and painting miniatures*, but I think that it was fair to say that I was a little anxious by the prospect of the day. I was pleased with how the table looked, but here I was trying to introduce two veteran 40K Gamers to the dark and difficult world of 17th Century England, using a rule set that I had no experience of; as they say, what could possibly go wrong?
*some only finished were only finished this week! 
As it happens, everything, but in the best possible way!  It was clear from the outset that 'Donnybrook', looks to champion the chaos of skirmish battles during the period of black powder.  The mechanic of character cards, drawn randomly, plays brilliantly to this ethos and is a manageable step for someone whose gaming experience is limited to board games and a recent foray into the jungles of the Congo.  Both gentlemen had been forewarned to bring a sense of humour and I am delighted to report that much laughter ensued.  

Once again, however, I have singularly failed in taking enough photographs or recording events in the detailed required to relay a full and edifying report; I was having far too much fun if the truth be told.  What I can tell you is that we played the same scenario three times, allowing each player to get a couple of turns to get to grips with the rules and a particular faction.  The 'prelude', had hinted at the objective, simply defend the village of Muchwhinging and see off the forces of evil.  Although pared down, and with some made up characters the games seemed to be fairly balanced with the result coming down to the last handful of units.  What follows is a series of images to help convey some of the action.
To a game that was already chaotic enough we added a touch more frivolity by adding the 'event' card to the final two encounters.  'The Dark Templar' looked on incredulously as his hero, Alain de la Slaughter, in Manbat form, was lured by Helen Highwater, the village Doxy, to her boudoir before slipping a stiletto blade between his ribs.  All this shortly after a previous event card saw his terrifying Ghouls, pack up and leave the battlefield, apparently missing their friends and families** - oh how we chortled; well maybe not all of us!
**or should that be fiends and familiars? 

On reflection, I was absolutely thrilled with how the day went.  Yes, Donnybrook is a tad light for some, but perfect for what we wanted.  The ability to build on the narrative and enjoy the role playing element is a lot of fun, especially when played with likeminded souls.  To that end, I need to thank both Mike 'The Dark Templar' Reynolds and 'Bullcher Feb' who's participation, good humour and support was paramount in making this such an enjoyable day.

Addendum:

Both Mike and Bull have each kindly written up a report of the day, which can be found by following the links below.  Once again Chaps, my heartfelt thanks.

A day of gaming that will long live in the memory! - Bullcher Feb
Donnybrook Witchfinder - Mike Reynolds

73 comments:

  1. Great pictures of very nice terrain and minis. Your post reminds me that I have a copy of Witchfinder General: Days of revelation on my shelf.

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    1. Thank you my good man, Witchfinder is such a good introduction, so much to work with.

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  2. Excellent looking game, Michael! Figures and terrain are superb.

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    1. Thank you so much Dean, I was given the day before to set up so really took my time.

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  3. Wow what a wonderful game! I knew it would look fantastic (your stuff always does) but it looks an absolute hoot to play as well! I wouldn't worry about the "stripped" down AAR as gaming is more about fun that reports!

    I have but to gripes, one the red print on some of the pictures is a little difficult to read with my old eyes, and I would have liked to have seen a close up of Helen Highwater! ;-)

    Great stuff Sir! Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thank you Roger, yes sorry about the red, not my best choice. :) As for Helen, she is a secretive soul and likes to keep her identity hidden.

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    2. Good news Roger, Bull has found some previously undisclosed photographs of Helen - https://bullcher44.blogspot.com/2018/08/helen-high-water.html

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    3. That's no way to talk about a lady!

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  4. Marvellous presentation Sir Michael. It looked like a fantastically fun game and I certainly enjoyed looking at all the well-painted minis enormously :-)

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    1. You are very kind Simon, lots of fun and lots more photographs now up on Bull's and Mike's blogs - links below.

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  5. Awesome, looks like a fun day was had by all

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  6. Firstly GREAT town name. One can imagine a Lesser Whinging and a Greater Whinging being in the same area. I do hope so!

    I thoughouly decent romp paying no attention to history what so ever. We all know the Witches won really but they claim it was a loss to keep the papists happy! And by claiming a defeat it does stop the meddling church from sending another group of Rowdies!

    I am glad you enjoyed Donnybrook it does have it's good points and does provide a decent game if the sides are sufficiently different. Yes too light for me but it does provide a good game.

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    1. Thank you so much Clint, for what we wanted (a day of gaming frivolity) Donnybrook was a perfect way to get the collection on the table. Such a giggle.

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  7. Great stuff, Michael! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Entirely my pleasure A.J., we had such a blast.

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  8. I'll second Clints comment on the name. Are the Whingings in the Shire of Bressex? Great looking photos and sounds like a grand day out for all.

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    1. I think it is too good an opportunity to miss, not including the other Whingings, too much fun to be had with that name.

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  9. By the sounds of it the objective was met you all had fun, a full AAR would have been great to read but not at the expense of having fun

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    1. Thank you Dave, certainly reading the other chaps accounts it was a successful day. I have to confess that I find recording the detail as it happens difficult; I am a bear of little brain.

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  10. Me like :-) Great seeing all your bits and Bobs from previous Posts coming togther and having a fun day out.

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    1. Thank you Paul, it was such a great kick seeing everything come together.

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  11. A rip roaring stomp of a game. I'm pleased the 3 of you had a good time.

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  12. Looks like loads of fun, and there were more than enough pictures to get a sense of the games. Bravo!

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    1. Thank you Kieron, more photos up on the other blogs now - links below.

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  13. Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all which at the end of the day is what its all about, so well done sir :)

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    1. Thank you Frank, it certainly kept us occupied and out of trouble.

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  14. Looks like a lot of fun, Sir Michael!

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  15. Sounds like fun was had by all & it's great to see you get this game system on the table! Nice layout & glad you got to bring our your terrain!

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    1. Thank you Terry, Donnybrook just worked for this, fast paced and easy to tweak.

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  16. Looks to have been a superb days gaming. Your painting over the previous posts is really brought to life in the pictorial account of the day - great touch with the text in the pictures. Superb!

    Cheers, Ross

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    1. Thank you Ross, blogging about the progress has really given me a sense of focus and ultimately led to a day that I was very proud of.

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  17. Some very nice pictures to inspire us all.

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  18. Sorry - pressed the wrong button. I wanted to ask why you used Donnybrook rather than the Witchfinder rules themselves?

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    1. Thank you John. Why Donnybrook? If the truth be told they were easier for me to get a hold of. The Witchfinder rules are superb and of course are primarily designed for this sort of encounter. When I played through a scenario using them last year, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but was concerned that I would struggle to explain them to the chaps in a day and subsequently bottled the event. Our gaming days, of late, have revolved around Zombicide - lots of fun, but in essence a board game. Congo was a step forward last year, but had mechanics that were easily learnt, similarly Donnybrook offered a comparable experience. I wanted to find a way that I could get my toys on the table and for everyone to be able to get going with the game as soon as possible, Donnybrook offered that solution. However let's be clear, without Witchfinder this wouldn't have happened and both rule sets will play an important part in the development of this project.

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    2. Thanks Michael, I bought Chaos in Carpathia rather than Witchfinder General with a view to getting the same game type. There is nothing wrong with the rules but they give a gang/crew/team style game which is currently in vogue for a competitive one on one game, but was not really what I was looking for in a solo game framework. If you think the WFG rules are good I think I'm going to have to spring the cash for them.
      Thanks for the comprehensive reply.
      Cheers

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    3. Happy to help, the Witchfinder rules will give you the depth you are looking for, simply because they were written with subject matter at the fore as opposed to an add-on faction.

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  19. Very very cool.
    Great battle report Sir Awdwry.

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  20. It klooks great and must have been a lot of fun, especially as you no doubt had different character actions in the various games to live up to.

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    1. Thank you Joe, in retrospect there are a couple of characters that could be tweaked but on the whole it seemed to work well.

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  21. Great sounding adventure. Just the right period for witchcraft.

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    1. Thank you Peter, we had a lot of fun with hopefully more adventures to come.

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  22. Great looking game, Michael and very much in the spirit in which Donnybrook was written!

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    1. Thank you Clarence, it was such a blast and fitted the day perfectly. I think that were a couple more converts to the system before the day was done.

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  23. Excellent stuff Michael, and super eye candy, but I must echo Roger's complaint about you not featuring Helen Highwater ;-)

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    1. Thank you Greg and I do apologise about Helen. I have just noticed that Mike, in his report, managed to get a little closer to Helen, but she is such a secretive soul.

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  24. Terrain and miniatures looks like a golden standard to aspire to! :)

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  25. Looks brilliant. Great to see you gaming!

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    1. Thank you, great to have the chaps round and see what they made of it too.

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  26. Well done sir, splendid looking game. Terrific terrain and narrative game 😀

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  27. To a non-tabletop gamer like me, the photos above look chaotic with so much things happening. Must have been lots of fun though :)

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  28. That was a really cool report. I like the Witchfinder setting so the fine models and wonderful terrain made for a fine spectacle. You didn't do so badly for photos; I thought they were great. I blew what was supposed to be part 4 of my Escher report because I forgot to take any :D . I wasn't terribly motivated to take photos anyway. Terrain hogs at the club had slithered off with anything remotely cool so our table looked like shit.

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    1. Thank you, although if the truth be told so of the photographs were called backs! I left the table set up overnight and so when it came to writing the report I was able to get a couple of extra shots done that I had initially missed.

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  29. Looks like you three had a blast of a game! Table and miniatures are above any critique anyway.

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    1. Thank you so much Nick, that is incredible kind of you.

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  30. Excellent post and pictures. I've been watching your preparations for Donnybrook with much anticipation and was not disappointed! I plan on using the ruleset for my planned Pirate campaign and also the jacobites/border skirmishes!

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    1. Thank you David, that is very kind. We were talking about possible alternate factions and settings and pirates were definitely mentioned. There is a Pirate faction already in the rules and the chaotic nature of the play should be an absolute blast, you must let me know how you get on. To that end do you have a blog?

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  31. Great report, and thanks for using our rivers...looking good!

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  32. That looked spectacular mate! Like the best/worst Hammer Horror that I’d most definitely watch as a teen!

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