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It's amazing how much useful terrain can be found in fish tank ornaments.

Ohhh... *Notes down*

Inspired by this little thread I just read through the Ronin Rulebook and I quite like it - need to check if there are any groups in Portugal (doubtful). Next in line is Lion Rampant.

@Lithandis - Osprey just published a second book by the same author, very similar rules but set in seventeenth-ish-century Europe (think Three Musketeers):

https://ospreypublishing.com/en-garde

Also, Easy E and I have done some write ups on these rules:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/684503.page

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/652096.page

Thanks for the tips Manchu.

I read those two reviews before I read the Ronin rule themselves, so I already knew about En Garde. Unfortunately that specific period doesn't quite entice me as the Sengoku Jidai and Medieval Europe do.

I think I'll also give a couple of other games a quick look, even if just to expand a bit my game horizons.

 Lithlandis Stormcrow wrote:
I think I'll also give a couple of other games a quick look, even if just to expand a bit my game horizons.

That is probably the chief advantage of Osprey's "blue" series. The other one I like is Lion/Dragon Rampant.

 Manchu wrote:

 Lithlandis Stormcrow wrote:
I think I'll also give a couple of other games a quick look, even if just to expand a bit my game horizons.

That is probably the chief advantage of Osprey's "blue" series. The other one I like is Lion/Dragon Rampant.

Going to take a look at those two, and then perhaps at 'In Her Majesty's Name' - though this last one does not pull me as much. Do you know if Osprey has any early Dark Age skirmish game, or does Lion Rampant also cover that period?

Lion Rampant is generic enough to do the job. The very first book in the series, Dux Bellorum, is specifically about Sub-Roman Britain. It is by the same author as Lion/Dragon Rampant, but the games are nothing alike. For Dark Ages, I'd recommend either or really both of SAGA by Studio Tomahawk and Dux Britanniarum by Too Fat Lardies.

 Manchu wrote:
Lion Rampant is generic enough to do the job. The very first book in the series, Dux Bellorum, is specifically about Sub-Roman Britain. It is by the same author as Lion/Dragon Rampant, but the games are nothing alike. For Dark Ages, I'd recommend either or really both of SAGA by Studio Tomahawk and Dux Britanniarum by Too Fat Lardies.

Thank you very much for the recommendations. I will investigate further

Easy E has a review of Dux Bellorum here:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/680201.page

I plan to write something up for Dux Brit soon.

We both posted thoughts on Lion Rampant here:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/650999.page

Your board came out really nice. Good work!

Thanks mate!

Did you ever get a chance to pour the resin on?

Ha - still not! TBH I have not really even thought about it since except for the weekend before last when I trotted the demo board out again to introduce a friend to the game. The thing about making a board like this is, after the big day it mostly just takes up space.

I amvery curious as to how the resin will turn out.

Also - and I know this is a bit off topic so I will be fine with creating a new topic for this - what would you guys recommend as a "middle sized" buntai for a game that will last say an hour and a half? 100pts? Perhaps 150?

I must say that the more I read on Ronin the more I am interested in it - especially the Koryu and Bandit lists.

 Lithlandis Stormcrow wrote:
a "middle sized" buntai for a game that will last say an hour and a half? 100pts? Perhaps 150?

Yeah about that, probably 8-15 figures per side. Of course, any game you are just learning will take more time than one you have mastered.

 Manchu wrote:

 Lithlandis Stormcrow wrote:
a "middle sized" buntai for a game that will last say an hour and a half? 100pts? Perhaps 150?

Yeah about that, probably 8-15 figures per side. Of course, any game you are just learning will take more time than one you have mastered.

Yeah, I'm figuring the first couple of match will last at least a couple of hours, and I may tone them down to 100 pts or even 75.

I am also noticing that the Koryu are absurdly fragile and expensive to field - or am I getting it wrong?

No - that is correct. It's because their higher ranks come packaged with the bujutsu rule.

Yeah. Koryu are a glass cannon.

The koryu are some of the nicest models but they are fragile to play.

 carlos13th wrote:
The koryu are some of the nicest models but they are fragile to play.

I am quite fine with that, actually. Even more so with the fact that they are expensive to fielf - less money involved in building a buntai.

WGF's plastic Samurai are a very cost-effective way to build a Bushi Buntai. WLG now publishes them.

http://us-store.warlordgames.com/products/samurai-infantry
http://us-store.warlordgames.com/products/samurai-cavalry-riders
http://us-store.warlordgames.com/products/samurai-cavalry-horses
http://us-store.warlordgames.com/products/ashigaru-missile-troops
http://us-store.warlordgames.com/products/ashigaru-yari-troops

That is pretty damn good to make a Bushi and Bandit Buntai!

I may try and find unarmoured miniatures for the Koryu, especially they tend to be smaller in size, I take (might have a look at Bushido models since it's not that out of scale and tend to have some non-fantastical miniatures in their bunch.)

I have Northstar's Koryu set and some "plainclothes" Samurai from Perry. All the miniatures in my pics above are Perry. The Northstar ones are neat but I love the Perry ones.

So, did you ever pour that river in?

Still no! Without any real need to show it off, I have moved on to several other projects. Currently working on finishing the second ruins set for Osgiliath. I am have been mulling over buying the Rolling Hills set of Tablescape tiles from Secret Weapon, which could also use the resin. Just not sure about those tiles, though.

I like your boards better than just about any plastic tile I've seen so far.

Impressive stuff!

Now - pour me a river!

Very kind of you! I would say that the Secret Weapon boards are much, much more versa ... tile (yeeeeeeeah) because they are 1x1 and so much easier to store. After "finishing" this one, I moved onto a 2x2 board for Frostgrave made out of the same materials ... started that in ... August 2015? It was just no fun at all trying to get half-buried flagstone to look right and I was already experiencing the hassle of trying to store the Ronin board so I gave up on that one and looked into Secret Weapon's Forgotten City set. I figured that could be a down-the-road thing ... so when I actually got down the road, I found myself putting together the Osgiliath ruins for judgedoug using the cast hydrostone pieces, which looks cool but it is pretty expensive and make for heavy scenery. Yesterday, Miniature Market announced a sale that included Secret Weapon's Tablescape stuff and I was able to snag the 16-tile (4'x4') Forgotten City set for 40% off. So that will be my next terrain project and hopefully I will get some Frostgrave going once I get the gnolls from the current "Gnickstarter." (How could I resist with such a punny name?)

 Lithlandis Stormcrow wrote:
Thanks for the tips Manchu.

I read those two reviews before I read the Ronin rule themselves, so I already knew about En Garde. Unfortunately that specific period doesn't quite entice me as the Sengoku Jidai and Medieval Europe do.

I think I'll also give a couple of other games a quick look, even if just to expand a bit my game horizons.

Note that En Garde! is just a cleaned up Ronin. It doesn't alter gameplay in any meaningful way. In fact, it is arguably the better of the two sets as it details how to create new factions. I used it for a Viking vs Saxon game, and it worked just fine. The inclusion of multiple forms of shields in En Garde! plus a few other attribute rules really lends it to be Ronin if you want it, or something entirely different if you want.

I think I will try it with my small, but growing, Ancient Greeks next.

I wrote a HYW version of Ronin based around the concept of chivalry - depending on how you fight, you gain and lose honor points, which affects how many noblemen/high status commoners (as opposed to levy) are willing to fight in your warband. The resulting honor point economy adds something I felt Ronin sorely lacked - alas, have not had a chance to playtest those rules just yet!

Post them up I would love to look at them!