Beneath the Lily Banners PRE-ORDERS are up!

It's here!

Beneath the Lily Banners is a tabletop wargaming rules system designed to immerse players in the epic and dazzlingly colourful world of 17th century warfare. It can be used with miniatures of most scales with the main focus being 28mm models. Games are played with as few as four and as many as 100 units per side. Action can be set at small scale engagement level by altering the model to man ratio from 1:35 to as low as 1:3. This turns battalions to companies and squadrons to troops. The rules involve simultaneous movement regulated by orders and the skill levels of opposing commanders. Results can be achieved in an hour for a small encounter or over multiple sessions if recreating one of the era’s many massive battles. This is the fourth edition of the system which was first published in 2008.

From the fields of Flanders to the deserts of Iraq, the sweltering heat of the Caribbean to the Ukrainian steppe, the virgin wilderness of North America to the ancient ruins of the Peleponnese.  Advance your armies to victory and glory!

hard cover, 184 pages

This is a PRE-ORDER. Books will ship to buyers in November (or as soon as we get them)!  Order your copies here!

 The League of Augsburg Shop

Warfare Miniatures USA

Beneath the Lily Banners

 Pre-orders coming soon...

For Ireland and King James!

We are happy to announce the release of our latest book, For Ireland and King James!

From the back cover:

It is time to give the Irish army which fought against Willem van Oranje between 1689 and 1691, the attention it has long been denied. For nearly three years it campaigned without proper resources and funding. Its opponents were in the main, professionals from all over Europe. 

Against a backdrop of enormous political and social upheaval it continued to fight for King James II/VII whilst being constantly weakened by factionalism and cynical manipulation from Versailles.

This book is a guide to the infantry regiments which fought in the final campaign during the summer of 1691 culminating in the Battle of Aughrim and the second siege of Limerick. It provides invaluable insight into the provenance, officers and history of each formation. It is lavishly illustrated by Clarence Harrison and provides inspiration for wargamers to recreate the campaigns fought in Ireland on the tabletop.

Hardcover, 88 pages, 32 color plates and two maps.

League of Augsburg Shop (for most of the world)

Warfare Miniatures USA (for, well... the USA)

This was a huge project and we are proud of the results. You can grab a preview PDF here!

King of Buccaneers

So this was an epic undertaking. When Barry first unveiled the 4Play scenario pack concept, he invited me to join in. While I had a pile of ideas, I quickly realized I didn't have the models to present them in the manner I wished. We were eyeball deep in Mad for War at the time. As naval gaming had never been a passion of mine, I set out to read some books on the subject to see what all the fuss was about.

Being a proud gentleman of Virginia, I decided to focus on events on this side of the Pond. There were small actions all up and down the coast of colonies, but what drew more of my attention were exploits of the pirates, buccaneers, and privateers. Scattered all through the exploits of these sea dogs were small unit land actions that are perfect for Beneath the Lily Banners and Donnybrook! While they weren't painted, I had a pile of lead I'd amassed for pursuing our period into the Caribbean (after Barry's great game I'd attended in the Old Country).

The Battle of Panama featured an army of buccaneer infantry against a mixed force of Spanish uniformed troops, native auxiliaries, poor artillery (some sources say any guns were left to defend the city), two large units of cavalry (extremely rare in this theater), and herd of oxen! Any time I start a collection, I always look for these kinds of mixed forces so avoid the fatigue of painting six identical battalions. I felt like this would be an amazing looking force on the tabletop.

The King of Buccaneers 4Play PDF is 20 pages and includes two scenarios for Beneath the Lily Banners and one for Donnybrook.

The first game is a 4Play BLB assault on the breach of the San Lorenzo fort which guarded the mouth of the Chagres—the route Henry Morgan had chosen for his invasion of Panama. At the time, the fort was a crude affair of earthen walls between timber palisades. I didn't have anything like that in my collection either (sigh), so I set out to build  a custom 24x24 inch tile for the game.

The second game is a standard-sized Donnybrook game on a 48x48 inch table. The encounter is fictional ambush as only a token resistance was staged as the pirates hacked their way through the jungle. It represents the Spanish intent rather than actual defense. As with the previous game, I wanted an bit of terrain I didn't have and custom built the ruined chapel for the center of the table.

The final game is a 4Play X BLB battle, featuring eight units per side on a 48x48 inch table set to last eight turns. 

I had a blast playing all three of these games. I'm hoping to explore more scenarios for the Caribbean in the future, including adding more uniformed units (I cunningly chose to paint my Spanish militia in the uniform of the French de la Marine so with a flag swap I have the start of another army).

You can grab a copy of King of Buccaneers at the Warfare Miniature USA shop!

Hopefully I'll have some more scenarios to add the the collection this year.

A Few New Flags for 1815

Napoleonics was my first love in wargaming before falling down the rabbit hole that led to the period of floppy hats and tricorns. While I've mostly concentrated on adding flags to the shops that can be carried proudly by Warfare Miniatures, I've had it in mind to expand to other periods. There's been a lull in Mad for War for the last few weeks while we've been going over the manuscript again in light of lessons learned knocking Mad for War Essentials into shape (don't worry, we're still on pace for late spring/early summer). It's not in my nature to be idle so I decided to wade into the future (of the BLB period, that is) and produce a few new flag sheets...

Well, ok... my OCD kicked in and I ended up with over 120 units - the entire French army for Waterloo (suitable, of course for any part of the 100 days campaign)! They are divided into divisions, which is how I normally set out collecting an army. Regiments were only issued one eagle in 1815 and this was carried by the first battalion. Opinions seem divide as to whether or not the infantry flags had fringe, but I decided to include it. If you fall into the camp of "without", it is easy enough to trim them off when you cut out the flag!

These will be available at Warfare Miniatures USA (in the US and Canada) and the League of Augsburg store (for the rest of the planet), though it may be a couple of days before they are posted...

Right! I'll have more flags for 1815 later this year. There are also a pile of naval flags (for both 28mm and 1/1200), WSS, and whatever I manage to find time for on the way!

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

Not really miniature related, but something I made for my sister for Christmas. She and I are both fans of H. P. Lovecraft. I saw something like this offered commercially, though it was only 3.5” tall and didn’t come with a box. The photograph for the item DID display it, packed in moss and nestled in a beat up crate and that pic is what inspired me.

The idol is of great Cthulhu, variations of which are mentioned in The Call of Cthulhu. I sculpted the little monster out of DAS clay. I read a few tutorials because it's been decades since I've messed with the stuff. There was lots of advice on avoiding the surface cracking as it dries - I wanted this thing to look ancient, so I did the opposite of what they said to do!

After beating the lump into the rough shape I wanted, it was really just a matter of patiently gouging out some straight lines. It took a few to get the knack of producing these without leaving crumbling edges, but I soon had the hang of it and it went rather quickly after that.

After letting it partially dry (so the paint would soak into the material, not just lie on the surface), I used Citadel shades to add color...

I produced a letter from a 'colleague', explaining the reason for sending the strange thing to my sister and packed the whole into a box I purchased from a craft store (and subsequently battered and painted).

I'm really happy with how this project turned out! My girlfriend says she is really glad the spooky critter is going to someone else's house...

Right, back to more serious work soon...

Oh, Merry Christmas, everyone!

Donnybrook at Sea!

Avast! We are very excited to launch Donnybrook at Sea! 

Donnybrook at Sea has 58 pages packed with naval rules for Donnybrook, unit guides, ship type guides, a full example scenario and extensive period primers for exciting naval combat from 1640 to 1783 (and a bit farther in either direction... many of you use Donnybrook for periods beyond the ones it was designed for).

Donnybrook at Sea has an extensive ship type reference section

The supplement is available in pdf only for now. It is important you have Donnybrook to play with the naval rules because many of the core mechanisms are applied for figure activation and combat.

To help you choose your units there are pages of examples

We are offering Donnybrook at Sea for $13.25 and if you don't already have Donnybrook you can pick up both pdfs at a special price of $22.50.

There is an exciting and challenging scenario set in Brazil between two naval powerhouse nations

You can get it in the shops here:

Donnybrook at Sea (League of Augusburg Shop)

Donnybrook at Sea (Warfare Miniatures USA)

Donnybrook AND Donnybrook at Sea Bundle Deal (League of Augsburg Shop)

Donnybrook AND Donnybrook at Sea Bundle Deal (Warfare Miniatures USA)

The Guns of August 2018, Saturday

Real quick as I am beat.. two great games Saturday..

Left to right, Dannie Fogleman, Joe Brecher, Richard Jaekel, and Dick Goettel.. ALL of the these guys played in one of Barry and my sessions of the Pennyburn at Historicon. Some of them came from quite a ways, just to play BLB. I was stressed because in my haste Saturday morning I left the house without my QRS... THREE of them brought their own copies (thanks, for that, guys).

What a cool venue. While it lacked a huge food court (lunch and dinner were available in the form of sandwiches from Chick fil'A), my table was in the Weapons Hall in the middle of the Virginia War Museum.

Dannie and Dick both wanted another game and we were joined in the afternoon by Rob Eubanks. We played the same scenario, but the veterans switched sides to have a different perspective on the game.

There were lots of nice comments from people, interest in the Warfare range, and I even managed to sell some books. The event also saw the blooding of Hilton's Regiment (seen below with the blue and white flags.. will get proper photos of them in coming weeks as well), painted for my collection by THE Barry Hilton.. more on how that went soon..

I'll have a full account of the battles, as well as action from Sunday and the full scenario in a few days.

Crossing the Shannon - July 15, 1690

In the period between the Battle of the Boyne (July 1st, 1690) and The Battle of Aughrim (July 12th, 1691) a variety of smaller engagements took place in central and the south west Ireland.

This scenario is a fictitious encounter placed against the backdrop of small raids, sieges and low level actions which characterized the year following the Battle of the Boyne. Scenario Background King William’s multinational army is now in the ascendant in Ireland and the Jacobite Army of King James is restricted to the western counties of the island. An advanced guard, five small brigades of the Williamite Army, has come across a small Jacobite force which is attempting to transport plundered light cannons and other baggage across the River Shannon at a narrow ford. A small force of enemy troops is occupying a farm immediately in front of the advancing Williamite column obviously to act as a rearguard. No other enemy troops are visible, but rumors of the vaunted Jacobite cavalry have greeted the advance at every village and there might still be infantry on this side of the Shannon as well...

This game is inspired by the scenario included in the first edition of Beneath the Lily Banners (published 2008) and will be my offering for the Guns of August. It's been modified to suit my collection and several details altered to take into account the likely participants would be new to the rules. I want to be able to fight the game to a conclusion in the time allotted so troops will start a little closer together to get the action underway. I also changed the crossing from a ferry to a ford because this terrain is the beginning of a new direction for my efforts going forward. I wanted a river that would be more flexible for other tables than the 12-18" wide span I would have wanted to make a model ferry seem necessary. I'll get around to building a wider river when I design my tables for the Boyne..

The Guns of August show is at the Virginia War Museum in Newport News, VA on August 24th-26th. I will be running two games on Saturday at 10am and 2pm and another game on Sunday at 10am. There is no pre-registration for the event, so if you'd like to play in one of the games, just come on by - the scenario can be played by two or up to seven, but I'll find a command for you if we end up with more.

I'll have a report on the show and hopefully AAR's next week...

Crossing the Shannon - The Guns of August 2018

My work schedule has been crazy recently and I realized I was never going to be able to finish the Limerick project I had planned for The Guns of August (maybe Historicon 2019). Rather than give up on the idea of attending, I set out to find a different scenario to run.

While sorting through scenarios, I stumbled on the map for 'Crossing the Shannon'. This game appeared in the first book Barry and I did together - the original version of Beneath the Lily Banners! I already had all of the terrain I needed for this game and that will make sorting out the rest by August dead easy.

Hmmm... I was also surprised to find out I had almost all of the models I needed too. When Barry and I were designing the book and decided to include a scenario, I remember advising we make it a small one. Mr. Hilton's idea of a small game was 25 units... over 200 infantry, 72 cavalry, and 9 commanders... bloody hell. What surprised me was that I had MORE than that now. There are only a couple of things I need to paint and I could get away without most of them by tweaking a few things, but since I now have the LUXURY of time I do want to add them.

NOT the actual forces listed below, just a large part of my current collection...

WILLIAMITE FORCE UNDER SIR THOMAS GROVE
(Commander rating: Plodder or Competent, roll a die to determine)

1st Brigade of Foot - Brigadier Baron Tom Grimm of Wedgewood
Garden til Fods (Veteran - Elite) All Musket
Funen (Drilled) All Musket
Jyske (Drilled) All Musket

2nd Brigade of Foot - Colonel Griggs, Lord Tilden
Converged Dutch Grenadiers (Drilled - Elite) All Musket
Hanmer’s (Drilled) Regulation
Brandenburg (Drilled) All Musket

3rd Brigade of Foot - Brigadier Bates of Doug
Mitchelburne’s (Raw) Regulation
Irish Regiment of Foot (Raw) All Musket (haven't decide which regiment)

1st Brigade of Horse - Colonel Treakle of Richmond
Danish Horse Regiment (Drilled) 3 Squadrons Bullet
Schomberg’s Regiment (Drilled) 1 Squadron Bullet

2nd Brigade of Horse - Colonel Harrell of Southland
Wolseley’s Horse Regiment (Raw) 2 Squadrons Blade
Wynne’s Dragoon Regiment (Raw) 2 Squadrons

Total Force: Commander in Chief, two brigadiers of Horse with 6 squadrons of Horse and 2 of mounted dragoons, three brigadiers of Foot with eight battalions (16 units total).

I just need paint a pike stand for Mitchelburne’s Foot and another brigadier! You can never have too many of those anyway...

JACOBITE FORCE UNDER GENERAL JOHN O’GROGAN 
(Commander rating: Competent or Skilful, roll a die to determine)

Brigade of Foot - Colonel Johan McDarius 
Irish Foot Guard (Drilled - Elite) Regulation
Lord Grand Prior’s (Drilled) Regulation
Clanrickarde’s (Drilled) Pike and Shot

Brigade of Horse - Colonel Edward Harrison
Life Guard of King James (Veteran) 2 Squadrons Blade
Tyrconnel’s Regiment (Veteran) 2 Squadrons Blade

Detached Commands
Dongan’s Dragoon Detachment (Raw) On Foot
Hilton’s (Raw) Pike and Shot

2 Light Guns (Raw if crew are found) Limbered
1 Field Gun (Raw if crew are found) Limbered
2 Wagons/Carts

Total Force: Commander in Chief, one brigadier of Horse with 4 squadrons of Horse, one brigadier of Foot with three battalions, one independent dragoon battalion and one independent battalion of foot (9 units total).

For this force I need to paint a pike stand for the Irish Foot Guard and at a couple of wagons or carts. I also need to build two ferries or rafts. I may also need some more civilian models or other single models milling around the river.

So, these are subject to change, but I this will be close give or take a battalion or squadron. I'll do a full scenario presentation AFTER the show in case some of you reading this will be playing. Of course, if you have a copy of BLB1 you can always look it up, but I've altered bits to make it fit my needs.

The Guns of August 2018

It's official.. I will be running several sessions of Beneath the Lily Banners/The War of Three Kings at the Guns of August show...

When the PEL becomes available I'll have more details, including how you can sign up to get in on one of these games...