After the highs of the Border Reiver show, I'm once more back in the real world where gaming an my enthusiasm to do anything hobby-wise is once more at an all-time low. It must be well over a month since I have managed anything hobby-related, save for writing this blog!
Picking up then where we left the expedition, in grasslands, readying itself for another scrap...
Once more:
From the Journal of Frederick Cartington
"Once more we were set upon by hostiles, but with adequate warning we braced ourselves for their attack"
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| The opposition, 4 with hand Weapons to the North and 4 with bows to the South |
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| The four 'fighters' close on the column... |
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| ...whilst their archers start their ineffective shooting |
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| The column breaks for cover and a defencive position... |
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| and the natives continue to bear down upon them. |
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All the shooting disturbs an unwelcome guest (obligatory crap rubbish picture) |
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| Our shooting bags a native bowman... |
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| ...but a furious melee develops,... |
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| ...joined by a rather large snake |
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| The snake claims its first victim... |
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| ...meantime the gorilla thumps its chest and bellows... |
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| ... with no effect as it's now quite far from both protagonists. |
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| The snake chomps its second native victim, but is also wounded... |
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| and our gunfire claims another, proving too much for the natives, who flee |
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| The reformed column |
"The fight was swift and furious though our shooting was less than adequate. The melee in the rear of our firing line dispatched two of our opposition aided, I'm told, by a serpent that we also dispatched.
That mighty creature, a forest dwelling gorilla also made an appearance but as it left us alone, we too left it alone!"
"As we made camp, less than two weeks had passed since we left Jim's landing and with more than two week's food available, we determined to press on"
"it was two days before we managed to get going again as fog descended upon us making further progress impossible, but eventually the fog gave way to excessive heat giving grave concern to our Doc."
"it was a mere four days since our last encounter that we were ambushed by some roguish fellows that gave us a very hot welcome"
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| We rush to receive them, their rifles are a bit too effective! |
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| The Natives, three with rifles (centre bottom) flanked either side by two melee-armed |
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| Our soldier drops and our Askari despatches one of theirs |
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| A forest bear takes an interest whilst the melees rage on... |
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| The fight grows everywhere and the natives lose another two... |
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| The bear decides this fight is not for him. |
"A rapid charge into the enemy threw them off balance and they were unable to use their very effective rifles, but even as the fight died down poor Ebor was struck down by a bullet, our third casualty of the day"
"Doc was unable to save any of our wounded and I made the determination to return to Jim's Landing. Several great apes we saw en route was indeed new primate species of several types, though the didn't take much notice of us and we arrived without further incident."
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| The expedition's route |
The expedition had taken 18 day's (in game time) and made an incredible (imo) 470 points of discoveries etc. which would have been enough to give four explorers a point increment each (in a single ability), alas the last encounter was gruesome as we had lost Ebor (and of course poor Ned), leaving us with only three explorers. I think the game took about four hours to play out over two (or maybe three days). It certainly took a lot longer to edit the photos (over 100!) and write up the adventure.
Was it worth it ? At the time probably yes, now I'm not so sure.
My enthusiasm has been sorely dented, I have unused armies, many unpainted figures, several buildings that I'd like to have built and some building kits that may never see the table.
Thanks for taking the time to visit and apologies for the despondency, but as always your comments are both welcome and appreciated.
Goodness only knows if I'll be able to find anything to post about next week, I doubt if anyone will be interested in yet another hospital visit I have to attend (tomorrow!).
I'm enjoying your trips into the jungle, Zab. Maybe a short story from your adventurous mind of some exciting trek into the unknowns of the jungle could be forthcoming to this blog. The queue of models to be assembled and painted can take a vacation.
ReplyDeleteAlas, my calendar this month and next is filled with many visits to the doctors...and these are supposed to be the golden years!
Thanks Jay, I doubt my skills at prose would be no more than cringe inducing in readers. I personally don't partcualrly like aar's intersperested with our attempts of Jack sadi "this" and though "..." etc. So not for me I'm afraid.
DeleteModelling and apinting is currently taking a vacation, but I may tidy up my paint table (and the surrounding area)!
I've missed the next part of the journey!
ReplyDeleteIf you mean you will miss the next adventure, fear not I'm sure there will be something, sometime in the future - something will inspire me!
DeleteAlways much enjoyed visits, inspiring tales. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks you Douglas, for taking the time and making the effort to comment!
DeleteIt's always a boost to enthusiasm to have a new (relatively speaking) commentator to my blog.
For others reading the replies Douglas' blog is:
http://one-mans-table.blogspot.com
Nice edition of the jungle Gazette Joe. Perhaps work on something else to clear your mind a bit and then return to this project afterwards. I am struggling myself this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brummie, it happens to all of us, I think my caring duties have drained me.
DeleteAnother lovely read from Jimland. I often look at the sheer volume of unpainted/unassembled stuff filling my paint queue and feel overwhelmed by it all. But I’ve started breaking it down into enjoyable little parcels and it comes good. Chin up Joe
ReplyDeleteThanks dGG; I'm pretty sure my lead mountain is no bigger than many others' and my problem is not it's volume, but it's purpose/use.
DeleteMY painting "queue" (stuff that I would like finished)is quote simply three different lots:
28mm Gangsters et al (a mere 160 or so figures)
28mm Colonials (approx 100, but 160 or so still on the wish list)
28mm Zombies about 100 (and now, like the gangsters from about 7 years ago!)
In my book that's not a lot!
Fun expedition,maybe you need to change what your painting or making for a bit or have a break,you don't have to do stuff, it's an optional hobby!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain, the fun/humour of the last expedition was of the dark variety by the end of it, it was that tense in the final fight!
DeleteYou're right of course in that's it's an optional thing, this hobby of ours, but I would like to think that fillng my time with hobby-ralated thing is not without purpose - Daytime television really sucks!
Sorry to see you've come down with the hobby blues Joe its something we all suffer from time to time :(
ReplyDeleteAnother exciting tale from Jimland & like others that come here I really enjoy them, so stiff upper lip & carry on :)
Thanks Frank, you of all folk should know the time and effort needed to write an adventure/scenario up with all the production values you have! I'm pretty sure though that my Jimland adventures are getting pretty stale (not just for me either).
DeleteDefinitely worth it in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the hospital visit Joe.
Thanks MJT, it probably was worth it, if only one person enjoyed it ! WHen I get my head around the hobby again, there will be more (probably).
DeleteOn the real=kifefront, the hopistal visit was fairly routine and a mere 8 hours later I was home again.
A briefer visit to look forward to next week (hopefully).
Saddened to hear you are struggling with motivation Joe, there's a lot of time and effort goes into these AAR's and I'm sure everyone appreciates that, and the fact that you have so many people read it and then comment is indicative that your posts are being enjoyed by a lot of folk.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vagabond, you too, like Frank do put a lot of effort into your respective write-ups and I appreciate your uplifting comments. If truth be told, I do write them up for other people (somethingI reckomed I would never do). In the past I wrote up my western games purely for myself as an aide memoir (in pencil and now very difficult to read). Having a blog though puts a lot more pressure on and without someone (as Clint on "anything but a one" : "Going it alone is an unrewarding slog!" and that's what I'm really struggling with I guess. Even the deceased Board of the Living Lead, which you were a late-comer too did enable me to spout of some ideas, with the occassional reply.
DeleteHi Joe, I think to some extent you are right, or maybe Clint was right, going it alone is an unrewarding slog. But isn't that why you write your blog, to share what you have done with other people. It's a bit of a conversation, look - this is what I did - my game, my idea for a scenario, my way of painting, my idea of how to run a campaign. We look at it and might agree or disagree, be enthused by another period or a new take on how it could be done. We might not do it the same but the germ of the idea might have been yours. I'm not suggesting that's why you write it - just thats maybe the result of what you write.
DeleteI agree that what you did with your Western games may have been more fun to write because you were doing them for yourself and not having to worry if it's good enough to show others. However taking that a step further, putting the games on your blog is the same fun element. I know you will probably feel that it needs to be polished, the photos might be a bit poor and you could do better, but surely that's what everyone thinks. I know I have re-photographed some of my games because I thought I should try and put up the best show I could, but the essence of the game remains the same.
If you want more interaction with wargamers maybe you could have a conversation with your readers, and use that as a replacement for a face to face conversation.
I'm sure you have thought all this through before and I don't mean to be presumptuous but there's maybe more going on with your blog than you realise.
Sorry to ramble a bit - it's getting late.
Thanks Vgabond, I agree with most of what you say, I have taken great insopiration and ideas from various blogs Iand there are far more out there that I infrequently peruse for the same sortof input. I don't really consider my own blog anywhere near as inpirational as many others - maybe I'm wrong.
DeleteI do love getting into conversations about wargames both generally and specifically but feel a blog is not really the place for this. Forums are really the places for the sort of discussion on gaes, systems scenarios etc. but of course forums have the same problems as anything online - peopple! ( you know what I mean). My most meaningful conversations have been two-fold: emails about rules, ideas arranging meet-ups and even the odd game (yes face to face with a real person), sadly after some several hundred emails (literally) I lost this guy as a friend. Similarly another fellow blogger (now retired I guess) still keeps in touch infrequently, but we have little now in common as he rarely visits blogs when once he was a stalward of my blog repertoire.
I'm planning next week's blog now, so there's still some life left in me.
I think from the comments that your expeditions are very much enjoyed. Speaking for myself I know they are one of the most enjoyable things on a blog at this time. I likewise fully understand if you want to take a break.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you decide will be fine by me.
Thanks Clint, it's difficult at times to know if comments are more of the polite variety than truly what the commentator thinks. As my blog is the last vestige of a connection with the wargaming fraternity, even if I build or paint nothing I can still have a rant about something or other eh!
Delete