By Fire and Sword

[nikharwood]

Aha - thanks Anatoli 

http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/by-fire-sword-skirmish-list.html

http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/by-fire-sword-division-list.html

That'll do nicely 

[GordonY]

Very nice find Nik, those look superb as well, that IS an awful lot of donkey wallopers to be painting though.

Makes me reconsider the 15mm option, cos lets face it theres a lot less to paint on a 10mm horsey boy.

I'm still undecided, still I've got all day tomorrow to mull it over (money hits the bank on Friday ) and some will leave on Friday for either 2 x 10mm armies or the rulebook.

[nikharwood]

Very nice find Nik, those look superb as well, that IS an awful lot of donkey wallopers to be painting though.

Makes me reconsider the 15mm option, cos lets face it theres a lot less to paint on a 10mm horsey boy.

I'm still undecided, still I've got all day tomorrow to mull it over (money hits the bank on Friday ) and some will leave on Friday for either 2 x 10mm armies or the rulebook.

Those, plus OldenBUA's notes here, have made my mind up (not a big task) on 10mm at divisional level. I'm going to try to work up lists for these as soon as possible - definitely do-able using Pendrakenforum loveliness methinks: Polish, Ottomans, Swedish & Tartars certainly...

Looking forward to this one - I think, if nothing else, the armies involved will look the absolute business on the table 

[Steve J]

Once again Anatoli's Blog comes in very handy . For me too many horses to paint (at present ) but a great resource for the future, given that Pike & Shotte covers this period as well.

[Nosher]

Excellent - thanks chaps, much appreciated 

Preparing for interview (tomorrow) tonight, but will work on some lists tomorrow night - either in celebration or commiseration!

Good luck dude

Let us know how you get on!

[Nosher]

The satisfying thump (literally... think I might need new floorboards near the front door) of BFAS hitting my doormat today. Had a brief flick through.

Immediate thoughts?

Like
1. The fact that its a proper book

2. Decent background history on the period and forces involved

3. Great to see less popular forces covered

4. Feels like it is value for money - proof will be if its playable

5.  Once I got my head around the army lists I wont need to buy anything new at skirmish level

Dislikes
1.  Somehow feels quite cluttered... I dont know if anyone has a copy of Napoleons Battles? Feels a bit like that...

2.  Pages and pages of army lists - very similar to FOW. Not really sure its all necessary?

3.  The army lists are quite confusing - explanation on how they work feels a bit vague

4.  Lots of GW influence (WYSIWYG, collecting armies, painting figures - dont need it, been doing the hobby for years, dont need advice on paintbrushes, paints etc)

5.  Once I got my head around the army lists I WILL need some more figures to play Divisional Level games

[Leon]

Dislikes
5.  Once I got my head around the army lists I WILL need some more figures to play Divisional Level games

I think you've got this in the wrong section, surely it's a plus!   

[Steve J]

I think you've got this in the wrong section, surely it's a plus!

[OldenBUA]

Like
4. Feels like it is value for money - proof will be if its playable

IMHO it's quite playable, once you get the hang of it. We had our misunderstandings at first, but asking a few questions at their forum helped. To me, the strong points are the way battles are set up, based on force point difference. Also, the fact that it uses D10's, and not the ever present D6's gives you a different spread of probabilities. Most units have low hit chances (4's or 3's or even less), so when you do get a number of good scores it can really make a difference. The down side is that you have the rules, and then the army special rules, and then the unit special rules. It all stacks up, it's in different places in the book, and it's not always clear how they influence each other.

Dislikes
4.  Lots of GW influence (WYSIWYG, collecting armies, painting figures - dont need it, been doing the hobby for years, dont need advice on paintbrushes, paints etc)

That's a consequence of it first being aimed at the Polish market, I guess. It makes it more accessible to beginners. For the English edition, they could have left it out, since it's mostly the old farts who are buying the book (myself included).

[GordonY]

Yep decided that my 15mm heresy was a scale too far and will be doing them in 10mm Pendraken loveliness, but because of the smaller figures I thought I'd shrink the bases down to 30x15/30x20/30x30, anyone see any problem with that?

Plus it has the advantage of making my 6ft x 4ft table that much bigger when doing divisional (and maybe bigger) games.

[nikharwood]

Once again Anatoli's Blog comes in very handy . For me too many horses to paint (at present ) but a great resource for the future, given that Pike & Shotte covers this period as well.

Yep - good point SteveJ....I thought I'd ordered Pike & Shotte last weekend, but didn't - so I'll have to rectify that methinks...

Good luck dude

Let us know how you get on!

Expect an update over the weeked, Nosher mate...

The satisfying thump (literally... think I might need new floorboards near the front door) of BFAS hitting my doormat today. Had a brief flick through.

Immediate thoughts?

Like
1. The fact that its a proper book

2. Decent background history on the period and forces involved

3. Great to see less popular forces covered

4. Feels like it is value for money - proof will be if its playable

5.  Once I got my head around the army lists I wont need to buy anything new at skirmish level

Dislikes
1.  Somehow feels quite cluttered... I dont know if anyone has a copy of Napoleons Battles? Feels a bit like that...

2.  Pages and pages of army lists - very similar to FOW. Not really sure its all necessary?

3.  The army lists are quite confusing - explanation on how they work feels a bit vague

4.  Lots of GW influence (WYSIWYG, collecting armies, painting figures - dont need it, been doing the hobby for years, dont need advice on paintbrushes, paints etc)

5.  Once I got my head around the army lists I WILL need some more figures to play Divisional Level games

IMHO it's quite playable, once you get the hang of it. We had our misunderstandings at first, but asking a few questions at their forum helped. To me, the strong points are the way battles are set up, based on force point difference. Also, the fact that it uses D10's, and not the ever present D6's gives you a different spread of probabilities. Most units have low hit chances (4's or 3's or even less), so when you do get a number of good scores it can really make a difference. The down side is that you have the rules, and then the army special rules, and then the unit special rules. It all stacks up, it's in different places in the book, and it's not always clear how they influence each other.

That's a consequence of it first being aimed at the Polish market, I guess. It makes it more accessible to beginners. For the English edition, they could have left it out, since it's mostly the old farts who are buying the book (myself included).

Yep - agreed. I think one of the things I like the most is simply the sheer pleasure of it as a "proper book" - it's really nice to pick up & flick through, which is what I seem to be doing this week without sufficient time to read it in-depth properly. I've not managed to digest the rules themselves fully yet - but on the basis of the flick-read I've given them, I'm encouraged.

Yep decided that my 15mm heresy was a scale too far and will be doing them in 10mm Pendraken loveliness, but because of the smaller figures I thought I'd shrink the bases down to 30x15/30x20/30x30, anyone see any problem with that?

Plus it has the advantage of making my 6ft x 4ft table that much bigger when doing divisional (and maybe bigger) games.

Sensible man. Everyone knows that 15mm is the devil's own scale etc etc 

I wouldn't see any problem at all in changing base sizes as long as you're consistent - I'm likely to end up bunging everything onto 40x20 (or poss 50x25) just so that it'll all work with P&S / RenaissanceMaster etc anyway I think.

I'm hoping to be able to finalise my lists on Saturday / Sunday - will bung 'em up here if anyone's interested?

[OldenBUA]

because of the smaller figures I thought I'd shrink the bases down to 30x15/30x20/30x30, anyone see any problem with that?

Base size shouldn't make much of a difference, I think.

I'm hoping to be able to finalise my lists on Saturday / Sunday - will bung 'em up here if anyone's interested?

I would like to see what you came up with, yes. Might come in handy later.

[Nosher]

Everything crossed on the interview/job front dude.

[nikharwood]

I would like to see what you came up with, yes. Might come in handy later.

Cool - just finalising the lists at the moment, will bung them up later...

Everything crossed on the interview/job front dude.

Announcement imminent  

[nikharwood]

Right - news on the interview now posted: http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,9388.0.html

I'll put my lists up in a separate thread...