The Ditch - terrain building

The Never Mind the Billhooks rules have a special event card that suddenly creates an ‘on table’, previously hidden ditch and this is placed directly in front of a friendly unit, giving it a surprise defensive position.

The new deluxe version of the rules has a chapter about painting, modelling and kitbashing. Amongst the examples of which, Richard Lloyd (aka Captain Blood on The Lead Adventure forum - with a beautiful Wars of the Roses army) has built a ditch to use when this card is drawn.

His build has a dirty, mucky, water filled ditch, complete with dead soldiers caught in its murkiness. So, inspired by his step-by-step build, I set about creating one for my own games.

Mine uses some different materials, but the theme is the same (it of course costs nothing if you already have the bits). The assembling and hacking of the plastic figures took a few goes to get each one to fit ‘somewhere’ and to get the fall of the body looking right, but in the end it all came together to give a good piece of ancillary terrain ….. I just need to draw that event card in a game - I probably won’t now for ages!

We have three casualties in the feature. A small knot of men, routing from the field had eventually been caught by the enemy and forced to fight a last stand near to the ditch.

Above - Roger Fenwick, fighting valiantly to the last, was set upon by three retinue men and hacked down. A polearm had struck his thigh, the wooden haft breaking as he fell backwards into the ditch. He did not survive the wound.

Above - William Connor, like many, had thrown his cumbersome bill away while running and so was defenceless by the time the pursuers caught up with him. He was cut down from behind while trying to escape cross the ditch.

Above - Robert Elwood, a wily young archer, was one of the lucky ones. In the press of men, he had been knocked to the ground, concussed, but otherwise without injury. Assumed to be a dead man by the pursuers, he survived the melee. As he came to, concealed by reeds, he managed to drag himself to the edge of the ditch and escape once all of the hullabaloo has passed. Running to the nearest hamlet (Piggy Longton), he took refuge and a few days later, he was formally accepted by the bowmen of Longton as one their own.

I suppose in some ways the ditch loses universal versatility by being tied to one period, but from the perspective of scenario immersion and story telling, the piece will serve usefully in our Piggy Longton ImagiNations.

Only a few days to go now until Christmas Day. As usual, I will be putting up a longish post on Christmas Day morning, mainly as a bit of entertainment for those who are just trying to get through it without too much fuss on the day. It is not as ‘all singing and dancing’ as Christmas posts of recent years, but never-the-less, it is a little different and a bit of fun - so please pop your head in for a mince pie and some special Smoggy Ale, courtesy of Lord Darcy - Earl of Dungborough.

Best Wishes to all who read these silly very important things. Norm.

Resource Section.

My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ is being re-configured to showcase various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.

https://commanders.simdif.com