In Search of Paradise, Prophet McNeil and the Binaric Temple

Genesis....

       The year was 1927, and times were good, technology and progress was the way to the future across the world, especially in New York, the city of tomorrow. Among the teeming masses of the great metropolis, none looked forwards to tomorrow more than John McNeil. Son of a Scots minister, McNeil had developed a knack for engineering and business, and had made a name for himself as a tinkerer and fixer of biplanes and automobiles. Graduating from NYU with a degree in engineering, McNeil founded a locomotive works where he both designed and built streamlined steamers for the New York Central RR, earning both a fortune and a name for himself as a designer of fine express locos.

      In 1931, McNeil fell off the platform at Grand Central and suffered a severe concussion that put him in the hospital for three months. He dipped in and out of consciousness during this time and while lucid would write sequences of numbers, binary code, that he later explained was how he perceived the world around him. After he was released from the hospital, McNeil Locomotive Works literally exploded with activity. In 1934 the world’s first electric express train, the Zeus, debuted at the Chicago World’s Fair arriving at Union Station under its own power though no one knew how it did so, being an unconventional design that worked, as McNeil called it, via “wireless”. Soon McNeil Wireless Locomotives we’re on every railroad throughout the nation, replacing steam in quick succession for nearly everything short of long freight trains which were too heavy for the Wireless’ small power output. 

       It was during this time that McNeil began to devote himself to more spiritual matters. Seeing the universe in ones and zeroes gave him a lot to ponder as he began to look at his father’s Bible and then to the Hebrew Torah looking for answers to life’s great mysteries. Learning Hebrew at a rapid pace (along with several other languages), McNeil noticed an odd pattern in the Torah. Almost exactly like the binary code that tied everything around him together. It was a predictive code at that. Working feverishly over the course of a year he discovered that binary and Hebrew could be interechanged almost seamlessly. He began writing out what he saw. Predictions. Prophecies. All manner of the secrets of the universe long withheld. With the rise of Nazi Germany, he foresaw a great and terrible war through the “Binaric Torah” and began to draw up designs and plans for a way to escape the coming world conflagration. 

      In 1939, the war he had expected to come began. By this time he had gathered a following of engineers, scholars, scientists, and even ministers and rabbis from all over the world to his grand project. Quietly selling off the locomotive works and bringing in the few employees who were not part of the “automated” process that McNeil had developed by now, the “Faithful” as they would be called by future generations, disappeared from the face of the earth mere moments before a massive Nazi airfleet bombed New York and turned the “Big Apple” to ash. Their passing was not missed by the inhabitants of the world as the nuclear fires of the Second Great War burned everything and everyone. And civilization was no more.

Exodus....

      In truth, the Faithful had been led through a great gate to a place far beyond the reach of earth and its warring nations. To a world beyond the edge of the night, named New Canaan,  by McNeil. Here was a world bountiful but also harsh. Tribes of creatures roamed it’s waste places and cities of alien design and otherworldly creatures ruled the fertile plains and valleys. McNeil sought the “Tor-Binaric” for guidance and wisdom and the Faithful obeyed. Becoming great in numbers, they multiplied and did not mix with the natives of that land for they were evil and treacherous. McNeil spoke to his congregation and prophesied saying that as long as they kept the Tor they would inherit the stars and none could stand before them, but should they fail to keep the Tor, they would be destroyed and overcome by their enemies. And he divided them into twelve Units, and each Unit had its Multiples, and they went under twelve standards into New Canaan and conquered the cities of the plain and made war with the inhabitants of the hill country and the even into the sea itself. Using their advanced technology to bring the world under their dominion. And when all was conquered and settled before them, they turned their hands to the labors of industry and created the great city of New Salem. A hive of wonders from which the Binaric Assembly judged and guided the Faithful now numbering in their millions. The Prophet McNeil guided his people for 105 years to new innovations and advances in technology before going to his eternal rest.

Students of the Temple performing ritual maintenance on the outer defenses of the ancient complex.

New Salem. Tech historians have preserved one of the earliest works of the Prophet, the streamline locomotive, which they use for educational purposes.

Lamentations and Revelations...

      In 2339, the Binaric Assembly, made a ruling on the use of artificial intelligence. As laid out in the Tor-Binaric, the truly autonomous AI was to be shunned and was forbidden, for the prediction that the Singularity would swallow up and destroy the souls of men. Alongside certain biomechanical enhancements to the human form which were also forbidden. The human “temple” was sacred and not to be violated with machinery that invaded the vessel of the “nephesh”, the soul. This did not sit well with some technocrats who sought to bring about the Singularity as they saw it as the final form of humanity and the “unification” with the Tor itself. Soon religious sects began to form and break away from the Binaric Temple. This began the “Time of Lamentation” as the Faithful split into those who preserved the teachings of the Tor and those who sought to twist them to bring about the Singularity. By this time the Twelve Units had spread themselves to hundreds of worlds across the northern sector of the galaxy. But rather than using ships for travel, they had mastered the Binaric codes so well that they used the Prophet’s Gate for interstellar travel. The ability to mathematically predict the presence of new worlds and then travel to and settle them gave the Faithful a powerful edge in conquering the galactic north. The Binaric Commonwealth was rent in two by the Singularity War. With hundreds of worlds falling to the fallacy of the “false prophets” as they were called by the Faithful, and many were enslaved or destroyed by the AI that came to be known as “The Adversary”. Since those dark times, a new Prophet has risen from among the Multiples of the Fourth Unit. Yoda Ben-Adam, who preaches a holy war to retake the lost worlds and re-establish the Tor-Binaric. As the Tor also prophesies that the Faithful shall inherit the stars this also means that the Commonwealth seeks to add new worlds to its Tech-Theocracy through war or peace and that the non-human should be destroyed as they are an anomaly to the Binaric code. Only the Council can foretell if their people are worthy enough to inherit the stars themselves.

Warriors of the Faithful fight against the automatons of the Singularity in the ruins of Bothal.0561

The Prophet John McNeil, ca 1935. The Father of the Commonwealth of the Twelve Units of Binary.

Krapp Armaments Fall Catalogue

     Welcome to the Krapp Armaments Fall 32 - - Catalogue. Here you’ll find the latest in Krapp quality arms and armor. It is our hope that Krapp Armaments and Industries can better serve you both on the battlefield and off.

Kampfwagens

Jaeger Pattern Scout Kampfwagen Mk V

Developed originally as a stealthy “hunter-killer” light tankette, the Jaeger Scout boasts a heavy armor piercing lascannon capable of punching through 15” armor plate. Speedy and reliable, the Jaeger’s tracked frame can negotiate the roughest terrain at a speed of around 80 mph.* 

Special Auxiliary Options include:

•Air conditioned crew compartment

•Safety Harness

•27” Armor Upgrade Package***

•Escape Hatch

Available from your local Krapp Arms dealer ** for less than K2,678,999.00****

*Most terrain. Some restrictions may apply

** Offer only available with purchase of ten or more.

*** Base model is unarmored

Arminius Pattern Heavy Kampfwagen Mk IX

Large, imposing, spacious interior, and deadly. This perfectly describes the Arminius. With fore and aft mounted heavy Kannonen MkXXI as well as additional heavy lascannon turrett mounts for anti infantry or anti tank support, the Arminius is the ultimate in medium speed assault armor. Boasting 48” armor plate and extra side mounted gun ports for you and your friends to safely engage in small arms fire with the competition. Arminius’ unique boxlike design also allows for the Krapp Email Order Academy of Military Arts standard tactic of the “Wagenburg” where each Arminius can be lined up end to end to form an impenetrable wall of lead and laser. Perfect for fortifying encampments on the go! With comfortable seating for ten passengers, or if you go with the B model package, spacious seating for four more!*

Options include:

•Sealed gas/bio proof gunports

•Deluxe K-seats**

•English/Galactic Standard labeled instrument panel***

Arminius MkIX A Model: K10,562,999.99

Arminius MkIX B Model: K9,435,999.98*

*B Model comes without ammunition storage hold.

** Base models come without seats

***Instruments labeled in Luxen Standardt/German

Taanstafl Pattern Super Heavy Kampfwagen MkII

Behold! The behemoth of the battlefield! The true super heavy tank of tomorrow’s armies. The Taanstafl is a state of the art, Krapp patented exclusive technological wunderwaffen. Boasting no less than four full field of fire rotating 8” UberKannonen Mk I turrets, fourteen heavy lascannon turrets, fourteen fully sealed gun ports, and the newest designed Krapp weapon, the Sturmlaser Heavy Seige Laskannonen MkII. The Sturmlaser is the weapon of choice for any emperor, generalissimo, or galactic conqueror in the making! Field tests of the Sturmlaser during the Karynthia Merger showed how our siege laser could slice through up to 40’ thick walls and melt the heaviest of Karynthian armored vehicles into piles of slag.* With crew seating for up to twenty, and additional compartment space for ten more, the Taanstafl can function as a proxy armored personnel carrier for dashing commanders in a tight spot. With 100” armor plating and a speed of over 50mph, the Taanstafl is a true titan of war.

Deluxe Options Include:

•Stereo Surround Wave Sound

•3DV Movie Player

•Additional K-View Security Camera Mounts for better visibility while crushing the competition.

Taanstafl MkII: K20,573,823,889.99

*Karynthian vehicles were labeled as unocuppied by our field research teams at the time. No Krapp personnel were harmed during field testing.

Artillerie

Thor Kannonen Mk III

The true foundation of the Krapp Armaments Firm lies in the very first high explosive artillery designed by our ingenious founder Matthias Von Krapp. The Thor continues that tradition of Krapp excellence with its 400” titanium steel barrel, K-Tech auto loader, K-Tech Precise Aim software (along with the tried and tested Krapp gunsight, a three century tradition of quality.). The standard reach of the Thor is rated to 40 miles, much farther than our competitors, with top rated ordinance, the Krapp Deathbringer Shell Mk VIII, and it’s nuclear equipped sister shell, the Krapp Armageddon Mk II. The latest development from Krapp Labs has also produced the vaunted Krapp Overwatch EMP Shell MkI for non lethal artillery strikes. (Also makes a great fireworks display!)

Options Include:

•Internal Noise Suppressors

•Radiation Shielding for Crew Compartment

•40” Armor Upgrade*

Thor Kannonen Mk III: K30,004,569.99

*Standard model comes with 20” armor plating.

[EXCLUSIVE END OF SUMMER SPECIAL! Buy now and receive two free Krapp Armageddon MkI shells for your first purchase!**] 

**Supplies limited, offer not available in the Samarkand Empire or its affiliate states.

Don’t forget! Each Krapp product purchased comes with a prefix code* to register for a free ten year warranty! 

*Krapp is not liable for replacement parts if prefix code is not registered. It is strongly advised prefix be registered with KrappStar emergency services for warranty to be valid. KrappStar reserves the right to deny access to Krapp technologies and products should misuse occur.

We at Krapp Armaments thank you for viewing our wonderful line of quality products and hope that you enjoy your Krapp experience. Remember, if it’s not Krapp, it’s probably junk!

****All prices are listed in Krappmarks (K)

An Overveiw of the Luxen Armed Forces, Personalities, and Krapp Foreign Policy

      It may surprise many readers to know that the Krapp firm has holdings that technically extend beyond the physical borders of the Grand Duchy of Luxendoom. Corporate holdings extend to numerous third party distributors, marketing agencies, shipping concerns (though these are mainly for the more local system deliveries of Krapp arms and other products extended to the far flung backwaters of the galactic fringe.), and even personnel and communications providers. Mining interests form the bulk of this vast outer network of affiliates (the Outer Circle, as it is officially known in the halls of the Luxen court/Grand Boardroom). Mining rights are extended to third party groups (such as the mercenary Forge Co., known for their asteroid mining enclaves, and diminutive stature.) due to the difficulties in obtaining those mines directly. Krapp Armaments maintains its high profit margin due to not having (officially) any factories, mines, or even shipping warehouses outside of Duchy borders.

      This allows Krapp to remain relatively free of foreign tariffs, taxes, and ill advised strategic positions when a planetary government suddenly decides to nationalize their natural resources. Having a third party mine for them while splitting the profits 80/20 with Krapp allows the firm to focus on internal properties. Only when a particular resource is absolutely vital to the manufacture of arms will the armored might of a Luxen expedition be dispatched to the offending system to persuade the locals of their error in judgement. And that in itself is usually a last resort after trade negotiations have broken down to an irreparable state. Once the order is dispatched, Luxen ground forces will fight with the finest of Krapp weaponry to secure the resource. This often, tragically, results in unfortunate casualties and the breakdown of civil order on the planet, resulting in the commander of the expedition to take on the responsibilities of peacemaker. If no effective parties to negotiate a new trade deal can be found, it is standard Krapp policy to absorb all planetary assets as reparations for the expense of the “Security Expedition” and all ineffective “management” of the newly acquired “asset” are “liquidated”. 

Luxen portrait of Krapp “security personnel” engaged in successful “peacekeeping measures” in Rambai City to secure plutonium deposits on the world of Xylon IV. The Xylonese are now happily employed in the “family” of Krapp Armaments. 

      That of course, is the rare exception to the general rule of the vast majority of worlds that happily trade with Krapp Armaments and purchase their quality products. Within the Grand Duchy, things are managed much more efficiently, with hundreds of factory worlds producing every conceivable weapon used in the known galaxy. Along with other, more peaceful, implements such as cookware, appliances, vehicles, even starships (though not on the level of the great shipbuilding firms GaelTech, and StarWays). Every person within the Grand Duchy is employed by the firm in some way or other. Even the children are technically employees in the making as their education is geared towards a future career in Krapp Armaments. The brighter, more promising students get the opportunity to further their education further up the chain of command within the factory world itself. With a very lucky few making their way up the corporate ladder to become “Planetary Executive Officers” or PEOs. If they have the pluck and tenacity to make it. The Von Krapp Dynasty encourages a healthy level of competition among the higher echelons of the firm to ensure only the most qualified are in charge. 

     Those that choose a more martial career enter into one of the three military schools for officer training. The Luxen Schlachtschule, based on Luxen itself on the outskirts of its capital city, Stahlburg. The Thyssendorf Military Academy, which was once in the heart of Thyssendorf’s old capital, Wotansburg, and after the siege during the Thysso-Luxen War now stands in the Karlskreig Mountains some fifty miles to the north. They also have the responsibility of training officers for the Luxen Ducal Navy. The third school is the Kurinia War College, outside of its capital, Lichtenhoff, has somewhat of a reputation as a school of hard knocks with something to prove, being that while the young graduates of the college called for war with Luxen during the Unification Wars, the Countess of Kurinia heeded her much wiser War Cabinet ministers and surrendered sovereignty to the advancing Luxen fleet heading for her planet. Ever since, the Kurinians have felt it a stain on their honor and each graduate of the war college vows to prove himself an unflinching warrior in the face of the enemy. Once again the Krapp belief in healthy competition is applied here as each military school vies for turning out the best and brightest tacticians for the Luxen military. 

Illustration from a training manual of Luxen Schlactshule cadets being taught to march in formation.  While pictcasts and digitized photos are the norm of almost every place in the galaxy, Luxendoom has an ancient tradition of older styles of artwork that they are very proud to keep up. This includes paintings and sketches of Luxen daily life.

     Every member of the Von Krapp House is required by tradition to serve a term in both the civilian and military sectors of Luxen society. With the heir apparent usually in the much coveted command of the I Battalion of the Ducal Guards, the elite of the Luxen armies. Lesser children of the dynasty serve in other branches such as the Navy. And all are required to work in the upper echelons of one of the local factory worlds where the Grand Duke can teach them the secrets of the family business. The current Heir Apparent of the Krapp Dynasty is Prinz Freiderich Augustus Karl Von Krapp, known to the men under his command as “Fritz”. 

Prinz Friederich in his Feldmarschall uniform.

       Another important branch of the Luxen Security Forces (the official name, but many of the officers and old soldiers call it by its older traditional name, the Luxen Ducal Army, for though Krapp Armaments “employs” the soldaten, the warrior spirit and traditions of the past beat strongly in the heart of the native born Luxen junker.) is the General Staff. Known on paper as the “Board of Security Directors”, this is but a thinly veiled attempt to rename the war cabinet as something more civilian to slip under the nose of galactic bureaucracy to hide the aggressive nature of Krapp “acquisitions” and “mergers”. Made up of the junker class of old Luxen (all of whom are “employed” as “execs with lifetime benefits” within the Krapp firm),  they are responsible for the planning of all major military actions undertaken by the Duchy. This is the heart of both the company and the Grand Duchy. For here is where the profit making decisions are made that decide the fate of worlds billions of miles away. Here also is where the betrayal of the old Zollernhoff dynasty occurred when Matthias Von Krapp bought off the junkers, including the “Iron Minister” Rudolph Von Starkheim. He was a “Realpolitik” junker who saw which way the wind of history was blowing and sided with Matthias and aided in the peaceful transition of power. His behind the scenes negotiating also helped lay the foundations of Krapp power by successfully arranging several “wars of acquisition”, as they were called in those days, to grab more land and resources for the new “factory world” concept that Matthias had engineered.

The Luxen General Staff during the reign of Duke Otto Von Zollernhoff, seen contemplating the next invasion during the Luxen Unification Wars.

The acclamation of Matthias as Grand Duke.

Rudolph the Iron Minister convincing Otto to step down as Grand Duke amidst the mutinied officers of the Luxen army. In truth, this scene is pure fantasy, as the real event was much more somber and behind closed doors. The mutinous soldaten were encamped on the palace grounds and guarding the outer halls nowhere to be seen. Luxen soldiers, even when rebelling, are a very disciplined lot.

Portrait of a soldat during the “Merger” on Karynthia. A three year campaign that cost the firm billions of Krappmarks, and the lives of many “security personnel”.  A civil war bled dry of money prompted the General Staff to look into the feasibility of acquiring Karynthia because of valuable deposites of titanium, cobalt, silver, and a rare crystal used in the Sturmlaser design. Karynthia is now a mining world.

The present day Luxen General Staff, trusted advisors of Alfred Von Krapp.

Cutaway of the “Arminius” Pattern Kampfwagen Mk I, from the Saxen-Luxen War. The modern Mk IX  variant has a vastly improved crew compartment with larger ordinance and a stronger power plant. 

A rare picture of Naval officers at attention aboard the Krapp flagship, “Matthias”.

General Rolf Von Bugdorfer, commander of the III Luxen Battalion. A ruthless and competent commander who has urged the use of bio weapons many times. Krapp Armaments has a strict policy regarding the manufacture and use of such devastating weaponry. In that they are dead set against it. Not for humanitarian reasons as is publicly thought, but because a gene virus or plague bomb attack gone awry might threaten to destroy whole galactic sectors and cut heavily into profit margins and even threaten production capacity were such deadly weapons to spread to a factory world. Alfred Von Krapp has even gone so far in his standing as a member of the Galactic Economic Council to ensure the other members were persuaded (via generous amounts of Krappmarks) to outlaw the manufacture and use of bio weapons of all types.

Prinz Hans Albert George Von Krapp, the younger son of Alfred, in the uniform of the Thyssen VIII Grenadiers. Foppish but not foolish, Hans has a grasp on military defense and many of his personal designs for prefab fortifications have been put into production by his father’s firm.

The sharp witted founder of the Krapp family fortune, Matthias Von Krapp. In the uniform of a Luxen feldmarschall shortly after his accession to the Ducal throne in a rare pic image.

On Krapp Armaments and the History of Luxendoom, A LaserStorm Army

     Having repurposed my Prussian tanks from the now defunct Dystopian Wars for 6mm LaserStorm, I felt that they needed  to be an industrial army. An army from a major corporate tyranny, like Krupp. But not Krupp. Maybe.... Krapp? Yes! Thats a good name for a villainous arms manufacturer of interstellar might! And the best part is my opponents when they lose a battle will have to admit they were beaten by total and complete Krapp.

A Short History of the Krapp Armaments and Industries Firm:

       Far out on the edge of the eastern sector of the Milky Way lies a small system that is the heart of a massive corporate empire that produces billions of tanks, artillery pieces, aircraft, spacecraft, planetary defense systems, battledroids, mechs and even simple firearms. That system is the Grand Duchy of Luxendoom, and that corporate empire is the Galaxy famous arms manufacturer known as Krapp Armaments. Three hundred years ago, a humble arms dealer by the name of Matthias Krapp arrived on Luxendoom with a few credits in his pocket, a very special arc rifle, and a vision for the future of his house. His rifle was an inventive redesign of the then very new and dangerously unstable arc gun technology of other competitors. The Krapp rifle was both safe to use and could actually hit the user’s intended target. After a demonstration at the palace of the Grand Duke, wherein the Duke was able to shoot a dozen prisoners of the state hiding and fleeing through his private gardens, Krapp was granted a ten year contract to supply the ducal army with enough arc rifles to take over the other major planets of the Luxendoom System.

      

Luxen Soldat and Kapitan during the Hessiana-Luxendoom War. Armed with the latest Krapp Arc Rifle Mark II

       The Hessiana-Luxendoom War was a costly, but undisputed victory for the Duchy as the Krapp rifle proved more accurate and deadlier than the standard las rifles of the Hessian troops. By this point Matthias was given a baronetcy, and his surname changed to “Von Krapp”. The Krapp factory began producing high quality artillery and new “kampfwaggen” tanks that were both larger and thicker hulled than the standard Earth pattern tanks produced off the templates of the previous century. These new tanks and “kannonen” pattern artillery reduced losses considerably and overwhelmed the planetary defenses of Thyssendorf in the ensuing Thysso-Luxen War. Krapp artillery had proven so destructive that the world of Kurinia surrendered without a shot fired, after observers had witnessed the leveling of Thyssendorf’s capital city. The final planet of Saxenburg fell in a lightning campaign where Krapp tanks skirted the static defenses of the Saxens and literally bulldozed their way into the throne room of the very surprised King Arnulf III, crushing him under their steel treads.

       

The Krapp War Banner/Company logo.

     But fighting three wars in succession is a costly endeavor, and the Duchy bankrupted itself, burdening the serfs with war loans, and the amount of money both paid to and owed to Krapp Armaments put Matthias in a very unique position for an industrialist. He called in the debt owed to him. In quick succession the army that could not be paid revolted against the ducal house, the enterprising arms merchant bought off the Luxen general staff, and the Grand Duke found himself a prisoner in his own palace by the end of the day. Matthias’ terms were simple, that he should marry the Duke’s daughter, and that he step down from the throne and Matthias and his new bride be acclaimed co rulers of Luxendoom. Thereby the state’s debt would be considered forgiven, the army’s pay would be reinstated, and the general staff were now employees of Krapp Armaments.

The Luxen I Battalion, the “Ducal Guard” currently stationed on Thyssendorf, but frequently sent on campaigns of “resource acquisition” by the Grand Duke as this is considered the best drilled of the Luxen units. The large Kampfwaggen “Taanstafl” Mk II carries the latest Krapp superweapon, the Sturmlaser, capable of tearing through thick walls and armor plating in a matter of seconds.

     Today, Krapp Armaments is a thriving Fortune Five Million company with hundreds of world factories producing innovative new ways for galactic empires to murder each other. Krapp tanks are reliable and durable and Krapp artillery is second to none in terms of destructive capacity. Alfred Von Krapp, the current Grand Duke, has an eye to the future, seeking new resources to acquire and innovative designs to sell. He also has an eye to the past keeping the tradition of Krapp quality and high standards of excellence in every piece of Krapp product that exits the factory. Remember, if it’s not Krapp, it’s probably junk!

Alfred Von Krapp in his later years. Portrait taken for the cover of Fortune Five Million inside one of the local plants that produces rail stock and commuter vehicles for the employed masses of Luxendoom.

New Blog, New Lore, Old Minis.

       I’ve finally done it! I’ve completed a full size, big battle, tabletop army for the fantasy wargame Kings of War. Typically I stick with skirmish level games at 28mm because they’re cheaper and quicker to finish armies for but after a friend introduced me to KoW and I discovered I had a 2,000 point army of Undead in the making sitting around in a shoebox at home I decided to dive in and go for it. Having finished basing and painting my “Black Army of Ravensburg” I’ve been so inspired to start a second army (and possibly a third down the road) and write my own lore for each army and the world they share. To do this I’ve decided to create a second blog to post the adventures, folktales, and mythology of this world (I don’t really care too much for Mantica’s lore so I only make a passing accommodation for it in my own.). Below I have posted a link to the new blog. See you all there!

https://ofheroesandgiants.blogspot.com/?m=1

Gangs of Rome, A Gallic Conspiracy

     Recently bought into the game Gangs of Rome. Gonna keep this intro short and to the point as I have a badass backstory for my first fighter to get to. Essentially Gangs of Rome is like a “historical” version of Necromunda with each player having his own “gang” of 4-5 rather unsavory individuals with which he uses to establish his “family’s” dominance in Imperial Rome. I am playing as  Dominus (Latin for “Lord”) of House Donnadus, an ancient family of Gallic origin who have made their fortune in Rome and have taken to doing dirty deals with the Senators to crush those who oppose them at the Emperor’s court. Of course, not all problems can be solved with a Senator with greasy palms. A few denarii here and there and a word to some distant cousins at the fringes of the Empire in Gallia and Britannia, and some local thugs hired can do far more than even the might of a Senator can do to crush those who dare to oppose House Donnadus. 

     If course it’s not just ambition that drives Donnadus to hire a small army, it’s also a matter of vengeance. For the family of Donnadus was once descended from a Gallic cheif who fought under Vercingetorix’s banner, before the entire tribe was cruelly massacred or enslaved by Caesar in his conquest of Gaul. The chief’s youngest son and wife escaped and after some time established themselves in Rome with a small fortune they received from an unknown source. From that time the Dominii of  House Donnadus have sworn to get their revenge on the Imperial Family for their ancestor’s treacherous dealings with the Gauls.

     But the road to revenge is a long one, and along the way other goals and rival families have stepped in the path of this family of determined Gauls to disrupt and outright destroy them. Which brings us to the first fighter of House Donnadus:

      Lugdunus, The Hibernian.

     Lugdunus is from a noble family of Hibernia which was destroyed in a blood feud against a rival clan. The High King took his family’s land and wealth and enslaved Lugdunus and all his surviving kin. Sold to a Roman family in Britannia, he fled the island after slaying two brothers of that house when they attempted to force themselves on him. Arriving in Rome after many adventures, he was found in a tavern by the Dominus of House Donnadus when he violently stabbed a Centurion to death at being recognized as the murderer of his twin sons. The Donnadii hid him til the whole incident blew over and since then he has been employed by them as a very capable and valiant fighter.

Honours of War, a Review

     I have been a fan of 18th century wargaming for quite some time now and when I first came across Osprey’s “Honours of War” I immediately grabbed a copy before I really had a chance to look it over much less play an actual game. Every time I tried to introduce it at my local hobby store (when I lived in north Atlanta.) someone would respond with, “We don’t need that, we have Black Powder.” Well finally someone else got the Seven Years War Itch and I got my chance to play this ruleset and I must say it doesn’t disappoint. 

      Having tried a couple of games of Black Powder I’ve found Osprey’s “horse and musket” game to be faster playing and perhaps in my case, a better fit, coming as I am from a skirmish gaming background. While Black Powder does cover a wider range of late 16th-early 19th century warfare, Osprey has the luxury of multiple rulesets for different types of games and different eras. (Such as En Garde! And Pikeman’s Lament Which both focus on skirmish gaming the 17th century but in different ways. En Garde approaches with a storytelling, character driven aspect while PL goes at it with blobs of pike and shot and less story, more battle focus.)

      While BP only briefly focuses on the Seven Years War (barring of course if you buy the $30 a pop rules expansions like “The Last Argument of Kings”.)  Osprey’s HoW focuses on the conflict specifically, providing brief details on each army of the period and how they performed and even some detailed illustrations of uniforms. (Though if you really want a good resource outside of buying Osprey books, check out “Project: Seven Years War”, a vast wiki of detailed info on the period.) The main meat of the book, like any good volume from Osprey, is the rules. Brief, to the point, and backed up with easy to understand charts and tables at the back of the book, I found it fairly quick (less than an hour) to really get the rules down to memory to play a turn.

Warlord’s Black Powder supplement.

       To start, the game is played at the Brigade level. This means for 25 mm gamers a hefty but not too wallet breaking investment in infantry. The game does allow you to determine what size your battalions (the basic unit) can be model wise for gaming purposes. I played my first game in 15mm which meant two to three stands of six men each made a battalion and two to five of those a brigade. I do recommend smaller scales like 10-15 mm for this game simply because of the scale of warfare involved. This isn’t a skirmish between scouting parties, this is the main engagement! The game I played had three brigades to each side and additional artillery to boot. 

The Right Flank of the Prussian Army, comprised entirely of cavalry, with the Center made up of a brigade of line and fusiliers with attached brigade cannon. The brigades numbered 5 battalions each. A sizable number of troops in this game.

      Damage dealt is tracked by each battalion. A battalion (or squadron if you prefer the term for the cavalry) can take up to 5 hits total before it is destroyed. 1-2 hits has no effect on the shooting roll for the battalion, 3 hits causes a -1 modifier to be applied to the roll (which can add up with other modifiers such as “long range”, “if the battalion has moved this turn”, etc...), 4 hits causes the unit to fall back to regroup (1-2 full moves until either driven off table or regrouped), and 5 is an automatic rout. This may at first glance seem unfair if the opponent has a hefty amount of artillery or their musketry is better, but it does balance out and it also makes for a quick game. I read a review once that said this game gives artillery an unfair advantage. I don’t see it. Honestly I found that once my infantry closed to within effective musket range that the hits piled on much faster than the odd artillery salvo. 1-3 of my musket rolls were devastatingly effective (standard infantry for instance score 3 hits on a roll of 4 or higher, while standard artillery score only 1-2 on the same roll.) while only 1-5 of my artillery shots managed to hit anything much less score more than 1 damage. And that’s within “effective” (non modified die roll) range.

My battalion of Prussian grenadiers waits to open fire as my attached brigade gun opens fire... and misses on a poor die roll. At close range! With canister!

      Turns are done in this order: Roll for initiative. Roll to activate the Brigade’s movement. (Alternating back and forth til both armies have completed their movements.) Fire all artillery. Fire all muskets (if in range). Resolve all hand to hand combat. Remove destroyed/routed units from the table. And that’s really it. Osprey has kept it light and easy to memorize in this ruleset and the alternate movement of brigades keeps the guessing game that is the true mark of a good wargame in the fore. 

      The game also provides nice flavoring for the period with a  “National Characteristics” section at the end of the book. Part of what makes the game unique is the qualities you can assign to your units which have an effect on die rolls. Troops can be classed as ether “inferior”, “standard”, or “superior”. This helps keep those Austrian militia units from being up to par with those British grenadiers, without being too game breaking. Commanders of brigades/generals can be rated as “dithering”, “dependable”, or “dashing”. Which give corresponding bonuses or negatives to each command roll made. For instance, a brigade of “superior” grenadiers led by a “dashing” commander will be able to rally much quicker from wounds, throwing off 2 hits instead of just 1. When the “superior” grenadiers shoot their score is usually 1 more hit than “standard” grenadiers on the same roll. 

      “National Characteristics” add additional bonuses/negatives to commanders.  For instance:

      Saxon commanders that are Dependable and Dashing get -1 to their move initiative. They have to roll one higher to move the brigade. Whereas for a formation change (such as forming squares) they only deduct half a move rather than a full move.

      Likewise British commanders give their troops a +1 to their fire initiative, giving them far better musketry rolls than other nations. The rules even allow for all British infantry to be classed as “superior” if one wishes. (The author goes off the information from the period, such as how the British troops were trained to give a higher rate of fire, the performance of the army at Minden, etc...)

      

      The game typically ends with a third to half of one side routing off table, or if specified objectives are met.

An unfortunate misuse of cavalry on both sides led to two full brigades of cavalry sitting atop a hill staring each other down in case the enemy charged first. Leaving the other brigades to shoot it out with no support other than artillery which the Austrians excelled at that day. Were I to do it again I should have kept the fore squadrons as a screen and funneled the rear troops to the opposite end of the field to make a difference at the objective!

A full view of the engagement at Corrugasberg. (We used an African village with corrugated metal roofs for lack of a proper Silesian one.)

      The artwork is standard Osprey excellence and precision, with full color illustrations of painted armies interspersed with artwork from other Osprey volumes on the conflict.

     There’s even a set of tables and charts in cheat sheet format at the back of the book for quick reference. The only flipping through the book I had to do to check on something not specified in the tables was the movement and firing ranges for other scales which can be found on page 56. 

      I highly recommend Keith Flint’s “Honours of War” by Osprey Publishing as a great addition to any rulebook collection and a good alternative to the much thicker volume of Black Powder. It’s a quick pick up and play game that keeps things fresh and doesn’t bog the player down in unnecessary rules lawyering and math calculations. And for $20 quite reasonably priced. For those who play at my local hobby store, there are a few of us who plan to make this our regular go to game for Saturday mornings, and readers of this review that game there are welcome to take up the colors and join us for our “Gentlemanly Wargaming” ;)