I bought the ruleset just a few weeks ago, so I can't really say a lot about it. I have already given it a read, though, so here goes:

It's a skirmish system; recommended force per player is a warband of 20 infantry or 10 cavalry, or a mix thereof.

The book is 40 pages long, with two pages of charts and tables (half of which is the "Looting Table").

The emphasis of the game is on multiplayer games, i.e. three or more players where every warband has its own agenda, trying to grab as much loot as possible. A straight two-player matchup is entirely possible, of course.

As the name suggests, Pig Wars is geared towards "fun" play. A typical scenario involves several warbands that try to loot the same village, searching for valuables and driving away the cattle (and pigs, of course). Hilarity ensues...

The game uses playing cards instead of dice; each player needs a 52-card deck. However, I've seen a houserule somewhere on the web that lets you substitute the cards with dice.

Warriors are classified by Morale Grade (Militia, Average, Veteran, Elite), and Armour (None, Partial, Full); weapons give certain bonuses in combat.

The game gives some hints on the composition of typical warbands for Normans, Vikings, Saxons, Welsh, Irish, Arabs, Byzantines, and also Imperial Romans and Gauls/Germans. Just a paragraph each, but enough to play the game.

Of course, there are also some rules about pillaging, namely, the Looting Table which lists the value of all the animals, wine barrels, slaves and what not. In a looting scenario, whoever carries the most loot off the table wins.

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Chris

Patrick, thank you kindly for posting this link. That is exactly the deal I've been waiting for! Now, where's that credit card...?

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Well-being I won and wisdom too.
I grew, and joyed in my growth:
From a word to a word I was led to a word,
From a deed to another deed.

I confess, Foundry's latest "holiday offer" *feels* a bit fishy. Yes, many of the deals are great, but "sold out, now only available at regular price" seems like a "bait and switch" in my eyes.

If they're sold out, how are they available at the regular price? If there were only a limited number of each collection available, why didn't they say this elsewhere, and/or remove the link from the "sale" page instead of this "sale--pay the regular price!" idea. They've supposedly added collections...why not remove the regular price ones as well?

Not like I've had time to paint miniatures for many months now, but it still grates a bit...especially when I want some of those collections!

I know the Harbinger deal is nice, but I'm finding it harder to justify picking up lead than the days before I had kids. Now, I'm lucky if I paint 30 figures a year, so even those deals aren't as attractive to me, especially when I'm trying to complete a few other projects (like my Hundred Years War matched armies). Sigh.

And don't forget I turned you on to this crack of Foundry, you pup! (O.K., admittedly I only pushed their civilians) Now, if I'd been working on commission....

(Note to self: never come between a whore and the pimp. Not a lesson I'd ever needed before.)

This guy makes handmade terrain for those who are interested. He made me several cottages for my Mordheim game and now he is working on some other stuff for me. Pricey but not compared to others and his work is excellent (and you can order custom made).

http://www.wargames-scenery.co.uk/gallery_page1.html

I am a miniatures painter of long standing, (I have enough lead in my house to provide the nation of Finland with protection from an a-bomb...) and I was sucked in by the Foundrys beautiful figs painted by one of the pre-emminent artists of the genre. The paints are ok, but damn pricey and I do pretty well with Vallejos offerings. I have even won an award or two...er, albeit that was a few years ago.

I do all my battles using the DBA (De Bellis Antiquitatis) rules as this makes things really easy and quick. Gives a good range of types of combatants, and with a bit of fudging, even the fantastical can be represented this way. My players enjoy this level of combat as well. It aint skirmish, but who gives a crap. It works, and I am the foremost authority on what works for me.....so there.

ADVISORY!!!!!!

The Perry brothers (Perry Miniatures) make some of the most awesome 28mm figs in their First Crusade range. I highly recommend these for gaming in Harn. Take a peek you WILL agree...I promise. Plus these gents are some of the NICEST guys you will ever talk to. They are artists AND gamers....what more could one ask for?

It's no 64-foot dak , but Old Glory is having a 40% off sale on Ancients until the end of October, and they've got a nice Viking Longship for those who are interested.

A Morgathian priest is supposed to be scary, so it's o.k. to be a little bigger than usual. Sure, the manufacturer *says* it's a poltergeist...

I start with a white base coat.
Next I black line the model. That is, i paint a black line everywhere two items come together, or two different colors will abut.
Then I paint the skin. I start with Bronzed Flesh (I use Vallejo Game Color), then paint on a lighter shade with Elf Flesh, and finally highlight with pale flesh. For a darker look, i will use Dwarf flesh instead of bronzed. Try to blend the colors together.
Last, I throw on a light wash of Yellow/Chestnut and Brown ink. After the Ink, I may go back on dust on some more pale flesh.

For a ruddy tone, a light wash of red...for a pink haze.

And I really like the Rackham Cadwallon mini's and GW brettonians.

Not painting so much as new figures:

http://theminiaturespage.com/news/878106/

Probably a bit too late for Harn but I am coveting those archers already. And at around £15 for a box of 30-40 figures it is hard to argue with the price....

With some games, I'm all for minis. Other games I don't like how tempting it is for players to start imagining their characters as replicas of whatever figure they bought to represent someone largely in people's imaginations. I imagine other PCs a little differently than the person even running that character; it's like reading a novel: you bring some of you into it. I wanted to keep things vague for Harn, so I bought a bunch of these:



I give them out to my players and tell them to decorate, carve, paint, etc. as they see fit. I'm paint some of my recurring NPCs too.

I invented a new game that Harnians play called "Thumbs & Knuckles." It uses little wood figures. They decorate and battle them; a losing player has his figure defaced by the winner, chipped, whatever. I didn't write rules for the game, only that it's called Thumbs & Knuckles because that's how the kids measure the distance their wooden men move, by using their thumbs (for inches) and fist (for four inches).

When we game and have a need for miniatures, for combat or positioning or clarity, I don't use a battlemat or hexes: the players measure their character's movement using their thumbs and knuckles (any of the in-game world measurement techniques work, span, hand, whatever). It all works pretty well. And the reference to a game within a game is sorta unique and special to Harn.

When I paint these days I fing a chestnut wash (if I can get it) with a light drybrush of flesh over it usually makes the flesh textures look pretty good.

[And yes generally I merely lurk around the forum these days]

Rapid Prototyping is a way to make your figures in great detail. If you have CAD you will get much better quality than tin.

http://www.metrorp.com

Hiya,

I would like to introduce to you all my company of The Copper Hook. I was an active Harn player some 10 years ago, but now there's been a long silent period. Minis are from Crusader Miniature's Norman range and they fit quite well to Harnic theme.
I have picked a solid black and orange color theme to create a somewhat uniform appearence. I still have 12 mounted knights to do. I'll post them as soon as get them painted. My friend is collecting a force of The Checkered Shield and we are about to make our warbands clash together. It's still uncertain what rules to use.

I noticed you have very few images posted under this forum topic. Yet you have managed to make this 7 pages long

Here's what I have compleshed so far. Sorry about the bad lighting, but I hope you get the most of these:













I hope you enjoyed.

Many thanks,
Antti

Welcome to the forum Arada!

I have to say that's a nice paint job done on those! I paint mini's also but my collection is all warhammer 40K. Space marines, Imperial Guard, and war machines would not fit in here.

As for rules, Battlelust would work or if your going bigger you could use the warhammer fantasy rules... not sure how good they are as I play 40K and it's a bit different.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of you collection. Maybe you could take a few pics of your friends Checkered Shield mixing it up wiyh the Hook!

Gothmog

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Ok, let me get this straight. These guys come in, trash the place, slap Agrik & Larani around, and the most intelligible thing they said was "Zog!"?

Ahh... So nice.

I think you have masterfully reproduced the classic Anglo-Norman Harn/Rethem feeling. The shields especially caught my eye. Very well balanced minimalistic colour range.

Pics of the cavalry would be nice to see when ready. Also pics of the battle taking place... the Checkered Shields heraldy should be an eye catcher... Any Harnic scenery?

The bases... What rules are you using? Individual models, groups or "regiments"? Somehow LotR comes to my mind.

Cheers and welcome to the forums!
Ilkka

Welcome;

The Shadow on the first picture is most atmospheric; imagine seeing that from Menekod on a distant foggy hill! (Not to detract from the miniatures; which are excellent and how I imagine the Copper Hook soldiery to look.)

For rules I would go for good old fashioned Warhammer, it is great fun for large skirmishes/mini battles; and is grittty enough if high fantasy elements are not added (which I presume would be the case here).

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Plots and schemes are the same thing..

I just finished with the last of my miniatures that needed painting. No more. I have enough minis to play with. It has taken years to get this point, and this is my second large of collection too, so no more.