Brigade Games Natty Bumppo (Hawkeye), Chingachgook and Uncas

 

Left to Right: Chingachgook, Uncas and Hawkeye (Natty Bumpoo) from The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper. Figures by Brigade Games.

How could I do the French and Indian War with Rebels and Patriots and not include three of the most famous characters from American Literature? So I had to buy (my arm was really twisted) from Brigade Games French and Indian War line the pack Frontier Characters I which are the spitting image of Hawkeye, Chigachgook and Uncas from the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans.

 Left to Right: Russell Means (Chingachgook), Eric Schweig (Uncas) and Daniel Day-Lewis (Hawkeye) in Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans (1992). (Morgan Creek Productions/Photofest)

The Leatherstocking Tales is a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper, set in the eighteenth-century era of development in the primarily former Iroquois areas in central New York. Each novel features Natty Bumppo, a frontiersman known to European-American settlers as "Leatherstocking", "The Pathfinder" and "the trapper". Native Americans call him "Deerslayer", "La Longue Carabine" ("Long Rifle" in French), and "Hawkeye".

Natty Bumpoo

The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757, is the second novel in Cooper's pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. The novel has been one of the most popular English-language novels since its publication and is frequently assigned reading in American literature courses. It has been adapted numerous times and in many languages for films, TV movies, and cartoons.

Chingachgook is the last chief of the Mohican tribe and the father of Uncas. 

In the The Leatherstocking Tales Chingachgook is the best friend and companion of the main character Natty Bumppo, aka Hawkeye. He appears in The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, and The Pioneers. He is characterized by his skills as a warrior and forester, his bravery, his wisdom, and his pride for his tribe. Interestingly, Bela Lugosi played Chingachgook in two German silent films, Lederstrumpf, 1. Teil: Der Wildtöter und Chingachgook (Leatherstocking 1: The Deerslayer and Chingachgook) and Lederstrumpf, 2. Teil: Der Letzte der Mohikaner (Leatherstocking 2: The Last of the Mohicans), both filmed in 1920.

Uncas,  the son of Chingachgook and called by him "Last of the Mohicans", as there were no pure-blooded Mohican women for him to marry. He is also known as Le Cerf Agile, the Bounding Elk.

In the novel The Last of the Mohicans, Uncas is truly the last of the Mohican warriors, as he is the only son of Chingachgook. Uncas is devoted to his father and to Hawkeye, and fights with great valor against the Mingos and the French. Uncas dies in pursuit of Magua, at the end of the novel; but Uncas is celebrated by the Delawares (of whom the Mohicans are a sub-tribe) as a great and powerful warrior, who will be treated as such in the “hunting grounds” of the afterlife.

For Rebels and Patriots, I am going to playtest the following rules for using Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas in the game. To quote Michael Leck and Daniel Mersey in their introduction to Rebels and Patriots: . . . the rules play up the feeling of adventure, where heroic officers lead their men to glory . . did someone say "Hollywood"?

1. May only be with British or British Colonial forces.

2. Two options:

    a. Skirmishers (2 points).

        Unit Upgrades:

• Very Small Unit. Unit size is 3 models. Cost -1 point. 
• Veteran. Discipline becomes +1. Cost +2 points.
• Sharpshooters. Firing/Range becomes 4+/24". Cost +4 points.
• Hollywood Aggressive. Fighting becomes 5+ and all figures can fight. Cost +2 points.
• Total Points: 9 points

    b. Joining a Skirmisher Unit (2 points).

• Replace 3 of the models with Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas. Cost 0 points.
• Veteran. Discipline becomes +1. Cost +2 points.
• Sharpshooters. Firing/Range becomes 4+/24". Cost +4 points.
• Aggressive. Fighting becomes 5+. Cost +1 point.
• Total Points: 9 points.

As a reminder, the above has not been play tested yet - but they will! As with any special/optional rules, make sure your opponent agrees to use them; after all, were are gentlemen and ladies.

Frontier Family from Brigade Games

 

Life on the frontier can be strenuous and dangerous; but don't fear. They live in the good ole Warhammer cardstock cottage!

Another great product from Brigade Games is their Frontier Family defending the Homestead sculpted by the talented Paul Hicks. Though it is in their French and Indian War Range, it can easily be used for the American Revolution. The pack comes with 6 figures with clean lines, no flash (wow!) and only a few minor mold lines which were easily filed.

I'm planning on my Frontier Family to be a 6 figure (small) unit for Rebels and Patriots (paid link). As a result, I'm using the 3, 2, 1 alternative basing method for the game to give them a more irregular look.

 

"Okay, we have to carry this half built fence with us wherever we go.

Basing three figures to a, well, base lends itself easily to a mini-vignette. Here we have a colonial with musket by a half completed fence backed up with a young woman with powder horns and ammunition and a young lad carrying extra muskets.

Hmmm, this man of the frontier looks awfully familiar.

The next two figures can easily be husband and wife, and I have based them together to make it so (thank you Jean Luc for permission to use your catch-phrase). I really like the animation and sense of action that come with all 6 figures.

Last but not least is a teenager, younger man or son with musket. Yep, you guessed it. Since he is mounted by himself, he will probably be the first casualty!

Here is my initial visions (not play tested!) for the "Frontier Family" unit for use in Rebels and Patriots (paid link):

Skirmishers (2 points) that are green (-1 point) for a total of 1 point.

Another option for a more "Hollywood" feel:

Skirmishers (2 points) that are green (-1 point) and good shooters (+2 points) for a total of 3 points.

Veterans Day 2024

 It's Veteran's Day on November 11th in the United States and Remembrance Day in other countries. I'm proud to have served with the men and women of the following combat units of the United States Army:

2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment (Raiders)

2nd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division (Bad to the Bone)

1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment (Ready Rifles)

7th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment (Regulars by God!)

4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment (Warriors)

2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment (Regulars by God!)

Task Force Badger, Joint Special Operations Command

Starship Troopers: The Annual Read

"I always get the shakes before a jump . . ." thus starts one of the greatest military science fiction novels of all time, Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein. Even today, the book has stood the test of time, and was a big influence on my decision to be an Infantry officer.

When I attended the Command and General Staff College, I was pleasantly surprised to see the novel on the required reading list. Today, the novel is still on the reading list for the US Army, Navy and United States Marine Corps.

The overall theme of the book is that social responsibility requires individual ownership. Social responsibility is an act of self acceptance of that responsibility along with the concomitant commitment to the debts that are incurred. 

Juan Rico begins the novel with no thought of his personal responsibility or of any particular group's responsibility to self or others. This theme is obliquely addressed in the novel's opening: "We had all inspected our combat equipment (look, it's your own neck -- see?), the acting platoon sergeant had gone over us carefully after he mustered us, and now Jelly went over us again, his eyes missing nothing." "Now I was going to have a hole in my section and no way to fill it. That's not good; it means a man can run into something sticky, call for help and have nobody to help him." "I've heard tell that there used to be military outfits whose chaplains did not fight alongside the others, but I've never been able to see how that could work. I mean, how can a chaplain bless anything he's not willing to do himself? In any case, in the Mobile Infantry, everybody drops and everybody fights -- chaplain and cook and the Old Man's writer."

 The theme is repeated through flashbacks to High School and Officer Candidate School in a required class called History and Moral Philosophy. In this view, everything from the right to vote to the punishments for various crimes are depicted as part of a larger effort to recognize society's needs and improve society, as distinct from self-interest. The service Heinlein envisioned was an all-volunteer service, long before the US military had changed to an all-volunteer model. Other than the rights to vote and hold public office, there is no other restriction between service veterans and civilians.

 

In the course of both the "current" plot and flashbacks Rico learns to take responsibility for ever increasing groups: himself, his comrades, and eventually all of mankind (a shared responsibility), and accept that as the reason for remaining in the service. Further, Rico is seen to develop from a relatively powerless citizen, to a very dangerous fighter: "There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. We're trying to teach you to be dangerous -- to the enemy. Dangerous even without a knife. Deadly as long as you still have one hand or one foot and are still alive."

I just finished my annual reading of the book . . . something I do annually!

Now for the Warning!!!

This is a poster for the movie directed by Paul Verhoeven who admitted he never finished reading the book.  Please don't watch it . . . you'll thank me later.  Not only does the movie miss most of the points of the book and, as a retired infantry officer (Regulars By God!), it's embarrassing to watch. 

Please don't get me started on how they portray Lieutenant Rasczak, the epitome of the servant leader in the novel that leads the Roughnecks.

One of the worst scenes in the book is when the platoon is defending an outpost and the bugs are coming. I can see the nuclear rockets strapped to the backs of the (so called) Mobile Infantry! So what do they do? Break out the SMALL ARMS (sigh). How about the scene when the platoon surround a bug in a circle, and then they all fire at the bug! In a circle? They would have hit each other. (Note: That's a safety violation) And please

Do not watch the movie!



The book sums it up nicely: "For the everlasting glory of the Infantry . . ."

Pulp!: Episode 3 of The Return of the Mad Guru (originally published 10/24/23)

And now, the stunning conclusion of the play test of the solo rules for Pulp!.

(Game Note: The Princess has the Life Experience Profile "You killed my father. You'll pay for it." For having this attribute she can only use the Special Benefits Adrenaline Surge and Mighty Shove; however, she receives a +1 in all Melee and Ranged combat against the Mad Guru only.

(Game Note: I couldn't have scripted it any better myself. The Mad Guru failed to activate, Colonel Douglas fires at him with a result that he is suppressed. The minions fail to activate (Yikes) and the Princess does, fires at the suppressed Mad Guru (who is now -1 on saves) and nails the evil villain that killed her father.)

(Game Note: The Bat declares he will use the Special Benefit "Mighty Shove" as he charges into combat. If your character inflicts at least one unsaved hit the enemy figure can be moved up to 3" in the direction opposite of the charge - and the figure would drop any objectives it might be carrying!)

(Game Note: The Big Guy is no dummy and as soon as The Bat moves into contact with him, he performs an Acrobatic Dodge before Melee is resolved and move away from the attacker in the opposite direction 1 to 3 inches.)

 

(Game Note: The Bat uses his last Special Benefit of the game (he could do four) which is "Second Chance" which forces The Big Guy to reroll any Combat Roll or Save Roll. The Big Guy had to reroll all of his Save dice and . . . well . . . you see the result above. No more The Big Guy.)

(Game Note: I figured the last 3 minions would have had enough and decide to scatter into the Jungle.)

So Colonel Douglas, any advice?

For up close pistol play, the Special Benefits "In The Zone", "Precision Shot", and "Second Chance" are very effective.

Yep, I forgot to use the Special Benefits until the beginning of Turn 3 - What's a Pulp Game without daring do, miraculous dodges and heroic leadership? In addition, I made The Mad Guru too weak: he should as a minimum had a total of 4 IP's (combat dice) and should not have given him a Consuming Obsession which limited the Special Benefits he could use - really limited them!

And what about the fight at the bridge? All that beautiful terrain to use to dodge and scoot and the majority of the figures end up fighting out in the open by the bridge. I guess someone learned a lesson. And in fairness to the Bad Guys, I have never rolled so many "1's" (and automatic fail) in my entire life.

Uh, thanks Bat.

I think Pulp! has gotten a bad rap by experienced gamers (myself included). In actuality, it's a great introduction to skirmish gaming for new or inexperienced players using the Basic Rules. Experienced players (myself included) will find that just using the Basic Rules will be boring. If you want to have fun with Pulp! you have to take the effort to add the chrome yourself based on the outlines and sections in the book. After all, if you have an unsaved hit from the Death Ray - your dead in this game! It fires DEATH. It covers a lot of territory and ideas in 64 pages; it's not Pulp Alley which has characters that come with the game, game aides, etc. Remember, we are living in a Golden Age of Gaming.

I enjoyed the Solo Rules (click on the link to get a PDF file) which have tables and an interesting AI system for the "other" guys in the game. I did not use the Solo Special Benefits table as I used common sense when the Bad Guys would need to use one. As recommended in the Solo Rules, I adjusted the priority of actions for the "Bad Guys" based on the scenario and common sense. I guess the Collaborative part is players are all on one side controlling specific figures and teams and the "main" hero or villain would determine which unit activates when. Bottom line - I had fun playing the game and honestly I thought the Bad Guys were going to win. Until next time: BWAH HAH HAH!