Paddy Fields, Multibases and Add-Ons.

Posted on 14/04/2017 by sho3box

Terrain and play aids for samurai gaming, primarily suited to Test of Honour.

I try not to be too fetish-y about my hobby stuff, but from time to time I fail.  I justify the following instances as like this:

The cardboard counters used to determine the order in which miniatures act in Test of Honour games could – potentially – become worn out by sweaty gamer hands.  A second set will also allow two games to played simultaneously in my games room.  So I replaced them.

But honestly, I just like the tactile nature of laser cut acrylic, its a bit like poker chips or similar.

I chose the counter colours to key off the existing counters, rather than to match the scheme for the paint job on my figures or the game design itself (which is red, an off-white parchment colour and some black details, a pretty classic “samurai” palette).

Im told by Captain Crooks that without another qualifying symbol present, the kanji on the Fate counter means “Life”, not “Fate”.  Ill get over such an existential conundrum I think.

L to R, top and bottom: Fate, Commoner Activation, Samurai Activation

Next up the bag in the first image stands in an open position, making it useful in a game that involves drawing counters from it.

Did it have to be a bag with a symbol and colour scheme that fits with the graphic design of the product to an extent?  No.  Technically any container that conceals the contents to an extent will work.

But I do prefer it this way, again for tactile reasons.  Bag from Saddle Goose Designs.

Test of Honour uses multi-bases that can accommodate three figures.  They are used to assist in representing small groups of spearmen and the like, the extras that regularly get slaughtered in chanbara films.

After splitting a Test of Honour pre-order with PB and P Biddy, I had nine of the bases that needed a little bit of work to tie them in with my gaming surface and miniatures.

To describe the basing process for these as being akin to building a tiny garden rockery, or sticking tufts to them as being like a highly accelerated form of miniature bonsai would be pretentious, so I wont.

But I did enjoy putting them together.

Lastly, I ordered a few practical, but somewhat uninspiring “paddy fields” from Total System Scenics towards the end of last year.  I stained them, drybrshed them and added some “10cm Leafy Strips” from Tajima1.  I have yet to see real paddy fields in my life, but from my online image searching, the above layout is an acceptable compromise for gaming.

None of these elements are individually very exciting as such, but the lot represent a satisfying overallincrease of quality for my samurai gaming.  Go me.

 

Filed under: Game Rules, Terrain | Tagged: , , |

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20 Responses

  1. Somet, on 14/04/2017 at 20:23 said:

    Beautiful attention to detail as usual with all of it. Splendid stuff!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 18/04/2017 at 08:49 said:

      Thanks Somet.

      None of the elements are particularly difficult to sort out, but a little bit here and little bit there eventually layers up into a luxurious whole.

      Its getting there 🙂

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  2. Riot, on 14/04/2017 at 20:52 said:

    Go you!!

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. Warburton, on 14/04/2017 at 21:45 said:

    Good stuff! The rice paddies look good to me, my memory of seeing and traversing them is that there is a lot of area which is covered in water, and you have to walk along the raised earth borders between them, which could lead to some interesting tactical situations if you had enough of the table covered in them.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. vongutenboom, on 15/04/2017 at 09:31 said:

    Nice I like the way you did your Test of Honor multi-base, basing! And the rice paddies are very keen! It was a clever thing to make it so that when the rice paddies are pushed together they form a walking path like the ones I’ve seen in Japan. Vey cool! I plan to get the new Test of Honor box set! After I finish assembling my Shadow Wars set! I am not sure which I was more excited for! But I will be doing a Shinsengumi thyme army! From the Japanese soap opera “Shinsengumi”. Cheers

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 18/04/2017 at 09:40 said:

      Im also enthusiastic for Shadow Wars. I could happily put together a force from each faction in that game, in addition to being able to field a number of the forces taken directly from painted 40k forces that I have. Lots of fun potential there.

      Ill check out Shinsengumi, thanks for the recommendation vongutenboom.

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  5. Alex, on 15/04/2017 at 09:32 said:

    Excellent additions mate

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. shadowhawck, on 15/04/2017 at 17:01 said:

    Where did you get the Tokens, or do you have the means of making them yourself?

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  7. Lasgunpacker, on 17/04/2017 at 21:21 said:

    Go you indeed. The tactile and visual pleasures of wargaming are part of what separates us from the counter crowd.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 18/04/2017 at 09:45 said:

      A good point Lasgunpacker, a subtle but significant distinction.

      While I dont play counter based wargames in the ASL vein, I do play boardgames a fair bit. Although boardgames have a lot of overlap, its certainly a distinct part of the hobby.

      I have boardgamer friends that dont play miniatures games at all, even though the opposite is not true.

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      • Lasgunpacker, on 19/04/2017 at 16:41 said:

        I think that the part that we love about miniatures, the flexibility, the tactile, and the visual, can be off putting to those who want their movements to be exact to the hex facing, strength indicated on the counter, and rules to have section and line numbers.

        Liked by 1 person

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  8. mrsaturdays, on 24/04/2017 at 10:26 said:

    Mmm… themed gaming accessories. You know my stance on this kind of thing.

    The paddy fields look good. That’s one hell of a terrain set you have.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 25/04/2017 at 15:28 said:

      Thanks. It is fun to see how that terrain set has grown over the last year or so. Plenty more to do, but its already at a point where its quite atmospheric.

      I have spent my free time over the last few weeks making the preprinted terrain look a little more integrated with the other bits and pieces. Simple weathering and the like. I will take some photos of them soon I hope.

      Thanks for the feedback Mr S!

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  9. daggerandbrush, on 26/04/2017 at 03:16 said:

    Themed game aids are always a welcome addition to any army/project. I asked a friend to carve me some Roman style dice out of bone for my Punic Wars project. I think any such themed addition, may it be tokens or other stuff just elevates a game, so I feel you should just go all in and submit to temptation.

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