Recent uniform research to create new patrols of Girl Scouts and Guides, Boy Scouts and other unformed groups for my Scouting Wide Games for the Tabletop Project – a summary of recent blog posts late July / August 2022, crossposted from my other blogs:
Solo gaming: Quarterstaff fighting and Mutant Snowmen …
Blogposted by Mark Man Of TIN, 1970s British Cub Scout (Bronze Arrow, retired) 7 August 2022
A quick duelling game, the Bold Frontiers trees and felt streams rearranged quickly to make the log crossing over the stream quarterstaff fight from Robin Hood.
First off using the Gerard du Gre Duelling rules (via Donald Featherstone’s Solo Wargaming)
Little John versus Friar Tuck
One soggy Friar later, Little John takes on Will Scarlett.
I did not have a quarter staff figure for Will Scarlett or Maid Marian so very quickly masking taped a brown wooden cocktail stick to his sword and coloured the tape with felt tip. The same done for Maid Marian.
Robin Hood is busy watching and eyeing up a deer on the far side of the stream – no doubt the King’s Venison! Before he aims his bow, the deer bounds off with all the splash and noise of pretend battle.
Next up the undefeated two times champion of the log crossing, the still dry Little John is challenged by Maid Marian.
A slip and hit on Little John sees his third or melee life point gone – and into the water with him.
Being a big fellow, he makes a big splash, so Maid Marian isn’t laughing in her well deserved but now soaking victory.
A fun quick knockabout duel, keeping their fighting skills up for their next encounter with the Sheriff of Nottingham – boo, hiss!
Robin Hood figures
The duel on the log is a great chapter in the early part of the Robin Hood story. There was even a duelling set of Tuck vs Little John and log bridge in the Britain’s quite inspired but short lived issue (c.1996) of Robin Hood figures to complement their existing Knights of The Sword, Crusaders and Turkish Knights / Saracens.
Some interesting variations over the years of Robin Hood figures, including Replicants and LOD figures (still available from Steve Weston Plastic Soldiers). http://plasticsoldiers.co.uk/index.php/period/pirates-robin-hood-ancients/
I also have somewhere in my family collection a 1960s Crescent Friar Tuck from Kellogg’s http://cerealoffers.com/Kelloggs/Cornflakes/1960s/Robin_Hood_Figures/robin_hood_figures.html
https://www.miniaturesandhistory.com/robin-hood.html
Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN 29 May 2020
B.P.S. Blog Post Script
Baden Powell’s Boy Scouts were encouraged to do quarter staff fighting (probably as part of their early Master at Arms badge). Can’t remember if the early Girl Scouts or Guides did. Robin Hood and other chivalrous tales fitted well with the literary and historical “Cloak of Romance” imaginative scenarios for Wide Games.
See my Scouting related quarter staff blog and Scouting Wide Games blog site:
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/17/boy-scouts-camping-and-quarter-staves-again/
This one got away on eBay 2020 – didn’t win but took screenshot as good reference of uniformNorth Gondal 1870s – A trip to the forest to gather herbs accidentally interrupted by a Forest Indian Hunting Party.
Lost in the forest, Captain Snortt and Miss MacGuffin square up to four startled Forest Indians.
First card of the Duelling draw … disaster!
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/a-romantic-forest-walk-interrupted-part-two/
Snortt now knocked out, Kate MacGuffin the Major’s daughter is now faced with three Forest Indians intent on taking her hostage.
All she has to defend herself is her hiking staff, concealed pistol and brave dog Patch.
Turn Two
Should she open fire? Kate has a hidden pistol but she is out of pistol range and outgunned two or three to one by the three Forest Indians who are carrying hunting rifles and muskets. These muskets or rifles fire twice pistol range, much longer ranges than her.
She climbs the nearby hillock and backs towards a tree guarded by her dog Patch.
D6 thrown for how quickly Snortt and Redjacket will recover from being knocked out. Snortt will recover after two more turns (Active again in Turn Four) whilst Redjacket recover in three turns (Active again from Turn Five).
One of the Forest Indians named Redbonnet recognises Miss MacGuffin from the attack on the supply column and tells the other two not to open fire. They realise that this woman is a valuable hostage to bargain with the Redcoats, as is Captain Snortt. She is best captured alive.
Redbonnet is not carrying any ropes otherwise he would stop and quickly tie Snortt up.
Turn Four
Snortt is now active. Where is his sword though?
The d6 dice throw for which side moves first this turn is won by the Forest Indians who move in on three sides of Kate MacGuffin.
RedBonnet heads around the back of the tree to prevent her escaping. They are wary of her and of her dog Patch who has positioned himself in front of her. He is growling fiercely at them.
Snort staggers to his feet, sizes up the situation and groggily rushes towards Kate on the hill and the nearest Forest Indian Greenbreeches. He is too faraway for melee this turn.
Turn Five
The Forest Indians move first and continue to try and encircle her on the hill. Active again, RedJacket staggers to his feet and heads towards Snortt and Greenbreeches.
Greenbreeches heads into Melee with Snortt.
Stop Thrust matches / cancels Stop Thrust.
Next card is drawn by Greenbreeches (Attacker) who draws the ‘Killed’ card!
Big problem. With Snortt now active and one of the Forest Indians dead, rifles may be used, at least on Snortt.
The Forest Indians both fire at Snortt. Yellowfeather misses at Close Range. RedJacket scores a hit but Snortt is saved by a lucky Casualty Savings Throw.
Snortt has no rifle to return fire. Kate uses her concealed pistol at Close Range on Yellowfeather but fails the shot.
Turn 6
d6 throw – Snortt and Kate move first .
Kate backs round the tree into shadow and cover to keep watch for the out of sight Forest Indian Redbonnet.
Snortt moves into a melee attack on Yellowfeather.
Snortt closes with Yellowfeather, after two successful hits reducing Yellowfeather’s life points or melee points, Snortt finishes the knock out with a Parry and Lunge countering Yellowfeather’s Stop Thrust. Yellowfeather is knocked out and topples back down the slope.
Snortt still has no rifle, so it is Kate who fires her pistol close range at Redbonnet but again misses. Redbonnet knows she would be more valuable as a prisoner, so a d6 is thrown to see if he fires back. He does not, hoping to take her alive as a hostage.
Turn 7 Movement and Melee
D6 thrown, Snortt and Kate move first. I threw a d6 to see if Kate would attack Redbonnet directly or retreat round the tree, closer to Snortt. She retreated out of Red Bonnet’s way.
Snortt headed for RedJacket as he arrived at the brim of the slope. He swung his staff but after a slip (hit on Snortt), Snortt next drew a “Run away” card! Rather than running downhill, he headed back into the cover of the trees only to meet Redbonnet coming round the corner of the large trees on the hill.
On the Forest Indian’s turn to move around the trees, Redbonnet closes as the attacker on Snortt for melee.
Snortt is attacked in melee by Redbonnet as they grapple and fight, staff to musket – two stop thrusts cancel each other out.
Redbonnet’s parry and lunge is deflected by Snortt’s cut to the head – first blow on Redbonnet. Two more stop thrusts cancel each other out.
Redbonnet’s stop thrust is countered by Snortt’s parry and lunge, another blow on Redbonnet.
Weakening, Redbonnet again parries and lunges at Snortt, only for this move to be countered by a cut to the head with his hiking staff – a third blow – and Redbonnet staggers back and topples down the slope towards the stream.
Snortt has knocked him clean out! Can he grab the rifle before Redbonnet staggers away? D6 throw – no luck, Redbonnet keeps his grasp on his rifle as he rolls down hill.
Meanwhile a few yards away Kate faces up in melee to RedJacket.
Redjacket aimed to grab or fight Kate MacGuffin but would he first have to fight off Patch the Dog? Patch had bravely put himself between them, growling fiercely. A d6 was thrown – Kate or the dog? It was her brave dog Patch who needed dealing with first, giving Kate time to prime her pistol, ready her staff and prepare her next move.
RedJacket swung at the growling dog, knife in one hand, musket in the other.
.
Kaptain Kobold rules using dice were used here for the Dog vs Man melee. Each has three melee or life points.
First move – 4 rolled – both Miss.
Second move – 3 – both Hit, both lose a point.
Third move – 4 – both Miss.
Fourth move – 5 – Hit on Patch the dog, defender – loses another point.
Fifth move – 6 – disaster, another hit on Patch the dog, defending his mistress, his final life point lost. He slumps sideways with a whimper.
Turn 7 – Firing phase.
Distraught at the loss of her dog, dead or knocked out, it was Kate’s firing move. She coolly raised her pistol at Close Range and fired. Redjacket staggered backwards. A hit at Close Range and failing his saving throw, he staggered and rolled down the hill, dead. Patch was avenged.
Relief! Snortt and Kate were safe for the moment – two Forest Indians were dead, two more dead or knocked out – but for how long? They were also still lost in the forest. Patch the dog was dead or unconscious, it was hard to tell. The pistol and rifle shots might draw attention from the Redcoats at the Fort. Equally it might attract more Hunting Parties of Forest Indians.
At that moment, they heard the signal cannon from the Fort fired, the sound echoing around the trees. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where it came from. Moments later, a signal flare streaked into the air to the Northwest, from the direction of the Fort. This would give Snortt a rough idea which direction to aim for. It also told him that a foot patrol of Redcoats had been despatched by Major MacGuffin, the Fort commander, anxious for news of his daughter. They should have been back at the Fort by now.
Tired and lost as they were, Snortt said they should not hang around for the Forest Indians to wake up or more to turn up. As they made ready to head northwest towards the direction of the signal rocket, Kate MacGuffin pleaded with Snortt not to leave Patch’s body behind.
It would be quicker without him, Snortt argued. That dog saved my life, Kate said.
They agreed that they would try to carry Patch between them using their hiking staffs, the spear and an Indian jacket as an improvised stretcher. It would slow them down but hopefully they would soon stumble across a Redcoat patrol.
Snortt quickly removed Redjacket’s Indian tunic, which looked much like one stolen and cut down from a Redcoat jacket long ago as a hunting trophy. He tucked Redjacket’s hunting knife into his belt and gathered up Redjacket’s musket.
Snortt and Kate lifted Patch gently onto the stretcher and gathered up the herb basket.
Grabbing an Indian rifle or musket each, ammunition and powder, they laid these in the stretcher alongside the faithful but unmoving hound. Worryingly, struck several heavy blows by Redjacket, Patch still showed no obvious signs of life.
They set off as quickly as they could, carrying the stretcher, heading northwest through the forest towards the Fort, keeping watch for any further Forest Indians.
——————————
The Forest Indians would not be pleased when they found the bodies of several of their warriors. There was more trouble ahead for the Redcoat defenders of Fort MacGuffin.
Sometime later that day, dodging Redcoat patrols in the forest, a Hunting Party of the Forest Indians comes across the dead bodies of two warriors of their tribe, Redjacket and Greenbreeches.
Nearby they find two unconscious warriors, Yellowfeather and Redbonnet. When they wake, no doubt they will have brave tales of fierce fighting with an overwhelming number of Redcoats. The four warriors are gathered up and the Hunting Party slowly makes its way back towards their hidden encampment deep in the Forest. They carry with them an officer’s sword of the Redcoats.
The story continues …
Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN 27 May 2020
North Gondal 1870s – A trip to the forest to gather herbs accidentally interrupted by a Forest Indian Hunting Party.
Young Captain Snortt and Miss MacGuffin square up to four startled Forest Indians.
First card of the Duelling draw …
That just leaves the plucky Major’s Daughter Kate MacGuffin with only a concealed pistol and a hiking staff (unless she can get to the Captain’s sword) and her dog Patch pursued by three hostile Forest Indians intent on taking her hostage.
Give up now, men, you don’t stand a chance!
Scenario:
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/25/a-romantic-walk-in-the-forest-interrupted/
Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, Tuesday 26 May 2020
May 25th – it is Memorial Day Weekend in America (thanks VSF for the reminder),
it’s also Geek Pride Day (anniversary of Star Wars, various Sci-fi Discworld and Hitchhiker’s Guide links etc), which we have celebrated here over the last few years:
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/happy-2nd-blogaversary-from-the-man-of-tin/
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/25/may-25th-2017-my-1st-blogaversary/
… which means it’s my Fourth Blogaversary of Man of TIN blog.
Happy Blogaversary to Me! Thanks for reading and all your comments, ideas, interest and support.
What next?
“A Romantic Forest Walk, Interrupted” is the follow up duelling skirmish suggested by Tony Adams after reading my recent Forest Indians vs Redcoats skirmish posted yesterday:
The Waggon repaired, and no further need for that pistol, Miss MacGuffin?
North Gondal Forests, 1870s somewhere near Fort MacGuffin
Fed up with the security lockdown at the Fort MacGuffin, our feisty frontier heroine Miss Kate MacGuffin persuades the Fort’s founder and commanding officer, her father Major MacGuffin to reluctantly let her out of its confines for an afternoon’s plant and herb collecting in the Forest to restock the Fort’s medicine chest.
Unaccompanied botanising would be too risky with aggrieved Forest Indians Hunting in the forest, and “The Major’s Daughter” would be a fine hostage and bargaining chip. So young Captain Snortt, hero of the hour and commander of the Besieged Wagon Skirmish, is entrusted with accompanying Kate and keeping watch over her as her guide, guard and chaperone. A very different Wheel Meet Again scenario indeed!
Well met again, Miss MacGuffin and Captain Snortt set off hiking through forest glades with their collecting basket, stout walking poles and her faithful dog Patch. They intend to stay near the Fort but enjoying each other’s company a little too much, they lose track of time and the blazed forest trails.
Lost? Not to worry, says the Captain.
Suddenly from out of the forest behind them burst a small deer, pursued by a Forest Indian Hunting Party.
Both parties stared at each other for a split second.
The deer fled but a fine hunting prize this hostage would make.
All that Miss MacGuffin and Captain Snortt have to defend themselves is his sword, their two hiking staffs, her revolver and whatever else they can find around them.
All set for a duelling skirmish where a valuable live hostage is at stake!
The Brontes maybe, but the redcoat Militia and heroines in Jane Austen all dressed up for balls were never like this, except maybe with zombies, and the books are all the poorer for it in my opinion.
Previously on duelling skirmishes, some fine blogposts, borrowed rules and entertaining Bartitsu Youtube videos – Suffrajitzu anyone?
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/28/more-duelling-inspiration-bartitsu/
https://poundstoreplasticwarriors.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/more-duelling-inspiration-mexicans/
And Happy Geek Pride Day
“I didn’t choose the Geek Life … the Geek Life chose me.”
Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, fourth Blogaversary, 25 May 2020
Man of Tin blog 