Von Tripdenfel Musketeer Regiment

by quindia February 22, 2022

Clarence Harrison - The Gran Duchy of Sazir is a mysterious land of dark forests. The majority of the population are serfs, little more than slaves of the lords who rule from brooding castles. Duke Mortis (His High and Terrible Grace, Herzog of Sazir, etc.) demands universal service in the armies of the state and supplements his ranks with foreign mercenaries.

That's it. While I could certainly write more, I decided to leave things sketchy to start. I'll fill in details as I need them. The games will be focused on the remote region of the Tower Hills so I won't need information on the intrigues that play out in the capitol or the many mistresses of Duke Mortis unless they have some sort of impact on my games.

As I mentioned in my last post, the first thing I did after settling on a map and writing the briefest of notes on each area was design the flags and uniforms. Green or red coats are the standard for infantry regiments of Sazir. These are based heavily on Seven Year War Russians, but may mix troops types from other nations. I knew I wanted to use models primarily from Wargames Foundry. To ease myself into the task of painting massive units, I decided to start with models in waistcoats. Not only are these fantastic sculpts, there is less fiddly work painting the coats. I'm calling this fashion the "Summer" uniform. As the army grows, I'll add some properly attired infantry, but I felt like this would be a good start!

It was exciting to finish the first unit in this collection—Von Tripdenfel's Musketeer Regiment!

The organization isn't yet set in stone, but tentatively 48 models, three officers, an ensign, drummer, and mounted colonel make up a regiment. This is divided into three "companies" of 16 (including an NCO). As this is primarily a solo endeavor I'm planning to write my own rules. I haven't decided if a "standard" unit is 48 models or if it's actually 16 and the larger formation will act as a "brigade" (all units must stay with a structured formation to form line, column of companies, etc). I'm planning on using the d6, d8, d10 convention found in the rest of our games (Beneath the Lily Banners, Donnybrook, and Mad for War). Combat will probably based on groups of 4 models. Morale is going to be tied in part to the number of officers in a unit (similar to The War Game, though I haven't specifically worked out the details as I also want the d6, d8, d10 mechanic involved). The rest will wait until I get more units painted!

I won't be tying these rules to any specific period of the horse and musket age, so there may be some anachronistic features of tactics or organization. I really just want a game that "feels" like my impression of the genre rather than trying to ensure complete historical accuracy.

That will be a turn off for some, but this isn't intended as a commercial project. It's just for me and it's suppose to be fun!

Oh, yes... they are individually based. Just lining up the little buggers for photographs was a reminder that it will be slow to set up and march them around the table, but I wanted the flexibility this allows. It was one of the "oldschool" elements I wanted to include. I'm not planning on hurrying games when I actually get the chance to play anyway. I am blessed to have a dedicated room for my hobby and can leave a game set up as long as necessary.

Again, it's very exciting to see this first unit finished. I've already started assembling my second unit—the Grimjawsopol Musketeers. They are also in summer dress, but are smartly attired in black gaiters and sporting yellow lace on their hats.

More soon!