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Introduction Kaboom! The sound of Professor Koop's musket echoed across the arroyo. The leaden projectile slammed into the "back-dirt" pile scarcely a foot away from Doctor Mursh's head, sending a shower of silt into the startled Orc's face. "Hah!" Koop yelled, frantically trying to wave away the thick cloud of sulfurous smoke his musket discharged and thus see the effect of his shot. "That ought to teach you to keep your damned snout out of my diggings!" "Your diggings!" Doctor Mursh screamed, while leveling his own fireloque. Boom! "This is my excavation!" He wailed. "We only left the area to get supplies!" "Finders, keepers says I!" The professor replied in a thunderous voice. "Koop, your nothing but a common thief!" The Doctor shrieked. "And you know nothing of Draconian Evolution!" "Well you don't even understand the Principal of Superposition!" "Catostrophist!" "Uniformitarianist!" "Creationist!" "By Durwhen, Mursh! You'll pay for that!" Kaboom! Some History: Those of you who have visited the Squirrel Central page will know that I am an archaeologist, by profession. Now any archaeologist worth his trowel will tell you that "We don't dig dinosaurs!" Some members of my calling take it as a personal affront when a person assumes that we do. A lot of these "hot-heads" keep their trowels razor-sharp, so for safety's sake I'll remind you that Archaeologists excavate human remains and cultural artifacts, while Paleontologists are concerned with prehistoric critters such as dinosaurs. I'm a bit of an odd-ball (never would have guessed, would you). In addition to majoring in Archaeology, I also picked up a major in Geology. I've always had a fascination with dinosaurs. Just take a look at Kraggy Tor. During the Nineteenth Century there were a pair of paleontologists named Cope and Marsh. These two characters were "dinosaur hunters" of the first order. Their expeditions scoured western America looking for new bones to add to the collections of museums world-wide. Cope and Marsh had a serious professional (and seemingly personal) rivalry to document as many new extinct species of dinosaur as possible and to discredit the work of his rival in the most demeaning way possible. This rivalry escalated, on occasion, to pitched gun battles over prime bone beds. That's right, they actually fought over dinosaur bones! Characters like this were just too good to leave in the footnotes of some Geology text book. Even though Cope and Marsh post-date the Flintloque period by decades I had to design a scenario with them as the stars. I certainly hope you enjoy it. Scenario: The main characters in this scenario are Professor Koop, of Bozzturn University, and Doctor Mursh of the Neü Ork Institute of the Sciences. Both Koop and Mursh are eminent Paleodracologists, highly regarded in their field, for the wealth of information they have unearthed about the extinct species of Dragon (Draconus tearyatobits). The Professor and the Doctor have a strong professional rivalry. To be more precise, they hate each other. This antipathy grew out of a series of scholarly papers published in Scientific Valonican regarding the gestation period of a Draconic egg. Koop believed that the period was a century long, while Mursh placed the time nearer to fifty years. As the debate grew, the arguments on both sides became more heated. Both scientists took to slandering the others theorems and methodologies over even the most insignificant of discoveries. Things finally came to a head at the infamous brawl at The Yul Symposium on the Extinct Flora and Fauna of the Cantankerous Formation of Northern El Dorado. This altercation was but the first in a series of violent encounters between the two scholars. This scenario depicts one of Koop and Mursh's encounters in the wilds of Eastern Valon. Doctor Mursh, having left the excavation to gather supplies, returns to find Professor Koop has taken over his dig. Mursh is determined to regain his site and its rich bone bed, while Koop is eager to keep this find for himself. It is designed to be played by two Players, with optional third Player rules presented in the Special and Optional Rules below. A Game Master would be handy to adjudicate disputes that may arise from the use of the new rules presented in this scenario, but is certainly not necessary. Koop's Player: Professor Koop: An Experienced, Elf Militia armed with a Standard Musket and a Colliarre Revolving Pistol. Koop counts as the Section Leader of his group. Dean Swoire: A Raw, Elf Civilian armed with a Pocket Pistol. Swoire is the Dean of the Bozzturn University Geology Department. He has accompanied the expedition as an observer and had no idea that he would be caught in the middle of a fire fight. As a result he gets a -1 Morale Modifier. Albert O'Soor: An Average, Bog Orc Civilian armed with a Crusti Carbine and a Rock Hammer (+1 in HtH Combat). Albert is Koop's graduate student assistant. A staunch supporter of the good Professor, he gains a +1 Morale modifier. Ty Ranos: An Average, Orc Civilian armed with a Standard Musket and a Pick (+2 in HtH Combat). Ty is attending University on a Smashball Scholarship. A hulking brute of an Orc, he gets a +1 modifier in HtH Combat and an Extra Wound. Karl Nosoor: A Raw, Dwarf Civilian armed with a Dwarf Musket and a Rock Hammer (+1 in HtH Combat). Terry Donn: A Raw, Elf Civilian armed with a Pepper-box and a Trowel (+0 in HtH Combat). He also has Magical Abilities with the spell of Speedy Flight. Don Smiley: A Raw, Rat Civilian armed with a Trade Musket and a Shovel (+1 in HtH Combat). Mursh's Player: Doctor Mursh: An Experienced, Orc Militia armed with an East Valonian "Chicken" Rifle, two Cavalry Pistols, and a Rock Hammer (+1 in HtH Combat). Mursh counts as the Section Leader of his group. Ryan Camb: An Average, Orc Civilian armed with an Orcton Double-Barreled Shottegun. Ryan is the Doctor's Graduate Student and has seen his fair share of scuffles. Jerry Asick: An Average, Orc Militia armed with a High Elf Musket and a Pick (+2 in HtH Combat). Chris Taeshus: A Raw, Elf Civilian armed with a Standard Carbine and a Rock Hammer (+1 in HtH Combat). Paul O'Scene: A Raw, Bog Orc Civilian armed with a Standard Musket and Shovel (+1 in HtH Combat). Ollie Goseen: A Raw, Dwarf Civilian armed with a Blunderbuss and a Pick (+2 in HtH Combat). Set Up: 
Koop's Player may set up his forces anywhere in and around the area of the excavation. Mursh's Player enters his forces from the East Edge of the table. These Characters are traveling in two wagons, laden with supplies. If the third Player option is being used, the Centaur braves will enter the fray 1D3+1 Turns after the battle has begun. The Centaur Player may enter from any table edge (his choice) except the East. Terrain and Conditions: Backdirt Piles: The Backdirt piles are treated as High Walls for Movement and Firing purposes. Excavation Block: The edges of the Excavation Block are treated as Low Walls for Movement and Firing purposes. Characters within the trench may move as if in normal terrain. The Players should use common sense when determining who gets cover while in the block. p>Weather: Weather conditions are dry and sunny. No inclement weather will affect the scenario. Special and Optional Rules: This scenario is designed to introduce many of the optional New Rules developed by Klaus Fritsch and myself. The Players should read over the House Rules for Leaders, the Unit Status for Civilians (and Tribal War Parties if the third Player option is used), and review the new fyrearms utilized in this scenario on the Gunnes page. Third Player Option: If you want to turn this scenario into a three-way brawl why not have a war party of Centaur Braves happen along? Centaurs: I do not know what, if anything, CCI intends to do about Eastern Valon and the Native American element. My personal preference would be to see many different fantasy races representing the polyglot of Native American tribes and confederations in North America. Centaurs represent a possible tribe of Plains Indians that the Players may use for other scenarios set in Eastern Valon. The following rules are by no means "official". Centaurs
Defense Factor 3
Wounds 4
Walk 14 cm
Trot 30 cm
Run 40 cm
Charge 60 cm
HtH Modifier +1 Note: Centaurs are treated as cavalry for movement purposes. Third Player Introduction: Ten Mares looked down on the foolish Un-men, skirmishing in the valley below. "What in the name of Coyote are they doing?" he wondered aloud. Hunters had brought word that the Un-men were digging up the bones of "The Great Scaled Flyer". The idiots! Even the youngest colt of his tribe knew that to disturb the remains of the ancient dragons was to bring desolation to the area. Ten Mares had often pondered on the motivations of the Un-men. Their "thunder sticks" were proof that they had great learning, yet they seemed to know so little about how the world worked. They were fools, he decided. Fools who did not understand or care about the consequences of their action. They must be stopped! Ten Mares Player Ten Mares: An Experienced, War Party Centaur armed with a Standard Musket, Lance and Knife. Ten Mares counts as the Section Leader of his band. Iron Hoof: An Average, War Party Centaur armed with a Trade Musket and a Tomahawk (+1 in HtH Combat). Gnatsum: An Average, War Party Centaur armed with a Trade Musket and a Lance. He also has Magical Abilities with the Spells of Steady Shot and Heal One Wound (another's only). Onimalap: An Average, War Party Centaur armed with a Bow and a War club (+2 in HtH Combat). Naibara: A Raw, War Party Centaur armed with a Lance and a Tomahawk (+1 in HtH Combat). Tolc: A Raw, War Party Centaur armed with a Spear and a Knife. This is Tolc's first raid and he wants to impress Ten Mares. As a result he gains a +1 Morale Modifier. Victory Conditions: Victory Conditions are simple. Whomever retains possession of the excavation site wins the scenario. Figures and Painting Guide: The Paleontologists: Professor Koop, Doctor Mursh and their cronies will be hard to represent with figures from Alternative Armies. I suggest scouring the packs to find figures with as much civilian dress as possible to represent the Character's on the table top. Obidiah's Army (Boxed Set 5006) is a good place to start. All of the Dark Elf Guerrilla packs (Half Box 51505, Blisters 51001 and 51002) are good sets for civilian figures too. Finally, Amorican Deserters (Blister 51004), 1er Sappeurs de Ligne (Blister 51032), Republican Militia (Blister 51034), 4th Krautian Feldtechnics (Blister 52011), Royal Albion Engineers (Blister 54029), and Lord Montague's Fencibles (Blister 54031) have figures which will represent the excavators with ease. The Centaur Braves: For the Centaur Braves, I suggest trying to find unarmored figures from any company that makes them. I recall that Ral Partha used to make a few unarmored centaurs in 25mm, but they would look hopelessly out of scale compared to the Flintloque figures Webmaster's Notes This was originally published on Mike Baumann's excellent Filbanto Stew Website. If you're looking for the Flintloque Reloaded version including troop breakdowns, points costs and set objectives then click here. |
