Ruckus- My movie style retinues

 

My Baddy Retinue

My baddy retinue is based on the fictitious Baron Blackheart, a Character that has had an increasing presence in my games since I bought the figure from Black Scorpion games earlier this year. He is listed as the Breninmoor Noble man, although there is little that is noble about my bad boy! I figure the Baron can be the big bad boss that I wish for my Ruckus games and Campaigns and act as a stand in for more classic baddies such as Guy of Gisbourne.

I have used I him in several games, quite a few demos and participation games at shows and the figure seems to be a one blessed with good fortune…for other Players using him that is!

As Baron Blackheart, he has only had two outings, both were fun, he dominated the first game and lost abysmally in the second one. Damn that Lincoln Green clad varlet and his archer friends!

Here is the Baron and his Retinue as I have used him in the last few games

Baron Blackheart

Skills Skill’d at Arms, Dastardly Schemer, Evil Genius, Guards! Guards! Behind You! Riposte, Fluted Plate

I drew these Skills at the start of our last game and it produced a Villian that I really like. The combination of Evil Genius and Dastardly Schemer produces a typical movie villain and allows the Bad Guy to manipulate the way the game plays. Guards Guards proved invaluable in my last game where the Blackheart took four Henchmen as his personal guard and sacrificed 3 of them in the first turn to an astoundingly accurate arrow storm from his opponents. The well tested skills of Fluted Plate and Riposte provide protection and a classic movie trope, the underhand stab in the belly from a hidden dagger. I have yet to use Behind You! in a game and have no idea how well it works!

Squires The Barons squires are straightforward normal Ruckus squires and I think I was lucky to draw these combinations of Skills

Kurt Maelstrom Mighty Warrior, Stalwart. Kurt is tall and has a dodgy East European accent and a Klaus Kinski vibe. Kurt is built from a Steel Fist dummy and head. These are superb figures, slightly taller than most of mine which makes Kurt stand out in the Retinue. He totes a massive axe curtesy of the Frostgrave Knights set.

Jack Nastyface Born to Hang, Battle Fury. Jack is an old grenadier figure now produced by Forlorn Hope. I painted his armour with Vallejo Gun Metal then highlighted with Plate and Mail and a final edge lining dry brush with Shining Silver and then made his armour darker and darker as I glazed Nuln Oil and Tyran Blue over all. The trick seems to be just using enough so that the metal still has a glint.

Retainers

Henchmen Lumpy, Chunky, Lopsided, Beefy, Lumber, and Millstone  

Crossbows Slyboots, Shonky, Marketborn, Wiffle, Dregs and Spotlick

The Baron’s Retainers

The Henchman profiles have not had a lot of exposure to game conditions, that is to say, not a lot of playtesting, it will be interesting to see how they do with more game time. I think they work well. They do not have the fighting skills of bill men and cannot provide support. In a normal melee the Henchman is at a real disadvantage, however the Mobhanded Trait should allow them to gang up and use numbers to overwhelm their Opponents, in true Bad Boy style! It would take three Henchmen to guarantee taking out one Billman with average luck due to the bill man having Skill’d at Arms and being able to Fend. I suspect that a Bad Guy Retinue would be about equal to a normal Ruckus Retinue, ie one with 9 Retainers. I also think the Bad Guy Henchmen are an excellent Profile to represent Orcs!

I used a variety of kitbashes utilising many different figures to represent these Minions of Evil, even using the occasional controversial scale armour! Movie medieval baddies pay little heed to historical convention and so neither shall I! Any pretence at historical representation has gone out the window with this particular Retinue!

I used a restricted pallet to create a uniform look of black for the armour, the Citadel Fang triad, with Nuln glaze, for any soft clothing and Citadel Rhinox Hide for coifs etc. Boots and belts were made to appears as scuffed leather created from Army Painter Chocolate, Flat Earth, and Dark Sand. Helmets received a single coat of Gun Metal with a heavy wash/glaze of Nuln Oil.

The Goodies

Robin B’stard and his Messy Men

I don’t really do the Good forces in any game if I am honest, I like the Baddies, the Orcs, The Bandits, the Jack Palances... However, you cannot have one without the other and its all about movie tropes so…

I did not want to do a Robin Hood as I have plans for a whole campaign featuring that particular Character for later in the year, however, I had already knocked up some Outlaws from various figures I had and used the classic Lincoln Green as a theme. And my wife had bought me the Medieval Mayhem set with a rather diminutive RH figure… So here we are with a NOT Robin Hood.

Everybody has a different idea of their favourite version of Robin Hood, mine is from the books by Roger Lancelyn Green, a very traditional story based around the famous tales, a classic in every meaning of the term.  So, THIS hero is a not Robin Hood, lets call him Robin B’stard. He will serve to test the rules and provide a template for the Hero to come.

Robin B’stard-Rogue Knight

Skills Skill’d at Arms, Puissant, Skilled Tactician, Dashing Hero, Hold My Mead! Deadly Blade, …and his Merry men. He saves on 4+ no plate armour for him and all Outlaw Heroes have the skills Woodsman and Nimble

Puissant may be the best Hero skill in the game, a Prowess of 4 makes everything easier. Skilled Tactician enables him to occasionally outwit his devious foe. Dashing Hero makes every Gambit easier to perform, and the experimental Hold My Mede should ensure that luck does not rule in every play! Deadly Blade is a well-known Ruckus skill and His Merry Men should ensure that his Retinue does not vanish into the dark Wood at the first opportunity.

To be Robin Hood proper he would need some shooting skills, Veteran Archer and Deadly Aim might do the trick.

Squires

John Small Saves on 4+, Skill’d at Arms, Strong as an ‘orse, Stalwart The figure is from Oathmark Human Light Infantry metal figures and he’s a beaut

Will Scarlock Saves on 4+, Skill’d at Arms, Hawk Eye, Steady Hand. Another Oathmark HLI Metal and very nice he is too!

The Retainers

The Outlaw Retainer profiles have been around since we first started playing Ruckus and work well as they are so no need to change them. The Figures are from a number of different sources Perry, Frostgrave and Oathmark are the majority of the bodies with arms and weapons form many sources.  They are not quite right yet; I need more quarterstaff toting types and I am waiting on the Wargames Atlantic medieval levy to complete my set.