The Timeless Traveller: The endgame

Well, the final game session has taken place and our adventure is over! Here is what happened:

The group – less Bumble (the Stormshifter) , who was near the captain – arrived on deck … for the second time just as the High Priestess emerged from the body of the dwarf after an amulet had been pressed into his chest. Neo-Munch (the conjoined Hooded Man and Munch the Songweaver) shouted, ‘Kill the High Priestess! Don’t let her take off!’

Johnny-Baptiste (the Cheat) immediately began to climb one of the masts whilst Ragnar (the Berserker) rushed forward and hit one of the Hooded Men near the High Priestess with his axe. At the same time, Vale (the Shepherd) also moved forward and cast a spell on a Hooded Man and Callistra successfully cast her ‘Hunter’s Marks’ on the High Priestess. She followed this by firing an arrow at the High Priestess … and it found its mark! Mankare (the Shadowmancer) called up one of his shadow spirits just as Bumble changed his form into a wasp so that he could attack the High Priestess. Neo-Munch successfully cast a sleeping spell over several of the Hooded Men next to the High Priestess, but she was able to deflect part of its effect onto Mankare, who fell asleep!

Callistra fires an arrow at the High Priestess ... and wounds her!

The High Priestess shouted out, ‘We have guests! Clear the decks!’ just as she cast her flying spell and began to rise from the deck, reading from the book as she did so. In response, one of the Hooded Men attempted to self-immolate by stabbing himself in the chest with the dagger.

Neo-Munch immediately cast a spell to disrupt the High Priestess’s attempt to fly … and despite her best attempt to deflect the spell, she fell back to the deck and landed safely on her feet. Neo-Munch then took cover behind the mast. Vale cast a spell to summon his spirit dog, and although he was successful, it did influence those that were close to him. Callistra fired two more arrows at the High Priestess and hit her once … just as Ragnar used his axe to injure one of the Hooded Man and the High Priestess. Whilst this was happening, Johnny-Baptiste slid down the mast before throwing her magical dagger at the Hooded Man that Ragnar had attacked and a second Hooded Man who was near the High Priestess. Both were hit, and the first was killed!

Johnny-Baptiste uses his magical dagger to attack the High Priestess and a Hooded Man.

Neo-Munch had managed to revive Mankare, who summoned two more shadow spirits with which to attack the High Priestess just as Bumble flew next to her. She screamed an incantation … and when nothing happened, she cried out, ‘Where is the book?’, just before coming invisible. However, she had forgotten that Callistra had marked her, and although she was no longer visible, Callistra could sense her location in the air above the deck.

The Hooded Man who had attempted to stan himself in the chest tried to crawl towards the High Priestess and another moved towards Mankare’s shadow spirits and cried out. ‘For the Dark Lord,’ before he also stabbed himself in the chest. At the High Priestess’s command, the Hooded man exploded and caused a large hole to appear in the deck … which Vale fell through! Another Hooded Man attempted to attack Callistra, but she was able to avoid his blows by moving backwards.

Neo-Munch used a health potion to heal some of Johnny-Baptiste’s wounds and sent him an invisibility potion, which he took. Meanwhile Vale looked around for ways to extricate himself from the cargo hold he had fallen into and began piling crates together so that he could climb up them to get out. Mankare advanced down the deck and used his ice lance spell on a Hooded Man, causing him serious injuries, including blindness. Ragnar again wielded his axe and killed an already wounded Hooded Man. Callistra fired yet another arrow at the High Priestess and hit her, causing the High Priestess to cry out. ‘How can you see me?’ Johnny-Baptiste moved towards a Hooded Man but when he attacked the man, he lost his invisibility.

Thanks to her 'Hunter's Mark', Callistra was able to fire at - and hit - the invisible High Priestess,

The High Priestess cried out, ‘To me!’ and a Hooded Man moved towards her … and began to melt as she drew on his energy to revive herself. The Hooded Man who had been fighting Johnny-Baptiste lunged forward and wounded him before disengaging.

At the same time, Neo-Munch produced the illusion of a book, which he threw over his shoulder, and the High Priestess tried to grab it before realising that it was not real. She turned all her venom onto Neo-Munch … who teleported himself out of the way. Callistra fired yet another arrow at the High Priestess, wounding her again. Whilst this was taking place, Vale manged to get his spirit dog onto the deck and Mankare moved forward and summoned up two more shadow spirits. Ragnar finished off an already wounded Hooded Man and Bumble attempted to sting the High Priestess. In retaliation, the High Priestess attempted to swat Bumble away and caused a wave of water to come over the ship’s side and engulf Ragnar in a huge water-filled bubble. Vale finally managed to climb up onto the deck, just as he heard someone cry out, ‘Give me the dagger!’.

Ragnar's attempt to break the water bubble spell almost cost him his life!

During the confusion Bumble flew straight at the High Priestess and stung her, causing her to scream out in pain.

Bumble's poisonous sting seriously hurt the High Priestess.

To get into a better position to fire at the High Priestess, Callistra climbed one of the ship’s masts. Deciding that jumping into the sea might break the water bubble spell, Ragnar rushed to the ship’s side and jumped over the bulwark … only to discover that the water bubble floats! He immediately used his axe to attach himself to the side of the ship before it sailed on and left him behind. Neo-Munch attempted to use his lightning spell on the High Priestess … but she turned it back on him. As a result, Neo-Munch and Mankare are wounded, with Neo-Munch become energised with electricity that makes him dangerous to anyone who is nearby. Because he was so close to the High Priestess, Bumble was wounded by the spell and returned to the deck … although as he did so, he realised that the High Priestess was no long invisible! Johnny-Baptiste’s magical dagger and Mankare’s shadow spirits attack a Hooded Man, and both wound him. Mankare then cast a splinter spell on the High Priestess while Vale healed Bumble’s wounds.

The High Priestess cried out, ‘To me!’ for a second time, and a Hooded Man rises from the deck toward her as she moved towards the ship’s controls. She also sends a fireball towards Mankare and Vale’s spirit dog, causing Vale to be turned upside down and to drop his pet chicken! Callistra used the ship’s rigging to swing through the air and was able to seriously wound the High Priestess twice with her dagger.

By using the ship's rigging, Callistra was able to swing down and catch the High Priestess unawares and to stab and seriously wound her.

Neo-Munch now used a spell that causes the High Priestess to fall to the deck again and to cry out, ‘I command you to come now!’ Neo-Munch follows up by casting a shatter spell on the High Priestess … and she is killed by a barrage of icicles.

Neo-Munch's shower of icicles killed the High Priestess, thus ending her reign of terror aboard the ship

When this happens, the last Hooded Man – who had been raised above the deck by the High Priestess – falls to the ground and breaks his neck. Now that the High Priestess was dead, the water bubble around Ragnar dispersed and Johnny-Baptiste helped him to climb back aboard. It also enabled Vale to resurrect the dwarf and Neo-Munch to return to his Munch form.

Whilst the adventurers gathered together on the deck, an unnatural silence surrounded them … and then a brilliant light appeared from the clouds and a tall, ethereal creature wearing armour and armed with a sword descended.

The Herald of the Gods descends to speak with the adventurers.

It looked at them and in a melodious and powerful voice it said, ‘I am the Herald of the Gods. They are grateful for what you have done. Will you all please step forward, and I will answer any questions that you have.’ In reply, the group asked how the wisp tree and its spirits could be release. The Herald replied that the only way was to return it to the forest.

Thinkertop then appeared with many boxes of gold and the Herald stated, ‘Thinkertop was the carrier of the artefacts on our behalf as we cannot directly interfere in mortal affairs.’ He then turned to Thinkertop and told him that, ‘This world now belongs to you.’ … and then the Herald flew upwards and the light suddenly disappeared.

The adventure was now over … and the group were free to look for a new one.

The group contemplate the events of their recent adventure ... and begin thinking about their next one.

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This was a magnificent adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed myself ... and my thanks must go to Paolo (the very innovative Game Master) and the other players, Alicia, Ben, Guy, Jason, Louie, and Sophie.

Wargame Map Tool: Is it the hex map drawing program that I need?

First, a big THANK YOU to Pete Forster, who sent me a link to WARGAME MAP TOOL hex map drawing program. As the following images from the relevant page on Board Game Geek website show, it seems to meet all my requirements ... and possibly more!

I have now downloaded the program, and hope to try it out over the next few weeks.

Model railways, mini-campaigns ... and the ghost of an idea

Looking at the map of the Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway ...

... I was struck by the similarity to the sort of maps found in Donald Featherstone's book, WAR GAME CAMPAIGNS. This set me thinking ... and I remembered the 'Long Live The Revolution!' mini-campaign that I included in my book, DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME.

The campaign was a linear one and players moved backwards and forwards from one map to another, thus:

Regional Capital

Provincial Capital

Railway Station

Capital City

Now, the last two maps had railways of them, and it would not be that difficult to add some railway track to the others. I could easily build four small, self-contained baseboards (in the style of those featured in the Budget Model Railway Challenge) that I could then use to fight a mini-campaign on, based on the 'Long Live The Revolution!' one ... and I could also connect all four together to create a small model railway.

I don't know if anything will come of this idea ... but it is certainly an interesting mini-campaign to think about!

The Fiddletown and Copperopolis Railway: Some more information

The Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway was 'invented' by Carl Fallberg, a life-long lover of American narrow-gauge railways, especially those in the western states. His cartoons told the (exaggerated and humorous) story of such a railway.

The Fiddletown ^ Copperopolis Railway's coat-of-arms.

The Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway was a mainly freight-carrying railway located in the foothills of California and run by (the mythical) George W Luce. He was known for his unconventional approach to the transportation demands of the area, which – until the building of the railway – relied upon the use of mules, wagons, and even rafts to move goods between the mining towns of Fiddletown and Copperopolis. The area featured treacherous terrain, bandits, and very unpredictable weather, as can be seen in the following map:

A map of part of the Fiddletown & Copperopolis Railway. I particularly like the choice of some of the place names, including Nothing Flat, Cinder (formerly Tinder) City, Saggy Springs, Goshawful Gulch, Bicarbonate of Soda Springs, and Fort Grisley P Boondock, the base of the 198th Cavalry!

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Carl Robert Fallberg was born on 11th September 1915 in Cleveland, Tennessee and died on 9th May 9, 1996 in Glendale, California. He was by profession an extremely prolific writer and cartoonist, and is best known for his work on animated feature films, TV cartoons, and comic books for:

• Disney Studios: He began working for Disney in 1935. His work included being assistant director and storyman for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, and Bambi. He also worked on many of Disney's comic books, often in collaboration with Paul Murray.
• Hanna-Barbera: Between 1972 and 1981, he was the storyman and story editor for numerous TV cartoons – including Scooby-Doo – as well as being a writer for The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and The Jetsons comic books.
• Warner Brothers: From 1953 until the early 1970s, he wrote stories and acted a story director for many Warner Brothers cartoons, including of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Speedy Gonzales.
• MGM: He wrote comic books that featured The Addams Family, Tom & Jerry, and Droopy.

He also authored comic books for United Productions of America, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Walter Lantz Productions, Dell Comics, Western Publishing, and Gold Key Comics.

Making progress ... but not quite in the direction I expected

I recently wrote about my experiments with various terrain-drawing programs. One of my regular blog readers (Mike C) suggested that I look at the Memoir '44 scenario map editor ... and I tried to, but discovered that it seems to have been withdrawn by the publishers, Days of Wonder.

In the conclusion of my earlier blog post, I outlined the three options I had:

1. Carry on using Hexographer ... and working as best I can with the screen size problem.
2. Wait until HexDraw2 become available.
3. Draw my own hex grids and individual tiles using MS Paint and accept the inevitable delay that this will cause.

Well, I have tried using Hexographer but I am finding the screen size problem just too much of a strain on my eyes. At present, there seems to be no published release date for HexDraw2, and I could easily have to wait for months (if not years) before it becomes available. I am therefore left with the third option ... to draw my own hex grids and individual tiles using MS Paint.

I've done this in the past, and I used my home-drawn hexes in my book, A WINTER-ISH WAR.

I thought that I had lost my original drawings when I had a computer memory failure a couple of years ago, but I found that I had saved a copy of them on a memory stick and I now have a starting point from which I can work.

The Colony/Fiji-class and Minotaur/Swiftsure/Tiger-class light cruisers

After the First World War, the Royal Navy had a large number of light cruisers, many of which were obsolete and/or worn-out. Many were scrapped under the terms of the Washington and London Naval Treaties and new designs were built, starting with the Leander-class and Modified Leander-class (AKA Amphion/Perth-class). These were followed by the smaller Arethusa-class light cruisers, which retained the twin 6-inch turrets of the Leanders.

HMS Orion, a Leander-class light cruiser.

HMAS Perth (ex-HMS Amphion), an Amphion-class light cruiser.

HMS Arethusa, an Arethusa-class light cruiser. She looks like a cut-down version of the Amphion-class light cruisers

The next design to come into service was the Town-class light cruisers, which were armed with BL 6-inch Mk XXIII guns in triple turrets. This gave them 150% more firepower without the ships needing to be proportionally heavier. (The first group of Towns had a displacement of 11,540 tons whilst the Leanders weighed in at 9,740 tons ... an increase of 1,800 tons or 18%.)

HMS Southampton, the lead ship of the Town-class of light cruisers.

The Town-class was a very successful design and was followed by a slightly more compact version that was closer in size to the Leander-class. The were known as the Colony or Fiji-class, and eleven ships were built in two groups:

HMS Fiji, the lead ship of the Colony/Fiji-class of light cruisers.

• Fiji group: HMS Fiji (Sunk), HMS Nigeria (Sold to India and renamed INS Mysore), HMS Mauritius, HMS Kenya, HMS Trinidad (Sunk), HMS Jamaica, HMS Gambia (Later HMNZS Gambia), and HMS Bermuda.
• Ceylon group: HMS Ceylon (Sold to Peru and renamed BAP Coronel Bolognesi), HMS Uganda (Later HMCS Uganda), and HMS Newfoundland (Sold to Peru and renamed BAP Almirante Grau).

The class's characteristics were:

• Displacement: 10,450 tons (full load)
• Dimensions:
• Length: 555ft 6in (169.32m)
• Beam: 62ft (19m)
• Draught: 16ft 6in (5.03m)
• Propulsion: 4 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers providing steam to 4 x geared steam turbines, each driving a propeller
• Speed: 31.5 knots
• Range: 10,100 nautical miles at 12 knots
• Complement: 920
• Armament:
• Fiji group: 4 x triple BL 6-inch (152mm) Mark XXIII guns in Mark XXI mountings; 4 x twin QF 4-inch (102mm) Mark XVI guns in Mark XIX mountings; 2 x 4 QF 2-pounder (40mm) Mark VIII anti-aircraft guns in Mark VII mountings; 2 × triple 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes (Four ships of this class [HMS Bermuda, HMS Jamaica, HMS Mauritius and HMS Kenya] later had one of the triple 6-inch turrets removed and replaced by a 1 x 4 QF 2-pounder anti-aircraft gun.)
• Ceylon group: 3 x triple BL 6-inch (152mm) Mark XXIII guns in Mark XXI mountings; 4 x twin QF 4-inch (102mm) Mark XVI guns in Mark XIX mountings; 3 x 4 QF 2-pounder (40mm) Mark VIII anti-aircraft guns in Mark VII mountings; 2 × triple 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes
• Armour: Belt: 3.5-inch to 3.25-inch (89mm to 83mm); Deck: 2-inch (51mm); Bulkheads: 2-inch to 1.5-inch (51mm to 38mm); Turrets: 2-inches to 1-inch (51mm to 25mm)
• Aircraft: 2 x Supermarine Walrus amphibious aircraft (Never fitted in HMS Fiji or HMS Kenya; removed from all surviving ships by 1944)

The Colony/Fiji-class proved to be very successful design, and the next class that was built was a modified version of it. It was named the Minotaur-class, and it was originally planned to build nine ships. However, in the end only three were build to the original design, three were cancelled and never built, and three were completed to a very heavily modified design ... the Tiger-class.

The three ships that were built to the original design were HMS Minotaur (which later became HMCS Ontario), HMS Swiftsure (which became the name-ship of the class after HMS Minotaur was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy), and HMS Superb.

HMS Swiftsure of the Minotaur/Swiftsure-class light cruisers.

The class's characteristics were:

• Displacement: 11,130 tons to 11,560 tons* (full load)
• Dimensions:
• Length: 555ft 6in (169.32m)
• Beam: 63ft to 64ft* (19m to 20m*)
• Draught: 17ft 3in (5.26m)
• Propulsion: 4 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers providing steam to 4 x Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving a propeller
• Speed: 31.5 knots
• Range: 8,000 nautical miles at 16 knots
• Complement: 867
• Armament: 3 x triple BL 6-inch (152mm) Mark XXIII guns in Mark XXI mountings; 5 x twin QF 4-inch (102mm) Mark XVI guns; 4 x 4 QF 2-pounder (40mm) Mark VIII anti-aircraft guns; 5 x single 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns; 2 × triple 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes
• Armour: Belt: 3.5-inch to 3.25-inch (89mm to 83mm); Deck: 2-inch (51mm); Bulkheads: 2-inch to 1.5-inch (51mm to 38mm); Turrets: 2-inches to 1-inch (51mm to 25mm)

(All characteristics with an asterix (*) refers to HMS Superb.)

The three suspended Minotaur-class ships were left incomplete until 1954. It was then decided to complete them to a heavily modified design that incorporated new weapons. The ships were HMS Tiger (ex-HMS Bellerophon), HMS Lion (ex-HMS Defence), and HMS Blake (ex-HMS Tiger, ex-HMS Blake).

They came into service between March 1959 and March 1961, and the last (HMS Blake) remained in service until December 1979. During that period HMS Tiger and HMS Blake were rebuilt as helicopter/command cruisers, and enabled the Royal Navy to maintain large, aircraft-carrying warships in service in the period between the scrapping of HMS Ark Royal (the last of the post World War Two aircraft carriers) and the commissioning of the Invincible-class light aircraft carriers.

HMS Tiger as built.

HMS Tiger after her conversion into a helicopter/command cruiser.

The class's characteristics were:

• Displacement: 11,700 tons (full load) (12,080 tons after conversion)
• Dimensions:
• Length: 555ft 6in (169.32m)
• Beam: 64ft (20m)
• Draught: 23ft (7m)
• Propulsion: 4 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers providing steam to 4 x geared steam turbines, each driving a propeller
• Speed: 31.5 knots
• Range: 8,000 nautical miles at 16 knots
• Complement: 716 (855 after conversion)
• Sensors & processing systems (after conversion): Type 965 air-surveillance radar; Type 992Q target-indication radar; Type 903 gunfire-control radars; Type 904 Sea Cat fire-control radars
• Armament:
• Before conversion: 2 x twin 6-inch (152mm) Mark N5 guns; 3 x twin 3-inch (76mm) Mark N1 guns
• After conversion: 1 x twin 6-inch (152mm) Mark N5 guns; 1 x twin 3-inch (76mm) Mark N1 guns; 2 x quadruple Sea Cat GWS-20 surface-to-air missile launchers
• Armour: Belt: 3.5-inch to 3.25-inch (89mm to 83mm); Deck: 2-inch (51mm); Bulkheads: 2-inch to 1.5-inch (51mm to 38mm); Turrets: 2-inches to 1-inch (51mm to 25mm)
• Aircraft (after conversion): 4 x Westland Wessex helicopters; later replaced by 4 x Westland Seaking helicopters

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The Triang Minic range of 1:1200th-scale model ships included the HMS Swiftsure and HMS Superb ... and they could easily be used to represent the Ceylon-group ships and the four modified Fiji-group ships of the of the Colony/Fiji-class.

The Timeless Traveller: This week’s update

This session was expected to be the last … but it wasn't!

As Nordian and his two guards arrived in the main hall, the group noticed that the conjoined Munch (the Songweaver) and Hooded man had begun to act differently now that the amulet had been removed from the Hooded Man’s chest. The group investigated the amulet and discovered that the Hooded Men had a weakness in the presence of radium.

Vale (the Shepherd) communicated subconsciously with the conjoined Munch and Hooded Man and tried to calm the Hooded Man … and Vale’s mind was filled with images of a small house near a stream in a forest. A woman was standing outside the house and smiling at a man who was walking towards her … and then the house and woman was consumed in a fire! The man’s mind descended into darkness, and the image of a ceremony being conducted by the High Priestess replaced that of the burning house and woman. In response to a screamed order from the Priestess, everyone present ripped open their chest and plunged an amulet into the hole … and each of them suddenly felt that they were being granted access to an omnipotent power.

Vale 'sees' the conjoined Hooded Man's memories,.

With this new knowledge, the group decided that they could use their newly-acquired amulet to ambush the High Priestess.

Nordian ordered his men and the servants to assist the people who had been injured during the fighting and to take the worst casualties to the infirmary. He then addressed the group and stressed the fact that the Hooded Men needed to be herded together and eliminated.

In reply, Callistra (the Hunter) told Nordian what had happened and that the group intended to go to the ship’s garden to investigate the tree and the statue, and especially the relationship between the servants and the tree. Nordian then told everyone that the servants were magically linked to the ship via the tree.

Callistra then asked if it was possible for the captain to change the ship’s course so that it would avoid the position of the sunken temple. Nordian agreed that this could be done and sent a loyal guard up to the deck to ask the captain to turn the ship to starboard.

Bumble (the Stormshifter) also agreed to go up on deck – just in case – and after hugging Elandra, he turned into a bee and flew up to the open deck area. As he did this, the rest of the group used the portal to go to the ship’s garden.

Once on deck, Bumble settled near the captain and watched him very reluctantly change the ship’s course in compliance with the message from Nordian that was brought to him by the guard.

When they arrived in the ship’s garden, the group found the tree in the centre of the garden surrounded by small points of light that were flying around it, and close by they could see the statue of the female version of Herne the Hunter.

The wisp tree and the statue of the female version of Herne the Hunter in the ship's garden,.

Using his ability to communicate subconsciously, Vale attempted to influence the conjoined Hooded Man to listen to Munch. He also challenged the conjoined Hooded Man’s belief in the High Priestess … and was met with an admission that his life was no better as an acolyte than he had been before he had become one. To calm and reassure him, Munch agreed to protect him as best he could.

It was generally agreed that the tree had holy magical power, and Johnny-Baptiste (the Cheat) detected that its power could be channelled for good or evil … and that it was currently being used as a conduit for an external power.

Callistra prayed to female statue of Herne the Hunter … and immediately recognised the tree as being a wisp tree, which was the parent of all the spirits of the woods, and was currently being used to create the ship’s servants. As she communicated this to the rest of the group, the ship suddenly lurched!

Watched by Bumble in his bee form, the ship's captain is confronted by the High Priestess and several Hooded Men, two of whom have dragged the dwarf on deck.

On deck, two Hooded Men had appeared through the portal, dragging the dwarf, between them. As they did so, two further Hooded Men appeared next to the captain. Sensing that matters were rapidly developing, Bumble changed back into human form and attempted to turn the ship, causing it to lurch violently. A Hooded Man had tried to prevent Bumble from turning the ship whilst the two with the dwarf attempted force an amulet onto his chest.

This had the immediate effect of causing the High Priestess to appear. As she moved towards the centre of the deck, she began shouting ‘Come forward the willing!’ … and some of the Hooded Men immediately began to self-immolate using the fake dagger.

The group used the portal to go to the open deck, and Ragnar (the Berserker) immediately went berserk and began attacking one of the Hooded Men near the High Priestess. As he did this, Vale cast a spell to protect Callistra as the latter moved towards the High Priestess. Callistra attempted to use her ability to entice the High Priestess, but this proved ineffective and the High Priestess moved towards Vale.

Whilst Ragnar charged forward to attack the Hooded Men surrounding the High Priestess, several tried to immolate themselves, including one who exploded.

The conjoined Hooded Man and Munch teleported to a lantern near to the captain and Bumble to assist them. He cast a spell on the Hooded Man who was next to the captain … but it rebounded and turned the conjoined pair into a squirrel who was obsessed with finding acorns!

Whilst the confused fighting continued, the conjoined Munch and Hooded Man – in squirrel form – found a barrel of acorns,.

Callistra used her ‘hunter’s mark’ on the Hooded Man that Ragnar had wounded. She then killed one of the Hooded Men and attempted to use her ‘hunter’s mark’ on the High Priestess.

Johnny-Baptiste saw an opportunity to get above the fighting by climbing a mast and standing in one of the fighting tops. He threw his knife at the High Priestess and the Hooded Man standing next to her … and missed!

Johnny-Baptiste attempts to throw her knife at the High Priestess from his position in one of the ship's fighting tops,.

Bumble also joined in the attempts to kill the High Priestess. He used a lightning spell to attack her … and succeeded in wounding her! He then resumed his bear form.

The High Priestess suddenly disappeared, although her voice could still be heard cursing everyone around her. Meanwhile, the conjoined Hooded Man and Munch – still in squirrel form – found a barrel full of nuts on deck and jumped into it … and then changed back into their original form, causing the barrel to explode!

The fighting on deck became very confusing. Johnny-Baptiste jumped down from the fighting top to join in … but ended up falling into a hole in the deck; Callistra used her ‘hunter’s mark’ on yet another Hooded Man and wounded him; Ragnar cut a Hooded Man in two with his battle axe; Vale’s dog attacked yet another Hooded Man and wounded him before healing some of Callistra’s wounds; and Bumble attacked a Hooded Man next to the captain before touching the ship’s controls and turning it.

As this was happening, a Hooded Man who was not involved in the fighting began praying and gesticulating.

The confused fighting continued. A Hooded Man tried to attack Johnny-Baptiste, but Callistra interceded and prevent Johnny-Baptiste from being injured. However, the Hooded Man then self-immolated himself and exploded, wounding Callistra, Johnny-Baptiste, Ragnar, and Vale in the process. At the same time, another Hooded Man stabbed himself and died … but without exploding.

A book then suddenly appeared on deck, and the High Priestess’s voice could be heard laughing. This encouraged a Hooded Man to attack the ship’s captain and changed the ship’s course, but Bumble tried to stop him and was wounded in the process.

The High Priestess’s voice became louder and the curses more vehement …

Although the High Priestess was no longer visible, her voice could be heard cursing everyone who was trying to interfere with her ritual,.

... and suddenly Vale was transported to the side of the ship and left hanging over the open sea! A massive fireball then hit the deck, seriously wounded Callistra and Ragnar, and set the ship on fire.

Vale was left dangling over the side of the burning ship.

Realising that the High Priestess was going to be victorious, Munch took a potion he had acquired from Umber from his coat and drank it … and suddenly everyone returned to the positions they were in when the group had arrived on deck some time before.

When Munch drank the time-shifting potion he had obtained from Umber, time fractured and everyone returned to the positions they were in when the group first emerged on deck,.

Yet again, time had been turned back!

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It looks as if the group of intrepid adventurers and going to have yet another chance to destroy the High Priestess and her acolytes, the Hooded Men!

A glorious gift!

One of the people I met as a result of joining the Dice on the Hill games group at Shrewsbury House Community Centre was Richard Watson. He has been one of the duty managers of the community centre for some years and is both a wargamer and a model railway enthusiast. We have chatted about both hobbies and last year we managed to fight three wargames:

• Spartans vs. Athenians (March 2025)
• The Battle of the Falkland Islands (November 2025)
• The Battle of Scrobbesburh (December 2025)

Richard knows that I am particularly interested in 009/HO9 model railways and that I have a small layout ... the Mucking Flats & Fobbing Marsh Light Railway (MF&FMLR).

My Mucking Flats & Fobbing Marsh Light Railway (MF&FMLR) model railway layout.

Richard has been unwell for some time, and it was a great pleasure to see him at Shrewsbury House last week ... and not just because he had a bag full of bits and pieces for me!

Whilst he was off work, he had been having a bit of a clear out, and had selected some of his surplus 009/HO9 model railway locomotives and rolling stock that he thought that I would find useful. He was right ... and I am now the proud possessor of the following:

Two Liliput/Bachmann Fasslwagen Zillertalbahn (Barrel wagon, Zillertal Railway)

A Liliput/Bachmann Aussichtswagen Museumwagen (Observation carriage/museum carriage)

A Liliput/Bachmann Personnelwagen 2.Klasse (Second-class passenger carriage)

Two Playcraft open-sided passenger carriages (that were known as 'toast racks')

Four Minitrains dumper wagons

A Minitrains Diesel 0-4-0 Locomotive

A Liliput 0-4-0 Diesellokomotive Zillertalbahn (Diesel locomotive, Zillertal Railway)

A Minitrains 0-4-0 Fiddletown & Copperopolis tender locomotive with four different carriages plus

A Minitrains Fiddletown & Copperopolis baggage wagon

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The Fiddletown & Copperopolis railway was the fictional creation of cartoonist Carl Falberg. A compilation of his Fiddletown & Copperopolis cartoons was published as Fiddletown and Copperopolis - The life and times of an uncommon carrier in 1960, the cartoons having orignially appeared in issues of the RAILROAD magazine. The book was republished in 1985, 1998, 2003, and 2012.