November 18, 2015

Casualty Markers for Black powder/Hail Caesar/Pike & Shotte

Over the last couple of months that ive been playing Pike & Shotte ive been using glass beads as my stamina markers Whilst this system works its a little clunky and means that every time you move the unit you have to move all the separate markers along with the unit.

I decided there had to be a better system.  Some people use dice, some people use dials, some use counters/ markers of one type or another. They all have there good and bad points. I decided i wanted something that was easy for both me and my opponent to look at and know how the unit was looking.

After a decent search on the internet i discovered a company called Counter Attack Bases.  They do a whole range of different items and one i found was a product called Fantasy Battle games Wound Post and Rings.  You get 10 wound posts and a bunch of rings - some white and some red for 9 Quid. The idea being that every time you take a wound you place a ring over the post. White for a single wound and red for 5 wounds. A simple system that looks ok on the table.  The shipping was a bit of a killer to NZ at 9 quid and is a bit of a rip when you consider the weight and size of the package but that's one of the crappy things about being a war gamer in a small country at the arse end of the world.  I have emailed them to see if the shipping charge was a mistake as the price on the envelope was only 3.30.  (Edit i received a reply a few days later and they refunded the difference in shipping -great customer service!!)

Anyways the product itself is great and im sure they will get back to me about the shipping price.

Onto the pictures!!!





There is a small amount of assembly required - a bit of PVA glue and some drying time and your done.

I wanted to make mine look a little better on the table so i based them in the same way im doing my models, i think they have turned out quite good.





Here's a final shot of a finished Wound post behind a stand of pike.


I think on the table they are going to work very well - ill find out tomorrow night when i have a game against Kevin's Scots.

There are a couple of additions im going to make. In the Black Powder series of games you need to be able to show not only the wounds a unit has taken but also when the unit is Shaken, Disordered and when a unit is Broken. I'm thinking a great way to do this is to introduce a few extra counter colours to the mix. Due to the type of plastic the counters are made of i doubt i can repaint some of the white ones so im thinking of looking around some $2 shops and seeing what counters and beads they have that might do the job (Although once i hear back about the shipping im going to inquire if the do some different colored rings). (Edit: unfortunately they cant get different coloured rings )

Anyways that's a long enough post for today.  No mater what game you play id be keen to hear of what type of wound markers you use in your games.

Overall these are a great product and i recommend them as something a little different from the dial based markers (which Counter Attack Bases also does).   Go check them out. Speedy service and great customer service. :)

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