Scenario and Tabletop Scenery for Raid on the Sher-Li Temple or: The Fort of Jewel-Eye

At the mouth of the Tinkiwinkidipsilalapo river lies an ancient temple with a large elephant idol of wicker and wood sheathed in thin copper, whose enormous ruby eyes have gazed over the coastal savannah for hundreds of years. The region has stabilized under British occupation, and since the Governor built a small fort near the temple site, the natives' confidence has been restored sufficiently that they have brought the giant rubies out of hiding and replaced them in the elephant's eyes. The low palisaded installation manned by a small garrison of Punjabi sepoys under British command is known in the native language as Tanxtu Bran-di, which translates (wait for it...) "The Fort of Jewel Eye."

Near the temple is the mission station of Sister Clarissa, "the six-gun nun" from Arizona, a former sharpshooter for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show who now operates a school for the native children. Sister Clarissa is an American national heroine. For the last month, Priscilla, the daughter of the British Governor has been staying at the mission school while her father has been on a diplomatic journey to Inakan.

Lately, the junks of the Skumzzolean pirates have been making raids along the coast. The pirates are now using modern weaponry in addition to their usual flintlocks. No-one knows who is supplying these weapons, but the guns have names like Mauser, Mannlicher and Krupp.

The tabletop is 4 x 6.5 feet (1.2 x 2 meters). There are four large hills and numerous minor hills. The river runs along the north side. The sea is along the eastern and part of the southern end. Mountains lie along the western edge. There is a native village near the center, a small town with a harbor to the south, and a bay for the pirate junks in the east. A road runs from north to south. Numerous forests and groves restrict visibility. Grid squares are approximately one foot (30.5 cm)

The Forces and Starting Locations

The Sher Natives and the Sepoy Garrison 5 Native rifles and 5 Native spearmen at the Temple (treat Natives as Dervish). 5 Native rifles and 5 Native spearmen at the Village Mgumbi, native hero (+1 in melee) at the Village 10 Punjabi sepoys (treat as Egyptians) at the Fort Captain Alfred Hyde-Davis, conferring with American officer in front of temple defenses. 1 small Fieldgun with 2 Punjabi artillerists (maximum firing dice = 4) at Fort 6 Native civilians (women and children) at Village (2 per hut) 2 cows, 3 goats, 4 pigs at Village.

The British Governor and Gunboat 1 unit (20 men) British Regulars, (including Lieutenant and Sergeant) onshore within 6" of gunboat. 10 Royal Marines (incl. Lieutenant and Sergeant) on board gunboat (must stay until signalled) 1 Heliograph Team (2 men) with Regulars 1 small Fieldgun with 2 artillerists (maximum firing dice = 4) behind Regulars. Captain and 4 sailors on gunboat 1 gun on gunboat plus gun crew of 2 figures representing 4 figures. The Governor (has revolver) at head of Regulars.

The Americans Motor Truck with work crew (4 sailors) One unit (20 men) armed Sailors (treat as Egyptians) 6 Marines (treat as British) including Sergeant One unit (20 men) native Auxiliaries (treat as Egyptians) Machinegun with 2 crewmen (maximum firing dice = 4) All the above in any order starting on the road near western point of the mission's hill. Capt. 'Biff' Plotz, USMC, conferring with Sepoy officer in front of temple defenses. Captain, First Mate, two gun crews and 4-figure sailing crew on warship (cannot leave ship)

The Mission Civilian rifles (4 figures) - move and shoot as Egyptian Carbines. Close Combat: 0 at wall, -1 otherwise. Sister Clarissa - armed with revolver. Two shots at picked targets per turn. +2 to hit spread. Close combat as above. Mother Superior - armed with axe. Close combat +1 at wall, 0 otherwise. Priscilla and 4 native children inside mission building. - Armed figures can be anywhere within mission walls.

The Pirates Hoo Flung Dung, ship's officer, and 4-man sailing crew, on the junk. 1 Muzzleloading cannon, plus crew (2 figures for 4) on the junk. 1 Quickfiring gun plus crew (2 figures for 4), on the junk. 1 unit Pirate rifles (20 men including officer & sergeant) (Treat pirates as Dervishes) 1 unit Pirate swordsmen (20 men w/officer & sergeant) Start within 3" of shore at the junk. Junk Sank Sosumi , ship's officer, and 4-man sailing crew, on the junk 2 Muzzleloading cannon, plus crews (2 figures for 4 each), on the junk. 2 units Pirate pistoleers (20 men each, incl. leader & sergeant). Start within 3" of shore at the junk.

The Germans Airship with Captain and Crew (cannot fire or fight) Herr Major Rittmeister Manfred von Strickland - fires as MG with 4 dice, 8" range. +2 in close combat. 10 Luftkommandoes incl. Lieutenant and Sergeant (treat as British)

Victory Points
The victory point schedule is not intended to be numerically comparative (i.e. British points vs. American points), but instead is a way for each player to prioritize his objectives and measure his success. If there is a clear winner, everyone will know who it is, if not, the result is like real life, a muddied outcome from which one pulls what consolation one can from what one did achieve.
- Note that the Pirates are actually a combined Pirate/German team. Since the airship is intended as a surprise to the British and American players, mention of the Germans cannot be made in the Victory Points section.

British Save the Idol; 25 Save Jewels: 15 points each Save Priscilla: 35 Each Pirate killed: 1 Pirate Junk sunk or captured: 10 Pirate Chief killed or surrenders: 15 Governor killed or captured: minus 25 Sister Clarissa killed: minus 10 Village Burned (two huts): Minus 10 Each native captured by Pirates - minus 2

Pirates Each jewel: 25 (60 for both) Priscilla captured: 30 Mission loot: 5 points per piece Each native captured: 5 Each cow: 2 Each goat or pig: 1 Junk sunk or captured: minus 30 Pirate chief killed or surrenders: minus 30 Each Village hut burned: 5 Mission burned: 5 Over 50% casualties: minus 10

Sister Clarissa Priscilla alive and returned to British: 25 Priscilla alive but in hands of Americans: 0 Priscilla killed: minus 25 Priscilla captured by pirates: minus 15 Each child captured or killed: minus 10 Mission looted: minus 5 for each item Mission burned: minus 10 Note: Sister Clarissa will die fighting rather than abandon the mission. She will fight even Americans or British who try to remove her.

Americans Idol body taken to ship: 30 Each jewel taken to ship: 15 Sister Clarissa saved by Americans 20 Sister Clarissa killed: minus 25 Mission burned: minus 15 Jewel(s) taken by Pirates: minus 25

Movement/Firing Cards
Since there are multiple sides in the game, a special deck is made up with the following cards:
British Troops - British Gunboat - Sepoys - Natives - American Troops - American warship - Hoo's pirates - Hoo's junk - Junk Sank's pirates - Junk Sank's junk - Mission Defenders. Two more cards - German troops and German Airship - are prepared in advance but inserted in the deck only after the airship makes an appearance.
- To save time, keep turning cards for simultaneous movement/fire until someone objects to a card.
Example: First card is Sepoys, next card is British Gunboat, next card is Natives (none of these players objects if the others move at the same time). Next card is Hoo's Pirates, however, and one side or the other is bound to want Hoo to wait until after the others finish, unless his pirates are so far distant that their movement doesn't affect the decisions of the others and vice versa. If you get some obsessive who objects if his allies move at the same time he does, because it might mitigate the effect of his own finely plotted strategy, chuck him out the window.

Note: even though the players are moving at the same time, no actions can be taken which violate the order the cards were turned up in. For example, if the pirates' card is turned first, and then the junk's card, the figures may board and the junk then may sail away; but if the junk's card is turned first, the pirate figures are stuck on shore if the junk movement is to sail away.

Figures
Pirates - Pirates are equivalent to Dervish figures. Pistol-armed pirates must use pistols as short-range rifles (8" range) in regular fire (i.e. they may not pick targets as can pistol-armed officers), and can also fire pistols just before closing to combat, as per spears in the standard rules. All pirate chiefs and unit officers have German-supplied autopistols (equivalent to revolvers - i.e. they get two shots and can pick their targets).

Field Guns - The British and sepoy field guns are small caliber weapons. They have two-man crews and fire with four dice (maximum).

Heliograph Crew - As soon as the Governor has seen the situation, he dispatches the two-figure heliograph crew to the top of either hill that flanks the pass. They flash a message to the gunboat during the shooting phase of the turn they arrive. On the next movement phase, the boat may offload the marines and/or begin to move (depending on the order of the cards).

Native Civilians and Mission Children - These are unarmed and cannot fight or shoot. They move at 2D6 or at the same speed as any armed figure in contact with them.

Terrain
Gentle Hills (3/8"-9mm cork) - These represent gentle undulations of the ground. They cause no move penalty. They provide Class III cover to figures on the ground behind them, unless the firing figure is on a hill. Figures on a gentle hill get no cover bonus.

Steep Hills (3/4"-18mm styrofoam) - A figure changing levels loses its highest movement die; a single level blocks line of sight. Figures may not go up a sheer two-level climb.

Woods (including Palm Groves)- A figure in woods loses its highest movement die. Woods provide Class III cover. Figures at edge may fire and be fired upon, but woods block visibility beyond. Range is reduced to 4" for shots within the woods.

Palisade (at Fort and Village) - Provides Class III cover, unless firing figure is touching palisade. One man unopposed can wiggle through palisade in one full turn, but palisade is still intact. Two men working one turn unopposed can break down one section of palisade.

Chaveau de Frise (military obstacle in front of temple) - Takes one full turn to cross. Increase cover by one class for troops behind and touching (max. = 3).

Road - Normal TSATF road rates.

Low Stone Walls (at Mission) - Class IV cover to troops behind and touching. An unopposed crossing (no unoccupied hostile figure within one inch) costs high die. If crossing is opposed, figure must stop at wall, may cross over if defender is killed.

Ships
General Movement - To reach a full speed, ships must progress through slow and medium speeds in turn, but may go directly from a higher to any lower speed or stop. If the speed includes a standard move and a die roll bonus (e.g. 6"+1D6"), the ship must take the full standard move and may take any part of the bonus. A ship may make a turn of up to 45 degrees at end of move. A junk which gets entirely off the table is assumed to be "at sea" where the British and American ships will not follow.

A ship may sail at full movement for its speed if it has at least one officer (Captain, mate, or pirate chief) and 3 sailing crew. If it has no officer or fewer crew, the movement for its speed is cut in half. If it has no sailing crew, it must stop. Sailing crew are key figures. Any pirate, sailor, or marine figure may serve as sailing crew, but may not fire weapons while doing so.

Boarding and offloading - Shallow-draft vessels (junks and gunboat) may board or offload figures when within 1.5" (3.8 cm) of shore. A figure on a ship takes a full move to get on shore, then may move normally. A figure onshore stops at the shoreline. Next move it can appear anywhere on the ship. This applies to docked steam vessels as well as junks. All boarding and offloading occurs on a troop (not ship) movement card.

Gunners on Ships - Guns on ships have normal four-man (8-dice firing capacity) crews, represented by two figures because of space limitations. Put marker under crew figures' base. For first two casualties, remove markers. One junk has two muzzleloaders in the waist; the other has one muzzleloader in waist (which may change sides) and one quickfirer on quarter deck. Muzzleloaders fire one turn, load the next; quickfirer fires normally. Muzzleloaders may shift from one side of the junk to the other on a loading turn. The quickfirer is on a swivel mount in the middle of the quarterdeck and can fire to either side (up to 45 degrees forward) or to the rear.

For pirate muzzleloading cannon only - on a firing roll of 20, roll 1D6 for explosion. On a 6, the gun's breech bursts. All figures in a 2" radius must draw a card; they die on any red card. Draw two cards for the ship; any red card indicates one critical damage (see below).

Critical Damage - Ships can be damaged only by cannon or artillery (not small arms or machineguns).
Resolve the shot normally; if one or more of the indicated cards is turned, that shot has damaged the ship once.

Junk	damaged on kings or aces, sunk on ace of spades
Wooden Gunboat	damaged on kings or aces, sunk on black aces.
Ironclad Warship	damaged on black aces.

When a ship is damaged, its speed is cut in half. On second damage it is on fire and drifting. On third damage, it sinks.
Up to four crewmen per turn may try to repair damage in their movement phase. Any pirate, sailor, marine, or gun crewman may do repair work. Roll the number of repair crewmen or lower on 1D6, and one level of damage is fixed. Crewmen repairing damage may not fight or fire weapons that turn, or count as sailing crew.

Drifting - A drifting ship rolls 2D6. If doubles, the ship stays in place. Otherwise, the left die is direction (starting clockwise from bow), the right die is distance in half-inches (the ship remains facing in the original direction). If a ship drifts onshore, it is permanently grounded.

The Gunboat - The gunboat may not move or disembark marines until it receives a heliograph signal or message by messenger.

Slow Speed = 1D6"

Medium Speed = 6"+1D6"

Full Speed = 9"+1D6"

- Figures on board are Class III targets. The gunboat may come right up to shore and land or take on figures.

The Ironclad Warship - Figures aboard include a Captain, First Mate, 4 crew figures, and two gun crews (4 figures representing 8 figures).
- The ship is docked and undergoing light repairs. Roll for repairs (1D6) each turn: a roll of 5 or 6 completes repairs; a second roll of 5 or 6 gets steam up for operation. Ship may not move or rotate turrets until steam is up. Even then, the warship is not functioning at full effectiveness, since much of the crew is ashore in the landing party.

Slow Speed = 1D6"

Medium Speed = 6"+1D6"

Full Speed = 9"+1D6"

- The warship is a deep draft vessel and must stay 1.5" (3.8 cm) offshore. It may not take on or offload figures except at docks.
- Figures on board are hit only by a firing roll of 1.

The Junks - Each junk has two 20 man units (which start 3" in from the shoreline). Onboard each junk are the Pirate Chieftan, ship's officer, 4 sailing crewmen, two gun crews (each 2 figures serving for 4). To sail at full speed, a junk must have at least 3 sailing crew; with two or less, the junk sails at half-speed. Any pirate figure can serve as sailing crewman, as long as he is doing nothing else that turn.

Slow Speed = 1D6"

Medium Speed = 2D6"

Full Speed = 6":+2D6"

- Figures on board are Class III targets.
- Junks may come right up to shore and land or take on figures.

The Airship
Entrance - The pirate chiefs will signal the airship with fireworks as soon as it is clear the pirate attack can go no farther. At least one pirate unit must be in retreat before the airship is signaled. The extra cards are put in the deck, and the airship comes around the mountain on the south side at 2D6" movement rate when its card comes up on the next turn. The Junk Sank player plays the airship and Manfred, while the Hoo player plays the rest of the German landing party.

Movement - 1D6 first move from a stop. 3D6 thereafter. May make a turn of up to 45 degrees at end of move. May stop at any point along its flight path. It may stop (hover in place) instead of moving.

Personnel - The airship carries a flight crew and ten marines plus Major von Strickland.

Shooting from the Airship - Five figures per side may fire from the gondolas. They cannot hit targets in woods or groves. Targets on the ground are one Target Class lower (minimum = 1) when fired at from airship. If the airship has already been the target of any sort of fire, roll 1D20 for every turn the Germans fire from the airship; a 1 will explode the airship (muzzle flashes ignite leaking hydrogen).

Shooting at the Airship - No-one may shoot at the airship until it opens hostilities by firing or dropping troops.
- Ranges: Rifles may fire at at the airship. Because fieldpieces do not have sufficient elevation for nearby aerial targets, field pieces may fire only if the range is between 18" and 30" (14" and 20" for machineguns).
- Marines are Class IV targets while in the airship. Flight crew is unaffected for game purposes.
- Rifle or machinegun hits: For any roll of 1, pull a card for the airship itself. An ace of clubs damages the engine (half speed), an ace of spades explodes the airship.
- Fieldpiece hits: For any roll of 1, draw a card for the airship itself. Any ace will explode the airship.

Landing troops - The airship lands troops by dropping lines overboard. Troops land and pick up on the 'German Troops' movement card, not the 'Airship' card. They take a turn to get to the ground, and may fire during the fire phase of that turn. To be picked up, move to the lines (directly under the airship's front gondola) and stop. On their next move they are hauled up into the airship. Troops in the airship fire and are targeted separately from troops on the ground.

Morale and Airship. - Whenever the airship passes over a unit, the unit must check morale on 1D6. The effects are the same as for critical morale.

AIRSHIP MORALE 1D6	TO PASS With Leader	TO PASS No Leader
British, American	1-5	1-4
Sepoys, Auxiliaries Pirates, Civilians	1-4	1-3
Natives	1-2	1

The Motor Truck
- 3D6 on road, 1D6 off road, may not move through woods, groves or up steep hills except at roads. Moves on the American troop movement card.
- The truck is targeted separately from any unit. It carries the work-crew (4 figures), who are all key figures. A black ace will damage the truck from small-arms fire, or any ace from artillery fire.
- The truck may not be targeted if there are American troops between it and the firing unit.
- Only original work-crewmen may attempt to repair damage to the truck. Roll the number of crewmen or less on 1D6. Roll before movement.
- If all original crewmen are dead, any soldier may drive the truck at half speed.

Mission
- Figures behind Mission walls or on roof are Target class IV. Children in mission building cannot be harmed by shooting from outside.
- Gate is the same as the wall but anyone on the inside and unopposed may open it and pass through.
- Movement up stairs is at normal rate.
- To capture children, pirate figure moves into building and stops. Next turn he moves out with child in tow. If the capturing pirate comes into melee, the child can escape and move at 2D6.

Village and Fort
- Figures are target class III to shots crossing palisade, unless firing figures are touching the palisades.
- To capture Native civilians, pirate figure moves into hut and stops. Next turn he may move away with civilian in tow. If pirate is in melee, civilian can escape and move at 2D6.
- An unopposed man takes a full turn to wiggle through a palisade, but palisade is still intact. Two men working one turn unopposed can break down one section (1 inch/25mm) of palisade.
- Palisade gates are the same as palisades from outside, but anyone on the inside and unopposed may open it and pass through.

Temple
- Figures at palisade or in ruins are Target Class III.
- If the Sepoy commander orders the Natives out of the temple area, he makes a one-time roll on 1D6 to see if they comply. They follow orders on a 1-2, otherwise they stay and defend the idol against anyone who tries to enter the temple grounds, except Sepoys and British. They will also fight Sepoys or British if they attempt to take or damage the idol. The player must do his best to play the Native troops in the Natives' interest as they see it, not the interest of the British.

Doing Stuff
Prying out a jewel from the idol. - One man can pry at each jewel. Each attempt takes one turn. Roll 1D6: 4-6 is successful. A man with a jewel moves and fights as usual. If he is killed, any figure can pick up the jewel by moving to the dead figure and continuing his move normally.

Loading Idol onto Truck - It takes 4 men one turn touching the idol to put the idol onto the truck. They cannot be in melee, firing, or under fire.

Looting - Loot items consist of: Priscilla, Mission furniture pieces (5), Village animals, native civilians from Village and children from Mission. A pirate figure stops when reaching a loot item; he may move off at normal speed with the item on the next turn if not in contact with an armed enemy figure.

Burning - Pirates may attempt to fire buildings.
- Any Pirate who is touching the Mission building (not the low walls) or a Village hut at the end of the firing phase of a turn and is not shooting or in melee contact or carrying off loot, may roll 1D6 to fire the building. For each 1 rolled, place 1 fire marker on the building. Once a fire is started, occupants must evacuate the building and Pirates may not enter the building to get a captive or loot items.
- Thereafter, any Native, British, Sepoy, Mission Defender or American figure (not children or Native Civilians) who is in contact with the building during the Firing phase and is not shooting, or in melee, may attempt to fight the fire. For each building, match die rolls: the pirate player adds 1 to his roll for every fire marker already on the building; the firefighters add 1 for each figure fighting the fire. If the Pirate wins, one fire marker is added to the building. If the firefighters win, one fire marker is removed. If no figures are fighting the fire, one marker is added each turn. When a building has four fire markers, it is destroyed; when it has none, the fire is out.

David's Commentary on the Game

This scenario runs long because it is really two battles - the first is the battle of all against the Pirates; when that is over, the Americans and British/Natives fight a second battle, complicated by the appearance of the German airship. I tried to save time as much as possible by setting up the forces almost in contact at the start. The game could almost as well have been played just on the middle third of the table, with troops and ships coming in on die rolls. For quicker play, we used the "all wounded and melee losses are dead, dead, dead" variant, but the gamesmaster still must keep things rolling along at a good clip if the game is to finish in a reasonable time.

The scenario specifications given above have been modified from the ones we played in the game, for a number of reasons -

Being the designer of a complex scenario and also a player is always a problem. I warned Steve in advance that the main game was between the British and the Americans and we, the Pirates, were just complicating factors. We had little chance of winning our major objectives; our challenge was to see how many of the minor ones we could get away with. But we'd have the fun of making the others worry about the large number of pirate figures whose fighting abilities were unknown, and of the surprise appearance of the airship to create havoc. Since people tend to make unkind comments if the scenario-designer/gamesmaster's team starts winning, I erred on the side of making the Pirates/Germans, weak. Too weak, apparently. The game as played turned out to be a walkover for the British; they got every victory point possible. Since the junks sailed to escape the warships while the captured livestock was still ashore, the pirates got not so much as a pig loaded onto the junks. It hardly mattered anyway because they were sunk (partly because Charles rolled two sixes in a row for his repairs and got his warship out to sea on the second turn). The Germans were exterminated, and the Americans were held to victory points for saving Sister Clarissa only. Alan and Max will no doubt tell you it was superior generalship. Though it was well-played, I'm inclined to wonder if it might not have been a case of winning the game on the drawing board, since the British were convinced their position was hopeless and whined during the setup until the gamesmaster benevolently granted them field artillery. I should have exercised gamesmaster's prerogative and adjusted the number of the German landing party upwards from its pathetic six when I saw what they were going to be facing at the time of their appearance. In the scenario above it has been increased to ten, and they can now fire from the airship, though it might be wiser not to.

Since an all-infantry game IS a bit boring, I left the little field-guns in the scenario description above, but have strengthened the Pirate/German and American sides and weakened the B/S/N side in subtle ways. Now, the British regulars start further back and the Pirates a bit further in, for example. The airship has more troopers, and the Sepoy commander does not have perfect control over the natives. I gave the Americans a fully crewed machinegun instead of the two troopers with anachronistic BAR light machineguns that were used in the game to compensate for the Brit field guns (Charles did have the BAR figures already). The junction of the main road with the road to the temple should probably be moved six inches closer to the port town, so the American has a better chance of getting the truck out. I have also retroactively fiddled with the Victory Points to encourage proper action. An additional unit or two of pirates (including more rifles) might turn the pirates into a more credible threat, without making the pirate side too strong; unfortunately. this will increase playing time, already a problem. An alternative might be to leave the Pirates as specified, but make the American auxiliaries a half-unit instead of a full unit, and remove the Governor's field-gun.

In spite of the length and the scenario problems, the game was great chaotic fun.

Read David's lament on The Ghastly Complexity of it All

Tabletop, Scenery and Props

Hills, Ground and Trees - The ground is DuPont 'Hippo Hide' marine vinyl. Low hills are cork, and steep hills are styrofoam as described in the Ground and Hills page of the Scenery section. Trees are a mixture of palm trees as described in the Scenery section, veldt trees made from dried floral material, commercial model railroad trees from lichen, and anything else that came to hand. The roads are strips of gold-colored felt.

Water - Blue Clearphane-brand cellophane gift wrap forms the ocean, and green Clearphane is the river. It is cut to shape and placed over the vinyl. Remember to cut it so the edges curl down, not up (I forgot, and had to tack down some of the upcurling edges with double-stick tape).

The Ruined Temple was done quickly and effectively with parts from a set of Citadel Gothic Building ruins, which Alan had given David as a birthday present. Some of the more obvious gothic elements were cut away to give a less European look.

The Elephant Idol is a bronzed metal decorative miniature provided by Brandi Weed. Red rhinestones were put on the eyes with tacky putty.

The Native Village features buildings made from small straw hats with their brims cut off. These are sold at the craft store, presumably for dolls or teddy bears. The palisade is made from twigs glued to clear acetate bases, with a bit of greenery. Pots and dishes are mostly turned wood shapes from the craft store. The food on them is from a dollar-store bottle of "Pickling Spice". Drums are made from beads.

The Fort has a palisade of thick straws from the handle of a cheap decorator broom, available from the craft store. They are glued to acetate bases and connected with stained string. Tents are simple rectangles of brown wrapping paper, folded over.

The Town Buildings are made from foamcore as described in the Structures section.

The Junks are built of poster board, much like the dhows described in the Ships and Boats section. They have sails of posterboard, brown burlap, and bamboo shishkebab skewers. See the Far-Eastern Junks page for more details.

The Ironclad and Gunboat are described in the Ships and Boats section.

Fireworks are brightly colored small Koosh-type balls mounted on coathanger wire. The tips of the balls' spines are painted white. The wire is coated with glue and sprinkled with sand, then painted a yellow to white fade, and drybrushed white for a sparkly effect.

The Airship is made of three 20-ounce Shasta soft-drink bottles, with basswood ridges and balsa fins. Two one-liter bottles would have created a hull about the same length but slightly chubbier. The keel and gondolas are thin posterboard. Crew are 1:72 vinyl American Civil War figures. See the Airships page for more details.

The Pirates contain a few miscellaneous lead figures from the 'what do I do with these?' box, but most are made from the plastic pirate figures in Pressman's Weapons and Warriors Pirate Battle Set. Conversion details can be found here. Pressman's figures are an amazing $2 a unit of 20. For those who do not want to convert plastic figures, Foundry makes two packs of lovely Chinese Pirates in their Cutthroats line. You should be able to get enough for this scenario for just under $100US - hey, no pressure: your choice.

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