Category Archives: Black Powder

How to Play: Black Powder 2nd Edition (Part 1: Introduction)

An Introduction to Black Powder

Black Powder is a game system produced by Warlord Games and written by Rick Priestley and Jervis Johnson. As the introduction to the rules says:

Black Powder is a game for militarily inclined gentlemen with straight backs, bristling beards and rheumy eyes that have seen a thing or two. If tales of battle and glory in days-gone-by stir nothing in your breast, if the roar of cannon does not quicken the pulse and set a fire in the belly, then stop reading forthwith. Ours is not an adventure to be embarked upon by the faint hearted. Put down this book and be glad that you have spared yourself the discomforting spectacle of grown men attempting to relive the great conflicts of history with armies of toy soldiers.

So heft your muskets and prepare for battle. The library or billiard room will serve as our battlefield, or else some similarly spacious and secluded refuge. Ensure that children are put to bed and lie safely beyond earshot. Secure the doors against the intrusion of womenfolk as yet unfamiliar with the conventions of war. Ready your armies for the long march to glory.

And finally, let us remember that the ideal accompaniment to the journey may be found in good brandy, fine cigars, and the companionship of like-minded enthusiasts.

Black Powder 2nd Edition (2019)

Black Powder covers the Horse and Musket period from 1701 (War of the Spanish Succession) to 1898 (Second Sudan War). Most commonly you’ll find players use the system to refight engagements from the Napoleonic Wars or the American Civil War.

I personally believe that Horse & Musket games come in one of two formats. Either simulation, where the rules will try and accurately represent a battle of that period in minutiae. Or in a more ‘Arcade’ format, where an approximation of the overall battle is given.

The game itself can be played at most miniature scales, with the smaller scales adding to the big battle feel of the game you’re playing.

Black Powder in 6mm – Image from Irregular Wars

Black Powder doesn’t have miniature removal and instead uses markers to show the status of units. Units are usually made up of 4 stands and these will be arranged to shoe what formation a unit is in. Units are usually at a battalion/squadron level, but you can use Units to represent larger formations such as Brigades.

So if this time period interests you and you have a specific war in mind, Black Powder may be the system for you.

To give you more of a taster, we’ve put together a number of articles covering the basics of a turn in Black Powder which, should give you a feel of how the game plays.

News – Final Weekend of 4 for 3 at Warlord Games

Warlord Games have entered the final weekend of their 4 boxes for the price of 3.

This covers many of their game systems, such as Bolt Action, Konflict 47′, Black Powder, Epic Battles, Hail Caesar and a lot more.

If you’re looking to get into and of these gaming system then this is definitely one way to do it that would save you a lot of money!

6mm Black Powder Gaming – Part 1

I have bought the new Epic Battles: Waterloo by Warlord Games and I’m slowly making my way through the painting much like Declan (when I’m not painting those pesky Kruleboyz). However, one thing I’ve noticed (as I’m sure many others have as well), is that the models are epic in scale but the basing and the rules are standard Black Powder. What I mean by this is that a standard unit in Epic:Waterloo is the same as a standard unit in regular Black Powder.

Credit: Yith’s Wagaming Blog – Check it out, its a fantastic read

This got me thinking to how you could have truly cinematic and epic battles in Black Powder by converting the inches to centimetres (like many others have done).

By doing this, you can play a regular game of black Powder on a much smaller play area – 2.4 feet by 1.6 feet rather then 6′ x 4′. But also, it gives you the option of playing much, much larger games on a regular table.

The only issue is the basing and miniatures. if you take a standard unit in Black Powder with a frontage of 240mm and divide this so it suits the cm measurements rather than inches (i.e. dividing 240mm by 2.5) you’ll get a standard unit frontage of 96mm (let’s call it 10cm). If we use increments of 20mm then the basing could look something like this:

The great thing about his, is that if you use Baccus Napoleonic 6mm infantry you can get two large bases completed for just £8.00!

But what about different formations. Well these could either be represented by a dice in one of the dice holders on the base (i.e. 3, for line, 4 for square etc) or you could just model some other bases as Square and attack column etc. I’m inclined by the later personally.

The other dice holder can also be used to measure the units stamina. For Dice holders I’m always inclined to use Pendraken.

But I’d like to know the opinions of those experienced in Black Powder and what they think!

Paints Used for Napoleonic French Infantry

This post is partly a reference for myself as to which colours to use (Citadel or Vallejo) when painting my Epic Battles Napoleonic French. I’ve listed colours that could be used from both systems.

All of the paints listed can be purchased from ElementGames. Why not use my referral code and get double the crystals when you purchase anything? XBJ9837

Line Infantry

An overall base coat should be applied with London Grey or Mechanicus Standard Grey.

BASE COAT

AreaVallejoCitadel
JacketsDark Prussian BlueKantor Blue
Belts/Muskets/Slings & LapelsLight GreyGrey Seer
TrousersAny of Offwhite, London Grey or Beige Pallid Wych Flesh, Mechanicus Standard Grey or Karak Stone
Shako & BootsBlackAbaddon Black
SkinBasic Skin ToneCadian Flesh
Collars, Cuffs & Lapel PipingDark VermillionMephiston Red
(Voltiguers) Plumes & EpaulettesBlack GreenCaliban Green
(Voltigeurs) Collar, Epaulette edging, Pompom, Tip of PlumeYellow OchreYriel Yellow
(Grenadiers) Plumes, Epaulettes and Shako LaceDark VermillionMephiston Red
Backpacks & Musket WoodFlat BrownMournfang Brown
Musket Barrel, Bayonet & CanteenOily SteelLeadbelcher
Shako Plates, Sword Hilts, Chin Scales & ButtonsOld GoldRetributor Gold

WASH

AreaVallejoCitadel
Grey Trousers, Shako Covers & SteelDark ToneNuln Oil
Beige Trousers & Shako CoversStrong ToneAgrax Earthshade
White TrousersDilute Light GreyDilute Grey Seer
Skin & GoldFlesh WashReikland Fleshshade

HIGHLIGHT

AreaVallejoCitadel
WhiteOffwhitePallid Wych Flesh
YellowFlat YellowDorn Yellow
GreenIntermediate GreenWarpstone Glow
BlackBlack GreyDark Reaper
BayonetsPlate MailStormhost Silver

Light Infantry in Greatcoats

An overall base coat should be applied with London Grey or Mechanicus Standard Grey.

BASECOAT

AreaVallejoCitadel
GreatcoatsLondon Grey, Beige or Light BrownMechanicus Standard Grey, Karak Stone or Balor Brown
Trousers & inside Open JacketsDark Prussian BlueKantor Blue
Piping, Belts & StrapsLight Grey Grey Seer
Shako & BootsBlackAbaddon Black
SkinBasic Skin ToneCadian Flesh
(Carabinier) Straps, Plumes, Epaulettes and Shako LaceDark VermillionMephiston Red
(Voltigeurs) Epaulettes & PlumeBlack GreenCaliban Green
(Voltigeurs) Collar, Edge of Epaulettes, Shako Lace & Tip of PlumeYellow OchreYriel Yellow
Backpacks & Musket WoodFlat BrownMournfang Brown
Musket Barrel, Shako Plate, Chin Scales, Bayonet & buttonsOily SteelLeadbelcher

WASH

AreaVallejoCitadel
Grey Greatcoats, Trousers, Shako Covers and SteelDark ToneNuln Oil
Beige & Light Brown Greatcoats, Trousers & Shako CoversStrong ToneAgrax Earthshade
SkinFlesh WashReikland Fleshshade

HIGHLIGHT

AreaVallejoCitadel
WhiteOffwhitePallid Wych Flesh
YellowFlat YellowDorn Yellow
GreenIntermediate GreenWarpstone Glow
BlackBlack GreyDark Reaper
BayonetsPlate MailStormhost Silver

Unboxing – French Starter Army for Black Powder: Epic Waterloo

Warlord Games have released their Epic Waterloo miniatures and game system this weekend just gone. I was lucky enough to pick my French Starter Set from SCN Hobby World yesterday and I was eager to take a peek and see what was inside.

It’s one of the largest starter boxes I’ve seen, and one of the heaviest! I picked mine up at 20% off for £72 through Sarah at SCN Hobby World.

Lifting the Lid

Theres a tonne of sprues inside. Ten infantry, three heavy cavalry and three light cavalry. Along with the meaty full colour rulebook, a scenery piece, painting guide and flags. I

It was all very nicely packages tightly inside. Warlord must have learnt their lesson form the ACW version Starter Set here, as a common complaint was that everything was a bit loose inside that box and often some of the contents would arrive damaged.

“Do you have a flag….?” – Eddie Izzard

They have coloured the plastic of both starter sets, (blue for french and Red for British) so if you’re eager and know someone with the other set you can play straight away without the need for painting.

Sprue 1 Light Cavalry

Hussar!

There enough here for 11 bases of Light Cavalry, as well as 3 artillery. Made up of 4 Lancer bases (one spare model), 3 Hussar bases (3 spare models) and 4 Chasseur bases (1 spare model). None of these models are command models but the addition of two Imperial Eagles on each sprue allows you to convert some in to standards. You can also use the spare models for ADC’s or for diorama pieces on your Brigade Commander stands.

Geek Point 1: The standards were made optional as none of the French Cavalry had their standards on the Waterloo campaign.

Sprue 2 Heavy Cavalry

These are the other 10 bases of Cavalry, but these make heavier versions of the Cavalry regiments. Here you’ll have 4 bases of Cuirassiers, 3 bases of Carabiniers and 3 bases of Dragoons. Again, you have the inclusion of an artillery piece on each sprue and two french eagles. There were a lot more Cuirassiers and Dragoons at Waterloo than Carabiniers but I can understand why Warlord have included one of each type on the sprue.

Sprue 3 Infantry

There’s loads of infantry… all told just over 800 men. The detail on the sprues is incredible given their size, and time has been taken to differentiate the flank companies of Grenadiers and Voltigeurs from the centre companies.

This sprue is packed. You’ve eight stands of infantry and enough skirmishing Voltigeurs for another stand, as well as some foot artillery and a command figure.

Bases

Bases… lots of them!

Of course, none of these would play well without the basic addition of bases… just look at that pile! It’s huge.

Dice

And some dice… as if wargamers don’t have enough to build their own fort! Still a good inclusion for a starter set.

Declan’s picture of the dice included

Decoster’s House – Building

Decoster’s House

Warlord games have teamed up with Sarissa Precision to bring some scenery with the boxset which also comes with its own painting guide and stencil.

Flags & Painting Guide

A great addition is a full colour sheet of French flags. This will really add to the colour and make the regiments individual on the tabletop. Well done to Warlord games for this inclusion.

Rulesbook

The full rules book for the Waterloo Campaign in Epic Battles. This appears to be a full rulebook at 260 pages. It’s in glorious full colour as well and means you don’t need a separate copy of any of the existing Black Powder rule books.

Summary

This is a great box, and real value for money. It should draw many GW fans looking to get into Napoleonics. Declan and I are just two of them.

Warlord Games Epic Waterloo – Painting Guides

In my excitement for receiving my Epic Waterloo French Starter set from Warlord Games, I’ve been perusing the internet looking for painting guides. The below are a collection of the best videos I have found. All of these videos have been published on YouTube by Miniature Realms, Miniature Wargaming Warriors

British Line Infantry


Royal Horse Artillery

British Riflemen

French Voltigeurs

French Line Infantry

Epic Battles Carabinier Test Model

I’ll often paint a single test model before batch painting the rest. It lets me take my time on making sure I’m selecting the right colours.

In the case of Napoleonic miniatures I find this is also useful as I will refer to images on my phone about the uniform of the unit I’m painting. Then, once the model is done, I can just keep it in view while I paint the remainder. This prevents me having to keep turning the old phone on and off while I paint.

So here’s the model, this is a phone picture so apologies.

And the colours I used are:

  • Teclis Blue for all blue parts
  • Pallid Wych Flesh for the white
  • Mephiston Red for red
  • Runelord Brass for the gold
  • Stormhost silver for any metal
  • Rhinkx Hide for the horse

Simples!

Black Powder Epic Waterloo British Cavalry

So my issues of Wargames Illustrated arrived this week with their accompanying sprues.

I managed to get hold of three copies of the British Heavy Cavalry sprue.

The Sprue in all its glory.

I’ve started by painting the Scots Grey’s and first off these models are really easy to paint straight on the sprue. You just need to clip away any armatures of the sprue that are connected to the horse or riders directly.

I may have gone a little too detailed considering their size but this is only because I’ve enjoyed painting them so much.

I can’t wait to see the unit finished and on its base. I’m also looking forward to painting the cannon and seeing what that looks like. Once I’ve a few units done I’ll post again.

Sabot Basing for Black Powder

So I’ve been looking at getting into Black Powder at the 6mm scale but have tried thinking about creating realistic base sizes (when compared to the other units of the period).

So my first point of reference is the number of men in each countries line infantry.

Infantry Battalion Strength

Based on this I can then calculate the bases I need. Bearing in mind that only the British formed on two ranks when in line as opposed to the other countries mostly forming in two ranks.

I therefore need to show this on the bases. So I decided to use a simple equation of a single Baccus figure representing 12 men. Therefore I could calculate how many models I would need per unit.

I’m very new to Napoleonic Wargaming (but have a fairly decent knowledge base of the history) and very new to Black Powderany

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!