"Les Reves de Mars-Memoirs of the Marquis de Sangfroid" Topic

18th Century musings on my part. A blog based around the adventures of the (obviously fictional) Marquis de Sangfroid and his Regt. de St. Vignobles in French service. Set in an and extremely minor principality, at the time of the War of the Austrian Succession.

marquissangfroid.blogspot.com

Essentially it it meant to give a background to my solo games. I'm hoping that as the storytelling progresses, it will give me ideas for gaming scenarios and vice-versa. It has been a lot of fun so far.

Any state willing to declare war of the Ecclesiastic Bishopric of St. Vignobles is cordially invited to do so (at their own risk, of course), as it will give me ideas and further inspiration for the narrative.

Always a gratifying pleasure to discover a new blog devoted to a fictitious Lace Wars country, and the Bishopric of St. Vignobles with its (toungue-in-the-cheek) French background appears promising in an original and humorous way.

Thanks for giving me my 52nd ‘fict' link to a blog or website at least partly devoted to a (group of) Lace Wars Imagination!

Of course you already know of the emperor-elector.blogspot.com 'Emperor vs Elector' web campaigning group? TMP link

Cheers!
Jean-Louis
aka Louys of Monte-Cristo
link

Stylishly written, I thought, with the distinguished, yet stately pace of an elderly 18th century cleric.

To have the officers in 'reversed' colors (justified by a few historical precedent) is a great idea. With the drummers in a livery of their own, it will increase the 'visual' diversity on the table-top, pleasantly adding to the 'aesthetical appeal' advocated by C. Grant.
Off course this turns officers into privilegied targets, but such practice was deemed un-noble, even ignoble, by the Lace Wars ethos (well, at least theoretically and as 'dreamed' by present-day wargamers)

Compliments,
Jean-Louis

"Stylishly written, I thought, with the distinguished, yet stately pace of an elderly 18th century cleric."

That is the "tone" I was looking for- just the right amount of pomposity without going overboard. Well, not going overboard too much, anyway!

"To have the officers in 'reversed' colors (justified by a few historical precedent) is a great idea. With the drummers in a livery of their own, it will increase the 'visual' diversity on the table-top, pleasantly adding to the 'aesthetical appeal' advocated by C. Grant."

The reversed colours are more a hangover from the War of the Grand Alliance than the War of the Austrian Succession, but as you say it does add colour my French force. While I enjoy fiction, I like it to be as plausible as is practical, which is why I rattled on about the regiment's "origins".

Stay tuned as the M. de Sangfroid related his close call at the Battle of Dettingen, and the regiment's rearguard action against a force of determined Hannoverian infantry.

Splendid! :-) And good to see the templates in use on another blog – thanks for the highly complimentary reference to NBA on your page.

David.

What rule-set are you using for your solo games? If it's a commerical set, it will help people properly setup an invading army opposed to yours and its army 'virtually' attacking your state over the internet that will be of a suitable type. After all, you don't want Vignobles invaded by a 50,000-man army if your army is a Napoleonic Division in size including 'historical French' as allies.

And a minor quibble re. your blog's wonderful title banner, "rêves" has a circumflex accent on the first "e" and not an acute one. (Although I wouldn't generally bother with the French accents in your text body, I would change it in your eye-grabbing banner.)

Best of luck and fun.
8^)

And, P.S., good use of Dave's templates.

"… "rêves" has a circumflex accent on the first "e" and not an acute one."

Merci, Monsieur, consider it done. I was always a lot better at speaking French than writing it!

As for rules, nothing is carved in stone- I have used Konig Krieg for my own 18th C. gaming since 1985. While I use 12-man units I don't use KK basing though- I base four 28mm infantry in single rank on a 60mm by 30mm base (so I can "double up" battalions to make 24), and fiddle with the ranges accordingly.

I have KK's "Festung Krieg" supplement for sieges, too, which look interesting.

Currently I have just French, and I will have to "proxy" (gasp!) the allies until I get my wad o' Dutch WAS figures from Eureka later this year.

Charles Grant spectacle of 48-man units is a gorgeous one and just right for the 18th C. but aside from the fact that I do not have the space available, it would ruin bankbook and marriage at this point in time given the rising price of figures generally.

M. de Sangfroid,
since you play 'solo', fielding troops in pleasant but fictious uniforms does not put you at the risk to 'shock' your opponent. Neither are you incitated to paint troops that can moonlight as 'historical' ones (or historical units that can moonlight in a fictious campaign, as you prefer to see it). The only kind of remaining argument I read is that historically-painted minis are easier to sell (e.g. on E-bay) when you no longer like it:?

As a reader of the TMP, you know that even someone as 'historically-minded' as Jim Purky / Der Alte Fritz, who seems to speak fore freely here than on the 'serious' Yahoo groups or on his blog, confessed on this very board his interest to *war balloons* (yes: TMP link ), and seriously endvisages to raise (at 'skirmish scale' only, it's true) a mythical militia -perhaps (gasp!) those Eureka SYW infantry*wo*men and artillery *wo*men- to oppose Lady de Winter's private warband of black hussars, themselves may be in not-totally-historicall-accurate uniforms….
With such a precedent, what about leaving your imagination run freewheeling before painting those Dutch?

Compliments,
Louys of Monte-Cristo

"The only kind of remaining argument I read is that historically-painted minis are easier to sell (e.g. on E-bay) when you no longer like it:?"

Heh! I barely get enough time to paint for myself, let alone for profit!

While I enjoy painting and researching uniforms and flags, I'm more than happy to take liberties with history if it means fun. I find that letting my imagination run rampant while staying within the context of history can be fun and challenging- rather like Arthur Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard with his "Hussards de Conflans".

After all, even Charles Grant had the Regt. Normandie at Mollwitz!

And actually, I have plans for the Enclave of Nassau- Schwanningen, a small state on the Rhine with long-standing dynastic claims on the Bishopric of St. Vignobles, whose Stadtholder is able to count on the support not just of the household troops but also those of the House of Orange.