"Baggage, Porters, Mules, Camels, etc." Topic

TSATF "Darkest Africa" section has some really neat mechanics for porters.

I like, especially in 2-4 player "Home" games, to incorporate the supply angle when applicable. I generally use ammo rules, that give a unit 5 "shots", before resupply via runner or the ammo catching up, anyways. (I use the RECON TSATF system. Every player gets a dixie shot cup with 3-5 Skittles in it. Eat them, and you are literally eating your ammo. Makes for great fun. In my TSATF kids games I run at Cons, its hilarious to see a child start eating his gummi bears, then try to spit them out when it comes time to shoot and he has none left)

Egypt/Sudan, South Africa, NW Frontier, and of course Darkest Africa games benefit, IMO. Gives the Colonial player one more issue to deal with, and raiding/interdicting (and defending) the supply train is a realistic and obvious objective. Heck, it can be the main objective and the heart of the scenario.

Plus, pack mules, camels, wagons and porters are cool. Gives you variety and more figures. Native porters running off or routing is a staple of Hollywood, and in reality. I use QRF 15mm's great line of assorted pack animals, and the Rebel Minis and Blue Moon porters.

I'm actually going to re work my baggage train mechanics, to make them slower moving. (Read "Last Stand", and the pack mules were a big problem for the 7th Cav. Required 3 of their 12 troops, even right up until the battle)

"P.S. Bring Pacs" is gonna be even more prominent in most of my game ideas now, methinks.

Thoughts?

The BUG!

Running short on water – and when a wagon/mule/camel goes down – so does some of the water supply.

Love the skittles idea – will have to try that

Wagons are good for carrying wounded.
In D&D terms, they are an "Ambulance of Infinite Capacity."

I use QRF 15mm's great line of assorted pack animals

The Freikorp Commissary range is very good for a generic range of horses, pack animals, wagons, cows, sheep, etc: link

We also have the more modern Quartermaster range which has some stowage items that may be of use (as well as seals and penguins which are probably in the wrong place!): link

I started out with a "few" ammunition mules, now I have camels and camp followers for the Sudanese, Bactrian pack camels for Afghans/Pathans, Ammunition and baggage mules, water carts, hay carts and wagons for the British. Wish I could stop but all looks so good.

I scared the hell out of myself when I was researching how much supply train I'd need for my Shenanigans in Baluchistan games. Hundreds of pack mules per battalion, or maybe 40-60 camels (camels haul about 4x a mule).

Yep oldharhead1, it does look so good.

Searching through Friekorps/QRF ranges is great fun. I always find a bunch of treasures. You can just load up on horses, mules, limbers and such. I find figures from weird periods that fit in perfect with my Colonial gaming.

Smokey Roan,

I even found a pack elephant in Museum Miniatures, and Bactrian pack camels in the Essex range. I did some minor work on some traction engines from the Thomas the Tank Engine series so that I could put together a "road train"

Probably not historically acurate but it looks good'

Colin

Love Essex. I have two Essex units of British Naval infantry and British infantry and gun crews

I cherish them