The Thrappled Lemmings Ride Again - Rangers of Shadow Deep

"A pint of your finest ale, barkeep," slurred the rosy-nosed elf as she staggered up to the bar, obviously three sheets to the wind already.
"Make that four," piped up the skinny human behind her with a glance to his two other companions to assure himself that they would order their own drinks.
"Ah, shite," muttered the landlord to herself, "it's the feck'n Thrappled Lemmings."

Her heart sank as she contemplated the plain, or minimalist, as she liked to think of it, tavern interior, which she was certain would soon be redecorated beyond recognition. She knew who the Thrappled Lemmings were, and she knew that their 'help' often left everyone around them considerably poorer and frequently homeless.

"Never fear, dear barkeep," announced the stout warrior who stood behind the others, "the Thrappled Lemmings are here to investigate your mysteries and to make you safe. We just require a little refreshment before we embark on our latest foray against the Shadow Deep. After all, we have to slay our thirst before we can slay the monsters!"

The Thrappled Lemmings are one of the most infamous ranger groups in Alladore. Led by Warrior-Scribe Aethelwyrd Hawksfield, the group is always willing to run to the fray. In her quest to rid the world of evil, Aethelwyrd is supported by Aelfwyn Swiftshot (archer), Diarmuid Oakstream (conjuror), Onund Clovenshield (man at arms), Kalf Longsnake (man at arms) and Ash the Scop (rogue).

It's not that the group starts fights everywhere they go, but fights just seem to follow them around looking for an excuse to happen. It might just be bumping someone's drink, or Ash singing the wrong song in the wrong town. Whatever triggers it, there seems to be little that can prevent a simple trip to the local tavern turning into a massed brawl whenever the Thrappled Lemmings hit town.

I've been looking forward to trying Rangers of Shadow Deep for some time now, but have not been in the same country as my figures for all of this year. I managed to get this group and the monsters for the first mission painted when I was home last Christmas, but I did not have time to fit in a game. It's time to rectify that situation while I can.

I'll be playing in 15mm because it fits the space I have right now and plan to play using 'hinches' as my measuring standard. This is something that I first encountered on the Command Decision forums. Instead of halving or measuring in centimetres, each inch is reduced to 2cm, approximating 2/3 scale. My 2'x2' gaming board thus becomes, in scale, 30"x30". It's fractionally too small for the first scenario of the first mission, but I think that will benefit the monsters more than my team. I am not certain how it will look on the table, but it should reduce the movement of my figures sufficiently that they do not look like they have jetboots on. I chose this option because the footprint of many of my terrain pieces just seemed too large if I simply halved movement and ranges or converted every inch to cm. I may change my mind in future based on how this looks in my first few games.

UPDATE 05/2024: Following my experience of playing Five Leagues from the Borderlands at 2/3 scale with a ruler printed out at 66%, I shall be doing that for all new scenarios instead of playing in hinches. I really don't know why I did not think of that when I first played these scenarios!

The two Viking man-at-arms figures are part of a huge pile of Two Dragons figures that I bought in the nineties. Many of these are actually painted(!), and these two required little fettling other than sorting out chips in their paintwork and rebasing them. The Elves were new to me but I managed to put paint to metal when last home and am quite pleased with how they look. Definitely good enough to hit the table. So, let's see what happens when they actually face the bad guys. I suspect ineptitude and chaos will be fairly evident, but you never know.

Elf figures: Ral Partha Europe (originally Demonworld)

Viking figures: Two Dragons (now available from Caliver Books)