Dogs of War

Hello all, Slick here. Time for something entirely different. Our LGS recently got in several box sets and the rulebook for a game called Uncharted Seas. Out of curiosity our gaming group decided to take a look at the game and the more we checked out the minis and read about the game itself the more eager everyone was to try this game out. It reminds one of the old GW game 'Man o War' and has a setting populated by familiar races (humans, elves, dwarfs etc.) with some interesting twists though. The game's rules are fairly easy to learn and there are a good variety of armies to try out. Another plus is the fact that the startup cost for the game is rather cheap, with the rulebook being $30 and most starter fleets being around $30 as well. The ships are rather tiny (15mm I believe) and all of the armies are listed in the rulebook so there is no need to buy codecies and other supplemental materials. Additional rules and units are available as free pdf downloads from the Spartan Games website which is a big plus. My only real complaint are the numerous and glaring grammar mistakes throughout the book. A lot of the book feels rushed and a few units do not have finalized rules and you need to find these on their website. In various places there are sentences simply missing words to make them intelligible. These are just minor gripes though, and after playing our first game today we can definitely recommend checking this game out! It is a very good palate-cleansing game for anyone feeling a bit burned out on the usual 40K or Fantasy game.

After getting the Uncharted Seas rules it was time to pick an army. I decided to go with the Shroud Mages which are the equivalent of Chaos Dwarfs in Warhammer Fantasy. This is one of the starter fleets that is available for all the armies and comes with 6 frigates, 3 cruisers, and 1 battleship. The Shroud Mages benefit from being able to ignore the wind direction and their magic spells are deadly when combined with their firepower. These guys have really good defense and some serious broadside firepower. The only real disadvantage is their lack of speed. I will be painting these up very soon so stay tuned.

Today I would like to share the recently completed Shroud Mages starter fleet that I picked up. In there fleet we have 1 battleship, 3 cruisers, and 6 frigates. These were really fun to paint up and even more fun to play in the game. Now that these are finished it is time to work on the newer pieces I have picked up for the fleet such as the flagship, submarines, and heavy cruisers! Stay tuned for more! Comments welcome!

looking good Slick. Do you have some pictures of a game going on.

I like the feel of it very much.

(05-24-2010 03:07 PM)henerius Wrote: [ -> ]looking good Slick. Do you have some pictures of a game going on.

I like the feel of it very much.

Not yet, we've played about ten games total in our group. We will try to do a battle report soon, with pictures of course. The game is definitely worth a try. You can get all the ships you would ever want for about $100 for any army (starter set + new ships).

Just curious: With ironclads available, why would anyone want to use sailing ships?

(05-26-2010 12:01 AM)miklamar Wrote: [ -> ]Just curious: With ironclads available, why would anyone want to use sailing ships?

The ironclads are fairly slow while many of the sailing ships can literally run circles around some of the slow ships. Maneuvering is definitely a key to this game.

Hello all, Slick here. Time for an update for the Shroud Mages. Here is the massive flagship for the Shroud Mages fleet! This thing is loaded with guns and is deadly no matter which direction you approach it from and even has some solid anti-air defense for pesky dragons and airships. Comments welcome!

Hello all, Slick here. Another update for the Shroud Mages, this time a pair of heavy cruisers. These guys pack more firepower than the standard cruisers and even have an increased speed.

Hey all, Slick here. I've been putting some time into finishing up the rest of the Shroud Mages fleet that I have. Here are some pics of the finished Ripper Submarine! Comments welcome!

(05-26-2010 02:15 PM)Slick Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-26-2010 12:01 AM)miklamar Wrote: [ -> ]Just curious: With ironclads available, why would anyone want to use sailing ships?

The ironclads are fairly slow while many of the sailing ships can literally run circles around some of the slow ships. Maneuvering is definitely a key to this game.

While maneuverablity is a key to combat between equal ships, I think ironclads are superior to any sailing ship, except perhaps in a race.

But, Slick, your models are awesome! I'd sure hate to have that Ripper submarine come up under my ship! Fantastic modeling!

(06-10-2010 12:13 AM)miklamar Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-26-2010 02:15 PM)Slick Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-26-2010 12:01 AM)miklamar Wrote: [ -> ]Just curious: With ironclads available, why would anyone want to use sailing ships?

The ironclads are fairly slow while many of the sailing ships can literally run circles around some of the slow ships. Maneuvering is definitely a key to this game.

While maneuverablity is a key to combat between equal ships, I think ironclads are superior to any sailing ship, except perhaps in a race.

But, Slick, your models are awesome! I'd sure hate to have that Ripper submarine come up under my ship! Fantastic modeling!

True, and the ironclads are harder to damage and critical, as well as generally having more guns than their sailed counterparts in the game. Still, speed can kill. Here's an example:

Dwarf Frigate: 6" movement
Elf Frigate: 14"movement

That type of speed means you'll be turning in circles against a skilled opponent just to get decent shots.

Thanks, I'm liking the way the sub turned out as well!

Just am checking youre posts.

The sub looks like a nautilus type vessel. And I guess that I see one surfaced and two submerged vessels?

the bigger of youre ships, the heavy cruiser and the battleship a bit remind me of the pre dreadnought type battleships......and, in my opinion, they are ugly

Maybe a size comparison is possible. let's say a coin we all know for size and a battle ship next to a cruiser/hvy cruiser/ frigate etc? that would give us a real good look at the scale...

And kick youre buddies on the internet... I want to see their fleets as well... painted or not.. it is fun to see.

I think the best thing about Uncharted Seas's is the clear usability with the old Man O War rules.

(06-12-2010 06:56 PM)henerius Wrote: [ -> ]Just am checking youre posts.

The sub looks like a nautilus type vessel. And I guess that I see one surfaced and two submerged vessels?

the bigger of youre ships, the heavy cruiser and the battleship a bit remind me of the pre dreadnought type battleships......and, in my opinion, they are ugly

Maybe a size comparison is possible. let's say a coin we all know for size and a battle ship next to a cruiser/hvy cruiser/ frigate etc? that would give us a real good look at the scale...

And kick youre buddies on the internet... I want to see their fleets as well... painted or not.. it is fun to see.

There is one surfaced sub and the other two are submerged tokens for the sub. We have our first Uncharted Seas game night this coming week. Since I started we have had about 12 other players get into the game, so expect a lot of in-game pictures soon and hopefully an epic 12-player engagement!

(06-12-2010 06:56 PM)henerius Wrote: [ -> ]Just am checking youre posts.

the bigger of youre ships, the heavy cruiser and the battleship a bit remind me of the pre dreadnought type battleships......and, in my opinion, they are ugly

What do you expect of chaos dwarf ships?

Hello all, Slick here. New stuff from Spartan Games! Check out the upcoming Destroyer class ships which will be added to the original armies. They will fit a role between Frigates and Cruisers. These should be available in the near future.

Hello all, Slick here. Check out this preview picture from Spartan Games for the new Relgard fleet set to hit the waters of Uncharted Seas in the near future! These are some awesome ships! It will be interesting to see what they specialize in.

Anyone know where to get ships that are GW model size, as this has inspired me to do a ship battle, but I still want to use my Dogs of War ?

Hello all, Slick here. Today I have some pics from our recent Uncharted Seas mega battle which featured 2 Iron Dwarfs and 1 Thaniras Elves vs Dragon Lords, Shroud Mages, and Bone Griffons! After several bloody turns the Shroud Mages team emerged victorious!

Here is my finished Shroud Mages fleet! The fleet contains, 1 Flagship, 2 Battleships, 4 Heavy Cruisers, 6 Cruisers, 12 Frigates, 1 Submarine. So far the Shroud Mages are a blast to play, having defeated several Iron Dwarf and Thraniras Elf forces. I will have to update the fleet picture as I have just picked up some of the new destroyers. Comments welcome!

Hello all, Slick here. Work has been progressing on the new Orc fleet for Uncharted Seas. Small details still need to be worked on. Comments welcome!