Ancients - No Dice No Glory

Building a Desert Oasis

October 23, 2025 | Kreighton Long | Ancients, Black Powder, Bolt Action, Gaming, Miniature Games, Models and Painting, Saga, Star Wars Legion, Tutorial, Warlord Games, Warlords of Erehwon

By Kreighton Long

While day dreaming about my desert terrain I had a vision, or perhaps a mirage, of an oasis on my future table. As my palm groves came together I strategically left the largest of my bases in reserve for such a project. With the first batch of my palm groves completed I felt confident in trying to put together a desert oasis. This oasis will add a splash of color to a dreary desert table as well as could double as a fun objective for the two sides to fight over.

I started by priming the selected MDF base black.

Next I test fit different size pools using scratch paper.

I traced the pool template onto the base for future reference and then drilled holes for the palm trees with a 1/8″ drill bit.

I traced the selected size pool onto a piece of cardboard and then taped a flattened piece of plastic table cover on to the cardboard.

The three paints I used to paint the pool. I started by flicking some Vallejo Silver Grey onto the plastic then began layering mixes of Trail Tan and Olive Green on successive layers.

The first ring was a 1:1 mix of Trail Tan and Olive Green. The outline of the pool on the cardboard served as a guide as I sponged on the first layer of paint. The second layer was a 1:2 mix of Trail Tan and Olive Green and the third layer was Olive Green. I then added a few layers of Olive Green then Black to fully cover the bottom of the pool.

Once the paint dried I applied a layer of brown spray paint to the bottom. The photo here is after all the paint is dried and I removed the plastic from the cardboard and flipped it right side up.

I then traced the original pool template over the top of the pool to cut it to the desired size and shape with scissors.

I overlooked the fact that the pool was mirrored as the original template was at the bottom of the plastic. To fix this I flipped my base over to fit the two together as desired. I applied a 1:1 mix of PVA glue and hobby paint to the bottom of the pool and weighed it down under a stack of books to ensure it glued on flat.

Next I added 1:1 mix of PVA glue and craft paint before sprinkling on a layer of sand.

I painted the sand with a base coat of Black, then drybrushed a layer of Nutmeg Brown, then a layer of Trail Tan.

I then added a variety of tufts to the base. I chose to use the more lively, green tufts around the pool with the more brown tufts closer to the edge.

Insert the palms trees into the holes and the oasis is ready for the table.

Like my desert palm groves, the palm trees with this oasis can be removed to facilitate models moving through the terrain and to store and transport easier.

Happy painting!

Building Homemade Rivers

August 1, 2024 | Kreighton Long | Ancients, Black Powder, Bolt Action, Gaming, Miniature Games, Models and Painting, Pike & Shotte, Saga, Test of Honour, Test of Honour, Tutorial, Warlord Games, Warlords of Erehwon

By Kreighton Long

My summer of terrain projects continues with a set of homemade rivers. I set out to echo the method by which I created a set of ponds several years ago. The materials I used were chipboard for the base, plastic table covers for the river, Vallejo’s Silver Grey paint, Apple Barrel’s Black and Melted Chocolate paint, Delta Creative’s Trail Tan paint, Craft Smart’s Olive Green and Espresso paints, PVA glue, sand, and various basing flock and tufts.

For the plastic table covers I used LovePads 1.5mm thick clear desk pads. I prepped the table covers by cutting them to size, ironing them under a t-shirt to smooth out the material, and cleaning them with glass cleaner.

Household Cavalry and Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museums London

September 26, 2023 | Robert Kelly | Ancients, Black Powder, Gaming, Historical Reference

By Robert Kelly

The Household Cavalry Museum

Judging by YouTube and videos and photos from any tourist site, everyone who visits London seems to end up at Horse Guards to take a photo of the mounted troops on guard there. The reason there are so many tourists is because it is so centrally located. It’s not far from any of London’s attractions like Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. So do what I did.

Walk past the crowds, through the gate, and go around the corner to the Household Cavalry Museum (orange arrow). Or if you are walking up the Mall or through St. James Park from Buckingham Palace, cross the Horse Guards Parade directly to the museum (fuchsia arrow). Other nearby sites are circled in purple, such as the Mall, Churchill War Rooms, and 10 Downing Street.

New ‘Hail Caesar’ Book Overview

February 8, 2023 | Matt Varnish | Ancients, Gaming, Warlord Games

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish’ Campbell

Here we are, at last, with a new version of ‘Hail Caesar‘ by Warlord Games. I hesitate to say ‘Hail Caesar 2‘ or call this book a sequel since even though this is an update to the original book, the main rules remain pretty much the same.

The original Hail Caesar book came out in 2014, and while it’s certainly time for a refresh, you can easily still play Hail Caesar with either book, though the newer one opens up Sieges and Late Medieval, clarifies diagrams, and includes generic scenarios. Let’s dive right in.

When in Rome.. Art de la Guerre games at the Club

September 21, 2022 | Matt Varnish | Ancients, Battle Report/AAR, Gaming

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish” Campbell

I have been blessed to live in Ottawa for a few reasons, but one is the strong gaming community we have here. I think ours is larger than Montreal and is definitely larger than Toronto’s, cities with 2x and 5x our population.

I know back when I played WHFB and 40K back in the golden era (1996-2006) we had a very strong showing of Ottawa-based gamers at tournaments including the Grand Tournament. When my group of players switched over to Flames of War and started hosting tournaments, we organized a decent following and hosted the Canadian Nationals for many years.

Now that I have dipped my toes into Ancients and other historicals (Napoleonics) I find that, yet again, we have a strong following, this time in the form of the Ottawa Miniatures Gamers (OMG) some of whom are consistent Art de la Guerre (ADLG) rankings, players. So, I have started attending club nights which are held typically twice a month, and as luck would have it, their rotation of games had ADLG so I tidied up some of my Romans in 28mm and showed up to get trounced!

Art de la Guerre Tournament Day 2: 28mm Dark Ages Era 200pts

June 22, 2022 | Matt Varnish | Ancients, Gaming

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish’ Campbell, additional photos by Todd Creasey, Mike Abbott and John Bowen

Day 2 of the OMG Art de la Guerre (ADLG) tournament was 25/28mm and was Dark Ages era themed. We had fewer players but it was also a holiday here in Canada. Victoria Day. Where we graciously asked the Queen if we could be our own country and she said yes, rather than revolt like our southerly neighbors. What better way to celebrate than in the basement playing some ADLG at the club!

Art de la Guerre Tournament, Day One, 15mm Roman period, 200points

June 17, 2022 | Matt Varnish | Ancients, Gaming

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish’ Campbell, additional photos by Mike Abbott and Tod Creasey

The local gaming club, Ottawa Miniature Gaming (OMG), held a two-day Art de la Guerre (ADLG) event over the May long-weekend. I decided to sign up after only one practice game.

I could only attend the 15mm 200pt Roman-themed event, but was able to drop by and snap some pics of Day Two’s 28mm Dark Ages era tournament, stayed tuned for a future post.

We had 15 players attend, which is a great turnout, despite the gigantic summer storm knocking out power. With an odd number of players, I opted to take the third round bye so I could take some pics.

Art de la Guerre, Ancients in 15mm: Persians

June 1, 2022 | Matt Varnish | Ancients, Gaming

“So I entered an ADLG tournament the other day…….”

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish’ Campbell

What better way to get my 15mm Persian army painted than to randomly enter a local tournament! Art de La Guerre (ADLG) is an ancients ruleset from France that has more figures than DBA and covers a WIDE timespan, roughly from a few thousand BC up to about the Renaissance period. See Paolo’s interview with the Author here: