END OF EMPIRE

HOME-GROWN PULP ADVENTURE GAMING. By Tim Eagling.

Pulp Adventure games have grown in popularity during the last five range of models I shouldn’t buy them,
years; their small-scale nature, kooky figure ranges, sense of humour (yeah, I know!) so the conundrum was
and ability to recreate what we see in various forms of media has seen this: how can I buy models from different
them adopted by many in the wargaming hobby, although they might not ranges of figures and use them in one
be strictly wargames. This month Tim Eagling of ‘Spirit of the Game’ game? The answer was simple - create
explains a little about their home-grown Pulp Adventure game ‘End of the game to fit the figures and thus ‘End
of Empire’ was born.
Empire’ which has made regular appearances at SALUTE and SELWG in
the last few years. Unlike most Pulp Adventure games,’
End of Empire’ is not set in the 1920s or
The problem with miniature getting online to order the latest batch 30s, rather it is set in the last few years
manufacturers is that they keep producing of white metal wonders. Now, this is of Queen Victoria’s reign. With tongue
really great models, and then they have not necessarily a problem if you are a firmly in cheek it is quintessentially
the cheek to advertise them in magazines prodigious painter or, like many gamers, British. (The game system is based on
like this one, preying on the weak willed are happy to have an ever increasing lead a D12 rather than a D10, because the
nature of the wargamer and toy soldier mountain - in the past I was definitely decimal system is not British.) The heroes
collector. Every month it is a trial of the latter. A few years ago however I tend to have stiff upper lips, bristling
will just opening Wargames Illustrated developed a streak of common sense that moustaches (or bustles!) and the bad guys
and not picking up the plastic and pointed out that unless I had a use for a are cads, bounders and Johnny Foreigners.

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 THE TOY SOLDIERS
The root of this game was definitely
the figures, so where better to begin. It
all started with my 28mm Old West
collection, most of which, at the time,

FICTION
was from Wargames Foundry. As a

PULP
skirmish wargamer, I have always
enjoyed fleshing out my games by adding
civilian models and I had most of the
Foundry range of Old West Bystanders.
This range offered everything from
stiff gentlemen in suits and top hats
to drunkards and dance hall girls, but
the model that really got me thinking
‘Victorians’ was a limited edition
Foundry figure of Professor Moriarty.
This is, in many ways, a completely
pointless figure as it is just a well-dressed
gent holding a top hat behind his back.
However it painted up really well and
then I wanted a game to use it in. Many
years previous I had been a great fan of
the role playing game, Call of Cthulhu, Above: Crowds gather to hear the latest doomsayer.
especially Cthulhu by Gaslight so with a
friend of mine I settled on Victoriana as we added figures from many other the very talented hands of Bob Murch at
the period of choice. This turned out to be companies: Blue Moon make several sets Pulp Figures. Many of his figures work
a pretty good choice as it was just at the of Gothic horror figures, we used Artizan well for us, as anything that is really too
point that several companies were turning and Copplestone, Dixon, Ironclad and modern becomes the invention of the mad
their hand to Victorian figures. Black Tree Design. Many of my favourite genius: Rocket Men and Zeppelin Truppen
The majority of our Victorian collection figures in our collection have come from appeared very early on in our campaigns.
originally came from Foundry, Westwind
and Eureka. All three companies had very WHAT’S THIS NON-HISTORICAL NONSENSE?
good ranges to get us started. Going for You won’t see Science Fiction or Fantasy in the pages of Wargames Illustrated very often, but every now
and again we break our own rule and feature something that isn’t historical. We will never stray far from the
iconic looks first is the order of the day, historical path however; you won’t see articles on Elves and Goblins, Chaos Daemons and Space Marines, but
so early on we bought gentlemen in top we will occasionally feature alternative history or pulp fiction features. [The WI Editors]
hats, ladies in bustles, bobbies and flat-
cap-wearing thugs. As the game evolved Below: Redcoated soldiers fight the hordes of the evil Count Orloff.

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 WRITING YOUR OWN RULES When producing your own rule set, ray gun, in game terms would do similar
you need to decide on a few guiding amounts of damage to an unarmoured
When we started this project we decided
principles which will form the structure man even if the effects in real life might
that what we needed was a straight forward
for the whole. In our case we wanted be spectacularly different, so we decided
set of rules that would allow for all the
to develop a rules set that avoided to not differentiate between them. All
strangeness that was to come. We considered
complicated paper work and worrying of these weapons are grouped together
a few sets of commercially available rule
too much between different weapons as two-handed weapons. This means
sets, especially the Warhammer Historical
and other equipment. For example, that any figure armed with a weapon
Legends rules, but we decided we needed
we decided that in our game it isn’t that is used in two hands such as a rifle,
something a little more specific; writing a
necessary to be too concerned with minor shotgun, crossbow, felling axe, will do
rule set from scratch seemed unnecessary so
differences between similar weapons, as roughly the same damage to a character.
we decided to adapt our Blaze Of Glory Wild
being shot by an arrow, a crossbow bolt, Other weapon types then include single-
West rules.
a rifle bullet, or the ray from an alien’s handed weapons - pistol, sword, hand axe
- and fixed weapons like machine guns
and bolt throwers.

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 Opposite page top: Chinese Tong fight it out
in Limehouse.
Opposite page bottom: The Thin Red Line
face a daemonic adversary.
Above: The Thin Red Line about to be made
even thinner.
Left: Hansom cabs and gas lamps really
capture the period.
Below: The action moves to a remote
Scottish loch.

Another principle of our rules set is that

we would not try to write rules for every
creature or eventuality. The nature of our
games means that players seem to always
do the unexpected, something which our
rules would not cover, so we devised a
simple set of mechanisms to allow this
kind of thing to happen and then the
players or GM choose what is the best fit
mechanism to use at the time. The rule
set for End of Empire has evolved over
seven years or more and has now become
able to cope with almost anything the
over-zealous adventurer can throw at it.
If you are interested in the rules for End
of Empire, which are far too large to
include here, take a look at our website
to get a set.

www.spiritofthegame.org.uk
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 CAMPAIGNS
The key to Pulp Adventure games is the
scenario. To be honest, each scenario can
take quite a lot of preparation and setting
up so you need to make it worthwhile to
play or the getting out and putting away
can take far more time than playing it.
Our usual inspiration for scenarios comes
from films or books. End Of Empire is
a very flexible game and pretty much
any storyline could be worked into it.
We have run campaigns based on ideas
from Indiana Jones, Big Trouble in Little
China, 39 Steps, Riddle of the Sands,
The Mummy, Land that Time Forgot and
many more. Characters and creatures
from popular culture often appear and
we are able to blend real events with
fictional ones with ease. End of Empire is
a world of Jules Verne, HG Wells, Bram
Stoker and Arthur Conan Doyle; it is a
world where magick and daemons are
real and the Empire is threatened from
all quarters. Our adventurers pretty much
save the world every week or so. Our
games can be set in all corners of the
world from Darkest Surrey, to the Heart
of Darkness and everywhere in between.
This of course allows us to introduce new
models from different ranges whenever
we fancy and the challenge of building
scenery to accompany it.

Top right: Our heroes pose for a photo.

Right: Seedy East End streets.
Below: The London home of Colonel Sir
Henry Templeton Smyth.

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ADVENTURE GAMING ISN’T
PROPER WARGAMING!
Purists may claim that End of Empire
isn’t a ‘Proper Wargame’ and they
might be right. But take a look at the
list of games at SALUTE 2011 and
you will see a very high proportion of
non-historical games (although this year
I ran a F&IW game). In many ways our
game melds the best parts of traditional
tabletop wargames, the cool models
(more of which next month) the painting
and collecting of figures, with the best
parts of roleplaying games, the endless
scope and the impossible situations.
Our first few campaigns for End of
End of Empire.indd 7
Empire only ever featured a handful of
figures for any one scenario, but as we
have played and developed the game,
we have come up with more and more
extravagant ideas involving more and
more figures. Recently we have played
more regular looking wargames as part
of our campaigns, albeit with some
pretty unconventional troops on some
sides, like the corpse army of Count
Orloff, who typically set his sights on
destroying London and would have
succeeded had it not been for those darn
toffs! To our delight we have found
the rules easily able to cope with much
bigger games.
Left: Adventures in the Heart of Darkness.
So whilst you may think this isn’t a
proper wargame, it does do one of the
most important things that a game is
designed to do. It brings us together
to play games and have fun. To the
characters in the game everything is
deadly serious and real, the humour
comes from the way the game is played
and the roll of the dice. We always aim
to play in the Spirit of the Game (hence
our group moniker); we combine our
creativity and skills to complete a joint
project which is deeply satisfying to play
and which has been warmly received by
many folk attending wargaming shows
for the past six or seven years and in
that time it has claimed several awards
including Best Game at both SALUTE
and SELWG. In 2011 we are resting End
of Empire at shows and playing proper
wargames instead, but I am sure it will
rise again. So don your top hat, grab
your swordcane and venture out into the
pea-souper and risk your life saving the
Empire from imminent doom….
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15/6/11 09:13:36
 END OF EMPIRE
HOME-GROWN PULP ADVENTURE GAMING. PART 2. By Tim Eagling

In last month’s issue of Wargames Illustrated we introduced you to the Like other Spirit of the Game projects,
weird and wild world of End of Empire (see WI286), this month EoE the game play went hand in hand with the
author Tim Eagling (member of the club Spirit of the Game) tells us model making. The aesthetic of the game
more about the buildings and terrain involved in his miniature twisted is very important to us. Well painted
miniatures on a full and detailed table-top
Victorian world.
really help to create the right atmosphere
Scratch-building models is the aspect impressive scenic pieces, I then had to for the game. End of Empire has been a
of the hobby that I enjoy the most and work out what an earth I was going to seven year model making project, which
End of Empire has afforded me many do with them. This was definitely the in some cases will never be finished.
opportunities to indulge my passion. This beginning of our London adventure. It Every new campaign usually commences
article features many of the buildings was these pieces of scenery that swung with a frantic burst of building. Between
Spirit of the Game has made for our our decision to set our pulp adventures in three model makers we have built: pubs,
games of Victorian Mayhem. Victorian rather than 1930s England. And churches, abbeys, a museum, shops,
the lion statue even gave the name to our houses, stately homes, a theatre, factories,
BEGINNINGS
fictional area of London, Lion’s Square. warehouses, castles, docks, boats, jungle,
It is true that from small acorns great
oak trees grow. One Christmas I found
some working street lights designed to
go with Victorian Christmas houses. I
instinctively knew they would look great
on a wargaming table so I bought several
sets and then had to come up with a way
of using them. The light sets come with
a battery pack and a great deal of wiring,
so it was necessary to create something
to disguise all of this. I dug through my
bits boxes and found an armoured knight
and many smaller items. I then realised
that my son had two identical lions in his
zoo animal collection so I procured the
surplus lion so it could become the main
feature of a statue. I set about making
some street furniture, large statues and
impressive gaslights. At the time this
was really an exercise in modelling
and having made a couple of rather Above: Lion’s Square by Gaslight.

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 monuments and a whole host of other
things. A campaign often springs out of
an idea for a new model. Early on our
campaigns were difficult to play easily as
we always seemed to be building. Now
phone boxes and appropriate vehicles
and we should be in business. Change
the phone boxes again and add a Capri or
two and we can move right up into 1970s,
Diamond Geezer territory.
especially those made by Front Line
miniatures (who in some cases have
added products to their range as they
have made things for us) The theatre
has a fully detailed backstage area, two
levels of seating and stage with scenery;

FICTION
we can start a campaign and only have The ability to be able to get inside
the Old Green Dragon pub has two bars,

to build the odd model (usually) where
the climax takes place at the end. We can
now make most locations in the British
Isles, many from deepest Africa and from
lost worlds, and I think we’re heading for
the Middle East next.
BASIC RULES
PULP
the model is crucial for skirmish
a snug and rooms upstairs. Sir Henry’s
games. The detail inside can often be
town house has a two floored library,
as important as the outside. Some
a lower ground floor for the staff and
buildings are left empty, others get a
even a Botticelli on the wall of the
full detailing. In some cases we make
ball room. Some buildings have room
all the details and in other cases we use
commercially available scenery parts Below: Inside the Green Dragon pub.

We try to stick to two over riding

principles when we make new models
which are: longevity and interactivity.
One of the first things I consider when
thinking of building a new model is: “How
many times can the model be used?” It
is no use making a model that will only
be used once. In what other scenarios
or games systems could we use it in?
Making our games look Victorian is fairly
straightforward, using period vehicles
like Hansom cabs and then putting period
posters on all available surfaces set the
scene well enough. The street furniture
has been a major contributor to getting
the Victorian feel right. At some point I
am sure we will use most of the London
scenery for 1930s games and WW2,
then all we will need to do will be to add

Below: Colonel Sir

Henry Templeton-Smyth’s
London house.

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 Above: The first End of Empire table made way to find the right thing. I have mostly TABLE TOP GAMES
up of four 2'x2' squares with a canal running used OO/HO windows and other features.
through. The seedy end of town. The other most common railway kits I Playing surfaces have caused me many
use are sheets of moulded roof material. headaches, especially as we have a
layouts that are removable whilst others Making roofs from regular components tendency to take End of Empire to shows
have permanently stuck in furniture. like this helps to create the feel of mass where we have a huge table. From the
The key issue here is to ensure that you produced building materials. Roof lines earliest stages of my wargaming, I always
can get both your hand and figures into on buildings are very important. I try to fancied a modular battlefield and after
the rooms. vary roofs and heights of buildings as several attempts I think I am pretty much
much as possible to make the table varied there. My first table for End of Empire was
CONSTRUCTION TIME AGAIN
and realistic. four 2' by 2' squares with a canal running
New buildings are great fun, they
often come after discussion as to what Right: Adventures in the Lost world.
we might need in our next campaign.
Sometimes I will draw concept sketches
to see if the ideas might work; on other
occasions I will leap in with both feet and
see what I come up with. Inspiration for
models can be as varied as the models
themselves. It might be from somewhere
visited, an image seen in a book or film,
or in some cases a cool toy or even a
piece of rubbish that makes an interesting
shape. I tend to use the same material for
my buildings, foam core. It is strong and
easy to work with and relatively cheap.
Unlike my models for earlier periods
I decided that one of the features that
Victorian buildings required was regular
and consistent features, so it was off to
the railway model shop. Unfortunately
there is very little made for 28mm, in
fact many manufacturers can’t decide on
exactly what scale it is (it usually comes
out as somewhere between 1/48th and
1/54th), so browsing the railway model
shop’s component shelves is the only

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 through it. This proved too big to store
though, so I went for a slightly smaller
standard size. I now use 45cm (somewhere
along the line I went metric) by 45cm
boards, or versions of 45cm by 90cm
rectangles and for a couple of pieces 90cm
by 90cm squares. I use a 12mm chipboard
as a base framed by 25mm softwood
surrounds to guarantee a good joining
edge. The main board is then 25mm low
density polystyrene which can be cut into
if desired. Polystyrene is covered in PVA
and coral sand to give it a hard durable
surface. Urban boards then get a coat of
grey masonry paint, rural boards get a
paint and flock coating. I now have a large
selection of different sized boards, both
urban and rural. The rural boards work for
both ‘England’s Green and Pleasant Land’
and also most other green places around
the world, like ‘Darkest Africa’. Having
made all the boards the same, means that
I can also mix them when I want urban
areas like London with large areas of
parkland. Some judicious placing of
walls and suchlike disguise the blends
between board sections and the green
rural boards work perfectly well against
the grey urban ones.
ALL AT SEA
One of the other scenery features I have
really enjoyed developing has been the
boats and ships we use. Much of our
action seems to take place amongst the
quays and wharfs of East London and
the vessels that work there. I have made
many model ships for 28mm games, but
came upon a new solution for End of
Empire. I found a couple of those ship
ornaments (the kind of thing you find on
the seafront at Southend, Blackpool or
the Isle of Wight, and with a few crafty
adjustments (like sawing off the base, I
was able to make some quite effective
gunboats and tugs.
End of Empire still offers many
modelling possibilities. I am sure there
will be new projects in the future, after
all we keep coming up with great titles
for campaigns. I am not sure what I
will have to build for ‘The Gibraltar
Incident’, but I do have a plan for an
entire modular Middle Eastern city,
so you never know where our intrepid
adventurers will turn up next. Rest
assured wherever it is, it will be made
from foamcore and balsawood.
The models in this article were made by
myself, Pete Malcolm, and Ben Shilito.
For further information about End of
Empire, head to:
www.spiritofthegame.org.uk

Top right: Roof Tops and hansome cabs, A view

across Lion’s Square.
Middle right: London docks, tugs and gunboats.
Bottom right: Saurius Trouble (sic).

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