July is right around the corner, and that means that wargamers on the East Coast are gearing up for Historicon 2023. This year’s event will be hosted at the Lancaster County Convention Center (the Marriott) in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. And yes, Firelock will be there with their booth, their games, and their usual cast of salty dogs.
Important Dates
- Convention: July 19-23, 2023
- Open Gaming and On-Site Registration: Wednesday, July 19th
- Full-day Gaming begins: Thursday, July 20th
- Early Registration Opens: June 1st
- Mail-in Registration Closes: July 3rd
- Advance Registration Closes: July 17th
Registering early will net you a $10 discount for the full convention. There is no discount for a single day pass though, so if you’re in the area and decide to stop by, just register the day-of.
Tournament Events
As usual, Firelock’s “beasts of the east” will be at Historicon to test their mettle. The East Coast is host to several of the most active Firelock fanatics, and although Historicon isn’t nearly as large as Adepticon, past tournament rosters have been just as full. If you’re looking to get in on the action, there are 3 chances to do so.
Download the full Tournament PEL
Blood & Plunder: 150pt Land Tournament
Friday, Jul 21, 9am – 1:30pm
Host: Tom, from Tales of the Sail
Contact: talesofthesail@gmail.com
Legal forces from any released book (incl. Raise the Black). Email the Tournament Organizer to register, and include a copy of your list. I recommend exporting the Force Builder document as a .pdf (using the Print options) to attach with your email.
Loaner armies are also available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Email ahead of time to reserve at loaner list.
Blood & Plunder: 200pt Sea Tournament
Friday, Jul 21, 3pm-9pm
Host: Glenn, from Tales of the Sail
Contact: talesofthesail@gmail.com
Legal forces from any released book (incl. Raise the Black). Email the TO to register, and include a copy of your list, as above.
Loaner lists are available, just like the Land tournament.
Blood & Valor: 200pt Tournament
Saturday, Jul 22, 10am-4pm
Host: Rufus & Kai! Firelock giants and authors of Blood & Valor
Contact: rkd1463@gmail.com
Legal forces from the Core rulebook or End of Empires. Email the TO to register, and include a copy of your list.
Loaner lists are available, as with the B&P tournaments – email in advance to reserve a list.
Scenario & Narrative Events
In addition to the tournament scene, there has been a growing interest in narrative games at Historicon. These are a great way to pick up a Firelock game for the first time, or to play in a less “cut-throat” environment than the tournament tables.
Blood & Steel: Skirmish Outside Fredericksburg
Times: Thurs, 7pm-10pm / Fri, 9am-Noon / Fri, 1pm-4pm
Players: 6
Host: Edgar Pabon, author of Blood & Steel
Union scouts meet Confederate pickets during the encirclement of Fredericksburg.
Blood & Steel: Battle of Las Guasimas, 1898
Times: Friday, 7pm-11pm
Players: 4
Host: Jeff Whitlock
Cuban rebels and American troops assault Kettle Hill in a bid to capture Santiago from the Spanish.
Blood & Plunder: The Last Gentleman Pirate
Times: Friday, 10am-2pm / Saturday, 10am-2pm
Players: 5
Host: The Dead Man himself! Tyler Stone
Contact: thecaptain@deadmanschest.org
Stede Bonnet has been cornered on the Cape Fear river by pirate-hunter William Rhett
Blood & Plunder: The BFG! (200pt Big ‘Fleet’ Game)
Time: Saturday, 5pm-9pm
Players: As many as possible!
Host: ‘Not Quite Dead’ Tyler Stone
Contact: thecaptain@deadmanschest.org
This is a bring & play event! You’ll need a 200pt Sea list to get onto the table. Just like the tournament, loaners are available on FC/FS basis. Contact me to reserve a loaner.
Players will be divided into 2 fleets as they show up, history-be-damned. We’ll fight this out at Army Scale with mass activations.
The Booth
Firelock will be there with their booth, alongside their friends from Phalanx Consortium (who supply the B&Valor range). There will be demos on hand of the Firelock titles – if you don’t see one at the booth, ask the guys at the counter and they’ll direct you to where you can find someone to teach you. Or just come find me.
Firelock doesn’t usually do a sale for the convention, but they usually have their cast-off box of ships selling for a song, and the cons can be a great time to grab early releases and hard-to-find items. Last year you could grab the not-yet-released Birchbark Canoe, as well as the “nowhere to be found” English Militia. At Adepticon they had the first-run of the new 3rd Rate box for Oak & Iron.
If it’s a discount that you’re after, everything on their site is currently part of a 20% off sale! thanks to the upcoming Summer of Plunder. So if you need a few extra minis to put the finishing touches on your tournament list, or want to grab a ship and crew for the BFG, now is a great time!
Dead Man's Chest 