How they should look

I've been musing over a Runissian and Kaliad project lately, as you may know. I plan to use fireforge conversions and some other figures for mail and padded armoured cavalry, yet to be decided. I did, however, fancy doing something different, mostly on the basing front...

So far, all my figures are on 20mm bases, so i can switch between skirmish and battle rules, but for my Runissians, i am thinking about doing them on multi bases. I really want to try these out, as i think you can really get the packed ranks feel that you don't get when all figures are on their own bases. I will mostly be playing with either dux britanniarum or Impetus, so my bases will be of 6 figures.

Here is my plan:

But wait, there is more! Instead of sticking them all on the same base, each man will be on a small tab, only slightly bigger than his own bases (fireforge foot have large tabs on their feet so might not need small bases adding). These men will then be moved thanks to a sabot bases, with each hole cut to hold a specific figures.

Sound complicated? Basically, a sabot base but each man has a smaller base allowing men to be removed by close enough to look like a unit. These two bases of Saxons will be tests, and will also serve as warriors in dux britanniarum. The base size is not fully decided yet, but will be around 60mm by 40mm. 80mm wide seems too big, and i thought 3 men on 40mm square bases but i want packed ranks.

Maybe it'll look good, or not, we will see. But first the Perry medievals.

2 Dux armies, but no book

As some of you might have guessed, i'm rather excited about dux britanniarum, even if it's taking for ever to arrive. To illustrate my lists, i took pictures for the Vikings and the English lists i proposed on an earlier post.

Here's the Viking one; two elite units, three warrior units, some archers and the leaders.

It's the same size as an early Saxon army, and will probably play pretty much the same.

Next the late medieval English list. It could be used for late 100 years wars, and with different figures could be earlier (Crecy period). There are two units of elite men at arms and some billmen (not 1 elite and 1 warrior unit, as before) and 3 units of warriors with bows.          

The combat part of the force, and the leaders and banner holding champion. As for fate cards, i have ideas but will post nothing until i know the rules.

'Go get 'em boys!!'

The archers, three units of the devils :p

No French yet as the cavalry's not painted.

Following chatter on the Lead Adventure Forum and comments i will change some of my lists (thanks to all for the comments!), and one day i might get to play a game! Note this is nothing to do with the lards, who were excellent following PDF problems, it's just the damned post service!!!

Also, i have seen Fireforge games will be releasing some foot soldiers soon. They look rather nice, and perhaps i will buy a box or two and make them into figures for my fantasy world (i avoid from saying Runissia because that's only one nation, there's the Kaliads, Kindarrians, and others). The foot will work for most infantry, with Perry heads for Runissians and Kindarrians (with added coifs) and the kettle hats for Kaliad clansmen with spears. The shields will work will only a little trimming, and i have spare weapons and wire to replace some of the Warhammer like weapons they carry.

The only problem is cavalry, as they all wear surcoats while i want chain mail and sculpt breastplates and shoulder plates over them. Conquest maybe? We will see, it's still just an idea (i still have a box of perrys and half a box of knights, plus lots to paint)!

Dux varients

I have been using my brain cells recently while i wait for the rule book to arrive, thinking of any way i can exploit my miniatures collection for these rules. Basicly to run a campaign you need an attacker to raid and a defender to protect his realm. The possibilities are endless...

• Vikings and Saxons, easy, already been thought of, and could be played with minor changes. Give the Vikings the shield wall ability and keep the cards the same. Ferocious charge can become 'boar's tusk', same rules different name.
• Normans vs Saxons, or French? Some new cards for the Normans.
• Bit different now; 15th century. As in my previous past, i noted several thoughts such as Lancastrian raiders in the north following Towton, French and English raiders in the Channel and the French, Burgundy wars. Maybe two small Italian states battling each other for domination?
• Lord of the Rings setting, with the orcs raiding the lands of the free peoples. Orcs will play as Saxons more or less, and Minas Tirith as Britons. Rohan would be slightly more difficult, as they are mostly horsemen but perhaps they have less men, but most mounted?

These are just some of the less crazy ideas (i thought a modified campaign system could be used for guerilla warefare, such as partisans in WWII or the Vietnam war!), not sure for fate cards just yet but all will become clearer when i read the rules.

As for forces, i have several thoughts.

Vikings as early Saxons, later Saxons as Britons. Nothing new here.

No ideas on Normans, but their has been a lot of talk on the lardies yahoo group recently.

Right, 15th century. The main problem here is archers; English armies had lots more archers than in Saxon times, and often fought in hand to hand. I thought that warrior class archers may shoot and fight in hand to hand (maybe less effective?) while levy archers run, as skirmishers. As for lists:
-English: 1x6 Men at arms on foot (elites), 1x6 billmen (warriors), 3x6 archers (warriors, & levy?), 1x6 levies perhaps and possibly 4 skirmishers with handguns.
-Burgundy: 1x4 knights (elite shock cavalry), 1x4 sergeants (warrior shock or light cavalry), 2x6 soldiers, 1x6 militia pikemen, 1x4 skirmishers with handguns.
-French: 2x knights (elite shock cavalry), 1x4 sergeants (warrior light cavalry), 1x6 soldiers with pole arms, 3x6 frnac archers (1 unit with bows or crossbows), 1x4 skirmishers as above.
-Scottish: 1x6 men at arms on foot, 4x6 soldiers zith long spears, 1x4 border horse (warrior light), 1x 4 skirmishers.
All needs testing of course.

As for lord of the rings, i have 2 lists;
Orcs: 4x6 warriors, 1x4 warg riders (warrior light cavalry), 1x4 skirmishers, maybe 6 urak hai or tough orcs (elite).
Minas Tirith: 2x6 veterans (elite), 2 or 3x6 warriors, 1x4 missile troops.

All the above lists have a leader, champion, and 2 big men, or nobles.
I have some fate card ideas, put i'll leave it at that for today!

Back to school for me soon, so imput will decrease :( Never mind, i can't be on holiday all the time.

Please feel free to critic my ideas, and don't feel bad if you tell me they're naff. They're just some ideas taken from my notebook.

Fresh off the workbench

Finally finished three archers i had started! These three men had been sitting around for weeks waiting for painted bows and belt buckles!

The man in blue is to join the 15th century french.

I'm happy to say i've found a good wood colour, raw sienna wash over white.

Ironically the back view is better focused than the front!

I've also created three light horsemen. In all three cases i saved them from complete disaster: on the left, i did a body swap, but the body was wearing a jack and in the end it looked a bit bizare, so i shaved it down and sculpted a chain mail hauberk over it. He looks normal now.

The middle and right horsemen have had a leg change. The right one looks good, but at first i couldn't make the middle one sit properly in the saddle. After shaving and miliputting, he now sits properly.

The right man was the easiest, just need to sculpt some stirups on his feet.

Click for a bigger image.

And as i bought Dux Brit recently, i decided to make some men, starting with these saxon gesiht. One has the head from the other post while the left hand man uses a viking head with mail face guard made from miliput. Nothing too hard :D

Right, stop it, this is getting far too silly

There's Graham Chapman telling me to put some pictures on this blog.

Seriously, i noticed i've put at least four posts on without photos lately, so i decided it would end NOW!

Starting modestly, i have been playing with the miliput. I recently bought the Dux Britanniurm rules for warfare in Britian circa 5th and 6th century. I don't have any romano british figures, but my saxons and vikings will proxy, at least until i make some (hint at new project, but definatly long term, still got a ton of 15th century to do!)

So, while i had some spare time waiting for the book i tested some 5th century helmets on some spare heads i had. Looking at the gripping beast models and reenactors, many helmets had cheekguards, so i did some on the left hand helmet. I also really like the large face plates, so i tried one on the right hand one.

A close up of the face plate. Closer inspection on pictures revealed that there were raised areas around the eyebrows, nose and mouth which i missed. Never mind, i have plenty more heads to experiment on!

Close up of the chhekpieces; simple and not too shabby.

This does mean i will be wheeling out the saxons and vikings again, who are all nicely based and flocked. I do have some still to paint (an a dozen to assemble) as well as the late medievals so more updates to follow, but i think my time will be filled with gaming soon!

EDIT
Lutdendorff Gravina and Dan, welcome!

Ships and halls, and little men

End of holidays and back to lycée this week, so i will be posting less recently than during the holidays. Never the less i will try and do at least one post a week. And so, i present you with the fruits of this weeks labour.

I have been waiting patiently for my store to get some Perry knights in, but alas they do not have them yet. I've got loads of conversion ideas and i'm itching to do them, but i will have to wait a little longer.

First up are some 6mm figures i made last week and painted up on wednesday. Yes, i made them for no real reason, just an experiment really with the miliput. I might make a small force to use with Impetus or DBA, as they are easy to make and easier to paint. So far, i've made 12 generic combat armed men, some wearing some plate armour (the ones not carrying shields)

This weekend however, i did not feel like making little men, so i decided to start on a long boat. I had drawn up some plans a while ago and decided to make something today. Besides, whats a viking without a boat. Here i have a WIP pic of a smaller trading vessel; a proper longship is in the pipe line but i thought to make a more modest model first.

Planking done a drying, now the inside to do and the mast.

I have also put together some tables and benches for my dark age hall, as well as a wall to seperate the chief's room. This is another project that i've been meaning to do for some time. A lick of paint later and they'll be ready (by my standards at least!).



Right, back to my ship!

Base update

The time of cardboard bases us over! I decided to get on with some basing and covered my viking bases with sand and painted a couple up and added static grass. Here are the first two.

I also started on on the Perry figures, painted up five and based them this morning. These chaps are from the retinue of Henry Stafford, just need to do the staffordshire knot but a finer brush is needed. The armoured billman can also serve as a french or blue liveried man, and i plan to paint a french retinue, mostly foot men and a handful of peasant archers led by mounted men at arms, just got to wait for their release...

Well, i've still got 75 men to paint before the mounted knights, best get to work.

Therad's ambush

Therad’s ambush

   It was early afternoon when the rider rode into Brudes. He demanded to see Therad, the local chief, saying he had important news of enemy raiders in the area. Therad saw him immediately.

   “Where are they?” Therad asked, letting the rider sit on a bench by the large hearth in his hall. The rider drank deeply from the goblet a servant brought him before speaking.

   “Near the Sicin heights, two days ride away.”

   “Did you see who they were? Did they bear a flag?”

   “No flag, just a band of men. Some were mounted but most were on foot with pikes.”

   “Could be Runissians.” Hrod, Therad’s cousin put in put Therad ignored him.

   “How many?” Therad continued his questioning.

   “I don’t know, I can’t say. They were spread out when I saw them.” Therad nodded then turned to his cousin.

   “Assemble my retinue and call the men to arms.” Hrod nodded dutifully and left.

   For this battle I used the Lord of the Rings strategy battle game, modified for my fantasy world. Here, Therad, a Border Lander noble, has intercepted a band of mercenaries ravaging his lands. With his retinue behind him, he is determined to destroy the scum and make his lands peaceful once again.

   The mercenaries start the game in a column of march, heading to their next target. Their cavalry is in the lead while the captain follows with the foot and few crossbowmen.

   Therad leads his band onto the field, on the mercenaries’ right. The ragged looters turn around and form up around their captain, levelling pikes and loading crossbows.

   The two war bands line up opposite each other and hurl insults and curses. The mercenary cavalry start to move around the right of Therad’s line to attack the rear and archers.

   

Battle is joined! The mercenary pikes give them an advantage early on and they manage to kill several of Therad’s Hearth guard in the opening minute of combat. Therad’s men step back but hold firm with lifted shields and iron determination.

As the fight grinds on, the Border Landers’ heavier armour begins to show its worth and the Hearth guard begin to carve into the mercenary phalanx. The two leaders meet and fight over the dead bodies of both sides. On the right three horsemen attack the archers, but two are hacked down by the vengeful farmers and the last flees from the field.

   

Soon, both sides are broken and morale tests are taken by all. Therad holds his men together but the archers disappear. The mercenary captain, not having a sense of honour, then runs, taking the last of his men with him. Too tied to purse, Therad’s men taunt him and finish off the enemy wounded.

   The battle was won, but at a cost for Therad. As night fell across the field of battle he walks to the place where many of his men now lay. Brudes is safe, for now.

Advance Virtus test play

The other day I found an interesting set of rules as I was surfing. The rules are Advance Virtus, free to download from http://sgtligloo.free.fr/, a french wargames site. They are for gaming ancient and dark age battles so I thought, always curious to try out new rules, that I'd give them a bash.

And so I gathered some of my men (not all finished), lined them up and SMASH! I've included some pictures of the very modest affair.

And so? Well they're simple, and I like simple. Being mostly a solo player I don't like complicated systems and lots of book keeping. These rules meet those criteria. They're quite fun but I must test them again (with bigger forces) to get a real flavour. Maybe some more troop variety would spice it up as well.

The battle lines close

After a brief melee the Saxons pull back to rest

Saxon huscarls mixing it up (figures turned back represent losses and disorder, or PC)

In the centre, combat resumes

It's dangerous, it's gory, it's dark age warfare

Finally some pictures!

I've managed to get some pictures of my Saxons and Vikings. In these pics are unarmoured Saxons and Vikings as well a couple of archers and my thegn with the fancy helm (WIP).

Birth of a man

   The oars bit into the cool waters, hardly making a sound as they approached the shore.

   "Half of you, get your weapons." Gellir ordered. The old man tried to sound heroic but Haakon could hear the excitement in his voice. Haakon grasped his spear and looped the leather strap of his shield over his shoulder then looked to the shore where their prey waited.

   Haakon was excited too; it was his first raid, the first time to use a weapon in anger against a real enemy. He realized his teeth were chattering and he clamped his mouth shut and looked again over the boat rim. Soon. Behind him the rest of the crew murmured between themselves in low tones, all of them eager to win some loot they had sailed so long to reach.

   "We go to the church first." Ekill said.

   "Church?"

   "It's where they keep their gold." Haakon nodded to his friend's comment and wanted to reply but nothing came to him. "We'll find it all there."

   The first bell rang out, echoing deeply across the grey sea and Gellir urged his men to oar faster.

   "We can't let them get away! Faster! Faster!" Haakon felt his heart beat inside his chest and he knew he was shaking from the waiting. Not long now...

   The boat scrapped on the pebble beach and slowed to a stop.

   "Now!" Gellir roared and with a cry the first men leap from the front of the ship and darted towards the panicked villagers. Haakon was the first, and he charged into the village, visions of glory blurring his vision.

Foundations

   A thin mist shrouded the land around the quiet village of Harthrid, creeping like a ghost from the dark forest to envelope the small thatched houses. It snaked along the small stream, licking around Svat's watermill and seeping through the shuttered window. Up on the small hill, a stout hall stood, the hounds inside sleeping in a large huddle to keep away the night's chill. Bersi, the chief, slept peacefully.
   Down the hill, where the mist sat thicker, something moved. It walked up the slight slope, the dew wetting it's leather shoes and freezing it's toes. It blew into it's hands and tucked them under his armpits; it could never remember a spring morning so cold. As it reached the hall the first rays of dim sunlight touched the horizon and brought light into the world.
   Haakon Helgison watched the sun rise. He looked out over the lead grey sea, the huge vastness stretching out towards far away lands. Small waves broke themselves on the shingle beach and the cliffs over to Haakon's left where sea birds awoke and circled into the sky to greet the sun. Somewhere a stag raised it's noble head, spotted the young boy standing on the hill, then resumed nibbling away at a sapling. Inside the hall a hound stirred, yawning, then fell silent, and the sun crept further up to reveal it's golden face.
   Haakon began walking down the other side of the slope, his blond curls flowing out behind him. He scanned the shore with his sharp, green eyes as he passed Ansvar's smithy. Soon Ansvar would pump life into the charcoal and begin his work, but for now it was silent. Only the sound of the sea reached the boy's ears. When he reached the beach he stopped, looked to his left and right, then saw it.
   A ship.
   It was Laugi's ship, a wide trading ship, it's belly filled with metal workings and furs to take over the sea's to sell. Oars sat ready for use and the sea chest, filled with the crews belongings, sat with them. Nobody guarded the ship, for there was no need, as Harthrid knew neither war nor the feud, and Laugi brought much needed wealth to the village, so he left it unguarded. Haakon approached the vessel, running his fingers down the pine planks in wonder. Haakon could imagine himself of a ship, like this one, a band of warriors at his back and a shining helmet on his head. He imagined himself leading them to conquer lands in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, everywhere. He would build a mighty hall and fill it with the trophies taken from his vanquished foes. He knew that was his destiny.
   "How did I guess?" Haakon span around to see Laugi approach. "I saw someone heading this way and knew it was you."
   "Just wanted to see it before you left."
   "You still can't come?"
   "My father won't let me. But next year I will." Haakon added excitedly.
   "I look forward to then." Laugi stopped by Haakon and looked up at his ship.
   "I want a ship one day." Haakon said wistfully.
   "Still want to be a raider?" Haakon nodded.
   "Maybe Bersi would like to build a ship, so we could go raiding. Bersi always wants more money."
   "Bersi is old and fat. He can build a ship but he would see no use in doing so. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have one one day."
   "One day." Haakon repeated quietly. "One day."