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It has been a while, but adding to my 10mm armies for Fantastic Battles, the latest are the Night Stalkers. With a theme of all-things-bitey meets Gothic Noir, the army is led by stylishly aristocratic vampires and uses the ‘feast’ trait as a racial trope.
Most units are from Forest Dragon – the were-wolves are from Varus Minatures.
The Countess with her commanders.
Vampiric knights.
Ghouls.
Dire Wolves.
Were-wolves.
Giant Vampire Bats.
Succubi.
The Death Coach driven by the rogueish Coachman.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
After a loooong winter, the army of the Red King has finally been mustered for another Fantastic Battles 10mm army showcase. This was an army that I had to build. Not driven by a particular passion for the army theme, so much as an instant besottedness with the miniatures as soon as I saw them. Everything in the army is from Warp Miniatures (formerly Warploque), although not everything was originally intended to be used as I have used them.
The army command is built around the Red King, a majestic warlord with a robin on his antlers, and a bloody big sword. His kilt and banner are derived from the Co. Antrim tartan (over this side of the water we have county tartans rather than clan tartans). He is supported by three thegn captains, a mouse, a squirrel, and a hare.
Providing magical support is the Wyrd Sister. I play her as a summoner and she is shown here with a clutch of shroomlings to be summoned in the course of the battle.
Carrying the biggest and meanest beasts in the army, the army’s chariots are the mobile strong-arm of the army, able to deal damage and soak it up in equal measure.
The moohemoths, mighty highland aurochs carrying howdahs, provide a bastion to stiffen the army’s levy units in combat. Having the passenger trait means they can also carry around characters in comfort while they issue orders and summon fungi.
Mjowls, gryphon-like critters combing the forepart of giant owls and the rear of snow leopards, are not particularly powerful, but they are fast and provide a mobile reserve able to redeploy wherever needed.
Bog trolls, both soft and absorbent, excel at hurling boulders at their enemies, crushing anything foolish enough to come within range.
The fastest beastlings in the army, principally hares and squirrels, fight as skirmishing slingers. Quick and hard to hit, their sling stones carry a sting none-the-less.
The core of the army is made up of two levy units – the front ranks equipped with long spears and shields while the rear ranks carry bows. They are not powerful in melee, but are relatively swift, don’t mind rough terrain, pack a punch when shooting, and are happy to receive a charge – to their front at least.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
This army showcase is a little bit different in that it is only a 500 point army rather than 1,000. Fantastic Battles scale perfectly well for smaller armies and this army of Wyld Elves is about as small as it gets. It has focused on a small number of elite, resolute units supported by the full cadre of character types. All miniatures are 3D printed figures from Excellent Miniatures.
Always watching, the Wyld Elves of the far north are seldom seen unless they choose to be. Longing for nothing more than to dance in mountain meadows lit by the midnight sun, they are never-the-less ruthless and resolute warriors when summoned to war. The fleet-footedness of Wyld Elves is their racial trope, represented by the fast trait (+1 to their movement value).
From left to right are the she-elves commanding this small army: Hjartardottir the army warlord on her white stag, a Huldra magic-user, a captain and a rogue. In most small games, players take just a warlord and a captain; taking so many Wyld Elf characters will make this army very flexible and easy to command, but at the expense of additional units.
Moving swiftly and ignoring terrain that would hamper more conventional cavaly, the strongest Wyld Elves ride to war mounted on proud stags.
Most Wyld Elves are skilled archers and slingers. They muster in small skirmishing companies fighting from woods and excelling in hit and run tactics.
Attuned to the natural world, Wyld Elves often call upon their friends among the giant eagles to soar above their armies providing assistance from the air.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
Those look great Tony! … and of course every unit in that last battle report uses one of your bases as well.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
Hello Nic! Sounds like a cool system. I’ve played a lot of Irregular Wars, and I really like the system a lot. The only part I dislike is the resolve/hp tracking for multiple bases. Have you seen any particularly clever ways players keep track of resolve other than wound counters or pencil and paper? It’s been fun following the development!
Hi! I’ve seen various different wound tracking systems, but all involve small dice, counters, tracking wheels or the like. Some people have little pins sticking up from the corner of a base, and place little beads on the pin when Resolve is lost. As you can see in the pictures, we just use the same hit counters that we use for everything.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
The next of my showcases comes in the form of the Ziggurat Dwarves. These are all from Cibo’s Little Dudes in Switzerland – most are from his range of Evil Dwarves, but some pieces are regular dwarves and the flying carpets are made from greenstuff. By far the smallest of the armies showcased to date, these dwarves favour quality over quantity mustering only five characters and 18 companies (intended to be fielded as eight or nine units).
The Ziggurat Dwarves are an ancient people from an arid land broken by fertile flood plains. Living in walled city-states, they build huge stepped monuments reaching into the sky. Some travellers believe these to be a memorial to an ancestral mountainous homeland far to the north, others feel the dwarves may simply be overcompensating for short-comings in other areas.
The command element of the army – the Warlord Gargamesh mounted on his city’s lamassu, flanked by the Captains Lakish and Uruk.
The magically inclined characters, the Magic-user Akkad, and the Djinn. The Djinn counts as both a character and a company and should be able to hold its own in battle, as well as casting wee spells to help the army along.
The temples provides a cadre of specialist priests to support the Ziggurati with carpet-riders. In such a slow army, the carpets provide a highly mobile reserve as well as limited fire-power as the priests throw down assorted fireballs and lightning bolts.
The Ziggurat Guard are the elite unit in the armies of the Ziggurati cities. Equipped with two handed axes, they should be able to make short work (pun intended) of any unit foolhardy enough to stand before them.
Shield-bearers make up the bulk of Ziggurati armies. Lacking the punch of the Ziggurat Guard, Shield-bearers are, however, almost impervious to frontal attacks as they present a solid shieldwall bristling with spears.
Lacking warriors with regular missile weapons, Ziggurati armies usually march to war supported by plentiful war-machines. These ballistae are equally capable of breaching enemy formations or fortifications. The grand battery would usually be broken into smaller groups to spread its shooting capacity along the entire dwarvern line.
The last unit in the army is a company of dwarvern highlanders, less sophisticated than their lowland cousins, they serve as scouts and foragers for the army on the march, and crucial flank support in the line of battle.http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
There is another Fantastic Battles battle report up on my blog for those interested in seeing a game.
Across the parched plain, the mindless hordes of the liche-king shambled forward, keen to add to their number with the countless corpses of their goblin foes. This week’s game of Fantastic Battles. saw a completely undead army for the first time, pitted against the brave boyz in green.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
Sweet mother McCree, those are spectacular! I’m definitely doing my 3mm scale orcs in yellow ochre now, seeing that work!
LOL, thanks! I think…?
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
See this is the hobby for me, not just or even the gaming, but the creation. The cohesion and the visual appeal. This here is what you expect in glossy gaming rule books: And the love of the creation … They are not just animals, they are truffle hunters, you could have easily not bothered with any of that. Same with The Hearthshire Academy Mathematics Society. It is all such great stuff. World building and getting ‘buy in’, it is aspirational, I like it very much.
Thank you. I appreciate the kind words. For me, if there is no background, then units are just playing pieces. The background doesn’t directly impact on game play, but it flavours decisions all the same.
Wait who is this chap with his top off and the muscles?
Ha, that is just iffy colour correction by the camera/computer. He is a Eureka 10mm halfling with a spear wearing a very pale yellow shirt. 🙂
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks for the kind words folks!
Hopefully we can inspire others to share their armies here as well.
have to ask – what is the cave in the last shot?
It is a ‘cave’ for a terrarium, bought from a local pet shop. It sees action mostly in games of Palaeo Diet: Eat or Be Eaten, but as you can see here, it gets occasional outings for other projects too.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
This next army represents my view of goblins as a jibbering, unruly, tribal society, brought together only by the strength and cunning of a ‘great goblin’. They are a mixture of Polar Fox, Cibo’s Little Dudes, Warmaster, Magister Militum, Frostgrave and Blind Beggar miniatures.
At the back is my Warlord and great goblin, King Skrotrot, riding on his wyvern (Cibo’s Little Dudes). Along the front, from left to right, are my two Magic-users Skittles (converted Cibo’s) and Slabbers (Polar Fox); three Captains, Skunkbut (Warmaster), Snatters (Warmaster) and Skunderd (converted Magister Militum dark elf); and my Rogue, Snickers (Polar Fox).
Four companies of goblin wolf-riders (Warmaster) armed with wicked shortbows and riding cranky canines. I would normally field these in two units to give maximum flexibility, but they could just as easily be run as a single four-company unit.
A single unit of goblin bat-riders – converted Frostgrave bats. This unit is not very tough or powerful, but it is incredibly fast. If it can hover around behind larger units and avoid destruction, it is perfect to launch attacks on enemy flanks and rears.
Considered backwards even by goblin standards, the two-company unit of goblin spider-riders (Cibo’s Little Dudes) are the only unit in the army capable of fighting unhindered in woods and rough terrain.
Goblin warriors at their most generic (Polar Fox Miniatures), these chaps carry wicked shortbows but are even more at home getting nice and close and giving the enemy “one up ’em”.
Two companies of goblin Madcaps (Warmaster), made up of fungus-addicted hooligans, even more unpredictable than others of their race.
A ramshackle goblin battle-wagon (Cibo’s Little Dudes), capable of flattening enemy warriors irrespective of their armour – all despite being held together with bits of string.
The most steadfast unit in the army consists of these two companies of ogre mercenaries – 15mm orcs fro Magister Militum – lending some much needed muscle to the goblin horde.
Hurling boulders and capable of regenerating when wounded, a two-company unit of trolls – 15mm hill trolls from Magister Militum – also provides valuable support to the more numerous goblins.
Rounding off the army are two giants – converted prehistoric hunters from Blind Beggar miniatures – (Snickers the goblin Rogue shown for scale). Giants cannot form into groups, but fight with the power of much larger units.http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
From the Shire to the Moot, I have always had a soft spot for the wee folk. The halflings of Hearthshire are a peaceable and earnest folk. Settled in a quiet land of agricultural small-holdings nestled between low rolling hills, they are slow to anger, but stout in the defence of their homes. This army combines ranges from Eureka Miniatures, Magister Militum, Pendraken and Alternative Armies.
From left to right: Mr Hotspur, Sheriff of Hearthshire, serves as Hearthshire’s Warlord and is carried into battle on a ceremonial shield (Magister Militum conversion); the two Captains, Puck Goodfellow (Eureka) and Captain Fishwick (Magister Militum); the Magic-user, Barmbrack Hamfist riding a giant guinea pig (Magister Militum on a Bad Squido mount); and the Rogue, Rosie Foxglove (self sculpted). As a halfling wizard, Barmbrack uses buffing rather than destructive spells.
Mounted on stout ponies, the Hearthshire Yeomanry (Magister Militum) are the closest Hearthshire gets to heavy cavalry. As a small unit with good Resolve and decent speed, they can be used to support the flanks of the main halfling battle line, or swing around to harry the flanks of enemy units.
Riding on the backs of geese, the poultry scouts (Magister Militum) lack the Resolve or Melee capacity to make good front line troops but can be useful to take and hold terrain features.
The Hearthguard of Hearthshire are the most resilient infantry unit among the halflings (Magister Militum standard bearers, some converted). Armed with long spears, they are at their best when receiving charges or fighting against larger foes.
Halfling militia archers (Magister Militum) are eminently capable shooting troops, however lacking they may be when it comes to melee skills.
The halfling kitchen militia (Eureka and Magister Militum) feed the army on the march, but also muster as a stout, if ineffective, fighting unit. With ready access to the kitchen stores, they have the ability to regenerate any Resolve lost through the course of a battle.
When not foraging for supplies, the truffle-hunters (Magister Militum with Pendraken hogs) are able to deliver a disruptive blow against any unit they charge. They do, however, lack Resolve, so their attack must be well timed.
Watching from the woods and other rough terrain features, what the halfling wardens (Eureka) lack in martial prowess, they make up for with their skill as archers and skirmishers.
The treefolk of Wyldwood (Pendraken – with a Magister halfling) provide much needed close-combat support to the Hearthshire muster. Their ability to move easily through wooded terrain is also a major boon to any halfling army.
What better monster than a cockatrice (Alternative Armies) to support an army of wee farmers?!
The Hearthshire Academy Mathematics Society produces a small but able body of engineers to man small artillery pieces (Magister Militum). With the ability to lob large stones other the heads of intervening troops, Hearthshire catapult batteries are often deployed in support of the Hearthshire army.http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
Hi Ian,
We’re currently in the playtesting phase of a fantasy version of Irregular Wars called Fantastic Battles which I’m looking to have ready for release later in the year.
The central tenets of Irregular Wars: Fantastic Battles are:
*Engaging rules. The rules need to keep both players engaged at all times with randomised initiative and play passing quickly between players.
*Command friction and fog of war. The rules need to limit the omnipotent control a warlord has over their army and the battlefield conditions.
*Setting agnostic. The game must be applicable to any fantasy (or even pseudo-historical) settings.
*Flexible army building. As a game of fantasy battles, why accept restrictions on your fantasy? A flexible army building system allows players to create armies to their own tastes.
*Scale agnostic using multi-based figures. All measurements are expressed in distance units (u), where 1u is the width of one company base. Any size bases are possible, as long as all companies are based in the same way.
*No individual figure removal. All units have a footprint and are represented on the table as a complete unit. When a unit loses its resolve to fight, it is removed from the table in its entirety.
More information and photos are available HERE on the blog.
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
My 6mm Seleukid’s for sure!
Pikemen, elephants, chariots, camels, colourful national contingents, lots of heavy cavalry – what’s not to like!
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/
