Picts for Pillage

I've always wanted some Picts and the opportunity to assemble a small force for Pillage convinced me to buy a box of Gripping Beast plastic Picts and get on with it. I already have various Dark Age Irish and Norse Gael models which can provide some alternative figures (and Dane Axes) so really just needed some unarmoured, shielded spearmen, a couple of dog handlers, some crossbowmen and a Warlord. 

Photos below of the finished figures.

four crossbowmen

I realise I can probvably have up to five crossbowmen, so will probably paint another one - or another eight if I want to expand this force to play Saga.

ten spearmen

I painted all of my Picts so as to appear dressed in coarse woven material and this seems generally to have worked well. The shield designs are my own, based very approximately on pictish or celtic styles and painted freehand.

dogs and their handler

My dog handler is simply armed with a spear so that he can give support to his pack when they attack. No idea how this will work in practice but had to include him simply for the flavour.

warlord from various angles

The warlord is the only model with armour - very expensive for Picts. His torso is a Conquest plastic Norman infantryman and the cloak, belt and chest plate are (not particularly well) made from green stuff.

alternative warlord

I couldn't decide whether or not my warlord should be equipped with javelins or not - so made a similar model with added javelins. Again this was made from a plastic Norman and green stuff and I've kept the colour scheme the same.

pigs

sheep

With a need for things to pillage, I also painted up some Gripping Beast dark age pigs, and some Foundry sheep. Excellent figures all.

beehives

And finally, using a little left over Milliput and oddments from the bit box, I made some beehoves. These will be useful as scatter terrain but also for the new optional rules in the Pillage Sheep and Beehives supplement.

Bretons for Saga: The Dark Ages

6pts of Bretons for Saga

This is an army that has significantly jumped my painting queue - I had no plans at all to paint Bretons, but my local club (http://www.wycombewarband.org) decided to start a Saga campaign (you can look at the battle reports at http://sagaofsagas.blogspot.co.uk/) and so I chose to use this as an incentive to build an army I don't have rather than use one I already own. For the record, our Saga campaign does not use the Age of the Wolf rules, as we started it before these were published.

After some thought I decided to go for Bretons, partly because they are so completely different to every other Saga army I own and also because I had a couple of boxes of Conquest Plastic Normans that I thought would be relatively easy to convert at minimal cost.

There's not a lot known about Breton armies from the Dark Ages. Most of what I have been able to find out has come from less than an hour's worth of material from Wikipedia. The Bretons of the Dark Ages came from Celtic and Roman origins influenced through their interactions with the Franks and their neighbours to eventually become very like the Normans. They fought against the Franks for independence, and made alliances with Vikings and Normans.  Documented battles against the Franks describe their use of mounted warriors throwing javelins - and this is I presume the basis for the Saga list - but it is likely that by 1066 they had fully adopted the Norman method of fighting. Certainly the Bretons depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry are visually indistinguishable from the Normans they are fighting alongside.

My intent was to make up an army that looks good (and look a bit different to Normans) and to paint it fairly quickly, and then to learn a lot by playing a force that is completely different and that I am totally unfamiliar with.

With the expedient of getting an army on the table top as rapidly as possible, my core army list was initially 24 mounted Hearthguard and a Warlord. For a little more flexibility I would paint one mounted banner bearer. The campaign rules, though, meant that if I chose this I would be stuck with it against all comers and in all scenarios, without any option of foot troops. So after a quick rethink my list changed to include a couple of units of Warriors as well:

Warlord

4 points of Hearthguard

2 points of Warriors (who can be deployed either mounted with javelins or on foot).

Although Bretons of this period are most likely to have been very similar in appearance to Normans, I've taken a few liberties with history and opted for a slightly more Celtic/Gallic impression to give my Breton army its own distinct appearance and sense of identity.

Hearthguard

Hearthguard #1

Hearthguard #2

16 figures and 2 standard bearers (see below) made from Conquest Plastic Normans. Because I am not aware of any contemporary depictions of Breton knights (other than those that are indistinguishable from Normans) I've allowed myself some artistic licence in the look of these fellows. I chose to use armoured Norman knights with kite shields painted with designs favouring animals, and a couple of shields that mimic older Gallic patterns. They are all of course equipped with javelins. I chose to add cloaks to them as well as I like this effect.

I cut off their plastic spears and drilled hands to take javelins that I made from 1mm brass rod. Javelin points were made by flattening the end of the brass rod with a blow from a hammer, clipping it to a point, and filing off rough edges, then cutting the rod to suitable length. The javelins are all approximately 25mm long, which I think looks about right.

From a practical point of view, if you are reliant on throwing javelins as your main method of attack, it is reasonable to assume you would have a ready supply of them. While peasants might simply carry extra javelins with them in their left hand, it stands to reason that any well-equipped knight who wants to control his horse would have his personal supply in some sort of quiver, either attached to the saddle (probably) or on his back (in the manner that Roman javelinmen of a much earlier era are thought to have done). I therefore scratch-built quivers to contain spare javelins. After some trial and error I made two different types of javelin quiver, one style for Hearthguard, one for Warriors. And if anyone reading this knows of a better name for these than "javelin quiver"please correct me!

Hearthguard figure showing scratch-built javelin quiver

I made javelin quivers for the Hearthguard from plastic approximately 1.5mm thick. The plastic was actually cut from some of the bases that came with the Plastic Normans that I wasn't going to use. The main quiver body was cut out and filed to shape and drilled at the top to take three spare javelins. I glued on small strips of paper to give some raised detail, then made some extra javelin heads from offcuts of brass road and glued these to an appropriate length in the drilled holes to finish.

Javelin quivers were added to figures on the right hand side of the horse behind the rider, as after thinking about it for a while this seems to me the most practical position to access your supply of javelins if you're on a horse and carrying a shield in your left hand. I decided not to attach quivers to the backs of figures as it seems to me more practical for the quivers to be attached to the horse rather than the rider when mounted. Using strips cut from plastic card I made a sort of harness for the rear of the horses to which the javelin quiver would be attached. Also, it's practical that if a horse was equipped in this way some sort of counterweight would be required for the other side of the harness so I added pouches to fulfil this role on the opposite side of the horse. I know it's all speculation, but at least it is reasoned sensibly.

I filled in any small gaps I could find on each figure with green stuff, and finally added cloaks made from green stuff to all the riders.

To add a little bulk to these figures, which are otherwise very light, I attached two 1p pieces to each mounted base (Renedra 20mm x 50mm) before attaching the horses. Bases were then textured with a mixture of PVA, filler and builders sand, textured on the surface with sprinklings of small stones and Chinchilla dust.

When dry the models were primed with off-while emulsion and painted.

I'll write an article about the approach I use to painting horses at some point, but essentially I have done my best to get a representative mixture of different credible horse colours. There's nothing special to painting the men themselves - I do the faces, starting with the eyes and working outwards, then gradually colours are blocked in, shaded and highlighted. I printed out a selection of what I thought might be appropriate shield designs as templates, and did my best to paint these designs on the finished figures.

Warriors

Warriors #1

Warriors #2

I made up 16 mounted Warriors with 1 standard bearer. If I am to field these on foot then for the time being I will use my Anglo-Danish Warriors as these look reasonably similar, but I might make  up some specific Breton foot figures in due course. These figures are all converted Conquest Norman Knights, but I've only used the unarmoured figures or the ones without chain armour - these are the few figures in every box wearing what appears to be lamellar armour, which I am assuming is made of leather.

I made the mounted Warriors distinctive from the Hearthguard by giving them round shields, a different quiver design, and bare heads.

West Wind heads

These heads are brilliant and excellent value, from West Wind Games, intended for their Arthurian range. These were attached to the plastic Norman torsos using small lengths of wire inserted into holes drilled in the neck and top of the body. Green stuff cloaks hide the inevitable imperfections.

Warrior showing the cylindrical javelin quiver

I made less fancy javelin quivers for the mounted Warriors. I used a cylindrical design, made by cutting lolly sticks into approximately 15mm sections, to which I added surface detail made from paper strips. I drilled three holes in the top of each quiver and attached extra javelin heads made from brass rod offcuts cut to length to the top of each.

Warlord

Breton warlord

To make my Warlord stand out from the crowd I used a spare caparisoned horse from the Fireforge Mounted Templar set from which I cut down the saddle to fit the body of one of the Norman knights. I bent the horse into a more dramatic rearing pose. The rider was given a crowned head cut from one of the Perry miniatures personality figures from their Crusades range, attached by drilling head and neck and pinning with a small section of metal rod and glue. Despite my initial fondness for a Warlord called Conan (historically plausible for Bretons, who had at least two kings of that name) and the idea of using a suitably bemuscled barbarian figure, a Warlord with a crowned head is more accurate, mimicking the earlier Duke Salomon, (self-professed) King of Brittany, who was given a crown by Charles the Bald of the Franks and wore it with pride along with a purple cloak. He's depicted in a stained glass window in Rennes Cathedral.

I armed my Warlord with a javelin but decided not to give him horse harness or a quiver - as a king he would almost certainly have a servant carry his javelins anyway. Small gaps were filled with green stuff and I gave him a particularly large green stuff cloak (to be painted purple, of course).

The painting challenge with this figure - which I think from a distance I have achieved (but don't look too close) - was to paint the caparison of the horse in typically Breton colours. This means in heraldic ermine.

Heraldic ermine

I'm completely unsure whether this is actually a pattern that would have been worn or a representation of wearing real fur - or even just tassles - but there are illustrations of this design on horse caparisons of a later time so, well, why not? The finished effect, along with my efforts to paint a rather more complex Celtic-style shield design, I think looks OK.

Standard Bearer

Standard bearers

Made generally in the same way as the Hearthguard, but each holding a standard rather than a javelin.  I could find no contemporary illustrations of Breton banners other than those that are identical to the Norman ones - these it appear come from the Bayeux Tapestry. I therefore painted two flag standards using the ones provided in the Conquest Plastic Normans in designs broadly in accordance with the flag of Brittany (essentially black and white designs). I'm happy with the finished result.

All completed figures were varnished first in gloss (for strengthening) and then in matt (for effect) using Vallejo varnish. I added flock (Army Painter) and grass tufts (Gamer's Grass, from Great Escape Games) to the bases to finish them off.

And off to battle they went...

Rus Princes for Saga

The completed Rus army

To my shame, it has taken nearly a whole year to finish painting this army, since being given the 4-point starter warband last Christmas (lovely present). The starter set comes with 12 Levy archers, 8 foot Warriors, 8 mounted Hearthguard and a Warlord. Probably not the most effective of army lists, but there you are! I added a few things to this for variety and playability - 8 steppe nomads, 8 more mounted Hearthguard, and two different figures to use as Warlords (I don't much like the psychotic look of the chap that comes in the starter set). All figures are Gripping Beast, either taken from their Saga range or from their Rus: Pagans to Princes range (many of which are actually the same casts).

Levy Archers

Levy militia arches

These figures represent city militia archers, and unusually for most levy are depicted with helmets and some armour. Nice castings that work well together.

Foot Warriors

Militia warriors

More city militia, but these are the ones who are more serious about fighting. Spears are made from 1mm brass rod. I wanted these chaps to be in some sort of uniform so equipped them with the same large teardrop shields which I painted with a cross design. I always find it difficult creating plausible (and paintable) shield designs and knowing next to nothing about the Rus beyond what I could find out from Osprey books (very interesting, but of fairly limited use determining painting schemes) had a search of the Internet for something suitable. This design is a simplification (so I could paint it) of a shield design used by a Rus re-enactment group. I probably could have done better, but there you are.

Druzhina

Malaia Druzhina

Junior Druzhina

My intent with the mounted Hearthguard was to be able to field two units of 8, both of which would be easily distinguished, but allowing each man to have his own unique shield design (as befits nobles). With this in mind, I gave each unit different shields, using round shields and small teardrop shields with bosses. It's cold in the steppes, so I added cloaks made from green stuff to each of them. The cloaks would be uniform for each unit as well, with the unit I would use as Malaia Druzhina having purple cloaks and the Junior Druzhina unit red ones. I added a simple border to each cloak painted in black with brass detail. Lances are made from 1mm brass rod. I gave one of the Junior Druzhina a standard which is loosely based on the one of the illustrations in the Osprey book, basically being a flag depicting a religious icon with added horsehair pennant.

Warlord(s)

Warlord #1 (nice hat)

Warlord #2

The warlords were mounted on half-armoured horses and equipped with axes to set them completely apart from their men. I added a green stuff cloak to the chap with the fez.

Bases were made up in the usual way but I used a darker static grass than usual (trying for a more steppe-like finish) and tufts in two colours. Overall, I really like the effect, as I hope anyone reading this does as well!

Beowulf and Grendel (in 28mm)

Beowulf and Grendel face each other off

It's perhaps the greatest and best known Dark Age fantasy of all. It's been the inspiration behind many modern tales, and numerous films, several of which are well worth watching. Not to mention the recent translation of the original epic poem by Seamus Heaney that won the Whitbread Book of the Year prize in 1999. It's a good story.

Beowulf was composed between the 7th and 10th Centuries. It tells of the adventures of the Scandinavian warlord Beowulf, a Viking hero of the people of Geatland, who fights three monsters – a creature called Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and (in later life) a dragon.

As with many people, my own journey in wargaming began with fantasy games, and as my interest in the Dark Ages continues a desire has grown to field Beowulf and his band against the monster Grendel. Eureka Miniatures have made this possible.

The fantastic Beowulf and his Retinue range from Eureka Miniatures comprises two sets of figures of Beowulf and his companions (one set in action poses, one set standing). I bought the figures in the action poses at Warfare a couple of years ago - yes it has taken me ages to get them painted!

I bought figures for Grendel and Beowulf from Model Bunker Stoke. I prefer this Beowulf figure to the one in the Eureka set.

I also added a bard to complete Beowulf's band of warriors. This is a figure from the Black Tree Design Saxon King set. 

Grendel

Grendel is a demonic fiend from hell, a creature of the night said to be a descendant of Cain. He is fearsomely strong and magically protected - "no blade on earth, no blacksmith’s art, could ever damage their demon opponent” – but despite this, eventually Beowulf rips one of Grendel’s arms off and, mortally wounded, Grendel runs off back to his lair to die.

Grendel. Grrr!

The figure presents Grendel as an oversized humanoid with claws and attitude. Consistent with the legend and very much along the lines of my concept of Grendel.

Beowulf

Brave Beowulf, hero of the Geats

I changed his shield for a more conventional Gripping Beast round one, and decorated his base with skulls from Black Cat miniatures. I'm particularly pleased with the shield design.

Close-up of Beowulf's shield

The Shaper: the Bard

The Shaper, singing Beowulf's praises, no doubt

According to John Gardner's novel Grendel, the name of the Bard in Hrothgar's Hall is The Shaper. I added him to Beowulf's band as according to the epic poem Beowulf was accompanied to Hrothgar's Hall by thirteen men.

Beowulf's Retinue

The twelve remaining men accompanying Beowulf are represented by Eureka Figures. They are lovely figures, crisply cast with very little flash, and although slightly on the small side of 28mm they will enhance pretty much any Dark Age warband out there.

And all of them together...

Beowulf and his men prepare to fight the monster Grendel

Battle Report: Vikings vs Skraelings

Somewhere in Vinland…

The Skraelings line up for battle

This was the first time I have fought using my Skraelings and so I honestly had very little idea what to expect. I played a six-point game against my friend Andrew who fielded Vikings.

I chose to field two points of Levy and four of Warriors, while Andrew went for six points of Hearthguard, including Berserkers. We played the Champions of God scenario from the Crescent and the Cross rule book.

Terrain comprised a large area of rocky ground, one large and one normal building, and a gentle hill.

The armies at deployment, viewed from the Viking side of the table

The Skraelings deployed two units of 12 Levy, one in the rocky ground and the other in the large building, with two units of 12 Warriors and the Warlord between. A smaller unit of 8 Warriors sat on the right flank, the intent being for this to advance and occupy the smaller building.

The Vikings deployed two units of 8 Hearthguard approaching the small building, and a unit of 4 Hearthguard, the 4 Berserkers and the Warlord  in the centre, out of sight of any ranged weapons, behind the hill.

The Vikings make a strong bid to take the small building

The Vikings had the first turn, so the Skraelings riolled three dice to place on their board. Not a great roll and so all three were placed in their Activation Pool ready for their first turn. The Vikings rolled their 6 Saga dice, placing three on Hearthguard activations, and dice on Frigg, Thor and Asgard. The Vikings began with an attack by one of the 8-strong Hearthguard units. With one activation they had occupied the small building, and with a second they had left it again and contacted the small Skraeling Warrior unit. Making use of Frigg and Thor, they were a little unlucky to only kill 7 of the 8 Warriors, but lost only one of their own. With a final activation, to protect themselves from any shooting they retreated into the cover and relative safety of the small building, job done. Using We Obey, the Warlord advanced onto the hill with the four Hearthguard, keeping out of range of one of the Skraeling Levy units.

End of Viking turn 1, and a lonely Skraeling Warrior on the right flank is watched by Vikings occupying the small building

Adding all the dice from their activation pool, the Skraelings were able to have a lot of useful Saga dice during their first turn. Three different dice were placed on Pathfinders and left for the next Viking turn, and one die was placed back in the Activation Pool. The rest were used to activate the Levy in the building to shoot on the 8 Hearthguard in the open, who were just in range. The Vikings used Asgard to raise their armour, and the shooting was ineffective. Then, one of the 12-strong Warrior units advanced, throwing Javelins into the 4-man Hearthguard unit to much better effect. With two Vikings dead, they used their final activation to pull back to their previous position.

Skraeling Warriors attack in the centre with javelins

The Vikings rolled their Saga dice, using Loki in their Orders phase to remove the 1-man Skraeling Warrior unit, only to see the Skraelings use Pathfinders as an Orders/Reaction and bring six more  Warriors on in much the same place. The Vikings decided to launch an all-out attack in the centre with the Berserkers. Advancing with We Obey, followed by two Activations, they charged into one of the larger Warrior units. With Frigg and Thor, they killed 9, but all died in the process.

Berserkers lead the Viking attack in the centre

With a poor roll of Saga dice, there was little the Skraelings could do. Levy shot twice to no effect this turn, and Fatigue was removed from the depleted Warrior unit, while one die was retained within the Activation Pool for future use.

Reduced to 5 Saga dice, the Viking momentum continued in Turn 3 with an attack on the other large Skraeling Warrior unit with their 8-man Hearthguard unit in the open. It was quick and bloody, another 8 Warriors dying, but this time for the loss of three Hearthguard. A bloody, but surprisingly even fight thus far. Fatugue was lifted from the Vikings in the building and the Warlord advanced with his small Hearthguard unit in the centre.

A lot of death dealing leaves a lot more space in the centre of the battlefield

The Skraeling Saga dice were a lot kinder. Three different dice allowed all units to be activated, with a few other dice handy to add to the carnage. Both units of Levy shot to good effect this time, killing two of the Hearthguard in the small unit in the centre.  Then the smaller Warrior unit charged into what was now a fatigued, two-man Hearthguard Viking unit . Giving the Vikings a taste of their own medicine, using Valhalla against them and using their fatigue to reduce their armour, both Hearthguard were killed in their sacrifice, and the Vikings found their Warlord with only two companions in the centre of the fray (though admittedly with only four enemy Warriors facing them).

The seven Viking Hearthguard lurking in the small building then made their move, charging the six Pathfinders that had appeared out of nowhere in front of them. Effective and bloody, all the Warriors died, but for the loss of two Hearthguard, which seemed quite a high price. They followed this up with an attack on the Levy in the large building, using Frigg and Thor, killing 9 of them, but losing three more men in the process. But they were now in possession of the large building, at least.  The Viking Warlord and the two-strong Hearthguard unit in the open advanced again in the centre, using Odin to remove some of the fatigue from their weary units.

Saga dice were now a bit of a problem for the Skraelings. With only three dice available, and an unremarkable cast of the dice, once die was put into the Activation Pool while two were used to shoot at the two Hearthguard in the open, but to no effect.

The situation had become desperate, but the Vikings had a plan to force the win. First, the Warlord would attack the Skraeling warriors in the centre to leave the enemy Warlord alone and vulnerable. A convincing plan, but rolling four F runes didn't help. Three dice were placed on activations, one on Frigg . The Vikings advanced together, then charged into the Skraeling Warriors using We Obey and Side by Side, the Warlord fighting without Fatigue and with an extra attack die from Frigg.The Skraelings focused all their dice on the enemy Hearthguard. All the Skraelings died, but one of the Hearthguard perished too. The Viking Warlord continued his attack alone into the enemy Warlord. The Skraeling, aware of his vulnerability, put all the dice he could into defence.  Mutual speding of Fatigue means that armour was not reduced, and he received three hits while dealing an ineffective one. The extra defence dice ensured that two of the hits were saved, and Resilience meant he survived. The Viking Warlord had no choice but to break off.

Excellent dice rolling, just when you need it

With only two dice in the Saga pool, and no Warriors left, on turn 5 in a last ditch attempt the Skraelings moved their large Levy unit into range of the Viking Warlord with We Obey, and they opened fire on the isolated Viking Warlord. Six dice, needing sixes - the gods looked on kindly - resulted in four hits. Only two saved - one removed because of Resilience - and the Viking Warlord fell to the ground dead.

But for that shooting, it would have been a draw, and by all expectations should have been. In the end, a very lucky victory to the Skraelings, and a very bloody fight.

Skraelings are certainly a challenging faction to use, I suspect particularly against Vikings who have nothing on their Battle Board they can use to increase the effectiveness of shooting. In this game they suffered from a shortage of Saga dice, and in particular a shortage of rolling three different symbols, but any such shortcomings were more than compensated for by the luck of the combat dice. Next time round I will consider fielding four smaller Warrior units and perhaps a Warlord Priest to increase the pool of Saga dice available.

I'm also not fully clear whether I have been using the Skraeling Activation Pool ability quite as intended and will raise this as a query on the Saga forum to check.

"Victory is ours! (You may now collect scalps)"

***Apologies to Andrew for any inaccuracies in the detail - this battle report was compiled after the actual events and the photos are my attempt at a faithful reconstruction. Any inaccuracies are mine, and are unintentional (and anyway, history belongs to the victor!)***