"Fantasy Humans - Let's Hear Your Ideas!" Topic

So, another thread I started asked what people wanted to see in fantasy figures. There were a lot of good ideas and some good discussion of what could, couldn't and might not be possible along those lines. One of the recurring suggestions was "fantasy humans".

For me the idea of fantasy humans has always played into the realm of extending existing cultural motifs into the realm of the fantastic. Utilizing weapons, arms and troop types extrapolated and expanded from the concepts already present in Earthly human cultures much in the way that many classic fantasy authors have.

I'd like to hear other ideas for doing fantasy humans.

-Eli

I've always wanted some classic fighters as illustrated on many '70s paperbacks, especially the Thieves' World books and RPGs with cover art by Walter Velez:

Tunics, cowls, tights, lots of studs, wristbands, straps.

I've found a handful of minis like that over the years, mostly labelled "thieves," but I'd love to see a modern 28mm line.

I loved the Thieves World novels, great characters and good stories.

Reign the Conqueror anyone?

Beware the army of Codpieces!

As I mentioned in the other thread, some truly fantastic armor. Maximilian plates (that are part of the pauldrons), capes, etc, like what you'd see in Record of Lodoss War:

and

The other thing that I've noticed that's missing is truly magical or magitech armor. Nobody does organic-looking armor like this:

I'd like more fantasy variation on ancient, rather than medieval/renaissance humans.

I'd also like to see a fantasy game where battles are envisioned as more modern, a fantasy Vietnam rather than Hundred Years War.

I would love to see fantasy ancients also.

From the covers of the Thieve's World books, the humans there seem to be your typical fantasy humans that are expansions on normal medieval themes.

On the fantastic armor front, we're talking insane armor that is not necessarily "evil" looking.

Fantasy ancients would be? Egyptian styled humans wearing animal themed helmets? Romans on lions? Celts with warp spasming berserkers or a cauldron gushing undead? Why are evil armies the only ones with undead?

-Eli

For me I cannot think "Fantasy Human" without thinking of stuff like the Conan movies. Horned helmets, leather armour, studded and furs.

Oh and I hate undead with death themed decorations… What necromancer is taking the time to add skull armour bits to all of his minions?

I suppose if you were building an army of undead rather than just pulling one out of the ground then it might make sense. There is something to be said for adding effect to the army, though i hardly see how an army of the living dead needs much more fright factor added to it.

Other things that would seem fantastic would be armored warriors with various "holy" motifs on them. Angelic face masks, radiating suns, wings, etc. the main problem I see with this is to create a set of details that convey "holy" without committing to a specific religion.

Evil humans that do not have to resort to spikes and skulls to be such would be cool.

-Eli

Evil humans that do not have to resort to spikes and skulls to be such would be cool.

-Eli

But they don't even make those in the first place (in 15mm).

I know, but that's an obvious one. I generally assume that anything represented in the GW mix is going to be a given in discussions like this.

-Eli

Fair enough. The 300 film actually had a lot of good fantasy humans in the Persian army, all with an exotic pseudo Arabic/Indian/Japanese feel.

*A scarred giant with great weapon
*Barely human ninjas with ghostface masks
*primitive grenadiers
*wooly rhino mounts
*armored war elephants
*palanquins carried on the backs of countless slaves
*giant pretty-boy demi-god
*plus all the standard human unit types

I agree with 'Little Big Wars' a 300 style Persian Army would be great in 15MM.

I could think of so many uses for them, also the fantasy 'evil' type humans….there are not enough out there, only Demonworld but there's are mainly armored.

Amazon women, again the Demonworld ones are great just not enough off them!

I'd also like to see a fantasy game where battles are envisioned as more modern, a fantasy Vietnam rather than Hundred Years War.

You mean where troops spread out to avoid getting fried by magical attacks? That assumes showy, offensive magic is common (or that magitech war engines are common).

I'm working on it, but my version is set in the Exalted 'World of Sorrows' setting by White Wolf. I'm having to re-write the Exalted mass combat rules because they use a non-linear measure of the number of troops on the table.

I agree with 'Little Big Wars' a 300 style Persian Army would be great in 15MM.

Yes, yes it would!

The "300" Persian army is exactly the sort of thing I see when it comes to fantasy human armies. The presentation of the Persians in "300" takes existing legend, stereotpe, and imagery of the historical Persians and notches it up a few. This can be applied to nearly any historical army, provided they have sufficiant ahistorical material in their parent culture.

There is still room for purely fictional hsitorical humans as well but I still assert that these are a tricky thing to do and still have them come across as human; at least in 15mm.

-Eli

The Necromonger armor from "The Chronicles of Riddick" would also work for an evil fantasy army.

Fantastic armour! A staple of fantasy but hard to replicate with 15mm historical lines.
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I agree with 'Little Big Wars' a 300 style Persian Army would be great in 15MM.

Is this hard? Surely someone makes rhinos, elephants, Persians, Indians, ninjas, etc. In 15mm. Mix and mash them up!

And for the Spartans, you could use………..err…….Spartans?

Two words: Dynasty Warriors

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A unique look, Exotic location, great source material (Have you actually READ 'Three Kingdoms'? It reads like it was written by a wargamer!) why some enterprising odelamker hasn't taken this idea and run with it is a mystery…