 Editor in Chief Bill   | 22 Oct 2016 1:37 p.m. PST |
He knows he wants something 'medieval.' What do you recommend? |
| Rhysius Cambrensis | 22 Oct 2016 1:41 p.m. PST |
Byantine – the swiss army knife of medieval armies! I also highly recommend L'Art De La Guerre rules. |
Frederick  | 22 Oct 2016 1:58 p.m. PST |
Generic Anglo-French-German high medieval army Colourful knights, crossbowmen, scraggly infantry with bills, get a few units of longbows for the hated Anglais |
| BillReed13126 | 22 Oct 2016 2:13 p.m. PST |
For something exotic, how about Timurid? Elephants, heavy and light cav, reasonable infantry and opponents from the Knights of St. John to medieval Indian. |
| Rhysius Cambrensis | 22 Oct 2016 2:27 p.m. PST |
Timurid would be my second suggestion – I was going to say Timurids first but went for a more balanced army. |
| Gunfreak | 22 Oct 2016 2:30 p.m. PST |
Norwegian army, just 5 guys with pointed sticks and armor made of wooden ladles. So it will take you less then a day to complete the army. Generally they only fight puffins. |
| sillypoint | 22 Oct 2016 3:21 p.m. PST |
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| French Wargame Holidays | 22 Oct 2016 4:04 p.m. PST |
WOTR, lots of info, transfers and 28mm plastics |
| IanKHemm | 22 Oct 2016 5:21 p.m. PST |
First crusade Christians. Lots of troops out there. East to get. Lots of information available. Easy to paint. |
| BW1959 | 22 Oct 2016 6:17 p.m. PST |
Norman's fought all over Europe |
| Great War Ace | 22 Oct 2016 6:34 p.m. PST |
The llth and 12th centuries are the best period to focus on for someone just starting out. (But that's just because I really, really like the armor then.) The troops can be used all over Europe and the Middle East. Collecting "Saracenic" troops at the same time is a good idea, that way the confrontations are much more varied than just "medievals" pounding on each other. |
| coopman | 22 Oct 2016 7:35 p.m. PST |
The WOTR period rarely had mounted knights in battle (they usually dismounted and fought on foot). |
| Jamesonsafari | 22 Oct 2016 9:19 p.m. PST |
WotR are easy to get, find info and limited cavalry
Generic late mediaeval as mentioned above has good points (it's where I started), change banners change the army
But a generic 11th-12th century army is also good. Norman's, French, early. Crusade, baron's war in England etc. Does he want to paint Norman style armour or late mediaeval armour? |
| PrivateSnafu | 22 Oct 2016 11:10 p.m. PST |
Something with lots of mail or plate. Metal can be easy to paint. |
| goragrad | 23 Oct 2016 12:05 a.m. PST |
DBA 3 has some interesting variations for the Normans and as noted they got around to meet quite a few different enemies. |
| Dan 055 | 23 Oct 2016 2:24 a.m. PST |
I would probably pick 13th or 14th century French or Burgundian, or WOTR. For the more interesting choices above, why are you choosing armies that don't even resemble stereotypical medieval armies for someone who wants "medieval". |
| uglyfatbloke | 23 Oct 2016 8:30 a.m. PST |
14th C Scots…awesome knights, heavy spearmen, longbows…. |
| Lucius | 23 Oct 2016 7:56 p.m. PST |
Normans. Can be used for Crusades, Norman Conquest, Italian/Sicilian Norman Conquest. Lots of great shield decals available. Easy to paint. |
| Griefbringer | 24 Oct 2016 2:46 a.m. PST |
Are we talking of a total newbie to miniature gaming in general, or a person with experience in some other sub-genre (eg. Napoleonics, WWII or SF) but with a newly found interest in medievals? I would start by asking a few more questions, like: - Does he intend to play against historical opponents? If yes, how varied should they be?
- What sort of troop types does he want to field (heavy cavalry, light cavalry, melee infantry, missile infantry, foot skirmishers, war wagons, early gunpowder artillery etc.)?
- What sort of armour would he like to see on the table (plate, mail, cloth, none)?
- Should the army be straightforward to paint, or varied and colourful (lots of heraldry etc.)?
- Does he prefer plastic or metal miniatures (or it does not matter)? What about figure size/scale preferences?
- Are there some particular books, films, comics, paintings etc. set on medieval times that he finds particularly interesting? |
| John the Greater | 24 Oct 2016 11:00 a.m. PST |
The generic answer is "whatever interests him." English 100 Years' War would be nice – lots of color but not a lot of troop types to figure out. Keep it simple. |
 Herkybird | 24 Oct 2016 11:20 a.m. PST |
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| Patrick Sexton | 24 Oct 2016 11:28 a.m. PST |
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| The Last Conformist | 24 Oct 2016 2:00 p.m. PST |
For an archetypically medieval army, I'd suggest French, from any date about 1100-1450. Doubles up as most of their neighbours, and sport more exotic opponents like Maghrebis, Ottomans, and generic Saracens when they go crusading. |
| Gunfreak | 24 Oct 2016 2:32 p.m. PST |
Herkybird: those aren't vikings but some sort of sex dungeon people with a viking festish |
| Great War Ace | 25 Oct 2016 11:57 a.m. PST |
Is that "Vikings" still from the TV series? |
| uglyfatbloke | 26 Oct 2016 2:36 a.m. PST |
A good point from the Last Conformist. |
| Gennorm | 30 Oct 2016 3:10 a.m. PST |
What is it about the medieval period that attracts him? Knights in full plate? Heraldry? The St Crispin's Day Address? The Military Orders? Mel Gibson in woad and a skirt? 'Medieval' covers several centuries and a few hundred thousand square miles, so he should go for an army that represents how he sees the period. |
| uglyfatbloke | 04 Nov 2016 11:00 a.m. PST |
Get an Arthurian army, then you can 'Run Away! Run Away!' |
