"Hordes of the Things VSF Africa Army Lists" Topic

I love HOTT, and will probably contribute several armies to this posting. Please feel free to do the same.

Add in army lists for any force appropriate or even semi-appropriate to a VSF Africa campaign, with as many or as few of the more fantastic elements as you like.

Please keep the lists within HOTT rules, with the one modification listed below:

Jungle Lord and Followers

Behemoth General @4ap (Korak mounted on elephant) x1
Behemoth (Tantor) x1
God @4ap (Tarzan swinging on vine) x1
Lurkers @1 ap (monkeys throwing rocks) x2
Water Lurkers @1 ap (hippos, crocodiles) x2
Beasts @2 ap (leopards, wolves, bears, great apes, etc.) x4

Alternatives:

Any number of Sneakers @1 ap* (Jane Porter and a few bumbling European explorers/journalists who nonetheless occasionally stumble into an enemy stronghold).

Tarzan as Aerial Hero @6ap x 1

*Note that these lists assume 1ap Sneakers, which is a fairly common alternative rule that I think makes them into a worthwhile element. Please add in any Sneakers making this assumption.

French Foreign Legion

Knight General @ 2ap (Besotted French Sous Lieutenant) x1

Behemoth @ 4 ap (Sergeant Markoff, Sergeant Major Dagineau, or other insanely brutal yet fiendishly competent killing machine, who doesn't mind killing a few of his "comrades" in the process, especially if he's got something to hide) x1

Hero @ 4 ap (Beau Geste) x 1

Hero @ 4 ap (double mounted John and Digby Geste) x1

Shooters @ 2 ap (Legionnaires) × 4

Riders (Compaignes Montee, elite Legionnaires mounted on mules) x 1

Alternatives: All shooters and riders can be replaced with blades or war bands for close in fighting if the situation warrants it. They just fix bayonets and start cutting.

The French Foreign Legion is all about colorful heroes/villains with dark and mysterious pasts, so absolutely anything is appropriate, just try to do the figure properly. I can easily see a cleric, magician, nonhuman monster, assassin, or clockwork robot (possibly mounted alongside his creator, an absentminded professor of the Sorbonne). Just one rule: MAKE SURE EVERY LEGIONNAIRE WEARS A WHITE KEPI, INCLUDING THE ROBOT.

Beyond that, keep the ap types and costs within HOTT rules, and all will be well.

Vive La Legion!

WAKANDA FOREVER
(assume Wakandan technology is about one century ahead of European)

Aerial Hero General @ 6 (the Black Panther)

Magician @ 4 (Wakandan Super-Scientist, wielding fulgratory cabinet, mesmeric projector, etc)

Flyer @ 2 (autogyro scout)

4x Spears @ 2 each (Border tribe infantry with vibranium shields)

2x Knights @ 2 each (Rhino riders)

Stronghold: tracked field headquarters with jungle-cutting prow

Should be relatively simple to find appropriate Marvel clicky for the Black Panther, various VSF techy figures for the autogyro and the toys of the super scientist, etc.

Eumelus

Very cool! Not exactly VSF, but still an excellent army list. I'd just make it a little less tech and a little more magic👍

More magic, eh? OK, this one I actually own, made up of Wargames Foundry witchdoctors and warriors, plus Dollar Store animals (although like most of my other HotT armies it is scheduled to be de-based into its component figures, as HotT is dead in the DC area…):

FUGAWI ANIMIST COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY
or, That Hoodoo That We Do

Magician General (President of the College Dr. Böomché-Böomché, with reporters from the Fugawi Whig-Herald – aka shaman chief & tribal drummers)

2x Magicians (faculty of the Philosophy and Life Sciences departments – aka shamans with skulls, and shamans w/animal fetishes)

4x Warband (Townies – aka tribal warriors)

Beast (Associate Professors Dr. and Mrs. Simba – aka lions)

Lurker (Mr. Bagheera – Phys. Ed. {Forest} – black panther)

Water Lurker (Mr. Zugimla – Phys. Ed. {Swimming} – aka crocodile)

Alt: add'l Warband (Campus Security from the Mangani Group – aka gorillas)

Eumelus, how do you rate adjuncts?

I have the rules and like looking at lists, but I have never played them or built any armies.

Do you guys use 15 or 28s?

Given their miserable salaries, I would assume adjuncts would not be willing to die for the University, and so would desert…

All 22 of my armies are in 28s, but I believe 15s are commoner in the UK and in some other HotT spots.

LOL!

I'm slowly making some 28mm forces for the Hyborian Age.

Not VSF, but at one time I thought about a King Kong army list with the ship's captain and crew, a film crew, a hero, and a damsel, but I never really got any further than that.

I use 28mm paper flats. I got a really great set of these on the Cardboard Warriors forum. Mahotsukai (an artist) modified some of Patrick Crusiau's left-right mirror image flats into jungle expedition figures, and really did a great job:

Zulus or possibly deep jungle Africans with spears, including a witch doctor, askaris with a variety of elephant guns, muskets and rifles, Tarzan, both dismounted and riding Tantor the elephant, a nice set of European explorers including a missionary, female journalist, great white hunter type, and one guy with a monocle that you just know is Kurtz building his Heart of Darkness mini-empire.

And… even a set of… what can I call them? Roman-scorpionmen from a lost city?

Which brings me to my next army list…

ROMAN-SCORPIONMEN FROM THE LOST CITY

Magician general @4ap (Scorpionman Sorcerer and acolytes in togas) x1

Blades @2ap (Sorcerer's bodyguard, scorpionmen with Roman style armor and gladii) x2

Behemoths @4ap (giant, primitive scorpionmen) x2

Hordes @1ap (vast armies of degenerate or mutant scorpionmen) x6

Lurkers @1ap (giant scorpions) x1
Sneakers @1ap (robed scorpionman assassin) x1

Stronghold: Gateway to the lost city in the form of a huge, crouching basalt scorpion.

Eumelus

Please don't misunderstand me! Your army list is excellent! I was just saying that if I was doing it, I'd make the explanations a little less techie.

But it's a great list!

79th pa

GREAT BLUE APES FROM YET ANOTHER LOST CITY

Behemoth General @4ap (14 or so ft tall blue ape with tremendous strength) x1

Behemoths @4ap (maybe these guys are 13 ft tall or so) x2

Warbands @2ap (not quite so tremendous but still impressively strong and fierce blue ape warriors) x5

Lurkers @1ap (smaller simians from spider monkeys to orangutans) x2

Alternatives:

Artillery @3ap (howler monkeys whose screams panic the enemy).

Stronghold: Entrance to the lost city in the form ofa huge, leering tape's head with open mouth.

Note: The scorpionmen and blue apes are sworn enemies, as each thinks the other's lost city portal is extremely gauche.

Love this list. Please will people add what minis they are using for each army though, that would be real helpful!!

My stuff is all paper flats. A minority interest, I know, but I love them. A few links follow

link

link

link

"we're the Fugawi!"

Shamans: link

Warriors: link

(The Wakanda list was just hypothetical, but I do see boxes of Marvel click-game figures at every convention, so I just assume finding a Black Panther wouldn't be too hard)

Very cool and no question!

Emirates of the Forbidden Desert

Left over colonies of the Ottoman Empire near the headwaters of the Nile. These former tributary states now spend their time squabbling with each other and the western European powers over access to the valuable trade routes that link Saharan and sub-saharan Africa in the east.

Basic Army List

Blade General @2ap (Emir on horse or camel surrounded by armired native bodyguards with spears and scimitars) x1

Shooters @2ap (Janissaries with muskets) x5

Riders @2ap (mercenary Muslim light cavalry with lances and carbines) x 2

Artillery @3ap (old style Ottoman cannons or recently purchased light naval guns) x1

Hordes @1ap (none-too enthusiastic ribal levies who'd really not be caught up with the Turks and their ceaseless warring) x5

Stronghold: Hollywood-Muslim town and oasis.

Specific States:

Groklabad: replace blade general and artillery with Magician general @4ap and flyer @2ap (weak desert djinn from the emir's ring).

Meeraeiach: Progressive -some would say power hungry- emirate who's young ruler is closely allied to the French. Replace artillery and two hordes with Behemoths @4ap (clockwork walkers given by Napoleon III in exchange for trade concessions).

Zhuniquabad: Small emirate closely protective of its territories bordering the Nile. Replace any number of hordes with water lurkers (river pirates with muskets and bows in reed boats) @1ap each.

Hawloorko: Evil and degenerate land worshipping ancient beings man-was-not-meant-to-know. Replace 2x shooters with god(repulsive, tentacled alien,,, thing)@4ap and replace all blades and artillery with equal points value of hordes. Note that for this nation, the general's element MUST be a horde. The janissaries of Hawloorko despise their emir, but serve him out of fear, knowing he is not the real power in the realm.

Okay. Wandering through TMP and just saw this vv

TMP link

Yes. Must. Have. This ^^

I really never thought of adding in Boers to a VSF game, but it is SOOO silly, who could resist?

The Republic of the Pulled Pork Sandwich
or maybe the Porkchop Free State?

Anyway.

Behemoth General @4ap (tremendous wereboarboer with a scruffy beard) x1

Behemoths @4ap (only slightly less imposing and scruffy boerboarcommandocommanders) x1

Beasts @2ap (Ordinary wereboarboers) x2

Artillery @3ap x1

Riders @2ap (Boerboar commandos) x2

Shooters @2ap (Boerboar sharpshooters) x2

Lurkers @1ap (Boerboar Bitter enders) x1

@Gorgrat, Black Tree Design carries a flying magic carpet and rider that would be great for your Emirates list.

A flying carpet would be a must!

I can't find the BTD design one anymore, but I found these:

Iron Wind Metals

link

Reaper:

link

👍👍👍

Martians (Maybe)

Behemoth General @4ap (Command Tripod) x1
Behemoths @4ap (Tripods) x2
Blades @2ap (Stumbling, wobbly Tripods with sick/dying pilots) x4
Lurkers @1ap (Starving Human Traitors) x2
Sneakers @1ap (Martians deserting their completely wrecked Tripods and trying to get back to base) x2

Not sure I'm too satisfied with this list, for several reasons.

1. I don't think War of the Worlds lends itself well to gaming, as the Martians, of course, are all but indestructible (only one is taken out in the story) to humans, and effectively end up beating themselves. Or the earth reserve force of single celled life forms do it, which effectively comes down to the same thing.

2. By it's own rules, you can't play HOTT with armies of only a few Brobdinagians on one side vs. endless hordes of Lilliputians on the other, and the only forces the Martians have (that Welles recounts, anyway) are their massive tripod war machines.

So we're stuck with factoring in the diseased Martians in some way, which I've done be downgrading tripods with diseased pilots to blades.

Even then, it doesn't really fit the storyline, as after a few days or weeks, the Martians die off completely.

My rationalization is that a few Martians manage to cling to life in the Sahara ( and perhaps other nearly waterless deserts, or places like Antarctica where almost no liquid water is found) but even here, the invaders are only barely hanging on, and are beaten as often as not.

Interested in other takes on this.

Again, though it's a good story in it's own way, WOTW doesn't work well as a wargame in my opinion, since the Martians start by absolutely sweeping all before them, and end by absolutely losing.

I agree with the difficulty (or perhaps inadvisability is the better word) of HotT-ifying "The War of the Worlds". Nevertheless, here is a stab at a matched pair:

MARTIANS – stronghold Unopened Cylinder
Behemoth General (command tripod)
2x Behemoths (tripods)
Flyer (the narrator believed he observed the Martians experimenting with a flying machine)
Warband (handling machines – not really used in a fighting capacity but they were equipped with numerous strong metal tentacles and no doubt would have been dangerous to tangle with)
8x Lurkers (black smoke – after the first encounter with Terran artillery, the Martians adopted the tactic of firing poisonous smoke into every patch of cover where guns might be concealed).

TERRAN – Stronghold underground London HQ
6x Shooters including the General – quick-firing artillery (the only real threat pose by the human armies)
Sneaker (1 if costing 3 AP, or 3 if using your cheaper 1 point schedule) – volunteers with dynamite to use against tripod legs, or against unopened cylinders
Water Lurker – the Thunder Child or similar naval or riverine warcraft
8x Hordes (infantry or cavalry, pretty worthless against the tripods but possibly useful as a speedbump)

This matchup would possibly represent the main tactical problems faced by both sides – if the Terrans hide in the woods they are suffocated by the Black Smoke, but if they deploy in the open they're liable to be annihilated by the tripods in short order. The Martians need to wipe out or bypass the distracting elements to get at the guns.

Of course, one could always replace 4 elements of Terran hordes with a God (bacteria).

Eumelus

I love the idea of the bacteria as a god element. This could be a quick modification to any human force, as almost every HOTT army would be reduced to some extent by confronting the tripods at all.

The other modifications to human forces would work well for a humans vs. Martians only campaign, but would, IMO, not work so well in a fantasy colonial Africa campaign, because it requires the human armies to be downgraded to make the Martians tougher.

Kind of like how I (your mileage may vary) find the Norse army lists in the HOTT rulebook satisfying.

The Aesir/Vanir and Einheriar are downgraded to heroes/blades respectively, and the frost giants and fire giants to magicians and hordes, because this allows you to put sizable armies of them on the field.

This works when they only fight each other, but, it gives strange results when a not-downgraded army is placed against them. Thus you get the gnome army spears beating the living snot out of frost giant hordes. A decidedly unsatisfying result.

Heart of Darkness

Magician General @4ap (Kurtz or similar crazy ivory/rubber/slave trader despoton white throne made of bones, being borne into battle on the shoulders of terrified slaves) x1

Magician @4ap (Native Witchdoctors) x1

Lurkers @1ap (Natives with blowguns) x2

Shooters @2ap (Askaris with muskets) x2

Hordes @1ap (Fanatical Natives with spears) x8

Sneakers @1ap (weird little jungle demons or imps or drugged up chimpanzees or something. You pick). x2

Stronghold: degenerate village with enormous stew pot in the center. What's for supper, sir?