writes:I've been spending a lot of time lately on my Mighty Armies forces in 15mm, so I decided it was time to 'pivot' and think about my 28mm fantasy armies for a change.
I surveyed the painted hordes, and came up with six armies that hadn't seen battle yet:
Photo blocked by adult filter:
"Six representatives of six armies"
- Tribal Amazons
- These are the Tribal amazons from the Shadowforge line (now available from Eureka). I'm a huge fan of everything Shadowforge makes. I have enough of these to field several warbands.
- The Principate
- This is a human-ruled kingdom from the Crucible setting, available from Ral Partha Europe. I have a large force of archers, cavalry, and some characters.
- Pirate Orcs
- I have a miscellaneous horde of Orcs, in different styles. The pirate Orcs are the largest (and I think Foundry calls them Ogres now!), so I figure they rule over the others. And they've got guns!
- Centaurs
- I love these Centaurs from Bronze Age, and I hope he expands the line. I have mostly archers.
- Gothic Vampires
- I have a small and growing number of Gothic vampires, mostly from West Wind Productions. I was going to use them for something else… but might as well use them here, too!
- Beastmen
- OK, to be honest, I only have one painted Beastman model (Games Workshop). But if I put it on this list, I figure I'll have to get more of them painted.
Starting to Imagine a World
I don't know how your brain works, but for me, the driving force in getting armies painted and on the battlefield is to have some kind of campaign framework.
And it's hard to have a campaign without some idea of the world it's set in. Or piece of world. So I am starting to percolate some ideas:
- The Tribal Amazons live in the jungle south. They desire peace with their neighbors, but once provoked, they are relentless.
- The Principate will be an expansionist empire, with walled cities and a powerful merchant class.
- The Pirate Orcs are a new scourge which have taken over some nearby islands. They are raiders, armed with a powerful new weapon: the blunderbuss.
- The Centaurs live on the eastern steppes. When they perceive weakness, they raid the borderlands for plunder. They sometimes serve as mercenaries.
- The Gothic Vampires have slain the rulers of an ancient mountain kingdom, and now rule it mercilessly. They are eager to expand their territories.
- The Beastmen dwell in Fell Woods where the power of Chaos is strong. They are easily manipulated by opportunistic wizards and minor demon lords.
The Campaign System
What I'm looking for ideally is a system that will let me grow these six armies (and the minor populations and monsters of this world) gradually.
The ruleset I'm thinking to start with is Warrior Heroes: Warbands from Two Hour Wargames. That ruleset includes a campaign system for letting a small warband grow into a larger force, which can eventually be transferred to the sister ruleset for large battles, Rally Round the Kings.
However, there's a third ruleset in the series, Warrior Heroes: Legends, which starts off even smaller – you play an adventuring band exploring dungeons and going from city to city. I don't own that one, but maybe I should… 