Tuesday 30 May 2023

Halfling Burghers - 28mm halfling army showcase for Fantastic Battles

Having finished up 1,000 points worth of 28mm halfling burghers for Fantastic Battles, I felt it was time to bring them all together in an army showcase. 

As I have painted up this army, the faction's backstory has started to emerge. Inspired as something of a ménage à trois between 15th-16th century Low Countries mercantile cities, War of the Roses unit types and nostalgia for early 1990s Games Workshop halflings, these lads (and lassies) hail from Beerenburg, a coastal mercantile city-state with an active foreign policy and an army ready to enforce aggressive negotiation techniques. 

Considering the militia racial trope (which reduces each unit's melee capability therefore their points value), this is a relatively small 1000 point army with a breakpoint of just 9. It does, however, have plenty of characters to aid in command and control, and most units a pretty resolute.

The army's characters. From left to right: the plague doctor/apothecary (being used here as a rogue), bar maid and bard (magic-users who will bless and empower respectively), the army warlord, and three captains.
 
The very wealthiest merchants in Beerenburg ride to war as mounted Burghers-at-arms to provide the army with at least one unit capable of responding to enemy attacks from the flanks or rear.

The plutocrats who run the city fight as a slow but resolute block of Burghers-at-Arms. Their heavy weapons - mostly a combination of warhammers and flails - also give them a bite worth remembering.

Different guild-units muster in the livery of the principal merchant companies. Here, skilled archers in the white and red of the Brewers' Guild.

More skilled archers in the blue and yellow of the Tailors' Guild.

The swordsmen sporting the yellow and green of the Cutlers' Guild are more fleet-of-foot than their bow-armed brethren and can serve as a ready reserve to plug holes in the front line.

The Alchemists' Guild in their red and black (to hide the burning and the blood) provide some more explosive long-range support to the main battle line.

Trailing in the wake of the army, and functioning as harrying skirmishers in battle, are the urchin slingers.

Less chipper camp followers manifest in the swarms of rats that are utilised as distractions on the battlefield.

The final piece of the Beerenburg puzzle is a giant mercenary to add that little bit more punch to the, largely, missile-armed halfling guilders.


1 comment:

  1. Great looking army and nice back story. Thanks for showing.

    ReplyDelete