Irregular Wars Wargaming

We played through the 'Settlement Raid' scenario for Ilium: A Game of Heroes this week. Andrew once again took control of his Achaeans (starting with Achilles [left] and Diomedes [right] on the table, with Ajax coming on later), attempting to raid a settlement allied to Troy. I started with Aeneas deployed in centre of the board around the village well, with Asteropaios and Sarpedon somewhere off-table but close by. The settlement raid scenario gives the attacker (in this case, the Achaeans) three different objectives which the defender has to thwart, each with their own loading of kleos (glory): burn buildings, poison the well, and capture the notables (there are some ladies down there by the well). Given the limited number of promachoi on the table, the players have to make hard decisions around which objectives to focus on.    The scenario started very well for the Trojans, with Aeneas hurling his throwing spear and skewering Diomedes, causing four wounds (out of a total o...

Taking a step away from the valiant Trojans for a moment, here we have Idomeneus, grandson of Minos, and king of Crete, together with his contingent of six promachoi. All models are from Foundry's 28mm Mycenaean range. After painting so much red recently, it was strange to be using a blue palette, but for these sea-lords, nothing but wine-dark blue would suffice. Idomeneus is depicted as a steadfast, disciplined warrior in the Iliad . Not driven by rage or divine favour, he represented seasoned experience, reliability, and courage, holding his own against numerous Trojan heroes despite no longer being young. Minoan/Cretan promachoi shield-bearers. Minoan/Cretan promachoi archers. I've a few more contingents to get through, as well as a couple of chariots and my city walls still to go, but the project is really coming together quite nicely. 

Last week Andy T and I got together again for a quick game of Fantastic Scuffles  in preparation for a wee filmed playthrough we have scheduled in the coming weeks. I ran a small 100 point party of itinerant adventurers - Lyra the halfling treasure hunter, Crom the ogre warrior, and Balthazar the human seer. Andrew was bold enough to run a 100 point party of kobolds - Sir Bert d'Hoomin, three spear-bearers, two dagger lads, two slingers and a loot golem. The adventurers had been contracted to slay a fierce gryphon that had been bothering the local livestock. The kobolds, tired of the adventurers' own bothersome activities, set up an ambush to get rid of them once and for all.  As the three adventurers cautiously advanced, Lyra tried in vain to turn invisible. The two kobold slingers unleased their weapons on Balthazar who, first cast an ineffective burst of chain lightning, and then used the push spell to knock one of the slingers right off the table. The kobolds pressed on, t...

Last weekend I had some time to paint up two further buildings for my Bronze Age table - this time from Terrain4Print, purchased from a seller on Etsy. They are very similar in style to the smaller one-story buildings prepared back in December ( Bronze Age buildings ), although with different shaped doors and window shutters. The prints are a little rough around some of the edges, although I don't think anyone would complain to see them on the tabletop.  I also built a couple of Wargames Atlantic plastic chariots and gave them some spare Foundry crew. More on these to come!

Ah yes, Asteropaios, son of Pelagon, grandson of the mighty Axios River, and lord of the Paionians. For many (most?), Asteropaios may not be a household name, but for me, he is a favourite minor character in the Iliad . Admittedly, that's more to do with a fascination with the later Classical and Hellenistic kingdom of Paionia on which I have published a few articles in the past, but it is great to go back and see where it all began.  As a possible southern extension of the central European Lausitz culture, I wanted my Bronze Age Paionians to be visually distinct from the other contingents on the table. I've also been looking for an excuse for years to pick up a couple of packs of Wargames Foundry Bronze Age northern Europeans - so that's what I did. Now, they may be a little too Danish for the Balkans, but I'll fight for the right to put them on the table! Asteropaios was the second named hero to lead the Paionians. His uncle, Pyraichmes, being named in Book 2 of the I...

Only a little update for the Ilium project this week - sharing an objective marker of 'Trojan' women from the great 28mm Bronze Age Greeks range by Eureka miniatures.  Two of the scenarios in the book will feature objectives to capture notables - in the last scenario this is specifically Helen. This little vignette shows a defiant looking Helen in the company of a distraught Andromache and another attendant.

More playtesting of Ilium: A Game of Heroes this week - and this time with fully painted forces for the first time. Playing as the heroic Trojans (bottom right), I started with Sarpedon and Aeneas on the board - both in the central deployment sector. Aeneas' two promachoi archers were very pleased to be able to start on the roof of a small house.  Commanding the Achaean sea wolves, Andrew began with Telamonian Ajax and Agamemnon (top left), both of whom were deployed in their own right sector. Aeneas led his promachoi warriors around the left of the building. His archers moved forward cautiously, shooting at the Achaeans from the roof top, but both missing their marks. Sarpedon moved forward into the olive trees in the centre of the board, using his special 'shield leader' ability to buff his Lykian warriors' defence. They moved on past their king, forming a loose screen between Sarpedon and Ajax. Ajax and Agamemnon both moved across the plain, followed by their promac...