Irregular Wars Wargaming

Sitting down to get started on my Galatian cavalry, I had to wait for some wash to dry on the horses, slipped, and painted up a small unit of slingers. These are Macedonian slingers from Crusader Miniatures; decent if unremarkable figures. Nominally they are sitting in as Trallian slingers for our Magnesia project. According to Livy, 1,500 Trallians were deployed on each flank at Magnesia. Other Trallians are listed (by Livy and Appian) among the mercenaries fighting for Pergamon and Rome on the otherside of the battlefield. Beyond that, there doesn't seem too much consensus on who they were, or what they may have looked like.  Duncan Head argues very plausibly that they were armed as slingers. In both armies they were partnered with Cretan archers, and on the Pergamene side, they were also joined by Achaian peltasts. In a later passage, the "the Cretan archers, the slingers and javelinmen" are mentioned facing off against the Seleukid chariots, Presuming the javelinmen a...

Making some further progress with ProjectSeleukid, were are my Companion cavalry in 28mm from Aventine Miniatures. These are lovely sculpts with loads of detail.  Sadly, the weather has been so very mediocre that these boys still need to be varnished for protection and the remove some of the shine. Two elite Seleukid cavalry units, each 1,000 strong, appear to have served alternatively or together as the king's bodyguard. The Royal Companion cavalry, drawn from the best horsemen of Greco-Macedonian descent in the kingdom, and the Agema cavalry, drawn from the best Iranian horsemen in the kingdom. After the loss of Media in the 140s BC, the Agema seem to have been recruited from the city of Larissa in Syria, a colony settled by Thessalians a century and a half before.  For our Magnesia project, Andrew has the Agema (right flank) and I have the Companions (left flank). This wonderful Angus McBride painting (used here without permission) shows his interpretation of the Companions...

Due to a twist of fate I found myself  showcasing a game of Fantastic Battles through my work in the museum sector last week! We were approached by Ballycastle Men's Shed who are researching the battle of Glentaise (1565). They are looking to create a gaming table based on the local topography, and build armies based on the best evidence of the available forces.  The battle of Glentaise is a window into a fascinating part of Ballycastle (and North Antrim) history - seeing Shane O'Neill's Irish bring low James McDonnell's Antrim Scots, but inadvertantly clearing the way for the rise of Sorely Boy McDonnell who's life reads like a Boys' Own adventure and would have a lasting legacy in the area.  Chatting with Jon form the Men's Shed, I suggested that Fantastic Battles would give the flexibility needed to replay the battle. He invited me to demo a game up at the Shed, and with the agreement of my manager, away we went.  This time we weren't using armies o...

Rounding out my party of 28mm itinerant adventurers are two new characters, an elven ranger and a human cleric. This should give a well-rounded party of characters to carry out some fantastic scuffles and secure some loot! The cleric is a Reaper Bones miniature. I don't know why, but I really struggled to get rid of the mold line on this figure, even with the soft plastic. I thought I had it, but the paint really showed it up as an issue again. I like the figure, but I certainly don't love it like the rest of the party and she may find her position in the party challenged by another magic-user in the future. Seabhac the Exile is another 3D print, this time sculpted by RN Estudio. I really like this sculpt, clearly informed by Legolas from the Peter Jackson movies. Ducking from tree to tree, Seabhac is a prince among his own people so he says, inbetween making disparaging and border-line racist comments about every non-elf he meets. His only nod to the party's sky blue theme...

It was a dark and stormy night (no, really). The Watch have been sent to the ruined abbey, a couple of miles outside Frommage, to break up a coven of witches reported to be meeting there. It’s a chance to regain their reputation and confidence after they failed to protect the village from the Ghoul attack. Dogberry and Margaret Pole have been killed in action in the last couple of months. The remaining four Watch members who must undertake this new expedition are Turncoat, Bumpkin, Slide (& dog), and Bottom. ************* Here’s a bats-eye view of the area. The stone walls are all that is left of the Abbey. The central pillar is apparently now the focal point of the Witches’ rituals, as indicated by the peeled hazel wands placed around it. The Witches - Rapunzel, Grizelda, and Bob - are in the centre near the pillar. Here they are in close-up. The hunting party can be seen with their lanterns approaching from the North.  Turn 1 The chit-pull sequence was HWHWHH (H hunters, W wi...

Some time after the Troll incursion, Sir Barty Hardacre wrote to his cousin Mistress Prudence* to describe the event. She’s an experienced monster hunter, and on receipt of the news she paid a visit to Frommage. For research purposes (she has the Scholar archetype). ************* *MP (and her sometime associate Father Ted) featured in some of my playtest games, and she brings the following accumulated profile. Mistress Prudence Scholar. Astrologer (6, 10), Steady aim, Huntsman, Nightsight, *Backslider. Sword, Crossbow, Buffcoat, Cuirass. ************* It didn’t take Prudence long to discern that the Devil’s work was afoot in the parish of Frommage. The faint but unmistakable foul odour of ghouls was wafting about, for those (like her) who knew the signs. The inexperienced often confuse it with the stench of open drains. In fact a plethora of five Ghouls is lurking in a copse not far away, waiting for the witching hour. The ghouls are identified by the colours of their tatters of cloth...

It was an autumn night in Frommage, a few hours before dawn. The Watch patrol tonight comprised only 4 men. Turncoat was laid up with an ague, or so he said, and Pole was visiting her sister in Ketton. The patrol was at the S end of the village, checking the burned-out house, when Slide’s dog began barking furiously … Turn 1 The chit-pull sequence was TWWWWT (for Watch & Troll). The Troll ran to its R, and hid in the shadows of the side alley. The Watch advanced, Dogberry and Slide to the fore, with Bumpkin not quite so keen and Bottom, that lone wolf, taking a different route. As they approached, the Troll came out of the shadows and stood in the middle of the street. The yellow tokens represent the lanterns most of the Watch are carrying. The Troll is illuminated by Dogberry’s lantern, as well as indicated by the dog, at the end of the turn. Turn 2 The chit-pull sequence was WTWWTW. The Watch continued a cautious advance as the Troll ran back into hiding (it seems a bit out of it...

I'm delighted that Mark (in Thailand), one of the Devilry Afoot playtesters, has agreed to share another of his narrative mini-campaigns. This time he takes up the mantle of wickedness and witchery in the tiny village of Frommage... Lughnasa (Eng. Lammas) is traditionally celebrated in early August. It is one of the four seasonal festivals from the days of the (Gaelic & Celtic) Old Gods. It marks the shortening of days and the start hopefully of a successful harvest season. In Frommage, an isolated village in southern Rutlandshire, it is also the time when folk step forward to join the Watch or, absent enough volunteers, for those in precarious circumstances to be pressed into service. The Curate (Rev Obadiah Slope) and Reeve (Uriah Heep) supervise this with their usual wise benevolence. ************* Four new Watchmen, more or less willing, are enrolled for the next twelvemonth. They join two veterans (former soldiers in the Irish wars) who have opted to continue their service...

Introducing the first half of my new 28mm itinerant adventuring party, Crom and Lyra Halfcraft.  Crom came as a bonus free miniature from Red Bard Games when I ordered the awesome wyvern already previewed . It was love at first sight and he quickly replaced the dwarf warrior I was planning to use for the Itinerant Adventurers. Speaking of love... I've been besotted with this miniature from One Gold Piece since I first saw her previewed. One Gold Piece are the 3D scuplting arm of Westfalia Miniatures which meant that she has been out of my reach for years. I recently found a Spanish printer who is selling her, so snatched her up.  Now, painted and renamed Lyra, she's ready to burgle with the big boys. Incidentally, the lighting doesn't quite do her hair justice - the blending is much more subtle I swear!

Quickly finishing up another small, two company unit for my Seleukids this week, here is a small unit of Cretan archers, 3D prints from Blitzkrieg Miniatures. These minis have fairly simple, bold details making them a dream to paint. I have a 'history' with Cretan archers ... especially those serving in the Levant in the 2nd century BC. There may have been several years of ongoing research. There was certainly a wee article in Ancient Warfare Magazine (vol. 11.1) which summarised a more detailed paper published in BASOR (vol. 380) in 2018. You can access the BASOR article HERE . Suffice to say, these guys have a special place in my heart, I'm delighted to have them ready for battle and, knowing the laws of wargaming, I suspect they will be utterly routed in the first turn!

Joining my 28mm Seleukid army is a small two-company unit of Tarentine light horse. These are lovely figures from Aventine Miniatures. Originally hailing from the Greek city of Taras in south Italy, Tarantine cavalry developed a reputation as superb light horsemen, fighting with javelin and shield, in the late fouth-early third centirues BC. As the Helleinstic period proceeded, Tarantines appear in armies across the Mediterranean.  By the time you get to the 2nd century BC, it is impossible to know if the Tarentines fighting for the Seleukids were genuine Italiote Greeks, or if the title had become a psuedo-ethnic, applied to all cavalry that fought in the manner made famous by the Tarantines, skirmishing with shield and javelin.  Regardless, the shield devices chosen for this unit - tiny, tiny, dolphins, are inspired by the autonomous silver coinage of Taras which often showed a horseman on one side (usually the obverse), and the eponymous hero riding a dolphin on the other.