The National Elf Service

The Elves of Lothgolin, or Silver Elves as they are colloquially known, once rules the whole world. Nowadays they are confined to a single province and beset on all sides by humanity, Orcs, Goblins and evil Elves. Yet, they have found a way to survive. Some say that they are in possession of a magical potion that gives each of them the strength of thirty men. Others say that they have great magics that cannot be defeated. Whatever the truth is, the Silver Elves have chosen now to emerge onto the world stage. One can only wonder what threat is so great that they should have to do so.

In Lothgolin it is the case that all adult Elves must serve in the army when they are young and that they are liable to be called back into the army when their land is threatened. This is the National Elf Service.

The bulk of the Elves in the army are archers, the feared Red Arrows, who are so called because of the colour of the fletching on their arrows.


The main melee force in the army are the Spearelves, here shown with their main commander, Kylee Lochalsh:


To support these two arms, a regiment of Elves was formed whose front rank deploys with spears while the rear rank fires arrows from behind the shields of the former. These marines, as they are known for no readily apparent reason, are few in numbers but of fearsome effectiveness.


The Unicorn Guard are the personal bodyguard of the Elven king. It is often unkindly commented by the rank and file that they are the Unicorn Guard because, when it comes to fighting, they are rare as Unicorn shit. Here we see the Guard deployed with their commander-in-chief and king, Elvish III:


Elves are magical people and they can usually call on the services of powerful magi to provide support for their armies. Here we see an Elven Druid, dressed in his ragged finery of animal skin and skull with horns. Elven Druids can have great power and are rumoured to be able to send entire forests on the rampage through the homes of those that have annoyed them.


The Elves will be joining the campaign next season. All figures are Baccus 6mm.

Meanwhile in Mirholme ...

... the forces of Gunnar Broadaxe and his wicked uncle Olaf Squinteye face off against each other in yet another of their interminable peace talks. It is certain that Olaf will not hold to the terms of the treaty and that Gunnar and he will have peace talks for as long as both can hold an axe.

Mirholme is a tribal society. Each of the provinces is ruled by the most powerful chieftain there (Gunnar and Olaf at the moment) and Mirholme will only ever rise to greatness if a powerful king can unit the nation and lead it to victory.

The Capalan League

To call someone Capalan is to call them devious and treacherous. The Capalan League is known for its dirty politics that rely on assassination more than merit as a means of promotion. This then is the nation that will be joining the campaign in Spring 991.



Its army consists of the wealthier and better quality Knights (front left) and the City Knights (second row left), who are not as well-seasoned in battle. Woe betide you if you let them get behind you though. They are more than familiar with using a soft word and a knife in the back to achieve their ends.

The guard unit (front row right) is the best quality infantry they have, but they only get one of those. The bulk of the infantry are city spearmen (second row right), who are supported by city crossbowmen (third row left). The contadini infantry (third row right) and contadini archers (fourth row right) provide additional support, while mercenary arquebusiers (back) are sometimes used for shock value. The infantry are uniformly of poor quality and the army relies on its knights to win battles with shock and awe tactics.

With the demise of both the Border Kingdoms and Ekra I had two armies that were no longer involved in the campaign so I allocated suitable elements of each army to the Capalan League. This expands our campaign again and gives me the opportunity to keep all my figures in play. The front row of knights are some that I painted in a more Italianate style recently. I am quite interested in putting together an army for fifteenth-century Italy but the lack of a full range of suitable 6mm figures has put me off so far.

The Mirish Army

The Mirish are an ancient empire. Their troops love brightly coloured silks and provide a very colourful spectacle as they ride past or over you. They rely on their horsemen for their army's strength, but supplement that with elephants and a small levy of infantry.

By far the most common troops in the army are the Clibinarii, heavily armoured cavalry with both lance and a deadly composite shortbow.


To provide extra heavy impact, the richer Mirish warriors are fielded as fully armoured cataphracts. Their charge is one that few can withstand, and many a warrior has fled at the first rumble of that charge.


Chionite horsemen from the outer reaches or Mirish are consummate light cavalry, who harass the enemy and distract their troops, seeking to break up their formations and cause confusion in their ranks.


Sometimes the Mirish generals are fortunate enough to field units of elephants as shock troops. These fearsome beasts are feared by most soldiers and carry a howdah replete with archers and spearmen.


Mirish infantry is universally of poor quality. The levy spearmen carry basket-work shields and spears and are never particularly enthusiastic.


Infantry support is provided by skirmishers with slings and bows.


Mirish heroes and generals never walk. Most prefer horses for transport, but some like the extra impact and fear factor of an elephant mount.


The whole Mirish army.


Mirish will join the campaign in Spring 989. Their starting army will consist of:
4 Clibanarii
2 Cataphracts
1 Chionite Cavalry
2 Elephants
1 Levy
2 Skirmishers

The army is based around the Sassanid Persian army, and I have used Baccus Sassanians to model this army. I hope they do well because I have plenty more Sassanians left to paint and it will provide the impetus I need for that.

The Mountain Giants

In the lands of the non-humans live the Mountain Giants. Mostly they live a solitary existence in their caves in the mountains of north-east Talomir, but occasionally one rises up that is strong enough to unite the giant clans. Such a leader can wreak havoc among the people of the lands where they march. When a leader like this arises, the hill giants and mountain giants band together and seek to form a new nation, wherein they may live in peace.

The Mountains Giants are rightly feared by all. They can throw rocks as if they were artillery and they cause terror in all that approach them. They are also phenomenally thick-skinned so weapons have difficulty even harming them.

The Hill Giants that follow the Mountain Giants are smaller but equally ferocious. They can also throw rocks at their enemies and cause terror in their enemies, as well as having a skin as thick as that of a mountain giant.

The Giant army will appear in the lands of either the Elves, Dwarves, Orcs or Goblins if a 4 is rolled in the Spring turn when rolling to see if a new army enters the campaign.



The picture shows Hildegard the Mighty on the left, leading a band of Hill Giants. This is the Mountain Giants' starting army, should they ever appear. Hildegard is an Essex Miniatures 25mm warrior woman. The Hill Giants are all 15mm Asgard barbarians from 15mm.co.uk.

The Tropilium Imperial Army

Tropilium Empire

After years of decline under successive Emperors, things seem to be changing for Tropilium. Following the death of Ferad the Studious, in an unexpected hunting accident, the Empire has been taken over by his cousin Herak the Sureshot. He has set about increasing the size of and re equipping the army, which has suffered years of cut backs.

There have already been several ‘border incidents’ with surrounding countries, several of which were previously part of the Empire. The navies, both merchant and military, have also been boosted, giving Tropilium a presence once more around the coast. There have also been claims, that members of the merchant navy, have been gathering information, on various countries. This is of course a lie, as Tropilium employs vast numbers of spies to do this work.

The Army is lead by the Eagle Legionnaries (centre), flanked here by the heavy cavalry and the armoured archers.

Here are the Auxiliaries and the light scout cavalry.

And finally the support from the skirmishing slingers and the Tropilium Artillery.

Hykar - Horsewomen of the central steppes

Every girl wants a pony for her birthday. It's a given. So what happens when all the small girls that were refused ponies band together and take them? The nation of Hykar is born, that is what.

The nation of Hykar is a confederation of steppe tribes ruled by women. Women rule the society and run everything. Men in Hykar society have no rights or say in what happens. Tribal councils strictly forbid men from taking part in any decision-making process. For this reason, the Hykari look down upon their neighbours, who are ruled by men. This makes diplomacy very difficult. The Hykari's primary interests in life are ponies and bling and they believe that it is their right to take either or both of these from the inferior peoples around them, or even from each other.

The Hykari army (click all pictures for larger versions)


The Hykari army comprises huge numbers of light horse supported by a smaller number of wealthy noble Hykari. Women that have not proven their worth yet (Jurgen in the Hykari tongue) are sometimes permitted along on the raids. The wealthier of these Jurgen will ride horses, but most will be on foot. Jurgen are forbidden by Hykari law from wearing pretty clothes or jewellery. Women prove their worth in Hykari society by killing in battle and stealing horses. Once a woman has stolen her first horse and killed her first enemy she may wear the pretty things that she aspires to. This is a badge of her social status and is important to getting along in Hykari society. The women of Hykar mark their status by their clothes and jewellery, and also by twining ribbons in their ponies' manes and tails. The more ribbons a pony has, the more bloodthirsty and vicious its rider is likely to be.

Hykari Heroines and Leaders


Hykari Nobles


Hykari Warriors


Jurgen (left to right: Nobles, Spearwomen, Skirmishers)


Note: Warrior Heroes states that the Hykari army list is based on Huns. I had Amazons, with a preponderance of light horse, in the lead pile and wanted to use them rather than buying new figures, so I have based my Hykari army around the Amazons instead.

The Border Kingdoms Reborn

For the past two years, the Border Kingdoms have been governed by the Brethren (see HERE for details) . That rule has now come to an end because the scions of the noble houses are now of age to take charge. The armies of the Border Kingdom will no longer march in the black and white of the Brethren, but will ride to battle in their young lords' colours instead.

The leading family of the Border Kingdoms is the van der Walk family. Gunther van der Walk was the third son of a minor Altengardian family, with little chance of inheriting his father's estates. He sought adventure in the east and carved out a kingdom for himself by force of arms. Now it is his son's turn to prove that he has what it takes to keep hold of that kingdom. Luther van der Walk is a real fire-eater. He set out to prove himself from an early age and is renowned for his strength and courage. Were it not for the law of the land, he might well have seized the reigns of power before now.

Gilbert de Beauvriere is the son of Drogo de Beauvriere, a young knight of Ekra when he joined the crusade into what became the Border Kingdoms. Gilbert is a more contemplative sort than Luther, but is known to be competent with arms and willing to fight. His father carved out his province like Gunther van der Walk did but his reign was characterised by more of an emphasis on administration than on beating up Goblins.

Childebert de Valons is the youngest of the three rulers. He relies much on the advice of his uncles to rule his province and is clearly perceived to be the weakest of the three. He is a spindly bookish man with little zest for warfare, but his theories on agriculture are likely to ensure that any province he rules will prosper and become wealthy. Unfortunately, in the recent unpleasantness he was forced to cede his territory to Treyine; ploughshares are not particularly useful against swords. He harbours a grudge against the Brethren, who were supposed to maintain the security of this area until he came of age.

The army of the Border Kingdoms consists of a mix of cavalry and infantry troops. The lords' personal retinues march to battle in their colours and are supported by a citizen militia with more taste for battle than many. The Borderers' primary weapon is the spear, but many are also familiar with the use of the crossbow.

The Borders Army Arrayed (click for a larger version)


The Lords of the Border Kingdoms are:
Lord Luther van der Walk (WR 4)
Lord Gilbert de Beauvriere (WR 3)
Lord Childebert de Valons (WR 2) (currently in exile)

It will be interesting to see if the Brethren willingly relinquish their hold on the Border Kingdoms next year.

I had originally intended to use a Norman army for the Border Kingdoms, although it is given an historical equivalent of Fuedal French in the rule book. However, I had a bunch of Wars of the Roses figures that needed painting, so I have used them as an interim force for this army. The liveried figures are painted in the livery of Sir Henry Grey, Lord Grey of Codnor, who fought on the side of the Yorkists at Tewkesbury in 1471. I made the banners and standards on my computer. I am not sure that the leader figure's standard is exactly correct, but it works well enough to suit me and I very much doubt that many people will know any better either! I do plan to replace this force with a Norman army when Baccus finally produce one, but these will suffice until that day.

Centaurs

"Centaurs!" the shout goes up from the look-out. Suddenly the village is in a frenzy of activity as mothers grab their children and men grab their weapons. They struggle to organise themselves in time but the fast moving dust cloud is upon them before they realise it. The village erupts in a cacophony of screams and shouts as desperate villagers try to stop the oncoming horde. Before too long the surviving villagers are rounded up and corralled. The centaurs walk unheeding of their bloodied hooves through the slain and dying as they loot the village and put to the sword those that will not make good slaves. Then they depart with their booty at a slower pace than they arrived. They do not fear pursuit. The speed of their attack was sufficient to prevent anyone from running for help. Besides, who could catch them anyway?

A 6mm centaur herd comprising the core army (click the pic for a larger image)

Front rank - Centaur hero and centaur wizard

Second rank - centaur spears (left and right), veteran centaurs (centre)

Rear ranks - centaur archers

Figures by Irregular Miniatures

Centaur herds may be found in the non-human lands of north-eastern Talomir. They live out on the plains and raid the settlements around them. Their attacks are fierce and brutal but they rarely hang around after they have what they want. However, occasionally a more aggressive and dominant alpha stallion can unite a number of herds, resulting in an attempt at founding a Centaur kingdom.

The Centaurs can show up in a WH campaign as a random event. Each winter dice are rolled t see if they do try to carve out a kingdom. When they appear, it will be in a randomly determined nation in the north-east. They will try to seize a province and use that as a basis for founding a kingdom. If they fail to seize a province before their national morale gives out then they will fade back into the background. If they succeed, then they will use that province as the base for further expansion and will become a force in the campaign.

The list for the Centaurs in the Warrior Heroes rulebook has a number of typos in it. I have reworked it and it is appended below (click the picture for a larger version. I suggest saving the image and looking at it offline. It should be clearer that way):

Beastmen of Talomir

The Beastmen of Talomir are a tribe that has yet to acquire nation status. They mainly live in the north-east of Talomir, but are also encountered occasionally in the south-west and more rarely in the south-east. It is thought that the Beastmen are descendants of a once-proud race that lived in the Stygustan area and rules a great empire tens of thousands of years ago. These Beastmen were, and still are, worshipped as gods by the humans of Stygustan, although the Stygustani deny the divinity of the modern Beastmen. Modern Beastmen are vicious creatures of limited intelligence and have a fondness for human flesh, which does not endear them to humans.

In game terms the Beastmen can appear as part of the overall campaign. They will show up in a randomly determined area of the world and try to seize control of a province. If they succeed then they will try to expand their kingdom and found a new empire. Rumour has it that a King of the Beastmen will be born, who can lead them to greatness once more.

Beastmen can also be encountered in WHAA. Anyone adventuring in the Border Kingdoms or the lands of the demi-humans could encounter them. Below we see a small warband of Beastmen in Stygustan. Pity the poor villagers that they fall on and devour (click on the picture for a larger image):


Note: I have not found a suitable range of 6mm figures for a Beastman army. I have been looking because I would like to include them in our WH games too. Nothing that Irregular does seems quite right to me, nor do GW Epic chaos types. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to post them here and I shall check the ranges out.

The Brethren

The Brethren are a military order of knights in the service of the Red Sun. They are vehemently opposed to all proponents of the Black Moon. Currently the Brethren control the Border Kingdoms by virtue of acting as governors to the children of the Border Lords. Many of the Lords died suddenly in a wave of assassinations that have not yet been solved. No one knows who ordered the assassinations or why. Without legitimate heirs of suitable age, the Brethren were asked to take the regency until such time as the Lords' children achieve their majority. The Brethren often undertake this sort of role in north-western Talomir because they are a (in theory) non-political organisation, although it is usually on a smaller scale. They tend to profit well from this and are wealthier in their own right than many small countries. They also have large land-holdings in the Border Kingdoms, a relict from the days when their crusade against the Goblins tore this kingdom from the wilderness and created it. With such large holdings here, it is in their interests to maintain a stable environment.


The Brethren Army is now ready to face the goblins in battle next week.

Mirholme

In the far north, where the black rock stands guard over the raging sea, lies the icy land of Mirholme. This is a land of petty kings that is rarely united. Kings have tried to extend their rule over the whole country, but the topography is against them. Mirholme is a land of high mountains, broad forests and deep fjords. It is a spectacular place and yet deadly. The greatest of the kings of Mirholme at the moment is Gunnar Broadaxe. Gunnar's influence is felt far and wide across the land and it is said that he has sworn to lay the whole country under his heel. Gunnar is tall, fair of hair and has piercing blue eyes. He is said to be even-handed, just and generous. The same cannot be said of his wicked uncle, Olaf Squinteye, who constantly opposes Gunnar in everything. Olaf feels slighted because he did not inherit his brother's crown, so now he seeks to take it from Gunnar.

As well as the kings that rule each valley, Mirholme is home to the dreaded sea-kings. The sea-kings are notorious pirates. They rule no land but claim anything they can on the sea. Their raids on other countries, and even on their own people, are without mercy. They are brutal, hard men. Helgi Snake-eye is one such man. He commands a fleet of twenty ships. Each man is sworn to serve Helgi until death and beyond. The men in Helgi's fleet live by a strict warrior code that recognises their allegiance to Helgi and no other. They are sworn never to marry, never to back down from a fight and always to follow through on any boast or promise they make.

Mirholme breeds strong, powerful people. It's rulers gain their place by right of might, but their wealth is not much more than that of their people. Yet these hardy people scratch a living from the icy fjords and poor fields. They supplement their living by reiving during the summer months. Mirholmen raiders are feared in every land that has a sea coast. Alternatively, they trade far and wide, for Mirholmen sailors are the finest in the world, and their ships are renowned for their sea-worthiness. The sight of a Mirholmen sail is cause for much trepidation until the intent of the Mirholmen sailors is known. Many do not wait to find out either.

I don't have a 6mm Mirholmen army yet but I hope to get one soon, and pictures will follow as soon as I do.

The Border Kingdom

The Border Kingdoms are just that, a group of allied kingdoms on the border between humanity and the humanoid hordes. It was once a part of Zog-Rot, the Goblin lands, but the Brethren led a crusade northwards to drive the goblins back from the borders of humanity. Now it is a wild kingdom on the frontier where any adventurer with nerves of steel and a strong sword arm can carve small kingdom of his own from the land. The Border Kingdoms' nobility is largely composed of adventurers, who have braved the dangers of this lawless frontier to establish a new kingdom. Naturally, the Ekrans with their long family lineages look down on the Borderers as common upstarts. The Treyine have a more pragmatic view and recognise the toughness of the Borderers, occasionally recruiting units of them into their own army. The Borderers are indeed a tough breed. They need to be, because they are constantly being raided by the Goblins of Zog-Rot over the border. Of course, the Borderers also regularly raid the Goblins too. After all, fair's fair!

The Border Kingdoms function like a city state, with all collective decisions being made by a council of the leading nobles in the country. Without the agreement of the majority of the ruling council, no laws can be enacted and the country may not go to war. However, due to national emergency brought about by the assassination of many of the ruling council, the Brethren have been asked to govern on behalf of the Border Lords until the Lords' children achieve their majority.

Most common Borderers favour the spear as their weapon of choice. The nobility are not rich here, so they do not have the same armour as their cousins in Ekra and Treyine. Likewise, they cannot afford to maintain similar numbers of retinue troops. They tend to wear older armour and wield halberds alongside their subjects. What little cavalry the Borderers have is not as heavy or as well barded as the Ekran or Treyine cavalry, but it is more than a match for the Goblin cavalry that they usually fight.

No pictures of the 6mm Borderers at the moment. The main (non-game) reason the Border Kingdoms are being governed by the Brethren is that I have not yet painted the Border Kingdoms army. The rulers of the Border Kingdom will come of age when I finally paint it. I do have some 6mm figures to use for this army, but I wanted to model it on the Norman army of the 11th century rather than a later army. This is why the 28mm figures I have for it are Normans.

Ragnar's Saga - Prelude

Ragnar and his brave comrades travelled east in their old fishing boat. Ragnar was the third son of an impoverished yeoman, Ketil the son of Grim. Like many third sons before him, he had chosen to pursue glory and wealth abroad rather than remaining on the farm to moulder and grow old. Of course, the sagas were only ever told about those third sons that had become wealthy and returned home. No one spoke of the rest, who died in foreign lands or were enslaved on their travels. Runestones across Mirholme attested the number of bodies that never returned. Ragnar felt sure, with all the cockiness and confidence of youth that he would return home wealthy and covered in glory.

To make sure that he left, his father gifted him with a worn out old fishing boat that he could no longer be bothered repairing, weapons and armour. These were the sum total of Ragnar’s inheritance. Ragnar then announced his intention of going a-viking and recruited to his banner a handful of local youths, who shared Ragnar’s dreams of wealth and glory. Filled with the skalds’ songs, Ragnar and his crew sailed eastwards, ready to pillage and burn their way into the sagas. Only the Norns knew what their fate would be …




I began Ragnar's Saga a while back and I did not take any photos of my solo games for it, but I plan to stage a few recreations and post the original battle reports here. It does mean that it will be a while before Ragnar does anything new, but that gives me time to sort things out and still post regularly. Brother Cedric will also get a chance to catch up in the meantime. Ragnar is the Gripping Beast "Egill Skallagrimsson". I put down some of his attitude to male pattern baldness!

The Army of Treyine

Treyine is a small nation of shopkeepers. It's inhabitants believe in fair play and are reputed to play strange games with bats and balls. No foreigner has ever stayed awake long enough at one of these games to report what actually goes on.

The people of Treyine are strong and bold. The strength of their army lies in the sturdy yeomen that form its backbone, because the country is not rich enough to support the large numbers of knights that its wealthier neighbour, Ekra does. Nevertheless, this reliance on the yeomen of the country to defend it has led to a fairer society and greater willingness to defend the land on the part of the yeomanry. Unlike a typical Ekran army, the Treyine army only has a small contingent of knights, who mostly fight on foot. Most of the army is armed with the dreaded Treyine longbow, a weapon that requires training from birth to use effectively, but when used by experienced archers, it is deadly. The Treyine army lofts thousands of arrows in every volley, which is enough to discourage most enemies.

Despite the emphasis on the archers in the Treyine army, these soldiers are backed up by billmen, whose main function is to protect the archers and close with the enemy. Occasionally, spearmen from the Treyine Marches are recruited to the army, and some lords have been known to recruit mercenary handgunners too. The people of Treyine are forward-thinking and recognise that developments in technology may well supersede the effectiveness of the bow one day.

The country is currently ruled by King Edward IV, a brave and noble warrior king, who is often seen fighting at the head of his army. His brother, Richard, is also a doughty warrior and usually stands loyally beside Edward in battle.

The Treyine army:


Edward IV and his brother, Richard:


Foot knights:


Retinue billmen:


Retinue archers:


Marcher spearmen:


Mercenary handgunners:


These figures are all 6mm Baccus Wars of the Roses figures. Although the Treyine army is based on an English Hundred Years War army, I have chosen to use Wars of the Roses figures to represent it because I like the Baccus figures and am also engaged in a long-term Wars of the Roses project. This army is painted in Yorkist colours from the Wars of the Roses.

The Army of Ekra

The Ekran army marches to war.

The Ekran army relies on the strength and ferocity of its nobles in the charge. Ekra is a rich nation and has a long tradition of crushing the peasants under foot for the greater glory of the nobility. Ekran knights are renowned all over Talomir for their ferocity and total disregard for the welfare of their foot soldiers. It is certainly not unknown for Ekran knights to ride down their own crossbowmen because those soldiers failed to get out of the way in time, when the knights decided that the time was ripe to charge the enemy.

Ekran knights are also renowned for their curteisie and chevallerie, terms that are meant to indicate that said knights have a softer side. The concept of courtly love was invented in Ekra and exported to many other countries by means of long chansons de gestes about their legendary forebears. These tales emphasise the chivalry and valour of the nobles described in them and often feature weepy, red-headed women pining away and dying of unrequited love. They also emphasise the superiority of the breeding of the knights, thus reinforcing the social order within Ekra. Surprisingly, these tales are popular with the Ekran peasantry too. Perhaps this is because the tales depict knights of a type that do not seem to exist in reality.

The Duc de Zummzet, current general of the Ekran army. The role of commander-in-chief of the Ekran army is hereditary and has lain with the de Zummzets for many years.

Here we see a skirmish line of Ekran crossbowmen and peasant archers in a rather perilous position:

The function of Ekran foot-soldiers is to enable the knights to get into a position where an overwhelming cavalry charge will win the day, and then to capture enemy knights for ransom after the battle. Needless to say, these foot-soldiers know their place in life and are more than happy to get revenge for this by knifing the enemy nobility when their own nobles are not looking. The only difference between the retinue infantry and the peasant infantry in the Ekran army is the quality of their armour and clothes. Both are equally unenthusiastic about helping their noble masters to win the day.

Ekran retinue infantry

Ekran peasant infantry

While Ekran nobility despises modern handgonnes and cannon, they still find the occasional need for them. Some more forward-thinking nobles have gone as far as recruiting mercenary handgunners into their own forces.

The Ekran army is based on the French armies of the Hundred Years War, but the figures I have used are from the Baccus Wars of the Roses range. These figures are painted as Lancastrians of the Wars of the Roses, because I plan to use them for an ongoing Wars of the Roses project too.

Mercenaries of Talomir

Warrior Heroes is an element-based game of fantasy warfare. It has recently been superseded by Warrior Heroes: Armies and Adventures, and is no longer available. However, I am still fond of it and have been painting up a number of armies for games using the rules. I would love to be able to field all 44 armies listed in the rules, and especially to use them in the grand campaign game that comes with the rules.

One facet of the campaign is mercenaries that you can recruit. There are two named companies of mercenaries in the rules. Both hate each other with a fury and they will not accept a contract if it means fighting on the same side as the other company.

The Black Company

The Black Company is led by Alfred Badenhorst, a one-time resident of Altengard. Badenhorst is a notoriously poor loser at cards. It is rumoured that his rivalry with Sir Geoffrey Chambers of the White Company stems from a game of Brag that he lost.

The White Company

Sir Geoffrey Chambers is the Captain of the White Company. He was born in Treyine and still holds some affection for that land. Many of his contracts are in service with the Treyine army. He is said to be a poor woodcutter's daughter, as was his father before him. He also appears to enjoy Morris dancing and real ale.

All figures are 6mm and by Baccus Miniatures.

The Goblins of Zog-Rot

The goblins of Zog-Rot are a mixed bunch. The majority are poorly clad, small and malnourished but with a huge appetite for carnage. The toughest of them ride the dreaded Ripper Beasts, large flightless birds with a terrible carnivorous appetite. It is fair to say that most goblins that try to tame one of these beasts wind up as its dinner instead. However, those few that succeed are well on their way to glory and fame among goblin-kind. Just taming a Ripper Beast is cause for a rise in social standing. Most goblins try to tame the less aggressive male ripper beasts, which are readily recognisable by the red stripes on their backs. Obviously, less aggressive in this case refers only to their aggressiveness when compared to the female of the species.

Some rare goblins are tough enough to tame the female Ripper Beasts, and a very few manage to tame two of them. The sight of a goblin standing proudly in his chariot pulled by two Ripper Beasts is a sure sign that you are confronting the chief of the tribe. This will be an unusually large and aggressive goblin.

Zog-Rotten society is warband-based. It relies on a regular income from raiding other groups. It is rare that a single war-leader can rise to the fore and unite the goblin hordes, although this has happened on occasion. That is one reason why Zog-Rot is ringed by Brethren fortresses. The Brethren maintain a constant watch for just such an occurrence and do their level best to prevent it reaching the point where goblin armies storm across the borders once more.