Late Romans for SAGA

This warband sprang from Adepticon 2016 and a visit to the Footsore booth.   I knew the SAGA supplement Aetius and Arthur was in the works so I asked Footsore's fabulously talented sculptor Bill Thornhill to help me pick out an army.  13 months later, the Late Romans are painted up and in a campaign.  Bonus!  You can run this warband as Britons too.

With my SAGA painting queue 4 warbands deep, I used speed painting to finish the band in 4 weeks. I primed white, washed with Citadel's Casandora Yellow and highlighted with Vallejo Ice Yellow. Skin was done with the Foundry Flesh 5A, B, C triad.  The Little Big Men Studio shield transfers and a tight palette give them a nice uniform look.  Footsore is hands down my favorite minis to paint. I was so happy with these sculpts I ordered an Early Saxon warband too.  As they say in the UK, in for a penny, in for a pound! 

At the finish line, the warband is made up of:

2 pt levy (manuballista + 18 spear & shield levy).  I treat the bareheaded and hatted figures as spear & shield levy.  

4 pt warriors (32), all in helmets.

2 pt of hearthguard (8), all in chainmail.  

Foot & mounted warlords 

3 games in, no-one is more surprised than I that my Late Romans are unbeaten.  They are a defensive warband with the ability to take a hard punch or two a turn. The manuballista plus the ability to throw darts via the activation Plumbatae seems to drive opponents to make ill timed charges.  

The manuballista is an interesting option for the Late Romans. For 1 point, you get a ballista with a crew of 2 levy and a separate unit of 6 levy. The ballista can't move and is removed once the crew of 2 is dead. It gains a fatigue after each shooting so it exhausts after 2 shots. It has a range of 24". The number of shooting dice is 1/2 the number of models in the unit being shot at. Ideally, you want your opponent to run a 12 pack of mounted hearthguard. Oh, you also get a +1 to your shooting dice! Because the unit is so weak and draws a lot of attention, I park it in a large building with a separate unit of 6 levy to help keep it alive.  

One warband down, three more to go!

Frostgrave warband

In my circle of historical gamers, Frostgrave has become a thing.  Like SAGA, Frostgrave is a fast game, easy to learn and goes well with beer.  We had good turnout for a Frostgrave Day at the club. These low key events are a great way to learn a system, meet new players and learn/copy their tricks and builds.  I was quite happy to finish in the middle of the pack with my Illusionist.

Fantasy painting continues to be a bit of a trial for me.  Honestly, could the Illusionist or apprentice fit one more thing on their robes?  There is an invention called the knapsack, use it! All figures are from the North Star Frostgrave barbarian release.  Great stuff and if I were fearless, I'd add tattoos to the lot.  Maybe someday!

I managed a few pictures of our games.  My rubble terrain looked pretty decent all laid out.  A dusting of snow would be perfect but that would lock my options for basing in Bolt Action and SAGA. For maximum portability, my Frostgrave terrain will remain sans snow.  

Fogou Models rubble terrain is superb! I need to put in an order for their Dark Ages beehive buildings.

Last up are How it Started pictures.  The murder of Crows are from Zombicide and a great bit of color for SAGA or Frostgrave.  And Zombicide too I supposed.  I've got plenty more Frostgrave to paint but it may be some time before I'm brave enough to put fantasy up on the table.  For now, its back to SAGA and my Late Roman warband with Footsore miniatures!

Terrain for Bolt Action, SAGA and Frostgrave

Inspired by the terrain at the US Grand Melee, I decided to clear out my terrain queue and buff out my meager collection.  Good terrain & nicely painted figures are key to walk-ups when you play in a public space like I do.

First up is the Warlord Games Plastic Ruined Hamlet.   The set was easy to assemble and paint with black primer and drybrushed shades of gray.  I mounted the ruins on MDF so I could do rubble-strewn floorboards.  Modeling pigments break up the sea of gray.  These will pull double-duty in Bolt Action and Frostgrave.

I've been a fan of the Fenris Games Viking Rune Stones since I laid eyes on them. The marshy theme was a bit of work but makes them flexible.  In SAGA, I can drop two of these in a terrain element and call it rocky ground OR a marsh. The leaf litter is Green Stuff World's Natural Leaf Litter.  I'm not entirely sure the split grey and brown basing works.  I can circle back and change it in the future if it bothers me enough.

This run was a nice boost to my terrain making confidence.  Now to get a game on and put it out on the table!