Dailami Allies

I finished the core of my Dailami army last December and here's the rest. First up are Bedouin allies. The Bedouin ally commander can only attach to Bedouin troops in Field of Glory.  I painted the Bedouin units in black as a visual cue to help keep them together. In 15mm, that means a black basecoat followed by 2 highlights of grey.

Bedouin Light Horse:  The role of light horse on a battlefield is generally to skirmish and delay.  The role of Bedouin lancers is to run down enemy lights and destroy them.  Tough fellows!

Bedouin Slingers:  Nothing fancy here.  Just slingers, annoying other troops on the battlefield.

Bedouin Archers:  The Old Glory website suffers from the fact that they don't post up pictures of all of their figures.  As a result, I was surprised when I pulled these fellows from the box. They're either Bedouin slaves or men who eschew robes and turbans.

Next are the Ghazis.  Ghazi means "to raid" in Arabic.  Ghazis warriors depended on plunder for their livelihood and were prone to looting during peacetime.  Not a good way to impress your employer!

Ghazis Foot:  These fellows are medium impact foot.

Ghazis Cavalry:  Lancer armed, these fellows will be tough at impact.

Ghilman Cavalry:  Ghilman were slave-soldiers who served in Muslim armies from the 9th century on. Trained and educated, they could earn their freedom through dedicated service.  They're equally good with the bow and sword.

Kurdish Lancers: The history here is a bit thin but 11th century Kurdish cavalry are shown and described as wearing armor, helmet, robes, light lance, sometimes sword and shield, and sometimes bow. That's all I've got on these fellows!

I could not find armored Arab lancers on the Old Glory website so I took Ghilmen figures, trimmed their swords and drilled out the right foot to mount spears.  Presto!  Armored lancers.

Camp:  Baueda tent and supplies with Old Glory figures and cart. With this, the Dailmi army is finished.

The Rocky Road to Dublin...

The rocky road to Dublin passes through these gents, so best take care.  All Gripping Beast figs with LBMS shield transfers. The Norse Gaels remind me of the saying "To a hammer, everything looks like a nail." These guys are hammers, every one, and they have the battleboard to prove it.

The Norse-Gaels SAGA battleboard is built on personal challenges. Personal challenges represent combat between single champions from units engaged in melee and are settled with a die roll. The defender can decline the challenge but then the Norse Gaels automatically get the benefit of their battleboard ability associated with the challenge.  Most opponents will accept the challenge on the off chance of winning the die role and denying the NG their battleboard ability. I say "off chance" because the NG battleboard can generate a +1 or 2  bonus for personal challenges. The odds should always be stacked in their favor.

A couple of neat tricks...

Howling Axes: Gives 3 additional attack dice, 5 if the unit is armed with Dane axes.  That's a good reason to field axes in this warband.

Slaughter:  All 1s rolled become hits, 2s too if you use a rare rune.  When combined with the Dane Axe, you can turn all of your attack dice into hits. Combine this ability with Howling Axes and a small unit of hearthguard can wipe out a much larger one.  Deadly!

With abilities like Slaughter, Howling Axes, Death Dance and Ostmen’s Fury, their Viking roots shine through. If you like running Vikings in SAGA, you’ll love their mad cousins, the Norse-Gaels.

I'm working my way through the Great Courses lectures on the Vikings.  The 34 half hour lectures count as 1 book at Audible.com so with my monthly subscription, it's a bargain compared to the retail rate. I paint with the door to my painting room open and I think my family is enjoying the lectures as much as I do! So far, it's a great deep dive on the Norse. When I'm done, I'm going to grab the Romans and Barbarians course next.    

Howling Axes! Norse Gael axemen

The Norse were first recorded in Ireland in 795 when they sacked Lambay Island. Raids continued until 832, after which they began to build fortified settlements throughout the country.  The Norse–Gaels originated in settlements when the Norse intermarried with the native Gaels in Ireland and Scotland.  They founded the Kingdoms of Man, Argyll, Dublin, and Galloway. To this day, the Hebrides are known in Scottish Gaelic as Innse Gall, the islands of "foreigners." The Norse–Gaels dominated the region until the Norman invasion.

Gripping Beast did a splendid job of capturing the spirit of mad Viking-Irish warriors.  The warband contains a shocking number of barefoot fellows.  What they lack in fashionable footwear is made up for by the Dane axe. These barefoot axeman have a wicked look about them.  Slopping around without shoes might turn anyone into an axe-wielding maniac.  

First up are 8 warriors, followed by 4 hearthguard. Take a look at the warrior in red below. His hair is plaited and each plait is secured by a small golden ball. I knew I'd seen this look before and sure enough, Ian Heath's "Armies of the Dark Ages" has an illustration that appears to be the inspiration for this figure.   

This winter has been a brutal one, even for Minnesota.  We're going to get popped by another round of the Polar Vortex with temperatures dropping below -25 tomorrow.  Gray skies and icy cold temps are fueling a bad case of cabin fever.  It's a good thing I don't own an axe or I just might chop through a door, pop my head through and yell out "Heeeere's Mooonty!" Thank goodness for the painting table as it does keep me sane.   Stay warm and sane, where-ever you are!

Where's my SAGA warband?  WHERE??