Nevertheless . . .
Background
I am borrowing this campaign's lore from my LARP group.
The Chimera Legion is a tagma of the Byzantine Empire.
Note: We use legion in our name rather than tagma because no LARPer knows what a tagma is.
The Empire has posted the Legion to Chovoli Isle, a fictional island in Eastern Mediterranean. Pirates have been attacking Chovoli, so the Legion has been ordered to defend the island.
While on Chovoli, the Legion began receiving reports about monster attacks in the interior. The commander dispatched a detachment to investigate. They find a cave entrance that leads to a hidden valley overrun by mythical creatures.
Yes, this is essentially a fantasy campaign.
The Legion forces
My first mission is to find figures for the Legion. I know I want 10mm, but from whom?
What are my options?
- Irregular - They have become my go-to. I like that I can order small batches. But they don't have Byzantines, or Late Romans. Perhaps I could use their generic Dark Age figures?
- Pendraken - No Byzantines, but I could use Late Romans. With packs of 30, I'll have extras.
- Magister Militum - They have Byzantines. Again, packs of 30.
- Old Glory - packs of 100? No thanks.
Right now, I'm leaning towards Irregular's Dark Age line. Here is a photo from their website. I think they'll do.
As mentioned yesterday, I plan to do small "units." Now I am thinking 4 infantry and 3 cavalry figures per "unit" - essentially Portable Wargame size.
My current organization plan:
- 1 commander
- 2 units of spearmen (skutatoi)
- 1 unit of axemen (Varangians)
- 1 unit of light cavalry
I found this great blog post that lists different 10mm fantasy lines. I am spoiled for choices.
I want to have some monsters. I'm thinking cyclops, harpies, a hydra, minotaurs, etc. So far, I have found most of these.
But what about the main bad guy army? I had a few possibilities in mind:
- Amazons
- satyrs
- skeletons
Right now, I'm leaning toward skeletons, like those that Jason fought.
And Irregular offers skeletons.
It’s a few months since my last order to Pendraken (and I’m also based in the UK) but they do provide a “non standard” order facility. Sure, the cost per figure is comparatively more expensive than a pack of 30 figures but, if you only need/want a few figures, then I don’t imagine it would be a deal breaker. As ever, I suspect the most expensive item would be the postage to the US. Drop Leon at Pendraken an email, he’s a helpful chap and I’m sure he can sort your order.
ReplyDeleteYou could have Greek hoplites (but aren’t they just too similar to the skutatoi?), perhaps with skeletons and/or centaurs for a Ray Harryhausen feel. Alternatively, keep it vaguely historical with a generic Arabian army (Seljuk Turks maybe, or possibly Ayyubid Egyptian, depending whether you want armies featuring light cavalry, or foot archers or whatever). Do you want an “enemy” army very different from the Byzantines or one only slightly different? Your choice…
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