Life Work The Universe......Gaming Bodyswerve

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We live in the shadow of the foothills of the Grampian Mountains. It's a land of Roman Forts and Pictish Circles - but mostly it is a land of old history beyond recorded time.


And on early winter nights you can see the breath of the Fire Dragon spreading across the valley floor as he settles down to sleep. This Valley of the Fire Dragon is the setting for my semi-historical based Fantasy gaming using Age of Might and Steel from 15mm.co.uk.


I guess my Fantasy inspiration is Conan, Gor, Islandic Sagas and 13th Warrior more than Middle-Earth and Clawhammer. So my first two protagonists are Dark Ages rather than High Fantasy.

Master Chef put me onto Age of Might and Steel, with intention of recreating a Conan based Hyboria. What sold the rules was the claim - "For busy gamers who enjoy a rewardingly simple game that encourages tactics". Sounds great and I can start with these two armies based on my favourite 15mm Dark Age miniatures:

The Crow Lords

They live in the high perches on the highest of the hills and see themselves as the natural rulers of all they survey. The Crow Lords are carrion first and foremost and enjoy feasting on the aftermath of the battle.

Think half-crow men - Early Saxon & Vikinges with crow feather mantles, Griffons (as Crow warriors), giant Eagles and 25mm 'giant' crows, Shamans.

The Wolf Kings

They have roamed free to hunt across across the land since time became time. The valley is THEIR hunting ground and they will fight to the death to keep it for themselves.

Arthurian & Romano-British - Wolftail Warriors, Werewolves, human wolf riders, wolf Packs, Ulfhednars, Wizards.

I think AoMaS will compliment Alien Squad Leader as a mid-week fun game and help me blanket out work just now.

Cheers
Mark
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15mm Hyrkanian Grav Assault Company

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I'm rebasing stuff today (Sunday). So here's a 'before' shot of my 15mm Sci Fi Hyrkanian Hi-Tech Grav Grav Assault Company. The dismounts (GZG New Israelis) are proxies until replaced with converted FOW Assault Sapper-Engineers (click here).

2 MICV Platoons each of 3 squads
Coy HQ of 1 Command, 1 Area Defence/Scout element

I'm planning on rounding out the company with a light grav tank platoon plus additional support in the form of a minimum of two GZG UAVs. These are currently waiting to be painted.

I've used up all my unpainted GZG New Israeli miniatures so I might just ditch the dismounted scout element in order to have four figs on each base in the MICV platoons. I have some spare A.I. minis - actually 6mm Mecha - who could replace the human scout team.

I'm also toying with the idea of including a shaman in the command team similar to the 'wizard' played by Japanese actor Mako, in Conan The Barbarian. Whilst 'magic' has no part to play in my futuristic reimagining of Hyboria, I think it's important to retain the 'elemental' aspect of Conan's world.


This Grav Assault Company continues the historical tradition of the Hyrkanian mounted horse-archer. Debate rages in higher Hyrkanian military circles, but the primacy of fast, swift, mounted warfare remains dominant in tactical thinking. MICVs are therefore small but powerful with a 3-4 man dismount element. The dismounts are subordinate at all times to the vehicle commander who controls the firefight.

Often two tank platoons are combined with two MICV platoons plus command and support elements to create a 2 company Mechanised 'Gallop' Battalion. These are raised and manned along tribal lines. They operate as independant fighting units in the vast steppes of the northern provinces under the overall operational command of the Hyrkanian 4th 'Red Sonja' Armoured Division.

Cheers
Mark

Hyboria 48K

For some time Maff and I have been looking for a suitable background to anchor our Sci Fi gaming. Both fans of Marc Miller's original Traveller and later the Firefly 'Verse, we've found it difficult to pin ourselves to one or the other. We've even tried incorporating the 'Verse into the Imperium as a confederation of worlds similar to The Sword Worlds.

However, it was only once Maff and I both bought a copy of Future War Commander that the light bulb moment actually came. You see we are also long-term fans of Robert E Howards CONAN, and more specifically Howards' world of the Hyborean Age. There we had it, a world we were already familiar with, screeds of maps on the 'net, untainted by other Sci Fi canons, and flexible enough for us to drop in and drop out as we pleased.

We could even use Hyboria as a 'vanilla' setting for Ambush Alley, where the Aquilonian Rifle Brigade or Cimmerian Fusiliers are undertaking 'police actions' in Iranistan, Drujistan or Shem.

There are guilds, warlords, princedoms and empires who would welcome Hammers Slammers, Falkenberg's Legion, the Dorsai and employ alien mercenaries such as the Garn if it suited their purpose.

And of course, there are moons and asteroids to be claimed, contested and conquered.

Cheers
Mark