Garrison Miniatures

Garrison miniatures produced a nice brand of Sword and Sorcery miniatures that fit well into the Hyborian world.  Unfortunately they closed up shop before I could put in an order with them, now I wish I had discovered them sooner, I'd love to create some Hyborian armies using mostly Garrison.  Oh, well that's the way it goes.  Here are a couple of figures from their website the first one would fit in well as a Black Dragon knight, the second is a great Gunderman Pikeman and the last are Teutonic Knights that fit very well as Nemedian knights.

  

Speaking of Garrison miniatures here is a wonderful blog that showcases the Garrison minis Beneath His Sandaled Feet.   I hope he gets back to blogging soon because his minis are fantastic!  

Mighty Armies - Aquilonia

This is my first shot at making an army for Mighty Armies, hopefully it's correct.  Aquilonia relied heavily on heavy cavalry with heavy infantry and archers on the flanks.

The Black Dragons (Cavalry) and Black Legion (Infantry) are both elite guard units so I gave them both "Disciplined" and "Fearless".   I think those are appropriate characteristics.

The Bossonian Archers were given both "Mobile" and "Long Range", I consider them more of Ranger units rather than just archers.

Aquilonia is probably the strongest army, so it looks pretty strong.  I hope I haven't over powered them too much.

Mighty Armies - Hyboria

Coming soon ...

Not an official product or anything associated with Mighty Armies or the world of Robert E. Howard. Just a fan made army list made by me for use with Rebel Minis awesome Mighty Armies miniatures battle game.  I've messed around with photoshop a bit to give my Sample Army pages the Hyborian treatment.

Hour Of The Dragon: Best argument against the "Aquiromians".

I've been re-reading the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories and I've found Hour of the Dragon contains some of the best descriptions of of the Aquilonian army.  Especially in chapter 3 of the story, here's some excerpts.

"The Aquilonian host was drawn up, long serried lines of pikemen and horsemen in gleaming steel, when a giant figure in black armor emerged from the royal pavilion, and as he swung up into the saddle of the black stallion held by four squires, a roar that shook the mountains went up from the host.  They shook their blades and thundered forth their acclaim of their warrior king - knights in gold-chased armor, pikemen in mail coats and bassinets, archers in their leather jerkins, with their longbows in their left hand."

"The Aquilonian host moved leisurely to meet them.  The measure tramp of the armored horses made the ground tremble.  Banners flung out long silken folds in the morning wind; lances swayed like a bristling forest, dipped and sank, their pennons fluttering about them."

Here is a quote about Aquilonian battle formation...

"The Aquilonian host had assumed the customary formation:  the strongest part was the center, composed entirely of heavily armed knights; the wings were made up of smaller bodies of horsemen, mounted men-at-arms, mostly, supported by pikemen and archers.  The latter were Bossonians from the western marches, strongly built men of medium stature, in leathern jackets and iron head pieces."

I think these three quotes are the most important in showing that Aquilonia is actually a High Medieval culture similar to France or England possibly late 14th or 15th century.  There's nothing here to indicate Aquilonia is based on Rome.  No mention of legions, shield walls, segmentata armor, pilum etc.     Instead we have an army that relies on heavily armored cavalry Rome was for the most part reliant on infantry with cavalry in supporting roles.  

The best resource is always the original stories. I realize the name Aquilonia has a Roman ring to it but if you throw out pastiches, comics and artist interpretation of what they want to convey about Robert E. Howard's world, there's no way you could get Rome out of Aquilonia.

Khurasan "Evil Men" As Stygians

Khurasan has done it again, this time in the fantasy realm.   Along with their orcs, they've created some Evil Men.  I think I may use these as Stygians, maybe guard figures or Shemitish levy troops.  Great figures either way!

Royal Armies Of The Hyborian Age: More Aquilonians and Knights of Poitain

One of the biggest challenges for me with Aquilonia is finding the perfect miniatures to represent them. I could go the historical route which would be early 100 years war British or French.  One of my personal dislikes for that route would be using bascinet "pigs snout" style helmets, I just have a hard time imagining the Knights of Poitain or the Black Dragons using this style of helmet.

This has led me to do a head swap.  I was using some Roundway miniatues Spanish medievals with a head swap with their line of Russian knights and a bit of grey stuff to sculpt on some capes.  These particular figure are supposed to represent the Black Dragons (Elite Royal Aquilonian Guard Unit) and the Aquilonian king (Conan?).  They are based with Mighty Armies in mind, but will still work for RRTK.   I liked the outcome but I do need to find shields for them.

But I am sort of leaning towards the old Demonworld Empire figures.  They have a semi-historical look without pin pointing it in a strictly historical setting.  j

These are Demonworld Knights of The Order, which I think may fit in well for Knights of Poitain.  I'm not sure I like the heavily armored horses but I could always swap them out.

And These mounted Noble Lancers may do well for Black Dragons.

Or even these High Elves for Black Dragons, that is with a shield swap and some converting but it gives some room to play with.

Anyways these are some ideas that I am riffing off of.

Rally Round The King for Royal Armies Of The Hyborian Age

I just purchased a copy of Two Hour Wargames' "Rally Round The King"  and am looking forward to seeing if i can use the rules for wargaming Conan's Hyboria.   I have the original copy of Royal Armies by Fantasy Games Unlimited and like it as a source-book but I do have some problems with it.  First of all it was partially written by Lin Carter (who I do like, don't get me wrong), who tends to put his own writings and ideas into Hyboria which were never part of Robert E. Howard's ideas.  I do like some of Lin Carter's stories but sometimes they don't seem to fit with REH (like Hyperboreans being a race of cannibal albino giants whole wield esoteric magical knowledge, they aren't in the game but are an invention of Carter) .  The rules are okay, nothing ground breaking but definitely playable.  Although the basing system is a bit strange, but not mandatory.

That has set me looking to other rule sets, I'm considering Field of Glory but have found the rules a bit restrictive and a bit complicated.  That has lead me to RRTK.  I've always liked  THW reaction system which makes solo wargaming possible and now that they have a mass combat version, I'm expecting it to work out great.   More posts coming soon....

Hyborian Flags

I found these over at Fanaticus!  It's probably been there a while but I just discovered it.  These are based on the Royal Armies of the Hyborian Age by Sctott Bizar and Lin Carter (I believe very few of these were eluded to in the original REH stories),  so it's entirely their interpretations but it's a nice resource to have.  Somebody did a great job!

Royal Armies of the Hyborian Age: Picts in 15mm!

Copplestone has done it, and now I have no choice other than to order some!  These are absolutely spot on and beautiful!

Shemite Proxies!

I've been going through Old Glory's website today and I've been thinking about maybe using WAB for my got to rules for Hyborian Era Wargaming.  As I was comparing minis I came across OG's Carthaginian Citizen Spearmen and think that these would be perfect for Shemitish mercenaries or home guard.  I like the high pointed helms they look almost Assyrian (I'm not sure how historically accurate these are, most depictions I've seen are not quite as high), but they are really great figures either way!

I'm still planning on using a combination of their Assyrians and Bedouins as well.

Royal Armies Of The Hyborian Age: Oliphants In Hyboria

One of the few times that Oliphants are mentioned by Robert E. Howard was in the story "The Scarlet Citadel" during the Battle of Shamar, here's an exerpt from the battle:

"Now the attackers were massing for a storm.  The oliphants sounded , the steel clad ranks drew up on the plain.  The storming-towers, covered with raw bull-hides, rumbled forward.  The people of Shamar saw the banners of Koth and Ophir, flying sided, by side, in the center, and made out, among their gleaming knights, the slim lethal figure of the golden-mailed Amalrus, and the squat black-armored form of Strabonus.  And between them was a shape that made the bravest blench with horror- a lean vulture figure in a filmy robe.  The pikemen moved forward, flowing over the ground like the glinting waves of a river of molten stee; the knights cantered forward, lances lifted, guidons streaming.  The warriors on the walls drew a long breath, consigned their souls to Mitra, and gripped their notched and red-stained weapons."

Now it's not overly descriptive of what the oliphants look like, maybe they are just mammoths, I know they aren't elephants because elephants are described in other Conan stories.  I was thinking about using some other prehistoric mammal like a stegadon, and then my friend Eli pointed out this mini from Northstar Miniatures!  I really think this Platybeladon would work out great for a Kothian army, and maybe I'll work mammoths in for Vendhya instead.

Stygians for Crom!

I've been going over some army ideas with Eli from I See Lead People, and I thought of some great ideas for Stygians!

Crocodile Games have some wonderful Fantasy Egyptians.  I've been especially admiring their Necropolis Guard.  I think they would make great Cult of Set guardsmen or followers of Thutothemes or Toth-Amon (Remember, Thulsa Doom is actually a Kull character).

And maybe a high priest of Set!

Not to mention some Archers and foot soldiers from the same manufacturer.  They look Egyptian enough but have just a touch of fantasy to make them fit into Hyboria.

Then a couple of Reaper Minis for some characters!

I bought this figure 10 years ago hoping to use it as a Priest of Set and painted him to look as such.  Although hist staff got bent and is close to falling off.

Actually, Reaper has more than I can list but they would fit into most any of the middle-eastern flavored countries in Hyboria.

Crom! A Conan Skirmish Game

Eli over at I See Lead People gave me a heads up on this and I wanted to bring it to your attention Crom! is a Conan Skirmish game that Doug over at Matakishi's Tea House, and he's aptly named it Crom!  It looks very promising and I know I look forward to trying it out!

Also there are a few fellow bloggers who are also involved in coming up with rules variations.  Eli over at I See Lead People and Space Jacker over at Tiny Solitary Soldiers are putting forward some interesting ideas that can be used for the game.

So head on over and check it out, I think this is going to be a very promising game!

My Favorite Depiction Of Cimmerians

The cover of Mongoose's Free Company book for the Conan RPG is my favorite depiction of the Cimmerians. This is how they should look! No furry underwear, just chainmail, bucklers, kilts and a lot of savagery! If anyone puts out a range of minis that look similar to this (hopefully in 15mm), I'm going to snatch them up! I've already planned on using dark age scots/irish with a bit of tweaking with green stuff, but to see these replicated in miniature would be great!

Rebel Minis Frost Knights - I might have an alternative for the Vanir!

Rebel Minis has put out a line of minis called the Frost Knights. This is by far my favorite army that Rebel has put out, I may even include some of these in my Vanir army for Royal Armies of the Hyborian Age. Minus the polar bear mounted cavalry of course.

Khurasan Miniatures releases Kofun Cavalry

I think that Khurasan's Kofun Japanese miniatures will be my best choice for my army of Khitai for Royal Armies Of The Hyborian Age. The thing that has finally won me over is the release of their cavalry models. How could I pass these up?!

Royal Armies of The Hyborean Age: Zingara

1500 points

Banner: Field divided into 4 sections. Sections at upper left and lower right are orange while upper right and lower left are white. In the center, where sections meet, is a black three pointed crown.

Zingara compares to medieval Spain at it's height of power. It's organization is very similar to that of Aquilonia. Zingara is more centralized than Aquilonia so that the bulk of it's infantry is not from the nobility' s men-at-arms but is based on regular units in the national uniform of orange.

The regular infantry would have shield patterns identical to the flag or solid orange shields with the black crown in the center. They would carry regimental banners to match their shields. Some of their units might have moorish style armor, though the bulk would be similar to the European style of the Aquilonians .

The cavalry of Zingara is composed of knights but it is from two sources. There are regular units of heavy knights in uniforms of orange with shields like the infantry which are maintained by the king. There are also units made up from the nobility in which each noble might wear his own colors and have his own shield device. Both types of cavalry unit would carry the Zingaran national banner.

In addition, there would also be a unit of Royal Guard cavalry which would be identical to the Royal Guard infantry except that would have gold armor.

The cavalry would compose 25-40% o fthe force and it would have the following elements.

Regular Cavalry HC B 12 66-80
Noble Cavalry HC A 12 20-33
Royal Guard HC A 12 1 unit

The infantry would be 60-75% of the army in the following categories.

Regular Foot HI B 24 65-100
Royal Guard HI A 30 1 unit
Archers LI B 12 0-25

I don't have any idea on the minis at the moment. If anyone else does, I'm open to suggestions!

Descriptions of Turanian soldiers and the Kozaks of the Vilayet Sea from "The Devil In Iron"

Here are some quotes from "The Devil In Iron" describing the army of Turan.

Turanians

From Chapter 2
"His armies ravaged the borders of Stygia in the south and the snowy lands of the Hyperboreans in the north. His riders bore torch and sword westward into Brythunia and Ophir and Corinthia, even to the borders of Nemedia. His gilt-helmeted swordsmen had trampled hosts under their horses' hoofs, and walled cities went up in flames at his command."

From Chapter 6

Leaving half a dozen men in the boat, he took the rest, ten mighty archers of Khawarizm, in spired helmets and tiger-skin cloaks. Like hunters invading the retreat of the lion, they stole forward under the trees, arrows on strings. Silence reigned over the forest except when a great green thing that might have been a parrot swirled over their heads with a low thunder of broad wings and then sped off through the trees. With a sudden gesture, Jehungir halted his party, and they stared incredulously at the towers that showed through the verdure in the distance.



Kozaks

From Chapter 2

On the broad steppes between the Sea of Vilayet and the borders of the easternmost Hyborian kingdoms, a new race had sprung up in the past half-century, formed originally of fleeing criminals, broken men, escaped slaves, and deserting soldiers. They were men of many crimes and countries, some born on the steppes, some fleeing from the kingdoms in the West. They were called kozak, which means wastrel.

From Chapter 4 (A description of Conan in Kozak attire.)

As the first tinge of dawn reddened the sea, a small boat with a solitary occupant approached the cliffs. The man in the boat was a picturesque figure. A crimson scarf was knotted about his head; his wide silk breeches, of flaming hue, were upheld by a broad sash, which likewise supported a scimitar in a shagreen scabbard. His gilt-worked leather boots suggested the horseman rather than the seaman, but he handled his boat with skill. Through his widely open white silk shirt showed his broad, muscular breast, burned brown by the sun.



These weren't overly descriptive but it gives you a little glimpse at other culture of the hyborian world.

Royal Armies of The Hyborean Age: Zamora

1000 points

Banner: Red field with a white crescent in the center.

Zamora is relatively Arabic in flavor and it's reliance on cavalry as a striking force reflects this. The infantry is primarily medium but due to the influence of the western kingdoms the use of heavy infantry is gaining importance.

Zamoran troops favor white and white trimmed in red. The heavy infantry might wear red. Some units carry plain steel shields while others carry a red shield with a white crescent.

The mailed heavy cavalry is the pride of the army and some units would be more flamboyant than the infantry. they would still tend to wear red or white but might have silver shields or red plumes.

The Zamoran archers are of regular quality and would wear a white uniform with red trim. The archers would not have a banner, although all other moran troops would carry the Zamoran banner.

As a well organized state Zamora might make use of free company mercenaries. These would never make up more than fifteen percent of a Zamoran force.

The cavalry would be 25-50% of a Zamoran army and it would be broken doen as follows.

Unit Designation Type Class # of Figs. % of Cavalry

Elite Lancers HC A 12 0-33
Mailed Cavalry HC B 12 67-100

Infantry makes up 50-75% of a Zamoran force in the field and it's composition is below.

Unit Designation Type Class # of Figs. % of Cavalry

Archers LI B 12 20-30
Regular Foot MI B 24 45-60
Heavy Foot HI B 24 15-35

Royal Armies of The Hyborean Age: Vendhya

2500 points

Banner: Color varies by which prince is leading the army but all would have the national emblem in the center. This emblem is a stylized mammoth's head with cold balls at the ends of the tusks.

Vendhya is a mythical prehistoric India. As would be expected the army depended heavily upon the Wooly Mammoth. These fearsome creatures were "tamed" to carry war howdahs and used extensively in the armies of Vendhya.

Due to the crushing impact of charges by the mammoths the military in Vendhya totally neglected the development of a cavalry arm. thus the bulk of the army is made up of medium spearmen who were well trained regulars. Extensive use was made of archers, both in the Mammoth's howdahs and on foot.

All Vendhyan troops wore yellow uniforms with unit distinctions being in the color of their sashes and turbans, Their shields were the same color as their sashes and turbans and bore their regimental insignia. These regimental insignia were generally not terribly warlike, as often the case in European coats of arms. They were often stylized flowers or stars. The insignia was always yellow. The insignia would also appear on the regimental banner which would be the color of the unit's sash and turban.

Each unit of archers and each unit of mammoths was generally assigned to a given unit of spearmen and would wear the same sash and turban colors. The archers would have no banner but one of the mammoth crews would carry a regimental banner. Each wooly mammoth has a crew of four. The crew includes a mahout, one spearman, and two archers. This regimental system was based on the custom of having regiments raised and maintained by prestigious noble families to that the regimental insignia compared to the family crest carried by men at armis in the Western Kingdoms.

Whichever of the royal princes was leading the army would bring along his personal guard. This guard unit was heavier infantry and it would have the special privilege of wearing purple as a sash and turban color. THe shild would also be purple with the Royal emblem (mammoth's head) embossed on the shield. Their banner color would vary but it would always have the royal emblem in it's center.

The following is a breakdown of a Vendhyan Army.

Unit Type Class # figures % of army

Regular Infantry MI B 24 50-85
Archers LI B 12 10-25
Royal Guard HI A 30 1 unit
Wooly Mammoths WM C 3 5-8

***As a side note, I'm not sure if I remember any mention of mammoths in Hyboria, so I'm not completely sold on using them in my game, still undecided at this point***


Black Raven war mammoth should I choose to use mammoths. Although I would add more indian figures to the howdah.






Khurasan Miniatures Indian range fit the bill as well!