Gentlemen.
I've been reading Neil Gaiman's "Norse Mythology", and Stephen Fry's "Heroes" and "Mythos". As a good Norseman, I am particularly enthralled by the tales of Thor and Tyr battling giants; but I've also captivated by Theseus and minotaurs and hydra teeth and Heracles.
I found myself looking at the fantasy ranges on the Pendraken website.
I'd like to add a new category to wargaming. Besides historical and fantasy, there is Mythical. It's not fantasy - honest. It's different.
I'm so ashamed. :-[
Don't be, for many people, it's theor gateway drug to wargames.
You shouldn't be ashamed at all ... I love fantasy ... not the GW type, but good old fashioned 'legend & myth'; CS Lewis, Tolkien and Spencer's Fairy Queen etc.
I was brought up on the Hobbit as a bed time story and consumed the Tales of Narnia as a youngster, progressing to Conan and Edger Rice-Burroughs and then Michael Moorcock's and the Eternal Champion series. In fact it was Elric of Melniboné that got me into 'serious' wargaming.
In fact .... I might even have a massed army fantasy set of rules inside me somewhere ... if I search hard enough ;)
NB: I am not a Harry Potter or Game of Thrones fan I'm afraid ... too many 'borrowed' entities and story lines.
But does anybody remember a fantasy book called The Worm Ouroboros ? It had an Assyrian like civilization at its core.
You can easily use Warband to play Fantasy myth games or Hordes of The Things.
But does anybody remember a fantasy book called The Worm Ouroboros ? It had an Assyrian like civilization at its core.
Yes, I do.
I was hospitalised for quite some time when I was younger, pre-digital days, and I had the book which I had failed to read earlier.
I struggled through it eventually but don't remember much about it.
Funny I've been the same recently!
Browsing through that fantasy/dungeon range and pondering... Been listening to a few Conan tales last few days as well and picked up and started playing Four Against Darkness*, a pen and paper RPG. A little fantasy side project could be quite fun as a change of pace. The old school fantasy guys pulled a lot from real history and mythology in their writings, at least the best of them did. Always find that more intriguing than the tired old fantasy tropes you tend to get now, though they can be fun in small doses.
Of course it'll just get added onto my growing list of potential projects that I don't have any time to start at the moment!
* There's a Four Against Titans Greek mythology version I'm tempted by too as like yourself I've a great interest in mythology.
Go for it, Nobby !!
You know you want to !! :)
Cheers - Phil
Not fantasy. That's just silly. But mythology. I could do mythology. I mean Ragnarok ... just need some giants, a massive wolf, world encompassing serpent, and some females on flying horses - totally not fantasy at all.
Of course, if Pendraken are bringing out some hoplites it's a small step to add a centaur or a minotaur ... maybe a hydra ... totally not fantasy.
Hmmm. Perhaps this will all go away if I lie in a darkened room.
For now, it's Flodden, and then ... a void that must be filled. :'(
The new Warlord one is good, Erwon. Designed for 28's but perfectly useable at smaller scales.
There's a UK manufacturer (in Northumberland I think) that is producing a small but growing range of 28mm Time Bandit figures ... now that has to be tempting ... at least as a HoTT army.
The dwarves are already on sale, as is Agamemnon (aka Sean Connery) and the Minotaur + the Ultimate Evil and his helpers. Mr & Mrs Ogre. John Cleese as Robin Hood, Ian Holm as a diminutive Napoleon and of course our hero Kevin.
I like idea of the scenery all covered in plastic sheeting to keep the dust off and the ultimate weapon of the explosive Sunday joint.
Truly - Monty Python are a modern day legend.
The knights that say "Ni" and the "shrubbery" must also be another contender ... or do you "blow your nose in my general direction!"
I'm making 'something from mythology' at this very moment. (All right....not at this VERY moment....I'm typing. ;))
I think you'll like them, Nobby. :D
Cheers - Phil.
I'm not a fan of Fantasy ......... mind you, I did like The Lord of the Rings (books & films) .... and the Harry Potter movies ..... and I did recently play a fairly enjoyable Mythological 'Age of Discovery' game set in the Far East with Steve Holmes ..... and I'm currently watching Mysterious Island on TV ..... having watched Master of The World the day before ....... nooooo! I've been infected! :o
I don't understand why there's this stigma over things being labelled as 'fantasy'?
I think it is the fault of the media .... D&D playing being portrayed for nurdy boys who don't have an interest in girls etc.etc.etc.
When 'Serious' wargames are depicted in TV and Film there are (most usually) depictions of re-fights of Waterloo i(n 20mm with Hinton Hunt figures) or ACW or Colonial games.
You rarely see World Conquering Evil genius's play-testing their military master plans in a sand-tray with 10mm tanks!
Waha, ha, ha haaa! :d
Quote from: Big Insect on 22 July 2019, 08:29:30 PM
But does anybody remember a fantasy book called The Worm Ouroboros ? It had an Assyrian-like civilization at its core.
I once posed for the painter who did the illustrations (Keith Henderson). He was in his nineties and doing a
Commedia dell'Arte scene; I was volunteered by his nephew to pose as both Punch and Harlequin. Picture an unheated studio in a western Cape winter (not quite freezing, but brass monkeys were insisting on woolly underwear); only heat source a bar heater, pointed not at your humble - and much unclad - narrator, but at a heavily mufflered painter. When I start getting cramps and am on the point of mutiny, Keith remarks in a quavering voice "Lucky you to be so young and supple", keeping me at it for another half hour.
Nude wargamers.
An image nobody needs.
Quote from: Raider4 on 23 July 2019, 12:22:51 PM
I don't understand why there's this stigma over things being labelled as 'fantasy'?
No I don't understand it. Years ago at the club a couple of members were very anti-fantasy, and would not chat to the youngsters playing Warhammer. One day I walked across to see they were playing DBM Egyptians against Gauls, I could not resist quipping "Oh a fantasy game then !!"
I think fondly of Lee, Noemie, Bella, and Tancred....Nude gamers can be sights to compensate for a run of bad dice!
Never understood it myself. Not that I've ever been into the Evil Empire TM, but I've happily play all kinds of rpg, skirmish and big battle games.
I think D&D sort of defined Fantasy, and Games Workshop continues to do so. As a youngster I was a Tunnels & Trolls player, and an avid consumer of JRR.
Sometime around 1980, interest in it just evaporated. I think the addition of such things as a "dwarf on a toilet" and the increasing number of increasingly complicated D&D supplements just made fantasy a bit ... silly.
I have no real animosity to Fantasy, but that probably won't stop me gently pulling legs. It's not something that usually sparks my interest though I can see the attraction of being without historical boundaries. BUT I think what I'm contemplating is different "periods" of fantasy. Ragnarok, Olympus and Japanese versions*.
*Is it too late to add some kami to the new Japanese list? Maybe an Eastern dragon?
I still have that figure! :D
Nude gamers - I conjure hippos, rhinoceroses, giraffes with glasses and storks with their feathers blown off.
I'd love to use Pendraken for RPG, but there is no "adventurers pack", so I'd have to buy the fantasy command packs of 5 to get 1 or 2 figures,and things like fighters would need to come from the historic packs of 30.
I've wondered why when you do all the dungeon stuff and monsters, there is no party.
I suspect because everyone would want a different mix in the party ;)
You could always ask nicely for a 'special order' :)
Leon's definitely the man to answer that. :)
I've got a sneaky feeling that they'll be on my list at some stage.....But that might simply mean converting some of the existing fantasy 'bods'.
I'm sure Leon would let you 'pick and mix' odd figures from the fantasy ranges for now.
What's missing from the fantasy ranges in your 'wish list', LH ?
A wizard in robes.....For certain (I guess).....But what else ? :-\
Thief ? 'Ranger' ?
Cheers - Phil (desperately trying to remember the old D & D 'types'.)
I think the original Dungeon packs came with packs of adventurers, to there are the figures within the ranges.
Looking at current packs, the Warband command and wizard packs look a good way to get Adventurer figures. You could custom order from them, but at £1.50 a pack, you may as well get the whole pack, gives you some options.
The one I'm struggling to see an obvious figure for is the classic D&D Cleric.
I think James IV on foot could be used as a fighter. How easy is it to make a mold from exiting figures? Say a couple of dwarves from command, couple of wizards from the elves etc?
I can understand it probably wouldn't be economic given volumes, but I do wonder what the thinking behind those pretty dungeon packs were.
The historic figures are much smaller than the Warband fantasy ones - think 10mm vs 12mm. But there are loads of possible fighters in the Dragon men range.
As you mention I think the issue is the practicalities of making packs of adventurers from the existing mould setup.
The TB line ranges probably add some more options too.
Quote from: fred. on 28 July 2019, 07:27:26 AM
The one I'm struggling to see an obvious figure for is the classic D&D Cleric.
Dragonmen foot knights pack has two figures with maces - bottom row, right hand end - that might do.
The leftmost Dragonman wizard Priest could have his staff snipped to make a convincing mace and have a card shield added if you want a less armoured look.
In the historical ranges there are the Late European monks - priest with a Napoleon complex?? :)
Good spot. Having had a better look at the dragon men foot knights, there are lots of good fighter / paladin figures, and a few that would work with simple conversions of axes to maces as the more militant type of cleric!
The Wood Elf packs work well for Rangers, Thieves etc
https://laranminiatures.bigcartel.com/product/witch-hunter-party (https://laranminiatures.bigcartel.com/product/witch-hunter-party)
Might be a couple of clerical types there
Fantasy as developed by WG never floated my boat the hyperbolic language and the endless war for 40,000 years (definitely slow learners inbox that universe) just put me off - sidelined with those pretentious 16 year old art course pupils and their paintings of rotting bodies. However, Leonardo fantasy in the late C15th and early C16th as well as steampunk is another kettle of fish which I find very entertaining. Loving Carnival Row on Prime at the moment.