Hi all,
After playing Lion Rampant for a few years now, I've decided to branch out a bit in the series. Having played the fantasy version, I found I preferred warhammer fantasy battle to that sort of thing, and TMWWBK would require that I sat down and built a completely new set of terrain for the Sudan or Afghan theaters I'd want to game in.
So naturally the choice fell on Pikemans Lament! Very similar to the LR rules, but with some interesting changes and additions for period flavour.
When browsing the ranges of different theaters I quickly settled on the ECW period, as my knowledge of the conflict is fairly basic and I enjoy using wargaming as a medium of gathering sources and getting to know the what's and buts of a period.
While researching the different conflicts within the civil war and their pro- and antagonists, I came across Alasdair Mac Colla, the fear thollaidh nan tighean (piercer or destroyer of houses) and immedially decided to base an army around the character. I've always been a sucker for Gaelic heroic prose, and the choice of figure naturally fell on Warlords model. The comptetitor from Eureka is nice and decidedly more corrrect, but I think that the Warlord model is more in tune with the spirit of Pikemans Lament, which is a bit tounge-in-cheek and more concerned with the narrative.
The period I decided on was the later part of the campaign in Scotland and Ireland (1646-9), after the break with Montrose. So there would still be Irish mercenaries present, but also a large contingent of Scots (redshanks). The enemies of the force could then both be parliamentarians, covenanters, cromwells settlers and the Campbell clan.
My retinue looks a bit like this:
1 elite pike (Irish pikemen) @6pts
2 shot (irish and scots shotte) @ 4 pts each
2 clansmen bands (Macdonalds) @ 3 pts each
1 dragoons (bogtrotter scouts) @ 4 pts
So far I'm assembling the force and it's all a bit of a mess:
But I did manage to get the Big Man himself painted:
Next up is a start on those highlanders. Then the horse and last, but not least, the irish.
While I'm at it, anyone got some litterature on the period that is considered 'must read'? Anything on Mac Colla himself, mayhaps?