[Artesia] Wargaming in the Known World - Where to start?

[Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye]

Note: I used [Artesia] to categorize this thread, even though Artesia is technically the name of the main character is the graphic novels series, not a location or place name. I'm not sure if the World Setting even has a proper name, beyond the "Known World" with places beyond the edges of the map being the "Unknown World."

Anyway, there was a previous thread that touched on gaming, wargaming I assume, in the Known World. I have been thinking of trying it for a little while now. I think the excellent TAG renaissance range would offer a good place to start for figures, especially the Spanish, and I think, Italians.

I was reading a bit of the RPG background today and wondering "Where to begin?" A Google search turned up nothing but some RPG reviews so I thought I'd start a thread here and see what developed.

For those unfamiliar with the setting, Artesia and the Known World are from a series of comics that became graphic novels that became a role-playing game. The artist and author is Mark Smylie. I should note that the graphic novels are for mature readers.

http://artesiaonline.com/blog/

The setting does not seem to have any gunpowder, but the armour is fairly advanced and there is magic and undead. 

[El Grego]

Sounds very interesting.  As this is the first I have seen of this tale, a brief pic search shows that late 16th cen. Renaissance or maybe 30YW minis would work.

Just don't show us too much stuff Howard - I really do not have the time for yet another project 

[Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye]

I've started re-reading the graphic novels. The armour is not strictly accurate in that he takes bits from a variety of RW time periods. So there are codpieces but also Morian helmets and late Medieval basinets. There are no pot helms that I can recall. There is an attempt to give the factions a distinctive look. No gun powder and magic seems generally low-key. Artesia is a witch and uses magic in battle, and she has a magic sword. She uses magic to amplify her voice when she gives the pre-battle speech (somewhat like in Harry Potter, but without a wand.) And she calls forth spirits from the sword to spread terror in the ranks of the foe. AFAIK, the other side didn't have any magic, beyond perhaps some magic weapons.

In one of the later books they battle a host which has undead warriors and IIRC she calls all captains with "magic" weapons to the fore (can't remember the term she uses.)

So magic is low-key, but there a lot of religious stuff - pre-battle omens and prayers, calling on the various goddesses for aid, plus post-battle rituals. There is a role-playing game but I have only skimmed the magic system so far. It seems that mages are "powered" by spirits which they can harness from old barrows and battle sites. So those locations are rated by how many viable spirits may be available. Magic seems to be [potentially] dangerous for the wielder, as well. A lot of the magic is related to spirits of various sort, some very like valkyrie who arrive to carry off the dead. Only Artesia can see them but the others all believe that these creatures are there.

The series is very nicely illustrated and well written. I highly recommend them, but with a warning that they are for mature readers and feature violence, nudity and sexual situations.

Howard

[Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye]

And I figured out where to begin from re-reading the books - the end of the first book, which is about a localized feud, ends with news of an invasion by the Empire to the south. One with a vaguely Turkish/Arab feel to it - though there is no islam, as such, in this setting. And they don't wear turbans - perhaps "Persian" would be a better descriptor...