"We have beheld his Ruga Ruga, and they are many." Mabruki"The African Bonaparte." Henry Morton Stanley."We find him to be the dopest, flyest, O.G. pimp-hustler-gangster-player, hardcore M*** living today. To be honest I am totally and completely On. His. Dick." Queen Victoria.Me again! This time we turn our attention to the lowly-born Nyamwezi trader-turned-warlord, Mirambo. Bought guns with his profits, gave them to orphaned teenage hooligans, who he then turned loose on all his neighbours, carving out an empire for himself in Tanganyika, to the horror of the established aristocracy.
Handy map of some of the warlords of the time. Mirambo's bit is slightly misleading, as he never actually captured Tabora from the Arabs; but that's the area where he did all his trouble-making, vying with the Arabs for control of the trade routes, and dominating the local tribes.
Anyway, enough pointing at the map with the end of my pipe, on with the pics...
Kicking things off with the command group. Mirambo (centre), flanked by one of his officers, his Brolly-bearer, drummer and two bodyguards (I might do more bodyguards later).
Mirambo: First Blood Part Two.Decided to depict him in his "Arab robes and unruly Afro" period (like in the Osprey book), as it is a good look, and I think it suits him.
A loyal lieutenant. His officers and bodyguard wore a uniform of sorts. Red or red-and-white Arab robes, and a white or blue-and-white turban.
"A hardcore player from the streets: Rappin' bout hardcore topics over hardcore drum beats..."
Umbrella-bearer. Mirambo liked to fight in the front line with his men. His position on the battlefield would be marked by an umbrella held aloft which accompanied him. So I reckon we can justify using him as a standard-bearer in T&T games. This is my favourite figure of the bunch, I think. He's just totally ridiculous and makes me laugh whenever I look at him.
A young man who certainly knows what he wants and how to get it. Under-dressed compared with many of the Foundry Ruga Ruga, but he has the essential piece of kit, the
ngazia: A strip of red cloth of symbolic significance, used to taunt the enemy: "This is your blood! This is your blood!"
When it comes to the massed horde of Ruga Ruga I'm going to divide them into two types. Mirambo preferred to use young teenage warriors when attacking. They would be recklessly brave to the point of stupidity (and death) in trying to catch his eye during a battle (for the tall poppies got more share of the loot). When defending he preferred older married men, men with something to defend who would stand their ground when things got desperate. So I'm going to try and reflect this in my army, giving them stats and bonuses appropriate to their type (though I haven't actually figured the details out yet).
For ease of identification on the tabletop they will be nicknamed "Youngbloods" and "Old Hands" and be represented by slightly different figure types. The former will be depicted using figures that are more "tribal" in appearance - they are new at the game and haven't acquired all the Arab bling yet. The Old Hands will be represented by figures decked out in flowing Arab robes and wearing turbans and headdresses, which they have gained through trading their plunder, or through direct plundering.
The Ruga Ruga will be backed up by a unit of more traditional Nyamwezi spearmen (Ruga Ruga in waiting, who haven't got guns yet), and a unit of Tuta allies/mercenaries.
First batch of
Youngbloods:
Original Gangster.That's it for now.
12 January 2009, 05:16:29 PM