Your warband theme ideas? (Wizard schools and soldier selection)

[Philhelm]

I was wondering if anybody else chooses certain soldiers based upon the wizard's school of magic.  For instance, I am assembling a Thaumaturge warband, which I have decided will be faith-based thaumaturgy as opposed to arcane.  My wizard will be supported by faith-militant rather than mere mercenaries, so I've decided to limit my warband to certain soldier types:

War Hound:  Included.  Mordheim Witch Hunters had them, so they would fit will with a religious themed warband.
Thug:  Included.  Rank and file zealots.
Thief:  Prohibited.  No room for roguish criminals.
Archer:  Prohibited.  Only because crossbows are favored.
Crossbowman:  Included.  Common vampire hunting weapon and can be used by 3rd edition D&D Clerics, unlike bows.
Infantryman:  Included.  Halberds only, as rank and file soldiers.
Tracker:  Neutral, but no plan to include.
Man-at-Arms:  Included.
Treasure Hunter:  Prohibited.  Glorified thieves.
Knight:  Included.  An obvious choice.
Templar:  Included.  An obvious choice.
Ranger:  Neutral, but no plan to include.
Barbarian:  Prohibited.  They worship pagan deities.
Apothecary:  Included.  They have the ability to heal; perhaps a potential Apprentice?
Marksman:  Included.  Elite Crossbowmen.

Obviously, any of the soldier types could be justified.  A Barbarian, for instance, could easily be a Warhammer Flagellant (robed zealots with heavy flails), but I'm strictly sticking to Frostgrave models for now.  I have favored the hooded and armored heads from the soldier kit in order to keep with the theme, and have chosen halberds over great swords for the Infantrymen so that they will appear to be more like men-at-arms.

Any ideas for the other schools of magic?  Some would be harder than others, I'd imagine, such as the Chronomancer.  I could see Witches with their animals and nature magic favoring Rangers, Barbarians, Trackers, War Hounds, and Archers over Crossbowmen.  Perhaps the Illusionist would include the more roguish characters, such as Thieves, Treasure Hunters, and Rangers.  Maybe Necromancers would be less restrictive, and would simply include a variety of outcasts with various backgrounds.  Perhaps the Elementalist is a court wizard supported by secular Knights and Men-at-Arms.

Share your ideas, if you have them.

[Hu Rhu]

Having a themed warband is a great idea which allows a narrative to add flavour to the campaign as well as determining which characters appear in your warband. 

However I doubt that all players will follow suit, especially if it denies them particular characters such as teh Barbarian or Treasure Hunter, but I guess there is always a work around (your flagellant for example). 

I favour a necromancer, so will be thinking of which characters suit him as well as the actual models I take and teh colour scheme to use which will all help add flavour to the darker side of my mercenaries and spells.

[The Red Graf]

I am working on an all female barbarian warband led by two sisters who are summoners.

[wolfen]

All 5 of the war bands I have currently assembled are themed but I haven't restricted myself from using any soldier type. I find a way to fit the soldier into the theme I want. For example, I have a Thaumaturge who is accompanied by warriors of his religious organization, the thief class of which will represent runners or collectors, basically a poor fighter who is fast. They don't necessarily have to be thieves. Same with Treasure Hunters, they are artifact finders who aim to recover ancient magics to be handed over to the priests and clerics to study.
Another example is my converted barbarian who draws inspiration from the origin of the word designating someone from a foreign culture. In my case the barbarian conversion does not draw from the typical Viking style but will be used in an "Arabian" themed Summoner warband and is converted from a plastic Warhammer Flagellant. For your warband it could be someone from a different culture who converted to your warband's religion but uses his old fighting style and weapons.
Basically you can adapt the warrior type to whatever theme you want.

[tyrionhalfman]

I like the idea of just changing the name of the class of soldier to fit a warband but using the gear and stats as per the original. This way it works with your theme without restricting yourself, while still being clear to your opponent what's what. Thanks for the ideas

[Digitarii]

I'm working on a Daisho-flavored warband right now with the Wizard, apprentice and war hound from the Clan Wars minis and the soldiers from the North Star Ronin Sohei set. The Clan Wars minis are noticeably larger than the North Star minis, but they really look the part.

[Coenus Scaldingus]

The only thematic restriction on the soldiers to take tends to be what models are available. For example, a wood elf warband is unlikely to contain crossbowmen, while other types may struggle to get suitable archer models. Other than that, I feel the names are merely flavour, as it is the clear differences in equipment that differ the troop types. If my Necro warband ever hires a knight, it will be a hulking brute in scraps of chainmail rather than anything remotely connected to chivalry. Vice versa for a barbarian in my Renaissance Italian group, who will just be some guy without armour who happens to have a two-handed weapon (but obviously should look reasonably tough). A potential druid warband might have boars using the rules for war hounds, and the same profile will be represented by white rabbits (with red eyes and nasty big pointy teeth) if ever I build a Monty Python and the Holy Grail band.

[Knightofspades]

I salute your desire to theme your warband but as long as you make your story anything can fit. A thief or treasure hunter can be a tax collector or archologist, securing magic items which thaws out of frostgrave before they lead people into damnation.
A barbarian can be a flaggelant as you say I recently got my hands on this figure http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/robe%20staff%20monk/latest/77206 and plan to use him as a bad temperd friar .
But the barbarian can be a recent convert few are stronger in their belief after all.
Also vengeful peasants can fill almost any role from archer to tracker.
Anyway my point is that its your theme, story and how you represent it on your figures that is important. There is no need to restrict your figure choices.

[djicelatte]

my Witch warband is 5 treasure hunters, 1 knight, 1 ranger, 1 apothecary, 1 dog

[Daniel36]

I like the idea of just changing the name of the class of soldier to fit a warband but using the gear and stats as per the original.

Well, it's actually even in the book itself, that the names are merely names, and not really the only possible names for them. So I would say you are even encouraged, as per the official rules, to come up with names that better fit your theme.

Even better, each school of magic even has several alternate names in their stat box (the ones that say which schools are aligned and whatnot).

So go for it!

[Fencing Frog]

I think of my Wizard as an Elven War wizard very loosely based on the D&D 3rd edition "Blade Singer" her apprentice is a half elf, and a mixed bag of Humans, Hobbits and humanoid animals round out the team.

http://fencingfrog.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-frosgrave-war-band-of-thinneth.html