SAMURAIA fantasy variant of a historical archetype. Not specific to a particuar period of Japanese history, this army may also have some Chinese influences. Stronghold: Daimyo's Castle gateway.
Alternatives: Paladin (Manga-style Teenage Swordmistress) @ 4AP, Sneaker (Ninja Assassins) @ 3AP, Water Lurkers (Kappa in marsh or water) @ 1AP, Land Lurkers (Ronin Bandits) @ 1AP
DESIGN PHILOSOPHYI have always wanted to do a Samurai army. I have buying Samurai and Ninja figures since I was 10 years old. AEG put out their "Clan War" line of Fanatsy Japanese figures several years back, and I picked up a few of them. Originally I was going to write a Nippon list for WFB, then an actual Samurai list for WAB, and then the project got dropped.Recently (late January 2002) we have had a bit of a Samurai thread on the HotT mailing list. And I have actually started playing 25mm HotT. So its time those AEG lan war figs got dusted off, re-organised, painted up and based for the World's Best Fantasy Wargame (no, not WFB, you know who you are!) Naturally, the force composition is somewhat governed by the figures I already have, but I have more than I need for a HotT army, so it's not that much of an issue. I can start from the ground up and purchase anything I need, really. So I visited The Stronghold to see what "other" Samurai armies were looking like. I really liked the core of the Minamoto list, it was four Blades and two Riders, which semed very Samurai-ish to me. I decided on the order of battle depicted here, which differs from the Minamoto list considerably, for a few different reasons. I see a solid core of reliable infantry, supported by some archers to ward off those pesky mounted opponents, and a fairly mobile General and a support unit. This is based on my past games of HotT, having seen the overall effectiveness of some of these concepts. But I also wanted some of the "fantasy" elements thrown into the army, particularly a non-General Hero and a Magician. I am very lucky to have a very old GW/Citadel "Nippon Rocket Crew" which might have been represented as Artillery, but was in fact perfect as a "Magician," which would show its indirect fire capabilities and the propensity to occaisionally explode at the point of origin! And the Hero seemed like it just fit the army. It has been pointed out to me that the Rocket is more of a Chinese thing than a Japanese thing, but some of the figures are done up in Samurai-styled armor, so Ihave always thought of it as a Saurai thing, even if it is not quite historical. So, with apologies to Luke, the Rocket is here to stay. And, another list member asked about Gods and Dragons. Neither of which are a aprt of this amy, because I am hoping to do an opposition army based either on Chinese fantasy (but not the list from the HotT rulebook, I already do that one in 15mm) or a more generalized Southeast Asian list. My chance do Elephants in 25mm. Oh, joy! I have made a few concessions to figure size with this army. While all of my GW cast-off armies have the appropriate number of figures on the correct base sizes (except mounted troops which are on deeper bases,) in this army I decided that both the Blades and Shooters would be better represented as three figures to a base on deeper bases, thus my Blades are on 60mm X 30mm bases and my Shooters are on 60mm X 40mm bases. It must be realized how very hard this is for me to do; I am almost compulsive about getting things 'just right" in terms of unit representation. Painting this army is becoming a huge undertaking. As I have noted above, I am now working on a project that has been in the planning stages for the last 20 years. I am not about to let it get bollixed by shoddy half-rate paint jobs. So every figure is getting painted as an individual. My goal is that every model in this army could be popped off the HotT base, tacked to a conventional single-figure stand, and be safely entered into a painting competition without any fear of embarrassment. Of course, this means that I am averaging less than a figure a day when I am making good progress, and God forbid that I should get distracted by another project. What's that? You wanted to see what my Samurai looked like painted? I just happen to have one here. This is, in fact, the only figure of mine to ever win an award at a painting competition (2nd place "Fantasy Good Guy."
STATUS2feb2002: I have purchased the Cavalry figures. I have prepped and primed everything. I have been sidetracked by other projects.1feb2002: I have located all of my figures. I merely need three more Cavalry figures to complete the basic army. I have the pieces to do the Kappa, Ronin Bandits, and Blade General as alternates. I am completely finished painting two Blades elements, and am one figure shy of completing a third. Many of these figures were, however, painted some time ago, but still to my current high standard. I must now make a pilgrimage to Hobbytown or TripleJ to acquire those Cavalry figures. 28jan2002: I have located a number of my figures for the army, but it remains to be seen what else I might have kicking about in the garage before I go out to purchase more goodies.
BATTLESNone so far.Back to Punkrabbitt's HotT Spot!
|
