The Boys of Sumer

Pat Lowinger hosted another PNW Rampant event at the Gig Harbor library. We had a truncated day due to new library rules about how long anyone can book the meeting room for, but I still got in two games with my freshly-painted, you-can-still-smell-the-dullcote Sumerians that I painted for use with Pat's Chariots Rampant variant to the Lion Rampant rules by Dan Mersey.

The traffic was good driving down from formerly bucolic Lynnwood, WA. I made it in just over an hour and got there early enough to set up before our official 1:00 start time. The plan was to play two games with Scott Abbott; one a Chariots Rampant game against his Mycenaeans and the second being a Rebels and Patriots game with Jubal Tardee's company of butternut-clad Rebs against Scott's blue-clad 6th Wisconsin. Alas, Scott dropped the box containing his Lincolnite hirelings when he was loading it into his car, so we played two games of Chariots Rampant. We'll have to schedule a Rebels and Patriots game for some time later—after the repair work has been done.

I set up the table using my 'desert mat,' which is a piece of flannel with a tan tie-dye pattern that I got at Jo-Ann's fabrics, along with a few old Games Workshop 'desert' rocky hills, some lichen, and a small pond that served as the oasis whose possession was the victory condition for our games. Water is dear in the desert.

Scott's force was the following:

     2 x Light Chariots + expert drivers + bow-armed (like Mounted Yeomen in LR)
     3 x Spearmen (like Foot Sergeants in LR, but no schiltron)

My force comprised the following:

     1 x Heavy Chariots (like Mounted Men at Arms in LR, but can shoot javelins 6")
     2 x Spearmen (see above)
     1 x Archers (same as in LR)
     3 x Skirmishers (like Bidowers in LR)

I designed to force to be shooty with just a we bit of punch (and quite wee it was). I could also have replaced two Skirmisher units with a light chariot and chariot runners. In hindsight, I ought to have done so for the second game just to see how the rule works.

Deployment

Scott's lack of missile troops, apart from his Light Chariots, was decisive. I was able to sit back and let him smack into my Spearmen while the Archers and Skirmishers pelted him with arrows, javelins, and slingstones.

My one foray into aggressive behavior in the first game was when I sent my Heavy Chariots, led by my general, against one of Scott's light chariot units. That got me stuck in a beehive. Scott kept bashing into me with his Spearmen. I managed to bounce most of the attacks and pass the morale checks and dodge the lucky blows, but I kept taking losses unit I had just one hit left before they went. I kept trying to move him back to safety, but several turns running he kept failing his move activation. Finally, Scott got one more blow at him and he was gone.

Leading with my chin

However, Scott lost his general just before that. He'd been smacking away at my poor Archers, which had always managed to pass morale and thus managed to survive the game, albeit much abused. I managed to inflict a bit of harm on his General's unit with every attack, but it took getting caught after trying to evade my Spearmen that did him in.

Attacked by Spearmen

Going...

Almost gone...

The Heavy Chariots were the only unit I lost, however. Even the poor Archers came through. My Spearmen were pretty beaten up as well. The Skirmishers kept to the difficult terrain for the most part and escaped punishment. Scott was aggressive, but not so much that he'd send his Light Chariots into the rough to get at me.

Mycenaean last hurrah

In the end, Scott lost all his units and my Sumerians were able to quench their thirst in the oasis' cool waters.

The end of game 1: Miller time for Sumer

The second game went similar to the first. I was more cautious with my general and his donkey carts. He never got into action at any point in the game. Heavy Chariots are tough (like mounted men-at-arms), but brittle. I thought that keeping him back directing things and giving his +1 to my morale checks was a better use than getting him beat up by a bunch of proto-Greeks.

The bowmen take position in the oasis

My general mastering masterly inaction

Hard pressed on my right

 One big factor in the second game was my skirmishers up on two rocky hills (rough terrain) from which they could shoot at Scott's units with impunity.

It was great to finally get my Sumerians in action—as well as finally finishing them. I started them some time in 2018, but they sat partially completed until just last week when I could pull myself away from the 1672 project long enough to get the last bit done.

Pat is running a dedicated Chariots Rampant game day in March and next month we have a dedicated Dark Ages Lion Rampant variant day. This may be the occasion to work myself into putting together my 20+ year old Old Glory Picts into a proper LR retinue.

Review of Osprey's Rebels and Patriots

Oh boy! I got a copy of Rebels and Patriots four days early. Rebels and Patriots is the long-awaited new rule set from Michael Leck and Dan Mersey, published by Osprey. I say long awaited because the release was announced about a year ago and I've been on pins 'n' needles ever since. I'll cut to the finish and say that I've found that it was worth the wait.

One initial fear I had about R&P was that it might attenuate the Lion Rampant system to the breaking point. I love The Pikeman's Lament, but in some sense I felt that it took Lion Rampant unit types and rechristened a lot of them, with just a few tweaks. Overall, that works. But I feared that doing the same thing for 18th/19th c. warfare would fall flat.

I'm happy to say that R&P has really broken new ground without divorcing itself from its heritage. Part of this is by incorporating some ideas from Dan Mersey's colonial rules The Men Who Would Be Kings. To paraphrase the quotable John Kennedy (proprietor of The Panzer Depot), Rebels and Patriots took the best of Lion Rampant and TMWWBK and left out the worst. While I wouldn't classify anything in those rules as "worst," I must agree.

Indian fighting in the Old Northwest

So what follows is my take on Rebels and Patriots. I won't cover everything, but instead try to highlight the ways in with R&P differs from the previous rules in the Lion Rampant series.

Unit types

Gone are unit profiles with a different activation for everything and "armor" or "stamina" ratings. The basic values are mostly the same for every type. Activation is a universal value (more on activation below but in case you're wondering, they're all 6+). Fighting is almost always 6 (i.e., only 6s on a D6 are hits). Firing is all 5+, except for shock cavalry, who prefer to hack at things with sabres. Morale is all 6+, there are no unpolishable turdy peasants. But although these basic numbers are generic, unit types can be modified to change a lot of that and provide a very large variety of troops.

R&P limits unit types to the following:

Line infantry (4 pts) - As you'd expect, these are the basic foot sloggers of the period.

Light infantry (6 pts) - Nimbler foot sloggers, more expensive than line, but they can skip and run.

Shock infantry (6 pts) - Bad-tempered foot sloggers, think grenadiers, Highlanders, hungry Confederates attacking a Union supply train. Better at activation and better at fighting.

Skirmishers (2 pts) - The nimblest foot sloggers who flit around shooting at people and—if they're lucky—run away when attacked.

Natives (4 pts) - Basically Indians, of which there were plenty in colonial America. Practitioners of the skulking way of war, i.e., not the kind of people who stand in ranks and shoot. Instead, they run around fast, making the most of cover, taking marginally effective pot-shots, then rush in for the kill.

Artillery (4, 6, or 8 pts) - Speaks for itself, the last argument of kings even in the wilderness. Artillery can be light (5+/24"), medium (4+/36"), or heavy (4+/48"). Crew is just four figures, but the Limber option adds two more, which also doubles the movement rate—except for heavy guns, which can't move.

Light cavalry (4 pts) - Fast, skirmishy types on horseback, think light dragoons.

Shock cavalry (6 pts) - Men on horseback who mean business. The basic size for these are 12 figures, so, a lot of shock. This type is rare in America since only the Mexican army actually fielded large cavalry forces of types that charged in (for example, lancers and cuirassiers), but some Confederate cavalry might also fit the profile.

However, the basic types can be significantly altered by unit upgrades (this might have been better stated as "options" since some of the upgrades are, in fact, downgrades). The upgrades, which vary in their availability for unit types, are:

Veteran (+2pts) - Increases the likelihood of activation.

Green (-1 pts) - Decreases the likelihood of activation.

Good shooters (+2 pts) - Upgrades firing to 4+.

Bad shooters (-1 pts) - Downgrades firing to 6.

Sharpshooters (+4 pts!) - For skirmishers only, makes 'em deadly at long range (24"), think Natty Bumppo, Dan'l Boone, or Davy Crockett.

Aggressive (+1 pts) - Increases fighting value.

Timid (-1 pts) - Halves the number of dice rolled for fighting. These are the men who would be kings if only they had bayonets.

Large unit (+1 pts) - 18 figures, rather than standard 12. Theoretically, the unit lasts longer because it can take more casualties before becoming permanently disordered or eliminated.

Small unit (-1 pts) - 6 figures, rather than the standard 12. Likely won't last long, but costs less.

The only people who actually remember the Alamo (the Texicans all being dead)

Because these upgrades vary the unit profile so much, you have a lot of leeway to create units that conform to historical types. The only limit is that no unit can be less than 2 pts or more than 10 pts. For example:

• Militia, who were ubiquitous in American forces from the French and Indian War through the Civil War, can be fielded as line infantry or skirmishers, with varying qualities. The better quality militia in the Civil War might be green line infantry rated as poor shooters for 2 pts (4 pts basic, -1 for green, -1 for bad shooters). Bad militia could be green line infantry, poor shooters, timid, large unit, also at 2 pts (4 pts basic, -1 for green, -1 for bad shooters, -1 for timid, +1 for large unit). 
• Line troops, would likely be line infantry, but the quality can vary. British infantry in the AWI might be line infantry, veteran, aggressive at 7 pts. American Continentals might be green line infantry, good shooters at 5 pts.
• Riflemen, like Daniel Morgan's boys or the over the mountain men who beat up Patrick Ferguson at King's Mountain, could be line infantry with the good shooters upgrade (6 pts), but I think of them more as skirmishers with the sharpshooter upgrade (also 6 pts, but half the size). Other riflemen, like Hessian jaegers, might be skirmishers with the good shooters upgrade (4 pts).
  
  I have to say that I was unsure how the rules would handle riflemen. Being merely skirmishers wouldn't do them justice, even being better shooting skirmishers wouldn't cut it. The sharpshooters upgrade satisfies me no end. It's pretty much how I'd hoped riflemen could be represented, although it by no means exhausts the possibilities.
• Bloody Ban's green dragoons could be aggressive veteran light cavalry (7 pts) or shock cavalry (6 pts). As light cavalry, they can shoot. As shock cavalry, they're a larger unit and they're tough fighters who can chase down defeated enemies. I see them more as the latter type, so their historical designation as light dragoons obscures how they tended to operate.
• Confederate infantry could vary considerably. I tend to think of them as aggressive shock infantry, poor shooters (6 pts) to model the "attack and die" style of fighting—but maybe only if they're Virginians under Stonewall. In this case, shock infantry are a bonus. They already have the +1 discipline that benefits testing for actions, they fight at 5+, and they have the follow up option that enables you to run down your defeated enemies. Add aggressive to that, and they fight at 4+ or 3+ if attacking. Just don't get 'em shot to bits crossing the open ground.

1st Kansas Colored regiment stopping a cavalry charge at Honey Springs

Actions

Actions in Rebels and Patriots follow the same flow as in the previous Lion Rampant series games, except:

• All actions are a 6+ (modified by officer, close order, green/veteran status, and disorder markers)
• Failure to perform an action doesn't end your turn, you can keep on going until all units have attempted to perform an action.

The actions that a unit can perform are:

• Move
• Attack (random movement distance)
• Fire
• Skirmish (if ya got 'em)
• Form close order
• Volley fire (if in close order)
• Rally (if disordered/broken)

The attack action is the biggest departure from the previous LR rules. The unit's activation roll also functions as its move distance (cavalry adds 6" to the dice roll). 

For example, a shock infantry unit testing to attack while in close order within 12" of its officer is testing to attack. It needs a 3+ (normally 6+ with +1 discipline for shock infantry, +1 for close order, +1 for officer). The unit rolls "8", which passes the activation, and moves 8" to attack. Note that if the unit rolled "3" it would still pass the activation, but only move 3", which may make it short—just hope the unit you were attacking fails its activation roll to shoot you.

Shock infantry, natives, shock cavalry, and all aggressive units also have the follow up special rule. If they force an enemy to retreat in fighting and have no disorder markers, they can move up to half their normal move and, if they contact the retreating unit, attack it again. Follow up was introduced in The Pikeman's Lament for some unit types. It's pretty powerful—as I've learned from being on the receiving end of it.

Part of the excellent Wm. Stewart, esq. collection of Sash and Saber ACW minis

Casualties

The way casualties are inflicted and removed in Reels and Patriots is similar in some respects to previous Lion Rampant style rules, though more like The Men Who Would Be Kings, only different.

R&P uses the LR system where units fight or fire with either 12 or 6 dice, but is more like TMWWBK in how the results are applied.

Instead of armor values (or stamina in The Pikeman's Lament), the ability to resist damage in R&P is not inherent in the troop type. Instead, it depends on cover or defense, which is more in keeping with a game that represents an age when firepower started to really matter.

In TMWWBK, results can be very deadly. In close range firing and in fighting, every hit scored on a die equals one casualty removed. This number can be modified down depending on range, cover, and defensive positions.

In R&P, it's less deadly. Close range firing and fighting cause one figure loss for every two hits, which is diminished by range (3 hits), cover (+1 for cover, +2 for hard cover), and position in fighting (+1 for defending cover or obstacles or uphill). Light infantry and skirmishers also count open ground as cover.

But firing in R&P can still be deadly. The standard firing value is 5+ (i.e., 5s and 6s are hits). At close range, using first fire, volley firing, with the good shooters upgrade a unit will hit on 2s and remove a figure for every two hits. Unless the shooters roll poorly, it's easy to see four figures lost in a blast, which will cause a morale check at -4. With good shooting, a unit could inflict six figures lost, which will cause a -6 morale check and for a 12-figure unit cause permanent disorder, which would make the morale check at -7.

Don't fire 'til you see the whites of their eyes!

Fighting seems to be less deadly than firing, but not always. The base fighting value is 6 (i.e., hit only on 6s), which seems anemic. However, shock troops are a base of 5+. Also charging is +1 and the aggressive upgrade is +1. Aggressive shock cavalry charging standard-issue line infantry in the open will score hits on 3+ which remove one figure per two hits. The line infantry fighting back only hits on 6s and inflicts one figure loss per three hits. Also, if the infantry were timid or disordered, they'd only throw 6 dice.

But before a unit—however puissant it may be—reaches its target, it likely has to move through a turn or two of being shot at, with at least one turn in deadly close range. Instead of J.E.B. Stuart scattering the Fire Zouaves at Bull Run, you could easily wind up being the 5th Texas Lancers (yes, lancers) at Valverde.

First—and last—charge of lancers in the ACW

Morale

The morale rules have a new twist to them. Much essentially works the same, but moral failure is expressed as disorder. All units test morale when taking casualties from fighting or firing and need a result of 6+ to pass. Unlike previous LR series games, there are no differences in morale between types.

The roll for morale is modified by being within 12" of the company officer (+1), being in close order (+1), and the number of casualties incurred in the action that required the test (-1 per). This last point is another big departure from the older rules in the series where a unit incurred a cumulative -1 per casualty. Now the -1 per casualty is taken only for the immediate cause of the test.

For example, if a unit that started with 12 figures and has already taken 4 figures lost takes another casualty from fighting or firing, the die roll modifier is just -1 for the casualty just taken. Cumulative casualties aren't taken into account.

In three of the four occasions for taking a morale test, there are no minuses because they don't involve figure loss.

When units fail morale, they take one or two disorder markers depending on the severity of the failure. Again, unlike older rules, rolling snake-eyes on a courage test when your men-at-arms lose one figure from a volley of javelins thrown by smelly bidowers doesn't pull the unit off the table. It does, however, give you two disorder markers, which is perilously close to being removed from the table. Disorder adversely affects how your unit behaves. Three disorders for a unit is a strike-out and your nicely painted figures go back in the box.

When you have disorder, you can rally it off. It's basically the same as a morale test, but subtracting 1 for every disorder marker, as well as getting the plusses for officer and close order (if only one disorder, two disorders and you must break close order). Rallying removes all disorder markers.

The new morale/rally rules look pretty good in theory. I haven't played a game yet, so I'll have to wait and see how they work in fact. It makes me think that large units are a good investment for +1 pts to the unit cost and being in close order near your officer is a good idea. Large units are also a nice investment since a unit becomes permanently disordered after falling to half their original number or less.

We fired once more and they began to runnin'
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf o' Mexico

Final thoughts

If you're familiar with Lion Rampant and The Pikeman's Lament, then a lot of the rules won't be a surprise.

Many of the newer features are adapted from The Men Who Would Be Kings.

There are 12 scenarios in the game, plus a random scenario generator.

I think Michael and Dan have done a great job with Rebels and Patriots. I only wish that in the year I waited for its release, I'd have spent more time painting minis for it. Now I'm scrambling to paint all the Perry AWI figures I bought last May, but only puttered with all these months.

I look forward to many enjoyable games. In addition to the AWI I'm working on, I have some ACW minis on order and I'm starting to think wild thoughts about other areas. For right now, I'm concentration of AWI in the Southern theatre. I think the actions there are much more interesting and smaller, well suited for Rebels and Patriots. I've got Patrick O'Kelley's multi-volume set Nothing But Blood and Slaughter that provides details about numerous small actions in the Carolinas in the Revolution. That'll keep me going for now.

Sumer-time and the paintin' is easy

Sumer? Yes, Sumer, I Akkad you not. I may be rash, mercurial—even mistaken—but to Ur is human and the urge to Ur is upon me. As with many serendipitous projects, the moment has met the man and I'm going full speed ahead. Sæpe erro, nunquam dubito!

I blame Ernie Calvillo for this sudden development. (The cats are innocent—this time.) He posted on the Lion Rampant Facebook Group about the Sumerians he was painting, and that got me all worked up.

Ernie's Sumerians

I've been a fan of Sumerians for pretty much ever. Yet in all that time, the only Sumerian minis I've painted were for a 15mm DBA army (Essex Miniatures), since sold. I'd wanted to do a 28mm army for a while, but I never had a feel for the right minis to use. Wargames Foundry started a range years ago. I love their minis. The range looked promising, but they abandoned it. It was unavailable for a long time and is now available again. However, it's a very limited, unfinished range and there's no chariots; in fact, it's just spearmen and javelinmen.

Cutting Edge (Warlord) makes Sumerians, but I can't bring myself to use that range. I bought some Middle Bronze Age Amorites (think Mari) from them a few years ago. I was pretty eager when I orderd, but then very disappointed by the minis when the order arrived. They're beautiful and have a lot of nice detail—but they're so wee! Compared to other 28mm ranges, they're like skinny children. I like chunk. Cutting Edge minis have no chunk at all.

Newline (L) and Cutting Edge (R)

I'd seen a few other ranges, such as Eureka Miniatures and Castaway Arts from Down Under, but I hung back. I didn't want to make a move without first seeing the minis or at least seeing better pictures of them.

Finally, I just wasn't sure of what I would do with a lot of Sumerians after I'd painted them. I love Ancients, but the state of that part of the hobby seemed to be in a doldrums, at least to me. But now I know: I'll use 'em for Pat Lowinger's Chariots Rampant variant for Lion Rampant (Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy, Issue 82).

Ernie and I gamed together back in San Jose, CA 30+ years ago. He's now in San Antonio, TX and I'm in here in Beautiful, Formerly-Bucolic Lynnwood, WA. Ernie has always been an excellent—and prolific—painter.  He's also always had an eye for good minis. When I saw the pics in his post, I asked who made them. He told me that they were Newline Designs and that for July they were 20% off their normally reasonable price of a bit more than £1.00 per figure. In my head the voices screamed, "BUY NOW!" What could I do? I bought now and for a ridiculously low price, I got more than enough minis for a Chariots Rampant army—with options! Now I have an unexpected summer Sumer project on my hands.

So, why Sumerians?

Well, because they're cool. They're one of the oldest civilizations on Earth. So old they're just on the cusp of being prehistoric—and I like prehistoric things (see my love for prehistorical Europe) as I love all that is old and arcane. I strive every day to be older and arcaner myself.

Sumerian soldiers wear sheepskin skirts and go barefoot; they're like The Flintstones with ziggurats. They used four-wheeled, shambling proto-chariots drawn by "equids," i.e., not quite horses. They fought in phalanxes 2000+ years before the Greeks figured it out. They wore shiny copper helmets and fearsome, metal-studded capes long before Batman made wearing capes cool.

Caped Crusaders - 3rd Millennium BC

Sumerians invented writing, art, literature, and law. (They also invented government bureaucracy, so it's not all good.) They invented the cat—no, seriously, see this. They invented cities. They had ginormous eyes.

They invented sexagesimal mathematics, which we still use to calculate time, angles, and compass points. They invented the sail (maybe) and the wheel (also maybe—at least it wasn't that guy from the B.C. comic strip). They created the first armies and also produced the first records of how soldiers looked (ca. 2500 BC) on the Standard of Ur and the Stele of the Vultures.

Standard of Ur

Stele of the Vultures - detail

So, yeah, Sumerians are cool.

They're also easy to paint. Prehistoric, and nearly prehistoric, people dressed simpler than we do, and we dress simpler than people in the past. Try painting early 18th c. British regulars to see what I mean. But I digress.

The sheepskin, capes, and shiny helmets I mentioned above are about all the costume the Sumerian soldiers had. Only bare-nekkid Celts could be simpler—and they have those elaborate shield patterns to muck up the whole simplicity groove thing.

Sans spear, axe, cape, helmet, and shield he'd pass as Cro-Magnon

I ordered from Newline in two batches. After my initial order, I convinced myself that I needed more and made a wee supplemental order. The second smaller order came on Wednesday. It contained more of the infantry I ordered (spearmen, slingers, javelinmen, command), but also three straddle carts. The straddle cart seems to have been developed a bit later than the better known four-wheeled battle car. I haven't seen any actual Sumerian art depicting them. Yigael Yadin doesn't address them in The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, but The Two Nigels show them in Armies of the Ancient Near East 3,000 BC to 539 BC. I had one in the first order, so I have four. I'm not really sure I wanted four.

Straddle this x4

I cleaned up several minis right away. The flash is minimal and the metal is softish (not rock-hard pewter), so cleaning was pretty easy. I replaced the cast lead spears/javelins with Northstar wire spears. I love those things. I must have bought a thousand of them.

Bronze Age warriors with brass spears

At this point, the first order hasn't arrived. International postal service isn't a science. I expect it'll come this week. Meanwhile, I've started painting what I have. So far, it's just the skin tone. I used Vallejo Medium Flesh. They look suitably Sumerian to me. There's not much else to paint for the most of them. They either wear a fringed kilt or some kind of sheepskin. It won't take much time.

I have a lot on my plate right now, but I hope to get a few units of these banged out this month and the rest in September. Then it's time for another Rampant game day.

¡Santiago!

This post is a reboot from an earlier draft that through diligent neglect became obsolete. Back in 2016, I started painting a lot of Crusader Miniatures Medieval Spanish for a Lion Rampant retinue. Things were going on schedule for a game day we were planning for September that year, but at the end of July Grendel was diagnosed with cancer and for six awful weeks I managed to get almost nothing done towards finishing the army. When he died on September 6, it just took everything out of me for a while. The army sat unpainted for a long, long time. (Well, not really long as my unfinished projects go. I've got partially painted lead from the 90s still haunting me with no dead cats to justify my malingering.) When I got back to painting, I devoted my efforts to other projects (there are so many) because completing the Spanish no longer had any urgency.

But why Spanish? As I mentioned in a previous post, I've gotten deep into all things "Rampant." I'd been meaning to paint a Lion Rampant retinue since the rules were released back in 2014. I've had a lot of Old Glory Medievals partially painted, but for some reason, I couldn't psyche myself into finishing them (though I'm getting up steam for it now). I needed an army that cold inspire me in terms of the history and the figures available. I toyed with Later Crusaders or any ca. 12/13th c. European army, but nah. Then I got bit by the El Cid bug.

El Cid

This period in Spanish history is fascinating and controversial. The real El Cid, Rodrigo Díaz del Bivar, was a nobleman from the kingdom of Léon who lived in the latter half of the 11th c. His title is from the Arabic 'Al Sayyid, meaning "the lord". Díaz was also known as Campeador, which translates as "strong warrior." It comes from the Latin campi doctor, which means "master of the battlefield."

Díaz' activities are legendary for the most part, although there is enough fact mixed with the fiction to create an historical sketch. His deeds were recorded first in a poem in Latin called Carmen Campidoctoris (Song of the Campeador), which may be as old as 1083, i.e., composed during his life time (Díaz died in 1099). Some scholars, however, date it some 50 years after Díaz' death.

Díaz came to prominence fighting for King Sancho II of Léon and Castile, rising to the honor of being the standard-bearer of Castile. Sancho's enemies were his own brothers, in addition to the Andalusian Moorish city-states. When Sancho was murdered, his brother Alfonso VI became king, which lead ultimately to Díaz' exile from the court of Léon-Castile.

As an exile, Díaz fought for the Muslim taifa of Zaragoza against various other Muslim and Christian states. The invasion of Spain by the Almoravid Berbers in 1086—and their defeat of Alfonso's army at Sagrajas—brought an end to Diaz' exile. As the foremost warrior of Spain, Alfonso needed Díaz on his side if he hoped to withstand the Almoravid onslaught.

For several years, Díaz served Alfonso, but during that time he also worked to gain control for himself of the city of Valencia. The Muslim ruler of the city became his vassal, but was later overthrown by the Almoravids. Díaz besieged and took the city in 1094. He ruled it until his death in 1099.

While Díaz is popularly seen as a Christian hero, he actually gave his service to both Christian and Muslim rulers and fought with Muslims against Christians, Christians against Muslims, Muslims against Muslims, and Christians against Christians. Valencia during his rule was a pluralistic city with freedom for both Christians and Muslims alike. In the patchwork of Christian and Muslim kingdoms of Spain, politics, business, and ambition often transcended religion.

Díaz can be seen mostly as an adventurer seeking renown wherever he could. His taking and ruling Valencia is evidence of his desire to establish an independent dynasty and be free of serving kings and emirs of any faction or religion. Without his leadership, the city-state of Valencia failed. It was ruled by his widow Jimena until 1102, when it was retaken by the Almoravids and held by them and various Muslim dynasties that succeeded them until it was captured by Aragon in the 13th c.

El Retinue

I'm easily sold on things for the silliest reasons. What struck me most about the El Cid Spanish was that they had slingers. I've mentioned my love of the sling before. In a world of Medieval armies, only one uses the noble sling. So I had to paint it.

Initial thoughts

I tinkered around a lot with the composition of my retinue for the upcoming tournament. I like the punch of Mounted Men-at-Arms, but they're awfully expensive and can be enticed into charging about rashly. I thought maybe cheaper and better controlled was worth having less punch. I may revise my opinion after Saturday.

I like having light horse (Mounted Yeoman), but the Spanish historically used jinetes, who flung javelins at close range and then scurried off to regroup and return again to fling their javelins. The reality was, I think, a bit more effective than the Lion Rampant rules reflect. A 6" shooting range combined with a pretty dicey (7+) evade make it pretty tough to get away from whomever you're harassing. Getting caught on an evade by Mounted Men-at-Arms or Mounted Sergeants is pretty much instant death. I decided not to chance it for a tournament army. Also, they cost 3 points, which is just an awkward thing to have to factor into a 24-point retinue list when most units are either 6 or 4 points. You're bound to have an odd point preventing you from making a tidy list without adding a unit of Serfs.

Finally, the slingers—the raison d'être for making the retinue—are a bit lackluster and the rules say contradicting things about them. They have a 12" maximum shooting range AND they're just like archers (who have an 18" max. range). That's an erratum, it turns out. They have a 12" max range, but only cost 3 points (there's that odd point thing again), so not exactly like archers. I assume a lot of players are going to have shooty retinues and bringing a sling to a bow-fight doesn't seem smart to me. So, no massed slingers, but the figures will appear as bidowers.

And now, the final tournament list for Saturday:

Mounted Sergeants

Because 11th c. knights were simply mail-clad and may not have used (or solely used) a couched lance, it's easy to justify fielding them as Mounted Sergeants rather than Mounted Men-at-Arms. Mounted Sergeants sacrifice power (only a 4+ attack v. 3+ for Mtd MAA) and protection (3 armor v. 4) for better maneuverability (5+ to move v. 7+) and no need to worry about suppressing urges to wildly charge anything that wanders in range.

There are two units at 4 points each.

Foot Sergeants

I tend to like horsey armies rather than foot-sloggy ones, but I figured a solid core of infantry would be good to have. They can hold up to a charge by Mounted Men-at-Arms (well, maybe, or chew them up a bit while dying) and can provide a sort of semi-fixed wall for the mounted forces to maneuver behind.

There are two units at 4 points each.

Crossbows

These were a late addition to the retinue. I only bought the minis in February. I started to think that a little more firepower would help—especially given the disappointing slinger stats. Crossbows have a 4+ shoot value, but a 7+ shooting activation (v. 5+ shoot/6+ activation for bows and slings). I've played on the receiving end of crossbow fire; I'm looking to be on the giving end for a change.

There is one unit at 4 points.

Bidowers

I like bidowers. When the other side has 'em, they're annoying. So, at the least they can counter-annoy your opponent. But if you have terrain for them to skulk in, they can have a considerable asymmetric effect against more powerful units who are discomfited by fighting in rough terrain. (But if Foot Men-at-Arms come after you, run like hell.)

There are two units at 2 points each.

In sum

The retinue has 7 units. No unit is more than 4 points, so it'll take losing at least three units to get to half strength. (I could easily see myself quickly losing two Men-at-Arms units in a blaze of glory.) Everything except the crossbows move on a 5+ activation. I think that overall it has a pretty good balance. If I'm wrong about that come Saturday, the most logical factor to blame is my incompetent generalship. The cats won't be there; I can't blame them.

All snug in their box dreaming of glory

The also rans

As I've mention elsewhere, I have many more minis painted (and am painting) than are needed for a single retinue. Even though I eschewed using them for the tournament, I have the following on deck:

Mounted Yeomen

I only have one unit completed, but will have two eventually. I think having at least two is needed if you have any. A retinue with 2 x Mounted Men-at-Arms and 4 x Mounted Yeomen/javelins might be interesting.


Slingers

Ah, the beloved (but not by Dan Mersey) slingers. I have 12 figures painted, so enough for a full missile unit. Someday, but until then, I'll use them as bidowers (see above) side by side with the javelin-armed foot.

I have some thoughts about house rule for slingers that would take into account (1) there's little evidence that slings had less range then self bows, which most of the bows in Lion Rampant represent, and (2) the concussive effect of sling stones made them more effective against armored men than arrows. That makes me think about the following:

Keep them at 12" max range, make them 4 points, but give them a -1 effect on the target's base armor value to a minimum of 2, i.e., armor 4 would reduce to 3, armor 3 would reduce to 2, but no effect on armor 2 and 1. The armor effect of cover would be unaffected; for example, an armor 2 unit in cover would still be a 3 because the base armor value of 2 is unaffected.

Alternately, use the same armor effect as above for targets within 12" range, but give them 18" max range and make them 5 points.

All we are saying is give sling a chance.

Archers

I only have 8 painted so far. I hadn't really intended on doing a full unit, but I should buy another pack and make a full 12-figure unit. Between the slingers I love and the crossbows I need, the archers are the redheaded step children. I could use the figures in a mixed unit with Foot Yeomen (see below) or just go with vanilla shooters after I build out their numbers.

The Sir-Not-Appearing-in-this-Film lot

Because they're still raw lead, the following units are on hold while I finish other projects that have come to the front burner now that I have a retinue completed.

Foot Yeomen

Honestly, I'm not sure why anyone values these units. They're an inconvenient mid-point between Foot Sergeants and Serfs. They have decent combat values for defense (4+), but lousy armor for melee troops (2). The one interesting thing you can do with them is create a mixed unit, which gives them some firepower, but at only 12" max. range and the unit can no longer form schiltron. That may be something for me to do with my forlorn archers, but I'm not sure if mixed units combine the best or worst of the two types. Cruel experience down the road will likely teach me which.

Serfs

Because Crusader makes the minis, I have 'em. Also, if using 3-point units like javelin-armed Mounted Yeomen or slingers as missile units, I may need a 1-point unit to fill out the full 24 points. Or maybe in a spirit of bonhomie, I could just field a unit (or two) to give my opponent's mounted troops some oiks to run down. That's the Medieval spirit. They can also function in a scenario-based game as enraged peasants defending their fields and farms from marauding Moors. They're actually quite nice minis and can plug into any retinue/scenario. I have 24 of 'em, which will give me two units if I should ever be daft enough to field them.