10mm Lord of the Rings / Warhammer

[Brummbär]

OK, I find no time for gaming at the moment, but use every spare minute for painting my armies - at least something you can do during these times.
Here are pictures of my latest army: Rohan in 10mm with 40mm basing...

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The base with the map will be my camp until I come up with a better idea

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Hope you like them!

As one of the next projects I am thinking about an army of the dead.
What would you rate them? As horde maybe...
...maybe with fast and deadly as attributes? Need help / ideas / advice

[David Kuijt]

Mention it again later in the week -- we've got some very interesting draft ideas in Fantasy Triumph that might be cool for an Army of the Dead.

[Brummbär]

OK, I will mention it again later this week - really curious what's cumming up...

But for the general classification (and by that also basing): anybody an idea?
Hordes seem right from the undead masses aspect, but a bit weak if you think about the described performance and speed of the army of the dead.
Really not sure what to take here.

[David Kuijt]

The most relevant card for representing undead hordes is Regenerate; the draft version is described below.

Other interesting battle cards are:

• Terror. +1 point per stand cost; enemy stands turn a Fall Back result into a Flee result.
• Fierce. -1/2 point per stand cost. Cannot disengage from combat; must advance after winning a combat.
• Fast. Increases movement. +1/2 point per stand.
• Slow. Decreases movement. -1/2 point per stand.

The above are just sketched, not completely described. Fierce gives no cost reduction for stand types that are already forced to advance after successful combat (Knights, Warband, Warrior, Elephants); Terror costs more if combined with Deadly; that sort of thing.

Then there are the rules to support Necromancers (wizards) and Heroes (special individuals who can move about the battlefield -- Wraiths, Nazgul, the Headless Horseman)

But here's the complete (draft) version of Regenerate.

16 Regenerate
This battle card can represent troops that have vast numbers (not all of which are on the battlefield at once), or that can be continuously summoned (skeletons from underground), or that cannot actually be killed (elemental spirits).
Selecting this Battle Card
If this battle card is selected for a class in a Fantasy Triumph army, it must be purchased for all stands in the class.
Cost
+1 point per stand.
Game Play
This rule is for troops that can return to battle after being destroyed. Such destroyed troops are lost (normal point value as destroyed units) but can return to battle on a friendly turn by paying command points equal to or greater than half the value of the stand as it counts towards army defeat. So a 3.5 point stand could be returned to play by paying 2 command points. Returning a unit to battle means it no longer counts as lost (it is no longer a destroyed unit).
Troops that have Up return to Up; other troops who regenerate may be placed anywhere along the home base edge at least 4mu from enemy.
Victory Conditions
This battle card has no impact upon calculating army defeat
Fantasy Examples
Undead hordes (meaning teeming masses, not the Horde troop type) are the stereotypical example of this battle card.

[David Kuijt]

But for the general classification (and by that also basing): anybody an idea?
Hordes seem right from the undead masses aspect, but a bit weak if you think about the described performance and speed of the army of the dead.

Which army of the dead?

To be more specific -- armies of the dead are a common fantasy trope. But they vary widely in how they are depicted in fantasy literature. Shambling undead hordes are common. Some modern writers support "fast" zombies; the more traditional version is slow. If you want vast armies, you can base the army upon Horde or Rabble (very inexpensive).

When I am building an army I usually try to think first about how the mass of the army will look. It is too common when building your own army to make it a nightmare of combined arms -- everything you can think of ever being useful goes in the army. Those armies are very difficult to play, and quickly all start to look the same -- which defeats the underlying objective of Fantasy Triumph: to have a cool army that is interesting and unique.

Another critical point for FT is figures. What do you like, what can you get? For example, I made a FT army of Fantasy Egyptians. I got a bunch of historical Egyptian foot figures as the base for the army and then added some special guys to it. It looks something like this:

• Two stands of Elite Foot: Jackal-headed Anubis warriors. Some figs I picked up that started the whole army off.
• Four stands of Heavy Foot. Historical Egyptian figs I found in a flea market at a gaming convention.
• Four stands of Archers. Also Historical figs from that flea market.
• Two stands of Giant Scorpions. Elephants with Terrain Affinity: Desert Terrain is the current way I represent them. Plastic nature/museum/zoo figures, prepainted. Sometimes I think they are faster: JavCav with Fierce and Terrain Affinity: Desert Terrain.
• I've also got some specialty figures -- one-offs that are fun and sometimes get added to the army. A Sphinx. One or two Chariots (one crewed by humans, one crewed by Anubis-headed dudes).

I've got way more than 48 pts, of course. That's part of the problem for this approach. But that means I'm ready for Grand Triumph, eh?

[Brummbär]

Tolkien Army of the Dead:
The Army of the Dead, also known as the Dead Men of Dunharrow or Oathbreakers.

Hats why I am unsure - I don't see them as a shambling horde of undead...
...more a ghostly army of dead warriors.

[David Kuijt]

Tolkien Army of the Dead:
The Army of the Dead, also known as the Dead Men of Dunharrow or Oathbreakers.

Hats why I am unsure - I don't see them as a shambling horde of undead...
...more a ghostly army of dead warriors.

They weren't an army at all. Not in the sense of "fighting". They never swung a weapon, they never blocked a blow -- they needed no weapon but fear. That's the way they are described in the canonical documents.

I've got lots of undead armies -- but the Dead Men of Dunharrow never fought a battle, and their victory was so easy and so complete that none on Middle Earth could stand against them. That's easy to represent --you fight the Dead Men of Dunharrow, you lose. That's sort of like representing the army of the Valar who fought against Ar-Pharazon the Golden -- Ar Pharazon landed and was destroyed and then Numenor was cast down into the deeps -- not a battle fought in the Triumph arena. So I wouldn't represent the Valar fighting Numenor, or the Dead Men of Dunharrow fighting the Corsairs of Umbar.

I wish I knew what was behind the door in Dunharrow, though. You know which one I mean.

[Brummbär]

Me too

[Brummbär]

My second army was finished today: this time it is Saruman and the army from Isengard...

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[Brummbär]

And two Ents also came over from Fangorn to join the party:

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