DBA/Hordes of the Things: Medieval Humans

 

For years my maps for potential fantasy campaigns have had a placeholder country for "generic medieval people" tucked away somewhere, under the assumption that I could piece some sort of army together if necessary. But about this time last year, I started thinking that maybe it was time to paint up some of the figures I had stashed away and expand the handful of units I had into a real force.

As usual, this got a little out of hand.

I figured I would use one of the DBA army lists as a model but not worry too much about the exact figures or the descriptions in the list. I could just about piece together what I needed for a medieval French army with what I had on hand, mostly the old Accurate Hundred Years War Knights and Men-at-Arms. But then I needed a few more crossbowmen, so I got a box of the Italeri French Knights and Foot Soldiers. And then I ran across some of the English Knights and Archers at a flea market... and you know, wouldn't it be nice to have a matched pair of armies?

What I finally settled on was a sort of conjoined-twin pair of armies: two lists with a reasonable amount of overlap that can also serve as historical opponents for each other. (For the DBA aficionados, these were IV/64b Medieval French and IV/74 Free Company & Armagnac. All the dedicated English lists needed more longbows than I had even after my flea market acquisition.) So here at last are the armies of Florlys (blue and yellow) and Brimarth (red and white): 

Mounted general (3Kn)

Mounted knights (3Kn)

Dismounted knight generals (4Bd) - here there is some duplication so that I can play the two halves against each other. Also, I actually painted up some pavilions to represent camps for the two sides!

Dismounted knights (4Bd)

Spears and other polearms (Sp)

Crossbowmen (4Cb)

Brigans or men-at-arms (3Bd)

Longbowmen (4Bd)

Additional longbowmen as mounted infantry (Mtd-4Lb)

Skirmishing bowmen (Ps) - some ubiquitous Airfix Robin Hood figures here, representing something close to their native time and place for once, not converted into ancient Canaanites or Mesoamericans.

Peasant levy (7Hd) - more of the Merry Men here.

Painting time remains easier to find than gaming time, but I do hope to try out these armies against each other in the not-too-distant future. (The Florlys contingent has had some fantasy adventures already, facing off against orcs and the undead...)