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Post by jdesmond on Jan 18, 2017 4:05:11 GMT
Salutations, gentlefolk !
Was visiting friends over this past weekend, we went to visit some of their friends. One of their friends had done big favor for me this past year - fixing laptop with burned-out screen backlight - and I had been thinking before Christmas that I really needed to do something to repay him. So we were there and he was showing some of new ships for the "Xia: Legends Of A Drift System" SF boardgame.
And I started telling him about DBA, and asked if I could acquire and paint up an army for him. He agreed. So, will be sending him the Gelidis rules outline, and a scan of the back pages of the DBA rulebook, and saying "Pick one".
Well, the worst that can happen, from what I thought up so far, is that he picks an army where the only 15mm figures are really expensive, or can only be ordered via aeropost from Ruritania, or that he picks something like late Medieval German - a period I ain't familiar with, where the landsknechts have these polychromatic 'slashed' outfits that'll be the devil to paint...
Anyway, gentlefolk, your opinions are invited. First, possible problems and complications that I haven't forseen. Second, advice for him on selecting an army. If you were in his situation, what would you pick ? What would you have picked when you began DBA ?
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Post by hodsopa on Jan 18, 2017 20:14:25 GMT
Great question Munifex. I began playing DBA solo with a couple of rather homogenous armies (Welsh - nearly all Wb - vs Pecheneg - nearly all LH; don't ask why). I wish I had started with armies consisting mostly of two (diverse), instead of one, element types. To my mind there is nothing to beat the Tuareg (Cm and Wb) - and they look nice too.
Yours,
Paul H
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Post by hodsopa on Jan 18, 2017 20:15:16 GMT
PS I see that your name isn't Munifex, unless you and I have the same name!
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Post by gregorius on Jan 18, 2017 23:51:12 GMT
Go with a hoplite army,perhaps 1 with some Ps and Cv.
Cheers,
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Post by jdesmond on Jan 20, 2017 2:28:58 GMT
Salutations, Hodsopa,
As my father would say "You can call me anything you want...
Just don't call me late for dinner"
Yrs, John
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Post by davidconstable on Jan 31, 2017 8:51:40 GMT
Possibly a balanced army such as Late Roman?
Go for what looks good on the table, but with a really well painted Barker Marker, a confused general perhaps.
David Constable
P.S. - The Romans look brilliant with every element having a different shield pattern. |
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Post by montyburns on Feb 9, 2017 20:54:57 GMT
New Kingdom Egyptians: 4 LCh, 3 3Bd, 3 4Bw, 1 4Bw or 4Bd, 1 2Ps. Lovely looking army thats easily recognisable. 4 mounted units, 3-4 shooting with some potent close combat infantry. 3 main troop types gives you plenty of options to learn about match-ups when starting out. The optional 4Bd introduces flank support with the 4Bw.
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Post by Cromwell on Feb 9, 2017 22:35:10 GMT
Reminds me of the kid at Christmas who when asked what gift he would like for Christmas replied he would love an Action Man, the Jungle Fighter, desert fighter or whatever.
His Father, being somewhat tight in the money department was horrified when he saw the price of Action Man.
Anyway Christmas arrives and our kid tears open the packaging of his present to find a colourful box emblazoned with the Action Man logo, but is horrified when he opens the box to find nothing inside.
He turns to his Father who said "Well son, that is the Action Man Deserter"
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Post by jdesmond on Feb 26, 2017 15:40:08 GMT
Salutations, gentlefolk !
Well, me and my benefactor backandforthed it a bit, and decided he'll be getting...
The army of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, AD 260-273.
Here's why:
With the current *^&*%&*#@$% in the Middle East, a lot of people have at least heard of it.
You get Queen Zenobia - one of history's greatest female generals - in your command unit, wearing purple robes, riding a white camel. The ladies he lives with should like that.
The troops are interesting and colorful.
It's a very strong army on its home turf - open plains and gentle hills. (Stay away from dense woods and steep hills, it should.)
I'm finishing up painting a Middle Imperial Roman army, so he'll have a historical opponent
So, I need to acquire some top-quality 15mm:
cataphracts (would like it if all horses aren't in step ;-) )
light horse archers
bowmen, both regular and irregular
legionaries, on the Middle Imperial/Late Imperial cusp
Suggestions for the makers of these figures earnestly desired. If they will be at Cold Wars, so much the better (and will have order, for delivery there, off to them immediately).
Thanks, very much, for any help you can give me with this !
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Post by peteduckworth on Feb 27, 2017 13:37:31 GMT
Salutations, gentlefolk ! Was visiting friends over this past weekend, we went to visit some of their friends. One of their friends had done big favor for me this past year - fixing laptop with burned-out screen backlight - and I had been thinking before Christmas that I really needed to do something to repay him. So we were there and he was showing some of new ships for the "Xia: Legends Of A Drift System" SF boardgame. And I started telling him about DBA, and asked if I could acquire and paint up an army for him. He agreed. So, will be sending him the Gelidis rules outline, and a scan of the back pages of the DBA rulebook, and saying "Pick one". Well, the worst that can happen, from what I thought up so far, is that he picks an army where the only 15mm figures are really expensive, or can only be ordered via aeropost from Ruritania, or that he picks something like late Medieval German - a period I ain't familiar with, where the landsknechts have these polychromatic 'slashed' outfits that'll be the devil to paint... Anyway, gentlefolk, your opinions are invited. First, possible problems and complications that I haven't forseen. Second, advice for him on selecting an army. If you were in his situation, what would you pick ? What would you have picked when you began DBA ? !st - Armies with MANY options eg IV/73 Ming Chinese 1t least 19 elements by my count - more if you are sniffy about figure appearance rather than just troop types - Armies which dismount en Masse eg my favorites III/54b Qaramita (requiring 21 elements) - Armies with Heavy Chariots - expensive to buy & (I find) really tricky to paint - I/56a Early Kyrenean which combines both the last two points - Heavy chariots dismounting as 4 spear thats a lot of work. I wold pick Hussites as having just finished one Hussite Army i really couldn't face doing a second as a matched pair. That is quite a job assembling & painting War-wagons. When first doing DBA I would have gone for Early Imperial Rome or Maybe Carthaginians possibly Alexandrian - I would want an army I had heard about and naively I might assume that the finest armies of the ancient world would be at an advantage in DBA  |
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