Sunday, February 6, 2022

Constantinople beleaguered... a campaign idea.

I've come up with an idea for a campaign using the FP3x3PW (Fast Play 3x3 Portable Wargame) system, the setting being the Byzantine Empire c.1000-1050AD. This is the Empire under attack by several enemies - three to be exact: Bulgars (a people centuries before were called Huns), Pechenegs (a nomadic people that frightened even the Turks) and Abasgians (Georgians).


A Pecheneg horse archer letting fly...

'First Pass' army lists:
Bulgar:
1 Elite Heavy Cavalry - Bow/javelins
1 Heavy Cavalry - Bow/Javelins
3 Light Cavalry - Bow/Javelins
1 Poor Infantry - Spear
Pecheneg:
1 Elite Heavy Cavalry - Bow/ Javelins
1 Heavy Cavalry - Bow/ Javelins OR 1 War Wagon OR 1 light cavalry unit
4 (Poor) Light Cavalry - Bow
Abasgian:
1 Elite Heavy Cavalry - Lance
1 Heavy cavalry - Lance
1 Infantry - Spear
1 Infantry - Spear OR Bow
2 Light Cavalry
Byzantine (3 Armies, each comprising):
1 Elite Really Heavy Horse (Kataphtaktoi) - Lance, bow, mace, mean attitude;
OR 1 Elite Heavy Cavalry (Tagmatic Kavallarioi) - Lance/ Bow;
OR Light Horse (Lance/ Bow or Javelin)
1 Elite Infantry (Varangian Guard or Rus) - spear;
OR 1 Infantry (Skoutatoi and Toxotai) Spear/ Bow;
2 Heavy Cavalry - (May be 'Elite' (Tagmatic Kavallarioi) OR 'Average' (either Kavallarioi) OR 'Poor' (Thematic Kavallarioi)
1 Infantry - Spear/ Bow
1 Poor Infantry (Peltastoi) - Spear
OR Average Light Infantry (Slingers (Sphendonistai), Bowmen (Toxotai) or Javelinmen (Akontistai)
OR Average Light Horse (Prokoursatores), Lance/ Bow
NOTES ON Byzantines:
1/ Only 1 Army may have the Kataphraktoi and Varangian Guard. The other two (or three) must use other options. If the Emperor takes the field, he commands the army with these elite units.
2/ No Army may have more than 1 Light Horse unit
3/ No Army may have more than 1 'Elite' Kavallarioi
4/ The Byzantine Player MAY elect to substitute ONE army with an all-mounted Army.
It may comprise:
1 Elite Heavy Cavalry
3-4 Heavy Cavalry (may be 'Average or Poor')
1-2 Light Cavalry



Byzantine Dramatis Personnae:
Emperor Dementius
George Maniaces (There really was such a dude)
Demetrios Psychopathes
Michael Lounatikos
I may shortly elaborate on this in my blog...

Well, here's the blog entry.  I have since added a map - a test of concept:  


This has added three potential 'players' - Normans, Fatimid Egyptians and although part of the Empire, a large region around Antioch that is the bailiwick of a certain rebellious and ambitious Byzantine Duke name of Evgenes Apostas.  It is unlikely, though, the the Fatimids will really be part of the campaign, as (a) I don't have a Fatimid Army, and (b) at the time I am considering, the Fatimids were on good terms with the Byzantine Empire.  The Normans will probably be involved in a separate campaign, c.1050AD, led by one Bohemond of Taranto, or someone like him.  For the rest, the map may lend itself to more extensive campaigning of a different type, which might include naval elements.

Campaign moves will be point-to-point, the battles taking place at - or in the neighbourhood of - each point.  The Pecheneg 'points' have been illustrated by stylised war wagons to signify temporary camp locations, rather than permanent settlements.  
Victory will carry an army to the next point along the road; defeat carry the army back towards its capital.  If the Empire captures a 'barbarian' 'capital' by winning a battle there, that will signify a conquest; if a 'barbarian horde' wins a battle at Constantinople, they will be be rewarded with kudos for winning the campaign, and bought off possibly with Imperial territory.  However, Duke Eugenes Apostas will probably succeed in deposing the Emperor... 

It is always possible that the Pechenegs will fight Bulgarians, and Abasgians will have a crack at Duke Evgenes's lands.  

A word on the accompanying cartoons:

This is really indulging in a little nostalgia.  I did these back in 1998, as 'character concepts' for a project I was engaged in that year.  This was a correspondence course, one of the eight for a Diploma.  This was a proper Diploma - the National Diploma in Children's Literature - taken by correspondence over several years, for which, though no longer extant, I still claim the letters after my name 'Dip. Ch. Lit.' - it was that kind of Diploma (why the University of Canterbury axed it, I have no idea, and I suspect neither does the University of Canterbury). The topic of this particular course was The Moving Image - basically film or video adaptations of children's (and young adult) stories. 

As part of the course we got to try our hand at stop motion animation, going through the whole process of concept, story-boarding, drawing the pictures, and laying out the instructions for how the pics were to be processed.  The thing was supposed to be just 5 seconds long, which, at 12 pictures a second, means 60 pictures all up.  Of course film is 24 frames a second, but each picture is filmed over two frames - standard for all stop motion animation.  

There are ways of saving effort, e.g. for repetitive action, simply recycling the pictures for each repetition; and for pauses and stills, you just film the images over more than 2 frames. 

I really got into this, and, under the title of The Alexiad created a 30 second epic based on a real incident: a mishap to one Pakourianos, Domestic of the West, in battle against the Pechenegs in 1086.  I had to study up how to animate galloping horses, zooming in on a distant shot, figuring how long it would take to draw and shoot a bow (the Pecheneg horse archer fleeing), how the arrow would bounce off a shield (might have been better to have stuck in).  There was quite a bit to think about.  I was very pleased with the end result.  The thing was recorded (several times) on VHS, for which we unfortunately no longer have a reader, and I never did copy it onto another medium...

The closing pic here discloses the nature of the ... erm ... mishap to the ...uh .. late Domestic of the West... 


Incident with reference to Anna Comnena's
Alexiad (English Translation).

24 comments:

  1. I have been admiring your cartoon sketches over recent posts. Glad to see that these have been your handiwork. I sure would enjoy seeing more of these. Have you continued your sketching since your course in 1998?

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    1. Cheers, Jonathan -
      I reckon 'continued' is hardly the word. I sort of poke around with it from time to time, and none too frequently at that. I did begin a series on this blog that I called 'Age of Unreason', but ran out of steam after 10 strips, even though I still had one or two ideas. I also contributed a page to the NZ Cartoonist collect project 'Nga Tupuna/ Ancestors', which was a thousand year generation by generation series of strips that built up an ancestral story that converged in New Zealand. My page did get a favourable mention in an Auckland magazine review. Apart from that I haven't much to show. Once it becomes a chore, I lose interest for a few more years...

      Here's a link to the first of the 'Age of Unreason' strips...
      http://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.com/2010/01/age-of-unreason.html

      Cheers,
      Archduke Piccolo

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  2. An interesting looking concept...I fought a FIW campaign years ago using a similar concept ...forces moved around points on an A4 map and when two "stacks" of unit cards collided at a point, we created a table and did battle with figures...great fun! It's a shame you no longer have a watchable copy of your animation, I must Google that character and read the full story!

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    1. rross -
      Try this link. Seems he was a capable commander when he wasn't tilting at trees...
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Pakourianos
      The campaign concept you describe sounds a deal more strategic than what I have in mind. Something like my 'Darkest Aithiops' campaign that has been disrupted by the COVID outbreak.
      Cheers,
      Archduke Piccolo

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  3. I love it all! Chance cards for potential conflicts between the Empires enemies? I'm looking forward to the action.

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    1. Hi Mark -
      I hadn't thought of chance cards! Do I want to think of chance cards? Although the moves are somewhat programmed, a certain chance element seems to be called for. I'll have to give it some thought. There is a chance that the Byzantines will offer someone an inducement to one bunch of barbarians to have a crack at another. Or that bunch might have a go on their own hook, lured by the prospect of loot, plunder and ...erm ... booty.
      Cheers,
      Archduke Piccolo

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    2. They could be illustrated by some of your illuminations.

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    3. I'll have to think about that. 'Patzinaks feeling restless: war band raids Bulgaria'. 'Emperor feeling his oats; sets out to conquer someone.' 'Bohemond dissatisfied with Principality at Taranto: sets out to climb Imperial ladder'. 'Duke of Antioch desires to add Abasgia (Georgia) to his territories: marches to...' I can see this working...

      ... with pictures...
      :-)

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  4. The Campaign idea is very interesting and I am also looking forward to it. The animation sounds fantastic - I'm sure you would be able to find someone who could convert VHS to MP4 (or similar).

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    1. Maudlin Jack -
      I had a ball with that animation project, and put quite a bit of work into it. The course instructor was himself an animator, and had a studio doing stuff for local TV.

      The campaign is waiting upon some painting and repair work on my figures, which, though slowly, is progressing.
      Cheers,
      Archduke Piccolo

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  5. Great campaign ideas in the spirit of Tony Bath. Your illustrations are full of character.

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    1. tradgardmastare -
      I was a great admirer of Tony Bath's campaign, and recall his Battle magazine articles illumined by Richard Nelson's caricatures. I can't quite emulate his vision, but if this campaign does evoke the spirit of Tony Bath, I shall be well pleased.
      Cheers,
      Archduke Piccolo.

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    2. Yes, Tony Bath’s Hyboria certainly set the bar rather high.

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  6. It sounds like things are progressing well Ion. I’m sure all your regular readers are waiting in anticipation of events and battles to come.
    Cheers,
    Geoff

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    1. Certainly hope so, Geoff. The thing is waiting upon my finishing off the figures and stands that are so wanting in the pics you have seen so far. I've also a couple of Byzantine horse and a Byzantine foot unit (4 stands apiece) to finish off. I might be forced at some point to get in some more barbarian types to give my Byzantine army a sizable opponent to fight!

      Perhaps I ought to take some WIP photos...
      Cheers,
      Archduke Piccolo

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  7. Ion - these days, rather than simply continue to gather yet more “unpainted lead”, I try to spend my £££’s on painted figures (mostly from eBay). At least that way there’s a chance they’ll finally see some action on the tabletop/battlefield.
    One consideration with the Byzantines is that you might even get chance to deploy the fire syphon… I don’t know how common they were in real Byzantine armies, but we wargamers do like strange and unusual weapons and troop types.
    All the best,
    Geoff

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    1. Geoff - Two types of troops my Byzantines don't have are fire siphoneers and the mobile artillery (mounted on carts, I believe). Time was, I would have liked some, but these days, not so much. The few Norman and Pecheneg figures I have were actually bought as allied or auxiliary units for the Byzantines.

      Not counting command elements, I have something like 260-odd Byzantine figures, 92 Horse and the rest Foot. My Abasgians amount to about 150. I use most of the same figures for Bulgars (being fairly similar in overall appearance). Their being at either end of the Byzantine Empire there is never any prospect of the two combining their forces. All except 24 of the Bulgar/ Abasgian horsed figures are second hand. So are a dozen of by Byzantine horse.

      One of the reasons for my getting a Byzantine army was my interest in the history of what happened to the Roman Empire after 476AD. My original intention was to get one from the time of Justinian the Great, but when given a sample from the 11th century by the Australian people 'Tin Soldier', that's the direction I went.

      Cheers,
      Ion

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    2. ... Oops, sorry, 104 Byzantine Horse. I was interested enough in Byzantine history of c.1000 that I got hold of translations of Michael Psellus (Chronographia) and Anna Comnena (Alexiad). I discovered a few days ago one can get a translation of John Scylitzes - a very tempting notion! I have also read the 'History of the Wars' by Procopius (but not his 'Secret History', which, I suspect, was his essay into the gossip mongering of the earlier Suetonius), and Theophylact Simocatta, but never actually owned a copy of either.

      Those old histories, though not an especially easy read (neither are they especially difficult), are well worth the effort - and it's surprising just how many war gamers do take the trouble.
      Cheers,
      Ion

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    3. Ion - have you read “Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century” (Dumbarton Oaks Studies) by Eric Mcgeer? I got my copy from eBay but recall there were copies available on Amazon too. Lots of detail that we wargamers can “chew on”. 😀
      Cheers,
      Geoff

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    4. It would make an interesting read, for sure. I've not seen it, but would be interested in seeing what it had to say of the 'Praecepta' of Nikephorus II Phocas. It so happens that about 35 years ago I was given photocopies of the Greek, a translation into English and a commentary, I think by a Russian academic, from about 1903. It's never quite clear just what the 'Praecepta's association was with the Emperor: He wrote it; he caused it to be written; or maybe its provenance is just from his time.

      My armies were set up for the WRG rule sets (and bloody horrible they were to play), and subsequently for DBM. In my view DBM was potentially a very good rule set indeed, but to much faffing around with them with ill-thought emendments, not to mention the very terseness of the language was free hunting for rules lawyers, put me right off in the end. Could never keep up. And it took up a lot of time I preferred doing something else.

      I haven't played DBM for nigh on 20 years, and Fields of Glory (FoG) simply didn't appeal. So my poor old Mediaevals have been sadly neglected - I even considered selling them...

      Yourself?
      Regards,
      Ion

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  8. Ion - when I game (not as often as I’d like) it’s almost exclusively solo, primarily DBA. I am a bit of a wargaming butterfly - forever interested by new toys, campaigns, periods etc but rarely completing projects before the next “new thing” comes along to distract me.
    I have a vague recollection the “mobile artillery” was now thought just to be dismantled artillery simply being transported in wagons/carts. Whether that’s still the modern interpretation I don’t know.
    I could send you screenshots of the Contents page of McGeer’s book if you’d like. It shows lots you’d be interested in.
    Cheers,
    Geoff

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  9. Geoff -
    When I saw the greek word for the artillery, I actually thought it meant 'crossbow', or something similar. I was corrected on this. So I imagined it to be hand drawn somehow. Seems the artillery cart interpretation has also been overturned by recent scholarship.

    You are like me: predominantly solo these days; and very much the butterfly - the dilettante. I have played DBA maybe once, but did participate in a HotT tournament once. I took my 7YW Russians - 3 wins, 2 losses, a reasonably satisfactory day. I am very impressed by the imaginative armies that people come up with!

    Here was my write-up -
    http://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.com/2013/12/hott-carnage.html
    Cheers,Ion

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  10. Nice write-up Ion. Half of the fun of HotT is making an “army” from whatever figures you can find & to match whatever theme you have in your mind.
    Of course whether they hang together and perform as a coherent army is another matter entirely… 🤔

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  11. And, sad as it sounds, I also collect a few other items linked to various armies/commanders. I have a Byzantine coin from the reign of Nikephoros II Phokas - something I can think “during this fellas reign this coin may well have been held by one of his soldiers”.
    I also have coins from the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni and numerous Roman emperors.
    I even bought a stamp from Cyprus that celebrates Nikephorus’s “liberation of Cyprus” and features an image of a Byzantine ship with a bow-mounted fire syphon squirting out Greek Fire. I guess that makes me a “fan-boy” in todays modern youth parlance 🤓
    Cheers,
    Geoff

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