Philiskos the Healer

Philiskos is an old man - but he feels the calling to heal those in need more than ever.  As a young man Philiskos studied the teachings of Hippocrates of Kos and took to them as though born for it.  He has spent decades now wandering the world, dispensing medicine and aid to people in pain and distress from Persia to Gaul and back.

The increase in activity by bands of warriors has not gone unnoticed by the Healer - he views the violence as a symptom of a greater malady and seeks to find the cause.  

Philiskos the Healer
Auxiliary: Witch (see Barbarians list for stats)
Dagger
Icon of Asclepius (Blessed Icon)

Miracle (Regrowth)
Pathfinder
Pts: 35

Retainer: 20

This is a Footsore mini from their Mortal Gods range - thankfully it was single-piece!  I rescued him for Broken Legions when I was getting rid of the rest of that range from my collection.

The Spartan

A warrior claiming to be 'the last remaining true son of Sparta' has appeared amongst the warbands fighting the shadow war taking place.  The various chieftains, centurions and nobles that he has worked with aren't sure about his claims - but it is true enough he carries a bronze shield with the mark of the Lambda and fights with the skill and fury of the warriors of old from that famous city-state.

The Spartan

Auxiliary: Demigod
Heavy Armour, Shield
Gladius

Multiple Attacks (2)

Fearless
Pts: 69

Stats/Retainer are as Broken Legions Rulebook

This is from Footsore where he is called 'Adrostos, Captain of the Lochos' - I added a metal Spartan shield also from Footsore to complete the look.

Broken Legions Auxiliaries

As some readers may know, I got rid of almost all the Mortal Gods 28mm stuff - but when I was going through it I picked out a couple of miniatures that I thought could fit nicely into Broken Legions as Auxiliaries.

First the Healer mini:

I'll come up with some suitable rules that should work nicely for him.

I also kept the miniature Footsore call 'Adrostos, Captain of the Lochos'.  I've given him a Spartan shield and intend to make him a mysterious anachronism in the time of Broken Legions:

I'll be using the Demigod rules for him as they are very flexible for all sorts of characters I feel.

Forannán's War Host

If you've been following my Twitter (@alex_and__a) then you might have seen me cracking on with my Dark Ages Irish warband for Saga... well here they are in all their glory!

All these miniatures are from Footsore's Dark Ages Irish range - I got them a couple of years ago now.  In short, good value, mostly decent quality but a few poorly detailed faces.  For the cost, to me they are acceptable but they aren't a range that I expect to revisit.

Anyway - on to the War Host!

Of course, they'd be a strangely named force without Forannán himself - the mighty warlord who will lead this force to countless victories (perhaps):

He brings with him two of his trusted Curadh - called Éogan (L) and Dunchad (R):

I've also painted both banner bearers - although I can only use one in Saga:

I intend to use the chap on the left in games.  The banners were by Wargames Designs - I just picked the two designs I liked most!

I also had a random hornblower:

Not that he really serves a purpose in Saga...🤷

I have a couple of units of Hearthguard, armed with axes.  The first is called Cormac's Fianna:

And the second is Rónán's Fianna:

I also painted two units of Warriors armed with javelins.  The first I've called Fintan's Bonnachts:

The second I've named Dáire's Bonnachts - these have patterns on their shields just to mark them out as a different unit:

Finally I have Lugaid's Hounds - one of the special options in Saga's rules for Irish forces, a pack of Irish Wolfhounds:

I'm pretty pleased with how these have turned out - as I was painting them the quality of the faces did get me down a bit, but I stuck with it and I'm happy to have them done!  I do have a unit of mercenaries for this force too - but I'm going to take a small break before I tackle those.

Forannán's Shieldmaiden opponents will surely be soon up on the paint table though!

Otonia, Favoured of Hera

Hera, known for her faithfulness to Zeus (not that he deserves it!) still has need of agents to carry out her will amongst the mortals. Possibly her most favoured champion is called Otonia - a skilled warrior and a devout follower of the Cult of Hera.

Otonia carries a sword and shield said to be gifted to her by the Queen of Olympus herself - with these Hera's Champion fights at her patron's behest across the known world.  She will fight alongside warbands where it helps her cause, and can often be found supporting the various bands of Argonauts that are fighting for Hera's glory.

Otonia, Favoured of Hera
Auxiliary: Demigod
+1 Melee
Eldritch Weapon - Gladius (Parry)
Mystic Shield (Fearless)

Pts: 61
Stats/Retainer as per Broken Legions Rulebook

This is from Footsore's Mortal Gods Mythic range.  I backed the Kickstarter just to get this miniature to include in the Broken Legions collection (of course by the time I actually painted her I could have just got her direct retail but never mind!)

Caciro, Son of Erbina

Caciro is a likeable man.  He spends his time travelling across the known world - never settling too long in one place, but making friends as he goes.  He is a skilled archer, and earns coin to fuel his wanderlust by serving with the countless warbands that are seeking... something or other, Caciro doesn't worry too much about the details; he won't be around long enough in Rome, or Greece, or Egypt, or Germania to have to deal with the fall out of the secret war being waged.

Caciro originally hails from Hispania, although it has been years since he set foot in that land.  He doesn't talk about it, but he is actually a child of the goddess Erbina and a mortal man.  Being a son of a goddess of hunting no doubt contributes to his prodigious skill with a bow - but he never admits it to the captains, princes and priests that hire him!

Caciro, Son of Erbina
Auxiliary: Demigod
Composite Bow
Eagle-Eyed
Parting Shot
Quickfire
Pts. 62
Stats/Retainer are as Broken Legions Rulebook

This was a monthly miniature from Footsore.  It's a Greek archer, but I made him into a wandering demigod instead.

The Argonauts - The Queen's Hand

Hippias, named the Devoted for his unwavering dedication to Hera, entered the Heraion.  He approached the statue of his Goddess and laid a small golden talisman at her feet between the flickering candles and burning incense.  

"O, Honoured Hera, of goddesses most excellent far, thine am I, all things are thine, and thou sittest authentic Queen of Olympus, and we fear no other female hand" the warrior said, as much with his heart as with his voice.

From his left Hippias caught a glimpse of the Oracle Clio.  She smiled gently as she approached, her arms open in greeting. "Hippias, the Queen will be most pleased at your offering - if you would let me, I can direct you to where more treasures await. Their liberation at the hand of those dedicated to blessed Hera would greatly please the Queen of all gods..."

Another warband is finished for Broken Legions - and this time it is The Argonauts (aka the shoehorn to allow people to use ancient Greek minis in the game).  Except where mentioned, these are all from Warlord.

Argonaut warbands are headed up by an Argonaut Captain - so here's Hippias the Devoted:

A pair of Heraclean Champions provides some muscle - here's Teukros (L) and Xuthos (R):

And rounding out the hero-level warband options an Orphean Champion called Icarion (L) and an Oracle called Clio of Mycenae (R):

Clio is a Gangs of Rome miniature from Footsore (Tisiphone).

Of course, you can't have an Argonauts warband without some Argonauts! First up, a trio of spear-armed chaps (L-R) Mydon, Agetos and Pythios:

And some with a mixture of xiphos and kopis style blades. These are (L-R) Iobates, Danaos, Koinos and Hypenor:

Using up the rest of the Warlord games sprue are a couple of Mercenary Hoplites.  I tried to make them visually different by using grey, which hopefully still complements the purple and white of the rest of the warband. These are called Eurybotas (L) and Ombrion (R):

Adding a little ranged firepower are a couple of archers from Victrix.  These are Diokles (L) and Anaxis (R):

I've once again kept the same basing theme across all the Broken Legions collection to place them in the same world.

Soldiers of the Eagle - Legio II Adiutrix's Finest

Former Centurion Gaius Vinicius was not one to complain, but he was questioning the Gods right now.

Two years ago he'd been taken from his Legio with a mere handful of men and ordered by Praefectus Hostus Allectus himself to carry out work for the glory of Rome. Gaius didn't really understand the importance of what he was doing - most of his orders came through the Frumentarius he knew only as 'the Shadow'. 'Fetch this clay tablet' or 'find this forgotten temple and note the carvings', that kind of thing.  Sure it might be important to Allectus, and maybe even important to Rome, but Gaius wasn't convinced.

His men had begun to grumble; these were once marines, taken into Legio II Adiutrix and serving with distinction in many campaigns. Errand boys they were not. But still, thanks to their loyalty to Gaius Vinicius they continued to carry out their duties.

Little did Gaius and his men know, they were about to be plunged headfirst into a secret war that was being fought between Rome and her many enemies.

Well, it has taken a while (now I look back, over two years 😱) but remember those Soldiers of the Eagle I posted about? Well I've only gone and actually painted them!

First, thanks to Quick Play Rules on Twitter for providing the seed of inspiration behind the colour scheme - and therefore the fanciful background for this warband above!

Here's (former) Centurion Gaius Vinicius, leader of the warband and soon to find himself up against all sorts of enemies!  He's pictured with his loyal (and fierce) dog - Cerasus:

Next up are (L-R) Flavius and Titus - in Broken Legions these are Praetorians (think of them as Champ level guys):

Next is the shifty Frumentarius, Aspasius the Shadow - he's not just Gaius' handler, but will take to the field too to ensure success for his master's ambitions:

Next up is Marcus - a legionary with the standard upgrade:

Providing the backbone of the warband are the legionaries (L-R) Caelus, Oppius and Tertius:

Three more legionaries armed with pila give another option - (L-R) Placus, Appius, Sextus:

Finally, a couple of auxiliaries have been conscripted - these Baleares give another ranged option to Gaius' warband. Here's (L-R) Lyco and Citro:

All are Warlord Games minis except the Frumentarius (Footsore's Gangs of Rome range) and the Baleares (Victrix).  Having decided on blue shields I tried to tie in the non-Legionary minis - I think it works well enough.  I finished the bases with tufts from Tajima1 (grass) and Boon Town Metals (flowers) - I hope to do similar basing across all the Broken Legions collection to tie them into the same world.

Wave Man Buntai (up to no good no doubt!)

I've previously posted the Onna-Musha and Ninja Buntai I've prepped - well here's the last (for now!) Buntai - a Rōnin Buntai.  I've deliberately gone for a non-romanticised version of these masterless warriors for this force - these are dangerous and desperate men, not honourable, tragic figures.

The bulk of the Buntai is from Footsore's Warring Clans range.  First I picked up a selection of rōnin and unarmoured samurai models to use as 'average' types:

L-R these are: Walking Samurai with Katana, Yoshito the Rōnin, Rōnin and Travelling Samurai.  Obviously they'll get cool names when they are painted!

Also from Footsore I picked up a couple of my favourite miniatures from the Warring Clans range - these I intend to use as the 'lieutenants' of the Buntai:

On the left is Akagi Kazki, Rōnin Swordmaster and on the right is Banzuiin Chōbei.  I replaced the metal pike that was included with Chōbei with a plastic spear from the Warlord plastic samurai sprue that I found in the old Test of Honour box.  Again, these will get cool names when they've been painted.

Finally, for the leader of the Buntai I picked up one of the (now) Warlord of Erehwon Samurai Heroes from an eBay seller I frequent:

This nodachi armed chap is the the only one in the Buntai to wear a bit of armour - but he's clearly also the most bad-ass as he is strolling around bare-chested! I liked this model back when it was first released but just didn't have a reason to pick it up before - I think he makes a suitable boss for this Rōnin Buntai!

Caciro, son of Erbina

I placed an order with Footsore in June and it arrived a little while ago but I've only just got round to prepping the stuff I received.

Whilst the order wasn't for minis for Broken Legions, June's monthly miniature was an archer (I think he was billed as a Greek Archer at the time).  I thought he'd make a cool addition to the hirelings for Broken Legions - I've decided to make him as a character from what we now know as Spain and at the time of Broken Legions was Hispania, but whilst he might be travelling around the known world, he retains his Celtiberian heritage with fierce pride - as well he might, being the son of a goddess of the hunt!

Free minis are always nice - and ones that trigger an immediate inspiration for what to use them as are even better!