Mortal Gods

 

A Classical Diversion

Mortal Gods, Ancient Greece and a lot of fun

Test of Honour (II) had become a popular game at the club before lockdown and I was also involved in a cracking online game of it a few weeks back. The main factions for ToH seem to be covered so there seemed to be little point investing in more models, scenery etc. But maybe I'll go for some Ikko-Ikki if they come out.

Mortal Gods is a classical Greek skirmish-level game based on the Test of Honour system. It's roughly set during the Peloponnesian Wars (Sparta, Athens, etc.) Whilst a lot seems the same as ToH on the surface, there are some important differences in the mechanisms. It scales well for different players, the rules are pretty straightforward and runs along at a good pace. There is a good level of depth for the more experienced players which keeps it interesting. It's a skirmish game, so there are no massive blocks of pikes but you can form a kind of Hoplite Phalanx with certain pros and cons. My son picked up the key points after a couple of turns.

What's more, it's not particularly expensive to get into. The starter set is reasonable and includes a load of plastic Victrix models - enough for two pretty decent forces to get you started. Sprinkle in a few leaders (Lochagos, Promachos), some support models and maybe a couple more sprues of hoplites, archers/slingers etc and you've got all you need. Mortal Gods - Mythic (expansion) is on the rise at the moment and that scratches the Greek Mythological itch. It'll be a cracking setting.

Athens and Sparta were not well-covered at the club so my forces have them in mind (a bit further down the line, although I do have the cards to use them in a game.) At the moment, these forces are mercenary or minor Polis (city-states.)

Mercenaries from Kythnos or Mantineia

Kythnos is a relatively small polis-island which seems to have been part of the pro-Athens Delian League. There seems to be traditional links with Poseidon, Tridents and the Kraken. Given the shield blazons I had, this seems to fit quite nicely. Mantineia had an interesting history, hopping between Athens and Sparta at various times.

Lochagos (leader) in the centre with the eye symbol on shield

Variety of Promachos (heroes) in a variety of armour.

Showing the shield designs

Peripoloi - Lightly armed warriors with Hoplite spears

Blue-shielded chap serves as a Veteran Hoplite if needed (ordering others around)

Hoplites - heavy armoured spears

Peltastes (light javelin troops)

Toxotes (archers)

Various support - Mantis (scrying the Fates), Medic, Musicians

Sparta / Peloponnesians - Kythira

Again, the beauty of the classical period before standardisation of shields, uniforms, etc is that these chaps can represent various Polis, including Sparta. Kythira (mythical home to Aphrodite) was heavily involved in fighting Athenians / Delians.

Lochagos (centre.)

Promachos (what's the plural?) either side.

I'll repaint the white cloth red for the Promachos on the left. 

It can get confusing when they charge around!

Peripoloi - light Hoplites

I really like how these came out.

Hoplites

It seems that the Spartan lamda shield came in later, and only for a few elite units?

These will do for Spartans or Spartan allies

Spartans weren't keen on lighter troops it seems.

More Peltasts and Archers - allies.

Thinned "contrast" reds and oranges work well.

Models/Paints

All the rank and file are plastic Victrix. Great for the price.

The leaders are all metal from Mortal Gods / Footsore Miniatures. Slightly feeble swords but nice sculpts.

I gave Citadel contrast paints a whirl. Use the thinner! It makes for some brilliant results. There are a few that I'd avoid but the greens, reds and yellows are great. I didn't get on very well with any of the flesh tones. They came out blotchy, even when thinned. So I reverted to acrylics for the Greek-tanned skin.

The shield designs are by LBMS. Fiddly but nice. A touch expensive but OK for skirmish level games. Derek also kindly printed out the Trident transfers which are actually my favourite of the lot (except maybe the spiral swirly thingies) and were dead easy to apply.

Peninsular War: Dragoons for the French and Light Dragoons for the British

How to train your Dragoon?

British Light Dragoons and French Dragoons for Sharp Practice

 

No literary-inspired Napoleonic shenanigans would be complete without some Dragoons. Mounted up they play a bit like a one-shot wonder and I'd think carefully about using more than one group in a normal size game. But the threat of their movement range and potential damage in combat makes for some interesting command decisions on both sides. They can be used in loads of different scenarios. I quite like the idea of random arrival in the mid-game, possibly on the use of "flags" like Tabletop CP have done in some of their cracking AWI reports on the YouTube.

Dismounted, I feel they need some alternative rules. So I've tinkered away. I treat points as guidelines really (you can break any point-based system) but it seemed a bit much to count 6 dismounted Dragoons as the same as 8 of their mounted friends.

There are various accounts to give us pointers of what they did on foot, such as Badcock's memoirs and Vandaleur's rules (?) for Light Dragoons on campaign. (OK, need to find some French sources.) Vedettes, scouting, foraging, escorting. Actually they are perfect soldiers for SP2.

One group on foot (6) plus a low-ranking leader makes for a handy extra unit in multi-player games. I tend to rate them simply as skirmishers with carbines to make them less effective than good quality "light" troops. I sometimes sprinkle in "sharp practice", "good/poor shots" or "aggressive" to alter their potency. Depending on the scenario they might have a prominent leader if they are reluctant to stick around.

All the models here are Perry plastics except the British dismounted troops which are Perry metal (and rather nice.)

British Light Dragoons

The troop from the 14th Light Dragoons has been posted before. But I wanted a leader on foot. I looked at Perry's dismounted officer group from the Egypt campaign but looking in the bits box I had some spare plastic legs, torso, arms and heads. The resulting kit-bash works for me and saved some cash for another project. So here is the dashing Lieutenant Shattenkirk (soon to be renamed Badcock.) I say dashing, but so far he's either failed to arrive, got lost on a clearly marked road, been shot up the backside or been massacred. Not a great record. 

I gave him a lighter coloured coat to the troopers - not sure that's particularly historical but to identify him. He seems quite short without the massive Tarleton on his head.

Shattenkirk surveys a local well. He later misinterpreted orders and leapt into it. 

This made it harder for the troopers to follow his commands.

French 15th Dragoons

These chaps have rather fetching rose-pink facings and were recorded with green collars. I've missed some details so I'll go back over these but they are tabletop-ready. For the first time in ages the painting seemed more like a chore than a pleasure! 

They are led by the massive moustache of Capitaine De Rigeur, a man who desperately seeks some white cloth to make proper trousers for his troopers. De Rigeur attended Brienne school with Napoleon and was twice nominated for turnip of the month. He's another kit-bash to create a dismounted leader. 

Citadel contrast black and white came in handy on this model. The dark green and pink were not so good, so returned to acrylics for that.

Nemeses?

The leaders on foot.