Saga: Late Romans

Finally got my Romans done for Saga. It was tough to make a decent army without the AEtius and Arthur book to know for sure what was in the list. However, I was able to freeze frame a video review on You Tube and get a snap shot of (almost all of) the correct page in the book to work off of. As far as I know A&A is still not available in the U.S. so I ordered my book direct from England. It turns out I may have to paint a few more guys to tweak my list, making more Levies for example, but for now this is what I got!

This army and book is right in my wheelhouse, maybe my favorite period of history. A big fan of Arthur and his exploits since I was a child, I was very happy to see Saga move into this era. I love the information available on Late Imperial/Patrician Romans, specifically the Notitia Dignitatum, so this has been a fun project from start to finish.

So, without further ado, let me present to yinz my Romans for Saga.

The whole kit and kaboodle. A Warlord, mounted and on foot, two points of infantry HearthGuard, three points of  infantry Warriors and 1 point of Levy. Also, 8 cavalry which can be either a point of Warriors or two of Hearthguard, depending how I want to construct my list.

The Warlord. Love how the camera focused on the building behind him.

I love that shield pattern and got two copies, so, one for each.

The cavalry. I just bought them and for the life of me can't remember the maker. Metal figs, came without weapons, so once again I added plastics from left over Gripping Beast sprues. Worked. These can be fielded as 2 units of HearthGuard or one of Warriors. All shields from Little Big Man Studios; I cannot say enough good things about them. The only issue was trying to decide which ones to use.

I like the Valentinian shield. Also note the lack of stirrups. Nice when they get it right.

The legionnaires, or HearthGuard for our game purposes. Probably new citizens recruited from German tribes, who cares once you put on the uniform?

The game designers are calling this a 'manuballista'. It's been fun watching the gaming 'scholars' scream over top of each other about what it should be called. I haven't seen that many declensions since Gerald Ford was president. Who gives a shit? It's the first artillery piece in the game system and shoots 2 x Long range. I can't wait to use it. It counts as a Levy. I'm going to call mine peanut butter and jellicus just to piss people off.

The first unit of Warriors. I love these guys. They are Gripping Beast Plastics. Shields again by LBM Studios.

Warrior unit #2. All pissed off because they wanted to be #1.

Warrior unit #3, the Auxilia Palantina. I may buy a couple more sprues of these. I've found them on eBay but the shipping is exorbitant; the guy wants over $20 for something that prolly costs him a buck. 

Next up is the opponent for these guys, Arthur himself and the Britons. (Romano-British, Sub-Roman British, take your pick...) I'll prolly get a box of 'Dark Age Warriors' from Gripping Beast and use the leftover oval shields from the Roman box. LBM has 'Arthurian' shields transfers that combine some Roman designs with Saxon and Celtic knotwork. They're nice.

I can't wait go give these guys a go. I don't care if they're a 'good' faction to play; I already love them.