Terror of the Lichemaster: Archers of Frugelhofen

Terror of the Lichemaster: Part 9

When the Lichemaster attacks the village of Frugelhofen, the best hope of the village lies with its archers. We have already met the militia, and they are not impressive: toothless hicks, lame ex-soldiers and lepers. But the bowmen are a different breed: sturdy hunters, silent trappers and poachers. Assembled and led by the marksman Riolta Snow, these mountain men just may be able to hold the line.

Once again, there are no "official" miniatures for the archers of Frugelhofen. Some guidance of what miniatures to use comes from the paper counters in the Terror of the Lichemaster boxed set. There we see what the game designers had in mind...

The counters depict one of the C26 Men at Arms sculpted by the Perry Brothers in 1984. This is an underappreciated range -- overlooked these days most likely because they are chiefly preslotta miniatures and originated as historical figures. But they are a great resource for anyone trying to assemble an army for the Empire or Bretonnia with an Oldhammer feel.

Thankfully, Wargames Foundry has re-released these classic miniatures in their Ex Citadel range. Above we see the picture of the MED122 figure pack from Foundry's catalogue. 

I found one of the original C26 Longbowmen on eBay and painted him up as a test figure for my Frugelhofen archers. I really liked this bowman, but I realized that the militia would look too professional if every archer was cut from this sort of cloth. I wanted rugged survivalists, not a drilled garrison. And so, I turned back to Citadel's Blood on the Streets range and other sources of wilderness adventurers. Here are some of the miniatures I chose...

Above we have "John the Trapper" beautifully sculpted by Michael and Alan Perry in 1985 for Citadel's C07 Rangers range (and for Blood on the Streets). His name is a none-too-subtle reference to Trapper John, a character from M*A*S*H*. Just to hammer home this point, in Blood on the Streets, we're told that his best friend is another hunter called "Hawkeye".

This is "Arathon the Ranger", also known as "Longbow" from Citadel's C07 Rangers (Michael and Alan Perry, 1985). If his name seems to ring a bell, perhaps you will enjoy his description from Blood on the Streets: "Arathon is usually to be found in the Green King Inn in the shadiest corner he can find. Ever since he accidentally broke his sword, he has been pursued by a gaggle of Halflings. They claim he is the long lost King of Gonad... He just wants peace and quiet to do what rangers do, and is hiding from his pursuers."

Here is "The Targeteer" sculpted by the Perry Twins in 1985 for the C07 Rangers. Fans of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1986) will remember this miniature because (like several others in this range) it was used as the model for Tony Ackland's illustrations of various careers...

The miniature and the picture are an excellent likeness of Errol Flynn as Robin Hood.

For a less dashing figure, above we have the "Poacher" from C07 (Perry Bros, 1985). His bare feet and felt hat give him a sort of Huck Finn appearance. I particularly like the rabbit popping out of his sack. Like Arathon and the Targeteer, the Poacher was reused in 1987 as part of the suite of miniatures for Death on the Reik.

I also threw in one of my many, many Talisman miniatures. I worked on Talisman partly out of love for the game, but also because I thought the miniatures would be useful in all sorts of other games like Advanced Heroquest, Saga, Descent and - of course - Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Here we have the "Scout" from the Talisman Dungeon.

For something a little different, I threw in this preslotta "Thief" from Citadel's C10 Half Orcs (1984). Half Orcs are found throughout the Old World and the Frugelhorn Valley is no different -- they skulk around the edges of society, subsisting as mercenaries, poachers and bandits. But even a Half Orc knows that if Frugelhofen falls, there will be no escape...

That's it for the miniatures of Terror of the Lichemaster. Next week, we'll reflect on what it's like to play out the campaign... I hope you'll join me!