Holy Favour

Finished two campaign markers late yesterday:  Latin Bishop and Islamic Qadi.

The Latin Bishops is a Splintered Light Irish Priest that I just modified the staff but cutting off the swirl at the top.

The Muslim Qadi is a Peter Pig priest from their fantasy range.

UPDATED - A War Like No Other Campaign References

Updated 12 Jan 2020

I have started compiling a list of references that I have used when developing this campaign.  Follow the link below to see the list of references I have used.  Where possible I have included links to the original article to facilitate anyone wanting to check them out.  I will add more as I go when I get a chance.  Hopefully, you will find this useful.

Articles
(updated 11 Aug 2019)

Historical Fiction

Non-Fiction Books
(updated 12 Jan 2020)

Campaign Update

I have completed the draft of the campaign rules and they can be viewed by following the link below

A War Like No Other

Please remember this is still a draft.  I am working out a few kinks before I try it on the cut down map I posted earlier.

I have also completed two more army markers:  Sultanate of Aleppo and the Principality of Antioch.

As you can see the generic crescent and star that I went with for Aleppo looks better than the Pac Man control marker.  I decided to go with the solid red banner for Antioch.  I have found a few different versions for Antioch.  One shows a red field quartered with the Fleur de Lys in the top right and bottom left.  I am not sure when the arms of France were added but it would have had to have been after the male line of Bohemund died out.  Another reference I saw claims that the de Hauteville family arms (or a variation) were used.  These had a blue field with a bend of red and white lozenges. No book I have every read that speaks directly to Bohemund and the 1st Crusades mentions these last two so I went with the red field.

I hope to add a couple special event markers for the campaign for my next post and maybe a test game of FOG 300 with Early Crusaders versus Syrian States.

Campaign Marker Update

I have settled on a generic marker for the Islamic factions and have finished two test pieces for both the Edessans and the Aleppans.

The top is the County of Edessa and the bottom is the Sultanate of Aleppo.  Unfortunately the Aleppan marker on the left looks a lot like Pac Man.

I have also finished an Army marker for the Edessan faction.  I used an Old Glory 15mm Norman standard bearer and I think he turned out okay.

Flags and Symbols Updates

As I continue to work through the painting and campaign design I have found the following to assist with faction markers and special flags.

The coin above I found doing a search for Seljuk Turk symbols.  I am going to use it as the base control symbol for the Islamic factions and differentiate by field color.  For instance, Ridwan of Aleppo will have a yellow crescent and star on a mid-blue field with a red edge to the field.

This banner has been sometimes identified as the holy banner that William the Conqueror received from the Pope for his invasion of England.  I plan on playing with the colors a bit but will use it as the Special Event Holy Christian Banner.

This banner I found on a google search for the Abbassids.  I will most likely use it as the Islamic Holy Banner from the Special Events.

Another symbol I found through a Google Search, this one has been shown in several places as the Coat of Arms for the County of Edessa.  There is a flag on the old Fanaticus website that identifies this as the arms of Count Baldwin of Boulogne, the first count of Edessa.  I plan on using the flag and have painted the first test markers.

This symbol I found online from on of the Total Warish sites that claims it is the arms of the Roupenian Dynasty of the Cilician Armenians.

That is all for now as I sit in my hotel room in Chicago.  Until next time, enjoy.

FOG 300 and New Campaign Update

Painting is coming along for the few more required Crusader foot needed to complete the current needs as are the planning/organizing of figures to complete needed BGs for the Cilician Armenians.

For the campaign, I am going to do some test moves and battles with the County of Edessa vs the Sultanate of Aleppo.  I have decided on markers that I will need to mark control of cities as well as army markers for each army.  I have the first few on my desk already.

Here is the cut down map that I will be working with:

Another Day in the LIbrary

December, in the year of our lord five hundred and ninety eight since his ascension to heaven, the sixteenth regnal year of the reign of Flavius Mauricius Tiberius, Emperor of all the Romans.

Today I returned to my search for the documents referring to this mysterious comes sareceni.  I believe I have found a cache of documents that are related to this story.  It seems that a certain church official in Aela had complained of incursions by the desert nomads into the villages.  Based on the notes I have found, Bishop Paul of Aela, convinced the comes of the Palaestina Tertia to lead a punitive expedition against the nomadic tribes southeast of Aela.  Based on what I have found, it seems that the comes gathered his Buccelaria and the local militia to form the basis of his troops.  Two units of Byzantine cavalry moving north to join the armies on the Euphrates border where added just before the forces set out on this adventure.  There is an obscure reference to an engagement being fought out in the borderland but at this time I have not located any sort of report.  I will keep searching...