Sunday, May 30, 2010

Armies of Oerth, Part XXVI: Kingdom of Nyrond

Using the Field of Glory wargaming rules & Dragon Magazine #65, here is the final installment of Rob Kuntz's Orders of Battle for certain renowned armies from the World of Greyhawk.

Ratio: 250 men-at-arms per base.

The Kingdom of Nyrond's Army List

The strength of Nyrond, and the hostility of its rulers and nobles, have been the major protection for the civilized nations of the Flanaess against the depredations of the Great Kingdom and its mad emperors. Nyrond also went through a phase of near-imperialism, making both the County of Urnst and the Theocracy of the Pale tributary states for a time. This course was altered, however, when the wise King Dustan I. called Crafty, saw his realm threatened by internal strife and extenor enemiesand called up the Great Council of Rel Mord. Here, the king met with ambassadors from Almor, the Iron league, the Pale, and Urnst. All troops were withdrawn from the Pale and Urnst thereafter, the Nyrondese allowing both areas self-determination, and both, in turn, agreeing to a concord entailing mutual trade and military support. Almor was treated somewhat similarly, and aid was granted to the Iron League in the form of loans and treaties which assured the League of survival against the common enemy.

The current boundaries of Nyrond are: Nesser River - Franz River - Artonsamay River - Nutherwood - Gamboge Forest (northern terminus) - Rakers - Flint Hills - (lower) Harp River - Relmor Bay. Nyrondal contingents assist Urnst and the Pale against the Bandit Kingdoms, and a squadron of their warships sails Relmor Bay and the Sea of Gearnat in support of the Iron League. Strong garrisons of the Nyrondese Army are stationed in strategic positions to move to the aid of either Almor or the Pale in time of need.

Commander-in-Chief: King Dunstan I (F 16th level) = 1 base

Sub-Commander: General Garzenth = 1 base

Sub-Commander: General Bellord = 1 base

Heavy Cavalry: 5,000 = 20 bases
(3 models/base; knights on horses, heavy plate armour & lances, substantial shields)

Medium Cavalry: 3,000 = 12 bases
(3 models/base; riders on horses, leather armour & moderate shields, hand weapons)

Light Cavalry: 2,000 = 8 bases
(2 models/base; riders on horses, no armour & small shields, hand weapons)

Armoured Infantry:  8,000 = 32 bases
(3 models/base; foot troops, chainmail armour & moderate shields, hand weapons)

Medium Pole-Arms: 3,000 = 12 bases
(3 models/base; foot troops, leather armour & moderate shields, pole-arms)

Medium Infantry (Mercenary): 1,000 = 4 bases
(3 models/base; foot troops, leather armour & moderate shields, hand weapons)

Light Infantry: 1,500 = 6 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, no armour & no shields, hand weapons)

Light Infantry (Levied): 9,000 = 36 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, no armour & no shields, hand weapons)

Light Archers: 3,500 = 14 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, no armour & no shields, bows)

This totals 147 bases with 359 models on them.

Nyrond has a secondary force which may be called upon for assistance. It consists of the following troops:

Sub-Commander: Earl Harhing = 1 base

Heavy Cavalry: 2,000 = 8 bases
(3 models/base; knights on horses, heavy plate armour & lances, substantial shields)

Heavy Infantry: 4,000 = 16 bases
(4 models/base; foot troops, full plate armour & substantial shields, hand weapons)

Light Infantry: 3,000 = 12 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, no armour & no shields, hand weapons)

Light Infantry (Levied): 4,500 = 18 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, no armour & no shields, hand weapons)

Medium Archers: 2,000 = 8 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, leather armour & moderate shields, bows)

This totals 63 bases with 165 models on them.

To insure complete victory for their upcoming major offensive, Dunstan has called upon the aid of both the County and Duchy of Urnst. The additional allied force will be:

Armoured Infantry (Elvish-Elites): 10,000 = 40 bases
(3 models/base; foot troops, chainmail and moderate shields, hand weapons)

This adds an additional 40 bases with 120 models.

[Writer's Note: WOW! Now this is a massive undertaking to build: 260 bases with 644 models!]

This completes the Armies of Oerth series [for now, at least]. I hope these articles have helped inspire some of you to delve into tabletop wargaming, with a touch of the World of Greyhawk.  I will be compiling these articles with some additional information to make them even more compliant with the Field of Glory rules, such as troop points, special rules, etc. When it is completed, I will be making it available as a free downloadable PDF on my own blog,
Axe & Hammer.

Ciao!
Grendelwulf

5 comments:

Roger G-S said...

An awesome undertaking!

Now, back in the days when these articles were coming out, I gamed out the South Province wars using a half-inch hexmap of the Greyhawk map and a campaign system of my own devising.

Each week's army movements were written out in advance, then executed according to an impulse system. Contact, scouting, garrisons, supply and foraging were taken into account. I cooked up a very abstract system to deal with the battles.

So, if there's interest I might try to reconstruct the campaign rules on my own blog. It would make a nice tie-in to whatever rules are used for the tactical battles.

Anonymous said...

My thanks to all of you for taking the time to read these articles. And much thanks especially to the Lord of the Green Dragons for allowing me to guest-blog.

@LotGD: I hope your moving plans have gone well and look forward to your return. We've kept your hall fairly active.

@Roger the GS: Sounds very interesting. I would like to see it when you have the time. Anything that keeps the tabletop busy is a good thing!

Ciao!
GW

rafael beltrame said...

hi grendelwulf! me again (just found your website, heheh). congratulations on the amazing work, hope you have enjoy writing it as much as we had reading! cant wait to see the pdf.

cheers

bombasticus said...

What I loved about those Dragon articles -- and now these -- is the way they took the static folio descriptions and gave us a world where international politics could spawn grand and thrilling battles. The lead-up to the Nyrond war was especially exciting so I'm grateful to see it here.

Anonymous said...

@rafael beltrame: Hello again! It has been fun. From going through the Dragon articles, trying to sketch some art showing the armies (sadly, I haven't been building as much as I should have by now), and going through the Field of Glory supplements. I'll do my best to get it all together.

@bombasticus: Yes, I agree. I often used fragments of these and other articles as background conversations in taverns, etc..as well as adventure hooks for my players. I'm happy you've enjoyed my attempt to bring some of this info back into the light.

Ciao!
GW