The Army of Freedonia

 

the "Ancient Five" on maneuvers with some of the cavalry

      Louis The Ravenous is proud of his army and navy and lavishes them with attention and funding. Perhaps the best equipped troops on the continent the army of Freedonia lacks for nothing. Pride of place is taken by the Royal Guards but the Ancient Regiments are just behind in honor and reputation. Even the lowly freshly-recruited battalions are fully accoutered. This vast and powerful force has many tasks; guarding the frontiers, suppressing the perennially rebellious northwestern provinces and manning the colonies as well as internal security.

His Most Caloric Majesty, Louis XIII "The Ravenous" of the House of Bon-Bon, King of Freedonia
        (rank 5)
The Royal Heir Apparent, Louis XIV
         (rank 4)
The Comte du Vendage, Marshall and Vintner in Chief to the Army, Francois Sauvignion
         (rank 4)
The Comte du Fromage,  Marshall and Victualler in Chief to the Army, Bernard Gouda
         (rank 4)
The Comte du Pain, Marshall and Quartermaster to the Army, Etienne Cuillere
         (rank 4)
Eight Generals of the third rank

The Thirty Course War, The nations align for war

     Apologies to all for not posting recently, I was out of town for a bit. The characters have been posted but not the models for the armies they are about to lead (aside from Boozonia, that is). All of the forces will be built upon my collection of 30YW/ECW figures that I collected and painted MANY years ago. This force is almost exclusively Minifigs, back in the day when a 15mm figure WAS 15mm and Minifigs was cutting edge (yes, I'm really that old). It is a rather large collection and allows me to field a fairly huge force without too many compromises.

     All that aside I have decided that each of the four major powers in Epicurea will be modeled after an historical army. The Boozonians, as already explained, are based on the Scots. The Ferndalians will be based on the Swedes of Gustavus Adolphus and the Freedonians on the army of a very young Louis XIV. The splintered realm of Gluttonia will be split between the Proper Meal faction who will be represented by Spanish and the Small Platers will have the Hapsburg Imperialists carrying their banners.

       The Mindorans were Japanese Samurai in the first iteration of the campaign but I loaned some of the figures out and never got them back so some amendments will have to be made. The Nylians are new; I'm thinking that Ottomans would be a good fit and a nice difference from the Western style armies that have been included so far, I will have to see. The Frozonians (if they fail to stay loyal to Ferndalia) will be Petrine Russians while the Nordlanders will be ECW era British

Meet the Army of Boozonia

     The force is built upon the idea of a combined Lowland and highland force from about 1650AD. Using the army lists provided in Tercio rules and the Kingdoms supplement I constructed a force that blends the different nature of both forces into a (hopefully) coherent whole. The Lowlanders provide the fire base of artillery and steady musketry while the Highland forces are the shock element.

recruiting is still under way

Meet the Rulers; Clauz IV of Framboise, "The Unfortunate"

     The fifth child and third son of Ferdinand II de Flamboise, Clauz was an unattractive baby and grew uglier with age. Oddly his personality is the exact inverse of his visage; he was quiet, thoughtful, industrious, polite, kind, intelligent, perceptive, strong-minded, ethical, honest, decent, energetic, obedient, tidy, generous, healthy, wise and overall a rather nice fellow. As a fifth child among eight he was sometimes overlooked by his mother and his nannies. Of Ferdinand's four sons he is the only clearly sane one (the youngest, Mikail XII, being but three it is too early to guess) and it has been whispered in hallways that the Emperor wished to have his two oldest sons declared unfit so that he could elevate Clauz to the Imperial Throne only to be dissuaded by his wife at the last moment before he went off to war.

Meet the Rulers (almost) Hanz and Franz of the House Flamboise

     The Troublesome Twins, it is an unusual thing that the king of a land having three sons could cause a crisis in the line of succession but the presence of Franz and Hanz de Flamboise has brought about just that situation. Truth be told Ferdinand had doubts about his two oldest sons from early in their lives. The constant lying and deception that they practiced, paired with their very unusual view of how the world works, caused poor Ferdinand many a sleepless night. At his wife's insistence he refrained from having their names tattooed onto to them to prevent their endless shenanigans. 

Hanz de Flamboise

 

Franz de Flamboise (I think)

      Hanz always displayed a casual disdain for the thoughts and feeling of others that seemed to have no limits, while Franz was slavishly deferential to the opinions and feelings of everyone about him. Hanz would break a glass to see it shatter and Franz would buy a set to replace it.

Meet the Ruler; Gordon Ramsey, Lord High Constable of Boozonia

 

the right honorable Lord High Constable of Boozonia, Gordon Ramsey

      Alone among the leaders of nations in Epicurea Gordon Ramsey did not inherit his position. Boozonia developed a national consciousness six centuries ago. Four hundred years of intermittent conflict continued until the House of Flamboise finally gave up and granted Boozonia its independence. The lengthy struggle against the Imperial power sharpened the already intense feeling of individual freedoms and God-given rights. The Boozonians have enshrined these rights in The Covenant which forms the basis for their form of government.

Meet the Ruler; Peter II "The Famished" of King of Ferndalia

 

His Most Esteemed Royal Majesty Peter II

      The Whey dynasty has ruled Ferndalia off and on (mostly on) since time immemorial. It is only since shedding their pagan ways that they began to enumerate their kings, whom they name in strict alphabetical order. Peter has ruled for the past fifteen years succeeding his very long-lived grandfather Nathan II. Widely respected, if little loved, Peter holds sway over the largest kingdom in Epicurea running the realm with the attention to detail normally found only in the finest of chefs. His cold demeanor and excessive devotion to his cause have not engendered any love from his citizens but they do appreciate the order that he has brought to the realm following the chaos of Nathan's too-lengthy rule.

Meet the Ruler; His Most Caloric Majesty, Louis XIII "The Ravenous"

 

tell me, honestly now, does this wig make my head look fat?

       The House of Bon-Bon has ruled Freedonia for the past five hundred years; compared to the House of Flamboise they are like a rambunctious child with all the inferiority issues that come with being a younger sibling. The Bon-Bon dynasty has always felt the need to exceed all the other royal houses in every definable way; more extravagant clothing, food, palaces, uniforms, navies, entertainments....the list goes on and on. In large part they have succeeded in this ambition due to the discovery of vast silver deposits in their colonies which have lifted the burden of the monarch's vision off of the long-suffering peasants. 

Meet the Ruler, The recently deceased Ferdinand de Flamboise III

 

his Most Exalted Majesty riding off to battle

       For the past two decades Gluttonia had flourished under the careful management of Ferdinand the III. It is only recently that the Small Plate heresy has been upsetting the peace and calm of the prosperous countryside that is blessed with a fertile landscape and a diligent, hardworking populous. Ferdinand, known affectionately as "Fat Ferddy" to his subjects, saw to the maintenance of peace within and without his lands.