Here's some samples of the new units:
| - The Tanukh Arabs - |
Maqali3 (on left) - Maqali3: Lit. Slings (sing: miqla3) are men who are, usually out of poverty, youth, or inexperience, incapable of bearing regular arms. So, they turn to a common shepherd’s weapon: the sling. They are not numerous, quite rare, and very, very, vulnerable. That said, slings make great anti armour troops.
Historically, slings were used in warfare among the Arabs; however, they were not nearly as common as archers were on the battlefields of the time, since the sling was more of a stop gap measure weapon, to equip those whom the arsenals couldn’t.
Skirmisher (on right) - These hardy, brutal men are fine irregular light warriors, wild and ill-disciplined but also brave. They are recruited from the outlying regions and almost-deserted regions where life is hard and short. Joining an army is almost an escape from the harshness of everyday existence. Their skills in stealing goats, murder and general banditry stand them in good stead as fighters, but they are hardly biddable enough to be called soldiers. They are warriors at best, and killers first and foremost. These men bear grudges, understand blood feuds and see the sword as the way of righting all wrongs!
Rumat - Rumat (lit: archers; sing: ramiy) are mostly skirmishers and not inclined to close with enemy troops. They are equipped with a bow (quality varies), have a simple quiver, and perhaps a short sword for self defense.
Historically, the bow and arrow played an important role in the warfare of the Arabs. Poets, kings, and eventually the caliphs praised its value, along with those of the sword and spear. One Caliph, 3umar ibn ul-khattab even instructed that soldiers be trained regimentally with the bow and arrow, along with swimming, and horseback riding. As such, archers played a major role in every battle the Arabs fought; even their cavalry were partly armed with the bow (though relatively incapable on horseback compared to the Huns or even the Romans). Their job was to soften up the enemy line, so as to allow the cavalry and infantry to do their job.
Jund Levies - These poorly trained, levy infantry are supplied by the individual tribes surrounding the lakhmid kingdom, especially in times of emergency. They are armed with an infantry spear and a simple wooden or wicker shield, and perhaps a short sword. As individual soldiers, they are more than able to take care of themselves, but as a unit, they are relatively undisciplined and poorly trained.
Historically, the Tanukh kingdom would call upon levies of troops to be held from many of the loyal tribes surrounding their kingdom as a show of loyalty. This also included the raha’in, but also, in times of war, levies of troops with which to go to war. The Arabic word jundiy (pl. jund), is derived from middle Persian.
Jund - These somewhat trained troops were soldiers who fought full time in the service of their Chieftain. They are armed with an infantry spear and a simple shield, and a short sword. They are loyal and fierce troops, but have only the rudiments of discipline in them. At least they aren’t cannon fodder. The Arabic word jundiy (pl. jund), is derived from middle Persian.
Jund Mudajjajjun - Jund Mudajjajjun: literally “well equipped men”, would have been veterans, or mercenaries giving service to the Romans, Persians, or anyone willing to pay, who would have obtained enough money and loot to buy themselves better equipment. They are armed with a sword, a shield, and a spear. They are armored in chainmail, and a Persian style helmet for head protection. They aren’t a seperate unit per se, merely a representation of the better troops, and the more elite ones as well serving among the foot soldiers.
Camel Raider - Camel Raiders are hard-faced warriors intended to replace cavalry in desert conditions. Like cavalry, they are best used to ride down scattered enemies or to screen the main force in battle. They are especially effective against cavalry thanks to the smell of their camels - horses cannot stand the strange smell of camel urine!
Camels need careful handling - they are bad tempered beasts - and this is best left to the desert-born. Once recruited as 'light cavalry', however, they can be a very effective force, if not quite as disiciplined as other cavalry. They make up for any lack of cohesion by being individually skilled and savage.
Nomad Fursan - Fursan: lit. Horsemen-These are everyday nomadic cavalry, often recruited when the Chieftain needs more men to field. They are not a totally horde unit, but are poorly armed with javelins and spears.
Fursan As-hahib - These are the lesser nobility, and family members not in line for the throne (i.e. the Chieftains’s brothers, cousins, and generals) and, and their military retinue. They were named for their pale features, as ashahib is the plural of shahib, meaning “pale” or “fair skinned”, also referring to a light grey or silvery color.\n\n They will, like the Sana’i3, make a loyal and effective fighting force, but without the religious dedication shown by the Sana’i3 with their oaths.
Fursan As-sana'i3 - This is the immediate guard of the Chieftain and his immediate line (i.e, his sons). They were an elite group of medium-to medium heavy cavalry, famed for their loyalty, and known to never leave the Chieftain’s side.
The Arab slinger, Spearman, and Camel Raider model's head was made by Prometheus, and is used with permission.
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| - The Berber Tribes - |
Archers - These hardy desert folk make excellent bowmen, as they cannot afford to waste a single shot when hunting. They are tough men as a result of their harsh lives in the unforgiving sands and rocks of the desert. A punishing march across a trackless waste is the story of their everyday existence, so much so that going to war can seem like a pleasant diversion by comparison. At least when at war they have the chance to taste the good life, enjoy some of the comforts of civilization, and grow wealthy on plunder!
Skirmishers - These hardy, brutal men are fine irregular light warriors, wild and ill-disciplined but also brave.\n\nThey are recruited from the outlying regions and almost-deserted regions where life is hard and short. Joining an army is almost an escape from the harshness of everyday existence. Their skills in stealing goats, murder and general banditry stand them in good stead as fighters, but they are hardly biddable enough to be called soldiers. They are warriors at best, and killers first and foremost. These men bear grudges, understand blood feuds and see the sword as the way of righting all wrongs!
Spear Levies - Peasants are reluctant warriors at best, but a life of endless toil and drudgery does at least produce strong backs and an acceptance of grim reality. Men, no matter how untrained or unready for war, are always useful in battle - the enemy can be weakened simply by having to hack a way through the press of bodies. Forcing peasants to leave the land and fight is cheap and quick even if it does damage the prospects for the next harvest. This is an important consideration when famine may only be one failed harvest away. Still more of a problem is the reluctance of these men to fight well in a situation they neither know nor care about. That said, these men can fight; maybe they are not experts, but every enemy they kill is one less for proper warriors to face down.
Garagamantes Warrior - The Garagamantes are a Berber ethnic group or nation. They call themselves variously Kel Tamasheq, Kel Tamajaq "Speakers of Tamasheq" and Imuhagh, Imazaghan or Imashaghen meaning "the Free people". They also call themselves Kel Tagelmust i.e. "People of the Veil".
These hardy, brutal men are fine irregular light warriors, wild and ill-disciplined but also brave. They are recruited from the outlying regions and almost-deserted regions where life is hard and short. Joining an army is almost an escape from the harshness of everyday existence. Their skills in stealing goats, murder and general banditry stand them in good stead as fighters, but they are hardly biddable enough to be called soldiers. They are warriors at best, and killers first and foremost. These men bear grudges, understand blood feuds and see the sword as the way of righting all wrongs!
The Berber Garagamantes models was made by Prometheus, and is used with permission.
Berber Cavalry - These Raiders are highly skilled, light cavalry who are tenacious and skilled in battle, but a little wild and ill-disciplined. Growing up in harsh, unforgiving lands, they must learn to ride and fight almost as soon as they can walk. Not to do so is to invite death, enslavement or worse. Their wargear is chosen to help them survive in the heat and dust of the desert, and they are armed only with razor-sharp swords and hide armor, a practical weapon when the heat is too oppressive to allow any likely opponent to benefit from heavy armour.
Mauretanian Cavalry - Moorish Cavalry are highly skilled, lightly armoured skirmishers who are both tenacious and skilled in battle. Growing up in harsh lands, they must learn to ride and fight almost as soon as they can walk or invite death, enslavement or worse. Their equipment is chosen to help them survive in the heat and dust of the desert, and they are armed with javelins, a simple weapon but a practical one that can stand up to much hard usage.
Berber Warlord - A Warlord leads a personal guard of his ablest and fiercest warriors. These men are his elite, ready to be thrown into the fight at a moment of crisis. Given that he owes his authority to personal bravery as much as any tribal position, a warlord has to be willing to risk his own life in personal combat and stake the outcome of a battle on his own skills as a fighter as much as his grasp of command. A wise leader, therefore, makes sure that he has the best chance possible of coming through a fight alive so that he can inspire his men by example as well as by his mere presence. Politics and warfare mean that he must not just triumph, he must do so publicly and in brave style.
The vast void of the desert - deserted of life, forgotten by the Gods. A miserable place of punishment and exile. So it may seem, but the neverending dunes are also the home of a fierce race of nomad warriors, adaptive and highly capable of creating a life for themselves where everyone else only finds death. But life is hard, and every day a deadly struggle for survival, a constant fight for the last drop of water.
These hardbitten nomads wander the dunes from tenement to tenement, living in the hidden camps they call sietches, a term whose origin is lost. Being leery of every outsider these fremen can swiftly disappear into the dunes, and become almost invisible. Outsiders beware! An uninvited guest will likely be killed on the spot, and there are even some outrageous rumours that these men drink the blood of their victims! They worship the animals of the desert - falcons and mouses ( who have a special place of honour among their deities due to their resourcefulness ). Another more terrifying God is the "Old Man of the Desert", a gargantuan being who lives below the sands.
Their vast knowledge of the desert is something every caravan leader or spice merchant can't afford to ignore, and therefore they compete for the favor of the fremen, employing them as mercenaries. They are excellent fighters, although somewhat unreliable. After all, polish comes from the cities; wisdom from the desert.
The Fremen Warriors' description was written by Gäiten.
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Preview III: The Warriors of the Dunes
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Originally Posted by First Citizen Gallienus
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