First, an apology - I forgot to put the [WAB] bit in the subject line on the last two messages I sent. Sorry!
Anyway, in a bid to make up, here are some Barbarian 'tribal variations' I came up with for the Barbarian lists in the WAB rules, but which couldn't fit in the rulebook. I'm planning to include them in Armies Of Antiquity if I can find the room, and any feedback would be appreciated.
Ancient Britons
Dacians
Franks
Gauls
The Germans
Picts
Goths and Vandals
Spanish
The army list as it stands represents a 'typical' barbarian army. Certain tribes covered by the list had special troops types that only they used. If a player wants he may choose to have any army based on one tribe, in which case the following special rules apply:
Ancient Britons
The Ancient Britons fought in typical barbarian fashion, relying mainly on their foot warriors to overwelm the enemy and carry the day. However, probably due to the reletive isolation of the British Isles, the Ancient Britons carried on using chariots far longer than any other Barbarian nation apart from the Irish (who were even more isoloated and out of the way!). In addition the British seemed to have had little use for the bow, greatly prefering the sling which was used in large numbers, especially by the tribes occupying the western part of the island.
The following special rules apply to an Ancient British army.
1. Ancient British armies may not include barbarian noble cavalry. In addition,
characters must either fight on foot or mounted in a chariot; they may not fight mounted
on a horse.
2. All Ancient British barbarian cavalry are treated as being light cavalry.
3. Ancient Britons may not be armed with bows of any kind.
Dacians
The Dacians were a fierce warrior nation that lived in the region of modern day Yugoslavia and Hungry. Although Roman writers depicted them as uncivilised reavers, this was, as with Roman descriptions of many of the Barbarian nations, far from being the truth. In fact the Dacians enjoyed an advanced and extremely succesful lifestyle, although this did not stop them raiding into Roman territory when the mood took them. Finally these raids proved too much for the Romans, who mounted a series of punitive expeditions against the Dacians (not all of which were succesful), finally culminating in the Roman Emperor Trajan's invasion and annexation of Dacia by 106 AD.
The vast majority of Dacians fought on foot in typical barbarian fashion. A large number, however, fought with a unique weapon called the falx. This was a ferociuous double-handed weapon that consisted of a scythed blade mounted on the end of a stout wooden handle. Wielded by a strong Dacian warrior it was perfectly capable of taking an opponents head or limb off with a single blow!
The following special rules apply to a Dacian army.
1. Dacian warriors and light infantry may replace their swords with 'halbards'
(actually the dreaded 'falx') at a cost of 2 points per model.
2. Dacian armies may not include chariots.
Franks
The Franks were one of the most succesful of the numerous German tribes that fought against the latter Roman empire, eventually overruning Gaul and creating an empire that was to evolve over the coming centuries into modern day France. In the period covered by this army list, however, the Franks were still a primitive German tribe. The vast majority of their warriors fought on foot, only a few Nobles fighting as cavalry.
Frankish warriors were armed with a variety of heavy throwing weapons which they hurled as they charged into combat, in much the same way that the Roman Legionary used his pilum. The most famous of theses weapons was the francisca, a heavy throwing axe which was so closely identified with the Franks that it gave them their name. In addition to the francisca the Franks used heavy throwing spears closely modeled on the pilum which were called angons.
The following special rules apply to a Frankish army.
1. Frankish warriors must replace the mixed weapons with which Barbarian warriors are
normally armed with a shield, sword and heavy throwing spear (i.e. the francisca and
angon) at an additional cost of 3 points per model.
2. The Franks may not include chariots or barbarian light cavalry in their army (barbarian
noble cavalry may be used).
Gauls
Of all of the barbarian tribes that fought against Rome the Gauls are probably the most famous, mainly thanks to the commentaries written by Julius Caeser describing how he conquored them, and the Asterix comic books written some considerable time latter. The Gauls were one of the classic 'barbarian armies' and most of the notes and comments in the army list above apply to them. They occupied the territory that is now modern day France, but this does not mean that they should be thought of as a single nation. Rather they were a loose confederation of tribes that were as likely to fight against each other as anybody else. Indeed, Caser's often employed Gallic cavalry who were quite happy to fight against Gauls from another tribe as part of Caeser's army!
The following special rules apply to a Gallic army.
1. Some people feel that the Gauls fought is a looser formation than that adopted by other barbarian tribes, which allowed them to move more quickly over difficult or broken terrain. If you agree with this view then treat all the warriors in a Gallic army as light infantry.
The Germans
Along with the Gauls, the early Germanic tribes provide us with the classic image of the barbarian warrior. If anything the Germans were even more ferocious than their Gallic neighbours, and it is certainly the case that the Romans were never able to subjugate the German s in the same way that they conquored the Gauls. German infantry was considered to be especially stubborn and tenacious, and while German cavalry was not as well equipped as Gallic cavalry, they seem to have established an important psychological edge over the Gauls as they usually come out on top in any cavalry battles the two tribes had. This may at least partially be explained by the German habit of mixing lightly armed infantry in with their cavalry formations.
The following special rules apply to a German army:
1. German Noble cavalry is not equipped with light armour. However, it causes fear in
Gallic barbarian cavalry and Gallic noble barbarian cavalry.
2. German cavalry and German light infantry may be combined together in the same unit,
with the infantry making up the rear ranks of the formation. A combined formation moves at
the pace of the infantry, but may have a rank bonus of up to +1. The formation may not
split up duirng the game.
3. German barbarian warriors, barbarian noble cavalry, and barbarian cavalry are stubborn,
as described in the psychology rules in the Warhammer Ancient Battles rulebook. This
increases their points value by 2 points per model.
4. German armies may not include chariots.
Picts
What the ancient Picts were armed with and how they fought is open to much conjecture, as there is very little literary or physical evidence left to go on. However, it does seem quite likely that the Pict infantry were armed with long thrusting spears and fought in a close formation that resembeled a primitive sort of phalanx. In addition a number of sources depict Pict light infantry armed with a weapon that sembles a crossbow.
1. Pictish warriors may be armed with thrusting spears at a cost of 1 point per model. If so armed they may form a 'hedgehog' instead of moving. This formation causes fear in enemy cavalry, and all enemy hand to hand attacks suffer a -1 to hit modifier.
2. Pict light infantry may be armed with crossbows at a cost of 1 point per model. However it is unlikley that the Pict's weapon was anywhere near as powerful as a medieval crossbow, so it should be treated for all intents and purposes as being a bow.
*** Sorry, no text for these variations ***
Goths & Vandels
1. Goth and Vandel armies must spend between a third and all of their points on
cavalry, and between none to half of their points on warriors.
2. Goth and Vandel barbarian light cavalry may be given light armour at a cost of +4
points per model.
3. Goth and Vandel barbarian infantry are not subject to impetuosity, and may be armed
with short bows at a cost of +1 point per model.
4. Goth and Vandel armies may not include chariots or fanatic infantry.
Spanish
1. Spanish warriors and light infantry may replace the mixed weapons with which they are normally armed with a sword, shield and throwing spear at an additional cost of 1 point per model.