SAGA: Adding Fantasy Themes and Models

SAGA, while a perfectly excellent system for historical stoush, also lends itself exceedingly well to the use of fantasy models and ideas.The effects generated by the ‘legal’ battle boards are easily attributed to Gods or magic. At the same time, SAGA uses just a handful of troop-types meaning there will only ever be a few delineations to represent and keep in mind during play.

I have seen many examples on the official forums of people trying to develop entirely new or hybrid battle boards for various fantasy forces (Lord of the Rings and Games Workshop are popular settings). Honestly, I believe these people are over-thinking it. With a little care and forethought, the SAGA rules and battle boards as written provide an excellent vehicle for gaming confrontations between heroic or villainous warbands from history or fantasy or any combination of the two.

Clarity is key

In essence we are talking about using proxies, and that means making sure that they are as clear as possible for your opponent. The theme and models in your warband may make sense to you, but your opponent needs to be able to look at the table and easily understand what they are facing.

Ideally, this is the end result of a process that starts when you are initially planning the force, well before you get anywhere near a table. For example, I had a fair number of fully painted Wargods of Aegyptus models sitting around gathering dust long after my interest in that set of rules had faded. They make a brilliant Fantasy Egyptian warband under the rules for Anglo-Danes.

Say hello to my Aegypto-Danes J

Above is a pair of Aegypto-DaneWarlords. These models are larger and more heroic in stature than the rest of the warband. They are, accordingly, mounted on 40mm bases while all the rest of the models you are about to see are on 30mm.

The next two are of the units I'll use as levy. With their slings or bows and lack of armour, within the SAGA rules it would be hard to mistake them for anything but levy.

Next up, my two units of warriors.

And finally, two units of mighty mighty hearthguard.

When my Aegypto-Danes hit the table I can tell my opponent that anything with a bow or sling is levy, the Warlord is the only model on a 40mm base, the very distinct big tough looking croc-men with giant hammers are the hearth guard armed with giant Dane axes and anything else are warriors. Easy.

The trick, in a nutshell, is to pick models and a theme that mesh well with a given battle board or vice a versa. Either start with the models and pick a battle board/faction that suits or start with the faction and pick models that suit. Don’t try to shoehorn models into the troop types and/or a battle board. There are plenty of ‘easy’ fits if you take a step back, think and plan accordingly.

For my Aepytus-Danes, the process was simple. I wanted to use the models I already owned and had painted. I sat down and took a look at the factions to see which was the best match for the models. I already have proper historical Vikings and JomsVikings, so they were out. I don’t have any Aepytus cavalry, so that also eliminated a few warbands. In the end, the ‘eureka moment’ came when I read about the Anglo-Dane hearth guard and their mighty Dane axes, then looked at my sebeki models. The two match up perfectly, and none of the other Aegyptus models conflicted with their troop type. Bingo.

Other example that come to mind - GW orks makes fine sense as Jomsvikings. The concept of ‘wrath’ is easy to mentally recast of as the classic greenskin ‘WAAAARRRRGH’ building in power as the battle rages.  Alternatively, add in gobos as levy and they make fine Vikings. And if you want to play with a mighty green tide, the Anglo-Saxon board with its emphasis on large units makes a fine match. Wood Elves? Hello Normans. Want something more ‘classical’? OK. How about a heroic Greek hero model on a 40mm base as Jason the warlord, heavy hoplite/Greek hero models as 'Argonaught' hearth guard, normal hoplite models as warriors, psiloi as levy. Want more fantasy in the mix? How about Centaurs as cavalry?

Personally, I am very excited by the prospect of getting still more of my old and dusty models off the shelf and giving them new life. After my Aepytus-Danes are finished, I want to repurpose and build upon my LOTR Rohan and Moria goblin models and I have a pile of GW plastic beastmen that should make a fine warband of some sort.