Raiders of Éireann

The Fomorians focus on mobility and specialists. They are all aquatic and are able to bring extra water features to battle, making sure that they lay of the land is in their favour. Especially the Lúchorpán are able to travel quickly to the other side of the battlefield with the Water Tunneler ability. Terrorkin are able to immobilise any foe they meet, which can then be taken down by the their monstrous allies. The Reavers pack enough of a punch for this, but their main strength lies in their staying power. While they hold down their enemies, the rest of the warband can focus its powers on the objective.

The Fomorian warband consists of the following:

• 1 Hero
• 2 Reavers
• 3 Lúchorpán
• 1 Terrorkin

The Fomorian is somewhat smaller than the Milesian one. They strike quick and hard from the mists, dragging away their loot and prisonors to the Other World.

Most minis were actually painted by my wife, but I hope it’s still alright that I share these here. She only started painting minis during the second lockdown here in the Netherlands. She refuses to paint anything resembling a human and is content painting her Burrows and Badgers minis. I was able to convince her to paint these since they’re mostly fish and monsters.

The Reavers are the standard warriors of the Fomorians. The minis are Fomorians from Krakon Games. I absolutely adore these minis, as they come quite close to descriptions of the Fomorians: big, monstrous and only one eye. To be honest, Fomorians can be very diverse, but still! My wife painted the one with the two hand weapons. I painted the other two.

The Lúchorpáin (pronounced, more or less, LOO-khor-pahn). This is actually the earliest spelling for the creatures known nowadays as Leprechauns. The original meaning is ‘Small bodies’. In the earliest story they try to drag a sleeping king into a sea. The minis are Bucca from The Woods game, which were all painted by my wife. She gave each of them in a different colour scheme, using various fish occurring in the Irish Sea as inspiration. Sea if you recognise them from the third image!

This guy, for me at least, is perhaps the quintessential Fomorian: he has only one arm, one leg, one eye and one nipple. The mini is from Krakon Games and was painted by my wife.

The mini for the Fomorian Hero is the Sea Thane from the Red Book of the Elf King. I’m kinda pleased with this mini. It’s a pity that the silver shine of the webbed clothing isn’t really visible. This one was painted by me. Like the Milesian hero, it was painted with a black/white zenith followed by a normal acryllic paint job. I tried to paint the skin like the skin of a dog fish.

Next up to paint is the warband for the Túatha Dé faction!

If you want to see what Raiders of Éireann is all about and/or you’d like to play it:

• Download the Beta test Rules (v 0.10) here.
• Go to http://pwg.arlinus.com/ to visit the accompanying web app (best viewed on handheld device!).
• A walkthrough of the app is provided here.
• If you do decide to play a game, please consider filling out this feedback form afterwards

For the playtesting of Raiders of Éireann I’ve created three warband lists: one for each of the factions.

The first warband is for the Milesians:

• 1 Hero
• 7 Fanatics
• 3 Veterans
• 2 Salmon Warriors

The Milesians’ playstyle is intended to focus on overwhelming the enemy with numbers, supported by specialists. Fanatics are the cheapest warriors in the game. The Salmon Warriors are about as strong, but, thanks to their Salmon Leap ability, are able to jump over obstacles and get close with their deadly Death Spears. The Veterans are an armoured version of the Fanatics with Javelins. Since they are in the Medium Phase they have more time to weigh their options and make better choices.

They are all mere mortals, but can still pack a punch!

The Milesian warband is the embodiment of human fury, ready to wrest control of the Emerald Isle from the clutches of the immortal beings that now inhabit.

The minis for Fanatics are the Celtic Warriors from Warlord Games. I tried to paint these as fast as possible, although I did take the time to try my hand at some tattoos.

Since I dipped these, I had to paint them all a bit lighter. I’m glad that this worked out alright, since they were so brightly coloured that I got worried…

The mini for the Milesian Hero is from the Red Book of the Elf King range. I simply love this model and think that it didn’t turn out too bad. Whereas I dipped all of the other Milesian minis, this guy was basecoated with a black/white zenith and then just painted with regular old acrylics.

The minis for the Salmon Warriors are Shieldmaidens from Bad Squiddo Games. In Raiders of Éireannlore they weild barbed spears, but I used these because they are quite different from the Fanatic minis and I had them lying around. Also, the Salmon Warriors being women is a nod towards Scáthach, the female warrior that taught Cú Chullain to weild the Gáe Bulg; a barbed spear known for ripping its foes to shreds. The colours are inspired by the mighty salmon. I tried to draw a fish on the shields and I guess it looks alright as long as you don’t look too close. In fact: stand far away.

The Veterans are also from the Celtic Warrior box from Warlord Games. They look a bit like lumberjacks, if you ask me, but I’m happy with them. The tiny bird on the right guy’s helmet keeps breaking off by the way…

Again, if you want to see what Raiders of Éireann is all about and/or you’d like to play it:

• Download the Beta test Rules (v 0.10) here.
• Go to http://pwg.arlinus.com/ to visit the accompanying web app (best viewed on handheld device!).
• A walkthrough of the app is provided here.
• If you do decide to play a game, please consider filling out this feedback form afterwards

I started designing ‘Raiders of Éireann’ almost two years ago, when I’d recently become a father. I had come to feel that I would never have any time anymore to play any wargames, so I set myself the task to think up the fastest wargame possible. Now that I have the basics out there, I’m curious as to what others think of it.

In Raiders of Éireann players take control of a small warband of Iron Age warriors led by a mighty champion. With them they take part in skirmish warfare activities, such as cattle raids and plundering villages.

Raiders of Éireann is envisioned as a wargaming fix for people that find they don’t have the time anymore to play tabletop wargames like they used to. The game can, of course, be enjoyed by anyone who has a life often too busy for traditional wargames, or, of course, if they enjoy the challenge of a game of intense fast-paced skirmish warfare.

The key feature of PWG is that players have a limited amount of time to complete their turn. Each miniature has a specific number of seconds for movement, combat and any abilities. How many seconds depends on the miniature. A quick-witted faerie warrior will have much more time to weigh their options than a simple-minded brute, who has so little time that they are driven by little more than their base instincts.

The time for each action is tracked through an app. This app helps the players keep the game quick and short and puts pressure on them to let them feel some of the stress their warriors are under. It also allows players to influence the game by activating their heroes’ special powers.

• Download the Beta test Rules (v 0.10) here.
• Go to http://pwg.arlinus.com/ to visit the accompanying web app (best viewed on handheld device!).
• A walkthrough of the app is provided here.
• If you do decide to play a game, please consider filling out this feedback form afterwards 🙂