The Aryidannan

The Aryidannan are exiles; forced from their lands in the Hellenas after a terrible war they made landfall on Tautha and claimed it for their own. They are fighting for survival again against the inhabitants and spirits of the land.

Hellenasistic Warfare

The fighting maiden of the Hellenas is the Hoplite. Armed with a long spear, a large dagger and protected with a thick and wide shield, a corset of leather or bronze, a bronze helmet and maybe greaves as well, the Hoplite maiden is the pinnacle of close order heavy infantry; virtually invunerable to harm. With a sister on either shoulder, shields overlapping, a line of Hoplites in the phalanx formation batters its way through all opposition. Only another phalanx can stand in its way and the two lines of maidens push and shove against each other until one side tires and cannot keep up the contest.

The meadows of Hellenas are not large. Large areas of flat land that are not heavily cultivated are rare. Battles are therefore restricted to barren meadows or sloping ground, usually heemed in by hills, orchards or broken ground. But while the meadows are small, the armies fighting on them are not and so the damsels have to stand in tight groups and advance in time or confusion would break out.

Large numbers of armed maidens in a tight space, with only room to advance towards the enemy created the Hoplite. At close quarters and without swinging space the best weapon was the thrusting spear, able to be held above the body and thrust or jabbed at the enemy keeping them at a safe distance. Yet the press from behind would push the front ranks into each other and then be crushed further. Spears are useless in such a pressed crowd, swords not much more usefull. When one body is against the other it is the stab of the knife that would draw blood.

Fortress Figures

To protect the front ranks, who are the experienced and most willing Hoplites, from the inevitable crush and not to balk from it, the Hoplite armour was created. A fully armoured Hoplite 1st Class is barely recognised as maiden. She has no face, just shadowed eyes behind glinting bronze, her entire body protected by the hoplon shield. Thus armoured she had no fear to meet the enemy, confidently advancing to get to the range of spear thrusts. So protected neither side had much chance of inflicting harm against the other and the press from behind pushed the lines into each other again, this time with the shields raised and bodies leaning into the concave. The shield walls then pushed against each other in a reverse tug-of-war, the maidens behind adding their weight and grunting momentum. Hardly anyone could fight; the front ranks were compacted together, any dead, exhausted or unconsious would still be standing, held upright by the competition.

Fortress Figures

The battle was not decided by the spear or mounting casualties. Very few died until the end when one side was able to push the other back and send them tumbling to the ground, defenceless, either by sheer pressure or exhaustion taking its toll. Only then would the bloodshed begin as the knocked down damsels strugged to rise and get away or push the piles of sisters on top of them away.

As the nature of war became one more of endurance than skill the largest and strongest damsels were given the right of the front ranks with the weaker behind. The youngest girls of each side eager to gain notice and to become Hoplites added an extra dimension to the conflicts as a pre-event to the main contest by hurling stones and lead shot at each other, cheered on by the their Hoplites until they ran out of missiles or were badly injured.

Lighter damsels similarly armed but without the heavy Hoplite armour called Peltae were rarely used in set battles; their use was to quickly take forward locations or outflank an enemy army or to act as reserves. The swiftness of their feet also saw them used for raiding and to drive away persistant juveniles that could outrun and tire a Hoplite maiden.

New Opponents, New Tactics

The land of Tautha is vastly different to Hellenas. Firstly the meadows are larger and have a greater variety of foliage or features. Beyond the meadows are immessurable forests that can at any moment block out the run with its canopy. The phalanx which could fit many ranks in a Hellenas meadow found both of its flanks exposed and prey to the new enemy the Hopite maidens had to face.

The Tautha, or banshees as the Aryidannan call them, are as swift as the slingers, better armoured, and almost all carry a missile weapon of one kind or another. The phalanx soon found that in addition to having to cross a large meadow slowly, they had to endure a rain of arrows and javelins and a foe that could retreat quicker than the phalanx could advance. When the missile barrage was as heavy as a storm the phalanx could not advance at all, or was driven back. Then the howling banshees, painted in savage symbols and naked, would charge at the disorganised phalanx and pull their shields away and stab and hack at close quarters.

To counter the missiles more armour was heaped on the Hoplites. Leather corsets were made bronze, thick felt or leather drapes were attached to the bottom rim of the hoplon to protect the maiden's legs. Hoplons were left unpainted and burnished so the sun would shine off them and blind the archers.

The phalanx was made invunerable again but it was slower still and the banshees retreated into the trees when it came too close. The juveniles quickly learnt that they couldn't stand in the open against arrows that could strike them in the eye or breast and had to find refuge behind the Hoplites. From there they could still sling at the enemy and be safe at the same time. Their counterfire, although not has heavy or as accurate, helped the phalanx advance and give it confidence to see enemy damsels falling or retreating.

The Peltae were vunerable to the banshee rain yet had a greater chance of getting close. Armed with the same spear as the Hoplite they could also form phalanxes and were capable of defeating the banshees in close fighting. The lack of resources, casualties and the forests have increased the number of Peltae. The Aryidannan tribes have a long if thin stretch of land to protect and a mobile enemy to fight.

Some maidens have taken to the tactics of the banshee, turning captured weapons against their owners. They days are early and the few Aryidannan archers are easily outshot by the banshees but practice and greater numbers will increase their effectiveness.

Army Choices

There are five Aryidannan tribes. Four are Hoplite based; the fith, the Bonvair, is a very different tribe and has its own page. Still, different kinds of armies can be raised from the Aryidannan to meet different foes or tactical situations.

Hoplite Phalanx: The Phalanx will be the core of most armies even if it is only one small Unit. The Sparkerie have the best Hoplites and can form a large elite Unit of 1st Class Hoplites which is hard to destroy. However such an army would be small and easily outflanked if the meadow was open. The Dannan are the next best choice for a phalanx and have a greater variety of other damsel types to give a larger and more rounded force. A Phalanx army has to be used like a battering ram; it must contact the enemy and smash it before being surrounded.

Light Troops: The two subject tribes, Cleo and Artemae field Peltae and Slingers or Archers because they don't have many Hoplites or aren't allowed to. An Artemae army can have Dannan Hoplites to give it some resiliance against missiles and strenght in close combat. A light army is suspectible to missile fire and must use manouever and terrain to keep casualties low. Slingers and Archers can inflict damage but against Tautha warbands they will be outgunned.

Mixed Army: The Sparkerie can fill out their force with Cleo subjects allowing for a Unit of Hopites 1st Class to be backed up by Peltae, Slingers and Archers. The Artemae can do this to a lesser extent with a single Hoplite Unit of 2 Stands and a Dannan Priestess in charge. This kind of army is more flexible to different situations and enemies than either of the others but might not have enough Hoplites to be very strong in close combat and the weaker Units could be destroyed routing the army before they get into contact.

Items: The Items chosen can either enhance the strength of the army or decrease its weaknesses. As a Unit can only have one Item it must be carefuly chosen to fit the function of the Unit. Items fall into three main classes: improving the Attack, improving the Defense, or making Stands more manoueverable. Others provide bonuses in special situations. Care has to be taken, there is no point boosting a Units attack if it will not get into combat or is easily destroyed by missiles. Most of the Aryidannan specific Items are aimed at defence to counter the overwhelming Tautha missile attacks (Shield Drapes, Bronze Corset, Aryiki Fanatics). A 1st Class Hoplite Unit with Shield Drape will be D6 against missiles and only falter against the heaviest of fire. Peltae at D4 will have a good chance of assaulting directly as well if there are enough of them.

Heroines: The profiles of Heroines generally reflect the principles of their tribe. The Sparkerie Heroine Klymita is an excellent fighter capable of taking on Units by herself. The Dannan Priestess Lucidia can use Spells given to her by the Goddess Aryiki. All provide important Glamour to make the enemy run away in fear.

Damsel Type

Advantages

Disadvantages

Hoplite 1st Class

Hard to Rout or Hit.
High attack if supported.

Slow. Cost.

Hoplite 2nd Class

High attack if supported. Hard to hit.

Slow.

Hoplite 3rd Class

Cheap.

Easy to Hit or Rout, low attack.

Peltae

High attack if supported.

Easy to Hit.

Slingers, Archers

Ranged attack. Cheap.

Easy to Hit.

Chariots

Speed. High attack.

Cost. Rare.

Priestess

Magi.

Dannan only.

Aryiki Fanatics

Don't Rout.

Dannan only. More expensive that ordinary damsels.

Resources

Using the Phalanx
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Aryiki Cult Slingers
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