NEW RELEASE: Pillage: Carolingian Franks and a little extra - Victrix Ltd.

Hail Mighty Readers, Followers of the Luck Gods Math Rocks, 

Hailing from Cumbria, I try to keep an eye out on companies who are bringing out something not only fab but something that a lot of Wargaming/TTRPG people can get behind.   

Today, Victrix Limited, creator of the Wargame Pillage, (and based in Kendal), have released yesterday, the brand new Carolingian Franks, both armoured and unarmoured infantry.  

Here's what they had to say in their own words:

Carolingian Armoured & Unarmoured Infantry sets are now shipping!

​​The Franks are finally here! This range represents Carolingian and Frankish warriors from the 8th to the 11th centuries, filling a huge gap in Dark Age plastic miniatures. 

​The unarmoured infantry started shipping last week, and as promised, the armoured guys were right behind them. 

The Carolingian Empire was one of the great powers of early medieval Europe, reaching its height under Charlemagne, who united much of Western and Central Europe and was crowned Emperor in A.D. 800. His reign helped shape the political and military landscape of medieval Europe for centuries to come.

These armoured warriors can represent elite Carolingian infantry or dismounted cavalry. They wear a varied selection of armour, including mail, scale and lamellar, all of which are known to have been used by Carolingian troops.

​Weapons include stout spears, many with the distinctive cross guard below the spearhead, along with knives, hand axes and swords. Carolingian swords were highly prized for their quality, combining strength with lightness and excellent craftsmanship.

Clothing typically consisted of a long-sleeved tunic with contrasting decorative borders, often worn with a cloak. Leg bindings were common, while contemporary artwork also depicts the distinctive Carolingian "tulip" style boots.

With a few shield swaps, these figures can also be mixed easily with Victrix Saxons, Vikings and Normans, giving you even more variety for your Dark Age armies. They also work extremely well in fantasy games and settings.

These can be purchased wherever you buy your normal miniatures from or if you prefer, directly from Victrix themselves here.

Our Special Pick

Finally on a separate note, finding quality animals for your TTRPG games can be a real nightmare, Victrix themselves have produced a pack of farm animals that are not only detailed but also fairly priced alongside being printed on sprues.  

Medieval Farm Animals

Drive off your enemy’s livestock or defend your farm from raiders.
This set contains a huge selection of Dark Age and Medieval farm animals perfect for Pillage scenarios, objectives, or adding life and realism to your tabletop. Ideal as lootable livestock in Pillage or as scenery for any historical or fantasy wargame.

What’s included?

104 Farm Animals:

• 16 Sheep
• 8 Goats
• 4 Donkeys
• 4 Horses
• 4 Calves
• 8 Cows
• 20 Chickens
• 24 Geese
• 4 Piglets
• 4 Sows
• 4 Pigs
• 4 Lambs

The livestock animals of the Dark Ages and Medieval periods looked quite different to the breeds we have today which have constantly been tampered with to create animals that provide higher yields of meat and milk for farmers. So we had to do quite bit of research into what animals were available in the 8th to 12th centuries and what are the closest references we have available.

The sheep breed we chose is the Jacobs sheep. It was introduced to Britain by the Romans. It is a small breed only coming up to the knees on a human. But it was a hardy animal which was well suited to the wet Western European climate. We have some females a lamb and also a ram to keep the sheep happy!

The Goat breed is an Old English primitive goat and date back to around 3000BC. It is a small breed but very hardy and suited to cold and rough environments and has spectacular horns.

For the Horse we chose a Breton horse breed. Very much akin to the English shire horse in being bulky and full of muscle and very suited to agricultural work.

For Cows we went back to the Highland cow for reference which is a close relative of early domesticated cattle. It is short but stocky and very hardy for harsh winters and produces good milk and meat. We created a little family with a Cow, Bull and little lowing calf.

Lastly we have the pigs. These were a bit tricky to research. Medieval pigs tended to be more closely related to the wild Boar and had longer snouts, longer legs and were hairier. Thankfully we found a farm that is retro breeding pigs back towards the Boar to create a more Medieval and Iron Age breed. These were ideal for reference and we created a Sow, Boar and piglet family.

All the best,

ThunderMouser