Asoka
Army Lists for ‘Hordes of the Things’
By Alan Saunders
I have finally
sat down with my DVD of 'Asoka'
and worked out a couple of army lists for the climactic final battle.
'Asoka'
(pronounced throughout the film as 'A-shok') tells the story of a 3rd century
BC Indian prince, Asoka, who is exiled from his kingdom and travels disguised
as a simple warrior. Boy meets girl, except that girl is a princess, Kaurwaki,
on the run, and so on and so forth. Anyway, he gets his kingdom back and ends
up at war with the princess's kingdom. And so we end up with a big battle;
thousands of extras, choreographed sword-fighting and elephants. Lots of
elephants.
On to the lists.
Both armies are pretty similar, but will be dealt with separately.
Army of Maghada
Stronghold:
Indian city gateway
|
Hero general (Asoka armed with demon sword and whip) @
4AP |
1 |
|
Knights (Overconfident horsemen) @ 2AP |
4 |
|
Shooters
(Archers) @ 2AP |
2 |
|
Hordes (Foot soldiers) @ 1AP |
4 |
|
Behemoth (Elephants)
@ 4AP |
1 |
Alternatives:
Lurkers or Water Lurkers (Various stratagems) @ 1AP
Maghada is
Asoka's kingdom and its banner is a golden tiger on a
white field. The army tends towards red clad warriors with white turbans.
Asoka should be
depicted riding a horse and wielding a huge sword reminiscent of Elric's
Stormbringer. Indeed it is described as a 'demon sword' and as wanting to taste
blood, whether it be that of a friend or foe. The whip appears a couple of
times in the film, and is a rather unfeasible object consisting of two long
strips of metal attached to a handle. It looks good, but whether it is
practical as a weapon is anyone’s guess?
Maghada horsemen
are classed as knights because they charge impetuously towards the enemy army.
Their overconfidence is their undoing, of course as the enemy have some nasty
surprises waiting for them.
Foot soldiers are
armed with swords or spear, and carry a small shield. They also charge wildly,
so could be warband, but there a thousands of them and, frankly it is obvious
in the film that they are there as filler. Three comedy guards who appear
throughout the film should be put at the front of the horde element most likely
to die. The only foot that have any effect are the archers, so they get some
elements of their own.
Maghada elephants
appear towards the end of the battle.
The alternatives
represent stratagems employed against another kingdom earlier in the film. One
of them is straight out of Spartacus; I'll leave you to work out which.
Army of Kalinga
Stronghold:
Indian city gateway
|
Rider general (Cunning old general with white beard) @
2AP |
1 |
|
Behemoths (Lots of elephants) @ 4AP |
2 |
|
Riders
(Horsemen) |
2 |
|
Shooters (Archers) |
2 |
|
Hordes (Foot soldiers and enraged peasants) |
6 |
Alternatives:
Sneaker (Assassin) @ 3AP
Kalinga is the
arch enemy of Maghada, and the home of Princess Kaurwaki (who has no idea that
the psychotic Asoka is the handsome warrior she loves. Oh, the irony). Their
flag is a gold sun on a blue ground, and their
soldiers tend towards black clothing with blue turbans.
Their horsemen
are more cunning and engage in hit and run, so are classed as riders.
Kalinga makes
great use of their elephants, having them turn up on time, so they get more
than Maghada. They don't have a hero, so probably need the help as well. They
certainly form an impressive battle-line with them, which you couldn't do with
one element.
Again, the
archers shine amongst the regular foot, so are an element by themselves. The
other foot are hordes, but at least a couple of elements should be peasants
armed with farm implements, and led by Princess Kaurwaki
herself. Some of the figures can be the sword-armed
maiden guard that appear in one scene.
The sneaker
represents various attempts throughout the film to assassinate Asoka. Even
before the main part of the film starts we are told that eleven attempts have
been made on his life, and a number are made during the course of the film. One
takes place in the middle of a battle, justifying an on-table sneaker.
Special rule: In order to reflect the source material,
every three bounds both players should engage in a lively song and dance
routine for five or so minutes. Having done so, return to the mayhem and
slaughter. In practice they should only communicate in Hindi or via subtitles.
Figures: The film is set in the 3rd century BC so, as you can
guess, figures suitable for that period are no good at all. This is a film for
goodness sake, not a history lesson. Go for figures with crescent swords,
pajamas and turbans and you should be about right. Asoka wears his hair loose
and, oddly enough, the closest figure I can think of is the mounted elf general
in the Peter Pig army pack. He'd need to be given a big sword, though.