The Second Battle of Moytura
Mythological Irish Lists for 'Hordes of the Things'
By Alan Saunders
These lists allow 'Hordes of the Things' to be used to recreate the Second Battle of Moytura, an epic struggle chronicled in the Irish mythological cycle, 'The Book of Invasions'. 'The Book of Invasions' purports to give a history of the various peoples that settled Ireland, their heroes and gods and their conflicts with each other. A useful summary of 'The Book of Invasions' can be found here.
The Second Battle of Moytura was fought between the Tuatha De Danaan and what seem to be the villains of the cycle, the Formorians. An account of the battle, and the events leading up to it can be found here. This account has been used to construct the following army lists for the battle.
Tuatha De Danaan
|
1 |
Hero General @ 4AP |
(Lugh Long-Arm in chariot) |
4 |
|
1 |
Hero @ 4AP |
(Nuada Silver-Hand in chariot) |
4 |
|
1 |
Magician @ 4AP |
(Sorcerors, witches, druids and satirists) |
4 |
|
2 |
Knights @ 2AP |
(Lesser heroes, such as Ogma in chariots) |
4 |
|
2 |
Blades @ 2AP |
(Lesser heroes on foot) |
4 |
|
4 |
Hordes @ 1AP |
(Other warriors) |
4 |
Options: Behemoth @ 4AP (The Dagda)
The Tuatha De Danaan had more heroes in their army than can be adequately represented by a 24AP HOTT army. Lugh is classed as the general, as although not the king he seemed to inspire the army in battle. Nuada Silver-Hand was the king, so is included as the other Hero, although other named characters could be substituted instead. The Tuatha De Danaan made much use of offensive magic to disrupt the Formorian army, so include a Magician element. The ordinary warriors are classed as Hordes, as part of the De Danaan victory was attributed to the work of Diancecht, Credne and others in repairing weapons and healing the wounded. Thus, their warriors were able to return to the fray.
The Dagda perfromed prodigious feats, many of which were associated with his tremendous size. He may be included as a Behemoth if desired.
Formorians
|
1 |
Magician General @ 4AP |
(Balor) |
4 |
|
2 |
Blades @ 2AP |
(Formorian Heroes on foot) |
4 |
|
6 |
Spears @ 2AP |
(Formorian Warriors) |
12 |
|
2 |
Warbands @ 2AP |
(Islemen Mercenaries) |
4 |
Options: Riders @ 2AP (Scythians), Hero @ 4AP (Bres)
The Formorian warriors are classified as Spears, rather than Warband or Hordes, as at one stage attacking their army is described as like hitting one's head against a cliff. Spears gives the army this 'immovable object' characteristic that other troop types lack. None of the Formorian heroes seem to have shone in this battle, indeed few are mentioned apart from Bres, so they are relegated to Blades. Bres may be upgraded as an option, but there is no mention of any battlefield prowess on his part in the account of the battle. There appears to be no reference to Formorian chariots, so none have been included. Balor led the Formorian army, and is described as having a single eye, the gaze of which could slay whole armies. The lid was so heavy that four men were needed to open it, using a pulley and handle system. He slew Nuada Silver-Hand with this eye, but was killed by Lugh with a sling-shot.
The Formorians marched with mercenaries from the Isles and beyond. These wilder, less civilised folk are classed as Warband. The account also mentions Skythians, so these are included as an option.
General Notes
Figures for the Tuatha De Danaan are easily found from historical ranges; just use the figures you would normally use for a pre-Christian Irish army. Magicians and/or druids can be found in a number of ranges. Formorians are harder to determine correct figures for. They are described as monstrous, as giants, as goblins, and all sorts of things in between. However, they also seem to give birth to human offspring, so may have been human in appearance as well. The bottom line is that you could use just about anything. Three options seem to suggest themselves, though. The first is to use the same sort of figures as you would for the Tuatha De Danaan, and assume that the 'monster' appealations are just propaganda. The second is to treat them as a goblins and use appropriate figures (try some not-to-fantastic orcs or equivalent). The third is to go the whole hog and use some sort of humanoid monsters to really bring out the differences. I have opted for this approach, and will be using Fishmen from 'Evil Gong', as the Formorians are described as sea raiders, amongst other things. The mercenaries should be human whatever the makeup of the rest of the army.