Painted by Steve Beckett.
When I first wrote The Barons’ War, I needed somebody to lead my own retinue. At the time I lived in the Vale of Belvoir, not far from Belvoir Castle, so William d’Aubigny seemed an obvious choice. I also liked his heraldry, which probably had as much influence on my decision as anything else.
I’ve stuck with William ever since.
He was one of the Twenty-Five Barons appointed to enforce Magna Carta in 1215, and when the agreement with King John collapsed, he found himself defending Rochester Castle against the King. According to Roger of Wendover, he led 140 knights into Rochester. After the siege he was captured and imprisoned at Corfe Castle, while Belvoir itself eventually surrendered to John. By 1217, William was back in royal service under Henry III.
It’s quite a story, and there’s plenty there to draw upon when playing The Barons’ War. William has already had a more eventful military career than most of my tabletop commanders can reasonably hope for, although I suspect I’ll still manage to get him into plenty of trouble.
I’ve recently returned to building my own retinue for Second Edition, and I thought I’d share how I’m approaching it, starting with the first 500 points.
What sort of retinue do I want?
My gaming group and I mostly play narrative-driven games. We like scenarios with a bit of background, where there’s a reason for the fighting beyond two groups of Warriors meeting in the middle of a field and trying to kill one another.
I haven’t built William’s force for a particular scenario, though. Nor am I attempting to recreate the troops he commanded at Rochester, which would be quite an undertaking if I wanted all 140 knights represented on the table.
Instead, I’m putting together the sort of retinue I can imagine accompanying him on campaign.
I usually build my retinues at 500, 750 and 1,000 points, knowing roughly what I want the finished force to look like before I start. This doesn’t mean every choice is fixed, but it helps me avoid spending points on something I’ll only end up replacing later. For now, I’m concentrating on getting a decent 500-point force together. I can worry about the Mounted Knights and additional commanders when I have more points to spend.
William and his household Knights
I always begin with the commander. In this case, William is a Baron accompanied by four Regular Knights, giving me a Command Group of five miniatures.
He’s equipped with a sword, mail and a medium shield. I’ve also chosen two optional Abilities, Formidable and Inspired Leader.
Formidable allows his Command Group to ignore the first successful casualty it suffers. I quite like having that additional protection, particularly as William is my only commander at 500 points. Losing his Group early would be inconvenient, to put it mildly.
Inspired Leader gives friendly Warriors who can see him +1 to their Morale checks. This is particularly useful because I’ve included quite a few Green Warriors, and their Morale isn’t exactly something I’d want to rely upon. It also feels like an appropriate Ability for William, a Baron who managed to persuade a considerable number of men to follow him into a castle that King John was determined to take.
I’ve also given William a Bannerman. I want a proper banner in the Group, which always looks good. It also extends his Command range to 12 inches, measured from the bannerman, and provides additional support to friendly Groups in combat.
His four Knights are equipped with maces, mail and medium shields. The maces are particularly useful because successful attacks prevent the enemy from making Shield rolls. I like having a few Warriors who can deal with heavily protected opponents, and this is where I’ve put them.
Together, William and his Knights cost 152 points. That’s a fair chunk of my allowance, but I want the Command Group to be capable of fighting rather than spending the whole game hiding behind the Serjeants.
A quick point about Command Group upgrades
There’s something worth clarifying here, because I’ve seen people misunderstand how these upgrades work.
When you purchase a Command Group upgrade, one of the existing Warriors in that Group represents it. You don’t add another miniature.
In William’s case, one of his four Knights carries the banner. He’s still a Knight, with the same profile and equipment as the others, but represents the Bannerman upgrade. William’s Command Group remains five miniatures, including himself.
There’s a worked example on page 43 of The Barons’ War: King John, where Richard fitzWalter leads six Knights. His Command Group includes a Pennant, Musician and Priest, represented by three of those six Warriors. The upgrades don’t increase the number of Knights in the Group.
I like this because it encourages you to make some interesting character miniatures. A musician or priest can look quite different from the Warriors around him, and there’s a gaming reason to identify which figure represents each upgrade. If that Warrior becomes a casualty, you lose the benefit.
Spending the remaining 348 points
With William’s household decided, I needed some Warriors to accompany him. I wanted enough separate Groups to give me a reasonable number of activations each round, without spending so much on cheap troops that I ended up with a retinue of Warriors incapable of winning a fight.
I started with six Regular Marksman Serjeants armed with crossbows. They cost 126 points, which is quite an investment, but I wanted some reliable missile troops. I’ve also given them Master Fletcher, increasing their Long range by 5 inches. Combined with their ability to shoot more than once in a round, they should make life uncomfortable for anyone who decides to stay out in the open.
Next are six Irregular Serjeants equipped with falchions, padded armour and medium shields. These cost 108 points and give me another Group prepared to get stuck into the fighting. The falchions are useful against opponents wearing lighter armour, and the shields give them a little more protection when things become unpleasant.
That leaves my Levy.
I’ve taken six with slings for 60 points and another six with hand weapons for 54 points. All twelve are Green Warriors, so I’ve comfortably exceeded the minimum 10% required for a Western European retinue.
Let’s not pretend they’re going to win many fights. The best I can reasonably hope for is that they serve as a speed bump when something expensive comes charging towards them. With a bit of luck, they’ll delay the enemy long enough for somebody more capable to come and help.
The slingers might prove to be a nuisance, though. Their Quick Shot Ability gives them the opportunity to generate additional Attacks if they haven’t moved, so there is at least the possibility of them surprising somebody. I’d quite enjoy that, particularly if it happened against a Group of Knights.
The Levy also give me two more Groups to activate each round. They can occupy ground, threaten an objective or simply force my opponent to spend an Action dealing with them. I don’t expect heroics, although I’ll happily take them if offered.
That brings me to 29 miniatures in five Groups, for exactly 500 points.
I’ve deliberately stuck with a single Command Group. There are risks in doing that, particularly if William gets himself killed, but I’d rather spend the points on a decent selection of Warriors at this stage. My second commander can join him when I reach 750 points.
Choosing the miniatures
There are now plenty of compatible Wargames Atlantic plastic sets for The Barons’ War. I can work out which Warriors I want in the retinue and then choose the miniatures and equipment to represent them, rather than trying to make an existing collection fit the army list.
I do occasionally find a miniature that makes me reconsider a Group. That’s part of the fun of collecting, and I’m certainly not going to pretend I’ve never bought something simply because I liked the look of it.
All 29 miniatures have now been painted by Steve Beckett, who’s done a lovely job with them. I normally give Steve an idea of the characters, heraldry and appearance I’m after, and then leave him to it. He’s a gamer himself, which helps enormously because he understands what I’m trying to achieve.
I’ve written separately for The Way We Play about why I no longer paint my own armies, although that article won’t be released for a few months yet. I still enjoy choosing the figures, deciding on conversions and working out how everything should look. And I particularly enjoy getting a finished commission back from Steve.
Looking at the photographs, I’m really pleased with how William’s first 500 points have come together. The different shields and clothing make the Serjeants and Levy look like a collection of men gathered from different places, while William and his Knights have a more distinctive appearance.
It looks like a medieval retinue, which is exactly what I wanted.
Where does William go next?
I’ve already worked out the next 500 points using the official army builder, but I’m going to add them in two stages.
At 750 points, William gains a second commander, a mounted Lord with four Mounted Knights, along with a Group of Bowmen. I’ll cover those additions in the next article, particularly why I’ve chosen to introduce Mounted Knights before Mounted Serjeants, which isn’t necessarily how I’d normally do it.
Once I’ve reached 1,000 points, I want to start collecting optional Groups that I can substitute when we’re playing particular scenarios. Militant monks are definitely on the list. I’ve been looking forward to getting some into my retinue, and I can think of plenty of situations where they’d be appropriate.
We’re also playing more Outremer Second Edition in my gaming group as we prepare for its release in 2027. I’ve started wondering whether William might decide to head for the Levant on a personal crusade.
It would be an entirely invented chapter of his life, but I rather like the idea. There would be new Warriors to recruit, different opponents to face and plenty of opportunities to give William a few more problems to deal with.
William has at least seen some fighting already. I took the 500-point retinue to the Britcon Doubles tournament, where Benedict and I finished third. We played three games that day, and those are still the only outings this retinue has had.
Not a bad start, but perhaps I should give William a few more games in England before sending him off on his holidays to the Levant.
Download my 500-point retinue
The full list from the official Barons’ War army builder, including points, equipment and Abilities.
DOWNLOAD THE 500-POINT RETINUE
PDF, 3 pages
When I first wrote The Barons’ War, I needed somebody to lead my own retinue. At the time I lived in the Vale of Belvoir, not far from Belvoir Castle, so William d’Aubigny seemed an obvious choice. I also liked his heraldry, which probably had as much influence on my decision as anything else.
I’ve stuck with William ever since.
He was one of the Twenty-Five Barons appointed to enforce Magna Carta in 1215, and when the agreement with King John collapsed, he found himself defending Rochester Castle against the King. According to Roger of Wendover, he led 140 knights into Rochester. After the siege he was captured and imprisoned at Corfe Castle, while Belvoir itself eventually surrendered to John. By 1217, William was back in royal service under Henry III.
It’s quite a story, and there’s plenty there to draw upon when playing The Barons’ War. William has already had a more eventful military career than most of my tabletop commanders can reasonably hope for, although I suspect I’ll still manage to get him into plenty of trouble.
I’ve recently returned to building my own retinue for Second Edition, and I thought I’d share how I’m approaching it, starting with the first 500 points.
What sort of retinue do I want?
My gaming group and I mostly play narrative-driven games. We like scenarios with a bit of background, where there’s a reason for the fighting beyond two groups of Warriors meeting in the middle of a field and trying to kill one another.
I haven’t built William’s force for a particular scenario, though. Nor am I attempting to recreate the troops he commanded at Rochester, which would be quite an undertaking if I wanted all 140 knights represented on the table.
Instead, I’m putting together the sort of retinue I can imagine accompanying him on campaign.
I usually build my retinues at 500, 750 and 1,000 points, knowing roughly what I want the finished force to look like before I start. This doesn’t mean every choice is fixed, but it helps me avoid spending points on something I’ll only end up replacing later. For now, I’m concentrating on getting a decent 500-point force together. I can worry about the Mounted Knights and additional commanders when I have more points to spend.
William and his household Knights
I always begin with the commander. In this case, William is a Baron accompanied by four Regular Knights, giving me a Command Group of five miniatures.
He’s equipped with a sword, mail and a medium shield. I’ve also chosen two optional Abilities, Formidable and Inspired Leader.
Formidable allows his Command Group to ignore the first successful casualty it suffers. I quite like having that additional protection, particularly as William is my only commander at 500 points. Losing his Group early would be inconvenient, to put it mildly.
Inspired Leader gives friendly Warriors who can see him +1 to their Morale checks. This is particularly useful because I’ve included quite a few Green Warriors, and their Morale isn’t exactly something I’d want to rely upon. It also feels like an appropriate Ability for William, a Baron who managed to persuade a considerable number of men to follow him into a castle that King John was determined to take.
I’ve also given William a Bannerman. I want a proper banner in the Group, which always looks good. It also extends his Command range to 12 inches, measured from the bannerman, and provides additional support to friendly Groups in combat.
His four Knights are equipped with maces, mail and medium shields. The maces are particularly useful because successful attacks prevent the enemy from making Shield rolls. I like having a few Warriors who can deal with heavily protected opponents, and this is where I’ve put them.
Together, William and his Knights cost 152 points. That’s a fair chunk of my allowance, but I want the Command Group to be capable of fighting rather than spending the whole game hiding behind the Serjeants.
A quick point about Command Group upgrades
There’s something worth clarifying here, because I’ve seen people misunderstand how these upgrades work.
When you purchase a Command Group upgrade, one of the existing Warriors in that Group represents it. You don’t add another miniature.
In William’s case, one of his four Knights carries the banner. He’s still a Knight, with the same profile and equipment as the others, but represents the Bannerman upgrade. William’s Command Group remains five miniatures, including himself.
There’s a worked example on page 43 of The Barons’ War: King John, where Richard fitzWalter leads six Knights. His Command Group includes a Pennant, Musician and Priest, represented by three of those six Warriors. The upgrades don’t increase the number of Knights in the Group.
I like this because it encourages you to make some interesting character miniatures. A musician or priest can look quite different from the Warriors around him, and there’s a gaming reason to identify which figure represents each upgrade. If that Warrior becomes a casualty, you lose the benefit.
Spending the remaining 348 points
With William’s household decided, I needed some Warriors to accompany him. I wanted enough separate Groups to give me a reasonable number of activations each round, without spending so much on cheap troops that I ended up with a retinue of Warriors incapable of winning a fight.
I started with six Regular Marksman Serjeants armed with crossbows. They cost 126 points, which is quite an investment, but I wanted some reliable missile troops. I’ve also given them Master Fletcher, increasing their Long range by 5 inches. Combined with their ability to shoot more than once in a round, they should make life uncomfortable for anyone who decides to stay out in the open.
Next are six Irregular Serjeants equipped with falchions, padded armour and medium shields. These cost 108 points and give me another Group prepared to get stuck into the fighting. The falchions are useful against opponents wearing lighter armour, and the shields give them a little more protection when things become unpleasant.
That leaves my Levy.
I’ve taken six with slings for 60 points and another six with hand weapons for 54 points. All twelve are Green Warriors, so I’ve comfortably exceeded the minimum 10% required for a Western European retinue.
Let’s not pretend they’re going to win many fights. The best I can reasonably hope for is that they serve as a speed bump when something expensive comes charging towards them. With a bit of luck, they’ll delay the enemy long enough for somebody more capable to come and help.
The slingers might prove to be a nuisance, though. Their Quick Shot Ability gives them the opportunity to generate additional Attacks if they haven’t moved, so there is at least the possibility of them surprising somebody. I’d quite enjoy that, particularly if it happened against a Group of Knights.
The Levy also give me two more Groups to activate each round. They can occupy ground, threaten an objective or simply force my opponent to spend an Action dealing with them. I don’t expect heroics, although I’ll happily take them if offered.
That brings me to 29 miniatures in five Groups, for exactly 500 points.
I’ve deliberately stuck with a single Command Group. There are risks in doing that, particularly if William gets himself killed, but I’d rather spend the points on a decent selection of Warriors at this stage. My second commander can join him when I reach 750 points.
Choosing the miniatures
There are now plenty of compatible Wargames Atlantic plastic sets for The Barons’ War. I can work out which Warriors I want in the retinue and then choose the miniatures and equipment to represent them, rather than trying to make an existing collection fit the army list.
I do occasionally find a miniature that makes me reconsider a Group. That’s part of the fun of collecting, and I’m certainly not going to pretend I’ve never bought something simply because I liked the look of it.
All 29 miniatures have now been painted by Steve Beckett, who’s done a lovely job with them. I normally give Steve an idea of the characters, heraldry and appearance I’m after, and then leave him to it. He’s a gamer himself, which helps enormously because he understands what I’m trying to achieve.
I’ve written separately for The Way We Play about why I no longer paint my own armies, although that article won’t be released for a few months yet. I still enjoy choosing the figures, deciding on conversions and working out how everything should look. And I particularly enjoy getting a finished commission back from Steve.
Looking at the photographs, I’m really pleased with how William’s first 500 points have come together. The different shields and clothing make the Serjeants and Levy look like a collection of men gathered from different places, while William and his Knights have a more distinctive appearance.
It looks like a medieval retinue, which is exactly what I wanted.
Where does William go next?
I’ve already worked out the next 500 points using the official army builder, but I’m going to add them in two stages.
At 750 points, William gains a second commander, a mounted Lord with four Mounted Knights, along with a Group of Bowmen. I’ll cover those additions in the next article, particularly why I’ve chosen to introduce Mounted Knights before Mounted Serjeants, which isn’t necessarily how I’d normally do it.
Once I’ve reached 1,000 points, I want to start collecting optional Groups that I can substitute when we’re playing particular scenarios. Militant monks are definitely on the list. I’ve been looking forward to getting some into my retinue, and I can think of plenty of situations where they’d be appropriate.
We’re also playing more Outremer Second Edition in my gaming group as we prepare for its release in 2027. I’ve started wondering whether William might decide to head for the Levant on a personal crusade.
It would be an entirely invented chapter of his life, but I rather like the idea. There would be new Warriors to recruit, different opponents to face and plenty of opportunities to give William a few more problems to deal with.
William has at least seen some fighting already. I took the 500-point retinue to the Britcon Doubles tournament, where Benedict and I finished third. We played three games that day, and those are still the only outings this retinue has had.
Not a bad start, but perhaps I should give William a few more games in England before sending him off on his holidays to the Levant.
Download my 500-point retinue
The full list from the official Barons’ War army builder, including points, equipment and Abilities.
DOWNLOAD THE 500-POINT RETINUE
PDF, 3 pages
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