Tuesday 28 July 2015

Shia Khan Empire in Patrol Angis free PDF download


A thousand years ago the Ban of Prejudice was lifted when in the climactic battle for Aldan IV the accursed Templars detonated the Aldan Crucible and in doing so created a both a dark age and the end of the Great Khanate War. Their matter gateway in the Aldan system destroyed the Shia Khan Empire had no easy way to reach the worlds that became the Prydian Precinct as their empire lay so far away that no Dragon Ship could navigate to that region of space without immense difficulty. Gradually the Shia Khan became a memory and then a legend held by folk as a tale and nothing more. Had it not been for the occasional wreak and discovery of artefacts they would have remained that way. Had it not been for Hugo Sevaris the Khanate would have faded away. But Sevaris became the most notorious traitor in human history when he used arcane knowledge to activate the matter gateway in the Camarthen star system.

Despite a desperate action in the deep Belkus Labyrinth the Camarthen Planetary Militia with the aid of the few hundred Retained Knights of Prydia on the planet could not stem a tide of Shia Khan troops which emerged from the purple light of the matter gateway. A civilian fusion reactor taken from a nearby city was detonated and the Belkus Labyrinth destroyed burying the gateway and those coming from it under hundreds of feet of stone and earth. A message was sent to New Glastonbury at the fastest possible speed.

"A matter gateway is active on Camarthen IV. Losses are mounting, send everything; everyone. Send them now. The Khanate have returned."

It did not take long for the Legions of the Shia Khan Empire to dig their way to the surface and begin once more their determined drive to conquer mankind.
Knight General Obermann. Fleet Command. 4329IC


Here we are today is the day and seventeen pages of free awesome are yours for the download. Thanks to everyone who has registered their interest in this free resource PDF for Patrol Angis we have already emailed the download link to you all first thing today.  The Ion Age is delighted to present to you The Shia Khan Empire in Patrol Angis as a seventeen page PDF which contains fiction, statistics, tables, rank structure and optional test rules along with some photos of our play testing of the rules using the miniatures.  You will need the Patrol Angis book but aside from that all you need is in the PDF.

You can download the free PDF from our Dropbox account by clicking on this link HERE. Enjoy!


There will be a very large expansion to the Khanate when the time comes that their book is ready but this is in the future so for now you have all you need for infantry skirmish using the 15mm scale range as it is right now in Patrol Angis.  Your choice of different troop types be it Legionaries, power armoured Nox, huge Warlords or space goblin Maligs.  There are already more than one hundred and fifteen different Khanate miniatures in 15mm scale and you can see them HERE.

I hope you enjoy this PDF and if you have questions or feedback please do make contact with us.


Now the month will be ending soon which means you have only got a few days to place your monthly order to get everything we have released since the start of July.  I also suggest you sign up for our Mailchimp mailing list (link on right top of blog) for the monthly special email only offer. You will get the immensely popular IMP23 Vending Bot free automatically in your order plus you can also purchase more of it if you wish.  We have shipped out more of the Vending Bot than any other IMP miniature since last year!  


If you are a fan of the Prydian Army of Marcher Barons then you will be keen on our new IAFP02 Retained Lance platoon pack which contains all you need for a force in Patrol Angis and a unique extra free miniature (Retained Strategist) as well.  


In Patrol Angis we outline troop elements and the movement trays you can use with them so this month we released not only eight different sizes with IAF077 Troop Element Trays but also two different sizes of round bases used by Infantry, Battlesuits, Bikes and Portable Weapons with IAF078 20mm Round Bases and IAF079 30mm Round Bases.  We also first looked the coming Retained Female Banneret and Year Two Collection both of which are coming in August.  Finally remember that by placing an order with us you will sign up for an account with the website and that means you get Reward Points in all purchases and the free monthly miniature too.  These points can be used any time to get free products and discounts on orders. 

Thanks for Reading.

GBS

Friday 24 July 2015

Free Shia Khan Empire booklet for Patrol Angis next week!


In defence of a small outpost in a remote but important region of Carmarthen Prime a lance of Retained Knights from the Prydian Army prepare to face the final assault of far greater numbers of Legionaries from the Styx Legion. The outpost contains a data terminal with the co-ordinates of several hidden space capable transports that the Khanate are desperate to gain possession of in order to get off the planet. The Khanate must be stopped! 


Next week before the end of the month The Ion Age will be placing online a free booklet for download. This booklet will contain all the needed statistics tables for using the existing forces of the 15mm scale Shia Khan Empire with the Patrol Angis 15mm skirmish rules. These tables will cover armour, weapons, troop types, troop element structures, ranks and more along with background information on the Khanate and pictures of the miniatures from our play testing of the new statistics and optional new rules in the booklet. At more than a dozen pages its tremendous for something free and paves the way for the Khanate Returns book which is going to be our third title. 
The images in this posting are from the booklet and are in the heat of battle. Below is a reproduction of the main image giving the codes of the miniatures and terrain pieces you can see as we are often being asked this of our images as some of them now contain many different codes. An experiment if you will. 


Roll on next week! 

Thanks for Reading. 

GBS

Monday 20 July 2015

Beightons Shipyard blog first impressions of Patrol Angis


A good friend of mine and one of the first fans of the new Ion Age has put up his first impressions of Patrol Angis on his wargaming blog. Mark Burgess has a fine collection of our miniatures and was looking forward to getting his hands upon the book that backed them up. Go HERE to read his thoughts. Kind words and thanks Mark! 

We are nearing the end of the second print run of Patrol Angis and we are really pleased with the reception the book and its game pack have had across the web and the world. This is all good news and inspires us into greater efforts in the future. You can find Patrol Angis on our website HERE

Duxis Battlesuits take on Khanate Warlords!
Currently we are putting the finishing touches to the big and free PDF for using Shia Khan Empire miniatures in your games of Patrol Angis. Maligs, Legionaries, Pioneers, Nox and Warlords all keen to chew up the Prydian Army. An introduction to their armed forces and their ways along with statistics for weapons, armour, troops and platoons (Ordos). Yours for free before the end of the month by download. Watch this space! 

Thanks for Reading. 

GBS

Thursday 16 July 2015

Troop Element Trays and Round Bases Released!


Now released for Patrol Angis and any other 15mm wargame system our full range of resin IAF077 Troop Element Trays and two sizes of round resin bases (IAF078,IAF079). Great products, excellent value and very useful too.  Mount your miniatures on the bases for skirmishing and then assemble your Fire-Teams and Squads into Troop Elements. Along with last week's IAFP02 Retained Lance these are all our releases for July 2015 and remember IMP23 Vending Bot is free in every order automatically.  Read on for more information.


To make full use of your miniatures they will need support.  I don't mean infantry supporting infantry or battlesuits supporting portable weapons or bikes or any other Ion Age pack I mean of course a base for the model to stand upon.  We have two new packs of bases in the sizes of 20mm round for Infantry and 30mm round for Bikes and Battlesuits.  


We also have eight different Troop Element Bases into which you can place your miniatures on their own bases creating 'Troop Elements' in Patrol Angis.  Each with the slots to hold our miniature bases and with a textured upper surface. Excellent!  


IAF077 Troop Element Bases
Here are the sizes and other details for each Troop Element Base along with a picture.  These are on one page of our website and you select your choice of types from the drop down menu on that page. Full instructions and more are there.  Prices are 2.00GBP to 5.0GBP per pack with different numbers of bases in each code.  Essentially it works out at 0.25GBP per slot in the surface of the base.  Go HERE.

IAF077A Troop Element Base (Two 20mm Round Slots) (Four per Pack)

IAF077B Troop Element Base (Three 20mm Round Slots) (Four per Pack)

IAF077C Troop Element Base (Four 20mm Round Slots) (Four per Pack)

IAF077D Troop Element Base (Five 20mm Round Slots) (Four per Pack)

IAF077E Troop Element Base (Eight 20mm Round Slots) (Two per Pack)

IAF077F Troop Element Base (Ten 20mm Round Slots) (Two per Pack)

IAF077G Troop Element Base for Portable Weapons
(Two 20mm Round and One 20mm Round Slots) (Four per Pack)

IAF077H Troop Element Base for Battlesuits and Bikes
(Three 30mm Round Slots) (Four per Pack)

Go HERE.


IAF078 20mm Round Bases
40 Resin Bases of 20mm Diameter and a 3mm Thickness. This pack contains forty resin bases 20mm round. These bases are ideal for use with 15mm scale miniatures and are used for Infantry in Patrol Angis.  They are the ones used in the pictures of our miniatures on the website.  These fit perfectly with our range of IAF077 Troop Element Bases. You can choose one pack or by clicking on the product box use the drop down menu to select 'Buy Three Packs and Save 10%' option.  Go HERE.


IAF079 30mm Round Bases
20 Resin Bases of 30mm Diameter and a 3mm Thickness. This pack contains twenty resin bases 30mm round. These bases are ideal for use with 15mm scale miniatures and are used for Bikes, Battlesuits and Portable Weapons in Patrol Angis.  They are the ones used in the pictures of our miniatures on the website.  These fit perfectly with our range of IAF077 Troop Element Bases. You can choose one pack or by clicking on the product box use the drop down menu to select 'Buy Three Packs and Save 10%' option. Go HERE.


Information Burst
This is our last releases for July 2015 so if you are planning your order its cool from now on until end of the month you won't miss anything (and you get the excellent IMP23 Vending Bot free in your order automatically).  Come August there will be more at The Ion Age.  We had our first glance of what the Year Two Collection will have it (minus August 2015) this week and its coming next month with the set of twelve former monthly free miniatures just like in our first year.  End of this month we will have another PDF for Patrol Angis and this time it will be all about The Shia Khan Empire and giving game statistics for the miniatures in that part of our website for the game.  One of the greatest threats to Humanity in the whole galaxy the Khanate will feature more and more as time passes here. Additionally if you have not already signed up for our Mailchimp mailing list you should (its the top right box on our blog home page and its free) as loyal IonFans who are on the list now have access to a ruddy good monthly deal only seen there and its proving popular.  Thanks for your custom and for the kind words about our products we do appreciate it. Finally remember that by placing an order with us you will sign up for an account with the website and that means you get Reward Points in all purchases and the free monthly miniature too.  These points can be used any time to get free products and discounts on orders. 

Thanks for Reading.

GBS

Tuesday 14 July 2015

Coming Soon...The Year Two Collection

The Year Two Collection...well nearly!
The Ion Age is going to be two years old next month and as with last year (has it been a year already!) at we are going to mark the new month of August 2015 with a new free monthly miniature IMP24 its nature as yet a secret.  This means that in the early part of August we will be putting a new page up on our website that contains not only the Year One Collection covering IMP01 to IMP12 but also the 'Year Two Collection' covering IMP13 to IMP24 with the option to purchase any of the miniatures from the last two years that were given away freely in orders monthly by month.  There will be the options to purchase each miniature on its own or the set with a saving.

You might have noticed that there are only eleven miniatures in the image here and a handy Ion Age logo and question mark replacing the twelfth.  This is purposeful...no early looks at it as I want it to be a total surprise as it is every month!

If you look to last years blog post about the Year One Collection you will find that back then we starting out and some wargamers got upset that we were giving away miniatures for free every month.  I am pleased to say that such remarks have ceased and indeed I was even the happy recipient of several apologies from chaps who are now regular customers of ours.  We will keep on making monthly free miniatures as I do really honestly believe that at times our hobby has lost its sense of fun and freebies and we thank you for your support as always.  We are much bigger and stronger than a year ago and all of that growth is organic and down to creating and releasing miniatures that you want to have.  What will year three bring us...even I do not know in full but its going to be awesome finding out!

The start of next month is going to be quite busy for The Ion Age...only a couple of weeks or so to wait.

Thanks for Reading.

GBS

Friday 10 July 2015

IAFP02 Retained Knight Lance with Unique Miniature released!

The Lance is the backbone of a Retained Regiment whilst it is among the stars and while it is couched amid the crenellations of its home Cassillis.  A tightly bound armour knot capable of performing any deed assigned to it.  While it is true that a Varlet can come from the common folk; in the main the sons and daughters of the nobles provide the ranks of the Retained. While they do not aspire to the lofty idealism of the Starvaulters the Retained adhere to the Code Gallant at all times. Unlike the platoons of the Muster or the planet bound defence force platoons the Lance carries its own weight without others to aid.  Able to deal with almost anything the Precinct can array against it the Lance makes use of the trusted Angis 12.5mm AP Rifle with attached bayonet as well as the  Anvil 888 multi-load launcher and many other arms of war.  Taking on three times their own number or more with lesser foes the knights of a Lance will deal death to alien threats and those of the Marcher Barons alike.

Twenty Two Varlets, Esquires and Jupons are couched in a Lance and from there it is the Knight in command to makes the choice of their roles.  In the course of normal battle the Lance will split into four Demi's of five with a command element allowing for maximum balance between spread of troops and fire power.  Against mightier foes such as battlesuits or vehicles two Posts of ten are formed reducing coverage but increasing fire power backed by two in a command element.  For sweeping away remnants the Lance will break up into Mina's of two giving away concentration but gaining the ability to search everywhere as it advances.  While most Lances will learn to fight together and remain as an entity there will always be replacements for those who fall in the fight.  As well as replacements there is the clause in the Code Gallant which demands a knight offer those upon a Quest or seeking the Truth a place amid his or her ranks.  It is not unusual to find a Knight Errant or a Banneret as a temporary member of a Lance.

Trust to the Lance.  Learn to wield it and to have it reach out and strike down the enemy.  Your Lance will be one among many or even hundreds committed to the cause in hand but it is yours to balance and poise.  Look to it and attend to those in it.  By the Code and by the Lance!    
Academy Auto-Trainer Series 52, New Glastonbury, 4335IC


Its summer time and the air is ripe for 12.5mm AP rounds all around you.  That's right its the first of our two weeks of releases for July (next week for Troop Element Trays and Bases) and its one which supports our skirmish level wargaming title Patrol Angis with a complete force to use on the table at great value.  Build your collection around it. Plus its got a unique miniature in it which is a free bonus!  IonFans let me present to you...IAFP02 Retained Lance!

IAFP02 Retained Lance
This pack gives you a full Lance (platoon) of power armoured Retained Knights as well as a unique miniature only found in this code.  If you want to field a full force suitable for skirmishing then this is the code for you.  Twenty five different miniatures which are IAF001 Retained Post Alpha, IAF002 Retained Post Beta and IAF004 Retained Lance Command Alpha. On top of this you get the unique miniature which is a specially trained Retained Knight who wears the helm and carries the data pad of the Strategist, which is found only in this pack and what's more its free within the pack.  Excellent! As always this code can be bought as a pack or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page.  Go HERE.  Price 12.50GBP per pack.

Interested in the Retained?  Space Opera Knights of our far future...course you are!

You can see all of the codes for their Infantry HERE 
You can see all of the codes for their Vehicles and Battlesuits HERE 



Information Burst
This is the first of our two weeks of releases in July 2015 and next week we will be releasing all of the resin Troop Element Movement Trays for use in Patrol Angis as well as two packs of resin bases suitable for use in the game system and with our miniatures too.  It seems the IMP23 Vending Bot has been a real hit with new customers coming in to pick up half a dozen at a time plus of course they get their free one on top of that.  Additionally if you have not already signed up for our Mailchimp mailing list you should (its the top right box on our blog home page and its free) as loyal IonFans who are on the list now have access to a monthly deal only seen there and its proving popular.  As we are nearing the end of Year Two (yes already!) for The Ion Age we will be pre-viewing the Year Two Collection soon on our blog.  This is a set just like the Year One Collection which allows you to purchase all or just singles of the previous year's free monthly miniatures if you want more of them or just missed them the first time around.  Following up on the excellent free PDF for the Planetary Militia in Patrol Angis last month we will be having another free PDF this month...on the Shia Khan Empire.  Thanks for your custom and for the kind words about our products we do appreciate it.  We work hard and we want you all to have fun with your wargaming in our space opera setting.  Finally remember that by placing an order with us you will sign up for an account with the website and that means you get Reward Points in all purchases and the free monthly miniature too.  These points can be used any time to get free products and discounts on orders. 

Thanks for Reading.

GBS

Wednesday 8 July 2015

First Look: 15mm Female Retained Banneret


“Unlike those of the Retained who strike out along the path of the Knight Errant and take up the Quests of the Code Gallant it is the way of the Banneret that appeals to those of a more universal mind. With the taking of Tor Banner Oath the way of the Code Gallant is abandoned and instead the instead the staff and discus are worn with the understanding of a seeker of truths. Bannerets can be found at many levels within a Retained Regiment and also in the other arms of the Prydian Army such as the fleet and the myriad aboard the New Glastonbury Tor. They have the same training and zeal for their soldiering that other knights do but their overarching mission, much like the Knights Errant, lays elsewhere than on the battlefield. While the Errant seeks the Quest the Banneret seeks the Truth. Throughout the Precinct is evidence of ancient ways and even older denizens of the galaxy whose way of life is long gone but their imprints remain. These imprints are upon objects, upon places, upon worlds. It is the task of a Banneret to use the staff and cowl to follow an imprint where ever it might lead and what ever it might be. Among their favoured weapons are the Carwennan Mini-Mine Handgun and the Energy Discus as well as a powered mace. The staff is the mark of the Banneret who has Tor Banner Oath.” 
Academy Auto-Trainer Series 26, New Glastonbury, 4326IC 



Ain't she just a beauty! Sculpted by Sam Croes our lead designer at The Ion Age the brand new 15mm Female Banneret is due for release later this summer as part of a whole female command pack of five different poses. This will be IAF076 Retained Lance Command Charlie. Dressed in robes around her Alwite Powered Armour in one hand she has the Staff of the Banneret and in the other the lethal Carwennan Mini-Mine hand gun. She stands 17mm tall and is a one piece white metal casting. 

Bannerets can be used as normal command miniatures in Patrol Angis and indeed they should be. However they can also be named characters with a profile and story too. Place in charge of your Post (10 miniatures) or your Lance (22 Miniatures) or an even bigger force if you are playing with three or four platoons a side as we are in our testing of new rules. 


You can find the other Banneret in the range in IAF004 Retained Lance Command Alpha (pose 5). That miniature is male also in robes with a staff but instead of a pistol he has an energy discus which is a rare and odd weapon indeed. Go HERE for that pack. 

Look out for this lady and her four companions later this summer! 

Thanks for Reading. 

GBS

Tuesday 7 July 2015

First Look: 15mm Retained Strategist from upcoming Retained Lance pack


This week we will be releasing a new platoon pack along the same lines as the IAFP04 Muster Platoon, the IAFP07 Planetary Militia Platoon and the IAFP01 Malig Ordos. It will contain a full force for use in Patrol Angis at great value and like the others a unique miniature which will only be in that code. This time it will be a full Retained Knight Lance made up of two Posts (10) and a Command Demi (5) which can be deployed in many flexible ways. The unique miniature is going to be a Retained Strategist! It is the role of the Strategist to handle the tactical thinking of knights at the Banner level through the ranks they can be found at the Gauntlet and at Regimental level too. A banner is made up of four Lances and a command element which totals some 92 soldiers. 


In the wake of the Gurtan Activation all thinking computers were removed from Alwite Powered Armour and from vehicles too. They were replaced with the newly designed 'Strategist' helm given to tactically minded knights. Each helm is larger than normal and contains a greatly enhanced communications suite and dumb interfaces linked to a non-sentient battle computer. This allows the Strategist to work alongside commanding officers and nobles feeding them information and possible courses of action. 


As you can see we have a number of helmet designs for the expanding ranks of the Retained and more of these will appear as time passes. We are all about the fun and classic nature of wargaming in a space opera style so we like adding a miniature for free to bigger packs. These additional miniatures will always be useful but never vital to your playing of our rules systems. I hope you like the Retained Strategist and you can find him in IAFP02 Retained Lance which is releasing end of this week. 

Thanks for Reading. 

GBS

Wednesday 1 July 2015

IMP23 Happy Burger Vending Bot free miniature for July 2015!

On more Worlds than the Arks ever saw!
Its so good you will wear out your jaw!
Its the taste that gives you the finest feeling!
Stop on by for a Smile and some good taste meal eating!
We love to fill you up so...look no further than Happy Burger!

In the Prydian Precinct there are guilds which span whole worlds and while most of these are governmental and financial as well as military there are others which are devoted to a purely commercial end. As the Ancep Drive began to spread the news of the Code Gallant and the glue that would bind the worlds of the precinct to New Glastonbury and the Tor another idea travelled with these pioneers. From New Glastonbury a cook and former soldier Jedard Eackson took his idea of a take away eating house that would cater to those on a modest income who wanted taste more than the nutrition of a basic diet. Happy Burger was birthed on this notion and on every world, colony, settlement, asteroid any and all meat and other protein based animals of any kind allowable were turned into patties and then blasted with super strong spices. This gave a universal taste. A Happy Burger meal is the same everywhere. By the time of his death Eackson at the ripe old age of one hundred and sixty had introduced robotic staff into his eating houses mainly due to the high turnover of Human staff whose noses could only take so much. Happy Burger Bots are pre-programmed to be cooks, waiters and more. As the Prydian Civil War has spread many outlets of Happy Burger have been abandoned but their bot staff continue with their tasks attempting to serve empty meal boxes to passing League and Prydian Army soldiers.
Academy Auto-Trainer Series 61, New Glastonbury, 4337IC


Welcome to July 2015 and now we are not only a month off the release of the Year Two Collection but we have added a second free monthly miniature to the hugely popular Happy Burger Bot (IMP19 March 2015) to expand your collection of automated serving units. So say hello to the IMP23 Vending Bot! Its July 2015's is free 15mm scale miniature for the month! This miniature is automatically put into every order at the rate of one per order regardless of order value. It can also be bought in any amount on the monthly IMP page of the website for this month only too before being withdrawn on the first of next month. It will be one of the twelve in the 'Year Two Collection' on our second anniversary next month.

With a regular thumping footstep the Vending Bots of the Happy Burger mega chain of eating houses move around cities and towns stocked fully with brands such as 'Robo Cola' and 'Happy Synth'. They may be slow but through their clear golglass fronts the sheer weight of all those cans is easy to see. While they would normally be outside a Happy Burger place they can end up anywhere in a war zone. Some are pillaged for their beverages while others are enlisted and re-programmed to act as ammunition carriers or logistic bots by Prydian Army or Marcher Baron Muster forces. A really bloody awesome figure for your collection! This miniature is in one piece and stands approx 19mm tall.


Of course you earn reward points on all orders too through your account. We realise that some of you may wish to purchase the currently free miniature to get multiples of it without placing a lot of orders so you can do just that. Visit this page on the website for the miniature at a fair price for a special miniature. There is a growing page on the Ion Age website where the current and all former IMP series free miniatures are shown so that you can see what came before. Enjoy and go HERE.


As it is our second year we look back at this time last year and see what the free miniature was at that time. In July 2015 the free miniature was IMP11 Female Adventurer. She was our eleventh miniature to be given out free. You can find this miniature in the Year OneCollection if you are lacking it.

July will see some cracking releases to support Patrol Angis including Troop Element Movement Trays and a new platoon (or should that be Lance) pack with a unique miniature in it. There will also be a couple of pre-views of things that are on their way later in the summer. Rumours of more female miniatures...not rumours for much longer.

Thanks for reading.

GBS