IAF009 Desteria Demi Alpha Released!

Pounding for hours at the rubbacrete making no impact was starting to get rather tiresome. I was at the head of an advancing column trying to push its way into the outskirts of Pelcan City on Camarthen Prime. Our lord Knight General Obermann had decreed that the focus of the assault was to be upon the Matter Gateway and I agreed. Unfortunately the city was a smoking ruin seeded with Khanate troops like a virus culture. Every rock you shook loose led more of them to appear. We had gotten stuck on the site of what my helm overlay said used to be a hospital. It was a barren place now but its walls were solid and its sheer size an invitation to siege. There was little chance of calling up artillery or vehicle support but I did get the call that a lance of Desteria were nearby and offering to aid us as according to the Code Gallant.

While my Retained exchanged fire with the Legionaries in the main complex the Desteria readied themselves for the assault. Noblesse armour is a wonder to behold. It takes months of training to be able to control its strength and to learn its motions. More complex and far superior to the Alwite worn by the Retained it is the ultimate in worn armour in the Prydian Precinct. The Desteria numbered only sixteen but they strode forward and attracted a hail of Juno and Maia fire from the façade of the building. We aided them and 12.5mm fire put down a number of Legion and Malig snipers. Bullets and beams glanced from the Desteria and soon they had reached the main doors. Then the Khanate sprung their surprise on them. I felt a moment of dread. That could have been us!

Rubbacrete and shards of Golglass exploded out as the main doors disintegrated in a streak of weapons fire. Three Khanate Warlords strode out with their chain cannons levelled and firing. One of the Desteria went down having caught the full might of a Warlords cannon and several of my Retained two hundred metres back were plucked up and shattered by the outgoing rounds. In moments the remaining Desteria closed the distance to the Warlords and engaged them in close quarters combat! Even to a Desteria the Warlords tower above, but the knights barrelled them back into the building and even at this distance I could hear the roar of Urgan auto-shotguns and the sickening crunch of Impact Fists on flesh.

With their hulking surprises dead the Khanate began to abandon the hospital and we pressed on. I asked the Desteria to remain with us as part of my retinue but they refused. Their place was at the fore, at the sword tip, at the point where it mattered. I wished them good hunting and kept my promise to collect and restore their dead.

Knight Commander Hackett. Camarthen Prime, 4331IC

IAF009 Front View of Poses

IAF009 Rear View of Poses

IAF009 Desteria Demi Alpha

This week we have the first in an expansion of the original 28mm range into the brand new 15mm range on the Ion Age...Desteria Knights! The super heavy infantry of the Prydian Precinct are now in the 15mm Prydian Army as well as the 28mm Prydian Army. Wearing the thickest Noblesse powered armour and carrying the largest possible weapons that do not require an artillery or vehicle mount the Desteria are used for tasks just too tough for Retained Knights and the Muster. Code IA009 contains five brand new different white metal poses each with an Impact Fist (powered melee weapon) and either a Hermit 44mm Plasma Rifle or an Urgan 2 Bore auto-shotgun or a Valerin 9kw Laser Rifle. Each Desteria also sports a crest upon their helm. Desteria stand approx 24mm tall from sole of foot to top of crest. 

Desteria and Retained side by side.  Scale Photo.

This code can be bought as single miniatures or in multiples for savings.

GBS

PLEASE READ THIS

May 2019 and The Ion Age has been taken back into Alternative Armies.  It continues with new releases into the future!  Go to Alternative Armies for Ion Age pages of the 15mm Range the 15mm Terrain Range the 28mm Range the Publications range and the Free Downloads collection too for the latest.  All links to the ion age site are now defunct sorry!  If you wish to see something or ask a question email me on sales@alternative-armies.com.  GBS

gavinsyme.co.uk on Limited Edition 15mm Ion Age miniatures

I have made a posting on my personal blog all about the idea and the execution of limited edition 15mm miniatures in The Ion Age.

Head on over and have a read as it has a direct impact on what will be releasing on the website end of September 2013.  I normally do not do teasers or any or the 'promise and eventual' reward of Kickstarting or Indigogoing (preferring to actually just give you something to buy straight up) but this posting is special as its an insight into my thought process on the matter.  Oh, and there is a picture too...

GBS

Patrol Angis - Play Test Announcement

Prydian Army Retained Demi under fire!

The entry period for applying to the Patrol Angis play testers is now over.  I am emailing every single person who applied and I have informed each of them if they were successful in securing one of the limited slots for the testing.  Apologies to those who were not successful as I had to limit the slots to just twenty places.

At this time I would like to thank everyone who applied and tell you all that I will have more playtesting for expansions in the future and you will be in a 'round robin' about it first.

All of the Patrol Angis play testing will be done remotely and by email with digital files and no physical posting / mailing of any materials by myself or by those doing the testing.  No cost will be incurred by the testers other than their time.

On September 23rd 2013 a message will be sent to the play test group with a link in it to download the testers pack!

This pack will include:

• Covering Datasheet - outlining the testing and what is to happen.
• Patrol Angis Rules - core rules with diagrams. 
• Solo Play Rules - Test Draft.
• Sheet of Counters and Roster.
• Stats Sheets for Troops and Weapons.
• Results Form and Procedure.

Playtesting will run from September 23rd 2013 until November 4th 2013 in those six weeks all games must be played and results sent in.  During this time results can be emailed and questions asked with a 'Yes' or 'No' answer preferred.

There will be full details in the pack about the requirements of the testing.  Those who complete the testing will be rewarded with fame and bribery!

There will be updates on the blog as to the progress of the testing about once a week which hopefully will also include images that I can re-construct from questions and reports.

GBS

Space Babes in Sensible Armour!

Hello IonFans!

A quick repost here from the personal blog of lead Ion Age designer Sam Croes.  Sam is a big fan of women in science fiction art and in wargaming and as a result of this he has created a piece of art to celebrate the female Retained Knight in the service of the Prydian Army.  Much like Sam I believe that warfare in the future will greatly feature women as skill beats physical strength especially against a foe such as the Khanate Empire.

Retained Knights, much like the Muster, are both male and female with some regiments being one of one or less of the other.  There is little difference in the protection and abilities of the Alwite powered armour worn by both genders.  The female version is actually technically superior as it has to be on the whole slimmer and more form fitting but this makes these knights capable of greater dexterity especially in urban warfare.

She might be a babe as Sam says but she is all business and from the look on her face and the blood staining her armour...I would not mess with her!

GBS

Pages on Prydian Army, Marcher Barons and Khanate Empire added!

Eat This!  Artwork by Edward Jackson

A week or so ago as part of the Questions Answered post on this very blog I was asked by some IonFans if I could add some pages to the blog giving an introduction to the 'big three' that currently make up the fiction of The Ion Age.  I said...Sure thing!

Well its now done and if you look at the top of the blog you will see three pages next to the home page.  The Prydian Army which tells you a very short background to the red and white forces that are attempting to win the civil war and keep off the Khanate.  Secondly the Marcher Barons, those nobles of Prydia who rebelled and are involved in the Leagues fighting the civil war.  Lastly the Shia Khan Empire whose return to Human space after a millenia has sparked off a new war entirely.

Each of these pages contains text and images too of 15mm miniatures from our ranges and I will update the pages each time a release is made which suits a page.  There will be a number of updates of pictures!

Enjoy the read.

Email me directly if you have any questions about your Ion Age miniatures and or the gaming universe.  I am always happy to help.

GBS

IAF008 Retained Post Charlie Released!

We were knights of Prydia and it was our duty by the Code Gallant to ensure the safety of the people if we could; even if it meant death in the attempt.  However I had not expected to be called upon for battle against such a deadly foe.  The Camarthen system was remote, uninteresting at that time, well away from the fighting with the League of Canlaster that dominated the thinking of the loyal Barons in those years.  At most I expected my four hundred Retained to be training the enthusiastic but raw Camarthen Planetary Militia or seeing off the freebooters that think lonely planets easy pickings.   We did not even bother to send more than a Demi into the Belkus Labyrinth with those exploration teams and I was in no way suspicious of Hugo Sevaris at the time.  Then when the alert came through it was garbled but one thing was clear enough from the audio; energy fire was being used.  Now I was young once and I wasted my auto-learner's time by a love of legend and tales.  I knew of the Shia Khan and the sound coming to my helm was just as the texts described.  Legend was not my sole love though I also harboured a hankering for mathematics too and therefore I also knew that I would best serve the Aeddan by telling the whole Precinct of what was occurring.

So I sent my knights to the underground Labyrinth and authorising the Wicca Protocol I also had a civil reactor sent with them on a separate Bantam repulsar platform.  Without word to the authorities in Pelcan city I boarded a shuttle and boosted for orbit.  As we made speed to exit the system I readied that now infamous message.  The Khanate had returned.  My actions were found valid and my honour preserved.  Each day that passes I think of those I left to the Legions.

Some have inferred that I should have stayed, should have died with my knights.  But they are wrong.  I did the greater good and once done I was among the first to volunteer for Lectus Bower's retinue and I have been back on this now ravaged world since. 

Report by Knight Commander Grimwood to Knight General Obermann.  Fleet Command.  4331IC

IAF008 Retained Post Charlie

This week we have the first totally new pack of Retained Knights guardians of the Prydian Precinct and first in the line in the fight against the Khanate Empire.  Code IAF008 contains ten brand new different poses all wearing Alwite powered armour and carrying a variety of weapons including Tumbler Mpi, Angis Rifles, Anvil Launchers and Moth Type 12's.   As always this code can be bought as a pack or as single miniatures or select the three packs and save 10% option on the page.  Price 5.00GBP per pack.

Sculpted by our lead designer Sam Croes this release brings the total number poses of 15mm Retained Knights so far to a whopping thirty seven meaning fantastic variety for your wargaming needs in the Ion Age already; just three weeks after our launch.

For Prydia, for Cyon!

GBS

PLEASE READ THIS
May 2019 and The Ion Age has been taken back into Alternative Armies.  It continues with new releases into the future!  Go to Alternative Armies for Ion Age pages of the 15mm Range the 15mm Terrain Range the 28mm Range the Publications range and the Free Downloads collection too for the latest.  All links to the ion age site are now defunct sorry!  If you wish to see something or ask a question email me on sales@alternative-armies.com.  GBS

Patrol Angis - An Introduction to 15mm Ion Age skirmishing!

'Those Cannies are nearby.  Thermal is damp in this heat but they will have their chameleon circuits engaged so use visual spectrum scanning only.  Helms locked and secure, keep data burst to a minimum, command only from this moment in.'

The Prydian Army patrol moved into the thickening jungle with a practised loping gait that well suited their bright white and red Alwite powered armour.  They moved quietly despite it and the jungle floor.  As knights of the 512th Regiment they had seen a lot of action in the last three months on Jualdore IV.  A horridly hot world that was murderous on Muster troops and as a result most of the fighting outside of the main spaceports fell to the Retained whose Alwite could hold back the heat and allow the freeing of the world from the League of Canlaster.

Protect Life when Life needs be Protected was foremost among the guiding principles of the Code Gallant, the code by which all Prydian and a lot of rebelling Retained live and this meant warring on as limited a scale as possible.  It also secured the loyalty of the mass of people as well as when it was possible the war was kept away from them.  There was precious little prime real estate in the Precinct, even planets like Jualdore and to go around using nuclear seed and nano burst weapons would reduce it even further.  Soon in warring like that humanity in the Precinct would be reduced to scarred rock and sealed domes drinking sewage resyc water.  So this civil war was fought by men and women in the knowledge that they wanted a life after it was over.  Not that they were scared or weak far from it...it takes courage to raise a rifle and not press a button from orbit.

'Neuer take the safety off the Hermit and warm it up.  The Cannies are close; call it a hunch.  I want the plasma in play as soon as they open up.'

The patrol fanned out into four demi's of five knights and engaged their own chameleon circuits.  The circuit took a lot of power and even with it on they were far from invisible.  Dirt and dust and damage weakened its effect but used well it could make the difference between victory and death.  Holding back their Sarj activated his own circuit and made an active scanning pass over the area ahead looking for signatures.  His helm brought up pings in blue only a hundred metres ahead.  Camo on but the signature was strong.  Canlasterian Retained!

'Neuer!  A hundred out and thirty off to your left.  Hit them!'

With a thrum and then a sizzling roar the Hermit 44mm Plasma Rifle shot a sphere of blazing bright plasma at the target area and as one the patrol's helms auto-activated dampening in their visors to protect eyes.  Before the sphere covered half the distance there was a blur of movement as twenty or so enemy Retained spurred from statues into rapid action.  Without waiting for an order the Prydian's opened fire the thunder of 12.5mm AP Angis rounds filling the jungle air.

'This is the part I love.  Target free and then put holes in those Cannies.  For Cyon!'

RWP01 Art made Miniature!

A while ago on this blog I posted about 1 Hour Play and that The Ion Age would be working up towards its first 15mm scale skirmish wargames title and that it would be called Patrol Angis.  Well the time has now come for me to show you not only the stunning art for the book cover by Sam Croes but also to say that the time is near for play testing.

Patrol Angis focuses on one platoon of miniatures per force with a player controlling one or more forces in play.  Its fast and furious and rather different.  Easy to learn but tactically challenging.  A hint of space opera but also grounded in reality too.

Using the often overlooked D8, eight sided dice, the brand new engine that powers Patrol Angis has been tested out here but I am looking for a dozen or so keen wargamers to try it out themselves.  That is solo or with one or two others.  If you are interested in getting a PDF copy of the core mechanics by email and throwing the diamonds (cubes for D6's same idea!) for a few hours and telling me your thoughts on the questions provided then EMAIL me and I will let you know. I have three confirmed already (keen lads those!). All those selected who report back will get a mention in print and also a wee goody bag in the mail from me personally upon release.

I will follow up on this post with more information and play test period once we have everything sorted out.

GBS

PLEASE READ THIS
May 2019 and The Ion Age has been taken back into Alternative Armies.  It continues with new releases into the future!  Go to Alternative Armies for Ion Age pages of the 15mm Range the 15mm Terrain Range the 28mm Range the Publications range and the Free Downloads collection too for the latest.  All links to the ion age site are now defunct sorry!  If you wish to see something or ask a question email me on sales@alternative-armies.com.  GBS