Bretonnian Infantry Command, painted as Standard Bearer of Dralas

I got this nice little miniature on eBay. Could not recognize the code, and didn't record the year before basing it. I just know it's Bretonnian and it comes from a command group. It could easily be Perry-sculpted, as far as I know.

I bought him together with a bunch of other Bretonnian infantrymen, with the idea of creating a group of guards to use in WFRP games. I toyed with the project of painting them all with the colours of Dralas, the homebrew city in the Border Princes where most of my scenarios start. After a long time, only this guy has been painted, and the other will most likely follow in another livery, that of Artesia, the bordering princedoms that usually poses as the villain of the campaign.

Dralas is a port city and its colours are white and blue, like the sea and the foam over the waves. The city sits at the mouth of the river Zaffirio, so sapphire is the stone associated with the city heraldry. The other association is the Sea Serpent: according to legend, Dralas was originally founded by Elves and abandoned in the distant past, then a Sea Serpent set its abode under the murky waters of the ruined elven harbour, until the hero Dalphis slew the reptile and reclaimed the ruins, becoming the founder of the city.

Dalphis lived some 15 centuries ago and since then Dralas has seen many events: the city was a capital and then a subject, it had kings, princes and councils of citizens. Until recently it was ruled by a prince, until he was forced by an elven adventurer and pirate to surrender power and the hand of his sister. Nowadays it is the Regent Gelmir Lindarian who controls the government. This, however, does hardly mean that he holds power: Dralas is a famously seedy port where a lot of deals are made under locked doors, and the real power rarely resides where it appears to be.

The Regent directly controls the Black Guard, a group 30 of mercenaries who helped him conquer the city, commanded by general Achille. The Palace Guard's loyalty is divided between the Regent and the Prince: they are about 30 well trained warriors. The City Guard (90 members) follows the orders of the Regent as long as it gets paid regularly. The City Militia, being the largest force in town (450 members), obeys its Captains, who in turn are nominated among nobles, and so they follow their own interests and are generally raised only in case of foreign invasions.

This guy probably belongs to the City Guard and is therefore the most flexible. He could be used to police the streets, guard locations or escort important people in town. He wears a padded leather jacket and a helm, and is armed with a sword (so he is probably an official) and carries a standard with the city device.

Federigo Caccialpiano the Mercenary - Citadel C01 Fighter (1983)

Came up on eBay on this little pre-slotta thing. I bought it because it was cheap, even if it was really damaged by cleaning. I had no idea it was a 1983 C01 Fighter, as shown in the First Citadel Compendium.

Top row, second from right

Needing a mercenary miniature for my WFRP party, I set out to paint it, with no high hopes. But as I applied layers, I discovered a great sculpt full of little details and character. I have little clue of who might the sculptor be, but he did a great job.

For true WFRP fans, those who look with nostalgia at Tony Ackland's drawings of careers, this is real greatness. Look at the overloaded backpack, with holes and patches. The blanket tucked under it. The butterfly-shield. The wide-brimmed hat covering the eyes in a shady and threatening way. The sword in hand and the axe at the belt. The breastplate, the protections for knees and elbows, the knightly helm also leaning from the belt.

Everything here screams knight in disgrace, a fine warrior who fell on dark times, travelling away from his home to find adventure.

That's how the character of Federigo Caccialpiano was born. A grizzled mercenary with lots of experience but little wealth put apart, he met the PCs on a ship sailing from Dralas to Lévalto in the western Princedoms, and was promptly hired, showing great professionalism and skills. Little did they know that he had already been hired by their patron, to check on them. He figured that being their mercenary would make the job easy and mean extra pay.

Federigo himself hails from the city of Altoborgo, a free Comune up in the hills. He had been spymaster for the Council for several years, but had to flee the city when a riot of the alum miners deposed the Council and put a Podestà in its place, ransacking the homes of the wealthy families who used to get fat on the profits of the mines. He now works as a mercenary and spy for private clients, waiting for better times when eventually the Council gets back the city.

Federigo is cunning and experienced, professional and efficient. He is a rational and selfish person, with little empathy for others, but can be surprisingly manipulative. He is loyal because he likes to have a good reputation with his employers, but if risks become greater than opportunities, he is keen to turn on anybody as long as nobody will know about it. He looks like a nice chap to hang out, but he is in fact a very dangerous person.