Jaeckel and The Lost Crusade - Introduction

Once there was a man, who called himself Pieter the Pious, and who led an army of fanatics into the parched land of Araby. On his journey across the Empire, his rhetoric and charisma turned many men, women and children to his cause. They followed behind him, chanting dirges and chastising themselves until their passing was marked with many trails of blood.
Somehow, they managed to find passage across the sea to Araby. But after that, the mouth of history becomes silent. Rumours abound. Were they swallowed by the desert? Were they destroyed by vengeful sand gods? Nobody knows...

Extract from "Armies of the Hammer - The Forgotten Crusades"

(*) Actually: "Blood on the Reik - A journey Through the Old World" - a Black Library product

Being a rather obsessive collector, I've bought over the last few years all the models I could find designed by Aly Morrison to fill the rank and files of my Pfeildorf's imperial army. But, after three years of painting, I have to face the truth: I don't have enough regiments (and ideas) to use them all!

In addition, I have a bunch of Citadel models that don't fit anymore with the Empire standards: paladins, beggars, clerics and monks have more to do with Fantasy RPGs than with Warhammer Battle. So here comes Plan B and my Old World Army Challenge: The Lost Crusade.

The plan is to use my unpainted fighters and dogs of war to figure the Empire citizen who joined Pieter's quest. Poorly equiped with rusty weapons and wooden shieds, they are led by a fanatized paladin, Sir Monne de la Monte. I will count them as Ersatzolder (and give them a leather armour to make more points).

(As you can see, preparation is almost done here. Maybe I'll add a few bits on the shields to strengthen the religious thing...)

Beggars, crippled veterans, lepers and fanatics are also part of the trip: I will count them as Fleglers, even if they inspire more pity and disgust than fear.

(still a lot of preparation here, including the standard bearer. I'll probably use the leper model)

Monks and religious will make acceptable Helblitzen. In the heat of the desert, pilgrim's staffs can look like halberds.

 (preparation has just started here: all the tabs have been removed, one head replaced by a Necromunda bit... but still looking for ideas for the musician and the standard bearer. And I've just bought a new monk that may replace the last guy on the left that still has his tab)

Pieter the Pious also managed to convince some noblemen to follow him. Whether they looked for fortune or salvation remains unclear... I will count them as Reiksgards.

 (nothing done here, except a few tabs removed)

When they arrived in Araby, the pilgrims were joined by a few hermits. Living on their own in the Arabian desert, half - if not totally- mad, they make excellent scouts, and will count as Bergjaeger, replacing the traditional long bows by long range arquebuses and rifles.

 (so far, my favorite unit, using Marauder Miniatures flagellants and various bits. Almost ready!)

Last but not least, Pieter the Pious will be the commander of the Lost Crusade: as there is no priest profile in 3rd edition rulebook, let's count him as a wizard.

(No picture yet, as I'm still unsure about the conversion, but it should involve a golden war altar...)

All right, let's recap the points:

• Pieter the Pious and the war altar = 240 points
• 14 Empire citizen led by Sir Monne de la Monte, with standard bearer, musician, shields and leather armours: (16 x 8) + (55+2+3) = 188 points
• 9 Noblemen, led by Valdemar the Just, with standard bearer, musician and double handed weapons: (11x13) +  (55+2+3) =203 points
• The Procession, led by Bishop Maximus, with standard bearer and musician: (13x9) + (85) =  202 points
• 6 Sandjaeger: 6x13 = 78 points
• 8 Beggars with standard bearer: 9x9 = 81 points

992 points...  I need to paint a few more models... or upgrade the heroes to Level 10 :p We'll see in the coming months!

PS. Just bought a house, I need to pack everything and move in the coming months. This Lost Crusade may be even more challenging than I thought...