A Raid on Asia Minor's Coast with 'Ilium: A Game of Heroes'

    First off the ships to raid the village was Diomedes & his Argive warriors with their tower shields

A squadron of black galleys containing the contingents of the Achaean heroes Achilles, Diomedes, and Idomeneus prowled along the meandering coastline of Asia Minor, seeking a target for their fury. Spotting a settlement, they rowed rapidly and leapt ashore. Wailing and shouts of alarm rang out from the settlement as Trojan warriors equipped themselves and readied for battle. Waiting amidst the buildings already was the contingent led by the Trojan cousins Sarpedon and Glaukos. Achilles and his men raced towards them, but his companion Diomedes was already in amidst the mud brick buildings. They seized a wealthy noble while two shield bearers advanced, ready to block any rescue.

    Trojan heroes, from left, Joel (Sarpedon), Allen (Asteropaios) & Keith (Memnon) face down Mike S

It was good that Diomedes' men were ready, as Asteropaios, Chieftain of the Paionians, was racing forward. Asteropaios outstripped his men and crashed into one of the shield bearers, knocking him to the ground and stabbing him with his spear. He then turned and slew the other one, shouting a war cry. His feeble shout was drowned out, though, by the mighty battle paean of Diomedes, which boomed throughout the village, inspiring the Achaean warriors. Diomedes hurled his spear at the Paionian chief, gravely wounded him. He then drew his bronze sword and sprang to engage Asteropaios, slashing him and drawing blood.

    On the left, Achilles, Patrokles, & their companions race into the village, searching for plunder

The battle raged around the heroes, and soon the crackle of flames and smell of smoke filled the air, as well. One of Diomedes men, carrying a torch, had set the neighboring building afire. Enraged, Asteropaios' companions sprang forward, and another of Diomedes Shield Bearers fell. The noble who had been seized was able to slip his captor's grasp and scuttled towards the Trojan warriors. Meanwhile, on Diomedes right, Idomeneus and his Cretan warriors were hurrying forward, too. Soon, the closest building to them went up in flames, as well. The Cretan archers rounded the corner of the building and began to shoot arrows towards Trojan targets.

    Diomedes' men set fire to a home & grab a town noble (center right), while the Paionians charge up

It was good that the Cretan king arrived, as Diomedes' men were sorely pressed. Memnon and his Aethiopians has surged forward to help the Paionians. However, none attempted to intervene as Diomedes and Asteropaios were locked in combat, even though neither had challenged or jibed at the other. Soon, the King of Argos struck down Asteropaios, and once again the battlefield resounded with his mighty battle cry. Diomedes and one of his companions dragged the Paionian chief away from the reach of his men and stripped off his armor. Diomedes handed the trophy to his shield bearer and told him to dash back to the ships and stow it safely aboard. Two Aethiopian arrows whipped by the Argive warrior, but he had cleverly strapped his tower shield to his back, and their darts bounced off the stiffened cowhide. Meanwhile, Diomedes advanced back into the fray, shouting in anguish as another of his Argive warriors fell.

    Infuriated, Asteropaios slays two of Diomedes companions while his men rush to keep up 

Meanwhile, the forces of Sarpedon and Achilles were engaged. Wisely, Sarpedon avoided the famous Greek hero, and instead he and his cousin Glaukos encouraged their men. At one point, Glaukos stood alone against Achilles, Patrokles, and one of their companions. The Trojan warrior bravely blocked each mighty thrust, slowly backing away from their attack. Sarpedon saw one of Diomedes' men with a torch approaching another building, but he collected several men and interposed themselves. The lone Argive warrior saw the error of his ways, and fled back towards Diomedes.

    Shouting his war cry, Diomedes hurls his mighty spear, gravely wounding the Paionian chief

Memnon and his men rallied the remaining Paionians and hemmed in Diomedes on all sides. Arrows bounced off of his shield, but none dared charge the mighty hero. Memnon roared in anger at his men's timidity and hurled his spear at Diomedes, wounding him. He then raced into contact. Diomedes evaded his swordthrust and wounded Memnon in return. The Aethiopian archers feared to shoot at the battling pair for fear of hitting their king, Memnon. Idomeneus' men were under no such worry. The Cretan king raced to Diomedes' side, also striking and wounding Memnon. Then another Cretan warrior crept up from behind and thrust his spear into Memnon's back. The Trojan hero fell, and with his loss, the Trojan defenders lost heart and began to flee.

    Diomedes follows up his success and slays Asteropaios, while his. men try to hold off the Paionians

It was another Achaean victory in our third game of Ilium: A Game of Heroes. We had three players per side, each commanding one contingent. We were playing a double-sized version of The Settlement Raid, with four buildings, two wells (that the Greeks wanted to poison by tossing in a dead Trojan warrior), and two notables we wanted to kidnap. We also accelerated the time frame of the game, with Sarpedon's Trojan contingent deployed in the center of the board, and Asteropaios' within 8" of their left edge. The Greeks similarly had two contingents start on board, Achilles on their left and Diomedes on the right. The third contingents for each came on board on Turn 2. We did this because we didn't want any players sitting around for two turns and not doing anything.

    Promachoi vs. Promachoi! The very cool baskets of goods were a gift from my friend Pete in the UK

This game was also an answer to our desire to have other ways to earn Kleos (Honor), which act as the victory points in Ilium. The Greeks can earn them by setting fire to the buildings (+1 each), kidnapping the nobles and getting them off-board (+1 each), and poisoning the two wells on board (+1 each). The Trojans earn +1 Kleos for each unburnt building and each unpoisoned well. As it was, the the Greeks set fire to three of the four buildings, but were unable to poison either well or kidnap notables. So, the game would have had a 3-3 score, except for the slain heroes. Diomedes killed Asteropaios (+1) and stripped his armor and got it off-table (+1). Idomeneus' men killed Memnon (+1). So, when we called the game on Turn 5, the Achaeans were ahead 6-3. The Cretans could easily have tossed the body of a Trojan promachoi in the well, too, during the remaining two turns. 

    Diomedes & a companion drag Asteropaios away from his men & strip off his armor as a trophy

The game played fast, and I think our changes didn't unbalance it. It is difficult for the Trojans to prevent the buildings being set on fire, but equally difficult to poison the wells. It takes two Promachoi to carry a Trojan body towards the well, which they might not get a chance to do in the middle of a melee. We were able to get our hands on one of the nobles, but (once again) my companions were falling too quickly to get him off the table. That, in particular, is really an odd thing. A Shield Bearer Promachoi should be very survivable, but mine seem to die like dogs. We were joking that my tower shields must be made of cardboard and our armor of paper! "Join Diomedes' Promachoi and Die!" we laughed. I lost four of six in this game and five of six in the previous one.

    Sarpedon's companions chase off a lone Argive with a torch, preventing him from burning a home

Although Diomedes' companions were falling all around him, the King of Argos continued to be personally victorious. He killed his second hero (Asteropaios) in single combat in as many games, and aided in the death of a third (Memnon). Achilles was not having a lot of luck in this game, though. Joel, playing Sarpedon, wisely used one of his actions to give his companions +2 Defense most of the game, which made them much harder to kill. Of course, Mike S rolling nothing higher than a "3" on a d10 when attacking didn't help matters much either! But hey, Mike improved on last game in not having Achilles' cousin and dear friend (and more?) Patrokles die...ha, ha!

    Achilles & Patrokles & their men wage battle against Sarpedon & Glaukos' Trojan force

We continue to enjoy playing Ilium. During the week, the Sunday Night gang chose playing it over Dragon Rampant, much to my surprise. So, I guess that means I'm safe in painting up more figures for it? Of course, that means I would have to get more. I have been holding off until I even up my Painted vs. Acquired for the year. The whole point of tracking these totals is to ensure I'm a little more disciplined in my purchases, so it'd be foolish to ignore the numbers, right?  

    Diomedes is beset! Most his men fallen, he is surrounded by Aethiopians & fighting Memnon

And speaking of the numbers...

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 234
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 224

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 22
• Terrain painted in 2026: 39

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 50
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

  

    Cretan hero Idomeneus arrives to succor Diomedes & together they slay Memnon & rout his men

  

    Post-battle 'jibe' - Mike W teases Keith about twice slaying his hero in Ilium with his companions