A small action from my Petaudia campaign. I won't bore you with the details, partly because it would take too long to explain the background and partly because such stuff is not to everyone's taste! Suffice to say, there is a civil war in Strymonia and the capital - Desconecida - is under siege by human rebels, allied with the elves, while the ruler's human forces are being aided by human and goblin units from a neighbouring power. The defenders have to try and destroy the attackers siege ram and, even better, try and break the siege lines; the besiegers have to repulse the sortie, simple as that. The rules are Dragon Rampant, with some "house amendments" (mainly command and leaders stuff). Most of the figures were painted decades ago, so apologies for the standard of painting! A mixture of manufacturers - Kallistra, Grenadier, Essex, Vendel, Perry, Hinchliffe, Gripping Beast, Games Workshop - and both metal and plastic 25/28mm scales. The town wall and towers are Zvezda.

The battlefield - Desconecida at the bottom of the picture, the rebel camp and siege lines at the top.

The elf ruler and his bodyguard manning the siege lines.

Mercenary light cavalry hired by the rebels.

Rebel crossbowmen holding the siege lines, with the camp behind and

various items of siege equipment.

The battlefield from the rebel side.

The main objective of the sortie - the siege machines ready for use, plus scaling ladders.

The rebel commander - Metrocles, Viscount of Tantalus. I base leaders separately for my Dragon Rampant games, allowing them to attach to different units rather than just one. Also, they command groups of units, so that when an activation fails, only that command group stops further actions, rather than the whole army.

Fanatical peasants and artisans (the civil war has a religious cause behind it

as well as political power) leading the sortie.

These are Kedarians, troops of the Queen of Lestrigon, a powerful sorceress who has intervened on the side of the ruler of Strymonia, the Princess Acrasia.

A close up of the peasants and artisans as they leave the town.

Rebel crossbowmen supported by spearmen.

These are Essex figures I have had for over thirty years now.

Elven spears ready to support the elf lord's bodyguard: the latter had a rotten battle, driven out of position by accurate bowmen and then failing to rally before leaving the table - so much for elite troops with enchanted weapons! Their humble spear-armed compatriots did much better.

My only mountain eagle with elf rider, a Grenadier model from decades ago. One day I will put it on a much taller pole for a more realistic pose!

The goblins pour out of the town, led by their fierce commander on a giant boar.

The goblins are joined by hobgoblins, just about the toughest foot troops in my campaign.

A view of the attackers from behind the elf position.

Sword-armed goblins attacking the siege lines.

Another view of the goblin and hobgoblin force. The red counter indicates that unit is "Battered" under Dragon Rampant rules and has to rally before it can activate again.

Battle joined on the attackers' right wing.

Goblin bills and crossbows engage the rebels.

The hobgoblins attack; they took the position and then held off the counter-attacks.

Kedarian and elf spears fight it out; the elves won the contest.

Troops loyal to the Princess Acrasia emerge from the town; men-at-arms, longbowmen and handgunners; Strymonia is the only state in Petaudia with gunpowder weapons.

Goblins fighting Church of Ferrex troops.

The Kedarians last effort to take the siege lines.

Peasants fighting elves in the wood!

The hobgoblins fend off a counterattack by mercenary spearmen.

The men-at-arms charge the Church of Ferrex billmen; the cavalry were badly mauled.

Last view of the battle when the attackers decided to abandon their sortie. Fresh elven troops are appearing at the lower corner to support the rebels, and while the Kedarians, goblins and peasants are all exhausted units, their human allies were reluctant to advance.