Wu-shan, Holmgard and Padmassa

[DrPraetorious]

Will make from bmp.

I rather like the black rider with a whip - the auroch is quite handsome. I might use him as a hero.

I'll just credit you as sombre - unless you want not to be associated with the image library

[Sombre]

Ok after ten minutes or so tinkering with barding I have something more to show and need input. I don't know much about Persian or Assyrian barding, but I googled it and found some pictures and I also had a book with some nice sassanid heavy barding in it, so I started a couple of barding prototypes. Not trying to make a polished looking graphic, just get the design of the barding/saddle roughly right. I had a more complicated design but in the end this simple one

It's not finished at all, it's basically just a rough marker showing where the barding will be. You could also use it as a placeholder I guess, although it would look pretty bad ingame. Anyway, I need to know if this was the kind of barding you had in mind, or if you wanted less, or some other style entirely. This has kind of a cataphract feel to it but you can still see the colour of the auroch underneath and there's lots of opportunity for detail on top. A closeup of a persian barding pic is above it. Lemme know what you think. I figure this is good experience if I want to start messing around with other weird kinds of cavalry :]

[Sombre]

Holy crap. I just realised I'm going to HAVE to make zebra/gazelle/alpaca/camel cavalry now. Seriously.

Well I was planning on making some kind of machaka mixed with north africa thing in the future, so I guess it's all cool.

[DrPraetorious]

That is, in fact *exactly* what I had in mind.

I'd originally called those units "Cataphracts" rather than "Knights" but decided the terminology was too confusing. Whada ya think?

[Sombre]

Cataphracts would be fine. I think a lot of people would know the term, or instantly figure out what it meant. Or you could just use 'heavy cavalry' or 'shock cavalry' or something.

[DrPraetorious]

That's not the problem, but "lacking in cataphractly virtue" just doesn't quite cut it. There is an equivalent Persian concept but it applies to warriors in general. Part of it is that it isn't strictly Asyrrian, it's got all sorts of evil influences from other source material.

[Sombre]

Well you can change the description I'm sure. There are thousands of ways of suggesting that they're a cruel and ill disciplined lot. You could mention that they've grown spoiled and decadent what with all the slaves and young virgins (boys and girls) and would much rather die of sex-related diseases than a big sword through the face in the middle of a battle.

Maybe "The concept of virtue is as foreign to them as mercy"

Something like that.