The World Of Twilight

Hi, I like your suggestions for what the Anyaral equivalent of a hedgehog would be called, what it looks like and why the fubanarii respect it (this is an important point).

The reason that I'm asking is because I've been exchanging ideas with Mike about the possibility of doing a 'big battle' set of rules for Anyaral (to be discussed in a dedicated topic) and I need a name for the defensive formation used by fubanarii infantry when facing a devanu/grishak assault. In the rules I'm using as a base it's called 'shieldwall' but that's obviously inappropriate  for the fubarnii as so few of then use shields.

For the moment I'm using the word 'phalanx' but this suggests something rather more formal that what I imagine the fubarnii to use, I'm thinking more along the lines of the Scottish EG 'scheltrum' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPVOcn2NFN4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPVOcn2NFN4)

The formation looks a bit like a hedgehog or porcupine so that's the kind of creature it would probably be named after and I can imagine a few being kept as unit mascots.

Perhaps named after some kind of spiny cacti? I suppose with the fact that nothing in this world translates directly to Anyaral you only need a name that sounds right and has a suitable back story.

Thanks for the suggestion.

According to wikipedia there are three genus of 'hedgehog cactus':

• Pediocactus, a genus of cacti containing 6-11 species
• Echinocereus, a genus of ribbed, usually small to medium-sized cylindrical cacti, comprising about 70 species from the southern United States and Mexico in very sunny rocky places
• Echinopsis, a large genus of cacti native to South America containing 128 species

Hopefully at least one species will have an appropriate name.

What about Siler's pincushion cactus ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pediocactus_sileri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pediocactus_sileri) ) as inspiration?
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Pediocactus_sileri_2.jpg/672px-Pediocactus_sileri_2.jpg)
The creature could be the Sileru and have a mass of black & white spines.
In English the formation could be either hedgehog or pincushion (I'm favouring hedgehog).

Any thoughts please?

Like it. ;D
Nice name and concept. Now we just need a sketch and sculpt of the creature.

Sileru sounds like a great name and an interesting formation to add to the Fubarnii Defences.

Cool idea :)

I working to get some Delgon soldiers painted so they can demonstrate the Sileru formation for us ;)

Has anyone with drawing skills (not me!) tried to sketch a Sileru?
I thinking it's sort of echidna shaped but with the spines of a porcupine for directional rather than all-around defence.
There will be several species with the largest being about the same size as a giant anteater (30-40 kg).

Here we are, a mixed formation of Delgon in Sileru formation:
(http://fenedgewargaming.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/DSC01533-1024x614.jpg)
More information on my blog: http://fenedgewargaming.co.uk/wp/?p=2396 (http://fenedgewargaming.co.uk/wp/?p=2396)

:) You should turn some of the miniatures so the spears stick out in al directions ;).
For some reason I imagined it to be a defensive circle formation with the backs of the soldiers facing each other and the acolytes in the middle

Like a shieldwall the sileru formation can be used for all-around defence but that really puts the soldiers in a state of siege, unable to take the initiative.
What it should be used for is to block enemy access to key locations or as an anchor around which the more mobile troops such as Striders can manoeuvre.
Think of a sileru formation as an anvil and plan to use the rest of your force as a hammer to smash the enemy!

In a skirmish you may often get isolated knots of soldiers fighting back-to-back in the so-called sileru jenta formation which may be what you were thinking about ;)

Looking good!
Some day I'll draw you a sileru - sadly a bit busy at the moment...

Can't wait to see your first battle report Nick! Please do a video, I'd love to see your tactics on the field of battle.