Topic: (Slightly OT) Osprey Publishing

[jeremys]

I know some of you read Osprey's books, and I've seen it mentioned some in past posts, but I wanted to ask which ones you all think are best regarding empire armies?

My army is (will be) an Ostermark based army with a lot of Ulric fluff in it, so if there are any Osprey books which lend themself especially well to this, please let me know (I'm not sure whether or not the whole of the Empire is based off the same era/people?)

Empire aside, are there any particular lines that are typically better-done than others?  Any especially good books or authors you want to point out?

[EC.Sylvania]

Osprey are great. I personally have more of them than I can count, though most are reference for my various 15mm ancient armies (not wfb).

I don't know much about Ostermark off the top of my head (time to do some reading) but for Empire in general I'd recommend the following:

German Medieval Armies 1000–1300
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php?title=P6574&ser=MAA

German Medieval Armies 1300–1500
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php?title=Q6142&ser=MAA

Landsknecht Soldier 1486–1560
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php?title=S2431&ser=WAR

Men at Arms and Elite series are what I normally go for. They are very broad in nature, but make excellent quick reference material. Do some research before you buy though, as they sometimes double up on the content from one book to another. Other series are great for fluff, theme, battles, etc.

[rufus sparkfire]

I have the second and third of the books the good E.C. of Sylvania mentioned, and I will second his recommendation - both are excellent books for understanding the historical basis of Empire armies. Possibly the medieval book is more appropriate for Ostermark than the Landsnecht one.

Some thoughts on Ostermark:
- A poor province, and sparsely populated
- fertile agricultural land
- Generally low technology
- Close relationship with Kislev, often sending troops to aid them
- Home to many ogres
- Contains the destroyed city of Mordheim
- Was devastated during the Wars of the Vampire Counts, few settlements near the Sylvanian border