A second game of Age of Sigmar

Turn 1

Not one to give in at the first setback (game report here), I invited a gaming buddy round for another try at Age of Sigmar. I stuck with the elves and chaos armies, though this time Chaos Warriors as opposed to Beastmen. They were costed according to a simple scheme which I had found on BOLS (link here). Using this Saga like system I came up with two hopefully roughly balanced forces from my own collection.

The chaos force gained the initiative and rushed on from the left, the newly painted ogres charging into elf spearmen on turn 1. Four wounds on both sides and no battleshock suffered, a nice steady start. Note that the elves are fairly tightly grouped while the chaos forces are a little bit dispersed. This allowed the elves in their first turn to charge the engaged ogres with both the Elven Prince and the Swordmasters, which are absolutely lethal in combat. Suffice to say that troops with 2 attacks each, that hit on 3's, rerolling 1's and then wound on 3's with a -1 rend are potent stuff! Turn 1 death to the newly-painted overweight brutes.

Turn 2

In the chaos turn 2 the marauders surged forward, the horsemen charged the out of position Prince, and managed to wound him, the horses comically far better than the riders. In the centre the large block of marauders moved into contact with the Maiden Guard (which were playing using Seaguard stats). This brought them into range of the Swordmasters who piled in with predictable results - see the half empty movement tray! The marauders at the bottom of the picture made short work of an eagle. Neither side suffered much from battleshock or magic.

In the elf turn, the central unit of marauders were wiped out by the Swordmasters as their reign of death continued. The bolt thrower inflicted casualties on the nearer unit of marauders while on the far side, the Prince retreated to be replaced by the spearmen, who easily defeated the marauder horsemen (I noticed today that the horsemen have two wounds each - we had played just one each - with their two attack steeds this makes them quite overpowered in my mind). The chaos force was looking under pressure, their best unit still to get into combat.

Turn 3

The initiative swung to the elves. They poured fire into the chaos warriors and stripped away a handful with bolt and arrow, then charged in with Maiden Guard and Prince, removing another couple of warriors. In return the chaos forces inflicted just three casualties on the elven fighting ladies. The Swordmasters slaughtered the lone chaos sorceror, though in a flurry of poor dice it took them two combats. By now it was clear that the battle was effectively over. The elves gallantly offered surrender terms to the remaining six chaos troops, then proceeded to mock them as they trudged off the battlefield. Capricious behaviour befitting the haughty ones!

It was probably a better game than the first effort, though the Chaos general was new to the game and made some beginner errors, leaving his units isolated to be systematically outnumbered and slaughtered. It still seems strange that there is no psychology, no real manouevre. I am not sure it's suited to a classic mass battle but is obviously more intended for skirmish gaming, playing like 40k a lot of the time. Maybe we should try it with minimum sized units of 10 or 5, see if it gives better results. A couple more games I think before I throw in the towel, but it's failing to convince me at the moment. Shame really, I quite like the flavour added by the warscrolls, it's the basic mechanics that are the problem. A second game of Age of Sigmar

Read more ...

A game of Age of Sigmar

The battle begins

I was sad to see the old Warhammer world destroyed. There's been a lot of commentary made around the web, on both sides of the argument. I think the comment that summed up my feelings best - it felt like an act of vandalism. Having said that, we still have over 30 years of creative output to play with, which is far more than most other games can claim. It's a rich world that we can continue to enjoy, through previous versions of Warhammer Fantasy, or using other rulesets. And of course we have free warscrolls for our existing armies to use in the new game, Age of Sigmar. With this in mind, I got my high elves out of the glass cabinet and arranged a game with a long standing Beastlord gaming buddy. I told him upfront what I would be using and asked him to come up with something roughly equivalent. It wasn't a case of winning or losing, it was more an investigation of how the game played. It certainly was good to get the old elves on the table, some of these figures I painted about twenty years ago!

Straight away, we hit what is surely a common problem around the world. The two armies lined up, and it seemed that the elves had come expecting a nice little tea party and a chat about the good old days, while the beasts were intent on cramming in as many participants as possible and causing serious carnage. No points values means some kind of contract between players, but even between us old time friends I think somebody got a little carried away. I cannot imagine how this would work in a shop, I bet the poor guys behind the tills have had a few stressful days of late.

The thin white line

Having read the rules a couple of times I was fairly confident that the game would swing along at a good pace. There's a few grey areas that can be easily overcome with a common sense approach, but I failed to appreciate how much all the special rules would have an impact. While the basic game rules are easy, we spent a lot of time rifling through our printouts to check what special rules each unit had, three or four each on average. To be fair, a lot of these were similar, and after a few games we would probably have these mostly memorised. Like many a simple ruleset, these special rules are where the flavour of the army shines through.

At first, the game settled into a fairly familiar pattern. The elves held back and shot as much as they could. The archers took advantage of their special rule and loosed a storm of arrows (double attacks for one turn only), and combined with shots from the bolt thrower and reavers they brought down most of the advancing minotaurs. The reavers had a nice rule that allowed them to shoot, then move away, in classic fast cavalry fashion. They also had a basic two shots each, which increases to three per model if they stay more than three inches from the enemy. So they turned out to be a very potent force and kept the right flank under control for the whole game. 

The thicker, beefier brown line

The beasts ran across the board as fast as they could, then attempted multiple charges, most of which fell short, allowing the elves to strike with their bows once more. At this point I should really have withdrawn and then shot, there is no penalty for moving then shooting and there's no risk in hanging right back at the edge of the board, as nothing ever flees. But inevitably these things are forgotten in the thick of battle and the forces came to blows. Centigors butchered archers and were in turn wiped out by swordmasters. Both chariots found it impossible to resist infantry blocks. Magic was practically non-existant, a mage bolt dealt the killing blow to a doombull, but in return the beast shaman conjured a monster from thin air.  

Combat tended to be extremely brutal. Casualties mount up very quickly, then the crap shoot that is the batteshock test invariably adds a few more. My units of 15 spears melted away in one single combat, the beastly blocks had far greater staying power. There was no need to outflank or manoeuvre for position as there is no real advantage to orchestrating combined charges. Units fight in alternating player turn, so it can be easy for a unit that has been charged to strike first and remove the charging bonus of the enemy. 

A fine spectacle, but how does the game play?

After three or four turns we wrapped up. As expected, the armies had met in the middle and destroyed each other. It felt a little predictable, a little flat. I had come to dislike WHFB 8 because everything died, in Age of Sigmar this is turned up to 11 (though magic is strangely less important). The outcome may well have been different if the sides had been more equal, I reckon my army was around 1500 points whereas the beasts were packing 2000+ points. With a little more planning we could probably have a better experience, just using the points values from the old books would be a starting point, though clearly units have changed in their effectiveness. There's no psychology whatsoever, no real need to move carefully, very little in the way of tactical planning. All in all, I was a little disappointed that a once fine game had been reduced to a not very subtle dice rolling exercise. I really did no want to write this, there is far too much moaning on the web about the game, but the experience was a let down. Maybe there will be future expansions to refine the rules, but at the moment I would rate it as the poorest version of the game I have played.

To end on a positive note, it was good to see the elves on the tabletop after all these years - I will certainly not be burning them! We will be returning to these two foes in future games, the first of which we will fight using an even simpler set of rules - Lion Rampant. Our initial task is to thrash out army lists for the elves and beasts. We will probably also try out some of the other rulesets on offer, perhaps Saga, Hail Caesar or Kings of War. The struggles of the Elves of Ulthuan will continue.....

A game of Age of Sigmar

Read more ...

Tweaking Lion Rampant

Bold deployment by Clifford, a ragged approach by rookie di Pollo

More games of Lion Rampant. After last week's outing in the dungeon, this week it was a return to the more compact dining room table. Eagle eyed viewers will note the newly constructed pathways and village area on my wargaming blanket. Lord Clifford and his men, buoyed by their victory against the Normans, marched on to Italy to try their luck against the condottiere Stephano di Pollo. I'm not sure if that was his actual name, but that's what Clifford's men called him.

For these games we decided to add a simple house rule. Each general received the Commanding trait, allowing them one reroll per turn on a failed activation. Hopefully this would remove the sometimes wildly random failures that can frustrate, annoy or even ruin an evening's entertainment. The generals also gained one other trait. Clifford was strong (of course, though he forgot about it in the heat of battle). Stephano was insipid, his men would not receive +1 courage for his presence. After seeing his performance on the battlefield, it was easy to see why!

In long grass, even lowly bidowers are a match for men at arms

In the first scenario the two forces vied for control of a strategically important village, nominally fighting over the stone cross on the outskirts. After a promising early start in which Stephano's men boldly siezed the objective, they came under withering arrow fire and were forced to retire. From their advantageous central point, Clifford's archers were able to pour arrows into any advancing force. Stephano pleaded with his men to hold fast, but his insipid cries were lost in the din of battle, as his troops clanked past him to the rear. The extra 1 on the courage roll could have saved at least one of these units, and rolling a double 1 never helps either. Stephano and his remaining men retreated to the nearest trattoria.

For the second scenario we chose another simple game, bloodfeud, which is basically a kill the enemy general scenario. Stephano declined to hunt down his tormentor Clifford, so it was up to me to hunt down the enemy. This turned out to be easier than anticipated. The enemy general mounted on cavalry suffers from wild charge, so it was relatively straight forward to march my expert billmen towards him, shout insults, receive the charge and dispatch the dog (or should that be chicken).

Two games in two hours, a couple of beers, a few laughs (and for the loser, a cup of lukewarm tea). What more could you ask for on a Friday night? Tweaking Lion Rampant

Read more ...

Up in smoke

I have been playing a fair number of skirmish games recently, last night it was a return to Saga. Having played all the official scenarios several times over, I made up a quick and easy one of my own. Viking raiders had to penetrate the Anglo Dane defences and torch the village (they probably looted a few items too if they had any sense). It was a very simple affair, any unit by a hut and not in combat could attempt to burn it by activating and rolling a 4+. After fierce fighting, a pair of hirdmen (bottom left) managed to break through the defences and in the very last turn set the remaining two hovels alight. The whole village up in smoke! Victory to the vikings.

The game also gave me a chance to try out my new terrain. I still need to make up some boundaries (hedges or walls) and I think my battle mat needs some roads or muddy areas marked on it, to break up the expanses of green meadow land. Skirmish gaming is my thing at the moment, I am bouncing from Saga to Lion Rampant to Dux Britanniarum and back again. At some point I should write a comparison of the different systems.

Up in smoke

Read more ...

Lion Rampant first impressions

I have played my first half dozen or so games of Lion Rampant, the medieval skirmish rules written by Daniel Mersey and published by Osprey. The first game was a slowish affair as we blundered through the rules, but ever since we have played two games a session. As you have probably already read on many a forum or blog, the rules are easy to learn, the games are fast to play. Three games in a two hour session would not be impossible.

The game is set in medieval times, roughly 1066 to 1500. The combatants of the time have been abstracted into 11 categories - five types of infantry, three types of cavalry and three types of missile troops, with some room to upgrade troop types to become expert for a small combat/shooting bonus. Cavalry units are 6 strong. Infantry are usually 12 strong, with a few being just 6 strong. A typical force would comprise 5 or 6 units, so forces are around 40 to 70 figures, depending on player choice. There are no army lists as such, though there are suggestions as to which category to use in which army, but this is left to the player to decide. For example, my Wars of the Roses force comprises a unit of 6 men at arms, two units of 12 billmen (one with an expert upgrade), one unit of 12 expert archers and one unit of 6 bidowers (skirmish archers).

Ready, Aim, er, wait, what do we do now?

In a turn a player attempts to activate a unit, carries out the action if successful, then moves on to his next unit to attempt another activation. Activation is achieved by rolling two dice and scoring equal to or above the unit's activation value. When a unit fails to activate, the player turn ends and passes to the opponent. Activation values range from 5 to 7, so low totals are bad news. In the few games we have played it has not been that uncommon for a player to fail multiple consecutive activation rolls, which can be a bit frustrating at times, especially if the opponent seems to always pass theirs! Dice rolls will average out of course, but you can expect a fairly erratic game in which you might activate all units in one turn, followed by complete failure to do anything in the next turn, and so on. Over a complete game I guess it roughly equalises to both players getting the same amount of activations. If you like random elements like this in your gaming, it's fine, but if you like to carefully plan and have complete control of your troops, then it's probably not the system for you.

Combat and shooting is a very simple and elegant affair. Units roll 12 dice if they are above half strength, otherwise 6 dice. It may seem strange, but it allows the game to roll along at a good pace, no counting out dice every time. Each unit has a value to score in attack or defence, hits are divided by the unit armour value to determine casualties. When a unit suffers casualties it takes a courage test and may pass, or it may be pushed back and become battered (which is disordered/fatigued), or rout. When a unit is battered it can attempt to rally, if it fails it might lose more members or even rout. And that's the game mechanics in a nutshell, very easy and very quick to play.

My first impressions are generally favourable. The game is quick and easy to play, the rules are simple to learn. The unit profiles are quite long, there's 8 or 9 stats to memorise, so there is a bit of flicking through the rulebook to check these on a regular basis. It would have been nice to have these reproduced in the back of the book on one page, rather than the quite pointless blank roster sheet. There are 12 different scenarios to try, some of which are a bit quirky, but give fun alternatives to the usual line-em-up-and-wipe-em-out affair. Next time I introduce wargaming to a non-wargamer, there's a good chance it would be using these rules. If you are looking for in-depth historical simulation, this is not the ruleset for you. If you are looking for a decent, easy to play large skirmish game, then this could be the one. The most interesting thing from my viewpoint is that the system is ripe for use in other ways. I think it would work well to recreate battles in Middle Earth. If nothing else, it's given me a reason to collect and paint some medieval figures, which is nice. Lion Rampant first impressions

Read more ...

Wargames In the Dining Room

For the past few years I have enjoyed many a game in Matt's sumptuous wargaming dungeon. He has lots of space, a large hand built gaming table, with modular boards and a terrain collection he has built up over the years. From small skirmishes in the Indian Wars, robberies on the streets of Victorian London, to mass fantasy battles and the occasional flight into space. There's even a wine cellar attached!

My own set up is a far more modest, portable affair. I have a painted fleece blanket which I throw over the dining room table, a few books as hills and a bit of scatter terrain. It's a 5 x 3 space, so ideal for many of the skirmish games we play. Once I get my terrain collection upgraded, it should be just fine for games like LotR skirmish, Saga, Lion Rampant, Of Gods and Mortals, maybe I will even get my Dystopian Legions forces finished one day.

There are two advantages I can claim over the dungeon (yes, I do have dungeon envy). My system is light and portable. A couple of weeks back I rolled up my battle mat and loaded it and my box of dark ages figures into the boot of the car and they travelled 100 miles to a family visit, where I was able to demonstrate wargaming to my brother in law. And secondly, as you can see from these glorious technicolour images, the lighting is pretty good for photography. I use the dining room as my painting area, so it's equipped with a good daylight bulb in the ceiling and in a portable floor lamp, to aid vision through the long dark of the winter months. Admittedly, that's all a poor second to the nerd heaven of a dedicated gaming room, but it's a start! Wargames In the Dining Room

Read more ...

Ivar Sveinson and the Seige of Tunnocellom

Fighting at the gate to the town

The summer of AD809 faded away, the days shortened, the cold winds blowing in from the North Sea heralding the return of autumn. Ivar and his men sat glumly in their camp, the seige of Tunnocellom dragging into the fourth month. Suddenly they were roused by the blast of horns - the Saxons had returned to liberate the townsfolk. Battle lines were quickly formed.

Ivar shouted words of encouragement to his men, but they seemed unappreciative of his efforts. In contrast, the Saxons seemed buoyed, singing as they positioned themselves outside the town walls, no doubt their vocal chords well lubricated by mead. Ivar moved up quickly, hoping to strike a swift blow to the advance portion of the Saxon army. His men rushed to the attack, hurling spears and axes, but then faltered, pausing for breath. The two forces clashed, but the Saxons had the better of it and pushed the vikings away.

The Saxons gain supremacy of numbers

The Saxon Lord seized on the hesitancy and continued the onslaught, bringing up more men to throw into the fray. Ivar and his men found themselves pressed on all sides and the Saxon's fury was unrelenting. Ivar's champion was just one of the many casualties in that brutal moment. Three months sitting idly outside the town walls had obviously not been ideal combat training.

On the verge of defeat

Casualties mounted on both sides in the vicious combat. Ivar could see his men were hanging by a thread and pushed forward to make a mighty effort, but suffered a wound for his efforts. The Saxons were out for revenge and were merciless.

(My opponent Matt was using his infamous blue dice of doom. When he uses them, they invariably roll 5's and 6's. When I use them, they revert to 1's and 2's. There's some kind of Saxon skullduggery going on here!)

Dice = shock, skull = Ivar wound, another one on the way!

Ivar's compatriots could see his perilous situation and rushed across to reinforce his efforts. They had sprinted across the fields to come to his aid and were poised to launch an attack, when a Saxon horn pierced the din of battle. Once more their seemingly blessed blades proved better and Ivar was struck again! His men, shocked at this calamity, dragged him from the field, blindly running into the reinforcements and carrying them from the battle too. It was a disastrous defeat.

(My last ditch chance here was to hope my reinforcing noble activation came before the Saxon Lord, allowing me to charge in and help Ivar. And it did, but Matt played a step forth card to interrupt the sequence and finished me off, curse his Saxon dogs).

The cards and the dice all seemed to favour the Saxons this day and Ivar suffered a hammer blow to his dreams. Two years into the campaign, he has just one sack of gold remaining, while the Saxons had such a mighty victory that they attracted even more to their numbers. As the vikings solemnly rowed back the their camp, utterly defeated, the Saxons began a building program, reinforcing all the border towns with watchtowers. You can get a much better Saxon perspective (and better photos) from the wargamesinthedungeon blog.

I'm not quite sure how we can progress the campaign from here, after half a dozen or so games, the vikings are right back where they started, the Saxons have gained four archers and a handful of towers. While we both enjoy the gaming mechanics, particularly during raid scenarios, the campaign seems painfully slow. I might have a tinker round and try to come up with some improvements, I'm not sure we could stomach another five years of this plodding. I wonder if anybody, anywhere, has actually completed a full blown conquest of a region campaign, it must take dozens of gaming sessions and months, even years of gameplay? Ivar Sveinson and the Seige of Tunnocellom

Read more ...

Ivar Sveinson and the Battle of Red Hill

Shield wall ahead, levy ambush to the left - it's a trap!

On midsummer's day in the year 809, Ivar Sveinson once more led his men ashore to begin the conquest of Rheged. In the far distance, shimmering in the haze of the summer heat, lay the well protected prize - the town of Tunnocellum.  

After defeat in the last battle, Ivar decided that alcohol did not stiffen the sinews, but more likely dulled the minds, so urged his men ashore with great haste. The Saxon defenders formed up in shieldwall on a low ridge, with a contingent of levy hidden behind a small copse to spring a flank trap. It had worked in the last battle, but this time Ivar was more wary. He sent warriors into the wood to flush out the levy.

Left flank secured, form up to attack the shieldwall.

The viking warriors fought fiercely and, though outnumbered, pushed back the levy flanking force. Ivar gathered his main force at the base of the ridge, preparing to assault the shieldwall at the crest. It was a formidable task. Warriors in shieldwall can absorb more casualties - they ignore the first kill of any combat, so the odds are stacked considerably in their favour in a straight fight. Countering this, Ivar played a handful of fate cards, so his men could hurl axes as they rushed up the hill, and with an aggressive charge too (giving +1 to hit bonus). If this didn't shift the Saxons, then nothing would. The axe damage caused shock, but then his lines faltered as they scrabbled up the slope - at this point I had a 2 dice roll to charge 3 inches, and made the classic double 1 roll!

Shieldwall clash

In a daring move, the Saxons moved downhill into the viking line. The two forces clashed, but despite the overwhelming odds, the vikings held firm, then pushed the Saxons back up the hill. After a brief pause, the vikings rushed uphill again and once more the two lines, now thinned considerably, met in deadly combat. Shields smashed and blood flowed, both sides fought to a standstill. Bodies littered the ridge, but still neither side would yield. Something had to give. Suddenly Ivar and his depleted band of warriors dashed back down the hill, the Saxons jeering at their seeming retreat, but unable to pursue, held on the ridge by a handful of Ivar's finest warriors. The Coward was on the run again.

Saxon shieldwall hold the ridge, Ivar rushes downhill

When he had caught his breath, Ivar put his plan into action. The band of viking warriors on the left flank that had previously fought off the Saxon levy were now called to aid their leader in the main action. They joined Ivar as he charged back up the hill with his reinforcements. The Coward was Cunning perhaps. His line now bolstered, he steadied his men and surveyed the tattered Saxon lines. Though they held the higher ground, they had suffered great casualties. Only a handful of warriors remained clustered around the Saxon Lord and his nobles. Surely, the day was lost and they would retreat.

Outnumbered, outflanked, the Saxon Lord charges to his doom

In a reckless moment of madness, the Saxon Lord ordered the attack once more. It was a fight he could not win. His men were exhausted and could offer no resistance. They fled, leaving their liege overwhelmed. In a final act of brutal victory celebration, the viking warriors hacked him limb from limb. Dozens of dead and dying lay all over the hill, stained red in the gore of the day. The vikings cheered and saluted their warlord. The prize lay in their reach. With the Saxon defenders butchered or scattered, they set about the siege of Tunnocellum. It was a well fortified town and it would be a long task, but the conquest of Rheged had begun.

Ivar Sveinson and the Battle of Red Hill

Read more ...

Ivar Sveinson Goes to War

In the year 809 AD, Ivar Sveinson the Coward was crowned warlord by his loyal followers, no doubt encouraged by the coin rattling in their purses. He vowed to give his warriors a real home, a land of their own, which would be taken from the weakling and cowardly Saxons. Singing songs of war and glory, his men followed him into battle.

At the end of the first year of campaigning, Ivar had  amassed eight chests of coin, enough to buy himself the title of Warlord, which meant he could now march into battle rather than just raid. Victory in battle would win him and his followers lands of their own, the first step on the road to the conquest of Rheged. With barrels of ale to encourage his troops, the vikings trudged inland to a likely looking settlement. It seemed relatively unmanned and would make a good base from which to begin the conquest.

Vikings dash toward the thin Saxon line

The vikings dashed across the open terrain, they had double the number of the Saxons and were confident they could scatter the few defenders to the winds. The Saxons formed up a thin defensive line but it seemed a meagre gesture. Suddenly, over on Ivar's left flank, there was a commotion. A line of Saxon levy appeared as if from nowhere - the cowardly dogs had been concealed in the long grasses just below the brow of a small dip in the ground (the position in the photo is a little above the fate card). They leapt up and charged into the vikings. Ivar's confidence faltered as he felt the steely jaws of the trap closing around him.

This was our first attempt at a battle game. I decided to ply my troops with drink, to give them courage, and it seemed to do the trick as morale rose. The Saxons decided to pray for a miracle and could hide troops in a dip in the ground. I figured I could ignore the ambushers and just rush into the main body of the army, hopefully making a decisive strike while I held numerical advantage, with roughly half of the Saxons nowhere to be seen. But when they appeared on my left flank, I was suddenly faced with two battle fronts. Worse still, the initial charge by the Saxons sent a unit of vikings reeling. My left flank collapsed, to the front a Saxon shieldwall closed in. I was caught in a textbook pincer movement, surely this hadn't been invented yet!

Viking meat in a shieldwall sandwich!

I had kept a unit to the rear of my army, as a reserve force to plug any gaps. So quickly they charged to shore up the left flank. They managed to disrupt the Saxon advance, but not halt it, and again suffered large casualties. Faced by a shield wall to the front and a seemingly invincible line of levy to the flank, the vikings were slaughtered. Ivar just about made it from the field, but most of the army was routed. It was a grim day. The northmen suffered heavy losses, while the Saxon Lord gloried in a victory so great it earned him a title - the Good. We did think that the Blessed was more appropriate, after the miracle of the levy intervention, but the bold blue text of the Good promises some kind of benefit - though as usual it's not really explained very clearly and I will have to delve into the rules to find out exactly what the benefit turns out to be.

What a crushing blow to Ivar's ambitions. It's hard to imagine the battle going so badly, from a levy charge! The dice certainly did not favour me this game, but I was too rash in advancing forward so quickly without first working out how to deal with the ambush. Still, it was a very entertaining chapter in our saga, certainly the most decisive game to date and a real eye opener for Ivar, I doubt he will be so lax in future encounters with Saxon levy. For some filthy Saxon propaganda on the battle, take a look at Matt's blog - wargames in the dungeon. Ivar Sveinson Goes to War

Read more ...

Ivar Sveinson Raids Again

The vikings wade through the estuary to the village

By May of that year, Ivar Sveinson and his valiant crew once more did set sail. A small coastal village was their target, rumoured to hold great treasures in the fine church. Boldly did they stride ashore that day......

After the embarassing incident with the sheep flock, Ivar Sveinson was determined to win back the regard of his men, not to mention some much needed coin. In a turn of good fortune, the noble thought lost in the previous raid turned up a few days later, a bit muddy and tired but none the worse for his ordeal (when I rolled a replacement I ended up with exactly the same attributes, so I decided he must have survived after all). The scenario we rolled up this time was a raid on a village, the vikings searching for loot in the buildings, the Saxons trying to thwart them. This time I was more fortunate in my initial positioning, I was able to take two turns of movement on to the board. The village was in the half way point, so even with the boggy ground of the river estuary slowing me down, I was near to the objective very early on, the Saxons huffing and puffing to reach me.

Both the church and the nearest hovel are empty!

Swiftly they did search the church, but the cunning Saxons had obviously been forewarned, as it was empty of their treasures. Ivar set his men to searching the other buildings, bravely holding the enemy back.........

To loot a building a group simply roll a dice and if it turns up a 6, that means there's loot. On the other hand, if a 1 is rolled, that means the building is empty. Of course, my first two searches I rolled 1's, but this is not as bad as it seems as it means I could move on and search another building. Ivar and his hearthguard moved into the centre of the village to block any Saxon intervention, while the search moved on to the small hut on the hill.

Ivar and his men hold off the Saxons while the treasure is looted

A horn sounded out. Treasure had been found! Ivar and his men crashed into the Saxons to give his men time to transport their loot back to the ship.

Finally the treasure was unearthed, the devious Saxons had hidden it in the rafters of their grain store. The vikings set off with their loot back to the ship, while Ivar and his men attempted to hold off the Saxon chase by blocking the pursuit routes. On the far side of the village, beyond the church, more vikings and Saxons clashed. I had the run of the dice and pushed the Saxons back beyond the cross on the far hill. Meanwhile, Ivar rushed up the hill into the Saxon shieldwall. I had held back a Carpe Diem fate card and was able to play three cards in this one combat, hurling axes into the Saxons and causing considerable shock before crashing home and inflicting even more casualties, with very little damage received in return. The Saxons scattered from this savage onslaught. Their treasure lost, scattered in defeat, they withdrew and the vikings were able to saunter back to the ships, victory songs chanted all the way.

The Saxons had suffered moderate losses and would need two months to recover their numbers. The vikings had suffered very light losses and consequently made a second uncontested raid in the following month of June. In total they gained four chests of coin and even gained a couple more warriors in their band, obviously word was getting around of the rich pickings available. Ivar had finally won back the respect of his men and was building a good amount of coin to further his ambitions. His personal fortune was now five chests of coin, technically enough to be declared a warlord and start to conquer British lands. In the next game Ivar has the choice of declaring a battle and possibly winning land, or to continue with raids to build up more cash. What will the Coward decide? Ivar Sveinson Raids Again

Read more ...

The Woes of Ivar Sveinson the Coward

Ivar Sveinson is seldom mentioned in the epic sagas, and for good reason. Cast out by his family with nought but a single ship and crew to his name, he sailed over the seas, to a strange island the locals named Mann, said to be home to fairies in the enchanted dells, and roamed by three-legged men. Ivar set these tales aside and established camp, the kingdom of Rheged lay but a day's sailing over the waves. Though rugged, windswept and rain -lashed, it offered rich pickings from the surly locals, or so Ivar thought.........

I would much rather have been able to start my tale with a more stirring title, such as the Saga of Ragnar the Brave, or Erik Bloodaxe, but it seems my story is going to be a little less heroic. Having rolled up my Dux Britanniarum characters, I had a poverty-stricken, cowardly Lord leading my force, with a bodyguard fond of riding horses (not much use to a seafaring adventurer). I also had a lustful noble in my retinue, dragging down the loyalty of my troops. Only my second noble had any decent characteristics, being big and strong and with the constitution of an ox. In terms of  troops available at the start of the campaign there are 2 units of elite, 3 units of warriors and a small band of bowmen.

Ivar and his men spied an easy target and fell upon a village, scattering the few farmers and making off with the cattle. But their trespass had not gone unseen, and Saxon warriors rushed to wreak their vengeance on the luckless invaders......

Right lads, let's get these three groups on to the ship
- hey, where are the sheep?

The scenario we rolled was a cattle raid. The vikings started on the north edge of the board and had to escort cattle down the length of the board to the southern end. They got a random head start, which turned out to be just one move. The Saxons arrived at a random point, the middle of the western edge, with a random number of units in their vanguard, for which of course Matt rolled a 5. As the viking player I would be victorious if I could get 2 of 3 "cattle" off  the board. If I failed to achieve this, the Saxons would be the victors. Each group of cattle required an escort, one group of men. I allocated my missile troops and two units of warriors, plus one noble, to this task. I would send these around a wood, away from the enemy troops and on to the waiting ship. The rest of my force (just 3 units) was to engage and delay the enemy. That was the hastily conceived plan.

Baa, Baa, Ha, Ha the vikings are taking a beating

Loki the Trickster God had his fun that day. In the form of a ram he lead the sheep into mischief, and a merry dance for the viking herders. He blunted their axes and steadied the shield arms of the Saxons.....

The cattle moved 2d6 per turn, the herders with them can move up to 3d6 so it should have been reasonably straight forward to keep the dumb animals in check. The accompanying noble, with his ability to activate a unit twice, would gee up any stragglers. Of course, straight away the sheep flock broke away from their captors and headed in the wrong direction. And the fighting troops bounced off the Saxons, with the champion taking a spear in the belly, to save his cowardly Lord. It went downhill from that point. The main combat became a stalemate, the sheep got away and the remaining herders were waylaid and defeated by a single group of Saxons. To add to the vikings woe, their finest noble was killed in a combat with levy troops (having the constitution of an ox did not help as I forgot to roll to see if he escaped the fatal blow). I decided to withdraw, the Saxons did not attempt to stop me, fearing more casualties.

Vanquished vikings trudge back to the ship
The jeers of the Saxons and bleating of sheep ring in the distance

And so the Woes of Ivar Sveinson began. While his men nursed their wounds and lamented the loss of the best among them, his foes named him the Coward, the viking bested by sheep. The saxons retired to their mead hall, feeling they had seen off the inept invader.......

The result of the raid was a four point victory to the Saxons. Just one more victory point and they would have been rolling to gain renown for the Lord. As it was, they recovered from their wounds in just one month, gained a bit more cash and gained a couple more warriors to their cause. The vikings gained nothing at all and would need two months to recover from their losses. They would also have to roll up a new noble and champion to try to bolster the pathetic Ivar Sveinson. Surely things could only get better? The Woes of Ivar Sveinson the Coward

Read more ...

Dux Britanniarum Campaign

One of the main reasons for me picking up Dux Britanniarum is that it includes a campaign system. While I enjoy throwing down a few soldiers and rolling dice on a casual basis, I find that a good scenario adds so much to the experience. A linked series of scenarios is even better. Hopefully, DuxB will give all this.

The book covers dark ages warfare in the age of Arthur. The Romans have left Britain, their successors (the Romano-Britons) are facing threats from Saxon invaders. The campaign system includes a character generator for both forces, careers for your chosen Lord, raid scenarios, battles, force development, etc. There's just one problem in all this - we don't have any figures from this period. But we do have plenty from about two centuries later, in the shape of Saxons and Vikings. So we are going to use the book but jump forward in time - in our campaign the Saxons are now rulers of Britain, with Viking invaders launching the raids. We can easily tweak any references as appropriate.

The first decision of any campaign is to decide on a region in which to base the campaign. There's no place like home, so we have decided to fight the Invasion of Rheged. It's a part historical, part fantasy campaign. The year is 808 AD, vikings have established a settlement on the Isle of Man, a base from which to launch raids on the mainland.

The aim of the campaign is to gain/defend territory. The region of Rheged is split into seven provinces and to win the campaign the vikings will have to conquer all of them. The Saxon aim is to build defences in these regions to make it more difficult and/or to drain money from the Vikings so they cannot sustain themselves in enemy lands. Each lord progresses throughout the campaign, attracting more followers and agents.

The campaign is fought over years, each split into months. After a raid is fought, a number of months will elapse before the forces are back to combat strength. More raids and battles see the revenues expand, which is spent on more troops, defences, upgrades and so forth. The year starts in March and ends in October, then there's an end of year process and the cycle begins again.

In order to make it more likely that we reach a conclusion, we will be fighting for seven campaign years. At the end of AD 815 we will see which of the two rulers has fared best. Hopefully that will be achievable and should give us plenty of good games, but not drag on too long and be adandoned as so many campaigns are! Dux Britanniarum Campaign

Read more ...

Dux Britanniarum first impressions

Dux Britanniarum is a dark ages skirmish game/campaign system that has been around for a couple of years. It's been on my radar for a while, so recently Matt and I set up for a raid scenario. We had previously tried a test game to get familiar with the mechanics, but that was a few months back so had forgotten most of them, but as we got into the game it slowly came back to us.

The rules are relatively simple. Combat troops make up the bulk of the two opposing forces and are classed as elite, warrior or levy. These are generally fielded in groups of six, which can join together into larger formations. Each group/formation is activated by a noble or lord. These command figures have varying levels of command, which determines how many activations they can perform and how far their command reaches. When a group/formation is activated, it moves and/or fights. In combat, troops can be killed, or shocked. Kills are self explanatory. Shock has a cumulative effect on the unit, that gradually erodes their combat capability, forcing them to withdraw or even turn and flee the battle.

Shieldwall on a hill, a DuxB deathstar!

There are no unit stats! Movement is by dice roll so no need for a move stat. Better troops roll more dice in combat and are harder to kill, so no weapon/melee/armour stat. The shock mechanic determines how long troops stick around to fight, so no need for a morale/leadership stat. It's pretty clever stuff for such a simple mechanism.

Having sung those praises, I did find the rules a little bit vague at times. Combat is an easy mechanic but it does take a bit of careful reading to understand how the units interact. There are several diagrams, but our first combat was not covered by any of them. There is a table of contents but no index, so I did spend a fair few minutes flicking around trying to find some information. There's a useful reference sheet on the back cover which I suspect will be all that's needed after a couple more games, but it does not include the force morale table which is central to the game. As units flee from combat, nobles take wounds, and maybe other circumstance, the morale of the force is affected. When a force morale reaches zero, it has lost all resolve and withdraws from the battle. It's probably the biggest table in the book, so should really be in the reference section.

White dice as shock markers, a temporary measure.

That minor gripe aside, it feels like a very solid ruleset. The basic mechanics are really rather impressive and give a good feel to the game. Troops move and act in a way that feels "right" - this is always going to be a personal thing for gamers of course, but it ticks a lot of boxes for me. And that's before we get to the scenarios and campaign system. A very promising system, I am looking forward to playing more games and will be covering more detail in future posts. Time for me to go and research some suitable names for my characters. Dux Britanniarum first impressions

Read more ...

More thoughts on War of the Ring

I have posted recently on my impressions of the War of the Ring battle game. In my first post I talked about the overall flow and ease of the game, in the second post I pondered the addition of characters and magic. In summary, the game is quick and easy to play - the rules are simple and there's just one chart in the whole book. Crucially, the game interleaves all phases, so players are involved far more, there's very little downtime. The rules scale up to big battles too - this photo is a game we played at the weekend, pooling all our figures into one mighty conflict. There are around 50 companies on each side in this game, a company is either 8 infantry or 2 cavalry models. It's probably the biggest game I have ever played in, not a bad achievement for four nerds in a basement!

Of course, not everything is perfect. The game does have a few flaws, at least in my eyes. Combat resolution is an example. When combat is completed, the winner is determined purely by number of casualties. There are no other modifiers to this result. The loser rolls a single die - a 1 can lead to the unit being removed, a 2-5 can result in extra casualties and the unit is disordered, while a 6 means the unit fights on with no ill effects. There is no account taken of the margin of victory in this roll either, whether you lose by 1 casualty or 21 casualties, the roll is always the same. The net result is that invariably the loser sticks around for another round of combat, until he is wiped out. Opposing forces tend to meet in combat, fight for two or three rounds, until one grinds the other into the dirt. There's no fleeing and pursuing as per Warhammer. While this solves many rules problems (fleeing units seem to cause so many rules problems), it does feel a bit static and in need of some modification.

The other area of concern I have is morale. There are no rules for morale in the game. There's no panic tests, no psychology, the only concession is that when the final company of a formation falls to half strength, it is removed from the board. In a big game like the one we played, with formations of 6 or 9 companies, this can seem a bit unrealistic. There are terror causing beasts in the game (trolls, ents, etc) but a failed terror test merely results in the unit losing fighting capacity. Psychology/battle fatigue are not really represented in the game as it stands.

Overall, I like the game. The phases order and movement rules are particularly good, combat is easy to understand and resolve, while magic and heroes can subtly alter the dynamic. With a few tweaks to combat resolution and some kind of psychology rules, it would be an even better game. More thoughts on War of the Ring

Read more ...

Another game of War of the Ring

It's been a few weeks, but I finally managed to get another game of WotR. This is my third attempt, I have read through the rules a couple of times and gaming buddy Matt has played a few extra games. Between us, we just about know the basic mechanics now. The rules are pretty simple and well laid out, so it's a good mass battle system to play if you like to spend your time moving units and rolling dice rather than poring through a rules book. It could easily be adapted to historical games if you skip the magic and tone down the heroic abilities. These are the two areas I am now trying to get my head round.

Heroes are split into two types - the generic unit leaders like captains of Gondor, and the individuals such as Boromir, Lurtz, Gandalf et al. They give a unit of troops a bonus in combat and a little courage boost, ensuring they stick around in combat for longer. All heroes have might points which they can use to modify dice rolls at a crucial point. The lesser heroes typically have just one or two might points to spend in this way. Greater (or so called epic) heroes have variable numbers of might points to spend, for example Saruman has three, while Boromir has six. Epic heroes also have more special rules available to them, more actions they can perform and greater boosts they can make, often to multiple units rather than just the one they accompany. Getting the best out of them is probably one of the key parts of playing the game, but I am still at an early learning stage for this aspect of the game.

Magic is simpler, though this player seems to be taking an age to decide which spell to cast! Wizards have a mastery level, 1 to 3, which determines how many spells they can attempt to cast in a turn (at the end of the movement phase). They have access to all spells in their lore, and some know spells from two lores. The spell is cast automatically, a single dice is rolled to determine the effect, with a roll of 1 being no effect, 2-5 average, 6 better. Once the spell is resolved, the caster can then try another if his mastery level allows it. To do this he must maintain his focus by rolling greater or equal than the focus level of the spell previously cast. The spells are subtle rather than spectacular, giving courage boosts or penalties, small bonuses in combat, shooting or such like. I played as Saruman and had a couple of turns casting three spells, but killed only a handful of Gondorians, though I did manage to shatter the shields of one unit, which would have been handy if I could have followed it up with a charge into them. As with the heroes special abilities, I suspect that getting the best out of the magic is to properly synergise with the troops on the field. More practise required I think. Another game of War of the Ring

Read more ...

War of the Ring first impressions

It's been a long time coming, but I have finally played my first couple of games of War of the Ring. For a decent overview of the game, have a look at this article on BOLS. For a very detailed look at the rules, check out this article on RPGnet. As both reviews noted, the game plays like a hybrid of Warmaster and Warhammer. The rules are quite streamlined and quick to play, with just one table to memorise - ideal for the more mature gamer!

Everything you need is in just one book. The rules, army lists, modelling section and scenarios, all in one big blue book, which is no longer in print but can be picked up on ebay for around £10, quite a steal for a hardback book containing more than 300 pages of the usual GW quality content.

Here's  a shot of the first game, as you can see we are still working on the movement trays, but it gives a good idea of the look and feel of a typical game. Note the orcs on the right moving up in a column formation, when they charge they can fan out into a wider formation to maximise attack potential.

The game is played in turns, split into movement, shooting, charging and combat, but in an alternating sequence. Players roll at the start of the turn for initiative, then player1 moves his troops, then player2 moves his troops, then player1 shoots, then player2 shoots and so on. I prefer this system, there's far less down time waiting for your opponent to complete all phases. It makes the game feel more engaging, you only have to wait a couple of minutes before you are called on to do something.

Movement is a straight forward affair. All units have a move allowance measured in inches, formations are free to move in any way as long as the companies do not exceed the move allowed. So a formation could turn, or move into a column, or widen it's frontage, or just plain old move forward. Terrain and enemy proximity halve the movement distance. That's basically it, the rules for moving are covered in just four pages. It's neat and quick without loads of measuring and fiddling that some systems insist upon.

Charging is performed in a similar way. Pre-measuring is allowed, then there's a dice roll with an amount (dependent on unit type) added  to see if the charge reaches the enemy. If it does not, the charger simply remains where he started. If successful, the companies move up and fan out, not necessarily remaining in the same formation they started in. I find this to be quite realistic and satisfying, compared to the rigid charges of other systems.

One Chart to Rule Them All

Shooting and combat are very similar, both use the same mechanics. The attacker first calculates how many dice he will use, better fighters/shooters get more dice and there are other bonuses for things like charging, or penalties applied if attacked in the flank or rear. Once the number of dice is known, the player then looks up on a single chart the score required. For each success, a casualty is caused. Thus, both shooting and combat resolution is performed in just one dice roll - considerably speeding up the game. There's no roll to hit, roll to wound, roll armour save, roll parry save - it's all performed quickly and neatly in just one roll. Casualties from shooting might cause a formation to be pushed back. Casualties in combat might see the unit take even more casualties, or become disordered, or resolutely dig in and refuse to give ground.

At the basic level the game plays smoothly and quickly. The rules are simple and logical for the most part, though the shooting stat is an oddity. For some reason a higher shooting stat means poorer shooting - probably this was the old "to hit" value in the skirmish game. There's also very little in the way of morale. There's no panic when nearby units are butchered, or for other unsettling events. But for the most part, the basic rules give a very reasonable and satisfying wargaming experience.

Characters and magic add greater levels of complexity and strategic choices, but I need a few more games before I can properly comment on this part of the game. It's a bit like moving from draughts to chess, there are far more possibilities and combinations to ponder, so I will come back to this in a future post. So far, with a grand total of two games under my belt, I am really enjoying it and looking forward to delving deeper into Middle Earth. Who knows what will be awakened? War of the Ring first impressions

Read more ...