BLOOD AND CROWNS... PUSHING BACK THE ENVELOPE!

I really enjoy Blood and Crowns but, to be honest, I'm not a massive fan of gaming the Hundred Years War! To play the game as written, would mean investing in a whole new load of figures and, probably, quite a lot of new terrain to go with it. I've already tried using the rules with my collection of late 12th century figures for the Great Revolt of Henry II's reign and they work seamlessly; some of the heavier armour of the Hundred Years War can be left out, as can the rules concerning the longbow, but all the fundamental game mechanics fit perfectly with the earlier period.

Today, I'm pushing back the clock another 650 years and using Blood and Crowns with my armies of Post Roman Britain! The heroic forces of Alt Clut and a band of bloodthirsty Scotti raiders encounter each other in Northern Britannia around the year 510 AD. Can a set of rules written for the Hundred Years War cope with all the peculiarities of the Age of Arthur? Hmm, I wonder!

Brother Flirtatius and his band of Pagenses stoutly prepare to defend the farmstead against the approaching hordes of despicable Scotti warriors. The Holy Man special character gives the unit a Favour Token of their own, to use when things get a little scary and a re-roll might just save the day.

Donnchad Luthmor, War Lord of Dal Riatta, and his beastly warband advance, comfortable in the belief that the lone unit of Pagenses are all that stand between them and the alluring delights of the farmstead.

However... beyond the farmstead, Lord Pellinore hastens to the aid of Brother Flirtatius, with his personal Teuli, a unit of Combrogi, archers and yet more Pagenses. To reflect the nature of warfare 800 years before the Hundred Years War, the Arthurians have the Special Rule, Shieldwall, which is similar to Brace and gives a bonus to the Save roll in both missile and melee combat situations.

Lord Pellinore and his band of brothers, with a string of factors of 5 and Shieldwall(1), Stalwart and Tough special rules. Not a unit to be taken lightly with mail armour, big shields and a barrel full of bad ass attitude.

Donnchad and his personal retinue are equally tough opposition, but their use of buckler shields means they don't have the option to form Shieldwall.

Let battle commence... the good brother inspires his quivering flock to hold fast against the wave of Scotti nastiness, which is about to crash against their rather flimsy fence!

The slings and more slings of outrageous fortune rain a shower of rocky missiles down upon the heads of the Pagenses, but they hold fast under the protective umbrella of Brother Flirtatius' fathomless faith.

Until the tsunami of Donnchad and his armoured swarm smash into the insubstantial wicker... will the Brother and his trembling band be able to hold against the ferocious onslaught?

Not when the Gods of the Dice are laughing in your face... three of the Pagenses go down, but they do manage to take one of the Scotti warriors with them...

Taking advantage of his initial success, Donnchad pushes his warriors on and another three Pagenses bite the dust, forcing the remaining two to fall back and their fatigue is more than they can bare... the brave Brother and his lone surviving companion break and flee the field, leaving it (the field) in the hands of the all conquering Scotti Warlord.

On the opposite side of the farmstead, Scotti warriors advanced against Lord Pellinore. They are Impetuous, Hard Chargers and Ruthless, with a melee factor of 5, which makes them potentially devastating in the charge, however, their lack of armour and small shields makes them incredibly vulnerable if they fail to get the upper hand in that initial contact.

Lord Pellinore had already formed his warriors into Shieldwall, making the Scotti effort to gain the upper hand that much more difficult.

The Scotti combat roll was stunning and it looked as though the Arthurians may well be overwhelmed in the initial combat...

The Arthurian response is equally exceptional and all but one of the hits were cancelled out, leaving the Scotti vulnerable to the counter-blow from Pellinore's warriors.

 
The Scotti lost half of their number in the Arthurian Fight-Back and were forced Fall Back following their Resolve Test.

With the tide turning against the Scotti Raiders, time ran out and the game was brought to an early close. Battle will resume however as I fight more actions between the Scotti and Alt Clut, bringing mounted forces into the action to see how they fare using Blood and Crowns rules.

Can you use Blood and Crowns with battles in the Age of Arthur? This was just one small game, but, on the basis of how this played out, the answer is definitely YES! Clearly, there are parts of the game that are not appropriate to Arthurian age games, but the basic systems involving activation, movement, combat combat outcomes work perfectly. So far, the only aspect of warfare in the earlier period that I've added to the original rules, is the use of the Shieldwall. In this game, the Arthurian Teuli gained hugely from being formed in Shieldwall, with the minus 1 to Save Rolls cutting their losses from three to one in the combat against the Scotti Warriors. It's not a lot of data to base a conclusion from, but it did what it was supposed to do... for an Arthurian unit with large shields, forming Shieldwall makes your defence more effective and it blunted the initial Scotti charge, making it very difficult for them to gain the upper hand. Forming Shieldwall is an action that costs more the lower a unit's experience level is, reflecting the complexity of carrying out the manoeuvre on the battlefield. I've also gone for a simple mechanic of the Shieldwall being broken following any movement at all; so if you decide to pursue or consolidate, for example, the Shieldwall would need to be reformed on the next activation. Becoming Shaken also causes the break up of the Shieldwall formation.

The future is looking good as far as I can see; Blood and Crowns has became my go to game; I love the systems it has for activation and combat and now I can get my Age of Arthur figures out on the table top and enjoy a game of Blood and Crowns with my favourite toy soldiers! And my other favourite toy soldiers... the ones from the 12th Century... who knows what might come next! 

BORDER WARS... AWAY, AWAY TO DINGLE FARM!

Come along me Lads,

A Reiving we will go,

Let's make our way to Dingle Farm,

To tarry with the foe!

The Dingle men,

Brainless Will and Forkey Jack,

Did call to Goodwife, Nellie

To swiftly hurry back.

From the southwards

Came the Branston Clan,

And reiving all the Dingle goods

Was their dreadful plan.

Yet, to the northwards

Approached the lethal Trotters

With eyes upon the plunder

Things were about to get much hotter

"Nay Harns" Bobby,

Did stealthy sneak,

To catch the Dingles unawares

And to some havoc wreak.

Those Dingles,

Put aside their monstrous fear,

And rushed along, all bravely like

To defend their barrelled beer.

While Brainless Will,

Gave up and fled,

Forkey Jack met Hot Rod Trotter,

And horribly ended dead.

Heedless of the danger,

The courageous leaders met,

Exchanging savage sword blows 

But not a wound could they beget.

Unable to break the deadlock,

Blackmail Bill forces the other back,

Then turns to flee the combat 

Afore the Trotters resume their attack.

The deathly hiss of arrows,

Whistled through the air,

And one of Trotter's henchmen 

Got a really nasty scare.

Retaliatory missiles,

A terrifying whistle,

Cloth yard shaft downs a Reiver 

Smashes bone and gristle.

Berryck the Leader,

Hops deftly over the wall,

 In the  confusion of the conflict

Downs a Branston in the brawl.

The Branston clan,

Swallow a bitter pill,

The archer's deadly aim 

Leads to massive overkill.

Things go from bad,

To far far worse,

 William Chutney stunned

And captured in this dreadful verse.

And so the battle ends,

The Branstons retire to grieve,

 Down at Dingle Farm

The beer has gone and even Daisy has been reived.

Just in case you are wondering what on earth is going on, this is the outcome of my first attempt at playing Border Wars, Under a Reiver Moon! The Branston and the Trotter clans encountered each other whilst both, coincidentally, arriving to carry out a bit of reiving at Dingle Farm. Border Wars is an excellent set of rules, giving a really absorbing game, with lots of character and some surprising outcomes; the perfect vehicle for those of us who love to use their gaming to tell a tale. So far, I only have the figures that I used in this game, but the plan is to gradually build up the Branstons and the Trotters and to add a March Warden and his merry band into the mix. Well done, Iain Kerr McDonald on producing a really gripping set of rules and, giving me the opportunity to create some "interesting" characters to go a reiving across my table top!  

TABLETOP NEWS! WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO RECENTLY...

 As usual, just when you think you're going to have a nice quiet time, enjoying the fruits of your labours, playing a few games with the figures you've worked so hard to paint, you accidentally stumble across a YouTube video of somebody playing a game that you didn't know existed and you are instantly hooked and just have to buy the rules, some buildings and a whole load of new figures! Northumberland has long been my go to favourite holiday destination and the history of the Border Reivers one of those subjects that has always been there, at the back of my mind, waiting for a set of rules to ignite an eruption of gaming activity... so here it is! Border Wars, Under a Reiver Moon by Iain Kerr McDonald.

It is probably 30 years ago that I first started thinking about doing Border Reivers as a table top game, when Vendel Miniatures brought out a range of figures that got the old gaming blood pumping but, at that point, I just wasn't in the right place to start collecting figures for a brand new project... I had too many other things going on in my life! Now, happily retired and loads of spare time on my hands, delving into the chaotic and violent, yet somehow enchanting world of the Reiver families has got me creating my own little corner of the Anglo-Scottish border, where two rival Reiving Names are about to burst into a brutal and bloody feud.

My Reivers come from three sources... the handsome fellow to the left is one of the superb range from Flags of War, where the rules also come from, 'The Assault Group' have provided some mounted riders to back up the March Warden and, after watching some 'unboxing' videos, I bought a box of Wargames Atlantic's Conquistadores, which double up very nicely as our troublesome borderers. The Conquistadores are beautiful figures, sadly spoiled by a lack of instructions and an utterly bonkers sprue layout, which requires you to blindly guess which bit sticks onto which! For my first attempt at a billman, I ended up cutting all the possible left arms off the sprue and trying each one in turn before I eventually found the only one which would fit. If they weren't such lovely figures once you have figured out what goes where, I would probably have put them away somewhere and forgotten all about them! I'm hoping to post loads more about Border Wars games in the coming months, as I get more figures painted and build up the back story which, at the moment, is taking shape nicely as a deathly feud between the Branstons of Shoreston Hall and the Trotters of Spindlestone.

Robert Branston, Blackmail Bobby and the Brother-in-Law, William Chutney, Billy Outlander.

Last week, Dan came round for another game with the latest MESBG rules. Yet again, he came up with a wonderful little scenario that had us both biting our finger nails until the very last roll of the dice.

The game involved these four cheeky Hobbits making a night time raid on a deserted farm to acquire provisions for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and possibly 4th breakfast, before continuing on their way to the Prancing Pony in Bree. Unfortunately for Frodo and his travelling companions, the "deserted" farm was actually occupied by a bunch of nasty Wildmen who, provided their lookouts could stay focussed on their task, would make the Hobbit's breakfast a bit more challenging than they had anticipated.

The Wildmen were mostly relaxing in various farm buildings, apart from the 'Headtaker' and his chief chef, who were busy preparing their own, somewhat unsavoury, breakfast inside the ruined farm house. Three other Wildmen were supposed to be standing guard at various parts of the farm, but they were subject to a random die roll which could, and indeed did, send them off wandering around the farm, thus making it considerably easier for the Hobbits to grab some scran and make off back to their camp.

With breakfast at stake, Pippin would take any risk to get his little Hobbit hands on supplies.

Initially, the wanderings of the Wildmen enabled the Hobbits free access to supplies, but their luck was soon to desert them and they found themselves suddenly under very close scrutiny and, potentially, on the menu for breakfast!

The four Hobbits fought with tenacious bravery, but they were relentlessly pushed away from the source of the supplies and, worse, some of the Wildmen were soon re-claiming the stores already pilfered by the halflings.

Catastrophe finally overtook the Hobbits as Merry found himself surrounded by angry and hungry Wildmen. After his gallant defence, the gods of the dice turned their back on the little one and the Hobbit bit the dust...

As the remaining Hobbits fought desperately to avenge their fallen comrade, delivery arrived in the form of Strider, who immediately set about the Wildmen, scattering them to the four corners of Middle Earth. 

Victory, of a sort, went to the Hobbits, although, at the end of the game, they had no supplies with which to make their breakfast. As Dan said, the death of Merry certainly put a bit of a damper on things and would require JRR Tolkien to go and do some re-writing of the story.

Next up... we're going to have a go at the Amon Hen scenario, so I'd better get cracking and paint up a few more Uruk Hai. That probably means my last few Border Reivers are going to spend a bit longer on the painting shelf than original planned! 

CLASH OF SPEARS... DOMESTOS AND THE TEMPLE OF THE GOLDEN FLEAS.

Following the unfortunate events at the Temple of Persephone, where the great hero, Testakles, had allowed himself to be diverted from the strategic aim of the action, thus enabling the High Priestess, Amonia, to be spirited away by the Zealots, something of a rift had begun to form between the General and his subordinate, Domestos. While Testakles organised a thorough search of the area around the temple, Domestos, accompanied by a band of his faithful peltasts, ventured off in pursuit of the High Priestess and her Zealots. The trail led him deep into the forbidden heart of the forgotten province of Amnesea, towards a prize of untold wealth and unspeakable danger!

The Temple of the Golden Fleas... The Tree of the Festering Sheep stands in the centre of the Temple; its roots are said to have grown down to the very depths of Hades. At some point, lost in the mists of time, the dead sheep was unceremoniously dumped by a passing shepherd and the heat rising from the abyss attracted a swarm of Golden Fleas who have occupied the carcass ever since.

After her miraculous escape from the Temple of Persephone, Amonia, the High Priestess vowed to protect the Golden Fleas from any who dared to remove them from their home on the Festering Sheep... in this sacred task, she was assisted by her loyal servants, the Zealots.

And so it came to pass, on that fateful day, that Domestos and his Peltast warband arrived and, for the first time, gazed upon the magnificent splendour that was the Tree of the Golden Fleas! Unable to resist the temptation, they hurriedly advanced towards the Tree, believing it to be defended only by a scantily clad woman...

Little did they know that this scantily clad woman possessed deadly magical powers and an Arcane Bolt dispatched two of their number to the eternal torment of the underworld.

The hue and cry of battle stirred some great and monstrous evil from deep within the swamp that lay beyond the temple walls and numerous demonic eyes awoke to scrutinize the source of the disturbing clamour.

The Peltasts froze, gazing in awe and wonderment at the mighty beast which appeared before them from the inhospitable deepness of the swamp... it was at this moment that they realised that, driven by their greed and covetousness, they had strayed beyond the command range of their noble leader, Domestos, who was thus powerless to command them...

With a speed beyond belief, the Hydra was upon the Peltasts, who could do nothing but attempt to defend themselves against the brutal assault of the seven headed beast...

The savage razor-edged teeth ripped un-mercilessly into the terrified warriors and two of their number were instantly torn to shreds and cast asunder like useless scraps of meat... 

Unable to escape the terrible and violent assault, yet more of the Peltasts became victims of those rapacious fangs... 

Until the survivors turned and fled for their very lives, desperate to escape the monstrous beast from the swamp, all thoughts of the treasure of the Golden Fleas driven from their heads by the carnage and bloodshed they had experienced. From that moment forward, their night-time dreams and their day time thoughts would be haunted by the nightmares they had just, so providentially, left behind.

To compound the disaster faced by Domestos, the High Priestess Amonia's Zealots continued their assault upon the Peltasts facing them and wantonly slaughtered them, leaving not one man left alive... Domestos had no choice but to turn and flee, knowing that he would have to face the wrath of his commander, Testakles, for the sorry loss of so many of the gallant men of Hallitosos.

This was a very quick game of Clash of Spears, intended to test a set of rules I had put together for the Hydra and a much larger game, where the beast will face much stiffer opposition, will follow. There will be hoplites in the next encounter with the Hydra, but they will still need to test against their Grit value when in combat with the beast and failure will result in them having to choose Defend as their combat option. Many thanks to Alvaro Erize for tweaking my Hydra rules and bringing them back into the Clash game sequence... my love of the Hydra got the better of me and I perhaps gave it too much of an advantage over the mere mortals it would come up against in combat. To be fair, the Peltasts had little chance against the Hydra, despite some fairly average dice rolling, having strayed beyond the Command Range of Domestos, who had already used two of his three Command Points earlier in the turn. It will be interesting to see how the Hydra copes with an opponent who has access to archery and the more powerful melee combat presence of the hoplites...