Picts Avenge Insults and Repel Invasion at Saga Game Day

Nechtan Mac Fergus leads his Picts against Roman invaders beyond Hadrian's Wall in our February Saga Day

Thirteen is my lucky number, and that was the number of players we had at February's Saga Game Day at the Guardtower East, here in Columbus, Ohio. I was able to get in two games with my newest warband, the Picts (using the Scots board from Age of Vikings). Lately, I'd been getting in only one game, as either mine ran long or I was letting others play and taking on the role of odd man out for one round. This week, Andy decided to take the bye in our first round, because he wanted to get in a game of Age of Magic, and there were only two other players for that (Steve and Jeff).

Bob and Jim, right, face off in the second round while Jeff, in hat, wages war with Steve

My first opponent was another newer player, Todd, who had only played once previously. He was using Andy's Anglo-Danish warband. I'd used Anglo-Danes a number of times, as those who read my blog have seen with the saga of Sigurd Skullsplitter. I gave Todd advice on how to use his battle board, though he seemed fairly confident. We rolled and I was the "first player" (essentially the Attacker), so I rationalized this was Nechtan Mac Fergus' punitive raid into Northumbria to avenge last month's bloody battle against Joe's Anglo-Danes. We set quite a bit of terrain on the board, and then I rolled to have us fighting diagonally across it. This meant that Todd had large woods on either flank, which would slow down his hearthguard's movement towards the front of the battle.

My Picts close in quickly against Todd's Anglo-Danes to minimize their galling missile fire

I deployed with my three larger units of warriors in the center (10-figure, 12, and 10). My levy bow guarded the spearmen's flank in a rocky area to the left. On the right, my small unit of mounted hearthguard watched the woods for the approach of the Anglo-Danes. Nechtan Mac Fergus followed behind the warriors, encouraging them on. Todd deployed his levy slingers in the woods opposite our left, with a unit of warriors guarding the gap between it and another woods. His two small units of hearthguard were advancing through the thick woods towards our left. Another unit of warriors threatened to encircle our right, so my hearthguard moved up to keep an eye on them.

Todd's Warlord urges two small units of Anglo-Danish hearthguard through the woods to face my Picts

The warriors are the strength of this list, with numerous battle board abilities that give them bonus defensive dice. They also have one or two offensive ones that can really pack a punch. Since Todd was rolling better and the missile fire was going his way, I sped up my advance with my left and center long spearmen. One unit of spear drove the Anglo-Dane levy out of the woods, while another drove back his center unit of warriors. Neither victory was overwhelming for my Picts, so I decided to soften them up even more with the "Reach" ability. This lets my non-missile armed troops make a "javelin" attack on the enemy. I rationalize this as darting forward and using the long spear's reach to cause casualties, then backing off. I also targeted the closest of his small hearthguard units advancing through the woods and managed one casualty there.

Bob's warlord urges his Welsh forward against Jim's Byzantines, who had been on a victory streak in recent months

The next phase proved more decisive as my spearmen eliminated the weakened unit of Anglo-Dane hearthguard and the center unit of warriors. When his second unit of hearthguard emerged from the woods, they were destroyed, too. At this point, with all my units still intact, I was willing to back off and take my victory on points. The Anglo-Dane warlord was still at large, and any too-aggressive pursuit in the center could run afoul of him. Todd urged me to charge his unit of warriors which was standing off my small hearthguard cavalry. He said if I charged them, we could call the game after the fight. So, I loaded up on battleboard abilities and obliged him, which was another Pictish melee victory. We counted up the points, and my Picts had won 16-9.

Jason, at right, examines his Roman battleboard for clues to defeat my Picts, while Mike, left, and Joe face off

One of my favorite gamers of the "next generation" -- the kids of my gamer friends -- is Jason Stelzer. He always has a wry sense of humor and enjoys having fun in games. We had yet to play in Saga, so I told him we should match up in the second round. He was using Romans from the Age of Invasions (Aetius & Arthur) booklet, this week. He's also played Vikings and Anglo-Danes quite a bit. I was the Defender in this game, and adjusted his center hill towards my side of the board, but otherwise, it was a battle that would feature an open center and woods and rocky areas on the flanks.

Opening stages of the Roman-Pict clash, with my spearmen calmly awaiting the invaders' charge

I deployed my three warrior spearmen units on the center hill, backed up by the mounted hearthguard and Nechtan Mac Fergus. My levy archers raced through the woods on my right to get into shooting range of the enemy. Across from us, the first line of the Roman center was composed of missile troops -- levy javelinmen and warrior bows. They were backed up by cataphract hearthguard cavalry, his Warlord, and a large unit of warriors. Another 12-man warrior unit extended to his left, aimed at rousting my archers out of their woods.

Nechtan Mac Fergus exhorts his troops after repulsing two Roman charges

After doing little last game, my archers made up for it against the Romans, scoring hits every time they shot. The "Diversionary Volley" battleboard ability is a nice one, granting two extra attack dice and preventing the target from utilizing bonus defensive dice. As his warriors took hits, advancing towards my archers, I moved one of my spear units into the edge of the woods to intercept them. Meanwhile, Jason decided to open up the fighting with a surprising charge by his levy javelinmen against my largest unit of spear. He insisted it had been successful in previous games, though I don't think he knew the capabilities of a fully-loaded Scots battle board. It was a slaughter, and only two levy survived to flee back towards their lines, while my Picts celebrated, virtually unscathed.

Byzantine cataphracts from Jim's army ride to meet their foe

Another neat battleboard ability for my Picts is "No Respite", which allows me to roll three available Saga dice and place them on my board. Essentially, after using up most of my abilities on my turn, it allows me to restock my battleboard for my opponent's turn. So, when his warriors crashed into my spearmen that were blocking his advance towards my archers, they faced the same deadly Saga abilities. My favorite offensive combination is "Long Spears" which allows me to take up to half of my attack dice and convert them into defensive dice. Then, playing "Counter-Attack," each defensive dice earns me a bonus of two more attack dice. Another Pictish melee victory and another shattered Roman unit reeling backwards!

A unit of Jenny's Jomsviking warriors charge towards their foes, blood-lust up

Next, it was time to soften them up some more, so I advanced my battleline to within javelin range and used "Reach" to cause even more casualties. My hearthguard cavalry got into the fray, too, charging down and destroying a remnant unit, inflicting fatigue on all their compatriots within 4" that witnessed their destruction. A key to my success was setting up the battle so we fought only one melee per turn. That allowed me to pile in overwhelming abilities to dominate this one contest. The Picts also have the ability to go defensive, and take few to no casualties when charged. By closing ranks, and then using "Long Spears" to ensure I have more bonus defensive dice than attack dice, I can also play "Beyond the Wall." This makes my saves an additional +1 on top of the bonus for closing ranks. Saving from melee hits with handfuls of defense dice that are successful on 3-6 is an excellent way to protect your troops from casualties!

Jenny's warlord battles four Norman riders, confident of victory

We counted up the points and it was a pretty overwhelming victory for Nechtan Mac Fergus -- 29-7. So far, my Picts were 3-0 in their three games. So, I'm feeling much happier about painting them up than I was in the opening stages of their initial battle against Joe last month (when droves of them were dying to Anglo-Danish axes). I understand, though, that this is Saga. There are armies out there that have battle board abilities that can counteract mine. However, it is fun playing them the way they are supposed to be: scrappy, tough fighters, who can survive lots of punishment and deal out death on the counterattack. And it is also fun figuring out how to maximize the use of your army's strengths while minimizing those of the enemy. I am really glad our Saga group is catching on. Each matchup and game is a tactical puzzle: How to piece together your strengths and the enemy's weaknesses to give yourself the best chance for victory.

Jim's Byzantine battleline draws aim across the battlefield at their foes

There were six battles in our first round of games (one Age of Magic, the rest historical). Adrian had to bow out in the second round to drive back to Dayton, so we had only five games then. Here are the results of the historical battles. Not all players bothered to count up the points, as some simply conceded that they were beaten at the end.

Mike's Jomsvikings prepare to hurl themselves upon Joe's Anglo-Danish warriors

Round One

• Bob B (Welsh) defeated Mike S (Jomsvikings), 28-15
• Mike D (Picts/Scots) defeated Todd (Anglo-Dane), 16-7
• Jim R (Byzantine) defeated Joe M (Anglo-Dane),  no score
• Dave E (Normans) defeated Jason S (Roman), no score
• Adrian J (Irish) defeated Jenny T (Jomsvikings), 30-10

Anglo-Danes advance, carrying long Danish axes known to wreak havoc upon their foes

Round Two

• Mike S (Jomsvikings) defeated Joe M (Anglo-Danes), 31-25
• Bob B (Welsh) fought Jim R (Byzantine) to a draw, 26.5-26
• Mike D (Picts-Scots) defeated Jason S (Roman), 29-7
• Dave E (Normans) defeated Jenny T (Jomsvikings), 31-25

Here were the records for the day for the historical Saga players:
Dave E, Normans, 2-0
Mike D, Picts (Scots), 2-0
Bob B, Welsh, 1-0-1
Jim R, Byzantine, 1-0-1
Adrian, Irish, 1-0
Mike S, Jomsvikings, 1-1
Todd, Anglo-Dane, 0-1
Jason S, Romans, 0-2
Jenny T,  Jomsvikings, 0-2
Joe M, Anglo-Dane, 0-2

Here were out two Age of Magic games:
Jeff (Other Worlds) defeated Steve (Wild), no score
Steve (Wild) defeated Andy (Undead)

Players interested in showing up for our Saga Game Days should sign up for the Saga Ohio group on Facebook.

Brewpub for my 28mm Modern City

The newest addition to my miniature city -- Wallace's Pub, a microbrewery named after on of my home-brewing friends

 I started naming and putting signs on the 28mm MDF buildings that I've been making for my modern city games. So, when I decided to make the next Sarissa Precision building a brewpub, it was only natural that I name it after my friend, Mike W. He is our usual host for our Sunday evening gaming. This is not only because of his spacious downstairs and excellent lighting, but also because he always has two home brews on tap!

The first floor interior - note the travel posters, pub sign, and posters advertising their Scottish Export Ale

The first thing you notice immediately about the building is all of the signs and posters that I've printed off and glued onto its surface. I've realized there is no way my hand is steady enough to hand-paint signs and logos. And why do it, really? Printed things off in color and gluing them onto it is so easy -- not just to make but to customize. The brewpub's sign, for example, is a combination of several images and some tweaking in Photoshop. One part is the Clan Wallace crest, surrounded by a red and black checkered border, along with the pub name.

The brewpub is a narrow, 2-story, brick building from Sarissa Precision in which the roof and upper level separate

The travel posters on the walls were simply found doing Google Image searches, and then resizing them in Photoshop. I print the images off at the local Office Max on their color laser printers. The posters for the individual beers I found online, and then Photoshopped and modified them with the Wallace name. It took a couple hours of work one evening to do it, and was a lot of fun.

The posters in the upper level (Highland Ambush is my favorite) -- the floor is also printed off and glued down

As always, putting together the Sarissa Precision MDF buildings was easy. They truly do go together well with a minimum of parts. I did my usual prime with Krylon Acrylic matte black, followed up (oh, about 3 months later, it seems!) with a 50/50 mix of black paint and water. This base accepts paint well, but the black means you have to do two coats on the walls to fully cover. The interior walls of the building I painted with a warm yellow gold color -- incidentally, similar to the walls of my house! I thought it would look really good with the brick red color of the outer walls.

The Eastmoor Kings check to make sure the coast is clear before breaking in the back door (note door window transom)

The rectangular, brick-like pattern was incised on the outer walls. Although the dimensions of the blocks were a bit large for true bricks, I wanted the pub to be brick, so painted it that way, anyway. I started with a red-brown base coat. Letting the base coat dry overnight, I next dry-brushed Howard Hues Middle Eastern Flesh in the interior of each block. One drawback of MDF over resin buildings is that no real 3-dimensional details can be incised on them. So, this is my standard attempt to give the illusion of 3-D with Sarissa buildings. It tends to turn out well, and this one did, as well.

I had fun putting the images in Photoshop and changing the brewery names to "Wallace"

The highlights were painted a medium blue, including the doors and window trim. I painted the upstairs moldings above and beneath the windows in dark brown. I wasn't sure what color to do. I felt mirroring the medium blue of the other trim would be too much. Dark brown seemed to be a good, muted color to go with reddish brown brick. For the roof, I've taken to painting them gray, and then brushing on white glue followed by coarse, blended gray ballast from Woodland Scenics. I like the effect it gives -- a bit of 3-D in a mostly two-dimensional facade.

A good look at the dry-brushed brick effect to complement the incised lines (perhaps I should have washed them?)

One of the touches I tried this time was the transom window above the door. Rather than leaving it empty, like I usually do with MDF windows, I printed out a colorful, stained glass pattern and glued it into place over the rectangular opening. I like how it looks. Of course, I cheated a bit and did both in regular writing, rather than have a reverse on the opposite like you would see in a glass window!

Saga Warlords & Last of the Picts

My Pictish warlord Nechtan mac Fergus, on his 3-figure base, with his standard bearer and trusty deerhound

When I field my Saga armies, I always like to include a couple extra figures on the base. I think a standard bearer and horn blower really add to the heroic look of the commander. I also don't like how one guy in Saga, the warlord, is equal in attack dice to 8 warriors. So, this is  my way to make it visually more fitting -- a warlord and his close companions packing a punch seems more historical to me. I know Saga isn't a strictly historical game, especially considering the battle board abilities of many armies (Vikings' "Odin," anyone?). However, this makes it fit better into my worldview, and makes it look more right on the tabletop, if that makes sense.

Most of my banners, like this Pictish one, are created in Photoshop using images I found online

So, I had been waiting till I was absolutely sure that Saga was catching on in our area before rebasing my commanders onto several figure warlord stands. The first to be based this way was my Pictish warlord. I added in a deerhound and a standard bearer onto his base. I have a supply of large hexagonal bases I bought for another project, so I used those. I know the hexagon shape really adds nothing to the game, but then again, neither is it against the Saga rules. Many people base their figures on round bases, while I use rectangular ones -- it makes no difference under the rules. Using a larger base allowed me to be more creative with my tufts that I put on while I am flocking the figure. Of course, I used a purple for highland heather! The standard is one I created from a black and white Pictish-style image of an owl, colorized in Photostop.

My Viking warlord rebased on a 3-figure base with standard bearer and horn blower

The next two warlords -- and the first two to be rebased -- where my Viking warlord and my Saxon/Anglo-Dane warlord. For both, I chose a horn blower and and a standard bearer to add to his base. All six figures, of course, had been previously painted. I went back and forth on how to do this. The three would not fit on the same hexagonal base without prying them from their bases. I didn't want to do this for the standard bearer, though, because the standard itself is also attached to the base. I didn't want to take the chance of ruining it.

Close up of my favorite Viking figure's shield - love this guy's shaved head and braided, blond sideknot

I ended up cutting a 2.5" wide and 2" deep rectangle out of bass wood for the the new command stands. However, I didn't anticipate such a wide base being prone to warping, which both did once I glued on the bass wood scraps to build up the flat base to the level of the previous figure bases (which all three remained on). So, I had to get inventive on how to un-warp them! I put magnetic material on the bottom (like I usually do), and placed them on a tin cookie container lid. Then I rigged up something to put weight and pressure on the center of the base. I did this after I put the first layer of flocking on, so as the moisture seeped into the wooden base, the magnetic pull and the pressure from the top center flattened it out. You can still see a slight warp if you're looking for it, but in general, I think both warlords look nice.

My Saxon or Anglo-Danish warlord -- one of my favorite 28mm Foundry Anglo-Saxon poses

The Viking warlord is an Eastern Viking that is probably my favorite Viking pose. I love the bald head with blond sideknot. I think I did a good job on the eyes, so he has that piercing Norse stare. The standard is a "gripping beast" design that I created using Photoshop and images I found online. I also like the look of the yellow flower tufts on the base. It makes him look like he is standing in a sunny meadow, surveying the battle about to unfold.

Closeup of my favorite banner I've created for my figures from Photoshop and images found online

The Saxon warlord is a (I believe) Foundry figure that is one of my favorites, as well. He is gesturing with his axe and holding his steel helm win his left hand. I love the mail coif on his head, and the way his shield looks strapped to his back. The portly standard bearer is another of my favorite Saxons. I really like the way his great Danish axe is tossed over his right shoulder and left hand rests on the hilt of his sword. The standard is probably my favorite one I've created through Photoshop. It is simply images I found online of medieval church paintings printed out at the local office supply store. I probably made it too tall, and I am actually afraid to check and see if it fits in the figure boxes...!

Rear of Anglo-Saxon warlord base with shields -- in an oops, I realized afterward that I used a Briton horn blower!

Finally, I've included in this post the last six Dark Age archers I needed to paint up for my Pictish army. I am pretty sure they are Old Glory miniatures, so it is likely they are Vikings or some other Dark Age nation. I try to paint these up generically because I don't want to have to re-paint 12 levy archers for every army I own! So, they should be able to do good duty with my Picts, Vikings, Saxons, Britons -- you  name it!

Six more generic Dark Ages archers that were needed to field my Pictish army -- I think they are Old Glory Vikings

So, what's next on my painting desk? I am finally resuming work on a 28mm Sarissa Precision MDF building. It will be my city's brewpub, and will be named in honor of my local home brewer friend who ends up hosting most of our games on Sunday evening. Stay tuned for pictures of that, when it is finished!

New Record Number of Players for Saga Game Day

My newest Saga army - Picts (Scots from Age of Vikings) marches cautiously towards Joe Merz's Anglo-Danes

We had 16 players show up for our monthly Saga Game Day at the Guardtower East, Sunday. As usual, this included new players who seemed excited about coming again for more fun next month. I took one of the players, veteran DBA Ancients gamer Bob Boggs, under my wing and coached him through most of his first game using Normans against Jason Stelzer's Vikings. Bob has played Ancients (and other) games in our area for years. He seemed to pick up the mechanics and tactics pretty quickly

Dave coaches his son Alex along in his first game against Adrian's Normans

Dave Eblin brought his son Alex along, and similarly helped coach him through his first game using Vikings against Adrian John's Normans. In another first, we had four players that wanted to play Sage: Age of Magic (game day organizers Andy Swingle and Steve Phallen, along with John Meier and Jeff Fletcher). The other dozen of us were playing Age of Crusader (three players) and Age of Vikings (the rest). For me, this was an exciting day. I would be running my Viking age Pictish army (using the Scots list) for the first time. I'd been working off and on over the past six months to finish off the figures I needed for the list. I cut Bob free in the last half hour or so of his game and sat down against Joe Merz, who had just won his first match.

My small unit of four Pictish, hearthguard cavalry

My Pictish list is a very warrior-heavy one, with four points worth (32 figures). I would organize them into one unit of 12 figures and two of 10. I also had one point of 12 Levy bowmen and a small, mounted hearthguard unit of Pictish cavalry. With my Warlord, who received his final Dullcoate spraying that morning, it made for my six points of Picts. My friend Jason Mirosavich plays Scots regularly, and I'd hit him up for ideas. His recommended list also relied mostly on warriors, but differed in some respects. The strength of the Scots battleboard appeared to me to be in its solid, defensive infantry. The strategy seems to be to wear the opponent down by closing ranks when charged, and using the battleboard to receive so many defensive dice that you take few casualties.

Joe orders his Anglo-Danes forward in his first game against Mike Stelzer's Last Romans

Joe and I set up Clash of the Warlords, and we deployed a few large forests on the flanks of the battlefield. Rolling up Version "B" meant we'd be fighting diagonally across the field, which threw a slight kink in a straight-up scrum. I deployed my largest warrior schiltron (the name the Scots gave to their long spear-armed infantry formations) in the center, along with one of the others on its left. The third schiltron deployed to advance through one of the woods, guarding the left. The right was guarded by the levy archers, while I kept both the Warlord, King Nechtan Mac Fergus of the Pictish subkingdom of Fortrieu and the Pictish cavalry in reserve.

Mike Stelzer's warrior bow take aim at an advancing unit of Anglo-Dane warriors

Joe's Anglo-Danes deployed in one long, thin battleline. On its left flank were an 8-man warrior unit, along with 12 levy slingers. Next to them, in the center, was his killer unit -- a double-size, 8-man unit of foot hearthguards with Danish axes. Guarding their right were two more 8-man warrior units. I have been playing the Anglo-Danes almost exclusively for the last 4-5 months, so I was well aware of how tough they could be. True to form, he threw Exhaustion at my units, scattering fatigue across my front line of units on two of the first three turns. We advanced cautiously towards each other until my largest warrior unit edged within two moves of his Danish axemen. The schiltron had just suffered an abnormally effective volley of slingers, causing four casualties. The initial die rolling made me a little apprehensive about the outcome. A normal roll would cause three hits on my unit, when adjusting for the heavy cover of the woods, I would save on against on rolls of 3-6. Joe did five hits and I saved only one of them. So, he was rolling way above average to start the game.

My warlord Nechtan, with his trusty deerhound, ponders how to respond to the surging Anglo-Danes

The hits kept on coming when his hearthguard charged my unit, which had been whittled down to eight figures by the slingers. I had stacked up my defensive abilities, closed ranks as I should have, and expected to weather his storm with my defensive capabilities of my battleboard. Even though I know a double-strength hearthguard unit is the toughest killing machine in the game, I was stunned to lose five more figures, inflicting only one. My biggest unit recoiled out of combat down to three casualties, too battered to generate any more Saga dice. On the same turn, Joe's eight-man warrior unit charged through the woods at my 10-man schiltron. Joe rolled significantly above average here, too, while I continued to roll below, and my larger unit was hurled back. This was not looking good. My archers were inflicting next to no casualties on his warriors, who advanced steadily towards them, seeking to savage another of my units.

According to Mike S, right, Joe's hot pink dice were...well, HOT against him in his game, too!

So, this was the vaunted defensive capability of the Scots Saga list? We were getting shredded! I had yet to roll a "Stag" (the rare Saga die, or 1 in 6) on any of my command rolls. In fact, through six turns I would roll the equivalent of one six on my command dice over the course of the entire game! It was at this point, when things looked the bleakest, that the wyrm began to turn. His Danish axemen had thrust forward, creating a dent in my battlelines. I decided to give the battleboard ability "Reach" a try. This allows all non-missile armed infantry to make a missile attack as if armed with javelins. I *think* this is supposed to simulate us edging forward, thrusting with our long spears, then withdrawing (though Saga is not the most historical of games, at times). So, I closed into Medium range with all available units and showered his axemen with missile attacks -- or poked them with our long, pointy sticks, if you prefer. Joe's dice began to falter. Our attacks whittled his hearthguard down to one figure remaining -- causing six casualties.

Jim Randall's Byzantines were the big winners of the day, going 2-0, triumphing in both of their battles

I followed this up with a charge by my small band of Pictish cavalry against the sole survivor. He was ridden down, which put a fatigue on two of his remaining warrior units.  I had also rolled my lone Stag die of the game, and used No Respite to restock my defensive abilities for his turn. Joe decided to press his advantage on my left, and his fatigued victorious warrior unit sprang from the woods and charged my warrior unit, which was down from 10 to 7 figures. I threw my battleboard at him, so to speak, even finally being able to spring Counter-Attack for the only time in the game. This destroyed his unit, and suddenly the tactical situation looked a lot different.

Packed house with 16 Saga players, including Jim R, left, against Jim B. Meanwhile, Bob Boggs picks up the game

On my turn, we used Reach again, and my cavalry followed up against his whittled down warrior unit in the center. King Nechtan and his companions charged into the woods and ran off his warrior unit, which had chased off my levy archers. At this point, I felt the Picts were obviously in control of the battlefield. On my final turn, I decided to edge backwards onto the center hill. I didn't want him getting a lucky shot with his slingers, who were having a bonanza day on their die rolling (on Joe's turn, they eliminated my remaining three Pictish cavalry!). Nothing more happened, and I was happy survive this first encounter, count up the points, and likely score a victory. The score was 22-17, and King Nechtan Mac Fergus did indeed emerge the winner from the bloody fray against his Anglo-Dane neighbors to the south.

Jenny's Vikings battled Thomas' Crusaders to a bloody draw in a first round game

I was happy that I was able to find a way to scrape together a counter-push and finesse my way to victory after the horrible way the battle began. On turn 3, I was thinking that perhaps I'd made a mistake in selecting Picts to play. They rely on good saving rolls (usually being able to adjust their number needed to 3-6 on 1d6). However, I have never been consistent on my saving rolls, so I was thinking along the lines of "Big mistake, Indy!" Still, I felt they looked really nice on the battlefield with all of their tartans, checks, and stripes. King Nechtan's men beat a very tough army in the Anglo-Danes, and a player who was hot with his dice rolling for most of the game. So, I will definitely count our maiden battle as a success!

Adrian's Normans ride towards Dave and Alex's Viking Warlord in the scenario 'Prized Possessions'

Elsewhere around the room, we had a few players leave after our first round of games. Though we had five games in round one, there were only three in round two. A good quarter or more of our players drove from the Dayton area, and two more from Springfield. So, we were all very pleased with the turnout. Bob said he'd definitely be back, though I did not get a chance to ask Dave what his son Alex thought of the game.

First time I had seen this army fielded -- Jim Beegan's Pagan Peoples (Baltic tribes) from Age of Crusades

Here were the stats for the day's games, according to what I was able to record:

Round 1

• Jim Randall's Byzantine army edged out Jim Beegan's Pagan Peoples army 17-14, in Clash of Warlords.
• Joe Merz's Anglo-Danes crushed Mike Stelzer's Last Romans, 21-12, (in honor of drummer Neal Peart), in Clash of Warlords.
• Adrian John's Normans clinched a victory over Dave and Alex's Vikings, 14-12, in Claiming Territory from Book of Battles.
• Thomas Moehn's Crusaders battled Jenny Torbett's Vikings to a 14-12 Draw in Clash of Warlords.
• Bob Boggs' Normans also fought to a draw against Jason Stelzer's Vikings, 22-20.

Jeff Fletcher's Orcs advance towards their goody-two-shoes foes in the Age of Magic game

Round 2

• Jim's Byzantines triumphed over Jason's Vikings, 27-20, in Clash of Warlords.
• Mike Demana's Picts (Scots) slogged out a victory over Joe's Anglo-Danes, 22-17, in Clash of Warlords.
• Jenny's Vikings hammered their way to another Draw against Bob's Normans, 20-19, in Clash of Warlords

Close up of Jim Randall's Byzantines, the day's big winners at a 2-0 record

Here were the records for the day's historical Saga games:
Jim Randall, Byzantines, 2-0
Adrian John, Normans, 1-0
Mike Demana, Picts (Scots), 1-0
Joe Merz, Anglo-Danes, 1-1
Jenny Torbett, Vikings, 0-0-2
Bob Boggs, Nornmans, 0-0-2
Thomas Moehn, Crusaders, 0-0-1
Jason Stelzer, Vikings, 0-1-1
Dave & Alex Eblin, Vikings, 0-1
Jim Beegan, Pagan Peoples, 0-1
Mike Stelzer, Last Romans, 0-1

In the Age of Magic game, Steve and John's Forces of Order, from left, battle Jeff and Andy's Forces of Chaos

The Age of Magic games were played on the same board, but as two separate one-on-one clashes. The "good guys," or forces of Order, won over those of Chaos. Steve's Dwarves and John's Human Great Kingdoms triumphed over Jeff's Orcs and Andy's Undead. 

First Playtest of Samurai Rules

Brother against brother in Japan! Allen-san and Joel-san prepare to engage in battle in our Samurai rules playtest

I had been urging Mike Stelzer to bring the Samurai miniature rules he's been working on to one of our Sunday evening gaming sessions. He's been revamping the rules to simplify them from his first iteration years ago. Once Mike explained everything to us, they definitely seemed fairly straight-forward. We learned the rules as he had as fill in our card for our force of ashigaru, samurai, and lord.

A peaceful village - but not for long! Six gamers are about to engage in some serious playtest mayhem in Japan

He and Keith had set up a peaceful village for the six of us players, and it was our job to wreck that peace -- and incidentally, chase off the enemy clan opposite us. My force was composed of five ashigaru (ordinary soldiers) with bows, two samurai with katanas, and a samurai lord in full armor with katana. In Mike's system, each class of troops (he uses the term "rank"), uses a certain size dice for activation. My ashigaru would roll a d6 to activate, samurai a d8, and the lord a d10. The number you score determines how many actions you receive for your activation, from one to four.

My enemy crests the hill in the distance -- Keith's clan! Hated rollers of average or above-average dice!!

Mike's intention is for those using larger dice to receive more actions, and for the most part, my opponent Keith adhered to his direction. On the other hand, I proved to him that -- no matter what size dice you get me to roll -- I can find the "1" on it! I thought I was being clever seeking out the high ground as a firing platform and shooting at Keith's yari (polearm) ashigaru and samurai as they closed with us. Keith took advantage of the +3 Mike gave to troops hiding behind a tree, and darted from tree to tree, affording us almost no chance at inflicting hits on them as they closed. Under this playtest version, missile troops need to triple the score of the target to cause any hits. Since even a roll of a "1" meant he scored a "4", it didn't matter what I rolled on my ashigaru's d6 attack. We were just hitting a lot of tree trunks! Mike agreed we probably needed to look at that chart for the next playtest.

On my left, my ally Joel-san moves up...destined to receive the same smack-down the my troops are about to receive!

Once Keith got close enough to charge into combat, he proved that his yari-armed ashigaru were pretty good at slicing and dicing my troops. He used the rules effectively, ganging up on lone targets and inflicting hits on them. I foolishly ran my lord up into combat against a lone ashigaru and promptly rolled a "1" to the ashigaru's "6". We misread the chart and said the result was my lord was knocked down, when it should have been a recoil. The way Mike had structured the combat results, the worst that can happen to the attacker (I believe) is to recoil out of combat. He agreed that the chart needed to be streamlined for the next game and the results more simplified.

My samurai lord in the bottom center proves his tactical ineptitude -- being engaged by four enemy!

Either way, my lord's face plant was symptomatic of the way my dice were going, this evening. One by one, Keith ganged up on and sliced and diced my clan to ribbons. When both of my samurai were down and one or two of the ashigaru, the lord (he had survived, amazingly!) decided we had diced with fate long enough and ordered a retreat. Keith was kind, and let us abscond from the field, with the loss of only one of his ashigaru.

Fratricide in action! Things are getting ugly as older brother Allen puts the hurt on younger Joel-san

In the middle of the table, brothers Allen and Joel had waged a bitter, gang-fight. As the elder, Allen got the better of my ally Joel, and his survivors were also soon retreating alongside me. On our left, Steve had decided to make things difficult for Bruce and defend the walls of his lord's home. This meant Bruce had to do end arounds and leap over the walls to engage him. Their battle was somewhat indecisive at that point when we decided that the good guys had had enough.

Alarmed at the way Joel and I are folding like a house of cards, Steve would soon retreat behind his walls

The rules were easy to learn, and played very quickly, which is what Mike was hoping for. We discussed tweaks to them for future games for awhile. Keith and I felt that a differential chart would be better than one that provided results when you scored 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x your opponent. With wounds being a cumulative -1 to your combat rolls, there is a distinct possibility of rolling negative numbers. I think you'd want to avoid arguments of how many times a roll of "2" beats a "-1" by, or results like that.

It's time to cross the bridge and draw the bamboo curtain on this sorry disaster...!

This is the first time we've played this iteration of the rules, though, so it provided a good playtest of the system. Mike is a bigger fan of samurai movies than I am, so I feel handicapped at making suggestions to give it more of a samurai "feel." The fact that my lord survived, despite his horrible luck (he rolled more "1's" than all other numbers combined, I think!), shows me it has a cinematic feel. The heroes don't necessarily die, but escape to fight another day. 

The fact that we all knew what to do and just asked Mike for rulings on minor matters showed that the system certainly flows well. I look forward to trying it out again.