'Strongholds' Saga Campaign Underway in 2022

    Andy's Republican Romans advance upon Jason's Carthaginian army in Battle of Heroes

We had 10 players help launch our "Strongholds & Realms" Saga campaign at our first game day in 2022. Each player chose a faction from one of the four "Age of..." historical books and was given a Realm which would function to track their successes over the course of the campaign. Since it was our first meeting, the player initiative order was randomized. One of the things I like best about the design of this campaign is the players will take control of determining the matchups. When it is their turn in the player order, they select another player to attack, and the two are paired off for a battle. The remaining players can't attack those two, and so on until all players are matched up. As GM, I will be "odd man out." The Realms who did the attacking move to the bottom of the player order and the others all scoot up the player order. This simple system should provide fresh matchups month after month.

    Jason, right, tosses the dice and hopes the Carthaginian goddess of Luck will smile upon him

The Attacker also automatically becomes the First Player (or Attacker) in the battle. They get the advantage of selecting the scenario. However, attackers are allowed to choose the same scenario only twice over the course of the campaign. This is meant to ensure players try out a variety of scenarios. I designed the system avoid what I have seen happen before in map-based campaigns: the same two players slugging it out, month after month, mired in a border war. There is no map for this campaign and the space each Realm occupies is abstracted. So, any players can attack any other player participating in the campaign. This should help keep things fresh and interesting.

    Bob's Roman cavalry charges into a massed melee against Karen's Vikings in Feasting & Pillaging

At the suggestion of Bob B, one of my players, absent players can schedule a makeup game if they miss the monthly meeting. Those who are unable to play a game will suffer a slight penalty in Victory Points (VPs), though. I also added mechanisms for new players to join the campaign but not be so far behind as to make their participation meaningless. I was eager to see how all of it worked as the players trickled in that Sunday morning. I filled out an index card with each player's name and faction. Once we were sure we had everyone, I took mine out (as we had an odd number), and shuffled them thoroughly. I placed them in a single column, top to bottom. The order was Jenny T (Vikings), Andy S (Republican Romans - Age of Hannibal), Karen C (Vikings), Mike S (Vikings), Joe M (Mutatawwi'a), Jason S (Carthaginians), Dave E (Romans - AOI), and Bob B (Romans - AOI). 

    Bob and Karen deploy their battle lines, each eying the objective markers placed between the armies

Wouldn't you know it, but my first player passed! Jenny passed up her choice to attack, ensuring she remained atop the player order next meeting. Andy chose to attack Jason to play a historical Republican Romans vs. Carthaginian battle. Karen chose to attack Bob, and Mike S attacked Jenny. With two players left, each tried Jenny's tactic of passing (also trying to ensure they were Player 2 perhaps!). Players are allowed to pass only once, so Joe was forced into launching an attack with his Mutatawwi'a (Arab Conquest army) against Dave's Romans. Of course, about 15 minutes after all the matchups were decided, we had a new player show up who wanted to try out the game. This meant Mr. Odd Man Out ended up playing after all. We rolled for Player 1 (since we didn't have cards made out for us) and I ended up attacking with my Picts against the Viking army I loaned him. See my Picts Pounce on Viking Raiders in the Orkneys post for my battle report).

    Joe's Mutatawwi'a deploy to prevent Dave's wagons from escaping in Prized Possessions

So, did my limiting the number of times players could select a particular scenario work out? I think so. I played Clash of Warlords with Daniel N, the new player. I wanted to make it as easy as possible on him. The other four games all had different scenarios: Battle of Heroes, Prized Possessions, Feasting and Pillaging, and another Clash of Warlords. I call that a success! Mike S made an interesting suggestion. Since Battle of Heroes is so randomized, perhaps NOT limit that particular scenario? Hmm...I'll have to get the player's feedback on that. Maybe dictate the "Chaos Option" rather than the Tactical or Considered options for any times it is chosen after the first two? 

    Dave's Roman legionaries escort 3 supply wagons, hoping to get them off the table on the far edge

One thing that surprised me was the number of battles that ended in a tie. We had two games result in a dead-even tie. Only one of the five games ended up with the Attacker defeating the Defender (my Pict's victory over Daniel's Vikings).  In the other two games, the Defender won. One of the campaign mechanics is that an Attacker takes possession of one of the Defender's strongholds with a victory. So, my Picts took one of Daniel's border towers. Each Realm starts the game in control of one Castle (+3d6 dice VPs), two Fortresses (+2d6 VPs), and three Towers (+1d6 VPs). You can get a bonus +1d6 for killing the enemy warlord. Another bonus +1d6 can come from a Defender victory. Attacker victories result in taking one of the Defender's strongholds. A player must have lost a Tower first in a previous turn before an enemy can seize a Fortress. Similarly, they must have lost a Fortress before the Castle can be targeted by an enemy attack. Surprisingly, with five games, only one stronghold changed possession.

    Mike S and Jenny's Viking warbands face off against each other in Clash of Warlords

Not surprisingly were the player rolls for VPs. I fully understood these would provide a random element that the game of Saga provides, as well. For example, the lowest roll proved to be Joe's 11 dice totaling only 27 points (average of 2.45 per die). The highest was Jason S's roll (well, he'd left already so his dad Mike rolled). Jason scored 46 on 10 dice (4.6 average). Obviously, over the course of the campaign, this is meant to even itself out. The most rolled by a player was 12 (Bob and Dave who both won and killed the enemy warlord). The least was Daniel with 9 dice. The range in VP scores is a high of 46 and low of 27. Certainly not insurmountable over the course of a multi-month campaign!

    Carthaginian cavalry gallop into Andy's Roman legionaries in a game that would end in a tie

For a little color, I am asking players to come up with a name for their Realm, hopefully in the theme of their faction. For example, mine is Orkney -- which was one of the seven sub-kingdoms of the historical Pictish kingdom. Jenny chose Ingstad - the earldom of Lagertha, the strong female character from the Vikings series.  I am still waiting for other player names to roll in and will update the scoring grid with their choices as I receive them.

A huge part of the design of this campaign is to minimize what players (and the GM) have to keep track of over the course of games. For Strongholds & Realms, this means recording:

• Strategic actions of each player (Pass, who they attacked, etc.)
• Scenario the Attacker chose
• Winner of the battle, along with any warlords slain
• Victory Points rolled, to be added to their Realm's total each turn
• Adjusting the Player Order for the next turn
  

The result of the five battles (fought so far -- absent players who want to participate can still get in their games before next month!):

• Bob B's defending Romans defeated Karen's attacking Vikings in Feasting in Pillaging, 24-11.
• Mike D's attacking Picts defeated Daniel N's defending Vikings in Clash of Warlords, no score calculated.
• Dave E's defending Romans defeated Joe M's attacking Mutatawwi'a in Prized Possessions, (-5) to (-8) -- yes, both players ended up in negative points!
• Andy S's attacking Republican Romans tied Jason S's defending Carthaginians in Battle of Heroes, 14-14.
• Mike S's attacking Vikings tied Jenny T's defending Vikings in Clash of Warlords, 17-17.

Here are the Realms, listed first place to 10th, after one round of the campaign (I will add in the names of player Realms as they send them to me): 

Player	Position	Victory Points	Strongholds	Battles chosen as Attacker
BARCA Jason S (Carthaginian - AOH)	1st (T)	46	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	—
ORKNEY Mike D  (Pictish - AOI)	1st (T)	46	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 4 Towers	Clash of Warlords (1)
GALLIA Bob B (Roman - AOI)	3rd	41	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	—
SOSTERIS Andy S (Republican Roman - AOH)	4th	37	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	Battle of Heroes (1)
UPPER PANNONIA Dave E (Roman - AOI)	5th	36	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	—
GEATLAND Mike S (Vikings - AOV)	6th	35	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	Clash of Warlords (1)
INGSTAD Jenny T (Vikings - AOV)	7th	32	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	—
BJON BORG Karen C (Vikings - AOV)	8th (T)	31	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	Feasting & Pillaging (1)
SILESIA Daniel N (Vikings - AOV)	8th (T)	31	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 2 Towers
ALMOHAD CALIPHATE Joe M (Mutatawwi’a - AOC)	10th	27	1 Castle 2 Fortresses 3 Towers	Prized Possessions (1)

Here is the player order for next turn. If absent players join in, this will be adjusted before our next meeting in February.

Turn 2

Jenny T

Jason S

Dave E

Bob B

Daniel N

Mike D

Joe M

Mike S

Karen C

Andy S

 

Rules for a Simple, Abstract Saga Campaign

  Strongholds & Realms - a simple Saga campaign

 FACTIONS AND REALMS

At the start of the campaign, each player chooses a faction for their army (it can be any from any of the historical books or Old Friends, New Enemies). If their faction has a further division, such as Baltic or Levantine Crusaders, they much choose that for the campaign, as well. Each turn, players are free to re-select their 6-point army list. They must follow the rules for Equipment options as normal, but they are not limited by their previous army builds.

The players must also choose for the campaign whether to allow mercenary or Legendary units. If a Legendary leader is slain in a game, they are no longer available for purchase in subsequent turns. The reverse is true of Legendary troops, such as the Moors “Black Guard.” Players may re-purchase that even if the unit is eliminated.

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PLAYERS REALMS

Each player begins the campaign controlling a Realm. Player realms are identical at the start of the campaign. Each player controls the same number of strongholds in three different tiers — Towers, Fortresses, and Castles. They start the campaign with three Tower strongholds, two Fortress strongholds, and one Castle stronghold. Over the course of the campaign, they may lose or take control of additional strongholds as a result of tabletop battles.

Smaller strongholds are on the outskirts of the realm and meant to protect the more valuable ones in the interior. A player must control fewer than three Towers before an enemy player can attack one of his (or her) Fortresses. Similarly, a player must control fewer than two Fortresses before a Castle can be attacked. Thus, if a player seizes a number of Towers from his enemies, the expanding realm will insulate its core strongholds (Fortresses and Castle) from attack.

The position of these strongholds is unimportant, and no map needs to be kept. It will suffice to keep track of how many of each type of stronghold a player controls - not which enemy player they seized them from. What’s more, the position of each realm is also abstracted. Players do not need to worry about who “borders” them, and they may launch an attack against any enemy realm participating in the campaign. Following each turn, a tally of each realm’s strongholds, victory points, and other information will be sent out to update the players.
 

GAINING OR LOSING STRONGHOLDS

Each turn, a player order will be determined. In player order, players may announce an attack upon a specified enemy realm or “pass.” There is no real advantage to “passing,” other than moving up in next turn’s player order (and automatically being the Defender in the tabletop battle).

If a player announces an attack, the player must also declare which size of stronghold they are attacking, if they have that option (the targeted realm having lost the required number of smaller strongholds). Once a player has been targeted with an attack this turn, no other players may attack that player. Similarly, the attacker may not be targeted by a later attack. Thus, each player will have to fight one battle at most per round.

The campaign can be further restricted by limiting the option to attack or be attacked only to the players who are actually present on the designated day to play out the current turn. Other players who are not present will have the opportunity to schedule a game against another absent player. If no game is scheduled, then the realms of missing players instead suffer a calamity, such as barbarian raid, famine, pestilence, or even civil war. These abstracted calamities (covered below) will affect their score, ensuring players who do not show up are less likely to outscore those who are present. A campaign strategy should not be to benefit from your absence!

DETERMINING PLAYER ORDER

The campaign begins by placing the players in a random, top to bottom order. From that point on in the campaign, the player order changes due to the actions of the players. At each meeting, the player currently at the top is given a choice to declare an attack against an enemy realm or to pass. The next player is given a similar choice, but may not attack players already matched up.  This continues until all players are matched up in one-on-one battles. If there is an odd number of players present, the GM will step in and play to make an even number.

Players may pass only once per round. If multiple players choose to pass, it may necessitate a second time through the player order to ensure everyone present has an opponent. A player who chose to pass earlier in the order will be forced to declare an attack when it comes around to them again.

Once all players are matched up, the player order is reset for the next turn. Those who chose to attack another player are moved to the bottom of the player order. The player who made the last choice is moved just underneath the bottom player in the previous player order. The next-to-last player to choose is underneath that player, and so on. The first player to choose to attack another ends up at the very bottom of the player order. See the example below for a 6-player campaign:

Randomly chosen order to start campaign:

• Purple Player  
• Blue Player
• Green Player  
• Yellow Player
• Orange Player
• Red Player
  

Actions:
1. Purple player chooses to attack Orange player
2. Blue player passes
3. Green player attacks Red player
4. Yellow player attacks Blue player
5. Actions stop as all players are matched up for one-on-one battles.

Resetting the player order for next turn:

• Blue Player (“passed,” so did not choose, remaining in place)
• Orange Player (was attacked by purple, so remains in place)
• Red Player (was attacked Green, so remains in place)
• Yellow Player (chose third)
• Green Player (chose second)
• Purple Player (chose first)

 

FIGHTING BATTLES

The player who announced the attack will be considered the Attacker in the upcoming battle. In Saga terms, that player will automatically become “Player 1,” while the Defender will be “Player 2”. Do NOT roll randomly for Player 1 or Player 2 in campaign battles! In addition, the Attacker will also have the option to choose which scenario the players will fight. The campaign GM will keep track of player choices of battles. A player is limited to selecting a certain scenario two times over the course of the campaign. After they have chosen that scenario twice, they MUST choose another eligible scenario.
    
This will have the effect not only of helping keep the campaign fresh with new opponents and new scenarios, it will also give players more experience in the various scenarios. Who knows? Playing in the campaign may help them in future tournaments!

At the end of the tabletop game, players must record the result (Win, Lose, Draw) and whether the loser’s Warlord was slain. Other losses and scenario victory points are unimportant (except Legendary warlords, which may not be chosen again after they die in a game). Of course, players are free to add this information to the account of the battles, but it is not needed to compile the results of the campaign turn.

STRATEGIC RESULTS OF BATTLES

If the Attacker wins the battle (not a Draw result or Loss), that player seizes control of the designated stronghold (Tower, Fortress, or Castle) from the loser. Note that the defender is not out of the campaign when he or she loses their Castle — they will remain in the campaign and able to launch their own attacks. Even if a player is reduced to 0 strongholds, they will continue participating in the campaign. Think of them as being reduced to a landless, migrating horde instead of a kingdom.

Players who have lost strongholds are NOT limited to attacking the players who they originally lost strongholds to — they may attack ANY player in the campaign. This should keep the games fresh and prevent them from degenerating into the same two players fighting each other turn after turn as might happen in more structured campaigns.

If the Defender wins the battle (not a draw or loss), they will benefit from plunder gained as the enemy flees the battlefield. They will receive a +1d6 roll to their Victory Points (VPs) this turn (see below).

In addition, if a player wins the battle and also slays an enemy warlord, they will receive an additional bonus +1d6 roll to their VPs. Both Attackers and Defenders are eligible for this bonus to their roll.

The campaign is meant to be abstracted for simplicity and to minimize bookkeeping. Players do not need to keep track of losses of figures or units. Each turn their forces will be “fresh” — representing that realms have many more troops than are present on the tabletop of any one battle.

VICTORY POINTS (VPs) AND “WHO’S WINNING?”

A player who wins battles and seizes control of other player’s strongholds will be rewarded by having a greater number of dice to roll for their VPs each turn. At the end of each campaign turn, players will roll for each realm’s VPs. They receive a number of d6 equal to the following total:

• +3d6 for each Castle in their Realm
• +2d6 for each Stronghold in their Realm
• +1d6 for Each Tower in their Realm
• +1d6 if they Won a tabletop battle as Defender
• +1d6 if they Won a tabletop battle and killed the enemy warlord as either Attack or Defender
  

Each player gathers up the allotted number of dice and rolls it. That sum is added to their existing campaign VPs. Just like in the game of Saga, a player who rolls a larger number of dice may not always score higher. This random element is part of the game and also this campaign.

If a new player joins the campaign, they will start with a base score equal to the player with the fewest VPs at the end of the previous turn. From this base score, they will subtract the roll of 2d6. The sum will be that realm’s beginning VPs. This will lessen the handicap of new players joining a campaign already underway, which should provide them incentive to play.

CALAMITIES FOR PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT PRESENT

Recognizing that it may seem odd if players who are not present (and thus not eligible to be attacked and lose strongholds) week after week are winning or finishing higher than players who are present and playing games. Thus, the dice rolled for realms controlled by absent players will be modified by one of the following calamities:

• Barbarian Raid: If the player was present the previous session, but missed this one, they suffer a barbarian raid. The realm rolls 1d6 less this turn for VPs.
• Famine: If the player has missed two sessions in a row now, they suffer Famine. They roll 2d6 less this turn for VPs.
• Pestilence: If the player has now missed three sessions in a row, they suffer Pestilence. The realm rolls 3d6 less this turn for VPs.
• Civil War: If the player has missed four or more sessions in a row, they suffer civil war. The realm will roll 4d6 less this turn for VPs.
  

Note that showing up “resets” the above progression. Let’s say a player who suffered a Pestilence for missing the three previous sessions in a row, shows up. They earn normal VPs. If they do not show up the following session, the progression resets and they suffer a Barbarian Raid.

 

 KEEPING TRACK OF TURNS

The campaign is designed to limit the amount of bookkeeping and many features are abstracted.

It is suggested that a table be updated for each turn which details:

• Realm name (& player name)
• Current number of Towers, Fortresses, & Castles
• Current VPs

In addition, the table should have a section to detail the results of each turn, including:

• Strategic Action: Attacked or Defended vs. Realm (& player name)
• Result of battle: Win/Lose/Draw, Losing Warlord slain, Stronghold lost or gained
• Scenario chosen: Name of Scenario
• That turn’s VP roll

A Helluva Gift? Jenny's Demon Cabal

    Cobbled together from various sources, Jenny's cabal for Reign in Hell was painted as a present

My days of painting miniatures for other people are mostly over. Well, at least for payment they are! Doing it as a gift...now, that's something I'm inclined to do from time to time. A year or so ago, I painted a Viking warlord stand for Saga for Jim Beegan awhile back (in thanks for his support of Saga in at the Dragons Guildhall in Beavercreek, OH). And leading into this holiday season, I offered to paint Jenny's demons for her Reign in Hell cabal as part of her Christmas present. She quickly agreed before I changed my mind, so I got started right away hoping to finish them in time for her to unwrap!

    Jenny's Demon Lord (Goristro from WizKids) towards over the table at 5" tall

I painted them in four batches as there were 11 figures (the demon lord was HUGE, and easily the largest "miniature" I have ever painted). She gave me free reign (no pun intended) to paint them as I like, but I still ran my ideas past her to get her input. We agreed to go with a dark, reddish skin for her demons. It is kind of the classic demonic look, and would be easy to do with the colors I already had. The skin started out as a dark red craft paint, followed by a Howard Hues Middle Eastern Flesh dry brush. Finally, I did a brush-on highlight of salmon-colored craft paint for the last three batches. A final black wash gave it a nice, dark reddish look and using the same basic skin tone for all the miniatures really pulls the group together.

    I loved the cool wristbands on this figure - for his silver armbands I added in my own symbols

Jenny picked up most of the figures (Armored Demons, Slaughter Fiends, and Devout) from a vendor at CincyCon 2021 who was selling them almost as flea market items. They were already primed and based -- obviously figures he had never gotten around to finishing. She picked up the Spine Demon as a 3-D print from Game Junkie Studios, another vendor at CincyCon. Both the Demon Lord, Corpulent, and Mephit were bought off the shelf Dragons Guildhall and were resin printed miniatures, as well. Other than maybe the Devout and the Mephit, they looked like they all belonged together. It was my job as painter to tie them all together into a coherent looking group for her Judges themed cabal.

    The Demon Lord presents a horrifying visage, and I was really happy with how he turned out

The final figure I painted up was the Demon Lord -- or "Goristro" from WizKids' D&D Nolzur's Line. I know most of these resin miniatures claim to come pre-primed, but I don't necessarily trust that. So, I spray-painted him with arcylic black and then went over him with a 50/50 mixture of black paint and water to give complete coverage. His skin was done as above, with the spines done in a light yellow parchment color with white highlighting. His horns and hooves are done with a slightly dark base color. Although many of the other miniatures in the cabal were given tattoos, this figure has a hairy look to it, so I did not give him any. Instead, I decorated his silver armbands with a series of "demonic symbols" -- literally, that was my Google Image search that I used! I used a mix of metallics on him as I did with most of the other figures, as well. I thought the copper wristbands turned out particularly well, though I can take credit for the incising. That is part of the miniature itself.

 Not sure of the manufacturer, but these four Armored Demons were the first of the cabal I painted

The first batch I painted up was probably the most time-consuming. The four winged demons she planned to use as Armored Demons for her cabal had a LOT of detail. The armor pieces on the arms and waist were very intricate and time-consuming. I started out with the flesh, of course. They were my "test batch," so to speak, and I ended up being very happy with the dark red look. Next, I did the very-involved armor. I painted all of it with a base coast of Iron Wind Metals Steel. This is a dark, almost black metallic color. Jenny was hoping my painting would help her to be able to tell the four miniatures apart. In Reign in Hell, demons can improve their stats from game to game (or get worse). So, I gave each a different metallic color -- copper, gold, silver, etc. The next step was the extensive bone and claw parts of the miniatures. This was done, as mentioned above, in a craft parchment light yellow with white highlight. Finally, I painted the sash around the waist in different colors, each decorated with symbols or other decorations. I should probably have taken a close up of one, but didn't think about it until writing this post.

    My guess is these two minis are "savage orcs," and will be Slaughter Fiends in Jenny's cabal

The second batch was the quickest to paint up. These were two of Jenny's "flea market" purchases at Cincycon. I believe they are "Savage Orcs" to use Warhammer categorization. There was significantly less detail on these minis than the Armored Demons. The horned spines coming out of the head of one of them meant they fit in well with the rest of the cabal's look. I used my Micron pen to give them tattoos after the skin was finished. Their claw weapons I painted as bronze rather than bone to fit in with the cabal's metallic theme, too. The photo of them also gives a good look at how I did their bases. I added a large piece of coarse ballast as a big rock, then covered the rest of the base in fine ballast. I went over this with my 50/50 black paint and water. Next, I dry brushed the surface Medium Gray, washed the big rocks, and then added in lava streams. These were just painted on -- first in dark red, then bright orange, finally with dots of bright yellow. The tufts are "Fantasy Pink Foliage" I'd picked up on a whim in a store awhile back. I thought their reddish look would go good with the lava and Hell theme.

    Jenny's 2nd-in-command Devout and winged Mephit - which probably look the least like the others

I quizzed Jenny a couple times to make sure she really wanted to use the figure she choose for her Devout, or 2nd-in-command. It was obviously a fantasy dwarf to me, brandishing two oversized double-bladed axes. She said the Judges cabal has an "Executioner" for its Devout, and she felt he'd be perfect. I was pulling for the figure that ended up being the Spine Demon, but it was her army! I decided to jazz him up a bit, though. I'd picked up an occult looking altar from Guardtower East at our monthly Saga game day the weekend before. I felt he'd look great standing atop the altar in the center of the pentagram. I did have to use wire cutters to snip him off of his slotta base (stupidly done AFTER I had painted him - thankfully, very little damage was done to my painting in the separation). I think he turned out great, as did the winged Mephit. Her equipment somewhat matched the other demons, and I gave her the same copper and steel metallic scheme. I was worried the green of her shirt might be too bright, but in the long run I think it turned out well. She had lots of detail, too, and was also very time-consuming. 

    Both of these 3-D prints are cool miniatures, but I enjoyed painting the Spined Demon on left more

The final two figures of her cabal are both 3-D prints. One was easy and fun to paint and the other not nearly as much. Which was which? The three-armed Spine Demon looks like a younger brother of the Demon Lord. That was part of the reason I wanted him to be the 2nd-in-command. Jenny found him at CincyCon 2021, too, at a small vendor's booth called Game Junkie Studios (Gamejunkiestudios@gmail.com). Maybe I preferred painting him because it was quick and simple? I gave him tattoos with my Micron pen, as well. He looks truly demonic. The other print was one Jenny plans to use as a Corpulent Demon. Sometimes, it was hard to tell what was what on this figure. What was skin? What was clothes? What were those things over its eyes?? I used faded colors -- beige, gray-green, and gray-blue -- for its clothes. With the skin coloring, I tried my best to tie him to his cabal-mates as much as I could, but he truly is a bizarre, different figure. Jenny liked how it came out, so I guess he was a success!

    Merry Christmas! Don't these guys look like they want to wish you good cheer and happy holidays?

All in all, both Jenny and I were happy with how her cabal turned out. Was it done in time for Christmas? Welll, yes and no. The only thing left to finish off by Christmas morning was the flocking on the demon lord. So, she could see her presents pretty much finished. And they are ready for the next time we play Reign in Hell!

Pups of War

    My pack of war dogs for Saga -- painted as various breeds

I have been playing Picts from Saga: Age of Invasions, lately. While planning on taking them to the upcoming tournament at Game Table Adventures on Jan. 15, I was looking into the rules for it. Surprisingly, mercenaries were going to be allowed. No "Legendary units or leaders," but mercs from any of the historical books would be allowed (in the armies that are allowed to take them, I assume). For the fun of it, I checked out which mercenaries my Picts would be allowed to take and was intrigued by the Molossians.

    Most of the figures are old Ral Partha (Iron Wind Metals now) 25mm miniatures

Molossians are a breed of huge dogs common during the later Roman empire. I believe every army in the book is allowed to take them as mercenaries, and the Picts were one of them. I am assuming this is to represent the local breeds of dogs -- not that Molossian packs were actually traded to as far-flung places as the steppes of Asia or northern Britain. Curious, I dug through my unpainted lead and found my bag of 25-28mm dogs. I had plenty enough, though none were huge Molossian-sized war hounds. So, what the heck, I decided. Why not?

I cleaned and primed seven of them (the handler makes the eighth figure in a warrior unit, and I would just use an ordinary Pictish warrior for him). While they were drying, I Googled "Dog Breeds of Scotland" to see what breeds might match the castings. Most of them were old Iron Wind Metals 25mm dogs. Some of the figures lined up fairly well with a Scottish breed, such as the Scottish Deerhound and Gordon Setter. Others were obviously other breeds, such as the bulldog miniature.

    The dog laying down is painted as a Gordon Setter, while the gray one a Scottish Deerhound

Since the only equipment the figures have is a collar (if that), they painted up rather easily. I did my best to match the images I found online, like I do whenever I paint animals. It's those little patches of lighter color or white that make miniature animals look right on the tabletop. I'm not sure if it shows up, but I even put a tiny, tiny dot of white on the black for their eyes. 

 I know the poses are a bit smaller than most 28mm figures, so I decided to create special bases for them rather than use my normal large squares from Litko. I pulled out the small green plastic circular bases that come with packs of Gripping Beast miniatures. Normally, I just give those to a friend, but the dogs fit perfectly on them. I gave them a circle of magnetic material first, then epoxied the figures onto the base and flocked them the way I usually do my miniatures.

    This pair includes a brindle-patterned Mastiff and a Doberman Pinscher

I think they came out pretty good. Are they historically accurate for a Fall of Rome era Pictish army? Yeah, probably not! However, I think they'll add a spot of color to games of Saga and certainly will give my Picts another tactic to use in games.

Picts Out-Pillage the Huns

    Pictish raiders marshal their forces in a woods ready to snatch plunder from a Hun warband

Drust's raiders had sailed far to plunder the rich lands of Gaul. Other raiders were lurking nearby, though, and seeking to pillage the same farmlands as Drust's men. The men from the Orkney Islands had never seen such fierce and cruel-looking horsemen. They dashed about on their horses, nearly every man carrying a bow and sporting evil-looking scars on their cheeks beneath dark slits for eyes. "These must be Huns!" whispered one of Drust's commanders, having heard tales of them from prisoners taken in previous raids of Roman lands. Drust nodded and turned away, motioning his commanders to him behind the trunk of a wide, sturdy oak. "This is how we shall snatch the prize from these foul horsemen..."

    Jenny celebrates Yule in front of a festive tree as her Pagan Rus take on Karen's Vikings

We had eight players show up for December's game day at the Guardtower East in Columbus, OH. Half of the armies fielded were from Saga's newest release, Age of Invasions. Both Dave E and Bob B were fielding Roman armies, while Joe D had brought Huns and I was running my Picts, again. Also taking the field were Jenny's Norse as Pagan Rus, Karen's Vikings, Jim R's Normans, and Lowell's Anglo-Saxons. Joe and I squared off, and I was looking forward to seeing how the Hun's battle board played. Joe wanted to play an objective-based scenario to hone his skills with this army, so we picked Feasting and Pillaging from the Book of Battles. 

    Picts, after their first turn of movement, advance against a Hun warband in Feasting & Pillaging

Three objective markers representing loot were spaced evenly across the centerline of the table, with each of us deploying our armies a Short distance from our baselines. A large woods was on my half of the table, towards my left, and a smaller woods near my baseline on the right. On the opposite side, another small woods was in the Huns rear on their right. A large, gentle hill was on his left. Most players don't like being "Player 1" in Saga, but I found that it is a slight benefit to the Picts. It allows the player to place an extra piece of terrain, which is crucial to utilize the Pictish battle board to its best advantage.

    War dogs! My newest Pictish unit ended up never seeing battle, spending the game marking trees

Drust had swapped out one of his units of levy javelinmen for a "mercenary" unit of war dogs (Molossians from the Age of Invasions book). I wasn't sure if they'd be much use with the Picts, but I wanted to try them and see how they worked. As it turns out, it probably wasn't the best choice in a battle against an army with lots of archery like the Huns! The eight warriors (seven dogs and one handler) are only armor class 3 vs. shooting, so I quickly moved them into the large wood where they ended up never leaving. Doubtless, they found plenty of trees to mark! Also in the woods, and a key part of my battle plan, were the levy archers. They moved in on turn one and were able to shoot at enemies every turn afterwards. On either side of the woods, a unit of tattooed foot warriors advanced slowly forward towards the center and left hand objectives. On the right, a third unit of warriors and javelin levy marched past or through the trees towards the right hand objective.

    Bob maneuvers his Roman legion against Jim's encircling Normans in the first of their two games

As Player 1, I could have done double moves and seized all three objectives on turns one, at the cost of a fatigue on each unit. However, I had never faced the newest version of the Huns and wasn't sure what its battle board could do. I had yet to pore over the list and didn't really have a lot of study time before the game began. So, I played it cautious, and advanced only one move from my baseline. The archers, war dogs, and levy javelinmen all sheltered beneath the trees at the end of our first move. Joe responded by waving forward his mounted horde. Armed with composite bows and deployed in small units of six figures, they galloped towards two of my spear units and showered them with arrows. I had Sacred Tattoos, which provides 4 bonus defense dice queued up, but ended up not using it. Nor did I used Secret Ways, which allows a unit to redeploy near uneven terrain after suffering a shooting attack or charge. The attacks and damage seemed minimal, so Drust's Orkney men simply endured the scattering of casualties.

    After two turns of movement, the Picts on the attack, but also remaining close to the shelter of woods

On turn 2, Drust waved the archers further forward into the woods. This brought them within range of one of the horse archer units, which had pulled back after shooting. The foot bowmen unleashed their own volley, and three Hun horsemen fell from their saddles. In the middle, the center unit of warriors seized the first objective, each man burdening himself with as much loot as he could carry. There was an angry shout from the Hun battleline as the steppe warriors saw the barrels of fine Gaulish wine being taken by the northmen. A large band of 12 Hun mounted levy hurtled towards the Pictish warriors and charged into them. The veteran raiders closed ranks, interlocking their shields and thrusting their spears between them. In addition, I played Sacred Tattoos, which gives me 4 bonus defense dice. Joe rolled 12 attack dice, but with the tattoos and closing ranks, we suffered only two casualties. The mounted levy also suffered two casualties, so withdrew, leaving my Pictish raiders in possession of the wine barrels.

    Tartan-clad Pictish warrior seize the first objective - a stash of fine Gallic wine

On my third turn, the the levy archers switched targets and whittled another unit of horse archers down to three horsemen. The warriors carrying the wine began to withdraw. They were able to move back an extra Short move with Swift as the Wind, almost reaching the shelter of the trees. On the right, Drust ordered forward the levy javelinmen. Using Scouts, they moved a Long distance and then hurled their javelins at another unit of horse archers, tumbling three more men from their saddles. Joe's saves against my shooting were below average all game long. Otherwise, he said afterwards he felt his dice were okay throughout the game. It was just my shooting he didn't seem to have an answer for. In addition to throwing their javelins, the levy javelinmen also rounded up a small herd of pigs. My third unit of foot warriors marched forward to support the javelinmen.

   The Huns do not relinquish the wine barrels easily, following up and harassing the Pict withdrawal

The Huns continued to send waves of horse archers forward to shoot at Drust's Pictish raiders, but their small unit sizes kept arrow storms from inflicting too much damage. I kept expecting the Hunnic nobles, his mounted hearthguard, to charge into the fray, but Joe seemed to be saving them. He was willing to send the mounted levy into battle, but was shielding his nobles from combat. Meanwhile, my successful pillagers continued to withdraw towards our baseline, moving one or two Short distances a turn. One of the Pict battle board's strengths is its variety of ways to move troops. Scouts is very effective, and with a Rare die allows two (one with a Common or Uncommon) units to move Long distance -- their move not being reduced by either terrain or fatigue. We agreed that the rules to Feasting and Pillaging prevented my units carrying objectives to exceed a Short distance, though -- even if moved with that ability. My warriors on the left charged and seized the third objective from Hun horse archers, and then hunkered down, ready for Joe's counter-attack.

    Second objective is seized - a herd of swinge - by Pictish javelinmen on the right flank

Surprisingly, it came not in the from of a shower of arrows from his the Hun levy foot archers sheltering in the woods, but in a charge from them! My six warriors (reduced by previous horse archery) closed ranks, expecting to easily repel the levy. Shockingly, the archers caused two casualties and saved all but one of our hits. Embarrassed, the spearmen withdrew from the surprisingly fierce steppe footmen. Seeing this humiliation of his warriors, Drust swore. A horn blast and their warlord's pointing and shouting attracted the attention of the Pict warriors on the right. They raced across the board using Scouts, and then charged into the jeering archers with Swift as Wind (which doesn't cause a fatigue if the move or charge ends within a Short of uneven terrain). Once again, the archers fought fiercely, but the attack of the tattooed tribesmen was more savage, and the archers dropped their loot and scampered back to the shelter of the trees.

    Pictish warriors seize the 3rd objective, taking it from a small unit of Hun horse archers

Once again, I held all three objectives. Using multiple moves, the warriors carrying the Gallic wine were able to exit the board, while the javelin levy edged closer to the shelter of the trees near our baseline. Once again, the Huns galloped forwards, firing arrows. The Hun battle board also has the ability to put fatigue on enemy troops, which Joe was also doing in attempt to slow down my Picts. However, with three different ways of activating my raiders for movement, I was able to frustrate his attempts to keep me from making off with the loot. On the fifth turn, Joe sent in the archers out from beneath the trees again. This time, my warriors repelled them -- sending them scurrying back to the trees. Frustrated, the Hunnic warlord sent in his nobles, who charged into combat shouting their fearsome war cries. This time, my Pictish raiders were beaten back, and they dropped the loot at they ran for the shelter of the large woods.

    Brave beyond measure, the Hun foot levy archers fought tenaciously for the 3rd objective

On my final turn, my archers used the last of the arrows in their quivers to target the enemy hearthguard. We scored four hits and the northmen celebrated when the enemy failed all four saves. On the opposite side of the battlefield, the levy javelinmen were able to sneak through the trees and off the edge of the table, escaping with their stolen herd of swine. Drust had yet to unleash his war dogs upon the enemy -- the pack was gathered on the edge of the treeline, growling at the enemy, hackles raised. However, he knew victory had been won by this point. He ordered the withdrawal of his raiders from the field, content with loot they had snatched from underneath the noses of the fierce steppe horsemen. The men of the Orkneys had stung the enemy more than once this day, and would sail home to boast of their victory.

    Hun horse archers try to prevent the escape of the Pict javelin levy with their stolen swine

Afterwards, Joe and I discussed how his army performed. I told him that I was planning similar sized horse archer units for my Mongol army. I was a bit concerned at how quickly his units were whittled to three figures (no longer generating a Saga command die). The Pict shooting is tough, though. When a full sized levy unit shoots and is augmented by using the Stalkers battle board ability, they generate nine shooting dice. Against armor 3, that should be six hits. Saves should be at 50%, which means my shots were not above average -- three losses is what should have happened. Joe talked about maybe increasing the size of his units in future games. On the other hand, I felt he was a little tentative in charging. He rightly sent the mounted levy into combat every turn that he could help them with the +6 attack dice Barbarians of the East ability. I just think he could also have charged with other troops and used some of the other melee abilities on the Hun board.

    Dave's Romans (left) and Lowell's Anglo-Saxons wage a close-fought clash that ends in a tie

Either way, this was not the best terrain nor scenario for an army of mounted horse archers. Mounted units trying to move an objective marker suffer a fatigue every turn. Joe could have taken one with the foot archers, but all in all, I felt he was at a disadvantage in this matchup. The Picts got the terrain they needed pluw were able to use their foot troops to take and move seized objectives back multiple times a turn. 

    Jim's Normans encircle and overwhelm Bob's Romans in hard-fought battle

Here are the results of the first round of battles (Jim R and Bob B were setting up for a second game when I left):

• Mike D's Picts defeated Joe D's Huns in Feasting and Pillaging (no score tabulated).
• Jenny T's Pagan Rus defeated Karen's Vikings in Feasting and Pillaging, 33-29.
• Jim R's Normans defeated Bob B's Romans in Clash of Warlords, 23-18.
• Lowell L's Anglo-Saxons tied Dave E's Romans in Clash of Warlords, 22-21.

    Battling beneath the northern lights! Pagan Rus and Vikings come to blows in the far, frozen north

With Christmas less than a week away, it was a small turnout with only eight players. Hopefully, we will have a nice tune up session in two weeks when we do it again the Sunday after New Years. It will be the last chance to practice before the Saga Tournament at Game Table Adventures, Jan. 15. I hear that a half dozen players are coming up from Cincinnati for it, as well as another half dozen locals in the Newark, OH, area are playing. It should be quite the clash, and I am looking forward to it! If you're looking to get in some good Saga games, come on out that Saturday and join us!