Operation Hyrdos - a Wars of Insurgency AAR from 'Down Under'

 

    Troops mass along the river in an 11-player (!) Wars of Insurgency game in Australia

As the rules author to the modern skirmish rules, Wars of Insurgency, I am very lucky to have an avid group of players in Australia called the Nunawading Wargames Association. They are in the midst of an Imagiafrica campaign where they have divided up the continent and created their own independence era nations. I have posted Facebook links to their battle reports on our First Command Wargames site from time to time, but not everyone has Facebook. So, I am going to start re-posting them here on my Lead Legionaries blog.

 

All of the photos and text come from the NWA members. There are many, many more they took that I could not include. Go to Facebook and join their group and the BushwarsNWA group to see their reports! This report comes from Mike Fly Goldyn. Thanks, Mike, for letting me share it! 

 

Defending aircraft were the real killers of the game repeatedly causing damage to the bridge builders

 

OPERATION “HYDROS” 

Or..."It is going to get wet!”

Early on the morning of Saturday, 9th July, 1979, the combined forces of the Quatro Alliance (Mdrongo, Omovo, Umgawaland and Vlessadwassa), along with a support contingent from Brimibian, rumbled down an isolated dirt road heading towards a site for the construction of a pontoon bridge for a river crossing.

Puerta Docielo was being destabilised by the increasingly agitated political situation in what was once Tikada. The newly declared independent ’Ard AlJamal was descending into tribal inspired violence. The Quatro Alliance was asked to provide peacekeepers. Leaving their assembly area in western Vlessadwassa, the column was cutting a shortcut through Puerta Docielo to West Tikada.

 

Apparently, most of the western Imagiafrican nations objected to what they perceived as interference by the Quatro Alliance into their sphere of influence. These nations banded together and sent out a blocking force. Reconnaissance flights conducted by the Allergerian Air Force spotted the Quatro Allies approaching a river. It was decided to send out some ground reconnaissance units to verify the location and the intentions of the Quatro Allies. Units from New Guernsey and PKL converged onto the location provided by the Allergerians.

 

 

Nunawading Wargames Association has tweaked my rules to make them friendlier to larger games

Cautiously driving closer to the river, the PKL unit tried to radio in their positive identification of enemy units attempting to build a pontoon bridge across the river. However, they also discovered that their radio batteries were completely flat. Someone had left the radio on listening to Dulocean singing bowl and ukulele music all night.

 

The New Guernsians experienced a similar problem, but not as severe. Atmospherics were interfering with signals and the transmissions were either garbled or static. They also found that this incessant use was depleting the battery charge. Fortunately, the NG platoon commander wisely stored away fully charged batteries on one of the transports. Communications were restored. The NG troops even left some batteries for the PKLers to pick up and install in their radios. This positive situation wasn’t completely satisfactory as the Allergerians were still receiving gobbledygook. A change in location soon fixed that. Something to do with radiation from a previous UFO crash site.

 

    They regular players are involved in a campaign, each creating their own nation and force in Africa

 

The message was sent: “Enemy located”! Coordinates were transmitted. Reinforcements were on the way - ground troops from Allergeria; the TOFU contingent from Tarzania (in western Imagiafrica on a goodwill visit and now joining in the fun) and a completely lost Kalemnitkan rifle squad (?!?? - go figure!)

PKL troops were the first to engage, shooting at Mdrongoan troops dug-in across the river. The Mdrongoans replied. Slight casualties taken on both sides.

 

On the other flank, the Umgawans took the opportunity to fire some long range recoilless rifle shots at some NG recce vehicles. Losses on the NG unit were heavy. Then the Umgawan artillery of four 25 pounders added their weight to the fight. First, PKL vehicles were turned into scrap, followed by salvos aimed at the New Guernsians. Losing an M113 APC with all it passengers and crew was a severe blow - 16 men in total!

 

    The central position for the attackers who were attempting to bridge and cross the defended river

 

The Vlessadwassan engineers, with feverish activity, erected the pontoon bridge, initially hampered by a truckie’s hitch that refused to untie. One knife later and the elements of the pontoon bridge were launched onto the river. The Vlessadwassans had taken some casualties from PKL fire but still managed to complete the bridge. The signal to the Brimibians and Omovans to cross was dispatched.

 

Just at this moment of success, a flight of two Allergerian F-4U Corsairs dived in from the sun, aiming for the bridge. Firstly, the Vlessadwassan Shilkas opened fire, followed by a hail of Umgawan HMG bullets. But the first Corsair made it through the curtain of lead, fired two rockets and started to weave away. Bang! 23mm AA shells from a Shilka cut the the tail off the aircraft. With the pilot dead at the controls, the plane dove straight into the lead section of the bridge. Along with the two rockets fired, this left the forward section in itsy-bitsy pieces.

 

    A strafing run looks like it will be deadly to any troops exposed on the bridge!

 

Clearing the dead and wounded, fresh Vlessadwassan engineers rushed forward with new ramps and other bridging equipment to repair the damage. This is when the second Corsair flew in, releasing two of its own rockets towards the next section of the bridge. The ensuing carnage killed more engineers and put another hole in the bridge. Vlessadwassan AAA retaliated in revenge shooting the Corsair down into the river. The pilot parachuted to safety, landing on the other side of the river. But he didn’t get far. He was obliterated by a burst of fire from the second Shilka.

 

After dropping mortar shells on random targets on the far side of the river, the Omovan and Vlessadwassan mortar teams received new orders to drop smoke on the far end of the bridge, hopefully providing cover for the Vlessadwassan engineers desperately trying to bring the pontoon bridge into use.

In the meantime, the Allergerian, Tarzanian and Kalemnitkan forces had arrived and were converging on the bridge. Sporadic gunfire was erupting all along the line.

    Attackers massing on the banks, hoping to get a chance to cross safely - it is a long way across!

 

Just as the Vlessadwassans were gaining in repairing the bridge, an Allergerian Mirage thundered in from the west and launched another two rockets at the beleaguered bridge. Fortunately for the Quatro Allies, one rocket completely missed and the other only caused minor damage. For the Mirage, it suffered the same fate as the previous two Corsairs. As it was now hurtling towards the earth, the pilot ejected successfully whilst the navigator was not so lucky, breaking his neck on the canopy which did not detach in time.

 

As the Mirage swerved to port and plummeted into the ground, the pilot floated down by parachute. Everyone held their fire as the pilot headed gently towards the river -- the crocodile infested river! With a splash, the pilot landed in the water, immediately struggling from his parachute harness. Within the blink of an eye, he was assailed by two hungry crocodiles. Miraculously, he managed to fight one off, but sadly, not the second one. He was pulled underwater, never to be seen again.

 

    A pontoon bridge is assembled by very brave engineers in the face of determined attacks

 

The report from the Vlessadwassan engineer commander was not very positive. The bridge was repairable but would take time. And with the enemy approaching rapidly, the ongoing repairs might be too hazardous. New orders were sent to the artillery battery to drop a smoke barrage just ahead of the bridge. Hopefully this would provide sufficient cover.

 

The bridge was still under threat from another air strike. The decision was made to dig-in along the river and wait for dark. Whilst these decisions were being made, the West Imagiafricans were coming closer.

With the setting Sun, hostilities eased greatly. Both sides were taking stock of the day’s combat, making plans for the following day’s operations - a river crossing probably in the face of a counterattack.

 

    Thanks again to the players of the Nunawading Wargames Association - I am a lucky rules author to have you guys as fans of the game!

 

Cast of Playing Characters

The Quatro Alliance (Blue Team - Attackers)

• Mdrongo - James Booth
• Omovo - Jasper
• Umgawaland - Alan Newman
• Vlessadwassa - Esteban Blanco
  

(Attached)

• Brimibian - Brian Roberts

 

The West Imagiafrican Coalition (Red Team - Defenders)

• Allergeria - Russell Charles
• New Guernsey - Aaron Mauger
• PKL - Piotr Kaczmarek

(Attached)

• Kalemnitka - Geoff Kelly
• Tarzania - Andrew Waligora

Water or Gas - what's your poison? First Post-Apoc AAR

    Tosh of the Bass Reeves examines the gas pump to figure out how to extract fuel with no power

Summer break from school is already half over, so I figured it was high time that I kick off my Post-Apocalyptic games that I've been planning. I have been painting miniatures and creating terrain and markers for awhile now. So, I invited the Sunday evening gaming group over yesterday to my place and set up our first scenario using Fistful of Lead Core Rules. We'd played the Western rules a couple times, but this would be our first game with these rules in a different period. Since it had been a couple months since our last game with these rules, I played it safe and kept the force size small at four miniatures per team.

    The stealthy, camo-clad Bucknuts stalk through the trees towards the water tower

The teams represent bands of human survivors after a recent nuclear apocalypse. As in Arnold Schwarzenegger "Terminator" movies, an artificial intelligence has taken over the war machines created by the nations of the earth and launched an extermination of mankind. In desperation to take down the machines, the nations of the earth resort to nuclear weapons. The resulting Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) does seem to cripple the A.I., and it is no longer able to coordinate its extermination efforts planet-wide. However, the local bots that survived are still on the rampage, and appear to be controlled by regional networks that are still a danger. Meanwhile, society breaks down as groups of humans scramble for control of scarce food, water, and other supplies. The players each control one of these groups.

    The Bass Reeves take up firing positions around the gas station to cover Tosh's attempt

This scenario begins as word spreads that someone has found a way to tap into a local water tower and pump out clean, fresh water. Rumor has it that also nearby is a gas station still has some fuel in its pumps. The survivors set out to secure these supplies for themselves. To Hell with the other groups -- they have lots too many of their friends and families to rival groups to have any sympathy for the other survivors! We had six players, so I started one in each of the four in the corners of the board and the other two in the centers of the long edges. The water tower and gas station were on the center line of the table, one on the more to the right and the other on the left.

    The Nightstalkers eschewed the loot and instead targeted members of the rival teams of survivors

Each group adopted different tactics. In one corner, the Nightstalkers made no real effort to push towards the gas station they could see ahead. Instead, they took up positions in the ruins of buildings and sniped away at the rival gangs. Players could earn "Renown Points" (victory points) by either obtaining water or gas or killing their rivals. Keith was playing the Nightstalkers, whose advanced armor and firepower resulted in killing the most enemy figures. He was even able to take down one of the Scout Bots that was drawn to the area by the gunfire. The arrival of bots is triggered by the number of player figures being killed. A Scout Bot arrives when combined table losses reach 10%, a Sentry Bot at 20%, and a Military Bot at 30%. If one bot is killed and the higher level one has not been triggered yet, a replacement of the lower type appears.

    A Scout Bot rolls onto the table edge, preparing to fire at two Followers of the Dark Prophet

The bots are actually controlled by the players. Whoever has suffered the most losses is given the first Scout Bot. Next most losses at the time gets control of the next bot to arrive, and so on. They arrive at any table edge, but will fire on the closest human (even if it is under that player's control, so they have to be careful). If a bot is downed, it becomes another source of potential Renown points. Figures can go up to it, and if they make a Hard Task roll, can remove useful hardware such as weapons, ammunition, or technical components. In our game, the last turn ended with a Sentry Bot gunning down one of the Bass Reeves. With that, the players agreed it was time to scram and their figures began to leave the field in droves.

    The truce at the water tower as the Followers of the Dark Prophet and Bucknuts agree to share

On the water tower side of the battlefield, though both the Bucknuts and the Followers of the Dark Prophet advanced towards it and took up positions in opposing woods, overlooking the tower. The Followers shouted a truce offer across to their rivals - one member of the party from each side be allowed to draw water without being shot at. Amazingly, the truce was adhered to by both sides! First, one of the Followers trotted forward, analyzed the apparatus that had been installed to tap into the water tower, and passed his task roll to figure it out. He filled up a container of water just as Jackie O from the Bucknuts jogged up. Watching how he did it, she also was able to draw water for her team.

    The Blood Brotherhood looks at the gas pump -- sooo close -- but watched over by two rival teams

The moment of calm was interrupted by gunfire, though. F Troop, whose members had recently made their way back from the wars to their home town, opened fire on the Followers of the Dark Prophet. Both sides blazed away at each other with the ex-military unit getting the worst end of it. Both of their leaders, Capt. Amos and Sgt. Seneca, fell to the return gunfire from the black-clad Followers. The remaining two members of F Troop retreated off the board, dragging with the them the unconscious bodies of their leaders.

    Finally, the Grandmaster of the Blood Brotherhood dashes forward to fill up his gas can

Meanwhile, at the gas pump, things were about to explode in gunfire. Both the Blood Brotherhood and The Bass Reeves had team members poised to dash out into the relative open of the pumps. Each had taken a casualty from the sniping of the Nightstalkers, but persevered to where they were in position. The Bass Reeves jumped first, with tech-savvy Tosh darting from behind the battered Coke machine and reaching the nearest pump. He also passed his Task roll, figuring out how to get gasoline from the pump in the absence of electrical power. He quickly filled his plastic container and dashed for safety.

    The Followers of the Dark Prophet at the edge of the woods overlooking the water tower

Peering from the ruins nearby, the Blood Brotherhood were perhaps shocked by the audacity of Tosh's move. They noted how he was able to milk the pump back to life and only opened fire only as he was dashing away. Perhaps they were worried a stray bullet might cause an inferno, but Tosh made it to cover safely. The crimson-robed Grandmaster of the order hissed to his men to provide covering fire and sprinted for the pumps. Mimicking Tosh's actions, he was also able to fill up the gas can he'd brought along. He was also equally fortunate in dashing back into the ruins for cover unscathed.

    Jeremiah and Sarge of the Bass Reeves are surprised by a Sentry Bot while looting the Scout Bot

Tosh wasn't so lucky, though. A long range burst of automatic weapons fire from the Nightstalkers brought him down. The Bass Reeves leader, Big Bass, darted over, tossing the unconscious Tosh (and the gas can) over his shoulder and scurried offtable. This was about the time that the Scout Bot arrived. It fired a burst at the Nightstalkers, whose return fire must have hit a critical component. The Scout Bot crashed into a wall and fell over, its sole wheel spinning. One of things we were worried about with Fistful of Lead rules was whether the 3 Wounds each figure can take would even come into play. Or would most of the casualties come from "Out of Action" rolls on the Wounding chart that players roll on after scoring a hit? In our first Western game, this was certainly the case. In this game, of the five characters and one bot taken out of action, five of the six were knocked out by a d10 roll of 8-10 on the Wounding Chart. There were many others that were hit with Shock Markers or Wounded by shooting, so the percentage of kill shots was definitely less than our Western game. Still, it is something to keep an eye on and perhaps tweak.

    F Troop before the game - players chose which four characters to take on the mission

I informed the players that the downed Scout Bot was another way to earn Renown points. The Bass Reeves jumped at the chance. Two of their members closed in on the wreckage. Just as they bent over the the armored scout, looking how to pry it open or remove components, the sound of mechanical gears and the metallic stamp of feet grew louder from around the corner. They turned and saw the gleaming bronze surface of a Sentry Bot, its machine gun swiveling towards them. Sarge grabbed a panel that had been jarred loose by gunfire and tore it free as he darted through the ruins towards the table edge. Jeremiah struggled to pull free one of the scout's guns, but was too slow. A long burst of machine gun fire sliced into him from the Sentry Bot. Jeremiah slumped senselessly onto the surface of the Scout Bot.

    The Blood Brotherhood, a cult whose members have sworn to protect each other and the Order

At this point, more and more characters began running for the table edge. The machines had arrived and it was best to flee to fight -- or scramble amidst the ruins for supplies -- another day. Seeing the Followers of the Dark Prophet fading back into the trees, Brutus of the Bucknuts lumbered forward with his water container. Jackie O had to call out instructions on how to operate the apparatus, as he was fumbling amidst the levers and wheels with no success. He finally figured it out, just as another Scout Bot rolled onto the table. Luckily for him, it pursued the fleeing Followers of the Dark Prophet. Brutus finished filling his container and ran for the table edge where his teammates were waiting for him, gesturing frantically.

    "All right, I can take three of you with me..." Bucknuts: "Take me, Coach Coop!"

I came up with a rough system to award Renown Points to the teams. Using this, the Blood Brotherhood were the winners, getting two cans of gas and killing two rival team members for 7 Renown points. Well, their characters killed one and the Sentry Bot they controlled gunned down another. I am awarding full points to the players controlling the bots to ensure they act with appropriate, Terminator-like bloodthirstiness! Close behind were the murderous Nightstalkers and stealthy Bucknuts with 6 points apiece. Both the Followers of the Dark Prophet and the Bass Reeves earned 5, while F Troop escaped with a single Renown point for exiting the table with 50% of their number alive. I hope to allow players to adjust their characters using the Renown Points, acquiring new skills or similar experience.

    The Nightstalkers weren't there for gas or water -- they were there to hunt their rivals!

There is also a table in Fistful of Lead (and the Post-Apocalyptic supplement Wasteland Warriors) to roll on to see what happens to the characters who were wounded or knocked out of action. I forgot to keep track of the wounded, so they will all get a free pass on this game. However, here were the results of the out of action rolls:

• F Troop, Capt. Amos: "It's Not So Bad" (miss next game)
  
• F Troop, Sgt. Seneca: "It's Not So Bad" (miss next game)
• Blood Brotherhood, Brother Fortitude: "It's Not So Bad" (miss next game)
• Bass Reeves, Tosh: "It's Not So Bad" (miss next game)
• Bass Reeves, Jeremiah: "Shot Full of Holes" (miss next game and suffer a Negative Trait as permanent damage).

 

I felt the game flowed well. We had a couple times when players forgot they had a certain value card and didn't activate when they were supposed to, but we kept needling each other and everyone stayed focused. I think the mix of objectives and "go kill the enemy" was good, so I will likely try to replicate that. I think I will also add in some "payback" Renown points, where you get a bonus point for taking out an enemy figure whose team took out one of yours last game!

Hopefully, the players will be eager to get together again soon for some revenge and to try another game soon!

First Test of Battle for the Republic's Legionaries

    My new Republican Roman Saga army faced a stiff first test in a civil war against Late Romans

I had to skip our Saga game day in June, so I was really looking forward to July’s game day at the Guardtower East. I hadn’t played Saga in awhile, and was eager to roll some dice and try out my new Republican Roman army. We had 10 players show up, another good thing, as it meant I wouldn’t be “odd man out." Once we were sure we had everyone, I let folks choose their matchups. I ended up squaring off against veteran Ancients gamer Bob B, who I always have close, gripping matches with. This one would prove no exception.
    

    My Roman army hides in the shadow of gentle hill, trying to avoid 2 bolt-shooters behind the bog

Bob was fielding his Age of Invasions Romans, so we had a civil war, of sorts. My Republican Roman list is quite different, though. Most of my faction’s advanced Saga abilities are usable only by the heart of the army, the legionaries. In fact, only ONE of the 10 abilities does not specify which of your units can use it. They go from being as permissive as “Infantry” (two abilities), to as restrictive as Hearthguard defenders. Most abilities specify as being usable only by Maniple units, which are Roman warrior or hearthguard  infantry in units originally of eight figures or less.

    Facing off against the Republican legion in the center are a large unit of legionaries & cataphracts

So, the Roman battle board pushes its players to use small units of legionary infantry. I conformed to this historical list building and had four units of 6-man warrior Hastati or Princeps infantry and one unit of 8 figures. I also had one unit of 4 Triarii (hearthguard foot), and one of 12 levy javelinmen known as Velites. There were no mounted troops in this army. Instead, only lots of plodding heavy foot.

    As historically, the Roman Velites skirmishers screen the advance the army against missile fire

Examining the advanced abilities revealed they have excellent defensive capabilities. However, crucially those defensive abilities work ONLY in melee. Their anti-shooting abilities were weak, being limited to one ability which was usable only by Maniples. So, what did Bob field with his variety of Romans? LOTS of shooting capability! The Age of Invasions Romans are known for their ability to field a manuballista, or artillery bolt shooter. Most players take the ballista, but Bob decided to up the ante and fielded two! In addition, he fielded his legionary foot in two large, 10-man units to take advantage of the Plumbatae ability. This represents the small javelins thrown by late Roman legionaries. Plumbatae allow Romans to fire 1:1 with these, which means he’d be rolling 10 attack dice on his shots with them.

    The Velites place themselves between the bolt shooters and the heavy infantry, taking casualties

So, my number one goal would be to not have my heavy foot shot to pieces as we closed with his battleline.  Bob was 1st player, and surprisingly, placed a large, gentle hill in the center right of the battlefield. I had already been planning on playing a hill to block the line of sight of his ballistae, so deployed a large steep hill in the left center. This gave me two tall pieces of terrain to hide behind, at least on my initial advance. Next, Bob placed a marsh towards his center. With three pieces placed already on the board, I could eschew placing another one and instead move one of his. I chose to scoot his bog towards his baseline so he couldn’t hide the ballistae behind it. Bob’s last name IS Boggs, so he placed a second marsh on his left for his ballistae to hide behind, after all. Our battlefield was now set.

    Bob's cataphracts open the melee portion of the battle, hurling back a unit of legionaries

In the Clash of Warlords scenario, the 1st player deploys half his troops. Then the 2nd player deploys his entire army, followed by the 1st player setting up his remaining troops. Luckily, Bob deployed both his ballistae in the first half - behind the marsh, as I’d suspected. Unfortunately, their 24” range on a 4’x3’ battlefield would allow the artillery to shoot just about anywhere they wanted that was not blocked by the hills. Now, I could have sat back on my baseline, out of his range, and said, “Come get me!” There are Saga players who would do this. My number one goal, though, is to have fun. That would NOT be a fun game. So, I bunched up my army in the shadow of the gentle hill, preparing to march down the valley between the two hills. Bob deployed one of his large legionary units near his baseline opposite the valley, backed up by a 6-man unit of mounted cataphracts. Cataphract armored cavalry is an excellent troop type added in the Age of Invasions book. They are slower in “Moves” (but not “Charges”) than traditional mounted hearthguards. However, they are one better armor class. This would be a key point as my Velites javelinmen would try to harass them through a good half the game.

    Late and Republican Romans charge and countercharge, while another tries to circle the steep hill

In Republican Roman legionary tactics, the Velites are the screen - deployed out front of the heavy infantry to absorb enemy missile fire. That would be their job in the opening phases of this game, too. They absorbed volleys from both ballistas and one of Plumbatae from the enemy legions. When they were reduced from 12 to six figures, I scurried them away from the center and screening role and onto the slopes of the steep hill. They would remain out of range of the ballistae for the remainder of the game — barely. However, they would toss javelins from the slopes at the enemy horsemen whenever they got a chance.

    Bob's left wing finally arrives with a thundering charge by barbarian cavalry Foederati

Speaking of those cataphracts, Bob opened up the hand-to-hand portion of our battle with a charge from them against one of my small units of legionaries. A wily general, Bob had noticed I had queued up two abilities (Close Formation and Tenacious) which grant me attack or defense dice when outnumbered by the enemy. It’s the whole reason that many Republican Roman Saga players go with 6-figure units. However, his cataphracts were also six figures, which meant I couldn’t really use either of those. I was taking advantage every turn of Exhortation, which gives every friendly unit in melee within a Long distance of my warlord two bonus defense or attack dice. Once again, NOT against shooting, which was where Bob would do at least half of his damage in this game. I was finding that our late Roman cousins were NOT a good matchup for my Republican Romans!

    A Roman saying says that a battle is a grim one when the Triarii veterans have to enter the fray

Bob’s charge shattered my legionary unit, who recoiled away onto the hill slopes where the cavalry would be unlikely to follow. However, this finally brought two of Bob’s units (the legionaries and the cataphracts) in range of my legionaries’ charges. Up to this point in the game, we were suffering the casualties and the late Romans were the ones dishing them out. I launched a very disappointing charge against his big legionary unit (13 dice causing only two casualties). This established a new theme for the second half of the game: Bob’s saving rolls. To this point, I had been rolling above average saving rolls against his shooting. However, Bob would prove to roll incredibly well in melee saves. His shooting may be subpar, his melee rolls were about average, but he shone all game in saving rolls.

    Bob's sole remaining cataphract won him the game with his heroic saving rolls against all odds

For several turns, we traded charges, Bob chewing up my small legionary units (always softening them up with their Plumbatae missile attack). I was simply not doing enough in return on my counter-strikes, though. He was winning the war of attrition. The Velites were slowly but surely whittling down the enemy horsemen with their javelins. I thought the cataphracts would finally be eliminated when they charged my Trairii. I rolled four casualties in melee against their two remaining horsemen. In Saga, you save against melee hits only on a 5 or 6 (1/3 chance). So, how many of those four hits did Bob save? Three of four — 75% of them!

    We had 10 players show up for our July Saga game day fielding 9 different types of armies

Still, when he charged in his mounted general to finish off one of my legionary units, I thought I had a way of winning the game. If I could kill that last cataphract, its loss would inflict a fatigue on three of his units, including his general. I could then charge in my fresh, 8-man legionary unit against his general  and hopefully kill him, too (as he would have two fatigues). How did it work out? Bob proceeded to roll a half dozen saving rolls in a row for the lone cataphract, effectively clinching his victory.

    Jenny's war wagon in her Eastern Princes army takes a historical opponent in Dan's Poles

When we counted up the points, it would have been a Draw if I had killed that last cataphract. However, since I couldn’t take him out, Bob eked out a victory. We both agreed that that horseman would be awarded medals and honors for his heroic stand. I had lost, but honestly, I felt I did as best I could with a brand new army and a matchup that was disadvantageous. Whereas before I felt that the Republican Romans were somewhat weak against enemy shooting, I think this game confirmed it is worse than I thought. They are highly vulnerable to enemy shooting. I think I am going to have to rethink my army composition against “Shooty” armies. It may be time to hire some mercenary Cretan archers or even recruit another unit of Velites. With an armor of 4 and my small unit sizes, I can foresee bad things happening against our missile-rich Numidian, Carthaginian, and Spanish enemies in the Age of Hannibal book. And that doesn’t even factor in all of the ahistorical Shooty armies like my own Moors. Or the Irish. Yikes!

    Dan's Polish knights resplendent in their individual medieval heraldry triumphed over their foes

Still, solving tactical puzzles is one of the strengths of Saga as a game. I will have to figure out a way to overcome that, just as the actual Roman generals did two millennia ago when they conquered the Mediterranean and built an empire.

Here were the results of the games from our July Saga game day:

• Bob B's Romans (AOI) defeated Mike D's Rep. Romans in Clash of Warlords, 16-11
• Andy S's Rep. Romans defeated Mike C's Jomsvikings in Battle of Heroes, 10-0
• Lee P's Milites Christi defeated Tyler P's Irish in Battle of Heroes, 23-13
• Dan N's Poles defeated Jenny T's Eastern Princes in Clash of Warlords, 16-12
• Mike S's Vikings defeated Tom G's Welsh in Clash of Warlords, 19-11
• (Rematch) Tom G's Welsh tied Mike S's Vikings in Clash of Warlords, 22-22 

Viva Roma - Republican Roman army

    My newest painted Saga army - Republican Romans - is a milestone on several levels

Forty-three years ago, I was a 16-year-old kid playing role-playing games once a week at a city recreation center. I made a trip across town on a bus to the one and only game store in town that catered to these different kind of games. It was called The Soldier Shop, and it was an eye-opening experience walking up and down its aisles. I am fairly sure I bought some miniatures for our fantasy role playing games, but on one of the trips, I also picked up a set of rules for ancient miniature battles. I read through them and was like, "Wow! You can fight with whole armies?"

    This was my first army I had ever sent off to someone to be painted, and Ted did a great job on them!

None of my friends were interested in that, but I picked up a few packs of 15mm Heritage Miniatures Republican Romans. I put a note in our little newsletter one of the members of our role-playing group cranked out intermittently, seeing if anyone else was interested. Larry Connor, now sadly passed, called me up and said he also owned the same rules. Slowly, I began painting my first-ever miniature army under his coaching.

    I touched up both general figures with extra details, and the standard bearers were painted by me

That is world's away from the current gaming scene, but there was an interesting convergence. For Ancients, I play Saga now instead of Wargames Research Group rules (my entry into the field). I recently bought figures for those same Republican Romans more than a year ago when Saga released Age of Hannibal. Still, as months passed, the army seemed to get no closer to the front of the painting queue. I decided to do something I had never done before. I sent the miniatures off to be painted by someone else, paying them $220 to do so. For years, I would say that I would never do that. I enjoy the painting part of the hobby too much, and besides, I'm too much of a cheapskate! 

    Ted did a great job on the cavalry, too - though I did add in the shield design in micron pens

However, I decided to break new ground and do that mainly because of the painter: Ted Bender. One of our board members in HMGS Great Lakes, Ted recently retired from his job and was essentially painting full-time. I thought I could throw a little business his way. Plus, it seemed a perfect fit. My very first army I ever painted was Republican Romans. The first army I paid Ted to paint was Republican Romans (though 28mm, not 15mm). A weird convergence, 43 years in the making, and now those Romans are ready to take the field.

    Ted used shield decals I'd provided for the legionaries and they turned out great, I think!

I do have to be honest. I touched up both the foot warlord and mounted warlord figures. I wanted them to be a little more ornate and their armor a little more fancy. And then it hit me: I hadn't sent away any standard bearers (mainly because I didn't own any). Crap! There was no way I was going to put my Roman warlords on their own bases. I normally have 2-3 figures on my Saga warlords' bases (and often dogs or some other pet, as well). Meticulously, I went through my unpainted 28mm Ancient and Dark Age figures looking for something I could convert into a Roman standard bearer. I found some 28mm Navigator Greek Hoplites in linen cuirass. They would be easy to convert to standard bearers! Plus, both warlord figures were also wearing linen armor. Perfect!

    My 'jazzing up' of the warlord was adding details to the linen armor and a pattern to the cloak

So, technically this army is not entirely painted by someone else. Still, for all intents and purposes, it is. The Romans also fulfill that vow I'd made to eventually use shield decals for my "next" army. Ted is a whizz at using shield decals, so I purchased a variety of ones to match the Gripping Beast figures and sent them away with the miniatures. The funny thing is, I tried to use the leftovers that Ted sent back on the standard bearers (who I had given extra Roman shields I had). I STILL can't seem to get the knack of shield decals and gave up. I even watched a YouTube video on applying waterslide decals. Fail!

    For my veteran Trairii legionaries, I used the kneeling figures and switched to wire spears

But hey, in one fell swoop my Republican Roman Saga army was done! I did have to base and flock the army, of course. That was a fairly big undertaking, but I was determined to do it all at once. I used my normal method, painting the edges of the base first, then painting the base with a 50/50 mix of white glue and brown paint. The stand is then dipped in fine brown ballast. After drying, I dab the top of the base with 50/50 white glue and water. I sprinkle on Woodland Scenics blended Turf. The next step is to put the first clearcoat spray using Testor's Dullcoate. 

    The 'Levy' of a Republican Roman army are the javelin-armed youths known as velites

Once dry, I dab the turf with three irregular shapes of full strength white glue. I sprinkle it with Woodland Scenics blended grass. I add a couple tufts that I buy at the local hobby stores, and the base is ready for its final spraying of Dullcoate. And the legion is ready to take the field now. Perhaps now, all these decades later, my imagination is jaded and not as fired as that 16-year-old's was when he commanded his first Roman legion. Still, I look forward to taking the field with my Romans. It is still my favorite civilization from History to read about. Hopefully, the legion's battles will write new sagas of wargaming that bring back some of that spark I got from painting my first Romans all those years ago.

    The other half of the Velites, which are normally depicted with animal headdresses

    More 'Hastati' or 'Principes' legionaries carrying the heavy throwing weapon called a pilum

    I organized my legionaries in groups of six with one leftover group of eight

    There are a LOT of legionaries in a Roman army!