The Mongols Approach! My first batch of Mongols for Saga

    My first batch of 8 Mongol mounted warriors gallops through an enemy village on a lightning raid

I had no intention of starting on my next Saga army so soon after finishing up the Carolingians. However, Rodge from Saga Thorsday announced a painting contest. The rules were simple -- paint at least one point of a Saga army (but you could enter more, even an entire army). It had to be all new paint jobs -- nothing you'd finished prior to the start of the contest. I honestly have never entered a painting contest, so figured why not? 

    My 28mm Mongols are from Curteys Miniatures, carried by 1st Corp in the UK

I'd purchased these Mongols awhile back from Curteys Miniatures, which is carried by 1st Corp in the UK. I'd picked them for their incredible variety of poses and packs. Their price is also very good. Even including the shipping costs, these came out to be very affordable. One drawback that I read about on the internet was their smaller size. I figured since the entire army was going to be from the same manufacturer, I didn't have to worry about them not sizing up with other miniatures. Plus, Mongol horses and Mongols themselves tend to be a bit shorter than Westerners. So, no problem with being a little short, eh? They're Mongols -- they'll make up for it with attitude.

    I was really drawn to the variety of poses and expressive faces that were cast on these miniatures

This first batch was of eight miniatures, which is normally larger than what I like to paint for mounted troops. However, Rodge's rules were clear. I had to paint a full point, and one point of Saga warriors is eight miniatures. After this batch, I will likely paint in smaller groups. I selected one pack of light horse archers and one of the several command packs that I purchased. Interestingly, the horse archers came in three parts while the command pack came in two (horse and rider). The archers' lower bodies had to be glued to their upper half. I'm not 100% sure why, though. Maybe to give even more variety? However, the lower halves were very similar and I didn't think it made much difference. The different headgear did a better job of providing variety.

    I mixed a pack of horse archers and a command pack for my first batch of 8 miniatures

Looking at the sculpts closely, I really liked the expressive faces. I liked the headgear, but boy did they have a lot of equipment festooned on them! Most had a bowcase, quiver, sidearm like axe or sword, ceramic jug, and some other bag-like piece of equipment I didn't recognize. These were all attached to the lower half of the rider (or rider himself, in the case of the command pack) -- not the horse. The horses were okay sculpts - not the strongest part of the casting, but acceptable. They were actually where I started, once I'd assembled the figures and primed them. I decided to glue the figure to the horse before painting, unlike I had done with the Carolingians, recently. I was worried about fitting the riders to the horse and wanted to be sure I could ensure the fit was good before applying paint.

    My favorite robe was the dark, blue-green one worn by the standard bearer

I wanted these horses to stand out since I was painting this batch for a contest. So, I pulled out all of my 28mm Dark Ages cavalry figures and picked out the horses that I liked best. I set my favorite eight out on my desk than placed the primed miniatures up next to them, side by side. Sometimes I had to scratch my head to figure out what paint color I had used on the figure I was using as a model, but for the most part I was able to match the previously painted ones. I used a mix of grays, tans, browns, chestnut reds, and such. Previously, I had done research to see what colors Mongol ponies (who aren't actually ponies, but just small, hardy horses) actually were. Everything I read made it appear that their horses are the same variety of colors we see elsewhere in the world.

    I'm very happy with how these figures came out, with decorated robes, bowcases, and quivers

 For most horses, this meant there was a base coat and lighter shade of it drybrushed over top. Then I used two to three colors to give the fading to darker colored legs, noses, or whatever coloring the horse had. The manes were also painted a base color and dry brushed. I used a couple different color combinations of leather -- a darker one and lighter one. Each set of reins, bridle, etc., was done in two colors - a darker base coat and a lighter highlight color painted full strength (not dry brushed) atop. Once the horses were done, it was time to figure out what color to paint the rider's robes.

    The standard was modified, chopping off the metal top and placing it one wire spear

Another decision that I had to make was what skin color to use for my Mongol army. I don't have a jar of paint that says "Asian flesh" or similar. I went online and looked not only at historical images painted of the Mongols (such as Japanese or Chinese paintings), but also at photographs of modern Mongol herders. I then opened up each of my bottles of paint, finally settling on a Delta Ceramcoat paint called Khaki to use as the base. Honestly, I think it is far too dark to be what I consider khaki, but I liked its tanned flesh look. I added in standard Ceramcoat ruddy flesh until I came up with a mixture I liked. It was still a little light for my tastes, so I put on two rather than one coat of brown wash and was finally satisfied with the result. I had created my own Mongol flesh tone. I then used a plastic bottle to mix a big bottle of it up so that I didn't have to worry about matching the color with each batch of figures (like I had done for both my brown and black washes).

I rationalized that my Mongols were representing a period after the Mongol conquests had begun. So, they would have access to Chinese silks and Middle Eastern fabrics. Most source books like Osprey that I had perused also showed Mongols in brightly-colored silks. I took that as a go ahead to paint the riders much like I had done the Moors -- probably my favorite 28mm army that I have ever painted. I looked up at my paint rack and picked out base colors. Next, I decided what kind of pattern I would have on the robe. As always, I use the cardboard base that I glue my unpainted figures on to write notes, drawing sketches of the patterns, and so on. My favorite of the robes was the standard bearer, who has a dark blue-green robe with a sky blue pattern of dots. Not everything was a dots, I also painted little crescents, hollow circles, and more. I was really happy with how the patterns turned out.

Once the flesh and robes were done, it was time to delve into the plethora of equipment the riders were wearing. I pulled out about 7-8 bottles of paint that would fit in the linen-leather-brown spectrum. I picked up a figure and painted its bowcase, quiver, ceramic bottles, and bag all at the same time. I didn't want a bland look of everything being the same color, but I also didn't want a jarring rainbow of colors. I made sure the equipment gave a pleasing tonal range but still looked like something a tribal culture would produce with hides or ceramics. 

All in all, I was very happy with how this first batch turned out. Next batch, I will talk about the basing with the oval bases and the decisions I made on why and how I did that.

 

Last Points of Carolingians!

    Count Drogo - lord of the Lombard Marches - leads the forces of Charlemagne on its borders

Here are the last of the figures for my 28mm Carolingian Saga army. They include another batch of eight warrior bowmen, the warlord, and a supplemental batch of six archers. As I mentioned in earlier posts, all of the figures in this army except for the bowmen are from the Gripping Beast 4-point starter box I purchased at Game Table Adventures in Newark, OH. I already had a number of various Dark Age bowmen, so I didn't really see the point in going out and purchasing more for this army. I decided instead to use the figures I had and paint them up to match the rest of the army as best I could. Some are from Old Glory, some Warlord Games (I believe), and who knows where else? Feel free to comment on my blog if you recognize certain miniatures!

    I was really happy with how the hand-painted shield and the Photoshop-created banner came out!

I really like how the warlord base came out. I was planning all along to go with a red and green stripe theme for Count Drogo, my fictional Carolingian warlord (count of the Lombard marches). I made it a point to repeat those two colors throughout the warband so they predominate. I obviously made Count Drogo's reds and greens much brighter and fancier! I am not a big fan of painting stripes, but I am pretty happy with how his striped cloak came out. The yellow dots on the tunic were kind of overkill, but hey! A Dark Age noble will want to show off his finery when it comes to clothes. His dragon shield is hand-painted and one of my favorites from recent batches of figures.

    Count Drogo's companions, his trumpeter Ranulf and his Doberman Pinscher, Griffo

The other bit of overkill was on Drogo's scale armor. I decided to paint alternating rows of silver and bronze scales. The Franks were known to produce fine armor and weapons during the Dark Ages, so I figured this noble lord would have the best. Oh, and in case you think "Drogo" is completely made up name, that's not the case. I "Googled" Frankish names and saw it pop up on a list. I like the way that Count Drogo has the same rhythm and rhyme as Khal Drogo, the badass leader of the Dothraki from Game of Thrones! Count Drogo's Doberman Pinscher (no, I did not research if that breed was around in the Dark Ages...) is from Iron Wind metals, I believe. Or perhaps yet another 28mm dog miniature I picked up somewhere in a flea market! I used wire to wrap around the dog's neck as a leash and tucked it underneath Ranulf's hand resting on the hilt. 

    Batch #2 of my Carolingian archers - note the four with shields strapped to backs at the last minute

As mentioned before, though Count Drogo was included in the box, his companions on the base came from other places. I tend to take the figures out of the manufacturer's packaging nowadays when I purchase them. I put them in ziploc bags so they fit better in my unpainted lead drawers. Yes, sad to say, I have a mini cart on wheels with 5-6 drawers full of unpainted lead -- AND a supplemental 3-drawer bin on the shelves next to my painting desk! There's no way everything would fit if they remained in their original packaging. Lately, I have been trying to snip off part of the label and put it inside the ziploc bag, or at least write on the bag in marker what manufacturer and pack the miniatures are from. I would like my blog posts to be more informative and say, "I have no idea where this figure comes from" over and over here...haha!

    I am fairly certain the two on the left are Old Glory Viking archer figs, but not sure about the left two

I did the archers in two batches, one of eight which I had originally planned on doing, and a supplemental group of six after I foolishly thought I was finished with this army. Why paint more? Well, in my Carolingian Saga army, the warrior bowmen are the real killers due to the way I use the advanced abilities on the battle board. So, I decided to paint some more up so that I could reduce the number of warrior spearmen and increase the number of archers, if I choose to do so. Also, as I was finishing the first batch, I decided to attach shields to the backs of four of the Old Glory archers. They are supposed to be warrior bowmen, after all -- not Levy! This meant scraping paint off the figure where the shield would touch the archer's back. I tried to scrape the paint off the corresponding part of the shield off, too. Normally, I would attach any weapons and shield first, before painting. However, I already had these mostly done when I made the decision to give them shields slung on their backs. Probably a poor decision that will result in shields popping off that were insufficiently glued metal onto metal...!

    As with my other Carolingian warriors, I gave these colored hemlines on their tunics

Two of the archers had cloaks, so I was able to do a little pattern on the bottom border. Otherwise, all of the tunics have a simple, contrasting stripe at the hemline for decoration. They also had helmets, so I continued the two-tone metal color combination. These are actually two of the miniatures that I'm not sure if they are Old Glory or another manufacturer. They seem a little more cleanly cast then the other Old Glory sculpts that I used, but that could be just random. They also are a markedly different pose than the others. Old Glory specialized in big bags of figures with slight variations in pose and equipment, so maybe these are their figures and maybe not.

    My modifications to Old Glory Welsh/Irish figures changing them into supplemental bowmen

Once I decided to do the supplemental group of archers, I rummaged through my Dark Age & Ancient unpainted bin drawer. Much to my surprise, I had actually painted up ALL of my archers already. I thought I had more than a dozen more Old Glory Viking bowmen left over, but nope! Oh, no...does this mean I would have to (gasp!) buy more miniatures?? Well, don't despair -- my skinflint nature won out and I found some figures that I felt I could easily convert to bowmen. They were from my "Welsh/Irish" bag of Old Glory miniatures. They are meant to be holding a javelin and a knife, I believe. However, I switched that to a bow and arrow.

    Here are the six painted as a group - I used four different Old Glory poses to create these six archers

Converting or modifying miniatures is not my strong point, I admit. However, I thought I did a fairly good job drilling out their hands and using the remnants clipped from wire spears to create bows in the hands of these four separate poses I used (two duplicates), and an arrow in one of the poses. I have included a picture in the post so you can see my modifications before painting.

    I was getting bored with plain tunics, so I decided to add a bit more decoration to the mantles

Since most of figures that I have painted up for this army are ordinary, rank and file warriors, I have to admit I am getting a little tired of painting plainer looking figures! I am ready for a change up. The parade of dull greens, faded blues, and other earthy tones look good in mass. However, they're not very exciting to paint. However, at least they are not a uniformed army! It has been a L-O-N-G time since I painted uniformed troops. My guess is the last were the groups of 6-8 figures that I did when I was painting my 28mm Pulp project. I painted some U.S. Sailors, Senegalese riflemen, British Indian troops, and so on. So, I am sure all of those gamers who are painting up uniformed armies are laughing at me, now! "You think YOU'RE bored...!"

    The feathers on the arrows being held up are just a couple thicker layers of paint with tiny gray lines

So, what's next for me after Carolingians? I plan on getting the last of the terrain done for my Saga collections. Inspired by Jim Beegan's efforts, I want to have enough to set up eight games for a 16-player Saga tournament. That means I need to add four more swamps, fields, rocky areas, and ruins pieces. And if I can ever find a source of large sheets of styrene, I will make make some generic, flocked "large" pieces (10"-12" circular shapes). I also have a lot of resin/plastic pieces to paint up to place on the rocky areas and ruins (which I actually finished before these last six archers, see the More Terrain for Saga post here). 

After that, I was going to intersperse some character figures that can be used in the Old Feud scenario for Saga. Any figure can work for the "Soldier," of course. However, I wanted some distinctive figures for the "Brute," "Mystic," "Counselor," and "Princess." I have found some at both the Guardtower and Dragons Guildhall from their AD&D and Reaper Bones lines. Of course, I already had some figures that I could use for some of the characters, but I wanted more. I hope to have 16 participants in the Advance the Colors Saga tournament, so want to have a good handful of loaner characters for those who haven't painted up anything that they can use for them. Speaking of which, the player packet for the tournament has been released. For a copy of the file, click here. If the link doesn't work for you, comment below and give me your email address. Also, be sure to contact me and let me know you are planning on participating, and I will save you a spot!

More Terrain for Saga (Ruins, Rocky Ground Scatter Pieces)

    28mm Carolingian archers take cover amidst Acheson Creations rocky ground pieces

Normally when I create terrain, I do a fairly decent job of documenting it on my blog here. However, after creating three different types of areas awhile back (rocky ground, ruins, and fields), I didn't do a post. I just put in some pictures of them on one of my Saga battle reports. The good news is the pieces worked out great, and I decided to do a second batch of all of them. 

    Acheson Creations tumbled columns and ruined stone columns and walls

My friend Bryan Borgman, who used to be a rep for Acheson Creations, had a garage sale a few weeks ago. I found a number of boulder pieces and a couple toppled columns that were perfect for the "scatter" to set atop my flocked terrain pieces. I have always loved Acheson Creations' stuff, and find it easy-to-paint, looks great on the battlefield, and relatively inexpensive. I also took some Graeco-Roman columns from the Mantic Games temple terrain I'd purchased at the local game store. So, once I finished my Carolingian army a couple weeks ago, I slotted these pieces in to paint up and flock. 

    The pieces after "Step 3" -- the 50/50 mix of water & black paint has been brushed on

Step one is running them through the dishwasher on low heat to get rid of the release agent. Otherwise, the paint will bead up like rain drops on a newly-waxed car. Step two is spraying them with Krylon flat black acrylic. Step three is to brush on a 50/50 mix of water and black acrylic craft paint. Once that has dried and "shrink wrapped" itself onto the pieces, it was time to dry brush them.

    The rocky pieces from Acheson Creations after their first dry brushing of medium gray

I gave them a medium gray dry brush first, then followed that up with a light gray highlighting. Once dry, I did a final black wash over them to blend int the dry brush lines, so to speak. After that, it was on to flocking!

    The column pieces after their first drybrush - note the extra stones I added to the column bases

The first layer of flocking is painting the surface with a 50/50 mix of white glue and brown craft paint. While it is wet, I dip the piece into a tub of Woodland Scenics fine brown ballast. I spray a Krylon clear coat over it when dry. Then, I gently brush on a 50/50 mix of white glue and water over the ballast. While wet, I dunk it into a tub of Woodland Scenics Blended Turf.

    The ruins & rocky pieces after drybrushing, washing, and the first layer of flocking

The final stage is dabbing on full strength white glue and sprinkling Woodland Scenics Blended Grass in random patterns -- much like I do for my figure bases. Think camouflage -- irregular patterns to break up the outline. While it is still wet, I dab three or so areas with more white glue and press on various shades of Woodland Scenics clump foliage to give it an overgrown look.

    The Mantic Games terrain box that I got the columns and broken columns from

One final spray of clear coat, and they are done! These took remarkably little time, and are enough scatter for plenty of terrain pieces. For most games, I prefer to do flocked pieces of styrene plastic with these type of scatter pieces (or trees for woods) atop them. You simply move the pieces out of the way of the figures and you have terrain that looks good but is fully functional on the tabletop.

Sunday Night Gaming Group Back in Session!

    We had 8 players at the very first session of gaming at my house, so split into two games of Terraforming Mars

Missed somewhere in the traffic of all my posts on Saga is the fact my Sunday evening gaming group is back in session. We actually have been going on for a couple months, now. So far, it has been all board games. We almost did miniatures a couple times, but so far haven't pulled it off. I am working on an idea for a series of skirmish miniatures games (kind of like I did with the Fur-grave Ghost Archipelago games awhile back). Players would have the same warband over a number of games. I would love to do a post-Apocalyptic setting, but have to check if I have enough figures to pull it off. Plus, there would be the issue of which rules set to use. When it was all said and done, I simply didn't enjoy the Frostgrave combat system. I have purchased Burrows and Badgers, and like it's combat system even less. Maybe I will write my own set? Or use Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes...

    Close up of Terraforming Mars -- you need a decent amount of room to spread out all your cards

Probably one of the more popular board games we've been playing is Terraforming Mars. I really enjoy the game, and like it even more in an in-setting instead of just playing on the app against computer opponents. Somehow, it is less stressful and more fun when it is me and my friends than when I am trying to beat the A.I.! I taught it to them a month or so ago, and we've played it a couple times since then. It has helped that we've had really big turnouts -- an astounding 10 players last Sunday! Obviously, we split into two games going on simultaneously. Terraforming Mars takes a max five players.

    A 7-player game of Wingspan at my friend Mike W's house...or the Brewpub as we call it!

Another one of my favorite board games recently has been Wingspan. Jenny and I own both the European and Oceania expansions (haven't played that one yet, though). We have also found that you can do more than the five players that the game is supposedly limited to, though. We played a 7-player game once, and two six-player games. You simply need a second copy of the game for the additional player pieces and habitat boards. The game does change in multi, multiplayer mode. Those pink abilities (once between your turns) are much more valuable than they would be in a game with fewer players. I would have to say those are my two new favorite boardgames -- even more than Seven Wonders. Though honestly, we played the absolute heck out of Seven Wonders on our Covid-induced, online sessions on Board Game Arena.

Another Bonus Saga Night to Welcomes Our Co-founder Back

    Saga Ohio Cofounder Steve P, left, gets in a game against Keith F while visiting for a few days

Our growing group of Saga players here in Central Ohio owe their thanks to a couple people who did the necessary hard work of hosting games, teaching, and providing loaner armies. One of those is Steve P, who was back in town for a few days after moving to San Diego last year. Eight of us met at our usual haunt, the Guardtower East game store in Columbus, to welcome with a little war, Saga-style. He had not brought an army with him, though, and said he wanted to play something he had never tried before. So, he borrowed my Scots/Picts and matched up against Keith, who was also trying something new. Keith wanted to see how the Huns from Age of Invasions would play. I had warned him previously that mounted horse archery armies are hard to win with in Saga, but he wanted to see how the whole composite bow thing worked in the rules.

    Keith's Huns close in on Steve's Scots, who proved a very difficult nut for the horse archers to crack!

Two of our long-time players, Jenny T and Andy S (the other Saga Ohio co-founder), had yet to play each other in any of our meetings. So, they matched up, with Jenny using her Vikings. Andy also had a case of the "try something new" bug, and used his Norman figures to field a Polish army from Age of Crusades. He had a few questions about how the battle board abilities worked, and we did our best to figure out what made the most sense. It was the first Polish Saga army that had taken the field so far in our game days.

    Jenny & her Vikings take on Andy (wearing an appropriate shirt) as he tries out the Polish faction

Jeff F, a good friend of Steve's, also put in a rare appearance at a Saga game night. He had played extensively in version 1 of the rules, but only sparingly in version 2. He was fielding Normans against Dave E's Romans. Dave E changed up his list and decided not to use the manuballista this time, substituting in a unit of mounted hearthguard instead. Afterwards, he said he'd wished he'd gone with the ballista to be able to engage the elusive Normans. I have noticed that many Norman players really play in a Breton historical style -- skirmishing with javelin-armed cavalry. Although the board allows you to charge home in true, impetuous Norman fashion, many players are drawn to the abilities which allow your mounted troops to scamper away whenever an enemy tries to engage.

    Trying out new armies was the theme for the night. Here are Andy's knights standing in as Poles

The final match was between Lee P and myself. Lee is working on a Milites Christi army, but isn't quite finished painting it, yet. Jeff and Andy graciously lent troops from their Norman armies to allow him to field the list he is planning on running. Lee's army list included two units of 4 mounted knights (hearthguard), 3 units of ordinary foot warriors, and 1 unit of warrior crossbowmen. I was facing him with Count Drogo's Carolingian army (two units 4 mounted hearthguard, two units of 8 foot warriors, and two units of 8 warrior bow). I had never before played against Milities Christi -- nor even read through their battle board, honestly. This would come back to haunt me this game!

    Jenny's newest unit of Vikings warrior women advances towards the mostly mounted Poles

We decided to play Old Feud so we could get another game of that Book of Battles scenario under our belts. It will be one of the scenarios we are playing in the Advance the Colors Saga tournament, Oct. 2. Even though I was "first player," I let Lee choose his character first, and he chose the Soldier. I chose the Counselor - mainly for his extra "We Obey" ability. With three Saga dice sitting idle in the Proelium section of my board, I essentially end up fighting the battle with only five dice. I figured the extra "We Obey" activation would be helpful, and it definitely was!

    Dave E's Romans have faced many foes since he has been playing them, including Jeff's Normans

For terrain, I placed a ruins in the center of the battlefield, on my side of the midpoint. Lee countered with a gentle hill opposite it. Next, I placed a rocky area to the left of the ruins. He passed on placing another piece of terrain, and scooted my ruins back towards my baseline a Medium distance. For the final piece of terrain, I placed a forest on my right, also just short of the midpoint. Old Feud has an interesting deployment, with each side placing their character first, then alternating one unit at a time. Units must be deployed within Very Short (2") of another friendly unit. This means the armies end up grouped together closely.

    Count Drogo's Carolingians deployed against Lee's Milites Christi (note t-shirt!) in "Old Feud"

I deployed my two warrior bow units in the rocky ground and ruins. The warrior spear units were behind the ruins and in the open area between it and the rocky ground. My two units of mounted nobles were in the rear in reserve with my warlord. I placed my chosen character, the Counselor, in the ruins with the archers. 

    Lee's stand-in Milites Christi army (Normans borrowed from Jeff), deployed for battle in 3 lines

I had warned Lee prior to deployment about the very dangerous shooting ability of the Carolingians. He took my caution to heart, and arranged his troops in three lines. In front were the warrior crossbowmen and a unit of warrior spear. The middle line was composed of another unit of warriors and both of his units of mounted knights. The reserve line consisted of the third unit of warrior spear and his warlord and chosen character, the Soldier. Like me, Lee was intent on protecting his character. In Old Feud, if your character is killed and the opponent's survives, you lose. Otherwise, the game is decided by Massacre Points (killing enemy troops).

    Count Drogo's army was forced to abandon its excellent defensive terrain and march to attack

Count Drogo noted the arrival of the well-disciplined warrior monks, and how they kept their distance from his lines. He sent each of his noble cavalry to guard a flank. The archers edged as far forward as they could in their ruins and rocky ground, but the enemy remained frustratingly out of range. The foot warriors edged forward only enough to guard the flanks of their archer brethren. Would the enemy Knights of the Hospital advance? Or would they remain out of range and try to lure Drogo's Frankish warriors forward?

    Though not exactly "corner sitting," the Milites Christi were very reluctant to advance into battle

On his turn, Lee made it apparent he had no interest in advancing down the center into bowfire range. His army relocated towards my right, massing in the corner of the battlefield. Count Drogo watched the enemy movements with a frown. Beside him, Griffo the Doberman Pinscher growled. "Indeed, my sharp-eyed friend," the Count rumbled. "These knights appear craven." He waved towards his unit commanders on his left, and the archers, spearmen, and noble cavalry on that side advanced towards the center, forming a hinge with his archers and spearmen near the ruins. The noble cavalry on the right galloped out further to guard against a sweeping maneuver around the woods.

    Impatient at his adversary's caution, Count Drogo orders his troops forward into the center

Across the battlefield, the cautious Hospitaller Lord directed his troops, as well. The crossbowmen and warriors advanced to just outside of the archer's range. Meanwhile, another unit of spearmen followed a unit of knights galloping towards the woods. "Ah," Drogo nodded. "The monks do plan on trying to turn our right." Drogo let the enemy creep ever nearer. He even waved his line of troops in the ruins forward to make it look like he was focused on the center. The archers crowded behind the spearmen, ready to loose their arrows if a target came within range.

    Avoiding the deadly Carolingian archery, the Knights Hospitaller sweep around the woods

At this point, Lee struck. His flanking unit of knights swept around the woods and then charged into my mounted nobles guarding against such a move. Neither of us had faced the other's battle board, and were not fully aware of the ramifications of the advanced Saga abilities we had queued up. I played Vinco and Potentia, which gave two automatic hits and let me reroll up to six misses. Surprisingly, Lee played "Lamb's Peace," which raised both of our armor classes from 5 to 6. This meant I would very likely score more hits than him, which I did. Unfortunately, he absorbed all four of those hits with the Orison BASIC Saga ability, where he had two Uncommons and one Rare stacked. Lee rolled only one six, which I failed to save against, of course.

Drogo sends the archers forward behind the spearmen, keeping an eye on the flanking movement

In fact, his Orison ability would bedevil me all game long. There would be only one combat or shooting that occurred during the whole game when he did not have have at least three dice sitting on Orison (ready to cancel up to 4 hits). This is mainly because the board has three separate advanced Saga abilities that allow him to restock Orison in either the Orders, Shooting/Reaction, or Melee phases of the game. This is a VERY tough defensive ability, and unless you are hitting the Milites Christi with multiple shooting or melee attacks in a turn, they will likely cancel much of the damage you inflict without even having to roll saves!

    Contact at last! The warrior brethren's knights charge the Carolingian noble cavalry

Since my noble cavalry took a casualty, we recoiled. Lee did not intend to leave his knights over-extended on my half of the battlefield, though, and activated them to pull them back. Count Drogo was having none of that, though! I used the fatigue he received from the melee to reduce their move to a Short. This left them potentially in range of my archers. Count Drogo's trumpeter Ranulf blew a loud blast on the horn and both units of archers turned and moved quickly towards the right and rear. With the help of the Ardor ability, I was able to loose three volleys of arrows from the archers, which killed the knights to a man. 

    The archers redeploy to the right and rear and riddle the knights with arrows, killing them all

Infuriated at the loss of his brethren, the Hospitaller warlord charged into one of my units of spearmen. We closed ranks, but rolled horrible saves again, losing four figures. In Old Feud, the game can end on a die roll after the 4th or 5th turn. If I had been trying to just go for the win, I could have (and probably should have) hunkered down and made him come to me. I was way ahead on points. However, this was only Lee's fourth or fifth game, and I wanted it to be a learning experience. This is the army he is building, so the more practice he got using its battle board and troops, the better.

    Although I should have hunkered down for victory, I sent the archers to engage their crossbows

On Turn 5, I moved the archers to the front and they loosed two volleys at the enemy crossbowmen. Aided by automatic hits, I should have killed quite a few of them -- even with the four cancelled hits from Orison (or Ray Orbison, as I called it!). However, my rolls shooting rolls all night were awful. Only one crossbowman was killed. Knowing he was down on points, Lee sent his remaining knights into the archers, killing five. He followed up the recoil of the surviving three and charged them again. My rolls resulted in a total of only two knights dying (even with using his fatigue to lower his armor).

The store was closing shortly, so we had to call the game at this point. Both our characters had survived, so we counted up the points. I had killed six hearthguard (6 points), 1 warrior (1/2 point), and destroyed one unit entirely (1 point). Lee had killed one hearthguard (1 point), 12 warriors (6 points), and destroyed one unit (1 point). So, I told him he won by 1/2 point. However, when I got home, I double-checked the rules. It turns out you round up any fractions. There are no half points in final scores. So, the actual score was an 8-8 tie. It WAS a very defensive struggle, so the close score was not surprising. I had once again made the mistake of not looking at my opponent's battle board prior to a game and analyzing what he could do with it. I was focused on what I could do to him, not how he could either counteract it or do damage in return. 

Still, it was a fun game, and Lee is a great guy to play with. The only problem is that, seeing how his battle board performed, I now have another Saga army that I want to build! Thanks, Lee, for the great game!

Bonus Saga Game Day & Debut of My Newest Warband

 

    A new Viking army invades central Ohio as Adam brought his army from New York to learn Saga

There are good and bad aspects of just about everything, Facebook included. However, there's no denying how Facebook has helped our Saga Ohio group grow and keep everyone informed about gaming opportunities. Less than a week ago, Adam M posted in our group that he was back in Central Ohio from New York and wanted to get in a game of Saga, if possible. We were able to get a group of six of us together on a Wednesday evening at the Guardtower East game store. Adam had not played a full game of Saga since Version 1, so I paired up with him to help teach him through the mechanics.

    Tyler, at left, deploys his Irish as he finally faces Dave E's Roman army

Tyler P and Dave E had yet to play each other during any of our Saga game days, so they paired up, Irish vs. Romans. Another relatively new player, Allen S, borrowed my Vikings and matched up against Jason S and his Romans. This was only Allen's third game, so Jason helped refresh Allen on the concepts and the two were soon setting out terrain and deploying their armies.

    Tyler's Irish were able to use their considerable missile power to whittle away at Dave's Romans

To make it easier on Adam, we played Clash of Warlords so he could concentrate on my army and not worry about objective markers or other victory conditions. I was fielding my brand new Carolingian army. The warlord stand was flocked and clear coated earlier that afternoon. I showed him my order of battle -- mounted warlord, two units of 4 mounted hearthguard, two units of 8 warrior spearmen, and two units of 8 warrior bowmen. I've always maintained that warrior bowmen are underpowered in Saga rules, but the Carolingian battle board has a number of advanced abilities that really augment their archery.

    Allen, at left, moves his Vikings forward to engage Jason's Romans

Adam fielded a foot warlord, 3 units of 8 warriors, 1 unit of 4 berserkers, and one "hammer" unit of 8 foot hearthguard. That meant he was fielding two hard-hitting melee units with the berserkers and hearthguard. I would have to do my best to keep them from charging my archers. Hopefully, we could attack them with our missile fire and at least soften them up before impact. To that end, I would also need to use terrain to my Carolingian's advantage.

    Romans form a battle line as the Vikings edge closer and ready to charge

Next, I walked Adam through the terrain laying process. He was first player and placed a large woods in the center of the board (I'd warned him about my archery beforehand). I placed an area of ruins in the center right, just short of the middle of the table. He countered with a gentle hill in his center. I added an area of rocky ground on my right. He added another woods on his baseline. At this point, I took the option to move his large woods towards his right, away from the center. Adam decided that was good enough for terrain, and we began our deployment.

    Adam's Vikings swarm between the woods and hilltop towards my waiting Carolingian troops

Adam deployed his three warrior units as a screen across his front, shielding his hearthguard from my archery. They began their advance between the woods and hill, pouring towards Count Drogo's Carolingian border force. The spearhead of my force was one of my archer units in the ruins. The second unit was sheltering behind the ruins. I'd placed them there rather than in the neighboring rocky area because I didn't want them to be far out on the right away from the enemy. The plan was for them to sweep right or left depending on which group of Vikings I wanted to concentrate fire upon. 

    After Carolingian turn 1, the Viking warriors have been whittled down to 3 figures by archery

To the left of the ruins, stepping back towards my baseline were my two units of warrior spearmen. In the rear, my mounted hearthguard were my reserve. I envisioned using them in a "linebacker" counter-attack mode. If a vulnerable target presented itself, they could use their Long movement to charge them. Otherwise, I wanted them to be something my opponents would have to worry about and maybe make them more tentative in their attacks. Count Drogo, the warlord (his banner just attached hours earlier), sat atop his horse behind the ruins, his trumpeter Ranulf holding the leash to his Doberman Pinscher, Griffo.

  Viking counterattack is swift and fierce! 8 Viking hearthguard smash into my archers in the ruins

"Norseman, Count -- so many of them!" Ranulf whispered. Count Drogo nodded in response, scanning the woods and hilltop for signs of more invaders. "They're here for plunder, lord. Should we offer them spoils to leave, like our neighbor Count Nardwin did?"

 "Nardwin's a fool!" the Count growled. "What happens when the raiders return home with tales of easily-won plunder? More will come! There will be twice as many...threefold! There numbers will be uncountable..."

Ranulf sighed. "Yes, my lord. You are the count." Drogo cocked his head at his trumpeter, while Griffo barked, "Woof!"

    After the archers in the ruins recoil the hearthguard, both my units loose arrows - look at this roll!

Adam's first moves used both "Maneuver" free moves and Saga dice to advance all of his troops forward. The foremost unit of warriors had advanced within range of my archers stationed in the ruins. On my turn they loosed their arrows, while the counterparts behind the ruins advanced out to the right and let fly a volley of arrows, too. On turn 1, there was no danger of the Viking's "Odin" ability on their battle board, as the first player gets only 3 dice. Odin is a reaction to an enemy shooting and makes the shooters Exhausted. I wanted to make this first shot count, so maximized the abilities on my board for shooting. I played both "Vinco" (which inflicts two extra automatic hits), and "Potentia" (which lets me re-roll misses). I even used a Saga die on combat bonus, which added more attack rolls. After the first two volleys, I played "Ardor," which let me shoot again for free with those units.

    

 Viking warlord takes matters into his own hands and chases the Frankish archers out of the ruins

We scored 5 hits on the Vikings, which meant Adam's unit would not generate a Saga die next turn. The Viking's response was aggressive and dramatic. The 8-man hearthguard unit double moved into the ruins and crashed into my archers. Uh-oh, I thought. His toughest unit in melee just slammed into my weakest. I had queued up Defensor, which gave me 3 defense dice. I used his fatigue to lower his armor in hopes of whittling his hammer unit down a bit. Surprisingly, my archers gave as many casualties as they received -- aided, of course, by the heavy cover of the ruins and the bonus defense dice. The Viking huscarles recoiled, surprised by the ferocity of the Carolingian archers' defense.

    Count Drogo unfurls his dragon banner, alongside his trumpeter and Doberman Pinscher

This opened the door for me next turn to pour more archery fire into the huscarles. Adam had Odin queued up and made my full strength archer unit Exhausted. However, we shot with everything we had, throwing every Saga ability I could into the attacks. What's more, where my dice were below average in the first round, they were WAY above average in the second. One one shot, I rolled four "6's" out of my four dice! When my archers were done shooting, there was only one lone Viking hearthguard left. While concentrating on archery, my reserve noble cavalry was riding to the left and right to threaten the Vikings flanks. My thought was they could pick off any weakened units he tried to withdraw, or any that ended a turn saddled with fatigue markers. 

    Close up of Adam's Viking warriors, who were next to throw themselves into the attack

Adam knew the Vikings were an attack army, so came right back on his next turn. A second unit of warriors charged into one of my warrior units. The Carolingians closed ranks and played Defensor again, resulting in no casualties. The Vikings lost one and withdrew. Next, the Viking warlord charged into the ruins to take on my archers himself. He triumphed where the huscarles did not, and my battered unit withdrew with only three figures remaining. The Viking hero was Exhausted, though. This presented an opportunity I could not pass up, though.

    The Frankish warriors repel the charge of the Viking warriors

Once again, we concentrated our archery fire. The Warlord was a difficult target - his armor being raised to 6 against shooting by the ruins. Still, with the aid of Vinco, we score 4 hits on him. Adam picked up the four dice to roll. I reminded him that his lone hearthguard was within Short distance, so he could soak off one casualty by sacrificing him if he failed. But he needed to save at least three of the four. In payback for my earlier roll against his hearthguard, Adam saved all four shots! That's was one tough Viking warlord!

 Count Drogo shook his head and growled, "That Norse bastard is still alive in there, Ranulf!" He watched as the massive Viking taunted his archers, using his sword to snap off several of the arrow shafts embedded into his shield. "I wonder...should I send in the spearmen to corner the rat and skewer him?"

Ranulf curled Griffo's leash around his wrist. "Lord, remember when we watched the movie, 'Conan the Barbarian'? That hero was holed up in an old temple, too. He took out so many of his enemies and never was slain."

The count frowned as he scanned the battlefield, tabulating his surviving Frankish warriors against Vikings remaining alive. "You're right, Ranulf. We could lose more warriors sending them in...not sure how many more losses we can really suffer..."

"You are the count, lord." Ranulf nodded. Count Drogo and his Doberman Griffo both cocked their heads and looked at the trumpeter.

    Late in the game, Carolingian noble cavalry mop up the scattered survivors of Adam's warrior units

Count Drogo ordered the unit of mounted nobles on the left to charge the Viking warriors who'd been pushed back. They spurred their steeds and shouted their warcries. I played my usual Vinco and Potentia, which resulted in all 7 of the Viking warriors being ridden down. The count then waved his victorious troopers back towards the center, knowing the Viking wolf was cornered, but still had teeth.

Adam knew it was time to unleash the most fearsome of his wolves, though - his berserkers. He moved them up and hurled them at one of my units of warrior spearmen. I'd been coaching him on which of the many melee Saga abilities to use when he charged me. I did  NOT close ranks because I wanted to make sure I killed all four of the berserkers. He chose good advanced abilities to augment his attack and eliminated my warriors, with two of his own guys surviving. Next, the frothing at the mouth berserkers piled into my unit of mounted nobles. The nobles were able to slay the last of the berserkers, but at the cost of two of their three remaining figures.

At this point, Adam had played his 6th turn. I offered to forego my final turn and count up the points. Since the other games were finished, and he'd learned quite a bit in this game, he agreed. Count Drogo had repelled the raiders with a 24-14 victory. Sure, I could have racked up a few more points on my sixth turn, but the important thing was that learning game was a success. Adam said he understood the system so much better after this teaching game. He was very enthusiastic about it and was looking forward to more games of Saga.

On the other tables, Allen and Jason had battered each other to a tie, with the Vikings scoring 15 points to the Romans' 14. Tyler's Irish had triumphed again, surprising yet another opponent with their potent missile power. He defeated Dave, 29-10. It was a great midweek bonus night of Saga. Count Drogo's Carolingians had made their debut a victory, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Stay tuned to my blog for a final painting update with pictures of the last unit of archers and the warlord himself. There's also a chance we may get in another bonus night of Saga, as one of the Saga Ohio group founders, Steve P, is visiting from San Diego for a few days.