Deus Vult!

I suppose my first exposure to the Crusades was a toy crusader knight from a cereal box given to me by my grandparents in the late 1960's. As a child of about 6 years old, this seemed wonderfully exotic and was a treasured gift for many a year. Growing up we all seemed to admire the tales of Richard the Lionheart, not knowing the reality behind the myth.

Many years ago after the visually superb 'Kingdom of Heaven' film came out, I did ponder long and hard as to whether to try and game this period using the Warmaster Ancients rules, but frankly was put off by the sheer number of bases and miniatures required. A common theme I fear looking back over many a project contemplated and then discarded by the wayside!

My next venture was somewhat off the beaten track, this time with the Baltic Crusades using Lion Rampant and/or Hail Caeser rules, inspired by Michael Leck's post on this period. He put me onto the 'Arn: Knight Templar' trilogy of books as well as the Swedish tv Series of the same name. As is sadly often the case, lists were drawn up, figures bought, plans made and then: nothing. the butterfly had flapped its wings and my mind had wandered onto yet another project.

Quite by chance Richard on his excellent Blog showcased a couple of excellent books that I'd not heard about nor considered reading. But always on the lookout for a good book I bought the following for a bargain price:

Then a few weeks later the chaps from Little Wars TV were back with a Battle for Acre game to kick off things in there new enlarged games room. I always like what these guys put on but my interest was really grabbed by the fact that they were using Lion Rampant II with a few tweaks for the game. Having playtested the original rules way back when, and others since in the same stable, I thought that this would be a good way to maybe scratch that itch from the 'Kingdom of Heaven' film initial idea. The game certainly looked fun and so I started to have a think about how I might go about this.

Looking at my bookpile I dug out the following which I bought as reference for the Baltic Crusades some 10 years ago or more:

Luckily for me it also has plenty of stuff on the 'traditional' Crusades that most people seem to play. Alongside this I remembered that a few years ago some books were released as almost 'army books' for Lion Rampant; one of the Vikings in the Mediterranean and the other on the Crusades. I'd considered the former but never the latter. However as my interest had been piqued, I managed to track down the Crusades book which duly arrived today.

From a quick flick through it really is a nice book and alongside the above, it will really give me plenty of ideas and options for forces to make for some small games and/or battles. Luckily I think I have enough figures for the Western Crusaders, only needing to make some purchases for the 'Muslim' forces. 

So not having planned this project at all just a few weeks ago, it seems I have something else to keep the old grey cells ticking over! Not that I'm one to complain but let's hope I can get enough units based and painted to get these onto the table. Then of course I'll need some buildings and terrain...

Thanks for reading and for leaving a comment too.

TTFN.

Never Mind The Billhooks

Over the past few years I have given up on buying wargames magazines as, being a 10mm gamer and in my mid-50's, I find there has been little of interest in them to justify the subscription costs. However the latest Wargames Illustrated issue piqued my interest due to it coming with a free set of rules, aimed at wargaming the War of the Roses. This is more up my street than a pack of 28mm Perry Miniatures that, although being lovely, do not tempt me to part with my hard earned shekels.

I had heard about the rules via Facebook and various forum rumblings, but a couple of reviews on You Do Not Know The North Blog and Norm's Blog persuaded me to go and buy a copy. In short I'm glad I did.

The rules cover some 24 pages in a self contained booklet and remind me very much of 'Lion Rampant', but with some nice tweaks and obviously period specific rules. The author also lays out his stall in a small article within the magazine which is nice. There are also some articles on the WotR within the magazine as one would expect and for a relative novice such as myself found them really rather useful.

I think anyone who has played 'Lion Rampant' will feel very much at home with these rules and they  follow what I would call a fairly standard format of units being hit on say a 4+, save on a 5+ etc. So nothing left field which is a good thing in my opinion. Afterall if it ain't broke, don't fix it! The card driven sequence looks to be fun and there are some nice 'events' to spice things up and fit the period. They also look to be solo friendly, which given the current global situation, is a good thing. 

The author prefers individually based figures for removal but freely admits that large bases with multiple figures still work as long as you record casualties. Table size for 10mm would happily work on a 3' x 2' table, but a 2' x 2' based upon experience would work just as well. For myself the question is whether to go with one large base of figures for that dioramam look or, more likely, several bases so that I can use them for other rulesets, such a Neil Thomas' Ancients & Medieval.

These rules while being simple are certainly not simplistic and I can see them becoming a popular set for club games or with friends at home. They are begging to be played as a campaign and with the map in the magazine, I can see some action between the Talbot's and Berkley's forming the basis for a nice little narrative in this part of the World.

So all-in-all a worthwhile buy and certainly a magazine to keep for future reference. I can see the rules being tweaked for periods before and after the WotR and, as the author mentions, Game of Thrones. If you can, buy the magazine or pdf and i don't think you will be disappointed.

The 2nd Swedish Crusade - A Lion Rampant Campaign

A few weeks ago Dave and I were able to resume our weekly wargames get-together after an enforce absence. As we had nothing planned I put on a game of Lion Rampant. Luckily Dave had the rules but hadn't played any games. We managed to get a couple of simple games in over the course of the evening and had great fun. As a result I offered to come up with some background fluff for a narrative campaign, one in which Dave could use his Mongols.

I had been wanting to game the Baltic Crusades for some time, having been oringinally inspired by Michael Leck's excellent games. So after some research and input from Michael, I came up with the following broad background to the campaign:

• The setting is the Gulf of Finland, circa 1242, on land contested between the Republic of Novgorod and the Kingdom of Sweden.
• In 1240 Sweden launched the 2nd Crusade, headed by Birger Jarl and the Swedish Bishop of Turku. The initial clash between the Swedish and Novgorod forces at the river Neva was indecisive, despite Novgorod claiming it as a victory.
• As a result of the establishment of Swedish settlements close to Novgorod territory, Prince Alexander Nevskii has been forced to call upon the Turco-Mongols for assistance in trying to evict the Swedes.
• The Russian Orthodox Church is not happy either with the prospect of the Catholic Church gaining a foothold in the area and converting their flock and other pagans.
• The Summer has come and the land is dry enough for offensive action to be taken against the Swedish settlers and the Catholic Church.

   

So with the background sorted, it was time to come up with our Retinues. After much thought I chose the following, based upon the figures I had to hand, the forces I thought fitted in with the background as well as the ones I simply wanted to play with:

Retinue: Bishop of Turku
Leader Skill: Commanding
1 x Hird (Foot Men-at-Arms)
3 x Ledung (Foot Yeoman with Mixed Weapons)
1 x Skarmytslare (Bidowers)
1 x Herdar (Serfs) 

Dave didn't have time to get his Retinue sorted out in advance, so simply went with the one in the back of the rulebook:

Retinue: Turco-Mongols
Leader Skill: Sly 
1 x Mounted Men-at-Arms + Bows 
2 x Mounted Serjeants + Bows
1 x Expert Mounted Yeoman  

To kick the campaign off, I planned two linked games, with the ones to follow dependent upon the outcome of these. So to start we had:

Scenario B: Defending the Indefensible
The Swedish settlers have built a new Church upon the order of the Bishop. A small force has been left to guard this whilst the rest are patrolling the local area. Seeing this lightly gaurded, the Russian Orthodox Church has asked that it be destroyed.  

The Church has been built near one of the few roads but also close to a main waterway. The terrain is a mix of woods, rough terrain and marshy areas.

The Turco-Mongols arrive and deploy ready to attack.

Both sides advance quickly towards the Church.

The Swedish Crusaders get to the Chruch first...

... but send forth the 'Lambs of God' to halt the Heathen advance...

... but some how it doesn't look too good for the 'Lambs of God'.

The 'Lambs of God' have done their job as a speed bump...

... the Turco-Mongol archery has whittled away at the Swedes leaving the Church vulnerable to an attack.

The way is clear if the Turco-Mongols can pass their movement test...

...which they do with ease...

...and torch the Church before the Swedish Crusaders can react.

So first blood to the Republic of Novgorod and the Turco-Mongols. Next up was:

Scenario F: Sausages with Mustard
With the Church destroyed, the Turco-Mongols swiftly move onto attacking the local settlement with orders to burn it to the ground. The Swedish Crusaders, suspecting as much, move as quickly as they can to try and prevent its destruction.

A quick change to the table layout and 'Hey Presto!' we have a small settlement surround by some fields and woods.

The defenders of the village consist of a unit of Herdar and Skarmsytslare, which might not be enough to hold off the Turco-Mongols who are already confident with a victory under their belts.

Both sides advance very quickly, although the Turco-Mongol leader and his unit are reluctant to join the fray.

The settlement under threat.

However poor die rolling by the Turco-Mongols allows the Swedish Crusaders to gain a foothold in the settlement.

Deja vu?

The attackers somewhat strung out and some way back from their objective.

The Swedish Crusaders make the most of the Turco-Mongol indecision and take over the settlement.

These guys are going to be tough to shift...

Deja vu part deux?

Both side exchange volleys of arrows, with the Turco-Mongols having a unit at half-strength as a result.

The attacks going in.

Finally the Turco-Mongol leader arrives but he may be too late...

.. as the Swedes have formed a strong defensive line...

...which proves too much for the Turco-Mongols, who lose two unit in quick succession.

Game over as the Turco-Mongol leader wonders where his troops have gone.

Post Game Thoughts
Well  in two hours we managed to get in two fun and entertaining games, including changing the table layout as well as Dave knocking up his Retinue list. Now there aren't too many rulesets that you can say that about. So as always a few thoughts in no particular order:

• In the first game I forgot the 'zone of control' rule, but this didn't alter the game too much. In the next game we broadly used it.
• We did not use the 'Boasts' to gain (or lose) 'Glory' as Dave didn't have time to decide upon ones he wanted to use. Next time we will, all being well.
• Normally I change the movement and shooting distances etc into centimetres. This time I simply halved them but used inches instead. So a movement of 8" became 4".  This seemed to work better as the units moved and shot a bit further which speeded the game up. I plan to use this from now on.
• Although I really like the look Michael Leck and chums have achieved with their '3-2-1' basing system, I'm not so sure that this works as well in 10mm. I think this is mainly due to having less figure poses to play with, along side the fact that it is more awkward to move these smaller figures. When I do put together some proper forces for the Baltic Crusades, I feel I will stick with the retangular bases, purely for speed of play as well as the fact that they can be used for 'Sword & Spear', 'Hail Caesar!' etc.
• Lion Rampant is great fun to play. Simples. 
• Lion Rampant gives a great game and one in which you do not need to be constantly refering to a rulebook. We simply used the QRS for 95% of the game. The same is true of 'Dux Bellorum' and 'Honours of War'. I just wish you could do that with other rulesets... 
• I really enjoyed researching the Baltic Crusades and this mini-campaign has inspired me to try and put together some small forces specifically for this period.

So next week we plan to get back to some Bloody Big Battles games, probably the 1859 2nd War of Italian Independence, but hopefully it will not be too long before we return to this campaign. I've got more ideas for other Retinues and Allies that can be added in, but as always it is a matter of finding the time...

Footnote
In true school boy humour, we could not resist in coming up with some vegetable based puns as the campaign would involve Swedes. So far we have:

... If I don't win I'll be Pea'd off ...

... those Swedes were rooted to the spot ...

... the enemy plan was Leek'd to us ...

... for mash get smash ... (Dave stole this last one) 

 

... That'll be a Turnip for the books... 

Maybe one day we will grow up, but I hope not!!!

Salute 2016

I hadn't planned on visiting Salute this year. Last year was my first visit and although worth the trip, I much prefer Colours as a show. Then I received a bit of a last minute request from Michael Leck asking if I would be able to help out on their table. Well frankly I couldn't say no to such a tempting offer! Afterall I had been following their plans with great interest over the previous few months, details of which can be found on Michael Leck's Blog and Jonas' Blog.

So a rather early start saw me arrive at the Excel Centre around 8.30am, just in time to start helping the chaps set up the table. After a busy hour or so we were ready just in time as the doors were opened to the public. We had an overwhelmingly positive response to the table, the figures and the Lion Rampant ruleset that we were using. Michael, Jesper and Jonas provided some simple wonderful figures whilst Jan once again came up trumps with a superb scratch built table and terrain. Colin, Tony and I as general helpers were able to answer lots of questions from the visitors, as well as taking part in the game to allow the others to have a bit of a wander around the show. I had to leave in the early afternoon but there was still plenty of interest in the table and the game, which was great to see.

So before I get to some thoughts on the show in general, I thought I'd post a few pics of the game:
 

Mercenary German cavalry come galloping past a shipyear, to the aid of their Swedish paymasters.

The Danes have landed on the beach and start to move inland past the market.

The Swedish Archbishop musters his troops to see off the Danes.

The Danes have formed shieldwalls after leaving their longboats, with a skirmish screen in front.

More Danish troops on their way in Jan's scratch built longobats.

As the Danes approach, Jesper  waits confident that the Swedes will prevail!

I did manage to snatch a quick look around the show at lunchtime. there was simply so much to see that I concnetrated on a few games that were of interest to me.

The siege of Bristol, with probably St Mary Redcliffe church in the background.

Looking from the southern city walls to the siege works.

The infantry in the fields outside the city walls.

A Seven Years War game.

The same game but from the other end of the table.

Another Seven Years War game on a superb table.

A British firing line outside the city.

Some more spendid looking chaps.

The terrain was superb and the buildings incredibly detailed.

So what did I think of this years show? Some thoughts below in no particular order: 
 

• It's a long way to go for a show. I live in Bristol and with good traffic it is a 6 hour round trip. No suprise then that it makes for a very long day out.
• It is relatively expensive to attend the show. Factoring petrol and parking, it cost me around £60. If I attended as a visitor and planned in advance, it would cost me around £30. But then it is more than a shopping trip for me, really a chance to catch up with friends and traders that I have known for along time.
• We all commented upon the harsh lighting and noise of the show. This took its toll quite quickly, especially when you are concentrating all of the time. Not a lot can be done about this due to the nature of the venue.
• The show is incredibly well organised and 'hats off' to the South London Warlords for all of their efforts.
• We heard that there were 6,000 plus advanced ticket sales, which seemed similar to last year. In the first 10 minutes some 4,000 vistors flooded into the hall! It was certainly a sight to see.
• This year there seemed to be more display games and they were much easier to see. There appeared to be more space around the tables which was nice.
• Lots games seemed to have no or very little actual gaming going on. Some seemed to be more dioramas than games. Maybe this was due to the time I looked around, but we made sure that the game was always being played as well as having a few of us as helpers to answer questions, chat to the visitors etc.
• This year I found it harder to find some traders that I wanted to see. They seemed to be jammed more tightly together than last year (maybe this was one reasone the gaming tables had more space) and so tended to merge into one another. I don't think that it helped that most of us there seemed quite monochrome in out attire! Maybe next year the traders could have better banners etc above their stalls!
• Simply put the whole show is quite overwhelming. There is just so much to see that it is hard to take it all in. Quite a few people that I chatted to commented upon this. So rather like going to a museum etc, make a plan of what you want to see before you get there so that you don't miss anything.
• It is tiring, really, really tiring, for both visitors, traders and those demoing games. We saw an awful lot of people almost out on their feet by lunchtime. The entrance hall becomes a bit of a chill out zone and it is worth taking some time out midway just have a mental a physical break.
• It was really nice to see a lot more children this year. Maybe there is a new generation coming through to replace us older ones, again something that a few people commented upon.

So would I help out next year if asked again? More than likely yes. Michael, Jesper, Jonas and Jan are all great chaps who are a pleasure to chat with and play a game against. Ditto Colin and Tony. This more than offsets the long day involved and it is a nice excuse to meet up with some new friends once again. Michael already has a plan for next year, but he has to persuade Jan to make another table. So watch his Blog for possible further information...