In this game the Normans were the aggressor again and the Saxons were defending a river crossing. I don't have a lot of photos of the game as I was rereading rules and the game was played of a few sessions. I did quite a bit of rereading of rules, not because the rules are overly complicated, but they are quite intricate.
The game was won by the Normans after a bit of a slug fest in the centre between Norman Spearmen and defending Saxon Fyrd. It was the flanking cavalry which were the difference drawing away and eventually defeating the Saxon second line.
In the next game I will only be allowing 1 leadership point per unit be used to reduce a casualty. It is one of the suggestions in the rules to make a quicker game. I must confess I did lose a bit of interest towards the end of the game, as most of the forces were engaged in combat. For a number of turns I was just rolling for combat between the same units with hits being cancelled out with leadership points.
 |
| A view from the Saxon side shows Norman spearmen advancing to engage Saxons defending the river |
 |
| A view from the Norman side with their cavalry crossing the river on their right flank |
 |
| A Norman view as the Saxon defence collapses and they flee the battlefield |
Also, my preparation for my Hundred Years War mini-campaign is done with the completion of some scenery. A model ship and the goal for the English in the campaign as they try and escape across the Channel from the pursuing French.
 |
| Medieval Ship - Flat model made from MDF, balsa wood and cardboard |
So does Dux Bellorum use figure removal to denote hits, or require formations, or does it work smoothly with single-base units?
ReplyDeleteSame question for Lion Rampant really :)
Dux Bellorum uses single bases and suggests the use of small dice to show hits. Depending on type units take between 3 to 6 hits so a dice works, although I prefer to use matchsticks. The base width needs to be consistent as unit movement is based on base widths.
ReplyDeleteLion Rampant uses individually based figures, 12 to a unit. The figures have to be placed within 1 inch of each other. I use one big base with 2 dice to record hits.
With both rulesets I have adjusted them to a 6 inch grid without too much difficulty, so the basing becomes less of an issue.
I forgot to say. For me the advantage of big bases, other than ease of movement, is if I am short a figure or two in a unit of 12 it does not matter. I just field them with 10 or 11 on a base.
DeleteI love the look of the HYW force inc ship and tent. Excellent!
ReplyDeletePs I agree about bases and notional figure strength.
Thank you. I enjoyed painting the old Minifig's they really are a good wargaming figure - being a nice size (25mm) and easy to paint without excessive detail. The ship was fun to do - as a flat model it is more like stage scenery which adds to the look of a tabletop game without taking up too much precious tabletop space. Something to contemplate with any future scenery projects.
DeleteYeah, the hit cancellation with LP is problematic. One suggestion I read is to roll your Protection in order to cancel out a hit. Right now an LP can be used to boost the chance to hit or use to cancel a hit 100% of the time. That imbalance between the value of an LP on offense versus defense turns the games into slugfests, as you have noted.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I will be continuing with the rules as I like most of the rule mechanisms and they do give games a dark age flavour. In the last couple of games I found reducing unit protection factors by one and increasing the cohesion by one worked for me, and sped up the games. I kept the LP hit rule, even up to 3 hits cancelled, as well placed LPs seemed to be more important.
Delete