Koyote

HA! I just ordered some cavalry models for my a Era of Princes Rus warband. DEATH TO THE FRANKS!

I'm sorry. Is this supposed to be a 40K thread?

Be warned followers of the nailed god Jesu, I've been growing out my SAGA beard in anticipation of February 7th. My pagan Irish will have their revenge!

Thank you for the feedback. I will amend the first post accordingly.

All of the Viking Age rulebooks are softcovers. The rulebook for the Age of the Crusades version of the game is hard bound. This thread's first post describes all the rulebooks and their content.

Panzer Depot, located in Totem Lake (just off 405's 116th street exit), is a game store dedicated almost entirely to historical tabletop games. I've stopped by a couple of times to purchase minis, books, and dice for SAGA. The owner told me that a group of locals play SAGA at his store. I can't remember how often they play, but if you give the store a call, I'm certain that the owner would be happy to tell you. LINKY

The good news is that one can find some pretty good historical infantry plastic kits for less than a dollar a model. The bad news is that it is unlikely that you will find Dark Age Byzantines in plastic. If your heart (and wallet) is set on plastics, I recommend that you look for late Roman and possibly medieval Arab plastics. Between the two, you may be able to kit bash some Byzantines. If you are willing to spring for some metal models, know that metal historicals minis are generally less expensive than comparable GW or PP products. Also, the manufacturers of historicals don't gouge customers on character models. You are not going to have to spend $30 to get a single, infantry sized model, simply because it's rules may give you a small advantage in the game. Many of the Gripping Beast warlord on foot models can be purchased for $5 ($6 or $7 for a mounted warlord). Lastly, distributers of historical ranges aren't bound by the same restrictions on discounting that distributers of GW models must abide by. For example, FRP Games has weekly overstock sales. I've purchased quit a few Gripping Beast models from FRP at 30% off.

Thanks. Because this was Fluger's first game, he and Sherbert played a very simple scenario. The next game was much more involved. Fluger and I played the Sacred Ground scenario. For those of you who are not familiar with SAGA, in the Sacred Ground scenario three pieces of area terrain and/or hills are placed along the centerline of the table. It's a progressive victory point game. At the end of your turn, you award your opponent VPs based on the type and number of your opponent's models inside the three terrain features. The game lasts 8 turns. Out game lasted full 8 Turns. Both sides were annihilated. Both Warlords were slain. At game's end, all that I had left was one warrior and one wolfhound. Fluger's only survivors were 4 bowmen. Fluger eked out a 2 points lead, and the win, on the bottom of Turn 8. As an aside, one of the changes in Crescent & the Cross is that in order to score a win in a VP game, there must be, based on the scenario, a VP difference of either 3 or 4 VPs. I like this. I took photos of our game and I got a lot if great images. My intention was to create a Batrep, but I decided against it because creating an 8 turn Batrep would have taken forever. Plus, neither army included any painted minis, so visually, the Batrep would be a bit boring.

TURN 3 After placing his SAGA dice on his Battle Board, Sherbert began his Activation Phase by moving his large unit of 12 Bondi into contact with the Frankish Levy. Sherbert issued the Thor order (at the end of the melee a second round of melee is resolved before Fatigue is added) and likely another fighty-kill melee order that I cannot remember. The end result was nine dead Levy for the loss of one Bondi. Carnage. Due to their proximity to a friendly unit destroyed in melee, the unit of twelve Pueri gained a Fatigue token. Sherbert followed up his victory over the Levy by using his Jarl’s Determination + We Obey + Side by Side combo to engage the unit of 11 Pueri with his Jarl and the unit of 6 Bondi. Once again, I have forgotten what kind of Viking Battle Board jujitsu Sherbert pulled on the Franks, but the engagement ended in nine dead Pueri and a single Viking Bondi sent to Valhalla. Sherbert ended his turn by FINALLY moving Sven the Berserk (aka Sven the Boneless, aka Sven the Sad, aka Sven the Forgotten,), towards the fighting. It looked like Sven was finally going to see some action. NOTE: While I was preparing this batrep, I noticed that Fluger and Sherbert made a small error during game play. It was improper for Sherbert to place his Jarl between two models from the same unit. Oops. With the bulk of his warband destroyed, Fluger realized that he had one narrow path to victory. And the first obstacle along that path was the unit of Bondi surrounding the Jarl. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the rules, if a Warlord takes an unsaved hit, that hit can be directed at a friendly, non-Levy model within two inches of the Warlord. So if Fluger was to have any chance at killing the Jarl, he had to first destroy or drive off the unit of Bondi surrounding the Viking Warlord. And that is exactly what Fluger did. Using his Warlord’s Determination + We Obey + Side by Side ability, Fredegar and his two surviving Pueri axemen charged the Bondi. Three of the five remaining Bondi were killed at the loss of both Pueri, but that was all that Fluger needed. The two surviving Bondi were pushed back four inches, too far away from the Jarl to save him from a killing blow. This left poor old Sven and one of the Bondi from the large unit of warriors, still within two inches of the Jarl. Fluger was able to sort out Sven by moving a unit of Pueri bowmen forward and putting the hapless Berserker out of his misery. Thunk! Fluger couldn’t kill enough Bondi in the big unit to force Sherbert to remove the Bondi model that Fluger wanted to eliminate, so instead the Pueri bowmen in the cottage targeted the two fleeing Bondi, killing them both, and eliminating their unit. For Fluger, finishing off the Beserkers and the unit of Bondi had the added bonus of reducing Sherbert to four SAGA dice. Lastly, Fluger made the only move left to him. Fredegar charged the Jarl. If the Jarl was slain and Fredegar lived, the game would end as a victory for the Franks. Otherwise, even if Frankish Warlord survived this combat with the Jarl, between the large unit of Bondi and the half strength unit of Hirdmen, Fredegar would not live long enough to see the bottom of Turn 4. The two Warlords struck at one another, trading blows that echoed off the nearby hills like peals of thunder. The Jarl's Bondi stood by motionless, awed by the understanding that the outcome of the battle would be determined by a combat between champions, the mortal avatars of Odin and the nailed god, Jesu. Gore spattered axe blades hammered down, splintering shields and shoring off links of mail. Both men suffered terrible wounds; their blood flowing freely, mixing with the blood of the Frank and Norse corpses that littered the battlefield. “For Odin!” “For Christ!” “For Odin!” “For Christ!” The steady, hammering rhythm of axe strike on shield was finally interrupted when the Jarl lost his footing on the slippery, looping entrails of a disemboweled Frank. The Jarl fought to maintain his footing, but fate is inexorable. The Viking Warlord fell forward onto the blood sodden earth, landing on all fours. As Fredegar raised his axe for the killing blow he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. The closest Bondi had broken ranks and was running toward Fredegar, sword raised. At the very last second, Fredegar whirled about, swinging his axe in a deadly, horizontal arc. The oncoming Bondi was caught off guard and the axe blade took the Norseman just beneath his chin. The momentum of the mortally wounded Bondi carried him forward into Fredegar, causing the Frankish Warlord to stumble back two paces, slip on a patch of blood soaked mud, and fall onto his back. The Bondi’s sacrifice gave the Jarl the few precious seconds he needed to grasp a discarded spear and using its shaft for purchase, regain his feet. As Fredegar floundered in the mud, the Jarl used all his strength and the weight of his own body to drive the spear downward, into the fallen Frank’s chest. A raven cawed. The battle was over. VICTORY VIKINGS! BODY COUNT: Vikings: 4 Hirdmen (Hearthguard) 4 Berserkers (Hearthguard) 14 Bondi (Warriors) Carolingian Franks: 1 Warlord 8 Caballarii (Hearthguard) 12 Pueri (Warriors) 12 Levy

TURN 2 Sherbert began his turn by bringing shame to the House of Sherbert and to Vikings everywhere. Sven, the last of the Berserkers, who, against all odds had triumphed over the elite Caballarii, was moved away from the Franks. Even worse, Sven was moved behind his Jarl and Bondi. What kind of Berserker cowers behind his Jarl? Paa-thetic. Sven’s dad was right. Turning a blind eye to Sven’s shame (and the mocking of yours truly), Sherbert advanced his Jarl, positioning him beside his Bondi. Then, eager to avenge his slain Bondi and Berserkers, Sherbert double moved his Hirdmen into combat with the Caballarii, earning the unit a Fatigue token for moving twice in the same turn. Sherbert wanted a decisive victory over the Caballarii, so he turned to his Battle Board and issued the Ullr order (re-roll attack dice the fail to hit) and the Valhalla order (eliminate 1 to 3 Viking Warriors or Hearthguard and gain, depending upon the SAGA symbol used, either 3 or 4 attacks per model removed). After counting out a sizable handful of attack dice, Sherbert sacrificed two of his Hirdmen and added another 8 dice to the pile of Attack dice. Grinning, Sherbert threw his bucket load of re-rollable attack dice at the Franks. The Caballarii were slaughtered and, aside from the two Hirdmen sacrificed to the Valhalla order, the Hirdmen took no casualties. ODIN!!!! Having witnessed the slaughter of the Frankish elite, the nearby Levy lost heart and gained a Fatigue token. Fluger began the bottom of Turn 2 by moving his large unit of Pueri, his Levy, and Fredegar toward the blood soaked Hirdmen. As part of their move order, the Levy hurled their javelins at the Viking huscarls. Sherbert spent the Levy's Fatigue token to increase his Hirdmens' armor value, so the Levy's missiles were easily turned away by the Vikings' armor and shields. The Levy followed up their flight of javelins with an assault against the Viking shield wall. Poor lads. Predictably, the Levy was easily repulsed, but it suffered fewer casualties than one would expect. The lightly armored Franks lost only three of their number. The Hirdmen lost none. However, it was never Fluger’s intention to let the Levy go it alone. They were simply the first wave. After the defeated Levy fled back to the Frankish lines, the 12 Pueri, axes and voices raised to heaven, were ordered to attack the fatigued Hirdmen. Having spent all his SAGA dice obliterating the Caballarii, the fatigued Viking huscarls had to fight this combat without any help from their Battle Board. The Pueri, on the other hand, got a little help from their Battle Board. The Frankish warriors had to move twice this turn in order to get to grips with the Hirdmen, but thanks to the Franks’ Oppression order, the second move did not generate a Fatigue token. Clever Franks. The dice were rolled and when it was all over, two Hirdmen were struck down and the Pueri suffered only a single casualty. Victory Franks! The four surviving Hirdmen limped back towards the marsh and the Vikings' main battleline. More later…

You may find that the Skraelings faction is a better match for your Mayans. They, along with the Steppe Tribes are additional factions published by Tomahawk Studios but not included in the English rulebooks. LINKY. <-- The PDFs include both a French and English versions of the rules. If decide that you like the look of the northern native peoples, Gripping Beast, Footsore Miniatures, and C-P Models have Skraelings miniature lines.

As with most tabletop wargames, play time varies depending upon the players' familiarity with the rules, point value, and the scenario. For instance, last Saturday Fluger and I both played our second game of SAGA. We played 6 point warbands, fumbled around with the rules a bit, and played the scenario Sacred Ground, which lasts 8 game turns. And Sacred Ground isn't a simple pitched battle type of scenario where the only goal is to destroy your opponent. It requires a good bit of stratateegaree. Also, I kept stopping game play to take photos for a Batrep. Overall, it took us a little over two hours to set up, play, and break down. If we knew the rules and our Battle Boards better, and I didn't stop to take photos, we probably could have knocked out deployment, 8 turns, and clean up in 60 to 75 minutes.

WHAT DO I NEED TO PLAY? - The SAGA rules - The FAQ & Errata - The rules for your faction - Your faction's Battle Board - A tape measure or a set of SAGA measuring sticks - A dozen or more 6 sided dice - 8 SAGA Dice - Tokens or extra dice to keep track of Fatigue points - Terrain and counters for the 6 standard scenarios - And of course, a warband of 25 mm or 28 mm models Dice SAGA uses two types of dice. Standard six sided dice are used for resolving combat and specially marked SAGA dice are used to activate your units and trigger special abilities. Gripping Beast sells 5 sets of SAGA dice. Each set is shared by at least two factions. Anglo-Danes / Anglo-Saxon / Rus Princes Norman / Breton / Franks / Byzantine Scots / Irish / Steppes Tribes Viking / Jomsviking / Norse-Gael / Pagan Rus Welsh / Strathclyde Fatigue Tokens You can use glass beads, extra dice, or homemade tokens to keep track of Fatigue Points. I chose to keep it simple, so I purchased the MDF Fatigue Tokens made by a UK company called 4GROUND. Gripping Beast and retailers that sell Gripping Beast products also sell 4GROUND Fatigue Tokens. Terrain and Counters SAGA is typically played on a 48" x 36" table. SAGA uses the terrain types that experienced table top wargamers are familiar with: area terrain (forest, marsh, crops, etc.), linear obstacles (walls, hedges, etc.), hills, buildings, and impassible terrain. In the 6 standard scenarios, victory is determined by either victory points or by achieving an objective. None of the 6 standard scenarios requires 40K style objective markers, but one scenario, The Escort, requires 3 baggage pieces. Each baggage piece should be based upon a base no smaller than 4cm x 4cm and no larger than 5cm x 10cm. The baggage pieces can be represent by anything of value, such as carts or wagons transporting goods, livestock, villagers, nobles, etc. Gripping Beast sells a nifty Baggage Kit. For all the models that you get, it's a pretty good deal. Two of the standard scenarios require special pieces of terrain. The Battle at the Ford requires that a 48" length of river be placed along the center line of the table. For the purpose of this scenario, the river is impassible except for two fords or bridges. You score victory points for having your models on your opponent's side of the river at game's end. In the Homeland scenario, one player defends a village, while the other attacks it. The defender places 3 buildings on his half of the table. The defender wins if at the end of the game, he has at least one model in any one of the 3 buildings. 4GROUND sells some very nice prepainted Dark Age buildings that are very easy to assemble. I purchased my 4GROUND buildings in a 3 pack (2 hovels and 1 dwelling) from Architects of War. Below is one of the 4GROUND Hovels that I assembled.

THE MINIATURES As mentioned earlier, Gripping Beast produces miniatures for SAGA. In addition to selling its SAGA miniatures in single model blisters and unit packs, Gripping Beast also sells 4 point Starter Warbands for most of its factions and 6 point Starter Warbands for a select few of its factions. You can browse Gripping Beast's products HERE. In addition to Gripping Beast, the following companies produce 25mm or 28mm Viking/Dark Age miniatures or models from other time periods that can serve as Viking/Dark Age miniatures. Please note that the quality of the sculpts and casts vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, sometimes significantly. Artizan Designs Aventine Miniatures Bad Squiddo Games Black Tree Design Brother Vini C-P Models Conquest Games Crusader Miniatures Curteys Miniatures Drabant Miniatures Ebob Minatures Fireforge Games Footsore Miniatures Fredericus-Rex Musketeer Miniatures (now part of Footsore Miniatures) Old Glory Miniatures (poor quality) Red Box Games (do not scale well against most historicals) Saxon Miniatures Steve Barber Models Stronghold Terrain V&V Miniatures Wargames Factory Wargames Foundry Warhansa Warlord Games Westwind Productions EXTRAS SAGA Measuring Sticks and Tokens

WHICH FACTION TO PLAY? ... Hmmm? Which faction to play? If you are trying to decide which Viking Age faction to play, below is a list of the 15 factions found in the rulebooks and a basic generalization of their play styles. Anglo-Danish: Defensive Normans : Shooting + Cavalry Vikings : Aggressive Welsh : Skirmish / Hit & Run Anglo-Saxon : Defensive / Large Units Breton : Shooting / Hit & Run / Cavalry Jomsvikings : Defensive / Aggressive (special 'Wrath' mechanic) Scots : Defensive Franks : Reactive (3 types: Merovingians, Carolingians, and Capetians) Irish : Skirmish / Shooting Norse-Gaels : Aggressive (special 'Challenge' mechanic) Strathclyde Welsh : Cavalry / Hit & Run Byzantines : Cavalry / Shooting / Unit support Era Of The Princes Rus : Cavalry / Aggressive Pagan Rus : Defensive / Control Skraelings : Skirmish / Hit & Run Steppes Tribes: Cavalry / Shooting Below is an excerpt from Studio Tomahawk's article, SAGA for Beginners. Basic Factions are the easiest to play, having clear strength and weaknesses and generally speaking very reliable. That they are simple does not mean they are less efficient! Advanced Factions require a bit more experience to be played correctly, sometimes using their own mechanism or special rules. Expert Factions require an extended knowledge of the rules, of the timing of the different phases of a turn and of the synergies of the Battleboard. We recommend not to start the game with these factions. For each faction we indicate which supplement featured that faction, and some comments about the choice we made. Basic Factions • Vikings (Saga: Dark Ages) : one of the easiest faction to play with. It has plenty of very efficient melee abilities, can handle its Fatigue and some protection against shooting. The Berserkers remain one of the most feared unit in the game! • Normans (Saga: Dark Ages) : The Normans have two winning engines : devastating charges and deadly shooting. In both these aspects of the game, they are frightening. A common tactic is to soften the enemy units with bolts of your crossbowmen then unleash your knights! • Crusaders (Saga: The Crescent & The Cross) : Despite their own unique mechanism (the Virtues) the Crusaders are a simple faction to play with. They have a good array of abilities, covering melee, shooting and protection. • Pagan Rus (Varjazi & Basileus) : Despite being defensive, this is a simple faction to understand, and will prove efficient quite quickly, especially against a heavy mounted enemy warband, that are usually tricky to face for beginners. • Irish (The Raven’s Shadow) : A popular faction that has a large choice of colourful units, and some nasty but easy to grab combos of their Battleboard. • Welsh (Saga : Dark Ages) ) : Once the player has understood the way the Activation/Reaction abilities work, this is a simple and interesting faction, as it offers a lot of tactical choices. It can focus on melee, shooting, outmaneuvering the opponent, or any mix of these. We recommend starting with a foot warband, as the Welsh mounted unit are very vulnerable to shooting, and will require some experience to be maneuvered properly. Advanced Factions • Anglo-Danes (Saga: Dark Ages) : The Anglo-Danes rely on a proper management of the Fatigue of their opponent’s warband and will take some time to be handled properly. • Anglo-Saxons (Northern Fury): A faction based on large units, with some tough choice to make during the organization of the units making up the warband. • Bretons (Northern Fury): With a limited melee potential, the Bretons require some practice to make the best use of their movement and shooting abilities. • Byzantines (Varjazi & Basileus): A lot of the abilities available to the Byzantine player are based on the cooperation of the different units in the warband, supporting each other. Deployment is the key of the success, and will require practice. • Rus Princes (Varjazi & Basileus): The Rus Princes have powerful abilities, but a few of them will require some practice to be used properly. Most Saga players who faced them fear their mounted Hearthguards units! • Jomsvikings (Northern Fuy): This faction uses its own mechanism, the Wrath. Understanding and making this aspect of the faction work will take some time. • Norse-Gaels (The Raven’s Shadow): Like the Jomsvikings, the Norse-Gaels have their own game mechanic: the duels. As a badly planned duel can backfire, this faction will need some training games to be properly mastered. • Strathclyde (The Raven’s Shadow): The Strathclyde Welsh take benefit from keeping some of their units off-table. The way and timing of their arrival on the battlefield is crucial, making them clearly an « advanced » faction. • Moors (Saga: The Crescent & The Cross) : A defensive faction, the Moors like to take advantage of the mistakes of their opponent, and turning back their units against them. The learning curve to use them at their best is steep, but highly rewarding. • Milites Christi (Saga: The Crescent & The Cross) : In a similar way to the Jomsviking, the Soldiers of Christ use Piety to boost their abilities. The management of Piety and the resources devoted to increase it is an essential part of any game with this faction. • Saracens (Saga: The Crescent & The Cross) : The Saracens have effective abilities, but as some of them use a random factor to determine their effects, i twill need some time to get used to it. • Scots (Northern Fury): The Scots have some of the most powerful combos in the game that can produce for their opponent unexpected effects. However, these combos are not immediately apparent, and you will need a few games to discover them. Expert Factions • Franks (The Raven’s Shadow): The Franks are one of the most complex and rewarding faction, as it relies heavily on a Battle Pool that dictates how most of the abilities of their Battleboard work. Some abilities need to be closely studied to understand their full potential and there is an unequaled wealth of synergies to explore. Saga veterans will enjoy that! • Steppe Tribes (downloadable on the Studio Tomahawk website): Another fairly complex faction, that takes advantage of the turn structure and the movement options of mounted troops. • Skraelings (downloadable on the Studio Tomahawk website): The actual efficiency (or lack of!) of the Skraelings depends a lot of the knowledge their player has of the enemy’s Battleboard. Their main strength is to deny their enemy its best abilities, copy them, turning their strength against their foes. Of course, a extended knowledge of most of the factions is required to make this work! • Spanish (Saga: The Crescent & The Cross) : The Spanish have an incredible amount of abilities that can be used during their enemies Activation phase, meaning that they play as much during the opponent’s turn as they do in theirs. Of course, these abilities are quite complex to use, needing as much knowledge of the rules as proper timing. But this is a very rewarding faction to play with! • Mutataw’wia (Saga: The Crescent & The Cross): This faction is based on the sacrifice of your own troops to fuel your abilities. These sacrifice rules are simple, but winning a game of Saga is hard enough without killing yourself your own retainers, so this faction is best left to the most seasoned players!

THE RULES SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes is a historical table top skirmish wargame set in Europe's Viking Age (i.e. 793 AD to 1066 AD). Studio Tomahawk and Gripping Beast partnered to develop and publish the game in 2011. Studio Tomahawk appears to have developed the rules, while Gripping Beast published the rulebooks and produces miniatures for the game. The SAGA Rulebook (sold as softcover only) is the game's primary rulebook. In addition to the basic rules, it includes 6 standard scenarios, a multi-player scenario, Swords for Hire (i.e. mercenaries), Heroes of the Viking Age (i.e. special characters), and the rules for 4 factions: Vikings, Anglo-Danish, Welsh, and Normans. The SAGA Rulebook comes with 4 Battle Boards printed on cardstock. The first SAGA supplement is titled, SAGA: Northern Fury (sold as softcover only). This supplement includes a fun team scenario that features treason and backstabbing between teammates. Northern Fury also includes the rules for the Anglo-Saxons, the Bretons, the Jomsvikings, and the Scots; along with each factions' Heroes of the Viking Age. SAGA: Northern Fury comes with 4 Battle Boards printed on cardstock. The second SAGA supplement is titled, SAGA: Raven's Shadow (sold as softcover only). This supplement includes a FAQ/Errata section for the previous books, the rules for War Banners, and four more factions: Franks, Irish, Norse-Gaels, and the Kingdom of Strathclyde. As before, it also includes Heroes of the Viking Age and it comes with 4 Battle Boards printed on cardstock. The third SAGA supplement is titled, SAGA: Varjazi & Basileus (sold as softcover only). This supplement includes a new Swords for Hire unit and focuses on 3 factions from the east: the Pagan Rus, the Rus Princes, and the Byzantines. As before, it also includes Heroes of the Viking Age and it comes with 3 Battle Boards printed on cardstock. It also comes with a nifty folder that holds all of the SAGA rule books and Battle Boards. SAGA: The Crescent and the Cross (sold as hardback only) is the most recent SAGA release. The setting for Crescent and the Cross is the Age of Crusades (i.e. 1071 AD to 1350 AD). Like the SAGA Rulebook, C&C includes the full basic ruleset. It's 6 factions (Crusaders, Saracen, Milities Christi, Mutatawwi'a, Spanish, and Moors) are not designed to be matched up against the Viking Age factions; however, it does includes some minor rule changes and clarifications that now apply to both the Viking Age and Age of Crusades versions of the game. Its scenarios, terrain rules, and one new unit type, the Priest, are also completely compatible with both versions of the game. If you don't want to purchase Crescent and the Cross in order to get the newest version of the basic rules, you can purchase the SAGA Rulebook and download a PDF copy of the SAGA FAQ and Errata HERE. Downloads for additional Swords for Hire, Heroes of the Viking Age, and two more factions can be found HERE. The rules for these units and factions are generally considered to be official, but they are not found in the SAGA rulebooks.

Saturday, we played two games of SAGA at The Game Matrix, in Lakewood. In the first game, 6 points of Fluger’s Carolingian Franks faced off against 6 points of Sherbert’s Vikings. Because this was Fluger's first game, Fluger and Sherbert agreed to play a very straightforward scenario titled, Clash of Warlords. A player wins this scenario by slaying his opponent’s Warlord. If both Warlord’s die simultaneously or if the game goes longer than 6 Turns without a Warlord being killed, the player with the most victory points wins. Sherbert -Jarl (Warlord) -8 Hirdmen (Hearthguard) -4 Berserkers -12 Bondi (Warriors) -12 Bondi (Warriors) Fluger -Fredegar the Fat (Warlord) -8 Cabsllstii (Hearthguard) mounted -12 Pueri (Warriors) - 6 Pueri (Warriors) armed with bows - 6 Pueri (Warriors) armed with bows -12 Levies armed with javelins The game was played on a 36” x 36” table cover. As with most SAGA scenarios, Clash of Warlords is designed to be played on a 48” x 36”, but the smaller table cover is all that I had with me, so we used it. Clearly 36" x 36" is too small for a 6 point battle, so the next time we will play I will make sure to have a 48” x 36” table cover with me. Set-Up and Deployment Fluger and Sherbert agreed to use the rules from The Crescent & the Cross rulebook to choose and place terrain. The players agreed to use the maximum number of terrain pieces; nevertheless, the center of the board was terrain free, forming a wide open killing ground for the slaughter to come. Fluger deployed his warband along the entire length of his deployment zone. One unit of Pueri Bowmen was deployed in a cottage and the second unit of bowmen was set up just north of the cottage. The Frankish Levy was deployed in a long line in the center of Fluger’s deployment zone, screening Fredegar and the unit of 12 Pueri. The Caballarii were deployed atop a hill that bordered the south end of the board. Sherbert deployed his Viking raiders in big clump on the north side of his deployment zone, his southern flank protected by a marsh. The two units of Bondi were formed up at the front of the mob, behind which stood ready the Viking Hirdmen, Beserkers, and the Jarl. TURN 1 Sherbert’s began by double moving both units of Bondi towards the Franks, spreading his warriors out a bit and increasing the width of his battle line. Behind the Viking freemen, the Hirdmen, Beserkers, and the Jarl advanced at a slower pace. Sherbert ended his turn by using the Njord order to remove the fatigue tokens that the Bondi units had incurred by making a double move. Fluger started his turn by advancing his Levy and hurling their javelins at the closest unit of Bondi, killing two of the Viking freemen. Next, the Caballarii on the hill were moved at full speed towards the injured unit of Bondi. Fluger then reached into his bag of tricks and issued the Exploitation order. In this instance, this order let Fluger activate 3 units. Even better, these activations do not generate any Fatigue tokens. Fluger used the first two activations on his Pueri bowmen who sent a third pagan warrior screaming to Hel. The last Exploitation activation was used to order the Caballarii to charge the injured unit of Bondi. The mounted Franks had 16 attack dice, so Sherbert chose to order his Bondi to fight defensively. When the dust settled, 3 Bondi were slain and the Caballarii were unharmed. The 6 surviving Bondi turned and fled. Next, Fluger used Fredegar’s Determination and We Obey abilities to advance both his 12 strong unit of Pueri and Fredegar to the rear of the Frankish Levy. After the fight between the Caballerii and the Bondi, Fluger had one activation die remaining. Riding high on his victory over the Bondi, Fluger decided to go for broke. The fatigued Caballarii were wheeled about and charged into the unit of Berserkers that were revealed to the Frankish horsemen when the screening unit of Bondi fled. Sherbert used the Caballarii's Fatigue token to reduce the Frankish horsemen's armor to 4 and then his Berserkers tore into the Franks. Rolling like a Norse god, Sherbert not only managed to slay 4 Caballarii, but he made an insane number of 5+ rolls with his Defensive Dice. Against all odds a single Berserker survived and the elite Frankish cavalry were driven off. More later...

The Battleforge http://www.thebattleforge.co.uk/28mm-fantasy-miniatures-249-c.asp

ODIN!!!!

Are there (m)any SAGA players in the Tacoma area?

TURN 4 The outcome of this battle would be decided by the combat between the Jarl and the Ri Turathe, so Sherbert got right to it. The Jarl charged down the steps of the bridge, shouting out for Odin to witness this clash of heroes. Here we made several mistakes. This was my first game of SAGA and Sherbert has only a half dozen or so games under his belt -none against the Irish. Neither of us have all the rules down, quite yet. Consequently, when Sherbert declared that he was going to use his orders to buff his Jarl's melee attacks, I declared that I was using the Blade of Truth melee reaction to negate the Jarl's melee orders. If we had followed the rules, I should have declared my use of the Blade of Truth on Melee Step 0, so the SAGA dice that Sherbert spent on the melee orders would have remained on his Battle Board for use elsewhere. Also, neither of us realized that the Blade of Truth also prevents players from spending fatigue counters, so Sherbert spent 2 of the fatigue counters on my Warlord and I spent the 1 fatigue counter on his Warlord. Also, we were confused about if and when I could use the Blood of Kings order. It was only after the game when I was looking through the rules that I realized our mistakes. Oh well. In the end the mistakes didn't really matter. This climactic clash of heroes that would decide the outcome of the entire battle ended in the most ridiculous but entertaining way possible -both Warlords were slain. I began my turn by placing one SAGA die on the Blood of Kings order and the rest of my dice into the Activation Pool. Then, I double activated my Curadh and used the Irish champion to strike down the last Bondi from the Jarl's bodyguard. At this point we called it. Sherbert's last 2 Bondi were doomed. I had two SAGA dice left in my Fianna Activation Pool. This would have been more than enough to send the last 2 Viking freemen to Valhalla, reducing Sherbert to 0 SAGA dice, and thus triggering an auto-win for the Irish. And even if the Bondi had survived to Turn 5, Sherbert would have been left with a single SAGA die and no way of stopping one or both of my Curadh from crossing the river by Turn 7. Besides, it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and there were half a dozen breweries within walking distance of the game store. Killing Danes is thirsty work. Below is what the battlefield looked like at game's end. Thoughts: I really enjoyed my first game of SAGA. I've been playing tabletop wargames against Sherbert for years and win or lose he has always been a pleasure to play against. I'm looking forward to testing out the other SAGA scenarios, but none of them look to be especially dynamic. I can see the game becoming more interesting at higher point levels and when one or both sides employ some cavalry. The game may also benefit by the addition of more terrain. One to five pieces isn't nearly enough. I've heard that the scenarios in the Crescent and the Cross are more dynamic than the SAGA scenarios and completely compatible with SAGA. This will be worth looking into.

TURN 3 Like their Fianna counterparts, the Hirdmen had stood on the sidelines for too long. Shouting curses at the Wolfhounds that had mauled their Northmen brothers, the Hirdman charged across the bridge and into the hounds. The 8 Hirdmen generated 16 attack dice. Sherbert spent my Warhound's fatigue counter so his Hirdmen hit on a 2+. Once again the dice gods smiled upon me. And while the Sherbert predictably rolled a huge number of hits, I managed to roll just enough saves with my Defense Dice to keep one member of the Warhound pack alive and thus preserve the SAGA dice that the unit generated. Additionally, two of the elite Vikings were killed in the melee. Even though the Warhounds were neutralized, there were still too many Irish units on my side of the riverbank so the Bondi fled back across the bridge. Sherbert didn't want to throw away the SAGA die that the unit generated. The slaughter of the Wolfhounds was followed by the slaughter of the two hapless Bonnacts on the opposite side of the table. The rules do not permit an attacking unit to simultaneously engage two or more defending units. So, Sherbert had to decide whether to charge the Bonnacts or the Warlord. Instead of gambling on an attack against my Warlord's high armor value and his Resilience ability, Sherbert decided to go for the sure thing and obliterate my the Bonnacts. Both Bonnacts were slain with ease, but at least they took a Bondi down with them. At this point in the game things looked grim for the Irish, but I still had all of my elite units and they were all in a good position to counter attack. I rolled a single stag and placed it in the Activation Pool to gain extra SAGA dice. I placed SAGA dice on the Blood of the Kings order (an insurance policy to save either my Warlord or one of my Curaidh) and the Blade of Truth (prevents both players from using melee abilities and fatigue points). The remaining five dice were placed on Activation orders. I knew I would need plenty of activations this turn. I began by targeting the Hirdmen with my Kerns. One the louts must have sobered up enough to aim true, because a single sling stones struck home, sending a Hirdman to Valhalla. Next, I double activated my Fianna in order to get them to grips with the Hirdmen. The Fiannas’ dane axes reaped a mighty harvest. All but one of the Norsemen were slain. But the Hirdmen are no Bonnacts. They sent 3 Fianna to Heldheim before the sole surviving Hirdman turned fell back from the melee. The retreating Hirdman didn't make it very far. I used the Curdah's Determination ability to cut down the last Viking hearthguard. Even so, the brave Norseman died well. He landed two hits on Curdah and if it were not for Irish champion’s (limited) Resilience rule and a lucky Defensive die, the Hirdman would have taken the Curdah to Valhalla with him. On the opposite side of the table, the Ri Tuathe and Curadh stood alone, against a Jarl and a unit of Bondi. I used my Warlord's We Obey and Side by Side rules and to permit my Warlord and Curadh to simultaneously charge the Bondi. Several Bondi were killed and the Irish didn't suffer any casualties in return. The Vikings lost the combat, but because of the size of the Jarl's base and the narrowness of the bridge, the Bondi survivors couldn't disengage. Instead the Ri Tuathe and Curadh were required to fall back 4". I had only one Activation die left to spend, so my sent my Warlord, alone, back into the fray. He killed all but one of the remaining Bondi. Because of the position of my Warlord and the position of the sole surviving Bondi, there was room for the Bondi to disengage. This left my fatigued and blood soaked Ri Tuathe, alone, starring up at an angry and bewildered Viking Jarl. More later...

TURN 2 Thanks to the Heirs of Mil order, the Vikings on my left had very little to do this turn. The Bondi unit was more than 4" away from any of my units, so it couldn't engage the Irish in melee. Instead they shuffled onto my side of the riverbank and let the Hirdmen catch up to them. The Thralls let loose a volley of arrows, but inflicted only a single casualty upon my Kerns. Howling war cries to Odin, the Jarl and the Bondi stormed across the bridge and into the Bonnacts. To my disappointment, the Bonnacts were just as inept in melee as they were at hurling their javelins. The Noresemen hacked down six Irish warriors without suffering a single casualty in return. The surviving Bonnacts were pushed back 4" to the base of the bridge. I began my turn by placing a SAGA die on the Blood of the Kings order (allows a Warlord or Curadh to ignore two unsaved hits per activation rather than one), the Eagle Eye order (provides a bonus to shooting attacks), and the rest were placed on activation orders. My Kerns fire two volleys of sling stones at the Bondi. Even boosted by Eagle Eye they failed to inflict a single casualty. My dice were abysmal and Sherbert's dice were on fire. Next, my Curaidh charged the bullet-proof Bondi, but failed to land a single blow. Luckily, the Bondi were equally inept so my Irish champion lived to fight another day. The Curaidh was pushed back 4". The last trick up my sleeve was to unleash the Wolfhounds upon the indomitable Norse warriors. I saved the Wolfhound for last because their 12" move and ability to ignore uneven ground gave me the flexibility to use them against the Bondi or the Hirdmen. For the first time in the game the dice gods smiled upon me. The Wolfhounds killed 4 Bondi and I lost only a single hound to the Viking blades. And for the second turn in a row, the Ri Tuathe's most powerful unit of retainers, the Fianna, stood around doing nothing. On the opposite side of the table, I played it a bit more cautious. Rather than risk my Warlord and needlessly send my Bonnacts to their death, I moved the Ri Tuathe behind the Bonnacts and moved the Curaidh up to support my Warlord. They all hurled their javelins at the Northmen. One of the javelins found its mark and a dying Bondi toppled from the bridge, crying out a Wilhelm scream ( ) as he plummeted into the icy waters below. More later...