Some scenes from Monday's game with my 1066 & All That collection and the current darling of the internet community, Midgard. We added some element of Magic/Sorcery with each side taking a Christian priest with one 'spell'. For the Normans Bishop Philipé de Rounslie, and for the Saxons Father Bycca. The Bishop had the Battle Rage offering while Bycca had the Curse attribute.
The field of battle is open ground with no significant features, we are rule novices and kept it straightforward. The Saxons are on the left, the Normans the right.
William the Barsteward positioned himself amongst his mounted warriors...
...while Harald II was to be found amongst his Huscarls and was accompanied by Father Bycca,
Curse at the ready!
Saxon lightly armed Javelin skirmishers were working their way around the Norman left flank when they were caught by the Mounted warriors. The result looked a foregone conclusion given the large dice disparity!
More mounted warriors smashed into the Fyrd while the Huscarls can only stand by and hope!
Father Bycca readies himself in prayer. Can his Cursing turn back the Norman hordes?
Despite the long odds the javelin armed troops resist their opponents for three turns before their Stamina breaks and they are destroyed. A
Loss of Reputation for Harald!
On the Norman right flank the Fyrd are proving a four and determined opponent, driving back one unit of mounted Breton warriors and fighting another to a standstill. Is this the moment for the Huscarls to strike a decisive blow in the centre?
Well it might have been had not Father Bycca been admirably placed to utilise his
Curse attribute against William the Barsteward. Already reduced to one
Stamina by three rounds of
Single Combat William fails to avoid the curse with a throw of 🎲! Having used up his
Mighty Deeds in combat rerolls he looses his life! (Twice now in successive games!)
With the Norman
Reputation down to six against the Saxon's thirteen, the Huscarls rampaging through the Norman centre, the Fyrd holding off the Bretons and lunch imminent Phil concedes the victory to my Saxons. Once again history is changed... As to
Midgard as a rule set, well I'll happily give it another go but I think bigger battles using my Late Romans and my Punic War collection will stay with
Hail Caesar, but never say never of course.
A grand game and only two things we did wrong (one getting mixed up with HC🙄) Verily William seems cursed, or is it me😂
ReplyDeleteOnly two Mistooks? Shurely Shum Mishtake?
DeleteA fine game there and I'm looking forward to giving Midgard a run out in the New Year. I see them being used for small historio-fantasy games, a step up from Dragon Rampant maybe, but not sure yet. Certainly for bigger battles I too will go with HCII.
ReplyDeleteThanks SteveJ! Probably a blank page a step up on most Osprey rules though?
DeleteGrand looking game and a good read, the rules seem to play well and give a good game.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie. They will do, though I prefer Hail Caesar myself for the period.
DeleteNice to see Harald winning and justice being meted out to the usurper. Grand stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe 'dice gods' have it seems finally been placated, for now anyway.
DeleteLooks like a great game as usual David! I'll be trying out Hail Caesar for the first time this Saturday. At some point I do want to try out Midguard as well.
ReplyDeleteChristopher
I found Hail Caesar difficult to get familiar with, often confusing things from Black Powder, but if you persevere it's a good set of mechanisms.
DeleteLovely outing for the troops. there is a ton of positivity for Midgard throughout the internet at the moment, they seem to have captured the imagination of the community.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see your favours landing with HC and bigger ‘battles’. I think that is where I would hang my hat.
I look forward to seeing a day out with the Punic forces. I have bought into the Warlord Games Epic Hannibal. And hope to end up there myself …. One day :-)
Thank you Norm. I can happily play Midgard but I just like the Hail Caesar games more. The bits you need for Midgard are a tad fiddly for my old hands, though Phil has made a one piece marker rod for me which should prove easier to handle and is a nod to real Old School Wargames!
DeleteA splendid game David… And a victory for the home team.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it should be ‘Guillaume le deux fois mort’ from now on…
All the best. Aly
A splendid idea, but bound to attract those pesky 'dice gods' don't you think?
DeleteA fine looking fun game there, as we've come to expect from GHQ. I've come to enjoy a little bit of fantacy thrown in as it were, I'm sure that a certian amount of fanatical belief could have influenced several effects on the battlefield!
ReplyDeleteI think you are right about the psychology of troops on the battlefield, probably accounting equally for the hero and the coward.
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