Game Report: A Feast of Crows

This week, I met up with a SAGA gamer through the Studio Tomahawk forum who lives relatively close to me.  For those who live in a game store laden metropolitan area, "close" means someone who shares this rather obscure hobby within an hour's drive.

With three people playing, we went for the Feast of Crows scenario, slightly modifying the starting deployment. I fielded my Scots, my first time playing the faction, while my two opponents went with the Normans and the Welsh.  If one wants to be historical, its an encounter that could take place in Northumbria in the 1070s or 1080s, as the Normans pushed the boundaries of their English conquests.

Above, after the first turn, my Scots move into cover with Normans to the left and Welsh to the right.

The first encounter takes place between the Normans and Welsh, as a group of Sergeants get pelted by Welsh javelins.  

On the other side of the field, Norman knights take a hit from the Scot Levy javelins as they bear down on a unit of Thanes.

The Thanes were wiped out by the Knights, with me losing three of the Scots for two Knights.  Above, I pull up a unit of Soer-Chele to assist the levy. 

The Scot Warlord and Thanes turn back the Welsh Warlord and mounted Teulu without a single loss. 

The Norman player's collection of defeated models, winning with the most victory points. My quick after-analysis says that Norman win was because the player took advantage of their two strengths - they are "shooty" and heavily armored. I like the Normans for the same reason. Despite my second place finish, I feel good about the Scots and plan to use them again, but perhaps with a bow levy instead of a javelin levy.  They are very defensive, which suits my play style very well, but with some nasty abilities such as Hold the Ground and Give Ground, both very devastating if used correctly.  

Thanks to The Battlegrounds in Dalton, Georgia for letting us use their space.  I am sure we looked odd amongst the Yugioh and Magic players, but their stock of board games and RPGs was top notch. Their racks of vintage NES, Sega and Playstation games was temptingly nostalgic, and I plan to pick some up the next time I am in there.  I look forward to more battles with my new friend, and possibly converting some of the curious teens who wandered over to our table into wargamers. 

Gruffud ap Cynan

Over the Christmas break I read several books that had been on my to-do list, but the one that I enjoyed the most was a last minute impulse-buy from a young self published author.  Caveat emptor is the general rule when it comes to self published Kindle books, but Ethan Jones' Birthright is worth your attention. From my Amazon review:

Wales in the late eleventh century was dangerous territory. A generally poor land divided into three kingdoms, it was nonetheless caught up in the machinations between Normans, Irish, Norse Gaels and its own rival rulers. Into this came the young Welsh prince Gruffud ap Cynan seeking to reclaim his kingdom of Gwynned from evil usurpers - at least, that's how he sees it.  Jones should be commended for plucking Gruffud from history and into the pages of his first novel.  As the author depicts him, Gruffud is not an invincible medieval superman (I am looking at you Uhtred).  He is a powerful warrior and bright for his age, but impetuous and diplomatically naive.

Jones can write a vivid and bloody battle.  The violence is Homeresque in its detail: limbs are severed, teeth shatter, noses are rent from faces.  The beatdown one of Gruffud's allies administers to an enemy is so brutal and sickeningly described that even our hero looks away in disgust.  The characters, while mostly all warriors, are well shaded with different motivations and attitudes. The plot does follow many of the conventions and expectations of historical fictions, but I do not necessarily blame Jones for this predictability.  Gruffud's life was one of almost constant battle and intrigue, the basic material for this genre - but do yourself a favor and do not wikipedia him until after you have read this book.  One convention of historical fiction I would have liked to have seen included was a map of Wales in this era with the novel's locations marked.

Highly satisfying, and I will be back for more when Mr. Jones brings us the next volume in Gruffud's life.


For wargamers, especially players of SAGA, there is a lot to enjoy. Battles are generally skirmishes, with Gruffud taking an active and leading role.  The differences in unit names, weapons and fighting styles of the Welsh, Norse and Normans are described in terms that button-counting wargamers will appreciate.

So the following is my interpretation of Gruffud for SAGA based in part on history and on Ethan Jones' depiction in Birthright. 

Gruffud ap Cynan, Rightful king of Gwynned

Gruffud, with the Lion of the House of Aberffraw on his shield.
Figure: Gripping Beast's Norse-Gael Warlord

Across Britain  in the eleventh century, alliances and territory shifted with an alarming frequency between Saxon, Viking and Welsh peoples. The arrival of the Normans on the Welsh Marches brought further strife to the region.

Into this world was born Gruffud, heir to the House of Aberffaw, claimant of the Welsh kingdom of Gwynned.  Through his mother, Gruffud was a grandson of Sigtrygg Silkbeard of the Hiberno-Norse rulers of Dublin.  It was there that he was raised following his family's ousting from Gwynned when he was a child. Supported by loyal Welsh, along with Irish allies, he set out in 1072 to reclaim his birthright.

His hold on the throne lost and regained more than once. Later in his life, he was held captive by the Normans for at least a decade until his escape.  Ultimately, he beat the odds and died an old man, King of Gwynedd.

Something to Prove—As a Hero of the Viking Age, Gruffud generates 3 SAGA dice per turn but only if he is the first unit on his side to engage in melee.  Otherwise, Gruffud will only generate 2 SAGA dice per turn. Note: the player will begin a game with three dice for Gruffud and keep them as long as the above conditions are met.

Mixed Ancestry —As his mother was a granddaughter of Sigtrygg Silkbeard, Gruffud can call on support from his Welsh or Norse Gael allies.  At the start of each turn, you may choose what mix of SAGA dice to roll between the Welsh and Viking Dice.  Viking dice may only be used on the Norse-Gael Battle Board and the Welsh Dice may only be used on the Welsh Battle Board.

Resourceful — unlike other Heroes of the Viking Age, Gruffud can call upon Swords for Hire units the Gall-Gaedhil or Flemish mercenaries.

Let me know if you have any suggestions on improving his stats.  I play tested it in a couple of short turn sequences.  The use of two Battleboards is interesting and based on Cnut, but he is intentionally less powerful than your average Hero.  After all, the historical Gruffud was marginally successful, but definitely not on the order of William of Normandy or Charlemagne!

Open a PDF of Gruffud's battle card
Update: I just fixed the link so that it can be opened without a request, sorry!

Birthright on the US Kindle Store

The Raven's Shadow Review

Last week, I received my copy of The Raven's Shadow from Architects of War, and have been absorbing the rules, and playing some solo practice battles.  The second expansion to the SAGA game shows that Studio Tomahawk is willing to take the basic gameplay in some unexpected directions.

Franks: The Battle Pool mechanic was one that I never quite understood when reading the early descriptions.  When reading the book, it is not as complicated as it seemed.  A player of the Franks has the ability to place up to three dice in the Battle Pool.  The effectiveness of other abilities on the Battleboard depend on how many dice were allocated to the Battle Pool.  This faction's challenge lies in the fact that one has to place dice in the Battle Pool, dice on abilities and still have enough dice left over to activate units.  Players using the Franks will probably use larger units and depend on the We Obey rule.  In fact, the Frankish hero Charlemagne can activate up to three units at a L distance as one of his special abilities.  If you are like me, and like to play quick four or five point games, I am afraid the Franks would be of limited use in such situations.

Irish: Similar to the Welsh in that they are lightly protected fighters who must take advantage of the terrain, the Irish faction shows some serious modifications to the rules.  Hero characters called the Curadh are able to operate independently of units and fight as individual warlords to a degree.

Norse Gael - A Viking faction, and like the Jomsvikings from the previous supplement, its variation is in giving the opposing player a choice. Instead of increasing wrath, the choice is a single combat challenge between a Norse Gael figure and an enemy figure.  Winning the combat allows the Norse Gael player to unlock special abilities.

Strathclyde Welsh - a interesting faction choice, for it was a small kingdom that was eventually absorbed into Scotland in the early eleventh century. The units are not all required to be mounted as I previously assumed, but their new abilities depend upon mounted units.  In this case, the new feature is off-table units. With proper activation, they can enter the battlboard from any side, and another ability allows them to make a shooting attack from off the board, if an enemy is within L of the table edge. Should SAGA move into the East, this would be a useful mechanic to handle steppe factions such as Seljuks or the Pechenegs.

The evolution of the rules in The Raven's Shadow does have the potential to slow the game down some, especially with the insertion of more Reaction based abilities, but that should decrease as players become more accustomed to the process.  The faction choices are good, but one must decide what is right for their style of play.  The Franks require an efficient and calculating manager.  The Irish will be favored by the gambling player, who is willing to take a chance on big victories if a "6" can be rolled.  The Norse Gael have some of the most interesting Hero abilities (Brodir of Man's seer powers seem quite fun) but Challenges may be gimmicky like the Jomsviking's wrath.  My preferred faction from this update will most likely be the Strathclyde, because I am eager to see how the off table abilities play out.

Mounted Welsh kit bashed from two boxes of Wargames Factory Ancient Germans with Saxon and Viking heads and weapons. I added javelin quivers and green stuff cloaks to a few.

Not the paint work I am most proud of, but I did manage to complete about 18 mounted figures in a week. Pictured below is all 24, which is three points worth of warriors. Adding in a unit of levies and two hearthguards will be the final warband.

Welsh Archers

     I finished a unit of Welsh archers by Gripping Beast recently and I had a blast painting them.  The poses are well articulated, the cloaks and robes have the right amount of drape and fold and the faces are expressive.  The only drawback is their size.  For a "heroic 28mm," their eyes are a standard 28mm, but they are fairly bulky.  Posed next to Gripping Beast's plastic Vikings, a Welsh peasant looks like they could overpower the Norse warrior.  But on a game table, from four feet away, it matters little. 

I especially like the figures with the cloak.  Adding a pattern to the fabric was something I debated, but for poor skirmishers, plain red cloth was enough of a luxury.

pictured above, left to right: GB Welsh Archer, GB Viking (plastic) and crouching GB Welsh. Note that the crouching Welsh archer is shoulder high to the standing Viking

Reading Recommendations

     For a non-fiction history of the Wales in the Dark Ages, I recommend The Welsh Kings: Warriors, Warlords and Princes by Kari Maund. Spanning the late Roman era through the late thirteenth century, Maund focuses on political and dynastic change in Medieval Wales.  It is solid political history, so anyone looking for a broader look at Welsh culture might want to look for a social history of the period.  Similarly, Maund gives an accurate and detailed account of what we know and do not know about Welsh battles with each other and against others, but it contains few descriptions of Welsh weaponry, armor or tactics.  Nonetheless, The Welsh Kings is well titled.  It is a story of kings, and I came away from its 240 pages enlightened about the small fractious kingdoms of western Britain.  

    The best historical fiction I read set in Wales remains the previously suggested Hood trilogy by Stephen Lawhead.  It was very surprising to find an author capable of exploring the Robin Hood mythos in a fresh and moving manner, but this series succeeds.  Deserving of repeated readings.  

Recommended Welsh Reading - The King Raven Trilogy

     Duke William's rapid conquest of England ended quickly at the traditional borders of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.  The Saxon earls, still not fully united behind Harold Godwinson, were not organized and enough to resist the Normans and their innovative use of horse and missile weapons. 
      Shortly after conquering England, the Nornans pushed into the land of the Welsh, or Cymry, as they called themselves.  On the face of it, the Welsh should have been more easily conquered than the Saxons. Political cohesion under a high king was non-existant since the death of Gruffyd ap Llwelyn. Lacking little sense of ethnic or national unity, the eleventh century Welsh also lacked the production and trade centers necessary to acquire heavy armor and weapons.  The Welsh were skirmishers, lightly armored and with bows and javelins.  Duke William and his successor William Rufus left the Welsh problem to the marcher lords, barons intent on acquiring the and developing the pastoral lands of the west. Nonetheless, the Welsh effectively resisted an outright Norman conquest and some Welsh kings were able to deal and submit to the Normans on favorable terms.

     This is the setting of Stephen Lawhead's King Raven Trilogy.  Lawhead places the Robin Hood legends among the Welsh resistance to Norman encroachment in the first volume Hood.  After Norman machinations lead to the death of his father, and more importantly to him, his land, feckless Welsh prince Bran of Elfael finds himself alone and near death in the ancient forests of Wales.  Under tutelage by old crone, Bran heals and begins collecting an assortment of followers including, as later titles indicate, Scarlet and Tuck.  The hero's journey by Bran is not surprising.  The reader knows that he will become the legendary outlaw hero, but Lawhead's gift is in not rushing it.  Throughout the early chapters, Bran grows as a leader and as a brilliant insurgent tactician, yet he remains frustratingly impulsive and short-sighted. The conclusion of the series is unique and it brings together some of the Christian ethos that were a subtle undercurrent throughout the series.
     The Robin Hood/Richard I connection has been played out so much that we take it for fact now, but a Robin Hood enthusiast looking for something fresh, and gracefully written, should buy all three volumes. All three are sold for the single price of $8.99 on the Kindle currently.

King Raven 3-in-1 ebook

Welsh Light Cavalry

Before starting SAGA, I had enough models to skirmish with Normans, Vikings and Saxons.  The Welsh faction was a notable hole in my collection.  I did stumble upon the idea of using Wargames Factory ancient German cavalry as a base for conversion.  

The bearded fellow in front is just a German painted in a late dark ages scheme.  Welsh at this time period were predominantly beardless, but that doesn't preclude a warrior with a shaggier personal preference: 

This is a conversion involved using a Gripping Beast Saxon head with a cape made from Green stuff:

A group shot of some Welsh priodaur:

Finally, a conversion that's a WIP for a Welsh warlord combines a Conquest Games Norman body with a WF Saxon head.  I love Conquest's Normans.  The extra bodies in each box have a great deal of conversion potential.

 

Although in hindsight, this one looks more like Charlton Heston in El Cid than a Welsh nobleman.  Hmm...next project:  Conquest Normans into El Cid Spaniards...