Habeo Id! Review of SAGA's Crescent & The Cross

Salvete,

Inspired by the accounts of the Crusade, I am here to offer up a little Latin and my first thoughts on the newly arrived copy of The Crescent & The Cross.

Quick Reference Sheet

The quick reference sheet is useful, but it should have been two sided.  That would have made it less "quick" I realize, but enough special units and new rules have been added to C & C.  Barring that, printing it on the same cardstock as the Battle Boards would also have been nice.

The Battle Boards

Six high quality boards on slightly heavier stock than SAGA's early releases.  All feature a parchment style background, but each faction has a unique iconic image in the bottom corner.  The Spanish have a helmet and crossbow, and the Saracens a jeweled dagger, for example.

The Book

Production Quality: - A nicely bound hardcover printed on quality paper stock.  The color printing is vibrant, but without the glare of a cheap magazine.  As with many recent game rules, a good portion of the pages are composed of generously sized pictures of miniatures.  This does increase the page count and production costs, raising the price of a not-inexpensive book even higher.  I am fine with this overall, for enough of the pictures are play examples.  The quality of the writing is much improved from early SAGA releases, with their the typos and translation difficulties. A humorous tone is maintained throughout, reminding the reader that this is a fun game, and not a serious simulation.

The Rules - The rules look like the SAGA we know and love, with the addition of a new narrator Hashim ibn Khalid ibn Abad.  Our old friend Ragnar shows up, most often when there is an addition or deviation from the previous rule set. One such addition I noted was the inclusion of the Priest.  Priests can be included with your Warlord, or they can be played as your Warlord.  Furthermore, there are three different types of priests to choose from.  This, along with the Dogs of War and weapon options allows players to customize their warband into their own thing.  With old SAGA, you knew what to expect if you were going against the Vikings, the Normans, the Welsh, etc.  With C & C, you might know the abilities of your Crusader opponent, but how about if your Crusader opponent was led by a warrior-priest with a troubadour, along with a unit of Turcopoles?  Something to think about.
     I really cannot criticize the rule changes or additions in C & C yet, especially without a fair number of play-throughs. The rules look good, and the success of SAGA should be assurance that QA is even tighter. What was missing or needed? I can see a case made for a campaign system, and this would have been the ideal time to release it.  However, those rules could be in a future expansion (you know they are coming) and I don't really hear a demand for it, at least from my small circle of fellow gamers.

The Factions - The layout and explanations are much improved.  The Legends choices are good, and I have to love El Cid and Rachid al Din (The Old Man of the Mountain).  The inclusion of some are a bit perplexing. Saladin is very well known of course, but if he was included, why wasn't Richard the Lionhearted?  Both probably should have been saved for a Third Crusade expansion.

Dogs of War - Bedouin scouts, Daylami, Foreign Mercenaries, Turcomans, Turcopoles, Naffata, Fanatical Pilgrims and the Troubadour.  So many options, so few miniatures.

Scenarios - disappointed in the lack of a proper siege scenario.  In the Crusades, fortresses, whether large or small, were an integral part of many battles.  An official siege scenario could have answered a lot of questions - does the defender get fewer points? How is scaling a wall accomplished?

The Dice - while not included with the book, two new sets of dice for the six factions were also released. Again, the fine folks at Studio Tomahawk released image files on their forum for those of us who prefer to homebrew our dice. Here are mine, with the images printed in color on waterslide paper on white dice.

Khitan Cavalry

As SAGA's Crescent and Cross pushes the game's scope geographically eastward, one of my current projects will take my game even more to the east - China, Tibet and the Mongolian Steppes.

Following the collapse of the Tang Dynasty in 907, tribal peoples to the north of China enjoyed a brief respite from imperial interference. The first to dominate this political vacuum was the Khitans. The Khitans (pronounced kit-ens, not key-tans) were not originally steppe peoples, originating in forested highlands, but they eventually adopted the lifestyle and tactics of steppe warriors.

Steppe tribes succeed under a strong visionary leader, and for the Khitans it was Yelu Aboji (r. 907-926). Under him, they conquered a very agriculturally rich strip of northern China called the Sixteen Prefectures, and at the same time extended their control over more nomadic steppe peoples to their north in Inner Mongolia. From the start, the Khitans set up a dual administrative system, with Chinese governance in the sixteen prefectures, and a traditional steppe tribal structure for the rest of their territory.

Predictably, the Khitan rulers gravitated to the Chinese territories and increasingly abandoned the steppe lifestyle in favor of the luxuries of Chinese imperial governance.  They were a formidable enemy to the Chinese for they combined the power of the steppe horse archers with the wealth and manpower of their Chinese cities.

Below, Khitan light cavalry armed with lance or swords. Figures from Essex, horses are from Essex and a variety of manufacturers.  

Another group of four with their bows in cases on the left side. 

The Jurchens were Khitan subjects from Mongolia. Below are four from an auxilliary unit.

Below, sixteen light cavalry for two units of warriors in SAGA

The Khitans were eventually destroyed by an alliance of the Song Chinese and the Jurchens.  The Song never accepted the loss of traditionally Chinese territory to a barbarian people and hoped to manipulate another group of barbarians into destroying them.  A common enough practice throughout Chinese history, but this time the strategy backfired on the Chinese.  The Jurchen attacked Chinese territory and captured the Song capital and the imperial court in 1127.

My next post on the Khitans will focus on their heavy cavalry and command, along with how I plan to use them in SAGA.

Back in the Saddle Again

Taking a break from painting was definitely invigorating.  It gave the eyes a bit of a break, I ran a little more, and got ahead on my lesson planning.  But the call of the paintbrushes could not be ignored and earlier this week I returned to the painting table. While I don't have any finished projects to show, this is my progress so far.

Currently on the painting table is a unit of Steppe nomads.  These are Khitans from Essex.  The Khitans were a semi-nomadic people north of China in the tenth and eleventh century, fighting often with the Chinese and Koreans.  However, it was a subject people of theirs, the Jin, who ultimately destroyed their empire.  

The Khitans will do double duty as Steppe nomads in SAGA and in a related project I am finally moving forward on.

Below are two packs of minis I ordered from Curtey's in the UK arrived this week. I placed the order less than two weeks prior - all in all excellent service and I plan to order more, as this was more of a sample order. These are Tibetan cataphracts and heavy infantry.    

Some of the Curtey's Chinese stuff seemed overly stylized (i.e. disproportionate).  However, the Tibetans looked nice and I took a chance. I am very pleased with the sculpts, and the metal quality is excellent - some of the best I have ever seen.  

So, yes, with the Chinese, Khitans and Tibetans I am now working on more Far East figures for skirmish gaming.  My two options are to modify either SAGA or Ronin for these armies. Ideally, I will play the Chinese and Tibetans on existing battle boards with minimal modification to preserve game balance.  Stay tuned.

And finally, while I was away from the blog I backed this on Kickstarter: Resin Terrain Kickstarter

I have been making an effort to limit my crowd funding budget, but this one struck me as an interesting idea for flexible terrain solutions.

Packing Up - for now!

I am taking a break from painting for about a month for two reasons.  First, I am repainting the room in the house that is the office/hobby room.  It's where I have my painting table and we have the family computer/printer.  So everything will be packed up and moved out for a few days.  Second, I am teaching a new course this year (AP Microeconomics) and want to spend as much time preparing and planning out lessons several weeks in advance.  A couple of weeks without picking up a brush should give me time to this.

I still plan on weekend gaming in the interim and will probably build some terrain boards in the garage, but expect to see few (if any) posts until Labor Day.

Battle on the Ice with Battle Troll

A game of Battle Troll was on the agenda this week.  I have played Battle Troll a few (3 or 4) times, owning both the pdf and printed copy.  A few games were solo scenarios and its card driven combat mechanic can function well as an autonomous opponent.  I also played it with my young son, who liked the card artwork and could grasp some of the basics.  In these experiences, I avoided using the full combat rules, which took into account hit location and armor coverage.  In this game, my usual wargaming buddy and I decided to go all in on Battle Troll, with hit locations, weapon distinctions and accident charts.

The scenario was "The Ice Floe" Both sides start on rocky outcroppings and battle on the ice.  The ice is broken in the middle, with a somewhat stable ice floe to cross.  It is based on an incident from Njall's Saga, with one side led by Njall's son Skarphedin, and the other side by Thrain.

Skarphedin (on the large round base) and two other heroes slowly cross the ice.

Movement is not set, as in SAGA and other skirmish games.  Players roll 2d6 for walking and 3d6 for running.  If you roll a "1" in this scenario on a run, you fall and slide the distance rolled.  Which, if its into the icy gray river, is instant death.

No IGYG here, player order is determined by draws from a deck, with 6 cards activating one or more of your troops, six cards activating your opponents and one card ends the turn, resulting in a reshuffle.

Combat is resolved by choosing an attack action (swing, cut, lunge or jest) and a counter action (block with shield, counterblow, jump aside, jump back and jest).  The effectiveness of one attack against another generates a certain number of dice for each player.  Jests are useful in that they score reputation points against an enemy, which actually determines the winner of the game.  So does a kill obviously, but if you can insult your enemy before killing them, so much the better.

I did like the nice bit of meta-gaming during combat.  If my opponent is attacking me with a spear, and spears are more effective with a lunge, do I leap aside giving me more dice than him?  But if I know this, he does to, so he might surprise me with the swing, a spear's least effective attack.  But that would be so obvious, so maybe he is going with the cut...or maybe he is going to stick with the lunge...

By now, I was starting to feel like this guy:

The first one down is one of mine, slain by Thrain.

The next kill is by my leader Skarphedin against an enemy hero.  Skarphedin lands a Great Blow, which earns him 6 Reputation Points, but also earns the dead character points for dying in such an epic manner. 

Finally, after over an hour of game play, two characters lay dead, although most are wounded to some degree.  The game is called. My opponent leads in Reputation Points, due to wounds inflicted and his liberal use of jesting.

After playing the full rules, here are a few observations - 

• Resolving combat was very slow going at first and it improved somewhat as the game went on.  Wargamers who like checking and cross referencing charts will find this system a breeze.  Those who like to roll dice, see who has the best number might find it slow going. 
• Wounds need to be cumulative - which as best I could tell from the rules, they were not.  Characters may be slightly wounded multiple times, with no consequence past letting an opponent re-roll a single die. This would also speed up combat a bit, but might be an impediment to those playing the campaign, and need characters to survive and fight again.
• Wound markers for each character is a must.  Even though we were writing down who was wounded, numerous times we finished a combat and then remembered we could have had a re-roll against a wounded opponent. 

A final endorsement is the material included. Of the 80 pages, 24 are devoted to rules, with the remainder covering campaign rules - hiring men, building a hall, and lawsuits (seriously) - and numerous scenarios that are historically based and easily transferable to other skirmish games.

My friend's comment was that this combat system was basically an RPG system and I agree.   I might actually like to see more tactical RPGs use a reveal system similar to this, preventing players from "modifying" their actions mid-combat.

Characters and Monks for Ronin

It has been a while since I posted, and the big Ronin game never happened.  A sad, but not unexpected family loss took precedence last week.  This never has been a blog where I discuss personal matters, but insofar as it relates to the hobby - any hobby - recreation and creativity are great ways to work through sadness and loss.  However, family and responsibilities always come first.  Now, some minis...

Hopefully I can run this game in the future, but here is a look at some of the characters and terrain I had planned for that game. Most of my figures are from the early Samurai period (11-13th century). This era also saw the rise of militant Buddhist monks, in which rival temples fought over relics, property and imperial favor.  In this four person scenario, a sacred scroll currently possessed by one temple of monks has been awarded to another - but the owner's won't give it up peacefully.  The owners of the scroll, along with nearby villagers who have a vested interest, are fighting to keep the scroll and the pilgrimage income it generates nearby.  Two players would then control the monks and villagers respectively.  On the attack are the monks seeking the scroll, along with a small group of warriors who wish to see the imperial orders carried out.  Each set of allies has to work cooperatively to win, but victory points are awarded based on number of enemy killed and who has possession of the scroll at the end of 7 turns.

These two characters are from West Wind and would have been the leaders of the peasant faction.

Added to my previous sets of monks, was this unit of Sohei in red, to match their temple. 

Here is the temple that housed the sacred scroll.  It is from lasercut MDF by Renaissance Miniatures. It was from their second Kickstarter and it assembled very quickly.  

The roof is removable, but a bit fussy to snap in place. It is in three sections, which is better than a single section, but it can be difficult to get all three to snap into place.  With any MDF kit, the larger the pieces or span of assembly, the more likely that small gaps will develop that can prevent an exact fit. The gaps can be from using too little glue and not clamping it long enough so that the parts drift as they dry, or alternatively using too much glue, which spreads into spaces meant to be left open.  

The interior is large enough for a combat scenario, or to add some small furnishings. 

A statue of a Buddha from a home store ($3 on markdown) makes an appropriately sized massive idol. The small building is also from Renaissance Miniatures.  

If you are into pirates or Old West, Renaissance Miniatures has a few days left on their third Kickstarter. I am still undecided about it - pirates are an era I have considered but I am not sure if its the right time to add more projects - but the company is very good at customer response, updating and delivering in a reasonable time.  Check it out if you are interested.  

The Peasants are Revolting

In anticipation of some upcoming Ronin matches, I put together a third faction, in addition to the monks and samurai. As my preferred setting is the late Heian and early Kamakura period (11th-13th centuries), I try to be careful when purchasing Samurai.  But, much like in western history, peasants are fairly interchangeable across many time periods.  Fortunately, my favorite Samurai producer, The Assault Group, also makes two sets of Japanese peasants.

Peasants with improvised weapons:

Peasants with Naginata: 

Unfortunately, eight figures does not make for much of a peasant buntai in Ronin.  These eight would cost a total of 48 points (4 per figure, and an extra 4 points for the spears) - which is equivalent to two Samurai.  All in all, it is probably an accurate equivalency, but running them as bandits could upgrade a couple of them.

To round out the peasants, I made an ebay purchase for five of these unnamed figures in Japanese straw coats.  Properly called the mino, it was a rain coat or rudimentary protective gear worn from ancient times to the Edo period.  No manufacturer was identified by the seller, but from the proportions, it looks like Curteys or Dixon.  However, I couldn't find a matching example on either website.  Suggestions?

A few of these slightly better armed peasants would bring my point total up to 96 points.  Peasants can also hire any number of Ronin or a single Monk. Adding in a single Ronin (Assault Group) and a Monk (Reaper) brings the peasants up to 150 point, enough for a quick game.  

They look sufficiently determined, but I doubt their effectiveness in battle.  One bonus to this faction is the ability to earn victory points at a higher rate than other warbands, which could up for their obvious disadvantages.