Saga - Tale of 4 Gamers - the battles

Hi all

Welcome to my battle report for the series.  This was our second game ever of Saga and would pit the Anglo-Danes played by Andy (i.e. me) and the Normans played by Rich.

The scenario that Rich and I randomly generated was “The Escort”.  The objective of this game is for the defending player (which would be me) to get 2 out of 3 of his baggage wagons from his deployment zone across the board and exiting from the attacker (Rich) table edge.  If I did this the Anglo-Danes would win, any other result and The Normans take the victory.  The baggage can take damage like any other piece on the board and is treated like Hurscarls for to-hit/damage purposes.  They can move every turn without Saga dice and move up to “M” like infantry.  This game should play to the strength of the Normans with a solid base of bows/crossbows and fast moving knights.  I on the other hand had to slog across the battlefield with foot troops.

Deployment

As the defender I deploy and go first.  Before this though we needed to roll for terrain with 3 bits being chosen, I chose 2 of the terrain pieces  and took two wooded areas and Rich took a hill.  With all of the ranged weapons the Normans could muster plus their mounted troops, I needed to take advantage of the cover in order to get across the board.

**Note** for those who play Saga regularly there were some rules violations in this game, these were our first games and as such we were getting a feel for the whole battleboard concept and it took us until the very last game and the debrief after to fully get to grips with the way the game works. Also we had to proxy a baggage train so we had barrels and logs as well as a horse and cart – oops!

Waelwulf "the fierce" scowled as the sluggish moving wagons bumped and dragged tortuously slowly along the worn track.  The supplies they carried were desperately needed by the main forces camped out in the next village, Waelwulf had been entrusted to escort the precious vittles to the Army from the supply depot in Blokstuft some ten miles east.  The stands of trees that screened the track to the west looked ethereal in the morning mists.  It was these mists that cause Waelwulf's scowl to deepen further, he knew the Norman scouting parties were nearby, able to travel quickly due to the huge warhorses they insisted on riding.

A jingle of tack against armoured leg confirmed his fears as did the snort of a nearby destrier, the bastard French were here. "Form up lads!" he bellowed "We have company."  With a well practised ease the hurscarls of his personal slung their huge shields and hefted the long Dane axes that they preferred.  his warriors scampered ahead to form a screen to protect the wagons from the cowardly crossbow armed Normans.  The sound of whirring began as the Geburs tested their slings in anticipation of the coming fight....

Waelwulf looked around at his warband and nodded his approval "right lads, lets show them what we've got. For England!"

Turn 1

This was very much just a march forward for the Anglo-Danes as my slingers were out of range and I just needed to get across the board.  My Hurscarls that occupied the Left flank were behind the hill in cover but also placed to keep an eye on the Norman cavalry that would no doubt skirt around the hill and woods to attack the baggage train from the rear.

The Norman knights on the right flank surged forward as expected.  The rest of the warband stayed put and unleashed a storm of arrows/bolts at my warriors who were leading the escort decimating the unit, reducing them to half strength.

pic is actually half way through turn 2

Turn 2

We got the turn sequence a little turned around and Rich went first this time – oops!

Rich attempted to cut the rest of the warriors down and I used a battleboard ability to intimidate the Normans into not firing their crossbows.  Again we (meaning me!) got the rules a bit mixed up and I stopped them with the same ability again (should only be used once per turn).  He then uses his bow armed troops to cut down 3 of the last 4 warriors down.

I move the warrior away from the front line in order to preserve the amount of Saga dice my warband generate.  The rest of the army advance if they can, however I angle the Hurscarls in an attempt to cut off the  flanking knights advances. 

Turn 3

Rich advances his flanking knights ever closer, just far enough away that my Hurscarls cannot charge them.  His other knights accompanied by his warlord edge forward to try and cut off the baggage trains advance – this proves to be the turning point of the game….  The Norman levies shoot and kill 3 of the Anglo-Dane slingers.  The xbow troops can’t fire again due to “Intimidation”.

My movement took my warlord ever closer to Rich’s knights and his warlord.  My slingers fire is totally ineffective. The Hurscarls with Dane Axes close the gap with the flanking knights again blocking their advance with a double layer of elite troops!

Turn 4

Rich  chooses to use his Saga dice to activate his archers who concentrate their fire on the baggage wagon (logs) that is on its own.  This tactic pays off as he destroys the draft animals and their handlers in a flurry of xbow bolts and arrows.  However it does leave his warlord vulnerable as he is within movement distance of my warlord and must move into combat to fight him, as he no longer has Saga dice left his knights cannot accompany him and my warlord brings him down!

Waelwulf and Hugh face off, with the Anglo Dane collecting another head for the pile...

The storm of arrows that fell from the sky thudded all around the panicking oxen and their drivers, cries of agony split the air as many bolts pierced the bodies of the baggage teams.  Waelwulf cursed as spilt sacks of grain tumbled to the ground, spoiling the precious supplies.

Ahead of him a small line of knights, their large mounts stamping iron shod hooves and snorting great plumes of steam from their nostrils in the cool morning.  Among them a man bellowed orders to the rest, clearly the leader of this raiding party. Waelwulf slung his shield over his shoulder and ran a calloused thumb down the keen blade of his enormous axe, opening up the skin with ease.

"Norman!" he shouted, "come face my blade, cowardly fool." With a start the mounted noble looked over at the burly Dane, his expression quickly becoming a disdainful sneer. 

"Come William the Bastard's little turdling, let us fight like men if you can muster the courage!" Waelwulf taunted.  The Norman's sneer became a scowl and he drew his sword, kicking his mount into a canter.  The nobleman's retinue were caught off balance and had not moved an inch by the time he was a few spear lengths from the Dane who hefted his axe in preperation for the clash.

Holding his sword like a lance the Norman warlord bore down on Waelwulf, angling the blade for a devasting cut at the Anglo-Danish noble.  With a speed that belied his considerable size, Waelwulf sidestepped the charging horse and with a mighty swing, brought down the axe blade in an unstoppable blow aimed at the horses shoulder.  With contemptuous ease the blade parted muscle and bone, half severing the poor animals head in a spray of arterial blood.  The Norman, cried out his surprise as he was thrown over the top of the dying horse to land in a crumpled heap some distance away, his right leg held out at an unnatural angle.  With a practiced shrug Waelwulf pulled the axe from the animal and advanced toward the stricken French noble, this would be too easy....

My remaining baggage moves toward the far corner of the board with the Hurscarls with hand weapons moving into a screening position with the help of Saga dice.

Turn 5

Reeling from the loss of his warlord, Rich is in dire straits, his Saga dice pool is reduced by 2, severely limiting his options.  His only hope is to destroy another baggage cart. desperately he tries to get his warriors to shoot at the hurscarl screen but intimidation prevents that from happening.

In response the Hurscarls charge into his knights and kill 3 for 1 loss in return, forcing the remaining knight to withdraw.  The Andlo-Dane slingers twice try to destroy the last man but fail to kill him off and becoming fatigued in the process.

Turn 6

The writing is on the wall and Rich concedes.....

Conclusion

To be honest this game was a bit of a mess.  We got a bit turned around on the turn sequence and use of our battle boards was incorrect at times and down right useless at others.  The key to this game is the clever use of your battle board and to fatigue your opponent.  As it was only our second game it was inevitable that we wouldn't be using the boards in the best way, this combined with the loss of his warlord led to Rich's downfall and my victory.

The sounds of the taunts thrown by his men at the retreating Norman scum was music to Waelwulf's ears. Following the death of their leader, the Frenchmen had lost heart pretty quickly and had fallen under the spears of his bodyguard with ease.  Freki, his favourite hound chased the frightened horses, almost playfully scattering the remaining knights to the four winds.  Looking around he could see the peasantry raising their heads to the sky and praising their "nailed god" for HIS victory.  Snorting in disgust he muttered his own thanks to Odin and Thor for giving him the strength in battle to defeat the Normans
"come on then lads" he bellowed, "lets get these supplies to the army and then we can find the rest of these perfumed fools and send them back to France!"

A Tale of 4 Gamers - part 5

Hi all

My apologies for the missed deadline yesterday, this was my fault not the other gamers as I have been in a state of shock since yesterday's announcement in the UK, but this a wargaming blog not a political one and so that is all I intend to say on that.

So this is the last part of the collecting and painting segment of our "Tale" based on the White Dwarf series of the same name.  For the last 2 months we have collected and modelled our warbands showing first the warriors and the levies working our way up the foodchain to the Hurscarls and Hithguards and now it's time to show the last pieces, the main man himself - the Warlords!!

This is the last chance for you guys to score our efforts, every point counts as we move from the painting table to the gaming table next time. Scores out of 5 please for both painting and the fluff provided by the gamers.

Andy's Faction

Waelwulf "the Fierce" stood by the doors of his Meadhall, built by him and his retainers with there own hands and standing as a show of his power and a mark of his lordship.  Here he dispensed justice in the view of the old Gods of his ancestors and away from the prying eyes of the Christians, who insisted he worship their weakling "Nailed God" blindly and with no thoughts of the old ways. 

Waelwulf spat his derision of the fools who prayed on their knees in their precious churches, looking to prayer to protect them when what they actually had was strong men like Waelwulf and his like, manning walls and hefting spear and shield.  He would show them what good their prayers were in the face of Viking axes and Norman lances.  He would take the war to the invaders, aye and the raiders from beyond the northern wall too and he would slaughter them, drive them from his shores and back to the rocks from which they crawled under.

Beckoning to Edgar to hoist his banner, he whistled for Freki - his massive hunting hound and strode across the bridge that bordered the edge of his lands and marked the outskirts of his small army's camp.  Seeing their lord coming toward them, the sergeants gathered their men into their units, bullying them into some sort of order with threats and blows.

"Men" he bellowed to the mass of hulking warriors.  "We are the sons of Danes but we are not Northmen, we are protectors of this land, this England but more importantly we are Men of Kent and we will defend our homes to the last drop of blood, we will sweep the vile invaders from our country and destroy their armies. We will crush them underfoot and their women and children will weep for their loss, but we will not stop until we once again stand as the masters of our land. For Kent, for England we will be victorious!"

So at last we come to the boss.  For me I could not wait! I wanted Waelwulf the Fierce to be a centre piece for the warband, something that drew the eye.  According to the rules he can be mounted on a larger base 40mm compared to the 25mm for normal warriors, so thats what he was going to come on, initially I was going to put other minis on the base with him but decided I wanted him front and centre all on his own, his retainers would be seperately mounted (but not contributing to the base size for gaming purposes).  My warlord was from the Gripping Beasts plastic model range that can be used for either Anglo-Saxons or Anglo-Danes, I wanted him to sport the enormous axe that he came with but bizzarely there was no way to attach it to his hand (which came with a sword !?!) so I had to use the hand that came with the standard bearer, for the base I used some zombie heads from a wargames factory sprue for severed heads and some broken weapons and a shield to give it a bit of a feel.  The hound is from Warlord games and was liberated from my Ancient Celts army and painted up.  The standard bearer now sans arm needed a minor conversion to swap out the warlords sword for the standard pole and was good to go.

I also finished off the last unit of Hurscarls I had knocking about for a a full 6 points worth of troops, these bad boys are metal sculpts from Gripping Beast, there were a bit meh! to paint but in the end turned out fairly nice, including hand painting on two of the shields.

Finally here is a shot of the entire Warband....

Chris's Faction

So the last two units of the warband.......for now. Firstly 8 Hearthguard, the elite of the warband. These are Gripping beast plastic Viking Warriors. Nicely sculpted models but really not quite on a par with Victrix or Perry. A lot of mould lines and things like shoulder joints not fitting easily and requiring some work....and tree trunk axe handles. The minis themselves are however easy to paint. These are all mail clad. Now my usual technique fir mail is a black undercoat and build up layers of metallics and silver with dry brushing. However as the rest of the army has been done with army painter I needed it to tie in. So usual white undercoat. Gun metal for the chain and the usual paint palette for the clothing. Nice touch on these minis is the Thor's hammer necklaces. Bit more colour in the clothing. I'm actually very pleased with the AP effect on the chain especially after varnishing. For the Warlord I wanted a small vignette with a Raven banner. These are Foundry miniatures. Again these were simplicity to paint. Base colours, a bit more colour and patterning on the Jarls clothing. I used the same tan colour for his bearskin cloak to tie him in with the Beserkers. The hound came with the pack and was just too nice a figure not to include. Only figure in the warband not done with Army Painter, just dry brush and highlights over black. So all told I am very pleased with this warbabd which will sweep all in front of them into oblivion. The GB plastics sculpting I'm going to give 6/10....good but room for improvement. Foundry 10/10. All told this took me about 10 days to complete from start to finish. I'm pleased with the AP on these. They look much better in the flesh than photos and to turn out gaming quality minis that look good en mass and quickly it can't be beaten, once you've learnt it's subtleties and limits and enhancing with some little highlights. I'd recommend it to anyone. Jarl Ingulf Thornisson's Warband Warlord 8 Hearthguard 4 Beserkers 24 Warriors 6 points with enough figures left over to increase up to 8 points

Damon's Faction

Bjarke looked around at his captors talking in their strange tongue trying to recall the battle. He remembers clashing with the scots as they came charging down the hill in their skirts, remembers the bersekers, Ake, Colburn, Gunnar and Gosta fall under a hail of spears then nothing, "I must have been clouted from behind and now here I am tied to a tree" he thought to himself. A large scot walked towards him and spoke to him in his tongue.

Lachlan smiled as he saw the shock on the vikings face as he spoke in their language. "Tell me again where your ship is" The viking just spat at his feet so he drove the point of his spear though his calf muscle. Smiling at the screams that came forth from the vikings mouth. "I can cause you so much pain, tell me where it is and I swear on my honour I will give you a warriors death" Confusion crossed Bjarke's face so Lachlan continued " tell me where your ship is and I will free you, put a sword in your hand and if you kill me you can walk free" "This is the only chance I will give you to enter Valhalla"

Bjarke looked long into the eyes of the man in front of him and realised that he saw a kindred spirit deep within them, starring back and knew he was telling the truth. Looked at his bleeding leg and back at Lachlan. As if reading his thoughts the man known as Lachlan in front of him says " I'll get you patched up whilst my scouts check out your story so you'll be fighting fit by the time they get back and if you've told the truth you get the sword if you've lied I'll gut you like a pig"

I apporached my next unit of hearthguard (Toisech) in the same manner and again I have surprised myself again. Out came the magnifying glass again and I went for the tartan again. I was a bit more brave with the tartan as you can probably see from the pics. I am especially please with the bluish cloak and the red tartan I feel I've kicked it up a wee notch. Again each tartan took more than one attempt and a lot of patience. I have persevered with the eyes and again this is paying off as I feel their better again. I ended up mixing my colours as they were too bright or dark. The red I dulled down with a little brown and the blue i lightned with a little white trying to match the colours I found on the web. I really am enjoying this painting lark.

Rich's Faction

The tournament was well into its second day, Hugh had so far taken part in four Jousts and one them all. His men cheered and congratulated him each time but Francois and the other knights had looked on stern faced.

Hugh had always had to fight twice as hard as his brothers growing up. Without his fathers attention his solace had been days and days practicing with the men at arms and learning all he could. Maybe being the youngest son was not so bad. Maybe his destiny had always been this way. Maybe be was meant to win this tournament and head to Caen as a man with a reputation. Maybe that would bring him to the attention of the Duke, all he had to do was win one more joust.

Hugh fancied his chances, the Dane was all strength and bluster. He had won his four jousts up to now before the horses had began to move. Each of his opponents was intimidated by his size and his growling. Hugh saw how he ducked and leaned into the lance as impact was made. Hugh was subtle and skilful and he knew just how to beat the Dane movement and deft touch was the key.

Kirsten knew he could not beat the Norman in a joust. As a mercenary man who had stayed alive against the odds all his life he knew when he saw a more skilled opponent and he knew when to walk away. He had come to Normandy as a captured man and had fought for his maters entertainment earning his freedom after years of killing.

Kirsten needed to be part of the invasion but the Norman lords would not take a Dane with them not unless they thought it was to their advantage. If he could win here at Nee and go to Caen as a man who had beaten all of the Local lords the duke might see his value and let him come to England.

All that stood between Kirsten and England was one Norman. But this Norman was unusual he could actually fight. Kirsten Deathbringer would bring Death today but not with a Joust in his arm.

As the men faced off and assumed the couch position, Joust under arm as the horses faced off and snorted their challenges at each other the Dane suddenly screamed allowed. “ Are you a girl Norman!” Hugh was shocked what was this, this was not tournament etticate where was the respect. Hugh said nothing and faced his challenger waiting for the squires to drop the flags to signal the engagement. But they were hesitating and looked confused by this outburst. “ I said are you a girl Norman, or will you fight like a man today” The crowd were mumbling and looking at each other wondering what was happening the squires didn’t know what to do. “Fight me as a man Norman, fight me as the gods intended, fight me with axe and steel!” Kirsten dropped his joust and from his back drew his mighty fighting axe.

As Hugh breathed in to shout his protest to the tournament squire he caught Francois eye, the look the man gave Hugh was stern and questioning. Hugh knew what the look meant. He knew he had to fight and win today to win his knights respect. He knew he had to fight with steel as a man. He paused, his horse turned 360 in its hesitancy and confusion as he came round to face the Dane again Hugh shouted back. “Very well Dane I will fight you with steel,” then as Hugh drew his sword and held it aloft he shouted something else, “ but let it be to the death!. Francois looked satisfied and re took his seat. Hugh knew this was the gamble of his life. But he was a man of Destiny, and the Dane just another step in his path to glory.

Hugh kicked his spurs into the sides of Damascus his mighty white charger and time slowed.

The Dane had lost the initiative as the Norman began to move, he smiled and kicked his heels into his all black steed. The two men charged headlong the horses seemed to understand what was at stake and both were moving faster than they had ever moved before, the impact was going to be mighty.

Sword and axe raised high in mighty dual as in days of old the two men bore down on each other this was going to be headlong neither horse would be bowed neither man would shirk.

Within a few metres of each other now the Dane drew back ready to strike, as he did so his horse lowered his head to make room instinctively for his masters blow. The Norman knew this was his chance the Dane would be expecting his opponent to lower his sword and aim but Hugh held high as he recognised his moment he steered Damascus straight the horse was his weapon first and foremost the lowering of the black horses head had left an opening and the Norman charged straight for it. As the axe was descending to strike into Hugh’s side Damascus’s head hit home square into the chest of the Dane pushing him back in his Saddle and taking his axe arm backwards. As the momentum pushed the two men apart the sword came down. It was perfection it was instant and it was death. What had felt like minutes had been over in less than five seconds. The Dane was strewn on the floor sword buried through his neck. Kirsten Deathbringer had found his Death. Hugh Fitz Baldrick was now a legend to his men. He stopped and turned in his saddle looking to his retainers. Catching Francois eye he calmly formed his words. “Come my men we ride for Caen, and after that you will follow me into Hell” Turning he rode away his men scrambling to catch up. Destiny awaited.

This time I only had one figure to paint, my mighty Warlord Hugh Fitz Baldrick.

I decided to give it my best efforts. I was really excited by this weeks challenge as the other guys know Batch painting drives me mad its so boring, I have always preferred one figure to paint a time.

I decided I would forgo my normal approach of base, wash and layer and this time avoided the wash sticking to using more layers for a more gradual finish between layers.

I am extremely pleased with the result especially the free hand shield and helmet having never attempted anything free hand before.

In future I will use even more layers for an even more gradual highlight but for my first effort at a blended style I am happy.

Hope you all enjoy , now boys bring on the battles!

so that's it for this segment of the "Tale of 4 gamers" all four warbands have been collected, modelled and painted for your delight....ahem.

i'm glad i've been able to showcase the other members of the Nerd Herd's painting skills including the fledgling like emergence of Damon's new found interest in painting miniatures (and I hope to showcase more of his work as he progresses).  i hope you've enjoyed this part as much as we have.  Monday we meet for the first time since Salute in April (Chris being in Sussex makes it difficult to meet regularly) and we are going to be playing against each others warbands in a round robin style, each of us will write up one of the battles as an AAR and these should be featured on this blog as a conclusion to the series.

hope you enjoy
dGG

A Tale of 4 Gamers - part 3

Hi all

it's time for the next part of our "tale of 4 gamers" series.  we decided last time to involve you, the gentle readers of this blog to grade our efforts out of 5 based on the standard of painting and the quality of the "fluff" provided (which you can see here) and we heartily thank those (Bryan :-) )who rose to the challenge and gave us those scores, believe me when I say it has spurred us on to do better this time around.  This time around we needed to finish off the last of our lower caste units of either Warriors or Levies in preperation for the more elite units next time.  So without further ado I present the next chapter in our SAGA......
dGG

Andy's Faction

The sound of whirring disturbed the still, tranquil air of the quiet meadow in East Kent, long thrumming vibrations followed by loud cracks of stone impacting wooden targets.  "Again!" barked sergeant Alf, "The lord Waelwulf is watching, he is judging your worth!" he added looking over at the totally disinterested warlord, who was busy talking animatedly with Edgar his burly second in command and ignoring the drills of the serfs in the middle of camp.

Alf sighed and turned his attention back to the dozen or so of scruffy, ill-kempt peasantry who were busy rooting around for the smooth, round pebbles they kept in bags slung over their shoulders.  Each serf loaded the pebble into the long leather slings they all carried and the thrumming started again as the slingers whirled their deadly weapons around their heads briefly before letting the missiles fly. Twelve cracks resounded around the meadow as all of the shots hit the target some 50 yards away.  

The enormous noise caused the Waelwulf to look up in annoyance at the serfs to voice his displeasure.  Quickly that look of annoyance passed, replaced by a more thoughtful mien as he mentally calculated the number of hits on the already splitting timber targets to the number of slingers.  Beckoning to Alf who rushed over and bowed deeply before his liege lord.

"Sargeant, who are these 'men' and what are they doing" he snarled.

"Slingshot practice m'lord, these scum have been pressed into service by the Bishop and given to you for service" Alf babbled, the warlord's famed temper was well known and Alf feared that he would be blamed for the poor looking 'troops'. "But they's real good already m'lord" he continued in the hope that he could deflect his superiors ire. "They can hit any target most times and at a good distance too."

"Can they do it at 75 yards?" sneered Waelwulf. 

"Yes m'lord, easily." cowered Alf. "They can do it at 100 yards if it pleases m'lord"

"Excellent, set up the targets for 125 yards then Sergeant, lets see what these oafs can do and if I don't hear twelve hits, you will know it!"  Waelwulf called over his shoulder as he dismissed the visibly trembling soldier and walked back to his war council.

So my faction is 'boosted' by the arrival of 12 levies/serfs armed with slings.  I umm-ed and arrr-ed over whether or not to include these lesser warriors as they are next to useless in combat.  However I decided I could do with some ranged weaponary and this was my option choice.  The figures are a mix of existing ancient Britons that I already owned (8) and the remainder of my plastics that I got in the 4 point starter army from Gripping Beast (4), for the required 12.  Paint wise I went with more natural and dull looking colours, these pressed men would not be supplied uniform or given any equipment so I did not need to try to tie them into the main force.  The 8 I already owned were certainly close enough to join in without me updating their paintjobs so they stay untouched and therefore I only add the picture for completeness as I did not paint them for the challenge.

Gripping Beast models for the challenge

the complete unit

cheers
Andy

Chris's Faction

The first twelve of the Jarls Bondi were now pushing forward towards the dunes ahead of them. The dark longship had beached itself firmly taking on an ungainly list to starboard. Now as sleek and imposing as a fish out of water, flapping helplessly on the wet sand. The Jarl watched his men intently. He turned to face Olaf the beserker, who's shattered face was hidden in the shadows of the great bear skin he wore. He could see the pulse in the berserkers neck racing. The concoction of bog myrtle and whichever other substances Thor had deemed necessary were having the desired effect. "Soon my friend....soon......soon you will see the Halls of Midgard". He pushed past Olaf towards the rest of his Bondi. "Prepare the ship" he uttered, a quiet command which broached no argument. The oars had already been stowed inside the ship, placed in a lattice work around the great mast. The Jarl hefted his huge axe in both hands and swung with all his strength. The great blade flashed with irresistible momentum, hitting the mast with a thunderclap, a huge crack splitting it vertically. Again he swung, and again and with one final blow the mast toppled slowly forwards, coming to rest protruding over the bow of the longship like a great battering ram. The Jarl dared not show the pain that ripped his huge chest apart, he ignored the bitter taste of blood flowing up from his lungs, suppressing the urge to cough. This was too important a time to show weakness. His son saw but caught the Jarls eye and rapidly turned away, vaulting over the prow into the shallow water. The Bondi, the Jarls most loyal Hirdmen and Olaf and his three companions, looking more like bears now than men,their movements animalistic and ferocious. The lasted them passed the Jarl the burning brand they had prepared. The Jarl moved to the prow, running his hand along the gunwale. No time for sentimentality. He threw the burning brand towards the lattice work of oars, drenched in oil as soon as they were placed. A sharp crackle of fire appeared instantly, spreading quickly around the stump of the mast, licking the ropes and rapidly taking hold. The Jarl swung his great frame over the side, his son supporting him as he landed, only then did he spit the foul tasting mouthful of blood into the sea. Soon the Jarl and his warband were pushing into the dunes. Behind them the funeral pyre of the longship roared in conflagration. The first fire of many had been lit................soon the sound of screaming would begin.

So the second unit of 12 Bondi followed exactly the same process as the first, the only difference being these were all equipped with swords or axes. The 24 Bondi in total will either be used as 2x12, or 2 to 3 units 8 strong depending on points of the game. The Vikings benefit in SAGA from larger units being able to sacrifice men for huge amounts of extra combat dice in an ability called Valhalla. So they were white under coated, base coloured using a small palette, Army Painter dip,shield decals, based and varnished.




Damon's Faction

Amhlaidh and his brother Alasdair looked over at Rob's group of warriors and winked at him with big grins on their faces. Rob scowled back and walked away. Rob didn't really like the brothers they took things far too light heartedly for his taste and now he had lost a bet to them that they wouldn't kill the Norman horses first and they had.

It had been a bloody battle but they had knocked the norman scum from their saddles and battered there skulls in whilst the weak that uses bows scampered away tears running down they're faces. Chants of "Lachlan Lachlan Lachlan" rose from the throats of Toisech and Soer-chele alike.

"Now we march on the village" shouted Lachlan, "their women and riches will be ours by nightfall" Rob glanced over at the brothers groaning to himself knowing that half of his loot share he will now have to give up to them knowing that they would not let him forget this.

Getting these models painted was great to do and I am thoroughly enjoying painting. Although I have a great range of paints now thanks to Richard the colours I felt weren't quite right so I mixed all the large base area's adding black to darken them down a little.
I am still new to this painting lark and as I sit here writing this I can't remember the names of the paints I used and I don't have them laid out to check as I have to pack them up in shoe boxes and put them away each time I use them. Having a 4 year old running around just means I am writing this quickly before I go to work so just don't have the time.

My first group of warriors I wanted to look not too clean and I am really happy with the look of them. I have taken a couple of close ups and of 3 models including Rob. I am really happy with Rob despite Bryan's low score and I love the guy in red with his patch on his robe. Although in Saga there are no such things as leaders or heroe's in a unit for my own personal taste Rob will be the leader figure as units normally look to an individual for direction.

My second group of warriors a experimented on a little bit. I did tartan on a couple.

I was feeling brave but I didn't want all my warriors wearing tartan so I did just the one, making it dull as he is a warrior not a heathguard and another had a sash so I did that tartan too.

This group will be led by a pair of brothers. See pic just by pure chance these mini's ended up looking like brothers so I added a little detail to the bottom of his robe seens as one had a sash.

Rich's Faction

Hugh's father had been apoplectic, word had spread quickly of how Hugh had saved the peasant farmer from the hangman’s noose and now Hugh’s reputation was in tatters. His fathers screaming had little effect on the young man and he actually enjoyed seeing the old man so angry. His rage held no fear for Hugh any more in fact he pitied him. He knew about the blood on the old mans stool's his fathers doctor was instructed to keep it quiet but the man was prone to drink and it was easy to make the fool talk.

Hugh had left the  castle after the last row.  Gerald's family had made him so welcome they all knew they owed not only their husband and fathers life to Hugh but also their own. By saving Gerald Hugh had saved them all and they owed him everything.

For Hugh it was the family he had always longed for. The laughter and the love was so new to him but felt like the life he had always wanted. It was then that Hugh had taken the family into his trust. They had managed to recruit a few other local men into the ranks but Hugh and Gerald knew they needed professional soldiers if they were to survive the coming invasion and that needed coin.

Hugh knew his fathers tax returns would be heading to Caen after the Easter festivals. He knew the route and the men that would be accompanying. He knew his father was arrogant enough to believe no enemy would dare challenge him. But he hadn't thought his own blood could be his enemy.

Hugh and Gerald plotted and with the aid of another six men they knew what had to be done. With the coin they could pay men to join them especially mercenary men from Genoa the type expert in crossbows. They would follow anyone for silver and Hugh would soon have plenty.

The whole of Gerald's family had been there when the plans were made and as the men left the house to lay ambush Gerald's wife Helen called out to them. “Stop I have something for you,” the men stopped and turned “ we can't have you being recognised now can we” with that she began unfolding the clothes she had been secretly working on for days. “ here my brave soldiers” as she passed them round. “ put them over your heads to mask you. I call them your Robing hoods !”

The men laughed as they pulled them on. “Come” said Hugh. “It is time to rob those who don't deserve it. Maybe after we have our army there will be some left for the poor”. At once they all laughed. The irony was not lost on Gerald ,Hugh had saved him, a poor peasant. Maybe he would save more poor men from the evil of powerful men. With that he laughed kissed his wife grabbed his bow and followed the others out. 

Despite being the smallest unit I had to paint and therefore the most straightforward I had put myself under huge pressure. With two days to Lord Nash’s deadline I hadn't begun work on my warriors. Luckily with a day off work I had the opportunity to put brush to figure.

yes i can -  dGG

My crossbow men were a warrior unit and the deserved better treatment than my levies. So no dry brushing this time but I also needed to paint quick. I choose a colour scheme that tied them into my levies but also gave them a more generic look as professional soldiers would need. I decided on a blue scheme as my first taste of Norman soldiers had been from the great itv show robin of sherwood made in the mid 80’s. I'm sure Lord Nash will come up with a pic for you. Also as some of the crossbow men had leather padded armour I went for a reddy Brown to keep the scheme across the units. Hopefully you will see an improvement on last times efforts. Now it's off to paint the gee gees. Can I have an extra week please !!!!!  [NO!!-dGG]

nice kitchen towel back drop!! - dGG

 So that's it for another week.  Please if you can score the boys and myself out of 5 for the quality of painting and the quality of the fluff provided - again please take into account Damon's relative lack of experience on the painting side.  I do encourage you to do so and the rest of the Nerd Herd are up for it so please please take the opportunity, only Bryan did last time so of all the many many (all 32 of you....lol) followers of the blog would score us that would help us out.  No pressure though ;-P

Next time, i.e two weeks today will be the first of the elite fighters showcased so something to look forward to.

hope you enjoy
dGG