With the second anniversary of the start of my project fast approaching, I was keen to get a game in this week.
The rules are still a work in progress, but I thought who better than my 16 year old son to act as a play tester, given that he literally questions everything
Some of the game mechanics will be familiar to anyone that has played my zombie AR:SE rules previously - the turn sequence is random card driven, with commanders having to decide what units to prioritise for activation. The combat system is simple and very bloody... I want a lot of figures on the table at the start of the game, and a conclusion within a reasonable space of time.
Today’s game was relatively small, c250 figures on the table, and reached a conclusion within 90 minutes.
The setup was intentionally simple, little in the way of terrain, and nothing too fancy in terms of troop types.
ScenarioLannister forces are pushing northwards, but uncertain of the exact location of the northerners. As the dawn mists clear, the Lannister vanguard spots the banners of House Bolton in the distance...there is little room for manoeuvre, this will be a straight slog, but Ser Jamie’s force has a slight numerical advantage over the northerners, led by Roose Bolton’s bastard, Ramsey Snow.
ForcesHouse Bolton1 x 12 Cavalry (just out of camera shot to the left of the photo)
1 x 24 Pikemen
1 x 24 Men-at-arms
2 x 24 archers
House Lannister2 x 9 Cavalry (one unit just out of camera shot to the right of the photo)
1 x 24 Knights on foot
3 x 24 Men-at-arms
1 x 24 archers
First movesPerhaps over confident due to their slight superiority in numbers, the Lannister vanguard pushed forward, but almost immediately ran into trouble. The Lannister cavalry, rather than protecting the flank of the advance, decided to wheel towards the Bolton archers, exposing their own flank, in turn, to the Bolton cavalry. The Bolton cavalry needed no encouragement, spurring forward to hit the Lannister horse moments after a well-timed volley from the archers had disrupted the southerners.
The Lannister cavalry, already under strength, crumpled under the deadly archery, and charge from the northerners. Buoyed by their success, the Bolton horse pushed on towards the Lannister infantry. The first target in range was a unit of Lannister knights advancing on foot....this time the Bolton archers had less joy, and the cavalry lacked the momentum of their previous charge. As the fighting continued, the nearest Lannister men-at-arms charged into the melee, routing the Bolton cavalry.
Desperate measures As the remnants of the broken Bolton horse fled the battlefield, Ramsey was forced to pull back his archers as the Lannister centre was advancing quicker than he’d expected (curse those random activation cards). To stop the retreat becoming a full blown rout, Ramsey urged his men-at-arms forward, catching the lead Lannister’s by surprise.
Ramsey’s men appeared to have the upper hand in the combat, inflicting heavy casualties, but the Lannister men-at-arms held them up long enough for the heavily armoured Sers to smash into the northerners. On Ramsey’s right flank, his archers were engaged in a bloody hand to hand fight.
Turning pointIt was at this point, that the commander of the remaining Lannister cavalry, more than made up for the ineptitude of his counterpart on the other flank. Having spent much of the last hour doing little more than staring at the fearsome looking hedgehog of Bolton pikemen, the Lannister cavalry charged into the flank of Ramsey’s counterattack.
As Ramsey’s men fled from the cavalry, the archers also broke and ran for the safety of the table edge (and tree line).
The Bolton Pike, with no threat to their front, turned to hit the remnants of the Lannister foot, which broke immediately. With the majority of the Northern force either dead or in full retreat, the Officer in charge of the Bolton Pike wisely ordered his men to halt their pursuit, and then to head back the way they’d come.
As the battle drew to a close, the losses to both sides had been heavy.
House Bolton had lost its cavalry, and half its infantry...Ramsey turned up in camp that evening, having somehow managed to avoid being ridden down by the Lannister horse.
House Lannister had fared little better...as Ser Jamie surveyed the field of battle, maesters tended to the wounded, while camp followers looted the dead and dying. Although he had managed to rally those troops that had broken during the fight, his losses were almost as heavy as those of the Bolton’s....probably best to leave that detail out of the Raven to Lord Tywin.
Post game verdictFor a first outing, the rules worked well - a thumbs up from my son...high praise indeed.
The rules are bloody...and unforgiving of poor decision-making. There are a few tweaks that I have in mind, but I’ll probably try another game, with some different troops types, before making any adjustments.
One thing I definitely want, is to make some markers, for broken units, to show which have been activated, and also to show where the combat has taken place...just removing casualties leaves the battlefield a bit too clinical...particularly on a white table.