Battle report - 27 Mar 2012

Another 'not at the club' battle - I acquired a couple of old club boards a while back, which do nicely fit in our dining room, so I had Andy Hawes round on Tuesday for another warm-up game for Sunday's Age of Arthur campaign day at Maelstrom.

The Gedriht take the tower.

We picked the watchtower scenario from the Age of Arthur book (Andy once again dodging a scenario with a single-combat challenge in it!). Again, it's one where reading the victory conditions is a smart move  - basically, whoever holds the tower wins. As my elite Gedriht are quicker on their feet than Andy's, it was always going to be about me holding the tower, and whether he could kick me out or lure me out.

Strange things you find guarding
ancient forts. Thanks, James!

I've tweaked the list slightly from last time, reducing the numbers of a couple of units, and adding a batch of javelin-armed skirmishers who definitely earned their keep. My son James was keen to watch the first few rounds, and lent an able hand rolling dice.

As befits a warband army, I advanced before the dice made me, sending the Gedriht to take the tower, a band of Duguth across one side of the hill and the rest up another.

My dice, and two units of my
infantry, deserting me.

My archers and javelin men (with aid from James' dice rolling) proceeded to keep Andy's units at bay in the centre and on the right, while the left flank saw my Geoguth and a second unit of Duguth engage in several rounds of manouvering with Andy's cavalry (mincing around as usual!) and two units of his infantry.... which all went swimmingly until I charged and my dice deserted me. However? Not that important, as that's not the victory condition....

It's an Age of Arthur battle. You can
tell because the crunch fight is, as
ever, between both leaders and their
units! You can also see what's left
of one of Andy's units of Pedites
after my javelin men were through
throwing pointy sticks at them.

With a turn to go, Andy decided the only way to get any chance of a win was to charge my Gedriht in the watchtower: so he did. We had two rounds of an indecisive battle, which again I could have rolled better dice for, and that was it - watchtower still contested, battle officially a "Bloody Stand-Off".

Again. a great deal of fun - Andy's an all-around nice guy, and was very entertaining in his (accurate) explanations of what was going on to James, Anne and our house guest Rika.

Roll on Sunday.