End of an era: The battle of Clontarf

What better way to celebrate Good Friday than to re-fight the Battle of Clontarf, fought on Good Friday 1014. Our game was fought with 6 players and using Hail Caesar rules. The game was a well-planned custom scenario, which acted as a climactic ending to our Saga campaign.

Moving border stones - Saga campaign part 5

Some people just don't get a break. Not only had the Jomsvikings spoiled Jarl Einar's raid in the previous game, but upon returning home he found that his neighbour had been moving the border stones again. This called for a reckoning!

We played a straight up "Champions of God" scenario, where the objective is to kill as much of the enemy as possible. Einar once again brought two units of 6 hearthguard, two units of 10 warriors and a unit of 4 warriors to the field. His adversary, Thorfinn Sigurdson mustered a unit of 8 hearthguard, 4 berserkers, two units of 8 warriors and a unit of 12 levy archers.

The battlefield was split in two by a large hill that ran along its length. Jarl Einar deployed his force on both sides of the hill, while Thorfinn placed the archers on Einar's left whilst the majority of Thorfinn's warriors were on Einar's right. Thorfinn himself showed his mettle by deploying BEHIND his archers, safely out of harms way. This caused a great deal of laughter within Einar's ranks and more than one rude remark which won't be reiterated here.

Thorfinn Sigurdson cowering behind his archers

After they had had their share of laughter, Einar led his men boldly forward. The whole line advanced at a steady pace. Soon the archers let fly their first volley but Einar's men, ever vigilant, put their shields together and survived largely unscathed. Thorfinn's craven tactics had roused the anger of Einar's bondi warriors, who soon made a mad dash at the archers. The archers took a heavy beating and were driven back. Einar's warriors also retired a short distance backwards, hoping that Thorfinn would take the bait and charge after them.

The archers learn their place

Positions at the start of turn 3

Thorfinn failed to take the bait (he was probably too confused and scared to rouse his men into action) and instead held back. Einar decided to try the same trick on the right flank and directed his unit of hearthguard to attack Thorfinn's hearthguard. Einar's men had the upper hand due to a nasty combination of several Saga abilities but Loki, the trickster god, decided to intervene. A short fight later all six of Einar's elite warriors lay dead or dying whilst only one of Thorfinn's hearthguard was incapacitated (a twisted ankle I hear). What a disaster!

The warlords' hearthguard duel on the right flank

Emboldened by this success (or afraid of being overshadowed by his bodyguard), Thorfinn finally grew a pair and led a charge on the warriors on Einar's flank. Einar's warriors were felled, but so were a great many of Thorfinn's as well.

Thorfinn Sigurdson leads a charge with his warriors

Turn 4, just before Einar's warriors on the left are killed

This was the opening Einar had been aiming for the whole time. With a bellow, the mighty warlord led his remaining hearthguard at Thorfinn and his men. After Thorfinn's warriors had been driven off by his henchmen, Einar challenged his craven neighbour in single combat. The fight was short and nasty. In the end, Einar stood bellowing at the heavens over the corpse of his erstwhile enemy while his hearthguard mopped up the remainder of the enemy warriors.

Einar challenges Thorfinn in a duel...

... and stands triumphant!

Jarl Einar's triumph didn't last long, for immediately afterwards the enemy berserkers sprung into action. The enemy madmen had been standing back eating mushrooms for quite some time now and the wait was just too much for them. The berserkers did not seem the least bit fatigued by the long sprint and, with frothing mouths and large axes, fell upon Jarl Einar. Einar's warriors raced to the rescue and put an end to the berserk madness, but it was all in vain. Jarl Einar had been slain.

With both warlords dead and much of their force depleted, Einar's boys didn't think there was much point in continuing the battle. The survivors began their retreat under a hail of arrows, which succeeded in felling a few more of the retreating Vikings.

Several nasty combats later, the remnants of Einar's host begin to withdraw

The last hearthguard takes an arrow in the back

Positions at the end of the battle

Pillage the village! - Saga campaign part 4

Raiding can be a tough business. As of late it would seem that every halfwit from the north with a boat has set his course for England and, as Jarl Einar has discovered, it can be tricky to find a village that hasn't been plundered at least twice already!

This was the story of our Saga campaign game. Jarl Einar's Vikings beached right next to a defenceless Anglo-Saxon village only to realize that it had just been plundered by a rival band of Jomsvikings! The foe was still at hand and thus a brutal fight for the spoils ensued.

We fought a modified version of the "Sacred Ground" scenario in which the three objectives were placed along the length of the board so that each player had one objective in his deployment zone. 0 points would be awarded for units in one's own objective zone and double points for units in the enemy's objective zone. Jarl Einar had two units of 6 hearthguard, two units of 10 warriors and a unit of 4 warriors. The Jomsvikings, led by Eric Bloodaxe, counted a unit of 12 warriors, 8 warriors, 4 warriors, 8 hearthguard with dane-axes and 4 hearthguard without.

Jarl Einar's vikings disembark from the ships and move to attack the Jomsvikings plundering the village

A few guardsmen are left near the ships

Jarl Einar gained the initiative and immediately began advancing with his host. A unit of warriors was rushed towards the hill but otherwise the force advanced together. The Jomsvikings rushed forward more chaotically, with the two most powerful units racing for the hill. Jarl Einar's warriors reached the hill first and started collecting victory points. The Jomsvikings tried to make a mad dash for the hill but were slowed down when I didn't let them use some of the Jomsviking activations (a special Jomsviking ability that they can either activate or gain wrath tokens). This made them very mad.

Both sides rush for the hill

Jarl Einar's vanguard reach the hill first, with the rest advancing more steadily

Angry Jomsvikings with big axes

Things were going according to Jarl Einar's plans and he immediately launched an assault with his warriors and a unit of hearthguard on his left flank to eliminate the large unit of warriors. Unfortunately, things did not go to plan. Einar's warriors rolled badly and the Jomsvikings rolled well and what was meant to be a crushing blow turned out to be a very costly affair for the Vikings.

A unit of Jomsviking hearthguard wiped out the remnants of Jarl Einar's warriors, who took a heavy toll on the attackers by using their "Valhalla" ability. The Jomsvikings then piled onto the hill in large numbers ready for the Viking's counter-attack. The large unit of Jomsviking hearthguard considered the position secure and set off to loot Jarl Einar's ships (their double point objective zone).

The large unit of Jomsviking warriors (in the foreground) are assaulted from two sides...

... the assault fails miserably and the remaining Viking warriors are massacred ...

... the outnumbered Vikings take out two Jomsvikings in a blood frenzy

With his force quickly dwindling, Jarl Einar had to do something bold. He mustered his few remaining hearthguard for one more assault onto the hill, which was already starting to become quite slippery from all the blood spilt. With oaths, curses, promises of gold and glory (= loads of nasty Saga abilities) Jarl Einar led the assault. The hearthguard clove into the Jomsviking warriors and annihilated them. One traumatized survivor was allowed to flee so that he could spread tales of the furious prowess of Jarl Einar.

With his henchmen dead or fleeing, Erik Bloodaxe was easy pickings for Jarl Einar and his boys. Erik did his best but, in the end, he didn't even put up much of a fight and was ground into minced meat by the angry Vikings. 

Brutal melee about to start

Erik Bloodaxe meets his end

The hill is securely in Viking control at the end of the game

Despite this dramatic chain of events, there was little Jarl Einar could do to prevent defeat. In the distance the Jomsviking hearthguard had reached the ships and easily despatched the four warriors left to guard them. The Jomsviking looted the ships before setting fire to them and escaping to the hills (my opponent gained double points for his hearthguard at the ships so there was no way I could match his victory point total at the end of the game).

The ships are captured by the Jomsvikings

Brother against brother - Saga campaign part 3

In the grim darkness of the Viking age, there is only war!

We played another game in our Saga campaign today. It was a bitter internecine showdown within our Viking alliance with my warlord, Jarl Einar, challenged by rival warlord Ivar the Irate. We're playing as part of the same faction in the campaign, but each faction has to have a top dog, right?

"Clash of Warlords" seemed like a suitable scenario to settle our differences. The only objective was to slay the enemy's warlord. My Viking warband consisted of a unit of 8 hearthguard, two units of 10 warriors, a unit of 4 warriors and a unit of 12 levy archers. Ivar's Norse-Gaels brought to the field a unit of 8 hearthguard with dane-axes, two units of 10 warriors with dane-axes and a unit of 12 warriors with javelins. Ivar was also followed by a bard who would undoubtedly spin his own fancy tale of Ivar's exploits.

Ivar's throng

Ivar himself, lurking at the corner of a building

Einar's host

Einar, always leading from the front

Ivar started the battle by rushing his javelinmen forward and pelleting Einar's archers with their projectiles. The archers lost but one man, but this was enough to unsettle the craven thralls. Several volleys were fired back, but these dropped only two of Ivar's men.

Einar scoffed. It was a mistake bringing the archers; this battle would be resolved man to man. Not a man of patience, Einar led the warriors on his right flank in an assault on the enemy javelinmen. A brave, albeit foolish, enemy champion strode forth and issued a challenge to Jarl Einar. The man was no match for the Viking lord, but was stubborn enough to take a lot of hacking before he would die. We fought several rounds of challenge combat after which both Jarl Einar and the Norse-Gael warriors were greatly fatigued. After the demise of their champion, the remnants of the Norse-Gaels crumpled easily and withdrew from the combat exhausted and with only half their number. They would be out of the fight for a long time.

My original plan had been to withdraw Jarl Einar and his warriors after this ordeal, but due to the extraordinary amount of fatigue markers generated by the challenge I was reluctant to do this, as it would leave Einar exhausted (4 fatigue markers) and the warriors vulnerable. Instead, I moved more warriors and hearthguard forward to support the mêlée on the enemy's next turn.

Norse-Gael javelinmen rush forward

Jarl Einar leads his warriors to thrash the javelinmen

The javelinmen withdraw in disorder

More Viking warriors move up

Ivar weighed the odds. Jarl Einar was within striking distance and an all-out attack just might be enough to fell him, although it would be risky should it fail. Fortunately for Ivar, the Norse-Gaels rolled a good combination of Saga dice and got quite nasty boosts as a result.

The unit of Norse-Gael warriors with double handed axes led the charge. Their objective was drive back Jarl Einar's warriors and thus leave the Viking warlord vulnerable to attack. However, the foolish and arrogant Norse-Gaels had not reckoned on the prowess of Jarl Einar's Vikings! The defending Vikings threw back the effeminate attackers with ease, felling half of them to boot!

The situation looked dangerous for Ivar the Irate, whose attack was in danger of floundering. The warlord had one last card however: his hearthguard. Ivar commanded his bodyguard to attack the jeering Vikings, himself retreating to the rear in case the attack went sour. Fortunately for the craven Ivar, his bodyguard proved unstoppable. There was little the fatigued Viking warriors could do to stop the hearthguard's onslaught and they died valiantly, taking a few of the enemy down with them.

Ivar's hearthguard followed their success with one last assault at the exhausted Jarl Einar. Jarl Einar felled the first Norse-Gael that came at him, but there were simply too many of the foe. Einar's faithful hearthguard rushed to protect their beleaguered lord, but it was all in vain. Einar's bodyguard died in a ring around their lord whilst Einar himself, struck to the back of the head with the shaft of an axe, collapsed and was taken prisoner.

Einar's warriors are beset by Norse-Gael axemen

The first wave of Norse-Gaels is repelled, but they are soon followed by Ivar's bodyguard

Jarl Einar is felled by Ivar's bodyguard

Later that evening, Einar would have to confess to the gathered warriors that Ivar was the greater warrior and mightiest warlord of the Viking alliance. This seemed enough to appease Ivar, who was by this time roaring drunk and boisterously recounting the tales of his own valour. However, this was not enough to quieten the murmurs of Ivar's own men regarding their leader's craven ways. Few could forget, that while Jarl Einar had boldly led his men from the front, Ivar himself had finished the battle hiding behind the back of his bard.

From this day forth, Ivar had earned an additional byname: Ivar the Ignoble.

Ivar the Ignoble - cowering behind his bard at the end of the battle

Spilt milk!

I painted up a set of Viking civilians from Wargames Foundry, which form a nice little diorama around the "tragedy of the spilt milk".

Brynhildr, Asgerd and Fenja

Oluf and Ogmond

"Lucky" Lief

Spilt milk - the start of an epic saga?

I also painted some livestock a few weeks back. Also from Foundry.

Slaves and Mayhem! - Saga campaign part 2

Our Saga campaign continued with a home brewn scenario: Slaves and Mayhem! Returning from his failed expedition to Ireland, Jarl Einar found his lands back in the north in distress. The thrice cursed craven Olaf the Orange had learned of Einar's weakened state and launched numerous raids into the Earl's lands. Einar was just planning his reprisal, when he learned that Olaf was about to strike one of his hamlets. Time to get even!

The objective of the scenario was for the Viking host of Olaf the Orange to capture civilians and burn the buildings they were huddled in. The buildings were set up in the middle of the board and neither player could deploy within 12" of them.

The battlefield - Olaf's Viking's on the left, Jarl Einar's vikings on the right

Olaf's host consisted of (from right to left in order of deployment): 6 hearthguard, Olaf himself, 10 warriors, 10 warriors, 6 hearthguard and a further 4 warriors way off on the left flank. Jarl Einar raced to meet the attackers with the following force (from right to left per Olaf's deployment): 8 hearthguard, 10 warriors, Jarl Einar, 10 warriors, 12 levy archers, 4 warriors.

Olaf's lackeys

Jarl Einar leads his bold heroes

Crème de la crème: Jarl Einar's hearthguard

I was lucky to get to move the civilians before the first turn (winning a die roll allowed the defender to move the civilians 4", on a draw they would move in a random direction). The villagers and livestock fled from the buildings nearest Olof's men on his left flank and centre.

Civilians and livestock flee

Olof had the first turn and advanced aggressively, if somewhat rashly with half his force. The hearthguard on the right rushed one of the buildings and the warriors to their left attacked the one in the centre. This took 3 actions each, which left the attackers quite fatigued. They failed to set the buildings on fire.

Jarl Einar reacted quickly. Einar's hearthguard rushed forward to form a protective screen between the fleeing villagers and Olof's men. A warrior unit rapidly occupied the building which Olof's men had been trying to ignite. Einar and the second unit of warriors advanced more slowly, ready to support the defenders. 

Olof leads his right flank in a reckless charge

Jarl Einar counterattacks - warriors occupy the central building and hearthguard form up in front of the civilians

Olof would have none of this. He led his hearthguard to assault Einar's elite troops. The fight was brutal, and in the end all six of Olof's hearthguard were felled, but so were six of Einar's men. Olof's warriors charged the central building again, which was now defended by Einar's warriors. The attackers were thrown back with minor losses and regrouped around Olof the Orange, who had become somewhat stranded after the demise of his hearthguard.

Brutal mêlée between the hearthguard units

The victors stand proud!

Jarl Einar saw that the opportunity for a decisive strike had come. Pointing his spear at the trollspawn Olof he bellowed an order to the warriors he had kept in reserve. Einar's men hit Olof's warriors with the strength of Thor (assisted by combat boosts and the enemy's fatigue) and clove right through them. The way to the orange bearded villain was now open. A few quick strides later Jarl Einar was face to face with his enemy. An epic duel followed between the two mighty warlords.

Einar cast his spear, which struck Olof's shield and rendered it useless. A henchman raced forward to yield his shield for his master, only to be struck down by one of Einar's retainers. With a beastly bellow, Olof clove the warrior in twain with his axe. Olof twirled around to meet his nemesis, Jarl Einar, but was not fast enough. Einar danced past the fatigued brute, delivering an undercut that left a streak of red just below Olof's armpit. The combatants broke off, eyeing each other for what seemed an eternity. The corner of Jarl Einar's mouth curled up in a little smile when he recognized what he saw in the eyes of his enemy: abject terror. 

It was time to settle the matter. Einar rushed the orange villain, fainting right, then left and finally striking Olaf from the right. Olaf parried the first blow, but was not quick enough to prevent the pommel of Einar's sword smashing his teeth in. Olaf the Orange fell. He would not get up again.

Jarl Einar's warriors clear the way for a charge at Olaf the Orange himself

As Jarl Einar pulled his sword out of the pile of meat at his feet, he knew that the battle was all but won. Half of the enemy host, including their warlord, had already been laid low and Jarl Einar's men still had plenty of fighting spirit left. The enemy could be allowed to scatter to the winds.

But that was not the Viking way! With their blood up, Jarl Einar led his blood drenched warriors in one last charge. The enemy warriors that had cowered at the edge of the battlefield up till then were the target. A short fight later, half of the enemy warriors were in Valhalla while the remnants fled.

What a glorious day!

The remnants of Olaf's men are sent packing