More shenanigans at Piddling Parva (Lion Rampant 2E)

 "THE VIKINGS ARE COMING!"

The feared cry rang out as the church bells tolled their urgent warning.

Lady Meghain du Court summoned her retinue as fast as she could. The urgency of the situation told her that she only had time for her fastest troops and that the heavy infantry would not be able to keep up, if she were to meet the Norse raiding party in the open moors east of the village. She leapt into the saddle and led the charge. Three troops of knights, her retinue archers and some local villagers with bows would have to suffice. They raced off, with the archers holding onto the knights' stirrup leathers to help them keep up.

Meanwhile, Hroerekr ur Dölunum, jarl of Ferjaby, was leading his doughty warriors towards the village and the wealth of the local monastery. He cursed as he got a clear view of the village and saw the advancing knights.

"By Odin's hairy bollocks, we've a fight on our hands," he roared, "Form up my heroes and we shall send them to Hel, before we feast in their village! TO VALHALLA!"

The Forces

For this game of Lion Rampant, the defenders are a standard Norman from the lists in the book, with the crossbowmen replaced by archers because those are the figures I have. The whole retinue comprises:

• 3 Elite Cavalry units
• 1 Archer unit
• 1 Skirmisher unit

The attackers are a standard Norse army:

• 2 Elite Infantry units
• 2 Heavy Infantry units
• 1 Archer unit

The Norse list allows you to choose between Berserkers and Archers, but I have "views" about who and what Berserkers were, so I am not going to field them this time. I also have a feeling that the Norse archers should really be a couple of units of skirmishers, but that is a pleasure to save for another time.

The Game

Deployment of both forces focused on the terrain on the Norse left flank with the Norse warband securing their right flank between woods and hills with a unit of Heavy Infantry. The plan would be to refuse that flank, while advancing on the other and in the centre. The Norman force formed up with the archers interspersed between their cavalry. They planned to advance slowly and whittle the Norse down a bit before the knights charged.

Storming Normans at the top of the photo. Vicious Vikings at the bottom.

The two forces faced each other across a shallow valley.

"Let them take only as much land as they are tall!" Lady Meghain cried to her followers, "They shall keep that part of the land they are buried in and no more!"

She took her father's bagpipes from the saddle in front of her and began to play a rousing march. The skirling of the pipes rang out across the dale and the adrenaline pumped all the harder in her followers' veins. They truly appreciated that she had a better ear for music than her father had.

The Norsemen hammered their weapons on their shields and advanced with gruff bellows and insults. Well, except for those that could only do one thing at a time. The heavy infantry on the Norse right took some time to get moving, but were soon on the go.

As they advanced, the arrow storm began. A warrior beside Hroerekr fell with an arrow through his throat. First blood to the Norman archers. Not to be outdone, the knights rushed forward too, but it was the archers that scored second blood, while the Norse archers returned the favour, killing two Norman archers.

Lady Meghain's knights bore down on Hroerek's personal bodyguard, their hooves thundering across the sward. The rumbling of their advance could be felt in the bones of the men on foot.

"Who is this that dares oppose me?" bellowed Hroerekr, " I challenge you to holmgang! You shall dine in Hel this night, or I shall feast in Valhalla!"

The bagpipe playing stopped as Lady Meghain replied.

"I am Lady Meghain du Court and you shall grovel in the dirt before me, foul blackguard! This is my land and I shall defend it with all that I am. Though I have only the body of a woman, I have the heart of a lion, the wings of a dragon and my father's lance, which I have often bloodied in such as you!"

The two leaders approached each other and squared off. Their bodyguards stood back respectfully and gave them space.

"Die, foul Norseman!"

Lady Meghain wasted no time in attacking. With a speed and fury that Hroerekr did not expect, she was upon him, showing no sign of fear. He swung his mighty axe at her as she approached. They traded several blows and then suddenly Lady Meghain's lance found its opening and the Norse leader's lifeblood nourished Norman soil.

"Revenge!" cried Hroerek's bodyguard. They charged and in the furious melee that ensued, Norman knights and Norse champions died. But in the end, Lady Meghain was the one standing with one of her bodyguard beside her. The Norsemen lay still.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Norman archers and skirmishers were slaying Norsemen, and other vicious hand to hand combats were being fought. The archers and skirmishers were carrying the day, as the melees were mostly inconclusive. The Norse archers were nowhere to be seen. They had been cut down in their droves and had retreated into the lee of a hill to regroup. However, as the last of the Norse champions died, taking with him enough Norman knights that he would have a story to tell in the halls of the gods, the Norse archers decided that enough was enough. They ran for their boats.

Others of the Norse free men decided the same thing. Battered, wounded and facing an unrelenting storm of arrows that not even all their shields could protect them from, they turned and fled.

A single unit of Norse warriors remained. They hesitated as the skirmishers continued to shower them with arrows, but when they saw Lady Meghain charging across the battlefield, they decided enough was enough and fled. Five ships of doughty Norse warriors had set out on this journey. Only a single ship returned.

Conclusion

I think I got most of the rules right this time. Now to work on tactics.

This game saw more units failing their activations than the previous one. The Norse warband had a couple of turns where no one moved at all, even with the leader's reroll, for example, and many turns saw only about half the troops on each side moving.

It was also my first time trying a duel. I just felt that a Norse jarl would have insisted on it. I gave the Norman leader a 50% chance of accepting. She did, and then she scored 3 hits to the Norseman's 2 hits, thus beating him. I guess Hroerekr wins either way though; taking Norman treasure or heading to Valhalla.

The loss of their leader did not seem to dismay the Norse warband much at all. Both elite infantry units fought to the very last warrior, aiming to join their leader in Valhalla presumably. The rest seemed ambivalent. They ran at the last, but mainly because the Norman arrows were particularly well-aimed.

All in all, another good fun game. I really enjoyed the chaos of the activation rolls, and the need to pick and choose where I would act first. I just need to make sure that I give my side the better dice next time!

3-4 Ambyrmont 1000 AC - Another Day in the Jungle

 Refreshed and alert, Broneslav wished his hosts goodbye and set out once more on his journey northwards. He realised that he had been far too optimistic about his chances of getting to his goal and back in the time he had allotted, but he was determined to find out what the deal was with this city, so he would just carry on and see what happened. The first day trekking through the jungle passed without incident and he was less bothered by the mosquitoes thanks to an unguent his Phanaton hosts had given him. Even his sleep was better now, but he would have to conserve his supply because there was not a lot of it.

Broneslav heaved a sigh of relief as he reached the edge of the hills beyond the jungle. The oppressive heat was getting to him, and even with the unguent, the mosquitoes were plaguesome, and he began to wonder if it was all worth it. Suddenly loud screaming and a hail of sticks, stones and shit showered down on him. He ducked back into the cover of the jungle as fast as he could and looked around. Ahead of him, partially in the jungle and partially among rocks in the trees was a troop of oversized baboons. They seemed to think that Broneslav was not welcome here. He decided to circle around them and find a place to camp for the night, before he carried on into the mountains that barred his way to the city.

As he made camp, he reflected on his discussion with the village elders at Tanaroa. They had suggested that the city lay just the other side of the mountains, so he was near his destination, but it would still be a  heavy climb to get there.