Post by martin on Dec 2, 2018 14:17:24 GMT
Nine games of DBA in a ‘Dark Age’ era Britain, all played in a six hour day.
Based on a dice-driven campaign system for Hordes of the Things by Alan Saunders, this involves ‘Arthur’ fighting off various invaders such as Saxons, Picts Irish and Scots. Over a period of 20 years the Sub-Roman British commander is challenged by raids, plague, invasions and punitive campaigns, interspersed with occasional outbreaks of peace. During all this, the army slowly declines from a pseudo-Roman entity to a grass roots SRB cavalry and spearmen force, the rate of decline being directly linked to his battle casualties (with a little dice luck thrown in for good measure). Colin O’Shea played the Arthurians, with me commanding the various barbarian hordes. With a one in three chance of a battle every year we should’ve expected around six games, but got nine, a very bloody two decades for the Brits.
Randomised terrain selection was used, with 24 preset terrains to choose from, plus a 1/3 chance of the defending player laying terrain to suit him as per the DBA rules.
At the outset the lowlands were invaded by northern Britons, with a cavalry and spearman force, but Arthur saw them off with a glorious 4-0 win. Next year Arthur turned his attention to the South Saxons, who called on East Saxon allies for help. The invading Sub-Romans scored another convincing victory, slaying the South Saxon king in the process. (3g+Hd -1 win).
After only one year of peace the South Saxons returned to exact vengeance upon Arthur, but were again defeated (4-2), the British losing an ex-Roman Limitani unit during this battle. A year of plague followed in which some of the British army were lost to disease, and in the following year the North Britons again invaded, defeating and killing Arthur in a decisive battle at the meeting point of two Roman roads, somewhere in the Midlands. (2-4g).
In the subsequent year of peace a new leader, ‘Ambrosius’, was elected as the SRB warleader. His first act was to launch an attack upon the Picts of the far north, who called upon Scots-Irish allies for aid. The battle saw Ambrosius score a decisive win (4-1), but lose more ex-Roman garrison troops in the process.
Three years of comparative peace, with only minor raids to fend off, were ended when Ambrosius turned his attention upon the Irish, who called on their old friends the Picts to help them out. A very bloody battle was then fought in which Irish Attacotti warbands erupted from a patch of coastal dunes to destroy remnant ex-Roman legionaries, while Pictish skirmishers swept around the opposite flank to capture the British baggage train, Ambrosius conceding the day (5-5+camp).
Few of the losses from this defeat were replaceable, leaving Ambrosius with no choice but to rely on reluctant levies (7Hd) to fill the gaps in his already weakened and degraded pool of troops, the army having slowly become less and less recognisable as post-Roman successors. This perceived weakness may have prompted the return of the South Saxons the next year, with another loss endured by the Sub-Roman British (2-5+Hd).
The four years following were relatively peaceful, giving opportunities for some recruitment to make up lost numbers, before the northern Britons and their Cumbrian ‘Welsh’ allies marched once again to inflict a narrow defeat on their southern cousins, Ambrosius losing by 4 (+ 2xHd) to 3.
The English seemed to take heart at this, and the end of the campaign saw the East Saxons provoke an invasion by Ambrosius, who met them and a significant South Saxon contingent by a ford on an old Roman road. The South Saxons ineffectually marched up one side of the river while the East Saxons bore the brunt of the fighting on the other, slaughtered in the main by Ambrosius and swirling masses of British cavalry, before the Saxon warbands could close on the wavering British foot (5-2 to Ambrosius).
An intensive but fun day, and a challenge for both sides.
Based on a dice-driven campaign system for Hordes of the Things by Alan Saunders, this involves ‘Arthur’ fighting off various invaders such as Saxons, Picts Irish and Scots. Over a period of 20 years the Sub-Roman British commander is challenged by raids, plague, invasions and punitive campaigns, interspersed with occasional outbreaks of peace. During all this, the army slowly declines from a pseudo-Roman entity to a grass roots SRB cavalry and spearmen force, the rate of decline being directly linked to his battle casualties (with a little dice luck thrown in for good measure). Colin O’Shea played the Arthurians, with me commanding the various barbarian hordes. With a one in three chance of a battle every year we should’ve expected around six games, but got nine, a very bloody two decades for the Brits.
Randomised terrain selection was used, with 24 preset terrains to choose from, plus a 1/3 chance of the defending player laying terrain to suit him as per the DBA rules.
At the outset the lowlands were invaded by northern Britons, with a cavalry and spearman force, but Arthur saw them off with a glorious 4-0 win. Next year Arthur turned his attention to the South Saxons, who called on East Saxon allies for help. The invading Sub-Romans scored another convincing victory, slaying the South Saxon king in the process. (3g+Hd -1 win).
After only one year of peace the South Saxons returned to exact vengeance upon Arthur, but were again defeated (4-2), the British losing an ex-Roman Limitani unit during this battle. A year of plague followed in which some of the British army were lost to disease, and in the following year the North Britons again invaded, defeating and killing Arthur in a decisive battle at the meeting point of two Roman roads, somewhere in the Midlands. (2-4g).
In the subsequent year of peace a new leader, ‘Ambrosius’, was elected as the SRB warleader. His first act was to launch an attack upon the Picts of the far north, who called upon Scots-Irish allies for aid. The battle saw Ambrosius score a decisive win (4-1), but lose more ex-Roman garrison troops in the process.
Three years of comparative peace, with only minor raids to fend off, were ended when Ambrosius turned his attention upon the Irish, who called on their old friends the Picts to help them out. A very bloody battle was then fought in which Irish Attacotti warbands erupted from a patch of coastal dunes to destroy remnant ex-Roman legionaries, while Pictish skirmishers swept around the opposite flank to capture the British baggage train, Ambrosius conceding the day (5-5+camp).
Few of the losses from this defeat were replaceable, leaving Ambrosius with no choice but to rely on reluctant levies (7Hd) to fill the gaps in his already weakened and degraded pool of troops, the army having slowly become less and less recognisable as post-Roman successors. This perceived weakness may have prompted the return of the South Saxons the next year, with another loss endured by the Sub-Roman British (2-5+Hd).
The four years following were relatively peaceful, giving opportunities for some recruitment to make up lost numbers, before the northern Britons and their Cumbrian ‘Welsh’ allies marched once again to inflict a narrow defeat on their southern cousins, Ambrosius losing by 4 (+ 2xHd) to 3.
The English seemed to take heart at this, and the end of the campaign saw the East Saxons provoke an invasion by Ambrosius, who met them and a significant South Saxon contingent by a ford on an old Roman road. The South Saxons ineffectually marched up one side of the river while the East Saxons bore the brunt of the fighting on the other, slaughtered in the main by Ambrosius and swirling masses of British cavalry, before the Saxon warbands could close on the wavering British foot (5-2 to Ambrosius).
An intensive but fun day, and a challenge for both sides.
