DBA 3.0. THE BATTLE OF FOUR ARMIES.

For our game two Thursdays ago, we went back to the future! Rick put on a couple of games of DBA 3.0, which we had both acquired last year. For the first game Rick's Late Imperial Romans took on my Sub Roman British (Artorious).

Starting deployment. From the British perspective.

Good dice rolling gives the British enough pips to make a huge advance across the field.

The Romans finally roll more than 2 and advance to contact.

With the Roman knights having a back and forth with the British cavalry, the battle lines clash, with inconclusive results

During an intense battle Artorious was killed. A history changing victory to the Romans.

My Late Pict army set up to take on Rick's Early Ostrogoths.

The Picts, being mainly fast spears, race across the battlefield. They are charged by the Ostrogoth knights.

The supported ranks of spears push back the knights, supported by the general's cavalry unit.

The Ostrogoths counter attack hits home. A general melee ensues with some Picts getting behind the Ostrogoth units and spears hitting the Ostrogothic battle line.

The decisive combats take place.

The fragile nature of the Pictish units is exposed as no less than  five are destroyed during combat, ending the game as an Ostrogothic win.

How did the game play? There are a lot of things that are similar to 'old' DBA. Where the game has changed is with the introduction of further subdivisions of the old unit descriptions. This allows units to be used historically. For example, in DBA 2.2, the Pict spears were just that, with no difference from any other spears. In DBA 3.0 they are classed as fast spears which allows them to move fast, but they are brittle, adding a hint of realism and another aspect to generalship.  You could say that the level of command has zoomed in one level.

No doubt there will be more to learn in the next game!

SAGA: SCOTS v ANGLO SAXONS.

Last week, Rick and I continued the SAGA theme for our Thursday game. I got another chance to try out my Scots and Rick tried the Anglo Saxons. We played the 'Escort' scenario. My Scots had three baggage elements and had to escort at least two of them off the other side of the table. The Anglo Saxons win by destroying them all. 

Early in the game, the Scots make progress across the table. 

Scot's eye view of the Anglo Saxons.

A wider view of the battlefield.

The Anglo Saxons counter attack. But one baggage element manages to escape down the right flank.

The Scot's Warlord and his bodyguard face a large unit of warriors.

The Scots come off second best at the farm, but the levies managed to reduce a unit of Hearthguard to half strength, through some good shooting.

My Scots were painted by South Of The Wall Miniatures. www.facebook.com/South-of-the-wall-miniatures-1625931510974164/?fref=ts

The Anglo Saxon's relentless advance surrounds the remaining Scots. The Fyrd have just repulsed a unit of Scots Spearmen.

I managed to get one lot of baggage off the table. The other two were lost. Victory to Rick’s Anglo Saxons.  As the baggage needed the same dice as a hearthguard to activate, this meant having to prioritise which units move. I made a mistake in having two baggage units together, allowing Rick to concentrate on his victory conditions.

The next scenario will be ‘Battle at the Ford’.

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SAGA: DON'T SPARE THE HORSES.

Last month, Neil was back in the country and wanted to try out his newly acquired Early Crusader army in a SAGA game. I wanted to try out my Scots army. 

We tried out a couple of scenarios: Sacred Ground and Homeland. The Early Crusader army used the Norman card, as we don't have access to Crescent and Cross. This was the first time that we had used an army with mounted units, so it was going to be a learning curve.

Early moves in the 'Sacred Ground' scenario. Norman horse race Scots levy to the stone circle.

The Scots Warlord moves forward. His Hearth-guard obey and follow him.

The Scots levy retire in the face of the Norman mounted onslaught.

Scots spearmen hold the sacred hill. The Normans hold the sacred wood.

Close up view of the battle on the hill.

The Norman missile fire takes it toll of Scots spearmen on the hill prior to the cavalry charging. Top left, the Scots attack on the sacred wood goes in.

The Scots push the Normans out of the wood.

The game ended as a win to the Scots. They accumulated more points for holding objectives during the game.

The Normans head towards the Scots 'Homeland'

A unit of Scots spearmen await the Normans.

Norman bow and crossbow fire causes heavy casualties. The survivors seek cover.

The Normans ride in the front gate to finalise their victory.

Not having played the game for a while, it soon became apparent that there were things we had forgotten. Careful re-reading of the rules allowed me to find a few things that we hadn't realised before, An enjoyable days's gaming. More SAGA soon, methinks.