Last night I trekked up to the wilds of Luzerne County to play in another game using Neil Thomas' Ancients Rules with the PAWM crew. Mike S. was our host and he and his wife Cathy not only provided a great place to play, but fed us Swedish meatballs, noodles, and vegetables for supper.
Our game was Vikings versus Saxons AND Normans...and some Generic Rabble milling about smartly around and about the church.
The Church of St. Joseph of Cupertino...the Viking objective
In this episode, the Vikings were played by myself, Bernie, Jim B., James, and John the OFM starring as Ulf The OFM. Darrell and Mark took the roles of Saxon and Norman. Mike was our GM, as well as our host, and perpetrated numerous shabby GM tricks on us poor Vikings. Harrumph!
We were supposed to take the church and capture the treasure inside and then head back to the boats. However there were a LOT of guys named Norman there and an equal large number of hairy, smelly Saxon Fyrd blocking our way. The uncouth buggers even refused to take a bribe... we even said we share halfsies with them. Harrumph!
My "band" of Vikings. No woodwinds, but a pretty good "heavy metal" section....
Not a Shieldwall....thankfully. But still not an easy target for my Bondi
Typically shabby GM trick, allowing a bunch of mounted Normans attacking Jim's Vikings
That big open space was where my Bondi Boys were a moment ago... Turn 2, and I'm out of Vikings...
James and Mark play Crunch and Munch
And then I was "reinforced" by Ulric the Uf Da and I went right back at them!
And then ANOTHER shabby GM trick had Norman cavalry come in behind us...
well, specifically, John...
Darrell (on the right) wondering why we didn't bring more Vikings...
Suffice to say that despite our best attempts to surge forward and close with the guys named Norman and their Saxon buddies, there were just WAAAAAYYYYYY to many of the up-armoured buggers for us to kill.
But Mike has a such lovely collection of plastic Vikings, so I enjoyed being a Viking even if I did come out on the short end of the stabby-stabby contest. And being a pin cushion for the Norman crossbows, to boot.
No matter what the result, it was a wonderful game and a great time with friends.
Great company, fantastic figures, simple rules and hospitality, sounds a splendid evening had by all.
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Alan, it was a fine evening. Always great to make that drive, long as it is, to see those goons.
DeleteEric
Sounds like you had a great time but slightly confusing forces - Normans and Saxons don't get on - and it's odd to see Normans fighting Vikings - because Normans ARE Vikings, just a couple of generation later!
ReplyDeleteErrrrr.....yes. And it was, to be fair, mentioned, but quietly ignored due to Mike wanting to field as many of his Dark Age figures as possible. Never let the Truth get in the way of a Good Story. Or wargame for that matter.
DeleteEric
Eric,
ReplyDeleteWords of wisdom / consolation from the men themselves....
It is better to fight and fall than to live without hope - The Saga of the Volsungs,
The one you trust the most may disappoint you the most – Saga Fljotsdale,
Fear not death for the hour of your doom is set and none may escape it - Saga of the Volsungs
Often times it is not numbers that wins the victory, but those who fare forward with the most vigor - The Saga of Thrond of Gate,
Great deeds and ill deeds often fall within each other’s shadow - Gisli Sursson’s Saga,
Better to die with honor than live with shame - The Saga of the Jomsvikings,
That which has a bad beginning, is likely to have a bad ending - Hen-Thorir’s Saga,
Neil
Ahem....
Delete"Odin loves all the Vikings
All the little Vikings in the world
Be you Norse or Swede or Dane
Odin loves you all the same
Odin loves all the Vikings in the world...."
It's worse when I actually sing it...
Eric