Breton warband for SAGA

In the 4th century, Bretons serving in the Roman army were posted out of Britannia and into Amorica (Brittany). To escape Anglo-Saxon and Scoti invaders, a second wave of Breton settlers followed. Charlemagne subjugated the Bretons for a time. A combination of Breton revolts, military victories and devastating Viking raids forced the Franks to eventually concede the independence of Brittany. Somewhere in there, Breton King Morvan fought a personal combat with a Frankish chieftain that left both dead.  I'm not entirely sure how the opposing armies squared that unexpected result.

The 10th century saw a Breton campaign to drive out the Norse who settled on the Loire River. The Bretons and Normans were at war for a time but that didn't stop them from serving in William the Conqueror's left flank at the Battle of Hastings.  Breton history is enough to make your head spin!

In SAGA, Breton levies and mounted troops are javelin armed. Their battle board has 8 shooting abilities and I've been studying to see which stack well before my first game with them. Bretons suffer a -1 to their armor in melee, which means I'll stick to shoot and scoot tactics.

These figures can pull triple duty for me. First, I'll run them in SAGA as a Breton warband. I can also port them into Crescent and the Cross to buff out a Spanish army. Lastly, I can field them in a Hail Caesar Norman army. Portability for the win! 

All figures in the warband are by Gripping Beast, topped with LBMS shield transfers painted in.  I'm tempted to paint the hero King Morvan in a chariot. For now, I do like the look of this warlord hunting the battlefield with javelin in hand and no helmet! Those are the kind of risks that men respect.  They're also the kind of risks that get you killed in personal combat.   

These figures looked a bit dull at the finish line so I added a 2nd highlight to make them pop. You must look good to feel good and I do hope these javelinmen are feeling good right now.

I painted this warband while listening to Marc Morris' The Norman Conquest audiobook. It's fantastic overview of the conquest of England, and most of SAGA's "Heroes of the Viking Age" make an appearance in the book.  Its a perfect companion piece to SAGA gaming.

SAGA Storm

SAGA Storm Day at Fantasy Flight Game Center came and went, and  what a day it was! The organizers brought 12 themed battleboards, each with a scenario. More than 24 SAGA players turned out to throw dice, tip beers and have a great time playing SAGA.  This was my single favorite day of gaming ever and I've had some great games in my lifetime. Take a look at some of the tables Eric Hagen, John Stenz and Jason Meyers put up.  I only wish I could have played them all.  

You know its going to be a great day of SAGA when your first opponent is an honest-to-goodness Viking named Tor. We played The Challenge twice on account of  Tor smiting my Norse-Gael warlord in a first move strike with Viking berserkers. We rebooted and ran the scenario again with my Norse-Gaels going first. Thanks for the do-over, Tor! 

In my 3rd game, I played my old friend Mark and his Pagan Rus.  Fighting in the mountains was a natural for his Rus and my Norse-Gael went down to defeat.  Mark bought me a consolation beer so all hope was not lost.   

Next up was the Shores of Normandy with a custom Breakthrough scenario that saw each side trying to fight through the other.  The beer must have contained some magical properties as I had a great run in the late game, coming up with a victory against John's tough as nails Scotsmen.  

By dinnertime I was starting to wear down.  After a big cup of coffee, I threw in for the Grand Melee- 5 Viking type warbands on one side versus 5 non-Viking factions on the other.  In the Wooden Oaths scenario we were playing, it's one side against the other for 3 turns.  After turn 3, it becomes a free-for-all with points scored for kills.  Each side of the table ran their battleboards simultaneously, allowing us to complete this epic megabattle in just over two hours.  

I got 5 games in with my Norse-Gael warband.  I got to see a lot of my old gaming buddies and meet a lot of new SAGA gamers.  I can't wait to do it all again and with any luck, I won't have to.  We're talking about setting up a SAGA group to keep the energy and good times rolling.  An naturally, I'm thinking about painting up a new warband.  Thanks once again to the organizers and to everyone who turned out!  

Flemish Mercenaries

First up today are 8 Flemish mercenaries by Gripping Beast.  Famous for their heavy spearmen, the Flemish served as mercenaries for the Franks and Normans. At the Battle of Hastings, they were part of William’s army. After the conquest of England, they offered their services to local magnates.   

In SAGA,  Flemish mercenaries can be included in a warband as Swords for Hire. The Flemish are 8 foot warriors with an Armour of 5, reflecting their heavy equipment and formation. Their movement is reduced to S in open terrain and they do not generate Saga dice. The Flemish may be activated once a turn for free. They do not benefit from any SAGA abilities. Lastly, when engaged in melee by an enemy unit or are the target of a shooting, the Flemish are treated as being in hard cover. In short, Flemish mercenaries are a slow but powerful defensive unit, useful for holding objectives and terrain.

A few weeks back, fellow blogger and painter Iowa Grognard asked if I'd paint these for him. Having followed Jeff's AWI painting for years, I was thrilled to do so.  Jeff and his wife both play SAGA and he anticipates a bidding war for the Flemish sellswords. To round out the job, I also painted two Anglo-Saxon warlords.  Basing was left undone so Jeff can match these to his current collection. Thanks Jeff for this splendid opportunity.  It is a lucky man who shares this hobby with his spouse!

We're 2 weeks away from the start of fall, a season routinely cut short by winter here in Minnesota.  I've been on the hunt for winter painting projects and I found a good one. This lot traveled all the way from Denmark to get into my painting queue. I've painted up a bit of WW II for Chain of Command but none of it ended up in my own collection.  This is my first step to fielding a WWII force and also putting Chris Stoesen's "In the Name of Roma!" to work in an East Front campaign.