Today’s report covers a game that resulted from Michael’s year-long preparations. He had long planned to create a fleet of Viking ships, and that dream has now come true. His brand-new ships — several of which had already appeared as scenery in one of our previous games — were finally able to take part in the action. Michael also painted a new group of Vikings, so everything felt fresh, including the additions to the Lion Rampant rules. For this game, we used a modified version of the first edition of the rules.
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UMPIRING: Michael Schneider
1. Forces.
Each side had identical forces: a unit of the Healthguard, a unit of Berserkers, a unit of archers, and three units of Bondi. Additionally, each side had a large boat capable of accommodating three units. Two boats were left to be divided: one large, into three units, and one small, into two units. I became the leader of the first group, and Tim the second. David and Jimmy completed their group, while Andy and Ben fought on my side. Tim chose the larger boat, while I received the smaller one, but one of my units could start the game on land. This was where the abbey, the objective of the game—or rather, its contents—was located. Whoever held the loot at the end of the game would be declared the winner. On my side, I commanded the largest of our boats, with a Healthguard unit, archers, and a Bondi unit on board. Andy commanded a smaller boat with our Berserkers and a Bondi unit aboard. Ben, along with one of the Bondi units, was tasked with looting the monastery. On the other side, Tim had a Healthguard unit, Berserkers, led by Jimmy and Bondi, and David had the remaining units on the other boat.
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2. The Game.
As I mentioned, our plan was to quickly sack the abbey and protect the loot. In the first version, the winner was whoever had the most troops near the abbey, but this was later changed to whoever took the loot off the table. In both cases, my game plan was identical. Andy and his ship were to engage Tim and David's ships, while I was to block off the abbey from enemy ships and provide protection for Ben while he plundered the abbey.
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Andy’s suicide mission was a success. Both enemy ships committed to boarding his vessel, while Jimmy’s Berserkers forced their way onto ours. Hand-to-hand combat broke out. Andy fought as hard as he could, but holding off enemies on two fronts was no easy task. Meanwhile, my ship slipped calmly and undisturbed into position, while Ben plundered the abbey without interference. Half of our plan had been accomplished.
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Tim then saw through our plan, broke away from Andy’s ship, and steered toward mine. Our bows collided, and hand-to-hand combat broke out. The two kings challenged each other, but their duel came to nothing. Meanwhile, a fierce battle erupted between our finest troops, and before long, Tim’s men began to gain the upper hand. I realised I was in a difficult position and needed to get out of the fight quickly. I managed to pull my ship out of the battle and, using the strength of my oars and sail, headed for the shore to pick up Ben’s men.
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Ben’s men boarded my ship with the loot, but I had to leave one of my unit behind on shore, now under Ben’s command. A race against time began. I was sailing against the wind, unable to use my sail and forced to rely solely on the strength of our oars. My opponents were in the same position.
Tim was close behind me. Jimmy, who had meanwhile taken Andy’s boat, posed little threat, as he had only two men left. The only real danger was David, who still had a full crew and was moving much faster than I was.
And so the race began.
Eventually, David caught up with me. Instead of boarding my ship, however, he chose to ram it. The impact could have cost me all my oars, leaving me helpless in the water. Then the other ships would have caught up, and my fate would have been sealed.
But then, a miracle occurred. As a result of the collision, David lost all his oars, while I still had enough left to safely escape the battlefield with the loot.
Victory was ours — although Andy and Ben might have seen it differently.
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| Michael's special rules for the game. |
3. Links.
SESWC:
FLICKR:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720334419265
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