2nd game of Dux Britanniarum (with less testing and more playing)

We managed to roll out the muddy golf course that are our current gaming tiles at the Prague Wargames Club for another tale of daring-do's (and sometimes don't's), with a very bloody maul of a Saxon raid on a Romano-British church (no the lads above are not queuing up for confession).

This was the second raid in our new campaign. The Saxons received a bloody nose during their last raid on a Romano-British village. As a result they spent two months nursing their wounds and rebuilding their force. In the meantime the British Lord had lifted enough money (filty lucre) off the Saxons to be able to bribe his warriors to declare him Praefectum (a higher rank on the road to kingship).

The Saxons, still short of cash need to continue raiding until their Warlord has enough money to bribe his way up the social ladder. Only then will he have enough prestige (and cash) to attempt full battle with the British and try to seize a provice, and eventually a kingdom (the Saxons above starting the raid; their target the church in the distance).

Now the Saxons were staring with a -1 to Army morale as they had lost the last raid. They were lucky and got four turns of moves before the British could enter the table. Once at the church they had to pass two looting tests to find the gold. But could they? No, they passed one test (a 5 or 6 on a normal die) and then failed every other one, and sat for the whole game stuck in the church trying to sniff out that last golden chalice.

With all the dithering at the church, there was nothing for it but for the Saxons to get stuck in to the British vanguard to give the boys at the church more time to find the loot and then leg it off the table. (Saxon Hearthguard charging towards the British, followed by the Saxon warriors).

The two elites Saxon units, with Saxon Warlord and champion attached, ploughed into the British Hearthguard, and bounced off! The British played the Shieldwall braced card from the Fate Deck, and the Saxons the Aggressive charge card, which cancelled each out.

The Saxons reeled backwards after a poor dice roll and losing nearly half their men. They were then hit immediately by a fresh group of British Warriors; more casualties (9 now out a total of 12) and then a stack of Shock Points. This added up to more than twice the number of remaining men, and so the two Saxon units routed automatically (Losing ones Amphora). The remainder of the Saxon elite routing off the table below.

The next effect of this mess was that the Saxons had to take an army morale test as two elite units had routed. This led to Saxon army morale being halved (get to 0 morale and the whole army routs off the table).

Dead from the elite Saxon units loitering somewhere in Elysium, or is that Valhalla.

The British tide of units kept coming on as the raiding party was still fumbling with the Vicar's drawers in the church. There was nothing for it but for a combined group of two Saxon Warrior units to charge into the British to delay or hopefully rout some of their opponents.
 

They piled into the British Elite unit and smashed them, but in doing so sustained huge causalities and shock points in turn. The British broke first, but it was a Pyrrhic victory, as the excess shock points then routed both Saxon units. (the result of the final bloody encounter below).

Below, the Saxons still messing around in the church, as the Saxons square up for their final charge.

With the two units of Saxon warriors running for the hills, the Saxon Army morale fell to 0, and it was game (or raid) over.

Again, like the first game, everything ran very smoothly with these rules. The Saxons now have their tails firmly between their legs and must sit out another two months while they recover from their losses.  They can raid again in July, but the campaigning season finishes in September, so they really need a successful raid soon. The next raid will also see them start on a -2 to morale after this defeat. What will it be? hit a wagon train, rustle some sheep, or torch a watchtower. More Lardie mayhem to follow soon with this excellent set of rules. (All figures and buildings by Gripping Beast)