Friday, April 4, 2014

Campaign for the Kingdom

Duke Lionel was concerned. It had rained all through the night. The fields were muddy. Maybe too muddy for his heavy cavalry. Should he dismount like his enemies across the battlefield, or risk it and commit half his force to one daring charge?
Only weeks before, Lionel had rode beside Horace. Now he faced him across a muddy field.
With only Oswald the Younger, Baron of Ock, as his ally, Lionel form his men into one long line.

Across the fields, Horace, claimant to the throne, sprang to action.

The woods forced both sides to break up their lines and try to plug the gap.

Then, Lionel saw his chance. He unleashed his mounted knights. It seemed his gamble had paid off. The knights charged home, destroying the bowmen of Duke Ulric. But, had the plunged too deep into the fray?

The center became a mass of swirling blades. Men fell like wheat before the scythe. Lines became intertwined.

But finally, it was Horace who broke first. The churned up fields made pursuit impossible. Horace would escape this time. Lionel had proven he could be an effective commander, but Horace still had the support of most of the nobles. More blood would have to be spilled.
We had an odd number of players this time, so the side with 3 players each commanded 6 units, while the side with 2 players had 9. That way, both sides had a total of 18 units on the field.
My command roll left me Plodding, while Horace, fresh with his string of victories left him Brilliant. That gave them more maneuverability, but they were restricted by terrain.
As usual, it was a close fight, coming down to a difference of one unit casualty deciding it.
Standings:

3 comments:

A J said...

Nice AAR. I'm thinking of a similar campaign set during the English Anarchy of the 1140's.

Lead Addict said...

Thank god. No river to fight over. Hope the boys had a good time.

Phil said...

Nice report, beautiful armies and pictures!