"Saga AAR: "The Escort" Normans vs Vikings (3 pt)" Topic

This was a fun one!

Full AAR: link

And again the full AAR: link

Was that Bondi, or Blondie? And what do those gals think about chainmail bikinis?
Really, cool game.

if it was blondie you would shatter this heart of glass

Look like fun. The last few pictures weren't displaying on your blog.

Thanks guys!

Strange- they seem okay to me Black Cavalier. What browser you on?

@Craig- hahaha I didn't get that at first. I'm slow :)

Are you sure you are playing the resilience rule on page 37 properly?

It looks like Dirty Jon's Warlord died when there were at least 4 figures within VS (2") of him and therefore available to soak up hits.

To kill him you would have needed to inflict six hits – which is possible but unlikely. If that's what actually happened you're playing it fine and I will admit to talking rubbish.

You also appear to have too many models in contact with the warlord – alternatively you have figures within 2" of enemy figures but not in contact with anything. Neither of these things should happen. Take a look at the rules on movement into melee (p.16) and contact in melee (p.24)

Or it might be the camera angle and me talking rubbish again.

Saga is not quite as simple and free wheeling as many people seem to think and the rules I've pointed to above mean that the exact positioning of figures can make a huge difference to exactly how many enemy figures can get into a melee. It's a matter of life and death for warlords.

Some people I know want want to keep the game free and easy and just ignore those rules that encourage such micro-management.

To kill him you would have needed to inflict six hits – which is possible but unlikely. If that's what actually happened you're playing it fine and I will admit to talking rubbish.

Yep, I believe I got 6 or even 7 hits on him. 13 dice + 4 more from Charge. It would've been better to hit a unit, but my warlord had no choice but to attack. So Jon instead took all the hits on the warlord so as (wisely) to not lose units.

You also appear to have too many models in contact with the warlord

Just two

alternatively you have figures within 2" of enemy figures but not in contact with anything. Neither of these things should happen. Take a look at the rules on movement into melee (p.16) and contact in melee (p.24)

Hmm now this is true- I need to reread that section I suppose. It was a little unclear to me- do you move to contact teams from a unit you're not engaging then?

I think we played most of it right, but you are definitely correct about that last bit!

indierockclimber wrote:

Yep, I believe I got 6 or even 7 hits on him. 13 dice + 4 more from Charge. It would've been better to hit a unit, but my warlord had no choice but to attack.

He could have stayed still. He only has to attack when activated for movement. But your choice was better than that, he'd have charged you next move anyway.

Or you can move another unit into a position that makes it impossible for your warlord contact the enemy warlord in a single move, then you can move him elsewhere. Doesn't look like that could be done in your situation though.

Mounted warlords are a mixed blessing – it's very easy to get them into a position where they can only charge the opposing warlord if they are to move at all. And an experienced player can prepare a nice death-trap for him if he does it.

Hmm now this is true- I need to reread that section I suppose. It was a little unclear to me- do you move to contact teams from a unit you're not engaging then?

You have to stay more than 2" away from any enemy figure that you're not going actually going to engage and that is not already engaged by another of your own figures.

See the paragraph half way down on the right hand column on page 16. And remember that you can only engage a single enemy unit at once.

Yep, I've found ways to keep from being forced to attack his warlord, but in this situation I decide to just get stuck in :)

Thanks for the clarification- I actually read and re-read that section but it didn't click.

You might actually have had more men in that melee than should have been there, I can't really tell from the pictures.

But Dirty Jon could certainly have positioned his figures in such a way that it wouldn't have allowed you to get that many men in.

I've gone off Saga a bit after discovering all this – micro-management of positions really pays in this game. That and the fact that I'm a bit bored playing Vikings and don't have another army painted up yet.

Yes, I admit we were probably way too lax in understanding this aspect.

We have 4 or 5 more batreps in the hopper to be posted where we've probably gotten similar stuff wrong. We're noobs so thanks for pointing it out.

It has been a really fun change of pace though! I ordered the Scot 4 point starter warband, and am looking forward to painting that.

We did exactly the same things. But we didn't go public with a battle report :-).

It takes a good few plays to get used to it all. That and re-reading the rules after every game to see what you did wrong.

Although I say I've gone off Saga a bit I played a game last week and I will certainly play again. I've already got the start of an Anglo-Danish army undercoated and I'm just waiting for Gripping Beast's plastic warriors before I paint them all. Sometime this year I'm told.

Yeah, I like documenting things as much for myself as for others :) Very much learning games! I'll make a note in the next few in the hopper that we probably got some movement rules wrong.

Anglo-Danes look like a lot of fun. Anglo-Saxons require a bit too much for my taste. Looking forward to the Scots, but mostly for the painting