"Where to Start in Saga?" Topic

After recently reading a thread posted here I have been investigating the Saga rule system. I am particularly interested in recreating small Viking raids of Ireland.

Any advice on what I should buy, minis, buildings suppliers?…any supplements needed for these forces or just the main rules?

I haven't painted anything like this in ages and was also wondering is there any good painting tutorials

Thanks a lot

John

Main Rulebook of course and you will need Ravens Shadow supplement as it has the Irish warband in it. I like the 4Ground Buildings, they are top notch and easy to build. You can use regular dice you do not have to buy the Saga dice (though, they are nice). Of course you will need minis. I have found that Old Glory has great minis, really cheap, and they paint up well. Good luck, me and my mates love this game!

I'm thinking of just buying the starter packs from Gripping Beast along with the dice. Maybe not the cheapest option but it seems to have a higher probability of success than a more diverse approach.

Just waiting for the Crusaders rules…

This may help as well…

link

Thank you guys…I took a look at the 4Ground buildings and they look great alright. Good to know that I need that supplement and I know you can play it without the specialized dice but I like the look of them.. :) Great Link too

I have to say I'm pretty excited about the rules after checking them out on youtube;

Great game, you won't regret playing it.
You can get by with just the main book, easily.

I don't know about the Irish but I have the Gripping Beast metal Vikings and plastic Vikings. I know that some people have a philosophical objection to plastics but I find that the level of detail is incredible.

A combination of the Viking box and the dark ages infantry box will set you up for at least two lists.

I would start with the main rulebook and some figures. As you won't need massive armies you can invest in terrain. Buildings and carts and livestock and stuff on the table look great, and because it is a skirmish game you can make the terrain look more realistic in terms of groundscale with the figures!

There are loads of comparison photos of different manufacturers figures here. If you click on the 'Dark Ages' tab you will find a full listing of who makes what for the period….

28mmreview.blogspot.co.uk

Two links about painting Dark Age miniatures:

link

link

And take a further look around on that forum for a lot of information/tactics.

For playing SAGA (1st of 6 videos):
YouTube link

DJ

Thanks again guys thats very useful info

Wow, good advice here. I can't add much to it. I would bite the bullet and buy the Saga dice too. You don't absolutely need them, but it makes playing a lot easier, especially for newbies. It is a great game and there is a lot of depth to it.

If you buy a force of vikings, you can play two lists from Saga with the same figures and dice: Vikings and Jomsvikings (from the Northern Fury book, which you need anyway for the Irish). So they are a good choice to start with.

I do Saga in 15mm, and there are a lot of really good choices out there: Splintered Light, Khurasan, and Baueda, to name my favorites. Old Glory, Peter Pig, and others are cheaper but not nearly as nice.

If you want dice with the proper symbols but you don't want to pay the prices that they charge for the proper Saga dice, you could buy blank dice and print the symbols onto stickers. That's what I did and it works great.

I'm not a fan of 4 Ground buildings – I think they look cartoony and they take a lot of work to dirty them up to a level I find acceptable. Also, dark ages buildings are dead easy to make yourself. Get some foamcore, coffee stir sticks, and a piece of fake fur and you're set.

Hmmm you know making your own buildings is tempting…but where do people get 'fake fur'. I see it used for long grass fields as well. Again I really appreciate the help, I've never played this era before so any guidance is valued. Sounds like Saga is very popular too, I haven't read a bad review yet!

Is there any mythical hero's or champion's additional type rules?

Anyway thanks again for all the help! :)

You should be able to get fake fur at a sewing or fabrics store.

The rulebooks have legendary (as opposed to mythical) heroes as possible leaders or champions for your forces: Charlemagne, Brian Boru, Macbeth, etc.