"Rules for dark ages mass battles?" Topic

Hello TMP,

Just curious what rules folks are using these days for mass battles set in the dark ages? I've got a new interest in the genre after ignoring my miniatures for a long time (saxons, Vikings, and Normans).

My old favorites were Hail Caesar and Sword and Spear. While I liked those rules I didn't love them.
Are there some new hot rules out these days? I'm very open to suggestions. Even if it's just your current favorite.

Thanks!

-Stew

While not hot and new, my preferred dark age rules set is Dux Bellorum by Daniel Mersey.

Am waiting for the 4th edition of _L'Art de la Guerre_. Maplewood Hobby sez they'll have it in June…

Big Battle DBA…
link

Jo3 Collins

Another vote for Dux Bellorum. And of course To the Strongest.

Do consider "Longships". The battle rules in there are specifically for dark ages only.

martin

link

PDF available too

Dux Bellorum again. As said above these are specifically for the dark ages. Glutter of Ravens also but that covers the early part of the dark ages.

Hail Ceasar and DBA 3.0 also good for the period. But I saw you don't like Hail Cesar?

Howdy,

For mass battles, I continue to recommend Might of Arms.

Ponder on,

JAS

There is also "To the Strongest!" bigredbatshop.co.uk

Jim

I use To the Strongest as well as Kings of War Historical.

I'm reading this as I take a break from painting a few more Picts to flesh-out one of my Dux Bellorum warbands. It's a great system with a nice period feel to it.

Although my PRIDE OF LIONS rules are fantasy, they work well for Dark Ages battles. We did Mount Badon several times at Historicon, using very large armies, finishing within three hours.

hey folks! thanks for chipping in. sorry to start a thread and then ignore it, as I was distracted by real life stuff…

some replies:
@Ponder: I managed to find a free PDF of Might of Arms, so I'm giving it a read.

@martin: thanks for the recommendation for Longships, I'll do some internet research on it and see more.

@Rampant: It's not that I dislike HC, I just don't love it. I'm not a huge fan of the command system and it's almost a little too simple. but it's a fine game.

@doc: I've never herd of Pride of Lions, I'll give it a look

and at the risk of sounding like a stupid whiner I'll make some other statements about rules:
I've played Dux Bellorum and didn't like it all. I don't like that your troops have to prevented from charging (it just didn't fit MY own impression of shieldwall combat; men aren't that eager to get into fights) and I thought that the utility of using leadership points to prevent hits outweighed anything else you would do with them. Just didn't enjoy it.

ADLG: I've read these rules – twice; I can't make them out. maybe it's because I've never played DBA or mayne I'm dense, but I couldn't picture how the game played by reading the rules. SO now ADLG is in the category of someone else needs to show me the game for me to get it. No one around hear plays it.

To the Strongest: I have these, but not played them. Needing a grid is hurdle but I'll get around to it one day.

Stew: If you have To The Strongest, I'd recommend giving them a try. I use them for classical ancient wargaming but think they would do well for dark ages. They are incredibly easy to learn to play (there are some nice youtube tutorials) and give a nice feel.

Just a side note on Dux Bellorum, "shieldwall" infantry need to successfully roll to charge. "Warband" infantry are impetuous and need to roll to prevent themselves from charging. I have implemented a house rule that caps how many LPs can be used to prevent hits.

Personally, and I know this puts me in a small minority here, I like DBMM, maybe partly because I transitioned seamlessly from playing DBM without having played so much DBM that I felt the need for a radical change. I've yet to have a game that felt like a rerun of another and there's always a great 'story' to emerge from the game. Even though it's not a narrow era specific set, the fact that I generally only play historically paired armies means it always feels like a dark ages game. It is a bit (actually a lot) like stew art said about ADLG – you need to learn it with someone, but I think the learning curve is generously repayed.

I really don't like the idea of a grid – if I wanted that I'd play chess, which I know isn't a fair comparison but it's how I feel. I did used to play an ancient naval game (Diekplus I think it was called) that used a grid and was fun but we never played it in any serious sense.

Cheers,
John