Thursday, January 29, 2015

First Turn Results

Back to relax in the comfort of Hadley Hall, Sir Richard reads over the reports that have come in from his spies through the region.

Lord Turstoke, the Lancastrian rebel to the south-west, has apparently fought a battle.  Despite being slightly outnumbered six-to-five by the neighbouring lord of Muncaster, the superior quality of Turstoke's retinue allowed him to triumph.
The start of battle, with Turstoke facing a line of Muncaster men while his own is split by a copse of trees.

Lord Turstoke himself, leading his dependable bodyguards.

Turstoke's right-wing starts the fight, putting the Muncaster militia to flight with a well-judged volley.

A sharp fight between the retinues, with Turstoke's men swiftly falling on the enemy flank.

The end of battle - the left-wing barely got engaged, but the right won things handily! 
Turstoke has now taken Muncaster as a vassal, and then swept on with his largely undiminished force to compel the weak lord of Greyburn to falling into line.

To the west, the Lord Monkton has taken Fishdale after a siege compelled them into line.  Lord Whitcaster has marched away westwards, snapping up the poor regions of Slagfield and Tursfield - poor pickings, but easily gathered up.

To the north, the rebel Lord Potterchester is apparently enjoying a run of success: the small Blackstoke region was compelled to submit, and also the pro-Lancastrian regions of Cornton and Leyley were swiftly induced into rebellion.

Some mixed news from north of Hadley, however: the Yorkist rival Lord Wolviston, who could at least have been a shield against the rampaging Lord Potterchester, has instead gone down to defeat.  He apparently attacked the Lord Turston whose lands lie between Potterchester and Hadley, but found himself narrowly defeated.
Lord Wolviston lines up his five companies to face seven rival ones.

Lord Wolviston shouts encouragement


The battle begins, with disjointed mobs clashing across the field.  

Wolviston's archers score a rare success on levies, but overall the dice are cruel!

An unnaturally skilled manoeuver by levies turns Wolviston's left flank!

Desperate fighting and high casualties all along the line, when finally - by a single dice-throw - Wolviston's retinue breaks and routs!
 The overall picture of these battles and marches begins to take shape for Lord Hadley, as he inspects his maps.

A Working copy on Excel - red shades show the Lancastrians, blue shades the Yorkists.




2 comments:

  1. Hi Craig,

    Excellent report. Rules used? Bloody Barons? Other? Keep up the good work.

    Jim

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  2. Hi Jim - rules used are 'Sword & Spear' as they give a good, quick & fun game. At least, that's what I'm using at present: I'll chop and change at any point if I feel the impulse. My main aim is just to keep up the momentum, for the time being.
    C

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